Jesus' Continuing Work

In 1991, I had my own "Luther Romans 1:17" moment while sitting alone in a pew on a Wednesday night listening to a British missionary explain the true meaning of justification by faith. How I had gone 23 years growing up in Baptist churches (13 of those as a believer) without having it taught to me is a subject for another time. But there I sat, tears rolling down my cheeks, finally recognizing that I was indeed, as the missionary put it: "Clean! You are clean!"

Since then, I have made explaining justification by faith to whomever will listen my personal quest.

Well, this morning when Drew and I met for our weekly meetings to discuss John Owen's "Communion With God" the question came up as to why, when we share the Gospel, we tend to emphasize Christ's death in the past and yet fail to explain His continuing ministry in the present. The question was especially puzzling in light of a passage we were looking at: Romans 4:25 which tells us that Jesus was "delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification" (ESV). Clearly the job was not done at the cross but continued in His resurrection.

We discussed how we tend to focus on the finished redemptive work of the cross because we want to be sure that people understand that they can be freed from past sin and the bondage of guilt for it. But then we lamented that we often fail to continue the discussion with the ongoing work of Jesus in our lives and the responsibilities leveled upon those who would call Him "Lord." Drew wryly noted that our explanations of the Gospel may owe more to a culture which is quick to free people from their responsibilities and is fearful of placing any sort of expectations upon anyone than to the Scriptures themselves. But we digress.

There is clearly a real lack of understanding of the continuing work of Jesus in our lives.
The cross we get, His continuing work- not so much.

So what did Paul mean when he said that Jesus was "raised for our justification"?

Well, we know that Paul does write in 1 Corinthians 15 that the resurrection of Christ demonstrates the validity of the gospel and, without it, our faith would be in vain. But that is not what Romans 4:25 is talking about. It is not saying that Jesus' resurrection proves the fact that you have been justified, but that His resurrection plays an actual part in our justification.

How so?

We find in Hebrews 9:24, after describing the practice of sacrifice under the first covenant, that: "it was necessary for the copies of heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it it offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for them he would have to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself."

So, just as the high priest under the old covenant had to carry the blood of the sacrifice from the altar into the holy place and sprinkle it upon the mercy seat, so it was not enough that Christ should hang upon the cross, but He had to rise again, and ascend, entering into heaven before God presenting himself as the once and for all sacrifice for sin. It was through this act that the benefits of His sacrifice (i.e. justification) are applied to us just as the sprinkling of blood upon the mercy seat applied the benefits of the animal sacrifice to the people of Israel.

But that is not all. It is by His continued presence with the Father that He intercedes for us:
Hebrews 7:23-25: "The former priests were many in number, because they were prevented by death from continuing in office, but he holds the priesthood permanently, because he continues forever. Consequently, he is able to save to the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make intercession for them."

Jesus' continuing ministry for us is as an intercessor- as one who approaches God on our behalf. Jesus acts as our permanent advocate. I'm reminded of John Bunyan's wonderful testimony (which we, by the way, print in our church bulletin every week). Bunyan writes:

One day as I was passing through a field…this sentence fell upon my soul. “Thy righteousness is in heaven.” And I saw with the eyes of my soul Jesus Christ at God’s right hand; there, I say, was my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was doing, God could not say of me, “he lacks my righteousness,” for that was just before Him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse, for my righteousness was Jesus Christ himself, “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed. I was loosed from my affliction and irons…now I went home rejoicing for the grace and love of God.

Amen!

So, although Jesus' redemptive purposes were completed in His earthly ministry (e.g. He paid the price for our salvation through His life and death on the cross), His work is not done. Jesus continues His high priestly work for us at the right hand of the Father even till today.

Kim Riddleberger encourages us to consider the ramifications of Christ's present ministry when he writes:

"Jesus Christ presently intercedes for us when we sin (1 Jn 2:1-2). While we are correct to focus on what Christ has done for us as our high priest, we must not forget those things he is doing for us even now. He prays for our sanctification (Jn 17:17). He is now our'great high priest who has gone through the heavens,' so too we can now'approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need' (Heb 4:14-16). Even now, our great high priest is building us'into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ' (1 Pt 2:5). What comfort we can take, knowing that our Lord is in heaven, preparing for us to see his glory (Jn 17:24). For the great high priest who intercedes for us never sleeps nor wearies, he never prays without full effect, and he is ever mindful of our continuing struggles with the world, the flesh, and the devil (Heb 2:18). Jesus Christ is both the author and the finisher of our faith (Heb 12:2). He is our great high priest and the good shepherd, who even now guards his flock. No one shall ever snatch us from his hand (Jn 10:28-29), and nothing will ever separate us from his love (Rom 8:37-39). "

What a comfort and what a joy to know the ever present love of Christ!

So next time we speak of the work of Christ, lets not speak of it only in the past tense. Jesus is alive! Jesus is our intercessor and it was for our justification that He was raised!