CHAPTER VI.—Of communion with Christ in purchased grace
2. By striving to abound in the fruits of holiness. Just as Christ deals with us generously and abundantly, He also expects us to abound in grateful and obedient responses to Him. We are exhorted to "always excel in the work of the Lord" (1 Corinthians
15:58). This is what I mean: the saints are not content with the level they have reached at any given time; they continually press forward, seeking to be more devoted and fruitful for Christ.
And this is just a small glimpse of the communion we enjoy with Christ. It may seem little, coming from someone who has the least experience of it among all the saints of God, but even so, I have discovered something more valuable than ten thousand worlds. I desire to spend the rest of my few and troubled days in pursuit of this communion—contemplating the excellencies, desirability, love, and grace of our dear Lord Jesus, and responding in obedience according to His will. In the midst of the perplexities of this wretched world and the rebellions of my own heart, this is my great solace: "He who is coming will come and will not delay." "The Spirit and the bride say,
'Come!' And let the one who hears say, 'Come!' And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost." "Even so, come, Lord Jesus."
CHAPTER VI
Of communion with Christ in purchased grace—Purchased grace considered in respect of its rise and fountain—The first rise of it, in the obedience of Christ—Obedience properly ascribed to Christ—Two ways considered: what it was, and wherein it did consist—Of his
obedience to the law in general—Of the law of the Mediator—His habitual righteousness, how necessary; as also his obedience to the law of the Mediator—Of his actual obedience or active righteousness
—All Christ's obedience performed as he was Mediator—His active obedience for us—This proved at large, Gal. 4:4, 5; Rom. 5:19; Phil.
3:10; Zech. 3:3–5—One objection removed—Considerations of Christ's active righteousness closed—Of the death of Christ, and its influence into our acceptation with God—A price; redemption, what it is—A sacrifice; atonement made thereby—A punishment; satisfaction thereby—The intercession of Christ; with its influence into our acceptation with God.
OUR focus now is on communion with Christ in purchased grace, as previously proposed: "That we may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, and be conformed to his death" (Philippians 3:10).
By purchased grace, I mean all the righteousness and grace that Christ has obtained or accomplished for us, or that He shares with us for our benefit through His actions, sufferings, and ongoing mediation. Firstly, we need to understand the nature of this purchased grace and where it originates from. Secondly, we need to explore how we have communion with Christ in this grace.
To begin with, the rise or source of this grace can be attributed to three aspects of Christ: His obedient life, His redemptive death, and His ongoing intercession. All the actions of Christ as our mediator that lead to the communication of grace can be categorized under these headings or as their related subservient or subsequent aspects.
As for the nature of this grace, which flows from these sources, it can be classified into three types: justification or acceptance with God,
sanctification or holiness before God, and privileged grace. The latter will be further explained in due course.
The evidence of our communion with Christ in this purchased grace is apparent when we consider that there is hardly anything that Christ has done, which serves as the wellspring of this grace, that we are not said to do with Him. We are "crucified" with Him, "dead" with Him, and "buried" with Him. We are "quickened" and "risen" with Him. We are united with Christ in such a way that, by virtue of the covenant between Him as mediator and the Father, the fruits of His actions are assuredly communicated to those on whose behalf He performed them. Consequently, we are said to have done the same things as Him when we partake in those fruits. The life and power of this truth will be explored in detail at a later point.
Now, let us turn our attention to the first source and spring of this grace, which is the obedience of Christ's life. We need to clarify what this entails and its influence on the grace we are discussing.
Firstly, by the obedience of Christ's life, I mean His complete conformity to the entire will of God as He fulfills every requirement and demand of God's law. Jesus perfectly adhered to the moral law as the angels did, exhibiting perfect holiness in His walk with God.
However, He also submitted Himself to every law or ordinance introduced due to sin, although He Himself was not subject to them.
This was necessary for Him to "fulfill all righteousness" as He stated in reference to a newly-instituted ceremony (Matthew 3:15).
The Scriptures attest to the fact that obedience is attributed to Jesus Christ as mediator, both in name and reality. He learned obedience and was obedient in His sufferings, which gave meaning to His death. He obediently offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin, pouring out His soul unto death. He sanctified Himself to be an offering and
offered Himself as a sweet-smelling sacrifice to God. Throughout His work, He is referred to as the Father's servant, and He declared that He came into the world to fulfill the will of God, the One who sent
Him. His obedience is evident in His willingness and eagerness to do God's will.
There is no need for me to extensively prove Christ's obedience in His role as mediator and His willingness to fulfill His work in obedience to God. It is evident from Scripture that Christ willingly and cheerfully acted in obedience to God.
Now, let's consider the obedience of Christ from two perspectives:
First, regarding its foundational root and source; second, concerning its actual components or duties:
First, the habitual righteousness of Christ as a mediator in His human nature was the complete and perfect conformity of His soul to God's will, mind, and law. It was His inherently perfect righteousness that resulted from the grace of union, which made
Him a "holy thing." This holiness was necessarily derived from the grace of union, although its effect was brought about through the free work of the Holy Spirit. Christ possessed an abundance of grace on every level. The writer of Hebrews describes this, stating that Christ, as our High Priest, is holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners. He is completely separate and distant from sin and sinners.
This is why He is referred to as the "Lamb of God without spot or blemish." His habitual holiness far surpasses that of the angels.
While God charges His angels with folly and does not trust His saints, Christ is always embraced and well-pleasing to Him. This distinction arises because every other creature receives the Spirit of God in limited measure, whereas Christ was given the Spirit without measure. This abundant grace of Christ, though not infinite in an
absolute sense, surpasses that of any other creature like the water of the sea surpasses that of a pond or pool. Other creatures are hindered from attaining perfection because they exist as created beings dependent on a source outside themselves. In contrast,
Christ's human nature exists within the person of the Son of God, allowing His holiness to flow from an inseparable unity with Himself.
Second, the actual obedience of Christ encompasses His willing, cheerful, and obedient fulfillment of every duty or command required by God according to any law to which we were subject or accountable. He fulfilled the requirements of the law of nature in our state of innocence, the moral and positive duties prescribed by ceremonial institutions, and the demands of righteous judicial laws.
He subjected Himself to all of them. That is why He is said to have been made under the law, subject to all its precepts and commands.
In Matthew 3:15, He declared that it was fitting for Him to fulfill all righteousness, meaning everything that God required. Specific instances, such as His obedience to God and His parents in accordance with the law of nature or His compliance with the Sabbath and other acts of worship as part of the moral law, or His observance of circumcision and the rites of the Jewish ceremonial law, or even His payment of tribute to the governing authorities as demanded by the judicial law, are unnecessary to list here. It suffices to say that He committed no sin and no deceit was found in His mouth. He fulfilled all righteousness, and the Father was always pleased with Him. Christ acknowledged that He came to do the will of God, and He did it.
Furthermore, there was a peculiar law that pertained solely to the mediator, containing acts and duties that are not to be imitated by us. His obedience in dying was specifically in response to this law. In John 10:18, Jesus declared that He had the authority to lay down His
life and take it up again, a commandment He received from the Father. As the mediator, He received this unique command from the Father to lay down His life and take it up again, and He obediently fulfilled it. It is worth noting that the mediator, as a man subject to the law of God in general, performed certain acts, such as praying for His persecutors, while in other instances, as the mediator, He prayed solely for His elect. Despite being subjected to immense cruelty by those who crucified Him, as a man under the law, He forgave them and prayed for them. His Father always heard and answered His prayers when He prayed as the mediator. In all His prayers, He fulfilled His duty perfectly.
This, then, is the obedience of Christ, which was the first aspect to be considered. The next point is to explore its influence on the grace in which we have communion with Him, particularly our free acceptance with God. The nature of this influence will be addressed in due course.
First, regarding His habitual righteousness, there are two key observations: Firstly, it was necessary for our mediator to be God and man in one person. Thus, it was essential that He be holy. While the primary necessary effect of the hypostatic union is the subsistence of the human nature in the person of the Son of God, it was also necessary that the one united to Him be completely holy.
Secondly, the connection between Christ's righteousness and the grace we receive from Him is simply this: It made Him fit to accomplish everything He had to do for us. The apostle captures this truth in Hebrews 7:26, describing Christ as the High Priest who perfectly suits our needs. His habitual grace enabled Him to fulfill all that He did. As He Himself declared, the presence of the Spirit with Him was the foundation of His mission, as stated in Isaiah 61:1.
Second, Christ's obedience to the law of mediation, distinct from His passive obedience, served to fulfill His office. Although this obedience is not imputed to us as if we had done it, its effects and fruits are imputed to us. It functions in the nature of His intercession, through which He provides the good things we need, albeit in a subservient manner to His offering and intercession.
Lastly, concerning His actual fulfillment of the law and His performance of all that is required of us, there are three different opinions: Firstly, some argue that Christ's active obedience has no further influence on our justification and acceptance with God beyond its preparatory role for His shed blood and offering, which is the sole cause of our justification. All the righteousness imputed to us originates from that source. Secondly, others propose that Christ's active obedience can be understood in two ways: Firstly, as pure obedience, in which case its role aligns with what was previously mentioned. Secondly, as an obedience accompanied by suffering, integrated into His humiliation, and imputed to us as part of the grounds for our justification. Thirdly, some assert that this obedience of Christ, being done on our behalf, is graciously reckoned to us by God. It is on the basis of this obedience that we are accepted as righteous in His sight. My intention is not to delve into these different views as a point of contention, but rather to provide an understanding that can be readily applied to the practice of godliness and the consolation it brings. This will be accomplished through the following observations.
[1st.] The obedience that Christ displayed was not limited to the peculiar law of the mediator, although He exhibited it as the mediator. As the mediator, He came into the world incarnate, and everything He did and suffered was in that role. Therefore, the term
"as mediator" can be understood in two senses: It can be interpreted
strictly, referring solely to obedience to the law of the mediator, meaning that Christ obeyed that law exclusively. However, in the sense being emphasized here, whatever Christ did as a man subject to any law, He did it as the mediator because it was part of the duty
He undertook.
[2dly.] Whatever Christ did as the mediator, He did it for those for whom He was the mediator, acting in their place and for their benefit before God. The Holy Spirit attests to this in Romans 8:3-4, explaining that the law, weakened by human flesh, could not accomplish what God intended. In response to this limitation, God sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to condemn sin in the flesh. The purpose of this was so that the righteousness of the law could be fulfilled in us. Due to our weakened condition caused by sin, we were unable to approach God and escape condemnation through the law. Therefore, God sent Christ as the mediator to do and suffer everything required by the law on our behalf, ensuring that we would not be condemned but accepted by God. The aim was "that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us," referring to the obedience required of us. Christ accomplished this for us. When combining this statement with Galatians 4:4, which states that He was "made under the law," meaning He was subject and accountable to it, obeying all its requirements, it encompasses everything that Christ did or suffered. Moreover, the Holy Spirit affirms that all of this was done for us.
[3dly.] The purpose of Christ's active obedience cannot be solely attributed to preparing Him for His death and sacrifice. He fulfilled all types and requirements and was entirely suitable to be offered as a sacrifice due to His union with humanity and His habitual grace.
Therefore, if Christ's obedience is not reckoned to us and not done on our behalf, there would be no valid reason for Him to have lived
in perfect obedience to God's laws for as long as He did. If He had died earlier, there would have been perfect innocence and holiness due to His habitual grace and infinite virtue and worth derived from His divine person. Surely, He did not yield a lengthy course of obedience in every way without a significant and specific purpose related to our salvation.
[4thly.] If Christ's obedience had not been for us (in the sense that will be explained shortly), it could have been required of Him during His life to obey the law of nature, the only law applicable to Him as a man in a covenant of works. An innocent man in such a covenant does not require any other law, nor did God give any other law to such individuals (apart from the law of creation and any additional symbols thereof that God chose to include). Nevertheless, His submission to this law was voluntary. It was not merely a matter of choice or arbitrariness, but rather, based on His role as the mediator, it was necessary for Him to voluntarily and willingly submit to and truly subject Himself to its commands. Although He was exempted and elevated above that law due to the hypostatic union, His subjection to it was voluntary. Furthermore, Jesus Christ demonstrated perfect obedience to all the laws that arose due to sin, including the ceremonial law. He even fulfilled the very institutions that symbolized the cleansing and repentance from sin, such as the baptism of John, despite having no personal need for them. Thus, this obedience must undoubtedly be for our sake.
[5thly.] Christ's obedience should not be categorized as part of His sufferings but should be clearly distinguished from them. Doing and suffering are distinct, belonging to different categories and cannot coincide.
Now, let's briefly recap what we have gained from these considerations, and then I will indicate the outcome flowing from this initial source or fountain of acquired grace and its influence within us:
Firstly, through the obedience displayed in Christ's life, you can see the intended meaning: His willing submission and perfect fulfillment of every law of God that any of the saints of God were obligated to follow. It is true that almost every act of Christ's obedience, from the shedding of His blood at circumcision to the shedding of His blood on the cross, involved suffering. Therefore, His entire life could be seen as a form of death. However, considering His willingness and obedience within it, it is distinct from His sufferings, which are specifically referred to as His active righteousness. Thus, this complete accomplishment of God's entire law by Christ, our mediator, is what I mean when I refer to His obedience.
Secondly, Christ's obedience was not performed for Himself, but for us and in our place. While it is true that, during His time in the flesh,
He needed to be perfectly and absolutely holy, the primary purpose of His pursuit of holiness—which involves the complete obedience of His entire life to God's law—was no less for our sake than His death.
The apostle tells us this in Galatians 4:4-5: "God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law." We must examine this Scripture more closely. Christ was both born of a woman and subject to the law, meaning He obeyed it on our behalf. The purpose of His incarnation and obedience to the law was solely to redeem us. In these two expressions, "born of a woman" and "born under the law," the apostle does not unite His incarnation and death while excluding the obedience of His life. He was subject to the law just as those were who He came to redeem. We, as well, were subject to the law, not
only in terms of being liable to its penalties but also bound to fulfill all its requirements. That is what it means to be "under the law," as the apostle explains in Galatians 4:21: "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law." They desired to be under the law, not merely its penalties, but to be under it in terms of obedience. If we remove the purpose, we destroy the means. If Christ were not incarnate or subject to the law for Himself, then His obedience was entirely for us and our benefit. Now, let us look ahead and consider the influence this has on our acceptance.
Thirdly, I declare that Christ's perfect and complete obedience to the law is imputed to us. Just as it is true that "the day you eat of it, you shall surely die"—death being the consequence of sin—and thus we cannot be freed from death except through the death of Christ
(Hebrews 2:14-15), it is equally true that "do this, and you will live"— we cannot attain life unless we fulfill all that the law requires. It remains true that "if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments" (Matthew 19:17). These commandments must be kept either by us or by our Surety. Some object, claiming that if Christ obeyed the law perfectly on our behalf, then we are no longer obligated to obey it. They argue that His death, as the penalty of the law, frees us from it. However, I ask, how did Christ experience death? Solely as a penalty. And how are we delivered from death?
Again, solely as a penalty. Yet, we still must experience physical death. Indeed, it serves as the final battle against the effects of sin and as a passage to our Father. So, Christ yielded perfect obedience to the law, but how did He accomplish it? Purely in the context of the conditional arrangement: "Do this, and you will live." He fulfilled the law by relying on the grace He had received, viewing it as a means of procuring life through it, as part of a covenant. Are we, then, exempt from this obedience? Yes, but to what extent? We are freed from performing it in our own strength and from doing it with the aim of
obtaining eternal life. It is in vain for some to confidently assert that we must still work for life. To claim such is to say that we are still under the old covenant, "Hoc fac, et vives" ("Do this, and you will live"). We are freed from obedience as a means of earning salvation, but we are not exempt from obedience as a way of walking with God.
I will discuss this further later on.
According to the Holy Spirit, in Romans 5:18-19, "through one righteous act there resulted justification of life for all men... through one man's obedience the many will be made righteous." By Christ's obedience to the law, we are made righteous; His obedience is imputed to us as righteousness. It is false to claim that only Christ's passive obedience is intended here.
Firstly, it is contrasted with Adam's disobedience, which was active.
Righteousness is set against fault. Adam's fault involved actively transgressing the law, so the opposing obedience must involve actively fulfilling it. Moreover, obedience, in its essence, denotes actions that conform to the law. Christ came not to abolish but to fulfill the law (Matthew 5:17). That was the purpose of His coming— for us. He came to fulfill the law for us (Isaiah 9:6), and He was born for us (Luke 2:11). His mission was rooted in the will of the Father, which He came to fulfill out of infinite love.
Secondly, it cannot be clearly demonstrated that there is such a thing as passive obedience in proper terminology. Obedience involves doing, to which passion or suffering cannot be attributed. I understand that it is commonly referred to as such when individuals obey until they suffer, but properly speaking, it is not accurate.
Similarly, in Philippians 3:9, the apostle Paul states, "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from
God by faith." The righteousness we receive is contrasted with our own obedience to the law. It is not something of a different kind; rather, it is something of the same kind that excludes our own righteousness from attaining the same purpose. This is the obedience of Christ to the law, by which He "became righteousness for us" (1
Corinthians 1:30).
In Romans 5:10, the outcome of Christ's death is described as reconciliation—a removal of enmity and a restoration to a state of peace and friendship, similar to Adam's condition before the Fall.
However, is there nothing more to be done? Although Adam was not subject to wrath, he still needed to obey in order to attain eternal life.
Likewise, there is something more to be done in our case after the enmity has been removed and reconciliation achieved if we are to enjoy life. We are saved by the perfect obedience that Christ yielded to God's law throughout His life. Reconciliation is explicitly mentioned in various passages as the non-imputation of sin (Psalm
32:1, Luke 1:77, Romans 3:25, 2 Corinthians 5:19), while justification is mentioned as the imputation of righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6,
Romans 4:5, 1 Corinthians 1:30). Although these aspects are not separated, they are reciprocally affirmed, indicating a close connection. This is the result of Christ's life.
This is clearly expressed in the typological representation of our justification before the Lord in Zechariah 3:3-5. Two things are mentioned regarding our acceptance before God: Firstly, the removal of the guilt of our sin—our filthy robes—which is accomplished through Christ's death. This leads to the proper fruit of forgiveness.
Secondly, righteousness must be conferred to grant us the right to eternal life. This is referred to as a "change of raiment." Isaiah 61:10 refers to it as "garments of salvation" and "robe of righteousness." It
is only through Christ's obedience that we receive this, just as we receive the forgiveness of sins through His death.
Objection: "But if this is the case, then are we as righteous as Christ himself, being righteous with his righteousness." Answer: First, there is a significant difference. Even if it were simply that this righteousness belonged to Christ inherently and was properly his own, it is only reckoned or imputed to us. It is freely bestowed upon us, and we are made righteous with something that is not ours.
Secondly, the truth is that Christ was not righteous with that righteousness for himself but for us. Therefore, no comparison can be made. What we can say is that we are righteous with the righteousness that Christ accomplished for us, and that righteousness is complete.
This is the essence of the purchased grace we are discussing—the obedience of Christ. And this is how it influences our acceptance with God. The guilt of sin and our liability to punishment, which shall be further explained, are removed and eliminated by the death of Christ. Furthermore, we require a perfect righteousness that enables us to be accepted by God. By the free grace of God, this obedience of Christ is imputed to us for that very purpose.
This is all I will address for now regarding this matter. I have yet to encounter the idea that only Christ's passive righteousness is imputed to us in the non-imputation of sin, and that our faith and new obedience are elevated to replace the righteousness of Christ.
Any arguments in favor or against this position must be considered elsewhere.
The second source of our communion with Christ in purchased grace is His death and sacrifice. He lived for us, He died for us, and in all
He did and suffered, He was ours. I will be brief in discussing this aspect because I have already extensively dealt with it elsewhere.
In Scripture, the death of Christ is presented from three perspectives: [1] as a price, [2] as a sacrifice, and [3] as a penalty.
Firstly, as a price, its ultimate effect is redemption. We are bought with a price (1 Corinthians 6:20), not with silver, gold, or perishable things, but with the precious blood of Christ (1 Peter 1:18-19). In this way, it fulfills the purpose of a price in other contractual agreements.
Christ came to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28), a redemption price (1 Timothy 2:6). I have previously explained the proper use and significance of this expression in Scripture.
The proper result and outcome of Christ's death as a price or ransom is, as I mentioned, redemption. Redemption involves the deliverance of an individual from bondage or captivity and the accompanying miseries through the intervention of a price or ransom paid by the redeemer to the one who held the captive by authority.
First and foremost, it is a deliverance. Therefore, Christ is referred to as "The Deliverer" (Romans 11:26), who gave Himself to deliver us
(Galatians 1:4). He is "Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:10).
Secondly, it is the liberation from bondage or captivity. Without Christ, we are all prisoners and captives, bound in prison (Isaiah
61:1), sitting in darkness in the prison house (Isaiah 42:7, 49:9), prisoners in a pit without water (Zechariah 9:11), captives of the mighty and prey of the terrible (Isaiah 49:25). We are under a captivity that must be led captive (Psalm 68:18). This condition puts us in bondage (Hebrews 2:15).
Thirdly, the one who imprisons and subjects us to this bondage is God Himself. We owe Him our debts (Matthew 6:12, 18:23-27), and our offenses are against Him (Psalm 51:4). He is the judge and lawgiver (James 4:12), and sin is a rebellion against Him. He keeps people imprisoned under disobedience (Romans 11:32), and the impenitent will be cast into hell-fire by Him (Matthew 10:28). Men are liable to His wrath (John 3:36) and are under it by the judgment of the law, which is their prison.
Fourthly, the miseries associated with this condition are countless.
Bondage to Satan, sin, and the world encompasses them all. Yet, through the death of Christ as a price or ransom, we are delivered from all these. "God has delivered us from the power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. In Him, we have redemption through His blood" (Colossians 1:13-14). He redeems us from all iniquity (Titus 2:14) and from our vain conduct (1 Peter 1:1819), both from the guilt and power of sin. He purchases us to be a peculiar people zealous for good works (Titus 2:14). Thus, He died for the redemption of transgressions (Hebrews 9:15) and also redeems us from the world (Galatians 4:5).
Lastly, all of this is accomplished by paying the mentioned price into the hand of God, who holds supreme authority and keeps us captive under the law's sentence. The debt is owed to the great householder
(Matthew 18:23-24), and the penalty is His curse and wrath from which we are delivered (Revelation 1:5).
This is frequently emphasized by the Holy Spirit. Romans 3:24-25 states, "Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness." This theme is also found in 1 Corinthians 6:20, 1 Peter 1:18, Matthew 20:28, 1
Timothy 2:6, Ephesians 1:7, Colossians 1:13, and Galatians 3:13. This is the initial significance of Christ's death, as it pertains to the procurement of the grace in which we commune with Him.
Secondly, His death was a sacrifice. He had a body prepared for Him (Hebrews 10:5) in which He fulfilled the types of the law regarding offerings and burnt sacrifices. He offered this body (Hebrews 10:10), encompassing His entire human nature, as His soul was also made an offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10). That is why He is said to have offered Himself (Ephesians 5:2, Hebrews 1:3, 9:26). He willingly presented Himself as a sacrifice to God, in accordance with the law written in His heart (Psalm 40:8), demonstrating His readiness, willingness, and desire to fulfill this obedience.
The purpose of sacrifices, particularly those for sin, such as His, was atonement and reconciliation (Romans 5:10, Hebrews 2:17). The death of Christ, as a sacrifice, has the same effect—atonement and reconciliation with God. Sin had disrupted the friendship between God and us (Isaiah 63:10), resulting in His wrath upon us (John
3:36). By nature, we are subject to this wrath (Ephesians 2:3).
However, through the death of Christ as a sacrifice, this is removed (Daniel 9:24). "When we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Romans 5:10). Thus, we "receive the atonement" (Romans 5:11), for "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them" (2
Corinthians 5:19-21). This aspect of Christ's death is extensively discussed elsewhere.
Thirdly, His death was a punishment—punishment in our place. "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him" (Isaiah
53:5). God made all our iniquities (that is, the punishment for them)
meet upon Him (Isaiah 53:6). He bore the sins of many (Isaiah 53:12) and carried our sins in His own body on the tree (1 Peter
2:24). In doing so, He, who knew no sin, was made sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). The concept of bearing sin can be found in Deuteronomy 19:15, 20:17, Numbers 14:33, and Ezekiel 18:20. The nature, type, matter, and manner of this punishment have been discussed elsewhere.
Bearing punishment directly satisfies the offended party, the one who imposed the punishment, as justice requires a proportional punishment for the offense. By voluntarily taking our place and mediating on our behalf, our dear Lord Jesus endured this punishment, which was accepted by the righteous Judge, resulting in proper satisfaction to Him.
These are the threefold aspects of Christ's death, serving as the principal source and fountain of the grace in which we commune with Him. As we will discover in our exploration, the individual and most prominent aspect of purchased grace is the natural outflow of the threefold effects of Christ's death, as indicated by the threefold consideration mentioned. This represents the second source of purchased grace that we need to focus on if we desire to commune with Christ in it—His death and shedding of blood, viewed in terms of a price, an offering, and a punishment.
However, this is not the end. The Lord Christ goes even further; He does not leave us there but continues the work to its fullest extent.
"He died for our sins and rose again for our justification." He rose again to carry out the complete work of purchased grace through His intercession, which serves as the third source of it. In this regard, He is said to be "able to save to the uttermost those who come to God