For Christ Also Suffered Once For Sins
1 Peter 3:18 New International Version
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.
Jesus took our place. The gospel is all about the divine exchange. God who knew no sin became sin so that anyone who would put their trust in Jesus Christ would find forgiveness, mercy, and salvation. Everything we receive from God is a gift. It is not worked for nor is it earned. But when we humble ourselves before Jesus Christ, we position ourselves to receive from God and our hearts are humbled to become one with His.
Jesus suffered once for sins. His sacrifice at Calvary only had to happen one time. Under the Old Covenant the animals were sacrificed repeatedly. Their blood was shed repeatedly. But not so with the sacrifice of Jesus. His blood was shed once. His blood is perfect and without sin. He lived a life without sin and was able to step in and take our place. When we come to Christ in saving faith, we receive all the benefits of His finished work at Calvary. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit. Our names are written in the Lambs book of life. We are adopted into God’s family and we become children of the Most High.
The word righteous means just, correct, righteous, innocent. The characteristic of following God’s law. The Greek adjective δίκαιος (dikaios), occurring 78 times in the nt, comes from the noun δικαιοσύνη (dikaiosynē). For something to be dikaios is to be in accordance with God’s law (Luke 1:6; Rom 2:13; Eph 6:1). To judge what is dikaios is to determine how the law applies to a specific situation (Luke 12:57). To be dikaios of a crime is to be innocent of it (Luke 23:47; Rom 5:7; Jas 5:6). To have a just dikaios is to have an equitable judgment in accordance with God’s will (John 5:30; 2 Thess 1:5–6; Rev 16:7).[1] Jesus was innocent. He was without sin. His righteousness is applied to us when we come to saving faith. The moment we confess with our mouth and believe in our heart that He is Lord, His righteousness is applied to us, our sins are removed, and we can approach the throne of grace with confidence and without fear.
The word unrighteous means unjust; by extens. wicked; by impl. treacherous; spec. heathen:—unjust, unrighteous.[2] All of us before we come to Christ are wicked, treacherous, a heathen, and unjust. It is a demonic deception to believe that humanity is inherently good. The heart of man is inherently wicked. Before coming to Christ, we are slaves of the sinful desires that exist in us. It is impossible for man to be righteous before God without the saving work of Jesus Christ. For the righteous one has taken the place of every unrighteous one and all those who humble themselves before the Living God receive a righteousness that is not earned, work for, or deserved. But because of the mercy of God, it is given as a gift.
The purpose of Jesus work at Calvary was to bring us to God. To reconcile us to Almighty God. In the garden of Eden, the intimacy and relationship Adam and Eve had with God was destroyed and severed by sin. But through Jesus Christ we are reconciled. Jesus was put to death in a physical body but rose again to life by the work and power of The Holy Spirit. The same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead is the same Spirit that will quicken our mortal bodies. May we trust Jesus each day. May we grow in our relationship with Him. May we understand the depths of spiritual truth and apply it to our lives daily. Through Christ alone man is declared righteous and His sins are forgiven.
Prayer
Father thank you for sending your Son Jesus. Jesus thank you for coming and taking the punishment and wrath we deserve. Thank you for taking our place. Thank you for taking the sin of the world upon yourself. Lead and guide me this day. Holy Spirit fill my life, and may the gifts of the Spirit be manifested and may the fruit of the Spirit be produced. May everything in my life brings glory and honor to Jesus Christ. In the mighty name of Jesus, Amen!
[1] Jeremiah K. Garrett, “Justice,” ed. Douglas Mangum et al., Lexham Theological Wordbook, Lexham Bible Reference Series (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2014).
[2] James Strong, A Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2009), 8.
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