Imputation

Doxology:

This is my Bible. It is God’s Holy Word. It is a lamp unto my feet, a light unto my path, and I will hide its words within my heart, that I might not sin against God. Amen!

Scripture Reference: 1 Cor 15:1-4

We are still walking through our series titled, “The Gospel of C.H.R.I.S.T.”

1 Corinthians 15:1–4 NKJV

1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures,

We have already covered the first three letters, which were Creation, Hesitation, and Reconciliation.

Creation

We have discussed how that God created us with purpose. In the beginning, Adam and Eve fulfilled that purpose until they committed the first sin. They hesitated as they talked to a snake in the garden. During that conversation, a seed of doubt was planted in their minds to the point that they chose to act outside the will of God.

Once this took place, sin ruined everything. They were no longer in perfect fellowship with the Father, but had fallen from that position. We then discussed last week, our need for reconciliation. If we are to be in fellowship with the Father, something has to redeem us unto that position, or restore us, reconcile us back into good standing with Him.

We looked at the Scriptures, and it says that there is only one way for that to happen… it is through the blood of Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man can get to the Father, unless they go through Him, and the blood that was shed on our behalf. We must be reconciled.

Context

Creation

That leads us to the fourth letter. It is the letter “I”, which stands for “Imputation”.

We know we must be reconciled, and we know that this reconciliation, or redemption, comes by way of Jesus, but what exactly takes place in this reconciling process?

2 Corinthians 5:14–21 NKJV

14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again. 16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer. 17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new. 18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Let’s Pray!!!

Content

Our topic for today, is the process of Imputation. But in layman’s terms, we are speaking on the exchanged life. When you read this passage, you see multiple ways that we are equipped to live an exchanged life through Christ. Not just a changed life, but an exchanged life.

And notice the compulsion for such a life:

2 Corinthians 5:14 NKJV

14 For the love of Christ compels us…

It is the love of God that started all of this. It is the love of God that keeps it going. God created out of His love. God disciplined out of His love. God kept His own throughout the ages because of His love. God sent Jesus because of His love. Jesus died because of His love. God gave us His word because He wants us to know His love.

And Paul says, it is “the love of Christ [that] compels us…”

Paul gave up everything because he came to know the love of Christ. Once he came to know the love of God, he realized that everything his life was moving towards was directly in opposition to God. It was because of this that he abandoned all that he was to be all that Christ called him to be.

God’s love is the center of everything. Without it, we are simply religious fanatics. Without the love of God, there is no exchange of anything. But through the love of Christ, we can and will experience an exchanged life in Christ.

Death for Life

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 NKJV

14 For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; 15 and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.

In these verses, Paul is describing the exchange of death for life. Christ died that we might live. But this was not just any death and this is anything but a normal life.

His death was sacred. Moreso, His death was sacrificial.

Paul says, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus:”. In other words, Paul is saying, “Because we have come to know the love of Christ, we can confidently say...”

Confidently say what?

“… that if One died for all, then all died.”

He is speaking here of Christ. Christ died for all, and if Christ died for all, then all have died.

Concerning that verse, one commentator said, “In other words, the Lord Jesus not only died for me, but He died as me.”

When Jesus hung on the cross of Calvary, He hung there in Thomas’s place… in your place.

He goes on to say, “This truth identifies us with Christ, as individual believers, in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. When Christ died, we died. When He was buried, we were buried. When He arose, we arose. Positionally, as believers, we have died to the old life and now stand in Him on resurrection ground.”

God died so that man could live forever. Think about that statement.

God is eternal. He is outside of life and death. Yet He willingly experienced physical death so that we could experience eternal life.

His death was not because He became like us, but so that we could become like Him.

And that supernatural death warranted a supernatural life to all of those who would be found in Him… to all would believe in Him.

This life we have in Christ is no normal life, but an exchanged life. It is a life that we shouldn’t be able to live, but through Christ, it has been made possible.

And that is exactly what imputation does.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

As an individual surrenders to Christ through faith, all of their sin is laid to His account. All of their sin is placed upon Christ. But all of His righteousness is also placed upon you. It is an exchange. All of our sin for all of His righteousness.

In the Old Testament, we see this exact transaction take place through the sacrificial system. There were two particular offerings that were commanded to be made unto God. One was the sin offering, and the other was the burnt offering.

The process of how these offerings were to be made were almost identical. The person offering up the sacrifices would place his hand upon its head to identify himself with the sacrifice, and then he would kill it.

In the sin offering, all of the sinfulness of the sinner was symbolically transferred to the sacrifice.

In the burnt offering, all of the purity of that sacrifice was symbolically transferred to the person.

That is imputation.

When we truly submit ourselves to Jesus in faith, all of our sin is transferred to Him, and all of this righteousness is transferred to us. We are made right with God on both accounts. The wrath of God against sin was carried out upon His own Son at Calvary. This takes away the sin barrier that once existed between us and God. The righteousness of Christ that is imputed to us also makes us worthy to be in perfect fellowship with the Father.

Both of these things are necessary in order for us to be reconciled to God, and both of these things are accomplished through faith in Christ.

It is through this exchange of death for life, that we now have peace with God. Our sin debt has been settled. Our account has been paid in full. The atonement, or the price of reconciliation, has been accomplished through Christ. He is the propitiation of our sins.

1 Corinthians 15:50–57 NKJV

50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” 55 “O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?” 56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Fleshly Mind For A Spiritual Mind

2 Corinthians 5:16 NKJV

16 Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.

Paul is saying that they used to base their relationships with others off of the flesh. This is the only way they could, for they knew no other way.

He even says, that at one point, they knew Christ according to the flesh.

Do you remember this. They acknowledged Jesus as the Christ, even before His resurrection, but none of the disciples fully knew what being the Christ entailed. It was only after Jesus appeared unto them in resurrection, that they began to understand the fullness of the spiritual life.

Not long after this, they got to witness what it was like to be filled with the Spirit themselves on the Day of Pentecost.

Paul says, “From now on, we regard no one according to the flesh.” What is he saying?

We have a new way of looking at things now. We have a new way of thinking, that was oblivious to us before.

When you look at someone from a fleshly mindset, you can easily see how they are undeserving of forgiveness, undeserving of mercy, undeserving of grace, undeserving of a second chance. You can easily see from a worldly perspective why that person shouldn’t be invited to church, shouldn’t be evangelized, shouldn’t be spoken to.

But when you see things from a spiritual mindset, you realize that Jesus died for all. He died that all might come to know the Father, that all might be reconciled to God, that all might taste and see that He is good.

No one is off limits. No one is too far gone. No one is out of God’s reach.

It doesn’t matter what they have done. It doesn’t matter how much they have hurt you or someone else. It doesn’t matter. Anyone and everyone can be reached by the Gospel of Christ.

Can you imagine if Paul had bias towards those who persecuted Him?

Can you imagine how much of the Middle East would never have heard the Gospel if Paul said, only the Jews deserve to know Christ?

Can you imagine?

Instead, Paul said:

1 Corinthians 9:19–23 NKJV

19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.

How is this possible? How can I offer the Gospel to someone who has hurt me so badly?

Because we too have hurt God badly through our sin, but He still sent someone our way to show us the way to truth. If we could go back and change some of the awful things we have done, we would. If we could have said things differently, or handled a situation a better way, we would, but we can’t. All we can do is be thankful that God had mercy.

So when we look through the lens of the spirit, we see not what a person has done, we look not at the flesh, but at the spirit of a man. We see what that man might become in and through Christ.

1 Samuel 16:7 NKJV

7 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

In Christ, we have exchanged a fleshly mind for a spiritual mind.

The Old Man For A New Man

2 Corinthians 5:17 NKJV

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.

Lastly, in Christ, we have exchanged the man we used to be for a new man altogether.

Remember what we said earlier… when Christ died, we died; When Christ rose again, we rose again.

We are standing on the other side of the grave. We are new creatures in Him. All things have become new.

2 Corinthians 5:18 NKJV

18 Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation,

This new life we have is all because of God. It is He who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ. We did not bring ourselves unto this new life, He gave it to us. We have been saved by grace through faith. It is in the Holy name of Jesus that we come to the throne of grace.

And because we have been bought with the precious blood of Jesus, it is through Him that this new life is lived.

And in this exchanged life, we are commissioned into ministry. He “has given us the ministry of reconciliation.”

I know this may be a foreign concept to us today, but it is unfortunate that this is the case. Every child of God has been called into ministry. Every child of God is called to share the Gospel. Every child of God is called to share with others what Christ has done in them. All of us.

To be honest, this should come naturally. Once we have experienced the goodness of God, it should not be a problem for us to share that goodness with others. Paul says, “For the love of Christ compels us…”

Now you can’t fake it. If you don’t know God’s love for yourself, you are going to be hardpressed to lead anyone else to the Christ you don’t know yourself.

But “if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.” Part of this new creation is that you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. The presence of God Himself. He is there, leading you through these conversations. It is in His power that people are won, not yours.

This isn’t just any ministry, it is the ministry of reconciliation. We are all called, each and every one of us, to lead others to Christ. To help them see the love of God that we have come to know and cherish.

And let me tell you… there is no greater blessing in all of life, than to see a dear loved one come to know Jesus, as a result of Christ working in and through you. It is one of the most humbling things you will ever experience… that the God of creation used you to help another person come to life in Jesus Christ their Savior. Wow!!!

And that has been placed in all of us.

And the message is simple:

2 Corinthians 5:19 NKJV

19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Here’s the message:

God loves you.

He sent Jesus to die in your place… to bear the punishment of your sin.

If you will believe this, and surrender yourself to Him, your sins will be forgiven, and you will be at peace with God. You will experience a new life in Christ.

It is a very simple message, but it has the most profound meaning. It is the most important message in the world. It is this very message that we have commissioned to share with our loved ones, our neighbors, our co-workers, and even those strangers whom God divinely puts in our paths.

Commitment

The exchanged life seems overwhelming, but that is simply what the devil wants you to believe.

He wants you to think that you can’t be saved. We have already proven from Scripture that Christ died for all… that includes you.

He wants you to believe that you can’t make a difference. We have also seen how that is false as well. Paul was the greatest persecutor of the Church in the first century. God transformed him into the greatest soul-winner that we have written record of.

He wants you to think, that it is all just too much. Being a Christian is too much. No its not, and there’s not a single account of anyone in Scripture who decided to follow Jesus who said that. None of them said, it’s just too much. Matter of fact, what we find is that this exchanged life was so good, that these men went as far as to give their lives for the name of Christ.

The devil will lie to you any way that he can to keep you from doing what you know needs to be done. If you are going to make it to Heaven, you must go through Christ to get there.

But its even more than that. Don’t you want a life here and now that makes a difference… a real difference. A life that leaves a legacy; A life that leaves behind lasting change; A life that sets your family on a new trajectory for generations to come; A life that sets other families on a new trajectory for generations to come; A life that you can be proud of; A life that God is pleased with? Don’t you want that.

It’s yours for the taking, but you must choose Jesus. He is the way, the truth, and the life, and no man comes the Father except through Him.