What Is Imputation--Part 2

In the study of imputation, certain parallels must be avoided. For example, the parallel between the imputation of Adam’s sin to us and the imputation of the sins of all the elect to Christ cannot be the same. It can never be said that in the imputation of our sins to Jesus Christ there was any involvement on His part with the corruption of sin. No depravity touched Christ’s holy Person. Christ’s holiness is the foundation of Christianity, and to compromise here is to abandon Christianity.

The truth concerning Jesus Christ as presented in the New Testament is deep, living, and infinite. Christ was conceived thirty years before Peter’s confession. He was conceived in the womb of the virgin Mary before He was conceived in the mind of Peter. The conception in the mind is as necessary to salvation as the conception in nature. It is no wonder that Peter made a great statement in Matthew 16:16—“Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (NASB). “And Jesus answered and said to him, Blessed are you, Simon Barjona, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 16:17 NASB). The Holy Spirit is the Author of both conceptions, not only the conception of Christ in the womb of Mary, but also in nature and mind. Since the Holy Spirit could not conceive a peccable Jesus Christ in the womb of Mary, He will not conceive a peccable Christ in the mind of a person He regenerates.

God’s judgment has come upon man because of what he is, what he has done, and what he has not done. Therefore, Christ must die for what man is, for what he has done, and for what he has not done. However, if Jesus Christ could have sinned, He would have been disqualified. Even His Old Testament type had to be unblemished—“Your Lamb shall be an unblemished male a year old…” (Ex. 12:5 NASB). This should be enough to convince any Christian how blasphemous the doctrine of peccability really is in the sight of a Holy God who cannot look on wickedness with favor. “Thine eyes are too pure to approve evil, And Thou canst not look on wickedness with favor. Why dost Thou look with favor On those who deal treacherously? Why art Thou silent when the wicked swallowed up Those more righteous than they?” (Hab. 1:13 NASB).

Sin-bearing is more than a mere penal satisfaction. Christ was made sin for the elect (II Cor. 5:21), made a curse for them (Gal. 3:13), and bore their sins (I Pet. 2:24). Scripture also teaches that Christ knew no sin (II Cor. 5:21), committed no sin (I Pet. 2:22), and in Him is no sin (I John 3:5). Looking at these Scriptures drives Christians to the Father who appointed His Son to execute His eternal purpose, fulfill His prophecies, and redeem the elect. Therefore, the following points must be made:

1. Jesus Christ who knew no sin was made sin for the elect who did not know the righteousness of God. This was in order that the elect might be made righteous in Him. The term “made sin” is viewed in the abstract (conceived apart from reality) rather than the concrete. The Christ who “knew no sin” was the Person who became a representative of sin. Who made Christ to be sin or a sin offering? Isaiah gives the answer—“But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand” (Is. 53:10 NASB). Peter’s famous sermon on the day of Pentecost states, “Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified” (Acts 2:36 NASB). The verb “has made” is poieo, meaning to make, accomplish, perform, declare, or appoint. Christ was appointed by the Father to suffer as a sinner, even though He was absolutely perfect. Imputation does not mean transference of character. Therefore, the Father made Christ to be sin for the elect not by perpetration (to commit a crime), but by imputation (placed on Christ’s account). Jesus Christ became the sin offering on behalf of the elect of God (I Pet. 2:24; Is. 53:6; II Cor. 5:21). That took place at Christ’s first coming. Christ’s second coming will be without a sin offering. “So Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, shall appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him” (Heb. 9:28 NASB). This verse means without any reference to judgment for sin for the elect. Sin was judged for the sheep at Calvary. Christ’s second coming will not be related to His work of redemption at Calvary, but it will be for the consummation of what He began at His first coming.

2. Christ bore our sins at Calvary that we might bear the marks of Christ. Paul said, “From now on let no one cause trouble for me, for I bear on my body the brand-marks of Jesus” (Gal. 6:17 NASB). (See II Cor. 11:23-29.) Immediately after Paul’s conversion, he was told that he would suffer for Christ’s sake. “For I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake” (Acts 9:16 NASB). Furthermore, Scripture declares, “And indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (II Tim. 3:12 NASB). The degree of persecution is measured by the degree of one’s godly life.

3. The Son of God was made the Son of Man in order that some of the sons of men could become the sons of God. The Son of God who became the Son of Man could not be tempted. Temptation suggests inward depravity as the advantage of succumbing to outward attraction. Temptation is finite, and that which is finite cannot overcome the infinite. Therefore, the infinite Savior could never be overcome by temptation. Satan thought he was tempting Christ, but Christ could not be tempted. “Let no one say when he is tempted, I am being tempted by God; for God cannot be tempted by evil, and He himself does not tempt any one” (James 1:13 NASB). Temptation relies on deception. Finite intelligence can be deceived, but infinite intelligence cannot be deceived. There is a difference between being unknowingly deceived and being knowingly deceived. Could Christ be unknowingly deceived? To say Christ could be tempted denies that He is God. His holiness is more than sinlessness. It is positive virtue. The Father sent “…His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3 NASB). Notice the wording—“the likeness of sinful flesh” not “sinful flesh.”

4. Christ took the elect’s misery in order that they might take His glory. The reign of death between Adam and Moses was because of the nature of Adam’s sin and not from transgressing Moses’ law. It was not from the sin of practice, but the sin of nature that sin reigned. Although sin was in the world, Paul was stressing the nature of sin by immediate imputation. Law existed before Moses, but it had not been formulated as it was at Sinai. In Romans 5:15-19, the reign of sin, condemnation, and death are revealed. Furthermore, the reign of righteousness, justification, and life are manifested. All men were in Adam when he disobeyed, but all men were not in Christ when He obeyed. All men fell in Adam. Some men are redeemed in Christ. Union in Adam is natural. Union in Christ is spiritual. Union in Adam is universal. Union in Christ is particular because of election. Finally, in Romans 5:20-21, Paul takes us from the misery of sin increasing to grace abounding all the more.

5. The Divine Logos was born of a woman in order that we might experience the effects of His righteousness in being born of God. As Mary had nothing to do with her pregnancy, the chosen ones of God have nothing to do with their being born of God. It is interesting to note that the verb gennao is used in the passive voice in both Mary’s conception (Matt. 1:20; Luke 2:21) and in the chosen sinner’s being born of the Spirit (John 3:8) or of God (I John 5:1, 4, 18).

6. Christ suffered the effects of our sins that we might experience the effects of His righteousness. The punishment Christ suffered was the very punishment the elect deserved. In fact, it was their punishment.

7. Christ was made sin by imputation that the elect might be made righteous by imputation. The imputation of the sins of the elect to Christ does not mean that Christ was corrupted by the infusion of their corrupt nature into His holy nature. In the case of the elect’s sins being imputed to Christ, the imputation had to be judicial because Christ was not included with the sins of men. However, in the case of Adam’s sin to his posterity, the imputation was real. We were involved in Adam’s sin.

Some important questions are in order:

1. What does it mean for the absolutely holy Christ to be made sin? It means that the eternal Son of God was appointed by the Father to bear sin’s penalty on behalf of His chosen ones. “And He Himself bore [anaphero, to bring or take up] our sins in His body on the cross [xulon, tree or cross], that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls” (I Pet. 2:24, 25 NASB).

2. How did Paul guard against the idea that Christ was made a sinner? In II Corinthians 5:21, the apostle added, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin…” (NASB). James said, “…God cannot be tempted by evil…” (James 1:13 NASB). Christ said to the Jews who were unable to answer His questions, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? He who is of God hears the words of God; for this reason you do not hear them, because you are not of God. The Jews answered and said to Him, Do we not say rightly that You are a Samaritan and have a demon?” (John 8:46-48 NASB). The verb elegcho means to convict, convince, or prove guilty. The word means more than to be accused of sin. It is not who of you convicts Christ of “sinning,” but who of you convicts Him of “sin”? The inherent purity of Christ could not be disproved by perjured witnesses to the satisfaction of a prejudiced court. Therefore, the Christian does not demand further documentary evidence of a truth so explicitly stated and so implicitly believed. The One who knew not sin became a representative of imputed sin on behalf of the elect.

3. What is meant by the words “on our behalf” (II Cor. 5:21 NASB)? The Greek text reads huper hemon. The preposition huper is the genitive of advantage. It refers to something done on behalf of the elect. Therefore, the external Father made His eternal Son a representative of sin for those He chose in Christ before the foundation of the world.

4. What was the object of Christ being made sin? It was that we might be constituted righteous by “imputed” righteousness and made righteous in time by “imparted” righteousness.

5. What is meant by “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (II Cor. 5:21 NASB)? We become in Christ what He was for us at Calvary. The Father made Christ to be sin for the elect by imputation. Christ died as a sinner even though He did not sin. He was able to suffer and die representatively because He took on Himself the seed of Abraham (Heb. 2:14-16).

6. What is meant by “the righteousness of God”? It means that which alone satisfies God’s holy demands. The righteousness of God is the righteousness of Christ which He effected by His death. It had been typified and prophesied in the Old Testament, but it was not revealed historically until Calvary. The righteous character of God provided a righteousness in the death of Christ that does not reflect on His righteous character.

7. What is the difference between poieo and ginomai in II Corinthians 5:21? The verb poieo is used several ways in the New Testament—make, cause, perform, provide, and appoint. The verb ginomai is translated become, be, come into being, and enter a new mode of existing. In II Corinthians 5:21, Christ was “appointed” a sin offering on behalf of the elect. This was in order that the elect may become—enter a new mode of existing—the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. The elect becoming righteous in Christ cannot be God’s inherent righteousness. The righteousness which we obtain through grace even when perfected in heaven is similar to, but not identical with, God’s inherent righteousness. One is the unaltered character of God, but the other is the communicated character by the Spirit to the chosen in Christ.