An Already Accomplished Reality

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: (2 Cor 5:14)

Christ died for all men (Rom. 5:8). What did His death for all accomplish? It put all to death, because, we judge thus that if one died for all, all died. The apostle Paul refuses to limit the gospel to the realm of theory or legal questions. He accepts the implications of Christ’s death as a practical, real experience which literally affects the lives of all men. We “judge thus,” he says. Are we to believe what is not true? Certainly not. We judge thus, only because it is true. (Rom. 6:11)

But the question is, why are not all men dead (to self) if all died? It is because the experience of death is in one person. It is not in men outside of Christ. Christ did not provide death and life as benefits disconnected from Himself. He died, He lives. Life and death are in Him and nowhere else. Only in Him may they be experienced. Any man who is in Christ is a new creature (2 Cor. 5:17), but only in Christ.

The Lord laid the sin of all the world upon Christ (Isa. 53:6), Why then do we still find sin dominating the experience of even Christians? As a result of this fact, our deliverance from sin has been seen by many as mainly a legal issue where Christ took the penalty of our sins, but leaves us to struggle still against the power of those sins. We believe in a legal deliverance but not a practical deliverance. Did He truly take our sins, or did He take only the penalty for them? One single thing stands in the way of our experiencing the reality of this truth: Do we believe in Christ? Do we believe in what God has done in His Son?

But is faith really so critical? Can the work of Christ, already accomplished for all men, fail to be an effective reality simply because men will not believe it? Does the efficacy of God’s work for man depend so much on man’s response? This is exactly what the Scriptures tell us in many places. Because of unbelief men have failed to benefit from an already finished work. They refuse to believe what is true, and therefore for them, the truth is no better than fiction.

On God’s part, everything is finished. It is over. We are already reconciled to Him (2 Cor. 5:18). Nothing stands in the way of our being accepted by God. Our sins no longer exist as far as He is concerned. Pure grace has cancelled the debt and provided life. But we still need to be reconciled to God by accepting His reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:20). Every barrier has already been removed, yet if we do not believe, these obstacles still remain in our minds and effectively keep us away from God and all these blessings. (John 3:18)