Christians often talk about being forgiven, about being “washed clean.” And that’s huge, because Scripture is clear: we’re not clean on our own. We’re sinners. We’ve all sinned. We’ve all earned the death penalty. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom 6:23). So yes, forgiveness matters.
But if we stop there, we miss something even bigger. Jesus didn’t just say we needed to be forgiven; He said the standard for God’s approval is perfection. “Be perfect, as your Father in heaven is perfect” (Matt 5:48). Not “pretty good.” Not “better than average.” Perfect.
That’s a problem. And it requires a solution bigger than simply wiping the slate clean.
Long before Jesus arrived, God promised a Savior. Isaiah described Him as the One on whom God would lay our iniquity (Isa 53:6), the One pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities (Isa 53:5), the One who would become an offering for sin (Isa 53:10). John the Baptist pointed at Jesus and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Peter wrote that Jesus bore our sins in His body on the tree (1 Pet 2:24). Paul said Christ became a curse for us (Gal 3:13).
At the cross, Jesus didn’t just “forget” our sins; He took them.
That’s glorious — but it’s only half the story.
To be perfect as the Father is perfect, we need more than the absence of sin. We need the presence of righteousness. Not just “no bad,” but all the good. And that’s exactly what God provided. Paul writes, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us …”—that’s the part we already know—“… so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Cor 5:21).
Forgiveness removes the guilt. Righteousness supplies the goodness. Both are necessary. Both are given. And both happen in the exchange.
Christians live an exchanged life. Jesus took our sin and gave us His righteousness. He took our death penalty and gave us eternal life. Paul says he was “crucified with Christ” and now lives, but not in his own strength. “It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). He told the Colossians that “Christ in you” is our “hope of glory” (Col 1:27).
At the cross, for all who believe, an exchange took place. He took our sin. He gave us His righteousness. And now He lives in us—ongoing, daily, fully.
Forgiveness is big, but the exchanged life? It’s bigger still. It’s complete, all‑inclusive, not dependent on my strength, and rooted entirely in Him. It’s a mystical union—like a marriage (Eph 5:31–32), only deeper and more profound.
10 comments:
“He [Jesus] took our sin. He gave us His righteousness. And now He lives in us—ongoing, daily, fully.”
That truly is the heart of the Christian faith--not a dry theological precept but the living essence of the Good News of the gospel. In fact, our entire sanctification period--from the point of our regeneration to our arrival in heaven--is spent living out that exchange, as new creatures in Christ. The ramifications of “Christ living in me” are immense--from finding the power to forsake that forgiven sinful behavior to producing fruit of the Spirit, from living for myself to living for the Lord, from despair at my unrighteousness to joy at His. A Great Exchange indeed! God knew exactly what was needed and provided it perfectly.
The more I look, the better the "good news" gets.
I've heard it said that the Fall was necessary in order for us to truly receive the blessing and joy of eternal life. If Adam and Eve had never eaten of the fruit they would have only ever been obedient, doing what was required of them, not earning any merit. Through Christ alone can righteousness be ours. He was not beholden to the Law as we are. His "obedience" wasn't fulfilling the commandments of righteousness, but was righteousness itself. Without that act, we would only be, as you say, a clean slate. But in order to be in the presence of God requires righteousness that mere obedience cannot obtain. This is why we can say that this is the best of all worlds, that the Fall was good for us.
That is an interesting rabbit hole, David. The immediate thought I had is that Adam and Eve were already in God’s presence before the Fall, since the Lord walked and talked with them in the garden (see especially Gen. 3:8). Wouldn’t that have continued if they had not sinned? And didn’t God create them sufficiently righteous (i.e. with no sin nature) for fellowship with Him?
It stands to reason that Adam and Eve had to fall in order for us to know God as we do. I mean, if no one ever needs grace, we'd never experience it. If no one needs mercy, we'd never know what it is. Much of what we know about people is in comparison to other things. If we never experienced pain, we'd never grasp pleasure. If we didn't know how bad the bad news about is about God's wrath against sin, we'd never appreciate the good news of God's forgiveness. Lots of God is only known by our failures and His provision for them.
I don't think Adam and Eve were in the presence of God in the same way that we will enjoy. Clearly there was some amount of separation with their experience of His presence, otherwise why try to hide from someone you already know is present?
Stan, I agree that the contrast of “with and without” is beneficial in general and even crucial in this instance of Paradise Lost, as it were. Still, I cannot discount the special communion that Adam and Eve enjoyed with the Lord before the Fall. They were experiencing God’s grace from the start through harmonious existence with Him, nature, and each other. I concur that we see God’s grace even moreso after the Fall--in His redemptive plan of salvation--and in that we can truly rejoice.
David, I can’t speculate on how their experience compares with what we’ll enjoy, but neither can I assume a great difference in communion with the Lord for each scenario (afterall, God’s grace is provided in the perfect, full measure in which it is needed). Adam and Eve tried (in vain) to hide due to their shame and guilt in His presence--very much in light of that perfect fellowship with the Lord, as I see it. Things changed after the Fall, of course, but originally there was perfect and gracious harmony.
I’m playing devil’s advocate here, following the thoughts expressed above: If the aftermath of the Fall showcases God’s grace and mercy like nothing else can and brings Him untold glory, is it not then a good thing? And if the Fall was a good thing, why would God be wrathful about it?
Actually, Lorna, yes, I believe the Fall was good in the same sense that Joseph told his brothers, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good." In the same way that Christ would not have been crucified if Judas Iscariot hadn't betrayed Him. In the same way that EVERYTHING that happens is good in God's hands. When Jesus spoke of Judas's betrayal, He said it had been predetermined, "but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!" (Luke 22:22).
Lorna, I think Revelation explains that our relationship with God will be in a different realm than Adam and Eve ever could have had sans the Fall. In the New Earth we are told that there will be no sun. It seems odd at first, but what need do we have of the sun when we will be basking in the shekinah glory of God at all times.
As for the Fall being a good thing, the act itself was not good, but it was part of the good plan God had. Redemption wasn't plan B to God. We even say that the ultimate evil of executing the incarnate Lord was ultimately a good thing. The act perpetuated wasn't good, but it was absolutely part of God's good plan.
And while it is true that Adam and Eve experienced God's grace simply by existing, they did not experience His mercy until the Fall.
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