THE LORD’S DEATH BEING FOR GOD
AND HIS RESURRECTION BEING FOR US
Hence, there are these two sides in the Bible. Without the death of the Lord Jesus for us, we would not have been redeemed from our sins. The Bible says that Jesus has died for our sins. But we see that we are still in sins. Although God has finished His side of the work, matters are still unsettled on our side. That is why the Lord Jesus must resurrect before we know that our sins have been forgiven. Death is for God, and resurrection is for us. Death is God’s demand, and resurrection is the sinners’ demand. Death is the solution of sin before God, and resurrection is the removal of doubt in man’s heart. With death, the record of sin is done away with. With resurrection, we realize the proof of forgiveness and a not guilty verdict. Thank the Lord that there is resurrection. What happens when one comes to God and wonders if he is saved or not? Such a one may indeed have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. But he may still wonder if he is really saved. Now before God, the receipt has been issued already. If such a one still wants to doubt, it is because he chooses to doubt. If the Lord Jesus has resurrected, then our problems are solved.
Please make a point to remember these three passages—Romans 4:25, 10:9, and 1 Corinthians 15:17. These three places show us what resurrection has accomplished for us objectively. Up until now, we have seen quite a few things. We have covered sin, the law, grace, God’s righteousness, the work accomplished by the death of the Lord Jesus, and the work accomplished by His resurrection.
A brother has asked the question: What does 1 John 2:2 mean? I would answer in this way. The words "the sins of" in the phrase "the sins of the whole world" in some versions are not in the original text. The Chinese Union Version reads, "And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." If such is indeed the case, then the whole world would have been saved already, for the Lord Jesus has become a propitiation for the sins of the whole world. But in Greek it should read, "And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world."
For a reader of the New Testament to understand the Lord’s redemption and His substitution, he first has to know the distinction between ourselves and our sins, that is, between the sinner and the sins of the sinner. Second, he has to know the difference between all and many. Third, he must know the difference between sin and sins. There are differences between the three pairs of things: ourselves and our sins, the all and the many, and sin and sins.
(Gospel of God, The (2 volume set), Chapter 7, by Watchman Nee)
