EVERY BELIEVER IS BLEST WITH ALL SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN CHRIST. In Rom. 3:25 the words"through faith in His blood" may seem to some to convey the thought that besides faith in Christ, or with it, one must appropriate for oneself the value of His blood in order to be justified; and therefore that one who believes on Christ, but has not yet realized for his own soul the value of the blood of Christ, though born again is not yet justified; whatever other Christian blessings he may lack besides-in the minds of those who so reason.
Is this the doctrine of Scripture ? We are happy to think that it is not, but rather that we have the precious assurance, from Scripture, that every believer on Christ is justified and possessed of all Christian blessings:he needs only, by teaching, to be introduced into the enjoyment of the things that are his. That is a very different thing, and full of the joy of grace.
"Through faith in His blood" is translated in the Revised Version '' through faith, by His blood;" "with," or "in His blood," in a foot-note, giving thus the preference to "by His blood;" and the same phrase is so translated in Heb. 10:19:"boldness . . . by the blood of Jesus"-"in" it, literally-in the effect and value of it-that is, by it.
Thus we may say "through faith" is, as it were, a thought by itself, giving the principle on which we are justified; and then "by His blood" gives the ground. Afterwards follows the application-" that He might be just and the Justifier of him which believeth in Jesus," but the application is briefly stated. Is not the prominent teaching in Rom. 3:about the ground of acceptance, while in Rom. 4:is more prominently the application? so that "by His blood" in Rom. 3:, in the portion where it is found, would be in harmony with the subject-the ground on which God can justify the sinner. Rom. 3:thus reminds of the Lord's lot in Lev. 16:, the goat that was slain and its blood put upon the mercy-seat. For the people's lot, the sins of the people were confessed upon the head of the scape-goat, suggesting to us the application of Rom. 4:, " He was delivered for our offences.; " and we know He was "raised again for our justification." Therefore Rom. 3:does not raise the question or suggest the thought of the believer's realization of the value of the blood of Christ, but rather of the value of that blood before God, who, because of it, is just in justifying "him that believeth in Jesus." And this concluding statement confirms what has been said. The believer "in Jesus" is justified. His apprehensions and appropriations may or may not be clear and bright, but if a believer "in Jesus" he is justified. Is not that the teaching of Scripture, and of this scripture before us ?
It may be said, How do we know that any one is justified if they are not assured as to it themselves? But the point is, What does Scripture teach ?Happily for us, we can be assured ourselves, and we can assure others that, if believers in Jesus, we are justified. Scripture does not teach that one who believes on Jesus will at once know all he possesses, nor that he must appropriate those blessings that he may have them, which would, of course, be confusion and an impossibility, for I must be assured that a thing is mine to enjoy it, but it leads us by teaching into the enjoyment of what is ours, of what are our common possessions in Christ. Therefore the assurance of justification and of the present possession of eternal life, and of a new-creation existence in Christ, is taught the believer by the Word. That he needs to be taught it is plain, because he is taught it. And this corresponds with experience plainly, for every believer has to be led on from doubts and fears and bondage into peace and liberty by the truth; but that truth simply assures him of what is already his in Christ, Scripture does not teach, therefore, that one may be a believer on Christ and yet lack justification, or lack being "in Christ," or lack the indwelling of the Spirit, until he grasps the truth as to these things; but it assures all believers on Christ that all these things are theirs, and ministers them to us all for our soul's enjoyment and establishing.
Thus' we may turn away from ourselves to God, from earth to heaven, from poor human experience for a foundation, to Christ in the glory of God. We have all in Him, and we can rejoice that these blessings are common to all who are "in Christ;" and "in Christ" all are who have life, who are born
again; for such are "alive unto God in Christ Jesus."
And "all who call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ" (i Cor. 1:2) are told "your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit" (i Cor. 6:19). The believer, the first moment of his conversion, the first moment of life, is one who calls on the name of the Lord.
It is true that it is one who is already born again who receives the Spirit to dwell in his body; but no delay in that reception is supposed, and therefore all believers-according to the doctrine of Scripture- are spoken of as not only born again, but as indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
Let us rejoice afresh and unhinderedly in the grace of our God and in the fulness of blessings we have in Christ, and that we can freely minister these things to all believers as their common and inalienable possessions in Christ. Thus, doubts and legal shadows are scattered by the light. But we need to use "the sword of the Spirit" and to "fight the good fight of faith," and to walk in the truth, if we would hold it fast.
Justification, life in Christ, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (by which we share in the baptism of the Spirit-for "by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body"), risen with Christ, seated in Him in heavenly places-none of these blessings are things to be attained to by the believer, to be possessed. They are his from the first, and therefore to be enjoyed. Satan would have us make a merit of attaining these things, and so get us to rob God of glory and our own 'souls of blessing; but the Word assures us of our possessions, that by it-by the Word-we may enjoy our goodly portion, and be built up in the knowledge of the Lord.
Why is it so hard for us to receive the fulness of God's grace in Christ ?-why do we allow Satan to hinder us thus? "All things are yours." Let us freely join in the word of praise, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus " (Eph. 1:3).
Has He, then, so blest us, or has He not ? How can we repeat this verse if He has not ? If He has, let us repeat it with the heart, and never again doubt it ? Then we will be free to enjoy the land that flows with milk and honey, and to feed upon the old corn of the land, which is Christ, who came from heaven and has gone back to heaven, and who is coming to take us to be where He is, and to behold the glory which He had with the Father before the world was (John 17:24, 25).
That we have all things in Christ, and that nothing is left us but to rejoice, seems too much-too good to be true; but let us note that, far from being an easy path for self-indulgence and self-complacency, it is just when we submit to grace, and rejoice in the Lord, that we begin our proper experience in the school of God. He must deal with us, and chasten and rebuke, but through all He will lead the soul into unthought-of joy in Himself, and new delights in His word and ways. Thus there is the brightening prospect of Phil. 3:, and the song of praise from the hilltops of the truth of the Ephesian and Colossian epistles, and of all Scripture. E. S. L.