Communion: The human / divine exchange
This week for communion I want to read a passage from Romans that
talks about the great human and divine exchange that took place when
Christ came and died on the cross for us. It has been on my heart to
remind us of the standing we have with God because of Jesus’ work.
Romans 5:10-21
Romans 5:10-21 - For since our friendship with
God was restored by the death of His Son while we were still His
enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of His Son. 11 So
now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because
our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God. 12 When Adam sinned,
sin entered the world. Adam's sin brought death, so death spread to
everyone, for everyone sinned. 13 Yes, people sinned even before the law
was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any
law to break. 14 Still, everyone died--from the time of Adam to the time
of Moses--even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God,
as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was
yet to come. 15 But there is a great difference between Adam's sin and
God's gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to
many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of
forgiveness to many through this other Man, Jesus Christ. 16 And the
result of God's gracious gift is very different from the result of that
one man's sin. For Adam's sin led to condemnation, but God's free gift
leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of
many sins. 17 For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule
over many. But even greater is God's wonderful grace and His gift of
righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and
death through this one Man, Jesus Christ. 18 Yes, Adam's one sin brings
condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings
a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one
person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person
obeyed God, many will be made righteous. 20 God's law was given so that
all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and
more, God's wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin
ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God's wonderful
grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in
eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
In this passage, we
see the human and Divine exchange. Initially when Adam sinned, his sin
was passed on to all members of the human race. As a result, the Bible
tells us that we have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God
(Romans 3:23). When Jesus came into the world and died on the cross. The
sin of the whole world, past, present and future was placed on Him. That
includes my sin and your sin. Our sin was imputed to Christ and He paid
the price for it. He took our punishment.
Now those who have
accepted what Jesus has done for them and confessed Jesus and their Lord
and Saviour, have had Christ’s righteousness imputed or legally
transferred to them. Though we still occasionally sin and confess our
sin to God when we do, God sees us as having the righteousness of
Christ.
As today’s reading says, “18 Yes, Adam's one sin brings
condemnation for everyone, but Christ's one act of righteousness brings
a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one
person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person
obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”
Today as we take
communion I want us all to be reminded that we have the righteousness of
Christ. We have right standing with God because of Jesus’ death on the
cross for our sin. He paid the price so we could be right with God.
Let us give thanks.
By Dave Quinn
Founder of PASSIONAustralia.org
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