“And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses”
The sixth result of the work of Christ on the cross is that God forgives us by grace. That is a great and blessed benefit of being born again.
“having forgiven you all trespasses”
The verb “having forgiven” connotes forgiveness as the result of grace or an act of love. It means to bestow a favor unconditionally. The favor bestowed unconditionally here is the remission of debt against God. That is the act of forgiveness (Ephesians 4:32; Colossians 3:13). Forgiveness is God’s merciful act of sovereignty.
The Greek indicates that forgiveness precedes “made alive.” Before we can come alive to God, God must forgive us first (1 John 2:12; Ephesians 1:7; Acts 10:43;13:38,29). The principle is that God cannot exercise grace until he satisfies his righteousness. It is impossible for God to act inconsistently with his character. God cannot pour out his love by maudlin sentimentality.
God forgave our sins at the cross. Because of the cross, God is free to give us eternal life and exercise his grace in time. He is free to do this because Christ satisfied his righteousness by suffering for sins on the cross. Jesus took the judgment or penalty for our sins.
Note that God forgives “all” trespasses, not some. That will enable us to sleep at night. We do not truly rest until we rest in the work of Christ.
PRINCIPLE:
God cannot exercise his grace until he satisfies his righteousness by the death of Christ.
APPLICATION:
We are natural-born sinners. We are sinners by nature, choice, and practice. It is easier to do wrong than right; it is easier to tell a lie than the truth. Unless and until God forgives, the penalty of sin stays on us. Sin separates us from God. The cross of Christ frees us from the penalty of sin. The religions of the earth invent substitutes for salvation by what man does. Not one can take us to heaven because it is impossible to please God other than through the complete payment for our sins. The only full settlement that satisfied God was the death of Christ for all sins of all time.
The crucial consideration for eternal life is to accept God’s way of dealing with our sin– the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ satisfied God’s perfect righteousness. God is free, therefore, to exercise his grace and mercy toward us. Do you trust the cross for eternal life? Do you depend on that as God’s only way to possess the life of God?
