The Wednesday Word ~ 27 December, 2023 A.D.

 The Gospel and the Believer. Part 5

by D. G. Miles McKee 
“Just as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous" (Romans 5:19). Ruin and redemption were the result of the actions of two men, Adam and Christ.  They were our representatives, Strictly speaking, ruin and redemption had nothing to do with our experience!  We were neither there in the Garden when Adam ruined us nor were we there at Calvary when Jesus rescued us. Christ Jesus is now our new representative man.  He is the last Adam (1 Corinthians 15:25) and the second man (1 Corinthians 15:27). When Jesus lived and died He did so for us. All that He accomplished is now reckoned to us!  What a marvelous inheritance we have in Christ Jesus!  Just as our rejection before God was based upon the behaviour of one man, Adam, so our acceptance before God now depends on another man, Jesus! The big question, therefore, is, not whether we have had this or that experience, but rather, are we in Adam or in Christ? Which man is our representative, Adam or Christ? Let me explain this matter of representation a little further! Those who know me know I love to watch a good rugby match.  When Ireland or Ulster, (the province where I am from), win at rugby I have no problem declaring, “We won.”  But wait a minute, how could I possibly say; “We won?” I didn’t train or prepare myself to run around the rugby field. I didn’t go to the gym and sweat and put myself through the rigors of training. But I was able to say; “We won”. So let me ask you…had I gone mad when I said, “We won.” Not a bit of me, for when Ireland or Ulster play rugby, they represent me.  When they win, I win.  Just so, when Christ Jesus came to this earth and stepped into this ‘vale of tears’ He did so on our behalf and in our name. He won the day and gained our victory. By His death, He put away sin. (Hebrews 10:26).He defeated Satan. (John 16:11).He abolished death. (2 Timothy1:10).He perfected His people forever. (Hebrews 10:14).He brought in everlasting righteousness. (Daniel 9:24). When we look at Christ’s marvelous triumph we can confidently say, “We won.” As believers, we now can leave the tangled mess that is ‘us’ and occupy ourselves with the glory of God in Jesus Christ. As He lived, we lived, as He died we died, as He rose from the dead we rose from the dead. It is a second-rate and sub-standard Christianity that occupies itself with its own experience. Yet some pastors make their people into religious subjectivists by keeping them focused on themselves and not on the exalted Christ of the Gospel. In the Gospel, the good news from heaven has Christ Jesus as the centre!  Christ Jesus must, therefore, be the centre of His church.And that’s the Gospel Truth!

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