upon mere natures as such. Yet, as our Representative, he bore, in the unity of his divine personality, our nature impersonally (‘‘a true body and a reasonable soul’), in order that he might thus be made vicariously under the law, to the end that, by his purely vicarious obedience, he might “redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. iv. 4, 5). This means necessarily—(a.) That Christ was made under the law, that he did not belong there naturally, but was transferred to that position by an act of divine - sovereignty. (b.) That he was placed there, not for himself, but in owr stead. (c.) That he was made under the law for the purpose of securing for us, not the mere remission of sins, but also the adoption of sons, whereby we became “heirs of God through Christ—o.a Xpiorov” (Gal. iv. 7); all of which is conditioned, not upon suffer- ing, but upon obedience. All that Christ did on earth he did as our Mediator ; and all that he did as Mediator he did in the stead of those for whom he acted as Mediator. Therefore he said (Matt. 11. 15), “ For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness—-7acay dixacoovvyy”-—that is, all that God requires of his
' people.
Only per- fect right- eousness can be the ground of justifica- tion.
IV. The inability of the law to justify resulted from the fact that it necessarily demands perfect obedience ; which the weakness of the flesh, because of sin, makes it impossible for the sinner to satisfy. God remedies the matter by sending his own Son, in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, into our law-place, and execut- ing the penalty upon him, and so condemning sin in the flesh, and also accepting his obedience instead of our _ obedience ; that thus, through our Sponsor, THE RIGHT- EOUSNESS OF THE LAW MIGHT BE FULFILLED IN US (Rom. vill. 3, 4).
The phrase dicaoovyn, or dtcalwpa Tov vomou, is used
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE OBEDIENCE 243
in the New Testanient to express the totality of that cnarrer’ which the law demands as the condition of favour, In —— Adam, before he fell, the righteousness of the law was perfect obedience. In the case of all his descendants since the fall, the righteousness of the law is perfect obedience plus the suffering of the penalty. To justify is to pronounce a man to be just, righteous, dékazos. Righteousness, dccaoovyn, is the character of the dicaros, that in him which satisfies the law. It is that, there- fore, upon which justification proceeds. Moses declares the righteousness which is of the law when he says, “The man which doeth those things shall live by them” (Rom. x. 5). Since the law demands of us perfect obe- dience and the endurance of the penalty, it is perfectly impossible for us to achieve a legal righteousness by our own personal agency. Hence in the Scriptures the “viohteousness of the law” is unfavourably contrasted with the “righteousness of faith” (Rom. x. 5—9); that is, the attempted satisfaction of the demands of the law, made by the sinner in person, is contrasted with the vicarious satisfaction of the same by Christ, which faith apprehends and appropriates. To the same effect our own righteousness is contrasted with God’s righteousness (Rom. ii. 20—26)—that is, our method of satisfying the
law with God’s method: “To declare at this time his righteousness, that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.” “‘ For they being igno-
rant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God” (Rom. x. 3). The grand requirement of the law was perfect obedience as the condition of favour. Obedience, therefore, is of the essence of righteousness, But “ Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom. x. 4). By means of his work “the righteousness of the
CHAPTER XVIII.
Objection of Pisca~ tor and Watson refuted.
244 THE NATURE OF THE ATONEMENT.
law is fulfilled in us” (Rom. viii. 4). We are said to be “made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. v. 21). He is called ‘‘The Lorp our Righteousness” (Jer. xxiii. 6). He is said to be “made unto us wisdom and righteous- ness” (1 Cor. i. 30). Paul declares his desire to “be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” (Phil. iii. 9).