Good morning. This morning's
study, we'll be starting with our morning scripture reading,
which if you would like to follow along as we read, it will be
coming from Philippians chapter three, verses one to nine. We
will be starting our morning study there, but we will also
be looking at a lot of scripture as we explore the source of our
righteousness, what it is, what it provides, and how it ties
into other very important doctrines, such as justification, redemption,
salvation, substitution, imputation, reconciliation, and so many other
elements of our relationship with God. It won't be as much
as it sounds like, we won't go into all of them, but you will
see them brought out through the different readings that we
will be spending some time in. My intent and my hope is to look
at four different waypoints, if you will, points that hopefully
make clear the theme of this study which I have titled The
Great Exchange. In the first of these we will
be looking at the imputation of righteousness as it's presented
to us in a letter by Paul to the saints in Philippi. Philippians
3 verses 1 to 9 is a good first passage of scripture to look
at because the Apostle Paul shines so much light on the subject
of his righteousness. He reveals to us his viewpoint
on two different types of righteousness he has experienced. One, a false
righteousness born out of works and a stringent alliance to the
law. And then the true righteousness,
the righteousness of Christ as a grace from our Lord and free
from the law. So let's begin our morning reading
and then we will start applying it to our study for today. So
Philippians 3, 1 through 9 reads, I further, my brothers and sisters,
rejoice in the Lord. It is no trouble for me to write
the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you. Watch out for those dogs, those
evildoers, those manipulators of the flesh. For it is we who
are in circumcision, we who serve God by His Spirit, who boast
in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh, though
I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks
they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more. Circumcised
on the eighth day of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin,
a Hebrew of Hebrews. In regard to the law, a Pharisee. As for zeal, persecuting the
church. As for righteousness, based on
the law, faultless. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted lost for Christ. Yea, doubtless, and I
count all things but lost for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things and do count them but done. That I may win Christ
and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that
comes from the law, but that which is through faith of Christ,
the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. Paul begins by encouraging those
he has written the letter to rejoice in the Lord. He reminds
them that salvation comes through Christ, not by following Jewish
customs wrapped up in the law. He especially speaks of those
mutilators of the flesh, those who want to preach false doctrines
and harken back to the law, adding legalism on top of the gospel. Circumcision often is used as
a metaphor for the Old Testament law. What Paul is bringing out
is futility of circumcision of the flesh and falling back into
the law, which provides no true righteousness. The mixing of
the law and the gospel is mutilation of the flesh brought about by
dogs and evildoers That is not mincing words. He then turns
to the gospel and proclaims that we do not stake our salvation
on following the law in all its demands, but we look to Christ
and his completed works done on our behalf. Our righteousness
is not based on our works, but our salvation in Christ. He goes on to speak of the day
of his own circumcision on the eighth day as he required, as
was required by law, and how he became known as a Hebrew of
Hebrews, a Pharisee of Pharisees, and to steal a title from a well-known
movie, he was like the top gun. He was zealous as a persecutor
of the church, his righteousness based on the law, again, faultless. But then he had an event which
brought about a new confession from him, which we read starting
here at verse seven. But what things were gained to
me, those I counted lost for Christ, yea, doubtless, and I
count all things but lost, for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but done, that I may win Christ. Paul had a change in life. It
all began on the road to Damascus, where he was captured, as you
might say, as he puts it in Galatians, But when it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace
to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the
heathen, immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. He
had an awakening, you might say, as it pleased God at that very
time to reveal the Son in him. By God's grace, he was soon convinced
that all he had gained in his former life was now a loss, and
what he had gained in Christ was all that mattered to him
from then on. And by God's grace, he was now
convinced of what we read in verse nine, found in him, not
having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law,
but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness
that comes from God on the basis of faith. Paul completely disavowed
the righteousness he had held so dear, the self-righteousness
that he had gained from the law. Now he celebrates the imputed
righteousness of Christ, the righteousness from God which
is a gift from above, free from the law. His ministry then changed
to preaching that faith alone saves, and fellowship with Christ
is all that truly matters. Turn in your Bibles to Romans
3 as we continue to look at more scripture that pertains to this
imputed righteousness. As we are turning there, you
might ask, just what is imputed righteousness? It's when we are
completely devoid of something and have no way of earning it,
no way of buying it, no way of stealing it. the very state we
are in when it comes to righteousness. We have no inherent righteousness
of our own. It comes from God, clothing us
by imputing, or another way to say it, transferring or crediting
us with the righteousness of Christ. In the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus says to all those listening that in order to enter
into the kingdom of heaven, their righteousness must exceed that
of the Pharisees. who were the experts and had
all knowledge of the law. Even the Pharisees, as expert
in the laws they were, could not obtain the righteousness
needed to enter into the kingdom. It only comes from God's imputing
or crediting one with his righteousness. In Romans 3 verse 21-26 we read
this, But now, apart from the law, the righteousness of God
has been made known, to which the law and prophets testify. This righteousness is given through
faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference
between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fallen short
of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented
Christ to be a propitiation through the shedding of his blood to
be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his
righteousness because in his forbearance he had left the sins
committed beforehand unpunished. He did it to demonstrate his
righteousness at the present time so as to be just and the
one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus. Paul tells us
what the real purpose of the Law and the Prophets was. They
were intended to testify of Christ, and according to Paul in Galatians
3, as a schoolmaster to lead us unto Christ and to testify
of His righteousness. So not only do we see a continuation
of this righteousness being credited to all, His elect in verse 22,
we also see some other key words come into play. We are told in
verse 24, for example, that we are justified freely, that we
have redemption in Christ, and we see in verse 25 Christ as
our propitiation through the shedding of His blood. That is
He. By the shedding of His blood
is our atoning sacrifice. These all are equally important
in the whole plan of salvation. They must all be there or we
literally have none of it. For example, Without propitiation,
we have no redemption. Without redemption, we have no
justification. And without justification, we
have no righteousness, and so on. We also see in this passage
that his imputed righteousness reaches through all of time.
No generation is left out. And just as a side note, speaking
of justification, can you imagine being made to stand before a
judge guilty of a series of crimes and have as your advocate, your
brother. And then have that brother say
to the judge, father, this saint is spotless. He has no sin. And then you realize that your
brother, the advocate, just called your judge father. So that means
the judge is your father. Yes, brothers and sisters, that
is how it works. Christ is our advocate, God is
the judge, and we call him Abba Father. Our imputed righteousness
comes to us from God, the Father who loved us. His children from
before the foundation of the world, our salvation was planned
and set in stone from the time he wrote our names down in the
Lamb's Book of Life, kept in heaven from eternity. I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. No one will snatch
them out of my hand. My Father who has given to me
is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of
my Father's hand. I and the Father are one. This
is our Advocate in Heaven speaking for us. Oh, what wondrous grace! Waypoints 2 and 3 I am presenting
together because they are so closely linked by Christ's obedience
to the Father and how it all ties into Christ's atonement
or propitiation for our sins. Both are the result of his complete
adherence to the law and all its requirements. The key lesson
here is that the righteousness imputed to those who believe
is Christ's earned righteousness. Now what is meant by earned righteousness? It's the righteousness he acquired
by his perfect obedience to the Father while he dwelt among us
men, tempted in every way, but avoided sin. He has been eternally
righteous, but while here on earth, he had to be made like
them, fully human in every way in order that he might become
a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God to make
atonement for the sins of the people. That's Hebrews 2.17. That verse shows us how much
the atonement is tied into that perfect obedience. Therefore
the perfect sacrifice for the atonement of our sins. Christ's
obedience is well documented throughout the New Testament.
Let's turn to John chapter 8 verses 28 through 30. We will take a
quick look at these verses and a few others to see how the obedience
of the Son to the Father was so important to the never-in-doubt
success of the plan of salvation drawn up in the Council Halls
of Eternity. The Son needed to be like those
He was dwelling with on earth, but without sin. Because if He
had gone against the Father's will, even once, He would just
be another Adam. God's requirement was that sacrifice
must be sinless, without spot or blemish. With just one trespass
of the law, Jesus would no longer have fit that requirement. The
trespass of one law makes you guilty of them all. Therefore,
he could not then be a sacrifice for the sins of the people. We
would still be guilty of all our sin, since no propitiation
would have been possible. But Christ's obedience prevailed,
and He said this in John 8. John 8, 28-30, So Jesus said
to them, When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will
know that I am He, and that I do nothing on My own authority.
But speak just as the Father taught Me, and He who sent Me
is with Me. He has not left Me alone, for
I always do the things that are pleasing to Him. Christ, answering
those who refused to believe Him, referred to His upcoming
crucifixion, saying that afterward they will know that He is who
He says He is, one and only Son of God. He says He does nothing
on His own volition or whim, but does as the Father has taught
Him, and for that the Father has not left Him, unlike the
rest of natural mankind who, because of the fall, are separated
from God. Christ being humble, servant
to the Father, always pleased the Father. Let's return back
to Philippians, but this time to chapter 2, and we'll begin
at verse 5. What we'll be looking at is a
reaffirming of Jesus' statement back in John about doing nothing
by His own authority, but only doing what pleased the Father.
In other words, perfect obedience. Philippians 2, 5-11, in your relationships with one
another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus, who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to
be used for his own advantage. Rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant. Being made in human
likeness and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death. even death on a cross. Therefore
God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that
is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee
should bow in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every
tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. It is clear that Christ was an
obedient humble servant Even though being God himself, he
did not consider equality something to pursue, but instead took on
the role of an obedient, humble servant. Being in appearance
as man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death, even
death on a cross. He was rewarded for that, but
we will look at that later. It is important to note, though,
that he was made in human likeness and appeared in every way to
be a man, but why? What was the purpose? Let's look
at a couple of verses to see the answer. Returning for just
a second to Hebrews 2, which has verse 17 that we referenced
earlier, we will now be seeing it with more context, which will
make its importance even clearer. Hebrews 2.14, since the children
have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity, so
that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the
power of death, that is, the devil, and free those who all
their lives were held in slavery by their fear of death. But surely
it is not angels he helps, but Abraham's descendants. For this
reason he had to be made like them, fully himself in every
way to make atonement for the sins of the people. Because he
himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those
who are being tempted. So this is the reason he had
to be made like them, human in every way, to make atonement
for the sins of the people. The writer of Hebrews adds to
this thought a little farther in chapter four, verse 15, where
he includes four very important words to what we have just read.
For we do not have a priest who is unable to sympathize with
our weaknesses, but we have one who is tempted in every way that
we are, yet was without sin. This verse and those four words,
yet was without sin, are going to be important to remember as
we continue to the conclusion of the study. Looking at these
last few readings, we do see the perfect obedience of the
Son, even unto death. And in that death and resurrection,
he was victorious over sin, death, and the devil himself, bringing
freedom to all his elect, Abraham's true descendants, the children
of the promise. He was fully human in every way,
made to suffer temptations in every way. But again, those four
words, yet was without sin. He was the obedient son, made
perfect through his trials, sent from heaven with an assignment
to redeem the elect of God by dying for their sins. And he
was found worthy for that assignment. Several references to Christ's
atonement or propitiation were also presented by these readings.
As mentioned, he was sent from heaven with an assignment to
redeem the elect of God by dying for their sins. We read in verse
17, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high
priest in service to God to make atonement, propitiation for the
sins of the people. A merciful and faithful high
priest in service to God to make atonement for the sins of his
people. Again, very much a servant to God. A quick reading from
1 John 4, Verses 9, 10, and then 14 helps us focus on God's specific
purpose for the sending of his son. In this was manifested the
love of God toward us. He sent his one and only son
into the world that we might live through him. Herein is love,
not that we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son
to be the propitiation for our sin. And then verse 14, and we
have seen and do testify that the father sent the son to the
savior of the world. God sent his son for a very definite
purpose that was designed and carried out in the council halls
of eternity in heaven itself. Then manifested on earth when
he sent his son so that number one, we might live through him.
Two, to be the propitiation for our sins And number three, he
sent his son to be the savior of the world. He was sent to
redeem his people from their sins. Just a couple more verses
dealing with this propitiation for our sins. We return to Isaiah
53 verses 10 through 12. If you would like to turn there,
this of course is one of the most well-known, most preached
on chapters in the Bible. It is an Old Testament telling
of the old, old story of Christ's suffering by way of the crucifixion
and being a propitiation for our sins. These last three verses
of the chapter deal with the crucifixion and the suffering
of Christ while he was suffering for our sake. They also speak
to the rewards mentioned earlier when reading from Philippians
2, verse 11, which I said we would address later here in the
study. So picking up here in Isaiah
53, verse 10, Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and
cause him to suffer. And though the Lord makes his
life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong
his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered, he shall see the travail of his soul and
shall be satisfied. By his knowledge, my righteous
servant will justify many. He will bear their iniquities
therefore I will give him a portion among the great and he will divide
the spoils with the strong because he poured out his life unto death
and was numbered with the transgressors for he bore the sin of many and
made intercession for the transgressors. This brings to mind a hymn that
I became acquainted with just recently that I will be referring
to again later as we come to the conclusion of this morning's
study. But this particular verse fits perfectly here with the
verses we just read, which from what I can see is why this song
was written. It goes like this. His robes
for mine, God's justice is appeased. Jesus is crushed, and thus the
Father's pleased. Christ drank God's wrath on sin,
then cried, "'Tis done, sin's wages paid, propitiation won."
We see the suffering of our Lord and Savior as He, by the Lord's
purpose, was crushed, beaten, and pierced. But we see also
the rewards for His perfect obedience, as Paul mentions in Philippians
2. As reminder, it says, therefore God exalted Him to the highest
place and gave Him the name that is above every name, that at
the name of Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven and on earth
and under the earth. And every tongue acknowledge
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
There's also a verse in Hebrews that I am always reminded of
when I read Isaiah 53, especially verse 11, which is Hebrews 12,
two, where it says this, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher
of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured
the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right
hand of the throne of God. Back here in Isaiah, we read
that he shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied. and goes on to say that he will
receive a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils
with the strong. To the victor goes the spoils,
and as Hebrews 12.2 and Philippians 2 together say, Christ has been
exalted and has been given rule over all creation under heaven
and earth. And then lastly, one last verse
on Christ's rewards. Isaiah says in chapter 52.13,
very succinctly with few words. Behold, my servant will prosper. He will be high and lifted up
and greatly exalted. So many reasons to praise our
Savior who is so deserving of his rewards. For the joy set
before him, he was lifted up and is now exalted and sitting
at the right hand of the Father on his throne. Now on to the
final waypoint. where we will be looking at one
of the greatest gifts ever presented to man, the Great Exchange, the
title of this study. A quick reading, first of a verse
in Isaiah 61, verse 10, just one verse, so I will just read
it here quickly off my notes. I delight greatly in the Lord,
my soul rejoices in my God, for he has clothed me with garments
of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness as a
bridegroom adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns
herself with her jewels. I also like the verse from the
Song of Solomon that I used in my last study. You are altogether
beautiful, my darling. There is no spot in you. We are
now looking to the robe of righteousness that was freely and willingly
given to us by Christ. We are without that robe, just
as worms in God's eyes. And our self-righteousness is
exactly what Paul describes back in Philippians 3, as he revealed
the failures of his self-righteousness. But we, by the grace of God,
now have a different righteousness to look upon. Paul makes it plain. He knew that his righteousness
is not of his own works or position, but by God's grace and his imputing
that righteousness of Christ unto him. So far, we've only
looked at half the story. If we look at the imputing of
righteousness to the elect sinner and look at only that, we are
missing a major part. We are talking about a great
exchange, and an exchange means someone is getting something
in return for giving something. Paul knows that. Let's take a
look at our final reading found in 2 Corinthians 5. 5.21. Some
say, that this verse may be the most
concise presentation of the gospel in all the scripture. By this
one man, there was propitiation for sin. There was a substitute
to take on our deserved wrath for us. There was the crucifixion,
death, burial, resurrection, and the resultant life, and the
righteousness of the risen Christ given to all the redeemed. And
all came from this that we will read in chapter 5 verse 21 of
2 Corinthians. God made him who knew no sin
to be sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God. So many things to say about this
verse because several interpretations are prevalent in today's teachings,
but I don't have time to go into them all. Just suffice it to
say, Christ did not become the world's greatest sinner because
of what this verse says. And he did not become sin because
of this verse. He was counted guilty because
of our sin that was imputed to him. But remember those four
words from Hebrews that we referenced, yet was without sin. He had no
sin in him. Christ was God himself, and God
has no sin in him, and is incapable of sin. As it had been mentioned
earlier, Christ had to be one who knew no sin, or God could
not, and as a just God would not, have found his sacrifice
acceptable. If that were so, oh, we would,
if possible, be living in a much different world than what we
live in now. It's unfortunate there are disputes
over something so special, so important. Just remember when
studying the Bible, Bible study 101, keep things in context with
all God's word. Do not try to make all of God's
word fit the context of one or two verses. So now what this
verse is bringing to us is that great exchange I've been working
to introduce. So what is this great exchange
we are talking about? Well, the great exchange began
when Jesus took upon himself the full weight of our sin and
carried them on his person to the cross. Then through his sacrificial
death, Christ bore the punishment we deserve as he became our substitute
taking on the pain and the suffering of the cross. When on the cross
he cried out, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? He was already in the throes
of the eternal pain and suffering, what was ours to bear. We were
the guilty ones. We were the haters of God. We
were the sinners from birth. But God, in his indelible grace,
sent His only begotten Son so that we, His elect children from
eternity, would not have to suffer the punishment that our substitute
was going through on our behalf, He who was always obedient unto
God, even unto death on the cross. Christ accomplished that assignment
from the Father by satisfying the righteous demands of a holy
God and proving He was the true Lamb of God when He arose on
the third day. By that sacrificial death of
the Lamb, as Christ was willingly putting on our filthy, sinful,
evil, guilt-laden robes of sin, we were, in exchange, given the
spotless, washed, pure, white, holy robe of His righteousness.
And at the same time as part of that exchange, Christ took
on our sin and death, giving us a life of freedom from sin
and death for all time. God made him who knew no sin
to be sin for us so that we could become the righteousness of God.
I can't, for the life of me, wrap my mind around such a one-sided
exchange such as that, but it was to triune God's plan in eternity
And now it is ours to rejoice in and sing the praises of the
one that made that exchange for us. So in conclusion, I would
like to go back to the hymn that I started to share with you earlier.
I was introduced to the hymn when listening to a sermon by
Brother David Morris, who will be the speaker at our upcoming
conference in about a month from today. He read the third of the
four verses contained in the song. I will be reading the first
and last of the verses, divided by the chorus. The theme of the
hymn is about the Great Exchange. The title of the hymn is His
Robes for Mine. His robes for mine, O wonderful
exchange! Clothed in my sin, Christ suffered
neath God's rage. Draped in His righteousness,
I'm justified. In Christ I live, for in my place
he died. I cling to Christ and marvel
at the cost. Jesus forsaken, God estranged
from God. Bought by such love, my life
is not my own. My praise, my all, shall be for
Christ alone. His robes for mine, such anguish
none can know. Christ, God's beloved, condemned,
as though his foe. He as though I accursed and left
alone. I as though he embraced and welcomed
home. What a glorious exchange. I take notice of the first line
of the course because it says something I think is important
to keep in mind. I cling to Christ. Brothers and
sisters, that should be the true focus of our spiritual walk in
him. Thankful to Him always for His
great exchange. Cling to Him and only Him. We don't cling to a cross or
cling to Calvary. We cling to the Christ of the
cross, the Christ of Calvary. The last line of the Course should
be our constant desire. My praise, my all, shall be for
Christ alone. He's all there is. He's all we
have. The good news of the gospel is
all we need. Amen.