Obedience that is not delighted in is not perfect obedience. Yet that was the quality of obedience Jesus rendered throughout His life, from birth to death.

In this chapter, Bridges covers two very important concepts: the obedience of Christ and our union with Christ.

The obedience of Christ means was both “active and passive”:

They refer to the two works of Christ in regard to God’s Law. The Law contains both precepts and penalties. The precepts are to be fully obeyed, and the penalties are imposed for the least infraction of the precepts.

Jesus was born under the Law because He came to perfectly obey it in our place. He came to do what we, becuase of our sinful nature, could not do.

He actively obeyed the Father’s universal moral will, which we call the Lord of God, and He passively obeyed the fathers’s specific will for Him, namely to suffer the penalty for our sin.

Meanwhile, union with Christ means:

Jesus was appointed by God the Father as our legal representative. This legal representation is the basis upon whch the life and death of Christ become effective for us.

It is this legal union that the apostle Paul had in view when he wrote that we were crucified wtih Christ, that we died with Him, were buried with Him, were made [spiritually] alive with Him, and will ultimately be united with Him in His resurrection.

Therefore, we can accurately say that when Jesus lived a perfect life, we lived a perfect life. When He died on the cross to suffer the penalty of sin, we died on the corss. All that Jesus did, we did, because of our legal union with Him.

There is wonderful application at the end of this chapter. Talk about these questions with your parents:

Have you ever thought about the wonderful truth that Christ lived His perfect life in your place and on your behalf? Has it yet gripped you that when God looks at you today He sees you clothed in the prefect, sinless obedience of His Son? And that when He says, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with Him I am will pleased,’ He includes you in that warm embrace? The extent to which we truly understand this is the extent to which we will begin to enjoy those unsearchable riches that are found in Christ.

Categories: Summer Reading '07, five15 blog