Active obedience of Christ
Encyclopedia
The active obedience of Jesus
Christ
(sometimes called his preceptive obedience) comprises the totality of his actions, which Christian
s believe was in perfect obedience to the Law of God. In Reformed
theology
, Christ's active obedience is generally believed to be imputed
to Christians as part of their justification
.
3:14, Peter
calls Jesus "the Holy and Righteous One", while in Acts 10:38 Peter says that Christ "he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."
According to the Bible
, in Hebrews
4:15, Jesus was "without sin". Robert L. Reymond
interprets Romans
5:18 (which talks about his "one act of righteousness") as referring to Christ's "entire life work", and the references to Christ being a "servant" as indicating his obedience.
Christ's active obedience (doing what God's law required) is usually distinguished from his passive obedience (suffering for his people), but J. Gresham Machen
argues that
Machen also points out that Jesus was not subject to the law for himself, and that "no obedience was required of him for himself, since he was Lord of all."
of Christ's active obedience is a doctrine
within Reformed
theology
. It is based on the idea that God's righteousness demands perfect obedience to his law. By his active obedience, Christ has "made available a perfect righteousness before the law that is imputed or reckoned to those who put their trust in him." The Heidelberg Catechism
asserts that God grants to the believer "the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ," so that the Christian can say that it is "as if I never had had, nor committed any sin: yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me" (Q&A 60). This imputation therefore constitutes the positive element of justification
.
The imputation of Christ's active obedience has its foundation in the idea of a covenant of works made with Adam, though this has been the subject of debate, since covenantal language is not employed until the Noahic covenant in Genesis 6. Machen argues that "if Christ had merely paid the penalty of sin for us and done nothing more we should be at best back in the situation in which Adam found himself when God placed him under the covenant of works." As a result of this, our "attainment of eternal life would have been dependent upon our perfect obedience to the law of God," and we would be certain to fall. Machen goes on to say that Christ was "our representative both in penalty paying and in probation keeping," and that for those who have been saved by him, the probation is over since "Christ has merited for them the reward by his perfect obedience to God's law."
, who, according to Louis Berkhof
, argue that justification simply places man "in the position of Adam before the fall."
community, particularly writers associated with the Federal Vision
theology, have objected to the traditional formulation of this doctrine, because of its basis in the covenant of works and the idea of merit
. James B. Jordan
argues that the "transformation... achieved by Jesus was not something 'earned' like a weekly allowance." What is transferred to the believer is not Jesus' "works and merits" but his "glorified and resurrected life in the Spirit."
have also been critical of this imputation, on the basis that the sinless life of Christ merely qualified him to be the perfect substitute on behalf of humanity. Christ's keeping of the law proved that he was righteous, rather than making him righteous.
, the American Presbyterian theologian, sent a final telegram to his friend John Murray
containing the words, "I'm so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it."
Jesus
Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...
Christ
Christ
Christ is the English term for the Greek meaning "the anointed one". It is a translation of the Hebrew , usually transliterated into English as Messiah or Mashiach...
(sometimes called his preceptive obedience) comprises the totality of his actions, which Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
s believe was in perfect obedience to the Law of God. In Reformed
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
theology
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
, Christ's active obedience is generally believed to be imputed
Imputed righteousness
Imputed righteousness is a concept in Christian theology that proposes that the "righteousness of Christ ... is imputed to [believers] — that is, treated as if it were theirs through faith." It is on the basis of this "alien"...
to Christians as part of their justification
Justification (theology)
Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
.
The life of Christ
In ActsActs of the Apostles
The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...
3:14, Peter
Saint Peter
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader, who is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles. The son of John or of Jonah and from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee, his brother Andrew was also an apostle...
calls Jesus "the Holy and Righteous One", while in Acts 10:38 Peter says that Christ "he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him."
According to the Bible
Bible
The Bible refers to any one of the collections of the primary religious texts of Judaism and Christianity. There is no common version of the Bible, as the individual books , their contents and their order vary among denominations...
, in Hebrews
Epistle to the Hebrews
The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his...
4:15, Jesus was "without sin". Robert L. Reymond
Robert L. Reymond
Robert L. Reymond is a Christian theologian of the Protestant Reformed tradition. He is best known for his New Systematic Theology of the Christian Faith . Reymond holds B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees from Bob Jones University and has taught at Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri...
interprets Romans
Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle of Paul to the Romans, often shortened to Romans, is the sixth book in the New Testament. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by the Apostle Paul to explain that Salvation is offered through the Gospel of Jesus Christ...
5:18 (which talks about his "one act of righteousness") as referring to Christ's "entire life work", and the references to Christ being a "servant" as indicating his obedience.
Christ's active obedience (doing what God's law required) is usually distinguished from his passive obedience (suffering for his people), but J. Gresham Machen
John Gresham Machen
John Gresham Machen was an American Presbyterian theologian in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1915 and 1929, and led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary as a more...
argues that
Machen also points out that Jesus was not subject to the law for himself, and that "no obedience was required of him for himself, since he was Lord of all."
Imputation
The imputationImputed righteousness
Imputed righteousness is a concept in Christian theology that proposes that the "righteousness of Christ ... is imputed to [believers] — that is, treated as if it were theirs through faith." It is on the basis of this "alien"...
of Christ's active obedience is a doctrine
Doctrine
Doctrine is a codification of beliefs or a body of teachings or instructions, taught principles or positions, as the body of teachings in a branch of knowledge or belief system...
within Reformed
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
theology
Christian theology
- Divisions of Christian theology :There are many methods of categorizing different approaches to Christian theology. For a historical analysis, see the main article on the History of Christian theology.- Sub-disciplines :...
. It is based on the idea that God's righteousness demands perfect obedience to his law. By his active obedience, Christ has "made available a perfect righteousness before the law that is imputed or reckoned to those who put their trust in him." The Heidelberg Catechism
Heidelberg Catechism
The Heidelberg Catechism is a Protestant confessional document taking the form of a series of questions and answers, for use in teaching Reformed Christian doctrine...
asserts that God grants to the believer "the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ," so that the Christian can say that it is "as if I never had had, nor committed any sin: yea, as if I had fully accomplished all that obedience which Christ has accomplished for me" (Q&A 60). This imputation therefore constitutes the positive element of justification
Justification (theology)
Rising out of the Protestant Reformation, Justification is the chief article of faith describing God's act of declaring or making a sinner righteous through Christ's atoning sacrifice....
.
The imputation of Christ's active obedience has its foundation in the idea of a covenant of works made with Adam, though this has been the subject of debate, since covenantal language is not employed until the Noahic covenant in Genesis 6. Machen argues that "if Christ had merely paid the penalty of sin for us and done nothing more we should be at best back in the situation in which Adam found himself when God placed him under the covenant of works." As a result of this, our "attainment of eternal life would have been dependent upon our perfect obedience to the law of God," and we would be certain to fall. Machen goes on to say that Christ was "our representative both in penalty paying and in probation keeping," and that for those who have been saved by him, the probation is over since "Christ has merited for them the reward by his perfect obedience to God's law."
Arminianism
The imputation of Christ's active obedience has usually been denied by ArminiansArminianism
Arminianism is a school of soteriological thought within Protestant Christianity based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic followers, the Remonstrants...
, who, according to Louis Berkhof
Louis Berkhof
Louis Berkhof was a Reformed systematic theologian whose written works have been influential in seminaries and Bible colleges in the United States and Canada and with individual Christians in general throughout the 20th century.-Personal life:...
, argue that justification simply places man "in the position of Adam before the fall."
Calvinism
Some within the ReformedCalvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
community, particularly writers associated with the Federal Vision
Federal Vision
The Federal Vision is a Reformed Evangelical theological conversation that focuses on covenant theology, trinitarian thinking, the sacraments of Baptism and Communion, biblical theology and typology, justification, and postmillennialism.A controversy arose in Calvinist, Reformed, and Presbyterian...
theology, have objected to the traditional formulation of this doctrine, because of its basis in the covenant of works and the idea of merit
Merit (Catholicism)
Merit , in general, is understood to be that property of a good work which entitles the doer to receive a reward from him in whose service the work is done...
. James B. Jordan
James B. Jordan
James B. Jordan is a Protestant theologian and author. He is director of Biblical Horizons ministries, a think tank in Niceville, Florida that publishes books, essays and other media dealing with Bible commentary, Biblical Theology, and liturgy.-Education:Jordan attended the University of Georgia,...
argues that the "transformation... achieved by Jesus was not something 'earned' like a weekly allowance." What is transferred to the believer is not Jesus' "works and merits" but his "glorified and resurrected life in the Spirit."
New Covenant theology
Some adherents of New Covenant TheologyNew Covenant Theology
New Covenant Theology is a Christian theological system which teaches that the Old Testament Laws have been fulfilled and abrogated or cancelled with Christ's death, and replaced with the Law of Christ of the New Covenant. It shares similarities and yet is distinct from Dispensationalism and...
have also been critical of this imputation, on the basis that the sinless life of Christ merely qualified him to be the perfect substitute on behalf of humanity. Christ's keeping of the law proved that he was righteous, rather than making him righteous.
Importance
As he lay dying, J. Gresham MachenJohn Gresham Machen
John Gresham Machen was an American Presbyterian theologian in the early 20th century. He was the Professor of New Testament at Princeton Seminary between 1915 and 1929, and led a conservative revolt against modernist theology at Princeton and formed Westminster Theological Seminary as a more...
, the American Presbyterian theologian, sent a final telegram to his friend John Murray
John Murray (theologian)
John Murray was a Scottish-born Calvinist theologian who taught at Princeton Seminary and then left to help found Westminster Theological Seminary, where he taught for many years.-Life:...
containing the words, "I'm so thankful for the active obedience of Christ. No hope without it."
External links
- The Active Obedience of Christ by J. Gresham Machen
- A Defense of the "Active Obedience" of Jesus Christ In The Justification of Sinners by Brian Schwertley