Rom.5:10 – For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
This verse is quite simple at first glance but like many passages of scripture there is an ocean of spiritual revelation just below the surface. First Paul talks about being reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Here he is clearly speaking of justification. We are justified by faith in the blood, this allows us free access to God. Then in the next breath Paul says we are saved by His life. Saved is the word sozo which means wholeness in our spirit, soul, and body. Life is the word zoe which means the life of God. We are brought to God by the blood and are made whole or saved by His life working in us. Here is how Matthew Henry describes this.
“Reconciled by his death, saved by his life. His life spoken of here is not to be understood as his life in the flesh, but his life in heaven. We are reconciled by Christ humbled; we are saved by Christ exalted.”
The life of God is the life Jesus enjoys with His Father in heaven. This life flows from our exalted Savior into our lives bringing total salvation into us. this simple verse describes the life Christ has purchased and belongs to us now. We are more than forgiven, we are changed into different kinds of people. Here is how Barclay views this passage.
“The saved sinner cannot go on being a sinner, but must become good. Christ’s death changed our status; his risen life changes our state. He is not dead but alive; he is with us always to help us and guide us, to fill us with his strength in order to overcome temptation, to clothe our lives with something of his radiance. Jesus begins by putting sinners into a right relationship with God even when they are still sinners; he goes on, by his grace, to enable them to quit their sin and become good. There are technical names for these things. The change of our status is justification; that is where the whole saving process begins. The change of our state is sanctification; that is where the saving process goes on, and never ends, until we see him face to face and are like him.”
This verse reinforces why the heavenly ministry of Jesus is so critical for us today. It was His death on the cross that cleansed us from sin and the resurrection life of God that flows into us because Jesus is seated at the right hand of God. Go check the apostles messages in the book of Acts. They preached the cross and they also preached about Christ seated in heaven. This is our message today, Christ crucified and Christ glorified.
