#5 The Overall Effect of Christ's Resurrection (Rom 4:22-25) Scott Price 3.15.26

The Resurrection showed His vindication of having defeated death, sin, Satan, Hell, and the grave for those He represented, His sheep. This is Resurrection's role in justification and union with Christ, which we clearly see through Gospel-lenses. Rom 4:22  "And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.  Rom 4:23  Now it was not written for him alone that it was imputed to him,  Rom 4:24  but for us also to whom it is to be imputed, to those believing on Him who has raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;  Rom 4:25  who was delivered because of our offenses and was raised for our justification."  The phrase "who was delivered because of our offenses and was raised for our justification" uses the English word "for." Biblical Sovereign grace emphasizes that salvation—including justification is entirely God's initiative, rooted in His electing love, Christ's finished work, and the irresistible application of grace to the elect, with no contribution from human merit or decision. The preposition διά in the first clause ("delivered because of our offenses") is understood as causal ("on account of," "because of"): our sins were the reason Christ was handed over to death. He bore the penalty for them as our substitute. In the parallel second clause ("raised for our justification"). ("for the purpose of," "with a view to," "in order to accomplish") Christ was raised to secure, complete, or publicly declare our justification. The resurrection vindicates Christ's atoning work, proving that God accepted His sacrifice, and applies the benefits of justification to believers. In His death, Christ was united to us in our guilt (our offenses caused His death). In His resurrection, He was vindicated as righteous (justified in His own person as the perfect representative), and the vindication is shown and imputed and declared to all who are united to Him by faith. So, He was raised "on account of our justification" in the sense that the justification He secured for His people was the divine purpose and outcome of His resurrection. Our sin was the cause of His death; our justification (meaning the justification secured for us) was the reason/purpose for His resurrection. Christ's resurrection declares God's acceptance of the atonement and publicly manifests that His people are righteous in Him. It is God's eternal decree and Christ's objective accomplishment for the elect, rather than on anything in us prompting or meriting the resurrection. So, the "for" in "raised for our justification" means "with a view to accomplishing" or "in order to effect/declare" our justification—emphasizing divine purpose and the completeness of Christ's work in biblical, sovereign grace theology. This upholds that justification is by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, to the glory of God alone. Don’t forget to SUBSCRIBE to our YouTube channel, LIKE our videos, and SHARE them. Thanks. For you who believe our Gospel, please consider supporting this ministry in any way you can. Thanks. Check out our website, where you’ll find our links to all our other media platforms at http://www.GospelDefense.com