Verse five continues the thought. At that moment when grace came our way, we were in every single part of our lives enriched in Christ. The wealth of Christ came to us out of two sources: every word and every insight brought by Him. In other words, when the Gospel came to us and by the revelation it carried in our hearts, we gained the wealth of the grace of God. Just as an inheritance is gained in its fullness and not piecemeal when the will is read, so with the acceptance of the Gospel we gain it all at once: eternal life, transformation and citizenship into the Kingdom of God.
Verse six answers the question, “How is this so?” We already have been enriched by grace because the witness of Christ was established at that same time in us. Now there are two ways to interpret the witness. It could be what others (the Bible, the Holy Spirit, those who shared the Gospel with us) provided us as witness or it could be the witness of Christ Himself in declaring us His. The Greek word translated “establish” means “to render constant and unwavering” or “to ratify”. It is the picture of a judge declaring an adoption finalized or the Supreme Court determining a law constitutional. The witness of Christ that the grace of God is ours is irrevocably decided and declared. Now it is my contention, that the witness, for this reason is not the one given by a friend but rather the witness of Jesus that when we received the grace of God through faith, we were established by Him as His. No verbal testimony can decide our place in the Kingdom but Jesus’ word can and does. It is the witness of Jesus Christ that decides our fate and upon the receiving of God’s grace, the witness is fixed.
As a result of the witness having been irrevocably established in us, we are made a promise in verse seven. Or, to be more precise, a fact is stated. We will not, in any single way come up short with regard to anything promised to God’s people when Jesus Christ is revealed at the end time. Paul uses a double negative to make his point conclusive. There is not one benefit of being God’s child we will miss when Christ returns. “Oh, but how can this be”, is a legitimate question. What if you fail in some important something you should have done? What if you don’t live up to all of your obligations as a Christian? Isn’t there some debit charge we will accrue at the end of time? How can you have all I have when Christ returns if you weren’t as good as me at living up to your responsibilities? Now logically, as we evaluate what ought to be upon Christ’s return, there should be some tallying done and spiritual accountability. A divine ledger ought to reflect a comparative analysis between us.
Of course that is what makes sense to us but it is not reflected in the Apostle Paul’s assessment of Grace. Not one gift of God will be missing from our stocking when Christ returns. The naughty or nice accounting of Santa Claus is just not there for God’s people. In Christ, we will not lack a single gift of God when He returns. The gifts are settled by the established witness of Christ that we are His own.
If verse seven lifted the lid of Pandora’s Box, verse eight blows it from its hinges. Verse eight makes a complete wreck of any semblance of end times retribution for the Church. It really is quite astonishing what verse eight states. Listen again to the Apostle Paul. “Which also he shall establish you unto the end, unblameable ones on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ…” Unblameable is perhaps not a real word but it best explains the Greek term Paul uses. It means irreproachable, not charged, not on trial. Born-again Christians will not be charged at all at the end. Not a single claim will be made against us and the reason will be because God will make this certain. It is, as Paul puts it, “established, unwavering, never in doubt”. It is not our innocence that will be established, it is us as blameless that is established. This is not an overlooking of guilt, a closing the eyes and passing on what is obvious to all. God will, to the very end, make sure we are completely blameless with no one to charge us with a single fault. This is an astounding claim.
Verse nine concludes the section with the reason why we should believe we will be kept blameless until the end. God is faithful. God, through whom you were called into the fellowship of his son Jesus Christ, is faithful. You may not be able to count on your husband or your children, your boss or the economy but…you can trust God. What He has done is called us into a select group, the fellowship of His son Jesus Christ. We are not in the end Democrats or Republicans, Asians or South Americans, rich or poor, male or female or any other sort of classification the world tries to make us settle. We are only one sort of person; within the fellowship of Jesus Christ or not. If we are, no matter how badly we condemn ourselves, how horrifically we are ridiculed or rejected by others, we will be, in the end, blameless. And why will this be so? Because we are in the fellowship of Jesus Christ and it was God who called us into it.
Many in the Christian community are not ready to hear this. They feel much more comfortable trying to work out all their faults on their own and have a tough time thinking God will not somehow make us accountable for the many bad things we do as Christians. I cannot say it is fair that God will make us blameless on the last day and I admit it seems like some Christians I know should have to pay a price for their greed, immorality, bad temper and affection for primetime TV shows but I am as you are, left with the very clear pronouncement Paul makes here. In the end, we will, in Christ be let off scot free without a single charge brought against us. It is dangerous for God to do this. What is to keep some Christian man from professing Christ and then murdering his family and still be let into heaven? My own son asked me this very question about grace. If the cross teaches us anything, it is this. God is not afraid of our sins. And…the blood of Christ is sufficient to make clean the worst of us sinners.
The Pandora’s Box is opened. Grace has escaped.
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