If the Man who was delivered for our offenses is now in heaven—and in heaven, too, by the hand and act of God Himself—then, most surely, our offenses are all gone, and we stand justified from all things, as free from every charge of guilt, and every breath of condemnation, as the blessed One Himself. It cannot possibly be otherwise, if we believe on Him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead. It is utterly impossible for a charge to be brought against the believer in the God of resurrection, for the simplest of all reasons that the One whom He raised was the One whom He bruised for the believer’s sins.

Why did He raise Him? Because the sins for which He bruised Him were all put away, and put away forever. The Lord Jesus, having undertaken our cause, and made Himself answerable for us in every way, could not be where He now is if a single jot or tittle of our guilt remained. But, on the other hand, being where He now is, and being there by God’s own act, it is impossible, utterly impossible, for any question to be raised as to the full and complete justification and perfect righteousness of the soul that believes in Him.

Thus, the moment that any one believes in God, in the special character of the One who raised Jesus, he is counted perfectly righteous before Him. This is most marvelous, but divinely and eternally true. May we feel its power, sweetness, and tranquilizing virtue! Yea, may the eternal Spirit give us the blessed sense of it, deep down in our heart! Then, indeed shall we have perfect peace in our soul; then, too, shall we understand how, in raising as well as in bruising and giving His Son, God has declared and proven Himself to be for us.