In Romans 5:1-2 Christ is presented as our peace toward God and as our access into God’s grace: “Therefore having been justified out of faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and boast because of the hope of the glory of God.”
We have Christ as our peace toward God after being justified by faith through our Lord Jesus Christ. We confessed our sins to God, received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, applied His blood, and were justified. Since we have been justified by faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior. Christ is our peace toward God; He is our peace moving within us and moving toward God. In 5:1 Paul used the word toward, not with. The preposition toward implies a kind of move. This means that we are still on the way toward God and that our journey into God through our being justified out of faith has not yet been completed. In the spiritual world, we first enter the gate of justification and then walk along the way. Justification by faith is the opening of the gate, giving us access, an entry, into a wide field of enjoyment. Once we have passed through the gate of justification, we need to walk the way of peace. If we are moving in a certain direction and do not sense the peace within, we should stop. We should always go along with the peace. After we have been saved, we must go our way in peace (Luke 7:50). Wherever we go, we must take the way of peace; whatever we do, we must do it in peace. In this way we experience and enjoy Christ as our peace moving within us and moving toward God.
Christ is our peace toward God after we have been justified by faith through Him, and Christ is our access into God’s grace, which access we have obtained through Him by faith. In this grace we stand and boast because of the hope of the glory of God.
It is by faith that we have obtained our access into God’s grace through Christ. The faith that justifies us and cuts off the flesh with its natural energy and effort also gives us access into God’s grace. If we remain in the flesh with its natural effort, we will neither know nor enjoy the grace of God, but if we live by faith, we will enter into the full enjoyment of God’s grace.
Faith first gives us access into grace, then a solid standing in grace. Grace is the Triune God Himself, processed that we may enter into Him and enjoy Him. Grace, in the deepest sense, is the Triune God as our enjoyment. It is more than unmerited favor and more than mere outward blessing. We are not merely under God’s blessing; we are in His grace.
Grace is the realm in which we stand. We must stand in grace. Whenever we sense that we are out of the realm of grace, we must return to it immediately and stand there. When we sense that we have moved from the realm of grace into another sphere, we should pray, “Lord, forgive me. Bring me back to the realm of grace.” We return to the realm of grace by the same way through which we entered it originally. We entered the realm of grace through justification by faith. God’s justification brought us into this grace in which we stand. Whenever we act wrongly and sense that we are out of grace, we must pray: “O Lord, forgive me. Cleanse me with Your precious blood.” When we do this, we will be brought back to grace instantly.
In the realm of grace we stand and boast because of the hope of the glory of God. This indicates that our hope is that we will be brought into the glory of God, that is, into His expression. Although we stand in grace and walk in peace, we are not yet in glory, but the day will come when we shall be brought into glory. The hope of the glory of God will be fully realized in the coming millennial kingdom, where Christ will be revealed as our glory. Today we are in the hope of this coming glory. This is our experience and enjoyment of Christ as our peace toward God and our access into God’s grace.