In Galatians 2:16 Christ is revealed as the means of justification: “Knowing that a man is not justified out of works of law, but through faith in Jesus Christ, we also have believed into Christ Jesus that we might be justified out of faith in Christ and not out of the works of law, because out of the works of law no flesh will be justified.”
Fallen man cannot be justified by works of law. In 2:16 Paul says, “Knowing that a man is not justified out of works of law.” At the end of this verse Paul declares, “Out of the works of law no flesh will be justified.” The word flesh in 2:16 means fallen man, who has become flesh (Gen. 6:3). No such man will be justified out of works of law. Furthermore, in Galatians 3:11 Paul goes on to say, “That by law no one is justified before God is evident.” In these verses Paul tells us clearly that no one is justified out of works of law.
The New Testament says that if we keep all the commandments except one, we transgress the whole law (James 2:10). Romans 7 proves that we cannot keep all the commandments. In verse 7 Paul refers to the commandment about coveting: “Neither did I know coveting, except the law had said, ‘You shall not covet.’” Then in verse 8 he goes on to say, “But sin, seizing the opportunity through the commandment, worked out in me coveting of every kind.” The more Paul tried to keep this commandment, the more he failed. This indicates that it is impossible for fallen man to keep all of God’s commandments. We simply do not have the ability to keep the law. As Paul says in Romans 7:14, the law is spiritual, but we are fleshy, sold under sin. Therefore, out of works of law no flesh will be justified.
Under God’s New Testament economy we are not to keep the law. On the contrary, we are justified through faith in Christ (Gal. 2:16). Faith in Christ denotes an organic union through believing. The faith in Christ by which we are justified is related to our appreciation of the person of the Son of God. In our preaching of the gospel we must present Christ as a treasure. We need to present Christ as the most precious One to people. The more we describe Him and speak of His preciousness, the more something will be infused into the being of the listeners. This infusion will become their faith, and this faith will cause them to respond to our preaching. In this way they will appreciate the person we present to them. This appreciation is their faith in Christ. Out of their appreciation for the Lord Jesus, they will want to possess Him. The Christ who has been preached to them will become in them the faith by which they believe. Faith is Christ preached into them to become their capacity to believe through their appreciation of Him.
The genuine experiential definition of faith is the preciousness of Jesus infused into us. Through such an infusion, we spontaneously have faith in the Lord Jesus. This definition of faith matches our experience. The teaching of doctrine did not impress us with the preciousness of the person of the Son of God. But one day we heard a living message filled with the preciousness of Christ. When His preciousness was infused into us through the preaching of the gospel, we spontaneously began to appreciate the Lord Jesus and believe in Him. We said, “Lord Jesus, I love You. I treasure You.” This is what it means to have faith in Christ.
This faith creates an organic union in which we and Christ are one. Therefore, the expression out of faith in Christ actually denotes an organic union accomplished by believing in Christ. The term in Christ refers to this organic union. Before we believed in Christ, there was a great separation between us and Christ. We were we, and Christ was Christ. But through believing we were joined to Christ and became one with Him. Now we are in Christ, and Christ is in us.
This is an organic union, a union in life. This union is illustrated by the grafting of a branch of one tree into another tree. Through faith in Christ we are grafted into Christ. Through this process of spiritual grafting, two lives are grafted and become one.
Many Christians have a shallow understanding of justification by faith. How could Christ be our righteousness if we were not organically united to Him? It is by means of our organic union with Christ that God can reckon Christ as our righteousness. Because we and Christ are one, whatever belongs to Him is ours. This is the basis upon which God counts Christ as our righteousness.
Just as a poor woman is united in marriage to a wealthy man and thus participates in the wealth of her husband, through our organic union with Christ, we share whatever Christ is and has. As soon as this union takes place, in the eyes of God Christ becomes us, and we become one with Him. Only in this way can we be justified before God.
Many Christians have a mere doctrinal understanding of justification by faith. According to their concept, Christ is the just One, the righteous One on the throne in the presence of God. When we believe in Christ, God reckons Christ to be our righteousness. This understanding of justification is very shallow. In order to be justified by faith in Christ, we need to believe in the Lord Jesus out of an appreciation of His preciousness. As Christ’s preciousness is infused into us through the preaching of the gospel, we spontaneously appreciate the Lord and call on Him. This is genuine believing. Through such a believing, we and Christ become one. Therefore, God must reckon Him as our righteousness.
When we heard the gospel, we began to sense the Lord’s preciousness. This gave rise to the living faith that joined us to Christ organically. From that time onward, Christ and we became one in life and in reality. Therefore, justification by faith is not merely a matter of position. It is also an organic matter, a matter in life. The organic union with Christ is accomplished spontaneously through the living faith produced by our appreciation of Him. This is to be justified through faith in Christ.