In 2:23 Peter says that God the Father is the One who always judges righteously. This means that He governs in a righteous way. Christ put His trust in this righteous One. For this reason, Peter says that when Christ was on earth, He kept committing all to God the Father, who judges righteously.
Verse 24 says, “Who Himself carried up our sins in His body onto the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed.” This verse speaks of Christ as our Savior, our Redeemer. As our Savior, Christ “carried up our sins in His body onto the tree.” The “tree” is the cross made of wood, a Roman instrument of capital punishment for the execution of malefactors, as prophesied in the Old Testament (Deut. 21:23; Gal. 3:13).
Literally, “having died to sins” means being away from sins; hence, having died to them. In the death of Christ, we have died to sins (Rom. 6:8, 10-11, 18). We have died to sin so that we might live to righteousness. This living to righteousness is in the resurrection of Christ (Eph. 2:6; John 14:19; 2 Tim. 2:11).
The “bruise” in verse 24 is a suffering that resulted in death. According to Genesis 3:15, the seed of the woman would bruise the head of the serpent, and the serpent would bruise the heel of the woman’s seed. The bruising in Genesis 3:15 is related to the bruise in 2:24.
According to verse 24, we have been healed by Christ’s bruise. This is the healing of death. We were dead (Eph. 2:1), but Christ’s suffering of death healed our death so that we may live in His resurrection.
We have pointed out that the phrase “having died to sins” literally means being away from sins. When Christ carried up our sins onto the cross and died, that death accomplished many things. The death of Christ terminated us, and this termination can keep us away from sin. The best way for people to be kept from sins or from sin is for them to be put to death. No matter how many sins a person may commit, once he has died, death separates him from sins. Peter speaks of being away from sins; Paul speaks of the one who has died being free from sin. Through Christ’s death we can be kept away from sins so that we may live to righteousness. Apparently, being kept away from sin terminates us; actually, it enlivens us so that we may live to righteousness.
As we have pointed out, by Christ’s bruise we have been healed. This means that His death heals our death.
Most of us are accustomed to Paul’s terms, but we are not familiar with many of Peter’s expressions. In verse 24 alone, Peter uses a number of unusual expressions: the carrying up of our sins in Christ’s body onto the tree, being away from sin to live to righteousness, and being healed by Christ’s bruise. Christians do not use many of Peter’s expressions in conversation. I hope that after reading these messages, you will begin to use Peter’s terms and expressions in your fellowship and prayer.
Verse 24 indicates that, as fallen human beings, we were dead and full of sins. But Christ put our sins upon Himself and carried them up onto the tree, the cross, where He suffered God’s righteous judgment for all our sins. Christ’s death on the cross was a bruise, and that bruise, that death, has healed our death. Now we have become alive. On the one hand, Christ’s bruise that heals us keeps us away from sins through His death; on the other hand, this healing enlivens us so that we may live to righteousness.
According to our dead, fallen nature, our intention is toward sins. But now that Christ has died to heal our death and to make us alive, we have a different intention. Because of the life of Christ within us, we live always with the intention toward righteousness, the inclination toward righteousness. This is our Savior, the One who died on the cross to terminate us and to heal our death wound.
The subjective aspect of the cross continues in our experience today by the Spirit. The life-giving Spirit is working within us continually to carry out the subjective aspect of Christ’s cross in our being. Daily we are undergoing the inward working of the cross of Christ, and daily we are being made alive so that we may live to righteousness. Therefore, it is not difficult to overcome sins, because through Christ’s death we are being kept away from sins. His death has drawn a separating line. between us and sins. Being kept away from sins, now we are alive. There is no need for us to strive or to try to energize ourselves. We simply live, and this living always has an inclination toward righteousness. This is the experience of our Savior saving us daily. This understanding of Peter’s word is according to our experience.
We should not have only the objective cross, but the subjective cross as well. The objective cross needs to become subjective to us in our experience. This depends upon the working of the life-giving Spirit within us. When we call on the name of the Lord and have fellowship with Him, the life-giving Spirit operates within us. Spontaneously we experience the subjective working of the cross to make a separation between us and sins so that we automatically live to righteousness.