The Lord Jesus is not only the Son of God but also the Son of Man, who died and was resurrected (Luke 24:39-43). He was the Son of God, yet He partook of blood and flesh (Heb. 2:14) that He might undo the works of the Devil (1 John 3:8). He put on the likeness of men (Phil. 2:6-7), becoming the Son of Man (Luke 19:10), that through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the Devil (Heb. 2:14). In Genesis 3 this Devil, who was embodied in the serpent, injected his evil nature into man’s body. Later, when the children of Israel sinned against God and were bitten by snakes (Num. 21:4-9), God told Moses to lift up a serpent of brass, which would bear God’s judgment in their place, so that anyone who would look at the brass serpent would live. This is a type. In John 3:14-15 the Lord Jesus said, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” He applied this type to Himself showing that when He became flesh, He came in the likeness of the flesh of sin (Rom. 8:3). Just as the brass serpent had the form of a serpent but did not have the poisonous nature of a serpent, so Christ had the likeness of the flesh of sin, yet He had nothing to do with the sin in the flesh (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). When He was lifted up on the cross, the old serpent, Satan, was dealt with by His death in the flesh (John 12:31-33; Heb. 2:14). This means that the serpentine nature within fallen man was dealt with. Furthermore, He was resurrected from among the dead, indicating that all His accomplishments before His death were a success and that they all have eternal efficacy in His resurrection. Therefore, if men would repent and believe into the Son of Man, who died and was resurrected, their sins would be taken away, their evil nature would be dealt with, Satan would be destroyed within them, they would have the eternal life, and they would have an organic union with Him.
Once a man believes in the Lord Jesus with the genuine faith mentioned previously, immediately he receives the blessings of forgiveness of sins, washing, sanctification, justification, reconciliation to God, regeneration, eternal life, the Holy Spirit, freedom, and salvation.
Immediately after a person believes in the Lord, he receives forgiveness of sins (Acts 10:43; 26:18). This is the first blessing in God’s salvation that a person receives at the time of his believing. When a person believes, God forgives him of all the sins that he has before Him, canceling the charges of sin against him, that he may not be condemned but be delivered from His righteous punishment.
After a person believes in the Lord, not only are his sins forgiven, but he is also washed. Forgiveness cancels the charges of sin; washing, on the other hand, removes the trace of sin. Because of a person’s faith, the precious blood of Christ washes him from his sins (Rom. 3:25; Rev. 1:5b). After the washing, it is as though that person had never sinned and had never been defiled by sin.
After a person believes in the Lord, he is not only forgiven of his sins but also sanctified in Christ (1 Cor. 1:30, 2), that is, sanctified unto God in the element and sphere of Christ. Furthermore, through faith man enters within the veil by a new and living way which He has opened for man by His blood (Heb. 10:19-20), to partake of and enjoy this glorified, heavenly, and sanctifying Christ (Heb. 13:12) and to receive an inheritance among those who have been sanctified (Acts 26:18).
The Bible says clearly that a man is not and cannot be justified before God by works; he is and can only be justified by faith (Gal. 3:8; 2:16; Rom. 3:22, 28; Acts 13:39). “By works” is to rely on man’s own doing, whereas “by faith” is to trust in what Christ has done for man. “Works” require man’s effort to do, to perform; “faith” is man’s receiving, obtaining, without effort. No one has the strength to do the works, but everyone can believe.
Faith is to believe in Christ and in what He has done for man. He died and shed His blood to accomplish redemption, satisfying God’s righteous demand (Heb. 9:22b), so that God can justify man according to His righteousness (Rom. 5:9; 3:24). Moreover, He has risen from among the dead, proving that His death has satisfied God’s righteous requirement and that man has been justified by God because of His death (Rom. 4:25). But unless a man believes, he still has no share in the redemption accomplished by Christ and cannot be justified through His redemption. Therefore, man must believe, that he may be joined to the Lord and be brought into Him, and that he may receive Him and what He has accomplished for man. Thus, man can participate in Christ and in His redemption and can receive God’s justification.