A. Definition and Description.
1. The English noun is derived from the Latin verb IMPUTARI, meaning to reckon, to attribute, to ascribe, to charge to one’s account. In human relationship, imputation is used to ascribe to a person a vice or a virtue. In the theological concepts of the word of God, imputation is used as an act of God whereby either condemnation or blessing is ascribed, attributed, reckoned, given, or imposed on the human race.
a. Imputation is the function of the justice of God directed toward mankind and related to the plan of God for mankind.
b. Imputation functions as an act of condemnation or blessing from the Integrity of God to mankind.
c. Therefore imputation may be defined as the action of the justice of God whereby either condemnation or blessing is assigned, ascribed, attributed, superimposed or superinduced to another being; therefore to impute over and above that which already exists. The plan of God advances with each imputation. Every imputation is an advance on a previous imputation.
2. There are three factors in imputation.
a. The source, which is God Himself.
b. The nature of the imputation—what is being imputed.
c. The recipient of imputation—a human being in a specific status quo.
3. Imputation is used in the Bible in both a legal sense for condemnation and in a gracious sense for blessing.
4. There are two categories of imputation.
a. Real imputations, where the justice of God imputes under the principle of antecedence and affinity. What is imputed has an affinity for that to which it is imputed. There are two factors involved: what is imputed from the justice of God; and the home or target for the imputation. In a real imputation, what is imputed is in harmony, agreement, or affinity with the target of the imputation.
b. Judicial imputations, where the justice of God imputes what is not antecedently one’s own. Therefore, there is no affinity, no home or target between what is imputed and the recipient. Therefore only one factor exists—what is being imputed. Thus, great emphasis is placed on the Source of the judicial imputations, i.e., the justice of God. There is no harmony, agreement, or affinity between the imputation and the object of the imputation, i.e., our sins and Jesus Christ.
5. In the plan of God, there are two judicial and five real imputations.
a. Judicial imputations include personal sins to Christ on the Cross and perfect righteousness to the believer at the point of salvation.
b. Real imputations include: human life to the soul, Adam’s original sin to the old sin nature, eternal life to the human spirit, blessings in time to perfect righteousness, and blessings in eternity to the resurrection body.
6. These imputations form the basis for God’s plan for mankind. The plan of God begins at human birth, not the new birth, and results in God’s glory in eternity future by every person who ever lives receiving either eternal blessings or assignment to hell.
a. The emphasis for the believer is on birth—human birth where we receive our immortal soul and the new birth where we receive our human spirit.
b. The emphasis for the unbeliever is on death—physical death when they go to Hades and the second death when they are sent to the Lake of Fire forever.
B. The Working Equation of the Plan of God: X + Y + Z. X [I/HI + I/SD = P1 + D = H1] + (I/EL)
1. This is God’s plan for all unbelievers. X radical contains God’s will for the unbeliever. The imputation of human life (HI) plus the imputation of spiritual death (SD) [Adam’s original sin to the old sin nature], both occurring simultaneously at birth, equals the first potential (P1)—that being condemned at birth we have the potential of salvation. This potential plus doctrine (D—here specifically the Gospel) equals the first hope—absolute confidence that once we believe in Christ we will have eternal life. The plus outside of the bracket is the point of faith in Christ when God the Father imputes eternal life to the human spirit created by God the Holy Spirit (regeneration).
Y [JI1 + JI2 = P2 + D = H2] + (I/BT)
2. This is God’s plan for all immature believers. Y radical is God’s plan for the believer to receive blessings in time which glorify God. Judicial imputation number one—the imputation of all the personal sins of the human race to Christ on the Cross—plus judicial imputation number two— the imputation of God’s perfect righteousness to the believer at salvation— equals the second potential—executing God’s protocol plan for the Church Age. Judicial imputation number two also sets up logistical grace blessing. Logistical grace is our equal opportunity under election to fulfill the protocol plan of God. This potential plus doctrine equals the second hope— absolute confidence that at the point of maturity we will receive escrow blessings beyond our wildest imaginations from the justice of God which glorify God. The “+” outside of the bracket is the point of spiritual maturity when we receive these blessings.
Z [I/EL + I/BT = P3 + D = H3] = Plan of God
3. Z radical contains God’s plan for the mature believer. The imputation of eternal life (the “+” at the end of X radical) plus the imputation of blessings in time (the “+” at the end of Y radical) equals the third potential—to receive escrow blessings for eternity at the Judgment Seat of Christ. This potential plus the pertinent doctrine gives us the third hope—absolute confidence that as mature believers we will receive the most fantastic eternal rewards and blessings at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
4. All three radicals, X + Y + Z, equal the protocol plan of God for the Church. These hopes are the anchors for momentum in the Christian life. These hopes, when acquired, give great confidence toward the present and the future.
C. The Real Imputations at Physical Birth.
1. While the imputation of human life and the imputation of Adam’s original sin occur simultaneously in time, logically they occur in sequence. Human life is imputed logically before the imputation of Adam’s original sin to the Old sin nature.
2. The Imputation of Human Life.
a. There are three categories of life: biological life, soul life, and human life.
b. Scripture.
(1) Gen 2:7, “Then the Lord God formed man of dust separated from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a soul having life.”
(2) Job 33:4, “The breath of God has created me, even the breath of the omnipotent One gives me life.” God creates soul life. It takes soul life, not just biological life, for a human being to exist.
(3) Eccl 12:7, “Then the dust [biological life] will return to the earth as it was, and the breath [soul life] will return to God who gave it.” Death does not separate the human soul from human life.
c. The Lord Jesus Christ created the biological life of man from the chemicals of the soil. Biological life is created just once in history with the ability to reproduce.
d. The Lord then breathed into man’s nostrils soul life.
(1) Soul life includes: self-consciousness, mentality, emotions, and volition. The immortal soul is the real person. At the moment after birth, God imputes from His justice the “spark of life,” the Hebrew word NESHAMMAH.
(2) If God gave you life, and He did, then you have the right to conclude that God has a plan for your life.
(3) Soul life will always exist in the soul even in eternity, no matter where you spend it. Soul life exists in three bodies: the human body, the interim body, and the resurrection body.
e. After the fall of Adam, human life originates under the concept of selection. Selection is the decision of the sovereignty of God to create soul life at birth and to impute that soul life to biological life which has emerged from the womb. Selection is a term relating to the divine imputation of soul life to biological life after birth resulting in the creation of human life. God creates human life by the merging of biological life and soul life. The life of the soul is not a human being until it is joined to biological life. (See the doctrine of Selection.)
(1) The fact that God imputes life to the soul after birth implies that God has a plan for every member of the human race.
(2) It must be emphasized that there is no human life in the womb. Reflex motility is not life. The fetus has no life. God does not impute soul life to biological life until after the fetus emerges from the womb.
(3) The home or target for human life is the human soul. All the powers of hell, Satan, and mankind cannot take life out of the soul. That is why the greatest thing in life is the ability to think. Thought is beautiful in any soul; and this is why doctrine is so important. The purpose of divine discipline is to awaken your self-consciousness to the reality of the life which God gave you. Believers can absorb unlimited amounts of doctrine and develop extremely technical vocabularies.
(4) Human life is never separated from the soul no matter how evil the person. Human life is never separated from the soul whether the person goes to heaven or hell. Once God imputes human life to a soul it resides there forever. The same is true of eternal life and the regeneration of the human spirit. When God imputes, what He imputes is indestructible. Therefore, nothing can separate life from its home, the soul. Even physical death finds the soul leaving the body but human life remains in the soul forever. Only God could invent something as great as human life. There is nothing man can do to separate life from the soul, including suicide. Even God Himself cannot and will not separate human life from the soul.
(5) God has a plan for you. You know this because you have life. Only negative volition at God consciousness and Gospel hearing can hinder the fulfillment of that plan. The equation for the unbeliever’s life is X - Y - Z.
f. Because of original creation, there is precedence between soul life and biological life as well as affinity. Because of the original sin, there is affinity between Adam’s original sin and the sin nature.
3. The Imputation of Adam’s Original Sin.
a. There are two categories of spiritual death of human beings who have sinned.
(1) Adam and the woman. They went from a state of perfection to a state of spiritual death. This is classified as the original sin.
(2) The spiritual death of all human beings who are born of woman. This is the real imputation of Adam’s original sin to the genetically formed sin nature.
b. There is the substitutionary spiritual death of Jesus Christ on the Cross. This is the spiritual death of the humanity of Christ that never sinned. Rom 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died as a substitute for us.” The Lord described His own spiritual death in Ps 22:1 and Mt 27:46, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, `Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, `My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” Christ did not die a real spiritual death but a substitutionary spiritual death.
(1) When the humanity of Christ was being judged for our sins, His deity remained in union with His humanity per the inseparable hypostatic union. Christ remained perfect and sinless while bearing our sins. Christ had to have a human body in order to be judged for sin. Deity could have nothing to do with sin. Deity and humanity could not separate while Christ was bearing our sins and being judged.
(2) Even though the sins of the Old Testament believer were imputed to the lamb, the lamb was still without spot or blemish. Christ remained sinless while bearing our sins, so that He becomes the Lamb who takes away the sins of the world. If He had committed one sin, there would have been no salvation.
(3) While bearing our sins, Jesus Christ was filled in His humanity with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit never forsook our Lord while He was being judged for our sins. Jesus Christ retained His impeccability when the sins of the world were imputed to Him, just as when the righteousness of God was imputed to you to moment you believed in Christ but retained your sin nature and still sin.
c. Simultaneously with the imputation of human life to the soul, the justice of God imputes Adam’s original sin to the genetically formed old sin nature. The old sin nature is not in the soul, but has great influence on the soul. God created the soul, but not the old sin nature. It is genetically formed.
d. Just as there is affinity between the spark of life and the soul, so there is affinity between Adam’s original sin and the old sin nature. In fact, Adam’s original sin is the origin of the old sin nature, Rom 5:12. When Adam first sinned, the old sin nature was created in the cell structure of his body.
d. Two factors are involved in this real imputation: Adam’s original sin and the old sin nature. There is affinity with antecedence dating back to the Garden. A judicial imputation has only one factor, what is imputed, since there is no home or target.
e. While the old sin nature originates from the original sin of Adam, it is now transmitted through the twenty three male chromosomes in the sperm which fertilize the female ovum, generally by copulation. The twenty- three female chromosomes are free of corruption by the function of meiosis and polar body as the ovum is formed. The man passes down the old sin nature in his contaminated sperm because he knew exactly what he was doing when he sinned in the Garden. The woman was deceived, Adam was not.
f. This imputation of Adam’s original sin to the old sin nature is a facsimile of Adam at the time of his fall. So each of us at birth is a facsimile of Adam at the point of his sin.
g. Therefore human birth consists of two simultaneous imputations from the justice of God: life and condemnation.
h. This is the wisdom of God in doing it this way, for condemnation must precede salvation. Thus those who do not reach the age of accountability are automatically saved, because they have already been condemned at birth. The justice of God is free to save them since they have never had the opportunity to hear or understand the Gospel, or even be aware of God’s existence. For example, when a baby dies, God could not save him if He had to wait for him to commit his first personal sin. So He imputes Adam’s original sin to his old sin nature and condemns him at birth as a matter of grace.
i. The imputation of Adam’s original sin at birth is the basis for spiritual death, Rom 5:12-21, and not our personal sins.
j. No one is condemned on the basis of personal sins. All personal sins were collected in eternity past into a prom chip to be imputed to Christ on the cross and judged.
k. The non-imputation of personal sins to the individual not only implies that God has a plan for your life, but the plan includes salvation. Your personal sins are never imputed to you.
l. Therefore, personal sin is not the basis for spiritual death, it is simply one of the three manifestations of having an old sin nature. (The other two manifestations are human good and evil.)
m. We are born physical alive and at the same time spiritually dead. This gives the justice of God the freedom to save those who do not reach accountability.
D. The Virgin Pregnancy of Jesus Christ.
1. All the cells of the human race are contaminated by the old sin nature.
2. The exception is that through meiosis and polar body twenty-three chromosomes are thrown off in the ovum leaving twenty-three uncontaminated chromosomes in the female ovum prior to fertilization.
3. This phenomena in the female is based on the fact the woman was deceived in the transgression, but still guilty.
4. This means that ignorance is no excuse, but does make a difference in what member of the human race is the child bearer, 1 Tim 2:13-15.
5. While both man and woman are carriers of the old sin nature, only the man can transmit the old sin nature through fertilization of the ovum.
6. This usually occurs through copulation, but there is also artificial insemination.
7. Mary was a virgin when she became pregnant the first time. Her other pregnancies were related to copulation, Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3.
8. The virgin pregnancy was induced by God Holy Spirit, who fertilized the ovum of Mary with twenty-three perfect male chromosomes.
9. This means that through meiosis, Mary contributed twenty-three perfect female chromosomes, while the Holy Spirit provided twenty-three perfect male chromosomes.
10. The virgin pregnancy resulted in the virgin birth. Without this there can be no salvation.
11. While Mary was a virgin, she was not impeccable. She is not “the mother of God,” only the humanity of Christ. Trinity with eternal life cannot have a mother. That is blasphemy.
12. She received two imputations at birth: human life and Adam’s original sin. She had a genetically-formed old sin nature passed down through her father. She was a sinner by imputation and action. But Jesus received only human life, since He possessed no target for the imputation of Adam’s original sin. Christ, therefore, was uniquely born, Jn 3:16, because He had no old sin nature. Because of this, He was qualified to bear the sins of the world.
13. At birth, Christ did not have a genetically-formed old sin nature, because parthenogenesis excluded the contamination of the female ovum.
14. Only twenty-three male chromosomes carry the old sin nature for transmission. Only the male passes on the old sin nature, but both the male and female have the old sin nature.
15. The Holy Spirit fertilized the ovum of Mary with twenty-three perfect male chromosomes. Therefore, no male was involved in her first pregnancy.
16. Christ was born a facsimile of Adam before his fall, trichotomous. Just as Adam was created perfect, so Christ was born perfect. Therefore, one of the titles for our Lord is “the Last Adam.”
17. Because of the virgin pregnancy and virgin birth, there is no genetically-formed old sin nature and no imputation of Adam’s original sin to the humanity of Christ.
18. A real imputation cannot occur without a home or target, and there must be affinity. Therefore, our Lord was born the way Adam was created. But He still had volition which was able to sin.
19. Christ lived thirty-three years inside the prototype divine dynasphere without committing any sin. Therefore, he arrived at the cross perfect, impeccable, and qualified to receive the imputation of all sins of the human race at the cross and be judged.
E. The First Judicial Imputation at the Cross.
1. There are three factors in a judicial imputation.
a. The source, which is the justice of God.
b. The nature of the imputation, in which there in no antecedence, no affinity, and no harmony in what is imputed.
c. The recipient of that imputation.
2. In the first judicial imputation, there is only one recipient—our Lord Jesus Christ. He was pierced, he was crushed with the sins of the entire human race, and yet, not one of those sins, not one thing of which we were guilty has either antecedent, affinity, or harmony with the impeccable Son of God. The perfect humanity of Jesus Christ received the imputation and the judgment of all personal sins in history while hanging on the Cross. These sins of the human race were not antecedently His own; hence, there was neither affinity, harmony, or congruence between what was imputed and the perfect humanity of Christ in hypostatic union.
3. The fact that our Lord was pierced with billions and billions of sins and still remained impeccable is, in itself, one of the most phenomenal things in human history.
4. The justice of God the Father did two things in the first judicial imputation of history. He called for the printout of all human sins from one prom chip in the computer of divine decrees, where they had been programmed in eternity past. He imputed those sins to Christ like javelins, like punches and then He judged every one of them. This is a judicial imputation since the sins of the world were not antecedently His own. Since personal sins of the human race—past, present, and future—were not imputed to the individual, they were reserved for judgment until Christ reached the Cross.
5. There is no affinity between the sins of the world and the impeccability of Jesus Christ. Therefore, in a judicial imputation the justice of God the Father imputes where antecedence and affinity does not exist.
a. Rom 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died as a substitute for us.” 2 Cor 5:14- 15,19; 1 Tim 2:6, 4:10; Tit 2:11; Heb 2:9; 2 Pet 2:1, 1 Jn 2:2, and other passages tell us that, without exception, every sin in human history— believers and unbelievers—were imputed to our Lord and judged by God the Father on the Cross. This was unlimited atonement.
b. 1 Cor 11:24, “This is My body, a substitute for you.”
c. 1 Pet 2:24, “He himself carried our sins in His body on the Cross.”
d. 1 Pet 3:18, “Because Christ also died once for sins, the Righteous One as a substitute for the unrighteous ones, in order that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive by the Spirit.” While dying for our sins, He remained the Righteous One, impeccable. The Holy Spirit continued to fill His humanity and His deity remained in union with His humanity while bearing our sins.
e. Gal 3:13, “Christ has redeemed us separated from [outside of] the curse of the Law, having become a curse as a substitute for us—for it stands written, `Cursed is everyone who hangs on the wood.’” Jesus Christ on the Cross was outside of the curse of the Law because He was perfect. While He was being judged for our sins, He was not under the curse of the Law. He was never under the curse of the Law. Through His substitutionary spiritual death, Jesus Christ removed the barrier of spiritual death at birth. We were born under a curse, but it was removed by our Lord.
(1) Through unlimited atonement, Christ removed the barrier of all personal sins from the human race.
(2) Through regeneration, Christ removed the barrier of physical birth.
(3) Through redemption, the barrier of the curse of the Law is removed.
f. Rom 8:31-32, “Therefore, with reference to these things, to what conclusion are we forced? If God is for us, who shall be against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for judgment as a substitute for all of us, how shall He not also with Him graciously give to us the all things?”
(1) If God the Father accomplished the greater difficulty at the Cross by imputing our sins to Christ and judging them, can God accomplish the lesser difficulty of providing lesser benefit for you after salvation? The accepted fact is the divine judicial imputation of all sins to Christ on the Cross and by comparison produces an inescapable fact that with Christ He has graciously given us all things. If God has done the greater at the Cross, He can certainly accomplish that of lesser difficulty by providing for us after salvation.
(2) Through logistical grace, God graciously gives to us “the all things.” The justice of God did the greater by imputing all sins to Christ and judging them, and the justice of God did the lesser by imputing righteousness to everyone who believes in Christ. All blessing that comes to you is graciously given to you by God because of what Christ did on the Cross. Our works are nothing compared to what Christ did on the Cross.
g. Isa 53:4ff, “He carried the guilt of our sinful afflictions; He was crushed by our punishment for sin. He received our punishment for sin.”
F. The Second Judicial Imputation at Salvation—Perfect Righteousness.
1. 2 Cor 5:21, “He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin as a substitute for us so that we might become the righteousness of God through Him.” All the time that God the Father was making Christ to be sin on our behalf Christ did not sin. The action of the aorist participle is coterminous with the action of the aorist active indicative of the main verb. We exchange at salvation our personal sins for the perfect righteousness of God imputed to us, which is our motivation and momentum to advance to maturity.
2. In the judicial imputations, there is no antecedence, target, or home. Therefore, a judicial imputation has one factor, what is being imputed.
3. Judicial imputation number two is one of blessing. Perfect righteousness is imputed to believers at salvation, Gen 15:6.
4. This judicial imputation of perfect righteousness establishes a grace pipeline encapsulated by the integrity of God (His perfect righteousness and justice).
5. On the giving end of the pipeline is the justice of God, the function of divine integrity. On the receiving end is the perfect righteousness of God, the principle of divine integrity.
6. This imputation makes possible the believer becoming the recipient of divine attributes such as the love of God.
7. Grace is the policy of the justice of God in imputing blessing to the resident perfect righteousness of God.
8. Perfect righteousness demands perfect righteousness; perfect justice demands justice. Perfect God can only demand in man absolute perfection.
9. What the perfect righteousness of God demands, the justice of God executes. The resident perfect righteousness of God, imputed at salvation, demands logistical grace support in Y radical of our equation, and special blessing in Z radical.
10. The grace pipeline is always insulated against human works, talent, or ability. Rom 3:20-24, 4:3-5, 22; Mt 6:33; Rom 9:30, “That the Gentiles who did not strive for divine righteousness have attained divine righteousness, that is the righteousness from the source of faith in Jesus Christ.”
11. This perfect righteousness is the basis of the first a fortiori.
a. If the justice of God accomplishes the greater at salvation, (i.e., the imputation of perfect righteousness), it follows, a fortiori (with stronger reason), that He will not withhold the less (i.e. the imputation of escrow blessings).
b. Greater in a fortiori refers to degree of effort. The object is the special blessings which glorify Christ.
c. If God can impute His perfect righteousness to us at salvation, which takes greater effort than blessing us, then He can certainly bless us at the point of maturity, which takes far less effort.
12. Therefore, the imputation of perfect righteousness establishes the potential for great blessing in time, both logistical and escrow. But it is only potential until it is linked with momentum from perception of doctrine.
13. The imputation of perfect righteousness at salvation becomes both motivation and momentum in the Christian way of life: motivation to persist in the perception of doctrine, and momentum for continuing the metabolization of doctrine. The result is maximum doctrine resident in the soul producing maturity adjustment to the justice of God.
14. This means a transfer from logistical blessing in Y radical to escrow blessing in Z radical as the glorification of God in time.
G. The Real Imputation of Eternal Life at Salvation, 1 Jn 5:11-12. “In fact this is the deposition, God has given to us eternal life; in fact, this life is resident in His Son. He who has the Son has life [eternal life], He who does not have the Son does not have life.” Jn 3:16, 36, 6:47, 20:31 all point out that eternal life is a result of faith in Christ.
1. A real imputation has two factors: what is imputed and the target or home for what is imputed. There is always affinity between the two.
2. Eternal life is imputed at salvation. The target is the human spirit, manufactured by the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation.
3. The ministry of the Holy Spirit in manufacturing a home for eternal life is called regeneration.
4. The human spirit is the permanent home for eternal life.
5. Eternal life cannot be removed from the human spirit by God, angel, or man. Just as the human soul is the permanent residence for human life, so the human spirit is the permanent residence for eternal life.
6. At physical birth, human life is imputed to the soul, while at regeneration, eternal life is imputed to the human spirit.
7. This imputation at salvation plus the imputation of escrow blessings at maturity prepares the way for the eternal glorification of God through the imputation of eternal reward and blessing at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
H. The Imputation of Escrow Blessings in Time at Maturity.
1. Scripture.
a. Eph 1:3, “Worthy of praise and glorification is God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.”
b. 1 Cor 2:9, “However, as it stands written, `Things the eye has not seen nor ear has heard, nor mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.”
c. Prov 8:18, “Riches and honor are with me [Bible doctrine], enduring wealth and prosperity.”
d. Eph 3:20, “Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us.”
2. The Mechanics for Blessing.
a. The best things which happen to us in life glorify God. These are the real imputations of blessings in time which begin at maturity.
b. This imputation is the result of the first a fortiori. If the justice of God provided the greater at salvation (i.e., the imputation of perfect righteousness), it follows, a fortiori, that the justice of God will not withhold the less at maturity (i.e., the imputation of blessing in time to perfect righteousness).
c. It took two judicial imputations to make available the real imputation of escrow blessings at maturity. An escrow is a deed or a bond or other written agreement delivered to a third person to be delivered to the grantee upon the performance or fulfillment of some condition. God the Father, as the grantor, deposited into escrow with God the Son greater blessings for time and eternity for each believer. Each believer is a grantee. The condition for the distribution of these blessings is execution of the protocol plan of God. The point of distribution is upon reaching maturity and at the Judgment Seat of Christ. These blessings were deposited into escrow in eternity past, thus making the blessings irrevocable. If the blessings are not conveyed to the believer because he or she fails to fulfill the conditions of the escrow by reaching maturity, then the escrow remains on deposit forever as a memorial to lost opportunity.
d. As a result of these two judicial imputations, the believer possesses one-half of divine integrity (perfect righteousness) with the potential of escrow blessing from the justice of God.
e. The integrity of God is composed of perfect righteousness and justice. Perfect righteousness is the guardian of justice, while justice guards all other divine attributes. When perfect righteousness is imputed to us, it frees God to impute logistical grace blessing and later maturity blessings without compromising His essence.
f. The principle is that perfect righteousness demands perfect righteousness and justice demands justice. Perfect righteousness is the principle of divine integrity, while justice is the function of divine integrity. Therefore, what the perfect righteousness of God demands, the justice of God executes. Perfect righteousness in us demands God provide logistical grace, which is everything necessary to advance to maturity. At maturity, perfect righteousness demands blessing from God. Legitimate production never demands anything from God. Perfect righteousness only demands when circumstances are right. At salvation, circumstances are right for logistical grace; at maturity, circumstances are right for the imputation of blessing.
g. Perfect righteousness cannot demand special blessing from the justice of God unless the believer has the capacity for that blessing. Such capacity demands spiritual growth to maturity.
h. Maximum doctrine resident in the soul fulfills both the spiritual growth and capacity factor for special blessing from the justice of God.
i. God cannot accept anything less than perfect righteousness, and cannot bless anything less than perfect righteousness. Therefore, the imputation of perfect righteousness at salvation is absolutely necessary for any blessing from the justice of God whether logistical or special.
j. What the perfect righteousness of God rejects, the justice of God condemns. What the perfect righteousness of God demands, the justice of God provides. What the perfect righteousness of God approves, the justice of God blesses.
3. Importance of Justification.
a. Justification is the result of the imputation of perfect righteousness at salvation. God sees His own perfect righteousness in us and justifies us by virtue of possessing that perfect righteousness.
b. Justification is God recognizing perfect righteousness wherever it resides. It is God recognizing His own perfect righteousness imputed at the moment of faith in Christ.
c. The judicial imputation of divine perfect righteousness at salvation is the potential for all blessing from the justice in time.
d. Therefore, the potential plus the capacity equals the reality of escrow blessing imputed in time. Mt 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom [positive volition at God consciousness and Gospel hearing] and His perfect righteousness, and all these things shall be provided for you.”
e. In Ps 23:5-6, David described the imputation of special blessing. “You have prepared before me a table in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; my cup is overflowing. Only prosperity and grace shall pursue me all the days of my life, and I shall remain in the house of the Lord forever [eternal blessings].”
4. The Categories of Escrow Blessing. These blessings apply only to the mature believer in Z radical. These are the “all things” of Rom 8:28, 32.
a. Spiritual blessings include:
(1) Maximum capacity for love; occupation with Christ; capacity for life, love, happiness and blessing; sharing the +H of God.
(2) The ability to cope with any disaster in life; freedom from slavery to circumstances of life.
(3) Ability to correctly interpret contemporary history and correctly evaluate current events in terms of the Word of God.
(4) Grace orientation, which is understanding and functioning under grace principles in life.
(5) Flexibility to adapt to the changing circumstances of life.
(6) Maximum function of the royal family honor code.
(7) A total sense of security in relationship to the plan of God.
(8) Dying grace and a total preparation for death, having confidence in God’s place, manner and time for your death.
b. Temporal blessing.
(1) Wealth, received or acquired.
(2) Success, prominence in one’s sphere of life, promotion.
(3) Prosperity socially, sexually, technically, culturally, professionally, mentally, and in the area of establishment.
(4) Leadership dynamics, the ability to assume authority apart from pseudo-motivation and apart from emotional inspiration, plus stability of character.
(5) Good health is not in our genes, but a blessing from God.
(6) The mature believer can expect some of these, though not necessarily all of them. Some people aren’t suited to certain kinds of special blessing.
c. Blessing by association.
(1) The mature believer is a blessing to those in his generation, both during his life and after his death, to those who were associated with him until their death. This is often why the wicked prosper.
(2) This can be illustrated by the pastor of a local church. No one exceeds their right pastor’s spiritual growth. Those in a congregation are blessed throughout their life by association with a mature pastor.
(3) There are two categories of blessing by association: direct blessing from God and indirect blessing from God, in which the believer shares his blessing, whether it is spiritual or material.
(4) There are six areas of blessing by association.
(a) Spiritual periphery from association with mature believers in the local church.
(b) Personal periphery includes loved ones. When someone in the family reaches maturity, the rest of the family is blessed. © Professional periphery can include schools, military organizations, teams.
(d) Business periphery.
(e) Social periphery includes friends, clubs.
(f) Geographical periphery can include the city, state, or nation.
(5) Heritage factor. Blessing by association is perpetuated to those with whom the mature believer had association after his death until they die. This is why the wicked prosper, Jer 12:1. Even reversionists prosper because they were associated with the mature believer. Prov 24:19, “Do not be jealous of the wicked.”
d. Historical blessing is the salt or pivot principle. If the pivot of mature believers is large enough, then the nation is preserved.
e. Undeserved suffering.
(1) Suffering is designed to demonstrate the power and provision of God’s grace, 2 Cor 12:1-10.
(2) Undeserved suffering teaches the value of Bible doctrine, Ps 119:67-68, 71.
(3) Undeserved suffering is designed to manifest the ministry of God the Holy Spirit, 2 Cor 4:8-11.
(4) Undeserved suffering is designed to put muscle on faith through the operation of the faith-rest drill, to accelerate spiritual growth, and to keep the believer occupied with his eternal future, Rom 8:36, 5:3-5.
f. Dying blessing.
(1) Dying grace terminates the life of the mature believer. The curse of death with its fear and pain is removed, causing it to become the greatest experience in life.
(2) Dying grace is the transition between the real imputation of blessing in time and the real imputation of blessing and reward in eternity. (3) The mature believer has the best in life, something better in dying, and better than the best in eternity. Phil 1:21, “For me living is Christ, likewise, dying is profit.” Ps 116:15, “Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of the mature ones.”
(4) As far as the mature believer is concerned, God delivers him from death until it is time for him to die. Then He delivers him from the usual horrors of dying, Job 5:20; Ps 33:19, 56:13, 116:8, 23:4. God’s decision is based on prior knowledge of all the facts.
(5) The general characteristics of Christian death include:
(a) No appointment with judgment, Rom 8:1.
(b) Being face to face with God, 2 Cor 5:8.
© No more pain, sorrow, death or tears, Rev 21:4.
(d) The anticipation of an inheritance which is incorruptible, undefiled, and cannot be lost, 1 Pet 1:4-5.
(e) A new home in heaven, Jn 14:1-6.
(f) The reality of eternal life, 1 Jn 5:11-12. We do not have the reality of eternal life until our soul is outside the body and in the presence of the Lord.
(g) Death is a promotion and gain, Phil 1:21.
(h) Death is the victory of 1 Cor 15:55-58.
I. The Third Hope Motivation. 1. Imputation provides motivation. Hope three is confident anticipation of blessing at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
2. The mature believer has a special confidence, knowing that he will receive the seventh imputation from the justice of God to the resurrection body.
3. This is the confidence throughout the rest of the mature believer’s lifetime. It is a fantastic confidence.
4. Heb 11:13 describes it as saluting eternity as you cross the high golden bridge. It is a reality of eternity while still alive.
5. Rom 12:12, “With reference to that hope [3], be rejoicing.”
6. Col 1:5, “Because of the hope laid up in heaven which you previously heard in the word of truth.”
7. Tit 2:13, “Looking for that blessed hope,” [This is not the Rapture but the imputation of eternal blessing which glorifies God forever] “and appearing of the glory of the great God, even our Savior Christ Jesus.”
8. 1 Pet 1:3, “Blessed be the God even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope [3] through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” Heb 6:19-20; 1 Jn 3:2-3.
J. The Seventh Imputation.
1. This is the imputation from the justice of God of the eternal escrow blessings and rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ.
2. The Judgment Seat of Christ occurs right after the Rapture while the seven years of the great Tribulation are occurring on the earth.
3. Jesus Christ will be the judge of all Church Age believers at His judgment seat. Jn 5:22, “But not even the Father judges anyone, but He has delegated all judgment to the Son.” This explains 2 Cor 5:10, “For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that each one of us may be rewarded for the things done through the body face to face with what he has accomplished, whether good or worthless.” Rom 14:10.
4. Five categories of rewards are mentioned.
a. Cities, Lk 19:13-26. Some believers will rule cities during the Millennium.
b. A special city, Heb 11:10, 13, 16; Rev 21:2, 10-11.
c. Analogy to the harvest, Mt 13:3-9, 18-23.
d. Crowns.
(1) The alpha cross, 2 Tim 4:7-8, is the crown of righteousness, given for the fulfillment of perfect righteousness in time, i.e., receiving the imputation of special blessings to the mature believer.
(2) The bravo cross, Jas 1:12; Rev 2:10 is the crown of life given for advance in Z radical.
(3) The ultra cross, Phil 4:1; 1 Thes 2:19-20; 1 Pet 5:4, is the crown of glory for the believer who attains ultra supergrace.
e. Ruling with God, 1 Cor 4:8; 2 Time 2:12; Rev 5:10.
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© 1989, by R. B. Thieme, Jr. All rights reserved.
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