When Justification becomes ours, we are acquitted in the courtroom of Heaven. We are declared not guilty. This is much greater than receiving a pardon. When a person is pardoned the Judge is saying, “You did the crime but I forgive you.” This, however, falls far short of Justification for in Justification, the Judge says, “You are not guilty, you did not commit the crime.” Unfortunately, this distinction is not always pressed home, especially in many of our old hymns. We sing, “I love Thee because Thou hast first loved me; And purchased my pardon when nailed to the tree. “ But, beautiful as the Hymn is, Jesus did much more than purchase our pardon, He purchased our acquittal!

It is interesting to note that in the KJV version of the Bible there is no mention, in the New Testament, of the word pardon. It is an entirely Old Testament concept. Yet there are those who will fight tooth and nail to maintain the position that we are pardoned by the work of the cross. Justification, however, we say again is much greater than pardon, it is full and entire acquittal! In fact, to be justified is the direct opposite of being condemned. A condemned man can be pardoned but his pardon does not clear him of the guilt of having committed his crimes. However, for the believer, there is no condemnation, that is, there is no declaration by the court of Heaven that we are guilty.

Faith takes a hold of this new verdict and makes it our own. Faith believes Heaven’s declared verdict! Understanding the declaration of Heaven’s court, the believer will not look to any quality within himself to rest upon. We, as believers, can now stand before God, in Jesus Christ, by faith plus nothing. Faith grasps that it is Christ for us not Christ “in us” which saves us. We are saved by us being “in Christ” not by Christ being in us. Our justification is through the finished work of one man and one man alone...The Lord Jesus Christ. We therefore must renounce all claims of merit on our behalf and rest all our confidence in Christ and His good works for us. Horatius Bonar, in his masterpiece on Justification, The Everlasting Righteousness tells us,

"Christ in us, the hope of glory" (Col 1:27), is a well-known and blessed truth; but Christ IN US, our justification, is a ruinous error, leading man away from a crucified Christ-a Christ crucified FOR US. Christ for us is one truth; Christ in us is quite another. The mingling of these two together, or the transposition of them, is the nullifying of the one finished work of the Substitute. Let it be granted that Christ in us is the source of holiness and fruitfulness (John 15:4); but let it never be overlooked that first of all there be Christ FOR US, as our propitiation, our justification, our righteousness. The risen Christ in us, our justification, is a modern theory which subverts the cross. Washing, pardoning, reconciling, justifying, all come from the one work of the cross, not from resurrection. The dying Christ completed the work for us from which all the above benefits flow. The risen Christ but sealed and applied what, three days before, He had done once for all.

(The Everlasting Righteousness: Cpt 7, Not Faith But Christ)

Indeed, Bonar is correct, looking to Christ in us for Justification is a disastrous and damaging error yet, Col 1:27 does speak of “Christ in you the hope of glory”. However, the ‘you’ in this verse in the Greek is plural thus this verse refers to Christ in the midst of His Church. And of course He is in each member of His church but the fact that He is ‘in us’ is not our justification and right standing before God. This passage, in Col. 1:27, is not dealing with justification but rather with the future state of the believer, his resurrection and the return of the Lord. Paul has already spoken to them of their hope (future) which is laid up in heaven (verse 5) and of the hope of the Gospel (future) (verse 23). The Spirit of God will always lift the eyes of the believer away from himself and his experience and fix his gaze upon Christ, His accomplishments and our future destiny in Him.

I would suggest that for further study, see the use of the word ‘hope’ in the New Testament (Acts 2:26-27, Acts 23:6, Acts 24:15, Romans 8:20,23-24, 1 Thessalonians 2:19, 1 Thess. 4:13-14, 1 Tim. 1:1, Titus 2:13, 1 Peter 1:3-4, 1 John 3:2-3.) “Hope” in these verses points to the eschaton and the final consummation of God’s redemptive acts at the end of the age.

Once more let us flatly declare, ‘Christ in us’ is never said to justify. He is of course in us by His Spirit and He dwells in our heart by faith (Eph 3:17) but this should not be confused with the objective finished work of Christ. It is Christ in His finished work who justifies. We ought to be very careful never to confuse and confound the work God has done for us in His Son and the work He is presently doing in us by His Spirit. In fact, the ongoing work of the Spirit in us will cause us to fix our eyes in sure and certain hope upon Christ and the righteousness which resides in Him alone. As Paul says, ‘For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of the righteousness by faith’ Gal 5:5.

Justification comes to us by faith in Christ. Nothing can be added to this faith to, as it were, further twist God’s arm. Justification is not a matter of faith in Christ plus church attendance, faith plus giving or faith plus good works. The ground of our assurance can never be in what we have done or in what we are doing. It is what and who Christ is before God that saves us. He is perfect and we are in Him, therefore, His perfection is reckoned to us. His righteousness is our righteousness. His acceptance is our acceptance. His destiny is our destiny. We are as He is before God.

Our justification is not based on our experience or feelings. Our justification, rather, is a transaction carried out on our behalf before God in the courtroom of the Cosmos. “To declare I say at this time his righteousness that he may be just and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus” Rom 3:26.