I wonder what was going through Paul’s mind when he wrote this: “We own nothing, and yet we have everything.” Perhaps the words he had penned earlier were still fresh on his mind: “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:21). In theological terms, this is called imputed righteousness. To impute is to ascribe something to someone else, to credit to someone’s account. Hence, our faith brought us to the cross and at the cross, Jesus (being made sin for us), imputed all His righteousness into us.
What does this mean? It means that, out of His glorious love and riches, He poured ALL His mercy, grace, forgiveness, goodness, kindness, and compassion into us. It means that we have been crowned with His righteousness. As I thought about this, I was reminded of a passage in Ezekiel 16… a passage about the nation of Israel. Ezekiel tells the people that at one time they were wallowing in the mud, helpless, dirty, and abandoned. But when He passed by, He took pity on them. He breathed into them, “Live!” He turned them into beautiful jewels, wrapped His righteous cloak around them, washed them, rubbed fragrant oils into their skin, and placed a crown on their heads. You may want to read Ezekiel 16:1-14 to get a better picture of this.
While this is talking about the nation of Israel, it’s very true of what imputed righteousness did for us. And here’s the best part… all of this brought us into a right standing with God. In other words, God broke down the barrier of sin that once kept us at a distance from God. Before, we could never know Him, hear Him speak, or have a relationship with Jesus. But because of His righteousness that has been imputed to us, we have access into the throne room where the God of the Universe rules and where Jesus is seated at His right hand. Everything has been opened for us. What’s truly amazing is that because God’s righteousness has been given to us, He ONLY sees the blood of Jesus, not our sin, shame, guilt, and imperfections.
So, do you now understand what Paul is saying? Even though we have nothing in this world, we still have EVERYTHING. God hasn’t held anything back from us. We are His and He loves to spoil us with His GREAT riches. I say AMEN and THANK YOU, Jesus.