Obedience is a key concept in Christianity, referring to submission and adherence to God’s will. Active and passive obedience are theological terms that relate to Jesus Christ’s work of salvation on behalf of humanity.
Active obedience refers to Christ’s perfect fulfillment of God’s law during his life on earth. Jesus lived a sinless life in perfect obedience to the Father’s will, actively fulfilling all righteousness (Matthew 3:15). This is in contrast to humanity’s disobedience and failure to meet God’s perfect standards. Christ’s active obedience is credited to believers, as if they had perfectly obeyed God’s law themselves.
Passive obedience refers to Christ’s submission to suffering and death on the cross. By allowing himself to be crucified, Jesus paid the penalty for humanity’s sins, satisfying God’s wrath against sin (Romans 5:9). This passive obedience involved willingly taking humanity’s place under God’s judgment. While active obedience was Christ achieving righteousness on our behalf, passive obedience was him bearing sin’s penalty in our place (2 Corinthians 5:21).
These two aspects of Christ’s obedience are deeply connected in salvation. Scripture teaches that just as by one man’s disobedience (Adam) many were made sinners, by one man’s obedience (Jesus) many will be made righteous (Romans 5:19). Jesus’ perfect obedience is imputed or credited to believers when they put their faith in him, while their disobedience and sin are imputed to Christ on the cross.
This double imputation is key to understanding salvation in Christ. God declares believers righteous because their sin has been laid on Jesus, who bore it in their place. And Jesus’ perfect righteousness is credited to them by faith, granting them right standing before God. His active obedience achieves our righteousness, while his passive obedience pays for our sins. Together, they reconcile us to the Father.
In summary, active obedience refers to Christ’s perfect lifelong obedience to God’s laws, by which he achieved a righteous status on our behalf that is credited to us at salvation. Passive obedience points to Christ’s supreme act of giving himself over to suffer and die, thereby bearing the penalty for our sins in our place so we could be forgiven. These two dimensions of Christ’s work are inseparable in granting salvation to all who have faith in him.
1. Active Obedience – Christ’s Perfect Obedience to God’s Law
Active obedience emphasizes Christ’s positively fulfilling all righteousness through his sinless life. It involves these key points:
- Christ perfectly obeyed God’s moral law and commands throughout his life on earth.
- This included inward motivation and outward actions – Jesus’ nature, thoughts, desires, and behavior were all sinlessly obedient to the Father.
- Christ’s obedience went beyond outward actions to the very depth of his heart and motivations.
- Jesus actively fulfilled all aspects of God’s righteousness through his life (Matthew 3:15).
- By positively obeying, Jesus achieved a righteous status before God that we could not.
- Christ’s righteous merits are imputed or credited to believers when they have faith in him.
- This means believers are declared righteous on account of Christ’s active obedience.
- His perfect obedience is counted as theirs, granting them right legal standing before God.
In summary, active obedience teaches that believers are granted Christ’s own righteous status through faith, because his lifelong obedience to God is credited to them by grace.
Some Key Bible Verses on Active Obedience
“For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19)
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.” (Galatians 4:4-5)
“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:8)
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” (Hebrews 4:15)
“You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.” (1 John 3:5)
2. Passive Obedience – Christ’s Submission to the Cross
Passive obedience refers to Jesus willingly receiving the judgment for humanity’s sin. Key aspects include:
- This involves Christ’s supreme act of giving himself up to suffer and die on the cross.
- Jesus obediently submitted to the Father’s plan that he suffer as a substitute sacrifice for sinners.
- God’s wrath and judgment on human disobedience was fully poured out on Christ on the cross.
- Jesus experienced the penalty and condemnation deserved by humanity due to sin.
- This passive obedience involved willingly bearing sin’s penalty in the place of many.
- Christ absorbed God’s wrath so that sinners could receive grace and be spared judgment.
- Jesus’ death satisfied the righteous requirements of the law regarding sin’s punishment.
In summary, passive obedience teaches that Christ took the weight of God’s judgment on behalf of sinful humanity by giving himself over to suffer and die on the cross.
Some Key Bible Verses on Passive Obedience
“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person – though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die – but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.” (Romans 5:6-9)
“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.” (1 Timothy 2:5-6)
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10)
“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our’s only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2 KJV)
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
3. How Active and Passive Obedience Relate to Salvation
These two dimensions of Christ’s work – his active lifelong obedience, and his passive death on the cross – come together to provide complete salvation:
- Jesus’ perfect obedience is imputed or credited to the believer’s account through faith, while the believer’s sin is imputed or laid on Christ.
- On the cross, God’s judgment and wrath against sin was fully poured out on Jesus.
- By faith, sinners can receive grace since the penalty for their disobedience has been paid by Christ’s passive obedience.
- At the same time, Christ’s perfect obedience to God’s laws is counted as theirs. This grants them a righteous legal standing before God.
- So in Christ, the believer is declared righteous and all their sin is paid for. This is only possible through Jesus’ active and passive obedience together.
In summary, the concepts of active and passive obedience provide a fuller understanding of Christ’s saving work. By perfectly obeying God’s law, and willingly dying as a substitute sacrifice for sinners, Jesus provides both the righteousness and payment for sin that is needed for our salvation.
Conclusion
Active and passive obedience beautifully express the completeness of Christ’s atonement. Jesus not only died as a substitute to pay sin’s penalty, but lived a perfectly righteous life to earn merit before God on our behalf. When sinners repent and believe in Christ, they can be fully reconciled to God. His perfect obedience is counted as their own, while their sin is counted as put upon Him.
This double imputation – sin to Christ, and righteousness to the believer – is the marvelous truth at the heart of our salvation. The concepts of active and passive obedience give insight into the fullness of Christ’s redemptive work. Together, they display the richness of God’s grace, justice, and mercy in providing salvation to humanity through Jesus Christ and His perfect obedience.