And without controversy great is the mystery
of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified (δικαιοω) in the Spirit, seen of angels,
preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.
(1 Tim 3:16)
This verse
is a very important one, as it shows that, even when δικαιοω is used in a declarative sense,
there is also a transformational meaning
behind it (after all, Jesus was transformed from dead the resurrected, not
merely declared such), and there is no hint of a mere forensic declaration based
on an imputation of an alien righteousness. For a discussion, including a
response to John Calvin’s (lame) attempt to get around the importance of this,
see:
19th
century Reformed theologian, George Smeaton (1814-1889) wrote the following
about this text, and how δικαιοω has a transformative meaning:
Of all the explanations that have been
attempted of this expression, only two deserve attention. The one is, that He
had proclaimed Himself the Son of God, and been put to death as a blasphemer,
and that He was now raised up by His own divine nature, and justified in all
that He claimed to be. The other interpretation, which I prefer is, that He was
put to death under the charge of our imputed guilt, as our Surety, but
justified by the Holy Spirit when He rose. (George Smeaton, The Doctrine of the Holy Spirit [London: The Banner of Truth
Trust, 1958], 84-85)
While
teaching the anti-biblical and blasphemous doctrine of imputed righteousness
(see Response to a Recent Attempt to Defend Imputed Righteousness), Smeaton, by agreeing that Jesus being “justified” by the Spirit is tied
into his resurrection, holds to not just a declarative interpretation, but a transformative interpretation of δικαιοω, too.
