Great indeed, we
confess, is the mystery of godliness:
He was manifested in the flesh,
vindicated by the Spirit,
seen by angels,
proclaimed among the nations,
believed on in the world,
taken up in glory.
There is no good
reason not to translate the phrase εδικαιωθη
εν πνευματι as
“justified by the Spirit,” and in so doing we recognize the continuity
with Romans 1:4. Having become human and recapitulated Adam’s trial (echoed in
Israel’s), the incarnate Son has become adopted as the Father’s true and
faithful son that Adam and Israel failed to be. “I glorified you on earth,”
Jesus prayed, “having accomplished the work that you gave me to do” (John
17:4). Having done so, he has merited justification for himself and for us. Who
else could are to say, much less to pray, “And for their sake I sanctify myself
[αγιαζω εμαυτον],
that they also maybe be sanctified [ηγιασμενοι] in truth” (John 17:19)? (Michael Horton, Justification,
2 vols. [New Studies in Dogmatics; Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 2018], 2:266)
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