Christ’s judgment seat is God’s; justifying faith

“We must,” he says, “be made manifest before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive what is due for the things done through the body, whether good or worthless.” Another of the holy apostles also said: “There is one lawgiver and judge.” And David himself sings: “For God is judge.”

So when he calls God’s right judgment the verdict at the divine seat upon each person — the verdict Christ himself will give (for we will stand at his seat, and not as before one of our kind, but as before God and judge and lawgiver) — how is Christ not God?

“For through the law comes knowledge of sin. But now, apart from law, the righteousness of God has been manifested, attested by the law and the prophets — the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe.”

The righteousness apart from law, which he also says the holy prophets have attested, he says is the righteousness through faith toward Jesus Christ. Then how is the one who justifies believers not God, since he is truly God? Faith looks to that end. And when the holy prophets attest faith toward Christ, who dares to say he is not God because of the human — that is, because the Word became flesh?

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.” If our sinning makes us fall short of God’s glory because he does not know sin — and it is written of Christ that he did no sin — then we also fall short of God’s glory by our offenses; therefore the Word is God even with flesh, for he did no sin.