Dr. William Ebert

The benefits of the saving work of Christ, especially in the Reformed tradition, are often divided
into the Lord’s objective and the Spirit’s subjective work. This is helpful, especially in
distinguishing between justification and sanctification. However, as this series has explored, this
distinction within the atonement breaks down. This was emphasized in Dr. Cailing’s reflection
on participation in this series, which focused on the atonement as “participation” in Christ.
Under the rubric of being “in Christ,” the objective and subjective benefits merge into a holistic
salvation experience, culminating in a transformed life.

In the history of theology, the logical connection between the Lord’s atonement and the imitatio
Christi has been contested. But each perspective captures a truth. We imitate Christ out of
gratitude for His sacrifice. The cross is not merely something we believe about God — it is
something that claims our lives; to see what Christ endured for us is to be moved to live as He
lived (Eph 5:1–2). We imitate Christ because his life has become an example of pleasing God.
We imitate Christ by joining him in his mission to be agents of God’s love and reconciliation.
The atonement opens not only a way back to God but a way forward into the world — as those
who have been reconciled, called to announce reconciliation (John 13:14–15). We imitate
Christ as an essential element of sanctification, an outgrowth of his redemptive work. In the
atoning work of Christ, God has not merely forgiven our past; he has committed himself to our
ongoing transformation, conforming us to the image of His Son (Rom 8:29). We imitate Christ
because our life is now “in Him” by the Spirit, and we can do no other. This is not a burden
imposed from outside but a freedom discovered from within — the very Spirit who unites us to
Christ works ceaselessly to conform us to His image.

Whatever the connection, the New Testament is emphatic. We are to imitate Christ! (1 Cor 11:1;
Phil 2:5–8; 1 Pet 2:21; 1 John 2:6.) By imitating Christ then, in living union with Him by the
Spirit, let us draw nearer to God, embody Christ’s kingdom values, and bear living witness to
others.