God Looks at Me and Sees Jesus

“He Looks at Me and Sees Jesus”

This is something I was led to understand in my youth and it never sat well with me. Even as a kid I could never reconcile God, who could not lie, faking Himself out about us by viewing us "through the blood of Jesus" or "seeing Jesus when He looked at us." It just bothered me for decades.

The picture does have SOME merit (as I'm sure you already see) in that it can be a way of expressing that when God looks at us, He sees the righteousness of Christ Jesus, He sees us as perfectly holy and blameless. All those things are true and if that is truly what people mean when making the statement then I could probably live with that.

Theologically however, this is very problematic.
We are told that "the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead dwells in us." (see Romans 8:11)
We are told that we who have joined ourselves to the Lord are "one spirit with Him." (see 1 Corinthians 6:17)
We are told that "He who knew no sin was made to be sin for us, so that we might be made the righteousness of God" in Christ. (see 2 Corinthians 5:21)
We are described as blameless. (see 1 Corinthians 1:8)
We are told that we (individually and corporately) are the Body of Christ. That we are His temple. (see 1 Corinthians 3:16)

If the Old Testament makes anything clear, it makes it clear that God does not dwell in unclean unholy places. It also makes clear (as does the Revelation) that God dwells among His people.

If we are not ACTUALLY righteous, holy, blameless, then He CANNOT live in us.
If He were to inhabit unclean or impure people, there are only two possible (if theoretical) outcomes.

He would cease to be God because He would no longer be perfect, having become contaminated by our impure selves.
Or we would be consumed.

The latter is obviously the only possible option.

The Scriptures are abundantly clear that God has made us righteous. It is a gift we have received by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is our righteousness.

“For if by the offense of the one, death reigned through the one, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17, NASB 2020)

“For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous.” (Romans 5:19, NASB 2020)

Your righteousness is real, Saint.