Jesus Christ is exhorted in First Timothy as our hope (1:1), our Lord (1:2), as the epitome of grace, faith, and love (1:14), our Savior (1:15), our mediator (2:5), and the one who will come again (6:14). This epistle and the New Testament certainly proves that He is worthy of our praise, adoration, and honor. In the short, Spirit-inspired song of praise through the pen of Paul (1 Tim. 3:16), there is a phrase that draws the present-day reader’s attention: Christ was “justified in the Spirit.” Though our inclination might be to skip over the short line, it sustains the careful consideration of the Bible student. If we give no more than a quick thought before passing this phrase on to the next, we might be left without seeing just why Christ is so highly praised.
Jesus was “justified.” The text verifies this fact. Many have taught for years that justification means: “just-as-if-I never sinned.” As a concept, this is in line with many scriptures about the justification of man (Rom. 5:1; Titus 3:7, et. al.). Thus, does this text teach that Jesus was made as if He had never sinned? Of course not! The Bible clearly teaches that Christ did not sin (2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15; 1 Pet. 2:22; 1 John 3:5). However, sometimes we can make the standard Bible class or sermon explanation of a biblical concept akin to the definition of a biblical word. The definition for the Greek word translated “justified” is defined by Thayer as, “to show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous, such as he is or wishes himself to be considered.” In fact, Jesus was shown or exhibited to be righteous or the righteous one. The Bible also uses the word in this way in Matthew 11:19. The text does not refer to a person, but it says, “…wisdom is justified by her children.” Certainly, wisdom had committed no sin, but she is set forth, shown to be, exhibited for who she says she is by the fruits of wise living.
Moreover, Jesus was “justified in the Spirit.” The King James Version capitalizes “Spirit” in First Timothy 3:16 while the American Standard Version (1901) leaves the word lowercase as “spirit.” It seems that the proper rendering should be that of the King James Version in capitalizing the word “Spirit” to signify how Jesus was demonstrated or shown to be the one whom He claimed to be. Jesus did not perform any miracles until after the Spirit has descended upon Him as a dove (John 1:32, 2:11). It was through the Holy Spirit that Jesus wrought many miracles (Matt. 12:28; Luke 4:14, 18-19; Acts 10:38). It was Jesus’ miraculous works that caused people to believe (John 3:1-2). It was through His mighty works, signs, and wonders that Christ was shown to be the approved one of God (Acts 2:22).
Biblically, there can be no doubt that the miracles done by Jesus through the Spirit proved that He was and is the Messiah. In fact, He still stands justified today through those recorded miracles (John 20:30-31). While the words of First Timothy 3:16, “justified in the Spirit,” seem to embody all of the miracles done by Jesus on earth, those words likely point to one singular event in all of human history—the resurrection from the dead. This miracle of miracles, this conquering of sin, Satan, and death, this trail blazed to heaven to give us hope of eternal life was Christ’s final justification. Besides, it also was through the Holy Spirit. Here, for all eternity, with a garden tomb bodiless, Jesus of Nazareth was powerfully declared or demonstrated to be the very Son of God according to the Spirit of holiness (Rom. 1:4). Jesus remains “justified in the Spirit.”