Central to St. Paul’s theology is the concept of δικαιασύνη and its cognates. Over the years, scholars have promoted differing ideas on the essence of δικαιασύνη and how one should understand the term. The present study will begin by exploring, in brief, the history of the theological conceptions of δικαιασύνη and what St. Paul is promoting by its usage and its relevance to the gospel. Subsequently, this essay proposes an alternative understanding of imputed righteousness, focusing predominantly on the Pauline corpus and St. Paul’s usage of ἐν Χριστῷ.
Incorporated δικαιασύνη denotes prominently the believer’s union with Christ in which something called δικαιασύνη is not imputed or merely imparted to the believer; instead, it is by the believer’s incorporation into the person of Christ which affords a right standing with God. As such, this article undertakes the task of examining the Pauline concept of ἐν Χριστῷ (and varying formulae) and its usages in both a personal and communal sense.
St. Paul intricately binds the concept of δικαιασύνη with the notion of ἐν Χριστῷ. That is, believers are united with Christ and are as he is. Through union with Christ God accounts believers, personally and corporately, as a part of Christ himself—his body. The consequence of such standing is, among other realities, δικαιασύνη, which is not God imputing something alien but participating and sharing in the very righteousness of Christ. This study contributes a robust understanding of the effects of the gospel of the righteous King, who continues to build in himself a people who have a share in him as he restores the glory that God shared with humanity in their creation, a glory which humanity exchanged for a lesser glory.