God's righteousness means living in a way that reflects holiness, devotion, obedience, peace, trust, and love of God in both words and deeds. This righteousness is not just about following rules but embodying the character of God in everyday life. It involves a commitment to holiness, striving to be set apart for God's purposes, and living a life of devotion that prioritizes a relationship with Him.
A righteous person is one who knows God and orders their lives following his will.
Psalms 1:1-2 explicitly list the ways of a righteous person:
- He walks not in the counsel of the ungodly.
- He does not stand in the path of sinners.
- He does not sit in the seat of the scornful.
- He delights in the law of God.
- He meditates day and night in God’s law or word.
We Receive the Righteousness of God Through Jesus Christ
My righteousness in Christ is the ministry of reconciliation. It was this reconciliation that made me righteous before God, not my works without faith, because those are dead before God. It was the ministry of reconciliation that acquitted me of my trespasses, justified me, and gave me a right standing in front of my Heavenly Father. Without this ministry, I cannot say, I am justified and sanctified.
Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to himself through Jesus Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to him, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).
This is the reason, that as believers, as Christians, we can boldly say, Abba, Father:
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father” (Romans 8:15).
My righteousness in Christ was because of the cross of Calvary when he took my sin upon himself and endured the punishment he did not deserve.
For he made himself who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
His shame, suffering, agony, and death made my righteousness possible. My standing and righteousness before God are solely in Christ Jesus, which was available to me because of the initiative of his divine grace.
The Righteousness of God Cannot Be Earned
But indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ, and be found in him, not having my righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith (Philippians 3:8-9).
I did not receive this righteousness because of my holy behavior, far from it!
But we are all like an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are like filthy rags (Isaiah 64:6).
Who has saved us and called us and called us with a Holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, (2 Timothy 1:9).
My self-acclaimed righteousness did not merit me a right standing before God. My holiness, works, prayers, devotion, church activities, fellowship with the brethren, fasting, all of this did not make me receive this righteousness. I only received this righteousness because of the love, kindness, mercy, and grace of Jesus Christ, my Savior. That he took it upon himself to endure the cross, though blameless.
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5).
I received the righteousness of God in Christ when I accepted and confessed Christ as my Lord and personal savior.
That if you confess with your mouth, the Lord Jesus, and believe with your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes to righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made to salvation (Romans 10:9-10).
How Can I Stay in This Righteousness?
Righteousness includes obedience to God's commands, as highlighted in Deuteronomy 6:25, which states, "And if we are careful to obey all this law before the Lord our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness." Obedience is a key aspect of living righteously, demonstrating a commitment to God's will and His ways.
Peace and trust in God are essential components of righteousness. Isaiah 26:3 says, "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast because they trust in you." Living righteously means relying on God's promises and maintaining inner peace despite external circumstances.
Love of God is perhaps the most crucial element. Jesus summarized the law with the greatest commandments: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" and "Love your neighbor as yourself" (Matthew 22:37-39). A righteous life is marked by deep love for God and others, reflecting God's love through our actions.
Accepting our heritage as children of God empowers us to live righteously. Romans 8:16-17 says, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ." Understanding our identity in Christ gives us the confidence to approach God boldly, despite our flaws, and live in a way that honors Him.
Having this righteousness, I have Christ in me the hope of glory; I have the Holy Spirit who is my witness and a seal of my salvation, guaranteeing me of my inheritance in Christ. So, because of this, I am Christ-like, my body is dead to sin; I must not sin because Christ dwells in me.
And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life because of righteousness (Romans 8:10).
Staying righteous is dying to sin:
But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! I have been crucified with Christ: it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:17,20).
I should be dead to any form of sin because Christ dwells in me, I cannot be a servant of two masters, I have to choose one (God or sin). And having already accepted Christ, I am justified; I am sanctified; I have his righteousness and because of his righteousness; I am dead to sin.
Process of My Spiritual Transformation from Glory to Glory
Here, I will discuss the process of my spiritual transformation from glory to glory.
Just as a newborn grows from being a baby to an adult, same applies to a born-again Christian or a believer, we grow from one spiritual level to another, my spiritual senses become active during my constant fellowship with God through the help of the Holy Spirit. I am no longer the baby Christian who fed on milk but now feeds on solid food, my maturity in Christ is in the place of fellowship as he reflects himself in me as in a mirror from glory to glory.
I will quickly use Romans 8 for a better understanding of my spiritual transformation from glory to glory.
The process of transformation is through the spirit of sonship, I have received in Christ Jesus.
I am his child, and the world is awaiting the revealing and essence of that sonship, which is the glorious liberty.
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed unto us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is (1 John 3:1-2).
2 Corinthians 3:8 asks this question:
… How will the ministry of the spirit not be more glorious?
For the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.
The glory I have because of my sonship in Christ exceeds any other glory, because the ministry of righteousness through reconciliation is a perfect ministry given to me by God. This ministry removed the veil the enemy used in blinding my mind from the gospel of the glory of Christ, the image of God shining in my life.
Whose mind the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them (2 Corinthians 4:4).
It is through the help of the Holy Spirit that I transform into the image of God from glory to glory.
But if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:11).
The life he gives my mortal body helps in my transformation, the indwelling presence works in me, reflecting Christ's identity and glory as he makes intercession for me.
Now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God (Romans 8:27).
And because God is spirit, the liberty I have in Christ ripped off the veil that blinded my mind to the Gospel of Christ, and I saw Christ in me, in my works, actions, words, characters, which are transformed into Christ’s nature (Christ reflected image) from glory to glory through the help of the Holy Spirit.
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the spirit of the Lord (2 Corinthians 3:18).
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Jolaade Olatunbsoun is an experienced Christian writer, having written for clients, local churches, and youth fellowship. Jolaade’s focus is on expounding biblical passages and expressing God’s love through writing. Her writing infuses faith into daily life, helping readers grow in the knowledge and love of God and His words. Desiring to help people understand the Bible, maximize their potential, and have a deeper fellowship with God, Jolaade develops content for Sunday school materials, Christian material for books, devotionals, eBooks, articles, short stories, and poems. Her blog may be found here.
