The Free Gift of Righteousness - Do You <Really> Understand It Fully?

[George C]

A Fabergé Egg, made by Peter Carl Fabergé between 1885 and 1917, was made of precious metals or hard stones decorated with combinations of enamel and gem stones. On the outside it looks like a simple egg of white enameled gold, but it opens up to reveal a golden yolk. The yolk itself has a golden hen inside it, which in turn has a tiny crown with a ruby hanging inside.
 
Similarly, Biblical revelation has many profound layers. A truth revealed is more precious than gold, but lo and behold sooner or later comes fresh insight from the same scripture that brings us closer to the Lord. It is this new, powerful understanding of a well known Bible scripture I experienced that I would like to share with you.
The deeper revelation brought me much joy, a joy that swelled within me a few days later when I was made speechless with amazement at learning from a Christian TV documentary that the very epiphany I received was what Martin Luther, the Christian theologian and Augustinian monk whose teachings inspired the Protestant Reformation, experienced as a breakthrough in his Christian walk.
 
The Scripture Revealed
 
Romans 1/17: “For therein (the Gospel of Jesus Christ) is the righteousness of God is revealed from faith, to faith: as it is written: ‘The just shall live by faith.’” (Parentheses are mine)

 
Realizing fully what it means to be the righteousness of God in Jesus is a light which shines and shows us the way into our ‘secret place of the Most High’ where the enemy cannot get to us. Once there, everything changes for us. Our faith is energized and we walk in the power of the Holy.

How To Get The Full Revelation

Isn’t it rather strange for God to issue a command to us in Matthew 5:48 that we “be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” How on earth can we be perfect? Can we keep every commandment of God at all times? This is what Luther battled with, even raising his fist to God. Nevertheless, the Word says we must be perfect as God is perfect. So, it must be achievable by us or God would not have said it. There is a massive ‘however’ however. Yes, God said be perfect, but like Luther I found it impossible to conceive of perfection in myself. Sure, my spirit man was reborn, but what about my soul and body where sin resides? Based on that, it is therefore impossible for any of us to be perfect – unless a way is given to us to be perfect as God is perfect.

Now here is where it gets very interesting:

Because we are the righteousness of God in Jesus it means we are perfect not only in spirit, but also in soul and body! This perfection given to us is absolutely fundamental to receiving the full revelation, not just intellectual understanding. And this relatively surface knowledge is, I believe, the reason why so many Christians are not living in the Blessing, why the power of the Holy Spirit is not working fully in their lives, why many are left wondering what they have done wrong, why God’s promises have not been fulfilled although they are confessed in faith for years and years sometimes. Far too many Christians cannot understand why they are still sick when they confess the health promises. And far too many Christians cannot understand why they are living from hand to mouth – and that on top of knowing they faithfully tithe and give offerings.

Are You Working To Get Righteousness But Are Not Aware Of Doing So?
We may feel slighted by a brother or sister and harbor even a morsel of unforgiveness; the devil then whispers accusations to us in an almost inaudible inner voice. The result is we then ‘feel’ a little unworthy, perhaps just a trace, but it will be enough for the devil to get a foothold in our souls. We might use bad language while driving, and again the devil is right there with us to accuse, convict and punish us for ‘feeling’ we have let God down. We might feel a twinge of pain in our bodies and immediately think of cancer or whatever. We might consider and dwell on heart disease because our genetic make-up suggests we may die early as our brother and father did for example.
The result is that all these thoughts and feelings mount up and make us ‘feel’ bad but the truth is that the devil is hammering us as if we are a sheet of metal under the hand of a panel beater. And what is the devil trying to do? He is ensuring that all these feelings of worry, guilt, unworthiness etc mount up and twist a tourniquet around righteousness, around perfection in body and soul as well as spirit, eventually choking off the blood, the Blessing, the manifested promise of God. The devil couldn’t care less about our spirits; he knows that we know we are going to heaven when we die. It’s our souls and flesh he is interested in; that’s where he does the damage, folks, with his lies and deceptions hoping we all fall for his tricks. And we do fall for them. Here’s how:
Because we ‘feel’ unrighteous in our mind, will and emotions, we then yearn to be accepted by God, to please Him. Most of the time we are not aware, not in the least, that this is happening. Of course the devil is rubbing his hands with glee, laughing so hard his side aches knowing he has accomplished what he wanted. And he knows what will come next: we try to nullify those innocuous ‘sins’ by doing things that will gratify God: go to church twice on Sunday instead of once; give an extra twenty bucks in the offering; offer to do some work for the pastor for free; become an usher, anything as long as it makes us ‘feel’ better about ourselves, and as said, please God; after all doing these things is positive and right, and of course should be commended.

However, using our good acts (even unconsciously) to win the righteousness of God will never work. Righteousness is a free gift and only free. Working to gain God’s nod of approval boils down to saying we do not measure up. It is this condemnation the devil uses to keep us from the full revelation of righteousness, which is exactly what the devil wants! The beast knows fine well that fully understanding righteousness, that it makes us perfect in soul and body as well as in spirit, is the answer to living more abundantly as Jesus wants us to do, the answer to ongoing good health, healing, you name it! But do you think Satan wants us to know this? Of course not! He will always tell us that right living is righteousness. It is not! Righteousness leads to right living!

Sadly, we all fall for the devil’s deceptions. That is until we truly accept we are the righteousness of God in Jesus, that it is a free gift, and this means we are perfect in soul and body as well as our spirits. When we start seeing how God sees us, as perfect, and when we start seeing ourselves the same way, as perfect in spirit, soul and body, then there is a dramatic effect on our relationships, finances, health – everything. Want proof? Here it is in Matthew 6/33:

“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

[nChrist]

Hello George C,

I see this is your first post, so WELCOME!

I sincerely hope that you enjoy Christians Unite, and I look forward to having fellowship with you. We are Brothers in Christ, and that's the basis for our fellowship here. That doesn't mean that we all agree on everything, but we will be spending eternity together in Heaven.

So, we discuss our differences and agree to disagree. Yes, you and I see things differently about sickness, but that's okay. We're sick in these temporary bodies because of original sin, not because we lack faith. We all get sick, just like the Apostle Paul. We also all die physically unless the rapture happens while we still physically live. We will have sickness in these bodies - all of us - until God gives us our Glorified Body. Flesh and blood can not claim the inheritance God has waiting for us, so this temporary body must be left behind. We will not be perfected in this body and can't be, but God has begun a good work in us and will complete it at His Appointed Time. Until then, no amount of faith will give us perfect health. God will give us what he pleases until we physically die. On the other side of the coin, I firmly believe in prayer and know that God grants prayer if it's His Will. The Apostle Paul prayed for healing, and it wasn't God's Will to do so. The fact is that all men since Adam with rare exception get sick and die, and that includes all of the Inspired Writers of the New Testament. God has better intentions for us, and this life isn't it. God never promised Christians an easy time in this short life.

This world is not our Home - our Citizenship is in Heaven. Our riches aren't worldly things - rather the Riches of Christ for Eternity. Brother, our differences shouldn't stop us from having good Christian fellowship. I have no doubt that we're both saved, so that should be more than enough.

Love In Christ,
Tom

2 Corinthians 1:1-11 NASB  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia:  2  Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  3  Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  4  who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.  5  For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ.  6  But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer;  7  and our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort.  8  For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life;  9  indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;  10  who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us,  11  you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many.


Romans 8:16-28 NASB  The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God,  17  and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.  18  For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.  19  For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God.  20  For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope  21  that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.  22  For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now.  23  And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.  24  For in hope we have been saved, but hope that is seen is not hope; for who hopes for what he already sees?  25  But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it.  26  In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;  27  and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  28  And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.


2 Corinthians 5:1-21 NASB  For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.  2  For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven,  3  inasmuch as we, having put it on, will not be found naked.  4  For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed but to be clothed, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by life.  5  Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.  6  Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--  7  for we walk by faith, not by sight--  8  we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.  9  Therefore we also have as our ambition, whether at home or absent, to be pleasing to Him.  10  For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad.  11  Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences.  12  We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart.  13  For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you.  14  For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died;  15  and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.  16  Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.  17  Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.  18  Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation,  19  namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation.  20  Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.  21  He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.