THE NATURE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.” Romans 1:17
We will consider the topic of righteousness. This is a big theological word which is not easy to grasp properly. From the Scripture above we are trying to ascertain what exactly is the “righteousness of God”. This is so important. I believe it is very different to a matter of right and wrong where most of our thinking tends to go. What has helped me is to consider the whole creation of God as it originally was. Though so vast, it was in perfect order and all creatures within it lived in beautiful harmony with God and one another. The two greatest commandments which Jesus spoke of in Matthew 22: 37-40 were being completely fulfilled without any difficulty. Let’s look at another Scripture-
The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together. Colossians 1: 15-17
So, the whole creation interacts with the Lord constantly; it is made that way. Truly, the Lord wanted both greatness and beauty to be displayed and the blessing of everything working together perfectly in respect of everything else so there was no conflict, clash or confusion at any moment. Therein is peace. This is the true state of the kingdom of heaven. It applies to the material side and all beings. The best description is a full state of harmony. The Greek word for righteousness in Strong’s dictionary is “dikaiosune”. The definition includes;- “In a broad sense: state of him who is as he ought to be. Righteousness, the condition which is acceptable to God. This includes integrity, virtue, purity of life, rightness, correctness of thinking, feeling, and acting.” How does this apply in heaven we could ask? As we consider the two great commandments as we know them and are applied to God and His subjects in heaven, there is never any shortfall of relationship. Therefore, righteousness is easily maintained by the Lord Himself with beings who have freewill also. The sense of justice seemingly is irrelevant!
We can now begin to see why righteousness is about a state of being and has nothing to do with works accredited as pleasing God. So, in its proper place the idea of right and wrong disappears because there should be no wrong! A better view might be that we are not in step with the harmony which God originally created; we are out of order, i.e., God’s order of life. We can only start to get into step with His order by living by faith. That is why the Scripture says:-
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” Hebrew 11:6
And as above:
“The righteous will live by faith.”
The Christian life is based in the spiritual realm and is accessed through the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul explains this fully in Romans 8:-
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. Romans 8: 5-8
Sin through the works of the devil have caused us to lose this beautiful state that God wanted mankind to have and that is why Jesus came to bring us salvation which is where we must begin. The restoration of righteousness cannot be completed in this world environment, yet it remains our final hope. Nevertheless, righteousness is our focus for spiritual reality and maturity. It is a full expression of a life in Christ. We now see this is a much deeper understanding than trying to do what is right. We must always remember that our context is “the Body of Christ” and we don’t live independently. The good news is the righteousness of God will be beautifully restored as God has always wanted it:-
2 Peter 3: 13 “But in keeping with his promise we are looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth, where righteousness dwells.”
I am sure that you are looking forward to this state of being.
