JESUS IS OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS

“For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead; And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.” 2Cor5:14-15

Note1: This is an incredible statement. That the love of God constrains us. It motivates us, it moves us. It controls us. If only we would be filled with the love of God, we would come to the place where we are motivated in all that we do by the love of God and not by fear or legalism. However right now this is not our focus. At a suitable time we shall discuss the love of God in much greater detail.

Note2: There are basically two ways that we can interpret this verse. One, is that Jesus died for everyone, and took into himself the sins of all men for all time. As a result God views that all men died in Him.

Second is that through Christ's death, all those who believe on Jesus die also. That at the point when we believe and become born again we die in Him right there. Both of these views are scriptural. However for this study we shall focus on the first interpretation.

Note3: When Jesus died, all of us died in Him. Everybody died in Him so that everybody would have life in Him. As far as God knows, Jesus died for ALL people. As a result ALL people died in Him. He was the substitute for all mankind. He is the Passover lamb that was slain on behalf of all of us. When the angel of death passed over our houses, the blood of the lamb was sprinkled on our door posts signifying that we had already died. The lamb had died for us. So the wrath of God passes us over. We are already dead in the lamb. The lamb has already experienced wrath and judgment for us.

Christ's death was an all-inclusive death. Within that death all men died. And He died for all men so that all men would now live in Him. The goal was to give them new life. God’s life. This was for all mankind. The issue now is that some have not received this new life in Christ.

“Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.” 2Cor5:16

Now because Jesus died for all mankind and all mankind died in Him we know nobody after the flesh (Christian or non-Christian). Why? Because they all died in Christ and are now risen in Him. We should not regard anybody after the flesh any more. They have all died in Christ. We should regard them in Christ. He is telling us to stop judging people based on their physical appearances and capabilities. Even for those who have not yet received Christ, we have no business judging them after the flesh. God is not judging them after the flesh. Flesh has been taken away from His presence.

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2Cor5:17

We don’t know anybody after the flesh because everybody is in Christ and is a new creature. Old things have passed away and everything has become new. And everything is of God. There is too much in this scripture for us to discuss now. We shall be looking at it more closely in the lessons to come.

But what I want us to see is that when a person is in Christ they are no longer the same. Something life changing happens to them. Old things pass away, the old life passes away and in its place a new life comes. Everything becomes new. Look at what The Living Bible translation says;

“When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same any more. A new life has begun!” 2Cor5:17 TLB

Something significant happens when we come to the Cross. God takes away the old. And gives us the new as the NIV bible says, '...the old has gone, the new is here'

“And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.” 2Cor5:18-19

Note1: These verses further affirm that on the Cross, God in Christ reconciled the whole world unto Himself. It is done. The world is reconciled unto God. Now we have to break the news to them. That God has made peace with them. That God is no longer angry. That through Jesus God has offered them new life. He has offered them righteousness and justification.

Note2: The word ‘reconciliation’ here is crucial. It means the re-establishing of cordial relations, to re-establish friendship between; to settle or resolve a dispute.

There can be no reconciliation if a dispute hasn’t been solved. To be reconciled fully there has got to be the effective settling of the matter which caused the enmity, hatred and hostility between the warring parties.

The matter or issue that caused enmity between God and man was sin. Man’s sin and transgression of God’s law. Man’s rebellion against God’s righteousness. God took it upon Himself to settle this issue once and for all. Even though He was the aggrieved party. Even though it was man that had caused all this bad blood.

Note3: God sacrificed His only Son Jesus Christ. He offered to punish him for man’s sins. To pour out all His anger and judgment which man deserved upon Jesus His Son.

Once He did this, He declared us righteous before Him. He justified us by the sacrifice of His Son. The enmity was abolished, the dispute was settled, and the conflict was resolved. Now we are friends once again. God is our friend. He is no longer our enemy. We are no longer His enemy.

Note4: And now after making us friends He has given us the work of making friends of enemies. To proclaim this to the whole world. That God has made them friends. That He is no longer angry. That He has justified them. This is the gospel. The good news of Jesus Christ.

Note5: We have now received the ministry of reconciliation. We are in the ministry of reconciling people to God. This ministry is based on the fact that God through Jesus has made peace with all men. He has imputed all their sins upon Jesus and is no longer imputing them to people. Jesus has taken them away as far as the east is from the west. This is the word of reconciliation. 

GOD DIDN’T SEND HIS SON TO COLLECT OUR DEBT, HE SENT HIM TO PAY OUR DEBT. Now He says to us, PAID IN FULL, LET’S BE FRIENDS

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God.” 2Cor5:20

An ambassador is a messenger or a representative. An ambassador represents somebody or a nation and acts on behalf of that person or nation. He does not act on his own authority nor deliver his own message. As ambassadors of God, He is speaking His good news today through us to all men everywhere.

Wherever we go as preachers of the good news, we are representing God. And this is the message we are giving them.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2Cor5:21

At the Cross Jesus became our sin and we became His righteousness. He took it all in His own self.

Note1: Many of us have accepted the first part of this verse, but rejected the second part. We believe Jesus bore our sin for us, but we don’t believe that He actually made us righteous. This is hypocrisy and unbelief. The same God wrote both parts. Why do we choose which one we want to believe and reject the one we find hard to believe? We reject the Word of God just because it doesn’t line up with our theology and doctrines.

If one part is true, then the other part is also true. It's like having a coin. A coin has two sides. You can't have a coin with only "heads," or one with only "tails." That wouldn’t be a valid coin. All coins have both sides.  In the same way, any person who accepts that Jesus paid for their sins must also accept that He made them righteous. That He made them the righteousness of God. Its the same scripture!!

Note2: God made Jesus (who knew no sin) to become my sin. Now He has made me righteous (who knew no righteousness) with Jesus’ own righteousness.

The sin that made Jesus to become sin was my sin, the righteousness that makes me to become righteous is His righteousness.

He became who I was, a filthy sinner; I have become who He was, a righteous saint.

Just as sure as Jesus bore my sin in His own self on the Cross, I bear His righteousness this very moment in myself. I am righteous. This is truth

“And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith” Phil3:9

When God speaks about His righteousness, He is not talking about a set of rules or standards to attain unto. It is not a moral code to adhere to. When God speaks about His righteousness He is speaking about a person that we have in our spirit and a nature that we become in our spirit man when we are born again.

The new nature that He has given us when we became born again is a righteous nature. And the new spirit that He put into us is a righteous spirit. However this does not end there. He also indwells our spirit man through His HOLY SPIRIT. We the Christians become righteous because we have a new spirit that is righteous by nature and because we have Jesus in us who is righteous by nature. We are righteous because of who we are in our spirit and because of who we have in our spirit.

“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Ezek36:25-27

We must understand that God didn’t just pronounce us righteous when we weren’t really righteous. He isn’t just being kind to us. God actually made us righteous by giving us a new spirit that is righteous and by indwelling us in all His righteousness and holiness. We are righteous because Jesus lives in us. This Jesus has become our righteousness. Jesus is our righteousness! Not only that;

Jesus is the righteousness of God. Jesus is the manifestation of everything that God requires, wants and desires, In Jesus we have everything that God requires, wants and desires. Jesus is the perfect fulfillment and manifestation of the righteousness of God. Why is this important to us?

The righteousness that God has always wanted can only be found in Jesus. Jesus was the perfect manifestation of the righteousness of God. He is the one with whom God said He was well pleased.

“And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Mat3:17

“…and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” Mat17:5

“…when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” 2Pet1:17

Jesus is the only man that ever lived a perfect life. He was without sin throughout His earthly life even if He was tempted just like we are. Jesus lived a perfectly holy and righteous life. God said He was well pleased with Him. His righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and the Pharisees. Now this same Jesus lives on the inside of each one of us and His righteousness is what we have been made by faith. His nature is now the nature of the born again spirit of the Christian.

God promised through Jeremiah the prophet that when Messiah came, He Himself would become our righteousness. He even told us the name by which we would call Him when that time came.

“Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth.  In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.” Jer23:5-6

This scripture was fulfilled when Jesus came and died for us on the Cross. He brought unto us salvation and safety and He has become our righteousness. The LORD Jesus Christ is our righteousness.

When we become born again, God imparts to us a righteousness that it is impossible for us to have naturally. He places into us a new spirit that is exactly perfect in the nature and image of Jesus Himself. There is literally no difference in nature and character and unity between the born again spirit and Jesus. The two are one!

Paul the apostle was discussing this issue with the Corinthian church and giving it as a reason for the Christians to desist from sexual immorality and particularly sleeping with prostitutes. His reasoning was that now they had become joined to Jesus and were one with Him.  Their physical bodies were now parts of Christ’s body. They therefore should not join themselves to prostitutes because in effect they will be joining Jesus who is one with them to the unholy and immoral prostitutes. This may sound like blasphemy to most of us but look at what the Bible says;

“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, "The two will become one flesh." But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” 1Cor6:15-17 ESV

“Don't you realize that your bodies are parts of Christ's body? Should I take the parts of Christ's body and make them parts of a prostitute's body? That's unthinkable! Don't you realize that the person who unites himself with a prostitute becomes one body with her? God says, "The two will be one." However, the person who unites himself with the Lord becomes one spirit with him.” 1Cor6:15-17GW

“Do you not see {and} know that your bodies are members (bodily parts) of Christ (the Messiah)? Am I therefore to take the parts of Christ and make [them] parts of a prostitute? Never! Never! Or do you not know {and} realize that when a man joins himself to a prostitute, he becomes one body with her? The two, it is written, shall become one flesh. But the person who is united to the Lord becomes one spirit with Him.” 1Cor 6:15-17AMPLIFIED

The Greek word that was translated ‘one’ here is the word heis. According to W.E. Vine’s Lexicon this word means ‘a single (one), to the exclusion of others’

This is an amazing truth if we can lay hold of it. When a man and woman have sexual intercourse, there is a physical union in the natural that takes place. The two people become one flesh/body. Their bodies join together and are considered as one body. They intercourse, they commune, they mingle.

In that same way, when we become Christians, there is a spiritual union that happens between our new born again spirit and the Lord Jesus Christ. Our spirit literally becomes one with Christ. There is no separation. Everything that is His becomes ours. Everything that is true of Him becomes true of us spiritually. We become as He is. The apostle John speaks about this in this scripture;

“And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world.” 1Jn4:16-17

We are exactly like Jesus. Right this very moment, not when we die and go to heaven. It says that we are like Him ‘in this world’. The amplified bible puts it this way;

“In this [union and communion with Him] love is brought to completion {and} attains perfection with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgment [with assurance and boldness to face Him], because as He is, so are we in this world.” 1Jn4:17 AMP

Because of this unity in spirit, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is no different than the righteousness of the believer. The righteousness of Jesus Christ is the righteousness of the believer. Jesus is the righteousness of the believer. THE CHRISTIAN IS AS RIGHTEOUS AS GOD IS BECAUSE JESUS IS HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS!! Blasphemy you say? Look at this scripture;

“But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” 1Cor1:30-31KJV

This scripture plainly tells us that for those of us who have come into Christ, God has made Jesus to become our wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption. We have come into union and intercourse with Him. We have mingled and exchanged.

There is an exchange that takes place whereby God through the Cross takes away our old man who was unrighteous and unholy and gives us a new man who is joined to Jesus. This new man derives all that He is and all that He has from His union with Jesus. Whatever is true of Jesus becomes true of this new man because He is joined unto Jesus as one. The life of Jesus becomes His life.

The Amplified Bible has a very detailed amplification of this verse. It is worth looking at and meditating upon;

“But it is from Him that you have your life in Christ Jesus, Whom God made our Wisdom from God, [revealed to us a knowledge of the divine plan of salvation previously hidden, manifesting itself as] our Righteousness [thus making us upright and putting us in right standing with God], and our Consecration [making us pure and holy], and our Redemption [providing our ransom from eternal penalty for sin].” 1Cor1:30 AMP

It tells us that God by putting us in Christ has made us upright and in right standing with Himself, He has made us pure and holy and has provided for us a ransom from the eternal penalty of sin. The uprightness, purity and holiness that is true of Jesus becomes true of us. Because we are in Christ and He is in us.

Another scripture that makes this point very well is this;

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” 2Cor5:21

Because we have Jesus who is the righteousness of God, we too have become the righteousness of God in Him. What makes us the righteousness of God is the fact that we have Jesus who is the righteousness of God. It is not because we work hard and behave perfectly; it is because Jesus lives in us and is joined to our spirit as one. We are the garden of God where He has planted His righteousness that produces righteous works and holiness. Holiness is not the root; it is a fruit of who we are in Jesus.

Therefore, we the Christians are to abandon our natural righteousness by which we seek to please God and instead become aware and awakened to the righteousness of God which we have become through the faith of Christ.

“But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus: That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.” Eph4:20-24

Note1: Notice the use of the phrase ‘which after God is created’ in the KJV Bible. This phrase is translated as ‘created after the likeness of God’ in the ESV Bible, as ‘created in God's image’ in the NET Bible.  And the NIV states it as ‘created to be like God’. 

All of these are making the point that the new man (our born again spirit) is created just like Jesus. In the same exact nature like God. In our spirit, we are right now as Jesus is. We have the same nature as God.

Note2: Notice the use of the word ‘created’ in verse 24. This is emphasizing that the believer's righteousness and holiness is not something that we work for or earn or grow into as we mature and become a better Christian. We were created that way when we became born again. In the same way that we were born a sinner in our first natural birth, now we are born again righteous in our second spiritual birth. It is our nature. It is who we are.  

You do not grow and mature into a righteous Christian. You are born righteous when you become a Christian. What you grow in is the expression and manifestation of this inward righteousness in daily life.

This righteousness and holiness is in our new spirit which we received from God. We may still be day by day working out this righteousness and holiness in our actions, but our born-again spirit was created that way. That is its nature.

Note 3: God calls this new nature into which we are born ‘true holiness’. He is implying obviously that there is a false holiness and righteousness. This false holiness and righteousness is our self-righteousness that comes from our works and the good we do.

“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” Jn14:6

Jesus is the only ‘Truth’. His holiness is the only ‘true holiness’. His righteousness is the only true righteousness. This is the one God has given us as a gift. It is the only one that is adequate when relating to God. It is the only one God wants.

“But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth. The woman saith unto him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he.” Jn4:23-26

God is a Spirit and we must worship Him in spirit and in truth (true holiness). God is seeking those who worship Him in spirit and in truth. This is the only worship He wants. God looks at us through our spirit and deals with us based on this true holiness which is in our new man. We are righteous and truly holy.