Yesterday we talked about the righteousness of God unveiled in us as a free gift. I’ve read a lot of things over the years and have heard a lot of conversations among Christians and a lot of sermons about what righteousness is, and normally they talk about things that you do or don’t do that make up a righteous life. So often righteousness is spoken of as a lifestyle that we are trying to achieve, but the gospel tells us that righteousness is a life that we simply receive. Of course, that life is Jesus. Jesus is righteousness, and the gift of righteousness is our union with His life and His lifestyle.
1 Corinthians 1:30-31 NASB95
But by His doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, [31] so that, just as it is written, “LET HIM WHO BOASTS, BOAST IN THE LORD.”
By the Father’s doing, we are in Christ, WHO BECAME TO US wisdom from God, and both righteousness and sanctification, and redemption.” I capitalize the phrase “Who became to us” because I wanted you to see that Jesus became our righteousness. Righteousness is a who, not a what! Because I am in Christ, I share in Jesus’s righteous standing in intimacy before the Father and the Holy Spirit, and I participate in Jesus’s righteous walk, or righteous lifestyle being lived out through me. Remember, the gospel is our inclusion into the life Jesus lives. Jesus did not just make us righteous as a gift apart from himself, but the gift of righteousness is my union with him and his righteous life. You can’t do anything to make yourself to be more righteous before God because you can’t improve on the righteousness of Christ, and you can’t do anything on your own to live a righteous lifestyle before the world because Jesus is your righteousness, and only he can. Grace has a face, and that face is Jesus Christ. So once again, righteousness is Jesus and the standing he has before the Father, and the walk he walks before the world. Living from Him, not for Him.