What “you are the Righteousness of God in Christ” Means
“For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 WEB)
The verse above is beautiful because it sums up what Jesus’ finished work at the cross achieved for us and how it was done.
At the cross, Jesus, who has always been sinless, received our sins, and was punished as a transgressor of the Law in our place.
Then, because all our sins have been righteously punished in Christ, God has fully exhausted His sin against our sins, and has nothing but favor for us now.
Our debt has been wiped clean, having been transferred to Jesus, and it’s as if we never sinned.
To become the righteousness of God means to be made as righteous as God Himself.
Even if you did 99.99% right things and only sinned 0.01% of the time, you cannot qualify to be called the righteousness of God. You will be called a sinner. Anything less than perfect is not considered righteous at all.
“For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Colossians 3:3 WEB)
However, now that you have died and your life is hidden in Christ, you are called the righteousness of God. Just as Jesus is perfectly righteous, so are you.
What is the benefit of being as righteous as God?
“Blessings are on the head of the righteous, but violence covers the mouth of the wicked.” (Proverbs 10:6 WEB)
It means that you qualify for all of God’s blessings. You are favored and blessed because you are righteous in Christ.
Whatever good thing you can enjoy in this mortal lifetime is called a blessing. Blessings can’t be earned, only freely received through the gift of righteousness you possess.
Every time you confess “I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”, you are shifting your trust for favor and blessings to the gift of righteousness instead of works-based righteousness.
You are exalting Jesus’ finished work at the cross and actively using what He purchased for you with His own precious blood.
It is so easy to fall back to attempts at self-justification through works because that’s what the sinful flesh craves. The flesh wants to earn things based on its performance and boast in its strength.
But as long as you are trying to become righteous by your works, you are not reigning in life.
You are taking the place of a transgressor and slave to sin under the Law, activating the curse in your life.
“For if by the trespass of the one, death reigned through the one; so much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:17 WEB)
Rely on the gift of righteousness and keep receiving the abundance of grace. That’s how you reign in life through the one, Jesus Christ!
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