The Wonder of God's Word Part V: Christ Revealed~ His Righteousness

The last time I wrote concerning Christ revealed in Scripture, was a few years ago; longer than I care to admit. The season of Lent has moved me to contemplate Christ and all that He has done for me. Not only in my life, but for my life, through His sacrificial death and resurrection. Placing pen to page, I attempt to show you the Beautiful and Glorious Christ. 

I wrote before concerning the prophecies in Scripture of His birth, and in the last post in that series, I penned what the Lord prophesied through His Word concerning Christ’s Character; how will a broken, unrighteous, sinful world know that the One who came, and made extravagant claims concerning Himself, is the Messiah. That is where I will pick up again.

I left off with the prophecies concerning the Messiah’s holiness. Jesus, the Messiah, is the second Person of the Godhead; He did not “begin” at Bethlehem’s manager. Jesus is the pre-existent second Person of the Godhead, and was with God in the beginning; “Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I am’” {see Jn. 8:58 NASB}.  He was with the Father and the Holy Spirit in the beginning, and was an active agent in creation. He brought with Him the attribute of pre-existent holiness. I turn now turn to His righteousness.

Righteousness. We all seek to live right before the Lord, but so often we fail. The only way that we can be righteous is through Christ’s shed blood. Righteousness means being ‘right’ or ‘just’ in all things. The pre-existent One is Righteous, because He is God. The act of making us righteous is justification. Scripture uses righteousness as judged by the standard of God’s holy law, by which God reveals to us His character, and is illustrated through the Decalogue {Ten Commandments} {see Ex. 20:1-17}. [1] 

God the Father is righteous (just); Jesus Christ the Son is the Righteous (Just) One; the Father through the Son and in the Spirit, gives the gift of righteousness (justice) to those sinners who repent. When we repent, He is faithful and just to forgive us of all unrighteousness {see 1 Jn. 1:9}. We are made righteous through the Holy Spirit working in us.

Prophecy:

As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the  Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities {Isaiah 53:11 NASB}. {Author’s Emphasis}

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord {Is. 54:17 KJV}. {Author’s Emphasis}

Fulfillment:

Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, And the righteous scepter is the scepter of His kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of gladness above Your companions {Heb. 1:8-9 NASB}. {Author’s Emphasis}

Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus {Rom. 3: 25-26 NASB}. {Author’s Emphasis}

If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone also who practices righteousness is born of Him {1 Jn. 2:29}. {Author’s Emphasis}

Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous {1 Jn. 3:7}. {Author’s Emphasis}

Jesus is just and righteous in all His ways. His life was a witness to His righteousness. He was obedient to the Father, He never deceived anyone, and His life and ministry was perfect before the Father. Because of His sinless life, He was qualified to be our righteousness. Therefore, He is the Righteous One. 

[1] Herbert Lockyer, All The Messianic Prophecies Of The Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1973), 87. 

To read all the posts in this series click here: Who Is This Jesus?