Romans 1:17 "For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the righteous man shall live by faith.”
Christ’s righteousness
Jesus Christ the Son has always existed as Fully Divine along with the Father and the Spirit. When we speak of Christ's Deity in relationship to righteousness, the Son is in and of Himself absolutely righteous. The Son came to this earth and by way of the virgin birth conception became God in human flesh. As the Person of the Son came to express Himself as a human being, His life and conduct were 100% righteous before and with God. Again let me remind the reader of our definition of righteousness: “a life and conduct that is pure, innocent and perfectly pleasing with and before God.” We know from the testimony of scripture that the Savior needed to be without sin, which Jesus alone was and is. (Hebrews 7:24-25; 1 Peter 2:21-22)
If Jesus Christ had not been sinless in His humanity, then He could not had born the curse of the law on sinners’ behalf. (Galatians 3:10-13) Jesus Christ’ lived and died an innocent life. In accordance to the law of God, Jesus Christ was without spot and without sin. (John 1:29; 2 Corinthians 5:21) As Jesus began His earthly ministry, He aimed to demonstrate that as the sinless Savior, He alone could live a life that was perfectly pleasing to God. Jesus' entire time here on earth demonstrated that He in His humanity was and still is in perfect relationship and fellowship with God.
When He was baptized by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:15, Jesus stated that it was necessary for Him to fulfill all righteousness. Thus the necessary righteousness that alone could please God in terms of purity and innocence was fulfilled by the Person who alone was perfect in His humanity and undiminished in His Deity – namely Jesus Christ. As fully Divine, the Person of the Son is absolutely righteous in the Divine sense - hence possessing God's righteousness. As fully man, Jesus Christ, the Son of God in human flesh, is the only righteousness that God will ever let live with Him throughout eternity.
So then we see God’s righteousness and Christ’s righteousness. The question is: how can anyone else be ever right with God if in fact no one can ever hope to attain the purity, innocence and perfect pleasing life and conduct required by God? Moreover, if the only righteousness deemed acceptable to God is His own righteousness and thus the righteousness of Christ, how then can any sinner have any hope of being deemed acceptable by God? These questions strike at the very core of the Gospel, thus leading us to the third kind of righteousness in the Bible which will be the focus of tommorw's post, namely "credited righteousness".
So then we see God’s righteousness and Christ’s righteousness. The question is: how can anyone else be ever right with God if in fact no one can ever hope to attain the purity, innocence and perfect pleasing life and conduct required by God? Moreover, if the only righteousness deemed acceptable to God is His own righteousness and thus the righteousness of Christ, how then can any sinner have any hope of being deemed acceptable by God? These questions strike at the very core of the Gospel, thus leading us to the third kind of righteousness in the Bible which will be the focus of tommorw's post, namely "credited righteousness".
