Righteousness of Christ

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“For He made Him Who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:21

“And suddenly a voice came from Heaven, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17

“The wicked flee when no one pursues, But the righteous are bold as a lion.” Proverbs 28:1

“For He has clothed me with the garments of salvation; He has covered me with the robe of righteousness.” Isaiah 61:10

“...that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith.” Philippians 3:8-9

The above verses mention the word righteousness. Yes, it’s a long word and can sound mysterious; so, what is righteousness? The simplest way to understand righteousness is to see Jesus, Who is perfect, blameless, and innocent, as your righteousness. Because you are in Christ, this allows you to be His righteousness. You have been made right with God and are in perfect standing with God because of Jesus. You can’t achieve this on your own; this is only found in dependency on Christ. 

You are the righteousness of Christ, and nothing can take this from you because you are in Him. This is freedom, because you are no longer bound to your old way of living and thinking, but you are actually now one with Christ and His righteousness. It’s easy to identify yourself with your sin and old nature because of the things you have done in the past. Yet the truth for those who are in Christ is that you are righteous not by your own works but by the work of Christ on the cross. You are well-pleasing in the sight of God by the blood of Christ. Jesus and the blood of Jesus speak a better word over your life. The more you grow in the knowledge that you are righteous in Christ, the more you will manifest righteousness to those around you. 

You can now draw near to God because of this free gift of righteousness. He takes His scepter and pronounces you righteous from His throne to remind you whom you have become through Him. You can come boldly before God during your time alone with Him, in a crowd, or on the streets, asking and believing that He will respond because He has made you His righteousness. 

Prayer:

“Thank You, God, that I am the righteousness of Christ and not my own works. Thank You that when You see me, You see Jesus. Thank You that I don’t have to earn righteousness, but You have given this to me freely. Thank You for the fruit of righteousness as I abide in You. Amen.”