The Church is protected in His righteousness

(Continued from part three…)

4)            Some people should be careful lest the righteousness of their hortatory be mere religious quackhood of Pharisaical brassbound; that of Sadducean myopia or the proclivious excessiveness of the boldacious Scribes of Matthew 5:20, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” The Scribes and the Pharisees were too legalistic. So soaked inebriately in the legalism of Judaism, the quackhood of religious sanctimonious facade had become their masquerade. They had fashioned their own theological stance. Exhibitionism has taken over righteousness as the ordered norm.

                Righteousness is not a visibility of a worn toga. It is the covering raiment for the regenerated soul. Not visible to the naked eyes, it becomes apropos for the corporeality of the redeemed to interpret the honourificabilitudinitatibus of the new man in Christ. Who is this new man? He is revealed in Colossians 3:9-10, which reads, “…seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; 10) And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:” The new man is the creation of the Lord Jesus of whom the Scripture says, “…and without him was not any thing made that was made” [John 1:3]. The new man’s spiritual locale is found in his Maker. 2Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” The new man is eternally in Christ for two reasons: Christ is eternal –the everlasting Father of Isaiah 9:6–; the word ‘new’ (of 2Cor. 5:17) is the Greek kainos (kai-nos’) ‘new (especially in freshness).’ The Eternal Father sees the newness of this freshness ceaselessly. On His eternal right hand sits Christ the Preserver of the redeemed newness.

 JEHOVAH TSIDKENU

                The word ‘image’ of Colossians 3:10 is eikon (ei-kone’) ‘1. a likeness 2. (literally) statue, profile 3. (figuratively) representation, resemblance.’ If he possesses the likeness of Him that created him, simple logical understanding demands that he should bear the fruit of his Maker to prove the verity of his newness. Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23) Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.” It is not a matter of law, which is compulsorily cleft onto à la religion. Our righteousness is a walk with the Lord. Galatians 5:16-18, “This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. 17) For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would. 18) But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.” Righteousness has separated us from the fleshly proclivity of our old man, found in Galatians 5:19-21, “Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20) Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21) Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings,” propelled by the workings of demonism.

                The new man in Christ is the man of Psalm 1:3. The life of the new man strictly becomes the business of the Divinity. John 15:2 “Every branch in me that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” The words ‘taketh away,’ airo (ai’-ro), means: ‘1. to lift up 2. (by implication) to take up or away 3. (figuratively) to raise (the voice), keep in suspense (the mind) 4. (specially) to sail away (i.e. weigh anchor) 5. (by Hebraism) to atone for sin.’ Airo, contextually, is not of the Hebraic definition of ‘atonement.’ What more proof do we need to show that the life of the new man is strictly the business of the Divinity when ‘purgeth’ is kathairo (ka-thai’-rō) means: ‘1. to purify. 2. (specially) to trim back from superfluous or dispensable growth (down to the essential). 3. (spiritually) to trim and purify?’ Those who misrepresent Jesus are the likes of Judas Iscariot, the heretic Simon Magnus and the rich man who denied the mendicant Lazarus a good life: they were removed, being useless.

                You can put on the righteousness of Jesus by getting born again. Say this simple prayer, meaning it from your heart:

“Dear heavenly Father, I come to You now in the name of Jesus Christ. I believe in my heart that Jesus is the Son of God. I believe that Jesus died on the cross for my sin. I believe that You raised Him from the dead. I confess with my mouth that Jesus is Lord and I receive Him now as my Lord and my Saviour. I give God all the glory. Amen!”     

  (…to be concluded…)

Read part three here

Click here to read the concluding part 5

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