knew about this righteousness and
spoke to this truth in Philippians 3:7-9
(NIV): “...that I may gain Christ and be
found in him, not having a righteousness
of my own that comes from the law, but
that which is through faith in Christ—the
righteousness that comes from God
on the basis of faith.”
This kind of righteousness is not
based on doing what is right; it is
based on being right because of what
Christ did for us already. What was
important to the Apostle Paul was
that he “be found in Him,” which is
the greek word heurisko, meaning to
see as Christ sees or perceive as Christ
perceives. Paul wanted to see through
the eyes of Christ how Christ operated
in righteousness and how he too could
apply this truth. This is spiritually
discerned truth: it is not something
the natural world knows or even
understands. The Apostle Paul wanted
to SEE as in union with Christ by faith,
how his Lord and Savior Christ Jesus
walked in righteousness on this earth.
are to attain to. This gift is so powerful
that Jesus mentioned it in Matthew
5:20 (NIV), “For I tell you that unless
your righteousness surpasses that
of the Pharisees and the teachers of
the law, you will certainly not enter the
kingdom of heaven.”
This means our righteousness must
exceed that of lawgivers themselves.
We m u s t s u p e r s e d e t h e e a r t h l y
manifestation of righteousness first
with a spiritual manifestation. So how
can we do this? This powerful key of the
kingdom of heaven is made available to
us who believe by faith we have received
it. As we walk in righteousness, we
carry this supernatural kingdom key
as it opens pathways to follow God
and help others beyond the mockery
we all receive from the world. The
world is always looking to condemn
and judge behavior and the function
of righteousness from the perspective
of act only. However, the heavenlies
view righteousness as a gift that when
worn by the recipient will produce an
effect of kingdom righteousness on
earth through acts of righteousness.
The Apostle Paul said in Philippians
3:12 -14 (NIV) that he had not already
obtained his goal, but was forgetting
what was behind and pressing toward
what was ahead to win the prize. In other words, Christ changes us to BE
righteous so we can DO righteous acts.
The earth looks only to the doing part
and is quick to be used of the enemy to
condemn Christians and attack those
who are spiritual. Those who walk in
the righteousness of Christ will walk in
a royalty of heaven that will empower
them to do the will of God and stand
firm in face of the enemy schemes,
all because by faith we WEAR His
righteousness in our hearts.
The gift of righteousness manifesting
on earth through us is something we The enemy is always there to supplant
lies of the past or make our failures
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