It is amazing to realise that righteousness issues in the image of God being expressed and it establishes the kingdom of God in us and around us in the church life today.
Righteousness is related to the kingdom of God, the church life as the kingdom of God is in righteousness, and in the new heaven and new earth, righteousness will dwell, for everything will be headed up in Christ, with divine order in all things. Praise the Lord!
To the natural man, the old man, righteousness is a scary word, for he is condemned and hates being righteous.
But to us, believers in Christ, God being righteous is a wonderful matter.
Yes, God is so righteous that none of the fallen human beings are qualified to fellowship with Him, for His righteousness surpasses all other righteousness.
But at the same time, since our God is righteous and we are sons of our heavenly Father, we are becoming righteous!
Even more, we are becoming the righteousness of God in Christ – we are made righteousness by God in Christ! Praise the Lord! One very precious portion speaking of the righteousness of God related to our experience is 1 John 1:9.
If we sin, we can confess our sins, and God is righteous and faithful to forgive us, even to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. How about that!
On the one hand, God is love, and He loves us very much; He loved us so much that He sent His only begotten Son to come and die for us so that, whoever believes into Him would not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). What kind of love is this! Wow!
On the other hand, God is also righteous, and based on His righteousness, He condemns all those who sin; however, He justifies all those who repent and believe. Do we want to be justified by God, have peace toward God, and even enjoy God? We need to repent and confess our sins.
Once we do this, exercising our spirit to believe into the Lord Jesus and confessing His name, God considers us righteous, and we truly can enjoy Him!
The enemy of God, however, knows this, and his full-time job is to accuse us before our God day and night; also he accuses us in our conscience.
May we not fall prey to the enemy’s accusations but rather, believe into the Lord Jesus, repent, and confess our sins, being assured that we are forgiven by our righteous God and He is faithful in His word to cleanse us of all unrighteousness. How wonderful!
This is our genuine Christian experience day by day; we are not sinless, but we still sin, but we can repent, confess, and apply the Lord’s blood to be cleansed, washed, forgiven, and brought back to God!
Righteousness is Related to the Kingdom of God: Righteousness Issues in the Image of God and Establishes the Kingdom of God
Romans 14:17 shows us that righteousness is related to the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is not eating and drinking but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. The church life today is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is righteousness.
After we, believers in Christ have been saved, forgiven, and cleansed by the blood of Jesus according to God’s righteousness, we are now in the church.
We are members of the Body of Christ, and we now live the church life as the reality of the Body of Christ. The church life is a wonderful place – it is a green garden growing in the Lord’s grace, and it is also the kingdom of God.
And the kingdom of God is a matter of righteousness. God’s throne is established with righteousness as the foundation (Psa. 89:14); where God’s righteousness is, there His kingdom is also (Isa. 32:1; Heb. 1:8-9).
When we are in the genuine church life, on the one hand we have no rules outwardly and no regulations, and on the other hand, we live in the kingdom of God.
In the church life as the kingdom of God, righteousness dwells. In the church life we have to be right in relation to people; we can’t talk to others the same way we talk to those in the world, for we are now under God’s righteous requirements.
The way we conduct ourselves in the church as the kingdom of God is in righteousness.
We have been saved by God’s righteousness, we now participate in His salvation, and we live the church life in righteousness, for righteousness is related to the kingdom of God.
Christ Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by His bruise we were healed (1 Pet. 2:24).
In the Old Testament, righteousness is often synonymous with the kingdom. Where there’s righteousness, everything is headed up in a proper way; this is the kingdom of God.
First, righteousness issues in the image of God being expressed through us; then, righteousness establishes God’s kingdom.
When we exercise our spirit and walk according to the Spirit in the church life, we express the image of God, and the kingdom of God is seen among us. Amen!
In Romans 8 we have righteousness and God’s image; verse 10 says that, if Christ is in us, our spirit is life because of righteousness.
What does righteousness have to do with our spirit being life? It is through God’s righteousness that our spirit can be life; Jesus the righteous, died for us, fulfilling all of God’s righteous requirements so that we may be set free from condemnation.
Now our spirit is regenerated, and our spirit is life because of righteousness.
When we exercise our spirit and live in our spirit, we live in righteousness, and this produces the image of God and establishes the kingdom of God.
Both God’s image and His kingdom are based on righteousness. On the one hand, we express God in His image, and on the other hand, we represent God with His authority simply by walking according to the Spirit and therefore living in righteousness. Amen!
Instead of murmuring and criticising, what we have in the church life is forbearance, praising the Lord, calling on the Lord, and much fellowship among the saints. And when we come together, the meetings are living, in good order, and rich in function.
In such a church life we can see the kingdom of God full of righteousness; everything there is orderly and peaceful. Such a living is possible not because of any outward regulations or conformity but because of the new covenant ministry which dispenses the Spirit into us.
As the Spirit is ministered to us and we live and walk according to the Spirit, we are in a condition that expresses God in His image and brings in the kingdom of God.
May we live and walk by the mingled spirit today so that the kingdom of God may be established in righteousness, set in order, and properly headed up.
When we do this, when such a living exists in the church life, we will have righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Lord Jesus, thank You for bearing up our sins in Your body on the tree in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness. Thank You for shedding Your blood for us to be redeemed. Hallelujah, we are now children of God, and Christ is our righteousness! Praise the Lord, we are today in the church life as the kingdom of God, and the kingdom is righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit! Amen, Lord, we exercise our spirit today to contact You and to live one spirit with You. We want to live in the mingled spirit and walk according to the spirit. May our Christian life and church life be in the reality of the kingdom of God, a life in the mingled spirit. May You gain Your expression through us today. Amen, Lord, may we all learn to open to You, receive the dispensing of the Triune God, and walk according to the Spirit so that we may have much forbearance, praising, and calling on the name of the Lord! Praise the Lord, righteousness issues in the image of God and establishes the kingdom of God! Amen, Lord, be expressed through us and bring in Your kingdom in reality among us in the church life today as we live and walk according to the Spirit!
Righteousness will Dwell in the New Heaven and New Earth: Everything will be Governed by the Throne of God!
2 Peter 3:13 says that, according to His promise we are expecting new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. To say that righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and new earth means that everything will be in order, headed up, and regulated. Amen!
Today we as the church take the lead to be headed up in Christ by walking according to the Spirit and receiving the dispensing of the Spirit; once the church is headed up, God will have a way to head up all things in Christ through the church in the fullness of the times. Amen!
Everything will be governed, controlled, and under the proper rule, for the throne of God, the kingdom, the administration of God will be there. The result will be peace and joy. Amen!
This is the consummation of Ephesians 1:10; in the economy of the fullness of the times, God will head up all things in Christ through the church! Hallelujah!
In Isaiah, we are also told that in the millennial kingdom, there will be peace even among the animals; the snake and the child will play together, and there will be no fear or enmity, for everything will be peaceful and joy.
This all is being carried out because and through righteousness; righteousness will dwell in the new heaven and new earth. Hallelujah!
Ultimately, in Revelation 19 we see that the bride is prepared, having the wedding garment of fine linen, which is the righteousnesses of the saints (vv. 7-9).
For eternity, as seen in Revelation 21 and 22, the New Jerusalem will be the holy and glorious city bearing the image of God!
The One sitting on the throne has the appearance of jasper, the wall of the city is of jasper, and the first foundation of the New Jerusalem is jasper (Rev. 21:18-19).
The God on the throne is expressed through the entire city, and the whole city will look like God, expressing God and manifesting God to the whole universe! Hallelujah!
This means that the holy city, which we believers in Christ are becoming, will bear the same appearance that God does; the entire city will express God for eternity! Praise the Lord!
Today we are in the age of the church, and we are preparing our bridal gown, which will have the appearance of righteousness, the expression of God.
For eternity, we will express God as the holy city, New Jerusalem. Praise the Lord! Today we are learning to submit to God’s throne and live in righteousness.
We allow Him to head us up, regulate us, and govern us; we do this not merely because the Bible tells us so but because we enjoy the Lord as the Spirit of life in our spirit and we walk according to the Spirit! Amen!
Though there’s little righteousness on the earth today, we are in the church, where we have a foretaste of the New Jerusalem.
We live our Christian life, our family life, and our church life by contacting the Lord and receiving the divine dispensing so that we may live in righteousness to express the Lord.
We really treasure the new covenant ministry which ministers the Spirit and righteousness to us and to others; we focus on nothing else but receiving the Spirit and living in righteousness by living according to the Spirit. Amen!
Inwardly, we are supplied with the Spirit of life; outwardly, we express God as righteousness.
This expression of God outwardly will bring in the kingdom of God, where everything is regulated, orderly, and headed up.
Lord Jesus, we exercise our spirit and we choose to walk according to the Spirit of life so that we may live Christ as righteousness for the kingdom of God. Amen, Lord, we treasure Your divine dispensing. We open to the ministry of the Spirit to be saturated and filled with the Spirit in our spirit. We want to live in the spirit, walk by the Spirit, and do all things in spirit. Oh Lord Jesus, according to Your promise we are expecting new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells! Praise the Lord, one day the Lord will return and bring in the kingdom, and righteousness will dwell in the new heavens and new earth! Amen, Lord, may righteousness dwell in our family life today! May You be expressed through us and among us today as we enjoy the supply of the Spirit and walk according to the Spirit! Head us up in all things. Have a way to head up the church today so that You may head up all things in Christ through the church!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration for this article/sharing comes from the Word of God, the enjoyment in the ministry, a sharing by the brother James Lee in this conference, and portions from, Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 255-258 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, The Maturity of the Bride (2025 Memorial Day Blending Conference), week 5, The Righteousness of the Bride – day 4.
- Hymns on this topic:
– Minding just the spirit is God’s saving way, / Minding just the spirit, Christ we will display; / Minding just the spirit, we can overcome, / Minding just the spirit, we the race may run. / Minding just the spirit, we the cross will know, / And His resurrection pow’r thru us will flow; / Minding just the spirit, Christ will live thru me, / And His life within will reach maturity. (Hymns #593 stanzas 5-6)
– Thy kingdom is of righteousness, / Thy throne will stand forever; / God hath in love anointed Thee, / And Thou shalt wax old never. (Hymns #188 stanza 6)
– Man’s Creator has a purpose / For our being here on earth. / In His image we’re created, / To express His rule on earth. / But man fell to Satan’s tempting; / Thus God’s goal was hid from view. / Still our God will have His kingdom, / For His Son will see it through. / Jesus Christ will get His kingdom / Notwithstanding Satan’s plans; / He’s obtaining something real by / Growing in the hearts of man. / Nothing like religion teaches: / “You must wait until you die”— / For the kingdom Christ is building, / Is on earth before our eyes. (Hymns #1299 stanzas 1-2)
