Have you ever wondered why did God account Abraham’s believing as righteousness (Gen. 15:6)? What does it mean to be “accounted to him as righteousness”? What is righteousness?
First of all, what is most interesting about this verse is that Abraham didn’t believe God “in a general way”, that God would protect him and be with him. Abraham already had God’s appearing to him many times, and he was under God’s constant infusion.
He left Chaldea, was sojourning in the land God promised him, trusted in God to go and defeat the four kings aided only by the small amount of servants he had, released his nephew, etc. He had a lot of experiences with God, and he trusted in God to help him do this and that.
However, in Gen. 15 God appeared to Abraham and promised him that out from his body there will be a seed, who will be as numerous as the stars in the heavens. Abraham believed Jehovah concerning this promised seed, and this is what God accounted to him as righteousness.
This kind of faith is precious to God since it is a positive reaction to God’s appearing and His promise. Abraham was justified by God through faith – and not through works.
Now, what is righteousness? Is it merely to be right with God and right with man? Righteousness is God Himself in His being with respect to His justice and rightness. Righteousness is Christ. And when we believe into Christ by receiving Him in our heart, we receive not a “thing” called righteousness; we receive Christ as our righteousness (1 Cor. 1:30).
Even more, by being under the constant infusion, transfusion, and saturation of the element of God in His appearing to us, we also become the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). And this is all by grace through faith, not out of law or works. Hallelujah!
Abraham Believed God with Regards to the Promised Seed
God appeared to Abraham again and again, and He infused him with the element of faith (Gen. 12:1-3, 7; 13:14-17; 15:1-7; ch. 18; Acts 7:2). In Gen. 15:6, Abraham’s believing God when He promised him a seed was a spontaneous reaction to God’s repeated appearing to him, and it was the springing up from within him of the element that God has transfused into him.
God appeared to Abraham at least four times and He spoke to him at least a dozen times or so, and through His appearing and speaking God infused Abraham with Himself as the element of faith.
As God appears to us and speaks to us time and time again, we are being infused with God and He is being transfused into us. God’s appearing causes a reaction in us: we believe God! Every reaction to God’s appearing brings us something richer and higher of God, and we get deeper into God. We react to God’s appearing by believing, and He reacts by justifying us.
It’s a back-and-forth reaction initiated by God’s appearing to man. We need to have a continual interaction with God, remaining under His appearing and His speaking. We need a day-by-day infusion and transfusion, allowing God to work himself into us.
In Gen. 15:6 Abraham believed God not to obtain outward blessings for his own existence – he believed that God was able to work something into him to bring forth a seed out of his being for the fulfillment of God’s purpose! This means that Abraham believed God will bring forth a seed out of him, even in his old age, which seed will be both his heir and will be countless as the stars in the heavens.
The stars in the heavens are not touched by the earth: they are heavenly; they represent the spiritual sons of Abraham, the many believers in Christ begotten of God with His life and nature.
Abraham was the first believer, and what was implied by God’s promise to him was that He will achieve His goal to gain a seed for His purpose not merely with the created people but with those begotten by Him, the heavenly people. This kind of faith that Abraham had when he reacted to God’s speaking by believing God – is precious to God, and God accounted it to him as righteousness (Rom. 4:3).
God Reacted to Abraham’s Believing by Justifying him, Accounting it to him as Righteousness
As a result of God’s continual appearing to him, Abraham believed God – he reacted to God’s promise by believing Him. God, in turn, reacted to Abraham’s believing by accounting it to him as righteousness. Footnote 2 on Rom. 4:4 really helps us understand what “justification by faith” means,
God’s justification is not a reward (wages) for our good works (labor); it is grace freely given to us through Christ’s redemption. If God’s justification were based on our good works, or if it required our good works, then it would be the wages we earn for our good works; that is, it would be something owed to us, not something freely given by God. Since God’s justification is reckoned according to His grace, it is no longer out of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace (Rom. 11:6). Our works can by no means replace God’s grace; God’s grace must be absolute. (Rom. 4:4, footnote 2)
Abraham believed God – he didn’t merely believe that “God is with him” and “God will bless him”; he believed God particularly that God will work Himself into him to produce a seed for God’s purpose. Such a faith is precious to God, and He accounted it to Abraham as righteousness.
What is righteousness? The most basic definition of righteousness is that it is what God is with respect to His justice and rightness. Furthermore, righteousness is God Himself – not merely one of His divine attributes, but the very person of God. And since God is embodied in Christ, Christ is also the righteousness of God. God doesn’t “do a thing” or “give a thing” called righteousness; when we believe in Christ, Christ Himself becomes our righteousness.
Even more, God made Christ sin on our behalf so that we may become the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). As we are under the hearing of faith and react to the word of God by believing into Him, God reacts to us by justifying us and making Christ our righteousness.
There’s nothing that we can do or work to gain God’s justification. Man thinks that the more good deeds he does, even sacrificing himself for others, the more God will be happy with him. Paul also tried to obtain this self-righteousness when he was zealous for the law.
However, God wants us to simply be in Christ, enjoy Christ, and believe into Christ, and He will justify us. We are justified by God not through works but by faith in Him.
Righteousness is not merely doing the right thing but it is Christ Himself. When Christ is wrought into us, He becomes our righteousness, and we become the righteousness of God in Him.
When we try to work for God and do this and that good thing to please Him and appease Him, God considers it as “Eliezer” and “Ishmael”, unacceptable to Him. But when we receive God’s promise, hear His word, and react by believing into Him, we have complete harmony with God, God is happy with us, and He justifies us by putting us in Christ, our righteousness.
Father, we praise You for making Christ our righteousness. Keep appearing to us and infusing us with the element of faith that we may react to Your word by believing! Lord, we believe! We believe that it is only Christ wrought into us that can be the seed coming forth from us to fulfill Your purpose! We drop all our works and desire to do this and that to please You. Lord, we believe Your word! Hallelujah, we are justified by God through faith in Jesus Christ! We are justified not by works of law but by faith! Infuse us more, Lord, and keep us in Your appearing day by day!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Inspiration: the Word of God, my Christian experience, bro. James Lee’s sharing in the message for this week, and portions from, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 35, “The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” (ch. 4), as quoted in, the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crystallization-Study of Genesis (2), week 3 / msg 3, The Seed for the Fulfillment of God’s Purpose.
- Further reading: recommending Life-study of Romans, msgs. 5-6 (by Witness Lee).
- Hymns on this topic:
# When I am in Adam, though I may not sin, / Unto death, a sinner, sentenced I have been; / When in Christ I need not righteously to act, / I’m already righteous, justified in fact. (Hymns #593 by W. Lee)
# Propitiation made by the blood, / Jesus’ redemption bought us for God! / No condemnation, justification! / We have peace toward God! (Hymns #1131)
# What glory! How attractive was this light! / How we appreciated such a sight! / Our first reaction was belief in Him— / This precious God has placed Himself within. / Our first reflection of this element / Reflected Jesus back to God, Who sent / His own response to count as righteousness / Our faith in Him Who was infused in us. (Hymns #1202)
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