Receive the Crown of Righteousness, Delivered from Evil Work & Saved into the Kingdom

As believers in Christ who love the Lord and pursue Him in love, we seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and we want to gain the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense us on that day; today we live in righteousness and we want to live out Christ as our righteousness so that we may gain Him as the crown of righteousness.

Lord Jesus, we love You and we want to live one spirit with You. We do not want to have our own righteousness but the righteousness which is Christ Himself living in us and being expressed through us! Amen, Lord, we aspire to receive the crown of righteousness on that day! Make us those who live our Christian life in such a way that we will receive the reward! May we be the overcoming believers who will be rewarded by You at the judgment seat of Christ! Amen!

If we prayerfully study and consider Matthew chapters five through seven we will be infused with the Lord’s desire, for these chapters are the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens.

The Lord went up to the mountain, His disciples went to Him, and He began to teach them. This was specifically spoken to the disciples, to the kingdom people.

These chapters were spoken not to the Jewish people but to the Lord’s disciples. We, the Lord’s disciples, have God as our Father.

We have the life and nature of God. God is our Father. We can be perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect because we have His life and nature.

The apostle Paul realised this and said, No longer I but Christ. We cannot fulfil the highest requirements of the kingdom in ourselves or by ourselves; we need to live in faith, in the organic union with the Lord.

When we live in the union with the Triune God in spirit, we will seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

We will not seek to gain treasures for ourselves on this earth; rather, we will invest our money and riches into the heavenly bank by giving to others and keeping only what we need for our needs, for we seek first the kingdom of God.

We will not be anxious for our life or for tomorrow, for the divine life and nature of God in our spirit is not anxious.

We will seek the Father’s righteousness, even the surpassing righteousness of the kingdom of God.

Righteousness is not only being right with God and man; it is having Christ as our righteousness both objectively and subjectively.

Objectively, Christ is our righteousness covering us before God as we repent and believe into Christ.

Subjectively, Christ is our lived-out righteousness today as we exercise our spirit to let Him live in us. We seek this surpassing righteousness, the righteousness which is Christ lived out in us.

We Desire to Receive the Crown of Righteousness from the Lord, the Righteous Judge

We believers in Christ have been redeemed by Christ and are now living the Christian life under the divine dispensing of the Triune God.

We seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matt. 5:20; 6:33), and we want to have Christ lived out as our righteousness subjectively.

Furthermore, like the apostle Paul, we desire to receive the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense us on that day (2 Tim. 4:8).

What is this crown of righteousness, and who will receive it?

The Lord Jesus told us in Matthew 6:33 that we should seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. Then Paul said that he is assured of the crown of righteousness, with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense him on that day, and not only him, but also all those who have loved the Lord’s appearing.

A crown is not something given to everyone; it is a symbol of glory, and is given as a prize to the triumphant runner of the race (1 Cor. 9:25).

We are running the Christian race and we’re learning to allow Christ to live in us as our subjective righteousness.

On the one hand, we thank and praise the Lord that we were saved by faith through grace, and this is of the Lord, so that no one can boast (Eph. 2:5, 8-9).

On the other hand, we want to receive the crown of righteousness on that day, and this prize is not of grace nor by faith, but is of righteousness through works (Matt. 16:27; Rev. 22:12; 2 Cor. 5:10).

This means that we today need to have such a living that is approved by the Lord, justified by Him; we need to have Christ as our lived out righteousness in our daily living.

The prize the Lord will give to His overcoming believers on that day is not according to His grace but according to His righteousness.

Today we live in the age of grace, and it is optional for us to enjoy Christ, experience Christ, and live Christ.

But if we exercise our whole being to contact the Lord and allow Him to live in us, if we have Christ as our lived-out righteousness, on that day we will receive the crown of righteousness.

The Lord Jesus today is the wonderful Good Shepherd, the Shepherd of our souls, and He is our life, our supply, and our everything.

But on that day, on the day of the judgment, He will be the Recompenser, the righteous Judge. He will not judge us according to grace but according to His righteousness.

The apostle Paul was very clear, at the end of his life, that from now on there is laid up for him the crown of righteousness.

Such a crown is not given to those who live a care-free life, who are relaxed about enjoying Christ and who do not pursue Christ. We need to have the lived-out righteousness.

We need to have the expression of Christ in us so that we may be crowned with Him as our righteousness.

In contrast to salvation, which is of grace and by faith (Eph. 2:5, 8-9), this prize is not of grace nor by faith, but is of righteousness through works (Matt. 16:27; Rev. 22:12; 2 Cor. 5:10).

The believers will be recompensed with such a reward, not according to the Lord’s grace but according to His righteousness; hence, it is the crown of righteousness.

One day, we all will be manifested before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one of us may receive the things done through the body according to what we have practiced, whether good or bad.

When Christ judges His believers at His coming back, He will judge us not concerning our salvation but concerning our dispensational reward (1 Cor. 4:4-5; 3:13-15).

The Lord’s coming is near. We are running the Christian race and we want to be rewarded by Him at His coming.

For this, we seek first His kingdom and His righteousness.

We want to be those who are qualified by Him to rule and reign with Him, so we run with endurance the race set before us, looking to the Lord as the Author and Perfecter of our faith.

We do not look to the left or the right, we are not distracted by the enemy, and we do not look at our weaknesses, mistakes, and failures.

We simply want Christ to be lived out in us as our subjective righteousness. We want to live Christ, be found in Christ, be one with Christ, and gain Christ.

We want to be rewarded with Christ with more of Christ in the coming kingdom. Our aspiration is to gain the crown of righteousness at the Lord’s judgment seat!

May we take the Lord’s soon return as a warning, an encouragement, and an incentive so that we may love His return and look forward to it with earnest expectation!

Lord Jesus, live in us today. We want to live Christ and be found in Christ. We love You, Lord, and we love Your appearing. Thank You for gaining us; we want to gain You more today. We want to live one spirit with You today. Live in us today as our subjective righteousness. May Christ be the One who lives in us for God’s manifestation. Oh Lord, our aspiration is to receive the crown of righteousness with which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will recompense us on that day! We love You, Lord, and we love Your appearing! We seek first Your kingdom and Your righteousness. May You be expressed through us today as our subjective righteousness. May we have the works of faith, even the living out of Christ, which will be rewarded by Christ at His judgment seat on that day! Amen, Lord, may we be the overcoming believers who will be recompensed by You on that day according to Your righteousness! Keep us in You, Lord, and keep us open to You! Live in us today and be expressed through us! Amen!

Being Delivered from Every Evil Work and being Saved into the Lord’s Heavenly Kingdom

In 2 Timothy 4:18 the Apostle Paul declared, The Lord will deliver me from every evil work and will save me into His heavenly kingdom, to whom be the glory forever and ever.

As we live in this age, even at the end of this age, we need to realise that Satan does a lot of evil works, and we should trust in the Lord to deliver us from every evil work.

Our aspiration is to receive the crown of righteousness, which the Lord will give to His overcoming believers.

We seek the kingdom of the Father; we want to be part of the kingdom of the heavens, even to inherit the kingdom.

We know that, when the Lord returns, He will not come as the merciful God or as the gracious Saviour but as the righteous Judge, and we will give Him an account, for we are His servants.

So today we learn to live one spirit with Him, living and walking according to the Spirit so that Christ may be lived out in us as our subjective righteousness.

As we live our Christian life today, we see that the enemy is working through many evil works; our prayer is that the Lord may deliver us from every evil work and save us into His heavenly kingdom.

The evil works refer to man’s persecution, which usually comes from Satan’s evilness (Matt. 6:13).

The apostle Paul was assured that the Lord will deliver him from evil work and would save him into His heavenly kingdom.

This being delivered included even his final martyrdom. Satan attacks us, persecutes us, usurps us, wears us out, and does all kinds of evil works to damage us.

In Paul’s case, he was imprisoned, but even in prison, he enjoyed the Lord and experienced Christ. So Satan continued to do evil works, even to bring him to martyrdom, thinking that in this way he will terminate Paul.

However, martyrdom ushered Paul into the heavenly kingdom, and such an ushering was a deliverance to him.

In the time that one suffers martyrdom is the best time that the Lord can dispense Himself into him without measure.

Whenever a believer suffers persecution, encounters afflictions, and even suffers martyrdom because of loving the Lord, the Lord has a way to infuse and dispense all his riches into him.

In this way, the believer is strengthened and supplied to overcome and be delivered from every evil work.

This is what we hope for today as believers in Christ; such a deliverance we pray for and believe in today, and the Lord is pleased to give it to us.

He wants to save us into His heavenly kingdom; this is the kingdom of our Father (Matt. 13:43), the kingdom of the Lord’s Father (26:29), the kingdom of Christ and of God (Eph. 5:5), and the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ (2 Pet. 1:11).

Such a kingdom will be the reward to the overcoming saints.

This kingdom is equal to the crown of righteousness in 2 Timothy 4:8, and it is an incentive to us as believers in Christ to run the race and live Christ.

The apostle Paul had the assurance to make the triumphant declaration that he will be saved into this heavenly kingdom. He knew that he would be martyred by the earthly kingdon, but he had the assurance that the Lord would deliver him into a heavenly empire, the heavenly kingdom.

So he was willing to suffer martyrdom, not asking for any miraculous rescue.

There was no thought in Paul that God would do something miraculous to save him; he was filled with the spiritual, divine reality. We should be the same today.

We aspire to obtain the crown of righteousness, and if we suffer for the Lord or if we’re martyred for Him, we hope He will save us in His heavenly kingdom!

May we live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today so that, when He returns, we will enter into the manifestation of the kingdom.

Our destiny as citizens of the kingdom of God is to rule and reign with the Lord, even to shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of our Father! Hallelujah!

Lord Jesus, we believe that You will deliver us from every evil work and will save us into Your heavenly kingdom! Amen, Lord, to You be the glory forever and ever! We praise You and we give You all the glory! We look to You, Lord, and we run the race with endurance. We run with endurance the race set before us. We open to You again and again so that You may dispense Yourself into us. Amen, Lord, even in our suffering, affliction, and persecution, we open to Your dispensing. We want to let You work Yourself into us and be lived out of us as our subjective righteousness. We do not put our hope into the kingdom of this world; our hope and destiny is in the kingdom of the heavens to come! Amen, Lord, fill us with the spiritual, divine reality of Your kingdom! We pray that You do spiritual, divine, and heavenly things for us today to deliver us from every evil work and save us into Your heavenly kingdom! Amen, Lord, we want to live in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens today so that we may be rewarded with its manifestation in the coming age!

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 brothers on this topic, and portions from, Life-study of Romans, msg. 57 (by Witness Lee), as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Crucial Aspects of Matthew 5 through 7 (2025 September ITERO), week 8, Seeking First the Kingdom of God and His Righteousness – day 6.
• Hymns on this topic:
  – That we the Kingdom enter in, / Surpassing righteousness we need, / Exceeding that which is of law; / From life alone it must proceed. / That we the Kingdom enter in, / We need to do the Father’s will, / Not by our choice to work or act / But His one purpose to fulfill. (Hymns #943 stanzas 3-4)
  – All people Thou wilt judge one day, / Thy righteousness to all display / By Christ, Thy Son, our Lord; / Yet fast we’ll stand, for none can move, / Thy righteousness we’ll ever prove, / With grace Thou wilt afford. / With justice is Thy kingdom filled, / And peace upon it Thou dost build / With all in harmony; / In the new heaven and new earth / Thy righteousness will be their worth, / As promised, God, by Thee. (Hymns #21 stanzas 5-6)
  – Seek the coming of His kingdom; / Seek the souls around to win them, / Seek to Jesus Christ to bring them: / Seek this first. / Seek this first, His promise trying; / It is sure, all need supplying. / Heavenly things, on Him relying, / Seek ye first. (Hymns #667 stanzas 6-7)