Righteousness is being Right with God and Man, and having Christ Lived out of Us

The Father’s righteousness is the righteousness expressed by the keeping of the new law of the kingdom (Matt. 5:20), and this righteousness is Christ lived out by the kingdom people; according to the New Testament, righteousness has four main aspects: being right with persons and things, the outward expression of Christ, God’s kingdom, and being right with God in our being.

Lord Jesus, make us the same as You are in the matter of righteousness. Live in us today. Be expressed through us. Thank You for being our righteousness objectively. Be lived out in us subjectively. Make us right with God, right with man, and right with all things according to God’s standard of righteousness! Amen, Lord, may we have the surpassing righteousness of the kingdom people today! Amen!

We have seen what it means for us to seek first the kingdom of God; now we want to focus on what it means for us in our experience to seek first the righteousness of God.

To seek first God’s kingdom is to trust in the Lord, depend on Him, and live to Him; we do not serve two masters but one – God Himself.

Our treasures are not here on earth but in heaven, and we fulfil our human duty today, fully trusting in God as our provider. Amen! We need to see what it means for us to seek God’s righteousness.

The righteousness of the Christians is the indwelling Christ lived out from within us.

On one hand, yes, Christ became our righteousness objectively; on the other hand, we need to have Christ lived out of us subjectively.

This righteousness surpasses the righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees.

When the Lord Jesus was decreeing the constitution of the kingdom of the heavens, He kept making a difference between “you have heard from the old…but now I tell you.”

He uplifted the standard of righteousness, dealing not only with the outward actions of men but even more, the inward attitude, feeling, thought, and being of man.

As kingdom people, we need to have the surpassing righteousness, which is Christ lived out of us.

The righteousness of the scribes and the Pharisees was of the law, of the letter of the law, and it was dead.

However, the righteousness of the Christians is of life, of the Spirit, and is living. The righteousness of the kingdom people surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees.

The righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees is related to not killing, not stealing, not divorcing, and other such outward manifestations.

The righteousness of the Christians is related to not being angry, not hating, not envying, not cursing, not despising, but reconciling with people and being at peace with them. These are inward matters of life and of the Spirit.

The righteousness of the Pharisees allows you to divorce with a letter of divorce, but the righteousness of the Christians is that divorce is not allowed.

The righteousness of the Pharisees was not to break an oath, but that of the Christians is not to swear at all.

In the old, it was an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth; the Lord’s decree, however, was to not oppose evil men but turn the cheek to wthe one who slaps you, give the cloack to him who wants to tunic, go two miles when one asks to go one mile with him, and give when asked, not turning away anyone who wants to borrow.

This is the surpassing righteousness.

The righteousness of the Pharisees was to love the neighbour but hate the enemy; the righteousness of the Christians is to love the enemies, pray for those who persecute, love as the heavenly Father loves, and be perfect as the heavenly Father is perfect.

This is the absolute righteousness; only absolutely righteous people can enter the absolutely righteous kingdom. In this portion, we want to see the four main aspects of righteousness in the New Testament.

Righteousness is being Right with Persons, Things, and Matters according to God’s righteous and strict requirements

According to the New Testament, righteousness is being right with persons, things, and matters according to God’s righteous and strict requirements (Matt. 5:20).

God’s requirements are very strict; He wants us not to build our own righteousness but be right with persons, matters, and things according to His standard of righteousness.

The apostle Paul sought the righteousness that was according to the law before he was saved.

In Philippians 3 he said that he was a Pharisee according to the strictest sect.

They emphasised a lot about their godliness and keeping the law. Paul even said that, concerning the righteousness according to the law, he was unblamable.

But such righteousness does not count before God. Isaiah 64 says that our own righteousness is like filthy rags according to the strict righteous requirements of God.

We are not right at all. No matter how much we try, even as Job did, our righteousness is not enough; it does not come up to God’s standard.

This is why Paul said that, what he once considered to be gains, the righteousness coming from the law, he counted all this as dung in order to pursue Christ.

We need to pursue being right with persons, matters, and things by being in Christ, even to have the righteousness through faith in Christ, the faith that is of God. Out of this faith, we have righteousness. Praise the Lord!

When we’re in Christ, when we live Christ, we spontaneously are right with persons, matters, and things according to God’s righteous and strict requirements.

Righteousness is the Outward Expression of the Christ who Lives in us as the Life-giving Spirit

According to the New Testament, righteousness is the outward expression of the Christ who lives in us as the life-giving Spirit (2 Cor. 3:9, 18; 1 Cor. 15:45).

Christ today is the Spirit – He is the pneumatic Christ dwelling in us, in our spirit. We need to experience Christ and live Him out, even let Him be lived out of us.

Paul sought to be found in Christ, for he said that to him to live was Christ. No matter what he encountered, he wanted to have Christ magnified in his body as always.

Righteousness is having Christ lived out in us, Christ being magnified through us. The Spirit is the essence of God living, moving, and acting within us, and righteousness is the essence of God manifested outwardly as God’s image to express Him (Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10).

On the one hand, we have the Spirit with our spirit, and we are joined to the Lord as one spirit. On the other hand, Christ wants to be expressed through us; there has to be an outward expression of the Christ who lives in us.

The divine essence that has been inscribed into us will have a particular expression, and this expression is righteousness (2 Cor. 3:3, 9; Matt. 5:20).

In our time with the Lord, as we contact the Lord personally and intimately, we enjoy Him, He writes Himself on our heart, and He infuses us with what He is.

The more we behold the Lord, the more we reflect Him. The ministry we have is of the Spirit and of righteousness. The Spirit is inscribed into our being, and righteousness is the expression of Christ who lives in us.

When we enjoy the Spirit as the essence, spontaneously we will have an outward expression, which is to be right with things, persons, and matters. This is the righteousness of the new covenant, and this is the Christ who lives in us, being manifested through us.

Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into us to be our life and our everything. Thank You for being the Spirit with our spirit. Hallelujah, the Spirit is the essence of God living, moving, and acting within us! Praise the Lord, righteousness is the essence of God manifested outwardly as God’s image to express Him! Amen, Lord, we want to live a life that expresses You today! We open to You as the Spirit; inscribe us with what God is, and infuse us with what You are. We open to You in our personal time with You. Infuse us and live in us. May the divine essence that has been inscribed into us have the expression of righteousness! Amen, Lord, we want to be found in Christ, not having our own righteousness but the righteousness which is of Christ, the righteousness coming out of faith!

Righteousness is a matter of God’s Kingdom

According to the New Testament, righteousness is a matter of God’s kingdom (Matt. 6:33). We need to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness; the kingdom and righteousness are interrelated.

God’s throne is established with righteousness as the foundation (Psa. 89:14; 97:2). The very throne of God is established in righteousness.

Righteousness issues from God for His administration and thus is related to God’s rule and government (Isa. 32:1).

God loves us, but He cannot save us unless His righteousness is first satisfied.

God must save us and bring us into His kingdom, but first He must preserve His righteousness. He cannot let go of man’s sins simply because He loves man.

This is why He had to send Jesus to come to die for us, even to die on our behalf, so that He may satisfy the requirements of God’s righteousness.

God is righteous, so He has to judge sin. He judged sin in Christ. He bore our sins on the cross, He was nailed on the cross, and He died for us, being judged by God on our behalf.

The cross meets the requirement of righteousness and the requirement of love. How we thank and praise the Lord that we can now be kingdom people through faith in Christ!

Righteousness first issues in the image of God and then establishes the kingdom of God (Rom. 8:4, 29; 14:17).

Because God has judged Christ on our behalf, we can receive Christ as our righteousness and enter into the kingdom of God.

We who were sinners can be saved and regenerated through the Lord Jesus becoming sin for us and through His bearing of our sins to forgive us.

Now we have Christ as our righteousness, and we are the righteousness of God in Christ (2 Cor. 5:21). Praise the Lord!

We can be in the kingdom of God as a realm of righteousness by faith in Christ, the One who is our righteousness. Now we can live in the church life as the kingdom of God, enjoying Christ as our righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit!

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for coming to die for us on the cross. Thank You for dying on our behalf to satisfy the requirements of God’s righteousness. Hallelujah, the throne of God is established in righteousness, and God’s kingdom is a kingdom of righteousness. Amen, Lord, we believe into You and we apply You today as our righteousness. May Your righteousness issue in the image of God and also establish the kingdom of God. We exercise our spirit and we want to walk in the spirit today so that the righteous requirement of God may be fulfilled in us. Amen, Lord, we want to live in the church life today as the realm of God’s kingdom, enjoying Christ as righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit with all the saints!

Righteousness is a matter of Being Right with God in our Being

According to the New Testament, righteousness is a matter of being right with God in our being (1 Cor. 15:34; 2 Cor. 5:21).

On the one hand, righteousness is being right with things, persons, and matters; this is something outward.

On the other hand, righteousness is being right with God in our own being. This means that there needs to be an inward experience with God and of God as our righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:21 tells us that we are becoming the righteousness of God in Christ.

Not only are we justified by faith in Christ, not only do we have Christ as our righteousness outwardly to cover us before God, but we in our very being become right with God.

In our inward constitution as believers in Christ, we are justified by having Christ as our subjective righteousness.

In Revelation 21 and 22 we see that, to be right with God in our being is to have an inner being that is transparent and crystal clear, an inner being in the mind and will of God (Rev. 21:11, 18, 21; 22:1). This is what we are becoming.

We are becoming the righteousness of God in Christ, for Christ lives in us, and we are transparent vessels to make Him visible to others.

It’s not only that, if we commit something that is wrong, a sin or a mistake, we apologise and make things right. It is not that we don’t make any mistakes and we are right before others, for we didn’t do anything wrong.

It is actually our inward being that is crystal clear and transparent. This means that we deal with our inward being to such an extent that the Lord can be visibly be seen through us.

We are one with the Lord to such an extent that we have the mind and will of God, so that whatever we do is according to His mind and will.

It is only in this way that we can be right. To be righteous in this way is to become the righteousness of God in Christ. This is what we are becoming.

May we open to Him and allow Him to shine in us, even to make us the righteousness of God in Christ, so that we may be right with God in our being.

Lord Jesus, we open our inner being to You. Shine on us. Expose and remove any problem between us and You. We want to not only be justified by faith in God in an outward way but even more, in our very constitution, we would be right with God in our being! Amen, righteousness is a matter of being right with God in our being! Oh Lord, may our inner being be transparent and crystal clear. May we have an inner being in the mind and will of God. May You be expressed and manifested through us in Your righteousness. Work Yourself into us. Live in us. Be lived out through us. Be manifested through us. May whatever we do be according to the mind and will of God. Hallelujah, we are becoming the righteousness of God in Christ!

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, Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 28, “The Gospel of God (1),” ch. 5, 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 4.
• 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)
  – O holy Father, righteous One, / Thy righteousness upholds Thy throne, / ’Tis a foundation sure. / ’Tis through this righteousness of Thine / That reigns in Christ the grace divine, / And peace we thus secure. / Thy righteousness has caused Thy Son / To die for us that we be won, / Redemption thus was bought; / Thy righteousness has justified / When Christ’s redemption was applied, / Salvation thus was wrought. (Hymns #21 stanzas 2-3)
  – God is righteous in His doings, / He is perfect in His ways; / Just is He in all His actions, / And He well deserves our praise. / Righteous was His condemnation, / Righteous His requirement; / For the law had deemed us sinners, / And for judgment we were meant. / Oh, how blest the love that spared us, / For the law had judged us dead. / God, to meet the righteous judgment, / Passed it on His Son instead. / Hallelujah! Our Redeemer, / Christ, to God has purchased us; / Now enjoying His redemption, / We become God’s righteousness. (Hymns #1203 stanzas 1-2)