Corinthians 15:34 (KJV):
Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some
do not have the knowledge of God: I speak this
to your shame.
The word “awake” in the Greek means: “to awake sober out of a drunken sleep; to come to one’s senses and to arouse oneself out of a stupor” It is in the aorist imperative in the Greek, which means entrance into a new condition, with an emphasis on the urgent need to do it now. It calls for a specific, definitive, and decisive choice to do it now, once and for all, in one quick action. Christians have for too long been in a spiritual stupor and spiritually asleep concerning the fundamental truth of their righteousness in Christ. God wants us to wake up to the knowledge that we have been made the righteousness of God in Christ in the new birth and to an understanding of what this wonderful righteousness means in our daily living for Him. This is a command of God Almighty to the church that if you want to live victoriously and not be in bondage to sin, then you must awaken your soul and mind to all the gems of truth concerning this righteousness that God has given you as a free gift when you were saved.
In this book (The Magnificent Goodness of God and How it Will Transform your Life), we have just touched the surface of this righteousness and what it means to the Christian believer. There is so much depth, riches of knowledge, wisdom, and goodness in this righteousness of God that the Christian believer is to enjoy and utilize every day of their life. Christians have lived in sin-consciousness, condemnation, and fear, because they have not awakened to righteousness. How refreshing, how invigorating, and how exciting is it to know that we have been restored to a right relationship with God and can seek and live in His presence without hindrance and fear. How awesome it is to know that we have been freed from the exercised power of darkness in this world, legally justified from the penalty of sin and given a new nature whereby we live a quality of life above and beyond what the world has to offer.
How wonderfully E. W. Kenyon describes the breathtaking privilege of this righteousness:
By the New Birth, we have become the very righteousness
of God in Christ. He is the Author and Creator of this
righteousness. He made us to be His own righteousness. To
give us confidence and assurance in our daily walk…What
He creates and what He makes is beautiful in His sight. We
are His love poem. ..No one has a better Righteousness than
we have. No one has a better Savior than we have. No one
has better eternal life than we have. No one has a better
standing with the Father than we have. No one has a better
right to use the name of Jesus than we have. No one can get
closer to the heart of the Father than we can. We are what He
says we are. We are in the beloved. We are the Father’s own
heart dream.
Look how special you are to be clothed in His righteousness. Just think how precious you are to God Almighty and how deep His burning love is for you. You have been made the righteousness of God. The heart can hardly fathom the greatness of this truth. This righteousness enables us to live in peace, confidence, and quiet assurance of the strength, power, and protection of our heavenly Father.
Isaiah 32:17 (NIV):
The fruit of righteousness will be peace, the effect
of righteousness will be quietness and confidence
forever.
What mighty things can be accomplished in our lives when they abound with the fruit of His righteousness! What a spectacular witness we will be for the Lord Jesus Christ when we are conscious of our righteousness in him and boldly live according to our nature of righteousness. God wants our lives to be like a thriving tree that is overflowing with the fruit of righteousness.
“Quietness” in the Hebrew means: to be undisturbed, to be at rest, to be tranquil, to have unworried ease, to sink down into rest and to be quiet and gaze. I remember from childhood the big bean chairs that when you sat on them, you would sink into great comfort. Righteousness allows us to sink into complete rest and tranquility in the bosom of our Heavenly Father. Righteousness enables us to live with unworried ease, undisturbed by the rumblings of the world. Righteousness gives us great peace and quietness on the inside, where we can be still and gaze into the face of our loving God and boldly come before the throne of His grace in our time of need.
Ephesians says that we are chosen of God, without blame, lovely, and acceptable in His sight. What a marvelous righteousness that we no longer have to feel unaccepted, unworthy, condemned, and full of blame. At Calvary, Jesus Christ obliterated all guilt, all unworthiness, all blame, and all inadequacy for all those who accept Him as their Lord and Savior. Condemnation has ruled the church for too long. Guilt has burdened the soulsof God’s children for too many days and nights. Righteousness brings great confidence, trust, and security for we know who we are in Christ. We are not worms, scoundrels, deadbeats, or failures. Yahweh-Zidkenu has made you His righteousness in Christ. What a privilege and what an awesome truth that the body of Christ has been talked out of believing and claiming as a reality in their lives. This is the magnificent goodness of God- that we are righteous by heavenly decree, sealed with the blood of Christ. God’s goodness brings His righteousness. This righteousness always brings peace, rest, inward tranquility, and confidence, which enables us to walk as strong and victorious sons and daughters of God.
Excerpt from “The Magnificent Goodness of God and it Will transform Your Life.” You can order at http://www.amazon.com/Magnificent-Goodness-Will-Transform-Your/dp/1615795154/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1266674887&sr=8-1
