THE SECOND PART: A BIRD’S-EYE VIEW OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
The Ministry of John
Message Four—Practicing the Divine Righteousness
Scripture Reading: 1 John 2:28—3:10a, 1 Cor. 1:30; Matt. 5:20, Phil. 3:9
I. The fellowship of the divine life and the teaching of the divine anointing should have an issue—the expression of the righteous God—1 John 2:29; 3:7. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
II. The word righteous in 2:29 refers to the righteous God in 1:9 and to Jesus Christ the Righteous in 2:1: (2007 ST, msg. 9)
A. The righteousness of God is what God is in His actions with respect to justice and righteousness—Rom. 1:17; 3:21-22; 10:3: (2007 ST, msg. 9)
1. Righteousness is related to God’s actions and activities—Rev. 16:7; 19:2. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
2. God is righteous in His ways—His governing principles by which He does things; righteousness is the nature of God’s acts—15:3; Psa. 103:7. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
3. God is righteous in the blood of Jesus His Son, which has fulfilled God’s righteous requirements so that He may forgive us our sins—1 John 1:9. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
B. In ascension Jesus Christ is the Righteous as our Representative, or Attorney, in the heavenly court—2:1. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
III. There are two aspects of Christ being righteousness from God to the believers—1 Cor. 1:30; Matt. 5:20: (2007 ST, msg. 9)
A. The first aspect is that Christ is the believers’ righteousness for them to be justified before God objectively at the time of their repenting unto God and believing into Christ—Rom. 3:24-26; Acts 13:39; Gal. 3:24b, 27. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
B. The second aspect is that Christ is the believers’ righteousness lived out of them as the manifestation of God, who is the righteousness in Christ given to the believers for them to be justified by God subjectively—Rom. 4:25; 1 Pet. 2:24a; James 2:24; Matt. 5:20; Rev. 19:8. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
IV. To practice the divine righteousness is to do righteousness habitually, continually, and unintentionally as a way of life in our daily living—1 John 2:29; 3:7: (2007 ST, msg. 9)
A. With the divine birth as the basis and the divine life as the means, we can live a life that practices the divine righteousness—2:25, 29; 3:9. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
B. The practice of the divine righteousness is a spontaneous living that issues from the divine life within us, with which we have been begotten of the righteous God—1:1-2; 2:29; 5:1. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
C. The practice of the divine righteousness is a living expression of God, who is righteous in all His deeds and acts—Rev. 15:3. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
D. The practice of the divine righteousness is not merely outward behavior but the manifestation of the inward life; it is not merely an act of purpose but the flow of life from within the divine nature, of which we partake—2 Pet. 1:4; Rev. 22:1-2. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
E. As the result of being saturated with the Triune God, we become His expression; in particular, because God is righteous, when we express Him, we express His righteousness—3:7. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
F. Because we abide in the righteous God and He is saturating us with what He is, we express His righteousne4 by living a righteous life habitually and unintentionally—2:29. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
G. To practice the divine righteousness—to live a righteous life that is the expression of the righteous God—is to purify ourselves—3:3. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
H. To practice sin (lawlessness) is to live a life which is not under the ruling principle of God over man; to practice righteousness is to live rightly under the principle of God’s ruling—vv. 4, 7. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
V. To practice the divine righteousness is to live out and express the righteousness of God in a full and complete way—Matt. 5:20; Rom. 8:4; 2 Cor. 3:9; 5:21; Phil. 3:9; Psa. 89:14; Rev. 19:7-8; 2 Pet. 3:13: (2007 ST, msg. 9)
A. To practice the divine righteousness is to live a life that is right with God, persons, things, and matters before God according to His righteous and strict requirements—Matt. 5:20. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
B. To practice the divine righteousness is to live out the subjective righteousness of God, which is actually God Himself in Christ lived out through us to become a daily living that is right with God and man—Phil. 3:9. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
C. To practice the divine righteousness is to live Christ; if we live Christ, we will be the most righteous persons, for the Christ who lives within us will make us right in everything and with everyone—1:20-21a. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
D. To practice the divine righteousness is to have the righteousness that is the outward expression of the Christ who lives within us as the life-giving Spirit; as Christ lives in us as the life-giving Spirit and we live Him out, our living will express the divine righteousness—1 Cor. 15:45b; 6:17; 2 Cor. 3:6, 9, 17-18. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
E. To practice the divine righteousness is to express the image of God; 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—Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
F. To practice the divine righteousness is to be right with God in our being; this is to have an inner being that is transparent and crystal clear, that is in the mind and will of God, and that is the righteousness of God—2 Cor. 5:21. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
G. To practice the divine righteousness is to live in the reality of the kingdom of God and under the throne of God, which is established with righteousness as the foundation—Rom. 14:17; Psa. 89:14. (2007 ST, msg. 9)
H. To practice the divine righteousness is to be clothed with righteousnesses to be the bride of Christ adorned with bright, shining righteousness—Rev. 19:7-8. (2007 ST, msg. 9)