Jesus: The Righteous
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
Jesus is the Righteous; no one can claim to be righteous, because the Bible says, “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Romans 3:10). A righteous person always does the right thing in actions, always has right thoughts and is right in attitude. When John baptized Jesus, it was “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15), which means that Jesus and John did the right thing in the right way. Jesus is the only righteous Person to ever live, for He always did the right thing and His character was perfect righteousness.
Lord Jesus, I know that You are perfect and that You never sinned (1 Peter 2:22), but what about me? How can I become righteous?
Jesus is the Righteous; when you enter the exchanged life, you identify with Jesus’ position in Heaven, and He indwells you on Earth. Jesus said, “You in Me and I in you” (John 14:20). Because Jesus was perfect, the Father made Him to be your sin, and the Father gave His righteousness to you (2 Corinthians 5:21). The secret of the Christian life is that Jesus comes to live in you when you are saved. You are still a sinner—a forgiven sinner—but the righteousness of Jesus is accounted to you when you are saved. Now what you need is power to overcome sin. That happens when Jesus lives His life through you. Let the righteous One shine through your life today.
Lord, fill my imperfect life with Your righteousness. Live through me so that others can see Your perfection. Amen.
Go Deeper: 2 Corinthians 5:14-21
The righteousness of Christ was applied to you when you were saved.
