ESTABLISHED IN RIGHTEOUSNESS

SATURDAY 25 NOVEMBER 2023 Isaiah 54 talks about future glory of Zion, which we are living in at this present moment. The chapter is replete with prophesies of good news from prophet Isaiah. So we see Isaiah reminding Israel of their covenant relationship with God which was full of great and promising future. In other words, their future is sure because God is forever faithful to His covenant. His enduring love for His people is unconditional and for this reason, it stands for all time.

Reference: Isaiah 54:14 New International Version (NIV) "In righteousness you will be established, far from oppression, for you will have no fear. Terror will be far removed, for it will not come near you."

According to the above versified reference, Prophet Isaiah spoke prophetic words to Zionites, who are God's chosen people, which include us, the new creation. The New Living Translation reads, "You will be secure under a government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away. You will live in peace, and terror will not come near."

Vested with the authority of Supreme Deity, Isaiah declared, "You will be established in righteousness, a secure government that is just and fair. Your enemies will stay far away. You will live in peace, and terror will not come near."

Righteousness is a secure government with legitimate power; it is just and fair. The versified statement is plainly a covenant of peace rooted in this government. And God assures that His covenant of peace will stand forever, because His unfailing love for us has no expiry date. When considered in its entirety, we are God's own people now established in righteousness because we've been made right with God through the precious blood of the lamb.

To that effect, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ" (NLT). Got it? We have been established in righteousness according to Isaiah's prophecy because, for our sake, God made Christ to be sin, although He knew no sin, so that in Him, we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus died because God loves mankind; and as born again Christians, the fontal source of the righteousness we have in Christ Jesus, is as a result of the eternal, infinite love of God the Father. The finished work of Christ on the cross is the channel of establishing us in God's righteousness. So Christ was instrumental in executing this very divine purpose in God's mind before the foundation of the world was laid, and therefore, all which He has done for us was done in obedience to the Father's eternal will. And God rejoices in calling Christ 'my well-beloved Son,' according to Mark 12:6. The KJV reads, "Having yet therefore one son, is wellbeloved..."

Righteousness is our birthright in Christ, and being of a spiritual nature, we have access to peace and joy in the Holy Ghost through its established influence. Pauline epistle noted in Romans 14:17, "For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit" (NIV). So God's kingdom has already been set up in our hearts through righteousness, and this is the hallowed peculiarity of our Christian faith.

Our union with Christ exemplifies the glorious quality of this nature - righteousness. As our governing power, righteousness plays a crucial role in empowering us to gain control over life's negative situations and exercise the victory of Christ over challenging oppressive phenomenon or eventualities. This is the reason for the assurance that follows in our referenced Scripture: "...You shall be far from oppression, for you will have no fear. Terror will be far removed, for it will not come near you." Got it?

For our greater blessings and glory, Romans 8:32 reads, "He who did not spare His own Son, but gave Him up for us all—how will He not also, along with Him, graciously give us all things?" (NIV). Through our establishment in righteousness which comes or came as a result of our union to the well Beloved, we now participate in all the blessings He purchased for us on the cross with His blood, and more so, we have become God's heir and joint heirs with Him, which further denotes our unlimited access to the glorious riches of God's grace. Shalom!

Scripture Reading - Proverbs 4:18; Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 12:3; 1 John 2:29.

Guided Prayer: Heavenly Father, I honour you today because the purpose of my high calling is to share your wisdom in righteousness and to partake of your divine nature and perfections. Thank you Father for establishing me in your righteousness, which is deeply rooted in the finished work of Christ, in Jesus' Name, Amen!