Christianity Oasis Forum

[Netchaplain]

By “the righteousness of the law” is meant “the righteous requirement of the law” (Rom 8:4); and the righteous requirement of the law states that “the soul that sins, it shall die” (Eze 18:4, 20; originally Gen 2:17). To rightly obey the law would require an antecedent righteousness (Christ only) because obedience to it does not make one righteous but shows one is already righteous, nor can righteousness come by the law (Gal 2:21) but only by faith in Christ. This makes His righteousness ours for we cannot effect our own due to the old man’s presence, thus requiring total dependence on His righteousness “imputed” to us (Rom 4:11; 1Cor 1:30). The righteousness of the Lord Jesus being present upon His conception and incarnation is the righteousness imputed to believers, not that which might be assumed from the law.

The phrase “fulfilled in us” designs the intention concerning non-accountability to the eternal judgement from the sin nature, it being expiated for us, which is manifested in the fact that since Christ did not disobey the law, by rights He was not required to die, but since no man could ever effect righteousness (all righteousness originates from God) of his own essence, “it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high Priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Heb 2:17).

The fruit of Christ’s work?—the ever-present “desire to do God’s good pleasure” (Phl 2:13), which cannot be hindered by the “abundance of sin” (sin nature), because of the “abundance of grace” (Rom 5:20). Hence, the “desire” for God is always more prominent in the believer than anything else.

“He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.” NLT

- NC