He Did It All For You by Copeland Kenneth & Copeland Gloria

Author:Copeland, Kenneth & Copeland, Gloria [Copeland, Kenneth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harrison House Publishers
Published: 2012-05-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 4

The Force of Righteousness

by Kenneth Copeland

The Force of Righteousness

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:17-21).

Any person who is in Christ is a new creature—a new creation. He has been completely re-created. Old things are passed away, all things are new, and all things are of God—not part of God and part of Satan. Some people think a man is a schizophrenic when he becomes a Christian—that he has both the nature of God and the nature of Satan. But this is not so.

In the new birth, a man’s spirit is completely reborn. It is then his responsibility to renew his mind to the Word of God and use the Word to take control of his body.

Paul wrote to the believers in Rome, who were born-again, Spirit-filled Christians, instructing them to renew their minds with the Word (Romans 12:1-2). Their faith was known through-out the world, but they had still not learned how to control their minds and bodies with the Word. He wrote to the church at Ephesus along the same lines saying, “You have put off the old man and put on the new man, so quit lying and cheating and acting ugly toward one another” (Colossians 3:9-13). All these people were believers. They had been re-created—made the righteousness of God—but most of them didn’t know it!

Second Corinthians 5:21 tells us that God made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us “that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” As believers in Jesus Christ, we are the righteousness of God Himself!

What is righteousness? It is not a “goody-goody” way of acting or something that can be attained. Righteousness is a free gift from God, through His grace, provided by Jesus at Calvary. Now I am not referring to our own righteousness—the Bible says that in the eyes of God “all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags” (Isaiah 64:6). However, we have been given the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ.

Through our traditional thinking, we have confused righteousness with holiness. We think righteousness is the way you act, but this is not true. Holiness is your conduct. Righteousness is what you are—the nature of God.

Let me make this clearer. The word translated righteousness literally means “in right-standing.” We have been put in right-standing with God.

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