If we could earn righteousness (fully right with God), we would be self-righteous (Isaiah 64:6), or dirty rags (of no value) in God’s sight, for Romans 10:10 shows, from the heart comes faith to believe Christ is our righteousness, just as 1 Corinthians 1:30, says He is, because Romans 10:1-13, explains the difference in “righteousness which is from the law” and “the righteousness of faith” (Galatians 3:1-14).
“Righteousness which is from the law” is of works (Romans 9:30-33; Galatians 3:1-14), but “the righteousness of faith” is believing Christ Jesus is our righteousness, our only way to be right with God, for no one ever gets to God without going through Christ (John 14:6; 6:44-45).
With the heart (human spirit), we believe unto righteousness, and not by any works of our own (Ephesians 2:1-9), for God placed us in Christ (1 Corinthians 1:30; Romans 6:11), so He could become what we were, and placed Christ in us (Romans 8:10-11; Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27), so we could become what He is (2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 4:17; 5:11-12), so now our Lord and us are one (Romans 8:29; 1 Corinthians 6:17); Christ the Head, and us (Christians) members of His body, the church (Ephesians 5:23; Colossians 1:18).
We may not have fully understood why God made Jesus both Lord and Christ (Acts 2: 36; Colossians 3:23-24), which makes Jesus, the resurrected Christ, our total completeness (Colossians 2:8-10), meaning the Lord Christ is all we need in this life and in the life to come.
If Father God had not made Jesus both Lord and Christ, we could not live by faith; it would all be by works of our own, but because God made Jesus both Lord and Christ; then, Jesus as Lord did for us all God commands us to do (John 16:33; Philippians 2:5-11; 1 John 5:5), and Jesus as Christ became for us all God requires us to become (1 Corinthians 1:30-31, Ephesians 2:13-14; Colossians 2:8-10); therefore, Christianity is a Person—Christ the Head of His body, the church (Colossians 1:13-23), so we live by faith in our Lord Christ and serve our Lord Christ, for who He is—what He did and became for us, making Christians the most blessed and favored on earth.
Jesus, our Lord Christ did and became for us all God created us to do and become, for even 1 Timothy 3:16, is a great word-picture of Jesus, our Lord Christ, our godliness (Gospel, holiness, sanctification), because no human being could ever earn wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification (godliness, holiness), redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30), peace (Ephesians 2:13-14), and completeness (Colossians 2:8-10), as our Lord Christ did and became for us; thus, it is reasonable and enjoyable for us to willingly and eagerly, praise, thank, worship, and serve our Lord Christ, our completeness; we can enjoy the Christian life-style, for it is complete in Christ.
Jim Nabors
