“This gift is a
supernatural principle of new life planted in the heart of every child of God
by the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit.
This righteousness
is twofold-- imputed and imparted. Imputed righteousness is what Christ works
for the believer, the justification, which lets him stand righteous before God.
This is called "the righteousness of God" Romans 3:21. By the
way of distinction, imparted righteousness is what Christ works in the
believer.
Although this
righteousness is not inherent in God's children, we receive the benefit of it
by faith, as if we had effected it ourselves. This is why Jesus is called
"the Lord our righteousness" Jeremiah 33.16.
God ordained
imputed righteousness to be the basis for our justification and to be also the
ground of acceptance of imparted righteousness. This righteousness belongs to
the fourth piece of armor, "the shield of faith" and is called
"righteousness of the faith" because it is applied by faith to the
soul Romans 4:11.. The righteousness therefore which is compared to the
breastplate here is the righteousness of sanctification imparted by Christ into
the spirit of the believer. This gift is a supernatural principle of new life
planted in the heart of every child of God by the powerful operation of the
Holy Spirit. It is the only way Christians can seek God's approval and man's
and is the only way we can perform what His Word requires us. We shall now
study this work of God's Spirit in more detail.
If God's Spirit is
not at the root, no "fruit of the Spirit"-- holiness-- can be found
on the branches Galatians 5:22."Sensual" and "having not the
Spirit" are inseparably coupled Jude 19. When man fell he lost both God's
love to him and his likeness to God.
Christ restores both
losses to God's children-- the first, by His righteousness imputed to them; and
the second, by His Spirit re-imparting the image of God, which consists of
"righteousness and true holiness" Ephesians 4:24.”
Quoted material from, ”The Christian in Complete
Armour Daily Readings in Spiritual Warfare” by Gurnall and James S Bell.
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