Wednesday

Related Verses
Rom. 14:17
17 For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Rom. 8:4
4 That the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.

Isa. 32:1
1 Indeed a King will reign according to righteousness, And the rulers will rule according to justice.

Heb. 1:8-9
8 But of the Son, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom.
9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You with the oil of exultant joy above Your partners”;

Matt. 5:6, 20
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall by no means enter into the kingdom of the heavens.

Matt. 22:11-12
11 But when the king came in to look at those reclining at table, he saw there a man who was not clothed with a wedding garment,
12 And he said to him, Friend, how did you come in here without a wedding garment? And he was speechless.

1 Cor. 1:30
30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became wisdom to us from God: both righteousness and sanctification and redemption,

Related Reading
When the righteous requirements of the law are fulfilled in us because we walk according to the Spirit, then we have righteousness…When we have righteousness, we have the expression of the God we serve and worship. Because we have this expression as the spontaneous righteousness that we live out by the Spirit of life, others can be convinced and subdued. 

In Romans 8:4 Paul speaks of the righteous requirement of the law, and in verse 29 he speaks of the image of God’s Son: “Because those whom He foreknew, He also predestinated to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the Firstborn among many brothers.” If we put this verse together with verses 2 and 4, we have the Spirit, righteousness, and the image. Day by day we need to walk according to the Spirit of life so that we may fulfill the righteousness of the law. This is equal to being conformed to the image of God’s Son. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, p. 253) 

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The way to be conformed to His image is to walk according to the Spirit of life so that the righteous requirements of the law may be fulfilled in us. Then we will have righteousness, and this righteousness is the very image of the Son of God. Therefore, the Spirit produces righteousness, and righteousness is the image. 

In Romans 8 we have righteousness related to the Spirit of life and issuing in the image of the Son of God. But in Romans 14:17 righteousness is related to the kingdom of God. In this chapter the kingdom of God denotes the church life. The meetings of the church are an exhibition of the kingdom of God…The church life is the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of God is righteousness. 

Paul’s word in Romans 14:17 corresponds to what is written in the Old Testament. According to Psalm 89:14, righteousness is the foundation of God’s throne…God’s throne is established with righteousness as the foundation…Isaiah 32:1 says, “Indeed a King will reign according to righteousness.” Here righteousness is again related to the kingdom…Furthermore, Hebrews 1:8 and 9 say, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, and the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of Your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness.” These verses are a quotation from Psalm 45. 

In the Old Testament righteousness is often synonymous with the kingdom. Therefore, righteousness is related to government, administration, regulation, and rule…Where there is righteousness, everything is headed up in a proper way. 

Righteousness first issues in the image of God. Then righteousness establishes the kingdom of God. In Romans 8 we have righteousness and God’s image, and in Romans 14 we have righteousness and God’s kingdom. Both the image and the kingdom are based on righteousness. 

Let us now apply this aspect of righteousness to our family life and our church life. When a husband and wife are not happy with each other and the situation at home is not pleasant, there is no righteousness, no image of the Son, in their family life. Likewise, the kingdom of God is not present, for God’s kingdom is righteousness. Others observing the situation will not receive any impression of the image of Christ, the expression of God. \However, suppose a brother and his wife live in the Spirit and walk according to the Spirit. They will be happy, and their children will be happy also. What a glorious family life that would be! Others will be able to see the image of God and realize that the kingdom of God is present in that family. This is righteousness in the family life. (Life-study of 2 Corinthians, pp. 254-255) 

Further Reading: CWWN, vol. 28, “The Gospel of God (1),” ch. 5