PROVISION FOR PROTECTION The knowledge of which he speaks has come from "the anointing." The Holy Spirit has shown the believer this aspect of Jesus: HE IS RIGHTEOUS! This perfectly correlates with our Lord's affirmation of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world . . .OF RIGHTEOUSNESS BECAUSE I GO TO THE FATHER . . . " (John 16:7-11). Our Lord left heaven as "the Word" (John 1:14). He returned as "the MAN Christ Jesus" (1 Tim 2:5). The fact that He was received back into heaven as the glorified "Man" confirms He IS righteous – righteous in what He accomplished, and righteous in his Person. HIS righteousness is necessary for ours. If He is not righteous, we cannot hope to be righteous. -- Tomorrow:
"But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things . . . But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him." (1 John 2:20,27-29
Devotion 29 of 30
THE RESULT OF THE ANOINTING
This verse forms a sort of bridge to the rest of the Epistle. It confirms to us that when Jesus comes again, He will come as the "RIGHTEOUS Judge." Even now, He is our Advocate, "Jesus Christ THE RIGHTEOUS" (1 John 2:1). Knowing this is a matter of personal persuasion or conviction. There is no doubt about this. This knowledge constrains the believer to himself seek first "the kingdom of God AND HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Matt 6:33). How effectively the "anointing" teaches those who have ears to hear!
THOSE DOING RIGHTEOUSNESS
The expression "doeth righteousness," or "practices righteousness" (NASB), speaks of the manner of life, and not occasional acts, i.e., doing something good. Righteousness can be lived out because it has been placed within those who are in Christ Jesus. To put it another way, imputed righteousness results in holiness of life. That holiness, without which no man can see the Lord (Heb 12:14), is evidence that we have been "made righteous" (Rom 5:19). Just as surely as Christ Jesus was "made sin for us," we have been "made the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor 5:21).
The one "doing righteousness" manifests he is a "partaker of Christ" and participates in the "Divine nature" (Heb 3:14; 2 Pet 1:4). True righteousness is the revelation of the life of God. It is not the result of mere human discipline. Further, our assessment of the person "doing righteousness" depends on our comprehension that "He (Christ) is righteous." The more vague Christ's character is to us, the less accessible righteousness becomes to us.
The Spirit leaves us with a marvelous fact – something that can be known: "everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him" (NKJV). The reality of this cannot be altered. The only question is whether of not we "know" it. Later, John will confirm this by writing, "Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness IS righteous, even as He is righteous" (3:7). Again, he will write, "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is NOT of God, neither he that loveth not his brother" (1 John 3:10).
When those who "were by nature children of wrath" (Eph 2:3), begin to DO righteousness, the work of God has been made known. Well did the prophet Jeremiah say, "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil" (Jer 13:23). When, therefore, we know that He is righteous, we also know the one doing righteousness "is born of Him." That individual was born, "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:13). God, by His own will, has begotten that person "by the word of truth" (James 1:18).
In First John, the EVIDENCE of being born of God is emphasized more than the fact of being born again. Equally true, the EVIDENCE of being righteous is accented rather the necessity of being righteous. This by no means diminishes the necessity of the new birth and righteousness. However, it does teach us that there comes a time when our profession must be supported by our lives. Salvation does not provide for a lack of harmony between our essential persons and the God who delivered us through Christ.
PRAYER [POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank You for the access into Your grace that is realized in Your great salvation. I know that without that access, I could not be righteous.