Seeking the Kingdom: The Gift of Righteousness

Let us first understand what the Kingdom of God actually is. We have heard Matthew 6:33 many times over:

"But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

We often focus on the "things" (food, shelter, and clothing) being added. But do you know what the Kingdom of God itself is made of? It is not found in meat and drink, but in righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

Put these two verses together, and you will quickly see that the central theme of the Kingdom is His righteousness.

A Gift, Not a Reward

It is expedient for me to say that this righteousness is not cultivated by social upbringing, nor is it attained by doing the "right things" (the works of the law). It is simply received as a gift.

"Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe." — Romans 3:22

"Those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." — Romans 5:17

Once we have believed in Jesus, we have the right to receive this free gift as children of God. Why? Because Jesus is our High Priest.

Our High Priest Forever

Beloved, this is the very foundation of New Covenant living. Hebrews 8:1 says that this is the main point of everything stated in the previous seven chapters: We have such a High Priest.

He became sin, died, ascended to the Father, and is now seated at the right hand of the throne of Majesty. As we reach out to receive what our High Priest offers, we literally become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.

God has sworn and will not relent. Jesus is our High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek (not the order of Levi, which relied on human perfection). The author of Hebrews says this gives us a double confirmation:

1. It is impossible for God to lie.

2. He has sworn with an oath.

Therefore, Jesus Himself has become the surety—the absolute guarantee—of a better covenant and our righteousness (Hebrews 7:20-22, 1 Corinthians 1:30-31).

The Threefold Work of the Holy Spirit

Remember when Jesus spoke of His ascension and the coming of the Holy Spirit in John 16:8-11? In this passage, Jesus mentions three distinct categories: the unbelieving world, the believers, and the ruler of this world (the devil).

Notice how the work of the Holy Spirit is completely different for each group:

1. To the World: He convicts them of sin (specifically, the sin of unbelief in Jesus).

2. To the Believer: He convinces us of our righteousness in Christ (because Jesus goes to the Father).

3. To the Devil: He judges the ruler of this world.

Jesus is our righteousness. That is literally His name: "THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6). It is unchanging and sure because He is undefiled, harmless, and holy. This is exactly why the New Covenant is infinitely better than the Old Covenant. The Old was based on our works, and it is now obsolete and passing away.

The Double Confirmation

Hold on to His righteousness. That is the Kingdom of God for you—and I haven't even touched on the "peace and joy" part of the Kingdom yet!

But let me leave you with this in closing: If the swearing of God is a double confirmation, go ahead and find out for yourself what else God has sworn to us in the New Covenant. Read Isaiah 54:9-10 for instance, where God swears He will never be angry with you again.

Stay blessed in Jesus. Amen.

David and Goliath

The Real Hero of the Valley of Elah

We all know the story. There was a massive giant from Gath named Goliath, a trained Philistine warrior who stood in the Valley of Elah to terrify Israel. And there was a shepherd boy named David, who withstood this giant and brought him down (1 Sam. 17).

Oh, how we love this "story" (which was actually a real-life historical event) right from our Sunday-school days!

We picture David, the youngest of eight brothers, a ruddy, good-looking boy whose name literally means "Beloved." His father, Jesse, sends him to the battlefield to check on his three oldest brothers, carrying ten loaves of bread, some roasted grain, and cheese. But when he arrives, his own brothers ridicule him, calling him proud and arrogant. Strange, isn't it? This is the very David of whom God testifies, "He is a man after My own heart."

But I have come to know that there is much more to this battle than meets the eye.

If you look closely, Jesus is revealed throughout the entire event.

The Shadows of Christ

Look at how beautifully this Old Testament history points directly to the finished work of Jesus:

• The Beloved Son Sent with Bread: Just as David was the "Beloved" sent by his father with bread, God declared from heaven, "This is My Beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." Jesus is the Bread of Life, sent by the Father from heaven. He came to His own brethren, but they rejected Him (John 1:11).

• The Forty Days: For forty days, the Philistine giant defied the armies of Israel, leaving the people terrified and hiding. This mirrors the forty days of the wilderness temptation, or the forty days of Lent before the glorious victory of Resurrection Sunday.

• Just One Man: Goliath shouted, "Give me a man, that we may fight together!" (1 Sam. 17:10). He asked for one man, and that is exactly what he got. As the Apostle Paul writes, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's [Jesus'] obedience many will be made righteous." (Romans 5:19).

• Coming in the Name of the Lord: David told the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword... but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts" (1 Sam. 17:45). While all of Israel was terrified asking "Who will save us?", David calmly took his position. Similarly, Jesus entered Jerusalem on a lowly donkey to shouts of "Hosanna!" ("Save us!") and "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." And in the Garden of Gethsemane, facing His captors, Jesus calmly asked, "Have you come out, as against a robber, with swords and clubs?" (Luke 22:52).

• The Five Wounds: David took five smooth stones from the brook; Jesus took five deep wounds on the cross. It only took one stone to fell the giant. It only took one word on the cross—"Finished!"—and the giant enemy with the power of death fell instantly.

Defeating Death with Death

Notice that David did not bring a sword to slay the giant. He ran over, took Goliath's own sword out of its sheath, and cut off the giant's head (1 Sam. 17:51). He used the enemy's own weapon to destroy him.

The exact same thing is written about Jesus!

"Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage." — Hebrews 2:14-15

Jesus used death to defeat death! And on the third day, He rose again.

Because sin is taken away and the written laws have been fulfilled, there is no more fear of death for those who believe in Jesus. Both the sting and the strength of death are gone. "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law" (1 Cor. 15:56).

We can now look at Jesus, who gloriously announces: "Do not be afraid; I am the First and the Last. I am He who lives, and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades and of Death." (Rev. 1:17-18).

Our Weapon: The Testimony

David prevailed with a sling and a stone. If the sling symbolizes the blood of the Lamb, the stone is the word of testimony.

"And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony..." — Revelation 12:11

This is the heritage of believers. We don't have to fight the giant ourselves. Jesus (our David) already fought and won the battle. Our only job is to point to the defeated giant and testify to what Jesus has already done! We overcome by resting in the blood of the Lamb and simply declaring the truth of His victory.

One Last Thought... Another thing that struck me in this passage is that Goliath was decked out in BRONZE—from head to toe, right down to his shield and spear. In biblical typology, bronze often symbolizes self-righteousness and the judgment of the law. Even the giant of self-righteousness must be slain by grace!

But that is a topic for another blog post. Cheers!

Be blessed in Jesus. Amen.

About Grace and Hyper-Grace

Why Are We So Scared of "Hyper-Grace"?

Almost every epistle in the New Testament starts and ends with wishes of grace to believers in Christ Jesus. Is it not a habit among us Christians to gather around the table during every meal and say "Grace"? God bless it!—for that is exactly how it is translated. The food we eat becomes a blessing to us!

Yet, why does the modern church often frown upon this very word?

The Multipliers of Grace

When we look at scripture, grace is not just a singular event; it multiplies to meet the obstacle.

• Grace x2 (Overcoming Mountains): In Zechariah 4:6-7, the Lord says to Zerubbabel, "Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit... And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!'" Shouts of double-grace bring down the mountain!

• Grace x3 (Fueling our Works): Look at Paul’s argument in 1 Corinthians 15:10: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me." Grace appears three times in one verse!

If given grace made Paul hyper-active (working more than all the other apostles), should we or should we not call grace "hyper-grace"?

The "Quick Brown Fox" of Theology

I had thought for quite some time about writing on "hyper-grace." I initially believed the term was coined by a critic to crack the whip on those who preach grace. I later realized this term was popularized by a certain Dr. Brown (or is it the quick brown fox?) who seemed ready to jump over the lazy dog of anonymity to critique the grace movement.

But before I could even put pen to paper, the "brown fox" jumped over and cozied up to a prominent grace preacher from Singapore, admitting that they actually agreed on much more than they disagreed.

Aww! Welcome, brother! Grace be to you in the name of Jesus. (Thankfully, there are several others, like Dr. Paul Ellis and Jeremy White, who know grace surpasses any adjectives one may propose to use).

The Apostles' Vocabulary of Grace

The Apostles of Christ—Peter, John, and Paul—were unapologetically effusive when describing grace. Look at the words they chose:

• Manifold grace: "As good stewards of the manifold grace of God." (1 Peter 4:10)

• Exceeding grace: "Because of the exceeding grace of God in you." (2 Cor. 9:14)

• Exceeding riches of grace: "He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us." (Eph. 2:7)

• Abundant grace: "How much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace... reign in life!" (Rom. 5:17)

• Exceedingly abundant grace: "And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant..." (1 Tim. 1:14)

• Fullness of grace: "Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given." (John 1:16)

Notice a theme? Amazing grace. Grace that is greater than all my sin. How can we demean it? How can we neglect the greatest part of our salvation?

The "Gyper-Market" of God

I remember a time when I was in Moscow, and we were taken to a massive shopping center called Äashaan. In Russian, it was called a "gyper-market"—literally, a Hyper-market. It was way bigger than the Walmart super-store I had seen in Pittsburgh, US.

It made me think: if man can devise something "hyper" to describe an overwhelming abundance, why can't God? Think about it! :)

May the hyper-grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.