Righteousness - Session 7
The image of God is a spiritual reality expressed through how we represent Him
The theological concepts of Justification and Sanctification have been introduced earlier in the series. Today’s session focuses on the aspect of Sanctification, also referred to as Impartational Righteousness or Practical Righteousness.
Be Clothed in Righteousness
In the context of 2 Corinthians 6:7, the believer is expected to be clothed with the armour of righteousness. The imagery of ‘putting on’ of righteousness is a biblical one that is seen in the picture of the high priest being clothed with the priestly garments. That imagery is still relevant to us today as we all belong to a family of high priests. When the high priest was attired in his priestly garments and walked amongst the twelve tribes, they would see a vicarious representation of God in him. God was made beautiful amongst the people through how He presented Himself in the high priest.
Worship equals service. How you serve God in life is your worship. Share on X
 The imagery is further expounded in Ephesians 6:14 where we have a description of the armour of God. We are required put on the whole armour of God in order to stand against the wiles of the devil. One of the items in the armour is the breastplate of righteousness which not only clothes our whole being with righteousness, but it also guards our hearts against bitterness, unforgiveness, anger, malice, a vindictive nature, etc. We must learn how not to put on the religious hat of righteousness, we need to learn how to wear the garments of righteousness.
Our Righteousness is our Worship to God
Worship equals service. The Church has erroneously been taught to think that worship is singing, dancing, lifting of hands, etc. True worship is your service to God in your daily life, and in this context the word ‘service’ refers to one’s employment, vocation, career or business. The righteousness of Christ must be made practical on those areas, thus if the presentation of our service is not right, then our worship is invalidated.
A root study of the word ‘worship’ reveals that worship means worth. The world measures our worth by our salaries, education, and socio-economic status, but God measures our worth by the way in which He is ubiquitously represented in every facet of lives. When we serve God in righteousness we develop a reputation, and that reputation is called glory.