Jesus Christ the Holy and Righteous One
God’s only begotten Son came into the world, holy and righteous. He lived in the world, holy and righteous. He departed this world, holy and righteous. Today, He sits on the throne of God, holy and righteous.
When theologians speculate on the order of important attributes for God, holy is number one. God is altogether…other. He is set apart from His creation.
We are introduced to God by being part of His creation. We observe and we can learn much of the Creator by the work of His hands. A further revelation is given in the Bible, God’s written Word. The holiness of God is observed throughout its pages.
When Jesus is ascribed titles with the term “holy” it points directly to His deity. Jesus is God, the eternal Son. As God the Father is holy, so is Jesus, the holy one of God. To complement this, Jesus is also, the holy one of Israel.
Thus, holiness signifies a position in relation to other positions. Jesus is set apart from the world (holy one of God), but there is also a positioning in relationship to His own people (holy one of Israel). Jesus is the head of his church, the Israel of God (Is 49:1–6; Gal 6:16). Those who are in Him are called His “holy ones.” Christians are to be holy as He is holy (1 Pet 1:16).
In Peter and John’s testimony, the Jews had killed the Holy and Righteous One (Acts 3:14). This is telling. It is a bold witness to ascribe attributes of God together, and then say, “In your ignorance, look what you have done.”
For one to be right, there must be a wrong. For there to be right and wrong, there must be a standard. God is holy and righteous is the standard, as God has revealed the standard, Himself, in the Law He gave to Moses.
For Jesus to be called “righteous” means He has met the standard of God, by keeping the Law for righteousness. Jesus Christ is the only man in history to have permanent access to the holiest place of heaven. This is because He is the only man to have achieved right standing by perfect works of the Law.
Jesus is called “the Lord our righteousness” because no other man, in himself, has right standing before the holy God. For the reason, the natural man is condemned by the Law, and his punishment is eternal because he has incessantly offended infinite holiness. Being without God in the world, and without excuse, the execution of justice is just a matter of time.
The Christian possesses an alien righteousness. This is right standing before God, not on one’s own merits, but on the merits of another. That other is none other than Jesus Christ, the Lord our righteousness.
By God’s doing, one is transferred from the domain of darkness and into the marvelous light of the commonwealth of Israel. Jesus Christ is the King of Israel, the head of His church. He is gathering His flock of people, as their Good Shepherd. He will present His holy nation, holy and blameless before the Father (Eph 1:4; 5:27; Col 1:22).
Holiness, in the life of a Christian, is a work of God. The Bible calls it “sanctification.” Jesus Christ has become to us…sanctification (1 Cor 1:30). He is holy and righteous, and we are holy and righteous, in Him.
In the courtroom scene, Jesus is the Advocate of His people before the Holy God His Father. Despite our sin and guilt, before God and His holy standard, Jesus pleads His own blood (1 Pet 1:19), as the acceptable payment for our debt of sin (Col 2:14). This, too, was an act in accordance with the Law for sacrifice.
One time, upon the cross of Calvary, our Lord Jesus, offered Himself as the sacrificial substitute, for His people, unto God. He was the unblemished (holy) Lamb of God, who took away the sins of His people from all over the world. He is the Redeemer of Israel. There is not another and no more sacrifice for sins. One is either sprinkled with the blood of Christ, by the baptism of the Holy Spirit or one is not.
Having finished the work of redemption on the cross, Jesus ascended to heaven and His enthronement assures us of His holy and righteous status, at the right hand of God, in majesty. Today, Jesus serves His Father, working as the one Mediator between God and man (1 Tim 2:5). He ever lives to make intercession for His people (Heb 7:25).
Nothing can change the status of our Holy and Righteous God. Nothing can change the status of Jesus Christ, our Holy and Righteous Lord. Nothing can change the status of the born again (Jn 3:1–8; 1 Pet 1:3), who are holy and blameless (righteous) before God, now and on the Day of Judgment. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1), not by our will or works, but by the will and work of God, who is holy and righteous.
David Norczyk
Spokane Valley, Washington
December 19, 2022
