What happens when we receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness?

Romans 1:16-17
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

There is something in the good news of Christ that Paul was so proud of, was so determined to preach to every nation and every tribe and every people in the Roman empire. Paul was determined to preach the good news of Jesus, suffering tribulation, testings and presecutions in almost every place he preached, yet there was something he had received from the risen Christ that was of benefit to those who believe. In verse 16, we see that the good news of Christ believed is the power of God to salvation released. It is not just the good news of Christ, else the physical Bible itself would raise the dead. But it is the good news believed that releases power. Power for salvation, power for wholeness, power for rescue and deliverance from disease, sickness and physical death, power for peace and soundness.

What is it to believe then? What is this good news that we are supposed to believe, that releases the power of God for salvation? Simply this, in verse 17: the righteousness of God that is revealed from faith to faith. I like the Amplified version of verse 17, that explains the expression "from faith to faith":

Romans 1:17 (Amplified)
17 For in the Gospel a righteousness which God ascribes is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed through the way of faith that arouses to more faith]. As it is written, The man who through faith is just and upright shall live and shall live by faith.

Ain't that beautiful? The Good News of Christ reveals the righteousness of God that springs forth from believing the Word of Christ preached, and the revelation of righteousness in the Word preached arouses even more faith to believe! Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of Christ! God has given to each a measure of faith, to believe that our sins and lawless deeds He remembers no more, but listening to more of the Good News (of righteousness by faith) preached builds up our ability to believe even more intensely and securely!

Why is the righteousness of faith so important? Verse 17 gives a hint, that "the man who through faith is just and upright shall live"! Romans 4 and 5 continue to expound on this principle that the righteousness of God leads to the life and life more abundant that Jesus promised in John 10. He came that we may have life and life more abundant, to undo the work of the thief who came to steal, kill and destroy! In particular, Romans 5:18 has this expression that I read many times but never understood how it worked:

Romans 5:18 (HCSV)
18 So then, as through one trespass there is condemnation for everyone, so also through one righteous act there is life-giving justification for everyone.

Justification is simply God declaring us righteous. And in Romans 3, we see that God is righteous to declare us righteous because He sent Jesus Christ to be our propitiation through faith in His blood. A propitiation speaks of both the mercy seat of the Ark of the Covenant, as well as the blood that is sprinkled upon the mercy seat, between the wings of the cheribum. Jesus fulfills both types. His blood is the perfect redemption price paid to redeem us out of the divine sentence we all deserved as sinners. His blood is the propitiatory sacrifice, the sacrifice that satisfies and met all of God's divine wrath and judgment against sin. Therefore, His blood shed speaks of God's wrath and judgment against sin having been completely satisfied at the cross, when He hung as our atonement offering, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. This blood also speaks of His life that He gave in our place, so that we who deserved death did not experience death because Another, Jesus Christ the Righteous, took our place and died our death. In Leviticus, it says the life of the animal is in the blood. Therefore, Jesus' blood shed speaks of the life He gave up to die our death.

Hallelujah, just looking at the blood of Jesus already reveals such riches of His beauty and majesty, such perfection in that blood offered for our atonement, redemption and forgiveness of sins! This is why the blood of Jesus defeats the accuser of the breathen in Revelations 12. Every accusation of the enemy falls to the ground as groundless, baseless and utterly unfounded, not because the accusations of our sinful actions and thoughts are not true, but because the blood of Jesus has met every accusation and paid for our every disqualification! The wrath of God has been poured out upon our sins and lawless deeds, in the body of Jesus! The blood of Christ shed represents the wrath of God met in full by the propitiatory sacrifice, Jesus Christ on the cross. His blood has bought us peace!

But in Romans 5:18, it speaks of justification that gives life! How does justification give life? Now, you don't need to know how it works to believe and receive the blessing. I've been walking in a measure of this blessing by the grace of God, but my passion is to find out how things work, for my greater enjoyment and satisfaction in the things of God.

Paul, in expounding Romans 5, links 3 things together in divine wisdom. He links the abundance of grace, the gift of righteousness and life, all in one verse, in Romans 5:17, and again in verse 21.

Romans 5:17, 20, 21 (HCSV)
17 Since by the one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more,
21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

To reign in eternal life is to live the life of Christ all the time. This life is the resurrection life that Jesus lives today, seated at the right hand of God. We all know the verse "As He is, so am I in this world", and I've confessed this verse in my life many many times. But somehow, in many areas of my life, I don't see my life lining up to as He is. What gives? Now, As He is, so am I in this world is truth, and our life must line up with the truth. But are we to simply confess and confess and confess until it happens?

Confession, and any and every spiritual exercise can become a work, if it is done with no revelation or consciousness of Jesus in the centre. I mean that if we confess As He is so are we in this world thinking that confessing enough times will make that Word happen in our lives, we missed the point. Or if we feel guilty that we forgot to confess a particular promise or verse, or forgot to take communion, we have made a spiritual principle a work and voided the grace of God. And often, no surprise, that area where we confess like crazy is that area where we don't see the grace of God manifesting.

Every promise is yes and amen because of Christ and Christ alone. It is by His finished work at the cross, His shed blood alone, that we are blessed. Our sins are forgiven completely by His blood. Our bodies are healed by His broken body on the cross. It is all Jesus, none of us, our formulas, our methods, our works. Subtle are the works of the flesh, because something that started off full of faith in Christ and consciousness of His finished work can quickly become a work, when Christ consciousness is replaced by a formula and a method. The flesh loves formulas! But the spirit loves to focus on Christ!

So Paul talks about receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, and both are received by faith in Christ Jesus, by believing in His blood and His finished work at the cross.

Romans 5:1-2 (HCSV)
1 Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Also through Him, we have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.

What exactly happens when we receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness? What leads to us reigning in life when we receive grace and righteousness? For that, let's look again at verses 17 and 21 of Romans 5

Romans 5:17, 20, 21 (HCSV)
17 Since by the one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.
20 The law came along to multiply the trespass. But where sin multiplied, grace multiplied even more,
21 so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace will reign through righteousness, resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Notice the phrase "through Jesus Christ our Lord"? Paul talks about how through one man's trespass (Adam), we all come under the reign of death. To put it simply, Adam's sin is responsible for the death we experience, and we are sinners because of Adam's sin that we inherited by virtue of human birth and descent from his line. That is how death reigned in man, because of Adam's sin. But today, there is a new and living way, a newness of life, a life that has swallowed up this death in victory. This new reign of life is found through the one man Jesus Christ! And those who receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will have life reigning in them through the one man Jesus Christ.

Now, we established that death reigns because of Adam's sin. Now, we can also see that the eternal life of God reigns in us because of Jesus' perfect finished work at the cross! Again, it has nothing to do with me at all! This is the grace of God, that it is not what I do or don't do that determines whether the eternal life of God lives in me. No, it is Jesus and Jesus alone, His blood that washed away my sins, and His grace upon my life. Literally, Adam's sin gave death the right to reign in my life. Today, Jesus' one perfect sacrifice has given God the right to intervene in my life, imparting life to the dead, calling those things that are not as though they are!

That's why forgiveness of sins is the power of God unto salvation. Salvation comes when the life of Christ is manifested in the area of death, swallowing death in victory. When we think of forgiveness of sins, we think of the sins we have committed, and that is true. But Jesus' sacrifice forgave more than our own personnal sins. His blood and cross forgave us of the sin of Adam that gave death the right of dominion in the begninning. His blood cut off the right of the enemy to put disease, sickness, failures and death in our lives, once and for all! Today, His resurrection is our right to allow God to intervene, by His grace, in our lives, even when we have done wrong and deserve to die, so that His law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set me free from the law of sin and death!

Jesus' blood has redeemed us completely, from every right of the enemy to have dominion over our lives. Whether through Adam's sin or through our own lawless deeds, the blood of Jesus has met every claim and paid in full our redemption from the curse. No wonder it says in Romans 6

Romans 6:14 (HCSV)
14 For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under law but under grace.

Life is ours to enjoy because through the finished work of Jesus Christ our Lord, we receive freely (without cost) the gift of righteousness and the abundance of grace. When you think about these terms simply, the gift of righteousness is the right for God to intervene in our lives with life, blessing, goodness, favor and everything praiseworthy, and the abundance of grace is God's most willing heart of love and fullness of power to want to intervene in our lives with life, blessing, goodness and everything good! When I need help, I receive the gift of righteousness, telling the Lord that He has a right to intervene in my life with His life because of Jesus Christ my qualification and righteousness. And I receive the abundance of grace, my Daddy God most willing and desirous to intervene on my behalf, to bless me, help me, fill me and equip me, to bring me to victory that I don't deserve!

Daddy God is always looking to bless us. His heart, as demonstrated in Jesus' earthly ministry, is to heal all, feed all, perform miracles to bless, help, console and prosper all. But He could not because Adam's sin shut the door to our right to receive help from God. But through the blood of Jesus, now we have a blood-bought right to allow God to intervene in our lives! We come as we are, in need of help, in need of His intervention, and we receive the gift of the divine right for God to intervene in my life through Christ Jesus my Lord, and receive the abundance of His divine intervention in my problems, situations, trials and needs! Let God arise, and all His enemies be scattered!

It's all about Jesus. He is my qualification for Him to be Lord and King in every area of my life. The more I know His heart of love and blessing toward me, the more I want Him to intervene in every area of my life. And His blood has made the way for His divine intervention to bless me all the days of my life! Praise the Lord!