The righteousness which is of faith

 

The righteousness which is of faith

 

Romans 10:6 『But the righteousness which is of faith speaks on this wisdom, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:)』

『 The righteousness which is of faith 』 means that the believer believes that he or she died with Jesus on the cross, received forgiveness of sins, and was resurrected with the resurrected Christ. If the believer believes that he or she received forgiveness of sins through the death of Jesus, but does not believe that he or she is united with the resurrection of Christ and ascends to heaven in the present. If this happens, it is the same as trying to bring down Christ who ascended to heaven.

Before Jesus was resurrected, no one had ascended to heaven. John 3:13 “No one has ascended to heaven except He who came down from heaven, the Son of Man who is in heaven.” Who is the “Son of Man who came down from heaven”? Coming down from heaven means that Jesus was born of the Holy Spirit in the incarnation. Only Jesus who was born of the Holy Spirit is the first fruit of the resurrection.

Jesus raised the dead while he was alive. He raised Lazarus, the son of the widow of Nain, and the daughter of Jairus, a synagogue leader. However, when he raised Jairus' daughter, he said, "Talithacum" ("Child, arise"). That is why it is said that her spirit returned. Luke 8:54-55 "And he put them all out, and took her by the hand, and called, saying, Maid, arise. And her spirit came again, and she arose straightway: and he commanded to give her meat." We do not call the resurrection of three dead people.

It is said that Jesus died on the cross and his spirit left him. Matthew 27:50 "And Jesus cried again with a loud voice, and gave up his spirit (pneuma)." In order for the resurrection to be the return of a dead body to life, at least the dead body had to come back to life first, and the spirit had to enter the body like Jairus' daughter. Then, in the end, it would be like Jairus' daughter, and Jesus is the first fruit of the resurrection. Therefore, the resurrection tells us that the body received from the parents is not alive.

To bring down Christ who ascended to heaven means to make Jesus return to the body he received from his parents. The dead body comes back to life and the spirit enters it, which is to bring down Christ who ascended to heaven. This is because they do not know the meaning of resurrection.

Romans 10:10-12 “What then does it say? The word (torema) is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith (torema tes pisteos) which we preach. If you confess (homorogeses) with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe (pistueses) in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes (pistuetai) and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses (homorogeitai) and is saved. For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.””

Rhema (ῥῆμα) is the word written in the Bible, and ho logos is Christ who is the word. In other words, it means Christ who is present in the soul. Therefore, Christ speaks directly to the saints. Paul says that the gospel must be preached properly, and that faith must be preached with rhema (based on the word of the Bible). In other words, it is not believing some facts about Jesus Christ, but possessing the faith of Jesus Christ. The faith of Jesus Christ is the faith in the Bible that He died on the cross and was resurrected. This faith is given only to those who are united with Jesus Christ. It says that such faith must be in the mouth and in the heart.

Regarding God raising the dead, the dead refers to the body of Jesus who died on the cross. The one who gives life is the spirit. In John 6:63, it says, “It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh is useless.” The Bible continues to say that the body must die and be discarded. The important thing is that the spirit must be raised. Therefore, since He originally came from heaven, He will return to heaven. This is the resurrection.

There is something Jesus said to Nathanael. In John 1:51, “And he said to them, ‘Very truly I tell you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man. ’” This means that the angels who sinned came down to earth with the first man, and will ascend back to heaven with the last man.

1 Corinthians 15:42-44 "So is it with the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption, it is raised (en aphtarsia) in imperishability. It is sown (eigeiretai) in dishonor, it is raised (en aphtarsia) in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body."

En aphtarsiya (ἐν φθορᾷ) means in eternal life, and egeiretai (ἐγείρεται) means to arise. The spirit arises in eternal life. The Korean Revised Version translates it as “to rise again,” which misleads people into thinking that the dead body is resurrected. Soma pneumatikon, translated as spiritual body, is the body of the spirit. The resurrection tells us that it is not a physical body but a spiritual body. It is not easy to believe in the present resurrection with faith, but if you believe with your heart, you will be saved. The resurrection life is salvation.

“Do not say, ‘Who will descend into the abyss?’ (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead.”) Regarding this statement, Peter says in 1 Peter 3:18-19, “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the Spirit; in whom also he went and made proclamation to the spirits in prison.”

Jesus left his body and went to the abyss in spirit. The abyss is the door that knocks on the heart of the world's sinners. However, people do not believe that Jesus went down to the abyss. If people do not believe, Jesus will not knock on the door of everyone in spirit.

John 5:24-25 “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and will not be condemned, but has passed from death to life. Very truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.” What Jesus meant was that those who died on the cross with Him will be resurrected together in the present. Those who receive the resurrection life will be saved. When you hear the word of ho logos and realize it in your heart, the door of your heart will open and you will be able to accept the present resurrection.