but now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the law and the prophets bear witness to it—[romans 3:21]
what paul states here is a game-changer, it is paradigm shifting, it is earth-shattering truth, and it can’t be overstated-Jesus revealed as the righteousness of God is far superior to what came before.
before Jesus was made a man incarnate, the righteousness of God had only been manifested in a couple of ways:
first, in general revelation:
in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. [genesis 1:1]
the heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge. [psalm 19:1-2]
for what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. for his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. so they are without excuse. [romans 1:1]
in general revelation, we understand that God makes himself known through natural law–his design tells us what kind of good and righteous God that he is–but God doesn’t stop there, he provides another means to know him–his special revelation, he makes himself known to his people through prophets and through his word–the old testament is the record of the laws events of history, written down by his people, and its commands are right for us to trust and obey:
the precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; the fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the LORD are true, and righteous altogether. more to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. [psalm 19:8-10]
this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. [jeremiah 1:8]
but in Jesus Christ, we have something completely different–not natural law or special revelation, but the revelation of the righteous one, God made flesh:
long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. [hebrews 1:1-3a]
he is a far superior manifestation than creation and the law and prophets:
in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. he was in the beginning with God. all things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. in him was life,and the life was the light of men. the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. [john 1:1-5]
Jesus told us the true standard of righteousness–himself:
“do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; i have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them. for truly, i say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. therefore whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. for i tell you, unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. [matthew 5:17-20]
Jesus is the better manifestation, he came apart from the law to fulfill and show us what the law is for–pointing to how desperately we need him as a substitute in our place. the law was not adequate to save us from ourselves, nor do we now rust in creation as a god for that is idolatry. God made Jesus known in the fullness of time so that we could see his world, see the warnings and commands of scripture and see the corruption of our own hearts. we depend on Jesus alone for our salvation: what a grace we have been shown in having access to the Word! today, let us show our thanks through rejoicing and telling others the good news of the gospel!
~ce