The Lord, our Judge, Lawgiver and King!

“For the Lord is our judge, the Lord is our lawgiver, the Lord is our king; it is he who will save us.” – Isaiah 33:22 NIV

All of us have to consider that the Lord, Almighty God is our king, even though we are not able to see Him physically. “For God is the King of all the earth…” (Psalm 47:7) This is because He has created us (Genesis 1:27) and saved us when we became sinners by sending Jesus Christ as an image of Himself to be crucified for us as an atonement of our sins (Colossians 2:13-15), due to the fact that He has His steadfast love over us (Romans 5:8). “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23). He has saved us (Acts 4:12) so that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24). The reason for this is that because we have been created in His own image—He longs to share His everlasting kingdom with us from the end of the age. Because of this, we should believe in Jesus Christ until the end of the age, for faith in Christ Jesus is the foremost will of God (John 17:3; John 6:29). This is also because Jesus declares, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me,” (John 14:6) and “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25-26)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16-18)

Second of all, due to the fact that following Jesus Christ until the end of the age is hard (Matthew 16:24-27)—God has poured His Spirit into us (Ezekiel 36:26-27; John 14:15-27) and has given His Word to us  (2 Timothy 3:16-17). Thus, we are able to be the righteousness of God by abiding these two. The Spirit of God would be able to transform our worldly desires and passions into godly ones (2 Peter 1:3-11), even though some transformation is quite hard (Galatians 5:16-17) “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.” (1 Timothy 4:8) This is why the Bible states, “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” (Galatians 5:24-25) Furthermore, the word of God would advocates us to become the righteousness of God if we are willing to follow His Word (Romans 1:17). “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12) Thus, if we keep following the Spirit and the Word wholeheartedly until the end of the age, then we can be certain that we are going to go to the kingdom of heaven, our original home (Genesis 1-2). In addition, at the end of the age, we can confidently say, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-8)

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ. Then, whether I come and see you or only hear about you in my absence, I will know that you stand firm in the one Spirit, striving together as one for the faith of the gospel without being frightened in any way by those who oppose you. This is a sign to them that they will be destroyed, but that you will be saved—and that by God. For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him.” (Philippians 1:27-29)

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.  For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:1-13)