God's Glorious Righteousness

"I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. ⁵ And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."

John 17:4-5

When Thomas asked Jesus to show them God the Father Jesus responded, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father." (John 14:9)  Jesus previously revealed to all in John 10:30, "I and my Father are One."  Jesus was sent by God as a revelation of Himself in human form, the Christ who walked with men who beheld His glory.  The only begotten Son of God Jesus was tasked to seek and save the lost and lay down His life to redeem sinners, and as the hour on Calvary approached the LORD sought the Father in prayer.

I find intriguing the ways Jesus addressed God the Father in the prayer found in John 17, during which He called "Father" many times.  In John 17:11 He called Him "Holy Father," a title that should be reserved for the almighty God alone.  He used another adjective in John 17:25:  "O righteous Father! The world has not known You, but I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me."  God is distinctly holy and righteous, sacred and upright without flaw.  There is absolutely nothing or no one like Him, perfect without change.  The redemption of sinful mankind would not be possible unless God was righteous and could justly impute it to the undeserving.  No man is righteous except Jesus Christ, no not one.

David spoke of God's righteousness many times in his songs as seen in Psalm 71:15-16:  "My mouth shall tell of Your righteousness and Your salvation all the day, for I do not know their limits. ¹⁶  I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD; I will make mention of Your righteousness, of Yours only."  Righteousness is a quality and characteristic of God we are aware of but may not appreciate as much as we should.  We ought to marvel over God's righteousness more than the most brilliant sunrise; we should proclaim the righteousness of God more than topics of personal interest.  God's righteousness is glorious, not because we benefit from it, but because He is awesome.

God doesn't just claim or believe to be right:  He is righteous and will ever be righteous without fail.  A glorious sunrise or sunset retains its brilliance for a minute or two, but God is righteous now and forever.  This is the righteousness God has imputed to believers in Jesus by faith in Him (Phil. 3:9).  Have you ever considered how glorious God's righteousness is revealed in His Son?