Scripture Reading: Gen. 6:8-9; 7:1; Heb. 11:7; 2 Pet. 2:5
Ⅰ
"Jehovah said to Noah,…you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this generation"—Gen. 7:1:
A
Whether one is righteous and godly or unrighteous and ungodly is crucial in regard to God's governmental judgment—2 Pet. 2:5-9.
B
To be righteous is to be right with man before God, and to be godly is to express God before man; this was the manner of life that Noah lived, a manner of life that spared him from God's governmental judgment according to His righteousness.
Ⅱ
"Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his generations; and Noah walked with God"—Gen. 6:9b:
A
Noah inherited the godly ways and the spiritual blessings from his forefathers:
１
Noah inherited Adam's way of salvation, receiving the promise of Christ as the seed of the woman and the covering of Christ as the God-satisfying righteousness—3:20-21; Isa. 61:10a.
２
Noah inherited Abel's way of offering, which is that of offering Christ to God, not only as the sacrifice for our sins but also as a gift for pleasing God—Gen. 4:4.
３
Noah inherited Enosh's way of calling on the name of Jehovah to enjoy all that He is—v. 26; Rom. 10:12.
４
Noah inherited Enoch's way of walking with God, which is to take God as our center and everything, living and doing things according to God and with God—Gen. 5:22-24; Heb. 11:5-6.
B
Noah's righteousness strengthened God's standing to execute His judgment upon that ungodly generation—Gen. 6:5-8.
Ⅲ
"By faith Noah…became heir of the righteousness which is according to faith"—Heb. 11:7:
A
Faith is God's element infused into us to be our believing ability—Rom. 3:22:
１
When God is infused into our being, His element becomes our faith.
２
After God's element has been infused into us, something within us springs up to believe in Him; this is God in us believing for us—Heb. 12:2.
B
The righteousness of God is what God is with respect to justice and righteous-ness—Rom. 3:21; 10:3:
１
The righteousness of God is not merely a divine attribute—it is God Himself.
２
Because we are fallen, God must deal with us according to His righteous-ness—3:21-25.
C
Noah believed in God, and as a result he became a righteous person—Heb. 11:7; Ezek. 14:14, 20:
１
Noah believed in God, and his believing was accounted to him by God as righteousness, even as it was to Abraham—Gen. 15:6; Rom. 4:4-5, 9.
２
As a righteous man, Noah was right with God, with others, and with himself—Ezek. 14:14, 20.
３
First, Noah received objective righteousness, and then grace strengthened him to live out subjective righteousness—Gen. 6:8-9.
Ⅳ
Noah became a herald of righteousness as a protest against the evil generation—2 Pet. 2:5; cf. Acts 24:25:
A
The gospel is the power of God because the righteousness of God is revealed in it—Rom. 1:16-17.
B
In the organic union with Christ, He becomes righteousness to us from God— 1 Cor. 6:17; 1:30; Acts 13:39; Gal. 2:16.
C
The word of righteousness embodies the thought of God's justice and right-eousness in His dispensational and governmental dealings with His people— Heb. 5:13.
D
Righteousness is being right with persons, things, and matters before God according to His righteous and strict requirements—Matt. 5:20; Deut. 25:13-16.
E
Righteousness is a matter of God's kingdom—Matt. 6:33:
１
Righteousness is related to God's government, administration, and rule.
２
Righteousness issues from God for His administration—Psa. 89:14; 97:2; Isa. 32:1; Heb. 1:8-9.
F
Righteousness is the outward expression of the Christ who lives in us as the life-giving Spirit—2 Cor. 3:8-9:
１
The Spirit and righteousness are both related to our expressing the image of God—v. 18; Eph. 4:24:
ａ
God as the Spirit is moving in us as a substance and living in us as an essence.
ｂ
The righteousness we express outwardly is also God Himself.
２
The ministry of the new covenant—a ministry of the Spirit and of right-eousness—is a ministry of God—2 Cor. 3:8-9.
G
Righteousness is a matter of being right with God in our being—1 Cor. 15:34:
１
To be right with God in our being is to have an inner being that is transparent and crystal clear—an inner being in the mind and will of God.
２
To be righteous in this way is to become the righteousness of God in Christ—2 Cor. 5:21.