Monday: The Righteousness of God
“Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets” (Rom. 3:21). How are we to understand what this text means?
This new righteousness is contrasted with the righteousness of the law, which was the righteousness with which the Jew was familiar.
Image © Lars Justinen from GoodSalt.com
The new righteousness is called “the righteousness of God”; that is, a righteousness that comes from God, a righteousness that God provides, and the only one that He accepts as true righteousness.
This is, of course, the righteousness that Jesus wrought out in His life while here in human flesh-a righteousness that He offers to all who will accept it by faith, who will claim it for themselves, not because they deserve it but because they need it.
“Righteousness is obedience to the law. The law demands righteousness, and this the sinner owes to the law; but he is incapable of rendering it. The only way in which he can attain to righteousness is through faith. By faith he can bring to God the merits of Christ, and the Lord places the obedience of His Son to the sinner’s account. Christ’s righteousness is accepted in place of man’s failure, and God receives, pardons, justifies, the repentant, believing soul, treats him as though he were righteous, and loves him as He loves His Son.” – Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 367. How can you learn to accept this wonderful truth for yourself? See also Rom. 3:22.
The faith of Jesus Christ is here, doubtless, faith in Jesus Christ. As it operates in the Christian life, faith is much more than intellectual assent; it is more than just an acknowledgment of certain facts about Christ’s life and His death. Instead, true faith in Jesus Christ is accepting Him as Savior, Substitute, Surety, and Lord. It is choosing His way of life. It is trusting Him and seeking by faith to live according to His commandments.
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Between yesterday's lesson and today's I could be confused, if the bible was not very clear about the subject matter.
Yesterday I read "whichever law it is-moral, ceremonial, civil, or all combined-the keeping of any or all in and of itself will not make a person just in God’s sight."
Today I am reading that "righteousness is obedience to the law."
That seems contradictory.
If, as today's key text teaches, "the righteousness of God WITHOUT the law is manifested", then God's standard of righteousness is achieved without the law's help in achieving it.
It would appear that Rom 8:4 supports that concept when it says that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who ... walk according ... to the Spirit. This implies that the righteous requirement is not met through the law.
It would also appear that Rom 9:31,32 supports that truth when it tells us that Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, did not attain righteousness, because they sought it by trying to keep the law.
Further, in Gal 2:21 Paul is telling us that "if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.” This confirms that righteousness comes directly through Christ and not the law. Which makes sense, when we consider that the author yesterday said that "the law was to point out our shortcomings and lead us to Christ."
Paul seemed so convinced, that in Phil 3:6 he related that in his former life he was blameless concerning the righteousness which is of the law, and that he had a form of righteousness, which is from the law. But then he came to know true righteousness which is through faith in Christ, and not of the law. In Gal 3:12 he tells us that the law is not of faith. Then he continued in Gal 3:23 that before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law. Then he added a punch line in Gal 3:24 stating that the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. There it is again - justified by faith, not by law.
Paul was emphatic in Gal 3:21 when he told us that there are no life-giving properties in the law.
We therefore have to decide whether to believe what the bible teaches!
I hope this clairifies your confusion Robert. It does mine. Again I turn to Steps to Christ. "The opposite and no less dangerous error is that belief in Christ releases men from keeping the law of God; that since by faith alone we become partakers of the grace of Christ, our works have nothing to do with our redemption. SC 60.1
But notice here that obedience is not a mere outward compliance, but the service of love. The law of God is an expression of His very nature; it is an embodiment of the great principle of love, and hence is the foundation of His government in heaven and earth. If our hearts are renewed in the likeness of God, if the divine love is implanted in the soul, will not the law of God be carried out in the life?"
Also William Earnhardt helped with the confusion yesterday. "I believe Jesus expects us to keep the commandments if we love Him, but that does not justify us. The ruler needed to realize He needed Jesus' help to keep the commandments, which is why Jesus said "Follow me." The ruler did not want to follow Jesus, therefore he could not keep the commandments without Jesus' help."
Furthermore Robert, Paul in Philippians 3:6 is discribing the law by works, then in Phillipians 3:9 He tells what his problem was in Philippians 3:6. "and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;" Phillipisns 3:9. Paul is not abrogating the law, he is saying he is not any longer under the law because his obedience is not a mere outward complience, rather a service of love.
Ephesians 2:4 But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us,
5 Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
How can Paul say all of us were declared righteous (justified) because of God's rich mercy and love for us (for God so loved the world) apart from the law, while we were dead in our sins; and the lesson say we are not righteous until we are repentant and pardoned?
The Oct 24th lesson says "Justification is presented in Romans as a punctiliar act; that is, it happens at a point in time. One moment the sinner is outside, unrighteous, and unaccepted; the next moment, following justification, the person is inside, accepted, and righteous. Before this justification a person is unrighteous and thus unacceptable to God; after justification he or she is regarded as righteous and thus acceptable to Him."
The "free gift" of righteousness must exist before I ask for it, it must exist even if I don't ask for it. If the gift of righteousness is not created/granted until I ask for it, then part of it is the result of me asking for it and it is no longer a free gift but something I earn/deserve for having believed/asked.
One cannot ask for righteousness or justification. However, one can receive both. What does Scripture say? “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness.”(Romans 4:3). Abraham did not ask to be justified. It was credited to him. He just had to believe...in other words accept that credit through faith. John 1:12 states that as many as believed in him, he gave them the power to become children of God. A free gift must still be accepted by the recipient in order for it to be beneficial although it comes at no cost to the recipient and does not require the recipient to ask for it. Believing is accepting and not asking.
Abraham was not required to believe before he was accounted righteous, he was not told he had to believe properly in a certain way before he could be justified. Abraham was accounted righteous because he believed, he did not have to earn it by believing. Grace was a gift given to mankind through Jesus faith, it is not earned by my faith.
The problems outlined in the above posts illustrate that the law is typically viewed way too narrowly. The typical expressions of laws as being moral, ceremonial, etc are but subset descriptors of the much larger phenonmena of Law.
It would perhaps be helpful if we could distinguish between small "l" law/s and the much larger capital "L" law/s. Capital "L" law/s are the actual principles themselves that underpin the reality of Life. Small "l" law/s are descriptors of various aspects of those principles. For example, small "l" law says "do not covet" because if I do, something problematic will happen. Large "L" law are the actual processes that occur when I covet that result in me becoming disconnected from Life - along with the cascade of consequential effects that will ensue.
The righteousness of God is based on capital "L" law - and therefore it is manifested without the small "l" law because it is based on the reality behind the subset descriptors.
Phil
If I am understanding you correctly, there is an overarching law under which the Ten Commandments fall. A glimpse of that is in Matt 22:40, when Jesus said that "on these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Although the two were taken from the "law of Moses" in Deut 6:5 and Lev 19:18.
Even those two were hanging on to even greater principles. Because Lev 19:18 said "You shall love your neighbor as yourself," whereas Jesus expanded that when He said in John 13:34 "a NEW commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another."
In that sense I could agree with you that the righteousness of God is displayed in some overarching principles under which the Ten Commandments fall.
Yes Fred, you appear to be understanding my point correctly.
In regard to the existence of some "overarching principles", you are absolutely correct. The most overarching principle is Love - however that concept is typically much misunderstood. The Love that is the overarching principle is Agape - and this is why Paul could say (Romans 13:10) that Agape (the Greek word he used) love is the fulfillment of the law
At the risk of oversimplifying the concept, Agape love is an other-focused (as opposed to self-focused) 'orientation' of one being towards another such that only the best interests of that other are advanced. Agape love is well expressed in Jer 29:11. Also, Ellen White beautifully elaborates on this overarching principle in Desire of Ages pg 21 (paragrpahs 2&3) where she says:
"...In these words is set forth the great principle which is the law of life for the universe. All things Christ received from God, but He took to give. So in the heavenly courts, in His ministry for all created beings: through the beloved Son, the Father’s life flows out to all; through the Son it returns, in praise and joyous service, a tide of love, to the great Source of all. And thus through Christ the circuit of beneficence is complete, representing the character of the great Giver, the law of life. {DA 21.2}
In heaven itself this law was broken. Sin originated in self-seeking. {DA 21.3}"
This principle of Agape love (described as the "circuit of beneficence" - ie the perpetual giving that advances all parties best interests via a focus on others as opposed to a focus on self-seeking) is the most overarching principle of Law. All other dimensions of Law flow from (and are in harmony with) this - be they mathematical law, health law, physics law, moral law, etc.
And as the Ellen White quote shows, even God lives by (and therefore in accordance with) this law for it is the Law of Life for the universe. It was in existence before this world was created and it will be in existence for eternity. Without it, life cannot exist - it is not possible. (Satan has continuously asserted that there is another, equally viable basis on which life can exist - and we can see the sad outcomes of that assertion!).
When we understand this, we can see why and how the more commonly conceptualised views of the law as the 10 commandments etc are really just subset elements of the much larger phenomena that has many facets to it. Which particular facet/s we are referring to at a particular time/circumstance/bible verse situation depends upon the context of that particular situation. This helps us understand why we can, at the same time, no longer be under the law (the facet of the Law that reveals to us what is out-of-harmony with what is needed for Life), yet still living in accordance with the Law. And we can see the necessity for God to write the Law upon our hearts as part of the born again process. And so on...
Understanding the overarching Law/principles under which the multiple subset facets of law exists helps to dissolve a lot of the apparent doctrinal dilemmas that have plagued people for years!
In the whole process of justification, when an individual is put right before God, does God declare him righteous or make him righteous?
Excellent question Simeon.
The short (and 'whole-of-bible consistent') answer is both: God is able to genuinely declare us righteous because he has made (present ongoing tense) us righteous. Otherwise, if God were only to declare us to be righteous when we are infact not, he would be bearing false witness - something which God cannot do.
God's declarations are revelations. God declares or revels the reality that is in existence. He doesn't declare something that contradicts reality.
He declares us righteous and we are to believe that we are in fact righteous because it is Christ standing before Him He sees in our place. Christ is the Substitute, "The Lamb of God" that takes the sin of the world.
Hi Jim.
With respect, does Jesus take away the sin of the world by merely being the One that is seen by God so that our sin condition is no longer seen - or does He actually provide the way whereby the sin problem (and my tendency to sin) is actually healed/restored? The phrase 'take away' needs deeper consideration than it is typically given.
Similarly, does God declare us to be righteous because he can no longer see our sin - because He instead can only see Jesus, or does he declares us to be righteous because we have submitted to His actual restoration process whereby we are reborn and have a new heart and right spirit placed within us and are being progressively renewed in the re-formation of our character back to once again reflecting the image of God/Christ-likeness?
Again, with respect, does God declare us to be something that we are not because He is no longer able to see the reality of what we are afflicted by - or is he able to declare us to be something because a reconciliation and restoration is actually taking place?
Jesus called John the Baptist the greatest prophet because he said behold the lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. Jesus didn't die on the cross so he could take away the sins of a select group that he created to be saved. Jesus blood on the cross was a pardon for everyone. Jesus didn't just remove the sins of some people, he really did take away the sins of the world. The model for this was the removal of sins from the earthly sanctuary on the day of atonement. The sanctuary was cleansed of all sin, no sins remained, no sins were given back to the people that had fallen into disbelief or backslid.
The world is on probation until Jesus returns. While your sins have been taken away and your pardon granted, the day is coming when God's period of grace will end and he that is dirty will remain dirty, and those that have accepted Jesus and are walking with him in grace will keep the designation of righteous by faith and will not have their names blotted out of the book of life.
This is a response to Simeon.
Justification and sanctification together are righteousness by faith. Many focus only on justification and reject sanctification but you cannot have one without the other. Justification has declared you righteous as the free gift of grace given to the world through the blood of Jesus. Justification exists before you know you need it, before you ask for it, and remains present even if you don't ask for it.
Sanctification comes into play once you realize you are a sinner and that Jesus died for you on the cross; you are born again and want to end your sinful ways and spend the rest of your life letting Jesus guide you through life through the power of the Holy Spirit so that when you find yourself before the judgment seat of God you can be found in Jesus; serving him, following him, listening to him, being used by him, laughing with him, smiling with him, helping others with him, loving yourself and others with him, etc.
Maybe we can clarify that the justification provided on the cross provides salvation for every sinner. However, it must be accepted to be effective. And that acceptance involves recognition of sin and repentance, which begins a walk with Jesus.
All the comments make me think of a "Juden-Schul' where everyone wants to have his say and actually saying the same thing! Thank goodness I became an Adventist when we didn't have all this media and voices to confuse us! It gave me time to grow and I know that I am saved by Faith in accepting Jesus as my Saviour and I am made righteous only through Jesus. I do my best to walk in His footsteps and do my utmost to obey His commandments - because I love Him. The closer we walk with Jesus the clearer the Father becomes to us and the louder the Holy Spirit's voice can be heard. The old comparison of the dirty face and the mirror vs our sinful nature and the law cannot be beaten. Even if I smash the mirror I can still see my face in the shards! May God keep His people focused on Him and the great sacrifice He made when He sent His Son to buy back this broken filthy piece of turd and slowly shape it back into what He meant me to be.
Moderator' s note: "Please do not use all capital letters as that insinuated shouting. Thank you."
The righteousness of God through Christ was gotten from His obedience to the RIGHTEOUS LAW. The law is righteous, holy, just and good. (Romans 7:12)
The problem is our OWN OBEDIENCE without Christ.
Where do you think, CHRIST RIGHTEOUSNESS was gotten from?
It was gotten from the obedience to the law of God. Christ perfect obedience to the law of God developed what we call the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD.
But since we can't develop such RIGHTEOUSNESS by ourselves, WE NEED TO HAVE FAITH IN CHRIST TO SATISFY THAT CLAIM.
Larte, if the Law is righteous what of the One who gave it or spoke it, or its Origin. Christ is the Word. The Word became flesh. The Word did not work out something to be accounted Righteous. He, Christ, Son of God, is Righteous, and Righteousness. His Father named Him: My Righteousness, Righteousness of God(Isa 46:13; 51:5,6; Rom 3:21,22; Phil 3:9).
Goodness, holiness, righteousness, love all originate from/with God. God/Christ is all those characteristics.
The Ten Commandments reveal that God cares for the children of the flesh, all mankind- so much more than for birds. He promised Abraham to bless them and make of them a great nation. They must therefore live civilly among themselves and so be a spot of light in this darkness until the Light, Christ, comes (Dt 4:5-8; 6:25; 7:6-12). It reveals most of all the nature of those under it (1Tim 1:8-11) - idolaters, thieves, adulterers etc. With threats of punishment, even death, living would be bearable among them.
The righteousness of God was manifested without the deeds of the law.....apart from the law.....without the law having anything to do with it.
Right Larte, if I give myself to Christ, and accept Christ as my Savior, then sinful as my life may have been, I am accepted as righteous. I now stand before God as sinless. Wow, I don't deserve it, but I accept it just the same. I don't earn salvation by my obedience, rather obedience is the fruit of my faith.
It is interesting to have awell detailed sharing of God's word i feel blessed
A leopard cannot change it's spots - but if He wants to the Creator can take them away.
The comparison is between some one who through his own will power changes his actions but not his heart and with some one who submits his will to Jesus and lets Him change his heart.
To the audience the result might initially seem the same - a "good" person, but to Jesus who looks at the heart will see the difference.
The D.Y.I. person will always be struggling to do the right things,
The other will be at peace acting from a changed heart which loves to do what is right.
Fred Roberts, I so appreciated your point.It highlights the importance of study and dialogue. However, I notice that you latched on to the beginning phrase; Ellen White further acknowledged that if we try to attain righteousness by following the law we will fail. Righteousness can only be arrived at through faith, she ultimately writes.
I think we need to distinguish between humanity in its original state versus its fallen state. In our original state, we were "Capable" of adhering to the law- we were created perfect and obeying the Lord came naturally. We communed with God daily and heeded His instruction. By listening to Satan, our natural disposition to obedience ended. Sin separated us from God. Yielding to Satan indicated that we were no longer capable of unchallenged, unfetered obedience.
Faith in Jesus, is the gateway back to that righteousness we had in our original state. I look at righteousness as reconciling us to God; obedience to the law as proof that we're not "leading God on". Faith is like an admission ticket. Before, we had direct access to God, now, through faith, that access is renewed. Faith and righteousness are not separate. Displaying righteousness is futile without faith because we, as sinners simply cannot comply with the law by ourselves. satan achieved that in Eden. Conversely,faith in Jesus without adherence to the law is hypocrisy.
I don’t have any college degrees and have never studied in a seminary so please consult a professional theologian if my explanation is either not satisfactory or not easily understood. Here’s how I explain what some people find confusing about this subject
To understand the word translated “righteousness” in the Bible, it helps to realize that there righteousness that is “imputed” and righteousness that is “imparted”.
Imputed righteousness is what we receive when we ask God to forgive our sins based on the merits of Jesus--not our own merits or our promises or our good intentions. That transaction gives us “standing” in the court of heaven as if we had never sinned. That doesn’t necessarily mean that we have become selfless as God is selfless. As long as we are selfish, we are still sinners in the sense that we are in danger of committing sins of commission or sins of omission. Even things that are not mentioned in the Bible as prohibited or required are sins if done from selfish motives.
Imparted righteousness is the work of a lifetime. Some people have considered that to mean that the process of becoming as unselfish as God is results from our efforts to be obedient. Other people understand that “work” to be God’s work. We can “cooperate” with what he is doing to replace our selfishness with his selflessness. In fact, that transformation doesn’t not occur without our “cooperation” but the saints in glory will have nothing whereof to boast. Instead, the song of the redeemed will be, “Worthy, worthy is the lamb that was slain.”
We who have no theology degree probably are at an advantage! We can sit in the audience and listen to the debate by the learned men and go home and study for ourselves with the Holy Spirit's guidance. Too many nowadays are being led astray in their quest for a Ph.D. to following strange doctrines. It's taken 500 years for Luther's voice to be silenced ... we as the end-time church don't last so long the way things are progressing at the moment.
Maureen, Luther had a Ph.D
.... and 500 years later Luther's Ph.D isn't good enough! Sorry that's tongue in cheek because so many of my friends are Lutherans and they have no idea what their church is up to. We use the mirror as an way of explaining the purpose of God's law - to show us our sins. What did people do before there were mirrors? They painted each other! That's pretty much what is happening today. The mirror has been put away and we look to others to tell us what is right or wrong!
That is very true Maureen. Too many of us look at others and make jusgements and comparisons, when we should be looking to Jesus. Our own spirituality is not something that we inherit from Ellen White or Luther or a TV Evangelist or a DVD publisher. It is something that grows as we develop a relationship with Jesus.
Some of us will dismiss that last statement as a trite Christian saying, but it is something that we need to put into practice. If we want a happy marriage we explore new ways of enjoying our relationship with our partner. The same is true of developing our spiritual relationships. It is not about intellectual learning but about practical living.
"Now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested," Romans 3:21
This means God has declared us righteous (justified) without the law having anything to do with it, without our faith having anything to do with it, without us repenting, without us asking, without us keeping any big laws or little laws......this took place while we were ungodly, while we were enemies, before we were born.......at the cross.
Hi Clyde
Could you please elaborate on what you are saying so I don't misunderstand you. Because 2 Peter 3:9 seems to imply that anyone who does not "come to repentance" will, unfortunately, "perish". It does not seem to follow that someone who has been declared righteous would end up perishing...
While all stand justified all will not be saved because they have been justified. While justification means we are accounted righteous it does not mean we will be saved in heaven. While Jesus died bearing the sins of the whole world in his body on the cross the world did not come to an end as it did for the thieves that were with Christ. Justification is a gift of promise, we must accept Jesus and let him change us. Jesus came to died for both of the thieves nailed to crosses next to him, the one accepted him and was changed while the other rejected him.
Clyde, Paul's main emphasis was to the Jews who don't believe in Jesus. So in verse 22 of Romans 3, he gave them the answer: "We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. (NLT)".
However, faith in Jesus mean believing that he is the messiah, and it also include obedience to the law of God. So, this new way of being made "right with God" is through Jesus. The sacrificial ordinances were the old way; they were a shadow of Jesus, the true way. The laws (apart from the ceremonial ones) are still a standard of God's righteousness; they help to tell you where you stand while living.
Carlton, I believe the letter to the Romans was written to the Roman Christians - people who believed in Jesus. Perhaps Paul wanted to forestall the influence of the Judaizing Christians who followed Paul around to teach people that faith in Jesus is not enough but needs to be supplemented with law keeping. Keep in mind that "law" to them meant the whole body of law, including the Ten Commandments.
The letter to the Romans is often seen as the gospel according to Paul, supplementing the gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Along with his letter to the Galatians, it clarifies the relationship between law and grace. Paul makes clear that we are saved by grace through faith. Plus nothing. (This leaves no room for taking credit or "boasting," as Paul says.)
We do not add to Christ's salvation by law keeping. Rather, the Holy Spirit's work in us results in law keeping.
That's a huge difference!
What Paul said in Romans is more important than who he was writing to because what he said applies to everyone. The righteousness of God was manifested without anything to do with the law, and applies to everyone even if they don't believe. God justified us while we were dead in our sins, while we were ungodly, while we were the enemies of God, without us having any faith or knowledge of God - because He wanted to.
Phil,
Paul said God justified the ungodly and Christ died for the ungodly - and this took place while we were the enemies of God - while we were dead in our sins. All that love and mercy doesn't mean everyone is automatically saved not matter what they do.
Thanks for your clarifications Clyde.
Romans 3:3 For what if [we do] not believe? shall [our] unbelief make the faith of God without effect? 4 God forbid: 5 ......our unrighteousness commend the righteousness of God, 9 .....we have before proved both Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin;
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested....22 ....the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (For all have sinned) 24 Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
If I understand these verses correctly one is "justified freely by his grace" even if they don't believe, but that doesn't mean the person is automatically saved. While saying these words Paul noted he was still a sinner as far as the judgment of God goes.
The lesson states that "The faith of Jesus Christ is here, doubtless, faith in Jesus Christ. " I would challenge this because that would make the next two phrases are redundant, and nothing explains how the righteousness gets revealed. i.e. "The righteousness of God has been revealed to everyone who has faith, approved by the scriptures apart from the law" It doesn't give us something positive. So I think Faith of Jesus Christ needs to be something else.
Something in the past had been revealed, which would mean the Cross. Because at the cross, God's righteousness is revealed through the faith of Jesus Christ. So how does the faith of Jesus Christ reveal God's righteousness? Is it simply our faith in Him that reveals it? I don't think so.
If our righteousness came to us based on our own faith then our faith has a part in putting us where God has to grant us righteousness; and if that's the case it's no longer a free gift manifested while we were ungodly enemies of God. Our faith had nothing to do with Jesus consenting to die on the cross for us; our faith did not force or convince him to do it.
God announced the New Covenant, “... I will put *My Law* within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jer 31:33
“Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh, and give you a heart of flesh. I will put *My Spirit* within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will be careful to observe My ordinances.” Ezk 36:26,27
Does God have a code of Law somewhere handed down to Him from a super-God that He must live according to? God’s Law is related to His Righteousness and His Spirit. He says that His Son came and manifested, demonstrated His Righteousness (Rom 3:21-26; Titus 2:11-14).
Christ told us how He accomplished it: “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you are not from Myself, but the father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father is in Me...” Jn 14:10,11. The God-Man, Jesus Christ, says “”I can do nothing of Myself. As I hear, I judge; and My Judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me (Jn 5:30).
“Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father doing; for whatever the father does, these things the Son also does in like manner. For the Father loves the Son, and shows Him all things that he Himself is doing; and will show Him greater works than these...” (Jn 5:19). This is how Christ kept His Father’s commandments. He had entered into rest. The same is expected of us (Gal 2:20). It is God, through His Spirit, actually and actively dwelling in us living His Life, doing His works in humanity. It’s not a written code or script that God follows. It is not about about man’s righteousness, which is by law (Phil 3:9; Rom 10:3,4; 9:30-32; 3:21,22).
Hi Kenny
In regard to your second paragraph, you raise a very important point. Yes, it stands to reason that God actually does live in accordance with Law - but not merely a code of Law and certainly not from a super-God. We are so used to thinking that Law is (limited to being) a handed down code that we fail to consider what Law is in its largest extent - principles of consistency that underpin how reality works (that have been subsequently expressed/described in a 'code' form so we can know about and understand these principles).
Think about it - without those principles there could only be chaos and therefore any type of ordered reality would not be able to exist. It stands to reason that God, in His Omniscience, chose to inhabit the only reality that can exist (ie Zoe, or abundant life) and chose to create in accordance with that reality. That reality is 'governed' by Law in that as long as one lives in accordance with the functional laws/principles that underpin Life/reality, that Life/reality will work and work abundantly. Conversely, should one choose to violate the laws/principles that support and maintain Life/reality, then that person will cease to be connected with that which makes Life/reality possible.
I would suggest that such a view does not make God any less than God is - rather, it reveals a God who matches reality and does things that are in harmony with reality. To me, that makes God someone I can really trust with my life and eternity. (And it also suggests an interpretation of salvation/justification as a process whereby we are actually restored back into harmony with how things need to be for eternal life to actually work - rather than merely considering us to be something that we are not).
Satan has essentially alleged that there is another way that Life/reality is possible - even superior - that a person can contravene these functional laws/principles and still live or even experience a more superior state of living. And we can see all too clearly the results of that suggestion.