Christ, Our Garment of Righteousness
A simple garment in morning light, a quiet picture of being clothed in Jesus.
Devotional Credit: eManna, Witness Lee
Photo Credit: Unsplash
Jesus spoke of patches and garments to show the difference between imitation and new life. A patch of unshrunk cloth on an old coat will tug and tear. In the same way, trying to copy the earthly deeds of Jesus while staying in our old self only widens the gap. The good news is better than a patch. Through the cross and the resurrection, Jesus Himself is the new garment, complete and fitted to clothe us in His righteousness.
Witness Lee’s insight serves us here with clarity and kindness. The Lord did not come merely to model a better life for us to mimic. He came to be life to us. He came to become our covering before the Father, our robe that makes us welcome, our fitness for the wedding feast. I am grateful for this reminder, and I want to say it simply. We do not staple virtues onto the old life. We put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
This changes how I walk through an ordinary day. Instead of asking, How can I behave more like Him, I turn and trust, Lord, You are my clothing. You cover me. You live in me. I step out received and ready because I am wrapped in You. I do not have to tug at the hem of my old nature. I am a new creation who now wears the new.
So today we can rest in what He already finished. Not a patch. A Person. Not a project. A robe. We are not stitching together our standing. We are abiding in the Son, who is our clothing, our righteousness, and our peace.
Journal Entry – Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture
I remind you that you are united with the Son. You were crucified with Him, and the life you now live is by faith in the Son of God. You were buried with Him and raised to walk in newness of life. I formed in you a new person who is created after God in true righteousness and holiness. I do not ask you to repair the old garment. I call you to put on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Reckon this to be true in the moments that challenge you. Consider yourself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. Do not present your members to sin as instruments of unrighteousness. Present yourself to God as one alive from the dead. Let the peace of Christ rule in your heart. Put on compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, not as patches of effort, but as the life of Jesus expressed through you.
I rejoice over you with salvation’s garments. I have made you the righteousness of God in Him. You have put on Christ. You are accepted in the Beloved. I equip you to live from what He has already won. Walk as one clothed and welcomed. When accusations rise, remember your robe. When temptation whispers, remember your union. When discouragement presses, remember your covering. I am with you, and I will manifest the life of Jesus in your mortal body as you trust Me.
Real-Life Analogy
Think of slipping on a clean, well-fitted jacket before stepping into a cold morning. You do not brace yourself against the chill by flexing your muscles. You put on the jacket, and its warmth does the work. In the same way, we do not brace our souls with willpower. We put on Jesus, and His life expresses warmth, purity, and steadiness in us.
Try this today with a specific scene. If a tense conversation is coming, pause at the doorway and say, Lord, I rely on You to clothe my words and face with Your life in this moment. I yield the outcome to You. Then step in as one already covered, letting the Holy Spirit carry the tone, the timing, and the truth through you.
Prayer of Confidence
Father, thank You that in Jesus I am clothed and welcomed. You have given me a robe of righteousness, not a patch of self-improvement. I gladly present myself to You as one alive from the dead. Thank You that Your Spirit expresses the life of Your Son through me. I rest in the finished work of the cross and the power of the resurrection. Today I walk as one already dressed in Christ, accepted, clean, and ready for every good work You prepared.
Scripture References for the Voice of the Holy Spirit Through Scripture Section
Matthew 9:16. Luke 5:36. Romans 6:1 to 14. Galatians 2:20. Galatians 3:27. Ephesians 4:24. Colossians 3:9 to 15. Romans 13:14. Philippians 3:9. Isaiah 61:10. 2 Corinthians 5:21. Matthew 22:1 to 14. Revelation 19:7 to 8. Colossians 2:12. Romans 5:17. 1 Corinthians 1:30. Ephesians 1:6.