Righteousness is a covering, not a work

18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18, NKJV)

Christians all want transformation but I perceive that many do not understand that the way we are transformed could not be more different than the method of the world. The world without Christ is spiritually dead and therefore has to rely on the flesh for transformation. The tricky part is that with enough effort and discipline, there is seeming progress that can be made but is never permanent. It will always regress if the effort and discipline are not maintained and sometimes, even then, there are things that are beyond the control of what the natural flesh can do. However, for those whose spirits have been reborn through Jesus Christ, there is a far superior way and Paul lays it out clearly in the passage above.

By simply beholding, or seeing Him, we are being transformed. In the Greek and English, it is a passive present verb meaning we are not actively transforming ourselves - it is not by our efforts - but as the verse goes on to say, it is 'by the Spirit of the Lord'. This ties in with a previous post (The Lord is My Shepherd) where I write about how following someone first requires the simple act of looking towards the person you are following. Unlike the natural way of the flesh, the way of the Spirit is to behold in order to become - you become what you see. The more we see of Jesus, the more we become like Him without any effort involved. We simply do the beholding. And the Holy Spirit does the transforming.

As I have written about before, the primary purpose of the Bible is not to lay out a set of instructions but rather, it is God presenting His Son, Jesus. The beauty of the Word of God is that it is living and has a simplicity that a child can understand, yet also a depth containing revelation treasure that needs to be searched for. As Proverbs 25:2 states, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, But the glory of kings is to search out a matter."

So, with that, I want to jump into the Old Testament account of Jacob and Esau and share how even in this well-known passage, we can behold Jesus and gain a deeper understanding of a New Testament truth that will further transform us.

1 Now it came to pass, when Isaac was old and his eyes were so dim that he could not see, that he called Esau his older son and said to him, “My son.” And he answered him, “Here I am.” 2 Then he said, “Behold now, I am old. I do not know the day of my death. 3 Now therefore, please take your weapons, your quiver and your bow, and go out to the field and hunt game for me. 4 And make me savory food, such as I love, and bring it to me that I may eat, that my soul may bless you before I die.” 5 Now Rebekah was listening when Isaac spoke to Esau his son. And Esau went to the field to hunt game and to bring it. 6 So Rebekah spoke to Jacob her son, saying, “Indeed I heard your father speak to Esau your brother, saying, 7 ‘Bring me game and make savory food for me, that I may eat it and bless you in the presence of the Lord before my death.’ 8 Now therefore, my son, obey my voice according to what I command you. 9 Go now to the flock and bring me from there two choice kids of the goats, and I will make savory food from them for your father, such as he loves. 10 Then you shall take it to your father, that he may eat it, and that he may bless you before his death.” 11 And Jacob said to Rebekah his mother, “Look, Esau my brother is a hairy man, and I am a smooth-skinned man. 12 Perhaps my father will feel me, and I shall seem to be a deceiver to him; and I shall bring a curse on myself and not a blessing.” 13 But his mother said to him, “Let your curse be on me, my son; only obey my voice, and go, get them for me.” 14 And he went and got them and brought them to his mother, and his mother made savory food, such as his father loved. 15 Then Rebekah took the choice clothes of her elder son Esau, which were with her in the house, and put them on Jacob her younger son. 16 And she put the skins of the kids of the goats on his hands and on the smooth part of his neck. 17 Then she gave the savory food and the bread, which she had prepared, into the hand of her son Jacob. 18 So he went to his father and said, “My father.” And he said, “Here I am. Who are you, my son?” 19 Jacob said to his father, “I am Esau your firstborn; I have done just as you told me; please arise, sit and eat of my game, that your soul may bless me.” 20 But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.” 21 Isaac said to Jacob, “Please come near, that I may feel you, my son, whether you are really my son Esau or not.” 22 So Jacob went near to Isaac his father, and he felt him and said, “The voice is Jacob’s voice, but the hands are the hands of Esau.” 23 And he did not recognize him, because his hands were hairy like his brother Esau’s hands; so he blessed him. 24 Then he said, “Are you really my son Esau?” He said, “I am.” 25 He said, “Bring it near to me, and I will eat of my son’s game, so that my soul may bless you.” So he brought it near to him, and he ate; and he brought him wine, and he drank. 26 Then his father Isaac said to him, “Come near now and kiss me, my son.” 27 And he came near and kissed him; and he smelled the smell of his clothing, and blessed him and said: “Surely, the smell of my sonIs like the smell of a field Which the Lord has blessed. 28 Therefore may God give youOf the dew of heaven,Of the fatness of the earth,And plenty of grain and wine. 29 Let peoples serve you, And nations bow down to you. Be master over your brethren, And let your mother’s sons bow down to you. Cursed be everyone who curses you, And blessed be those who bless you!” (Genesis 27:1 - 29, NKJV)

First, we need to understand that Esau was the firstborn and Jacob was the younger son to Isaac. We also know that the firstborn is the position that is ordained to receive the choicest blessings in the Bible (Deuteronomy 21:17). For this revelation, we also need to understand that Jesus Christ is the Firstborn.

Colossians 1:15 records, "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation."

So in this account, we can see Esau, the firstborn, as Jesus, the true Firstborn over all creation and the rest of us as Jacob without the true birthright of a firstborn. As we read on, we know that as Esau was out hunting game for his father, Jacob, with the help of his mother, puts on a guise and lies to the father and steals the firstborn blessing.

This revelation really comes from meditating on the details. Pay attention to the fact that the only way that the father could distinguish between his two sons was through the senses of touch, hear, and smell because he could no longer see. To understand this, we need to know that it is scripturally accurate to say that God, the Father, is unable to see past the blood of Jesus Christ. This is borne out in Scripture many times but the two main evidences of this is the night of the Passover in Egypt, and the sprinkling of blood on the Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur). During the night of Passover, Scripture records that God 'passed-over' His judgment on any household that had the blood on the doorpost. God did not look beyond the blood into the hearts of each and every individual inside of the house. If the blood was on the doorpost, the household was spared. How was the blood obtained? It was from the sacrifice of a lamb. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). Even during the Day of Atonement, priests would sprinkle the sacrificial blood (again a picture of Jesus on the Cross) and the blood would atone for the sins of Israel, meaning God did not see Israel's sins because the wages of sin had been paid by a death. When we put our faith in Jesus Christ, our hearts are sprinkled by the blood of Jesus (Hebrews 10:22) and God does not see our sins. This is why God says, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12, NKJV) He does not remember them nor see them when your faith is in Jesus Christ.

With that revelation, we can go deeper. When Rebekah clothes Jacob, note how there had to be a sacrifice of an animal in order to obtain the skins that Jacob would use to impersonate Esau's hairy body. Right here is a wonderfully detailed revelation of 2 Corinthians 5:21.

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

Righteousness cannot be obtained by works. Rather, righteousness is a garment that is presented to us as a free gift of grace because the Lamb of God was slaughtered in our place. Note how Jacob, who had no right to the blessing of the firstborn, goes in front of the father simply clothed in the firstborn's clothing and how the touch and smell of the garment of the firstborn is what overrides the father's doubts even to the point of ignoring Jacob's voice that is unchangeable. The sweet aroma of His Son rising up is also a beautiful picture of the burnt offering which also depicts an aspect of the cross. This is the true meaning of being 'in Christ'. We are clothed in His royal robe of righteousness. We do not go to Father God as ourselves, but we go to Him as Jesus. Does Jacob not do the same here when he is asked point blank, "Are you really my son Esau?" He answers with a simple, "I am".

Is this a lie or is this a New Testament statement of faith? And how can this be possible? Again, 2 Corinthians 5:21 above states that Jesus was made sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. God orchestrated a divine exchange where the Son of God became us at the cross, and by faith in Him, we are reborn in His nature. This is why Paul writes, "It is no longer I that live but Christ in me". It is also why Paul lays out in Ephesians the truth that we are seated together with Christ in the heavenly places. In fact, go through Ephesians and count how many times the phrase "in Him, by Him, of Him" is stated. We become one with Christ and therefore, we are made eligible for the firstborn inheritance from God.

Amazing grace! As with all revelations of Jesus, when it comes to the natural people that He can be seen through, the natural will always fall short of the beauty and glory of Jesus. Esau was angry and hated Jacob for stealing his blessing and held that anger for a long time. With Jesus, this was not the case. Scripture states this in Hebrews 12:2:

looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He willingly laid down His life, not in anger, but rather looking for the joy that was set before Him. His joy was to see the lost being saved and purposely gave up the firstborn blessing in love for us. Again, even in this verse, we see that the emphasis of the Holy Spirit is "looking unto Jesus". When you see Him in Scripture as you are doing right now, something happens in you by the Spirit of God. You are being transformed from glory to glory and your faith is authored and finished by Him.

Knowing this truth that we do not stand in front of the Father as ourselves but as Jesus should give you the utmost boldness and confidence to come before Him in your time of need. It is not our works and actions that we stand in but we stand before Him clothed as Jesus.

Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16, NKJV)

It is grace that sees you not as your own self but sees you as Jesus Himself. The reality is that when you go to the Father, you are clothed in the Lamb's own skin that was obtained when He was slain for you. Will Jesus not receive everything He goes to the Father for? With this revelation, your faith for Scripture such as this should be rock solid:

He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? (Romans 8:32, NKJV)