I think there is a flawed understanding as to what righteousness actually is’ (the manifest reality of righteousness through reason of obedience from heart purity). God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel and declared that Daniel, Job, and Noah were delivered by God because of their own righteousness, (what they chose to do via freewill obedience to God ), of which Solomon said was our whole purpose in life, Ecl. 12-13, and which Paul said is our reasonable service, Romans 12-1.., and not what somebody else did for them. Yes, most assuredly God did the delivering, but it was because of the worthiness of those three men that He deliver them in times of tribulational distress.
God said Cain could have been accepted by choosing to do that which is good that welled up within his heart, however his heart became of a dry cistern that could only produce sand rather than springing forth with fountains of living water (allowing the righteous embedded influence of God’s Spirit to flow through him producing/manifesting the good fruit of righteousness. Judah as a nation had become like Cain, in that God speaking through the righteous prophet Jeremiah in chapter 2 verse 13, said His people had committed 2 factions of evil,(the iniquity of pride and greed), and had forsaken HIM the fountains of living water (the spirit of antichrist), and hewed themselves out cisterns (the dry sand of religion, very similar to the clergy laity Institutionalised Christianity of today) cisterns that cannot hold living water, “ie” the false prophet, Jeremiah 2-13…These 2 beasts of Revelation, 1) the spirit of antichrist, and 2) the false profit that persuades the whole world back to the 1st beast of pride, Leviathan/Humanism. The total rejection of God manifest within His people, who have turned away and worship the beast of their own imagination desiring it to be that of God. “and the whole world wondered after the beast and his image”
The increase of the Spirit according to righteousness
Righteousness is what we do according to the influence of the Spirit written upon our hearts and minds, of which this dynamic was greatly increased in the dispensation of grace (the empowerment of the Spirit) at Pentecost because Jesus, a stronger One, had previously bound the strong man and his goods. What were Satan’s goods? Sin…..Bound in that he could no longer deceive the nations of Gentile-multitudes who chose to seek after God, thus a greater Spirit of reason and awareness was dispensed….and of course the same was true of the believing Jews seeking after God also..
And interesting note; approximately 19 out of every 20 people since Noah and Gen 8 have been born in the post cross AD era. Approximately 6 billion before the cross, and 120 billion after the cross, according to historical almanac speculations. Not exact numbers by any means, but approximate evaluations determined by gathered information. About 95% of the world’s population since the flood have been born into the gospel age of greater enlightenment upon the earth. And what is also interesting is that about 75% since the English printed bibles of the 16[SUP]th[/SUP] century, or about 90 billion people.
Now back to the subject of righteousness and the increase of the Spirit
God’s influence of righteousness is actually programed in us at birth. Unlike the animal beast creatures, we were made in His image for the purpose of seeking after Him, in that we might freely choose to love Him and our neighbour. This is the logical light of conscience reasoning that was put into EVERY MAN/WOMAN, or as the apostle John so accurately said that Yeshua was the “True Light that lighteth everyman that commeth into the world”. That light was even increased in the post-cross era via the Spirit of grace convicting the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement to come, John 16-8.
The Romans 1:18-20 light of reasoning is imported into every man/women’s hard drive. The natural ability to do that which is good by nature of reason, Romans 2-14,15. Thus by following this Supernatural Light of conscience, man by nature can do well/good, and seek after the one true God, such as Abraham did, or as Cornelius did. Both of which were surrounded by pagans worshipping other gods, yet still by the light of reason manifest in them, (Romans 1-19,20) they chose of their own freewill to submit/yield to the Spirit, and do the righteousness of God. Those that choose not to obey suppress the truth in unrighteousness that has been made known to them, (Romans 1-18).
NOTE: Joshua implies that Abraham was about the only one in his day not following after false gods..This is why God chose him and called him out of the Or of Chaldees in Gen 12..And by the same reason did Noah find grace in the eyes of the Lord.
In the case of Cornelius, he was a man that FEARED God, of which Solomon said, is the beginning of wisdom, and he was a devout man “eusebēs”), (devoted to godliness “eusebēs”), by doing that which is good to his neighbour, and praying to God ALWAYS, Acts 10. Keep in mind also that God hears not the prayers of proud sinners. Therefore Cornelius was humble, and obedient to the light of conscience that he possessed (Nothing more, nothing less), but only the measure of light that he was given at the time; hence God heard his prayers, even so much so in that doing such good works, he became pleasing to God, even to the extent that his good deeds of righteousness had come up as a memorial before God, and thus said by God Himself to be a devout man (righteous by justification) through his freewill choice to love God and his neighbour. As he, even a Gentile was by nature loving God and his neighbour with all he had. Being and obedient servant to God, he obeyed the angelic messenger of God, and called for Peter who was in Joppa..Take notice that Peter did not bring the message of repentance to Cornelius. Why? Because he, like Lydia, was already fearing, worshiping, and obeying God to the extent of the knowledge they possessed, therefore they both gladly received and increase of the Spirit as their hearts were made open to the gospel, thus became followers of the Messiah when they heard the good news of the gospel. Faith commeth by hearing and hearing by the word, therefore both added to their already existing faith the good news of the kingdom. This is proof that man, by his own God given light within himself, can by his own volition, seek out the one true God. he may not know much but He is not in rebellion to the amount of Light that he has been endowed with. And of course to whosoever much is given much is required..
We see Paul describing the Gentiles in that he said; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them, (the natural light of conscience)... How can this be? Because Christ is the Light that lighteth the conscience awareness of everyman that comes into the world, John 1-9. And God is a rewarder of those that diligently seek Him, Hebrews 6-6.Therefore He rewarded and blessed both Cornelius and Lydia richly. This is manifest righteousness..
Whereas positional righteousness is a virtual reality that is emotionally manufactured in the imaginative state of the mind that is forced to work overtime producing that which gratifies the desires of the heart centered around self, (self-gratification)…
Remember, both Cornelius and Lydia were of the opposite of self-gratification. This self-gratification on a clerical layer has cleverly convinced the multitudes (sea of humanity, the nations born of the seed of Shem Ham. and Japeth) of the flawed concept of Penal Substitution Magic, (the Disney make believe version of righteousness). An illusion created from the premise of rebellion against God formed in the minds of religious lawyers, or a virtual reality of righteousness, of which John called “the image of the beast”, “spirit of antichrist”, or as Paul termed it “the mystery of iniquity”. Man worships what He thinks is a God that accepts an approves of his beastly like lusts of the flesh, “ie” that man of sin” of the which have the mark of the beast written on their forehead (their evil thoughts), and written on their hands (their evil deeds). This mark is not forced upon them, but rather received gladly via a freewill choice to follow after the beastly lusts of the flesh, (brute beasts, described by Pater & Jude), whose god is their belly….
Post#293.