Greetings,
What is the justice system of God? Is it a justice system of right and wrong or is it something more? There are things that are right and there are things that are wrong; there are things that are good and there are things that are bad, but God’s justice system is far stronger than restraining us to doing things that are right and refraining us from doing things that are wrong. His justice system empowers us to be life, to release life to others, and to do things that empower life in the world around us. It is a justice system that empowers us to become like Him in His character, nature, way, power, and authority. God wants us to be able to make decisions for others based upon who we are, not what others deserve or what we think they deserve. He wants to empower us to change others by the power of mercy and grace. His justice system of God is not one of the mind, but an administration of the heart. This is the justice system of the kingdom of God.
Isaiah 11:1, 2 There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.
The Rod from the stem or stump of Jesse was the greater David, Jesus the Son of God born in Bethlehem. The Branch was Christ. Jesus told His disciples that He was the vine and they were the branches, the Branch from the Rod of Jesse is both Christ the head and Christ the body. He was both the head and the body of Christ that made a way for us all to become part of His body through the blood of His mercy and the Spirit of His grace. The sevenfold Spirit upon our lives anoints us to live by a different justice system than that of the knowledge of good and evil and mere judgments of right and wrong. The Holy Spirit empowers us to delight in the awe of God and to judge things by a different standard that what can be seen or heard naturally.
Isaiah 11:3 His delight is in the fear of the LORD, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears…
The Holy Spirit’s administration of grace empowers us to make judgments for the poor by a righteousness of life. With the equity of who we are we can make decisions for those who do not qualify according to the standards of right and wrong. They simply qualify through a judgment of love. As leaders in the body of Christ we must set the example of destroying evil through the power of love. When the devil strikes the earth it is with a blow of hate and death, but the breath of God is a wind of love and the measure of His mouth is a life-giving expression that destroys the power of evil.
Isaiah 11:4, 5 But with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist.
These verses are not verses for heaven in the life beyond, but a heavenly testimony in the world we live in. It is the righteousness of Christ that measures us, not the unrighteousness of our own lives. The procreative decision of life for all is made by the righteousness of God’s mercy. The power to manifest that life within us is by the action of His righteousness in the power of His grace. His mercy and His grace changes everything. This is the power of His loins and the faithfulness of His truth in our lives. We are not what we were, not because we have been made right. We are not what we were because of the power of His grace. Some were bad and some were good, but all were dead. Now we are all made alive by the power of God’s love and grace. Mercy has triumphed over judgment and grace is reigning in our lives. There is a change from evil to good, but it is by the life-transforming power of God’s grace at work in our hearts and minds. It is an empowerment of transformation, not an disciple made by right information. It changes who we were to who we are in Christ. The body of Christ is filled with former enemies of God and one another who have been made community companions by the justice system of God’s love.
Isaiah 11:6-9 “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra’s hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
We are in the day of the justice system of God’s grace. It is an administration that is suitable to sum up all things in Christ (Eph. 1:9, 10). It is a reality today and not some far away promise of heaven. The day of wolves, lambs, leopards, goats, calves, lions, fatlings, children, cows, bears, young and old is made manifest by the power of God’s grace at work among us. Holding on to a justice system of right and wrong is not strong enough to reveal His glory in the world. Only a justice system that empowers us to make decisions for others based upon who we have become, not what they deserve, is sufficient to change the world.
Isaiah 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.”
It is when God rests in our midst that our world changes. It is not when we become good and judge others based upon their sin and failures that we see the glory of God in our midst. It is when we decide from the abundance of who we are to show mercy and release the power of His grace that God’s glory prevails. We are love when we are faced with hate. We are mercy when faced with law. We are forgiveness when faced with unforgiveness. We are acceptance when faced with rejection. When we faced with evil things in the world, evil things don’t have the power to change who we are. Who we are has the power to change the world that we face. This is the justice system of God’s mercy and grace. It is a justice system of love! Let’s all embrace God’s mercy and grace to become influences of life from the kingdom of His life for the glory of His name.
Food For Thought,
Ted J. Hanson
