• Job 29:14
  I put on righteousness, and it clothed me; my justice was like a robe and a turban.
  
• Isaiah 61:10
  I will greatly rejoice in the Lord; my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels.

These are the only two passages found in a search using the words robe and righteous.

They are a stark contrast between our “putting on” and God clothing us.

As a child I was insecure and I “put on” airs of intellect and ego to mask who I was inside.

My high school yearbook had a line that spoke well to it. “All those summer girls” There were lots of them because as soon as they saw me for what I was under the mask, they were gone. That was me as Job.

Once God clothed me with robes of salvation I became a new creation in Christ. It has taken me many years to discover that the robes of righteousness were never mine and never will be. They cover me, sure, but they do not belong to me.

The bride and the bridegroom adorn themselves with their wedding attire only once and then put them away so as to never soil those precious garments. They are more ceremonial than decorative.

Philippians 3:9 English Standard Version (ESV) and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith

If you get to know me now you will find a man who loves imperfectly because I am not yet perfected. I do the best I can and to be honest with you there is still a little insecure boy hiding inside me clinging to robes that do not belong to me.

I am secure in God’s love for me but insecure in my ability to live up to the name of Christ.

In my weakness He is strong.

Psalm 86:12 English Standard Version (ESV) I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

John 13:31-32 English Standard Version

31 When he had gone out, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. 32 If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and glorify him at once.

Jesus declared His glory right after the last supper. He was on the path to the Cross. He would be taken that night. Every step He took leading up to His crucifixion glorified God the Father by obedience of faith.

Jesus glorified the Father in Himself and in so doing, the Father was glorified in Christ. The reason He could do so was that part of Him which was fully God and was shared equally in the unity of the Trinity. Note closely that they were glorified immediately, “at once”.

Here we are thousands of years removed from that moment in time and we live in this church age in which God the Father wants God the Son to be glorified today, immediately, at once.

To understand what glory is in respect to the Father and Son we should define glory as the essence of God in character and personality. It is not merely His reputation and good name, it is the representation of God the Son dwelling in us, His essence.

How does the world get to see the Son in us?

As with all things human, seeing is believing. They will only see Him if our actions are based on obedience of faith. In obedience we glorify God the Son, who Glorifies the Father, who glorifies us because Christ abides in us. We cannot show Christ without obedience of faith.

Where we get tripped up is in believing that being good is the same thing as being obedient.

Granted, when we make human mistakes it reflects poorly on our own character, but that is us, not Christ. It is important to keep these two issues at the forefront of all our ministries, repentance and forgiveness. We are going to make mistakes. Own them, confess them, get over it and get on with the business at hand, obedience of faith.

We should never tell a non-believer that faith in Christ is instant perfection. We will always have the ability to sin but we do not have the inclination to sin. The ability to make right choices gets better as we grow in Christ. Maturity is found over time. It is not a matter of effort but rather a matter of relationship. The better the relationship, the faster the maturing process.