Both

Dichotomy 

A dichotomy is the division into two parts or kinds of a given whole. This can be a pair of something or two corresponding halves of a mutual whole. But more often this word is used to refer to two mutually exclusive or contradictory groups or parts. So while the definition can be of a positive or neutral nature it is more often negative and adversarial. 

The reason that I am pointing out the meaning of this word is because today I want to meditate on the glorious dichotomy of righteousness presented in the New Testament. As believers under the grace of God and in the New Covenant of Christ’s blood, we are at the same time both possessing an insatiable appetite for the righteous things of God, the glorious good news of Christ and the filling presence of the Holy Spirit, yet we are also already possessing all the righteousness of Christ, all the grace of the Father, and all the life of the Spirit currently. So my thesis is that this is not a contradiction under the economy of the Kingdom of Christ, but rather the glorious blessing that we as saints not only enjoy now but will always possess in eternity.

Hunger

True believers in Jesus Christ are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness (Matthew 5:6). The idea of being hungry and thirsty might at first sound like a bad thing, but Jesus is pointing out that the true people of God have desire and passion, not for things that the world lusts after, but the righteousness of God is now our delight. God has told us that we will have the desire of our heart when we delight in Him (Psalm 37:4)!

The loss of appetite is a sign of either depression or sickness and as such cannot be the goal of the Christian life. The life of God in us does not produce the type of stoicism or asceticism that is marked by the absence of all desire. This is the false teaching of man made religions, such as Buddhism which argues for the vanquishing of all desires. The eight fold path is really nothing more than a humanistic therapeutic form of behavioral therapy meant to train you not to care about anything. But God doesn’t want us to be passionless zombies but rather passionate and zealous warriors, workers, and worshippers (Titus 2:11-14).

Satisfaction

However, the appetite that we have as believers does mean that we are satisfied in God. John Piper’s famous motto, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him,” captures this reality well. We as believers always desire for God to be praised, exalted, and glorified. The amazing truth is that this desire is satiated in our satisfaction with the grace, mercy, and love which I have received in Jesus Christ. Remember Matthew 5:6 referenced above. Jesus points out that those with the hunger and thirst for righteousness are also the ones who are satisfied by God’s righteousness. The point is that the more we desire God, the more full of God we will be and the more full of God we are, the more we will want Him!

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