What does it mean that God's righteousness is 'upon' all who believe?
God's righteousness being 'upon' believers means it covers them like a blanket or cloak, so when God looks at them He sees Christ as the outer covering. It is God's righteousness, not their own, applied through faith in Jesus Christ and accomplished by God's work, not human effort.
Les explains that the word 'upon' is like being draped with a blanket or cloak that totally covers a person. This covering is God's righteousness, not our own; our own righteousness is nothing but filthy rags. Because this righteousness is 'upon' the believer, when God looks at us He sees the outer covering, and that outer covering is Christ. That is what it means to put on Christ: what God sees is not me or you, but Christ. Les further says this happens by a work of God, not by anything we can do. Just as a person cannot crucify himself—he might manage the first nail but not the second—so in salvation we can do nothing. God must do it, because it is done in the invisible realm, in the Spirit.
More Questions
How is God's righteousness given to all who believe?
God's righteousness is by the faith or faithfulness of Jesus Christ and is unto all and upon all who believe.