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Attaining to the First Resurrection:

I don’t suppose there is a more needed concept in Christian thinking than that of attaining to the first resurrection, the resurrection from the dead (not the resurrection of the dead, for the resurrection of the dead requires no attaining to—all shall be raised at the end of the thousand-year Kingdom Age. The resurrection out from among the dead, at the beginning of the thousand-year Kingdom Age, was (is) the stated goal of the Apostle Paul. Paul exhorted us to be "thus minded."

(5/7/2006) The event described as "the first resurrection" is mentioned in the Book of Revelation.

(The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.) This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:5,6)

"The first resurrection."

Paul sets attaining to the first resurrection as his goal.

And so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:11)

The special form of the Greek term for "resurrection, as used in the above verse, supports the translation "from the dead." Paul was not striving to attain to the resurrection of the dead but the resurrection out from among the dead—the advance resurrection that will occur at the beginning of the thousand-year Kingdom Age, that is, at the next appearing of the Lord from Heaven.

The doctrine of the resurrection from the dead, which is a central aspect of the Divine redemption, has been largely ignored. I believe this is the influence of the philosophy of Gnosticism, that does not recognize the resurrection of our flesh and bones body.

It is time to return to the scriptural goal of redemption. The scriptural goal, as set forth by the Apostle Paul in the Book of Philippians, is attainment to the resurrection from among the dead of mankind—the resurrection to life and glory as a priest of God.

In any system, if the correct goal is not identified and emphasized, the entire system is thrown into disarray. Quality control and operations are without a basis.

This is what has happened to the program of redemption, as we seek to apply it. We have set the goal of redemption as eternal residence in Heaven. Consequently our measuring criteria and operations are unscriptural, confusing, and ineffective.

Some statements of the scriptural goal are as follows: to be changed into the image of Christ; to the stature of Christ; oneness with God through Christ; and the first resurrection from the dead.

If any of these are alluded to in today’s preaching, I have not been present to hear them.

There is no passage of the New Testament, to my knowledge, that speaks of eternal residence in Heaven as being the goal of redemption.

We emphasize being saved and going to Heaven. It is no wonder the believers do not grow to the stature of the fullness of Christ. They seldom have been taught that attainment to the stature of the fullness of Christ is the goal of the gifts and ministries of the Spirit of God.

Notice that Philippians speaks of "attaining to" the resurrection from the dead, not just "attaining" the resurrection from the dead. This is because the first resurrection is not an open-ended accomplishment, as, for example, one might attain excellence in the performance of a Beethoven sonata. Someone might come along whose standard of excellence was higher than ours.

Rather, the first resurrection is a specific event that one must attain to. Either he attains to it, or he does not. No one can come along with a higher standard of attainment.

Paul did attain to the earlier resurrection, as we note in his words in Second Timothy:

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing. (II Timothy 4:7,8)

Paul had longed for a body that was free from sinful compulsions. He had fought the good fight of faith, and will receive a body of righteousness and life when the Lord appears. The goal is possible of attaining to.

The Lord Jesus came to earth to prepare a place for us in God. In order to prepare our place in God He went to the cross, and then into Heaven to purify the scene of the original transgression.

Now the Lord Jesus has come in the Spirit to those who earnestly are seeking Him. He is preparing a place in us for God. First a place for us in God; now a place for God in us.

The criteria for attaining to the resurrection from the dead are set forth in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians.

The actual experience of attainment to the advance resurrection is described in the fifteenth chapter of the Book of First Corinthians. We shall be clothed with immortality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, when the enemies in our personality have been driven from us.

The first resurrection as our goal is outlined in the early verses of the fifth chapter of the Book of Second Corinthians. It is the clothing of our resurrected flesh and bones with the house that has been prepared for us in Heaven, as we have suffered many afflictions and have remained faithful to the Lord Jesus.

In First Corinthians we read of the last trumpet; of being changed in the twinkling of an eye; of the corruption of our flesh and bones being clothed with incorruption.

We must come to understand that the resurrection from the dead has nothing whatever to do with going to Heaven, although we will be caught up into the air to meet the Commander in Chief that we may descend with Him and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.

The resurrection from the dead occurs as our flesh and bones are reassembled, and then clothed with incorruptible life. The resurrection we are seeking is a clothing with immortality, not a flight into the air. Its purpose is that we might once again live on the physical earth.

What must we as a Christian believer do in order to attain to the first resurrection, the resurrection that is out from among the dead of mankind? We must count everything else as garbage that we may gain Christ. We must learn to live in the power of His resurrection and experience His sufferings. It is a day by day death and resurrection as the Spirit of God points out to us the aspects of our personality that are not in the image of God, and enables us to confess them as sin (missing the mark), renounce them, and turn away from them with the wisdom and strength the Lord gives us when we call on Him for assistance.

The standard outlined by the Apostle Paul in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians is much higher, much more demanding, than any concept of salvation we may have held. This probably is why the Spirit had several people of the congregation give encouraging words to us, so we won’t quit.

Also, in the evening, Mrs. Alba Villalobos from Mexico spoke to us in Spanish, translated by Margaret Porcelli. She also, as she followed the Spirit, spoke encouraging words to us, exhorting us that when we stumbled, to get back up immediately, wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb, and press forward in Christ.

Yes, the goal is more demanding than we have realized. My guess is that few believers will make the effort to follow the Apostle Paul. But Christ will make attainment to the goal possible for anyone who will apply himself or herself. And the reward for doing so is beyond any poor words of mine to describe.

There may be believers who will contradict what I have written, claiming that we are saved by grace and not by works.

Let me answer by saying that God never intended for grace to be an eternal relationship of God to man. Rather grace is a temporary suspension of the authority of the Lake of Fire over the behaviors that God will not permit to exist in His Kingdom. The purpose of grace is to give us an opportunity to be changed from the possession and image of Satan to the possession and image of God.

If the grace of forgiveness were a permanent provision, then it would be best we never had been born. There would be no new world of righteousness on the horizon. The Kingdom of God would have no existence in reality. It would be a fantasy.

The truth is, the Kingdom of God is flesh and bone reality and it will be located on a physical earth. When God created the physical world He made it more desirable than the spirit realm. God always moves from the lesser to the greater. Satan understands this and that is why he is here temporarily. But God is going to move here for eternity, dwelling in Christ and the Body of Christ, in the Lamb and His Wife.


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