Being, Doing, and Environment

Our land of promise must include three elements: an environment, what we are to become, and what we are to do. Mankind was created in a garden, in Paradise. The memory of that garden, of Paradise, is in all of us. This is why we desire to go to Heaven. We want to go back to our original environment where all is love, joy, and peace.

However, it is useless for us to return to Paradise until we ourselves have been changed and been appointed some kind of role, something to do. We would not be content no matter how wondrous the environment were we to have no role in the Kingdom, no responsibility. We might think we would be happy doing nothing but visiting our friends for eternity, but I doubt we would satisfied if such were the case.

If we are to enjoy and hold Paradise, once we attain it, we must be changed radically. Another reason for our being changed radically is that the adamic nature is totally unqualified to assume the Kingdom roles that are to be fulfilled by the royal priesthood, such as being part of the eternal Temple of God, a member of the Body of Christ, a part of the Bride of the Lamb, and so forth.

Nowhere in the Scriptures, to my knowledge, does it state we must overcome the enemy in order to go to Heaven, to Paradise. But every move we make toward laying hold on the being and doing that have been assigned to the sons of God is bitterly contested by Satan, the fallen angels, and the demons.

We have come now to the time when the Lord Jesus is ready to lead His soldiers into the conquest of the land of promise. Our land of promise, our Canaan, is set forth in the rewards to the overcomer, found in the Book of Revelation.

Each of the rewards is an area of being and doing necessary for our achieving perfect joy and rest in the Presence of God and Christ.

The following are the areas of being and doing that constitute our land of promise. Once we attain these areas God will furnish a perfect environment. But to enter the perfect environment before we are changed would be to invite another rebellion against God. This is why Satan would have us concentrate on going to Heaven and forget about attaining these areas.

In order to lay hold on the areas of our land of promise we have to overcome. We have to overcome, to conquer, because we are being opposed by a skilful adversary with centuries of experience.

The teaching today in some Christian circles is that once we receive Jesus Christ as our Saviour we automatically are an overcomer. If this were the case the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation would make no sense at all.

The thinking seems to be that faith (actually belief, or imagination) in and of itself is the victory that overcomes the world." The problem is, "faith" is defined as mental assent to orthodox doctrine. Belief alone is not what is meant by overcoming. Yet we have to have faith in order to overcome.

Let us say we are harbouring resentment against someone. Such resentment is spiritual death no matter what the individual may have done to cause us to be resentful. Now, what does it mean to overcome this spiritual death, this work of Satan? Are we merely to believe because we have faith in Jesus we are not resentful? We have overcome resentment? This is nonsense.

To overcome resentment we have to judge this behaviour to be unacceptable to God, fit only for the Lake of Fire. Then we must confess our sin to God and after that vigorously—with all the strength we possess—denounce, renounce, and resist this invasion of our personality. We keep praying, confessing, denouncing, renouncing, and resisting until all resentment is totally gone. In order to attack the enemy in this manner we have to have faith. This is how faith becomes the victory that overcomes the world. It is the good fight of faith that conquers the enemy.

As we have stated, each of the items listed below is an area of being and doing that is necessary for us to attain if we are to enter the rest of God and fulfil our responsibilities in the Kingdom of God.

• To attain union with Christ and gain immortality in the body.
• To gain authority and power to rule our circumstances in the Person and Presence of Christ.
• To obtain total deliverance from all behaviours that bring the torment of Divine judgment upon us.
• To learn to live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.
• To become a new person in the Kingdom of God, the old Adam having passed away.
• To share with Jesus Christ the inheritance of the nations of the earth.
• To have Christ formed in us and dwelling in us.
• To be a member of the royal priesthood.
• To have the eternal assurance of life, and recognition in the Court of Heaven.
• To be an integral part of God's dwelling place forever.
• To belong eternally to God.
• To be for eternity a part of the new Jerusalem. • To be an eternal part of the newness of Christ.
• To share intimately with Christ at all times. • To govern all the works of God's hands.

• To inherit everything that God has made new.

To Attain Union With Christ and Gain Immortality in the Body