Book 2 of Musings Power and Action

Religion tends to be subjective and consists mainly of words.

God is solidly objective and is characterized by power and action.

In the beginning God existed with His angels in a spirit realm. Then God created the physical, or material, realm.

God called His new realm "very good."

God saw all that he had made, and it was very good. And there was evening, and there was morning-the sixth day. (Genesis 1:31)

Apparently there are some Eastern religions and philosophies, particularly Gnosticism, that regard the physical realm as evil and the spiritual realm as good.

This is backwards from the biblical point of view

Evil originated in the spirit realm around the Throne of God in Heaven. Evil came down from Heaven to the earth, which before this had been "very good." Even today we wrestle against spirit dignitaries in heavenly places. Also we are afflicted with demons which harass us continually, both in our body and also in our mind and emotions.

We Christians do not realize it, but the Eastern emphasis on that which is spirit and mental has heavily influenced our beliefs. For example, we conceive of John 3:16 as meaning that when we die we will go to live forever in the spirit Paradise. This is not the meaning of John 3:16. This verse, so well known to Christians, means that through the Lord Jesus Christ we will regain immortality so we can live once again on the earth.

I find that believers have difficulty conceiving of the fact that we will be raised from the dead so we can live once again on the earth. They think the purpose of the resurrection is so we can go to Heaven. You know, this makes no sense. We go to Heaven by dying physically, not by being resurrected physically.

The Lord Jesus came to restore life and immortality. The life He restores is His Life in us, including the destruction of our sinful nature. The immortality Christ restores is the robe of eternal life that will clothe the resurrected flesh and bones of those who have attained His Life in their inward nature.

This seems so biblical, so simple and plain to me, that I have a hard time understanding why others sometimes find it difficult to understand.

I see no evidence in the Book of Genesis that Adam and Eve had spiritual life when they were created. Spiritual life is Christ, and there is no record that Adam and Eve had Christ in them. As far as I can see, they were living souls. They had a human spirit, a human soul, and a flesh and blood body.

It is my belief that the Lord Jesus Christ is the Tree of Life and the only tree of life. Had Adam and Eve eaten of the Tree of Life they would have gained inward spiritual life and also immortality.

By eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, which in my opinion also is the Lord Jesus Christ inasmuch as He is the Word of God, that is, the knowledge of what is good and what is evil, Adam and Eve discovered that they were naked. But since they had not eaten of the Tree of Life, they had no spiritual covering, the covering of Christ that we enjoy.

If God had wanted us to be spirits living in a spirit world, as the angels do, that is where He would have created us. But we are not angels, we are sons of God. We are in the image of God. The earth was created as our home, and God tells us it is very good.

Notice how Satan likes to walk around in the earth. This is because the earth is a better place than the spirit realm.

Since we are drawing near to the coming of the Lord, the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is being emphasized by the Holy Spirit. The answer to the Lord's prayer is at hand. God's Kingdom is coming to the earth. His will shall be done in the earth as it is in Heaven.

The earth is the Lord's along with all its resources. It is true also that all the creatures of the earth, including people, belong to the Lord. Until we grasp the earth-centeredness, the physical centeredness, of the Kingdom of God we will not be able to understand the Bible.

The Kingdom of God is all that is worthy in Heaven clothed with a physical form.

Our goal is not Heaven, our goal is to find our place with Christ in the Center of God's Person and will so we can live in an appropriate manner on the earth.

The reason we desire to go to Heaven is that Paradise is there. It was on the earth, and now is in Heaven. This is where the Tree of Life is at the present time.

But the Tree of Life, the Lord Jesus Christ, is about to return to the earth. When He does, Paradise will be here. It is Paradise we are longing for. When Paradise returns to the earth, this is where the desire of our heart will be.

The problem at the present time is not Paradise or its location. The problem is our sinful nature, including our desire to follow our own will rather than the will of God. Paradise will not be restored to the earth until there are at least some believers who, through Christ, have overcome their sinful nature and are dwelling in untroubled rest in the will of God.

Can you say Amen to that?

From here on out, the Christian agenda will have to do with the destroying of our sinful nature and our learning to abide in God's will. This is the program now, and the Holy Spirit is making it possible for us to move with God in this direction.

Our religion, which has been largely subjective, consisting mainly of words, is now moving into the physical realm, that is, into our conduct. There will be a great increase in the visible, substantial power and action of God as He begins to make the enemies of Christ His footstool.

Christ is the Good Shepherd of the Twenty-third Psalm. Now Christ is coming to us as the Lord-strong and mighty in battle, of the Twenty-fourth Psalm.

We are accustomed to a subjective, verbal religion, for the most part. The previous century, the Pentecostal century, saw our verbal religion evolve into dramatic, emotional involvement. Speaking in tongues, which is neither subjective nor mentally verbal, is our entrance into the rest of God. The rest of God is that place of abiding in God's perfect will as He exercises it in the earth.

Because of the current emphasis on the coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead, we will see more activity in our services. In our own assembling, as hymns are sung, the young people wave banners. Sometimes they march around the church, holding up the banners. I have become so accustomed to this that I cannot conceive of people just sitting and singing hymns without the banners up in front expressing the vitality and aggressiveness of the worship.

We will shout for joy when you are victorious and will lift up our banners in the name of our God. May the LORD grant all your requests. (Psalms 20:5)

I don't know where it will go from here, but I expect the praise and worship will become even more energetic, perhaps spiritually violent.

Years ago I was involved in choir direction. But a robed choir just does not meet our needs anymore. Once you experience the new strong choruses about the Kingdom and righteousness, accompanied by the great banners and the marching, you will see what I mean when I say the church choir is soon to pass away. At least, that is how I perceive it.

Also, we do not do musical specials. We do have excellent singers who perform during the offering, but that is it. Sometimes a group of young people will sing during the Sunday evening offering.

Choirs and specials tend to be programs that entertain the people. But the congregation is not involved. We need more congregation involvement if the members of the Body of Christ are to exercise their ministries and build up themselves and the other members. They are not going to do this while the choir is singing or people are performing musical "specials."

I have been involved in music during much of my life, so I do not speak lightly about this subject.

Getting back to the idea of religion being subjective, be very careful about revelations or special words that you get. Satan is active in that realm. When you doubt something you have "heard" is from the Lord, ask God to bring it into the objective physical realm. People become deceived when they depend too much on their personal words or prophecies. God is the God of the whole earth. When He speaks the rooster crows. The stars in their courses fight against Sisera.

God is much more of the earth and of earth's peoples than the Christian churches seem to understand. God is in control of this earth, even though it is filled with evil. As soon as God has accomplished His purposes in the earth, the Lord Jesus Christ will return with His faithful saints and establish the Kingdom of God on the earth.

Jesus Christ is real, substantial, the perfect Human Being. He is flesh and bones, as well as being robed with Divinity. He is both Son of Man and Son of God.

Christ is making each member of His Bride, son of Man and son of God. We are to be like Him in every respect. This is our calling as members of God's elect.

Do not let yourself be discouraged. If you follow Jesus Christ faithfully you will inherit all the works of God's hands. Your future is alight with splendor, even though in the present hour you may be suffering afflictions and tribulations.

Your suffering will come to an end, once you have persevered, and God will establish, settle, and strengthen you. He who called you is absolutely faithful.

Get ready for your Lord, whom you have worshiped all these years, to appear and prepare you for immortality on this present earth, and later on a new, incredibly more glorious new earth.

He has kept the best wine until now.

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of talk but of power. (1 Corinthians 4:20)