Book 4 of Musings Rewards

Perhaps we don't think enough about the rewards promised to those who overcome sin.

We should! The Holy Spirit has placed them in the New Testament to encourage us to seek the Lord with our whole heart.

It is written concerning the Lord Jesus that for the joy set before Him He endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Throne of God.

If the Son of God was motivated by the joy set before Him, how much more do we need to have joy set before us that we might endure the cross.

Sometimes it is taught that since we are saved by grace, everyone receives the same reward. This is not true. The Bible teaches that the Lord Jesus, at His return, will recompense each one of us according to what we have done.

Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. (Rev 22:12)

You know, the above verse ought to be emphasized more than it is, because Christians would act differently if they knew the Lord Jesus was going to give to everyone according to what he has done.

From the way church people behave, I think they don't really believe this.

We know from what the Lord said in the Gospel accounts about how He is going to reward those who have wasted their talents; those who have been mean to their fellow servants; those whom the Lord never knew because they behaved wickedly. I think we have set these warnings to one side, imagining because we have been "saved by grace" they do not apply to Christians.

But they do!

There is another concept that Christians need to grasp. There are certain kinds of people, mentioned in the Book of Revelation, who will be in the Lake of Fire. There are kinds of people who will be barred from entrance to the new Jerusalem.

The Christian teaching is that accepting Christ changes this. If we accept Christ we will not be in the Lake of Fire. If we accept Christ we will not be barred from entrance to the new Jerusalem, whether or not we are among those specified kinds of people.

This is not at all true. It would make the statements in the New Testament invalid.

The wicked will be in the Lake of Fire. The wicked will not be permitted to enter the Holy City. This is final. This is the authoritative Word of God.

But doesn't accepting Christ change this? By no means. Did Christ come so the wicked can enter Paradise and the holy places of God? Absolutely not.

Well, then, how is He our Savior?

Christ is our Savior in that if we permit Him to do so, He forgives our sin and teaches us to reject sinful behavior and embrace righteous behavior. When He does this, and we are behaving righteously, we no longer are under the authority of the Lake of Fire and we will be admitted to the new Jerusalem.

Christ does not save us in our sin but from our sin. This is why repentance accompanies forgiveness, as recorded in the Book of Acts.

The idea that Christ came to fill the holy places of God with sinful people is a tremendous error in Christian thinking. God never will have fellowship with darkness. The Bride of the Lamb will be unblemished in character and behavior.

I do not know why God has permitted this destructive error to continue. I know there is Divine wisdom in allowing such an error to remain in existence. I know also that righteous people behave righteously even though our doctrine tells them it is not necessary.

But God never, never, never will have fellowship with darkness. This is not the purpose of the blood atonement. The purpose of the blood atonement is to forgive us so God can hear our prayers and help us escape from the chains of sin.

On the other side of the coin, there are fabulous rewards assigned to those who gain the victory over sin.

I think we attain to some of these rewards now, in this present life. Others obviously are reserved for the coming of the Lord. My point of view is that these rewards are steps toward the first resurrection from the dead, the resurrection of the royal priesthood.

The rewards to the victorious saints begin with eating from the Tree of Life, and proceed to our being placed on the Throne of God with the Lord Jesus Christ. Finally, in Revelation, Chapter Twenty-one, verse seven, we discover whoever gains victory over sin will inherit all things. We really cannot add much to "all things."

But back to the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation, which compose the most concise list of the rewards reserved for the victorious saints. We really ought to pay attention to these. They are well worth making every effort to gain.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Rev 1:7)

Part of the original penalty for disobedience was denial of access to the Tree of Life.

From my point of view, the account of the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden is an allegory. There is only one Tree that is the source of God's Life, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. In some manner Adam and Eve could have partaken of Christ. Had they done so they would still be living in their physical bodies.

Eternal life is the Life of God. To take it into our personality is to receive incorruptible, Divine Life in our spirit and soul; then, in the Day of Resurrection, in our body.

The Lord Jesus told us, in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, that His body and His blood are real food and real drink. They are real because, unlike physical food and drink, they give us God's Divine Life in our spirit, soul, and, at the coming of the Lord, our body.

The Lord emphasized in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John that if we choose to live in His Presence at all times, living by Him as He lives by the Father, continually dining on His body and blood, He will raise us up at the last day and issue immortality to our body.

It is interesting to note, in the sixth chapter of the Gospel of John, that when the Lord spoke concerning His body and blood, He emphasized raising our body from the dead. He did not speak of our going to Heaven but of His raising us up. This is the reversal of the penalty imposed because of the disobedience of Adam and Eve.

Historically Christian thinking has been drawn away from the importance of the resurrection of the body into an emphasis on our spiritual life, especially on our spiritual life going to Heaven upon physical death. This is not at all the teaching of the Scriptures or the Gospel of the Kingdom. The Scriptures, including the Gospel of the Kingdom, are directed toward the raising from the dead of the physical body.

Our body is not our own. It belongs to God and was created for His purposes, that He might have a dwelling place on the earth. Therefore the resurrection of our body is the centerpiece of the Christian redemption.

When we live continually in the Presence of Jesus, dining on His body and blood, we gain eternal life in our spirit and soul. We then are eligible for the issuing of Divine Life to our physical body in the Day of the Lord.

But if we do not dine continually on His body and blood, choosing instead to live in our own adamic life, then we will not have eternal life in our spirit and soul. Consequently, when the Lord appears, we will not be provided with immortality in our body.

The last enemy that shall be destroyed is physical death. This means we will not gain immortality in our body until every other enemy in our personality has been put under the feet of the Lord Jesus Christ.

We see, then, that there is a reward, a goal to press toward. That goal is immortality in our body. Immortality shall be given to everyone who, through Christ, gains victory over sin.

Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life. He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. He who overcomes will not be hurt at all by the second death.(Rev 2:10-11)

The reward mentioned here is the crown of life, and also that of not being hurt at all by the second death.

God permits Satan to put some of us in one sort of prison or another. The purpose of the prison is to break the yoke of sin in our life, particularly that of self-will.

When we are in such a confining place it seems like our misery never will end. We never again will hear the joyful sound. If we are to survive, and not break out of our prison, we have to resign ourselves to remaining where God has placed us until we die. If we have any thought of breaking out, saying "I can put up with this for just so long," then you can be sure that at the end of that time period you still will be in your prison. God and Satan want to see if you are going to be sternly obedient to God.

There are good Christians who balk at the idea of imprisonment. Christ stands at the door of the prison and says, "I want you to go through this door and be imprisoned for a season." Some Christians will agree to this. Others will draw back.

Those who are willing to stay as long as God requires will receive the crown of life. The crown of life is the authority to govern the creation by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Also, those who are willing to stay in the prison cannot be hurt at all by the Lake of Fire. The sin and self-seeking are burned out of them. Though they were immersed in the Lake of Fire it would not harm them. They have become fireproof through being obedient during their time of suffering.

He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it. (Rev 2:17)

The hidden manna, if my understanding is correct, is the body and blood of Jesus Christ. These are hidden to all except those who, through Christ, are gaining victory over sin.

The white stone means, as far as I can tell, that the victorious saint has passed from the ranks of the called to the ranks of the chosen. The white stone is a voting pebble signifying approval.

There is a new name because God calls us by what we are. We name our children arbitrarily, based on our preference. But God gives us a name that describes us.

As we gain victory over sin and self-will, our personality changes in God's sight. As we dine on the body and blood of Christ we are married to the Lamb. We are a new creation of righteous behavior and an integral part of the Lamb. Thus God will give us a name that describes what we have become.

To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations- He will rule them with an iron scepter; he will dash them to pieces like pottery-just as I have received authority from my Father. I will also give him the morning star. (Rev 2:26-28)

Authority over the nations, and the morning star.

The Lord holds out the governing of people as a reward for gaining victory over sin. In the case of faithfulness with the use of our talents, it is ruling over cities.

We need to think about this. The traditional view of salvation is that when we die we will go to a mansion where we will have no responsibility. But governing people is a responsibility. Do you agree with this?

The Apostles were promised that they would eat and drink at Christ's table in His Kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Does judging the twelve tribes of Israel sound to you like responsibility?

Apparently we do not understand why God has called us out of the world to be members of the royal priesthood.

As far as I can tell, the two thousand years of the Christian era has been for the purpose of calling out from the ranks of mankind people who will govern God's creation. During this period it always has been possible for anyone to choose to believe and be baptized, thus obtaining deliverance from wrath in the Day of the Lord.

All that is necessary to be saved is to believe and be baptized.

But then we find a remarkably different message in the New Testament. It is that of running a race; fighting in a warfare; straining every nerve to attain the resurrection from the dead.

On the one hand we have merely believing and being baptized.

On the other hand we find running a race and enduring hardships.

Actually I think two different programs are operating.

One program is that of providing forgiveness of sins for those who choose to believe in the Lord and be baptized.

The second program is that of preparing rulers.

I think the second program is being emphasized today. Many who are last in time will be of first rank in the Kingdom of God.

Because of this calling to the highest throne, the standard has been raised until it requires all that we are to keep up with the Lord. God is seeking the very best that mankind can produce to be rulers in His Kingdom. They will inherit all things. God will be their God. They shall be God's sons.

These victorious saints are as the first three of David's mighty men. They are the firstfruits of the nations of the earth to God and the Lamb.

The people who are saved will be in ranks, beginning with the highest that we have just mentioned, descending to the least in the Kingdom.

Those who choose to gain victory over sin will govern the nations of the earth. They will rule with absolute authority, smashing all resistance to Christ.

I am not certain everyone who is saved would desire such responsibility. But those whom God has chosen to govern the nations will be pleased with this opportunity to serve God and people.

The morning star is Christ formed in us. The only Ruler of the nations is Jesus Christ. We shall rule only as Christ is formed in us. It is not given to man apart from Christ to govern the works of God's hands.

God is not creating many christs, many rulers. There is only the one Lord Jesus Christ. As He is formed in us, and we learn to live by His Life, His body and blood, we can say with Paul, "It is Christ who is living in me." When this is true of us, then we are qualified to govern the nations.

Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels. (Rev 3:4-5)

To walk in the white robe of the royal priesthood. To not have our name blotted from the Book of Life. To have our name acknowledged before the Father and His angels.

Our task is to keep our robe clean. We do this by immediately confessing any sin when it comes to our attention, denouncing it vehemently as unworthy of the Kingdom of God, turning away from it with all our might, drawing closer to Jesus for His forgiveness and cleansing. By doing this we partake of His body and blood.

Because we are living in the valley of the shadow of death, this cleaning process must operate continually.

Of the Christian in Sardis, only a few have kept their robes clean.

The few who have kept their robes clean will walk with Jesus Christ in the white robe of the royal priesthood. The majority of the believers, those who have not kept their robes clean will not walk with Jesus Christ in the white robe of the royal priesthood. They have not been found worthy to be members of the heavenly priesthood.

The Christian preaching of today, because of the influence of Humanism, denies that any person, once having "accepted Christ," can ever be lost to the purposes of God. The idea that one could have his name in the Book of Life, and then have his name blotted out of the book, is not acceptable to us.

Thus we are perfectly willing to defy the Scriptures in order to please pleasure-loving, self-centered American believers.

But God's Word shall be standing when the United States of America is nothing more than a chapter in the history books, just as firmly as it stood before America came into existence..

"You shall not surely die." This has been Satan's advice since the creation of man. It was a lie then. It is a lie now.

The way to make sure our name is not blotted from the Book of Life is to keep cleansing our personality by confessing and turning away from our sins.

If we are to have our name acknowledged in the Presence of the Father and His angels we must do more than make a profession of belief in Christ. We must gain victory over sin. We must live as a victorious saint.

Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I will also keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth. I am coming soon. Hold on to what you have, so no one will take your crown. Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name. (Rev 3:10-12)

Protection and guidance throughout the hour of testing; a pillar in the Temple of God; never leaving the Temple of God; having written on him the name of God, the new Jerusalem, and the new name of Jesus Christ.

There is coming to the earth, and it is approaching even now, a period of great wickedness. The availability of pornography on the Internet is one example of the moral depravity, along with child exploitation and prostitution.

The Lord Jesus promises those who are willing to patiently keep His Word that He will guard them from being seduced by the demonic influences of the closing days of the Church Age.

Those who gain victory over sin He will establish as pillars in the living Temple of God. They will never leave the right hand of God; yet, having the power of multiple presence, as does the Lord Jesus, they will be able to move throughout the creation wherever they desire.

The name of God will be written on the victorious saint, so the saved people of the world will realize he is the extension of God's Person.

They will see the name "Jerusalem" written on him, showing that he is an extension of the holy city.

They will see the new name of Jesus Christ written on him, showing that he is an integral part of Christ. Christ will have a new name because the people who have been added to Him will change what he is, just as when a person is married it changes what they are, in that sense. Another person has become an inseparable part of him or her.

Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne. (Rev 3:20,21)

As far as I am concerned, the two verses above are the emphasis of today.

We are in a Laodicean period. The rights of people are being emphasized over the rights of God and the rights of society as a whole. Self-centeredness, self-rule are the order of the day. This is the Antichrist spirit at work.

The Lord Jesus comes to the Christians in America, a center of the rights of people and self-rule. The Lord says, "I am waiting to see who will acknowledge that he does not belong to himself but to me.'

The account of Adam and Eve is a forerunner of the marriage of the Lamb. Eve was created from Adam. We are being created from the Lamb by eating His flesh and drinking His blood.

We who have been called by the Lord have one purpose in life, and that is to be an integral part of the Lamb. This gives rise to the most important decision we will ever make: "Shall I accept the fact that I was created to be part of another Person; or shall I continue with my own life, preserving my right to be an individual person?

We have been forgiven by the blood atonement. We have received the Holy Spirit, the oil upon the blood.

Now God is revealing His highest purpose for us-it is that we consent to be a helper for the Lamb, just as Eve was created from Adam to be a helper for Adam.

We must realize God's Son has never been married before. The truth is, the entire history of the world has been for the purpose of providing a helper suitable for the Lamb, and for the purpose of creating people who will serve as an inheritance for the Lamb and His Wife.

Not all Christians, unfortunately are going to consent to forsake their own individuality in order to become an integral part of the Lamb. This does not mean, as far as I know, that they will be cast into the Lake of Fire. The Lake of Fire is for the wicked.

Rather, their refusal to forsake their individuality will mean an incomprehensible loss of reward. They will continue as individuals, not being part of the Glory that is the Lord Jesus Christ.

Perhaps they will be able to relate to Christ on some lesser level. I do not know. But I do now that when we choose to retain our right to be ourselves, rather than a part of Jesus Christ, we remain as an adamic individual. And the adamic race is a temporary, animal creation that is perishing while it is living.

"I stand at the door, and knock." If any person open the door..."

God will never open that door. We have to invite the Lord into our personality. When He enters, He sits on the throne of our personality. This is His rightful place.

We need to understand our body does not belong to us. It is the temple of the Holy Spirit. Our body was created for God's purposes, that His Being might be enlarged through us.

Then the Lord says He dines with us and we with Him. This is a banqueting table prepared for the marriage of the Lamb.

We dine on His body and blood. He keeps feeding us with His body and blood so we might be created from Him, just as Eve was created from Adam.

When we dine on physical food and drink, we do so more than once each day. So it is when the Lord is dining with us. We do not dine just one time. We dine continually. It is how we live! We live by eating the flesh of Christ and drinking His blood.

It is His body and blood, by which we are living, that will raise us at His return.

He dines on our obedience and worship. We dine on His Life, His body and blood. Thus we become one with the Lamb, just as Eve was one with Adam.

The Father and He sit on the throne of our personality. When our obedience has been established to the Father's satisfaction, we are permitted back on the throne of our own life. Now there are three on that throne: the Father, the Son, and ourselves.

This is God's highest and best-that we become one with God through Jesus Christ and one with each other through Jesus Christ.

Today the Lord is asking us to draw closer to Him. He continually is knocking on the door of our personality. We continually are to be opening to Him and dining with Him.

The Lord told us many who are last will be first. I believe this means many who are last in time will be of first rank in the Kingdom. I think this is why the Scriptures are unfolding to us and we see that we are to receive the Lord into ourselves day by day until it is a fact that He is our life. When Christ, who has become our life, shall appear, then we shall appear with Him as an integral part of Him.

Christ lives by the Father. This means Christ has no life separate from the Father. Whoever has the Father also has the Son. Whoever has the Son also has the Father. This is true because the Father and the Son share one Life.

It is to this Oneness that we have been called. We are to keep on opening our personality to Christ until we are sharing one Life with Him. We are to live by His Life until there is but one Life. That eternal Life is the Life of God. It is one God, one Life, one Christ, and we are being called to that Glory which is beyond all Glory.

The believer who chooses to retain his own life, his own right to make his own decisions, will suffer a loss that could not be described. There is not enough paper in the world to record the loss that will be experienced by the person who chooses to live his own life rather than Christ's Life, once that choice has been brought to his attention and made available to him.

To live in the Fullness of God; to be with Jesus where He eternally is-there is nothing else in Heaven or upon the earth that compares with this in desirability.

The last of the seven feasts of the Lord reveals God's intention for man. It is the feast of Booths, of Tabernacles. The Jews live in specially constructed shelters during the celebration of Tabernacles.

This is God's way of telling us of His desire that we become His eternal dwelling place.

It is the Father's house. It belongs to Him. The rooms of His house, which we are to become, belong to Him. All belongs to the Father.

Is this what you desire-to become an integral part of God through Jesus Christ; to never, never, never leave His right hand, no not for eternity? Do you desire to be filled with the Fullness of God? These are my desires. I hope they are yours also.

He who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my son. (Revelation 21:7)