Christ Walks: Third Day

And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. (Luke 13:32)

For two thousand years the Church of Christ is to cast out devils and heal the sick. Whenever Jesus is working in the Church these two signs will take place. During the "third day" the Body of Christ will be perfected in Christ.

Jesus Himself was made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). Each member of the Body of Christ is being made perfect through the varied workings of the Holy Spirit. As the members of the Body are being made perfect they are being united with the Head, Christ, so that the whole Person is one work of God.

The New Testament writings contain many passages having to do with our perfecting. The doctrine of perfection (Hebrews 6:1) has given rise to argument, with some Christians maintaining that perfection is not possible in the world and others claiming that the doctrine of perfection is taught in the Gospels and in the Epistles of the Apostles.

It is easy to appreciate both sides of the argument. Those who claim perfection is impossible are emphasizing the weakness of human beings. Those who maintain we are to be perfect are emphasizing the statements of the Scripture and are not looking too closely at our shortcomings.

Each of us humans is not merely weak, we are in fact helpless and hopeless in our flesh. Then we come under the blood of Christ and our sinful nature is forgiven. But our words, deeds, motivations, and imaginations remain far from perfection.

It is not difficult to understand how sincere Christians cannot believe that perfection is possible in this life. But let us consider a few facts:

First, the Scripture commands us to be perfect (Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:40; John 17:23; I Corinthians 2:6; Colossians 1:28; Colossians 4:12; II Timothy 3:17; Hebrews 12:23; James 3:2; I Peter 5:10; and so forth).

Second, we are not to consider our own body "now dead" (Romans 4:19) but are to consider the Glory and promise of God.

Third, what God means by perfection and what we mean by perfection may be two different concepts. Many of God’s heroes of faith were perfect by God’s standards but imperfect by our standards.

Abraham was a perfect man by God’s standards but not by human standards. The father and mother of John the Baptist no doubt had many shortcomings, as we would judge them. The father was struck dumb because of disbelief in the angel’s glorious announcement. But it is written of them: "They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6).

What God calls blameless is blameless!

If it were left to our fleshly abilities, perfection would not be attainable. Our perfecting is the task of the Holy Spirit. Can we state it is impossible for the Holy Spirit to make us blameless? Is God unable to complete to His own standard of perfection what He has begun in us? Does God have the power and wisdom to perfect a human being in His image? We believe He does.

One of the principal reasons why Christians do not push ahead in the overcoming life is that they have no goal. People will not run a race that has no finish line. If one does not believe in a mark, in a perfection, in an attainment, in an omega, in a completion, in a maturing, in a coming of age, or understand that the attaining of the mark will affect his eternal destiny, he will not exert effort in this direction. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18).

If we spend our time thinking about our own imperfections and are ignorant concerning the promises of God we never will lay hold on the fullness of the redemption that is in Christ.

Imagine the frustration of God as He looks down on us. He is abundantly able to create us in His image. Yet our refusal to consider His abilities and promises keeps us earthbound. Somehow there has crept into Christian thinking a fatalism, a fatalism caused by the ignorance of the Church concerning the promises, the total power, and the total knowledge of the Almighty God.

We present God as a kindly but chagrined old gentleman who wishes we all would behave and is disappointed when we do not; as an indulgent parent who scolds his children from time to time and frequently is heard to exclaim, "Boys will be boys". This concept is false.

A truer picture of God is that of a master craftsman who has set out to construct a house for himself, a craftsman with knowledge, wisdom, and in command of all resources in Heaven and on the earth.

What kind of a dwelling would such a craftsman construct?

How inappropriate it is for the materials that he is using to fret about their own incompleteness and imperfection. The only question is that concerning the power and ability of the builder and his access to materials. We think you will agree there is no question about the power or ability of God Almighty or His access to materials.

If the above is true, the only remaining question is whether God has declared in His Word that the Church will be made perfect. If He has, we understand that our doubts and fears are groundless and that we will be made perfect in Christ if we follow His program.

Being made perfect in Christ does not mean our imperfections will be covered up because they are hidden from view by the Glory of Christ’s own perfection. Imputed (ascribed) perfection has to do only with our guiltlessness when we receive Christ as our atonement. Imputed perfection is not the radiance of our wedding garment.

When we start out as Christians our imperfections are covered by the blood of Christ. Being made "perfect" in Christ means that each Christian will be created in the full image of God in his spirit, soul, and body. Then the perfected saints will be combined into the perfect Body of Christ. After that, the Body of Christ will be made one in the Father and the Son. This is what it means to be in Christ.

If there were one imperfect member in the Body of Christ the Body would be imperfect. One Israelite, Achan, caused God to declare, "Israel hath sinned." The army was defeated because of the covetousness and disobedience of one person (Joshua, Chapter Seven).

Solomon’s Temple is a type of the eternal dwelling place of God. The stones of the Temple were not shaped at the construction site in order to fit. They were fashioned at another place so when the Temple was erected there was no sound of cutting or hammering into place.

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. (I Kings 6:7)

Each of us Christians is being "made ready" in the wilderness of the world. As soon as we have reached the standard in the mind of the Master Builder we will be brought together in one flawless joining by the Glory of God.

Each living stone, having been formed in advance, will fit perfectly into place in the house of God, the Body of Christ. No forcing or compromise will be necessary in that day because of the unparalleled wisdom and skill of the Builder.

There will be both individual and corporate perfection in the Body of Christ. Each member will be perfect and the whole Body will be perfect as a unit. All the ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit are working to accomplish the unity and maturity of the Body of Christ.

By perfection we mean three things: (1) the removal of the guilt, tendencies, and effects of sin; (2) the fullness of unblemished conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit, soul, and body; and (3) the completeness of union with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; . . . . (John 2:1)

The "third day" is the thousand-year Kingdom Age, as we understand it. During the thousand-year Kingdom Age the Lamb will be united with His Wife. All the perfections that have been wrought in the saints during their discipleship will be glorified and made their eternal adornment.

The Divine Gold of Christ’s Substance and the stones of character formed under pressure and heat will be refined, hammered, polished, and set into place until the dwelling place of God, the new Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb, has attained a beauty so dazzling that the light of the sun and moon no longer will be needed. This is the perfection of the Bride.

The most outstanding feature of the new Jerusalem is the indestructible, immovable, impregnable wall. The wall indicates that the members of the Body of Christ have had created in them the power and determination to resist evil spirits, unlike the defenseless Adam and Eve.

The transparent gold of the city is the Divine nature created in each saint and then purified by suffering until Christ in him has become clear as glass—no rebellion or sin remaining. The precious stones set in the twelve foundations of the wall are virtues of character, such as faith, patience, humility, and obedience. These forever will adorn the personality of those who have believed in Christ and have remained faithful throughout every trial.

Christ has been made perfect, and the Lord God Almighty will present to Christ a perfected Wife. Our task is to walk each day in obedience, accepting the joys and sorrows of the Christian discipleship, allowing each experience to bring forth in us the qualities desired by the Holy Spirit.

If we remain faithful to the end, not turning away from the pathway placed before us by the Lord Jesus, keeping ourselves in the love of God in Christ, we will reap a harvest of perfection one day. This perfection will not be something we have accomplished but a state brought about in us by the wisdom, purpose, and power of God Himself.

The present Christian concept that "ten thousand years from now we still will be praising God for His grace," meaning that ten thousand years from now we still will be exclaiming over the fact that God loves us while we remain in the filthiness and darkness of our lusts and self-seeking, is totally false.

As we understand the program, the warlike remnant of the Church will press forward toward perfection in the present hour, but it will be during the "third day," the thousand-year Kingdom Age, that the entire Church of Christ will be brought to the Divine perfection.

Meanwhile it is possible to be perfect right now. If we have done all we know to do, then, through the blood of Christ, we are at this moment perfect in God’s sight. Tomorrow is another challenge.

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