God Is Reproducing Himself
God Is Reproducing Himself
For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings. For both He who sanctifies and those who are sanctified are all from one Father; for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren. (Hebrews 2:10,11)
God is bringing many sons to glory. I suppose that "bringing many sons to glory" would cause some to view this as meaning God is intent on bringing many sons to Heaven.
Hardly this!
I do not know how the "Heaven" thing got started. Today, as the Spirit of God is opening the Scriptures to us, we can understand that if God wanted man to live in Heaven (people cannot sin in Heaven, according to the popular understanding), God would have created man in Heaven—which He could have done easily.
But God's purposes would not have been served by creating mankind in Heaven. God is creating people who can work with the Lord Jesus in removing evil from the creation and establishing and maintaining eternal righteousness throughout God's creation.
"Bringing many sons to glory" means God is reproducing Himself by forming brothers of the Lord Jesus, brothers who will serve in the many roles and tasks in the Kingdom of God. These brothers will reveal the Nature of God in their personalities. They will be the image and glory of God. Whoever sees them will be seeing the Word of God, Christ, and thus the Personality of God.
This is what is going on now. The immediate goal is to bring God's sons into the "rest of God." The rest of God is the state of being in which we always know God's will for us, and have the desire, wisdom, and strength to perform God's will accurately, completely, promptly, and cheerfully.
It may seem, during the present hour of bondage to the sins of the flesh, and self-will, that God cannot bring us into His rest. But He can, and He is in the present hour bringing many sons and daughters into such glory.
But why? Why is God intent on reproducing Himself in this manner. Why is God creating a Kingdom where righteousness and holiness prevail?
It has to do with the rebellion of Satan and the angels. God originally through the Lord Jesus Christ brought forth the angels. It was a non-physical civilization and culture.
Satan tried to usurp God's position, as God knew He would.
God envisions a vastly superior civilization and culture than that which existed originally, a kingdom in which iron righteousness, fiery holiness, and stern obedience to God exist throughout..
In order for such a civilization and culture to exist, sons and daughters in the image of God are necessary. Thus the Word of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, became the first of the Sons who will bring into being and operate the kind of world God desires. Christ will be king and Lord of all.
It is just as simple and straightforward as that.
As I said, the immediate step is to bring those who will cooperate with the Spirit of God into the rest of God. This requires the driving out of our sins and self-will. The cleansing of ourselves will be accomplished as Christ comes to maturity in us.
As Christ is formed in us, our sins are revealed. Then our part is to confess these sins as not being in the image of God, and, with the assistance of the Lord, drive them out of our personality. It is not very difficult, because the spirits of sin that make their home in us are cowardly. They will flee when we are certain we want to be rid of them.
Our self-will shall be burned out of us by the tribulations that are at hand in the world.
Before the Lord Jesus can return, the remnant of Christians who choose to do so must follow the Spirit of God into full sanctification of mind, speech, and behavior. Then our Lord will return and clothe us with an incorruptible body. We will be life-giving spirits, free from sin and self-will.
Isn't that a wonderful prospect.
Now the remnant will be with Jesus forever, and the work of cleansing the earth from Satan, Antichrist, and the False Prophet shall commence.
An initial form of the Kingdom will be installed on the present earth. Then, after the final judgment, the perfected Royal Priesthood will descend from Heaven, and the Kingdom of God will begin to be developed on the new earth. The process of development of the Kingdom of God will continue for eternity.
There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this. (Isaiah 9:7)
There are numerous offices, roles, and tasks needed for the Kingdom of God to accomplish the kind of world God has in mind. Following are a few of the responsibilities that will be required. I have mentioned them in previous writings.
My wife, Audrey, suggested that God may be lonely. He may want company. I think writers of the past have suggested this need. I cannot think of a passage of Scripture that would support this assertion, but it seems reasonable to me.
The roles and tasks of the Kingdom of God:
To be a son of God.
He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. (Revelation 21:7)
It may be true that not many believers in our day lead a victorious Christ life. It is not surprising, in view of the emphasis on a "grace" that supposedly causes God to overlook their behavior.
Perhaps there only is a remnant of the believers in Christ who take seriously the exhortation to overcoming sin and self-will. Yet, the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation insist that the rewards we associate normally with being a Christian are to be given only to those who lead a life of victory over sin and self-will.
And in the passage above, it is those who do gain victory over sin and self-will who shall inherit all the things that God will make new.
Also, and of tremendous significance: only those who live a victorious life in Christ will be regarded as God's son. Only those will have the honor of God being their Father.
Now, right here is a point that we must consider. Is it true that only the victorious Christians are eligible for the positions of life and responsibility mentioned in the second and third chapters of the Book of Revelation?
Is it true that only they shall inherit all that God is going to make new? Is it true that only they shall be regarded as God's sons and can regard the Father as their God?
What about the great majority of those who view themselves as Christians but who have never entered the rest of God; who have never lived in the awareness of the will of God for them or in strict obedience to Christ?
We are speaking now of most of the Christian people.
What is at issue here is whether Revelation 21:7 is as true as John 3:16.
I have been a disciple of the Lord Jesus for more than seventy years. This means I have denied myself, taken up my cross, and followed the Lord for that period of time.
I have learned a few things during my discipleship. One of them is that every word of the Bible is eternally true. Another is that God is stricter than He often is presented in the Christian churches in America. Another is that the Divine calling on us Christians is a lot higher than going to Heaven to rest in a mansion for eternity.
So I am going to maintain that only a relatively few of the people who regard themselves as Christians are going to receive the fullness of the inheritance of the Kingdom of God.
Next Part What about the remainder?