Introduction
1.Read Revelation 21:7; 20:4.
2.Who will inherit all things?
He or she who overcomes.
3.What is the first resurrection?
The seating of the saints on the thrones of the universe, giving to them authority to exercise the Divine judgement.
4.What is the subject of this booklet?
The victorious Christian saint, the overcomer, the conqueror.
5.What are the two concepts discussed?
The first idea is that of the believer who pursues the life of victorious faith in Christ and the rewards assigned to him on the basis of the victory he has won. The second idea is that of the first resurrection from the dead (toward which Paul was pressing) and the rulership associated with that resurrection.
6.Why are we discussing these two concepts together?
We believe they are related. It is our understanding that the fruit, the outcome, of the victorious life in Christ is the first resurrection from the dead.
7.What are the rewards assigned to the overcomer?
Aspects of the attainment to the first resurrection. They are the characteristics of life, authority, power, and union with God through Christ that God's kings and priests must possess if they are to perform their predestined roles in the Kingdom of God.
8.Read Philippians 3:11.
9.What is the "prize of the high calling of God in Christ?
The first resurrection from the dead.
10.What is the attitude toward the past, of the conqueror in Christ?
Forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before."'
11.What is it that overcomes the enemy?
Christ's virtue, wisdom, and strength.
12.How do we conquer every foe?
By abiding in Christ.
13.Read Philippians 3:13-14.
14.Is it reasonable to believe that Paul, toward the end of his life, was still attempting to attain basic salvation from God's wrath?
No.
15.According to the context of Philippians 3:14, what was Paul's "mark" toward which he was pressing?
The out-resurrection from among the dead, the exanastasin, to employ the Greek term.
16.Read Luke 17:27-29.
17.Of what kind of believer is Noah an example?
The conqueror who is raised from the dead, to speak symbolically,
and charged with the responsibility of restoring the earth.
18.Of what kind of believer is Lot an example?
The nonovercomer who is saved through the prayers of godly relatives.
19.Read I Corinthians 3:14-15.
20.Do we have clear scriptural support for the doctrine that some believers have an abundant entrance into the Kingdom of God, while others are snatched, as was Lot, from the fires of destruction?
Yes.
21.Read I Corinthians 5:5.
22.What were the elders of the Church of Corinth to do concerning the man who was living in sin?
Turn the sinning Christian over to Satan so his spirit may be saved in "the day of the Lord Jesus."
23.Read Jude 1:23.
24.Is there a difference in fruit-bearing among Christian people?
Yes.
25.Can every believer in Christ be a conqueror?
Yes.
26.How do we become a conqueror?
By abiding in Christ. We shall overcome our circumstances through means of His resurrection life working in us.
27.What was true of the condition of the churches of Asia Minor?
They were "spotted and wrinkled."
28.How are the churches always addressed?
As groups.
29.How are the victorious saints always addressed?
As individuals.
30.In order to become a conqueror, what must each believer do?
Press on past all persons, voices, and things other than the Person of Christ.
The saint must give his all to Christ.
There can be nothing between his or her soul and the Savior.
He must be free from all people and yet be the servant of all.
31.From what is the conqueror born?
From the ministry and travail of the Church.
32.Is it true that the Church is one group of people and the victorious saints are another group of people born from the Church?
No.
33.Who is being formed in the saints?
The Conqueror—Christ.
34.Where does each conqueror dwell?
In the secret place of the most High—at the right hand of the Father.
35.What action and attitude on our part are necessary if we are to be a victorious saint?
We must give ourselves wholly to Christ. He must become not only our personal Savior but our absolute Lord as well. Apart from obedience to Him we cannot be a victorious saint.
36.To whom has been given the glory and responsibility of ruling with Christ during the coming thousand-year Kingdom Age?
The conquerors.
37.Who will "take" the Kingdom of God?
The person who cares enough to grasp it by faith, diligence, and patience.
38.If the seven churches of Asia Minor represent seven periods of church history, what period are we in now?
It is our understanding that historically we now are in the church of Philadelphia and that Laodicea is at hand.
39.What may be another key to the interpretation of the seven churches of Asia Minor?
If the shoe fits, wear it."'
40.What three factors are we going to discuss?
The manner in which the Lord Jesus Christ manifests Himself to us in order to meet our present need; the sins, enemies, and problems the saint must overcome; the rewards assigned to the believer who conquers through Christ the various sins, enemies, and problems that trouble the churches.
41.What must we do if we are to receive the Divine rewards?
We must, using the Apostle Paul as our example, leave all else so we may press onward toward the mark, toward the prize of the high calling of God in Christ.