Mysteries To Be Revealed in the Last Days
Mysteries To Be Revealed in the Last Days
I am not going to be dogmatic in this brief essay, because there is a relationship between our position in Christ at the right hand of God and our conscious presence on the earth, between our spirit and our soul, that I do not understand. But I will set forth some thoughts that might be worth considering now that may be revised at a later time.
It appears clear to me that when we truly have received Christ, our born-again spiritual nature is at the right hand of God in Christ.
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
There is nothing vague about the statements above.
We have been raised with Christ—past tense.
We have died, and our life now is hidden with Christ in God.
When Christ appears, we (our life) will appear in glory.
Is this actually true? Is our spirit hidden with Christ in God right now? Are we at the right hand of God right now?
How high is that?
And his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way. (Ephesians 1:19-23)
Have we been raised that high?
And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. (Ephesians 2:8,9)
The passage above sounds to me like we always will be spiritually at the right hand of God, as is true of the Lord Jesus. We will have the power of multiple presence, like the Lord Jesus, so wherever we go, our spirit remains at God's right hand in Christ.
Compare:
The one who is victorious I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will they leave it. I will write on them 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 them my new name. (Revelation 3:12)
In the present hour, we have a conscious presence on the earth. Yet our born-again spiritual nature is in Heaven at the right hand of God.
When we die, our conscious presence will be in the spirit world. Will we be joined to our spiritual nature at the right hand of God in Christ, or will we still be a separate entity?
The Apostle Paul wrote that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Since we, if we truly are a disciple of the Lord Jesus and not just a casual church member, we are a member of the Body of Christ. Therefore my assumption is that when we die, our conscious presence will be in the heavenly Jerusalem along with Christ, since we are part of His body.
Then there comes the matter of our soul. Our soul is our "heart," we might say. It is where our decisions, our judgments, are made.
At the present time, our soul is in our body on the earth. When we die, where will our soul go? Probably it will go to the heavenly Jerusalem and be a conscious presence there, our spirit remaining hidden in Christ in the Throne Room of the heavenly Jerusalem.
On the other hand, the New Testament tells us that we were a soul and now we are a life-giving spirit.
So also it is written, "The first man, Adam, became a living soul." The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. (I Corinthians 15:45—NASB)
So it may be true that the soul belongs to the flesh-and-blood creation, and the new creation in Christ is all spirit. This would mean that when we die and leave our flesh and blood in the place of interment, we never again will be a soul.
Perhaps our soul is "saved" by becoming a spirit!
In this case, our "life" will be viewed as part of the Lord Jesus Christ, and our decisions and judgments, will proceed from Him, and in turn will come from the Father. Our new life-giving spirit will assume the role formerly played by our soul.
This agrees with the passage above that states, "When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory."
You know, the thought just came to me. As long as we are in a flesh-and-blood body we are spiritually dead. But the Spirit of Christ who is in us is spiritually alive because of His righteousness.
If we make progress in becoming the "new creation," Christ will see fit to clothe us in an incorruptible body. Then we will be alive as He is alive.
For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own order: Christ the first fruits, after that those who are Christ's at His coming. (I Corinthians 15:22,23)
When Jesus returns, then those who are qualified and competent will be made alive by replacing their flesh and blood with a body of incorruptible life.
The Bible states that when that which is complete, or perfect, has come, that which is in part will be done away. Paul was referring to spiritual abilities. He was indicating that spiritual gifts are really for children; but when we grow up we are motivated by love.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. (I Corinthians 13:8-10)
There is another passage that stresses a fullness of love.
May have power, together with all the Lord's holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:18,19)
Notice it says, "when completeness comes." That reminds us of the witnesses of the Book of Hebrews who are to be made perfect together with us. There is a Day Star, a presence of Christ, that is to come to those of the last days who are awaiting His appearance.
So Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28)
The thought is that the salvation we have today is a promise of a Day of Redemption that is to come in the future.
If I am not mistaken, there are verses in the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John that point to a coming of Christ and the Father toward the end of the Church Era.
I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. (John 14:18)
Just prior to the above statement, Jesus had promised that the Spirit of Truth would be in us forever. There may be some who would view the following verses as also referring to the coming of the Spirit of Truth to us, but this does not seem right to me.
I believe it is the Spirit of Truth, the Holy Spirit, who makes the following promises possible. Perhaps the Spirit is as Eliezer, the servant of Abraham, bringing Rebekah to Isaac.
Jesus said He would come to us. The context suggests that this is not the second coming of Christ at which time every eye shall see Him. Rather, it is a spiritual coming to His disciples to prepare them for the actual second coming.
Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. (John 14:19)
It is my point of view that not one in a hundred of today's Christian church-goers is living by the Life of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why not? Because they have been taught that eternal residence in Heaven in a mansion is our goal; they are candidates for entrance into Heaven by lawless grace; and any moment now the entire immature company will be caught up to Heaven in order to escape Antichrist and the Great Tribulation.
With this kind of preaching, I do not believe you will find too many people who are willing to forsake their own thinking, speaking, and behaving in order that they might think, speak, and behave by the Life of the Lord Jesus.
Next Part Am I correct in saying this?