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Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. (I Peter 4:1,2)
The third area of conquest is that of the people of the Lord battling their way into Canaan, into their inheritance, into the land of milk and honey. The land of promise, the fulfillment in the Kingdom of God of the Hebrew land of milk and honey, is the realization of God’s promises of life, love, joy, power, glory, peace, and victory in Christ.
The Christian's land of promise includes the following:
. His perfect rest in the plan of God for his life.
. The Lord’s approval and blessing on him when the present life is over.
. Untroubled abiding in the Person of Christ.
. The total destruction of the guilt, tendencies, and effects of sin in and around him.
. Perfect conformity to the image of Christ.
. The indwelling of the Godhead in him.
. The fullness of fruitfulness and rulership over all the works of God’s hands.
All of these positions, transformations, and rewards are in Christ, of Christ, and through Christ. Christ Himself is our "Mark," our Rest, our Inheritance. Our goal is to come to know Him. When we possess Christ we possess all aspects of the Divine inheritance.
One of the most important areas of the promised land of the Christian is the earth itself.
The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: but the earth hath he given to the children of men. (Psalms 115:16)
Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth. (Matthew 5:5)
It is the will of God, as the Scriptures point out in several places (Daniel 7:18; Isaiah 60:12; Revelation 20:6; for example) that Christ and the saints rule in the earth. The earth itself and the nations of it are a substantial part of the fulfillment in the Kingdom of God of the Old Testament land of promise.
There are two main dimensions of the Christian’s land of promise. The first part is our complete reconciliation to God through Christ such that we actually live in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God. The second part has to do with the rewards to the overcomer—the glorified body, our participation in the first resurrection, the crown of life, rulership with Christ over the nations, being created a pillar in God’s eternal Temple, and our eternal position on the throne of Christ.
Our reward is great in the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God is not a place, it is a realm of authority. In the Kingdom of God we have Divine acceptance, fellowship with the Son of God, spiritual authority, access to the Father, power to overcome evil and harm, resurrection life, love, peace, and glory.
All of these blessings are in the power of the Father alone to give. They are our rewards, our treasures in Heaven. These gifts are part of our land of promise. Our Kingdom rewards are in Heaven in the present hour because this is where the Lord Jesus is.
Included in our inheritance is absolute dominion over the earth—the rule of the rod of iron.
Our citizenship is in Heaven but our place of conquest is in the earth.
The Lord God gave dominion over the earth and over all the works of His hands to mankind. In order for Christ to receive dominion over the earth He had to become part of mankind, even though in the beginning He had created both the earth and mankind.
In order for Christ to become part of mankind He had to be born of a woman; for there is no other manner in which one can become part of mankind—one of the heirs of salvation—other than by being born of a woman. Such is the established plan of the God of Heaven.
Rulership over the material universe belongs to mankind alone. But we perish in our bodies, losing our ability to remain on the earth, because of the death that works in us as the result of sin. Christ has appeared, being born of a woman, that He might be Son of Man as well as Son of God; for it pleased the Father that in all things Christ have preeminence.
Through His death on the cross Christ destroyed him who had the power of death, that is, the devil. Having been raised from the dead, Jesus is the Firstborn of the new creation. The new creation is the uniting of the Divine with the human in such a manner that the visible expression of the invisible God can abide on the earth and govern the handiwork of God Almighty.
The relationship of Heaven to earth is similar to that of a colonizing power to its colony. The earth is a colony of the mother country, Heaven. The Almighty Emperor is God the Father. He has given full authority and power to His Son, Christ. God expects that His Son be obeyed in all matters great and small.
The earth and its inhabitants have been given to the Son by the Father as a land of promise:
Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. (Psalms 2:8,9)
The most important aspect of the Kingdom of God is thewill of God. The doing of God’s will in the earth is the goal of the Christian Church: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10).
The goal of the efforts of the Christian Church is to bring the rule of Heaven into the earth. The coming of the Kingdom of Heaven to the earth is synonymous with the doing of God’s will in the earth. "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done . . . ." The performing of God’s will in the earth requires overcoming and casting out Satan by the authority and power of Christ.
It is important to understand we are fighting our waydownward toward the doing of God’s will in the earth. We beginabove, not beneath, the powers of darkness. We commence the conflict from a position of eternal salvation, already possessing eternal life in the Presence of God Almighty.
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ: (Ephesians 2:6)
Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: (Ephesians 1:21)
In Christ we already have been raised to the highest throne in the universe. We can go no higher. We shall never go higher. We now are fighting our way downward toward possession of the earth. The rule of Satan will be broken first in the heavenlies (Revelation 12:8). Then the rule of wickedness will be destroyed out of the earth (Revelation 20:3).
We already are in possession of resurrection life in the Presence of God. Now we are moving toward resurrection life in the earth. This will require the destroying of sin out of the earth because eternal life and sin cannot dwell together.
The Christian’s task is to close the gap between his experience and his position in Christ. The gap is the distance between our body on the earth and our reborn inward nature, which is at the right hand of God in Christ. To possess the Kingdom of God we must bring our throne life down into the earth to the point that we can live righteously in the earth: "Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven."
The saints, under the Spirit of Christ, are moving toward dominion over the earth.
For evildoers shall be cut off: but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. (Psalms 37:9)
The earth and its peoples belong to Christ. "The earth is the Lord’s, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein" (Psalms 24:1).
Heaven is an actual area and we hope to go there when death brings down our mortal body to defeat. But it is the earth and earth’s peoples that are the destiny of Christ and His saints.
The heart of Christ is in the earth. The earth is the possession of Christ. The nations are His inheritance. We may not be overly concerned about the nations but Jesus bears the nations on His heart as a mighty longing.
The Father has given Jesus the nations of the earth as His inheritance. Jesus desires this gift. When Christ is created in our heart our desires are directed toward the earth, toward delivering and teaching the peoples of the earth; especially the Jews for they are particularly close to the heart of Christ.
We are coheirs with Christ of the nations and the farthest reaches of the earth.
The rest of God is not Heaven. The land of promise is not Heaven. The land of promise is the earth and the nations of the earth. The rest of God is the place of abiding in the bosom of the Father until all our enemies have been made our footstool by means of the sovereign working of Christ in us.
Reader, grasp God’s rest for yourself. Do not come short of it. "Sell all" and give yourself wholly to the things of Christ. Such is the exhortation of the Book of Hebrews. Some of the believers will press through to God’s goal for them. Why shouldn’t you be included in the group of victorious saints?
If you should die before the consummation of the promises, make certain you die in faith. Do not stagger in unbelief at God’s majestic promises. Be strong in faith, giving glory to God, being fully persuaded that what He has promised He is able to fulfill to the uttermost—for you!
Behold these promises afar off, as did Abraham. Confess you are a pilgrim and stranger in the earth. Lift up your cross and take a step toward the vision of the fullness of Christ. Do not look back—even one time. Push on against every temptation, every distraction. Endure hardness as God leads, with the eyes of your faith fixed on Christ.
As you draw closer to Him, His Glory will transform you until you are in the image of Christ and in restful union with the Godhead. The saints in light are cheering you on for without you they cannot "be made perfect" (Hebrews 11:40).
You are a warrior, a fighter in God. The hordes of Hell will come against you but God is leading you against His enemies. You are bringing the Presence of God Almighty into the land of promise. Your unwavering faith, given to you and maintained by God’s impartation of grace to you, is providing the means by which God can judge and cast out the enemy.
The true disciples of Jesus, striving for God’s perfect will, have their eyes fixed steadfastly on the full, perfect attainment of that for which they have been grasped by Christ. Christ has laid hold on us with the end in view of our full grasp of the inheritance that God the Father has promised to the heirs of salvation. Christ is desirous that all of His beloved younger brothers return His grasp by cooperating with the Holy Spirit until they possess Himself, His image, His Life, His dominion.
At His glorious appearing each of us will rise to meet Him in the air but each will receive a different reward. The special place in the land of promise we stake out for our own, as Christ directs and gives us the desire, is possible of complete attainment by us. There is a unique reward for each disciple whom Jesus chooses.
How much of a claim we are able to stake out, to grasp, to hold, depends on the faith and diligence with which we seek Christ. It is foolishness to believe that a careless believer with one eye on Christ and the other eye on the things of the flesh will inherit the fullness of the promises of God in Christ. The Scriptures state the rewards will be given to the overcomers.
What is your attitude toward God’s land of promise, God’s rest? Is your heart like that of Joshua and Caleb? (Numbers 14:7-9). Do you believe that the Lord God of Heaven is able to give you complete victory over the enemies in your "land"? Or are you of the same spirit as the remainder of the Israelites who provoked God with their unbelief and complaining? (Numbers 14:11,12). Do you have a willingness to fight, as did Jacob, who took his inheritance out of the hands of the Amorites with his sword and bow? (Genesis 48:22).
Ask God for a vision of Christ. Make the possessing of the fullness of Christ the first and greatest desire of your heart. Reach out for the boundless glory of resurrection life. Believe that your personality can and will be created in the image of Christ. Continually desire and groan for the redeeming of your mortal body from sin and the putting on of your house from Heaven, your body of eternal glory and power.
Determine to rule all things through Christ. Let your thoughts be full of sharing in the majesty and authority of Christ. Submit yourself to God always so that you can inherit with Christ the highest throne of the universe. It does not matter what you suffer to get there, it matters only that God desires that you inherit all things (Revelation 21:7).
Be serious in your quest for God. Set out immediately and straightforwardly to find the Lord. Do so with all the integrity and diligence of which you are capable. God is a rewarder of every soul who sincerely seeks Him. He will not disappoint you. You will inherit your possessions in the land of promise!
"Give me this mountain!" Caleb cried.
And Joshua blessed him, and gave to Caleb the son of Jephunneh Hebron for an inheritance. (Joshua 14:13)
Jesus, your "Joshua," will not disappoint you. You will inherit your "Hebron" in the land of promise!
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