The Necessity for Cultivating the Heavenly Life

Recently I have been dwelling on the duality of the Christian personality. We have an earthly adamic life on the earth, and then we have a new born-again life in Heaven at the right hand of God.

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-NIV) And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, (Ephesians 2:6-NIV)

I have written two brief essays on the fact of our heavenly life, titled The Necessary Orientation, and Pursuing the Heavenly.

It is God's will that we cultivate our heavenly life each day. To do this we count that our earthly nature has been crucified with Christ. We cooperate with the Spirit of God as He requires that we put to death our love of the world, the lust and appetites of our flesh and soul, and our self-will. The reason Christians have a problem with such total sanctification is they do not understand that their adamic nature, their entire adamic personality, is to be placed on the cross and kept there as a living sacrifice to God.

Neither do many Christians understand clearly that they have a new life in the heavens with the Lord Jesus Christ. They are seated with Christ at the right hand of God on a throne above every other authority and power in the universe.

Our life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life shall appear we shall appear with him from our position at the right hand of Power.

But for this to take place it must be true that Christ is our life. We have many chances each day to make Christ our life. Whenever we are faced with a decision to either give way to our adamic nature, or else to wait on the Lord until we obtain His grace, we can choose to make Christ our life. We can choose also to yield to our earthly nature and thus miss the opportunity to nourish our life that is in Heaven.

It is as simple as this. The Christian fight of faith is the struggle each day to strengthen our life in Heaven at God's right hand, or else to satisfy the impulses of our flesh and carnal mind.

When we read the Prophets we understand God intends to bring justice to our weary planet. The point is, God is going to bring that justice through Christ and His saints. It is useless for the Lord to return until His saints are mature enough to work with Him in establishing His righteous Kingdom on the earth. We can, according to Scripture, hasten the Day of the Lord by living in a godly manner.

Can you see now why it is imperative we have a clear understanding of what will take place when the Lord returns, what our role will be and why we have to press forward to maturity?

Do you see why the teaching of a "pre-tribulation rapture" in which immature believers fly away by grace to a mansion in Heaven, there to do nothing but enjoy themselves for eternity, is so misleading and destructive?

Can you see the grief we bring to the Lord Jesus Christ by our flight-to-Heaven doctrine? He is waiting at the right hand of God for His enemies in us to be brought under His feet so He can claim His bride, return to Jerusalem to be united with His physical brothers, and then inherit the nations of the earth. When we spend our time jumping up and down next to our pew in the hope we will be removed to Heaven where we can enjoy ourselves, can you understand how the Lord is grieved at this total departure from what is written in God's Word?

It is time now for all sincere Christians to get on with the job of putting to death through the Spirit the sins of our flesh, and strengthening our new life in Heaven so we can return with the Lord and bring justice to the nations. We must set our hearts on things above, praying, studying the Word, gathering with fervent saints, finding out what our gifts and ministries are so we may build up ourselves and the other members of Christ's body, giving of our means, not being conformed to this world but being transformed by the renewing of our mind that we may prove God's will.