To teach the nations of the earth.
Back to The Seed and the Nations of the Saved
And many people shall go and say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. (Isaiah 2:3)
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way. (Psalms 25:9)
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen. (Matthew 28:19,20)
To be the servants of the Lord.
But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. (Isaiah 41:8)
And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, (II Timothy 2:24)
And there shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants shall serve him: (Revelation 22:3)
Let us look once more at these roles and tasks. They are the roles and tasks of the Lord Jesus Christ and therefore of the members of His Body, of the elect, of the Seed of Abraham. As the Father has sent Christ into the world, so has Christ sent His chosen into the world. As Christ is, so are we in the world. Each member of the elect is a coheir with Christ of the Kingdom of God, and is called:
To bear witness of God’s Person, will, and ways to the nations of the earth.
To be the eternal House of God, the Temple of God, the place of God’s rest.
To be a member of Wife of the Lamb.
To be a son of God.
To be a brother of Christ.
To be God’s heir.
To be God’s ruler under Christ.
To be God’s priest.
To be a member of the Body, the fullness, of Christ.
To be God’s judge.
To execute the Divine vengeance on sinners and their sin.
To be God’s deliverer.
To bring justice to the nations of the earth.
To teach the nations of the earth.
To be the servant of the Lord.
As we consider these roles and tasks we can see it is necessary we be changed into the image of Christ and be in perfect union with Him; otherwise it would not be possible for us to fulfill the roles or perform the tasks.
We can see also that some of these roles are for God’s benefit while others extend to the nations of the earth. The mature saint is delivered from self-centeredness. He learns that the greatest joy any individual can experience is to give himself totally and completely to Christ, and then to other people as the Lord directs.
One of the poisons in current Christian teaching is the concept that Christ and God are our servants; that the purpose of salvation is to make us happy, to supply our needs, and to enable us to find self-fulfillment and realize all our potential as an individual.
The Scriptures teach that we are being created the servants of the Lord, the means through which God and Christ will accomplish Their goals. Today the opposite point of view is being stressed. The present-day emphasis on what we can get Christ to do, what we can get from God, proceeds from Satan, from Antichrist. This part of modern Christian teaching is in error, not only in doctrinal particulars but also in its spirit and outlook. It is man-centered.
The greatest harm any member of the Seed of Abraham can do to himself is to save his own life, not being willing to surrender his individual preferences to God’s interests and purposes. It may be noted that the main promises of God concerning Abraham’s Seed are associated with the "slaying" of Isaac (Genesis 22:15-18).
The Christian believer who saves his own life cannot possibly fulfill the roles or perform the tasks of the Kingdom. His religious life will be restricted to the activities of the lukewarm churches.
There are roles we have been called to fulfill and tasks we have been called to perform. None of them is possible if we attempt to preserve our own way before God.
These roles and tasks are eternal, beginning now as the Lord leads and enables us. We are being created God’s eternal servants (Revelation 22:3).
If the destiny of the members of the Body of Christ, the Seed of Abraham, were that we go to the heavenly Paradise, play harps, enjoy our "mansions," having neither definite roles to fulfill nor definite tasks to perform, it would not be necessary for God to deal with us endlessly concerning the sin and self-seeking in our personality.
If our destiny were to go to Heaven, there to bask forever in the beauty and wonder of Paradise, it would not be necessary for us to be changed into the image of Christ; it would not be necessary for us to enter total union with God through Christ; it would not be necessary for us to be perfected in faith, in hope, in trust, in patience, in the knowledge of the Lord, in absolute obedience to the Father. All these personality developments would be desirable but not absolutely necessary for residence in Paradise.
The reason many of the Lord’s people do not grow into spiritual maturity is they do not know of the roles and tasks that are the inheritance of the Seed of Abraham. They have been taught that the goal of their calling is the attainment of eternal residence in Paradise.
The needs of God and the nations of the earth cannot be met by people who merely are saved and baptized with the Holy Spirit. The needs of God and of mankind can be met only by people who have been delivered from sin and from self-will and who are in union with God through Christ. It is only as we are crucified and Christ lives in us that we can fulfill our role as the Servant of the Lord.
God promised Abraham, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." We who are members of the Body of Christ have the responsibility of cooperating with the Holy Spirit until we are able to fulfill all the roles and tasks God has ordained for the Seed of Abraham.
The Kingdom of God is not waiting for the nations of the earth to stop sinning and serve the Lord. Rather, the nations of the earth are waiting for the elect to lay down their lives so God can make them the instruments He has determined to use to deliver and bless the nations.
The peoples of the earth have been in a spiritual prison from the time of Adam and Eve. Only Christ working through the members of His Body is able to open the massive doors of that prison so the inmates can walk out into the glorious light of God’s Presence and blessing.