What is the material creation eagerly, ardently awaiting?...

The revealing of the sons of God.

Romans 8:19 is one of the most significant passages in the Scriptures. The eternal purpose of God is shown here. The picture is that of the material realm, afflicted frustrated, impotent, bound with slavery to sin, decay, and death. The earth is a huge prison filled with nations of peoples. The earth is not Hell, but the spirit of Hell is active among earth’s prisoners.

The dark rock walls loom high on every side. There is no escape, no release from this most impregnable of prisons. Then Christ died and rose again. At His resurrection the hand of God Almighty reached down and opened the massive door of the prison—but just a crack!

The crack was large enough, however, to let the glorious light of Heaven stream into the darkness. The prisoners grouped about the light. When will the door be opened so earth’s prisoners can be restored to the Presence of God and the lost Paradise?

The Divine Life was withdrawn from all the material creation the moment Adam and Eve disobeyed the Lord God. The Divine decree has been proclaimed from Heaven: "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed: because thou hast obeyed my voice."

All the nations of the earth!

When will the nations of the earth be blessed?

When the Seed—Christ—becomes as "the stars of the heaven, and as the sand that is on the sea shore." Dominion results from fruitfulness.

Why did the Lord Jesus Christ not open the prison door two thousand years ago? He is the King of the Kingdom. He possesses all authority and power in Heaven and on the earth.

Christ did not release the creation two thousand years ago because it is the purpose of the Father to bring many sons to glory, many brothers of Christ into their inheritance.

How will the Lord God do this?

He will accomplish His plan by creating Christ in each of the sons, so when Christ is revealed from Heaven they will be revealed as part of His resurrection glory.

Christ, and those who have become one with Him, in total, complete union with Him, will be revealed to the world. The universal power and authority of that revelation will destroy sin and sinners from the earth. At the same time, the peoples of the earth who have hoped in God’s mercy will be released to righteousness, peace, and joy.

This is the revealing to the creation of the sons of God. It is the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth. The violence of the setting up of the Kingdom of God on the earth is described in Joel 2:1-11, Isaiah 13:3-11, Micah 5:7-9, Habakkuk 3:11-16, Malachi 4:3, Jude 14,15, Revelation 19:11-21, and in other passages of the Scriptures.

In fact, the main topic of the Scriptures is the establishing of the Kingdom of God on the earth, and Christ as the King of the Kingdom.

The mystery of the Gospel of the coming Kingdom is that Christ is in us. This is to say, the Kingdom of God is both an external kingdom and an internal kingdom.

To the saint, the supreme joy of the Kingdom of God is that Christ—the King of the Kingdom—is being created in him and is dwelling in him. From this eternal vantage point—the heart of the saint—the King of Glory will rule the creation in love. Then, God the Father, whose Kingdom it is, will be All in all in Christ in the saints in Divine love.

The ministries and gifts given to the Christian Church are for the purpose of building the Body of Christ into maturity in the Head. As soon as the Body of Christ has been built up into the Head, the whole Christ—Head and Body—will be revealed to the nation of Israel and to the remainder of the peoples of the earth. This is Christ, the Servant of the Lord, who is to come (Isaiah, Chapter 42).

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