Difference between revisions of "Christ Walks: Third Day"

Latest revision as of 12:46, 21 June 2011

And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. (Luke 13:32)

For two thousand years the Church of Christ is to cast out devils and heal the sick. Whenever Jesus is working in the Church these two signs will take place. During the "third day" the Body of Christ will be perfected in Christ.

Jesus Himself was made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). Each member of the Body of Christ is being made perfect through the varied workings of the Holy Spirit. As the members of the Body are being made perfect they are being united with the Head, Christ, so that the whole Person is one work of God.

The New Testament writings contain many passages having to do with our perfecting. The doctrine of perfection (Hebrews 6:1) has given rise to argument, with some Christians maintaining that perfection is not possible in the world and others claiming that the doctrine of perfection is taught in the Gospels and in the Epistles of the Apostles.

It is easy to appreciate both sides of the argument. Those who claim perfection is impossible are emphasizing the weakness of human beings. Those who maintain we are to be perfect are emphasizing the statements of the Scripture and are not looking too closely at our shortcomings.

Each of us humans is not merely weak, we are in fact helpless and hopeless in our flesh. Then we come under the blood of Christ and our sinful nature is forgiven. But our words, deeds, motivations, and imaginations remain far from perfection.

It is not difficult to understand how sincere Christians cannot believe that perfection is possible in this life. But let us consider a few facts:

First, the Scripture commands us to be perfect (Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:40; John 17:23; I Corinthians 2:6; Colossians 1:28; Colossians 4:12; II Timothy 3:17; Hebrews 12:23; James 3:2; I Peter 5:10; and so forth).

Second, we are not to consider our own body "now dead" (Romans 4:19) but are to consider the Glory and promise of God.

Third, what God means by perfection and what we mean by perfection may be two different concepts. Many of God’s heroes of faith were perfect by God’s standards but imperfect by our standards.

Abraham was a perfect man by God’s standards but not by human standards. The father and mother of John the Baptist no doubt had many shortcomings, as we would judge them. The father was struck dumb because of disbelief in the angel’s glorious announcement. But it is written of them: "They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6).

What God calls blameless is blameless!

If it were left to our fleshly abilities, perfection would not be attainable. Our perfecting is the task of the Holy Spirit. Can we state it is impossible for the Holy Spirit to make us blameless? Is God unable to complete to His own standard of perfection what He has begun in us? Does God have the power and wisdom to perfect a human being in His image? We believe He does.

One of the principal reasons why Christians do not push ahead in the overcoming life is that they have no goal. People will not run a race that has no finish line. If one does not believe in a mark, in a perfection, in an attainment, in an omega, in a completion, in a maturing, in a coming of age, or understand that the attaining of the mark will affect his eternal destiny, he will not exert effort in this direction. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18).

If we spend our time thinking about our own imperfections and are ignorant concerning the promises of God we never will lay hold on the fullness of the redemption that is in Christ.

Imagine the frustration of God as He looks down on us. He is abundantly able to create us in His image. Yet our refusal to consider His abilities and promises keeps us earthbound. Somehow there has crept into Christian thinking a fatalism, a fatalism caused by the ignorance of the Church concerning the promises, the total power, and the total knowledge of the Almighty God.

We present God as a kindly but chagrined old gentleman who wishes we all would behave and is disappointed when we do not; as an indulgent parent who scolds his children from time to time and frequently is heard to exclaim, "Boys will be boys". This concept is false.

A truer picture of God is that of a master craftsman who has set out to construct a house for himself, a craftsman with knowledge, wisdom, and in command of all resources in Heaven and on the earth.

What kind of a dwelling would such a craftsman construct?

How inappropriate it is for the materials that he is using to fret about their own incompleteness and imperfection. The only question is that concerning the power and ability of the builder and his access to materials. We think you will agree there is no question about the power or ability of God Almighty or His access to materials.

If the above is true, the only remaining question is whether God has declared in His Word that the Church will be made perfect. If He has, we understand that our doubts and fears are groundless and that we will be made perfect in Christ if we follow His program.

Being made perfect in Christ does not mean our imperfections will be covered up because they are hidden from view by the Glory of Christ’s own perfection. Imputed (ascribed) perfection has to do only with our guiltlessness when we receive Christ as our atonement. Imputed perfection is not the radiance of our wedding garment.

When we start out as Christians our imperfections are covered by the blood of Christ. Being made "perfect" in Christ means that each Christian will be created in the full image of God in his spirit, soul, and body. Then the perfected saints will be combined into the perfect Body of Christ. After that, the Body of Christ will be made one in the Father and the Son. This is what it means to be in Christ.

If there were one imperfect member in the Body of Christ the Body would be imperfect. One Israelite, Achan, caused God to declare, "Israel hath sinned." The army was defeated because of the covetousness and disobedience of one person (Joshua, Chapter Seven).

Solomon’s Temple is a type of the eternal dwelling place of God. The stones of the Temple were not shaped at the construction site in order to fit. They were fashioned at another place so when the Temple was erected there was no sound of cutting or hammering into place.

And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. (I Kings 6:7)

Each of us Christians is being "made ready" in the wilderness of the world. As soon as we have reached the standard in the mind of the Master Builder we will be brought together in one flawless joining by the Glory of God.

Each living stone, having been formed in advance, will fit perfectly into place in the house of God, the Body of Christ. No forcing or compromise will be necessary in that day because of the unparalleled wisdom and skill of the Builder.

There will be both individual and corporate perfection in the Body of Christ. Each member will be perfect and the whole Body will be perfect as a unit. All the ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit are working to accomplish the unity and maturity of the Body of Christ.

By perfection we mean three things: (1) the removal of the guilt, tendencies, and effects of sin; (2) the fullness of unblemished conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit, soul, and body; and (3) the completeness of union with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.

And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; . . . . (John 2:1)

The "third day" is the thousand-year Kingdom Age, as we understand it. During the thousand-year Kingdom Age the Lamb will be united with His Wife. All the perfections that have been wrought in the saints during their discipleship will be glorified and made their eternal adornment.

The Divine Gold of Christ’s Substance and the stones of character formed under pressure and heat will be refined, hammered, polished, and set into place until the dwelling place of God, the new Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb, has attained a beauty so dazzling that the light of the sun and moon no longer will be needed. This is the perfection of the Bride.

The most outstanding feature of the new Jerusalem is the indestructible, immovable, impregnable wall. The wall indicates that the members of the Body of Christ have had created in them the power and determination to resist evil spirits, unlike the defenseless Adam and Eve.

The transparent gold of the city is the Divine nature created in each saint and then purified by suffering until Christ in him has become clear as glass—no rebellion or sin remaining. The precious stones set in the twelve foundations of the wall are virtues of character, such as faith, patience, humility, and obedience. These forever will adorn the personality of those who have believed in Christ and have remained faithful throughout every trial.

Christ has been made perfect, and the Lord God Almighty will present to Christ a perfected Wife. Our task is to walk each day in obedience, accepting the joys and sorrows of the Christian discipleship, allowing each experience to bring forth in us the qualities desired by the Holy Spirit.

If we remain faithful to the end, not turning away from the pathway placed before us by the Lord Jesus, keeping ourselves in the love of God in Christ, we will reap a harvest of perfection one day. This perfection will not be something we have accomplished but a state brought about in us by the wisdom, purpose, and power of God Himself.

The present Christian concept that "ten thousand years from now we still will be praising God for His grace," meaning that ten thousand years from now we still will be exclaiming over the fact that God loves us while we remain in the filthiness and darkness of our lusts and self-seeking, is totally false.

As we understand the program, the warlike remnant of the Church will press forward toward perfection in the present hour, but it will be during the "third day," the thousand-year Kingdom Age, that the entire Church of Christ will be brought to the Divine perfection.

Meanwhile it is possible to be perfect right now. If we have done all we know to do, then, through the blood of Christ, we are at this moment perfect in God’s sight. Tomorrow is another challenge.

Back to Three Deaths and Three Resurrections: Vol 3

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-But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (Matthew 13:23)
+And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. (Luke 13:32)
-Every person who receives the Lord Jesus Christ has the opportunity to reap a hundredfold. In Christ is everything that God is, has, and can do. He who possesses Christ possesses everything. Yet some bring forth a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty.
+For two thousand years the Church of Christ is to cast out devils and heal the sick. Whenever Jesus is working in the Church these two signs will take place. During the "third day" the Body of Christ will be perfected in Christ.
-As we look around in the churches of today we can see many levels of spirituality. Some Christians are vigorous disciples. Their whole life is Christ. Although they are active and fruitful in the work of their own church, they have something in common. They are the brothers and sisters of all the saints regardless of denomination. Jesus is their Lord, their Master, their Friend, their Savior, their Provider, their Teacher, their All in all.
+Jesus Himself was made perfect through sufferings (Hebrews 2:10). Each member of the Body of Christ is being made perfect through the varied workings of the Holy Spirit. As the members of the Body are being made perfect they are being united with the Head, Christ, so that the whole Person is one work of God.
-They never stop in their pilgrimage. Christ always remains the center of their interest. There is a savor of the blood of the cross and of the nail prints about them. They are growing each day, increasing in holiness and knowledge all the time. One gains the impression that their lives are on a straight line proceeding upward. They are not declining spiritually in old age after the manner of nature.
+The New Testament writings contain many passages having to do with our perfecting. The doctrine of perfection (Hebrews 6:1) has given rise to argument, with some Christians maintaining that perfection is not possible in the world and others claiming that the doctrine of perfection is taught in the Gospels and in the Epistles of the Apostles.
-They are open to the voice of the Spirit of God and are not "stuck" on some doctrinal position. They are solid in faith and understanding, not given to doctrinal "novelties." They are productive in service, righteous in character, able to maintain the romance of the mystery of the daily pursuit of Christ. The "dew of youth" is on their "garments" because they are "skipping from hill to hill" with Him who always abides in joy and gladness of heart.
+It is easy to appreciate both sides of the argument. Those who claim perfection is impossible are emphasizing the weakness of human beings. Those who maintain we are to be perfect are emphasizing the statements of the Scripture and are not looking too closely at our shortcomings.
-After they are saved they press on into Spirit-filled service. Yet they do not become married to their ministries and accomplishments but keep moving forward to pruning after pruning and victory after victory. The Lord Jesus reveals Himself to them because they are after His own heart.
+Each of us humans is not merely weak, we are in fact helpless and hopeless in our flesh. Then we come under the blood of Christ and our sinful nature is forgiven. But our words, deeds, motivations, and imaginations remain far from perfection.
-They are the strongest and "wealthiest" people on the earth because the source of their life, wisdom, and power is the throne of Christ. Such never will be content until every aspect, every thought, every imagination, word, deed of what they are and do has been reaped unto the Lamb of God. The "waters" of their lives come from the ocean of God’s Spirit and return to that same ocean.
+It is not difficult to understand how sincere Christians cannot believe that perfection is possible in this life. But let us consider a few facts:
-There is no limit to the amount of fruit they will bear throughout eternity because the Seed that has been sown in them comes from God. When the Seed of God germinates, grows, and matures to the fullest extent of its potential the result will be a son of God in the image of the Father.
+First, the Scripture commands us to be perfect (Matthew 5:48; Luke 6:40; John 17:23; I Corinthians 2:6; Colossians 1:28; Colossians 4:12; II Timothy 3:17; Hebrews 12:23; James 3:2; I Peter 5:10; and so forth).
-All of the goodness we have mentioned is in the Lord Jesus Christ. It all is yours. There only is one wall that can keep you separated from the all that God Is and has for you. The wall is your unbelief. God remains ready and able to fulfill your richest vision. Will you tear down the wall of unbelief and allow God to reap a hundredfold in your life?
+Second, we are not to consider our own body "now dead" (Romans 4:19) but are to consider the Glory and promise of God.
-I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. (John 15:5)
+Third, what God means by perfection and what we mean by perfection may be two different concepts. Many of God’s heroes of faith were perfect by God’s standards but imperfect by our standards.
-Three things are necessary if we are to bring forth much fruit:
+Abraham was a perfect man by God’s standards but not by human standards. The father and mother of John the Baptist no doubt had many shortcomings, as we would judge them. The father was struck dumb because of disbelief in the angel’s glorious announcement. But it is written of them: "They were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless" (Luke 1:6).
-We must be taken out the world, out of our former life in the appetites of the flesh, and grafted on the Vine, Christ.
+What God calls blameless is blameless!
-We must remain in Christ and not go about attempting to bring forth fruit by our own wisdom and strength.
+If it were left to our fleshly abilities, perfection would not be attainable. Our perfecting is the task of the Holy Spirit. Can we state it is impossible for the Holy Spirit to make us blameless? Is God unable to complete to His own standard of perfection what He has begun in us? Does God have the power and wisdom to perfect a human being in His image? We believe He does.
-We must submit to the pruning and dressing of the Vinedresser.
+One of the principal reasons why Christians do not push ahead in the overcoming life is that they have no goal. People will not run a race that has no finish line. If one does not believe in a mark, in a perfection, in an attainment, in an omega, in a completion, in a maturing, in a coming of age, or understand that the attaining of the mark will affect his eternal destiny, he will not exert effort in this direction. "Where there is no vision, the people perish" (Proverbs 29:18).
-If these three conditions are met in our lives we will bring forth much fruit.
+If we spend our time thinking about our own imperfections and are ignorant concerning the promises of God we never will lay hold on the fullness of the redemption that is in Christ.
-Christ is as a Vine that has been planted by the Lord God. Into that Vine is flowing all that God Is. There is no limit to the goodness, love, strength, joy, peace, nourishment, that eternally are flowing into the Vine. When we are abiding in the Vine the resources flowing into us are boundless. We will bring forth much fruit.
+Imagine the frustration of God as He looks down on us. He is abundantly able to create us in His image. Yet our refusal to consider His abilities and promises keeps us earthbound. Somehow there has crept into Christian thinking a fatalism, a fatalism caused by the ignorance of the Church concerning the promises, the total power, and the total knowledge of the Almighty God.
-All of God’s creation is to be filled with the fruit of the Vine.
+We present God as a kindly but chagrined old gentleman who wishes we all would behave and is disappointed when we do not; as an indulgent parent who scolds his children from time to time and frequently is heard to exclaim, "Boys will be boys". This concept is false.
-And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. (Isaiah 51:16)
+A truer picture of God is that of a master craftsman who has set out to construct a house for himself, a craftsman with knowledge, wisdom, and in command of all resources in Heaven and on the earth.
-He shall cause them that come of Jacob to take root: Israel shall blossom and bud, and fill the face of the world with fruit. (Isaiah 27:6)
+What kind of a dwelling would such a craftsman construct?
-Apart from Christ we are nothing more than the dust of the ground. When we are abiding in Christ we partake of the destiny of the Vine. If we allow God to bring forth the fruit of Christ in us we will become part of the Servant of the Lord who has been commissioned to plant the heavens, lay the foundations of the earth, and reconcile each of God’s chosen people to Himself.
+How inappropriate it is for the materials that he is using to fret about their own incompleteness and imperfection. The only question is that concerning the power and ability of the builder and his access to materials. We think you will agree there is no question about the power or ability of God Almighty or His access to materials.
-The fullness of God has been given to the Vine and comes forth through the Vine. There is no limit to the fruitfulness of our life when we abide in the Vine. If we do not abide in the Vine we will wither and die and be burned in the fire.
+If the above is true, the only remaining question is whether God has declared in His Word that the Church will be made perfect. If He has, we understand that our doubts and fears are groundless and that we will be made perfect in Christ if we follow His program.
-Nothing good can come from our flesh. Christ is the true Light who lights every person born into the world. Without Christ, without the Divine Life of the Vine, mankind remains the dust of the ground and returns to the ground. Only in Christ is there eternal fruitfulness and strength.
+Being made perfect in Christ does not mean our imperfections will be covered up because they are hidden from view by the Glory of Christ’s own perfection. Imputed (ascribed) perfection has to do only with our guiltlessness when we receive Christ as our atonement. Imputed perfection is not the radiance of our wedding garment.
-If we remain in union with the Vine, and the words of Christ remain in us, we can ask what we will and it shall be done for us. If we live in Christ and His words live in us our every prayer will be answered. This is what Jesus said.
+When we start out as Christians our imperfections are covered by the blood of Christ. Being made "perfect" in Christ means that each Christian will be created in the full image of God in his spirit, soul, and body. Then the perfected saints will be combined into the perfect Body of Christ. After that, the Body of Christ will be made one in the Father and the Son. This is what it means to be in Christ.
-The fruit that the Father desires is Christ in us and in those to whom we minister. If we continue in the Vine, accepting the necessary pruning and dressing, we will bear much fruit. God is glorified when we do so.
+If there were one imperfect member in the Body of Christ the Body would be imperfect. One Israelite, Achan, caused God to declare, "Israel hath sinned." The army was defeated because of the covetousness and disobedience of one person (Joshua, Chapter Seven).
-We have not chosen Christ, He has chosen us and ordained us to be fruitful branches. The fruit that grows in our lives comes from the virtue that flows in the Vine. The fruit is the image of Christ, His moral character, the likeness of the Glory of the Lord.
+Solomon’s Temple is a type of the eternal dwelling place of God. The stones of the Temple were not shaped at the construction site in order to fit. They were fashioned at another place so when the Temple was erected there was no sound of cutting or hammering into place.
-If we give ourselves wholly to the things of Christ, the fruit grows in us and in those to whom we minister. It is God’s intention that Christ blossom and bud and fill the face of the world with fruit. God desires that the image of His beloved Son be everywhere, in all creatures and things in the universe.
+And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. (I Kings 6:7)
-The more Christ is growing in us and through us the more our prayers are answered. As God brings us to the place of conformity to His beloved Son we begin to pray according to the will of God. It pleases God to answer the prayers of those who obey Him. When our prayer comes before the Father, and is proceeding from a life filled with the nature and obedience of Christ, the Father delights to give the answer.
+Each of us Christians is being "made ready" in the wilderness of the world. As soon as we have reached the standard in the mind of the Master Builder we will be brought together in one flawless joining by the Glory of God.
-God opens His hand and satisfies the desire of every living thing, often sending good things to those who hate Him. How much more will He answer the prayers of those who are praying according to His will, are in the image His Son, have His Son dwelling in them, and are living in obedience to His will?
+Each living stone, having been formed in advance, will fit perfectly into place in the house of God, the Body of Christ. No forcing or compromise will be necessary in that day because of the unparalleled wisdom and skill of the Builder.
-He will answer their prayers in matters great and small and find His pleasure in them. They will reign before Him and serve Him throughout His creation forever.
+There will be both individual and corporate perfection in the Body of Christ. Each member will be perfect and the whole Body will be perfect as a unit. All the ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit are working to accomplish the unity and maturity of the Body of Christ.
-"This is my covenant with them," says the Lord. "I will never leave them nor forsake them. Though the heavens and the earth pass away, My Word to them stands eternally sure. Christ, the Vine, will fill the creation and those whom He appoints to high places will not be removed from their inheritance.
+By perfection we mean three things: (1) the removal of the guilt, tendencies, and effects of sin; (2) the fullness of unblemished conformity to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit, soul, and body; and (3) the completeness of union with the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit.
-"Who, then, will serve Me with his whole heart? He will find that I am God in truth and My Word is yea and amen to every one who believes."
+And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; . . . . (John 2:1)
+The "third day" is the thousand-year Kingdom Age, as we understand it. During the thousand-year Kingdom Age the Lamb will be united with His Wife. All the perfections that have been wrought in the saints during their discipleship will be glorified and made their eternal adornment.
+The Divine Gold of Christ’s Substance and the stones of character formed under pressure and heat will be refined, hammered, polished, and set into place until the dwelling place of God, the new Jerusalem, the Wife of the Lamb, has attained a beauty so dazzling that the light of the sun and moon no longer will be needed. This is the perfection of the Bride.
+The most outstanding feature of the new Jerusalem is the indestructible, immovable, impregnable wall. The wall indicates that the members of the Body of Christ have had created in them the power and determination to resist evil spirits, unlike the defenseless Adam and Eve.
+The transparent gold of the city is the Divine nature created in each saint and then purified by suffering until Christ in him has become clear as glass—no rebellion or sin remaining. The precious stones set in the twelve foundations of the wall are virtues of character, such as faith, patience, humility, and obedience. These forever will adorn the personality of those who have believed in Christ and have remained faithful throughout every trial.
+Christ has been made perfect, and the Lord God Almighty will present to Christ a perfected Wife. Our task is to walk each day in obedience, accepting the joys and sorrows of the Christian discipleship, allowing each experience to bring forth in us the qualities desired by the Holy Spirit.
+If we remain faithful to the end, not turning away from the pathway placed before us by the Lord Jesus, keeping ourselves in the love of God in Christ, we will reap a harvest of perfection one day. This perfection will not be something we have accomplished but a state brought about in us by the wisdom, purpose, and power of God Himself.
+The present Christian concept that "ten thousand years from now we still will be praising God for His grace," meaning that ten thousand years from now we still will be exclaiming over the fact that God loves us while we remain in the filthiness and darkness of our lusts and self-seeking, is totally false.
+As we understand the program, the warlike remnant of the Church will press forward toward perfection in the present hour, but it will be during the "third day," the thousand-year Kingdom Age, that the entire Church of Christ will be brought to the Divine perfection.
+Meanwhile it is possible to be perfect right now. If we have done all we know to do, then, through the blood of Christ, we are at this moment perfect in God’s sight. Tomorrow is another challenge.