Eternal Life vs Eternal Glory

UNDERSTANDING AND QUALIFYING FOR THE COMING KINGDOM OF JESUS CHRIST…. BY YIELDING TO THE HOLY SPIRIT IN LOVING OBEDIENCE

Paul, speaking to the Thessalonians, said, “We are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is meet, because that your faith groweth exceedingly, and the charity of every one of you all toward each other aboundeth; So that we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdomof God,for which ye also suffer:

Seeing it is a righteous thing with God to recompense tribulation to them that trouble you; And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power; When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.

Wherefore also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling,and fulfill all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: That the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.” [2 Thessalonians 1:3-12]

The Lord Jesusposes a question to the religious minded Jews who taught the people to look for the Messiah the son of David, who would come in the Glory of David’s kingship to reestablish Israel in its greatest promised kingdom. [Matthew 22:44] They were ignorant of the Scriptures dealing with the coming suffering, humble Messiah described in Isaiah 53. Jesus set before them this statement made by the Spirit through David in the Psalms… “The Lord said to my Lord, Sit at my right hand, till I put thy enemies under thy feet….”[Psalm 110:1] In context, Christ was asking the question. ‘If David thus calls him Lord, how is he his son?’ Of course the answer was a mystery. But He reveals it later by revelation to His followers in the understanding of His incarnation, his suffering rejection, and propitiatory death and glory-filled resurrection as the Son of man/Son of God. “Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.”

A SECRET OR “MYSTERY” Kingdom of God was to intervene before the promises were fulfilled to Israel.  Before Messiah the King was revealed on earth, God designed that Messiah should be concealed on high, testified of to the Gentiles, and believed in by the elect from both Jew and Gentiles, who constitute the church or body of Christ.

This short question asked by Christ and its implications speak to mysterious, profound, and prophetic Kingdomtruths that are as hidden to the religious Christian today as they were to the religious Jew of Christ’s first coming.

The most amazingly profound insight in the statement is that Almighty God would have such marvelous determination to have new creature “sons” who would rule with His only Begotten Son in His Kingdom, replacing the current angelic governing forces in the heavens and earth. And that by doing the unimaginable; uniting two different natures.Unitingthe uncreated eternal nature with that of the created nature into one…by glory in holiness. [Romans 5:2, 8:18; Ephesians 1:18; Colossians 1:27]

The first hint of this glorious uniting of man and God through the seed of woman and the very real threat to His enemy’s Kingdom was from the Garden.  [Genesis 3:15] It was then always the plan of God. [Ephesians 3:10]  It was what God had in view when, by the Spirit, He spoke and made the promises of an eternal Kingdom to David and his Seed. (2 Samuel 7:12,13] It was the intent of God in the prophet’s declaration thata virgin shall bring forth a child. And that is what led to the overshadowing of the Spirit on Mary’s womb, and the intent of God in the declaration of the prophet of Him being called Emmanuel/“God withus”.

In further examination of Jesus’ statement, the question arises; ‘What does “…tillI put thy enemies under thy feet…” mean?

By using the word “till”, it does not mean to imply any difficulty in the defeating of His enemies. It means that God has determined a time in which He shall fulfill His desiresin this World. And this being through His only Begotten Son; both in judgment and salvation, as the prophetic words of Mary professed. “He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.”

This “till “ is reference to that glorious heavenly calling (Hebrews 3:1) and that time that the Gospel of mercy and grace runs its course “untillthe fullness of the Gentiles come in.” This“untill” time being filled with the callingin Jesus Christ unto a fuller and yet unrevealed salvation extended to all men in the World. “Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.”[Acts 2:33]

This, in the most unimaginable way, is the means by which He would effect that union. Savingman eternally was no new thing, but going beyond just saving faith, and grace from eternal death with regeneration, to an energizing of the Spirit/spirit in the  processof worthiness in yielded spiritual growth. Moving from being merely born again to being first-bornsons. The process is called “sanctification” or holiness through loving obedience. It’s that spiritual process which bridges the gap between being justifiedand being glorified. [Romans 8:28-31] That to which the Pentecost experience alone can answer to. Regeneration, which is that initial work of the Spirit alone does not incorporate into that marvelous union fit for glory.

The essence of the Baptism of the Spiritis a true witness and service. [Luke 19:15; Matthew 25:14; 1Corinthians 6:9; Ephesians 5:21] The greatest theft from the church was the motivation towards holiness. They misapplied the application of these and other similarScripturesby saying that these belonged entirely to the unregenerate sinner (or Jew), when in fact, these scriptures speak to the BELIEVER. It should be understood by every Christian that the unregenerate sinner who rejects the grace afforded in Jesus Christ risks the loss of eternal life. And so also, the regenerated Christian who is secure of eternal life, but who rejects the grace unto loving obedience in holy living, may lose the inheritance of the glory infilling of the heavenly Kingdom calling. Thus, receiving the free gift from God of eternal life through faith in Jesus Christ does not guarantee you the prize or reward of eternal glory. In fact, shameawaits every once God-empowered victim of Delilah.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit provides the power for qualifying preparation work for the Kingdom ruling in glory.  That is to say, the power to be His witnesses here and rulers filled with glory then in the Kingdom.

It cannot be established scripturally or practically that all regenerated are Spirit Baptized. But Scripture does establish the gift of the power of the Holy Spirit as necessary for effective spiritual development and service. Thus the disciples were instructed to wait until they received it at Pentecost. [Acts1:8] And we are exhorted to walk then in that power. [Romans 6-8; 1st Peter 1-2]

It should be understood by every Christian that the disciples had come to believe on Jesus as the Savior and received regeneration unto eternal life long before the Baptism of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. [John3:16] It should be understood that it was only a small portion of the body of Adam out of which God brought forth a bride. Likewise, the Bride of Christ is a small portion of the Body of Christ.

Till… means the time determined of  God’s calling out of a certain people to take and carry His Name in holiness, as first born sons. (BUT LET US NOT FORGET ESAU. See Hebrews 12) That time is now closing, and then the Father will orchestrate the investiture of His only Begotten Son, in the heavens above this World. [Revelation 4-5] His Son, having fulfilled both the blood sacrifice and ministry of the intermediary Priest, in securing sons who shall rule with Him (Revelation 2:27, 20:4-6) will then put His Son upon His rightful Throne in His Kingdom. The Kingdom having two chief areas; the heavens and the earth. The earth being where literally David, as one being worthily resurrected out from among the dead, shall see, and take his own appointed place, and his Lord being exalted by His Lord as eternal King of kings, and His enemies put under His feetin Hades. [Isaiah 53:12, Isaiah24:21-23 rev20:1-3,10]