The Energising Hope That Leads To Purity - Part 2

And those whom He predestined, He also called, and those whom He called He also justified, and those whom He justified He also glorified. Rom 8:30

Praise God, we are on a journey that will soon culminate in the transfiguration and glorification of our bodies! We are about to be revealed as the sons of God on earth! (Rom 8:19).

As a seal of this glorious redemption, we have received the precious Holy Spirit. His Burning Presence in our life is our guarantee that we will receive a crown of unfading glory when Christ returns to close this age and usher in His millennial reign on the earth.

… you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of His glory. Eph 1:13-14

Here is powerful truth. To reign with Christ in the full manifestation of His glorious kingdom, we must have resurrected bodies.

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. 1 Cor 15:50

Meditate on this truth for a moment…

To rule and reign with Christ in His soon-to-be established millennial kingdom, our lowly bodies must be changed into the likeness of His glorious body (Phil 3:20-21). Our bodies must be glorified. Our ascension to millennial authority requires a resurrection! And a resurrection – by definition – requires a death.

And they overcame him [the accuser of the brethren] by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death. Rev 12:11

To sit with Jesus in His throne, we must overcome (Rev 3:21). And to overcome, we must be willing to die. “… they loved not their lives unto the death.” This is why Paul considered so excellent the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings and conformity to His death. It was because through suffering and dying, Paul knew he was positioning himself for a glorious resurrection (Phil 3:10-11).

… if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him. 2 Tim 2:11-12

I am greatly encouraged and inspired whenever I read Foxe’s Book of Martyrs. Through the ages, our precious brothers and sisters have experienced amazing anointing and supernatural deliverance as they have laid down their physical lives. The martyr's blood is never spilled in vain. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints (Ps 116:15). 

Understanding that death precedes resurrection, must we all lay down our lives physically to participate in Christ’s glorious appearing? Must we all experience a martyr's death? The answer is, ‘No.’ We are talking here about deep truths of the faith (1 Tim 3:9). Let us proceed humbly. 

Behold I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep [die physically], but we shall all be changed. 1 Cor 15:51

Having established that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God and that death precedes resurrection, we now discover a mystery. Laying down our lives physically is not a prerequisite for participating in the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. And yet there is a ‘death’ that must be embraced by all who want to rejoice when Christ returns in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

The death and suffering, brothers and sisters, that beckons all of us, is the death to our flesh and our sinful desires. It is the death to this world and its sexual immorality and covetousness. It is the death that Paul revealed when he declared, “I die daily” (1 Cor 15:31). It is the death that Jesus meant when He taught that all who would be His disciples must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Him (Lk 9:23). It is a dying to the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, and the pride of life (1 Jn 2:15-17). It is a dying to this world which, in its present form, is passing away (1 Cor 7:31). While a martyr's death may not be required of all of us, we must all embrace suffering and dying as part of our preparation for glory.

… rejoice insofar as you share Christ’s sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when His glory is revealed. 1 Pet 4:13

Praise God, He has equipped us for the dying process! By the redemptive power of Jesus’ blood and by the energising power of His grace and anointing, we are empowered to share in His sufferings. We have been redeemed and empowered to overcome the flesh, the world, and the devil. As we lay hold of the hope of Christ revealing His glory through us (Rom 8:18), we eagerly begin looking for and talking about His appearing and we purify ourselves in preparation! (1 Jn 3:2-3). This is the hope and power and vision of the Gospel of the kingdom, brothers and sisters! Catch the vision today!

When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Col 3:4-5