The Daily Word of Righteousness

Maturity in Christ, #2

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. (Galatians 3:16)

The Seed, the Son of God, to whom the Divine promises have been given, is always singular—always Christ. Christ is the eternal "Him." The "them" refers to the Lamb and His Wife. To "them" has been assigned dominion over the heavens and the earth.

In order for the image and likeness to be complete as God intends, there must be male and female—Christ and His Body.

The New Testament teaches that we are to be created in the image of Christ. Also, there are Scripture references concerning the building of Zion, the Temple of God.

It is the will of the Father that every person who believes in His Son be transformed in character in accordance with the Character of Christ, and that the believer rule his affairs in obedience to Christ and in righteousness.

Also, it is the good pleasure of the Father that every person who believes in His Son come to the place of transformation of his personality and his behavior to the extent he can receive the fullness of the Father and the fullness of the Son through the Holy Spirit.

The Father, God Almighty, has ordained further that every person who receives His beloved Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and who remains faithful throughout his pilgrimage on the earth, be clothed with a surpassingly glorious body of eternal life so he may live and move and have his being in the manner appropriate to a king and priest of the most high God.

It is the Father's joy to bring each of His sons to maturity after this fashion. He will do so provided we take up our cross and follow Christ daily with a pure heart. If we fail it will be because we refused to keep our faith and trust in Jesus. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things, and I will be His God, and he shall be my son" (Revelation 21:7).

The Holy Spirit is seeking out the Body of Christ, the Bride of the Lamb—those who will be a "kind of firstfruits of his creatures" (James 1:18). The sending forth of Eliezer of Damascus after a bride for Isaac (Genesis, Chapter 24) is an Old Testament illustration of the Father sending the Holy Spirit in order to obtain the Bride of the Lamb.

Whoever hears the voice of the Holy Spirit will, if he is wise, spend the remainder of his days following the Holy Spirit toward Christ.

Whoever chooses to do so may answer the call of the heavenly Bridegroom and reach for the Divine inheritance. He or she will be required to fight (Song of Solomon 5:6,7). The fullness of the inheritance of a son of God cannot be acquired easily and readily. There will be resistance—this is the reason for the term overcome. The first part of the city of Jerusalem (speaking spiritually) that must be taken from the enemy is Mount Zion. Mount Zion is a stronghold (II Samuel 5:6-10).

To be continued.