The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Eternal Purpose of God, #10

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name. (Revelation 3:12)

The names of God and of Christ are engraved in him. The name of the holy city is engraved in him. He no longer is an independent individual; he has been created part of God. So it is that we are becoming an eternal expression of God through Christ (John 17:21-23).

It is God's will that the Life of Christ abide in every inhabitant of the new earth, whether the person is a member of the Wife of the Lamb or a citizen of one of the nations of saved peoples of the earth. There is to be no more "sea" of people who do not have the Life of Jesus in them.

Every human being on the earth or in the spirit realm abides in one of five spiritual states of being. The five spiritual states of being are as follows:

Zion

Jerusalem

the sea

death

Hell

Every human being is dwelling in one of these five spiritual states. He is abiding in Zion, or in Jerusalem, or in the sea, or in death, or in Hell.

To abide in Zion is to dwell in Christ as an overcomer. As we eat His flesh and drink His blood we dwell in Him and He in us. Of the multitudes who claim faith in Christ, only a handful, it appears, are dwelling in Him and He in them to the degree the Lord prefers. To be part of Jesus requires a close relationship with Him. To abide in Jesus is to live by Him as He lives by the Father, always striving to attain a more perfect union with Him. Those who live by Jesus as He lives by the Father constitute the firstfruits of the Church.

The Christians who, through Christ, overcome Satan, the world, and their own sins and self-will, will be raised to meet Him at His coming. The overcomers are the pillars of the eternal Temple of God. They will receive back their bodies from the grave. They are the kings and priests of the Lord. This is the first resurrection (Revelation 20:4-6).

To abide in Jerusalem is to be part of the Church of Christ. Zion speaks of the Holy of Holies while Jerusalem is the Holy Place, as we understand the Scriptures. At first glance it may appear fanciful and unwise to divide the one seamless robe of Christ into two parts. But the types and teachings of the Scriptures that portray such a division are compelling.

We have only to think of Gideon's three hundred; of the separation of the Ark from the remainder of the Tabernacle; of the three foremost mighty men of David; of the three who were with the Lord on the Mount of Transfiguration; of the 144,000 of Revelation, Chapter 14; to become aware that there is strong support in Scripture for various ranks among the Lord's people. Jesus revealed to the Apostles that they would be judging Israel (Luke 22:30).

To be continued.