The Daily Word of Righteousness

First Corinthians, Fifteen, #19

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. (II Corinthians 5:10)

And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [righteous deeds] of saints. (Revelation 19:8)

And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be. (Revelation 22:12)

The Scripture is clear that we shall be raised and then clothed with our behavior.

Every one of us, believer or unbeliever, will be raised from the place of burial. Then we will be given a body, a robe, that reflects the kind of personality we are. Here is the perfect righteousness and justice of God.

If we have a compassionate nature, compassion will be revealed in our glorified body. If we have a selfish, grasping, treacherous nature, selfishness, grasping, and treachery will be revealed in our new body.

This is why John says:

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. (I John 3:2,3)

"Purifieth himself"! If we hope to be like Jesus and see Him as He is we must purify ourselves.

We purify ourselves by confessing our selfishness, our grasping, our treachery, our spite, our critical spirit, our lust, our murder, our lying, our stealing. We confess our sins to the Lord and ask for forgiveness and to be cleansed from our sins. Then we look to God for help to draw near to God and to resist the devil.

As we confess our sins and forsake them we are washing our robe in the blood of the Lamb.

If we do not do this, if for whatever reason we do not confess and forsake our sins, it is absolutely certain we will be handed a filthy, corrupt robe in the day of resurrection. No amount of faith, mercy, or grace can change one bit the eternal Kingdom law of sowing and reaping.

The reason one resurrected body will differ from another in glory is that the saints differ in the amount of diligence with which they seek and obey the Lord.

So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (I Corinthians 15:42-44)

It is wonderful to think about the love, joy, and peace that are coming to those who have faithfully, patiently served the Lord Jesus.

The physical body we are "sowing" today is perishable. It is subject to many frailties, tiredness, sickness, and finally dissolution in death. We do not realize it but our present mortal body actually is a prison in which our spirit is being tested. It is a "wilderness of temptation."

To be continued.