The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Threefold Glorifying of the Servant

And I have put my words in thy mouth, and I have covered thee in the shadow of mine hand, that I may plant the heavens, and lay the foundations of the earth, and say unto Zion, Thou art my people. (Isaiah 51:16)

There are three aspects of the glorifying of Christ:

Planting the heavens.

Laying the foundations of the earth.

Saying unto Zion, "Thou art my people."

Christ is one Person—Jesus, the Lord, the only begotten Son of God.

It is the will of God that Christ be glorified. All the saved persons, creatures, and things of the heavens and the earth will one day be part of Christ. They all will be a reflection of His Person, His will, and His way. This is the eternal purpose of the Most High God (Ephesians 1:10).

The city of Jerusalem has a special role to play in the glorifying of Christ in that Christ always will rule the creation from Jerusalem. Today the spiritual nature of Jerusalem is in the heavens while the body of Jerusalem is on the earth. In the age to come, the Jerusalem in Heaven that now is being perfected will come down from Heaven and be installed for eternity on the new earth.

Those who are called to be saints, that is, who are of the true Israel of God, are the members of Christ's Body. They are called to reveal Christ's glory in a special way. They are the ruling priesthood of the world to come. They are the center of government of the Kingdom of God. They are the eternal Temple of God.

One day the Throne of God and of the Lamb will enter them in fullness. They are the new Jerusalem , for Christ's Presence always is centered in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is God's choice for the capital city of the earth.

The first aspect of the glorifying of Christ is the planting of the heavens with the spirits of righteous men made perfect—righteous because Christ has been formed in them. The planting of the heavens, of the heavenly Zion, is the perfecting of the inhabitants of the eternal Jerusalem. When the citizens of the heavenly Jerusalem have been brought to perfection they will descend to abide forever on the new earth.

The reborn spiritual nature of the believer always ascends to Christ at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Then, as the believer submits on earth to the program of crucifixion and resurrection, his spiritual nature is perfected in Heaven by means of the tribulation he experiences on the earth.

In the Day of the Lord he will descend with Christ. His perfected spiritual nature will then be joined with his body whether it is asleep in the ground or still living on the earth.

To be continued.