The Daily Word of Righteousness

So Great Salvation, #3

Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God, Of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment. (Hebrews 6:1,2)

Being born again and baptized with the Holy Spirit are not the fullness of the inheritance being given to the saints. They are not the "great salvation" that we are not to neglect. Rather, being forgiven and born again makes us eligible to pursue the inheritance, and being baptized with the Holy Spirit provides the wisdom and power to enable us to press into the inheritance.

The inheritance, the land of promise, the rest, the "city that hath foundations" (which is not Heaven or the spirit realm), is yet ahead of us.

The "rest" of God, the "great salvation," is discussed especially in Chapters Two and Four of the Book of Hebrews.

To find what our land of promise is we must answer the question, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him?"

But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man, that thou visitest him? (Hebrews 2:6)

Man, because of his immaturity of character, has temporarily been made lower than the angels. But man is destined to be crowned with glory and honor. Man has been given dominion over all the works of God's hands.

Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. (Hebrews 2:8)

Notice, in the above verse, these two concepts:

"He left nothing that is not put under him."

"Now we see not yet all things put under him."

Here is the crux of the matter. God has spoken concerning man of a salvation, a supreme inheritance. In God's mind, the predestination, the calling, the justification, the glorification of God's elect already have taken place (Romans 8:30). However, they haven't taken place yet in such a manner that we actually can experience them. They have taken place but they have not taken place.

God already has perfected our inheritance and now is resting. In order to work out what God has declared concerning us we must "labor" to enter that rest, that finished work.

We "labor" to enter our foreordained inheritance by seeking the Lord, by studying the Scriptures, by fellowshiping with the saints, by obeying God, by giving, by serving, and by doing all the other good works of the Christian life.

The world, Satan, the lusts of our flesh, our self-will, and our self-love are all seeking to prevent us from attaining our predetermined inheritance as "man." It remains possible for each of us to let our inheritance slip away from us, thus incurring the displeasure of God.

To be continued.