At some point in the early history of the Christian Church the Gospel of the Kingdom was changed to the Gospel of going to Heaven. The original proclamation of the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth was altered to the going of the Church to Heaven.

There is no passage of the Scriptures in support of the idea that God intends to bring His Church to Heaven to dwell there for eternity. The final resting place of the Christian Church is the new earth.

There is a reason for this!

The purpose of the operation of the gifts and ministries given to the Church by the Spirit of God is that each member of the Body of Christ come to maturity—maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.

I don't believe any Christian would have trouble with the statement above. It is derived from the fourth chapter of the Book of Ephesians.

But is God going to bring us to Heaven to live in a mansion? If this is what it means to be saved, why is it necessary we be brought to such astounding maturity?

The answer is, our goal is not to retire to a mansion in Heaven. We made this up. This is not what it means to be saved.

Well then, what is the reason for bringing every member of the Body of Christ to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ?

The purpose for bringing each member to maturity is that God might have a house, a dwelling, a place of rest.

Is it scriptural that God is seeking a house, a dwelling place?

The creation of the eternal house of God is one of the principal subjects of the entire Scriptures.

Let us go one step further.

God has a purpose in mind, a reason for building a dwelling place for Himself. God's purpose in building a house for Himself is that He might dwell among people.

Think for a moment about these efforts and their objectives.

The Holy Spirit has given ministries and gifts to the Church that we all might be brought to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.

We are being brought to maturity so God may find rest, an eternal dwelling place, in us.

God wants to dwell in us so He can live among the people whom He has created.

Do these means and ends seem clear to you? Then let us proceed.

In the beginning God walked in the Garden of Eden. Because of the disobedience of the first two people God withdrew to the spirit realm, to Heaven. If God wanted us in Heaven He would have created us there, as He did the angels. But God planned the earth, the physical realm, and it is a better environment than the spirit heavens. This is why Satan came down here so quickly.

The earth is where we were created, in fact, we were created from the ground. This is where God made us and this is where we belong.

To be continued.