If God's goal for us were that we reside in Heaven forever, perhaps our abiding spiritually in Christ in God, righteousness being ascribed to us, would suffice. But since eternal residence in Heaven is not the goal of the old covenant or the new, forgiveness of sins and participation in Christ's resurrection and ascension do not fulfill God's purposes concerning us except as they work out in our actual personality and behavior.

The Kingdom of God. The Hebrew Prophets and the Apostles and Prophets of the new covenant announced the coming of the Kingdom of God to the earth.

During the centuries of the Church Age the original Gospel of the Kingdom has been lost. In its place has come the concept of going to live forever in Heaven. The idea of eternal residence in Heaven may have come from the religions of the East that promise residence in a spirit paradise after death, or possibly from the philosophy of Gnosticism.

But the Kingdom of God spoken of by the Apostles and Prophets has to do with the earth, with the return of the Lord Jesus to set up His Kingdom on the earth—first on the present earth and then on the new earth.

And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great voices in heaven, saying, The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ; and he shall reign for ever and ever. (Revelation 11:15)

And the sucking child shall play on the hole of the asp [cobra], and the weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice' [viper's] den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea. (Isaiah 11:8,9)

The Kingdom of God is the infusing of the material realm with the Spirit of Jesus and of those who are belong to Him. If the Kingdom of God were not a righteous material realm there would be no reason for the resurrection from the dead. The saints would not be given back their bodies.

When we first are brought to the Lord our newly born spiritual nature is raised to the right hand of God but our physical body remains on the earth, spiritually dead because of the sin dwelling in it.

Man is spirit, soul, and body. When he does not have his body he is not man, he is a spirit. A spirit does not have flesh and bones, as the Lord explained.

Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself: handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. (Luke 24:39)

When we come to Jesus, God divides our personality. He takes our born-again spiritual personality to His own right hand but He leaves our sinful body on the earth.

The purpose of the Christian discipleship is to regain immortality in the body. God has given us a start by forgiving us and raising us to His right hand. But whether or not we attain the resurrection to eternal life depends on our willingness to subject our body to the rule of the Spirit of God.

To be continued.