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The Daily Word of Righteousness
From Imputed to Actual Righteousness, #12
Blessed and holy are those who have part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years. (Revelation 20:6—NIV)
Not all who profess the name of Christ will participate in the resurrection and ascension when the Lord returns; only those who through the Spirit of God have entered the program of passing from imputed righteousness to actual righteousness. They will be raised from the dead and then ascend to meet the Lord in the air. From there they will descend and work with the Lord in the installing of the Kingdom of God on the earth. The Kingdom of God is the doing of God's will. It is actual righteousness, not imputed righteousness.
The overcomers of Revelation, Chapters Two and Three.
He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God. (Revelation 2:7—NIV)
The overcomers, the victorious saints, are always addressed as individuals. They actually are the true Christian Church in the present hour. If you will notice the rewards to the overcomers, they are the privileges we normally associate with the Christian.
For example:
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. (Revelation 3:4—NIV)
To walk in white is to be a member of the royal priesthood. What the Lord is saying here is that the majority of the believers in Sardis will not participate in the first resurrection from the dead. They were not found worthy to be a part of the royal priesthood, at least not at this time.
This verse brings to mind the white robes of the members of the Bride of the Lamb, as we discussed previously. Those white robes proved to be the righteous acts of the saints.
Putting these ideas together we see that the overcomers of the church in Sardis, those who had gained victory over sin, will be part of the advance guard that will descend with the Lord and participate in the Battle of Armageddon.
If the majority of believers in Sardis ever are to be part of the royal priesthood it will have to be at some point after the Lord returns and the first resurrection takes place. Otherwise they never will be part of the Bride of the Lamb.
The first resurrection from the dead, the resurrection of the royal priesthood, must be attained, as the Apostle Paul stressed. It is attained, as Paul stated, by laying aside everything else, counting it all garbage that Christ may be won. Nothing less than this qualifies the individual as part of the army of the Lord that will descend with Christ and drive wickedness from the earth.
You can see readily that all of God's work is moving toward the removal of all worldliness, lust, and self-will from His creation. Imputed righteousness is a legal maneuver that serves as a means of getting us started on the program of salvation. To make imputed righteousness the only form of righteousness in the Kingdom of God is to abort the entire program of redemption.
To be continued.