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The Daily Word of Righteousness
The Goal
For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him. (I Corinthians 15:22,23—NIV)
And so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:11—NIV)
The goal of the Christian redemption is the raising of our body into eternal life. John 3:16 is referring to the restoration of that which was lost in the Garden of Eden, that is, eternal life in the body: ". . . that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life." The Apostle Paul had set everything to one side in order to attain to the resurrection to eternal life.
What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith. I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, (Philippians 3:8-10—NIV)
I have written much on the subject of the resurrection, attaining to the resurrection, and the first resurrection from the dead. The concept of the resurrection is growing in my mind to such an extent that I would like to add some recent thoughts.
One of the most significant, from my point of view, passages from Paul's writings is found in the third chapter of the Book of Philippians, verses 4 through 21. I view the passage as significant because in this text Paul tells how he has set everything aside to pursue his goal. His goal is to attain to the resurrection from the dead.
The Book of Philippians is not the only place where Paul speaks of pressing toward the redemption of his body.
Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. (Romans 8:23—NIV)
For some reason, perhaps from the influence of the philosophy of Gnosticism, the goal of salvation has been changed from attaining to the resurrection, to residence in Heaven. The resurrection to eternal life and residence in Heaven are not at all the same thing. Heaven is a place in the spirit realm. The bringing of the human body into eternal life is the very goal of what is taking place in our salvation. It is the restoration of what was lost in the Garden of Eden.
Paul would never set aside everything in his life that he might enter Heaven. Residence in Heaven was not Paul's goal.
Paul groaned for deliverance from the body of sin and death. This was because Paul desired to be free from sin so he could serve God in righteousness. In addition to freedom from the compulsion to sin, Paul, chained in a Roman prison at the time of the writing of Philippians, must have imagined what it will be like to have a glorious body like that of the Lord Jesus—to no longer be confined in a corruptible, animal body, no longer subject to weariness, pain, and death!
To be continued.