We Must Become Life-giving Spirits if We Are To Benefit the Nations

The Christian who is full of eternal life gives eternal life to others as he ministers. In order to give the Life of Jesus, he himself must be brought down to death:

There is no life in our mortal personality even though we may be learned in the Scriptures. Eternal life comes from us to others only as we die and Jesus lives.

When the parousia occurs, those who have lived in the world by Christ's Life will receive a body of glory like the Lord's body.

They will be filled with the Presence of the Father and the Son—with eternal Life.

And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. (I Corinthians 15:49)

Let us emphasize once again that bearing the image of the heavenly and appearing to the saved peoples of the earth as a life-giving spirit does not happen to us just because we have confessed with our mouth the Lord Jesus and have believed in our heart that God has raised Him from the dead. Rather, it happens as the consequence of our living each day in the Spirit of God until we are converted from a mortal personality into an immortal personality.

The raising and glorifying of our mortal body is the climax of our transformation from a fleshly creature into a Christ-filled spiritual creature—a transformation that takes place during our faithful, often painful, discipleship on the earth. Such glory does not come to us by imputation (ascribed righteousness) or mercy or grace. Rather, it is the reaping of what we have sown during our discipleship as we have followed Jesus patiently in cross-carrying obedience.

In current Christian teaching and preaching, the principle of sowing and reaping, as it applies to our participation in the parousia, may be the least understood of all Kingdom laws.

We surely will reap what we have sown. It is not possible to sow to the flesh in this present world and then by grace and mercy appear with Christ in the parousia. This is the error of our times.

Each member of the Body of Christ is being created a tree of life. In each of us is being dug a well of water of eternal life. The throne of Christ, the only source of the water of life, is being established in us. In the parousia the sons of God will pass among all the saved peoples of the earth, imparting eternal life to them.

We can give only what we ourselves are. This is true now and always will be true. We cannot give what we are not, what we do not possess.

If we are to benefit the nations of the earth today, and throughout the ages to come, we must be filled with the Life of the Lord Jesus. The Christian salvation is more than a set of religious teachings. The Christian salvation is the eternal Life of God in Christ that has come from Heaven and enters the personality of people. The true Christian minister is the one who brings eternal life to those whom he serves.

To be continued.