Our inner man longs for these changes from sin to righteousness to take place in us now. And so they do as we bear the fruit of the Spirit of God. But the mortal flesh in which we are housed has some ideas of its own. It far prefers the fulfilling of its appetites and lusts. We must give ourselves wholly to the Son of God in order to keep our body in submission or else the body will take command of our thoughts and actions.

The clothing of our present body with the body from Heaven will abolish the bodily tendencies toward sin and will bring us immortality. The main idea of the coming of Christ is not that we will go to Heaven. We go to Heaven when we die, and the thought of it is enough to cause the heart of the overcomer to take up the fight with renewed vigor. But the meaning of the coming of Christ, as far as the overcoming Christian is concerned, is that of being clothed with the body from Heaven, so complete and perfect righteousness of life is obtained.

When we die we go to Heaven, it is true. But the major blessing of redemption is that Heaven comes to us and fills us with the righteousness and life of Heaven. That is salvation! That is redemption! Let us, therefore, put to death now the uncleanness of the flesh and spirit so we shall be prepared for the change in us that is to come with the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ with His holy angels.

There are many reasons why a proper preparation must be made now if we hope to be ready for the redemption of our body when Jesus appears. We must, through the Spirit, "put to death the deeds of the body." Without such preparation it is impossible for us to have an abundant entrance into the "everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (II Peter 1:11).

First, it is not reasonable to suppose God will clothe us with a body like the body with which Jesus is clothed unless our spirit and soul have been made ready. If we are weak in the faith, undecided about serving the Lord, double-minded, unfaithful, we are not ready to be clothed with the power and authority of eternal life. The cherubim are still guarding the tree. Only the victorious saints have access to the tree of life (Revelation 2:7).

The body of glory is associated with authority and power over the nations—with the throne of Christ. We must be prepared to rule in and with Christ. Our inner man must be prepared and strengthened for the Divine Glory that is to descend on us. If the fullness of the Glory of God were to come on us in the present hour we might not be able to bear so much of the Presence of God Almighty.

To be continued.