God so loved the world He gave His only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, whoever chooses to place his trust in Him may not perish but have everlasting life. It is through the saints in whom Christ is dwelling that the nations will come to the understanding that God indeed has sent Christ, and that whoever believes in Him will be healed of all sin and death.

God desires to bless the nations of the earth. In order to do so He must find some means of dwelling among them. The means God has chosen is the elect, the Church. The Church comprises the individuals whom God has chosen from among the nations as a royal priesthood, that they may come to know the Lord; and, having gained that knowledge, be able to bring the Presence, the knowledge, the blessing of God to all the peoples of the earth.

This is the reason for the existence and perfecting of the Church, the Body of Christ—that the Lord God of Heaven may have a means of dwelling among people and removing their tears, their death, their sorrow, their crying, and their pain.

As soon as the holy city comes down from the new sky, the griefs of earth will pass away forever. God and the Lamb will have come to the earth to take up Their residence here for eternity. The Divine Godhead will have come in the Church, the new Jerusalem.

The solution to the problems of earth is not for the Christians to go to Heaven. The solution to the problems of earth will come when the Christians, having grown to maturity in the Lord, return from Heaven to earth, bringing the Presence of God with them.

And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful. (Revelation 21:5)

An important concept is contained in verse five (above). God is making all things new.

God is not making all new things, He is making all things new.

In the beginning, God created the substance of the material creation. Then He gave the substance form, separating the light from the darkness so the form can be observed. Finally, He gave His creation purpose by creating mankind. The physical universe has substance, form, and purpose.

The material universe is substantial. It is a real world just as the spirit realm is a real world. The universe is not merely an idea, a metaphor, a mental attitude, or the passing shadow of a true world in Heaven.

It is a fact that the true and eternal world is spiritual and the things of earth are temporal, portraying that which is eternal. Nevertheless the earth and its nations are a genuine creation and the Lord would have us regard them in this manner.

Religious teachers and philosophers have taught that the true world is invisible and supernatural in nature and significance. Some schools of thought that term themselves Christian lean toward this understanding of the physical universe. They are in error. The world in which we are living was created by the Lord Jesus Christ. He intends we view it as the real and desirable environment for people.

To be continued.