When Adam and Eve sinned God could have destroyed them and started over. But I don't think this was His plan. Rather, He removed their spiritual nature from their bodies, after nearly a thousand years, and permitted their bodies to return to the ground from which they were fashioned. God separated their spiritual natures from their bodies by placing a heaven between them, just as He did the heaven between the waters. If I am correct in this, Adam and Eve are alive somewhere in the spirit realm awaiting the Day of Judgment. Then their spiritual natures will be reunited with their bodies, because the dead are judged in their bodies.

This is what happens to us when we truly receive Jesus Christ and are baptized in water. We assign our first personality to the cross with Christ. Then we count that our inward spiritual nature has been raised with Christ and has ascended with Christ to be seated at the right hand of God.

This is the principle of the firstfruits. Our personality has been harvested in part, beginning with our inward spiritual nature.

Now our body and probably our soul remain on the earth. Our body and soul are battling to save our personality, and he who endures to the end shall be saved. This is what the Lord said, although it is not emphasized today.

How we behave on the earth is directly affecting our life in the heavens. We are constructing a building, one might say, before the Throne of God. If we practice that which is good, our heavenly building, or robe, reflects the goodness. If we practice that which is bad, our heavenly building reflects the badness. There is no truth more needed in Christian thinking.

When the Lord returns He shall bring our building with Him. Our body shall be raised from the dead and then clothed with our house from Heaven. We shall reap what we have sown.

One might ask, "Can we ever lose our place in Heaven at the right hand of God?"

It is my point of view that we can. I think Satan can tempt us to the point that we actually are cast down from the place we had in Christ. We can lose our eternal life. Not only does the New Testament teach this but I have seen it happen in a human being, so I am not really open to reasoning about how we never can lose our eternal life.

It grew until it reached the host of the heavens, and it threw some of the starry host down to the earth and trampled on them. (Daniel 8:10—NIV)

Paul says something interesting:

When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4—NIV)

The issue is, is Christ our life? Or have we just made a profession of belief in Christ? Are we truly thinking, speaking, and acting at all times in the Person and Presence of Jesus Christ? If not, He is not our life. We are not living in and by Him.

To be continued.