My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you, (Galatians 4:19)

While we are rejoicing in the tremendous anointing that is to come in our day it will be important to remember that if we expect to appear with the Lord when He returns we must cooperate with the Spirit of God as He forms Christ in us. It is not enough to be powerfully used in ministry. Sad to say, it can be seen that some gifted ministers of the Gospel, although they are being greatly used in Gospel work, are not having Christ formed in them. They are ministering by a gift of the Spirit but they are not interacting with the Lord Himself.

In the day of the Lord they will expect great rewards because of the miracles they have performed. But the Lord Jesus will inform them that He does not know them. They have spent all their life in the ministry apart from the personal Presence of the Lord. It is entirely possible to minister by the Spirit and yet not be transformed into righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God. If this is the case with us, then we have been rejected. We have been disqualified—that concerning which the Apostle Paul was so cautious.

But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway [disqualified]. (I Corinthians 9:27)

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. (Romans 8:19)

All of us who are Christians need to look again at this verse. Notice that the material creation is not waiting for the revealing of the Son of God but of the sons of God.

We learn many things from this verse:

We learn that we have been saved and built up in Christ so we may be a blessing to a cursed world.

We learn that the people of the world are not doomed to destruction but have the hope of a kingdom that will come and save them from pain and death.

We learn that when we disobey the Holy Spirit and remain as spiritual children we hinder the blessing that has been promised to the nations of the earth.

We learn that the coming of the Lord is not so much to the Church as it is in and with the Church. The Lord will return in and with us and be revealed to the nations.

We learn that God is creating a company of brothers for Christ who will be coheirs with Him of the nations of the earth.

We see, then, that by calling our attention to Romans 8:19 God is giving us an increased understanding of the significance of our salvation. It is not a self-centered vision of being removed from the world at the height of its trouble or of resting in our mansion while the nations lurch forward in their drunken blindness. Rather we are seen as the hope of all the meek of the earth, the hope that justice will be brought to them and also the eternal life of the Holy Spirit of God will be given to them.

To be continued.