As part of their eternal life the righteous will remember the way the Lord led them; the fiery passions they crucified only to find that all they desired was waiting for them; the people who came up to them in this world and the next and said, "You were a lifeline for me. I never could have gained the victory over sin had it not been for your testimony."

What greater portion of life could one have than to have heard the Lord say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. You have finished the work I gave you to do. The mistakes you made were washed away by My blood and God remembers only the years of your faithful service. Enter into the joy of your Lord."

Can you think of anything that would bring more lasting peace and joy than that memory? I cannot!

The redemption of the mortal body.

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. (Romans 8:11)

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. (Romans 8:23)

No matter where we were buried, or drowned, or whether we were buried intact or a bomb blew us to pieces, our body will come forth from its place of interment.

Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. (John 5:28,29)

The resurrection of our body is a central concern of the Scriptures. Man died physically because of his sin. Man shall be raised physically because of the obedience and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because of the modern emphasis on the "catching up" of the saints there appears to have been a diminishing of the teaching of the resurrection of the body. Recently a lady was heard to say, "I don't care about the resurrection just as long as I'm not here when trouble comes," referring to the doctrine of the "pre-tribulation rapture." Perhaps she has not considered the fact that the pre-tribulation rapture has been preached since the last century and a multitude of Christians have suffered a great deal since that time. In fact it has been claimed that more Christians have been martyred (and yet are being martyred!) during the twentieth century than any other century of the Church Era. Perhaps the lady would be wise to prepare herself for trouble.

Since John 5:28,29 (above) informs us that the body of every person who has lived will be called forth from the dead, we must give careful thought to the fact that the Apostle Paul was striving to attain to the out-resurrection from the dead.

If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection [out-resurrection] of the dead. (Philippians 3:11)

To be continued.