(CALL TO
DISCIPLESHIP Part
3)
[ The Purposes of Discipleship, Cont.
]
In the last article I was dealing with the
quality of "humility" as the KEY to
learning of (from) Jesus, as His
disciple. "God resists the
proud, but gives grace (to open our understanding) to the humble." (James 4:6; I Pet.
5:5).
[ Honesty: The Third
Aspect of Humility ]
I indicated that I could not take the time
to deal with all of the various aspects of humility, but that
there were three that I wanted to emphasize with reference to
our subject of "discipleship"placing ourselves under the
unconditional discipline of
Jesus Christ in order to be taught of Him. The first was our
willingness to be teachable. The
second was the absolute necessity for us to recognize our
desperate need to consistently
study and meditate in the
Word of God. The third, which I had not yet touched upon, is
honesty The Word of God is like
a like a sharp two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). It "cuts,"
exposes, rebukes
revealing the very depths of the
thoughts and motives of our hearts. If we are going to be
faithful to our Master (Teacher) then we must honestly "face" the convicting and
often embarrassing truth as it penetrates our inner being.
This is not always easy. The evasive, deceitfulness of the human heart is
declared to us in Jer. 17:9. It takes the grace of God to
enable us to fully repent, change our attitudes, ask
forgiveness of those we have wronged, make restitution,
change our minds about errors and
wrong concepts that we have held to, and
constantly make the adjustments
necessary if we are honestly
willing to be taught of the
Lord. According to Luke 8:15, the "seed" (Word of God) which
fell on the "good ground," "are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard
the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit to
perfection."
[ Purpose 3: To Be
Made Worthy of Jesus ]
In
this section, I have been dealing with the purposes of discipleship. I have
written on Nos. 1 & 2, which you can refer back to in
the two preceding articles on this subject. I will now
proceed to No. 3: "To be made WORTHY of Jesus, that we may
be prepared to dwell with Him in
His Heavenly Kingdom." In Mark 8:34, we read these words of
Jesus: "Whosoever will come AFTER me, let him deny himself,
and take up his cross, and follow me." (See also Mt. 10:38,
where Jesus says: "And he that takes not his cross, and follows after me, is not WORTHY of me."). In these scriptures, Jesus
is NOT dealing with the matter of initial salvation which is
a free GIFT upon faith in Jesus Christ (John 5:24; 6:40;
Rom. 6: 23; Eph. 2:8-9). Those acquainted with my writings
know that "eternal life" is nothing more than the
restoration of what Adam lost when he sinned deathless life on this earth. Beyond
that, there are specific requirements for those who aspire
to be intimately associated WITH Jesus IN His Heavenly
Kingdom IN the New Jerusalem to be a part of His RULING
Bride and Household. I will limit my remarks here since you
can read what I have written in other writings ("The Three Comings of
Jesus,"
"The Gift and the
Prize" in
Manifested Sons No. I, and "Preparation for the Lord's
Coming.")
Concerning the requirements that Jesus
enunciates: denying oneself, taking up one's cross, and
following Him, I will deal with later in the section on "The
Requirements of Discipleship."
But I will remark briefly on Jesus' statement that those who
fail to fulfill these requirements are not "worthy" of HIM. If preachers and
Bible students had not been so "brainwashed" by Satanic
traditions, they would know how to "rightly divide" (II Tim.
2:15) the Word of truth, and they would know when Jesus was
speaking of salvation (based
solely on faith in Him and "His merits" alone) and discipleship, the requirements of
which are necessary to make us "worthy" to dwell in His
immediate presence. The Greek word translated "worthy" in
Mt. 10:38, means "deserving, comparable, or suitable," which
indicates that there must be a sufficient purifying of our inner being from
innate carnality, as well as partaking of and growing into
the nature and character of Jesus Christ that
there will be a sufficient "comparableness" or
"suitableness" of our natures that we will experience a
complete harmony, unity, and totality of love. This comes
through His work IN us.
At
times, I have been in meetings of Christians where the
Spirit of God has moved in such a profound way and the presence of the Lord was so real
that it was awesome. It was a thrill to me. Yet through
experience, I discovered that many Christians do not like
such meetings; the presence of the Lord makes them feel very
uneasy and uncomfortable. Because their spiritual attunement, hunger and love for the Lord was so limited, they simply were not ready to get that close to the Lord's manifest
presence. How then can we say that such Christians are ready
to dwell with Christ in the New Jerusalem where the awesome holiness of His presence will be at least one
thousand times as great as anyone has experienced on this
earth?
One
of the most abused scriptures in
the New Testament is I John 3:2 "Beloved, now are we the
sons of God, and it does not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall
appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he
is." Most fundamentalist Christians teach that when we are
translated (or "raptured" as they call it), that by some
"magic button," not only will our bodies be changed to be
like Jesus glorious body, but that at the same time our
"inner being" will suddenly be changed into the "likeness"
of Jesus in all of the perfection of His character
qualities. All one has to do is to read the verse immediately following the one
quoted above and such stupid fantasies can be dispatched to
the pit where they belong; for I John 3:3 says: "and every
man that has this hope in him purifies
himself, even as he is pure." What need is there for us
to submit ourselves to getting purified here and now, in
this life, if this will be done suddenly in the instant that
we are translated to be with Jesus? The expression that we
at once shall be "like Him" when
we shall see Him refers to the change that will take in our
physical body, for we shall have
a body like to His, even as Paul says in
Phil. 3:21.
Both
Peter and Paul liken the physical body to a "tabernacle,"
"building," or "house" in which our spirit and soul lives.
Now tell me, if you move from one house into another one,
does that act in itself suddenly change YOU (morally or
spiritually)? no, beloved, if we have the HOPE
of having our bodies changed into the likeness of Christ's
glorious body, then the cleansing and purging, the growing
and changing into the image of Christ and the testings and
provings that are so necessary to prepare us, must take
place here and now in
this life. We read in James 1:12: "Blessed is the man that
endures temptation
(trials testings); for when he is tried
(successfully), he shall receive the CROWN of life, which
the Lord has promised to them
that LOVE Him." This scripture obviously has both a special
qualification and a special promise. The "crown of life" is certainly
something more than just the "gift of eternal life" (Rom. 6:23).
A "crown" is associated with a "prize" (I Cor. 9:24-27,
Phil. 3:l4)that
of "winning" Christ, to become a part of His "elect" Bride
or Household. The "crown of life" or "life CROWNED," could refer
to the GLORIFIED BODY which all
who "rule" with Christ shall receive (Phil. 3:21).
Jesus' solemn admonition that "he that
takes not his cross, and
follows not after me, is not worthy of me" (Mt. 10:38) is in
perfect harmony with His
revelation to the churches as given to John the apostle in
the last book of the New Testament. In Rev. 3:4-5, He makes
mention of certain ones in thechurch of Sardis: "You have a few names even in
Sardis
which have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with me in white; for they are worthy. He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in
white garments ." Surely there
were many saved (born again) Christians in the church at
Sardis, but Jesus makes it clear that only a few out of that church would
"walk with Him in white; for they are worthy." And to add
emphasis to this fact, He immediately follows with the added
truth that such are those who "overcome." He explains that
these are "worthy" because they have not "defiled" their "garments." To "defile" means
to soil.
[
aside: Intro to the Concept of "Soul Garments"
]
This
brings up a whole new subject which is too vast to cover in
this discipleship study. Their
garments refers to the inner soul
garment which each person has. Paul makes it clear in I
Thess. 5:23, that we humans are composed of spirit, soul and body. Your "spirit" is the real "you," which has been "formed"
or "fathered" by God out of His own
"substance," for God is
SPIRIT (see Zech. 12:1; Heb. 12: 9; John 4:25). But God has
provided "clothes" for us, just as you provide clothes for
your children. Your physical body is your "outer" garment,
and your soul is your "inner" garment. Just as when you put
on your clothes, I can see your outer garments, but I cannot
see your under-garments or under-wear, it is a "picture" of
the way that God has made us. I can see your physical body
(or garment), but I cannot see your soul body (or garment).
This is because the "atomic structure" of the soul is much
more "highly attenuated" in its composition its
vibrational "pitch" is on a much higher level of existence,
and the "visual waves" it emanates are not within the range
of the physical eyes. Because of its "highly diffused"
substance, the soul occupies the same space as the physical body,
and is an exact replica of the
physical body.
The
soul is under the same sentence of death as the physical
body. God declared through the prophet Ezekiel that "the soul that sins,
it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). The
people had evidence for hundreds of years that the physical
body was subject to death because of sin, but they needed to
know that they had a "soul" which also was subject to death
because of sin. Jesus confirmed this perspective in His
teaching by stating in Mt. 16:26, "what is a man profited,
if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul." And also His
warning in Mt. 10:28: "And fear not them which kill the
body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him
which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." And
other scriptures are clear that the soul must be saved (from death) see
James 5:20, Heb. 10:39. To "save" means to "preserve."
[Ed. Note:
This subject is covered thoroughly in Bro. Earls'
instructional prophecy Garments for Glory and
Beauty from his
booklet The Voice of the Seventh
Angel.]
[
return: Application to Worthiness ]
There
is so much more that needs to be said on this subject, and I
hate to leave you "dangling"so to
speak, but I don't want to get too far off of our immediate
subject of "discipleship." I must however go back to Rev.
3:4-5, and clarify further the matter of our "worthiness" to
be a part of the "elect" company who will "walk with Jesus
in white." We have already noted that such are "worthy"
because they have not "defiled
their garments" (their inner "soul garments"). To grasp the
significance of Jesus' words, we must understand that the
Scriptures teach that the "desire
nature" (with its emotions and feelings) functions through the soul. Because
of the inherited fallen Adamic nature, the corrupted soul-desires become a
"driving force" which dominate and "usurp" the authority and ruling
power (will) of the human spirit, and use the physical body as the
"instrument" to carry out and "fulfill" sinful propensities.
Such soul-desires which lead to sin, rebellion, lust,
covetousness, etc., then "defile" it cause
it to become "dirty" and unclean. Christ's redemptive
sacrifice for us has not only made provision for the soul to
be saved (preserved from death),
but also for the soul to be purified (I Pet. 1:22), or
cleansed. This not only means forgiveness of sins (the
"fruit" of our sin nature), but also the cleansing or
purging of the soul of that sin
nature's dominance or "drive" towards sin. John says
that God not only forgives our sins, but also cleanses us from ALL
unrighteousness (I John 1:9); that is, IF we are aware of Gods provision (and submit ourselves to it) for such
"freedom" through cleansing by the truth of God's Word (John 8:31-32,
36) and the fire of God's Spirit
(Mt. 3:11). This does not mean "sinless perfection" in the
sense that one so "cleansed" cannot sin, for God never
nullifies our power of free will to choose as we please.
Jesus' words in Rev. 3:4 indicate that
there were those in Sardis who had received a
deep cleansing unto purity of heart and holiness of life, but afterwards "defiled their
garments." "Cleansing" by the power of God's truth and His
baptismal firefrom the innate "bondage" to sin does not make
one suddenly a mature Christian. Much progress and growth
towards maturity and perfection must still take place.
Neither does it automatically remove all "faults" and
"weaknesses" which are common to our strictly human nature. We must still
diligently seek to "overcome" all that the Lord exposes and
shows us that is not pleasing to Him. Thus it is possible
for a "cleansed" one to "fall short" or fail the Lord in
various ways; even to momentarily sin in thought, word,
attitude or deed. But such inadvertent (not willful)
failings are quickly taken to the Lord and confessed, and
His forgiveness restores precious fellowship. I John
1:8-10.
*Note: I have dealt with the Baptism
of the Holy Spirit in a booklet titled "A New
and Living Way"
(available on request), so I will not go into further detail
here. But it is very important to note that the first words ever spoken about Jesus
by John the Baptist, who was to prepare "the WAY" of the
Lord, were: "he that comes after
me is mightier than I ... he shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost and with fire (Mt. 3:11).
And the last words that Jesus
Himself spoke to His disciples were: "tarry [ ] in
the city of Jerusalem, until you are endued with power from
on high" (Lk. 24:49, Acts 1:8).
So to be His disciples requires that we ask,
seek, even "knock" if necessary until we experience this
"immersion" in the "fire" of His Spirit, to purge the inner "dross" and empower for victory (Lk.
11:9-13).
[
Maintaining Clean Soul Garments ]
Jesus
words in Rev. 3:4-5, however, indicate that "inner garments"
which have been made "white" can once again be "defiled."
Last time, in part 2 of this study, I commented on our
Christian "walk" and the need to have Jesus "wash our feet"
every day from the "surface"
contaminations which we pickup from the inevitable
"rubbing shoulders" with the people of the world in our
daily activities. Thus we must continually exercise our will
in seeking the Lord, abiding in His Word, and letting Him
cleanse us from "surface" contaminations, for Satan has many
devices and "wiles" (Ephes. 6:11) to try to entice us to
once again "awaken" mental-emotional desires and attitudes
which can lead to sinful actions in word and/or deed. If we
are again so "enticed" and begin to
"take pleasure" in that which is displeasing to the Lord,
then the "dirt" of this world (the "lust of the flesh, and
the lust of the eyes (covetousness), and the pride of life
(self-importance and self-exaltation)" I
John 2:16, can begin to pollute and "defile" our inner soul
garmentand
such can disqualify us from being among those who will "walk
with Jesus in white." Even though saved, we would fall again
into the category of a carnal Christian, and become subject
to the chastening dealings of God.
Aside
from avoiding unnecessary contact with the world and worldly
people, the most important thing for the "purged" Christian,
who wants to remain "sanctified" (wholly separated to the Lord) unto holiness
(purity), is to avoid about 90% of all
TELEVISIONfor
the majority of the programs bring the pollution and filth
of the world right into your living room. You cannot "feed"
your mental-emotional being on such "garbage" and not run
the risk of getting seriously defiled within.
[
Worthiness in the Pursuit "After" Christ
]
I
want to focus your attention again on the words of Jesus in
Mt. 10:38: "and he that takes
not his cross, and follows after me, is not worthy of
me." One thing to "follow after" means is to pursue. According to Webster's
dictionary the definition of "pursue" is "to follow with a
view to overtake; to chase; to seek; to use measures to
obtain; to go in pursuit; to proceed along, with a view to
some end or object." Think of this definition in terms of a
young man (or woman) who has become acquainted with the one
they believe is the one they want to "win" as a life
companion. And with eventual marriage in mind, they go about
to "pursue" that person in line with the definition of that
word that I have quoted above. Read it again, and try to
grasp the parallel between a
young person's pursuit of the object of their affection for
a life partner, and our need to pursue Christ to "win" Him if we
hope to be a part of His heavenly Bride or Household to be
His partner in companionship and love. We must pursue Him with all of our hearts.
Does not young people who are "pursuing" the one they
desire spend as much time as they can with them, find out
all they can about them, seek to please them in every way
they can, express their love to them, be willing to forsake
all fanner family ties to be joined to them? Does Christ
require any less of us if we want to be joined to Him in
intimate bliss?
Even
though we can receive the free
gift of eternal life from Him, 'Christ Himself must be
"won" as illustrated above, and
this perspective is confirmed by Paul in Phil. 3:7-8: "But
what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for
Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things loss for the
excellency of the knowledge (full or intimate knowledge) of
Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss
of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may WIN
Christ." In vs. 14, Paul relates this "winning" of Christ
with the "prize of the high calling of God in Christ
Jesus." Salvation is a gift not a
prize; but certainly Christ Himself is the greatest "prize"
one could give his or her ALL to WIN. [Ed Note: This
distinction is covered more fully in the second half of Part
6 and the teaching The
Gift and the Prize .]
Look
with me again at Mt. 16:24: "If any man will come AFTER me,
let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me."
To "come after" Jesus can mean
to "come" (or arrive) at a later time. Notice Jesus' words in
John 13:36: "Simon Peter said to
him, 'Lord, where are you
going?' Jesus answered him, 'Where I go, you cannot
follow me now; but you shall
follow me afterwards.'" Here
Jesus is using the "follow me" to indicate the actual, and
eventual, personal arrival of Jesus' disciples to be where
He was going. Jesus had told his disciples that He was
leaving them to return to the Father, but they could not
"follow Him" in that journey at that
time, but they would AFTERwards (at a later time). Just
a few statements later, in John 14:2-3, Jesus said: "I go to
prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for
you, I will come again, and receive you to myself; that where I AM, there
you may be also." Ordinarily
this promise is automatically applied to all Christians. But
a careful examination of this and other scriptures that we
have been considering, makes it clear that Jesus promise is
applicable only to disciples;
those who deny self, take up their cross, and follow
Himthose
who truly desire and commit themselves to "go after Him"not
only to "pursue" Him with all
their hearts, but to go (or "be taken") to where Jesus is AFTER Him (at a later
time). Later, when I deal with the requirements of
discipleship more specifically, these truths will come into
clearer focus.
[
Purpose 4: To Be Perfected in Jesus
]
Continuing this section on the purposes of discipleship, No. 4 is
indicated by Jesus in Lk. 6:40: "The disciple is not above
his master: but every one that is perfect shall be as
his master." The Amplified version reads: "A pupil is
not superior to his teacher, but every one [when he is]
completely trainedreadjusted, restored, set to rights and
perfectedwill
be like his teacher.
Discipleship is for the purpose of "perfecting" us AS our
Teacherbecoming LIKE Him. There are two Greek
works translated "perfect" in the New Testament. One is teleios, which implies a goal
reached, that which is complete or finished, and relating to
God's goal for his children. The word can be translated
"mature" or "perfect" (in the sense of the finished work God
has purposed to accomplish in our lives in terms of a
certain measure of growth which He had previously
determinedsee
Phil. 1:6). This word is used by Jesus in Mt. 5:48: "You,
therefore, must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is
perfect {that is, grow into complete maturity of godliness
in mind and character, having reached the proper height of
virtue and integrity}," (Amplified version).
The
Greek word which is used in Lk. 6:40, however, is katartizo, and although it is
translated "perfect" several times in the New Testament in
the King James version, its meaning is more accurately
defined as, "to thoroughly furnish, to equip, to adjust, to
repair, to restore, to mend (it is used in medical language
of setting a bone or joint); also used in classical Greek
for refitting a ship." Teleios
is the Greek word which points towards the ultimate goal to which God is
bringing usfull
maturity in Christ; whereas katartizo characterizes the means to that end or
goalthat
is, the day by day adjustments, changes, repairs (from the
damages of sin), mendings (from hurts and offenses),
restoring (in broken relationships), furnishing and
equipping for battles against Satan and for service for the
Lordthat
we might learn by experience and thus progress in growing
spiritually, etc. Praise the Lord! Only discipleship to Jesus Christ
can "equip" us with
the spiritual "tools" to bring about the necessary changes
and adjustments in our lives that will enable Him to bring
us to the ultimate goal of spiritual maturity.
A
passage which relates to this matter, and which I believe
has been greatly misunderstood, is Mt. 19:16-22. A young man
asked Jesus: "what good thing shall I do, that I may have
eternal life? Jesus answered him in accordance with that
which was necessary for salvation at that
timethe
keeping of the Iaw. This was
before Jesus had provided a "more perfect way" by His death
and resurrection. Those who lived under the law were saved
by acceptably (in the sight of God) keeping the law. Study
Ezek., chap. 18. Any sins which were done in ignorance or
inadvertently, were atoned for (covered) by the blood of the
sacrificial animals (see Lev. 17:11, Lev., chaps. 4-6).
When
Jesus quoted the commandments of the law as the requirement
for eternal life, the young man said, "All these things have
I kept from my youth up" (Mt. 19:20). He had met the
requirements that Jesus enunciated (according to the law)
and thus could be assured he was saved (provided he
continued to keep the commandments of the law and did not
turn to wickedness, as clearly explained in Ezek. chap. 18).
But there was something in the young man's heart which yearned for something more. So he said to Jesus, What
lack I yet?" Jesus said to him,
"IF you would be perfect, go and sell what you have, and give to the
poor, and you shall have treasure in heaven: and
come and follow me." However, Mt. 19:22 says that "when the
young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he
had great possessions." When Jesus spoke these words to the
young man, contrary to what some teach, He was NOT giving
him further requirements for salvation. He would have been
dishonest to do so. Jesus was born under the law covenant,
lived under the law, and that law covenant was not
terminated until the cross (Col. 2:14). Heb. 7:19 says that
the law could make nothing (no person) perfect. God is not
just interested in the salvation (preservation of our
souls). He has purposed our
growth to perfection (maturity).
Salvation is just the beginningas a
new born babe in God's sight. When we are saved we still
LACK MUCH (to put it mildly!) So when the young man said,
"What lack I yet? Jesus answered him in terms of
DISCIPLESHIPone
of the purposes of which, as I have been setting before
youis to
bring us to perfection (full maturity in Christ). I will
develop this more fully when I discuss the requirements of
discipleship.
[
Purpose 5: To Intimately Know the Person of Christ and
His Kingdom Principles ]
The
final purpose of discipleship that I will deal with (No. 5)
is that we might come to know
intimately the person of
Christ, and the principles of
His Kingdom. I am dealing with these together, because it is
impossible to separate the person of Christ from what He
taught (Kingdom principles for livinghere
and now). And to really know Christ and to love Him is to
want to please Him and keep His commandments.
As I
have repeatedly taught, just being saved is not enough to be
prepared to be intimately associated with Jesus in His
Heavenly Kingdom in the New Jerusalem. When Jesus said,
Take my yoke on you and learn
of me," He first meant to come to know Him personally in an
intimate, loving way. The word "know" was used by the
Hebrews as an "idiom" to express the most intimate
relationship that a man and woman could have in the marriage
union (see Gen. 4:1, 17; Lk. 1:34; Mt. 1:25). So when Jesus
uses such expressions as, "I know you not" (Mt. 25:12), or
"I never knew you" (Mt. 7:23), I do not believe He was
saying that they were not "saved." But He was indicating
that either through carelessness or indifference, or through
being so busy working for Him, they had neglected to take the time to
develop an intimate relationship and
fellowship with Him, to where loving Him and pleasing
Him becomes the paramount issue of one's life.
We
come into a personal knowledge of Jesus Christ when we are
truly "born again". But this initial "knowing" of Him is
immature and must be cultivated and developed. An increased
"intimate knowing" of Jesus come through consistent study
and meditation in His Worduntil
it becomes Spirit (activated )
and LIFE to us (see John 6:63)that
our minds might be "renewed" and our lives "transformed"
(Rom. 12:2), and we become more "attuned" to His nature.
Knowing Him also involves cultivating a "prayer life" whereby
we commune and fellowship with Him; experiencing His
"working" in our lives by His Spirit, increasingly drawing
us to Himself as He "proves" His love to us over and over
again.
[The Role of Testing and the Harvest
Typology]
There
is just one more thing that I want to mention in these brief
comments on "knowing" Him. Satan tempts us to draw us away from the Lord, but God
tests or proves us in order to draw us closer to Him. So our reaction in times of trial is
so importantthat
we might learn to TRUST Him implicitly, knowing that
everything that He allows to happen to us is only for our good. And IF our heart is truly SET
on increasingly knowing Him, as was the apostle Paul's
(Phil. 3:8, 10), then that trial (of whatever nature it may
be) can SOLIDFY our relationship with the Lord and INCREASE
our "knowing" of Him.
It is
clear from the Word that it is only mature grain (from which
the "chaff" has been removed) is to be gathered into the
"barn" of Jesus' Heavenly Kingdom (Mt. 13:30). Jesus made it
clear that there are three categories of
Christians30,
60 and 100 fold (Mt. 13:8). The same three groups are
indicated in a different parabolic illustration in Mark
4:26-29 by three stages of growththe
blade, the ear, and the full grain in the ear. A wheat
farmer does not go out and harvest and gather into his barn
green blades, or unripe, partially filled ears, but only the
full ripe grainand
that only after the "chaff" has been removed by threshing.
Among all the other things that our precious Lord Jesus is
to us, we must realize that He is also the "Thresher." In
Mt. 3:12, John the Baptist characterizes Him in the
following words: "His winnowing fan (shovel, fork) is in His
hand, and He will thoroughly clear
out and clean His threshing
floor, and gather and store His wheat in His bam; but the chaff will He burn up with fire that cannot be
put out" (Amplified version). The "chaff" is not a part of
the wheat, but that which surrounds.
Chaff is a type of the world; symbolizing the fact that
the world surrounds us, but is
not to be a part of us. However, for our
spiritual development to
maturity, it takes the temptations and tests from the world
around us; that's why the Lord leaves us in the world after
we are savedit is
the "crucible" in which the Lord allows the "fiery trials"
to prove and strengthen our faith, and to help "purify" us
as gold (see I Pet. 1:7, 4:12). Jesus prayed of His
disciples, "I pray not that you
should take them out of the world, but that you should keep them from the
evil." (John 17:15; see also John I5:19). In John 16:33,
Jesus gives us the assurance that we can have victory over
all of the evil influences of the world: "In the world you shall have tribulation: but be
of good cheer; I have overcome the world." His victory is
OUR victoryif we
will just believe and receive it by faithand
completely submit our will to His (see I John 5:4), for
"greater is he (Christ) that is in you, than he (Satan) that
is in the world" (I John 4:4).
When
those who are represented by the "full grain in the ear"
(Mark 4:28-29) are ready to be translated into the heavenly
realm, then they shall be completely removed from the
"chaff" of this world. However, even now the Lord is "working" on us on His "threshing
floor" for
He wants every evil influence of the world to be
nullified in our lives. He wants us to be totally
separated ("in spirit") from the present world-system ruled
by Satan (see II Cor. 6:14-7:1). Therefore, even now, He is
putting us through "threshing floor" experiences of testings
and provings to separate us UNTO HIMSELF, and AWAY from all
"chaff" of this world.
Mt.
3:12 says that the Lord will "burn up the chaff with
unquenchable fire." I believe this takes place during the
tribulation periodespecially the final "vials of wrath."
For at that time this world's system ruled by Satan will be
completely destroyed. Also at that time, He will "thoroughly
purge His floor" (that is, take His church through the
tribulation periodall
except the firstfruits" in
order to cleanse and purify it, that it might be ready to be
presented to Him "a glorious church, not having spot, or
wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and
without blemish" (Ephes. 5:27). Ordinarily, Christians think
only negatively about the tribulation. But let me SHOCK you!
The tribulation period will be God's
great act of mercy to the church, when multitudes who
have been blinded by the traditions of men will "awaken to
the truth," and have the opportunity to GET READY to meet
their Lord and be a part of that "elect company" who will be
translated to the glorified estate at the tribulation's
close.
[Ed. Note: For Bro. Earls' most
thorough treatment of the harvest typology, please see his
final treatise "The First and the
Last."]
[
Knowing the Principles of the Kingdom
]
Now
for a few final comments on this fifth purpose of
discipleship: to increasingly know the person of Christ, and to understand (in order to implement
in our livesboth
within and without in action), the principles of His Kingdom. Jesus
came as a KING, proclaiming (preaching) the "good news of
that Kingdom. He manifested the nature of that Kingdom by spending
untold hours virtually every day in ministering to the needs of the peoplein
healings, deliverances, miraclesthat
He might lay a foundation for
FAITH in Himself. But also, almost daily, He spent untold
hours TEACHING the PRINCIPLES of His Kingdomwhich
cannot be separated from His
PERSONfor
they reflect the LIFE-STYLE that
He Himself LIVED. These "principles" (of life) are the
spiritual and moral TRUTH-laws
that are in constant operation
for our benefit and blessing IF we align our lives with them in
thought, motive, word and deed. They may be expressed as
immutable "cause and effect" truth as "blessed are the
merciful: for they shall obtain
mercy" (Mt. 5:7) and "give,
and it shall be given to you. (Lk. 6:38), or given as a
commandment such as "a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you" (John 13:34), or "as you
would that men should do to you,
do [ ] also to them
likewise" (Lk. 6:31). But regardless of the form of
expression, they are ABSOLUTES for livingeternal "verities"as
unchangeable as God Himself. If we are true disciples, we will study and
meditate on every axiom for living that Jesus taught,
diligently seeking to apply its every facet
that
"joy-bells" may ring, as we actually experience these
Truth-laws working for our blessing and ultimate
good.
[
aside: More on the Soul Body ]
Before I comment further on the above, I want
to include in this section a quotation that I believe helps
to confirm my perspective, explained earlier, that the
"soul" is actually an "inner body-covering" for the human
spirit. The same life forces that develop the fetus within
the mother's womb also generate within that fetus this fine spun,
highly attenuated duplicate of
the physical body. For the person whose soul has been saved
(preserved from death), that soul serves as a functioning vehicle for the spirit in the
heavenly realms after the death of the physical body, and
also maintains the personal identity of that person who has
lived on this earth. For the unsaved, the soul (after the
death of the physical body) gradually loses its
cohesiveness, causing its disintegrating (death). This
process is pictured by type in the Bible by the disease of
leprosy. We read in I Pet. 3:19
of "spirits in prison", because
they were "denuded" having lost both their physical and
soul garments. But
in Rev. 6:9 we read of "souls
under the altar" in heaven saved
persons clothed in their soul garments, or
bodies.
[ - The Testimony of Richard Eby
]
The
following is taken from "Caught Up Into Paradise" by Richard
E. Eby, D.O., physician and surgeon, published by Fleming H.
Revell Co., Old Tappan, N.J. Dr. Eby had an accident and was
pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. I don't remember
how long he was dead, but God miraculously restored him to
life. While his body was dead, he was taken to paradise and
describes a portion of his experience as follows:
''Aside from the complete absence of
pain and the total presence of peace (neither of which I had
ever known on earth), I looked like me, felt like me,
reacted like me. I was me. I simply suddenly had shed the
old body and was now living in this fantastic cloud-like
body! Being a physician, first instinct was to inspect my
new body, and I instantly admired it. It was mine alright.
After 60 years in the old one, it was easy to see that the
new body was me. I was the same size, the same shape, as the
person I had seen in the mirror for years. I was clothed in
a translucent flowing gown, pure white, but transparent to
my gaze. In amazement, I could see through my body and noted
the gorgeously white flowers behind and beneath me. This
seemed perfectly normal, yet thrillingly novel. My feet were
easy to see. No bifocals needed. There were no bones or
vessels or organs. No blood. I noticed the absence of
genitals. The abdomen and chest were organless and
transparent to my gaze, though translucent to my peripheral
vision. There was no air to breath, no blood to pump, no
food to digest or eliminate. This was not a carnal body of
organs, mortal and temporary."
Note
that he observed that the body he had in paradise was exactly like the physical body he
had on earth, but without the
organs necessary for a purely physical existence. Although
"cloud-like" in substance, it was a real, identifiable body.
Note also that this body he describes was not the glorified physical body which
Christians will eventually receive either through translation or
resurrection. The glorified physical body will be a much more powerful and versatile body or "vehicle" than
the soul body. A glorified body can function both in the heavenly realms and on the earth. This was demonstrated
by Jesus after His resurrection, for in His glorified body
He was able to remain invisible in the vicinity of the earth
for 40 days (Acts 1:3); yet also "manifest" (appear) many
times to individuals and groups (I Cor. I5:5-7). When
causing His body to manifest in the physical realm, He could
be seen, touched, and even eat food (Lk. 24:36-43). He
emphasized that His manifest physical body had flesh and bones (Lk. 24:39), whereas the body
that Dr. Eby had in paradise did not have any bones. A soul-body cannot manifest in the physical realm. It is only for the
use and functioning (toward
progress in God's plan) in the realms of paradise, until the "outer garment" (the
physical body) is restored in the resurrection as the
primary "functioning vehicle" for the human
spirit.
I'm
going to conclude for this time with this page, so have to
leave this subject for now. But I will continue it in some
future study for Jesus had other things to say about the
distinction between spirit, soul and body, even what happens
finally in the "lake of fire" (Gr. "gehenna"), for those who are unsaved.
You might read Mt. 10:28 and Mark 9:43-38 and meditate on
them. In the latter scripture, what is the "worm"
(figuratively speaking) that "dies not" in "hell fire"?
Jesus was primarily a teacher, and He wants dedicated disciples (pupils). Are you one?