A Heavenly Hope (Eight Steps – Part 9)

As we enter these last days, it is imperative that we complete our spiritual foundation and move on to maturity.  There will be an increase in tribulations and in order to go through them victoriously, we must look beyond them.  We must press on, as Paul stated, “Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ…  That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  Not that I have already attained, or am already perfected; but I press on… I press toward the goal of the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus… For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.” (Phil. 3:8-15, 20-21) Early in my Christian walk, I was seeking the Lord about a vision for my ministry.  This is the passage He led me to.  The vision He wanted me to have was not about ministry, but about maturity and the hope of His return.

Do you notice something in this passage: “if by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead”?  Paul did not take it for granted that he would take part in the resurrection from the dead.  This part of salvation is a hope; it is in the future.  He goes on to tell the Philippians that many walk as enemies of the cross of Christ and their end will be destruction (Phil. 3:18-19).  It is a deception to think that we can accept Christ and reap all the benefits of salvation, without obedience.  “Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God?  Do not be deceived.” (1Cor. 6:9) Did Paul teach eternal security when he said:  “In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is a guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” (Eph. 1:13-14) If I am given a guarantee of something, I must hang on to it in order to reap its benefits.  If I lose it, I have no benefits.  The promise and the guarantee are God’s side of the covenant.  The acceptance, by the obedience of faith, is our side of the covenant. 

In the last article we talked about the need to develop perseverance.  To successfully increase in perseverance, we need to have hope.  These two work together to develop the character we need to overcome.  “And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Ro. 5:3, 4) Hope speaks of something that we do not yet have.  It is based on God’s promises.  We walk in an assurance of faith that we will receive the things hoped for.  Character gives us more hope because we find that as we are tested, we come through as overcomers.  If Christ learned obedience through the things He suffered, so must we (Heb. 5:8).  When we are tested, we find ourselves choosing Christ instead of the world.  Usually our flesh is wounded, but our soul becomes more spiritual.  We even find that we do not have to endure with our own strength: “If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you.” (1Pe. 4:14) We should not fear tribulations because God is able to take us through them.  The enemy will attack us with fear, but we must put on the helmet of hope to guard our minds (Eph. 6:17; 1Thess. 5:8). 

One of the reasons for suffering is discipline, but there is another reason that Paul alluded to in this passage from Philippians: “according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself.” The writer of Hebrews says that we do not yet see all things under Christ. (Heb. 2:5-9) It is difficult sometimes to put into words what I see with my spirit.  Let me try to explain it this way.  When we accept Christ as our Saviour, we are baptized into His death and we receive a new life in Him.  We are no longer our own.  If Christ must rule until all His enemies are put under His feet, He must put all these enemies under His Body, which is the Church.  There are principalities and powers that still rule over this world, which God could overthrow in an instant, but He knows that in doing so, countless souls would be lost with them.  Christ is currently reconciling all things on earth and in heaven to Himself (Col. 1:20).  My point is this: if we belong to Him, then should He not be able to involve us in this ministry of reconciliation?  Of course this involves the preaching of the Gospel, but it also involves suffering for Him.  This is what Paul meant when he said: “I now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church.” (Col. 1:24) We must suffer to reach the souls that are still under his dominion. 

The story of Job is difficult to understand because we always tend to interpret his sufferings as God wanting to deal with his character.  I do not accept this interpretation because God told Satan that Job was “blameless and upright”.  My understanding of Job’s experience is one of extending the kingdom of heaven.  God saw someone on earth that He could depend upon to help gain a victory over the enemy.  There are people, and possibly angels, who wonder at the goodness and power of God.  He is working through the body of Christ “To the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places” (Eph. 3:10).  Job suffered a great deal for the sake of righteousness, but at the end he gained a new experience of the manifest presence of God, the influence of his message increased, and “God blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. (Job 42:12). 

In closing, let me remind you of the promise of our Lord: “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.” (Rev. 22:12) Let us put on the helmet of hope as we accept that through many tribulations we enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).