Daily Archives: August 3, 2014

Already God’s Kids

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ALREADY GOD’S KIDS

“Not only so, but we who have the firstfuits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently.” Romans 8:23-25.

The evidences of creation’s groaning are all around us. We see it in destructive weather patterns and in natural disasters such as wind, earthquakes, fire and floods. It is evident in the violence that happens in the animal kingdom. We feel utterly helpless at the power of volcanic eruptions, hurricanes and tornados. We feel instinctively that it is unnatural for the earth to be heaving and writhing as though in pain.

What of our own groaning? Do we not groan in our pain and suffering, our emotional upheavals and the helplessness and hopelessness we feel when we have no control over our circumstances? Paul says, “Take heart, child of God. These are the birth pangs, like a woman in labour. A whole new order that is coming into being. Our travail is not in vain. We will not bring forth wind.”

On what do we place our hope? Just as the firstfuits of the harvest assure us that the full harvest will soon be ripe, so we, who have the Holy Spirit already, know that He is the guarantee of the fulfilment of God’s promise.

When God created the first man and woman, He fused his body and spirit. Created from the dust of the earth, God breathed His Spirit into him and he became a living being. Death is unnatural; the separation of body and spirit was not God’s intention. It was sin that resulted in death. Redemption will not be complete until our bodies are restored to their original perfection and reunited with our spirits.

When Jesus rose from the dead, He became the firstfuits of the resurrection.

“But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfuits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also came through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ shall all be made alive. But each in turn; Christ the firstfuits; then, when He comes, those who belong to Him. Then the end will come…” 1 Corinthians 15:20-24a.

When this happens, our adoption as God’s sons and daughters will be complete. We are already His children. He views the finished product. He treats us as though we are already perfect. We are in the process of becoming what we already are.

“For in Christ all the fullness of the deity lives in bodily form, and in Christ you have been brought to fullness…” Colossians 2:9, 10a.

“For by one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.” Hebrews 10:14.

Wow! Do you realise what that means? We do not have to gain God’s approval or earn our position with Him. Because we are in Christ Jesus through faith, we have already been approved as His sons and daughters and made perfect from His point of view. His Spirit is at work in us, fashioning us into what we already are, mirror images of His Son and our brother, Jesus Christ.

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him for we shall see Him as He is. All who have this hope in Him purify themselves, just as He is pure.” 1 John 3:1-3.

We have a strong motivation for persevering in our faith and hope in God and in godly living because the rewards far outweigh the cost. What we endure now because of our loyalty to Him is temporary and cannot be compared with the eternal reward of being made complete in Him.

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

A Glorious Expectation

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A GLORIOUS EXPECTATION 

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in the hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.” Romans 8:18-22.

Imagine yourself the parent of a child in a school play. Your little one is in the caste for which they have practised and she has talked about for many months. There is great excitement as the day arrives. Parents and friends have assembled from all over the town to watch the performance. The curtain is about to go up. Everyone waits with baited breath for the first glimpse of the children who are dressed in their finery. The props are in place. The music strikes up and slowly the curtain opens, revealing the splendour of the children!

Now imagine the caste being, not the children in a school play, but all the sons and daughters of God throughout time waiting for the curtain to be raised to display them in their final perfection as mirror images of Jesus, their elder brother. The audience is made up of all creation, including the fallen angels who have made every attempt to frustrate God’s preparation of His children for this big moment.

Creation waits with eager expectation because it knows that, in that moment when God’s children are revealed, it will be released from its captivity to death and decay, and it will join God’s children in putting God’s glory in display forever and ever. There will be no more carnivores, killing and devouring fellow creatures. Those that once ate meat will eat grass. There will be no more decay; no vultures will be hunting for carrion; no death of any kind will happen anywhere.

All that went wrong when Adam sinned will be reversed. God will make everything new. He will prove to rebel principalities once and for all, that He was right and they were wrong. Every son and daughter of God will be perfected in righteousness by his or her choice, freely loving and obeying God as their heavenly Father because He forgave all their sin through the death of His Son.

They believed the truth of what He had said and what He had done, and have become sons of God and co-heirs with Jesus. Finally, against all odds, God will have His family of beloved children, and He will be able to put them on display, perfected forever, for the whole universe to see. In that moment, those who have rebelled against Him and refused to believe His Word, will be banished from Him forever.

All the suffering that we are subjected to as part of this fallen world will be nothing compared with the glory that will be revealed on that day. God’s children face, not only the adversities that are part of an imperfect world, but also the hostility of those who are God’s enemies. Instead of evading suffering by joining the world in its sinful rebellion against God, we who remain loyal to Him and walk in His ways, are guaranteed a place in His forever family, and we have the promise of eternal life.

Look around you. Whatever frustrates you now, the destruction of our environment, the exploitation of our resources, the wanton decimation of our beautiful animals for human greed, will be over and those who participate in the mindless devastation, will be removed – forever.

We have a glorious future ahead. Be a part of it!

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.