Description
God's purpose is to bring us out of an earthbound existence to live in another realm. "Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth. For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, is revealed, then you also will be revealed with Him in glory (Col.3:1-4). As our lives become merged with His, we become sharers in all that He is.
This is God's eternal purpose in creating us.
John 16:
13 "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.
14 "He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.
15 "All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.
We become sharers in Christ's life and glory through the Spirit. Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God. Learning to forsake the limitations of the earthbound soul realm to live in God's world, the realm of spirit, enables us to become partakers with Christ in all the Father's fullness. As long as we live a religious, earthbound existence we will never know the glories that God has prepared for us.
1st. Pet. 1:
10 ¶ As to this salvation, the prophets who prophesied of the grace that would come to you made careful searches and inquiries,
11 seeking to know what person or time the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating as He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.
Verse 11 gives us the pattern of our metamorphosis from earthbound religion to freedom in the Spirit. The sufferings of Christ made real in our lives leads to the glories that follow. As Paul stated, if we suffer with Him, we shall be glorified with Him.
Rom. 8:
16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
17 ¶ and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Verse 17 gives us unique insight into God's purpose for us. We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ that we may also be glorified together. We are to share together in the Father's glory.
The sufferings of Christ manifested in us lifts us out of the dullness of religion and opens our eyes and ears to function in a higher realm. The writer of Hebrews put it this way: "For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart." It's through this division of soul and spirit that takes place within us that we begin to discern the spiritual forces around us.
Eph. 3:
8 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ,
9 and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things;
10 so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places.
11 This was in accordance with the eternal purpose which He carried out in Christ Jesus our Lord,
12 in whom we have boldness and confident access through faith in Him.
The wisdom of God is made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places through the church. Throughout the Scriptures God emphasizes His desire for a people for His own possession. We can never be wholly His until all the influences of the spirit realm are eliminated from our lives. He alone is to be Lord over us.