November 17th, 2015, Kichijouji Bible Study
Gotthold Beck
Ephesians
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus, the Messiah! He has blessed us in the Messiah with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm,
1:4 just as he chose us in the Messiah before the creation of the universe to be holy and blameless in his presence. In love
1:5 he predestined us for adoption to himself through Jesus the Messiah, according to the pleasure of his will,
1:6 so that we would praise his glorious grace that he gave us in the Beloved One.
[International Standard Version]
In our previous meetings, we discussed many questions. One of such questions was what the will of the Lord God in our lives was. The answer to this question was that it was to let us receive the life of Jesus, that is to say, an eternal life.
Secondly, we set a question as to how we can obtain the eternal life of Jesus. The answer to this question was that if the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of God, shows us our sins and Jesus, who died a sacrificial death on behalf of our sins, and then if we confess our sins and rely on Jesus, the Holy Spirit will take our dead spirit back to life.
There is yet another important question. How sincerely do we hope for the salvation? We received the salvation for no charge, which would never be taken away. When we did, we were also given the hope for an ultimate salvation. This is a hope for the salvation of our soul according to the Bible.
Ephesians
2:8 For by such grace you have been saved through faith. This does not come from you; it is the gift of God
2:9 and not the result of actions, to put a stop to all boasting.
Peter wrote virtually the same things;
1 Peter
1:5 Through faith you are being protected by God’s power for a salvation that is ready to be revealed at the end of this era.
1:9 because you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Secondly, we have a hope of being transformed to a glorious body. It is explained in chapter 15 of the First Epistle to Corinthians, which is also known as the book of resurrection.
1 Corinthians
15:50 Brothers, this is what I mean: Mortal bodies cannot inherit the kingdom of God, and what decays cannot inherit what does not decay.
15:51 Let me tell you a secret. Not all of us will die, but all of us will be changed―
15:52 in a moment, faster than an eye can blink, at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will be raised never to decay, and we will be changed.
15:53 For what is decaying must be clothed with what cannot decay, and what is dying must be clothed with what cannot die.
As we can see from the last verse, we are given this hope that what is decaying will be clothed with what cannot decay.
The Rapture of the Churches is our final hope. The Rapture refers to the incident in which Jesus comes back to this world to take up all his believers into heaven. The most famous verses which explain this incident are, needless to say, in chapter 4 of the First Thessalonians;
1 Thessalonians
4:16 With a shout of command, with the archangel’s call, and with the sound of God’s trumpet, the Lord himself will come down from heaven, and the dead who belong to the Messiah will rise first.
4:17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up in the clouds together with them to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever.
We certainly do not know anything about the near future. We have no idea as to what will happen next week or how the world will look like six months later from now. However, we are informed of this event that will happen in a very far future and actually that future may begin today. After this happens, we will stay with the Lord forever. What a blessing! It is an unimaginable glory.
From what we have learned so far, it has become clear that all those who were born from above have received the salvation that will never be taken away but will last until the end of time. Those who have been regenerated will never perish anymore.
When we accepted Jesus as the savior of our own, we were born from above and thus we are all liable to become his witnesses. We are still left alive in order to remain in this world and testify the salvation we received.
Although it is certainly filled with sins and death, we need our flesh to continue to live in this world. It is for this reason that our life is full of continuous conflicts between our regenerated spirit and our flesh. Our spirit was newly reborn.
However, our flesh is still not free from sins and death. Our soul is the battlefield of the spirit and flesh. We will prevail if the Holy Spirit has control over everything. While a believer is controlled by his flesh, he undergoes regression. If we are controlled by the power of good flesh, we will return to a life bound by the laws of the Old Testament just like the believers in Galatia.
Contrarily, if we are controlled by unrighteous flesh, we move back into this world just like the believers in Corinth. Such Christians need to confess their sins and surrender themselves to their Holy Spirits.
Now, what is the corruption after all? If the kind of Christians I mentioned earlier continue to live in the world ruled by laws in all aspects throughout their lives, even though they do not lose the salvation and remain as newly generated children of God, they would never be able to receive anything that is prepared for matured sons.
I do not need to read the Bible. I do not have to pray. I need no fellowship with other believers. Because I believe in Jesus, I do not need anything else. Some people think that way. Certainly, it is enough in order for them to receive the salvation. However, I doubt such believers have true joy in their daily lives.
There is no true joy in the daily lives of such people, and neither do they love Jesus wholeheartedly. They lack the motivation for the Salvation of the spirit. They will eventually regret their indifference of today. That is to say, they will not have the calling from heaven.
From the recognition of these facts, the second point is derived. That is to say, what is it that the regenerated people may lose? All Christians have a calling from heaven. In the Millennial Kingdom to come, Christians will rule this world with the Lord and live with Jesus forever.
Try to imagine. We are destined to rule this world forever with Jesus. What a wonderful calling! We can fulfill this calling only when we are sanctified, bear fruits and surrender all our life to the Lord.
I do not have to read the Bible. I do not need to pray. I do not need fellowship with other believers at all. If you do all things the way you want to, you will never be able to receive the crown the Lord prepared.
How does the Bible explain this calling? Paul and Peter wrote a lot about this. Let us look at what Paul said about it in the Ephesians, chapter 1, verses 18 and 19.
Ephesians
1:18 Then, with the eyes of your hearts enlightened, you will know the confidence that is produced by God having called you, the rich glory that is his inheritance among the saints,
1:19 and the unlimited greatness of his power for us who believe, according to the working of his mighty strength.
He wrote essentially the same thing to the believers in Thessaloniki.
2 Thessalonians
1:11 With this in mind, we always pray for you, asking that our God might make you worthy of his calling and that through his power he might help you accomplish every good desire and faithful action.
Peter wrote the same thing.
2 Peter
1:10 So then, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election certain, for if you keep on doing this you will never fail.
Hebrews
3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, partners in a heavenly calling, keep your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest of our confession.
“Keep your focus on Jesus.” Paul also wrote a similar thing in his epistle to the Philippians. This was a letter written from prison.
Philippians
3:13 Brothers, I do not consider myself to have embraced it yet. But this one thing I do: Forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
3:14 I keep pursuing the goal to win the prize of God’s heavenly call in the Messiah Jesus.
All saved people are supposed to rule the nation of the Lord Jesus with him. But, it is only allowed to such Christians who satisfy Jesus.
But, please be careful not to confuse the salvation with the calling. All those who are born from above have an eternal life without exception. All Christians share this same salvation. For example, the salvation that the thief crucified along with Jesus received was the same perfect salvation as Paul. However, the calling is not like that. To conclude this sermon, I would like to discuss briefly three things regarding the calling.
Firstly, there is a blessing of calling. Secondly, there is a legacy of calling. Thirdly, there is a rest by calling.
The blessing or greatness of calling is mentioned in Hebrews. There might be many vague and unclear parts in the epistle to the Hebrews. This is a letter written for those who have obtained the eternal salvation. Therefore, the salvation mentioned in the Hebrews does not refer to being born from above, but to the blessing of being called for the already saved ones. For example, the next few verses talk about the blessing of being called.
Hebrews
1:14 All of them are spirits on a divine mission, sent to serve those who are about to inherit salvation, aren’t they?
2:3 how will we escape if we neglect a salvation as great as this? It was first proclaimed by the Lord himself, and then it was confirmed to us by those who heard him,
9:28 so the Messiah was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people. And he will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to bring salvation to those who eagerly wait for him.
Paul also wrote to his beloved disciple, Timothy;
2 Timothy
2:10 For that reason, I endure everything for the sake of those who have been chosen so that they, too, may receive the salvation that is in the Messiah Jesus, along with eternal glory.
2:11 This saying is trustworthy: In dying with the Messiah, true life we gain.
2:12 Enduring, we with him will reign. Who him denies, he will disclaim.
2:20 In a large house there are not only utensils made of gold and silver, but also those made of wood and clay. Some are for special use, while others are for ordinary use.
2:21 Therefore, if anyone stops associating with these people, he will become a special utensil, set apart for the owner’s use, prepared for every good action.
2:22 Flee from youthful passions. Instead, pursue righteousness, faithfulness, love, and peace together with those who call on the Lord with a pure heart.
While the blessing of the salvation lasts forever, sometimes, the blessing of the calling is taken away from us.
Secondly, there is a legacy of calling. We are promised that we will inherit the legacy with the Christ because of the calling of heaven. The example can be found in here;
Romans
8:17 Now if we are children, we are heirs―heirs of God and co-heirs with the Messiah―if, in fact, we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
It is a wonderful promise, isn't it?
James
2:5 Listen, my dear brothers! God has chosen the poor in the world to become rich in faith and to be heirs of the kingdom that he promised to those who keep on loving him, has he not?
Ephesians
5:5 For you know very well that no immoral or impure person, or anyone who is greedy (that is, an idolater), has an inheritance in the kingdom of the Messiah and of God.
We are privileged to inherit the legacy with Christ. We always need to keep this in our mind. The legacy of the calling refers to the kingdom of Jesus, the Millennium Kingdom. In this kingdom to come, only the righteous Christians will rule for a thousand years with Jesus according to the Bible.
Finally, as the third point, there is a rest that comes after calling. After the saved people fight out fierce battles and overcome all troubles and pains, rest will come. When the people of Israel left Egypt, they received the blood of the lamb.
From the viewpoint of the New Testament, this was a proof that the entire people of Israel were believers. Although all people of Israel desired to move into the land of Canaan, in actuality, it was only two of them who could enter that land and all others perished in the wilderness. All people of Israel actually had salvation. However, it was only a few of them who could enter their rest. Paul explained this in his first epistle to the Corinthians.
1 Corinthians
10:1 Now I do not want you to be ignorant, brothers, of the fact that all of our ancestors who left Egypt were under the cloud. They all went through the sea,
10:2 and they all were immersed into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
10:3 They all ate the same spiritual food
10:4 and drank the same spiritual drink, for they drank from the spiritual rock that went with them. That rock was the Messiah.
10:5 But God wasn’t pleased with most of those people, and so they were struck down in the wilderness.
10:6 Now their experiences serve as examples for us so that we won’t set our hearts on evil as they did.
10:7 Let’s stop being idolaters, as some of them were. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to play.”
10:8 Let’s stop sinning sexually, as some of them were doing, and on a single day 23,000 fell dead.
10:9 Let’s stop putting the Lord to the test, as some of them were doing, and were destroyed by snakes.
10:10 You must stop complaining, as some of them were doing, and were annihilated by the destroyer.
10:11 These things happened to them to serve as an example, and they were written down as a warning for us in whom the culmination of the ages has been attained.
10:12 Therefore, whoever thinks he is standing securely should watch out so he doesn’t fall.
Hebrews
3:19 So we see that they were unable to enter because of their unbelief.
4:11 Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fail by following their example of disobedience.
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