July 1998
In our Lord's prayer Jesus tells his disciples how they should pray. He says, "This, then, is how you should pray: 'Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." (Mat.6:9-10).
When we pray those words "your kingdom come" and
the words "your will be done on earth as it is in heaven"
what are we praying for? Are we praying for progress--that is,
for step-by-step movements in the "right" direction?
Or should we have in mind an event of God's making? Is there a
kind of change in the world around us that we should "read"
as: `God is answering that prayer'? Is there a kind of evidence
that a believer should use to support his or her belief that a
particular human program or activity is contributing towards the
achievement or realization of the kingdom that is being prayed
for?
Perhaps the best way to think about the meaning of the words (in
the Lord's prayer) "your kingdom come"
and the words "your will be done on earth as it is
in heaven" is to think about the features that the
Bible says will be found in his kingdom, (or, perhaps more to
the point, to think of those features which will be true of all
its inhabitants) and to consider how those distinctive features
came to be. Thinking about what is unique or distinctive about
those charac teristics and the distinctive way those features
came into existence, seems to me, should clue us into the correct
way to view God's kingdom and meaning of the prayer to our Father--"your
kingdom come."
Before plunging into a consideration of the features that differentiate
the Kingdom of God from a world of sin and sinners one very important
matter must be mentioned. (Oh, how intertwined are all God's revealed
truths!) The Bible speaks of the kingdom in different ways, ways
so different that we cannot put them together completely. How
all God's truths fit together goes beyond our logic. (Isaiah
55:8-9; Romans 11:33) The greatest
human theologian the apostle Pauldescrib es our present level
of understanding this way: "Now we see but a poor
reflection as in a mirror [through a glass, darkly-KJV];
then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall
know fully, even as I am fully known." (1
Corinthians 13:12) It seems we should understand the Kingdom
to have two different forms, an existing form which the Bible
says is already present, and a perfected or purified (decontaminated)
"post-judgment" form.
The Bible teaches that a form of the kingdom is already present
in this world. (For some documentation of this see "kingdom file") In the
Lord's prayer are we being told to pray for the coming of what
is already present? (Romans
8:23-25) Whatever the form of
the kingdom is in this world (the body of Christ, the church)
a feature of it is that it does not include everybody or every
place in this world and it does not appear in a completely realized
state anywhereeven within any single individual. The
Bible also speaks about a form of the kingdom which will be pure,
"decontaminated." Is it not for the coming of this purified
kingdom that believers long for and are being told to pray forsss?
(Although frequently in the rest of this meditation just the term
'kingdom' is used it refers to the purified form of the kingdom
which will exist after the separation of "the righteous"
and the "unrighteous" at the time of the final judgment
at which time the kingdom will be pure and holy because every
individual who does not come up to this standard will be
have been excluded or removed. The verse-documentation that sometimes
explicitly and sometimes implicitly sets forth these truths will
be shown later in this meditation.)
There are three primary ways we can learn about the meaning of holiness.1- holiness as indicated by what is excluded. 2- holiness as indicated by what is removed. 3- holiness as indicated by positive assertion. The exclusion way and the removal way describe some of the traits of individuals who are not inhabitants of the kingdom. The positive assertion way describes traits of individuals who are inhabitants of the kingdom.
Does God's kingdom consist of individuals who have gone through
a process of self-improve- ment, a process of development of a
potential within oneself (and, of course, helping other polluted
individuals do the same)? The reality is that man's post-Fall
condition (ever since the sin of Eve and Adam--Romans
5:12,19) was so serious--more
than "fatal"--so that it required a cure from without.
Who creates life from death? Who creates a soul? A number of insights
into the reality of man's condition shows why man had been and
is completely unable to provide the radical "cure" that
was required.
"For the sinful nature desires what is contrary
to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature.
They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what
you want." (Galatians 5:17)
Since the Fall we might say sin is "built in"--into
the very fiber of our being. It was Jesus speaking to his disciples
who said, "Watch and pray so that you will not fall
into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak."
(Matthew 26.41)The apostle Paul said
of himself " ... I see another law at work in the
members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and
making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within my members.
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of
death? Thanks be to God-- through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then,
I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful
nature a slave to the law of sin." (Romans
7:23-25)
Another truth about sin (which is perhaps but another way of
describing the penetrating power of sin) is that sin in the descendants
of Adam and Eve is in their heart and will. Sin has as it were
"infected" their innermost being.
What is sin? It is not an inadequate supply of goodness or an
inadequate knowledge of the truth. Sin is not an inadequate supply
of knowledge, an inadequate supply of wisdom or even an inadequate
knowledge of God's opinions, standards and values. Is it not even
an inadequate supply of virtue. How simple that kind of a "disease"
would be to deal with. When God says he is "calling a people
out of darkness" the darkness is not the "darkness"
of ignorance, even ignorance of how to walk the right way. It
is not because of ignorance that human beings are not choosingto
walk in the true way or by the "narrow path." The "disease"
is not a lack of light. No, man's "problem" is his attitude
toward the light, towards the authority of God, which is to say,
towards God. The Bible says so.7 "The sinful mind
is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it
do so." (Romans 8:7 ;
See also Exodus
5:2; 1 Corinthians 2:14) "This
is the verdict," the Bible says. "Light
has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light
because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the
light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds
will be exposed." (John 3:19-20)
The bible says: "Those controlled by the sinful nature
cannot please God" (Romans
8:8)
Man cannot do anything to himself to make himself pure and
blameless, that is, acceptable in God's sight. God's
cure does not suggest that polluted sinners are able to pull themselves
up by their own bootstraps. The Bible says, "Who
can bring what is pure from the impure? No-one!"
(Job 14:4)The Bible says, "Although
you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the
stain of your guilt is still before me," declares the Sovereign
LORD." (Jeremiah 2:22)
Jesus said, 17 "Likewise every good tree bears good
fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. 18 A good tree cannot bear
bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit."
(Matthew 7:17-18) Of course ducks
act like ducks. Of course snakes act like snakes. Of course unbelievers
act like unbelievers. That is what they are! The Bible puts it
this way: "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the
leopard its spots? Neither can you do good who are accustomed
to doing evil." (Jeremiah
13:23). The apostle John addressing believers said, "We know that ... the whole world is under the control
of the evil one." (1
John 5:19)In another verse the apostle Paul declares, 4
"The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers,
so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of
Christ, who is the image of God." (2
Corinthians 4:4) And yet again are we told what God's word
teaches: "The Scripture declares that the whole world
is a prisoner of sin." (Galatians
3:22) What can people in bondage to sin do to
free themselves? Nothing. This being the case we might well ask
as did Jesus' original disciples, " 'Who then can
be saved?' Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible,
but with God all things are possible.'" (Matthew
19:25-26)
There is no way to become holy and pleasing to God except
by going through the radical cleansing or purifying process
of God. Only Jesus' sinlessness/holiness was powerful
enough to purify--to overcome that which would pollute or defile
sinners.
Anything less only deals with symptoms or concomitant disease
processes all the while creating the illusion that there has been
a cure--when there hasn't been any. Who eliminates a fatal disease
with an aspirin? This situation occurred in the history that the
Bible records. The Lord speaks of the leaders of his people at
the time: "From the least to the greatest, all are
greedy for gain; prophets and priests alike, all practise deceit.
They dress the wound of my people as though it were not serious.
`Peace, peace,' they say, when there is no peace." (Jeremiah 6:13-14) The "problem"
that mans' post-Fall situation is is as profound as it can be.
Proposed solutions that don't cure the situation are not only
not curing the situation but they are making it worse by giving
people the illusion that their condition has been "cured"
or is in the process of being cured when their condition is still
more than fatal. The source of sin is deep within people. Only
God's Remedy--the creation of a new creature with a new heart
goes to the root of the matter.
Considering the more-than-fatal condition of men and women (as just discussed above) how is it that all the individuals who will be inhabitants of the kingdom came to possess the mark of the kingdom--the quality of holiness? The explanation is that each of them has gone through a process that "cured" them, that transformed them. That process which resulted in their being holy in some respects might be compared to going through a decontamination chamber to remove germs or putting on a garment that was so potent and pure that it purified anyone who put it on.
Earlier we looked at two "processes" that resulted
in the purity or holiness of God's kingdom, namely the exclusion
or removal of sinful persons from the kingdom. In this section
the "process" that the individuals who will be inhabitants
of the kingdom have gone through is described by various images.
It is also a process of removal--but not of persons but of the
impurities thus leaving those individuals in a pure or holy state
(the way gold is left pure after the impurities have been removed
by the refining process).
God uses different images or "parables" to enable us
to visualize the purification process that rendered God's people
holy.
Sometimes the "process" that rendered individuals as
holy the Bible describes as being "delivered,"
"rescued." Individuals were "rescued...from
the dominion of darkness and brought ... into the kingdom of the
Son he loves." (Colossians
1:13) The Bible speaks of our Lord Jesus Christ "who
gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age,
according to the will of our God and Father," (Galatians 1:4)
Who did the "qualifying," the freeing from sin (Romans 6:18), the rescuing (Galatians
1:4; 1 Thessalonians 1:10)? Who
delivered (a frequent translation) God's people from the bondage
in Egypt? The slavery of the Jews in Egypt and God's deliverance
of them in the Exodus was an earthly illustration (type) of Jesus
Christ's deliverance of his people from the dominion of Satan
and the power of sin. Nobody rescues himself. The impure cannot
make themselves absolutely pure. (Job
14:4; Jeremiah 13:23) Who did
the "making alive" (Ephesians
2:4-5)? Who did the "saving"
(Titus 3:5)? Who did the "making holy"
(Hebrews
10:10)? Nobody gave himself or
herself the necessary qualification of holiness. If impure human
beings did not do it who did? God. The apostle Paul exhorts the
congregation of believers at Colossae to be "giving
thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance
of the saints in the kingdom of light. [Because] ...
he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us
into the kingdom of the Son he loves." (Colossians
1:12-13; See also John
3:5; 1 Peter 2:24; Philippians 3:9; Romans 8:3; Ephesians 2:5)
Sometimes the "process" that rendered individuals as
holy the Bible sets forth under the image of that person being
cleansed or purified or washed. "On
that day a fountain will be opened to the house of David and the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and impurity."
(Zechariah 13:1) God speaks:
"I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your
idols." (Ezekiel 36:25)
And again, "I will cleanse them from all the sin
they have committed against me and will forgive all their sins
of rebellion against me." (Jeremiah 33:8 ;see also Acts
15:9)
The gospel tells us of the act of God who sent his only Son into
the world to give his life to redeem his people. Jesus Christ"who
gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify
for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is
good." (Titus 2:14)
and again, "Christ loved the church and
gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her
by the washing with water through the word, and to present her
to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any
other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Ephesians
5:25-26) "How much more, then,"
the author of the epistle to the Hebrews tells us, "will
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
unblem ished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead
to death, so that we may serve the living God!"
(Hebrews 9:14)
After the apostle Paul had listed various types of individuals who he said would not "inherit the kingdom of God" he said, "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:11) In the apostle John's vision of the end times this is what he saw: "'These in white robes-- who are they, and where did they come from?' I answered,'Sir, you know.' And he said, `These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb .'" (Revelation 7:13-14) " Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. " (Revelation 22:14)
To be washed by God is the only way. This is what Jesus told
his apostle: "`No,' said Peter, `you shall never
wash my feet.' Jesus answered, `Unless I wash you, you have no
part with me.'" (John 13:8)
Many times the "process" that rendered individuals as
holy the Bible sets forth by referring not to what God did to
the sinner but what he did with his/her sin: such as cleansing
the record, blotting or wiping out the sins, casting them away,
covering or canceling the debts, not counting them against the
sinner. Often this act of God is expressed as "not remembering
sins" (Jeremiah
31.34; Hebrews 8:12; 10:17) or
"forgiving sins." Who but God could
accomplish this task?
An image of covering which is very vivid for us is that of "covering
or canceling a debt." This merciful act of God is beautifully
illustrated by the parable in (Matthew
18:23-27). It is he who does
the blotting out: "I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins
no more." (Isaiah 43:25).
I am reminded of the "white-out" that typists use to
hide errors: "`Come now, let us reason together,'
says the LORD. `Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall
be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall
be like wool.'" (Isaiah 1:18)
And again, "I have swept away your offences like
a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I
have redeemed you." (Isaiah
44:22), In the New Testament what God did is expressed
this way: "When you were dead in your sins and in
the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written
code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood
opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross."
(Colossians 2:13-14)
Oftentimes the event that had taken place that qualified his
people, that gave them the property of holiness the Bible sets
forth as a covering of sins: "You forgave the iniquity
of your people and covered all their sins .
" (Psalms 85:2)or, as
it is expressed in the book of Job, "My offences
will be sealed up in a bag; you will cover over my sin."
(Job 14:17) Perhaps the most comforting
declaration of God's action on the behalf of believers regarding
their sin are the words:."Blessed is he whose transgressions
are forgiven, whose sins are covered." The very
next verse explains the meaning of "covered": "Blessed
is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in
whose spirit is no deceit." (Romans
4:7-8 quoting the Old Testament declaration of the truth
in Psalm 32) Why are a believer's sins not counted against him
or her? Because God laid them on Christ. "The LORD
has laid on him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6; see also Isaiah
53:5,10; Galatians 3:13; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Romans 8:3) It is Christ who has covered our debt.
What good news that is! That is the gospel (which means "good
news.")
Another image or example of covering is that of covering the body
with clothing. This theme and imagery is vividly portrayed for
us in the Old Testament in the vision of Joshua, the high priest
"Now Joshua was dressed in filthy clothes as he stood
before the angel. The angel said to those who were standing before
him, "Take off his filthy clothes." Then he said to
Joshua, "See, I have taken away your sin, and I will put
rich garments on you." Then I said, "Put a clean turban
on his head." So they put a clean turban on his head and
clothed him, while the angel of the LORD stood by."
(Zechariah 3:3-5) Perhaps the richest
statement of this marvelous action of God is found in the book
of Isaiah: "I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul
rejoices in my God. For he has clothed me with garments
of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom
adorns his head like a priest, and as a bride adorns herself with
her jewels ."
(Isaiah 61:10)
(Digression: Though little discussed in this meditation is
the idea that the standard of holiness and righteousness that
God accepts is more even than the purified state of believers;
it is the perfect holiness and righteousness which Christ possessed
and is imputed to whoever believes. Believers are "covered
by" or "clothed in" Christ's righteousness. 1
Corinthians 1:30; Romans 4:4-5 Philippians 3:9)
Now let's get back to the discussion of the event or process that
resulted in some people being holy.
Rebirth. The "totalness" of the
accomplishment that God brought about is perhaps set forth most
vividly by the term "rebirth." How radical, how unique
is that which said to be "born of" (John
1:13) or "life from the dead." The Bible says, "Because
of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive
with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by
grace you have been saved."(Ephesians
2:4) Jesus said, "I tell you the truth, whoever
hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and
will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.
(John 5:24) And again, When
you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful
nature, God made you alive with Christ. .."(Colossians
2:13)
The apostle Paul reminds believers of the truth that "if
anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the
new has come!"(2 Corinthians
5:17) "I tell you the truth," Jesus declared,
"no-one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.
'How can a man be born when he is old?' Nicodemus asked. 'Surely
he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb to be born!'
Jesus answered, 'I tell you the truth, no-one can enter the kingdom
of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives
birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should
not be surprised at my saying,"You must be born again."'"
(John 3:3-7)
Think of open heart surgery and who brought it about. God says,
"I will give you a new
heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from
you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. " (Ezekiel
36:25) In the New Testament what God did for his people
is spoken of this way: "He saved us, not because
of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He
saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy
Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ
our Saviour."(Titus 3:5-6)
The Bible tells us what the process was that all those individuals
who possess the "quality" of holiness have been through.
In their context all these terms or images God uses to communicate
this truth point to a radical process or radical change having
taken place. Terms like "rescued," "delivered,"
" cleansed," " purified," "washed,"
"reborn" are completed actions, completed by God. (While
different translations of the Bible often use different terms
in the same places but when added up the result is usually the
same.) The process that inhabitants of the kingdom have gone through
is not a "do-it-yourself" job of refurbishing. None
of the "changes" which were accomplished by the "qualifying
or purifying" processes are just changes in degree like evolution
or a rise in temperature. None of these changes represent a partial
movement in the "right" direction. Either
you have been delivered from the kingdom of Satan, from the kingdom
of darkness or you are still there.You don't inch up on holiness.
You don't inch up on life. Either your alive or your dead. And
sinners who are dead don't create life. The coming of the kingdom
for which we pray is no more dependant upon the efforts of man
to purify himself or promote a godly world than is the coming
of the year 3000.
The Bible describes reality. What reality is that? The facts about
Man's condition that explains why "progress" is not
enough, why the remedy had to be more radical and thorough than
what human beings (or evolution) could do.
Is it right to believe that we who cannot purify our own hearts,
that we who cannot clean the "inside of the cup" (Matthew 23:25)
that we who cannot stop what is within from pouring out into the
world are capable of cleaning up the world?
Not only can man not purify himself but he cannot create a
perfect environment, a kingdom environment either. What environment
has ever been perfect as was the Garden of Eden before the Fall?
Yet even that perfect environment did not influence or induce
Adam and Eve to choose obedience and reverence. Although before
the Fall the environment was perfect (unpolluted by sin) yet Adam
and Eve each chose to rebel against the authority of
God. At that time there was only a single commandment to heed!
The answer is the same regarding perfect law or perfect legislation. It didn't work. The Bible says so. If perfect law and legislation were the answer, if a code of behavior could have "cured" mans' condition God's law would have sufficed. "For if a law had been given that could impart life, then righteousness would certainly have come by the law." (Galatians 3:21) The Bible says "the law (the wisest possible legislation--God's own law) was powerless to do" something. What was that? To bring sinners, to bring the impure, to a state of holiness or purity. What made even God's law powerless to change the state of sinners? The Bible does not say it was a lack of know-how or a lack of knowledge of the Creator's opinions and ways or a lack of the "proper" environment that prevented that Law from bringing salvation. No, the Bible says it was because the law was weakened by the sinful nature. "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man." (Romans 8:3; See also John 3:19-20)
After Eve and Adam ate of the "apple" the enormity of their failure to be obedient and reverent was so great that it took the death of God's Son on the cross to remedy the situation.
Another reason why man can not move this world in the direction
of the kingdom of God is because God "has" an attitude
toward sin--any sin. The post-Fall state of man (men, women and
children) is offensive to God. The presence of sin in God's creation
affects God. It offends him. It is a contradiction of his holiness
(Leviticus
11:44; 1 Peter 1:16; Habakkuk 1:13;Genesis 6:5-7; Job 15:15; Psalm
5:4-5) Man cannot remove the
offensive element. The Bible does not say less sin, less impurity
is acceptable to God. It says no sin, no
impurity is acceptable in God's sight. Because God's very nature
is holy to look upon sin is distressing. "Your eyes
are too pure to look on evil," the bible says.
"You cannot tolerate wrong." (Habakkuk
1:13) God's standard is clearly set forth
in his word: "Whoever keeps the whole law
[of God] and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty
of breaking all of it." (James
2:10)The apostle Paul expresses God's standard of behavior
in these words: "Cursed is everyone who does not
continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law."
(Galatians 3:10) In another statement
of God (quoted previously) we hear the refrain: "Although
you wash yourself with soda and use an abundance of soap, the
stain of your guilt is still before me," declares the Sovereign
LORD." (Jeremiah 2:22)
Because of God's holy nature he had to deal with the sin in
his creation. He did. (Romans
8:21; Ephesians 1:10; Colossians 1:20)
That is where the Gospel, the "good news" comes in.
(To see how the gospel message shows how God deals with sin see
the file "Gospel and Sin")
We began this meditation asking the question, 'what are we
praying for when we pray those words in the Lord's prayer "your
kingdom come" and "your will be done
on earth as it is in heaven."'In order to get a
handle on what the 'kingdom' might mean we looked at the identifying
marks of the kingdom. Holiness of all the kingdom's inhabitants
was the hallmark.
Is the kingdom for which we are praying an incomplete thing?
Is it only partially purified? Does the Bible say that the presence
of sin is acceptable to God as long as the amount is decreasing
or does God's word say no sin, no impurity is
acceptable in his sight? Is it God's desire that his people be
found worthy of less blame or that they appear before him blameless?
Are matters on earth "as it is in heaven"
if some sin remains in this world? Are we praying in God's will,
are we praying for what God wants, namely, that his "will
be done on earth as it is in heaven" if what we
are praying for is a 'kingdom' which the Bible tells us is still
a cause of distress to God because it contains some sin, some
impurity?
When we pray 'Thy kingdom come' is it a reduction
in the amount of sin in the world that we are praying for? Is
it for improvement? Is it for movement in the "right"
direction? Is it for progress, that we should be praying? Or is
it for an event--God's conclusion, the time when all evil will
have been eliminated from the scene that we are wanting and praying
for? When we pray that "your kingdom come"
are we not praying for the day when the war will be over--the
war with sin within us as well that turmoil, conflict and hostility
which surrounds us? Is it not a prayer for that day when there
will be peace--because nobody will be inhabitants of the kingdom
except those people who acknowledge and worship the God of the
Bible and who have been completely purified in fact? (Matthew
13:41; Revelations 21:27; Philippians 1:6; Jude 24)
When we pray those words in the Lord's prayer is it not for an
event that we are praying--the event which the Bible,
the Gospel, speaks of over and over again? Is it not the day of
our deliverance, that particular day which according to the Bible
we (believers) are looking forward to--the day of Christ's
appearing (an event of God's own making)? Is it
not a prayer for that day--that "blessed hope"
that believers are waiting for --"the
glorious appearing of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ."
(Titus 2:13) Is
it not a prayer for that day "when
Christ, who is your life, appears, [when] you
also will appear with him in glory." (Colossians
3:4), Is it not a prayer for that day on which believers
are to set their hope: "set your hope fully on the
grace to be given you when Jesus Christ is revealed."
(1 Peter 1:13) Is
it not a prayer for the 'awards day' when every believer will
receive"the crown of righteousness, which the Lord,
the righteous Judge, will award to me [the apostle Paul]
on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed
for his appearing." (2 Timothy
4:8)
When we pray those words in the Lord's prayer is it not a prayer
for that "last time" when believers come into their
inheritance. "In his [God's] great
mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance
that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you,
who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming
of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time."
(1 Peter 1:3-5) Is it not a believer's
prayer for that day when "he who began a goodwork
in you" will have completed it --the day
of Christ Jesus"? (Philippians
1:6) Is it not a prayer for that day when there will "no
longer ...be any curse." (Revelation
22:3), the day when "He will wipe every tear
from their eyes, [when] "there
will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old
order of things has passed away." (Revelation
21:4) Is it not a prayer that that day (which believers
are supposed to be looking forward to) will come--that day when
the "new heaven and a new earth, the home of righteousness"
will have come into being? (2 Peter 3:13)
PS. Event or Improvement. While the coming of God's kingdom is an event, not something that happens progressively over time, walking or living more and more as he has commanded and instructed the individuals God made holy is not an event but is a continuous and progressive operation. "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." (Ephesians 5:8); "Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more." (1 Thessalonians 4:1) But this is the subject of another meditation.
If you appreciate what you read here please tell your friends about this URL and sign my guest book on the homepage. Also, if, as you read any of the meditations, you feel you know of a situation that beautifully illustrates any of the points made I would be delighted to learn of it. I might incorporate it.) Click the following: camppp21355@comcast.net
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Scripture verses used try these links: The
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