Logistical Grace

Colossians 1:25-29

COL-200

2 Timothy 3:16: "All Scripture is inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work."

2 Timothy 1:13-14: "Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard through the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you."

2 Timothy 2:15: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth."

Our subject is "The Mystery of the Church," segment number 15 in Colossians 1:25-29.

Bob Jones University puts out a publication called "Balance." Its October 1998 issue has an article entitled "The Uniqueness and Unity of Truth," by Gunter E Psalter. I want to read you a few paragraphs from the opening of this article.

"One morning last year, shortly after takeoff, a passenger airliner crashed into the side of a mountain in Peru. Minutes before the fatal impact, the pilot radioed to the control tower that he was experiencing problems with his instruments. They gave confusing and contradictory information, which was at variance with the state of circumstances that, according to the pilot's prior experience, should have established themselves in these early moments of the flight. Before either the pilot or ground control could decide on an appropriate course of action, a fireball erupted where the plane had met the mountain.

"A subsequent investigation into the cause of the tragedy revealed that the sensors on the outside of the plane, that were designed to feed continuously observed data concerning elevation; rate of ascent; speed; temperature; and, so on, into the on-board guidance system had been covered with tape while the plane was being washed. The ground crew had forgotten to remove the tape. Consequently, the sensors were not able to determine and report reality as it existed. The disaster ensued.

"When I read about the tragedy and its cause, I thought how accurately it mirrored the state of our society. Reality and truth surround us on all sides, but our sensors do not function. Truth does not exist. It has been revealed to us. It can be known. Yet, we have allowed our sensors to be covered, often with our active participation; the tape of ambition; secularism; skepticism; self-importance; and, unbelief obscures our understanding of, and sensitivity to, the truth, and our will and ability to know it, with the result that our instruments do not function properly.

"Disaster is a sure consequence often in this life, but more tragically, in the next. The pursuit of truth has occupied man for millennia. Countless philosophies and philosophical systems bear evidence of that pursuit. Pontius Pilate asked, "What is truth?" while the Truth Incarnate stood before him. But he knew it not. All philosophers claim their decrees and axioms as truth, as they offer answers to life's profound and perplexing questions.

"To provide such answers is philosophy's noblest obligation. As we analyze the answers, and compare them with those proclaimed by differing philosophical systems, we find conflict, confusion, and contradiction. Yet all claim to be true. Obviously, they can't be, because truth has certain attributes that preclude such a state of affairs. Nevertheless, this does not surprise us, as Christians, since we know that all of these systems have ignored the very source of truth, the Word of God, without which all human intellectual constructs, sooner or later, crumble, however brilliant they might appear at first blush. For truth to be truth, it must have certain attributes. Take away any of these, and you no longer have truth."

God is Truth

In Colossians 1:25, the apostle Paul introduces the dispensation of the church to the Colossians Christians, who are being besieged by false doctrines claiming to be the truth. The way of life in the dispensation of the church is God's truth for Christians today. And yet, the sensors of people are covered up with everything under the sun, making them incapable, including Christians, of being able to enter into the significance of the particular lifestyle of the age of grace. This lifestyle is amazingly unknown, and the churches and the preachers are directly responsible for it. They themselves very often have no sensitivity to what it is to live in this magnificent era of time – the age of grace. No Christian can live out his life span, with maximum divine blessings now on earth, and the eternal rewards in heaven, unless he understands the life principles pertinent to the dispensation of the church – this age of grace: this age of the power of God. Such an age was never known in human history before, and it will not be known even in the dispensation which follows ours.

Without a knowledge of Bible doctrine relative to the dispensation of the church, one cannot obey God. You cannot live by the power of the Holy Spirit. You cannot fulfill His divine mission in life. You cannot mature spiritually to the super-grace level of blessings that God is ready to shower upon him in time and in eternity. It all gets back to that simple little procedure of somebody explaining the Bible to the people of God, which is what the New Testament church did with the apostles' doctrine every time it met. It is all that simple. God has given us the receptors (the sensors) to pick up spiritual things, and to be wide open (receptive) in our capacity to be able to metabolize doctrinal truth. If you don't have that, you don't have anything.

A Christian needs to understand that a church service is not an entertainment forum, and it's not someplace to do a lot of emotional kicking up with songs and other things that appeal to the nature. It is not a place of telling stories and entertainment. It is a place of serious, sober consideration, so that we may rise to the dignity which is ours as members of God's royal family. When we have that, then we have everything. You may have a lot of things materially. You may have a lot of things that you have worked for years to put together. But if you are a shallow twit, relative to the things of God spiritually, you have nothing. And when you leave this life, it's all going to be left behind you, and you will be something less than what you could have been in heaven, just as you are a zero now.

Without a knowledge of doctrine, you cannot go anywhere in life. The church-age believers are to be separated from the life and style and institutions of Satan's world, because they are heaven's ambassadors on earth, proclaiming the message of God's Word – the truth of Scripture. They are not to be here cleaning up Satan's world's institutions by being part of it.

So, I keep reminding us to take a look at yourself. You are to be in the image of Jesus Christ. You stand before a mirror. You're a male. Do you have the accouterments of females all over you? And do you have the gall to look at yourself and say, "I want you to meet this male who is in the image of Jesus Christ? I look just like Him. I act just like him. I think just like He does. And I am an ambassador of this Lord. Take a look at me, and you see Christ." Can you do that? You may say, "Well, if I do that, I'll seem weird, because I won't look like other people. The guys and the gals won't accept me as one of them." Well: Hooray! "If I do that, I'll have to walk alone." You betcha. But no, you're wrong. You'll have to walk alone relative to the earth's world devil crowd. But you will not have to walk alone without the Lord Jesus Christ, and all of the splendid Christians who are truly in the image of his manhood, and the womanhood compatible to that.

So, we Christians are not here to be part of the world's system, and to straighten it out. The Lord Jesus didn't do that. He taught how it should be, and He taught people what they should be. And when enough people get to be what they should be in the image of God, they will change the world. The apostle Paul didn't do that. He taught people what were the ways of God, and what were the resources of the church age. And when enough people get on track with that, then they will change what needs to be changed in society.

I'm very much concerned that I'm going to have to stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and look across the circle at a lot of people who have walked through these sacred halls here at Berean Church, and see their disappointment, and the horror, as they realize how they trivialized their lives, and they thought they were being so dedicated to God, knocking themselves out in the world system, and for things that had no eternal purposes. The dispensations, we have shown, are God's plan for human history, to demonstrate God's absolute righteousness and man's total depravity. That's the whole point of God having different lifestyles in different interests.

Satan and his demons do their best to cover up the Christian spiritual sensors with the world's evil principles of living in lies. He does it all the time, and that's why you have to be careful not to allow him to tape up your sensors, so that you don't receive the information that you need to receive. That is why the apostle Paul, after writing the magnificent dissertation called the book of Romans on how to go to heaven, and all the ins and outs of living by the power of the Holy Spirit, closes the book with what is, in effect, saying, "Don't let your censors be typed up by the devil." In Romans 16:19, He commends the reports he has had about the quality of the spiritual lives of the Roman Christians. He says, "For the report of your obedience has reached to all. Therefore, I'm rejoicing over you. I am glad that you are walking the godly walk under the power of the Holy Spirit (and under the abilities of divine good production) that you have so magnificently been provided with by God in this age. I'm glad for the good reports."

The he says, "Now here's my concern. But I want you to be wise in what is good, and innocent in what is evil." That's why having close associations with people of the world, on a social basis, is inviting them to cover up your sensitivity to the things of God. You should not be sitting around, learning about the evils that the sin nature is capable of. All of these talk shows on television – that's all they're about. There are nothing but a sewer. And today, our whole country is under the logical consequences of the philosophy of the 1960s – that the Bible was unnecessary, and that it was not pertinent to our intellectual modern age, and that man, in effect, was his own rule-maker, and the sin nature was where it was at: "Look inside yourself" was the battle cry." Well, when you look inside yourself, what will you see? You will see your sin nature, and you'll see every vile thing under the sun. So, even some people who are in places of prominence, that we would expect to be good influences and good examples, it's not so. Only through the Word of God, and our separation from those evil influences, can we hope to be able to walk with Christ. Most of the time. I'm going to look across that circle at the Judgment Seat of Christ, and see people who chose to walk alone with their friends in the world system. And now they stand there with nothing. Believers so often delude themselves that they are transforming Satan's world, so that that world will function on Christian principles. But only the gospel can do that, and only doctrine, in the life of a saved person, can do that. Nothing will transform Satan's world. Only pockets of transformation, through the message of the gospel and the full council of the Word of God. That is our business as Christians, and nothing else.

The transforming power of God comes into one's life through positive volition to what the real truth is – the truth of Scripture. The truth is the mind of God.

Those who forget that Satan is a liar and a clever deceiver will mistake the world's cordiality toward them; their tolerance; and, their praise. They'll mistake that as acceptance of the truth of the Bible, and the grace way of life. Those people out in the world are clever. They are sly serpents, and they will be using us. Do not mistake the world's acceptance and cordiality as devotion to the things that you believe, and to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Our society, in terms of the people whose voices on television; the influential people; and, the idea-creators have all become fools. You don't have to listen very long before you realize that they have all become the most degraded kinds of fools. Therefore, you realize that you cannot survive in the devil's world today without an understanding of doctrine. Nor can you survive unless you're feeding upon it daily, and especially in those weekly church services.

There is, in other words, no other way to obey the admonition of 2 Timothy 2:15, where the apostle Paul, on the guidance of the Holy Spirit says, "Be diligent to present yourself proved unto God." That means to be tested, and to be found true-blue (proved to God): "As a workman (as a servant) of the Most High God, as the ambassador of heaven's court, who does not need to be ashamed" (who will not stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ with tears rolling down your eyes as you realize what you really were, and how much of your life was hay, wood, and trashy stubble). You need not be ashamed. Why? "Because you can handle accurately the Word of Truth."

You cannot handle what you don't know. And if you think it's OK for you to be erratic (up and down) in your attendance at church, depending upon any number of other circumstances, and still be able to respond to the Word of Truth, you're wrong. You have to eat to stay alive physically. And you have to eat to stay alive spiritually. And what you eat spiritually is the living and active Word of God. That is the nutrition. And if you do not consistently present yourself for the feeding of the local church, then you will go down. There's no question about it. And your life will be wasted. And there's no question about that. There is no other way to obey 2 Timothy 2:15, except with your consistent immersion in the Word of God.

Logistical Grace

There are, furthermore, certain blessings that are distinct for the church-age believer. This is what is so superb. Each believer has on reserved in heaven, from the point of the salvation, blessings tailor-made for him to use in his life. In Romans 8:32, the apostle Paul says, "He (God the Father), who did not spare His Own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how will He not also, with Him, freely give us all things?" Now, what is it in life that you need? We call that the logistics of life: the things that you need to make it – the necessities of life. And the grace of God, logistical grace, provides that: "Freely give us all things," but what about the things you'd like to have? What about the things that you would enjoy having? What about the things you would like to buy, and things you have never even thought of, that you would superbly enjoy? How many times have things come into your life, and you look back and said, "Boy, wasn't that a thrill? I loved every moment of that."

Where do you think that came from? It came from your heavenly storage of blessings that were tailor-made to you; your personality; your temperament; and, your life as a believer, for you to enjoy all the days of your life. That is magnificent. That is a million dollars in the bank. All you have to do is write a check on it. You have to qualify to be able to draw the million out. You have to be authorized to do it. It is the same for the heavenly treasures. You have to be authorized to do it. Then there is Hebrews 13:5. In another observation along that same line, the writer says, "Let your character be free from the love of money, being content with what you have, for He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.'" Material things do not govern what you do with your life.

When was the last time you had a teenager who came to you, and wanted to buy something? But in order to do that, he had to have a job. But the only job he could get, or she could get, was in conflict with some Christian service activity that that youngster was engaged in. Did you tell him, "Sure, get the job? We'll skip the activity." Or did you say, "I'm sorry, but you'll have to forget what you wanted to buy, because God says, 'Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (first!), then all these other things will fall in line as appropriate to you. I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you, because I've already stored in heaven to your account everything you're going to need.'" And bit-by-bit, as you qualify, because you're living the spiritual life, and because you're living the ever increasingly stronger life of the super-grace Christian, and because you're feeding upon the Word of God, and you're saying in temporal fellowship, and the Spirit of God can do things for you, You're going to get more. Things are going to keep coming to you. God is going to bring what you need at a certain point in time, from very odd sources, to meet that particular need. Sometimes you don't even know you need it. But when it hits you, you breathe a sigh of relief, and say, "Oh, how glad I am that that happened. How glad I am that I came across this."

This is what god means when He says, "I will never leave you. I will never forsake you. And as I said, the bottom line of all this treasure in heaven reserved to your account is Matthew 6:33: "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you."

So, here is one of the magnificent things about the church-age that you don't hear too much preaching about. The church-age believer possesses vast riches in heaven beyond human comprehension. And he has that placed to his account at the point of salvation. Ephesians 3:20 says, "Now to Him, Who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us." Paul says, "To Him, Who can do seemingly above and beyond all that we ask; all that we think; all that we want; and, all that we need (all that we would like to do), He gives it to us according to the power that works within us." Aha! There the qualification: according to the power that works within us.

So, many Christians never qualify to be able to call down the riches of heaven stored there for them. Many of them have never been taught the principles of doctrine; the principles of the Christian life; the principles of simple fellowship; nor, the principles that characterize the grace way of living. So, they're never oriented to grace. So, the power of God, Who is the paymaster (the clerk, Who dispenses these blessings, cannot work in that person's behalf. So, what do these Christians do? They knock themselves out working? They create all kinds of material things for themselves, and they surround themselves with all kinds of wonderful things. And the further along they get, the less comfortable they are with sitting in a church service where somebody is going through expository explanation of the Bible. And what they want to do, is to be somewhere else, and maybe they drag in at some point in time. But because the power of God is not working in them, they're creating their own counterfeits, and thinking that God is blessing them.

Salvation

The inheritance in heaven comes with one's entrance into salvation. 1 Peter 1:3-5 points that out: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who, according to His great mercy, has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." Point number one of this qualification is salvation. At the point of salvation, and the resurrection that is going to be yours, sharing the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that salvation has now, in verse 4, qualified us to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled, and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you. The salvation is always secure. And the consequences of blessing that come from salvation (spiritual and material) are also preserved.

In the Greek Bible, there is an interesting word pattern that the Holy Spirit put in here. The words "imperishable;" "undefiled;" and, fade away all begin with the same syllable sound, and they end with the same sound syllable. And it's: "Bing, bing, bing, bing, bing, bing." And it has kind of a little ring to it, where the apostle is making a musical presentation: an inheritance which was imperishable; undefiled; and, will not fade away, and it's all reserved in heaven.

Earthly Blessing and Eternal Security

Verse 5: "Who are protected by the power of God through faith for salvation, ready to be revealed at the last time." The totality of salvation is to be revealed ultimately in heaven. But with this spiritual salvation and its security comes earthly provisions of blessing. We call that logistical grace from God. He provides every believer with the necessities of life on earth for Christian living, and for service. This is something that everybody gets. Even the poor kind of Christian gets this. This logistical grace, this provision for the necessities of life, are given to him because he's in the family of God. You take care of the bums as well as the princes and princesses.

Philippians 4:19 says, "And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches and glory in Christ Jesus." That's to all Christians. It is a promise, and you will have whatever you need to make it through life. You will have it provided. You will have to work for it. Those doors will be open to you. That provision will be made. And when your need rises beyond what you are able to handle, then God will bring someone else in to carry you through. But the need will be provided.

The Lord Jesus took time extensively to teach this principle of divine provision. We have that recorded for us in Matthew 6:25-34. Jesus said, "For this reason, I say to you: do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink, nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food in the body, and more than clothing?" You betcha it is. The spiritual life is what counts. The walking with God is what counts. Fulfilling your mission in life is what counts. And these other things, to survive the necessities of life – those are peripheral. And God says, "You take care of My business, and I'll take care of your needs. And I'll give you the means to be able to take care of your needs. And the more spiritual, and godly, and separated, and devoted you are to Me, the more I will provide you on the material level."

Jesus said, "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, neither do they spin, nor gather into barns. And yet, your Heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?" That's a good question. "And which of you, by being anxious, can add a single cubit to his lifespan?" Do you want to worry? What good does it do? Are you going to fret because you're not sure where the next meal is coming from? What good does it do? But trusting God – that does everything?

"And why are you anxious about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow. They do not toil, nor do they spin. Yet I say to you that even Solomon, in all his glory, did not cloth himself like one of these. But if God so arrays the grass of the field, which is alive today, and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more do so for you, O men of little faith?"

Well, you cannot have great faith in God if you are not a Christian who is operating according to the protocols: the ways of conduct of the church-age – the way things are done in this dispensation, and the relationships to feeding on doctrine; temporal fellowship; staying close to the principles of truth; separation from the world system; and, putting the things of God top priority in your life. You should do this with no whining; no bellyaching; no excusing; no trying to get out; no trying to find excuses not to do what you should do; or, be where you should be: "Do not be anxious then, saying, 'What shall we eat; what shall we drink; or, with what shall we call ourselves.'" Logistical grace – "I will give it to you."

"All these things the gentiles eagerly seek, for your Heavenly Father knows that you need all of these things, but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore, do not be anxious for tomorrow, for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." If there is anything your children should learn, it's that principle. Then they will not go out into life when it's time for them to be employed, and lose sight of the fact that their employment is for a purpose – the goal of serving God. That's it. Then they won't have to worry: am I living too luxuriously? Am I too addicted to things? They will know what to do with what God has given them.

Super-Grace

The personalized inheritance in heaven, however, is something else. Logistical grace you're going to get. But the personalized inheritance blessings set aside for each church-age believer for his life on earth – these must be deserved. For this, you must qualify. And the qualification is spiritual maturity to the super-abounding level. James 4:6 refers to that. He gives greater grace. He gives all the grace of those heavenly blessings stored there. He gives greater grace. Therefore, it says, "God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble. He gives super-grace" (greater grace – abounding grace) to whom? "To those in whom He dwells, and to those who live by means of the principles of the Spirit of God."

Verse 5 says, "Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose? He jealously desires the Spirit which he has made to dwell in us." God, the Father wants the Holy Spirit to be in there, inside of you, running things, and causing you to fall in love with the person of Christ, and causing you to want to fall in love with everything in life that He wants you to do, and having very little taste for all the trivialities that the world want you to do. Only the spiritually mature Christian can enjoy these fabulous riches from the Lord Jesus Christ, if he qualifies for them. And he has to qualify for this simple reason: that if he were given these things without having the spiritual maturity (the spiritual qualification to handle them), he would injure himself with these things. He could not handle his prosperity. He could not handle his super well-being in every respect. He would take it, and shove off into the world system with it.

So, there is God the Father: waiting with all that is stored up there; watching things develop; tapping his foot; and, waiting for us to develop to where the cup is there, ready for Him to pour some of those blessings in, and to have all those things in all the aspects of life that we need them on the earthly level.

In Philippians 4:10-13, the apostle Paul says, "But I rejoice in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked the opportunity." He is referring here to the fact that these people had brought to him a magnificent offering from the churches in Philippi, and was brought by Epaphroditus, who was one of his very close associates. And Paul needed the financial help.

In verse 11, however, he says, "I want to make clear, not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am." He says, "I know how to be poor, and spiritual, and serving, and working; and, I know how to be prosperous, and not get sidetracked by the money. I'm still going to be just like when I was poor, and doing my job for the Lord."

Verse 12: "I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity. In any and every circumstance, I've learned the secret of being filled, and going hungry. Both of having abundance, and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." And how does he strengthen us? He strengthens us, who are spiritually qualified, by not only giving us logistical grace, but He pours all those other special blessings from heaven upon us – all those good things of life that he has put aside, that he keeps bringing into your life. You keep saying, "Isn't this terrific? Now I can do this. I can do that. I have the means to do this. I wake up in the morning, and I'm eager to get out and get rolling. I can't wait to enjoy the day that God has given me." That is what the apostle says. I'm always there, standing by, because He is never going to leave me nor forsake me.

Spiritual maturity is the product of learning doctrine; being positive to it; living in temporal fellowship with the principle of 1 John 1:9; and, walking in the power system of the Holy Spirit. This is, in short, the lifestyle of the dispensation of grace. No believer in any other era of time has ever had God in him, the hope of glory – the Spirit of God right there, making everything work. And He speaks to us, intuitively. Pretty soon, you will learn that that is a very clear divine guide in so many ways. And it is practical.

I was rushing to do something at the Xerox machine a couple of days ago. I put the paper in. I'm in a hurry. And the thought comes to my mind: 'how do you know that the secretary didn't leave colored paper in there, because I had to have white? So, I said, "Nah, they wouldn't." Then I said, "Whoops, wait a minute." I've learned before that when I ignore an intuitive thought, I had better see maybe what a God is telling me. I pull the drawer open, and it's full of colored paper. They love colored paper over there. I took it out. There's the white. So, I didn't have to repeat – the first time through.

That's the Christian life. No Jew could ever look to that. Nobody in any dispensation ever had that kind of divine guidance – personalized, and blessings in time and eternity, beyond your fondest dreams? These blessings that most Christians go through their lives, and never enjoy, is just because they don't understand that they have to qualify. They don't understand that because nobody ever teaches them how to qualify.

In 2 Timothy 2:5, the apostle says, "And also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules." There is a prize. There is a prize for the dispensation of grace – that inheritance of treasure stored in heaven for our life on earth. But you don't get it unless you compete according to the rules. You have to know the guidelines; the protocols; and, the procedures that control walking and living a life in the presence of God, with Christ indwelling you, and the Spirit of God indwelling you, and God the Father providing everything under the sun for you. You have to know what the rules are. Then you'll be a winner.

If you don't, you're going to be back in 1 Corinthians 3:12-15. And I have a new respect for this particular familiar passage of Scripture. The apostle Paul has spoken about our foundation in Christ Jesus: the basis of our spiritual life; the basis of our relationship to God; the basis for logistical grace; and, the basis for eternal blessings for our life on earth, stored in heaven: "Now, if any man builds upon the foundation of his salvation (from spiritual blessings from which these material blessings flow), he builds upon it with quality: divine, good works of gold, silver, and precious stones; or, fake, counterfeit, human sin nature works, like: wood; hay; and, straw. Each man's work (his life) will become evident. For the day will show that day called the Judgment Seat of Christ, because it is to be revealed with fire."

The judgment of God, symbolized here by fire, goes right through. It tears up (eats up) the counterfeits – the human good. The fire itself will test the quality of each man's work. It's going to test the quality of your life in the church-age. Do you understand that? That is your work. That is what you're living. You're either living like a bumpkin back in the Old Testament, or mixing Law with grace, or completely out in the world; or, you are living as a quality person under the spirit of grace.

Verse 14 then says, "If any man's work, which he has built upon it (salvation – foundation) remains, he shall receive a reward." Now, that is an in-heaven reward. That's for eternal reward: "If any man's work is burned up, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire." If you do not qualify, then what you have lived is useless. You will be saved, because the fire of God judgment is always fair. You deserve to be saved. You're in Christ. But all that storage in heaven: what's going to happen to it? It's all there on the account. They've all got it – ready to give to you. It stays there. That's what happens to it. You go out into eternity, and the record is an eternal monument to what might have been, if only you knew how to live in the church age, and if only you could rise to the desire to live for God, and not to live for his world system – to walk in the steps of Christ, and not in the steps of Satan.

The Christian life, which qualifies us, is the one that we have to understand. The inheritance blessings for which the believer does not qualify is simply lost. And it's always going to be up as the record of a magnificent life that could have been yours.

Then, of course, there are blessings in heaven. A Christian's life, which qualifies for earthly showers of blessings, has a spiritual maturity, then, to perform divine good service for rewards at the Judgment Seat of Christ. 2 Corinthians 5:10: "For we must all appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ, that each one may be recompense for the deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad" – whether human good, or divine good works. That's the issue. And there will be rewards for you to enjoy forever in heaven. They will be provided there.

2 Timothy 4:7-8 is what you want to be able to say with Paul: "I fought the good fight. I finished the course. I've kept the faith. In the future, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." The crown of righteousness is a special crown of honor given to those who spent most of their life in temporal fellowship. It's just that simple. You weren't out there muddling around in the world, doing your own thing. You kept coming back, and staying in track with God. The crown of life is for a life of divine good service.

James 1:12 also touches upon this: "Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial. For once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him." You persevere in a life walking with God. The super-grace life of the church dispensation is a spiritually disciplined life which uses your body in God's work. You don't use it for working for the world.

1 Corinthians 9:24-27: "Do you not know that those who run in the race all run, but only one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may win. And everyone who competes in the games exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath; but we, an imperishable. Therefore, I run in such a way (I live the Christian life – I live in the age of the dispensation of grace); I live not as without aim; and, I box in such a way as not beating the air. But I buffet my body, and I make it my slave, lest possibly after I have preached to others, I myself should be disqualified." I hold the sin nature in restraint. And I know how to do that through the principles of doctrine that I feed upon. I know how to confess sin, and I know how to keep moving on with the Lord, and I know the principles by which the churches believer lives. And that keeps everything under control, because one thing then I don't do – I don't go into the worlds way of life. We live a life of holy separation from the world system.

In 1 Peter 4:1-5, here's how you buffet the body: "Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because He Who has suffered in the flesh, has ceased from sin – so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already passed is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality; lusts; drunkenness; carousals (drinking parties); and, abominable idolatries – in all of this, they are surprised that you do not run with them, into the same excess of dissipation, and they malign you."

Just associate with the unsaved, and see how they wonder why you're so weird, that you will not participate in the vulgarity and the coarseness of their lifestyle, which violates the principles of biblical morality. And they feel sorry for you, and they make fun of you. They wonder how anybody could be so dumb. Well, what you're doing is keeping that line of treasures from even flowing to you, like they never experience. What you're doing is cycling back up from those treasures that come from heaven – a lifestyle that provides treasures in storage in heaven for you.

It is ignorance of Bible doctrine that produces ignorance of the requirements and enablements for living the churches way of life. And that means no eternal treasures of reward stored in heaven. That means no qualification for the heavenly blessings for your earth life, put on account in reserve in heaven, will ever come down to reach you. Believers in spiritual reversionism, however, I'm happy to say, can always turn around, and grow back to spiritual super grace maturity. The point is that when you realize that the world has put a hook in you, you cut loose, and you turn around, and you start back up.

God, our Heavenly Father, we want to thank You for Your magnificent provisions for us in this age of grace. We thank You for the lifestyle to which we've been called.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

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