OUR HOUSE FROM HEAVEN

"For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord--for we walk by faith, not by sight--we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:1-8).

Devotion 9 of 12

FLESH AND BLOOD ARE EXCLUDED

There is a twofold reason for the exclusion of "flesh and blood" from the heavenly kingdom. First, it has been cursed to death because of sin. Second, it is not compatible with the eternal realm. Temporality and eternalness cannot be joined together! What is cursed and what is blessed cannot be fused together. Presently, we are a dichotomy, or blend of irreconcilable parts. The frustration that attends this condition is described in the seventh chapter of Romans. It involves fierce inner warfare and a fervent longing to be whole in every aspect of our persons.

The lament of the believer is echoed by Paul--and he speaks for all that are in Christ Jesus. "I am of flesh, sold into bondage to sin . . . I am not practicing what I would like to do, but I am doing the very thing I hate . . . nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh . . . I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wishes to do good" (Rom 7:14,15,18,21, NASB). Those are expressions of incompatibility! It is the same sensitivity expressed by David in the forty-second Psalm. "Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall again praise Him for the help of His presence" (v 5, NASB). This circumstance demands a resolution, and God has appointed one! It is our "house from heaven."

We want to enter our house

Our text (2 Corinthians 5) reflects the compelling desire of the saved to inhabit a body that is compatible with their nature. Faith involves a fervent yearning to not only get out of this "vile body," but to get into our "house from heaven." The Spirit moved Paul to say it this way. "Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked" (v 2-3, NIV). The expression "not be found naked" confirms that we yearn for a frame suitable to our nature. We do not long to be without a body. Even the demons possessing the Gadarene desired to dwell in bodies--even the bodies of swine (Matt 8:31-32). It is no different with those who are holy. We also long to have a body. In our case, it is one compatible with our regenerated part. That longing has been provoked by the revelation that we presently have a "house in heaven." It is a "house" by comparison. Our present bodies are mere "tents," made to be taken down after they have served their purpose.

In this world, the plight of the godly is the incompatibility of their spirit with their body. For the saved, this is a difficult yet tolerable situation because of the grace of God. In our own measure, we are like the Lord in this matter. Of His tenure in the flesh He said, "But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed ("straitened," KJV) I am until it is accomplished!" (Luke 12:50). When He tabernacled among men, Jesus was greatly hampered by His body--"straitened," as it were. It was like a straitjacket to His spirit. Though the circumstance is reduced in us because we "come short of the glory of God," we participate in this experience. This is part of our "fellowship" in the "sufferings of Christ" (Phil 3:10). Referring to this aspect of spiritual life, Paul elsewhere said, " . . . I fill up in my flesh what is still lacking in regard to Christ's afflictions . . . " (Col 1:24).

The plight of the ungodly

In the next world, the plight of the ungodly will be, among other things, the incompatibility of their body with their spirit. Then, it will not be tolerable in any sense of the word. Jesus referred to their condition in a passage that jars the senses of the understanding ones. "And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, where THEIR WORM DOES NOT DIE, AND THE FIRE IS NOT QUENCHED" (Mark 9:43-44). "Their worm" (not "THE worm"), refers to a goading and irrepressible conscience, while the burning depicts a consuming lust that cannot be diminished or gratified in any sense, or to any degree. The damned will be incapable of doing anything they want to do--dreadful thought! They will have a body compatible the realm in which they find themselves, but a spirit that is not.

PRAYER POINT: Father, I thank You for excluding flesh and blood from Your Kingdom. I see my flesh as my present handicap, and look forward to being released from its restraining influence. In the name of Christ, give me grace to bring it under subjection.

-- TOMORROW: NOW AND THEN --