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 10 of 12

NOW AND THEN

Here, the people of God have a redeemed spirit and an unredeemed body. In this circumstance "the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please" (Gal 5:17). Then, the ungodly will have a redeemed body, but an unredeemed spirit. That is the essence of incompatibility.

The resurrection of Christ has secured a redeemed body for every son of Adam--unqualifiedly! Scripture states it this way. "For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all shall be made alive" (1 Cor 15:22). Resurrection bodies will be given to everyone! "Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; those who did the good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment" (John 5:28- 29,NASB). The words "a resurrection" denote more than an event. They speak of a "body," incapable of passing away, that will be given to every person. The issue in the resurrection is not WHO receives a new body, but whether or not the person will be compatible with the body--whether or nor their nature was changed in this world! That body will be incapable of fulfilling sinful lusts, and yet those lusts not be removed from the wicked. Conversely, the saved will find the resurrection body--their "house from heaven"- -perfectly adapted to their desires, as well as their environment. Blessed state indeed!

The body is for the Lord

The redemption of our bodies is essential to our salvation because they belong to the Lord. When He redeemed us, He redeemed every aspect of our persons: i.e., spirit, soul, and body. The Apostles' doctrine is clear on this subject. Showing the absolute unreasonableness of immorality, the Spirit reasons; "Yet the body is not for immorality, but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body" (1 Cor 6:13). The libertines, and those who justify the unlawful gratification of their lusts, do well to give heed to these words. Their bodies do not belong to them. They are stewards of their bodies, which are really "for the Lord," or for His employment. Those who do not present their "bodies" as living sacrifice will lose their stewardship of them.

Believers are told, "For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body" (1 Cor 6:20, NASB). While it is good that people abstain from immorality in an attempt to avoid contracting AIDS, or even to be faithful to their mates, or remain pure for their future mates, this is not best! The truth of the matter is that your body does not belong to you; you have been "bought with a price," and are not at liberty to use your body to satisfy unlawful lusts. Too, you are to live in your body in anticipation of receiving a "house from heaven." Your mandate is to culture your soul by grace through faith to be compatible with that glorified body. Your body belongs to the Lord!

Our bodies are the members of Christ

Paul appealed to the resurrection of the dead in his exhortations. That aspect of our salvation clarified the moral requirements of Divine life. The reasoning of the Apostle speaks for itself. "Now God has not only raised the Lord, but will also raise us up through His power. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take away the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? May it never be!" (1 Cor 6:14-15).

What a remarkable statement! "Our bodies are the members of Christ!" The recognition of that situation makes sinful indulgence unreasonable to the individual! It also accounts for the resurrection of the dead. If our bodies are the "members of Christ," then salvation is not complete until they have been redeemed, or raised from the dead. To put it another way, until we inhabit our "house from heaven," we are not complete.

Receiving our resurrection body, or entering into our "house from heaven," is equated with our "adoption" into the family of God. This is not a matter of speculation, but is a matter of Divine affirmation. "We ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body" (Rom 8:23).

Our "groaning" is produced by our basic incompatibility with our frail bodies. It is no marvel they are called "vile bodies" (Phil 3:20), "earthen vessels" (2 Cor 4:7), and "corruptible" or "perishable" (1 Cor 15:53). Those who are now "in the body" are, by virtue of that situation, subject to weakness and maltreatment (Rom 8:3; Heb 13:3).

An unusually strong exclamation of the Apostle Paul accentuates the experience of the believer in a recalcitrant body. "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Rom 7:24). We not only desire our "house from heaven," we need it to be made complete! The life of faith confirms this to be the case.

PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Christ Jesus, give me grace to live for "then" and "there," and not for "here" and "now!"

-- TOMORROW: PREPARED FOR THIS VERY PURPOSE --