Morning Nourishment Heb. 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one meal gave up his own birthright. 23 And to the church of the frstborn, who have been enrolled in the heavens; and to God, the Judge of all; and to the spirits of righteous men who have been made perfect. The Gospel of Luke also reveals that in the Man-Savior we have the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues to produce the highest standard of morality. Throughout this Gospel we see in the Man-Savior, who is also the God- man, the complete God and a perfect man, the mingling of the divine attributes with the human virtues. The mingling of the divine nature with its attributes and the human nature with its virtues to produce the highest standard of morality are for the New Testament jubilee. In this jubilee we are freed from all bondages—the bondage of sin, the bondage of Satan, the bondage of the world, and even the bondage of the self—and we are also freed into the full enjoyment of our lost birthright, the right to enjoy the Triune God in Christ. (Life-study of Luke, p. 228) Today’s Reading Christ’s death has released us from sin and from Satan. According to Hebrews 2:14, Christ destroyed Satan through His death. If He had not destroyed Satan, how could He release us from Satan’s usurping hand?...Our release from bondage is absolutely due to the all-inclusive death of Christ, a death that has released us from sin and Satan. It is only through the resurrection of Christ that our right to the enjoyment of God is recovered. When we believe in the all-inclusive, victorious death of Christ, we are released from sin, Satan, and ourselves. When we remain and live in the resurrection of Christ, we have the recovery of the right to enjoy God. This is the jubilee. Christ with His death and resurrection has brought in the jubilee. (Life- study of Luke, p. 180) Esau’s birthright as the frstborn son of Isaac was the double portion of land, the priesthood, and the kingship. Because of Esau’s profaneness in giving up his birthright, the double portion of land was given to Joseph (1 Chron. 5:1-2), the priesthood was passed to Levi (Deut. 33:8-10), and the kingship was assigned to Judah (Gen. 49:10; 1 Chron. 5:2). We Christians, born of God, are the firstfruits of His creatures (James 1:18) that He has reaped in His creation. In that sense we are the frstborn sons of God. Hence, the church, composed of us, is called the church of the firstborn (Heb. 12:23). As the firstborn sons of God, we have the birthright. This includes the inheritance of the earth (2:5-6), the priesthood (Rev. 20:6), and the kingship (Rev. 20:4), which will be the main blessings in the coming kingdom and which the profane, world-loving-and-seeking Christians will lose at the Lord’s coming back. Eventually, this birthright will be a reward given to the overcoming Christians in the millennial kingdom. Any worldly enjoyment, even one meal, could cause us to forfeit this birthright of ours. Actually, what we are privileged to enjoy in Christ is the foretaste of the blessings in the coming kingdom. The proper enjoyment of this foretaste will usher us into the full taste of the kingdom blessings. If we do not enjoy Christ today as our good land, as defined in footnote 1 on Hebrews 4:9, how can we enter into His rest in the kingdom and inherit the earth with Him? If we do not exercise our priesthood today to contact Him and prayerfully minister to Him, how can we fulfill our priestly duty in the kingdom? If we do not exercise our spirit with the God-given authority to rule our self, our flesh, our entire being, and the enemy with all his power of darkness today, how can we be Christ’s co-kings and rule the nations with Him in His kingdom (Rev. 2:26-27)? Our enjoyment of Christ and the practice of the priesthood and kingship today are the preparation and qualifcation for our participating in Christ’s kingdom tomorrow! (Heb. 12:16, footnote 1) Further Reading: The Jubilee, chs. 2-4
Posted on: Sat, 04 Oct 2014 04:42:34 +0000
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