“The Reward & Inheritance Factor” Pt 6
(The Fatherhood of God Message 20)
X. The Reward and Inheritance Factor
A. PRESENT AND FUTURE REWARD
Remember – you’re not home yet.
B. FUTURE INHERITANCE
Remember – He who has the Son gets it all.
C. INTERMEDIATE HOME
Remember – Absent from the body at home with the Lord.
D. RENEWED HEAVEN AND EARTH
1. The physical aspects of life on the new earth
a) General Observations
b) THE CAPITAL CITY – THE NEW JERUSALEM
c) THE RENEWED EARTH
d) THE RENEWED UNIVERSE
e) OUR RENEWED PHYSICAL BODIES
It is clear that all mankind will be resurrected. Not just believers but unbelievers will experience a resurrection. One, a resurrection to eternal existence with God on the renewed earth.
The other a resurrection to eternal judgment apart from God in the lake of fire. Rev 20:11-15
All mankind will be assigned some sort of physical body. Believers will live eternal in resurrected bodies like that of our savior. After the resurrection Jesus urged the disciples to touch His body. He was not a ghost. He said he had a body of flesh and bones. (Luke 24:39)
Similar yet different. Physical bodies reset to their function at optimum capacity; perfectly balanced and integrated body, soul, and spirit.
2. The social and personal aspects of life on the new earth
We will live in a most glorious environment. Familiar yet fresh and new. Imaginable yet unimaginable. We get brief glimpses of eternity during this age, but then we will experience the ultimate. What will we do? Where will we live? Who will we see? Where will we go? What will we be like? What will life be like? The Bible does not provide a great deal of detail but enough to keep our hope alive and active; enough to stimulate our God directed imagination; enough to stir deep longings to be home.
a) Christlike Character
God’s laws will be written on our heart and worked out in our life. We will both will and do His good pleasure. We will desire and actually do the things that please God. We will have a heart like His. We will be like Him. We will think like Him, love like Him, choose like Him. We will not longer make wrong choices or take those devastating detours. We will never live contrary to God’s will again. We will by nature please and glorify God in everything we think, say and do.
We will serve God with the full capacity of our being with our unique gifting.
b) Responsibility & Rule
There will be cities, nations, kings, nationalities, governments, towns. All believers will rule and reign with Christ. (2 Tim 2:12; Rev 20:6)
Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world? If the world is judged by you, are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts? Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more matters of this life? 1 Corinthians 6:2-3
Yet some will have more responsibility than others based on their faithful service here.
"You are those who have stood by Me in My trials; and just as My Father has granted Me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. Luke 22:28-30
"And he said to him, 'Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities.' Luke 19:17
c) Activities
Eating in Heaven
At the Last Supper Jesus told the disciples He would not drink the fruit of the vine again until the establishment of His kingdom. (Luke 22:18)
Matthew 8:11 Luke 24:36-43 Acts 10:40-41 Rev 19:9 Luke 14:15
Games, sports, running, jumping, hiking.
Mal 4:2-3
Eric Liddell (Chariots of Fire) was convinced that his running brought God pleasure. How much more on the New Earth? Dive of a 300 foot cliff into clear blue lake? Sky dive? Fly? Rock climb? Jeremiah talks about dancing on the New Earth. Jeremiah 31:4
Laughter Luke 6:21
Entertainment
Stories, painting, poetry, sculpture, arts, crafts, music, laughter and drama all express something about God and ourselves. Why wouldn’t such expression continue on the New Earth only completely pure and honoring to the God who made us. Stories of salvation, documentaries on God’s creation, laugh at life on earth, rejoice at new discoveries, marvel at new musical creations, be drawn to worship by a piece of art or poem or song. Why not?
d) Growth
There is much we will know but we will continue to grow and develop. God alone knows everything. 1 Cor 13 talks about seeing in a distorted mirror. They were used to looking in a polished bronze mirror which caused distortion and discoloration. Paul talked about the day when we would know more full. He didn’t say we would know everything. We would know more fully; no error, not misconceptions. We will bring memories, gain new knowledge, discover new things, explore new places, and understand new realities. Part of the enjoyment in life is to hear new stories. How boring it would be to know everything. Part of life is discovery.
I think we will progress, improve, gain new skills. Present aptitudes will only improve. No fuzzy brain or in ability to “get it.” Even to grow in our knowledge of God and His attributes.
We only perceive of tiny fraction of who He really is. A good part of worship has to do with knowing and perceiving.
e) Serve & Worship God
Worship has to do with service and bowing in reverence. We will have full capacity to do both.
God’s gifting was intentional and without end. Romans 11:29
We will perfectly utilize His special gifts to serve the Kingdom. Today we serve the church.
Tomorrow we will serve the greater Kingdom of God. Perhaps even natural talents will flourish in the kingdom. Invent new things. Harness more of God’s creation. Develop new and more efficient technology. All will be done for the glory of God. There will be commerce, service, farming, building, sharing. All will be done for the good of one another. People will work to share rather than horde. People will joyfully serve each other and God. The principles of giving will still apply. Work in order to have something to share. Giving to each other is equal to giving to God. Serving each other will equal serving God.
Work and service will continue on the new earth. We exist to serve Him. (Rev 22.3)
God works (John 5:17). Jesus worked. His food was to do His will of His father. (John 4:34)
There was work to do before the fall. There will be work in the New Earth. It will all be meaningful and delightful work perfectly matched to our aptitude and gifting.
There will also be rest and relaxation as even God rested and established a Sabbath rest.
Perhaps the dreams we had to accomplish were not intended for this age. (Page 434)
Perhaps we will be able to finish out our life’s work in the next. (Heaven page 413)
For the first time I can make some sense out of lives cut short, early in life tragedies, mental disease, mental and emotional handicaps, physical deformities and handicaps. This life is NOT all there is. Our life’s purpose is not limited to this age. Those who had no advantage, lived their whole life just trying to stay alive, were shut away and limited by time and resources will have resurrected opportunity to exercise their God given aptitudes and longings.
Note: God did not create us for evangelism. He created us to serve Him. He created us to glorify Him and enjoy Him forever.
We will spend eternity engaged in our life’s purpose.
f) All the time in the world
The resurrected life does not eliminate time and space, it redeems it. Even in the present heaven there is time and space. Then & Now Martyrs told to wait till the time of retribution. Angels delayed 21 days in the heavens. We will fully utilize the time we have. We will not be in a hurry. No frantic rushing to get things done. There will be time to grow the roses, cultivate the roses, smell the roses, pick the roses, share the roses.
g) Perfect Relationships
Will we know each other? Why would we know any less than we do now? Wouldn’t we expect to know more not less? Better not worse? I suspect the new earth will be a grand reunion with all who have died before us. Meet grandparents we never met. Meet relatives we never knew.
Learn history and hear stories of God’s grace through the ages. There will be families. We will retain certain ethnic characteristics. Every tribe and language and people and nation will join together in a grand celebration of the Lamb. The Bible is full of stories of faith and grace.
What fun to chat with Bible figures: Peter, Noah, Jonah, Moses, Abraham, David, Paul.
Have lunch with historical figures: Abraham Lincoln, Isaac Newton, Martin Luther,
Perhaps spend a month or two reminiscing with our guardian angel.
Friendships will flourish and bring even deeper fulfillment. No insecurity. No pride. No greed, selfish ambition or jealousy. We will truly be one as God is one.
What about marriage?
A group of intellectual religious eggheads tried to trick Jesus one day. Even though they did not even believe in a future bodily resurrection, they concocted this elaborate hypothetical situation.
The first of seven brothers gets married. The first brother dies and the second brother marries the first brother’s wife. The second brother dies and also marries the first brother’s wife.
All seven brothers die and each marries the first brother’s wife. Whose wife will she be in the resurrection? (Which they didn’t believe in anyway.) Mark 12:24-25
Our primary relationship in the coming age will be Jesus! The marriage relationship in this age only pictures the ultimate relationship with Christ. Once you have the REAL thing, you no longer need the picture. All the good stuff related to marriage in this age will find its ultimate fulfillment in the next. Whatever companionship and relationship and even the intimacy of the sexual aspect of marriage was meant to foreshadow here, will find even greater expression hereafter.
I would imagine we will know one another and there will be deepening friendships and meaningful relationship at a level we have not even reached in this age. I do know that many things we think we could not live without in this age will no longer seem relevant in light of the far superior life and experiences God supplies in the coming age.
What about babies and children who died prematurely?
Perhaps babies will pick up where they left off here. Perhaps they will have opportunity to grow up in a family with brothers and sisters. Maybe we will have opportunity to nurture them.
What about the friends and relatives we love who don’t make it to heaven?
First, we will see things as God sees them. We will have God’s perspective. How do we feel when someone not so close harms or severely offends someone very close? We naturally feel animosity to the one not so close. Christ will become our most cherished relationship.
We will have appropriate response to all those who purposely rejected Him.
Second, every tear of sorrow and pain will be eternally wiped away.
