Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God

A Deeper Teaching by Kenton Cheek

A key part of spiritual growth and sanctification is perseverance.  In order for the event and process of salvation to not be in vain, we must continue in the faith until we reach the goal of salvation which is glorification. This means a continual rejection of sin and ardent pursuit of holiness.  The New Testament is filled with encouragement to this end. 

     The Apostle Paul links the event, process and goal of salvation together beautifully in I Corinthians 15.  “Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.”[1]  The Gospel Paul preached to them was belief, repentance and confession of our Lord Christ as Savior and Lord, but followers of Jesus must “hold fast to the Word” or any spiritual experience they had would be of no eternal value. 

     Paul continued to expound upon salvation in I Corinthians 15 linking the salvific event and process to the goal, “For if the dead are not raised, not even Christ has been raised. And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile and you are still in your sins.”  Without the goal of glorification, the event and the process mean nothing for eternity other than an earthly life well lived.  The eternal value of our faith is built upon the reality of the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead and the assurance and hope of our own resurrection as adopted sons and daughters of the Father. 

     Sanctification is the process by which worldly and fleshly desires, attitudes, thoughts, and behaviors are pruned away allowing more of the fruit of the Spirit to be produced in the life of the believer.  As we are transformed from glory to glory to be more like Jesus, our unity with one another and with the Father increases until the process reaches its culmination, the crescendo of glorification.  Glorification is perfect unity and harmony with God and His eternal family made up of all blood washed, Spirit filled believers gathered as one from all time and space in the New Heaven and the New Earth.  “After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”[2] 

     This eternal family is the Church universal, the Bride of Christ who will be joined together forever with God at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb.  “Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, “Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.  And the angel saidto me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”[3]  Jesus prepares His Bride for glorification through the process of sanctification.  We are washed in His blood and purified by following the precepts and principles of His Word, the Holy Bible as Ephesians 5 reveals, “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansingher by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.”[4]

     Life in the New Eden will not be boring.  It will be an eternal adventure beyond anything our finite minds in our present reality can comprehend.[5]  Jesus Christ is the ultimate Prophet, our great High Priest, and King of Kings.  The adopted sons and daughters of God are being prepared in their roles as prophets and prophetesses, priests and priestesses, kings and queens who speak, minister, and reign in the knowledge, wisdom and authority of our Prophet, Priest and King.  As we discover our identity in Christ Jesus, we are to follow His humble example of life and godliness.  “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”[6]  We will not be objects of worship as gods and goddesses in our own right as Satan wrongly tempts us with[7] but rather be united with God and share in His glory, enjoying perfect harmony with Him, liberated from sin and its corrosive effects.[8]

     These roles were given and foretold from the beginning.  When God created Adam and Eve, He gave them dominion over all the Earth.[9]  Human beings are to be wise stewards of His creation.  In Exodus 19:6, Yahweh revealed His intention for His people by saying, “youwill be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.”[10]  This concept is carried through the prophets.  Isaiah 61:6 says, “And you will be called priests of the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God.  You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.”[11]  The Law, the Prophets and the Apostles confirm these roles for the sons and daughters of the Most High.  I Peter 2:9 says, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”^[12]  This is fully realized in Revelation 5:10, “And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.”[13] 

     A key piece of glorification is that we will judge and rule with Christ forever.  I Corinthians 6:3 tells us, “Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life!”[14]  And in Paul’s second letter to Timothy we read, “If we endure, we will also reign with him.”[15]  God has given us knowledge through His Word and wisdom by His Spirit not only for life and godliness in our present reality,[16] but also to prepare us for our roles in the New Heaven and the New Earth.  “Blessed and holy are those who share in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years…There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.”[17]  This is the goal of our faith, the completion of our salvation.  Humanity will be fully restored to the paradisiacal state and perfectly holy.

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[1] I Corinthians 15:1-2, ESV

[2] Revelation 7:9-10

[3] Revelation 19:6-9, ESV

[4] Ephesians 5:25-28, NIV, see also Titus 3:5, NIV

[5] I Corinthians 2:9, NIV

[6] Matthew 23:12, ESV

[7] Genesis 3:5, Isaiah 42:8, NIV

[8] Romans 8:17, NIV

[9] Genesis 1:26-28, KJV

[10] Exodus 19:6a, NIV

[11] Isaiah 61:6, NIV

[12] I Peter 2:9, ESV

[13] Revelation 5:10, KJV

[14] I Corinthians 6:3, NIV

[15] II Timothy 2:12, ESV

[16] II Peter 1:3, NIV

[17] Revelation 20:6, 22:5, NIV