We of like precious faith gathered together for the purpose of commemorating the death of our Lord and Master, can say with Paul in 1st Corinthians 15:19: “If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.” However, the next few verses remind us that we do have more than hope in this life only.
“But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that slept.”
“For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.”
“For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive, but every-man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming (1 Cor. 15: 20-23).
On this earth we are strangers and foreigners and have no continuing city. But in our sojourn through life, if we are Abraham’s spiritual seed our hope is centered in the promises to the fathers which carry us forward to the return of Christ who will free us from this evil world. We are in the world, but not of it. Present advantages and assets are merely temporal and easily corrupted by moth and rust, but our hope is for a better life wherein dwelleth righteousness.
We are also called unto Eternal Life (1 Tim. 6:12). Paul had been pointing out to Timothy the errors of ungodliness and the result of the love of money, which is the “root of all evil.” He then tells him and all who have ears to hear to “flee those things and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience and meekness” (1 Tim. 6:11). Then Christ’s followers are told to “fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses” (V. 12). We need to be reminded of such passages as 2nd Peter 1:10 wherein we are admonished to “give diligence to make our calling and election sure . . .”; and Acts 28:20 where we read of Paul telling the chief of the Jews at Rome that “for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”
The same apostle in writing to the brethren at Corinth says:
“For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty, And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are’ (1 Cor 1 26-28)
The next three verses give us the reason
‘That no flesh should glory in his presence But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption That according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord” (1 Cor 1 29-31).
From these verses we see that our calling is indeed not according to this world but goes beyond the present to the day of Christ’s second appearing God works in wonderful ways to declare His name to all who have ears to hear, that they may accept His great offering of eternal life It is inherent with the human race to love life They cling to it even in the face of suffering and constant anxiety for the future If this is true, and we all agree that it is, should not the desire for eternal life in perfection be much greater? The reason why many people give no thought to the future is because they have been taught that the future will take care of them This any believer knows is not true Even in the present temporal life we are very foolish if we do got provide for old age or misfortune How much more important then it is to provide for the spiritual life which is eternal.
We are given some insight into the future by referring to Isaiah the 25th chapter, reading from the sixth verse to the end of the chapter The prophet has been praising God for His goodness and care over the children of Israel, which he sums up in these words.
“For thou hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against the wall” (V 4).
It is only logical that God, Maker of heaven and earth and all that therein is, should at some time make of this earth the place which He Intended it to be be fore sin entered and cursed it The verses in this chapter of Isaiah are very comforting to the children of God, as they depict the time when at last our calling will be realized.
It seems superfluous for us to point out the significance of the sixth verse “In this mountain shall the Lord of hosts make unto all people a feast of fat things, etc This is none other than Mt Zion, the southwest hill of Jerusalem, or the City of David. The envisions of this city will some day be the home of the redeemed When that day arrives these verses will have been fulfilled, even the rebuke of His people shall have been taken away from off all the earth.
In review we see how Abram was called out from Ur of the Chaldees, and, for his obedience to the commands of God, was promised the land of Canaan for an everlasting possession for himself and his seed Abraham died, and his natural seed, the Jew, became God’s chosen people, although they were a stiff-necked people and turned away from God time and time again However, this did not frustrate the plan of God, although eventually they were completely obliterated as a nation David, a man after God’s own heart, had been promised a Son to sit upon his throne This Son came into the world as promised, but at that time he did not come as a king, but as Christ, the Messiah The people of his day tried to make him a king, not understanding that the cross had to come before the crown When the time arrives for Christ to return to this earth to take up His power and reign, then will He sit upon the throne of His father David (God’s throne) in Jerusalem, and the law will go forth from Zion This we are told in Isaiah 2 3 No human law will then rule the nations, with the consequent failures inevitable under such conditions The only way in which lasting peace and true prosperity can be obtained is in the Kingdom of God to which we are also called.
Every brother and sister when assembled for the feast of refreshing and remembrance shown in symbol in the bread and wine can rejoice exceedingly that they have been called out from the superstition and ignorance that cover the world, especially the religious world We partake of this bread and wine in full assurance of faith, knowing that what God has promised He will perform, and that if we continue steadfast unto the end we shall not be ashamed when Christ comes to take unto Himself His own At that time we shall realize in the fullest sense that we have been called to Eternal Life Lest any of us should be disappointed in obtaining this goal, let us suppress all selfish inclinations or ambitions, and, with good works, press on ward toward the mark of our high calling in Christ Jesus.
The Origin of the Organic World – Part One