In Galatians 5:21 Paul, referring to the works of the flesh, says, “Those who practice such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.” The inheritance of the kingdom of God refers to the enjoyment of the coming kingdom as a reward to the overcoming believers. It is not related to a believer’s salvation. Those believers who practice the works of the flesh listed in Galatians 5 will not inherit the coming kingdom as a reward.
Second Peter 1:11 says, “So shall be richly and bountifully supplied to you the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” The bountiful supply we enjoy in the development of the divine life and divine nature will bountifully supply us a rich entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord. It will enable and qualify us to enter into the coming kingdom with all the riches of the divine life and divine nature as our excellent virtues unto the splendid glory of God.
The eternal kingdom in 2 Peter 1:11 refers to the kingdom of God given to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Dan. 7:13-14), which will be manifested at His coming back (Luke 19:11-12). It will be a reward to His faithful believers who pursue the growth in His life unto maturity and the development of the virtues of His nature, so that they may participate, in the millennium, in His kingship in God’s glory (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 20:4, 6). To enter thus into the eternal kingdom of the Lord is related to the entrance into God’s eternal glory, to which He has called us in Christ (1 Pet. 5:10; 1 Thes. 2:12).
The overcomers will inherit the kingdom of Christ and of God to enter the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 5:20; 7:21; 2 Tim. 4:18). With the kingdom of the heavens there are three aspects: the reality, the appearance, and the manifestation. The reality of the kingdom of the heavens is the inward contents of the kingdom of the heavens in its heavenly and spiritual nature, as revealed in Matthew 5-7. The appearance of the kingdom of the heavens is the outward state of the kingdom of the heavens in name, as revealed in Matthew 13. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will be the practical coming of the kingdom of the heavens in power, as revealed by the Lord Jesus in Matthew 24 and 25. Both the reality and the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens are with the church today. The manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens will begin with the coming back of the Lord Jesus. When the Lord comes back, the kingdom of the heavens will be manifested. Whereas the appearance of the kingdom of the heavens includes all of the false believers, only the victorious, overcoming believers are in the reality of the kingdom of the heavens. After the Lord Jesus comes back, these overcoming believers will participate in the manifestation of the kingdom of the heavens.
The overcomers will also be glorified with Christ. Romans 8:17b says, “If indeed we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified with Him.” Glory is the expression of God. Christ, the hope of glory (Col. 1:27), has been sown into us as the seed of glory and this seed will grow until it reaches the stage of blossoming, at which time the glory will come out. For God to glorify us means that the glory which has been sown into us saturates our whole being and is expressed through us. When our entire being has been permeated and saturated with the element of glory, that glory will come out of us. This is what it means for the believers to be glorified.
The believers’ glorification will not be an accident. Rather, their glorification will be the issue of their maturity in life. First, we are regenerated, and then we are gradually transformed through the growth of the divine life within us. As the divine life grows within us, it saturates us with the divine element, and this element changes us metabolically. This metabolic change is what the New Testament calls transformation. Glorification is the issue of transformation, and transformation is accomplished by the gradual and continuous growth in life. One day, when we reach our maturity, we shall be glorified and thereby brought into the full expression of the Triune God.
In Romans 8:17 Paul points out that if we suffer with Christ, we shall also be glorified with Him. Although we should not say that without suffering we shall not be glorified, it is certain that the degree of our suffering determines the degree of our glory. The more suffering we pass through, the more our glory will be intensified, for suffering increases the intensity of our glory. We want to be glorified, but we may not want to experience suffering. However, suffering increases glory. Eventually, we all shall shine and be glorified, but the intensity of our glory will depend on the amount of suffering we are willing to take. Realizing this, Paul went on to say in Romans 8:18, “For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us.” The present suffering means nothing compared with the coming glory.
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