As we have seen, the loss of the reward in the coming kingdom, the forfeiture of our birthright, does not mean that we shall perish. It means that we shall lose the reward and suffer loss, but still “be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:14-15, Gk.). This is the basic concept upon which all the five warnings of this book are given and with which they all are pervaded (2:3; 4:1-11; 6:8; 10:27, 29-31; 12:25). All the negative points of these warnings are related to suffering the loss of the reward in the coming kingdom and to being punished by God, whereas all the positive points are related to the reward and enjoyment of the kingdom. All the seven epistles in Revelation 2 and 3 are concluded with the same concept—the reward of the kingdom or the loss of it. Only with this concept can the word in Matthew 5:20; 7:21-23; 16:24-27; 19:23-30; 24:46-51; 25:11-13, 21, 23, 26-30; Luke 12:42-48; 19:17, 19, 22-27; Romans 14:10, 12; 1 Corinthians 3:8, 13-15; 4:5; 9:24-27; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:7-8; Hebrews 2:3; 4:1, 9, 11; 6:4-8; 10:26-31, 35-39; 12:16-17, 28-29; Revelation 2:7, 10-11, 17, 26-27; 3:4-5, 11-12, 20; and 22:12 be rightly understood and properly applied. Apart from this concept, the interpretation of these verses will fall either into the extreme objectiveness of the Calvinist school, or the extreme subjectiveness of the Arminian school. Neither of these schools has seen the reward of the kingdom, and even the more they have not seen the suffering of the loss of the kingdom reward. Hence, both consider all the negative points in these verses as perdition. The Calvinist school, believing in eternal salvation (that is, once a person is saved, he shall never perish), refers all these negative points to the perdition of false believers; while the Arminian school, believing that a saved person shall perish if he falls, applies them to the perdition of fallen saved persons. But the complete revelation of the Bible refers these negative points to the suffering of the loss of the kingdom reward. Salvation is eternal: once we get it, we shall never lose it (John 10:28-29). But we may suffer the loss of the kingdom reward, even though we still shall be saved (1 Cor. 3:8, 14-15). All the warnings in Hebrews do not refer to the loss of eternal salvation, but to the loss of the kingdom reward. The Hebrew believers had received the kingdom, but they would have lost the reward in the manifestation of the kingdom if they shrank back from the grace of God, from God’s new covenant way. This was the main concern of the writer’s warning regarding the staggering Hebrew believers.
Some Christian teachers say that the slothful servant in Matthew 25 is a false servant. But this is altogether illogical. Although one of your children may be slothful, this does not mean that he is false. Since some Christian teachers do not see the matter of the kingdom reward, they must say that the slothful servant is a false servant. On the contrary, some say that the slothful servant is a real servant who has fallen away and lost his salvation.
We have seen that God’s original intention was to have a corporate man to express Him with His image, to represent Him with His dominion, and to take possession of the earth. This is the proper human living. Because man fell from God’s original intention, God came in to redeem and save us. This is God’s salvation, in which there is the birthright having three aspects: being the priests to express God with His image, being the kings to represent God with His dominion, and taking full possession of the lost earth for God’s eternal purpose. If we live in this birthright, we shall spontaneously be in the reality of the kingdom of God, for the reality of the kingdom of God is the living out of the birthright, the realization of the full birthright. Since not all Christians are willing to cooperate with God in this matter, He, in His wisdom, has decided to make the birthright a reward. If we take grace, enter into the Holy of Holies, and cooperate with God, we shall certainly live out the birthright. Then whatever we live out will be the reality of the kingdom today. The reality which we are living out today will become our reward in the manifestation of the kingdom. This is the fulfillment of God’s original intention. It is also our perfection, glorification, and the gaining of our soul in the coming age. As a result, we shall have the proper human living with an uplifted and resurrected humanity. This is the crucial focus of the entire Bible, and the Bible is very consistent about it. How can all this be worked out? Only by our turning to the spirit, entering into the Holy of Holies, experiencing Christ in all His riches, and allowing the law of life to take us from one stage of glory to another as it permeates us, saturates us, and conforms us to His image.
Hebrews 12:29 says, “Our God is also a consuming fire.” God is holy. Holiness is His nature. Whatever does not correspond with His holy nature, He, as the consuming fire, will consume. If the Hebrew believers had turned aside to Judaism, which was common (unholy) in the sight of God, it would have made them unholy, and the holy God, as the consuming fire, would have consumed them. God is not only righteous but also holy. To satisfy God’s righteousness we need to be justified through the redemption of Christ. To meet the demands of His holiness we need to be sanctified, to be made holy, by the heavenly, present, and living Christ. Romans stresses the matter of justification (Rom. 3:24) for God’s righteousness (Rom. 3:25-26), whereas Hebrews emphasizes the matter of sanctification (2:11; 10:10, 14, 29; 13:12) for God’s holiness (12:14). For this, the Hebrew believers had to separate themselves from unholy Judaism unto the holy God who has fully expressed Himself in the Son under the new covenant; otherwise, they would have defiled themselves with their old, profane religion and suffered the holy God as the consuming fire. That would have been “fearful” (10:31)! No wonder Paul was very much concerned about “the terror [fear] of the Lord” (2 Cor. 5:11).
The focal point of the book of Hebrews is to bring us into the holy nature of God. If we do not cooperate with God in this, we shall break His administration. To break God’s administration is a governmental matter. Breaking God’s law is not as serious as breaking His government. God has revealed that if we do not cooperate with Him in His administrative economy but rather break His government, He will punish us. This means that we shall lose the kingdom reward on the positive side and suffer punishment on the negative side. In Hebrews 10 and 12 we see the way, the race, and the pathway that we must take, run on, and pass through. In these chapters we also see the punishment, the reward, and the kingdom. These three things are crucial aspects of the basic concept in the composition of this book.
No other book in the New Testament reveals the focal point of God’s economy as clearly as the book of Hebrews does, for no other book points us to the Holy of Holies and to the law of life in the ark. Although Romans 8:2 does mention the law of the Spirit of life, Hebrews covers the law of life much more thoroughly than Romans does. The writer of Hebrews warns us to take the revelation of God’s economy as found in this book. If we take it, we shall receive a reward in the manifestation of the kingdom. If we do not take it, we shall suffer some punishment due to our breaking of God’s administrative economy. Those who do not have the substantiating sense, or who fail to exercise it, cannot see this. While we are so serious and sober about this matter, many other Christians are not. Under the enlightening of the heavenly revelation we have been seeing in these messages, we must be serious and sober about running the race on the straight paths. The way we run today will determine our future destiny.
Although we are concerned about our future destiny, we must have the grace to say to the Lord, “Lord, by Your grace I do not care for my destiny—I care for Your economy. You take care of my destiny, and I’ll take care of Your economy. Lord, I want to cooperate with You, not for the sake of my future destiny, but for the sake of Your economy today. I want to see that Your economy, which has not been carried out through the centuries, will be fulfilled in these days.” We all need to have such a clear vision and be brought on so that God’s purpose might be fulfilled among us. God wants to bring a group of His sincere seekers into the Holy of Holies that they might experience the working of the law of life and thus become the corporate reproduction of the standard model, His Firstborn Son. The Lord’s coming back depends upon this corporate reproduction. It is impossible for the Lord to come back until this has been accomplished. His having the reproduction of the standard model depends upon the working of the law of life within us. As we have seen, the law of life is neither in the outer court nor in the Holy Place; it is in the ark of testimony in the Holy of Holies. Therefore, we must enter into the Holy of Holies, plunge into the ark of testimony, and experience the law of life. We know where the law of life is—it is in our spirit. Now we just need to say, “Lord, by Your mercy and grace, I am here to cooperate with You. I am ready for You to go on. Lord, do everything You can and whatever You like. I don’t care for my future destiny. I only care for Your recovery in today’s economy, for the proper recovery of the church life. Lord, may all Your seekers be brought into this way for the fulfillment of Your will!” This is the Lord’s recovery in His economy today.