The uppermost thing in God’s mind right now is to restore His kingdom here on earth. We right now, are preaching of the world tomorrow, which will be ruled by that kingdom, and as He reveals to us, it is men who will be its rulers, for our Lords tells us, “For God has not subjected unto angels, the world to come of which we preach………what is man…..you have crowned him with glory and honour, putting everything in subjection under his feet-Heb.2:5-8”. But before we can be given that rulership, we must first be made exactly like God, for He planned to, “… make man in His image and His likeness, to rule….. upon the earth-Gen.1:26”. Even then, though this is His plan, God created us in His image only, for, “ ………in His own image, in the image of God, He created Him, male and female- Gen.1:27”. God is spirit and eternal. But in this image of His, He created a man of “….dust of the ground; yes, a physical living being; not a spirit one….a man of dust-Gen.2:7; 1 Cor.15:45,47”. Since, for man to start ruling the earth, he must bear both, the image and likeness of God, and here, he is only in the image alone, it therefore means that this dust-of-the-ground-man, is yet to be further created, for he must bear both image and likeness, before he can assume rulership over the earth. Based on that knowledge, it is a proven truth that, man’s creation is a process, and this physical is the first stage, for God tells us, “ for it is first the physical, then afterwards, the spiritual-1 Cor.15:46”. All men since Adam until now, except a few whom God chose in every generation, are in this first stage. Unlike God, in this stage, “we are of few days (short-lived) and filled with troubles; we are like grass, and our lifespan is comparable to that of a flower- Job.14:1-3”. Someone wakes up in the morning very healthy and packed with energy. All of a sudden, he is either in icu, on a wheel chair, dead, or any such like condition. What happened? Ah! He just slided and fell, breaking his back bone, had an accident, was beaten in a fight, got sick abruptly, and the like. This proves that, we in this physical life, are no different from an egg, which, when it slips from your hand, there is nothing like recollecting it; it’s broken. We are perishable, and exactly like a shadow that passes on, “…a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes-James.4:14”. We, in this physical first stage, have no knowledge, and so, “….we don’t know what is coming, yes, we don’t know about tomorrow-James.4:14”. Testifying to this truth, God says, “…the way of man is not in himself, that it is not in man who walks to direct his steps-Jerem.10:23”. And why? Because in this physical stage, we were not created with inbuilt knowledge like animals (instinct). We were created to develop knowledge which is only possible through acquiring it from without. Adding weight to this, our Lord says, “ many are the plans in the mind of man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will be established-prov.19:21”. Brethren, it is very true that our minds are packed with so many imaginations and plans, but truly speaking, very few come to pass. Remember, the many fears you have entertained, but what you feared never happened. Many desires, castles in the air, never became, and such like. All because, unless God teaches us, we can’t know the way to success and achievement. So, we can only depend on our creator for information on how to live and do things, for, “ No one knows, no one understands”. And in pretending to know, “men have remained fools- Rom.3:11; 1:22”. Therefore, if God will continue with the process of creating us further, we must strictly follow His instructions, without which, we don’t know anything; a good reason why our Lord admonishes us “ to say, ‘if God wills-James.4:15’, whenever we plan anything. Yes, this is why we can’t do anything according to what we think, but in everything, we refer to God for instructions- Prov.3:5. But why can’t we? Why seek God’s guidance in every step?
SECOND STAGE
To be like God, we must freely choose His way. This is why He never created us in His image and likeness at once. This is why in this physical stage, we have no knowledge; we must acquire knowledge from Him. In the same way we could not create ourselves physically, so also, we can’t develop our own minds, which are the basis of developing our behaviours( way of conduct). The stage- two in man’s creation process is therefore meant to be a class in which, God( not ourselves) will develop his mind in us, which comes by acquiring his knowledge on how He wants us to live, by which knowledge(when applied), we can develop His character which is called, righteousness. But this, God will not do if one doesn’t freely like and, choose to be so. This is what it takes for God to create His likeness in us, for we have to, “put on the new nature, created after the likeness of God, in true righteousness and holiness-Eph.4:24”. Remember, we are “…God’s building-1 Cor.3:9”. It therefore means, if God will not continue to construct us, no one else will(we included) and therefore, if He stops at where we are, we will remain there, for we can’t progress ourselves, neither can anybody else do it. Brethren, you may not agree with me, but know and understand that, God’s creation process for man stopped immediately after the first stage, the image-stage, when Adam was only physical, the short-lived being and, who had no knowledge. Instead of choosing God’s way to enable God proceed with creating him(by equipping him with knowledge), he chose Satan’s lie, which made him to assume God’s position, and so, he, “…was darkened in his understanding, alienated from the life of God because of his ignorance, because of the hardness of his heart…. Indulging in every kind of uncleanness, after putting on a corrupt and deceitful mind-Eph.4:18,22”. So, the second stage never took off. And because we can’t create ourselves, and God has here, “ allowed us to walk in our own-chosen way-Act.14:16”, life became the scaring, destructive, confusious engagement, it is today with a, try-and-error way of planning. Because we are fools, but assume to know, then, our foolishness is destroying the bit that God had created- the physical, for we can’t build ourselves, for, being God’s buildings, “ unless he builds, we will build in vain-Psalm.127:1”. So, in trying to build ourselves further, all that we have succeeded in doing is, to first, destroy the physical- life-supporting-ingredients, i.e, air, water, and food, bringing about the massive pollution which has resulted to destruction of our health and bodies. All the same, whatever God does endures forever, for, “ He says, ‘ my counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose’, …….i have spoken and I will bring it to pass; I have purposed and I will do it-Isa.46:10-11”; see also Ecles.3:14”. So, because His plan to restore his kingdom here on earth must come to pass, and He must use man to bring it about, God has not given up on us. He has, and up to now is sending his messenger, Jesus Christ with a reconciliatory message.
GOD’S WILL
Brethren, it will be very unfortunate if this message is not talking to us; if we are only reading a story about a plan God has for mankind, instead of, listening to Him, to learn his purposed way of life for us, that we may live it. For surely, this is Christ’s voice pleading with as many as will heed, to come back, “..to be reconciled to God-2 Cor.5:20”, that He may complete us into what He had purposed from the beginning. Let us prove it please. When Christ came, He proclaimed a message, saying, “ the time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe the gospel(message)-Mark.1:15”. Hear it please. The kingdom which God wants to restore, which we were created to rule, is very near. But the life which we are living now cannot be allowed in that kingdom. So, if we want to enter it, we must turn from(repent) this life we are living now, and learn to live the one Christ is teaching, the very life lived in that kingdom. Remember what we said, that, man’s creation process stopped at the first stage when Adam made the wrong choice. In this choice, he “…inherited nought but lies, worthless things in which there is no profit, thus making for himself gods( which are not gods) to depend on- Jerem.16:19”. My dear friend, stop thinking of Adam. God is talking to you and me. I know it pains the self to admit such plain truths, but that is what it takes to repent. We inherited lies about God and His life, about ourselves and the life we should live, and about the material things that surround us. So, if God will enter into commitment with us now, to kick-start and, continue with creating us from where He left since the days of Adam, “ We must admit we are fools, yes, we know nothing, so that we can create room for learning, and acquiring knowledge- 1 Cor.3:18”. We must shift from the lie that we are spirit beings in a physical body( dual), thus, we are like God and therefore, have power to produce knowledge and plan our lives, to, accepting our nothingness, our being filthy rags with nothing admirable-Gal.6:3; Isa.64:6. It is on this acceptance that we will hate ourselves, and, see the need to search for glory and honor, for we will have realised that, we don’t have them.This is exactly what Christ means when He says, “ unless you turn and become like a Child, you will by no means enter the kingdom-Mat.18:2”. Have we done this? If yes, then Christ is now ready to start the stage two creation in us, which begins with, pumping his knowledge in us, by which, as we apply it in what we do( obeying), we will learn to do like God, and have His behaviour(righteousness) developed in us. We will stop the many imaginations of our minds, and strictly go by God’s plan which alone will be established-Prov.19:21. Christ is very clear in this, for He says, “this is the work of God that you believe in him whom He has sent-John.6:29”. When you read in Heb.3:16-18, you will realise that believing and obeying are one and the same thing. There is no way you can prove that you believe, if you are not doing what you believe. So, Christ is here telling us that, the work we should be doing in this physical life is to obey God’s law(word), for as we have seen, by this obedience, we will be doing like our father, and through it, God is developing his likeness( second stage) in us-Eph.4:23-24( read our message, “ God’s work”, found in www.endtimecog.org for details please). Brethren, this is the will of God. Which? “For this is the will of my father, that everyone who sees the son and believes (obeys) in him should have eternal life(like God),……John.6:40”. Get it please if you are given to understand. The will of God, as taught by Christ is that, men learn to obey(believe) God, by which, they will develop His character( righteousness and holiness without which, no one will see God-Heb.12:14), after which qualification, God arrives at having eternal beings like Him, who also have his mind( wisdom and understanding-Deut.4:6). It is by this wisdom, that, God created the heavens and the earth, and sustains them-Heb.1:3. So, it is by this same acquired wisdom that, the qualified men will rule the earth. The stage two of man’s creation process will be complete, when we will have become perfect and holy, even as our father is-Mat.5:48; 1 Pet.1:16. But how exactly do we arrive there?
CONFIRM YOUR ELECTION
Although we have learned this truth, and are now seriously pursuing it, we will never be complete without a confirmation ( practice), and this brings us to the perfecting of this stage-two in, man’s creation process. Which one? Follow attentively and carefully please. I have heard so many, even among us who have believed, wondering why God has allowed Satan to continue causing so much suffering and destruction to man, and yet, He is love, and has power to save. Remember, when God was creating man, Satan had already sinned, and was, and up to now, is ruling the earth-Job.9:24; eph.6:12. Because God does not impose His will on anybody, He created us, free moral agents so that, we can freely choose how we want to live. Where there is a choice, there must be an alternative. Satan and his life is that alternative, so that, “…….. by them(satan), I may test Israel(man), whether they will take care to walk in the way of the lord…-Judges.2:22-23”. We are being drawn from a lie as we have seen. So, every time God instructs us on how to do anything, “…I see in my members, another law at war with the law of my mind, and making me captive to the law of sin which dwells in my members( the unyielding flesh-Rom.8:7)-Rom.7:23”. We know that, whoever does not obey God, is an agent of Satan. So, when I replace the nations with Satan and the Israelites with man, I hope you understand. So, it is a truth that Satan is our examiner, who, whenever God teaches us, he brings opposive thoughts through the fleshly desires and our former habits( by reminding us of that former life in which, we did what we thought), for us to prove whether the life we are learning from Christ is our choice, or we are still in love with the former one which, we have, or are putting off-eph.4:22. Also, God created our physical bodies in that very nature of Satan( see our message, “ why the physical bodies”), because by overcoming it, we will really prove to Him that we truly want to be like Him. We therefore must confirm, yes, cement our choice( by practice), by rejecting Satan’s suggestions, as we uphold God’s instructions. It is also for the purpose of training us in creation-work, for if, we will be like Him, we will also be creators with Him. Let’s understand please.
CREATED TO CREATE
Even though, we are God’s building, and we can’t create ourselves, God is using us, to create us. How? We have, on our own free-will-choice, decided to live Godly lives. But Christ who is teaching us, says, “……on your own, you can do nothing-john.15:15; see also Psalm.127:1”. God has also given us bodies which cant obey Him, which are ever fighting against everything He teaches us, for, “ the flesh is against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and the two are opposed to each other”. And again, “ the carnal mind is enmity to God; it does not submit to God’s law, and, it can’t-Gal.5:17; Rom.8:7”( remember to read, “ why the physical bodies” please). If this be the case, how then do we obey God? Christ who is our creator promised to be with us until the end- John.14:23. We also know that, He is with us through His indwelling spirit, which flourishes, and is very active only if kept within the word of God-John.16:13; Acts.5:32. We also know that, this spirit is the same power by which God created, and sustains everything, even, Satan himself-See Psalm.104:30; 33:6,9; Isa.48:13;Heb.1:3(read please). So, He tell us, “ not by power, nor by might, but by my spirit says the Lord. For not by their own sword did they win the land, nor did their own arm give them victory, but God’s right hand, and arm-Zech.4:6; Psalm.44:3”. Brethren, the Israelis did physically fight, but it was by God’s spirit, through His angel that they did it. In the same way, even though we have this opposive bodies, and the powerful Satan, God has given us His spirit. It will not use us; we will use it. But it will not be operative, anytime we are not in his word(that is, obeying). This is where the training is brethren. As we apply this power to obey, we form the habit of living that way we are obeying, and so, it becomes our behaviour. So, we also prove that, with this power, we can make things happen. It is by seeing the way the spirit is doing in us that, once we mature in it, and are given the kingdom, we will apply the same in creating things. This is where God allows us freedom to operate on our own, but by His power, for which reason, He is instructing us to; “ stir the gift that is bestowed to you-2Tim.1:6”. Any time, we choose against Satan, our flesh, and the people around us, and go by God’s word, the spirit in us is so powerful that, nothing can stop us. So, by it, “ the just requirements of the law are fulfilled in us-Rom.8:4”, and through this, we cling to Christ as we grow in righteousness. As we continue to apply this word, enabled by the spirit, we are learning how God does things, and also confirming how His way, is good and, never fails. Having also lived the fleshly life, we are seeing the difference between the two, based on the effects they have in our lives, and this is giving us prove that God’s life is the only life there is in the entire universe. Practice makes perfect. So, having discovered the goodness of God’s life, as we persist in doing it, we learn the art of resisting Satan, and our bodies, “…….taking every thought and imagination captive, to obey Christ-2 Cor.10:3-5”. This is where the suffering comes in, and where self-discipline in patience is needed. We suffer because physically, we want to satisfy the flesh, but, having known it to be destructive to life, we resist, through which, “ we have our faculties trained by practice to distinguish good from evil-Heb.5:14”. Yes, “…we rejoice in our suffering, knowing that, suffering produces patience, and patience produces character, and character produces hope( of the promised eternal life- see Rom.2:7)-rom.5:3-4”. It is through this struggle between the spirit and the flesh that God is developing His likeness in us. It is those who will be fully committed to say no to the flesh, empowered by God spirit,in whom, God will fully develop His likeness. What will be the reward of all this struggle?
THIRD AND LAST STAGE
From the beginning, God wants a man who is both in his image and likeness; in other words, who is fully like Him. And here are those who have gone through the two stages successfully, until now, they have, attained God’s righteous character, having the full mind, and behaviour of God, yes, “…..Christ is fully formed in them-Gal.4:19”. What will happen to them? “ to those who by patience in well doing seek, for glory, honor and immortality God will give eternal life-Rom.2:7”. Brethren, eternal life will of necessity need an eternal body. So, as the crowning of God’s man’s creation process, those who will qualify to this level will, when Christ appears, “…..be changed that their vile bodies may resemble his glorious one-Phil.3:21”. “ for in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet… the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and the living shall be changed-1Cor.15:52-53”. It is at this point that God will have finished what He began in Gen.1:26, for these qualifiers will be like God in shape, in mind and behaviour, and in nature- spirit beings, even as God is spirit, and they will be given to sit with Christ in his throne, in God’s kingdom-Rev.3:21. This is the last stage in man’s creation process. This is what God’s worship is about. Brethren, are we, as His worshippers, in His hands, and being made into this last point, spirit beings? Yes, are we in the potter’s hands, undergoing the creation process, and very much, looking forward to that promised, perfect condition? Let each one of us examine themselves according to this process and see where we stand. Christ loves us so much that He is bearingly pleading with us, to open for him that He may successfully bring us to our destiny. Whoever has ears to hear, let him hear what Christ is telling the Church.
This is His voice, speaking with great love to all, through His servant,
THE ENDTIME CHURCH OF GOD: WEBSITE >www.endtimecog.org: For more contact details, please visit our web.
https://www.facebook.com/endtimecog/