One Bite At A Time – Part 3 (Final – I think?)
Q. How do you eat an elephant?
A. One bite at a time.
In my quest to understand inheritance I have literally run rabbit trails all over the
Bible. It is mentioned again and again and
again. The more I read, looked up the
Hebrew and Greek meanings of the passage, the less of a real understanding I have. It has been like trying to read a legal
document – not helpful or productive at all.
My quest has repeatedly taken me back to the one core ingredient – the Holy
Ghost; the earnest of our inheritance.
To be intimately acquainted with the earnest, the
administrator, the mediator of this great inheritance
I believe is the route I’m to take in this quest. This, beloved, is what I see…
·
In the Trinity we have: Father, Brother (Son) and Comforter (Spirit),
three who function as one. In the
beginning (Gen. 1:2), the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the
waters. He is an equal part of the creative
force.
·
In the Gospel of Matthew, speaking of Mary, the
mother of our Lord (1:18, 20) “…she was found with child of the Holy Ghost”,
“…for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.”
·
In Acts 1:4-9, we are told by our Lord, ‘“And,
being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart
from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, “which”, saith he, “ye have
heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized
with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.” When they therefore
were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time
restore again the kingdom to Israel? And
he said unto them, “It is not for you to know the times
or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. But ye shall receive power, after that the
Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in
Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of
the earth.” And when he had
spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received
him out of their sight.”’ (KJV)
The Holy Ghost or Holy Spirit is the
partner in creation, in the conception of our Lord and the power to live this
great and vast inheritance. There is so
much more, but I want to encourage you and myself to think on this Helper, this
Comforter and this Power to be, daily, what our Lord has called us to.
I end this with word from Paul (Romans 14:8),
“We live unto the Lord.” and the words of Charles Spurgeon (below). They both say it so much better than I.
If
God had willed it, each of us might have entered heaven at the moment of
conversion. It was not absolutely necessary for our preparation for immortality
that we should tarry here. It is possible for a man to be taken to heaven, and
to be found meet to be a partaker of the inheritance
of the saints in light, though he has but just believed in Jesus. It is
true that our sanctification is a long and continued process, and we shall not
be perfected till we lay aside our bodies and enter within the veil; but
nevertheless, had the Lord so willed it, He might have changed us from
imperfection to perfection, and have taken us to heaven at once. Why then are
we here? Would God keep His children out of paradise a single moment longer
than was necessary? Why is the army of the living God still on the battle-field
when one charge might give them the victory? Why are His children still
wandering hither and thither through a maze, when a solitary word from His lips
would bring them into the centre of their hopes in heaven? The answer is—they
are here that they may "live unto the Lord," and may bring
others to know His love. We remain on earth as sowers to scatter good seed; as
ploughmen to break up the fallow ground; as heralds publishing salvation. We
are here as the "salt of the earth," to be a blessing to the world.
We are here to glorify Christ in our daily life. We are here as workers for
Him, and as "workers together with Him." Let us see that our life
answereth its end. Let us live earnest, useful, holy lives, to "the praise
of the glory of His grace." Meanwhile we long to be with Him, and daily
sing—
"My heart is with Him on His throne,
And ill can brook delay;
Each moment listening for the voice,
'Rise up, and come away.'"
And ill can brook delay;
Each moment listening for the voice,
'Rise up, and come away.'"
