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Part 2 - The Sanctifying Work of Christ
The Two Great Purposes of God
The main purpose of God in His creation
Days one through four in the Genesis creation account each model one
aspect of separation. However on day five, there is a twofold aspect of
consecration: that involving the sea and that involving the firmament. These
model the call to witness to the world and to worship and glorify God in a
relationship with Him. These two things are not unrelated though. The people
who are to have a relationship with God are those brought out of the
darkness of a lost world. It is the lost that God has reached down to in
order to create a people for Himself. "For God so loved the world"
is the record. It is to them that He wishes to reveal His glory and to dwell
with.
Peter the Apostle ties these two aspects together: "But you are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that
you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His
marvelous light" (1 Pet. 2:9). "A holy nation, His own special people" are
those called "out of darkness." The end is that "you may proclaim (His)
praises." The calling of God to reach out to the lost is only a temporary
calling. The day will come when His people, the church, are complete. John
in the book of Revelation records: "Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no
more sea" (Rev. 21:1). The sea with its symbolism of the lost will be no
more. God's people will be complete in the new heaven and earth and the
wicked will have no part in it.
Next John records that eternal relationship of God with His people: "Then
I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from
God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice
from heaven saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will
dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them
and be their God" (Rev. 21:2-3). This is the permanent state: an abiding
relationship of God with His people. The call to witness to the lost is
temporary, the means to an end; the end, the goal and primary consecration
of God's people, is that relationship they are to have with Him. Thus we see
the modeling of these two callings combined into a single day: day five of
the creation week.
In the sixth day of creation, a twofold consecration is also represented.
The first is that of the believer to edification of the body of Christ. The second is
that of the church to being the bride of Christ. The building up of the church is only a temporary
consecration. The church as the bride (and wife) of Christ is permanent. But
it is the purpose of edification, or building up, to complete a body of
believers that will be joined to Christ. Therefore these two are represented
in only one day in a similar manner as day five.
The temporary purpose of edification is seen in Ephesians: "till we all
come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ" (Eph.
4:13). This "perfect man" is the completion of the church which is a
reflection of Christ, for it is made to "the stature of the fullness of
Christ." The ministering of the members one to another to build up the
church will come to an end one day, for "the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and His wife has made herself ready" (Rev. 19:7) will be heard one day in
heaven.
This "perfect man" is mentioned in First Corinthians where Paul is
speaking of how the gifts for the edification of the church will one day
cease: "Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail;
whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it
will vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that
which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away" (1 Cor. 13:8-10).
The purpose of the gifts is to build up the church to a "perfect man."
This is when "that which is perfect has come." Then there will no longer be
a need for the gifts and they will cease. The eternal and abiding result
will be a bride joined in a relationship
of love to Christ. Day six models this, where the temporary building up of
the church leads to the permanent relationship of Christ and His church.
God's purposes accomplished through Christ
The sanctifying work of Christ accomplishes two eternal
purposes that God intends for mankind. The first is a personal relationship
between God and man as seen in day five. Jesus has delivered a people for
God into the heavenly places before His throne. There communion between God
and man is possible, a communion in which the overwhelming goodness and
grace of God cannot but result in praise and worship of God. "I will be
their God, And they shall be My people" (2 Cor. 6:16) is God's glorious
plan.
Secondary to this, but a part of it, is God's provision of His Son, Jesus
Christ, through whom this relationship with God is to take place. This is
modeled in day six, where the building up of the church leads to that
perfect and complete bride of Christ. This is an eternal relationship, the
church with the God-become-man, Jesus Christ. As a man, He is the head of
the church, the Last Adam, one who will never fall and one who will ever
keep the church from falling. As King and Priest, Jesus Christ will forever
intercede and be the intermediary between God and man. "But He, because He
continues forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able
to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always
lives to make intercession for them" (Heb. 7:24-25).
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