Redemption Of The Body (8)

Reading from the book of I Corinthians beginning at the twelfth verse. (Reads I Corinthians 15:12,18) "Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead?" The eighteenth verse: "Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished." And then we go down a little farther it says, "But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the kingdom of God, even the Father; when He shall have put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign, till He hath put all enemies under His feet." Now reading in the fifty-first verse here it says, "Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption and this mortal hath put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, death is swallowed up in victory. Death, where is thy sting? Grave, where is thy victory. The sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." (Read I Corinthians 15:1-57) Speaking of the resurrection. You know we have this question that is brought to us occasionally. And that is concerning the new birth, which pertains spiritually speaking to the death, burial and resurrection. They come to us and they ask us questions as to: what is the difference between the new birth and the adoption which has to do with the resurrection of the dead as to the spiritual application? So then it is like this, we say there is a difference. What is the difference? Whereas the Bible said, you must be born again. And so then we are born again as believers, as Christian believers, we're born again. But then we find ourselves having problems as we stumble and stagger through life. Many times there's weakness and mistakes, or lack of consecration to God causes a man to stumble and stagger. Now a man can be dishonest with himself. And when he does wrong or staggers and stumbles, well you know he can just say, Well, I didn't do that. But beloved friend, we should be quick to repent. We should be quick to call on the name of the Lord Jesus. Not to use repentance as like we would say a hobby horse, but we should be honest with God, and we should repent. And we should be godly sorrowful if we do anything to his displeasure, as to Christ's displeasure or anything that's unlike God. Because we're suppose to conform to His desire and His way, to let Christ live within us. We're suppose to be a light to them that are out in darkness, that they may see life on the inside of us as we serve the Lord in real, true charity. So then giving our bodies a living sacrifice unto God which is a reasonable service, let us go forth to be like Christ Jesus. As to the new birth we have been born again. But then has the body been born again? How could the body be born again? Even as Nicodemus said, Can a man enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? See, Jesus said, My Words are Spirit and they are life. What then is born again? See, God is a Spirit. And the Bible said, He seeketh such to worship him even in Spirit and in truth. And Paul said, I would that you were spiritual. When they forsook Jesus, Jesus said, My Words are Spirit. They didn't understand, because He said, You must eat My flesh and drink My blood. They said, How can we eat this man's flesh and drink this man's blood, not knowing that He was speaking spiritually. So then we realize that we are born again spiritually. For the Bible said that which is born of flesh is flesh. That means that you being born of the flesh as to the first time you are flesh. You are flesh. No matter how you look at it. But that which is born of Spirit is spirit; which means your inner man as the Bible calls it, the second man, even the Lord from heaven, Christ within you the hope of glory. This Christ that's entered into your heart, that spirit of yours has been born again, and you have translated as to a spiritual being into the marvelous kingdom of light. And God has taken you out of darkness, and translated your spirit into His marvelous Spirit as to the kingdom of life. And your spirit has now become one with Christ's Spirit, just like I would take clorox or some kind of a chemical, put it in water, stir it up, all would be one and the same. If I should take a safeguard as to that that could become interwoven with some kind of a garment or fabric, put it in there. It would be a safeguard, to keep spots from penetrating. Christ has become interwoven with your spirit, thus you have become one. And so then that means that your spirit is dwelling within His Spirit. And the Bible said, Christ whom the heavens have received until the time of the restitution of all things. That is to say, Christ and you and God altogether one. Christ said, Father, make these one even as we're one, that is one Spirit. So then it says that we wait to wit the redemption of the body. So we have been born again, beloved friend. So then it said that we wait to wit the redemption of the body. So we have been born again, beloved friend. And inwardly we're filled with His lovely Spirit which is the Christ Spirit, the wonderful Holy Ghost Spirit. So then that wonderful Holy Spirit on the inside of us, that Spirit. We refer to it as the Holy Spirit, as the Old Testament teaching. You know, but in the New Testament teaching as to the translation, they render it as to the King James's version, Holy Ghost, because it takes on a personification. As in the old it had no personification. They worshipped stars and all kind of images. They didn't know what God looked like. But when He came as a human being, then they called it after the Spirit departed from the body, they called it the Holy Ghost. In that it is a form. So then this wonderful, great God that came back on the day of Pentecost, that lives on the inside of you, this great, wonderful Holy Spirit, living on the inside of you; now we see that we've been translated in our spirit; and thus the church ages they started at Pentecost and was to end with the days of the Gentiles being over, when God removes the veil from the Jews eyes; in that they had been blinded in part, until the fullness of the days of the Gentiles come in. They're mercy unto us. Going away in the wilderness out of the presence of God as a scapegoat, their head being smitten, even Jesus born among the Jews. Salvation is of the Jews. And then the body functioning following, being out of the presence of God, crying: Let His blood be upon us. And therefore going through the Holocaust and all the sufferings, until the day when the Messiah returns and the nation shall be born in one day. And they shall see the lovely hands that took the nail prints, and then shall they mourn, and they will mourn realizing that that is their Messiah. And they will love Him in such a way; and God will bring them to be the head of the nation; and there it will be such a glorious, wonderful time. So then we see that God again has done a wonderful thing in His great wisdom and His great mystery. See, born again in our spirit, but as to the body, we wait to wit the redemption of the body. Though the body as to a purchased possession has been purchased. The Jews themselves represent this body as to that redemption, as that great day of their Messiah coming, and He will come. So then we see that Paul said, His revelation of the casting away of the Jews be the reconciling of the world, what will the receiving of the Jews be but life from the dead. That is to say, if by the Jews going out of the presence of God to the extent that the Gentiles came in, and God received them, that indicated our body of sin is dead; and God does not look at our body sin. Because the blood that's on the seat of atonement to take away the sins of the world, all people's sins are gone by the blood of Jesus. Until that blood comes off of the seat of atonement, then people have to answer for their sins. And only they that are born of the Spirit that have indwelling grace will, they're the ones that will have eternal life. And then when the Jews come in at the appointed time, a nation born in one day, Zion, before she travailed, she brings forth her sons and daughters. Who have ever heard of that? A nation being born in one day, but it will come. And with this will come the adoption. With this will come the redemption of the body. With this will come the change, Thessalonian's change. For then will be the bar mitzvah that we're coming too. See, the child differs nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all, yet he's under a tutor, or tutors until the time appointed. As Paul said concerning the Jews; and the law was a tutor, to bring you under grace until the faith afterwards should be revealed, as the faith that was wrought in Abraham and promise that would come forth in the seed even Christ, or as to Isaac the promised son, the Son of promise which was born of a virgin, a promise Son, not as a concept of a man. Even as Sara and Abraham, God renewed their youth because it was a promised son, showing Jesus. So then we see that not of the will of man as to passions, but as to the will of God. So we realize that with the bar mitzvah it brings us to the change. The law coming in. You must adopt a child by the law. And so when the law comes in as to the Jews, they will again bring in the law. And the law will then be again effective through the time of Jacob's trouble. This will bring the adoption as to the resurrection of the dead. Beloved friend, remember this is close at hand.

By Rev. George Leon Pike Sr.

Founder and first President of Jesus Christs Eternal Kingdom of Abundant Life, Inc.

Holiness Unto The Lord