Devotional - The Bride and
the House from Heaven (2)
(Reflection - December 2003)
There could be no better introduction to the consideration of our present theme than the end of Philippians 3. In our previous study we took note of the fact our citizenship is in heaven (Phil. 3:20 NIV). This means, in the case of the Lord’s disciples, what matters is not what appears upon their passport, important as that can be in certain circumstances, but our relationship to the Lord Jesus who sits at his Father’s right hand in heaven. This is a citizenship which, if its obligations are lovingly discharged, will last forever. However, that cannot be in our present physical state: our bodies may be wonderfully made, as Psalm 139 testifies (see v. 14), but they are transient, inevitably destined to dissolution. So before we can become inheritors of eternal life, there has to be a profound physical transformation. The end of Philippians 3, above referred to, brings this out powerfully: “For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory, according to the working whereby he is able even to subject all things unto himself.”
The house from heaven
Nothing could better bring
out the uniqueness of our citizenship and the prospects it opens up for us
than this hope. What earthly king can rival the promise the Lord makes to
us? “Follow me, and if you do this faithfully, then I will give you a
new body, not one subject to disease, death, and ultimate dissolution but a
body energized by God’s eternal spirit, free from the taint of sin, and
incorruptible.” The kings and leaders of mankind have been and still
are, despite the massive strides in medicine and surgery, governed by the
same thralldom as their subjects.
It is when we turn to II Corinthians 5 that we can appreciate how consistent is the Apostle in his teaching. The chapter begins with a recognition of our present state and an indication of what God has in store for the believer: “For we know that if the earthly house of this tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God (ek Theou), a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.” The language is so meaningful: our present bodies are “earthly” and, as such, subject to decay. The term “tabernacle” (“tent”) carries with it the notion of what is temporal, transient and is, accordingly, an appropriate word for our present substance. Over against this is the hope of a permanent abode for our personalities, “a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens.”
Any idea of a human origin for this eternal abode is repudiated: it is not made with human hands. In the following verse, Paul elaborates the concept: in our present experience, burdened as we are with our bodies, we groan. We long for a happier experience, looking to be clothed upon with our house which is “from heaven” (eks ouranou). Here, once more, is the expression with which we are becoming increasingly familiar. We are evoking here an activity, beyond our present ken, utterly beyond the power of any human agency.
Only heaven can provide the change
There can be no argument
about this: our mortality is indisputable. This fact is uniformly true of
all human beings. Some may live long lives, others short. Some may have
highly successful careers, others have undistinguished existences.
Whatever the circumstances of our lives, one experience is common to all
mankind: every member of our race dies. As the Psalmist recorded centuries
ago: “Be not thou afraid when one is made rich, when the glory of his
house is increased: for when he dieth he shall carry nothing away; his glory
shall not descend after him” (Psa. 49:16-17). The whole Psalm is a
sustained commentary upon our human condition.
For any change, we must look to the Supreme Being, “the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords, who only hath immortality, dwelling in light unapproachable; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power eternal. Amen” (I Tim. 6:15-16). The Apostle affords us further help in II Corinthians 5, for he goes on, almost labouring the point, that “being clothed upon” with this habitation which is from heaven, “we shall not be found naked” (v. 2).
A
bodily change
Perhaps conscious what he
is saying is difficult to grasp, he pursues the subject even further (in v.
4). Once more he talks about our groaning in this tabernacle which is our
body, because of the burden it imposes upon our spirit. Indeed, as we know
full well, some human beings suffer horribly, especially in time of war when
the wounds inflicted can be horrendous. Some have been tortured for their
faith and, in certain parts of the world, some still run this risk (see Heb.
11:35, and the context of this verse). Paul goes on in verse 4 to say that
our aspiration is not to be “unclothed,” by which he must mean
“shuffling off this mortal coil,” but of being “clothed upon.”
In other words, our bodies are permanent possessions, but they need to be
transformed. We have already learnt from Philippians 3:21 that the Lord
Jesus is to descend from heaven to “fashion anew the body of our
humiliation, that it may be conformed to the body of his glory.”
The great resurrection chapter
There is yet another of
Paul’s letters which can help us, and it is worth reflecting that the
Corinthians, who might have had to wrestle with what is recorded in his
second letter, had previously received the first epistle, and should have
learnt so much from the great chapter on resurrection.
The background of I Corinthians 15 is not an unfamiliar one for the student of Paul’s correspondence. A fundamental doctrine was in danger of being corrupted, for there were some at Corinth who maintained there was to be no physical resurrection of the dead (see v. 12). The Apostle’s riposte to this was to marshal some of the evidence of the Lord’s resurrection, the warrant in itself of the believer’s rising from the dead (see vv. 3-8). After a long passage, precious because of the information it gives concerning the work the Father has entrusted to the Son, Paul finally, in a triumphant passage, tells us of the changes to take place when the faithful will be granted everlasting life. We cannot now follow every detail, but an effort will be made to note the harmony with what we have learnt from our consideration of Philippians 3:20-21 and II Corinthians 5:1-4.
Clothed upon with a changed body
What is impressive in
these passages is the constant emphasis on God’s activity. In writing to
the Philippians, Paul speaks of the Lord Jesus changing “the body of our
humiliation.” The groaning in II Corinthians 5 is due to the
infirmities of our existing organisms. In keeping with this, Paul states,
“the first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is of heaven (eks
ouranou)” (15:47). Yet again we are tracking this fundamental concept:
it is God who is active in providing every aspect of our new life in Christ,
in giving us the bread of life out of heaven, in forming the company of
believers who constitute the Lamb’s bride.
In I Corinthians 15:50, the Apostle reminds us flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, because corruption cannot inherit incorruption. Paul then proceeds to reveal a “mystery,” a divine truth hidden from the wise but revealed to babes. Not all believers will experience the sleep of death, thus showing that some will be alive when the Lord descends from heaven. This descent will coincide with the resurrection of the dead, implying there will be two categories of disciples at the Lord’s return: the risen dead, and the living. Both will stand in need of a radical transformation: this corruptible is to put on incorruption, and this mortal is to put on immortality (see vv. 53,54). The link with II Corinthians 5:3 is impressive and should not be missed. In all three passages, the same Greek verb is used: enduo. In the Revised Version of II Corinthians 5:3, it is rendered “clothed,” an idea reinforced in verse 4. In all instances the radical idea is that of “putting on.” When this wonderful change will have been effected, “then shall come to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory” (v. 54).
A
contemplation of great joy
All this is very much in
harmony with the Apostle’s teaching in I Thessalonians 4. There again Paul
indicates the existence of two categories at the time of the Lord’s descent
from heaven: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we
that are alive, that are left unto the coming of the Lord, shall in no wise
precede them that are fallen asleep” (v. 15).
When we reflect upon present lives with their moral flaws and infirmities, we can understand that Paul, as he contemplates the completion of the process of redemption, is moved to exclaim, “But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (15:57). However, let us not harbour any delusion: the price paid by our Lord for our redemption was a grievous one. We should, like Paul, be moved with a sense of wonder in the knowledge of what has been done for us, and respond, not reluctantly, but willingly and lovingly.
All, as we have seen in our study of the concept “out of heaven,” is from God. So with the great Apostle who has done so much to enlighten us, we exclaim:
For who hath known the mind of the Lord? Or who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him (iks autou), and through him, and unto him, are all things. To him be the glory for ever. Amen (Rom. 11:34-36).
Tom Barling