Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. (Galatians 6:7,8)
One of the basic principles of the Kingdom of God is that we reap what we sow.
Each of us was conceived in sin and brought forth in iniquity (Psalms 51:5). We began life as a self-centered, lawless individual.
The great question of life is, "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24).
It is the Lord's will that we be fashioned in the moral image of the Lord Jesus Christ. To this end we have been predestined.
For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be changed into the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers (Romans 8:29).
We were born with a blemished personality. The program of redemption is designed to remove the blemishes and present us before the Father in the image of Christ.
Let us take, for an example, the personality blemish we term impatience. In the Kingdom of God, patience is a very important attribute of personality. God is patient. The Lord Jesus is a patient Person. Satan, and those who follow him, are impatient, demanding and seizing by force whatever they desire.
God may have put strong desires and ambitions in us. As we seek to obtain and fulfill our desires many hindrances arise. At this point we have a choice. We can force our way through to the objective, breaking the laws of God in the meantime; or we can go to the Lord in prayer, seeking His help and comfort, and the patience of Christ, until the Lord brings to pass what we desire.
We are perplexed and struck down by circumstances but the eternal Life of the Lord Jesus raises us up. We keep on pressing forward in the Lord, and we keep on being frustrated in terms of our hopes and desires.
Our original "robe," our adamic nature with its impatience, is torn down and passes away. At some point, God rewards us by giving us the Divine patience of Christ. It is not a shaping of our adamic soul but the substitution of Divine patience for our natural ability or inability to be patient.
The attributes of personality we desire are all in Christ. God is ready to add these to us as soon as we prove worthy of them. We prove worthy of them by doing what God has commanded to the best of our ability.
God rewards us for striving to be patient by giving us of Christ's patience. Divine patience is a reward that is given to us because we have learned to lean on the Lord, obeying Him in all matters as we are able. In fact, the ability to lean on the Lord is a gift from Heaven which we are to pray for.
The robe of righteousness from Heaven is a change in personality, which may be given to us now in part, and shall be given to us in its fullness when the Lord returns. The ability to be righteous, holy, and obedient to God is our reward for keeping the Lord's commandments to the best of our ability. It is a "house from heaven."
Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready. And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness [righteous deeds] of saints. (Revelation 19:7,8)
When we are robed in righteousness, holiness, and obedience to God, all the glory and blessing of the Kingdom of God will become ours because we are righteous, holy, and obedient. The robe of righteousness finally includes the glorified body, the house from Heaven.
In this life we must learn to fear, love, and trust the Lord. We must acquire the habit of leaning on Him for every detail of thought, word, and action. We must obey Him in all matters. We shall be tested!-tested!-tested!
If we are willing and obedient to learn the lessons life in the world is designed to teach, God will transform our personality, removing our old adamic robe and giving us a new robe of righteousness-in part now, and in fullness at the coming of the Lord.
Notice the changing of robes, in the following passage:
And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. And the Lord said unto Satan, The Lord rebuke thee, O Satan; even the Lord that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and stood before the angel. And he answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine iniquity to pass from thee, and I will clothe thee with change of raiment. And I said, Let them set a fair mitre upon his head. So they set a fair mitre upon his head, and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the Lord stood by. And the angel of the Lord protested unto Joshua, saying, thus saith the Lord of hosts; If thou wilt walk in my ways, and if thou wilt keep my charge, then thou shalt also judge my house, and shalt also keep my courts, and I will give thee places to walk among these that stand by. Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the Branch (Zechariah 3:1-8).
It was not the guilt of Joshua that passed from him, it was the filthy garments of iniquity. This passage is not speaking of the forgiveness of sins but of that which is possible only under the new covenant-the actual removal of the sin itself.
The Lord did not require of Joshua that he remove his iniquity by himself, because only God can do that. Rather, Joshua was required only to walk in the Lord's ways and to keep His charge.
Then the "Branch" is mentioned. The Branch is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Branch is emphasized because the "change of raiment" speaks of the righteous Nature of Christ, which God brings forth in us. The "fair mitre" [turban] portrays the mind of Christ which is given to the faithful saint.
To be continued.
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