Okay, if you got a Bible, go with me to Romans chapter eight. Good to see you. We’re going to do part two of a message entitled “Fellow Heirs” part 2 (Romans 8:17). We did this last week and just covered the first two and remember? Well, actually, I’ll do a little bit of review, just to bring you up to speed. Woo man. I was waiting over there to come out, and then I realized didn’t have a microphone on, so I had to go chase it. I don’t know where it got left.
So, let’s start Romans 8:15-17a. “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’” So, there’s the familial warmth, right? There’s that language, “Dear Papa”. It means. “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” So, some of that’s going to be happening here this morning as we look into these three great truths that are left. Verse 17 says, “And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and fellow heirs with Christ…” Another way to say that is a co heir, that’s someone who’s getting the same inheritance. Now, it doesn’t mean we’re ever going to be God. That’s not part of the deal. And here we have to apply Deuteronomy 29:29 where it says, what? “The secret things belong to the Lord our God.” We don’t get to know everything, but we do get to know the things that are revealed that same verse says, and they’re ours, and they belong to us and to our children. So, it’s ours to study, but not to go beyond what’s written. It’s not ours to come up with conjecture and imagine, because we’re going to say some things, the Word’s going to say some things today that maybe you’ve never seen, maybe you’ve never heard, maybe you’ve never observed, maybe you’ve never been taught. But they’re amazing, and so the first two points need to lay heavily on us, and they were as follows. Point number one was this, there was one heir. There’s only one heir, and it is Jesus. He is the only heir, and it is His by divine right, He gets the inheritance that He earned. Okay, so Jesus is who we get to boast in. Point number two was fellow heirs, and that’s ours. This is the church by divine grace. And so where is boasting? No, it is excluded. We have no reason to boast. We have no reason to brag. We have no reason to get puffed up. We have no reason to look down on others. We have no reason to be condescending in a negative sense. Now we do speak the truth in love, and some people that hate the truth will call that hate speech. That’s their issue, not ours, but we’re to do it with a humble heart, because we recognize we did not earn our inheritance. It was given to us. Grace is unmerited favor and empowerment, okay? And so that is something that we have been given freely. And so, we don’t go around like spoiled kids acting like we’re that big a deal, because the things you’re about to see, they’re a big deal, a real big deal, and you’re not the one who bought them. And so, anything you’re given, including rewards, is a gift of Jesus. So, let’s take three, four and five, and wrap this message up with these.
3. Sharing His Glory
Okay, so there’s only one heir. It’s Jesus. The fellow heirs are all by divine grace. His is by divine right, but yet He’s going to share His glory with you. If you are a Christian now you have a deposit of that, as it were, a down payment, that the Holy Spirit is dwelling inside of you right now. But one day you’ll have it in fruition. You’ll have it in totality. Jesus says it this way in John 17:22, He’s praying to the Father. He says, “The glory that You have given Me, I have given to them.” Who’s the “them”? Well, it’s the church. It’s immediate context. It’s the disciples, but by extension, it’s all who share in Christ. If you’re in Christ, He is sharing His glory with you one day in a concept that is going to be beyond the words we can cover here. We can’t even go and try to go into the details, because the moment we enter into conjecture, we’re going to be in error. And so, we have to just take Him at His Word that “They may be one, even as We are one.” That is a mind boggling verse, that one with Christ, even as Him and the Father are one sharing in His glory. He’s going to give that to His church as part of your inheritance. You see why it’s very, very important that we don’t get puffed up and that we remember this is His by divine right. This is all of us by grace. Peter says it this way. This is 1 Peter 5:1, speaking to the elders there, he says, “So, I exhort the elders among you as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ (as well as what?) as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed.” A partaker. What is a “partaker”? It’s someone who has something. It has something of something that’s common, right? If you’ve ever been to a Christian pizza party, you know, what a Christian you know? You know it’s a Christian pizza party because nobody wants to eat the last piece. I’m not that guy. I’ll just take it. And you should too. If you’re a partaker, you have your share in something. That’s what that means. Peter’s not saying he’s unique to this. What he’s saying is he has this as well as well as you do, as well as I do in Christ, a partaker of the glory that is going to be revealed, and the details of that, there’s not very many. We will examine what they are, though, what are listed.
But here’s Philippians 3:20-21 says, “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. (Watch) Who will transform our lowly body to be like His glorious body.” Wow. Now maybe you’re here and you’re 19, and you got a 12 pack, you know? And I don’t mean beer, right? You’re all ripped. You eat kale all the time. You’re never gonna die. Sure okay, you have a lowly body, and if you keep that body long enough, eventually it will betray you, and one day, it’ll go in full blown rebellion, like it’s working backwards. You know, it’s a lowly body, but one day you’re going to have a body that’s a glorious body. This is part of you getting your inheritance. How will he do it? “By the power that enables Him even to subject all things to Himself.” I mean, that’s a lot of power. And so, this is our future inheritance. Now we’re going to even see some details of what we’re going to do in that glorious body. But if that weren’t good enough that we don’t it’s not just aches and pains, it’s actually glorious and glorified. 1 Corinthians 15:49, says it this way, “Just as we have borne the image (of what?) of the man of dust.” Who’s that? That’s not your dad. That’s Adam, your forefather, Adam. There’s only one race, by the way, it’s a human race. There’s tribes, tongues, nations, cultures. Got it. But we are all descended from a common ancestor, which is Adam, and therefore we bear the image of the man of dust. And if you die, you’ll go back to dust eventually, right? And so that’s what it’s talking about, just as you’ve looked this way because you heard of your forefather, if you’re in Christ, “You shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.” Who’s that? That’s Jesus. You’re going to have a glorified body, I know, the same as He has. Again, you’re not God. There is a God. You’re not Him. We’re never going to be God. You can’t go back and be uncreated. You’re not going to be Omni anything, but you’re going to share in His glory. And it’s going to be an actual body that you have. 1 John 3:2, tells us how this is going to occur. It says, “Beloved, (look at this) we are God’s children (when? Right) now.” We’re already in Christ, if you’re in Christ, you’re His child. Yep. “And what we will be (this is future) has not yet appeared.” So, this is already and not yet. Already and not yet. We’re God’s children now, but what we will be has not yet appeared, right? But we know that when He appears, we shall do what? “We shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is.” Something transformational, obviously, is going to take place when you finally see Jesus face to face. That is when all this mortality will be done away with, burned up as it were, and you’ll put on immortality. This corruptible will put on the incorruptible. This temporal will put on eternity. And you’ll be fit for heaven. You’ll be able to go into the very presence of God, because you’ll be fit for it. That’s what’s required, and that’s what you’re going to get. This is sharing in His glory. This is seeing Him face to face.
These people that are hypocritical liars, that make up these stories about them going to heaven. It’s probably pretty proof that they’re never actually going to go there, because they’re lying about it right now. And they have these stories that they go to heaven and they see Jesus, and He rides around with them on a pony, and He takes them to bridges made of rainbows. I’m not making this up. They are, but I’m not this is what they say. We call it heaven tourism. Let me just tell you this, if Jesus showed up while you were shaving, one woman says that Jesus shows up and talks to her while she’s brushing her teeth, you would stab yourself in the eyes just to get away from Him. Would scare you to death. An angel would kill you. You can’t bear it. This is true transformation. This is sharing in His glory. This is our future, and within that future, we, as Christians, we have a judgment to go through. Now you might say, “Well, wait a minute. I thought all judgment was put on the Son.” It was. The judgment that the church is going to go through is at the beginning of the millennial kingdom. The judgment that the world will go through will be at the very end, after the 1000 year reign.
But the first judgment is called,
4. The Bema Seat Judgment
We see this 2 Corinthians 5:8-10. Paul writes, “Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. So whether we are at home or away (that’s dead or alive) we make it our aim to please Him. (Verse 10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one is (talking to believers, right? That’s talking to the church in Corinth, and, by extension, all of us) so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.” Now I’m going to do a little explaining on these three words here. This word “appear”. If we were to parse the verb, it would take a long time giving explanations to it. Instead, I’m going to read you Philip Hughes. He was an Anglican New Testament scholar. I’ll read you his transliteration, and you can understand the identity of this word. It’s not just a showing up to an appointment, but in its proper context, it means this. This is a quote, “To be laid bare, stripped of every outward facade of respectability, and openly revealed in the full and true reality of one’s character.” In other words, without any covering, naked, as it were before the very throne of God. This is the believer coming to the Bema Seat, to the judgment seat. So, for what? For sin? No, but rather judgment, for reward. This word right here, this “judgment seat” is the Greek word is “Bema”. That’s where we get it, Bema. And the Bema was more like an Olympian step. You ever seen that? Where the Olympians, they get on the platforms, and they stand on those steps, and then what happens? Do they come by? And if they’re like, “Oh, well, you know you were in third place, so we’re going to kill you.” No, they come by and they get their rewards. This is in the Greek Olympiad, or the Greek games. Rather, that’s what they would do. They would give away the rewards. They would give out what the Bible calls “perishable wreaths”. They would give them crowns. And sometimes they got money. They got applause. They got notoriety. This is dissimilar to that. It’s not about whether you’re going to heaven or hell, because all who are going to hell are going to be in the in the Last Judgment, the Great White Throne. This is talking about rewards. We’ll actually see what this looks like. But I want you to understand that. That’s what “appears” means. That’s what “judgment” means. And so, you receive what is due for what you have done in the body, whether good or evil. It’s a very unfortunate translation of the word follows, which is basically means “bad”. It means bad or worthless or useless. “Evil” is only ESV. I think there is another translation that uses it. But if you look in other translations, including NIV, I never mentioned that. Yuck. King James Version. This is always all translated “bad”. This is NASB, New American Standard, right? And the Legacy Standard Bible literal translations all translate this the word “bad”, what he’s done in the body either good or bad. It’s not the going and working out of wickedness those things had to be put on Christ. It’s talking about things that will ultimately be burned up when you face the judgment of Jesus’ eyes, and it’s going to be similar to a fire. In fact, the Bible calls it a “fire”.
If you want to see what that looks like, let’s look backwards. Let’s go to 1 Corinthians 3:10-15, remember, the church would have already been taught this letter, so they would have this understanding as we’re gaining right now. Paul writes this. He says, “According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder, I (what? I) laid a foundation.” What does that mean? That means he was an apostle, and he brought the Gospel. In other words, he told them, the gospel I laid a foundation, “And someone else is building upon it.” Now what is this referring to? This is referring to ministry. This is ministry. This is you ministering to people who have the foundation of the gospel of Jesus Christ already laid in their life. In other words, they’re already believers, and now you’re walking them and through their discipleship. It could be your own kids, it could be your spouse, it could be your neighbor, it could be people in your D group. Could be those you’re sitting with right now, those that you just have a good relationship with, and you’re helping them grow. What are you doing? You’re not pouring the foundation again. The foundation is laid. Foundation is laid by the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. But what do we do? We minister to people. It’s for their good so that they grow. They grow in grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ, that’s what he’s talking about. But he says this, look at the end of the verse, “Let each one take care how he builds upon it.” So, is it possible to build upon it with something valuable, something permanent? Yes. Is it possible to build on top of that foundation, something that’s temporal, that’s useless? Yes, absolutely it is. It’s possible. People get errant discipleship, they learn the Word falsely, or they’re misled, or they’re mis taught, and they miss out on either the joy of their salvation, or they don’t really know the Word of God well enough for it to do its complete work and sanctifying them enough, and they grow very, very slowly until the Word of God becomes revealed to them. That’s the ministry he’s referring to. Now, why is that important? Because these are the things that are going to be judged at the Bema Seat. Look next verse, verse 11, “For no one can lay another foundation than that which is laid (which is what?) Which is Jesus Christ.” So, there’s the foundation. But then after that, look at verse 12. “Now, if anyone builds on the foundation.” He lists six things. Now, three of these things are precious, and three of these things would be called in our in the nomenclature of 2 Corinthians, worthless or bad, not innately. “Gold, silver, precious stones,” and then you have “wood, hay and straw.” So, the first three would not burn up, the last three would burn up. Makes sense, doesn’t it? Wood, hay, straw, that’s a recipe for combustibility, I would say. Go on to verse 13. It says, “Each one’s work will become manifest for the Day.” What day? the last day, the day of the Bema Seat judgment, that’s after Christ’s return, when the church is judged for her rewards. Again, this is part of your inheritance, and if you’re here going “Well, if it’s inheritance, it’s not fair, if we don’t all get the same thing.” Too bad. Too sad. You don’t get to make that decision. God does. He’s in heaven. He does what pleases Him, and He chooses to reward based upon faithful works, by faithful motives in ministry. That’s what it’s talking about. The day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire. This is a cleansing fire. This is not the hell fire. This is the fire of the brightness of His eyes. And the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. Verse 14, “If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will (what? he’ll) receive a reward.” That means something that was gold, silver or precious stone. Now those are analogous to the things that are built. In other words, they’re permanent works that were done. They were done in faithful motive and in faithful content, right? And they’re built into people’s lives, and that there’s a reward coming for that, and it won’t be burned up. But if you build on someone wood, hay and stubble that will be burnt up, where do we see that? Well, look at verse 15. “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be (what? he’ll be) saved, but only as through fire.” Now, what does that mean? “Through fire”? Does that mean you’re going to walk around in heaven singed for all eternity? What’s going on? Terrible. Your eyebrows are all burned. Your hair is burned. No. That means that you’ve been purified, and the things that you did that should have been ministry that was faithful was actually worthless, and so those things were burned up, but the things that survive, you’ll be rewarded for. Does it make sense? “He will be saved”. This means not condemned “But only as through fire”. In other words, those things had to be burned up.
Let me give you an example, I believe God will definitely reward the faithful teaching of scripture. But if I came up and I said, “You know what, I’ve got a vision for this church,” by the way, I don’t. I have no vision for this church at all. Jesus. There’s our vision. Okay? I believe He’ll reward the teaching of the Word. But let’s say we get together and we go, “You know what? This church is going to have a- we’re going to have a church bake sale. We’re all going to get together. We’re just going to bake. We’re going to make good bakers out of ours. All disciples should be good bakers.” So, we get all you people are baking. There’s nothing innately sinful about it. But if you lead someone to spend their one and only life on something that is quite trivial by comparison to the proclamation, the understanding, the growth of the gospel, that is not something that’s going to pass the test of the fire. It’s not innately evil at all. Fact, it’d be. It could be a good thing, but it’s the wood, the hay and the straw, and it won’t pass the test. And so there will be things that suffer loss. And, by the way, we’re all going to have some loss. Some of us will have some rewards, and some of us will have less rewards. That’s part of the inheritance too. You say, “Wait a minute. I thought I didn’t have it by divine?” Right? You don’t. Every reward is in Jesus. There’s no reward outside of Him, and anything you do accomplish in ministry is what? It’s ultimately to God’s glory. Soli, DEO, Gloria, all glory to God, but He chooses to reward His servants. That’s His prerogative to do it. He is, after all, God. So, think about this. You’ve got the Bema Seat judgment, and you’re sharing in His glory. So, He’s giving rewards away. By the way, if you ask, what are the rewards? I don’t know. I know there are crowns. There’s different kinds of crowns. 1 Peter 5:4, I don’t have that one up here, but that he talks about The Shepherd’s Crown. It’s Crown of Glory, right? When the Chief Shepherd returns, he’s been talking to the elders, and one through three, you will receive the unfading Crown of Glory. What is that? I don’t know. I want it. And that should be enough for you. If God is giving it out it’s good and you want the reward. Why? It’s part of what Christ paid for. I didn’t earn it. It would be by grace through faith and what He provides, right? Yet not I, but Christ lives in me, right? 2:20 in Galatians.
So that brings us to,
5. Our Eternal Reign With Christ
And this might be hard for some of you to bear. It just might be, and I’ll tell you why it’s hard for me to bear. It goes from good to gooder to gooder, and this is almost unbearably good, our eternal reign with Christ. Our eternal reign with Christ. Now I want you to notice it’s ours, but it’s because we’re in Christ, but we do reign with Him. In what way do we reign with Him? Well, there’s one specific thing that’s really clearly shown, and that is a role that the Church will play on Judgment Day. Now I’m not talking about the judgment of the Bema Seat that takes place at the first part of the millennial kingdom, okay? 1000 years later is the resurrection, right? Of everybody else, the second resurrection, and then the second death they face the Great White Throne judgment. The Church has a role there, because it’s not just relational our inheritance, it’s also governmental. We have a purpose. We have something we’re going to do throughout eternity. Matthew 16:27, and Jesus says, “For the Son of Man is going to come with His angels in the glory of His Father, and then He will repay each person according to what he has done.” This “each person” is referring to the lost. He’s talking about the final judgment. Revelations 20:11-12. You probably know these two verses, 11 and 12. “Then I saw a great white throne, and Him who was seated on it.” Now I know when we see that word “throne”, we tend to think, in our current reality, what a throne is. We think it’s a chair. It’s not actually. It’s a proximity. Now it is a place to sit, but a throne has more than in heaven, a throne has more than one chair. We’ll see this in the Bible, but I just want you to know that Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Father, and He says, “I’m seated with My Father,” and we’re seated with Him in heavenly places. There is a place for the church, and you’ll see that we’re actually here. But let me finish the text here, “And Him who was seated on it (that’s Jesus) from His presence, earth and sky fled away, and no place was found for them. I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne. And books were opened, then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the book according to what they had done.” Your judgment will be according to what Jesus did for you. It already went on Him. And so, you get a reward, an evaluation, and a reward thereof. This is nothing but condemnation. We know this is coming. And so where are we in this picture? Eternally, governmentally.
Ephesians 2:4-6, “But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved.” You say, “What is that? That’s regeneration, that’s your salvation. Look at the next verse. “And raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.” Listen to me. If we’re seated with Him, we’re seated on the throne with Him. I’m going to prove it, but I want you to rightly understand this. And you say, “But I’m still here on Earth.” Right? It’s already and not yet. Looks like always reminds me of Albany, New York, because I’m ADD, if you haven’t guessed already not yet spiritually speaking, you’re already seated with Christ in heavenly places. Are you there yet? Do you have that? No, you’re still looking forward to that as part of your inheritance. But I want you to see it “Seated with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” in fact, Jesus says it this way. This is Revelation 3:21. “The one who conquers.” Now, what does he mean? “Conquers”? That means someone who overcomes. We know from 1 John 5:4, that what is it that overcomes the world? It is our faith, the one that believes in Jesus. This isn’t talking about Super Christians or anything like that. This is talking about every single believer is a conqueror in Christ, even if they’re in the big middle of their sanctification and we all are. But he says this, “The one who conquers, I will grant him (to do what?) to sit with Me on My throne, as I also conquered and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Now think with me, what are we doing? Are we sitting in each other’s laps? No, no, the throne of God is the seed of God. It’s the seed of the Son of God, and it’s the seat with His church there as well. And if that’s baking your mind, just hold on. We’re going to get to the- you’re going to see it in the text, but I want the picture already in your head. You say, “This is beyond the glorious inheritance that I ever heard of.” Right? I believe you, but this is His promise, not mine. I would have never been so bold as to make that up. I mean, how could you ever imagine that? We’re going to sit on the throne with Jesus Christ? Yeah, that’s actually where we’re going to be going. It is not just relational, it’s also governmental.
Look at Psalm 49:12-14, we’ll see type and shadow and then in fulfillment. Start verse 12, it says, “Man in his pomp. (So this is negative right? Man in his pomp) will not remain. He is like the beasts that perish. This is the path of those who have foolish confidence, get after them. People approve their boast. Selah. (It means gotta think about it, right? And then it says this) Like sheep, they are appointed for Sheol (That’s the place of death). Death shall be their shepherd, and the upright shall (do what?) rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell.” Now here’s the question, Who is this talking about? Who are “the upright”? It’s those who are in Christ. No one’s upright in their own strength. The only righteousness you have is a righteousness that’s been given to you by Jesus. And so, who is this referring to? This is referring to the church, both the Old Testament saints and the New, the consummation of the age, His bride. This is who this referring to, and we’re going to rule over them. Who is this? That’s every unbeliever in the world. Let me let you in a little secret, you and I, if you’re in Christ, we’re going to be there when the judgment takes place, and we’re going to be not just paying attention to it and watching it. We’re also going to be judging, and we’re going to rein in rule with Jesus said, “I just don’t that. Huh?” I get it. I can almost feel it in the room right now. People kind of going, “Uh, they didn’t teach us in the Episcopalian Church.” Right? They didn’t open the Bible in the Episcopalian Church. Let’s see if that bears out. Now, first and foremost, there’s going to be delegation specific to the apostles. Jesus makes this clear in very explicit language, in two places. Look at Matthew 19:28, “Jesus said to them (now this is to the disciples, specific. He says) ‘Truly, I say to you in the new world, when the Son of Man will sit on His glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones judging (who?) the twelve tribes of Israel.” Twelve tribes of Israel. It’s going to be more tolerable in that day for the Gentiles, right? Like in Sodom, right? And Tyre. Than it will be for what? Capernaum, Bethsaida. Jesus said that why? Because they had Messiah show up, and then they rejected Him. Jesus made clear, the Gentiles are going to have an easier judgment day than you will, because the Son of man came and you had nothing to do with Him. And who’s going to be passing that judgment? Will it be Jesus doing it? Yes, it will. How will He do it? He will be doing this through the 12. By the way, you’ll notice they have their own thrones. 12 thrones. Telling you, I’m not making it up. The throne of God is not it’s just some chair. It’s a proximity, it’s a togetherness. Is it a seat? Yes, it is absolutely no question, because Jesus makes it clear He is seated now. He is in session. He sat as king over the flood. So, we know it’s that way. But this is their delegation, if you will. We won’t be doing this. Gentiles will not receive that responsibility. In fact, look at Luke 22:28-30. Again, to the disciples. “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials. And I (this is mind blowing) I assign to you, as My Father assigned to Me (what?) a kingdom.” They’re getting assigned a kingdom as the Father assigned it to Jesus. Do you see the delegation He assigns? He gives them all authority. What does Jesus do? He turns around. He gives it to those apostles, “A kingdom that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.” So that’s the apostles, which none of us are, because all the apostles are now with the Lord. There are no apostles right now. That has ceased, okay? So that’s what they’re going to be doing.
What about the rest of us? Is there Old Testament shadow that talks about the rest of us in our inheritance? There is, I’ll show you one of many. Isaiah 32:1, “Behold a king.” Who is that? That’s Jesus. “A king will reign in righteousness and (watch) princes will rule in justice.” I’m going to posit to you that this is referring to the church, and then I’m going to prove it to you it’s referring to the church. “The princes will rule in justice.” I saw a guy with a tattoo one time, and it said, “Only God can judge me.” I thought that’s not good news, but unbelievers are going to be stricken with I don’t know what, if it’ll be panic or what, when they recognize that the church is actually going to be delegated the responsibility of judging those individuals, as well as the wicked angels. This is part of your inheritance. Christian, you are a prince with God in Christ. In fact, let’s look at a second place in the Old Testament, Psalm 149:5-9. Here’s the context. “Let the godly exult in glory.” Now, who are “the godly”? It’s those that are in Christ. There are none who are godly who aren’t in Christ, whether Old Testament, looking forward to Messiah or New Testament looking back, it’s only in Christ that we’re made righteous. That’s the only way no one comes to the Father except through Jesus. He’s the only way. He’s the Way, Truth and the Life. Okay, so this is referring to the church. “Let the godly exult in glory. Let them sing for joy on their beds. (Now verse six, buckle up buttercup) Let the high praises of God be in their throats.” This is the church. This is the godly. “And a two-edged sword in their hands.” I wonder what a sword is for? Why would we need swords now? If you’re getting nervous right now, you’re probably one of those people that wants common sense sword control. Yeah, some of y’all got that, you’re welcome. Come for the comedy. You stay for the Bible. See? That’s the deal. Why do we need swords? By the way, what is the sword but other than the Word? Sharper than a two-edged sword. Why does the church need swords? Why do they have double edged swords in their hand in this picture? Well, look, here’s why. Verse seven, “To execute vengeance on the nations and punishments on the peoples.” Who? Church. Yeah, it’s going to be delegated to us. He goes on, “To bind their kings with chains and their nobles with fetters of iron, to execute on them the judgment written, this is the honor for (how many?) all his godly ones. Praise the Lord!” That’s in your Bible. That says what part of your future. Is it relational? Yes. And nothing matters if Jesus isn’t there, but He also has purpose for us to reign and rule with Him, and this is part of what we’re going to be doing. In other words, this is part of your inheritance. This is explicitly fulfilled and talked about in in our Bibles in the New Testament.
Look at 1 Corinthians 6:1-3, he’s speaking to a church that was really messed up. They had a lot of arguments going on in the church. People started suing each other in the church. And he’s like, “Why are you doing that?” That’s kind of the context here. “When one of you has a grievance against another, does he dare to go to law before the unrighteous instead of the saints?” In other words, take it to the church, let the leadership walk you through biblically, if it’s within the body of Christ. And what’s his argument? How would we possibly be qualified? Well, look at verse two. “Or do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” I can almost feel it. People are like, “He inserted this in the Bible.” There are Bibles in the seat back pocket in front of you, kind of like an airplane. And if this is blowing your mind, open it up. I did not make this up. “Do you not know that the saints will judge the world?” What does that mean? That means we’re there at the white throne, and it’s going to be delegated to us to judge the world. “And if the world is to be judged by you, are you incompetent to try trivial cases?” If you’re here, you’re thinking, “Wait a minute. You mean I’m going to be seated with Christ as He is seated next to the Father, and I’m going to be passing the judgments out?” That’s right. “I thought judgment was delegated to Christ.” He is the judge that will return. He is and He’s going to delegate it the same way He was delegated to Him. Now here’s why you need to keep points one and two in mind. He is the only heir, and you are only a fellow heir, because you’re in Him, therefore you don’t get puffed up, because I know what the imagination will do. You’re thinking of that person you just can’t stand, and you’re hoping that they get in your line. There you are in a glorified body, and you look down, you’re like, “Hey, I’ll talk to you when you get up here. I’m glad you’re here.” Yeah, see that’s the wrong mentality. It’s funny, but it isn’t, is it? Because within what are we actually doing, we’re actually saying, “I really hope this person goes to hell. I really hope this person ends up in front of me, and I have to do this because I’ll like it.” I’m not saying we want to have joy in the moment, because we’re going to be doing what God wants done. But right now, we did not take this honor to ourselves. He delegates this to His church as He sees fit. It’s not just for men, it’s also for angels. Look at the next verse, “Or do you not know that we are to judge angels?” Do you not know you will judge evil spirits? Fallen angels who rebelled against God, kicked out of heaven, some have been bound up in chains ever since the deluge, ever since the flood, because of the grievousness of their transgression, and the rest have been roaming the earth, forwarding the agenda of Antichrist repeatedly throughout history, and one day, they’ll get the full manifestation of it before Jesus returns, and you’ll get to judge them. I don’t know about you, but I do look forward to that. I do look forward to that because they’ve given a lot of trouble, and they’re going to get their just reward. If you’re in Christ, you’re going to be there. “How much more than matters pertaining to this life!” In other words, it’s a small thing.
Look at Revelation 2:26-27. Jesus says this, and it’s kind of the common language, like related to 1 John 5:4, “The one who conquers.” That simply means you’re in Christ. “The one who conquers and keeps My works until the end, to him, I will give (what?) authority over the nations.” Look, if you’re in Christ, what is it that conquers? What is it that overcomes the world? 1 John 4:5, it is your faith. It’s my faith in Christ, nothing of your own doing. He’ll give you authority over the nations. “And he (who’s the “he” here? It’s not Jesus, It’s the one who Jesus gives authority to) and he will rule them with a rod of iron.” You say, “Wait a minute. I thought Jesus was going to come back and rule them with a rod of iron?” Yes, He’s going to and He’s going to do it through His wife. He’s going to do it through His bride. This is your future in Christ. This should not bum us out. Should not freak us out. It should cause us to marvel that the Scripture makes it so plain and clear. “And He will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have (what?) received authority from My Father.” So, we’re going to receive authority even as He received authority from His Father. This is so vast and so amazing, it’s hard to get your mind around. And if you’re here and you’re going, “This is not something I’ve heard before.” I didn’t sneak it in. This is part of your inheritance. How solid do you think your life is in Christ? If this is His destiny for you throughout eternity.
This is Revelation 20:4-6, “Then I saw thrones, (by the way, look, it’s plural) and seated on them, there were those to whom authority was authority to judge was committed.” Well, that’s what he’s talking about in chapter two. “Also, I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and for the Word of God, and those who had not worshiped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their forehead or on their hands. They came to life, and (they did what?) they reigned with Christ for 1000 years.” This is the millennial kingdom. I want you to notice this. They reigned. What does “reigning” mean? It means reigning and ruling and judging, and that it’s governmental. It’s purposeful, it’s tangible, it’s actual. It’s not you floating around on a cloud with a harp like a naked baby angel something. This is real. This is our future. If we’re in Christ, he goes on. “The rest of the dead did not come to life until the 1000 years were ended.” That’s when they would come to life and go before the white throne. “This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection.” This is the church, first resurrection. “Over such the second death has no power. But they will be priests of God.” That means our ministry will be only to Him. “And of Christ, and (they will what?) they will reign with Him for 1000 years.” That is your inheritance. But is it over at the 1000 years? No, it is not. Isaiah 9:7a, the first part says, “Of the increase (notice that word) of His government and of peace, there will be no end…” “No end.” You say, “But that’s the end of the Bible?” God doesn’t end when the Bible ends just the record of what He’s revealed.
In fact, Revelation 22:1-5. I’ll close down here. Yeah. Sure. “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal.” Right? Okay, everybody’s been judged, right? It’s the kingdom come. “Flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city, also on either side of the river, the tree of life, with its 12 kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month, the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be anything accursed, but the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and His servants will worship Him. They (that’s the church) will see His face and His name will be on (that’s the church) their foreheads and night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light (and watch) and they will reign forever and ever.” Ellipsis, this does not end. It’s not just the 1000 year reign. If you wonder what you’re going to be doing, you’re going to be reigning and ruling with Jesus Christ, and that is part of your inheritance. Do you see the future and the hope that He’s called you to? It just keeps getting better. And God wants us to see this so then we say, “Well, what about the present suffering we have?” Right? We’re going to have present suffering, and it could get a whole lot worse in our lifetime. In someone’s lifetime, it will get worse. It’ll be the worst it’s ever been in the Great Tribulation that the Church will go through, but when Jesus returns, we’ll be rescued, whether in physical death to be with the Lord, or taken up to meet Him in the air. Either way, family, we win. In the end, we win. Why? Because He won.
Let’s see the text one last time, Romans 8:16-17a, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. (Our prayer is it’s happening right now) And if children, then heirs, heirs of God, fellow heirs with Christ…” I encourage you to be noble Bereans this week. Open your Bibles. Search for yourself. See if these things are so. And guess what? It gets even better. But for now, that will do because my foot hurts and you need to go to lunch.
KEYWORDS
Fellow Heirs, Divine Right, Divine Grace, Judge, Judging, Judgment, Bema Seat Judgment, Great White Throne, Assurance, Romans, Spirit Of Adoption, Sanctification, Gospel, Inheritance, Glory Sharing, Rewards, Appear, Eternal Reign, Relational, Partaker, Governmental Inheritance, Angels, Millennial Kingdom, Glorified Body, Bad, Evil, Worthless, Gold, Silver, Precious Stones, Wood, Hay, Straw, Fire, Heaven, Eternity, Phillip Hughes, Foundation, Ministry, Throne, Conquer, Reign, King, Kingdom, Olympic Games, Olympia, Texas Church, Churches In Texas, Churches In Grayson County, Non-Denominational Church, Bible Church
Speaker
Steve LeBlanc