MINI STUDY
You Were Born to Rule!
Part Two
In
our previous study, we discovered the astounding fact that God is in
the process of expanding His Family — that God is actually reproducing
Himself through human beings.
Exactly how is God accomplishing
this miraculous feat? When can we become literal members of His Family?
What is it like to have a spirit body? And what will you be doing
forever as a member of the Family of God? This exciting study reveals
the surprising answers.
As we learned last issue, human
reproduction pictures the process by which God is reproducing Himself.
Recall that Jesus told Nicodemus we must be "born again" to become
members of God's Family (John 3:3-8).
Each human since Adam and
Eve started from a tiny ovum, the size of a pinpoint, produced in his
or her mother's body. But unless the egg is fertilized by a life-giving
sperm cell from the human father, the egg dies within a short time. A
human life can begin only when that sperm cell impregnates or enters
the ovum.
Spiritually speaking, each human mind is like an egg. Each
of us was born incomplete and able to live only a relatively short
time. We were made to need the impregnating spiritual life of God's
Holy Spirit in our minds so we could begin growing spiritually before
being born of the Spirit and living forever.
1. Are true
Christians already, during this mortal life, God's children? I John
3:1-2. Are they therefore inheritors of God's Kingdom, or only "heirs"
to it? Rom. 8:14-17.
Notice that
although they are now the children of God, Christians are only heirs —
ones who shall, in the future inherit the glory of God's Family with
Jesus Christ. Why only heirs? Because they are now only Spirit-begotten
children. It is when they are born of God that they become members of
God's Family.
2. Must the Spirit begotten child of
God grow spiritually before being born of God, much like a newly
begotten human must grow physically in its mother's womb until it is
born? II Pet. 3:18, I Pet. 2:1-2.
After
God the Father begets
a person by imparting His spiritual life to
that person's mind (upon true repentance of sin and then water
baptism), the person must begin to grow in spiritual character. This
growth comes about through Bible study, prayer and walking with God
through obedience to Him. Thus all Spirit-begotten Christians are now
the unborn children of God the Father in the same sense that an unborn
human fetus is the child of its human parents.
3.
When will the Christian's spiritual birth take place? I Cor. 15:50-53.
When will the resurrection occur? I Thess. 4:15-17. Will those thus
resurrected be like God? Ps. 17:15. Of what is God composed? John 4:24.
Will Christians be changed to spirit at the resurrection? I Cor.
15:42-49. See also I John 3:2 and Philippians 3:20-21.
When
Jesus Christ returns to earth, the Spirit-begotten sons of God who have
died through the ages will be resurrected, and those still alive will
be instantly changed into spirit beings. At that moment, they will be
"born again" as members of God's own Family. And God's own offspring
will then have eternal life inherent within themselves — just like
Jesus Christ their elder brother.
4. To what did Jesus compare one who is born of the Spirit? John 3:8.
When
you are "born again," born of the Spirit of God, you will be invisible
to mortal eyes unless you choose to manifest yourself. The effects of
the wind are easily discernible, but the wind itself cannot be seen.
5.
After His resurrection, was Jesus, with His spirit-composed body, able
to suddenly appear and disappear? Luke 24:36-37. Was He able to pass
through walls? John 20:19, 26. Can one composed of spirit transform
himself into mortal flesh and bone when necessary, and even eat if he
so desires? Luke 24:38-43.
6. Are spirit
bodies capable of traveling through space faster than light? Compare
John 20:17, 19-20 with Matthew 28:9. Earlier in the day Christ would
not let His disciples touch Him because He had not yet ascended to
heaven. But later that day He did allow them to touch Him. Christ
traveled to the Father in heaven and returned to earth on the same day.
"Truth
is stranger than fiction," goes the old saying. The marvelous, exciting
truth about your awesome potential as revealed in the Bible pales into
nothingness any science fiction thriller you could read!
7.
Was Jesus "glorified" again after His resurrection? John 17:4-5, Heb.
2:9. Had He previously given His disciples a fleeting glimpse of this
glorified condition? Matt. 17:1-2. How does Christ's glorified body
appear today? Rev. 1:13-16.
To
be "glorified" means to be given great power and brightness. Jesus
Christ had a glorious, powerful spirit body like His Father's before He
became a human being. After His resurrection, He was restored to the
same power and glory. Christ's face and powerful spirit body now
radiate light as the sun in full strength, with eyes blazing like
flames of fire.
8. Will God also glorify all of His
Spirit-begotten children at the resurrection by giving them this same
great power and glory? Rom. 8:17, Col. 3:4, Dan. 12:2-3.
The
ultimate glory that Spirit-begotten children of God are to receive at
the resurrection will be so great it will make them shine like
brilliant stars. But that's only a part of what God has in store for
those who cooperate with Him in developing God's own character while
yet human beings.
9. What will the sons of God begin to do after becoming part of His spirit Family? Rev. 3:21, 2:26, 5:10, 20:4-6.
The
Kingdom of God is a ruling Family. And those who become a part of that
Family are destined to rule the earth with Jesus Christ for 1,000
years. They will become kings and priests, ruling and teaching in the
world-ruling Kingdom of God!
Billions of people will learn to
live God's way and be born into His ruling Family during this period.
Then, after the Millennium, still more billions who died without
knowing of God's way of life will be resurrected and given the
opportunity to become sons of God. This period of "judgment" (Rev.
20:11-13) will, apparently, last 100 years (Isa. 65:20).
These additional billions will be added to God's spirit Family at the conclusion of God's plan for physical mankind.
It
has been estimated that 40 billion people may have lived from the time
of Adam until now. It would be difficult to accurately estimate the
number of people who will yet be
born and enter God's Kingdom during the Millennium and
Great White Throne judgment periods. There no doubt will be multiple
billions.
But let's suppose that 200 000,000,000 (200 billion)
are ultimately born into God's Family. Since God is always busy
working, creating and sustaining what He has created (John 5:17), He
knows His sons could not be happy unless busy working and producing.
And so what could keep this incredibly huge Family of God Beings busy
for eternity?
10. Just how great is the authority Jesus
Christ has already inherited? Heb. 1:1-2, Matt. 28:18. Will those who
are born into God's Family share in that inheritance as co-owners and
co-rulers with Christ? Rom. 8:16- 17, Rev. 21:7. And will God's
government continue to expand for all eternity? Isa. 9:6-7, Rev. 22:5
The
Moffatt translation renders "all things" in Hebrews 1:2 as "the
universe." Incredible as it may sound, your ultimate potential and the
potential of every human being is co-rulership of the universe with
Jesus Christ and God the Father!
But is there really enough ' out there" for our estimated number of 200 billion spirit sons of God to rule?
Astronomers
estimate that there are more than 40,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 (40
sextillion) stars that are suns to other planets. This figure is
virtually impossible to comprehend. If our estimate of 200 billion sons
of God is accurate, that means each member of God's Family would be
responsible for maintaining and developing 200 billion stars and their
attendant planets. Those stars and planets would make up a galaxy twice
the estimated size of our own Milky Way galaxy!
This is
your awesome potential — the glorious . destiny God has in store for
those who seek to do His will and follow His way. Yes, you were born to
rule!
