SPIRITS OF JUST MEN

SPIRITS OF JUST MEN

I am almost positive that the Church leaders of yester year, and many of today, have been steered off course by the teaching of things which cannot be proven in the light of Scriptures as they stand, unchanged by past traditions and legends.

I submit for your consideration today a Scripture which seems to tell me that God has something more in store for His last-day Church than a fire escape to save them from annihilation.

If His Church is going to be Glorious, it should be brought to that point before it is "Raptured" out of the world.

I wonder sometimes if we haven't overworked the "Rapture" a little bit. Maybe it has been emphasized a little more than it should have been, in view of other scriptures which seem to contradict, or at least detract from its position of priority in our circles.

One such Scripture is Heb. 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than [that of] Abel.

The first thing that stands out to me is that we do not deal with Sinai anymore, but with Sion (Grace in Jesus Christ). We don't need to fret ourselves with an earthly city, which has served its purpose, but we now have the Earnest of the Spirit of God within us, with the promise of more of the same at the Day of Atonement, before the end of the Age. We are the City of the Living God, and have the promise of the Glory of God in the end.

Gal 4:24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children. But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.

I hope the phrase "Church of the Firstborn" means to you what it does to me. Some day, maybe we will be prompted to trace the "firstborn" through the Scripture with you. It is fascinating to watch God carry out His plan.

The burden of this lesson, however, is "the spirits of just men made perfect." To me it speaks that God's plan calls for a few "good men" (and women) to be brought to a state of perfection (completeness) in the economy of God. The purpose of this is to have people who can administer God's "economy" or judgments (ways) in the earth. In some places they are called "Angels". In other places they are called "reapers".

They will be what the Bible calls Eunuchs; personal ambition will be gone. They will faithfully administer the things of God.

Isaiah 26:9 With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee early: for when thy judgments (Mishphat--manners, or ways--not punishments) [are] in the earth, the inhabitants of the world will learn righteousness.

The problem facing each of us today is that of being what the Bible calls "just". That is our job. God will have no trouble with His part, if we get our part done.

Merely being "saved by Grace" will not cut it. We will have to add the attributes found in 2 Peter 1:5 "And beside this, giving all diligence, ADD TO YOUR FAITH virtue; and to virtue knowledge; And to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience; and to patience Godliness; And to godliness brotherly kindness and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make [you that ye shall] neither [be] barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.

THIS IS THE PATH OF THE JUST