PERFECTION OF THE SAINTS
THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIRST-FRUITS
© Hubert Krause Sept 1998
The Church of God in Williamstown
WEB SITE: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~sanhub/index.htm

INTRODUCTION
Here we are, once again, a small group of people, part of the firstfruits of God, assembled faithfully in obedience to His command to observe this Feast of Tabernacles where He has placed His Name. Yet do we realise just how important we are to God?

The apostle Paul tells us that our names are already registered in heaven, along with the perfected spirits of those firstfruits awaiting resurrection with us:

However, there will be no resurrection of anyone until all who will be perfected are perfected in spirit: Do we understand that without us, who are faithful to the end, the Plan of God for the Millennium and beyond proceeds no further? It will continue but it must include the faithful through all ages, including us today. Do we realise that everything stands still, as it were, until the firstfruits achieve God's will for them, in this life, and thus in the life to come? This theme should be paramount in our thinking as we once more enact and anticipate the reality of the Millennium.

I would like in this message to re-emphasise the hope to which we have been called, to review our importance to God, and to examine how, in fulfilling His purpose for us in this short space of time before the return of His Son, we will learn and impact others for a thousand years as we participate in Christ's rulership over this whole earth, and therefore be further prepared for life in the new heavens and earth.

PRESERVERS OF LIFE
Christ likened His followers to the salt of the earth:

In the Old Testament every grain offering had to have salt in it (Lev 2:13), perhaps as a covenant symbol. For salt, as a preservative, was symbolic of covenants: We, the saints of God, spiritual Zion, like salt sprinkled sparingly among the billions on planet earth, represent the covenant that guarantees the preservation of life on this earth. Christ specifically stated this: Mark further defines the elect: they are those specifically chosen by God according to His foreknowledge of the last days: Isaiah speaks of this covenant that preserves and restores life: That this verse is fulfilled in the age of the Church and so is referring to the firstfruits of God, the Church of God, is attested to by the apostle Paul: This covenant of God with His elect, spiritual Israel, is the embodiment of the covenant God will also make with the people of the whole earth as they are restored to His truth: PRECIOUS IN HIS SIGHT
We are told that we are the very house[hold] of God, the family God is making for Himself-if we hold fast to the true faith: As spiritual Israel (Gal 6:16), we are the consummation of Israel of old, and are likewise a special treasure to God: Consider the treasure and the precious stones that king David and the people of Israel prepared for the building of the Temple: Just as Christ, the first of the firstfruits, is the precious and living Cornerstone of the Church, the spiritual Temple (1Pe 2:4-7), so we too are living stones being built into the same temple, and precious in the sight of God: Like the names of the tribes of Israel which were engraved on stones and fastened to the ephod of the high priest as a memorial before God (Ex 28:9-12), so God has, from time immemorial, engraved the names of His firstfruits, the twelve tribes of spiritual Israel, the 144,000-our names-in His mind and in His heart: We are that precious fruit of the earth the apostle James talks about. Once the rains come, we will blossom to glory to enrich the whole earth: THE FIRES OF REFINEMENT
The Church of the firstborn, the elect of God, the Israel of God, is so precious to Him that He will see us through the fires of trial and tribulation if these are necessary to purify us: It is imperative that we understand that the spirit that God perfects by the resurrection will be moulded in this life, if necessary through the fires of refinement. The vital lessons we will carry over into the Kingdom with us must be learnt here and now, no matter what the cost. We have to get it right!

The previous verses from Isaiah indicate that we are so important and precious to God that He will "ransom" us from the nations of the world and even require the lives of men for our lives.

The lessons David had to learn at a great cost are an example of this. Notice God's punishment of him for his sin in numbering the fighting men of Israel:

David loved his people Israel and suffered exceedingly knowing that lives were lost because of his folly and sin. How do we view this judgement from God? Whatever we may feel, God felt it necessary for David's learning and growth and it will be an invaluable lesson that he, the shepherd of Israel, will not have forgotten and will bring with him into the Kingdom.

The Scriptures portray the souls of the righteous who have suffered for their faith as symbolically pleading with God to vindicate them and to establish His righteous rule on the earth. Let us notice what is said to them:

The elect of God, symbolised by the 144,000, are numbered by the foreknowledge of God. Nothing can continue until the fullness of the elect, the firstfruits, whether they suffer martyrdom or not, is completed. When the number of the righteous is fulfilled, God's judgement follows.

These verses carry allusions to similar sentiments from the Book of Enoch. Let me quote from the relevant section in 1 Enoch 47:4

The blood of His saints spilt in martyrdom is precious to God FOREVER ELECT
What we, the elect of God, the firstfruits of God, are to be, both now and in our glorified bodies, should be and will be patterned after Jesus Christ, the first of the firstfruits: Indeed, we are the firstfruits of all of God's creation-physical and spiritual: This is the Israel of God, sealed forever, their names engraved before the Lord of Hosts. They alone are able to sing this song of praise and deliverance before the very throne of God. They follow Christ "wherever He goes", and will thus follow Him to rule for a thousand years on the earth. This priceless privilege is theirs-ours alone. To us only is it granted to rule on the millennial earth under Jesus Christ, to learn lessons and share experiences that will be forever unique (Rev 5:10; Rev 20:4). This is the blessing awaiting those who have been foreordained to share in the First Resurrection. To those who turn to God during the Day of the Lord and who live out their lives on the earth during the Millennium, and during the Great White Throne judgement period, though they will total an innumerable multitude once glorified, no such promise of rulership is made before the advent of the new heaven and new earth (Rev 7:9-17).
Can we therefore begin to grasp the glory and the opportunities prepared for us if we faithfully endure?

The Book of Enoch says of Jesus Christ that "his lot has the pre-eminence before the Lord of Spirits [God the Father] in uprighteousness for ever" (1Enoch 46:3) and that "before the sun and the signs were created, before the stars of the heavens were made, his name was named before the Lord of Spirits" (1Enoch 48:3). "And for this reason has he [the Son of Man] been chosen and hidden before Him [God], before the creation of the world and for ever more." (1Enoch 48:6).

Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God foreordained before the foundation of the world (1Pe 1:20), the first of the firstfruits, is forever the Elect Son of God. We, foreordained as firstfruits, called as firstfruits, and saved as firstfruits from before time began, will likewise forever be the elect sons of God of the First Resurrection.

THE HOPE STORED UP FOR US
Our glory had been predestined by God: God has, in fact, already qualified us for this inheritance, based upon His foreknowledge of our good works, growth and overcoming in response to Him. What He has prepared for His elect is beyond the comprehension of the human mind: If God did not withhold His own elect Son, what will He possibly withhold from us? Notice Paul's prayer for the Church in Ephesus: The glory of the inheritance promised us is something we do need to see more clearly, to embrace more zealously.

USHERING IN THE MILLENNIUM
Like Israel of old, we will soon enter the land of promise. Unlike Israel of old, who failed to fulfill God's intent for them, we will be that kingdom of priests that was prophesised. The entire earth will look to us, and the scriptures applied to ancient Israel will be fulfilled by us-if we heed the admonition given through Moses:

People will see and respond to us, for we are of the seed of Abraham, through which all nations of the earth can be blessed: As firstfruits, we are a type of our father Abraham. He likewise, while still in the flesh, did not see the land that was promised to him: OUR RESPONSIBILITY: SPEEDING UP CHRIST'S RETURN
Let us return to the analogy of the Christian being like salt.
We must be zealous. If we are only half-hearted, we will be as insipid as stale salt: Salt is enduring, it retains its quality, taste and savour, it cannot spoil, even when subject to extreme temperature. The true disciple is indeed like salt-and invaluable to God; the half-hearted disciple, like 'tasteless salt', which has become chemically contaminated so that it is no longer true salt, is useless.

We are called upon to take up our Christian cross and follow God with renewed vigour. We cannot look back to this world from whence we came:

The hope of the Kingdom is an enduring hope. God has promised, and He cannot lie: Notice the admonition of the apostle Peter: If God's timetable is known by Him in advance, how is it, we may ask, that we can hasten the day of Christ's return to usher in the glorious rule of the firstfruits, as pictured by the Feast of Tabernacles? For the apostle Peter tells us that this is precisely what we should be doing!

Our hearts, thoughts and deeds are known and foreknown by God. He knows already what actions we will take or fail to take as a result of this or of any of the messages we will take back home with us from this Feast of Tabernacles. If we therefore resolve to work harder at our own salvation, growing in the holy conduct and godliness referred to by Peter in verse 11, we can indeed, in a sense, speed up the Plan of God to usher in the Millennium. And, in contrast, how much do we delay this great day because we need further repentance and refining (verse 9)? The "times of refreshing" are hastened on by our repentance and change (Ac 3:19-21).

CONCLUSION
The promises of God made to us, that we are destined to share in His divine nature, are priceless, worth fighting for, worth dying for:

As firstfruits of God we must be zealous, diligent to make our calling and election sure. As we return to the world to battle on against sin, let us take heart. Struggle we must, even as Christ struggled to overcome. Yet, unlike Christ, we have not struggled against sin and sinners to the point of shedding our blood. We can all do better: So in the next twelve months let's all resolve, with the help of God, to push ourselves harder and hold on ever more firmly to the hope that is laid out before us, so that the Plan of God, with us not only featuring but predominant in it, can come swiftly to fruition.

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