In his letter to the church at Rome, the Apostle Paul–the author of most of the New Testament, the apostle to the Gentiles and, according to religious sin excusers, the most hypocritical man ever to stand behind a pulpit said the following in chapter 8, verses 13-22:  if we sin, we will die.  If we obey God we will live.  Those led by God’s Spirit are His sons (children) who are heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ.  As did Christ, God’s Sons–Christ’s spiritual brethren–will suffer persecution which will bring them glory.  The whole creation of God awaits the manifestation (revealing) of the glory of His sons.  The whole creation will be changed back to the perfection in which it was created by those whose bodies will be redeemed (born again) when Christ returns.  At that time His saints’ bodies will be changed from physical to spirit composition during the first resurrection when the dead and living IN CHRIST will rise to meet Him in the air.  As they rise to meet Him their bodies will be changed in the twinkling of an eye.  They will in an instant take on His present appearance (1 Jn. 3:2).  Let us turn to Revelation 1:1-16 to see what Christ looks like now and what His saints will look like following their rebirth.  The Apostle John described Jesus as wearing a robe down to His feet with a golden girdle around His chest.  His hair was as white as snow.  His eyes were as flames of fire.  His feet looked like burnished brass.  Upon their rebirth, TRUE SAINTS WILL LOOK LIKE JESUS LOOKED WHEN HE STOOD BEFORE JOHN.

God is a spirit.  The Word (Jesus) was a spirit before coming to earth.  Jesus of Nazareth–a physical man–became a spirit man/God when He was born again.  His saints will become spirit men/gods upon being born again during the first resurrection which will take place upon His second advent.  These human beings will become gods in the same way that Jesus became a God.  God speaks to this fact in Psalm 82:6 where Jesus told some Jews who wanted to kill Him because He said He was the Son of God: “I have said, ‘You are (potential) gods.'”  In other words, as creations of God they could also become gods through obedience to Him.  Later, in John 10:33-36 He said to another group of Jews, “Did I not say in your Law, ‘You are gods?’  He called them ‘gods’ to whom the Word of God came.”  Paul was bringing that same Word to those who could one day be made gods by obeying His Words.  BEING INTIMATELY AWARE OF THIS, PAUL KNEW THAT IF HE SINNED FOLLOWING HIS CONVERSION HE WOULD BE DENIED HIS PROMISED INHERITANCE.

In Ephesians 1:17,18 Paul said he prayed that those in the church would receive the wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of God so that they would come to the knowledge of the calling and inheritance of true saints.  So what is that inheritance?  Paul told the church in Rome that true saints are heirs and joint-heirs with Jesus Christ, meaning that they will inherit everything Jesus inherits–everything He had created under the direction of God.  In 2 Corinthians 2:14 Paul describes in general terms what Jesus and His spiritual brethren will inherit: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for them that love Him.”  Paul had gone into the third heaven and seen things that no man should see (2 Cor. 21:2).  What awaits God’s saints will surpass even that.  The whole of creation waits for the revealing (rebirth) of the sons of God following the return of His Son.  He and His saints will rule, first the earth, then the entire universe.  PAUL KNEW THIS BECAUSE HE WROTE IT.  Church people need to stop blaming Paul and Adam for their sin addictions.  A look into a mirror would reveal the real culprit.  L.J.