The subject of this posting is the most misunderstood and most deadly of the theological errors embraced by professing Christendom. Contrary to near-universal church opinion, CHRIST’S DEATH DOES NOT SAVE US; WE ARE SAVED BY HIS LIFE AS HIS LIFE IS LIVED IN US (Rom. 5:10). This is what is meant by the statement found in Colossians 1:27 where the Apostle Paul refers to the “mystery” of receiving the glory of God and living that glory in this life. Paul then gives a general description of that mystery, which is “CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY.” Stated more specifically, the mystery as to how to receive and manifest God’s glory in this life is to have Christ living His life in/through us in terms of our words, thoughts and acts. His life lived in us is the only hope we have of attaining and displaying the glory of God in this life. IF we “walk” (live our lives) in God’s glory until the end, we will receive salvation/rebirth upon Christ’s return to earth to establish His Father’s kingdom (Mat. 10:22). It is at the time of His Second Advent that His Very Elect will be resurrected and will then spend the rest of eternity with Him and the Father in His earthly kingdom. Until then we have the HOPE of salvation. Read Born Again, Hope and Salvation, The Three Resurrections and the Kingdom of God. Key words–Born, Hope, Three and Kingdom.

Let us not be misled: GOD’S GLORY IS RARELY RECOGNIZED BY THE RELIGIOUS WORLD. With extremely rare exception, it is totally rejected by those in the Institutional Church. Recall that it was the religious hierarchy of the day that caused Jesus and His apostles to be put to death. Jesus warns us that if we obey Him the world, specifically the religious world, will hate us. For this reason we are told to “count the cost” of following Him (Lk. 14:28). Why does the church hate God’s saints? Because darkness hates the light (Jn. 3:20). Notice that God’s light is always referred to as THE light, meaning the one and only light recognized by Him. Each of the organizations that comprise the Institutional Church has its own version of light. If they obeyed God there would be only one church–the Church of God referred to ten times in the New Testament by that name. Those who believe and embrace the light of God all belong to that one church–THE CHURCH OF GOD–not to be confused with the religious organization that has given itself that name.

I was once asked: “Which faith are you?” That question still haunts me. There is only one faith, one Truth (Gospel), one light, one church and one Head of that one church–Jesus Christ. A church “truth” contends that “We all worship the same God.” No we do not. It is true that those in the Catholic/Protestant Religious System all worship the same god–Satan, “the god of this world” and its worldly churches (2 Cor. 4:4). But God’s true saints have nothing to do with the church world. They obey God’s command to “Come out of her, My People, touch not that unclean thing ….” (2 Cor. 6:14-7:1). Why? Because there is no communion between light and darkness, God and Satan, righteousness and unrighteousness. On the spiritual level, we are commanded to separate ourselves from “the works of darkness. Then, and only then He tells us, He will be our God and we will be His people. We cannot walk in God’s light and remain in Satan’s darkness. We must choose whom we will serve–God or Satan–and obey the one we choose. Jesus equates those who serve both gods (sinners saved by grace) as vomit (Rev. 3:16).

In order to produce God’s glory in our lives we must walk (live) in His light. In John 8:12 Jesus declared: “I am the light of the world.” Then in Matthew 5:14 He called His disciples/apostles “… the light of the world.” These 13 men were all different entities with different personalities, mannerisms, backgrounds, etc. The only way they individually and collectively could be THE ONE AND ONLY LIGHT OF THE WORLD is for all of them to possess the same thing that produced God’s light in them. That source, as we are told in Second Corinthians 4:4, is “THE LIGHT OF THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST, WHO IS THE IMAGE OF GOD.” Notice that Jesus and His disciples–each one of whom constituted “THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD“–were also described as “THE IMAGE OF GOD.” And what was it that made them “the light of the world” and “the image of God?” THE GOSPEL–THE GOOD NEWS CONCERNING THE COMING KINGDOM OF GOD (Mk. 1:14).

The message is clear: TO BE GOD’S LIGHT TO THE WORLD WE MUST BELIEVE HIS GOSPEL AND LIVE IT AS DID JESUS OF NAZARETH. WE MUST BECOME “CHILDREN OF THE LIGHT” (Jn. 12:36). We must become light because: “GOD IS LIGHT, AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL” (1 Jn. 1:5). In Second Corinthians 4:4 we are told that Jesus as a man was “the image of God” whose light shined on man. Recall that Adam was created in the “image of God” (Gen. 1:27). That image made Adam a god to the other creations on the earth, all of which were subject to him (vs 28). MAN WAS CREATED TO BE A GOD ON THE EARTH WHO WOULD HAVE DOMINION OVER THE EARTH AND EVERYTHING ON IT, UNDER IT AND ABOVE IT.

God’s will for man has never changed just as He has never changed. Perfection does not need to be changed. God created everything in perfection. After creation week He looked at everything He had created and declared it “very good.” By obeying His Law man can return to the status of Adam, who was created perfect. Jesus, we are told, is the second Adam. Like Adam, He had to “learn obedience (to God) by the things (temptations) He experienced” (Heb. 5:8). Though we, as was Jesus, are born without sin, we must (as did He) have to choose whom we will obey. Unlike Jesus, we have all sinned and come short of the GLORY of God. He died and rose from the dead so that we could receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8) which empowers its recipient to overcome the temptations of Satan as did He (Rev. 3:21). It is by using the power of the Holy Spirit, which is received at true conversion, that we are able to ward off Satan’s “fiery darts” designed to tempt us to disobey God. This we must do in order to rise to meet Christ in the air upon His arrival. Jesus said in Revelation 3:21 that in order to sit with Him on His throne we must “… overcome (Satan) even as I have overcame” him. Jesus overcame Him through the power of the Holy Spirit which is available to all who will obey God’s Law, thereby proving their love for the both Father and Son. Read Jn. 8:31; 14:15,23; 15:10/ Mat. 19:17/ First John 2:5/ 3:1-10.

Obedience to God’s Law is not an option, it is a command which is obeyed by those who will be resurrected upon Christ’s return. These are not normal, religious people. These are they who obey Peter’s command found in his first epistle, chapter 1, verses 15,16 where he tells us that God’s true saints are holy in all aspects of their lives BECAUSE GOD IS HOLY. Therefore, in order to reflect His light, holiness is necessary. That is not a suggestion or option for those who would spend eternity with Him. In First Peter 2:9 the apostle describes God’s true saints as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a peculiar people who have been called out of darkness and into His glorious light. That light is the glorious Gospel/Truth of God. Let us all walk in that light by studying that Gospel, learning it and obeying it. In so doing we will “come to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph. 4:13). Then, and only then, will we send forth God’s light to the world, a world that will reject it along with its bearer, Jesus and the apostles serving as proof. Jesus, knowing this, said few would meet His requirements. For that reason He promised that where two or three are gathered together in His name, there He would be. L.J.