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Scripture Reading: Luke 4:19 Rev 14:1, 3-4
Since I have come to Baguio, a constant thought has been on my mind: In today’s Christianity, including both Catholicism and Protestantism, most people do not have an accurate concept concerning God’s salvation, nor do they have a clear knowledge of the economy and arrangement of God in His salvation. There is a widely accepted concept in Christianity today that is seemingly based on the Scriptures but is actually derived primarily from human speculation. This concept did not exist at the beginning of the church. Rather, it was an idea formed later through human conjecture and then further developed into a doctrine. Now it has evolved into a traditional concept that is prevailing in Christianity.
What is this concept? People who have this concept believe that we all are sinful, but because God had compassion toward us, He sent His only begotten Son to be our Savior. This One died for us on the cross, bore up our sins, resurrected and ascended to heaven, and is now continually interceding for us before God as our great High Priest. According to this concept, if a person who feels that he is a sinner and deserves to suffer perdition repents and believes in the Lord — receiving Him as his Savior and calling on Him — his sins will be forgiven, he will be reconciled to God, and God will be gracious to him and bestow blessing upon him. As a result, this person will become a saved one. Since God has been so gracious to him, from that point on he should show his gratitude to God by conducting himself in a manner that will glorify the name of God. After this person dies, his soul will go to heaven to enjoy eternal blessing. This is the so-called orthodox belief in today’s Christianity.
Is this concept correct? We must compare it carefully with the truth in the Scriptures. When Martin Luther compared the Catholic doctrine on the sacrament of penance with the biblical truth concerning justification by faith (Rom. 1:17), he found out that the teaching of doing penance was a man-made tradition based on human opinions and was altogether erroneous. Today we should also discern the authenticity of the so-called orthodox beliefs taught in Christianity by comparing them with the truth revealed in the Bible.
If we would abandon human opinions with the traditional concepts, not holding on to our ideas and views but simply coming to the Word of God, then we would see that in Christianity the current concept of God’s salvation definitely contains certain inaccuracies and deficiencies. To be inaccurate is to be incorrect and in disagreement with the truth revealed in the Scriptures, whereas to be deficient is to not measure up to the biblical truth in its richness and transcendence.
The Gospels do not consist of one book but four books, and each of the Gospels has a different emphasis. For example, from the beginning to the end, the Gospel of Luke covers the truth of the forgiveness of sins, the gospel of forgiveness (24:47). It shows that in God’s eyes we were prodigal sons who were far away from God the Father and that we were also lost sinners and lost sheep (15:1, 6-7, 11-32). Therefore, God sent His Son as our Savior to find us and bring us back. God accepted us, the prodigal sons, when we repented and came back to Him. Even if we were like the disreputable woman in chapter 7 who had many sins (vv. 36-50), the corrupt tax collector in chapter 19 (vv. 1-10), or the robber on the cross in chapter 23 (vv. 32, 40-43), when we repented and believed in the Lord, receiving Him as our Savior, our sins were forgiven. This is the truth of the forgiveness of sins shown in the Gospel of Luke. Because the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished redemption on the cross, whoever believes in Him will receive the forgiveness of sins freely, without having to pay any price. This is the emphasis of the Gospel of Luke.
John preached the gospel of life. At the outset, the Gospel of John shows that the Lord was God, that in Him was life, and that He became flesh (1:1, 4, 14). The reason He came from the heavens to the earth was that He intended to impart life to the world (10:10b). He said that He was a grain of wheat, and as such, He could not release the life from within Him for men to receive unless He fell into the ground, died, and resurrected. Therefore, one day He went to the cross and died, and on the third day He resurrected. Now at any time and in any place if someone believes in His name and receives Him as the Savior, He will enter into him as the Spirit that he may receive the life of God. In this way a person can be regenerated and have the life of God (3:3, 5, 15-16; 20:31). This is the grace of life. We receive this grace of life altogether by faith, without having to pay any price. This is clearly seen in the Gospel of John. Therefore, Luke and John both show that we can receive the gospel, whether it be the gospel of the forgiveness of sins or the gospel of life, simply by faith. There is no need to pay any price or to fulfill any requirement.
However, the Gospels comprise not only Luke and John but also Matthew and Mark. If we read through the Gospels of Matthew and Mark, we will discover that it is not so easy to find passages about salvation by faith. These two Gospels tell us to leave all that we have, to deny ourselves (Matt. 16:24; Mark 8:34-35), to enter in through the narrow gate and walk on the constricted way (Matt. 7:13-14), and to pay a considerably great price to follow the Lord Jesus. Although in some instances these two Gospels also refer to faith, the faith they mention is not the faith for receiving salvation but for walking on the way of the Lord. This is not the faith for receiving life but for living a daily life. The faith for our salvation is the faith by which we receive forgiveness of sins and the life of God. This is the faith revealed in Luke and John. However, after we are saved and have received the life of God, we still need to walk on the Lord’s way and live a heavenly life. To walk such a way and live such a life we need the kind of faith referred to in Matthew and Mark.
Aside from passages concerning this kind of faith, it is difficult to find passages in Matthew and Mark telling us that faith is for us to be saved and to receive the life of God. Instead, in the Gospels of Matthew and Mark we are solemnly told numerous times that we should forsake everything, deny ourselves, and take up the cross to follow the Lord. This shows us the word of God in its completeness with its overall significance.
Faith alone is not enough for us to fully enjoy God’s salvation in its richness and extensiveness. Hence, after believing, we still need to pay a price to follow the Lord so that we may enjoy such a rich salvation. Believing in the Lord is for us to receive Him, whereas following the Lord is for us to enjoy Him. By believing, we receive forgiveness of sins and the life of God, and the Lord comes into us as the Spirit. By following the Lord after we have been saved, we enjoy the Lord, have His presence, and allow Him to be everything to us, including our life and power every day.
Let us use an illustration. When your friend gives you a nice gift, you need only to receive it, and then you will have it. From the day you receive it, it is yours. However, if after receiving it, you simply put it aside and do not spend any time to enjoy it, then even though you have received it and now possess it, you have not enjoyed it at all. Similarly, we receive and possess God’s salvation just by believing. Once we believe, our sins are forgiven, and we receive the life of God. Once we believe in the Lord, He comes into us. Furthermore, God and all that God has becomes ours. After we believe, however, we still have to pay a price. We need to make an effort every day to enjoy what we have received, taking the Lord in by eating and drinking Him in our spirit day by day. In this way He can then become the element within us in reality. If we do not pay such a price and do not make such an effort, we cannot practically and fully enjoy the salvation we have received.
Today many of the children of God — although they have truly been saved, have the Lord’s life in them, and also have the Holy Spirit dwelling in them — have not enjoyed the Lord or the salvation of God. Although they come to the meetings, listen to messages, and occasionally pray and read the Word, in their living and in their walk they are themselves, while the Lord is the Lord. They and the Lord have not been mingled to become one. They have not allowed the Lord to practically come into their daily living. They do whatever they like to do and say whatever they like to say. They have simply forgotten about the Lord and have put Him aside.
Although they have the Lord, they do not enjoy Him. They are like misers who have much money and yet do not use their money. They are saved ones who have the Lord’s life and the Lord’s presence, yet they do not enjoy the Lord. They live by themselves according to the lusts of the flesh, following the tide of this world. They are just like unsaved people, living in the world in a common way. The only difference is that they confess that there is a God, whereas the unsaved people do not. They believe in the Lord, whereas the unsaved people do not. They believe in the eternal life, whereas the unsaved people do not. In addition, sometimes when their hearts are touched by the grace of God, their hearts become filled with gratitude toward God, whereas the unsaved people do not have such experiences. Christians of this kind are different from unsaved people in their beliefs, but in their daily walk they are the same as the unsaved. Just as the unsaved ones love the world, live for the world, and struggle for fame and wealth, so also do these saved ones. Just as the unsaved ones live by themselves in their flesh and in their natural being, being neither under the rule of God nor under the authority of the kingdom, so also do the saved ones. They already have the life of God in them, yet they do not live by God’s life. To them, God is no more than an object for them to believe in. This is the abnormal condition of many of God’s children today.
However, the four Gospels show that God’s salvation is not like this. From one side Luke and John show that upon believing in the Lord, we receive forgiveness of sins and the life of God. From another side Matthew and Mark show that from the day we were saved, we who have been forgiven of our sins and have received the life of God should follow the Lord and take the Lord as our life and our living. We must live by the Lord’s life. For this reason we have to pay a price, leave everything we have, deny ourselves, and take up the cross to follow the Lord. This is the salvation of God seen in the four Gospels.
In the Epistles we see that the Galatians undoubtedly believed in the Lord. Their sins were forgiven, and they had the life of God, yet they lived by themselves, relying too much on themselves rather than on the life of Christ. The apostle Paul said to them, “My children, with whom I travail again in birth...” (Gal. 4:19). Why did he travail again in birth for them? Was it for them to be saved again? It was not. Was it for them to be forgiven of their sins again? It was not. Was it for them to receive the life of God again? It was not! Then what was it for? It was for Christ to be formed in them. To be saved is one thing, but to have Christ formed in us is another thing.
The unique purpose of God’s salvation is for God to come into us and mingle Himself with us. God wants to come into us to be our life (Col. 3:4a) and to grow in us (2:19b). Although the goal of our salvation includes the blessing of entering into the kingdom, it is not restricted merely to such a blessing. Rather, the ultimate goal of our salvation is for us, the saved ones, to be mingled with God that Christ may make His home in our hearts through faith (Eph. 3:17) as our life and that we may grow up unto maturity (4:13).
Regrettably, due to erroneous teachings, there is the mistaken concept in traditional Christianity that a saved one, one who believes in the Lord and whose sins are forgiven, will go to heaven when he dies. According to this concept, if a believer has a heart that fears the Lord, and if in his daily life he reads the Bible, prays to the Lord, attends the meetings, helps others, and pleases the Lord, then the Lord will bestow many blessings on him. As a result, he will be able to glorify the Lord, and he himself will also have peace in his heart. According to the concept in Christianity, this is the greatest honor of being a Christian. This is the traditional religious concept, but it is not the goal of God’s salvation. The goal of God’s salvation is that the believers gradually grow and mature in life until, consummately, they are exactly the same as Christ.
How does God accomplish such a salvation? First, He sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for our sins. Then in Christ and as the Spirit (1 Cor. 15:45b), He enters into us to live in us as our life. Christ is not only living in us (Gal. 2:20) but also growing in us. He intends to grow, to be formed, and to mature in us (Eph. 4:13). This is God’s saving way. What does it mean to grow unto maturity? To grow unto maturity means that Christ lives in us as our life and that He continually grows in us to the extent that He is formed in us. When Christ is fully formed in us, we will be mature in His life.
If we read through the entire Bible, we are unable to find any statement saying that those who believe in Jesus will go to heaven after they die. Such a concept did not exist in the first two centuries. It was altogether a notion brought in by degraded Catholicism. Instead, the Bible tells us that after a person believes in the Lord, the Lord enters into him to be his life and to grow, be formed, and eventually mature in him. This is the salvation of God revealed in the Scriptures. This is much different from the traditional yet erroneous concept of going to heaven.
The Bible also tells us that after a person has been saved and has received the Lord’s life, he becomes part of the crop in the Lord’s field (Rev. 14:15-16). Would the master reap the harvest and gather it into the barn before it is ripe? Of course, he would not. Revelation 14 tells us that among the Christians a small number of overcomers will be raptured to the heavens before the harvest. They are the firstfruits, the produce that has ripened first.
In northern China by the month of April the wheat in the field has grown very tall and displays a golden color. This indicates that the wheat has ripened thoroughly. The owner of the field first goes and reaps the firstfruits and brings them home. Then at the Double Fifth Festival the family eats the firstfruits for their special enjoyment. After another two weeks the rest of the harvest in the field ripens, and the owner reaps the crop and brings it into the barn. Matthew 13 clearly says that the field refers to the world, and the barn refers to the kingdom of the Father (vv. 24, 30, 38, 43). Today we are God’s crop growing in the field — the world — until we become thoroughly ripened. Then God will come to reap us and bring us into the eternal barn.
If the crop were not ripe but still green and tender, the owner of the field would never harvest the crop and bring it into the barn. Likewise, there is no question that the saved ones will enter into the kingdom. However, there is a condition — they need to be ripe. The earth is the field, and the heavens are the barn. What is the requirement for us, the crop, to be gathered from the field on the earth into the barn in the heavens? The requirement is that we need to be ripe. Only the ripe ones can be gathered into the barn. The unripe ones will be left in the field to continue growing. As wheat grows, it enjoys the elements of the soil, the supply of water, and the provision of fertilizer. If the wheat could speak, it would say, “This is very sweet! What an enjoyment I have here!” However, when the crop is being ripened, it undergoes a great amount of suffering. Not only is the fertilizer withheld and the water reduced, but the wheat is also exposed to the intense heat of the sun to make it turn from being greenish to being golden. Likewise, when a person who belongs to the Lord is newly saved, he enjoys a very sweet period of time. However, unless he goes on to pay a price, be dealt with, and have the experience of being exposed to the sun, he cannot readily grow and become mature.
The only kind of people who can enter into the kingdom are those who are mature. If we read through Revelation carefully, we can see that all the Christians who will be in the kingdom will be the ripened ones. Those who do not ripen cannot enter into the kingdom. This is similar to the fact that all the produce that is in the barn is ripe. The produce that is not yet ripe has to remain in the field until it is ripened either through the heat of the sun or the blowing of the wind. It must be ripened before it can be harvested. Likewise, although all Christians have been saved, they cannot enter into the kingdom without being matured. Therefore, the thought that the soul of a Christian goes to heaven after he dies is shallow and childish. It is not the truth revealed in the Bible but the tradition of Roman Catholicism. The notion of going to heaven is not in the Bible.
The term heavenly mansion is not found in the Bible. Rather, it is an expression that is used in religion. The Bible only uses the words heaven and heavens. In the Chinese translation of the Bible the translators borrowed the term heavenly mansion and used it because it had been widely adopted by religion at the time they were doing their translation. In the Chinese Union Version the term heavenly mansion is found in two places — in 1 Peter 3:22 and also in Hebrews 9:24. However, in the original text the word heaven is used in both places. It was to heaven that the Lord ascended after His death and resurrection (Mark 16:19; Luke 24:51; Acts 1:11). In the Bible there is no thought of “going to a heavenly mansion,” and there is no verse telling us that the souls of Christians go to a heavenly mansion after they die. When a believer dies, his spirit and soul do not go to heaven but to Paradise in Hades (Luke 23:43).
It is correct to say that Christians will one day enter into the kingdom, but they must first be mature before they can do so. Perhaps someone may wonder, “Many of the brothers and sisters have truly received forgiveness of sins and the Lord’s life. However, since the time they were saved, they have not paid a price, lived an overcoming life, or faithfully followed the Lord. It is obvious that they do not have the maturity in life. What will their future be?” There was once a certain brother who was truly saved. However, after he was saved, he still loved the world, lived by his flesh, loved money, and did not love God. One day he died of a stroke after falling into a terrible rage. Then the brothers and sisters gathered together to sing some hymns on his behalf and to speak a word of consolation, saying, “Thank and praise the Lord that our brother has gone to heaven, to the heavenly home. He is really blessed!” Where can you find such a teaching in the Holy Scriptures? The Bible says that it is not until the harvest is ripe that the crop will be reaped and brought into the eternal barn. In the Scriptures the destiny of the believers is decided according to maturity. Those who mature earlier will be gathered into the barn earlier, whereas those who mature later will be brought into the barn later. This is clearly revealed in the Bible.
Then where did that brother go after his death if he did not go to heaven? This is not hard to understand. Do you remember the robber who repented on the cross? He said to the Lord, “Jesus, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” The Lord replied immediately, “Today you shall be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:42-43). Furthermore, Matthew 12 and Acts 2 both say that after His death, the Lord was in Hades three days and three nights (Matt. 12:40; Acts 2:24-27). By studying these verses carefully, we can readily understand that Paradise is in Hades. This is also referred to in Luke 16. Abraham’s bosom — the place where Lazarus was, across from the place where the rich man was — was the Paradise in Hades (vv. 23-24).
Most theologians in Christianity also acknowledge this fact. However, some believe that before the resurrection of the Lord Jesus this Paradise was indeed in Hades and that after the Lord’s resurrection Paradise was moved by the Lord from Hades to heaven. They say this based upon Ephesians 4:8, which says, “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive.” They quote this verse as the basis of the transfer of Paradise. However, the phrase He led captive those taken captive means that prior to the Lord’s resurrection, when men died, they were taken captive to Hades by the power of death — the power of Satan. Then at the time of His resurrection the Lord Jesus overcame the devil, who has the might of death, and broke through Hades, thereby leading captive those taken captive. Therefore, this verse does not mean that Hades was moved to heaven.
After the believers die, their spirits go to Hades, while their bodies are buried in graves. For example, after Peter and Paul died, their bodies were buried in the earth, but their spirits were disembodied. Disembodied spirits are abnormal because they still bear the sign of death. Although Peter and Paul were saved ones, death was still in them and had not been removed. At the Lord’s return their spirits will come out of Hades, and their bodies will also come out of the graves to become glorious bodies. At that time their bodies and spirits will be joined together. When their spirits are clothed with their bodies again, then they will be able to enter into the presence of God. In the Bible disembodied spirits are naked spirits, which still bear the sign of death and therefore cannot enter into the presence of God. It is not until the time of rapture, when the spirits of the saved ones will come out of Hades and will put on their transfigured bodies, being fully dressed with proper attire, that they will be able to go to God.
The believers who die without being matured in life will be unable to go into the presence of God even after being clothed in resurrection. In Matthew 25 we are told that at the time of resurrection the saints who are ready and mature will attend the Lord’s wedding feast, whereas the immature ones will still have to pay a price to reach maturity. In other words, if as a Christian you die without reaching maturity, then at the time of resurrection you will still have to complete the process of maturing. Do not expect to go to the Lord without completing the process of maturing.
Hence, whoever wants to attend the Lord’s wedding feast will have to be matured. There is only one kind of Christian in the heavens — Christians who are mature. If you have become mature in your lifetime, you are already prepared, and you can praise the Lord for this. Like the five prudent virgins, you can go in to the Lord’s wedding feast at His coming. However, if you have not prepared yourself and have not become mature in your lifetime, then if unfortunately you die, after your resurrection you will still have to deal with the issue of maturity. After you are resurrected, like the five foolish virgins, you will still need to pay the price to buy the oil.
Therefore, as Christians we must be matured. This is the goal we all must attain to. The Lord’s intention to mature in us is a matter that we cannot avoid. If we do not walk on this way and do not arrive at this goal, then we should not expect to one day go in to the Lord’s wedding feast. If you do not pay the price to arrive at maturity yet expect to enter into the kingdom, then one day your expectation will be proven to have been in vain.
We became Christians upon believing in the Lord, but has Christ become full-grown in us? We have been saved and have Christ’s life in us, but has this life become mature? We must remember that this life has to mature either now or in the future. If we settle this question of maturity while we are still alive today, we are the prudent virgins. If we are not matured, then at the time of resurrection we will still have to resolve this matter of maturity, because the Bible says that after we are saved, we need to grow unto maturity in life. This is God’s salvation.
