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I. The death of Christ:
А. Solving our problems before God.
B. Solving the problems within our being.
C. Solving our problems before Satan.
II. The resurrection of Christ.
III. The ascension of Christ.
IV. The second coming of Christ.
In this chapter we will consider the redemption of Christ. The redemption of Christ is the accomplishment of salvation. Salvation is accomplished through Christ’s redemption. When we receive Christ’s redemption, it becomes our salvation. Before we receive it, it is only redemption; after we receive and enjoy it, it is salvation. Redemption is objective to us, whereas salvation is subjective. Once we receive objective redemption, it becomes our subjective salvation. We can enjoy salvation only to the degree that we know redemption.
The accomplishment of Christ’s redemption is not only through His death but also through His resurrection, ascension, and second coming. Christ’s death, resurrection, ascension, and second coming combine to complete a perfect redemption. We will first consider the death of Christ.
The death of Christ solves our problems in at least three aspects. We have already seen that the condition of man consists of problems in three aspects. Man has problems before God, problems in himself, and problems before Satan. The death of Christ on the cross solves these problems.
Before God, man is sinful and has a record of sin. The first problem that Christ’s death solves is the problem of our sins before God.
1. “Who Himself bore up our sins in His body” (1 Pet. 2:24 see also 3:18; John 1:29; Isa. 53:5-6; 1 Cor. 15:3; Heb. 9:26).
The Lord Jesus was sinless. Although He was sinless, He was nailed on the cross to die because He bore our sins. The Lord Jesus was sinless, but when He died on the cross, God placed our sins upon Him so that He might bear them for us. Therefore, the Lord Jesus died for our sins, suffered for our offenses, and was crushed for our iniquities. On the cross He was smitten and judged by God for our sins. The Lord Jesus suffered on our behalf — that is, the Righteous suffered on behalf of the unrighteous — in order to eliminate our sins before God. If the Lord Jesus did not bear our sins and die, there would be no way for our sins before God to be removed.
2. “My blood...which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:28 see also Heb. 9:22; 1:3).
According to God’s righteousness and law, sinners are condemned to die. No sinner can pass through the judgment of God’s righteousness and law without suffering the punishment of death. For our sins to be forgiven, someone had to die and shed blood on our behalf in order to fulfill the requirement of God’s righteousness and law. The Bible says, “Without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” (9:22). Thus, the Lord died and shed His blood on the cross to fulfill the righteous requirement of God’s law so that our sins may be forgiven. Since the Lord’s blood was shed through His death in fulfillment of God’s righteous requirement, His blood can cleanse us of our sins.
3. “Christ died for the ungodly”; “Having become a curse on our behalf” (Rom. 5:6; Gal. 3:13 see also Matt. 20:28; Heb. 2:9).
According to God’s righteous law, a sinner should be cursed and should die. However, the Lord Jesus died for us under the judgment of the law; He tasted death on our behalf, became a curse for us, and gave His life as a ransom to redeem us out of the curse of the law.
The thorns that the Lord Jesus wore on His head while hanging on the cross were a sign of the curse. Thorns came into being as a result of the curse that man received for his sin (Gen. 3:17-18). The curse that man received because of sin was on the Lord’s head as He hung on the cross. There the Lord was cursed on our behalf; thus, through His death He redeemed us from the curse of the law.
4. “Having offered one sacrifice for sins” (Heb. 10:12).
The Lord died on the cross to offer Himself to God as a sacrifice for sins, thereby redeeming us from our sins and dealing with our sins before God. Just as animals sacrificed for sins did not bleed for their own sins but for the sins of those who offered them, the Lord died as our sin offering, accomplishing redemption for us before God.
5. “He Himself is the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 2:2 see also 4:10; Heb. 2:17).
Our sins caused a problem between us and God. Through His death as the propitiation for our sins, the Lord dealt with the sins that caused our problem with God and thereby restored our relationship with God. We were not only sinful but also were cut off from God. The Lord died to take away our sins and to bring God back to us. Therefore, He is our propitiation.
6. “Reconciled to God through the death of His Son” (Rom. 5:10, see also v. 11; Col. 1:20, 22; 2 Cor. 5:18-19).
Because of sin, we had a problem with God and were His enemies. The Lord’s death redeemed us from our sins and restored our relationship with God; as a result, we were reconciled to God. Today, if anyone is willing to believe in the Lord, the Lord’s death will reconcile him to God and appease God on his behalf.
7. “Once for all...obtaining an eternal redemption” (Heb. 9:12 see also 10:14).
The redemption of the Lord on the cross was completed once for all; it is an eternal redemption. The Lord does not need to die separately for each of us. He died once, accomplishing a complete redemption for all, including those who lived before His death and those who lived after His death. He died once on the cross, obtaining an eternal redemption. The Lord’s redemption, accomplished once for all, is eternally effective. When people believe in the Lord, the effectiveness of His redemption before God causes them to be redeemed.
The problems within our being are related to the sinful nature. The death of Christ dealt with our sins before God and with the sinful nature within us.
1. “Our old man has been crucified with Him” (Rom. 6:6).
Our old man has the nature of sin. The old man with its sinful nature was crucified with Christ. The cross of Christ not only dealt with the sins that we commit; it also dealt with our sinful old man. Our sins and our old man were dealt with on the cross of Christ. The substitutionary death of Christ on the cross dealt with our sins; our co-death with Christ on the cross dealt with our old man. Christ died on the cross to deal with our sins before God so that we would no longer be condemned. Christ also brought us to the cross to die with Him in order to deal with our sinful old man — that is, to deal with the sinful nature within us so that we would not sin, be slaves to sin, or be ruled by sin.
2. “Have crucified the flesh with its passions and its lusts” (Gal. 5:24).
Our corrupted flesh with its passions and its lusts was crucified and dealt with on the cross of Christ.
3. “I am crucified with Christ” (Gal. 2:20 see also 6:14).
In addition to our flesh with its passions and its lusts, our self, our person, was also crucified with Christ. The cross of Christ dealt with our person.
4. “You died with Christ” (Col. 2:20 see also Rom. 6:8; 1 Pet. 2:24).
We were crucified with Christ; therefore, we died with Christ. This death caused us to be saved and released.
On the one hand, death is negative; on the other hand, it is positive. Through death man can be saved and liberated. Death can deliver and release man from the things that he could not otherwise be released or delivered from. By His death on the cross Christ delivers and releases us. Christ did not require us to die by ourselves; rather, He brought us to die with Him in His death on the cross. On the one hand, He died for us; on the other hand, He died with us. He brought us to the cross to die together with Him. We are one with Christ by faith; His death is our death. We died with Christ in His death; this co-death delivers us from our sins, from which we could not escape, and also delivers us from everything that binds and rules us.
The death of Christ is a very significant element in God’s salvation. His death dealt with both our sins and our sinful nature. Because of sin, we were judged and condemned to the death of Adam; the death of Christ delivered us from sin. God required Adam to die in order to judge us; God required Christ to die in order to save us. God placed us in Christ so that we might be one with Him in His death; thus, we are saved and released. Our death with Christ depends not on our feeling but on the fact that we are in Christ. Regardless of whether we feel that we have died with Him, in Christ we have died with Him; this is a fact before God. We need to realize and see this fact. We should believe and receive this fact by faith. We are in Christ and in union with Him; thus, His death is our death. We should not pay attention to our feeling; rather, we should believe, saying, “We died in Christ and with Christ.” This is our release and rest. Hallelujah, we have died; what a release! Hallelujah, we have died; what a rest!
Our problems also include Satan and the world, which belongs to Satan. The death of Christ on the cross solved these problems.
1. “That through death He might destroy him who has the might of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14).
The devil is Satan; he has the might of death. Satan has the power of death over sinners. We had no way to be delivered from him; neither could we overcome him. However, the Lord destroyed the devil through His death on the cross. In the original Greek the word destroy means “abolish.” Through His death the Lord eliminated our sins before God, dealt with our sinful nature, and abolished the devil. The Lord’s death on the cross abolished Satan, who has the might of death.
2. “The ruler of this world has been judged” (John 16:11 see also 12:31).
The ruler of this dark world is Satan. Through His death on the cross, the Lord Jesus judged the ruler of this world, Satan. At the cross our sins were judged and removed, and Satan was judged and cast out.
3. “Destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8).
The Lord destroyed the works of the devil through His death on the cross. The Lord’s death on the cross annihilated the devil and his works.
4. “Bruise you on the head” (Gen. 3:15).
The serpent in Genesis 3:15 refers to Satan. To bruise the serpent’s head means to put Satan to death. The One who bruised Satan’s head is the seed of the woman, the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus was born of a virgin; therefore, He is the seed of a woman. On the cross He bruised the head of Satan, the ancient serpent (Rev. 20:2), putting Satan to death.
5. “Stripping off the rulers and the authorities” (Col. 2:15).
The phrase the rulers and the authorities in Colossians 2:15 refers to the evil spirits in the air, who assist Satan in ruling over this dark world (Eph. 6:12). They are the messengers of Satan. When the Lord Jesus died on the cross, He destroyed and abolished Satan. In addition, He also stripped off the evil spirits who help Satan in ruling over the world. The Lord’s cross destroyed both the prince of darkness, Satan, and his kingdom of darkness, including all its rulers and authorities.
6. “Now is the judgment of this world” (John 12:31).
The world is a systematic organization of Satan. Satan controls and usurps man through the various systems within this organization. All persons, matters, and things have been utilized by Satan as the system of his organization — the world — to control and usurp people. This usurping world of Satan was judged on the cross of Christ. Both Satan and the world under his authority were judged on the cross of Christ. The cross of Christ judged and abolished the ruler of the world; it also judged and abolished the world itself. If we realize that the cross of Christ judged the usurping world and all persons, matters, and things related to it, the world would lose its place and power in us.
7. “The world has been crucified” (Gal. 6:14).
Our old man and the flesh with its passions and lusts were crucified on the cross of Christ; the world also was crucified on the cross of Christ. Our old man, the flesh, and the world all were hung on the cross. From the viewpoint of God and of those who belong to God, the world has been crucified. A dead thing has no power or place. The cross of Christ has dealt with the world.
The Bible shows that the death of Christ on the cross solved our problems. The cross of Christ dealt with sin, the old man, the flesh with its passions and its lusts, Satan, and the world. The cross of Christ was like a universal broom; it swept away every negative thing between us and God.
On the one hand, on the cross Christ bore our sins to suffer the judgment of death for us. On the other hand, He also carried us with Him to the cross. The Bible shows that Satan is mingled with fallen man. When we as fallen men were crucified with Christ on the cross, Satan, who was mingled with us, also was crucified. The world hangs on Satan and is under his authority. Since Satan was crucified on the cross, the world that hangs on him was crucified as well. Therefore, the death of Christ removed and dealt with all these things on our behalf.
8. “It is finished!” (John 19:30).
Since the death of Christ took care of all these problems, He said, “It is finished!” as He was about to die. Everything related to our salvation was finished through the death of Christ on the cross. Nothing was left for us to deal with, including sin, the old man, the flesh, Satan, or the world. Christ dealt with all these problems for us.
The Lord Jesus not only died for us; He also resurrected for us. His death solved our problems on the negative side, resulting in our redemption. His resurrection also accomplished many positive things, resulting in our salvation.
1. “Raised for our justification” (Rom. 4:25 see also John 16:10).
The Lord’s resurrection proves that His death satisfied God’s righteous requirements. Since His death satisfied God, God raised Him from the dead. His death paid our debt to God’s righteousness. Although the debt was paid, the proof of His payment required a “receipt.” Although the Lord died to pay our debt, we would have no proof of His payment without His resurrection. Thus, we would not know whether His death satisfied God’s righteous requirement as well as God Himself. His resurrection was a “receipt” issued by God according to His righteousness upon payment of the debt. His resurrection declares that His death satisfied God’s righteous requirement; thus, God can justify us according to His righteousness. When we see the Lord’s resurrection and ascension, we are clear that our debt before God has been paid and that a “receipt” was issued. We no longer have any problems before God; God has justified us.
2. “Regenerated us...through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Pet. 1:3).
The Lord’s resurrection from the dead released His life and imparted His life into us by means of the Holy Spirit so that we could be regenerated. Therefore, His resurrection not only resulted in our justification objectively but also gave us a life that works out righteousness subjectively.
3. “If Christ has not been raised...you are still in your sins” (1 Cor. 15:17).
If Christ had not been raised, we would still be in our sins, because without His resurrection, we could not have received the life that delivers us from sin. Since Christ’s resurrection caused us to obtain the life of deliverance, it has delivered us from sin. We have Christ’s resurrection life; thus, we can have a sinless living in this sinful world.
A man who sold Bibles from village to village told people that if they would read the Bible, they would be able to refrain from sin. A scholar who heard him asked, “How can man not sin in this world of sin?” He said, “It is possible! A fish can live in the sea without being salty.” A person who possesses Christ’s resurrection life can live in this sinful world without being contaminated by sin.
4. “In Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:22, see also vv. 17-18, 20-21; John 11:25-26).
The death of Christ dealt with our sins. The resurrection of Christ delivered us from death, because Christ’s resurrection gave us a life that cannot be held by death (Acts 2:24), a life that overcomes death and breaks the power of death. Those who believe in Christ and have His life “shall by no means die forever” (John 11:26); even if we should die, we shall live (v. 25).
We were dead in Adam, but through the resurrection of Christ we obtained His life. Christ’s life swallowed death; thus, we can be delivered from death in Adam and live forever. Even if we die, we will be raised. Just as Christ’s death eliminated the dread of sin and solved the problem of sin, His resurrection eliminated the fear of death and solved the problem of death.
5. “Made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:5, see also v. 6; Rom. 6:5; Col. 2:12).
God’s way of salvation included not only our dying with Christ but also our being made alive together with Him. We died with Him; we were also made alive with Him. Dying with Him, on the negative side, delivered us from the old creation and everything apart from God. Being made alive with Him, on the positive side, brought us into the new creation and everything that is in God. His death delivered us from everything outside of God; His resurrection brought us into everything that is in God.
6. “Because I live, you also shall live” (John 14:19).
We were made alive with Christ, and His resurrection life entered into us and is living in us. Because He lives, we also live. His resurrection and resurrection life cause us to live with Him. We live with Him by and through His resurrection life.
7. “It is Christ who lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).
We were raised with Christ and live with Him, and He also lives in us by His resurrection life. Christ not only died for us but also lives in us. He died for us on the cross, and in resurrection He lives in us. He died on the cross once for all according to God’s righteous requirement, but He is always living in us so that we may live a holy life. His death on the cross satisfied God’s righteous requirement; His living in us causes us to live a life of holiness. He died for us that we might be justified; He lives in us that we may be sanctified. He lives in us to be our holiness, life, power, and everything.
God has not given us a dead salvation but a living salvation. Christ’s death and resurrection are the main elements of God’s salvation. The death of Christ is related to the negative aspect of God’s salvation, whereas the resurrection of Christ is related to the positive aspect of God’s salvation. These two aspects show God’s full salvation. God’s salvation would be incomplete if either of these were missing. God could not solve our problems on the negative side without Christ’s death, and God could not bring us into His riches on the positive side without Christ’s resurrection. Praise and thank the Lord that Christ died and resurrected! God’s salvation includes Christ’s death and resurrection.
After the Lord died and resurrected for us, He ascended for us. His death solved our problems, His resurrection enabled us to obtain God’s life, and His ascension brought us into a heavenly position.
1. “Having ascended to the height, He led captive those taken captive” (Eph. 4:8).
In the original Greek the phrase rendered “He led captive those taken captive” means that He led captive the vanquishing power of the enemy. On the cross the Lord Jesus destroyed Satan and his power, and in His ascension He vanquished Satan’s power to capture people. The Lord disarmed Satan, rendering him powerless to capture people.
2. “Seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies, far above all” (Eph. 1:20-21).
The ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ put Him far above all that is on the earth as well as all that is in the air, where Satan rules. The Lord Jesus is above everything, both on the earth and in the heavens. In both space and time, in this age and in the coming age, He is far above all. He is over everything that belongs to the dark power of Satan. All things are under His feet.
3. “Seated us together with Him in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6).
In God’s salvation we died with Christ and were made alive with Christ; we were also seated with Him in the heavenlies. God placed us in Christ, uniting us with Him; thus, we died and resurrected with Christ and are seated with Him in the heavenlies. The Christ who is seated in the heavenlies also lives in us. We are joined to the heavens by Christ who is within us. This is similar to an electric lamp in a home being connected to a power plant because of the electricity within the lamp. It is as if the lamp is in the power plant. Because of the life of Christ within us, we are joined to the heavenly Christ and seated together with Him in the heavenlies. As He is above all, so also are we. The power of darkness is under Christ’s feet; therefore, it is also under our feet. Christ’s ascension enables us to partake of this heavenly position, far above every enemy. If we remain in this heavenly position, every enemy is under our feet.
4. “Your life is hidden with Christ in God” (Col. 3:1-3).
The resurrection of Christ enables us to receive His life. Christ’s life is God’s life. We are joined to God with Christ in His life. We are in Christ, and Christ is in God; therefore, we are hidden with Christ in God. In God we are transcendent, above the earth; in God we rest and are kept.
5. “Therefore having been exalted to the right hand of God and having received...the Holy Spirit...He has poured out this” (Acts 2:33).
In His ascension the Lord Jesus led captive those taken captive, brought us into the heavenlies far above all, and poured out the Holy Spirit that we might be endued with the power of the Holy Spirit to testify for the Lord Jesus on the earth. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit is a result of the ascension of the Lord Jesus; it also proves that He ascended. When we see the ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is easy to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s death enables us to put off our old man, His resurrection enables us to obtain His life, and His ascension enables us to receive the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
6. “Having ascended to the height, He...gave gifts to men” (Eph. 4:8).
When the Lord Jesus ascended to the height, He poured out the Holy Spirit in order to empower us to testify. The Lord also gave different gifts, causing us to receive grace to serve Him in the church. In His ascension He poured out the Holy Spirit and gave gifts. The Holy Spirit empowers us for the Lord’s testimony; the gifts equip us to serve the Lord and to build up the church. In order to serve Him, the Lord gave different gifts. This was accomplished in His ascension.
The Lord saved us so that we might serve Him. His death solved all our problems in order to free us from every kind of bondage. His resurrection imparted His life into us and made us alive together with Him. His ascension raised us far above Satan’s power of darkness, and He gave the Holy Spirit and gifts, enabling us to serve Him.
The Lord’s redemption includes His second coming. Without the Lord’s return, we could not enjoy His full redemption. Although we were delivered from the punishment and power of sin through the Lord’s death and resurrection, we often still sense the presence of sin. We were delivered from a sinful living by the Lord’s life, but we often still feel the working of sin within us. Today we witness many sinful situations around us. The life within us is spiritual and is connected to the heavens, but today we are still in the flesh on the earth. Furthermore, the earth is filled with darkness and evil, and everything on the earth gives us a negative sensation. Our bodies are weak and sick as well. All creation is decaying, groaning, and travailing in pain. Whenever we think of the Lord and fellowship with Him, we are inwardly soothed. Yet when we see evil situations, such as moral degradation and material corruption, our heart is grieved. All these negative things need to be set right by the Lord’s coming back.
1. “I...will receive you to Myself” (John 14:3).
Although the Lord’s ascension brought us into a heavenly reality and position, our actual entrance into the heavens awaits the Lord’s coming and our rapture. We have the Lord’s presence, but we are still on the earth, which is full of evil, filthiness, turmoil, unrest, and pain. The earth cannot compare with the bright, heavenly home and the glorious, holy city that the Lord has prepared for us. In order to leave the earth, we need the Lord to return and rapture us. When the Lord comes again, He will rapture us to our heavenly Father’s home. At that time we will be delivered from the earth, which is filled with suffering and sin.
2. “The dead in Christ will rise first” (1 Thes. 4:16, see also vv. 13-15, 17-18; 1 Cor. 15:23, 52; John 11:25; Rev. 20:4-6).
The Bible reveals that when the believers die, although their bodies are buried in the grave, their souls enter into Paradise. When the Lord returns, He will resurrect the dead believers by His power; that is, He will cause their souls to return from Paradise and their bodies to come up out of the grave. Their souls and their bodies will be united and become incorruptible. The believers will then be completely delivered from death and the grave.
We know the pain and grief of separation caused by death. If the believers have any saved relatives or friends who have died, the pain of separation will be removed only when the Lord comes to resurrect them, and we meet each other again. Therefore, when the Lord returns to resurrect them, they will be delivered from death and the grave; at the same time, we who are living will be delivered from the pain of separation from our friends and relatives. Their hope and our hope is in the Lord’s coming again.
3. “Then we [believers] who are living, who are left remaining, will be caught up...in the clouds to meet the Lord...and thus we will be always with the Lord” (1 Thes. 4:17).
When the Lord returns, the dead believers will be delivered from death and the grave and will be raised up. The living believers who are left remaining on the earth will be raptured out of the unrest and suffering on the earth together with the resurrected believers. They will meet the Lord in the air and will be with Him eternally. Although we have the Lord’s presence within us, we are outwardly separated from the Lord and live in a world full of sufferings. When the Lord returns and we are raptured, we will be completely — even outwardly — delivered from the restless and painful realm of the earth to be with the Lord forever.
4. “The redemption of our body”; “Who will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory” (Rom. 8:23; Phil. 3:21 see also Rom. 8:24-25; Phil. 3:20; Luke 21:27-28; Eph. 4:30; 1 Cor. 15:51-54; 2 Cor. 5:1-4).
The Lord’s death redeemed our person, and His resurrection regenerated our spirit; thus, we were saved, transformed, and became a new creation. However, our body, which is contaminated and corrupted by sin, is not yet saved or redeemed. Because our body is still in the old creation and is ruled by corruption, it causes us to suffer and groan because of weakness, sickness, and pain. When the Lord returns, He will transfigure our contaminated, corrupted, and vile body “to be conformed to the body of His glory, according to His operation by which He is able even to subject all things to Himself” (Phil. 3:21). He will change the nature of our body: corruptible will put on incorruption, and mortal will put on immortality. The Lord’s resurrection life will swallow up all the death in our body. Our body will be redeemed to enter into glory; our whole being will be redeemed to enter into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (Rom. 8:21). At that time we will obtain full sonship.
Our body is a temporal tabernacle. When we are clothed with our glorious body, we will enter into an eternal abode. Today we groan and toil in our temporal tabernacle, but when we enter into the eternal building, our groaning and toil will cease. This will be accomplished through the Lord’s return.
5. “The hope of glory”; “Like Him” (Col. 1:27; 1 John 3:2-3).
Although the Lord’s resurrection gave us His life and nature and made us like Him inwardly, we do not have His likeness outwardly. When the Lord returns, He will transfigure our body; we will have His glorious image outwardly and will be like Him in our whole being. This glorious likeness is the hope of glory. Today Christ is in us to be our life, but when He returns, He will saturate our body from within; that is, He will change our body so that it expresses His glorious image. This is the hope of glory. We will obtain this hope of glory when the Lord comes again.
Before the Lord’s return, no one can realize the Lord’s salvation to the uttermost. We must wait until the Lord returns in order to be made fully like Him. Then we will realize how high and wonderful His salvation is. At that time the Lord’s life, which is the Lord Himself, will come out from within us to be our glory. Today He is the hope of glory within us. In the future He will come out from within us, transfiguring us to be completely like Him within and without. Our transfiguration is simply the Lord’s resurrection life saturating us from within until we are exactly like Him both inwardly and outwardly.
6. “Manifested with Him in glory” (Col. 3:4 see also Rom. 8:17-19).
When the Lord comes again, we will not only enter into His glory but also appear with Him in glory. The Lord’s resurrection enabled Him to enter into us to be our life, but His life within us is a hidden mystery and a hidden glory. In the Lord’s ascension our life is hidden with Christ in God, but this also is a hidden mystery and a hidden exaltation. Only when the Lord returns will our hidden relationship in life and the mystery that has been hidden with Christ in God be manifested in open glory. At His return the Lord will reveal to the entire universe that He is our life within and our glory without and that we are joined with Him to God to appear in God’s glory. What a glory that will be! What a glorious manifestation! We must say, “Hallelujah!”
Since the glory that will appear to us is so great, the apostle Paul says, “I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed upon us” (v. 18). Even the creation is anxiously waiting for us, the sons of God, to appear in glory (v. 19).
7. “Rest with us” (2 Thes. 1:7, see also vv. 8-10).
Although we have the Lord’s peace and rest inwardly, we still face tribulation and persecution outwardly. When the Lord returns, He will rapture us to be with Him and will transfigure us. Then our entire being will fully enjoy the Lord’s rest and enter into His peace and joy. The Lord will be glorified in us, and the people in the world will be surprised and marvel at the Lord in us.
8. “They...will reign with Him” (Rev. 20:6, see also v. 4).
We are a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9). God saved us to serve Him in His presence, and He wants us to also be kings to reign over the people on the earth. Today we serve God as priests, but we are not yet kings ruling over the people on the earth. When the Lord comes again, we will reign with Him over the nations of the earth.
The Lord’s salvation is indeed high. The Lord gave us His life that we may be the children of God, and He gave us His authority that we may be the kings of God. Through His resurrection we received His life to be God’s children, but He must come again in order for us to receive His authority to be God’s kings. Therefore, the Lord’s coming will bring us to the highest point of God’s salvation.
9. “They will not hunger anymore, neither will they thirst anymore” (Rev. 7:16, see also v.17).
As we live on the earth, we cannot escape the pressures of life, the difficulties of our environment, and natural calamities, all of which cause grief and tears. Only when the Lord returns and we are raptured to His presence will these things be removed completely. Then there will be no more hunger and thirst, no more hardships of life or natural calamities. The Lord will shepherd us and guide us to the springs of waters of life, and God will wipe away every tear from our eyes.
10. “He laid hold of the dragon, the ancient serpent, who is the Devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years and cast him into the abyss” (Rev. 20:2-3).
Although the Lord judged Satan on the cross, that judgment has not yet been fully executed. Satan is still rampaging on the earth, especially tormenting God’s children. When the Lord returns, He will fully execute the judgment that He accomplished on the cross upon Satan. Satan will be bound and cast into the abyss. He will be powerless to act or damage anyone.
The Lord’s return will take care of many situations for us, accomplish many things for us, and bring us the blessings that can be received only at His coming back. Thank the Lord that His salvation includes not only His death, resurrection, and ascension but also His second coming. He died, resurrected, and ascended, and He will come again. His return is our hope of glory, a blessed hope. May we long for and await His second coming!
