SEVEN INCORRUPTIBLE THINGS Part 2

by John Lowe
(Laurens SC, USA)

OUR HEAVENLY HOME (1 PET.1:4).
IN 1 PETER 1:4, IT TALKS ABOUT OUR INHERITANCE IN HEAVEN: “TO AN INHERITANCE INCORRUPTIBLE, AND UNDEFILED, AND THAT FADETH NOT AWAY, RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU.”
CHRISTIANS HAVE AN INHERITANCE IN HEAVEN THAT IS “INCORRUPTIBLE.” THAT MEANS IT IS INDESTRUCTIBLE. IT CANNOT BE DAMAGED IN ANY WAY—NO RUST, NO MOTH, NO GERM, NO FIRE CAN TOUCH IT.

THE VERSE ALSO SAYS THAT OUR INHERITANCE IS “UNDEFILED.” THAT INDICATES THAT IT IS NOT STAINED OR DEFILED BY ANYTHING. AND IT’S “RESERVED IN HEAVEN FOR YOU.” THE WORD “RESERVED” MEANS THAT IT’S GUARDED. GOD THE FATHER, GOD THE SON AND GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT ARE TAKING CARE OF IT FOR US. WE COULDN’T HAVE A BETTER SAFETY DEPOSIT BOX THAN THAT!

I READ ABOUT A MAN WHO WAS WILLED A BEAUTIFUL HOUSE IN LOUISIANA, BUT THE VERY NIGHT THE ORIGINAL OWNER DIED, THE HOUSE CAUGHT ON FIRE AND BURNED DOWN—AND THERE WAS NO INSURANCE. THE WONDERFUL HOME HE WAS TO INHERIT WENT UP IN SMOKE. MY FRIENDS, AS BELIEVERS, WE HAVE AN INHERITANCE THAT’S INCORRUPTIBLE; IT WILL NEVER GO UP IN SMOKE.
THIS IS A WONDERFUL THING TO LOOK FORWARD TO! THAT INHERITANCE IS IMPERISHABLE, INDESTRUCTIBLE, AND NO ENEMY CAN TAKE IT AWAY FROM US. HERE IS A POEM THAT DOES A GOOD JOB EXPRESSING THIS THOUGHT.

IT WILL ALWAYS BE NEW; IT WILL NEVER DECAY.
NO NIGHT EVER COMES; IT WILL ALWAYS BE DAY.
HOW IT GLADDENS MY HEART WITH JOY THAT’S UNTOLD
TO THINK OF THAT LAND WHERE NOTHING GROWS OLD.

THE BIBLE DESCRIBES TWO INHERITANCES FOR THE BELIEVER. ALL BELIEVERS HAVE GOD AS THEIR INHERITANCE AND AS A RESULT WILL GO TO HEAVEN WHEN THEY DIE. IT SAYS IN GALATIANS 4:7, “THEREFORE YOU ARE NO LONGER A SLAVE BUT A SON, AND IF A SON, THEN AN HEIR OF GOD THROUGH CHRIST.” THIS INHERITANCE IS RECEIVED ON THE GROUNDS OF FAITH ALONE. HOWEVER, ANOTHER INHERITANCE IS OFFERED ON THE BASIS OF WORKS AS A REWARD OR PAYMENT FOR FAITHFUL SERVICE. THROUGH SALVATION, WE BECOME CHILDREN OF GOD, ADOPTED INTO HIS FAMILY—HEIRS TO HIS RICHES ON EARTH AND IN HEAVEN.

ARE YOU A CHILD OF GOD THROUGH FAITH IN JESUS CHRIST? THEN YOU ARE ALSO AN HEIR, AND ALL OF CHRIST’S RICHES ARE YOURS.

OUR TRANSFORMED RESURRECTION BODIES (1 COR.15:42).
IN 1 CORINTHIANS WE ARE TOLD, “SO ALSO IS THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD. THE BODY IS SOWN IN CORRUPTION, IT IS RAISED IN INCORRUPTION.” THIS BODY THAT IS HERE TODAY IS CORRUPTIBLE, BUT MY FUTURE BODY WILL BE INCORRUPTIBLE.

IN THIS WORLD EVERYTHING IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE AND DECAY. YOUTHFUL BEAUTY FADES AND OUR STRENGTH FADES. BUT IN THE WORLD TO COME, GOD WILL BE THE SOURCE OF OUR STRENGTH, AND BEAUTY WILL NEVER LOSE ITS GLOW.

THIS PRESENT BODY IS DISHONORED BECAUSE OF THE SINFUL NATURE IT INHERITED. BUT THE FUTURE BODY WILL BE IN GLORY. IN THE LIFE TO COME, OUR BODIES WILL NO LONGER BE THE SERVANTS OF SIN. INSTEAD, THEY WILL BE INSTRUMENTS OF SERVICE TO GOD, AND THERE IS NO GREATER HONOR THAN THAT. THIS PRESENT BODY IS WEAK, BUT THE FUTURE BODY WILL BE POWERFUL.

TODAY, WE TALK A LOT ABOUT THE STRENGTH OF OUR ATHLETES, BUT IT’S REMARKABLE HOW WEAK THEIR BODIES REALLY ARE WHEN A MICROSCOPIC GERM CAN KILL THEM. WE ARE LIMITED IN THIS LIFE BY WHAT OUR BODIES CAN DO. TIME AND AGAIN WE BECOME FRUSTRATED BY THE LIMITATIONS OF OUR BODIES. AND THAT’S ESPECIALLY TRUE AS YOU GROW OLD. BUT IN THE LIFE TO COME, THE LIMITATIONS WILL BE GONE. HERE WE ARE RESTRICTED BY OUR WEAKNESS; THERE WE WILL BE CLOTHED WITH POWER. THIS PRESENT BODY IS A NATURAL BODY; THE FUTURE BODY WILL BE A SPIRITUAL BODY. HERE, THE SPIRIT CANNOT COMPLETELY USE US; BUT THERE, WE WILL BE ABLE TO GIVE THE PERFECT WORSHIP, THE PERFECT SERVICE, THE PERFECT LOVE THAT NOW CAN ONLY BE A HOPE OR A DREAM.

FOLKS, WE HAVE A LIVING HOPE. JESUS CHRIST WILL COME AGAIN, AND THE DEAD IN CHRIST WILL BE RAISED, AND WE WILL HAVE GLORIFIED BODIES LIKE CHRIST’S BODY. KEEP IN MIND THAT RESURRECTION IS NOT RECONSTRUCTION. GOD DOES NOT REASSEMBLE THE ORIGINAL BODY THAT HAS TURNED TO DUST.THE RESURRECTION BODY IS RELATED TO THE EARTHLY BODY IN THE SAME SENSE THAT THE PLANT IS RELATED TO THE SEED. YET, IT WILL BE DIFFERENT. IT IS SOWN IN CORRUPTION; IT IS RAISED IN INCORRUPTION.

CONCLUSION
THE HYMN WRITER SAID:
“CHANGE AND DECAY IN ALL AROUND I SEE;
O THOU WHO CHANGEST NOT, ABIDE WITH ME.”

LET’S REVIEW THE SEVEN INCORRUPTIBLE THINGS. THEY ARE GOD HIMSELF; JESUS, THE KING OF KINGS; THE WORD OF GOD; THE CHRISTIAN’S REWARD; THE INNER BEAUTY OF THE SPIRIT-TRANSFORMED SOUL; OUR HEAVENLY HOME; AND OUR TRANSFORMED RESURRECTION BODIES.
DID YOU NOTICE THAT ALL SEVEN ARE EITHER GOD OR THEY HAVE BEEN ESTABLISHED FOR ETERNITY BY HIM?

GOD NEVER CHANGES, JESUS NEVER CHANGES AND THE HOLY SPIRIT NEVER CHANGES: THEY ARE THE SAME YESTERDAY, TODAY AND FOREVER. AND THE SAME CAN BE SAID ABOUT THOSE THINGS THAT GOD ESTABLISHES FOR OUR BENEFIT. WE CAN ALWAYS TRUST HIM BECAUSE HE NEVER CHANGES. GOD CANNOT BE CORRUPTED, AND NEITHER CAN THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
LET’S PRAY AND THANK HIM FOR SAVING US, AND LET’S WORSHIP HIM AS THE INCORRUPTIBLE GOD AND FATHER OF ALL WHO BELIEVE IN HIS SON.

AMEN.