CHRIST'S INCREASING KINGDOM "And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:18, NIV) STRENGTH TO STRENGTH "They go from strength to strength, every one of them in Zion appeareth before God." (Psa 84:7, KJV) -- Tomorrow:
"For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given: and the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, The Everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace. OF THE INCREASE OF HIS GOVERNMENT AND PEACE THERE SHALL BE NO END, upon the throne of David, and upon His kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will perform this!" (Isaiah 9:6-7)
Devotion 31 of 36
GLORY TO GLORY
The New Covenant is glorious. It is the administration of the Holy Spirit of God, who moves the saved toward their appointed culmination. As it is written, "But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit" (2 Cor 3:18, NASB). The phrase "from glory to glory" describes a state of advance. We are being transformed, or changed, from one stage of glory to another. The NRSV translates the phrase, "from one degree of glory to another." The NIV emphasizes continuous improvement; i.e., "with ever-increasing glory."
Those within Christ Jesus have been called into a Divinely appointed process. The Father has predetermined the destiny of those abiding in the Son. It is that they "be conformed to the image of His Son" (Rom 8:29). Having been made "partakers of Christ" (Heb 3:14), believers are becoming more like the Son. They are being brought from one stage of glory to another, by the Spirit of our God! It is not possible to "abide in the Vine" and avoid this transformation – and there is no salvation without it! In fact, this is what salvation IS. This is the outworking of the increasing nature of Christ's kingdom. It is not something we SHOULD do, but something that actually occurs in fellowship with the Son!
Within the realm of nature, strength dissipates. As it is written, "outwardly we are wasting away" (2 Cor 4:16). Time eventually erodes our natural energies. Some manage to stay remarkably adept, even though they are old. But every one of them will tell you, their outward man is perishing! That is the disposition of our physical nature.
From the attitudes of the contemporary church, it appears that some believe deterioration also characterizes the spiritual man. Older ministers are retired, and those of mature years are placed on the religious shelf to waste away. Their understanding is considered inappropriate for the modern times. The new age for ministers of the Word is thought to be 20-35. But such responses to age are wrong – seriously wrong! In Christ's kingdom, spiritual strength does not abate with age. With a clear prophetic note, the Psalmist wrote, "They go from strength to strength, Every one of them appears before God in Zion" (Psa 84:7, NASB).
When the Lord's Christ was born, He was dedicated by an old priest. Although he held an infant in his hands, Simeon knew he had seen the salvation of God. The first one to tell those waiting for redemption in Jerusalem of the Lord's Christ was an aged woman, Anna the prophetess. How unlike the modern church! Two aged people employed to see and announce the greatest birth that ever has or will take place in the earth (Lk 2:25-28). Within, they had grown stronger in the faith. With keen spiritual vision, they were able to see what other seemingly qualified people were unable to see! To put it another way, this world did not distract them.
Moses stands as an example in this regard. Although he died at the age of 120, it is said of him, "And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim, nor his natural force abated" (Deut 34:7). Truly, he went "from strength unto strength." Another faithful man of Moses' generation was Caleb. At the age of eighty-five, he was anything but weak. "I am still as strong today as I was in the day Moses sent me; as my strength was then, so my strength is now, for war and for going out and coming in. Now then, give me this hill country about which the LORD spoke on that day, for you heard on that day that Anakim were there, with great fortified cities; perhaps the LORD will be with me, and I shall drive them out as the LORD has spoken" (Josh 14:11-12). He stands an historical example of the spiritual reality of which we speak!
See Paul at the close of his life. He is not spiritually decrepit. He is strong in faith, giving glory to God! Having fought a good fight to the end, he was ready to be offered to his God in full vigor and strength. "For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith" (2 Tim 4:6-7).
Spiritual strength consists of a number of things, all of which increase in strength and vitality. Spiritual insight, moral strength, and the ability to work in the Lord's harvest fields, do not dim as we walk in the Spirit. Those blessed with a "sound mind" will reason more soundly when they are old than when they were young! They will see more and further in the heavenly Kingdom than they did in their youth. Their spiritual energies remain remarkable, and are only handicapped by their deteriorating bodies. Their earthly tabernacles are not able to keep up with the increasing energy of their spirit! People in Christ DO go from "strength unto strength" -- from one degree of strength to another increasing measure.
You will notice this strength is related to appearing before their God: "They go from strength to strength, till each appears before God in Zion" (NIV). The point is this: as we approach the Lord, increasing strength is necessary! We must push away from the course of this world, and press into the heavenly realms. That requires spiritual strength – increasing spiritual strength! This is what Jesus referred to when He said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force" (Matt 11:12). Suffice it to say, without that sort of spiritual tenacity, no progress will be made in the Kingdom. That is simply the nature of the Kingdom. It is an increasing one! As it is written, "For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day" (2 Cor 4:16).
PRAYER POINT: Father, in the name of Jesus. I thank You for the robust and increasing nature of spiritual life.