KINGDOM BIBLE STUDIES

"For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. 3:20-21).

There has been a general misunderstanding of the Word of God throughout Christendom concerning the truth of the coming of the Lord; for it is clear as we consider all the scriptures on the subject that the Lord's coming is first and foremost a spiritual manifestation of Himself to and through His people. Paul therefore associates the coming of the Lord with a mighty revelation of the life, glory and power of God IN THE SAINTS. "And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with His mighty angels ... when He shall come to be GLORIFIED I-N HIS S-A-I-N-T-S, and to be admired I-N ALL THEM that believe in that day" (II Thes. 1:7, 10).

Obviously, this revelation of the Christ in and through His body IS the coming of the Lord, and signals the full embodiment and transcendental expression of the totality of His life and victory in His saints. It is the second Man, the last Adam, the Lord from heaven completed as a corporate body and unveiled before the world in all the splendor of His celestial Being. The words of the inspired apostle Paul come sounding like a trumpet through the centuries: "The first man was from out of earth, made of dust - earth-minded; the second Man is the Lord from out of heaven. Now those who are made of the dust are like him who was first made of the dust - earth-minded; and as is the Man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven - heaven-minded. And just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, so shall we and so let us bear the image of the Man of heaven" (I Cor. 15:47-49, Amplified).

God's purpose in man's redemption is not to just deliver us from the penalty of our sins, but to re-create us, to make a new creature of us, a new kind of man in the image of Him who created us. Having been molded and fashioned after the image of the first man, we have now put off that likeness and put on the image and likeness of the second man, the Lord from heaven. We must put off the image of the earthy, and put on the image of the heavenly; we must be changed from the natural, earthly, living creatures we first were to be recreated as spiritual, heavenly ones. This is not an option, it is a must; it is not discretional, it is necessary if we are to inherit the Kingdom. So the scriptures declare, "And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." My, what a purpose this is! To be changed from what we were created naturally, to be transformed, to be changed, to be transfigured into the image of the heavenly. It staggers the imagination to contemplate such a change; but change we must if we are to inherit the promises.

This marvelous change involves the whole man, spirit, soul and body. Many seem to think that a spiritual body is not a LITERAL body. In other words, that it is not a REAL body, or not actually a body at all, but a consciousness or a spirit. Literal, says Webster, means REAL; not figurative or metaphorical. "There is a NATURAL BODY, and there is a SPIRITUAL BODY," saith the Lord. Does any one suppose the apostle here teaches that there is a "real" body, and there is a "figurative" or "metaphorical" body; and as we have borne the image of the "real," we shall bear the image of the "figurative"? One would suppose they so read, from their exceeding blindness in not recognizing any but the animal body as a "true" body. They seem fearful lest, if the idea be entertained that Christ was resurrected in any other than an animal body, it will lead to the rejection of a LITERAL resurrection. We do reject the idea of saints being raised "a NATURAL body;" and if that is rejecting a LITERAL resurrection of the saints, we must plead guilty, and beg to be excused simply on the ground that the Almighty has said, "It is raised a SPIRITUAL BODY" (I Cor. 15:44).

Now will someone inform me why it is unscriptural, or fanatical to maintain that Jesus Christ has a SPIRITUAL body; and, as the saints are to be like Him, that they are raised spiritual bodies. Because some seem to think that a spiritual body is not REAL, but is only a metaphorical body; and that nothing is real except it be "of the earth, earthy," is no reason why those who can discern spiritual things, which the natural man cannot, should remain in darkness. The realm of the spiritual is a realm which, to those who touch it, is ten thousand times more real than the natural world. Man has been excluded from this heavenly realm ever since that calamitous hour when he stretched forth his inquisitive hand to discover by his natural senses that which is good and that which is evil. On that unhappy day his eyes were closed to the celestial world to discover the physical and natural and to be instructed in this barren realm of death. And yet that heavenly realm is as close to us today as it was then, the only difference being that our darkened vision cannot see it!

By His resurrection from the dead Jesus opened up to man again the spiritual realm "The same day, at evening, when the doors were shut, where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in their midst" (Jn. 20:19). "And after eight days, again His disciples were within, then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in their midst, and said, Peace be unto you" (Jn. 20:'20). "And their EYES WERE OPENED, and they knew Him, and He vanished out of their sight" (Lk. 24:31). Such language was never applied to the movements of Jesus before His crucifixion, and is used only in speaking of spiritual beings. The spiritual body of Jesus, and its clothing, which appeared suddenly while the doors were shut, did not go out the door, but simply disappeared or de-materialized into the same elements from which He had created them a few moments before. He vanished out of their sight, and was no longer seen of them on the physical plane, though doubtless He was still with them - invisibly present; and so also much of the time during those forty days. This is how it is with spiritual beings. When the Lord and the angels appeared to Abraham in that long ago, "He lifted up his eyes and looked, and, lo, three men stood by him" (Gen. 18:2). He did not see them coming, but, apparently, it was just here, at his side, they took on a visible form.

So it was that distant morning in the dusty little town of Dothan. Standing before the gates of the town and encircling its walls stood the hosts of Syria with horsemen and chariots, spears and swords and banners, a mighty and well-equipped army to capture one humble and harmless prophet of God. It was this army that Elisha's servant, Gehazi, saw. But there was another and greater army that stood about Dothan that day, for upon the slopes and peaks of the nearby mountain were arrayed the numberless hosts of the Lord with horses and chariots of fire. "My father, my father," cried the terrified Gehazi, "alas, what shall we do?" The dismay and terror that gripped the emotions of this young man filled the heart of Elisha with pity, and, lifting his eyes to heaven Elisha prayed, saying, "Lord, I pray Thee, OPEN HIS EYES that he may see." And the Lord opened the eyes of the servant, and he saw. And, behold, the mountain was full of horses of fire, and chariots of fire round about Elisha (II Kings 6:13-23).

Spiritual bodies are represented as SHINING as the lightning. The heavenly messenger who came to roll back the stone from the door of the sepulcher where Jesus had been laid was described thus: "His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow" (Mat. 28:3). When Jesus was transfigured before His disciples upon the dizzy heights of Mount Hermon "His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light" (Mat. 17:2). When Saul of Tarsus met this same Jesus following His resurrection and glorification, the SHINING was so bright that he fell from his horse and his sight was destroyed as by a blazing sun; and yet "the men that journeyed with him saw no man." And it is written, "Who maketh His messengers spirits, and His ministers a flame of FIRE" (Heb. 1:7). Moses walked with his flock along the backside of the wind-swept desert when "the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a FLAME OF FIRE out of the midst of the bush" (Ex. 3:2). And while shepherds tended their flocks one starlit night just outside Bethlehem, suddenly, "the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the GLORY of the Lord SHONE round about them: and they were sore afraid" (Lk. 2:9).

These were one and all appearances of spiritual beings from the spiritual realm. It is a wonderful fact that the elect sons of God are destined to rule and reign with Christ in the Kingdom of Heaven from that higher sphere. This is a presently UNEXPLORED AND UNKNOWN REALM OF LIFE so far as we are concerned. The natural mind cannot THINK ITSELF into such a realm of life as this by any kind of confession, positive thinking, or self-induced raised consciousness. It is only by the inspiration of the Spirit of God that we ever get even a glimpse of a realm so transcendent and glorious. No man knows the things of God, but the Spirit of God does, and as God wills we are given understanding. The curtain is beginning to open and some are seeing that which lies before us to be apprehended, praise His wonderful name!

The spiritual world is a world with which we become familiar as we walk in the Spirit of God and experience more and more our union with the Father; a world so wonderfully real that all who once have had their eyes opened to it beg to remain in its celestial precincts, never more to return to the lowly estate and level of the natural man. And now I declare that not only the heavenly hosts, but heaven itself is all around you even as you read these lines, and, should the Lord but take away the veil of flesh from your sight, your eyes would behold the celestial realm and you would see that beings, incredible in glory and power, are all about us; for the Lord is not far from any one of us.

It follows of necessity that man's being, because it is unsuited to the spiritual world, must be changed by the power of God. A bird would need a mighty change to be able to live under the water, or a fish to live in the air; but the Lord promises a much more striking change to those who are predestinated to be manifested as the sons of God with power.

Unknown millenniums ago Job uttered an inspired statement as he sat among the dust and ashes of his desolation and affliction. "If a man die, shall he live again? All the days of my appointed time will I wait UNTIL MY CHANGE COME. Thou shalt call and I will answer Thee; Thou wilt have a desire to the work of Thy hands" (Job 14:14-15). Never did Job utter a statement which bears out the absolute FAITHFULNESS of God to His creatures more than in this passage. He says, So what? If a man comes to the point where he goes by way of the grave - shall he live again? Is that the end? And then he answers his own question. He made reference to an APPOINTED TIME OF WAITING, through which we must pass until OUR CHANGE COME. We will not be left in this "unfinished state." There is much more work to be wrought in us before we are FULLY CHANGED. But even physical death will not deny us that fulfillment, because sooner or later, HE WILL CALL, and we will answer, because it is not dependent upon our state or condition, but upon HIS CALLING AND PURPOSE, and He has a desire to the work of His hands, the end is secure in the FAITHFUL CREATOR'S DESIRE to finish the work of His hands; His desire is towards us and that is the guarantee of our full redemption.

The appointed period of waiting is this long, long night of waiting until all that we hope for in Him springs into full manifestation, but there is not one experience that is unnecessary, not one precious moment that is wasted. Dread not this appointed night of waiting, dread not this difficult time of processing. It is our Father Himself who has ordained that we should proceed this way, and, when He has tried us we shall come forth as gold. Yea, we shall come forth in the likeness of Him who has passed this way before us, and has stepped forth from the darkness of this death realm into the power and glory of resurrection life full and abundant.

God has so beautifully provided a parable of this blessed truth in the world of nature about us. Caterpillars do not lead very exciting lives. They are, indeed, to be pitied. They never travel very far and when they do tremendous exertions are required. After all, what enthralling sights do they see down there grovelling in the dirt? Picture the ugly, slimy, repulsive caterpillar! We instinctively shrink from it as it wriggles and squirms threateningly. But the lowly caterpillar which crawls along the ground, trod upon by the foot of man, is destined to fly on starry wings in a heavenly atmosphere no longer hampered by earth-bound things but transformed as though by God's Spirit from a creature of the dust to one which has put on a somewhat heavenly tabernacle.

We find ourselves in a condition today not unlike the lowly caterpillar. It starts out its life as a creepy, crawly thing, with a long body and many feet, possessing a voracious appetite, and does nothing but gorge itself on the plant on which it was born. This same creature in due time fashions itself a cocoon, enters into the chrysalis stage, then the pupa stage, and through this mysterious and wonderful process undergoes a complete change, so that when it bursts forth from its crypt of death it is an entirely transformed creature, not at all like the worm that it was to start with. It is now a creature of the air, adapted to the heavenly, and spends its time flying around the heavens, bearing the rich hues of all heavenly things, and gathering the most exquisite of nectars. This change is what in science is called a METAMORPHOSIS.

Paul sets forth the majesty of that supernal glory that now appears like a beckoning beacon before the anointed vision of the sons of God: "As we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (I Cor. 15:49). He also explains exactly how this ineffable change is to take place within the elect. "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are CHANGED into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (II Cor. 3:18). "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye TRANSFORMED by the renewing of your mind" (Rom. 12:2). "For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour ... who shall CHANGE our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself" (Phil. 3:20-21).

Literally Paul says that we are being METAMORPHOSED into the image of the heavenly, and that God will METAMORPHOSE even our vile bodies. The Greek word METAMORPHOO means simply "to change into another form." It comes from two words: META - which means "beyond," and MORPHE - meaning "form." "Beyond form" - or changed into another form. From this Greek root comes our English word "metamorphosis," which means to change from one form, shape or substance to another. As I have pointed out, the transformation or metamorphosis of a worm possessing a voracious appetite for natural food to a butterfly that has appetite only for nectar is the classic example of a metamorphosis. In like manner our Lord through death and resurrection was changed or transformed - metamorphosed from the lowly Jesus of Nazareth they had known to the glorified Christ of ascension and exaltation. And this is just the word that is used with reference to the experience of believers who are to come into the same image of Christ

Metamorphosis is that change which takes place from WITHIN. We are not transformed by external forces acting upon us, but by the breaking forth of a new INNER LIFE from within, the very life Of Jesus! Let us consider the wonder of this thing carefully, because it is certain that METAMORPHOSIS has already begun in us and will continue until the complete transformation has taken place. Too many of the Lord's people sit with folded hands, waiting for a change in some sweet bye and bye, when God's Word clearly shows that this process of change has already begun. This is what must take place in us: we must be changed from what we started out to be, into a creature vastly different in form and nature. All the caterpillar wanted to do was eat and satisfy his natural appetite. The natural man does the same. He is a creature of the earth, and his primary concern is with the satisfaction of his natural appetites. "They that are after the flesh, do mind the things of the flesh" (Rom. 8:5) and the things of the Spirit mean nothing to him. The realm of the Spirit is non-existent to the natural man, he has no entrance to it at all, but after we are born of the Spirit, and are no longer just natural creatures, the realm of the Spirit is opened unto us and we can now see hear and understand things that we didn't know existed before.

By way of illustration let us suppose that I own both a horse and a canary bird. One day my fine stallion comes to me and says, "Boss, I'm tired of being a horse, there seems to be no future in the business. Day after day, I spend endless hours standing in my stable or grazing about the pasture. Only occasionally do you come and saddle me, and away we go, galloping through the fields and across the meadows. But too soon you are gone and I am returned to the stable. Frankly, Boss, I'm bored. I am smitten with a desire for a Higher Life, and I want you to help me rise to a nobler way of living."

Of course I would say, "Pal, I will be glad to help if I can, but what do you want me to do?" Now imagine that the horse should reply, "Ah, good Master, I've been observing your canary bird. I see it through the window. Now there is the Higher Life, indeed! While I am out in the weather, exposed to the elements, the canary sits snug in the warmth of your home. In fact, Mr. Canary is always near you, you talk to him constantly, and he sings continually for you. There is no place for loneliness or bore- dom in his life. No wonder he sings all the day. I believe I'd like to sit on a perch and sing songs! Will you help me?"

How utterly ludicrous! How could I, or any other person, help a horse to live the life of a bird? His nature is wrong. To live a bird life you must have a bird nature! I couldn't even explain this to a horse, his very nature makes it impossible.

To continue the figure, it would be equally preposterous for my canary to say to me one fine morning, "Boss, I'm tired of being a canary, there seems to be no future in this business. I'm confined by this tiny cage and all I ever do is sit here on this perch and eat bird seed. I never go anywhere or do anything. I am bored with this life of incessant swinging and twittering, and I yearn for the Higher Life. I want to accomplish something real. Will you help me?"

I would if I could, of course, so I reply, "Well, Tweety, let's talk it over. What do you want to do, or be?" " Ah, good Master," he replies, "I want to be a horse! I have observed the horse through the window, and there is the Higher Life, indeed. Mr. Horse is not confined to a cage, but enjoys the boundless freedom of the great out-of-doors and the wide open spaces. And not only that - you, Master, go and saddle him up, and sitting astride his back away you go racing through the fields and across the meadows, with the wind in your face and the thrill in your blood. I never get such excitement or comradeship. I want to be a horse! Will you help me?"

A canary bird with a saddle would be of no more use than a horse in a bird cage. Its nature is wrong, and the nature of each limits its activities, its desires, its environment, and its accomplishments and destiny.

To follow on with the illustration, suppose that one morning as I am strolling through the woods a caterpillar came to me and said, "Sir, I feel that I am living a most useless life, wasting all my time and effort tied to a bush and chewing leaves! 1 want to change my way of life. Will you help me?" Of course I'd like to help an ambitious worm to live a higher and better existence, so I would reply, "If I can. What do you want to do?" Whereupon the caterpillar would say, "I want to fly! I've been watching the birds, and I believe they live an ideal life. Can you help me attain my ambition, and assist me to fly?"

What shall I do? Shall I give the caterpillar a course of instruction in aero-dynamics and the theory of flight? No, that won't help; there are some things that are not achieved by education! Shall I tell the caterpillar how to become a better caterpillar? No, that will not work either. He can be the best caterpillar that ever catted a pillar; but he still can't fly! That's his trouble, he's a worm and worms don't fly! Even a course in positive thinking and right confession won't help the poor worm!

So I say to the caterpillar, "Strangely enough, I can help you. There are certain natural laws, which, if you will obey, will enable you to fly!" In great delight the worm says, "Now we are getting somewhere. Will you teach me those laws?" With regret I reply, "I'm sorry, worm, but I can't do that. I do not know those laws myself! I've seen them in operation many, many times, but I do not understand them, nor can I explain them." The disappointed caterpillar says, "You're a hot human! You've seen this hundreds of times and you can't explain it? What am I going to do, if you can't teach me those laws?" I smile and say, "JUST OBEY THEM whether you comprehend them or not." After some thought the ambitious worm says, "All right, Sir, I'll take your advice. What do I do now?" I tell him, "Just go right on chewing leaves! You see, when you are ready THE LAWS WILL BE REVEALED. When the laws are revealed to you all you have to do is obey them. In the meantime, just keep on chewing leaves!"

So my caterpillar goes back to his bush and resumes his daily grind. Then one day a strange lassitude comes over him, and he loses his appetite for leaves. He has never had a nap in his life, but suddenly he feels sleepy. He crawls away to a secluded corner, and suddenly discovers that he possesses equipment and knowledge that he never knew he had. He becomes an architect and designs a house. He has never thought of a dwelling before and has never seen one, but his first attempt follows a pattern that is standard dwelling for all caterpillars of his variety, and is perfect for its purpose. He finds that he has a spinning machine in his mouth, and an unlimited supply of fabric somewhere down in his goozlum! He is an interior decorator and a water-proofer as well, and he builds a habitation for himself that the genius of man cannot duplicate. But unbeknown to him, the house is actually a TOMB!

There is planted within the very being of that worm a call to a higher life-form, and, driven by that hidden nature within AT THE APPOINTED TIME HIS CHANCE COMES. These dramatic changes begin with two tiny glands behind his brain which since his first day had been secreting microscopic amounts of a juvenile hormone. As soon as the caterpillar builds his tomb and begins hanging head down from his leaf, the well-spring of the glands attached to his brain starts drying up. These glands had controlled his larval growth, his larval life, and when their life-giving substance ceases to flow, the caterpillar begins to die and the butterfly to be formed.

George Hawtin relates, in one of his writings, an article which appeared some years ago in LIFE magazine. For many centuries biologists had wondered what could possibly cause a caterpillar to change to a butterfly. At last one biologist discovered a very significant thing. He found that this remarkable transformation was caused by a hormone in the tiny brain of the caterpillar. He found that, if the hormone was removed, the caterpillar would remain a caterpillar until death, but, if the hormone was left in the brain, the caterpillar would change to a beautiful butterfly. To prove his theory he joined five caterpillars together, removing the hormone from the brains of the first four and leaving it in the brain of the last one. The first four remained as they were while the last changed to a butterfly. He then reversed the process, leaving the hormone in the head of the first worm, and removing it from the last four. To the amazement of all the whole five changed to butterflies, or shall we say, became the same as the head one. The spiritual significance of this remarkable discovery cannot be overlooked, for it is God's Word in His creation, teaching us that as a worm is transformed to a celestial creature by a tiny cell in its mind, so also are we transformed by receiving the MIND OF CHRIST. Thus Paul says, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice - and be not conformed to this world, but BE TRANSFORMED by the RENEWING OF THE MIND" (Rom. 12:12). -The Page.

Open the cocoon of a caterpillar while the insect is in the process of metamorphosis and you will discover that within that death cell is such a mass of corruption that it would be difficult to even imagine how anything as graceful and beautiful as a butterfly could possibly emerge from it. No sooner does the worm begin to slumber in its cocoon than it begins to disintegrate and you would find only a chrysalis full of repulsive, apparently dead, formless, viscous fluid. But before the caterpillar ever crawled upon the earth the potential to become a butterfly lay within his being from the very moment of the fertilization of the egg. When the larva had begun to form in the egg, certain little groups of cells, belonging NOT TO THE LARVA BUT TO THE EVENTUAL BUTTERFLY, had also formed, and these remained dormant, safely stored within the body of the caterpillar. At the appointed time these cells awaken to life and begin to grow and multiply. Their presence becomes dramatically evident during the six short minutes when the last larval skin is shed, and the cocoon is spun. Hanging there in his cocoon, the worm bides his time and acts out a living prophecy of the words of Job who said, "If a man die, will he live again? ALL THE DAYS OF MY APPOINTED TIME WILL I WAIT UNTIL MY CHANCE COMES!" (Job 14:4).

Lazy days pass by in dreamless slumber. One observing merely from the outside would never imagine the awesome work being performed within that little cocoon. On the surface, there is nothing to see, for the cocoon serves as a veil, a womb, to conceal the marvelous processes which change a caterpillar into a butterfly. As the butterfly cells grow, they completely CONSUME the form of the caterpillar. When the process is complete the hour comes when our worm wakes up. He feels crowded, and his shoulders feel like he is a hunch-back. He finds that he has a tooth on the top of his head, where he never had one before. He starts nodding his head up and down, and the cocoon begins to yield to the pressure of the NEW BEING within and is burst asunder as the beautiful - yes, superlatively beautiful, and heavenly - butterfly steps out, gracefully drying its wings as they unfold in the light and sparkle with a breath-taking iridescent beauty. In the process the caterpillar ceases to exist, the cocoon is discarded, laid aside, and THE NEW CREATION IS MANIFESTED TO THE WORLD! A few minutes later, without asking me or anyone else how to do it, he spreads his wings and takes to the air, to fly the rest of his life. My worm flies because he OBEYS A SET OF NATURAL LAWS, which he never comprehends, and which are equally mysterious to us. But we and he both know they work, because we have observed the result so many times!

There is a sphere of nature where miracles occur. A miracle is an order and natural proceeding on the plane of a law which is higher than our present comprehension. We don't understand all the mysteries of how catterpillars turn into butterflies, we just know they do. In the same sense we admit that we do not know just how this earth-man is metamorphosed into the heavenly man, how this corruptible puts on incorruption, how this mortal puts on immortality, how this vile body of humiliation is changed to be fashioned like unto His glorious body; we just know that obedience to certain clearly defined orders of procedure (laws) results in the supernatural change. This change ALWAYS comes in obedience to some certain supernatural, spiritual laws. What are these laws? Ah - I cannot explain them, my friend, I just know that they work.

Many times through my ministry after having spoken of the manifested sonship to which we are called and the Kingdom realm we are entering, people have come to me with tears in their eyes, saying that they must come into this and how can they do it. I have had to tell them that I do not know HOW to enter into these glories. I am not like one preacher I know who told the people, "Grab on to my coattail, and I will take you into the Kingdom!" The sad fact is that neither he nor they entered in. I am myself only able to enter as HE shows the way. But I do not hesitate to tell you, my beloved, that I know for a certainty that these spiritual laws that govern our spiritual metamorphosis will be revealed to you as you are ready for them. And as you OBEY THEM whether you comprehend them or not, your change will come. So what are you to do if I am unable to explain these laws to you? I say to you what I would say to the caterpillar: JUST GO RIGHT ON CHEWING LEAVES! Continue to eat the Word God is giving you today, continue to consume the truth He is quickening to you now, live and walk out consistently, day by day, the revelation sovereignly implanted within your spirit, and as your APPOINTED TIME comes each spiritual law will in turn unfold before your wondering eyes, clearly revealed to mind and heart.

What a great gulf there seems to be betimes between the condition of the worm and the state of the butterfly! We clearly see on one hand the desperate wickedness of our own hearts, and on the other hand the unspotted holiness to which we are called in Jesus Christ. On the one hand is the depth of our own corruption, on the other is the height of the glory of God, that image of the holy One, to which we are to be renewed. On the one hand is the incredible weakness of this mortal frame of dust, on the other is the awesome strength and glory of the spiritual body. Many times there is almost no spirit left within us. We would almost cry out, "Even with God, this is impossible!" We are ready to give up both faith and hope, and cast away that very confidence through which we are to overcome all things through Christ strengthening us, forgetting that "after we have done the will of God," we are to receive the promise.

The same omnipotent Lord who called us out of death sets in motion every creative act whereby we shall be transformed into the image of the heavenly. Paul tells us that it is the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE in Christ Jesus that makes us free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2). A "law" is a natural regulation, a constant and unchanging rule. A law is not necessarily derived from a life, but a life is definitely accompanied by a law. This law which accompanies life is called the LAW OF LIFE. The law of a particular life is also the natural characteristic, the innate nature, of that particular life. For example, cats can catch mice, and dogs can stand guard through the night. These abilities are the natural characteristics and instinctive functions of a life. It does not require human teaching or urging; rather it develops very naturally without the least effort or instruction. Such natural characteristics and innate capabilities in a life constitute the law of that life.

The life of God is the highest life in the universe; it is the transcendental life, the surpassing life. Therefore, the characteristics, nature and capabilities of this life must definitely be the highest and most surpassing of all. Since these highest and most surpassing characteristics and powers constitute the law of the life of God, this law is the greatest and highest law of the universe. When God by the Holy Spirit regenerates us, He puts His own life, accompanied by the law of that life, into us. This law of life is the inward law which is God's special gift to us. This law of life is put within us; therefore it is an inward law. Furthermore, this law of life is derived from the life of God and is the nature and function of the life of God; therefore it is the LAW OF HIS LIFE; hence it can supply and perform on the level of omnipotence, omniscience, and incorruptibility.

Let me illustrate how the law of life works. Consider a withered orange tree. Suppose we set up some laws for it, demanding: "You must grow out green leaves, bloom white blossoms, and bear orange fruit." We know that such demands, though made from the beginning of the year till the end of the year, are absolutely vain and futile, because there is no inward power of life to answer to the demands of such outward laws. Yet if we could transfuse the ORANGE QUALITY OF LIFE into it, though we do not demand anything outwardly from it, the life will have a natural capability and power which will cause the tree to grow the leaves, blossoms and fruit of the orange tree. This is the function of the LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS. When we allow the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus to work unhindered in us in ever-expanding spheres, the life of God within us can then spread to such a degree that "Christ be formed" in us (Gal. 4:19). When Christ is thus gradually formed in us, we are gradually transformed into the image of the Lord (II Cor. 3:18) and have the image of the Son of God (Rom. 8:29) until eventually we are entirely "like Him" (I Jn. 3:2). This is the glorious result of the working of the law of God's life within us.

There are certain times and seasons when God brings to life truths that have been allowed to lie in grave clothes for ages and dispensations. As a seed lies dormant in the winter months and then bursts into life in the warmth and rain of spring, so also has the truth of God been allowed to lie in death throughout the wintry night of our walk in the religious systems of Babylon now at last to burst into a fruitful harvest in the spring of God's purpose to bring many sons to glory. There came a wonderful day when Christ came into our lives. "What a wonderful change in my life has been wrought, Since Jesus came into my heart," we sweetly sing. But did you ever wait in holy reverence for the Spirit to reveal the eternal truth of those words to your deepest heart? Oh yes, we received Him - as a saviour, as a thought, as an idea or an ideal, as a truth, as a presence, as an experience, as an ethereal kind of spirit, something vague and intangible dwelling by faith in our hearts. The Spirit of the Lord is quickening, however, that there is SUBSTANCE to that MAN within us. When the incorruptible life of the Christ was conceived within us, we must realize that He was conceived within as the EMBRYO of a SPIRIT-BODY. Not just a spirit, but a SPIRIT-BODY!

When Paul speaks, then, of being strengthened with might in the INNER MAN, he is speaking of SUBSTANCE within us. When Peter speaks of the HIDDEN MAN of the heart, he is speaking of GLORIFIED FLESH that has been born into the believer but is hidden beneath the veil of Adamic flesh. A MAN is not a spirit. A MAN is spirit, soul and body. The first MAN was of the earth, earthy. The second MAN is the Lord from heaven. It is this second MAN that has come into us in His life. Jesus never said, "Except you receive My Spirit, you have no life in you." Rather, He said, "Except ye eat the FLESH of the Son of MAN, and drink His BLOOD (spirit), ye have no life in you" (Jn. 6:53). As we feed that man within with the FLESH SUBSTANCE and the SPIRIT LIFE of the resurrected and glorified MAN, this infant spirit-man begins to grow and when he is fully formed he will burst forth from the cocoon of Adamic flesh and stand in splendor and majesty as a NEW CREATION MAN - body, soul and spirit!

Oh! my brother, my sister, may the Spirit of God quicken the truth of these things to your heart! As I have looked to the Lord about these precious truths, it has become increasingly clear to my spirit that Jesus did not receive the GLORIFIED BODY when He arose from the tomb - no more than the butterfly became a butterfly when it broke from the cocoon. The worm becomes a butterfly BEFORE it emerges from the cocoon. The thing the Spirit would teach us in this, then, is that a butterfly does not become a butterfly BECAUSE it escapes the cocoon. It, rather, escapes the cocoon BECAUSE IT HAS BECOME A BUTTERFLY! Even so, Jesus did not possess a glorified body BECAUSE He arose from the grave. He, instead, burst forth from the grave BECAUSE HE ALREADY POSSESSED A GLORIFIED BODY! What a difference! Because He was indwelt by the incorruptible life of His Father, that life being formed fully within Him, He could announce to His disciples before His death: "The third day I shall rise again." And indwelt by this resurrected, glorified Christ Paul could confidently declare: "For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle (cocoon of flesh) were dissolved, we HAVE a building of God, an house (body) not made with hands, ETERNAL IN THE HEAVENS" (II Cor. 5:1). A new spirit, a new soul and a new body are even now being formed in that heavenly realm within us. It is true right now that "there IS a natural body, and there IS a spiritual body." The message is abundantly clear - we shall not be the manifested sons of God BECAUSE we escape death. Rather, we shall escape death BECAUSE we are the sons of God!

Biologists have discovered that there are two tiny glands at the back of the brain of the caterpillar which secrete a growth hormone. These glands control his growth as a worm and his larval life. It is when these two glands shrivel and cease to yield their life-giving flow that the caterpillar begins to die and the butterfly begins to form. This is most enlightening when spiritually applied to the renewing of the mind. This is a wonderful discovery, and I cannot help but believe that these two glands figure in some mysterious and divine way the carnal mind which gives motivation to the natural man. When we apply the fact of the existence of TWO GLANDS instead of one, we see an amazing picture of the duality of the carnal mind - the knowledge of GOOD and EVIL and the law of SIN and DEATH. If you long, dear one, to be metamorphosed into the image of the heavenly, then "PUT OFF concerning the former conversation the OLD MAN, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; and BE RENEWED IN THE SPIRIT OF YOUR MIND; and PUT ON the NEW MAN, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness" (Eph. 4:22-24).

It is an amazing fact that there is an active force, the secretion of a new hormone which appears in the brain of the caterpillar at the precise time when the two glands controlling the larval life cease to function. It is this new hormone which actually causes the metamorphosis from the chrysalis stage to the butterfly. In other words, both the death of the caterpillar and the formation of the butterfly begin in the creature's MIND. The death of the caterpillar is effected by the cessation of a hormone from two glands in the brain, and the formation of the butterfly is caused by the secretion of a new hormone from another process in the brain. In the light of these remarkable circumstances is it not most significant that the apostle Paul by inspiration wrote: "Be ye transformed (metamorphosed) BY THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND."

All our lifetime we have been subject to the bondage of corruption and death which is rooted in the CARNAL MIND. Ah - "to be carnally minded IS DEATH" (Rom. 8:6). That is God's own definition of death, and according to inspiration death is IN THE M-I-N-D! "It's all in your mind," they say, and though it may be spoken in jest, it is a wondrous and divine truth, nonetheless. In the same chapter a truth is introduced showing that the transformation of the body begins with the renewing of the mind, for, says the apostle, "to be spiritually minded IS LIFE..." (Rom. 8:6). Ah - life, also, is in the MIND! And he continues, "If the spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also QUICKEN YOUR MORTAL BODIES BY HIS SPIRIT THAT DWELLETH IN YOU" (Rom. 8:11).

If ever a reason was given for a change of mind, a change of thinking, a raising of consciousness, this must be it: "Be ye metamorphosed BY the renewing of your mind." It is the termination of our old way of thinking - of the carnal consciousness of sin and death - and the activation of a new way of thinking - the spiritual consciousness of LIFE IN CHRIST that beings the change, works the change, and completes the change until our transformation into the heavenly is consummated in spirit, soul and body. Make no mistake about it! Paul declares forthrightly in Rom. 12:2 that this transformation, this change, this metamorphosis begins with the casting off of the corrupt and carnal mind which carries the mentality of sin and death, and replacing it with the mind of Christ which is the mind of life and glory and virtue. We have heard a great deal about the corruptible putting on incorruption and the mortal putting on immortality. We have embraced many theories about how this would be accomplished, but in one majestic sweep of inspiration the apostle brushes aside all theories to tell us that we shall be transformed BY THE RENEWING OF THE MIND.

Mind means thought, intellect, reason, sense, thinking principle. Thought is thinking. The renewing of the mind means the renovation, reconstitution, re-programming of our thought patterns and processes. The old mind, carnal and human as it is, is always thinking thoughts of sin and death. It leaves us mortal, corruptible and unchanged. The new mind is the mind of Christ. The mind of Christ is the intellect, the thought patterns, the thinking principles of Him who has conquered both sin and death and abides forever in the life and immortality of the celestial. The mind of Christ is a transforming mind! It renews not only the mind, but the body as well. Our minds, our THINKING must be raised from the level of the natural, carnal minds we were born with, and they must be spiritualized. This is not an instant change, it is not attained with one grand leap, but a continuous renewal as we hear the voice of the Spirit as He unfolds to us the mind and thoughts of God. These are thoughts of love, of righteousness, of life and light and power and incorruption and glory which transform into the image of God. If we wait in holy reverence in God's divine presence He will teach us how to think out of our divinity instead of our humanity.

Earlier I wrote of the law of the spirit of life. In Rom. 8:2 Paul speaks of not only the "spirit of life" but also the "law of the spirit of life." This tells us that not only is the spirit life, but it also has its law. Therefore, when he speaks of the spirit he speaks of life - divine life - and he speaks likewise of the law of that life. He joins the three - life, spirit, and law - together. Life and the spirit cannot be separated; law and spirit likewise cannot be divorced. Life is the content and issue of the spirit, whereas law is the nature and function of the spirit.

Every life definitely has a certain nature and consciousness. The higher the life, the loftier its nature and its consciousness. The law of a conscious life belongs to the realm of consciousness. For example, our youngest son, in his teen years, was a lover of hamsters. He had a hamster which from the time of its birth had never eaten anything but hamster food. One day he gave it an insect. Immediately, the hamster bit off the insect's head and then proceeded to eat it. Now this unique action of biting off the insect's head before eating it is a feature of the "instinct" of the animal. It is in his nature, a part of his consciousness. Though you breed countless generations of hamsters, and not one of them ever sees an insect, the moment you give one of those distant descendants an insect he will promptly bite off its head and then eat it. He requires no training whatever. This is the LAW of its life - its innate nature and consciousness. Nature abounds with tens of thousands of examples of this law of life-consciousness in the marvelous life-forms God has created on this planet. The law of the physical life pertains to the order of consciousness. Everything is what it is and acts as it acts out of its CONSCIOUSNESS.

The life of the spirit of life is the life of God Himself, which is the highest life; therefore it is the richest in consciousness. This life within us causes us to be full of divine consciousness, and this consciousness is the consciousness of LIFE. The law of life within us is this consciousness. So - as we put off the carnal mind which is filled with the consciousness of death, and are renewed in our mind into the mind of Christ which is the consciousness of life, our spirit, soul and body will become infused with not only the life of God, but also with the law of God's life, and we will walk in righteousness rather than sin - and we will think thoughts of life instead of death.

As soon as we are regenerated and are awakened to the life of God within, this law of life definitely causes us to have a certain consciousness. Our responsibility is to obey the sense of the law of life, thus thinking and acting out of the consciousness of life rather than death. In the beginning, the consciousness of this law of life may be comparatively weak and infrequent. Yet if only we are willing to obey the first sense, though it be weak, the consciousness following will be stronger and stronger. We have to begin by submitting to this first weak consciousness and continue to submit. In this way the law of life can work within us unceasingly until it reaches every part of our whole being. Thus the life within us will be enabled to expand outward and increase in depth and height until corruption is swallowed up into life in every fiber of our being. This is THE COMING FORTH OF THE CHRIST IN RESURRECTION POWER! This is the Christ the resurrection and the life!

Few believe that the spiritual body can be put on here and now even as we stand upon our feet. Do you? Do you believe it is possible for you to be changed, transformed, metamorphosed in your whole man here in this life? And, since you cannot by any natural process perform this for yourself, are you willing and ready to come under the deep secret law of letting the mind of Christ cancel out the carnal mind, of letting the law of life nullify the law of sin and death in the secret chambers of your consciousness? Within the cramped cocoon which swings through the winter gale on the branch of a tree, a mighty transformation is taking place. Be still - all of a sudden the shell cracks, the cocoon gives way, the folded form stretches itself out of its cramped position, and limbers itself up with joy. In its new consciousness it does naturally what it has never done before, the former things have passed away, and with them all their limitations. The worm can fly! It is the law of its life! And the law of your life, precious friend of mine, is to know and live and demonstrate the full capacity of Him who is within you THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE!

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