As we look at the ultimate purpose of God to restore the earth from all the consequences of the Fall and make it once again the paradise it was originally intended to be, we see this theme running throughout everything He is doing on the earth. We can also see it in all that He is doing in us individually, such as the subduing of our sinful nature through the cross and the renewing of our minds, so that we think like the Lord. To have a Christian worldview is to view the world as Christ does.

         The Lord is going to restore man and the earth, but He has delayed this in order to call out from among mankind those who will rule and reign with Him in the age to come, the period when the earth is restored. These are a “new creation” who are called to overcome the flesh, the devil, and this present evil age and so prove their worthiness to rule with Him. This is the “high calling” the Apostle Paul wrote about in Philippians 3.

         In this remarkable text, this one, who is possibly the greatest of apostles, states that he does not yet consider that he has attained this high calling, but he presses on toward it. Obviously, he is not talking about salvation or eternal life as these were attained the moment he believed in the atonement of Christ. Paul saw a high calling that was so high he did not think he had yet attained to it. This is the calling to be the sons and daughters of God and to rule with Him as joint heirs, members of His own household.

         The fact that Paul did not think he had yet attained this high calling did not mean that he had not yet attained. However, this seems to indicate that whether we have attained or not may not be known in this life. When I inquired of the Lord about this, I felt that He said that those who had attained would not know in this life, because if they were still so self-focused as to be concerned about what they were attaining instead of seeing the Lord receive the reward of His sacrifice, they were still falling short. Those who attain to this will be consumed with seeing the Lord’s will being done, not their own attainments.

         However, as we are young, it is important to see the high calling, and it is not wrong to work because of the joy or rewards that are set before us. Even so, the ultimate maturity in Christ is stated in Galatians 2:20, when it is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us.

         How does this high calling differ from everyone else who is saved, who has eternal life? There is a difference between being invited to the wedding feast of the Lamb and being the bride. There is a difference between being subjects of the King and members of His household.

         Our redemption is free, and there is nothing we can add to it or take away from it. However, our position in the kingdom is the result of our own choices and the level of our devotion to Him. Those who sacrifice what they may have had in this life to give themselves to His service and to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil will have a high position in the kingdom. Those who have not, even though they are saved and have eternal life, will complete this job in the age to come, being ruled over instead of ruling. These are the ones who “sleep” until the resurrection and are resurrected on earth as men to complete the job of restoration, not in the divine nature.

         Many have a concept that when the Lord returns to the earth everything will be perfect. Not so. It will take a thousand years to fully restore the earth and mankind. This is why Peter referred to this as “the period of the restoration of all things (see Acts 3:21).” Is this not how the process has worked in us? We are born again and everything becomes new, but that is just the beginning of our transformation. It takes much longer to renew our minds and to overcome the world, the flesh, and the devil, and to mature into our new nature.

         The truth is that very few actually go on to maturity, becoming like the Lord and doing the works that He did. This is why the Lord gave the warning about the end of this age, “Woe to those who nurse babes in those days” (see Matthew 24:19). We might interpret this as, “Woe to those who keep their people in immaturity.”

         Without the solid foundation of discipleship and the devotion to growing up in all things into Christ as we are told in Ephesians 4, it will be increasingly difficult to stand in the days to come. For those who have lived the life of a true disciple, seeking continually to become like their Master, they will begin to shine like the stars in the midst of the darkness. The darker it gets, the brighter they will become.