- Jun 17Week 24The Book of Revelation, Part 34
As we mature in the Lord, we begin to distinguish the earthly blessings from the spiritual and eternal ones. As this happens, we begin to seek the spiritual and eternal blessings more and seek to abide in the spirit realm more. We eventually become more at home in the spiritual than we are in the natural. Ideally, if we have kept the Lord our first love and the pursuit of Him our top priority, it should be a “natural” next step when we make the transition to eternal life. Like the apostle Paul, we will then desire this so much it will be hard to want to stay longer in the earthly realm. We will long for the transition and want to go “home.”
The most important change that comes with maturity is that we esteem knowing the Lord and drawing closer to Him more than receiving blessings in our natural lives. There is no greater blessing than knowing Him and His presence, and there is no greater treasure than to be close to Him.
There is a popular saying that some “are so spiritually minded that they are not any earthly good.” However, to be so devoted to the spiritual and to doing well spiritually is infinitely more valuable than helping others in natural ways. Those who see with their natural minds cannot see this, because they can only see what is natural. However, what is spiritual has far more substance than the natural, and those who are more connected to the eternal have an even greater impact on the temporary things of this life.
The truth is that those who are earthly minded are not doing as much good in the earthly or spiritual realms. The greatest good that we can do is live a life that is not about becoming more spiritual, but about drawing close to the Lord, becoming more like Him, and doing the works that He did. There is nothing more contagious than one who is getting closer to the Lord. This causes us to lift up Jesus more, and when Jesus is lifted up, He will draw all men to Himself. This, more than anything, will bring unity and peace among men. All true accomplishments are based on this.
We should love all of His blessings, the natural and spiritual. If we walk in the spiritual, we will also benefit the natural realm, but the reverse is not true. However, we must keep in mind that the Lord may bless things He will not inhabit, and our primary devotion should be to become His dwelling place. The church is not just our gatherings. We are the church—His temple—24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Maturing in Christ is this becoming the dominant reality in our lives.
A primary distinction of the church Jesus is building is that it is spiritual. As He told Pilate, His kingdom is not of this world. The church that man builds is of this world. After being primarily a revelation of Jesus Christ, the book of Revelation is about the contrast between the church that Jesus is building and the one that man is building, and how they are in increasing conflict with one another. This conflict at the end of the age draws the whole world into it.
The churches that men have built were built by men who may have loved God, loved His people, and wanted to do something for Him, but their efforts were mixed with earthly ambitions. God is only going to inhabit what He initiates and builds. Ultimately, as Jesus said in Matthew 15:13, every plant that He did not plant will be uprooted. Though God will bless the works initiated by men as much as He can, even those who seek to be blessings in this world will depart from what He blesses if they become hostile to Him and His kingdom, which is spiritual and comes from above.
A basic message of Revelation is to make clear the distinctions between what comes down from heaven—what God is building—and what “comes up out of the earth,” what men are building (see Revelation 13:11). In His message to the seven churches, He is speaking to all who would follow Him throughout this age, both commending them and correcting them so they would fulfill their purpose by becoming His dwelling place. Every believer and every church body will go through the same phases as these seven churches, so He was speaking to us as well.
We are covering these matters redundantly and with great patience, because knowing these truths is not enough for us to understand Revelation. We must also live them; they must be our nature.