VII. THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN IN GOD’S ETERNAL PLAN: God’s Future Plans for His Children

Posted on by BETH

He also commands us to labor to enter into his rest.  He does not plan for us to retire, but “. . . he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his” (Heb. 4:10).  “For he spake in a certain place of the seventh day on this wise, And God did rest the seventh day from all his works” (Heb. 4:4). Rather than retire, he plans for his servants to serve him (Rev. 22:3) and to reign with him forever and ever (Rev. 22:5).  He plans for us to reign as kings (Rev. 1:6).  There is a great deal of work in reigning as kings.  Kings need to be faithful and strong. If we suffer with him according to his will now, we will reign with him (2 Tim. 2:12).  He illustrates this point in the two parables of the talents tells what he has in mind for his children.  The conclusions were:

“His lord said unto him, Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord”  (Matt 25:23).

And he said unto him, Well, thou good servant: because thou hast been faithful in a very little, have thou authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17).

Jesus has now received authority over the heathen and the uttermost parts of the earth, and all things in heaven as well (Matt. 28:18; 1 Cor. 15:25), to the point of working all things together for good for those who 1) love him and 2) are called according to his purpose (Rom. 8:28).  He promises that those who overcome will be given power over the nations as he has received of his Father (Rev. 2:26,27).   This scripture is a quotation of Psalms 2:

I will declare the decree: the LORD hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.  Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel. (Psa. 2:7-9)

Our Father judges according to our faithfulness.  If we are faithful to him in the use of the unrighteous mammon here on earth, we will be faithful to reign with him in the new heaven and the new earth (Luke 16:10-12).

“Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.  Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful” (1 Cor. 4:1, 2).

We can not earn these things, nor do they come free.  We must win the crown by running the race according to all things he has commanded us (Matt. 28:20). “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (Matt. 5:48).  God commands us to be perfect.[1]

[1] Some argue that this is not a command because this form of the Greek word is in the future tense.  This conclusion can not be substantiated.  The future is frequently used as the imperative.  Barbara and Timothy Friberg, Analytical Greek New Testament, Baker Book House, 1981, state: “The future, like the subjunctive, is frequently used as imperative. This is limited to second and third person forms of the future and thus corresponds with the imperative forms. While the subjunctive used as imperative shows a correspondence between tenses, the future indicative used as imperative does not. So for every future used imperativally, we had to determine the tense of the imperative function.  We did this item by item, deciding in each case the aspectual sense (punctiliar action, durative action, etc.) of the command.”   pp. 810, 811.