NTS Brought to completion at the day of Jesus Christ

“He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” - Philippians ch1 v6

The message of the New Testament centres upon what Christ has achieved.
That is, he died on the Cross, was raised from the dead, and was established as Lord and future judge.
We are included in what Christ has done, because we belong to him, and we are therefore “washed, sanctified, and justified”.
In the absence of the old barrier of sin, we have entered into a new relationship with God.

In this new relationship, we began a new life, which ought to be a different kind of life.
Nevertheless, we are still engaged with sin in our daily lives; “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 John ch1v8)
So the final consideration is the completion of that work in ”the day of Jesus Christ”.

The future hopes of the Old Testament come to a climax in “the Day of the Lord”, when the Lord is expected to express his full power and remove what is wrong from the world.
Jesus himself spoke of “the Day of Judgement” (e.g. Matthew ch11 v24).
This would come under the authority of the “Son of Man”; “You will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming with the clouds of heaven” –Mark ch14 v62
But he also called himself the Son of Man, so his disciples and the church which followed them understood that he was talking about himself;
“He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that he is the one ordained of God to be the judge of the living and the dead” (Peter, in Acts ch10 v42).
“[God] has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed” (Paul in Acts ch17 v31).
“We must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ” (2 Corinthians ch5 v10).
So that is what is meant by “the day of the Lord Jesus”; “When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire” (2 Thessalonians ch1 v7).

What does this mean for those who belong to Christ?

In the first place, it means “vindication”, gaining safety from the evils of this world.
“Will not God vindicate his elect, who cry to him day and night?” (Luke ch18 v7)
That is why they are waiting and hoping for this event;
“Christ… will appear a second time, not to deal with sin, but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him” (Hebrews ch9 v28).
“Be patient therefore, brethren, until the coming of the Lord” (James ch5 v7).

Paul almost defines the church as those waiting for Christ to return.
“Our commonwealth is in heaven, and from it we await a saviour” (Philippians ch3 v20).
“You turned to God from idols, to serve a living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead” (1 Thessalonians ch1 vv9-10).
“…as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians ch1 v7).
The word “revealing” offers a slightly different metaphor from “coming” and “returning”.
It makes the point that he has been here all the time, acknowledged by his own people while the rest of the world remains oblivious.
(I see this as the real meaning of the “thousand year kingdom” in Revelation ch20)

This “revealing” is something which will take place in a very sudden way.
We are told that the Day of the Lord will come “like a thief in the night” (1 Thessalonians ch5 v2), a phrase echoed in 2 Peter and Revelation. That is, it will be unexpected.
In the words of Jesus, the coming of the Son of Man will be “as the lightning comes from the east and shines as far as the west” (Matthew ch24 v27). In other words, it will be unexpected and sudden and instantly recognisable by the world as a whole.
Paul uses the phrase “in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians ch15 v51).
The transition into the state of Christ’s “Return” will be immediate and instantaneous (which rules out the long and gradual process which some interpreters like to imagine).

It also means that those who belong to Christ will be “gathered in”.
“Then he will send out his angels, and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the end of heaven” (Mark ch13 v 27).
“Many will come from east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew ch8 v11).
The most dramatic image of the in-gathering is found in 1 Thessalonians;
“The Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command… And the dead in Christ will rise first, then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet them in the air; and so we shall always be with the Lord” (1 Thessalonians ch4 vv16-17).
This is the only kind of “rapture” which the New Testament describes.

On that occasion, Paul expects to be feeling a degree of satisfaction about his own contribution to the assembly;
“… you can be as proud of us as we can be of you, on the Day of the Lord Jesus” (2 Corinthians ch1 v14).
“For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you?” (1 Thessalonians ch2 v19).

From a different angle, the day of the Lord Jesus is “the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgement will be revealed” (Romans ch2 v5)
Yet “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is Christ, who died, yes, who is raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who intercedes for us” (Romans ch8 vv33-34)
We may see him as our defence counsel in the heavenly court; “We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John ch2 v1).
Therefore there is no need for us to fear the judgement of the Lord. We can leave that to others, because “perfect love casts out fear”.
“In this is love perfected with us, that we may have confidence for the day of judgement” (1 John ch4 vv17-18).
Indeed that is the original meaning of “salvation”; because we are “justified”, reconciled with God, through the death of Christ, “we shall be saved by him from the wrath of God” (Romans ch5 v10).

But the promised final state goes beyond the merely being saved from wrath.
“Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that Day, and not only to me but to all those who have loved his appearing” (2 Timothy ch4 v8).
I believe there is a promise here that we will finally be in full harmony with God’s will, which is what “righteousness” means.
And this will have been God’s doing.
“He will sustain you to the end, guiltless in the Day of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians ch1 v8).
The completion of the process would be part of the final transformation which we are expecting at the return of Christ and the “redemption of our bodies” (Romans ch8 v23).
In other words, the supposed work of ”Purgatory” would be accomplished “at a stroke” in the resurrection event itself.

“May the God of peace himself sanctify you wholly; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept sound and blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He who calls you is faithful, and he will do it” (1 Thessaloniansch5 vv23-4).

“So we shall always be with the Lord”.

This is the logical climax of the salvation narrative found in the New Testament.
There will be two more threads in the series. One will be the usual Index thread.
But before then, I'll be offering some reflections on the question which always gets asked (admiitedly, nobody has been asking it this time round); "What about those who have never been told about Christ?"

I read the bible a couple of times over the years and I read it randomly every day. It sits on the vanity by the toilet, it gets read there since there is nothing else there to read. In the downstairs bathroom I keep books on nutrition and medicine to read while I spend time on the throne. Just because I sit on the throne everyday, I do not think of my self as royalty.

Think of it though, how impressed people from five hundred years ago would be with our bathrooms. They would probably impress many people from third world countries today as well.

If anyone complains about my bible sitting next to the toilet, I can tell them it gets read every day, does their bible get read every day? For some strange reason, the bible seems to always open for me on the last page of Job. Does that signify I have passed the test or is it just a coincidence? Probably a coincidence because the test keeps going on till the day you die. I am still alive...at least I think I am.

a reply to: rickymouse
My grandmother's toilet (I had forgotten, until now) had a hanging plaque with a cartoon and the caption-
"Sometimes I sits and thinks
And sometimes I just sits."
I suppose your answer is an improvement.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
...
“So we shall always be with the Lord”.

Hi Disraeli.
What do you figure happens to non-believers?

Do you ever wonder why some believe, and others don't?

a reply to: Nothin
All we really know about what happens next is that the choice lies between being in the presence of God and not being in the presence of God. Everything else is speculation, and sometimes over-literal reading of metaphors.

I've been an atheist in my time, which gives me a little insight into where unbelief comes from.
One factor is inability and/or unwillingness to trust, since faith is all about trust.
In my case, the ostensible reason was "not enough positive evidence", masking the fact that it was also more convenient to be free from any set of beliefs and commitments.

originally posted by: DISRAELI
a reply to: Nothin
All we really know about what happens next is that the choice lies between being in the presence of God and not being in the presence of God. Everything else is speculation, and sometimes over-literal reading of metaphors.

I've been an atheist in my time, which gives me a little insight into where unbelief comes from.
One factor is inability and/or unwillingness to trust, since faith is all about trust.
In my case, the ostensible reason was "not enough positive evidence", masking the fact that it was also more convenient to be free from any set of beliefs and commitments.

Why would ..."...being in the presence of God..."... not be speculation, but ..."...Everything else is speculation..."... ?

It is not super clear for me to understand what you mean by: ..."...being in the presence of God..."...
Do you think it's possible for a non-believer to experience that feeling, without attributing it to ..."...being in the presence of God..."... ?

Do you figure everyone needs to trust something?
What about folks whom don't want-to, or feel the need to trust something?
Or perhaps folks whom haven't found something they are willing to trust?

Do you thinks folks can make commitments, sans beliefs?

originally posted by: Nothin
Why would ..."...being in the presence of God..."... not be speculation, but ..."...Everything else is speculation..."... ?

Because "being in the presence of God" is taken direct from the New Testament. You have quoted my quotation of "so we shall be always with the Lord". The "banquet" image in the gospel is saying the same thing, as is the picture of "God being always with his people" at the end of Revelation. Whereas the traditional "tormenting fires of Hell" imagery has no secure New Testament support.

It is not super clear for me to understand what you mean by: ..."...being in the presence of God..."...
Do you think it's possible for a non-believer to experience that feeling, without attributing it to ..."...being in the presence of God..."... ?

Since we haven't experienced it, we're not capable of understanding it, and so I'm not in a position to explain it more clearly. I can only offer you the bare statement, which is what we've got. I don't imagine, though, that it would be possible to be in the presence of God without having a sense of being there. That would be the point. All of us, now, are in the presence of God without having conscious awareness of the fact, so the New Testament promise would have to mean something more.

Do you figure everyone needs to trust something?
What about folks whom don't want-to, or feel the need to trust something?

My point was that faith is essentially trust in God. That is what faith means. So if someone is not able or willing to trust in God, when they are aware of the option, then (by definition) they don't have faith.

Wow man......

Give me a minute.....

You are a great one Disraeli......

In an atmos.........in greek........that's been with me forever.......why did it have to be in an atmos we will be changed.......

Beautiful the way you arranged how that came out.......beautiful.....glad to readvya

a reply to: GBP/JPY

No, ....

Extremely magically beautiful

Ah I see it now.

Disraeli, So what you have been doing in your threads is to only present the Figurative and Devotional Application for all men today. Without presenting the Historical (past or future history) and Doctrinal Application of and for Israel (past and future).

Are you of the opinion that God is done with Israel as a nation?

Anyway, I get your posts if I focus only on the Figurative and Devotional Applications and ignore the Historical and Doctrinal Applications for Israel. So in that sense you divide scripture, not rightly but division none the less.

a reply to: rickymouse

Wait until you see the toilet the Muslims would have us use. I will link a picture of one for you. You can actually find them at Intl Airports in most of Asia, basicaaly they are two spots to place your feet on each side of a hole.

Know this if you had a Koran in the bathroom, as you keep you Bible there, you will be beheaded.

toilet-guru.com...

PS I read my Bible every day and it is in my bedroom, living room, I never have read it in a bathroom but I don't see any harm in that.

reply to: ChesterJohn

Yes, what I'm offering is a presentation of the gospel. If you accept that point, that will do.

Are you of the opinion that God is done with Israel as a nation?

Well, I don't accept the modern political state of Israel as God's Israel.
Paul defines "the Israel of God" as those who walk by the rule "neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only a new creation" (Galatians ch6 vv15-16).

Let's put it this way. The United States of 1783 was a thirteen-state federation. the United States of today is a fifty-state community (with a different constitution). Does that mean that God has "done with" the thirteen-state United States? No- he has simply allowed it to expand. The impact of the New Testament is that Israel has expanded.

the "Israel of God" is a spiritual condition of believers and is not the literal nation of Israel to which many prophecy are given about. This would be a point to which you could do some right division and see how God intends to use Israel in the very near future during the Millennial Kingdom.