Month: October 2023

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 31 ~ ~ Ecclesiastes 3:11 ~ ~ “He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also He has put eternity in their hearts, except that no one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.”

From the book, We Shall See God – and the chapter, Obtaining Promises, part two—Randy Alcorn

ALCORN:

What God made us to desire, and therefore what we DO desire (if we’re saved) if only we recognize it, is exactly what He promises to those who follow Jesus Christ: a resurrected life in a resurrected body, with the resurrected Christ on a resurrected earth. Desiring something doesn’t make it true or false. But because the God who put desires in us determined to correspond them to His plans, they do in fact find their fulfillment in the very things God has promised us.

Paul doesn’t just say that if there’s no heaven, the Christian life is futile. He says that if there’s not resurrection of the dead, the hope of Christianity is an illusion, and we’re to be pitied for placing our faith in Christ (1Corinthians 15:17-19).

(In other words) Ultimately, there is no heaven for human spirits unless heaven is also for human bodies.

Our deep longing for a resurrected life is not based on wishful thinking. Rather, it is a longing placed in our hearts by God Himself, precisely because He intends for us to be raised to new life on the new earth. It is God who “set eternity in the human heart.” (Ecclesiastes 3:11) it is God who designed us to live on earth and to desire not only spiritual fulfillment but also the earthly life. And it is our bodily resurrection that will allow us to return to an earthly life – this time freed from sin and the curse. “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!” (2 cor 5:17) That’s a promise!!!

If we are tempted to doubt such a promise, Spurgeon asks a question as pertinent to us as it was to his audience in 1862: “how dare you doubt it? Where did you get your arrogance from? How can you speak so exceeding proudly as thus to think of God and say of Him, that He has promised what He cannot or will not perform?” (how can you think that you are worthy to judge Almighty God?))

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James 4:16-17 ~ ~  But now you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.

Philippians 2:13

For it is God which works in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

Hebrews 11:6

“Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

Philippians 1:6

Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:

Proverbs 3:5-7

Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.

In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the Lord, and depart from evil.

Ezekiel 36:26

A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.

Matthew 6:21

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

Mark 12:30

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.

Galatians 3:1

O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that you should not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently set forth, crucified among you?

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 30 ~ ~ Hebrews 11:1-2 ~ ~ “ Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good testimony.”

Another chapter in the book, We Shall See God, entitled, “Obtaining promises – part one”

CHARLES SPURGEON:

God has placed longings inside each human heart, longings for God and for heaven, for a resurrected life on a resurrected earth. We often confuse these as longings for something less. But our deepest desire is for precisely what God has promised us: to live as complete and righteous people, with the person we’re made for, in the place we’re made for.

The promises of God are to the believer an inexhaustible mine of wealth. Happy is it for him if he knows how to search out their secret veins and enrich himself with their hidden treasures. They are to him an armory containing all manner of offensive and defensive weapons. Blessed is he who has learned to enter into the sacred arsenal, to put on the breastplate and the helmet, and to lay his hand to the spear and the sword.

The promises are the Christian’s Magna Carta of liberty; they are the title deeds of his heavenly estate. Happy is he who knows how to read them well and call them all his own. Yes, they are the jewel room in which the Christian’s crown treasures are preserved – regalia, secretly his today, but which he shall openly wear in Paradise. He is already a king who has the silver key with which to unlock the treasury. He may even now grasp the scepter, wear the crown, and put upon his shoulders the imperial mantle.

Oh, how unutterably rich are the promises of our faithful, covenant-keeping God! See, then, how necessary it is that you and I should know the heavenly art of obtaining promises by faith (Hebrews 11:33)

Life eternal is described as the Promise of eternal life (1John 2:25). We look for the Promise of His coming, and after that “according to His Promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” (2Peter 3:13)

Obedient to the diving command, Abraham prepares to offer up his son Isaac, his only son on whom his hope of posterity depended, counting that God was able to raise up Isaac again from the dead.

If we are to obtain a promise, our faith must be accompanied by action. When we have made some sacrifice for God, and have been willing in the teeth of human reason to do God’s Word as God bids, we shall then stand in a place from which we may reach another and higher promise than as yet we have ever been able to grasp in the hand of our faith.

I think it is Martin Luther who says that some passages of Scripture are like trees which bear fruit but the fruit doesn’t easily drop. You must get hold of the tree and shake it again and again, and sometimes you will need to exhaust all your strength. But at the last shake, down drops the luscious fruit. So you do with the promises – shake it back and forth by meditation, and the apples of gold will fall.

To doubt an honest man is to cast a slur upon him. But to doubt God, who cannot lie, who has sworn by an oath, is to make God a liar or even a perjurer! Our souls shrink back from infamy so cursed. Did ever fiend in hell commit a more detestable sin than that of doubting the truthfulness of a God of perfection and truth? Come now, there is the promise; there it stands before you. Don’t sin in unbelief.

You say, “I dare not believe it.” But I say “How dare you doubt it? Where did you get your arrogance from? How can you speak so exceeding proudly as thus to think of God and say of Him, that He has promised that He cannot or will not perform?”

And you!! Saints of God, look to your noble ancestors. What a pedigree you have! Through what a host of martyrs, prophets and apostles has our blood descended, and all these bear their testimony that not one good thing has failed of all that the Lord God has promised. Among them all there is no exception. Not one of them will question the truthfulness of God. They tried Him in the bitterness of life and they all say to you, “Trust in the Lord; believe in Him. So shall He bring it to pass, and you shall attain the Promise.

Falter not, hesitate not, waver not, but with the unstaggering faith of Abraham, say, “He that has promised is able also to perform” and you shall see it with your eyes and you shall eat thereof. You shall have His presence and blessing in this world, and in the world to come life everlasting.” God help us so to do for Jesus’ sake.

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There are over 8,000 direct promises in the Bible for believers. Some are conditional, some are not. Some are dependent upon our belief (as in salvation), some are dependent upon our obedience, and some are just because of His infinite Grace and Love.

God is ABSOLUTELY TRUSTWORTHY to make good on EVERY ONE!! He is GOD. He cannot lie, fail, or make a mistake. HE WILL DO IT!

Here are just a few of the over 8,000:

1 John 2:25

And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life.

Matthew 11:28-30

Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

Isaiah 54:10

“For the mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you.”

Colossians 1:13-14

“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”

James 1:5 says…

“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.”

James 4:7

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

John 3:16 says…

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”

Rom 8:28 says it like this…

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose

Hebrews 13:5

Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.”

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 29 ~ ~ Revelation 20:6 ~ ~  “Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection. Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with Him a thousand years.”

From the book, We Shall See God, chapter “The Resurrection of God’s children —part two”

RANDY ALCORN:

Spurgeon says, “If it is God’s word, we may expect His blessing if we preach it at all. But He will withdraw it if we refrain from teaching any part of His counsel.” he spoke critically of pastors who compromised their Biblical teaching to accommodate the popular theories of Charles Darwin, – which were the talk of London even at that time – and opposed various higher critics who taught that the Bible wasn’t reliable.

Spurgeon takes delight in referring to the men whose books God used to mold his thinking. He refers here to John Bunyan, author of “The Pilgrim’s Progress” with great fondness. In fact, that was Spurgeon’s favorite book – he read it over a hundred times! His many comments on it were collected into a book called “Pictures from Pilgrim’s Progress” which is his own commentary on Bunyan’s great work of fiction. Spurgeon often spoke of the writers who were his mentors as if they were old friends – Baxter, Bunyan, John Owen, and Charnock among them. He talks about these men as if he knew them well – he calls Bunyan “plain honest John” – for they had a formational role in his thinking, just as Spurgeon has had in my life and in the lives of numerous others.

Spurgeon’s meditation demonstrates his understanding that our anticipation of eternal life as resurrected beings in a resurrected universe has present, practical implications. “Therefore – in light of our eventual resurrection – my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” (1 Corinthians 15:58)

How do we know that our labor in the Lord is not in vain? Because of our bodily resurrection. Just as we will be carried over from the old world to the new, so will our labor. In a sense, not only our bodies but also our services for Christ will be resurrected. J.B. Phillips renders that verse as follows: “Let nothing move you as you busy yourselves in the Lord’s work. Be sure that nothing you do for Him

is ever lost or ever wasted.”

Bruce Milne writes, “Every kingdom work, whether publicly performed or privately endeavored, partakes of the kingdom’s imperishable character. Every honest intention, every stumbling word of witness, every resistance of temptation, every motion of repentance, every gesture of concern, every routine engagement, every motion of worship, every struggle toward obedience, every mumbled prayer – everything – literally – which flows out of our faith-relationship with the Ever-Living One, will find its place in the ever-living heavenly order which will dawn at His coming.”

Paul says, “In this hope we were saved” (Romans 8:24). What hope? The words of the previous verse tell us: “the redemption of our bodies” (verse 23). that’s the final resurrection – when death will be swallowed up and sin will be reversed, never again to touch us. This is what we should long for and live for.

Is resurrected living in a resurrected world with the resurrected Christ and His resurrected people YOUR daily longing and hope? Is it part of the gospel you share with others? Paul says that the resurrection of the dead is the hope for which we were saved. It will be the glorious climax of God’s saving work that began at our new birth. In liberating us from sin and all its consequences, the Resurrection will free us to live with God, gaze on Him, and enjoy His uninterrupted fellowship forever, with no threat that anything will ever again come between us and Him.

May God use our mentors, the pastors, friends and relatives we talk to, and the books we read to preserve us from embracing lesser hopes.

May we rejoice as we anticipate the height, depth, length, and breadth of our Savior’s redemptive work.

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Revelation 1:3

Blessed is he who reads and those who hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written in it; for the time is near.

1 Peter 4:11

If anyone speaks, let him speak as the oracles of God. If anyone ministers, let him do it as with the ability which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

Colossians 3:23-24

 And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ.

2Timothy 2:15

 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

2 Peter 1:3-4

as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.

Romans 1:16-17

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.”

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 28 ~ ~ Revelation 20:6 ~ ~ “Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.”

From the book, We Shall See God, with Charles Spurgeon and Randy Alcorn. Today’s chapter is “The Resurrection of God’s Children” – Part one – Charles Spurgeon

The redemption we look forward to is not one dimensional, nor is it surface level. Our resurrection will be like Christ’s, with the full flourishing of bodies and spirits. We will experience at last what God intended for us all along.

I think some ministers would do far more for the profit of God’s people if they would preach more about the first coming of Christ and less about the second. But I have chosen this topic because I believe it has practical bearings and may be useful, instructive, and rousing to us all. I find that the most earnest of the Puritan preachers did not resist dwelling upon this mysterious subject. I turn to Charnock, and his discussion upon the unchanging nature of God. He does not hesitate to speak of the fiery destruction of the world, of the millennial reign, and of the new heavens and new earth.

And consider John Bunyan, – plain, honest John, who preached so simply that a child could comprehend him and was certainly never guilty of having written upon his forehead the word “mystery.” He, too, speaks of the coming of Christ and of the glories which shall follow and uses this doctrine as a stimulus to the saints and as a warning to the unsaved. I do not think, therefore, I need tremble very much if the charge should be brought against me of bringing before you an unprofitable subject. It shall profit if God shall bless the word, and if it is God’s word, we may expect His blessing if we preach it all. But He will withdraw it if we refrain from teaching any part of his counsel because in our pretended wisdom we fancy that it would not have practical effect.

Turn to the first letter to the Thessalonians: “We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep. For this we declare to you by the word from the Lord, that we which are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. 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 the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. (1Thes 4:13-17)

Here is nothing said whatever about the resurrection of the wicked. It is only stated that the dead in Christ shall rise first. The apostle Paul is evidently speaking of the first resurrection. And since we know that the first resurrection implies a second, and since we know that the wicked dead are to rise as well as the righteous dead, we draw the conclusion that the wicked dead shall rise at the second resurrection, after the interval between the two resurrections shall have been accomplished.

Everyone will rise – no orthodox Christian doubts that. The doctrine of a general resurrection is received by all the Christian church. What, then is this resurrection after which Paul is exerting himself, if by any means he might attain unto it? It could not be the general resurrection. He would attain to that however he might live. It must be some superior resurrection of which only those shall be partakers who have known Christ and the power of His resurrection, having become like Him in His death. I think you cannot interpret his passage, or give it any force of meaning, without admitting that there is to be a prior resurrection of the just before the resurrection of the unjust.

In Chapter 14 of the gospel of Luke, in verses 13-14, you have a promise made to those who, when they host a feast, do not do it with the intention of getting anything in return. “When you give a feast, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you. For you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just.”

I would not insist upon it that this would prove that the just rose at a different time, but still there is to be a resurrection of the just, and on the other hand, there is to be a resurrection of the unjust. And the time of reward for the righteous is to be the resurrection of the just, which is spoken of as being a particular period.

There is a passage in Hebrews where the apostle, speaking of the trials of the godly and their noble endurance, speaks of them as “refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life” (11:35). the better life is not in the after results of Resurrection, but in the Resurrection itself. How then could it be a better resurrection of the saint and the resurrection of the sinner? Let the one be a resurrection of splendor, let the other be a resurrection of gloom and horror, and let there be a marked division between the two. As it was in the beginning, it may even be to the end – the Lord has put a difference between him who fears God and him who fears him not.

I have no purpose to serve except to make the Scripture as plain to you as possible. And I say it yet again: I have not the shadow of a doubt in my own soul that these passages teach us that there shall first of all be a resurrection concerning which it shall be said: “Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with Him for a thousand years.” (Revelation 20:6)

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1Corinthians 15:58

Therefore, my beloved brothers and sisters, be firm, immovable, always excelling in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.

1Corinthians 15:20

But the fact is, Christ has been raised from the dead, the first fruits of those who are asleep.

Revelation 20:5-6

The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were completed. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is the one who has a part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and will reign with Him for a thousand years.

Philippians 3:10-11

that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

Rev 3:21 To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.

Rev 3:5  He that overcomes, the same shall be clothed in a white robe; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 27 ~ ~ Psalm 73:25-26 ~ ~ “Whom do I have in heaven but You?
And with You, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

From the book, We Shall See God, and the chapter entitled “Friendship in Heaven” Part two—Randy Alcorn.

ALCORN:

For Christians, to die is to “be present with the Lord” (2 Corinthians 5:8). The apostle Paul says, “I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far” (Philippians 1:23, He could have said, “I desire to depart and be in heaven,” but he didn’t – his mind was on being with His Lord Jesus, which is the most significant aspect of heaven.

Seventeenth-century Scottish theologian Samuel Rutherford says, “O, my Lord Jesus Christ, if I could be in heaven without thee, it would be a hell; and if I could be in hell, and have thee still, it would be a heaven to me, for thou art all the heaven I want.” Martin Luther said, “I had rather be in hell with Christ than be in heaven without Him.”

When Jesus prays that we will be with Him in heaven, He explains why: “Father, I want those You have given Me to be with Me wherever I am, and TO SEE MY GLORY, the glory You have given Me because You loved Me before the creation of the world” (John 17:24). When we accomplish something we want to share it with those closest to us. Likewise, Jesus wants to share with us His glory – The glory of His accomplishments and His being.

Our greatest pleasure, our greatest satisfaction, is to behold His glory. As John Piper says, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”

We’ll worship Jesus as the Almighty to bow to Him in reverence, yet we’ll never sense His disapproval in heaven – because we’ll never disappoint Him. He’ll never be unhappy with us. We’ll be able to relax fully – the other shoe will never drop. No skeletons will fall from our closets. Christ bore every one of our sins. He paid the ultimate price so we would be forever free from sin – and the fear of sin.

All barriers between us and Him will be gone forever. He will be our best friend there.

I love that Spurgeon expresses his desire to live near Rowland Hill and John Berridge in heaven, two men who died before he was born. When he talks of the three of them being “a good deal too merry,” we see not only Spurgeon’s spunk but also the sense of camaraderie he anticipates in heaven. Spurgeon had an astounding number of critics who reproaches him about everything from his doctrine to his humor to his weight to his cigar smoking. (which he quit so as not to give anyone the wrong impression) Spurgeon says of himself and his as-yet-unmet friends Hill and Berridge, “We will make them laugh up yonder, I warrant you, as we tell again the wonders of redeeming love and of the grace of God – their mouths shall be filled with laughter.”

The Bible doesn’t directly address the concept of special friendships in heaven, but is there any basis for Spurgeon’s position? I think so. First, since we remain human in the Resurrection – since we maintain our identities and since our memories are part of who we are – shouldn’t I expect to be particularly close to my wife and daughters and sons-in-law and dearest friends? Is there any reason to believe we won’t pick right up in heaven where our relationships from earth left off?

True, there won’t be marriage as we know it here (Matthew 22:30), but there will be ONE marriage – our marriage to Christ. That means as fellow members of the body of Christ, my wife, Nanci, and I will be part of the same marriage forever – our marriage to Jesus. Would it be fitting and in keeping with God’s ways, given our many years of growing in Christ and serving Him together here, that we would be close friends when we’re with Him?

I think we’ll especially enjoy connecting with those we faced tough times with on earth and saying, “did you ever imagine heaven would be so wonderful?” We all have our own Roland Hills and John Berridges, don’t we? Enjoying God and enjoying one another go hand in hand. Augustine said, “All of us who enjoy God are also enjoying each other in Him.”

Do you have a close friend who has had a profound influence on you? Do you think it is a coincidence that she was in your dorm wing or became your roommate? Was it accidental that your desk was near his or that his family lived next door or that your father was transferred when you were in third grade so that you ended up in his neighborhood? “From one man He made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and He marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands” (Acts 17:26)

Since God determined the time and places where you would live, it’s no accident which neighborhood you grew up in, who lived next door. It’s no accident that Charles Spurgeon heard about and read about Rowland Hill and John Berridge and was touched by God through their stories. It’s no accident that God gave me the friends and the profound influences He has given me. Some of these men and women are from different times and places, and I have not yet met them except through books.

Our relationships, past, and present, direct and indirect, were appointed by God, and there’s every reason to believe they’ll not only continue but expand in heaven. God’s plan won’t stop on the new earth. He doesn’t abandon His purposes: He extends and fulfills them. Friendships begun on earth will continue in heaven, growing richer than ever.

Notice Spurgeon’s point that Jesus loved twelve men more than the rest of His disciples and that He loved three most out of those and that one, John, was His most-beloved disciple. While Spurgeon isn’t certain we’ll have favorite relationships in heaven, he clearly hopes we will. He says, “If we do, Christ has so prepared a place for us that you shall be nearest, in your position and occupation, to those who would contribute most to your happiness.”

If, as you walk about the New Jerusalem, you see Adam and Eve holding hands as they look at the tree of life would you begrudge them their special friendship? Of course not. And no one will begrudge you yours.

Perhaps you’re disappointed that you’ve never experienced the close friendships you long for. In heaven you’ll have much closer relationships with some people you know now. But it’s also true that you may not have met your closest friends yet. Maybe your future best friend, after Jesus Himself, will be someone sitting next to you at the first great feast. Don’t be surprised. After all, as Spurgeon suggests, the sovereign God, who orchestrates and redeems friendships, will be in charge of the seating arrangements.

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Psalm 73:23

Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have taken hold of my right hand.

Psalm 23:4

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Ephesians 1:6

To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved.

Joshua 23:14

you know in all your hearts and in all your souls, that not one thing has failed of all the good things which the Lord your God spoke concerning you; all have come to pass unto you, and not one thing hath failed.

Psalm 89:1,2,33,34

 I will sing of the mercies of the Lord for ever: with my mouth will I make known thy faithfulness to all generations. For I have said, Mercy shall be built up for ever: thy faithfulness shalt thou establish in the very heavens. Nevertheless my lovingkindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faithfulness to fail.  My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is gone out of my lips

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 26 ~ ~ Psalm 73:23-24 ~ ~ “Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You hold me by my right hand. You will guide me with Your counsel, and afterward receive me to glory.”

From the book, We Shall See God, Chapter entitled, “Friendship in Heaven: Part one

Charles Spurgeon

SPURGEON:

I do not know what better world, in many respects, there could be than this, so far as material nature if concerned. It is so full of the beauty and loveliness that God pours upon it on every side. It is a wonderful world.

But I could not reconcile myself to the idea that this world would be heaven. It will do well enough for the thousand years of glory, if it shall literally be that we shall reign with Christ upon it during the millennial age. But it is a drossy thing, and if it is ever to be the scene of the new heavens and the new earth, it must first pass through the fire. The very smell of sin is upon it, and:

GOD WILL NOT USE THIS GLOBE AS A VESSEL UNTO HONOR UNTIL HE HAS PURIFIED IT WITH FIRE AS HE ONCE DID WITH WATER.

Do you not think, dear friends, that our Lord Jesus Christ prepares heaven for His people by going there? Supposing you were to be lifted up to a state which was supposedly heaven but that Jesus was not there. It would be no heaven to you. But wherever I may go, when I do go, if Jesus is already there, I do not care where it is! Wherever He is shall be my heaven. For that is our very first and last thought about heaven: to be with Christ where He is. To be with Christ is far better than to be anywhere else.

The first thing that Christ had to do in order to prepare heaven for His people was to go to heaven, for that made it heaven. OH, how I long to see Him in His glory! I would part with all the joys of time and sense to gaze upon Him seated upon His throne. OH what will it be to see Him? You have seen how painters have failed when they have tried to depict Him. The bravest artist may well tremble and the brightest colors fade when anyone tries to paint Him even in His humiliation. There is no other face so marred as His face was. But what will it be in heaven when it is marred no more? No tear in His eye! No spittle running down His cheeks! But, Oh, the glory of humanity perfected and allied with deity!! “The King in His beauty!” (Isaiah 33:17)

It struck me as I turned this subject over in my mind that our Lord Jesus Christ knew that there was a place to be prepared for each one of His people. It may be – I cannot tell – that in some part of the society of heaven, one spirit will be happier than it might have been in another part. You know that, even though you love all the brothers and sisters, you cannot help feeling most at home with some of them.

Our blessed Lord and Master had no sinful favoritism, yet He did love twelve men better than all the rest of His disciples. And out of the twelve, He loved three whom He introduced into mysteries from which He excluded the other nine. And even out of the three there was one, you know, who was that disciple whom Jesus loved (John 13:23). Now everybody here has his likings. I do not know if we shall carry anything of that spirit to heaven. If we do, Christ has so prepared a place for us that you shall be nearest, in your position and occupation, to those who would contribute most to your happiness.

You shall be where you can most honor God and most enjoy God. But depend upon it; if there be any association – any more intimate connection – between some saints than among others, Jesus Christ will so beautifully arrange it that we shall all be in the happiest places.

We know that there have been bonds of spirit that may still continue. I sometimes think that if I could have any choice as to those I should live near in heaven, I should like to live in the region of such distinctive fold as Rowland Hill and John Berridge. (Rowland Hill was a popular preacher in London who died a year before Spurgeon was born, and John Berridge was an English revivalist and hymn writer in the eighteenth century – Spurgeon lived in the nineteenth). I think I would get on best with them, for we could talk together of the way God led us and how He brought souls to Christ. Though some said that we were a good deal too merry when we were “down below” and that the people laughed when they listened to us, and some spoke as if that were a great sin, we will make them laugh up yonder, I warrant you, as we tell again the wonders of redeeming love and of the grace of God – their mouths shall be filled with laughter and their tongues with singing! And then –

“Loudest of the crowd I’ll sing,

While heaven’s resounding mansions ring

With shouts of sovereign grace.”

And I expect each of you who love the Lord will say the same.

Let me just say this to you: the place is prepared. Are you prepared for it? Do you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? If so, your preparation has begun. Do you love the Lord and love His people? If so, your preparation is going on. Do you hate sin, and do you long for holiness? If so, your preparation is progressing.

Are you nothing at all, and is Jesus Christ your all in all? Do you know that you can never be good enough to get to heaven on your own, and therefore you accept His sacrifice? Then you are almost ready. May the Lord keep you in that condition and before long swing up the gates of pearl and let you in to the prepared place!!! May the Lord bring us all safely there, for Jesus’ glory!!!

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Philippians 1:6

 being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;

Psalm 68:6

God makes a home for the lonely;
He leads out the prisoners into prosperity,
Only the rebellious live in parched lands.

Joel 2:25a

Then I will compensate you for the years
That the swarming locust has eaten,

2 Corinthians 9:8

 And God is able to make all grace overflow to you, so that, always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed;

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 25~ ~ Revelation 21:3 ~ ~ “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,”

From the book “We Shall See God” –Chapter, “Not Just a State of Being.” – part 2 – Randy Alcorn

(Again, a reminder: everyone doesn’t go to the new heavens and new earth, described here. Only those who have made Jesus Christ their Lord, living only for Him, acknowledging His death for their sins, and repenting of their sins. Have you done that? Are you living for Him and obeying every one of the words in His Word, the Bible as best you can, with the help of the Holy Spirit? He is the Word of God, everything was created by WORDS – God’s Word, Jesus Christ – the Bible is living, it is Christ!!!)

ALCORN:

We shouldn’t be surprised when Scripture speaks of heaven in tangible and material ways. Nor should we feel it’s necessary to take such references figuratively. Spurgeon says, “After the Resurrection, you must remember, we shall need a place to live in – a literal, material place of residence. For these bodies of ours will be alive as well as our spirits, and they will need a world to live in, a new heaven and a new earth.”

Countless interpretations of heaven have stemmed from an erroneous view of the eternal state, with the result that passages with clear, straightforward meanings, such as eating and drinking together in the eternal Kingdom, are viewed as metaphorical references to the communion of spirits. But Scripture is unwavering in its physical description of the new earth.

The writers of scripture present heaven in any ways, including as a garden, a city and a kingdom. Because gardens, cities and kingdoms are familiar to us, they afford us a bridge to understanding heaven.

When Marco Polo returned to Italy from the court of Kublai Khan, he was describing a world his audience had never seen, so he had to appeal to people’s imaginations. China was not an imaginary realm, of course, but it was very different from Italy. He used Italy as a reference point to help people understand China. But if in the end his listeners thought China wasn’t a literal place, Marco Polo’s communication would have been in vain.

We cannot anticipate or desire what we cannot imagine. That’s why, I believe, God has given us glimpses of heaven in the Bible to fire up our imaginations and kindle a desire for heaven in our hearts. Rather than ignoring our imaginations, (or letting our imaginations go off the rails) I believe we should fuel them with Scripture.

Our misguided attempts to make heaven sound “spiritual” (i.e. nonphysical) merely succeed in making heaven sound unappealing. As human beings, whom God made to be both physical and spiritual, we are not designed to live in a nonphysical realm. We are not, as Plato supposed, merely spiritual beings temporarily encased in bodies. Adam did not become a “living being” until he was both body AND spirit (Genesis 2:7)

We are physical beings as much as we are spiritual beings. That’s why the bodily resurrection is so central in God’s plan of redemption – it is essential that God endow us with eternal, righteous humanity. In doing so, He sets our minds and bodies free from sin, the curse, and death and equips us to fulfill God’s purpose in our lives.

Only those with bodies can walk on and rule over the new earth. A material world is occupied by material beings. As Spurgeon puts it, “Christ is preparing a place not for spirits only, but a place for the entire personhood of his people when spirit, soul, and body shall be again united and we as complete people shall receive….the redemption of our bodies.”

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John 16:13

But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

Romans 1:4

who was declared the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness by the resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Luke 14:14

and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

Psalm 51:17

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, God, You will not despise.

John 5:25

Truly, truly, I say to you, a time is coming and even now has arrived, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live.

Psalm 77:6

I will remember my song in the night; I will meditate with my heart, And my spirit ponders:

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 24 ~ ~ Luke 15:24 ~ ~ “For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.” And they began to celebrate”

From the book, We Shall See God ~ ~ with Charles Spurgeon and Randy Alcorn

Today, the chapter, “Not Just a State of Being.” part 1—Spurgeon

C.H. SPURGEON:

When some people think of heaven, they imagine souls floating around among the clouds. But that’s not the picture the Bible paints of the New Earth. We, as both physical and spiritual beings, will inhabit a literal heaven on earth. The Bible says so!

Luke 15:20-24

“And he arose and came to his father. But when he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.’

“But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. 23 And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ And they began to be merry.”

When the prodigal son came back to his father, there was a preparation of the fatted calf, the music and dancing, and the gold ring and the best robe. Then what will be the preparation when we come home not as prodigals but as the bride prepared for her husband, or as the beloved children, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, returning to the Father, who shall see His own image in us and rejoice over us with singing?

It is a grand place that Christ prepares for us, for never was there such a royal host as He is. It is a mansion of delights that Christ prepares, for never was there another architect with thought so magnificent as His. Never were other hands so skilled at quarrying living stones and putting them one upon another! This thought ought to cheer us very much! It must be something very wonderful that Christ prepares as a suitable place for His people!

It must also be something very sweet when it is finally prepared. An honored guest cannot help observing that he is being treated with special recognition. That guest room appears newly furnished, and everything that was possible has been put there to do him honor. If you were such a guest, you would take pleasure in the fact that so much had been prepared for you. When you get to heaven, you will be astonished to see this and that and the other joy that was prepared for you because Christ thought of you and provided just what you would most appreciate.

You will be no stranger there, beloved. You will say, “there has been over here a hand that helped me when I was in distress. There has been over here, I know, an eye that saw me when I was wandering far from God. There has been, in this place, a heart that cared for me – that very same heart that loved me and bled for me down below upon the cross. It is my Savior who has prepared this place for me!!”

If Christ is preparing heaven, then it will be what our Scotch friends call “a bonny place.” And if it be prepared for us, when we get there, it will exactly fit us. It will be the very heaven we wanted – a better heaven than we ever dreamed of. A better heaven than we ever pictured, even when our imagination took its loftiest flights. The heaven of God, and yet a heaven exactly suited to the happy creatures we shall then be.

Jesus Christ has gone to prepare a place for His people. Does this not refer, if we keep it to its strict meaning, to the ultimate place of God’s people? You see, Christ mentions a place, not a state. And He speaks of going to it and coming back from it: “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” (John 14:3) Christ is speaking of Himself as fully human, without any figurative meaning to His words. He means that He is going, with all His human nature, away from this world and that He is going to prepare a place for us, intending to come again with all that glorified human nature to receive us to Himself

This does not mean His spiritual coming in death. I am persuaded that the clear meaning of the words involves our Lord’s second coning, when He will come to receive us. Not you or me as individuals who, one by one, will enter into the rest, but to receive His whole church into the place He shall then have prepared for her. After the Resurrection, you must remember, we shall need a place to live in – a literal, material place of residence. For these bodies of ours will be alive as well as our spirits, and they will need a world to live in, a new heaven and a new earth.

Christ is preparing a place not for spirits, but they are already before the throne of God, and perfectly blessed. No, a place for the entire personhood of His people, when spirit, soul and body shall be again united and we as complete people shall receive the adoption – that is, the redemption of our bodies. Then the complete personhood of every believer shall be perfected in the glory of Christ.

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1Corinthians 15:21-22

 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive.

Ps 73:26

My flesh and my heart fail;
But God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Psalm 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil;
For You are with me;
Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Hebrews 9:24

 For Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;

2 Corinthians 5:1

For we know that if our earthly house, this tent, is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 23 ~ ~ Revelation 3:12 ~ ~ “The one who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write on him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.”

Today, while we’re on the subject of our eternal home, we’re going to see what another teacher and author from the 1800’s has to say about New Jerusalem. It’s from the book, “God’s Eagles” by George D. Watson.

(Believers will live in the New Jerusalem during the Millennium ~ ~ 1,000 years before the time of the final battle and creation of the new heavens and new earth. We will live in the New Jerusalem, which Jesus is making for us in heaven, while unbelievers will be living in the rest of the world. Jesus will rule over the entire world)

Watson will explain verses from this group below, describing the city made in heaven, but brought down to earth:

~ ~ Revelation 21:15-21~ ~ “The angel who spoke to me had a golden measuring rod with which to measure the city and its foundation stones and wall. 16 Now the city is laid out as a square, its length and width the same. He measured the city with the measuring rod at 1,500 miles (its length and width and height are equal). 17 He also measured its wall, 72 yards, according to human measurement, which is also the angel’s. 18 The city’s wall is made of jasper and the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. 19 The foundations of the city’s wall are decorated with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation is jasper, the second sapphire, the third agate, the fourth emerald, 20 the fifth onyx, the sixth carnelian, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst. 21 And the twelve gates are twelve pearls—each one of the gates is made from just one pearl! The main street of the city is pure gold, like transparent glass. (New English translation because of the measurements and descriptions)

G. D. WATSON:

Notice the purity of the material of the city: “It is made of pure gold, like unto clear glass” For many years unbelievers disputed the reality of this inspired Scripture from the fact that gold is opaque, and how could a city made of gold be transparent? Many years ago, a great chemist in England purified gold to such a degree that it became transparent like clear glass, and on looking through it, it gave forth a beautiful green color. Thus science proved the infallible accuracy of God’s inspired word. God knew that gold could be made transparent, thousands of years before human science demonstrated the fact. Hence the city of the New Jerusalem will be transparent, notwithstanding it is made of gold.

In all creation no metal has been found so pure and fine as gold. It has a fineness that is almost beyond human comprehension. It is said that a block of gold an inch square can be hammered out into a thin veil that will cover an acre of land, and that it can be held in suspension. Scientists have found that there is gold in the sun. They can tell from the composition of its light; and gold is in the sea, and all through the earth, and in the composition of the stars. But no element has ever been discovered so fine as gold. Thus God will make the New Jerusalem of the purest material in all His vast creation, and of such degree of purity as to be transparent like clear glass. It is in agreement with this fact that saints are spoken of as being purified like fine gold. (our trials in life).

The apostle Peter speaks of having our faith like pure gold, (1Peter 1:7) for faith in the kingdom of heaven is just what gold is as a purchasing value on this earth. And the bride of Christ is described in the 45^th Psalm as dressed in fine gold of Ophir. So there will be a correspondence between the purity of the city and the purity of the saints who are the inhabitants.

Next, notice the size of the city. “And the city lies foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth, 1500 miles. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.”

One corner of the city would be located in the state of MAINE, and another corner in southern FLORIDA, and a third corner in NEW MEXICO, and a fourth corner in NORTH DAKOTA!! and then the entire structure would rise in the sky 1500 MILES HIGH!!!!!

It is not so much the outside measurements of the city that make it so vast as it is the interior structure of the streets and apartments and mansions and every conceivable furnishing of glory and accommodation for the glorified saints. If we allow the streets of the city to be one mile apart, and one mile high over each other, it would amount to eight million miles of streets! But if we put the streets a quarter of a mile apart and a quarter of a mile over each other, it would amount to countless millions of miles. Then, if we allow the most ample space for each one of the glorified saints for a mansion, all the beings that have ever been born of the human race would only fill one corner of that structure. Thus there will be ample space for every saint to have a mansion of glory with conveniences and ornaments in some way representative of that individual’s character or life work; just as the crowns that the saints wear will in some way set forth their particular rank in the kingdom, and their special rewards, so the mansion of each glorified saint will indicate in some way the peculiarities in his life or experience or work. “In My Father’s house are many mansions,” And this is the Father’s house, and these the countless mansions in the house.

Revelation 21:11 says, “ having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.”

The apostle (John) says, in verse 11 (above) that this city has the glory of God: that is, the city is the center of divine glory and is filled with God’s glory, for the Lamb is the light of it; and it has no need of the sun or the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God does lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof and the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of that city.—(see Revelation 21:23-24)

We must also remember that this city is a living organism the same as a human body is. We read of the pure river of the water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and the Lamb, and that this river runs all through the city and waters the tree of life, and supplies the whole city with water. (Jesus was no doubt thinking of this when He talked of Living Water)

The throne of the Lamb is in the center, and some have questioned, How can this pure river flow with equal facilities upwards, downwards, left or right, through every part of the city. This is explained by the fact that it will be a living organism. Look at our earth. The rivers both inside the earth and on the surface run every way, north, south, east, west, and down into the earth, and also gush up from the earth. Also, our human bodies are little, miniature worlds; in the center of the body is the heart, which is the source of life, sending out a river of blood with equal facility up to the head and down to the feet and out to the extremities, because it is a living organism and operates without any special reference to the law of terrestrial gravitation. The same will be true of the river of water in the New Jerusalem. It will flow every way with equal force. (Besides, it won’t be reliant on gravity with God in control)

All the streets of the city will be amply supplied with beautiful trees of life, and with every variety of fruit. At least twelve manner of fruit is spoken of in this Scripture.( see verse below) Every curse will be removed, and every blessing that the human imagination can conceive of will be in that city. It will be in fact the crown and the consummation of all the works of God in all the created universe.

The tree of life will yield twelve manner of fruits and yield us a new fruit every month, and the leaves of the tree are for healing of the nations. This word “healing” more literally should be translated “health-preserving” it does not imply that the nations will get sick, but it preserves health.

“And they shall see God’s face and the face of the Lamb, and His name shall be in their foreheads. And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; and they shall reign for ever and ever. And He said to me (John) These are the true sayings of God.” (Revelation 22)

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John 7:38

He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.”

• Revelation 5:12

saying with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain To receive power and riches and wisdom, And strength and honor and glory and blessing!”

• Revelation 5:13

And every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard saying: “Blessing and honor and glory and power Be to Him who sits on the throne, And to the Lamb, forever and ever!”

Ps 23:4

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil;
For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Romans 8:38-39

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

GOD’S WORD FOR OCTOBER 22 ~ ~Philippians 3:20-21 ~ ~ “ For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; who will transform the body of our lowly condition into conformity with His glorious body, by the exertion of the power that He has even to subject all things to Himself.”

From the book, We Shall See God, and the chapter entitled “A Prepared Place for a Prepared People”

Part 2

Randy Alcorn:

When it comes to our eternal home, we often imagine that this world as it now is, under the curse, is our ultimate home. C.S. Lewis writes, “Our father refreshes us on the journey with some pleasant inns, but will not encourage us to mistake them for home.”

Theologian Donald Bloesch suggests, “Our greatest affliction is not anxiety, or even guilt, but rather homesickness – a nostalgia or continual yearning to be at home with God.

Jesus says, “In my Father’s house are many rooms…I go to prepare a place for you.” (John 14;2). the word “place” is singular, but “rooms” is plural. This suggests that Jesus has in mind for each of us an individual dwelling that is a smaller part of the larger place.

The word “room” is cozy and intimate. The term “house” can also be viewed as “estate”; either way, it suggests spaciousness. That is heaven: a place both spacious and intimate. Some of us enjoy coziness, being tucked away in a private space. Some of us enjoy largeness, the freedom of a wide-open space. Most of us enjoy both at various times. The new earth will offer both.

Think of it. The Carpenter from Nazareth promised us, His bride, that He was going to prepare a place for us and would one day come to take us there. Carpenters build things and fix things. Long ago He build a universe that later went wrong, and He’s going to fix it. He has qualities that come in handy in building projects – including being all-knowing and all powerful.

When this life is over – and particularly when we arrive on the new earth – God’s children will truly be able to come home for the first time. Because our home in heaven will never burn, flood, or be blown away, we’ll never have to wonder whether home will still be there when we return. The new heavens and new earth will never disappear. They’ll give a wonderful permanence to the word “home”.

If heaven is truly our home, we should expect it to have the good qualities we associate with home. Home as a term for heaven isn’t simply a metaphor. It describes an actual, physical place – a place promised and built by our Bridegroom; a place we’ll share with loved ones; a place of fond familiarity and comfort and refuge; A place of marvelous smells and tastes, fine food, and great conversation; a place of contemplation and interaction and opportunity to express the gifts and passions that God has given us.

Though many of us affirm a belief in the resurrection of the dead, we don’t understand its implications in terms of “place”. Our truncated doctrine of the Resurrection, which fails to include eternal life on the new earth, dresses up men and women in bodies, then gives them no place to go! This unbiblical stereo-type of the eternal heaven as a vague habitation of disembodied spirits hurts us far more than we realize. We envision an immaterial and utterly unfamiliar heaven that might work for angels or ghosts but for human beings would be the OPPOSITE of home. No wonder there is such ambivalence and uneasiness about heaven in our churches.

Bible scholar W. Graham Scroggie puts it this way: “future existence is not a purely spiritual existence; it demands a life in a body, and in a material universe.

When we see the particular place Jesus has prepared for us – not just for mankind in general but for each of us in particular – we will rejoice. We will realize it is truly the perfect home, tailor made for each of us.

As Spurgeon says, “Brothers and sisters, He will do it well, for He knows all about us. He knows what will give us the most happiness….I know He will prepare us nothing second rate, nothing that could possibly be excelled. We shall have the best of the best, and much of it; we shall have all that even His great heart can give us.

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John 14:2-3

 In My Father’s house are many rooms; if that were not so, I would have told you, because I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I am coming again and will take you to Myself, so that where I am, there you also will be.

Hebrews 13:14

For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking the city which is to come.

Revelation 21:3

 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them,

Ps 91:1

One who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
Will lodge in the shadow of the Almighty.

Revelation 14:13

And I heard a voice from heaven, saying, “Write: ‘Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on!’” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “so that they may rest from their labors, for their deeds follow with them.”

Hebrews 3:4

For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God.

Hebrews 9:24

For Christ did not enter a holy place made by hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;