The Mystical Body of Christ

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8C. The End of Death and Time in Heaven blue flower

laughing Jesus

The Heavenly Mystical Body begins in the making when a person commits to Christ. A little boy shivered on a bleak and chilled city pavement, afraid and hungry. A city missionary invited him to a hostel and told him simply, "Go there, ring the bell, and when they ask who you are, say the three words, 'In His Name.'" The lad found his way to the hostel, ventured up the steps, repeated the strange words and to his amazement received a royal welcome with a good supper and a warm clean bed. A few days later he was seriously injured in a street accident and taken to hospital. The missionary visited him again and assured him of the love of Jesus. In the hours before his death, he was found repeating again and again, "In His Name, that's what lets you in." Resurrection and entry into heaven may only be expected by those who come "In His Name."

Who is in Heaven?

John Wesley

John Wesley had a dream in which he was standing at the gates of Hell. "Are there any Presbyterians in there?" he cried out. "Yes," came the answer, "a great many." "Any Church of England members?" - "Yes, lots of them." "Any Baptists?" - "A large number." "and, are there any Wesleyans?" Again the answer came "Yes, many of them." Wesley was then transported in his dream at the gates of Heaven. He repeated the same questions and each time was surprised to receive the same negative answer, "No, not one! No Baptists, no Church of England, no Presbyterians and no Wesleyans in heaven!" "Who, then, is in heaven?" Wesley exclaimed. "We know nothing about the names you mentioned," came the reply. "The only one that matters here is Christian. We are all Christians here."

History and Eternity

Rock Outcrop

The Body of Christ is part of history and can never be separated from it. Just as an outcrop on a mountain is an example of the rock beneath, so the Body of Christ on earth is only a small part of the historical Body of Christ across the ages. She is united and joined historically from the past to the future by Christ himself. Jesus as the Head holds the Mystical Body across time as a fourth dimension bound together by God himself.

Jesus is With Christians

G. Campbell Morgan (1863 - 1945)

Jesus is with us as Christians not just in this life, but into all eternity. The Jesus image in the Body of Christ sustains us even through death. "Just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven."(3).G. Campbell Morgan read Christ's Great Commission to a devout Christian lady, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" he said, then added, "that's a great promise." With a twinkle in her eye the lady replied, "Dr. Morgan, that's not a promise, that's reality." Jesus was there at the beginning of creation. He was "In the world, though it was made by him, it did not recognize him."

GOD IS A MULTIPLICATION OF THE MEMORY PRINCIPLE

Question for Discussion

Look for pictures of Jesus as an adult. Note the amazing likenesses! Why is this?

Notes

(1) Philippians 3.21 (2) John 11.25,26. (3) 1 Corinthians 15.49.

tellout line "We are living members of his mystical body" tellout line

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