A Crucified Life - - Longing To Be Clothed

 

2 Corinthians 5:2-3

For in this tent we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked.

*Strong's Ex. Conc. No. 1971 & 1902

Longing: strain after, desire greatly, have affection for, intensely crave

From the Greek word 'epipotheó' (pronounced  ep-ee-poth-eh'-o): to have a yearning love for

To Be Clothed: to have on over (oneself)

From the Greek word 'ependuomai' (pronounced ep-en-doo'-om-ahee): refers to the glorified body the Lord gives (puts on) each believer at Christ's return. 

DEATH NOT OURS TO WEAR

    Being the body of Christ is a spiritual thing. Having risen from the grave and being clothed in a glorified body, Christ has ascended to be with His Father in heaven, seated on His right hand, where He intercedes for His followers: all of His followers: we who are alive and have come to Christ until this point in time and we who will be His followers until His enemies are annihilated.

    Death is not our garment. It merely wraps itself around our corrupted bodies, which were created with sinful natures, sin having reigned in this world since Adam and Eve disobeyed God.  Because they were the first people and all people descended from them, all people are created with a sinful nature. We needed a Savior to save us and save us Christ Jesus did. (1 Corinthians 15:55).

    When we make a decision to follow Christ, we also should be making a commitment to live a holy and blameless life/lifestyle. We decide for ourselves that it is better to live a Christ-centered, Spirit-filled life than it is to live a life without God in it. 

    Which is the life we had before we came to Christ. It was no good then, it will be even worse for us were we to turn our backs on God after believing Him for our salvation. Proverbs 26:11 warns us of this folly: "As a dog returns to its vomit, so a fool repeats his folly." (cf 2 Peter 2:20-22).

    As we age, we groan when we sit up, stand up, stretch, sit down; basically, whenever we shift position, we groan. The groan escapes our mouths though we try not to. That's life. For now. 

    We LOOOONNNNGGG to be clothed with our eternal bodies. We anticipate living on the other side of our eternity with joy and hope, knowing that even as we are in Christ now, we will be even more so then. 

UPGRADED

    We who believe that Jesus Christ is Lord and Savior--Lord of our lives and Savior who saves us from our sins--await the day we receive our divine glorified covering/garment. We know that the garment we are currently clothed with is considered a filthy rag, a filthy garment, by God and must be taken off of us before we can receive the divine garment prepared for us. 

    In Zechariah 3 we learn of Joshua the high priest, who stands before God in his filthy garments. Satan is at one side of him ready to accuse him before God. But God knows that Joshua is innocent and demands that his filthy garments be removed so that his 'splendid' clothes may be put on him. 

    Joshua could not remove the filthy garments he was clothed in: only God could do that. Joshua could not dress himself in splendid clothes: only God could do that. This passage is a shadow of Christ being our covering. 

    We cannot in and of ourselves remove sin from ourselves: only God can do that through the sacrifice of His only begotten Son Jesus Christ. We needed an upgrade that only God can provide. So He did (John 3:16).

     We put Christ on (Romans 13:14) when we believe on His name for our salvation (Romans 10:13). But it is God who clothes us with Christ, not we ourselves (Ephesians 2:1-10). 

WEDDING GARMENTS

    Matthew 22:1-14 tells us the Parable of The Wedding Banquet. Though many of the king's servants went out into the fields to call the invited guests to the wedding feast he had prepared for his son, none would come in; each had his own excuse for not attending. 

So the king sent His servants into the streets to invite everyone else and soon his tables were full. But someone had come in who was not invited. 

See, in order to get seated at the tables, everyone had to have wedding garments on. You know, nice clothes; clean and respectable clothes. They had to be cleaned up and made presentable. It was easy to recognize the uninvited guest because he wasn't cleaned up, nor covered in the wedding garment. 

The king ordered the uninvited guest, who had no defense, to be bound hand and foot and thrown into utter darkness (cf Matthew 8:12; Matthew 25:30; Luke 13:28). 

We who will be clothed with Christ as our Wedding Garment will take our places at the heavenly wedding banquet which has been prepared for the marriage supper of the Lamb and His bride (Revelation 19:9).

Which guest are you going to be? The invited guest or the uninvited guest? It is, after all, a decision each of us has to make while the invitation is being made. 

INVITED

    

    

A Place At His Table

 

Luke 22:24-30

 A dispute also arose among the disciples as to which of them would be considered the greatest.

  So Jesus declared, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in authority over them call themselves benefactors.

  But you shall not be like them. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who leads like the one who serves.

  For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines? But I am among you as one who serves.

  You are the ones who have stood by Me in My trials.

  And I bestow on you a kingdom, just as My Father has bestowed one on Me, 

  so that you may eat and drink at My table in My kingdom, and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel." (Jesus speaking at the Last Supper he had with His disciples before His death and resurrection)

WHO WILL SIT AT THE LORD'S TABLE?

John 21:12

  Jesus said unto them, Come and dine. And none of the disciples dared ask him, Who are You? knowing that it was the Lord.

Isaiah 55:1

  “Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy grain and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost [simply accept it as a gift from God]."

Joel 2:32

  And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.

Matthew 5:6

  "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled." (Jesus speaking at the Sermon on the Mount)

John 7:37 & 38

  On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood up and called out in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink,

  Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said: ‘Streams of living water will flow from within him.’ ” (Jesus speaking at the Feast of the Tabernacles)

John 4:14

  "But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a fount of water springing up to eternal life.” (Jesus speaking to the Samaritan woman at the well)

Acts 2:21

'And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

Romans 10:13

  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Revelation 22:17

  The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” Let the one who hears say, “Come!” And let the one who is thirsty come, and the one who desires the water of life drink freely.

While there are a couple other tables (notably, Psalm 23:5) mentioned in the Bible, the table referred to here is the one being set up for the marriage supper of the Lamb and His Bride.

Luke 14:15

  When one of those reclining with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

Revelation 19:9

  Then the angel told me to write, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God.”

I'm a "Whosoever Will". God sent out His invite through His only begotten Son Jesus Christ and I accepted His invitation. I am saved by the blood of the Lamb! And when God calls me name for the last time here on this earth, I will join Jesus and the saints who have gone before me. 

I heard God's 'call', God's invite, to Come & Dine with Him. And I R.S.V.P.'d by giving Him my heart, my spiritual heart, for Him to live in. Have you done this? Do you believe?