Reflections
These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth. (Heb 11:13)
THE promise of the Father is Jesus Christ — who dwells in the believer through the Spirit. All of God’s other promises, indeed, all that God has for man, is found in the Person of His Son. And Christ is IN US. If Christ is in us, we are complete in Him. (Col. 2:9) The Christian life is then not a matter of getting more of Christ, but rather, a matter of discovering Him, and having Him formed in us.
But in this age it is impossible for us to practically experience all that we have received in Christ. We continue to live in physical bodies with a soul to contend with. There is the limitation of time.
Experiencing Christ takes eternity because Christ is eternal. That is why the Spirit of God – through which Christ dwells in us – is said to be, “the earnest of our inheritance.” (Eph. 1:14) The word, “earnest,” means, “down payment.” So despite all of the wonderful possibilities HERE, the real fruitage will be realized THERE.
This is the Truth wrapped up in the above verse, Heb. 11:13. A stranger and pilgrim will never feel at home in this age. We live here but don’t belong here. We will always be longing for another home – something beyond here. But this is all because we are a new creation, born of the Spirit. HERE we can see only from afar – as through a glass darkly. And we can see plenty. But THEN we will see Him face to face. (I Cor. 13:12)
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