Bema Seat Explained: Believer Rewards & Glorified Bodies

Hello, and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick. Okay, it's good to have everybody in for the taping again this afternoon, and for those of you joining us on television, we just ask that you pick up your Bible and a pen and some notepaper and try to follow our scriptural references as much as you can, because after all, what I say doesn't amount to that much unless you can see that it's coming from the book. And as I've said so often, the only reason I teach is to get folks interested in their own personal Bible study. Now, I know a lot of people read their Bible. In fact, I had a lady call just this morning. Well, she said, I've been reading my Bible for years, but I never understood what I read. And that's so typical. And so we just try to help people understand. Now by way of announcements, we have to do this every once in a while. For those of you who have tuned in just recently, remember that all the past programs, beginning back in Genesis chapter 1, are available in videotape as well as audio tape. And slowly but surely, we're getting them all transcribed into the printed page. We now have the first four tapes in print. And if you're interested in any of that, you give us a call on the 800 number, and my little wife handles all the mailings, and she's been doing just a super job so far. If ever there's a faulty tape, just be kind enough to send them back, because we want to guarantee that they'll all be good quality tapes. Now one of my class members down at Macalester wrote up an interesting little invitation, and I'm just going to read what he wrote, because it's his word, not mine. He's mighty, sitting right over here. He had a good idea, and he says, now if travel plans include eastern Oklahoma, now we're talking to the television audience. If travel plans include eastern Oklahoma, we invite you to join one or all of Lester's personally led classes. There are no fees, no collections, and no tests. Some people worry. I remember I used to teach in the college, and then they wondered, well, how did I give a grade without testing? Well, I graded on attendance and attention for many, many years, and we never subject anybody to a test. But anyway, if that is indeed the case, you call us on our 800 number if you're coming to Oklahoma and find out where and when. Now remember, we teach almost every night of the week in one place or another, and if that includes any of those areas, we'll let you know where we'll be at any particular time. How's that, Monty? That help? Okay, now then, we're going to go back to where we left off, and in our last program we were talking about believers coming up before the judgment seat of Christ, the Bema seat. And even on our tape headings I've noticed that we've used that word, and a few people have already asked, well, I didn't know what that word was. Well, the Bema is just simply the Greek word for what is translated the judgment seat, and of course it came from the Olympics. The seat of the judges was called the Bema seat in the Greek, and consequently the judgment seat of Christ is, I think, an unfortunate term. It's simply the seat of judging, not for heaven or hell, but for reward, for those of us who are children of God, especially of the members of the body of Christ, we will come before the Bema seat one day for reward. Now I know there are a lot of folk that don't like that concept, that we are going to get rewards, but it's biblical. We are definitely going to get reward based on our Christian walk in this life here on earth. And of course the rewards are going to come to their fruition primarily in the Kingdom economy. In other words, when the Kingdom finally comes on the earth, and it becomes viable, and it becomes active, Christ is the King of kings, you know, and Lord of lords, ruling primarily of course the nation of Israel, who will be the greatest nation going into the Kingdom. But then He will also of course be the worldwide ruler. He's going to be King of kings, and Lord of lords, and we're going to rule and reign with Him. Now here's where the reward aspect comes in, that as we rule and reign with Him, our level of responsibility is going to be based on our faithfulness here. And that's why it behooves us as believers to labor, to work, to serve for the reward, not for salvation, you can't earn that anyway, but for reward. Now I think most people, there's always the exception of course, but I think most people would rather be active as to be sitting on the sideline. I know I would, I just couldn't stand sitting on the sidelines. But here's the whole concept. Now I've asked these in the studio to begin with me in Romans chapter 8. I just about went somebody someplace else first, but I'm not going to throw a curve at you. We'll start where I said I would. Stay here in Romans chapter 8, and let's drop down to verse 14. Now what I'm really going to be doing is still, we haven't finished our study of Revelation by any means, but our time line up here again from the time of the cross, and then of course once we get into the book of Acts, we have the calling out of the body of Christ, or the church which is His body, or the body of Christ which is the church, is the way Paul usually calls it, and then we have to be called out of the way because God is going to pick up where He left off with the Jew way back here. It's just a parenthetical period of time now that Israel has been in dispersion. Israel has been out of the land without a temple and without a sacrifice and all the rest of it. But when the church is removed, then God can pick up where He left off, and that's why it's mandatory of course that the church has to be out of the way, because you cannot mix law and grace, not from this end or on this end. And so the age of grace will be consummated, and as such it will be taken out at the rapture as we call it. We meet Christ in the air, and then we go back with Him into what we understand as heaven, while the seven years of tribulation are going to rage here on the earth. Now you have to remember that as soon as we are raptured out and we receive our new bodies, and we're going to be looking at that in this half hour, we step out of time and into what? Eternity. Now it's hard for us to comprehend how even though seven distinct years are going to unfold here on the earth, yet that seven years multiplies into all the time in the world, because we're out of time, we're in eternity. And the reason I'm stressing that, because in no way could the Lord deal with every individual believer from the beginning of the church age until the end in seven years. It just would be utterly impossible in that frame of time. But you see, since we're out of time in eternity, there'll be no problem. Don't ask me how to explain it, I can't. But I just know that once we step out of time and into eternity, then time is irrelevant. And so we're all going to have that specific, personal, quality time in front of the Lord for our reward. All right, now then. It's at this point in time that I'm going to come in at Romans, because we are getting ready for the return of Christ to set up His kingdom at the end of the tribulation. And of course, Revelation specifies it'll be a thousand years. Now another thing I guess I better define is that even though Revelation says it's going to be a thousand years, all the prophecies concerning the kingdom in the Old Testament use what kind of terminology? Forever, forever, eternally. So the only way we can really look at it then is that this thousand-year kingdom is just an introduction to the eternal state. It's going to be interrupted, of course. We're going to have a new heaven, new earth. But even eternity is going to be based on the physical attributes and so forth of this thousand-year reign of Christ. Yes, there'll be some differences, because here in the thousand years you still have flesh and blood people having children and so on and so forth, whereas in the eternal state I don't believe that's going to carry on. But other than that, there's going to be tremendous activity, there's going to be tremendous production all through the eternal state. We're not going to be sitting up there on a cloud, floating around doing nothing, strumming a harp as so many people have got the idea. But here now in chapter 8 we come to this point in time for the believer, beginning with the rewards, but it all is looking forward to the time when Christ will return, set up His kingdom now for this thousand years, and we're going to be part of it. We're going to be playing our role in that kingdom as we rule and reign under the Lord. All right, Romans 8, verse 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God, or the children of God. For you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself, the King James, I like Himself, the Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit that we are, present tense, not will be, but we are already the children of God. Now then verse 17, if we're children, now the Greek word here is teknon, which means the born ones, born from above. And if children, then what? Heirs. Now that brings us into a family relationship, see? If we're children of God, then we're heirs, heirs of God, joint heirs with Christ. Now I think most of you are acquainted with our laws on joint heirship. That means that what belongs to the husband belongs to whom? To the wife. What's hers is his, and that's what joint heirship is all about. And so it will be with Christ. What's His will be ours, and what's ours, of course, is His, even though it may be next to nothing. But we are joint heirs, see? Now then, you come on down, finish verse 17, if so be that we suffer with Him that we may also be glorified together. Now I like these next few verses, and I think very few people realize what these verses are teaching. And Paul now goes on to say, "...for I reckon that the sufferings of this present time..." And Paul knew what it was to suffer, remember? "...I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be," future now, "...revealed in," or to us. Now here it is, verse 19, "...for the earnest expectation of the creation." Now I know the word King James has, creature, but your marginals show you that a better word is creation. "...for the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the manifestation of the sons or children of God." All right, when will you and I, as God's children, be manifested? Well, when we come into this glorious kingdom rule with Him. That's where we will experience our manifestation. Now you remember my definition? I've used it over and over. To be manifested in Scripture is to be put in the spotlight. Remember, I've always used the analogy of a microscope. You can put that little slide under it with maybe a drop of pond water, which every high school kid, I trust they still teach that in high school, that at least a drop of pond water, and you put it under that magnifying glass and that bright light, and then all of a sudden what do you see? All those little living things that you don't see otherwise. That's manifestation. That is manifestation, to be put under the spotlight. All right, our day is coming when we're going to be just literally put in the spotlight, and you know what? All of creation is waiting for that day. Even now, all of creation is waiting for the day when we are going to come into this place of renown. All right, verse 20, "...for the creation was made subject to vanity." In other words, that's the curse. The creation was subject to the curse, not willingly. Creation didn't have anything to do with Adam's sin, and then read on, "...but by reason of him who hath subjected the same," what are the next two words, "...in hope." So as soon as Adam sinned and the curse fell, what did God immediately come back and promise? Oh, the time of restoration. And so all of creation is looking constantly for that day when the curse will be finally lifted. Now, you know, when we first started the book of Revelation and we began to talk about these seven terrible years that are coming, that the whole idea of this seven years is to bring the world, the earth, to a delivery. Remember that? When Jesus said, these are the days of travail in Matthew 24? Remember I pointed out what was the travail connected with? Delivery. In this instance, it's the delivery of the planet from the curse. And so from the very day that it was subjected to the curse, God has begun to promise that there's coming a day of redemption for it. All right, let's read on. Our time is going to get away from us. Because the creation shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption, see, that's what we're living under today. Everything is under this bondage of corruption, sin and death, everything dies, whether it's in the animal kingdom or wherever, death rules supreme it seems. And so the creation shall be delivered from this bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of whom? The children of God, see? That's where we're going to come in. For we know, verse 22, that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth. Now I'm going to stretch your thinking. What's involved in the term whole creation? Just man? No, everything, see? The flowers, the birds, the trees, the animal kingdom, see? The rocks. Now, you say, well, wait a minute now. Don't tell me the rocks are aware of all this. Oh, no? You remember when He had His triumphal entry and they tried to shut down the crowd? What did Jesus say? Why, if you shut these people up, the rocks will take their place in crying out. They were aware of who He was. And so all of creation is aware of the Creator, far more than most human beings are. And they are all waiting, then, for this great day of deliverance from the curse. All right? Verse 22 then again. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain, that is, under the results of the curse, together until now. And not only they, in other words, not all the inanimate things necessarily, but ourselves also, even we as believers. My, if we're a true believer today, what is our present day longing? Oh, for the Lord to come. As we see the world just falling apart and literally, literally going into the lap of the evil one more and more and more. How can we help but cry out, Lord, come quickly? Because if He doesn't, I can see that even in our beloved America we're going to see some tremendous changes. So here we are. We also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, verse 23, even we ourselves groan within ourselves waiting for the adoption, that is to say, the redemption of our body. Now we have the redemption of the soul and spirit. That's already concluded. But we are still waiting for the redemption of this body that Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15 is corruptible, and it's going to suddenly become incorruptible when we go up into the presence of the Lord, receive our reward, and we're getting ready to come back and become active participants then in the kingdom. Now another verse that I didn't give you before we started. This comes to mind. Turn with me to Galatians. No, Colossians. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, and then the little letter to Colossians because I always like to point out that we who are believers today are already members of the kingdom. Now the kingdom isn't on earth, but where is it? It's in heaven, and one day that kingdom of heaven is going to come on the earth, and we're going to be part and parcel of it because we're already in it. All right, Colossians chapter 1, beginning with verse 12, where the apostle is praying, of course, for the Colossi believers, and in that prayer now as he winds it up, he comes down to verse 12, and he says, "...giving thanks to the Father, who hath made us meet," or has prepared us, "...to be partakers of the," what word again? Inheritance, see? "...the inheritance of the saints in light." Now it's that same language that you saw in Romans 8. Then verse 13, "...who," the Father, "...hath," past tense, "...delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath," past tense, it's already been accomplished if we're a believer today, "...and he hath translated us into the," what? "...the kingdom of his dear Son." Now those of you who have been with me all these years, what have I said about the kingdom? The kingdom is the kingdom is the kingdom. Whatever kingdom was promised to David and Solomon back there, and the later promise to the disciples in Matthew and the Gospels, later made reference to in the book of Acts, is the same kingdom that now is mentioned here in Colossians, and it's the same kingdom that's coming upon the earth. It's the same one. All right, now then, to get a little hint of how our bodies are going to be, we were talking about before we went on camera, I personally like to think that when we get into our new resurrected body, we'll all be the age that Christ was when He was in His earthly ministry, which of course was 30 to 33. So when someone elderly says, am I going to be gray-haired when I get to heaven? I don't think so. We're all going to be 30-something, and we're going to have all of the vim and the vigor and the vitality of that glorious age group. They don't know how good they've got it, do they? All right, 1 John. 1 John. Here's one little hint. 1 John chapter 3, and again I guess I should start with verse 1, because we have almost the same language that Paul used in Romans 8. Behold what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons, see, or the children of God. Therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now here it comes, Beloved, now we are, present tense, now we are the sons of God, it doth not yet appear what we shall be. In other words, we don't have a full understanding of how we're going to look and so on and so forth, but we do know this much. But we know that when He shall appear, we shall be what? Like Him. In every respect, we're going to be like Him, and we shall see Him as He is. Now I don't dare ignore the next verse, because I think it's so apropos for every believer. And that says, And every man, that is every believer, man, woman, boy or girl, every believer that hath this hope, in other words, that the Lord will be coming maybe today, when we have that hope in us, we purify ourselves. In other words, just the fact that we know that one day soon, I always like to use the analogy, I think my wife is no more abnormal than anybody else, I think most housewives do this, and that is, if you know company is coming, what do you do with the old house? Well, you clean, and you straighten up, and you get the guest room ready, you get the bathrooms clean. Why? Because you're expecting a visitor. Now that should be the attitude, you see, of every believer every day. We should keep our spiritual house in order, because any moment we're going to have a visitor. And I think it's so apropos for us today. All right, we know we're going to be like Him, we're going to be as He is. All right, now let's go back on our way to the Gospel. Stop at Philippians. Try to make it as easy for you as I can. Now, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians. Chapter 3, and as usual, I'm going to run out of time. You know, I'm used to teaching two hours, and that makes a big difference. You try to jam everything down into 30 minutes. All right, Philippians, chapter 3, verse 20. Now remember, Paul always writes to the believer. And now he says to you and I for our conversation, or again, if you have a margin or a newer translation, the word is better translated, what? Citizenship. For our citizenship is in heaven. Remember, we're already in the kingdom. From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall change our vile body, this one that's prone to sickness and death and corruption. He'll change this vile body that it may be fashioned like unto His glorious body, not the body of humiliation before the cross. But when was He glorified? Well, at resurrection. After the death, burial, and resurrection, He attained again the glory that He had. Now, that's in John chapter 17 in the high priestly prayer. All right, so it'll be fashioned like unto His glorious body, or His post-resurrection body, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue. All right, now in the moments or two that we have left, come back with me to Luke 24, and we'll take just a quick look at His post-resurrection experience. And remember, we're going to be like it. So I've told my class people over the years, if you want to get a good handle, as much as Scripture reveals, of how we're going to operate in our new resurrected body, you study the 40 days of Christ's post-resurrection life. All right, now here's part of it. Luke 24. Now remember, they weren't expecting resurrection. They had no idea in the first place that He was going to die. And then when He died, they had no idea He was going to rise from the dead. None whatsoever. That was totally blanked out for them. And so now it has happened, see? And they still are having a hard time accepting it. They've already seen Him once. And now in verse 36, And as they thus spake, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and that is Peter and James and John and some of the rest. And He stood in the midst of them, and He said to them, Peace be unto you. But they were what? Terrified, see? They were terrified and affrighted, and suppose they had seen a spirit. And He said to them, Why are you troubled? Why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me, see that? Handle Me, touch Me, and see. For a spirit hath not flesh and what? Bone. Now today we speak of our makeup as what? Flesh and blood. But you see, in the eternal state, we'll be flesh and bone, not flesh and blood. All right. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His hands and His feet. And while they yet believed not, although they were full of joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have you any food? Now this is amazing. I mean, this is amazing. And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish and of a honeycomb, and He took it, and He did what? Now most people don't know that. He ate. He ate. With that glorified body, see? And He ate. And then He says unto them in verse 44, These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, that are written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Verse 45, Then He opened their understanding that they might understand the Scriptures. That is a little more of the Scriptures. They still had a lot that they didn't comprehend. But here is just one little glimpse. My time is gone. But here is just one little idea. You know that He was on the road to Emmaus, and all of a sudden He fell in step with those believers, visited with them, went into the house with them, and after He had finished that little sojourn there, in a split, split second, where was He? Back in Jerusalem, into the room with the disciples, see? And then all of a sudden He could be somewhere else. Didn't need doors. Didn't need windows. He just disappeared. And that's the kind of an existence we got ahead of us. Thank you for watching Through the Bible with Les Feldick. A weekly Bible study. If you would like more information about the Les Feldick Ministries, a Bible study in your area, or about this program, write to Les Feldick Ministries, Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. That's Route 1, Box 760, Kinta, Oklahoma, 74552. Through the Bible with Les Feldick is viewer -supported, and your gift is appreciated. Thank you, and be sure to tune in next time for Through the Bible with Les Feldick.