1 Peter 3:18-20 (KJV), “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened (made alive) by the Spirit: By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.” When Jesus consecrated himself to deny his own will and to do only the Father’s will, he was baptized into the death of his human will. “Then I (Jesus) said, Behold, I have come–In the volume of the book it is written of me–to do Your will, O God.” Hebrews 10:7 (NKJV). Jesus told His followers to deny their wills also. Matthew 16:24 (NKJV), “Then Jesus said to his disciples, ‘If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’” Christians are “buried with Him in baptism, in which you also were raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead.” Colossians 2:12 (NKJV). How and when was Jesus quickened? In 1 Peter 3:18, the word translated “quickened” is Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance word #G2227, meaning “made alive.” At his baptism, Jesus was made alive (begotten) to a new life by the Holy Spirit. When he was raised from the water, “the heavens were opened unto him” (Matthew 3:16 NKJV). “…for God gives him (Jesus) the spirit without limit.” John 3:34 (NLT) Thus, Jesus lived the rest of his life as a “spirit-begotten new creature. ” Jesus’ will, words and actions were all in harmony with God’s purposes. John 3:34 (NLT), “For he is sent by God. He speaks God’s words, for God gives him the spirit without limit.” It was Jesus’s amazing life as a new creature that was a sermon to the spirits in prison (the fallen angels). These sinful angels watched how Jesus led a pure, loving, holy life – even when opposed by evilness. The demons knew who Jesus was. Luke 8:27-29 (KJV), “…there met him (Jesus) a certain man from the city who had demons for a long time. And he wore no clothes, nor did he live in a house but in the tombs. When he saw Jesus, he cried out, fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with you, Jesus, son of the Most High God? …For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man.” Perhaps you have heard the saying, “Your actions speak louder than words.” Jesus’s life was the sermon.

“For wherever the carcass is, there the eagles will be gathered together.” Matthew 24:28 (NKJV). The carcass refers to a freshly slain animal. In this scripture, it symbolizes Jesus’s death on the cross. Jesus is pictured as a slain lamb in Revelation 5:6 (NKJV), “And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as though it had been slain,…” Who are the eagles? The eagles (some Bibles translate this word as vultures) are consecrated followers of Jesus. God speaks about eagles in Job 39:27-30 (NET), 27 “Is it at your command that the eagle soars, and builds its nest on high? 28 It lives on a rock and spends the night there, on a rocky crag and a fortress. 29 From there it spots its prey, its eyes gaze intently from a distance. 30 And its young ones devour the blood, and where the (freshly slain) dead carcasses are, there it is.” So in Matthew 24:28, Jesus’s death (the carcass) draws the eagles (Christian believers) to feed on Him. Jesus proclaimed, “… unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.” John 6:53 (NKJV) We love Jesus. The crucified and risen Christ (and all the blessings His sacrifice provides) becomes the consuming focus of our lives. And just as eagles crave food, we, Christian believers, gather together to eat the spiritual life and food of the ransom sacrifice. We receive spiritual food by reading/studying the Bible, worshipping, obeying, and developing into Christ’s likeness.

The word “reverence” means “deep respect,” which is exactly the attitude we should always have regarding God, His son Jesus, and the Bible. In Exodus, when God chose Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, He spoke to him through a burning bush. (Exodus 3:5, NIV) “‘Do not come any closer,’ God said. ‘Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.’” Doing this was an act of reverence for God and His message. In the book of John (see John 2:13-16), it was deep reverence for God that caused Jesus to overturn the tables of the money changers in the temple. He knew they were cheating the people and not treating God’s house with the proper respect His father deserved. Daniel (see Daniel 6:10) continued to pray to God even after it was declared against Persian law to do so. He knew the punishment was to be thrown into a hungry lion’s den, but his reverence for God was so great that he could not stop praising and honoring Him. By God’s grace and protection, Daniel was saved. Sometimes the Bible tells us to “fear the Lord,” but the word “fear” in some cases really means “reverence.” For example, 1 Samuel (12:24, Berean Study Bible) tells us, “Above all, fear the LORD and serve Him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things He has done for you.” This Scripture isn’t saying we should be “afraid” of God, but instead that we should have deep reverence when we serve Him and always remember the blessings He has provided. How can WE show reverence? First, we can pray with the highest respect towards God, recognizing His mighty power and greatness while remembering how small we are. Second, we should pay attention when we are learning about God or studying the Bible, either in a class or at home. We shouldn’t be distracted because we are receiving knowledge that is very important for our lives. The Bible is God’s written word so it deserves our reverence. Third, we can recognize that meeting together with other Christians is a privilege and a blessing, so we want to be on our best behavior, especially in a church setting. In this way, we reverence God because we respect His people and the time we spend with them. So, what is reverence? It’s an attitude of deep respect we should always have for God, his son Jesus, and the Bible. When we pray, study the Bible or meet with other Chrstians, we should have a respectful, reverential attitude for the blessings God has provided for us.

Conclusion: Both conditions are true. Discussion:  2 Corinthians 5:1-8 (NKJV), 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. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed with our habitation which is from heaven, 3 if indeed, having been clothed, we shall not be found naked (without Christ’s robe of righteousness). 4 For we who are in this tent groan, being burdened, not because we want to be unclothed, but further clothed, that mortality may be swallowed up by life. …6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home (being comfortable in our sinful flesh) in the body we are absent from the Lord (because we are not striving against the sin within). 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent (having then died) from the (human) body and to be present (resurrected) with the Lord.” It is important to harmonize all the scriptures on any biblical topic. With respect to your question, the Apostle Paul wrote that some saints sleep in death before they are resurrected while other saints are immediately resurrected at death. In 2 Timothy 4:8, Paul wrote, “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day (the Day of Judgment at Jesus’s second advent): and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.” That crown of righteousness, also described as the crown of life in Revelation 2:10, is rewarded at Jesus’s return. Paul was not expecting to be changed immediately at his death. Paul further explains,“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We (faithful Christians) shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible (immortal with the divine nature), and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:51-52 (KJV). The saints who die before Jesus’s return will sleep in death until our Lord’s return. Anyone who falls asleep is not conscious during sleep. The next moment of consciousness is when he awakens. Thus, the sleeping saints’ next consciousness moments will be as resurrected divine beings (2 Peter 1:4). However, those Christians who are still alive and learning obedience, developing into Christlikeness, will not sleep when they have proved faithful. They will be changed in the moment of death and be with Jesus.

Conclusion: The reward is a resurrection to the divine nature. Discussion:  1 Corinthians 3:12-14 (NKJV), 12 “Now if anyone builds on this foundation (Jesus) with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13 each one’s work will become clear;…fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is. 14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.” Once a person accepts Jesus as his Savior, gives his life in consecration to God, and is begotten of the holy Spirit, that one begins the work of character development. It is God’s will that we should become character copies of Jesus. We do this by obeying God’s will in every aspect of our lives. Our fallen flesh, the world, and the devil strongly oppose the new will and these experiences become purifying, fiery tests. The Apostle Peter wrote, “Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you…” (1 Peter 4:12). God mightily helps us with constant encouragements. 2 Peter 1:4-7, 11 (RSV), 4 “…He has granted to us His precious and very great promises, that through these you may escape from the corruption that is in the world because of passion, and become partakers of the divine nature. 5…make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. … 11 so there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” God will only grant the reward of His nature to a thoroughly tried character. God must prove each one trustworthy to be rewarded with divine life. The resurrected Church must always use its new nature in total obedience to God’s holy, loving, just, and wise will. What will the reward of a divine resurrection be like?  The Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, …it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” 1 John 3:2 (RSV) We know the new conditions will be so different from present conditions as to be beyond our comprehension, no matter how particular the description given. However, the whole question is settled when we learn that the Church shall be like her Lord. We shall see him – not as he was in the days of his humiliation, the man Christ Jesus, nor as he appeared to the disciples after his resurrection, robed in flesh in various forms – but see him “as he is,” behold his glory, and be like him, sharing his glory. This is sufficient.

Acts 15:22-23, 28-29 (ESV), 22 “Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas … 23 with the following letter: ‘The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. … 28 For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: 29 that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well.’” Thus the apostles, the elders, and the church in Jerusalem with the guidance of the Holy Spirit wrote that Christian believers should not eat blood. This requirement refers back to the covenant God made with Noah after the flood. Genesis 9:1, 4, 9-10 (ESV), 1 “And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. … 4 But you shall not eat flesh with its life, that is, its blood. …Behold, I establish my covenant with you and your offspring after you, 10 and with every living creature that is with you, the birds, the livestock, and every beast of the earth with you, as many as came out of the ark; it is for every beast of the earth.’ ” Christians are doubly instructed not to eat blood because they are part of Noah’s offspring under the Noahic covenant and were also directed to abstain by the apostles.

1 Corinthians 15:20-23 (NKJV), 20 “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming (Greek word is parousia and means presence).” Everyone who was “resurrected” before Jesus died again. They were essentially resuscitated out of death. The Greek word for resurrection is anastasis and it signifies more than a reawakening. Scripturally, it means a restanding to full life. Consider John 11:24 (NKJV), “Martha said to Him (Jesus), ‘I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.’”  Rise simply means to awaken, but the purpose of the reawakening is to restore to mankind the perfect life (a restanding in life) that Adam lost. Jesus was the first fruit of the resurrection. A first fruit implies more fruits will follow. All “after” fruits will occur during the 1,000 year Judgment Day of Christ’s reign. Jesus said, “Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come forth, those (only true Christians) who have done good (because their sins are forgiven through Jesus’s blood), to the resurrection of life (a heavenly resurrection), and those who have done evil (the vast majority of mankind), to the resurrection of judgment.” John 5:28-29 (RSV) At our Lord’s return, the dead in Christ will be resurrected first. After this, faithful Christians will receive their divine resurrections at the death of their human bodies (1 Corinthians 15:52). Then Jesus and His Bride will begin the resurrection of judgment for mankind. This will be a long process. The concept of judgment includes a trial and a verdict. The first man Adam stood trial in the Garden of Eden. He (and all his offspring in him) were found guilty and received the death sentence. Everyone, now, is dying under Adam’s trial and verdict. Jesus died to ransom Adam and all his children from death. On the Judgment Day, mankind will be awakened from death. The willing will be taught righteousness (Jeremiah 31:33-34) and restored to human perfection. (Isaiah 35, Acts 3:21) During this period, each person will be individually tried (as was Adam). Most of mankind will pass the test of obedience. They will rejoice to live in righteousness and love as perfect human beings. Any who fail to love God supremely will die the second death. This is a state of non-existence.

God has been progressively revealing Himself to mankind in ways that would bless us the most. God first introduced Himself to Moses by calling Himself “I AM THAT I AM” (Exodus 3:14). This phrase in Hebrew should be more accurately translated, “I will be what I will be” or as Rotherham translates it, “I will become whatsoever I may become.” God’s name in Exodus 3:14 is an idiom, an expression that has a meaning that cannot be understood by the individual words. God wanted to assure Moses and Israel that God would become what they would need Him to become.  In using the words “I AM THAT I AM,” God used an expression to reveal to Moses a promise and pledge found in His name. Thus, when the Israelites were delivered out from Egypt, God gave them detailed laws, ordinances, typical sacrifices, and arrangements to teach these previously enslaved peoples God’s principles of love and justice. The Law of God as expressed through the “Law of Moses” helped Israel to appreciate these foundational principles. Those Jews who learned and embraced God’s or Moses’s Law were prepared to receive Jesus as their Messiah. They were ready to be enlightened to a grander aspect of God’s plan that went beyond the Law Covenant. As Jesus said, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ “But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” Matthew 5:27-28 (NKJV). Jesus was revealing that God wanted more than mere outward obedience, but God wanted us to love each other as ourselves. Furthermore, followers of Jesus are to love each other even more than ourselves. We are to be willing to die for each other. 1 John 3:14, 16 (NKJV), “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. … we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Jesus instructed, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another,” (John 13:34 NKJV). This command reveals a deeper understanding of God’s Law. And with this deeper understanding, Jesus opened the heavenly calling. The call to deny self-will and to suffer for righteousness will transform our characters into Christ-likeness. Thus a new reward to receive a heavenly resurrection was opened. God reveals Himself in a progressive manner. As faithful Jews learned to love and internalize Moses’s Law, they become ready to understand the broader meaning of the Law of Love. There is no contradiction between “Moses’s Law” and God’s Law. There is a broadening of understanding, and with that new understanding comes new opportunities.

Hebrews 8:1-2, 4-5 (NKJV), 1 “Now this is the main point…We have such a High Priest, … in the heavens, 2 a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man. … 4 For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; 5 who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things,…” The Law served as a copy and shadow of the reality to come. The reality of the sacrifices was Jesus and the Church class. When Jesus died He, “… wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us,” (Colossians 2:14). Hebrews 10:1-2, 5, 8-10 NKJV] 1 For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come,… can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. 2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? … 5 Therefore, when He came into the world, He said: ‘Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, But a body You have prepared for Me.’ … 8 Previously saying, ‘Sacrifice and offering, burnt offerings, and offerings for sin You did not desire, nor had pleasure in them’ (which are offered according to the law), 9 then He said, ‘Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God.’ He takes away the first that He may establish the second. 10 By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.’” The Law was fulfilled by Jesus and thus God took “away the first (covenant)”. We are to recognize the reality – not the shadow. During the last supper, when Jesus began the practice of eating the unleavened bread and drinking the wine – He was establishing the memorial or remembrance of His death. He was instructing us to commemorate the reality (not the shadow) of the true sacrifice of His death. Any who choose to practice the shadow in the Law Covenant after the fulfillment (reality) of that shadow are not recognizing that God has taken away the first covenant in preparation for the New Covenant. Daniel 9:26-27 (KJV), 26 “And after threescore and two weeks shall Messiah be cut off, but not for himself: … 27 And he shall confirm the covenant (70 prophetic weeks of favor for Israel) with many for one week: and in the midst of the week (33 1/2 AD) he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease (the sacrifices of the Law ended with Jesus’s death), and for the overspreading of abominations (the continuing sacrifices of the Jews became an abomination to God*) he shall make it desolate…” Thus, any who continue to practice the typical sacrifices of the Law Covenant are not recognizing that Jesus was the Lamb of God who was the real sacrifice. Those typical sacrifices are now considered an *abomination to God. *D571

A calling is an invitation. Presently, there is only one call. Ephesians 4:1, 4 (NASB20), 1 “Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, … 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as you also were called in one hope of your calling”.   Who is called? 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 (NIV), 26 “Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28 God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things–and the things that are not–to nullify the things that are, 29 so that no one may boast before him.”   The Type of our Calling During the Gospel Age, God is calling us to sacrifice our lives (Romans 12:1) to follow Jesus. We are called to obey God’s will unto death. It is a high calling because the reward for faithfulness is the divine nature. 2 Peter 1:3-4, 10-11 (NKJV), 3 “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, 4 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. … 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure…” This one call to follow our Lord opened after Jesus’s resurrection. Hebrews 10:20 (KJV), “By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh”. It will end when the Church is complete.   A Future New Invitation When Christ reigns on Earth, all mankind will be invited to life and righteousness. Then “the Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’ And let him who hears say, ‘Come!’ And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely.” Revelation 22:17 (NKJV) The reward will be everlasting life on Earth as perfect human beings. (Isaiah 65:21-25.)   Gifts Different from Calling Briefly, in New Testament times, after a believer was called and begotten of the Holy Spirit, the Apostles could impart miraculous gifts of the spirit to them. Romans 1:11 (RSV), “For I long to see you, that I (Paul) may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,” When the apostles died, the gifts could no longer be given. Therefore, the gifts ceased with the early church. But the High Calling is still open.