Progressing Towards Perfection

The coming of Christ is not merely something to wait for at the end of time; it is a progressive revelation of Christ, moving the saints from partial light toward perfection. The attached material explicitly develops this through the progression from Noah, Abraham, David, John the Baptist, the first advent, the apostolic age, and toward the fullness promised in the Day of the Lord.

WALKING IN THE EVER-INCREASING LIGHT

Beloved, there is a great mystery hidden in the expression “the day of the Lord.”

When many hear the words the day of the Lord, they immediately think of one particular twenty-four-hour day when Christ will suddenly appear in the clouds. But the Scriptures open before us something much greater.

The coming of the Lord is not merely a moment.

It is a revelation.

It is an unfolding.

It is a progressive manifestation of God's purpose until everything that God has promised concerning Christ, His Church, and His creation comes to its appointed consummation.

The second coming of Jesus Christ and the day of the Lord is not a one-solar-day event, but a progressive unfolding of major events concerning His fullness until it finally culminates into His physical appearing.

His second coming is not a mere physical appearance, but a progressive revelation, like the way the sun rises.

And this is where our message begins:

THE DAY OF THE LORD IS A DAY OF LIGHT!

THE SUN DOES NOT APPEAR ALL AT ONCE

Look at the natural creation.

Before the sun finally appears upon the horizon, there are signs that precede it.

The darkness begins to retreat.

The morning begins to break.

There is a gradual increase of light.

And the increasing light tells you something:

The sun is coming!

Malachi gives us this beautiful promise:

Malachi 4:2 KJV

“But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.”

Notice:

The Sun shall arise.

That is revelation.

That is manifestation.

That is increasing light.

And before the sun finally appears on the horizon, there are signs that precede it.

The appearance of the morning reflects the light of the sun and is a clear sign of the break of day.

So it was with the first coming of Christ.

John the Baptist came before Jesus.

He was not the Sun.

But he carried the light announcing the coming of the Sun.

He was the voice crying in the wilderness.

He was the morning light before the fullness of the day.

And if God established that pattern at the first advent, should we not expect the same principle to operate in connection with the second advent?

Malachi says:

Malachi 4:5-6 KJV

“Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:

And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”

The morning comes before the full day.

The light precedes the brightness.

The voice precedes the appearing.

The announcement precedes the arrival.

And therefore, watch!

THE OF SLEEPING THROUGH THE MORNING

Paul gives us a solemn warning:

1 Thessalonians 5:1-8 KJV

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.

For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.

For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them...

But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief.

Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

Oh, what a warning!

The day comes as a thief to sleepers.

The thief does not come because the day is impossible to recognize.

He comes because the people are asleep.

The sleepers do not discern the signs.

The drunken do not recognize the hour.

The surfeited do not recognize the season.

The cares of this world have clouded their spiritual senses.

And that is the tragedy of religious tradition when it becomes stronger than the living Word.

A man can become so intoxicated with yesterday's revelation that he cannot recognize today's light.

He can become so comfortable in his religious system that the morning can break while he is still sleeping.

Therefore Paul says:

“Let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.”

Watch!

Be sober!

Recognize the times!

Recognize the seasons!

Recognize the progressive revelation of God!

THE DAY OF THE LORD IS MORE THAN A CLOCK

The day of the Lord is not merely a twenty-four-hour solar day.

It is a period of God's full revelation in which His purpose concerning Christ and the saints is brought toward fulfillment.

Think about what Scripture says will happen in the Day of the Lord.

The final perfection of the saints.

The final work of atonement.

The final work of redemption.

The resurrection.

The translation of the saints.

The ultimate judgment.

The consummation of God's purposes.

Can all of this be reduced to one ordinary solar day?

No!

The Word is showing us a day of divine activity.

A day of revelation.

A day of judgment.

A day of manifestation.

A day in which God brings His purposes to their appointed conclusion.

Peter says:

2 Peter 3:10 KJV

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night...”

And tremendous promises await fulfillment.

These things come progressively.

Therefore the saints must accept the responsibility to advance and receive more and more light from season to season until they finally strike the ultimate.

THE SHOUT, THE VOICE, AND THE TRUMP

Now listen to Paul:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17 KJV

“For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God...”

There is something here that demands our attention.

A shout.

A voice.

A trump.

There is revelation contained in these expressions.

The shout announces.

The voice communicates.

The trump gathers.

Look at John the Baptist.

He was a voice.

John 1:23 KJV

“I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord...”

A man running before a king announces the king's imminent arrival.

So the shout may be understood as an announcement.

The voice brings the message.

And the trumpet signifies the gathering and awakening work of God.

The Lord is not merely coming in some distant future with no preceding activity.

He is preparing the way.

He is awakening.

He is speaking.

He is gathering.

He is revealing.

He is bringing His people toward the fullness of what He promised.

FROM CHRIST AMONG US TO CHRIST IN US

Consider what happened at the first advent.

A voice crying in the wilderness... A shout.

The Word came among them.

But then came the Holy Spirit with Pentecost.

That is when Christ, by the Holy Spirit, came to dwell in them.

Paul says:

Ephesians 1:13-14 KJV

“In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession...”

Notice the word:

Earnest.

A down payment.

A pledge.

A foretaste.

A partial possession pointing toward a greater inheritance.

If the first advent prepared the way for the partial giving of the promise of the Holy Spirit, then surely the second appearing prepares the way for the full realization of every promise of God.

If the first coming brought in that which was in part, then there must be a fullness ahead.

FROM PARTIAL LIGHT TO FULLNESS

Jesus Himself said:

John 16:12 KJV

“I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now.”

Think about that.

Jesus had more to say.

The disciples could not bear it yet.

So, revelation has its seasons.

There is what God says now.

There is what God will say later.

There is what a child can bear.

There is what a mature man can bear.

Paul said:

1 Corinthians 3:2 KJV

“I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it...”

The Church began with milk.

But God never intended the Church to remain a baby.

Paul says:

1 Corinthians 13:11-12 KJV

“When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child:

but when I became a man, I put away childish things.

For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face...”

And then:

1 Corinthians 13:9-10 KJV

“For we know in part, and we prophesy in part.

But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.”

Beloved, the partial is not the destination.

The partial is pointing toward the perfect.

The earnest is pointing toward the inheritance.

The morning is pointing toward the day.

The seed is pointing toward the harvest.

The beginning is pointing toward the consummation.

CHRIST IN THE SAINTS KEEPS GROWING

Christ born in the saints keeps growing toward an ultimate point.

That ultimate is perfection.

And this is attained by continuous and progressive revelation until the ultimate revelation makes perfect, so that Christ becomes truly all in all for the saints.

Paul says:

Ephesians 4:11-13 KJV

“And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

For the perfecting of the saints...

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ.”

Look at that:

Till...

That word tells us something.

There is a destination.

There is a measure.

There is a fullness.

There is a perfect man.

There is a stature.

There is a mark toward which the Body is moving.

This tremendous monumental masterpiece is not achieved merely as a miracle of one moment.

It is achieved by the impact of the progressive revelation of Jesus Christ.

THE TRANSFIGURATION WAS A FORECAST

Matthew tells us:

Matthew 17:2 KJV

“And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and his raiment was white as the light.”

There was the brightness of God's glory upon Him.

There was the express image of God manifested in Him.

And Peter later tells us:

2 Peter 1:16-17 KJV

“For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty.”

Peter saw something.

Peter witnessed the glory.

Peter understood that the transfiguration was connected with the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And Jesus had already said:

Matthew 16:28 KJV

“Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.”

Then John gives us another dimension:

1 John 3:2 KJV

“...when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”

There is the mystery!

When He appears, we shall be like Him.

The revelation of Christ produces transformation in the people who behold Him.

THE PATH OF THE JUST

Now Proverbs gives us the principle:

Proverbs 4:18 KJV

“But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.”

More and more!

Not less and less.

More light.

More understanding.

More transformation.

More revelation.

More maturity.

More Christ.

Unto the perfect day.

And what makes a day?

Light.

Genesis says:

Genesis 1:5 KJV

“And God called the light Day...”

Therefore, spiritually speaking, the light makes the day.

The light of Noah made the day of Noah.

The light of Abraham made the day of Abraham.

The light of David made the day of David.

The light of John the Baptist made the day of John the Baptist.

The light of the first coming of Christ made the day of Christ at His first coming.

The apostolic light made an apostolic day.

And on and on.

These were not merely twenty-four-hour solar days.

They were spiritual days—seasons of divine light and revelation.

And therefore, the Day of the Lord is a day of increasing divine light, bringing God's purposes toward their perfection.

DO NOT TURN LIGHT INTO TRADITION

Now comes the warning.

Religious traditions can become a form of drunkenness.

Why?

Because drunkenness destroys discernment.

A drunken man can be walking toward danger and not know it.

A drunken man can be speaking and not know what he is saying.

A drunken man can fall asleep while something important is happening around him.

And spiritually, tradition can intoxicate the mind until men sleep the sleep of death.

They stagnate.

They reject new wine.

They refuse advancement.

They make a monument out of yesterday.

They say:

“God said it then, therefore that what need now and forever.”

But God is sovereign.

God is not bound to man's traditions.

The living God is not a prisoner of man's religious system.

New wine will always break old, repetitious traditions.

Therefore, beloved, be careful.

Do not let your doctrine become a coffin.

Do not let your denomination become a prison.

Do not let your tradition become a veil.

Do not let yesterday's light blind you to today's responsibility.

GIRD UP THE LOINS OF YOUR MIND

Peter gives us the answer:

1 Peter 1:13 KJV

“Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”

There is more grace to be brought.

There is more revelation.

There is more light.

There is more of Christ.

Therefore:

Gird up the loins of your mind.

Be sober.

Hope to the end.

Don't stop at the earnest.

Don't stop at the beginning.

Don't stop at partial understanding.

Don't stop because you have learned enough to become comfortable.

More is yet to come in!

LET YOUR LIGHTS BE BURNING

Jesus therefore says:

Luke 12:35 KJV

“Let your loins be girded about, and your lights burning;”

What light?

The continuous revelation of Jesus Christ from season to season.

Walking in the light is not merely keeping old traditions.

Walking in the light is receiving more and more from Christ.

If the light increases, your walk must increase.

If revelation increases, your obedience must increase.

If Christ reveals more of Himself, you must surrender more of yourself.

The purpose of revelation is transformation.

THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST

The Bible begins its final book with these words:

Revelation 1:1 KJV

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to shew unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass...”

Notice:

The Revelation of Jesus Christ.

Not merely information about Jesus.

Not merely history about Jesus.

Not merely theology about Jesus.

But the revelation of Jesus Christ.

And God still gives revelation concerning the advancement of His work and the unfolding of His purpose.

The revelation causes the work to advance.

The light moves.

The people move.

The purpose moves.

PAUL REFUSED TO STOP

Look at Paul:

After all his revelations.

After all his experiences.

After all his ministry.

After all his suffering.

After all the churches he established.

He still said:

Philippians 3:12-14 KJV

“Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after...

Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,

I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.”

Oh, what a spirit!

Paul could have said:

“I have arrived.”

But he said:

“Not as though I had already attained.”

Paul had revelation, but he wanted more.

Paul had knowledge, but he wanted more.

Paul had experience, but he wanted more.

Paul had suffered, but he wanted more.

Paul had seen Christ, but he wanted more.

He was reaching forth.

He was pressing toward the mark.

And if Paul had not yet attained, who are we to build a religious monument around ourselves and say, “We have arrived”?

PRESS FORWARD!

Beloved, perfection is ahead!

The fullness is ahead!

The perfect day is ahead!

The fullness of Christ is ahead!

The final revelation is ahead!

The resurrection is ahead!

The translation is ahead!

The consummation of redemption is ahead!

The final manifestation of God's purpose is ahead!

Therefore, press forward!

Forget vain repetitious traditions.

Forget the bondage of religious stagnation.

Forget the comfort of yesterday.

Reach forth unto those things which are before.

Let the light shine more and more.

Let Christ increase.

Let the Word have its full course.

Let God finish what He began.

THE WARNING TO THIS GENERATION

And here is the burden of the message:

Do not sleep through the sunrise.

Do not be drunk with tradition.

Do not be overtaken by the cares of this world.

Do not become so occupied with earthly things that you fail to discern heavenly things.

Do not become so attached to a form that you reject the Life.

Do not become so satisfied with the partial that you refuse the perfect.

Do not mistake an earnest for the inheritance.

Do not mistake the morning for the noon.

Do not mistake the beginning for the consummation.

Do not mistake knowledge in part for the fullness of Christ.

For the path of the just shines more and more. Therefore, if your light is not increasing, stop and ask yourself why. Might it be that you have missed out on God's visitation?

If your understanding is becoming harder rather than deeper, ask yourself why. Might it be that you conformed to some religious outfit instead of being continuously transformed by the light of His revealing presence?

If your heart is becoming more traditional and less spiritual, ask yourself why. Are you surfeiting?

If you can only talk about what God did but cannot recognize what God is doing, watch and pray!

Because the tragedy is not merely that darkness exists.

The tragedy is that darkness can come upon you while you are convinced you have light.

That is why Paul said:

“But ye, brethren, are not in darkness...”

THE FINAL CRY

So, today the cry is:

Let your loins be girded.

Let your lights be burning.

Be sober.

Be watchful.

Receive the light.

Walk in the light.

Press toward the mark.

The long night is passing.

The morning is breaking.

The light is shining more and more unto the perfect day. Walk in it!

The Day of the Lord is unfolding more and more. Be born in it!

The revelation of Jesus Christ is advancing on. Advance with it.

The purpose of God is moving toward its appointed climax. Move with it!

And the saints, true saints, never sleep in traditions from the past generations, nor in the cares of the present evil world!

The bride must not become intoxicated with tradition now!

The soldier must not lay down his sword now!

The traveller must not settle down anywhere!

The runner must not stop short of perfection!

We are pressing toward the mark. And when that which is perfect is come, that which is in part shall be done away.

When He shall appear, we shall be like Him.

When the final revelation comes, the darkness will be no more.

When the perfect day fully breaks, the work will be finished.

Until then:

More light.

More revelation.

More Christ.

More transformation.

More obedience.

More pressing.

And finally—

perfection!

So, Church of the living God:

Do not sleep through the morning.

Do not become drunk with tradition.

Do not stop at yesterday's light.

Let your lights be burning.

Press forward.

Press toward the mark.

For the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day!

Amen!