Herbert W Armstrong

Richard H Sedliacik   Church of God

Died: December 23, 2010
Office: ACE - Evangelist

Managing Editor of the Ambassador College Correspondence Course.

   Would you like to have a brilliant, clear-thinking mind with perfect memory and instant recall? Perfect, vibrant health and a body that will never wear out?
   Would you like to know the secrets of the universe? Travel through space faster than the speed of light? Live a life of unending challenge forever?
   Believe it or not, such a thrilling future is in store for those who seek to please God and do His will. Let's learn more about your awesome potential — about the incredible future God has in store for you. The possibilities that lie ahead are infinitely greater than you have ever imagined!
   Before beginning this study, be sure to get your Bible, a pen or pencil and some paper. Reading and writing out the Bible verses given in this study will help you to remember what you have learned.
   1. To fully understand the awesome future God has in store for each of us, we need to first understand something about who and what God is. What does the first chapter of the Bible reveal about God? Genesis 1:1, 26.
   The original Hebrew word for God in verse 1 is Elohim. Elohim is a plural noun, like the words church, family and team, all of which are composed of more than one member. The word Elohim in Genesis 1:1 actually shows that God is a family! Notice how verse 26 bears this out: "Then God said, 'Let Us make man in Our image...'"
   2. Who are the individuals presently in the God Family? John 1:1-2, I Corinthians 8:6. Was the Word mentioned in John 1 made flesh and did He live as a human being? John 1:14.
   At the prehistoric time described in John 1:1 (before the creation of the material universe), there existed only two divine Beings. One is God. And with God was the Word, who also is God. He is the one who was later miraculously be gotten in the virgin Mary by God the Father to become the human Jesus Christ, the Son of God. At the time described in John 1:1-2, the Word was not yet the Son of God and God was not yet His Father.
   3. Have both members of the God Family always existed? Psalms 90:2, 102:25-27, I Timothy 1:17.
   The two members of the God Family are immortal. There has never been a time when they did not exist. It is impossible for us to understand how these two divine Beings could have always existed, but neither can we really understand what electricity is. Yet we know electricity exists and is real.
   4. Is God going to expand the size of His Family by bringing many more members into it? Hebrews 2:9-10, Revelation 21:7. Is Jesus Christ the firstborn of many children of God? Romans 8:29.
   To be conformed to the image of Christ means to become like Him — to be glorified as He is glorified — to become part of the divine Family of God as much as Christ now is! Incredible as it may sound, that is our amazing potential!
   5. But what must happen to us before we can enter God's Kingdom — His Family? Read and summarize I Corinthians 15:49-53 and John 3:3-8.
   Jesus said we must be "born again" — meaning changed into spirit. Yes, born again — this time born of the Spirit of God as divine sons in the Family of God!
   6. Will those who become members of God's Family be like Him? Psalm 17:15. Of what is God composed? John 4:24. Will they be composed of spirit also? I John 3:2, Philippians 3:20-21.
   Those who are born again as members of God's Family will have eternal life inherent within themselves because they will be composed of spirit — just like Jesus Christ and God the Father!
   7. To what did Jesus compare one who is born of the Spirit? John 3:8.
   When you are born again, born of the Spirit of God, you will be invisible to human eyes. The effects of the wind are easily discernible, but the wind itself cannot be seen.
   8. When changed into spirit, will we have the amazing ability to suddenly appear out of nowhere and even pass through solid objects? Notice what Jesus with His spirit-composed body did in Luke 24:36-37 and John 20:19, 26. Will we also be able to transform ourselves into mortal flesh and bone when necessary, and even eat if we so desire? Summarize Luke 24:38-43.
   9. Will our spirit bodies be capable at traveling through space at incredible speed — undoubtedly faster than light? Read and compare John 20:17, 19-20 with Matthew 28:9.
   Earlier on the day after His resurrection, Christ would not let anyone touch Him because He had not yet ascended to His Father's throne in heaven. But later that day Christ allowed His disciples to touch Him. This shows that He had traveled to heaven and returned to earth on the same day!
   "Truth is stranger than fiction," goes the old saying. The incredible, exciting truth about your awesome potential as revealed in the Bible pales into nothingness any science fiction thriller you could ever read or see!
   10. Was Jesus to be glorified again at His resurrection? John 17:4-5. Had He previously given His disciples a fleeting glimpse of this glorified condition? Matthew 17:1-2. How does Christ's glorified body appear today? Revelation 1:13-16.
   To be glorified means to have great power and brightness, Jesus Christ had a glorious, powerful spirit body like His