John 6:63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.

Yesterday I mentioned the birth of the body of Christ being kick started by the appearance of Jesus Christ in His glorified form. That promise was real and apparent to those who first believed. We now live in a future where Jesus Christ does not manifest Himself in that manner any longer. The next time He comes back in His glorified form will be as King of Kings and His purpose will not be salvation, it will be to collect His bride.

Look to the opening verse and ponder this issue for a moment, the flesh profits nothing. In these times it is easy to see that people look to their self-interests. What’s in it for me? If self-interest is your motivation then I would say nothing, because the flesh has nothing to gain from accepting Christ.

There has to be some place in your heart that recognizes you are spiritually dead before you will accept Christ as your Lord and Savior. Not everyone knows how to express that. Some just feel empty inside. Some suffer emotional pain. Some have a longing for something more that isn’t found in all the “stuff” they have. Some never knew love and just want to be loved. How can we express this spiritual death if we were not aware of it? It is difficult to express in spiritual terms because our spirit was dead.

I want to discourage anyone and everyone from accepting Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior just because everyone else is doing it. The choice to respond to that free will offering is personal. You cannot desert the enemy camp just because everyone else is doing it. The invitation is for Christ to come into your heart and not that of another.

John 3:17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

Perhaps you need to know what it means to be saved.

Job 1:19d I alone have escaped to tell you.

This is Job’s servant, telling Job about the loss of his children. This is taken out of context with my message but it speaks so strongly to me about the death of Jesus Christ, I wanted to use it to lead off this devotional.

Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Jesus Christ was the obedient servant to the will of God the Father, His death on the cross. It is this servant’s testament that is given.

1 Corinthians 15:42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption:

Looking at those who were raised from the dead, both in the Old Testament and the New Testament, none of those lives were raised from the grave incorruptible. Only Jesus Christ was raised from the dead with an incorruptible body. He alone escaped death’s permanent affliction. The demonstration over death is one thing, to witness the incorruptible form is another.

Jesus escaped to tell us of what is promised, not just escape from the grave, but to demonstrate the body that is promised. It is far easier to believe the impossible if you have seen it.

Acts 26:16 But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a witness both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee;

1 Corinthians 15:6a After that, he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once;

These appearances jump started a following that changed the world. I do not believe that all those people would have given their lives as they did if it had not been that they witnessed His resurrected incorruptible form.