I need help from my bros and sisters here on CC!! Forgive me if this explanation of mine is not explained well.. I have recently come across some "Christians" idea that there are different degrees of eternal glory and happiness for each individual saint in heaven. They are trying to say that the joy between us (as individuals) and God will be contingent on the amount of rewards we get at the judgment seat of Christ.
1 Corinthians 3:10-15 & 2 Corinthians 5:10
They realize that Psalm 16:11 says that in the presence of God is fullness of joy and at his right hand there are pleasures for evermore. So they try to justify there stance by saying something around the lines of "Everyone will be full, but some containers will be larger than others." They are throwing in this "capacity" idea that each saint will have a fullness of joy but in larger or smaller capacities. According to them, the amount of rewards we get determines our capacity of joy, happiness, and relationship with God.
What do you guys have to say about this? Here are the links to the articles about all this.
Will Some People in Heaven Have More Joy Than Others? | Desiring God
Jonathan Edwards on Degrees of Reward in heaven | Ray Fowler .org
Jesus mentioned the sitting down at the Marriage Supper with the O.T. saints with the N.T. saints found as His disciples as abiding in Him and not in iniquity as the first shall be last and the last shall be first.
Luke 13:[SUP]
24 [/SUP]Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. [SUP]
25 [/SUP]When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: [SUP]
26 [/SUP]Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. [SUP]
27 [/SUP]But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. [SUP]
28 [/SUP]There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. [SUP]
29 [/SUP]And they shall come from the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. [SUP]
30[/SUP]
And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.
Jesus had preached to the O.T. saints in prison ( Abraham's bosom, located across the great chasm from hell ) and so they shall be received as vessels unto honor in His House in the same seating as the disciples abiding in Him of the N.T. era.
There is an importance not to think highly of oneself...
Romans 12:3For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith. [SUP]
4 [/SUP]For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
[SUP]5 [/SUP]So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
Luke 14:6And they could not answer him again to these things. [SUP]
7 [/SUP]And he put forth a parable to those which were bidden, when he marked how they chose out the chief rooms; saying unto them. [SUP]
8 [/SUP]When thou art bidden of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest room; lest a more honourable man than thou be bidden of him; [SUP]
9 [/SUP]And he that bade thee and him come and say to thee, Give this man place; and thou begin with shame to take the lowest room. [SUP]
10 [/SUP]But when thou art bidden, go and sit down in the lowest room; that when he that bade thee cometh, he may say unto thee, Friend, go up higher: then shalt thou have worship in the presence of them that sit at meat with thee.
[SUP]11 [/SUP]For whosoever exalteth himself shall be abased; and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted.
If you consider that the rewards of crowns that the chosen shall receive are really His crowning achievements in us for why the 24 elders would cast their crowns at His feet, can any one really glory in themselves in Heaven over another when we are the works of His hands? So whatever we receive is just showing His work in us to His glory of what we shall praise Him by and for in Heaven.
As it is, at the pre trib rapture event, saved believers found in iniquity will be disqualified from attending the Marriage Supper and become castaways to be received later on as vessels unto dishonor in His House to testify to the power of God in salvation for any who believe even in His name.
But the O.T. saints & the N.T. saints abiding in Him by His grace & by His help in trusting Him as our Good Shepherd to help them discern and to depart from iniquity, will only be glorying in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 1:[SUP]
29 [/SUP]
That no flesh should glory in his presence. [SUP]
30 [/SUP]But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: [SUP]
31 [/SUP]That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.
So the joys of the vessels unto honor are all the same; testifying to what Christ has done for us in bringing us Home to the Marriage Supper; some may have one crown, some may have more than one crown, but that is all to His glory; not ours, lest we think we deserve a better seat.
