"The Divine Aristocracy"

by James Jacob Prasch

An examination of Ecclesiastes 9 & 10 and how it applies to the contemporary church..

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In Memoriam

Continued in Ecclesiastes 9 verse 5b:

"For the memory of them is forgotten. Also their love, their hatred, and their envy have now perished; nevermore shall they have a share in anything done under the sun."

So once you leave this place, it's a done deal. Verse 7:

"Go, eat your bread with joy, and drink your wine with a merry heart; for God has already accepted your works."

Jesus said that He had meat to eat which was to do the will of the Father. Ecclesiastes is drawing there on pascal imagery, the fulfillment of which is found in the Lord's Supper, by which we proclaim the Lord's death until He comes. When we take the Lord's Supper, we're remembering what Jesus did for us. It is an appetizer before the Marriage Supper of the Lamb; although the world is perishing, we can eat the bread and drink the cup with gladness, because we know where we came from – the cross and the empty tomb – and we know where we're going – Heaven. Therefore we can eat and drink with a glad heart. The Lord's Supper should really be the centerpiece of our fellowship and worship. Fellowship is important, worship is important, exposition of the Scripture is important – it is all important, but the centerpiece and the highlight should be the breaking of bread. We proclaim His death until He comes; it's where we came from and it's where we're going. It is a memorial, but it is also a prelude to the Marriage Supper.

“For God has already accepted your works”. Look, please, at 2 Timothy 1:9:

"(God) who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus from all eternity,"

Now, you know that in the Bible when it says “Christ Jesus”, with the Messianic title preceding His personal name, it speaks of Him in eternity. When it says “Jesus Christ”, personal name first and Messianic title second, it refers to Him on earth. God has saved us and called us: there is a difference between salvation and calling. What the New Testament really says about election has more to do with our calling than with our salvation. Just as we are already saved from eternity – to us it's a variable, but to eternity it's completed – so our works, the ministry to which God has called us, was also ordained from eternity. Before you were born, before you were born again, before the planet was even created, God ordained what He had for you to do. Now, according to Matthew 25, the magnitude of our eternal reward will depend in large measure upon whether or not we are faithful to God's calling. “God has already approved your works”. why? Because they were ordained from eternity; it has already happened. If you have the gift of evangelism, that was ordained from eternity; if you have the gift of a pastor, that was ordained from eternity. The same goes for music ministry, the gift of helps, the gift of teaching, or God's calling of a person to a third-world country as a missionary. “Eat your bread with joy and drink your wine with gladness” (Ecc. 9:7) – take the Lord's Supper with joy, because what you are doing God has already approved from eternity.

It is God's philosophy that we must see things from the eternal perspective, as Ephesians states. That is one of the barometers of spiritual growth: the older you get in Jesus, the more you should view your life from the perspective of eternity. Unsaved people have nothing to live for but fear of the grave, so they become obsessed with this life and this world. We know that God has already approved our works; so if there's a believer who by the will of the Lord is in prison for his faith, God has already approved that he will be there as a witness to his faith. He can still eat his bread and drink his wine with gladness in spite of his circumstances in this life, for he knows where he is going. We see this in Paul when he was in prison; he knew that he was in the will of God and so rejoiced.

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