As we have learned, we are "a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation" (see I Peter 2:9). We are called to be a separate nation within the nations. We are here to live lives that testify of the excellencies of the King we serve. Those who have been born again into this kingdom are a "new creation,"vastly different and superior to the old creation man. We are here to represent the glory and the power of the age to come. We are from the future.
The reason the Lord did not catch us up into heaven immediately after our salvation is because we have a mission on earth. Though we were redeemed from the corruption of the Fall and already have eternal life, we are going through the process of renewing our minds and natures into the new creation nature of Christlikeness. His whole creation testifies that the nature of God is practical and systematic.
The Lord also has a practical, systematic plan for the "restoration of all things." This plan is basically the same as the process of our personal restoration from the old, fallen nature to revealing the power and glory of resurrection life that was purchased for us at the cross. We are going through this process so we can help lead the rest of fallen creation back into harmony with God.
This restoration process will be completed in the age when we rule and reign with Christ over the earth. This is the time that Peter called "the period of restoration of all things" (see Acts 3:21). We are called to be fore-runners and messengers of the coming kingdom. The power of our message will be directly related to the power of the life that is in us. As the Apostle Paul declared in I Corinthians 4:20, "For the kingdom of God does not consist in words, but in power," and the power that we have been given to testify of the coming kingdom is the power of life.
We cannot be witnesses of the Almighty God without power. When we think of power we often think of miracles, but they are only one example of God's power, not the very essence of it. The essence of God's power is the life of God. This is why the author of the Book of Hebrews explains that the Lord's priesthood is based on "the power of an indestructible life" (see Hebrews 7:14-17). Therefore, our goal is not just knowledge or power, but life.
This life is infinitely more precious than anything we could possess on this earth. Many who have walked in the greatest abundance of true life have actually had very few possessions on earth, just like the Prince of Life Himself. There have also been some who have had great possessions, such as the patriarchs Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, King David, and some of the great Christians in history like Count Zinzendorf. However, in all who have true life, there is an obvious focus on things much higher than the treasures of this earth. Those who had true life may have possessed treasures from time to time, but they were not possessed by them.
Our goal is to live and reveal the power of the life that is in Christ Jesus. We use the Way and Truth to lead people to the life. It is our life that makes true Christians strikingly different from all other people on the face of the earth. Again, we are an "alien nation" within the nations. We are a "new creation" that is vastly different from all other men. The difference is not just in our doctrines and beliefs—the difference is the power of the life that we live. We are from another reality and another time. For the message to be fully given to the world, it must be practically revealed by our lives. The body of Christ will arise in the last days as a demonstration to the world, and even to the principalities and powers, of the power of the life that is in Christ.