O yes, believers in Christ are double treasures of God though not many speak in such terms about man and God.
When humans talk of and about treasure, something that they value much, its often centred on some material physical item: a piece of real estate, gold bullion tucked away safely somewhere, some newly acquired exotic gadget or other such things that people are wont to put a premium upon.
Earthly treasure is so close to the heart most people that secure storage of treasures is a booming industry. But all such treasures have one thing in common, they are restricted to the earth and cannot be taken along when their owners exit this earth.
But from the perspective of God, there are more enduring treasures. No, this is not another piece to berate prosperity and those intoxicated by its acquisition at any and all costs. From the point of view of God man himself is the treasure. Yes, read that right, man himself is the treasure. Come along with me and see.
Be humble before Him but do not insult God
It is expected and it is good to be humble before God. It is also important to reflect humility in our everyday interaction with fellow human beings. Such humility before God should be genuine and not be for eye-service, to curry favour, to flatter or hypocritical for I real terms God can neither be mocked nor deceived. God sees through all human facades and masks of deception. But such humility should not be to the extreme where a genuine believer in Christ considers himself worthless in the sight of God.
God is infinite, omnipresent, omniscience and omnipotent. God is way, way higher than man by an unbridgeable very long mile. Though believers are precious to Him, they still are his creation which is inferior to Him in everything.
There are those who think and claim that they are worthless before God. They claim there is nothing worthy of God’s attention in their life. Such attitude and thinking may sound like humility but in reality, it is another subtle way of insulting God.
At the other extreme are those who claim to be sinless because Christ has paid for their sins. They claim they are very important to God. In fact, so important to God that God cannot do anything without them. Some amongst such people have even gone so far as to say that God cannot do anything on earth without asking for their permission.
Neither of these two extremes are biblical but are men speaking from their wrong perceptions of their relationship with God. One from confusion and error as to what is humility before God. The other out of the pride of his haughty heart.
What is clear is that the Almighty God is so high and lofty compared to man that the right-thinking person cannot but humbly pay homage to the majesty of God.
It is the acknowledgement of the infiniteness and majesty of God with the corresponding worship that comes from a grateful and obedient heart that is humility before God, and not some self-denigrating eye-service bowing down like a bulrush done in a so-call place of worship while the heart of such remain deviant to God.
Understanding what humility is then prepares us to accept what God calls us who belong to Him without getting puffed up with pride that goes before a fall. Rather than pride, the child of God recognising the enormity of what God has done for him, knowing he can never repay bows down from a heart filled with gratitude in humble adoration of such a loving, merciful God who is mighty to save!
Who do you think you are?
- How would you answer the question, “Who do you think you are?”
- Is your answer from human or God’s perspective?
- Does your warped understanding of humility make you to denigrate what God says He made with purpose and wonderfully?
Think then answer this question: “Would you spend your all to obtain something you consider worthless or valueless?” Though you are just a human being I doubt if you will knowingly make any serious effort to acquire something that will be worthless to you.
So, if you, a mere man with all your proneness to wickedness will not make effort to acquire something you know will be worthless to you, why do you think the Almighty, All-knowing God expend much effort to reclaim man for Himself, if as some say, man is worthless to God?
Who is God?
But who is this God?
Though, man can have a general idea and knowledge about God through His creation, the more important and specific information about God can only be obtained by God revealing to man what He wants man to know. Hence, the specifics we can know of God is revealed in His written Word: The Holy Bible.
- There is only one God (Deut. 6:4; 1Cor 8:4-6).
- He is the only living and true God (1Thess 1:9; Jer. 10:10).
- God is infinite in being and perfection (Job 11:7-9, 26:14).
- God is the creator of all things visible and invisible, known and unknown to man (Gen 1:1).
God chose to create when He needed not to. No one compelled Him to create neither was there any with enough wisdom to give Him advice. He created as He desired to create.
Down the line many millennia into His creation, a sequel to the prior call of Abraham, their ancestor and founder of the ethic people-group (Gen 12:1-3), God chose Israel to be his possession, a special people to himself (Ex 19:5-6; Deut. 7:6; Ps 135:4), not because of any merit they have over other people-groups for God himself spoke concerning his election of them thus,
- “7The Lord did not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were more in number than any people; for ye were the fewest of all people: 8but because the Lord loved you, and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of the house of bondmen, from the hand of Pharaoh king of Egypt.” (Deut. 7:7-8). See also 9:6).
And we are told further,
- “4For the Lord hath chosen Jacob unto himself, And Israel for his peculiar treasure. 5For I know that the Lord is great, And that our Lord is above all gods. 6Whatsoever the Lord pleased, That did he in heaven, and in earth, In the seas, and all deep places.” (Ps 135:4-6).
God is not under any obligation to explain His actions or state His motive for He is most free (Ps 115:3). But though invisible and eternal (1Tim 1:17), He chose to speak and to reveal things that can only be known by revelation, especially those that are of benefit to His intelligent creation.
God has always taken the initiative. And whatever He starts He follows through to completion.
And so as in the Old Testament period, God acted similarly in the New Testament. Hence, the New Testament believers in Christ are chosen by God as His own possession. No believer in Christ has done anything to merit or to qualify for predestination and call (cf. Rom 8:29-30; 1Thess 1:4; 2Pet 1:10).
Some of the attributes of God
Though the pages of Holy Scripture abound with copious details of the majesty of our God, many believers still lack the right perception of God in their heart.
Hence, it is worth repeating some of the attributes of God as revealed to us in Holy Scripture, and perchance, you that is reading this may be helped further in your journey of faith:
- Our God is the only creator of the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1);
- The God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel is our God and He is the only true and living God (Deut. 6:4; Jer. 10:10; 1Cor 8:4-6; 1Thess 1:9);
- Our God is invisible, infinite in being and perfection (Job 11:7-9, 26:14; 1Tim 1:17);
- Our God is immutable, immense and eternal (Jam 1:17; Mal 3:6; 1Kgs 8:27; Jer. 23:23-24; Ps 90:2; 1Tim 1:17);
- Our God sustains his creation and redeems as He pleases (Rom 8:29; 11:36; Heb. 1:3);
- Our God is great (Ps 135:5);
- Our God rules sovereignly over the whole universe (Ps 135:6), and so, He does whatever He pleases in and with His creation;
- The word of our God is all-encompassing and comprehensively powerful (Ps 19:7-11).
- God Himself speaks, about Himself,
“I, even I, am the Lord; And beside me there is no saviour.” (Isa 43:11).
And further,
“Thus saith the Lord the King of Israel, And his redeemer the Lord of hosts; I am the first, and I am the last; And besides me there is no God.” (Isa 44:6).
The advent of man
God reveals to us in the Holy Scripture that He spoke His creation into existence. But there is one element of His creation whose existence seemed to have involved more than the spoken word: the creation of man.
Scripture informs us that God took the initiative, that creating man was a deliberated action by God.
There apparently was a sort of council meeting concerning the creation of man. Human beings did not just happen to be as in,
“Let there be…, Let the waters…, Let the earth….” (Gen 1:3-25)
as was the case concerning plant and animal life. Man is not a product of evolution that evolved from some low-level creature.
Rather, the need for the existence of mankind was discussed as we are informed,
“And God said, Let us make man in our image….” (Gen 1:26).
Hence, mankind came into existence by the deliberate and thoughtful creative act of the Almighty God:
- “26And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth. 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” (Gen 1:26-27).
Our God created man out of love. God made man wonderfully (Ps 139:14), and with the capacity to relate to Him. God created man for the fellowship and worship of Himself as his creator-God.
We are told that God deliberately and need I say, joyful fellowshipped with man before the fall:
“the LORD God walked in the garden in the cool of the day….And the LORD God called…“Where art thou?”” (Gen 3:8-9).
The fellowship with man as God intended was soon interrupted by the devil luring man into sin. But it was man who listened to the devil and disobeyed God (Gen 3). And man has continued in sin and rebellion against God since.
God could have easily replaced both Adam and Eve with another set of beings. But He did not, not for want of capacity, for He was willing and ready to replace the Israelites with a new people-group through Moses (Ex 32:10).
Rather, God chose to save them because of His love and the much value He placed on man.
Further, no one of the creatures of God can be allowed to stop His plan for man. So, God decided to redeem man.
What do you think you are worth in gold, diamond or any other precious stone?
The means by which you were redeemed will give you a good idea of your worth in the sight of God.
If someone was to surreptitiously acquire your precious treasure, to what length would you go to redeem that your precious treasure?
Well, God went all the way to reclaim and redeem His precious treasure, man that He had created in His own image (Gen 1:26-27).
So, God loved man. Put another way, man is God’s treasure.
Naturally, God’s heart was on earth because God’s treasure, man is on earth.
[[Scientists tell us that the earth is one of the smallest of the smallest planets. If this is true, the question needs be asked: “Why is God focused on earth, one of the smallest of his planetary creation?” This answer will not be farfetched if I say God is focused on the earth because that is where God’s treasure is. That treasure is man.
Remember, God gave the earth to man,
“The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord’s: But the earth hath he given to the children of men.” (Ps 115:16). To buttress this point, remember that God first created all that man would require for his existence (Gen 1:1-25), before He created man.
And remember, the truth spoken by our Lord when he said, “where your treasure is, there will your heart will also.” (Mat 6:21).
I venture to say the Lord might have been speaking from experience. He knew how much the Father’s heart was on earth and how much He Himself could hardly wait to come down to earth to overcome the strong man the devil and retrieve man, the treasure of God that he stole.
Still in doubt?
Then tell me, “Why did the Lord of Glory divested himself of his glory to come to planet earth and not to Jupiter, mars or any of these other planets named by man?”
Well I say, it can only mean one thing: “Because of His treasure, which is man, is here on earth!”
Remember, He came to seek and save that which was lost,
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10).
Man was the lost treasure of God, stolen by the devil if you like, that Christ came to save.
And God needed to do something about His treasure on earth that has been corrupted and taken over by the devil through sin. God needed to redeem His treasure.
But, by what means would man be redeemed that will meet the standard demanded by the love, justice and integrity of God?
Jesus Christ the Lord of glory
The Lord Jesus Christ was there with His Father in the beginning. He carried out the creation and so knew the purpose and will of His Father for man (Gen 1:1, 26-28; John 1:1-4). He knew man is God’s peculiar treasure. He loved man and loved His Father even more. He knew His Father’s heart was on earth with His treasure, man (Mat 6:21).
The Father desired to reclaim, He desired the reconciliation of and the reestablishment of the broken relationship with man. Hence, God took the initiative: He set the price of reconciliation. His loving son volunteered to pay the set price.
Apparently, the devil and his cohorts were not in on the arrangement between Father and Son concerning His treasure. Hence, we told of,
“7…the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory: 8which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” (1Cor 2:7-8).
The Lord Jesus Christ knew about the existing problem of the devil.
He said,
“10 The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. 11 I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” (John 10:10-11).
The Lord came in flesh through a virgin birth. He grew up in obscurity though He was of the royal lineage of David for at the time of His birth, the glory had departed and there was only a stump remaining in the stem of Jesse.
When He was about 30 years of age in His earthly, fleshly existence, the previously latent and clandestine battles with the kingdom of darkness broke out into the open.
The enemy wasted no time in seeking and obtaining the support of the cultural, religious and later, governmental leaders and systems to ensure victory for himself. All the devil needed was to present his own agenda and methods of achieving such in a way these his cohorts believed them as their own, and he was home and dry. Or so he thought.
The Ministry of Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus gathered some common members of the community and went about teaching them about the kingdom of heaven and what He was about. The enemy must have thought He was beside Himself. For to the devil it would have made more sense and with success guaranteed to go through established, well-oiled system corrupt men and wicked devil than to start something new in a very hostile environment with recruits not used to the established order.
However, Christ was undeterred because He knew His purpose and His calling in life!
Do you know your purpose and calling in life?
Man was redeemed with God’s best, His only begotten Son,
“even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Mat 20:28).
The Lord further said, “this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Mat 26:28).
The devil executed all his repertoire of wills, devices and all else he was capable of, but the Lord came out victorious and in power (Mat 28:18-20).
But the devil is under restraint
And so, please remember, left on his own the devil wants to supplant God and failing that, to destroy man as a way of hurting God if that were possible. But is under constraints placed by God. Hence, the devil cannot do all the evil he is capable of doing nor all the evil he wants to do. The devil can only perform with the limit God allows (Job 1:12, 2:6; John 7:30, 8:20).
So, we are informed too concerning believers,
“being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth forever.” (1Pet 1:23);
Christ is the propitiation for the sins of all believers including you (1John 2:2). Christ purchased you with His own blood (Acts 20:28);
“who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” (Tit 2:14);
Hence, if you have been saved, you do not belong to yourself but to Christ,
“19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.” (1Cor 6:19-20. Also see Gal 3:13; 1Pet 1:18-19; Acts 20:28).
Then comes the gospel
The men later described as being perceived by Annas the high priest and his kindred to be unlearned and ignorant (Acts 4:6, 13), proved they were the right choices for the Ultimate Teacher and Builder, our Lord Jesus Christ. Through the apostles and their foundational pioneering work (Eph. 3:20), the Holy Spirit working through them, the Biblical Christian Faith was birthed.
And so, the world continues to witness the presence and power of the gospel of Jesus Christ (Rom 1:16), even till today. But remember, they started in earnest after receiving the Holy Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
The vessel, the first treasure (2Cor 4:7)
The believer in Christ, himself a treasure of God, carries the gospel of Christ, another treasure of God.
God Himself choses and prepares His vessels. The first step is usually the salvation of the would-be vessel. The vessel accepts the gospel and confesses Christ as Saviour and Lord. The useable vessel must be clean, empty and available for service.
Hence, the believer in Christ must seek to become
- “a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared unto every good work.” (2Tim 2:21).
Believers in Christ are vessels that God uses. We are earthen vessels so that we will depend on the power of God and not our own in the propagation of the gospel. The jars of clay are inexpensive, brittle and easily broken. This illustrates the truth that the power released through the preaching of the gospel is from God and not from the believers who are the earthen vessels preaching the gospel.
Within the earthen vessel is a treasure, a second treasure.
Within the earthen vessels, the believers in Christ is the gospel, another treasure of God. Hence, a treasure carrying another treasure. As long as the vessel guards the treasure, God would guard the vessel. Believers in Christ must focus on the treasure and not the vessel, and on the master and not on the servant.
One way for believers in Christ not to give up in the face of serious challenges is by remembering that we are privileged to have the treasure of the Gospel in us who are though vessels of clay are precious to God too!
The enemy fights both the gospel, the invisible treasure and the vessel, the visible human treasure, that carries it (2Cor 4:4). Having failed woefully at Calvary, the enemy now directed and continues to direct the full power of his weaponry against the gospel. This he does by multi-prong attacks.
The devil fights against the gospel and believers in Christ through planting and sustaining false religions, philosophies, false teachers and prophets. He also works directly on the unbeliever by blinding the mind of the people as we are told,
“the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God should shine unto them.” (2Cor 4:4).
The battle has continued till this day as the gospel continues to be veiled from the perishing even today.
The sun is always shining though it may not always seem so as we may not see it all the time because it is obscured by other things between it and us.
Similarly, the light of the gospel is always shining. God is always seeking to shine its light into the hearts of men in every era and very culture. But the devil puts various barriers between the lost sinners and God.
These barriers include love of the world and the things in it over and above God, rebellion against God and everything God stands for, pride that demands self-worship and worship by others, self-righteousness or any number of several other obstacles. They all serve often effectively to hinder the light of the gospel from shining for the enemy simply does not want those who are lost to be saved.
Again, the treasures are:
- First Treasure is the vessel which is you the believer in Christ.
- The Second Treasure is “the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ” (2Cor 4:6), that is, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The gospel illustrated by comparison with creation as described in Genesis
When the sinner hears the preaching of the gospel, when a believer in Christ shares the good news of the gospel with an unbeliever, the light begins to shine. Like the earth of Gen 1:2, the lost sinner is formless, empty and in darkness.
As the Gospel of Jesus Christ is preached, the Holy Spirit moves upon the heart of the person hearing, just as He moved on the face of the deep at the original creation. Then light shines into the heart of this person showing him that he is guilty sinner who needs a Saviour.
As the material creation in Genesis began with light, so also does the spiritual creation begin with light. Through the gospel light God shines in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, then spiritual life begins.
The believer in Christ is precious to God
God sent His only begotten Son to die for you while you were still in your sins. This was because you are valuable to God. Though you may not have adequate knowledge as to your value to God, it is clear that He loves you and decided to save you. Nothing can be plainer that what Christ said,
“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke 19:10).
And,
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:44).
And further,
“37 All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. 38 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.” (John 6:37-40);
- Are you a genuine believer in the Lord Jesus Christ?
- Is the Lord Jesus Christ your Saviour and your Lord?
If yes, then you are doubly precious to the living God. You are God’s treasure and you carry another treasure of God.
“There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.” (Luke 15:7, 10).
There is joy because it is a good and God-glorifying thing each time a sinner repents. Remember, you were once a sinner. Which means there was joy in heaven when you repented and were saved.
Each person saved is another manifestation of the victory of Christ on the cross over the devil and his kingdom of darkness. A resounding defeat for the devil and his cohorts.
And further, if the death of His saint matters to God, “Precious in the sight of the Lord
Is the death of his saints.” (Ps 116:15), then His saints are important to Him.
This knowledge should humble the true believer in Christ. Especially when you realise that you have not done anything special or important to warrant such love from God.
God has refused to give up on man
Many derogatory things are said about man and the devil many of which are true. God himself says many unsavoury things about man and God will never lie. Yet, all these unpalatable attributes have never been able to discourage God from doing everything possible to save man.
And we are informed that God’s determination to save was not an after-thought but a deliberate act,
- “4according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: 5 having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.” (Eph. 1:4-5).
Thus when a person believes in Christ and is saved the sinner becomes a new creation (2Cor 5:17). As the new believer in Christ begins to be transformed by the Holy Spirit through the instrument of the word of God, he begins to be productive and fruitful.
The light of the gospel does not shine in your heart simply to give you knowledge of salvation. You are not the end of your blessings.
Rather, as a new believer in Christ, God expects you to be a new channel through which the gospel will get to others. Put another way, you are blessed so you might be a blessing to others. As a believer in Christ you become another instrument in the repertoire of God to reach other human beings for God.
The gospel is the good news of Christ in glory. Christ has triumphed on the cross over the forces of evil. This is the Lord Jesus Christ who came to seek and save that which was lost. He died on the cross, was buried, He rose from the dead on the third day, showed Himself to His apostles, ascended into heaven and He is now seated at the right hand of God in heaven.
The glorified Son of God is the object of every true believer’s faith. He is coming back again but this time in power and glory.
We (believers in Christ) are truly a double portion treasure in the sight of the Lord. A jewel of inestimable value. Thus He offered His highest and best for you on Calvary in the person of His only begotten son. The Son offered His life so that He might have you as a co-heir.
This knowledge should humble you and indeed humble every true believer. You should not be puffed up as some do.
Remember, you have no credentials to present to God other than the righteousness of His Son which has been imputed into your account. God and His Son did everything for you. Therefore, as you begin to understand this knowledge re-dedicate your life to the service of the LORD out of a grateful heart.
Begin to seek to make His glory shine through you to others. You should begin to serve now out of love, gratitude and referential fear for who He is and what He has done for you and not from the fear of going to hell. God’s perfect love casts out fear.
You are the light in the midst of the darkness around your environment. Begin to shine and let others see the glory of God over your life!
To the unbeliever
The above piece about being a double treasure to God refers to believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have made peace with God through Christ are commonly referred to as being born-again.
But what if you are not a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ! What if you are yet to be saved? Then you are still at enmity with God and are yet outside of the circle of the people of God.
But God in His mercy has made provision for you too. God says you should repent and come back to Him. He is willing and waiting to forgive you and take you back to Himself through His Son, Jesus Christ.
So, you should act fast and NOW: Repent, that is, change your mind about what you think of God, Christ, sin and the purpose in life.
Wondering, “how do I become born again?”
The Holy Scriptures say that:
- “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
This means that in God’s opinion, we fall short of His standard.
- “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).
Our sin has earned a deserved wage which is death or separation from God in Hell.
- “But God commendeth His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
Even in our sin, God continued to show us His love and demonstrated this love by sending his Son, Jesus Christ to die on the cross for us. He thus gave Jesus Christ to the whole world (John 3:16).
- There is only One step that must be taken:
- “If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Rom 10:9-10).
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved” (Romans 10:13).
All that appropriate the sacrifice of Christ are acceptable to Him. For He Himself extended the invitation to all:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” (Mat 11:28-30).
Why don’t you confess the Lord Jesus Christ NOW?
Please, do not reject that invitation as you do not know when you will be called by God to give account of your life!!!
I pray that you will take the necessary step towards the Lord and God will accept you in Jesus’ Name, Amen.