The Inner Circle 10-28-26
Have you ever wondered why Jesus chose Peter,James and John to witness miracles that the other Apostles were not invited to? This happened not once, but on three separate occasions.And how grand were these occasions!!Look.
51 And when he came to the house, he allowed no one to enter with him, except Peter and John and James, and the father and mother of the child.
Lk 8:51.
This was the raising from the dead of Jairus' daughter. Here's another.
36 Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, “Sit here, while I go over there and pray.” 37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
Mt 26:36–37.
On the very night that Jesus went to the cross,He withdrew to talk with the Father about the trial He was soon to face. At this pivotal point in human history, only Peter,James,and John were included. Hmmm.
How about this one.
17 And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. 2 And he was transfigured before them, and his face shone like the sun, and his clothes became white as light.
Mt 17:1–2.
Where were the other Apostles? Why were they not included? Surely when the Lord Jesus was to appear in His Glory,(I believe the only time outside of the Book of Revelation)He would reveal Himself to the 12?
On all of these momentous occasions, one would think that all of those chosen to spread His name to the entire world, would have been included. Right? But,they were not.Jesus purposely pulled those three Apostles out of the group to witness something miraculous.
Jesus chose a smaller group, an inner circle, to experience three pivotal events of revelation, divinity, and human suffering. Why those particular three? I don't know. However,I think the Bible teaches why He chose an inner circle. Look at this.
In the last post, we referenced a verse in Psalms 45.Look at this.
6 Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter of your kingdom is a scepter of uprightness;
7 you have loved righteousness and hated wickedness.
Therefore God, your God, has anointed you
with the oil of gladness beyond your companions;
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2025), Ps 45:6–7.
What makes this verse so interesting snd relevant to our study is the fact that the writer of Hebrews quotes it in Hebrews 1:8.Both verses are talking about Jesus.However,the phrase "beyond your companions" is talking about Christians; and not just Christians but FAITHFUL Christians.How so Ronnie? Well,the word 'companion"is speaking of a partner, an associate if you will.
When I was young Christian the prevailing view of the Kingdom of God(we called it heaven) as I remember was a concept where no one really knew what we would be doing.We just knew that we would be with Jesus forever.Everyone would be equally blessed, no one would shed any tears and so on.There was no concrete vision of what heaven was like; or what we would be doing.
But,if you read what the Bible has to say ,you will find out that the scripture says a good bit about the Kingdom of God.One of the most striking things about the Kingdom is where we are going to spend it.It looks like we will be right back here on earth when all is said and done.
But,the point of this post is to deal with the question of equality in the Kingdom.I believe this verse and others preach that there will not be an equality among believers when the Lord Jesus establishes His throne in Jerusalem.
Look at Hebrews 3:14.
14 "For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end."
You see the word"if"up there.That is an important word in Kingdom language.It specifies a condition.We will share.....if indeed we hold..."
Without getting bogged down in detail, there is something that we need to know about the Book of Hebrews. The author is speaking to Jewish believers. These folk were already saved.
The book can actually be verified historically. The book is an exhortation to these believers to not go back into Judaism because of persecution.It uses Old Testament examples as analogies of what these people should not do.It encourages these believers to move into spiritual maturity by enduring persecution and difficult times.
If they will hold on and not return to Judaism to escape persecution, then they will share in a partnership with Jesus when He establishes His kingdom. They will hold positions of authority.They will have a richer experience in the Kingdom and beyond IF(caps mine)they hold their original confidence. They will become part of an inner circle of believers from all ages who remained faithful to their call.
Like Jesus,they will be anointed with the oil of gladness beyond their companions.This concept of inner circles,being a partaker with Jesus in His kingdom, and having a richer eternal experience is what the Book of Hebrews is about.This experience is linked with the doctrine of rewards.
As we shall see in the next postal believers belonging to the church age are going to stand before Jesus and their works are going to be judged. More on that later.
There are other verses that speak to this rewarding of believers.I will share one more. Look at 2 Timothy 2:12. Remember salvation is by faith alone. To be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of light, all we must do, all we can do is believe. John1:12.3:16 and hundreds of others speak to the freeness of salvation.
However,that salvation (past tense salvation)is not what we are talking about here.The vast majority of the New Testament is written to believers.They don"t need to "get saved." What they need is to learn to walk in the light as He is in the light.They are "working out their own salvation"(Phillipians 2:12,present tense salvation or sanctification)
The concepts we are speaking of here have nothing to do with eternal destiny. You with me on that?
Nowhere was I? Oh yeah 2 Timothy 2:12 Look.
If we have died with him, we will also live with him;
12 if we endure, we will also reign with him;
if we deny him, he also will deny us;
13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful—
Pay especial attention to v.12b "if we endure, we will also reign with Him;
There's that word "if"again.A condition of endurance is required to reign.
One last one.Romans 8:16-17
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.
Do you see a distinction in the verses?Look at v.17. "heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,provided we suffer....."
For now suffice it to say that heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ are two different people groups. We will look at that distinction a little later.But,a condition exists for being a fellow heir with Christ.See the word "provided?"
WE are heirs of God through faith alone in His Son.However,to be fellow heirs with Christ we must suffer with Him.This can't be talking about salvation from the Lake of Fire.No.no.That salvation is conditioned on faith alone.Has nothing to do with suffering.Suffering is optional.Believers can walk away from suffering; just like the Hebrew believers were thinking about doing.
What I want you to see here is the fact that not all believers will share the same authority in the Kingdom.Not all believers will receive crowns in the Kingdom.Not all believers will have the same richness of experience in the Kingdom. Think back to Peter,James and John. Inner Circle.
WE will look at The Judgment Seat of Christ in Corinthians next time.
There is a motivation for living for the Lord.His salvation is free of charge.However,He will pay wages or withhold the same based on our level of service and obedience in this life.
When you get a chance,get a concordance and count the number of times "reward" is used.Pay attention to the Gospel of Matthew.Reward is mentioned more times in he Gospel of Matthew than any other book in the Bible.There is a reason for that.Matthew is the book that explains the Kingdom.It was written to Jewish believers who were questioning the Apostles about Jesus.They asked "if Jesus is the King where is His Kingdom?" The Book answers that question.
All we must do is believe.
God Bless.