"Eternal life " is A reference to the beginning of that state called eternity where blessings are awaiting for you to be imputed to your resurrection body.You can't lay a foundation; it was already laid by Jesus Christ and he finished the foundation when He said "It is finished!"Both legitimate Christian service and illegitimate Christian service can be the same function but under different power systems.While the tribulation proceeds on earth, every believer's life is evaluated from day one of his salvation until he departed from the earth.The Christian service must be based upon the fact that spiritual skills must precede production skills for the performance of divine good.
Since the escrow blessings are irrevocable, they remain on deposit forever in the hall of records in heaven as a memorial to lost opportunity.
Billions and billions of years ago, God the Father as the grantor deposited into escrow greater blessings for time and eternity for each one of us as believers in time.
Whether we receive the distribution of those escrow blessings or not as grantees depends entirely upon whether or not we execute the PPOG.
The loser's work is burned because it is only wood, hay, and straw, i.e., it was accomplished in the energy of the flesh.
"For we must all appear” refers to the first time in all history when the entire Church, the body of Christ, will be assembled at one spot.
“before the judgment seat of Christ” — the word ‘judgment’ means evaluation. In other words, all believers are going to have an efficiency report. it is also described in ROM 14:10; HEB 6:7-12.
“whether good or bad” — the word ‘good’ is agathos, divine good; the word ‘bad’ isn’t really bad, it is phaulos which is said to be refuse, excrement, something that is cheap or trivial.
This is the beginning of the final imputations to the believer, the imputation of divine blessings given to the believer in his resurrection body.
There are different types of resurrection bodies depending on your success or failure in the Christian life and your attitude toward doctrine.
a. In the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union when God indwelt the humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ which is known as the first Christocentric dispensation.
b. There is the great power experiment of the Church-age indwells every member of the Church-age.
JOH 10:10 says "The thief comes only to steal, and kill, and destroy; I came that they might have life, and might have it abundantly.
The great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union terminated with the resurrection, ascension, and session of the humanity of Christ.
The final imputation takes place sometime after physical death or the rapture or the "exit resurrection" of the church.
He has no control over the manner or time of his physical death. He cannot prolong his life or cut it short (except, of course, by suicide, which is the sign of a loser believer).
Neither does he have any control over the manner of time of the resurrection.
The death of the believer is always a matter of the wisdom, integrity and sovereignty of God.
PSA 68:20 God is to us a God of deliverances; And to God the Lord belong escapes from death.
ISA 57:1 The righteous man perishes, and no man takes it to heart; And devout men are taken away, while no one understands. For the righteous man is taken away from evil,
The death of the believer is always God's victory and those who are raised from the dead are His trophies.
The believer's death means he is absent from the body, face to face with the Lord, in a place of "no more sorrow, no more tears, no more pain, no more death," and the Lord's timing is perfect ‑ neither too soon and never too late.
The Old Testament saints will be raised from the dead but that takes place seven years after we, the Church-age believers are raised at the rapture also known as "Exit Resurrection" of the Church.
There could not be a resurrection in the Old Testament, for the first resurrection in history was that of Jesus Christ at the end of the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union.
God is perfect; His wisdom is perfect. God is perfect; His decisions are perfect.
JOB 1:21 "The Lord gave; the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord."
ROM 8:38‑39 "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor depth nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus."
PSA 116:15 "Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of His saints."
PHI 1:20-21 "On the basis of my intense concentration and confident expectation [a personal sense of destiny] that I shall not be put to shame in anything, but with all confidence, Christ shall even now [in time] as always [in eternity] be glorified in my body, whether by life or by death. For me, living is Christ, likewise dying is profit.
The judgment seat of Christ is the time of the seventh imputation from the justice of God.
There are at least five categories of crowns for believers in the word of God.
The crown of righteousness. (2) The crown of life. (3) The incorruptible crown. (4) The crown of rejoicing. (5) The crown of glory.
Some will have the crown of righteousness for loving His appearing which means that they were totally occupied with TLJC and produced a lot of divine good, 2TI 4:8.
Some will have the crown of life for enduring trials, heartaches, disasters and coming out glorifying the Lord, JAM 1:12,REV 2:10.
JAM 1:12 Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life, which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.
REV 2:10 'Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Behold, the devil is about to cast some of you into prison, that you may be tested, and you will have tribulation ten days. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.
Some will have the incorruptible crown for mastering their OSN; 1CO 9:24-27.
Some will have the crown of rejoicing for being soul winners, 1TH 2:19, For who is our hope or joy or crown of exultation? Is it not even you, in the presence of our Lord Jesus at His coming?
DAN 12:3 "And those who have insight will shine brightly like the brightness of the expanse of heaven, and those who lead the many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.
Some male pastors will have the crown of glory for being willing to feed the flock of God, 1PE 5:4.
There is the warning regarding crowns, REV 3:11, "Hang on to what you have, so that no one takes away your crown."
2JO 1:8 Watch yourselves, that you might not lose what we have accomplished, but that you may receive a full reward.