Hey Mike,

What do you believe qualifies someone to have part in the First Resurrection? I know that God ordains this before the foundation of the ages.

J____

Hi J____,
The short answer is God’s sovereignty, but that short answer is not the Biblical approach to any question.
He that hears and keeps Christ’s sayings is likened to a “house on a rock” that “endures to the end.” Mat 7.

Mat 7:20  Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 7:22  Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
Mat 7:23  And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.
Mat 7:24  Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
Mat 7:25  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
Mat 7:26  And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
Mat 7:27  And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
Mat 7:28  And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Mat 7:29  For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

Obedience is the key to the kingdom, but the key is given, not earned. We obey because it is ordained and written in His book in advance of our obedience (Psa 139:16).

1Jn 5:2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments.
1Jn 5:3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.
Psa 139:16 Thine eyes did see mine unformed substance; And in thy book they were all written, Even the days that were ordained for me, When as yet there was none of them.

What is “all written” in “the days ordained for us when as yet there were none of them” is that we are all to “live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Mat 4:4). What that means is that we all “build our house on the sand and endure that great fall,” before we build on the solid Rock of “living by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”
“His commandments” in 1Jn 5 refer to Christ’s Words.

Luk 6:46  And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Mat 7:21  Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
1Jn 2:17  And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.

Of course there is also the element of quiet patience and endurance, realizing that salvation is a life long process of rejection and that even Christ had to endure to “the third day… the end.”

Mat 10:22  And ye shall be hated of all men for my name’s sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved.
Luk 13:32  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.

I hope this is of some help to you as you endure this life- long process of salvation. Endure the fire now, and you will not endure it later.

Rev 20:6  Blessed and holy [ is] he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
Rev 20:14  And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
Rev 2:11  He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.

There is no going around that fiery sword which “guards the way of the Tree of Life.” We all have the same experience. But we are not all the first to experience that “one [ fiery] event that comes to the righteous and to the sinner.”

Ecc 9:2  All things come alike to all: there is one event to the righteous, and to the wicked; to the good and to the clean, and to the unclean; to him that sacrificeth, and to him that sacrificeth not: as is the good, so is the sinner; and he that sweareth, as he that feareth an oath.
Ecc 9:3  This is an evil among all things that are done under the sun, that there is one event unto all: yea, also the heart of the sons of men is full of evil, and madness is in their heart while they live, and after that they go to the dead.

As we saw above, death is swallowed up in the lake of fire, and 1Co 15 calls for that victory over death for all in Adam.

1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.
1Co 15:23  But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
1Co 15:24  Then [ cometh] the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
1Co 15:25  For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
1Co 15:26  The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.

For those who are given to receive it these are very comforting words of scripture.

Rom 15:4  For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.

Your brother in Christ,
Mike