If a church will come to believe that they have individually arrived at Mt. Zion, they can by faith enter that state of perfection and remain there as long as every member retains that knowledge?True Church HCL Notes
Apostle Andre Pelser/ 2003/01/03
Hebrews 12:22-25
22 But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, to an innumerable company of angels,23 to the general assembly and church of the firstborn who are registered in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just men made perfect,24 to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better things than that of Abel.
25 See that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if they did not escape who refused Him who spoke on earth, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from Him who speaks from heaven,

The Firstborn refers to Christ the protokos or first fruits of a new species of being, regenerated man:
Romans 8:29
29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

The word Just in the phrase ?just men made perfect? refers to a life-style:
1342 dikaios { dik?-ah-yos}
1) righteous, observing divine laws
1a) in a wide sense, upright, righteous, virtuous, keeping the commands of God

The word ?perfect? refers to the following state of being:
5048 teleioo { tel-i-o?-o}
1) to make perfect, complete
1a) to carry through completely, to accomplish, finish, bring to an end
The general assembly is the ?paneguris? or a crowd assembled for public games. Paneguris is made up out of the word ?pas? and ?agora?. Pas indicates some of all sorts, a collection of every sort. The words are generally used to signify that Christ has redeemed some of all sorts — some Jews, some Gentiles, some rich, some poor, and has not restricted His redemption to either Jew or Gentile …

The heavenly Jerusalem:
2419 Hierousalem { hee-er-oo-sal-ame?}
4) ?the heavenly Jerusalem?, that is the heavenly abode of God, Christ, the angels, saints of the Old and New Testament periods and those Christians that are alive at Christ?s return
The City is one?s native city but it infers that a battle was fought before it could be inhabited:
4172 polis { pol?-is}

The Names written down in heaven of those who belong to this Church of the Firstborn:
583 apographo { ap-og-raf?-o}
2) to enter in a register or records
2a) spec. to enter in public records the names of men, their property and income
2b) to enrol
There is a definite sense of separation from those whose names have not been written down in heaven: 575 apo { apo?}
It implies that there will obviously be those names of people who will not inherit the kingdom, who will be rejected and cast out of the heavenly kingdom: 579 apobletos { ap-ob?-lay-tos}

The spirits of just men made perfect are controlled by the Spirit of God:
4) of God
4a) God?s power and agency distinguishable in thought from his essence in itself considered
4a1) manifest in the course of affairs
4a2) by its influence upon the souls productive in the theocratic body (the church) of all the higher spiritual gifts and blessings
4a3) the third person of the trinity, the God the Holy Spirit
5) the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of any one

The opposite of being in touch with a life-giving spirit is to be choked to death:
4155 pnigo { pnee?-go}

Jesus is the mediator between God and man that makes it possible to belong to this ultimate, perfect Church of the Firstborn.
3316 mesites { mes-ee?-tace}

The basis of this wonderful relationship and privileged position before God relies completely on the New Covenant:
1242 diatheke { dee-ath-ay?-kay}

When we have a clear vision and understanding of what we are involved in when we speak about the true church and true believers we are warned to behave according to that knowledge:
28Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: 29For our God is a consuming fire.
Serving God with Godly Fear and Reverence also includes how we treat others. We cannot say we love God and hate our brother. We cannot be justified by God while we condemn others. We cannot receive forgiveness from God for our many trespasses if we do not learn how to forgive one another. To serve God is intricately wound up in how we serve one another.
2124 eulabeia { yoo-lab?-i-ah}

Jesus is the Mediator, the key to the door into this ekklesia or Church of the Firstborn. He is the Firstborn of many brothers and sisters! Jesus means God is Salvation and the Hebrew origin of the word refers to One that God Establishes, or
2423 Iechonias { ee-ekh-on-ee?-as}

The Question remains: can we see and experience the Perfect or True Church here on earth? The answer is an undeniable ?Yes!? But we will experience it individually and have sporadic and intermitted manifestations of a mature, perfected group of people gathered to worship God: we experience heaven on earth as it were every time we worship in Spirit and Truth and God inhabits our praises.
If a church will come to believe that they have individually arrived at Mt. Zion, they can by faith enter that state of perfection and remain there as long as every member retains that knowledge?
The relapses from this state of perfection injure the entire body?if only every believer would realize this. But we all yearn for the day that we will be delivered from the corruption in this world, where this body will be swallowed up in a perfect state of being, where corruption must put on incorruption and temporal be clothed with eternal matter:

1 Corinthians 15:49-57
49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly Man.
50 Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption.51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed?52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: ?Death is swallowed up in victory.?
55 ?O Death, where is your sting?
1 O Hades, where is your victory??
56 The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law.57 But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

CHURCH ? a local assembly of believers as well as the redeemed of all the ages who follow Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.
When the church general is implied, ?church? refers to all who follow Christ, without respect to locality or time. The most general reference to the church occurs in Ephesians 1:22; 3:10?21; 5:23?32. Since the church general refers to all believers of all ages, it will not be complete until after the judgment; and the assembly of all the redeemed in one place will become a reality only after the return of Christ (Heb. 12:23; Rev. 21?22).
Because the church general will not become a tangible reality until after Christ?s return, the greatest emphasis in the New Testament is placed upon the idea of the local church. The local church is the visible