he also called; and those whom he called are the ones he also declared to be righteous. Finally those whom he declared righteous are the ones he also glorified. . . . Who will file accusation against God’s chosen ones? God is the One who declares them righteous. Who is he that will condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died, yes, rather the one who was raised up from the dead, who is on the right hand of God, who also pleads for us.”​—Rom. 8:28-34.

Besides those given the “first recognition,” that is, those receiving a heavenly calling as joint heirs of Christ, many others of humankind, including billions now dead, are in need of having the ransom benefits applied in their behalf. For this very reason, Jehovah God has purposed that his Son along with those called to be Jesus’ “brothers” serve as heavenly kings and priests for a thousand years. Of this, Revelation 20:6 tells us: “Happy and holy is anyone having part in the first resurrection; over these the second death has no authority, but they will be priests of God and of the Christ, and will rule as kings with him for the thousand years.” Like ancient Israel’s priests who offered sacrifices to atone for sins, these king-priests will be applying the sin-atoning benefits of Jesus’ sacrifice. Toward whom?

Along with Jesus Christ, they will aid humans on earth, including those raised from the dead, to overcome their weaknesses and imperfections, finally to stand before God as perfect humans free from all condemnation. Then by choosing God’s sovereignty they can become members of God’s family. Based on what was revealed to him in a vision, the apostle John described the pure means for bringing life and healing to mankind as being like a crystal-clear river with fruit-bearing trees along its banks. We read: “He showed me a river of water of life, clear as crystal, flowing out from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of [the city’s] broad way. And on this side of the river and on that side there were trees of life producing twelve crops of fruit, yielding their fruits each month. And the leaves of the trees were for the curing of the nations.” (Rev. 22:1, 2; An American Translation; Moffatt) Accordingly, for one to be completely healed from sin and its effects, it will require obedient response to Jesus Christ and his king-priests. Only then will a person be partaking fully from Jehovah God’s provisions for life.

Thanks be to God for his boundless mercy in providing the ransom price needed for counterbalancing what was lost for us through Adam’s sin. Only the precious life of the perfect man Jesus could meet the requirements of perfect justice. May what Jehovah God has done for humankind move us to want to measure up to his requirements for having the sin-atoning benefits of his Son’s sacrifice applied in our behalf, with eternal life in view.

Sheep Respond to Shepherd’s Voice

◇ In one of his illustrations, Jesus Christ showed that sheep learn to recognize the voice of the shepherd and to respond to his voice only: “The sheep listen to his voice, . . . the sheep follow him, because they know his voice.” (John 10:3, 4) A traveler to the Holy Land recently experienced the accuracy of those words. He reports: “We wanted to film some sheep and tried to make them come near. But they did not follow us because they did not know our voices. Then a small shepherd boy came along; hardly had he called them when they followed along. We recorded the shepherd’s voice on a tape recorder and afterward played it. To our great surprise, now the sheep followed even us!”