CROWNED WITH OIL
George H. Warnock
First Printing:
October. 1987 (Canada)
Second Printing:
December, 1989 (U S A)
Third Printing: June,
1994 (U S A)
Fourth Printing:
December. 1995 (Colombia S.A.)
Printed in Colombia.
CONTENTS
Chapter 2
The Character of the Kingdom
Chapter 3
Exhaustless Oil....But None to Spare
Chapter 4
The Consecration of the Priest
Chapter 5
Ingredients of the Holy Oil
Chapter 7
The More Excellent Ministry in the Heavens
“Neither shall he go
out of the sanctuary, nor profane the sanctuary of his God; for the crown of
the anointing oil of his God is upon him: l am the LORD” (Lev. 21:12).
“But ye are a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye
should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9).
Many
times we may pick up a book nod read it, admit that what we have read is good
and scriptural, and then begin to wonder: “What did this book do for me? Has it
produced in me a greater measure of the life of Christ? Or imparted to me a
greater desire to walk in obedience, and to draw closer to His bract?”
Perhaps
we are not always able to answer questions like that in a precise manner, But
if what we are reading causes our hearts to burn within us, as with the
disciples who walked with the Stranger along the road to Emmaus, I think we can
be assured that God is working in our lives, even though there may remain a lot
of perplexity as to His ways. For this is a day of doubt and perplexity for
many of God’s people who truly desire to please Him, but who have not been able
to understand the tangled threads and the dead-end pathways which they fully
expected would have brought them into a life of fruitfulness in the Kingdom of
God.
And so
here is another writing. Like my other writings it is not intended to set forth
doctrinal positions as such, but to give increased hope and courage to those
who see the “more excellent Way”, but try as they may are finding it difficult
to get away from the trail of fallen trees and ruts and rocks, and onto the
Freeway of Life. We know the highway is there, and it is easy enough to see it.
But only by an operation of the Spirit in our lives are we going to he enabled
to break through the high fence of religious works and man’s systems (out there
in the world, or deep within our own natures), to walk with Him in the Way.
God wants
us to know that our High Priest is enthroned in a “more excellent ministry” in
the heavens, and the Spirit of God is here in the earth to fully invade our
lives, and to lead at into this “more excellent Way”.
--George H. Warnock
REIGNING IN LIFE
The
Kingdom of Heaven that Jesus came to establish in the earth is a spiritual,
heavenly Kingdom. People lose interest when we mention things like that, because
if it is spiritual it is not considered to be real. Let me assure you that the
spirit of man is the most important part of man--that the spirit is the real
man. And the Kingdom of Heaven is that realm in God where man is lifted and
elevated, made alive, and brought into reality.
This
Kingdom was heralded by John the Baptist, and brought into being by the
ministry of the Lord Jesus Himself. It is not a kingdom that He saw fit to
postpone because He was rejected. It was not delayed for some future era. It came
right on time.
If God’s
people could only recognize this! Like Israel of old we have continued to
expect a kingdom that would come “with observation”, and with outward show. It
is taught that one of these days Jesus will return to earth to set up the Kingdom,
whereas the Bible clearly teaches us that He set it up and ordained its
constitution and its progress in the earth when He came the first time.
If there
is one thing that Jesus emphasized above others regarding this truth, it was
that the Kingdom of Heaven was to grow out of the earth because of a seed that
was planted--and that He Himself became that Seed.
“So is
the Kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; and should
sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he
knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself: first the
blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear” (Mark 4:26-28).
Notice this clear truth: It is planted in the earth. It grows and matures in
the earth, And the “full corn” comes to maturity and full growth “in the
ear”--in the earth, and not in Heaven.
Then we
have the parable of the four different kinds of soil in which the seed of the
Kingdom is cast, and how the seed that fell into good soil came forth in
abundant fruitfulness, “some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty” (Matt.
13:23). Our Lord tells us also that the Enemy will sow tares among the good
seed, and that God would allow the tares and the wheat to grow together until
the day of harvest. And lie tells us that the harvest is “the end of the world”
(age) (Matt. 13:38,39). It is the end of the Kingdom age that Jesus brought
into being, not the beginning of it. But all this was so contrary to the
thinking of the people of His time that they could not receive it. Jesus tells
us why: “This people’s heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of
hearing, and their eyes they have closed” (Matt. 13:15). Surely it would not
have been difficult for Him to explain that He was there to become their King
in the earth, and to reign from Jerusalem. That was exactly what they were
looking for. But the Kingdom He came to establish was so very, very different
that they could not see what He was seeking to reveal. So he turned to His
disciples and said, “Blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for
they hear. For verily I say unto you, That many prophets and righteous men have
desired to see those things which ye see, and have not seen them; and to hear
those things which ye hear and have not heard them” (Matt. 13:16,17). Notice
this: “Many prophets” desired to see what these disciples were now seeing, and
could not. Why do we get the notion that the prophets were longing for and
prophesying about something different? Peter tells us that “All the prophets
from Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise
foretold of these days” (Acts 3:24). They did not understand fully the times of
which they wrote, but God showed them that “not unto themselves, but unto us
they did minister the things” which they wrote about, and that these things
“are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven” (1 Pet. 1:12).
God wants to Spiritualize the Natural
The
principle is: “That was not first which is spiritual, but that which is
natural; and afterward that which is spiritual” (1 Cor. 15:46). It is not less
real when it becomes spiritual--it is more real.
When the natural Israelite comes into
Christ, he is not less an Israelite. Rather, for the first time he becomes a
true Israelite. “For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: neither
because they are the seed of Abraham are they all children: but, in Isaac shall
thy seed be called” (Rom. 9:6,7). And Paul tells us what God means by this:
“That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children
of God: but the children of the promise are counted for The seed” (vs. 8).
Surely the “heavenly Jerusalem” is much more real, much more glorious, much
more enduring than the earthly one which “is in bondage with her children”
(Gal. 4:25). Surely Mount Zion in the heavens is more glorious, more beautiful,
more enduring than that little hill in old Jerusalem! (See Heb. 12:22).
It was
God’s desire from the very beginning to bring forth a spiritual people out of
the natural. True, He ordained sacrifices, and offerings, and circumcision, and
altars and temples--for a season. But He always desired “the sacrifices of a
broken and a contrite heart” (Ps. 51:17). He always desired “him that is poor
and of a contrite spirit” as His dwelling place, and not a ‘house’ that men
would build of wood and stone (Isa. 66:1,2). God’s purpose from the beginning
was that He might “circumcise thine heart, and the heart of thy seed, to love
the LORD thy God with all thine heart” (Deut. 30:6).
Shall we Spiritualize or Carnalize the Word?
Be
assured of this, if God by His Holy Spirit does not breathe His own breath and
life into the Word, we are carnalizing it. We are making it to be the “letter
that killeth” rather than the “Spirit that giveth life” (2 Cor.3:6).
Now we
have many good translations that are useful to us in breaking down the barriers
that exist between the original scriptures and our modem day languages. And we
are thankful for those translators, ancient and modem, who are honestly trying
to express the thought of scripture according to the original intention of the
writers.
But let
us never forget that there remains an insurmountable language barrier between
the Creator and the creature; and that only the Holy Spirit can bridge that
vast gulf. Saul of Tarsus knew Hebrew and Greek to perfection--but through it
all he never discovered the living truth. God revealed the truth to him “by the
revelation of Jesus Christ” (Gal. 1:12). And of course he discovered, in the
reading of the scriptures, that what God had revealed to Him was in accord with
that which was written.
“For my
thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD”
(Isa. 55:8). How great is the barrier between our thoughts and God’s? “For as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
and my thoughts than your thoughts” (vs 9).
“But the
natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are
foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned” (1 Cor. 2:14).
We are
totally helpless, brethren, to come to a knowledge of the truth and of the
scriptures except as God reveals it to us by His Spirit.
He speaks from the
realm of the Spirit, into the realm of the earthly and the carnal.
He speaks from the
realm of eternity, into the realm of the finite.
There is
no linguist on earth today, nor has there been in any other day, that can
bridge that gulf.
But Lord,
we want to know You! We want to hear from You! We want to see You! Illuminate
us by Your Spirit, that we might see! We desire “truth in the inward parts”
(Ps. 51:6). We want the living bread. We want “manna” that has been
spiritualized with the atmosphere of Heaven. We want pure “water” that has been
spiritualized with the smiting rod, and flows forth from the living Christ. We
want Your word, that is “forever settled in Heaven”--but we must have it fresh
and new every morning. From the days of our youth, and even to the days when
our head is hoary and our strength is weakened--we must hear and see new
things, fresh things, from the throne of God. I must hear a word that is
constantly “spiritualized” with the breath of Heaven. We are persuaded
concerning the great foundational truths of scripture; but in all that we know
we simply recognize that we only “know in part” (1 Cor. 13:12). This awareness
does not give us a sense of uncertainty, but it does leave us with a greater
sense of our insufficiency. What You give, what You reveal, is sufficient for
today. But tomorrow I must have a fresh supply. I will find that supply in the
same well, in the same river, in the same manna, in the same holy place. But if
I have truly been taught of the Lord, and have walked in obedience, in faith,
in hope, in charity--tomorrow’s portion will be of a higher order to lead me
into higher heights of spiritual appreciation, into broader streams of love and
mercy, into lower depths of humility and meekness. Amen.
We must
learn to put our trust and confidence in God, and in His Holy Spirit, to lead
us into “all truth”. He is a Guide that can be trusted. If we fall into
deception, it is because of the perverseness of our own hearts. No man who walks
with Jesus and stays close to Him can be seduced by the Enemy. For in the Lord
Jesus there is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
We are
not denying that there is a Kingdom yet to come. But the essence of that same
Kingdom is here in the earth now. And if we do not find ourselves reigning in
life now, how vain and senseless to think we are going to reign with Him later
on. For whatever may be involved in future aspects of the Kingdom of God, it is
nothing more than the outgrowth of the Kingdom that is now planted in the
hearts of men by His Spirit. There are “tares” mingled with the “wheat”--that
is true; and for this reason many of God’s people refuse to believe that the
real Kingdom of God is in the earth today. Jesus said it would be this way
until “the end”--until the day of harvest. The tares will appear wherever the
wheat is growing, because the Enemy wants to spoil God’s garden. Antichrist
will appear wherever there is an anointed people, because he is ‘anti’
Christ--He is opposed to the Anointed One. He has no interest in coming to a
temple built with the hands of man. He wants to take charge in God’s Temple
where God’s glory should rule and reign. He wants to crowd Christ out of His
Temple. The meaning of “antichrist” is not only one who is “opposed to
Christ”--it can also mean one who stands “instead of Christ”. Anything he can
do to replace Christ in your life or in your church assembly, he will do it. If
he can succeed in replacing the anointing with something else--anything else, it
matters not--he has won a great victory. And how well he has succeeded in doing
this, especially in these last few decades!
We know
that “Antichrist” will come to fulness of manifestation in the last time. But
John tells us that there were many antichrists at work, even in his day (1 Jn.
2:18). He has been the constant Enemy of God’s people. And God has always
brought forth a conquering people, many of whom overcame through blood and
martyrdom. But today it seems the Church has forgotten that she is engaged in
battle with a world that hates God, and Antichrist has taken up strong
positions in our midst. We have pretty well made a covenant with the world that
we will co-operate with her the best we know--help fight her wars, and get very
much involved in all her programs and her political systems--rather than
becoming a separated people unto the Lord. It is thought we are to be “kings”
of this world system, rather than her enemies. And we seem to know how to
co-exist quite nicely. The reason is we have taken the kingdoms of this world
into our possession under the terms of Satan, and therefore he gets the honor
and glory from our submission. He tried to entangle Jesus this way and failed.
And he has continued to use the same tactics with the followers of Jesus--and
very often is successful.
THE CHARACTER OF THE
KINGDOM
“For the
Kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in
the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 14:17).
Jesus
came into the world to set up the Kingdom of Heaven--not to banish the Romans
from Jerusalem, but to banish sin from the hearts of men. Because He walked in
obedience and truly represented the Father in the earth He came into direct
confrontation with the world, the flesh, and the Devil. He consistently refused
to meddle with the kingdoms of this world, even though they came to Him on one
occasion in an attempt to make Him their King “by force”. “My Kingdom is not of
this world”, He said (Jn. 18:36). He came to bring to earth a different kind of
Kingdom--the Kingdom of Heaven, the Kingdom of God on earth. (Some would try to
make a distinction between the Kingdom of Heaven and the Kingdom of God. Just
take your concordance and look up these terms as used in the four gospels, and
it becomes self-evident that it is one and the same Kingdom: The Kingdom of
God, brought down from Heaven, to embrace the hearts of men). The principles
upon which this Kingdom would be established are the principles of righteousness,
truth, meekness, and love. See Him stand before Pilate, a representative of the
most powerful of all empires up to that time, and see how He replies to the
question, “Are you a King then?”
“Thou
sayest that I am a King. To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into
the world, that I should bear witness to the truth” (Jn. 18:37).
The Kingdom of God is Righteousness
First and
foremost it is a Kingdom of Righteousness; for without righteousness--God’s
righteousness--there can be no real peace; and without righteousness and peace
there can be no real “joy” in the hearts of men.
Now
“righteousness” is a free gift of God, and it comes to us by the workings of
His grace:
“That as sin hath
reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto
eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 5:2 1). The kingdom of
righteousness has invaded the kingdom of sin and death. There are many kinds of
kings and rulers and dictators both in the world and in the Church--but over
them all there is a greater potentate who has the final authority, and this one
is Death. There is a short reign of glory and power and it is all over. All lay
down their crowns at the throne of Death. Kings in the Church do the same. They
may rule and reign in splendor, have large followings, bring the masses under
their subjection, receive adoration and honour from the multitudes--but sooner
or later they themselves submit to a still greater potentate, even Death.
But when
the Kingdom of Heaven is truly making inroads into the lives of men, God’s
servants begin to reign in life because of the working of the Cross in their
lives. Righteousness is ministered to the hearts of men, and “grace reigns
through righteousness unto eternal life”. Apart from a ministration of righteousness
by the Holy Spirit, there is no abiding foundation for “peace” and much less
for “joy”. This order is generally reversed because, generally speaking--the
kingdoms of the Church are based on worldly principles. “Joy” is the quest of
the world, so it has become the cornerstone of our Church gatherings. The music
is like the music of the world and is designed to bring joy. The young people
are caught up with the pleasures of the world, so we will incorporate worldly
pleasures into our religious services. We will have worldly music and worldly
games in our Church gatherings, and in this way we can get more young people
involved in our Church activities. And they call it “the Joy of the Lord”. In
many cases it is like “the crackling of thorns under a pot” (Ecc. 7:6).
Now what
is “righteousness”? The good works of the people? Not really.
“Christ
Jesus ..is made unto us...righteousness” (1 Cor. 1:30).
This puts
the whole matter in an entirely different light. There ought to be good works,
this is true. But they are not really righteous deeds in the sight of God
except they be the outworking of Christ Himself in our midst. It is only as we
are abiding in Christ that His righteousness is revealed in our lives. Only as
Christ walks in His people--leading, motivating, energizing, and manifesting
His own life are we truly a manifestation of the righteousness of God in the
earth. We might bring forth some very impressive programs--religious or
otherwise. We might preach, evangelize, and get involved with all kinds of Christian
outreaches. But if it is because of human zeal, and not the fruit of the
righteousness of Christ in our lives--if it is not because we are “working
together with God” in the “yoke” of Christ--all these wonderful works are but
as “filthy rags” in His sight, and will avail nothing in the day of Christ.
“Righteousness, and Peace”
“Then
judgment (or justice) shall dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness remain
in the fruitful field. And the work of righteousness shall be peace; and the
effect of righteousness quietness and assurance for ever” (Isa. 32:16,17).
When
peace becomes our pursuit, we can very easily build a kingdom of peace based on
our own efforts. We see it in the world about us. But it is also rampant in the
Church. The spirit of compromise has overwhelmed God’s people. It seems
necessary for survival. God help us to discern the thoughts and the intentions
of our hearts. Do our motives spring from the indwelling Christ? Or are we
compromising the truth for the sake of unity?
Jesus
“came not to send peace but a sword” (Matt. 10:34). He came to do justice, to
establish righteousness, and peace will be the fruit of it. But this will bring
confrontation with the world about us: friend against friend, brother against
brother, father against son, mother against daughter, mother-in-law against
daughter-in-law. This is inevitable, because the Kingdom of God is based on
righteousness. The wisdom that cometh from above is “first pure, then
peaceable” (Jas. 3:17). “Gentle, and easy to be entreated”--Yes. It is not
harsh and cruel; but neither can it be compromising. It must first be “pure”.
True peace will come out of this. True gentleness and meekness will come out of
this. The “pure in heart” will see God, and will manifest and show forth the
love and mercy and gentleness of Christ. But in the midst of it all he will
know God’s grief because of the sin of His people, and will “love righteousness
and hate iniquity” as Jesus did.
“And joy
in the Holy Ghost”
It seems
to me that the kingdom that prevails out there in the Church today is very much
like the world. It is a kingdom based on Joy. Who would deny that God wants His
people to have the “joy of the Lord”? But Joy is the “fruit of the Spirit”. Joy
is the fruit that grows from the vine of truth and of righteousness. It is not
something you try to produce with a lot of good snappy music. It is not
manufactured by the mechanics of praise and worship. It is not the enthusiasm
and excitement that is generated by an entertainer who knows how to stir the
emotions, but does not draw the heart to brokenness and repentance.
It is the
“oil of joy” that flows from the olive berry that has known the crushing and
the pressing in the vats of God’s dealings.
It is the
joy of Sarah, who calls her new born son “Laughter” (Isaac) because of God’s
faithfulness in bringing fruitfulness and blessing to a woman of ninety, who
had long bemoaned her state of barrenness before Abraham and before the LORD.
It is the
joy of Hanna, who likewise knew sorrow of heart and much reproach, because she
was helplessly barren. But she came to the place where she could rejoice in a
God who brings down the high and the mighty, and exalts the lowly -- who brings
desolation to those who gloried in their fruitfulness, and causes the barren
woman to be a mother of seven.
It is the
joy of Joseph, “whose feet were laid in fetters” and “whose soul was laid in
iron” --but who in the fulfillment of God’s dealings in his life, wept over his
brethren with tears of joy and victory, and rejoiced in the sovereign workings
of God in his life--in the God who gives “the oil of joy for mourning”.
It is the
joy of Paul, who thought himself “happy” to be bound in chains, yet knowing he
was free, because he knew he was a ‘‘prisoner of the Lord’’.
Happiness
is not a feeling that comes and goes because of circumstances. It is not
something you have to work up when you come to Church after a long miserable
week at your job. It is that abiding state of blessedness that is yours in the
midst of the trial, in the midst of the pressure--because you know that you are
walking with God and doing His will, and reigning in life by Christ Jesus.
Christ Reigns as a Priest on the Throne
The
Kingdom to come is said to be that which Christ will establish when He comes
back again, in which He will enforce righteousness in the earth by righteous
decree. God once administered righteous decrees in this manner, and exacted
very severe penalties upon all who disobeyed His laws. And the final outcome of
it all was death. Paul went so far as to say that the whole administration of
the Old Covenant was a “ministration of death” (2 Cor. 3:7). Not because there
was anything wrong with the Law in itself--but in the outcome of it all a
broken Law was inevitable because of “the weakness of the flesh”. And that
which ought to have ministered life brought about a ministration of death.
But now
we are taught that one of these days God will establish a Kingdom in the earth
and force the inhabitants of the earth into submission by issuing righteous
decrees. Do we not realize that we now have a Mediator of “a better Covenant”
enthroned at the right hand of God in the heavens? And that He has all power
“in heaven and in earth” to minister and to impart righteousness by the Spirit
into the hearts of men, here and now?
This is
thought to be totally inadequate--I suppose because He is simply too far away!
We know He will rule and reign in righteousness later on, for His Kingdom is
“an everlasting Kingdom”. But He is reigning on a throne of glory now --
“Behold
the Man whose name is the Branch; And he shall grow up out of His place, and he
shall build the temple of the LORD” (Zech. 6:12).
This Man
is the Lord Jesus. He is the Branch, or Sprout. Isaiah calls Him “a root out of
a dry ground”. He grows up out of “His place”--and His place is His holy Temple
in the earth. His place is in God’s Garden. In God’s Garden He becomes the
Vine, and in union with that Vine there are many “branches”.
“Even He
shall build the temple of the LORD; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit
and rule upon His throne” (Zech. 6:13).
He was
the Temple of God in the earth when He was here (See Jn. 2: 19). But now He is
building an extension of that Temple which He was when He walked on earth. It
is not another Temple--but now He is the Chief Cornerstone of an enlarged
Temple; and He bears the glory. As our great High Priest in the heavens He
carries upon His shoulders the fulness of the glory of God--and He reigns as a
Priest, bearing that glory.
The
priesthood has been transferred from earth to heaven. The old earthly
priesthood had to be changed because it was a “ministration of death”. The
whole order ended in death because it was an earthly priesthood based upon an
old covenant that even the priesthood could not keep.
But now has Christ
entered into “a more excellent ministry” in the heavens, a priestly ministry
after the order of Melchizedek:
“The LORD said unto
my Lord,
Sit Thou at my right
hand,
Until I make Thine
enemies Thy footstool....
The LORD hath sworn,
and will not repent,
Thou art a Priest for
ever
After the order of
Melchizedek.” (Ps. 110:1,4).
Why did God transfer the
administration of the priesthood from earth to Heaven, and from Levi to
Melchizedek? Paul shows us why:
(I) Melchizedek is superior to Levi, because
Levi paid tithes to Melchizedek, and received the blessing of Melchizedek. This
proves that Melchizedek was better because the “lesser” is always blessed by
the “better” Heb. 7:7).
(2) The Levitical order, good and all as it may
have been in its time, ended in death. And all kingdoms that end in death must
give way to the Kingdom of God that issues forth in life. (See Heb. 7:8,16).
(3) The Levitical order could not bring
perfection. It could not bring the work of redemption to a completion, to a
fulness, and therefore it had to be changed. (See Heb. 7:11,12). Notice this,
beloved. For the Church to remain in a constant state of imperfection is sound
doctrine the way the Church sees it. God says He had to “change” the old system
because it could not bring forth the perfection, the completion, the fulness
that is brought forth in the New Covenant.
(4) The old system was declared “unprofitable”
for the simple reason that the Old Covenant had no power to bring forth any profit
to God or man. (See Heb. 7:18). The Law had its day; and it had demonstrated,
throughout 1,400 years of human history, that the whole system issued forth in
death. Nevertheless, it did “bring in a better hope, by which we draw nigh to
God” (Heb. 7:19). The hope of the Law was not another earthly kingdom. The hope
of the Law was a new order, with a new priesthood after the order of
Melchizedek. This priesthood was to be administered directly from the throne of
God in the heavens. The foundation of this new Kingdom would be righteousness
and peace, for the very name “Melchizedek” means “King of righteousness”. This
Melchizedek reigned over the city of Salem, which means Peace. We do not
inquire as to who he was, this strange personage; for the secrecy of his
origins makes him to be a more fitting type of Christ, whom the world knoweth
not. He is said to be “without father, without mother, without descent, having
neither beginning of days nor end of life” (Heb. 7:3). In other words, his name
is nowhere to be found in the genealogies of the Levitical priestly records. So
it is with Christ. Now Christ had a recorded genealogy in Matthew’s gospel, and
also in Luke’s. He also had a mother, and a Father. But as far as the Levitical
priestly records were concerned, He did not exist. He enters the scene of
priestly and kingly ministry--out from obscurity; for He came fresh from the
bosom of God. And now He rules and reigns as a Priest on a “better” throne, and
in a “better” priesthood, in the Kingdom of Life.
What the
Law could not do because it was “weak through the flesh”, the Priest on the
throne of Heaven is able to accomplish through the “ministration of the Spirit”
to the hearts of men (2 Cor. 3:8,9; Rom. 8:3). He reigns from a heavenly Zion
to ensure that His ministry would be more effectual, more enduring, more
pervasive than it could ever be were He to minister from some geographic
location on earth. Men do not think this is the best way. Most people in the
Church do not seem to think this is the best way. But it seemed good to God!
And God has issued a decree to establish the King in the heavenly Zion:
“Yet have
I set my King upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree; The LORD
hath said unto Me, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten Thee” (Ps. 2:6,7;
Heb. 5:5,6).
This
decree is reaffirmed again and again by God’s holy apostles and prophets; and
yet somehow our modem day teachers are bold to declare that His Kingdom will
not be truly effective until the heavenly Zion becomes an earthly one. God is
satisfied that His King will be able to “subdue all enemies” under His feet as
He reigns from a heavenly throne. Why can’t we be at rest in the decree? And
what makes us think that He is hampered in His task because He is so far away?
He was here on earth once, and having finished the work of redemption He
remained here for another 40 days. He could have stayed for 40 years--or for
2,000 years if that was necessary. But the “decree” of the Father was that the
Son would have “a more excellent ministry” in the heavens (Heb. 8:6). Exalted
in the heavens He would have the totality of power, not only in the earth, but
in the heavens as well. (Matt. 28:18). Power in the earth would not be
sufficient, because earth’s real problems are with “principalities and powers”
in the heavens. Earth’s real problems are with Satan, who is “the prince of the
power of the air”, as well as “the god of this world”. And so God’s decree has
established a Man in the heavens, who would reign as a “Priest on the
throne”--on the highest throne to be found anywhere in the whole universe.
“Far above all
principality,
And power,
And might,
And dominion,
And every name that
is named,
Not only in this
world,
But also in that
which is to come (Eph. 1:21).
Why do
men think that coming back to earth would somehow enable Him to judge more
effectively, because of His transfer from heaven to earth? God transferred Him
from earth to heaven so He would have “a more excellent ministry”. Of course He
is coming back! But not to start a Kingdom. He is coming to totally devastate
the kingdoms of men, as well as all the kingdoms of the heavens,--and to bring
into being a “new heavens, and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2
Pet. 3:13).
The
coming of the Lord is generally presented as the hope of the world, when the
gospel of Christ will really begin to make an impact on the nations, and the
Kingdom of Heaven will be forced upon the earth by righteous decree.
But Jesus
likens His coming to the judgment of the flood, and to the destruction of Sodom
and Gomorrah (Matt. 24:37-39; Luke 17:28,29). He tells us that just prior to
His coming there will be “the days of vengeance”, and that “the powers of
heaven shall be shaken” (Lk. 21:22,26). Paul tells us that the Lord Jesus will
come “in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey
not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thess. 1:8). And Peter tells us
that God’s delay in fulfilling “the promise of His coming” is because He is
“longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all
should come to repentance” (2 Pet. 3:9). If His coming means that the earth
will then be saturated with the gospel of the Kingdom, why does God withhold
His coming, desiring that men would come to repentance? The reason is: “The Day
of God” is at hand--a day when “the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in
the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements
shall melt with fervent heart, the earth also and the works that are therein
shall be burned up” (2 Pet.. 3:10).
I am
asked, Where do we fit the millennium into this picture? All I can do is ask,
Why didn’t Peter fit it in? We might just have to leave it alone till the other
pieces of the puzzle are fitted together. Somewhere that little piece of the puzzle
will find its place. But are we to take the one and only scripture in the Bible
that refers to a reign of “a thousand years” and revolve the whole doctrine of
the Kingdom of God about that? (Rev. 20). The Book of Revelation is full of
symbols, and most--if not all-- of the numbers are symbolic in their
significance. The only other reference to “a thousand years” in the New
Testament is in this passage in Peter; and here he would remind us that “a
thousand years” are but as a day. Men are quick to point out that “the last
days” mentioned by the apostles have now covered “two thousand years”, and so
the present Christian era up to now is really only “two days” in God’s
calendar. Then, why are we not as quick to acknowledge that “a thousand years”
might be reduced to mean “one day”--as the apostle said?
We cannot
just brush aside the solemn warnings of the apostle because many theologians
assure us that the new heavens and the new earth cannot come into being for at
least another thousand years. Peter may not have anticipated that this age
would last 2,000 years from his time; but under the inspiration of the Spirit
he said that we are “looking for” and “hasting unto” the day of God, which is a
day of fire. “Hasting unto” has the meaning, “eagerly expecting, earnestly
waiting for”. Because the Lord comes in fire to devastate the kingdoms of men
and destroy the earth and the heavens as we know them, and to bring into being
“A new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Pet.
3:12,13).
It is now
in this day that the gospel of the Kingdom is to go forth to all nations. And
God is preparing a people for this hour as He has in any other hour of
apostasy. It is the same gospel of the Kingdom that went forth in the
beginning, but now it is “harvest” time, the end of the age. The tares are to
be gathered into bundles for burning. The chaff is to be separated from the
wheat and consumed. The wheat is to be gathered into the garner. This gospel of
the Kingdom will be a word that will devastate the kingdoms of darkness; but it
will be a word of salvation that will not only be spoken, but will shine to the
ends of the earth.
When one
considers the great potential that we now have for promoting the gospel.. .with
radio and television and all kinds of electronic paraphernalia.. .the massive
missionary programs.. .the availability of fast communication and travel.. .the
accumulated knowledge that now lies at our disposal by way of books, and tapes,
and seminars--all of which are designed as an aid to an understanding of the
scriptures, to evangelism, and to Church growth... How can we help but feel
tremendously impressed with the potential of this hour for the spreading of the
gospel? -- Unless we think back about 50 years! Back then we used to hear statistics
like this: One Billion inhabitants of the earth either have not heard the
Gospel, or know nothing about the Lord Jesus! Today that number has spiraled to
two or three billion, and perhaps more! And yet the Church continues to exalt
our modern technology as God’s way to send forth His Word into the earth. How
blind--just how blind can God’s people get?
We are
not saying we should not use our modern methods of travel and communication. We
are in a modern world, and we use what God has provided, as He may see fit. But
we are simply saying that our technology and our modern methods and aids to
evangelism have no real bearing on the effectiveness of the gospel of the
Kingdom. The gospel of Christ is reproductive by nature, and brings forth after
its kind. Everything living thing that God placed in the earth was created with
a law of procreation inherent within its life cell. But I fear the Church is
now almost sterile because she has been drinking from cisterns that have been
polluted with the toxic wastes of the psychologies and the philosophies of men.
She may be growing in leaps and bounds (in appearance anyway, although it is
evident that most of what we call “church growth” is simply a transfer of
people from one “church” to another that has a better program). But how many of
our church members really know the Lord? It is popular now to be “born
again”--because presidents, and governors, and actors, and prominent business
men are “born again”. When the stigma of the Cross is rooted out of the Church,
so is the life of Christ. Where is that travail of the Spirit that brings babes
in Christ to new birth? Where is that real conviction of sin that causes men to
abhor themselves in their lost condition, and cry unto God for mercy? The
Church may say, “These are my children!” But I wonder if God is truly saying,
“I am their Father”? What does God call a person that is mothered by the
Church, but not fathered by the Lord of the Church? (See Heb. 12:8).
Jesus
said, “When He (the Spirit of truth) is come, He will reprove the world of sin,
and of righteousness, and of judgment” (Jn. 16:8). How can a Church that has
become totally captivated by the spirit of the world become an effectual
reproof to the world about her?
The Scandal of the Cross
“But we
preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block (Gr skandalon), and
unto the Greeks foolishness” (1 Cor. 1:23).
Here is
the real problem! God’s people do not want to become the objects of “scandal”.
We do not want to be a by-word, a reproach in a world that we must accommodate
in order to win her favour.
And so
you can ‘join the Church” and get away with almost anything--as long as you
forsake some of those extreme, outward sins that Christian ethics do not allow.
But when we avoid the scandal of the Cross we are eliminating from our way of
life that instrument of death that God ordained for the smiting of our carnal
nature, and the sinful hearts of men around us. Paul said, “God forbid that I
should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is
crucified unto me, and I unto the world” (Gal. 6:14).
This is the Laodicean Age
The
spirit of compromise has just about conquered the people of God, and especially
the leadership in the Church today. The sad part of it all is that they are
almost totally blind to their condition. Our Lord has “eye-salve” to anoint our
eyes that we might see. But to be blind and all the while insist that we
see--this leaves us totally helpless and immune to any offer of salvation.
Every one
is prepared to admit that the Laodicean Church is the character of the end-time
Church; but Laodicea is always that other church across the street, not the one
we go to. Ours is that “glorious Church” that Paul spoke about!
And so
the “gospel” of the Kingdom continues to be heralded by a Laodicean Church....
A Church
that is based almost entirely on accumulating earth’s resources, and getting
more and more involved in earth’s economics, in earth’s politics, in earth’s
governments--
A Church
that is “rich and increased with goods--
A Church
that promises the people of God health, prosperity, happiness, and joy.. .if
they will but release their resources to the glory of God--
A Church
that has perverted “discipleship” to mean devotion to their system, rather than
a forsaking of all in order to follow Him--
A Church
that considers large financial resources to be God’s provision to reach the
lost, rather then recognizing this as the noose that has choked her and
deprived her of the breath of life--
A Church
that has almost totally embraced the world and its systems, thinking that in
embracing the world she could win the world- -
A Church
that is captivated by the spirit of Jezebel, which is a spirit of sorcery,
seducing God’s servants to “commit fornication, and to eat things sacrificed
unto idols” (Rev. 2:20).
The
prophets of Jezebel and of Baal may declare some very outstanding truths, as
Balak did. But his heart was perverse; he was doing it for the money that was
in it, and God’s wrath fell upon him.
In the
time of Ezekiel God complained that the prophets were not preparing the people
for the day of battle, nor making up the hedge of defence so the people would
be able to stand in the day of the LORD. Rather they were seducing the people
by “saying, Peace; and there was no peace” (See Ezek. 13:1-16). There are many
prophecies coming forth in our churches. But how long is it since we have heard
prophecies that would cause a man to fall on his face as “the secrets of the
heart are made manifest”, and cry out: “God is in you of a truth” (1 Cor.
14:25)?
We read
of men like Wesley and Fox and many others who preached in such anointing and
power that men would tremble, and fall on their faces in writhing pain, because
of the awesomeness of God’s holy presence. Early Pentecost was known for the
fiery, consuming presence of God. Men’s hearts would be smitten as they
agonized under the conviction and reproof of the Holy Spirit. Now they want to
build monuments to the memory of those great days of visitation. Sepulchers are
harmless things! We are respectable now! We do not want goings-on like that in
our churches. Why do we not seek out “the old paths” upon which the prophets of
God’s glory walked in past generations? l am afraid it is because we do not
really want those cleansing streams of holy fire that might destroy our
comfortable, Laodicean way of life.
The
kernel is gone--and we are content to spend our time admiring the broken
shell--
We are feeding on the
husks that the swine do eat, instead of returning to Father’s table--
The glory has
departed, and we mend the veil that was rent, and carry on with our “worship”
before an ark that is devoid of the Shekinah --
The altars are still
there in our churches, but there is no bleeding sacrifice laid upon it. The
dismembered parts of the burnt offering present too bloody a scene--with head,
and heart, and liver exposed to the holy fires of God--
We must
have an altar, because an altar is part of temple worship. But let it be an
altar of oak or mahogany, and let it be enhanced with tapestry and golden
cords, and not defiled with the smoke of a burnt offering. Let it not be soiled
with the weeping and wailing of penitent hearts, or the grime of sinners off
the street. We are Laodicean now, and our temples must be kept beautiful within
and without, to attract the crowds. The grounds must be landscaped with the art
of the horticulturist--because this temple is for the rich and the prosperous.
No bums are wanted in here. Our courts must be filled with jovial, happy,
praising people! No longer do we worship in back-alley missions, and old
store-fronts. Our temples are of the best architecture and workmanship. For we
are “rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing”--
And if
perchance God prospers us, and our barns are filled to the brim, we will sell
them or tear them down and build still greater ones to the glory of God. This
is thought to be “vision” and spiritual “outreach”. We must build towers that
reach up into the heavens, to keep the people of God from being scattered--to keep
them together--to make them one--and to “make a name for ourselves”.
“And the
LORD came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men
builded” (Gen. 11:5). But He was not the least impressed!
Beloved,
let us not be the least disturbed when God begins to confound the languages of
men and scatter the people. Let us not be concerned when the finances run low
and men are forced to lay aside their plans to finish the city and the tower.
God wants us to know that “the Most High dwelleth not in temples made with
hands”. The heart of man is the only dwelling place that God has ever desired
for His habitation. Don’t be surprised when the Lord of Glory walks in the
midst of His Church today and overthrows the tables of the money-changers.
Don’t try to re-arrange the tables just because you have bought and paid for
one of them. And don’t blame it on the Devil either! It is God that is saying:
“Make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise”.
It is God
saying, “You have sat long enough in your comfortable pews, trying to sing the
songs of the LORD in a strange land--I would turn your captivity-- I would
bring you out of Babylon--I would lead you back to Zion, the city of the living
God....” Can we not hear the call to repentance in this awesome hour?
“I know
that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then
because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of My
mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need
of nothing; and knowest not that thou art—
Wretched,
And Miserable,
And Poor,
And
Blind,
And Naked:
“I
counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and
white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness
do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see. As
many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent” (Rev.
3:15-19).
And so
our Lord stands outside the door, and still knocking, and asking for
admittance:
“Behold, I stand at
the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come
in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me” (Rev. 3:20).
A Staff, a Pair of Sandals, and a Coat
This was
God’s provision for the first preachers of the gospel of the Kingdom that Jesus
sent forth:
“And (He) commanded
them that they should take nothing for their journey, save a staff only; no
scrip, no bread, no money in their purse: but be shod with sandals; and not put
on two coats” (Mark 6:8,9).
I know we
live in a different time. But I know also that, nice as everything seems to be
in this jet age, the age of satellites and dishes--we have become completely
burdened down in a system that requires an awful lot of entanglement for a
pilgrim people. Let us not think for one moment that the Kingdom of God is in
any way dependent upon the modern resources of man, and all their electronic
gadgetry. We use what God provides. But when all the machinery of our modern
way of life has been swept away, the propagation of the Gospel of Christ will
not suffer because of it.
Our real
shoes, are not the sandals we wear, but the shoes “of the preparation of the
gospel of peace”.
The staff
in our hand is all that we really need. Our real scepter is that which comes
from Him who is King of kings, and Lord of lords.
Our real
coat consists of the garments of His righteousness, the broidered coat of
priestly ministry, with an ephod about our waist, and a mitre of holiness upon
our head.
Any
provision we need along our pilgrim way--God will be faithful to provide. Our
real provision is in the fact that He sends us. For if He sends He is
responsible for our welfare. We simply go as “pilgrims”, as ambassadors with a
message from Heaven, drop the seed into the hearts of men, and trust God to
water and cultivate and care for the growing plant, and bring forth fruit for
His glory.
The Church of Christ is self-propagating
Man’s way
is to build temples and barns to store the seed. But God’s way is to scatter
it. The heathen raged! They said we will cut away the cords of Zion’s King--we
will scatter the people far and wide! But they fulfilled God’s purposes in
doing it. Little did they realize that in their frantic efforts to eradicate
the Church they were actually planting the seeds of the Kingdom of God in all
parts of the land. They did not know that here was a self-propagating,
reproductive people that would reproduce their kind in the good soil of a
famishing, hungry world. They did not know that they were dealing with kings,
whose scepter was only a staff, but who moved in the authority of the King of
the Universe. The sandals they wore were the shoes of “the preparation of the
gospel of peace”. And their coat was the garment of truth, in which they lived,
and by which they spoke a word that was “sharper than any two-edged sword”.
Now the
purpose of true ministry is to so feed the sheep of God’s pasture that they
will become strong, vital, healthy, and reproductive. We have all kinds of
sheep-factories about us. And they are using all kinds of gimmicks, rock music,
entertainment, dance troupes pantomime--you name it--to make the Church
productive; when in fact it is making her sterile. But God in this hour is
going to raise up “shepherds after His own heart” who will minister life to the
sheep, so they will be able to bring forth after their kind:
“(They)
come up from the washing; Whereof every one bear twins, And none is barren
among them” (Song 4:2).
What do
you suppose would happen if every one of God’s sheep were to bear twins? Twins
that are also vital, strong, healthy, and reproductive?
Let’s
start with just a small flock, a very small flock. Let’s start with one vital
Christian in each town or city in the world. .just one. (I believe there are at
least 150,000 villages, towns and cities in the world). So we have just 150,000
real Christians in the earth.
Now let’s
give every one of these vital Christians a whole day to bring another to the
Lord. So now there are 2 in each of these villages: both strong, vital, healthy
sheep. The next day the number of the previous day doubles to 4--and the next
day it doubles to 8--and so forth. Should that seem too difficult? How long
then do you suppose it would take to fill the whole world with strong, vital,
healthy Christians?
Just
about two weeks! That’s all! In slightly over two weeks the whole world has
been saturated with the gospel of the Kingdom! And all this by word of mouth,
from one neighbour to another, without the use of any other means of
communication.
One day,
of course, might be crowding it a little. Let’s make it a week for each one to
reproduce, and then doubling again the next week--and the next--for 15
weeks--and the work is accomplished in about four months. Or give them a month,
and the work is accomplished in just over a year. Every sheep of God’s pasture
is responsible for bringing one more into the life of Christ in each of these
periods--and the whole world is filled with real Christians in 15 days--or 15
weeks--or 15 months--as the case may be! We are talking about a vital
Church--about true disciples of Christ, living and walking in the principles of
the Kingdom of Heaven.
I am not
suggesting that this may be God’s plan. I am simply using it as an illustration
of God’s way.
150,000 x2x2x2
x2x2x2
x2x2x2
x2x2x2
x2x2x2 = 4,915,200,000 ...... Approximately Five
Billion!
“And the
Lord added to the Church daily such as should be saved” (Acts 2:47).
“And the number
of the disciples was multiplied” (Acts 6:1).
“And the
word of God increased: and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem
greatly” (Acts 6:7).
“But the
word of God grew and multiplied” (Acts 12:24).
“And at
that time there was a great persecution... they were all scattered abroad,
except the apostles.. they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching
the word” (Acts 8:1,4). The apostles remained in Jerusalem, and the people that
were scattered sowed the seeds of the Kingdom throughout the land. God’s Church
has been given inherent life from God to reproduce herself in the earth.
All this
may sound very unrealistic for today; and it is all because a very unreal
Church refuses to acknowledge her sterile condition, choosing rather to carry
on with her fruitless programs, instead of calling a halt to the whole thing
and urging her members to cry unto God for reality. When are we going to
realize that we are the Church, and that the building has nothing to do with
it. “O yes,” we are assured, “Everybody knows that”. But if they do, why are
they still building gorgeous temples to the glory of God on the plains of
Shinar? And giving them such reverence and honor? And why can’t God’s people
walk away from it all when the glory of God has departed? Simply because: “This
is my Church--I was raised here--I helped pay for it”.
The
gatherings of the early Church were marked by their simplicity. “And they
continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking
of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). Their homes became their meeting places,
and this became their way of gathering together when churches began to spring
up throughout the Empire. If they had no homes, they would meet wherever they
could. They were the Church. They needed fellowship, and they recognized that
if there were “two” of them they could have fellowship. They had access to the
temple in Jerusalem for a season; but when persecution arose, these facilities
were no longer available. In Jerusalem they may have met in hundreds of homes;
and they were one because they walked in truth, and the Lord Jesus was present
in their midst. For He promised that where “two or three” were gathered
together in His name, He would be there in their midst (Matt. 18:20). He was
not encouraging the little handful that would gather on a Wednesday night. He
was talking about the power of the Kingdom that binds the forces of evil, and
looses the forces of heaven, when just two people are in harmony in the Spirit,
and the Lord Jesus is Lord in their midst--a handful meeting in this
home--another handful over there--what more could the Lord desire? What if we
had two hundred such homes, three hundred, four hundred--filled with people who
have come together for fellowship, with the Lord Jesus in their midst in the
fulness of His presence?
We say
these things to encourage God’s people in this day when man’s programs are
crumbling. We are not saying we cannot rent or build a structure of some kind
if God gives clear direction in the matter. We are simply saying that all this
is totally incidental. We use what God may provide according to His will, but
we must be prepared to drop it all at a moment’s notice. He wants us to be
pilgrim in character, self-propagating and reproductive by nature--and to be
assured that buildings and temples have nothing to do with the gospel of the
Kingdom of God.
God is going to bring
forth this kind of a people in the earth; and He can do it very quickly. Even
so, come Lord Jesus! But it may take the fires of trial and persecution to
bring it about. I recall the feeling of despair that swept over the Church here
in the West when the doors were closed to missionary work in China. Can we not
believe that King Jesus has “the key of David” and that He “openeth, and no man
shutteth; and shutteth, and no man openeth” (Rev. 3:7). And so when the doors
to China were closed God began a great work of purification and refining; and
through much trial and suffering there has come forth in that great land a
strong, healthy, self-propagating Church. In recent years a little help has
come from the outside; but the Church in China is not dependent upon any of
this. They know this could change anytime. And they have proved God to be
faithful in the past to raise up in their own midst whatever ministry they
needed. They have comparatively few Bibles, and not much by way of Christian
literature. They meet wherever they can--in the fields, among the trees, on the
streets--but generally in their homes. All this is quite incidental because
they recognize that they are the Church --and it grows, and grows, and grows,
because Christ Jesus is in their midst as Lord and King.
EXHAUSTLESS OIL- -BUT
NONE TO SPARE
“And thou
shalt command the children of Israel, that they bring thee pure oil olive
beaten for the light, to cause the lamp to burn always” (Ex. 27:20).
“Then
shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their
lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and
five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil
with them. But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps” (Matt.
25:13).
Is This for Us?
I am not
going to get into the mechanics of the parable. Are these virgins part of the
brides-maids, or part of the bride?--and so forth. It is enough that Jesus said
it was for us. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour
wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 25:14).
God
forbid that our concept of walking with God should degenerate into a system of
theology where we learn how to pigeon-hole truth that seems too devastating for
our hearts to bear. Theology has a tendency to take the teeth out of truth,
under the false notion that if it hurts, it can’t be Christ-like. Truth is
devastating to the natural man. And until we come to that place of total
devastation as far as the natural man is concerned, we are not going to come
into the beauty of true spiritual life.
We need
to pay heed to this parable if we are truly desirous of being prepared with oil
for the day of darkness that lies ahead. There is coming a day of test and of
trial for God’s people--in fact we might say it is at the door--a day in which
God is going to expose the hearts, and reveal the nakedness and poverty of this
Laodicean Church that professes to be rich and filled with oil, and to have
need of nothing. It is a day when our confidence in experiences, in blessings,
in gifts, in ministries, in charismatic structures, in charismatic
methodology--is going to fail. The people of God generally find it easy enough
these days to come up with solutions. They have access to a vast library of
success books, and seminars, and workshops, that promise personal spiritual
enlargement, as well as the enhancement of Church life and Church growth. The
criterion seems to be: Does it work? If it works, and at least seems to perform
the desires of our hearts--that seems to be all that matters. Whether or not it
is God’s Way, and will bring forth God’s objective, doesn’t seem to matter.
The Hour of Trial
The Lord
has warned us that there is coming an hour of trial upon all the world “to try
them that dwell upon the earth” (Rev. 3:10). There will be overcomers in that
hour, and God has shown us the way to overcome in the day of famine, in the day
of darkness and gloominess, in the day when He sends His fire into the earth.
It is going to be a day when “the labour of the olive shall fail”--a day when
there shall be “no fruit on the vine”. And it is going to be a day of the
unveiling of one’s spiritual worth, or of his bankruptcy. O that God might help
us to declare bankruptcy now, as He reveals to us the pile of debts that we
have no way of paying. For if we declare bankruptcy now, we will be able to
“buy gold tried in the fire” and “white raiment” to clothe ourselves, and
“eyesalve to anoint our eyes” that we might see.
The wise
and the foolish were all virgins. They all had lamps--they all took their
lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. If they were the “brides-maids
you can be sure that the bride would require even greater diligence for her
preparation, than would the brides-maids themselves. All their lamps were
burning with oil; for at the midnight hour they did not arise and light their
lamps--they rose up and “trimmed” them. They came to this place of waiting, and
of sleeping, with lamps that were burning; but as they slept their lamps grew
dim. The light from the lamps of the foolish appeared to be equally
illuminating as the light from the lamps of the wise. But there was one
difference, and this was only revealed in the midnight hour. The wise had
brought along with them a supply of oil “in their vessels”--while the foolish
were trusting that the lamp they had would keep burning, without any extra
supply.
Is Oil in the Lamps Sufficient?
Are you
trusting in the lamp you have, the structure you are sheltered under, the New
Testament Church order you have found refuge in? Or is your confidence in a
personal, abiding union with Christ Himself? Are you trusting in the fact that
you have received of His Spirit, and have gifts of the Spirit, and have certain
manifestations of blessing and power in your life? Or are you pursuing a life
of total abiding union with the Lord?
The oil
in your lamp will soon burn out. There is no blessing, no experience, no gift,
no ministry, no Church structure, that will keep your lamp burning in the hour
of trial. Having the right arrangement, the proper New Testament pattern, the
right kind of structure or covering, the right order--these will not suffice.
Having His gifts, His blessings, His ministries--these in themselves will not
do. They have their purpose, a very needful purpose, and that is to bring us
into this relationship we are talking about--to cause us to “grow up into
Christ”--even unto “the fulness of God” (Eph. 3:18,19; 4:13). But if this is
not the vision and the hope, and if this is not the objective of our many
gatherings together in His Name--sooner or later the lamp will run dry, and the
light will grow dim and go out.
There is
only one way that we can maintain the oil that will maintain the light that
will maintain the vision of His appearing, and prepare us for that
appearing--and that is by coming into union with Him who is the Source. It is
not some new doctrine that you can take or leave. It is God’s provision for His
people in the hour of famine and of darkness. You must begin to walk in
identification and union with Christ, in His Cross as well as in His life. Only
in Him is there an unfailing supply. It is not something you automatically have
when you receive of His Spirit and partake of His gifts and blessings. Rather
these gifts and blessings are intended to help us along the Way as we seek to
follow on to appropriate the death of the Cross and the resurrection life that
these enabling gifts and ministries would lead us into.
There is
a subtle teaching emanating from the Church in this hour that goes something
like this: “Forget those far-out things--get back to basics, get the gifts of
the Spirit and start working for God”. The subtlety of it all lies in the fact
that God has given precious gifts of His Spirit as the means and not as the
end--Gifts of power to help and encourage and strengthen us in our many difficulties;
and words of wisdom and knowledge and faith to lead us into abiding fulness
with Him. But as man has always been prone to do, we accept the part for the
whole, the means for the ultimate end. We accept the scaffolding for the
building. We glory in the beautiful flowers of the tree, and care less if there
be any apples. We admire the living green of the wheat fields and do not see
the value of the ripening grain, and the threshing, and the blowing away of the
chaff.
Union with the Source
We have the
answer to our need in the vision that God gave to Zechariah, at the time of the
building of the second temple:
“And (He)
said unto me, What seest thou? and I said, I have looked, and behold a
candlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it, and his seven lamps
thereon, and seven pipes to the seven lamps, which are upon the top thereof:
And two olive trees by it, one upon the right side of the bowl, and the other
upon the left side thereof (Zech. 4:2.3).
Not just
a candlestick, but a candlestick that was in union with an exhaustless supply
of oil--oil from the olive-trees--oil from the fountain-head and source. God
showed Zechariah that the “olive trees” were the sons of oil, the anointed
ones. It was Christ--but it was Christ in union with His many brethren. They
were the sons of oil, sons of the anointing--and through them there was an
exhaustless supply of oil for the lamp of God.
God has
endowed His true servants with spiritual gifts and ministries; but it does not
stop there. They are a people who, because of His enabling power, have
experienced His Way, and are walking in His Way, and are pointing others to His
Way. There is an exhaustless supply of oil--but you must buy it for yourself.
You cannot borrow it from your leader, from your pastor, from your teachers.
And when you find it (or rather Him), you cannot sell it to any one else. You
cannot delegate it to others. You cannot give it away, much as you would like
to share it with others. One must walk with Him and learn His ways--hearing His
voice and doing His will. Association with God’s anointed ones is not
sufficient. As they minister out from the heart of God they will seek to bring
you into union with Christ for they know that you will not be prepared to go
forth in this midnight hour to meet the Bridegroom, except as you come into
vital union with Him who is the Source. You have to buy this oil for yourself,
if you are going to have it; and you are going to have to buy it now. At the
midnight hour, which is very close at hand, you will not have the opportunity
to buy it.
What is the Price?
What is
the price? That would be difficult for me to say explicitly. But the Lord will
show you, if you truly want to know and pay the price. The price-tag is not
according to the value of the oil, for this unfailing supply is really without
money and without price. But there is a price-tag, and you will have to
discover that for yourself. It could be some paltry earthly thing that has
blinded your eyes to the true riches. But it could also be some degree of
spiritual attainment that you are loathe to relinquish in order to have His
fulness. It could even be a ministry, great or small--full of truth, full of
oil, full of blessing--but which will go out in the darkness of the night if
you do not surrender it all to Him for the prize of the high calling of knowing
Him. The price-tag merely reveals the smallness of your own heart, and the
struggle one has to go through in order that he might receive the riches of His
grace.
It could
be Anything--but it has to be Everything. For it is only in forsaking all that
we have that we might receive all of Him. These blessings and gifts and
enablements are only manifestations of Him. They are good, but they are only
intended to lead us unto Him, unto His fulness, unto the Fountain-head and
Source. If they fail to do this, they will soon wither and die.
“Search us, O Lord,
and know us. Try us and know our thoughts. Continue to send forth your Word to
our hearts that your people might hastily sell all they have and buy this
precious, exhaustless supply of oil. For truly the midnight hour is nigh at
hand; and very shortly we must go forth to meet the Bridegroom under the
illumination and anointing and guidance of Your Spirit”.
When
Jesus came the first time it was those who had an abundance of scriptural
knowledge of His coming who missed Him--whereas the humble and the lowly whose
hearts were prepared saw Him. Can we not learn from what happened at His first
coming, as we anticipate His second coming?
It is
evident that there are going to be some very dramatic, sudden outward
manifestations at His second coming. But it is also evident that there will be
aspects of His appearing that only those who have eyes to see and ears to hear,
will recognize. Paul saw the Lord in such a brightness of His glory that it
blinded his eyes. But his companions who travelled with him saw nothing, and
only heard meaningless sounds. And yet it all happened at the same moment, and
in the same place. I know this was not at Christ’s first coming. Neither was it
at His second coming. But Paul saw Him! It was an appearing of the Lord that
was just as real as His appearing to Peter and James and John and the other
disciples (1 Cor 15:5-8). The five virgins saw Him, and walked into His
presence--while the foolish virgins saw Him not. He comes as “a thief in the
night”--to those who are not walking in the light--but in the brightness of His
glory to those who are (1 Thess. 5:2,4).
These
things may be very disturbing to the theological mind, because theology must be
able to so arrange the scriptures that they can precisely set forth the manner
of the coming of the Lord. But God does not reveal Himself in this way. In all
of the parables, in all of the exhortations in the epistles, there is both
encouragement and warning to God’s people that He may appear any moment, and
that those who see Him when He appears are those who are looking for Him,
waiting for Him, and expecting Him (See Matt. 24:44; 25:10; 1 Thess. 1:10; Tit.
2:13; Heb 9:28; 1 Jn. 3:2,3).
But it does
not mean that everything pertaining to the second coming must take place in
that single moment of time. It took 33 years for the prophecies that related to
His first coming to be fulfilled; and we have no way of knowing how many years
it may take for all aspects of His second coming to be fully revealed. But let
us remember that those who earnestly looked for Him, and whose hearts were
prepared, saw Him early in the day of His appearing, simply because they were
walking with God, and had eyes to see what the world could not see. We cannot
miss Him if we are constantly looking for Him. And God forbid that any of us
should be found in the company of those who are going about lecturing from
beautiful charts of the second coming, while the Bride of Christ is feasting
with her Lord at “the marriage supper of the Lamb”.
THE CONSECRATION OF
THE PRIEST
“Take
Aaron and his sons with him, and the garments, and the anointing oil, and a
bullock for the sin offering, and two rams, and a basket of unleavened bread”
(Lev. 8:2).
Aaron
does not just walk boldly into the sanctuary boasting: “I was born a priest--I
have a right to be here”. He was born to be a priest--that is true. And
likewise we are born into the family of God to be a “royal priesthood”, and to
offer up “spiritual sacrifices” unto God.
But if we
are born to be priests, we are also born to be consecrated unto the Lord, born
to know sacrifice, born to know cleansing, born to be separated wholly unto
God, born to be His holy Temple in the earth. Let us consider some of the
things that had to be done for the consecration of Aaron and his sons unto priestly
ministry.
They were Washed with Water
They were
totally stripped of their clothes, and washed with pure water at the laver
(Lev. 8:6). We are cleansed by the blood of Christ, that is true. But His blood
was shed almost 2,000 years ago; and it is the living Word of God that now
contains the ingredients of that precious blood. Jesus said, “Now ye are clean
through the word that I have spoken unto you” (Jn. 15:3). Just as for the
cleansing of the leper there was a vessel that contained living water that was
mingled with the blood of an atoning bird--so the living word that is brought
to us by the Spirit contains and ministers to us the efficacy of the blood of
Christ (See Lev. 14:5-7).
“This is
He that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by
water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit
is truth” (1 Jn. 5:6). What kind of water? The word, but the living word---the
word that He was, the word that He gave them. The word about the blood of the New
Covenant. The word about following Him, about taking up their Cross, about
hating their lives and losing themselves for His sake, about walking in total
self-denial, about abiding in union with the Vine.
They were Clothed with New Garments
“And he
put upon him the coat, and girded him with the girdle, and clothed him with the
robe, and put the ephod upon him, and he girded him with the curious girdle of
the ephod, and bound it unto him therewith” (Lev. 8:7).
Stripped
of the old garments, washed at the laver, and then clothed upon with garments
that were tailor-made “for glory and for beauty” (Ex. 28:2). They were not just
washed up and clothed again with their old garments. Not even with the old
garments fresh from the dry-cleaners. It must be a new garment, a priestly
garment. They are garments of His own making, “for glory and for
beauty”--garments that will show forth the glory of the Lord, and the beauty of
His holiness. These garments were intricately made and fashioned according to
the craftsmanship of men who had the wisdom of God. Our new clothing is by
God’s workings and God’s dealings. There was “a breastplate, and an ephod, and
a robe, and a broidered coat, a mitre, and a girdle” (Ex. 28:4). Then on the
two shoulders of the vest-like garment called the “ephod” there were placed
“two stones” in which were engraved the names of the children of Israel (Ex.
28:11). So when Aaron stood before the Lord, he was actually bearing the names
of the children of Israel “before the LORD upon his two shoulders” (vs 12).
The Breastplate of Judgment
Now to
the ephod there was fastened what was called “the breastplate of
judgment”--also made of “cunning work”, and it was fastened to the ephod with
chains of gold, as a sort of apron. On this breastplate were set four rows of
precious stones, three in each row, making twelve stones, each stone
representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel. It was called the breastplate
of judgment because as Aaron stood before the LORD he was bearing “the judgment
of the children of Israel upon his heart before the LORD” (Ex. 28:30). On his
shoulders he bore their names in the place of power and strength. But on his
heart he would also bear their names in the place of love and mercy. It was
called the breastplate of judgment, because all that our High Priest does in
the heavens in the administration of His priesthood, He does it in
righteousness and in justice, as well as in love and mercy. We know that if and
when God condemns, He does so because He is a just and holy God. But do we
realize that when He justifies us, He also does it because He is just and holy?
Christ died for us because He loved us. But justification is a legal term; God
justifies us as a righteous Judge. Aaron stood before the mercy seat with the
breastplate of judgment tied to the ephod. Let us consider the mercy seat in
its New Testament setting.
“Being
justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (or ‘mercy seat’) through faith in
his blood” (Rom. 3:24,25). The word “propitiation” is translated “mercy seat”
in Heb. 9:5; and this refers to the lid of the ark of the covenant, before
which the high priest would stand on the day of atonement when he went into the
holy of holies. Here he would sprinkle the atoning blood on behalf of the
children of Israel.
Now
Christ our Mercy Seat declares God to be just in remitting our sins: “To
declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God” (Rom. 3:25). God forgave and remitted the sins of His
people in a past day, because of the sacrifices which they brought. But how
could God be seen as a just God, by accepting the blood of an animal for man’s
sin against his Creator? Paul reminds us that it was because of God’s
forbearance that He was able to remit sins, for He anticipated the day of the
Cross, when He would be fully vindicated and declared to be righteous in
accepting the sacrifices of bulls and goats which could never take away sins.
But the
apostle goes still further: “To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness;
that He might be just, and the justifier, of him which believeth in Jesus”
(Rom. 3:26). Can we grasp the significance of this? We are saved because of the
love and mercy of God, this is true. But God wants us to know that by virtue of
the Cross we are justified, or declared to be righteous, by a righteous decree
of the Judge of Heaven. No earthly judge could do such a thing. He might pardon
a criminal, if that were within his jurisdiction to do so. But if he did so,
how could he show himself to be righteous in doing it? But so marvelous, so
unsearchable are the judgments of God, so great and effectual was the work of
the Cross, that when God the Judge declares the believing sinner to be righteous,
by this very declaration He is revealing Himself to be totally just and
righteous. And so the Psalmist says, “Mercy and truth are met together;
righteousness and peace have kissed each other” (Ps. 85:10).
Where did
this happen? At the mercy seat! And that is why on either end of the mercy seat
in the Old Testament there were figures of the cherubim, made of solid
gold--facing each other, but looking down upon the sprinkled blood of the
sacrifice. Mercy and truth had come together. The cherubim which once were
placed at the gate of Eden to bar man from the presence of the holy God against
whom he had sinned--are now at the mercy seat to welcome sinful man back into
God’s presence.
This was
the truth that set the world aflame during the Reformation, when God by His
Spirit began to bring to light the truth of ‘justification” that had become
almost completely obscured from the eyes of men, and encumbered with religious
ritual and bondage. “The just shall live by faith” was the word that God made
alive to Martin Luther. Only God by His Holy Spirit can make this to be a
living revelation in the hearts and minds of men. And we need this revelation
if we are going to walk in the righteousness of Christ. We need to know that
those garments of His righteousness are freely ours, if we are going to have
faith to put them on and wear them.
The Accuser of the Brethren
Now
Christ is our great High Priest who bears our names before the throne of judgment
in the heavens, commending us to God, and to His holy presence. But there is
one who would persist in accusing us before God, if and when he has the
opportunity.
“And he
shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan
standing at his right hand to resist him. And the LORD said unto Satan, the
LORD rebuke thee, O Satan; even the LORD that hath chosen Jerusalem rebuke
thee: is not this a brand plucked out of the fire? Now Joshua was clothed with
filthy garments, and stood before the angel” (Zech. 3:1-3).
We can be
sure that when the people of God set about the task of restoring the priesthood
they would have engaged the best tailors in Israel to make those priestly
garments. We can be sure they would have been pure and clean. But Zechariah was
a prophet, and God was showing him the high priest, as He saw him. God saw
“filthy garments”--and this gave opportunity for Satan to accuse him before
God.
But one
word from God was sufficient to silence the Accuser: “The LORD rebuke thee, O
Satan, is not this a brand plucked out of the fire?” One word of rebuke from
our Intercessor in the heavens is all that is required to “purge our conscience
from dead works to serve the living God”. “Who is he that condemneth: It is
Christ that died, yea, rather that is risen again, who is even at the right
hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Rom. 8:34).
We glory
in the fact that God has justified us freely by His grace. But God does not
hand us holy garments to look upon and admire.
“And he
answered and spake unto those that stood before him, saying, Take away the
filthy garments from him. And unto him he said, Behold, I have caused thine
iniquity to pass from thee and I will clothe thee with change of raiment”
(Zech. 3:4).
Put Off--and Put On
It is a
change of raiment, beloved! Not the old ones laundered and put on again. It is
not a refinement of your old nature. It is not your eloquence refined and given
to God. Not your musical talents refined and given to God. Not your executive
abilities, your business and professional talents, refined and given to God. It
is not the old garments at all, but new ones, for glory and for beauty.
“But now
ye also put off all these...put off the old man with his deeds;.. .And put on
the new man which is renewed in knowledge after the image of Him that created
him” (Col. 3:8-10).
Yes, we
have our own distinct personalities from birth. And God makes us the way we
are, according to the intricate workings of His grace and wisdom. But let us
not just make excuses: “Well, that’s just the way I am”. This might be true.
But is it the way God wants us to be?
God makes us the way
we are that we might be recreated into what He wants us to be.
He makes
the flower, that it might become the fruit.
He makes
the worm, that it might become the butterfly.
He wants
to change us. He does not remove from us our distinct personality. But He wants
to bring about something brand new. He wants to bring about a revolution in our
personalities so that what God sees, and what we see, and what the world about
us sees--is a New Creation. As the “elect of God” He wants to clothe us with
“mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering, forbearing one
another, and forgiving one another,...even as Christ forgave you” (Cot.
3:12,13).
O how
absolutely essential it is that we who profess to function in priestly ministry
come to that place of total commitment to the Lordship of the Spirit of God in
our lives. Because only the Spirit of God can enable us to minister righteousness
to His people We can’t remove the “filthy garments” just by saying, “Take them
off”. Only the “ministration of the Spirit” can do that (2 Cor. 3:6). No wonder
there is so much death in our midst. The form may be there: the praise, the
worship, the preaching, the teaching--but if the Spirit of God is not reaching
into the heart of God and taking the things of Christ and “showing” them to
us--with all of our rightness of truth and doctrine there is no vital
ministration of the Spirit of Christ in our midst.
A Holy Mitre and a Crown of Gold
“And he
put the mitre upon his head; also upon the mitre, even upon his forefront, did
he put the golden plate, the holy crown” (Lev. 8:9).
Crowned
with a golden plate, and on the plate were engraved the words, “Holiness to the
LORD”.
“And it
shall be upon Aaron’s forehead, that Aaron may bear the iniquity of the holy
things” (Ex. 28:38).
Now Aaron
was not boasting about how holy a man of God he was. Rather he was saying, “I
am wholly consecrated unto the service of God--my mind, my thoughts, my whole
way of life is devoted to the holy ways of God. And it is not for my sake that
I do it, but for His sake, and for the sake of God’s people Israel. It is their
iniquity that I bear, that they might know God’s salvation”. It was a
confession that because of his high calling he was totally devoted to God, to
His purposes, and to the ministry of the sanctuary.
Jesus
said, “For their sakes I sanctify Myself (I devote Myself totally unto God)
that they also might be sanctified through the truth” (Jn. 17:19).
Anointed with Holy Oil
“And he
poured of the anointing oil upon Aaron’s head, and anointed him” (Lev. 8:12).
When
David beheld the people of God assembled together in worship he was inspired to
say, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity!” But let us never forget the one and only basis of unity in the body of
Christ--it is because of the anointing. “It is like the precious ointment upon the
head, that ran down the beard, even Aaron’s beard: that went down to the skirts
of his garments” (Ps. 133:1,2).
O that
God’s priests might know that we are partakers of “the same anointing” with
which our High Priest is anointed! And that we only partake of the same
anointing when we are clothed upon with His holy garments! That God does not
anoint our fleshly natures, nor our fleshly words, but only the garments of
Christ Himself! And that we only partake of this anointing as the drippings of
the oil flow down upon us from the beard of the Ancient of Days in the heavens!
“Thou
hast anointed Him with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows” (Heb. 1:9).
The Ram of Consecration
There
were two rams that were offered, the one as a burnt offering, and the other as
“the ram of consecration” (Lev. 8:18,22).
The burnt
offering is primarily one of the will; for every service to God must proceed
from a commitment to do His will and not our own. “He shall offer it of his own
voluntary will...” (Lev. 1:3).
It is the
offering of Christ that supersedes and replaces all other offerings:
“Sacrifice and
offering Thou didst not desire;
Mine ears hast Thou
opened:
Burnt offering and
sin offering
Hast Thou not
required.
Then said I, Lo, I
come:
In the volume of the
book it is written of Me,
I delight to do Thy
will, O my God” (Ps. 40:6-8).
The
offering of “the ram of consecration” was of a higher order than the general
burnt offerings. In this offering Aaron and his sons were consecrated by blood
and then by oil:
“Upon the
tip of Aaron’s right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the
great toe of his right foot” (Lev. 8:23,30).
Blood on
the ear, that they might hear with ears that had been cleansed and purged, and
quickened to know His voice. Blood on the thumb, that the works of their hands
might be the workings of Christ, and not their own. Blood on the toe, that they
might walk in a way that is pure and holy.
And then
the garments themselves were sprinkled with blood and oil, that they might be
wholly sanctified unto the ministry of the priesthood.
So once
again we have the three witnesses: Washed in pure water, that they might be
clothed upon with garments of glory and of beauty. Consecrated by blood and
anointed with holy oil. There was no cleansing in the laver itself--it is not
by the letter of the word--but by the living word, by water mingled with blood.
And “it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth” (1 Jn.
5:6).
We can do
a lot of talking, a lot of preaching, a lot of teaching from the word. And we
can have all the facts about redemption and about the blood. But may God shut
our mouths and may our witness perish from the earth if the Spirit of God is
not bearing witness to what we are saying and what we are doing. For He alone
is Truth. He alone is the faithful and true Witness in the earth, as Christ is
in the heavens.
INGREDIENTS OF THE
HOLY OIL
We spoke
about the oil of the candlestick that gave light in the sanctuary. But now we
want to talk about the ingredients of the anointing oil that was used for the
anointing of the priesthood and the tabernacle.
“Take
thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh.. .of sweet cinnamon.. .of
sweet calamus. . .of cassia. . .of oil olive.. .and thou shalt make it an oil
of holy ointment” (Ex. 30:23-25).
(1)
Pure Myrrh. (Also translated as “liquid myrrh”). Myrrh was a fragrant resin that
would ooze from the myrrh shrub. But it was “bitter”, and that is what the word
‘myrrh’ actually means. Myrrh, you will recall, was one of the gifts that the
wise men brought to Jesus at His birth; for He was to be a “Man of Sorrows” in
His life and in His death. His true joy would spring forth from His obedience
to the heavenly Father, and in His abiding relationship with Him. He gloried
not in His ministry, in His works, in His accomplishments--but gave all glory
to the Father who was the One who performed all His mighty works through Him.
Have we not all wondered at times how men who have
seemingly carried a lot of anointing have so often lacked the grace and beauty
of the Spirit in their lives? It is because they have refused to allow the
myrrh to be mingled with the oil in the apothecaries of God. Because Jesus
suffered, it is taught that we do not have to suffer. The way of discipleship
has been perverted to mean coming under subjection to some minister or some
kind of church system. Men would simplify the pathway of discipleship by
eliminating the myrrh. Just get under our ‘covering’. Just get involved with our
‘church order’. Just recognize ‘our prophet’ or ‘our apostle’, if you want to
be a true disciple. But in spite of all the assurances that they might give us,
the path of discipleship is just as demanding today as it was when Jesus warned
His disciples:
“Whosoever
doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be my disciple...
“Whosoever
he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple”
(Luke 14:27,33).
(2)
Sweet Cinnamon. Cinnamon was from the bark of the cinnamon shrub, and had a certain
fragrant sweetness. The root meaning of the word is “to erect” or “to stand
upright”. The holy oil if truly compounded by the apothecary will cause the
anointed people of God to stand erect, to walk in truth. It is said of the
anointed Son that He “loved righteousness and hated iniquity”. We glory in
justification--in the imputed righteousness of Christ which we receive by
faith. But if we truly receive this righteousness and walk in it we are going
to hate iniquity. These two things are mutually exclusive. Truth and deception
cannot co-exist. Righteousness and iniquity cannot co-exist. The one will
overshadow the other, and eventually exclude it.
It is not
too difficult to discern an awful lot of dead flies in the ointment today.
“Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking
savour” (Ecc. 10:1).
(3)
Sweet Calamus. The word “calamus” has been variously translated as “reed” or “cane”, and
once as “branch” (for the branches in the candlestick) (See. Isa. 42:3; 43:24;
Ex. 25:33). And so like John the Baptist (who appeared to be but a “reed shaken
in the wind” the sweet calamus is a rod of strength, a channel, a branch
through which the oil can flow. It is also the same word that is used for the
“stalk” on which the ears of corn develop and mature (See Gen. 41:5). A reedy
stalk, not seemingly of any particular value; but the life flows through it,
and causes the fruit to grow and mature. There is nothing pretentious about it.
It “seeketh not its own”. It merely wants to be a channel for the oil, the
stalk through which the life can flow to produce the fruit of the Spirit and to
bring forth the life of Christ in others. Paul carried with him a “treasure” in
an “earthen vessel”. The reason was “that the excellency of the power may be of
God, and not of us” (2 Cor. 4:7). A stick in the hand of Moses as he tended the
sheep in Midian becomes the “rod of God” when he stands before Pharaoh. The
shepherd’s staff becomes a scepter of power and authority. A “reed shaken in
the wind” strikes fear into the heart of a wicked, powerful Herod. A man
manacled with fetters causes another governor to “tremble”. At His trial the
soldiers entwine the briars into a crown of thorns and place it on the head of
Jesus, and they put a flimsy reed in His hand, and hail Him “King of the Jews”
in mockery. But in the wisdom of God and in the wisdom of the Cross that “reed”
becomes His royal scepter of dominion over all creation. The crown He wore
becomes the crown of the anointed King who reigns eternally on Zion’s Hill,
King of kings and Lord of lords.
How is it
then that the lesser kings and the lesser lords of the Kingdom of Heaven are
boasting about scepters of iron rods and crowns of gold? They seem to think
that Jesus became a Lamb so they could become lions. They seem to feel that
Jesus took the form of a “slave” so they could take the form of a king.
(4)
Cassia. The cassia was also the bark of a shrub; and its root meaning is
‘shriveled’. It is from the same root as the word “bowed down”, when it refers
to Abraham’s servant bowing his head and worshipping the LORD in humbleness of
heart (Gen. 24:26). It is also the word used for “stoop” where David humbled
himself in reverence before Saul (1 Sam. 24:8).
The flesh can produce a legalistic, mock humility.
But we are talking about true reverential fear and worship that is inherent in
the anointing oil from God’s apothecaries. The giddy laughter and joy in many
of our places of ‘worship’ has nothing to do with the holy ointment. Happiness,
joy, and entertainment has almost crowded the cassia out of the house of God.
All this professional musical entertainment we have today has absolutely
nothing to do with the true anointing. True worship is primarily a state of
being, and not an act that you perform in times of religious service. Jesus
talks about “true worshippers”, and not merely about the act of worship. Only
as you become a worshipper can you truly “worship the Father in Spirit and in
Truth” (Jn. 4:23). Let us seek to minister Christ, that men might become
worshippers, rather than trying to stimulate “worship” in a religious service.
Do you
know that the first mention of the word for “worship” in the Bible concerns the
offering up of Isaac on the altar of Moriah? True worship is simply that:
giving your all to God in total surrender. In praise you give Him glory and
honor and thanksgiving; but in worship there is a “bowing down” before Him in
total surrender to His Lordship. And so, after extolling the Lord in song and
praise and thanksgiving, the psalmist goes further and cries out for worship--
“O come,
let us worship and bow down; Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker” (Ps.
95:6).
True worship leads to
total commitment to His will. True worship softens the heart so we may hear His
voice, and conditions us to walk in step with God. God, we pray, mingle us with
the cassia of Your gracious dealings, that we might know the fulness of Your
anointing oil.
(5)
Oil Olive. Olive oil is consistently used in the scriptures as a type of the Holy
Spirit. But the anointing oil is mingled with all these ingredients we have
mentioned, to more clearly portray the attributes of the Spirit of God, whose
presence in our lives will give forth the fragrance of Christ. He comes into
our lives to make the Lord Jesus real to us, and to shine forth from our lives
in the beauty of holiness.
The Art of the Apothecary
Now do we understand why men can be anointed of God,
and still lack the grace, the holiness, the beauty of Christ? It is because
they have not known the processings of God in His divine apothecaries. How we
have tried to take the ingredients of His grace and mingle them together in our
lives, that the virtues of His own character and excellence might flow forth!
And how hopelessly we have failed!
Now we
understand why. We haven’t been willing to undergo the mingling together of the
virtues of Christ according to the “art of the apothecary”. Only God knows the
secret of this wonderful “art”. But He shares His secrets here and there as we
are willing to submit to His ways. And as we do we discover that the anointing
is more fragrant, and more pleasing in the eyes of God, and more edifying in
the lives of His people. The bitterness of the myrrh removes the bitterness of
past circumstances and disappointments, and the many wounds that have been
inflicted upon us in the battles of life. There is a fragrance and a sweetness
from our lives that we could not have known except as we find ourselves ground
and pulverized in the mortars of God’s apothecary. We discover that the bruised
reed of our calamus is never really broken; that the smoking flax is not
quenched. Rather, God has led us this way to prepare us for a richer anointing,
a more pure anointing, a holy oil that would crown our heads with priestly
virtue and priestly ministry in the house of God.
And so we
continue to pray: “Lord, compound us together in your Divine apothecary. Add
all the graces and virtues of your Spirit to our lives, and mingle us together
in your holy oil, according to your own art and wisdom, bitter though your ways
seem to be--That mingled together with the sufferings of Christ and the
fragrance of your own nature, we may discover the crown of priestly ministry.
Give us not the power that the rulers of the Gentiles exercise, to lord it over
others. But rather give us true spiritual power with man and with God--priestly
power that can rule over the restless hearts of men, by a ministration of your
grace and peace and truth and love”.
The Restrictions of the Priesthood
There are
many restrictions laid upon the priesthood, and the reason is clearly stated:
“For the
crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him” (Lev. 21:12). We are
restricted because of the anointing oil. The anointing does not give us freedom
to do as we see fit.
God cause
us to know that the crown of oil is a crown that confines us to the sanctuary.
“Neither shall he go out of the sanctuary” (Lev. 21:12). Perish the thought
that because we have the anointing, the “liberty of the Spirit” gives us
freedom to do our own thing, to magnify and enlarge our own ministry, to come
and go, to speak, to minister as we see fit.
Nor does
it mean that we become a member of the clergy, or confine ourselves to a
cloister. This holy oil is for all of God’s people. For this living sanctuary
in the New Covenant is not some kind of religious system--nor a building that
has been dedicated to the glory of God. God’s people are His sanctuary; and
God’s holy presence is the place where we sit before Him, to inquire in His
Temple. And it is here that we discover the revelation of His heart and mind by
Urim and Thummim. It can be at your work or place of business, in the factory
or on the farm, in the field or on the streets. God’s holy priests are to
remain in the sanctuary at all times, even as they walk in the midst of men.
Furthermore we must know that we do not minister as priests except as we stand
before the mercy seat in heavenly places. We must become totally heavenly
minded, wearing the holy mitre upon our head, and the crown of “holiness to the
LORD”--if we are going to be of any earthly good here in the midst of men.
We are Not Part of the Harlot System
“A widow,
or a divorced woman, or profane, or an harlot, these shall he not take: but he
shall take a virgin of his own people” (Lev. 21:14). Paul said, “For I am
jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband,
that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2).
Anything--any religious system, any minister, any apostle, any prophet--that
comes between you and Christ, God will not approve. True ministry is for this
purpose: to ensure that the people to whom we minister are totally devoted to
Christ, and not to us or to any religious system. Ministry is not to stand as a
mediator between God’s people and the Lord, or above them--but to be one with
them in mutual relationship with Christ.
The Priesthood must be Without Blemish
“Whosoever
he be of thy seed in their generations that hath any blemish, let him not
approach to offer the bread of his God” (Lev. 21:17).
Who can
qualify? Only Christ can qualify! And He bears the “iniquity” of a holy people
upon His heart so that He might cleanse and perfect them, that they too might
qualify in union with Him.
“A blind
man, or a lame, or he that hath a flat nose, or anything superfluous, or a man
that is broken-footed, or broken-handed, or crook-backed, or a dwarf, or that
hath a blemish in his eyes, or be scurvy, or scabbed, or hath his stones
broken; no man that hath a blemish...shall come nigh” (Lev. 2 1:18-20).
What a
high and holy standard! O how sick and deformed is the Church of Jesus Christ!
But His body was broken and His blood was shed, that we might be healed. He was
blinded with blood oozing from His brow, that we might see. He was made lame by
nails in His feet, that we might walk in paths of truth and righteousness. His
heel was bruised, that by His bruised heel He might bruise the Serpent’s head
and set us free. He was broken-footed and broken-handed with cruel spikes
(though not a bone was broken), that we might walk uprightly, and use our hands
for His glory.
“Surely
He hath borne our griefs (our diseases, our sicknesses), and carried our
sorrows (our anguish, our pain): yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted” (Isa. 53:4).
He
suffered all of this that we who are acquainted with many diseases and many
afflictions, both physical and spiritual, might be healed; that we His
brethren, His sons, might minister with Him in the heavenly sanctuary, crowned
with a golden plate of “Holiness unto the LORD”, and a crown of anointing oil
upon our brow.
Restrictions of the Holy Oil
We spoke
a little about the restrictions of the priesthood. Now we want to speak about
the restrictions of the anointing oil; for it was because of the holy oil that
God has laid these prohibitions upon us.
(1) The Oil is Not
for the Flesh
“Upon
man’s flesh shall it not be poured” (Ex. 30:32). We mentioned some things along
this line when we talked about the consecration of the priest.
God will
not pour out His holy oil upon carnality. God’s priests must be stripped of
their unclean garments, and washed in pure water at the laver. This cleansing
vessel stood at the door of the holy place. Here in the sight of Moses and God
alone, the priests were stripped of their clothing--unseen by the eyes of the
nation that was camped outside the linen fence. God does not want His people to
gaze upon the nakedness of God’s erring ones. We need to remember this in this
day and hour when God is exposing the hearts of men. But let us not shrink from
exposing ourselves openly before our Mediator in the heavens. He desires only
that He might cleanse us with pure water, because He wants us to enter into
priestly service for Him. There is only one Mediator--and let us never forget
that. And let us be assured that if we are sharing the problems of another in
priestly ministry, we can only function before God by virtue of the anointing
of the High Priest Himself. It is His garments of truth and meekness that we
must wear. It is His words of comfort and forgiveness that we must speak. God’s
true priests will not pull back the hanging of the gate and expose his brother,
like Ham of old; but like Shem and Japheth they will cover his nakedness, and
receive the blessing of God on his life because of his priestly heart. For he
knows that if he should rejoice in the downfall of a fellow-priest, he might
well be the next to fall. He knows that God wants “merciful” priests, who can
show compassion to the erring ones. He knows that he, too, is “compassed with
infirmity”--and if he does not know it, he will have to discover it before he
may qualify as a priest in the sanctuary of God.
“Upon
man’s flesh shall it not be poured”. God’s priests must be washed and cleansed
and then clothed upon with priestly garments.
Garments
of His righteousness. Garments for glory and for beauty. Garments of ‘fine
linen’. We are not to wear anything that causes “sweat” in the house of the
LORD (See Ezek. 44:17,18). O the sweat that some of God’s priests work up as
they seek to burn themselves out for God, and for their own achievements! God
says, “I see garments woven from spider webs” and He declares: “Their webs
shall not become garments, neither shall they cover themselves with their
works” (Isa. 59:6). God is raising up a Zadok priesthood who shall minister in
truth and righteousness; and their garments must be of pure linen, holy and clean.
Zadok means “righteous”. The name is the latter part of the word “Melchizedek”
(Melchi-Zadok), which means king of righteousness.
We are
talking about the restrictions of the holy oil. It is not for the flesh. It is
for a priesthood that has been stripped of filthy garments, washed, and clothed
upon with the garments of His own righteousness.
(2) There is to be No
Substitute Anointing
“Neither
shall ye make any other like it” (Ex. 30:32). We must not try to make something
like the real thing.
How bold
and blasphemous the Church has become in our day! It is one thing to lack the
anointing, or unknowingly get into a false anointing. But today they are openly
declaring that they are using the art of mimicry to enhance their worship in
the house of God. There are professionals in mime and pantomime and puppetry
and drama and magic and clowns going about showing the people of God how to
beautify their worship! All in the name of charismatic worship!
How long,
O Lord, before you come forth and cleanse your Temple, and “purify the sons of
Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an
offering in righteousness”? (Mal. 3:3).
The
falsehood and the make-believe and substitutes in the Church today are
incredible. But along with all of that there has to be a veil of great
deception on the hearts of the people--for many of them believe that this is
true worship, and a true anointing.
Does the
Church not realize that “antichrist” not only means “against Christ”--it also
means “instead of Christ”? And Christ means the Anointed One. Can we not see
that the “Instead of the-Anointing” is really “Antichrist”? God help your
people to see You, and how You look upon the fake anointing in our midst; for
only as we see You and understand the grief of Your heart, will we be able to
turn from the waywardness of our ways!
God’s
people used to sing under the anointing, praise in the anointing, worship in
the anointing, dance before the Lord in the anointing. But now they just do it
because they have learned how to do it professionally.
Young
people, seek God for the real thing! It may be much more difficult to find--but
there is nothing comparable to God’s holy anointing oil. You might make
something like it and have more fun. And you may get a lot of applause from
carnally minded Christians who know nothing about the anointing of God. But it
is all “wood, hay, and stubble”--and will go up in smoke in the Day of Christ.
The Fragrance of the Real Thing
You do
not really need a lot of Bible knowledge or discernment to see the falsehood in
it all. The smell is enough.
Of Christ
it is said, “Therefore God, Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of
gladness above Thy fellows. All Thy garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and
cassia, out of the ivory palaces” (Ps. 45:7,8).
Don’t try
to make anything like it! It just doesn’t smell right. Throw away your
gadgetry, and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. You do not need
ballet slippers, and you do not need instructions in choreography--in order to
dance before the Lord. You do not need the flowery words--but let your words
flow from a heart that has touched the heart of God.
And if
you lift your instrument or your voice to show forth His praises--let your song
be the song of the Lord that glorifies Him, and draws the hearts of the people
toward Him.
God needs
no court-jesters to amuse His heavy heart, nor will they stand before Him in
His priestly courts.
(3) It is Holy
“It is
holy, and it shall be holy unto you” (Ex. 30:32). It is something that is
consecrated wholly to the service of God, totally set apart for God and His
purposes. It is His working, and not ours. Christ Jesus is “made unto us
wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification (holiness), and redemption” (1
Cor. 1:30).
God wants
us to give His priesthood the same Anointing that He gave to Christ, and to be
as holy in our eyes, as it is in His. “The anointing which ye have received of
Him abideth in you... the same anointing” (1 Jn. 2:27).
(4) It is not for the
Stranger
“Whosoever
putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall even be cut off” (Ex. 30:33). It is
for the whole family of God: “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a
spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices,
acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Pet. 2:5).
Yes, we
are born as “priests” into the family of God. But if we are going to
participate in the priesthood we must be disciplined. We must be washed in pure
water, stripped of the old garments and clothed upon the new, and consecrated
unto priestly service. We must know the restrictions of the holy oil. Our
heritage as priests does not give us liberty to indulge in the work of the Lord
any time we wish, any way we see fit. The anointing oil confines us to His
will. We are not free to use substitute anointings--if we think it will attract
more people. We cannot use strange fire like Nadab and Abihu, or like our modem
entertainers who are using smoke-machines to imitate the glory of God. We
cannot offer strange incense, in order to get the applause of men. Ask Nadab
and Abihu if being “born” a priest was enough to qualify them to minister in
holy things any way they saw fit!
God
grieved over the house of Israel, and said:
“Ye have brought into
my sanctuary strangers uncircumcised in heart, and uncircumcised in flesh, to
be in my sanctuary, to pollute it” (Ezek. 44:7,9). The “stranger” in God’s
house is the man who is “uncircumcised in heart”. New Covenant circumcision
enables a man to “worship God in the Spirit, and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and
have no confidence in the flesh” (Phil. 3:3).
God says
His priests must minister unto Him according to the “order of the sanctuary”.
It is disorder if it is not God’s order. It is the bondage of man if it is not
the liberty of the Spirit. The “order of the sanctuary” will determine the
manner and the character of our gatherings in His name. Right now there is an
awful lot of strange fire, and strange incense, and strange anointing. But
because the glory of God is not there, there is no fire coming forth from the
presence of God to put an end to it all.
Confined to the Anointing
Let us
recognize that it is in the restrictions of the anointing oil that we shall
discover true release in our spirits. For what man is released to serve God in
the liberty of the Spirit, but he who walks in the restrictions of the
anointing? What man knows true freedom, but he who sits at His feet in
confinement to His will? Who is he that knows true liberty, but he who comes
under the yoke of Christ?
Can we
not see the glorious contradiction of warring a good warfare in order to enter
into Canaan rest?
Of taking
His yoke, in order to learn from Him, and find rest for our souls?
Of
becoming a bond-slave of Christ, in order to discover true freedom”
Of coming
into a prison-house of confinement, in order to discover the freedom of doing
His will?
Of
becoming a captive to Pharaoh, or a prisoner of Nero--in order to discover that
we are the Lord’s free man?
Of
experiencing the myrrh of trial and bitterness, that our lives may show forth
the fragrance of Christ?
Of dying,
that we might come forth in life?
Of
counting all things but loss, “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ
Jesus our Lord”?
Glorious
contradictions! And glorious and holy is the anointing that confines us to the
hidden wisdom, and delivers us from the wisdom of this world--
That
confines us to Him who is pure love, and pure light, and delivers us from the
darkness that surrounds us in this world--
That
confines us to the lengths and the breadths and the heights and the depths of
God--depths that are unsearchable--and delivers us from the fleeting, perishable
things of this life--
That
confines us to oceans of love and truth, and delivers us from the muddy pools
of theology and the philosophies of men-
That
confines us to His living word, and reduces us to God, that we might be
delivered from ourselves and from the world about us.
URIM AND THUMMIM
“And thou
shalt put in the breastplate of judgment the Urim and Thummim; and they shall
be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the LORD” (Ex. 28:30).
Of what form or substance
these precious objects were made, we do not know. Nor do we really need to
know. The true character and virtue of these gems (or whatever they were) is
revealed in the names by which they are called, and in what they performed in
the presence of God. First let us consider the meaning of the words, for they
are Hebrew words, left untranslated in most of our English versions.
URIM: “Lights”, from a word
that means a flame, something luminous, glorious, shining.
THUMMIM: “Perfections”, from a
word meaning to complete, accomplish, make an end, come to the full, be made
perfect.
Both
words are in the plural; and the objects are two in number, which is a number
of the corporate relationship in the body of Christ: the part and the counterpart,
the right hand and the left, the right eye and the left, the right ear and the
left--and so forth.
In Urim
and Thummim we have Light--God’s Light that comes to fulness, to perfection. We
have a corporate expression of the Light and the Glory of God in fulness of
manifestation. We have the full revelation of the word, of the heart and mind
of God, in a people who have come into abiding union with Christ, and are
hidden away in the breastplate of judgment.
When
Aaron stood before the Most High God with priestly heart--adorned with priestly
garments and anointed with holy oil--God Himself spoke forth in a clear,
accurate and precise manner His righteous decrees. All Israel stood
expectantly, yet fearfully, outside the Tabernacle, wondering what God might have
to say to them on that great day.
They had
the scriptures that Moses had written down for them. They had the decrees and
the ordinances of God from the great lawgiver--and Urim and Thummim did nothing
to change any of that. But they were a people of the Way. They were going
somewhere. They were to face formidable enemies as they began to enter into the
Land of Promise. Unforeseen circumstances would arise where they would need a
very explicit word from the Lord. It would not be contrary to what was written.
But it would pin-point and unfold some very specific instruction that they
would need for direction as they walked in the unknown way, the unexplored way
of the LORD. And after they entered the land they would need some very explicit
instructions from the LORD as to the manner of their warfare, and how they were
to conquer their enemies and possess the land.
Many of
God’s people do not seem to understand this. “We have the Word--what more do we
need”? is the attitude of many. Let us make it clear: the word of God is all we
need to fully equip us for a life of fruitfulness and godliness. But that Word
must be illuminated by His Spirit as we walk along in the pathway of life.
Also, there will be many times when we will need a very explicit word for particular
moments of decision, or some grievous area of conflict, that the Bible was
never intended to give us. It does not take from what is written, nor add to
it. But we are a people of the Way, just as Israel was. And like them we need
clear direction and guidance, and some very specific words from the heart of
God from time to time, as we travel the unknown way, and go through areas of
conflict and trial.
Now
Joshua was warned that He must “meditate” in the “book of the law” day and
night for his success (Josh. 1:8). Nevertheless he would need some direct
counsel from the LORD along the way; and Eleazar the priest was to “ask counsel
for him after the judgment of Urim before the LORD” (Num. 27:2 1). God would be
faithful to give him clear and infallible direction--both as he went forth in
battle, and as he came home in victory. It was not a game of chance--like the
throwing of the dice, or a “yes” or “no” type of thing. It was a pure, clear
word from the mouth of the LORD.
Saul
looked for this kind of direction, but because his heart was alienated from
God, God refused to help him. “The LORD answered him not, neither by dreams,
nor by Urim, nor by prophets” (1 Sam. 28:6). God’s Urim, God’s clear, bright
Light, is for those who will walk in it.
The
governor of the remnant who returned from captivity to rebuild the temple and
restore the priesthood, was not able to determine whether or not certain
priests in Israel were valid priests of the Aaronic order. Their names could
not be found in the genealogical records. How would they know? Therefore the
governor decreed “that they should not eat of the most holy things, till there
stood up a priest with Urim and with Thummim” (Ezra 2:63).
The
scriptures could not help them here. Nor could they recreate these special gems,
and try to operate them by faith. If God did not restore Urim and Thummim they
would be totally helpless to do anything about it. Are we not confronted many
times with perplexing problems such as this?
The Urim
and Thummim were placed in the pocket of the breastplate, and this was fastened
with chains of gold to the “ephod”. The “ephod” therefore became identified
with the illuminating word of Urim and Thummim, long after these precious
objects seemed to have faded out of the picture. Samuel, as a young child in
the Tabernacle was “girded with a linen ephod” (1 Sam. 2:18; also vs. 28). The
ephod seemed to be that specific garment of the priesthood that gave validity
to this high calling. And as Samuel grew older the Urim and Thummim was
established in his heart so well that God “did let none of his words fall to
the ground” (1 Sam. 3:19). The clear word that God spoke through Samuel was as
valid and true as any message God gave to any of the former priests in Israel
by Urim and Thummim. The linen ephod that Samuel wore as a boy in the
Tabernacle, had blossomed forth into a garment of truth that he wore the rest
of his days, and “All Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was
established to be a prophet of the LORD” (1 Sam. 3:20). When Abiathar fled from
the wrath of Saul, he was careful to come to David “with an ephod in his hand”
(1 Sam. 23:6). And though David was not a priest, he had the heart of a priest;
and on many occasions he exercised priestly prerogatives--even going so far as
to erect the Tabernacle of David on Mount Zion, where he as king of Israel
might have priestly communion with God, and stand before the ark of the
Covenant. In all of this he was a beautiful type and forerunner of Christ who
would reign as a Priest upon the throne. Therefore when David stood in need of
direct, explicit instructions from God, as to his own preservation, and as to
the battles he must wage, he had access to “the ephod”. God honored his prayers
and gave clear direction as to the way he should go. God warned him that Saul
would come down to Keilah searching for him, and so they must leave (1 Sam.
23:9-13). Again, when the enemy had smitten the camp where David and his men
were living, and took away much spoil, David asked God what to do, and God told
him specifically:
“Pursue:
for thou shalt surely overtake them, and without fail recover all” (1 Sam.
30:8). There was nothing in the scriptures that could give him the counsel he
needed for this specific occasion. But God gave him clear, direct, infallible direction,
and David won a great victory. David, though officially a king, also functioned
as a priest. How could it be otherwise, for he was “a man after God’s own
heart”? We have many volunteers for kingly power. But few there are who have
hearts of meekness, humility, mercy, patience, longsuffering--after the heart
of God. So when David brought back the ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem, it
should have been placed in the holy of holies of the Tabernacle. But David put
it in a new Tabernacle that he had constructed for this new kingdom that
prefigured the Melchizedek order, a kingdom and priesthood of righteousness and
peace. And when the Ark was returning he put off his royal garments and put on
a priestly “robe of fine linen” and an “ephod”. Priestly ministry unto the Lord
was more important to him than kingly power and authority (1 Chron. 15:27). No
wonder the daughter of Saul, who was raised in royal splendour and had married
a king, “despised” him in her heart--to see the king of Israel abasing himself to
the level of a humble priest in Israel!
God has a Clear. Pure Word for His People
“And of
Levi he said, Let thy Thummim and thy Urim be with Thy Holy One, whom Thou
didst prove at Massah, and with whom Thou didst strive at the waters of
Meribah. Who said unto his father and to his mother, I have not seen him;
neither did he acknowledge his brethren, nor knew his own children: for they
have observed Thy word, and kept Thy covenant” (Deut. 33:8,9).
These
were a holy people, totally committed to the LORD, set apart entirely unto the
service of the sanctuary. There could be no human interference in their
devotion to God. No relationship with brother, sister, father, mother,
children--could have precedence over their service to God. Nothing could
detract them from their all-consuming desire to observe God’s word and keep His
covenant. Like the disciples of Christ, they must forsake all if they would
truly follow the LORD, and if He would truly be their Master. They had no
inheritance that they could call their own--nothing that they could leave for
their children, except the holy calling of priestly service. The Urim and
Thummim by which Eleazar would divide the land of Canaan would designate
nothing for the priestly tribe, even though Eleazar himself was a member of
that tribe. Urim and Thummim were not something he could manipulate for his own
advantage--for his own honour and glory. They would have cities to dwell in,
and their needs would all be taken care of, but they were special to God and
God was special to them. “Wherefore Levi hath no part nor inheritance with his
brethren; the LORD is his inheritance, according as the LORD thy God promised
him” (Deut. 10:9).,
A clear,
pure word would pour forth from their lips, because they feared and trembled
before God, and because they observed His word and kept His covenant.
Urim and Thummim will not function in a rebellious heart
When Saul
walked in disobedience, Urim and Thummim were silent, and he could find no
direction from God. When he saw the armies of the Philistines melting away in
confusion, he called for the ark of God and the priest to see what was going
on, but nothing happened. Consequently he went ahead and acted according to his
own best judgment. God was giving Jonathan a great victory, but Saul took the
credit for it; and to seal his own authority he put the people under tight
control and denied them access to the honey that flowed from the trees of the
wood (See 1 Sam. 14).
The time
came when the heavens were silent, and “the LORD answered him not, neither by
dreams, nor by Urim, nor by prophets” (1 Sam. 28:6).
God said
His Urim and Thummim were for His holy one, It is not for the self-willed and
the rebellious. It is for a people who walk in truth, and who tremble at His
word.
It is God’s Provision in the Hour of Apostasy
Urim and
Thummim soon became extinct in Israel. God nevertheless was faithful to bring
forth that clear word of Urim even in times of darkness and apostasy. God must
have one who would stand before Him in true priestly ministry and deliver a
pure, clear word to His people--no matter how apostate that people may have
become. Our teachers are talking about ruling and reigning, about taking over
earth’s resources, and their governments, and the offices of presidents and prime
ministers. But God is grieving over a backslidden and rebellious Church. And
God will raise up a priesthood in this hour with Urim and Thummim, who will be
anointed to show God’s people “the difference between the holy and profane, and
cause them to discern between the unclean and the clean” (Ezek. 44:23). God
will have a prophetic priesthood that will carry “the burden of the LORD” upon
their shoulders, and bear “the iniquity” of the people upon their hearts, and
seek to turn them back to God.
Transition of Urim and Thummim from the Old Era to the New
Those
original objects called Urim and Thummim soon faded away from Israel, for they
were but types and shadows of reality. Yet even in Old Testament times God
began to put Urim and Thummim in the hearts of His chosen vessels the prophets.
They bore the judgment of the people upon their hearts before the Lord
continually, as priests of the LORD; and sometimes it was a burden too grievous
for them to bear.
When the
priesthood had become corrupt God raised up a Samuel, with Urim in his heart,
and he came to Israel with a clear, pure word from the mouth of God. “And all
Israel from Dan even to Beersheba knew that Samuel was established to be a
prophet of the LORD” (1 Sam. 3:20). Sure, they had the law, and the temple, and
the priesthood, and the sacrifices. But when these fail God is faithful to
raise up a Urim and Thummim ministry to turn the hearts of the people back to
God. Jeremiah had that pure word from God, and it became a burden upon his
shoulders that was so heavy he decided it was enough...
“Then
said I, I will not make mention of Him, nor speak any more in His Name” (Jer.
20:9). (To be a prophet from God was evidently far from being a glamorous
ministry in Jeremiah’s eyes).
But how
can a man with Urim (God’s Holy Fire) in his bosom--how can he quench it? And
so he testified: “His word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my
bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay”. He said it made
him more weary just trying to hold back the word--and he had to give it forth.
One king thought he would extinguish the fire in Jeremiah’s word by lighting
his own fire and burning the prophet’s words. But this only increased the fire
in Jeremiah’s heart, and God gave him the words again--and even more than he
had written the first time. (See Jer. 36:32).
It was
evidently a source of great perplexity in Israel to discover, after every
season of restoration and revival, that the precious gems of Urim and Thummim
were still not to be found in the breastplate of the high priest. They did not
understand that God had placed these gems in His chosen ones the prophets,
hidden away in the secret pockets of their hearts. They did not understand that
even in their time the prophetic ministry was the beginning of a great
transition from an old covenant to a new, from an old order to a new. Even the
prophets themselves, though speaking a very clear and precise word from God,
did not understand the nature of the times they wrote about. They knew they
spoke clear words of warning to an apostate nation. But intermingled with their
message were words of hope and promise for a day of glory that was yet to
appear. As they sought God in the matter (for we are told that they “inquired
and searched diligently” what they were prophesying about) God showed them that
they were really speaking of the Church. the people of God who would be living
after the resurrection of Christ:
“Unto whom (the
prophets, who diligently sought God as to the intent of their words) it was
revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things,
which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you
with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven” (1 Pet. 1:12). We are taught today
that the prophets spoke of an earthly, political, national kingdom to be set up
in old Jerusalem. But God revealed a secret to them, that they spoke of these
days following the resurrection of Christ: “Yea, and all the prophets from
Samuel and those that follow after, as many as have spoken, have likewise
foretold of these days” (Acts 3:24).
Urim and Thummim in John the Baptist
About 400
years had gone by since Malachi had come to the nation with a clear word from
God. Then God raised up the greatest prophet He had ever given to Israel. Jesus
said that of all born of women, “There bath not risen a greater than John the
Baptist” (Matt. 11:11). Never was there greater apostasy in Israel than when
John arose in the spirit and power of Elijah, and sounded forth the call to
repentance. All men who had understanding knew that John was established as the
prophet of the Most High God. Luke in his narrative tells us about the very
highly organized political and religious world that formed the setting for the
sudden appearance of this great prophet.
“Now in
the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being
governor of Judaea, and ...”-- then Luke goes on to elaborate on the very
highly organized governments of the earth, just to give the setting in the
midst of which “a man sent from God” would suddenly appear on the scene with a
clear word from God. Tiberius was the emperor of the mighty Roman Empire.
Pontius Pilate was governor of Judaea. Herod was over Galilee; His brother
Philip over Ituraea and Trachonitis; and Lysanias over Abilene. Then there was
a very magnificent religious system, ruled over by Annas and Caiaphas, the high
priests. Why did the Spirit of God see fit to give us all these details? (See
Luke 3:1,2). I believe God is showing us that in the midst of this very highly
organized political empire, and a very highly organized religious system--right
here God introduces another Voice, clear and distinct from all the rest--a
Voice that would herald the coming of an entirely new Kingdom. It was right
here in the midst of gross apostasy that we read these words, “The word of God
came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness”. (Luke 3:2). Out there
in the wilderness God began to send forth a clear Word from His heart: “Repent,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand”. The message was very clear: only one
thing was acceptable to God-- “Bring forth therefore fruits worthy of
repentance” (Lk. 3:8). You cannot trust in your racial heritage,--even if you
are the sons of Abraham. You cannot trust in your religious heritage, if you
bear no fruit that is pleasing to God. The axe of God is ready to cut down
every fruitless tree. The fan is in God’s hand to blow away the chaff. A fire
is about to be kindled, for the One that is coming is going to “baptize you
with the Holy Ghost and with fire” (vs. 16). I know it is taught that this
speaks of God’s judgment to come upon the sinful nation. And I know we are told
that God’s people should not desire or anticipate this mighty, devastating
baptism. But Jesus promised this baptism. “For John truly baptized with water;
but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence” (Acts 1:5).
It happened on the Day of Pentecost. And Peter remembered the words of Jesus
again when the Holy Ghost fell on the Gentile believers in Caesarea:
“Then
remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with
water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 11:16). Judgment? Of
course! for we must know the judgments of God’s fire in our hearts to purge us
and cleanse us from all defilement. We are to expect it, look for it,
anticipate it--The Fire of God’s holy Presence, to consume all the chaff and
dross in the House of God, and to make us Holy! To kindle the fire of the Burnt
Offering--and to bring us into the Presence of the Shekinah Fire in the Holy of
Holies. As priests of God we must come into His presence, and stand before
Him--that this Holy Fire might be ignited in our own hearts. Once again God is
raising up a people with Urim & Thummim in their hearts, who will live a
pure and holy life and will speak a pure, clear Word in the midst of apostasy.
Urim and Thummim in the Son
All the
prophets spoke of “these last days” when God’s final revelation of Truth would
come forth in His only begotten Son:
“God,
who...spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last
days spoken unto us by His Son” (Heb. 1:1,2). John was but a Voice in the
wilderness. Jesus was Himself the Word, the incarnate expression of the Word of
God. He did not come to change the real meaning of scripture, but to bring to
light its true meaning. For in His humanity He was Himself the Word--not only
because of what He said, but because of what He was--the very expression of
God’s heart walking in human form. In Him we have the very ultimate of God’s
intention in Urim and Thummim.
Nevertheless
it was God’s plan that the Son, having finished an earthly ministry would then
enter a more glorious ministry in the heavens. His earthly ministry would
culminate in His sacrificial death on the Cross. But He would rise from the
dead as the Conquering One, and be enthroned at the Father’s right hand in the
heavens, and would continue to send forth that pure, clear word from His
heavenly throne. In speaking from Heaven His Word would not be less effective
than it was when He was here on earth, for the very Spirit of Truth that was in
Him in earth, would now be implanted in the hearts of His chosen ones who would
continue to speak that clear, pure word from the heart of God. I know we are
inclined to think that as long as any human vessel is involved, the word from
their lips is bound to be tainted with error and weakness. But God foresaw no
problem in that area. God said His plan was the very best. And so before He
went away Jesus assured His disciples: “It is expedient for you that I go away:
for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you” (Jn. 16:7). Because
He is in the heavens, bearing the breastplate of judgment upon His heart, on
which are written the names of His people--He would continue to speak by Urim
and Thummim with a clear, infallible, precise, pure word from the Father. There
would be no mixture, no pollution of the word that would come from the Son in
Heaven; because the Holy Spirit abiding in His people in the earth would be
faithful to the charge laid upon Him to precisely and clearly communicate the
words of Jesus to His chosen vessels in the earth. Now I know that men are
teaching that we had perfection in the ministry of the Son while He was on
earth, but that we will never find perfection in the ministry of the Holy
Spirit as long as we poor mortals are involved; and generally that is the way
it has been. Are we to conclude then that Jesus was wrong when He said it was
“expedient” (better) that He went away so His Spirit could come to take His
place in the earth, and in the hearts of His people? Not at all! God’s way is
best; and He will yet demonstrate that His way is best. The Son continues to
reign as a Priest on the throne, and the work of the Holy Spirit is not yet
finished. And the Lord Jesus has assured us that when He speaks from Heaven it
will be sounded in the earth as clearly, as distinctly, and as purely as when
He was here in our midst. Let us consider some of these precious secrets that
He revealed to His disciples just before He went away:
(1) The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Jesus.
He is
described as “another Comforter”, for the Man Christ Jesus is the Advocate on
the throne, while the Holy Spirit is the new Advocate who would abide in His
people in the earth. But He is in fact the very Spirit of the Lord Jesus, and
distinguished from the Son only by reason of His new habitation in the earth:
“I
(Jesus) will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you” (Jn. 14:18). And
again, “I (Jesus) go away, and come again unto you” (vs. 28). Read it in its
context. Clearly He is telling us that in going away He would come again and
abide in His people, by the Spirit of Truth whom He would send from the Father.
(2) The Holy Spirit will perform Greater Works than when Jesus was
here.
“And
greater works than these shall he do; because I go to the Father” (Jn. 14:12).
Not because His people are greater--they are much more frail, much more subject
to weakness. But it is because Jesus has gone to the place of all power and
authority in the heavens. And now the Father is “glorified in the Son” and the
Son is “glorified” in His brethren in the earth. (Jn. 14:13; 17:10).
(3) Jesus is the
Way--Then and Now.
“Whither
I go ye know, and the way ye know” (Jn. 14:4). The Way would not be obscured
because of His going away; because the Spirit of Truth would take up His
habitation in His own in the earth (Jn. 14:6,17).
(4) Intimacy with Christ assured--Then as Now.
“At that
day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in Me, and I in you” (Jn.
14:20). This new intimacy of fellowship in the Holy Spirit would be of the same
kind and nature as that which He Himself had with the Father. They would all be
blended together in glorious union with one another and with the Father.
(5) His People to be a Home for Father and Son.
“We will
come unto him, and make our abode with him” (Jn. 14:23). This is the promise to
those who keep His words, and love Him. The eternal longing in the heart of God
for a Home will finally be realized in the hearts of His people--the only Home
that God has ever desired, the only Temple that God ever longed for.
(6) There will be Continuous Revelation of Truth.
The Holy
Spirit will not fall short in His ministration of truth to His chosen ones. “He
shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance,
whatsoever I have said unto you” (Jn. 14:26). And He would reveal other things
to them as they needed it, and as they were able to receive it. “I have yet
many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the
Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth” (Jn. 16:13).
(7) There will be a Vine and Branch Relationship.
Union
with Him would be as real as the union of a branch in the vine! “I am the true
Vine, and my Father is the Husbandman. . .abide in Me, and I in you. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can
ye, except ye abide in Me” (Jn. 15:1,4).
(8) There will be a Certainty of Answered Prayers.
In this
abiding relationship in the Vine, the prayers of His people would be just as
effectual as the prayers of the Son Himself. For in Him they not only will know
how to pray, and what to pray for--but in union with Him it is His own desire
that they are expressing before the throne. “If ye abide in Me, and My words
abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (Jn.
15:7).
(9) God loves His own with the same Intensity by which He loves the
Son.
“As the
Father hath loved Me, so have I loved you: continue ye in My love” (Jn. 15:9).
He also promised the Father that He would continue to make known the Father’s
Name to His people until--”The love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in
them, and I in them” (Jn. 17:26).
(10) There is a Divine Provision to Abide in this Love.
“If ye
keep My commandments, ye shall abide in My love, even as I have kept My
Father’s commandments, and abide in His love” (Jn. 15:10).
(11) There is Divine Enablement to Manifest that Love.
“This is
My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you” (Jn. 15:12).
Enablement in His commandments? Yes, because the New Covenant commandments are
not like the old. God’s commandments are “life everlasting” (Jn. 12:50)--in the
“ministration of the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3-8).
(12) Jesus tells His secrets to His Friends
“Henceforth
I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I
have called you friends for all things that I have heard of My Father I have
made known unto you” (Jn. 15:15).
There is
something higher than being a “servant” of the Lord. God wants “friends”. God
can find many servants to do what has to be done; but He has few “friends” with
whom He can share His heart. Martha was cumbered about with “much serving”. It
was work that had to be done. But Mary chose “that good part”. God had no need
to create a Man in His image if all He wanted was service. He has thousands,
tens of thousands of angelic hosts who can do that. But God wants friends,
because He wants fellowship. Further--He needs fellowship, because He is a
Father who longs for sons and daughters in His image and likeness, to share His
love, His nature, His very heart. His heart cries out for this. He is looking
for those who will worship Him in Spirit and in Truth.
(13) His people are Assured of Fruitfulness.
“I have
chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit” (Jn.
15:16) -- fruit that would remain, abiding fruit. And the fruit is of such
delight to the Father that He promises to answer every prayer that ascends to
Him from His own who are abiding in the Vine.
(14) His people are Assured of the Enmity of the World.
Why
should we not rejoice in this? If we, like our Master, are loving righteousness
and hating iniquity? “Because ye are not of the world. ..therefore the world
hateth you” (Jn. 15:19).
(15) The Holy Spirit will Witness of Christ
“The Spirit of truth,
which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me” (Jn. 15:26). The
Spirit of God is faithful to testify only of Christ. That is why He came into
the earth. He came to take the place of Jesus, the faithful and true witness,
who is now on the throne. And because the Spirit is faithful to testify only of
Christ, God’s servants in the earth who love Him will also faithfully “bear
witness” to the truth (vs. 27).
(16) His Enthronement in Heaven--God’s Best Plan.
“It is
expedient (best) for you that I go away” (Jn. 16:7). There will be no
interruption of the ministry of the Son simply because He has gone away, and
His people in the earth may not always prove to be faithful. Nor is He coming
back to earth to do something the Church has not been able to do. The Church
will yet know--the world will yet recognize--that God’s plan is the very best!
(17) The Holy Spirit has Taken the Place of Jesus in the earth.
“If I go
not away the Comforter (the Advocate) will not come unto you; but if I depart,
I will send Him unto you” (Jn. 16:7). When He came--He came to do and say and
work as Jesus did when He was here: reproving the world “of sin, and of
righteousness, and of judgment” (vs. 8). Jesus was the Truth; and the Holy
Spirit is now “the Spirit of Truth”--once again abiding in a body, a corporate
body, in the earth.
(18) The Holy Spirit will Lead His People into All Truth.
“When He,
the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth” (Jn. 16:13).
Jesus was the Truth here on earth. But there were many things His people could
not yet receive. The Spirit of God coming to abide in His people would
therefore continue the work that Jesus started--and lead them into still
further revelation of truth. Some insist “We have the completed Bible now, with
the New Testament added to the Old: so we need no further revelation.” But
those who say such things ignore the fact that the New Covenant itself must be
ministered to the hearts of men by the same Spirit who caused the scribes to
write it. It must be a “ministration of the Spirit” (2 Cor. 3:3-8). God’s
people, even though they have received the Spirit, must have a further
enduement of “the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him”, the
“eyes” of their understanding “being enlightened”--if they are going to hear,
and see, and know what God is saying--and experience and appropriate what God
is doing (See Eph. 1:17,18).
(19) The Holy Spirit will Speak Only what He Hears.
“He shall
not speak of (from) Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak;
and He will show you things to come” (Jn. 16:13). The Word from the throne will
be accurately and precisely declared in the earth, because the Spirit is under
obligation to speak only what He hears. And therefore His ministers in the
earth will be under obligation to speak only what the Spirit is saying to the
churches.
(20) The Spirit will Glorify the Son.
“He shall
glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall shew it unto you” (Jn.
16:14). Taking from Christ and imparting that treasure to His people does not
glorify God’s ministers; it glorifies the Christ. The man who speaks “from
Himself’ is seeking His own glory (Jn. 7:18). But the man who speaks out from
the heart of the Spirit is seeking the glory of Christ, and His only--because
the Spirit speaks out from the bosom of the Son to glorify the Father.
(21) All the Treasures of Christ are Given to His People.
“He shall
take of Mine, and shall shew it unto you” (Jn. 16:15). The “hidden wisdom”.
“The unsearchable riches of Christ”. “The breadth, and length, and depth, and
height” of His immeasurable treasures. “The love of Christ which passeth
knowledge”. “The depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God” --
It is the ministry of the Holy Spirit abiding in His people in the earth, to
bring forth all these riches from the heart of God and make them known to His
people. And yet foolish man will insist:
We do not
need the Holy Spirit now, because we have the Bible--ignorantly believing that
they can understand the “depths of God” without the abiding presence of the
Holy Spirit to take the things of Christ, and make them known to man.
Surely in
all that we have said it is abundantly evident that in the coming of the Holy
Spirit to abide in His Temple in the earth, God’s people would in no way fall
short of a clear, precise. accurate, and distinct revelation from God by reason
of the weakness and frailty of the vessels in whom God’s Spirit would dwell.
And
surely it is evident that God’s chosen vessels are in no way equal to
Christ--in no way to be considered as other little Christs, other voices, or
any such thing. It is only as they abide in Him that they are able to partake
of this high and holy calling. Apart from Him--severed from Him as the branch
is cut off from the vine--they are nothing, absolutely nothing. We cannot
receive any office, or function in any capacity, as some one independent of
Him, some one other than Him, some one apart from Him, in contrast to Him, as
distinct from Him. Only He is that infallible Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist,
Pastor, Teacher. Only He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Only He is the
High Priest in the heavenly Sanctuary. Only He is the Anointed One. And we are
only true priests, true apostles, true evangelists, true pastors, and true
teachers--as we abide in Him and speak out from His anointing, out from His
heart, out from abiding union with Him.
Any
open-minded believer would have to admit that what we have said concerning the
ministry of the Holy Spirit in His people is right and scriptural. But the
nagging question is, Can it really happen? Are we able to come to this kind of
relationship as long as we are here in this world?
And the
answer is Yes! Because Jesus could have stayed here in the earth and continued
to be that clear Voice of the Father--except that the Father had a better plan
in mind! God said it was “expedient” that the Son be enthroned in the heavens!
Better for us, and more glorifying to God! For He has absolute confidence that
in going away He would be able to reproduce His kind in the earth, by virtue of
His high-priestly ministry in the heavenly Sanctuary. And now let us consider
in some detail the nature and character of the “more excellent ministry” of the
exalted Christ.
THE MORE EXCELLENT
MINISTRY IN THE HEAVENS
“But now
hath He obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator
of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises” (Heb. 8:6).
Right now
there is a Man reigning on the greatest and most powerful throne in all of
God’s universe. And He is there to subdue all His enemies under His feet--and
build a glorious Temple in the earth.
“Even He
shall build the temple of the LORD; and He shall bear the glory, and shall sit
and rule upon His throne; and He shall be a priest upon His throne” (Zech.
6:13).
Who is
this One? He is “the Man whose name is the Branch (Vs 12). He is the Lord Jesus
Himself. But He is One who “grows” up out of His place. He is a “Root out of a
dry ground” (Isa. 53:2). He grows--and becomes a Vine. In that Vine there are
other branches, that are joined unto Him, and who become one with Him. With Him
they will be priests on the throne; for they are made to be “Kings and priests
unto God” (Rev. 1:6). But there are not two institutions: a kingdom, and then a
priesthood. I know God made this distinction in the Old Testament, when Israel
failed as a nation to become “a kingdom of priests” (Ex. 19:6). But man’s failure
does not frustrate God’s plan and purpose; and after the resurrection of Christ
He did what He had planned and declared to Moses. He brought forth “a chosen
generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye
should shew forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into
His marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9). God wants a priestly people who will “reign
in life”-a people who are “vessels of mercy”--who will have kingly authority to
minister life to others, because of His ministration from the throne. We have
many volunteers for the throne--men who are looking for opportunities to take
over earth’s resources, earth’s governments, and so forth. But God’s crowns are
for those who qualify as priests. And the only crown of authority on their brow
will be a priestly crown of oil.
“For the
crown of the anointing oil of his God is upon him” (Lev. 21:12).
“The LORD
hath sworn, and will not repent, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of
Melchizedek” (Ps. 110:4).
“Thou
hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath
anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows” (Heb. 1:9; from Ps.
45:6,7).
He earned
the crown of power by wearing on His brow the crown of thorns.
He earned
the crown of oil, because He “loved righteousness and hated iniquity”.
He
received the scepter of righteousness because He took from the Roman soldier
the flimsy reed that was placed in His hand, and suffered the ignominy of a
mock coronation. All this became the first chapter in His coronation as King.
The
second chapter took place at His ascension. It was there that God “set” His
King on Zion, and made Him to be King of kings and Lord of lords. He was “set”
there to be a Priest on the throne. His ministry on earth was finished. Now He
would begin His Messianic ministry in the heavens. The Kingdom of God was not
postponed because they slew their King. It was the slaying of the King that
became the first chapter of His coronation in the heavens. The long expected
Messiah was to reign upon a throne that would be far, far superior to the one
His people had planned for Him. It would be far above any earthly throne.
All this
was very distressing to the people who were expecting Him to set up a kingdom
there in Jerusalem. But after His ascension it gradually became clear to them.
He was given a more glorious throne than they had ever imagined possible. David
was dead and buried, and his sepulchre was there in their midst, for all to
see. But David himself, to whom God had promised an eternal kingdom--foresaw a
little of what God had in store for the King who would come from David’s line.
David was a prophet, and like all the other prophets, he foresaw the Messiah
ruling on the exalted throne in the heavens: “Being a prophet, and knowing that
God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to
the flesh, He would raise up Christ to sit on his throne...he seeing this
before spake of the resurrection of Christ” (Acts 2:30,31). And because He now
sits on the throne of David in the heavens, Peter declares: “Therefore being by
the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of
the Holy Ghost, He hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear” (vs. 33).
It was because Jesus was enthroned as the King that was promised to his father
David, that He was able to begin pouring forth unto His people the blessings of
His Messianic ministry in the earth. Salvation from sin and the pouring out of
the Holy Spirit upon His people is the first and foremost of the blessings
bestowed by the exalted Messiah. The promise was to Israel, “The promise is
unto you, and to your children. .”--and went further to embrace all
nations--”and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall
call” (vs. 39). And Peter further declares that the blessing of Abraham was the
blessing of salvation from sin: “Saying unto Abraham, And in thy seed shall all
the kindreds of the earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up His
Son Jesus, sent Him to bless you, in turning away every one of you from his
iniquities” (Acts 3:25,26). When Jesus died on the Cross He broke down the
“wall of partition” between Jew and Gentile, opening the way for all men to
become partakers of “the commonwealth of Israel”.. .”no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God”.
Jew and Gentile now redeemed by the same Cross, are no longer two peoples at
enmity one with the other; but together in Christ they become “one new man”.
(See Eph. 2:12-19). I know the enmity is still there in the hearts of both
nations, and will continue on--but when they both bow at the foot of the Cross,
the enmity is gone--and suddenly they become a part of God’s one “holy nation”,
and are partakers together of the Covenant of Abraham. Christ became a curse to
make this happen: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being
made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a
tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ... (And what is the blessing of Abraham?) .. .That we might receive the
promise of the Spirit through faith” (Eph. 3:13,14). God’s message to Israel,
and to all nations, is strong and clear--Stop trying to erect the wall that God
tore down at the awful cost of the Cross. God sees “no difference” in nations
and peoples of the earth, “for all have sinned and come short of the glory of
God” (Rom. 3:23).
“The
promise of the Spirit” is the blessing of Abraham. Let us never forget that!
There may be lesser benefits included in the promise, but they all fade away in
our eyes if like Abraham we “look for the City which hath foundations, whose
Builder and Maker is God” (Heb. 11:10,16). And it is the work of the Holy
Spirit to bring forth in the earth this holy City, this heavenly Jerusalem,
this Mount Zion, this Church of the living God--and to bring her to fulness, to
completion, to perfection. (See Heb. 12:22,23; Eph. 4:8-16).
Having
understood these things, after much perplexity and bewilderment, the disciples
were able to understand why it was “expedient” for Jesus to go to the heavenly
throne. His going away would not mean that they would lack anything, or that
His promises concerning the Kingdom would fail. It was only in going away, that
He could come to them again in such an indwelling of His presence that He who
was with them could now be in them. And it would be there from the heavenly
throne that He would have all power and authority to rule over all nations, as
well as over all the heavens.
I know He
comes again in kingly power and dominion. But it is not to begin the Kingdom.
He came the first time to do that, and He went away to continue doing that. And
He remains there till the “precious fruit of the earth” is to be harvested.
Then He comes to cut down the fruitless trees, to root out the tares, to burn
up the chaff, to consume the stubble, to bring to total devastation all the
works of man: and “to gather the wheat” into His storehouse (See Matt. 13:24-31).
He comes to consume all that is corrupt--socially, politically, economically,
religiously, environmentally. He comes “to gather out of His Kingdom all things
that offend, and them which do iniquity; and shall cast them into a furnace of
fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then shall the righteous
shine forth as the sun in the Kingdom of their Father” (Matt. 13:41-43). He
comes to reap the harvest of the Kingdom, not to start a new one.
We only
“see through a glass darkly” concerning these things. But when His fiery
judgments have been finished God has this exhortation for the nations:
“Be still
and know that I am God”. For He is bringing the nations to devastation that He
might be glorified. (See Ps. 46:8-10).
Like the
disciples of Jesus, many of God’s people are trying to pressure Jesus to get
involved with the politics of the Kingdom, while He is concerned only about
“righteousness”. They would pressure Him to show them the way to the throne,
the way to the presidency, how to get the right men in the supreme
court--whereas He would seek to show them the way to the Cross. They want to
know the steps of glory that would lead to Solomon’s throne of ivory; but He
wants us to follow in His steps to Golgotha. He would have us to continue praying:
“Lord, Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven”.
A new and Better Covenant
The whole
burden of the New Testament, and especially of the epistles--which came as a
result of His ministration from the heavenly throne--is that the heavenly
ministry of the Messiah is ‘‘more excellent’’ than any earthly ministry could
ever be.
The
“heavenly sanctuary” is better than the earthly one. The heavenly Mediator is
better than the earthly one.
The
Melchizedek priesthood is better than the Levitical one.
The New
Covenant is better than the old one, which was “weak through the flesh”.
The blood
of the New Covenant is better than the blood of bulls and goats.
The Old
Covenant was written on tables of stone; the new one on “fleshly tables of the
heart”.
The blood
of bulls and goats merely covered sin for a season--they could never take them
away. In the New Covenant, sins are done away, never to be remembered in
Heaven, and never again to defile the conscience of a people that have been
purged from dead works to serve the living God.
The
application of the blood of Christ to our hearts and minds so erases sin and
its scars that we see them no more, even as God sees them no more.
Everything
about the ministration of the New Covenant from Messiah’s heavenly throne, is
better, better, better...
This is
the Kingdom that Christ is now establishing in the hearts of men in the earth.
And our prayer continues to be, “Thy Kingdom come, thy will be done in earth,
as it is in Heaven”. He has “all power in heaven and in earth” to make it
happen. He has a priestly people walking in union with Him, who continue to
pray that it will happen. Creation continues to cry out for “the manifestation
of the sons of God” (Rom. 8:19). And be assured, the lesser brethren of Christ
are not going to be manifested in any other way than the way their Elder
Brother was manifested. Jesus did not suddenly drop down from Heaven wrapped in
glory and manifested in the earth as the Son of God with power. Nor will His
younger brothers. Jesus was born into our humanity, and God was manifested
through Him in the weakness of His humanity. He grew up under discipline, and
learned obedience through the things that He suffered. He carried His cross
daily--not just the one time when He carried it to Golgotha. All through His
life He walked under the shadow of the Cross. His lesser brethren will certainly
be “manifested” in the same way, for Jesus said “I am the Way”. They too must
know rejection, suffering, learn obedience as He did, and become disciples who
count all things but loss, “for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
their Lord”. Only as they “suffer with Him” will they be manifested as His
sons, and “reign with Him” (Rom. 8:17).
God’s
first and Special Son was “manifested” in weakness, in poverty, in rejection,
in suffering--long before He was manifested as the Son of God in resurrection
glory. So will it be with His younger brethren: they will not be manifested as
the sons of God with power and glory until they have been manifested in the
earth as followers of the Lamb, and showing forth the love and mercy and
virtues of their Master in the midst of weakness and mortality. How foolish to
think that they are above their Master, and that one day they will just drop
down from Heaven to earth as glorified “sons” to deliver creation from her
bondage!
The Husbandman Waiteth, Be Ye also Patient!
I
recognize that many things I have mentioned concerning the New Covenant are not
to be seen to any great extent in God’s people. This does not alter the
Covenant. It simply explains why the Holy Spirit is still in the earth, why
Jesus has not come back yet, and why the Husbandman continues to wait “for the
precious fruit of the earth”. God’s precious Covenant, ratified by the blood of
Jesus, must yet come to ultimate fulness in His people. The Son must yet
receive the reward of His sacrifice. The Father will continue to prepare a Holy
Bride for His Son who is worthy of the very best that God’s grace and the power
of the Creator can bring forth. The Holy Spirit will be faithful in His work in
the hearts of men to bring forth a Bride that is worthy of His Son, through the
merits of “precious Blood”. When He presents this spotless Virgin to Christ He
will not have to apologize something like this: “Here is the Bride you wanted
Me to procure for your Son--still full of faults and blemishes I know,--but
it’s the best I could do”. He has all power and authority to bring forth the
perfect Church, the perfect fruit, the perfect Bride that God authorized Him to
prepare.
John Seventeen
In Jesus’
prayer for His chosen ones, just prior to His going away, we have a beautiful
preview of His “more excellent ministry” in the heavens. He speaks as though He
were already glorified and enthroned at God’s right hand. He speaks as One who
has already fulfilled His earthly ministry, because His face is firmly set for
the Cross that lay before Him. He knows He has overcome the world. But He prays
while yet in the earth in the presence of His distraught disciples, that He
might give them comfort and assurance concerning the purpose of His going away.
If ever you find yourself wondering what the New Covenant is all about, and
doubting whether or not it will be fulfilled in your life--just read this
chapter slowly and prayerfully, and be renewed in your spirit concerning the
hope of His calling, and the faithfulness of your great High Priest in the
heavens to complete the work there, as truly as He finished the work that God
gave Him to do here in the earth. We want to read the whole chapter, and
consider each verse in some detail:
Vs. 1. “Father, the hour is
come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee”. The Father is seen
as holding the hand of the Son, that the Son might have all power to fulfill
the Covenant in His people. In reality, He is Himself that Covenant. Our High
Priest in the heavens “shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set
judgment in the earth... I the LORD have called Thee in righteousness, and will
hold Thine hand, and will keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant to the
people” (Isa. 42:4.6).
Now Jesus
prays to the Father that He might be “glorified” in order that He might fulfill
the Covenant. God has declared, “My glory will I not give to another” (Isa.
42:8). And yet here Jesus is asking for it. Because He knows that He was
manifested in the earth, not to steal God’s glory, but to be that vessel in the
earth who would truly radiate and shine forth God’s glory in the earth. “We
beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father” (Jn. 1:14).
He came to reveal not Himself, the Son, but to show forth the Father. The Son
was the shining forth of the Father. And because He was faithful as a man to
live and work in the earth in total dependence upon the Father, He triumphed
where the first Adam had failed. Therefore He became, as God intended Adam to
become, the very “glory of God” in the earth (See 1 Cor. 11:7).
When God
gives His glory and we retain it, we are stealing the Glory of God! Man was
made to glorify God. Angels and all the celestial hosts were made to glorify
God. When Lucifer said, “I will exalt my throne above the stars of God”--this
shining one (as his name means) lost his brightness and became darkness. (See
Isa. 14:13). “The anointed cherub that covereth” was appointed to fulfill that
kind of ministry: to “cover” as it were, to protect, to defend the glory of God
(See Ezek. 28:14). The only way man or angel can protect God’s glory is to
ensure that he retains none of it for himself. But in all that he does, in
whatever capacity he may minister--it is to give honour and praise to God, and
seek to bring others of His creatures into that same spirit of worship--that
they too might give all honour and praise to Him. Like the living creatures
that surround the throne, we too are to “give glory and honour and thanks to
Him that sits on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever” (Rev. 4:9).
Now the
Son of God was “glorified” in the earth, because in all that He did, the glory
that the Father had bestowed upon Him returned to the Father in praise and
exultation. When He preached, it was God that was glorified. When He healed, it
was God who was glorified in the Son. (Jn. 11:4; 13:31).
And now
the time had come for Him to leave the world, and begin a heavenly ministry;
and He prays that He might be “glorified” in the heavenly ministration, as
truly as He was when He ministered on earth. Once again the Father would be
glorified in the Son on the throne, as He was here in the earth,.
“Glorify
Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee”. In all of our teaching about
God’s purposes in His “sons” we are finding it necessary to emphasize this,
because some are getting the notion that we are teaching equality with Christ.
Accusations of this kind are perhaps inevitable, because we are teaching vital
union with the Son. And Jesus Himself was accused of “making Himself equal with
God” for insisting that He was one with the Father. In His humanity Jesus took
a place lower than Deity, lower than the Father. He said, “My Father is greater
than I”. We are less than Christ, much weaker than Christ, totally helpless and
undone apart from Christ. It is only as we partake of His anointing, as we grow
up into Him, as we abide in Him, that we are able to partake of the same
anointing and the same glory. God does not glorify apostles and prophets and
teachers, and other ministries. God did not even glorify the Apostle, or the
Prophet, or the Teacher--as He walked on earth. But God “glorified” the
Son--because it is only a disciplined son that can truly glorify the Father.
Vs. 2.
“As
Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should give eternal life to
as many as Thou hast given Him”. His priestly ministry is for the Covenant
people. He has “power over all flesh” to bring His Covenant people into life.
He has power and authority to “subdue all His enemies under His feet”--and one
day He shall “put down all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign,
till He hath put all enemies under His feet” (1 Cor. 15:24,25). We do not press
too deeply into an understanding of His future Kingdom, and the glory and the
power that will be revealed in that Day. But clearly, He is reigning on His
Messianic throne now. If God’s people know so very little about His present
reign over the earth, and His workings in His people here and now, it is
certain that God is not going to give any depth of revelation about things that
pertain to the next age--or concerning the ages to come.
Right now
He is enthroned with “power over all flesh” to fulfill the New Covenant in His
people. He has committed Himself to bring life to a people chosen of the Father
and given to the Son as a gift. They are a people who walk in total obedience
to His will, even as Jesus did. We try and fail many times because we fail to
realize that the obedience God requires is the obedience He provides. It is by
“the obedience of One” that we are made righteous (Rom. 5:19). God wants to
assure us that it is not our obedience, but His--and that whatever He may
require of us, be it great or small--we can only please Him by acknowledging
our helplessness, and walking in the obedience of Christ. This spirit of
obedience He supplies as we simply take off our shoes, like Joshua of old--and
walk in His.
His
purpose is to give “eternal life”--and that is what His priestly ministry is
all about. And what is eternal life?
Vs. 3. “And this is life
eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
Thou has sent”. It is good when we are able to step out of the puddle of
doctrinal positions, and flow with Christ in the living streams of truth. You
can hardly define your doctrines as well as you flow in the Stream, but it is
more pure. I mean--theology must always define truth within boundaries,
otherwise how is one to keep a hold on it? But a river, the River of Life,
though lacking in definitive boundaries, will carry you with its healing
streams onward and still onward to the very heart of God. What then, is the
doctrine of eternal life? It is not merely eternal existence in Heaven. It is
knowing God! This is life eternal, “That they might know Thee”. It begins when
we receive Him--or rather, when He receives us; but it flows on eternally. We
know Him when we first discover Him, like you know the ocean when you wade into
the waters along the shore. But you do not really know Him until you begin to
explore “the lengths, and the breadths, and the heights, and the depths” of His
Being. You do not find Him in books, but in walking with Him. (And if books do
not help you to walk more closely with Him--better that you do not read them).
Now the
Spirit of God comes into our lives to help us explore the vastness of His
Being: “For the Spirit searcheth all things, yea the deeps things (the depths)
of God” (1 Cor. 2:10). Do not boast that you know God just because you met Him
one time. It is good that you met Him. But we only know Him as we become lost
in the oceans of His Being. And God will not rest--and Jesus will not have
completed His ministry in the heavens--until His people “know the love of
Christ which passeth knowledge” and are “filled with (or, unto) all the fulness
of God” (Eph. 3:19). (Not denying, of course, that it will take eternity to
fully comprehend what we are talking about).
Vs.
4,5.
“I have glorified Thee on the earth: I have finished the work which Thou gavest
Me to do. And now, O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self with the glory
which I had with Thee before the world was”. He finished the work of redemption
on earth. Now He is about to begin a work in the heavens. He was glorified by
the Father for the earthly task. Now He asks for further glorification for the
heavenly task, that He might complete that work also. On earth He was the very
shining forth of the Father’s glory. “And we beheld His glory, the glory as of
the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14). But now
in Heaven He is so immersed in the Glory, as One absorbed back into the Father
from whom He came, that He is seen as the very Ancient of Days Himself, of one
and the same substance and likeness:
John saw
Him this way: “His head and His hairs were white like wool, as white as snow;
and His eyes were as a flame of fire; and His feet like unto fine brass, as if
they burned in a furnace; and His voice as the sound of many waters” (Rev.
1:14,15). Who was He?
Daniel
saw the same One, whom he called “the Ancient of days”--
“And the Ancient of
Days did sit, whose garment was white as snow, and the hair of His head like
pure wool: His throne was like the fiery flame, and His wheels as burning fire”
(Dan. 7:9).
Vs.
6-8.
I have manifested Thy name unto the men which Thou gavest Me out of the world:
Thine they were, and Thou gavest them Me; and they have kept Thy word. Now they
have known that all things whatsoever Thou hast given Me are of Thee. For I
have given unto them the words which Thou gavest Me; and they have received
them, and have known surely that I came out from Thee, and they have believed
that Thou didst send Me”. It was the Father’s name that Jesus came to reveal.
He never went about explaining all the various names of Jehovah-God and what
they meant. But He did reveal the Name, the nature, the character of all that
the great Jehovah-God IS. For He was the revelation, the outshining of the
glory of the Father. In all that He did, in all that He said--it was the
Father’s name and nature and character that He was making known.
Vs. 9.
“I
pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which Thou hast given Me,
for they are thine”. God’s objective is certainly to reach the world with the
knowledge of His great salvation; for Christ died “that the world through Him
might be saved”. And so the churches have recognized God’s objective, and are
trying their best to fulfill God’s objective--but they are slow to walk in
God’s way. God’s way to cause the world to believe is through a people who come
into union with Himself--not by organizing a Christian outreach. Christ’s more
excellent ministry in the heavens is to prepare disciples who will become His
representatives in the earth. And so our Lord Jesus prays for His own, not for the
world. When He is truly glorified in His own, then of course they will pray for
the world into which the Lord sends them. And because of their union with Him
they will have a vital, living testimony of the resurrected Lord.
Vs.
10.
“And all mine are Thine, and Thine are Mine; and I am glorified in them.” We
have already observed that the Father was “glorified in the Son”. And now as
our High Priest in the heavens He prays that He might be glorified in His
people. If there is one thing that is emphasized in John’s writings, it is that
we are to have the same kind of relationship with the Son through the Holy
Spirit, that He had with the Father. “I am glorified in them”, Jesus said. The
Father had no fear that if He took Christ to a heavenly throne, His work on
earth would be interrupted or hindered in any way. For as truly as the Father
was glorified in the Son, so now the Son would be glorified in His people in
the earth.
Vs.
11. “And
now I am no more in the world, but these are in the world, and I come to Thee.
Holy Father, keep through Thine own name those whom Thou hast given me, that
they may be one, as we are”. How can we miss what the Lord is saying? How can
we so pervert His intention as to make it mean He just wants His people to
forget their differences and get together in large congregations and prove to
the world that we are one? It is a total perversion of truth to equate “the
unity of the Spirit” with ecumenicism, and dialogue between church
leaders--with our theologians getting together and seeking out areas of
consensus in order to eliminate the divisions in the Church. The unity of the
Spirit has nothing to do with that. It is just what it says--becoming one with
the Spirit. “That they may be one, as we are”.
One with Jesus, as He
is one with the Father.
Bearing His glory, as
He bore the glory of the Father.
Walking with the Son,
as He walked with the Father.
Obeying the Son, as
He obeyed the Father.
Loving righteousness,
as Jesus loved righteousness.
Hating iniquity, as
Jesus hated iniquity.
Anointed with the
“oil of gladness”--the same oil that was poured on the head of the Son,
and flows down upon
His body.
Speaking the words of
the Son, as He spoke the words of the Father.
Doing the works of
the Son, as He did the works of the Father.
Vs.
12-16. “While I was with them in the world, I kept them in Thy name: those that
Thou gavest Me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition;
that the scripture might be fulfilled. And now come I to Thee; and these things
I speak in the world, that they might have My joy fulfilled in themselves. I
have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not
of the world, even as I am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldest
take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldest keep them from the evil.
They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” The people of God
have nothing in common with the world system. That is why they are hated. They
cannot cooperate with earth’s plans. They are just passing through as
“strangers and pilgrims”, for they are looking for a different kind of City.
They are foreigners to this one, and they disdain earthly entanglements. This
in itself may not cause too much trouble; but while here they are ambassadors
from another Country. And it is this witness that causes all the problems. We
are here to reprove, to reproach, and to convict those about us of their
iniquity--as the Holy Spirit gives forth that clear witness through us. It is
this that produces enmity from a world that hates God--a world that may profess
that they want God, but they want their idols too. For covetousness is
idolatry, according to the apostle Paul (Col. 3:5). And covetousness is not
only rampant out there in the world, but is preached and promoted by those who
promise wealth, happiness and prosperity to a people who will join the Church,
and go along with their worldly systems.
Our
present day Christianity is very much a part of the world system. Too often we
have “made a covenant” with the inhabitants of the land, rather than destroying
their idols--like Israel of old. We grow up from infancy in a society that we
consider to be our very own. In many countries where Christianity has
flourished it is even taught they are God’s specially chosen nation. It is
difficult for most Christians to accept the fact that we are at war with this
world system. “The whole armour of God” is something we read and teach about;
but where is the conflict with the god of this world? The attitude seems to be,
“World, leave us alone, and we will leave you alone--let us dwell together in
beautiful co-existence”. And so the world tolerates us now because we are
pretty well one with them. It will be much different when we begin to walk
according to the principles of the Kingdom of Heaven. Be assured, people of
God, when the Spirit of truth is given His Lordship in our midst, He is going
to “reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment”--for this
is what He came to do. And the world will hate us for it.
Vs.
17-19. “Sanctify them through Thy truth: Thy word is truth. As Thou hast sent Me
into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world. And for their
sakes I sanctify Myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.”
Jesus is praying for us in the heavenly Sanctuary, that we might be made holy,
set apart, consecrated unto Him by the truth. Too often “sanctification” has
been made to mean a certain experience you get--and then are apt to lose. Then
after seeking God you get “it” again. Now Christ is made unto us
“sanctification”--just as He is our “wisdom” and “righteousness” and our
“redemption” (1 Cor. 1:30). We are wholly sanctified when Christ is in control
of our lives--when He lives and walks in us by His Spirit. It became our
heritage when Jesus died on the Cross, once-for-all. (Heb. 10:10). And it is an
ongoing work of grace in our hearts “by the washing of water by the word” (Eph.
5:26)--and we in turn “sanctify the Lord God in our hearts” (1 Pet. 3:15). Only
as we give Him His lordship in our hearts do we live the sanctified life, the
life that is totally consecrated unto God. And so Jesus for our sakes has
“sanctified” Himself. Did He have to clean up His life from filthiness of the
flesh? No! But He who was always pure and clean went still further, and
“sanctified Himself”. That is, He set Himself apart totally unto the will of
the Father.
“Even so
have I also sent them into the world”. Many churches and mission boards are
sending forth their representatives into the world; and we know God is doing a
certain work, according to the calling each one has. But when God has prepared
for Himself a “sanctified” people--totally separated unto God, and He sends
them forth, they will make the same kind of impact upon the world that Jesus
did when He was sent from the Father--like His disciples did when they were
sent by the Son.
Vs.
20,21. “Neither pray I for these alone, but for them which shall believe on Me
through their word; that they all may be one; as Thou, Father, art in Me, and I
in Thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that Thou
hast sent Me”.
And so we
are included in His high-priestly prayer. And the prayer is very explicit:
“That they also may be one in us”. It has nothing to do with the slogans we see
advertised in great conventions: THAT THEY ALL MAY BE ONE. The only “oneness”
that delights the heart of God is oneness with Jesus, oneness with the heart
and mind of God--having the same kind of union with the Son that He has with
the Father.
Let us
take notice: this is God’s witness to the world that Jesus is the Son of God.
This God’s way. And when all of man’s efforts to reach the world through mass
evangelism and through the facilities of mass-media have failed, God is going
to send forth His witnesses to the ends of the earth--so that all the world
will know that a Lamb is reigning on the throne of glory. How do I know?
Because when God’s judgments fall in the earth, the inhabitants of the earth
are going to cry to the mountains and rocks to hide them from the wrath of the
Lamb. They are going to know that the Lamb has arisen to judge the nations:
“Fall on
us, and hide us from the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from the
wrath of the Lamb”. I wonder if God could pour out the full measure of His
wrath before there is that pure and holy witness of the Lamb who reigns on the
throne.
Vs.
22,23. “And the glory which Thou gavest Me I have given them; that they may be
one, even as we are one: I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made
perfect in one; and that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me, and hast
loved them, as Thou hast loved Me.”
God’s people are not made by
ecumenical conclaves, or by large Charismatic conventions, presided over by
powerful apostles and prophets. They are made one by the glory of God, by the
glory that He placed upon Christ--for this is the glory that He places upon His
people. Conferences, dialogues, open communication between Church leaders,
getting together in “love” and “praise” and “worship” and trying to solve
controversial issues--This has nothing to do with it. It is by God’s glory
coming to abide in His Temple--the very same glory that took up His habitation
in the Lord Jesus, making Him to be the very Temple of God in the earth--making
Him to be God’s mouthpiece, God’s voice, God’s revelation of Himself to the
hearts of men. But now it is no longer “the fulness of God” in His Son in the
earth, but the fulness of God in His “many brethren”--His only begotten always
having the preeminence in all things, both now and evermore. Amen!
Made perfect in
ONE....
Coming to fulness in
ONE....
Coming to
completeness in ONE....
Coming to maturity in
ONE....
This is
what the ministry from the throne is for. And if “ministry” does not bring this
about in the earth, God’s purpose in bringing it forth has fallen short of His
intention. For the Son of God, exalted at God’s right hand in the heavens, is
there to bring about this kind of ministry in the earth—
“For the perfecting
of the saints,
For the work of the
ministry,
For the edifying of
the body of Christ:
Till we all come in
the unity of the faith,
And of the knowledge
of the Son of God,
Unto a perfect MAN,
Unto the measure of the
stature
Of the fulness of
Christ” (Eph. 4:12,13).
This is
God’s revelation of Himself to the world. This is God’s witness to the world
that the Son was sent from the Father, to redeem the world--and that Jesus now
reigns as King of kings and Lord of lords over all things.
Impossible,
you say! I know, it is totally impossible with men. That is why God chooses to
do it this way, that He alone might be glorified.
Vs.
24.
“Father, I will that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am;
that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou lovedst Me
before the foundation of the world.”
We do not
deny God’s ultimates, just because we emphasize His present workings; and He
wants us to be with Him in a very real way--here and now. We anticipate being
with Him in future glory; but He also wants us to abide in Him now. “If that
which ye have heard shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and
in the Father” (1 Jn. 2:24). He wants us to abide with Him now--that we might
also abide with Him then. Never let us think that if we find our home in God
now, that Heaven will have less meaning to us then. The opposite is the truth.
It is because the Son of Man dwelt in Heaven while He walked on earth that He
was able to pray effectually: “Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self,
with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was” (Jn. 17:5; see Jn.
3:13).
The
future glory of our inheritance will depend upon our appropriation of that
glory here and now in this life. There will be degrees of glory over there, for
Paul tells us: “There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon,
and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star in
glory. So also is the resurrection of the dead” (1 Cor. 15:41,42). But let us
know for sure, that our attainment of the “prize” that Paul talks about is not
determined by how much knowledge we have concerning “the high calling of God in
Christ Jesus”. Rather it is determined by whether or not we have walked in His
Way, and have identified with His sufferings.
Vs.
25,26. “O righteous Father, the world hath not known Thee: but I have known
Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have declared unto
them Thy name, and will declare it: that the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me
may be in them, and I in them.”
What is
the end pursuit, the end hope and longing, the supreme desire of the heart of
our great High Priest on the throne?
It is
that the same love that the Father had for Christ, and was manifested through
Christ, might be in us. And that is why He is so concerned that we walk in His
truth. That is why He reveals to us the heart, the mind, the name--the very
nature and character of the Father. It is so that in knowing the Father, we
might partake of His love in a greater and greater abiding fulness.
Foolish
man says, “Forget all those far-out teachings, and let’s just love one
another”. You do not just reach out and lay hold on love as you would on some
earthly, tangible thing. You do not grab it out of thin air! You cannot know
love until you know God, for God is love. You cannot find love without walking
close to Him, learning of Him--learning obedience, taking up your cross,
following the Lamb whithersoever He goeth. This is why we must minister the
truth and walk in truth. God wants to bring us to Himself, to bring us into His
love. You can’t just reach out and grasp it like you would a butterfly flitting
across your pathway, or like a blade of grass floating on the water. Love is
rather the wind itself--the very atmosphere of Heaven which we were born to
breathe. Love is the ocean itself, into whose depths we must plunge--and in
which we must live--if we are to become a people that are filled with the
fulness of God’s love.
We have to be re-created in
order to become creatures of His love. And the end purpose of Christ abiding in
our hearts--as we walk in faith, in obedience, in hope, in patience--is that He
might bring us into the fulness of His love. He wants to bring forth a
corporate people in the earth, that will be able to comprehend, to
apprehend,--to lay hold upon and become lost in the fulness of His love:
“That ye,
being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend (lay hold upon)
with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to
know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with
(unto) all the fulness of God.” (Eph. 3: 17-19).
Don’t
say, “Let’s just have love, and forget the truth-Don’t say, “Let’s just have
the Temple, and forget the foundation--
Don’t
say, “Let’s just reap the harvest, and forget the time of sowing--
Don’t
say, “Let’s just have the apples, and forget the watering, the pruning, the
leaves, and the flowers.”
It takes
the infinite and patient watchcare of the Husband-man in our lives, and the
great intercessory work of our High Priest in the heavens, to bring forth in
the earth a people who will manifest the very same love that was in Jesus. And
our Lord continues to ask the Father to bring forth this kind of people in the
earth. For Jesus knows, and He wants us to know, that God’s answer to that
prayer is God’s answer to every human need.
The Urim
and Thummim has come to glorious fulness in our High Priest on the throne of
glory, and it will yet come to glorious and triumphant fulness in His chosen
ones in the earth. The Urim (the lights, the glories, the fires) that encompass
the throne and radiate from His face, must yet shine forth in the Thummim (the
perfections, the fulness, the completeness of Divine revelation in the earth).
Because the Spirit of God is here in the earth to take the excellencies of
Christ from the heart of God, and reveal Him to us. And because He is not only
URIM in His nature--He is also THUMMIM in His workings. He is not only Light
and Fire and Brightness in Heaven--He is also THUMMIM: He brings to fulness, He
brings to perfection, He brings to completion the New Covenant that our High
Priest mediates before the throne. “For we are His workmanship”--or as one has
translated it--”we are His masterpiece”, that God has decreed to be the wonder
and the glory of His wisdom, not only here in earth, but in the heavens as
well. (Eph. 2:10; 3:10).
Perhaps
never in her history has the Church become more sterile, more worldly, more
captivated by worldly principles, more embellished with earth’s adornment, as
she is today--and yet so devoid of the Glory of God.
Never has
she been so well-equipped with earth’s resources; and yet never has she been so
weak in her witness, so confused in her speech, so idolatrous in her worship,
as she is today.
Ten
thousand voices cry out from the air-waves, and beam down from the satellites
above us--but where is that clear, pure authoritative voice from the heart of
God?
All this
is going to change; and I think the trumpets of God are beginning to sound.
Once again in this day of great apostasy, as in other days of apostasy, God is
going to bring forth a pure word from the throne, a sure and certain word from
Urim and Thummim, and men will know--this is the Word of the Lord. God could
have decreed that Jesus stay in the earth, but He enthroned Him in Heaven. Can
we not recognize that God’s plan is the very best? And that God’s plan was that
the Spirit of God would come to take up His habitation in His chosen ones in
the earth, to fulfill in them the Covenant that Christ is mediating in the
heavens?
Let us be
assured that the Holy Spirit can be trusted to complete the work that God has
given Him to do in the world and in the Church. We are prone to exalt His
gifts; or to exalt His ministers. But the purpose of the gift and the purpose
of the ministry is to exalt the Christ. And Christ is only truly glorified when
His people come into a living relationship with Him. Jesus said, “I am
glorified in them”. The ultimate end and purpose of the gift is to bring forth
a people who are walking in fellowship with Christ--a people who have learned
to “walk in the Spirit”. “For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these
are the sons of God” (Rom. 8:14).
The Holy
Spirit is a Guide who is to be trusted. We will never fall into deception if we
stay close to Jesus, and walk in the Spirit.
God in
ages past committed the seething chaos of a world still unformed to the
brooding watchcare of His Spirit, who--as the poet said--”Sat dove-like on the
vast abyss, and madest it pregnant”.
He it is
who scattered the galaxies in the heavens, and who orders their every movement
throughout the uncharted reaches of the universe.
He gives
the spirit of life to every living creature, ordering their way from the time
of birth unto the time of death.
He gives
wisdom to the eagle to build her nest in the craggy heights; and to the coney
to make her home in the rocks.
He gives
wisdom to the ant, to store up her food in the summer, for the day of winter
which she does not even know is coming.
He sends forth
the locusts in battle, yet they have no king or ruler.
But God’s
people, since the days of Saul, have been reluctant to put their trust in God,
saying, “Give us a king to tell us what to do--to lead us out--and to bring us
in.”
Man,
redeemed by marvelous grace, and washed and cleansed by precious blood, and
endowed with the Holy Spirit who comes to abide in our hearts in the fulness of
His presence--
Redeemed man,
enriched with grace immeasurable, and with the very wisdom of God--yet fears to
make the Holy Spirit of God to be his Guide and Interpreter as he walks through
the uncharted wilderness of life. He fears to let the Law of the Spirit of life
in Christ Jesus become the motivating, energizing principle by which he lives.
He chooses rather to let the law of some church system, some minister, some
apostle or prophet--become the rule by which he lives, and by which he walks.
What are
these ministries for? To bring us into this kind of life in the Spirit, that we
might walk with God. And if they are not doing that, they are failing to
fulfill the function for which God ordained them and set them in the Body of
Christ. Their purpose is to feed God’s people with truth, that they might
simply walk with God in the freedom of the Spirit.
You will
not be free from deception--nor will you come to a knowledge of the truth, by
studying all the different books on deception that abound in the Church these
days. You will only know the truth, and walk in the truth, as you make the Lord
Jesus to be Lord of your life, and learn to trust in His Spirit to lead and
guide you into all truth. He is a faithful Guide, and one that is to be
trusted.
--George H. Warnock
Publications Available
1. The
Feast of Tabernacles
Israel’s
Feasts .. fulfilled in the Church
2. Evening and Morning
The cycles of God’s movements in
the Church
3. Feed
My Sheep
A Message to the shepherds, and to
the sheep
4. The
Hyssop that Springeth out of the Wall
The lowly Hyssop .. always related
to sacrifice
5. From
Tent to Temple
God moves from a tent, to the
hearts of men
6. Who
are You?
About finding our identity in Zion
7. Crowned with Oil
A Royal Priesthood because of the
Anointing
BEAUTY
FOR ASHES series:
8. Part
1--The Family of God
God prepares Joseph for the hour
of famine
9. Part
2--A Way Through the Wilderness
On the
way to Canaan, God makes a way through a waste and howling wilderness.
10. Part
3--The Journey of the Bride
Finding
a Bride for Isaac
11. Part
4--Chain Reaction in Realms of the Spirit
The Law of the Spirit of Life in
His people
12. Part
5--The Garden of the Lord
The Gardener waits for the Fruit
All writings free as
God enables.
Address all
communication to:
George H. Warnock
PO Box 652
Cranbrook, B. C.
Canada V1C 4J2