Perfection! TemplePattern! 2006/12 07/07/06
We may have touched last week on some of this week’s offing, but that’s OK, we need to go ‘round until we get it. What we will get will be subtle, but it takes what we heard last week to get in on this week. We are going to come into the passage today after the fact, because Paul has been telling them of God’s gifts TO the church; Turn to Ephesians 4:12-13;
“His intention was the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering toward building up Christ’s body (the church).
[That it might develop] until we all attain oneness in the faith and in the comprehensionof the [full and accurate] knowledge of the Son of God, that [we might arrive] at really mature manhood (the completeness of personality which is nothing less than the standard height of Christ’s ownperfection), the measure of the stature of the fullness of the Christ and the completeness found in Him.”
Note: In the words, “the Christ” we note the interpretation is Paul noting the fullness of “the Anointing”. The Anointing is the completeness found in Him. The Anointing is the power of the Holy Spirit.
Realize from above, that it is God Who alone, can perfect His people, and He will do just that, so that they show forth His glory and manifest His presence in the season, which I believe we are now in, just before His coming. God is going to have sons here in the now, patterned after and conformed to the image of His Son Jesus, Who is the perfect pattern of the perfected. Lets go to a passage that will take us into a higher realm of the thought of maturity above and we will find it in Hebrews 6:1-2;
“Therefore, leaving the discussions of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection [maturity], not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
of the doctrine of baptisms, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment.”
It is really necessary to read Heb. 5:12-14 to get beyond the ‘therefore’ in verse one of chapter 6 just above, so read it and understand that the writer is not making light of the importance of repentance, but is saying that it should be something already settled and past discussion among the mature.
As we said, it is God alone Who can perfect us, but He must have our commitment to make maturity and perfection come about, and that move will involve a cross in whatever path we take. It is the path of developed love that is on the ‘perfection’ agenda. Just to get in on that for a moment, let us go to Matthew 5 and read only a portion of it from 44 through 48 and then to 1 John 4:16-17 and we will see the necessity of picking up the cross that we encounter;
“But I tell you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,
To show that you are the children of your Father Who is in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the wicked and on the good, and makes the rain fall upon the upright and the wrong doers [alike].
For if you love those who love you, what reward can you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that?
And you greet only your brethren, what more than others are you doing? Do not even the Gentiles (the heathen) do that?
You, therefore, must be perfect [growing into complete maturity of godliness in mind and character, having reached the proper height of virtue and integrety], as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Now to 1 John 4:16-17;
“And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
Love has been perfected among us in this; that we may have boldness in the day of judgement; because as He is, so are we, in this world.”
I don’t think that it will surprise any, that the love that God spoke of here is His love, agape, and I think that under the outlined circumstances listed above, agape is all that would work and be perfected in us here, because our flesh would not tolerate our enemies actions against us, and those that persecute us, and our reaction would probably be much more than just a slap on the wrist. This is the cross in the path that we must pick up and deny our flesh its emotional outburst that would not match with the image and love of our Lord.
The process of the perfection walk, is the cross walk, our taking it up at the intersection of each offense and dying to the offense and the offender and in this the conformation is having its work in us. We are laying down our flesh at the altar of holiness and maturity and that is where we are going to have to spend a lot of quality time.
I am going to quote our brother Henry Gruver, from a recent book and it fits here wonderfully. He first quotes from Hebrews 5:8-9;
“..though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.
And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.”
Note: The fruit of that obedience that He learned through the testings was that He was obedient even unto death on the cross, which worked to our eternal salvation. We are to take up our cross and learn the obedience He learned through the testings that the cross represents. Jesus said that we are to take up our cross daily. The cross life is a major portion of Him image that we are to be conformed to.
Brother Gruver wrote the following questions, which bear asking and the answer he received from the Holy Spirit bears hearing;
How could He, the very Son of God, have to be perfected by suffering? He, Who is the epitome, or the perfection, or beauty? Why would He have to be perfected by suffering? If it were only the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, there would be no need for our perfection. But that isn’t where it ends, is it? In the Word of God, we are told that Jesus is to have a bride that is glorious, and without spot or wrinkle. If Jesus is to have a bride that is gloriously perfect, then He must be able to understand His bride. He must suffer as a flesh and blood man in order to do that. Jesus had to be born to experience of personal human suffering, in order for Him to personally understand us in our sufferings.
Turn to Hebrews 4:15;
“For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liabilities to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.
Now, since that fits with what we just read, lets go one step further and look at what Paul wrote to the Colossian church speaking of the Gospel which he calls a mystery. (Col 1:26-27)
“The mystery of which was hidden for ages and generations [from angels and men], but is now revealed to His holy people (the saints),
To whom God was pleased to make known how great for the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ within and among you, the Hope of [realizing the] glory.
Note: Remember the phrase ‘realizing the glory’ until the end.
And to further confirm Paul’s heart, look at Galatians 4:19;
“My little children, for whom I am again suffering birth pangs until Christ is completely and permanently formed (molded) within you.” [and I add ‘perfectly’ formed in you]
Before I go on, to the main part of this lesson, I want to quote some words to a song that came up in my spirit when I was meditating on this lesson and they certainly fit, when we think on them.
Lord, prepare me to be a Sanctuary, pure and holy, tried and true; With thanksgiving, I’ll be a living sanctuary for You.
God is making of us a sanctuary, or I might say the temple that we are, and are called to be, (I Cor 6:19 [temple of the Holy Spirit] or 2 Cor 6:16 [temple of the Living God]) That is what this is all about, and what always has been in the making. God has before filled His temple with His glory; first was in the tabernacle of Moses. He told Moses to make it exactly according to pattern [Ex. 25 thru 40] and all the fixtures as well and Moses did as was directed and God came down to meet with him in the Tent of Meeting, and His glory would always fill the tabernacle.
The second time was in the temple of Solomon, and when it was finished, the word declares that the cloud filled the Lord’s house, so the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s house. Wow!, what a filling.
Now, lets go a step further and know that the next time the temple, the Lord’s house, will be filled, is in the season of Tabernacles and we are already that temple, and by the way, we are, of course, still under construction. He is saying that this, the third and last season, His glory will fill the temple and it is soon coming to pass and it will be on the people who build according to His pattern – the fulfillment of Tabernacles. Understand this, we, as the church, have already celebrated Passover and Pentecost.
I think that we still need to understand why we are still under construction. It is because there has been a lot of time and water under the bridge. I believe we see a slightly similar circumstance in 2 Chron 29, where Hezekiah, son of Ahaz, the king who desecrated God’s temple, taking all the things of God out and bringing in the filth of the outer darkness. Hezekiah, called his priests together to sanctify themselves, cleanse the temple* of all the filthiness and restore all the fixtures of the holy place. This is representative of large portions of the church today, where men, with strange doctrines, and traditions, have chosen to not just remove the things of God, or the gifts and callings of the Holy Spirit in fullness, but not to even allow them to even be practiced in their houses, which they call God’s house.
The temple that Hezekiah was restoring, was the second temple, Ahaz destituted it and brought in things not sacred. When Hezekiah had the temple cleansed and sanctified, and entered to worship, and there was a ‘form’ of worship, but there were still five things missing, therefore the worship was probably lacking, and I’m sure it was, but God saw their hearts. But look at the missing implements.
The ark of the Covenant
The Sacred Fire that came down from heaven.
The Spirit of Prophecy
The Urim and the Thummim
The Shekinah [the glory of God’s Presence].
Since the above is seed for another lesson, for a later time, lets get back to where we started, and not go back too far, this is the nowseason and we are a people being prepared. Turn to 2 Cor 7:1;
“Therefore, since these [great] promises are ours, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves* from everything that contaminates and defiles the body and spirit, and bring [our] consecration to completeness (perfecting holiness) in the fear of God.”
Note: Hezekiah commanded his priests to sanctify themselves and cleanse the temple. Now, in this time, we are the priests and the kings and Paul wrote that we are to cleanse ourselves. We are the temple of this day and the one that God will next fill His glory with.
I am going to transpose the tense in this next passage for that is how it will read when we take it in the person that Paul is writing; now look at 2 Cor. 6:16b-17, and we’ll take only the great promises that we just read about above;
‘I will dwell in and with and among you’
‘I will walk in and with and among you’
‘I will be your God and you shall be My people’
‘I will receive you kindly and treat you with favor’
‘I will be a Father to you, and you shall be My sons and daughters’
Isn’t that a marvelous group of promises and they are already in the works as we are being prepared. These promises are being built into our hearts and especially as we grasp the truth, that we are truly acquitted of all guilt. It is God’s dwelling in us that makes us holy and that is the perfecting that is at work in us.
Now look at a portion of 2 Cor. 13:9 and 11 and see how we move into the blending of these promises into our perfecting.
“…this we pray; your all around strengthening and perfecting of soul. (Now to verse 11)
Finally, brethren, farewell (rejoice)! Be strengthened (perfected, completed, made what you ought to be); be encouraged and consoled and comforted; be of the same [agreeable] mind one with another; live in peace, and [then] the God of love [Who is the Source of affection, goodwill, love and benevolence toward men] and the Author and Promoter of peace will be with you.”
One step further, as we move into the final steps of this age, we see one more wonderful promise of our God, and we find the riches of it in 1 Peter 5:10-11;
“But the God of all grace, Who has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that you suffered a while, shall Himself perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you. To Him be the glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen!”
Now we will go back to where we are called the temple of God, and see what is said about this, and we need to turn to 1 Pet. 2:3-5 & 9;
“Since you have [already] tasted the goodness and kindness of the Lord.
[Come] and, like living stones, be yourselves built [into] a spiritual house, for a holy (dedicated, consecrated) priesthood, to offer up [those] spiritual sacrifices [that are] acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ. [now to vs. 9]
But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a dedicated nation, [God’s] own purchased, special people, that you may set forth the wonderful deeds and display the virtues and perfections of Him Who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.” (see Col. 1:13)
We are being fitted for His purpose, and that is that we are to be His Son’s bride, one in fine, radiant linen, a dazzling, white garment, without spot or blemish, which represents the upright, just, and godly living, deeds, and conduct and right standing with God, of the saints, God’s holy people. However, we are not to be about trying to do this on our own, for in His word, God speaks to us the following promise, that we are to take to ourselves, and it is found in 1 Thess 5:23-24;
“And may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [separate you from profane things, make you pure and wholly consecrated to God]; and may your spirit, soul and body be preserved sound and complete [and found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
Faithful is He Who is calling you [to Himself] and utterly trustworthy, and He will also do it [fulfill His call by hallowing and keeping you].
Note: Our spirit has been redeemed by the blood of Jesus. Our soul is being saved and transformed and conformed by the tests that we encounter and overcome daily. Our bodies will be transformed and saved as He comes. But it is important to note the timing that our spirit, soul and body will be found blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Do you know how relieved you should be? Do you now hear the truth in ‘acquitted from all guilt’? God is at work, doing what He alone can do and it only requires our submitting to His hand at work in our lives. We need to get in the word, soak in the word and understand the depth in James 1:21 (paraphrased);
“Get rid of all uncleaness and the rampant outgrowth of wickedness [by acknowledgment, and repentance], and in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted (engrafted) and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls.”
That engrafted will lead you and train you on the cross walk that we spoke of just a while ago. We are being built, by perfecting, into the temple, the holy house of an Holy God, Whose glory is once again going to come in demonstrations that our finite minds cannot fathom, with even a most vivid imagination.
Lets go back to the prophetic in Habukkuk and Haggai, two prophets, who have the word of God and they are only 77 years apart and 7 is the number of completion, the third millenium; lets use just a little freedom and read from Habukkuk and Haggai as one statement; Habukkuk 2:2-4 & 13-14 plus Haggai 2:5-9;
“And the Lord answered me and said, Write the vision and engrave it so plainly upon tablets that everyone who passes may [be able to] read ]it easily and quickly] as he hastens by.