The Place Where God Dwells
2007-11-03 21:04
"And this is what he promised us--even eternal life." (1 John 2:25).
God is in Christ Jesus. God alone is eternal life. This life is in Christ Jesus. It is written, "who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen." (1 Timothy 6:16).
How then can man enter Christ Jesus where God dwells? No one in the flesh can enter Christ Jesus because Christ Jesus is the Spirit of holiness who put off Jesus of Nazareth in the flesh.
It is written, "regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 1:3-4). Our Lord Jesus Christ died as Jesus of Nazareth, a descendant of David, and was raised as Christ Jesus. So from now on, the author of our faith is Christ Jesus, not Jesus of Nazareth.
Christ Jesus said about it by his apostle Paul, "Therefore, from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer." (2 Corinthians 5:16).
Therefore, without putting off the flesh, no one can enter Christ Jesus who put off the flesh. The Most Holy Place, where God dwells, is in Christ Jesus who put off the flesh and became a holy temple as a spiritual body.
Therefore, no one in the flesh can see God and live. It is written, "And the LORD said, 'I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. But,' he said, 'you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live.'" (Exodus 33:19-20).
However, the children of God, who put off the flesh with Christ, can see God through the mind of Christ, the pure heart. The Lord Jesus said, "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God." (Matthew 5:8). They can see God the Father as co-heirs with Christ.
It does not mean that they can now see God in this world where they live as debtors to the flesh. But they will see God the Father and His Son on the day when their earthly tent is destroyed and they live with the Lord. The Bible said, "Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12). And also, "Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. We live by faith, not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:6-7).
Therefore, those who are in Christ Jesus put off the flesh on the cross with Jesus of Nazareth in the flesh. So now they are not in the flesh but in the Spirit. For them, the old has gone, and they can live a new life apart from sin. It is written, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death." (Romans 8:1-2).
God made Jesus be born a man and condemned sin in the flesh and made the curtain, all the flesh, torn in two through the cross in order to bring many children who have flesh and blood to the inner sactuary of glory behind the curtain, where God dwells.
God gave right to enter the inner sanctuary behind the curtain only to those who with the flesh of Jesus crucified their flesh with its passions and desires to have the curtain torn in two. The curtain that covered the Most Holy Place! The curtain in the flesh! It is written, "For the entrance to the tent they made a curtain of blue, purple and scarlet yarn and finely twisted linen--the work of an embroiderer." (Exodus 36:37). If this curtain is torn in two with Jesus, those who belong to Christ Jesus will enter Christ Jesus.
"Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires." (Galatians 5:24). "The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom." (Mark 15:38). "by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body." (Hebews 10:20). Therefore, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28). Amen. Thank you, Lord.