06/12/2002
Heb 8:5 Who serve unto
the example and shadow of
heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make
the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the
pattern shewed to thee in the mount.
q When Moses was
about to build the tabernacle for God, God cautioned him to accurately
construct it in accordance to a specific blueprint that He would show him. The Lord has a particular and unique pattern
of ministerial construction for the New Testament church
q The word “admonished”
is defined as “God’s divine
instruction according to His revelation.” The NT church must be built
carefully step by step according to God’s direction.
q The NT church
must be “an example and shadow of heavenly things.”
q
“An example”, is a copy or a model of the
original. Every NT fellowship is the
copy of the original, which God has already created and dwells with Him in the
heavenlies.
Rev 5:5 ¶ And after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the
tabernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened:
q
The brilliancy and the glory of the original blueprint of a NT
fellowship in the heavenly realm create a shadow, or an outline,
to those who have been called to faithfully reproduce it here on earth. Our
great responsibility is to reproduce it to the heavenly original with the
greatest of earthly accuracy.
q
The blessings of God will fall upon this fellowship in
proportion to how accurately it has been reproduced in “accordance with the
pattern shown in the mount.”
Heb 8:2
A minister (
a religious minister) of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle,
which the Lord pitched, and not(
“in no case” absolute
negative) man.
q
Greek: A minister of the
sanctuary and of the authentic and “built according to the blueprint
of God” tabernacle of God, which the Lord fixed in place, and had absolutely nothing to
do with man. The church of God must be built
upon the authenticity and genuineness of God’s pattern.
. Heb 11:10 For he
looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder(technician, architect or craftsman)and maker(the author of a
work) is God.
Exodus 20:25 And if thou wilt make me an altar of stone,
thou shalt not build it of hewn stone: for if thou lift up thy tool upon it, thou hast polluted
it.
Acts 17:24 God that made
the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with
hands
q
;Greek: Absolutely never dwells in handmade temples
Heb 9:23 ¶ It was
therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be
purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices
than these.
24For Christ is not
entered(absolutely never made by hands.) into the holy places
made with hands, which
are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the
presence of God for us:
Heb 9:11 But Christ being come an high priest of good
things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say, not of this building;
q Greek: A greater and more perfect tabernacle, absolutely never made with hands,
and not of this creation.
q It cannot be of the earthly or
fleshly creation.
q Our hands cannot touch it.
q God’s must be genuine and accurate
according to the heavenly plan.
q It has nothing to do with man’s
agendas and plans.
q The Lord must be the one to
author and build it.
The Church as a Vehicle for God’s Glory
Eph 3:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ
Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. Amen.
1. The church’s most important job is to bring forth the
glory of the Lord into all of the earth, and through out all eternity.
a.
The Definition of Glory
i.
Glory is making the
invisible God to become visible
b.
The church and the glory upon the earth
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up
from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
·
The glory of God is of supreme importance. Through it, men are ushered into eternal
salvation, physical and emotional healings take place, and people are set free
from demonic oppression.
·
God communicates
Himself to His saints out of His glory. Spiritual callings are discovered,
believers become trained in spiritual gifts, and revival of cities and nations
that ultimately change civilization are started and carried out.
Exodus 16;10 And it came to
pass, as Aaron spake unto the whole congregation of the children of Israel,
that they looked toward the wilderness, and, behold, the glory of the LORD
appeared in the cloud.
11 And the LORD spake unto
Moses, saying,
Ep 3:7 Whereof I was made a
minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the
effectual working of his power.
8 Unto me, who am less than
the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the
Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
9 And to make all men see
what is the fellowship of
the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God,
who created all things by Jesus Christ:
·
Civilization’s most
essential requirement, and its most desperate need, is to be capable of
beholding an invisible God, who desires to make Himself plainly evident,
through Jesus Christ in His glory.
·
The key to all of
humanity’s needs, past, present, and future, lie locked in the Person of
Christ. To the proportion that the
invisible Christ becomes visible to mankind by His glory, is to the exact
proportion that all of mankind’s needs will be met and answered forever.
·
The church of
Jesus Christ is one of GOD’S PRIMARY UNIVERSAL INSTRUMENTS, which makes Him
visible in the fullness of His glory.
q
The church, and the glory in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 3:10 To the intent that
now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the
manifold wisdom of God,
·
By Through the agency
of the church might be made progressively known the full scope of God’s will
and ways to angelic and demonic realms.
The Church as
a Vehicle of The Praise of God’s Glory
Eph1:12 That we (the church) should be to the praise of his glory, who
first trusted in Christ.{
q
God’s
glory manifested through the church becomes one of the primary ways that tha
world praises God. The more glory, the
more praise. The more glory, the more
that Jesus Christ will be lifted up, and draw all men unto Him. It is done through thw responsibility of the
believer.
John 10:30
I and my Father are one.
31 Then the Jews took up
stones again to stone him.
32 Jesus answered them, Many
good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye
stone me?
John 10:37 If I do not the works of
my Father, believe me not.
38
But
if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and
believe, that the Father
is in me, and I in him.
John 14:10 Believest thou not that I
am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak
not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
John 14:11 Believe me that I am in the Father, and the Father
in me: or else believe me for the very works‘ sake.
The Church is an Habitation or
Dwelling Place of God in the Spirit
Eph 2:22 In whom ye also are builded together for an
habitation of God through the Spirit.
· A dwelling place is an abode
where God will feel totally at home, and will have full rights to do as He
pleases. This describes a totally
yielded life on the part of every believer and each local assembly. No one man can control.
The Church as
God’s Receptacle or Funneling Ground
Eph 1:7 In whom we have redemption through his
blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
8 Wherein he hath abounded toward us ( INTO US) in all wisdom and
prudence;)
· The church is viewed as a receptacle into which all of
the blessings, the presence of God, and God’s inheritance, through Christ is
funneled into, and manifested by.
Eph 1:9 Having made known unto us the mystery of his will,
according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself:
q
The riches
of His grace manifest the revelation of Christ. What are some of these riches? Many come through the ministries
of the body.
q The revelation/ riches are limited by
the wisdom and prudence, which can only be brought to reality through our
obedience.
q Revelation; riches; obedience unlocks the door to the riches which
furthermore manifest the Person of Christ.
v Obedience, riches, revelation,
participation, through the fellowship of the mystery, the work of the ministry, building up into more revelation, more
riches and so forth. This is the unending fuction of the church.
The Church Is
The Fullness of God”
Eph 1:22 And hath put all things under his feet, and
gave him to be the head over all things to the church,
23Which
is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all
in all.
q The word for “fullness” in
verse twenty-three, of Ephesians chapter one, is a most interesting word.
q Envision that you have a bottle filled
with Coca Cola. What is the Coca Cola? Is
it the bottle, or is it the liquid inside of it? Well, it is made up of every ingredient that is perfectly mixed
in its required quantities and precise order, to lawfully recognize and labeled
it as this reality that we call Coca Cola. This is the fullness of Coca
Cola! In other words, the fullness of
Coca Cola is the very essence and nature of this liquid, which makes it to be
Coca Cola and nothing else. The
fullness of God then, describes the very essence, the reality, and the evidence
of who God is. It also describes to us
every attribute and characteristic that is required, to make God, God.
q The church is the fullness of God!
The Lord has called upon the church to manifest Him in His very essence
and reality. He has also summoned the
church to manifest every attribute and characteristic that makes up the whole
essence and reality of who He is. This
is called the glory of God, or allowing the invisible God to become accurately
identifiable
· The church then, is not only Christ’s body, but is a society that
is filled by Christ and can fully manifest Him. The church is the instrument by which our Lord works. The church is what makes Christ
complete.
·
“the fulness of him
that filleth all in all.” the Lord describes Himself as “the God who desires to fill
every person, and every part of that person, with Himself.” God desires to fill
every part of every believer within Himself. As this takes place, the fullness of the
Lord becomes manifested through that local assembly.
Eph 2:19 Now therefore ye are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;
20And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone;
21 In whom all the building fitly framed
together groweth unto an
holy temple in the Lord:
q Ephesians 2:21 tells us that the church
is a “holy temple in the Lord.”
q It is the word “naos” or
“Holy of Holies”. The church in
fact is the holy of holies of the Lord.
q As the Holy of Holies, the church is the
dwelling place of God. As the Holy of
Holies, the church contains the Ark of the Testimony.
q It can and must furnish full evidence
with all supporting facts, that define the reality of whom God is. It must manifest Him in His fullness, so
that the jury of the world has enough evidence to reach a verdict to accept or
reject the gospel.
q
The Ark of the Covenant or the Ark of the Testimony
represents the very character of God thus giving Him testimony here upon the
earth. Let us analyze four
characteristics of the Ark of the Covenant.
Heb 9:4 Which had the golden
censer, and the ark of the covenant overlaid round about with gold, wherein was
the golden pot that had manna, and Aaron’s rod that budded, and the tables of
the covenant;
q
It
was overlaid with gold. Gold in the
Bible symbolizes anything, which is solely the work of God without the help of
man. The building up and maintaining of
the NT church is the work of the Lord.
We are simply coworkers with Christ as we obey Him as He builds, raises
up, and directs. Our job is to submit
over and over to His voice.
q
Secondly we find the
golden pot that has manna. The NT
church must live in utter dependence to Him.
It growth and progress must come from a walk faith, walking on water,
obeying, going forwards, and parting the seas. It cannot hesitate on its
obedience to the Lord. In the Sinai
desert, the provision of God was for one day.
There was no surplus and there was no lack. We must re examine the
financial prosperity message.
q
Thirdly, we see Aaron’s rod that blossomed. All activities plans and goals in the church
must go through the process of death and resurrection through the cross.
q
Finally the tables
of the Covenant illustrate for us a genuine and accurate representation of whom
the Lord is and the reality of His word. The church is responsible to testify
accurately to who the Lord is in doctrine and deed.
The Church is
a Man
Eph 4:11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
·
Pastors and
teachers are grouped together
12
For
the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of
the body of Christ:
·
“The
perfecting of the saints” is defined for us, as the endowment and equipping of believers
with all that they spiritually require to successfully carry out their
ministries and callings.
·
For
the work of the ministry” . Our Greek text reads really like this. “Into the
work of spiritual offices.”. The end result of this process is to place
such saints into their offices.. This believer now, who has been equipped for
his or her particular office can now in turn supply their specific contribution
to the building up of the body of Christ. Through them all of the members should be made capable of
performing their several parts in order that the whole church may be built up
in its completeness.
13
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:
·
Until we
all arrive at or attain into the unity of faith.
·
In verse thirteen the Greek word “unity” is
defined as unanimity. The American
Heritage Dictionary defines it in this manner.
1.
Sharing the same opinions or views; being in complete harmony or
accord.
2. Based on or characterized by
complete assent or agreement.
….unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fulness of Christ:
·
Our comprehension
and oneness in the specifics of our walk with Christ brings us into an oneness
of revelation of the Christ.
·
The
knowledge of the Son of God. (The epiginsoko of Christ.)
·
As the
fullness of Christ is revealed and we come to know and understand, we all grow
up into the maturity of God by the communication that the Lord gives to us out
of His revelation. A perfect man is a
full-grown man.
·
The church
as a full-grown man can fully bring forth the glory of God and subsequent
revival.
·
The
stature of Christ is an ideal that has magnitude.
·
It is the
measure of the height of the perfection or maturity of the Christ. The fullness
of Christ revealed in the perfection of His maturity allows us to grow into
that same perfection of maturity through the revealed example of Christ and the
communication which He offers to us put of His glory.
14 That we henceforth be no more children,
tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the
sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;
15
but
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the
head, even Christ:
·
When the
church does not have the revelation of the Son of God it grows into doctrines
of men that are promoted by things, instead than the truth that is promoted
through the revelation of God’s son.
· The church’s growth is lopsided because
the foundation is wrong. Hence the believers remain children , not having the
example of the revealed Christ in the perfections of His maturity.
Children literally are infants, and other minors
that are immature and untaught. They are thus…
v
Tossed to and fro dashing or surging waves. .
v
The sleight of men who are
promoting doctrines of man for selfish gain.
·
Dice
playing and deception. Instead of
growing up into the revelatory knowledge of Christ, we make philosophies, or
things (debt, miracles, being blessed) the main focus.
v
Doctrines become divine
truth. Things, blessings, miracles,
financial prosperity becomes the major instead of the minors.
15 But speaking the truth in love, may
grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: }
· The truth is what is accurate and
according to fact with God’s word. By confessing the truth we grow up into
Christ in all things. Confession
is an outward expression of what is really part of us. We can only confess what
is in us. If we are living according to
the revealed Christ so will be our confession.
·
Only in
relation to the Christ, and seizing the head; and through an efficient
revelation of Him can the church grow up into Him in all things. Christ is the object and goal to which
our growth in its every stage must look to or be directed.
Eph 4:16 From whom the
whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint
supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part,
maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.
·
The body produces self-growth and self-building up. This self
growth and building up is limited to the measure of the energy put out by each
member of the body as each one supplies to the extent of fully supplying a
chorus of singers.
·
Participation
and peak efficiency in ministry brings us into mutual vision, and understanding
of our faith in Christ and the particulars of our walk with Christ. Being brought into complete harmony
and accord brings us into the full knowledge of the Son of God.