 September
2006
It is common to have
struggles while living a Christian life.
Of course, some of us have many trials
and sorrows. Jesus said we would, but
to take heart that he had overcome the
world. 1 Christ
was described in Isaiah chapter 53 as
being a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief. John, the disciple whom Jesus
loved, said that every child of God defeats
this evil world by trusting Christ to
give the victory. 2
The Lamps of God
Our heavenly Father has
always provided a way out of our struggles
in Christ. It is not Him who has been
irresponsible, but us who have lacked
responsibility. He has initiated our victory,
and has given us the grace or the ability
to respond through His love. But we still
try to live our life in our flesh or in
our own ability instead of yielding
to the power of Christ's victory. It is
in His grace and righteousness that we
reign as priests and kings. 3
The same was true during
the days of Zechariah [B.C. 520], who
told the Jews they must live under Gentile
rule for a period of time, but after further
purging the King would come. The Babylonians
destroyed the temple [representing God's
Light] in Jerusalem and took the nation
of Judah captive for 70 years. A few men
were allowed to return to Jerusalem to
rebuild the temple. The LORD spoke through
the prophet Zechariah to Zerubbabel as
he struggled in his flesh to rebuild the
temple.
The Prophet Zechariah
saw a golden lampstand with seven lamps
and a bowl on top it. The seven lamps
had seven pipes connected to the bowl,
which was filled by two golden pipes from
two olive trees, representing Jesus Christ
as Priest and King. He saw the olive oil
[manifold Spirit] being piped directly
from the trees [Jesus Christ] to the lamps
without the priest having to supply fleshly
power. The Lord said: "Not by your
might nor by your power, but by My Spirit
... Who are you, 0 great mountain? Before
Zerubbabel you shall become a plain [all
struggles flattened]. And He shall bring
forth the capstone [stone to mark the
completion of the newly rebuilt temple,
representing our completion in Christ]
with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it."'
4
Grace is our heavenly
Father using His ability in our behalf,
doing what we cannot do with our fleshly
ability, through the finished work of
the cross. Our faith is solely in Christ's
work at the cross, which makes us complete
in Him as temples of the living God. The
Apostle Paul asks: Don't you know that
your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit,
who lives in you and was given to you
by God? 5 For it
is the God who commanded light to shine
out of darkness, who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus
Christ. 6
The LORD confirmed to
Zerubbabel that his hands [empowered by
grace] would complete the temple, "For
who has despised the day of small things?
For these seven rejoice to see the plumb
line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are
the eyes of the LORD, which scan to and
from throughout the whole earth. 7
The LORD has begun a small thing in your
life, but He sees your life complete as
the bride of Christ. God rejoices in seeing
Christ's light manifest in our mortal
flesh.
The Eyes of the Lord
We saw the manifold wisdom
of God in last month's view, when Jews
and Gentiles were joined together as the
Church of Jesus Christ, because of His
cleansing blood, and their regeneration
by the Holy Spirit. We who believe are
carefully joined together, becoming a
holy temple for he LORD. 8
The manifold wisdom of God has unfolded
since the Garden of Eden to this present
time by the sevenfold character of the
Holy Spirit.
The Spirit of God is
one in His essence, but influences by
His grace in multiple ways. His spiritual
blessings gives perfect wisdom
to Adam and Eve in the Garden. He gives
understanding of sin through the
Law of Moses. He gives counsel
to His children, as He did the Israelites
through the wilderness Tabernacle. He
gives us His might through His own Son
dwelling on earth. He gives us the knowledge
that Jesus took our punishment for sin
on the Cross. He gives us the fear
of the Lord (reverence) in our hearts
when He makes us new creations. Since
Christ lives within us, our spirit is
alive because we have been made the righteousness
of God in Christ. 9
Just as Zechariah prophesied
twenty-five hundred years ago, the LORD
brought forth His servant, [Jesus Christ]
... He promised to remove iniquity in
one day [at the cross]. He prophesied
that the man whose name is THE BRANCH,
Who will branch out where He is and build
the Temple of the LORD. He will build
the LORD's Temple, and He will receive
royal honor and will rule as King from
His throne. 10
The Eyes of Prisoners
When the eyes of prisoners
are opened by faith in Jesus Christ to
the manifold wisdom of God: a Godly esteem,
dignity and hope springs forth in their
hearts. Because of guilt, shame and condemnation,
people in prison would faint unless they
believe and see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living. 11
I see men acknowledging their acceptance,
value and worth for the first time, because
they see themselves from God's heavenly
perspective. It is evident that the eyes
of the LORD still search the whole earth
in order to strengthen those whose hearts
are fully committed to Him. 12
It is my desire to walk
moment by moment consciously aware of
our spiritual connection in Christ to
God's throne room. For our benefit God
made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is
the one who makes us righteous. He sanctifies
us, making us pure and holy. And He redeems
us, giving Himself to purchase our freedom.
As the Scriptures say: "The Person
who wishes to boast should boast only
of what the LORD has done." 13
The Apostle John boasted
in God's heavenly perspective when he
was called up into heaven to see a vision
of the revelation of Jesus Christ. Similar
to the prophet Zechariah, he saw in front
of the throne seven lampstands with burning
flames. They are the seven Spirits of
God. 14 He looked
and saw a Lamb that had been killed but
was now standing between the throne and
the four living beings and among the twenty-four
elders. He had seven horns and seven eyes,
which are the seven Spirits of God that
are sent out into every part of the earth.
15 This is the Lamb,
Jesus Christ, slain before the foundation
of the world for the sins of mankind.
16
Jesus Manifested In
Us
Jesus Christ, the Lamb
of God, is God's manifold wisdom, connected
to mankind through the seven fold Spirit.
The Lord's seven horns are His power,
strength and authority to rule. The seven
eyes are His ability to see what is going
on in the rest of the creative realm while
He is in the heavenly throne room. These
represent the seven Spirits of God sent
out into every part of the earth. Blessing
and honor and glory and power belong to
the one sitting on the throne and to the
Lamb forever and ever. 17
We are the Body of Christ,
anointed with the manifold wisdom of God.
We are commissioned with His power, strength
and authority to go throughout the earth,
participating in every aspect of government,
education, media, business and the church.
All praise to Him who loves us and has
freed us from our sins by shedding His
blood for us. He has made us His kingdom
and His priests who serve before God His
Father. Give to Him everlasting glory!
He rules forever and ever! Amen! 18
It is God who saves us
and chooses us to live a holy life. He
does this not because we deserve it, but
because that was His plan long before
the world began -- to show His love and
kindness to us through Jesus Christ. He
has made all of this plain to us by the
coming of Christ Jesus, our Savior. He
broke the power of death and showed us
the way to everlasting life through the
Gospel [Good News]. 19
A Prayer For You...
Father, I thank you for
the spirit of wisdom and understanding
that enables me to grow in my knowledge
of You. I pray that my heart will be flooded
with light so that I can understand the
wonderful future You have promised to
me. Help me to realize what a rich and
glorious inheritance You have given to
me. I pray that I will begin to
understand the incredible greatness of
Your power in me as a believer in Christ.
I know this is the same mighty power that
raised Christ from the dead and seated
Him in the place of honor at Your right
hand in the heavenly realm. Help me to
realize that I am seated with Him in heavenly
realms all because we are one with Christ
Jesus, my LORD! Amen! 20
Manifold Wisdom
of God Study Charts:
God's
Orchestrated Plan of Love for Mankind
The Redemptive Revelation of God
The Revelation of Jesus Christ
The Sevenfold Spirit of God
The Most Holy, Thy Habitation
The Royal Priesthood
The Ezekiel Wheel
Footnotes:
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