The Substance Belongs to Christ
The form of scripture is the Word of God, the character of that Word is Gospel (good news), and the content of that Gospel is Jesus Christ. “In the beginning was the Word…and the Word was God.” John 1:1 Since the beginning, all that God the Father ever wanted to communicate to you and to me in this life, and the life to come for that matter, is summed up in the good news of a Person, the Person of His dear Son. Hebrews 1:1-3 [Amplified] tells us that, “In many separate revelations [each of which set forth a portion of the Truth] and in different ways God spoke of old to [our] forefathers in and by the prophets, but in the last days He has spoken to us in [the person of a] Son, Whom He appointed Heir and lawful Owner of all things…He is the sole expression of the glory of God [the Light-being, the out-raying or radiance of the divine]…” Further, the Word of God was meant, not to give the “do’s” and “do not’s” of the Christian faith, but rather, to describe a man’s living experience of that Blessed Person, the Lord Jesus, recording on paper the love, faithfulness, and interaction of the Living God in his own life. The scriptures should be the validation of what is ALREADY happening in my experience and relationship with the Lord Jesus Himself. In Ephesians 3:18-19 [Amplified], Paul says, “That you may have the power and be strong to apprehend and grasp with all the saints [God’s devoted people, the experience of that love] what is the breadth and length, and height, and depth [of it]; [That you may really come] to know [practically, through experience for yourselves] the love of Christ, which far surpasses mere knowledge [without experience]…” Based on this, I believe we should ask ourselves two questions: “Is the Lord Jesus becoming more and more precious to me through an ever-increasing revelation of the wonder of His Person?” and (2) “Am I actually and progressively experiencing a living reality of that Person in and through the many circumstances of life?”
An Eternal Covenant, echoed in time, was made between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit: “Let Us make man in our image.” This creature called man was created to experience a living, spiritual union with his Creator, becoming the intersection of interaction where God would come down to meet and dwell within His creation. God wanted to be known; known for the wonders of all that He is, mainly, as 1 John tells us, God being love. God wanted His creation to actually share a conscience experience, in time, of all that He is as the Eternal Reality. Throughout the Old Testament scriptures God spoke of Himself in many types and shadows, with the intent to always reveal the character, nature, and perfection of Himself. The Garden of Eden, the Tabernacle, The Law, the Temple, and countless other pictures were given to hint at God’s form, in type. God even set out a special people to be His own possession, so that He could share the deeper things of Himself with them. God, through the many stories and situations of the Old Testament was always, through a glass dimly, expressing who He is. Yet, it wasn’t until, as John 1:14 tells us, “The Word BECAME flesh and tabernacled among them and we ACTUALLY saw (for the first time) His glory,” did ALL the fulfillment of what God said, BECOME, in totality, a living experience. “In Him was Life, and this life was the light of men.” John 1:4 Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of ALL that God ever wanted to say, to us, about Himself. Jesus Christ is the summation, the quintessence, and the zenith of everything Spiritual. “…And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature…” Knowing this, we must never separate the Lord Jesus Himself from all that is said in Scripture, for the Scriptures, detached from the Person and Character of the Lord Jesus Christ, cease to be what God is saying to you and to me and become nothing more than a lifeless text. Biblical principles applied, apart from the out-flowing Source of those principles, become a fleshly, lifeless deed, simply covering man’s flesh with a religious coat.
A dear brother in the Lord said to me once, “One of the greatest needs in the Church today, if not the greatest, is the need for spiritual discernment.” Not scriptural knowledge, but spiritual discernment. I can know the scripture, study the scripture, apply scripture, yet, I can be devoid of His life when they are detached from the character and nature of the Son of God. Look what Jesus emphatically said to the Pharisees: “You search and investigate and pore over the Scriptures diligently, because you suppose and trust that you have eternal life through them. And these [very Scriptures] testify about Me! And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to Me, so that you might have life.” John 5:39-40 [Amplified] Only the Lord Jesus Himself, through the indwelling Holy Spirit, can divide and make clear what is of Him and what is not of Him. “For the Word of God [Jesus Himself] is alive and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, dividing soul [of man] and spirit [of God]…” Hebrews 4:12 Spiritual discernment is not simply knowing the difference between what is Christian and non Christian, good and evil, positive and negative, but rather, true spiritual discernment is knowing what is of Jesus Christ, and what is NOT of Jesus Christ, EVEN when the very Scriptures are being used. To further this point, even Satan himself used the very Scriptures to justify his motive, yet missing the content of those Scriptures, the Life that comes only from Christ. “And he said to Him, if You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down, for it is written, He will give His angles charge over you, and they will bear you up on their hands, lest you strike your foot against a stone.” Matthew 4:6 Satan was quoting the very Word of God! Yet, one can know in the heart that if God is truly speaking, if after that speaking, you are left with more of Jesus.
God’s Word, God’s communication, what He has to say, is the very power in our lives, for man does not live on bread alone, but by every word that comes out of God’s mouth. “The message, or communication, of the Cross…to those being saved, is the power of God.” 1 Corinthians 1:18 Yet, in verse 24 of that same chapter, Paul goes on to say, “Christ, the power and wisdom of God.” The Bible can hold to a form of godliness, yet deny the power there of (2 Timothy 3:5), which is denying Christ Himself, the power and wisdom of God. The only thing that God, through His Holy Spirit will speak will always magnify and glorify, in ever-increasing measure, the Son of His Love, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now here is a test. If a brother or sister, or group of believers use the Word of God as a means of justification, condemnation, proving, and the like, simply hold up the Lord Jesus in front of that scripture(s) like a piece of transparency paper and see if it’s a perfect fit. If you see the Person of the Lord Jesus line up with the quoted scripture, hold on to it, receive it, and seek to know more of it. If, however, the character of the Lord Jesus is not magnified by what is quoted or said, you have cause to “test the spirits” and discover if it is truly revealing the spoken Word of God. See, it is knowing, in experience the Person of the Lord Jesus Christ, and when you know Him, you will also know what is NOT Him. Satan quoted scripture, but Jesus wasn’t in it. It is only what He is doing, that we are to do, it is only what He is saying that we are to say, it is only what He wants to accomplish that we are to put our hands to. “…Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, unless it is something He see the Father doing; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner.” John 5:19
The life that was given to us, both physically and spiritually, was for the purpose of experiencing and enjoying all that the Lord Jesus is. He gave us ears to hear what He has to say, eyes to see what He has done, hands to use for what He wants done, and hearts to feel the love He has given, for He gave His life, what more could He give? Let us purpose in our lives to know the resurrected Christ more, and then we will know the Truth, and the Truth will make us free.
“[For my concern is] that their hearts may be braced (comforted, cheered, and encouraged) as they are knit together in love, that they may come to have all the abounding wealth and blessings of assured conviction of understanding, and that they may become progressively more intimately acquainted with and may know more definitely and accurately and thoroughly that mystic secret of God, [which is] Christ (the Anointed One). In Him all the treasures of [divine] wisdom (comprehensive insight into the ways and purposes of God) and [all the riches of spiritual] knowledge and enlightenment are stored up and lie hidden.” Colossians 2:2-3
“Therefore let no one sit in judgment on you in matters of food and drink, or with regard to a feast day or a New Moon or a Sabbath. Such [things] are only the shadow of things that are to come, and they have only a symbolic value. But the reality (the substance, the solid fact of what is foreshadowed, the body of it) belongs to Christ.” Colossians 2:16-17
Johnny
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