The Peril of not progressing

There are countless number of people who seem to be content with simply knowing and believing that they have been saved, as clearly stated; “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast”(Ephesians 2:8-9).

But what most people have not been taught, or have failed to realized is that, there is the danger of not progressing in life, by not working out one's salvation in fear and trembling, and not becoming the workmanship whom God created in Christ Jesus for good works, which He prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.

The apostle Paul gave us some insight of the peril of not progressing by saying; “Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, 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. And this we will do if God permits” (Hebrews 6:1-3).

It is everyone's duty after conversion to leave the discussions of the elementary principles of Christ, and go on to perfection or maturity, because at conversion, if indeed we have heard from God and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: we are to put off, concerning our former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of our mind, and to put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

Because the irony of truth is, the grace of God by which we have obtained salvation did not nullify the good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. For, “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?

The rationale for God's grace and being delivered from sin is to put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness, by becoming slaves of righteousness which leads to holiness and at the end everlasting life.

Nothing remains stagnant, and as the saying goes, what you don't use you lose. Salvation is a progression which involves putting off the old man with its deeds, and putting on the new man. As it is written; “But now you yourselves are to put off all these: anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth. Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised nor uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave nor free, but Christ is all and in all” (Colossians 3:8-11).

In fact, the members of our body are instruments to fulfill either the work of the old man or the work of the new man. For according to the apostle Paul; “I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness” (Romans 6:19-20).

Nothing remains in a vacuum. One either progresses from one level of glory to another, or degenerates from lawlessness to more lawlessness, from being knowledgeable and intelligent to becoming foolish and ignorant, and further degenerates to becoming indulgent and lenient, with further regression to having an impenitent heart, and be corrupt.

Hence the reason why we have been admonished to leave the elementary principles of Christ, which implies, leaving the introductory, or the basic or primary instructions, the first parts and  principles of the knowledge of Christ, and move on to perfection or maturity. Just as we are to leave elementary school, to secondary school, from secondary school to college, and from college to university in order to obtain our higher education.

Commendations and kudos should be given to all those who have in one way or the other assisted others to come to know the Lord, and the same applies to all those who have believed and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord, but the stark reality is, this is not all there is to salvation, one is required to leave the elementary principles and move on to perfection.

To be continued

Copyright © 2013 by Lucius Joseph
All rights reserved

 

The Way to the Father

The Lord said to His disciples, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me” (John14:6).

The Way to the Father is the example of life Jesus Christ lived whilst in the flesh, and set us an example that we should follow His steps. This Way is the new and living way which He consecrated for us in His flesh. This Way is His body, the Church. In several passages in scriptures, the church is referred to as the Way.

For example; Saul before he became the apostle Paul, “Went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem” (Acts 9:2).

When Saul became converted and became known as the Apostle Paul, he confessed saying; “I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison” (Acts.22:4).

On one occasion, “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God, but some of them became obstinate: they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way.’ Also, “About that time, there arose a great disturbance about the Way (Acts 19:9, 23).

This Way is what all believers are called to witness about. The objective of this Way is to; “Open the eyes of men [Jews as well as Gentiles], and turned them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus Christ” (Acts 26:18).

This Way identifies the church, the body of Christ, and distinguishes it from all others. This Way is called, “The fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ; to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the church to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him” (Ephesians 3:9-12).

This is the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory”(1Corinthians 2:7-8).

This is the hidden mystery of the ages which the Lord revealed to the apostle Paul, and he unveiled it to the church at Corinth when he said to them; “For I received from the Lord what I also pass on to you. The Lord Jesus, on the night He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, “This is My body, which is for you: do this in remembrance of Me. In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying: ‘this cup is the new covenant in My blood: do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of Me. For whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes” (1Corinthians 11:23-23-26).

This proclamation is the responsibility of the church to demonstrate to the principalities and powers of the heavenly places, the manifold wisdom of God. As stated by the apostle Paul who wrote; “Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ? Because there is one bread: we, who are many, are one body, for, we all partake of the one bread” (1Corinthians 10:16-17).

Therefore, following the example of the life of Jesus Christ, and partaking of His flesh (Unleavened Bread), is the new and living way to the Father

The Truth by which we come to the Father is by the word of God. Jesus said; “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” Jesus Christ is the word of God who became flesh and dwelt amongst us, He is now our High Priest over the house of God, to intercede on our behalf. He is the sweet aroma which fulfills the will of God.

The Life by which we come to God is by the blood of Jesus Christ, which is represented by the wine. It is stated categorically that, “The life of every creature is in the blood, and God has given it to us to make atonement for our souls on the altar, for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (Leviticus 17:11).

It is for this reason that on the night before Jesus Christ was led to be crucified, He instituted the new covenant of His blood by blessing the cup and gave thanks saying; “Drink from it, all of you. This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins” (Matthew 26:28).

It is through this process that we can now draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water, holding fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching" (Hebrews 10:19-25).

This is our door to the Father, whenever we want to present ourselves before Him. For thus says the Lord; “These are the Lord's appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to the Lord by fire (zeal) – the burnt offerings (Christ the Lamb of God) and grain offerings (Unleavened Bread Christ's body), sacrifices and drink offerings (Wine; Christ's blood) required for each day. These offerings are besides the Sabbaths of the Lord, besides our gifts, besides all our vows, and besides all our free will offerings which we give to the Lord” (Leviticus 23:37-38).

This offering is so important to God, He instructed Moses saying; “Command the children of Israel and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time” (Numbers 28:2).

The appointed time to offer the Lord the food for His offerings according to the scriptures found in Numbers chapter 28 and chapter 29 is:

I. Morning and Evening as a regular burnt offering (Exodus 29:38-46)

II. On the Weekly Sabbath day (Saturday)

III. At the beginning of months which is on the New Moon

IV. At the Feast of the Passover/Unleavened Bread

V. At the Feast of Weeks/Pentecost

VI. At the Feast of Trumpets

VII. On the Day of Atonement

VIII. At the Feast of Tabernacles

IX. On the Eighth day of the Feast of Tabernacles

These are the times the Lord has ordained for people to give to the Lord the glory due His name; to bring an offering, and come into His courts, and worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent. We need to cease worshiping God in vain, and stop setting aside the commandments of God to keep the commandments of men, and our own traditions.

Copyright © 2014 by Lucius Joseph

All rights reserved

 

Protocol for drawing near (part two)

The new protocol for drawing near to God

To every occasion there are protocols, procedures and rules to follow, appearing before the throne of God is no exception. It is stated quite explicitly that,  “Since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible nature, namely His eternal power and deity, has been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:19-20).

The procedure in the earthly tabernacle was a copy of the reality, for, “It was necessary that the copies of the things in the heavens should be purified with these (animal sacrifices), but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these, for Christ has not entered the holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:23-24).

Since it is the procedure and not the objective that has been changed, it is imperative that we know the formality of the occasion, whether it is formal, semi-formal, or informal, and what sort of gift or offering that is required, so that we can be adequately prepared to approach the throne of grace.

Therefore in approaching the throne of grace we should take cognizance of the nature of the occasion. What can be derived from the scriptures is that before the throne of God is a festal gathering. The apostle John in the book of Revelation wrote saying; “…I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it, and the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian, and a rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne. Surrounding the throne were twenty-four other thrones, and seated on them were twenty four –elders. They were dressed in white and had crowns of gold on their heads. From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder.

Before the throne, seven lamps were blazing, which are the seven spirits of God; and before the throne there is as it were what looked like a sea of glass, clear and crystal. In the center around the throne, were four living creatures, and they were covered with eyes, in front and behind…Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under his wings. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.’

“Whenever the living creatures give glory, honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne and who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say: “You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being” (Revelation 4:2-11).

The mood and atmosphere before the throne is one of adoration, thanksgiving, praise and worship, it is a glorious company, for it is written, “For you have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, because they could not bear what was commanded: If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned. The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear” (Hebrews 12:18-21).

But now, in contrast to the darkness, gloom and storm, we have received the consolation saying, “You have come to Mount Zion, to the heavenly Jerusalem, the city of the living God, and to innumerable angels in joyful assembly, to the church of the first born, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the judge of all men, to the spirits of righteous men made perfect, to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:22-24).

The meeting place before the throne is on a sea of glass like crystal. This place is reserved only for those who have the victory over the beast, over his image, over his mark and over the number of his name. They stand on the sea of glass with harps and sing the song of the Lord saying, “Great and wonderful are thy deeds, Lord God Almighty, just and true are your ways, O king of the saints! Who shall not fear and glorify thy name, O Lord? For you alone are holy. All nations shall come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed” (Revelation 15:2-4).

Those who worship the beast are not permitted to enter Mount Zion, the city of the living God. There should be no ambiguity as to who the beast is, because the Prophet Daniel wrote quite emphatically stating; “Those great beasts which are four, are four kings (kingdoms) which arise out of the earth, but the saints of the Most High shall receive the kingdom, and possess the kingdom forever, even for ever and ever” (Daniel 7:17-18).

The beast therefore is a ruling kingdom to whom the dragon (Satan the devil) has given his power, his throne and great authority, the mark and number of the beast pertains to economic and social activities instituted by the beast which unless one becomes a part of, will not be allowed to buy or sell. The image pertains to a symbol of worship which the beast has substituted in place of the true symbol of worship, and whosoever has laid aside God laws regarding worship and substitute it with the symbol the beast has established, are not permitted before the throne of God, because by observing the substitute rather than the reality, they are inadvertently worshiping the dragon who gave his authority to the beast. 

The latest on the enforcement of the mark of the beast is that, saving the environment will be used as a scape goat to enforce this mark of the inhabitants of the earth, The question is, will we fall prey to it? The choice is ours to make individually, there is no excuse, you have been warned.

With brotherly love

Lucius Joseph

Protocol for drawing near to the Father

Is there a protocol by which one can draw near to the Father in what is called "The Inner court or the Most Holy Place" or is it feasible for anyone to enter in at any time or any how? To those who may not know let me assure you that, there is a protocol in place by which one can present him/herself before the Father in the Most Holy Place, without which no one can have access to the Father and have fellowship with Him.

 There is no shadow of doubt that there is a completely new procedure in place, by which one draws near to God, as the Holy Spirit indicated that, “The way to the Most Holy Place had not yet been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still standing” (Hebrews 9:8).

What took place in the earthly tabernacle was symbolic, a copy of the reality. It was an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper, but dealt only with food and drink and various ceremonial washings, external regulations applying until the time of reformation.

But the time of reformation has come: we no longer serve the shadow and the copy, but the reality itself. We now have the true tabernacle which is not of this creation, but in heaven itself, we now have the real gift and sacrifice that is able to clear the conscience of the worshiper, and the perfect endless High Priest who is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for us.

The reformation brought about a new protocol, a new and living way by which we draw near to God. It is no longer a once in a year occasion as on the Day of Atonement when only the high priest went behind the veil. We now have the boldness to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us through the curtain, that is, His body, and having a High Priest over the house of God, we can now draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience which was not possible in the earthly tabernacle, and can obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need (see Hebrews 10:19-22).

Every new dispensation requires a new protocol, but the objective remains the same. The objective is Man’s relationship with God, man drawing near to God and having fellowship with Him in a perfect, sinless, holy state. In the earthly tabernacle this was impossible. “For the law having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect” (Hebrews 10:1).

If these sacrifices could have presented the worshiper perfect they would not have ceased to be offered. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year, for it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.

So when Christ came into the world He said, “Behold, I have come to do your will, O God” (the will of presenting man perfect, holy and sinless before Him, and to have fellowship with the Father). He takes away the first that He may establish the second, by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Christ once for all” (Hebrews 10:9-10).

So the question is, when approaching the throne of grace to have fellowship with the Father and the Son, do we follow the rules, procedures and protocol in approaching the Most Holy Place? Remember, when we come together to have fellowship with one another, that truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ.

To be continued

Why are we slaves of Righteousness

We have been admonished saying; “Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness (Romans 6: 16-18).

As clearly shown man is not an independent being; he is either a slave to sin, or a slave to obedience which leads to righteousness. Therefore man has to denounce one master and be loyal to the other, as Jesus clearly says; "No servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon" (Luke 16:13).

So why have we become slaves of righteousness? The answer is clear, it is to practice or be obedient to what leads to righteousness, for we have been instructed saying; ‘Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous.” It is further stated; “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother” (1John 3:7, 10).

The children of God who have denounced their former slave master of sin, and have become loyal and obedient to Righteousness their new master, have been admonished saying; “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him” (1John 2:28-29).

To understand why we are to become slaves of righteousness, it is imperative that we first understand righteousness in its true perspective. There are three aspects of righteousness just as there are three aspects of sin, which are, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, and similarly to the three that bears witness on earth, which are the Spirit, the water [flesh] and the blood and these three agrees as one.

The three-fold aspects of Righteousness are:-

1.    Christ [the Spirit] our Righteousness

Christ has “Became for us wisdom from God --- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption ---that, as it is written, "He who glories, let him glory in the LORD" (1Corinthians 1:30-31).

This is a partial fulfillment to a prophecy which states; "Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.

The Lord is our righteousness because he made things right with us with the Father, by paying the price of sin in our stead, and imputed to us the gift of righteousness by begotten us and creating in us a new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.

2.    The Act of Righteousness [the Blood of Christ]

For it is written; “For if by the one man's [the first Adam] offense  death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.) Therefore, as through one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man's [Christ the last Adam] righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also  

It is the righteous acts of the saints that makes their garments white; as it is written; And to her [the church] it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. This righteous act is the application of the blood of the Lamb, which Jesus Christ offers as High Priest when interceding on our behalf (Revelation 19:8).

It is only the blood of the Lamb that can make one’s garment clean, for it is written; “Then one of the elders answered, saying to me, "Who are these arrayed in white robes, and where did they come from?" And I said to him, "Sir, you know." So he said to me; "these are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb’

“Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve Him day and night in His temple. And He who sits on the throne will dwell among them. They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes" (Revelation 7:13-17).

One becomes enslave to this aspect of righteousness by taking heed to offer to the Lord the food for his offerings at the appointed time. For thus says the Lord; "Command the children of Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed time” (Numbers 28:2).

The church is a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own special people, that we may proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light; and we also, as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

3.    The law of righteousness

This aspect of righteousness is applicable to the flesh: it is to be obedient to the law of God, for it is written; “My tongue shall speak of Your word, for all Your commandments are righteousness. Let Your hand become my help, For I have chosen Your precepts. I long for Your salvation, O LORD, And Your law is my delight.

One becomes enslave to this aspect of righteousness by:-

a.      Loving God with all our heart, with all our soul, and with all our mind’

This aspect of righteousness is openly manifested by “Giving to the LORD, O families of the peoples, Give to the LORD glory and strength. Give to the LORD the glory due His name; bring an offering, and come before Him. Oh, worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness! Tremble before Him, all the earth” (1Chronicles 16: 28-30).

b.     Loving our neighbor as ourselves

This aspect of righteousness is openly manifested by applying the Lord’s principle which states; “Therefore, whatever you want men to do to you, do also to them, for this is the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 7:12).

 And by applying the practical example of love which says; “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth” (1John 3:16-18).

So why are we servants of righteousness? We have become slaves of righteousness in order to serve the Lord in his temple day and night, to become righteous just as Christ is righteous, and to serve one another. Therefore we have been admonished saying; “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).

The sad thing is, instead of being slaves of righteousness, many choose to remain slaves to sin, and fail to fulfill the purpose for which Christ has been delivered us from sin.

God's foreordained plan for man

God's plan for man was foreordained in Christ before the foundation of the world, as it is written; “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved.'

“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having  made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth --- in Him”.

“In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory” (Ephesians 1:3-12).

The plan which God has for man and was foreordained before the foundation of the world, is the covenant He made with Jesus Christ, for man's restoration and holiness. For “Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it: I, the LORD, have called You (Jesus Christ) in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images” (Isaiah 42:5-8).

Again, thus says the LORD; " In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You; I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit the desolate heritages” (Isaiah 49:8).

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself."

God the Father gave Jesus Christ as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth. This covenant was ratified with the precious blood of Jesus Christ, when He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to His disciples, saying, "Drink from it, all of you. For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” This covenant became effective after the death of Jesus Christ since it is stated that, “Where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives” (Matthew 26:28; Hebrews 9:16-17).

The sad thing is that, the majority of people do not see this covenant which became effective only after the death of Jesus Christ, going beyond the cross, they believe that the once and for all necessitates no more offerings to be made on behalf of sins. But the irony of truth is, the once and for all signifies that , once and for all there is an offering that can present the worshiper perfect and sinless before God, and thus fulfilling the will of God. And so Jesus said; "Behold, I have come to do Your will, O God." He takes away the first that He may establish the second. By that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

So the question is, are we offering the Lord the food for His offering when we present ourselves before Him! Or are we so self righteous to believe that we can with all our limitations, with all our sinfulness, and with all our unworthiness present ourselves before the Father?

Going to the Father through Jesus Christ who intercedes on our behalf as our High Priest without presenting His body and blood is incomplete, because one is incomplete without the other. For it is stated quite clearly that; “There are three that bear witness on earth: the Spirit (Jesus Christ), the water (His flesh), and the blood; and these three agree as one” (1John 5:8).

The testimony which God has given us regarding His Son is simply this; “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

Now with regards to this life the Son said quite emphatically; “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For  My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. This is the bread which came down from heaven --- not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever" (John 6: 53-58). 

Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life

It is the offering of the body and blood of Jesus Christ with Jesus Christ interceding as our High Priest that grant us access to the Father, as clearly stated by the apostle Paul who wrote; “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,and having a High Priest over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.'

“Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching” (Hebrews 10:19-25).

The bottom line is, “ This is what the LORD spoke, saying: ' By those who come near Me I must be regarded as holy; And before all the people I must be glorified " (Leviticus 10:3).

To regard the Lord as holy, one must be holy themselves, and the way one becomes holy is by eating of those things with which the atonement was made. Truly these times of ignorance God has overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent.

Copyright © 2013 by Lucius Joseph

All rights reserved

Key to the unification of the church (part five)

The truth of the matter is, the death of Jesus Christ on the cross as our peace, reconciled Jews and Gentiles, and created in Himself, in His body which is the church, one new man from the two. And so it is written; “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity. And He came and preached peace to you (Gentiles) who were afar off and to those who were near (Jews). For through Him we both (Jews and Gentiles) have access by one Spirit to the Father” (Ephesians 2:14-18).
Therefore, the unity of the true church of God which is the body of Christ, is between believing Jews and Gentiles, who acknowledge and recognize the priestly service of Jesus Christ, and consider themselves as a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God's own special people, and who as living stones, are being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ, and to proclaim the praises of Him who called them out of darkness into His marvelous light. So for anyone to assumes, or to make believe that, by unifying all religious sects, denominations, and other major religions, regardless of their diverse doctrinal differences, and customs and traditions, into one universal church, will fulfil the Lord's desire for church unification, is both erroneous and deceitful.
The irony of truth is, no matter what name any religious denomination/s call themselves, as long as they are not teaching and living in accordance to the oracles which God gave to the Jews, regarding worship, and how to live with one another, they are still aliens to the body of Christ. What we all have to bear in mind is the fact that Gentiles, who originally referred to all other nations that were not of the commonwealth of Israel, were called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands, and were at that time without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
While on the other hand, the Israelites, are the ones to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Christ came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen” (Romans 9:4-5).
So, the question was asked; “What advantage then has the Jew, or what is the profit of circumcision? The response is, “Much in every way! Chiefly because to them were committed the oracles of God.” The other question raised was, “What if some did not believe? Will their unbelief make the faithfulness of God without effect?' The answer is, “Certainly not! Indeed, let God be true but every man a liar.” And so, we have been instructed saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat. Therefore, whatever they tell you to observe that observe and do, but do not do according to their works; for they say, and do not do” (Romans 3:1-4; Matthew 23:2-3).

To be continued.