The primary purpose of the Church Age has been and continues to be the calling out of a royal priesthood whose members have been predestined from the beginning of the world. God gives specific people to Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ gives them the eternal life by which they will govern the nations of saved people.

If you will take note, Paul says that the purpose of the gifts and ministries given by the Holy Spirit to the members of the Body of Christ is that they might build up the Body until each member arrives at the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to maturity as measured by the stature of the fullness of Christ.

No man comes to Jesus except the Father draw him. Jesus told us we have not chosen Him but He has chosen us and ordained us that we would bring forth fruit. It is the fruit that is all-important in God's plan, for the fruit is the moral image of Jesus Christ; and the moral image of Jesus Christ is the testimony that God desires to present to mankind.

When we have experienced salvation we can tell others what we know about Jesus. But we ourselves are not the testimony.

When we have been baptized with the Holy Spirit we receive power to bear witness of Christ. But we ourselves are not the testimony that God wants. In fact many Pentecostal ministers, although anointed with the Spirit for the work of the ministry, are themselves a miserable, destructive testimony because of their immorality and their covetousness. Have you noticed this?

We understand therefore that basic salvation and the baptism with the Holy Spirit do not provide the kind of eternal testimony God is looking for.

But God yet will obtain the testimony He is looking for. It will be produced as we are willing to let go of our adamic nature and permit God and Christ to take Their proper place on the throne of our personality. This is the spiritual fulfillment of the feast of Tabernacles.

The Lord Jesus claims to be the Light of the world. Indeed He is!

But then Jesus said we are the light of the world. He added, "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."

Now think carefully about this: "may see your good works." The light we give is not our preaching the Gospel, as necessary as that is. The light we are to give is our righteous conduct. Such righteous conduct cannot be produced by our adamic nature, our original personality. It can be produced only as the Father and the Son are tabernacling in us.

Turning to the Book of Isaiah we find the program set forth clearly.

First we see that the Lord Jesus has been anointed to transform the members of Zion, the Church, into "oaks of righteousness." This does not mean oaks of imputed righteousness but oaks of righteous behavior.

And provide for those who grieve in Zion—to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair. They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the LORD for the display of his splendor. (Isaiah 61:3—NIV)

To be continued.