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The Daily Word of Righteousness
Prepare the Way of the Lord!
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, (Ephesians 3:16—NIV)
We have been saved by the blood of the Lamb. We have received the Holy Spirit. Now the Holy Spirit is preparing the way for the Father and the Son to settle down to rest in us.
The rest of God, the Kingdom of God, is the experience of God and Christ settling down to untroubled rest in our personality. Such is the supreme goal of the working of God in the plan of redemption.
First we must receive forgiveness through the blood of the cross. The blood provides us with the authority to press toward the rest of God.
Next we must receive the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the One who works in us to prepare the way for the Father and the Son to come to us and make Their eternal abode in us.
We may think of the coming of the Spirit of God to dwell in us as "the Pentecostal experience."
We may think of the coming of the Father and the Son to dwell in us as "the Tabernacles experience."
We are using these two phrases, which are derived from the seven feasts of Israel, for ease of communication, not to start a new spiritual movement.
Let us turn to the fourteenth chapter of the Gospel of John and notice the progression from Pentecost to Tabernacles.
Notice carefully the announcement of the Pentecostal experience:
And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever— The Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. (John 14:16,17—NIV)
The Spirit of God lives with us forever and will be in us.
As we proceed in the fourteenth chapter we notice a further step.
Jesus replied, "If anyone loves me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him." (John 14:23—NIV)
Perhaps the reader will think of the coming of the Spirit, and the coming of the Father and the Son, to be the same experience. This view is understandable. However, I don't think such is the case.
In the first place, the Father is the Father. The Son is the Son. The Spirit is the Spirit. They are One in the sense of being one God over all. But in Person they are unique individuals. The Holy Spirit is not the Bridegroom. The Holy Spirit did not die for our sins. The Holy Spirit is not our Lord. The Holy Spirit is not King of kings and Lord of Lords.
The Lord Jesus Christ is a Person in His own right. He is not the Father and He is not the Holy Spirit.
Christ learned obedience to God while on the earth. Christ Himself said the Father is greater than He.
You heard me say, "I am going away and I am coming back to you." If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. (John 14:28—NIV)
In Psalms David said: "The LORD says to my Lord: ‘Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.'" (Psalms 110:1—NIV).
"The LORD" is the Father. "My Lord" is the son, or Christ, or the Lord Jesus Christ. If One speaks to the Other in this manner, how then can they be the same person? This is foolishness.
To be continued.