Image, union, fruitfulness, and dominion. These are the four Divine pronouncements concerning man. They are what man is. The four had a primary fulfillment in Adam and Eve and their descendants. They will have a transcendent fulfillment that will endure forever.

Man has been created to be the throne of God. Man is God's answer to the rebellion of His angelic creatures. Man is destined to judge the world and the angels as well. To man has been given all authority in Heaven and upon the earth.

We do not as yet see such mighty authority and power. Man has been made like an animal, bound by gravity to the mud, a relatively insignificant creature compared with the titans who rule in the heavenlies.

Because man has been created to govern and judge the works of God's hands he has had to be brought very low indeed, and then tested endlessly in every minute aspect of his personality, particularly in the areas of righteousness, holiness, and stern obedience to the Father.

He who overcomes in this struggle will inherit all things and God will be his God and he will be God's son.

We do not as yet see man elevated to the throne. But we see Jesus. The Lord Jesus was brought very low and tested thoroughly, especially in the area of stern obedience to the Father. Now Jesus has been elevated to the right hand of God. Jesus has received all authority in Heaven and upon the earth, not because He is the Son of God, which indeed He is, but because He is the Son of man. For the Scriptures have assigned all authority to man and the Scriptures cannot be changed in any manner. They shall stand forever precisely as written.

When we observe the condition of most of us Christians today what I have just written appears fantastic. We are smart animals, we have eternal life, and when we die we will go to live forever in our mansion in Heaven. Why not leave it at that since everyone seems to believe this?

The problem is, we who preach and teach have to communicate what the Bible says, not what we think is reasonable or possible. The Bible invites man to be the dwelling place of God. The new Jerusalem is the Bride of the Lamb and the throne of God and of the Lamb are in it!

The Lord Jesus has invited us to sit with Him in His throne, which is our own heart. Before this is possible however we first must move off the throne so He can rule. After we have made Him supreme ruler in the throne room of our personality He invites us to return and sit with Him in the throne we had abdicated. We now are the chariot of God. The Father, the Son, and we, all through the fullness of the Holy Spirit, are dwelling in our own heart. This is the destiny of the sons of God.

This is the fullness of God of which Paul speaks in Ephesians.

Being the chariot of God has got living in a mansion beat hollow any way you look at it. If you would prefer to live in a fancy house and read the funnies on Sunday morning, if this is the limit of your vision of salvation, go ahead with it.

But I want what God said in the Bible!