CHAPTER TWO CHRIST – THE ORDER IN OUR LIVES
“Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come into His courts.” Psalm 96:8
If we are to come into His courts, we must come with an offering unto God. The offering we must bring is a sacrificial life. We must come to the place that we understand the words of Jesus when He spoke to His disciples,
“I am the Vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without Me ye can do nothing.” *** John 15:5
We can do nothing without Christ being the head. Paul wrote to the Romans, “For of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things: to whom be glory forever. Amen.” Romans 11:36
We must come to the understanding that all things must be of Him. If He has not ordained it, it will not come to pass. If we are not doing it through Him, it will not prosper and will simply be another work of the flesh. If it is not unto Him and for His glory, it will be turned to our glory and God will not bless it. It will fall by the wayside only to be remembered as another of man’s follies. If God’s glory is not resident upon it, there will be no glory upon it. God sent Jesus as our example that we may succeed through Him. Paul wrote,
“For through Him, we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” Ephesians 2:18
God provided the way. When Thomas asked Jesus, “How can we know the way?”
“Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.” John 14:6
God has provided the way and has outlined it carefully in His Word. This is the kingdom way of life. John went on to write,
“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him.” *** I John 4:9
God has provided the way that we might live through Him, to Him and by Him in all things that pertain to this life and the life to come. But we cannot do this if He is not the head of everything in our lives.
Everyone quotes the scripture,
“For other foundation, can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.” I Corinthians 3:11
“And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.” Ephesians 2:20
The foundation is not the whole house. But for years man has been laying foundational works. The writer of Hebrews states,
“Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.” Hebrews 6:1
God informs us not to lay again the foundational things and lists them. They are repentance from dead works, faith toward God, the doctrines of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of the resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment… Hebrews 6:2-3
And yet, the majority of the sermons that are espoused from the pulpit come from the above list. Paul stated,
“Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before.” *** Philippians 3:13
God does not have a reverse. One kingdom principle is order. In that order, you cannot stay stagnant in one place, neither can you go backwards. In God’s order, you must continue to move forward. If we are to reach forth to those things which are before us, we must go ahead. We must grow up into the head. We must give Christ, the Head, pre-eminence in our lives.
Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone. He is the only foundation we can build our lives upon. But Jesus proclaimed,
“Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord’s doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?” Matthew 21:42
Jesus spoke of the headstone. It should be obvious that the headstone is not the foundation stone. The headstone is the head of the corner. The corners come together in the headstone. The only structure in which this is possible is the pyramid. The headstone is the capstone of the pyramid. The capstone is the exact image of the Body. Paul gave us directions,
“Speaking the truth in love may grow up into Him in all things, which is the head, even Christ.” Ephesians 4:15
We are to grow up into the head which is Christ (Christ Jesus) in all things in our lives. Christ Jesus is the order we must follow so we may again come into His image; the exact image of the capstone, Christ Jesus.
In the letter to the Colossians, we are informed, “Ye are complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power.” Colossians 2:10
We are complete in the head. Without the headship of Christ in our lives, we do not have dominion over the principalities and powers of light; nor do we have power over the principalities and powers of darkness.
Paul went on to relay that those who are puffed up in their fleshly minds… “Do not hold the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God.” Colossians 2:18-19
The fleshly mind is enmity against God and can only minister to that which satisfies self. The fleshly mind will not operate in the order God has set for His Body. When the fleshly mind is in operation in our lives, there is no increase in God. God is not glorified in anything we do. Nothing accomplished in the flesh will last. Fleshly works are only wood, hay and stubble and cannot be tried by the fire because the fire will consume that which God has not ordained.
“Unto you therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner.” I Peter 2:7
To those who believe, the headstone is precious.1 But to the disobedient, the headstone gets in the way of what they want to do and therefore they cling to the cornerstone, Jesus (the Anointed flesh), and never grow up into the head, Christ Jesus (The Holy Spirit anointing). They refuse Christ as the Lord in their lives and they refuse the order that must become the very essence of their lives. Those who are going to enter into the Kingdom and become part of the ruling and reigning saints have this order established in their lives. God has ordained this order from the foundation of the earth.
How are we to go into perfection? Grow up into the head, Christ Jesus. How are we to know God’s order which was originated in the garden of Eden? There is only one way and that is by and through His Word. The first scripture in the Bible relates that God was from the beginning.
“In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth.” Genesis 1:1
John informs us, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
“All things were made by Him and without Him was not anything made that was made.” John 1:3
The Word was the creating power of God. The writer of Hebrews states, “Through faith, we understand that the worlds were framed by the Word of God so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.” Hebrews 11:3
God created all things in order by the spoken (Rhema) word of God. All things were created by Him and for Him, Colossians 1:16. So if our ultimate desire is to come to that perfect order of God, then it must be through the Word. God has given us His written (logos) Word as a roadmap. This roadmap will guide us and will bring us into the image and likeness of Jesus; the pattern Son. This can only be accomplished through His logos Word (the Bible) and the direction of the Holy Spirit (Christ Jesus).
We are directed to seek His Word for His order and direction that we may establish our goings. Psalm 119 has twenty-two divisions which are the twenty-two letters in the Hebrew alphabet. Twenty- two is the number of light. There are eight verses in each section. Eight is the number of new beginnings. Psalm 119 brings light to our new beginning in the light of the glorious gospel of Christ.
Psalm 119 informs us of many things concerning the Word:
“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to Thy Word.” Psalm 119:9
Young men are to take heed according to His Word.
The beloved apostle John informs us,
“…I have written unto you, young men, because ye are strong, and the Word of God abideth in you, and ye have overcome the wicked one.” *** I John 2:14
The young men are those who heed God’s Word. The young men are those who are strong because the Word of God is dwelling in them. The wicked one has been defeated in their lives.
“Forever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven.” Psalm 119:89
The Word of God is settled in heaven (the Spiritual Realm). The word settled means “established”. It is part of the unchanging realm of God. Since the beginning, man has tried to change the Word to suit his purposes. But God gave the Word to change a man.
“Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105
God has given us His Word to be a lamp to our walk in Him, that His light may light our way, which leads to the eternal, and away from the temporal. If we do not walk in the light, our way is darkness. Today, many blind are leading the multitude of the blind and the ditch is full of the well-intended, misguided masses because they have not become strong in the Word of life. The writer of Hebrews revealed,
“For every one that useth milk is unskilful in the Word of righteousness: for he is a babe.” Hebrews 5:13
Adulthood in God is not determined by how old we are, or how long we have called ourselves Christians. Maturity comes when we become skilful in the Word of life. Those who are unskilled in the Word are babies in God’s realm. We cannot expect the babies to come into any order. In the natural, babies cause disorder because they constantly demand their needs to be met no matter how inconvenient or how disruptive it may be. The babies will not inherit. Paul wrote,
“Now I say, that the heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he is lord of all: But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the Father.” Galatians 4:1-2
The time appointed of the Father is when the baby comes into maturity and grows up into the head. Many are proud of the fact that they are the servants of God. But the servant will not inherit. When Abraham lamented before the Lord that he had no heir, Abraham cried out before the Lord,
“And Abram said, Lord God, what wilt Thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus?
And Abram said, Behold, to me Thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir.” Genesis 15:2- 3
Eliezer was born in Abraham’s house. He had risen to the position of steward in Abraham’s house. The steward was the most respected of all the servants in the house, yet God revealed unto Abraham,
“And, behold the Word of the Lord came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir, but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir.” Genesis 15:4
The heirship of God is not in the servant realm. The servant differeth nothing from a baby. And babes are unskilled in the Word of righteousness.
“Order my steps in Thy Word, and let not any iniquity have dominion over me.” Psalm 119:133
Our steps are to be ordered in the Word. The word order is the Hebrew word KUWN and means establish. Our steps are to be established in the Word so that no iniquity (lawlessness) can have dominion in our lives. We can only avoid this pitfall in our lives by being established in the law of God. The whole Bible is the law of God in our lives.
“For by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20
It is by the Word that our steps are established in the Lord. Jesus was tempted by satan in the wilderness. Jesus’ answers should be nourishment to our souls.
“He answered (satan) and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God.” *** Matthew 4:4
Every Word that proceeded out of the mouth of God, both Rhema and Logos are to be our daily bread of life. We are to be directed by it, and have it hid in our hearts,
“Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” Psalm 119:11
Our walk in God should be one in which sin has no dominion. And our paths should be straight. The Word should ever be before our eyes and we should meditate on it day and night. *** Psalm 1:2
John wrote, “But whoso keepeth His Word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in Him. I John 2:5
God’s love can only be perfected in us by the continual washing of water by the Word. It is the one sure foundation we have to build our lives upon. And that foundation is the apostles and prophets, which is the Old and the New Testament of which Jesus Christ is the chief cornerstone.
It is necessary to dig deep to lay that foundation. Luke spoke of the man who built his house upon the Rock,
“He is like a man which built a house, and dug deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.” Luke 6:48
We must dig deep if we are going to find that sure foundation to build our house upon. Jesus spoke of another man who built his house on the sand (flesh). His house fell because it had no solid foundation in the Word of life. God’s order was not established, so when the storms came, (the wrath of God), his house fell and great was the fall thereof. Luke 6:49
God has given us His Word that we may build our house, not just lay a foundation.
“In a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of the earth; and some to honour, and some to dishonour.” 2 Timothy 2:20
If we will be diligent to search the Word, God will make us a vessel fitted for the Kingdom, a vessel of honour. The Word informs us that we can be those vessels of gold and silver, vessels of honour.
The vessels of wood and earth have never dealt with the old, fleshly, Adamic nature. Their houses, nor their works will stand. God has given us His Word and His promise that we can overcome and stand in the presence of the Father in that day.
QUESTIONS
CHAPTER 2
1. What offering do we bring into God’s courts?
2. What important understanding must we have before we can accomplish anything for God?
3. a. What are the foundational things of the faith?
b. What are the dangers of dwelling on them?
4. Why does the pyramid best illustrate the Body of Christ?
5. What is requisite for us in order to have dominion and power?
6. a. How are we to go into perfection?
b. How are we to know God’s order?
7. God has given us _______________________ as a roadmap to get us through this life.
8. How do we attain adulthood in God?
9. What important difference is there between the heir and the servant?
10. If we will be diligent to search the Word, God will make us
THE MYSTICAL COURT 