1. Read the printed lesson for Session 1.
2. Listen to the recording for the session (Be sure to write down any questions or points of interest for the discussion time.)
3. Attend Session 1 "Discussion" (Time will be set by the group.) or in the individual study, your discussion can be conducted with Dr. Stone on line.

It seems to be the best of times. With television stations flooded with Christian programming, radio airways saturated with religious broadcasting, and printing presses turning out a multi-million dollar business of church literature, the modern day church has no equal in any age in the promotion of itself to the world.

Magnificent church cathedrals are being built in city after city. Most congregations are actively pursuing more and better-trained ministry personal than in any other time in the history of the church. Supporting multi-million dollar budgets, the church of modernity has become big business.

In-depth training materials from personal money management to the operation of the spiritual gifts are readily available for everyone. The modern church, with its emphasis on reaching every age group, now offers a wide range of ministries to meet the needs of everyone.

For the first time ever in the history of the church, a new term, the mega-church, has been created to describe its success. With all of its multi-facet programs and activities, the modern day church should be judged as reaching an all-time high of spiritual excellency.

But, all is not well with the church. The simple preaching of Jesus that immediately changed lives has been replaced by a multi-task obligation to be accomplished in this life to lay up treasures for the life to come. With the emphasis of the church’s message shifting from Jesus living in and through the believer to the believer becoming all they can be by their own positive thinking and their own assertive actions, Christianity has lost its Christ-centeredness and has become participant-centered. With the goal being a better you, the fruit of the church’s labor does reveal the nature of its roots.

People for the sake of people are no longer the concern of the church. People become important only to the degree that they are perceived to be a blessing to the church. Help build the church and you are accepted; perceived to be of little use to the church and you are forgotten. The church itself has become the focal point of much of modern Christianity.

A quick comparison of the belief system of the early followers of Jesus and the belief system of many in the modern church will reveal how much the fundamental issues of Christianity have changed over the recent years. Understanding that there are exceptions to the general rule, the conclusions of this comparison are, nevertheless, alarming. They suggest that the general church once again is in need of a reformation. The distant mirror of the 15th Century, the condition of the church prior to the reformation of the 16th century, reflects that all the ingredients of such a need for reformation are present in the modern day church.

In what we know as 1 John, the author writing towards the end of the first century, penned these words:

That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life; (For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us;) That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ. And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full. (1 John 1:1-4)

The words highlighted will be used to try to illustrate how far we have moved away from the living Jesus to emphasize an understanding that keeps drawing our attention to the visible church. In the first example, if the term, the Word, is used in the modern church it is most of the time, if not always, a reference to the written word, the Bible. The term, the Word, to the early followers of Jesus, however, meant not a written document but the living Word, Jesus Christ. When Paul said, "So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17), he is emphasizing that faith comes by hearing the living Word, Jesus.

Although the Word is accepted today, generally, to mean the written Bible, the early followers of Jesus knew that the Word was the living Jesus: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). There is a tremendous difference when the emphasis is kept on the living Word as opposed to the written Word, even though the written Word is inspired and completely trustworthy.

The writer of 1 John also wrote, "And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life" (1 John 2:25). It should be quite obvious to all that if the term eternal life is used in the modern church that it is a reference to the next life—the believer will live eternally. To the early followers of Jesus, however, the term eternal life was not a reference to the eternal life which was to come but a reference to the eternal life of God manifested in Jesus. For example, John wrote, "For the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life, which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us" (1 John 1:2).

Eternal life for most in the modern church brings to mind their belief that they are going to live forever in the next life but to the early followers of Jesus eternal life was a reference to the One who has, is, and will always live—the eternal life of God. Although the next life for the believer cannot be questioned and should not be doubted, the phrase eternal life for the early followers of Jesus did not bring attention to the believer and to the next life but to the reality of experiencing the eternal One in their present life. Although they were mortal, corruptible, weak, and processed a physical body, they knew that they had the opportunity to experience the immortal, incorruptible, powerful, and spiritual body of the eternal life of Jesus. It was what profoundly changed their lives.

John also emphasized that fellowship, the experiencing of Jesus together, was the life blood of the early followers of Jesus. Unfortunately, fellowship, the experiencing of Jesus together in a face to face relationship, rarely occurs in the modern church. When those who go to a church meeting are asked to be participants in what is being performed by those in charge, just how much fellowship is experienced? If fellowship does occur in the modern church, it is largely a by-product rather than an integral part of the church. As someone has suggested, "The real church is what goes on before the opening prayer of a meeting and after the closing prayer." Although that may be an oversimplification, it does point out that the real church does occur in, by, and through what happens between people.

From the writings of 1 John, it can be seen also how they measured success. Although primitive Christianity probably did not think in the terms of success or failure, they knew they were fulfilling what God expected of them by how they were treating one another (1 John 2:9,10). Joint-participation in Jesus was evidently the essence of all things for the early followers of Jesus. Jesus Himself stated, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). Contrast that fellowship with how the modern day church measures success (how many people attend church, how big is the building, and how large is the budget) and it should be obvious that what was important to the early followers of Jesus in large measures cannot be found today.

A simple question needs to be raised in illustrating the next major difference between the church of the first century and the church of modernity: What is the emphasis of most sermons delivered by the leaders in churches today? On any given Sunday, is it not a motivational homily encouraging the believer to do something, to increase their efforts, their time, or their giving in order to be blessed of God. Although there are exceptions, it is usually an instructional message teaching the believer how to prepare for the next life or how they can better themselves in this life.

Notice, the words of the writer of 1 John when he said, "And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full." It is hard for the motivators and the movers to grasp that all John wanted of his first readers was that their joy might be full. Instead of telling them that circumstances would be good if they could get their belief right, their doctrine right, he simply told them that in the midst of the struggles of life they could be cheerful. They could remain calm and delight in the Lord. It is hard for the modern church to believe that all God wants of his believers is to enjoy life and know that He is producing that life.

When we fully understand what John is saying in the opening statements of his letter, it should cause us to consider seriously our ways. In this day of one program after another designed to call the believer to greater effort, to incite into action, or in some other way emphasize the believer, Jesus is calling us to return to Him. May the church once again move away from being participant-centered and become Christ-centered. For, after all is said and done, every message that is recorded in the New Testament is a message about Jesus—especially, the resurrected Jesus.

The living Jesus needs to be heard again. How the early followers of Jesus understood the living Word in their primitive ways calls the visible church with its modern ways into question. The simple message of Jesus must once again be heard.

The date was approximately sixty years after the death and resurrection of a man they called Jesus of Nazareth. During those six decades, the early followers of Jesus had grown in numbers at a rapid pace. Unfortunately for the spiritual health of the church, there were many among them whose understanding of Christ had failed to materialize. Although they started out numbered among the believers, it soon became clear that they had missed an essential truth of the Christian faith.

The people of the land of Israel had witnessed the most phenomenal event in the history of man. The Supreme Being, creator and provider of all that is, descended from the abode of the divine to take on and to live in the flesh and blood body of a human being. God became manifested in the flesh of man.

To deny that God was and is manifested in the flesh of man is to destroy the fundamental essence of the Christian faith. The earliest followers of Christ knew that the expression of God was made flesh in the human body of Jesus of Nazareth. They also knew that since His death, resurrection, ascension, and return in the Holy Spirit Jesus was again to be manifested in the flesh.

The coming of Christ to be made apparent in the lives of His followers is the ultimate fulfillment of God’s purpose in sending His son to be clothed in human flesh. The life manifested through Jesus of Nazareth revealed how man was to experience God. Moreover, Jesus through His death, resurrection, ascension, and return became the quickening Spirit that enables all men of every age to experience God in the flesh.

The letters of John were written primarily because John saw a disastrous error being taught by some that would destroy the transforming power of what it means to be truly a believer in Jesus Christ. He wrote, "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son" (2 John 1:7-9).

Obviously, according to John, the doctrine of Christ, the instructions concerning Christ is crucial in experiencing what it means to be Christian. In the 105 verses of his first letter, John uses the word "know" 42 times. With the emphasis of the word being "an intimate knowledge," John desires that the first readers of his letter to understand the doctrine of Christ. Specifically, he wants them to know, to experience, the manifestation of God in their lives. To teach any other belief accept God being manifested in the flesh is to be an opponent of the life of Christ.

The little phrase, in him (referring to being in Christ), occurs 28 times in the 105 verses of 1 John signifying again the importance of the doctrine of Christ in the life of the believer. John also admonished the first readers to "abide" in Christ. The word abide is found 25 times in the 105 verses. When the exact meaning of abide is understood, "to stay (in a given place, state, relation or expectancy)," John is actually warming them to continue in Christ, to continue in the instructions of Christ. For example, he wrote, "Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father" (1 John 2:24). The words, abide, remain, and continue are all translated off of the same original word meaning "to stay." For the believer to experience continually the manifestation of God in his flesh, he must not only be in Christ but he must continually stay or remain in Christ.

How does one know (42 times) that he is abiding (25 times) in him (28 times)? He has a witness, "the Spirit raining upon him producing the kinship of his existence." Or, as it is translated by the King James Version, "And there are three that bear witness in earth, the spirit, and the water, and the blood: and these three agree in one" (1 John 5:8). John summarized that work of the Holy Spirit in the fellowship of believers in one word, love. Thirty-three times, John used "love" illustrating how Christ is manifested, once again, in the flesh. As Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35).

The writings of John is about knowing, abiding, and loving in Him.

I am a Christian. But, what does that mean? Ultimately, it is a statement that I am of the persuasion that God, the essence of all things, came down to the material world in the form of a man. In doing so, he revealed himself on the physical, as opposed to the spiritual, realm of life. By this self-imposed disclosure, he made himself known in the earthly, as opposed to the heavenly, domain. God took on the robe of flesh that all flesh might experience (to know) the God who is the Creator of all things.

Since I am a Christian, I believe the ultimate expression of God coming down to the material world occurred in a man we now know as Jesus of Nazareth. Born of humble origins over 2,000 years ago, he spent the days of his life virtually unknown by the world of his generation. His simple life was brought to a climatic end when he was put to death as a common criminal. Then, the miracle of miracles occurred. He was resurrected from the dead and ascended back to heaven, beyond the earthly domain to become the quickening Spirit of life for all men.

The man Jesus, his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension is the ultimate revelation of God to the physical, earthly realm. He is the Christ--the anointed One, the means by which the created universe experiences God. He is the ultimate expression of God in the world.

If I am to know God and his ways in this earthly realm, I must experience the Christ. I must come to know Jesus intimately. The Expression of God, the Son of God embodied in Jesus, must become my breath and my heartbeat--my all in all.

I believe experiencing Jesus brings all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of the ways of God. What he says is always consistent with the nature of his being, his words can be trusted. They reveal all the essence of an infinite God that can be comprehended by a finite mind. His expression is defined as the words of eternal life.

God, in Jesus, became man that man might experience God. The Word, the Expression of God full of grace and truth, became flesh that flesh might receive His fullness, might be born from above. Man can experience the heavenly realm because he experiences the Heavenly Being.

Experiencing the heavenly realm is only possible by experiencing Him who came from above. Experiencing the nature of God is possible only by an act of God enabling man to receive the Heavenly: "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12,13).

Receiving the power to become a son or a daughter of God never occurs of blood. Man does not become a son of God in the sense that he is of the same nature as God, a descendent of God. Man does not become a son of God by becoming God.

There is only one begotten Son of God. There is only one Son who is of the same nature as His Father, the Word made flesh, Jesus Christ. However, man can experience son-ship, thereby experiencing the heavenly realm, because the only begotten Son of God came to man. The Son comes within the vessel, comes within your life, thereby allowing the vessel to became an adopted son or daughter.

Neither does man receive the power to become a son of God by the will of the flesh. Man does not become a son of God out of his effort or his determination. Perhaps the most difficult lesson for man to learn is the simple fact that he cannot achieve or determine his son-ship in God. He cannot achieve or determine his entrance into the kingdom of God, nor his continuance. He may be able to corrupt his son-ship but he cannot make it happen.

Man, within himself, will always attempt to achieve and to determine the quality of his life, the quality of son-ship in God, by his own effort to experience life. However, John has declared that becoming a son of God is not "of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." There is nothing that man can do to produce the "power to become the sons of God." Man, the earthly, does not have it within himself to produce the heavenly--to produce the quality of life he desires.

The good life man desires to experience must actually be the Life of the Son of God living within the man. Therefore, man can be called a son because the Son of God is the nature of man’s existence. He can experience son-ship because he experiences the Life of the Son--the expression of God.

Perhaps, the most influential person in the mystical thought of the Eastern mind-set was a young man who witnessed the self-inflicted starvation of his parents. They believed that the spirit, the essence of life, was trapped within their bodies. For them to experience ultimate goodness, the spirit must be set free from the evilness of the body. They were willing to torture the body by depriving it of necessary nutrition to end its restriction upon the spirit. 

The child of these parents went on to impact greatly the thinking of much of Eastern mysticism. It has also been suggested that his thoughts on life greatly affected Plato in the Western world. The writings of Plato, in turn, influenced much of Christianity beginning in the middle ages. The belief that the physical body is in some way evil, serves only to entrap the spirit, and eventually the spirit will be set free from the body has its roots in the mind-set of the Eastern world.

According to the Revelation of God, the body is not evil. It was created by God and declared to be good (Gen. 1:31). God constructed a physical body for man in which the Spirit of God could be experienced. He also prepared a physical world in which man was to spend the days of his life. Without the physical body and the physical world, flesh and blood beings do not exist.

Although the body is temporal and prone to decay, it nevertheless is the vehicle in which creation experiences the Creator. The uniqueness of this arrangement is the mystery that ". . . though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed . . ." (2 Cor. 4:16). Ultimately, it is to experience the mystery of mysteries—the resurrection of the body. Every time a seed (an external body in which the essence of life is enclosed) falls to the ground and dies, the essence of life within brings forth a new body.

It is not the elimination of the body, the spirit set free from the body, that enables the essence of all that is life to be experienced; it is the continual dying of the body to be raised in newness of life that is the crowning moment of experiencing the glory of life. As one of the early followers of Jesus said, "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh" (2 Cor. 4:10,11). The Revelation of God, the experiencing of Jesus, is always in death and resurrection of the outward body.

What it means to be a human being is to have a flesh and blood body that has been quickened by the breath of God. After God had formed the first man out of the dust of the earth, He then "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul" (Gen. 2:7). With living soul literally meaning "breathing creature," man experiences life because he experiences the breath of life—the Spirit of God. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the quickening breath of life, that enables all men to live.

The writers of both the Old and New Testaments knew what was the quickening essence of life for all men. In perhaps the oldest book in the Bible, Job said, ". . . my breath is in me, and the Spirit of God is in my nostrils . . ." (27:3). He also stated, "The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life" (33:4). Daniel proclaimed, "God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways. . ." (5:23). Isaiah penned, "Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein" (42:5). John wrote, "In Him [the Word of God] was life; and the life was the light of men" (1:4) and "That was the true Light [the Word of God], which lighteth every man that cometh into the world" (1:9). Finally, Paul boldly proclaimed that God "giveth to all life, and breath, and all things" (Acts 17:25) and "For in him [all nations of the earth] live, and move, and have [their] being . . ." (Acts 17:28).

The indwelling Holy Spirit is the quickening essence of life within every man. The Father thought, the Son expressed, and the Holy Spirit consummated the completed work of creation. Although to experience God you will always bear ". . . about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus . . ." and you will always be "delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake," the mortality of your body will lose its sting. The grave will have no ultimate victory because you will experience the life of Jesus being manifested in your body. The indwelling Holy Spirit, the Life within the seed, will produce for you a new body. You will be transfigured, transformed, changed to the image of the Lord of glory in this life. You will experience the manifestation of Jesus Christ in the flesh.

The simple flower of the Morning Glory proclaims the challenge of life and the power of God’s salvation. As the dawning rays of the sun penetrate its surrounding, the petals of the flower open to the glow of the sunlight. The increasing warmth and brightness of the sun causes the flower to raise its head, spread its petals, and reach up to its source of life. Through the power of the sun, the glory of the flower is perfected. As the sun comes forth to bring the full glory of the flower, the setting of the sun causes the flower to respond in diminishing shades of glory. As the light of the day begins to fade, the petals of the Morning Glory begin to draw in unto itself. With the passing of dusk and the approach of midnight, the flower bends its head, gathers its petals, and prepares for the night. Eventually, the flower will bow in perfect submission.

In perhaps one of the greatest messages of the Christian faith on record, Peter quoted David in explaining the events of the day of Pentecost: "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance" (Acts 2:25-28).

Understanding the ways of life is to understand the Morning Glory. Throughout the day and the night, the summer and the winter, the cold and the heat, and the seedtime and the harvest, this simple flower lives the duration of its life in perfect glory to God. The Morning Glory, without the capability to observe and to make judgment on what is occurring in its life, lives its entire existence in simple harmony with its Creator. In the innocence of its being, it stands in the glory in which it was created.

Peter, again, understanding the ways of life wrote, "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you" (1 Pet. 5:10). Like the Morning Glory, we too can experience God’s eternal glory by Christ Jesus.

For example, plant a tomato seed in the ground. The outer casing or husk of the seed must rot or decay before the essence of life within the seed can come forth with tender sprouts of life. One pushes up through the ground seeking the light of the sun. Another one pushes into the soil seeking water and nutrients. Without this struggle for light and water, it does not survive. This struggle is what it means to be a created entity. It is the fact of any created existence.

Eventually, the essence of the seed comes forth from the earth into the heaven producing a full grown tomato plant. Hanging on the branches of the plant are fully developed tomatoes. They are the glory of the tomato plant. The mature tomatoes are the fullest possible manifestation of life the tomato plant can experience.

Within each tomato are many seeds. Within each seed is the same life that was in the seed that was planted in the ground to start the cycle of life. Although individual tomato plants with their tomatoes live and die, the essence of life within the seed is eternal. This is the eternal glory to which we have been called.

As God uses the circumstances of life to bring man to his germination moment, man finds himself at the judgment of Christ in which his soul is brought into the balance of heaven and hell. By not resisting the dying of the old existence, the judgment of Christ will always bring newness of life. As Peter stated, "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you" (1 Pet. 5:10). In a world of trouble, perplexities, persecutions, and being put down, the believer can be completed, confirmed, strong, and have a firm foundation because he has experienced the heavenly. He has been raised to newness of life.

Refusing or resisting what God is doing by the circumstances of life, the judgment of Christ will always bring damnation to life. As Peter stated, "Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour" (1 Pet. 5:8). Once the mind begins to escalate its worrisome thoughts over current circumstances, the soul becomes intoxicated with anxiety. The mind runs out of control and "sleep won’t come the whole night through." Instead of living in the peace and rest of a sound mind controlled by the Holy Spirit, the soul is being devoured by the imaginations of the mind. It is overwhelmed by its own created world of destruction.

The circumstances that bring the good and the circumstances that bring the bad are the same circumstances. The living of life will always bring man to this germination process. "But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you." By the true grace of God, the believer can come through this moment of destiny, the germination of new life, with the cry, "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? The sting of death has been conquered by the grace of God in the innocence mind. It is the power of salvation as Jesus comes to deliver His people.

A few hours before His death, Jesus told his disciples that He was going to have to leave them. Then, He said, "I will come again." (John 14:3). When Jesus was taken up into the heavens by the Father, two men in white apparel told the disciples who were witnessing the ascension, "Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall come again in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven" (Acts 1:11).

The return of Christ is probably the most dominant theme in the New Testament, especially if importance is measured by the number of times a subject is mentioned. The return of Jesus is referred to over 300 times. The expectancy of the coming of Christ is found in every letter and book of the New Testament.

Peter wrote, "That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:7). James inscribed, "Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh" (James 5:8). Paul recorded, "And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23). John penned, "And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming" (1 John 2:28). Jude communicated , "Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints" (Jude 14). Finally, the Bible closes it record with, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22.20).

Jesus Himself talked of his return: "I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also" (John 14:2,3). He added, "I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you" (John 14:18). Finally, He stated, "Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you" (John 14:28).

There are three keys words that were used by the early followers of Jesus when they talked of the coming of Christ. The most dominant of the three words is usually translated "coming." Surprisingly, it is not translated from the word meaning, "to come" or "to go," as if you are in one place and need to go to another place. The key word that is most often used to translate the "coming of Christ" means, "a being near." The King James Version translates the original word as "coming" and "presence." The coming of Christ is to experience the nearness or presence of Christ.

The second most often used word in the "coming of Christ" is translated from the word meaning, "disclosure." The root of this word means, "to take off the cover, i.e. disclose." It is translated by the King James Version as "appearing," "coming," "lighten," "manifestation," "be revealed," and "revelation." The coming of Christ is the disclosure of Christ. The original word is where we get our word apocalypse. The revelation of Jesus Christ came to be understood in the apocalyptic events of the destruction of the present evil age to usher in the new age of peace, joy, and righteousness. Thus, the last book of the New Testament is the "Revelation" of Jesus Christ--the apocalypse of Jesus Christ.

The third word used in the "coming of Christ" is translated from a word meaning, "a manifestation." It is translated by the King James Version as "appearing" and "brightness." As Paul wrote, "then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming" (2 Thess 2:8). Wickedness is always "rendered entirely useless" (destroyed) with the manifestation (brightness) of his presence (coming).

The early followers knew that Jesus had promised that He would return to them. He had said, "I will not leave you comfortless; I will come to you." They believed that Jesus had not only returned to them by the Holy Spirit on the Jewish Feast of Pentecost, but they also believed that the revelation of His presence would be manifested every time the present condition of life needed to be brought to an end and a new beginning experienced. They knew Jesus would come into their world and save them. They lived their lives in the expectancy of the coming of Christ.

For example, when Paul was in Athens because he had been forced to leave Thessalonica by envious nonbelievers, he wrote back to the Thessalonian disciples and raised a penetrating question (1 Thess. 2:19,20). In the midst of persecution and affliction (an apocalyptic event), he ask them, "what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?" He answered the question for them: "Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at his coming?" Then, simply stated, "For ye are our glory and joy." Experiencing the manifestation of Jesus Christ in their relationship, the nearness of Christ had produced such glory that in the midst of the afflictions Paul was experiencing hope and joy. Is it any wonder then that the early followers continually lived in the expectancy of Jesus--the coming of Christ.

During the earthly ministry of Jesus, He took Peter, James, and John up into a mountain apart from the crowd. While they were there suddenly the face of Jesus began to shine as the sun. His clothing became white as the light. They were witnessing a transfiguration of Jesus: who He was in the true essence of Himself, the Son of God, shining through his robe of flesh in a moment of visible glory.

It is not a coincidence that Paul uses the same word in his admonition to the Roman saints that is translated transfigured in the experience of Peter, James, and John with Jesus. Paul stressed, "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (12:2). The good, acceptable, and perfect will of God occurs in the believer’s life only when the mind has been renewed. This restoring of the mind to its original state of innocence is how the believer experiences his transfiguration.

Paul uses the same word again in his Corinthian correspondence to tell how this process actually occurs in those who are having their mind renewed. He wrote, "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Cor 3:17,18). It is the Holy Spirit that transfigures, transforms, changes the believer. As one comes face to face with Jesus as standing before a mirror, the glory of Jesus is reflected in the believer by the Spirit of the Lord.

The Holy Spirit was sent by the heavenly Father for one reason, to reveal, to produce His Son Jesus Christ in the lives of all men. It is the hope of every man. As Paul stated to those same Corinthians, "The first man [Adam] is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly" (1 Cor. 15:47-49). We will be "conformed to the image of his Son" (Rom. 8:29).

The Holy Spirit is the means by which the Thought (God, the Father) and the Expression (God, the Son) is implemented into the created world. Because the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father (the Spirit of God) and from the Son (the Spirit of Christ) and speaks not of Himself, His personality, a personal God, is often misunderstood. He is sometimes considered merely as a substance, a blessing, a feeling, or an influence. The Revelation of God, however, reveals that the Holy Spirit has personal traits just as the Father and the Son.

The early followers of Jesus understood the personality of the Holy Spirit. They knew He also had thoughts, emotions, and will. Paul wrote to the Romans that ". . . he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit . . ." (8:27). The Holy Spirit has mind. To the Ephesians, he admonished, "And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God" (4:30). The Holy Spirit has emotion. In the Corinthian letter, Paul stressed, "But all these worked that one and the selfsame Spirit, dividing to every man severally as he will" (12:11). The Holy Spirit has a will. He exhibits all the attributes of a personality.

Personal activities are also ascribed to the Holy Spirit. The Old and New Testaments experienced the Holy Spirit functioning as a person. They saw Him as striving (Gen.6:3), teaching (John 14:26), testifying (John 15:26), and reproving (Acts 9:31). He also guides (Rom. 8:14), comforts (Acts 9:31), helps (Rom. 8:26), and sanctifies (Rom. 15:16). The Holy Spirit performs activities that are ascribed only to personalities.

Jesus, the Revelation of God, emphasized the personhood of the Holy Spirit when He promised, "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever" (John 14:16). Just as Jesus was real among his followers so that they heard Him with their ears, saw Him with their eyes, and touched Him with their hands, so is the Holy Spirit real among believers also. The Holy Spirit was to be among the believers just as Jesus had been with them.

He would be a personal companion, friend, teacher, and guide as the visible Jesus. As Jesus is a real person, the Holy Spirit is a real person possessing all the attributes and activities of personality. He brings to consummation the working of God in the physical world. The Thought of God and the Expression of God are applied by the Holy Spirit to all creation. The Holy Spirit is the Great Consummation of all the ages. The Holy Spirit is how you have God dwelling within you.

It is within the realm of a seed falling to the ground to die in order that it may be raised to newness of life that the challenges of life exist. When man is taken to the end of a current moment of existence, he is at the germinating point of life. The circumstances which he is now facing bring his soul into the balance of heaven or hell. What occurs in this time of judgment for man determines what he experiences in his life. It will either be the coming forth of Jesus or the coming forth of the beast within man.

This point of germination, one’s current realm of perceived existence being brought to an end usually by the intrusion of another person, is the moment of judgment that all men must face. Every man will find himself continually at the crossroads of defending his current existence from the encumbrance of others or willingly experience the death of that existence through the control of his mind by the Spirit of God. The dying of this old existence by the turbulence of another will always bring newness of life, the coming of the Jesus, between the two participants. Refusing or resisting that interference always brings greater agitation and separation between the two. Every man stands before the judgment seat of Christ in these challenging moments of life or death.

Since created man has both the nature of the beast and the nature of God within his make up, the challenge of life becomes very simple. Either, we will live life willing to die, if necessary, to protect our domain from others, or we will live life not resisting God in his exposure of our domain for others. To live for ourselves (protecting our survival and our rights) is beastly, but to live for others (not defending ourselves and open for rejection) is divine.

As Peter said, concerning people experiencing the life of living for others, ". . . ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light" (2:9). He had just told them that ". . . as lively stones, [they were being] built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (2:5). It is participating in the priesthood of life.

Being a priest is to offer sacrifices for others and to be the vessel by which God reveals Himself to others. Every man is a priest by the simple fact of being created by God to experience His life in relationships. The original formation of man reveals the need of another person to experience the fullness of life. Living for others is not a conscious choice we make. It has been embedded in our make up by the God who created us. This need for others (be it pure or corrupt) is experienced by every human being.

When the nature of the beast (the protection of what we have created in an attempt to live life) rises to power, we will attempt to serve our priesthood by safeguarding our own survival. It means we will use others in an attempt to experience the life we have created in our minds. If so, it is a priesthood (serving the need to connect to others) but it is not a holy priesthood. It is corrupted because we are using the object of our priesthood, other people, for the survival of our created way of life.

The true priesthood of God takes on the nature of God. The nature of God within man that propels him to not resist what God is doing in his life, transforming him to the image of His Son Jesus Christ. That transformation process occurs in the mystery and secret of life, the willingness to be taken down by God to be raised to newness of life for others. It is how the heavenly Jesus comes to be experienced in the physical world.

The willingness to experience this priesthood is not a conscious choice. It is the given fact of everything created. The free will of man is not that he has freedom to choose for this priesthood to happen or not to happen. Being taken down for the needs of others is and always will be that which is happening because it is an established fact of creation. Our world will be put down continually because it is the nature of everything created—except the seed falls to the ground and dies, new life cannot come.

The free will of man enables man to resist that process in his mind. Man cannot resist the sovereign power of God. However, in the realm of imagination, which is not real and has no validity, man creates his own world in which he attempts to control his life. In that realm, the fantasy world of make believe, man can resist God and prohibit the process of being taken down.

Thus, when he faces trouble on every side, perplexities, persecutions, and being put down, he will resist. In his mind (which will be expressed in words), he will fight for the survival of his way of life and protect his rights with malice, guile, deceit, jealousy, and defamation. He is still being put down, but he satisfies himself that he has kept himself standing. He has defended his actions and change (new life) for him does not occur.

The holy priest of God, however, does not resist what God is doing and actually submits to the other by suffering the affliction that is being put on him. Forasmuch as Christ suffered for us in the flesh that we might be saved, we arm ourselves with the same mind of Christ that those which are causing us to suffer might be saved. It is how spiritual sacrifices are made by the priests of God. The interaction between people actually becomes the scared things of the heavenly temple. It is how God dwells among His people in the spiritual house of God. It is the continual coming of Jesus into our lives by the Holy Spirit. It is how the world sees God.

The experiencing of God is the marvel of the revelation of Himself to man. God is omniscient. He is all-knowing in that He knows Himself and all things possible. He is literally the knowing of all things. God is omnipresent. He is present everywhere. He is not only present everywhere but everywhere God is, all of Him is there. At the same time all of Him is there, He is everywhere. God is omnipotent. He is absolute. He u is the only source of power. God is Father – the omniscient knowing of all things, God is Son – the expression that is everywhere present, and God is Holy Spirit – the power source that energizes every created entity.

Although He cannot be localized to exist in only one place, He often reveals Himself in what has been called His glory in one place. For example, when Moses expressed a desire to see the glory of God, God said to him,

Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts [that which has been expressed]: but my face shall not be seen. (Ex. 33:20-23)

The presence of God is expressed by other manifestations in what is called the glory of God. It appeared to the Children of Israel when God led them from Egypt by a pillar of cloud and fire (Ex. 13, 14). His presence was manifested as a cloud which vindicated Moses against the murmuring Children of Israel just before God gave them quail and manna (Ex. 24:16). The glory of God covered Mount Sinai as a thick cloud and thundering as Moses communed with God concerning the ten commandments (Ex. 24:16). When the tabernacle and, in turn, the temple was built, God appeared as a cloud upon the mercy-seat which was on the ark in the Holy of Holies (Lev. 16).

This cloud of glory appeared so many times in the history of Israel they coined a word to signify the visible manifestation of the invisible God. The word, which is of Hebrew origin, comes from the idea of "dwelling." To the Children of Israel, the place where God dwells in His glory is the "shekinah"– the presence of God among them.

God manifested His shekinah glory in the wilderness journey, by the thick cloud with thunder and lightening in the Mount Sinai experience, by the cloud hovering over and filling the tabernacle so Moses could not enter, by the cloud that filled the temple built by Solomon so the priest could not minister, by the smoke that filled the house in Isaiah’s vision, and by the whirlwind, the great cloud, and the fire in Ezekiel’s vision. To the Children of Israel, the dwelling place of God was the shekinah glory of God.

I think it can be said that the children of God today need to see the same skekinah glory. But, what does it look like. In the Old Testament, it was represented by a cloud. How is the presence of God seen today?

In the early followers of Jesus there was something far more significant than seeing the cloud, the hearing of the thunder, the smelling of the smoke, the feeling of the fire, and the tasting of the sacrifices. One of the early followers of Jesus gave a clue to this greater truth when he said, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory of the only begotten of the Father) . . ." (John 1:14).

What did they see? Did John and the other disciples see something that the multitude could not see? For in the eyes of the majority, there was no glory, only humiliation. He was a poor woman’s son. He remained in poverty all the days of his life. He died the death of a common criminal. There was nothing in His appearance, nothing in His clothing, nothing in His associations, nothing in His outer circumstances that would justify in the eyes of the people the expression, "we beheld his glory."

What did John and the other disciples see? Somehow they knew Jesus was not the terrifying thunder and lightening on Mount Sinai, but the source of that thunder and lightening. They knew He was not the brightness of the pillar of fire, but the originator of that fire. They knew He was not the dazzling cloud that filled the tabernacle, but the fountain of that cloud. They knew He was the real essence of the thundering, the fire, and the cloud. He was the shekinah glory of God manifested in human flesh.

They came to know that the incomprehensible, invisible God (the Conception) was making Himself known (the Expression) in a comprehensible, visible manifestation of Himself (the Consummation). Jesus was the manifestation of God in a mortal body. He is Emmanuel – God dwelling among men. But, then, how is that dwelling place made visible today, and how do we experience the manifestation of God today?

In perhaps one of the most descriptive passage of Scripture concerning the experiencing of God, Jesus said,

My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work. Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. (John 4:34-38)

Jesus began by saying, "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work." Later in His priestly prayer to the Father, He prayed ". . . I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do" (John 17:4). Approximately, one week before Jesus died on the cross, He stated that He had finished His work. In that same prayer, He prayed, "I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me out of the world: thine they were, and thou gavest them me; and they have kept thy word" (17:6). Four times in this one verse, He mentioned the object of His work: "men," "they," "them," and "they." Amazingly, to modern culture, it seems Jesus left the glory world and came to this world just to enter into the lives of a very few people. His "meat," His desire, His purpose was to share the Father with basically about twenty people

After Jesus stated, "[My] meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work," He then gave the Christian mandate for experiencing eternal life. This experiencing of the Holy Spirit among people is how the lost world is saved. Jesus said,

Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together. And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth. I sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours. (John 4:35-38

In the current Christian world, it is assumed by many, when Jesus said "one soweth, and another reapeth," He was referring to preachers sowing and reaping. For example, one evangelist would often sow seeds of the gospel but would not see any results. Then some time later, a second evangelist would come along and reap the harvest of the previous evangelist. Thus, it is assumed "that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together" meant that both preachers should rejoice.

Even with that understanding, if the truth was known, not too many preachers want to be the sower. Most would want to be the reaper, as accolades are never given to the sowers. Such thinking, however, should have been a clue that something was wrong with this understanding of the passage.

The new believer should be the one rejoicing. Could it be possible that in this works-oriented world of the visible church today, the gospel has become so perverted that the emphasis has shifted from the one who needs help to the ones who are assumed to be the helpers? It seems that religion always puts the emphasis on the wrong things.

The second erroneous assumption that many make on this passage of Scripture is in the statement "And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal." It is usually preached that the receiving of wages and the gathering of fruit unto eternal life is in the life to come. These wages are to be the rewards received in the world to come for the effort put forth to win the lost in this world. However, the verbs in the phrase ‘’he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal" are in the present tense. These are not something that the reaper will receive in the future. They are to be received as the sowing and reaping occur. The receiving of wages and the gathering of fruit is a reference to the quality of life received in the sowing and the reaping.

He that reaps is paid at the time of the reaping. Jesus is actually giving a vital clue as to how one experiences Him as Life. He is giving a clue to how one experiences God. He is revealing the essence of how one encounters eternal life, encounters salvation for the world.

The fruit that the reaper gathers is the experiencing of Eternal Life, the experiencing of the Holy Spirit. The New Testament consistently portrays that the fruit experienced by the believer is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance. The manifestation of Jesus on the inside working on the outside is always the fruit of the Spirit, the characteristics of the Son of God. The wages received for reaping is the experiencing of the life of Christ. It is experiencing the true meaning of life, which always brings salvation.

The good news is that both he that "soweth" and he that "reapeth" will rejoice. Jesus reveals the sower when He said, "Come unto me all ye that labour and are heavy laden . . ." (Matt. 11:28). Everyone who lives this life attempts to sow seeds of life. He that soweth" is not a preacher sowing the seeds of the gospel. ‘’He that soweth" is anyone who is putting forth effort to live.

This is the reason "both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together." The one who sows rejoices because he has been brought face to face with Jesus Christ, the Eternal One. He now experiences the love of God, the soul-satisfaction of which he seeks. He can rest from his yoke (sowing) because he is now experiencing the yoke of Christ. He is now experiencing eternal life in Jesus Christ.

The sower can come to experience this life because he will find someone to share his heartaches, someone to share the burdens he bears, and someone to enable him to be saved from the isolation of himself. The reaper, one who has already encountered Jesus Christ as the Life, shares Jesus with the laboring soul. It is not just a verbal sharing of Jesus in the mind. It is the sharing of life itself. The sharing of the love of God flowing in the relationship between the reaper and the sower. It is the experiencing of God.

It is this experiencing of Jesus that brings rejoicing both to the heart of the reaper and to the heart of the sower. It is in the connection between them that Jesus Christ, the Life, is encountered: "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them" (Matt. 18:20).

People everywhere are sowing seeds (laboring) to live, they just do not understand that the harvest of real living comes only in Jesus. Only those who have experienced Jesus as life can share Jesus for life. It actually takes both the sower and the reaper to experienced the true life that all desire. To those who have already put on His "yoke of life," Jesus said, "I have sent you to reap that whereon ye bestowed no labour: other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours."

You should look up and notice the people that God has already brought into your life. The family, the neighbor, the grocery clerk, the mailman, and the countless other people that you meet everyday. If you will listen closely ("Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest."), you will hear the hurting cries for help.

Just as Jesus entered into the lives of a few people (as many as the Father had given him [John 17:11]), Jesus seeks you to enter into the lives of those the Father brings to you. The Father is not asking you "to win the world for Jesus." He simply wants you to encounter His love with other people. He only asks that His love may be completed by you caring, sharing, and maybe just to wipe the tears from someone’s eyes.

The "meat" of everyone of us should be "to do the will of him that [sends us], and to finish his work." God’s will and God’s work is for each of us to allow Jesus to manifest His love with them that God has brought into our lives (John 17:2-6). Reaching out with our lives to our friends, our neighbor, and our family members (getting involved with just a few) can change the world.

Experiencing the love of God in intimate personal relationships has changed the world in the past and it can change the world again. The simple experiencing of Jesus Christ in the connections of life is how the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the World. It is how we experience God.

There is a reoccurring theme that runs throughout the pages of history from Genesis to Revelation. It transpires from the beginning of our days to the coming disclosure of Jesus in our lives. It has its roots in the story of Adam and Abraham, the fathers of all humanity and all believers. It is the hope of all things physical and the essence of all things spiritual. It is the real story of the Bible, historical events and future anticipations coming to fruition in the present reality of our souls.

The stories of the Bible are not just historical events. They are also the stories of your life. You are there in the garden of Eden when the serpent whispers its deception. You are there in the wandering of Abraham in a place that you cannot call home. You are there in the deliverance out of the bondage of Egypt to go through the struggles of the wilderness experience to arrive in the promised land. You are there in the suffering of Christ and the glory that follows. The story of the written record is the current story of your life.

God spoke to Moses and said, "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering . . . And let them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them . . . According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle" (Ex. 25-2). After giving Moses further instructions concerning the things and the practices of the sacred place, God said, "And look that thou make them after their pattern, which was shown thee in the mount" (Ex. 25:24).

The physical temple that Moses built was constructed from the pattern which was the true temple "which the Lord pitched, and not man" as the writer of Hebrews stated (Heb. 8:2). Christ, the greater High Priest, did "not [enter] into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24).

Peter added, "Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 2:5). Because we wander through this physical land not with our eyes set upon the building or rebuilding of a physical temple but the experiencing of God in the true temple not built with hands, we, as lively stones, "are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ."

In this very moment, in every moment of our lives, we are "to present [to stand beside, i.e. to exhibit] [our] bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is [our] reasonable service." (Rom. 12:1). In the true temple, in the heavenly sanctuary, sacrifices are continually being offered, each moment of our lives, by Jesus Christ, in Jesus Christ: "Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway[s] delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then death worketh in us, but life in you" (2 Cor. 4:10-13)

When the suffering of life comes, be it the pain of the death of our physical bodies or the pain of the death of our dependency upon physical things, the spiritual sacrifices of the true temple of God are being offered. The interactions that continually transpire between people, all people, are the sacred things of this sacred temple.

We are continually offered as spiritual sacrifices. In our relationships where we experience the joy of living, we are continually dying to our self-serving interactions if we are to experience the glory of the relationship. Because Jesus Christ is always there to bring about the events of life that enable us to experience the joy of the coming of His life, He is the high priest of this true sanctuary. "Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator" (1 Pet. 4:19).

Jesus said, "Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit" (John 12:24). It is within the realm of a seed falling to the ground to die in order that it may be raised to newness of life that the challenge of spiritual sacrifices exists. This germinating point of life, one’s current realm of perceived existence being brought to an end by the intrusion of another person, is the moment of judgment that all men must face.

Every man will find himself continually at the crossroads of defending his current existence from the encumbrance of others or willingly experience the death of that existence through the control of his mind by the Spirit of God. The dying of this old existence by the turbulence of another will always bring newness of life between the two participants. Refusing or resisting that intrusion always brings greater agitation of separation between the two. One is heaven and the other is hell.

The successful navigation of these confrontational moments are so critical that Jesus said, ". . . fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28). It is never that which we experience physically that destroys our souls. It is always how we are responding to those physical incitements that devour our peace.

Peter recognized this great truth by not only stating that the believer should "gird up the loins of their mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace, that is to be brought unto [them] at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Pet. 1:13). He also admonished them six times in his first short letter to recognize the dangers of going through the germination process, the death and resurrection of the soul. It is in the heat of a confrontation that the temptation to frustrate grace occurs.

Those who trust in the Lord for the resurrection of new life know the temptation to resist the planting of the seed. They know the temptation to not give up any ground in the heat of the confrontation. In the midst of these challenging moments of spiritual sacrifices, the true believer in Christ passes the time of this journey in apprehension. Although he approaches the throne of grace with boldness, he nevertheless understands the weakness of his flesh and in fear of that weakness cries out for the Spirit of God to be his strength. He knows he has an "inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven . . ." (1 Pet. 1:4) only if he is "kept by the power of God through faith"(1 Pet. 1:5) unto the death and resurrection of his soul.

It is as John stated in our passage of Scriptures for this Bible study, "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith." As the seed is being planted, the temptation to resist this spiritual sacrifice can be conquered. The conquest (victory) of the germinating process (overcoming the world) creates one that is born of God. Experiencing the love of God in the sacrifices of the true sanctuary brings spiritual life to our physical being. Created with a physical body and quickened by a spiritual presence, we can live the days of our lives in the completeness of His Spirit.

I am a Christian. I am of the persuasion that God, the essence of all that is, came down to the material world in the form of a man. We now know this man as Jesus of Nazareth. Born of humble origins over 2,000 years ago, he spent the days of his life virtually unknown by the world of his generation. Although he never transcribed a single word of his sayings, his words have been recorded that people of every age may hear. Even though he never printed a single page of his teachings, his proclamations were soon written to be kept for following generations to read. While he lived and died in an inconspicious place, the life and times of Jesus have been uniquely preserved for all peoples and for all times.

What makes this record of Jesus so phenomenal is that the early followers of Jesus recognized Him as being totally human. As recorded in the Gospels, they knew Jesus not as some unearthly, half man and half god creature. They knew him as a man among men. For example, the most common name for the founder of Christianity was simply Jesus, which is found over 600 times in the Gospels. As opposed to the name Jesus Christ being found only 4 times. The people who knew him, lived with him, walked with him, and ate with him knew him to be as common a man in his humanity as they were.

John the Baptist said of Jesus when he saw Him, "This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me" (John 1:30). The woman at the well in Samaria ask others to "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the [Messiah] (John 4:29). The man who was born blind but later healed by Jesus explained, "A man that is called Jesus made clay, and anointed mine eyes, and said unto me, Go to the pool of Siloam, and wash: and I went and washed, and I received sight" (John 9:11). In perhaps the greatest sermon recorded by a Christian preacher, Peter proclaimed, "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know" (Acts 2:22). Even Paul, several years later, stated, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (1 Tim. 2:5). The early followers of Jesus did not hesitate in calling Jesus a man.

They knew also that something special was at work in the man Jesus. From the beginning of His conception throughout the rest of His days, the Gospels writers recorded the supernatural mediation of God into His life. At the birth of Jesus, when Joseph was going to conceal the fact that his wife to be was with child, an angel of the Lord appeared to him and said, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost" (Matt. 1:20). When Jesus was being baptized of John at the beginning of His earthy ministry, "the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased" (Luke 2:22). His actual ministry began when immediately after His baptism, Luke records that "Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness" (Luke 4:1). Luke would also record that after Jesus had successful conquered the temptation in the wilderness He "returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee . . ." (Luke 4:11). Finally, at the end of His earthly ministry just before He ascended, Luke stated that he had written to Theophilus "all that Jesus began both to do and teach, Until the day in which he was taken up, after that he through the Holy Ghost had given commandments unto the apostles whom he had chose" (Luke 1:1,2).

Conceived by the Holy Spirit in his entrance into this world and taken up by the Holy Spirit as He physically departed this world, Jesus spent the entire days of His earthly life in the enabling power of the Spirit of God. It was as Peter preached on that great day of Pentecost: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you . . ."(Acts 2:22). Peter also proclaimed to the first Gentiles believers, "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him" (Acts 10:38).

Jesus was a man in whom God performed many mighty works as He yielded His life to the Holy Spirit. It was as John recorded, "This is he that came by water and blood, even Jesus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the Spirit is truth" (1 John 5:6). The witness of God is the working of the Holy Spirit in the life of a man.

The emphases of the letters of John (love, abide, know) can also be seen in Paul’s letter to the Corinthians. He wrote, "Now concerning spiritual gifts [italicized in KJV, meaning not in the original text], brethren, I would not have you ignorant." Coupled with his later statement, "Wherefore I give you to understand," he wanted to see in the lives of the Corinthians a knowledge of the spiritual realm. They, evidently, needed enlightenment that would bring their focus back to experiencing the love of God. They, evidently, had fallen into the trap of believing abundant life could be found in an individual participating in some act or deed.

It seems that the Corinthians, in demonstrating excessive individualistic behavior, were returning to the same principles that guided their lives before they became Christians. For Paul began this discourse with "Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led" ( 1 Cor. 12:2). Voiceless or mute images (dumb idols) had carried them away. They had been and were again becoming deceived by that which has plagued man since his creation, an overactive mind.

Like the child who is traumatized, as he awakes out of sleep in the middle of the night, by an image on the wall, the Corinthians were beginning to focus on an image. In the case of the traumatized child, a powerless shadow reflected on the wall from a chair or some other object was bringing powerful emotional responses (alarm, fear, shock) out of the child. Although the image on the wall had no power within itself, the mind of the child gave the image power over the child.

The Corinthians, also, by an overactive mind, were giving power to an image that had no power. Without question, there was something powerful happening, but it was that which had been created by the mind. Just as in the fearful child who was being controlled by a powerless image on the wall, the Corinthians were becoming controlled once again by dumb idols that had no power.

It is not a coincidence that the Ten Commandments given to Moses began with "Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image . . . Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them . . ." (Exod. 20:4,5). There is little difference between carving an idol out of wood or stone and carving out an idol in the mind. Even an idol carved out of wood or stone becomes nothing if the mind does not give significance to it.

Ultimately, it is always the idols or images in the mind that are the deception. It is always the mind that is in opposition to the Spirit (Eze. 28:11-19; Gen. 3:1-7; John 9:39-41; and Rom. 12:1-3). Man will always be controlled either by a powerless image of the mind or controlled by the Spirit of God.

Since the beginning of time, man has always been deceived by an image or idol that appears to have great power. He perceives the image is powerful because his emotions are greatly stirred by the image. The dumb idol stirs the emotions only because the mind has given the image its allegiance. By successfully bowing down to what the mind has set up to be the image, the participant can "feel" the power of the image.

If proper allegiance can be given to the idol, the mind can take the participant to great heights of emotionalism. This worship of the image has great affect upon the man because he is emotionally experiencing what the mind has given him to be the answer. Deceived, he perceives the power has come from the image.

Just as the powerless image on the wall produced within the young child powerful emotions, man has let one image after another produce powerful emotions within his being. He has consistently carved out idols in his mind to replace the God that has created him. He serves the image gladly because he is, in fact, worshiping himself, the product of his own mind. With powerful emotions, he gladly bows down to the image because he believes it is the pathway to the blessings of life.

Paul saw that the Corinthians were once again carving out dumb idols that had no power. They were attempting to experience life in powerful emotional events that were individualistic in nature. They were losing the reality of experiencing the love of God manifested among the believers and were beginning to experience emotional highs that came from their individualistic accomplishments. Thus, Paul would write,

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass,
or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though
I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to
feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing. (I Cor. 13:1-3)

The dumb idol (a great speaker, a great scholar, a great faith, a great humanitarian, a great sacrifice, a great act, or a great thought) was giving them great emotional highs that seemed to come from the power of the idol itself. They were experiencing something powerful. It was not of God even though it was for God. Like the power that held the child traumatized from the image on the wall, it was being produced by their own minds.

To this group of people who had been and seemed to be once again returning to being "carried away unto . . . dumb idols," Paul wrote, "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed . . ." (12:3). With accursed meaning "a ban or excommunicate," Paul is saying that the Holy Spirit does not ban Jesus (the love of God) being manifested among them. He is telling the Corinthians that the edifying of the individual by receiving their manifestation as an individual is not the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit does not curse Jesus, does not ban Jesus, who is always manifested in the connections of love.

The edifying of the individual, as an individual, actually prohibits Jesus from communicating in the connections or the joints between people: "From whom [Christ] the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love" (Eph. 4:16). Jesus is manifested only in the joint and not in the manifestation of an individual. Consequently, an individual receives his sense of well-being not from individualistic behavior (the worship of some idol) but from experiencing the relationship of love.

The Corinthians were ignoring the edifying of the body (the edifying of each other in love) for the sake of the edifying of the individual (1 Cor. 14). Ignorantly, they were bringing the death of fragmentation and isolation upon themselves. They did not understand that abundant, continual life is only experienced in loving and being loved in relationships.

Unfortunately, they were misunderstanding the working of the Spirit. They seemed to be counting their blessing in the gratification of what they felt, as an individual, in religious deeds. They were making a graven image out of their individual efforts and experiences.

Sadly, because they were failing to experience Jesus in the connection, each individualistic effort or experience only drove them to greater displays of emotionalism to keep feeling the same high in their experience. They were once again being caught in the degenerating cycle of death with progressively greater effort or experience required to produce the same rush of life. With their focus on their individual idols, they were failing to experience Jesus being manifested among the people.

He also wrote to them that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost" (12:3). The Holy Spirit is the only One that can manifest Jesus as Lord, the One who supplies all the needs of the people. It is a manifestation that occurs not in the dumb idols of individualistic accomplishments but only in the joints between individuals: "And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God" (Col. 1:19). The edification of the body, thereby producing a sense of well-being in individuals of the body, comes from the nourishment ministered in the joints and bands. Life comes from the ligaments (bands) that connect the individuals, the manifestation of Jesus in the connection of love.

Love is less that which flows from one individual to another individual than it is that which two individuals experience together. When love is experienced between two, it leaves both with a sense of well-being, a sense of wholesomeness. It is both individuals experiencing the continual life of Jesus in the joints.

God came down to the material world in the form of a man. In doing so, he revealed himself on the physical, as opposed to the spiritual, realm. By this self-imposed disclosure, he made himself known in the earthly, as opposed to the heavenly, domain. God took on the robe of flesh that all flesh might experience (to know) the God who is the Creator of all things.

Since I am a Christian, I believe the ultimate expression of God coming down to the material world occurred in a man we now know as Jesus of Nazareth. Born of humble origins over 2,000 years ago, he spent the days of his life virtually unknown by the world of his generation. His simple life was brought to a climatic end when he was put to death like a common criminal. Then, the miracle of miracles occurred. He was resurrected from the dead and ascended back to heaven, beyond the earthly domain.

The man Jesus, his birth, life, death, resurrection, and ascension, is the ultimate revelation of God to the physical, earthly realm. He is the Christ--the anointed One, the means by which the created universe experiences God. He is the ultimate expression of God in the world.

If I am to know God and his ways in this earthly realm, I must experience the Christ. I must come to know Jesus intimately. The Expression of God must become my breath and my heartbeat--my all in all.

I believe experiencing Jesus brings all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge of the ways of God. What he says is always consistent with the nature of his being, his words can be trusted. They reveal all the essence of an infinite God that can be comprehended by a finite mind. His expression is defined as the words of eternal life.

In one of the most dynamic verses in all the Bible, John opens his gospel with, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." John is simply stating that the Word has always existed with God. Not only existing with God but the Word also from the beginning was God. Then, thirteen verses later, John states, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father) full of grace and truth." Finally, John closes his book by stating that it was written that the readers "might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God . . . ."

John uses specific terminology to explain this special relationship that Jesus of Nazareth had with God. In verse fourteen of Chapter 1, John calls the Word ". . . the only begotten of the Father." In verse eighteen of the same chapter, he calls the Word, ". . . the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father . . . ." In John 3:16, he states, ". . . God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son . . . ." In John 3:18, John proclaims Jesus to be ". . . the only begotten Son of God.

The Word of God reveals three different kinds of sons of God. Luke 3:38 states that Adam was the son of God. It was son-ship by creation. Romans 8:14,15 proclaims, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption." It is son-ship by adoption.

Jesus Christ is not the Son of God because he was created like Adam. He is not the son of God because he was adopted like believers who are led of the Spirit. Jesus Christ is the Son of God because he is the same essence as God. He is eternally in the "bosom of the Father." Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had no beginning. He was begotten of God by a birth that never took place. He is always the same nature as God.

John uses the term begotten to state that the Son is the same essence as his Father yet does not use the term to imply that the son ever experienced a birth: "In the beginning was the Word, and Word was with God, and the Word was God." Finally, John called the Word, ". . . the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father. It is son-ship by begottenness.

The first fourteen verses of John reveal the power and the glory of Jesus Christ. The eternal existence of the Word, from everlasting to everlasting, (verse one) was made flesh. The natural union of the Father and the Son, a union not by birth, not by creation, not by adoption, (verse two) was made flesh. The absolute deity of the Son, the power, the originator of all creation, (verse three) was made flesh. The life and light of men, quenching the imperfect lights of the Old Testament, (verses 4-9) was made flesh. The power and the authority to grant eternal life, sons of God not of natural descent, not of human decision, not of a husband’s will, but born of God, was made flesh. John is saying with all the profoundness of the truth itself that the eternal Son of God, the Creator of all the universe, the true light, the giver of eternal life was made flesh. John proclaimed He "dwelt among us" as Jesus of Nazareth--the Christ.

"What think ye of Christ? Whose son is He?" is the critical question of life. It is a question that Jesus Himself raised to a group of Pharisees. The Pharisees answered Jesus with their usual shallowness. They responded, "The Son of David."

To which, Jesus said, "How then doth David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool?" Jesus then added, "If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?" The gospel writer then recorded, "And no man was able to answer him a word . . . ." The nature of Jesus, the Christ, is a truth that cannot be comprehended by man’s logic or reason. It is a truth produced only by the revelation of God through Jesus Christ Himself.

The Son of God, whom we know as the Second Person of the Trinity, left the glory world and became flesh that man might experience what it means to be a son of God. He who was worthy to be worshiped by the host of heaven willingly became as one who must worship. He was willing to become a man (born as a man, live as a man, and die as a man) in order that men might be redeemed. Jesus Christ came into the material world to do the will of the Father and to do that will in the power of the Holy Spirit. He humbled Himself to the Father and to the Spirit to be the one mediator between God and man. The life of Jesus Christ serves as the example of perfect humbleness.

The virgin birth of Jesus begins the story of the greatest act of humility ever witnessed by man. With Jesus of Nazareth being totally God and totally man, the human person of Jesus did not exist until the union of the Divine and the human in his birth. According to John, the divine Word who possessed a divine nature from everlasting to everlasting assumed a human nature when He became flesh. Jesus became a fact of history when the pre-existent Son of God assumed human nature and took upon Himself a flesh and blood body. The person of Jesus began with His conception in the womb of the virgin Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.

When Joseph became concerned that his wife to be was "found with child," he did not know what to do with her. Should he "put her away privily?" An angel of the Lord answered his question: ". . . fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife . . . ." Then, the angel informed Joseph that this child to be born of Mary was in fulfillment of prophecy. For Isaiah had prophesied that ". . . the Lord himself shall give [Israel] a sign; Behold, a virgin [a young woman] shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel."

After quoting Isaiah, the angel interpreted what the name Immanuel meant, "God with us." It is what John meant when he wrote, "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us." The Word of God, the Son of God, assumed human flesh and now has both natures.

The miracle of the virgin birth is both divine and human. The conception of Jesus was supernatural. After the supernatural conception, the development of the impregnated egg of Mary was entirely natural. Jesus of Nazareth was conceived supernaturally but developed naturally.

When the egg of Mary was supernaturally impregnated by the power of the Holy Spirit, the person of Jesus became a reality. The union of the divine Word with a human nature became a fact of history. The ultimate expression of God now dwelling with man had occurred.

The personality of Jesus would become the seat of the union, the point of contact, between the two natures. Since Paul stated, "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," the Son of God would take on this humanity for eternity. The man Jesus had a beginning in His virgin birth, but He will have no ending. Perhaps, the greatest truth in the entire Bible is that the Son of God left the glory world to dwell in the tabernacle of flesh not just for a few short years but for the rest of eternity: "And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God."

The virgin birth of Jesus was a great act of humility. Jesus also endured humiliation throughout His life. The Son of God did not hold on to that state of exaltation He experienced in heaven. He willingly emptied Himself out of that glory and took on the role of a slave. He did not live his earthly life in the state of exaltation but in the state of humiliation.

The Son of God came as a servant. Jesus functioned in his earthly life in a creaturely dependency. He did not live His life in the power of the Second Person of the Trinity, a power that was His because of His deity. He lived only in the power of the Third Person of the Trinity. All that Jesus of Nazareth did in his entire earthly existence was in submission to the will of the Father and in submission to the power of the Holy Spirit.

The final act of humility in the life of Jesus was His submission to death. Jesus Christ was already humbled by his birth and by his life. His humiliation carried Him further. In submitting to the will of the Father and to the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus became obedient to the most cruel death ever devised by man--death by the cross. When approaching that death, His prayer became ". . . not my will, but thine, be done." The Son of God, clothed in human flesh, experienced the death reserved for common criminals.

The humiliation of Christ is the greatest story ever told. It is the cosmic saga of history because He had the power to change the script. Suffering as none has ever suffered--born of humble origins, lived His life in abasement, and died by the degrading death of crucifixion, He nevertheless willingly gave his life. He was humbled that you and I might be exalted.

Like the water that plunges over the falls, the river of life carries every man to his destiny. Driven from deep within the essence of their being, all men continually seek the fullest possible expression of life. Whether they understand it or not, all men are on a journey, the journey to, through, and by Jesus, which is the ultimate expression of life for mankind.

Although this journey of life begins with such hope and glory, it soon turns, quicker for some than others, to despair and shame. Most men, if not all men, eventually struggle with life because there is mystery in experiencing the rich, full, complete life. Surprisingly, it is the pursuit of life by man that destroys the life of God already given to him.

Paul, of the first century believers summarized this profound truth when he wrote to the church in Rome. He said, ". . . the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (6:23). Man earns his hells (the wages of lost innocence). However, he does not merit his heavens. The rich, full, abundant life is the unmerited gift of God. As Jesus said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you . . ." (John 15:16). Mysteriously, the fulfillment of life for man comes not from the pursuit of life by man; rather, it comes from the pursuit of man by life.

With the understanding that Jesus Christ is "Life and Light" of every man (John 1:1-14; Acts 17:22-29; Isa. 42:5; Prov. 20:27; and John 14:6), the quest to know Him, then, becomes the challenge of life itself. Although most men do not comprehend this mystery, their desire to experience the rich, full, complete life is a desire to know Jesus, who is the only source of life. Even though this inner craving of man is seldom fully realized, it is, nevertheless, the driving force that propels man to seek the fullest possible expression of life. Mysteriously, all men seek Jesus. They seek life, the life of God.

Within this mystery of what it means to experience life, man finds himself struggling continually for his physical and/or emotional survival. Whether it is understood or not, every man is on a journey, a spiritual journey to experience the quickening power of life itself. It is as

a grain of mustard seed, which, when it is sown in the earth, is less than all the seeds that be in the earth: But when it is sown, it growth up, and becometh greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches; so that the fowls of the air may lodge under the shadows of it. (Mark 4:31,32)

The knowing of Jesus is a journey that moves the seeker or learner of life from an understanding that is "less than all the seeds that be in the earth" to become "greater than all herbs, and shooteth out great branches." The quest to know Jesus is the quest to know the rich, full, completed life.

Life in this journey to Jesus can be illustrated by the germinating relationship between a man and a woman. When the relationship begins, it, too, is like the smallest of seeds planted in one’s life. Yet, if the relationship is allowed to grow to maturity, the process, the growing together of two to become one, becomes the greatest event of their lives.

It becomes an exciting challenge to live life in the learning of each other. For when both members of the relationship are continually experiencing the growing process, the knowing of each other then becomes a never ending noble adventure in the experiencing of life. The joy of life is always in the knowing, experiencing, of others.

Moreover, the relationship that is formed between the man and the woman actually becomes greater than the sum of the two individuals. It radiates life not just to the two but to all those who "may lodge under the shadows of it." This process of moving from the smallest of seeds to the greatest of herbs, the quest to know each other, as the quest to know Jesus, becomes the greatest event of life.

The successful achieving of this journey to life is uniquely Christian. It is intricately involved in the experiencing or knowing of life, as set forth by Jesus. In the mystery of the Expression of God, the emphasis of Life is actually on the learning process rather than what is being learned. This is not to say that what is being learned or being experienced is not important. Rather, it is to imply that how one learns what is being learned is more important.

Mysteriously, it is the process of the learning experience itself that is the essence of life. For when one stops learning he begins to die, even though he now has a vast resource of things that have been learned. Incredibly, tragically, it has always been the people of God, the people who has once learned (experienced) God, who eventually experience death.

The relationship between most believers and Christ, as with most relationships between men and women, stagnate and cease to be an exciting adventure. They becomes stale and lifeless. Sadly, their lives become a deadly boredom that subjects the individuals to the temptation to find life somewhere else.

For the Christian, as with the man and the woman, to experience continual (perpetual, eternal) life, life must not be attempted by living in past experiences, as glorious as they may be. For abundant life is not based upon what has happened but rather upon what is now being experienced. Continual, abundant life can be found only in the current learning of Christ, only in being a disciple of Jesus.

A learner (disciple) of Christ is not one who has learned something (such as a glorious truth or even a glorious experience) and then attempts to live life based upon that knowledge or event. Rather, it is to base life upon the learning process itself. Simply stated, a disciple of Christ is a learner, as opposed to being one who has learned. Eternal (perpetual) life is to experience the perpetual learning of Jesus.

Jesus spoke of this mystery of the continual learning process, when He said,

Is a candle brought to be put under a bushel, or under a bed? and not to be set on a candlestick? For there is nothing hid, which shall not be manifested; neither was any thing kept secret, but that it should come abroad. If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear; with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you; and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath. (Mark 4:21-25)

Failure to experience the perpetual, contented life is not a problem of the amount of knowledge obtained but rather a problem of failing to experience the learning process itself continually.

With the coming of the Jesus, all that is necessary for the experiencing of the continual, perpetual life has been manifested. Nothing has been held back by the Father in the giving of His Son. Obviously, however, since His coming, there have been many who have not experienced that abundant life. Moreover, there are many who have experienced the vibrant, victorious life of Christ but now have lost their vitality ("he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath"). They no longer experience the wealth of the life that should be in Christ.

The continual experiencing of the learning process, continually having an ear to hear, produces the continual experiencing of the abundant life ("for he that hath, to him shall be given"). On the other hand, if the hearing ear becomes deaf, the believer not only stops hearing but he loses the vibrant, victorious life he was experiencing. Failing to hear continually, he begins to die.

As Paul implied, man has been created as such that "[he has] this treasure [Life in Christ] in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power [the capability to produce life] may be of God, and not of [man]" (II Cor. 4:7). The power to produce life never becomes an attribute of the vessel. It always remains with the source of life, the Treasure within the vessel. It is only the continual hearing of the Treasure that enables the vessel to experience the continual life he seeks.

When this mystery is understood and experienced, the individual does not have to wait to the end of the journey to enjoy the life he so desperately craves. The journey itself becomes the means of the rich, full, complete life.

The first recorded words of Jesus when He began His ministry were: "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:14-15). Matthew recorded, "From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" and "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom . . ." (4:17,23).

The preaching of this domain and realm of God was so powerful by Jesus that the people who heard Him speak desired that He would remain with them. The response of Jesus to their request was, ". . . I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also: for therefore am I sent" (Luke 4:43). Luke would add, "And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God" (8:1). Jesus stated that "this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all of the world for a witness unto all nations . . ." (Matt. 24:14). The preaching of the kingdom of God was so prevalent by Jesus that there are fifty-eight references to the kingdom in the gospel of Matthew alone.

The longest recorded message contained in the Scriptures is where the principles of the kingdom of God were given by Jesus. This Sermon on the Mount is a powerful discourse on how the kingdom of God would now be experienced. The kingdom of God would be so revolutionary to the kingdom of men that Jesus taught his disciples to pray continually, "Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:9-10).

The last recorded words of Jesus just before He ascended, as recorded in Acts, consisted of ". . . speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (1:3). The Acts also recorded that Philip preached ". . . things concerning the kingdom of God . . ." (8:12) and Paul "spake boldly . . . disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God" (19:8). Finally, the Acts closed its record: "And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received all that came in unto him, Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him" (28:30-31).

During the preaching of Jesus, He spoke so much on the kingdom of God that finally the Pharisees demanded, ". . . when the kingdom of God should come" (Luke 17:20). The response of Jesus to their demand is perhaps the most precise teaching on experiencing the kingdom of God contained in the Scriptures. It is a powerful discourse on the mysteries of the domain and the reign of God in the lives of believers.

The first and most difficult aspect of the mysteries of the kingdom is given to the Pharisees when they asked when the kingdom of God should come. Jesus simply stated, "the kingdom of God cometh not with observation" (17:20). The kingdom of God would not be seen. Perhaps, they were thinking that the kingdom of God would be as the kingdoms of men, physical, earthly, and experienced with the senses. Jesus stated, however, it would not be seen by the natural eye.

In addition, to the Pharisees, He said, "Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold the kingdom of God is within you" (17:21). With the emphasis being "among" you (plural) as opposed to being within an individual, Jesus is again revealing an enigmatic feature of the kingdom of God. How do physical people with natural senses experience the spiritual domain of a supernatural existence? How do flesh and blood people experience the kingdom of God, when Paul stated that "flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 15:50)?

When an individual enters into a relationship with another person (be it superficial or intimate), a third entity is formed between the two flesh and blood people. It is within this incorporeal existence of the connection between the two that the kingdom of God is experienced. Thus, Jesus stated that this kingdom of God is among you, or in the midst of you.

The second great mystery of the kingdom of God and perhaps as equally difficult for the rational mind to grasp is illustrated in Jesus’ next statement concerning the kingdom of God. After addressing the Pharisees, He stated to His disciples, "The days will come, when ye shall desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see it" (17:22). First, it should be pointed out that days is plural in both the "days will come" and the "days of the Son of man." There will not only be many times in the life of an individual that he will desperately desire for Jesus to break through into his life but there will also be numerous times when Jesus will come to bring salvation for the desperate soul. The early followers of Jesus never saw the second coming of Jesus as a single day in the future when He would return but that He would come whenever the need for Him to come was apparent.

The coming of Jesus into the lives of people would only occur after certain things had transpired. Thus, many would desire to see Jesus break through immediately in a special way in difficult times, but will not be able to see it even though they desire it. Or, as Paul would later say, Jesus does not come until the man of sin has been revealed (2 Thess. 2:1-4).

All dependency upon anything earthly must come to an end before an individual can experience the heavenly. As Daniel would also say, the kingdoms of men must come down before the kingdom of God can come forth in its full glory (Dan. 2:35). This is also the reason why Paul would state, "we ourselves glory in you in the churches of God for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer" (2 Thess. 1:3-5). The bloom of a flower cannot occur until the planting of the seed.

When the struggles of life come, most men, if not all men, are susceptible to turn to anyone or anything for immediate help. What often looks like a quick, successful answer to afflictions and sufferings is usually more detrimental than beneficial. Thus, Jesus would state that in these times many "shall say to you, See here; or, see there: go not after them, nor follow them" (Luke 17:23). You do not have to go to any physical place or to any physical person (which usually offers only physical cures) to find your help in the time of trouble. Jesus, in His day (His coming to you), will be apparent to all. He will make Himself known in your life with the ultimate cure just as surely as the streak of lightning lights up the entire night (17:24). You will know that Christ has come to bring deliverance.

Jesus revealed how an individual experienced the kingdom of God. He not only revealed that great truth in these words but also by the experiences of His own life. Just as every created entity must be planted to enable the essence of life to come forth in the harvest, Jesus Himself, being in the form and likeness of a man, also had to "suffer many things, and be rejected of [his] generation" (17:25). He, too, had to be planted in order to experience the harvest. Every essence of physical dependency for life must come to an end before the vitality of spiritual life can break forth.

Jesus illustrated His teaching concerning the manifestation of the kingdom of God with His examples of Noah and Lot. He simply stated that before God could establish the new world with the saving of Noah and his family, all of the old world had to be destroyed (17:26,27). Likewise, the same day that Lot was delivered out of Sodom, all of the city was destroyed (17:28,29). The examples may seem to be severe or catastrophic, but Jesus is emphasizing that to experience the glory of the kingdom of God, the manifestation of Jesus, the old world order must come to a complete end. Jesus is manifested in the life of an individual only when one comes to the end of himself (17:30).

The coming of the spiritual kingdom of God at the ending of the old world order always occurs in earth-shaking moments of life. Although the natural tendency for everyone is to hold on to the past (after all, it is the only foundation on which we stand regardless of how shaky it might be), Jesus admonishes that the new way must be fully accepted with haste. Or, as He stated, "In that day, he which shall be upon the housetop, and his stuff in the house, let him not come down to take it away: and he that is in the field, let him likewise not return back" (17:31). In another message concerning the events of these moments, Jesus simply stated that the believer must flee immediately (Matt. 24:16). The believer must turn completely from his old ways and embrace the new manifestation of the coming kingdom of God.

In His final admonition, Jesus revealed how difficult this turning from the old to the new can be. When the circumstances of life bring an individual to the threshold of the coming kingdom of God, the individual often longs to hold on to the old world order (17:32). As Lot and his family were being delivered out of Sodom (a salt producing economy), they were told not to look back to the old way of living. Since Lot’s wife was turned into a pillar of salt when she looked back, she probably was having great difficulty in giving up that which had produced their livelihood in Sodom. One thing is certain, all people become exactly that thing to which they turn for life. Jesus would add, "Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it" (17:33).

Jesus then illustrated that because of this longing to hold on to the past and the failure to understand the ways of life, many would miss the opportunity to experience the glory of the manifestation of the kingdom of God in their lives. He said that where there were two men in the same bed, two women grinding at the same mill, and two men in the same field "one shall be taken and the other left"(17:34-36). With the word taken literally meaning, "to receive near" and the word left literally meaning, "to send forth," these apocalyptical moments would produce in some the nearness and presence of Christ while others would continue in their ever descending paths away from God. Each moment of the pressures of life, more pointedly each major crisis of life, presents the opportunity to experience the heavenly realm (to experience the nearness of Christ). It also may mean the emotional fires of hell can be encountered (to experience distress, despair, a sense of being forsaken, and a sense of being destroyed).

The challenge of these defining moments of life is simple. Can the believer trust Christ? Can the believer rest in the understanding that God is in control of these challenging moments? Or, will the believer be persuaded away from the gospel of the kingdom by the many enticing words of false "prophets"? In these troubling times, when God is actually bringing down our dependency upon the physical realm to rebirth in us a new, fresh spiritual reality, there will be many that will prey upon those who are currently suffering the birth pains of new life. Or, as Jesus stated, "Wheresoever the body is, thither will the eagles be gathered together" (17:37).

The dying of the physical domain will always bring out those who attempt to be "the Christ," the anointed One, who can bring relief to the suffering saints. They offer quick, superficial remedies that look enticing, but are empty promises. While appealing to the physical flesh of man, they diminish the opportunity for spiritual renewal. Jesus simply said, "go not [after them]" and "believe [them] not" (Matt. 24:22-26).

The good news of the gospel of the kingdom of God is that every time a seed is planted, it brings forth a harvest. The glory of the manifestation of the kingdom of God can be experienced by every believer. The power of the realized kingdom of God has been available to all people since the death, resurrection, ascension, and return of Christ through the Holy Spirit to His people. Jesus simply said, when He began His earthly ministry, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel" (Mark 1:15). Then, He said, while addressing a large crowd of people, "Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here, which shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power." (Mark 9:1). Jesus has come, and He will come again and again to enable all to experience the power and the glory of His kingdom that knows no end.