Jesus' Flesh - The Way Into the Most Holy Place Into the Very Presence of God – Conclusion by Pastor Doug Riggs

This was originally recorded on August 6, 2017.

My notes:

"Under the first covenant, our relationship with God was through an external written code, and under the new covenant, our relationship with God is not an external code, but by the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit." The Holy Spirit is "the fulfillment in us of that which was perfected in Jesus Christ."

If in any way we are living under the law, Satan uses that to his advantage in accusing us, condemning us, hounding us, and convincing us we are failures and worthy of God's most severe punishment. It's the law of sin and death. The law only proves we don't measure up to the perfection of Jesus Christ. Instead of wallowing in the depression and hopelessness of such condemnation, we need to make the distinction between accusation and conviction. The enemy accuses us; the Holy Spirit convicts us. If sin has been committed, we need to exercise our faith in obedience to 1 John 1:9. It's not a matter of asking or begging God for forgiveness; He already did that 2,000 years ago when Jesus carried our sins on the cross to be judged and forever dealt with. We confess, which means we acknowledge our sins and believe the fact that in doing so, God is faithful to forgive and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. We then make the choice to move on and come under the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus that sets us free from that old law of sin and death. That's what repentance is - turning away from the law of sin and death to the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. When we believe and count on the fact the old Adam has been put to death on the cross, we by faith put on the Lord Jesus Christ. In doing so, the enemy has no more ground to accuse or condemn us. It's only when we let him by 'falling from grace' and going back to that old man and that old law. Passivity is not the answer when it comes to dealing with this persistent enemy. "Those powers know how to use that law very effectively to keep us in a state of condemnation."

Why is it we can see the glory of God and Moses had to be stuffed in the cleft of the rock and could only see the hind side of God's passing glory? God even said, "No man can see Me and live" (Exodus 33:20). Even in the New Testament we read of God, "who alone possesses immortality and dwells in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see." It takes a whole new humanity to see God. God is light (1 John 1:5), and we as this new humanity are "Light in the Lord" (Ephesians 5:8). "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." It's in the face of Jesus we see the glory of God. And it's in the face of our brothers and sisters in Christ who are gazing at that glory, not just reflecting it, but that glory that is emanating from within. As for Moses, being of the old humanity, could not do that. He could only reflect it, and that only for a short time before it faded. In Christ, the veil is removed. We are "'Beholding as in a mirror' - that is the regenerate heart of those that are walking in new covenant reality with the Lord... 'Beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord.'" This is what brings about transformation - being conformed to the image of Christ and Christ being fully formed in us. This is why the moon is a metaphor of Israel. It only reflects the sunlight. But the church, conformed to His image, radiates His light from our inner being as 'light in the Lord'.

It is this glory of God in the face of Jesus we are being transformed into, and it's 'from glory to glory' (2 Corinthians 3:18); from one degree of glory - then the cross - to a greater degree of glory. This transformation requires the continual application of the cross in our lives to cross out who we are in that old humanity. By being conformed to the death of Jesus (Philippians 3:10), we are being conformed to His image (Romans 8:29). Doug references Bertha Smith, 'You want to know the people who are filled with the Spirit? It's to whatever degree in their life that everything is under the lordship of Jesus Christ.'

Doug scripturally demonstrates the fact that there is a gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and 1:2, that it's not just a theory, but provable. It also, as so much of what we find in the Old Testament, is a picture of the condition of our hearts under God's judgment prior to salvation. "When we were dead in our transgressions, (God) made us alive together with Christ". In the recreation of the judged universe, including Earth, we see the Holy Spirit brooding over the face of the deep. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day." We see in the physical universe light coming into the world (Genesis 1:3), and it is not the creation of the sun. That came later. In parallel, we find Jesus as "the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man" (John 1:9).

Doug brings up "the legal lawsuit between Satan and God". As a reminder, Doug does a deep dive into this in his series The Celestial Court. The destiny of the church, the body of Christ, is to take the place of angels as those who rule over the earth, Satan being the prince of the  power of the air, the ruler of this world. "Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? ... Do you not know that we will judge angels?" (1 Corinthians 6:1-2) It's not Satan who will 'ascend to heaven', or 'raise his throne above the stars (angels) of God', or who 'will sit on the mount of the assembly', or who will ascend above the heights of the clouds', or be 'like the Most High'. "Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is." 1 John 3:2.

Link to Audio: https://dougriggs.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/Assemblies/8-6-17%2Bsunday.mp3

Link to Discussion: https://s3.amazonaws.com/bookministry1/assemblies/8-6-17+discussion.mp3

Resources Mentioned: J.W. Shepherd's The Life and Letters of St. Paul: An Exegetical Study

Erich Sauer: In the Arena of Faith

Maranatha!

John Mark

...hereby committing this unto the providential care of the enthroned Head of the Church; whose Name is blessed forevermore, Yeshua Mashiach - Jesus Christ!