PART  V  –  Associational Aspects of the Lamp-Stand Model

SUBPART C  –   Unleavened Bread/ Witness of the Word Corollary

Article 3

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE TRUE OBJECT OF THE SOUL’S DESIRE

By Daniel Irving

 a.   A Kingdom Perceived with the Heart

b.   A Kingdom Whose King is God Manifested

c.  The Father Beheld Through the Son

d.  Christ’s Revelation as God’s Manifestation

e.  The Effect of Christ’s Revelation; Holiness

f.   Overcoming through Looking toward a Kingdom

Article 3

THE MANIFESTATION OF THE TRUE OBJECT OF THE SOUL’S DESIRE

 a.   A Kingdom Perceived with the Heart

In the prophecies of Isaiah we read what is the meditation of the heart set upon Christ:

 At night my soul longs for Thee, Indeed, my spirit within me seeks Thee diligently; For when the earth experiences Thy judgments the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness.                   Is. 26:9 (NASV)

The kingdom of God is procured through the desire for the same.  The desire for the kingdom of God is a desire for no earthly kingdom, and the kingdom of God cannot be seen by the heart so long as the kingdoms of this world compete for the soul’s affections.  Is not the kingdom of God an internal concern of the heart?  Recall the Lord’s words:

And when he was demanded of the Pharisees when the kingdom of God should come,  He answered them & said, “The kingdom of God  cometh not with observation; Neither shall they say, ‘Lo here’, or ‘Lo there!’ For behold, the kingdom of God is within you.”                                Luke 17:20-21  (KJV)

“Behold,” is that prophetic statement exhorting the listener to perceive with the eyes of the heart.  Therefore the Lord tells them to “Behold” the matter.  We are able to “Behold” that kingdom not of this world at such time we perceive the futility of those kingdoms which are of this world.  It is for this purpose that judgment comes; that we might perceive the condemnation which the material realm sits under.  Thus judgment begets a perception of the things of God.

b.   A Kingdom Whose King is God Manifested

Further along in Isaiah’s prophecies we read that God’s kingdom has a King; One Whom we shall even “see:”

Thine eyes shall see the king in His beauty; they shall behold the land that is very far off..                                                                                    Is. 33:17

The eye is a common prophetic reference to spirit.  For instance, the Revelation given John interprets the seven “eyes” of Christ as representing the seven “Spirits” of God sent out into all the earth:

. . . a Lamb standing, as if slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God, sent out into all the earth.             Rev. 5:6

Rarely does prophecy so clearly interpret itself.  Furthermore, the Hebrew word for “eye” (“en”) is the same word meaning “fountain”, which is also a symbol for “spirit”.[1]  Because of these things, whenever we see reference to “eye(s)” in prophecy we should first consider whether the meaning is “spirit.”  Applying this understanding to Isaiah’s prophecy, we seem to have a foretelling of an event that shall be perceived by means of our spirit.  The prophecy, “your eyes will see” is not a redundancy.  The meaning is our spirit will “see.”

The prophet Isaiah himself experienced this event in chapter six when he declared woe upon himself for having “seen the King.”[2]  There is no comprehension of God which does not begin with a heart’s apprehension of one’s own indebtedness, sickness, and depravity in respect to God by way of Sin.  Through this apprehension, God may reveal Himself in the light of Christ through the means of the Cross.

This promise of seeing, “the king in His beauty” is given to those whose bread will be supplied them, and whose “water will be sure.”[3]  These are those that strive to walk in the blameless way.[4]  Therefore, the “king” they shall “see” is the Lord Himself.  Therefore Paul writes:

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.                                                                                      II Cor. 3:18

This “beholding . . . of the Lord” begins with the Spirit’s revelation of Christ upon the spirit of the man as an event commencing us upon the path to sanctification.  We have become equipped unto a pilgrimage toward Zion.  Our heart has seen the vision of the place to which we are to walk.         Who is “the King”?  What is His “beauty”?  Consider this verse from a prophecy of Asaph:

Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God has shined.      Ps. 50:2

Notice how the verse appears purposeful in its ambiguity concerning what is the object of this “beauty.”  The verse calls “Zion, the perfection of beauty,” and yet the true source of this beauty is indicated as being God.  For it is “out of Zion” that “God has shined.”  This is the “beauty” that we shall behold with the eyes of our heart and ourselves become changed thereby!  For this is the beauty of Christ arising upon His people.

The prophecy emphasizes we shall “see.”  We shall “behold” through the eyes of faith, Jesus Christ.  While we formerly came to God and related to God via the work of Christ which was the Cross, we are now presented with the witness of His Holy Person. This is the revelation of Christ upon the soul and the apprehension of the beauty of sanctification by the Spirit that must precede the sanctifying work of the Spirit.

c.  The Father Beheld Through the Son

When we “see the King in His beauty”, what are we looking at?  This question bears resemblance to the conversation which took place on the eve of Christ’s death on the Cross wherein the Lord told Philip:

“Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip?  He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, “Show us the Father?”                                                                                     John 14:9

Philip was looking at the physical appearance of Jesus, but he had spent three years observing something more profound.  Even so, Philip appeared to be at a loss as to seeing Christ.  Therefore Jesus told him to believe “…on account of the works themselves.”[5]  But there was also the more substantive matter of apprehending the Person of God as He manifested.  Recall Jesus said of the Holy Spirit:

“. . . when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment;  . . . . . righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you no longer behold Me.”                  John 16:8 & 10

There is a work of the Spirit to manifest Jesus Christ to the heart and mind of the believer.  In so doing, God sets before us a standard and an object of desire.  However, this is only a desire for those that truly believe.[6]   Those whose hearts were never fastened upon the kingdom of God shall quite discount the revelation.[7]   God will show us “the king in His beauty.”[8]   By so doing, He will show us the true unity of spirit and perfection of heart and mind implicit in the commandment:

“Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”                                                                                     Matt. 5:48

What might be an initial obstacle to the performance of this royal command?  Certainly, that would be to understand what “perfection” means.  What is the “perfection” that God requires?  If Jesus Christ were still walking among us today, we might gain insight into the perfection of God.  However, this work of revealing the person and nature of Christ now belongs to His Spirit, who will convict the world concerning; “righteousness, because [Jesus has gone] to the Father, & [we can] no longer behold [Him].”[9]

We may ask, “Is this commandment to be “perfect even as our Father in heaven is perfect” a mere platitude, or is this truly what God expects of frail, mortal, and sinful humanity?”  This question may be answered beginning with the question of whether we believe God can and will deliver us from the bondage of Sin.  If so, having delivered us from Sin, can we further expect God can and will  obtain for us righteousness?  If so, having strengthened us in His righteousness, can we further expect God can and will sanctify us entirely?  For the Lord is speaking of “entire sanctification” when He charges us to be “perfect.”  Can we do this ourselves?  No.  But once God has revealed to us the beauty of His Son, and we behold His face, and gather in a sense of the Holy nature, we cannot help but become equipped in some way.  Therefore God says; “I will help you.”!  He says:

Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.   I will strengthen you, surely I will help you,  Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.                    Is. 41:10

  For I am the Lord your God, who upholds your right hand, Who says to you, “Do not fear, I will help you; “Do not fear, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel;  I will help you,” declares the Lord,“ and your redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.”                                                                                      Is. 41:13-14

Is God asking us to do something that is impossible in our own power?  Absolutely He is!  Why else would he say, “I will help you!”?   His arm is not too short that it cannot save.[10] The way help shall come is by means of revelation concerning Himself; the person of Jesus Christ; the personification of His nature; the Person in whom also the life of God resides.[11]

  For they got not the land in possession by their own sword,  neither did their own arm save them: but thy right hand, and thine arm  and the light of thy countenance because thou hadst a favour unto them.        Ps. 44:3

Once the Lord had risen from the dead, there was a new revelation of God.  There was a new revelation of God because there was a new revelation of Christ who is the revelation of God to humanity.  Paul expresses this principle to the Corinthians:

Therefore from now on we recognize no man according to the flesh; Even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him thus no longer.                                                                                     II Cor. 5:16

The true worship of God is performed through the means of the Spirit of Christ, and not through means of visually looking upon the physical form of a man as an object of inspiration or adoration.  We see Christ through the eyes of our heart by means of His Spirit.

d.  Christ’s Revelation as God’s Manifestation

This principle was demonstrated on the road to Emmaus when it is said of the two disciples walking with Christ, “their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.”[12]  Formerly, these two disciples had known Jesus outwardly and visually, ie. “according to the flesh.”  There fleshly eyes were dimmed of their ability to recognize Him this time.  As they walked with Him in a new way, they learned from Him and their hearts were quickened by faith as He taught them from the prophets.  Reading further:

And they approached the village where they were going, and He acted as though He would go farther. and they urged Him, saying, “Stay with us, for it is getting toward evening, and the day is now nearly over.”  And He went in to stay with them.                                                                                      Luke 24:28-29

Here is the suggestion that when we begin to receive the good Word of God[13] we should continue to pray for His presence to continue with us.   They “urged Him to remain,” and he did so based upon their entreaties.  Finally, the revelation came:

And it came about that when He had reclined [at the table] with them, He took the bread and blessed it, and breaking it, He began giving it to them.  And their eyes were opened and they recognized Him; and He vanished from their sight.                                                                                      Luke 24:30-31

If we would truly “know the Lord” so as to recognize His Spirit, we must do so through receiving the witness of His Word.  Recall the Lord said:

  It is the spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing:  The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.                    John 6:63

The “Word of God” is a Witness with the power to redeem, the power to break the bondage of Sin, and the power to cleanse us by the spiritual waters of His own Holy nature and presence.[14]

e.  The Effect of Christ’s Revelation; Holiness

This “beauty” has the very special quality of being placed upon His Church. For we read in the prophets such things as:

In Thy name shall they rejoice all the day; and in Thy righteousness shall they be exalted.   And let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us:   and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea, the work of our hands establish thou it.                                                                                     Ps. 90:16-17

Therefore the beauty of Christ is likened to clothing which the saints acquire from God through the obedience of faith:

Awake, awake; put on thy strength, O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city:                  Is. 52:1 

This must certainly have to do with true works of righteousness; for the plea is that the Lord; “establish . . the work of our hands upon us.”  If our works consist of the fruit of the Spirit, produced by faith, then we even ask God to clothe us in these works which He Himself has produced in us by His Spirit.  This “clothing” is the holiness of the Lord Jesus Christ.  Therefore our earnest prayer is; “let the beauty of the LORD our God be upon us”.  This “beauty” is the Lord’s own divine nature.  Therefore David prophesies:

  Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name;  worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.                     Ps. 29:2

And later, we read:

O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness:  fear before him, all the earth.                                                                                      Ps 96:9

f.   Overcoming through Looking toward a Kingdom

Isaiah’s prophesy states that in seeing the beauty of Christ, we shall “behold the land that is very far off.”  What is this “far distant land?”

Jesus answered & said unto him, “Verily, verily, I say unto thee,  Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.                                                                                          John 3:3 

The “kingdom of God” is perceived in this present-age for the purpose of its attaining unto the next.[15]

Consider what it is that our eyes behold.  Two things at once!  We see “the King in His beauty,” and in so doing, we shall see “a far distant land”, ie. the promises of God’s covenant with Israel.  When we look at “the king in His beauty” we are also looking at the “BeautifulLand.”  God has an intended destination in mind for those given a new heart and a new Spirit,[16] and this is God’s way to advance us in the process of redemption.  He reveals something which becomes dear to heart.  That upon which we formerly merely made a profession is made real.  He sets us on the path to arrive there.[17]  Thus on the topic of sanctification, there are certain inexplicable statements of the apostle Paul, ie. some describing sanctification as having already occurred (past tense) ie.

And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified . . .                                                                                    I Cor. 6:11

Whereas in other references, sanctification is described as a work in progress:

  That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word.                                                                                      Eph 5:26

  And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; . . .                                                                                    I Thess. 5:23

For by “seeing the land” we have seen something that God declares true, ie. that He has sanctified us in Christ.  When we look at the land, we are looking at our own sanctification in Christ as an accomplished fact in the spirit.  We then set upon a process of entering into the land which Christ has already attained for us as the fruit of His holy life, His atoning death, and His resurrection.

We perceive then, two characteristics of our sanctification in Christ; there is the initial and sudden breaking the power of bondage to sin under Law.  Thereafter, comes the habitual “walking out” of the truth of our justification by “walking according to the Spirit”.  In this way we move in, dispossess, and gain the complete mastery over our enemies.

And they that are Christ’s have crucified the flesh with the affections & lusts.                                                                                      Gal. 5:24

We are now equipped with the power to slay the sinful cravings and passions.  But the question arises, How is it possible to crucify the lusts of the flesh and maintain normal biological functioning?   This is one reason why we shall “see the land that is afar off!”  The Lord will give us a glimpse of the land when He sanctifies us!  One thing the Lord will show us when He shows us “the land” is the geographical boundaries between the flesh and the Spirit, and the distinctions between the clean and the unclean.  For when Paul refers to crucifying the flesh, his meaning is not the killing of our normal biology, rather his meaning is the continual denial of the spirit that would seek to activate and to gain access through our carnal nature.   As Isaiah prophesies elsewhere, “I will kill thy root with famine.”[18]  For it is by the presence and power of the Spirit of Christ that the flesh is denied and its works put down:

“For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting  to death the deeds of the body, you will live.”     Rom 8:13

Why is it necessary that we “see the king in His beauty” and that we “behold a far distant land”?  That we might know that place to which we are going.  We must “behold” that place we have never before been.  Our only understanding of the land is what we can see through Jesus Christ.  Therefore when the children of Israel were entering into the promised land, they were told:

“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place & go after it.  However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure.  Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.        Josh. 3:3-4

What way is it that we have not passed before?  Our way into the promised land of sanctification in the Spirit of Christ.  Because we “have not passed this way before” God tells us that we must do something to ensure our safe passage into His sanctification.  What does He tell us to do?  We must; “see” the ark of His covenant and we must “go after it.”  The reason we must see it and follow it, is that we “have not passed this way before.”  We do not really know within ourselves what it means to be sanctified except what is revealed to us by the Spirit of Christ.  Thus God shall give us to behold His land; His holiness Who is the Person of Jesus Christ.[19]