Tag: The Glory of God

The Unity of God – Part Three

The Unity of God 

Part Three
(See Part One)
(See Part Two)

The Body of Christ

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother,
and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be ONE flesh.
This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church”
Ephesians 5:31

The Unity of the Body of Christ

“That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in US…”
John 17:21

The US is the distinction of plurality, and the ONE is the wonder of unity; a unity beyond description and understanding. Such things cannot be understood by the intellect; they can only be known through relationship in Him (Christ) who alone can reveal the Father. The glory of the Body of Christ itself cannot be comprehended unless we are in Him who is the Head and Life of it. That men can divide and cut asunder the living fabric of His Body is beyond comprehension. Those who seek to draw men unto themselves in the name of God will know the severity of His verdict in the great Day of Judgement reserved for all men (2 Corinthians 5:10-11). God, by His very nature, hates divorce for “whatsoever God has joined let no man put asunder”! Those who seek to separate His people from the Head and one another will know the wrath and judgement of God.

The Holy Spirit

Within the heart of the Son is the eternal Will to live out of the Father; in like manner, the Holy Spirit is sent into the world to work and bring to pass the Will of the Son, culminating in us becoming a pure expression of Him. We must see that the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Father; He Himself is the agency to lead and guide us into all Truth, and to glorify the Son in the earth.

“But when the Comforter is come,
whom I will send unto you from the Father,
even the Spirit of truth,
which proceedeth from the Father,
He shall testify of Me”
John 15:26

This grand unity filled with the Eternal Glory of all that God is, has called us by the sovereignty of Grace to become part of this Oneness by partaking of the Divine Nature.

“According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: Whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust”
2 Peter 1:3-4

“That they may be ONE… in US”

Let the wonder and the magnificence of the call and purpose of God in Christ beat within our hearts.

“Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself”
Philippians 3:21

Is there not within our hearts the same longing that God has put in all creation?

“For the earnest expectation of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God… Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves…”
Romans 8:19,21-23

The validity of having received the Firstfruits of the Spirit is revealed in the longing within our hearts for the completion of God’s purpose! There is a desire to walk in the fulness of Christ, not apart from Him, but in full dependence as the branch eternally abides in the Vine.

The True Five-Fold Ministry of Christ

God has set the five-fold ministry in the earth to accomplish this great Call.

Eph 4:11 And indeed He gave some to be apostles; and some prophets; and some evangelists; and some pastors and teachers;
Eph 4:12 with a view to the perfecting of the saints for the(ir) work of the ministry, for the building up of the body of Christ,
Eph 4:13 until we all may come to the UNITY of the faith and of the full knowledge of the Son of God, to a full-grown man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,

Any ministry which is not endeavoring to instill within God’s people the purifying Word to the bringing forth of the actual righteousness of Christ; who is not encouraging them in the birthing of their own powerful ministrations of God into the world around them; and who are not seeking to usher in the Unity of the Faith, has misrepresented the heart and purpose of God!

“That they all may be one; as thou,
Father, art in me, and I in thee,
that they also may be one in US…”
John 17:21

Σ

“For of him, and through him, and to him,
are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen”
Romans 11:36

Notes on the Name of God – Elohim

God – אלהים – ‘ĕlôhı̂ym is a derivative of the Hebrew name Eloah which is the singular form, the difference being that the Elohiym has the usual ending for all masculine Hebrew nouns in the plural. “A devout saint and Hebrew scholar Dr. Parkhurst, defined the word Elohim as a name usually given in the scriptures to the ever blessed Trinity by which they represent themselves as under the obligation of an oath to perform certain conditions” Excerpt from Parkhurst – Hebrew Lexicon

It is also noted by Nathan Stone: “It is significant that although plural in form (Elohim) it is constantly accompanied by verbs and adjectives in the singular” when used in reference to God and always in the plural when used in reference to false gods and idols.
Nathan Stone – The Names of God

For example:
“Look unto me (singular), and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth:
for I (singular) am God (Elohim-plural), and there is none else”
Isaiah 45:22

and

“I will say of the Lord (YHWH,
He (singular) is my refuge and my fortress:
my God (Elohim); in him (singular) will I trust”
Psalm 91:2

Elohim is the Name of God in which His Covenant is promised, purchased, and ratified through the Word of the Oath by God Himself, through the Obedience and Offering of Christ on our behalf and the Ministration of the Holy Spirit to seal and ensure that the Covenant of Grace would be sure unto those who believe.

The Oath of God – God has sworn by Himself… Hebrews 6:17 and Acts 2:30
The Surety – “Jesus was made the surety of a better Covenant” – Hebrews 7:22
Are Sealed – We are Sealed in/by the Holy Spirit – Colossians 1:22 and Ephesians 1:13

“What shall we then say to these things?
If God be for us, who can be against us?”
Romans 8:31

Brian Troxel

The Unity of God – Part Two

The Unity of God

Part Two
(See Part One)
(See Part Three)

The Tri-Unity of God

In Genesis we see in the creation of the cosmos the unity of God speaking, creating and bringing forth the establishment of a whole new realm of matter and life.

1 “In the beginning God (see note) created the heaven and the earth.
2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved (preparing, brooding and affecting) upon the face of the waters.
3 And God (see note) said (The Word-Christ Himself), ‘Let there be light’: and there was light…”
Genesis 1:1-3

NOTE: God – אלהים – ‘ĕlôhı̂ym – One of the names of God used in scripture (which intimates plurality) shining forth the Oneness and magnificence of His being. The same wonder is revealed in the New Testament in Matthew 28:19. The Greek Word for “Name” is singular: “In the NAME of the Father, and the Son and the Holy Ghost” is presented to us as ONE NAME setting forth the unknowable and unsearchable riches of our God. (See more notes on Elohiym  at the end of Part Three of this series).

“Go ye therefore, and teach all nations,
baptizing them in the NAME (singular) of the Father,
and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost”
Matthew 28:19

We see this same expression of God in the creation of man who is made in the image of God.

“And God (Elohiym) said,
Let us make man in our image,
after our likeness…”
Genesis 1:26

Indeed, humanity bears this corporate image within; even in the fall there remains the unmistakable likeness of God in the constitution of man.

“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”
Thessalonians 5:3

To consider the very nature of God, one must in some form or other begin to comprehend the tri-unity of their own self. Within the mystery of our own being (which we are unable to solve) there lies spirit, soul and body; where each of these begin and end in us is a deep mystery. How beyond our capacity is it to unravel the greatest mystery of all: God Himself!

The consistency of this unveiling of the nature of God is expressed in the judgment of Nimrod and the arrogancy of man at the tower of Babel.

“Come, let Us go down
and confuse their language
so that they cannot understand
one another’s speech”
Genesis 11:7

Again, in the Book of Isaiah, Chapter 6, we see the inner workings of God in the heavens preparing, cleansing, and sending Isaiah forth with words of Power which still reverberate in our hearts today:

“And I heard the voice of Jehovah, saying,
Whom shall I send, and who will go for Us?”
Isaiah 6:8

There is a three-fold manifestation of this wonder at the Baptism of Jesus (Luke 3:22), where we see the Father bearing witness to the Son while simultaneously the Holy Spirit appears as a Dove. This is a confirmation of the great mystery of Christ who, in type and shadow (by His Baptism), testified of His  submission to the cross (prophetically speaking to us of His death and resurrection yet to be fulfilled). Such things are too high and too deep for us, yet may they ignite a heart of worship and gratitude for all that Christ has accomplished for us!

“Hear, O Israel:
The Lord our God is ONE Lord”
Deuteronomy 6:4

Some may think that the above scripture presents a contradiction (which is an impossibility in the Word). The Hebrew word for “ONE” (see note below) used here is the same Hebrew word in Genesis 2:24:

“Therefore, a man shall leave his father and his mother,
and shall cleave to his wife and they shall become ONE flesh”
Genesis 2:24

NOTE: ONE – אֶחָד  “Unite co: ab: Unity: A uniting together. All things are a unity with something else (one man is a unity of body, breath and mind, one family is a unity of father, mother and children, one tree is a unity of trunk, branches and leaves, one forest is a unity of trees).” Source: “Ancient Hebrew Lexicon of the Bible”

Rather than presenting a contradiction, this confirms with great clarity the majesty and glory of our God! See also Genesis 5:2: “He created them male and female, and blessed them, and called their name (singular) Adam” (Adam – Man – singular). This same unity is to be the presentation to us of the mystical union which exists between Christ and His Church.

“For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother,
and shall be joined unto his wife,
and they two shall be ONE flesh.
This is a great mystery:
but I speak concerning
Christ and the church”
Ephesians 5:31

To Be Continued…

Brian Troxel

This is Part Two of a multi-part series. For the sake of brevity this writing has been broken into short segments and as with all things it is necessary to read all the parts to appreciate the wonder and glory of our God.

The Unity of God – Part One

The Unity of God

Part One
(See Part Two)
(Part Three)

“How is it ye sought me?
Knew ye not that I must be in
my, the Father”
Luke 2:49
(literal Greek rendering)

The Son

The majority of translators, in dealing with the above verse, felt the need to add the word business or house or things even though none of these words are present in the Greek text. It is difficult for the religious mind to leave it as it actually reads: “I must be in my, the Father”. There is a seeming hole in this thought; surely there needs to be an explanation concerning the Father. To leave this concept without some sort of thing attached to the Father is too ambiguous and mysterious. Joseph and Mary had no understanding of the depth and the wonder of what Jesus was conveying.

“And they understood not the saying
which he spake unto them”
Luke 2:50

Jesus lived His life in the Father. He was beyond seeking only to do the business of His Father. He was beyond things associated with the Father. He was in the Father and as such His doings were not for the Father; they were that which were accomplished in the Father. It is difficult for us to see beyond service to God, past the external, seemingly good things of God, and begin to experience the Life in Christ whereby we are moved upon by the great impetus which filled and occupied Him.

“My Father worketh hitherto, and I work.”
John 5:17

The showing forth of the Father through the Son is by means of virtue and nature. It is the proceeding forth of the Will of the Father through the magnificence of Christ as it has been through eternity.

“All things were made through him.
Without him was not anything
made that has been made”
John 1:3

The Son has forever been the agency through which the Father created and worked His wisdom and power. His Life on earth was simply the extension of His relationship with the Father from eternity.

“I and my Father are one”
John 10:30

To Be Continued…

Brian Troxel

This is Part One of a multi-part series. For the sake of brevity this writing has been broken into short segments and as with all things it is necessary to read all the parts to appreciate the wonder and glory of our God.

PODCAST – Revelation 4:1 – Part One – The House of God

Podcast

The Contrast Between
Bethel and El-Bethel

(about a 10 second delay at the beginning)

Revelation 4:1 – The true House of God

An Informal Bible Study
Concerning the True House of God

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A Word in Season – FB Meyer

Quote for Today

“Creation reveals God’s nature, as the picture the artist. His eternal Power and Godhead are visible in His works. See Rom 1:20. And all things and beings were made through Jesus Christ. Consider Col 1:15-16. The hands of the Son of God wove the blue curtains above us and filled them with luminaries. The seas are His and He made them, and filled them with living creatures. The woodlands are the outcome of His mind, and He filled them with flowers and birds. He taught them to live without care. He filled the tiny heart of the mother-bird with love to her young and blessed her. His are the cattle on a thousand hills. He molded the red earth into His own likeness and made Man. We were made to have dominion. See Psa 8:6-8. Ask Him to put all things, especially all the evil things of your heart, under your feet. The world is good, and if you were good, you would find it so”
– F.B. Meyer

Thought for Today – The Midwives

Thought for Today

The Midwives

“But the midwives feared God,
and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them,
but saved the men children alive.”
Exodus 1: 17

God moving upon the hearts of the Egyptian Midwives many years prior to the deliverance of His people reveals His prevenient grace. God is always aware, always at work preparing for fresh moves and wonders of His Spirit. God’s hand was at work in Israel’s bondage to Egypt many years before raising up men to lead His people out. God always uses men to bring about His Salvation. The Moseses of God are the fruit of faith working in the lives of others. A later generation made up of the Joshuas and Calebs are a testimony of the continued defiance of those Midwives in their obedience to YHWH. God’s work is always mysterious and hidden from the eyes of men but then discovered by succeeding generations for their encouragement and admonition (1 Corinthians 10:1-11).

So too in our Day there is a generation being raised up in the shadows. In the peculiar places of His own choosing they are even now working through the dearth of life within the religious systems of men and discovering the life and wonder of the Risen Christ.

God has been and will continue to be a shelter to every generation. Not only is He a refuge in which they may hide, but this chosen generation will rise to the Call to be a bright and piercing light in this day of darkness. Many years before God has already begun such a work and is even now preparing them! In the failure of one generation to fulfill the promise it becomes sure to the next as God moves on with His purposes. The generation which came out of Egypt failed to enter into the promised land and became the ashes from which the new generation arose (Hebrews 3:7-19). Even in this there was Joshua and Caleb whose faith remained alive, vibrant and ready to enter into the Call of God. May we be one of those!

May there be a recognition and a confidence that God’s answer is being prepared through a “chosen generation” *. He has a prepared people for a prepared Day.

“Then shall we know, if we follow on to know the Lord:
His going forth is prepared as the morning”
Hosea 6:3

Ω

* “But 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 marvellous light”
– 1 Peter 2:9

Brian Troxel

Thought for Today – Words

Thought for Today

Words

“So then death worketh in us,
but life in you”
2 Corinthians 4:12

Words are simply containers; in themselves they have little worth. We use them to convey our thoughts, desires, feelings and the chit-chat of everyday interaction. Words in the Christian culture are multiplied in our technological world of books, sermons, podcasts and social media, yet we do not see a corresponding growth and depth of character in the reality of Christ! There must come a realization that in the clutter of words there is a missing ingredient perpetuating this crisis. We must hear in our spirit this one significant truth:

“For the kingdom of God is not in word,
but in power.”
1 Corinthians 4:20

Let this sink into the very core of our hearts. “The Kingdom of God is not in word.” There are many who are mere purveyors or merchants of words, ideas and concepts. It is a dealing with information which may tickle the intellect of men and women but never reaches the heart. These words contain no fire, no pulse of the living God. Words with fire bring conviction and produce change. As long as we are content with words without fire, sermons which produce no change and breathe no conviction and meetings in which people leave with the same outlook as when they came we will go no further in our walk with God.

Jesus is God’s Word

Jesus is not only the thought of God, He is the Power, the Substance and the verity of God the Father. The fullness of the Godhead dwelt and revealed itself in His full purity of life, love and wisdom. The words of an individual can only convey what is IN the individual. Where there is no spark there is no fire. When there is no identification of the vessel with the cross there can be no power of the life of Christ. The Gospel is more than words; it is the very communication of the life and power of God.

“For our gospel came not unto you in word only,
but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost,
and in much assurance;
as ye know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake”
1 Thessalonians 1:5

There was a connection between the ministration of the word and the manner of life of those who spoke the word. We cannot communicate something that is not within us. Fire is the result of touching, tasting and abiding in Him who is a consuming fire. Individuals who have no fire cannot give it to others. We must realize that mere words (even the scriptures) when ministered apart from the Spirit are cold and lack His power to convict, to inflame, to bring warmth and the light of change into the lives of those to whom we speak.

Each Sabbath in Israel the words of the prophets were read, but because there was no living ministration of those words they did not “hear” the voices of the prophets crying out concerning Christ!

“For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers,
because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets
which are read every sabbath day,
they have fulfilled them in condemning him”
Acts 13:27

Jesus said His Words are “spirit and they are life” and to whatever measure we are in Him will it be so of us. It is this relationship which brings vitality and life to the words we speak. The ministration of His Life can only be found in corresponding measure to the depth of His rule and His love within us.

Lord save us from being merchants of words and make us instruments of your life and wonder. Keep calling us to deeper places of abiding, beholding and eating of You so that we will convey You and not just empty words about you.

“Where the word of a king is,
there is power…”
Ecclesiastes 8:4

The power of our words will be found in our submission to the King of kings. There is no other remedy for our condition. To bear the Word of the King one must be ruled by Him. Obedience to Him is the vital element to speaking His Word and it is only then we will see change in the world around us. Obedience is not something we can learn from classes, books or sermons; it is by the actual operation of the faith of the Son of God ruling and reigning within our own heart. No one else can walk this out for us; it is as personal as our relationship with Him.

“For they that are such serve not our Lord Jesus Christ,
but their own belly; and by good words and fair speeches
deceive the hearts of the simple”
Romans 16:18

Fair speeches and good words are plenty in our day but words ministered without the impetus for men and women to walk and live in them leads to deception.

“But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only,
deceiving your own selves”
James 1:22

Brian Troxel

Thought for Today – The Words of Job

Thought for Today

“The words of Job are ended…”
Job 30:40

There came a day when the sighing and words of Job ended. The vain and empty chatter of his “friends” had not dissuaded the man of God. His true mettle showed; though broken and alone he had stood in integrity. It is here, when the words of men fail, and the clash of religious arguments have proven futile to dissuade, that God appears to silence all. Job, whose life God held in high regard, was brought to new places of wonder. Through the vehicle of repentance, he found access to the higher ways of a priesthood in which his own condition was healed as he prayed for his friends.

“And the Lord turned the captivity of Job,
when he prayed for his friends”
Job 42:10

His friends who were rebuked for not speaking rightly of God were forgiven by the new found grace imparted into Job’s life. Through the fire the heart of Job had arisen to new places in God. The bitter contention accomplished the work and wisdom of God. The dross was consumed and his eyes opened; Job had crossed over from a life of hearing God to the place of seeing God.

“I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:
but now mine eye seeth thee”
Job 42:5

In all contentions there must come a time when:

“The words of Job are ended”

Brian Troxel

Quote for Today – Alexander MacLaren

Quote for Today

alexander-maclaren

“We must have the glory sink into us before it can be reflected from us. In deep inward beholding we must have Christ in our hearts that He may shine forth from our lives”
– Alexander MacLaren

“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 Corinthians 3:18

Thought For Today – The Wick –

Thought for Today

The Wick

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“…and he (Moses) looked, and, behold,
the bush burned with fire,
and the bush was not consumed”
Exodus 3:2

God’s purpose for man is revealed in this verse. The call of God is to bring men and women to this one end: lives that burn with His fire through fragile earthen vessels. In a fully yielded life of surrender we become His light to the world.

The secret of this life is in the wick drawing upon the oil of His Spirit allowing His pure desire and heart to be the flame. The only way the wick will not burn up is by keeping the flow of oil constant through the power of an abiding relationship. Where there is no flow the wick will burn out and become useless, no longer able to shine with the wonder of the flame of God.

The oil without the flame is of little value. So too are the gifts and ministrations of the Holy Spirit apart from the purifying and glorifying flame of God within the vessel. The magnificence of this life cannot be known without these three components: The Flame of God, the Oil of the Holy Spirit and the Fragile Earthen Wick.

“And the bush was not consumed”

Ω

“It is of the Lord’s mercies
that we are not consumed,
because his compassions fail not”
Lamentations 3:22

Brian Troxel
www.aword.info