Sunday, November 20, 2016

The influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul

 Christ was about to depart to His home in the heavenly courts, but He assured His disciples that He would send them the Comforter, who would abide with them forever. To the guidance of this Comforter all may implicitly trust. He is the Spirit of truth; but this truth the world can neither see nor receive. . . . {OFC 127.1}
Christ desired His disciples to understand that He would not leave them orphans. “I will not leave you comfortless,” He declared: “I will come to you” (John 14:18, 19). . . . Precious, glorious assurance of eternal life! Even though He was to be absent, their relation to Him was to be that of a child to its parent. . . . {OFC 127.2}
The words spoken to the disciples come to us through their words. The Comforter is ours as well as theirs, at all times and in all places, in all sorrows and in all affliction, when the outlook seems dark and the future perplexing and we feel helpless and alone. These are times when the Comforter will be sent in answer to the prayer of faith. {OFC 127.3}
There is no comforter like Christ, so tender and so true. He is touched with the feeling of our infirmities. His Spirit speaks to the heart. Circumstances may separate us from our friends; the broad, restless ocean may roll between us and them. Though their sincere friendship may still exist, they may be unable to demonstrate it by doing for us that which would be gratefully received. But no circumstances, no distance, can separate us from the heavenly Comforter. Wherever we are, wherever we may go, He is always there, one given in Christ’s place, to act in His stead. He is always at our right hand, to speak soothing, gentle words, to support, sustain, uphold, and cheer. The influence of the Holy Spirit is the life of Christ in the soul. This Spirit works in and through every one who receives Christ. Those who know the indwelling of this Spirit reveal its fruit—love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith. {OFC 127.4}

Monday, October 31, 2016

Spirit of truth reaching and teaching, abiding and guiding.

“My son, keep thy father’s commandment, and forsake not the law of thy mother:
Bind them continually upon thine heart, and tie them about thy neck.
When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.” (Prov. 6:20-22).
 
“His delight is in the law of the LORD; and in His law doth he meditate day and night.
And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.” (Ps. 1:2,3).
 
“I Wisdom dwell with prudence…. Counsel is Mine, and sound wisdom: I am understanding; I have strength.” (Prov. 8:12,14).
 
“I love them that love Me; and those that seek Me early shall find me…. But he that sinneth against Me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate Me love death.” (Prov. 8:17,36).
 
All who love the Word who was made flesh love the truth that He bore to the world. All who love Him find His mercies new every morning. And they will find Him making incursions into their thoughts all day and all night. With delight they find His precepts making incursions into their thoughts day and night. Not a dead letter or lifeless concept entertains them day and night, but the Father’s imparted presence of His only Begotten. None other than Jesus Himself entertains them with His truth and grace that thrill them and teach them truth; it is Christ’s voice they hear in their thoughts.
 
“Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in Thy presence is fulness of joy; at Thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.” (Ps. 16:11).
 
Jesus never comes to us without teaching us more of His Father’s will. “Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword” (Rev. 19:15) —that is, the sword of truth, the “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” (Eph. 6:17). “For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword” (Heb. 4:12). Jesus so identifies with with the word of His Father that He is the Word.
 
Jesus will show us the path of life when His presence is near. It is His presence that makes truth so pleasurable and powerful to overthrow the dug-in spells of Satan. The power of sin upon our soul that affects our mind and body flees when the Spirit of Christ enters. When Jesus comes to us by His Spirit He brings with Him truth and grace. His presence is full of biblical truth and grace. We become a host for the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of truth. We become a host for the possession by Christ and His ministering spirits.
 
“When the soul surrenders itself to Christ, a new power takes possession of the new heart. A change is wrought which man can never accomplish for himself. It is a supernatural work, bringing a supernatural element into human nature. The soul that is yielded to Christ becomes His own fortress, which He holds in a revolted world, and He intends that no authority shall be known in it but His own. A soul thus kept in possession by the heavenly agencies is impregnable to the assaults of Satan.” Desire of Ages, p. 324.
 
With Their truth and grace furnishings our soul becomes a fit tabernacle for Jesus to abide with His cloud of heavenly agencies. Our souls are holy temples,  we become holy schoolhouses in which They dwell. “With deep earnestness the mother of Jesus watched the unfolding of His powers.… Through the Holy Spirit she received wisdom to co-operate with the heavenly agencies in the development of this child, who could claim only God as His Father.” Desire of Ages, p. 69. “The child Jesus did not receive instruction in the synagogue schools.… As He advanced from childhood to youth, He did not seek the schools of the rabbis. He needed not the education to be obtained from such sources; for God was His instructor.” Desire of Ages, p. 70.
 
In the above two quotations we see that the Holy Spirit, who taught the mother of Jesus, was the same teacher of her Son—God His Father.
 
Jesus never comes to us without bringing truth with Him; that is, biblical truth, His Father’s Law. This is the only way we know that the pleasure of His presence is not a familiar spirit that is pleasurable to our flesh. Christ, as the Spirit of truth, is the only way we know that His supernatural presence is not Satan through demonic Spiritual Exercises, his spiritualistic practices that come to us today by his more modern, accepted title, Spiritual Formation. The one true God, the Schoolmaster “scourgeth every son whom He receiveth.” (Heb. 12:6). If we are surrendered to the Schoolmaster’s scourging truth, then He immediately brings us to His Son to be justified and to be reconciled to Himself, God our Schoolmaster. “For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.” (Prov. 3:12). “THIS IS MY BELOVED SON, IN WHOM I AM WELL PLEASED; HEAR YE HIM”! (Matt. 17:5). Each sinner who the Schoolmaster gives to His Son will come to the Son; and the Son will in no wise cast him out. He has received Jesus and Jesus has received him. “Ye in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:20). In His acceptance he finds fullness of joy, and in His Spirit is life for evermore.

It is not an impersonal Law that “when thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee.” (Prov. 6:22). Rather, it is the Spirit of Christ, through the strong language of His Father’s Law and through His Father’s strong Spirit. They, the Father and Son Godhead, return to the renewed child of Adam with the same strong, holy communion that They had with unfallen Adam. And that holy communion is always in the context of the Law of God. Their communion is without the slightest bit of “lightness” (Jer. 23:32; 2Cor. 1:17), but it is full of light and delight.
 
To human hearts God sends His Son encased in truth. “If ye love Me, keep My commandments.” (John 14:15). Their love to Christ and commandment-keeping go hand in hand. And, thus the weakened children of God receive the strenth to meditate on His truth day and night. “I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:16-18). Because the soul and Christ are reunited, His truth can efficiently enter the conscience. The will easily binds the precepts of the Law upon the heart and mind. The new Christians hold the truth in righteousness, handling the word of God honestly; and they guard their new treasure from being poisoned with the leavening power of Satan. They remain vigilant to anything that might prevent the testimony of Jesus from abiding with them forever.
 
“Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me: because I live, ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.” (John 14:19,20). Because Jesus spoke of their future, He was really saying to His disciples that the world will see Him no more, but the disciples will see Him. He was speaking of Pentecost. In the near future then, they would confidently know Him to still be living by His powerful presence with them. “The times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and He shall send Jesus Christ.” (Acts 3:19,20). The Father’s gift of Christ at Pentecost would launch them to give the gospel to the world. As lively stones of the church, they would become an unstoppable force to uplift the world from Satan’s squalor. The Law of the Lord would be written on their hearts and they would meditate on His Law day and night.

“He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest Myself to him. Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:21-23).
 
Like David and Solomon, the disciples had followed Jesus and had bound “His Law” (Isa. 42:4) in their hearts. Therefore, wherever they went, His voice led them; whenever they slept, His Law kept them; and when they awoke, Jesus talked with them. “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on Me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do; because I go unto My Father. And whatsoever ye shall ask in My name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12,,13).
 
“God is a Spirit” (John 4:24), and “the last Adam was made a quickening Spirit.” (1Cor. 15:45). “I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30). They are two Spirits perfectly united and who work in perfect unison.
 
Therefore, “There is…one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” (Eph. 4:4). Jesus said, “I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Matt. 9:13). “To Him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear His voice: and He calleth His own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice…. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” (John 10:3,4,16,27).
 
Jesus is saying that He is the Spirit, through His Father’s greater power, which called to the world beginning on the day of Pentecost. And He still calls to us, “Come. ...and drink of the water of life freely.” “If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of His belly shall flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37,38).
 
“All power is given into His hands, that He may dispense rich gifts unto men, imparting the priceless gift of His own righteousness to the helpless human agent. This is the message that God commanded to be given to the world. It is the third angel’s message, which is to be proclaimed with a loud voice, and attended with the outpouring of His Spirit in a large measure.” Testimonies to Ministers, p. 91, 92. Christ and all of His heavenly and earthly agencies, His “whole family in heaven and earth” (Eph. 3:15), His bride, will give His final call to the world.
 
“The imparted Holy Spirit enabled His disciples, the apostles, to stand firmly against every species of idolatry and to exalt the Lord and Him alone.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, p. 14.
 
“Christ comes with His own redeeming influence proposing through the agency of His Spirit to impart His Spirit to impart His efficiency to men, and to employ them as His instrumentalities, laborers together with Him in seeking to draw the world back to its loyalty.” The Kress Collection, p. 101.
 
“It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you…. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come. He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive (G2983, lambanō) of Mine, and shall shew it unto you. All things that the Father hath are Mine: therefore said I, that He shall take (G2983, lambanō) of Mine, and shall shew it unto you.” (John 16:7-15).
 
Who is the “He” that Christ called the Comforter who would “receive (G2983, lambanō) of Mine, and…shew it unto you”? The Comforter is “the Father” who Jesus “therefore” had just previously said would “take (G2983, lambanō) of Mine, and…shew it unto you”.
 
“The Comforter” is “the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (2Cor. 1:3,4).
 
The Comforter’s comfort comes attached to justice and truth, tribulation and trouble. We can be thankful for the Father’s comfort after He has scourged us with His holy, spiritual whip, and then received us through our closer attachment with His Son. The Schoolmaster has driven His Son to rule over us and to greatly multiply our sorrows, so that our desire will be for a firmer hold on the Father’s commandments and statutes and judgments, and a closer, constant dependence on our Intercessor’s ever-living advocacy. “With Me in paradise” (Luke 23:43), we have eternal life today, and today we “sit in heavenly places” (Eph. 2:6) next to our Lord who sits next to His Father, the LORD of all, the Ancient of days. “God through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Rom. 7:25), today lets us be “translated into the kingdom of His dear Son” (Col. 1:13).

Thursday, September 22, 2016

Mysteries and paradigms

“Therefore seeing we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we faint not; but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.” (2Cor. 4:2).

Is it correct to say, “Everyone believes what he wants to believe”? Is it right to say that truth exists by the mere decision of mortal men? Can sinful man, of himself actually decide what is truth? These are tough questions, fraught with accusation against the wisdom of men. No doubt, it has caused much counter-accusation and disunity and even persecution.

Nevertheless, is man’s discernment capable of deciding absolute truth? No. In the Garden of Eden Adam had that capability, but he lost it after his fall to the dominion of Satan. God took away his capability to discern truth, by removing His Spirit from Adam. Christ restored Adam and his wife to access with God’s Spirit of truth, but limited by their weakened ability to stand before His Law. The full restoration of the Edenic mind would have to wait many eons. Then “the manifestation of the sons of God” would come again “at the last trump” when “we shall be changed” (Rom. 8:19; 1Cor. 15:52, cf 2 Cor. 5:2).

After Adam’s fall only those who were restored to Christ could have access to the truth, though accessible only by their sincere loyalty to the transgressed Law. They would first have to surrender to the claims of the Law and receive a new heart and a new spirit. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them.” (Eze. 36:26,27).

They would love God through His Son. The holy Son would impart to them a new nature, a new spirit to love God with all their new heart. With the new spirit and new heart would come a new mind, by which they could understand and discern the will of God. With a new heart and mind to please God would come a special privilege of seeing truths, absolute truths. “The anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him. 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.” (1Jn. 2:27,28).

“...which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory…. The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1Cor. 2:8,14).

“Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect: yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the princes of this world, that come to nought:
But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory:…
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” (1Cor. 2:6,7,9-13).

It is a high claim to know truth that others cannot see. For God’s children to claim secret knowledge from God is the height of arrogance in the minds of the unconverted, un-anointed worldling; it is the height of ignorance, especially when profound knowledge pours out of babes and sucklings, who may have a low I.Q. and are unlearned, unschooled by classical education.

Satan blasphemes God and all who stand before Him by faith, “If they had a special endowment of wisdom and intellect from heaven, then why are they but carpenters and fishermen and tentmakers, prostitutes and publicans and lepers? Why are they blue-collar workers, the filth and off-scouring of the world? If they really were the sons of God, wouldn’t God clothe His royal children with flowing robes and bless them with prosperity in this life? What kind of inept, selfish Father God do they serve?”

Yes, it is a high claim, and a high honor to hold the truth, “unto our glory” (1Cor. 2:7). And it is hard for the babes to make that claim because they have been humbled by the knowledge of their sins, and are also pained to rise up above their brethren. This claim has always been painful to make by the humbled, converted children of God, nevertheless, God has required them to make it.

“Without controversy great is the mystery of godliness.” (1Tim. 3:16). “Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to His saints: to whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Col. 1:26,27).

“How that by revelation He made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words,
Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit;
That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ by the gospel:
Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of His power.
Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;
And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:
To the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God,
According to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Eph. 3:3-11).

I brought the truth of the Father and Son Godhead to my friend, John, who towers over me in intellectual strength and is firmly anchored upon the Spirit of Prophecy writings. I love him as my brother, and trust him because he is anchored to the Spirit of Prophecy. But, he cannot yet see the falsehood of a third person of the Godhead. So, I quoted to him the following statement because I thought it would convince him.

“Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His Father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall (although unseen by you), [THIS PHRASE WAS ADDED BY ELLEN WHITE.] teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you” [John 14:26]. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will come not unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you” [John 16:7].” Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, p. 23.

John smiled and said, “I believe that”. Then he went on to say, “I believe that the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity is Christ’s successor on earth and is divested of the personality of humanity.” He knew what I was saying and politely rejected it.

I was taken aback that something so clear to me was clearly understood in the opposite way by him. It didn’t challenge his concept of the Trinity in the slightest. So, I substituted “the Holy Spirit” for Mrs. White’s use of “Himself”. In a polite rebuttal I asked, “Then, you believe Ellen White was saying that ‘the Holy Spirit is [the Holy Spirit]?’” And I also averred, “You don’t see that to be ‘divested of the personality of humanity’ means that previously He must have been vested with that same ‘personality of humanity?’” Again, with a same, big smile, he said, “No. Divested doesn’t have to mean previously vested.”

Much let down, I realized again the difficulty in uprooting paradigms. And I also remembered that God is very patient with deeply-rooted paradigms. He has been v-e-r-y patient with me.

[By the way,the definition of divest: from www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/divest



transitive verb. 1 a : to deprive or dispossess especially of property, authority, or title b : to undress or strip especially of clothing, ornament, or equipment c : rid, free. 2 : to take away from a person.]
 
So I decided to ask Daniel L., another person who I knew was a Trinity believer, but who has very little loyalty to Ellen White. I phrased my question so that he would not think that I was trying to force him to believe as Ellen White was promulgating in the above quotation from Manuscript Releases. I wanted to sound as un-opinionated as possible so that he could be as objective as possible. All I desired from him was his opinion of “her opinion”. By requesting his view on Ellen White’s “opinion” I felt he would be free to speak unbiased. I wanted his clear thought without him fearing I was going to back him into a theological corner and force him to renounce the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, as a divine being.

So, after reading the paragraph with no emphases, I asked him, “What do you believe Ellen White was saying from Manuscript Releases, volume 14, page 23? What is the plain reading of what you believe she was saying? Is it ‘The Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He (the Holy Spirit) would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent’”? Or, I asked Daniel, “Was Ellen White saying, ‘The Holy Spirit is Christ Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. Christ would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent’”?

Daniel, my non-Ellen White subscriber friend gave me his honest evaluation of her statement, which was the latter of the two above versions. He said, “Ellen White was saying, ‘The Holy Spirit is Christ divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. Christ would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent.’ A plain reading of her statement says that she believed Christ to be the Holy Spirit. To say, ‘The Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit’ adds nothing to her commentary of Christ’s words. It makes no sense. Such a statement needed not to be said, if that was what she was saying, which I don’t believe she was saying.”

Daniel was my control group for this examination on the Trinitarian stance of my friend John versus my own non-Trinitarian stance. I wanted to know if I was biased and slanted, or John was. Is not the sentence, “The Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit”, nonsensical? The statement, “The Holy Spirit is the Holy Spirit divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. The Holy Spirit would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent” can only be blindly understood by those whose beliefs are so rooted in Ellen White, more than the light shining from scripture, that they cannot see her clearest explanation of the gospel of John on the subject of the Godhead. They cannot see the tree for the forest. Another discrepancy in the Adventist Trinitarian on 14MR23.3 is saying, “The Holy Spirit would represent Himself by His Holy Spirit.” “The Holy Spirit...by His Holy Spirit”?  Ellen White could not have meant such gibberish! She must have been saying that Christ would represent Himself as the Omniscient Holy Spirit that we know. Christ is our Comforter, the only Comforter beside the Father, since both Father and Son [and not a third Spirit being] suffered for us, therefore the Father and Son alone can comfort us in all of our troubles.

To the Father and the Son the masses must always slip in a go-between, a third person Spirit. They cannot go directly by faith to the Son. In their minds the abundance of evidence cannot speak to them as it was written, that the Spirit of God is the Father’s person, His powerful, personal influence to create and to recreate, to teach and to guide, His life-giving presence with His divine personality. The authoritative voice to the patriarchs and prophets and kings of old is the same authoritative voice to the apostles and the wilderness church of the Dark Ages and Protestant Adventism today.

But, the Spirit is God. The Spirit of God is God’s Spirit. The Spirit of Christ is Christ, coming with all His divine personality, a heavenly personality divested of the human personality that genetically favored His earthly lineage from Adam through Abraham.

“I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.
Yet a little while, and the world seeth Me no more; but ye see Me: because I live, ye shall live also.
At that day ye shall know that I am in My Father, and ye in Me, and I in you.
He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me: and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I…will manifest Myself to him.” (John 14:18-21).

This agrees with the Apostle John’s statement in 1Jn 2:27 and 28, that the anointing of the Spirit is Jesus’ anointing for the purpose of our abiding with Him. Jesus repeated Himself in the next verses below. He would be the Comforter who no one would see or know, “even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him.” (John 14:17). “I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14). “He is despised and rejected of men…and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” (Isa. 53:3).

“Judas saith unto Him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that Thou wilt manifest Thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love Him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him.” (John 14:22,23).

The Father and Son are the other Comforter who would come to them and anoint them with truth.

“And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” (Gal. 4:6).

“But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” (Matt. 10:19,20).

“And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven.” (Matt. 16:17).

“For I know that this shall turn to my salvation through your prayer, and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ.” (Phil. 1:19).

“But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (1Cor. 2:10,11).

“But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you.” (Rom. 8:9-11).

“Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” (1Pet. 1:11).

“For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” (2Pet. 1:21).

Notice from Peter, that the Holy Ghost that moved the holy men is the Spirit of Christ which testified in them. The Holy Ghost and the Spirit of Jesus are one and the same. The Greek for “testified” comes from the same word for “testimony of Jesus”.

“The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him, to shew unto His servants things which must shortly come to pass; and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John: who bare record of the word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things that he saw.” (Rev. 1:1,2).

Notice from John that there is not a Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost third person involved in the inspiration and transmission of the Revelation, but only the Father, Jesus, His angel, and John. There is no Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost, but there is the Testimony of Jesus. This picture shows that “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1) is “the testimony of Jesus Christ.” (Rev. 12:17). The Spirit of Christ is the testimony of Jesus.

“For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.” (Col. 1:19). Not in “Them” , as in the 2nd and 3rd  Persons of the Godhead, but in Christ alone has it pleased the Father to have all His fullness dwell.

“And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth.” (Rev. 5:6). The seven Spirits, or the Spirit without measure, came from Christ to His people throughout the world.

The Sovereign of the universe was not alone in His work of beneficence. He had an associate—a co-worker who could appreciate His purposes, and could share His joy in giving happiness to created beings. ‘In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.’ John 1:1, 2. Christ, the Word, the only begotten of God, was one with the eternal Father—one in nature, in character, in purpose—the only being that could enter into all the counsels and purposes of God. ‘His name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.’ Isaiah 9:6. His ‘goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.’ Micah 5:2. And the Son of God declares concerning Himself: ‘The Lord possessed Me in the beginning of His way, before His works of old. I was set up from everlasting. . . . When He appointed the foundations of the earth: then I was by Him, as one brought up with Him: and I was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him.’ Proverbs 8:22-30.
     The Father wrought by His Son in the creation of all heavenly beings. ‘By Him were all things created,... whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him.’ Colossians 1:16. Angels are God’s ministers, radiant with the light ever flowing from His presence and speeding on rapid wing to execute His will. But the Son, the anointed of God, the ‘express image of His person,’ ‘the brightness of His glory,’ ‘upholding all things by the word of His power,” holds supremacy over them all. Hebrews 1:3. ‘A glorious high throne from the beginning,’ was the place of His sanctuary (Jeremiah 17:12); ‘a scepter of righteousness,’ the scepter of His kingdom. Hebrews 1:8. ‘Honor and majesty are before Him: strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.’ Psalm 96:6. Mercy and truth go before His face. Psalm 89:14.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 34.

Both scripture and Spirit of Prophecy exalt Christ, leaving no room in the Godhead for a third person of a Trinity. The only other beings in the heavenly throne have ever been the angelic hosts. Such a third person is the devil’s effort to usurp Christ’s place in our hearts, of which Patriarchs and Prophets goes on to tell.

“But a change came over this happy state. There was one who perverted the freedom that God had granted to His creatures. Sin originated with him who, next to Christ, had been most honored of God and was highest in power and glory among the inhabitants of heaven. Lucifer, son of the morning,...” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 35.

Tuesday, September 13, 2016

Me and My Messenger

“Behold, I will send my messenger, and he shall prepare the way before me: and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to his temple, even the messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in: behold, he shall come, saith the LORD of hosts.
But who may abide the day of his coming? and who shall stand when he appeareth? for he is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap:
And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.
Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the LORD, as in the days of old, and as in former years.
And I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not me, saith the LORD of hosts.
For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.” (Mal. 3:1-5).
In this post we will see that the Messenger was divine, and agrees with the “Messenger of the covenant”, as it should. It is a given that Jesus was the Messenger of the covenant, as He was “the Prince of the covenant.” (Dan. 11:22). Jesus was the Servant who He foretold and who He would send. Literally speaking, His Father would send Him; but in His communications of the prophetic writings, He, speaking in behalf of His Father, sends a Servant-Messiah, which is Himself.
“Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
As many were astonied [astonished] at Thee; His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men:
So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider….
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isa. 52:13-15; 53:1-6).
“Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; Mine elect, in whom My soul delighteth; I have put My Spirit upon Him: He shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.
A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking flax shall He not quench: He shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till He have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for His law.
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:
I the LORD have called Thee in righteousness, and will hold Thine hand, and will keep Thee, and give Thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;
To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house….
Who is blind, but My Servant? or deaf, as My Messenger that I sent? who is blind as He that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’s Servant?
Seeing many things, but Thou observest not; opening the ears, but He heareth not.
The LORD is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honourable.” (Isa. 42:1-7,19-21).
“I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” (Gen. 3:15).
In all these prophecies the pre-incarnate Christ was representing His Father who was sending Him. He, the Word, was inspiring the prophecies as God’s designated Spokesman. Christ was given authority to speak in His Father’s place, and all communications between earth and heaven came directly from the only Mediator between God and man.
“All through the pages of sacred history, where the dealings of God with His chosen people are recorded, there are burning traces of the great I AM. Never has He given to the sons of men more open manifestations of His power and glory than when He alone was acknowledged as Israel’s ruler, and gave the law to His people. Here was a scepter swayed by no human hand; and the stately goings forth of Israel’s invisible King were unspeakably grand and awful. {PP 365.4}
In all these revelations of the divine presence the glory of God was manifested through Christ. Not alone at the Saviour’s advent, but through all the ages after the Fall and the promise of redemption, ‘God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself.’ 2 Corinthians 5:19. Christ was the foundation and centerof the sacrificial system in both the patriarchal and the Jewish age. Since the sin of our first parents there has been no direct communication between God and man. The Father has given the world into the hands of Christ, that through His mediatorial work He may redeem man and vindicate the authority and holiness of the law of God. All the communion between heaven and the fallen race has been through Christ. It was the Son of God that gave to our first parents the promise of redemption. It was He who revealed Himself to the patriarchs. Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses understood the gospel. They looked for salvation through man’s Substitute and Surety. These holy men of old held communion with the Saviour who was to come to our world in human flesh; and some of them talked with Christ and heavenly angels face to face. {PP 366.1}
Christ was not only the leader of the Hebrews in the wilderness—the Angel in whom was the name of Jehovah, and who, veiled in the cloudy pillar, went before the host—but it was He who gave the law to Israel. [SEE APPENDIX, NOTE 7.] Amid the awful glory of Sinai, Christ declared in the hearing of all the people the ten precepts of His Father’s law. It was He who gave to Moses the law engraved upon the tables of stone. {PP 366.2}
It was Christ that spoke to His people through the prophets. The apostle Peter, writing to the Christian church, says that the prophets ‘prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow.’ 1 Peter 1:10, 11. It is the voice of Christ that speaks to us through the Old Testament. ‘The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ Revelation 19:10.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 365, 366.
Scripture and Ellen White do not say, “The testimony of the third person of the Trinity is the spirit of prophecy”. The gift of prophecy does not come through the third person of the Trinity. Scripture says, “The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy”. All true prophecy comes directly from Jesus with only angelic mediation. “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto Him…and He sent and signified it by His angel unto His servant John.” (Rev. 1:1).
The quotation from Patriarchs and Prophets, above, says that the Person of the Godhead with whom Abraham normally held direct converse was Michael, Christ Himself, and not through an alleged third person Holy Ghost intercessor for Christ. We know Abraham’s communion with Christ was direct without an intercessor third person because the quotation goes on to say that Abraham also spoke with the same Person face to face, and no more directly then than when communing with the Spirit of Christ from heaven. Therefore, Christ Himself was the Spirit who Abraham heard speaking to his spirit, and not a third person of the Trinity. “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.” (Rom. 8:16). “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His.” (Rom. 8:9). Christ is the Spirit who we commune with. “Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 8:9).
In the Servant prophecies of Isaiah 42, 52, and 53 Christ Himself is speaker for His Father and pointing to Himself. Rather than the reality of the Father actually speaking of His Son when He would be incarnated and anointed for His ministry, it was Christ in His divine Spirit form speaking in all the authority of His Father and prophesying of His own incarnated ministry to save man. This aligns with Christ speaking to Moses’ spirit about the Spirit Angel in the cloudy pillar, which was Himself. And Christ on Mt. Sinai speaking of Himself in the angelic pillar  aligns with Malachi 3:1 where Michael—Messiah pre-incarnate—speaks through Malachi of His future incarnation, yet would retain His pre-incarnate Spirit fullness of the Godhead glory as He would inhabit the body that His Father prepared for Him. Michael, “who is like God”, says He would send His Messenger, who would be Himself.
Christ speaking and prophesying of Himself through Isaiah and Malachi also aligns with John 14:16,17; John 15:26; and John 16:7, as we will see at the end of this post. This Messenger (Christ who is Michael who is like God), the “Messenger of the covenant”, will go before “Me”, “the Spirit of Christ” (1Pet. 1:11), “the Holy Ghost” (2 Pet. 1:21), the Spirit of Michael—the Spirit.
But, this is different from the way Matthew and Mark learned the “messenger” in Malachi.
“And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes concerning John,... For this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.” (Matt. 11:7,10). “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God; as it is written in the prophets, Behold, I send My messenger before Thy face, which shall prepare Thy way before Thee.” (Mark 1:1,2).
Here, Jesus refers to His Father as the speaker to Himself, with regard to John the Baptist. “I [God] will send My messenger [John]….before Thy face [Jesus].”
However, John’s “In the beginning was the Word” (John 1:1) and Paul’s “They drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (1Cor. 10:4), as Christ’s larger revelation of Himself being the only One who inspired the holy prophets, agrees with the way Ellen White understood the Spirit of Christ as the one God of the Old Testament, as she also, at least in one instance, interpreted the Malachi prophecy, below.
“Through His servant God declares: ‘Behold, I will send My Messenger, and He shall prepare the way before Me; and the Lord, whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant, whom ye delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts. And who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap; and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former years.’” Signs of the Times, March 15, 1899 par. 11.
In the above quotation the Messenger in “My Messenger” must be Christ, the Messenger of the covenant who would come near to dispense judgment upon the Jewish nation which “hath dealt treacherously” (Mal. 2:11) through backsliding again into pagan religion and sorcery. He would also bring judgment against them for saying, “Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and He delighteth in them”; and, “Where is the God of judgment?” (Mal. 2:17). The Messenger of the covenant would also come to His temple and purify the sons of Levi. “But, who may abide the day of His coming?” (Mal. 3:2).
“Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.” (Amos 5:18-26). Through Malachi and Amos, this was all Christ speaking.
“I will come near to you to judgment; and I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, and against the adulterers, and against false swearers, and against those that oppress the hireling in his wages, the widow, and the fatherless, and that turn aside the stranger from his right, and fear not Me, saith the LORD of hosts.” (Mal. 3:5).
Doesn’t chapter 4 sum up Malachi’s whole message of warning?
“For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the LORD of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch.
But unto you that fear My name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall.
And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the LORD of hosts.
Remember ye the law of Moses My servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb for all Israel, with the statutes and judgments.
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
And he shall turn the heart of the fathers to the children, and the heart of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the earth with a curse.”
But, now Elijah is the messenger of the covenant that came through Moses. Jesus interpreted the prophetic Elijah to be John. “For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John. And if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come.” (Matt. 11:13,14). And at John’s announcement Gabriel agrees with Christ’s witness.
“And when Zacharias saw him [the angel Gabriel], he was troubled, and fear fell upon him.
But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias: for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
And thou shalt have joy and gladness; and many shall rejoice at his birth.
For he shall be great in the sight of the Lord, and shall drink neither wine nor strong drink; and he shall be filled with the Holy Ghost, even from his mother’s womb.
And many of the children of Israel shall he turn to the Lord their God.
And he shall go before Him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.” (Luke 1:12-17).
The John and Jesus ministries are also seen in the prophecies from Isaiah.
“Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God.
Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD'S hand double for all her sins.
The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God….
O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God!
Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” (Isa. 40:1-3,9-11).
“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth!
Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice; with the voice together shall they sing: for they shall see eye to eye, when the LORD shall bring again Zion.
Break forth into joy, sing together, ye waste places of Jerusalem: for the LORD hath comforted his people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem….
Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.” (Isa. 52:7-9,13-15).
This last scripture from Isaiah 52 connects the coming of John with the gospel preaching of Paul. And Paul claimed the messengers of the gospel for the apostolic church. “And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! ” (Rom. 10:15). “Stand therefore, …your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.” (Eph. 6:14,15).
This makes it appear as if John the Baptist and Paul the New Testament Moses, as bookends for the work of redemption and with the Messiah at their center, are all three the symbolic Elijah who would come at the beginning of the Christian dispensation—the Early Rain. And He will come again at its conclusion—the Latter Rain of the Holy Spirit—just prior to the day “that shall burn as an oven” “in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (Mal. 4:1; 2Pet. 3:10). “And all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble”.
So, if Christ and His anointed assistants are the capitalized Messenger, the divine Servant, who prepares the way before “Me” at the Early and Latter Rains, then who is “Me”? The pronoun, “Me”, must represent God, who through the pre- and post-incarnate Christ always spoke and acted for the King. “Me” is the Spirit of Christ, with “the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven” (1Pet. 1:10)—the Spirit of His Father reunited with His Son working together to put all enemies under the feet of Christ.
Based on this conclusion, I will re-quote the Malachi prophecy using red font for Christ while He was the pre-incarnate Spirit of Christ, blue font for Christ after He was incarnated, and red font again for the post-incarnate Spirit of Christ after His ascension. I will use the words “the Spirit of Christ through God” in the place of “God”, as Sr. White also wrote it in the above Signs of the Times article. I make this replacement because of her overarching concept that repeated the apostles’ revelation of the mystery that Christ had been the Lord God of the Old Testament. This we read from Patriarchs and Prophets, quoted previously in this post.
[Before going on, I first want to say that we must recognize the Spirit of Christ after His ascension as the main source and force of the gospel work throughout the book of Acts because that is the way Revelation shows it. “And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth” (Rev. 5:6) and, “And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals…. And I saw, and behold a white horse: and He that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto Him: and He went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Rev. 6:1,2).]
So, let us continue on with the Malachi prophecy.
“Through His servant God [the pre-incarnate Spirit of Christ through God] declares: ‘Behold, I [the pre-incarnate Spirit of Christ] will send My Messenger [of the covenant, the Spirit of Christ incarnated], and He [the Spirit of Christ incarnated] shall prepare the way before Me [the pre-incarnate Spirit of Christ]; and the Lord [the Spirit of Christ incarnated], whom ye seek, shall suddenly come to His temple, even the Messenger of the covenant [Messiah the “Prince of the covenant” (Dan. 11:22)], whom ye delight in; behold, He shall come, saith the Lord of hosts [the pre-incarnate Spirit of Christ]. And who may abide the day of His coming? and who shall stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refiner’s fire, and like fullers’ soap; and He shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver; and He shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord [the post-incarnate Spirit of Christ] an offering in righteousness. Then shall the offering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto the Lord [the post-incarnate Spirit of Christ], as in the days of old, and as in former years.’” Signs of the Times, March 15, 1899 par. 11.
In other words, “My Messenger” and “He” being capitalized, Christ is once again speaking to Malachi about Himself as He had spoken to Isaiah. This time He was foretelling that He would purify the Jews and have the pangs of birth for His people in exchange for the redemption of their transgressions in Gethsemane and Golgotha and bring His church into the world at Pentecost. Then the offering of Judah and Jerusalem would be pleasant unto the Lord, as in the days of old, as in former years.
“Then [the Jews] that gladly received his [Peter’s] word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles.
And all that believed were together, and had all things common;
And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need.
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,
Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.” (Acts 2:41-47).
Being that Christ was speaking for His Father in Malachi 3, as He had ever done throughout the Old Testament, He was not only foretelling of John the Baptist and then of Himself incarnate, but He was also first telling of His incarnation, and then of His return as His Spirit, “the seven Spirits of God”, this time divested of human personality and independent thereof. Christ would first come physically in truth and grace, the Convicter of sin and the Comforter of all who God justified by faith in the Spirit of His Son while He was dwelling in a corporeal body, and then He would come later as the Spirit of truth and grace while He sat at His Father’s right hand, for the same purpose that He had while one earth, but on a much larger scale.
“Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; and he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you.” (Acts 3:19,20).
Cumbered with humanity, Christ could not be in every place personally; therefore it was altogether for their advantage that He should leave them, go to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to be His successor on earth. The Holy Spirit is Himself divested of the personality of humanity and independent thereof. He would represent Himself as present in all places by His Holy Spirit, as the Omnipresent. Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, p. 23.3.
After Christ’s departure in the clouds of heaven He returned in the Early Rain of the Holy Spirit. He, in the flesh, had prepared the way for His return in Spirit. And no angel—only He—could have prepared the way for Himself. “I [the Spirit of Christ] will send My Messenger, and He shall prepare the way before Me.” It’s a new way of seeing the mind of Christ, but, He requires us to adapt to Him if we will know the mysteries in the mind of His Father.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall (although unseen by you), [THIS PHRASE WAS ADDED BY ELLEN WHITE.] teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" [John 14:26]. "Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will come not unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you" [John 16:7]. Manuscript Releases, vol. 14, p. 23.3.
In John 14:16, 17, 26; John 15:26; and John 16:7 John recorded Jesus as saying metaphorically that He would send another Comforter, but the soon-coming Comforter He also said would literally be Himself. “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” (John 14:18). Later, John, in his epistle, collaborated this. “But the anointing which ye have received of Him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him. 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.” (1Jn. 2:27,28).
This divinely inspired construct of the-subject-is-the-object was not a new paradigm that Christ was establishing. It was as old as the Diaspora from Babylon (given through Malachi), the Messianic prophecies through Isaiah, and the exodus from Egypt (given to Moses at Sinai).
This mystery construct was new to the disciples because they hadn’t studied the scriptures, and it returned to a mystery in the Church leadership and populace as they apostatized. Ever since then the true meaning of Jesus’ words concerning the Comforter has been overlooked. Today, everyone is still missing it. But, missing the mark on this has been a huge mistake, and has opened the door to paganism of the most archaic kind and of the darkest hue. From antiquity, that error has given Satan a sure place among the Father and Son team of Redeemers in order for the deceiver to hide Their redemption from our fallen race and to complete his usurpation of the Godhead, as all the world loves, focuses on, prays to, and worships “the Spirit”.
There would have been no argument against anti-Trinitarianism if Christ had been uplifted by pen and by voice, from the pulpits and the laity alike. Jesus “in the house”, Jesus “at the table”, Jesus “in the closet”, Jesus “in the field”. Steps to Christ, p. 72. There would have been no argument against anti-Trinitarianism if scripture had been laid over scripture and prayerfully analyzed by the Protestant pastors and people. The Old and New Testaments teach the same anti-Trinitarianism, and the Spirit of Christ certainly is not condoning the Trinity to those who are listening to Him.
Will the people of the Lord shut the door on Lucifer’s foot as he continues to solidify his position as highest among the Godhead in a global, United Nations, multi-religion Trinity? Will we return to the Godhead truth of the original apostolic church? Will we fall on the Stone and be broken until we hear Jesus through His written word, His precept and promise, His Law and love combining? “It is the voice of Christ that speaks to us through the Old Testament. ‘The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’ Revelation 19:10.” Patriarchs and Prophets, p. 365, 366.

Monday, September 12, 2016

Michael, who is like His Father

Michael, the pre-incarnate Christ was the person of Christ in the form of glory, His Self of glory made glorious by His Father’s Self. The Spirit of God is the glory of God, and the fullness of His glory was His Son, Michael.

“Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:
For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him:
And He is before all things, and by Him all things consist.
And He is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things He might have the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in Him should all fulness dwell.” (Col. 1:15-19).

The Father poured everything He had into His Son. As Jacob dressed Joseph in a unique and glorious robe, so did God give of His own glorious divinity begetting His glorious, only divine Son. God’s glory is His person. God’s person is His Spirit. The Spirit that we know is Jesus. It’s His Spirit, which is Himself. The Spirit of Christ is Christ Himself.

His person of glory, His Self made glorious by His Father’s Self, would be encapsulated in a one time splendid earthy house ramshackle, empty, and drab after 4,000 years of abuse, the Fullness of His Father’s glory now housed in the body of fallen Adam. “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).

Pre-incarnate Michael was glory, as His Father was glory. His Father was, is, and ever will be the embodiment of invisible grace and truth. Glory is not light, but grace and truth seen only by God’s angelic hosts, and by a Spirit-quickened conscience in the beings that He made in His image. So was His Son the embodiment of invisible grace and truth—glory. The fullness of His glory was the fullness of grace and truth.

Is Neptune only its Earth-size core? Or, is it the whole gaseous giant? We see a giant orb of blue, and call the whole thing Neptune. Yet, we call Earth only the core of what it used to be. At one time Earth had a dense atmosphere that extended from its surface out to the edge of the restraint put on the water vapor by the gravity of the core, making its pre-creation size that of Neptune. On the second day of creation week, that atmosphere was condensed into an ocean and a pre-Noahic shell above a firmament. And after Noah’s worldwide flood, the shell no longer existed. Now our planet is known only for its rock core.

Likewise, Michael had a condensed divine body of glory, given Him from His Father. His glory remained close to His body of divinity, as His Father filled all of His creation. “Am I a God at hand, saith the LORD, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD.” (Jer. 23:23,24).

Michael had a personality. Yet, He was a personality, glowing with truth and grace and glory, even as Adam had a soul, yet was a soul glowing with light and righteousness and tenderness. “O my soul….” (Ps. 103:1,2 cf, Ps. 42:1-6). Michael was a self as much as He had a self, because His self was His quickening glory, given Him from His Father’s own self. His glory was His essence that formed His body of clearness. His presence was inviting yet challenging, exquisite in mercy yet demanding reverence for the Law of God, “as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners” (Song of songs 6:10). “And they saw the God of Israel: and there was under His feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in His clearness. And upon the nobles of the children of Israel He laid not His hand: also they saw God, and did eat and drink.” (Ex. 24:10,11).

But, the power and glory of His person, His self, His Spirit came from His Father’s Self and Spirit and Person. “O Father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own Self with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was.” (John 17:5). Adam embodied his soul, because Adam was a living, walking, breathing expression of his love for his Creator. “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (1Cor. 15:45). Like Adam, Michael the Lord God, embodied His self of glory; He was glory as He was a Spirit, a self, Himself. The Spirit that we know is the Lord God Himself. His glory, His Spirit of truth and grace was His clear body.

But, God gave Him to humanity, forever to bear our corporeal body. Michael “who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.” (Phil. 2:6,7). Now His Spirit has a solid exterior; but His holy essence remains unchanged from its original divinity and power. It outshines His human frame like the Sun’s corona cannot be contained behind an eclipsing Moon. As Michael had been from the days of eternity, He is still “the express image of His [Father’s] person, upholding all things by the word of His power.” (Heb. 1:3).

At His baptismal prayer, His Father anointed Him in a special way. He sealed His Son with His Spirit without measure. “Never before have the angels listened to such a prayer. They are eager to bear to their loved Commander a message of assurance and comfort. But no; the Father Himself will answer the petition of His Son. Direct from the throne issue the beams of His glory. The heavens are opened, and upon the Saviour’s head descends a dovelike form of purest light, ―fit emblem of Him, the meek and lowly One.” Desire of Ages, p. 112.

At His baptism the Spirit was the beams of the Father’s glory. And later again the Spirit was an avalanche of effulgence from His Father’s self that for a few hours restored the glory that Jesus had with His Father before the world was. “[Jesus] was transfigured before them: and His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was white as the light…. While [Peter] yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye Him.” (Matt. 17:2,5).

During the Old Testament, the Spirit of Christ was Michael. He was Spirit, brightness like God, His Father, but, encapsulated in a body of glory to the extreme. The Spirit of Christ has always been the power felt by the prophets, moving them to see and teach His knowledge to mankind.