| << | Contents | >> |
The War for the Soul of the Church
The Old Covenant was fading from view in Paul’s day. Though the temple was still standing and animal sacrifices were still being offered, the time for such an approach to God was over. Jesus had prophesied that within a generation not one stone of the temple would remain upon another. All would be thrown down (Luke 21:6, 32). But if what was passing away had come with a measure of glory, what would now remain in its place would manifest even more glory (2 Corinthians 3:11).
The greater glory began to arise in Israel (and ultimately the whole world) when the Holy Spirit fell upon 120 believers in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. From that day on, there has been a gradual and unceasing extension of Christ’s rule in the hearts of men. The letter He is writing began to emerge among the nations two thousand yeas ago.
Yet as we view Church history, we see that God’s people have propagated much mixture in His name. And when we consider the Church today, we must ask ourselves how much of what we see actually reflects Christ’s authorship?
At the same time, we must not despair at our present condition. Our hope is not in the material upon which the letter is being written but in the One doing the writing. How committed is He concerning what He wants to say? How clear does He intend to be in communicating His heart to the nations?
Paul looked at Christ’s letter in his day with such hope in his heart that he could speak boldly about God’s purpose (2 Corinthians 3:12). The struggling condition of the Church at Corinth did not dash his optimism. Because he spent quality time with the Author, he had insight into what the finished letter would look like. One only has to read the apostle’s prophetic and lofty vision in scripture of the Church’s future to conclude that at the end of human history she will reflect a fullness of the glory of God (e.g., Ephesians 2:21-22; 3:17 - 21; 5:27).
And it will be an abiding glory, not a fading one. One distinct feature of the glory revealed in Moses was its slow disappearance. He would put a veil over his face to mask not only its brilliance but also its slow decline. But Paul decided that he would not be like Moses.
Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end.
(2 Corinthians 3:12-13 ESV)
Paul would not try to disguise it if God’s glory was fading; he would prophesy its increase.
We must do the same; we must not attempt to disguise any decline of God’s manifest presence in our midst by promoting in its place more expensive buildings, more theological degrees, louder music, bigger programs, etc. While each of these might play a useful part in what the Lord is doing in any particular congregation, they are a rather poor substitute for His manifest presence. Some Christians may settle for these marks of seeming religious success. They may even invite many people to come to their gatherings to meet with the Lord. And while God is faithful to meet in some degree with His people everywhere we gather because of His great love and mercy, there is so much more to discover in the depths of His heart than what we yet know. To settle for limited insight and religious externals that to some people camouflage the decline of God’s manifest glory is to do exactly what Paul decided against.
We must face our present spiritual lack and not settle for anything less than Christ fully revealed in our midst. We must cry out before Him our desire to experience more of Him among us. And He will then empower us to prophesy the coming increase of His presence both in His Church as well as in the world.
Paul’s insight was that the present veil now lying over the heart of Israel is the same one that Moses had put on his face many years earlier (2 Corinthians 3:14-15). That veil communicated in Moses’ day that the glory was still on his face when in fact, it had faded away. Now lying on their collective heart, the veil communicated to Israel the same thing – the glory could still be found in Moses. Whenever the Jewish people would gather together to read the Torah, they were convinced that the glory was there to be discovered by keeping the Mosaic Law.
But whenever one would turn to the Lord Jesus, the veil would be removed and they would then realize that the glory is not in the face of Moses, it is in the face of Christ (2 Corinthians 3:16, 4:6). While the key ingredient for obtaining this insight was the removal of the Mosaic veil, the glorious result was the discovery of the glory of God. This was the objective to which all of history was advancing. The whole course of the human saga up to this point was culminating in the rediscovery of the glory of God.
To put it another way, the story of humanity is basically about the glory that was lost in Eden, its partial revelation in the Old Testament Jewish tabernacle and temple, and its full realization in Christ. Time and again, the glory departed from Israel because of her sins. But after king David brought the Ark of the Covenant to Zion, the nation began to gather again around the manifest presence of God. And then under David’s son Solomon, Israel reached its zenith in power, unity, and wealth. It was during this time, that the temple was built and God revealed his glory so powerfully that men could not even stand up in His presence (2 Chronicles 5).
After the nation again turned from the Lord however, the glory departed and Israel was carried away captive by the Assyrians and the Babylonians. But after returning from exile, the Lord promised that if they would obey Him and rebuild His house, the glory of the latter temple would be greater than the former (Haggai 2:9). The glory of Solomon’s temple had been God revealed in a cloud; the glory of the rebuilt temple would be God revealed in Christ. The Lord Jesus, God manifest in flesh two thousand years ago, was the greatest manifestation of the glory of God ever witnessed on Earth.
Since the greater and abiding glory had now been revealed on Earth, to miss the significance would be catastrophic. When Jesus walked out of the temple, declaring it to be desolate, and that the people would see Him no more until they blessed those He sent to them in His name, He was speaking as the manifest glory of God.
”See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
(Matthew 23:38-39 ESV)
But they did see Him again in His humanity in the days of His trial and crucifixion. And many saw Him die. So what did He mean that they would see Him no more? Simply this – they would no longer behold the glory of God until they would bless the ones He sent to them. When Peter stood up and instructed the people to repent in Acts Chapter 2, three thousand of those present received the man sent from God, and as a result began to see the glory again entering His temple. Only now, the temple was comprised of living stones.
God is continuing to build His New Testament temple in our day and is revealing in some measure His glory in it by the power of the Holy Spirit. It is true that Church history has witnessed seasons where the future of God’s work seemed bleak and the expression of His glory in decline. If that is your present experience, don’t conceal either from yourself or from others what is happening. Let us not use any veils. Rather, let us face up to our condition, cry out to God, and begin to prophesy the coming increase of Christ. The clear promise of scripture is that the glory of God will both abide and increase (2 Corinthians 3:8 - 12).
The end of history will witness the whole earth full of God’s glory as the waters cover the sea. The enemy wants us to emphasize his plan to fill the earth with his darkness; I choose to prophesy God’s dawning glory.
But prior to the nations recognizing His magnificent glory, we upon whom God is writing His international letter must continually turn to Him to humbly receive His ongoing work among us. He knows what He wants to say to the world. And too often what the nations are reading in us is more our interpretation of the Lord’s priorities than what He himself is actually saying.
Search Comments
This page has been visited 0007 times.
| << | Contents | >> |
10 per page