A PREPARED PEOPLE WITH A HOLY PURPOSE
Part Fifteen March 2000
The Lord has been preparing His elect and chosen ones by the tests and trials
of their strange experiences in the wilderness of this world. By the
preparations of the Spirit, they shall attain to the fullness of Christ, to live
and reign with Him. This prepared people have a holy purpose to fulfill in the
kingdom of God. They shall be changed into the image and likeness of Christ to
fulfill all that Father has purposed for them to accomplish in His kingdom.
Those who are among the elect and chosen ones have left the limits and confines
of the church system, with all its religious customs and dead, outmoded
ceremonies and practices, to join the Lord outside the camp.
Christ, the Spirit, is completely without the camp! He is outside the camp of
the systems of this world, including the political, economic and religious
systems of man; He is outside the camp of the denominations, churches and
fellowships; He is outside the camp of those who continue the old ways of the
dead, church order of the past; and He is also outside the camp of anything that
is of man, or that man's works have created. The Greek word for "camp" refers to
a place where refuse is dumped for future burning or punishment. All that is of
that "camp" is outside the kingdom of God; it includes everything that was made
and established by man. Thus, everything in that "camp" - all that man has
created and established - will be judged and consumed by the fiery presence of
the Lord. Then, only the spiritual realities of the kingdom of God shall remain
anywhere in all the vast universe of our Father's dominion (He. 12:25-29).
Paul wrote of the judgment of man's works by fire, when he declared, "For
no one can lay any other foundation in addition to that which is already laid,
namely Jesus Christ. And whether the building which any one is erecting on that
foundation be of gold or silver or costly stones, of timber or hay or straw -
the true character of each individual's work will become manifest. For
the day of Christ will disclose it, because that day is soon to come upon us
clothed in fire, and as for the quality of every one's work - the fire is the
thing which will test it. If any one's work - the building which he has
erected - stands the test, he will be rewarded. If any one's work is burnt up,
he will suffer the loss of it; yet he will himself be rescued, but only, as it
were, by passing through the fire" (1 Co. 3:11-15, Weymouth). What is the
fire that will test and try every man's work, whether of the carnal mind or of
the mind of Christ? It is the consuming fire of the presence of the Lord (De.
4:24, 9:3, & He. 12:29). By the consuming fire that He is on this, His Day, God
shall destroy all that originated with the carnal mind; He shall consume all
that is not of His Spirit!
Let us not be found in the realm or the "camp" of the carnal minded, where
man's works prevail and abound! The day of Christ has come, and every man's work
will be tried and tested during this wonderful new "day." Christ will be found
outside that "camp" of man's works, which shall all be judged and corrected by
the Lord. The elect and chosen of the Lord are called to follow Him and join
Christ without the camp of man's works and man's ministries, to sup and commune
with Him, in the Spirit and by the Spirit!
Forms of Worship Raised to a Higher realm in the Spirit
The works of man, including the dead works and ceremonies of the church
system, which were once anointed of the Spirit, are now to be found in that
"camp" of man's works. God has raised those dead, lifeless ceremonies to a
higher realm in the Spirit, and then He discarded the outer shell of those empty
ceremonies at the "camp," for judgment and destruction. And now the true
principles of those old ceremonies are spiritually fulfilled in our lives.
Joseph Salmon, in his book "Antichrist In Man," which we published several years
ago, writes plainly and frankly about this truth. (We have had this book
reprinted. If you do not have a copy, feel free to write us and ask for it.) In
this book written in 1647 AD, Joseph Salmon tells how this harlot, or "whore,"
which is the spirit of the Antichrist within us, deceives us with her carnal
understandings and dead ceremonies of religion. We quote a portion from that
book:
"Christ may be said to die in a Christian another way, which also this whore
cannot endure we should see and behold; that is, when Christ dies in flesh to
us, and in us; for sometimes Christ lives in fleshly appearances of Himself in a
Christian. Some Christians, the highest discovery of Christ that they have
attained unto, is fleshly forms and fleshly ordinances; and thus many a
Christian enjoys Christ as really and as comfortably, as the disciples did the
natural flesh of Christ. Now Christ would need to die, depart, go away from His
disciples in the flesh, so that He might come in a higher, and more glorious
dispensation to them. Even so Christ does oftentimes die in a Christian, to all
outward and fleshly dispensations, and this death the wisdom of the flesh cannot
endure that the soul should discern.
"How often does God go out of all low appearances to a Christian? Insomuch
that a poor Christian can many times find no life in the forms, no comfort in
the ordinances, no joy in duties and performances; but with Mary, stands weeping
at the sepulchre, or those dead dispensations where Christ is buried, and can
see no more appearance of Jesus in them, but all this while it seeks the living
among the dead: and thus Christ dies in a Christian to all fleshly appearances,
many times. And truly, look what sorrow fell upon the spirits of the poor
disciples, for the departure of their Lord (in the flesh) from them; the like
sorrow and grief falls upon that Christian, from whom Christ is departed in all
outward dispensations.
"Christ compares that present estate and condition of the disciples to a
woman in travail, Jo. 16:21-22. `And ye now therefore have sorrow,' says Christ:
Behold O Christian; the lively image of our condition! when Christ crucifies His
own flesh to us, in all those outward dispensations, wherein we have formerly
enjoyed God.
"Happily, heretofore we have seen much of God in our outward formal
fellowships one with another, in fleshly ordinances; as baptism of water, and
breaking of bread; but now happily Christ is crucified in all these things to
us, and we find nothing but dead flesh there; nothing that can administer any
spiritual comfort in any of these things; see nothing but form and bare flesh,
bare water, bare bread and wine; insomuch that we now confess, that our highest
attainment of the knowledge of Christ, has been but a knowledge after the flesh,
now here lies Christ crucified to all these things, and the soul dead to its
wonted discoveries.
"Now the design of your fleshly wisdom, is to darken this death of Christ in
you. She cannot endure that the soul should move out of its fleshly discoveries;
for she loves the outward order, and fleshly decency of all these things.
Therefore she will tell you that Christ must be found here, or no where; and
thus keeps the soul in bondage to herself; insomuch that the poor
creature goes again and again to his outward worship, and yet
finds no living Christ there; nor is possessed with any more comfort in
them, than proceeds from the power of the flesh, whereas indeed the soul should
be willing to wait in this dead condition; for the return of the Spirit; to lie
empty and bare at the gate of mercy, out of all these formal dispensations,
from whence Christ is departed; waiting for the Comforter.
"Therefore my counsel is to all those who see Christ dead to all such carnal
and fleshly dispensations in them: Christian, wait upon the Lord, and
you shall renew your strength. Christ must have His time to lie in the
grave, hidden from you in all His appearances to you; but this know, He
will see you again, in a more spiritual discovery of Himself. It is but a while,
and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry; and will take you up into
Himself, ABOVE those types and figures. He will be your water, and
bread, and wine to you. He will bring you to the enjoyment of the substance, and
you shall no more live upon the shadow. You shall live upon the kernel, and not
always be cracking upon the shell. For if we be dead with Christ, we shall also
live together with Him.
"But be sure in the meantime that you beware of the whore, lest by
her appearances to you in all outward worship, make you believe that Christ is
living in all those things wherein He is dead and buried. And
thus in brief, you see that this strumpet, the wisdom of the flesh, is an enemy
to the discovery of Jesus Christ in us. And now methinks by this time
we may see who is the great Antichrist that John speaks of in his first epistle,
1 Jo. 4:3. That every spirit that believes not, or denies Christ come in the
flesh, is Antichrist: And what is it now that denies Christ come in the flesh?
If you would know, Christian, what this Antichrist is, and where she lies, you
need not go far to discover it; you need not go to Rome, Canterbury, or
Westminster, (or Springfield, or Los Angeles, or any other religious
headquarters), but you may find that Antichrist in you, denying Jesus to be come
in the flesh.
"Oh, all you that would fain show yourselves professed enemies to this
Antichrist, that man of sin, who seeks to destroy root and branch, all those in
whom you conceive there are appearances of Him. Return, return O man,
into your own bosom, and there behold him lying secretly in your own soul. There
is the Antichrist that denies every manifestation of God in your flesh.
This is the whore that you commit fornication with daily. This is the Babylon,
whose downfall will be joyous to the saints. This is the heretic and the
schismatic. This is it that makes rents and divisions among us: and therefore we
ought, everyone of us, to desire God to subdue the wisdom of the flesh in us,
and to wait upon the Lord until He comes to show us the judgment of the
spiritual whore, this Antichrist in us; and not so much desire downfall of
either Pope, Presbyter, or Independent, or any other state whatsoever; but
desire the ruin of this mystical Babylon, which is the Mother of all our
harlotry from the Lord." (End of quotation.)
When we can see, by the Spirit of wisdom from God, that all the old, empty
rituals, ceremonies, and customs of the church system are nothing else but dead,
fleshly performances, we will have made a giant stride forward and upward in the
kingdom and dominion of our Father. We will then have grown spiritually to the
point where the church services and meetings of man are also to be acknowledged
as dead rituals, which are to be replaced by daily communion with our Father in
the Spirit. When we commune with God in the Spirit, the bread and the wine of
the natural communion table are no longer necessary. All those natural elements
were, at best, literal objects that could only point to and reveal the greater
spiritual reality.
When we mature spiritually to the point where we can see those literal
objects for what they really are, we may then dispense with them and move on and
grow in the Spirit to the true and greater spiritual reality. The churches and
meetings of man will then become more useless and empty rituals! To the degree
that we worship our Father in the Spirit, regularly communing with Him in His
heavenly sanctuary, as in Hebrews 10:25, in that same degree will we also cease
all outward works and worship at the false altars of religious Babylon. The
shell no longer satisfies when we are eating the true Meat. We will no longer
live on the shadow when we are enjoying the true Substance. The outward forms,
ceremonies, ordinances, duties and performances of the churches and meetings of
man are but a cheap substitute for the real, true Life of the Spirit. When we
find that Source of Life, we will hasten to replace those old, dead things with
our new-found Source. The rituals and ceremonies of man are but lifeless
routines compared to the Source of all Life. And having found the Source of all
Life we shall continue to partake of Him until we become all that He is!
Paul wrote to the Galatian church to tell them, "Now I say, That the
heir, as long as he is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be
lord of all; But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the
father. Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the
elements of the world" (Ga. 4:1-3). The word "elements," from the
Greek, means something orderly in arrangement. That Greek word is derived from
another Greek word meaning, to range in regular line, to march in rank. Paul
told those Galatians that they were once under the bondage of the elements of
the world. Those worldly "elements" caused the people under that bondage to walk
the line as dictated by the order of things in this world, just as an army must
march in certain, orderly lines or ranks.
Soon after those Galatians had come to the Lord, they allowed themselves to
come into bondage again. This time the cause of their bondage was the ritualism
and legalism of the old Hebrew religion. So Paul admonished them: "But now,
after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to
the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?"
(Ga. 4:9) Just as the world's systems have "elements," so also does the churches
and meetings of man have their "elements," which are also "weak and beggarly
elements," that bring the people into bondage. God is bringing
us into a new freedom in the Spirit, by the Spirit. And we must be
delivered of man's religion and man's ministry if we are ever to enjoy the
freedom in Christ to behold Him in all His glory, and see Him as He is. The
"elements" of man's religion still enslave some; it is a bondage to them and
they do not know it. But God will have His elect to be free of all the elements
and bondages of man.
Then Paul said to those Galatians, "Stand fast therefore in the liberty
wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of
bondage" (Ga. 5:1). If we have found the true Source of our Life, and are
free of man's meetings and man's ministry, let us vow never again to be taken in
by that bondage. We will heed the Apostle's admonition, and will "stand fast
therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free." We will never
again be entangled with any yoke of bondage. The Lord is bringing us into a new
freedom in the Spirit. We are not being set free to do our own thing, but our
true freedom is IN CHRIST! There is no true freedom outside of Christ! We are
being set free to worship our Father and commune with Him in the Spirit. We may
freely live, move, and have our being in Christ. But we are not free to go our
own way and do our own thing. Our freedom is IN CHRIST! Our true freedom
includes all that is in Christ, or all that is in the realm of the Spirit. We
are free to explore all that is in and of the kingdom of God, not with the
deceptive, carnal mind, but with the wisdom of the mind of Christ!
There also are stages of freedom in God as we grow from babes in Christ, to
more mature sons of God. When we first came to Christ, we were set free from the
"elements" of the world. We then came into a kind of bondage to the "elements"
of the church. We were then "under tutors and governors until the time
appointed of the Father." Then, having grown up and matured a little more,
we received "the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons, God hath sent
forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Wherefore
thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through
Christ" (Ga. 4:5-7). When the Lord called and chose us as His sons, He then
set us free from the "tutors and governors," or from the pastors and
teachers of the church system. But it was obvious that some sons still had the
old "elements" of the church system within them, for many of them continued to
listen to pastors and teachers, and to attend man's meetings. They had not yet
found the Source of all true, spiritual Life! But there is still one more
deliverance that shall set them completely free in Christ!
Paul wrote of this final deliverance; it is a deliverance which shall set us
free from all the carnal expressions of man's preaching and teaching. He wrote,
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
IN CHRIST JESUS, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law (or principle) OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE IN CHRIST JESUS hath made me
FREE from the law of sin and death" (Ro. 8:1-2). Those who walk after the
flesh will never know the glory of sonship fulfilled! To be taught and led by
man's ministries is the same as walking after the flesh. Only by the wisdom of
the mind of Christ can we see within us to understand and comprehend this great
truth of our soul's condition. And this is the Day when Father is renewing our
souls that He might unite our soul with our spirit.
All the works of man are soulish; man's works exist in this world of sin and
death for the sole purpose of gratifying the desire of the carnal souls of all
mankind. But our spirit, which is the real person that we are, can only be
satisfied by communing with our Father in the Spirit. Our spirit must find its
Life from God, for He is the Father of all spirits (He. 12:9). Otherwise our
spirit and the person we are becoming will be confined to the lower realms of
the kingdom of God. We will suffer the loss of the fullness of the precious Life
of Christ, which is the age-abiding Life of the kingdom of God promised to the
firstfruit saints (Mk. 10:30-31, 1 Tim. 6:11-12, 19, Jude 20-21).
The carnal soul, on the other hand, rejoices at the sound of a man's voice,
for the soul is fed and sustained by the many voices of man. Thus the
Antichrist, or the great whore, is the fleshly, carnal wisdom in all of us. It
is that fleshly, carnal mind that enjoys the sound of a person's subtle and
beguiling voice, which gives forth the wisdom and the counsel of man. The carnal
mind is enmity against God; it is that which replaces the Spirit of God, for it
is generally contrary to the Voice and the Wisdom of our Creator-Father (Ro.
8:7).
In this regard, Joseph Salmon wrote the following: "Thus O Man! you see what
that great whore is, and where she lies, even in the innermost closets of your
soul. Now that you may be farther convinced that this wisdom of the flesh, is
the Antichrist, the great whore, do but first consider the names, and secondly,
the nature of her. First, her names in scripture are different; as first she is
called Antichrist, which is as much as to say, against Christ. Now man as a
creature is not against Christ, but the wisdom in the flesh in man, this is
against Christ, and so consequently the Great Whore or Antichrist. Secondly, she
is called Babylon in scripture (Rev. 17:5, 18:2), which is as much as to say,
confusion. Now all confusion that is wrought either in Pope, Presbyter, or any
other particular state, is by the wisdom of the flesh, therefore this is the
great Babylon.
"Thirdly she is called that wicked one, (2 Thess. 3:8). Now all the actual
wickedness that proceeds from the sons of men, flows from that original within,
even the wisdom of the flesh. Therefore, the wisdom of the flesh is that great
wicked one which is to be destroyed. Fourthly, she is called the Mother of
harlots and abominations of the earth, (Rev. 17:5). Now what is the mother of
harlots? Surely that cannot be either the Pope, or any other particular state.
For if the Pope be the Mother of Harlots, then I demand who or what is the
Mother of this harlotry? Then what, or who, is the Mother of Harlots? Why she is
in us all in a Mystery; it is the wisdom of the flesh in man, which is the
mother of all the abominations which is committed against the Lord.
"This is that Antichrist; this is Babylon, here is the wicked one. This is
the Matron of all iniquity, out of the womb of fleshly wisdom proceeds all that
actual transgression that is committed against the Lord. All outward appearances
of sins, are but the bastards of this whore, the children of this strange woman,
and the brats of this great adulteress. And happy, yea thrice blessed shall that
Man be called, who shall take and dash these children of the whore against the
stones. This man is Christ, who shall come in power and great glory in a
Christian, and destroy, and dash in pieces the conceptions, bringings forth and
appearances of fleshly wisdom in us, as we shall show more at large hereafter.
"Now the nature of the whore is two-fold; 1. Opposing; 2. Exalting; both
which you may find attributed to Antichrist or the whore. In 2 Thess. 2:4 she
opposes Christ or God and is therefore called Antichrist. Now see O Man! whether
this whore be not your fleshly wisdom. Look into your soul, and behold and see,
how opposite your fleshly wisdom is to anything that is good or goodness. What
means those often resistings of the spirit in you, O Man! Do you not see how the
whore deceives you? What conception, bringing forth, or appearance of God is
there in you, but the wisdom of the flesh seeks to devour it, by violent
attempts, and oppositions. This is what crucifies the Lamb afresh, and puts him
to open shame. And all this is done by that bloody whore that harbors in your
bosom.
"Now therefore know, O Christian! that this whore appears to you in all your
spiritual performances, and sacrifices to the Lord. If then you but observe, you
shall see her appear in prayer, in humiliation, in fasting, nay, in all outward
ordinances, you shall see your wisdom in all these things, steal your heart from
the Lord, by attributing something to form, flesh and creature: so that
we are apt oftentimes to bless ourselves in our spiritual performances, and sing
a requiem to ourselves in our fleshly forms; so that hereby, all our
duties are but the sacrifices of the whore, the vows of our fleshly wisdom which
she appear in, to delude us.
"Now, woe and alas for us! that we should even be deceived by this whore, in
those things wherein we think she appears least, herein is plainly seen her
mystical apparition. This whore meets you, O Man, in
all your religious performances; and there does she attribute all the
goodness of all that is done, to her self. And you also gave consent to it, and
to commit fornication with her. Hence it is that the woman is said (Rev. 17), to
have a golden cup in her hand, full of abominations, and filthiness of her
fornications, a golden pot, but a bitter portion. Beware then of this whore, in
all her glorious appearances, and golden manifestation, for all this is but to
ensnare your heart with her treachery.
"Now when the whore has thus estranged the heart from the Lord, then she
propounds her own way to the creature; she will persuade the creature... to go
and feed upon the husks: as namely, upon prayer, fasting, (or the carnal wisdom
of man's ministries), or some outward and carnal ordinances. And here the soul
estranged from the substance, commits adultery with the whore, in subsisting on
the shadow, forsaking the Fountain, running to broken cisterns, and so commits a
great evil against the Lord. And thus poor naked man runs from God, as from an
enemy, behind the trees of his own creating; and before he will be beholding to
God for clothing, he will cover himself with the fig-leaves of his own fleshly
wisdom, and so commits adultery with the Mother of Harlots." (End of quotation.)
We are living in the Day of our full and complete deliverance and redemption!
Before we shall ever partake of the resurrection Life of Christ and be changed
into His image and likeness, our souls must first be renewed (Ro. 12:2).
Therefore, all that feeds and sustains our soulish mind and nature, especially
including the ministries of man, must be removed from us. We must be weaned from
all our former, religious, infantile and childhood behaviors, and from the milk
of the word ministered by man, that we might partake of the spiritual meat of
Christ, directly from, through and by His Spirit. All that fed the soul of man
must be removed from us. Then our souls will be renewed by eating and drinking
of Christ, in the Spirit and by the Spirit.
When the soulish mind and nature has lost its source of food and sustenance,
it will whither and die. Our souls will then be renewed by the Spirit of the
living God in preparation for our total bodily transformation. Our united
spirits and souls shall then drink in the waters of Life directly from the
Source of all Life, transforming us within and without! This is the path of
Life! Only those who are willing to take their souls to the spiritual death of
the cross of Christ shall partake of that abundant Life in all His glorious
fullness! And if you ever see that harlot operating in you, as I have seen it in
me, you will hastily and symbolically place your sinful soul on the cross of
Christ, for the crucifixion and renewal of that carnal soul, by the simple,
merciful and pure operation of the Spirit of God.
In the scripture we quoted from Romans eight on page seven, Paul spoke of
"them which are IN CHRIST JESUS, who walk not after the flesh, but after
the Spirit." There is a place called, "IN CHRIST." We
have Christ within us now, but it is our Father's purpose that we should be
fully "in Christ," by the power and authority of the Christ within. It is not
enough to merely have Christ within us, but we must grow spiritually to the
point where we are fully IN CHRIST. Of this place in Christ, Paul wrote,
"Therefore if any person is (ingrafted) in Christ, the Messiah,
he is (a new creature altogether,) a new creation; the old (previous moral and
spiritual condition) has passed away. Behold, the fresh and new has come!"
(2 Co. 5:17, Amplified.)
We are in Christ now in the elementary sense, for we have been delivered out
of our "previous moral and spiritual condition." Although we are in
Christ in the primary or basic sense, we have not yet become "a new creature
altogether." Our previous moral and spiritual condition has passed away,
and that which is fresh and new, which is Christ in greater fullness, has come
into our lives. Since Christ is within us and we are in Him, if only in the
elementary or basic sense, we are assured that He will fulfill all His sovereign
purposes in our lives for His glory. In this same basic or primary sense, we are
blessed with every spiritual blessing in the Spirit. Furthermore, we also were
in Christ before the foundation of the world. Thus, Paul wrote, "Blessing
(praise, laudation and eulogy) be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Messiah, Who has blessed us in Christ with every
spiritual (Holy Spirit given) blessing in the heavenly realm! Even as [in His
love] He chose us His own - in Christ before the foundation of
the world; that we should be holy (consecrated and set apart for Him) and
blameless in His sight, even above reproach, before Him in love" (Eph.
1:3-4, Amplified).
We were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. Of course, we
were not even born then, but God foreknew us and then purposed beforehand to set
us on this path of sonship fulfilled. He did not need to ask us, but we may have
agreed to walk out this fore-ordained path in this world at this time when we
were a part of His Spirit in that predawn era, before the foundation of the
world was laid. Our Father sovereignly chose us and ordained that we should be
where we are today: sons of God growing to the full maturity of manifest sons of
God, and ordained of our Father to fulfill His kingdom purposes for such a time
as this. As Mordecai said to Esther, so it is true of us: "who
knoweth whether thou art come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
(Esther 4:14.)
The High Priestly, Melchisedec Ministry - Without the Camp
The following scripture describes the ministry of the high priest without the
camp. It is written, "We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat
which serve the tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is
brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned
without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the
people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.
Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to come" (He.
13:10-14). There is much truth in these few verses of scripture for those who
have ears to hear what the Spirit is saying to His elect in this new and more
glorious Day.
Verse ten describes the ministry of those high priests who are called to
minister to the Lord, and not to the "house," or to the people. The priests or
servants of the Lord who went astray when the rest of Christendom strayed from
the Lord (as in 2 Thess. 2:1-4 & 2 Tim. 4:3-4) are confined to the duty of
"having charge at the gates of the house, and ministering to the house.
And they shall not come near unto me, to do the office of a priest unto me, nor
to come near to any of my holy things, in the most holy place: but they
shall bear their shame, and their abominations which they have committed"
(see Ez. 44:10-14). We may assume that the Lord does not bring immediate
judgment on the leaders of the religious systems of man and the churches of
today, but that assumption would be wrong. The Lord has already judged them by
limiting their spiritual growth. They are confined to ministering to the
"house," and are not called to minister to the Lord. However, in due time, those
servants of the Lord who transgressed against His ways, together with all
mankind, shall be released from their limitations and bondages, when the sons of
God are fully manifest. They shall then be purged in the consuming fires of the
Lord's presence and prepared for their transformation (Jo. 5:28-29.
The Melchisedec priests of this high calling, who have been faithful and
obedient to the Lord, are not ministering to people; they are ministering to the
Lord. "They shall enter into my sanctuary, and they shall come near to my
table, to minister unto me, and they shall keep my charge"
(see Ez. 44:15-16). The elect of this hour have the privilege of partaking of
the most holy things of God from His sacred, heavenly altar of grace, mercy,
love and truth within the Holy of Holies. It is that high calling to which those
who serve the "house", or who serve the people, are not called at this time.
When the Lord called us out of the church system, and all it involves, He
also called us to join Him without the camp. When we obeyed Him, we left
everything of that former "house" behind us, including its false doctrines, dead
principles, and carnal, religious works, as well as the song service, its
outward worship, and the pulpit. We then became that order of priests who are
now ministering unto Him. As that order of priests who are faithful and obedient
to the Lord in this new Day, we have the wonderful privilege of entering into
the Holiest of all, to bring forth full salvation for all. Of a truth, there is
far more to our high calling than we may have previously realized!
Verse eleven of Hebrews chapter thirteen describes more of the ministry of
the high priest, as it applies to us today. There is a special duty and function
for those priests of the Lord who are called to minister to Him and to complete
His plan of salvation for all. It is God's plan and purpose that this old man,
Adam, who is the "man of sin" within us all, be eliminated completely and
forever. And the Old Testament describes the process by which this is
accomplished. In that old, previous order, the refuse of the sacrificial animal,
which was offered as the sin offering for the people and which included the
flesh, the skin, and the dung, was to be taken without the camp by the high
priest, where all that refuse was to be burned (see Lev. 4:7-12 & 16:27). That
Old Testament rite is symbolic and represents our high priestly function today;
it depicts the ministry of those high priests who are chosen of God and called
according to the order of Melchisedec.
Our carnal, fleshly bodies, along with our carnal mind, are what God
considers to be the "refuse" of the total being that we are. It is that part of
us that is of the earth, earthy, and which must return to the dust of the earth
from which it came. This flesh and blood body and everything of it cannot
possibly inherit the kingdom of God. It is all of the earth and must return to
the earth. The resurrection Life of Christ has nothing to do with the healing
and restoration of our physical bodies. This body can never be a part of the
heavenlies, which is the realm of the Spirit, or the realm of the kingdom of
God, no matter how healthy it may be (see Ecc. 12:7 & 1 Co. 15:47-50).
The "refuse" of our being, which is our carnal mind and body, will be
symbolically and spiritually burned in the fiery oven of the presence of the
Lord, then to be replaced with a new body like unto His glorious body of
heavenly, spiritual glory. Father's plan for us is not that we should be
stripped of this body and then left "naked" and without a body. But it is His
purpose that we should put on that new body that is fashioned after His glorious
body, so that this mortality might be swallowed up by His Life (2 Co. 5:1-5).
What a glorious plan Father has for us and eventually for all mankind!
Our carnal body and mind, which is the "refuse" of our being, must be
spiritually separated from the man of the Spirit that we are. This is the great
spiritual work that shall take place when Christ, the Son of man, appears (Mt.
24:37-42). His appearing at this time is likened to the days of Noah. At that
time of the great flood, all the ungodly and the unrighteous were taken away. So
also shall the unrighteous man, which is the man of sin within us all, be taken
away from us by the appearing of Christ, bringing forth full salvation for all
mankind and the deliverance of the whole creation. "Then shall two be in the
field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding
at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left." It is the
"refuse" of our being that will be taken from us, to be symbolically burned in
the fiery oven of the presence of the Lord.
All this is to take place during this present "night" (Lu. 17:34),
outside the camp, by holy, set-apart priests after the order of Melchisedec, at
the hands of a "fit man" (Lev. 16:21), who are anointed with the seven Spirits
of God for this high calling of God in Christ (see Lev. 4:16, Is.
11:1-5). And what a high calling this is! No wonder we are being so thoroughly
prepared by the tests and trials of this wilderness experience! We are called of
God to eliminate all sin forever by putting our lives at His disposal, and
believing Him for this wondrous and mighty deliverance!
"Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his
reproach. For here we have no continuing city, but we seek one to
come." All the many works of man are being piled up in that huge "camp,"
for future judgment and burning by the presence of the Lord. We are already
being judged and chastened of the Lord according to God's word (see 1 Co.
11:31-32), and we need not partake of the judgment of those in other spiritual
orders or realms. By the leading of His Spirit, the Lord led us out of all of
man's "camps" to join Him "without the camp, bearing his reproach."
Those who are in union with Christ are also being defamed as He was; they are
bearing His reproach. We are just like Christ was while He was here on earth: we
have no continuing city here, but we seek one to come. We are not comfortable
with the world, nor do we have any worldly ambitions or a continuing,
established home here. Like Jesus, we seek a new and more glorious home with our
Father in the Spirit.
What wisdom our Father has used in bringing us to this point of spiritual
growth unto maturity! By the wisdom of His omnipotent mind, we are prepared of
God for glorious and wondrous things in His kingdom. The wisest of men once
said, "Take away the dross from the silver, and there shall come
forth a vessel for the finer. Take away the wicked from before the
king, and his throne shall be established in righteousness"
(Pro. 25:4-5). This is exactly what God has been doing with us! He has been
gradually taking the dross, or the refuse of our being, away from us so that a
pure, new vessel might come forth for God, our Refiner. He has been taking away
the wickedness from us so that His throne shall be established within us and in
the whole earth in righteousness. When our Father has completed that work in us,
Christ, the son of God, shall come forth from within us in the radiant and
magnificent manifestation of the sons of God. With our manifestation as God's
sons, the creation also shall be delivered.
By the inspiration of the Spirit, Paul wrote to Timothy to tell him,
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord
knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold
and of silver, but also of wood and of earth; and some to honour, and some to
dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a
vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's use, and prepared unto
every good work" (2 Tim. 2:19-21, see also Job 23:10, Ps. 17:3,
66:10, & James 1:12).
The Lord knows those that are His, for He has put His seal upon them. The
seal our Father put upon His elect is as a signet fencing them in or protecting
them from being misappropriated or misused by the religious systems of man or
any of man's carnal, religious programs. It is a stamp impressed upon them as a
mark of privacy or genuineness (from Strong's). The Lord's elect are enduring
His purging chastenings by His strength. It seems that some of the Lord's elect
are being tried beyond any reasonable, or natural endurance. But they are
becoming vessels "unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master's
use, and prepared unto every good work." When we catch a glimpse
of the great, sovereign purposes of our Father, and of the greater glory yet to
be revealed to the whole creation, we will acknowledge that these present trials
will then be overwhelmed by the glory of the Lord that shall be revealed IN US.
We will then affirm the wonderful truth that He is doing and has done all things
well!
A New Life to be Birthed From Within Us
That there is any life within us at all, besides this earthly life, seems
far-fetched and unlikely. At times we are so bombarded with the trials and cares
of this life, that we may lose sight of that which is within us. But a Seed has
been planted within us; and that precious Seed is growing within us, and shall
continue to grow until Christ, Who is that Seed, shall occupy the whole of us.
Then He shall burst forth from within us in our second birth, bringing forth a
company of sons of God who shall all be just like Christ, the original pattern
and firstborn Son.
When Abraham was seventy-five years old, the Lord called him to leave his
country, his kindred, and his father's house, to travel to a land that God said
He would show him. The Lord promised to bless him, make him a blessing, and that
through him, all the families of the earth would be blessed. That blessing
included the promise of a seed or children to be born to Abraham and Sarah. But,
in spite of the promise, Abraham remained childless for many years after the
promise was given. Finally, when Abraham reminded the Lord that he and Sarah
were still childless and that one born in his household was his only heir, the
Lord said to him, "This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall
come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir" (Ge.
15:4). In Abraham the principle of birth and of the birthright was established
when God said to him, "he that shall come forth out of thine own
bowels shall be thine heir."
Later, David desired to build a house or temple unto the Lord for His name.
But the Lord said to him, "Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house
unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. Nevertheless thou
shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy
loins, he shall build the house unto my name" (1 Ki. 8:18-19).
Once again, the Lord's principle of birth was confirmed in Israel. These
scriptures refer to the natural birth; the spiritual birth is far more
significant and meaningful to us.
The one that was to come forth out of Abraham's loins, or Isaac, was to be
his heir, or the inheritor of all that was promised to Abraham. And the son that
was to come forth out of David's loins, which was Solomon, was the one who was
to build the house of the Lord. In a similar way, the one who shall come forth
out of our innermost being, by the Spirit, which is the Christ manifest in a new
and living way, shall be the inheritor of the kingdom of God, as well as the
administrator and the executor of all the yet unfulfilled promises of our Father
given for His vast, groaning creation. When we have grown to full maturity by
the Spirit, our Father shall then call the Son of God within us to come forth,
just as Jesus called Lazarus to come forth out of death (Jo. 11:43-44). Then, He
that has been forming in that secret place within us, throughout all our tests
and trials in this world, shall truly come forth from within us in a magnificent
manifestation of the resurrection Life of Christ to all mankind and the whole
creation. And what a glorious manifestation that shall be! The whole creation
shall then be delivered of the curse of sin and death!
As we approach our second birth, and the manifestation of the son of God from
within us, our souls shall be renewed and made one with our spirits. Then we
will be fully prepared for the greatest event the world and the creation has
ever known. At this time of our soul's renewal, we may become discouraged and
frustrated by the processing that our souls must go through to be changed and
renewed by the Spirit. But the words of the anointed Psalmist ring clear and
true for us today: "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou
disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise Him, who is the
health of my countenance, and my God" (Ps. 42:11).
We are the creation of our Father! He has been creating us in His image and
likeness. And He will continue that great work of creating us in His image and
likeness until there is nothing left within us or outside of us but the image
and the likeness of His own Son. As our Father made our outer man, so also did
He make our inner man (Lu. 11:40). The Pharisees in Jesus' day paid close
attention to the outer man. They insisted on washing their hands and keeping the
outer man clean, just as the laws and rules of the church system have focused on
the outer man. But Jesus turned the attention of the Pharisees to the inner man
of the soul and the spirit, for that is the area of our greatest need, concern,
and importance. That which is to come forth from within us will be pure and
righteous, even as He is pure and righteous. Therefore, we must be all pure,
clean, and righteous within.
Change is the order of this new Day! While carnal Christians are taken up
with literal, earthly changes, such as earthquakes, storms, and other outward
events, the elect are being changed in their inner-most beings. More and greater
changes are yet to take place at this time! They will not be major, literal,
outward changes, but the elect will be spiritually changed, by the transforming
power of the Spirit within them!
Paul and Emily Mueller
P O BOX 25055, PORTLAND, OR 97298-0055
