Most Holy Call to Pray (CTP, 30th April, 2021)
Topic: The Ministry and the Conversation of the Throne
Minister: Rev. Kayode Oyegoke
There are two manners of resurrection: the resurrection from the dead and the resurrection of the dead (Romans 1:4, Philipp. 3:11). Resurrection from the dead refers to the separation of the soul of a believer from the lifestyle of this world. This is because the life of this world generates a death or unresponsiveness to God. However, the resurrection of the dead refers to a state where a believer is further raised and saved completely in his spirit, soul and body. Such a believer will not have the tendency to die again.
These two manners of resurrection do not refer to the New Birth experience where a believer is quickened in his spirit. Rather, they are resurrections that occur in the soul of one who is born again. Resurrection occurs as a believer gives himself continually to hearing the word of God and the training of the Spirit. This ultimately leads to the formation of a spiritual stature in the soul of a man. A soul that will partake of the resurrection of the dead must have passed through the trainings of three levels of the word – milk, meat and strong meat of the word (Heb. 5:13-14). These levels are not just teachings; they are the agendas of God for the salvation of the soul.
“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption…” (1 Cor. 15:42). In God’s plan for both types of resurrection, a provision has already been made for our mortal and corruptible outward man to put on immortality and incorruption. There is a provision for the body under the resurrection from the dead. However, the full program of resurrection cannot be fully achieved without the provision of the resurrection of the dead. A believer who has fully partaken of these two provisions of resurrection in his soul will experience the complete resurrection of the outward body.
“And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,” (Rev. 1:5). Jesus is the first begotten of the dead because He was the first man who partook of the resurrection of the dead in His spirit, soul and body. This is why He is the prince of the kings of the earth. The kings of the earth are those who will reign on the earth. Psalm 45 speaks of these kings.
“Kings' daughters were among thy honourable women: upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir.” (Ps. 45:9). This Queen is the New Jerusalem or holy city which will come out of heaven from God to the new earth (Rev. 21:10). She is made up of priests and kings; and she is also seated at the right hand of God (Rev. 1:5). In other words, this Queen is not one person but a city. The city speaks of a people who have partaken of the resurrection of the dead and can therefore reign on the earth. No one can be a part of this city except he or she has partaken of the resurrection of the dead.
In Revelation 21:23-24, we also see kings of the earth who bring their glory and honour to walk in the light of the city. Our fathers who walked with God in the Old Testament are among these kings. They are the men who will be rulers and kings in the new earth, before the arrival of the true kings (the city) to reign on the new earth (Psa. 45:15-16). Such men had an understanding of how to possess the earth or their bodies (1 Thess. 4:4). Therefore, they have their lot in the earth of the world to come. In the New Testament, such kind of men will also arise who would have journeyed with God to a point where they will possess the glory of the earth (Rev. 21:24-26). However, men who remain carnal will not have the glory of the earth. For example, Adam had a crown of glory and honour which qualified him as a king of the earth (Ps. 8:5). In other words, this type of glory is not a heavenly one nor the actual glory of God (Heb. 1:3).
In the new heaven or earth, men with the full stature of a king will have glory, while those with a partial level of this stature will have honour. Honour depicts purity while glory depicts salvation. Salvation is higher than purity because it speaks of a finished work; it is a state of fullness or perfection. When God is bringing a man into glory, He is bringing him to a place where He will begin to show certain qualities of life that are peculiar to the realm of glory (2 Tim. 2:21). Glory carries images; and these images are carriers of natures. As such, glory is responsible for changing men from one image to another. The glory that translates a man is resident in the face of Jesus (2 Cor. 4:6). As we journey in the spirit, we should change from one image to another (2 Cor. 3:18).
“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” (2 Cor. 3:17). It is the Spirit of the Lord that ministers the image of the Lord to us, so that we can change. This Spirit is not the Spirit within but the Spirit that rests upon (Acts 2:4, Heb. 1:9). The word ‘spirit’ may refer to the core or inward nature of a person; it may also refer to a law or wearing upon a person. The essence of the Spirit upon is to serve the person whom He is upon.
The Holy Ghost can operate as the Spirit upon God. In doing this, He loses His own identity and serves God by revealing, explaining and magnifying Him. This is a conversation of meekness which God also wants us to understand and emulate. The Holy Ghost is a person, but He may also take different expressions when He infills the spirit of a believer. This is different from His expression when He is upon a being. The Holy Ghost does not come upon every person except those with authority (Luke 3:22). We should all be aware of this, so that we will be more careful to respect and not despise authority in the spirit.
“Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person…” (Heb. 1:3). Jesus is the exact image of the Father and the Invisible God (Col. 1:14). To attain the realm of God’s glory, you must have been worked upon by the Spirit of the Lord. Jesus was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father; and then, He experienced the resurrection of the dead. There is a Lord who is the Spirit; He is not Christ but the Lord who is seated on the throne. It is this Lord on the throne who is qualified to wear the glory of God.
Jesus is our Lord; this is why He is the one who should be preached. Preaching is a weapon or form of worship because we worship whom we preach. It is possible for a minister to shift the focus of the people from the Lord to himself while he is preaching. However, preachers should avoid taking the glory for what the Lord is doing; they should rather expose their infirmities. This is why God trains and deals with men till they become meek before He makes them preachers. Pastors should be able to endure hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ (2 Tim. 2:3). They should also ensure that their messages are a worship to God.
Jesus had obtained certain glories on earth before He came into the glory of God (John 17:22, 24). The Spirit of God is able to teach us how to attain different levels of glory till we are trained for the ultimate glory. Jesus moved from learning the glory of the Father into learning the glory of the fullness of God.
The learning of the Father is the learning of suffering. When you are suffering, the Spirit of glory rests on you, even though you may not feel it (1 Pet. 4:14). The operation of the Spirit of glory is not to make you feel good but to change you from glory to glory (2 Cor. 3:18). In other words, you are to change from your current nature to a higher nature. We cannot come into all the persons of the Godhead at once. This is why we must move from glory to glory until we arrive at the highest glory. The realm of the highest glory (of the Godhead) is a realm of death (Philipp. 3:10).
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death…” (Philipp. 3:10). The realm of the Godhead is about death. It is a realm where a person departs from his nature or self and inherits the nature of God. A man can only attain this state when he goes through the process of suffering (i.e., allowing the will of God instead of his own). The training of suffering helps to build the nature of God in a man.
When God is changing the nature of a man, He keeps it secret. God keeps His secrets in the dark. This is why He keeps the level of beauty we acquire as we go through these sufferings. He will not allow us to see the extent of the beauty He is working out in us so that we do not become puffed up or relaxed in our journey. The resurrection of the dead is usually worked out in us amidst our sufferings (Phil. 3:11). As such, sufferings are powerful.
“O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!” (Rom. 11:33). God keeps things in the secret and can move things in a dimension that are not understood by many. This is because our God is past finding out. It is the Holy Ghost that reveals these things to those whom He will. When the Holy Ghost begins to minister God, He is administering God’s glory. These things of God are the things of the resurrection of the dead; they are things that belong to the begotten Son. Jesus had to go to the depths of hell to get these things; He then attracted the glory of the Father.
The components of the resurrection from the dead are faith, hope and charity (1 Cor. 13:13). This resurrection is the small resurrection that is able to build Christ in a man. Christ is a profession in the realm of the spirit. Therefore, we have to learn His nature till we become like Him. However, there is the great resurrection called the “so great salvation” (Heb. 2:3). This is the resurrection of the dead. The aim of the first resurrection is to raise Christ; while the aim of the last and great resurrection is to raise the image of God.
Satan has left His imprint on men and no one can erase his activities without being taught a higher law – the law of God (James 1:25). What Satan put in men is the opposite of God’s design of raising men. This is why Jesus had to descend to the abyss when He died in order to redeem man. We must therefore journey deeply in the spirit and see Jesus. Otherwise, what Satan has done in us will not be erased (Heb. 9:28).
“I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” (Rev. 1:18). Jesus has the keys of hell and death. The essence of His second appearance is to obliterate sin (Heb. 9:28). The law of this sin is hell and death. Therefore, a man will have to journey deeply in the spirit with Jesus to undo the law of sin in him. This sin is beyond the works of the flesh which may be generally seen as unacceptable by men. Rather, it is an agreement that one enters into willingly and it is generally acceptable by men.
It is the blood of the everlasting covenant that breaks our agreement with death and hell. This is because sin itself is everlasting. As a man subjects himself to the tutelage of the everlasting covenant, the root of sin is being dealt with in him. This root of sin is in the form of intents and thoughts which are the laws of death that Satan has written in our hearts and minds.
It is important that we break our agreements with hell and death. One of the easiest ways to do this is through our brethren. Through them, God will expose things in you that are still in agreement with hell and death. And as you take advantage of these opportunities to change, you will be blessed. As against the lie that Satan may tell us, we will not lose anything when we break our agreements with hell and death (Isa. 28:18).