Eternal Glorious Fountain Ministry
Programme: School of the Spirit (SOS)
Date: Thursday, 12th May, 2022
Ministering: Reverend Kayode Oyegoke
There is no way a soul will be able to comprehend everlasting life without being properly schooled in the gospel of peace, which is the gospel of Christ. One must be full of age to be able to go through the school of strong meat. The school of everlasting life is the school of discernment and the education of everlasting life is of great importance.
It is time to gird up to learn and we must not be weary. The Hebrew Christians became weary of learning when they saw the curriculum. The Hebrew Church was able to see the curriculum because the people painting the gospel of everlasting life to them were highly enabled by the Lord Himself.
The manpower of the first century was so strong that even when the New Testament was not yet laid out, they were able to teach it out of the Old Testament. The Lord Jesus was the one that was able to completely hewn out the message and doctrine of God from where God hid them in the scriptures of the prophets. It is not easy to see everlasting life in the books of Moses, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy. Just as Jesus opened all the books of the Bible, it must be our desire to also know the teachings of the Kingdom. Therefore, we must all be diligent enquirers.
The high priestly school is a training. The book of Hebrew is one of the text books of the high priest. It is not for raising priests but is written to priests who are about to become high priests. It is also a calling into the high priest's learning. Every priest that successfully finishes the priestly school must have the desire to further his studies to the high priestly school.
However, many are lazy and do not want to further their studies. Such Christians are lazy and esteem miracles, healing, power, prosperity and such things more than the learning of Christ. Christ is a degree course and He is not the end, just like the bachelor's degree is not the peak of learning but only serves as a platform for more advanced learnings.
Christ is a foundational stone that makes the foundation for the other learnings. To tap root downward, one has to learn Christ. Christ is not made of only one stone but many stones. The first level of stones are the invisible ones that are buried underground, which are not meant to be seen. The second level is for the raising or building that is made of precious stones, while the third level is the building of the sure foundation, a habitation of God through the spirit.
In Ephesians 2, Paul speaks in verse 21 of the second phase of doctrine, while in verse 22, he speaks of the raising of the sure foundation. There is also a foundation of the apostles (Eph. 2:20). Many of those who call themselves apostles are not really apostles because they speak more about themselves and not the One who sent them. They preach themselves because they have a wrong foundation. One of the tests of a true apostle is that he does not preach himself, rather He exalts only the Lord (2 Cor. 4:5).
Apostles should preach Christ as the foundation. God gave the foundation to two offices, namely apostles and prophets, for them to transfer it. These offices are the beginners of the gospel of peace. Foundational stones are not of the same measures. The prophetic number is 8, the apostolic number is 10, while 12 is the high priestly number. The number 12 is the number of the Son of God and is greater than the apostolic measure. The apostolic measure is present within the New Testament; they are measures of sons.
By giving gifts, Jesus was giving sons because gifts are sons (Eph. 4:8). It is impossible to have this apostolic measure and still be a child spiritually. Growth is necessary to wear these offices. Some men bore these offices with some growth but they did not have the actual New Testament age; that is, the age of the new man. The new man is Christ and He has an age. However, there is an age that is greater than the new man. The full apostolic stature could fully preach the Son of God (Eph. 4:13). Beyond the grace upon the apostolic office, there is an inward power that gives growth to those who he ministers to. Revelations are actually materials of building.
A prophet’s age can be discerned by his message and what he sees. Age can be detected by sight. Angels are very prophetic and they also have their ages. This is why they are concerned with whether the prophets understood the things that were shown to them. They always asked if they understood because man has limitations. The fullness of age is understanding. A man receives age, which is growth, by understanding. One of the signs of growth, apart from character, is understanding. When a man has knowledge and is able to discern, he has come of age.
All the offices are some kind of age in the spirit. A New Testament teacher of the word can be older in the spirit than an apostle of milk because he has more age. It is through age that we understand the scripture. A man’s age can be detected by the way he enters the scripture. The 12-year-old Jesus was older than the doctors of law and his parents. Jesus grew properly and his outward and mental growth were simultaneous. Some men, including ministers, also grow outwardly but are stunted inwardly.
Worldly standards are the reasons why many men are in ministry. When godly standards are raised, evil men will be hindered from going into ministry. Many want the standards of the kingdom to be reduced, to accommodate the worldly dimension in them. They do not like the leading of the Spirit. If churches are going to be raised after godly standards, it must be done by the Spirit. The Church must like the Spirit of God.
Our examination of the things we are hearing are those occasions when the devil comes to tempt us. We must not fail in these assessments and tests or exams. The continuous assessments in the realm of everlasting life are being done by spiritual wickedness in high places. Temptations are joyful moments in heaven because They get to show off the work that has been done. Jesus was driven into the wilderness to be tempted (Matt. 4:1). That was an examination. Jesus had experienced many temptations before that time but those were the continuous assessments, while Matthew 4:1 was the examination.
The time of temptation is the time that God wants to really prove a man for the singular reason of owning him (Heb. 2:18). This time of owning can also be regarded as the time of begetting. It is in temptation that the process of birth is complete. God cannot give birth to a baby; he gives birth to man. One has to be a man for God to birth him/her. One cannot be begotten of God if such is not a man.
A living soul connotes the type of image that man became (Gen 1:26-27, Gen. 2:7). The image that Adam bore is the living soul. Just as we bore the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly (1Cor. 15:49). The image of the heavenly is the quickening spirit (1Cor. 15:45). The quickening Spirit is the image we are called to bear.
On earth, image formation begins with the soul, not necessarily the human soul. The Greek word for soul is ‘nafesh’, which means breath. This connotes a breath that is living. Therefore, the sum of Adam’s operation is the living soul. A soul can be a soul and is not living.
God made His ministers a flaming fire (Ps. 104:4). All angels are fire, but there is a class of image called flaming fire. There is a difference between flaming and fire. Seraphim and dominions are not spirits even though they are spirit beings. This is because their images are not spirits. The flaming fire is based on laws that guide it. There is a law of flame and of fire in the spirit. It is a code that is within the codes of the knowledge of the Almighty. One of the ways to describe fire is that it has something to do with pleasure (Psa. 103:21).
Spirits hearken to the voice of God’s word and they do commandments, unlike ministers who cannot do commandments. All spirit beings are commanded but there is something called commandments in particular. Commandments are what God calls spirit.
In Hebrews 9, Paul described the realm of the angelic, but he put more attention on the sanctuary and the Most Holy Place, thus leaving out the outer courts out of it. The Most Holy has divine service, while the sanctuary has service that is at the level of sanctuary. Divine service is beyond separation because all the realms of the tabernacle have their level of separations, including the outer court.
To understand the book of Hebrew, a man must be holy and must be a part of the sanctuary brethren; that is, he must be full of age. Everlasting life requires a measure of stature from a man for him to be able to learn it. The high priest is raised for the purpose of raising men, not for babies or even those who have the Levitical age (Heb. 5:1). It is men in the sanctuary that the high priest is ordained for. He is raised to train them to become sons of God.
The second man or the last man has the destiny to be born of God. The first man was of the earth earthy. God lowered the portion for man to be able to take the curriculum. The tree of life in Eden is a tree that was supposed to absorb Adam completely. Adam was standing by God’s mercy, which is the tree, to attain destiny but he failed. Adam was not a sanctuary man but a 'holy of holies' man on earth. He is equivalent to a person who can enter into the sanctuary and also come into the Holiest of All.
To gain access into the realms of the kingdom, the Lord has to measure the strength of a man. John could not enter the kingdom because, unlike Adam, He was not a perfect living soul. Jesus operated the living soul dimension well because He was not a quickening spirit at first. Jesus grew under the law, obeyed the law and still obeyed the New Testament as well. Thus, He fulfilled all the curriculums of the law so that the Jews who were indebted to the law could be free (Rom. 10:4).
Jesus is the true interpretation of the requirements of the law. He did all the law so that the Jews can be free and the Gentiles can be grafted into the will, because there were ordinances and writings in the law that are against the Gentiles. That way, Jesus, in Himself, broke the middle wall of partition. He did all these things for our sake. The focus of God is man. God called man according to a purpose that is different from what Satan has called man to. God has an intention for man.
Adam had to go through a process to become the begotten son of God; but Satan, who knew the purpose of God for man, hindered that process by making him partake of a first and wrong birth. This is the reason why Jesus said in John 3 that man must be born again (John 3:3). Thus, that fallen man must be born again to be able to see the kingdom of God.
God had not yet birthed Adam, but was on His way to birthing Adam when Satan hindered him. We must understand that when God wants to give man a destiny, Satan would also come to offer a counterfeit. We must be wise and fight out temptations. Temptation is the attempt of Satan to change our destiny (Heb. 12:2-3).
There is always conflict when the destiny of God for man is placed before him. The conflict is an age long contention and it has not ceased, even though Jesus has come. Satan, who understands that He has been defeated by Jesus, still holds the opinion that the Church is still under him, and this is why he would not stop attacking us. He can still tempt us and he is all out to hinder man from committing himself to the destiny of the Father.
The project of God in Hebrew is to make Jesus's enemies His footstool (Heb. 10:12-13). Jesus knows that God has enemies; that is why He has to hate them. There are some enemies that we are instructed to pray for but there are some we must hate and should not pray for. Such enemies have sworn an oath to take us down. They are not interested in our wellbeing unto God, so we must hate them.
The attempt of the enemy/adversary concerning Jesus was to make Him fall but, to the glory of God, Jesus was well instructed. He was driven into the wilderness where Satan was present also. Jesus knew Satan was His enemy yet, even at the point of temptation, He discerned Satan's evil intentions.
Satan said, “…command that these stones be made bread…” (Matt. 4:3-4). This shows that he was referring to certain stones in particular. These stones represent the doctrine that make up foundation. Satan wanted the message that Jesus held to be earthly and be used for gain. Satan, like He tempted Jesus, has continued to tempt ministers of the gospel of Christ to turn the stones, which are the doctrine of Christ, to bread; thus adulterating it for earthly gains and profits.
Jesus rebuked Satan and told him that “man shall not live by bread alone” (Matt. 4:4). Man was not designed to live by bread. If Satan succeeds in taking down or taming a man’s mind, he would be disqualified from the destiny of God. God would not receive a soul that eats bread alone.
Satan came to tempt Jesus immediately God testified of the Son as a man of well pleasing (Matt. 3:17). Satan came at a time when Jesus was well anointed but was also weak in the body. The scripture says that He was hungry (Matt. 4:2). There were also wild animals in the wilderness, but they did not hurt Jesus. This tells us that He exercised Edenic authority in that wilderness. Jesus was an Adam; hence, He fasted with glory. When Jesus finished fasting, Satan came to tempt Him, with a desire to make Him to change His ideology; that is, to bring Him to death. Death is to turn a man from God to another.
Satan took Jesus to the pinnacle of the temple (Matt. 4:5-6). This was an elevation in the spirit. Satan also took Jesus to a great and high mountain; this was not a physical place (Matt. 4:8). Similarly, the stone which Satan gave Jesus to turn into bread was also not physical. Satan was addressing stones.
The word, ‘the Lord from heaven’ refers to the origin of the man, the Lord Jesus (1Cor. 15:47). He came from heaven, but also bore the image of the earth. This is because we also must first bear the image of the earth, and afterwards the image of heaven. While still on earth, He went further to acquire the substances of a quickening spirit. Thus, the everlasting life Jesus learned was not of the present, but of the future – the world to come.
Although Jesus died once, there are various portions in death, having different degrees. That is, though it is one death, it has different portions. Jesus, by the grace of God, tasted death for every man (Heb. 2:9). Jesus is not ashamed to call certain people brethren (Heb. 2:10-11). The sanctified brethren are the kind of men that Jesus is interested in. The word ‘shame’ is so used because what flesh is capable of doing makes Jesus unable to call them His own people.
Irrespective of what or who a man is in the sight of men, he is a shame to Jesus if he has not exhibited the character of one whom Jesus would not be ashamed of. Jesus and this class of men are all of one (Heb. 2:11). The condition that must be fulfilled for Jesus to not be ashamed of a man is that he must be one with Him. These are brethren in the holy place and the sanctifying tools are the shew bread and the light of the menorah. Without the menorah light, one cannot get sanctified.
There is an age of man when he comes to fullness; not as in the full age of sonship with God, but that which is required for crossing into everlasting life. Until the soul comes to this full-aged man, he cannot cross. The full-aged man is in the sanctuary. Therefore, a Levite is not yet a full-aged man. Christ has perfected judgement; hence, He is called the perfect man that the wisdom in salvation can be discussed with. All that is entailed in salvation is wisdom (1Cor. 2:6).
Wisdom is a body and a person; Christ is regarded as the fullness of wisdom because He is the wisdom of God. This is the wisdom that is discussed amongst the perfect (1Cor. 2:6). Yet, there is another wisdom which is a reward. The latter is higher than the former that is discussed amongst those who are perfect. This perfect man is Christ. This is the perfect man that will get to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.
The perfect man is the man in the sanctuary who has arrived at the veil and can offer up spiritual sacrifices that are not only holy, but also acceptable to God – that is, God can receive sacrifices from such a fellow. He is a man that the High Priest can offer up to God. It is such a man that can receive the kingdom which cannot be moved (Heb. 12:28). This is the kind of man Jesus says that He is not ashamed of in Hebrews 2.
Jesus promises to train these men until they gain access to the sphere where God speaks wisdom or judges. One cannot judge according to the judgement of God until he/she has first judged all things. A spiritual man judges all things (1 Cor. 2:15). ‘All things’ at this level does not refer to all things of God, but that at the realm of charity. Charity endures all things and is the bond of perfectness (1 Cor. 13:7; Col. 3:14).
The phrase, ‘all things’, used in 1 Corinthians 13:4-6 in reference to charity does not refer to all things of God. There is a way our Father – God - sees, measures and judges (2Cor. 7:1). The accuracy of a thing or matter is judged by how it is seen in God’s sight. When God gives a judgement concerning anyone or anything, it is true (Eph. 1:4).
The declaration of the name is the declaration of the gospel, that is, making the will of God known (Heb. 2:12). Two activities are necessary for entering the kingdom: declaring the name and singing His praise (Heb. 2:12). If the name is declared, and praise is not sung, people would not have entrance because praise is the gate.
The purpose of the name is to declare holy things. Holy things are different from pearls. When He declares the name, He ministers holy things for eyes to see. Holy things are revelation for the acquisition of the knowledge of the Holy. To enter, we need pearls. Pearls are precious things that would give one entrance into what one sees.
Pearls are from sea creatures; they are kept in shells of sea animals such as oysters. There are ministers of the gospel that are like oysters of the kingdom, who keep the gates. They have the key(s) to entering the kingdom. It is these keys or pearls that Jesus said must not be cast before swine (Matt. 7:6). This is because they are valuable as they contain the ‘how’ for entrance into the kingdom.
Therefore, the singing of praise is the singing of entrance into the kingdom (2Pet. 1:11). The gates of the Holy City are made of pearls (Rev. 21:21). Anyone who does not have pearls cannot enter through the gate. Other precious stones can almost be seen through, especially when polished; but this is not true for pearls because they are opaque. One can see the gate of the kingdom, but not see inside the kingdom because the gates are opaque. Therefore, seeing the gate of the kingdom alone is insufficient. As a soul goes through the gate, he is being born of God.
Every gate of the city of God is a pearl; Christ is also a pearl. The kingdom is like a treasure in a field (Matt. 13:44-46). There is an attitude that is common to a true kingdom seeker. He must be jealous of the field. He must seek to possess the pearl first. He does not go around asking if what he had found was real; else, he may be discouraged. He must be sure of what he has found. At first, he hides the treasure, then goes to sell all he has to buy it.
Every kingdom has its pearls, which are its gate. There is a gate that leads to life (Matt. 7:14). The kingdom has a gate and the gate has a way. Without the gate, the way cannot be found. The gate and the way are almost the same. Getting the pearl is the same as getting the treasure in the field.
The goodly pearls can be seen as pearls of good tidings (Matt. 13:46). Out of them was one pearl of great price, which is one gate that is the good tidings of good. This is the pearl of the great kingdom. The man heard two messages and made up his mind to go for both of them at once. God will produce ministers who will preach both Christ and everlasting life as one message. This was how Jesus taught: He taught about Christ and everlasting life simultaneously.
There are three pearls that make up the gospel of Christ: the gates of faith, hope and charity. These are goodly pearls. Yet, there is a pearl of great price, which is more than good. When Jesus was singing praise, He was giving out the will for entering. The kingdom cannot be entered except the will is done (Phil. 2:13). Ministering entrance into the kingdom comes by the giving of skill of how to use the word. Not everyone is a user of the word (Heb. 5:13). However, only the doers or users of the word are blessed, not those who heard alone (Jam. 1:22).
God wants to discuss wisdom amongst them that are perfect (1 Cor. 2:6). When the Father comes down to discuss, He discusses with sons; that is, He discusses only among them that are perfect. Those who are perfect are those who have the ability to submit themselves to judgement. Those who love God are sanctuary brethren (1Cor. 2:9). They keep His word, so the Father loves them (Jn. 14:23). Thus, these hidden treasures of God are not merely given to any man.
The sanctuary is attached to the divine tabernacle – which is the Most Holy Place, unlike the outer court. That is, the sanctuary and the divine tabernacle are one, except that they are divided by the veil. The purpose of the sanctuary is to prepare one for the divine tabernacle. Without the veil, the Most Holy would have been visible and accessible to all and anyone who strays into it would have killed themself.
The point of building the tabernacle on the journey of the Israelites shows us that they had become people of the sanctuary. Hence, God called them to speak everlasting life to them. The ten commandments given on Mount Sinai is actually an everlasting covenant. Thus, when the book of Hebrews speaks about ‘my covenant’, it refers to that covenant that was written on stone that failed (Heb. 8:9). Where God expects Israel to get to is that covenant of everlasting life; but they could not.
The Israelites told the Lord that they were not prepared to receive His laws and that He should speak to them through Moses instead. If they had allowed the Lord to write His laws upon their hearts that day, they would have gone straight to the promise land without doing anything. There would have been no need for the ark of the testimony, because the things kept in the ark would have been written in them. Preferring that God should write upon the stones instead of their hearts, limited the writings and was regarded as a ministration of death.
Therefore, God has promised in the New Testament to write His laws upon our hearts and put them in our minds (Heb. 8:10). Under the New Covenant, there is both the ‘new covenant’ and ‘My covenant’. The former is what God gave to Israel. However, in the New Testament, God desires to give us His covenant, that is, ‘My covenant’. The purpose of the writing is to recalibrate man, that is, put an end to man. because there is a great gap between man and God. That writing is another start for us; and it is called the beginning and the ending, that is, to begin and see the end of man. This is what the covenant ‘My covenant’ holds.
‘My covenant’ is called ‘new covenant’ in Hebrews (Heb. 8:8,13). It is called new because it is another form of the old. However, there is another definition for new. What is new is Christ, while where we are going refers to God. ‘New’ refers to the new man and God wants to cut covenant with this new man. The actual covenant is the covenant of the everlasting priesthood. This is an everlasting man who will have access to the conversation of the life of the Holiest of All.
Entrance into the Holy of Holies is not just for prayers but to express a conversation on earth; this is to live a life that is in the holiest of all. Carrying out that conversation connotes that a man is a specie of the holiest of all. The most holy life is a place where a man will be taught how to do glory. To live gloriously, in itself, is the promise. However, there are certain laws that are responsible for the glorious life.
Man has sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Thus, he has fallen from the expectation of what God sees as life. What God really calls life is glory; the sanctuary is only a preparation for glory. Adam did not need the sanctuary. This is also why there is no sanctuary in the world to come; God and the Lamb are the temple of that city (Rev. 21:22).
The light of God cannot be used directly, one would first need the lamp, because the light is too glorious. In that world, they do not need the light of the outer court, which is the sun, nor do they need the civilization of the sanctuary, which is the candle light; for God and the Lamb are the light of it (Rev. 21:22-23). This implies that the holiest is what cultures the civilization of the world to come. God will bring a light, which had previously been hidden, to the open so that all can use it.
When Jesus begins to sing praise to the children and they learn it, they begin to enter into the everlasting kingdom. Within songs are embedded secrets. To sing is to learn the culture of a particular secret. When one is unable to learn the song, he will not know it. When the Lamb opened the book, the elders began to sing (Rev. 5:8-11). Understanding the book of Revelation is within the songs. When Jesus is singing songs to us, He is causing us to enter. Thus, when Jesus is singing praise, He is giving pearls.
It takes only Jesus to grant entrance, as only Him can sing those praises. When a man is not yet a praise, which is a pearl, he cannot yet enter the kingdom. We must possess a pearly mind that thinks like a pearl. Jesus administers entrance to us by them. The season of temptation is a season of life and of entrance (Jam. 1:2). Diverse temptations originate from the temptation of the manifold wisdom of God, because the one who tempts is diverse; he is a cherub with many faces.
When Jesus successfully guides us into becoming a quickening spirit from a living soul, the vision of God will have been made and the prophecy will be fulfilled. Then, the Most Holy will be anointed. The Most Holy is an image and a person. When brethren come together to the Most Holy place, they are anointed to be the temple of the God.
God needs a temple that is greater than the four living creatures so that His Spirit will be in their wheels; that is, their spirits. Such creatures are tied to the Throne. The 144,000 are the four living creatures of the world to come. They are found wherever the throne is. May God help us be in that number. That number is not yet complete. We must strive not to lose our place. We must treasure it and, like the goodly pearl, hide it for joy without allowing anyone to take our place.
Blessings!
Summary
1. There is no way a soul will be able to comprehend everlasting life without being properly schooled in the gospel of peace, which is the gospel of Christ.
2. A man receives age, which is growth, by understanding. One of the signs of growth, apart from character, is understanding.
3. The time of temptation is the time that God wants to really prove a man for the singular reason of owning him (Heb. 2:18). This time of owning can also be regarded as the time of begetting. It is in temptation that the process of birth is complete.
4. The image of the heavenly is the quickening spirit (1Cor. 15:45). The quickening Spirit is the image we are called to bear.
5. When God wants to give man a destiny, Satan would also come to offer a counterfeit. We must be wise and fight out temptations. Temptation is the attempt of Satan to change our destiny (Heb. 12:2-3).
6. There is an age of man when he comes to fullness; not as in the full age of sonship with God, but that which is required for crossing into everlasting life. This is the full age of Christ or a perfect man.
7. Two activities are necessary for entering the kingdom: declaring the name and singing His praise (Heb. 2:12). If the name is declared, and praise is not sung, people would not have entrance because praise is the gate.
8. Man has sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom. 3:23). Thus, he has fallen from the expectation of what God sees as life. What God really calls life is glory.
9. The most holy life is a place where a man will be taught how to 'do' glory. To live gloriously, in itself, is the promise.
10. When Jesus successfully guides us into becoming a quickening spirit from a living soul, the vision of God will have been made and the prophecy will be fulfilled.