Text: Rom. 12:1
We will enjoy the mercies of God on this Day of the Lord (Tit. 2:11). Salvation consists of provisions of mercies. There are barriers that limit a man from coming to the throne of grace. Paul speaks about the law of God (Rom. 7:22) and the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:2). All male children of Israel must present themselves thrice every year (Ex. 34:23). It was in this sense of presentation Paul spoke about, telling the Jews to present their bodies to God, which must be a living sacrifice (Rom. 12:1). The pattern of this sacrifice is shown by Christ Jesus.
There are two classes of children: the children of God and the children of resurrection (Eph. 5:1). The former supersedes the latter. Children of God are those who are ‘being’ born again (1 Pet 1:23); being born again connotes a process. They possess the incorruptible seed - Faith, Hope and Charity. Also contained in the incorruptible seed are things of God that give birth to a man. Incorruptibility also consists of mercies and a hope. The hope of Eternal Life is the Blessed Hope (Eph.1:3).
God does not comprise things which constitute His glory. God does not share His glory with man. A man might have enjoyed redemption, yet he still possesses things that pertain to man in himself. Those who follow the Lamb are those who have been redeemed from among ‘men’ (Rev. 14:4). These ‘men’ are sons of men; those who have been made alive and have grown to the stature of Christs. This company of Christs still possess manly traits. These traits are not sin in itself but are properties of man, and so God cannot share His glory with him.
The 144,000 stood on Mount Zion with the Lamb. They had the name of Christ and the name of the Father. To have the name of Christ, one must have departed from iniquity. God has things, secret things (2 Cor. 2:11). To learn the mystery of Christ is to receive the things of Christ, thus, becoming worthy of receiving His name (Col. 2:2).
The Father subjects His sons to training to be able to bring them into His holiness (Heb.12:5). Those who are on Zion are children that have entered the Kingdom (Eph. 5:1); the Kingdom of God and of Christ. They have access into the Kingdom by reason of their obedience to faith, hope and charity. They are sons of the Holy place, and children of the Most Holy place.
1 John 3:1-2 speaks of the mystery of God receiving His beloved sons; the beloved sons are those who are begotten. God begat these sons by the materials of ‘now’. There are sons of ‘now’ and there are sons of ‘then’. There are sons of ‘in part’, and there are sons that are ‘perfect’ (1 Cor.13:12). 1 John 3:3 explains that there is another hope, which is the hope of being begotten of God that the sons spoken of will yet come into. Thus, John’s teaching was to bring them into fellowship with substances that will bring forth the actualization of what they shall be.
Seeing God as He is is the operation that gives birth to sons. There is what the Son was, and there is what He is now (Heb.11:5-6). The Epistles of Hebrews and James seek to paint to the saints the full personality of Christ Jesus, as our High Priest (Heb.7:26). Jesus is the first fruit of them that resurrected from the dead and also the first begotten of the dead. He opened up those two realms to man.
Seeing Jesus as He is, opens man to seeing God as He is. Seeing God as He is enables man to receive the reward of Him, as He is. To achieve this, the soul and body must be presented to God. God works on the soul and body till they come to a state where they cannot fall short of His glory (Jude 1:24). This is similar to the process of sanctification the high priest undergoes before he goes into the most holy place (presents himself to God) once a year, on behalf of the people (Lev. 16:6, Heb. 7:27). Mercy is needed to come into that state of not being able to fall short.
Corruption is anything that makes a man depart from God. Death is a form of corruption. There is a power that is able to keep one unto salvation. But this passage (Jude 1:24) refers to ‘Him’ who is able to keep one from falling. Only one who has been governed by the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus can submit to the law of God.
God is the Eternal Spirit and lives by a law. There are different kinds/levels of laws in the spirit. The Spirit of God dispenses the law of God of which a natural man cannot receive (1 Cor. 2:14). Thus, God raises the natural man into becoming spiritual so he can receive the law of God. A spiritual man emerges by being raised according to the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Paul had undergone raising by the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, yet using a higher judgement he found himself not measuring up, saying there was nothing good in him (Rom. 7:18).
The zone of Salvation is beyond the realm of ‘man’. No one can receive the life of Christ without setting his affection on Him (Ps.91:14; Col.3:1-4). Affection is the passion of the soul. A soul that is submitted to the law of Christ will have its passions redirected to things above. The things of Christ are ‘above things’ while the things of God are ‘Eternal things’.
To tread upon the lion and the adder (serpent), which is the devil, requires a higher level of work (Ps. 91:13). This love emanates from God, it grows as the man knows God and fellowships with the incorruptible seed, His mercies, righteousness and judgement. Righteousness and judgement come in levels (Dan. 9:24). Judgement reveals to the soul the manner of walk he must undertake as he proceeds into the most holy. The High Priest has to make a prescribed walk as he goes into the most holy place. This prescribed walk is one that generates high pleasure to God.
Following God requires love (Eph. 5:1). The characteristics of love listed in 1 Cor. 13 are fruits of Christ. Likewise, the love of God has its characteristics. Those who are becoming children of God and will be part of the manchild must come into this higher level of love. A carnal man cannot heed the command to ‘walk in love’ (Eph. 5:2). Jesus walked in this love, it is a sacrifice and a sweet smelling savour unto God.
Salvation and Gladness are classified as high love walk (Deut. 6:5). One must love the Lord with ‘all’ his heart, mind, strength and soul. This is not a season of ‘in part’ but of ‘all’. The realm of ‘all’ is the realm of God. New things typify Christ, ‘all things’ typify God. In this zone, all of man is exchanged for all of God. One must lay down one’s all to receive the strength of God. The strength of God contains no iota of weariness (Isa. 40:28). Christ could faint, but God never faints (Isa. 7:10-15).
One has to be given understanding to know Him that is true, until then, a man cannot claim to be in Him (Jesus) or have Eternal Life (1 Jn. 5:20). The understanding of Eternal Life communicates the love of God in its various phases to the soul. Just as there is the mystery of God and the mystery of Christ, there is the love of Christ and the love of the Father (Rom. 8:35-39); The essence of chastening is to deal with the love of the world in the soul, so it can be a partaker of the love of the Father (Heb.12:5; 1 Jn. 2:15). This love is communicated by understanding and judgement given so the soul’s judgement can align with that of the Father.
The sweet savour lifted up to God is not referring to offering for sin (Eph. 5:2) but a sacrifice that is love walk (Ps. 50:5). It is those who walk in this level of love that will inherit His salvation (Ps.91:14,16). God satisfies them with long life for the purpose of receiving salvation. In this season, the saints will begin to experience the chastening of the Father. Jesus received this chastening/training of the Father until He became a worthy offering unto God.