FIRSTBORN SONSHIP OF CHRIST
Volume Seven
The New Birth
CHAPTER FOUR
INTRODUCTION TO THE OLD TESTAMENT
Isaiah chapters 56 through 62
provide emphasis 1) on the desecration of the Sabbath
resulting in severe judgment from the Lord; 2) on the true
manner of keeping the Sabbath and its fasting by caring for the poor, especially among
the Lord's people and others who will receive the Word; 3) and on the seventh day "rest" or
seventh millennium of rest: the millennial glory state of the last will and testament
people. This glory emphasis in Isaiah 28:5; 46:13; 48:11; 61; 62, for instance,
requires the new birth into the divine nature, so that the faithful covenant people
become "one" with the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. These are garments of salvation for the covenant people: robes of divine
righteousness, in the radiance of divine glory, Isa 60:1-3; 61:1-3,10 thru 62:3; Jn
17:21-23.
THE LORD SHALL BE YOUR EVERLASTING LIGHT
1
"Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon
you.
2 "For behold, the darkness shall cover the
earth, and deep darkness the people; but the LORD will rise over you, and His glory
will be seen upon you.
3 "The Gentiles shall come to your light, and
kings to the brightness of your rising," Isa 60:1-3.
The glory of the Lord speaks of the majesty, power,
praises, mighty works, etc., of the Lord. But the glory, as we have seen, also speaks
of the brilliant shining attribute of God's person. God demonstrated this divine
attribute throughout the Old Testament, and includes it as one of the covenant promises
to all the faithful covenant people, as seen in Isaiah 60; 61; 62; etc.
The words "life,"
"righteousness," "glory," and "salvation" are often used together in the proper covenant
context, and are the result of a divine resurrection birth as Christ had in His
resurrection. Covenant salvation always requires faithfulness, by grace through faith,
Isa 54:17; 59:20-21; 60:1-3,7-9,18-22; 61:1-3,10-11; 62:1-3; Jer 23:5-6; 33:15-16; et
al.
Isaiah 60 is one of the resurrection chapters of
the Bible. The word resurrection is seldom used, but Isaiah addresses the results of
the resurrection into a glorious state of being. Carefully study the verses above and
observe the emphasis on the bright shining glory of the Lord rising upon His covenant
people. These chapters, (Isa 60, 61, 62) provide expressions describing the highly
honored state of the glorified saints and the New Jerusalem.
Isaiah speaks of the faithful covenant people, who
will, at that future time, be born again in a resurrection birth into the full image of
God, as God intended in the creation of man, Gen 1:26. The last will and testament
people were predestined to undergo obedience training to qualify them for the firstborn
sonship. When Adam sinned, God the covenant, and the obedience training was still
required as an integral part of the covenant between the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit, Eph 1:3-6; Heb 5:8-9; 11:1-40; 12:1-29. The disciplinary training was and is
applicable only to those who by grace through faith accept the covenants and overcome
in the covenant training.
THE HILL OF THE LORD
3 "Who
may ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?"
Ps 24:3.
This verse is not addressing a guilty posture of
one humbly approaching God and begging for mercy and forgiveness. To the contrary, the
passage directs attention to the prophetic purpose of God and expresses a perfect
freedom of access into the presence of the heavenly Father and a "oneness" of divine fellowship with the Father, as described
in Jn 17:21-23. This oneness of fellowship far exceeds anything we can experience as
mere human beings, and portrays the full affinity of the divine essence, experienced by
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
Anyone may ascend into the earthly Jerusalem.
Sinful people of all kinds have entered there through the ages. Of course, according to
the Law Covenant, only the priests could enter the temple. And only the high priest,
once each year, could enter into the most holy place, where the ark of the covenant
rested, which represented the throne and presence of God.
But then, the most holy place in the tabernacle and
temple on earth represented the throne of God in heaven which no mortal can enter, Heb
9:23-26. "The Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way into
the holiest of all was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle was still
standing," Heb 9:8. So once each year the high priest representatively
entered into the presence of God on behalf of the people. God through the Holy Spirit
is present everywhere in the universe, and a sinner could and can believe and be saved
anywhere on the earth. However, through Israel, through the tabernacle or temple, and
through the most holy place, God was accessible in a specially prepared covenant way.
The nations (during the Law Covenant) were excluded, except they come through Israel
according to the Law Covenant requirements.
The real "hill" (governmental capital) of the Lord is the throne of God
in heaven, which the earthly Jerusalem, the tabernacle (or temple), and the most holy
place were representations. And the entrance we have now under the New Covenant is also
representative by the Holy Spirit in the church: Metaphorically the church is the
deified body of Christ (Eph 2:16-18; Heb 6:20; 10:19-20) - the church is called the
deified body of Christ, Rom 6:2-13; Col 2:9-17.
WHO SHALL ASCEND AND STAND IN GOD'S HOLY PRESENCE?
3 ‘Who may
ascend into the hill of the LORD? Or who may stand in His holy place?
4 "He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who has not lifted up his life to an idol, nor sworn deceitfully," Ps
24:4.
As we have just indicated, no one could or can even
now literally enter into the presence of God in heaven, Heb 9:8. But those who were
clean and pure with circumcised hearts could representatively do so under the Law
Covenant (Lev 16; Deu 30:6), and with the circumcision of Christ (Col 2:11-12) and a
pure heart we can also do so under the New Covenant, Eph 2:16-18. The Holy Spirit has
been witnessing to all peoples in the world from the time of Adam (Gen 6:3; Ps 19:1-6;
65:5; Isa 45:22; Mt 2:1-12; Jn 1:9; 12:32; Act 14:16-17; 17:26-28; Rom 1:18-20),
producing nations of saved people for the Millennium and the new earth.
Obviously, many people have been saved by
repentance and faith toward God, as the people of Nineveh (Mt 12:41) and the wise men
from the east (Mt 1:1-12; Ps 19:1-6), but access through the curtain (the deified flesh
body of Christ) into the presence of God was not possible until Christ's flesh body
was deified, Jn 7:39; Gal 4:4-6; Rom 8:23; Heb 6:19-20; 10:19-20. Even now entrance
into the presence of God is still done representatively by the Holy Spirit (Eph 2:18),
and is done only for those who are counted (metaphorically counted) as being crucified,
dead, buried, raised, and deified members of the deified body of Christ, Eph 2:10-22;
2Co 5:16-21; Heb 10:19-20.
Thus we still have representative access into the
presence of God in Heaven, but on a higher plane than under the Law Covenant. Literal
entrance into the presence of God will not be possible until Christ returns and the
saints are also born again into deified bodies. And this will include only those who
have served the Lord faithfully in the proper covenant position with "clean hands and a pure heart," Ps 24:3-4.
Not until the bodies of the faithful covenant
people are deified (glorified) when Christ returns will we have true and genuine access
into the presence of God, Col 1:5,21-23,27; 1Th 3:13; 2Co 5:16-21. We must have
"clean hands and a pure heart" in deified bodies
in order to ascend and enter into the hill of God, Ps 24:3-4. That will be after Christ
returns.
RIGHTEOUSNESS FROM GOD
5 "He
shall receive blessing from the LORD, and (even) righteousness from the God of his salvation," Ps 24:5.
Let us trace this "blessing" of divine "righteousness" (Rom 4:5-16; Gal 3:6-14) using the generic
terms of "glory," "life," and
"righteousness." which are synonymous with
covenant "salvation:"
18 "But we all, with
unveiled face, constantly beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from
glory to glory, just as by the
Spirit of the Lord," 2Co 3:18.
We are able to "behold" that "glory"
only in our minds as we study the Scriptures, but the immediate result is that the
Scriptures are flowing through our minds transforming our minds and thereby
transforming our conduct into a godly lifestyle. The further result is that God on a
continuing basis is crediting us with greater glory to be received in the
resurrection.
Now we read out of 2Co 3 into 2Co 4 and we see this
"glory" of Christ further emphasized:
3 "But even if our Gospel
is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing,
4 "Whose minds the god of this age has
blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on
them," 2Co 4:3-4.
The "Gospel"
is primarily a "Gospel of the glory of Christ" – the Gospel of the deified human body of
Christ that was born again in His resurrection, when Christ became "the firstborn from the dead," Col 1:18; Rev 1:5; Act
13:29-33; 1Co 15:44-50; Heb 1:5-6; 5:5; 2Co 5:1-5,16-17,21.
We will now observe that the reference to
"glory" is changed to "life." As we, by grace through faith, yield ourselves to
God's covenant discipline, God counts us as "bearing about
in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of
Christ also may be manifest in our body....So then death is working in us, but
life (divine life) in
you," 2Co 4:7-12.
The broader picture is that all faithful covenant
people are bearing about in their bodies the death of Christ, with the result that God
is increasingly crediting divine life to each of the
faithful covenant people as they influence and edify each other. This "blessing" reaches out and embraces new people being added to
the list of faithful covenant people.
Now we will see the reference to "life" (divine life) changed back to "glory" as we read further in 2Co 4:17: "For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is constantly
working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory," We cannot
receive the crown of glory without receiving the crown of life, the crown of
righteousness, plus all the other crowns or attributes of God. One faithful life
qualifies each faithful covenant person for all the crowns or attributes of the
fullness of God, Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; Co 2:9-10.
Once more we see this divine "glory" again called "life" as the Scriptures continue in 2Co 5, and this time the
promise is that this mortal body (our earthly house) will be swallowed up of
"life" (divine life), 2Co 5:1-4. Being brought
into the body of Christ by God's appointed ordinance of John's baptism (Rom
6:3-6; 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:27), we are counted as having been crucified, having died, been
buried, and raised together in the body of Christ into the new resurrection birth of
the human body.
The Holy Spirit in His special ministry was given
to the church as an "earnest" (a special helper
and guarantee) that each of the faithful covenant people will receive that divine
house, which is the deified body. Observe the following major factors provided by this
special ministry of the Holy Spirit:
1. This is a covenant
ministry of the Holy Spirit given to the covenant people – the Holy Spirit is a
covenant promise given to the covenant people to qualify them through covenant training
for the firstborn sonship of Christ, and guarantee that sonship to those who overcome
in the covenant training, Jer 31:31-34; Joel 2:27-32; Jn 14:16-17,26; 16:7-15; Act
2:1-21,33; Heb 8:7-13; 10:15-21,25.
2. The Holy Spirit is
the divine Administrator of the complete scope of the New Covenant ministry on earth,
Jn 14:26; 2Co 3:1-18.
3. The Holy Spirit was given on the contingency of the human
body of Jehovah Elohim being glorified – being born again into a divine body in His
resurrection (Jn 7:39; Gal 4:4-7; Rom 8:23-30), and thereby providing the same divine
birth for all the covenant people who become overcomers in the covenant training, 1Co
15:1-3,29-58.
4. The Holy Spirit was
and is given as an earnest or guarantee that the faithful covenant people will receive
the same new birth in their resurrection as Christ did in His resurrection, 2Co 5:1-5;
Eph 1:13-14,17-23; Col 1:18; Rev 1:5; Act 13:29-33; Heb 1:5-6; 5:5; 1Co 15:44-50.
5. The Holy Spirit
Himself is God's "seal" (guarantee) that the
faithful covenant people will receive the divine birth in the resurrection. The Spirit
is the seal (the guarantee) of divine life, divine glory, divine righteousness, etc.,
of the fullness of deity, 2Co 1:21-22; 3:1-18; 5:1–5,16-21; Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; 5:30;
Col 1:19; 2:9-10; Jn 10:30-36; 14:8-11; 17:21-23; 2Pe 1:4 (3-10).
6. The gift (the seal)
of the Holy Spirit to the church (the covenant people) is expressly contingent upon the
faith obedience of the covenant people – faith obedience means by grace through faith
obedience, 1Co 15:10; Phi 2:12-13; Mt 10:19-20; Heb 4:16; 12:28; 1Pe 4:10; et al. All
our righteousnesses are as filthy rags (Isa 64:6), therefore all our true righteousness
must be the working of God's grace (God's Spirit) in us. This produces by grace
through faith obedience, and results in the progressive crediting of God's
righteousness to us now, and the new birth into God's divine righteousness in the
resurrection, Phi 3:9; 2Co 5:21.
But we can lose the New Covenant ministry of the
Holy Spirit 1) by becoming lukewarm concerning the doctrine
of Christ (Rev 2:4-5; Heb 3:6), 2) by leaving the doctrine
of Christ and fellowshipping with Protestants and others who do not have the doctrine
of Christ (2Jn 8-11; 1Jn 2:23-25; 5:6-16; Gal 4:19 thru 5:5), 3) by not sufficiently bearing the proper fruit (Jn 15:1-6; 2Pe 1:1-10),
or 4) by turning away from righteous living in any other
way, Eze 3:20-21; 18:24; 33:12-13.
Back to 2Co 5, we find the word "life" (2Co 5:4) is further changed to "righteousness" as follows:
21 "For He made Him who
knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him," 2Co 5:21; Phi 3:9; 1Pe
2:24.
Christ was literally made to be sin by bearing our
sins in His own body on the cross. He thereby became our old man and endured God's
wrath against our sins in order to destroy our old man, Rom 6:6. This prepared the way
for the covenant people through the ages to qualify for and overcome the required and
severe covenant discipline in order to be made God's divine righteousness. A
broader expression for divine "life," divine
"glory," divine "righteousness," etc., is "all the
fullness of God" (Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; Col 1:19; 2:9-10; Jn 10:30-36;
14:8-11; 17:21-23), which includes all the attributes of the divine nature.
We look at another passage which associates
"justification" with "life;" where "justification" (as is usually true in the Bible) signifies
"divine righteousness," and where "life" signifies "divine
life:"
18 "Therefore, as through
one man's offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so
through one Man's righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in
justification of life.....
21 "So that as sin reigned in death, even so
grace might reign through righteousness into eternal (aivw,nion) life through Jesus
Christ our Lord," Rom 5:18,21.
"Justification" (which brings God's "righteousness") is associated with "life:" and grace must "reign" through righteousness (through righteous living) into
divine "life." Justification or righteousness must
reign throughout our daily life. Here the Holy Spirit says "grace" is to "reign through
righteousness into life." This simply means, in harmony with all the
Scriptures, that grace must reign throughout our lives in righteous living in order to
obtain that divine life when Christ returns. The faithful covenant people who turn away
from righteous living will lose God's righteousness, God's life, God's
glory, etc., which are all attributes of God's divine "fullness," Eph 1:22-23; 3:19; Col 1:19; 2:9-10; et al.
THE HUMAN SPIRIT AND THE HUMAN MIND
17 "Do
you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and is
eliminated?
18 "But those things which proceed out of the
mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man.
19 "For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witness, blasphemies.
20 "These are the things which defile a man,
but to eat with unwashed hands does not defile a man." Mt 15:17-20.
Our "heart"
and our "mind" are the same: out of the heart or
"mind" proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies. These are the things which defile a
man. When a person dies, it is the human body that dies and is buried, while the human
spirit lives on, and is taken to paradise or to hell, Gen 25:8,17; 35:29; 45:33; Lk
16:19-31. The emphasis is that when a person dies, the mind goes with the spirit: the
mind is an integral part of the spirit, while the brain is an integral part of the
body. The brain of the body is where the mind of our spirit resides while our spirit)
is in our body.
If our spirit were really born
again and therefore made divine, we would never think, say, or do anything evil,
because our mind is the governing part of both our spirit and our body. Our body is
only the temporary dwelling place (or house) of our spirit. The communication between
Abraham and the rich man (Lk 16:19-31) required the normal function of their mind as
the necessary and intelligent function of the spirit of each one of them, Lk 16:19-31.
The spirits of the saints in Paradise would not be able to think, reason, or
communicate without their minds, Rev 6:9-11. That would be a state of dead death. A
sinful body could not sin if governed by a born again spirit with a divinely born again
mind. Sinful conduct of the body comes from a sinful mind, and therefore a sinful
spirit. The final word is that a divinely born again spirit must have a divinely born
again mind or heart, and could not, in any circumstance, be
the author or source of the sins addressed in Matthew 15:19, or of any sin
whatever.
BACK TO PSALM 24
5 "He
shall receive blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his
salvation.
6 "This is Jacob, the generation of those who
seek Him, Who seek Your face," Ps 24:5-6.
The application of Ps 24:3-6 must be made to the
covenant people – "This is Jacob," verse 6. God
has given His covenants to Israel, and to no other (Deu 4:7-9; 29:29; Ps 25:14; 103:7;
147:19-20; Rom 3:1-2; 2Ti 3:15-17); the church was and is grafted into Israel's
covenant position, and therefore is prophetically one in covenant with Israel, Rom
11:11-32; 2Co 6:16; Eph 2:11-22; 3:6; 1Pe 2:5,9.
The "blessing"
of Abraham and of David is "justification," which
credits God's "righteousness" to the faithful
covenant people by grace through faith, Rom 4:6-25; Gal 3:6-9,14. Abraham and his
descendants are the covenant people, specifically the "faith" descendants of Abraham. Currently, the church has been
grafted into Israel's covenant position, therefore those in the church are in
position to qualify for the divine firstborn sonship birth when Christ returns.
The "righteousness from
God" (verse 5) is God's righteousness, which means it is an attribute
of God's divine nature. Therefore this psalm (Ps 24) deals with the new birth, as
we have been demonstrating through justification. This divine resurrection birth
qualifies the faithful covenant people to ascend into the "hill" of God and stand in God's presence in full
"oneness" of the divine nature and the freedom of
the divine fellowship.
THE EVERLASTING DOORS
7 "Lift
up your heads, O you gates! And be lifted up, you everlasting doors! And the King of
glory shall come in," Ps 24:7.
The Septuagint reads:
7 "Lift up your gates, you
princes, and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come
in."
It appears that the Holy Spirit through the
psalmist has given a prophetic command to those in charge of the everlasting gates (or
doors) to open the gates for the entrance of the King of glory. The preceding context
is addressed to the covenant people, who must have "clean
hands and a pure heart" in order to ascend into and stand in the holy place
of the Lord. "The King of glory," once he became a
human, also had to "learn obedience through the things that He
suffered" (Heb 5:8-9) in order to ascend into the holy presence of the
Father, Heb 9:12-28.
MIGHTY IN BATTLE
8 "Who
is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, The Lord mighty in
battle," Ps 24:8.
Jehovah Elohim in the flesh "was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin," Heb
4:15. He was tempted by Satan and men in every way as we are, yet "for the joy that was set before Him" and us (Heb 12:1-2), He
was strong and mighty in battle against sin throughout His earthly life.
Not only was Jehovah Elohim strong and mighty in
battle against sin every day of His human life, but He was perhaps more so in His
death. He bore our sins in His own body on the cross (1Pe 2:24), which means He bore
all the sins of all mankind, from the smallest sin to the worst sin, from the least
sinner to the greatest sinner. He bore them all. It appeared that all His bones were
out of joint as He hang for hours on the cross – His heart was like wax, it was melted
within Him, Ps 22. Perhaps His greatest pain was expressed in the words "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" Jehovah Elohim in
a human body, as our substitute, was suffering in that human body the wrath of the
Father against the sins of the whole human race, Ps 22:1.
14 "Having wiped out the
handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has
taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 "Having disarmed principalities and powers,
He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it." Col
2:14-15.
The Law Covenant set forth God's perfect
righteousness, and because of our sins and our sinful condition, the Law condemned us
in every jot and tittle of every day of our lives. As our days stack up, our sins of
every kind multiply, and as generations of mankind come and go, their sins reach
countless myriads of myriads. Jehovah Elohim bore the sins of all.
Righteous men as Enoch, Noah, Job, Moses, Daniel,
and John the Baptist are commended by the Scriptures, but they were all sinners and
condemned. Enoch and Elijah were taken that they would not see death, but they were
also sinners. None of these could descend into the realms of the dead who are still
living, and lead captivity captive, Eph 4:8-10. None of them wrested the keys of death
and of hell from doom's power, and can sing: "O Death,
where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?" 1Co 15:55; Rev 1:18.
But Jehovah Elohim did and can and will do so.
18 "I am He who is living,
and was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Amen. And I have the keys of Hades
and of Death," Rev 1:18.
Jehovah Elohim, as Jesus, was mighty in battle, is
still mighty in battle, and always will be mighty to save and to punish.
LIFT UP YOUR HEADS O YOU GATES
9 "Lift
up your gates, You princes; and be you lifted up, you everlasting doors; and the king
of glory shall come in," Ps 24:9.
The primary application of this passage may not be
to the ascension of Christ into paradise or into the Father's presence after the
resurrection birth of His human body; however, that grand occasion must have been
glorious beyond human comprehension. The writer of the Hebrew letter addressed that
event as one of monumental importance (Heb 9:11-26), and this day of atonement was
treated in the same way with great solemnity under the Law Covenant, Lev 16.
Incidentally, the atonement included: 1) a sinless sacrifice – a life must be lived completely separate from
sin. Christ lived that life, and so must we as nearly as possible within the covenants
and within the body of Christ, 1Pe 1:18-20; Rom 12:1-2. If we do not live that kind of
life, we forfeit the atonement (Heb 2:11; 10:10-31); 2) the
physical body must be sacrificed (which includes death) – Christ's human body was
sacrificed, and our bodies must be sacrificed on a constant daily basis (Rom 12:1-2),
by the renewing of our minds and bearing about in our bodies the death of Christ (2Co
3:17-18; 4:7-12,17 thru 5:21); 3) the sacrifice must pass
through the fire of God's judgment against sin – the atonement sacrifice was
consumed on the altar (Ps 22; 1Pe 2:22-24), and so we must deny ourselves, take up the
cross (Lk 9:23-26), and bear about in our bodies the dying of Jehovah Elohim in a human
body (Zec 12:10; 2Co 4:7-12; Heb 5:8-9; 12:1-11); and 4)
there must be the finished product of new birth of the human body from he dead, Col
1:18; Rev 1:5; Act 13:29-33; Heb 1:5-6; 5:5; 1Co 15:1-8,28-58. In this atoned and
deified state, the saints will be presented before the Father, Col 1:5,21-23,27; 1Th
3:13; 5:23; Rev 7:7-17; 14:1-5; 15:1-4. This will be presented in detail in a later
article when we come to the day of atonement.
The apostle Peter wrote of "the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would
follow...which things the angels desire to be looking into," 1Pe
1:11-12.
Jehovah Elohim was and is God over the angels, but
became a human lower than the angels for the purpose of not only redeeming many of
mankind from sin and its eternal punishment, but also to create out of mankind a
faithful covenant people whom He has predestined to share His divine nature as gods
above the righteous angels, Ps 82; Heb 1:14; 2:5. These angels have already made their
fixed choice to obey and serve God in the blissful state in which they are sufficiently
knowledgeable, are thoroughly delighted, and are now eagerly ministering to the
covenant heirs of this divine new birth salvation Christ has created, Heb 12:1-2; 1:14;
Lk 15:10-32. The joy of the Lord is our joy and that joy is somewhat shared by the
angels.
God said, "This is My
beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased," Mt 3:17; 17:5. The Father was well
pleased when Jehovah Elohim was born into a human body, and sent the angels in blissful
joy to announce His birth, Lk 2:10-15. The Father was well pleased with the life and
personal ministry of Christ and personally said so at His baptism (Mt 3:13-17), and
again when Christ with Moses and Elijah were transfigured on the mountain, Mt 17:1-5.
We can be assured that the Father was also well pleased when Christ ascended out of
Sheol leading captivity captive (Eph 4:8-10), and moved paradise into the third heaven,
(2Co 12:1-4), where the Father said, "Sit at My right hand,
till I make Your enemies Your footstool," Ps 110:1.
This passage in Ps 24:7-10 appears to be very
appropriate for the ascension of Christ immediately after His resurrection, Jn 20:17.
Whether this Psalm (Ps 24:7-10) applies to that occasion when Christ ascended back to
heaven temporarily, evidently taking paradise with him at that time, we may not be able
to assuredly say. However, to say the least, that must have been an expressibly grand
and glorious event, with myriads of ministering angels in accompaniment. No doubt,
countless other angels in the peak of holy excitement, with shouts of joy and songs of
praise were gathered to welcome Jehovah in a deified human body. And in His train was
also vast host of the spirits of faithful covenant people being transported from their
captivity in the heart of the earth into their heavenly resting place until the time of
the resurrection and new birth of their bodies, Ps 68:17-18; Eph 4:8-10.
LIFT UP, YOU EVERLASTING DOORS
9 "Lift
up your heads, O you gates! Lift up, you everlasting doors! And the King of glory shall
come in," Ps 24:9.
Jewish tradition says this psalm was written by
David and was sung when he brought the ark to Jerusalem, 1Ch 15. The prophetic
application of the psalm may perhaps also be made to Jehovah in a divine human body as
He enters Jerusalem when He returns to earth. Christ will stand on the Mount of Olives
and divide the mountain east and west, moving one part to the north and the other part
to the south, and thereby creating a large valley and plain, perhaps 40 miles or so
north and south and as much as 70 miles east and west, Zec 14:1-5.
Isaiah says the Lord will create a new Jerusalem or
greatly modify the one that is there, Isa 65:17-25. Atmospheric as well as geologic
changes will be made (Isa 11:6-9; 65:25; Rom 8:19-22): at least in Jerusalem day and
night will be as one continuing day (Zec 14:6), a river of water of life will flow out
from the temple and down from Jerusalem will divide and go east to the Dead Sea and
west to the Mediterranean Sea (Zec 14:8; Eze 47:1-11), and trees nourished by the
waters will constantly bear fruit every month with leaves possessing special healing
properties, Zec 47:12.
18 "But be glad and
rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and
her people a joy.
19 "I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My
people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of
crying," Isa 65:18-19.
This is an earthly Jerusalem (the Millennial
Jerusalem) that Christ will create when He returns. Observe some major end-time events:
1) The heavens, at this point, have been rolled back and
God's throne with the heavenly court set up in mid-heaven (Dan 7:9-10; Rev
6:12-17); 2) Christ has been royally ushered in before the
Father and crowned as Lord of Lords and King of kings and given the throne of David in
the sight of all creation, (Dan 7:13-14); 3) God has
publicly chided the nations from the open heavens for their refusal to believe His many
witnesses who have testified of His love and many offers of salvation (Ps 2:1-6; Pro
1:24-27; Rev 6:12-17); 4) Christ has come for His saints of
all ages, rewarded them in mid-heaven, and presented them before the Father in holiness
without spot or wrinkle (1Th 2:19-20; 3:13; 5:23; Rev 7:9-17; 14:1-5; 15:1-4); 5) He is
here accompanied by this vast host of glorified saints and their ministering angels
(Zec 14:1-5); 6) He has just prepared His beloved earthly
Jerusalem for His Millennial reign of divine rest and glory (Isa 60; 61; 62), though
the wrath of God on the nations is yet to come (Rev 15 & 16); and 7) the call is now being made to open the gates and the king of glory
will come in, Ps 24:7-10.
THE KING OF GLORY
10 "Who
is this King of glory? The LORD of hosts, He is the King of glory," Ps
24:10.
The words "King of
glory" are used five times in the last four verses of this psalm. Why
emphasize that He is the King of "glory?" The King
of glory is, of course, the Messiah! Jesus asked the Pharisees,
42 "Saying, ‘What do you
think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?' They said to Him, ‘The Son of
David.'
43 "He said to them, ‘How then does David in
the Spirit call Him 'Lord,' saying:
44 "The LORD said to my Lord, ‘Sit at My right
hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool?'
45 "If David then calls Him 'Lord,'
how is He his Son?" Mt 22:42-45.
The Pharisees understood that the Messiah would be
David's son who would sit on David's throne and rule the world, but they could
not connect this fact with Isa 7:14 and 9:6-7 which clearly reveal that the Messiah
would be God – Jehovah Elohim born into the human family in the line of David's
descendants, and therefore would be the Son of David. The Pharisees could not
understand that the Messiah would be God in the flesh, must live a perfect human life
(without spot and without blame), suffer God's wrath against our sins, die, descend
into sheol, ascend out of sheol, and be born into a divine (glorified) body in His
resurrection.
"King of glory," and the repeated emphasis on that expression in Ps
24:7-10, signifies that the divine nature is resident in the human body of Emanuel –
Jehovah Elohim. Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea, and many others like them should have
many, many times traced Jehovah Elohim from His prophetic virgin birth through His
earthly life, through His earthly ministry, His death, His burial, His divine
resurrection birth, His ascension back to heaven, and His return to earth in divine
glory with all His saints conformed to the likeness of His body of divine glory, Ps
16:9-11; 17:15; Isa 46:13; 48:11-12; 54:17; 58:7-8; Jer 23:5-7; 33:15-16; Dan 12:2-3;
Mal 4:2; Rom 9:4.
This should have been done so often that each step
(beyond what is stated above) would not only be written down in perfect order, but the
entire analogy would reside fully understood with preeminence and earnest expectation
in the minds of every faithful covenant person. This is the way it was with Jesus.
Jesus lived a human life, supremely dedicated to God's Word, and therefore learned
these things from the Scriptures just as everyone else could have done:
25 "Then He said to them,
‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken!
26 "'Ought not the Christ to have suffered
these things and to enter into His glory?" Lk 24:25-26.
The context of Luke 24 reveals that Christ
possessed the divine, new born, spirit body of 1Co 15:44-50. He had performed many
miracles: feeding the many thousands on a few fishes and loaves, walking on the water,
causing the boat and the disciples to instantly cross the Sea of Galilee, etc., Jn
6:1-21; Lk 7:20-22. But those were miracles, while here in Lk 24, He has "entered into His glory" by becoming the Firstborn from the
dead – the first human body divinely born of God, which provides the earnest of the
Holy Spirit (Jn 7:39; Gal 4:4-6; Rom 8:23; 2Co 5:1-5,16-21; et al), which "earnest" guarantees the divine birth of the bodies of all the
faithful covenant people into a glorified, spirit, heavenly body, 1Co 15:1-5,29-58.
46 "Then He said to them,
‘Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the
Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,'" Lk
24:46.
In His resurrection, Christ's human body was
"glorified" ("His body of glory," Phi
3:21), therefore His body was deified when He was raised out of the grave to become
"the Firstborn (first one raised into a divine human
body) from the dead," Ps 89:27; Col 1:18; Rev 1:5; Act
13:29-33; Heb 1:5-6; 5:5; 1Co 15:44-50. It was on that day Jesus said, "I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, 'You are My Son, Today I have
begotten You,'" Ps 2:7.
It will be in this born again glorified body that
the "King of glory" will return with all the
saints in born again, spirit bodies of divine glory.
QUESTIONS AND WORK TASKS FOR CHAPTER FOUR
1. Explain the meaning of Isaiah
60:1-3.
2. Give your understanding of Isaiah
60:19-20.
3. Define the garments of salvation and
the robe of righteousness, Isaiah 61:10.
4. Draw out the meaning of Isaiah
62:1-3.
5. Summarize from Isaiah 64:6; and from
Romans 3:9-19 and 7:14-25 how all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.
6. The church is called the body of
Christ, and the members of the church are called the members of the body of Christ, Rom
12:4-5; 1Co 12:12-27. Explain how the church (and therefore the members of the church)
as the body of Christ, were and are counted as having born again with Christ in His
resurrection.
7. Indicate how the mind, as an integral
and governing part of our spirit, has not been born again.
8. Show from the Scriptures how the glory
of God, the righteousness of God, and the life of God are credited progressively by
each act of faith and deed we do, 2Co 4:17; 9:10; Jn 10:10.
9. What all is credited to the covenant
person with each act of faith?
10. The Holy Spirit was given to the
church, and therefore to each member of the church, as an earnest, guarantee, or seal
of what?
11. Describe how the covenant person or
people may lose the earnest, guarantee, or seal of Holy Spirit.
12. Who may ascend into the hill of the
Lord, and how do they qualify?
13. In what major ways was Christ strong
in battle, and how can we be assured of victory in these battles?
14. What does the atonement include, and
how may we qualify to share in the atonement?
15. Give a few reasons why Nicodemus and
all the Jews should have known that the Messiah would be God, would be born of a
virgin, would live a sinless life, would die for our sins, and would be born again out
of the grave.
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