Tag Archives: evangelistic

Second Coming of Jesus in Glory, Uncategorized

Get ready for Christ’s second visit to earth!

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13 NIV)

We will look at the promise of Christ’s second coming to earth, and its importance to all Christians and to those who have not yet accepted Christ as Lord of their lives. As a teacher of the Bible my goal is like the apostle Paul’s, “to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him” (Colossians 1:22 ESV)

It is noteworthy that Jesus referred to Himself as the embodied character of absolute truth and honesty as noted in these verses: “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life”. He would often say in the gospel of John regarding the truthfulness of His words: “But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me.” (John 8:45 ESV); and “If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?” (John 8:46 ESV); and “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth…” (John 16:7 ESV) He would say “if it were not so, I would have told you” (John 14:6; 14:2 ESV). Before He ascended to the Father, He told His disciples that “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth” (John 16:13 ESV). All truth is not half-truths. Half-truths are lies. The apostle Paul wrote: “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” (Rom 8:14 ESV)

With our Lord being bound to truth, and that fact that He is the son of God, he has long referred to Himself as the great “I am” who had years ago spoken to Moses in the burning bush (cf. Exodus 3:6; John 8:58) and whom theologians have biblically proven to be one with God: “All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men”. (John 1:3-4 ESV)

It stands to reason that He above all others would foretell only the truth. The following text describes the preeminence of Christ over all creation as the Creator God. When we understand that Jesus is God and that He created us, we can fathom why He is our redeemer who designed a plan with His Father in heaven to save us from our predicament of death: “He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent”. (Colossians 1: 15-18 ESV)

Jesus made a definite promise that He is coming to receive His followers when He comes back to earth the second time – a promise my mother loved: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3 KJV). The Book of Revelation, chapter 1, begins with a clear note that John received the prophecies in Revelation directly from the resurrected Jesus by an angel sent from heaven. It also states that it is the pure and direct testimony of Jesus Christ. Moreover, Jesus points out that the person who hears and abides by, cherishing this message that he sent for mankind via John, will be blessed!

The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show to his servants the things that must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who bore witness to the word of God and to the testimony of Jesus Christ, even to all that he saw. Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near. (Revelation 1:1-3 ESV)

Greeting to the Seven Churches

Regarding the time of His second advent to the earth, Jesus  told his disciples that He would be visually seen by everyone: “And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory.” (Luke 21:27 ESV) Jesus also indicated that the world will not comprehend the importance of this event nor be prepared to meet Him: “Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.” (Matthew 24:30 ESV). His appearing will be no secret event – every eye will see Him.

Here Jesus the author of Revelation, through the messenger,  apostle John “the Revelator” agrees in his final prophecy regarding the end time: Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of him (Revelation 1:7 ESV)

The disciples were told by an angel at His ascension, that Jesus would return just as He left, on clouds: “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11 ESV)

Evidently, we should be aware that many will not be prepared for this event! “But if that wicked servant says to himself, ‘My master is delayed,’ and begins to beat his fellow servants and eats and drinks with drunkards, the master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he does not know and will cut him in pieces and put him with the hypocrites. In that place, there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.” (Matthew 24:48-51 ESV)

Recent changes in Facebook have shown us how people can be distracted by being so engaged with applications on their smartphone in order to stay popular in our culture, sending each other philosophic or whimsical one-liners, or songs or movie clips. Don’t get me wrong Facebook is a cool place to connect with your family (though I contend it could be done more intimately by email). Who has time for studying let alone reading the Bible in our digitized information age? Jesus knew that self-aggrandizement would overtake mankind. So what will the world be doing when Christ comes?

“But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only. For as were the days of Noah, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and they were unaware until the flood came and swept them all away, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:37-39 ESV).

Jesus also said in Luke’s account of the Gospel: “Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all—so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed.” (Luke 17:28-30 ESV)

I don’t think that it is wrong in itself to eat, drink, marry, buy, sell, plant, or build, but that men’s minds will be so taken up with a zillion common distractions that they will give little or no thought to the future life, and make no plans or preparation to meet Jesus when He comes. Satan has most of mankind hoodwinked. Yes, “in their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Cor. 4:4 ESV)

The teaching of the return of the Lord to this earth is taught in the New Testament just as clearly as any other truth. Yet few sermons are preached on it. The church makes a great deal of baptism; but in all of Paul’s epistles, baptism, as important as it is, is spoken of only thirteen times. The bible speaks about the return of our Lord fifty times. Yet the church has had very little to say about it. The devil does not want the church to see this truth because this truth would wake up the church. Once I understood that Jesus Christ is coming back again to receive His followers to Himself, the world and all its philosophic concepts of Utopia, lost its hold on me.

The doctrine of Christ’s coming is ancient scriptural teaching going back in time: “It was also about these that Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied, saying, “Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones.” (Jude 14,15 ESV) Job a man of antiquity, also expressed similar confidence in Christ’s coming to receive him as a follower of God: “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last, he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh, I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another.” (Job 19:25-27 ESV)

How did the prophet King David speak of Christ’s judicial focus: “Our God comes; he does not keep silence; before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.” (Psalms 50:3 ESV). And “For he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness, and the peoples in his faithfulness.” (Psalms 96:13 ESV). Notice that David knew that on the day of His return we will come face to face with “His truth”.

How did the apostle Paul give expression to this hope? “But our citizenship is in heaven, and from it, we await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 3:20 ESV); and in Titus 2:13 he wrote: “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ”.

What is Peter’s testimony regarding the interventions of the Lord with the populace of the earth? “We did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:16 ESV)

Here is the most thorough presentations of the Second Advent of Jesus Christ to this earth.

Please contact the author with your comments 

 

 

Uncategorized

Melchizedek: Divine Priest of Abraham

So also Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest, but was appointed by him who said to him, “You are my Son, today I have begotten you”; as he says also in another place, “You are a priest forever, after the order of Melchizedek.” (Hebrews 5:5-6)

The Mysterious Melchizedek (Gen 14:17-24) Ps 110:4; Heb 5:6-10; 6:20–7:28 Melchizedek is a mysterious biblical personality whose name means “king of righteousness.” He was a Canaanite priest and king; there is no record of his family or of the beginning or end of his life. Abraham met Melchizedek after defeating four Mesopotamian kings. The Mesopotamians had raided Sodom and Gomorrah and captured Abraham’s nephew Lot (Gen 14:1-16). 

When Abraham returned from battle, Melchizedek, king of Salem (=Jerusalem; see Ps 76:2), was with the grateful kings of the Dead Sea confederacy. When Melchizedek gave Abraham bread, wine, and his blessing, he was acting as “a priest of God Most High” (Gen 14:18), the true God who created heaven and earth (see Ps 7:17; 47:2; 57:2; 78:56). 

Melchizedek correctly understood that Abraham worshipped the true God (Gen 14:22), and he praised God for giving victory to Abraham. Abraham received Melchizedek’s gifts and gave him his tithe, thus recognizing Melchizedek’s higher spiritual rank as a patriarchal priest (see Heb 7:4-7). 

Abraham is an important figure in the old testament because he was chosen by God, to be the father of the Hebrew race, a chosen peculiar people set apart to eventually bring redemption to mankind (Galatians 3:28, John 4:22). He was a man that was physically visited by God manifesting as men. (Genesis 18:1)

A Divine order of Priesthood Melchizedek is an unusual figure in Genesis — an old testament book which gives genealogies for its other characters. Yet Melchizedek appears without any such record. He shows up as a priest and then quickly disappears. Much later in Israel’s history, King David — who also had prophetic insights — was perhaps reflecting on this when he said that the Messiah is “a priest forever in the order of Melchizedek” (Ps 110:4; cp. Heb 7:15-25). 

The New Covenant Connection The book of Hebrews explains this statement, saying that Melchizedek is remembered as “resembling the Son of God” (Heb 7:3), but was not himself the Son of God. His priesthood lasts forever as an archetype that prefigures the Messiah’s priesthood. Like Melchizedek (but unlike the kings of Israel), Jesus is a king who also fulfils priestly functions, which began when he ascended into the presence of the Father. This was testified by the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost 50 days after his Ascension to heaven. Melchizedek, a royal priest, was superior to Levi, the ancestor of Israel’s priests. In the same way, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, is a better priest than the descendants of Aaron. 

Your Assurance of Salvation Jesus provides permanent atonement for sins and direct access to his Father through his name (Heb 7:24-28). He guides his people by the Spirit rather than by law (Heb 8:7-13) and lives forever as priest and king for those who love him, spiritually listen to him, trust in him, and obey his Word bearing the fruits of a Spirit-led life.

 Theological Article: Christ: High Priest of a New Covenant

Eternal Life

Death has passed unto all men: Learn how to be ready.

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NIV)

No matter what our age we have this in common with all men: We all are one day closer to death and the grave. We are closer to eternal life, or eternal damnation. Some emphasize a hell, others view the final lake of fire that the unrepentant who do not accept Jesus will face as their final judgment.

  • Death Through Adam, Life Through Christ “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned”. (Romans 5:12 NIV) The good news of the gospel is that death does not have to be the end of the road.
    Though we die physically we have an eternal dimension to our spirit that God gave us at birth. Indeed, “the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 NIV) You can make an exchange from a hopeless death and the final fires of judgment by making a simple exchange, if for nothing else for personal gain. God will start with you right now, wherever you are if you can accept what Jesus is offering you. The text reads, not death when you believe “but the gift of God” which is “eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
  • Make the Exchange You can make an exchange from a hopeless death and the final fires of judgment by making a simple exchange, if for nothing else for personal gain.

Death is a result of sin Speaking to Adam, the first man, God said:

“Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree that I commanded you not to eat from…The very ground is cursed because of you; getting food from the ground will be as painful as having babies is for your wife; you’ll be working in pain all your life long. The ground will sprout thorns and weeds, you’ll get your food the hard way, planting and tilling and harvesting, sweating in the fields from dawn to dusk, until you return to that ground yourself, dead and buried; you started out as dirt, you’ll end up dirt.” (Genesis 3:17-19 MSG)

  • The ancient prophet Job noted that life is fleeting. “My days are swifter than a weaver’s shuttle, and they come to an end without hope. Remember, O God, that my life is but a breath; my eyes will never see happiness again. (Job 7:6-7 NIV)
  • Every person will face death. “We’ll see death soon enough. Everyone does. And there’s no back door out of hell”. (Psalm 89:48 MSG)
  • The death of Christians is precious in the sight of God. “Precious in the sight of the LORD Is the death of His godly ones”. (Psalm 116:16 NASB)
  • Christians enter perfect peace with God at death. “Those who walk uprightly enter into peace; they find rest as they lie in death. (Isaiah 57:1-2 NIV)
  • Christians are welcomed into the presence of the Lord Jesus when they die. “And while they were stoning Stephen, he prayed, Lord Jesus, receive and accept and welcome my spirit!” (Acts 7:59 AMP)
  • God provides eternal life. “God’s gift is real life, eternal life, delivered by Jesus, our Master”. (Romans 6:23 MSG)
  • When you believe in Jesus Christ, you never really die. “Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying”. (John 11:25 NLT)
  • Jesus will raise everyone who has died. “But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead comes also through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him”. (1 Corinthians 15:20-23 NIV)

Make the intelligent choice: Using the stock market as an analogy

For men approaching or in retirement, it is important that our investments do well. It often comes down to good choices when you weigh your investment options. Compare this to believing or not believing the Bible when it states that Jesus Christ is Lord of your life and all created life. Death and judgement without Christ could be viewed as a market crash! Conversely, life in Christ can be viewed as your life prospering, getting better and succeeding abundantly. Again look at the hope here: “in Christ all will be made alive”! That’s not a bad personal investment – better than buying into a good stock versus being a sucker to buying a lousy stock.

  • Why death is like a deadbeat investment. Again look at the hope here: “in Christ all will be made alive!” That’s not a bad deal. Like selling off lousy stock to buy good stock. Bad stock sucks the life out of your portfolio. Good stocks eventually pay off long term. Don’t get hoodwinked by the crowd of cowards who prefer popularity over repentance, and staying obstinate in disbelief. Simply sell the lousy stock, and repent. I prefer the end-game, in the profitable margins of the market of life. Just don’t buy the crappy stock offerings that other unbelievers might serve up.
  • Simply repent. Why would anyone remain in the sin of disbelief instead of repenting and accepting Jesus as your loving Saviour? Accept the profitable margins of eternal Life. Just don’t buy the crappy mental-stock offerings that other unbelievers might tell you will win and make you spiritually prosper. Dump that deadbeat investment. Like a smart investor weigh your options.
  • Living in heaven is better than living on earth. “It’s what we trust in, but don’t yet see, that keeps us going.” (2 Corinthians 5:7 MSG) Death is not the end of a person’s life, it is a transformation to renewal in Christ. We may not understand how this will be physically achieved. It is easier if you see the creator as in control of all atomic physics in time within a limitless spatial universe. All true mathematical formulas and scientific theory are under His control.

The offer is for your taking simply by believing. As the creator, Jesus is given full control over his universe, and over death. This is very important to understand before you die, in order that you also may have eternal life:

“For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so also the Son gives life to whom he will. The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live'”. (John 5:21-25 ESV)

We all must prepare our spiritual life for death. My own dear mother held to the hope that Jesus, as He promised, had a place prepared for her. (see John ch. 14) Our hope in Jesus caring for our soul after death: “Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 NIV)

“And just as it is destined that each person dies only once and after that comes judgment, so also Christ died only once as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again but not to deal with our sins again. This time he will bring salvation to all those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:27-28 NLT)

  • All our boasting will end. We don’t know how long we’ll live so let’s not boast about tomorrow: “Now listen, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.’ Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.” (James 4:13-14 NIV)
  • God will destroy death. “He will wipe all tears from their eyes, and there will be no more death, suffering, crying, or pain. These things of the past are gone forever.” (Revelation 21:4 CEV)

If you have any comments or would like me to visit with you or pray with you, please write Glen Jackman.

Church Assembly

An important prophecy in Revelation to the church

There is an invitation to those who will hear this message given to the apostle John. It is given to the church of Jesus — anyone that has a true abiding connection to Jesus Christ. We know this because it is a message to the churches that Jesus noted is to be read to the assemblies. Further, Jesus indicates, those that read the message will be blessed. (Revelation 1:1-3) This is because it is clear that those who care about Christ’s message to his church will obey and proclaim and share this message to the members of his church. This indicates that they are in sync with his Spirit.

The message is proclaimed in unison by the teachers and preachers in Christ’s church and is shared in meetings and seminars with interest worldwide among his people. Many people will both hear and heed the call to come to Jesus Christ as Lord to allow Christ’s Spirit to guide their lives to: “take the free gift of the water of life” which He taught is the Holy Spirit’s indwelling, which is the divine Guarantor’s seal of life eternal (John 4:14;7:37-38; Revelation 7:17; 21:6; 22: 1; 17; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:14; John 3:5; 20:22) Further it is the Spirit which initiates, and proclaims this message through His gifted teaching evangelist-teachers. The teachers/preachers work in unison led by the Spirit. The term “the Spirit and the bride” means the Spirit and Christ’s church members — who are His disciples who are very involved in this proclamation:

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.” (Revelation 22:17)

The gift of the Holy Spirit is being offered to those who will hear, to those who chose to come into union with the Lord, as One people, prior to his second advent to the earth as both judge and saviour.

“Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book.” (Revelation 22: 7)

Further, in Revelation 22: 10-11 he makes it very clear that this is an either/or message. Either you are for him or against him which is indicated by an ongoing lifestyle of obedience to the Royal Law: doing right, by expressing loving behaviour, while omitting the allurements of Satan; versus the opposite: doing wrong by expressing harmful motives, while omitting love and kindness towards others, craving the allurements of the world over knowing and obeying God.

The following scripture presents that those who follow Christ, reflect His character and abide in Him via the Holy Spirit. These people are progressing in a lifestyle of holiness obedient to the scriptures. Some may think that holiness is a better-than-thou term for legalistic or fanatical Christians. No. Rather, holiness is only possible when led by the Spirit and we are following the Gospel message of God’s love to man via Christ’s propitiation on the cross for mankind’s sin. (Romans 8:14)

Holiness is a lifetime process of separating from the world’s values and influencers while dedicating your life to walking in the light, with no part dark. This means abiding in Jesus because without him we can achieve nothing truly holy (John 15:4, 5-6).

“Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, because the time is near. Let him who does wrong continue to do wrong; let him who is vile continue to be vile; let him who does right continue to do right, and let him who is holy continue to be holy.” (Revelation 22:11)

Jesus prayed that the church would enter into a sanctification process in order to become one with Him — to live in holiness reflecting his influence. Sanctification is the process of moving into a closer walk with Jesus, of allowing the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, full sway in your life. It also means repenting, confessing sin, and turning to Jesus to abide in Him (John 15:4-6), versus following the wickedness in the world. Here Jesus is praying to his Father prior to his crucifixion — notice Jesus said he is not of this world, being sanctified, and that he is asking the Father in heaven to continue sanctifying his apostles and the members of his church:

“They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them, I sanctify myself [see note], that they too may be truly sanctified”. (John 17: 16-19 [author’s emphasis])

Truly sanctified ultimately means to be holy as the Lord is holy (1 Peter 1:16) which is a process, not an absolute obtainment of perfection in this world (Philippians 3:12-14)

Note: Jesus expressed sanctified, holy obedience to his Father as a man when going to the cross when he prayed submissively in the garden of Gethsemane: ‘not my will, but thy will be done’.

Uncategorized

You have an anointing of the Holy Spirit

‘But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know’ (1 John 2:20) 

You have received the anointing from the Holy One.

Yahweh is the name of God as revealed to Moses as he was commanded by God to free the Israelites from Egyptian bondage. He also referred to himself as “I am” – “tell them ‘I am’ sent you”(Exodus 6:2 HCSB; 3:14 NLT). Jesus said, “before Abraham was, ‘I am’” (John 8:58). The apostle Paul referred to Jesus as the “rock that followed” or was with the Jews in the wilderness during the miraculous deliverance in the Exodus (1 Corinthians 10:4).  From the Exodus story, it is also evident that Yahweh is the one who gave the anointing though it was symbolically noted as a ritual process. The priests of the old covenant in Moses’ day were anointed when setting them apart for the service in the tabernacle. The oil used then was a metaphor for the anointing of the Holy Spirit, of the Trinitarian God, Yahweh: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Jesus told the parable of the ten virgins, five of whom were wise, having their lamps full of oil, ready and burning, waiting for the groom’s late arrival (Matthew 25:1-13). Only five were prepared to meet the bridegroom, the new covenant’s metaphoric term for Jesus Christ, who will return to earth to receive his bride, his church, sealed individually by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 4:30, 1:13; 2 Corinthians 1:22), symbolic of a mindset born anew of the Spirit, to align entirely sworn allegiant to God. This carries from symbolism of the anointing oil of the ancient tabernacle priesthood to the day of Jesus, to the true antitypical meaning: the anointing of the Holy Spirit given to each brother and sister in Christ.

Holiness does not consist of specific righteous actions, though it may motivate ethical behaviour and good deeds. No, holiness is the unseen, yet the manifest presence of the Holy One resting on His anointed ones. Only gifted from God — issuing directly from Yahweh, the Holy One — is the anointing of the Holy Spirit received. 1 It is evidence of being born again into an abiding fellowship with Christ, resting unified to Christ, abiding in Him: with Yahweh, the Holy One — the Father and the Son and the conjoining Holy Spirit — as the Three-in-One God — now one with each Christian together in God’s family as One. (1 John 2:23-25; John 10:30; John 17:21)

And who receives it? Only the man or woman who has given himself entirely in mind, body and soul to be holy as God is holy. Only he who is wholly consecrated to the service of the Holy One, to the work of the ministering to sinners seeking their God, sharing the Gospel truth, offering reconciliation with God. Holiness is the energy that only lives as holy among those dedicated to Christ via holy living. (Leviticus 11:44-45, 20:26,1 Peter 1:16)

In the time of Moses, the anointing of the Holy One was for the priest, the servant of God Most High. It was given to conjoin in the intensity of a soul entirely committed, given up to God’s glory, God’s kingdom, God’s work, where that holiness becomes an existential reality. The anointing of the Spirit was given from the Father via Christ who breathed the Spirit on the apostles before His ascension to heaven: “he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit” (John 20:22).

Each member of the church is called to holy living, to work to guide others into God’s kingdom, and as such, are a royal priesthood. Christians are the antitypical reality of the anointing preparation of the old covenant priests referred to in the wilderness tabernacle. These men were the symbolic representatives as a type of today’s ministers of reconciliation to the Lord. Today, abiding in Christ we are the new priesthood, each one.

“You have an anointing from the Holy One, and you all know” (1 John 2:20) Yes, Oh Lord we know this truth, our calling and election is certain, we are your royal priests, we are set apart as your holy kingdom, your church, your reconciling connection to your redemptive calling others as your children. You are the Holy One, and we are your very own possession, your children. We are grateful to your Son’s redemptive calling to Himself via the Holy Spirit working among your minsiters; and concomitantly to you Father, as we abide in your anointing of the Holy Spirit, to join our souls supernaturally to you as One.

“You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light”. (1 Peter 2:9 NLT)

1 The Greek word for anointing would be rendered in Acts 10:38: ‘Jesus of Nazareth, whom God christed with the Holy Ghost and with power.’ In the Hebrew prophecy of Christ in Psalm 45: ‘God has messiahed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows’. Andrew Murray, Holy in Christ