Christ Walks: First Day

The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. (Luke 13:31-33)

Jesus was saying that He was going to perform His ministry for so many days and then be crucified and resurrected. However, there is prophetic revelation here. The first two days are equivalent to the first two days of the sixth chapter of Hosea, and the third day is the Day of the Lord, the Kingdom Age. The Church of Christ will be perfected during the Kingdom Age.

We can observe the same pattern in the Tabernacle of the Congregation. The building in the fenced area consisted of the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. The two places were ten cubits high but the Holy Place was twice as long as the Most Holy Place. It was twenty cubits in length whereas the Most Holy Place was only ten cubits in length.

The Holy Place represents "today and tomorrow," while the Most Holy Place represents the "third day."

This design teaches us that during the Church Age (today and tomorrow) the ministry of Christ is to be characterized by the casting out of demons and the doing of cures.

The millennial perfecting of the Church. During the thousand-year Jubilee—the glorious age of the Kingdom of God that is just over the horizon—the Body of Christ will be brought to perfect love and holiness. This will be the fulfillment of I Corinthians, Chapter 13. In the Kingdom era we shall see Isaiah, Chapters 60 and 61 as well as John, Chapter 17 brought to mature expression.

During the present Church age we must continue to rely on the ministries and gifts of the Holy Spirit. We still "see through a glass darkly." In the age to come we shall know and understand as we are known and understood by the Lord. We shall be clothed with power and revelation, just as Jesus on earth was anointed during the first century. In place of bits of power and revelation that come and go we shall possess the abiding Spirit of wisdom, understanding, counsel, and might (Isaiah, Chapter 11). This is "that which is perfect."

Jesus is "walking" during the first day and the second day, that is, during the present Church era. He is casting out devils and performing cures. During the "third day" His Body will be brought to the perfection of unity and maturity that God has determined—to the "measure of [maturity as measured by] the stature of the fulness of Christ." The Body of Christ, the new Jerusalem, will attain its full stature, ready for its manifestation in the new earth as the Wife of the Lamb (Revelation, Chapters 21 and 22).

The first "day" of Jesus' walking was the outpouring of the first century, as we mentioned in the section entitled, "Hosea Six: First Day." Jesus' own ministry, as we have stated previously, was characterized by the most extraordinary miracles. Jesus Himself was (and always is) the fullness of the Kingdom Age brought into the earth.

The Glory of God resting on the Apostles and the early Church was extensive, although it does not appear that the greater works Jesus promised (John 14:12) were in evidence. Jesus Himself dwelled in a much greater fullness of God's Presence than was true of the Apostles. But the fullness of Christ's glory has been promised to the Church (John 17:22).

The casting out of demons and the doing of cures were carried on by the first-century churches. Paul declared: "The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power" (I Corinthians 4:20). The Gospel of the Kingdom must be seen in action as well as heard.

The Kingdom of God is manifest in driving out demons and healing the sick. If these two actions are not occurring along with our preaching we are presenting only one-half of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. When Christ is "walking" demons are being cast out and the sick are being healed. The deeds come first. It is what Jesus began to do and to teach.

Today: the Gospel of the Kingdom. It is God's will today (we believe from the Scriptures and from the current burden of the Spirit) that the Gospel of the Kingdom be presented in the fullness of Divine power to every man, woman, boy, and girl on the earth. Today is the Spirit's hour.

Our task is to cry to God night and day until He sends us forth to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom. We are not to go in presumption, in our own strength and wisdom. Rather, our business is to cry to God until He commands us to go forward. When He does, demons will be driven out and the sick will be healed. He is Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever.

The outpouring of Kingdom power in the first century was outstanding. Jesus walked in the Apostles and in the other ministries and gifts of the early Church. He revealed His Glory. The Good News of the Kingdom of God spread to the ends of the earth. Multitudes were brought into the Kingdom and added to the Church, the Body of Christ. It was a brief revival in terms of time, but it seeded the world with the Word of God concerning Christ.

As great as was the first-century outpouring, the greater works are yet to come, as Jesus promised. He has "kept the good wine until now." The glory of the latter house will be greater than the former.

God always is moving toward the fulfillment of His will in the earth, that is, that His Kingdom come and govern and bless the nations. The Glory of God shall cover the earth, as the Lord swore to Moses. The "water" of God's Spirit will cover the "sea" of mankind until wickedness has been removed from the nations of the saved.

We are in the last of the last days. There will be many heroes of faith who will come forth in the end-time performing mighty works and finding favor in God's sight. Many who are last will be first, as Jesus prophesied concerning the time of the end.

Perhaps we are in the second day, the "tomorrow," now. Jesus is walking in Kingdom power, casting out demons and doing cures to a greater extent than was true in former periods. Let us walk in Him and He in us.

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