In Spirit and in Truth
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A second element of the Temple altar carries truly colossal importance—and explains the earlier secondreference to a FIXED STANDARD of measurement.
Polluted offerings were also unacceptable to God. Any animal that was imperfect, unclean or undesignated as acceptable, or those that were ceremonially improperly prepared or offered, were not received by God, even if sacrificed on the right altar.
How serious was this to God? Priests that offered any of these perversions could be put to death (Ex. 30:9; Lev. 10:1; 16:1-2; Num. 3:4)!
At Sabbath services, God’s ministers and people no longer offer physical things to God. Christ explained this new emphasis for those who seek to worship God today: ;But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father IN SPIRIT and IN TRUTH: for the Father seeks such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him MUST worship Him IN SPIRIT and IN TRUTH” (John 4:23-24).
Only the Truth!
The only offerings acceptable on God’s New Testament altar, within His spiritual Temple, is THE TRUTH! Anything other than the truth that the Church once understood and proved to be God’s doctrines is profane—spiritual pollution! No matter what men think, other doctrines are not good enough before God! We mustappear in His presence always worshiping ;in truth.”
The splinter leaders are violating both points described so far. Not only have they lost track of what IS the Temple, having created NON-DESIGNATED ALTARS in alternative locations, but they have brought POLLUTED SACRIFICES before God. As so many false priests, they have brought—and taught God’s people—doctrines that are not the truth. In the name of ;growth,” these men do not fear to prepare unclean—unacceptable!—sacrifices. And these false leaders happily puke these on false altars outside God’s Temple before attendees willing to have it so!
Is this you?
Mr. Armstrong made clear not only what is the New Testament spiritual Temple of God, but also the ONLY DOCTRINES that are acceptable on God’s altar. Not only was the foundation of the Temple laid and finished, but the doctrines offered within it were also ;plumbed, trimmed and true”—they were STRAIGHT!—and the living Christ, the Chief Cornerstone, was pleased with the latter Zerubbabel’s work!
Are you?
Spiritual Sacrifices!
John 4:23-24 has a parallel ;Temple/altar/priesthood/sacrifice” element hidden within it. To see it, let’s merge the command in that passage with what Peter wrote about God’s people—the living stones—in his first epistle. Recall: ;You…are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 2:5). All ;spiritual sacrifices” in God’s ;spiritual House” must be ;acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.” After all, Jesus Christ is called our ;great High Priest” in Hebrews 4:14-16. This makes Him the Priest in charge of the entire priesthood—that is those who will come under His charge, His authority—and as such it is He Who presents all offerings to God.
You may have never thought of yourself as a priest under the watchful eye of the Greatest Priest offering sacrifices on the altar in God’s Temple, BUT YOU SHOULD! How often have you reminded yourself that you are a ;holy, royal priest”?—ever? Then, how often do you concern yourself with these questions: What kind of sacrifices did Peter have in mind? What kind of sacrifices do I bring? What, in my case, am I asking Christ to present on my behalf as acceptable to God?
The subject of New Testament sacrifices is a big one and probably something that few think about. In fact, most probably have no idea how often the New Testament speaks of them, thinking that sacrifices and offering animals are primarily ;an Old Testament subject having to do with the Levites and ancient Israel”—similar to the passive way that most brethren surely think about ;temples,” ;altars,” ;priests” and ;courts,” assuming many do this at all.
Actually, it was established long ago, even in the Old Testament, that sacrifices were a much bigger subject than just the priests in the physical temple. Were you aware that David spoke at least twice back in the Psalms about offering ;the sacrifices of righteousness” to God (Psalms 4:5; 51:19)? How concerned are you about this?
Then, in the New Testament, Paul added more: ;By Him [again, by Jesus Christ] therefore let us offer thesacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to His name. But to do good and to communicate forget not: for with such sacrifices God is well pleased” (Heb. 13:15-16). This is a potent scripture, one absolutely filled with meaning. When was the last time you thought about it?
And what about this reference in Philippians? Notice: ;the things which were sent from you, an odor of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, well-pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). Here, just the simple collective generosity of a congregation to God’s servant (Paul) was described as an ;acceptable” sacrifice that was also ;well-pleasing to God.”
Finally, again from Paul, is this most powerful of all New Testament scriptures on the subject of sacrifice, almost completely forgotten by most today: ;I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1).
There was a time when God’s people knew that everything about their lives belonged to God, they knew they were LIVING SACRIFICES, and that this was a ;reasonable service” expected of them by God. We were priests consecrated for God’s service. Not only were we to be living sacrifices, we were to recognize that we had been redeemed, brought back as ;alive from the dead” (Rom. 6:13) by Christ’s sacrifice, and given an incredible opportunity to assist in the most important Work on Earth!
Being a living stone means being a living sacrifice!
But how many people today do you think are concerned about these things when they cannot even remember what is God’s Temple, never mind who is and who is not in it? Are you concerned?
Ecclesiastes, now back in the Old Testament, offers perhaps the most accurate picture—with a warning—of what is happening today with many of God’s people: ;Keep your foot when you go to the HOUSE OF GOD, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil. Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter anything before God…” (Ecclesiastes 5:1-2). In the age when ;the people rule, judge and decide,” we have just described thousands who are only too willing to offer endless confused, misguided opinions about what they once so clearly understood.
The subject of spiritual sacrifices presented by God’s priesthood on His altar at His New Testament Temple is very serious to God. I hope the little you have read here demonstrates just how serious your ;spiritual sacrifices” should be to you!
Let’s get this! Together, John 4:23-24 and I Peter 2:5 form one of the most powerful scriptural combinations in the entire Bible—for those of God’s people who will still receive their message. We saw the Church of God—the Temple of God—is ;the pillar and ground of THE TRUTH.” When you come before God, (1) you must be at the right location—the true Temple and altar, (2) you had better worship in truth, undiluted, nothing else added, or your offering is not acceptable, (3) your sacrifices had also better include such things as righteousness,thanksgiving, praise, doing good, faithful communication and generosity, among others—and (4) God must see you willing to daily OFFER YOURSELF as a ;living sacrifice” in service before His altar, at His House, in His Work.
Think hard on these things! And then think hard on them again!
THEM THAT WORSHIP THEREIN
The phrase in the subhead is better translated as simply ;the worshippers therein.” The King James translators added ;them” as an implied pronoun.
The Greek word for ;worship” is proskuneo, which means ;To prostrate oneself in homage, do reverence to, adore.”
This word presents a graphic and sobering picture. Mull it carefully with yourself in mind, because it contains much more than meets the eye. In God’s eyes, to worship—anything!—is to prostrate oneself before it in a reverential and adoring manner. Regarding the who, what, where, when, why and how you see yourself in worship, you should envision yourself doing it in this way, and it will give you pause!
The world generally looks at worship as a one-hour event each Sunday morning. Some churches add a Wednesday evening Bible study, or ;testimonial night,” and perhaps a few more ;activities” through the year. God’s people are entirely different. First, they worship on a ;24/7” basis, or 168 hours a week instead of just one, two or a few. They are to recognize that in coming before God’s altar, they come all day, every day, and that they had better be zealous—enthusiastic, if you will. And this means every one who is in God’s Temple, if he is to remain there.
Christ described those of Laodicea as lacking ;zeal” (Rev. 3:19), for which He counsels them to ;repent.” This zeal is essentially demonstrated in three areas, and is directed toward: (1) the truth, (2) all forms of personal conduct and (3) involvement in the only Work of God on Earth. Worshiping God ;in spirit” means regular prayer, study, fasting, meditation and constant exercising of God’s Spirit. This element of spiritual worship and activity, coupled with truth, is very important to the God who means what He says!
Those who properly worship God in spirit know that ;the inward man is renewed day by day” (II Cor. 4:16)—and, I repeat, this is all day, every day!
Worshiping God ;in spirit” carries another profoundly important implication—and it is tied directly to the reason Laodiceans must anoint their eyes in order to regain vision. Those who read my book on this subject recognize the problem in Laodicea is that the ;branches” there are no longer connected to the ;Vine,” Christ, meaning they are cut off from receiving more of His Spirit. This book has at least briefly referenced how spiritual ;oil” is running from the ;lamps” of thousands who can no longer replenish it as they once could because they are outside Christ’s Body!
Christ declared, ;Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the Vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me…for without Me you can do NOTHING” (John 15:4-5).
Many scriptures could be added at this point to underscore the overarching supreme importance of being connected to Jesus Christ every minute of every day.
Think! Not only are those of the seventh era not worshiping God ;in truth”—or even close to it—they are not, and cannot, worship Him ;in spirit” without being reconnected to the ;Vine.” This is the only path to again becoming VIBRANT stones, close-jointed with the Chief Corner Stone and the other living stones in the Temple.
In light of everything that you have learned so far in this chapter, understand the following: All people with God’s Spirit today will ultimately have met either one of two very different spiritual standards prior to the Great Tribulation and Day of the Lord. Everyone will have adopted a position. That position will determine how they are measured by the time this horrific calamity slams into the nations of Israel:
(1) They will worship in spirit and in truth without compromise, and assist in carrying out God’s Work, both possible only from inside His Temple, or…
(2) They will worship in another way, using other doctrines, doing a different work, in an alternative location!
You have two options. Pick one…
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