The Sanctification Domain of Christianity

Back now to the sanctification aspect of redemption, as typified by the oil-fueled golden Lampstand of the Holy Place of the Tabernacle. The Lampstand represents, as we have said, the communication of God to us and then through us to other members of the Body of Christ.

Eventually the Divine communication will flow to all the peoples of the earth. First, to us personally. Then, to the whole Body of Christ. Finally, to the ends of the earth. First, to Jerusalem. Then to all Judaea. Next to Samaria. Finally to the farthest reaches of the earth as the Spirit of God directs us.

We have seen that the Lampstand was solid gold, signifying that there is to be nothing human in the testimony of God through Christ. How can this be, seeing that the Lampstand is Christ—Head and Body (Revelation 1:20)? How is it that there is to be nothing human in the testimony? It is the Church that is the light of the world.

The answer, we believe, is explained in two dimensions. The first dimension of the testimony is what the Church does. The second dimension of the testimony is what the Church is.

What the Church can do is to perform acts of wisdom and power—supernatural manifestations that result in deliverance for all who believe and a witness of the Presence and will of God.

What the Church is, is the pure gold of the Divine Substance, the moral character of Christ, hammered into righteous, holy, and obedient conduct by the circumstances through which the Holy Spirit brings us.

Neither the supernatural manifestations nor the righteousness of deed, word, motive, and imagination has one drop of human substance or ability in it. It is the pure gold of God.

What the Church does is to manifest supernatural wisdom, knowledge, faith, healing, miracles, prophecy, discerning of spirits, speaking in various languages, and interpretation of languages.

What the Church is, is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faithfulness, meekness, and temperance.

What the Church does is the result of the Oil, the Anointing, the gifts and ministries of the Holy Spirit, which are the power to bear witness of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. What the Church is, is the Divine Nature of Christ who is being formed in us. The moral Nature and Character of Christ is typified by the pure gold of the Lampstand, the seven lamps, and the accompanying utensils.

Power and holiness. These two go together. It is the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous man or woman that avails much. Christ was anointed with the oil of gladness because He loves righteousness and hates lawlessness. God gives the Holy Spirit to those who obey Him. The battles of the Lord depend for their power on the holiness of His army. An unholy army never can win against the forces of wickedness. A holy army, walking in the Spirit, never can lose.

We have seen in an earlier section that there were six side-branches on the golden Lampstand. The central shaft, taller and more richly ornamented than the side-branches, represents the Lord Jesus Christ. The number six of the side-branches symbolizes mankind, in that man was created on the sixth day. The number three—three lamps on each side of the central shaft—speaks of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The whole Lampstand portrays Christ—Head and Body. The design was balanced, there being an equal number of side-branches on each side of the central shaft. The number two (the two sets of side-branches) speaks of power, the power of the double portion of the Spirit, the power to bear witness of God. The balanced design indicates that we have holiness on one hand and power on the other. Christ and His Body possess the fullness of holiness and the fullness of power.

The tiniest particle of unholiness, of unrighteousness, of disobedience, can wreck the Israel of God, the Temple of God, the Wife of the Lamb, the Body of Christ. Every trace of sin and self-will must be cast out.

The light of God flows into the Body of Christ and then out to the ends of the earth. There is power to break every yoke, thereby bearing witness to the Presence and will of God. There is wisdom in judgment enabling every creature to distinguish between what is sinful and what is righteous and holy.

There is the living example of righteousness, holiness, and obedience in the form of the Church—the new Jerusalem. There is the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord (Isaiah 11:2). There is the love of God that comes to every person who does not resist Christ.

The power of God Almighty, the holiness of God Almighty, and the love of God Almighty are three ideas He desires to communicate to mankind. Each of these concepts are incarnate in the Person of Christ, the Son of God. They also are to become incarnate in each member of the Body of Christ so that Christ, Head and Body, is one Person in God—one in His Glory and one in His love (John 17:20-26).

We have been discussing how the three areas of the Tabernacle of the Congregation, together with their respective furnishings and appointments, depict the fullness of our redemption in Christ. We are endeavoring to relate these three areas to the three deaths and three resurrections that are theme of this book.

We have said that the Courtyard of the Tabernacle represents, among other things, the nations of the saved. The Holy Place represents the Church of Christ. The Most Holy Place represents the Throne of God Almighty. These three areas are distinguished by the level of holiness they portray.

All persons on the earth are welcome to seek God and be found of Him. It is obvious from the most casual glance about us that all persons—Christians included—do not seek the Lord with the same degree of fervency. The Scriptures teach us plainly that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him diligently (Hebrews 11:6). Jesus Himself informed us that some will rule ten cities, some five cities, and some will be strongly rebuked.

We can observe this pattern of levels of holiness in the ministry of Christ on the earth. There were the multitudes who were healed and who ate of the miraculously multiplied loaves and fish. Then there were the seventy who were sent forth. Twelve were called out by name, and to them were explained the meaning of the parables of the Kingdom.

Only three were permitted to see the Lord, Moses, and Elijah on the holy mountain of transfiguration and to hear the Voice that spoke from the cloud.

To maintain that there are not different stations in the Kingdom of God is to deny much Scripture and also to discount our practical experience. In any kingdom there is a multitude of levels of responsibility and of service, even though the king of that kingdom loves each of his subjects and makes sure that each receives consideration and just treatment.

So it is in the Kingdom of God. The linen fence of the Courtyard marks the boundary of salvation. All who are outside the linen fence are lost in outer darkness. Every person in the Courtyard is saved from the wrath of God. The linen fence marks the boundary of salvation, of redemption.

The Tabernacle building, with its Holy Place and Most Holy Place, portrays the Church, the Body of Christ, the Wife of the Lamb, the new Jerusalem. The Church dominates the Kingdom of God and is the government of the Kingdom of God. All persons who are of the Church of Christ are in the Kingdom of God and are the kings and priests of that Kingdom.

In the ages ahead of us the Kingdom of God will rule the earth (Daniel 2:35). The Christian Church, the new Jerusalem, will be the center of government of the earth.

The Tabernacle building dominated the area surrounded by the linen fence. God met the people at the bronze Altar of Burnt Offering. God Himself dwelled in the Most Holy Place in the Tabernacle building.

Today every person who is saved proceeds to become a member of the Church by baptism with the Holy Spirit. Every Christian is a member of the Body of Christ. The purpose of the age in which we live is to prepare the Church for its service of ministry during the eons yet ahead. The members of the Church will reign forever as kings and priests.

As kings the members of the Church will rule and judge the nations of the earth. As priests the members of the Church will bring the blessing and Presence of God to the peoples of the earth and will bear the needs of the nations before the Presence of God. This is an eternal ministry. Therefore God is taking infinite pains with the perfecting of each member of the Body of Christ.

The result of the work of the cross in the first area of redemption is that we are saved. Being saved means we will be preserved during the Day of Wrath and will be carried safely into the new heaven and earth reign of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The result of the sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit in the second area of redemption is as follows: we are established in our ability to point people at all levels of spirituality toward the love and Glory of God in the face of Christ; we reveal in ourselves the miraculous power and the holiness of the Holy Spirit so that God has a basis on which to judge His creatures; we become the Wife of the Lamb; we become the Temple of God; we then impose the rule of Christ on the peoples of the earth by the Word of God empowered by the Holy Spirit.

We see, then, that there is a difference between the two areas of redemption in that their results are not the same. The cross saves us from the wrath of God. Then the Holy Spirit conforms us to the image of God's Son that He may be the firstborn among many brothers.

During our discussion of the salvation domain of Christianity we mentioned that there are spiritual, or heavenly counterparts of the work of redemption in us. When we grow from one level to another in the Lord Jesus it is as though we pass from one level of the heavens to another.

We suggested that there is a realm of relationship and contact between the earth and the heavens and that Satan has gained control over this realm. This may be the first, or lower heaven. Satan is termed the "prince of the power of the air" (Ephesians 2:2). God's answer to Satan's usurpation is the cross. God planted the cross in the middle of Satan's realm of authority. Satan no longer possesses authority over those who choose to receive the Lord Jesus.

The authority of the kingdom of darkness and the guilt of sin are abolished the moment any person believes in the Lord Jesus Christ—receiving Him as Lord and Savior—and is baptized in water. The baptism in water is a sign that the believer has left the kingdom of darkness and has passed into the Kingdom of God.

The second area of redemption, that of the Church, of sanctification, also appears to have a heavenly counterpart. The fight here is somewhat different in nature. The Lord Jesus Christ did all the fighting in the first area, He, and He alone, bore away our sins to the cross. He was obedient. He carried the load. He was faithful unto death, and by His obedience unto death the authority of sin over us was destroyed.

In the second area we do the fighting. The Holy Spirit provides us with the wisdom and power, leading and enabling us every step of the way. Our goal is to remove each trace of the tendencies and effects of sin from ourselves, from our fellow members of the Body of Christ, and, at the glorious appearing of our Lord from Heaven, from all the saved peoples of the earth.

The second area of redemption reflects a second area of the heavens. It can be noticed that many of the passages of the Scriptures that portray scenes of Heaven do not show the celestial parks we associate with Heaven. Instead there is warfare. One can gain the impression that there is a fierce struggle taking place continually, with Christ, God's people, and the heavenly host on the one side, and Satan and his forces on the other.

We are suggesting that the sanctification area of redemption, that of the Church and of victory over the works of the flesh, is the area of the continual spiritual struggle for mastery. Isn't it true that our Lord Jesus Christ still is waiting until His enemies become a stool for His Feet?

In Job, which is said to be the oldest book of the Scriptures, we read these words:

Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the LORD, and Satan came also among them. And the LORD said unto Satan, Whence comest thou? Then Satan answered the LORD, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it. (Job 1:6,7)

This conversation occurred after the fall of Adam and Eve. Satan occupied himself with walking up and down in the creation that had come under God's curse because of Satan's counsel.

We are referring to the creation as a first spiritual level, because in the beginning God made a practice of walking "in the garden in the cool of the day," evidently having fellowship with Adam and Eve—creatures who were in His image. Their disobedience made continued fellowship impossible.

It is not recorded in Job that God rebuked Satan for "going to and fro in the earth" although that in itself was an abomination. Satan was not created in the image of God. It was not given to him to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth.

Angels belong in the heavens but, as Jude tells us, they "left their own habitation" (Jude 1:6). Angels who come into the earth, except under assignment from God, are usurpers of man's inheritance.

God did not rebuke Satan for walking in the earth because the Lord is bringing about good for us through Satan's wickedness. God always brings about good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose in Christ. He transforms all circumstances so that they cause His will to be done in us. The calamities that befell Job resulted in Job's testimony—a testimony that has given comfort to millions of saints who have had to endure suffering under the hand of the Lord.

The first level is that of the earth. We see another level in Job—that of the presentation of the sons of God to the Lord (probably to the Lord Jesus). Satan was among the sons of God at this higher level.

Satan yet walks throughout the earth, the territory that has come under judgment because of his wicked counsel. He gathers together whenever he is able with the sons of God in the realm of the Church. There he opposes us from his spiritual vantage point. As we press forward in prayer, Satan resists us, as do the other lords of darkness in the heavenlies.

Anyone who believes that Satan is not active among the members of the Church of Christ is ignorant of the Scripture and is blind to the murder, lust, covetousness, and sorcery that occur among those who assemble with the saints. The spirit of Antichrist works among us.

These are spots in your feasts of charity, when they feast with you, feeding themselves without fear: clouds they are without water, carried about of winds; trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice dead, plucked up by the roots; Raging waves of the sea, foaming out their own shame; wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for ever. (Jude 12,13)

The Book of Daniel gives us insight into the second area of redemption, the area of the struggle between the forces of God and the forces of Hell.

Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words. But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia. (Daniel 10:12,13)

Here we are able to catch a glimpse of the invisible warfare that surrounds us. The spirit realm that is revealed is a scene of activity and strife. There were holy beings who were helping Daniel but they were being resisted. It reminds us of Paul who explained, "Wherefore we would have come to you, even I Paul, once and again, but Satan hindered us" (I Thessalonians 2:18).

We of the Church must understand that there is an army of God's saints and there is also an army of angelic chieftains and warriors. These two armies fight side by side, under the lordship of Christ, against the forces of rebellion and perversity.

Do you remember that as soon as Joshua was ready to go to war against Jericho, the captain of the spiritual host appeared to him? That was because the struggle in the physical realm and the struggle in the spirit realm are closely related.

It is in the Book of Revelation that we see the clearest pictures of the intense spiritual activity that occurs in connection with the perfecting of the Church and with the establishing of the Kingdom of God on the earth.

The reason there is so much angelic activity described in Revelation, more perhaps than in any other book of the Scripture, is that Revelation portrays the Day of the Lord. The Day of the Lord involves not only the inhabitants of the earth but the spiritual creation as well. The elect angels are dependent on the Church for their victory and are awaiting with the greatest joy and interest the development of the image of Christ in the members of the Body of Christ.

I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, (I Timothy 5:21)

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. (Revelation 12:7,8)

We notice that the setting of the heavenly victory is closely related to the catching up of the male son to the Throne of God. The male son is Christ, who at this point has come to maturity through the travail of the ministries and gifts of the members of the Body of Christ.

The male son is the conquering Christ created in the disciples of the Lord Jesus. As soon as the male son is caught up to the Throne of God the army of holy angels is enabled to cast Satan from Heaven and into the earth. This is the beginning of the end of the forces of Satan.

The second area of redemption is that of sanctification and it is here that the power of Satan is destroyed. In the first area, that of salvation, the authority of the kingdom of darkness was destroyed as the Son of God met the devil at the cross and conquered him completely.

In the second area the works of the Holy Spirit are accomplished, utilizing the cross as the ground of authority. The tendencies and effects of sin are abolished in the disciples. Tremendous works of supernatural wisdom and power shine from the Holy Spirit in the Church. The Nature of Christ is created in the members of the Body of Christ. The Wife of the Lamb and the Temple of God are brought to perfection. The rulers of the ages to come, the sons of God, are directed toward the required places of obedience as they are prepared to be made perfect by suffering.

We beheld two worlds, the material and the spiritual, in interaction as the Lord Jesus Christ testified on the earth and as He conquered sin on the cross. We see two worlds in interaction in this second area also as the Holy Spirit brings the Church through the processes of sanctification.

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