Beholding in a Mirror
.... In our previous posting we described how the prophets received ‘deep groanings’ from the Spirit of Christ within them (1 Peter 1:10-11; Romans 8:26). Those groanings reflected the heart, mind and emotions of God as He spoke of the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (1 Corinthians 2:10). But receiving something so deeply passionate must have impacted the prophet himself. When he saw the heart of God, what was it doing to his heart? When he perceived the mind of Christ, what was it doing to his mind?
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.... As the prophets searched out the things that were indicated to them, deep crying unto deep, they struggled with the turmoil this produced in their heart, soul and spirit (Psalm 77:1-6). As they began to appreciate the subjectivity of God Himself, it was so deeply wrought that it actually reshaped their own subjectivity from within, to make them more like Him:
.... As the prophets searched out the things that were indicated to them, deep crying unto deep, they struggled with the turmoil this produced in their heart, soul and spirit (Psalm 77:1-6). As they began to appreciate the subjectivity of God Himself, it was so deeply wrought that it actually reshaped their own subjectivity from within, to make them more like Him:
.... "But we all, with unveiled face, 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."
(2 Corinthians 3:18)
.... As an example of this concept, Jesus had once asked His disciples, "Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?" And they answered, "John the Baptist. But some say that You’re Elijah, or some say that You’re Jeremiah, or that one of the old prophets has arisen." (Matthew 16:13-14)
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.... The people said these things because they saw similarities between Jesus and the prophets. One of those prophets was Elijah, so let’s use him as an example to elaborate. Elijah came to the people saying, "If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. Why do you falter between two opinions?" (1 King 18:21); and Jesus had shown them exactly the same heart in saying, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." (Matthew 12:30).
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.... The people said these things because they saw similarities between Jesus and the prophets. One of those prophets was Elijah, so let’s use him as an example to elaborate. Elijah came to the people saying, "If the LORD is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him. Why do you falter between two opinions?" (1 King 18:21); and Jesus had shown them exactly the same heart in saying, "He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters abroad." (Matthew 12:30)..
.... When the people saw such similarities in their attitudes, they concluded that Jesus must have been very much like Elijah -- but in actuality, they had it backwards. Because of the Spirit of Christ who was in him, Elijah was the one who was becoming more like Jesus:
.... "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow."
(1 Peter 1:10-11)
.... As the prophets beheld the sufferings and glories of Christ with an unveiled face, they were transformed from glory to glory into the same image, and this accounted for the Christ-like attitudes we saw in them (2 Corinthians 3:18). .
.... In another place, Elijah came to Mt. Sinai, saying, "I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts." (I King 19:10). But what does it mean to be ‘jealous for’ somebody?
.... In another place, Elijah came to Mt. Sinai, saying, "I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts." (I King 19:10). But what does it mean to be ‘jealous for’ somebody?
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.... It means we are defensive over the things in which they are defensive; we are zealous over the things that make them angry; we speak on these things as they, themselves would have spoken on them, for we are moved in a similar way. We are jealous for them!
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.... Elijah was consumed with the heart of Christ in those matters, he was jealous for the Lord! He had taken it so much to his heart that these concerns became part of his own character now, and this is the same affect we desire for ourselves in seeking Jesus today.
To proceed to the next lesson, click here
Daily Bible Reading: Acts 15
posted by loren at 1:02 AM
5 Comments:
The examples that were shown in this posting came from my best friend, Joe Landin. Let’s examine another example in the life of Jeremiah:
Jeremiah prophesied to the people about the destruction that would come to Jerusalem; and yet in doing so, He was called ‘the weeping prophet’. He had a heart for the people to escape the wrath that was going to come – even though it was coming, and he was telling them about it. Now this is the same heart by which Jesus preached.
“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
(Luke 19:41-42)
They saw Jesus weep over Jerusalem. They saw Him weep at the tomb of Lazarus. They saw this heart that was in Him, and it reminded them of Jeremiah. That’s why they thought He was like Jeremiah. But it wasn’t that Jesus was like Jeremiah. It was that Jeremiah, by the Spirit of Christ who was in him, testifying to him, was becoming Christ-like.
The Bible says that Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren. Jeremiah, Elijah, John the Baptist, the other prophets – these people are the many brethren. We, us ourselves, we are a part of the ‘many brethren’, but Jesus is the
firstborn among many brethren, He is the pattern from which our character is derived.
By
loren, at 9/29/2005 1:12 AM
I find it appropriate that Elijah was the example...
Studying the life of Elijah, we find that his 'transformation' to be likeminded with Christ 'became complete'. I say 'became complete' because in many senses we do not 'know' what has or is happening to the 'Old Testament' dead.
What we do know is that Elijah was 'bodily', physically taken to heaven - he never died. (2 Kings 2:10)
Peace In Christ
By
Unchained Slave, at 9/29/2005 1:24 PM
Hi David,
Excellent point! As you know, I'm studying the state of the deasd as well, and when you said that it opened another door for me.
Elijah was one of the two who appeared to Jesus on the mount of tranfiguration and discussed his demise which He would accomplish at Jerusalem (Luke 9:31). So this is evidence that he understood the gospel.
By
loren, at 9/29/2005 3:01 PM
Hi Loren,
Thanks for the comments on my weblog! I really am thankful that someone took the time to read them... many of my readers have been bogged down by school right now, as am I lol.
I think I wrote something about that verse once... I can't remember what I called it or if I posted it on my blog. Maybe I'll look it up sometime this weekend.
I have a question. The title of your blog is "Pulpit of the Last Days." Do you believe that we are in the end times, because that is what is implied by the description. Could you clarify this for me? thanks a lot!
In Christ,
~Ednella Sound-Out, a follower of God
By
Camille, at 9/30/2005 4:17 PM
Hi Ednella,
I thought your blog was great, and I couldn't encourage you enough! Were your ears burning? I was telling my wife about you!
To answer your question about the end times, I have to start by telling you about my time piece. Some people measure the end times by world events, and some believe that Israel is the time piece of the end times. But I think the best time piece can be found in the church.
The Bible describes the end time church in very good detail. The most basic thing to understand is that there will be two sides of it, two conflicting descriptions, two 'schools of thought' if you will. (You might see this concept in the parable of the ten virgins: half were wise and half were foolish, so there were two basic mind sets).
One side of the church will be very self-centered though having a form of godliness, and it will develop first. At least 13 heresies were foretold to arise in this part of the church (12 of which are in existance in various parts of the church now.)
The other side of the church will arise much later, and they will be very Christ-centered in their beliefs. The articles in this blog are designed to examine the basics from this perspective, to help build a discipleship course for this side of the church -- hence the name of the blog.
So to answer your question, if the church is the time piece then the end time period has begun. The self-centered part of the church is nearing its full development, and it is already doing its damage. The Christ-centered part is in its initial stirring, not only here, but with some others. Hopefully this is starting to happen all over the world.
There is more about all of this in the 'break-out' modules in the left-hand column of the home page (you would have to scroll a little further down in order to see them). I hope this is helpful.
By
loren, at 9/30/2005 8:04 PM
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