In Light and Darkness I tried to show that what we lack as a fallen human race is revelation. We all know good from evil. We all ate from the tree. Our consumption of poisoned fruit gave us a broken judger. This broken judgment mechanism is the “original sin” we pass down. We pass from one generation to another a fallen notion of an angry God that we need to hide from instead of “seeing the light” of His goodness and stepping into the light of the Kingdom.
Jesus reconciled the whole cosmos to God in Himself on the cross. We were in Him when He became a man. He became (in a mysterious way) all of mankind and did what we couldn’t do. He lived in a perfect oneness with His Father. Jesus was joined to God because He was God and was from God. He became a God-man who was fully man and fully God by joining Himself to humankind. We all died with Him on that cross and were raised again a new creation. We are so joined to Him. To be apart from Him would be like undoing the merger between your mom and dad. That merger is you. In the same way you are of God. God produced another Jesus-like creature in you and is still joined to you because Jesus never left His beloved behind. He took us all with Him.
So with that truth (which I know is a mystery and really makes your head hurt and is the reason He has to give us faith to see it) why do we still look in the shadows for our Father. He is right there in you. All the fullness of the Godhead is in you:
Col 2:9 For in Him the whole fullness of Deity (the Godhead) continues to dwell in bodily form [giving complete expression of the divine nature]. 10 And you are in Him, made full and having come to fullness of life [in Christ you too are filled with the Godhead—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—and reach full spiritual stature]. And He is the Head of all rule and authority [of every angelic principality and power]. (AMP)
I scratch my head when I hear someone say “well you know brother that God did so and so in the Old Testament so He is like this and that.” The encounter usually includes a healthy dose of fear and “you need to be careful brother when you tell people God is good because you know He isn’t that good.” Come on! We were made because He is good. We were made to be vessels of His goodness. Check this out:
Col 2:16 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 17 These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. (ESV)
What is a shadow? A shadow is the absence of light on the ground as a result of someone (or something) blocking the light. If the “light” is illumination of revelation then the shadow would be the absence of revelation, right? OK, lost yet? Jesus is the light, right? Do I find Jesus in the darkness of the shadow? I can see the outline of Him in His shadow but I don’t see Him in the shadow. The dark shadow is actually the negative contrast of His person. I won’t know His eye color or hair color or facial expressions in the shadow. Are you getting the “lack of picture” ha ha?
So when you look in the old covenant for the nature of God you will find His outline but not His person. If you are looking in the Old Testament for a revelation of the nature of God you will find a silhouette but not the fullness of Him. You won’t see His expressions or His heart. You won’t know who He really is but will see the shape and size of Him. OK, how about this verse?
Heb 10:1 For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.
This is one of the reasons God became a man. He wanted us to see Him for who He really is. How could be expected to find a full revelation of God in a shadow of things to come that was actually a relationship based on the law of sin and death? Really? Come on. In your new creation mind of Christ you know that you know that God is really good and not an angry blood thirsty egomaniac that needs to kill someone to be happy. No No No. God is Jesus. When Jesus brings the light and removes the shadow this is what we get:
Heb 10:14 for by one offering he hath perfected to the end those sanctified; (YLT)
You are perfect. Go ahead and say it. You won’t find that truth in a shadow so stop looking there. You will find your perfection looking into the eyes of your lover. His name is Jesus. He is that good. As a matter of fact, if you want to know who God is, you need to stare intently at Jesus to see Him. Be careful however it is really bright in the light.
Heb 1:3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (ESV)
We were made to see and receive His radiance. We were made in His image:
Gen 1:27 So God created man in His own image, in the image and likeness of God He created him; male and female He created them. (AMP)
The Hebrew word for image could be translated as shadow or phantom. Isn’t that funny? We were made absent of the light in order to receive the light. Instead we ran and hid from the light in the shadows to be filled with “darkness.” We agreed with a deception about the nature of God and ran from the source of love to be filled with our understanding? Maybe you are getting this. It is time to stop searching the scriptures for eternal life (knowing God) instead of looking into the eyes of Jesus. It is time to agree that Jesus has done it all so we are in the family and completely accepted by the family and actually a family member so we can be filled up with the light of His revelation of Himself.
We have no more excuses. Jesus is the light. His blood made you perfectly pure. You are joined to Holiness. His perfect blood is flowing in your veins. I know it is too good to be true (glorious) but that is what Jesus did for all of us:
2Co 4:6 For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (ESVST)
OK, one more passage to celebrate:
Col 1:11 May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, 12 giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. 13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (ESV)
I hope you are done with “looking in the shadows” for truth when He is staring at you in the mirror. Christ in us is the confident assurance of manifest goodness and is looking back at you through your eyeballs. That is a truth that is the substance of light. Look, I also love all those stories of Israel and their ups and downs. I like to see the stupid mistakes we made as a human race and still God saved us. I like to see how fragile we are and subject to deception if we aren’t trusting God. Still it is time to stop looking in the shadows for a revelation of God. Jesus reveals the Father. Happy Easter!
Yay God!
Lance
alancetotheheart 