"If Anyone Has An Ear, Let Him Hear"
Beloved, at the exact instant that each one of us is saved, we are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, "Jesus Christ Himself being the Chief Cornerstone" (Eph. 2:20). For the Lord God hath said: "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, A Precious Cornerstone, A Sure Foundation: he who believes in it [in Him] will not be disturbed" (Isaiah 28:16). Christ is both our Sure Foundation (1 Cor. 3:11) and our Precious Cornerstone - and In Him we, the redeemed, find our Beginning, our Source, our Development, our Consummation and our Fullness. And "In Him all the building [all of the redeemed] is being fitly framed together" (Eph. 2:21). in Him the whole structure is continuously being joined (bound, welded) together harmoniously; and this building which is being made up of all the redeemed continues to rise and grow and increase into and unto a holy temple in the Lord, into and unto a holy inner sanctuary in the Lord. This building rises, grows, and increased in the Lord Jesus Christ Who Is the Sure Foundation and the Cornerstone, Who Is the Bond and the Substance, Who Is the Growth and the Completeness and the Sanctity of this holy temple in the Lord: - a holy temple not made of dead stones and mortar, but made of "living stones' into a living sanctuary in which "Christ is all, and in All." And, beloved, there is more to this wondrous and everlasting purpose of God, for in the Lord [in Christ] In Him - and in fellowship with one another [we are] also being built up [into this structure] with the rest [of the redeemed] to form a fixed abode (a dwelling place) of God "in the Spirit" (Eph. 2:22).
Beloved, the last three words of this surpassing statement about the eternal fullness of God's plan in Christ are the words, "In the Spirit"; and this takes us right back to the words which our Lord speaks to the churches, "Let Him that hath an ear, hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." And since John was "in the Spirit" (Revelation 1:9, 10) when the Lord gave him this message for the churches, it stands to reason that we need to be "in the Spirit" if we are going to grasp fully what the Lord means by His Words. Hence, it is essential that we comprehend more fully what it means to be "in the Spirit."
"In the Spirit:" The Entire Realm That Is In (en) The Spirit
The Greek preposition "in" (en) gives us the key to understanding more of what it means to be "in the Spirit." The Greek preposition "in" means "being or remaining within, with the primary idea of rest and continuance; it has regard to place and space or to the realm and sphere of action." The word "in" (en) also denotes inclusion in the whole of something. Thus, many times in the New Testament, as in Ephesians 1:3-14, the Holy Spirit uses the Greek preposition "in" to describe "all" that is included in the Whole of God's Purpose In Christ. Therefore, in the Word of God, we find that the important statement "In the Spirit" speaks of the Entire Realm that is "in the Spirit."
Therefore, the Realm that is "in the Spirit" is the Realm that is surrounded, empowered, and controlled by the Presence and Power of - out of - the Holy Spirit Himself.
Therefore, the Realm that is "in the Spirit" is the Realm that the Holy Spirit Himself permeates, pervades, infuses, immerses, floods, and fills all things with His Presence and Power.
Therefore, the Realm that is "in the Spirit" is the Realm in which the Holy Spirit is energizing, working, and bringing about all that God has Purposed In Christ - the Eternal Realm in which Christ Is All, and In All.
So, beloved, it is in Ephesians 2:19-22 that we find the ultimate and consummate meaning of the phrase, "in the Spirit." And that is because it is "in the Spirit", in the Eternal Realm of the Holy Spirit, that we are built upon our Sure Foundation, the Chief Cornerstone being Christ Jesus Himself. It is "in the Spirit," in the Eternal Realm of the Holy Spirit, that each and every "living stone" is being fitly-framed together into a holy temple In The Lord. It is "in the Spirit," in the Eternal Realm of the Holy Spirit, that in Christ we are being built together into the Eternal Habitation of God. Beloved, when this living sanctuary In The Lord is finished, a living sanctuary that is made up of all the redeemed, it will be the manifestation forever of ALL-THAT-GOD-IS. It will eternally be the manifestation of the Eternal Glory and Presence of God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
(continued with # 4 - "Be Filled In the Spirit")
No comments:
Post a Comment