Shadows and Examples of Heavenly Things – Part 2- Hebrews 8:5

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Shadows and Examples of Heavenly Things

Hebrews 8:5

Part 2

Moses at the Burning Bush

Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

   Part 1 (of this article) concluded with Moses standing at the burning bush before the great I AM: the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, (Matthew 22:31) I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Matthew 22:32)

   It is very important in this section of Scripture (in the gospel of Matthew) to see the connection between the Lord’s discourse with the Sadducees and the reference to the writings of Moses referring to the living and not the dead. He was using an example of Old Testament writings that He had given to Moses more than fifteen hundred years previously that God is a God of the living and not the God of the dead. The Lord Jesus was referring to those who lived IN Him. Our life, as believers, is IN the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He declared Himself the resurrection and the life, and He declared of the children of God that whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? (John 11:26)

   Although we cannot see into the present realm and lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they also have their lives in Christ Jesus our Lord. Their eternal lives began when their faith was exercised in the God of resurrection: the God of the living and not the dead. When the Lord referred to these three men, He was proclaiming that He was their life, and that their life depended on His life, and His life was the light of men. The abundance of life can only come from the One who holds ALL life, and that is Jesus Christ. Abraham rejoiced to see the Lord’s day. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad. (John 8:56) Abraham, through faith, saw his eternal life in the Son of God. He saw the fulfillment of the promises made to him in the Person of Jesus Christ. Resurrection is the promise of life everlasting. Resurrection is more a witness to the world then a witness to the saints in glory; for they are already partakers of their life eternal.

Three Mentions — Resurrection

   Three times, in Exodus Chapter 3, while Moses was at the burning bush, the great I AM, the names’ sake of the Lord, referred to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. The three instances speak of resurrection, for Christ rose on the third day. And to drive this point home to the heart of man, the Lord Jesus spoke of this exact time period in the life of Moses at the burning bush to confirm that God was the God of the living and not the God of the dead.

But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, (Matthew 22:31)

I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Matthew 22:32)

And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? (Mark 12:26)

He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. (Mark 12:27)

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: (Luke 20:35)

Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:36)

Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (Luke 20:37)

For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. (Luke 20:38)

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. (Acts 3:13)

When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, the voice of the Lord came unto him, (Acts 7:31)

Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold. (Acts 7:32)

The Portrait of Resurrection in the Burning Bush

   In Exodus Chapter 3 we have the portrait of resurrection in the burning bush. The fires were the consuming fires of God. For our God is a consuming fire. (Hebrews 12:29) Yet this bush was not consumed. We have the presence of the God of judgment, and the presence of the God of mercy, all in one God, the great I AM. The Lord Jesus (in the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke) repudiated the guile of Sadducees by referencing the very instance of Moses at the burning bush. Remember that it was the Sadducees who brought up the writings of Moses; therefore, the Lord (being very familiar with His own writings) expanded and expounded from the writings of Moses.　He used the exact writings concerning the burning bush, and the Spirit of God in all three gospels refers to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as the LIVING and not dead.

   If we allow ourselves to seek those things which are above, and not the things of the earth, then we will understand and see with the eyes of faith the glorified saints in their heavenly realm. In each gospel (Matthew, Mark and Luke) the Holy Spirit refers to the book of Moses, of course we understand with reference to the burning bush that it was the book of Exodus. And so that man cannot pervert this scene of the Lord rebuking the Sadducees, the Lord Jesus was specific in declaring that it was Moses at the burning bush. In Exodus 3:6, God stated Moreover he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look upon God. In this first reference the Lord includes Amram, the father of Moses with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the words thy father; father is singular. The other quotes use the plural your fathers. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations. (Exodus 3:15) Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt: (Exodus 3:16)

   In the other two references in Exodus 3, to Abraham Isaac, and Jacob, God uses the plural ‘fathers,’ thus connecting Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to Moses. This connects the promises given to Abraham through the genealogy of his descendants: Isaac, Jacob, and the twelve sons of Jacob; thus, showing that now Moses would be eternally connected to the promises of Abraham, although he was from the tribe of Levi, he was God’s chosen vessel to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt, and into the promised land where the fulfillment of God’s promise to Abraham would take place.

   We know, however, from the holy Scriptures that because of the heart of man (in his fallen state) that the children of Israel rebelled against God’s man, and against God, and would not enter into God’s rest. Under Joshua, they were brought into the land. When they marched around Jericho, God supernaturally destroyed the city: not one Israelite was lost. This was God showing the nation what could have been if only they had entered in at the beginning, but now they would have to go to Gilgal and cut away the flesh; therefore acknowledging (in their hearts) that they had lost their divine dominion over their enemies, for now they would have to lay down their lives for the land that they would receive. God was prepared, with all His glory, to present the land to them by His own victory over their enemies, however, by refusing to enter into the land at the first, they would have to endure the conflicts of the land throughout their entire history.

   Their hearts were so hardened that even when their Messiah (throughout the course of time) was manifested unto them, and again offered them victory over their enemies, and a release from the bondage of Rome, they rejected the Lord Jesus, and settled for a continued domination over them by the Gentile world. Many times, during the Lord’s manifestation, He was in conflict with the Jews, with their political and religious leaders, as both the Pharisees and Sadducees showed the guile in their hearts in their own perverted questions that they asked the Lord. They ignored the Scriptures, and were bent in their hearts to reject the Lord Jesus Christ. In His conflict with the Sadducees, He brought forth the characteristics of the resurrection, and He also brought forth the promises of God in Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. In His argument (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob) were truly possessed by a God of the living and not the dead.

The Shadows and Types in the Burning Bush

— in the Gospel of Matthew —

   As the Holy Spirit in each gospel referred to Moses and the burning bush, we have different scriptures about the same instance. Each one of these records in the gospels brings out different characteristics of the resurrection, and by this, the very words of the Lord Jesus prove the eternality of eternal life.

    In the gospel of Matthew, the Spirit of God introduces us to the resurrection. In verse 29 of Matthew Chapter 22 Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. The Lord Jesus rebuked them on two points: He declared that they were in error in that what they had proclaimed in their argument against resurrection was because of their ignorance of the Scriptures, and that they knew NOT the power of God. They were so consumed with the life on earth that they could not see beyond their evil hearts that those in heaven are removed from the parameters and the ways of the earth, and that the heavenly society revolves around the Throne Sitter, the Lord Jesus Christ; they have been removed from sin and the presence of sin and brought into the glories of God. Even today, the Lord Jesus could proclaim to the religious mind that Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. In His declaration in the gospel of Matthew, He took the thoughts of the Sadducees from the terrestrial to the celestial by comparing the saints in heaven with the angels of God in heaven. For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God in heaven. (Matthew 22:30) In verse 31 of Matthew Chapter 22, the Holy Spirit awakens us to the resurrection. But as touching the resurrection of the dead, have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God, saying, (Matthew 22:31) I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. (Matthew 22:32)

   The Lord Jesus stated to the Sadducees, have ye not read. Now to show that the Word of God is a continuing living Word, the Lord Jesus used the present tense directed to them have ye not read that which was spoken unto you by God. This also clarifies that the second book of Moses, Exodus, was spoken BY God. And to Moses, God declared through verse 32 I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. The Lord Jesus provided the answer to His own question to the Sadducees. God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

The Shadows and Types in the Burning Bush

— in the Gospel of Mark —

   In the gospel of Mark, the Holy Spirit describes the meeting of Moses at the burning bush with the great I AM. The Lord Jesus in His description that God spake unto Him IN the bush, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?

And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? (Mark 12:26)

He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living: ye therefore do greatly err. (Mark 12:27)

The Shadows and Types in the Burning Bush

— in the Gospel of Luke —

That World, This World, and the World to Come

But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: (Luke 20:35)

Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. (Luke 20:36)

Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. (Luke 20:37)

For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. (Luke 20:38)

   In the gospel of Luke, the Holy Spirit expands our thoughts further. The Spirit of God stated that the children of this world are married and are given in marriage. Now we have a further declaration about a completely different world, one that is celestial. The Lord Jesus stated that they (The phrase that world only appears once in the entire Bible.) This gives us the separation of two worlds: the terrestrial and the celestial. This does not include the world to come which is mentioned five times in the Bible.

   Another aspect that the Lord wants us to see concerning our life in glory can be found in verse 36. Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. There are three things we need to consider in this verse. The Lord Jesus tells us (1) that the children of the resurrection cannot suffer death anymore; (2) that the children of the resurrection are equal unto the angels; and (3) that the children of the resurrection are the children of God. To compare these three distinct points read Colossians 3:1-4 to enlighten you.

If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. (Colossians 3:1)

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:2)

For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:3)

When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:4)

   In verse 3 of Colossians Chapter 3, the Holy Spirit states that you are dead to this world, and your life (your present life, your eternal life) is HID WITH CHRIST IN GOD. You are children of the resurrection. You will die no more. The One who holds eternal life has carried you to that world which you presently possess. You are a new creation, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.

   In the gospel of Luke, Chapter 20, verse 37 and 38 we read, Now that the dead are raised, even Moses shewed at the bush, when he calleth the Lord the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. Once again, the Lord confirms the Scriptures, and brings us to a bush that is not consumed although the judgment fires of God surround it. In the description of this bush, we have the lives of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the conclusion that our God is a God of the living, and then the Lord Jesus added this for all live unto him.

   Now to add to the things that we have considered: in the book of Hebrews, Chapter 11, the Holy Spirit (speaking of Abraham) states this in verse 19, Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure.

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, (Hebrews 11:17)

Of whom it was said, That in Isaac shall thy seed be called: (Hebrews 11:18)

Accounting that God was able to raise him up, even from the dead; from whence also he received him in a figure. (Hebrews 11:19)

The Shadows and Types in Resurrection

— in the Glorified State —

The World to Come

   To understand the shadows and examples, we should understand the finality of a glorified life. In our last study, Part 1, we mentioned the two glorified saints in the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ.

And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God. (Revelation 19:9)

And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See [thou do it] not: I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy. (Revelation 19:10)

And I John saw these things, and heard [them]. And when I had heard and seen, I fell down to worship before the feet of the angel which shewed me these things. (Revelation 22:8)

Then saith he unto me, See [thou do it] not: for I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets, and of them which keep the sayings of this book: worship God. (Revelation 22:9)

   Twice it is recorded that when John began to worship God’s specific messenger, John was informed that the messengers were of his brethren, and of the prophets. I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: and then I am thy fellowservant, and of thy brethren the prophets. Both refused to accept John’s worship. (This wonderful record of the Spirit of God concerning His servant John is to show us the end result of our eternal life in Jesus Christ.)

    These messengers were so glorified that John mistook them for a deity. John did not recognize them for being former fellow-servants, or brethren. Their glorified state was far removed from their previous earthly state of being of the race of Adam, or humanity that John thought that they were deity and not of the race of man.

   Concerning ‘his brethren’ John was a Jew, he was of the seed of Abraham, and therefore, as a redeemed Jew he was a new creation in Jesus Christ. He was identified with the old world with the reality of the new world. He was a Christian and a Jew, and these men identified themselves as brethren, and of the prophets. In the one seed, which is Jesus Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor female, but all are one in Christ. Every Christian has an infinity with the children of Israel because of the divine Seed: Jesus Christ.

In the two glorified saints we see the power of God. We also see the declaration of John’s first epistle, Chapter 3, that we shall be like him. What a wonderful future we have throughout all eternity by being the children of the resurrection.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself. (Philippians 3:21)

The Shadows and Types in the Burning Bush

— Resurrection and Eternal Life —

   The burning bush is all about life. The bush was in the midst of the fire, and yet, not consumed. The bush had no power over the fire, but in the fire God showed us that He will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. Read Romans 9:15, For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. In the three gospels, the Lord Jesus confirmed God’s power over life. He explained resurrection to those who believe not. He stood in His own authority over life and death. He reaffirmed the authority of the Scriptures. The Sadducees tried to be clever in their deception and guile by introducing Moses into the conversation and attempting to give the authority of Moses to their words. However, after listening to their foolishness, that was just what the Lord needed to proclaim the power and the authority of the Word of God. He stated the sum of the matter to them. Jesus answered and said unto them, Ye do err, not knowing the scriptures, nor the power of God. (Matthew 22:29) He addressed the root of their problem: it was unbelief: they did not really believe Moses or the prophets. Therefore, the Lord Jesus knowing His own Word, that He had given, takes us back to Moses and to the burning bush. His proclamation of resurrection was/is from His authority over life. He described that in the world, the celestial world, that they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, and He compared the children of the resurrection to the angelic world. Although they are separate from the angels in their new sphere, they have a glory that has been given of God through the Lord Jesus Christ in His work on the cross of Calvary.

   The newborn babe in Christ has received the life of light in Jesus Christ. In the burning bush we have a life that cannot be extinguished, and this is why the great I AM referred to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He was putting forth symbolically that He was God of the living and not of the dead. Moses understood this where the Sadducees did not understand. The Lord knew their hearts, and their guile. Their questions were weighted with their own sin. They could not see clearly because of hearts of darkness; thus, Christ would not commit Himself unto them for He knew what was in every man. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them, because he knew all men, (John 2:24) And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man. (John 2:25)

   Notice that the Sadducees’ questions were totally centered on the earth. They were engulfed with the terrestrial so that they could not see the celestial. The Lord Jesus was well aware of the guile of the Sadducees and the Pharisees. He told His disciples to be aware of the leaven of the Pharisees. In today’s world, the guile of man still exists. Most of the preaching today is of the world, by the world, in the world, and for the world, with the absence of the celestial world, yes, heaven above, and the world to come.

    The world is still denying the Word of God, and the power of God. The guile of man tries to take the Word of God out of the hands and hearts of the redeemed; however, the Holy Spirit of God will not allow a famine in the Word of God amongst the redeemed. The Spirit of God will provide His Word in the heart to still all the storms of life, and the darkness that mankind tries to cast upon us. The Lord Jesus still knows the heart of man, for man is a fallen beast controlled by sin and death. The complete fulfillment of this beast can be seen in Revelation Chapter 13. Of course, it has to be Chapter 13. The beast takes center stage with all his wickedness and guile against the Almighty God.

    Man is finally named, identified and called by a name that he deserves, ‘the Beast.’ Psalm 73:22 provides a fitting description of all who are completely alienated from God and without any moral standards. ‘foolish,’ and ‘ignorant.’ So foolish [was] I, and ignorant: I was [as] a beast before thee. Consider this reference from Jeremiah Chapter 31, verse 27 and compare it with Chapter 13 of the book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast. Mankind becomes united against their Creator God around the original lie by Satan in the garden to Adam and Eve. Ye shall be as gods. (Genesis 3:5) Lucifer believed his own lie that he told to Adam and Eve, ye shall be as gods. Satan wasn’t a God in eternity then, and he will not become a God in the eternal state. The Godhead bodily is unchanging and unchangeable eternal.

   How wonderful for the redeemed to hold the Scriptures in both hand and heart, and to know the power of an endless life in Jesus Christ. Who is made, not after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life. (Hebrews 7:16)

   In Mark 12:24, the Holy Spirit states again that the Sadducees were in error because they did not know the Scriptures and therefore, they could not know the power of God. And Jesus answering said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, because ye know not the scriptures, neither the power of God? The Lord then takes them to the second book of Moses, Exodus Chapter 3, and there once again, He brings forth the names of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Notice that in the gospel of Mark how the Lord draws our attention not TO, but INTO the burning bush. The bush was completely engulfed by fire, but not consumed, and this is in relationship to the declaration for the second time that God is a God of the living and not a God of the dead. And to this the Spirit of God adds, that ye do greatly err.

   Again, their ignorance of Scripture is brought forth to reveal that their questions were motivated by guile, and not by the voice of the Spirit. In the gospel of Luke, Chapter 20, verse 34, we have the children of this world. And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage: . These are the children of Adam; these are those who carry the burden of sin and have not been redeemed. They are completely separated from the world to come in their life and in their actions. The Lord Jesus makes sure that we understand that the world can never be the same to those who are redeemed. For it is the POWER of God that has separated the redeemed from this world and has attached the redeemed to the world to come. Man’s heart, soul, and spirit are so overshadowed by sin that sin itself does not allow man’s senses, his heart, his soul, his spirit to break the bonds of the terrestrial. He must be set free to soar in the celestial. This can only be accomplished by the new birth in Jesus Christ. In John Chapter 3, Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus Christ ‘by night’. This was the condition of his soul for he was in darkness, and the only freedom that he could have would be to be born again and enter into the endless life of Jesus Christ.

   In the gospel of Luke, Chapter 20, verse 35 the Spirit of God brings us to a world that is very hard to understand. But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage: It is simply called ‘that world.’ It is neither a world of Adam, nor the world of man. It is the world of the redeemed. When we are saved, we are here to be a testimony of a world that we belong to, a world of eternal life in Jesus Christ our Lord. This world (that world) that we belong to is linked to the Savior in heaven above, as we read in Colossians we have been translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son. We have been taken out of the kingdom of sin, death, and the devil, and translated into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.　To see into the glories above we must embrace the Spirit’s vision (through faith in Jesus Christ and by a knowledge of the Word of God). The book of Colossians is a book of correction, and instruction to the saints in Colosse. Paul reminds them that they have a hope which is laid up for them in heaven, and they receive this hope when they had heard the word of truth of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And in this realm, this world of the redeemed, they were to be filled with the knowledge of God’s will in ALL wisdom, and spiritual understanding. They were to increase in the knowledge of God, and they we are to be strengthened with the power and patience of longsuffering. They were to look forward and to embrace the inheritance that they had in Jesus Christ with all the saints of light. They were to embrace that they had been delivered from the power of darkness and awakened to the glorious light of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   The Spirit of God reminds them that by their Savior (the Lord Jesus) all things were created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, both visible and invisible. That ALL things were created by Him and for Him. The world of the redeemed cannot be comprehended by Adam in his fallen state. He has to be delivered out of darkness into the marvelous light of the Lord Jesus Christ.

   And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. In verse 17 of Chapter 1 of Colossians, we have a very basic outline: first, the Lord Jesus is before all things, before the very creation of heaven and earth, He existed in the bosom of the Father, and He was given the work of declaring God in the determinate counsels of God. This includes the manifestation of His creatorial power. His work of creation was God’s first declaration that there was and is an Almighty God who was before ALL things, and within Him ALL things consist.

In His resurrection He fulfilled the power of His endless life. He testified by His very resurrection that He was the full essence of life.

   And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence. In verse 18 of Colossians Chapter 1, all this is drawn together in the head of the Church who is Jesus Christ, again, the Spirit of God declares who is the beginning, the first born from the dead spanning the moment from the creation to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. In verse 38 of the gospel of Luke, Chapter 20, the Spirit of God adds this – ‘all live unto Him.’ For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him. This also matches verse 19 of Colossians Chapter 1, For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell. In the Lord’s very Person is ALL the power of God: the power of creation, the power of life (and the power of an endless life), the power to sustain all that He has created, and the power and the omnipotent power of His glory which is beyond all concept of man’s thoughts. His glory is so far beyond our thoughts that God had to explain it to us by His Spirit in the simple terms of Hebrews 1:3, Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. The One who was manifested to be the resurrection and the life was first manifested to be life and light to mankind. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. (John 1:4) In His resurrection He fulfilled the power of His endless life. He testified by His very resurrection that He was the full essence of life.  In verse 36 of Luke Chapter 20, the Lord informs us that those of the redeemed cannot die anymore. Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection. This draws ALL the redeemed into the power of the Lord’s endless life. Once again, this takes us to that world, the world of the redeemed, the world that seeks those things that are above where Christ sits at the right hand of God.

   The Colossians had left this truth for the rudiments of this world, even though, we do not have Paul’s epistle to the Laodiceans, he instructs that this letter to the Colossians should be read to the Laodicean church. This would also inform us that Laodicea had their eyes on the earth and not on heaven, nor on Jesus Christ. For in the Colossian epistle, it is the Lord Jesus who should have all preeminence — that in all things he might have the preeminence. (Colossians 1:18) Even though we do not have the Laodicean epistle, we do have an epistle to Laodicea directly from the Lord which begins in Revelation Chapter 3 verse 14. If you compare both epistles of Colosse and Laodicea, you will be able (by the Spirit’s eye) to see the absence of a heart devoted to the things above and not to the things of the earth.

   As the children of God, we are the children of the resurrection, and even though John (in his gospel) does not record this particular conversation between the Sadducees and the Lord, God the Holy Spirit gives us a whole chapter on resurrection and who IS the resurrection in John Chapter 11.

   The raising of Lazarus was the outward manifestation of Christ’s power over death. It was here (for the last time) that He showed this power that is within Him, and in God the Father. It is here in the 11th Chapter, verse 26 that we get these wonderful words: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? The power of His resurrection has freed us from sin, has freed us from death, and has freed us from the fiery judgments of God, ‘for God is a consuming fire.’ The fire at the bush was the consuming fire of God, and yet the bush was not consumed. God was giving Moses, and us, an object lesson that He was the God of judgment and also the God of grace, but everything had to be established on holy ground. We have the fulfillment of these three points in the work of Christ on the cross of Calvary. We also have the object lesson of Israel being brought out of slavery from Egypt. This revealed to the world a nation created by the divine power of God, and that Israel would be His earthly people. Their entire history would be an object lesson of man’s waywardness, and God’s divine faithfulness and mercy. Through the centuries, Israel has not been consumed. God has always kept a remnant for Himself. And one day God will exalt Jacob, and once more, Israel, as a son, will be brought out of the fires of earth to behold the glory of God in the Lord Jesus Christ for He shall reign a thousand years over His beloved nation, the nation of Israel. Just as there was no power in the bush, there is no power in the nation of Israel. And yet, it is not consumed. More than two thousand years have passed since the nation of Israel rejected their Messiah, they have been made to live the very words that the leaders and people shouted at the rejection of their Messiah, Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. (Matthew 27:25) This statement only occurs once in all four gospels. It is in the gospel of the King that it is documented that the people shouted out. They wanted the blood of their King, but God gave them and the world, the blood of the Lamb on the cross of Calvary. The cross of Calvary became the door of divine forgiveness of sin as the blood of the Lamb was placed on the lintel and on the door posts.

For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats: (Exodus 12:5)

And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. (Exodus 12:6)

And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. (Exodus 12:7)

And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words. (Exodus 24:8)

   The Lord Jesus stated (when He offered His disciples the cup), that this was His blood, the blood of the New Testament, the new covenant. This would not be a covenant of man’s blood, or of the blood of beasts, but the very blood of God. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. (1 John 3:16) How horrible is sin; yet mercy and truth overcame sin and death in the very Being of God. Christ, the Messiah, is the brightness of His image and the express glory of His Person.

   The bush was in the midst of the fire, yet not consumed. Those of us who have been born into the family of God by His Spirit are brands plucked out of the fire and given eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ free from sin, free from death in the blood of the New Testament, and this blood is better than the blood of Abel.

And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel. (Hebrews 12:24)

For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: (Hebrews 9:13)

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)

The Center and the Fulfillment of All Types and Shadows

   God has made the center of His power the Lord Jesus Christ. All power in heaven and earth has been given unto Him as the Center of grace and truth. One cannot understand His position before the Almighty God if Christ is not the Center of faith. For it is Christ who is the Creator and the Sustainer of all things. He is the Author of faith and upholds that faith by the Word of His power. Words cannot be spoken or written to fully state the glory of the Son by man, ONLY God the Father (through the Spirit of God) can reveal all the glories within the Son of His love, the Lord Jesus Christ.

   In John Chapter 17, we are brought into the conversation, the prayer of the Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father, and we see the revealing of the mind that was in the Lord Jesus Chris, the Son of God, the mind that is expressed in Philippians Chapter 2. The Lord’s will and His purpose was to glorify the Father through the work of the cross. This would fulfill all righteousness and bring the sheep of His pasture home to Him, and that in His work of redemption that He would be glorified in the redeemed. I pray for them: I pray not for the world, but for them which thou hast given me; for they are thine. (John 17:9) And all mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them. (John 17:9) Because of our position in the Lord Jesus we are hid in a place of divine mercy.

And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory. (Exodus 33:18)

And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. (Exodus 33:19)

And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live. (Exodus 33:20)

And the LORD said, Behold, there is a place by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock: (Exodus 33:21)

And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a clift of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: (Exodus 33:22)

And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. (Exodus 33:23)

   The Almighty has embraced us in His beloved Son. The Rock of offense has become our hiding place, and His glory awaits us when we shall see Him as He is.

Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is. (1 John 3:2)

Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded. (1 Peter 2:6).

Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner, (1 Peter 2:7)

And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed. (1 Peter 2:8)

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light: (1 Peter 2:9)

   We are the sons of God, and we are embraced by our Creator. We cry out like children, Abba, Father, and He draws us into His heart and proclaims the glory of His Son to every believer. We have a Father in heaven who has given the greatness of His love for He so loved the redeemed that He gave His only begotten Son: the heir of the vineyard, and the heir of the throne. And we wait for one day that we will see His glory and this glory will be our glory. Oh, what a wonder to behold Him as He is. As the lighthouse is a guide to the ships at sea, so the eternal Light in the lighthouse of faith is to the redeemed a guiding light of safety to bring us home safe in His arms, Moses sought the Lord that he could not go unless the Lord went with him, and the Lord declared, ‘my angel will go with you.’ And the Rock that followed them through the wilderness was Christ, the true glory and guidance of God.

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Corinthians 3:18)

And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ. (1st Corinthians 10:4)

But with many of them God was not well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness. (1st Corinthians 10:5)

Now these things were our examples, to the intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted. (1st Corinthians 10:6)

   As we travel through this world and wilderness, we have a Guide in the Holy Spirit of God. We have the Captain of the Lord’s host in the Lord Jesus Christ, and we have God the Father to embrace and comfort us in His love. Through all the trials and testing we can embrace the truth of the Word of God as a present reality in the very heart that God has created in our redemption.

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)

But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. (2 Corinthians 4:7)

We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; (2 Corinthians 4:8)

Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; (2 Corinthians 4:9)

Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. (2 Corinthians 4:10)

For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. (2 Corinthians 4:11)

So then death worketh in us, but life in you. (2 Corinthians 4:12)

We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak; (2 Corinthians 4:13)

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you. (2 Corinthians 4:14)

For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God. (2 Corinthians 4:15)

For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. (2 Corinthians 4:16)

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; (2 Corinthians 4:17)

While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal. (2 Corinthians 4:18)

   Beloved, although we are tried, and although we are rejected by the slight of man, the bush is not consumed by the fire. For we have this treasure hidden in this earthen vessel, we have the riches of His grace for our sojourn here, and the unsearchable riches of Christ for all eternity.

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7)

Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; (Ephesians 3:8)

   So beloved of the Lord, let us forget those things that are behind. Let us press on to the full knowledge of God in Jesus Christ, and to the end to see Him in all His glory as the brightness of that glory, and the express image of His Person. Glory to God in the highest. Amen.

Copyright 2019, Michael Haigh

This article may be used, but not for gain. Freely ye have received, freely give.

All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. (KJB)