Series: Towards the Full Corporate Stature; Finished Works

Sun am 2nd August 2009 – Kobus Swart

Heb. 9:8; Acts 15:17; 1 John 1:5 to 1 John 2:2; (Col. 1:13); Heb. 10:26-29;
1 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 6:1-11; (Heb. 9:26); Heb. 10:14; Rom. 8:31-39 (Message Bible)

When Jesus came, the outer court of the Tabernacle of Moses fell away and is not even mentioned in Hebrews 9. The old priesthood became redundant because the once-for-all Sacrifice has come. The problem with dispensationalism is the re-institution of sacrifices in the so-called millennium which would nullify the once-for-all Sacrifice. What an insult to the finished works of Christ!

In the Old Testament, the third court in the Tabernacle of Moses only contained the Ark of the Covenant. But if you read Hebrews 9, we find that the altar of incense is no longer in the inner court but in the Holy of Holies. This is a key to understanding our access into the highest level of intimacy with the Father, which is a heart of worship and intercession. As long as we battle with sin consciousness, however, manifesting in guilt and self condemnation, we cannot have intimacy with the Father. Christ opened a new and living way where we can stand before the Father in full assurance of faith and with a clean conscience. In Christ we qualify to stand before Father. It is this confession that we must hold on to (Heb 10:23).

God is not going to restore the Tabernacle of Moses. He is restoring the Tabernacle of David (Acts 15:17), so that all the nations can come in. The Tabernacle of David was a tent with the Ark inside. Everybody had access; no rituals, no patterns, just worship from the heart. Of course it includes other things like relational alignment, coming under His government etc. David fell morally, but what saved him? When he was rebuked and the prophet spoke to him, David went into a fruitful repentance. The key here is repentance. Repentance means a turning around in heart and direction. Did David sin and make mistakes? Yes. Was he disinherited? No! Psalm 51 will tell you how deeply he repented over his fall with Bathsheba.

God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. Very few born again believers never sin. Sin means missing the mark: you make wrong decisions; wrong choices. To be born again means to be transferred from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of His beloved Son (Col. 1:13). God does not live in darkness. The moment you drift into darkness, all your inner sirens should go on. Come back to the light. If we walk in the light as He is in the light, then we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:5-10). The problem is when we lose that sensitivity in our spirit, we become callous and it becomes easier and easier to walk in darkness. The blood of Jesus continues to cleanse of sins. You don’t suddenly drop out of God’s book of life because you have sinned or missed the mark. But if you fall, if you sin, be quick to run to Him. Keep that conscience clear and sensitive.

There is a warning in Hebrews 10:26-29. Jesus came to die once-for-all for all our sins before we were ever born. The price is already paid. If we go onsinning willfully, however, after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sin! Once you have received the truth and you continue to sin willfully you are insulting the Spirit of Grace.

If we are in Christ we are a new creation (1 Cor. 5:17) and a new creation has no past. I would like to keep my focus on that truth. Rom. 6:4-6: “Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life… Knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin.” That means the old is dead. Is it? Do you believe the old nature was nailed to the cross with Christ? Heb. 9:26 says He took away sin. He dealt with the sin problem! When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said, “There is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin (nature) of the world.” He was modeling the victorious life. We have access to the same grace and the same keys as He did. The key is in Rom 6:11 – “Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.” That is dealing with the renewal of the mind. Reckon him dead! If all you talk about is the old man, you are going to activate him. If you cannot bring the soul life under the control of the Spirit (new nature in you), you will have a big battle. Think of the things from above! Put on Christ! Give no room for the old nature!

Do we still have two natures? He who is in Christ is a new creation. We have become partakers of the Divine nature(2 Pet 1:4)! I see only one nature, but it is possible for the old nature to be re-activated by a wrong focus and persistent wrong choices. Therefore consider yourselves to be dead to sin. Rather be over-sensitive when you’ve done something wrong, correct it rather than testing the boundaries all the time. If you become insensitive you destroy the boundaries, and you will call darkness light.

I am seeing the final restoration of the Tabernacle of David. David was a worshipper. He was not perfect in the way legalists like to define perfection. Focus on the finished works. We are seated with Christ in the heavenly places and viewing perfection from that position. Yes, there is a tension:-  “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Heb 10:14). We are in the sanctification process. It’s getting easier and easier to overcome the tempter. It is called spiritual growth.

Remember this great truth: Nothing can separate us from the love of Christ! God makes everything work out for good. His power is at work in our lives. With God on our side, how can we lose? If He sent His only begotten Son, do you think He won’t finish the job? He is the guarantee of this new covenant! Jesus loves us. Nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable, absolutely nothing can come between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us (Rom. 8:31-39). That is what I call the finished works. He loved you enough to die for you but He has more in mind for you. Songs in our meetings should not only be about forgiveness of sins; there’s more! It’s not just about being forgiven; it’s about becoming one with Him and demonstrating His manifold wisdom to principalities and powers in heavenly places.