Christ in all the scriptures Glory came down

 Christ in all the scriptures

"Heaven came down and glory filled my soul"  Exodus 40v34-38

(John W Peterson   USA)

"Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle...for the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys". 

This was the fulfilment of Exodus 29v45-46, the promise of God to dwell with His people.  The ultimate purpose of redemption is glorification, nothing less.  Moses finalised the work and oversaw the erection of the excellent structure.  The glory of God descended in the cloud.  The contrast from Genesis to Exodus is startling.  From driving out man from the paradise of Eden, and preventing any return (Gen. 3v24), we now have God coming down to redeemed man in the full display of majestic glory-Exodus 40v34-38.  Such was the aura of the glory in the cloud, Moses, nor anyone else, could enter.  There would be times he could enter, but, at this, the inauguration of the Tabernacle, the glory was palpable.  There are other times indicated later when the full orb presence of God precluded creature entrance, such as at the dedication of the temple-2nd Chronicles 7v1-2; also at the end times overflowing of wrath on a godless world-Revelation 15v8.  This was no mean ratification of the work, this was God stamping His approval on the work with all the vigour of His being.  He dwelt among them in the pillar of cloud by day, and the pillar of fire by night.  This was His presence among them, His guidance of them, and His protection of them in all their journeys.

The magnificent spectacle resonates throughout scripture and indicates God's desire to dwell with man.  This is the ultimate experience-God with us!  The Creator dwelling with the creature in harmony.  As the New Testament unfolds, justification will lead to glorification!  Redemption (restoration of all that was lost) will culminate in glorification.  We see this:

At the establishment of the offerings for service...Leviticus 9v23-24

At the dedication of the temple of Solomon...2nd Chronicles 7v1-3

At the birth of Christ...Matthew 1v23 (God with us); John interprets this as the glory of God come down-"And the word became flesh and dwelt (tabernacled) among us; (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth"-John1v14.

At the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the church...Acts 4v31; 1st Corinthians 12v13.  There never has been a time like the age in which we live, when the God of glory dwells with us-He is with us from spiritual birth through all of life.  The neglected truth of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God was taught by Jesus in the upper room: John 14v16 "He abides with us for ever"; v17 "He dwelleth within you and shall be in you"; John 16v13 "He will guide you into all truth...He will shew you things to come"; v14 "He shall glorify Christ" (this is the focus of these blogs).  The principle work of the Spirit is to reveal Christ in those who believe. 

Believers today are described in the Greek New Testament as the temple of God.  The word used is naos meaning inner temple and refers to the holiest of all and the holy place of the O/T.  This can be translated as the inner shrine of the presence of God.  This is applied in three ways: 1) To each individual believer-1st Corinthians 6v19-20 "Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost in you, which ye have of God and ye are not your own";  2) To each local church gathering-1st Corinthians 3v16 "Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?"; 3) To the universal church, the body of Christ-Ephesians 2v21 "In whom (Christ) all the building fitly framed together growth unto an holy temple in the Lord"

The final sketch of all of this is in Revelation 21v3 in the new heaven and the new earth, describing conditions in the eternal state; "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God".  .This is the utopia of all existence, God and man in harmony for ever.  God has promised to be with His people always as indicated in Matthew 28v20, Hebrews 13v5-6 and the like.  However we must sound a WORD OF CAUTION.  He will not tolerate wilful evil and example after example is found where He found it necessary to withdraw from them, although such separation was only temporary.

1st Samuel 4v20-22 1CHABOD was the name given to a new born as the mother died, declaring that "The glory is departed from Israel".  This lasted for over 20 years (7v2)!

Ezekiel  Because of rank idolatry the glory of God was withdrawn gradually and the nation placed into exile: note the slow deliberate withdrawal in the prophecy; 8v2-4; 10v4, 10v18-19; 11v22-23 "And the glory of the Lord went up from the midst of the city, and stood on the mountain which is on the east side of the city".    There is no record that the glory returned, although the prophet Hosea and others indicated that it would in the future.  

The Lord promised to be with the church until the end of the age-Matthew 28v20 but that was in the context of them evangelizing and teaching the converts.  We dare no play fast and loose with Divine privilege, and there is evidence He may withdraw from open sin.  In Revelation 2 Christ threatened to remove the lampstand because of their loveless orthodoxy.  In Revelation 3 He declared the nominal church at Sardis to be dead-no church that is dad has the presence of God.  Again in Revelation 3 Christ stood outside the door of the church, being nauseated by their rank materialism.  

God's presence among us is an inestimable privilege and we should respect it and revere it.  The tabernacle, without the glory of God would have been just an expensive tent and nothing more.  Our churches are nothing without the presence of God, they are just social gatherings, in many cases for the worse and not for the better.  Do we sense the supernatural presence of God in the gatherings, or are we simply nominal churches promoting the traditions of men?  Five out of seven churches in Revelation 2/3 were told to repent by the Lord of the churches walking in the midst.

GOD WITH US...let us make it a reality.  Let it be when the untaught and the unbeliever come amongst us they will say "God is here!"  Let it be when the members gather, they are inspired by the Divine presence.