October 2002

Christ:
The Landscape of Life

Part Twenty-three

“LO and BEHOLD”

(G)

“God shall judge the secrets of men.” (Ro 2:16)

                We learned in a recent sharing that, “The Secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him”! (Ps 25:14) There are infinite secrets God withholds from the natural man, that shall be revealed to every spiritual man. As Daniel’s captor, King Nebuchadnezzar, conceded, “In Truth your God is a God of gods; a Lord of kings, and a Revealer of secrets...!” Foolish natural man actually thinks he has secrets from the Lord, but he only deceives himself! Jesus clearly declares,

“Nothing is secret that shall not be made manifest;
and nothing is hid that shall not be made known,
and brought out into the open!” (Lk 8:17)

                How are men’s secrets revealed? 1 Sa 16:7 says, “The Lord does not see as man sees; for man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart!” The penalty imposed on Adam’s transgression was he could no longer look on the Lord’s heart and behold what He was thinking or doing; rather he could only look on the outward appearance of His glory which is like the natural man staring at the natural sun- IT CAUSES BLINDNESS! This is why Pr 29:18 says, “Where there is no VISION, the people PERISH!” Heb 6544 reveals the meaning for “perish” as: “To die, and (selah) to be made naked!” God indeed warned Adam that he would die if he should eat the fruit from the forbidden tree; and that death was manifested in that his eyes were opened and he had to look on his own outward appearance of nakedness and he was so ashamed by the sight, he immediately sought to hide himself from the Lord! He was not aware that from the moment God made him from the dust- and formed Eve from himself- that “They were both naked, but they were not ashamed!” So what is the “secret of man” he wants desperately, but vanity, to hide from God? THE SHAME OF NAKEDNESS! That is why Jesus Christ says in Rev 3:17-18.

“Because you say, ‘I am rich and increased with goods, and have need of nothing’; and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, BLIND and NAKED; I counsel you to buy from Me Gold (which symbolizes Righteous Godliness) that has been tried (tested and purified) in the fire (of My Holy Presence), so you may be genuinely rich; and you are able to clothe yourself with white garments- that THE SHAME OF YOUR NAKEDNESS DOES NOT APPEAR; and so you can ANOINT YOUR EYES WITH EYESALVE SO YOU CAN SEE!”

In Rev 16:15 Jesus says,

“BEHOLD, I come as a thief! Blessed is he that watches and guards his garments

OTHERWISE HE WILL WALK NAKED AND ALL WILL SEE HIS SHAME!”

Wise Solomon (whose name means, “Peace”) says in Eccl 9:8,

“Always keep your garments white; and let your head lack no anointing!”

                What “garment” hides man’s nakedness? Isa 61:10 refers to the “garment of Salvation and the ”robe of Righteousness; also Isa 61:3 speaks of the “garment of praise”. 1 Pet 5:5 says, “Be clothed with Humility”; and 2 Co 5:2-3 AV says, “Here indeed, in this present abode (body), we sigh and groan inwardly because we yearn to be clothed over- to put on our celestial body like a garment; to be fitted out- with our heavenly dwelling; so by putting it on, we may not be found NAKED WITHOUT A BODY!” Verse four continues (quoting from NAS) “While we are in this tent [of fleshly humanity], we groan, being burdened; because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by [Eternal] Life!”
                Ro 8:35 comforts and encourages us by asking, “Who is the one who dares to condemn? Did not Christ Jesus die, and yes, was He not also raised to sit at God’s Right Hand where now He makes continual intercession on our behalf?! So what can separate us from the Love of God? Shall tribulation, distress, persecution, famine or NAKEDNESS...?!” No, beloved, our dear Savior “took away the sin of the whole world”; so that GOD ONLY SEES THE BLOOD OF JESUS WHEN HE LOOKS UPON OUR HEARTS! We were all forgiven from Christ’s Cross! Those who say they still see our sins are looking at our outward appearance through darkened flesh eyes; for Scripture declares, “TO THE PURE, ALL THINGS ARE PURE!” (Tit 1:15)
                But remember: God’s salvation, righteousness, praise, humility and celestial body are spiritual gifts and “The natural man cannot receive the things of spirit” (1 Cor 2:14; so if we try to clothe ourselves with such things, they are “anathema” (cursed)! Jesus came to tell the world: ONLY GOD CAN CLOTHE WITH GARMENTS OF HOLINESS- so we must look to Him!

[TO BE CONTINUED]