March 2002

“Resurrection Celebration”

             Jesus Christ says in Rev 2:7, “To him that overcomes, I will give to eat of the Tree of Life in the midst of the Paradise of God.” This raises several questions. What must we “overcome” to eat from this Tree? The answer lies in verses 4-5 where Jesus says, “I have one thing against you, YOU HAVE FORSAKEN YOUR FIRST LOVE!” How could the church which He just praised for “Godly works, patience and aversion to evil” turn and forsake Him? Who is this “First Love” they forsook? Mt 22:38 says, “The first and greatest commandment is to...LOVE THE LORD with A-L-L your HEART; with A-L-L your SOUL; and with A-L-L your MIND!” This reveals that the LORD is our FIRST LOVE!
             But consider this: if we obey this edict and yield ALL the love in our heart, soul, and mind to God, we are left with no more love to invest in anything or anyone else! When a bank account is voided of all its assets, leaving a zero balance, the account is automatically closed! Yet Jesus issues a second decree He says is like the first, “Love your neighbor as yourself!” But how to do this? You cannot demand a closed bank account to generate funds to satisfy a debt to your neighbor and yourself? Yet the Royal Law of Love has spoken so there must be a way to comply! Indeed He shows the way saying, “WITH THE MEASURE YOU DEAL OUT- that is the measure you use when you confer benefits on others, IT WILL BE MEASURED BACK TO YOU!” (Lu 6:38 AV) So measure by measure, as we commend our love to God, He commends His Love to us! As we devoid our heart, soul and mind of its finite, conditional love, God fills us to overflowing with His Infinite, Unconditional Love! Then, with His Love, we are able to obey the second commandment and reap its great reward as Jesus says, “GIVE (His Love), and IT SHALL BE GIVEN TO YOU- good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over!”
             The second part of Jesus’ chastisement says, “Remember from where you have fallen; then repent and repeat the first works...!” (Rev 2:5) Hear again these three key words: REMEMBER, REPENT and REPEAT! First we are told to “remember” the height of love we first experienced when our salvation was new- which many have rightly likened to a Honeymoon Period! In those blessed early days, we could hardly think of anything or anyone else but Christ. The Light of His Love for us shone in our hearts and we beheld the world with a new vision. We could see through newly-opened eyes of understanding and loved what we saw! So what brought us down from that mountain-top bliss? The same gravitational pull that sank Peter after he became the second man to WALK ON WATER- it was lingering DOUBT!
             As the most impetuous of the apostles, Peter’s zeal to walk in Christ’s footsteps is legend. But his fervor was presaged by his birth name, Simon bar Jonah. The name, Simon, originates in Heb 8095 meaning, “HEAR and OBEY”! These definitions are clearly interchangeable in the O. T. Thus Jas 1:22 warns, “Be not just hearers of the Word but doers!” For many hear the mandate to “Love God with ALL their heart, soul and mind” but none yet fully obey it! The word “bar”, in Peter’s name, means “SON OF”; and the name, “Jonah” (Heb 2495) means “DOVE”. So his full name is interpreted, “Hear and obey, son of a Dove!” The dove in Scripture is often a type for the Holy Spirit; and surely only a Son of Spirit can “hear and obey” a Word of Spirit! So Christ gave him a new name, “Peter”, Gk 4074, petros, a masculine noun meaning, “A piece of the rock”; that is from Gk 4073, petra, a feminine noun used in all references to the “Rock that was Christ!” (1 Co 10:4) As “Deep calleth to deep” (Ps 42:7) Jesus discerned His Father’s Voice in Simon as he rightly identified His Lord saying, “You are the Christ”. But why is Peter’s “Rock” in the masculine gender and Jesus’ “Rock” in the feminine gender? Jesus was demonstrating how the surrendered will of His Church-Bride (the final obstacle to be overcome) is the womb by which the whole world is reborn as, “God begets us with the Word of Truth!” (Jas 1:18)
             He who inhabits each man’s earth says, “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life!” (Jn 14:6)
             Therefore, if Jesus Christ is “Life” He is also the Tree of Life in the Garden of Eden (lit. delight)! Furthermore, as He revealed at Lazarus’ grave site, “I am the Resurrection and the Life”, it shows that the Tree of Life is also the “Tree of Resurrection”! [Gk 5590 reveals that all uses of the word, “Life”, in the Old and New Testaments which stem from Gk 2222 correspond exactly to Heb 2416 as in the above-mentioned verses.] Now if every overcomer is given to eat from the Tree of Life, he is therefore eating of the Tree of Resurrection! So every time we ingest the Fruit of the Spirit, we likewise ingest Resurrection Life! Our withering flesh bodies testify to the results of eating from the Tree of Death; but as we eat from the Tree of Resurrection Life, we see that new indestructible bodies of spirit are being erected in the secret place of our hearts! We see the type for this in the accounts of: Noah who built the ark of safety to overcome the flood; and Moses who built the Ark of Covenant to overcome the sins of men; and Jesus Christ Who built the Ark of the New Covenant to overcome DEATH for all men! As Christ’s body, we are among His New Covenant ark-builders and, by faith, are overcoming death!
             It is important we remember Pr 18:21, “Death and Life are in the power of the tongue; and they that love it shall eat its fruit”! For surely we know, “Death is carnal-mindedness; and Life is spirit-mindedness”! (Ro 8:6) But did we know, “A wholesome tongue is a Tree of Life!” (Pr 15:4) “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks!” (Lk 6:45) With his heart, man believes unto Righteousness; and with his mouth he confesses unto Salvation!” (Ro 10:10) For, “As a man thinks in his heart, so is he!” (Pr 23:7) Every thought of our hearts must be rescued from carnal-minded death; then resurrected to spirit-minded Life! This is the repentance of which Jesus earlier spoke! For only as we “Bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ” (2 Co 10:5) is our DOUBT overcome! The word, “repent”, connotes the exchange of carnal minds for the Mind of Christ! It is the relinquishing of our death to embrace Christ’s Life that constitutes “Passing from death to Life as we love the brethren!” (1 Jn 3:14) It is through eyes that are filled with Christ’s Love that “We see Him, and so, shall be like Him!” (1 Jn 3:2)
             But our Lord would issue this strong word of warning to all who are called by His Name: CHRISTED LOVE IS DEVOID OF FLESHLY PRIDE AND HAUGHTINESS! How do these evils differ? Pride is unconvinced of God’s Omniscience, Omnipotence and Omnipresence; while haughtiness knows of, and acknowledges, God’s Sovereignty but the revelation of this knowledge puffs up the heart with superiority over unlearned ones. In this they have “Left their First Love” Who says He is “Meek and lowly of heart” (Mt 11:29); and have forgotten the heights of humility from whence they have fallen! Do we not know to be exalted in Christ, is to be humbled in self! We must cross the Jordan (Heb 3383 “one who descends”); enter the Promised Land of Canaan (Heb 3667 “Humility and humiliation”) then, in Christ, declare: “I have (Resurrection) Power to lay down my Life and take it up again!” (Jn 10:18) Such Resurrection Life comes from eating the Fruits of Godly Wisdom, because ”She is a Tree of Life to them that lay hands on her.” (Pr 3:18)
              As we “Remember, Repent, and Repeat” the first works of our Salvation we will be eating “The fruit of the Righteous which is a Tree of Life” (Pr 11:30); and once again declaring to heaven, “One thing only have I desired of the Lord; and one thing only will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord (“Whose house we are if we hold fast confidence in Him to the end; and hold firm rejoicing in Him Who is our Hope!” Heb 3:6) all the days of my life to see the Beauty of the Lord and enquire in His Temple (“We are the temple of the Living God)!” (Ps 27:4) Let us “Humble ourselves in the sight of the Lord and His Resurrection Power will lift us up!” (Jas 4:10) “He resists the proud but gives grace to the humble! So humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God so that He may exalt you in due time!” Amen!

[TO BE CONTINUED]