When we trust in Christ as our Rock Foundation for our being, life and eternal salvation, we are unshakable (Matt 16:18, 1 Cor 3:11, Isaiah 28:16, Matt 7:24-27). As we look to Him and trust in Him, He upholds us by His power, so we will not fall, as Peter discovered when he walked on water. The Christian life is based on a personal relationship with God. By knowing and trusting the Lord, we experience His abundant and eternal life (John 17:3, 10:10). The Christian life is trusting and loving the Lord, our Rock and Life, rather than living by a set of rules.
God designed us to be His Temples (dwelling places of God) on 3 dimensions: (1) our spirit (holy of holies), (2) our soul (holy place), and (3) our body (outer court). We can understand how we should live by understanding the dynamics of God's Temples. Man was made to live by faith, trusting in God's Spirit flowing from his spirit to God's glory. When man sinned he died spiritually, cut off from God's Spirit. He then lived according to his independent soul life, under the power of the sin-nature in his flesh. When we receive Christ as our Lord and Saviour, by His Spirit, he enters our holy of holies, applies His Blood to our spirit, making it into a perfect new creation, and sits enthroned there through His indwelling Spirit - this is the New Birth. We then become a functioning Temple of the living God. Christ now lives in us as our Rock Foundation for our soul and life, both now and forever (Col 1:27).
Derek shares the significance of all the articles in the Temple and what they teach about how we should function as God's Temples. In the holy of holies (our spirit) is the Ark of the Covenant (God's Throne, where Christ sits as Lord), and 3 items: (1) the tablet of the 10 Commandments (the righteousness of Christ in our spirit), (2) Aaron's almond rod that budded (our anointing to minister, from Christ's resurrection life in us), and (3) the Pot of Manna (the life of Christ, the bread of life, to feed and sustain our souls). Likewise, there are 3 items in the Holy Place (soul) which correspond to the 3 items in the spirit: (1) the Altar of Incense next to the Holy of Holies, but separated by a veil (out heart or will, which is in direct contact with the spirit, although separated by unbelief - the tablet of the heart corresponds to the tablet of the 10 Commandments - 2Cor 3:3), (2) the Menorah (our mind, which God illuminates with His 7-fold light - Isaiah 11:2), which is an almond tree, and (3) the Table of Showbread (Bread of the Presence), representing our emotions kept ever fresh from God's Presence, shining forth from the Holy of Holies.
The power generator of the Temple is the Altar of Burnt Offering in the Outer Court, representing the Cross, where Christ was offered up for us, to purchase and release His grace (every blessing of righteousness and life) to us. When we trust in Christ and see His sacrifice of love for us, the coals from the Altar with His Blood are applied to our Altar of Incense causing the incense of our heart (our thanksgiving, praise, prayer and worship) to rise up before His throne, so that we submit to Him and offer ourselves to Him as a living sacrifice to do whatever he wants us to do (Is 6:1-4, Rom 12:1). As we turn to the Lord in this way, He progressively removes our veil (barrier) of unbelief, the hardness of our heart (2Cor 3:16), so with unveiled face, we can behold the glory of the Lord, shining from our spirit by the Holy Spirit. His Spirit flowing from our spirit into our soul, by His presence possessing our soul, sets us free from the sin-nature and transforms our soul into the His image from glory to glory, as we submit our souls and yield our bodies to the process of transformation - our spirit has already been made Christ-like (v17-18). His Spirit (1) writes His law (righteous nature), imprinting His Word on the tablet of our hearts, aligning and strengthening our will in line with His will (2Cor 3:3), (2) lights up our Menorah (renews our mind, so we can know Him and His will for us, and lay hold of His anointing to do it - Rom 12:2-8, Is 6:2), and (3) comforts, inspires, renews and refreshes our emotions. Thus, God works in us to know and will (desire) His will, and also empowers our soul to do His good pleasure (Phil 2:13). So, as long as we behold His glory, through the mirror of His Word, our soul is being transformed into His image by His Spirit (2Cor 3:18, Jam 1:22-25). The One doing the transforming is the Spirit of the Lord, who is also the Lord (2Cor 3:17-18), so to cooperate effectively with Him in this work He requires (1) the submission of our heart to His Lordship, enabling Him to fill our soul, and (2) our obedience to do what He has shown and empowered us to do. The transformation begins with our dedication and submission to Him, but is only is completed when we do His Word (obey).
