#367 Kingdom: The LIFE Of The New Inner Man

Since it is very obvious that the Government of God is NOT established in the outward body of man because the Kingdom is not of that realm then it must be established in the new inner man. The Government of God does NOT establish itself by its law written on some median or scroll outside of man like the Old Covenant Law. The Word is clear that the Laws of God are written upon the heart or inner man and put into the New Regenerated Mind or consciousness of the New Inner Man.

Since this “New Man” is invisible it is necessary to define this man in some spiritual way. The “new man” doesn’t have arms and legs or a physical body like the outer man. Still, he is a genuine man who after Christ is created in the image of the one who created him.

Eph 4:22 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth.

Col 3:10 and have put on the new self who is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him

The true Christian then is the new inner man who has received the Life, Zoe, of God and lives by that Uncreated Life of God. Qualifying for this kind of “Christian” is not a matter of my confession or what I believe doctrinally, or even my testimony but it relates solely upon the Life I have received from God through Jesus Christ.

1John 5:12 He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life.

Even if ALL our doctrines are correct and memorized, the division between those who are Christians and those who are not hinges upon the Life they have. Doctrines are relevant only when they lead us into His Life, Zoe. This life is NOT measured by years but by maturity and the character qualities that belong to Christ. This LIFE that has been shared with us is designed to bring us into a “life union” with Divinity. This thought is so incredible that we even hesitate to speak of it. Still, a Vine-branch union must be by LIFE. That means that exactly the same LIFE that is in the Vine is also in the branch. The “fruit” originates in the Vine which possesses the “life.” If the “branch” loses its connection to the Vine it drys up and is cast into the fire. NO BRANCH has life in itself unless it is in Life Union with the Vine.

Life-union then exceeds any other experience in its necessity and reality. Life-union creates a dimension that cannot be touched by any doctrine, the laying on of hands or human ordination. It precedes any calling or ministry connected to the next dimension. Therefore, it becomes the FIRST PRIORITY of the Holy Place minister and the basis of the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek. The terrible limitation upon the Outer Court ministries now in the present and forever will be the lack of a “Life-union” with the “Life-source” of all ministry which IS God’s own uncreated LIFE that has been made available to us through Jesus Christ!

ALL ministry, that is the result of the calling “to be My minister” in 2 Chron 29:11 now applies to the function of the priesthood ministry and revolves around the Life of God in the inner man. Without this experience, the Holy Place Life and ministry will always remain a nice doctrine to learn but will never have an outward MANIFESTATION of Life and Spirit. The “Life and Spirit” ministry must convey Spiritual thoughts with Spiritual words that have been given by the Holy Spirit. The natural man, preparing natural messages to deliver to natural people has been the main reason there has been so little Spiritual result in the Outer Court ministry. Without the “metamorphosis” the natural preacher, speaking earthly things to a natural congregation can only expect a natural result. The evidence is all around us and in every denomination and in every nation. THIS IS the frustration of the Outer Court minister today!

1Co 2:9 but just as it is written, "THINGS WHICH EYE HAS NOT SEEN AND EAR HAS NOT HEARD, AND which HAVE NOT ENTERED THE HEART OF MAN, ALL THAT GOD HAS PREPARED FOR THOSE WHO LOVE HIM." 10 For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. 11 For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man, which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.

1Co 2:12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things freely given to us by God, 13 which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. 14 But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised. {the natural man whether in the pulpit or out is ignorant of spiritual things}

It is my opinion that the Christians that are migrating from church to church are looking for this next dimension of spiritual ministry {Spirit and Life} which has been assigned to the Lampstand Church. The lack of His Spirit and His Life in the natural messages we hear today should be a strong sign that something is missing that is NORMAL in the Holy Place Lampstand church!

It is interesting to note that no “years of life” are mentioned BEFORE the fall of Adam. We don’t even know how many “years” passed before Cain killed Able. Researchers speculate that they were “young” but was “young” 300 years old? We cannot know because life in years was not measured then.

However, later after the fall we learn that the natural life of Adam and his descendants has been recorded in years. As natural life on earth increased, the life span in years decreased. We see that natural life can be measured by natural earth years.

However, how can we measure the “years” we live in the Life of God? Eternal Life cannot be measured in years. While my years of natural life can be measured as 81, my years of inner life cannot be measured because this new Life is eternal. How “long” someone lived in the Old Testament is carefully recorded but we don’t know anything about the age of those in the New Testament AFTER redemption. The “qualities” of the uncreated LIFE of God are totally different than the qualities of the natural {psuche} life of Adam and his descendants.

Because of this I want to use another term to reflect this difference. I am calling this residency of the Life of God in our interior life as the “Apostolic State.” We could call it by the name of each of the five-fold ministries. For example we could call this the “Pastoral State” or the “Teaching State.” Some ministers experience the “Evangelist State.” I am using this term “state” to mean the condition of the inner man necessary to fulfill his calling in Christ.

According to my definition; To be in an “Apostolic State” means the inner life has been developed by the uncreated Life of God to a maturity that will support an “apostolic ministry.” If there is ONLY a “born again human being” who has been ordained by men to be an “apostle”, he may function for many “years”as an “apostle in some Outer Court ministry” but never attain to an “Apostolic State of Inner Life.”

My theory is this; No Outer Court ministry should be void of this inner Life of God in the inner man because this LIFE is the source of ALL Apostolic Ministry. The metamorphosis into this “state” of apostolic Life is recorded in 2 Cor 3:18 and is the result of “beholding Him” in the Holy place dimension.

If this simple requirement was necessary as the qualification for Outer Court Ministry it would revolutionize the “ministries” in the church. I am speculating that the mature Holy Place ministries WILL refuse to minister out of the psuche life. Why? Because they have experienced something of the “Apostolic State Of His Life in the Inner Man.” Think what change that would bring to the “pulpit ministries!” However, just teaching Sunday School by the natural life would no longer be acceptable IF the church is being prepared for the Lampstand function! What a revolutionary effect that would have on the preparation of the youth for a corporate ministry.

We put “saved people” in charge of very important ministries that affect men’s lives and eternal destiny and they are just “dead or dying branches.” Is this too harsh? Not at all because that is what Jesus said. Unless there IS a Life-union, the branches are dead and dry up. Am I getting too bold in saying that ALL Kingdom Ministry begins in the inner life and is the result of a Life-union with Christ? Would I be too overbearing if I said that ALL Kingdom Ministry rises up out of the Kingdom Government within the inner Life?

Many “human beings” are creating doctrines and preaching messages and writing books on the Kingdom of God today. I also did that for many years. Even though I did it in ignorance the result was the same. Dead sticks! Only Aaron’s rod budded in God’s Presence.

If we are convinced that ALL ministry is the result of a Life-union with Christ, the next truth is that we must redefine the “Apostolic Ministry.” I am making a new definition concerning the“apostolic ministry.” The “apostolic ministry” is by ANYONE who is living in the “Apostolic State” of a Life Union with Christ. The “ It is no longer I who lives” is no longer just a cliche to be repeated on Sunday morning by ignorant preachers. This IS the requirement for the Holy Place Life and Ministry. Men who are so FULL OF THEMSELVES that there is no room for anything else will soon recognize that their “ministry” is drying up. This is exactly as it should be because of the transition that is confronting the church for our generation. The fact is that their “ministry” was ALWAYS dry and dead but they were able to counterfeit life because of fleshly hype, human zeal and phony testimonies of fruitfulness. As soon as the real ministry emerges, the counterfeit ministries will become glaring apparent. I also participated in that “ministry” of immaturity, natural light and ignorance! The congregation was growing BUT the fruit was imaginary.

Mat 7:14 "For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, (Zoe) and few are those who find it.

It is easy to assume that this means that only a few will be saved. Nevertheless, we know there will be a great multitude, so many they cannot be numbered, that will stand before the throne of God with palm branches in their hands saying “salvation to our God.” Rev 7:9

This seems to be a contradiction until we understand there are different levels of His Zoe life. We also know there are different levels of salvation. It would be ignorant to think that the thief on the cross had the same level of salvation as the Apostle Paul. Because we only see the two realms of “life or no life” we don’t recognize there are “REALMS” of His LIFE. In the Tabernacle of Moses we see at least three REALMS of His Life and therefore, realms of salvation.

If we recognize that Life and Light are synonymous we, will recognize His life in the realm of natural light in the Outer Court, also His Life in the Holy Place realm illuminated by the Seven Spirits of God and His LIFE in the Most Holy place illuminated by the Glory of God. The “Life” was changing {metamorphosis} from glory unto glory.

Mat 5:8 "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.

The evangelical doctrine that ALL who believe something about Jesus are “pure in heart” and will stand in God’s Presence and see His face surely lacks credibility in the light of God’s Zoe, Life.

The Kingdom of God IS the Kingdom of Light which is the Kingdom of His Life, Zoe! The kingdom of darkness is a kingdom without His Zoe, Life and is therefore darkness.

John 1:4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men.

As the Life of Christ increases within us there IS an increase of Light within us. If there is NO increase of Light we may assume there is NO increase of Life. Growing in our revelation of the mysteries of God should be the normal progression of those who are growing in the Life of Christ. His Uncreated LIFE is the Light of men. This Life / Light came into the world and its purpose was to “enlighten every man.”

John 8:12 Again therefore Jesus spoke to them, saying, "I am the light of the world; he who follows Me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life."

If we examined all 120 places where this Zoe life is mentioned in the New Testament we will see many different levels and manifestations of this Life. Rom 5:1 to 10 reveals the light of being justified by faith and having peace with God (V1) and being justified by His Blood and being saved from the wrath of God (V 9) and being “saved” by His Life, Zoe!

Rom 5:10 If while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

This reveals the importance of moving into the highest dimensions of His

Life! In other studies we have shared about the experience of having our sins forgiven, of being “saved” and also the other dimensions of experiencing the “fulness of Christ” and the “fulness of His salvation” which we are linking to receiving the “fulness of His Life, Zoe!”

In the scriptures there is (1) the Resurrection of Life, Zoe. There is (2) the Bread of Life, Zoe. There is (3) the Justification of Life, Zoe. There is (4) the Spirit of Life, Zoe. There is (5) the Word of Life, Zoe. There is (6) the Book of Life, Zoe. There is (7) the Crown of Life, Zoe. There is (8) the Tree of Life, Zoe. There is the (9) Water of Life, Zoe. There is (10) the Lamb’s Book of Life, Zoe. There is (11) Eternal Life, Zoe. There is (12) the Light of Life, Zoe.

All these references use the Zoe, Life! All this may seem insignificant until we see the diversity of function linked to this LIFE. There are dimensions of this Life which we have not sought with our whole heart. How will we ever experience the fulness of His Life if we are ignorant of everything that is available to us and freely given to us in Christ?

John 5:26 "For just as the Father has life [Zoe] in Himself, even so He gave to the Son also to have life [Zoe] in Himself;

John 5:21 "For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life,

[ Zoopoieo] even so the Son also gives life [Zoopoieo] to whom He wishes.

Many assume that all born again believers have the fulness of His Zoe Life in them. However we “assume” that “spiritual growth” involves our growing up into His Life.

We may also recognize the difference between “us in Christ” and “Christ in us.” We might recognize the difference between “having a portion of His life” and being in a “Life-union” with Him in the dimension of “I no longer live.”

John 6:53 Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat

the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life [Zoe] in you.

Luke 12:15 And He said to them, "Beware, and be on your guard against every form of greed; for not even when one has an abundance does his life [psuche] consist of his possessions."

We may assume that Jesus knew the difference between the proper use of these two Greek words, Zoe and Psuche. “Zoe” being the uncreated Life of God and “psuche” being the natural life of man. Ingesting the Essence and Substance of the Son of man is absolutely essential to possessing this Uncreated, Eternal, Resurrection Life of Christ. Ignoring this very point could affect the eternal destiny of multitudes of believes.

essence >noun 1 the intrinsic nature of something; the quality which determines something's character.

substance >noun 1 a particular kind of matter with uniform properties. 2 the real physical matter of which a person or thing consists. 3 solid basis in reality or fact 4 the quality of being important, valid, or significant. 5 the most important or essential part or meaning.

It is obvious that normal dictionary terms are not sufficient to speak of Spiritual and Eternal things. However, we still must use language to convey thoughts. Nevertheless, Spiritual thoughts can only be conveyed by Spiritual words given by the Holy Spirit. I am not claiming these are THOSE kinds of words.

In other studies we have showed that eating His flesh is participating in THAT Eternal Word that was made flesh and dwelt among us. Drinking His blood is drinking of His Zoe, Life because all life is in the blood. He poured out His Life unto death or He poured out His blood unto death is synonymous. We are arbitrarily using His Eternal Life as being His Essence or His intrinsic nature; the quality that determines Character.

Then we are arbitrarily using His Flesh / Word as being His Substance or that particular KIND that is absolute; always the same and that solid basis in reality that makes it totally significant and essential.

The eating of His Flesh / Word and drinking of His Blood / Life is absolutely essential to possessing His Zoe, Life. Without this exchange from Him to us, which we are calling the “metamorphosis”, our eternal destiny may be far less than we anticipated. Applying this “reality” to “corporately participating in the Lord’s Table” is far too shallow to represent what He said.

The common teaching in the visible church is that when we are born-again and our spirit comes alive that we have received the “fulness” of His Life and little needs to be done beyond that experience. We are using the term “metamorphosis” to imply that this exchange of Life is a process in which that which begins the transformation must be transformed into a totally new creation. We are denying that this “metamorphosis” has any relationship with repairing of the old man in order to produce the New Man who after Christ is created in the image of God. This “new Creation” is not made out of ANYTHING from the old creation but is entirely NEW. God’s ONLY plan for the “old creation” is death and burial. The fact that the “new Creation” moves around in a body that housed the old creation that was natural, earthly and temporal should not limit our understanding of the New Creation man who lives by a totally different LIFE, Zoe.

My theory is that Christianity is related to the New Creation man and NOT just to the old creation man who believes something about Jesus. When the “old creation man” is abandoned to death and burial the “metamorphosis” can begin.

In order to emphasize this point I want to take some liberty in placing all this process in the Tabernacle of Moses which the scripture indicates is a graphic or picture or type and shadow of spiritual things, of eternal things and of heaven itself.

One of our pastors is currently taking the Tabernacle apart and preparing a Power Point slide of each part of the Tabernacle and its furniture. His purpose is to reassemble the Tabernacle, one piece at a time, as we experience each reality in our inner life.

This “liberty” will express the Life Union of the believer who has continually “metamorphosed” from the First Veil to the Ark of the Covenant. I am using “Life Union” to show the unity within the Ark. The “Ark” was a “box” that was made of wood but was overlaid with Gold. On top of that was the Mercy Seat made of pure Gold. However, there were two Cherubim of pure God that were one piece with the Mercy Seat.

This “liberty” will examine the last three pieces that were all ONE PIECE. That is the Mercy Seat AND the two Cherubim. This “liberty” will assume the “oneness” of the three parts. God, the Father of all Mercy, the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit as the two Cherubim. God speaks from over the Mercy Seat but between the two Cherubim. If we remove one of the Cherubim we may wonder why God doesn’t speak into our experience. Of course if we are just beginning our “metamorphosis” and are still in the Outer Court dimension it will be difficult to hear His voice.

The “Ark” which was the wood overlaid with Gold reveals humanity overlaid with Divinity. The Mercy Seat and the Cherubim were ALL Gold which speaks of only Divinity {no humanity. No wood}

The “UNITY” between the Mercy Seat and the two Cherubim is clearly seen but the “unity” of the Mercy Seat with the Ark is a “connection” or a “Union” as the Mercy Seat “RESTED” upon the Ark. This “UNION” {while not one piece} is what we are referring to as “LIFE UNION.”

This “ark” is NOT one piece with the Mercy Seat. These are two pieces! The Mercy Seat was NOT the Ark and the Ark was NOT the Mercy Seat, Still, they are joined by “LIFE.” The John 17 unity may be related to this scene that is shown in the Most Holy Place which we are relating to a “Most Holy life.”

The Cherubim on the Second Veil are not the same thing as the Cherubim that are one piece with the Mercy Seat. There is a LIFE DIFFERENCE. These Cherubim have a different function of welcoming but guarding and protecting the people who are in the beginning stages of the “metamorphosis” from entering into the terrible fire / glory of the Most Holy Place.

The next application is what was IN THE ARK. Heb 9:4 having a golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden jar holding the manna, and Aaron's rod which budded, and the tables of the covenant.

This will help us understand more about the inner life of the person who is in this Life Union with the Mercy Seat that is in Life Union with the Spirit of Christ and the Holy Spirit. We are certainly NOT speaking about “ALL believers” but those who have grown up into the fulness of Christ and are in Life Union with the Mercy Seat.

I am guessing that this is as close as humanity can be joined to Divinity. Not “joined” as One Person but “joined” in one Life. Within this New Inner Life {in the Ark} there is the hidden manna, Aaron’s rod that budded and the New Covenant written upon the new inner man.

This fulness of the Inner Life is the basis of the Kingdom Government Of God within!