#450 1F Kingdom: Walking Through The Kingdom
Moving Into The Invisible Realms Of The Kingdom. The Master Plan!
In these studies of the Kingdom we have begun in the earth dimension and a personal preparation to live in the Kingdom Government of God and the restriction and discipline that requires. This preparation for eternity is very real but is ignored by much of the church as irrelevant in this dispensation of grace. Then we moved into that “preparation for the Kingdom” that dealt with growth, discipline, maturity, rectification, change and seeing eternity from God’s point of view. Of course these studies are more of an overview than minute details.
Our thesis was that there is a “Master Plan” established for all of creation from before the earth was restored. Before the foundation of the world God had an eternal purpose and man was created to fulfill that purpose of God. God had something in His Heart and a plan for the world yet to come. He has predetermined that the next world will not be subjected to angels but to man. The question we raised is this; What kind of man? Will God subject the new creation {after this one} to just any man or is He preparing a whole new species of man that will grow to the measure of the stature that belongs to the fulness of Christ? Hebrews 2 tells us that God has His man who is now ready to rule over the world yet to come. The name of God’s First Manifested Son is Christ Jesus. We are speculating that God is raising up many “manifested sons of God” who are just like God’s only begotten Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are guessing that Christ is the Head over a complete body of full grown sons just like Himself. All of creation is waiting for the “manifestation of these mature Sons of God.” It seems that these mature “sons of God” are invisible in this visible realm so how do we know any of this is real? Even God’s first “Manifested Son” is invisible in this realm but not to everybody. He is adequately revealed in scripture and from that account and the testimony of the apostles we are shown the prototype “Manifested Son” who is the FIRST of many sons of God that He is preparing to share His glory. Act 10:40 “God raised Him up on the third day, and granted that He should become visible, 41 not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us, who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead.
Jesus Christ was invisible in this realm after He was resurrected but God granted that He should BECOME Visible in this realm. However, not to everybody. He was able to move from the invisible realm to the visible realm and then return to the invisible real. He could also move from place to place without physical transportation. We are NOT implying that the “many manifested sons that He will bring to glory” will be able to do that but that but that not all the people were able to see into that invisible realm. The point I am making is that the invisible realms are just as real as the invisible realms.
The question that often arises is this; Isn’t God taking a tremendous chance in submitting the world yet to come to man? What if man messes up again? What if man decides to take this sovereign authority and political power to himself and begin to rule over the rest of mankind as a self-appointed dictator like we see in Cuba and many other places? This carnality is even seen in the church realm.
Don’t we have 6000 years of history that reveals that man is incapable of ruling over other men in humility, love and concern? Is it not true that power and authority corrupts and total power totally corrupts? Even in a democracy man has cheated, stole, lied, bribed and entered politics just to fill their own pockets and managed things for their own benefit? Politicians today will soon turn everything possible to their own advantage and use government to add to their own prosperity. Of course all this is true and we have 6000 years of history to prove that man who is born after the first Adam is incapable of ruling over others in a Kingdom of God way. Then what is God’s plan to insure this doesn’t happen again?
It is evident by just going from place to place and from church to church that even after man’s “sins”, plural, are forgiven and we assume he is “saved,” that he remains selfish, self-centered, arrogant, and ignorant of the reason that God “saved” him. It is clear that man cannot become God Centered as long as he is ego-centric and unchanged! Something real must happen in the selfish and self centered person who has always just lived for himself. New “eyes” must be birthed that will clarify his vision of eternity future. As long as man is self-centered he cannot be Kingdom centered and therefore he rejects the necessary preparation for the Kingdom or the discipline and growth that the Kingdom Government of God demands. In other words, we must be able to “see” (by revelation) into these invisible realms of eternity if we expect to receive (endure) the necessary change to participate. God disciplines us so we can share His holiness.
2Tim 1:9 who has saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity, 10 but now has been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
Heb 12:10 For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, that we may share His holiness.
Over these last many years of being a “Christian” we have cried out to God for power, wisdom, revelation, knowledge, blessings, prosperity, ministry and gifts. We sought these things as individual items from the storehouse of God. We sought for “packages” of things we felt were necessary to serve God. We really wanted these things for a good reason, to bring glory to God and to preach His Word with signs following. I needed the gift of healing because many of God’s people are sick and I wanted to be a blessing to them. “God, I really need these things for my ministry and these people certainly need a touch from God.”
Most of what we asked for never came to us and we never developed a “power ministry.” Nevertheless, we understood these “things” were items we could use to glorify God. To further our ministry both my wife and I consecrated ourselves in 1970 and presented our bodies as living sacrifices and set apart our life in service to God and to His church. We understood this is the way we could receive a “ministry” and the grace to serve the people of God. Our “ministry vision” was of God providing us with all the necessary tools to serve Him and complete “our ministry.”
We were still the center and God revolved around us supplying all our needs to develop OUR MINISTRY. We thought we were doing the will of God and God must be pleased with our effort to serve Him. It was several years before we realized that we had just moved from Romans 6 to Romans 7 and that because God had done so much for us that we wanted to do something for Him. Therefore, we began in human effort to serve God but from a self-centered, ego driven position. The hidden motives, secret intension of the heart and personal advancement in ministry were all present in us, even after many years.
Back several years ago, following the preaching, there would be an “altar call” for all those who needed a “touch from God.” We thought we saw this principle from the scripture when people touched the Lord or He touched them their needs were met. We saw the scripture where it said that we should lay hands on the sick and they would recover. All anyone needed was a touch from God to meet their needs and we volunteered to be the instrument God could use.
From 1945 until about 1960 there were thousands healed and astounding miracles, signs and wonders took place in those huge tent meetings. These were genuine signs from God and genuine things happened. The interesting thing about this time was that so many were healed but only a few were actually changed within by the miracles. Of course some were changed but many received a touch from God and went back to their old ways. All these things were very confusing and several books were written about “keeping your healing” and why some “lost their healing” and how the devil stole the seed before it could grow. Miracles were wonderful but the inner man was not fed and he did not grow, mature or was he perfected by signs, wonders, miracles or by healing.
It has been in the last several years that we began to understand the difference between “receiving a touch from God” and “living in a Life union with God.” Now it is clearer why some could be healed by the power of God but remained unchanged in the inner man. We can receive a great blessing and experience a miracle but continue to live in a small restricted place within ourselves. We retain our own identity and our own self-interests and a self-centered life while we are attempting to “serve God.” However, because we received a “touch from God” we assume that means that we are approved by God and have received eternal life. Many people think they are “born again” because they received something from God.
I used to spend a lot of time with an Amish preacher discussing the Bible. Many times when we talked he would tell me when he thought he was born again and when he assumed he had received the Holy Spirit. One time, he told me, he thought it was when he cried but each time he related it to a different experience.
If I had told him that salvation means coming into a “life union” with God, the mental concept was too confusing to understand with the natural mind. “Coming into a Life union with God” requires that we move into an invisible realm where the natural mind cannot go. To understand that “our purpose” is to live in “His Purpose”, for “His Satisfaction” and to live for “His Will” and “His Glory” we must perceive something from that invisible realm. My theory is that some Divine transformation must take place within us before we are aware of these other realms of experiencing God while we are still in this visible earth dimension.
The theme of this study is “Walking Through The Kingdom In The Invisible Dimensions.” Mat 4:23 And Jesus was going about in all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues,
and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every kind of disease and every kind of sickness among the people.
There is obviously a “general Kingdom ministry” of healing the sick and meeting physical needs. Still, we wonder why only a few are changed within the inner life or have a deep spiritual experience during these times when the power of God is manifested. A few years ago Benny Hinn would raise his hands and hundreds of people would fall to the ground. Some received a real touch from God but most were not changed. Many criticized him for that reason but it obviously was NOT Benny that was making them fall down.
God has given us many examples in the Old Testament to explain these mysteries. When God brought Israel out of Egypt He brought them into a desperate situation at the Red Sea. They stood there helpless to go forward because of the sea and afraid that Pharaoh’s army would attack and kill them from behind. Then God demonstrated that He is the Almighty God who lives and acts in behalf of Israel. He revealed Himself as the Living God who is Almighty in Power. Israel experienced the power of God and saw the miracles and walked out of Egypt across that distance on dry ground. God delivered them from Egypt with a mighty hand.
Psalms 78:13 He divided the sea, and caused them to pass through; And He made the waters stand up like a heap. 14 Then He led them with the cloud by day, And all the night with a light of fire. 15 He split the rocks in the wilderness, And gave them abundant drink like the ocean depths. 16 He brought forth streams also from the rock, And caused waters to run down like rivers.
Psalms 78:17 Yet they still continued to sin against Him, To rebel against the Most High in the desert. 18 And in their heart they put God to the test By asking food according to their desire. 19 Then they spoke against God; They said, “Can God prepare a table in the wilderness?
Signs, wonders, miracles and demonstrations of power are wonderful but none of these “things” could change Israel from what they were into what He Is. We can experience the power of God in many different ways but we are still “us” and He is still “Himself.” There is no blending of the Divine Life with man. Why? Because fallen man, the Adam man, is of the wrong species to receive His Life. The Divine and Eternal Life, Zoe, cannot be blended with the fallen life of first Adam.
According to Jesus’ prayer in John 17 it is necessary that we come into a “life union” with God. We in Him, He in the Father, the Father in Him, that man and Divinity are blended into a unit. God is unchanging! Therefore, the one that MUST change is man so he can be “blended” into God! To blend means the line between the two is indistinguishable so that the ingredients have become one. This “change” is so radical that it demands death and burial on man’s side. Why? Because NOTHING of first Adam can be blended into God.
Therefore, resurrection must precede the “union of life” with Divinity! If “salvation” involves a change of life, it should be clear that “resurrection” is essential for “salvation.” Believing something about Jesus but without death, burial and resurrection cannot be Bible salvation but something invented by religious men as a substitute gospel that is not offensive to the natural man.
We cannot take the “nature” of the Almighty God and blend it with the corrupt nature of fallen man. We cannot take the Life of the Living God and blend it with the death of the first man, Adam. This “blending” of Divinity with humanity requires a new species of man who is living in resurrection Life. Christ Jesus has now died, been buried, resurrected, ascended and is now living in the Life of resurrection. If we desire to be joined to Him we must also be living in the resurrection Life.
Romans 1:4 who was declared the Son of God with power by the resurrection from the dead, according to the Spirit of holiness, Jesus Christ our Lord,
To “know God in that dimension” requires that we know “the God of the Resurrection.” Remember, God is now preparing “mankind” to rule over the world yet to come. We are assuming that “mankind” will have more transformation and development than just forgiveness of sins.
Phil 3:10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.
2Co 1:8 For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9 indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves in order that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;
God must take us into a near death experience until we give up all hope of living again! Why? So we learn not to trust in ourselves. Then God can reveal Himself to us as “the God of the Resurrection.” This experience of Paul was NOT when he got “saved” or when he received the resurrection life of Christ Jesus. Even the new man must be brought to the point of death for us to escape the realm where we are still trusting in ourselves. AFTER all hope is gone and the very next moment we may depart this life, God reveals Himself as the God of resurrection.
Sister Alice Verghese had served God in very difficult circumstances for many years but then developed a great tumor in her stomach that encapsulated all her inner organs. The sentence of death was upon her and Brother Don Spires called to say that if we wanted to see her we should come to Washington, DC immediately. When Doris and I arrived she was too weak for us to go in to see her. There was a meeting that Saturday night in the little store front church so Doris and I got ready to go down to the meeting. However, when we stepped out of our bedroom which was across the hall from where Sister Alice was, her door opened and she saw Doris. She called Doris into the room to pray with her and I went down to the meeting. Brother Don was sick so he asked me to preach and then we prayed and I went back up to sleep. Doris came to bed but didn’t say anything about what happened when they prayed. The next morning Brother Don knocked on the door and asked me to preach because he had no voice so I went down to pray. As the meeting was starting Sister Alice walked into the side of the room and Brother Don asked if anybody had a testimony. She came to the pulpit and raised her right hand and said “He is the resurrection and the Life. I know He is the Resurrection and the Life.” She knew God in many ways up until then. At that time she knew the “God of Resurrection.” She was all but dead but now she lived again in resurrection life. She finally died on April 21, 1981.
Phil 3:11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. 12 Not that I have already obtained it, or have already become perfect, but I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. 13 Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of it yet; but one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul was pressing forward to get to “know the God of Resurrection.” At that time, He didn’t feel that He knew God yet in that way. He realized that he must first be “conformed to His death” before he could know fully “the God of Resurrection.” In 2 Corinthians 1 Paul came to know the “God that raises the dead.” All this was on the earth side of physical death but still in the invisible realms. When did Paul become aware that there was this other realm of the “God of Resurrection?” It must have been when he was caught up to the Third Heaven, recorded in 2 Corinthians 12 but this “near death” experienced happened some 14 years later. Paul was caught up to the third heaven 14 years before this took place.
Knowing the doctrine of resurrection or preaching an Easter message about the risen Christ Jesus is not in the same dimension as knowing the God of Resurrection. Having a clear understanding of water baptism, death and burial and resurrection may even be part of our genuine experience in that primary dimension but still be far short of having a revelation of the God of Resurrection. The first has to do with our preparation while the latter has to do with our development. The first is where we begin our growth and the later identifies our maturity. The first has to do with an action and faith expressed. The later has to do with a revelation and knowing God in another dimension.
John 11:23 Jesus *said to her, “Your brother shall rise again.” 24 Martha *said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies, 26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
Martha knew the doctrine of resurrection and expressed her faith that in the future the dead would rise again in the resurrection on the last day. But Jesus revealed another completely different realm of resurrection from the one Martha knew. He revealed Himself , the Word, as the God of Resurrection. To know that God will someday raise the dead is one thing but to know the God of resurrection who IS, Himself, the Resurrection and the Life is quite another thing. This understanding brings resurrection into the present tense and makes resurrection available to us NOW. This LIFE is available now so we don’t need to wait for the last day. However, “resurrection” is not a just another “thing” we can receive from God but is now the Person who IS “Resurrection.” He has already passed through physical death and is alive forevermore.
Over the years we have tried to present “life” as dimensional and ascending and NOT only as a stagnant “faith experience” of the past. The Life of God is “Living” because God is the Living God! We are also born again by the Living and Abiding Word of God. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Life. Christianity must become a sharing of His Life by coming into a “union of Life” with Him. For that reason Christianity is a “living experience” and not another dead doctrine. A growing Christian experience is moving along from the doctrine stage into the “union of life” stage! If we remain ignorant of this essential “life union experience” we may stop in our growth and remain in the primary Christian foundations.
The Life that Christ Jesus has today is different than the Life he had while he walked along the shores of Galilee. His Life now has passed through death and has emerged in resurrection. He is now living in the Resurrection Life. Eternal life for us means that we cannot die again. Why? Because we have already been taken into death and burial and we have emerged in resurrection life. What exactly does that mean? It means that we have entered into His death by being crucified with Him. Therefore, we are buried with Him by baptism, so that we might be resurrected with Him into a whole new kind of life. Is that pointing to a “someday” resurrection or a “present” day resurrection?
Luke 20:34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage; 36 for neither can they die anymore, for they are like angels, and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.
We are not implying that there is no resurrection at the last day. This fact is clearly revealed in scripture. There will certainly be those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead.
Then why are we insisting on a genuine Christian change that is so radical it requires our death, our burial, and our resurrection just to begin? Because of God’s Eternal Purpose. But what does that mean? That God is preparing SONS to rule over the next world or the next completely new creation. This new creation, after this one passes away, is called the Tabernacle of God!
Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. 2 And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be among them, 4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.” 5 And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He *said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.”
Man , as the new creation man, in this present Christian life, must be prepared in this present age to rule, manage and administrate the world yet to come. But why all this preparation? Because, the kings of the New Earth must be of the perfection, the transparency, the glory of the New Jerusalem and some even must be prepared to rule from Zion.
Heb 2:5 For He did not subject to angels the world to come, concerning which we are speaking. 6 But one has testified somewhere, saying, “WHAT IS MAN, THAT THOU REMEMBEREST HIM? OR THE SON OF MAN, THAT THOU ART CONCERNED ABOUT HIM? 7 “THOU HAST MADE HIM FOR A LITTLE WHILE LOWER THAN THE ANGELS; THOU HAST CROWNED HIM WITH GLORY AND HONOR, AND HAST APPOINTED HIM OVER THE WORKS OF THY HANDS; 8 THOU HAST PUT ALL THINGS IN SUBJECTION UNDER HIS FEET.” For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him. (Man)
Heb 2:9 But we do see Him who has been made for a little while lower than the angels, namely, Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. 10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.
Dan 7:18 ‘But the saints of the Highest One will receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever, for all ages to come.’
Dan 7:27 ‘Then the sovereignty, the dominion, and the greatness of all the
kingdoms under the whole heaven will be given to the people of the saints of the Highest One; His kingdom will be an everlasting kingdom, and all the dominions will serve and obey Him.’
Is God taking a great risk in turning over the world yet to come to “man?” Not at all! Why? Because, God will continue to rule over the universe from the Heavenly Mount Zion but all the kingdoms UNDER the whole heaven will be ruled over by man. However, more than that, God is perfecting a completely new species of man who will grow up in all things into Christ and become manifested sons of God. These “sons” will be just like God’s Manifested Son, The Lord Jesus Christ. He will bring these many sons to the Glory of His Immediate Presence and they shall see His face. These “manifested sons” will be called the “bride” the “overcomers”, or the “bondservants.”
Rev 22:3 And there shall no longer be any curse; and the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His bond-servants shall serve Him; 4 and they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5 And there shall no longer be any night; and they shall not have need of the light of a lamp nor the light of the sun, because the Lord God shall illumine them; and they shall reign forever and ever.
Rev 22:6 And he said to me, “These words are faithful and true”; and the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, sent His angel to show to His bond-servants the things which must shortly take place.
To foolishly assign this place of authority, dominion, and rulership to common believers
who haven’t grown or changed, except to believe something about Jesus, is the height of ignorance and demonstrates a total lack of understanding and a great poverty of revelation.
Of course these “bondservant” are the “manifested sons of God.” God would be taking a irresponsible chance to put “ saved man” in charge of anything eternal if that person had not been conformed to the image and grown to the likeness of the Prototype Man, Christ Jesus. Since it is the “bondservants” who will reign over the world yet to come, God can enter into rest and not worry that they will turn into devils and try to exalt their throne above the throne of God. Most church leaders today will never qualify for these eternal positions in the Kingdom of God. Why? Because they “manifest” arrogant man and not the “Son of God.”
These things are in the invisible realms of the Kingdom. However, they are not in the unknowable realms. It is true that the natural man can NEVER know anything of these realms because they are revealed by the Holy Spirit. Nevertheless, knowing about these realms is still far short of walking in these invisible realms of the Kingdom. Does “Walking in the Kingdom Realm” means with legs and shoes? Never! It is ONLY the new inner man, who is of the new species, who can walk in these invisible realms. Oh, does the new man have legs? Does he have shoes? No! He is of a new creation who is waiting for his dwelling from heaven. He is the one who will lay aside this tent and exchange it for a building made by God, eternal in the heavens.
This new man is not male or female and neither is he Jew or Gentile, neither is he rich or poor, neither is he cultured or uncultured, neither is he black or white. How can that be? He is of another entirely new creation that is nothing like the Adam creation man. This new man is from heaven. He came into this earth dimension as sperma which is the Living and Abiding Word of God. If the “sperma” survives, what will it be when it fully grows up? It will be Christ, the Word of God. What life will he have? He will have the resurrection Life of Christ. This Life has already passed through death and is, therefore, eternal.
How will this new man be joined to the Lord? By Life! [We must have exactly the same Life as God.] What is this experience called? We call it “Union Life.” How is this Life stated as a phrase? I in them, they in me and I in the Father and the Father in Me so that we are all one. What is the metaphor that says this? “The Bride.” Is this whole thing about a “bride?” No! That is just one metaphor and just one viewpoint of God’s Eternal Purpose. Mount Zion is another viewpoint. The bondservants is another, the overcomers is another, the manifested sons is another, the New Jerusalem is another, the Priesthood after the order of Melchizedek is another. The sons of the High Priest is another. Even the Kingdom must fit into God’s Eternal Purpose! The Kingdom of Priests is another viewpoint of the Purpose of God.
Why does it take so many viewpoints and so many different metaphors to reveal these eternal dimensions? Because these are invisible realms that are difficult to portray with earth words. But will the worlds yet to come be subjected to man or is that just another metaphor? No! Just because they are metaphors doesn’t mean they are not real or experiential. Each metaphor gives us one viewpoint of Eternal Truth but each metaphor is NOT the whole picture. All the metaphors must be combined together to “see” eternal reality. Why does God make all this so difficult to understand? Because man has fallen much farther from eternal reality than he thinks. At least some restoration must take place first before Eternal Truth can be fully comprehended and then “total restoration” will bring a clarity of reality consistent with the invisible realms.
Why do you insist that there are invisible realms? Isn’t this just your opinion? No! The invisible realms are all part of God’s creation and are involved in His plan.
Col 1:15 And He is the image of the invisible God, the first-born of all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities--all things have been created by Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.
Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were prepared by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things which are visible.
Just observing the visible realm may limit our ability to comprehend things in the eternal realms. God, Himself, is invisible in this realm. However, that does not mean he doesn’t exist or that we cannot know Him during the church age! Rather than just living in the visible realm, Paul was pressing in to know the invisible God and the power of Christ’s resurrection. Even resurrection is in the invisible realm, as is “salvation.” While the work of the Holy Spirit can sometimes be seen in the visible realm, the Holy Spirit, Himself, operates in the invisible realms. Even the visible things that are seen are created out of things that are invisible. A lot of Christianity is real only in the invisible realms.
While healing, miracles, signs and wonders are visible in this realm, the power and Person behind these things are invisible. The natural man demands to “see” with the natural eyes or he refuses to believe. God helps the natural man to “see” the outward signs which helps him believe in the power and person behind the sign. Still, the natural man may insist that unless he “sees” into that invisible realm behind the sign he will NOT believe! When this happens there is nothing more God can do! Why? The natural man has NO capacity to “see” into this realm.
On the other hand, the new inner man is of the invisible realm and if he grows up and develops eyes and ears he can “see” the reality of the invisible realm and hear words from that realm. This is what we are referring to as “revelation.”
Let us take another example; The difference between the Lord’s Table in 1 Corinthians 11 and eating His flesh and drinking His blood in John 6 is that one is in the visible realm and the latter is entirely in the invisible realm. The outward man can receive the elements of bread and wine in the temporal and visible realm. However, only the new inner man can receive the true and eternal elements of eating His flesh (the Word) and drinking His Blood ( His Life) and by that live forever and experience the reality of resurrection.
John 6:50 “This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, so that one may eat of it and not die. 51 “I am the living bread that came down out of heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he shall live forever; and the bread also which I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh.” 52 The Jews therefore began to argue with one another, saying, “How can this man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Jesus therefore said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in yourselves. 54 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
John 6:55 “For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. 56 “He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 “As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me. 58 “This is the bread which came down out of heaven; not as the fathers ate, and died, he who eats this bread shall live forever.”
To say that everyone who has taken the “Lord’s Table” and eaten the outward, visible elements has eternal life and will be resurrected on the last day and then live forever, is quite a stretch of Bible truth. To relate eating the Living Bread that came down out of heaven that gives Life to the world with just eating the visible, natural, temporal bread that originated here on earth seems tremendously ignorant. They ate the supernatural bread (manna) that fell from heaven but still died. Why? Because it only sustained the physical body but provided no provision for creating a new inner man.
After there is a genuine new inner man who is able to take solid food, the eating His flesh and drinking His blood is essential to experience the next dimension of resurrection.
John 6:48 “I am the bread of life. 49 “Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died.
In that same way multitudes have taken the visible, temporal and natural elements of the bread and wine in the Lord’s table and the same multitudes have died in their sins as natural men. Why? Because these are “things” we do to remember His death until He comes again. However, John 6 is about receiving His Eternal Life and the Resurrection of the last day! But is this really that important? Doesn’t “just believing something about Jesus guarantee us eternal life?” NO! But don’t we have several scriptures that indicate that if we just believe we shall be saved?
Too many “messages” have been preached just by seeing everything in the natural, visible and temporal realm. Multitudes have accepted and are still accepting that earth bound “ministry” and died in their sins. Therefore, it is my opinion that NO ONE should be in the pulpit preaching eternal things by natural understanding. These are preaching a natural, feel good gospel that ignores the demands and preparation for the Kingdom of God and the reality of these invisible realms.
Preaching some “earthly kingdom” message where everybody who “believes” is automatically a Kingdom of Priests is becoming very popular today. Adam can “believe certain doctrines and even truth” but still die in his sins. Adam can NEVER experience a “union of Life” with God or participate in the Kingdom Government of God!