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#483 – Consecration of the Priests – Part 1: Inner Life Ministry Of The New Inner Man


In the last study we tried to define why the Outward Ministries have failed to bring the visible church forward into the purpose of God. They have failed to prepare a New Covenant Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. In fact the Outer Court Ministries have failed to even bring the visible church into the full New Covenant experience. Since the New Covenant design, if experienced in its fulness, will provide the redeemed man with all the provision necessary to pass out of the Outer Court dimension and into the Pure Gold Lampstand dimension, there can be NO excuse for this failure of ministry. The “ministry” has failed to even preach the next dimension so how will the believers respond?


I am guessing that we must first become a part of “the hammered into one piece” Pure Gold Lampstand Church. Then, out of the Lampstand Church the Lord appoints the Priesthood ministries after the Order of Melchizedek. Then out of the Priesthood Ministries in the Holy Place, the One Who Ascended sets the five fold ministries in their proper place and order. This dimension is like a total mystery in the visible church.


The Holiest and Holy PlacesIn Tabernacle graphic of the Gold covered boards we see five pillars at the entrance to the Holy Place Life and Ministry. Then there are four pillars at the entrance to the Most Holy Place.


The reason we are placing so much emphasis upon the five-fold ministries beginning in the Holy Place and also being part of the Lampstand Church is because of these five pillars. Of course my understanding is very subjective so I cannot present this as absolute. However, I can find a scripture that speaks of at least one of these pillars.


Rev 3:12 ‘He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he will not go out from it anymore; and I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name.


Here Jesus is speaking to the Lampstand Church at Philadelphia and tells them if they overcome at the Lampstand level they can be advanced to another dimension of ministry. He will make them a “pillar in the Temple of My God.” From other studies we discovered that in the New Jerusalem there is no temple because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. Revelation 3: 12 is very confusing because it appears to be speaking about a “pillar in the temple of My God” but in the Eternal Dimension of the New Jerusalem and the Tabernacle of God.


Then we discovered that the Temple is before the Throne of God which places these Pillars at the entrance to the Sanctuary. Rev 7:14 And I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne shall spread His tabernacle over them. Since the New Jerusalem is not yet complete we will try to define the Four Pillars later. The Jerusalem above which is the mother of us all is the connector factor.


I will introduce a thought that came through the pastor’s meeting here at my house. In this discussion we were making a distinction between the Jerusalem above that is (currently) the mother of us all and the “City of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down when all things are made new. This City of My God is in the Tabernacle of God. The discussion was this;


The Tabernacle of Moses is a copy and shadow of the Tabernacle that is presently in heaven. It was this present “heavenly Tabernacle” that Moses saw on Mount Sinai and then made the earthly tabernacle as a copy of the real one that is currently in heaven. It is the opinion of some of the pastors that the true heavenly tabernacle is a graphic of heaven itself. When we die we go to “heaven” which is really the “heavenly Tabernacle” in its three places.


Heb 9:24 For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;


Therefore, the pillar in the Temple of God is not speaking of a “pillar” in the Eternal Tabernacle of God but a “pillar” in the True Tabernacle which is in this invisible realm called “heaven” but seen specifically as the Holy Place Life and Ministry. This suggests that heaven is not off someplace on some other planet but here in the invisible realm.


This is why we are placing the “pillar” in the Temple as one of the five pillars at the entrance to the Sanctuary. This is also why I am connecting the Five-Fold ministries to the Lampstand and the Holy Place. This is also the reason I am connecting the Five-Fold ministry to the Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. This King / Priest ministry has a present reality and a current function in the Outward Ministry of the New Inner Man. We are assuming that the authentic Five-Fold ministry is limited to the New Inner Man and his consecration is the subject of this paper.


Since the Five Pillars are at the entrance to the Sanctuary it seems reasonable that the Five-Fold Ministry is the key to bringing the outer court people to the maturity demanded by the Pure Gold Lampstand Church. Until we see this genuine ministry rise into a prominent function it seems the Outer Court people will be more or less limited to the natural light dimension. Our hope is that some Outer Court people will not wait for these ministries to function in their God given order but make the transition themselves and become the real Five-Fold ministry.


The first recognizable five-fold ministry that we are aware of seemed to begin in 1970 and began to function in a shallow way until 1985 when the Charismatic Movement collapsed.


Moses’ Tabernacle is a copy of that heavenly Tabernacle! However, this current heaven, with its current heavenly tabernacle, will pass away and then the Tabernacle of God (the New Earth, the New Heaven and the New Jerusalem) will appear.


At least some of the pastors believe that when we die we go to the present Tabernacle that is called Heaven. In that dimension there are currently three places that correspond to the Outer Court, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. When this “heaven” passes away then the inhabitants of the different places in the present heaven will be placed where they belong in the Tabernacle of God. This will be their eternal assignment.


Since the Lampstand Church and the Holy Place Life and Ministry is the focus of this study we will just point to the five pillars that we see in the graphic. Since the five-fold ministry is for the perfecting of the Outer Court saints, their outward ministry is in the Outer Court dimension. Since the Lampstand Churches in Revelation 2 and 3 are functioning in the present day it seems reasonable to attach them to the heavenly Tabernacle and the Priesthood / Five-Fold ministry to that heavenly realm but functioning as ministry in the visible realm of earth.


This may seem much too complicated because it implies that the real spiritual and New Covenant ministry is out of the heavenly / invisible realm. This may be confusing especially if we begin to apply this “heavenly realm” to the new inner Life of the new inner man. Since in the ideal dimension of the new inner man, the Father, the Living Word of God and the Holy Spirit live and move and have their being, we are boldly declaring that this IS the heavenly realm.


The reason we are focusing upon the Five pillars is because they are unique in that there seems to be no reason for there be five in one place and four in the next dimension. Also since we are assigning the Outward Function of the Five-Fold ministry to the Outer Court and the perfecting of the saints it seems reasonable to connect them to the five pillars at the entrance to the Holy Place. Of course this explanation will not satisfy every scripture because I will write upon him the name of My God, and the name of the city of My God, the new Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God, and My new name. This scripture seems to point to the four pillars leading to the Most Holy Place rather than the five pillars. I don’t understand how this fits into the eternal sceme of things so we will focus upon the five-fold ministries and assume they correspond to the five pillars although this may be a stretch.


Today, there are superficial “five-fold ministries” every where we go but most of these


were self-appointed or were appointed by man and it is obvious that these hardly qualify as the ministries seen in Ephesians 4: 9 - 13. Why? Because ONLY He who ascended can appoint these ministries! It is certainly scriptural to expect these ministries to bring the church to perfection. If these “ministries” cannot or will not bring the visible church to full Outer Court maturity we can assume they are a counterfeit ministry, calling themselves five-fold ministry but lacking the evidence. It is my opinion, derived from scriptures and from the pattern shown in the Old Testament priesthood, that these ministries are ONLY appointed out of a New Covenant Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek.


Since the five Pillars, IF they refer to the Five-Fold Ministry, can either be an obstruction preventing the church from ascending or they can be an encouragement and example to the Outer Court church to keep advancing into the next restoration of the Holy Place Life and Ministry. What we have seen of these “ministries” today are more of an obstruction than an example of those who have made the transition to the Priesthood / Five-Fold Ministry.


Of course this eliminates ALL Outer Court Ministries that have NOT made the transition to the Lampstand Church. This is really offensive to those who are stuck in the Outer Court dimension of ministry. I am speculating that IF these counterfeit Outer Court ministries really knew the difference between this “natural light” ministry of the Outer Court and the “pure Spiritual Light” of the Holy Place Ministry that at least some will make the transition. Our concern at this time is that so few ministries of any kind recognize what God is saying to the Outer Court ministries. The self-appointed “prophets” are speaking but they are just repeating the same things that were said 30 years ago. I was hoping to see, within my lifetime, at least some transition into the Holy Place Ministry and an authentic five-fold ministry emerge that is able to speak what God is saying at the present time.


In this study we want to combine Consecration with the ministry of “expressing Christ.” Over the years we have shared the Consecration Offering in many places and from several viewpoints. The various sacrifices connected to the Consecration Offering and the time and place they were offered along with some of the many details are necessary to clearly define God’s Viewpoint of what is demanded to satisfy His heart and to fulfill what He purposed for Himself through the creation. In other words, in this study of the Consecration Offering we are not just concerned about the outward man consecrating himself to qualify for “ministry” but with the New Inner Man fulfilling what God purposed for Himself when He created all things.


In this study I want to refocus our attention away from what the outward man can receive through a full Consecration Offering of himself and refocus our attention upon what God can receive to fulfill His Eternal Purpose through the full consecration of the new inner man. We are redefining “His Eternal Purpose” to mean what God designed into creation that He would receive for Himself when He created all things. Since there was no man present when He created all things, what He made in the creation was not primarily FOR MAN but He created all things for Himself, to complete a need that God had and to fulfill His Eternal Purpose!


In the last study we were speculating that the ministry of serving God, as a tool in God’s hand, was not really what God intended for His ministers. We were speculating that God’s design for the Holy Place Priesthood Ministry is not as servants in the Outer Court understanding. In other words there was the whole ministry of the Levites, who were servants to the priesthood after the order of Aaron and servants to the people in the Outer Court dimension but they had no access to the Holy Place Priesthood ministry.


We don’t want to reduce the importance of the Bondservants in Revelation 22 by talking about the “friends ministry.” Friends have to do with the present time and the Outer Court dimension functioning out of a knowledge of what He is doing and saying. Revelation 22 is speaking about the Bondservants in the Tabernacle of God and in the eternal dimension. These see His face etc.


John 15:12 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. 13 “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. 14 “You are My friends, if you do what I command you.


John 15:15 “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. 16 “You did not choose Me, but I chose you, and appointed you, that you should go and bear fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give to you. 17 “This I command you, that you love one another.


I can find NO SCRIPTURE where Jesus called His disciples “slaves” (doulos). However, for various reasons we are placing the “friends function” in the Outer Court dimension. One reason is because this appointment preceded Pentecost.


The point is this; If we take the “friends / disciple function” out of its context it may seem that the Holy Place ministry is just about “friends.” I have heard “prophesies” along that line! However, these “friends” have a lot of qualifying to do before we can define that ministry. The “friend’s function cannot begin until we can obey. “You are My friends, if you do what I command you. Those who do not obey cannot qualify even as friends!


Mat 12:47 And someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But He answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold, My mother and My brothers! 50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”


Just to be part of the family of God it is necessary to do the will of God. Therefore, to tell new believers they are now in the family of God might be a lie.


From this context we should understand that the “friends / family function” does not begin in the Holy Place Life and Ministry but in the Outer Court. Therefore, the “friends / family function” should begin as a ministry of the Levites that hears, understands, obeys and manifests the Love and Life of Christ. This is what I am calling the Expressive Ministry but in the lower realms of the Outer Court. Making Christ known as an inner Life! In the Holy Place function the “expressive ministry” means to Express Christ- the Living and Abiding Word of God- as the basis and foundation of our ministry.


Therefore, when we speak of the Eternal Ministry within the Tabernacle of God in Revelation 22 we can now call it the Bondservant / Priesthood Ministry after the Order of Melchizedek. The Bondservant connection is seen in the Consecration Offering. Since there is no Priesthood or entrance into the Holy Place Life and Ministry revealed except following the Consecration Offering, we can confidently say that Priesthood / Bondservant Ministry is dependent upon Consecration. However, not as the consecration of the outward man but the full consecration of the New Inner Man. Why? Because the New Man is the New Covenant Christian.


I am speculating that this level of the Full Consecration Offering is the key to Expressing Christ and Demonstrating the Living and Abiding Word of God as THE Ministry.


One of the main obstructions to the assemblies moving into the Lampstand Church is outward religion. Outward religion is the result of living in the outward life of the outward man. The outward ministries hold to an outward religion even if they declare that outward religion offends them. The outward man is limited to an outward religion even if that offends him!


The Outward man ministering horizontally to another outward man or even to an outward assembly is just ministering the “letter” that has no life. What is seriously lacking is the Inner Man ministering to God and then God by the inner anointing ministering to the assemble the reality of the Spirit. Ideally, the New Covenant ministry is the New Inner Man- in the minister- ministering to the New Inner Man in the members of the assembly, the Eternal Truth that is from the Father. True ministry is NOT ministering anything from man but just what the Father is saying. This is how Jesus, our prototype Man, told us the real ministry functioned. Also Paul confirmed this when he said the New Covenant ministry is NOT of the letter but of the Spirit.


In a former study we were wondering about the Power, Authority and Dominion that has been given now to Jesus Christ over both heaven and earth and how that power is manifested in the earth today. Jesus said we shall receive Power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. However, in our actual experience we wonder what happened to the Power, Authority and Dominion that should be demonstrated by the church and especially by the leaders of the church.


In order to discuss this concept we need to first define “the church.” Maybe what we thought was “the church” was just an assembly of believers that were in the process of becoming “the church.” If we define “the church” in a scriptural way, we would ONLY define “the church” as the Lampstand Church in the Holy Place. Since there is NO entrance into the Holy Place except through Consecration we can assume that the non-committed, the casual believers, the lukewarm and the unconcerned are not included in the Pure Gold Lampstand Church. In this dimension we should apply the “Body of Christ” to the Lampstand Church rather than to Outer Court believers making their way to the Holy Place Life and Ministry. God’s purpose is obviously for all believers to advance to the Lampstand level of the Church He is Building. For that reason EVERY believe must be encouraged to experience all seven Outer Preparations and then go on to perfection. We are not even addressing the question of IF the lukewarm are saved or not because in this study that is not or focus.


Our focus in this study is the Consecration Offering and the Inner Life of the New Inner Man. Why? Because we are connecting the Inner Life of the New Inner Man to the Bondservant / Priesthood Ministry which can ONLY function out of the Holy Place Life and Ministry. In this level of ministry the Outward Man is just a TENT in which we live. He has no opinion, argument or complaint because he has become inert. How? By the Consecration Offering!


2Cor 5:1 For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For indeed in this house we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven;


It is the OTHER hidden aspects of the Consecration Offering we understand they deal with the “outward man.” The purpose is to debilitate him into an abject dwelling place so that the New Inward Man can join the Priesthood Ministry in Power, Authority and Dominion. In other words the Consecration Offering is NOT the Consecration of the outward man so he can serve God but the debilitating of the outward man so the New Inner Man can serve God. The outward man is limited to the priesthood after the order of Aaron and an outward religion. It is ONLY the New Inner Man that can function in the Eternal Priesthood after the Order of Melchizedek. It is for that reason that we are further defining the Consecration Offering to include the Consecration of the New Inner Man.


Because of the predominance of religion in the visible church today it seems essential that we first need to overcome religion in order to bring the visible church into some eternal reality. I am guessing that ONLY the expression of Christ, in a visible way, can overcome religion as the foundation of the visible church. I am joining the expression of Christ with ETERNAL Truth that is experiential Reality. In other words I am Joining the expression of Christ with the Second Veil! However, the Second Veil represents a birth while the Priesthood represents the function or the manifestation of the EXPRESSION of Christ as the New Covenant Ministry, first toward the Father and then toward man.


2Cor 3:2 You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; 3 being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone, but on tablets of human hearts. 4 And such confidence we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, 6 who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.


2Cor 3:15 But to this day whenever Moses is read, a veil lies over their heart; 16 but


whenever a man turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.


2Cor 4:3 And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, 4 in

 

whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus as Lord, and ourselves as your bond-servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. 7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves; 8 we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. 11 For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death works in us, but life in you.


The Consecration Offering that we are presenting functions continuously as The Ministry.


The Real Treasure which IS Christ is transported in earthen vessels (or tents) so the POWER manifested is not from the outward man but from Christ, the Life of the New Inner Man. In the Continuous Consecration we are always carry about in the “outward man” the dying of Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested. So death continuously works in the outer man so life can continuously work through the ministry of the New Inner Man. We are connecting this Consecration Offering to this ministry of the New Inner Man but part of the Consecration Offering we are applying to the Outward Man to disable him from doing any ministry. His function should be limited to that of an “earthen vessel” that contains the Treasure. Carrying the “tent” with us in order to have a place to dwell is the basis of the Feast of Tabernacles.


Lev 23:42 ‘You shall live in booths (tents or tabernacles) for seven days; all the native-born in Israel shall live in booths, 43 so that your generations may know that I had the sons of Israel live in booths (tents or tabernacles) when I brought them out from the land of Egypt. I am the LORD your God.’”


In the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles, as we enter eternity, we will remember how God made us live in these “tents” during our time in this dimension.


Even though this study will be longer than what we like, it is important that we look at the details of the Consecration Offering in order to define the New Covenant ministry of the New Inner Man and his consecration. In order to limit this study to eight pages we will just introduce a few details of the Consecration of the Priests that permits them to stand before God and to serve Him.


The consecration was a process that took seven days. Lev 8:33 “And you shall not go outside the doorway of the tent of meeting for seven days, until the day that the period of your ordination is fulfilled; for he will ordain you through seven days.


Seven days is one complete time period (earth time) or we are consecrated from that time for the rest of the time we are in the earth realm. During that time we are instructed to not backslide or leave the Sanctuary. After the seven days of the Consecration of the Priests, the priests could then begin to minister to God and then at the proper time to minister for God and toward the people.


Leviticus chapter 8 is about the Consecration of the Priests and the various animal sacrifices, the flesh, the entrails, the outer skin, the fat, the liver and the other parts. This is a very complicated and involved study that requires one study specifically designed to define the Consecration of the various elements of man and how he is set apart to serve the Living God as Priest / Kings and then to become His five-fold minister. The “consecration of the Priests” even extended beyond the seven days (earth time) and is extended to the eighth day. The Lord did not APPEAR during the seven days of Consecration.


Lev 9:1 Now it came about on the eighth day that Moses called Aaron and his sons and the elders of Israel; 2 and he said to Aaron, “Take for yourself a calf, a bull, for a sin offering and a ram for a burnt offering, both without defect, and offer them before the LORD. 3 “Then to the sons of Israel you shall speak, saying, ‘Take a male goat for a sin offering, and a calf and a lamb, both one year old, without defect, for a burnt offering, 4 and an ox and a ram for peace offerings, to sacrifice before the LORD, and a grain offering mixed with oil; for today the LORD shall appear to you.’”


Lev 9:15 Then he presented the people’s offering, and took the goat of the sin

 

offering which was for the people, and slaughtered it and offered it for sin, like the first. 16 He also presented the burnt offering, and offered it according to the ordinance. 17 Next he presented the grain offering, and filled his hand with some of it and offered it up in smoke on the altar, besides the burnt offering of the morning. 18 Then he slaughtered the ox and the ram, the sacrifice of peace offerings which was for the people; and Aaron’s sons handed the blood to him and he sprinkled it around on the altar. 19 As for the portions of fat from the ox and from the ram, the fat tail, and the fat covering, and the kidneys and the lobe of the liver, 20 they now placed the portions of fat on the breasts; and he offered them up in smoke on the altar. 21 But the breasts and the right thigh Aaron presented as a wave offering before the LORD, just as Moses had commanded.


Lev 9:22 Then Aaron lifted up his hands toward the people and blessed them, and he stepped down after making the sin offering and the burnt offering and the peace offerings. 23 And Moses and Aaron went into the tent of meeting. When they came out and blessed the people, the glory of the LORD appeared to all the people. 24 Then fire came out from before the LORD and consumed the burnt offering and the portions of fat on the altar; and when all the people saw it, they shouted and fell on their faces.


Many people are speaking about this kind of revival where the manifested Presence of The Lord appears but think that is going to happen without the Consecration of the Priests. God has given us the “pattern of the Tabernacle, the sacrifices, the Priesthood and the Garments” so we can know the plan and purpose of God and to make all the transitions at the proper time.


To ignore these “patterns” is really stupid and explains why the visible church is stuck in a religious rut and confused about what it should do. Therefore, the people rush from some prophet to another meeting to try to find out what God is saying. Many seem to know something is wrong but there is no clear voice saying walk this way into the revealed Purpose of God.


Some “pastors” are going back to school for more education because they hope that will

 

help them figure out what God is saying. Most people in the visible assemblies are confused simply because they know nothing about the purpose of God or have a clear vision of how God will bring it about. This is the failure of the so called “ministries.” IF God had set them in that position He would have given them a clear understanding of how to carry the message to the believers.


Because these “ministries” have failed the believers, we see they are discouraged, confused and stumbling around in the dark looking for real answers to how to prepare for eternity. In the Feast of Trumpets the Priests must blow the Trumpets with a clear sound so the people know what to do. That is surely lacking in the visible church today!


1Co 14:8 For if the trumpet give an uncertain sound, who shall prepare himself to the battle? 9 So likewise ye, except ye utter by the tongue words easy to be understood, how shall it be known what is spoken? for ye shall speak into the air.


Since the real Priests blow the real trumpets with a clear sound it seems reasonable that God is drawing His Priests ( the new inner man) into a full Consecration and into a full transition into the Holy Place Life and Ministry. Since it is these Priests that eat the Showbread, it becomes Life and Spirit to the New Inner Man and the “confusion of ministry” is overcome by revelation. The “ministries” of the visible church have ignored these seven Outer Court preparations to prepare themselves for the transition to the real Priesthood Ministry and the Life and Spirit of the Holy Place. For that reason the outer court church has suffered because of their ignorance and failure.


Any “revival” that ignores these transitions to the other dimension of light and glory will be short lived and confined to the earth dimension.