March 12 1999
What makes us Messianic? What is it that constitutes the life of a believer in Yeshua?
Sometimes we take things for granted and assume that we know what the life of faith is all about. We wear labels and focus our identity on the nature or character of the group that we belong to. But what is our scriptural reality? If we believe the truth of the Gospel, then we must admit and confess “that we have been crusified with Messiah”1 therefore, “we have died and our life is hidden in the Messiah in Elohim”2 It does not say “we will be”, future tense. No, this here is a definite fact, preceded by "we have". Faith agrees with the work of Grace and brings us into the revelation knowledge of truth. Thus we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, “that our old man was crucified with him.”3 However, we not only have died, we have been buried with Him through our baptism in water4, and therefore we have been raised with Him into newness of life.
“If then you were raised with Messiah, seek those things which are above, where Messiah is, sitting at the right hand of YHVH. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”5
Now the question is, where is this new life? The answer is obvious “in Messiah Yeshua.” Where is the Messiah? In heavenly places. Where are those heavenly places? What does it mean to set our mind on things above? Is it somewhere beyond the stars and far in the galactic outer space, somewhere in this universe? No! Paul, or Rav. Shaul, challanges us to “examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, for do you not know this about yourselves that Yehshua the Messiah is IN YOU.”6 “Do you mean to say that those heavenly places are IN ME? Yeshua is seated in me?” Oh yes, if we are in the faith we must recognize this about ourselves: that “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.”7 One of the reasons why it is so difficult to see this reality is because many have not had the Torah to explain or give the picture of this truth to them. Yehshua said , “if you would believe Moses you would believe me for he spoke of Me.”8
When our forefathers arrived at Mount Sinai in the third month, just around the Feast of Firstfruit or Pentecost, an amazing thing happened; YHVH descended like fire on that mountain in the wilderness; His voice was heard; the mountain shook; the Torah was given; a marriage took place, and the tabernacle in the heavenly was seen and described in great detail. Paul tells us that these things happened to them for our instruction or example9, and thus we are to pay close attention to these details.
In light of this, let us take a look at only one from among the phenomena of Mount Sinai, "the Tabernacle". What does the Tabernacle or sanctuary have to do with us? The Apostle writes, "For you are the sanctuary of the living Elohim. As YHVH has said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people’."10 "Do you not know that you are the sanctuary of Elohim and that the Spirit of YHVH dwells in you? If anyone defiles the sanctuary of Elohim, YHVH will destroy him. For the sanctuary of Elohim is holy, which you are."11? "Or do you not know that your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from YHVH, and you are not your own?”12
As living stones we are being built corperately into a temple, but while in this wilderness journey we individually look like the tabernacle. "Behold, the tabernacle of YHVH is with (in) men, and He will dwell with (in) them, and they shall be His people. YHVH Himself will be with (in) them and be their Elohim.”13 With the picture of the tabernacle we have a revelation of what we look like on this earth, or wilderness. Without going into great detail, the emphasis is on the fact that our Heavenly Father is IN us, and the Messiah is IN Him and our spirit man is HIDDEN IN the Messiah. This is what our holy of holies looks like; it is full of His nature of life and light. However, our soul, which is a picture of the holy place, is in the process of being restored that it might reflect the glory of the nature of the Spirit of Elohim.
"For this reason we bow our (soul) knees to the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant us according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Messiah may dwell in our hearts through faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Messiah which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of Elohim”14
Yeshua is in us and His desire is to be merged with our soul. Thus He
is standing at the door of the heart of the believers and knocking (see 15), asking them to repent or turn around. Why? Because His people have been worshiping out at the front gate, looking east, into the wilderness of this world’s religious systems. The soul must turn around and look to the holy of holies within the tabernacle and "worship in spirit and in truth."16
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the congregation by Messiah Yeshua to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."17
Ephraim
Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity…for in this YHVH commands the blessing "life eternal"18
1Gal. 2:20, 2 Col. 3:3 3 Rom 6:6 4Rom.6:4 5Col.3:1-2 62 Cor. 13:5 71John4:4 8John 5:46 91Cor.10:11 102 Cor 6:16 111 Cor.3:16-17 12 1 Cor 6:19 13 Rev 21:3 14 Eph. 3:14-19 15Rev. 3:20 16John 4:23 17Eph. 3:20-21 18 Ps. 133
What makes us Messianic? What is it that constitutes the life of a believer in Yeshua?
Sometimes we take things for granted and assume that we know what the life of faith is all about. We wear labels and focus our identity on the nature or character of the group that we belong to. But what is our scriptural reality? If we believe the truth of the Gospel, then we must admit and confess “that we have been crusified with Messiah”1 therefore, “we have died and our life is hidden in the Messiah in Elohim”2 It does not say “we will be”, future tense. No, this here is a definite fact, preceded by "we have". Faith agrees with the work of Grace and brings us into the revelation knowledge of truth. Thus we know beyond a shadow of a doubt, “that our old man was crucified with him.”3 However, we not only have died, we have been buried with Him through our baptism in water4, and therefore we have been raised with Him into newness of life.
“If then you were raised with Messiah, seek those things which are above, where Messiah is, sitting at the right hand of YHVH. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth.”5
Now the question is, where is this new life? The answer is obvious “in Messiah Yeshua.” Where is the Messiah? In heavenly places. Where are those heavenly places? What does it mean to set our mind on things above? Is it somewhere beyond the stars and far in the galactic outer space, somewhere in this universe? No! Paul, or Rav. Shaul, challanges us to “examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith, for do you not know this about yourselves that Yehshua the Messiah is IN YOU.”6 “Do you mean to say that those heavenly places are IN ME? Yeshua is seated in me?” Oh yes, if we are in the faith we must recognize this about ourselves: that “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.”7 One of the reasons why it is so difficult to see this reality is because many have not had the Torah to explain or give the picture of this truth to them. Yehshua said , “if you would believe Moses you would believe me for he spoke of Me.”8
When our forefathers arrived at Mount Sinai in the third month, just around the Feast of Firstfruit or Pentecost, an amazing thing happened; YHVH descended like fire on that mountain in the wilderness; His voice was heard; the mountain shook; the Torah was given; a marriage took place, and the tabernacle in the heavenly was seen and described in great detail. Paul tells us that these things happened to them for our instruction or example9, and thus we are to pay close attention to these details.
In light of this, let us take a look at only one from among the phenomena of Mount Sinai, "the Tabernacle". What does the Tabernacle or sanctuary have to do with us? The Apostle writes, "For you are the sanctuary of the living Elohim. As YHVH has said, ‘I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their Elohim, and they shall be My people’."10 "Do you not know that you are the sanctuary of Elohim and that the Spirit of YHVH dwells in you? If anyone defiles the sanctuary of Elohim, YHVH will destroy him. For the sanctuary of Elohim is holy, which you are."11? "Or do you not know that your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from YHVH, and you are not your own?”12
As living stones we are being built corperately into a temple, but while in this wilderness journey we individually look like the tabernacle. "Behold, the tabernacle of YHVH is with (in) men, and He will dwell with (in) them, and they shall be His people. YHVH Himself will be with (in) them and be their Elohim.”13 With the picture of the tabernacle we have a revelation of what we look like on this earth, or wilderness. Without going into great detail, the emphasis is on the fact that our Heavenly Father is IN us, and the Messiah is IN Him and our spirit man is HIDDEN IN the Messiah. This is what our holy of holies looks like; it is full of His nature of life and light. However, our soul, which is a picture of the holy place, is in the process of being restored that it might reflect the glory of the nature of the Spirit of Elohim.
"For this reason we bow our (soul) knees to the Father of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, from whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant us according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Messiah may dwell in our hearts through faith; that we, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height-- to know the love of Messiah which passes knowledge; that we may be filled with all the fullness of Elohim”14
Yeshua is in us and His desire is to be merged with our soul. Thus He
is standing at the door of the heart of the believers and knocking (see 15), asking them to repent or turn around. Why? Because His people have been worshiping out at the front gate, looking east, into the wilderness of this world’s religious systems. The soul must turn around and look to the holy of holies within the tabernacle and "worship in spirit and in truth."16
"Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the congregation by Messiah Yeshua to all generations, forever and ever. Amen."17
Ephraim
Behold how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity…for in this YHVH commands the blessing "life eternal"18
1Gal. 2:20, 2 Col. 3:3 3 Rom 6:6 4Rom.6:4 5Col.3:1-2 62 Cor. 13:5 71John4:4 8John 5:46 91Cor.10:11 102 Cor 6:16 111 Cor.3:16-17 12 1 Cor 6:19 13 Rev 21:3 14 Eph. 3:14-19 15Rev. 3:20 16John 4:23 17Eph. 3:20-21 18 Ps. 133
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