The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Four Great Types, continued

And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. (Exodus 20:1-3)

The fourth feast of the Lord is Pentecost. The fourth furnishing of the Tabernacle was the solid-gold Lampstand. The fourth of the days of creation was the creation of the sun, moon, and stars. The fourth stage of Israel's journey was the giving of the Law.

After we believe, repent, are baptized in water, and are born again of the Substance of Christ, we are to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. The Pentecostal outpouring began two thousand years ago and continues every time a believer looks up to God in order to be filled with God's Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is God in the Church. He gives and directs the gifts and ministries and also guides and empowers us as we become righteous, holy, and obedient to God in character.

No growth in Christ's image is possible apart from the enablement of the Spirit and no ministry is to be conducted apart from the direct supervision and enablement of the Spirit. The reason the churches have accomplished so little of eternal value over the Church Era is that the ministry has been conducted by the will of man rather than the will of the Spirit.

The solid-gold Lampstand portrays Christ—Head and Body. This is the Servant of the Lord who will return when Christ comes to maturity in the members of His Body.

The fact that the Lampstand is solid-gold tells us that no part of the eternal testimony of God comes from the flesh of man. God alone can bear a true witness of His Person, will, way, and eternal purposes in Christ.

The fourth day of creation takes us to the heavens. There shines the sun (Christ), the moon (the Bride of the Lamb), and the stars (the victorious saints of all ages). The light of Christ, of the Bride, and of the victorious saints comes from the Spirit of God. The term Christ means the One anointed with the Spirit of God.

Jewish tradition informs us that the Israelites came to Mount Sinai on the fiftieth day after the Passover. The term Pentecost is related in the Greek language to the number fifty.

To this day the Jews celebrate the giving of the Law on the annual celebration of Pentecost.

One of the great errors of current Christian thinking is that Christians are under no law. This is not true. It indeed is a fact that we no longer are under the Law of Moses when we count ourselves crucified with Christ.

But if we would be free from the law of sin and death, which is the interaction between our flesh and the Law of Moses, we must obey the law of the Spirit of Life in Jesus Christ. The law of the Spirit of Life in Christ is a far stricter law than that given to Moses.

The Holy Spirit descended as a Dove on Jesus because there is no sin in Jesus. But the Holy Spirit descended on the early believers as tongues of fire. This is because there still is sin in us. It is the Holy Spirit who deals with the sin that is in us.

The Holy Spirit, working by the authority of the blood of Jesus, leads us in putting to death the deeds of our sinful flesh. We are baptized with the fire of Divine judgment. If we cooperate with the Spirit of God, following Him faithfully in every aspect of life, He will set us free from the law of sin and death working in the members of our body.

To be continued.