The Daily Word of Righteousness

The Ark of His Covenant, continued

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord. (II Corinthians 3:18)

The creating of Christ in us, which is the new covenant, is a process that takes place over a period of time.

As we have stated, the Law was the first article to be placed in the Ark, and the Law was the only article remaining when the Ark was placed in Solomon's Temple.

God will have no fellowship with that which is unclean or unrighteous. No believer will be raised in the first resurrection unless the eternal moral law of God has been engraved in His personality.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: (Hebrews 12:14)

If we hope to be ready to meet Christ when He appears we must cooperate with the Holy Spirit as He forms Christ in us. Christ must be written "within" before He can be written "on the backside," referring to our outward appearance including the redemption of our mortal body.

And I saw in the right hand of him that sat on the throne a book written within and on the backside, sealed with seven seals. (Revelation 5:1)

"A book written within and on the backside." This is the whole personality of man.

The first characteristic of the believer who is eligible to participate in the first resurrection is a personality that practices righteous, holy behavior.

* The second characteristic of the believer who would appear with Christ in the Day of the Lord is represented by the memorial jar of manna, which was placed in the Ark along with the Ten Commandments and Aaron's rod that budded.

The Ten Commandments speak of the righteousness and holiness of Christ created in the saint. The jar of manna portrays the dependence on God that we learn as we are brought low and are unable to proceed without God's help. Whoever would meet the Lord at His appearing must be "leaning on his Beloved."

And he humbled thee, and suffered thee to hunger, and fed thee with manna, which thou knewest not, neither did thy fathers know; that he might make thee know that man doth not live by bread only, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord doth man live. (Deuteronomy 8:3)

"That he might make thee know."

God has His way of bringing us down to helplessness so that His wisdom and strength may be revealed. God has his way of causing us to look to Him each moment of each day.

And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (II Corinthians 12:9)

The longer we walk with Christ the more helpless we become apart from Him. We long to know the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, to be conformed to His death on the cross. Finally we have the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

To be continued.