Revelation 21:3
The Tabernacle of God is with Men
Isaiah 57:15 we read, "For thus saith the High and Lofty One that INHABITETH ETERNITY, Whose Name is Holy; ‘I dwell in the High and Holy Place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'" This verse isn't just a verse of "aspiration", to get us to work real hard to be humble and contrite. No, no, this is a statement, a description of the atmosphere, the environment of the Holy Place where the High and Lofty One dwells.
It seems we have missed, or at least weakened our Lord's "goal" in salvation by beginning with our human perspective. We place the emphasis on our "sin" and "getting saved". We leave the "sinner" with his own "definition" of sin, not delving into the absolute perfection that God requires. After that "event", raising the hand or whatever, we may or may not "try to make disciples", via some program or system. Sin is a big deal to be sure, but it is only part of the work of our Jesus, our Melchizedek. Sin must be understood as the destruction of relationship with the High and Lofty One Who Inhabits Eternity!!! Only Life in His Presence is Eternal Life. Life by any other definition is death. Restoration of that Life in His Presence is the goal of all of Scripture in its revelation of the Righteous One, the One in Whom the Father is Pleased. Consider our Lord's Words: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE; no man cometh to the Father but by Me."(John 14:6) Isaiah 57:15 establishes the requirements for coming into the Almighty's Presence. Matthew 5-7 lays out the perfect Righteousness required for that Life in His Presence, and Revelation 21:3 is the consummation of that goal in "the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God is with men." And notice that Revelation 21:4 is all about the absence of death and it's bitter fruit.
Matthew 5:1-16 is commonly called the Beatitudes. In so doing, we tend to separate it from it's true context within the Sermon on the Mount. It is inseparable from the whole as it is the forward to the whole.
This sermon, Matthew 5-7, is not Mount Sinai Lite!!! These Words are our God/Man tearing the self righteous religious scab off the Righteous Essence of His Father, revealed on that fiery Mount long ago. He unveils the heart issues that led to the condition and judgement of Israel through the ages. It was utter vanity to think that "all that the LORD hath spoken we will do."(Exodus 19:8) Remember Jesus' words to John at His Baptism, "for thus it becometh us to fulfill ALL Righteousness," (Mt. 3:15) We will soon encounter our Lord's words that He came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it, all of it, every jot and tittle! Jesus is laying our Life as it must be lived before an Audience of One, before His Father in Heaven. And only One can live that Life, the Beloved Son in Whom the Father is Pleased!!! In Essence, this law is our Lord's Self Portrait! This is what the fulfilled law looks like. Here He gives His Word and then in His few short years on this fallen earth, He lived it! Only Jesus can truly say, "Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me"
The Tabernacle of God is with Men
Isaiah 57:15 we read, "For thus saith the High and Lofty One that INHABITETH ETERNITY, Whose Name is Holy; ‘I dwell in the High and Holy Place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.'" This verse isn't just a verse of "aspiration", to get us to work real hard to be humble and contrite. No, no, this is a statement, a description of the atmosphere, the environment of the Holy Place where the High and Lofty One dwells.
It seems we have missed, or at least weakened our Lord's "goal" in salvation by beginning with our human perspective. We place the emphasis on our "sin" and "getting saved". We leave the "sinner" with his own "definition" of sin, not delving into the absolute perfection that God requires. After that "event", raising the hand or whatever, we may or may not "try to make disciples", via some program or system. Sin is a big deal to be sure, but it is only part of the work of our Jesus, our Melchizedek. Sin must be understood as the destruction of relationship with the High and Lofty One Who Inhabits Eternity!!! Only Life in His Presence is Eternal Life. Life by any other definition is death. Restoration of that Life in His Presence is the goal of all of Scripture in its revelation of the Righteous One, the One in Whom the Father is Pleased. Consider our Lord's Words: "I am the Way, the Truth, and the LIFE; no man cometh to the Father but by Me."(John 14:6) Isaiah 57:15 establishes the requirements for coming into the Almighty's Presence. Matthew 5-7 lays out the perfect Righteousness required for that Life in His Presence, and Revelation 21:3 is the consummation of that goal in "the tabernacle, the dwelling place of God is with men." And notice that Revelation 21:4 is all about the absence of death and it's bitter fruit.
Matthew 5:1-16 is commonly called the Beatitudes. In so doing, we tend to separate it from it's true context within the Sermon on the Mount. It is inseparable from the whole as it is the forward to the whole.
This sermon, Matthew 5-7, is not Mount Sinai Lite!!! These Words are our God/Man tearing the self righteous religious scab off the Righteous Essence of His Father, revealed on that fiery Mount long ago. He unveils the heart issues that led to the condition and judgement of Israel through the ages. It was utter vanity to think that "all that the LORD hath spoken we will do."(Exodus 19:8) Remember Jesus' words to John at His Baptism, "for thus it becometh us to fulfill ALL Righteousness," (Mt. 3:15) We will soon encounter our Lord's words that He came not to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it, all of it, every jot and tittle! Jesus is laying our Life as it must be lived before an Audience of One, before His Father in Heaven. And only One can live that Life, the Beloved Son in Whom the Father is Pleased!!! In Essence, this law is our Lord's Self Portrait! This is what the fulfilled law looks like. Here He gives His Word and then in His few short years on this fallen earth, He lived it! Only Jesus can truly say, "Let not your heart be troubled: you believe in God, believe also in me"
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