Today we continue our series entitled, “Grace and Truth” by continuing to look at by continuing to look at The Law given under Moses vs. the Grace provided by Jesus. Our main scriptures are John 1:14 & 17. Let’s look at them again.
(John 1:14 New International Version)
The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.
(John 1:17 New International Version)
For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
In this series we studied Galatians 3, 4, and 5. In our last message we stopped at verse 13 of chapter 5. In that message I gave you an overview of the Old and New Covenants. That overview is critical. I will flow in that same vein today. Let’s go back to verse 13 and get into it.
(Galatians 5:13 The Passion Translation)
Beloved ones, God has called us to live a life of freedom in the Holy Spirit. But don’t view this wonderful freedom as an opportunity to set up a base of operations in the natural realm. Freedom means that we become so completely free of self-indulgence that we become servants of one another, expressing love in all we do.
So what does this mean for you today? A few things.
1. Whenever you want to know God’s original intent for something, you find where He first mentioned it in the Bible. This rule of Bible interpretation is known as the “law of first mention”. The first mention of man in the Bible is on the sixth day, after God created the world and everything in it. On that day, during the creation account, God made man in His image, He gave man kingdom dominion, power and authority over the planet, and He charged man to rule ‘down here’ as He was ruling ‘up there’. In order to make this happen God placed His own Spirit inside of man. The Holy Spirit was Adam’s direct connection to the Father. Adam was not under the Law of Moses. Adam was to be led of the Holy Spirit every day. The supernatural was natural to him. This is a picture of what God originally intended and it is the picture of what Jesus redeemed us to.
2. When The Law was given to Moses on tablets of stone, the people were not filled with the Holy Spirit. They actually had to build a temple for the Holy Spirit to live in. On the temple grounds there was an outer court, an inner court, and the most inner court, known as The Holy of Holies. The Ark of the Covenant was placed in The Holy of Holies and the Holy Spirit lived there, above The Ark of the Covenant, in a place no one could visit, but the High Priest. Even then, the High Priest could only visit The Holy of Holies once a year, on the Day of Atonement. When the High Priest went into the presence of the Holy Spirit, he had to make sure he did everything right. Just in case, he wore a cable-tow around his waist and bells on the edge of his garment. If he had not done everything right, in accordance with the rules, he would die in the presence of the Lord. And since no one could go in there to get him, the other priests waited outside. If they heard the bells ring as he fell to the ground, they would pull him out by the cable-tow. This is how regimented the system of The Law was. This is NOT a picture of what Adam had in the Garden. Jesus did not DIE so we could continue with this system. Jesus died so we could get back to what Adam had.
The day Jesus died, when He said, “It is finished!”, the veil in the temple that separated the inner court from The Holy of Holies was torn. This veil was 30 feet tall and very thick. The Bible says that it was torn from top to bottom. Not from the bottom to the top. This means that God Himself reached down and ripped open the Holy of Holies. Why? Because the moment Jesus died, the Holy Spirit left that temple. The New Covenant teaches us that WE are now the temple of God and the Holy Spirit lives in us!
During the Old Covenant only one person, once a year, could visit the Holy Spirit. This person could only visit what Adam had living down inside of him 24x7x365. Guess what? Jesus restored what Adam had. We don’t have to visit a temple to talk to the Holy Sprit. We are now the temple of God and we have the Holy Spirit living down inside of us. This is the freedom of the Holy Spirit Paul was talking about. No longer do you have to live by commands written on tablets of stone. You live by the commands given to you by the Holy Spirit, written upon the tablet of your heart. This is the New Covenant. The writer of Hebrews tells us that it is a better covenant and it has better promises!
That’s enough for today.
Declaration of Faith:
Father, thank You for teaching me about Your grace, Your Spirit and Your power. I am Born-Again. Your Spirit lives in me. I have what Adam had in the Garden. I get to walk with You in the cool of the day. I don’t have to visit the Holy Spirit in a temple. I am the temple and the Holy Spirit lives in me. I enter this day determined to say whatever You tell me to say, to go wherever You lead me to go, and to do whatever You lead me to do when I get there. I am blood bought, Spirit filled, and Spirit led every day! I declare this by faith. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
This is Today’s Word. Apply it and prosper!
