The Kabod (Glory) of God

After reading The Naked Gospel by Andrew Farley, it became increasingly and startlingly apparent to me that because there are NO vacuums, if the “Kabod” aka, the glory (transcendence) of God is missing, then the only option available is but a form of godliness!
This in my opinion is pandemic throughout the body of Christ; this is not an indictment merely an observation.

I believe the spirit of God is in everything, but, that is not to be mistaken for being fully alive. In the Garden, Adam possessed the spirit of God, yet, he was not made fully alive, fully saturated with the glory of God.
The Kabod, glory of God was his externally, it was his covering, clothing, whereby in his nakedness there was no shame. This glory was to become his experientially as an inward reality made possible through eating from the tree of Life; “he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit.” Instead he opted to “be like God.” From that point forward it was all about trying to cover up, ergo the naked gospel has vital significance to us today who have become sophisticatedly clever in our religious cover-ups!

The inner reality of the Kabod, Christ in you the hope of (Kabod) glory is that transcendence that becomes the impetus for our progressive transformation. Without revelation (it’s like breathing) of this One who has joined me to himself it is but a matter of time before this scenario becomes our daily ration, “Let me put this question to you: How did your new life begin? Was it by working your heads off to please God? Or was it by responding to God's Message to you? Are you going to continue this craziness? For only crazy people would think they could complete by their own efforts what was begun by God. If you weren't smart enough or strong enough to begin it, how do you suppose you could perfect it? Did you go through this whole painful learning process for nothing? It is not yet a total loss, but it certainly will be if you keep this up!”

I will share more on this in another post.

Rich

The Grace of Wrath

Consider the following phrase: “having a form of godliness, but having no power”. What does that mean to you? Could ‘having a form of godliness’ have anything to do with the anti-Christ spirit which seeks to transform a person into something resembling a well mannered, domesticated house pet?

I can personally attest to the toxic corruption of religion and its influence being used to keep me tightly bound up while giving the illusion of being free. To clarify: as believers are being unplugged from the matrix of religion, anything which to any degree has established within them a false identity is going to be targeted by the Father of their spirit. It has nothing to do with them “processing” anything as much as it is Jesus Christ in them as them, He being their only life, processing them. In being “birthed” of the Father (not created like Adam and Eve), they received an indestructible life, the very life and nature of the Father. This unshakable life is designed to shake everything that can and will be shaken.

I love the following line spoken by Morpheus in the movie The Matrix: “Welcome to the real world, Neo”. Prior to being disconnected from the Matrix, Neo like everyone else had been living (if you could call it living) in a dream world. Similarly, as our loving Father begins to extricate us from the lies of the religious leaven we have consumed, which established our so-called “Christian” identity, we are going to feel much like someone coming off prolonged drug or alcohol addiction… only worse.

This is one of the reasons the beginning steps into freedom from the bonds of religion are so precariously fearful. As we are being set free from all life-support props that previously made us look and feel good, once again we begin to hanker after going back, even though we know how harmful this could be for any further maturation. No one likes the stigma attached to or associated with living outside of the religious camps. I like how a friend of ours has described this season of the journey as “living in the leper colony.” What we do not see or know yet with any sobriety or clarity is that we are in fact being stripped of anything that motivates us at an unconscious level to “boast in our fleshly ability.” For those who say that they have escaped this process, cool. But hear me: He has a specific and unique arrangement set up just for you as well. He’s so good at what He does!

I want to end my thoughts by including this quote from my dear brother Oz Chambers:

“Unless we get hurt right out of every deception about ourselves, the word of God is not having its way with us. The word of God hurts as no sin can ever hurt, because sin blunts feeling. The question of the Lord intensifies feeling, until to be hurt by Jesus is the most exquisite hurt conceivable. It hurts not only in the natural way but in the profound personal way. The word of the Lord pierces even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, there is no deception left. There is no possibility of being sentimental with the Lord's question; you cannot say nice things when the Lord speaks directly to you, the hurt is too terrific. It is such a hurt that it stings every other concern out of account. There never can be any mistake about the hurt of the Lord's word when it comes to His child; but the point of the hurt is the great point of revelation."

"Have you ever felt the pain, inflicted by the Lord, at the very center of your being, deep down in the most sensitive area of your life? The devil never inflicts pain there, and neither can sin nor human emotions. Nothing can cut through to that part of our being but the Word of God.”

Rich

The Relinquished Life,

The Relinquished Life, VerseVisions Art; Galatians 2:20
Originally uploaded by MarkLawrenceGallery.com

"I am crucified with Christ." Galatians 2:20

No one is ever united with Jesus Christ until he is willing to relinquish not sin only, but his whole way of looking at things. To be born from above of the Spirit of God means that we must let go before we lay hold, and in the first stages it is the relinquishing of all pretence. What Our Lord wants us to present to Him is not goodness, nor honesty, nor endeavour, but real solid sin; that is all He can take from us. And what does He give in exchange for our sin? Real solid righteousness. But we must relinquish all pretence of being any thing, all claim of being worthy of God's consideration.

Then the Spirit of God will show us what further there is to relinquish. There will have to be the relinquishing of my claim to my right to myself in every phase. Am I willing to relinquish my hold on all I possess, my hold on my affections, and on everything, and to be identified with the death of Jesus Christ?

There is always a sharp painful disillusionment to go through before we do relinquish. When a man really sees himself as the Lord sees him, it is not the abominable sins of the flesh that shock him, but the awful nature of the pride of his own heart against Jesus Christ. When he sees himself in the light of the Lord, the shame and the horror and the desperate conviction come home.

If you are up against the question of relinquishing, go through the crisis, relinquish all, and God will make you fit for all that He requires of you.

Thanks Mark for letting me use this picture. This is but one of many Mark has done re: Oswald Chambers writings.
This painting was inspired by the moving devotions penned and published by Oswald Chambers in the early 1900’s. His powerful book, My Utmost for His Highest, continues to touch my life and draw me closer to Jesus. I hope that this art and verse do the same for you!

Rich