The New Testament analogy of the Fish Gate and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Part 2

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The New Testament analogy of the Fish Gate and the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Part 2.

We are continue the result of Nehemiah’s illustration of the Old Testament Fish Gate as it relates with a double manifestation of the spiritual life of the New Testament from the filling of the Spirit and the fruit of the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit indwells the body of every believer at the moment of salvation for the distinct purpose of making the body of every believer a temple of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, your physical body is made a temple of the Holy Spirit for the indwelling of Jesus Christ as a representative of the Shekinah Glory. This is necessary because we all have the old sin nature resident in the cell structure of our bodies, with a predilection to sin in certain areas.

On the other hand, your human soul is filled with made a temple of the Holy Spirit for the indwelling of Jesus Christ as a representative of the Shekinah Glory. The indwelling of Christ as the Shekinah glory is one of the two major guarantees that God has provided for you your very own pre-designed plan from eternity past and your escrow blessings within that plan.

Let’s look at the word Shekinah.

Shekinah is derived from the Hebrew noun shakan meaning to dwell. It refers to the fact that Jesus Christ indwelt certain sacred buildings in Israel. Shekinah was coined by the rabbis who developed the technical word to speak of God as dwelling among His people. It was used to express the invisible presence of God with Israel.

Glory is the Hebrew Biblical word kabodh, used for the visible manifestations of Jesus Christ as a Theophany.

Shekinah itself represents the invisibility of Christ, the God of Israel, indwelling three sacred buildings during the age of Israel: He indwelt the Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, and Zerubbabel’s Temple.

Glory represents the visible manifestation in Theophanic form which is an Old Testament manifestation of TLJC. And there are some very important aspects of the indwelling of Christ which the filling of the Spirit produces as a demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit.

1. First of all, there are certain biblical prophecies of the indwelling of Christ as the Shekinah Glory found in passages like JOH 14:19-20 teach.

JOH 14:19, “After a little while the world will behold Me no more; [that is the humanity of TLJC] but you {will} behold Me [the deity of Christ revealed through the Word of God as in JOH 1:1]; because I live [He’s alive] , you shall live also[not I but Christ as in GAL 2:20].”

GAL 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the {life} which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

Then in JOH 14:20, “In that day [the Church-age] you shall know that I am in My Father [the equality of the deity of TLJC with God the Father] and you in Me [the baptism of the Spirit], and I in you [the indwelling of TLJC as the Shekinah Glory].”

2. There is also the verification of the indwelling of Christ in our Lord’s prayer for the Church in three verses, JOH 17:22-26.

JOH 17:22 “And the glory [The Shekinah Glory given to the humanity of Christ] which Thou hast given Me I have given to them [the excitement of the indwelling of TLJC]; that they may be one, just as We are one;”

Union within the body of Christ comes from understanding the presence of the Shekinah glory manifested in each one of us as the filling of the Spirit produces the fruit of the Spirit as found in GAL 5:22-23, through the virtue of love, +H, inner peace, patience, graciousness, the production of divine good, faithfulness, humility, self‑control or self-discipline;

JOH 17:23-26, “I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, that the world may know that Thou didst send Me, and didst love them, even as Thou didst love Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom Thou hast given Me, be with Me where I am, in order that they may behold My glory, which Thou hast given Me; for Thou didst love Me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, although the world has not known Thee, yet I have known Thee; and these have known that Thou didst send Me; and I have made Thy name known to them, and will make it known; that the love wherewith Thou didst love Me may be in them, and I in them.”

Remember that Joh 17 is our Lord’s prayer for the Church.

3. The filling of the Spirit also produces as a demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit the indwelling of Christ as related to the PPOG for the Church-age and at the same time how that relates to our escrow blessings; COL 1:24-29.

COL 1:24-29, Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I do my share on behalf of His body (which is the church) in filling up that which is lacking in Christ’s afflictions. of this church I was made a minister according to the dispensation from God bestowed on me for your benefit that I might fully carry out the preaching of the word of God, that is the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations; but has now been manifested to his saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the glorious riches of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the confidence of the glory. And we proclaim Him, inculcating every believer and teaching every believer with all wisdom in order that we may present every person complete or mature in Christ. And for this purpose also I labor to the point of exhaustion, constantly striving according to his power which mightily works within me.

4. The filling of the Spirit produces as a demonstration of the fruit of the Spirit the indwelling of Christ as related to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, ROM 8:9-11, 1JO 3:23-24, 2CO 6:16.

5. There is also the indwelling of Christ related to the baptism of the Spirit. GAL 2:20.

GAL 2:20, I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and delivered Himself up for me.

6. Then there is the doctrine of the indwelling of Jesus Christ as a test of your faith or doctrine, 2CO 13:2-6.

Now then, let’s begin by looking at the Prophecy of the Indwelling of Jesus Christ, JOH 14:19‑20.

JOH 14:19, Before long the world will see Me no longer, but you will see Me; because I live, you also will live. In that day [Church-age], you shall come to know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”

There never has been a time in history when some part of the world did not see Jesus Christ. That is the doctrine of theophany. There was not a generation in Old Testament times that did not see the visible member of the Trinity. But in the Church-age, Jesus Christ is invisible to mankind.

– Christ appeared as a man, e.g., to Jacob, Abraham.

– Christ appeared as a cloud, pillar of fire, the burning bush.

– Christ actually indwelt the sacred building in Israel.

However, in the Church-age because the filling of the Spirit produces as a demonstration the fruit of the Spirit, Church-age believers would live in the same type of PPOG that TLJC lived in and by doing so would be able to see Christ.

Remember JOH 14:20, “In that day [the Church-age] you shall know that I am in My Father [the equality of the deity of TLJC with God the Father] and you in Me [the baptism of the Spirit], and I in you [the indwelling of TLJC as the Shekinah Glory].”

I am in My Father is a statement declaring the deity of Christ.

These believers would come to know that Jesus Christ was true deity while in Hypostatic Union. The humanity of Christ was in union with the Father, a unique positional sanctification. This is undoubtedly the basis for our positional sanctification, since we are in union with Christ and must share everything He has.

And you in Me is the prophecy of the baptism of the Spirit, equal privilege under predestination prophesied.

And I in you is a declaration of the indwelling of Christ.

This is true for every believer. The people who heard this prophecy could see Christ’s humanity, but they could not see His deity. The same was true of the Shekinah Glory. They could not see the Shekinah Glory, but they could see the manifestation of its presence in the cloud and pillar of fire.

The indwelling of Jesus Christ is unique to the Church-age. The Church-age is the dispensation of the royal family of God, therefore it has certain unique features which include the fact that God the Holy Spirit and God the Son indwell every believer. These are unique and never occurred before in history.

The Verification of the Indwelling of Christ in Our Lord’s Prayer for the Church, JOH 17:22‑23, 26.

Our Lord has given to us the PPOG the means of glorifying Him.

In verse 23 The glory is more than the PPOG, but also includes the indwelling of Jesus Christ.

Verse 23, “I in them” is a specific reference and prophecy of the indwelling of Jesus Christ. “And you in Me” [the Father’s indwelling of Christ during the Incarnation] in order that they might be matured…”

God the Father indwelt the Son in order that He might become mature. In the same way, Christ indwells us that we might become mature. This means there is one objective: to fulfill God’s plan and glorify God.

“that the world may know that you have sent Me and that You have loved them, just as You have loved Me.”

One of the purposes for the indwelling of Christ is a sign to you that God the Father loves you just as He loved Jesus Christ.

JOH 17:26, “I have made known to them Your person and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them…”

This love will never be in you until the filling of the Spirit produces in you personal love for God and impersonal love for ALL mankind.

“…and I in them.”

Jesus Christ indwells you along with the virtue‑love of the PPOG. This does not become a reality to us until we have metabolized doctrine about who and what God is. The indwelling of Jesus Christ relates to the mystery doctrine of the Church, i.e., the PPOG and the portfolio of invisible assets, COL 1:25‑29.

COL 1:25, Because of which [Church-age], I have become a minister with reference to the dispensation from God, which was given to me for your benefit, that I might implement [fill up] your deficiency of this doctrine from God,

It is for the benefit of every believer to understand the dispensation in which he lives and everything related to it. Although we are blessed by studying the Old Testament, there is no substitute for briefing you with regard to your own dispensation, why you are here, and the tremendous assets God has provided for you more than for anyone else in any other dispensation.

COL 1:26, the mystery, which has been concealed from past dispensations and generations, but now has been made known for the benefit of His saints.

The PPOG for the Church-age was only hidden from past dispensations and from Old Testament writers because of its uniqueness. It could not possibly have been revealed without upsetting everyone.

Some of the benefits are:

1. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

2. The omnipotence of the Father related to our portfolio of invisible assets.

3. The omnipotence of God the Son related to the perpetuation and preservation of human history and the holding together of the universe, COL 1:16-17.

4. The omnipotence of God the Holy Spirit related to residence, function, and momentum inside the PPOG.

5. The election (formation) of the royal family of God to complement our Lord’s strategic victory during the great power experiment of the Hypostatic Union.

6. Positional sanctification removes the areas of arrogant prejudice, systems of evil discrimination, and barriers of antagonism; e.g., the removal of racial, cultural, social, sexual, economic, personality, political and religious barriers and prejudice.

7. Every Church-age believer is positionally higher than angels. This is the remarkable Doctrinal principle taught in Heb 1‑2. Being in union with Christ makes us higher than angels.

8. Every believer shares with Christ His eternal life. 1JO 5:11-12.

9. We share the righteousness of Christ, 2CO 5:21.

10. We share the destiny of Christ, EPH 1:5.

11. We share the sonship of Christ, GAL 3:26.

12. We share the heirship of Christ, ROM 8:16.

13. We share His priesthood.

14. Being in union with Christ gives you an equality that cannot exist in any other way.

15. This is the dispensation of the unique PPOG.

16. Therefore, perfect God has provided His own perfect truth and perfect power for the execution of the protocol plan of God for this Church-age.

17. The Unique Portfolio of Invisible Assets.

18. We are royal ambassadors, representing the Lord Jesus Christ to a lost and dying world, 2CO 5:20; EPH 6:10, Phl 9.

19. The doctrine of the Church Age is the unique mystery doctrine.

20. The body of the Church Age believer is indwelt by each person of the Trinity.

Never before in history and never after the rapture is the believer indwelt by God the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit. But now we have the indwelling of all three members of the Trinity! None of these fantastic and precious promises and principles would have ever happened if it were not for the filling of the Spirit producing as a demonstration the fruit of the Spirit our wonderful and magnificent heavenly privileges.