ONENESS IN HIS FULNESS
"There is one body, and one Spirit,
even as ye are called in one hope of your calling: one Lord, one faith, one
baptism, one God and Father of all." [Ephesians 4:4-6].
"God is one..." [Galatians
3:20].
Duality, division, fragmentation-pulled in all directions
trying to satisfy multiplied desires, this is a mark of this world's system. But
there are those who have been apprehended of Him, to become first fruits of a
new creation, and they shall know the joy of oneness, unity, harmony.
To become "like ones to
Him", as He is, in His identity, and this means: the condition of being the same
with Him, sameness of essential character and being. OUR STATE OF BEING to be
identified in Him, and "God is Spirit." John 4:24]. How we yearn to be fully
identified in His substance, in the fulness of His Spirit. There is nothing
outside of God, not even nothingness. But nothingness, vanity, emptiness, all
this speaks of the lowest form of substance. The "creation was made subject to
vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who hath subjected the same in
hope." [Romans 8:20], HOPE THAT ULTIMATELY WE SHALL BE RAISED UP INTO HIGHER
REALMS, in to the glory of His life, into the liberty and freedom of the Spirit.
Even our present state of
being, with all its nothingness and vanity, its emptiness and frustration, is
contained with in the sphere of God, for there can be no space in the universe
where He is not. But we desire that this low estate of present existence be
changed, and our state of being be elevated into higher realms in Him. The
outward manifestation will be in accordance to the need of the surroundings, it
is the INNER SUBSTANCE that is being changed into His nature, and image, and
substance. The fragmentary "spirit realm" of the spirit of man is so limited,
but being brought into His fulness, we shall be satisfied indeed.
The outward manifestations
will always be adaptable to the needs of creation. When Jesus came forth from
the tomb He had a different body than that which was placed in the tomb, it had
been changed. When He came to a door He simply walked through it even while it
was locked. The atomical structure of His body was changed― but at the same
time, the appearance thereof was adaptable to the need, taking on any form
necessary for the moment. And though as yet it has not been made visible what we
shall be, we know that when it is revealed, like ones to Him we shall be, as He
changes our body and fashions it anew, like unto His glorious body. He does have
a body in which He can manifest Himself to the world, and when we see Him, our
body shall be changed in its substance and atomical structure.
The future changes,
however, are the results of the present transition process, and thus "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." [2
Corinthians 3:18].
In reference to His
substance, God is SPIRIT. Now, in reference to His state of being, GOD IS ONE.
That which is ONE is that which is UNDIVIDED. And oneness speaks of singleness,
unity, especially in its identity. He is ONE! The fact that there is ONE GOD
must not be confused with the truth that God is ONE. Perhaps this is only
another aspect of viewing the same truth, for God is truly one, undivided in
Himself, or in His will and purpose. And surely HE alone is God! There are not
many Gods, not even three. "Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know
that the Lord He is God; there is none else beside Him." [Deuteronomy 4:35].
"There is but one God, the
Father, out of Whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by
Whom are all things, and we by Him. Howbeit there is not in every man that
knowledge." [1 Corinthians 8:6-7].
"One God and Father of all,
Who is above all, and through all, and in you all." [Ephesians 4:6]. Yes, and
Paul declared, "He be not far from everyone of us: for in Him we live, and move,
and have our being." [Acts 17:27-28]. There are many aspects of His
manifestations, and this is readily seen in a threefold revelation of the
Father, the Son, and the holy Spirit. Every expression of God brings forth
another revelation of His glory and majesty, but in relation to His state of
being, there is ONE GOD, for GOD IS ONE. May He truly and fully be GOD in us.
"For in Him (Christ Jesus)
dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in Him."
[Colossians 2:9-10]. Jesus Christ is the visible expression of the invisible
God-this does not take away from His onesness, for every expression of the Son
was to glorify the Father, indeed, Jesus said, "he that hath seen Me hath seen
the Father; ..." [John 14:9]. What often confuses people is that they forget
that what is made visible on this earthly plane is one realm, and the glory of
the SPIRIT realm is another. The Fatherhood realm is of spirit, to beget after
Himself, for "He is the father of spirits." [Hebrews 12:9]. Yet to become
manifested in a visible realm of flesh and blood, He took upon Himself the
creaturely form of His own creation, and became also the SON OF MAN. "And
without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the
flesh..." [1 Timothy 3:16].
But now, it is in this
QUALITY OF ONENESS that we find such challenge, and a hope which shall be
fulfilled in us, as we are changed from glory to glory, to be like Him, even as
He is.
In contrasting God's
promise to Abraham, with the law which was later given to Israel, Paul declared
that this law was "ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator." [Galatians
3:20]. And Israel "received the law by the disposition of angels." [Acts 7:53].
The angel, literally, the Greek gives, messengers-hence the messenger, who was
the mediator here, was Moses, for "the law was given by Moses..." [John 1:17].
And in describing the time and conditions when the law was given, we read, "And
all the people saw the thunderings, and the lightenings, and the noise of the
trumpet, and the mountain shaking." [Exodus 20:18]. Four manifestations that
came by God's messenger company to ordain the law, as pronounced through the
mediator, Moses. It was such a startling and fearful moment, that the people
desired of Moses that he do all the speaking unto the Lord, and they would keep
their distance, and let Moses come to them with the messages which God would
give.
"Now ago between
(intermediary) has to do with and implies more than one party― there can be no
mediator with just one person. YET GOD IS (ONLY) ONE PERSON― and He was the sole
party in giving that promise to Abraham. But the Law was a contract between two,
God and Israel; its validity was dependent upon both." [Galatians 3:21,
Amplified].
We would point out this
particular contrast between the giving of the promise unto Abraham, and the law
unto Israel, because it so beautifully brings out also the oneness of God. When
God gave this promise to Abraham, HE was the sole party extending the promise,
and there was no dependency upon Abraham at all. There were no further
conditions given to Abraham whereby he must do this or that to receive the
fulfillment of the promise, for it was based totally upon the grace of God, and
the merits of grace alone. To such an extent, that Paul writes in another place,
"If we believe not, yet He abideth faithful: He cannot deny Himself." [2 Timothy
2:13]. God was the sole party extending the promise unto Abraham. But when it
came to the law, there was a mediator, which was the go-between for two parties,
God and Israel. Moses heard from God, related it to the people, heard the people
promise to obey the commandments, and told that back to the Lord. And the law
was only valid so long as both parties kept up their part. Obviously God did not
fail in any part, but we know that Israel was unable to fulfill her part of the
obligation. Thus the law was weak through the flesh.
But again, we see in this
promise to Abraham where God was the sole party, HE IS ONE, operating
sovereignly according to His own will. He is ONE in His operation, ONE in His
purpose, ONE in His character, ONE in His unity, HE IS ONENESS IN HIS STATE OF
BEING.
There might be cycles
within cycles, and wheels within wheels, with various manifestations derived
from degrees of condescension to lower realms, and yet HE is oneness throughout
the whole. There is but ONE WILL being wrought through it all-the will of God.
There is but one divine character revealed, the very wonderful and glorious
character of our God. This is a state of being into which we earnestly desire to
enter, for it speaks of freedom from duplicity.
"When thine eye is SINGLE,
thy whole body also is full of light." [Luke 11:34].
"For I fear, lest by any
means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be
corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ." [2 Corinthians 11:3].
Literally, "from the SINGLENESS into the Christ."
Everything in today's
confused, complex system seeks to turn us away from that singleness which leads
us back into Christ. We get so entangled and frustrated by every confused work,
that we hardly know which way is up, or down. May the Lord indeed loose us from
all such confusion and bring us into that NARROW WAY which leads into life.
Surely the more we enter into Christ, the more we enter into singleness, for He
IS oneness in every aspect. It is when we are outside of Christ, no longer
controlled by the anointing, that we have duplicity, part natural, maybe a
little of the spiritual, and we have a hard time trying to decide which is
which. Ah, "A double minded man is unstable in all his ways." [James 1:8]. In
man's present state of being, partaking of the duality of good and evil, we find
this constant duplicity. A desire for good, and a desire for evil, with a
limited knowledge of both, and them mixing them up in awful messes of confusion.
Only in the central
supremacy of Christ can true oneness be found. HE is to be the Centre, Source,
and the Goal of the universe. So long as the will of man is in contradistinction
to the will of God, we do not have oneness. But the more we are brought to that
place of submission, "not my will, but Thine, be done," then there is a
unification taking place which brings us into this blessed oneness.
Reconciliation is the
operation of a THOROUGH CHANGE AND UNIFICATION. One cannot be unified,
reconciled, until that thing which caused the estrangement has been dealt with.
But when there has been a thorough change wrought, so that no more is there
anything causing a division, to make two sides, but all things become one, then
we have perfect harmony. It is not only a reconciliation of a creation to its
Creator, but of the CREATOR IN HIS CREATION, for the work is being done WITHIN
THE HEART of each man, so that we shall indeed be reconciled
to God.
Oneness must eventually be
established in ALL, everywhere,that God, WHO IS ONE, might be ALL IN ALL. This
means true unification, with singleness of mind and purpose, because everything
is IN Him, and OF Him. He is the Firstborn of many brethren, but it will be this
sameness, this oneness of identity which shall permeate everyone of the
brethren. "That they may all be one; as Thou, Father, in Me, and I in Thee, that
they also may be one in us. ― I in them, and Thou in Me, that they may be made
perfect in one." [John 17:21,23]. This will not be the producing of the monotony
of a stereo-typed creature but the glory of the myriad facets of His character
shall be expressed through all of His creation in glorious harmony. Each vessel
shall display that particular glory for which it was prepared, and yet the whole
shall produce a glorious oneness of majesty, to His honour and praise. The stars
differ in glory, and there is also the glory of the sun and the moon, etc. not
with each one operating in contra-distinction to each other, but all blending
together in a beautiful effulgence.
To God be the glory! It is
IN HIM that "mercy and truth are met together; and righteousness and peace have
kissed each other." [Psalm 85:10].
Mercy-bespeaks of
tenderness bending over in love.
Truth-which is uprightness,
stable, and builds.
Righteousness-which is
purity without deviation.
Peace-absolute safety
beeause of perfection, and completeness.
All of these co-exist in
harmony in Christ. Whatever conflict the introduction of sin caused, it was all
disposed of by the blood of His cross, as He reconciled "all things INTO
Himself." [Colossians 1:20].
And now HE, Who is ONE,
harmoniously works this victory into us, line upon line, precept upon precept,
changing us by degrees, gathering all into Himself, that we might be restored
into the same identity, or state of being as Himself.
The principle of
reconciliation is that of gathering into ourselves, absorbing all into
ourselves, and then changing all that which is perverted into good, and
releasing it again to be a a manifestation of that which is righteous. This can
only be done when there is total purity within, but if there is ought within
which defiles, then that which is released from us shall bear the mark of that
defilement. Hence, if we are ever to become apart of that glorious ministry of
reconciliation, it means that we shall have to be totally purified within, made
like unto Him, to be as He is, that we might become saviours in The Saviour .
How wonderful is this
operation of God, reconciling into Himself. He is ONE― He is Light, and when He
receives darkness into Himself, He does not immediately become dual in His
nature and character, part light and now part darkness, but rather, "The light
shineth in darkness; and
the darkness comprehended it not (that
is, could not overpower it)." [John 1:5]. Darkness is not able to abide in the
light, it gains no mastery over the light, but rather the light is master over
darkness, and absorbing all darkness into itself, it raises the low vibrations,
changing the whole into light. Thus, its being remains unchanged, it is still
ONE, for now all is light.
Praise God, He has stripped
us, brought us into nothingness, but as we become swallowed up into HIS FULNESS,
there shall be no more this contra-distinction between our nothingness and His
fulness, but we shall become FULL IN HIM, and thus again the glorious oneness
remains, and from then on it shall only be the manifestation of fulness. As soon
as Christ becomes the total Centre of our life, and everything is swallowed up
into Him, then He is all in all for us. We shall not stroll through the ages
together just hand in hand, but He said, "I WILL DWELL IN THEM,
AND WALK IN THEM; and I will be their
God, and they shall be My people." [2 Corinthians 6:16].
Furthermore, He has
"purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might
gather together IN ONE all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which
are on earth, even in Him." [Ephesians 1:9-10]. But where does the fulfillment
of this purpose begin but IN A FIRST FRUITS COMPANY. Those whom He apprehends
and leads out from the midst of the world, and its corruptness, into a path of
righteousness will become HIS people. And then, every man in His own order, rank
after rank, until all have been brought into the fulness of His life.
THE CHRIST― His cross, His
blood, His sufferings, His death, His life, as we partake of all these we become
ONE IN HIM. Perhaps we would like to take hold of His life first, and let go of
all the suffering, and the way of the cross, with its complete death to the
self-life, but HE hath left us an example, that we should follow in His steps,
and we must needs be made "conformable to His death," that we might then attain
unto thee resurrection out from among the dead.
Thus, ultimately it is not
just His mind controlling our mind, but it is our possessing HIS mind. This is
His central supremacy within. It is more than just a "fill me" with more of God,
but a being swallowed up into Him, henceforth to be AS HE IS, a vessel that
shall be truly a revelation of His life. This is not becoming a "little
christian robot," with the Lord on high pulling the strings. Flesh and Spirit do
not operate in unison when the carnal mind seeks to control. But when man is
joined in one spirit to the Lord, and the Spirit of Christ fills all of man,
there is a NEW CREATION which is able to fulfill God's purpose for mankind.
Oh, to possess HIS mind,
HIS will― becoming one in HIS purpose. This is what we are admonished in
Ephesians 4:23, to be "renewed in the spirit of your mind." This renewal, which
brings the mind into oneness with the spirit realm, breaking down all the
barriers of the carnal, results in anew state of being, "to make in Himself of
twain ONE NEW MAN, so making peace." [Ephesians 2:15].
The first man, Adam, was
made a living soul. A division was wrought between soul and spirit, and Adam
moved in a soulish realm. The new man, the last Adam, became a life-giving
spirit. In Christ we see the swallowing up of the soulish man into the realm of
the spiritual. Thus, when our mind is fully renewed, into the mind of Christ, we
shall no more think thoughts which are, different than that of the Spirit, but
we shall think the Spirit's thoughts. And since all actions are
thoughts-expressed, it follows that all that we do will be right, for our
actions shall spring out of a christed mind.
There is another truth to
be included here, for the "spirit" is of the masculine realm, and the "soul" is
of the feminine. When both are unified again into this true oneness, it means a
restoration to that realm which Adam knew before Eve was taken from him.
Furthermore the natural body is but a portrayal ground for the invisible. And if
all the divisions are ended, and we become totally one, our spirit and soul
re-united, then it simply follows that if there be any bodily manifestations, it
will require a body again like unto Adam's original body. This is termed as "a
monoecious state," from the Greek "mon," meaning ONE, and "oikos" meaning HOUSE.
ONE HOUSE for both the masculine and the feminine.
Not until all our desires,
drives, longings, needs, are met in the very central supremacy of Christ can we
know full peace and completeness. IN HIM there is balance, and "BY HIM all
things consist (are held together)." [Colossians 1:17].
This brings a whole new
perspective to the verse in Psalm 27:4, "ONE THING have I desired of the Lord,
that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days
of my life..." To dwell in the house of the Lord! What is the house of the Lord?
"Your body is the temple of the holy Spirit which is in you." [1 Corinthians
6:19]. But not in this present mortal body, as the complete fulfillment, for God
does not dwell in fulness in this body. But when He shall have changed this body
and fashioned it anew like unto HIS GLORIOUS BODY, then it shall be able to
contain all that His body contains.
A greater
and more perfect tabernacle,
To far
exceed the temple that now stands,
One
prepared by God, reserved in the heavens,
'Tis the
building that is made without hands.
Changed
into the image of the Saviour,
What
mortal tongue can find the words to tell
The glory
of the new creation temple,
In whom
God's fulness shall be pleased to dwell.
No more a divided house, one here on
earth made of clay, and one "not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." [2
Corinthians 5:1]. Nor do we desire to just be stripped of this house ― "not that
we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of
life." [2 Corinthians 5:4]. This is the merging of our low estate into that new
creation dwelling.
We have been so divided in
ourselves! Torn between desires for the world, and desires for God. We speak of
the "old man" and then of the "new man," and we often wonder which one we really
are, or if we are still trying to blend them both together. But no man can serve
two masters, and thus we have passed through the conflict, to which shall we
give obedience? Praise God for the inworkings of the Spirit, and the purgings
which are a part of the way of the cross, for gradually we find that the old is
put to death, crucified, and the new shall arise, yes, our life shall totally be
found in Christ. Then shall we become one in ourselves, even as we become ONE IN
HIM.
ONENESS
O quality
of oneness to which we would attain,
The whole
of life encompassed within the Spirit's rein.
To know
pure freedom's glory from all divided ways,
A
singleness of purpose to mark transition days.
Till
cycles within cycles all blend their golden hue,
With each
degree portraying the same inherent view.
To
magnify the Saviour, our Centre, Source and Goal,
Supreme
in every measure, the life of every soul.
No more
the dual nature which shackles every clod,
With
flesh in mortal conflict against the will of God.
Nor yet
the tangled feelings confused by babbled sounds,
But
inward peace pursuing, till clarity abounds.
O
glorious state of being where all blends into One,
The twain
in Christ united, blest image of the Son.
To find
the truest balance in His identity,
Where God
is one forever in full reality.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________
(1) Prinzing,
Ray and Doris. A PEOPLE WITH A PURPOSE. (now out of print), Boise,
Idaho 83705
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