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Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word
Before we begin, only if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life) John 3:16, John 6:47 as a few examples; it is very important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so the Holy Spirit can teach you as to what your reading or hearing is true or false. To be taught by the Holy Spirit you must be filled with the Holy Spirit which means abiding in Christ. To place yourself in fellowship with God the Holy Spirit [also called abiding in the Christ], take a moment to simply name, cite or acknowledge [confess] your known unconfessed sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father). Why? Because you cannot grow spiritually if you’re not abiding in Christ [in fellowship with Him] when you take in bible truth.
1 John 1:9, says: “If we confess [meaning to simply name, cite or acknowledge to God the Father] our sins [known unconfessed sins], He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [known sins] and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [all unknown and forgotten sins];” NKJV (New King James Version); we call this REBOUND; read the full doctrine as to “why” we need to use 1 John 1:9 to grow spiritually. Left click the following link to learn more and fully understand the doctrine of Rebound; which answers the question, why do I need to keep confessing my sins all the time? REBOUND
If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, that He is the Son of God, the promised Messiah, as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to simply exercise faith alone in Jesus Christ alone eternal life; when you do, you will instantly receive Eternal Life: John 3:16, 5:24, 6:47, 20:30, 31.
John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me [Jesus Christ] has everlasting life." NKJV
Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.
John 3:14-15, 16, 17, 18, says: "14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV
Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:
Study to show yourself approved to God!
Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
STUDY TITLE:
Narrow is the way that leads to the “Shekinah Glory” but few there be that find it.
Grace Bible Church
Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries
The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is taught Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday
STUDY TITLE:
Narrow is the way that leads to the “Shekinah Glory” but few there be that find it.
We have begun to note a major doctrine that is extremely important and that is the Doctrine of THE BIG GENUFLEX.
Point 1. Definition and Description.
We are noting the Doctrine of THE BIG GENUFLEX. This has to do with God living inside of man, just like the doctrine of Theandric action. For a detailed description and definition: https://gbible.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/020721-1.pdf
The first time that we hear about this is in Gn 3:15, And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel.”
Isa 7:14, “Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel.”
Isa 9:6, “For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Mat 1:23, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel,” which translated means, “God with us.”
Then we pick it up in Jn 1:12-14, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
The Jews recognized that phrase: “Emanuel, God is with us” because of two passages in the New Testament where the glory of God, or what the Jews called the Shekinah glory. Jn 14:20-21; Jn 17:22-26.
Look at Jn 14:20-21, where our Lord said: “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.” This was the beginning of the glory of God being revealed to man as the “Shekinah glory.”
The “Shekinah glory” was the “New Testament” manifestation of a glory the Jews had never seen before like they were about to see. In the Old Testament, the Shekinah glory was limited because the believers could not experience the closeness of God that they are about to see in the New Testament. All believers have the “Shekinah glory” in them now, they now share the privileges that only those who had the Shekinah glory in the Old Testament had, even though there were only a few who knew about the blessings and privileges of their divine blessings now in the New Testament. This is why our Lord said in Jn 14:20, “In that day [Church-age] you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
“In that day” is the day of Pentecost, when the Church-age began. The phrase “In that day” refers to the next day the “Skekinah Glory” is introduced to the believers of the Church-age.
“In that day (Pentecost) you shall know”. There are 3 things that they are going to learn, and this is the structure of our relationship with God.
First of all, Jn 14:20, “In that day [Church-age] you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me.”
There are two guarantee signatures of divine blessing on the Church-age believer. The first is the sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit as a guarantee and a down-payment of the blessing and the security from God. This refers to being sealed by the Spirit. Sealing was used in the ancient world for many things. A very important aspect in understanding the Bible is to understand the times in which it was written.
First of all, the seal was used as a guarantee of a transaction. The seal was also used as identification of ownership. Therefore, the believer must remember that the seal here means that God recognizes us as belonging to Him. The seal also indicates provision. The signet ring, by the way, was the way you signed your checks in the ancient world. It is where we get the concept of a signature. The signet ring of God indicates that He is constantly cashing checks for us. He has provided the means whereby we spend our time in life glorifying Him and fulfilling the objectives of grace. This spending means capacity for life, capacity for love, capacity for happiness, capacity for blessing that comes to the believer who is loaded down with doctrine.
So, the seal was used to protect something of value. Every believer is regarded by God as something of value and the seal is used in that sense of protection. The seal of God is attached to us, this is the ministry of God the Holy Spirit at the point of salvation. That sealing is a security and it means that as far as God is concerned we are something of value to Him. As a part of the ministry of the “Shekinah Glory” you and I will be sealed by the Holy Spirit.
The second blessing is the indwelling of Jesus Christ known as the “Shekinah Glory”. The Shekinah Glory being a blessing inside of man, also introduces mystery doctrine to church-age believers; Col 1:25-27. The Shekinah Gory reveals to all believers the doctrine of the indwelling of Jesus Christ now living inside of man.
Stop for a moment and think: God the Father is said to indwell the believer in Eph 4:6. God the Son indwells the body of every believer; Jn 14:20. God the Holy Spirit uses our body as a Temple to reveal His glory; 1Co 3:16; 6:19-20; 2Co 6:16.
1Co 3:16, Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?
1Co 6:19-20 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.
Then look at 2Co 6:16, For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, “I will dwell in them and walk among them; And I will be their God, and they shall be My people.”
All of these are benefits and blessings that come from understanding the “Skekinah Glory” living inside of man.
Jn 14:20, “In that day [Church-age] you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”
The “Shekinah Glory” is one of the two major guarantees that God has provided for you your very own predesigned plan from eternity past and your escrow blessings within that plan.
Let’s look at the word Shekinah first. “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.
On the other hand, 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, actually indwelling three sacred buildings during the age of Israel. The “Shekinah Glory” is based upon two Hebrew nouns, one is Kabodhand the other is shakan, both of which are root words that we get the phrase “Shekinah Glory.”
Our Lord indwelt places like the Tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, and Zerubbabel’s Temple. And so, the “Shekinah Glory” represents the invisible manifestation of the Lord in a Theophanic form.
Jn 17:22-26. “And the glory which Thou hast given Me I have given to them; that they may be one, just as We are one; 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 Jn 17 is our Lord’s prayer for the church not the “our Father” which is often called the Lord’s prayer. So, let’s look at three passages related to the “Shekinah Glory.”
Jn 14:19-21, “After a little while the world will behold Me no more; but you will behold Me; because I live, you shall live also. In that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you. He who has My commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves Me; and he who loves Me shall be loved by My Father, and I will love him, and will disclose Myself to him.”
When we finish this passage, you will be aware of the fact that you are indwelt by the “Shekinah Glory,” God Himself.
Notice Jn 14:19, when our Lord said: “After a little while the world will behold Me no more;”
The world had been beholding the Messiah for 3 years of His public ministry and others had contact with Him for 30 years prior to that. You must understand that before this time the LORD Jesus Christ also appeared throughout human history in other forms such as the doctrine of Theophanies. Remember a Theophanies means that the LORD Jesus Christ appeared throughout the OT in visible forms such as the angel of Jehovah or the angel of the Lord. And there was rarely a generation of OT times when Jesus Christ did not appear.
You must remember that Jesus Christ is the only visible member of the Godhead. Doubting Thomas and the Apostle Phillip help us with understanding this principle:
Jn 14:1-11, “Let not your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way where I am going.” Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, how do we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. If you had known Me, you would have known My Father also; from now on you know Him, and have seen Him.” Philip said to Him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how do you say, ‘Show us the Father’? “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father is in Me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on My own initiative, but the Father abiding in Me does His works. Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me; otherwise believe on account of the works themselves.”
Now, in the Old Testament, not only did our Lord appear as an angel, usually for the purpose of teaching and communicating doctrine but sometimes He appeared as a man. For example, He wrestled with Jacob and permanently injured Jacob, Gn 32:24. Look and watch the wording behind Gn 32:24-30, Then Jacob was left alone, and a man wrestled with him until daybreak. And when he saw that he had not prevailed against him, he touched the socket of his thigh; so the socket of Jacob’s thigh was dislocated while he wrestled with him. Then he said, “Let me go, for the dawn is breaking.” But he said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” So he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” And he said, “Your name shall no longer be Jacob, but Israel; for you have striven with God and with men and have prevailed.” Then Jacob asked him and said, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And he blessed him there. So Jacob named the place Peniel, for he said, “I have seen God face to face, yet my life has been preserved.”
Jacob was one of the greatest wrestlers in his day until he took on the Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, when our Lord finally body slammed Jacob, that was the end of his wrestling career. The Lord also appeared to Abraham in his tent as a man, accompanied by two other men and he announced that Sarah, who was past the menopause, was going to become pregnant, Gn 18.
There are also inanimate Theophanies of our Lord such as the cloud over the tent or the tabernacle. That was the visible sign that Jesus Christ was dwelling inside of the holy of holies as the Shekinah glory. Or the burning bush, or the pillar of fire at night.
The point is there were many different manifestations of Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. These manifestations were to teach, instruct, to guide and direct the people of God. Then there was the fact that once in history during the dispensation of Israel, the Lord Jesus Christ actually dwelt inside of sacred buildings. There were three of them and He actually indwelt these sacred buildings. And at no time of history before then and at no time of history since then has Jesus Christ ever indwelt a sacred building.
Then of course there is the fact that Jesus Christ came in the flesh. The Bible actually says in Jn 1:14. He tabernacled, or he tented before us. The Greek word is skenoo which is close to the Hebrew shachan from which we get Shekinah. In fact, there have even been those who translate Jn 1:14 as He became flesh and shekinah’ed before us.
Now in our first passage, Jn 14:19, “After a little while the world will behold Me no more; or see me no longer.” Our Lord was speaking at this time as the God-man, and as such, He is making a statement about His resurrection, ascension and session.
Why?
Because I live you shall live also. And right there is a simple but profound statement. He says to the disciples “You will see me and because I live you also will live.”
He is talking to the disciples who would go into the Church-age as the initial believers of the Church-age. The Church-age believers would live in the same power system with the same divine assets as the humanity of Christ. And therefore what our Lord says in verse 19 is the prophecy of how they would see Him again.
Jn 14:20 “In that day referring to the Church-age, the dispensation of the royal family of God,”
The word for know is the fut-mid-ind of the verb ginosko which means to have the knowledge that is needed. In 1Jo 3:24, in a very dramatic passage about the “Shekinah Glory” with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, we will see how the indwelling of the Holy Spirit performs one major function while the “Shekinah Glory” of Christ providing some of the greatest motivation in life. In His humanity, the Lord Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father, but His deity of course is omnipresent. To be aware of the fact that you are indwelt by the “Shekinah Glory” as well as the Holy Spirit should make some dynamic changes in your life. Not all at once perhaps but slowly and surely as we go through this marvelous doctrine. In that day Church-age, you shall come to know. Come to know what? Well, first of all we have a statement about the deity of Christ as we’ve noted. Jn 14:20 “In that day you shall know that I am in My Father,”
Next, we go from the deity of Christ to the baptism of the Spirit which is unique to the Church-age with the phrase: “And you in Me”. This is when we come to our subject, the “Shekinah Glory” of Christ. “And I in you”
The Lord Jesus Christ in His Hypostatic union was invisible to the crowd who heard this prophecy even though His humanity was very visible. This is the same pattern as the Shekinah glory. In the Old Testament, they saw the visible manifestation of the Lord Jesus Christ on the outside in the realm of such things like the Tabernacle. However, He was invisible to the outside in the Holy of Holies with the Holy Spirit as His protector. We will see two cases of what happened when people tried to see into the Holy of Holies or tried to see the Shekinah Glory within the tent or the tabernacle.
They could see the cloud, that was visible to all. They could see the walls of the tent and later on the temple. But, they could not see His “Shekinah Glory” indwelling that Tent and later on the Temple. In like manner, the people who heard this magnificent prophecy (The Church-age believers) could see the man, the humanity of Christ but they could not see the glory, His deity.
His deity was hidden from them. In other words, Jesus Christ as God dwelt with His people Israel in a unique way, invisible, but they did not see Him. However, they saw the sign of His presence. And this is exactly the challenge that all of us have.
Mat 5:13-16, “You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt has become tasteless, how will it be made salty again? It is good for nothing anymore, except to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men. You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do men light a lamp, and put it under a basket, but on the lampstand; and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.”
Mat 7:12-21, “Therefore, however you want people to treat you, so treat them, for this is the Law and the Prophets. Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it. Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will know them by their fruits. Grapes are not gathered from thorn bushes, nor figs from thistles, are they? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit; but the bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot produce bad fruit, nor can a bad tree produce good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. So then, you will know them by their fruits. Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven.”
The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.
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