12.3 Authority
© 2017 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
Authority. I lay down My life for the sheep. – Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This command I have received from My Father (John 10:15b & 17-18). I have authority to set forth My soul, to give My own self-story to others, and I have the authority to receive that same self-story back to Myself again.
Remember where we are seated, as the very Heart of God, the tip point, the expression, of His Fire in creation. This command we have received from our Father.
Out from the Mercy Seat. Now, sharing heart with God is the core truth in each of these Symmorphy courses. In Covenant, we find this reality coming earlier than in prior courses. Part of the reason for that is that much that is ahead comes only out from this Mercy Seat.
I have never before had a clue as to what “the power of God” actually is; now I know exactly what it is. The power of God is the power to see perfection first, life from the dead, and then to call all things into what we see. Certainly we have seen that this is what God does for us – Romans 8:30, stated last, perfection having come first. But we have never known the clarity of true judgment before.
Seeing Comes First. As we were learning Christ as our only life, I taught that what we believe in our hearts goes first to our mouths before it reaches our eyes, that is, what we see. For that reason we speak Christ as ourselves, Himself fully responsible for us, against the “sight of our eyes” and against the “judgment of the human.” Only as we persevere in speaking what our hearts truly want does our seeing begin to catch up.
Now, however, we are entirely turned around, walking together as one Pperson with our Father as the Mercy Seat. And thus, it is our seeing that comes first, seeing Christ alone, and then we speak what we see, calling Him forth in all others.
Four Qualities of Love. Our authority to see Christ and to call Him forth in others, then, comes out from every element found inside this Holy of Holies in which we live.
I want to investigate this authority we now possess through four different qualities of expression. Panta stegei, panta pisteuei, panta elpizei, panta hypomenei. Love bears all, believes all, hopes all, endures all (1 Corinthians 13:7).
Most paraphrases of these words give an interpretation of “circle the wagons,” “batten the hatches,” “hold the fort,” that is, love just toughs it out, keeps on going regardless. We know that God is love; therefore we look further than that.
In a Different Direction. Here is how we place these words. Love one another just exactly as I love you (John 15). – Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows (Isaiah 53:4a).
Seated now upon the Mercy Seat in the Holy of Holies, never going back out into separation again, we are the expression of the Love that is Father now through us towards others. For that reason, my paraphrase goes entirely in a different direction from the other paraphrases.
Love covers all for all; love believes all for all; love expects all for all; love carries all for all. The words “for all” turn this Love that Is God in us outward towards others, not inwards towards self.
Defining Fire. There is no God-Love without a Beloved. We cannot know God without also knowing one another.
Yet, in speaking of our being the Mercy Seat, we are also speaking of the Ekenosis of God, our calling an invisible God out into being seen and known by all – in appearance as a family of humans walking together, loving one another. So, in one sense, we are calling this person forth into being what they are, a human, that is, God-revealed. And in another sense, we are also calling God forth into being seen and known as He is. And we are also speaking of seeing through eyes of fire.
Let me define fire. Fire is that quality of God that receives what is offered to it and transforms that offering into what it is.
The Action of the Fire. So, when we say, love covers all for all, believes all for all, expects all for all, carries all for all, we are speaking specifically of this Fire that is God in its ACTION of transforming all things into Christ of the New Creation. This Fire is also us, for we are its embodiment; that is, we ARE the Body of Christ.
There is no life without God; thus, for us to call Life out from the dead, we must be calling forth God among humans – the Ekenosis. The Ekenosis in the gospel (Philippians 2) is the Mercy Seat of God’s patterns. We are calling forth an invisible God into visibility, into appearance as humans, in ourselves first, and in others second.
Call Forth God. Love one another as I have loved you. – The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts. Call forth God in one another as God Himself flows out from your hearts.
This absolute authority that we possess to call forth God out into visibility, into being seen and known is based on these words, “As I Have Loved You.” Jesus called me into Himself in Gethsemane, and He has never seen me in any other way since, other than as His revelation now upon the earth. I cannot love you until I have allowed Jesus to love me, to give me His Self-Story in trade for all my falseness.
Now His Footstool. As I have abandoned all claims of “self-responsibility,” casting myself utterly into Jesus’ own Self-Story, now mine, claiming His responsibility over and for everything I do, say, think, and feel, I am now His footstool. Only He never keeps “footstools,” but makes me His Heart and His mine.
Now I expect that everything I am, do, say, think, and feel is Christ Jesus Himself in whom is the Father revealing Himself through my human weakness as He wishes. This is what David meant when he said, “Thy people shall be willing in the day of Thy power” (Psalm 110). And thus, I have the authority to love you, to call forth God through you.
A Three-Step Process. It’s a simple three-step process. First, my own heart is filled with God overflowing, by my own expectation of faith, regardless of any outward appearance, but because He says. Second, out from this Heart of God in me, I see you as the Lord Jesus Himself. I see you as God meant you from the beginning, His revelation through you as you are, in all of the wonderful facets of your weak humanity. Then third, I speak what I see, I call you forth into what you are in Christ and I call God forth into what He is in you.
And when you offend me, I draw you into this love of my Hheart, here above the Blood, and I place your offense, together with and as Jesus, into the empty, empty grave.
I Am NOT a “Man of God.” You see, I am doing nothing more than loving you in the same way Jesus loves me. But Paul gave us four specific arenas in which my love towards you will love you. I cover you; I believe God for you; I expect God arising in you; and I carry you in my heart through all things.
Now, please understand this. I am NO “man of God.” I continue twisted emotionally, unable to open and answer emails, bothered by having earned $2 an hour yesterday driving for Uber, and having almost been hit by another car again. And I am frustrated and angry with God over another issue, very important to me.
Utterly Inside My Father. So, when I say, “I love you,” I am speaking God, because He says, NOT because I “feel.” And in spite of all my frustration and agony, I will NOT see myself other than utterly inside of my Father and He in me, living as one with me through all things. And thus I cannot speak of “myself” except that I am also speaking of Father, and I cannot speak of Father except that I am also speaking of myself.
AS JESUS HAS LOVED ME – IS the authority by which I now exercise the greatest power in the universe – the power that raised Jesus, God-revealed, out from the dead. And I direct that power towards you through eyes of fire.
I Cover You. The first thing I extend towards you through the burning Fire of my eyes is stegei; I cover you. Stegei means the covering and protection provided by a roof. This quality of love towards you comes first and is the most important.
If I had the money to build a home here in Texas, a home for my family (who are now all grown) as I would design it, then you might come and visit me (speaking hypothetically). You would find yourself in an environment of comfort, a strong feeling of home and beauty. And even as a Category 5 hurricane passes over the house, you would hardly even notice. You would be fully comfortable and safe.
Love Protects You. The world hates you, and the accuser is called “the accuser of the brethren” (Revelation 12:11). The first task of Love through me towards you is to protect you from all the hostility and destruction of accusation.
The truth is, I have extended that protection over my own children in very specific ways over many years. Insofar as I have anything to do with it, I will not allow accusation to assault their identity of Christ living as them. The popular definition of “just speaking the truth in love, brother,” is a sick mask for the practice of joining with the accuser in seeing, and thus calling forth, sin and darkness in one’s brother or sister.
Who Will Win this Fight? “I call it like I see it,” was thrown at me by such a one.
WELL SO DO I. – I also, call it like I SEE it. And I see God alive in you and I call Him forth into visibility through your human weakness.
This one sees sin in his brother and publicly calls it sinfulness. I see Christ in my brother and call Him all goodness. Let’s see which one of us wins, because I tell you what, we are in a fight and we are on opposing sides.
Truth be told, protecting you from the accusation of the evil one has been the first underlying motive in all that I write. You are SAFE inside of Jesus.
Faith and Expectation. The next two workings of love from me towards you go together, faith and hope, that is, expectation. Faith is your side of symmorphy with God, and expectation is God’s side of symmorphy with you. Just as I live by the faith of the Son of God now given to me as my own faith, so I extend to you the faith you need in order to connect with God.
That’s all Jesus ever did. His presence passing through a village was simply the catalyst each one of these dear people needed in order for His faith in them to connect with God in them. My faith in you allows your faith to connect with every Word God speaks alive inside of you.
I Expect God in You. Expectation is the calling forth of God in you out into visibility, God through you, God seen and known by all. This expectation is a big deal, for God is INVISIBLE. The power to call forth life from the dead is the power to call forth an INVISIBLE God into being seen and known through you. I possess this power in my eyes and in my mouth, power that fills my heart to overflowing.
I expect God in you. And I expect God in you FOR you, for your sake. I call forth the invisible God to become seen and known by all through you.
The Ekenosis. Let’s bring in again the passage of the Ekenosis as it should read from the Greek: Philippians 2:6-8. Christ Jesus, a Man, that is, a life-giving Spirit, who exists in the form of God, that is, all here now and Personal in us, thinks that being equal in substance with God is not something to be actively held onto. Thus, having willingly taken to Himself the form of a servant, Himself ekenosen, Himself calls forth an invisible God into visibility, and becomes by the faith of others the likeness of men and being found in appearance as a man, He humbles Himself.
Ekenosis: the action and process of calling forth an invisible God into visibility, into being seen and known by all.
I Carry You. Finally, the fourth action of this love towards you is hupomeno; hupo – under and meno – to abide. This word is better translated as “bear” or “carry,” rather than the first, which is to cover. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows – And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass (Revelation 21:21b).
Look down; God is beneath your feet, carrying you, under you and inside Himself through all difficulty and into all life. Yet this “gold” is “like transparent glass.” Glass is the sands of the seashore melted by fire into “gold,” that is, into the One who carries you.
Your Offense Against Me. This fourth action is the deepest role of the Mercy Seat of God that is our hearts. It is where I place your offense against me. The truth is, you are always offending me, as I am always offending you. You can’t have two people in the same room including God without each always getting into the other’s “space.” I am angry and frustrated with God right now because He seems to be getting into my “space.” Will I give Him room? Will He give me room? Do I highly regard Him? Does He highly regard me?
Give For. We are talking about the deepest realities of symmorphy, two as one, sharing the same form, many as one, sharing the same Body of Christ. When you offend me, I draw you and your offense, into the Love that fills my heart, here, always above the BLOOD, the giving of Jesus for me. And I release you into joy, while your offense against me vanishes into the empty grave. I move over; I give you space. I GIVE of myself FOR you, in just the same way that Jesus GIVES of Himself FOR me.
To remain under, to abide, is forever. Forever, I carry you in my heart through all.
The Simplicity of the Gospel. Love one another with a pure heart fervently. I have the authority to love you; I have the power to call forth God into being seen and known through you.
You know, the power of God, the power of the Mercy Seat is so simple and so real, so true and so right now. I was looking for “big things” in this exploration of the Mercy Seat, and I found simplicity and clarity. And that simplicity is the gospel, and the gospel is the biggest thing in the universe.
I give power to my two witnesses and they prophesy, calling forth an invisible God into Father seen and known by all.