8.3 Walking in Life Together
© 2016 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:8). A most familiar verse to us; yet the outer court definitions placed upon it by Nicene Christianity are so insipidly weak.
We, rather, define the faith of this verse by the confidence of Lesson 8.1 and we define the grace of this verse by the carried-to-us grace of Lesson 8.2. And we define the have been saved in this verse by our walking right now in newness of life, that is, walking as if this gift of God in us is our only life, incorruptible, immortal life, right now, even while our bodies appear to be dying. Father Revealed through all that we are.
By Grace through Faith
Now, when we look at the Greek of Ephesians 2:8, we discover that “by grace” is a translation of one word, an inflection of grace in the “dative” case, which means that grace is the means by which something happens, that is, the male. Then, “through faith” is clearly the female womb through which the purposes of grace are brought forth.
This wondrous impartation of God, then, is not coming out of, that is, is not originating in ourselves. And the Greek word for God is in the genitive case, meaning which specific “gift” is being defined, the gift of God Himself. Father Himself carried into us by Personal Spirit Word and revealed through our absolute confidence in Father.
Defining Grace
I can now define grace specifically. Grace is a word that describes the effects worked upon every particle of our body, soul, and spirit BY the constant bath, the dynamic energy, of Personal Spirit Word which we drink into ourselves and in which we live.
Those effects are made possible by the response of our faith to the receiving of that grace. And the result is Father Revealed – that is, Salvation, being saved to God’s intention for man from the beginning.
Personal Spirit Word, free to act upon every particle of our being because of our faith, effects every particle, that is GRACE, causing every particle of ourselves to be the Father’s appearance, that is, Resurrection Life.
Windows to the Womb
I am purchasing a number of books on human DNA and on the development of the child in the womb. The first that arrived was Windows to the Womb: Revealing the Conscious Baby from Conception to Birth by David Chamberlain (2013). What an incredible book! You see, only in the last couple of decades have scientists begun to get a close-up look at the cell level of the development of a child in the womb.
For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made… My frame was not hidden from You, when I was made in secret, and skillfully wrought… Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed (Psalms 139:13-16a).
Father Being Himself
But first, let’s go back to the clearest picture we have of Father being Himself. You see, Father cannot be seen and known through one, but through many moving together as one, that is the Kingdom.
Father is not limited to Jesus opening His arms, a smile of delight upon His face. In fact, if our eyes were only on Jesus, we would pretty much miss Father. Father is just as much revealed through each one of the children climbing onto Jesus’ lap as He is through Jesus. BUT – Father is mostly revealed through the intimate relationships, back and forth, between Jesus and each child and between each child and Jesus, and even among the children.
Many Moving as One
You can see how most everyone misses God entirely – because they are looking for the WRONG picture.
Look at David’s words: Your eyes saw my substance, being yet unformed. Though I did not know it, this is my premise in The Jesus Secret, that what we are exists already in substance inside of God and that we can speak what is already true about ourselves, regardless of present “unformed” outward appearance.
Although this truth applies to each one of us individually, the full revelation of Father in appearance is through many moving as one. For that reason, Life is the formation of a corporate body coming together in the womb of the Church.
The Whole Body
You see, when we speak of the union of DNA out from which the new child is formed, we can apply those truths of union between God and man to each one of us as individuals. And our ability to do so is mirrored by the fact that every cell in the human body carries the full pattern of DNA inside itself, the writing of the entire union and the entire body.
Each cell, however, in itself, functions only as a member of the whole. Each cell operates by its own function and inside the place prepared for it. God is revealed only through the whole body walking together as one. For that reason, we want to view the development of the child in the womb as the LIFE by which you and I are formed together.
The Body under Construction
I quote from Chapter 3: Body under Construction: The Ultimate Architecture. This quote begins just before the end of three weeks, when the initial mass of cells is large enough for the formation of the body to begin. (“Your body” – the Your refers to Father – the bold emphasis is mine.)
“Nearby in the cluster of cells that are about to produce your body, the inner cell mass is preparing for an extravaganza. What only a few privileged observers have ever been able to behold is the coming super spectacle combining an elaborate Olympic opening ceremony, the raising of a giant circus tent, and a dance of a thousand couples doing the quadrille—all rolled into one.
“For starters, the members of the central cell mass begin a bewildering set of movements, streaming past each other left and right until they have settled themselves into three distinct layers. From these magic layers will spring the building materials for all parts of your body, to be labored over by small teams of cells intently focused on their individual projects. Sheets of cells are pulled up, folded over, and attached by microfilaments to form tubes, organs, glands, coverings, linings, bones, and brain!
“Behind this wizardry lies a set of basic construction techniques, which are used over and over again and artistically altered to accomplish a grand architectural plan. Some cells stick together to form masses. Others constrict or expand right where they are. Cells fuse, split into separate layers, form inside and outside pockets, create forks in cords, and bend by altering their rate of growth on one side from slow to fast. At times, a group of cells make the supreme sacrifice: they die to create cavities of open space!
“In a burst of activity, all projects going forward at once, what began as three flat layers will rapidly become a recognizable front and back, top and bottom, with a gut running from mouth to anus, and the earliest beginnings of organs and limbs—all this in the first month after conception.
“In that inner universe, no more than one tenth of an inch long, numberless cells dwarfed by what they are creating, are preoccupied with singular group projects, yet their work is seamless and integrated. Some construction is temporary, a necessary but intermediate step toward a larger goal. Discrete parts may merge into one larger entity, or be moved and altered to serve different purposes. All work goes forward with shimmering purpose.
“Heart First
“In the maelstrom of ordered activity, the great heart is the first organ to be formed and start working. Embryologists have always appreciated the rapid development of the heart as a muscular pump needed to circulate nutrients to all parts of the body under construction. What they were not able to perceive was that the heart was also a unique and influential part of the nervous system, having an electrical field five thousand times that of the brain, special connections to and from the brain, and a memory of its own—something that can suddenly intrude after heart transplants! What our scientists could not directly see was how the heart would serve as a wise advisor to the brain and bring about changes in health and happiness.”
Our Father’s Body
The text continues on to describe this fantastic process of the formation of the body, hundreds of millions of cells being added in every part ever moment, and all of it working together by a brilliance that cannot be explained by present knowledge of DNA. I would have you read the whole book, if I could.
Now, we are speaking of our Father’s body, and the LIFE, the Resurrection Life of Christ out of the Father’s heart that makes this entire body to be ALIVE. That life is this shared Spirit Word that you and I drink together, that binds us together as one right now. We must begin to see ourselves together in this way.
Totally Different Things
The most remarkable thing we see from this account is that there are all kinds of totally different things happening, each of which serves a vital role in the overall formation of this Body.
Although we speak about wrong things in the minds of our brethren regarding Salvation, we cannot ever look at any other part of the Body of Christ and imagine to ourselves – “Hey, what you are doing has nothing to do with the Body of Christ.” We would only be doing damage to our own selves. God is a big God, and He is doing many things across this earth. What God is doing with Joe Zue in Timbuktu, He is doing without reference to us, BUT that working is an essential part of our same body, the Body of God.
The Mercy Seat of God
We can rest in this thought about ourselves. The only thing I have ever wanted to be was part of God’s heart. If you are drawn to what I write, it is likely because you share the same drawing of God. And as we are being formed together as the very heart of God, we see ourselves as that energy field of Love, extending itself out over the entire Body, carrying each member in its concern, and sending forth, by faith and as rivers, the very life of the body, Resurrection Life, to each individual member.
And this is why the practice of being the Mercy Seat of God that I have placed and will place at the heart of every course in this series, is the thing that must become the very beating of our own hearts.
Sharing Heart with God
We know our Father as we share Heart with God. I will continue to quote regarding the formation of the heart.
“Out of the mesoderm on days eighteen and nineteen after conception, two tubes are developed that then fuse into one heart tube. Also drawing from this middle layer, blood cells and the veins go into production at “blood islands” in several locations. The blood cells that await circulation have been produced by the now-famous embryonic cells. These self-renewing parent-like cells divide to produce “children” with the potential to become red cells that carry oxygen, white cells that combat bacteria and viruses, platelets that form clots at the site of injuries, or five other types of blood cells. While the parents stay put and keep producing more blood cells, the cells that actually travel the blood stream have a limited life span and will need to be periodically replaced.
“Veins for the heart, created cell by cell, are moved into position, two veins on one end and two arteries on the other end of the heart tube. A mantle beings to gather around the assembled parts. This primitive organ begins contracting on day twenty-two, establishing an ebb and flow of blood. In one more week blood is efficiently moving in a circular direction. By week five the heart tube divides, bulges, develops loops, and has four chambers through which the blood is being circulated. Note that the heart manages to serve the growing embryo even during the period when its own chambers are under construction. Enlarging, refining itself, and establishing intimate connections with every newly created part of the body, the heart has begun a reign that may continue for a hundred years or more.”
The First Part of the Body
Wow. Okay. Father!
Heart is the first part of the Body. Heart, caring for each, sending forth LIFE to each.
The life is in the blood. – He that drinks My Blood has life.
As If We Are
This is my point. We walk, right now, AS IF we are this very heart of God extended over His body, this care of God flowing out through us to each member of this great body, each of whom belongs utterly to Jesus, to Father, and to us.
This AS IF is carried-to-us GRACE, pre-resurrection Resurrection Life.
I cannot impart to you the importance to our Father that you and I share this very Heart together with Him right now. LIFE, Resurrection Life, is all about life laid down and love poured out, bearing all for all, believing all for all, Father’s heart, revealed now through you and me utterly together.