13.1 The Entrance of Light
© 2018 Christ Revealed Bible Institute
Home is filled with light. The Church is filled with power. A vibrant and healthy Christian community is filled with the Holy Spirit and with power.
In my years in Christian community, the demonstration of the power of God in our midst was normal. – God among us. Most have no knowledge of such a thing their entire Christian lives; yet without the moving of the Holy Spirit there is no Church. Light enters, power flows, streams pour out. The Holy Spirit is a gentle, though constant movement of grace and knowing, light and color, electricity and power from one to the other.
Filled with the Spirit. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God (Romans 8:14). – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace… (Galatians 5:22).
For a house to be considered a home, it must be filled with love, joy, and peace. For a gathering to be considered a Church, it must be filled with the continuous expressions of a living and Holy Spirit. A community not filled with the regular and ongoing experience of a living Spirit flowing from one to another in tangible demonstrations of power and joy is a gathering of darkness. It is no place I would ever want to be.
These next two sessions place the actions of the Holy Spirit into the experience of our life together as the Church.
Capturing Light. Let’s begin with Patterns of Home, the pattern of capturing light.
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People are comfort-loving creatures. We turn toward the sun, seeking light and warmth, needing it to nourish both spirit and body…
The intensity of sunlight… offers a complete color spectrum that is not present in most standard artificial lighting. With the light comes warmth, heating the objects it strikes and the spaces it fills. When we build homes it is important to locate and organize them in a way that allows all important spaces to receive abundant natural light. This single step probably has more effect on our perception of comfort than does any other aspect of home design.
If light is essential, shadow is the complement that gives it its power. Relentless light … deprives a space of the meaning that comes with variety. Pools of bright light draw us to them because they highlight an area within a surrounding of shade. Shadowy corners or edges lend an air of mystery to a well-lit structure. Retreating into the shade when the sun is high allows us to enjoy a cool space on a hot day. And filtering sunlight—mixing light with shadow—to admit just the right amount allows us to select the appropriate intensity of light for any activity. It is the play of light and shadow that gives shape to forms and brings life to our surroundings.
[Think – I will pour out of My Spirit upon all flesh. Spirit upon our real humanity always goes together.]
Working with the Pattern. Effectively capturing natural light [think – Holy Spirit among us] requires planning at several scales. It is a process that begins with the selection of the site and must continue through to final details of window design and shading.
- Locate the house on the site so that it receives light throughout the day.
- Shape the house so that light can enter any important room from at least two sides to create a balance.
- When light from a second side is not possible, allow for light from above through skylights or clerestory windows.
- Plan the placement of rooms so that each space receives light at a suitable time of day for the activities that occur there.
- Shape and size each opening to suit both the climate and the activities that will be lit from the window.
- Plan the details of design and installation to relate windows to the character of the house as a whole.
- Create window places—bays, dormers, window seats—to enhance the life of the house.
- Use shading devices to control the amount of light and heat that enters the house.
I am just overwhelmed. As I consider my knowing of three things – the Holy Spirit in power, life together, and being humans – I find each point in this layout speaking volumes regarding the vital role of the Holy Spirit AND of being real.
Seven Actions of Light. Let’s reduce these down to seven actions. 1. Locate the house to receive light. 2. Obtain light from two or more directions. 3. Include light from above. 4. Plan the light for human activities. 5. Relate the windows to the character of the house. 6. Create window places. 7. Use shade to balance the light.
We will use each one of these points to relate the active and deliberate placement of entry points for the Holy Spirit into our activities together as real humans, for the flow of power from one to another, and for the outflow of life to all around. The tangible presence of the Holy Spirit among us is not incidental, but vital; it is not accidental, but deliberate and intentional.
John 7:37-39. In order, then, to further shape our discussion, let’s bring in the third most important verse in the Bible modified to fit our present understanding.
On the last day, that great second Sabbath of the Feast of Tabernacles, Jesus stood up at the climax, a moment of utter silence and expectation, and cried out loudly, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart, his belly, his innermost being, will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit whom those believing in Him receive; for the Holy Spirit is given as the glory of Jesus.
Let’s see if we can come up with seven critical points of truth from this layout.
Seven Actions of Spirit.
- The outflow of the Holy Spirit from us is the full measure of Salvation revealed.
- Our human desire is created by God to draw Jesus into us.
- The source of the Spirit, Jesus Himself in Person, is the One whom we drink, Jesus in us and we in Him.
- Our own hearts, our innermost beings, the dwelling place of the Lord Jesus Christ, our humanity, is the place out from which the Holy Spirit flows.
- We know that life and power are always flowing out from our hearts because we believe in Jesus against the sight of our eyes and against the judgment of the human.
- The rivers of Spirit flowing out of us together bring life and healing to all creation.
- The Holy Spirit flowing among us is the very glory of Jesus made visible, the face of Jesus Christ.
Patterns. Consider the patterns of three metaphors: light and shadow, sound and silence, water and dry ground. Light mixed with shadow creates colors and warmth. Sound mixed with silence creates music and conversation. Water mixed with dry ground creates a garden.
All light is unbearable, just as all shadow is unbearable. All sound is unbearable, just as all silence is unbearable. All water is unbearable, just as all arid ground is unbearable. Think of how inhospitable it would be to dwell in any one of those six in itself.
Then think of the extraordinary difference when they are mixed utterly together with their matching counterpoint.
Wonders. Now, here’s the thing, these patterns fill the Bible. Here’s one. And do not be drunk with wine, in which is wastefulness; instead be filled with Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord, speaking good grace at all times… (Ephesians 5:18-20 - JSV).
We could easily get side-tracked exploring the wonders of this pattern of balance as it fits itself into so many aspects of reality in creation and in God. Our purpose in these lessons, however, is to understand the role of the tangible action of the Holy Spirit among us in our life together, how the Spirit enters our knowledge, how the Spirit works among us, and how the Spirit flows out to all.
Tabernacles. Entrance – reciprocity – outflow. God in – God among – God out. I have just spelled out the fulfillment of the Feast of Tabernacles in the life of the Church.
The First Sabbath of the Feast is God-in, Father filling His House, all our connections together, with Himself. The in-between days of the Feast, dwelling in booths, is God-among, life together, the continuous interaction of reciprocity among members together. And the final Sabbath of the Feast is God-flowing-out, setting creation free. (We will reserve this part of John 7:37-39 mostly for the portion on Refuge – Outlook, also a function of light.)
Fruit and Gifts. The larger picture of the fulfilment of Tabernacles shows us where things fit. Nonetheless, we are narrowing our study of light down to three primary and specific things.
First is the reality that the entrance of light into life together must be deliberately planned. The demonstration of the Holy Spirit does not “just happen,” even though it is the normal experience of real Church. This first focus will be developed more fully through the next session on the fruit, gifts, and ministries in the Church. Consider this point: “Shape the house so that light can enter any important room from at least two sides to create a balance.” The Holy Spirit enters our life together through the balance of two or more persons, through differing gifts and ministries.
Spirit and Flesh. Second is this wonderful idea that Spirit and flesh actually go together in perfect harmony inside of God’s original intention. Consider these thoughts again: “Filtering sunlight—mixing light with shadow—to admit just the right amount… It is the play of light and shadow that gives shape to forms and brings life to our surroundings.”
For you were indeed once darkness, but now are light inside the Lord. Walk as children of light, for the fruit of light is in all goodness (Ephesians 5:8-9a – JSV). Let’s extend this paraphrase. You, as a human being, were once darkness, the knowledge of God absent from you, but now you, the same human being, are light inside of Jesus.
Being Real. This second focus will be the topic of the next lesson, “Being Real.” We want to know the flip side of the foundation of the Church. When the foundation of the absence of accusation against you inside of me and the absence of any need in me to impose obligation on you is fully in place, what is the positive taking the place of that which has been negated?
Being real. Being real humans in all interaction together. Spirit filling flesh. Light interplaying with shadow. The harmony of sounds. Real human beings, filled with all the fullness of God, walking together as family, loving one another with a pure heart fervently.
The Face of Jesus. Our third focus, then, we find inside the last part of the third most important verse, a part I have never included before now because I did not yet have this picture. Here is the regular translation. – For the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. But of course we turn that entirely around, for Jesus is glorified, therefore the Holy Spirit is given.
And then we see this word. – For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 4:6). The glory that is the Face of Jesus Christ is our life together.
The Spirit and the Bride. The third lesson of this session, then, is “The Face of Jesus.” The interplay of the Holy Spirit moving through all the interactions together of the Church, many walking together as one, creates much more than a visible glow on each of our faces. That very light, shining through each of us together, as light pouring through all the facets of a diamond, becomes, in fact, the face, the revelation of Jesus Christ inside His creation.
Real humans filled with the Holy Spirit in all their interactions together – the face of Jesus.
And the Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” And let him who thirsts come. Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely (Revelation 22:17).