18. Grace as the Capstone

Our first reference is Zechariah 4. “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of “Grace, grace to it!” ’” … “The hands of Zerubbabel have laid the foundation of this temple; his hands shall also finish it. Then you will know that the Lord of hosts has sent Me [in]to you. For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”

Father Coming Home. We will say these initial things about this prophecy. First, Zerubbabel represents the Lord Jesus Christ sent into us by the Father. Second, all work is by the Spirit through our faith. Third, the work is the building of the temple, our being built together for a dwelling place of God inside of the Spirit. Fourth, nothing stands in the way of this work, and fifth, the final moment of construction, the placing of the capstone, is by the Lord Jesus Christ shouting through us, “GRACE, GRACE” upon the Church.

Thus we see the shouting of Grace as the capstone, the final glory of Jesus as He completes this great work of giving the Church to God as His Home, that Father gets to come Home!

Our Pages. In this lesson, we are creating two different pages in The Jesus Secret II, so that we might fill in one box only in Our Glorious Salvation. This is a box, however, that we want to have completely right, for it is the greatest expression of meaning of the life we share with Father.

Our first page is from 2 Corinthians, “I Care for All the Churches,” and the second is from Romans 12, “I Am One Body Together With All Who Are Inside Of Christ.” The first is the heart and purpose of Grace, and the second is the expressions of Grace shared together. Yet in both pages as well as in OGS, our primary box each time is titled “The Capstone of Grace.” That is, the final triumph, the glory and meaning, of Grace.

I Care for All the Churches. Our text is 2 Corinthians 10:7 through 11:33. This is Paul’s boasting in himself, in the suffering he has undergone for the sake of the word he carries and for the churches to whom God sent him. We draw only a few statements of faith from this passage, but it is no surprise that they are all closely related.

In-between the statements of faith and the box titled “The Capstone of Grace,” we have three boxes, first “All the Churches,” then, “My Authority and Arena of Labor,” and “I Care Anxiously.” Only now, after writing the chapter “Resurrection Life,” am I able to comprehend God’s meaning.

Statements of Faith. I have authority to build others up as God’s House. My arena of labor includes others. I boast in the Lord that I am sincerely devoted into Christ. I humble myself to lift others up. I labor so as not to be a burden. I labor abundantly and accept great persecution, suffering, and loss for the sake of God’s people. Above everything else, I care anxiously for all the churches.

The Reach and Arena of Jesus. All whom the Father gives Me will come towards Me, and the one coming towards Me, I will not cast out. For I have come down out from heaven, not that I should do My own intentions, but the desire of the One who sent Me. And this is the desire of the One who sent Me, that of all whom He has given Me, I should lose none… (John 6:37-39).

I made Your name clear and visible to the men whom You have given me out of the world. They were Yours [in the first place], and You gave them to Me, and they have kept, watched over, and guarded Your word. – I pray concerning them. I do not pray for the world. – It is not for these, only, that I ask, but also for those who believe into Me through their word, that all might be one… (John 17:6, 9, & 20).

I Pray for These. It is very important to us to define what we mean by “all the churches.” This is an exercise of absolute exclusion on the one hand, and committed inclusion on the other hand. We reject with finality all Catholics and Baptists, all gangsters and death-row inmates, all Muslims and atheists, even the sect called “the move of God,” and any other human box. We aggressively include all who love Jesus, or will love Jesus, and who want to be with Him above life itself.

The incredible difficulty is that all of those whom we include are scattered right now within the whole span of all the various “groups” which we exclude. “I do not pray for the world, but for these.” I will come back and write this box last.

All the Churches. My care for all the churches includes all who call upon Jesus in some way, and especially those whom the Father has given to Jesus in this hour. I exclude none, no individual person, nor any gathering inside Jesus’ name, neither do I consider theology or practice, but only hearts filled with Jesus. I also include all those who will give their hearts to Jesus, wherever they might be found. Yet I do not consider any sects or groups or hierarchies of control placed over God’s people. Neither do I pray for the world, but only for those whom the Father has given to Jesus out from the world. I care for all the churches of God.

Prepare a Highway. Paul defines two things pertaining to his ministry that also guide our view of God through us. The first is the authority given to him to “build up” the house of God, and second is the “arena of labor” given to him. These two things are predicated on two deeper things, however. The first is the fierce commitment of his entire person and sphere of existence to the gospel which he carries. And the second is his great care for all the churches.

The Greek word meaning “to construct” is often just by itself, and thus translated “for edification.” But for me, Isaiah’s injunction laid upon all who care about God, to prepare a highway for our God, means that the only thing we want “to construct” is the dwelling place of God. “To build up” can mean one thing – to prepare for and cause to KNOW God.

Committed to the Gospel. In completing Our Glorious Salvation, I feel, finally, that I am carrying a gospel to which I would fiercely commit my whole life into its dissemination. But that gospel also includes my care for God my Father, that He would come Home, and thus, by extension, a care for all who belong to Jesus.

The “arena of labor” for Paul meant something overlapping, one might say. Yes, Paul always respected other ministries and their sphere of influence. And he preferred to give his strength to those who first heard the gospel through him. But Paul’s heart was won by Jesus, and thus he carried the larger care as well, for all Christians everywhere. As I have shared before, people not committed to a local church are typically not committed. The goal of labor, then, is to bring into the Kingdom pastors and churches together.

My Authority and Arena of Labor. I have authority from God to speak Christ into my brothers and sisters. I have authority to encourage them in the Lord to share together as the dwelling place of God. I have authority to engage with them that we together might prepare the way for God to enter our world as our love for one another. Yet my authority goes beyond my local church to include any who wish me to speak Christ into them, to build them up together as the house of God. Even more than that, the care of Jesus in me reaches out across the earth to include all who believe into Jesus in my intercession inside the presence of God.

God Cares through Us. Now we come to the primary thought of our page, “I Care.” This is the same word as Paul used in 1 Corinthians 12, that the members of the body might have the same anxious care for one another. The adjective “anxious” is important, because the Greek word conveys that kind of care.

Because God alone is Love, we know that we can CARE for everyone on earth given to Jesus in this hour without contradiction. Even though He certainly gives us the knowing of His Love for others, we do not have to “feel” it to know that the God who fills us full labors with great intensity and passion over His Church. In placing ourselves inside of God, we are placing ourselves as His channels for such anxious Love.

I Care Anxiously (partly from Webster’s 1926): The Love of God for His people fills my heart and flows always through me. I am in Love with the Church. I care always for all my brethren inside of Jesus across the earth, and for every gathering inside of His name. I care for each and for all anxiously, with the full responsibility of God inside of me for their well-being. I am concerned for their needs; I am anxious that they would come to know the Father sharing all with them. I am watchful and keep guard for their sake so that no accusation can touch them. I give myself to God that He might include them with me inside the glory of Jesus. I care; God cares through me.

The Grace to Come. What did the word to Zerubbabel mean? “You shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of ‘Grace, grace’ to it.” God wants a home, a place in which to dwell, so that He can have a form inside of creation so that all creation can know their God. Just as God has prepared us for this hour, so He has also prepared every single member of the dwelling place of God. But God is not yet made visible; the Church seems completely off course.

Therefore, since you have girded up the loins of your mind and are sober-minded, set your hope fully upon God’s enabling Grace carrying you inside of the unveiling of Jesus Christ (1 Peter 1:13).

The Completion of God’s House. As I have written before, this is a Grace that no one in the early Church, including Peter and Paul, knew anything about. This is a Grace come upon us now inside the unveiling of Jesus Christ. It is the living Grace that completes the gathering together unto Christ inside the living expression of all that is God sharing life with us, Spirit and Word together.

We are to SHOUT, “God shares your life with you; God shares the life you share together,” both arenas of Grace, upon all our Christian brethren in the final gathering unto Christ. And we do so with the full view of the completion of God’s House, that He might fill that House with His knowledge and Glory to overflowing.

Father Coming Home. Our care for those who belong to Jesus comes only out from our care for Father’s Heart, that God would have His Desire, Communities of Christ in which to dwell as Love. This is why “Grace” is shouted twice. First it is shouted upon every individual believer gathering in, and second, it is shouted upon their local Christ Community, personal first and then corporate together.

Because we care about Father’s Heart, we care about His Grace swallowing up into itself the gathering unto Christ as Christian Communities across the whole earth. Father coming Home is the ONLY answer for everything. For there He commanded the blessing, life forevermore.

The Capstone of Grace (JS2). My care for all the churches comes out from my care for the Father, for His purpose and desire, for His Heart. God wants to come Home. God wants to fill His dwelling place inside creation, so that all might know Him, so that all might live and not die. For this reason, my care for all who belong to Jesus is that they would be prepared as God’s entrance, each one knowing the life they share with God, and that they might be built together as their local fellowship, that God our Father might be the Love flowing among them, Father revealed.

For Father’s sake, I give myself to Him, as I speak, “GRACE,” out from Him upon all who call upon His name, that each would know God sharing every moment of life with them. And I speak, “GRACE,” upon their gathering together, that God as Love might be all their interactions together. As I speak, “GRACE, GRACE,” upon God’s House, Jesus places the finishing capstone, even as God fills His House with glory.

I Am One Body Together With All Who Are Inside Of Christ. We are now working on the page for most of Romans 12. This page also finishes with “The Capstone of Grace.” The distinction between these views of the Capstone of Grace comes clear. In the first view, we consider the larger picture, the entire Church and God’s determined purpose.

For this page, we are considering the Grace to come upon each local congregation, gathered together into Christ. In Romans 12:2 Paul said, “Share the same pattern of expression with Christ Jesus” (– be metamorphosed). Then he continues with the various expressions of Grace, one to another within the local church.

God Among Us. …Not all the members have the same function… We possess differing expressions of grace according to the grace given to each one of us. Paul does not give us here “nine gifts” of the Spirit, for the expressions of grace are as many as there are individual people. The list of “nine gifts” in 1 Corinthians 12 was not meant to be exclusive.

BUT – these expressions of Grace are God among us, the Person of God sharing with us our ongoing LIFE together. So, after our statements of faith, we will include “Members of One Another” and “Expressions of Grace” before our final “The Capstone of Grace.”

Statements of Faith. I am one body together with all who are inside of Christ. I am part of each one of my brothers and sisters in Christ all across the world. We are members of one another; we belong to each other. I give the grace God has given to me freely to any of my brothers and sisters in Christ. I receive from them their differing gifts given freely to me. My love is sincere; it is God-love in my heart through the Spirit.

I am devoted to all who belong to Christ with brotherly love; I esteem them high in honor even as they also esteem me high in honor. I rejoice in hope; I am patient inside the pressures of travail. I fellowship with my Father constantly. I rejoice together with my brothers and sisters who are rejoicing right now. I weep together with my brothers and sisters who are weeping right now. I give to those who have need; I always practice hospitality.

I bless those who persecute me and hunt me down. I bless and speak well of them; I never speak against. I walk together with the lowly, those just like God. I abhor evil; I cling to all that is good. I provide for good in the sight of all. I live at peace with all. I give good things to my enemies. I overcome all evil inside of goodness.

Good and Evil? Before continuing, we see that Paul’s wording seems to present good versus evil. This contention is something entirely different from “the knowledge of good and evil.”

Here is evil by God’s definition. “I have a sinful nature of my own,” then becoming hurting others for self-gain. Here is good. “I come out from God’s thoughts concerning me through the good-speaking of Jesus. God keeps me in my human weakness and makes me devoted to Himself,” then becoming the same anxious care for one another. Evil is keeping God far away. Good is sharing life with God. It’s all one or all the other; mixing them is death. Doing good, then, means only, “God through me.”

Part of Each Other. We are members of one another, as closely attached as a rib to the tissues connected tightly to it. We are part of each other’s lives forever whether we know it or not, and whether we like it or not. And Paul uses this term that means “part of each other” inside the metaphor of the body of Christ, the form of God, His House inside of creation.

Only as I receive you as part of me and as you receive me as part of you does God have a place in which to dwell. I know my hands well, for they have been part of me these 68 years and I have worked daily with them. “Members of one another” means that I know you in fellowship together just as much. To care for God is to care for His Church.

Members of One Another. I am a member of Christ’s body with my brethren inside of Christ. We are members of one another. I am part of each of them and each is part of me, for we drink of the same Spirit together and the same Jesus lives in each of our hearts. I know each and love each even as I know and love myself. Our bond together is life itself.

A “Formula” for Giving. Paul gives us a “formula” concerning the expressions of grace inside the gathering together of our local church. Then he repeats that formula a number of times, extending the same way of thinking over every aspect of human relationship. First, God gives a “measure” of faith to each. This does not mean that one person has more faith than another, for the only faith any of us has is the faith of the Son of God. Rather, it means that each one of us has the faith to fit the unique expression of grace God has given us.

My faith fits my expression of grace, and your faith fits yours. We then possess differing expressions of grace according to the grace given to each one of us. If your grace is prophecy, then prophesy according to your direction of faith.

We Give What We Have. God shares my life with me; that means that He fits Himself to how He has designed me. God comes as God, most certainly, but He made me like Himself inside of His purposes already. God has no need to “fix” His “mistake.” The point is that we give what we have, not what we don’t have. We don’t try to give what another has. We do not become “self-sufficient.” We don’t try to copy each other.

During my time in the circle of elders, there was no real place for the expressions of Grace God had shared with me, nor room for my faith to move. Rather, I knew that I would have to make myself “fit” the grace given to others. It was in sorrow that I also knew that I did not have that ability.

Expressions of Grace. It is God who formed me; I did not make myself. And God designed in me a wonderful and curious mix of gifts and abilities on the one hand and lacks and inabilities on the other. God shares both as Grace with me. Then God placed me together with others and made us members together. God anoints me to give that expression of Grace He gave me to others in their specific need, and He gave them that expression of Grace to give to me in my own need. As we gather together, so we share the expressions of Grace through the faith of the Son of God, giving to and receiving from each. I know that my particular gift is graced of God and that my faith is exactly what is needed to bless others.

The Sharing from Every Part. Christ—out from Whom the whole body, being joined together and being held together through every joint of its supply or provision, according to the energeia inside the sharing from every part, causes growth of the body into the construction of itself inside of love (Ephesians 4:16).

We now see that “every joint of its supply or provision,” and each personal expression of Grace, are the same thing. The “capstone” is that final thing that makes God’s house fit for His dwelling. The capstone, then, is harmony, the harmony of God through each as He made each to be, to others in the need which He also shares with them. Thus it matters not what exact expression of Grace that God made part of you, but rather giving yourself through faith.

The Grace to Come. In the move we “could not” know the personal expressions of God through each because we lived in the imagination of good versus evil at war inside our own hearts. Thus we were regularly admonished that God was displeased with the community because of our lack of – “harmony.”

Eating of Life together is what fills God’s house, but the CAPSTONE is something specific. This is the Grace that “is to come,” come now upon that wondrous harmony of giving and receiving God in the way He would show Himself through one another, “I AM What I AM.” It is the Grace of liking God as He is. It is a GRACE of enablement beyond anything we have ever tasted or known.

The Capstone of Grace (JS2). The purpose of God’s House is that He might dwell inside that House and the purpose of a Body for God is that He might fill that Body as Himself. Both metaphors speak of God being seen and known in full interaction with every part of His creation. God will fill His House in all glory when our togetherness is fully prepared for Him. That final work of Jesus in building us as a dwelling place of God in the Spirit can be called “the Capstone.”

Jesus through us shouts, “Grace, grace,” upon that capstone that makes God’s House fully ready for Him, that God might show Himself as all-Love among us. Grace is God sharing life with each, and Grace is God sharing the togetherness of life in each local Church. The Capstone of God’s House is the harmony we share together as we give God to and receive God from one another. I like God as He comes to me through you, your abilities and inabilities together. And you like God coming through me as well. God wants to come Home.

Enjoying God. We are now finally ready to write the last bit of Lesson 8.3 “Form and Flow” in Chapter 8 “Knowing the Father.” To “move in grace” means to flow in harmony. It means that I receive you and what you give, as God made you, without any need for you to be or to give something else. It means that we appreciate and enjoy God as one another.

It is as we bless God in one another, giving thanks for what He is in each individual person, liking Him, “I Am what I Am,” that the ruination of Adam is fully removed and the goodness of God becomes known by all. In His greatest work, Jesus makes our wills one with God’s; the display of that work is to make us to share the same heart and mind together. – The God of loving small things.

The Capstone of Grace (OGS). It is upon our knowing of one another, the dwelling place of God, that we SHOUT – “Grace – Grace,” Grace upon each one who belongs to Jesus and Grace upon each local gathering together. As we care for all the churches with GRACE, so Jesus places the finishing capstone upon God’s Home, our harmony together inside of life shared with God.

As you give your expression of Grace to me, to meet my need, I LIKE you and God together. And as I give my expression of Grace to you, to meet your need, so you LIKE God and me together. As we enjoy God in knowing one another, through good times and difficult, through abilities and inabilities, so a wondrous harmony comes upon the dwelling place of God made ready for Him. That harmony is God at HOME among us, the singing of our Father in joy and peace.

Reading for Next Time. Finishing Our Glorious Salvation is now just ahead. It is my primary focus until it is done. I will continue to share only portions in the Zoom meeting, however; the other lessons will be available on my website, with audios. At the same time, finishing The Open Scroll: The Jesus Secret Version of portions of the New Testament, is now coming into view. I am anxious to have the proof of that book in hand as well. I am not finding the momentum to finish the introduction to the JSV on my own, and so I will need to include it soon in the Zoom meeting, for the motivation.

Next week will be two selected lessons from Chapters 11 and/or 12 in Our Glorious Salvation. Be sure to check the website before next weekend to read/listen to any other lessons posted there.

Let’s Pray Together. “God, our Father, we love You, and we love being part of Your Heart. We love sharing Hheart with You. Father, we know from Your Word that Your Heart is filled with care for the gathering together unto Christ, that all whom You have given to Jesus might find their way Home.

“Father, we know that as we come Home with You, carrying all of our brothers and sisters in our hearts with us, so You are coming Home as well, that You might fill Your House prepared fully for You. Father, we know that brethren dwelling together in unity, in full harmony of heart and mind, is the visible expression of Your living Grace through each and among all together. Father, You are Love and Life inside Your Church forever.

“Father, we give ourselves utterly to You, that we might each find our place inside this final gathering together into Christ. And we give ourselves to You as a living offering, carrying all who belong to Jesus, just as Jesus, now through us. Father, Your people, a hundred million or more believers in Jesus all across the earth. Oh God, our Father, come Home. Complete this great work through Word and through Spirit, flowing out from us, that all might enter into the fulness of Christ.

“Father, we KNOW You as our only Life, sharing all with us. And in knowing You, Father, we KNOW that You always answer is. We have no need to be “great,” for we are small, and You are the God who reveals Himself through us. “God, our Father, fill Your temple through our shouts of ‘Grace, Grace,’ and with Your Glory.”