"Out of the Ivory Palaces"
The Psalmist David came
as close to describing the majesty of Christ as any Bible author. With the
language of a poet He said, “All thy garments smell
of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia, out of the ivory palaces, whereby they have
made thee glad” (Psalm 45:8). Using the language crafted by different
eras of human history, the Bible is filled with the
“Altogether Lovely One.” Solomon learned from his father, David, and
added the following titles: “Rose of Sharon”
and “Lily of the Valley.” Isaiah was the
first to speak of Him as the “Bridegroom,”
while John called Him the “Bright and Morning
Star.”& nbsp;All of the language used to describe Him fails miserably
in describing the God-Man out of the Father’s celestial city. His city
stretches North of this universe and Jesus Christ is the Crown Prince.
Language is so cheap in
our fading world that the excellent pictures painted by God’s saintly giants
no longer move us. We read of Him with less interest than we adore a pretty
picture or a gleaming sunset. His idol status does not compare to the movie
set or the most stately world leaders. The Roman pope has many times more
worldly acclaim than the “Man of Galilee.” We
know of Him, but very few of us truly know Him.
Religion has replaced
spiritual reality. The Father is searching the world of the human family for
someone unsatisfied with this emptiness. I, for one, have repented
profoundly of the loss of my first love. Our generation is divided between
those that reject experience altogether and those that embrace experience
without surrender to His cross. He will not reveal Himself where He is not
welcome. Neither will He anoint the flesh and carnality with His Holy
Anointing. Total surrender to His holiness and absolute obedience to His
will is the bottom line of His revelation of Himself in us.
The example He gave us of
the vine and the branches is simple but profound. Our relationship to Him
can only exist as a branch totally dependent of the vine. To be unattached
is to be lost. To be attached is to draw all living substance from Him
alone. It is a breathtaking experience to be fully connected and to then
abide without resistance to the virtue of Himself. Jesus Christ said, “I
am the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in me that
beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he
purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit” (John 15:1-2).
The elimination of a
disease in a branch must be treated through the vine. The vine promotes
healing and health to every cell in the branches. It is when we are clinging
and abiding in Jesus Christ, our Vine, that divine healing begins to flow
among the saints. The absence of healing today is a testimony to our lack of
divine life flowing from the Vine. The Spirit just witnessed this truth to
my heart and it drove me to my face before the Lord. This great truth from
the Lord shows that purging is a wonderful thing. We must learn to delight
in His cleansing of our mortal flesh from all defilement. It simply opens up
the branch for glory to flow from Him to every cell.
We are clean through the
Word. “Now ye are clean through the word which I
have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear
fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye
abide in me” (John 15:3-4). This can occur only in an abiding
branch. He is altogether lovely and divine with supernatural life flowing
from Him, the Vine, unto us, the branches. To deny this experience in this
togetherness is to reject the abiding connection. We must know Him and His
voice or we are religious without relationship. Look at that vine in your
garden and then look at the beautiful branches that seem to reach in all
directions. What an example of His invitation to us!
Consider Him in the many
portraits of Holy Scripture. If you would give any human being on this earth
a fraction of His descriptive titles, they would be in the International
Hall of Fame at the head of the entrance. The Son of God outshines every
idea of beauty in our universe.
He is the beloved Son of
the Sovereign God. He is the jewel of every angelic being and He is the
brightness of the universe. The Bible uses the gems of both Heaven and Earth
to describe Him. The fragrance of the exotic odors of all treasures only
vaguely compares to His rare beauty. He is not only the fullness of all
earthly glory and honor; He is the eternal High Priest of all redemption. At
the appointed time, the sun will fade, go out, and then
“ . . . unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of
righteousness arise with healing in His wings . . . ” (Malachi 4:2).
He invites us to be His
branches and to share all the fatness and life of the Vine. His beauty will
flow from us and His life will change those around us. Start abiding in Him
today. You will never be sorry that you did.
Joseph R. Chambers
Sent weekly from the ministry of the Paw Creek Church and media outreach.
This article can be freely used, reprinted, made available on Internet, or
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Charlotte, NC 28208 USA
