The Temple

The tabernacle and its furnishings have great symbolic and theological significance. The tabernacle showed God's willingness and desire to meet with mankind, and ultimately foreshadow the coming of Jesus, who "became flesh and dwelt among us." (John 1:14). God gave specific instructions to Moses to construct everything "according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." (Exodus 25:40). The writer of Hebrews expressed the tabernacle's symbolism, calling it "a copy and shadow of what is in heaven." (Hebrews 8:5).

The Pursuit of God

Cu rrent evangelicalism has (to change the figure) laid the altar and divided the sacrifice into parts, but now seems satisfied to count the stones and rearrange the pieces with never a care that there is not a sign of fire upon the top of lofty Carmel. But God be thanked that there are a few who care. They are those who, while they love the altar and delight in the sacrifice, are yet unable to reconcile themselves to the continued absence of fire. They desire God above all. They are athirst to taste for themselves the "piercing sweetness" of the love of Christ about Whom all the holy prophets did write and the psalmists did sing. Read A.W. Tozer's classic work.

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But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

Galatians 6:14 KJV

The Indwelling Christ

Galatians 2:20 is a revolutionary verse in my life: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." This is the very heart of Christian living, for the foundation of Christianity is the cross and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The astonishing fact is that Jesus lives within the believer, and they become one in spirit. The apostle Paul described this as "the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the saints. To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory"

Jesus Plus?

The church at Galatia required its members to be circumcised in order to be saved. But Paul rebuked them, "Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" (Galatians 3:3). We would no doubt be quick to agree with Paul that circumcision is not necessary for our salvation. But what about the other things we try to add to Christ's finished work?

A.J., Macedonia - I just wanted to express my happiness for the gift I received today, a beautiful copy of the Bible. Why I'm sending an email is to share with you my happiness about that. It was God's blessing for me, and not only for me, for I'm working as a professor in a high school in the Republic of Macedonia, and today I showed the Bible you sent to all my pupils. Here in Macedonia, the Gospel is not known very much (until recently, Macedonia was a communist country). All my pupils had great interest about seeing the Bible - they touched it, watched, and read something. Thank you again.

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