The final words of the previous post were, “I AM in Charge”.
God is always in charge. He cannot be anything else but in charge because He is God.
He is Sovereign.
Who is the ‘Man’ standing in front of Joshua?
He identified Himself as, “… but as Commander of the army of the Lord” I have now come.” (Joshua 5:14, NKJV)
His identification tells us that He is a Heavenly Coming.
[A personal reflection: When you think about Joshua’s life, living in the shadow of Moses; he has literally experienced the Presence of God. (Exodus 33:11) Therefore, I find his response not ignorant but showing that he had not experienced this type of Heavenly Presence before.]
What happens next certainly shows us that Joshua has been in the Presence of the Lord . “And Joshua fell on his face to the earth and worshiped, and said to Him, “What does My Lord say to His servant? (Joshua 5:14, NKJV)
Joshua 5:15, NKJV, is the response of “the Commander of the Lord’s army”…
He said to Joshua, “Take your sandal off your foot, for the place where you stand is holy.”
Guess what Joshua did?
[No questions asked.]
“And Joshua did so.” (Joshua 3:15)
Compare this visitation with Joshua at Jericho with the visitation of Moses at the burning bush.
Exodus 3:4,5 NKJV, “Now when the Lord saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.” Then He said, “Do not draw near this place. Take the sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground.”
[I encourage you to go to Got Questions.org, and read their article, ‘What does the Bible mean when it refers to holy ground?”]
The ‘Heavenly Comings’ are similiar, yet different.
God’s identification of His Name to Moses was different than His name to Joshua; but they knew in whose Presence they were; and they both were given the same instructions in the Presence of a Holy God, take off your sandals, in My Presence.
Throughout the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation, the Lord God comes and manifests Himself to individuals for His purposes.
We need to remember what God says about Himself, “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor your ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your way, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9 NKJV)
The ‘Heavenly Comings’ are sometimes called a Theophany, a visible manifestation of God; and sometimes they are called a Christophany, a pre-incarnate appearance of Christ. (And sometimes, they are angels)
In Joshua 5:13-15, some scholars believe it was a Theophany; and some believe it was a Christophany.
What can we be certain about regarding this incident?
Joshua “fell on his face to the earth and worshiped”. (Joshua 5:14, NKJV)
He was not rebuked; therefore, it was either God, the Father; or Christ, the Son.
[See Revelation 22:8-9 and compare that incident to John’s encounter with Christ in Revelation 1:12-18]
The place where Joshua was standing was declared to be ‘holy’. (Joshua 5:15)
We cannot read the Word of God and conclude that Heavenly Comings have not occurred.
In the Old Testament, there are instances of God coming as a Theophany; or Christ coming as a Christophany.
[Go to Got Questions.org, What is a Theophany? What is a Christophany?]
In the New Testament, the Incarnation of Christ was neither a Theophany nor a Christophany. It was an Incarnation.
It was a Heavenly Coming of God in the person of Jesus coming as the Son of God/Son of Man born in human flesh.
“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14, NKJV)
When the Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost, it was a Heavenly Coming.
It was the fulfillment of what Jesus has told His disciples in the Upper Room; the night in which He was betrayed regarding the coming and the work of the Holy Spirit.
(John 13-16 is the context of His teaching about the Third Person of the Trinity, Holy Spirit.)
Consider this: when Jesus was clothed in human flesh (Philippians 2:5-11) having set aside His Heavenly Coming prerogative as the Son of God, to become the Son of Man (hypostatic union); at His water baptism, the Holy Spirit descended upon Him as a Dove. (insert mine) (Matthew 3:13-17; Mark 1:9-11;Luke 3:21-23)
What happened next?
I wonder how many Christian have thought about these words?
“And suddenly a voice came from heaven , saying, “This is My Beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted (tested) by the devil.” (Matthew 3:17-4:1 NKJV)
What was the temptation about? Satan questioned Him regarding what God, His Father, had said about Him at His water baptism.
When the temptation was completed(Luke 4:13), Luke 4:14 NKJV, reads, “Then Jesus returned (from the wilderness) in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region.” (insert mine)
Jesus lived out His life, ‘governed’ by the Holy Spirit, only doing what His Father showed Him to do(John 5:19-20); and only what His Father said (John 12:49) and wanted Him to say. He did nothing on His own ( John 5:30).
This understanding is important for us as believers in Jesus Christ, as members of the Body of Christ.
Where is Jesus now?
He is seated in Heaven next to His Heavenly Father.
We need to understand that when the Promise of the Father, came on the Day of Pentecost, that Heavenly Coming, the Spirit was sent to represent (be His) Presence here on earth in each believer, all of whom are the Body of Christ. (insert mine)
Ponder that !
Jesus is saying, I AM in Charge. The Body of Christ, My body, of whom I am the Head (Ephesians 1:15-22; Colossians 1:15-18) will be ‘governed’ and ’empowered’ by the Third Person of the Trinity, Holy Spirit
This is the reason why Jesus instructed His followers to wait for the [Heavenly Coming] promise of the Father. (Acts 1:4-8) [insert mine]
Between the great commission(Matthew 28:18-20), and the birth of the Church, the followers of Christ, who had been told (John 16:5-15) that He was going away; but that there would be a Heavenly Coming of the Holy Spirit, so that will be My presence with you; then you will walk with Me ‘governed’ and ’empowered’ by the Holy Spirit, who is the promise of the Father.
Just as the Spirit descended upon Jesus at His water baptism, when He was here in the flesh, in a human body; so now the Holy Spirit ,Christ’s Presence , descends upon Christ’s Body, the Body of Christ, made up of many human bodies, each one a believer in Christ.
Just as Jesus walked by the Spirit, when He was here on earth; so are we to walk by the Spirit individually and collectively as His Body.
What takes place?
The Holy Spirit guides and directs us daily; and all of us functioning under the direction of the Holy Spirit manifest One Person, Jesus Christ on the earth, individually and/or corporately as the Body of Christ. (Ephesians 4-6)
[Acts 2:40=47 tells us how the Church began its new life in Christ,]
I want to challenge you with this thought.
I propose that the manifestation of the life of Christ in each individual, and the corporate life of the Body of Christ is the fulfillment of the following words that Jesus taught His disciples to pray.
One day, the disciples of Jesus approached Him and asked Him to teach them to pray.
Matthew 6:9-13 is that prayer.
It begins as follows:
“Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come, Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9 NKJV)
Consider this, Jesus fulfilled these words every day of His life here on earth in human flesh.
How?
He was ‘governed’ by the Spirit.
He only did and only said what the Father was doing and saying.
Therefore, His Father’s Kingdom came, and His Father’s will was done here on earth as it is in heaven.
Therefore, His Father’s name was Hallowed, Holy, set apart, bringing glory to His name.
In heaven, God’s will is perfectly ‘obeyed’, and everything He does is ‘orderly’.
Jesus perfectly ‘obeyed‘; and He was ‘orderly‘ in doing everything the Father wanted Him to do.
On the cross, Jesus uttered these final words, “It is finished”. (John 19:30)
All the days of Jesus’ life were completely ‘orderly and obedient’ lived out before His Father, from His Incarnation to His death, burial, and resurrection.
It was then that His early life was finished.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God, has been given All authority on heaven and earth. (Matthew 28:18-20)
This authority is now carried out by the Holy Spirit here on earth ‘governing’ the Body of Christ.
Joshua had asked,if the Man ,that suddenly appeared before Him was for or against us (Israel)?
The Man answered, neither, ‘I AM in Charge’. (paraphrased by Pastor Goree).
In heaven, God’s Sovereign Authority is perfectly ‘obeyed’, and everything is done ‘orderly’.
Jesus perfectly ‘obeyed’(not only did He do His Father’s will; but He completely fulfilled the Law (Matthew 5:17-18), and He did everything ‘orderly’ as the Father told Him to do.
God is NOT the source of ‘disobedience’ (Hebrews 4:15; I Peter 2:22; I John 3;5); or the source of ‘disorder’ (confusion-I Corinthians 14:3
What we are called to do?
We are called to walk by the Spirit, in our human body, in which Christ’s Presence lives. We are learning to be ‘governed’ by the Spirit, according to the Word of God; not fulfilling the lusts of the flesh. We are not to be self-serving; but we are to be servants of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:1-11; Galatians 5; Colossians 3:1-17)
Our discipleship is to learn as the Body of Christ to walk in obedience to the Holy Spirit, according to the Word of God, so that the Father’s Kingdom comes, and the Father’s will, will be done on earth as it is in heaven, ‘orderly’ and ‘obediently’.
By the way, Who is the Word of God?
The Word of God is a Person, Jesus. (John 1:1-5)
Our blessing is that our God, our Father, is committed to see that each one of His children are conformed to the image of Christ. (Romans 8:29)
There is an End Point for each one of us who names the Name of Christ as our personal Savior.
We find that End Point stated in Jude 24-25, NKJV.
“Now to Him (God) who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His (God) glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.” (inserts mine)
The Good News is that there is another Heavenly Coming that the followers of Christ are awaiting, Christ’s Second Coming.
But until that moment…(I Thessalonians 4:1-17)
God is ministering throughout the earth using the Body of Christ.
There are Heavenly Comings today.
The Word of God is being preached; the Lord Jesus Christ is present,in the Person of the Holy Spirit.
Just like on the Day of Pentecost, people are repenting, being water baptized, and receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38-40)
[Let me give you a few sources to check out and read about God’s Heavenly Comings. Go to CBN app., Christian Broadcast Network; Voice of the Martyr’s, VOM.org; Samaritan’s Purse, samaritanspurse.org; B.G.E.A., billygraham.org]
Remember these words, ‘I AM in Charge’.
Come, Lord Jesus.
To the praise of His Glory,
your brother in Christ, deo
Living Words of Encouragement 