LIFE – I AM THE DOOR

By J W Luman

Part 1 – Creating an Environment for the Lord’s Appearing

Fulness Only In Christ

Sometime ago The Lord began to deal with me concerning certain Biblical terms, the fulness of which can only be known IN HIM; the fulness of which can only be realized IN HIM. IN HIM – not in Him as a doctrine or a religion, but in Him as a Person revealed. IN HIM. And three of those terms in which The Lord was appearing in a tremendous way in my soul were: LIFE, LIGHT and GLORY. And I began to see those terms not in things in and of themselves, or incidental things, or places of experiences; but rather as having their fulness and expression in Him. How then do these terms relate to you and I? Because He is in you; and except He be in you, except Christ Himself be in you (and that’s knowing Salvation is a little bit more than getting your sins forgiven), then these terms have no relationship to you. Life has no relationship to you; Light has no relationship to you; Glory has no relationship to you – and never will have except Christ be in you; because these terms are just bringing more things into the reality of Christ.

The Appearing of Jesus Christ

The Lord has really awakened me to Paul’s testimony concerning his first encounter with the Lord Jesus. Not the account that Luke gives in Acts 9, but the account Paul gives himself in Acts 26 when he’s talking to King Agrippa. Acts 26:16, and he is quoting what The Lord said to him - "But rise, and stand upon thy feet: for I have appeared unto thee…" Now this became the whole basis, the whole foundation and the whole fulness of Paul’s ministry – the appearing, that is, the revealing of Jesus Christ. And The Christ that appeared to him is The Christ that was revealed in him. The whole basis of Paul’s ministry was not a better theology, a better teaching, a better doctrinal statement. The whole basis of Paul’s teaching was not that he came from the Old Covenant written in stone, to another Covenant written on paper. It wasn’t that he came to a better teaching. We need to understand that the whole basis of Paul’s ministry was A PERSON. A Person – not a teaching about a Person: The Person Himself. Not believing that there was such a Person: The Person Himself. Not the prophet’s evidence that such a Person existed: The Person Himself. ALL SPIRITUAL LIFE MUST FLOW OUT FROM THAT PERSON HIMSELF. All ministry must flow out from that Person Himself – that Person!

Philippians 3:4-7 – Though I might also have confidence in the flesh. If any other man thinketh that he hath whereof he might trust in the flesh, I more: Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:6 – Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.

1 Corinthians 2:2 – For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.

John 17:3 – And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.

John 1:4 – In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

Divine Purpose

"I have appeared unto thee…" I have appeared – not ‘I sent someone to tell you’ – I appeared unto thee for this purpose…" Christ in His appearing brings you and I into Divine Purpose. Now, all that this word brings into itself – PURPOSE. For this purpose… what is our purpose? Most don’t know. Most ministers don’t know. They think their purpose is preaching… or something. They have no concept of purpose that fills your soul to overflowing. It gives you a reason to get out of bed. It gives you PURPOSE. "…I have appeared unto thee for this purpose, to make thee a minister and a martyr ( a witness) both of these things which thou hast seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee." This is it: those things in the which I will appear unto thee. Not things I will show you: things in which I will appear unto thee. SPIRITUAL LIFE IS HAVING CHRIST APPEAR IN ALL THINGS. Why? Because all things of Spiritual Life; all things of God and godliness; all things eternal and eternity are gathered up in Him. "For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Colossians 2:9. It has pleased The Father that in Him all fulness dwell. It pleased The Father that in Him all things are gathered together in one, even Christ.

Ephesians 1:9,10 – Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good purpose which he hath purposed in himself; That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him.

Ephesians 3:11 – According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

2 Peter 1:3 – According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

Spiritual Life

Spiritual Life is having that very Christ appear in each of those things, and in all of those things in you. Holiness is just a word until Christ appears in it. Holiness is a way people dress until Christ appears in it. Holiness is your hairdo until Christ appears in it. I want to tell you what holiness is. Holiness is stupidity until CHRIST appears in it! But when Christ appears in it, then it is nature, character; then it is substance, and then it is soul transforming. Every Spiritual thing that you separate Christ from is the thing with which you have no relationship. You are NOT going to attain it except in The Person of Him. You are NOT going to know it except in The Person of Him. Now that to me is startling! To me that is reason to stop and take account as to where I know Him or not in the way that Paul presents Him in every letter. We truly believe that in every letter Paul is giving Christians a list of Spiritual things to do. But he is not: in every epistle he is showing CHRIST, the fulness of all things. And we run with it, and we identify with it and try to "apply" it. Let’s not! Let’s wait until CHRIST APPEARS in it.

1 Peter 1:15,16 – But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.

1 Peter 3:3,4 – Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.

A Greater View of Him

And I have found in the dealings of The Lord with me, He calls my attention to a thing, and I mean one of the "all things in Christ". He calls my attention to a term, and I begin to search, and the end of that search is always a new, a fresh, an enlarged view of Him. With that very term, and the searching of the scriptures concerning that very term from the beginning to the end, a scriptural environment begins to be created in my heart for the appearing of Christ; for the revealing of The Son. And while in the course of that search I probably come to find original Hebrew or Greek definitions, which sometimes gives me a better understanding of that term; but the appearing of Christ always takes the term even beyond its correct definition. The appearing of Christ gives the term personality. The appearing of Christ personifies the term. He appears in the term, and all of a sudden the term goes beyond Hebrew or Greek, Spanish or English definitions, and is defined and fulfilled in The Person. And That Person is in me!

The Word in You

God is not revealing Him afar. No, He is in you! The Word that The Father reveals is in you. IN YOU. That’s where The Father reveals Him, but do you know that One Word, that Eternal Word is the summation of all words? How can we possibly say we understand the scripture except Christ has appeared in the midst of it? Jesus says the volume of the book speaks of Me. In how many of these terms has Christ appeared in you? I know you’ve heard the words: I’ve heard the words since I was born, laying on a carpet drinking water out of a fruit jar. I’ve heard the words since I experienced what Pentecostals call "baptized in the Holy Spirit", speaking in tongues at six years old. I’ve heard the words… has Christ appeared in any of them? For a large part of my ministry He has not! My understanding of holiness was defined by the denomination I was part of. Which is to say it was defined by the ignorance of men, or by ignorant men! It certainly wasn’t defined by Christ. I had no idea what it was. But because I at least had an honesty in my heart, I really wanted to know The Lord, and the doing or not doing of these things, I knew in my heart didn’t increase that one bit – I knew that.

Romans 10:8 – But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach.

John 1:14 – And the Word was made 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 5:39-40 – Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that ye might have life.

Hebrews 10:7 – Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

A Hungry Heart for Him

Why would I then preach it to other people telling them it was going to change their lives? I found myself fighting myself every time I got up to preach because I was telling people to do certain things, and I knew good and well it hadn’t done me any good. Oh yes, saved, speaking in tongues since six years old, and yet there was no change in me. I knew the turmoil that was in my soul! All the religious concepts of Spiritual Life didn’t do it. But I wasn’t satisfied with religious concepts: I really wanted to be changed, I really wanted something of the increase of God. I really wanted to know The Lord! It drove me to utter frustration! It drove me to the point of saying, ‘Dear God, there’s got to be more to Salvation than just this!’ The Spirit of God had been witnessing in me that there was something more to Salvation than I’ve got any idea about, or that I’m hearing in all these words. The Spirit of God just keeps moving in me towards something, but I don’t have the slightest idea what. I’ve jumped pews, rolled on the floor and slobbered – trying to find what The Spirit of The Lord was moving toward. So I would jump up and run, and after I got through running, all I was – was tired!

Philippians 3:10,11 – That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.

The Truth Speaks

So I was thinking: this must not be the end of it. It drove me to frustration. And thanks be to God, somebody spoke Truth – THE TRUTH, not another true Word… See, the words are all true, but until THE TRUTH appears in them, they are not Life; they won’t change you. They may challenge but they won’t change. Somebody spoke The Truth, and they did that by handing me a publication. It was through that publication that I heard The Voice of Truth. And though the person in whom that Voice of Truth was originally released had gone out from this world, that publication remains. And it will still speak to those who are listening and looking for The Truth. Now we shouldn’t give our whole lives just to producing publications; no, we ought to produce LIVING LETTERS. The reason for producing publications is to produce Living Letters. It is not our desire that the reality of Christ live on in publications; but that it live on in His Body - in Living Letters, in Living Members. But this is one way that we do minister to that Body, and to those that have an ear to hear.

Galatians 4:19 – My little children, of whom I travail in birth again until Christ be formed in you.

2 Corinthians 3:2,3 – Ye are our epistles written in our hearts, known and read of all men: Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.

An Appearing of The Lord

But we’ve got to come to that place. So The Lord dealt with me in those terms, and there was as always an appearing of The Lord – a revealing of Christ. And as always it became more than a word study; it became searching the scripture FOR HIM. And as it always does it became more than definitions It became a reality of Truth. And rather than bringing in a new thought or a new term as it usually is in which He would appear, The Lord spoke to me and said, ‘I want you to go back and take a closer look at LIFE. I desire to appear there.’ So I began to do that. And the first thing I did was call up in a Bible program every verse with the term "LIFE" starting in the Old Testament. I came to a realization that I wasn’t all that aware of: that in the Old Testament, which is the Old Covenant writings, the Hebrew word for "life: has a totally different meaning than "life" in the New Covenant writings, The New Testament. It’s not only a different word: one Hebrew and one Greek, but the definition is different. And I noticed that, and it is there that The Lord really began to challenge my heart, and really began to create ground for Himself to appear. And it is out from that I want to share with you, I want to share concerning LIFE.

Who is Life?

We might say: what is Life? But it’s going to come down to: WHO is Life? Now we can ask the question – what is Life? But it’s going to be answered in a Who! You can say, as I heard some psychiatrists ask: what is happiness? Well, the end of their conclusion was it was drug induced, and they are head of a big government national research facility developing the drug to induce happiness! The thing that really startled me in listening to that and saying how ignorant can you be, was The Lord spoke to me and said, ‘Son, my people are just that ignorant concerning Life.’ And it really shut me up! And the Lord has been speaking to me concerning Life. And what I want to do is lay some ground with you so we can come to some conclusions about Life. Sometimes we in whom Christ is being revealed forget that in the process of us coming to know Him in that way there was a lot of ground that had to be prepared. And many times in our presentations to The Lord’s Body we fail to prepare that same ground; because I’m not concerned with getting you to listen to my sermons or teachings. I desire to create an environment in which The Lord appears; because if The Lord doesn’t appear, I might as well stop preaching and teaching!

The Lord Appears

So I’ve asked The Lord more and more recently than I ever have before: "Father God, help me in every place that I am, to prepare ground; in whatever I do and say, help me to prepare an environment for the appearing of The Lord." We are going to find that there are places where He will appear, and there are places where He will NOT appear. It is simply not conducive to His appearing. The pattern of that is in the Tabernacle. There were those articles of the Tabernacle that were preparatory. They were necessary to His appearing, but were NOT the place of His appearing. And you couldn’t skip any of them and get to His appearing. We always want to turn and read the end of the book; and I’m telling you – the end of this book is CHRIST. And He is revealed in hearts that are prepared to hear Him, in hearts that are turned to see Him. So as The Lord enables me to do, I want to share with you what I trust will be preparing an environment for His appearing.

1 Kings 19:11,12 – And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And behold, The Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake; And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.

Exodus 25:21,22 – And thou shalt put the mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the testimony that I shall give thee. And there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony, of all things which I will give thee in commandment unto the children of Israel.

Matthew 13:23 – But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

The Cross as A Person

Now we need to see something. Where is the place where God manifests The Truth? Where did He make His Word manifest? AT THE CROSS! Where did He manifest His Son? AT THE CROSS. Where is the mystery of God made known? AT THE CROSS. Not the Cross as a stick of wood; not the Cross as an emblem – THE CROSS AS A PERSON; The Person of His Son in Whom He fulfilled all things; in Whom The Work of God is FINISHED. THE CROSS IS A FINISHED WORK. We are going to use that to make a distinction, a division in what most of us think is life, and what is Life indeed. I want us to come to see the difference in living beings, and by that I mean souls: souls that live. We can use the term "Adamic" – The Adamic Creation. It is every man born of woman – living beings. I want us to see the difference in being a living being, and those who have LIFE.

John 8:28 – Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.

Colossians 1:26,27 – Even the mystery which hath been hid from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to his saints: To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

John 4:34 – Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work.

John 19:30 – When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished; and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.

John 5:39,40 – Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me. And ye will not come to me, that you might have life.

1 John 5:11,12 – And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.

The I AM Factor

We are going to be dealing with what I am calling "The I AM Factor." We will see that "I AM" never suggests what Christ does, but rather always Who He is. But it’s more than that even. The "I AM" brings the thing right into His Person; or rather, it brings Him to appear right in the midst of the thing. And rather than the thing – you see HIM! That’s "The I AM Factor", and we’ll look at the progression of that in the scripture. And until we turn from seeing things to see CHRIST, we can talk until our tongues fall out! You’ve got to have hearts that have turned to see CHRIST – not religion, not Christianity. The Bible does not teach Christianity: it teaches Christ. It doesn’t teach religion; it teaches Christ. More than ever before I have come to realize that the whole issue with God is LIFE. We think that’s one of the issues. No, that’s the whole issue – LIFE!

Matthew 16:15 – He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am?

I Am Come That They May Have Life

John 10:7-10. This is the basis of our search. "Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture. (the term "in and out" is a Greek phrase which means the origin out from which a thing flows) The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy; I AM COME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE, AND THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE IT MORE ABUNDANTLY." I AM COME THAT THEY MIGHT HAVE LIFE – we’ll look at that phrase more closely. "I AM COME". If He does not come, it does very little good to look for anything that He is! That’s the reason why most Christians think Salvation is a big bag of stuff that He has given. They have very little concept of the reality that it is HE HIMSELF. "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly." And we will look at Life – Abundant Life. I am come…

Adam – A Living Soul

Now let’s look at the Adamic Creation. Genesis 2:7, " And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Again in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul brings this same definition of the Adamic creation in, and he is calling it "the first man" that is after the earth, earthy. Verse 45, " And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." He contrasts that with Christ; he contrasts that with the last Adam. He contrasts the first man with the second man. The contrast is just this: in the first man there is NO life. God does not dwell in that first man. He gave life, He breathed life, and man became a living soul. The first man had the capacity for life, but life is not found in man. Man is not the definition of LIFE, nor is LIFE defined in man. So we have living beings – no life; living beings having no life. Now we understand that Adam through disobedience sinned, and the condition of this man became DEAD IN SIN. But he never had Life; he was purposed FOR Life. Through disobedience he was separated from Life, from his communication with Life – through sin.

1 Corinthians 15:22 – For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

Romans 5:12 – Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin: and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned.

Genesis 2:9 – And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

Genesis 3:23,24 – Therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from whence he was taken. So he drove out the man; and he placed at the east of the garden of Eden Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life.

Adam Had NO Life

See, somehow we’ve got the idea that the problem with this man was sin, and if we can get these sins forgiven, then he’s on his way to heaven. No, the problem with this man is he has no life. You ask: how can a living soul have no life? Well, a living soul is dead in sin, but he has no life. Everything else of that first creation brought forth after its own kind, after its own seed. God was saying something, but the Adamic man, the created man was NOT after God’s own seed. 1 Corinthians 15:47 is very clear about that. " The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven." The word "of" is the Greek word "ek" that means ‘denoting origin’. That man, Adam did NOT come out from God; he was created of God, and he was given created life. He was given a soul, he was given the capacity for life. But he is of the earth. That’s what that means. And when it speaks of the second one, it says he is from heaven. And the word "from" is the same word, and it is denoting origin. The second man is out from God; The Lord from heaven – denoting origin.

Genesis 1:24,27 – And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.

Facing Life

Isn’t it interesting as we look at these as two creations, that everything is coming "out" from heaven; rather than trying "to get there"! Here is the intelligence of living beings: dead, but thinking they are alive. Dead, but thinking they have Life. But the problem is that this mentality has come over into the Church; it has come over into the Christians. Most Christians think that their life is made up of their surrounding environment of people, places and things. They say, ‘I get up every morning and face life.’ Listen – you don’t have to get up to "face life". Life is not what you face when you get up. What you face when you get up is the world; it’s your surrounding environment. You face people, places: you face husband, wife, children; you face job, you face towns, cities; you face things. But the problem is we really do think that is our life. See, that’s true for living beings – having no Life in them. They seek for life in people, places and things. They seek for happiness in people, places and things. They seek for joy and peace and security in people, places and things. They seek for worth in people, places and things. The problem is most Christians do too, because to most Christians Salvation is getting living beings forgiven of sins.

Eternity

And we even go so far as to preach that Eternity is a place where living beings – live forever! We preach that is where living beings live a long, long time. But Eternity is NOT measured in time or in days. In fact, the term "eternity" means NO TIME. The only measurement of Eternity is CHRIST HIMSELF. Eternity: the fulness of Eternity is Christ. Time can not even contain it, nor can time contain Him! He is The Seed of which Abraham was instructed to try to count the stars. If you can count the stars you can count the sand. No, Eternity is only measured in Christ. If you are going to face Eternity, you are going to face it IN CHRIST.

Genesis 15:5 – And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Genesis 13:16 – And I will make thy seed as the dust of the earth; so that if a man can number the dust of the earth, then shall thy seed also be numbered.

Facing Eternity

But you see, we think that facing Eternity is when our natural body dies and we put it in a hole in the ground, and THEN we face Eternity. Where did we ever get that idea? The only place you are going to face Eternity is in Christ, and you are going to face it as either being IN HIM, or not being IN HIM. He is the face of Eternity! And He is the measure of Eternity. We think that we are living beings and Salvation is bringing God into our lives, and giving Him a place there. Then of course our problem is how much of a place to give Him. What belongs to Him, and what belongs to me? How much of "my time" should I give Him? How much of "my things"? How can I put Him first in "my life"? That’s our thinking, and that is so contrary to The Truth! The Truth can’t even deal with it. You can’t filter The Truth into that: The Truth has no place there. You’ve got to come completely out of that in the face of The Truth. To try to instruct somebody on how to give God time in "their life" with me is an impossibility! I can’t deal with that and speak the Truth at the same time. But that’s how we think.

John 12:25 – He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.

Ephesians 4:20,21 – But ye have not so learned Christ; If so be that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.

Seeking For Life

See, that is so if all we are is living beings. But living being have no Life. So, they seek to find life. They try to find it in pleasure. I just want you to think about this. I want to set up a contrast for you to think about. Where is it you are seeking for Life? In people, in places? If so, your life is continually in turmoil! Your life is based upon how people relate to you; your life is based upon what you do or don’t have, or the amount of things you can accumulate if that’s where you are finding life. I wish we’d all just get honest, because God love us, that’s where most of us are finding life. And you are trying to get God to come in there and make it better. You’re trying to get God to make this a better environment. This is never going to be a better environment! He’s got a better land! He’s got a better city, and Christ is the fulness of it! He is the reality of it!

Luke 12:19 – And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.

1 Corinthians 15:32 – If after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me, if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink; for to morrow we die.

Hebrews 11:10 – For he (Abraham) looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.

Hebrews 12:22 – But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem and to an innumerable company of angels.

Revelation 21:10,11 – And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

A Better Place

But Christians are still talking about that "better place" as though they are not there, and in their mind, in the understanding of their mind and heart they are not. There is a necessity for the renewing of the mind! Our mind is to be RENEWED. How is the mind renewed? In Truth. Truth of what? The LIFE. "I am the truth, I am the life." (John 14:6) "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:32) then verse 36, "If THE SON therefore shall make you free, you are free indeed." If your life is continually being disturbed that’s because it’s in people, places or things. And I’ll guarantee you – it is continually being disturbed. While we "wait to go to a better life". My God! Yes, the Adamic creation can say we are waiting for a better life. But YOU – who have come to Christ? You and I who have come to Christ? We’re waiting for a better life? Well, what kind of life would that be? "I am come that you might have life, and have it more abundantly." (John 10:10) I didn’t come to give you the promise of it: I am come that you might HAVE LIFE, and have it more abundantly.

Colossians 3:1,2 – If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, and not on things on the earth.

Ephesians 4:23 – And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

Romans 12:2 – And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God.

I Am Come

The Old Covenant gave you a promise of it. I Am Come – The volume of the book speaks of Me. I am come. And I’ve come that you might have life. Why? Because that’s what you don’t have! You don’t have Life. In Life all else is found – righteousness, holiness – all of that is found in Life. Why? Because Life is not a subject – I AM LIFE! I AM LIFE! I don’t give Life – I am Life! And it’s amazing that is exactly what those two definitions say if you understand those definitions in Christ. The Old Covenant definition of life – CHAY; the Hebrew word means animal behavior, animal life. It means flesh, alive, animation; but it’s NOT Eternal. There is no concept of Eternal Life in the Old Covenant. There is the promise of it: the type, the shadow, the mystery of it, but no concept of it. That comes in The New Covenant. Immediately when The New Covenant came in, when Christ came in, the whole definition of life changes. And it’s not just because it comes from a Hebrew word to a Greek word: the whole definition changes. And it becomes "Eternal Life", which is the only kind of Life there is – Eternal Life. We have come in Christ to Life, and yet our minds, our understanding is still in the first, trying to make it work as a living being. We think that if we could just get out of this place, it would be better. We think that then "Life" would be better.

Life is Better

We think that if I could just get out of this place it would be better. LIFE would be better. Oh, there may be better environments here in this creation, but there is no place where LIFE is going to be better, because there’s no place here where you are going to find Life – period! Life is better. Life is Christ, and Life is better. But Life is better regardless of the environment. In fact, Life may have something to do with changing the environment, or at least affecting it. Or since Life is not for affecting the environment, what Life actually may do is minister to somebody else in that environment so that they too might have Life. Listen, I’m all for cleaning up the environment. I don’t like to live in a pig sty, but I don’t find my Life in the environment. Regardless of what the scriptures say, most of us are still wary soldiers, weary pilgrims trudging through… in spite of the fact that the scripture says you are no more strangers and sojourners, but fellow citizens with the saints, builded upon a foundation, a habitation of the living God. No, we still look around and think this is it, and it’s because of what we have been preached in the name of the Gospel, which is not a Gospel.

2 Corinthians 2:14 – Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge by us in every place.

Ephesians 2:19-22 – Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: In whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.

Galatians 1:8,9 – But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.

Sin Not the Issue – but LIFE

For most Christians The Cross is not the place of transition from death unto life: for most The Cross is just the place where their sins were paid for. So now they are a living being without any sin. But before Adam sinned he was a living being and he still had no life. Now that’s not what God is after. You still are going to have to come to Life. And having come to Life; having received Christ, you must then come to The TRUTH OF LIFE. So this is what we’re going to look at. Jesus says, "I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." (John 10:9). And this is going to be really important to us because of what we are going to see: what the condition of this whole man became. Christ brought this whole Adamic man into a certain and sure condition. And then said – Do you want out? I am the Door! There isn’t any way out of here: I am the Door. But we are going to find something out about the characteristics, the nature, character, substance of that Door, and we’re going to find that the Door is not nearly so much a way out, as it is the way in.

The I AM Factor

And in that understanding we’re going to look at the three characteristics of that Door. We’re going to look at the I Am Factor. John 14:6, " …I am the way, the truth, and the life…" Here in John 10:9 He has said, "…by me if any man enter in…" In John 16:6 He says, "… no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." Yes, here is the nature of The Door. Here is the dimensions of The Door: The Door which is The I AM. Here are the dimensions of The I AM Door: I am Way, I am Truth, I am Life. It is CHRIST appearing as the fulness of each of those terms, Christ appearing as the fulness of each of those dimensions: the way, the truth, the life. When we are confronted with The I AM, we are confronted with a Divine order of things. Look at the Tabernacle. Most of us, in our understanding of Salvation, in our understanding of Life – most of us would just say it doesn’t really make any difference where all that furniture is. Just get it in the house! But with God it didn’t only make a difference where it was placed in the Tabernacle; it made a difference as to when it was created, as to when it was built, and then where it was placed, because it is the Divine Order of Approach.

Hebrews 8:5 – Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

Exodus 25:9 – According to all that I shew thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.

The Divine Order of Approach

We must see this. Jesus says, ‘I am the approach, but there is a Divine Order to that "I am". And He spells it out for us: I AM Door, I AM Way, Truth and Life. That is a Divine Order of Approach. In other words, it is a Divine Order of Spiritual Comprehension. This is the way we come to comprehend Him. And you can try to comprehend the terms in a reverse order; but He won’t appear in them in a reverse order. Until He is in you: until you see Him and you face Him as "I AM Way" you will not face Him as "I AM Truth", and then "I AM Life." Those are not three things He is; those are three dimensions of Who He is -–as I AM Door. What was the Tabernacle? The Tabernacle was in representation of I AM THAT I AM. Tell Israel, I AM sent you. Where is that Testimony of God in the midst of Israel? It’s in the Tabernacle. So there the whole thing is: I AM THAT I AM! But how do you approach it? You can’t even crawl under the edge of the tent! You’d have to be dragged out of there by your heels if you tried that – dead! It’s unapproachable except by THE WAY.

Exodus 3:13,14 – And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM; and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.

We Come By Him

So, the brazen altar, which was the last piece of furniture made and set in place, is the first we approach. It all comes out from God. First made was The Ark of The Covenant, and set in its place. Then right all the way through. The last made and set in its place was the Brazen Altar. We come in reverse order. See, Christ proceeded out: that by Him we may come in. We must understand this. So to you and I, in our comprehending in the order of our approach, He is not first Life: He is first death. This Door has blood on the outside of it. And we’ll take a closer look at that. See, man brought himself into one condition, and God says that’s all right. I’m going to bring you into an acceptable condition. And in The Person of His Son, God brings this man into an acceptable condition. God can accept him DEAD! And it’s just like it’s all over for man until The I AM comes and says – this death is meant for Life. I AM THE DOOR!

Exodus 25:10 – And they shall make an ark of shittim wood: two cubits and a half shall be the length thereof, and a cubit and a half the breadth thereof, and a cubit and a half the height thereof.

Exodus 27:10 – And thou shalt make an altar of shittim wood, five cubits long, and five cubits broad; the altar shall be foursquare; and the height thereof shall be three cubits.

John 8:42 – Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

Hebrews 2:9,10 – But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Exodus 12:7 – And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.

Romans 3:23 – For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.

Ephesians 1:6 – To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

Ephesians 2:16,18 – And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.

John 11:25 – Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life; he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.

The Judgment of The Cross

Oh beloved, I want to talk to you about this because I don’t think most of us appreciate what we have in Christ because most of us don’t understand the condition of the Adamic man. We just think he’s laden with sin. We think that if we live better we’ll be okay. No, that’s not right! THE CROSS is the judgment that we must face, and continue to face, because it continually separates the living from the dead. I want us to look at The Way, The Truth and The Life, and I trust in these terms, and I trust in the scripture presenting these terms, that we will see these terms as they are truly presented in the scripture. They are presented in THE I AM that THE I AM will appear. If He doesn’t appear in these terms, then these terms just become Old Covenant teachings – still looking for The Lord. What makes the New Covenant new? CHRIST appears in it! It’s new as to its nature, its character, its substance.

2 Corinthians 5:14 – For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead.

John 12:31-33 – Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Abundant Life

"I am Door – The Way, The Truth, The Life. I am come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly." And that should thrill our hearts, and will when we come to comprehend I AM Life – more abundantly! That’s Life measured in the fulness of HIM. That’s Life you can’t contain. When you come to abundant Life – that’s the Life that’s not for you; it’s for others with whom you share it. Abundant Life is not measured by the things I can get. Abundant Life is what we give, it’s what we share; it’s what flows out from us! Isn’t that odd? We thought it was God giving us a bunch of things. Abundant Life has nothing at all to do with getting: it is GIVING what you have got. Not only Life – but ABUNDANT Life! Measured in the fulness of Him. But what is it as to its administration? What is it as to its nature and character? We’ll look at that. This is the area in which we will be searching, that in that environment created by The Word, we may see Him. For the seeing of Him is not on a blackboard, but IN YOU! Blessed be the Lamb of The Living God!