RESURRECTION by J W LUMAN (This was a taped message in December 1992) THE REALITY AND PERSON OF THE RESURRECTION Turn with me to John 11. I want to talk to you in this lesson concerning the resurrection, the reality and the Person of the Resurrection. I want to deal with the resurrection. I want you to see the resurrection in a view that, possibly, many of us never have. This is the time of year when a good portion of the world, and all of the Church, celebrates the birth of a baby in a manger. I want to tell you something, and I do not want to burst any Christmas balloons, and I love the Christmas season as much as any one does; but, I am not serving a babe in a manger. I am not ever excited about the birth of the baby in the manger. I am excited about the only birth of the only begotten Son of God in me. I am excited, during this time, about the resurrection. I know that, in our carnal dispensationalized mind, that we only deal with the resurrection during Easter time; but, I would have you to understand, as would Christ, here in this 11 chapter of John, that the resurrection is not a day, a time, an event, as man would place it on his calendar to be. The Resurrection is a Person, and by the grace of God, through the power of that very resurrection, the power of the Resurrection Himself, I dwell in that Person. I am quickened by that Person, and come what may, and though this body dissolve into dirt, I yet remain quickened by the power of the resurrection. But, I do not want to continue to deal in this lesson with those who have left their bodies and have gone through what we carnally call "death". I am dealing with those of us who still are alive in the flesh. Though I want you to understand that, though we are alive in the flesh, our life is the Living Christ Who never dies, and indeed cannot die. HE IS THE RESURRECTION. You and I must understand we are the Body of and the embodiment of the Person of the Resurrection. We are not dealing here with resurrected bodies, but we are dealing with the Body of the Resurrection. At this time, this last month of the year, more than Christmas, I am thinking of the death of one year and the birth of another. I am thinking of the death of an old man and the coming forth of a New Man. I am thinking of the Resurrection, the coming forth of the Son of the Living God, bringing forth in Himself, by Himself and through Himself many sons into and unto His very self-same glory. That is what I want us to look at for just a few moments, and I would like to not try to change your thinking concerning anything traditionally; but I would rejoice with you, if during this season, we could dwell more on the Resurrection than we do on the babe in the manger. HE WHO IS THE RESURRECTION REMAINS Because the babe in the manger has come and gone, and you are never going to see Him in that fashion, or in that form again. That form and that fashion served its purpose. Its purpose has come. Its purpose has gone. But the Resurrection remains. He Who is the Resurrection remains; and because we are in Him, we are remaining also by Him. John 11. You know the scene. Jesus has come to the place where they have buried Lazarus. In verse four of this chapter, "When Jesus heard that...." (It was that Lazarus was sick.),"...He said, 'This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby." Now, it is tremendously important here that we understand why Jesus said "the Son of God", and not "the Son of Man". It is important that we understand here, or at least see, and make note, that it is the Son of God that is to be glorified here. Not the Son of Man, but the Son of God. You say, "Are they not the same?" Well, they are one, but not necessarily the same, in this way: the Body and the Church. They are one, but not necessarily the same. They are one in that they are made one in Christ. They are one in that the Church and the Body is made up of the same believers. They are not the same in that the Body is invisible, and the Church is visible. The Church therefore is to become, and is becoming, (I am speaking of the true Church, not what we religiously call the church, but the true Church, the true local expression of Christ, and all of those local expressions of Christ put together, that are truly expressions of Him, not just expressions of some religious belief, or some spiritual ministry. But those places that are truly local manifestations of Christ Himself). Well, the Church. That Church is a visible manifestation of an invisible union called the Body. All believers are part of that Body; but not all believers are part of any one local Church. There are many local churches, all expressing one glorious Body. We want to replace, and in much of our teaching, we have replaced this term, "the Body", with the term, "Universal Church". There is no such thing as a universal church, or a world church. The anti-Christ, the fullness of Adam, will probably seek to have a world church, a unified church, a universal church; but there is no such thing as a universal church. The Body is universal. The Body is eternal. You say, "Well, what is the difference?" There is a great deal of difference, because the Body is in Heaven. The Body is in Christ in Heavenly places. It is a spiritual union, a spiritual Body. I want us in this lesson, at least to come to understand that the Scriptures do declare such a thing, to come to understand that spiritual union with Christ which is called "Body"; and perhaps, have the eyes of our understanding enlightened in the light of Him, in the light of His appearing, that we may come to apprehend, that we may come to comprehend our union with Him and fully come to realize that we indeed are His Body. His Body is universal. Every born-again believer makes up the Body. The Church is that which expresses the Body in the earth; and it takes many churches to make up that expression. So, there is not just one church, one local church anywhere. Many local churches, all expressions of the One Universal, Eternal Body, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is as the Body, in that realm, in that understanding, as the Body that we must come to know Christ. Then become a living expression of that knowledge in the earth as the Church. A great deal of understanding must come to us concerning this reality of which I am now speaking. It is the resurrection that has brought forth into reality His Body. The expression of that reality in the earth we call the Church. The Church, in its expression, in its manifestation in the earth, is continually changing. The Body does not change. It remains the same. It grows in the knowledge of the Lord. It grows up in Him. So, in that way, it does change, as we have called it "The Everchanging Heavens"; because the Body is developing, and the Body is growing; and yet, it is always the same Body, because it always has the same Head and the same life. It is always the same Body. It is the Body of Christ. It never changes. The Church never ceases to be the Church of Christ either, but you will see great visible changes in the makeup and in the operation and in the ministry of the Church; because the Church is that visible manifestation, that visible reflection of that invisible Body which is continually being transformed into the very image of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who, of course is the Head and the substance thereof. Well, how did all of this come about? How did the Body come about? How did you and I come about? In Christ Jesus. How did all of this take place? It all came about by the resurrection. Until there was the resurrection, there was no Body raised up in and by and through the Person of the Resurrection. That is why the Bible calls Him "the first-born from among the dead". We will look at that in a moment. SON OF GOD - SON OF MAN Right now, let us look in John. So, Jesus says it is going to be to the glory of the Son of God. Where is the Son of God glorified? The Son of God is glorified in the Heavens. Where is the Son of Man glorified? Well, He is glorified in the earth. Is not the Son of God and the Son of Man one? Yes, the Son of God and the Son of Man is one, both terms speaking of Christ Himself; yet, dealing with Him in two different forms, dealing with Him in different manifest forms. For, as Son of God, He is eternally in the Heavens. As Son of Man, He is manifested in the earth. As Son of God, He relates more to that invisible Body. As Son of Man, He relates more to that very visible Church. Some precious brother one time, who was very profound in this Word, made a declaration concerning this Son of Man. He said, "I think that the term 'Son of Man' could best be understood by the term 'Son in man'." That never got away from me. "Son in Man". Because, you see, (and I do not want to confuse you), there is that view set forth in Israel in the type that declares Christ in you; then there is that view that declares you in Christ. Though these are actually one, they are not the same. They are one. You are in Him, He is in you. It is one union and one glory; but it is not actually the same. Those are two different terms having to do with realms of truth; yet, put together, those two things make up one New Man, one New Creation, Christ in you, you in Christ. The term, "Son of God", best relates to the Heavens where it is you in Christ. Raised up together, seated together in Heavenly places in Christ Jesus, where He has brought many sons to glory. You are relating to this. A SPIRITUAL REALM Hebrews 2:9, "But, we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, 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 suffering." It continues on, "For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren, saying, 'I will declare Thy name unto my brethren. In the midst of the church, I will sing praise unto Thee." Here we have this view, first of us being brought into Him, then this view of He in the midst of us. When we are dealing with this understanding that we have been raised up together with Him and brought into glory, this is the glory of the Son of God. This is the glory that transpires, and is the result of the resurrection. "Whereby He has raised up His own Body and in Heavenly places..." and that is talking about a sphere, not some place in the clouds. That is a realm of greater majesty, a realm of greater authority that Christ Himself by His own Spirit, quickened you into that realm, raised you into a new realm, into a spiritual realm. It is not off someplace. It is a spiritual reality, brought you into a spiritual realm, into a quickened realm. How did He do that? Through THE RESURRECTION. Quickened you. Quickened you together to Himself. Quickened you by His own Spirit, and has brought you into a realm that the Bible calls "being in Christ", being in the Spirit, being in Heavenly places. That is, being in a realm that the eye cannot see, the ear cannot hear, the natural mind cannot understand, but a realm of spiritual reality where we are said to dwell in Christ. Here, that realm relates more to the Son of God; because it is an eternal realm. It is an eternal realm, never changing in the Heavens, an eternal realm. It is there, in relation to Him as Son of God, that we grow up and are transformed into His same Image. It is in this realm that He speaks of in John 14, where He says, "I am, that there ye may be also." Then He goes on to explain that by saying in verse 20 of John 14, "In that day you will understand that I am in My Father." What does that mean? It speaks of His Spiritual union with the Father. Then He goes on to say, "And you are in Me." That speaks of our spiritual union with Him. "And I am in you." That speaks of His spiritual union with us. He bringing us, by His own Spirit, into a spiritual union with the Godhead; so that, we dwell in Spirit, and the Spirit dwells in us. There is that glorious union that Paul calls, "dwelling in Christ", or "living in Heavenly places", or "walking in the Spirit". This is the result of the resurrection. This is the result of being quickened together with Christ, raised up together, made to be seated together in Him, that is in living union with Christ. And, it is here, in this union, that we most closely associate with the term "Son of God"; because we are being transformed into His image. But, where that is being made manifest visibly is called "the Church"; because, although we are in Christ, we are on earth. In that respect, we are called the Church. The Church is that visible representation. THE SON IN MAN GLORIFIED Here, the reality is not so much that we are in Christ; but, rather, that Christ is in us, the indwelling Christ, and that it is to be Christ in man, the Son in man Who is glorified. How is the Son in man glorified? He is glorified through the death of the man. What did Jesus speak of concerning the Cross? Now, here, concerning the resurrection, He said, "This is for the glory of the Son of God"; but, concerning the Cross, in John 12:23, "And Jesus said, 'The hour is come that the Son of Man should be glorified'." It is a different term. Speaking of Himself, but in two different views, in two different realms, one glorified in the resurrection, the other glorified in death. In the resurrection, the Son of God is glorified, that eternal Son of God Who ever liveth, and in Whom we now live, by the resurrection, by His own Spirit, by His own quickening power. The other, the Son of Man, Son in man, Christ in you, and the only way that He can be glorified in you, is through your death. We are not talking about a natural death. We are talking about the death of the Cross. Jesus, in John 12, was not talking about just dying naturally. He was talking about the death of the Cross. You and I must understand, and that is something I want us to see in this lesson. You and I must understand. When we are dealing with spiritual life, and when we are dealing with Son of Man and Son of God, when we are dealing with the Body and the Church, when we are dealing with life and death, when we are dealing with the old creation and the New Creation, we are not dealing with the natural concept of life, nor the natural concept of death; though both may be affected. We are not dealing specifically with natural life or natural death, but spiritual life and, let me say, spiritual death. We are dealing with the life that Christ is, and the death that Adam, at the Cross, died. How is the Son in man glorified? By the death of man. How is the Son in me, J W Luman, glorified? By the death of J W Luman, by me coming to understand "I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless, I live, yet not I. Christ lives in me." In that statement, if it is a statement of reality from my soul, the Son of Man is glorified. But, if I am without the understanding that I am dead, and He is alive; if I think that I have some sort of life that He has given me, and if it is me, me being like Jesus, me this, me that, then He is not glorified in me. "For no flesh shall glory in His Presence." So, the Son of God is glorified in the resurrection. The Son of Man is glorified in the crucifixion. When we relate to the Son of God, we relate to a spiritual, heavenly position, as sons of God; but when we are relating to Son of Man, we are relating to the manifestation of that heavenly reality in the earth, and on the earth. We are relating to Him as His Church, in whom He dwells. "I will declare and sing Your praises in the midst of the church, in the midst of my brethren will I declare this thing." As the Son of Man, He is glorified in the earth how? Through our death. And, again, I am not talking about natural death, but through our embracing the Cross. A SELF EMPTYING Notice in Philippians 2:5, "Let this same mind be in you, which was in Christ Jesus." What is the characteristics of that Mind? The first characteristic was one that we have called "kenosis", though I am not going to go into that subject here, "the self-emptying one". As you and I begin to identify with the Son of Man, with the Christ Who dwells in us, with the Christ Who dwells in His Body, the Church, with the Christ Who dwells in you and I here on this earth: as we begin to identify with Him, we are going to go into a kenosis, that is a self-emptying, that is we are going to begin to realize, it is not me, it is Christ. We are going to begin to realize, I am not righteous, He is righteous. We are going to begin to realize that there is nothing I can do to be good, He is good. We are going to begin to realize, I must set my heart to know Him, and to learn Him. That immediately takes us into the heavens, or into the Spirit, because it is in the Spirit that we learn Him and in the earth that we manifest Him. I must say what Paul said, "Your heavenly relationship must be your earthly walk." "If ye live in the Spirit, then walk in the Spirit." That is the problem now with the Church. The Church is talking about heavenly things, but they are involved in earthly things. They are talking about great salvation, but involved in little more than a salvage program, or rehab program. No. If we are to manifest Christ in the earth, we must know Him in the Heavens. When will the Son of Man be glorified in the earth? When the Son of God is revealed in you and I in heavenly places; then in the earth, we live according to that realization that it is not I, but Christ Who lives in me, I have no life but Him. Then, He will be glorified in the earth as the Son of Man. I suppose what I am trying to say is, when He is glorified as the Son of God in the resurrection, He will be glorified as the Son of Man. The only one Who lives in our bodies, He will be glorified in the earth. I am dealing first with the resurrection; because it is by the resurrection we are raised up and made to be seated together with Him in the Heavens; and, as the eyes of our understanding are enlightened in Heaven, in Spirit, in Christ Jesus, all of a sudden, we will find a transformation taking place on the earth in our lives daily. And, the Son of God will begin to be glorified, not only in Heaven, not only in our Spirit, but in our bodies, He will begin to be glorified in the earth. Son of God, Son of Man. But, until you and I begin to realize Him in the power of His resurrection, until we come to understand that it is He and He alone Who lives, there is no chance at all of Him being glorified in the earth. Why? Because it will be us living. In our own hearts it will be us living, and not Him. Why did Paul make this statement in Philippians? In Philippians 3 he continues in the same vein, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Now in Philippians 3:1-10 he says, "Oh that I might know Him in the power of His resurrection and in the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable to His death." Now, being made conformable to His death. I want to turn there for a moment. BEING MADE CONFORMABLE TO HIS DEATH "...and in the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable to His death, if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead." What in the world is Paul talking about here? Why does he say, "I want to know Him in the power of his resurrection? Why did he not first say, "I want to know Him in His death so I can know Him in His resurrection?" Why does he say, "I want to know Him in His resurrection so that I can thereby fellowship with Him in His sufferings and thereby be made conformable to His death?" It is this Son of God - Son of Man thing. It is this reality that, until you come to know that only Christ lives in you, there is no way you can understand the true degree to which you do not live. God never teaches us the positive through the negative. He always, by declaring the positive, causes us to realize the negative. You never know darkness until light comes. Jesus said that. He told the Pharisees, "Because you think you have sight, you are blind. But you do not know, you cannot see that you are blind, you will not admit the darkness, you cannot see the darkness, and you will not be able to see the darkness without coming to the light. But, because you will not come to the light, you remain in your darkness thinking that it is light. Therefore, your light has become gross darkness." Do you understand what He is trying to say here? God never shows you life by showing you death. He shows you death by showing you life. Paul comes to understand, "I am crucified", only when he comes to understand, "Christ is living in me. I have no other life but Him, therefore it is not I, it is Christ, therefore I am crucified. I really am crucified. Really it is not me, it is Him." How do you know that, Paul? "Because God revealed His Son in me. The Son of God was glorified in me in Heavenly places in spirit, in truth; so that, now in my very body, in the life which I now live in the flesh, the Son of Man may be glorified in me." The Son of God is glorified in the heavens. The Son of Man is glorified in the earth. As His Body we relate to the Son of God. As the Church we relate to Him as Son of Man. You are never going to relate to Him as Son of Man; You are never going to become a manifestation of Christ on earth, until you are caught up in heavenly places, until the eyes of your understanding are enlightened, until the Son of God, the Only Begotten of the Father is revealed in you. Until you know Him in the power of His resurrection, you are never going to be made conformable to His death. But, in knowing Him in the power of His resurrection, you will be made conformable to His death, and then, you will attain to the resurrection. When God reveals His Son in you in heavenly places, in spirit. I am calling "being in Christ" Heavenly places, "being in Spirit" Heavenly places. Until the Son of God is revealed in you, in Heaven, in Spirit, in Heavenly places, until God reveals His Son in you in the inner man, in the inner sanctum, in the Holy of Holies, you are never going to understand that only Christ lives and not I. Until you see life, you are not going to understand death. Until you understand light, you are not going to understand darkness; because darkness does not divide. Light divides darkness. Darkness does not shine or illuminate light. Light shines in the midst of darkness. Darkness can bring you to know nothing. Light brings you to know all things. Many are listening to the message of the Cross, and they are trying to understand how they are dead with Christ. That is like trying to understand how God made the universe. The natural mind simply cannot comprehend that reality. There is never any way you are going to be able to figure yourself dead. But, when you quit trying to figure out that you are dead, and say, "God, reveal Your Son in me. I am not trying to figure out that I am dead. I am not trying to figure out that I am alive. I just want to know Jesus. I want the Son of Man to be glorified in me; but, I am not going to do that by trying to figure these things out, trying to memorize all these Scriptures that say, 'you are dead' or 'He is alive'. Oh Father, reveal Your Son in me, and by Him make Him understanding, make Him wisdom, make Him knowledge unto me. Let this same mind be in me which was also in Christ Jesus. Oh Father, by Your Spirit, reveal in me the ever living Son of God." If you will turn your heart to know Him in that way, I am telling you that God will reveal His Son in you; and, when He reveals the Son in you, the Son of Man will be glorified. When the Son of God is revealed, the Son of Man will be glorified. When God reveals the Son in you in Heavenly places, you will begin to live on earth in the understanding, "It is not me who lives. It is Christ Who lives in me." What is that? That is being made conformable to His death. That is beginning to understand the difference between you living and Him living. That is what that is. ATTAINING TO THE RESURRECTION Paul calls that being made conformable unto His death. Paul calls that the fellowship of His suffering; and, out of that realization, only one life is going to be made manifest, and it is that life which is Christ. Paul calls that attaining to the resurrection. Now do you see the order? God revealing His Son in you. God revealing His Son. God revealing the Resurrection in you. God bringing you to understand, "Christ lives in me"; causing you, by that reality of understanding, to comprehend, "Well, then, it is not I who live. It is Christ Who lives in me. I do not have another life than Christ." What do we call that? We call that being made conformable unto His death. We call that realizing the truth of the Cross. We call that the faith of the Son of God. What comes out of that? The realization "It is Christ Who lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh, I live realizing that it is not I but Christ Who lives in me." For, when you begin to attain that, when you begin to comprehend that, what do we call that? Attaining to the Resurrection. That is what Paul says here in Philippians, that he had not perfectly attained to. What is he saying? He is saying that, "God is yet revealing His Son in me, and I am yet realizing that it is not I but Christ Who lives; and, therefore, I am yet attaining to that comprehension that causes only Christ to be made manifest, that causes only the One Who is the Resurrection to be seen in all things." Paul is realizing, "It is not yet perfectly so in me. God is yet revealing His Son, and I am yet, because of that suffering death, I am yet realizing to a greater degree every day, how dead I am, and how alive He is. There is yet that increase of Him coming, making in me, and working in me, that decrease of me. There is yet that increase working that decrease. It is yet going on. I am yet attaining, but I have not yet perfectly attained that for which I know God has apprehended me. But, this one thing I do. I will set my sight on the attainment of nothing less than knowing Christ in the full power of His resurrection." Beloved, listen to me. I want you, right now, this minute, this hour, this day, this week, this month, I want you to set your heart upon attaining the resurrection, the attainment of the resurrection. I am not talking about an event. I am talking about the reality of a Person. I am talking about the reality of your union in Christ, with Christ, through Christ. I am talking about the reality of the resurrection that you have already experienced in Spirit, and you need to now experience that resurrection in TRUTH. How are you going to experience the resurrection in truth? Only when God reveals the Resurrection in you. Jesus said, "I am the resurrection. I am the truth. I am the way. I am the light." When God reveals Him in you, then you will understand. It is automatic. When light comes, sight is automatic. When voice sounds, hearing is automatic. When God reveals His Son, knowing is automatic. When God writes His Word in you, it is written in you. What we must set our heart to know is Him. We must set our heart to know Him in the power of His resurrection. This was the cry upon the heart of the Apostle at the very end of his days on earth, at the very end time of his earthly ministry. This was his heart's desire. It was his heart's desire when he first started out, as it is recorded in the epistle to the Galatians. "This whole thing..." Paul says, "...started when God revealed His Son in me, causing me to understand the magnitude of the Cross, causing me to understand the magnitude of the work of God, that the Son of God, lives in me, that I have no life but Him." Paul says, "This has caused me to understand the magnitude of the Cross. This understanding that only Christ lives in me, is enabling me to understand that, when He died, I died; and it is enabling me to understand how completely dead I died. I died so completely dead that I have no life now except that Christ Who lives in me. I have no other life but Him. That is how completely dead I died. I died so dead that except Christ lives in me, I have no life at all." When did you come to first start knowing that Paul? "When God revealed His Son in me, He caused me to begin to understand the mystery of life and death, the mystery of the Cross, the mystery of Heaven and earth, the mystery of being in Christ and the mystery of Christ being in me. He brought me to understand that it is not I but Christ Who lives in me." Paul calls that the preaching of Christ and Him crucified. He also calls that the realization of the mystery of God. His ministry began with God revealing His Son in him. CAUGHT UP INTO THE THIRD HEAVEN He relates to that and says he was caught up into the third heaven. That is in Heavenly places. That is in Christ. It is all the same Greek term. It is the same word. It is the same Biblical language. The sanctuary of God, Heavens, Heaven, Heavenly places, the Holy of Holies, the third Heaven, in Christ. It is all the same place; and, God quickened Paul into the realization of such a place, and there He revealed the Son in Paul. There Paul saw the Body of Christ. There he saw the saints of all ages. There he saw the New Creation. There he saw the Vision, the mystery, the Plan of God in Christ Jesus; and his life was changed forever. There he saw the Person of the Resurrection and he saw himself in that Person, and he saw every born-again believer in that Person, and he saw that the Church was to be the declaration of that many-membered person, the Church to become the declaration and the manifestation of that Heavenly Person on earth. So, he began to declare this mystery of God to the Church, which is Christ in you, you in Christ. His whole ministry started with God revealing His Son in him, and his whole life was lived as a manifesting of that Son. So that, you can say, that in Paul, in Heavenly places, the Son of God was glorified; because Paul came to an understanding, Paul began to walk in an understanding of the Resurrection that only the Son of God lives here. And you can say that his whole earth walk, "the life that I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God." You can say that his whole earth walk was the glorification of the Son of Man; because Paul's life was a manifestation that "it is not I who lives here." So, I say again, the concept of the Son as the Son of God, the Son of God glorified, is in the resurrection. The Son of Man glorified is in the Cross. In one we live and move and have our being. In the Son of God we live, we move, we have our being. We are joined with Him in Spirit. We are joined with Him in Truth. We are His very Heavenly Body, His very eternal Body. "Where I am, there ye may be also." As to the one, "It is not I, but Christ Who liveth in me." As to the other, it is the laying down of my life, and the manifesting of His life. As to the other, it is the death of one declaring the life of the other. How is His life declared on earth? Through our death. But, how is our death declared on earth? Through the Heavenly realization that He is our life. What I am telling you is just this: He cannot be glorified on earth until He is glorified in Heaven. You will not manifest Him on earth until He is revealed in you in Heaven. THE ORDER IN THE RESURRECTION Remember what I am calling "Heaven" - in Spirit, in the inner man. When He is revealed in the inner man, He is manifested in the outer man. When He is glorified as Son of God, He is glorified in earth as Son of Man. "But", you say, "He had to die before He could be resurrected." That is true. That is the order in which God brought forth the resurrection, all life coming forth out of death. But, you are raised up in the resurrection, and it is the reversal of that order coming back to earth. He who lives in the Heavens must now be revealed in you in the Heavens, that you may manifest Him in the earth through your death. Do you understand that? So, Paul says, "I desire to know Him in the power of His resurrection." Why, Paul? "That I may in earth be made conformable to His death." Why, Paul? "Because it is in my dying..." In other words, "It is in me living as though I am dead. It is me living understanding that I have no life but Christ. It is me dying daily, where in doing that, I manifest His life daily, attaining to the resurrection." He started out in Heaven, came to earth, went to Heaven. Started out in Spirit, came to earth, went back. "Glorify Me." What does He say in John 17? "Father, glorify Me..." With what? "...with the glory that I had before the foundation of the world." Do you understand what I am saying? The order, then, is the same. He started out as Son of God, became Son of Man, ended up Son of God. He must be revealed in you as Son of God. You will manifest Him in the earth as Son of Man. In other words, you will manifest Him through the understanding, "It is not I, but Christ Who lives." You will manifest Him through the realization of the Cross. It all ends up again Son of God. I am telling you again. You who have struggled to figure out how you are dead, you who have struggled to figure out how to die, you who have struggled to figure out how to live, you who have struggled with the Cross. I am telling you, you are already in Heavenly places. You are already raised up. You are already quickened. You are already the Body of the Resurrection. You are raised up together, you are seated together. If it were not for the Resurrection, then you would not exist now as the Body of Christ. The Resurrection, for you, has already taken place. There is going to be that universal manifestation of the Resurrection, but we are not ready to get into that right now. But, for you, the resurrection has already taken place. TO KNOW HIM AS HE IS You are already raised up by the resurrection, in the resurrection, through the resurrection; and you will not, and cannot, in Him, suffer death. In Adam you suffer death; but, in Christ it is life. You are already in Him, whether you know it or not. You are in Him by that divine work of grace. You are in Him by what we glibly call Salvation, Redemption. You are in Him by what we ignorantly call New Birth. You are in Him now, joined together with Him. He that is joined to the Lord is one spirit. Then, how is it that you must see Him? How is it you must first come to know Him? You must first come to know Him as He is. You must first come to know Him as the Resurrection, because that is Who He is. "I am the resurrection. I am the life." That is what He came to declare to Mary and to Martha. The Son of God was not glorified by Lazarus being raised from the dead. But, here in John 11 verse 23, 24 and 25, here is where the Son of God is glorified. "I am the resurrection, and the life. He that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet he shall live; and whosoever believeth in Me shall never die." Here is the glorified Son of God speaking. Here is the Son of God being glorified, in the truth of the resurrection. Then, how is it that the Father must reveal Him in you? As THE RESURRECTION. But, when He reveals Him in you, you who are in Christ, you who are in Heavenly places, you who are His Body, how must you know Him? You must know Him in the resurrection. Why? Because you are the Body of the Resurrection. You are not the Body of the dead Jesus. You are not the body of Adam. You were that body; but now, you, by the resurrection, are raised up together and seated together. You are the Body of the Resurrection, and that is the way you must know Him. You must come to know Him as the Resurrection. "Oh that I may know Him in the power of His resurrection." I want you to set your hearts, you who have tried to figure this thing out, I want you to set your hearts on knowing Him as He now is, knowing Him as who you now are, as being in Him, the Body of the Resurrection. I want you to know Him as the Son of God, and I am telling you, when you begin to know Him as the Son of God, you will glorify Him as Son of Man; because, when God reveals His Son in you, instantly you will come to realize, automatically you will come to realize, "It is not I who lives here. It is Christ Who lives here." What is that a realization of? It is a realization of what took place at the Cross. It is a realization of what the Cross says. You will come to realize what happened at the Cross. How are you going to realize what happened at the Cross? By realizing the truth as it now is. Christ lives in you. There is no way you can work up the other way. There is no way you can do that. But, knowing Him in the power of His resurrection will enable you to be made conformable to His death; and, as you, in your earth life, in your body, as the Church, as the visible Church, as you begin to know Him in the Heavens, in Spirit, as the Resurrection, in your body, in the flesh, you will begin to manifest His life through His death. As you begin to know Him in the Heavens, you begin to know that He and He alone lives. In the earth, you will begin to manifest, "I am dead. Christ liveth in me". So what are you? You are well on your way to attaining, to learning Him as the Resurrection. Well on your way to knowing Him and learning Him then as the Resurrection Himself. Jesus here declares Himself, "I am the resurrection and the life." There is nowhere, that I know of, that He declared Himself in a way where He said, "I am the death." No. "I am the resurrection. I am the life." But, as surely as God reveals His Son in you in the Heavens, that Son is going to be made manifest in you in the earth. In the Heavens, you will understand that He is your life. In the earth, you will understand, "I am dead". The result of that is that His life will be made manifest. So, Paul says, "I want to know Him in the power of His resurrection." In the heavens. Being made conformable to His death. Where? In the earth. In my earth walk. For what reason? That I may attain to the high calling in Christ Jesus in the Heavens. That I might come to fully manifest just the resurrection. IN MY FATHER'S HOUSE There is coming a day when the saints of God shall know Him in that way; and there shall be a full, universal manifestation of the Resurrection. Then shall these old mortal bodies even be changed like unto that glorious Body which is Christ. John 11, "I am the resurrection." Turn to John 14, "Let not your heart be troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father's House..." Properly translated "in My Father's Household, in My Father's bosom, in the sanctuary, in the dwelling of the Father, in my Father's household." "...are many mansions..." Which is properly translated "many places of abode, many dwelling places." And these are spiritual dwelling places, these are eternal dwelling places. The word "mansion" here has been translated by many in their carnality and in their ignorance as being houses that we are supposed to live in. No! We are talking about a house. We are talking about the Father's house. We are talking about a spiritual union with God through Christ. We are talking about a spiritual dwelling. We are talking about a Spiritual union, a Spiritual reality, a Spiritual relationship that is eternal, a relationship with God in Christ Jesus. In My Father's bosom, in My Father's dwelling place, in My Father's family, household. There are many dwelling there. There are many places of rest. There are many places of abode. "If it were not so, I would tell you. I go to prepare a place for you. If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself, that where I am, there ye may be also." What is He talking about here? He is talking about the resurrection. He is talking about bringing many sons unto glory. He is not talking about some future event. He is talking about the reality of salvation. He is talking about a whole Body being quickened in Him, through Him, by Him. He is talking about what took place on the Day of Pentecost, and what is still taking place throughout the earth today. He is talking about receiving believers in unto Himself. He is talking about you and I dwelling in Him and Him dwelling in us. He goes on to explain that. Verse 4 says, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." Thomas, who is as blind as a doorknob here, says, "Lord, we don't." And he starts looking around for some town, some place, some tangible thing. Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, the life. No man cometh unto the Father..." What do you mean "Father"? The Father's house, this dwelling place, this place prepared, this household. "No man cometh to this place that I am talking about, but by Me." That is the only way you can come. "But by Me. If you really understood Who I am, that I am sent out from the Father to bring many sons back into relationship with the Father, if you really understood that, you would know what I am talking about." WHEN THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH COMES Verse 10, "Believest thou not that I am in the Father?" You see, He is speaking there of His union with the Father, of His oneness with the Father, of His relationship with the Father. "The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of Myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, He doeth the work." This whole thing is to bring you into relationship with My Father. He goes on in verse 20, "In that day you will know..." In other words, the Holy Spirit is going to come. The Spirit of Truth is going to come, and cause you to realize great Spiritual understanding, and you are going to understand in that day. Look at verse 19, "Yet a little while and the world seeth Me no more, but ye see Me. Because I live, ye shall live also." That sums up what He said over here in these first six verses. "Because I live, ye shall live also. I am going to come forth in the resurrection. I am going to come again in the resurrection. I am going to come forth in the resurrection. And I am going to quicken many with Myself, with My own Spirit, I am going to quicken you in union with Me, that, where I am ye may be also. Because I live, you shall live also. and, in that day, you will understand that I am in My Father, you are in Me and I am in you." He is talking about a Spiritual union, that He is, in fact the result of the resurrection. He is talking about what comes forth in the Resurrection. I AM THE RESURRECTION Let me tell you something. There is more that comes forth in the Resurrection than just a dead body being raised up out of a dead tomb. That is the reason the whole story of Lazarus is in your Bible. Lazarus was a dead body, and Lazarus was raised up out of a tomb; but that is not the resurrection. That was not the resurrection. Jesus stood right there and declared, "I am the resurrection. I raised Lazarus from the dead, but Lazarus is going to die again; but whoever lives in Me as the Resurrection, will never die. Though he were dead..." (and that is speaking in trespasses and sin), "...yet shall he find life in Me as the Resurrection, for I am going to quicken all who come to Me by My own Life, and they shall live in Me eternally as the Resurrection. Then, the resurrection is more than just a body coming out of a grave. No, the resurrection was the Son of God coming forth out of an old creation, coming forth as the first-born of a New Creation, as the First-born from among the dead. Do you not understand that a whole creation died at the Cross? A whole mankind, the whole Adamic man died at the Cross. And, when Christ came forth as the Resurrection, He came forth as a whole New Creation, a whole New Man, Who is neither Jew, nor Greek, nor bond, nor free, nor male, nor female, nor black, nor white, nor yellow, nor brown, nor any such thing; because all of that creation stops at the Cross, and none of it comes forth at the resurrection. Jesus says, "I am the Resurrection." What does that mean for you and I? It means that, anything that lives after the Cross, only lives if it lives by Christ; and, whatever does not live by Christ, simply does not live. It is yet counted as being among the dead. So, the angels came and asked Mary and others there, "Why are ye seeking the living among the dead?" They did not say, "Why are you seeking Jesus among the tomb." It had nothing to do with the tomb. It had nothing to do with the grave. It had to do with the realization of what had taken place. A whole creation had died. A whole old man, a whole Adamic creation had come to an end in the very Person of Jesus Christ; and the Son in Man was glorified. A NEW CREATION COMES FORTH Now, that same Son in Man is going to be glorified again and again in all of those who realize, "It is not I but Christ who lives in me." And every time you come to realize, "It is not I. It is Christ Who lives in me", the Son of Man is glorified, that, the Son is being glorified in you. But, how is it that you are going to come to understand that it is "Christ Who liveth in me, and not I but Christ Who liveth in me"? How are you going to understand that? When are you going to come to understand that? You are going to come to understand that by the resurrection. You are going to come to understand that by God revealing His Son in you in Heavenly places. What came forth out of the resurrection? What came forth out from one creation? A New Creation came forth. Hebrews 2 says, "He brought many sons unto glory." He is still bringing sons unto glory. His resurrection is still at work. He Who is the Resurrection is still at work. He is still quickening and raising up and bringing forth His Body into Heavenly places. And, the Holy Spirit is still revealing in that Body, in that glorious Body, in that Resurrection Body, in that Heavenly Body, the Holy Spirit is still revealing the Son of God; and the result of the Holy Spirit revealing the Son of God in you and I as the Heavenly Body of Christ, as the Spiritual Body of Christ, is that, in the earth, we are living in the understanding, "It is not I, but Christ Who is living in me." So, as the Church, as that visible manifestation of Him in the earth, the Son of Man is being glorified. BUT NOW IS CHRIST RISEN Thank God for Jesus. Turn to I Corinthians 15:20. This whole chapter revolves around the statement made in this verse. "But, now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the first-fruits of them that slept." "But now is Christ risen." "Risen from among the dead." Every time you see this term, "raised from the dead", "raised up", it is always in the Greek, "raised from among the dead"; because it is not referring to something that has come out of a grave. It is referring to the Son of God coming up from out of the old creation man, the man that He put to death at the Cross, and has now been raised up from among the dead, from among the Adamic creation, from among that which He has permanently sealed, permanently put to death, so that now there is only life in Him. "If therefore any man be in Christ, He is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new." I know that we must have our minds renewed to that truth through the revelation of Jesus Christ; but the reality of that truth remains in the Heavens, whether we believe it or not. And, if we are to find life, we must come to understand the reality of that truth. So, the fact of the matter is that Christ is now risen from among the dead, and He is become the first-born, the first- fruits of them that slept. He is become the first-born. Colossians 1:17-18, "He is the first-born from among the dead." That means that no one lives in Christ, in Heavenly places, none except those who are born from above, those who are born of Christ. "Now, the birth of Christ was on this wise..." Then we have recorded the story of the birth of the Babe in Bethlehem. But, there is something more than just the birth of a babe being talked about here. It is the birth of Jesus Christ being "upon this wise". By the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, formed, as it were, in the womb of the woman which there, of course, is that Heavenly Body, manifested as the Church on the earth, the Heavenly messenger coming, declaring that this One that is in you is the Son of the Most High God. What are we talking about here, just a natural birth? No. We are talking about the New Birth. We are talking about the Spiritual birth. Because He is the first-born from among the dead, no one lives except they live by Him. I am declaring to you in this lesson the Person of the Resurrection. I am declaring to you the glorified Son of God. And I am declaring that He lives in you, and you have no life but Him. And, I am asking with every fiber of my being to turn the attention of your heart in the Heavens. If ye then be risen with Christ, lift up your eyes. Set your heart, your affection, not on earth, but on things above, where the Holy Spirit is searching all things, yea, the deep things of God. "When He, the Spirit of Truth is come, He will take of mine and show it unto you." I am asking you, in Christ, in Heavenly places, to set your sights on seeing Him, that God may glorify His Son in you, in Heaven, that the Son of God may be glorified, that the glory that Jesus talks about in John 17, the glory that He had with the Father from before the foundation of the world, that glory may be imparted into you, that the Son of God may be revealed in you so that the Son of Man may be glorified through you in all of the earth. We who are participants of the resurrection must come to know Him in the power of the resurrection and manifest Him in the flesh in all the earth to the glory of the Son of God, to the glory of the Son (same Son) in man, and to the glory of God our Father, both now and forever.