Jesus Christ: A Revelation We Have Lost Along the Way

Part 3

"By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not." "For she kept saying, If I only touch His garments, I shall be restored..." (Song of Songs 3:1 KJV, Mark 5:28 Amp)

We pray that we avoid stretching typology just to suit what we feel the scriptures are saying. Concerning the verse from Zechariah 2:13, Be silent O all flesh, before the Lord: for he raised up out of his holy habitation, we have found that our soul is the battle ground for every thing that would hinder us from becoming that holy habitation. In times of what some may call dryness, as well as all of the present day turmoil that is in the world without (which always looks for a place in the world within), we have found the condition of the woman in the fifth chapter of Mark's gospel to be a picture of our soul's desperation. The soul in its nature being feminine seems to always typify the woman in need of restoration. She may be hindered from all sides, but she knows who her redeemer is. May we all come to the place where we can say with the psalmist, My soul shall make her boast in the Lord (Psalm 34:2). We are aware that the way the word soul is used in the scriptures may not necessarily be speaking of a woman, but in relation to the spirit the soul is always feminine. Poor spiritual health seems to always be traced back to the condition of the soul. Our spiritual health will be no greater than the degree that our soul is submitted to the Holy Spirit. Paul gives the strategy for our warfare in 2 Corinthians 10:5, Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. Our soul may find itself in a most desperate situation during these days of diverse winds, sensationalized issues, and a multitude of distractions that drift away from the centrality of the Lord. With all these hindrances, yet knowing the good report, we may find ourselves in the place of the woman in Song of Solomon 3:1. In relation to all this, there are far too many details that have been overlooked in Mark's account concerning the woman with the issue of blood and the young girl that Jesus raised from the dead.

"...and a great crowd kept following Him and pressed Him, from all sides [so as almost to suffocate Him]." "...Now at His going away, the throngs stifled Him." (Mark 5:24 Amp, Luke 8:42-43 CLNT)

Nothing draws a crowd like a crowd. I wonder how many wanted to just follow Him, and how many wanted to be changed by Him. Oh, but those who have heard the good report even in a state of dying, they cannot help but push through the internal mass of thoughts that stand in the way or the external substitutes that have the Christian name but not the Christ nature.

"And there was a woman who had had a flow of blood for twelve years, and who had endured much suffering under [the hands of ] many physicians and had spent all that she had, and was no better but instead grew worse." "I will rise now, and go about the city in the streets, and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not." "She had heard the reports concerning Jesus." (Mark 5:25-26 Amp, Song of Songs 3:2 KJV, Mark 5:27 Amp)

It is very interesting to note that the woman had this flow of blood for twelve years, and the girl in Mark 5:42 was twelve years old. According to Bullinger's "Number in Scripture," twelve signifies "perfection of government." However, the situations of the woman and the girl seem to magnify the imperfection of the religious government of that day. Speaking of the number 12, Bullinger also says, "It is found as a multiple in all that has to do with rule. The sun which 'rules' the day, and the moon and stars which 'govern' the night, do so by their passage through the twelve signs of the Zodiac which completes the great circle of the heavens of 360 (12 x 30) degrees or divisions, and thus govern the year." Considering the woman's condition, the beautiful symbolic language of the prophets and the governing sun, Malachi 4:2 comes to mind. ...the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings.

Israel was supposed to be God's representatives in the earth. They were to follow His instructions concerning what we would call church government. Contrary to what many would say, the failure of perfect government was not the Law, but a mixture of Talmudic thinking and pride. Jesus did not come to break the Law so we could break it, too. Rather, he came to fulfill it so that through Him and only through Him we could, also. The writer of the book of Hebrews speaks of the passing away of the Old Covenant, and he emphasizes what has passed away in chapter 9 verses 8-10: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; which stood only in meats and drinks and divers washings and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. We might also add that the Law itself, before and after the passing away of the Old Covenant, could never bring perfection. The Law was designed to define sin and hold Israel in place until the Messiah came. When the law is no longer external on tablets of stone but by the saving grace of God it is written upon our hearts, we cannot help but possess the nature of Jesus, and beloved, Jesus was the fulfillment of the Law, not the transgressor of it.

As many in this hour are seeing, we, too, see that the Law is prophetic of the nature of God and His mature sons! We also must say that we do not work for our salvation, we work out of our salvation because our God given faith is an active force in our lives and not a text book doctrine of man made formulas that either lull us to sleep or drive us mad with religious works. Our works should always be the result of our faith not the means to it!

Considering the function of Israel and faith we find one of the rulers of the synagogue at the feet of Jesus in Mark 5:22. The rulers name, Jairus, means, "he enlightens." What an irony then, and what an irony that is still present with us today. You have a ruler from the synagogue with a daughter that is said to be dead, but Jesus says that she is only sleeping. The scriptures tell us in all three accounts (Matthew, Mark and Luke) that the Lord was laughed at and ridiculed for making that statement. Those who laughed at Him were hired to mourn and play music. That thought right there should be enough to have us look at the situation today in the Body of Christ. When God awakens the Church, somebody is going to be out of a job and the very thought that He can awaken the Church to many is a joke! However, before Jesus brought the girl back to life, He put those who were hired to mourn and laughed at Him out of the house. Jairus seems to have at least enough faith to approach the Lord, and it is by no mistake that Jairus is mentioned in this context. We submit to you this could very well be a picture of the modern day Church, with leaders that have a reputation for giving light, yet the Church itself is asleep in the light! This could also be a picture of the individual believer who has fallen asleep with a revelation that once gave light but now, after the initial quickening and without the response of faith, the individual is left in darkness, mistaking yesterday's limited light of knowledge for an unlimited source of life, deceived and content. We can't resist dropping this gem into this part of our study since it goes so well with the thought just mentioned.

"The wisdom of God in grace as in nature may be coldly contemplated, like any other piece of skill or wondrous workmanship, without a soul-saving and personal appropriation of the grace, which is yet by the understanding discerned so clearly. But, as one has said, 'the Gospel has not been revealed that we may have the pleasure of feeling or expressing fine sentiments, but that we may be saved: the taste may receive the impression of the beauty and sublimity of the Bible, and the nervous system may have received the impression of the tenderness of its tone, and yet its meaning, its deliverance, its mystery of holy love, may remain all unknown.'" (Andrew Jukes, Four Views of Christ)

We could tie a few things in from some of the addresses given to a few of the seven churches in the book of Revelation, but we already have more than enough on the table to consider, and we will be doing good to just get all the pieces mentioned. We do in no way pretend to have plunged into the very depth of the subject at hand, and with that in mind, we in no way wish to take away from the historical, nor to denounce other possible applications. Yet, at the same time, God has left us with patterns through every event in the scriptures that have an application of present truth for the sake of our growth! The application at hand is indeed like all divine truth - multifaceted! We will do well to focus on one facet for now, and show its connection to the One who has apprehended us, for it is in Him we will find all the true spiritual value and leave behind the issues that drain the life out of us!

Now, another interesting thing to note about Jairus is that his name is one of the chiefs, Jair, who conquered and settled Bashan (Numbers 32:41, Joshua 13:30). Bashan means, "fruitful," and Jair is from the half tribe of Manasseh. In our own spiritual journey, we may find things that are very good, but it is not the final purpose of our sojourning. Yet we may wish to stop there or maybe even go forward for a season with our brothers and sisters and help them move forward while we ourselves go back and settle in something that seems good. It may not be such a negative thing concerning where the half tribe of Manasseh settled. The land was good for sheep and so on, but are all good things God things? Does not God ever send us somewhere we would choose not to go so He can work into our nature attributes we would not have if we stayed somewhere wherein we are content? Gods ways are all in the realm of His unconditional Love, yet such a love works in us His very nature, instead of leaving us as bastards and not sons. Mans idea of unconditional love is not always in agreement with scriptures like Hebrews 12:8. But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Inspired words like that should tell us it is relationship God is after! He is a loving Father, not a hard task master! One form of child abuse is a parent who does nothing for the child's growth and has left the child in the state of a babe, when the child should be growing. In cases where the natural parent may let a matter go by uncorrected only to perpetuate immaturity, God sees fit to correct us and brings us closer to Him. What a paradox! In cases where the parent may blast the child for no profit at all, God only does things for our (spiritual) profit, and if it is not to our profit, He has no need to subject us to it (Hebrews 12:8-11).

The Dogs of War

And when Jesus came into the ruler's house , and saw the minstrels and the people making a noise... (Matthew 9:23). In our thought life, there can be a lot of noise that seeks for that place of attention that rightfully belongs to the leading of the spirit and the reality of the Christ within! Within our house, we, too, can find the noise of diverse winds and distractions exhausting our time, which would be better spent in those silent precious moments when the voice of the Lord speaks into our inner most being! A big deception is yesterday's manna being mistaken for all that God has for us today. To move with the cloud is to not be left in the dark. The heartfelt words of Psalm 13:3 come to mind during the times of our yearning for that light which would restore our souls, Consider and hear me, O Lord my God: lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death. The progressive revelation of Jesus will always do what the fading light of yesterday's glory cannot do! However, at times, we have to be brought to a place of brokeness before we are aware of our need. We know that Psalm 22 speaks of Jesus in a prophetic sense; but in the individual sense, since some would rather settle in Bashan, so to speak, we may find something to which we can relate. We would like to quote a passage for your consideration that relates to the internal warfare: Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion. For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me verses 12, 13, and 16. You may wonder how and why this has any relation to our walk. Well, the very things our minds are focused on has a lot to do with our spiritual perception; and Paul's instruction for our warfare (2 Corinthians 10:5) was given so that that which attacks us from within, and the prince of the power of the air (the very spirit of this age which is always looking for a way in) cannot get any place of authority or advantage over those of us in the household of faith. Even in our quiet times, the relentless thoughts of highly opinionated dogma can come charging in like a pack of barking hounds, and along with them comes a cloud of darkness. A very clear example of this distraction has been found on a recording by T. Austin Sparks (from the series, "Men whose eyes have seen the King," under the subtitle, "The Glory of the Lord").

"When I first went to the United States in nineteen hundred and twenty five, there seemed to be such an open clear way everywhere for something new with the Lord. The atmosphere seemed so clear, the heart seemed so open. Go back there today... and this is not personal... everybody is suspecting everybody else, the spirit of criticism has got into the most devoted Christians about both Christians and Christian things. The very people who are really most devoted to the Lord you can't have a half an hours conversation, but what somebody gets it! Somebody is lashed! Somebody is mentioned for a warning! Somebody is suspect. It's like an awful fog that has crept over the whole world; and you cannot go anywhere, but what you find it amongst Christians. You cannot go into a religious book shop without seeing line upon line of pamphlets and books which are occupied with denouncing something! Denouncing something! Men giving their whole lives to this kind of horrible work of trying to expose what they think to be error, because they don't agree with it! Now that is strong language, but it's not too strong."-- end quote

There is a Joy in the Journey

The woman with the issue seems to be such a perfect picture of the soul that has been looking for restoration in all the wrong places. In her time she had a lot of foolish traditions to go through which were ministered under the hands of many physicians and as the account tells us she only grew worse (Luke 8:43). The beautiful symbolic language of the prophet comes to mind, Go up into Gilead, and take balm, O virgin, the daughter of Egypt: in vain shalt thou use many medicines; for thou shalt not be cured. (Jer 46:11) So it is today as the distressed soul, seeking for reality and a greater awareness of divine life, may often fall victim under the traditions of men that administer some very strange doctrines. The damage may be done at the hands of well meaning yet deceived spiritual physicians, wolves in sheep's clothing, lovers of exotic vain imaginations packaged and labeled under the name of new revelation or maybe a variation of all of the above. Even from within there is the application which could very well be the vexation of spiritual oppression that robs us of our peace by diverting our thoughts toward superficial issues. Even past wounds can play a part if they are still bleeding with mental torment as the soul has just enough influence from the spirit to keep reaching for the true source of life. We may not even realize of what spirit we are under the influence, for it is so easy to be carried by any wind, and drunk by mere doctrine, and fail to notice the lack of true life. In Marvin Vincent's Word Studies (Volume 1, pg. 189), we find the medical treatment for this woman's ailments which is said to be given in the Talmud.

"Take of the gum of Alexandria the weight of a zuzee (a fractional silver coin); of alum the same; of crocus the same. Let them be bruised together, and given in wine to the woman that has an issue of blood. If this does not benefit, take of Persian onions three logs (pints); boil them in wine, and give her to drink, and say, 'Arise from thy flux.' If this does not cure her, set her in a place where two ways meet, and let her hold a cup of wine in her right hand, and let some one come behind and frighten her, and say, 'Arise from thy flux.' But if that do no good, take a handful of cumin (a kind of fennel), a handful of crocus, and a handful of fenugreek (another kind of fennel). Let these be boiled in wine and give them her to drink, and say, 'Arise from thy flux!'"

If these do no good, other doses, over ten in number, are prescribed, among them this:

"Let them dig seven ditches, in which let them burn some cuttings of vines, not yet four years old. Let her take in her hand a cup of wine, and let them lead her away from this ditch, and make her sit down over that. And let them remove her from that, and make her sit down over another, saying to her at each remove, 'Arise from thy flux!'" -- end quote

We also would like to add that it's very interesting that wine was involved in all the prescriptions, but it wasn't the wine of the Spirit. Ironically enough, the Talmud's mistaken authority seems to foreshadow the tragic mistaken authority of religious tradition that has been substituted for the leading of the Holy Spirit and the spiritual meaning of the inspired scriptures, which are two witnesses that bear witness to the Living Word of God -- who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as the Talmud made the commandments of God of none affect, the carnal understanding of the scriptures water down, sodden the Lamb, and make the Living Word of none affect.

Nevertheless, the perseverance of the cast down, but not destroyed, is portrayed in the woman with the issue as a testimony of faith outshining the darkness of her situation, just as the illumination of Christ consumes the dark carnality of our minds at the brightness of His coming! In my time of pondering, I have seen a desperate woman striving with all that she had, in spite of her weakness, like a vessel lost of all natural strength and left in the unknown to travel on the fumes of faith. She pushes through the crowded street as the crowd itself shoves and pushes her back. Yet, she continues to press on and the whole scene slows down. I then hear a lyric that puts it all in perspective from the view of a glorious outcome, "There is a joy in the journey." I hear it so clear as she makes her way through the crowd and lunges out to touch the fringe of His garment.

Is there no balm in Gilead? Is there no physician there? Why then is not the health of the daughter of my people restored? (Because Zion no longer enjoyed the presence of the Great Physician!) (Jer 8:22 Amp). Ah, truly it is our restored health in a most divine sense that is found in the presence of the Physician of physicians and it is not like He has gone somewhere far away from us. It is more of a case of the importance to acknowledge Him in even the most minute details of our life! One of the most tragic mind sets has to be the one that says, "When Jesus comes, then I will be free from all the things that keep me from being spiritual." This is a very comfortable thought to hang on to if you are occupied with the cares of the world and all that is earthbound. It is almost like exchanging the inheritance of our heavenly position for the things that only the natural eye can see, which if such an inheritance is only seen as geographical -- and yet to come in the future -- cannot be enjoyed anyway! However, the bottom line is, there is indeed a Great Physician on hand and for all of those who have tasted of His Kingdom you know this temporal realm holds no charm! We submit to you that those in the upper room in the Book of Acts got a taste of the Kingdom when the Lord busted those bottles wide open as they became partakers of the new wine! Also, if you are proud, arrogant, and content where you are, the Lord will serve no wine before its time. We beseech you to consider that the high and lofty One will dwell also with him of a contrite and humble spirit! (Isa 57:15). If it is your earnest prayer to be humbled, and you have never tasted this new wine, you may find yourself drinking it sooner than you think! For those who say, "I'll never do that," then, like one preacher has said many times, "God just took that as a personal challenge!" It's better to fall on the rock and be broken than to have the rock fall on you. But either way we shall all be humbled. May we all see the need for it in our own lives for only when our hearts are bowed to Him in humility may we taste of His glorious wine of new life!

Instead of going back to the Talmudic prescriptions, maybe the woman with the issue took note of this passage of scripture: Speak unto the children of Israel, and bid them that they make them fringes in the borders of their garments throughout their generations, and that they put upon the fringe of the borders a ribband of blue: And it shall be unto you for a fringe, that ye may look upon it, and remember all the commandments of the Lord, and do them; and that ye seek not after your own heart and your own eyes, after which ye use to go a-whoring: That ye may remember, and do all my commandments, and be holy unto your God. I am the Lord your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: I am the Lord your God (Num 15:38-41). There is so much that could be said about the garments, the borders, and so on. Each detail could be a study in itself. We would like to take serious note that the fringes all point back to and bring our remembrance to God! It is God who delivers us and makes us whole! It is God who forms His very nature in His children! It is all about His indescribable workmanship, that should humble those He has called to be partakers in His unfailing plan and never be taken for granted! Yet in Matthew's account, human nature and the die hard lust for self recognition makes its play right down to the way the Pharisees dress. This could well be the negative counter part of the fringes which point to God, while the enlarged borders of their garments point to self righteousness (Matt 23:5). Oh, what a perfect picture of the vain efforts of self effort apart from the gift of faith, which leaves us ridden with disease, and after discarding such filthy rags, it is there in our weakness that we touch the hem of His garment, the fringe that brings the God who can make whole to our remembrance. It is in that state of giving up on everything, when all looks so grim, that God can really do something with us! It is not in our effort that we may boast, but His grace that His glory is made manifest in our lives! It is also interesting to note that you don't really have to go too far to go a-whoring. The self recognition of the mind is a whoredom indeed! This all seems to come back full circle to what thoughts we may entertain, for our soul's hope lies within Christ and He must reign 'til every thought that is an enemy is put down! Speaking of grace and the reign of Christ within, there has been a multitude of sermons and teachings on unmerited favor, but there is another aspect of grace we would do well to take a closer look at: For the saving grace of God made its advent to all humanity, training us that disowning irreverence and worldly desires, we should be living sanely and justly and devoutly in the current eon (Titus 2:11,12 CLNT). Depending on one's heart, a mere knowledge about grace could lead to an awful misunderstanding that says, We are delivered to do all these abominations (Jer 7:10). God delivers us from bondage so that we may be free from it not free to return to it! When truth comes to an individual it reveals the heart. One may be humbled and touched to the point of closer union with Christ, while another may misuse it to his own loss, but truth is still truth!

In Numbers 15:38 it is also interesting to note that the Hebrew word for ribband, paw-theel comes from another word, paw-thal, which means to twine, to struggle and to wrestle. It is used in Genesis 30:8; And Rachel said, With great wrestlings have I wrestled with my sister, and I have prevailed: and she called his name Naphtali. Naphtali means "my wrestling," and indeed, as all seeking souls in this precious hour that we are in, we wrestle in prayer and the result will be a prevailing. It is my conviction that prayer and intercession will be a prelude to the next stage of advancement of the kingdom. The Lord gave us a parable concerning prayer in Luke 18 and the context is not pressing God's buttons (as if He had any to press), or giving God our orders, but the context is faith! It is not about twisting God's arm, as if we could, but it is about that place where the soul has divine union with the Holy Spirit, that place where we have relationship with our Lord, that intimate place that is beyond mere ritual. Prayer itself becomes an out growth of the inward expression that can no longer be contained! Oh, hear me dear saints, that is where we come to the end of our wrestling and sit at the Master's feet for further instruction. We also must admit there will be those times when God would have us to wrestle, but even so it is an inward thing that is accomplished through prayer and waiting for His voice, and such waiting for many can be a struggle, but prayer and communicating with our Father is not a heavy yoke or a man made thing to improve us, it should be a normal desire if our desire is God-ward instead of selfish! As we grow closer to Him, we learn by experience to trust Him, and the struggle we have turns into a holding stead fast to what God has made known to us by His experiential dealings, for we come to know these things as a reality. It is out of those experiential dealings of God that we learn of His ways and grow in His grace. It is not out of gathering information about God and compiling it into a cut and dry systematic theology that brings us into intimate union and results in spiritual growth. If gathering information is the means of our growth then we don't need a "manifestation of the sons of God." Creation already has a surplus of means to learn about God! Prevailing often comes through the perseverance of prayer and the persevering soul. Like the woman who mixed faith with what she heard (Mark 5:27). That is the struggle that always has a most glorious outcome! We have the historical account of the results of those who fail to mix faith; For indeed we have had the glad tidings [Gospel of God] proclaimed to us just as truly as they [the Israelites of old did when the good news of deliverance from bondage came to them]; but the message they heard did not benefit them, because it was not mixed with faith (with the leaning of the entire personality on God in absolute trust and confidence in His power, wisdom, and goodness) by those who heard it; neither were they united in faith with the ones [Joshua and Caleb] who heard (did believe). (Heb 4:2 Amp). We cannot, at this point, conclude that mixing faith is a legalistic act, bound up in self effort that is apart from the leading of God (where we steal His glory), because faith itself is a gift from God!

We have an excellent illustration in Genesis for the need of wrestling within the soul of man and the inworking of God's divine nature! Is it not often that a man comes to a place of emptying out and is alone and honest with his Maker, that a significant change of nature is made evident even in his walk? There is a nature God is putting in a people, and there is indeed a nature that God is removing from a people in this very hour, praise God! In Genesis chapter 32 we have the account of Jacob's wrestling at Peniel. And he rose up that night, and took his two wives, and his two woman servants, and his eleven sons, and passed over the ford Jabbok. Jabbok means "pouring out." In verse 24 we find Jacob left alone and it was night time. For all of you that have wrestled in the seemingly dark hours, by experience you can say that it's no picnic! Is it not significant that he wrestled until the breaking of the day? Surely as the Lord lives we will not remain in any sort of darkness, be it the midnight hour, the struggle with the unknown, or anything else. Let us remember the author of our faith is also the finisher! Let us hold on to the source of light in the midst of this crooked generation, for the day light shall break and even those who know not the Lord groan for it!

And as he passed over Penuel the sun rose upon him, and he halted upon his thigh. (Gen 32:31) There may well be many applications to Jacob's wrestling. For example he called the place Peniel for he had seen God face to face (verse 30), but what we hope to emphasize is the change in Jacob's walk! We pray to do so by not taking anything away from other applications of the scripture. Now is it not interesting that after Jacob had all of his possession's pass over a brook that means pouring out (emptying) and wrestled with a man until day break that his name and walk were changed? We would like to zone in on the word halted and see what it may reveal concerning the soul of the individual believer. The word halted is the same Hebrew word used for her that halteth in Micah 4:6, 7 and Zephaniah 3:19, according to The Englishman's Hebrew Concordance Of The Old Testament. In the Strong's Concordance we would like to note that there is a word in the feminine gender used in Genesis 2:21 and 22, which is used for the words of his ribs and the rib. This word which is used for the first time in Genesis chapter 2, according to the Strong's Concordance (6763) is from the Hebrew word (6760) which is used in used in Genesis 32:31 for halted. For any further study and concerns of mere speculation we would like to list a comparison for you; see page 100 of the Hebrew And Chaldee Dictionary in the Strong's Exhaustive Concordance Of The Bible and compare 6760, 6761 and 6763 with The Englishman's Hebrew Concordance Of The Old Testament (coded with Strong's numbers) page 1073.

A Nice Day For A White Wedding

Now we have no intention of contending with the question of "are you a bride or are you a son?" The fact of the matter is that if you have a soul then there is an individual application and fulfillment of your soul which, as we have hoped to establish, is feminine in relation to the spirit. On the individual plane, your soul is to be united to the Holy Spirit and in the natural realm marriage is a picture of this. This in no way takes away from your sonship, it brings you to it! Now if we only see things on a corporate level and drag spiritual things into earthbound reasoning -- where we must in our minds conform to our terms -- then we will miss what first must be put on and fulfilled from the inside. This does not take away from any other fulfillment as long as they are a fulfillment of God's plan rather than the carnal interpretation of future prophecy! Often times the pride of man takes terms from the scriptures to put others in a class beneath them, but beloved ...as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. (Rom 8:14) It did not say as many as read the right booklets and listen to all the right tapes, or as many as call themselves sons, or called themselves the first fruits, or the ones that stopped meeting, or went to the right meetings! Beloved let us not kid ourselves, there are going to be some of God's apprehended ones that have never even read some of the enlightening things we have read, or heard any of these things we may listen to on tape or otherwise, yet because God put His spirit in them and led them they will be manifested sons of God! If they only do what they see the Father do, and only say what the Father says, you can call them what you want, but in God's eyes they are mature! They may be tempted, they may be taunted, they may even fall down, but as long as they get back up and press on, they are fair game to come into that place of an open heaven and know that they can do all things through Christ!

Getting back to the halted and the rib, we wish to share these inspired words that point the woman/soul to Christ/the new man, which is her restoration. ...and I will save her that halteth, and gather her that was driven out;... saith the Lord, I will assemble her that halteth,... Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind... And I will make her that halted, a remnant, and her that was cast far off a strong nation... He took one of his ribs or a part of his side and closed up the [place with] flesh. And the rib or part of his side which the Lord God had taken from the man He built up and made into a woman, and He brought her to the man... I have come into my garden, my sister, my [promised] bride... Let us give him the glory, for the wedding day of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready. She may be seen dressed in linen, gleaming and spotless -- for such linen is the righteous living of the saints! (Zeph. 3:19, Mic. 4:6, Luke 14:21, Mic. 4:6, 7, Gen. 2:21, 22 Amp, Song of Songs 5:1 Amp, Rev. 19:7, 8 Phillips). Is it not the humbled soul that God can, in a more pliable way, use as a vessel for honor? Is it not the down-trodden soul, that as gloomy as all external circumstances looked never gave in to the hissing taunts to just "curse God and die," that will partake of a much greater glory than this temporal realm can offer? Is it not those, who through the eyes of the Spirit saw God even in the midst of the most intense testings, that come fourth tried and with the very same nature of their Creator? Is it not the meek that God would gather for an inheritance as a means to the final ingathering of all things? "I will save her that was driven out." Was it not a woman (Eve) that was driven out with a man that was not deceived, but could not leave without her? Is this not a picture of a reversal of a bigger picture yet to come? The old man Adam leaves with his wife, and the new man Christ returns with His bride. And to the woman He says, 'Multiplying, yea, multiplying am I your grief and the groaning of your pregnancy. In grief shall you bear sons. Yet by your husband is your restoration, and he shall rule over you.' (Gen 3:16 Concordant) Does not the restoration of our soul come by the Lord Jesus Christ? Oh, if He is not already, I pray He becomes the lover of your soul! The King James Version says, ...and thy desire shall be to thy husband,... or if you prefer the margin and thy desire shall be subject to thy husband. Is it not the goal of our soul's desire to be centered on Christ and subject to His will alone, just as the Son of God said, I can of myself, do nothing?

Just as sure as the Lord Himself is perfect, as impossible as it may sound to some ears, He shall have a perfected body to set His head on! I find it most comforting that before we come to the glorious proclamation in Zephaniah 3:19, in verse 11 the Lord declares that He will take away out of the midst them they that are proud and haughty! This also brings to mind Jude 12 concerning all the talk today of the feast days -- there are still spots that remain, but that is not the end of the matter! Within each one of God's chosen ones, He is removing the pride and all the things that leave a blemish! Oh please hear this if you do not hear anything else. Revelation 19:8 tells us that the fine linen the bride is wearing is the righteousness of the saints, and another word for righteousness is judgment! (see The Englishman's Greek Concordance Of the New Testament, page 157) In chapter 5 of John's account of the Gospel, why could Jesus say that His judgment was just and why do we say that His judgment was righteous -- because He was Jesus? No, because He was led by the Father, doing only that which pleased the Father! I can of my own self do nothing: as I hear I judge: my judgment is just; because I seek not to do mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me. (Jn 5:30) The CLNT renders it ...as I am hearing, I am judging... If you want some meat on sonship and what the nature of a son is, just ponder and meditate on the Lord's discussion with the Jews in John chapter 5. Concerning the subtitle of our study (Jesus Christ -- A Revelation We Have Lost Along the Way), we whole heartedly agree that He is the pattern Son, but He is not just some type that we use as a spring board to develop our own philosophy on how great we shall be! The current status on the pattern son is not a cute little baby away in a manger, where commercialized minds would like to keep Him, nor is it the status of a twelve year old boy in the temple, nor is He walking the shores of Galilee, although His earthly ministry is a pattern indeed from the age of thirty to the cross. But at the present time this is the status of the pattern son: He is King of kings, Lord of lords, the blessed and only Potentate, who alone has immortality, dwelling in the light that no man has seen or approached! Praise His Holy name!

(We have not forgotten about the twelve year old daughter of Jairus and the typology that involves the soul in this study. Lord willing we will go into this to its conclusion in Part 4)

Concerning the lyric, "There is a joy in the journey," we wish to acknowledge Michael Card.

After writing this article concerning the restoration of the soul, we would like to thank God for the restoration in Kim Buhler's life and we thank God for giving us such wonderful encouragement through John and Kim Buhler's family. May the joy of the Lord be a growing experience daily in your lives. God bless the Buhler household. Thank you for your sincere prayers.

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