"RETURN FROM EXILE"

MF Blume
April 4, 1999 pm

Ephe 1:18 - 2:6 The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints, And what [is] the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead, and set [him] at his own right hand in the heavenly [places], Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all [things] under his feet, and gave him [to be] the head over all [things] to the church, Which is his body, the fulness of him that filleth all in all. And you [hath he quickened], who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised [us] up together, and made [us] sit together in heavenly [places] in Christ Jesus:

We read that Jesus Christ was dead, and then raised by the power of God.

And we are informed that we must understand what exceeding great power works towards us according to the same degree of power that God did that with Christ.
The Son of God was dead.
Killed on a cross.
And the Spirit of glory raised Him up.
Ordinary people do not get that privilege because they are not the sons of God.
But Jesus was Son of God and therefore was raised by the glory of the Father.

He was raised from a tomb, but we are raised from a lifestyle that is actually as much a place of death as the tomb was.

We were dead in trespasses and sins.
This was like a land of EXILE in which we dwelt.

One day, when a man was told to follow the Lord, he excused himself by saying his father died and must attend the ritual.

Jesus said, "Let the dead bury the dead" (Luke 9:60)
In saying that, Jesus showed the reality of those in sin -- that they are dead, although they walk the world.
They are as dead as the one in the casket, according to Jesus.

What is it about a dead person?

They are lifeless.
And that makes them of no use in this world.
Mankind is useless to God in a lifestyle of sin and trespasses.
In fact, when t he prodigal son returned home, the father said, "My son was dead and is alive again."
He was dead in sins and trespasses after he left the Father's house.

1Tim 5:6 But she that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth.

1Joh 3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not [his] brother abideth in death.

The manner in which we suddenly were raised from the dead was accomplished by connecting with Jesus' death.

In no other way could we connect to Him.
Jesus died because we were dead.
He desired us to unite with Him, so He came down to our level.
And when we are baptized into His death, we then connect to the Son of God and actually become part of Him.
And you know what happens when a son of God is dead.
God's Spirit of glory goes to work to resurrect him from the dead.

How did we become exiled?

When Adam was created, he was intended to be involved in an awesome work of God in the entire physical universe, and it would begin in the Garden of Eden.

The will of God was to eat fruit from a tree of Life.
But all of that was thwarted when he disobeyed God and sinned.
He became defiled by sin.
God said if he ate of the forbidden tree he would DIE.
And this was a Garden housing LIFE.
So, he was exiled from the Garden of Eden.

After a time, God instituted a nation called Israel.

Many laws and rituals were given to this nation, of which you can read about in the Old Testament.
Among those laws was included a ritual that was carried out when someone touched death.
If they touched a dead person, they were considered unclean and defiled and had to leave the population.
They could not take part in the culture of that nation.
It was as though they were useless.
And the only way they could return was by way of a special sacrifice that was offered and burned, and its ashes were put in water to be sprinkled on the defiled people.
That cleansed them and they were allowed inside once again.

All of this nation was as unclean as the rest of humanity.

God could not indwell them.
But He moved upon them and they prophesied, etc.
The reason God used this nation was to give messages as to what God would do to the entire human race who was exiled from Eden after being defiled by death.
To send messages to the world telling of a future work to solve the sin problem that exiled man, and to bring man back to God.
All mankind was useless to God's kingdom as much as the defiled Hebrew who was cast out of the population due to having touched death.

But the ritual of the ashes of sprinkling tells us a great truth.

God had a way to bring man back into the Garden of Eden!
It was a pattern of how God planned to bring man back into Eden, so to speak.
Man would become useful once again.

Numbers 19 reads that the ashes of the red heifer were sprinkled on the defiled person and the death of the sacrifice was united to the individual who was rendered dead.

It was as if the deaths of both the red heifer and the defiled one were one and the same at that point.
And that freed the defiled one from the exile of defilement.

Notice that the ashes were from a "red heifer."

RED signifies BLOOD.
All pointed ahead to the precious Blood of Jesus.
And they were "sprinkled" on a person defiled by death.
The element of "red" in the ashes sprinkled on the defiled is so reminiscent of the blood that was also sprinkled on those who committed themselves to believe God's law and to keep it during Old Testament times.
(Ex. 24) Moses sprinkled the altar with half of the blood of the sacrifice made.
Then he read the Law of God, and the people followed by agreeing to keep the law of God.
And then he sprinkled the other half of the blood upon them.
The entire quantity of blood was sprinkled half on the people and half on the altar.
The ENTIRETY was comprised both of the people and the altar, since HALF the blood was on the people and the other HALF on the altar.
This shows us that the people were united to the sacrifice previously made.
As a man and woman are together ONE, and only HALF when apart, man is made complete by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

So the sprinkling of the ashes of the "red" heifer, and the sprinkling of the blood similarly united the people to the sacrifice.

And both point to the blood and to death.

Man's exile from the Garden of Eden and God's great purpose to indwell mankind and work through us, was likewise dealt with by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Joining to the sacrifice made the way "Home" possible.

Physically we know Jesus died on the cross and resurrected three days later.

But Spiritually-speaking, He opened a door of union to us, that we might be cleansed of the defilement that Adam experienced in sinning.

Numb 19:22 And whatsoever the unclean [person] toucheth shall be unclean; and the soul that toucheth [it] shall be unclean until even.

Whatever the unclean person touched would be unclean.

This shows us that Adam's sin affected all mankind.
Adam was defiled and cast out of the Garden.
He was never allowed back in because he was never cleansed.
And if whatever he touched was unclean, then his own children were likewise unclean.
And the defilement spread.

Mark 7:21-23 For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.

We all require cleansing that we might return to God and be useful as to what we were created to do.

So we unite to Jesus Christ.
He is the only way for us back from exile.
Moses identified the death of the sacrifice to the people when they agreed to obey the word of God, by sprinkling its blood upon them.
The High priest identified the sacrifice of the red heifer with the defiled person by sprinkling its ashes upon them..

One who has not been cleansed by this union with the sacrifice is considered unclean forever.

Numb 19:13 Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the tabernacle of the LORD; and that soul shall be cut off from Israel: because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him, he shall be unclean; his uncleanness [is] yet upon him.

Without union to Christ in His (1)death, (2)burial and (3)resurrection (Acts 2:38's (1)repentance, (2)water baptism in His name and (3)Spirit filling) , we are forever lost.

And we identify to the death of Jesus Christ that we might return to God again, by eating bread and wine that speaks of Jesus' broken body and blood.

But we put it INSIDE us, whereas the Old Testament saints had it applied onto them.
The difference?
We are cleansed within.
They were only cleansed outwardly.

When Jesus was ready to go to the cross He said something that is identical to the thought of being defiled and useless to God, exiled away from His presence, unless we can identify with His sacrifice:

John 14:19 reads Jesus saying that in a little while they would see Him no more. The devil was coming, but Jesus was clean and undefiled. As though He would not let the secret of the eternal plan out for the enemy to know, and spoil the great purpose of the sacrifice of the cross, Jesus said:

John 14:30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me.

Then after speaking about His crucifixion to come, He said:

John 15:4-6 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye [are] the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast [them] into the fire, and they are burned.

He spoke about UNION to Him after hinting about the sacrifice of Himself!!!.

If we abide in Him...
Become united to Him...
Made one with Him...
One with His sacrifice...
...we will not be cast aside into the fire, but will be useful to the Kingdom of God and bring forth much fruit.
(This is a hint of the purpose God had for Adam in the Garden of Eden).

It is the point of death in sacrifice that we UNITE to Jesus Christ.

Moses told Israel to put blood on the doorways of the Hebrews' homes in order to be saved from the death that would slay all firstborn in Egypt.
Blood on the doors depicted DEATH of the sacrifice was the ENTRANCE to union with God.
Blood in the body depicts life.
Blood outside the body depicts death.
And the Hebrews walked through a door that took them from a place of death into life.
Jesus is the door!
And a bloodstained door speaks of Christ's death.
As the Most Holy Place of the Garden of Eden was barred from man with cherubims, a model of the garden called the temple contained a most holy place, and was barred from man by a veil with the likeness of cherubims embroidered on it.
But when Jesus DIED, the veil that barred man was ripped wide open.
His DEATH brought us back.
This portrays the return from exile granted to all those who are baptized into Christ's death (Ro. 6:3-4).

Jesus instituted the Communion supper.

His body broken in death was represented by the bread.
His blood, spilled in death, represented the New Testament in His blood.

There is no good deeds we can do to reward us entrance into God's holiness.

The first person to receive communion was a man named Abram.
The High Priest of Salem, Melchisedek, came to him and presented him with bread and wine and blessed him.
And Abram was the first man granted as a free gift the wonderful righteousness that only a person without sin can really have.
Abram did not do any good deeds to award him that righteousness.
He believed God and was accounted righteous.
Then God put that ministry "on hold," until Jesus came.
And when Jesus came, for the first time since Abram, we were given bread and wine and granted the righteousness and standing as being one without sin.
But only us who believed and, like Israel of old to Moses, promised God we would obey the New Testament and live everyday for Jesus Christ.

Now we can present ourselves to God as no longer useless"

Roma 6:8-13 Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise (in the very same degree and manner as Jesus died and lives unto God's purpose) reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members [as] instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, (useful to God again! -- returned from EXILE) and your members [as] instruments of righteousness unto God.