43 - Conceptually, Christ is . . .(1)

I remember the day it HIT ME. JESUS is God's provision for mankind's lack. I was reading along and those words just jumped off the page - "the ROCK that followed them was Christ" and my mind jumped to a couple OTHER verses: "I AM the manna come down out of heaven" and "I AM the water of Life".

JESUS is God's PROVISION for man's needs. Well, I knew at a somewhat early age that Jesus was sent to die for our sins - but I did not realize many facets of that concept. I think the first time I saw that covenant idea was in a verse or two that focused on "before the beginning". Paul wrote one in Ephesians 1:4 "HE chose US in Him before the foundation of the world" which generally just gets us into an argument about predestination because even though it SEEMS that WE are the focus of that, it is indirect - the direct focus is CHRIST. "IN HIM" is the phrase we stumble over because we don't understand it to mean JESUS is the focus of all our PROVISION.

The OTHER verse is Peter's writing in 1 Peter 1:20 "HE was destined before the foundation of the world but made manifest at the end of the times for your sake."

God did all of it before HE even made mankind - so I had to look at everything from a different perspective. JESUS is always God's provision - in Peter's context, the LAMB SLAIN - which focuses an ultimate concept.

NOW, I see the concept in a LOT more places beginning with the beginning. Hebrew covenant structure shows that creation is an expression of the creator - and we know from NT scripture that God created everything through CHRIST (Colossians 1:16) so, not to go overboard with a picture, but PROVISION started in Eden when Adam and Eve were given dominion over the whole world. That reminded me of an old song - "What will you DO with Jesus?" Israel complained about "manna" and Moses got himself in a LOT of trouble over "the Rock" and BLOOD always seems to get spilled over mankind's errors. When Adam and Even CHOOSE to not receive and be provided fully by God's PROVISION in Eden - they rejected JESUS in their disloyalty. Well - let's simply call it rejecting covenant provision. The result was they lost the whole thing - but, God will not be put off totally. HE provided them with coats of "skin/fur" and a new PROMISE - SOMEONE would come to be their Savior - and HE would crush Satan, our ultimate enemy in the PROVISION of the "lamb slain from before the foundation of the world."

Covenant structure has ONE huge concept of how the breaking of it happens - DISLOYALTY.

I'm not getting into whether WE can be lost or "re-lost" or any of that argument right now. We're simply seeing the original concept in Eden - we lost PROVISION - in a perfect world. That includes daily fellowship with God - PLUS the tree of LIFE which cannot be available to us in a fallen state - God just cannot allow us to be forced to live forever in our fallen-ness. HOWEVER - HE did make PROVISION for our escape from being FALLEN - in Christ. HE provided "THE PROMISE" - Christ Himself - for solving the problem of being FALLEN, plus HE provided continual LIFE IN HIS SON. (1 John 5:11) ALL the OT shadows find their fulfillment in the substance of CHRIST (Colossians 2:17 gives the principle.) Christ was THEIR "Way, Truth, Life" from the beginning. HE was always the Covenant for mankind. HE was always God's LOVE expressed in PROVISION - water, manna, sacrifice, and identity.

How many pictures are there? Well - that is part of our study, but I don't promise to reveal them all because I keep finding new ones. We can generally focus on Israel because we are commanded to do that. Old Testament Scripture, Paul said - was written for US - examples for US - so we won't sin like they sinned. I am convicted by the concept of "murmuring" which killed MANY Israelites and basically represented their whole history of failure to receive and be satisfied with God's PROVISION. THEY complained about the manna, the lack of water - the Provision of Canaan itself - and the GIVEN VICTORY which they refused. I'm convicted because that is supposed to teach US a lesson in "PROVISION acceptance and enjoyment."

Do WE enjoy Jesus? Do we EVEN DRINK deeply enough to satisfy our DEEP thirst? God provided JESUS to be our EVERYTHING - and us humans have a really terrible habit of getting off the focus of ultimate things and onto stuff that is not Jesus. As I study the history of Christendom and see it more fully it really depresses me - and I only see tidbits of it. If I saw it in its bold stark REALITY - I'd be so depressed, I couldn't continue to live almost. I say almost because I know so little, but I know Jesus is designed to have all preeminence - to be Lord and King - to BE OUR LIFE. But - what Paul called the "Israel of God" isn't doing much better than the shadow did. We fight and devour one another - we murmur and we express hatred to Christian brothers - we raise a personal interpretation above "the one for whom Christ died" Romans 14.

So - as Long as JESUS is covenant to me - I then have "The Way, The Truth, The Life" - I have HIM - so I have everything. But - if I am not satisfied with HIM - and I look for meaning in"things that are not Christ" - I lose the whole thing in essence.

"If we don't learn from History, we are doomed to repeat it" seems cogent at this point. But, more to my focus - IF we don't allow Jesus to be our EVERYTHING - we will be continually doomed for our everything to be something ELSE! And - my covenant friends - that is my definition of TRAGEDY. More to come