Abiding Part 1: The Way to the Presence of God
Begin Part 1 of a deep exploration of how to abide with God, exploring the picture God painted in the Tabernacle to reveal the true way back into His presence.
Sin’s Separation - Cast Out to the East
The LORD God commanded the man, saying, "From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; (17) but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die."
— Genesis 2:16-17
When man sinned, a deep rift occurred between God and man. God had to remove sin from His presence because of His holiness and righteousness. He could not join with or abide and commune with sin or He would deny Himself, His very nature.
…God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.
— 1 John 1:5
God’s initial judgment on Adam and Eve was the curse of death; not only physical, but also spiritual separation from life. Every aspect of the life they had known was now cursed by the fact that it was separated from the life of God.
The picture in Scripture is of Adam and Eve being driven from the garden of Eden, the first temple of God where man was to abide and dwell with God. God sent them out to the east of Eden away from the temple garden and set the first gate guarded by an angel.
Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, knowing good and evil; and now, he might stretch out his hand, and take also from the tree of life, and eat, and live forever"— (23) therefore the LORD God sent him out from the garden of Eden, to cultivate the ground from which he was taken. (24) So He drove the man out; and at the east of the garden of Eden He stationed the cherubim and the flaming sword which turned every direction to guard the way to the tree of life.
— Genesis 3:22-24
We next see Cain slay Abel after his sacrifice was not accepted by God. Cain is sent out to the East away from the presence of God as “a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”
[God] said, "What have you done? The voice of your brother's blood is crying to Me from the ground. (11) Now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother's blood from your hand. (12) When you cultivate the ground, it will no longer yield its strength to you; you will be a vagrant and a wanderer on the earth.”… (16) Then Cain went out from the presence of the LORD, and settled in the land of Nod, east of Eden.
— Genesis 4:10-12,16
Great Problem for Man
For Adam, as for you and me, our great problem is that we have been separated from the source of life in God and are doomed to remain spiritually dead and separated from God forever because of our union with sin. Our state of independence from God, Who is eternal life, is the very disposition and nature of sin in the heart of every man and the source of death.
Moreover, there was nothing good that we could do that would be accepted before God without the divine Spirit of God within us. God has so formed us that we would have the capacity only to hold and house the glory and life of God, not to create or sustain that life in and of ourselves.
And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…
— Ephesians 2:1
I am the vine, you are the branches; he who abides in Me and I in him, he bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing. (6) If anyone does not abide in Me, he is thrown away as a branch and dries up; and they gather them, and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
— John 15:5-6
So we are here, destitute of God, cast from His presence, and with no ability in ourselves to attain the life that Adam lost, doomed to spiritual and physical death. And so we have seen the history of mankind as one fall after another deeper into sin and depravity. As in the days of Noah, so in our day - the world thinks and cares so little for our Creator and only for ourselves and how to satisfy our own lusts. Even the good that we do is mostly done to help us feel good about ourselves, which is a form of self-righteousness and is viewed as the height of wickedness in the sight of God.
Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.
— Genesis 6:5
Great Problem for God
This was also a problem for God, who had designed and created man as the pinnacle of His creation, a creature He made specifically in His image to reflect His glory. He made man with the capacity to enter into the love and communion of the Godhead and to freely choose to love Him in return. God’s problem was that there was no way He could attain this goal while man was joined to his sin, which was abhorrent to His nature.
But your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God
— Isaiah 59:2
And yet even from that first sin in Eden, God promised that He would make a way for us. He promised to make another separation to undo the first separation from God through Adam’s sin. God would make a way to separate man from his sin so that we can once more be brought back into fellowship and an abiding union with Him.
Return from the East to the West
Though Adam and Eve were cast out to the east of the presence of God due to their sin, God would make a way for their return, removing them from their sins.
As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
— Psalm 103:12
This way of fellowship in returning to God from the east, the wilderness of sin, back to the west, His presence, was given as a pattern through the Tabernacle and the Temple.
But in order to fully accomplish this redemption, God needed to reveal and teach these key realities to man:
The utter sinfulness and depravity of man
The supreme holiness of God
The separation between a holy God and sinful men
God’s desire to dwell with His creation
The way that God has made to reconcile sinful man to Himself
Heavenly Patterns
The history given to us in the Old Testament was given to us as an example, like a picture book to teach us these truths in a real and tangible way. These were types and shadows according to the book of Hebrews, a pattern of the heavenly reality according to Moses, and such things were written for our instruction according to Paul:
…who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, just as Moses was warned by God when he was about to erect the tabernacle; for, "SEE," He says, "THAT YOU MAKE all things ACCORDING TO THE PATTERN WHICH WAS SHOWN YOU ON THE MOUNTAIN."
— Hebrews 8:5
According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it… (40) See that you make them after the pattern for them, which was shown to you on the mountain.
— Exodus 25:9,40
Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
— 1 Corinthians 10:11
The key pattern that God gave to Israel, and so to us through the Old Testament, of how to abide with Him is the Tabernacle and the Temple. All through the book of Genesis and into Exodus we see man longing but continually failing to return back to the Garden of Eden and into relationship with God. But when the children of Israel arrive at Sinai, God begins to paint a picture of how such a restoration is to take place.
Utter Sinfulness of Man
Before the building of the Tabernacle, God brought Moses to the top of Sinai for 40 days. While on the mountain with God, we know that God revealed much to Moses, but two things that he brought down when he returned were the Ten Commandments on the tablets of stone and the architectural designs for the Tabernacle.
Let them construct a sanctuary for Me, that I may dwell among them. 9 According to all that I am going to show you, as the pattern of the tabernacle and the pattern of all its furniture, just so you shall construct it.
— Exodus 25:8-9
When He had finished speaking with him upon Mount Sinai, He gave Moses the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written by the finger of God.
— Exodus 31:18
We see the Law and the Tabernacle reflecting a few deep realities about what it means to abide with God:
The separation between the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man
God’s desire to abide and dwell with His people
The way must be through the offering of a sacrifice and the application of blood
Before God could abide with His people, He had to make them holy - He had to separate them from their sin.
The LORD came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain; and the LORD called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. 21 Then the LORD spoke to Moses, "Go down, warn the people, so that they do not break through to the LORD to gaze, and many of them perish.”
— Exodus 19:20-21
The Law of Moses
When we see ourselves in light of God’s law, His holiness and our sinfulness are revealed. Examine your own heart before the Lord based on the 10 commandments - does it expose you as a sinner?
You shall have no other gods before Me.
You shall not make for yourself an idol…
You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain…
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy...
Honor your father and your mother…
You shall not murder.
You shall not commit adultery.
You shall not steal.
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
You shall not covet…
— Exodus 20:3-17
The Divine Life
Jesus takes this outward law of actions and works and exposes that God intended a much deeper reality - that of a perfect heart before God. If you thought the Old Testament Law was tough, you need to reckon with Jesus’ requirements in the Sermon on the Mount:
“You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty…“
— Matthew 5:21-22
"You have heard that it was said, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY'; but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
— Matthew 5:27-28
“Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
— Matthew 5:48
Let that last statement sink in… be perfect just like God. The Law of Moses can’t hold a candle to this command! In other words, live a divine life, in all its glory and righteousness and perfection… all the time! If you think, “that’s impossible!”, then you would be on the right track!
Man was separated from God’s life in the garden, and so lost the reality of the indwelling relationship of God in him. In order to live up to God’s requirements, you need the divine life living in and through you.
Function of the Law
The law has a very clear function in the plan and purpose of God. It is not to make you perfect or to impart life, but rather to show you how sinful you are and how holy God is. It exposes your condition and reveals the truth about the judgment you face and your desperate need for a Savior so that you cry out to God for deliverance.
by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin… 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
— Romans 3:20,23
The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more,
— Romans 5:20
I would not have come to know sin except through the Law; for I would not have known about coveting if the Law had not said, "YOU SHALL NOT COVET." 8 But sin, taking opportunity through the commandment, produced in me coveting of every kind; for apart from the Law sin is dead. 9 I was once alive apart from the Law; but when the commandment came, sin became alive and I died;
— Romans 7:7-9
Why the Law then? It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would come to whom the promise had been made….For if a law had been given which was able to impart life, then righteousness would indeed have been based on law. 22 But the Scripture has shut up everyone under sin, so that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept in custody under the law, being shut up to the faith which was later to be revealed. 24 Therefore the Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith.
— Galatians 3:19-24
Sinful Man’s Way Back to a Holy God
Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
— John 14:6
The Tabernacle Pattern - The Way
The Tabernacle was erected after God established His standard of holiness through the Law. Israel was used to worshipping idols, and viewed God in much the same light as all the other gods they served and were familiar with. But God knew that if they came before Him as they did these false gods, they would be killed because His holiness could not abide with their sinfulness. In knowing Who God was, they could approach Him in truth according to the way that He prescribed.
This way back into the presence of God was established through the picture of the Tabernacle. God provided Moses with clear instructions for the building of the Tabernacle, and each part and piece of furniture is rich with imagery and principles for how man can dwell with God.
The beginning of man’s way back to God can be clearly seen through the fence and the gate. Unless you had a higher vantage point above the tabernacle, what you were most likely to notice about the tabernacle structure was the 7 ‘6” white linen fence surrounding the outer court of the tabernacle. This is the outermost of the 3 boundaries that God made between His holy, life-giving presence and a sinful people, dead in their trespasses and sins.
The fence was closed on the north, west, and south sides of the tabernacle, and had a single gate on the east side.
For the gate of the court there shall be a screen of twenty cubits, of blue and purple and scarlet material and fine twisted linen, the work of a weaver, with their four pillars and their four sockets.
— Exodus 27:16
What this fence shows us is that we cannot come to God any way we wish, on our terms and the way we want to. There aren’t multiple ways to God through a variety of religions and gods and patterns. God erected a boundary and if anyone crossed that boundary without coming through the gate according to God’s terms, the penalty was death (Exodus 19:12, 28:43, 30:20).
God made a single entrance to the east, a gate through which the priests and Israelites might enter to be reconciled with God, to atone for sin, and to dwell with Him.
One Door
There was one entrance, one way, one door, one gate, one way into fellowship with God. This gate, or door, was a foreshadowing of Christ, who said:
So Jesus said to them again, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. 8 All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. 9 I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.
— John 10:7-10
Jesus is the door that is the only entrance to the way of abiding with the Father. In beginning this journey into the deep, abiding life of God, I want to challenge and exhort you to first ensure that you have entered through the right door.
This passage issues some serious warnings that we must heed. We must recognize that there is a thief who is advocating many different ways to God, making promises he cannot keep as he seeks to lead many astray. But the end of all other ways except Christ is destruction.
Narrow Gate
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
— Matthew 7:13-14
In this passage, we see that the door, or gate, is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it. The door is open to all to enter through it, and in this way there is a universal offer for any who would come.
At the same time, this door is very exclusive of all other ways and specifically condemns all other religions and man-made ideas of how to get to heaven as “the way that is broad that leads to destruction.” The entrance is small, but as we will discover further, the path narrows down even further as we step closer to the Holy of Holies and into the presence of God. It truly is a narrow way, but it is the path that we must follow if we are to know true life.
Offense at God’s Exclusivity
Many get offended at this point as they ask why God would condemn so many people who believe in other religions and other ways to God. What they do not understand is that, although He loves the whole world, God cannot deny Himself. Simply because God desires none to perish apart from Him, does not mean that He can overlook sin and rebellion and hatred of Him.
The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
— 2 Peter 3:9
That God has made a way at all should astound us and cause us to fall before Him in thanksgiving and deep gratitude. That He made a way by sending His Son to die a brutal death on the cross and pour out His own life to redeem us to Himself should shut our mouths and lead us to mourn over our sin and repent.
The Father Turns His Face Away
In the Garden of Gethsemane before Jesus’ crucifixion, Jesus prays to the Father three times, in such intense agony that he sweats drops of blood. His prayer is that the cup of the crucifixion and bearing the weight of the sin of the world in Himself would pass from Him.
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will." 42 He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, "My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done."
— Matthew 26:39,42
If it was possible for God to reconcile man to Himself by any other way, would the Father not answer His prayer and release Jesus from this horrible fate? Absolutely!
So to get offended that this way is so exclusive is to make the false and dangerous assumption that salvation and reconciliation is even possible through any other way. Jesus is the only way to the Father because there is no other possible way to satisfy God’s wrath on sin without destroying those who have committed sin against Him.
Far from scorning and judging this door as exclusive and condemning of other religions, we should appreciate the depth of God’s love for us, the price Jesus paid, and the length to which God went to redeem us.
The Many and the Few
Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.
— Matthew 7:13-14
The last point I would like to emphasize from this passage is that of the “many going the broad way to destruction” against the “few going the narrow way to life.”
The reality is that those who choose to enter through this small door and into Christ will find themselves going contrary to the world and cut off from the path that many are following.
Have you ever gone along with a crowd without really understanding what was happening?
There is a kind of comfort and contentment we get when we look around and see everyone around us doing the same thing and going the same way. It gives us a kind of assurance that we are safe and are doing the right thing. Surely, not everyone in the crowd could be wrong, could they?
However, I need to raise the warning flag for you here. If you are following the crowd, then you are in danger of following the path that leads to death. Do not be lulled into a false sense of security because of the crowd. Scripture is clear that when you die, you will stand before God alone and He will call you to account for every word and deed, regardless of who was going along with you.
It is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment
— Hebrews 9:27
Go back and read through the 10 Commandments - does this convict and condemn you? When you stand before Him on this day, will you be innocent or guilty? Unless you have entered through the door and are found in Jesus Christ, you will bear your guilt on that day. If you are found in sin, you will be separated from God forever. There are no exceptions, no second chances, and no other ways to salvation but Jesus.
If we are to enter into a deep relationship with the living God, we must enter through the Way that He has provided. Jesus is the door and He has made a way for you.
Have you entered through the door into life in Christ?
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