THE GRACE PLACE
During our Lord’s incarnation, Christ was indwelt by God the Father and God the Holy Spirit. Jesus, as a child, learned God’s Truths as they were written in His time.
Our Lord walked His path through fields of Grace and completed the Father’s Plan for the salvation of mankind. The Holy Spirit directed Christ’s footsteps (Acts 10:38).
Each believer must learn to follow the footsteps of Christ down their own path through fields of Grace. Our spiritual walk with the Lord is personal. God has a Plan for your life and mine. We must learn to execute God’s plan as Christ did, obeying the Father — walking the walk!
I refer to walking with the Lord as living in a Grace Place. This means several things:
1). The Grace Place is an altar in our soul for intimate fellowship and intimate prayer referred to by Paul in 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19
2). The term Grace Place expresses leadership and exhortation … it is a “divine place of influence.”
3). This sanctuary is especially for meditation … listening to the quiet voice of the Holy Spirit.
4). It refers to a sanctuary IN OUR SOUL for continuous prayer — prayer without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
5). It is the Grace Place where we hang out with our Lord in our very own soul … how’s that for intimacy and privacy?
Intimate fellowship is our private, personal time with God. This is what Christianity is all about — intimacy with the Father through Jesus Christ. Bible doctrine in our soul increases our understanding, our maturity, discipline and humility. Intimacy makes us effective witnesses. Intimacy is when we enter the altar to be alone with our Savior. This is where we walk and listen. So, let us walk as children of light (Luke 16:8).
“During the Age of Israel, the preincarnate (meaning prior to His bodily presence) Jesus Christ as the Shekinah Glory dwelt in the Tabernacle or Temple (Exodus 25:21-22; Leviticus 26:11-12; Psalms 91:1; Hebrews 9:5). The Shekinah Glory appeared as a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night, as well as a bright light over the ark of the covenant. The presence of the Shekinah Glory guaranteed God’s promise of temporal and eternal blessings to Israel.
In the present Church Age, the Holy Spirit dwells in the Temple in the soul of the believer. This indwelling is the guaranty of God’s blessings to the believer both in time and for all eternity (John 14: 19-20; 16:7; 17:22-23; Romans 8:10; 1 Corinthians 3:16; 6:19; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18).
The purpose of this study is to help you see and truly understand your personal walk with Christ in the divine sanctuary of your own soul.
Your daily walk with the Lord through your own personal fields of Grace is God’s Plan for your life.
Since the Resurrection, ascension and session (seating) of Christ at the right hand of the Father, God gives to each believer the “power resources” necessary for executing the Christian life. These resources are the Indwelling and Filling of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Bible, Prayer, and the shepherd-pastors in all the local churches throughout the world.
In Acts 2:1-21 the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. However, there is so much more that we need to understand about why the Holy Spirit was given and what that means to every believer. For example — Christ came to glorify God the Father. The Holy Spirit was sent to glorify Christ and the Father.
The Holy Spirit indwells the body of every believer to make a Temple for Christ to dwell in (1 Corinthians 6:19). Think about that … since Christ went back to Heaven, believers represent the Lord to the lost and this ambassadorship glorifies the Lord. Please reference John chapter 17, which is our Lord’s prayer to the Father just before He was crucified. Jesus loved us so much and His prayer expresses His love for you, just before He died for you. Now that you paused and read John 17, please turn to 2 Corinthians 5:20. Think for a moment about what it means to be an official ambassador for the Lord.
NOTE: Because we, as believers, are now a temple for Christ to dwell within, we cannot be demon possessed. We can be demon-influenced, but never possessed.
Please turn to Ephesians 3:16, 19: “and that they may be filled with the fullness of God.” Paul is speaking about the control of the Holy fullness of Bible Doctrine in the believer’s soul. (Both filled and fullness are synonyms for spiritual maturity).
In 1 Corinthians 3:16, Paul makes an amazing declaration: “Do you not know that you are the Temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you.” And again, “Or do you not know that your body is the Temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own” (1 Corinthians 6:19). Here in the “Temple” of our soul God has given us our own private worship place and this is our own personal Grace Place.
We are the Temple of God and every Temple has an “Altar.” The believers altar is the Cross of the sacrificial lamb of God (John 1:29; Revelation 5:12; 12:11) for the redemption of mankind. Christ reconciled us to God (2 Corinthians 5:20; Ephesians 2:13-22; Colossians 1:20).
Jesus Christ is our High Priest (Hebrew 6:17-20). Since every believer is a member of the Royal family of God, in union with Christ, we all share His Priesthood.
“The office of our royal priesthood is not hereditary as under the Levitical Priesthood; not based on physical birth, but on spiritual regeneration and therefore it is perpetual.”
Every believer in the Church Age is a priest and therefore we have direct access to the Throne Room of God (Hebrews 7:1-3; 1 Peter 2:9; Revelation 1:6). We just kneel in our soul at the altar anytime we want to talk with God. We could be walking down the road, or at work, or driving along the highway.
We have the privilege of meditation; we have the honor of prayer.
The Church Age believer, after salvation, remains on earth to represent Christ (until Christ returns) to a lost world, even though our citizenship is in Heaven (Philippians 3:20). We are here as Ambassador’s for Christ in the devil’s world (2 Corinthians 5:20). We are to carry the message of reconciliation. God is reconciling the world to Himself through His Son Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 18,19). God is reconciling the world through His children — you and me.
Point Of Doctrine: Our Ambassadorship and our Priesthood are the two highest offices any believer can hold in this life.
Add to this the armor of God — the Sword of the Spirit which is God’s Word in us and around us as a shield of Divine protection, and you can now see how God has equipped and commissioned each believer with the “power resources” necessary to win spiritual battles in the Angelic Conflict, and living here on earth in the devil’s world. Please turn to Ephesians chapter six and read versus 10-17.
The battles, even the sufferings we face in life give us opportunities to serve, worship, and glorify God. Praise the Lord for His Awesome Plan through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Please turn to Ephesians 3:14-21: “For this reason I bow my knees (physical knees and soul knees) before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name, that He would grant you according to the riches of His Glory, to be strengthened with power through the Holy Spirit in the inner man, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God. Now to Him who is able to do far more abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be the glory in the Church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.” Amen.
‘The power that works in us’ refers to all these power resources, but especially the Holy Spirit in control using Bible Truths to guide our lives.
The more intimate we become with the Lord, the more spiritually sensitive we become.
The more spiritually sensitive we become, the more compassionate we become toward our Savior and our fellow man.
The more of God’s Word we inhale the more perceptive we become and the more we can exhale toward our co-workers, our friends and neighbors, and the unbelievers all around us.
So, we have fellowship, intimacy, sensitivity, compassion, perception, and application. This is God’s Plan for each believer: “Until we all attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ” (Ephesians 4:13). Fullness of Christ is spiritual maturity!
Paul is emphasizing the dynamics of the Christian life powered by the Word of God and the Holy Spirit. Notice the power phrases that Paul uses: “Comprehend the riches of God’s Glory, the power in the inner man, surpassing knowledge, breadth, length, height and depth of God’s love, unity, faith, maturity, and filled to all fullness of God.” These things describe God working in the Temple of our soul to transform us to His image. Therefore, study and learning IS to be our priority in worship! Application is obedience and faith in action.
Point Of Teaching: God does all the work of salvation and God does all the work of us living the Christian life — THIS IS GRACE!
God’s Word also surrounds us on the outside with a protective shield — the actual armor of God (the Bible). Bible Truths in our soul creates in us Divine Viewpoint.
When you are inculcated with Bible truths, your norms and standards reflect the Character of Christ. As a mature christian, you learn to be humble, quiet, and confident, no matter what the circumstances in life.
Armed with Truths the believer can have confidence in God’s promises, make good decisions, exhibit virtue, and resolve the dilemmas that come up in life. Reference Romans 12:2-3.
Here are several more points of doctrine:
The more you know God through Bible teaching, the more you respect God!
The more difficult the circumstances in our lives the more we learn faith (to lean on and appreciate God).
The more we trust God and watch God deliver us, the more humble and confident we become.
The more we are genuine in our praise and worship, the more genuine we are in our relationships with our fellow man.
Bible Truths circulating in the believer’s soul is the lifeblood for victory in the Christian life.
Give God the Glory!
The Unfathomable Riches of Christ.
The indwelling Holy Spirit develops in every believer the character of Christ (“the unfathomable riches of Christ,” see Ephesians 3:8). The unfathomable riches of Christ is Bible Truths — the “Mind of Christ” (1 Corinthians 2:16). The goal of every Christian should be to reach the high ground of maturity.
The Christian life is all about trials, hardships, suffering and pain. It is also, all about the fruits of the spirit, including joy, peace, inner-happiness, confidence, appreciation for life, etc.
The Christian life is all about knowing God and watching God move to resolve every good and bad situation.
The Christian life is learning all about our wonderful Lord and Savior.
The better we know our Savior the more we love and appreciate Him.
The Holy Spirit transforms our thinking from human viewpoint to Divine Viewpoint by the continuous inhale of Bible Truths with the result that we are slowly conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29; 12:2).
“Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (Ephesians 6:18). In Luke 11:10 Christ said: “For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks it shall be opened.” Our state of mind is to be always thinking about the Savior, always meditating, always giving thanks. “Pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
Think about this: When we are continuously God-conscious, we will be more obedient; we will remain in fellowship longer and we will be at peace in stressful situations such as rush hour traffic, suffering, or even facing death.
Finally, each believer must learn how to live an honest life before the Lord and before mankind. You can become what God wants you to be, but you must accept who you are with objectivity. Then, turn yourself over to God.
You cannot hide any thought or action from God. God knows our every thought. God sees right through your facade of hypocrisy. Own up, and face up to your failures, your weaknesses and addictions. Come out of your closet and be truthful with God and yourself. “Let us come boldly unto the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find Grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving” (Colossians 4:2).
We owe God everything:
Christ died for us!
Christ intercedes for us!
Christ loves us!
Christ indwells us!
Christ represents us as our defense attorney in Heaven!
What an awesome Savior! What an awesome God!
Christ perfectly describes the Grace Place in this prayer … “that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that (here is the reason) the world may believe that You sent Me. The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that (here is the reason) they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me that (here is the reason) they may be perfected (matured) in unity, so that (here is the reason) the world may know that (with this result) You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me” (John 17:21-23). (Bracketed comments are for your attention and clarification).
God loves the believer like He Loves His own Son. There is no greater love … so how secure is every believer? Our eternal security is absolute because of Christ our Blessed Savior!
Drop to your soul knees and thank God for His Mighty Plan of life in the Grace Place of His Love.
The Holy Spirit in us is our daily power source to live for Christ.
The Holy Spirit produces the fruits of the spirit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
A final thought: Your faithfulness and obedience to God defines your human character and integrity; God’s Plan and Faithfulness to you defines God’s Divine Character and Integrity.
“But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:57). Thank you Father for your incomparable plan of Grace in the Grace Place in our very soul. Help each of us to understand the altar of our royal priesthood. Help us Father to understand and perform your will as your Ambassador’s for Christ to a lost and dying world. Thank you Father that in spite of our many failures you never leave us nor forsake us. Help us to understand that you walk with us through fields of Grace. Amen.
Happy Studying!