Prayer …. Holy Spirit remove any sleep from our eyes; keep us from the spiritual slumber the world tries to lull us into.  Take whatsoever things are of Jesus and minister them to us.  

We’ve been looking at the nature of Jesus, and how it’s not just a man named Jesus who was crucified for the sin of the world.  1st Peter says we werent redeemed with corruptible things, we were redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus.  If Jesus was just a mere man his blood would be corruptible.  His blood is precious because it’s the blood of God.  Jesus is God manifested in the flesh.  It’s not a mere man whose body was broken and whose blood was shed on the cross.  Acts 20 says its the blood of God that was shed for our redemption.  It’s the eternal Word; the 2nd person of the Godhead; the Creator of all things who was crucified on the cross.  If the death of Jesus isnt just the death of a mere man.  Then the resurrection is also not just the resurrection of a mere man, its the resurrection of the divine man.  It’s Gods flesh that was resurrected.  

Rev 1:18  I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.  The MKJV reads “I am the Living One, and was dead; and, behold, am alive forevermore”.

The Living One, who was dead, and is alive forever more is Jesus Christ. The book of revelation is titled the revelation of Jesus Christ.  The revelation of Jesus Christ is the revelation of God manifested in the flesh.  It’s the revelation of Him who was, and is, and is to come.  The first and the last.  Alpha and Omega, the beginning, and the ending.  John says The Almighty.  Just in case you don’t think the Almighty is talking about Almighty God.  Revelation 4:18 calls Jesus the Lord God Almighty.    

The language Jesus uses to describe himself isnt the same kind of language that would be used for you and me.  We have a beginning.  Jesus isnt talking about being alive when you are conceived, and then dying, and then being alive forevermore.  Jesus is describing himself as the one who doesnt have a beginning, because he is the beginning, he is before all things.  He’s describing himself as the self existent one, who ever lives. 

So the apostle John records Jesus saying to him, I am The Self existent One.  The one who has life in himself.  The one who is the resurrection and the life.  The Son of God.  The one the letter of Hebrews describes as neither having beginning of days, nor end of life.  The only immortal.  I am God in the flesh.  I was in my flesh put to death, and in my flesh I am alive forevermore.  As it is written when Jesus appeared to Thomas after his resurrection, saying touch me a spirit doesn’t have flesh and bone.  

Rev 1:5  says And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, 

Jesus is called the first begotten from the dead.  Not because he didnt already have life, and he needed life.  The resurrection of Jesus didnt look like Lazarus when he was raised from the dead.  Jesus is called the firstborn from the dead because he’s the first to rise as a human.  Jesus is the firstborn from the dead because in him taking up his life, in his resurrection, he abolished death, taking back the keys to hades.  What the apostle is telling us is, he who ever lives, the only Begotten Son of God, begotten not made, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life, became a creature.  Not by nature, but by assuming our humanity in his person.  He did that so he could be the first creature to come out of the grave.  Not a creature in the exact same sense as us, but a divine creature.  That in him not having a beginning, and therefore not being able to have an end, he could enter into the grave, and in him being a divine man, not being able to be held by death, he would be the first one who partook of flesh and blood to come forth from the dead.  So that in him coming out of the grave, he wouldnt be just the beginning of creation, but in entering the grave and coming out of the grave, never being able to taste death in his flesh again, his divinity would become the salvation and resting place of creation.   It’s not a mere mortal man who came out the grave.  It’s the divine man who came out of the grave, demonstrating that He is the Almighty God, gracing us with his incorruption, so we can know the Father through him.  

God in his flesh suffered death, and in His flesh, God came out of the grave; to build himself a body; which body are you; the very temple the scriptures say the messiah will build.  As Jesus himself says, “tear this temple down and I’ll rebuild it in three days”.  Put me to death in the flesh, and I’ll build a body that can never be torn down.  Gods resurrection is Him gathering mankind to himself; its God gathering all things in heaven and in earth, to Himself.  Its God building His body; the fulness of Him; the Fulness of His flesh; the heavenly country; the new Jerusalem; that divine city; the Fulness of Him that fills all in all; a place of refuge for His people.  

Gen 17:1  says  .. And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the LORD appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect. 

I am the Almighty God.  Isn’t that what John calls Jesus in the book of Revelation?  Yes this event happened to Abraham, but Jesus says Abraham saw his day and rejoiced.  Peter says we have a more sure word of prophecy in Jesus.  Jesus says the scriptures are they which point to him.  Genesis 17:1 is pointing to the resurrection of God; it’s a shadow of the revelation of Almighty God resurrected in His flesh.  

When God made man He set us in motion towards Himself.  He made us passable so we can be moved towards him.  He wanted us to be able to feel after Him so we can find ourselves in union with Him.  Some theologians call it the age of movement.  The nature of human was made to be theocentric.  The objective of human nature is God; the mark for our humanity is to know the love of God through the divine nature.  The faculties of our nature, our souls and our senses were given to us for the purpose of gathering us to God, so our potential to fully participate in the divine nature be fulfilled.  

The first man Adams transgression, effected a detour for the entire human race.  Rather than moving towards God, man became his own goal and objective.  Mankind went from their natural function of being theocentric, to an unnatural function of being self centric.  Adam made us self reliant, limiting us to created time and space, limiting our existence to our created nature.  Causing us to live not by the life of God but by our own nature, and through that our movement was towards death.  

Our souls were meant to find life in God; our souls have the ability to connect with God, both God and our souls being immaterial, and because of the union between our bodies and our souls, our bodies are able to have communion with the divine, through our souls.  When we lose God as our center we become disoriented(Sims character).  Our soul then seeks nourishment from the body, instead of God.  What happens to the body if it doesnt have communion with the divine nature, through the soul, is it turns towards external things.  This is the birthing place for lust.  When we seek material things in order to be satisfied, we end up seeing the material things of this world as the source of life, and we inevitably replace God with them.  Our body which is meant as the temple of the Spirit becomes a rest stop for the works of the flesh.  The charm of the human body, the many powers of communication which the body offers to human beings, are consumed and destroyed by love of pleasure.  The body and with it the whole human person becomes wasted on unbridled lust.  

The resurrection of Christ, the Godman; the eternal Word; Is the Son taking up His own flesh.  It’s God seeking after us by raising up his flesh from the dead.  Saying to us, I am the almighty God, walk before me and be made perfect … perfection is referring to theosis, deification, through union with God.  

The meaning of the Hebrew word for walk is to move towards; to lead, bring, lead away, carry, cause to walk, to exercise self in the sense of being caused to walk in a certain direction.  In the ancient Hebrew it also speaks of a shepherd shepherding.  

Gods own resurrection is him saying to mankind let your movement be towards me.  Its the Shepherds staff … the Good Shepherd raised his flesh from the dead; that in the Fulness of his divinity being made manifest in his flesh; in his humanity; we can behold the beauty our souls are seeking; and our movements be shepherded towards him.  In Gods own resurrection the soul feels its worth … the image of the invisible God shows us the image we were made to be an image of.  Saying to us this is what it is to be truly human; this is the image you were made to be an image of … the soul which was disoriented by not finding life in God; thus trying to find life through the body and the material world …. Our souls which were once subverted, now behold God resurrected in His flesh … God in his flesh rose from the grave, appealing to our senses, having been invisible, he becomes the creature; to appeal to the soul of the creature, by way of resurrecting his flesh, making an appeal to our senses, by showing us the divinity we are grasping after through the material world.  Reorienting our center, so we can once again be made theocentric, and our movements be towards him, and not the creature; materialism 

After part about appealing to our senses … Have you noticed how things we experience in our bodies; things that are experienced in the material world, have such a tremendous impact on our souls; our hearts; the innerman?