Behold! I Stand!
Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at He door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”
(We sometimes picture this as Christ standing at the heart’s door of a sinner…..knocking and calling….so they will open their lives to Him in salvation.
But Jesus is standing at the church’s door…..knocking.
For He is outside His own church, in Laodicea……and they are not aware of it…..nor of the cause, in themselves.)
I will come into him and sup with him and he with Me.
This “sup” in the original, means fellowship.
I will fellowship with him, and he with Me.
“Can two walk together except they be agreed?…”. (Amos 3:3)
This also sets forth fellowship.
Creature before the Creator. When the creature acknowledges his creatureliness….then he is ready fo fellowship with his Creator.
(That was one of the temptations for Eve…..”you will be as gods”….
……”you won’t be a mere creature, no! you will be like God….and do what you want!”
And that temptation brought about their sin.)
Revelation 3:18 “I counsel thee to buy of Me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white rainment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.”
(Many years ago, I used to read this and think that the Lord was just giving us good advice…..”I counsel thee”.
But no, Christ Jesus, is as our counselor, lawyer before the Court of Heaven. He knows the Judge and what the Judge expects….and therefore tells us what we should do, to stand in good stead with the Judge.)
Gold in scripture speaks of God….we need to get God back into our whole lives….by obedience to Him.
It is the creature (us) taking on the character of the Creator….that He might be seen in us…..instead of our own good opinion.
2 Peter 1:6 “And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;”
Or… God-likeness. Not in HIs divinity and power….but in His character.
“White rainment”. All the garments of self-will…will be consumed at the Judgement Seat of Christ.
Nakedness was what Adam and Eve realized when they had sinned. God clothes us with the righteousness of Christ…..but are we showing His righteousness every day by our obedience to Him?
God has plainly told me to act like the person He has made me…..not like the old me, but like the new creature in Christ.
Sometimes, as Christians, I think we put off Christ and put on the old man….yet,….”but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of Him with Whom we have to do.” (Hebrews 4:13)
…..and Christ counsels us to put on Christ….and keep ourselves in His righteousness.
And anoint thy eyes with eye-salve that thou mayest see”.
We are to buy gold from Him, We are to buy the white rainment from Him…..but it does not say that we are to buy the eye-salve.
No, we are to use it….we are to anoint our own eyes with honesty….the eye-salve of God.
Whenever we face the Truth about ourselves….as the creature, before the Creator……the Truth given us by the scriptures or by His Holy Spirit….then His grace (the unmerited favor of power) with be applied.
John 1:17 “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”
This is an act of our will….to get honest with God….and see.
1 John 1:7 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Cleanseth is in the present tense…..which takes in past, present, and future sins.
But walking in the light implies obedience….not sinless perfection….but believing obedience.
Psalms 138:8 “The Lord will perfect that which concerneth me: Thy mercy, O Lord, endureth forever: forsake not the works of Thy own hands.”
The Lord will perfect….complete…His work in me….praise God for His mercy!
Ephesians 2:10 “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.”
He is not going to stop working in us…..that we might walk in His character through this world….doing the works He has given us to do.
He is going to keep knocking…..keep speaking…..
Do we want that fellowship with Him, which requires us
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 