(Norman Grubb’s story continues…..great story!)

I Could Never Love!

Love, therefore, must not be a thing I can have. Love is exclusively a Person. God is love. Therefore, there is no other pure, self-giving love in the universe beyond Him Himself. Love is exclusively a characteristic of one Person only - and that's not Norman Grubb.

That was a deflation for me. I had thought I could have love imparted to me, channeled into me, and I'd be more loving. But I suddenly found God saying, "You'll never have one iota of love. I am love, and that's the end of it." Love is a Person; one Person only loving - and that's not I, and that's not you. God is love and, therefore, love is God loving.

That set a new trend of thought going. I began to relate this to my other need of power. And I suddenly found a verse in the first chapter of I Corinthians where it says that Christ is the power of God. Not Christ has the power, but He is the power.

Once again, I had thought power was something which was given to me, and I'd be a powerful servant of Jesus Christ. I suddenly found that power, also, is a Person. And that person is not I but is exclusively Christ. . .

Then I came to the one thing every Christian claims to have. Every believing Christian accepts the fact that he has eternal life. He takes it that he has a life which will go on forever in Heaven. ("The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.")

But I suddenly found that eternal life is not something I can ever have - for Jesus did not say, "I have the life to give you" - but, "I am the life." Once again I had found that something I had thought I had - eternal life - is one person only, and that's not I. Jesus Christ is that "eternal life."

But where did I fit into all this?

Finally I came to a statement which gathered all together and finished off my investigations by its absoluteness. The verse was Colossians 3:11, where it says of believers in Christ that "Christ is all and in all."

Christ is all, not Christ has all.

And if Christ is all, what's left for me? Not much by my mathematics! I had thought I was somebody, and something or could get something. I found God had taken the lot. Christ is all.

Then I got the link. Christ is all and in all.

Then I saw for the first time that the only reason for the existence of the entire creation is to contain the Creator! Not to be something, but to contain Someone.

So there dawned a very important truth. We humans naturally regard the human self as important. But we've got the wrong ideas of the reason of the existence of the self.

An immense distortion has come into the very warp and woof of humanity. It's the distortion of the ego - of the self. Though we feel self to be important, all of this showed me that self is extremely unimportant.

There is only one Self in the universe who is really important. I would almost say there is only one Self.

Why? Because there's only one Person in the universe who ever said, "I Am." God said that was His name thousands of years ago when Moses asked what he should say when people would ask, "What is the name of your God?" (Exodus 3:13, 14). We are told that at the end of the history of the universe it is God Who will be all in all. God all in all! Then what's left? It's terrific.

There is only one Person, and the human creation is brought into a living relationship with this One, so that He can manifest Himself in His perfection of life and love through us.

The whole creation exists because Spirit must have a body in which to manifest Himself. As the Scriptures say, "The whole earth is full of His glory." They say that Christ ascended "that He might fill all things."

If He fills all things, all things are containers of Him. Here is both the height and the dangerous depth in humanity.

The height is simply this: the rest of creation can contain manifestations of God; we can contain God as a Person. A person cannot manifest himself as a person through anything else than a person. You can't fellowship with a dog or a stone. You can enjoy the marvels of the atom or of a precious stone, but you can't fellowship with it. But I can fellowship with you because we are of the same makeup.

God can manifest His marvels and His beauty through the flowers and trees. We can view them through the microscope and telescope, and marvel-but we do not say, "That's God."

The greatest marvel, the greatest height of personality, is when we can look at a human being and say, "God is there."

Oh that the world could look at our lives and honestly say "God is there! There is a vessel of the divine" And that Father's children would finally comprehend that the purpose of the New Covenant outpouring is not to be empowered by the Holy Spirit, have a great ministry and be someone great apart from our fellow saints, but to make us humble containers of Him who fills all things! Dare we say it or even think it? We contain the Answer to all the world's problems. And that answer is Christ in you the hope of glory. There is a vast difference between the Old Covenant and the New and that difference is the very Son of God abiding in our hearts.

Old Covenant vs New Covenant
Aaronic priesthood (Exodus 28:1-3) Priesthood of all believers (1 Peter 2:9 KJ2000)

Temple made by men of stone (1 Kings 6:7) One made of living stones by God (1 Peter 2:5)

Special linen priestly garments (Exodus 28:3-8) Believers put on Christ (Romans 13:14)

Priests offer sacrifices for the people (Leviticus 9:7) Christ offered one sacrifice for all(Hebrews 7:22-28)

Spirit rested upon a few anointed ones (Numbers 11:29) All believers are His anointed; Spirit abides in (1 John 2:27-28, John 14:16-17)

Hearts of stone (Ezekiel 11:19) New hearts of flesh (Ezekiel 36:26-27)

Dead letters written in stone (Exodus 24:12) Living letters written upon the heart (2 Corinthians 3:3)

A covenant for Israel only (Exodus 19:5-6) A covenant for all who believe (Matthew 26:28; John 3:16)

An external law to be obeyed (Leviticus 26:3-6) A new commandment fulfilled by love (John 13:34)

Under the law of death (Romans 7:5) Led of the Spirit of life (Romans 8:2)

Tabernacle of Herod;A den of thieves (Mark 11:17) A heavenly tabernacle - with Christ our High Priest (Hebrews 9:22-24)

A veil of separation between God and man (Leviticus 16) A torn veil and access to God for all (Ephesians 2:13-18; 2 Corinthians 3:14)

Jew and Gentile separation (Genesis 17:7-8) One new man in Christ (Romans 10:12-13)

Of the first Adam, a living soul (Genesis 2:7) The Last Adam a life giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45)

Human teachers of the Law and prophets (1 Kings 8:36) Spirit is our teacher (Luke 12:12; John 14:26)

A covenant that was done away with (2 Corinthians 3:9-11) An eternal covenant (1 Peter 5:10)

High priests who died (Hebrews 7:23-24) A Melchizedek priesthood forever (Hebrews 6:20)

Of the flesh and bondage (Galatians 4:24-25) Of the Spirit and freedom (Galatians 4:26-31)

"Thou shalt and thou shalt not" (Exodus 20:1-17) "I will..., I will..., I will..." (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Ezekiel 36:26-27)

Old wineskins with old wine New wineskins with new wine

Circumcision of the flesh (Genesis 17:11) Circumcision of the heart(Romans 2:28-29)

Works of the law (Joshua 1:8) Faith in Christ's finish work (Ephesians 2:5-10)

A mere shadow of things to come (Hebrews 10:1) "But the body is of Christ" (Colossians 2:16-17)

Many shepherds (Ezekiel 34) One Shepherd (Ezekiel 34:23, Psalm 23:1; John 10:16)

Many fathers (Malachi 4:6) One Father (Matthew 23:9)

Knowing one another after the flesh (John 8:15) Knowing one another after the Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:16)


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Hello all,

I found this to be such a great study and was truly blessed by it. It wonderfully puts forth what the Lord has been putting on my heart to convey. With that in mind, I would like to summarize by listing some of the most important and enlightening points from these last two parts of this study. Points to keep in mind and heart as we each look at our own relationship with the Lord, and what part we are playing in recognizing the beauty and power of the New Covenant. Let us not turn back to the old letter of the law that only proved us guilty and no one could keep, and leads to death; but move on in Love and Grace and Power that we become when we are in Christ and He is in we!!

The following are what I find to be the most important points related in this study, quotes from the authors and Norman Grubb with a few comments from me.

The Lord God states:
“I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt”

This is a New Covenant NOT like the Old!

The Old Covenant was dependent on their obedience and their works. This New Covenant is totally God dependent.

He promises, "I will make. . .I will put. . . I write it. . . I will forgive... I will not remember..." Notice that this covenant is totally up to God and His righteousness operating in us.

The New Covenant is inward, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." This is the strength and superiority of the New Covenant.

His New Covenant also has new commandments.

Doctrine was never meant to be our foundation for unity.

For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.

Here we see that the call of the New Covenant is a call to be clay vessel for His Spirit, not vassals in authoritarian churches. We are to live victorious, not as vicars, and to collectively contain the glory of the Father so He can bring life to the world through us.

God is Love
Christ is the power of God.
Jesus Christ is "eternal life."

Then I saw for the first time that the only reason for the existence of the entire creation is to contain the Creator! Not to be something, but to contain Someone.

There is a vast difference between the Old Covenant and the New and that difference is the very Son of God abiding in our hearts.

We are to rest in His Love and let Him work through us, there is nothing we can do…no special day to worship, no turning back to the Old when the New is the Way the Truth and the Life.

Truly, Truly, this shows us that…

JESUS IS ALL AND EVERYTHING!!

May the Lord Bless you all with His Love!

YSIC

Patti C.

Bump