Wade E Taylor
“And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us….” John 1:14
The eternal, creative Word became the greatest revelation that God could ever give to man. His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, was born of a virgin and dwelt among us in condescension as “Jesus of Nazareth,” which at that time was considered to be a place of reproach.
As Jesus walked the dusty roads of His day, the world saw a visible demonstration of the truth and power of the eternal Word.
“That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life … that which we have seen and heard declare we to you, that you also may have fellowship with us….” I John 1:1, 3
Each aspect of our spiritual life experience should be of such quality that the impartation of the substance of the “Word,” which we receive into our spirit, will find both fulfillment and expression through us – the Word becoming a personal reality within us, that can be “seen and handled” by all those who surround us.
This will encompass our consecration to the Lord, our walk with Him, our fellowship with the body of believers of which we are a part, and our relationship to the world in which we live. In each of these areas, that which the Lord has accomplished within us should be evident to others as a witness to them, which will convict and draw them toward Jesus. We are the only “Bible” that many will ever read.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus said, “You shall be witnesses.” That is, we ourselves are to be this witness. This has to do with what we are becoming, not what we are doing. Our growth toward spiritual maturity is nurtured and established through the application of spiritual laws and truths to our spirit, as the Lord works to produce His image and likeness within us.
Israel “saw” the deeds of God as a spectator, but as Moses “walked” in the ways of God as being a partaker, these deeds became a part of Him. Then through the life of Moses, Israel saw and experienced the results of the Lord’s revelation to him; and only then could they begin to understand.
The “objective truth” that is set before us through the written Word of God, or in that which is written about the Word of God, must become a practical part of us through personal experience, before it is really ours.
“… If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come to him, and make Our abode with him.” John 14:23
The Word is to become “flesh” (an experienced reality) within our spiritual life experience, as the world both acts and reacts toward us. Only as we rightly respond to the Lord’s desire to indwell our lives, will the world see Jesus. And, they will again marvel and say, “Never man spoke like this man” (John 7:46).
Once our lives are fully committed to the Lord, each decision or choice that we make has a higher purpose behind it which transcends its present effect. It is very important for us to understand this, so we might rightly view the results of each step that we take toward spiritual maturity.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them.” Ephesians 2:10
We remember most of our spiritual consecrations. Because they are made at special times, they have a recognizable purpose and directly affect our spirituality. We value these and hold them as being important spiritual landmarks.
Along with these, there are the multitudes of seemingly unrelated “choices” that we are forced to make each day, which do not appear to us as having any purpose or value. We tolerate these, but think concerning them, “If I could get past all these mundane things, then I would be able to seek that which has spiritual value and purpose.”
However, the Lord views these seemingly mundane decisions quite differently than we do, as these are not merely arbitrary choices that must be made along the pathway of life. From His eternal perspective, varied circumstances are purposely placed in our path so as to provoke us to make decisions concerning them.
The result of these decisions will then become one of the “ingredients” in the composition of the “seed” (that which we are becoming) which is being formed by the Lord within our physical frame – our “new creation life.”
“…Behold, a Sower (the Lord) went forth to sow….” (the circumstances that require of us a decision or choice). Matthew 13:3 (comment added)
The Scripture tells us that we are predestined “to be conformed to the image of His Son” (Romans 8:29). The present development of this “image” can be pictured as being a “seed” that is being gradually formulated during our span of life. This seed contains all of the ingredients that will be necessary in the eternal ages, to bring this “image” of His Son into open manifestation.
Once we are there, our life in the Lord – fully released from the husks of time – will come into full view, and we will be measured according to the extent that we have grown into the fullness of His image while here on earth.
This can be compared to an apple seed. Every necessary ingredient to produce a tree that is fully grown and producing apples is contained within this seed. There is nothing that needs to be added to it. All that is required for it to develop into a fully matured tree is the right environment and time.
We often become confused when our spiritual consecrations or decisions, which seemed so outstanding at the time, fade away with no (seemingly to us) lasting consequence. This is because we only see the present effect that these produced. We do not realize that our consecration or decision became an “ingredient” in the preparation of the “seed” that we are becoming. Nor are we able to see the fully matured tree that will be released from this seed when it enters the environment of eternity.
When the new-day dawns, the “atmosphere” will be present to release the pent up life that we have become, which is contained within this seed. Only then will it be able to spring forth into its full expression of life. The life that will be manifested from this seed will be the cumulative result of all the ingredients (decisions), both good and bad, that went into its make-up.
Jesus said of this seed, that some “fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some an hundred fold, some sixty fold, some thirty fold” (Matthew 13:8). The quality of our consecrations and decisions throughout the span of our life determines which of these gradations will apply to our eternal estate (thirty, sixty, or one-hundred).
The most important thing that I can do today, is to live in such a way that only the very best ingredients will go into the make‑up of this “seed” that I am becoming. Most of the spiritual consecrations that I make will not presently come to the full outworking of their intended purpose. There is not enough time within the span of our lifetime for this to happen.
However, these present spiritual consecrations and decisions are very important, and they have a vital part in the make‑up of this seed that will manifest in eternity – what we have “become” in relation to the image of the Lord Jesus Christ.
In eternity, the “effect” that these consecrations and decisions had exercised upon us, will develop into their full fruition. There will be ample time then for the outworking of these experiences that present time was not able to accommodate. Much must be accomplished within each one of us in order to bring us to a compatibility with eternity, and into the cooperative relationship with the Lord that He both desires and intends.
A vision, given to Ezekiel, revealed a man with a four-sided face (Ezekiel 1:6-10). From one side, he appeared to be as a lion; from the second, a man; from the third, an ox; and from the fourth, an eagle. Each of these views revealed the same man, yet each demonstrated a different quality within his make-up. This vision was repeated to John in Revelation 4:6-7 as four living creatures, who picture the New Testament overcomer.
These four-sided heavenly views were the result of the outgrowth of a fully developed and matured seed. This understanding of the purpose of the Lord in forming a “seed” from the cumulative decisions, choices, and experiences during our present span of life is very important. It will both affect the quality of the decisions that we make in our every day experiences, and help us to rightly interpret life.
From the Lord’s perspective, He will place within our pattern of life experience, all of the circumstances that are necessary so as to enable us to make the decisions that will produce this fully developed “seed,” which He desires us to become.
A clearer understanding of these things will only be realized in the ages to come (the Millennial Kingdom, and the eternal ages in the new heavens and earth), when this “seed” will be manifested as a life that has become like the “tree of life,” bearing all manner of fruit for the healing of the nations (Revelation 22:2).
Those who willingly submit to this process will rule with the Lord in the Millennial Kingdom. Then, we will understand the “why” of these present difficult experiences, which we daily endure, and we will be fully satisfied.
“Lord, just as the Word became flesh in Your life on earth, to be seen and handled by others, may Your life, the living Word, again find expression through our life experiences, to be seen and handled by others.”