The Lord himself is bringing us into fellowship with the Father and the Son. This allocation of grace must not take be taken for granted.

Concerning The Mystery of the Faith being looked into, we have come to know that it is impossible for a novice to become a deacon. It places on us great responsibility to handle these words, acknowledge them and recognize that they hold a secret. The documents were not complete at once but the first set of deacons were ordained and what they look out for was maturity in the documents that were available at that time; they looked out for men of honest report, sincere, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom; grave, serious minded, not double-tongued, and not distracted. A person, who is not like this, has not grown nor matured and still in bondage.

1 Timothy 2:8

I will therefore that men pray every where, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting. 

To be serious, grave, and not double-tongued means knowing the value of words; learning what to say and say it from the content of one’s heart. A man that is not consistent is not matured. Apostle Paul was locked in two worlds but when he is free he is able to consistently speak from the Fountain of Life for no one can speak differently from the same fountain. Sometimes when someone speaks, you just conclude that such is a child. It is necessary one keeps his word. One that stands by his word is growing spiritually. If you’re not changing, you’re not growing and you will know it, likewise when you are growing. If you don’t overgrow some things and you keep hearing, it becomes personified.  No novice can come to that space of holding the mystery of faith. That’s why one who doesn’t hear can’t become. It is what you hear you come into.

Romans 5:15

But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 

Grace is so potent that it can take care of sin. God didn’t allow sin to abound before He brought the law because he’s very sure of the work of Grace. Sin in its fullest expression is nullified by Grace; that’s what angers unbeliever about Grace. The liberalists don’t like that. They believe if you do what is wrong you should pay for it so he won’t indulge. The Nigerian Church has used that so much but we need to see sin so that we can enjoy the work of Grace. In the fullness of time he has made Grace to appear. That’s why we need the mystery of faith to understand how Grace works so that we don’t be a slave to sin all our lives. God is not expecting man to be a slave to sin; rather he wants us to be free from it. Paul said God forbid because the reason for His priesthood is for Grace to abound; what the throne administers is Grace.

To be completely free is to obtain eternal redemption. Jesus obtained eternal redemption for us; this means another price is required to buy us back. The essence of this administration is to make us free forever seeing that it is not easy to cleanse ‘leprosy’; It is one of the most difficult ailments to find under the Law. For every ailment there’s a cleansing but leprosy is very contagious. Leviticus 14 reveals how complicated the law for lepers is. Every one of us is leprous; it is generic. Only priests can cleanse lepers. That’s why Naaman was told to go and wash. His cleansing lied in his obedience because purification is attached to obedience. Only Jesus purifies and cleanses sin. In other religions it is managed or covered. Only Jesus can cleanse and God wants us to be cleansed but this cleansing requires skill, because leprosy is contagious.

If we are to have fellowship with the Father and the Son, we have to be cleansed and be certified. Jesus was already honored as a Son but he needed to become a priest. He could not have become author without being a priest. To enter into priesthood is another service. Jesus’ priesthood was to ensure that those who come to God are certified. Sin is complicated; that’s why in Psalm 51, David prayed to be cleansed thoroughly. He acknowledged that his sin is ever before him and doesn’t leave. This is the problem with all priests. He prayed for purging because he knows that it is a deep and complicated matter. There’s provision for complete cleansing for a complete heart like David’s. So, sin is complicated because the soul of man is also complicated. The spirit of man is the inner man while soul is inner self because it cannot be trusted. There is nothing good in one’s self; it has layers and layers of sin such that it can be stretched out. It’s like the chromosome that consists in pairs but just one pair can be stretched out to be very long like the intestine. God in his wisdom packed it so which is why the bowel is always moving.

The things we contend with are bigger than us; that’s why Jesus Christ took upon himself this assignment. It is a high mantle but he was able to do it because he went through the proper process. This made God to be able to vouch that he (Jesus Christ) is able to save everyone that comes to God by him because he is an abiding high priest. There is nobody in church or in the world that cannot be saved because it is the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, though he was rich he became poor. It takes Grace to do that, and he has moved the riches to us. It took his priesthood to do that because souls are complex and complicated. Pretense is the greatest things the soul has learnt; it is not easy to locate it.

Hebrews 9:14

How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 

Looking at the tablets of the mind and the heart, the mind as the inward part and the heart as the hidden man, which holds the conscience now, cannot be washed but needs purging. The conscience is like the most holy of the heart; it is like the custodian and the source of all we see in the heart and the mind; like the tabernacle where you have the Holy Place and Most Holy Place. In the Most Holy Place, the major thing there is the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark contains the tablets - the tablets of the mind and the heart. So they are to move out of the ark, that’s why the conscience is like a clock, a regulatory organ. The Ark is in the Most Holy Place; we can’t do service without being presentable to God. Service is done by the conscience. If a heart and mind is not doing service it is not acceptable so the conscience must be purged so it can do service. It takes two instruments to cleanse the leper - the water and the blood; they are the same used to ordain a priest. If they are not used then such person can’t serve as a priest. A blind man can’t handle sin so it takes one that sees sin to cleanse; you can’t judge sin if you don’t see it. It is easy to point to the speck in another’s eye but not see the log in your own eye. It takes sight to remove speck, therefore you must be a priest to do that job. Also, the priest does not quickly pass judgments because the things he sees are complex; even Jesus does not pass final judgment on anyone. Like the case of the woman who was caught in the very act of adultery. He is the great High Priest and does not judge hastily but gives time and room for repentance.

Tongues and interpretation

For yeah, with me there’s always salvation and redemption. I believe there’s a better you for there’s a version of you that the world has not seen. When you obey, then His desire shall be actualized, you will be saved by your obedience. Follow me and obey, hear and obey for your salvation is hinged on your obedience.

Hebrews 5:8

Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; 

Jesus was not afraid of the death upon the cross, rather he was afraid of not entering into the full scheme of perfection. The fear was that this last death may not result in Resurrection. He was in the wilderness before going to Jordan though he was still in the school of learning but it was not as sensitive as him finishing the work. He was a living soul at Jordan looking for quickening. He knew he needed obedience to move from being a living soul to a quickening spirit. It means he was still under corruption and could still sin. So, he obeyed. What did He obey? He knew he needed a purging with hyssop and washing with scarlet wool.

Hebrews 9: 19

For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people, 

Moses used the hyssop for sprinkling and the wool for washing; the wool is very tender and requires patience. You must be a patient man to wash because the effect is not quickly seen but He is a skillful priest and knows he needs tenderness to wash thoroughly so that the soul does not run away. The using of the wool also requires prayer and intercession which is what Jesus Christ does as the High Priest. You must then be presented to the High Priest as thoroughly washed and acceptable. This is why Jesus Christ can patiently wait, slow to anger and plenteous in mercy. In his dealing with sin, every hardness, indulgence and presumptuousness would only be tolerated to an extent after which it must be dealt with or else the sin becomes part of you. We must go through all these processes and learn from them.

Hebrews 7:24-26

But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; 

What is the nature of this priesthood? It is a priesthood that purges. We can be thoroughly purged if we don’t run from him. When Jesus was learning obedience, he was acquiring his nature, holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners and made higher than the heavens. Jesus wants us to comprehend this realm because he is able to deliver and save us to the uttermost. Purging with hyssop is tied to obedience or the acquisition of the divine nature. What he did in his last phase was obedience and what he requires us to do is obedience. It is good to know that the washing of water and the cleansing by the blood is purging and cleansing that need to be revealed unto us. May we experience this provision of Divinity in Jesus name. Amen!