(for part 1 see 10/8/24)

The essence of God is fully accessible by mortal flesh through Jesus Christ by the Holy Ghost.

What does that mean to us? We need to understand that God, in all his awesomeness, is fully approachable through Jesus Christ. John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Ryrie says the logos concept, “here is applied to Jesus who is all that God is and an expression of Him. The Word is said to be with God (IE., in communion with and yet distinct from God) and to be God (IE., identical in essence with God).” Sounds awesome, right? That believers have full access to such a magnanimous person. But, we do in Jesus Christ. God wants us to know Him so that we can fully know ourselves in Him.

We don't need to back away from the mountain of God in fear of His presence. He wants us to not only be aware of Him but to share His presence in our daily walk with Him. The Israelites recoiled in fear at the manifest presence of God on Mt. Sinai. They had witnessed the power of God, but without faith to trust Him, God's presence created fear. They had seen with their own eyes what He could do. So, God placed a boundary at the foot of the mountain and they were instructed not to approach the mountain. The Israelites had to communicate with God through a mediator. God gave His instructions to the Israelites through Moses. What made Moses different from the rest? He trusted God! He was willing to leave the things that he didn't understand in the hands of God.

We have no need to be fearful and afraid. Jesus became our mediator with God when we accepted His sacrifice at Calvary. Because of the shed blood of Jesus Christ, we have the boldness to draw near to God and through our mediator, Jesus, we bring our petitions to Him. He invites us to come boldly before the throne of grace and make our petitions known to Him. This is a very important attribute of our relationship with God. In the presence of God, we will discover who we are in Jesus Christ. He will define the terms and boundaries of our mission by the revelation and leading of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives.

His presence is absolutely indispensable if we are to understand who we are in Jesus Christ and what that means to us and to a lost and dying world. God help us to be receptive to the illumination of His Spirit!