The beauty, intimacy and passion of Joseph Chambers for His Lord is so evident in this article.
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THE
FRAGRANCE OF PENTECOST MANIFEST BY THE ART OF THE APOTHECARY
Without the anointing of the Holy Ghost, the body of Jesus
Christ becomes nothing but a religious club. Every great awakening, whether with the Methodists or
Presbyterians, etc., was always wrought by a sovereign move of the Holy Ghost
upon the church. Every Biblical gift and calling of the Spirit must be in the
local church for that church to fulfill the great commission. The blood of
Jesus Christ and the Word of God are helpless virtues until the anointed
presence of the Holy Ghost takes those virtues and gives them wings. It is the
trinity of the Blood, the Word, and the Spirit that agree together and cannot
operate when separated. Just as the Father does nothing without the Son; the
Holy Ghost does nothing without the Father and the Son, so is the earthly
expression an expression in complete unity. The Word of God does nothing
without the blood; also the Word and the blood do nothing without the Holy
Ghost. It is breathtakingly beautiful.
The
fragrance of Pentecost is the spices of grace blended together to establish the
body of Christ on earth. The Heavenly Father gave us the type of this eternal
truth when the priesthood of Aaron was being established. In fact, every great
truth of the redemptive grace of Jesus Christ and the New Testament church was
manifested in types in the tabernacle, the priesthood, and the sacrifices. The
depth of each great First Testament truth can be learned and was understood by
the New Testament saints. The First (Old) Testament was their only Bible for
several decades and the purity of their doctrines was a testimony to the power
of these great revelations.
Let’s
look at the picture of the Pentecostal experience in this Old Testament
typology. “Moreover the LORD spake unto Moses,
saying, Take thou also unto thee principal spices, of pure myrrh five hundred
shekels, and of sweet cinnamon half so much, even two hundred and fifty
shekels, and of sweet calamus two hundred and fifty shekels, And of cassia five
hundred shekels, after the shekel of the sanctuary, and of oil olive an hin:
And thou shalt make it an oil of holy ointment, an ointment compound after the
art of the apothecary: it shall be an holy anointing oil. And thou shalt anoint
the tabernacle of the congregation therewith, and the ark of the testimony, And
the table and all his vessels, and the candlestick and his vessels, and the
altar of incense, And the altar of burnt offering with all his vessels, and the
laver and his foot. And thou shalt sanctify them, that they may be most holy:
whatsoever toucheth them shall be holy. And thou shalt anoint Aaron and his
sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister unto me in the priest’s
office. And thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel, saying, This shall be
an holy anointing oil unto me throughout your generations. Upon man’s flesh
shall it not be poured, neither shall ye make any other like it, after the
composition of it: it is holy, and it shall be holy unto you. Whosoever
compoundeth any like it, or whosoever putteth any of it upon a stranger, shall
even be cut off from his people.” (Exodus 30:22-33)
This is a Biblical picture of real Pentecost and not the modern
day movement of the Charismatics.
This is the Father’s Spirit in the church taking all the graces of Calvary and
blending them together to manifest His glory and to elevate the saints to
ministry back to Himself. It is a picture of the church, not conducting
television church to entertain, but saints united together by the Spirit to
exalt and worship the God of Heaven. It is church like it used to be when men
came to worship and not to be worshipped.
The Fragrance of Pentecost
Biblical
Pentecost is the only path for the church to return to solid conversion and
being Godly saints. When the Holy Ghost is welcomed into a church family or
into an individual’s life, that church or person will be absolutely
transformed. The power of the Holy Ghost is dynamic, life-changing,
soul-refreshing, uplifting and truth saturating. The Holy Ghost truly at
liberty in your life will make the reality of Jesus Christ the transforming
person in your total personality. He will be a
fragrance of the very grace and virtue of the Divine nature reflected and
resident in the Son of God and manifest in your life.
Let’s
look at the exciting types in this great Scriptural truth.
Principal Spices:
These spices were the best or supreme. Each of them had a specific aroma and
was powerful to preserve and give fragrance to the mixture. All four spices
were not easily obtained, were expensive and, when acquired, were held as a
treasury of great worth. When these spices were purchased, they would not be
placed in a common container, but were kept in a vessel of value to preserve
their highest quality. What a picture of redemptive grace revealed in the death
and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. Each of these four spices has their
own unique qualities and value.
Pure Myrrh:
Each of the spices in this order of four reflects a virtue evident in our Lord
Himself. In this case, the myrrh was pure from a word in Hebrew, deror. This
properly denotes fluid from the Arabic word, darra, meaning to flow by, which
meant the finest and most excellent kind. This pure extract of myrrh is called
stacte, which issues of itself from the bark without incision. What a picture
of the sinless nature and pure grace of Jesus’ human life.
Before
He was crucified or received the incisions of human crucifixion, Jesus was
absolutely pure in all His nature and person. The Scripture states in Isaiah’s
prophecy, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a
sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.” (Isaiah 53:7)
Apostle Peter stated, “But with the precious blood
of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.” (1 Peter 1:19) The
Son of God perfectly fulfilled this type in His earthly life.
Sweet Cinnamon:
This spice is hot in taste and hot in operation. What a reflection of a life
absolutely pure, but aflame with passion and firm resolve to the purpose for
which He was born. There was never lukewarmness in His obedience to the Father
or His commitment to the redemption of men. He stated,
“For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (Luke
19:10) He could spend the night with the Father and all day with the
crowds. He literally poured Himself out to passionately bear the burdens of
troubled flesh.
Sweet Calamus:
Kenaih bosem, calamus aromaticus or odoriferous cane, is a reed growing about
two feet in height, bearing from the root a knotted stalk, quite round,
containing in its cavity a soft white pit. It is said to scent the air while
growing; and when cut down, dried and powdered, makes an ingredient in the
richest perfumes. It is amazing that one of these four spices would be from a
weak cane that has no special beauty except in its aroma or scent. This
presents a perfect picture of His humility.
Matthew
quoted Isaiah with the following words. “Behold my
servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I
will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He
shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till
he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”
(Matthew 12:18-21) His ministry on earth prior to the cross was a
perfect expression of total humility and pure grace and mercy.
Apostle
Paul expressed this exact nature in writing to the Philippians. “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to
be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the
form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion
as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8)
Cassia: A low,
growing plant of no assuming beauty, which provides a sweet spice and offers a
picture of the absence of vain-glory. “Who in the
days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong
crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard
in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things
which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal
salvation unto all them that obey him.” (Hebrews 5:7-9)
The Son of God perfectly fulfills all the graces and types of
this combination of spices.
Every expression of His person proves beyond a shadow that He was the
ingredient from which the holy anointing would spring. These spices were not
blended carelessly but in a perfect proportion of each.
Olive Oil:
Once each spice had been measured, then a hin (approximately three quarts) of
olive oil became the final ingredient. The oil would be the blending of this
entire formula and once all the spices were perfectly united, the final result
was called “a holy, anointing oil.”
All the beauty that we see in Jesus’ life and death is perfectly
manifest in the four spices, but the anointing of the Holy Ghost was God’s
method to reveal that life and ministry to the world. The olive oil in this holy anointing oil gives fire and
glory to the final results, even as the Holy Spirit of God was added to the
life of Jesus Christ. He said clearly, “I do
nothing of myself, but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.”
(John 8:28) The Scripture declared that the Father gave Him the Holy
Ghost without measure.
He
was the perfect example of human flesh filled with the Holy Ghost and
manifesting the anointing of God to the world. And He is still the “source” and the “pattern”
of this anointing for the church until we are gathered to Him at the conclusion
of the church dispensation. Every display of what is called the anointing that
does not perfectly fit this pattern must be soundly rejected. This is an
eternal pattern given at the very dawn of the Old Testament church and provided
to be God’s type forever.
The Art of the Apothecary
Holy
men were responsible for this function from among the Levite priesthood. They
were obligated before God to prepare the anointing oil according to the divine
formula. The anointing oil, properly prepared and placed on the vessels, the
instruments of service, the tabernacle itself, as well as the priest, assured
the unction of God’s holy presence in every act of worship and sacrifice. In
other words, the apothecary’s “function was the unction.” Let’s read a
description of this “unction” that was manifest when the tabernacle was
dedicated to God.
“Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the
glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.” (Exodus 40:34) “So that the priests
could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had
filled the house of the LORD.” (I Kings 8:11) “So that the priests could not
stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled
the house of God.” (II Chronicles 5:14)
We dismiss this kind of glory as something that belongs to the
tabernacle, Solomon’s Temple, or the Day of Pentecost. Nothing could be further from the truth. Apostle Paul
settled this question by clearly showing that the glory (unction) available to
the church far exceeds that which is evident in the tabernacle or temple. Here
are his words, “But if the ministration of death,
written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel
could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his
countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of
the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be
glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For
even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of
the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much
more that which remaineth is glorious.” (II Corinthians 3:7-11)
This entry was posted on Thursday,
January 31st, 2013 at 3:01 pm and is filed under Prophetic News Alerts.
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