davidbowerkingwood

The Church is Now 1,983 Years Old

On Sunday, May 15, 2016 the church will observe its 1,983rd birthday; an event generally overlooked by most. It was “born” on May 25, 33 AD on the date that year of the Jewish celebration of the Feast of Pentecost. This was truly an amazing event as the face of humanity was changed forever. At that point a completely new type of human being came into existence, human beings who had been permanently indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit. The former type of human being was still around in great abundance but now a completely new creation, human beings indwelt by God, began living on the earth.

Before the creation of the church, the Holy Spirit had been with individuals chosen by God for special ministries but the Holy Spirit had not permanently indwelt them as He would indwell all who were born again during the church age.

Before that momentous occasion, the Spirit of God, had dwelt successively in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple in Jerusalem before the Babylonian Captivity, but had not been present in the restored Temple in Jerusalem which later came to be known as Herod’s Temple. During those earlier periods, the indwelling of God produced visible results in that the radiance of God was manifested when the Spirit of God dwelled in the Tabernacle and the Temple.

Just as the visible glory of God was hidden in the Lord Jesus Christ, the visible glory of God would also be hidden as the Holy Spirit indwelt each and every human being who received Christ as Savior regardless of denominational affiliation or lack thereof. The situation was complicated by the fact that the outward appearance was not changed at all and by simply looking at people one could not tell whether they were indwelt by God or not.

A Hidden Change with Great Eternal Significance

Although the visible manifestations of the new creation are hidden, the spiritual realities are profound and eternal. Long after this physical realm in which we find ourselves has been destroyed, these spiritual realities will still be in full force and effect. The eternal destiny of those who are spiritually dead is the Lake of Fire, for those spiritually alive and indwelt by God, the Holy Spirit, a future in the new heaven and the new earth as a member of the family of God.

Those who are alive are cautioned to avoid being unequally yoked with those who are dead; there is a great gulf fixed between the living and the dead which can only be bridged by faith in Jesus Christ as Savior. We who are alive are commanded to offer directions on passage over that bridge to those who are dead. Those who choose to cross the bridge can join the ranks of the living and become a part of the new creation while those who reject the offer to cross that bridge continue to live under the wrath of God.

Happy Birthday to All Who Have Crossed from Death to Life!