The Family, Church, Bride and Kingdom of God Introduction

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Family, Church, Bride

& Kingdom

Text: Exodus 40:17-38 “And it came to pass in the first month in the second year, on the first day of the month, that the tabernacle was reared up.18And Moses reared up the tabernacle, and fastened his sockets, and set up the boards thereof, and put in the bars thereof, and reared up his pillars.19And he spread abroad the tent over the tabernacle, and put the covering of the tent above upon it; as the LORD commanded Moses.20And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:21And he brought the ark into the tabernacle, and set up the vail of the covering, and covered the ark of the testimony; as the LORD commanded Moses.22And he put the table in the tent of the congregation, upon the side of the tabernacle northward, without the vail.23And he set the bread in order upon it before the LORD; as the LORD had commanded Moses.24And he put the candlestick in the tent of the congregation, over against the table, on the side of the tabernacle southward.25And he lighted the lamps before the LORD; as the LORD commanded Moses.26And he put the golden altar in the tent of the congregation before the vail:27And he burnt sweet incense thereon; as the LORD commanded Moses.28And he set up the hanging at the door of the tabernacle.29And he put the altar of burnt offering by the door of the tabernacle of the tent of the congregation, and offered upon it the burnt offering and the meat offering; as the LORD commanded Moses.30And he set the laver between the tent of the congregation and the altar, and put water there, to wash withal.31And Moses and Aaron and his sons washed their hands and their feet thereat:32When they went into the tent of the congregation, and when they came near unto the altar, they washed; as the LORD commanded Moses.33And he reared up the court round about the tabernacle and the altar, and set up the hanging of the court gate. So Moses finished the work.34Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle.35And Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the congregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the glory of the LORD filled thetabernacle.36And when the cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children of Israel went onward in all their journeys:37But if the cloud were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that it was taken up.38For the cloud of the LORD was upon the tabernacle by day, and fire was on it by night, in the sight of all the house of Israel, throughout all their journeys.”

Intro: I want to ask a question, Is the church Inclusive, or Exclusive? What I mean is, do yo think the Lord wants to be in a relationship with everyone, or just a few? Calvinism?

  • II Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

    • not willing that who ___________ should perish, that Who __________ should come to repentance?

  • Titus 2:11 “For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men,”

  • I Timothy 2:4 “For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;4Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.”

I hope it goes without saying, that I think God wants everyone to be saved. But as I read our text, and study the church, the bride, and the kingdom, I come up with some questions. Why was the presence of God concealed behind the curtain in the back room of the tabernacle and surrounded by a fence.

  1. Let’s look at the tabernacle,

    1. The Design:

      1. It consist of:

        1. an outward court, (100 cubit by 50 cubit, approximately 150 ft by 75 ft)

          • the outward court kept people from coming into the tabernacle in an inappropriate manner.

        2. You must first go through the Gate, about 20 cubits wide, it was simply a passage from the outside to the inside.

          • It was always facing to the east.

        3. Directly in the path of the gate was the bronze altar,

          • this was the place where the Nation would bring their sacrifice to give for sin and other things.

        4. Behind the Altar, was a water basin,

          • for the priest to wash in before they went any further back,

          • incidentally the laver was made of the brass of the women’s looking glasses,

            • it was a picture of self-examination.

            • (Exodus 38:8 “And he made the laver of brass, and the foot of it of brass, of the looking glasses of the women assembling, which assembled at the door of the tabernacle of the congregation.”)

        5. It was only after that you could go into the holy place,

          • the holy place was divided into two sections, the holy place, and the most holy place,

          • in the holy place was the lamp-stand, the altar of incense, and the table of show-bread.

        6. The Most holy place,

          • this was the area only the high priest was allowed,

          • this is where the ark of the covenant was kept.

        7. So this brings us to the question,

          • if God wants to be in a intimate relationship with everyone, why does it appear that they keep whittling away at people entering into the most holy place?

          • So this is where I am coming from concerning the family of God, the church, the bride and the kingdom.

          • Not that God whittles away whit the people in the relationship, but rather requires deeper devotion to be closer to Him.

            • After all, they were saved upon giving of the sacrifice.

      2. Israel is not the church, the church is not Israel,

        1. I want to make it clear, I am making comparisons between the two, but I am in no means trying to say Israel is or was part of the Church, neither am I teaching that the Church is or will take the place of Israel.

        2. They both have their place in God’s plan,

          • and there are places where individuals may overlap into both,

          • for instance was Peter Israel? Was Peter part of the Church?

    2. Questions to answer in this study:

      1. Family, is it all the saved, are all saved “Christian/ Christ like)?

      2. Church, What is the Church, Who is in it, When was it established, when or will it end, What is it’s purpose, now and in the kingdom?

      3. Bride, Is the bride and the church one in the same? Can you be part of the bride/ church with out being part of the church/ bride? What is the defining characteristic of the bride?

      4. Kingdom, how doe’s all this relate to the kingdom, when did or will the kingdom begin, what is it’s function, when or will it end?

  2. Outside the Gate,

    1. A single message to all “Outside”

      1. The Key Message,

        1. What would have happened to all the people out of Noah’s Ark if Noah had spent his time teaching “Morality”?

          • They would have all still perished. They would have just been Moral people that died.

          • Luke 13:1-5 “There were present at that season some that told him of the Galilaeans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices.2And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?3I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.4Or those eighteen, upon whom the tower in Siloam fell, and slew them, think ye that they were sinners above all men that dwelt in Jerusalem?5I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.”

            • Jesus was teaching a single truth here, it is not about morality, it is not about how you were raised, or who you know. The question is have you repented and accepted Jesus?

        2. There are different messages in the bible for different people,

          • for instance, there were messages for individuals, like Noah.

            • There was messages for families, the tribes in their duties with the tabernacle

            • to Nations, such as Babylon, Israel, or others.

            • There is also messages to the Church, messages to all saved, and…

          • there is one single message for the lost. “Repentance”

        3. Come into the family, come inside,

      2. Enter in!

        1. Judgment is coming,

          • I Corinthians 5:12&13 “For what have I to do to judge them also that are without? do not ye judge them that are within?13But them that are without God judgeth. Therefore put away from among yourselves that wicked person.”

        2. Present them with hope,

          • Colossians 4:5 “Continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving;3Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds:4That I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.5Walk in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.6Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that ye may know how ye ought to answer every man.”

          • I Thessalonians 4:12-18 “That ye may walk honestly toward them that are without, and that ye may have lack of nothing.13But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope.14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.15For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep.16For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first:17Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.18Wherefore comfort one another with these words. ”

      3. There is only one way in,

        1. John 10:6-9 “This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.7Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.8All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.9I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.”

          • Acts 4:12 “Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.”

        2. so to go back to the diagram of the tabernacle,

          • the only thing keeping people outside was a fence, one that was not impossible to break through.

            • It would have been possible for people to get to the tabernacle, but it was not the way God designed. They would have been thieves

          • But the way in was not difficult,

            • they only needed to give the sacrifice.

        3. After they gave the sacrifice, then they were inside. (Family, next week)