I noted that in this post I would look at the eternal internal realm we are called to live from. Hebrew 4 references this reality.
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. 10 For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. Hebrews 4:8-14 (NKJV)
There is a lot in this passage but the key is the last phrase in the last verse, “let us hold fast our confession.” Confession of what? The context above connects rest to salvation yet few Christians I know believe in or function from this rest. Why is that? One, I think it is because we don’t believe it and two, if we do believe it we don’t hold fast to believing it.
There are external realities and eternal internal realities. It is a question of which are we holding fast to and confessing. There is war, famine, murder and a host of other evils in the world. That is part of the external reality we face. We also have very good experiences of love, pleasure and peace, other aspects of our external reality. These things change, ebb and flow. They are neither static nor eternal. Yet, in the midst of these things we are called to live from the eternal internal reality. The scriptures below are a sample of the eternal internal reality we possess.
4 just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, Ephesians 1:4 (NKJV)
5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), Ephesians 2:5 (NKJV)
2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. Romans 8:2 (NKJV)
18 We know that whoever is born of God does not sin; but he who has been born of God keeps himself, and the wicked one does not touch him. 1 John 5:18 (NKJV)
1 If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. 2 Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. 3 For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory. Colossians 3:1-4 (NKJV)
The scriptures above are in the order they appear in the NT with the exception of the last passage because it sums up the reality of the rest. We are to set our thinking and affections on things above. If we let scripture inform scripture we can see how this was laid out in the OT.
3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” Isaiah 6:3 (NKJV)
13 Behold, is it not of the LORD of hosts That the peoples labor to feed the fire, And nations weary themselves in vain? 14 For the earth will be filled With the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, As the waters cover the sea. Habakkuk 2:13-14 (NKJV)
In the two passages above Isaiah had a prophetic encounter where he was experiencing the reality of the eternal internal realm. This is what lives within the one who has been born again! Habakkuk was sharing what we see from an external perspective. He saw from an earthly perspective what would be unveiled in the fullness of time. Isaiah was exposed to what was from an eternal perspective. Our perspective determines whether we function from rest. We need to exercise effort to stay in rest but it changes how we see. So, what perspective do we have? Are we regularly living from the reality of the eternal internal realm?
