Three Transforming Experiences - Part 1
There are three transforming experiences that God has made available to every believer. It is His will that we fully enter into all three experiences. If we do not enter into all three transforming experiences, we will not fully experience all that God has for us.
One experience transforms our spirits. Another transforms our souls, and the third experience transforms our bodies. We must experience all three in order to be fully transformed into the image of Christ.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you through and through [that is, separate you from profane and vulgar things, make you pure and whole and undamaged—consecrated to Him—set apart for His purpose]; and may your spirit and soul and body be kept complete and [be found] blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”—1 Thessalonians 5:23 (AMP)
These three experiences are available for every believer, but not every believer will experience all three.
Three Experiences in the Tabernacle of Moses
We can see these three experiences depicted in the three compartments of the Tabernacle of Moses.
If you were an Israelite, you would enter the Tabernacle of Moses from the east and you would first enter into the Outer Court. Then if you were a priest, you could enter into the next compartment, the Holy Place. Finally, if you were the high priest, you could enter the Most Holy Place—the Holy of Holies—once a year to place the blood of atonement on the Mercy Seat above the Ark of the Covenant.
Some believers might question the validity of looking at Old Testament models to illustrate New Testament truth, but when we look at Hebrews 10:1, we can see that we can come to a deeper understanding of New Testament truth by studying the Old Testament that was given to the Israelites.
“For since the Law has only a shadow [just a pale representation] of the good things to come—not the very image of those things—it can never, by offering the same sacrifices continually year after year, make perfect those who approach [its altars].”—Hebrews 10:1 (AMP)
This verse clearly tells us that the Old Testament contains symbols, shadows, or models that represent good things to come! So it is entirely valid to look at Old Testament models to come to a better understanding of New Testament truth!
The three compartments of Moses’ Tabernacle correspond to three transformational experiences in the Christian life. What are these experiences? Let’s name them together. Salvation, the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (or being filled with the Holy Spirit), and …
What is the third transforming experience?
Do you know why you may feel uncertain about what the third experience might be? It is because we have not fully entered into the reality of the third transforming experience that Jesus Christ has made available to each of us.
As we examine the three compartments of Moses’ Tabernacle more closely, we can come to a better understanding of all three transforming experiences.
Outer Court Furniture
In the Outer Court of the Tabernacle, the first piece of furniture we encounter is the bronze altar, where sacrifices were made for sins. This symbolizes forgiveness of sins. Next, we encounter the bronze laver, which was a large basin of water. This represents water baptism. Together, these two pieces of furniture represent salvation and new life in Christ, which is the first transforming experience.
This is a picture of justification which transforms your spirit**.**
Holy Place Furniture
Beyond the laver is the next compartment—the Holy Place. Fewer believers enter into the Holy Place experience.
When we enter the Holy Place, the second compartment of Moses’ Tabernacle, we see the seven-pronged lampstand on the left, which represents the seven Spirits of God. This lampstand is modeled after the real lampstand seen by John in Revelation 4:5:
“Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.” (NKJV)
On the right side of the Holy Place is the Table of Shewbread. This bread represents the Word of God, but not only the written word. It represents the word of God that is illumined by the Holy Spirit, because the shewbread was bathed in the light from the lampstand. This is not the *logos *word, but it is the rhema word of God. It is the revealed word of God that comes alive to you when you read it. It is the Scripture that God’s Spirit speaks to your heart and makes real to you. This is the spoken word of God that transforms your soul.
Jesus said to His disciples, “You are already clean because of the words I have **spoken **to you” (John 15:3 ICB). It is the *spoken *word of God that cleanses and transforms us. These are the words that are illumined by the light of the Holy Spirit.
This is a picture of the process of sanctification which transforms your soul.
Jesus prayed, “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17 KJV)
James exhorts us to “in a humble (gentle, modest) spirit receive and welcome the Word which implanted and rooted [in your hearts] contains the power to save your souls” (James 1:21 AMPC).
In front of the veil was the golden altar of incense. This represents prayer and worship in the spirit.
This compartment of the Tabernacle represents the second transforming experience of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.
Holy of Holies Furniture
Even fewer believers ever find their way into the Holy of Holies experience.
When we enter the third compartment in Moses’ Tabernacle, the Most Holy Place, we see the Ark of the Covenant, which, in Moses’ time, contained the tables of stone that Moses brought down from the mountain, a golden pot of manna that never spoiled, and the rod of Aaron.
The tables of stone represent God’s covenant with man.
The golden pot of manna represents the living Word of God. Jesus said, “I am the living bread which came down from heaven” (John 6:51 KJV).
The rod of Aaron represents the authority of God.
If you remember the story of the rod of Aaron in Numbers 17, people had challenged the authority of God’s designated leaders, Moses and Aaron. In response to this, God designed a demonstration to put an end to all of the murmurings of the Israelites who questioned the authority of the leaders He had put in charge.
God instructed Moses to have each of the twelve tribes write the name of their leader on a rod and bring that rod to Moses. Then Moses set all twelve rods in front of the Ark of the Covenant.
The next day, when Moses checked the rods, none of the rods had changed except for Aaron’s rod. It had sprouted, budded, blossomed, and produced ripe almonds! This was a sign to the Israelites that God’s delegated authority rested with Moses and Aaron. These were His chosen leaders. God instructed Moses to put Aaron’s rod in the Ark of the Covenant as a sign to anyone who might be tempted to question God’s authority.
So Aaron’s rod represents the authority of God, especially His delegated authority given to His chosen ones.
On top of the Ark of the Covenant was the Mercy Seat. The Ark of the Covenant was basically a box of wood covered with gold. The Mercy Seat was the lid that sat on top of the Ark of the Covenant. The Mercy Seat was where the blood of atonement was placed once each year, on the Day of Atonement, by the High Priest.
On top of the Mercy Seat were two cherubim that faced each other. God told Moses, “There I will meet with you; from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubim which are on the ark of the Testimony, I will speak [intimately] with you regarding every commandment that I will give you for the Israelites” (Exodus 25:22 AMP).
That was the abiding place of the manifested presence of God Almighty.
The Holy of Holies represents the third transforming experience that is available to the believer, but most believers have not entered into it yet.
When you enter into this third transforming experience, you become a living Ark of the Covenant! The abiding manifested presence of Almighty God comes into your body, taking up residence inside of you so that you carry in your body the fullness of the covenant of God. You carry the Living Word in your body. When you enter into the fullness of this experience, you don’t just pray for people to be healed and delivered. You carry healing in your body as Peter did when people were healed as he walked by them (Acts 5:15). You carry deliverance in your body. It emanates from you to impact the people around you. When you walk in the fullness of this experience, people are healed and demons are scattered just by your presence, because it is not just you any more. You carry the abiding, manifested presence of Almighty God in your body with His authority. His presence abides in you just as it did in the Holy of Holies in Moses’ Tabernacle!
This is a picture of the process of glorification which transforms your body.
There is a name for this third experience, and we’ll discover it later as we look at all three experiences in the life of Jesus.
Three Transforming Experiences
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