As the Spirit works in the believers, He also frees them from the letters of the law. Second Corinthians 3:17 says, “The Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.” When the heart turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away (v. 16). Furthermore, the Lord is the Spirit who gives us freedom. Because the Lord is the Spirit, when the heart turns to Him, the veil is taken away, and the heart is freed from the bondage of the letter of the law.
The Spirit frees us from regulations, rituals, religious teachings, and traditional doctrines. At Paul’s time the Old Testament law was a great bondage. The Lord as the Spirit frees us from the bondage of the law. The Jews were under the bondage of circumcision, the bondage of dietary regulations, and the bondage of the Sabbath. Today, however, is not the age of Moses and of the law in letters, but the age of the Lord Jesus being the Spirit, the pneumatic Christ. Moses, with the letter of the law, put the people under bondage, but with Christ there is no bondage to the law. With Him as the Spirit there is full freedom. Formerly we were under bondage to the letters of the law, but now the life-giving Spirit frees us from this bondage. Therefore, instead of being divided by doctrines, we are kept by the Spirit in the unique oneness of the Body of Christ.
Hebrews 9:8 reveals that the indwelling Spirit shows the believers the way of the Holy of Holies: “The Holy Spirit showing by this, that the way of the Holy of Holies has not yet been manifested while the first tabernacle still has its standing.” At that time the way of the Holy of Holies, that is, the way of the New Testament, had not been manifested. To say that the way into the Holy of Holies was not manifested while the first tabernacle still had its standing means that the way to enter into the new covenant had not yet been opened. In Hebrews 10:19 and 20 we see that a new and living way has been freshly cut. This is the way to enter into the Holy of Holies, into the new covenant.
The first tabernacle, the Holy Place, signifies the old covenant, and the second tabernacle, the Holy of Holies, signifies the new covenant. Now the veil that closes the Holy of Holies has been riven (Matt. 27:51) by the death of Christ since it has crucified the flesh (Gal. 5:24), and the way of the Holy of Holies has been manifested. Hence, we do not need to remain in the Holy Place, in the old covenant, in the soul; we must enter the Holy of Holies, the new covenant, in the spirit. This is the goal of the book of Hebrews. The writer’s concept is that the Holy of Holies and the new covenant are one; the Holy of Holies is the new covenant. When we come into the Holy of Holies, we come into the new covenant; and when we come into the new covenant, we enter into the Holy of Holies.
The Holy Spirit tells us that when the old tabernacle still remained, the way to enter the Holy of Holies was not yet opened. Further, by this illustration the Spirit tells us that the way to enter into the Holy of Holies has been opened and that the old tabernacle has been removed. Today we do not have the old tabernacle; we have the new tabernacle-Christ. In the book of Hebrews the tabernacle is Christ, and the offerings also are Christ. Christ is realized as the Spirit. Therefore, when we have the Spirit, we have the tabernacle and the offerings. As the eternal Spirit, Christ is everything, and this Spirit is subjective within us. This eternal Spirit as the consummation of the processed Triune God has become our eternal enjoyment.
Now that the Spirit within us is showing us the way to enter the inner chamber of God’s dwelling place, we should not remain either in the outer court or in the Holy Place. Rather, we should enter into our spirit and thereby enter into the Holy of Holies to dwell with God and enjoy Him as love, light, and every divine thing. This is the result of the Spirit’s work in us to keep us in the enjoyment of the fellowship with the Triune God.
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