"And how shall they preach, except they be sent?"  Romans 10:15a

There is a season in which the body of Christ will come into perfection called in the above scripture the perfect man. In this article, I want to address who and what is this perfect man as to the state of glory as pertaining to the church. Many believe that the body of Christ is already perfect, sitting as a queen who shall see no sorrow of birth pangs, who is clothed with all manner of precious jewels, decked in purple and scarlet. Notice her spirit in these following verses as it is the whore or apostate church which was in truth, but turned her back on it, for it would have better for her not to know the way of truth than to turn from it. Such is the case of Mystery Babylon, the city of self will and desire working miracles out of sorcery, beguiling unstable souls as she is carried upon a scarlet colored beast, coming in Jesus name only to edify their own selves in gain, trafficking in the souls of men, buying and selling them for hire. Again, notice her spirit.

He that speaks of himself seeks his own glory, so is this church that revels in self rather than glorifying God, having no good works that glorify God. The good works that glorify God are only done by the mature church as the perfect man as we shall discuss later in this article. She states that she is already ruling as a queen married to Jesus and states that she shall see no sorrow of birth pangs, for she declares that there is nothing else to come, no higher realm of faith or glory.

She preaches the King of Kings as depicted in wearing of purple, and Jesus crucified as portrayed in her wearing of scarlet as the blood, but she cannot wear the heavenly blue, as she will not confess that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh, the only Lord God Jehovah; that is, Jesus the divine Man. The blood is her hand is not the blood of the New Testament, but is the blood of abominations and filthiness of her adulteries, missing the mark of truth in the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. She does not have the mind of Christ having Jesus name as the Father written upon her forehead, but rather the name of herself as the adulterous church, being lifted up in her own pride and self will, working miracles by spirits of this world rather than the Spirit of God. The man she serves is the man of sin, counting gain as godliness, having the love of money and things of the natural, but missing the spiritual things of good and truth. It is here that we will attempt to show the vast difference between the church in general and the perfect man caught up to God and to his throne, having the eyes of their understanding opened, the perception of Jesus, being changed into the same image and likeness. 

The things of faith are spiritual knowledges of good and truth, being enlightened by the Holy Ghost. These things are the very truths of faith of the real spiritual rather than the earthly temporal. We will turn our focus to faith.

Jesus had many things to tell the disciples before he ascended to heaven after he had walked and instructed them for three and a half years, saying that the disciples could not bear these things of faith at that time. But the Comforter, the Holy Ghost as the Spirit of Jesus would lead them and guide them into all truth.

These are things of spiritual knowledges of good and truth that are opened to seeing by the eye of faith; that is, the believer’s perception of the length, width, height, and depth of Jesus; which extend to the four corners of the earth, being the whole spirit, soul, and body of the believer.

These things again are knowledges of good and truth shown by the Light which is the way that ultimately gives life in the believer. These things are of faith and must be known by the believer in order to know Jesus, the Savior of our souls. These things are now being revealed as to the Person and word of Jesus as the substance and evidence of spiritual things in the heavenly realm rather than the worldly, earthly realm. Therefore, John in the book of the Revelation begins with the knowledge of these things that shall shortly come to pass; not in relation as to time since there is not time in the spiritual, but the certainty of these things being real and not temporal; that is, spiritual states of knowledges of these things bringing the believer from faith to faith, and from glory to glory, until we are changed into the same image by our perception of Jesus, even as by the Spirit of the LORD Jesus.

Life is generated by three things in man:

1. seeing,

2. hearing, and

3. doing; all by the Holy Ghost. All of these areas are spiritual, not natural.

For example: the temple of God was opened in heaven, for the things of the real being spiritual are then manifested in the earthly realm in order to reveal knowedges of good and truth. Then was seen in spiritual perception by faith the ark of his testament, the testimony of Jesus; a believer must be heavenly minded and be there in spirit in order to brought to it in perception. Notice there were:

1. lightnings = seeing which is the perception;

2. and voices = instructions;

3. and thunderings = hearing and understanding which has many levels or depths; and

4. an earthquake = earth being the world, that is shaken which being moved in both perception and understanding by faith separates the righteous from the wicked.

The doing of these things is of the will by love, charity being love acted upon placing the believer in the flow of the blood as present truth being the Jerusalem having the name of Jesus verses the whore church who believes that she has already arrived and is perfect with Babylon written upon her forehead.  

 
Affections then are placed upon things which are above depicted in the Word by beasts of the field and fowls of the air. Some beasts are clean (holy) and some are unclean (that cannot be eaten or will bring forth sickness and death). These beasts are affections that are portrayed in the Word as to strength, quality, condition, size, and kind. For example, there are four living creatures that are before the throne in the celestial or perfect man: lion, ox, man, eagle. But there are many other beasts as well mentioned that are in the temple which contains the are of his testament (church) that are clean as well; turtledoves, bullocks, sheep, etc.

Just as there are knowledges of good and truth, there are knowledges of evil and lies. Knowledges of evil and lies both live in and fly upon the earth (mankind) as affections such as dragons, bears, leopards, snake, etc. These are just as powerful in affections in the evil man as the good and true affections in the spiritual man; the only difference these affections bring forth death.

 
The author here basically sees the church as a spiritual man still striving in battles to obtain to the perfect celestial man. For it is a pit and a snare for saints and ministry alike to become at ease in Zion, being totally complacent, believing that they have need of nothing, replacing passions for Jesus for those of the world; money, avarice, greed, jealousy, envy, jealousy, hate, etc. Any one of these evil passions work against our affections which is the heat that produces growth from the perceptions and knowledges of Light, blinding the person as to any higher states of glory to be obtained in the Lord Jesus. We see this in the church of Laodicea below.

It is important to see that these things were kept back from these believers because of their slothful contentment concerning spiritual things of faith. God requires works in keeping and doing these things of faith in order to be a man with his eyes of understanding open, otherwise, the church believes it has need of nothing, saying she is rich and increased with knowledges of good; not knowing that she is in a miserable state being wretched, miserable, poor as to truth, blind to these knowledges, and naked not having been clothed in present truth as life flowing from the throne, new and fresh daily as our daily bread necessary for sustenance.

Now we will turn to man or Adam as an example of various states of glory. Focusing upon man as Adam, everyone knows what a man is; that is, a Homosapien in the phylum Primates. Most see man as a man, case closed, with no greater revelation than that of the common man. But the whole Word from Genesis to Revelation is a picture of a man who is Jesus when laid out in temple form.

Man in the spiritual pure essence is Jesus Himself, the heavenly Man, the Word, being synonymous with the Word, the Son of man being the same essence as Man. The Man Jesus is the Word is the divine Man, the Son of man all being the same Lord Jehovah, God Almighty. This is the man; who has the preeminence, the preeminent man. This Man has the preeminence from which all other men are measured; he is the pattern for all to govern themselves after. This is the highest glory of Man who is none other than the Lord Jesus Himself, the God of glory.

Then there are three varying levels of man:

1. man: the external man of the world, learning only by the physical realm having natural affections, understanding, and perception; this is the earth in the Word as he was formed from it and goes back to it in a sunken state of glory; “Ichabod”, for the glory has departed; here today and gone tomorrow. In the spiritual sense, the earth is man’s external and the heaven is man’s internal, being the spirit. In man’s first stage, the earth is covered totally by water, man being drowned and held captive by death in sin. But the Holy Ghost moves upon the man and a choice is made allowing man to go to the next step in glory if he hears and obeys the Holy Ghost.

2. spiritual man: a man that is in a different higher level than just a man, although he still is man by definition. He has heard and obeyed God, thus starting a work in him of the Holy Ghost having been given the power to become a son of God. This man is becoming a son of God through faith; learning the true things of God rather than temporal things of the world which are naturally seen which puts him in a battle in overcoming the things of the world obeying the things that are not seen by faith. This man learns by affections being set upon things that are higher, putting his spiritual perception or eyes of understanding upon Jesus by faith, but still does not realize that there is a higher level of glory to be obtained; compelled to go higher in realization of higher glories by the Lord Jesus himself. He battles and fights the good fight of faith striving for knowledges of good and truth in order to please the Lord.

3. Celestial or perfect man: This man is in the image of Jesus, not just in image alone, but in his likeness as well; an actual testimony as an ark of the covenant being a totally submitted vessel of the Spirit. The celestial man is led in all things by the Spirit of God, having throne room perception and understanding by faith. This man does not rejoice in the knowledges that he has acquired, but in the doing of these knowledges; known and called in the Word of God as the remnant of the woman's seed that keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus.

Most think that we as the collective body of Christ are here currently as become perfect, manifested sons of God, having already arrived in the revelation of the Son of God. Most denominational and organizations believe that knowledges of good and truth alone are sufficient before God, not realizing that the Lord Jesus "has not found our works perfect" in becoming a celestial perfect man. After the Lord allows us to fall being lifted up by him again, only then does one begin to come to perceptions of grace that is alive and working in and through us by the Spirit of grace. It is in this state alone that a believer comes to realize that there is nothing of us and by us, but all of and by Him. All things in the individual believers of good and truth are brought forth by him, for him, and through him alone. The spiritual man mentioned earlier does not necessarily know this, but thinks that it is by prayer, fasting, reading, seeking God by his efforts that knowledges are revealed in works. However, it is in this celestial state of man that there appears a higher consecration by love; love prevails and happiness or true joy sets in the spirit of man as the sabbatical rest.

The Word mentions the man who delights himself in the Lord, God gives him the desires of his heart. It is the "delight" which alludes to "affections" which the spiritual man delights in knowing what is good and true, while the celestial perfect man delights in doing what is good and true called works of faith, or faith made perfect. This is the primary difference between the spiritual man and the celestial. No delight and joy can be truly found without well doing: thus this person hears the Lord Jesus say "Well done, thou good and faithful servant" not "Well understood", for this celestial man has done the works of God, not just understood them by perception. Notice how Jesus focuses upon the works as he admonishes the church to come to perfection in these last days.

What is the Lord Jesus looking for and desiring of his body? He is looking for the celestial man, the perfect man bringing forth perfect works; this is the faith that works by love; faith made perfect by works of charity. What if the church does not bring these forth and does not heed the admonition of the Lord? Read it for yourself. God will have a people, his church that will bring forth the “manchild” of Revelation 12 as the celestial man caught up to God and to his throne, not only having the perception of faith, but doing those things and proclaiming the truth according to the will of God. This is the church that has come to a perfect man, the celestial man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Nothing less will do.  

As to the living creatures of four beasts before the throne of God, these are the affections of the celestial man that has eyes or their understanding opened, being before and behind. They see things celestial that others don’t see because they have not progressed unto a perfect man. They see and understand these things or knowledges of good and truth that must be hereafter, in a state of glory, not in relation to natural time. Jesus is seen in perceptions as one; One that sat on the throne. He was to look upon like a jasper, the white stone on the last tribe in the breastplate of judgment being that of “Naphtali” meaning “my wrestling” or “the cross”. They understand the meaning of the cross, but more than that, they operate in a crucified life, death working in them that the life of the Lord Jesus would be made manifest in their mortal bodies. They have the works of the cross and can say with Paul, do not trouble me anymore, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus. Alleluia! Amen!

When this celestial state of glory is reached by a believer, then the perception faculty is augmented to receive more distinct and deeper perceptions rather than general perceptions. If the spiritual man becomes complacent not realizing there is greater faith, going from faith to faith in perceptions, going from glory to glory, then the believer’s perception becomes more obscure and darker in the place of that which was clearer and begins to vanish away. In each generation of the church, this is the case as the younger generation holds only to perceptions held by the former rather than coming into perceptions of good and truth personally, causing a darkness as to true revelation which by virtue causes the Lord Jesus to intervene with a shaking or earthquake in order to shake that church which is about to perish. If the Lord did not do his work in the last days, no flesh would be saved, but he does it for the elect's sake.

It is only in the celestial perfect man who has love perfected is life then experienced, thus having the life; life ushered in by the way and the truth; life flowing in perception in the distinct knowledges of truth. Thus this state in the celestial man has perception by faith, the eyes sharpened to that of an eagle having life flowing by love in action (charity), life brought forth in the performance of use; knowledges of good and truth being acted upon by love; from use, by use, and according to use; no life except by use. The knowledges of Jesus by perception of faith coupled with love in doing yields the man in the image and likeness of Jesus unto a perfect man; thus love perfected and Jesus is pleased for his name’s sake, due to finding the believer’s works perfect.

It is this author’s belief and opinion that any doctrine that does not hold to going from faith to faith, and glory to glory, at best is a deceit and snare upon the body of Christ in coming unto perfection, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ for the reasons that I will state below.

The believers that have the testimony of Jesus, the spirit of prophecy have that life which is not in the spiritual man alone being worked out by the battle of faith, but in the celestial perfect man that is pleasing to the Lord Jesus. Therefore as to time being natural as to history or past tense in the state of the natural man, time is natural; to the spiritual man, time is spiritual, to the celestial man, time is celestial. As to the spiritual and celestial, there will different distinct perceptions, both true; but the celestial or perfect man being caught up to God to his throne will see deeper truth in the various states of being; because there is no time in eternity, both the spiritual and the celestial man will see time as a state of being, not a time in relation to physics.

When a believer is asked a question as to the reason of their faith, the Holy Ghost has to be primary as to responses in teaching and preaching; for someone to be a minister is not quoting scriptures or a sermon from notes, but the Spirit leading as to feeding the man in the state that he/she is in as to receive the word; it is put forth in the Holy Ghost as to where this man or for that matter a congregation is in respect to perception. The table as to depth of perception comes into consideration which must be answered only in the Holy Ghost, for a spiritual man may or may not be able to perceive that of the celestial; or for the greater part of the church in my opinion, does not even know that this state of the celestial man is necessary to the Lord, to be found perfect in spirit, soul, and body at his coming, having had their works found perfect by the Lord. The believer or preacher/teacher that does not do accordingly, being led of the Holy Ghost, leads the person, laity, or congregation only in dead letter rather than life.

The thoughts are mine,

Dennis A Beard