The Closed Door
Gateway to Spiritual Fullness
Gateway to Spiritual Fullness
The Six Mary's
In the New Testament, “Mary” seems to be the name of choice for women over
any other names. There are six different Mary's.
Each of them possessed a distinct set of characteristics and virtues.
Combined together, they seem to portray the very characteristics and virtues
that the Lord looks for in His Church, the bride of Christ.
In biblical typology, woman in many cases portrays certain aspects of the
Church. Consider Eve, who was built out of Adam’s opened side and was
made to be Adam’s help-meet, she fore-shadows the Church coming into
being through Christ’s pierced side and is meant to become His bride.
Rebecca was selected to be Isaac’s bride for her kind-heartedness, diligence
and obedience, and she set off on a long journey back to meeting Isaac. The
Church, likewise, should be endowed with the kindness, diligence and
obedience of the Lamb, and she too, since the Day of Pentecost has been well
on her way to meeting her heavenly Isaac, Christ. And while journeying, the
Holy Spirit, like Abraham’s faithful servant, bestows upon the Church spiritual
beauty, gifts, and revelation to acquaint her with every nuance and detail of her
beloved Christ.
In the New Testament, three Mary's received prominent placement while the
other three remained largely hidden. Their prominence, however, was not
necessarily the result of heroic deeds or faithful services; nor was the obscurity
of the other three indicative of inferiority or lackluster performance. In each
case, the Holy Spirit has so ordained it to show us something of the character
of Christ that He desires for His Church.
The six Mary's are: Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary of
Bethany, Mary the wife of Clopas (Jn. 19:25), Mary the mother of Mark (Act. 12:
12), and finally, Mary of the church in Rome (Rom. 16:6).
Humility
In Mary, the mother of Jesus, we see godliness, devotion, humility, obedience
and attentiveness. It was easy to see how she was a godly woman with deep
devotion to God simply by her being chosen to carry the Son of God. She was
said to have been “greatly troubled” by the salutation of Gabriel, the angel of
God. Only those with a humble spirit would react as she did when greeted with
salutations worthy of royalty. Her reference of herself as the “bondslave of the
Lord” (Lk. 1:38) further confirmed the humble character of this precious
woman.
Humility is not naturally occurring in man; it is the very hallmark of the character
of the Lamb, and it has to be wrought into man through the work of the cross.
Mary’s humility must have indicated something of the Spirit’s dealings in her life
which produced brokenness. Humility is not learned from schooling nor is it
acquired by mimicking some man of God. It is a fragrance that comes only out
of broken alabaster bottles. It is often found in least noticed people and places
– the ones which the natural eye cannot discern and natural mind simply has no
respect for.
A Virgin
One thing that made this Mary stand out is a repeated emphasis of her being a
“virgin.”
While this is indeed a great sign and miracle given to the world to show the
divine conception of the Savior of the world, the spiritual significance and
applicability of being virgin is seldom considered.
A virgin signifies a new thing, something untouched, undefiled, a fresh start, a
new paradigm.
Unlike many prominent characters in the Bible, Mary did not own a royal or
priestly pedigree and did not reside in prominent cities; instead, she was a
simple maiden from a despised region – Galilee, and a city (Lk, 1:26) that,
according to Nathaniel, nothing “good” ever came out of.
It makes human, political, and religious sense that the Son of God, the King of
Israel should be carried by a woman of prominence and be given a proper birth
befitting a King, preferably in a royal palace complete with pomp and
circumstance.
But the Holy Spirit favors simplicity of devotion, humility, and obedience above
outward pedigrees and pomp. By selecting Mary to be the mother of Jesus,
and a manger to be His birth place, the Holy Spirit is signaling a change in
paradigm turning from outward prominence to inward reality. Yet this seems to
remain one of the most difficult lessons for Christians to grasp.
Christians continue to be enamored by outward glamour and greatness as
evidenced in everything from building the grandest cathedrals, putting on the
biggest productions, to conforming to worldly ways such as self-promotion,
publicity seeking, etc….
Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of
the Spirit is spirit” (Jn. 3:6), and this saying immediately baffled Nicodemus’ old
paradigm. The Lord was now doing a new thing, and it was a total mystery to
the old mindset.
The old mindset is accustomed to looking at and assessing things in outward,
religious or fleshly ways. The new paradigm is all summed up in a Person –
Jesus Christ.
Sad to say, most Christians are still oblivious to the dangers of the flesh and
operate quite comfortably in the old fleshly realm. Spiritual work is often
delegated not to the spiritual, but to the most zealous or gifted. Problems in
the church are not confronted with prayers and seeking, but with committees
and pocket books.
Bogged down with worldly and fleshly activities and religious zeal, the church is
reduced to nothing more than a religious corporation, and as such, it has to be
run by secular-minded CEO-types and managers who use worldly and
humanistic ways to solve problems, meet operational demands, and promote
growth.
A while back, a dear sister in California seeking spiritual reality and deeper
fellowship lamented, “Christians in my church do not understand what I am
saying; it’s like I am speaking a foreign language to them….” And more
recently, this same sentiment was echoed in another precious, but frustrated,
seeking sister in Texas. This sad condition is true of the Church in general,
and is due to a lack of differentiating between the flesh and the spirit. Paul
said, “A natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God; for they
are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are
spiritually appraised” (I Cor. 2:14).
The flesh can never be taught, trained or educated to understand spiritual
things or become useful in the hand of God. Left un-dealt with, it will not only
hinder the proper maturing of a child of God, it will cause him to wreak havoc in
the church.
Closely related to the problem of flesh in the church is the “new wine” vs. “old
wineskin” problem. Many dear brothers and sisters caught in the institutional
shuffle do sincerely desire to follow the Lord and practice genuine church life.
The difficulty is they try to experience the new wine in the old wineskin. It
simply cannot be done. The life of Christ cannot be forced into a
preprogrammed package of doing church and made to conform to man’s rules
and regulations. The Lord is having a new start and doing a new thing. He is
standing in “virgin” territory.
The Lord, in fact, had walked out of the established, but fallen, Jewish religion
(old wineskin) as the writer of the book of Hebrews keenly observed that “the
bodies of those animals whose blood is brought into the holy place by the high
priest as an offering for sin, are burned outside the camp. Therefore Jesus
also that He might sanctify the people through His own blood suffered outside
the gate. Hence, let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach”
(Heb. 13:11-13).
So, what is “virgin” territory? It is outside of old, traditional and institutionalized
church “camp.” It is where Christ is.
While today’s established and institutionalized churches have become the
“camp” for sure, the house church and many churches that forsook the
traditional church on the other hand may or may not be “outside the camp”
either. To be perfectly candid, many house churches, as well as many other
well-intentioned churches that were formed outside of denominational
parameters, have become just as much (if not worse than) a “camp” and as
much an old wineskin. Some of them are nothing more than institutional
churches meeting in living-rooms or street corners instead of cathedrals.
The practitioners of these unconventional churches declare to have returned to
New Testament roots and blue-print concerning the way the church was done
in the Bible. This may well be true, however, it is not the accuracy to the blue-
print that makes a house of God authentic or desirable – it is the presence of
the Lord that makes the difference. When the Lord’s presence is gone, both
the house and the biblical intentions are but worthless “camps” and old
wineskins.
Today, many seeking saints see something of the simplicity and spontaneity of
the early church from Acts chapter two. Immediately, they make duplicating the
simplistic church style their goal, and consenting to this form of gathering their
one and only criteria for fellowship with other believers. Sad to say, just like
any other lop-sided doctrines, practices and radical teachings, any time we put
our focus on anything but the Lord Himself, confusion, pride, quarrel and
division will be the inevitable result.
We must learn to put our focus on the Lord. Any deviation from Him being the
center and basis for our fellowship puts us right inside of the very “camp” that
we’re desperately trying to get out of.
On the other hand, despite the best of intentions, genuine spiritual reality
cannot be assimilated in institutionalized parameters; it does not mean the Lord
is not there anymore, or that the Lord cannot bless His people there. Simply
put, there is no fullness of Christ – certainly not with all the programs, rituals,
committees, activities and pomp vying for people’s attentions, loyalty and
affections.
Another significance of being a virgin is derived from the Hebrew word for
“virgin.” The word “virgin” is an important word in the Old Testament. It is a
symbol for singleness of heart and purity of devotion for God’s people. When
Israel strayed from this singleness and purity and followed after idols, it was
said she played the “harlot” – one who is diametrically opposite of a virgin.
A masculine form of this Hebrew word means “shielded from sight,” hence, a
hidden one. A virgin is a “hidden one.” Unfortunately, such a concept hardly
crosses the mind of most Christians. We have been so conditioned by
worldliness and our flesh to pursue glitter and fame and outward excitement,
we don’t realize what the Lord desires of us is that we be the hidden ones.
A hidden one is a person who “dwells in the secret place of the Most High” and
“abides under the shadow of the Almighty” (Ps. 91:1). As the Psalmist implies,
a hidden one is a person who ceases from struggles and strife and simply
“dwells” and “abides” in Christ. Make no mistake, the ones who dwell in Christ
are not passive as being slothful. Quite the contrary, the hidden ones win the
battles and take the spoils. Every time.
The Lord Jesus Himself came and showed us how this was done. He became
the “one grain of wheat that fell into the earth and died.” And out of His death,
victory and fullness was brought into being. Genuine victory and spiritual
fullness are integrally connected with death. Without the laying down of our
soul life, there is no possibility of victory and fullness.
The Cross
To most Christians, fullness of Christ is either a foreign concept or relegated to
the sweet-by-and-by. They are easily satisfied with a nice little Sunday sermon
and a little fuzzy feeling in the pit of the stomach; a little personal involvement in
service would be icing on the cake! More advanced Christians attend a lot
more meetings and busy themselves with extensive ministries.
Little do they know, neither scenario comes even remotely close to fullness of
Christ.
Fullness of Christ is a result of bearing the cross.
Consider this first Mary, for the sake of travailing to bring forth Christ, she was
willing to endure the shame of premarital pregnancy and incur the potential
wrath of Joseph and possible divorce!
Bringing forth Christ will always be associated with travailing, the dealings of the
cross.
How many Christians are willing to go through painful travails to bring forth the
character and fragrance of Christ within? May this be a constant reminder to
those who desire to come into meaningful church life: where the cross is free
to operate, fullness is never far behind because the cross produces the
character and fragrance of Christ. Conversely, the most spontaneous and
scripturally-correct church is altogether vanity, if the cross is not a reality!
Concerning the cross, most Christians cringe in fear for its apparent
association with suffering and pain. This is a most unfortunate and enemy-
inspired misconception. The cross is Abba’s way of maturing us, His sons:
“For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines and He scourges every son
whom He receives…God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there
whom his father does not discipline?” (Heb. 12:6-7). It is the very means He
employs to produce the golden character of Christ within us to bring us into
fullness. It is the ultimate way of bestowing His blessings upon His children. It
is His way of conforming us to the image of His Son, Christ. It is His way of
preparing His bride to matching Him inwardly in character, thoughts and
feelings.
Ironically, most Christians look for shortcuts to reach spirituality by
circumventing the cross. Let me humbly submit, the ultimate “shortcut” to
spirituality IS the cross! Every time the cross is circumvented, we have to
repeat the same lessons until we are willing to lay ourselves down in total
surrender. And the longer we postpone our lessons, the costlier the price we’ll
have to pay – let’s learn from the “wise virgins,” and take the warning from the
“foolish virgins.” And let’s take heed to the Israelites’ 40-year wandering in the
wilderness.
Pondering
Finally, with Mary the mother of our Savior, it was recorded that she “pondered”
over the salutation of Gabriel (Lk 1:29), “treasured up” all the sayings of the
shepherds “pondering” in her heart (Lk. 2:19), and again, she “treasured up” all
the things about Jesus in her heart (Lk. 2:51).
Without a doubt, Mary is an attentive listener. A sure sign of a spiritual person
is one who listens more, talks less. A multitude of words almost always
betrays the shallowness of the heart. As James wisely points out, the tongue
is harder to tame than the wild beasts.
It is safe to say, no spiritual servant of God who ever graced the spiritual
landscape did not learn to have the tongue dealt with. It is also safe to say
that Mary must have allowed the Holy Spirit to deal with her in the area of
speech.
One of the biggest temptation – and stumbling – for one who is zealous and
gifted is the propensity to talk a lot. Usually, one who talks a lot either thinks
highly of himself, or is insecure about something. On the flip side, one who
talks little may simply be due to his lack of eloquence or timid nature, and not
his genuine spirituality either.
How we need the Lord to deal with us in our undisciplined speaking. May the
Lord help us learn to “ponder over” and “treasure up” the things of Christ in our
heart. May the Lord deal with our heart and tongue, and make us attentive
listeners like Mary. May the Lord grant us grace to take up our cross and
follow Him outside the camp and into “virgin” territory. May the Lord speak to
our hearts through this first Mary and make us His true “hidden ones.”
Mary Magdalene and Mary of Bethany
These two Marys have been well portrayed and quoted in many wonderful
messages and writings, but somehow, we never seem to get enough of these
two precious women. They did not leave us with eloquent words, epic-making
acts, sound doctrines, or heroic deeds. They left us something far deeper than
mere doctrines or words.
In fact, what they did do seemed opposite of the doctrinal minds of the
disciples. Mary of Bethany incurred the wraths of the brothers by breaking a
costly bottle of perfume and “wasted” it on Jesus. Doctrinal minds reasoned
that the precious ointment could fetch much in the market place and be useful
in ministry to the poor!
Instead, these two Mary's are like the “garden enclosed” and “fountain sealed
up,” reserved for their Beloved Bridegroom (SS. 4:12). They emit a rare
fragrance from a hidden valley of spices tucked away from the prying eyes of a
curious but undeserving world.
Perhaps one of the most tragic losses of the Church today is the loss of her
fragrance. The breaking of the alabaster bottle vividly illustrates the need for
brokenness without which it is all but impossible to emit the fragrance of
Christ. And, instead of being a hidden valley of spices, the Church has plunged
into the world and carved out a gigantic statue to be reckoned with in politics,
commerce, entertainment and religion.
When the Church consorts with politics, commerce, entertainment and religion
to raise her own notoriety and status, brokenness and fragrance are a distant
pipedream.
It is interesting to notice that both of these Mary's brought spices to Jesus.
Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with a costly alabaster bottle of pure nard for
His burial before the fact. Mary Magdalene prepared and brought spices
intending to anoint Jesus’ body after the fact.
Spices are an important element in worship. Since the inception of the nation
of Israel, “spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense” have been
an important part of the worship of God (Ex. 25:1-9). When Jesus was born,
Magi traveled from afar to worship Jesus bearing articles of gold, frankincense
and myrrh.
Worship is perhaps the ultimate expression of intimacy with God. While all the
disciples were clamoring about, Mary alone drew near and knew the Lord’s
heart, and broke her treasured alabaster bottle of perfume to anoint Jesus in
preparation for His burial (Jn, 12:3, 7). She was a worshiper bearing spices.
Not only was the Lord immensely satisfied with her fragrance, He decreed that
wherever the gospel was to be preached, what Mary of Bethany did for Him
would be mentioned in memory of her (Mk. 14:9).
Frankincense and myrrh, among others, are taken from incense trees that have
been wounded to facilitate the issue of resin. After the resin hardens and
crystallizes, it becomes the prized incense which, when harvested and burned,
releases its sweet fragrance.
In like manner, worshipers are those who have allowed the Lord’s dealings to
inflict “wounds” in their soul life so that incense can form. Allow me to again
offer this reminder: the true “shortcut” to spirituality is to allow for the cutting of
the cross in our lives to produce fragrance.
Herein lies a little-noticed secret, only those who have submitted to the Lord’s
dealings, evidenced by brokenness, have fragrance to emit – these are the true
worshipers.
Many are those who go to “worship services,” but seldom have they any
spices to offer. A worshiper brings spices to a gathering. Again, allow me to
submit, it’s not as much a matter of doing church the right way as what one
brings to a gathering. Have we allowed spices to form in our lives? Do we give
off the aroma of Christ in a gathering? Dear saints, what kind of scent do you
bring to a fellowship?
As mentioned before, Mary of Bethany anointed Jesus with fragrant ointment
before His crucifixion, Mary Magdalene attempted to anoint Him with spices
after crucifixion. Though missing her opportunity to anoint Jesus, Mary
Magdalene was said to be the one whom the Lord “first appeared” to (Mk. 16:
9) after His resurrection.
These two little sisters both attained a “first” in their lives: Mary of Bethany first
anointed Jesus for burial; Mary Magdalene first saw Jesus in His resurrection.
And, guess what, both women had spices!
Even though Mary Magdalene missed the opportunity to anoint Him first, she
was a person fragrant with spices nonetheless. Anytime there is a person filled
with fragrance, rest assured that the Lord will personally appear to attest of
his/her preciousness. The fact that Mary Magdalene had “seven demons” cast
out of her, and she became a yielded vessel proves that she learned from her
“wounds” and surrendered her life to the Lord a fragrant incense.
When Mary of Bethany broke her alabaster bottle of perfume, the house was
“filled with fragrance of the perfume” (Jn. 12:3). Does the fragrance still “fill the
house” in the place where you gather?
Mary the Wife of Clopas
Little is known about this Mary except that she is a disciple of Jesus, and she
stood along with other women and witnessed the crucifixion of her Lord. It is
easy, however, to see that she must have been a courageous woman being a
wife and perhaps a mother of children. At a tragic event where most of the
apostles-in-training have scattered and fled for dear lives, this woman having a
family of her own chose to stand by the Lord with the other women. And the
fact that she was hardly mentioned in the divine record, therefore NOT a
“leading sister,” did not keep her from stepping into the frontline of spiritual
battle.
When push comes to shove, it is in times like these that the heart is truly
revealed. After all, Jesus has been with His disciples for three and a half years
teaching them and showing them numerous miracles and signs. But in the face
of danger the prominent disciples and soon-to-be apostles are nowhere to be
found; except a few women, among whom is one hitherto unknown sister
named Mary, the wife of Clopas! And Mr. Clopas himself in all likelihood may
not even have been a disciple.
Apparently, there is something far deeper than knowledge here; all the disciples
have the same knowledge about the Lord. Some might even have had greater
revelations about the Lord – Peter certainly did. But where are those with
knowledge and revelations at Jesus’ crucifixion? Could it be that the Holy Spirit
is trying to show us something about lives laid down? At a time when the
forces of Darkness rage and roar, and everyone is looking for anyone who has
any connection with Jesus to inflict harm, this little-known sister steps right out
of the shadows to be a silent testimony of Jesus and to support the other
women – life laid down.
A small group of women banding together in support of each other and
standing against the tide…lives laid down…. Isn’t this a picture of the Church?
More likely to be found in today’s churches, however, are men and women
banding together for various other reasons – doctrines and practices, for
example; and how about social, race and culture? There is even a “Cowboys
Church.” Wow! Allow me to reiterate again: anytime we focus on anything
other than the Lord, we lose the standing as His testimony.
May the Lord grant us a desire to band together with other brothers and sisters
who are not looking to themselves, their pet-peeves or even to the church, but
to Christ and Him only. Looking to ourselves will weaken our testimony. It is
no accident that the brothers, signifying strength, have all fled at the
crucifixion. The church, typified by woman, is meant to “look away unto
Jesus”; anytime we look unto ourselves, we will be plagued by weaknesses
and fleeing every which way but to Him.
Mary the Mother of Mark
This dear Mary brought up her son in the Lord. Nothing is quite so dear as a
mother nurturing, teaching and training her child to become a godly young
man.
There is a real need for mothering in the church these days – mothers who
know how to nurture, train and discipline children, and mothers who have big
hearts to love and care for others as their own. The great Apostle Paul had
just such a “mother”; she was the unnamed mother of Rufus in the church in
Rome (Rm. 16:13). Paul fondly called this lady, “his (Rufus’) mother and mine.”
Mary’s home was also one of the gathering places for the church in
Jerusalem.
King Herod had put James to death and laid his hands on Peter intending on
harming him also.
Peter was miraculously set free by an angel and led out of the maximum
security prison. He wasted no time and headed straight for this Mary’s home.
Now think with me for a moment, Peter was married and had his own home. It
was in the middle of the night when he was delivered. Why would a married
man of Peter’s spiritual stature make a beeline for a sister’s home in the middle
of the night?
Acts 12 tells us that a prayer meeting was going on at this Mary’s home. But
how did Peter know it, unless this was a regularly scheduled gathering of the
church? It is sad that some dear brothers and sisters split hairs over regularly
“scheduled gatherings” vs. “spontaneous gatherings.” Such majoring in the
minor and minoring in the major have caused many heart-breaking splits in the
family of God.
So, in this Mary we have a precious sister with a big heart to love and care for
the saints. And she is burdened for prayer.
There is no way to raise up a child in the Lord except on her knees. One can
imagine the amount of tears she must have shed while bringing up Mark in the
way of the Lord. Bringing up a child in the Lord has to be one of the most
awesome ministries in the eyes of the Lord!
There is also no way to further the advancement of the church except on her
knees. The church simply cannot go on without prayers. Whether a church
has the Lord’s anointed presence and blessing, one need look no further than
its prayer meetings. Every spiritual reality starts on the knees.
Mary’s home is very literally, a “House of Prayer.” Isn’t this what the House of
God, the church, is supposed to be?
Mary of the Church in Rome
At last, but not least, we come to Mary of the church in Rome.
Concerning this precious sister, Paul commented to the saints in Rome saying,
“she has worked hard for you” (Rm. 16:6).
Many Christians have a misconception about working for the Lord. Zealous
and gifted believers tend to charge head-long into so-called “ministries.” There
is usually no lack of efforts, and they may even have fruits to show forth their
labors.
With Mary of Bethany, we are told that her sister Martha complained to the Lord
about her sister’s lack of service, but the Lord highly praised her for her
inactivity! Here in the church in Rome, this Mary “worked hard,” and received
Paul’s praise. How ironic!
Caught in an apparent dilemma with two Mary's occupying two opposite ends
of the spectrum of work, shall we play it safe and side with Jesus – since He
can never be wrong – and say, “Christians should not work”? Then the Lord
and His entourage would not have had dinner served to them that night at
Martha’s house. Many Christians zealous for work indeed use this line as
excuse for their busy Martha-inspired service.
Truth be told, the kind of work that the Lord is looking for is where He does the
work in, through, and out of us. Andrew Murray said it well, “In God and man
working together, there is nothing of the idea of a partnership between two
partners who each contribute their share to a work. Rather, the true plan is
that of co-operation founded upon subordination” (None But The Hungry
Heart).
The soul must learn to yield to the chastening hand of the Lord and have its
natural energy dealt with before finally resting in the Lord allowing Him to wield
this soul as a ready instrument for His work.
An Old Testament picture comes to mind and illustrates the point perfectly. The
priests are not allowed to wear any garment made out of wool. They can only
wear linen garments, because wool generates sweat which is a sign of curse.
God’s servants do work very hard, but they are not to generate any sweat.
The only way this is possible is to let the Lord Himself do the work in, through,
and out of them.
All the truly spiritual servants of God throughout Church History have the same
testimony: He did it all. The only role we are privileged to play is to allow the
Holy Spirit to deal with us so that we can become a channel for God’s work
and blessing to flow through.
For this to happen, we must be vessels that have been prepared. Our
yieldedness to His dealings determines our usefulness as His workers.
Mary of the church in Rome shows us just such a picture. Yes, she worked
hard, but she didn’t sweat. So, work as hard as you can, dear fellow-laborers,
but let’s remind each other, “don’t sweat!”
Our Bridegroom’s coming is near; He is preparing His bride, the Church, to be
like Him in inward character conforming to that of the Lamb. He is looking for
overcomers who, incidentally, are referred to as “virgins” in the Book of
Revelation. These six precious "virgin" Mary's have much to show us in this
regard.
May the Lord grant us grace.
Oliver Peng
March 11, 2006
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