THE PYRAMID, SYMBOL OF THE BODY OF CHRIST

THE PYRAMID
THE SYMBOL OF THE BODY OF CHRIST
by George Kirkpatrick

Vital Words to the Body of Christ
Freely We Have Received, Freely We Give
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Since the beginning of the New Foundation's ministry, there have been many questions about the use of the pyramid as our symbol and the detachment of the headstone.

Questions have been many and varied concerning the pyramid. Throughout the centuries of time, there have been many who claim that the pyramid shape, itself, has mysterious powers.

In the book of Josephus, it speaks of 2 pillars that were built by the sons of Seth. Seth was a virtuous man and was of excellent character. His children imitated these same virtues in their lives. *** Josephus, Verse 2, page 72 states,

"They (Seth's sons) also were the inventors of that peculiar sort of wisdom which is concerned with the heavenly bodies, and their order. And that their inventions might not be lost before they were sufficiently known. Upon Adam's prediction that the world was to be destroyed at one time by the force of fire, and at another time by the violence and quantity of water, they made two pillars; the one of brick, the other of stone: they inscribed their discoveries on them both, that in case the pillar of brick should be destroyed by the flood, the pillar of stone might remain, and exhibit those discoveries to mankind; and also inform them that there was another pillar of brick erected by them. Now this remains in the land of Siriad to this day."

Many believe the land of Siriad to be Egypt, and the pillar of stone Josephus spoke of is the Great Pyramid at Giza. Our interest is not in the fact that it contained all the knowledge of the sons of Seth; nor that it contained some sort of strange power. Our interest in the pyramid is what it represents.

The Pyramid at Giza has many interesting facets; but the one outstanding characteristic about this pyramid is the fact that the headstone was never set in place. The top of this pyramid is flat and not pointed as the other pyramids around it. The capstone has never been found. The pyramid is complete in every aspect except for the capstone.

Now to the question: Why did New Foundations, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, choose the pyramid as our symbol?

The pyramid is the symbol of the Body of Christ. All the corners of the pyramid come together in the Head Stone. There is no other building design other than the pyramid, where all the corners of the building come together in one stone. The headstone looks exactly like the completed building. Through the pyramid, we can see that Christ is the image of the completed building.

The Pyramid at Giza, Egypt, was never completed; as the Body of Christ is not complete. The Body of Christ will not be complete until Christ, the head stone, is set upon His Body.

You may wonder why we say Christ is the capstone and not Jesus. There is a Biblical reason for this. The Word states that Jesus is the cornerstone in *** Ephesians 2:20. The Cornerstone is the beginning of the building and the Head stone is the completion of the building.

But isn't Jesus and Christ the same person? Jesus is God in the flesh! Christ is God in the Spirit! Jesus came that we might have forgiveness of sin. The Spirit was given that we may, through the Spirit, have access to the throne of God. Paul wrote,

"...Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we Him no more." *** II Corinthians 5:16

We are no longer to know Christ after the flesh, but we are to know Him after the Spirit. When we speak of Jesus, we are speaking of the flesh.

"And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us..." *** John 1:14

But when we speak of Christ, we are speaking of the Holy Spirit Anointing that was put upon that flesh at the time Jesus was baptized by John.

"And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and It abode upon Him.
And I knew Him not: but He that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on Him, the same is He which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. And I saw, and bare record that this is the Son of God." *** John 1:32-34

As we continue this Spiritual truth, this will become very clear.

We need to first look at Jesus as the Corner Stone. Paul stated,

"...And the household of God; And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief corner stone." *** Ephesians 2:19-20

The Prophet Isaiah wrote:

"Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." *** Isaiah 28:16

The prophet Isaiah reveals Jesus as the Cornerstone; also the Tried Stone. Jesus overcame all temptations which are common to man, *** Hebrews 4:15. Jesus is that precious Cornerstone, the Tried Stone and a Sure Foundation in which we can build upon.

Peter referred to this scripture when he wrote:

"Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief cornerstone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be confounded." *** I Peter 2:6

Jesus is not only the cornerstone, He is the Chief Cornerstone of the building of God. In Jesus, the two Covenants of God come together.

Paul wrote in *** Ephesians 2:20 that the foundation of the House of God is the apostles and prophets. The apostles are the new covenant, or Spiritual Israel; and the prophets are the old covenant, natural or physical Israel. Both the houses of Israel come together in the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

The prophet Isaiah wrote further concerning the Cornerstone,

"Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place." *** Isaiah 28:17

Our righteousness and judgment must line up with the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ.

When Jesus was born, the angel did not tell Mary to call His name Jesus Christ, but Jesus. *** Luke 1:31

Christ was not Jesus' last name. Therefore, we need to come to an understanding of what the word "Christ" means. "Christ" is the Greek word, CHRISTOS, and means "the anointing or the anointed one". CHRISTOS has the same meaning in Greek as "Messiah" has in the Hebrew. Therefore, Christ was the anointing upon Jesus. This anointing came after the water baptism of John.

Peter, speaking of Jesus, related in *** Acts 10:37-38:

"That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached;
How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: Who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with Him."

After Jesus was baptized on the banks of the Jordan, He became the anointed one of God or the Christ of the Father. Jesus informed His disciples to tell no man that He was the Christ, *** Matthew 16:20, or the anointed of God.

Therefore, we know the Christ anointing was upon Jesus. It was after the baptism of John that this anointing came into Jesus' life and it was after this anointing Jesus went about doing good and healing all; for God was with Him in that anointing.

Jesus took no credit for any of the miracles He performed, but, rather, turned all glory to His father. When He prayed, He prayed to the Father.

We need to know, also, who fathered Jesus. This is related 3 times in the Word.

"Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost." *** Matthew 1:18

"But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." *** Matthew 1:20

"And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God." *** Luke 1:35

All three scriptures proclaim that the Holy Ghost fathered Jesus. So, by this, we know that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Father. Jesus reveals to us,

"For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you." *** Matthew 10:20

The words that Jesus spoke and the works that Jesus did were accomplished by the anointing of the Father that was upon Him.

"Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of Myself: but the Father that dwelleth in Me, He doeth the works." *** John 14:10

"The word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father's which sent Me." *** John 14:24

The works Jesus did were accomplished because of the anointing upon Jesus' flesh.

"The things concerning Me have an end." *** Luke 22:37

Jesus was speaking of the end of His flesh on the cross.

"I have glorified thee on earth (speaking of the Father): I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do." *** John 17:4

When Jesus had finished His work God had given Him to do in the flesh, He began to desire to be freed from the flesh realm and return to the Glory realm which is the Spiritual realm of the Father. Then Jesus said,

"And now, O father, glorify Thou Me with Thine own self, with the glory which I had with Thee before the world was." *** John 17:5

Jesus wanted to return to the glory as the Father. When we do a thorough study of John 14, we come to the understanding that it was Jesus as the Holy Spirit that came on the day of Pentecost.

"And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever." *** John 14:16

When Jesus said another Comforter, it would indicate we already had one Comforter, and that first Comforter was Jesus. But there was to be another Comforter and this Comforter would abide forever. Not as the first Comforter, Jesus, whom was temporary because of the flesh, but the second Comforter would be with us forever.

Verse 17 reveals the second Comforter as the Spirit of Truth.

"I will not leave you comfortless, but "I" will come unto you." *** John 14:18

Jesus was no longer the anointed (Jesus Christ). He had become "the anointing" (Christ Jesus). He had become "Christ".

Paul wrote that we are to know Christ no more after the flesh, *** II Corinthians 5:16, but we are to worship Him in the Spirit. This change took place on the day of pentecost when He came as "cloven tongues of fire" to rest upon the flesh.

Peter proclaimed this change in *** Acts 2:36 when He said,

"...God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."

The phrase "God hath made" shows that the position of Lord and Christ was not a position Jesus had in the flesh.

Lord means "Supreme in Authority" and Christ means "anointing or anointed one". Jesus had been the Anointed One. Now He had become the Anointing. This became true after His death on the cross and the destruction of the flesh. Therefore Jesus is referred to 54 times as Christ Jesus after *** Acts 19:4.

"Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on Him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." *** Acts 19:4

Jesus now holds the position of the Father in our lives.

"I send the promise of My Father upon you." *** Luke 24:49

I can find no promise that the Father made that we were to receive. The promise Jesus made to us was the Father, and the Father is the enduing power from on high.

Let's read that again.

"I will send the promise of My Father upon you."

The Father did not make the promise, the promise was the Father.

By this we understand that Jesus was no longer the anointed. But, rather, has become the "anointing" power in our lives. When we come into this anointing, we become part of His Body, the Body of Christ. This is not a physical body, but a Spiritual body. If we are to be part of His Body, the Spiritual Israel in the earth, this anointing must operate in our lives. Without this anointing, we can not be part of His Body. Paul stated,

"Now, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." *** Romans 8:9

He further stated that the time we were without Christ, we were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel. *** Ephesians 2:12

But when we come into Christ, the Holy Spirit anointing, we become part of His Body and also become part of the commonwealth of Israel (Spiritual Israel).

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
And as many as walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." *** Galatians 6:15-16

All those who walk according to the rule of the New Creation are the Israel of God.

As the Word reveals, Jesus was the Cornerstone. But we need to look at Christ, the Headstone.

"The stone which the builders refused is become the Headstone of the corner." *** Psalm 118:22

The unknown author of this Psalm spoke about the stone the builders refused. The stone the builders refused is Christ. There are some Christians who are building their big works in the flesh. These are the ones Paul spoke of in Galatians,

"Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" *** Galatians 3:3

Many start out with Jesus Christ as their Cornerstone, but they reject Christ, the Holy Spirit, in their building program, choosing to build by the arm of flesh. These ministries turn to advertising agencies, gimmicks and hucksterism to fill seats and collection plates. They forgot Jesus' words:

"...I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." *** Matthew 16:18

Peter quoted *** Psalm 118 when he wrote,

"The stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the Head of the Corner.

And the Stone of Stumbling and the Rock of Offence." *** I Peter 2:7-8

The word "disallowed" means "rejected by disapproval". These reject the Holy Spirit and depend on worldly methods to accomplish their purpose instead of the Holy Spirit leading to accomplish God's purpose.

The stone the builders rejected is also the Stumbling Stone and the Rock of Offence. When we consider all the different denominations today, they all have one thing in common, and that is Jesus Christ, the Cornerstone. Most use the Old and New Testament, which is the apostles and prophets. And as long as we talk about Jesus, we have fellowship with them. Then where does the separation come? It is when we speak of the Holy Spirit operating in our lives. When we mention the Holy Spirit, He becomes the Rock of Offence and they are offended and separate from us.

Separation in the church, as we see it all around us, comes because some want to move on in the Spirit and the things of God; while others are satisfied with the church the way it always has been. They are offended because the "Rock of Offence" begins to move in their midst. The separation did not come because they disagreed that Jesus was their Saviour, but they disagreed on the anointing that God put upon His Body. We know by John that

"...Ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in Him." *** I John 2:27

Without the Holy Spirit Anointing, we cannot come to the Spiritual understanding of God's Word. We can have a carnal understanding, and this is what most people have; a head knowledge of the Word. But we need Spiritual understanding. This can come only by the anointing that is upon His Body.

Peter said they still stumble at the word being disobedient, *** I Peter 2:8. They stumble at the Word because the Holy Spirit anointing is not in their lives; or to them the Holy Spirit is the stumbling stone. They stumble because they cannot understand the deep things of God. They know there is something else but because they are devoid of the Spirit, they stumble at the Word, groping in the dark. They do not have the light of the Spirit. John wrote,

"When He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth." *** John 16:13

We need the Spirit of Truth, or the Holy Spirit, to guide us into all truth in the Word.

We must come to the realization that truth is not a block of knowledge, but truth is the Spirit of God. This is proclaimed many places in the Word.

"Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." *** John 14:17

"But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." *** John 14:26

The Spirit of Truth is the Comforter that came on the day of pentecost. Jesus said,

"And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." *** John 8:32

Know the truth, that Spirit of Truth, and He will set you free. Praise God!! Most sit in bondage because they do not desire to be set free by the Spirit.

Man, for centuries, has tried to bring all churches under his control and direction. But this will only be accomplished by the Holy Spirit, the Headstone, when He becomes head of His Body. All the corners will come together in Him. In Acts, Peter states,

"This is the stone which was set at naught of you builders which is become the head of the corner." *** Acts 4:11

Set at naught means "to treat with contempt and despise". Peter was speaking to the High Priests, Annas & Caiaphas, along with the elders and scribes; the religious leaders of Jesus' day. The religious leaders viewed the Stone with contempt. It is not much different today, when you try to discuss the Holy Spirit infilling with those who are called by His Name.

Jesus spoke of the Stone the builders rejected, 3 times: *** Matthew 21:42, *** Mark 12:10 and *** Luke 20:17. After Jesus stated who the Headstone was, He further related in *** Luke 20:18,

"Whosoever shall fall upon that stone shall be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder."

Jesus reveals, "Anyone falling upon this rock will be broken." The Greek word for broken is SUNTHLAO and means "to break in pieces or to crush, shatter in pieces". When we accept God's plan of redemption, this is when we fall on the Cornerstone, Jesus Christ. And our old way of life is broken and shattered to pieces. But before we can become usable in the kingdom, the stone the builders rejected must fall upon us. That stone is the Headstone, Christ Jesus.

This is what happened at the day of pentecost. The rock fell upon those who were obedient to God's voice. Jesus said these would be "ground to powder". The word for "grind to powder" is LIKMAO and means "to winnow as grain, to throw against the wind".

Many times the Spirit of God is referred to as the Wind. Jesus said,

"The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." *** John 3:8

John the Baptist said,

"His fan is in His hand, and He will throughly purge His floor, and will gather the wheat into His garner (granary); but the chaff He will burn with fire unquenchable." *** Luke 3:17

Christ is the winnowing fan. He will purge His wheat, the full ripe grain, that it may be taken into His granary. All the chaff, the worthless things of the world, must first be purged out of our lives, before we will be accepted by Him. The cleansing fire of God begins to do its work when the "Stumbling Stone" and the "Rock of Offence" falls upon us.

Isaiah revealed the Stone of Stumbling and the Rock of Offence.

"And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem." *** Isaiah 8:14

The Holy Spirit has become that Stone of Stumbling and Rock of Offence to both the Houses of Israel; natural and Spiritual Israel.

Many today are founded upon the cornerstone, Jesus Christ; and the apostles and the prophets of the Old and New Testament; but have rejected the cleansing power of the Holy Spirit working in their lives. They have not become part of God's building. They have refused to accept the Headstone, Christ Jesus; the anointing and cleansing power in their lives. Paul states,

"...If any man have not the Spirit of God (Holy Spirit), he is none of His." *** Romans 8:9

Jesus tells us,

"The foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head." *** Matthew 8:20

Jesus was not wanting a place to sleep; but, rather a Body He could be the Head of. He is looking for that Spiritual Body to become the Spiritual Head of today. That Spiritual Body must grow up into the Head which is Christ. *** Ephesians 4:15

His Spiritual Body is beginning to look like the Headstone. When the Body is complete, Christ will set His head upon His Spiritual Body. We need to know without a doubt, if we are part of that Body. Paul wrote,

"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." *** II Corinthians 3:18

God revealed that the New foundation's symbol should be the Pyramid because our ministry is to the Body of Christ. Many, today, wonder why separation is coming in their lives. It is because God is calling a people unto Himself. Those who do not desire to be a part of this calling are those who will not leave the old ways, or the old religious systems. They are hanging on to the Tried Stone, the safe and accepted ways, but refuse the breaking and shattering of the Stumbling Stone and the Rock of Offence in their lives. Many are called, but few will be chosen. *** Matthew 20:16

God is returning to His Body and from this Body He will make up His Church. Most have it backwards today. They believe He is coming to the church to make up His Body. But if we are not part of His Body now, we will not be part of His church. He desires to become the Head of the church that will be without spot or wrinkle. *** Ephesians 5:27

The detached head stone is the Holy Spirit hovering over His Body which is represented by the pyramid. When His church comes into perfection (completeness), He will set His head on His Body which will be His church.

God's trumpets are blowing to call this people unto Himself. The "Cloven Tongues of Fire" are still at work on the flesh. God has His winnowing fan in His hand to cleanse His full ripe grain. We know the fields are white to harvest and the Headstone is about to be set in place upon His Body. Begin today to seek the Spirit of the Living God in your life.