The believers purpose has always been to know, experience, and see God (Jesus) so they may reveal Him.

A few months back we taped an episode on The Christian View, “Living A Life On Purpose”. When I was preparing for this episode I looked up the word purpose in the Greek, prothithemai. Purpose is defined as: a setting forth, proposal, the showbread, sacred (bread), and in Help’s word studies purpose is defined as providence – literally, “a setting forth in advance for a specific purpose (“God’s pre-thesis”).

The setting forth of a thing, placing it in view. Here we see without vision we perish, as the Lord God’s instructions symbolically were to ‘set the Lord before them’ as a type and shadow of Christ through the Bread of Presence, though they did not know it yet. “You shall set the bread of the Presence (showbread) on the table before Me at all times.” Exodus 25:30

In the Old Testament the showbread (also called the Bread of Presence, in Hebrew literally translated bread of faces) was displayed on the Table of Showbread on the north side of the Holy Place on the right in the Tabernacle and later Temple. This was consecrated bread that represented the 12 tribes of Israel. Every seven days (sabbath day) the 12 loaves were replaced with fresh loaves, with the days old loaves given to the priests to eat who served in the Temple. Jesus was there all along, waiting to be revealed, waiting for the time of completion. The 12 loaves also symbolic of the 12 apostles Jesus would reveal Himself to, showing Himself to them as the unveiled High Priest who made a way for personal communion, so every tribe and tongue would see Him too, the mission of the Gospel.

Purpose, then vision … taste and see. In our natural world most all will not taste something unless they see it first, though in the Spirit realm it is the opposite. In Heaven’s Kingdom, when a person tastes that the Lord is good, it is then they have opened sight.

I think of the prophet Moses, the very one the Lord gave the instructions for the Tabernacle. He was not perfect, but he did get a lot right (most things in my opinion simply because of his love and fear of the Lord) and most importantly he was a “presence man”. Even then, in the old covenant it was not God’s intention to be separated from man, it was man who was afraid of God. “Now all the people witnessed the thunder and the flashes of lightning and the sound of the trumpet and the smoking mountain; and as they looked, the people were afraid, and they trembled [and moved backward] and stood at a [safe] distance. Then they said to Moses, “You speak to us and we will listen, but do not let God speak to us or we will die.” Moses said to the people, “Do not be afraid; for God has come in order to test you, and in order that the fear of Him [that is, a profound reverence for Him] will remain with you, so that you do not sin.” So the people stood at a [safe] distance, but Moses approached the thick cloud where God was.” ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭20‬:‭18‬-‭21‬ ‭AMP‬‬.

Perhaps Moses personal transfiguration with the shekinah glory of God, enabled him to later appear before Christ on the Mt. of Transfiguration with Elijah, where he was finally able to see the promise land by beholding Jesus in the natural realm. Perhaps a gift of Heaven, because he was not afraid of the presence of God but he boldly pursued the very face of God, perhaps he had already seen Jesus as no one comes to the Father except through Him. Heaven sent God’s one and only perfect and sinless Son, Jesus in flesh in the New Testament, divine and incarnate. Perhaps Moses was able to stand like an Aaron and Hur, and say to His Lord, you are the High Priest the firstborn among many, ‘holding up His human arms’ in a sense, that would soon spread on the beam of a cross to suffer and die yet to win the victory over all defeats, even the grave itself. The law would soon be fulfilled, and redemption was underway (Moses – law and covenant fulfilled, and Elijah – restoration of the Father’s heart).

Jesus came from the lineage of King David, and David was the only non-priest that ever ate the showbread and lived. It was David who said, “I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.” Psalm 16:8 KJV. Perhaps David saw Jesus too, I personally believe he had the revelation. David’s “north” was the Lord, and positionally just as it was in the Tabernacle the Bread of Face was at his right side. “Jesus replied to them, “I am the Bread of Life. The one who comes to Me will never be hungry, and the one who believes in Me [as Savior] will never be thirsty [for that one will be sustained spiritually].” ‭‭John‬ ‭6‬:‭35‬ ‭AMP‬‬

We are to be life as Jesus is the bread of life. “It is through him that we live and function and have our identity; just as your own poets have said, ‘Our lineage comes from him.’” ‭‭Acts‬ ‭17‬:‭28‬ ‭TPT‬‬. THIS IS OUR DIVINE PURPOSE. A place where our faces meet and have communion with Jesus, to be transfigured by His glorious frame ~ we shall never thirst and never be hungry. When we accept the invitation and dine with the Bread of Life, naturally we should should invite others, because this is mankind’s purpose, to know Him. Jesus is home, He is “north” and when we live from this place of Kingdom sight, we can feed others with purpose when we understand our own identity in Him, though it will never replace the personal communion those we have invited are intended to have.

This is the Divine Proposal, taste and see the Lord is good. He set the table in the Old Testament, and it was fulfilled in the New. Do you believe Jesus the Messiah is the Bread of Life? From old covenant to new, He has always pursued you. Have you accepted His proposal? And if you have accepted this proposal do you live in such a way as a devoted Bride preparing for her Bridegroom King?

As we enter into Holy Week, the Bread of Presence, our purpose of communion, is a beautiful reminder to think upon the Bread (the Lord’s body) that was broken for you and the Wine (His spilt blood). While eternal life is to know Him, it was a most costly sacrifice when the darling of Heaven was crucified for you to have and experience a personal relationship to readily commune with Him. He is the Bread and Wine, and there is no other way by which we may truly know Him.

“Now this is eternal life: that they may know You, the only true [supreme and sovereign] God, and [in the same manner know] Jesus [as the] Christ whom You have sent.” ‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭3‬ ‭AMP‬‬

“But as it is, Christ has acquired a [priestly] ministry which is more excellent [than the old Levitical priestly ministry], for He is the Mediator (Arbiter) of a better covenant [uniting God and man], which has been enacted and rests on better promises.” ‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭8‬:‭6‬ ‭AMP‬‬

“Every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm has already been lavished upon us as a love gift from our wonderful heavenly Father, the Father of our Lord Jesus—all because he sees us wrapped into Christ. This is why we celebrate him with all our hearts! And in love he chose us before he laid the foundation of the universe! Because of his great love, he ordained us, so that we would be seen as holy in his eyes with an unstained innocence. For it was always in his perfect plan to adopt us as his delightful children, through our union with Jesus, the Anointed One, so that his tremendous love that cascades over us would glorify his grace —for the same love he has for the Beloved, Jesus, he has for us. And this unfolding plan brings him great pleasure! Since we are now joined to Christ, we have been given the treasures of redemption by his blood—the total cancellation of our sins—all because of the cascading riches of his grace. This superabundant grace is already powerfully working in us, releasing all forms of wisdom and practical understanding. And through the revelation of the Anointed One, he unveiled his secret desires to us—the hidden mystery of his long-range plan, which he was delighted to implement from the very beginning of time. And because of God’s unfailing purpose, this detailed plan will reign supreme through every period of time until the fulfillment of all the ages finally reaches its climax—when God makes all things new in all of heaven and earth through Jesus Christ. Through our union with Christ we too have been claimed by God as his own inheritance. Before we were even born, he gave us our destiny; that we would fulfill the plan of God who always accomplishes every purpose and plan in his heart. God’s purpose was that we Jews, who were the first to long for the messianic hope, would be the first to believe in the Anointed One and bring great praise and glory to God! And because of him, when you who are not Jews heard the revelation of truth, you believed in the wonderful news of salvation. Now we have been stamped with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit. He is given to us like an engagement ring, as the first installment of what’s coming! He is our hope-promise of a future inheritance which seals us until we have all of redemption’s promises and experience complete freedom—all for the supreme glory and honor of God!” ‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭1‬:‭3‬-‭14‬ ‭TPT‬‬