Posted: 02/16/2005 at 10:52am | IP Logged

A Review of Kelley Varner’s
The More Excellent Ministry

by Steve Eastman

        “God lives in a three room house.  The third room is His living room.  The third room is His loving room.  There is one piece of furniture in His living room.  The Mercy-seat is the love-seat, His throne.”  Kelly Varney repeats this theme throughout the book as he uses Old Testament imagery and knowledge of the original languages of scripture to explain an important theme from Hebrews.  His life and teachings bridge the gap of years between the Latter Rain Movement and today’s growing emphasis on the Kingdom.  Pastor Varner shows how God’s new thing was prophesied in type in the very first book of the Bible.

        He identifies the more excellent ministry (Hebrews 8:6) as the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ from the Most Holy Place after the order of Melchizedek (Genesis 14:18 and Psalm 110:4).  Varner finds significance that this type and shadow relationship between Christ and Melchizedek is revealed in the book of Hebrews, even tracing the origin of the book’s name to “descendants of Eber”.  He explains that Eber means passing over, pointing to a people who are passing over into a new order of ministry and over the threshold of the rent veil into the holiest of all.

        Varner helps the reader to meditate on the practical results of being seated with Christpartaking in a ministry without condemnation, prejudice, walls, retaliation, profanity and idolatry.  He wants to use us to carry on His ministry.

        In supporting his theme of a ministry without condemnation, Varner goes to the Song of Solomon where the bride is described as a garden enclosed and a fountain sealed.  Yet she has ten kinds of fruit and spices ranging from pomegranates to aloes that need to be released.  Nine out of the ten are imported, reminiscent of the fruit of the Spirit, which will flow as we forgive others and ourselves. Varner further develops the idea of lack of condemnation with a reference to Luke 4 and Isaiah 61.  “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He hath anointed me to … preach deliverance to the captives … to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”  Varner reveals that the same Greek word is used for both “deliverance” and “set at liberty”.  Aphesis means freedom and/or pardon.

        One of Varner’s most interesting uses of Old Testament imagery appears in the book’s final chapter, “A Groan from the Throne”.  He retells a story from II Samuel 23.  David had stationed himself in the cave of Adullam while the Philistines were camped nearby and said, “Oh, that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate.”  His three might men went out at the risk of their lives to draw water for David.  He poured it onto the ground as an offering to the Lord.  Varner identifies David as a type of Christ.  He sees his exclamation “Oh” as symbolizing a groan from the throne.  “Do you see that?  This deep desire of David illustrates the deep desire of Jesus for men to see the more excellent ministry, to hear the intercession of the Man in the throne with a ministry, and to draw near with a full assurance of faith.”  As Varner points out, while the church is singing “Fill My Cup Lord”, Jesus is asking us for a drink.  “It’s one thing to drink of Him.  It’s another thing for Him to drink of you.”  It’s not about us in the more excellent ministry.  It’s about Him.

        “The More Excellent Ministry” is not an easy book to digest.  It takes a lot of reading and rereading, but is worth the effort. A major side benefit is a keener understanding of types and shadows as one approaches the Old Testament.

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