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Again, again.
156.
Let's sing that last.
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Was the blessing begun for the nation Israel?
The Passover just preceded.
The departing of the Red Sea.
The Passover.
Is where the shedding of the blood was preeminent.
Forever be the glory given to thee, O Lamb of God.
Our every joy on earth in heaven, Israel in the Church, We owe it to Thy blood.
What?
Blessing.
Comes from.
That death of Christ.
When? He said.
It is finished. The work of Christ was finished. Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.
And a soldier pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water.
That's one of the things.
That Brother Don was speaking about yesterday, whether he had that specific in mind or not.
Some things last.
Choosing is one of them.
But the suffering, the shedding of the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
On the cross of Calgary is something we can't do without.
Nor would we if we could.
Perhaps the Lord would give us something today that will be as precious as what we had yesterday.
And one Corinthians 1.
Could we start there?
There.
First Corinthians chapter One.
And we'll start at verse 9.
God is faithful by whom you recalled unto the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment.
For it has been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the House of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say that every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I have Apollos, and I have Cephas, and I have Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you, or were ye baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God that I baptize none of you but Christmas and Gaius.
Lest any should say that I had baptized in my own name.
And I baptized also the household of Stefanus. Besides, I know not whether I baptized any other.
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that and the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe. For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified, under the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness but unto them which are called.
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Both Jews and Greeks.
Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise, and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
And base things of the world, and things which are despised have God chosen.
Yay, And things which are not to bring to not things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification and redemption, that according as it is written, he that glorious let him glory in the Lord.
We noticed that that's twice in this epistle, but it reminds me of the chain.
In second.
Timothy chapter 2 might just look at it.
Second Timothy chapter 2. I'm talking about the chain of the way the truth comes down.
Verse one now, therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that's in Christ Jesus.
What an exhortation for us, and the things which thou hast heard of me, Paul.
Among many witnesses the same commit thou you, Timothy.
That's Paul Timothy.
Two faithful men, not a name after that Paul and Timothy.
And faithful men after that who shall be able?
To teach others also. That's the way the truth has come down from Paul to us today.
Paul to Timothy to faithful men who took it up.
And he taught others, and generation after generation it has to come that way. It goes back to Paul, who got the truth and gave it to us by God himself, the faithful God.
That we read verse 9 rather than because I think it is so important that we, before we talk of the exhortation of verse 10, is to get the positive truth of what our fellowship is, what we are called to, and we are each one called to the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and to walk in that fellowship. That's what's before our souls.
And then when we are in the enjoyment of that, then we have the exhortation of verse 10, which speaks of divisions among you, and he exhorts that they would be of one mind. And if we really seek to walk in fellowship with the Lord Jesus on a daily basis, brethren.
I sometimes feel that we have the mentality of division that is not God's thoughts, brethren. We are to seek to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. I'm not saying that we compromise with anything that is contrary to the word of God, but we need to think God's thoughts as he looks down into this world.
He sees one body in Christ, and that's what is to control our thinking and as we see, our brethren.
That are beloved and of the Lord to have His thoughts about them. There may be another areas that we do not feel at liberty to go to in our own souls. That may be so. But may we have God's thoughts about His people to plead for them, not to plead against them, you remember.
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Elijah.
Was greatly used to bring the people of God back to Jehovah, the God of Israel.
But then in the following chapter he gets his eyes off the Lord and runs from the queen that threatened to take away his life. And when the Lord appears to him, he says I only I am remaining and they seek my life to take it away.
And twice he goes over that and the Lord in effect says, OK, Elijah, if you're going to pray against my people, I'm going to have to have you appoint your successor. I can't have you pleading against my people. And Brandon, that's such a voice. Do we plead for the people of God? I think we really need to be exercised about that. They may be, and God's people are often.
Rebellious, stiff, necked, hard headed, whatever you want to say. Still God loves His people and we need to seek to have His thoughts about them. So may the Lord give us to cultivate diligently in these last days when the enemy just wants to tear us to pieces, to have his thoughts about his people and to be exercised to walk in.
Practical enjoyment of the fellowship of the Lord Jesus.
So that we can be instruments to bind together instead of pulling apart. May the Lord help us, brethren. I think this is a real message for us all.
Just like it a little bit more, the 1St 9 verses of the chapter is not what we might call our responsibility. There's no exhortations given in the 1St 9 verses of the chapter, but it is rather what God has done and is doing that is brought before us and God is saying my son is going to be revealed.
Manifested to this world.
And his people, His body is going to be unimpeachable in that day. How could that be? If you bring in human responsibility, you see a mess and failure that brings shame to us. But God is faithful. God is going to accomplish that, His purpose.
Of having a people around his son who are members of his body, who are perfect, unimpeachable before him, God has brought that people into the fellowship of his son.
Jesus Christ our Lord. It's important to get the order of those words, the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, because He's introducing to us the importance that is brought out in the whole of the book of Corinthians of the Lordship of Christ. God has brought a people into relationship with his Son, who also recognized him as Lord.
As the one who has supreme authority, and the exhortations which come later are based on the recognition in each heart and each life of Jesus Christ as Lord.
Lordship is individual, and consequently every one of us has an individual responsibility, as the exhortations which follow show us.
To be submissive to our individual Lord, and when we recognize him as Lord, when we recognize him as Jesus Christ crucified. That's my Lord Jesus Christ crucified. When I practically in my own heart recognize that and walk in the fellowship with himself, myself with himself.
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Each one of us here this morning hopefully is enjoying this day in a conscious sense of fellowship with my Lord, who is supreme, to whom glory belongs. If I do that, then you and I are going to enjoy the same fellowship.
And it's going to be a complete fellowship between us, because we both have that fellowship with the Lord, and consequently, as a result of that, we enjoy the fellowship of one another.
That's supreme. That's first. That's individual. But the result is the enjoyment of one another. And if he is Lord, if he is supreme, I will not glory in man.
If I recognize a crucified Christ, how could I look at a man and say any man, any person in this room, any person in this world? If I look at one person in this world and I say, what's his blessing? What's his place?
Christ had to die for that man.
What more humbling statement could we say of mankind in order for that man to be anything, forever? In order for that man, whoever he be, not to go to hell? Christ had to die for that man. Can I look at that man in that way and say, well, I'm going to glory in him? I'm going to lift him up to a place of supreme honor among men? No, the only one that deserves it is Jesus Christ.
My Lord.
Our Omaha teaches us otherwise. We see in our chapter the progression of the problems and divisions that follow. We're finding the in the 11Th verse. Contentions come in our hearts, and if we look in our own hearts and look back at the problems and difficulties we find that often is that we are discontent with whatever we have. So we see here contentions were among them.
One's contentions.
In our heart, the next progression here is that we will look to a man.
So we see here the questions were raised that they were Paul, they were Apollos, and some would even dare to say they are of Christ. Is it not begin at our hearts? But truly that is not a right statement because it should all, as our brother have mentioned, begin by looking at our Lord Jesus Christ first. Do we see him as the center of all objects? Do we see him as the one we must submit to? Do we see the preciousness as as it was mentioned, I'd like to turn to a portion in Acts Chapter 2.
A well known portion here.
In Acts chapter 2.
Verse 41.
Perhaps I'll read at verse 42 Acts chapter 2, verse 42.
We know this portion very well sets here, and they continued steadfastly in the apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers. We know this portion, don't we? But it came to my attention recently that we know there are three things mentioned, not four. It was the apostles doctrine and fellowship.
And in the middle of these three things is the breaking of bread between the breaking of bread.
We have prayer.
You know, for many years I thought the preciousness of remembering our Blessed Lord and we all value that. But I think scriptures here put perhaps in order for us to be careful with. It's interesting to see here is the apostles doctrine and fellowship that is mentioned first. Do we not see when there are problems and difficulties, especially problems that cause divisions among us?
Is often because we do not heed to the teaching of the apostles doctrine, nor do we follow the apostles fellowship. Then we seek man's fellowship. We seek man's approval.
And then we try to use the remembrance of the Lord.
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As a link. Oh, as a glue. As if it were. Then we have the unhappy fellowship of being together for the sake of being together. And then we forget, just as important, of the prayers.
How often do we a certain when we visit an assembly? Often.
Our own will we go on Lord's Day morning? Will we see a huge crowd? And then come the prayer meeting time, the room perhaps is half empty or worse, and then when there are problems and difficulties.
I have been to places, including ours, where we would ask for special prayer meeting in order to pray. Oh, how sad when there is a time, an assembly prayer meeting that we have neglected what we ought to be there to bring our cares to. Well, first of all, to bring our Thanksgiving to return our Thanksgiving and to our blessed God to bring our cares, our difficulties to Him.
Did we forget that here we see the order? Isn't it in a way the apostles doctrine and fellowship and then the breaking of bread and then the prayers to go together?
3 characters of the meetings that we have.
And receiving.
In giving and in asking, receiving is a meeting like this, and we have both the doctrine and fellowship of the apostles.
Breaking of bread, we're but the highest place giving to God. Could you think of that?
That you and I could give to God that him wish I was more or less like that. Giving, give it, giving, giving. And then we can understand that we want something. So we just turned to him and asked.
Receiving from God and giving to God and asking from God.
Mary we find Mary. We see these three instances in the life of Mary. Perhaps we can turn to that just for a brief moment. In Luke, chapter 10, we find that Mary in verse. In verse 38, there's Mary sitting at Jesus feet.
In Luke chapter 10 verse 39, towards the latter part of that verse Mary which also sat at Jesus feet and heard his word so we see her in this case there came as a learner. We want to put it that way. And then we find in John's gospel choice more we find 2 instances with Mary.
In John's Gospel, Chapter 11.
Perhaps for the sake of time we can look at verse 32. Then Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him. She fell down at his feet saying, Lord, if thou hast been here, my brother had not died. Here's one that was before the Lord. This time she came as a mourner. She came as a learner. Now she came as a mourner to cast all those cares.
And dependence upon the Lord. And then we find in the next chapter, the 12 Chapter, we find married once more in verse 3. Then took Mary a pound of ointment of spikenard, very costly, and anointed the feet of Jesus. There we find her for the third time. Here she came. Now as a worshipper she came to cast her dependence on the Lord she came.
Learn more of his ways, and then she came as a worshipper to give back what she ought to.
I say an additional word to kind of follow up on that, Dave.
That we really need to focus on this individual cultivation of fellowship with the Lord Jesus. That is what we are called to first of all, brethren, and it seems like we get that out of focus at times, and when there's problems amongst brethren we get totally disorientated and you find souls going off.
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To other fellowships where they don't have so many problems, brethren.
Wherever there are believers in the Lord Jesus, there's going to be problems at times.
But we have to know that our first calling is individually to fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. It's not to fellowship of believers that we're first called to, It is to fellowship with the Lord Jesus. And then as Don was bringing out and the measure that you walk in fellowship with him, and I walk in fellowship with him, then there's going to be an automatic result that we're going to find. We think the same thoughts.
We have the same.
Thinking about things so that we find there's fellowship between us. If you go to 1St John Chapter one, you have the same order again. And I think it is really important to get this clear before our souls. Young people, older ones too. Brother, we sometimes focus on young people, but it applies to us who are older too, Brandon.
In first John chapter one and verse three it says that which we have seen and heard declare we unto you. That's the Apostles doctrine.
That ye also may have fellowship. There's the apostles fellowship with us.
And truly, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. That's what we're called to to walk in fellowship with God. What a privilege. But you can't do it. And Don mentioned it yesterday in his address. Did we open this book?
Before we came here is that the character of our lives? To have an ear, to listen to what he has to say to us, and then to bow in prayer and to speak to him about it all. Oh, how important that is, you know, it just doesn't seem like it's that important. If you missed a day, what about it? You don't seem like you've missed that much, but you really do.
It is really important.
To read the scriptures on a daily basis and to pray in that way to maintain fellowship with the Lord. And it's when we have that focused primarily before us, then there is the basis of fellowship in a collective sense. And that's what you have further down in first John one and verse 7. Notice it says if we walk in the light as he is in the light, we have fellowship.
One with another.
That doesn't come first. It's first of all fellowship with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ, and then as a result, fellowship one with another. Let's not turn those two things around. There are three of them.
Fellowship with the apostles and then fellowship with the Father. And then fellowship with one another after walking in a little. After a little time, when the light has come out, then we can have fellowship one with another. Don't forget the first one. A fellowship with the apostles. You and I didn't see the Lord. We weren't over there. John was there, and he leaned on Jesus bosom.
Overturning.
With verse 10 and the expression, I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's extremely important, that the soul lay a hold of it in order to understand what follows. Here, he's saying. This is the basis on which I am giving you this exhortation.
The name of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then he says don't let there be division and separation and schism among you. The the the Enlightenment, if you will, of what he's saying is found in Philippians chapter 2 and I. It's a very familiar place, but perhaps we don't often connect it with what we have here in First Corinthians chapter one.
In Philippians chapter 2 and verse one he says if there be any therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any vows and mercies fulfilling my joy that what same thing we have in our chapter that she be like minded having the same love being of 1 accord of one mind.
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Let each esteem let nothing be done through strife or Vainglory. But in loneliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. He's going to illuminate here what it means when he says by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, I'm giving you this exhortation to be 1 minded.
How do I have fellowship with the Lord Jesus? Now back up for a moment and speak about first John.
First, John is Fellowship in connection with the family and the character of the Family.
Having the nature of God, which is light and love, and that's what you have in John in the fellowship we were speaking up there. But when it's a matter of like mindedness among us and fellowship with the Lord Jesus, how am I going to have a fellowship with him?
I have to follow the verses that follow right here in Philippians chapter 2. What was his mind? That's the mind. I have fellowship with his mind. And what is that mind? Verse six. Let verse five, let this mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant. Are you like minded brethren with that?
Mind, if you have fellowship with him, if you're having a fellowship in which there's not the spirit of division, this is the fellowship that you have to be brought into. Practically, his mind being in found in fashion with a as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
How do I have that? The name of the Lord Jesus Jesus Christ.
It speaks to my heart and yours of this man, this man. When my thoughts are upon himself, and I say, what was his heart? What was his mind? He humbles himself. He takes the low place, He takes the place of obedience to God. And then?
God exalts him in verse nine God is highly exalted him, giving him a name which is above every name, and so on. And then verse 11 That every tongue should confess that who this man, Jesus Christ, this one whose mind I want to have, so that I can walk in fellowship with you.
Without division.
Jesus Christ, Lord again, it goes back to the same thing unto the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord. There it ends that the whole of the Lord Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, the man that went to the bottom.
The lowly minded man. And now that man I roam as Lord, as supreme over every right in my life.
To decide every decision personally and in the assembly and in the family and in the work, Jesus Christ our Lord. And if we truly followed this exhortation, the same concern in Philippi that they had in Corinth. The same problem of glorying in man. But if I truly flocked in that, I would walk in the fellowship of his son.
And if you truly walked in the fellowship of that, you would walk in the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, and we would walk in fellowship together without division.
You think of the apostles doctrine. There were the 12 That walked with Christ on earth.
And company with him in the much of the Gospels.
Then there was Paul, who was called up to heaven. He was alone in that.
To give us something that he could of the heavenly side of the calling.
That's whoever called to heaven. Peter talks about the Kingdom and calls it the.
I Peter calls it the Everlasting Kingdom, I think, and Paul called it the Heavenly Kingdom. Looking forward to that well, the two thoughts, heaven and earth. It goes right back to the beginning of the creation. In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth, and you and I are cold.
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To enjoy these things with Christ, and not only made them, but redeemed them.
As these four things in the end of our chapters were taken up.
Of him are ye in Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, Jesus, Who of God is made into us wisdom. It took the Wisdom of God to produce it.
Righteousness had been on a righteous basis.
Rectification and redemption, I'm going to ask you now.
Is Christ made unto us redemption Himself?
It's what God has made him to be for us.
He is our redemption.
Without him we're lost. Without him we're cannot be reconciled to God.
Without him we face a lost eternity, but in him.
We have peace with God through His redemptive work. He is our Redeemer in His person.
I just want to go aside Clem, you mentioned the earthly, and that's what we have in First Corinthians. This isn't in our chapter, but it's been on my heart this morning connected with what you say about the heavenly side of things.
We've just had on our souls, on our hearts, the death of a nine year old child.
But brethren.
This same Lord Jesus.
Went through that depth.
And he rose again from the dead.
And he ascended to the glory.
And the Clawson family is experiencing the weakening of the bonds of Earth.
And the strengthening of the calling, the heavenward calling. And so death, as it says death is ours in the end of chapter 3. And and here And then you go on to the 15th chapter, and it says, oh death, where is thy string sting? O grave, where is thy victory? Thanks be unto God, which giveth a victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
This same person, the Lord Jesus, has conquered death.
So that it is but for us a servant to bring us if needs be, if the Lord doesn't come first, that we go without death to but a servant to bring us into our heavenly enjoyment without hindrance, what a blessed truth the heavenly side is.
That even in death body, and death it is bought to, as it were, to faith, to bring to our souls the reality of the work.
There's sorrow because of the present separation.
If there's comfort because of the certainty of the future eternity in heaven together.
What Chuck said yesterday about Ephesians.
And Ephesians is such a wonderful book.
It seems like God does everything there.
And just to bring out for our comfort, let's look at the visions, the first chapter for for a minute to bring before us a few thoughts about that.
I'm going to read Ephesians one, beginning with.
17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him the eyes of your understanding being enlightened.
That he may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in what the Saints in the Saints.
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And then it goes on, builds up. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to Ashford, who believed you, believe this power is to you.
What is what? What?
Verse 20 What is the which he wrote in Christ Jesus when he raised him from the dead? He's the first fruits and sent him at his own right hand in.
Heavenly places. That's horrible then far above all principalities and power and and might and every and my Bible weren't out here and.
Somebody read it.
Dominion and every name that his name not only in this world, but in that which is to come. Then he mentions the Church.
Well, that's the greatest power that's ever been exercised by God himself.
And we're included in it.
The first born from the dead we are afterward.
They that are Christ that is coming.
We don't have the redemption of the body yet. Not, not anybody. Not K not able. He's the first man that died.
But Abel doesn't know he's been dead for 6000 years because he'd been in heaven.
Well, the resurrection is coming. This dear little boy that's going to be buried. We've been talking about tomorrow or day after tomorrow.
And all the dead will be raised at the same time.
And then there's a twinkling of an eye.
And we shall be changed.
The data raised and we are changed. Then we're caught up. Oh what a plan God has. How it comforts your heart when these things come along.
But Paul said.
To depart and be with Christ is far better. That little boy has a portion is far better than we that are sitting in this room. I want to read in First Corinthians 3, verse 21. Therefore let no man glory in men, for all things are yours, whether Paul or a palace or Cephas.
Or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come. All are yours.
And your Christ. And Christ is God's, so for us, death is simply the door of entrance into His presence. We won't have glorified bodies yet, but we'll be there where He is. And Paul says, to depart and be with Christ is far better.
So I think of that young boy.
Is far better for him.
The one that's shedding the tears. He's not shedding any tears, but his parents are and his loved ones. But he's there where Christ is.
A few things. And one thing that he Eric Smith. Some of you knew him, Some of the young folks ever heard of him. Maybe he lived to be 103, but he's been gone for several years now, labored all over South America. Eric Smith would put it simply.
In Christ.
With Christ and like Christ.
When you believe you're in Christ, if you should die like this little boy, you're with Christ. And we're all going to be like Christ at the same time, I think.
A comment was made in regard to the foundation truth. We spent the time yesterday in regard to our salvation. And I look at many of the young people here and many of you know what salvation is that has to be have the death and then the resurrection. We know that in the gospel we often present the fact that it's not about the other person, it's about you.
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Salvation is about you. So we learn to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe in the death. We believe in the bloodshed. We believe in the resurrection. Now, when they come to the Church, here are another set of foundation truth. And often, perhaps, we're repeating these words. But often we forget to make this good to our own souls. First, we need to learn this for ourselves.
What is your standing yesterday? A comment was made for we know that all things work together for good to them who love God. Do you know that that was raised Now we're happy before us about this heavenly characters, about the church, about the standing that we're in. Have you made that good for yourself?
If we. If you haven't, then.
When the storm clouds comes, problems will happen to you. You need to make good to yourself by the truth, and then you can say salad. Then you'll see how scripture how how scripture means by holding fast to the Word.
There were contentions, among them verse 11.
And then he says, now this. I say that every one of you, every one of them had their favorites. One said, I'm of Paul, another I'm of Apollos and.
Another eye of MO Cephas. And then there's this group that said I am of Christ.
Everyone of them had their favorites, and I think the one that said I am of Christ were probably the proudest of the four.
Because that makes Christ the head of a party, and he's not the head of a party, He's the head of the whole church.
To put him alongside of Paul or Apollo, Sir Cephas is really very serious error.
We need to know how to.
Handle it brethren when there are differences and there will be differences.
Between brethren.
I I think sometimes it's because of a lack of growth. You can't expect a child of 10 years old to understand the same things as a young person of 18. The difference is that there hasn't been that much growth and we need to give time to each other if we don't see things eye to eye. There's a verse in Philippians 3 that I found very helpful in dealing with this.
It should not be the means the the occasion for contention when there's differences.
We should mean that we get into the Lord's presence and search the scriptures.
And humble ourselves.
Here in Philippians 3 I have enjoyed what the apostle brings before us. He says in verse 15, Let us therefore as many as be perfect. That word means mature.
Be thus minded. And if in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.
Give time for the Lord to reveal it to the one that maybe I see it differently than somebody else. Give time for the Lord to reveal that. Don't let that be the means or the occasion for contention and.
A divided spirit amongst us. But then he goes on and he says.
Verse 16 Nevertheless, where to we have already attained?
Let us walk by the same rule. Let us mind the same things. So we need to be bound together in those things we do see together, eye to eye, brethren. And if there are differences, let's wait on the Lord. Let's not make those differences such a focus that we give way to contention and strife. I think this is.
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A real means that has been helpful me to see that there's going to be differences amongst us. We're different members in the body.
But the Lord give us to cultivate fellowship with the Lord Jesus, and that meekness and lowliness to go on together, and not allow these differences to become occasions for contention and strife.
There's 12. Then make another comment or two.
Now this I say that everyone of you say, if I am appalled, they liked Paul. He was a very intellectual man and they appreciated that I am of a policy and says he was an eloquent man and he knew the scriptures very well. And some like to hear a preacher just that way. And I have Cephas, he was always.
Going forward with his comments and so on, a lot of energy.
And someone to be admired in that case.
And then I have Christ.
That's.
Many answers ask the question is Christ divided?
Is Christ divided? The eye of Christ would really say that Christ is divided. The others are showing showing some favoritism to individuals that are members of the body of Christ. But I have Christ putting him along with the others. I think that's not right. It's like like Peter says, it's good for us to be here. He was on the mount with the Lord and let's make 3 tabernacles, one for thee and one for the others and.
The father's interrupted and said, This is my beloved son. Here him. He wouldn't allow him to be placed alongside of anyone else.
In chapter 3.
It mentions those names again, and it's interesting. It says in verse four, while one said I am a Paul and another I am of Apollos. Are ye not carnal? So when there is that tendency to pull off to one side and say I like this brother, I like his way of speaking and we focus on that particular person.
That scripture calls carnality.
And its lack of spiritual growth. God gives us all those Paul, Apollos, Cephas. They all have a place and they're all for our good and blessing. Let's not just pull off into one side and let think. We like certain brethren better than others. They kind of see the things eye to eye. I think we need to listen. Sometimes God uses.
An instrument that we don't like that much, naturally speaking, but maybe he has.
A word we need to listen to, so we need to.
Realize that they're all for our good and blessing done at the end of the chapter it was already read, Chapter 3 says.
Whether Paul or Paulus or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come all our years, they're all given for our good and blessing and to pull aside and just pay attention to 1.
Going to be damaging, brother. Let's not do that.
In the next chapter 4, I want to read in connection with your comments, verse 6 and these things, brethren, I have in a figure transferred to myself and to a policy for your sakes. Paul was not like that Corinth by certain ones. He was criticized and they were saying of him he's just out for your money and so on, which was absolutely not true. And Paul had confidence in a palace.
So that he could use his name to illustrate his point. He was a spiritual man. And they weren't saying I'm of Paul and I'm of Apollos, that they weren't saying that they. But if he had put the name in that they were following then that they would say, see, you're just jealous of those, those brethren. But he, he wasn't doing that. He was not allowing that to come in. So he puts his name in. They weren't saying I'm a Paul. They they weren't saying that.
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But he puts his name in there to illustrate the point, and then I am of apology. He felt free to do that because Apollos would not misunderstand it. He was illustrating a point and the principle of following man. As Bob was just saying, that's not God. I don't care who it is, Paul, Apollo, Cephas. But don't put Christ in there. That's even worse. That's even worse. He's he's not a party maker.
He's not a part of a party. He's the head of the whole church. What a difference.
That's why he asked the question in verse 13.
That's why he asked the question in verse 13, Is Christ divided? It should immediately bring a response in the heart and the mind of a believer. Of course not. Of course not. After he said some say I'm of Christ. He says is Christ divided because it's impossible?
It shouldn't even come to mind. Just ask the question, ought to give the answer to the question. Then he takes the other people and he says, Was Paul crucified for you?
What place does Paul have?
We're talking about men. Did he die for you?
Was he crucified for you?
So if not, what place does he have then he goes on to baptism and he says were you baptized to the name of Paul?
In other words, is Paul a person that was crucified for you and whose name you are now to be identified with?
And then goes on to explain a little more about his involvement with them with respect to the question of baptism, and then goes on to verse 17 to connect his thought. He says Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with the wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. That is, he's getting back to something we had yesterday in the reading, and the rest of the chapter is taken up with it, and that is.
It's the wisdom of man put in contrast to the wisdom of God.
The wisdom of man, the Jew, as he says, seeks a sign.
The Lord Jesus feeds 7000 plus people, and the Jews say to him show us a sign.
They weren't satisfied. They couldn't be satisfied. The Greek is known worldwide even to this day, as in man's mind, a fountain of knowledge and philosophy and so on, the wisdom of man. But what does it bring? It's just words. Man's philosophy is nothing more than words. It doesn't change the heart. It doesn't change the circumstances of the life. It doesn't take a man to heaven.
It's.
God says it's vain, it's empty, but in contrast to that, Paul said we don't preach words.
We preach the fact Jesus Christ crucified.
That's the power of God to save Jesus Christ crucified. We're not presenting the wisdom of some philosophy or some religious set of beliefs. Paul said. No.
And when this next chapter, when he says I'm determined to know nothing among you, say Christ Jesus and Him crucified. He's not saying.
Well, I don't want to know about your problems, brethren, or I'm just going to come and and and speak to you without any knowledge of anything. Now that's that is not the thought. The thought is.
I'm coming not to present a philosophy of men.
But Jesus Christ and Him crucified, That's all. That's only thing I have to give you, and everything depends on it. It's God's wisdom that it be so. Man wants to honor and glorify and exalt himself. God has to bring man down to nothing.
Jesus Christ and Him crucified because without that man has nothing, can be nothing. He's lost, he's ruined in himself. But God's power is in Jesus Christ crucified because in that is the redemption, the salvation, the the taking away the sin of the world, the heavenly calling of the believer.
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Everything depends on that work.
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And consequently yesterday Bob was reading the number of places where you see the word Lord. If you take the number of places where you see Christ and Him crucified in the next 20 verses, it's about as many as it says Jesus Christ is Lord, because it is the central issue that is put in contrast to man and his thoughts and his philosophy.
Everything, don't we?
To be glory of men, glory in each other. You can't if you see Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and you see what it means to the glory of man.
You need to have that mind, not only the looking at him, but also his mind when he did it.
We do start to look at one another and lift up one another. We lose sight of the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that is exercising brethren. I think we need to recognize there is a natural tendency to do that, and we need to recognize it and judge it. The Lord grant us that we would be.
With our eyes on him, on the Lord Jesus.
This question of baptism, I think it is interesting that Paul was wise in being there at Corinth, he says. I thank God that I baptized none of you but Christmas and gas to individuals he mentions.
And in verse 16 he mentions the household of Stephanus and then he says.
Besides, I know not whether I baptized any other. I think that is wise. He did not make himself a reference point there that he had baptized any other. And it's interesting to me as you go through the book of the Acts that they baptized those that believed. And I don't think he's undoing baptism here. That's not the point, but it is making.
Not making himself a reference point in connection with that baptism is something that is important, but I have enjoyed you. Look at the end of chapter 10 of Acts, where Peter is in Cornelius House and there is a number there that as they hear the message, the Spirit of God comes upon them, and they were evidently believers and as the message.
Comes of.
Forgiveness of sin through faith in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Spirit of God falls on them and it says let's read from.
Verse 44 When while Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Spirit fell on them.
All them which heard the word and they of the Circumcision which believed, were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord.
Doesn't say that Peter did the baptizing.
And I think there's wisdom in that he commanded that they be baptized, and perhaps for the same reason Paul in Corinth, when he realized that there was the tendency to glory in men instead of baptizing himself.
Others evidently did the baptizing. I remember our brother Dan Anderson a number of years ago telling about when he was in Africa and and there were some new converts and there was.
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Some that we're going to be baptized this particular day and they went down to the river and when they went into the river to be baptized, it was not Brother Dan Anderson that did the baptizing. It was a native brother. And some of those that had said they wanted to be baptized when they saw it wasn't Brother Dan Anderson I was going to be baptizing walked away.
So I think it's something of the wisdom of God. It's baptism is identification with the Lord Jesus in his death and his resurrection. And I think perhaps this is the reason why Paul did not do a whole lot of baptizing at Corinth because he didn't want himself to be a folk a reference point in connection with their identification with the Lord Jesus.
Something that was.
Certifying to myself, I'm sure others.
That took place between yesterday and today was.
The sharing and the suffering that we could have with the Clausen family and one chapter in First Corinthians, another chapter in First Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 25 that talks about schism.
But the next verse goes on to say and whether one member suffered.
All the members suffer with it.
But one member be honored. All the members rejoice with it.
And it has just been such a beautiful outpouring.
Of love that the Spirit of God is placed in our hearts to remember the Clawson family and.
I haven't been privileged to meet that family, but.
It's just been very gratifying to myself. I know others as well that we can, because we're all members of the body of Christ, that we can identify with the suffering that that family is going through.
The Lord is honored, I'm sure, when when we do suffer, and when we do, rejoice with others who who have something to rejoice about as well.
Verse 17 has a important lesson, brethren.
The Gospel when it's preached.
If it's done with wisdom of words, the result is the cross of Christ should be made of none effect.
It should be done with the power of God. The Spirit of God should be the one who uses the instrument, who is preaching the gospel, but it is not with a sense of wisdom of words.
If they're going to glory in wisdom of words, the cross of Christ is made of none effect.
The Cross of Christ cuts.
Through all that we are as men in the flesh. It is the end of all that we are in the flesh, and therefore to glory in wisdom of words. When we're preaching the gospel of Christ, it is to make the cross of Christ of none effect. The Lord help us. What a privilege to give the gospel. But I have been impressed, brethren.
With the importance of giving it in simplicity, sometimes it seems like perhaps we like to make it, enhance it with different illustrations, and we get complicated in our expressions, in our words.
There's power in simplicity in simply presenting the facts of what happened. God sent his Son and he was nailed to a cross. He died for our sins. He rose again. The simplicity of presenting those facts in the gospel, there's real power in that.
But if we think, we have to enhance it with wisdom of words.
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Let's be careful, because that will make the cross of Christ of none effect.
Injectors connection with what you're saying, Bob, I read the 1St 6 verses and I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with Excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling.
And my speech in and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.
Howbeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the Princess of this world.
That come to nought, but we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery.
Even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the Princess of this world knew, for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. Those words are just what you were saying in connection with the gospel. He went beyond just the gospel and what he said there, didn't he?
Wisdom of.
Negates the need of the cross.
Man's wisdom says man is got something in himself.
And he does not want to recognize that he is ruined.
That he has lost.
That he needs to change his thoughts about what he is, to accept what God says He is and what God says he needs. And so man in His wisdom, and even today the gospel, is corrupted in measure because men are presented with a Christ that can give benefit and blessing to this present life and make them successful and give them comfort and so on, without bringing them to the point where they need Christ crucified.
That's what the wisdom of man brings man to. And so he says when it says there, had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of Glory. Why does it say that? Because if they had recognized, if they really realized that their whole eternity depended on that work, they would not have personally crucified him. They would have said whatever God's going to do, he has to do. But everything depends on this man.
Let God do what is necessary. But no. Their idea was the wisdom of man is we don't need him, we don't want him.
We can take care of things fine with God ourselves. And so man's wisdom is foolishness because it denies the only truth that will bring about his blessing, which is Jesus Christ.
And his death men that did want him. Let me just read it. John 6:1515When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come and take him by force, to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. (John 6:15) When Jesus therefore perceived that they would come to take him by force to make him a king, he departed again into a mountain himself alone. They didn't want him for the right reason, did they? They just wanted him as a benefactor to supply all their needs.
In general, man, here is God. Please stay on the sideline unless I need you. And if I need you, let me call upon you and make use of your power according to my wishes.
That's man.
And if he's worse than that, he's like Cain, who said I'm going to go out from the presence of the Lord and act like there wasn't a God and I'm going to live without him completely. And so such man says when he hears the presentation of the cross, he says that's foolishness.
And the man that says it's foolishness, as Jim says last night, God has to say you're a fool and you will die in your sins.
01:20:04
And you will suffer the eternal consequences of having refused my power.
And my son in salvation.
Kids were signs of power in all their history, and God gave them. When he sent Moses to Egypt to deliver the children of Israel, he gave him three signs. First was a rod he threw down and became a snake, and then he picked up the snake bites tail and became his rod again. So they were used to that. When they went out of Egypt, Moses stretched forth his rod over the Red Sea and it opened up.
Tremendous works of power and so many times it happened again and again.
But to be presented with a man who says he's.
The King of the Jews, and there is hanging on a cross.
Dead didn't make sense at all. That power.
It just totally cuts across man's thinking and it's interesting.
In the like Don was bringing out a little before, the Greeks were not so much seeking for power but for wisdom. And a man on a cross is that wisdom. Let yourself be crucified is that wisdom doesn't make any sense at all to them.
So the cross of Christ is planted in a place where man's.
Head was empty.
It's vanity, emptiness. In the place of the skull. That's where the foot of the cross is planted. That's where God begins. What was foolishness?
Prophet.
As he lingers there in prison, he sends a message.
He who had said, Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He then says, Art thou he that should come, or look we for another He couldn't put it together. Here he was in prison, and here the one that he pointed out as being the Lamb was about to be crucified. He couldn't put it together.
And then the Lord says such precious words about John when he was finished, when he He said he was the greatest of the prophets.
But is that can have, that can happen to anyone of us, we just can't put it together.
It doesn't fit. We don't, you know, we get thrown in prison or whatever might happen to us, and we haven't done anything wrong at all. Maybe we were just preaching the gospel on the street corner, apprehended and put in prison for six months because of doing that horrible thing of preaching the gospel. And we might say, well, I don't understand that. I can't understand it. Well, there's a lot of things we can't understand. But that verse in Romans 8, all things work together for good to them that love God.
But that's good to keep before us, isn't it?
That was a constant.
The disciples never really did grasp that before the Lord died, did they? He told them again and again. I'm going to Jerusalem, going to be rejected, crucified and raised again the 3rd day. They never got the message. Brethren, how is it? I I really think it It is something we need to seek in the Lord's presence. We have our way of thinking.
Here in the United States, the way of thinking is centered in man.
The whole culture that we live in is warped in that direction and so we think that way rather than we need to come to God's word.
To be taught his thoughts. And so often those thoughts that we have from our youth up hinder us from understanding God's thoughts.
Oh, the blessing that has resulted from the cross of Christ. Who could have ever imagined that it was through? That means that God's going to bring in the fullness of blessing into this world. No one ever grasped that.
01:25:01
It was not in their thinking, and yet that was God's thoughts and that wonderful that now since that has all taken place, it's opened up to us. But I still find it a challenge, brethren, and I think we need to recognize that we have been affected by the culture we're passing through.
And the self centeredness is affecting our spiritual growth.
The Lord help us in the measure that we can to recognize it and to judge it, so that we can lay hold on God's thoughts that we have here.
Street.
We're singing this hymn. I was thinking of that next verse that we almost got to where it says we preach Christ crucified. I'd like to say that as an encouragement for the younger ones. Here you notice we enjoy the Lord Jesus and when we contemplate as hymns as such that we are saying, then it should be easy. Even though many of us are not evangelists, we're called to do the work of the evangelist. It would be easier as we think of him and what he has done for us.
Then when it's time to preach, then we're to preach Christ crucified. Because when we preach Christ crucified at that cross, the hatred of men was poor upon our blessed Savior. You'll find that appears to the heart and conscience of all men. I had a girl, a Jewish girl, that worked for me one time, and I remember mentioning the cross, and you find that man would deny responsibility.
Because she said to me, the Jews didn't put the Lord Jesus to death. He said the Romans did. Oh, how it appears, the conscience to try to avoid that responsibility. Preach Christ crucified. And then of course when we preach Christ crucified, then we can talk about how he triumphantly overcome death. Then we preach Christ the resurrection.