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317.
How pleasant is?
The soul of praise that will become a state of God should be ridiculous.
Uh.
It is not ever pursued by the way.
Lakers in the Hall of his Love.
And we praise the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, the one who died for us because he loved us so much.
We're so glad this morning too, that he's alive. See your right hand and that someday very soon, at any minute, see you face to face. And we look forward to that moment. And in the meantime, pray that each one of us Father would grow to love him more and he would mean more to us every day. And we pray that the meeting this morning would help each one of us with that. We pray that each person that speaks would follow the leading of the Holy Spirit, open our ears, open our hearts, make us willing to listen that pray. We also pray for the children's meetings too. And we ask for a blessing in the name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, Amen.
For those who were not here yesterday, we had started on 1St Corinthians chapter 15.
I would hope everyone was happy to go ahead with it.
I would suggest that.
Uh, probably we could start with Verse.
00:05:01
22.
Would that be about right?
We were mentioning yesterday that we wanted to, uh.
Try and keep on going a bit in the chapter because it's a long one. So I think we I think we got about that far.
1St Corinthians 15 uh, starting at verse 22.
For resin Adam all die, Even so in Christ shall all be made alive, but every man in his own order. Christ the first fruits afterward say that our Christ that is coming.
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
For he must drain until he has put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death.
For yes, but all things under his feet.
But when he says all things are put under him, it is manifest that it is expected, accepted, which should put all things under him.
And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be All in all.
Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?
Why are they then baptized for the dead and why stand be in jeopardy every hour?
I protest by rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord. I die daily. If after the manner of men I fought with beast at Ephesus, what advantages of it me? If the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Be not deceived. Evil communications corrupt good manners.
Awake to righteousness and sin not for some have not the knowledge of God.
I seek this to your shame, but some men will say, how are the dead raised up, and with what body do they come?
So full that which thou sowest is not quickened except to die. And thou which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but fair grain. It may chance of wheat, or some of other grain, but God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him. And to every seed his own body, all flash, is not the same flesh. But there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial.
But the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another. There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars, for one star differeth from another star in glory.
So also is the resurrection of the dead. His Son in corruption is raised in incorruption, His sown in dishonor. It is raised in glory is sown in weakness. It is raised in power, a sown in natural body. It is raised in spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body.
And so it is written, the 1St man Adam was made a living soul. The last man Adam, the last Adam was made of quickening spirit.
Albeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The 1St man is of the earth earthy. The 2nd man is the Lord from heaven, as is the earthy. Such are they also that are earthy, and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly.
Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, neither does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. At the last trump the trump shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
So on this corrupt tool, so I'll have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality. Then she'll be brought to pass the same that is written. Death is swallowed up in victory. Oh, death, where is thy sting? Oh grave, where is thy victory? A thing of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, for as much as he know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
00:10:01
I would suggest that there is something very precious and very important in the order in which everything is given to us from this point on.
As we mentioned yesterday, one of the themes of this chapter is the giving up of present advantage in order to have future gain.
But then it goes further here, and it's very typical of Paul's ministry that he starts with God's purposes and counsels and the glory of Christ that is before God the Father. And so beginning with this verse that we started with, well, it actually started earlier, but beginning with this verse, we have God bringing before us all of his purposes in Christ.
Carrying them right on to the end, right onto the full fruition of everything that God has for His beloved Son. And then after that, beginning with verse 29, He brings in you and me and how all of that has an effect or ought to have its effect on us. Very, very important.
Sad to say.
In many Christian circles today, and we have the tendency to.
There is very often the thought of putting ourselves at the center of everything in Christianity and looking at everything as how it affects us. What do I get out of it? How does it affect me?
And if I can say it bluntly, because I'm guilty of it too, we often tend to look around at things.
In Christendom, of which we are a part, and say what's in it for me and if what's in it for me doesn't add up properly.
Then I don't wanna be there. I don't want any part of it.
Yes, there is plenty in it for us, but let's remember that God does not start with you and me. He starts with His beloved Son. He says I am going to honor and glorify my beloved son. Here are my purposes. Here's where things are going with Him.
And then here's where you've come in, because I want you to be part of it. And so the order here is important and it's a practical order. I would suggest that is.
Part and parcel of everything that Paul brings before us, not only in Corinthians but in all his ministry, have Christ before us, and all that God's purposes in Christ.
Are mean to God and to Christ.
And then we come into the picture afterward. In that way, Christ is far more glorified, and you and I are far more blessed.
It's always been part of me. It's, it's so important and I, I, I trust I've learned this in my younger life life too. And that is that we want to understand anything as to God first. We have to start from heaven and work down from there. And we are at the bottom, shall we say, but it's always Christ 1St. And if we see what God's purposes were in the beginning, that we understand.
We can, we'll, we'll get the picture from there on and we'll understand it better and more clearly. And we want these quite, uh, as important as we thought we were, you know, and, uh, umm, but if we give God his portion first, then, then we will be blessed. And, uh, we're going to spend all eternity doing that. We might as well start here. Oh, and taking up this subject, Paul not only addresses the present need there with the Corinthians, but he.
These purposes of God come out of these verses here.
And it gives the whole story how sin, where sin came in, in the very beginning, and then he carries it all the way into the future when God is gonna be. All in all, one of the things that perplexes people in the world today is why is God allowing all the confusion and disorder there is? Well, it can be an honest question, but the answer is here, God.
00:15:05
Purposefully allowed sin to come in because he had it in his design that Jesus Christ would become a man and fulfill those purposes. And one of the main things about it is death and resurrection.
This is the we and as Christians are the only religion really in the world that believe in resurrection. It's a cornerstone of the Christian faith. And so here you have the whole story when we understand why God allowed this to come in and how he by the Lord Jesus, conquers death and brings life and incorruptibility to light to the gospel.
The Lord Jesus then does that and uh, it's, uh, I wanna say a word about Christ, the first fruits.
There were people that were raised from the dead before the Lord Jesus, Lazarus, and in the Old Testament too. But that resurrection was not the same resurrection that the Lord Jesus accomplished. He rose in a new life.
Those who were raised from the dead in the Old Testament were raised to the old Adam life possibly died again. You get both in this chapter.
And it's beautiful to see that order there is going to be.
There were and there is such a thing as people raised again to an earthly body. That's what they look forward to in the Old Testament, no doubt, to be raised again and enjoy the Kingdom that Christ would set up on earth. But now you have a whole new sphere opened up. That's why it says Christ the first fruits when we accept the Lord Jesus as our Savior.
We receive of that life and uh, we're, we don't get a new life when the Lord comes afterward, they that are Christ that is coming. That's what we're looking for right now.
Yesterday we someone ran in Leviticus about the feast of the first fruit. We find God has that in view through our scripture. If you go through that chapter, which we won't have time to, that feast was after the Passover. It has over within the 14th day of that month. The first route on the 17th day, that's the day. That's the same day as the resurrection day we find through scripture.
God has resurrection in view. We find that the 17th day is reminded, we, uh, reported repeatedly. We find in the case of the flood, where the flood was a picture of death and then immediately resurrection. So you can go back to Genesis. You'll find that they aren't rested on the mount on the 17th day of the month. Picture of resurrection, death, resurrection goes together.
Now the first group is interesting too that we sometimes think of the fruits as wheat, but I believe that these are the first fruits they raise was bomb. And the reason I say that is we doesn't come into harvest until later on in the year. So we find that in the fees of the Tabernacle. Marley oh, I should say the Passover is around this time of the year, early spring. The first fruit is far away. Now there's importance to that because.
The Barley.
That despise food, the food well, the poor are for animal food. So the Lord Jesus was there's a picture of the Lord Jesus as that despised and conjectured. 1 barley was it was often sold in the fall, a lame, dormant or dead as if it were through the winter. And then the first room that came out was far the precise one. You'll find that throughout you'll find when Ruth and Naomi returned back to the land, they said it was the beginning.
A barley harvest, this is electricity. And then you'll find the first fruits, the next piece after the first fruit in the church, that's a piece of pet. The church, the bride is being prepared because of the of the first food she found the picture of Isaac being offered up. Yes, we don't find a picture of Isaac returning with Abraham. Picture of that direction, isn't it?
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And then at the end of that 22nd chapter of Genesis, we find a ride between the air. So we find in there is an index UL. We get a revector and would you find it consistently? We can find when they cross the Red Sea, it was on the 17th day of the month, resurrection day. We found where they crossed Jordan. It was on the 17th A. So throughout Scripture God put forward not only to the death, but to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And then that's just the beginning, as if it were, as we go further into this chapter, the next few verses are just to the end, then come up to the end. But the end really is the beginning, isn't it? I think it's helpful to see too, that these verses that we're considering at this point are really somewhat parenthetical in the chapter. In fact, from verse 20 to the end of verse 28, it's a little bit of a parenthesis because we're going to notice when we get further down.
That in verse 29 and 30, He really goes back to what was stated or asked in verse 17 and 18. But in these verses has been said, He's showing us the far reaching effects of resurrection. You believe in the resurrection, Here's the effects of it and he really is has already been said. He takes us from the beginning of man's history of sin right through to the work of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's cross.
Right through the Kingdom period and right on into the eternal state. This is the far reaching effect of resurrection. But I would like to make just a practical comment in connection with these verses because they are really, at least to my own soul, a great comfort brethren, because what they show to me in general is that God and His man Christ are in full control. Nothing frustrates the purposes of God when the enemy came to Eve in the Garden of Eden.
And Eve was tempted, and Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit. Satan, I'm sure, thought the purposes of God were frustrated, but they were anything but frustrated. As Brother Doug has said, God allowed sin to come into the world, to reveal His heart and to reveal His purposes in connection again, not so much with us, although we're brought in, but in connection with the full exaltation of His Son, the Lord Jesus.
And the reason I say that is, brother, and I know there are many here whose hearts are discouraged, are burdened, concerned about situations in the world, in your life. It looks like everything is out of control in this world today. And certainly the man of the world is wondering where it's going to end. His men's hearts are failing them for fear and looking for those things that are coming on the earth. Many Christians are discouraged, and they're discouraged often because they don't understand.
The purposes of God, they're looking for better and brighter days down here. But if we really understand God's timetable and God's purposes, we're not going to get discouraged. We're not going to give up. But brethren, let's bring it right down to day-to-day life. Do things seem out of hand in your life? Remember, they're never out of the Lord's hand. He's going to bring it all to fruition according to what he sees, not us, but what he sees is for our blessing and again for the.
Exaltation of his son in our lives and in the situations that we go through.
And then, brethren, to realize there's a day when everything is going to be brought to full fruition through His beloved Son, and are we going to have a part of it? Yes, It tells us in Thessalonians He's coming to be glorified in His Saints and to be had to be admired and all of them that are about Him in that day. But even when we're involved, what is it for the full glory and the outshining of God's beloved Son? So I just say that we have in this little parenthesis here.
The full and far reaching effects of resurrection, it ought to rejoice our hearts and to make us realize that whether it's our lives personally, this world in general, God is going to bring it all to fruition and blessings regarding his Son.
And so there is a man in the glory today with a glorified body. He's the first one that's there. The first one.
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And at the moment the only one. But when the Lord comes, everyone that has died in Christ, right from Adam on down, we'll get a glorified body, the character of the old creation as an Adam all die. But then it says in Christ shall all be made alive. I believe that believers that are in view there, some have taken it to go beyond that, but I believe here.
It's the positive side of things. It's believers that are in view. And in that, the wondrous power of resurrection is going to raise every true believer. Just imagine.
Brother Jim has been there, some of the other rest of us have been there in Egypt and you see places where people were laid to rest thousands of years ago. You go into a museum and see mummies there that are thousands of years old. Did any of them have faith? I don't know.
But if they did, they will be raised in the coming day. Everybody that has died of someone who was in Christ, that had faith. Now it says in Christ, that's a special, shall we say, privilege for believers of this dispensation to know that we are in Christ. But I believe here it refers to all who have had faith they are going to be raised in that day.
What a what a tremendous thought. And I say it's Christ here and what is characteristic of new creation, but it's true for you and for me too. And we need to rejoice in that. The other day I heard of someone whom I know is a true believer. And when her family approached her and said.
Mother, you know you're getting older and you need to tell us what you would like us to do if something suddenly happens to you and.
You're on life support. Uh, what, what do you want us to do? Uh, how do you want us to handle it? And she just couldn't face it. She ran out of the room in tears and just wouldn't face up for that.
Well, the believer, I say it kindly, doesn't have to look upon death that way. We don't have to look on the future that way. As if, Oh no, is that really going to happen to me? Am I going to have a brain aneurysm or a heart attack or some other miserable disease and suddenly be incapacitated and have to have people making decisions about whether to pull the plug on my life support? No, as Jim says, we can just quietly rest that it's all going to end in glory.
For the glorified Christ. And what's the assurance of that? He's there already. He's there now. We only see him by faith, but he's there now.
So those that have died now in Christ are not in glory yet.
Am I right? They're with Christ, but they're not ignoring. I remember a sister, uh, uh, whose husband passed away and, uh, brother came to see her and said that and she said, well, he's in glory now and he says not yet. Well, she was very disappointed. She thought for sure he was in glory, but that's, that's coming. Umm, we're with Christ, but that's not really in Gore yet.
But we will be when he comes and takes us home to him, to himself. So when it says we'll see him face to face, will that be when we're in glory? Or is that when when we're we die to go be to be with the Lord, which is far better. And we will have our bodies as well right now.
Those that have gone to be with Christ will see them face to face. I believe in spirit, the Lord said to a thief from the cross.
Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.
That's not the Father's house, but still he was going to be with the Lord in paradise, so I think we'll see him.
Those that have already passed honor with the Lord, but it's not yet in the Father's house, that'll take place at the rapture. I would only say this, brethren, when we consider these things, I don't take away from what has been said, but.
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We need to be careful about trying to be too technical. When the Apostle Paul was caught up to the 3rd heaven, what was his remark?
Whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. Yes, we will not get a glorified body until the Lord comes. But I hope when we make these remarks, we don't minimize in any way the joy of being in paradise or what that state will be. Because as I say, Paul, whether he was in the body or out of the body, he he said, I can't tell. He wasn't even conscious of that.
And so the joy of being with him is far better and.
We can be very thankful for the fact that in the coming day we'll have the fullness of blessing when we get our glorified bodies. So it's good to stick to the language of Scripture when we speak about these things because it's really a realm and sphere of things that we are not able to really comprehend. Mercifully, God has put us in the realm of time and distance and physically physical limitations so that we can operate on planet earth.
When Paul said he didn't know whether he was in the body or out of the body, when it was a temporary state of things, wasn't it? He was caught up there and then he came back to earth for the furtherance of the gospel and the blessing of the Saints. When we're caught up there at the rapture, we're going to be ever with the Lord, and we're not going to be able to. We're not going to wonder whether we're in the body or out of the body, because we're going to have bodies of glory like unto His body of glory, a body that is perfectly suited to that, to that spirit of things.
And so when we talk about our loved ones who've gone before, I believe it is simply good to talk about them as absent from the body and present with the Lord. How much more do we know? Well, we know as we have in another place in Corinthians, that they're not closed yet. They're in their unclothed state. They don't have they're glorified bodies. But to try to go beyond that and reason it out, I believe we get into into a tangle and on many of these things like the person and work of Christ.
We stick to the language of Scripture and then we don't have a problem. But I'd just like to go to Hebrews for a minute because in connection with what Bill has said and others have just said, just to give a couple of Scriptures that confirm what we've said. First of all, in Hebrews chapter 12.
Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 22.
But ye are come unto Mount Zion under the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. Now, I want you to notice these different companies that are mentioned to an innumerable company of angels. When we get to heaven, there's going to be that innumerable company of angels. We're going to be aware of them, but they're not going to enjoy the same position that we are.
But then there's the General Assembly. So there's this vast multitude of the redeemed, I believe more than we can ever imagine or anticipate. Billions and billions, if I can put it that way. But perhaps that's even limited so to the General Assembly. And then he breaks it down. The Church of the first born. That's you and me who've been saved in the dispensation of the grace of God, who through by his grace, there's been a work of the Spirit and it's been repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.
We're gonna be part of that inner circle, so to speak. We're going to enjoy that closest place of relationship to the Lord. The angels are going to step back and we're going to, as it were, like at a wedding. We're going to walk down that aisle right into the presence of our bridegroom and be married to the Lord. But then there's more, he says, which are written in heaven to the and to God, the judge of all the of all. Now notice this.
And to the spirit of just man made perfect. Now who are they? Go back to the last verse of the 11Th chapter.
In the 11Th chapter, of course, he's given this list of men and women who in the Old Testament live by faith and they die. And what about them? God having provided the last verse, God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect. So they don't. They're not there yet either. They're not in the Father's house yet either. They don't have glorified bodies yet either. They haven't been made perfect.
Just like our loved ones who have died in faith.
But just to confirm what is has been said from scripture, when the Lord Jesus comes, all those who have died in faith from Abel down, they are going to they are the spirits of just men made perfect. They're going to receive glorified bodies. And while they will not be part of the church, there are different companies in heaven. The Old Testament Saints referred to by John the Baptist as the friends of the bridegroom children who died before the age of responsibility.
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There's going to be the tribulation martyrs who will have their part in the first resurrection, but they will all have glorified bodies and they will all be all be there. So I think it's just good to get these things right from the word, the word of God. And you say, well, how do you know that those when it says in Christ in our chapter that it's all those who've died in faith from righteous Abel down? Well, I believe these verses in Hebrews confirm that. Would that be right, brother Bill Yes, definitely.
So I would like to just check my understanding here. Umm, I, I would have thought that based on what you were just saying, Jim, that that whole group of people that you read about, that all the different groups that you mentioned that are gonna be in heaven are Christ.
And that those who are in Christ are those who are brought into blessing with Christ today, new creatures in Christ. Is that correct or did I misunderstand it?
That is true, but as we saw from the end of the 11Th chapter, those who are going to be in heaven who have their part in the first resurrection are all those who have not only died in faith up until the rapture, but there will be this little addendum in the tribulation because the tribulation martyrs are taken directly to heaven. And I believe a key to understanding who is involved in the first resurrection is.
That everyone who has a part in the first resurrection has a heavenly portion. They are all on the heavenly side of things. And so that's why the tribulation mires, even though they're brought in after the rapture, as if like the little extension or addendum to the first resurrection. So you're right, those who are in Christ today are those who are saved by the grace of God in this dispensation, but all who have died from Abel down.
Are going to be part of the first resurrection.
And that's a, that's a good point that there are multiple parts to the first resurrection if you look at the overall timeline.
Thank you for going through it so all.
All of those people who are in heaven are Christ.
Thank you. Yeah, I believe that. So wouldn't it be helpful to look at this chapter and say we really have not in Christ the way it is presented in Ephesians, but it's it's talking about two men, the federal headship here, there's in Adam and in Christ. And that's what I think really is the point here. Not those who are in this present period of time has seen a seat in Christ, but all those that are his.
And that's the point that's made at the end of verse 23. Afterwards they that are Christ that is coming, that won't leave out any who have had faith in Him, will it?
Well then, if we go on to verse 24, as has already been mentioned, then come at the end, the end of what? The end of what God is doing as far as this world is concerned.
In honor and glorifying his beloved Son, where he was rejected and crucified. And so it says in verse 25, He must reign. Why must He reign?
Maybe I quoted this before, it's not original with me, but I never heard it expressed better.
The Millennium is necessary.
Is necessary for the public vindication of God's holy character.
But as our late brother, I say our late brother, it's been gone for well over 50 years. But as our brother Harry Hayhoe used to say, while the Millennium will be a wonderful time, it is really only the front porch to the eternal state. And so the Millennium is for the public vindication of God's holy character. His beloved Son came into this world.
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In love and grace.
He was cast out, crucified man said. We will not have this Mandarin over us.
God says as man.
That beloved son is going to reign for 1000 years over this world and be publicly displayed for who he is and what he has done.
But then, going on further, the brother said yes, the Millennium is for the public vindication of God's holy character.
But the eternal state is for the everlasting satisfaction of God's heart. Will there be perfection in the Millennium? Not quite.
Then we'll still raise its head. There will be those sad to say that we'll be cut off because of open rebellion and sin. At the end of the Millennium, there will be two more awful judgments. One judgment of those who on earth rebel against the leadership, the kingship, the headship of God's beloved Son. And then they'll be following that, the White throne, the great White throne, judgment of the dead.
Those judgments take place.
But then as it says here, and I know we're, I'm just kind of summarizing this a bit at.
The end of all that, the last enemy, verse 26 that shall be destroyed is death. After the Great White Throne. I believe it's fair to say there will be no more death. And we get that brought out. We won't turn to it, but it's in the 1St 8 verses of Revelation 20 or Revelation 21 I should say, and it shows the character of that eternal state that will be ushered in.
But as we already had, it's the result of the death and resurrection of Christ. And so God will glorify his beloved Son. But who's going to be associated with him in all that glory when he takes his rightful place, you and I?
Is that worth looking forward to? Is that worth making decisions in this world relative to that date? It is, isn't it?
For those of us was that date.
For those of us have simple Li simple minds like myself, I I appreciate these verses. How you know the prophetic clock? It stops and then it starts again and then we have all these things that transpire and then we have in the 24th group. Umm, then come at the end when he shall deliver it up the Kingdom to God, even the Father. I'm in an interesting umm, season of my life right now. A lot of you have entered into that season. Umm, I just entered into it. Umm.
Umm, the nest is empty. Umm, my children are gone. My wife and I are wrapping around this big house. And the truth of the matter is I'm enjoying my wife now in a way that I don't think I ever have before. And it's wonderful. And I think what's going to transpire here is the income. And no, we have all this activity during the Millennium and the time comes when the Lord Jesus, he just hands everything to the Father.
And then he enjoys his bride and his wife for all eternity. I just love that. Beautiful. And could I add 1 little remark to that, Dave? I believe we see that and we won't turn to it, but look it up. It's worth looking at when we get the full results of that in Revelation 21. God, in the way that He puts it, puts the eternal state first, not in chronological order.
And then?
Starting with verse 9 brings the character of the heavenly Jerusalem out, which is a picture of the church in millennial glory. But when it's the millennial glory of the church, the bride is presented as a city because administration is in view. And I think that's what you're alluding to, Dave.
There's administration when you're bringing up children and all that kind of thing.
But when the eternal state is brought out, the city is presented as a bride. And uh, we used to have some over member whom I'm talking about, an old Scott's brother in the Toronto assembly years ago. And he spoke all his life with a broad Scotch accent, which I won't try and imitate. But he would say, did you ever see a bride of 1000 years without a wrinkle? And he was referring to just what Dave's been bringing out that when everything has been settled.
00:45:24
Then Christ is free to enjoy his bride.
I suppose the other reason he turns over the Kingdom to the Father is because there's nothing more to be ruled over and brought into check and put down. He's going to, he's going to take the Kingdom and he's going to rule it in perfection. The last enemy that's destroyed is death. There is a sense in which in other scriptures it says we shall reign forever and ever, but a thought of the Kingdom is that there's something that needs to be kept in check, something that needs to be ruled over.
There needs to be a suppression perhaps and A and an order, but when it's all brought to fruition, there will, there isn't the same thought of a Kingdom in that way. And so I've enjoyed what has already been said. Two reasons why the Lord Jesus turns over the Kingdom to the Father. One is so that he can devote eternity to his bride, and the other is there's nothing else to be ruled over or suppressed or put down. What a tremendous thing it's going to be, brethren. And it's been said that ought to encourage our hearts now.
One of the problems that Corinth was they were raining and trying to and the apostle Paul said to them, I would that you were reigning as kings because if you really were, we'd be reigning with you. This would be the reigning time now. But brethren, this is not the reigning time now. Now we see not yet all things put under him. I remember you, pardon me for telling this, but I remember one time having some inter interaction with a brother who believed we were in the Millennium now that this was the time of the Kingdom and.
We were a moral force to change the world and reign and so on. And the last time I talked to him on the phone, I said to him, I said, if you really believe that this is the reigning time now and I look out at the condition of things in this world, I said that is a slap in the face to the Lord Jesus. Can we say that he's outwardly reigning now when we see the condition of things in this world? No, brethren, when he takes the Kingdom.
Again, it's not going to be a perfect order of things, but he is going to reign for 1000 years till he brings it into absolute perfection and that will then introduce what we refer to as the eternal state where God will be. All in all, one of the things that I like to talk about, and I'm sure lots of other people do, is politics. And I don't believe there's anything inherently wrong with talking with the current state of affairs, but I think it's always really important to keep it in perspective.
And if we just supply verse 24, what does it say in the second-half says when he puts an end to all rule and all authority and power? So when we put this into perspective and you look out at the nations of Canada and the United States, our rulers are in for four years, 8 if they're lucky in Canada, it can be even longer. But you look at some other countries, countries like Turkey and Russia, where the leaders have, uh, currently, uh, amended the rules and they can be in for much longer periods of time. And we can get talking about these things and we can get very passionate about them, but it's.
Important to keep it in perspective that God.
Controls all of these kingdoms, and there will be a time when he puts an end to all these things. So when we get talking about these things, and if we do, I think it's just really important to keep the perspective on it, to know who's in control and to know who holds all things.
I have I have a question in respect to.
First, uh 28 Does the Lord retain humanity in the eternal state?
Yes, I believe He does. I believe our blessed Lord is going to be a man for all eternity. He will be there as man for all eternity in order that he may enjoy your company and mine. We know, of course, He's God too, but we see, I think in this 28 verse now that the Lord as men.
It wouldn't be, shall I say, appropriate for him to take the highest place, but he takes, should I say, a slightly inferior place because he retains his manhood and wants to enjoy his manhood with you and me who are there in our, umm, glorified bodies. I think that just mentioned that in connection with what David has brought. Yes, the only, the only thing I would say to that, Brother Dave, and I know you would agree with it, that.
00:50:25
When we read verse 28 and it says the.
Then shall the Son himself be subject unto him that put all things under him, that God may be All in all. What God is referred to There is a God the Father. No, it's God in Trinity. Yes, I I quite agree, and I know you agree with that. And if we turn back just for a moment to first Timothy chapter or turn forward, I should say, to first Timothy chapter 6.
It's brought out so clearly there.
And this, I, I think, is very important for us to realize.
First Timothy 6 and verse.
14.
That they'll keep this commandment without spot unrebucable until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And it should read which in its times it shall show, that is, the appearing shall show who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
Who only have immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach. Unto whom no man hath seen nor can see. To whom the honor and power everlasting. Amen.
Can we understand that here is one who never leaves his place in the Godhead, because this is talking about the Lord Jesus.
And yet he remains a man for all eternity. Why? In order that he may enjoy the company of you and me. But then does that detract from the fact that God in Trinity is All in all? No, it doesn't. Can I wrap my mind around that?
No, I can't. But it's blessedly true, isn't it?
One of the things, there's two verses that troubled me a lot when I was younger. Uh, one of them is in Daniel Chapter 7 and speaks about the Lord Jesus coming and taking the, uh, Kingdom and reigning forever and ever there. The others in Revelation 11 Says the same thing. He'll reign forever and ever. And then I used to come here and read this first and say, well, how does this work? He delivers up the Kingdom and it's only 1000 years. And so how is 1000 years forever and ever until I saw that point that you just made.
As man he reigns for 1000 years, but then as God it does indeed go on forever and ever, doesn't it?
Somebody I was going to mention from, like Tim said, it's been a difficult passage for me as well. And I think from this point of view that as a, as a human, as a person, I like to assign rank. So in the political world that Ben was talking about, we have a president and the rank goes down from there. And England, it starts with the Queen and it goes down to the House of Lords.
And everybody has their importance, but I think it, we very often in the word of God, we see, umm, something else and we confuse it too. And that is the role that is there and isn't necessarily a ranked question. So for example, when we go to, uh, First Corinthians 11, also in this book that we're looking at, there's a husband and a wife, not a question of a rank, it's a question of a role.
Not saying one is better or more important than the other. God has given each a job to do. And I believe the same thing applies within the Godhead. It's not that one is greater than the other. They each have, uh, roles. And I realize it's a very difficult subject and I agree entirely with, uh, what has been said and presented. I just put that forward as a, a trap. I think as a person that I was falling into that it trying to make one bigger or more important than the other.
When Ben was speaking that comment on verse 24, I took a quick look at the, uh, latter part of verse 24 and Mr. Darby and says when he shall have annulled all rule and authority and power. Uh, when you annul something, there's often no evidence the thing ever existed.
00:55:13
We don't have it here in this chapter, but it's alluded to and it might be helpful to just make a comment as to what happens at the end of the Kingdom, the Millennium that introduces the eternal state. Again, we won't turn to it because it's a very familiar portion in Second Peter, but there we have again that what is referred to as the day of God. And that's a little key to understanding when it's the eternal state, it's the day of God. Why? On the basis of what we have here, that God may be All in all, when it's the Millennium, the Kingdom, it's the Lamb, the King, and so on.
But there in Second Peter, he takes it up and he tells us that at the end of the Kingdom, at the end of the Millennium, at the end of time, the elements are going to melt with fervent heat. In other words, everything that has been tainted with sin is going to be in creation, is going to be dissolved and done away with. Because, his brother Bill said earlier, the Millennium will show beyond the shadow of a doubt to man that all creation is tainted with sin.
It will show that man is a Sinner in himself because he will sin even though the devil won't be free to tempt him. Satan will be bound for 1000 years and the people won't say, be able to say when they openly sin, the devil made me do it. They'll sin because they are a Sinner, because they have a sinful fallen nature. But the Millennium will also show that even under the best of environment, that the earth and creation itself is tainted within. And so all that is tainted with sin is going to be dissolved and done away with at the end of time. And there's going to be a new sphere that Peter speaks about.
A new heaven and a new earth, wherein not reigns righteousness like the Millennium, but wherein dwelleth righteousness. And brethren, isn't it a tremendous thought to think that there's a sphere going to be not just in heaven, but on in the new earth, where sin will never penetrate again? Sin penetrated the first earth, and Satan came in and adamated the forbidden fruit, and death passed upon all men. For that all have sinned. But there is a sphere, an earthly sphere of things in the future day.
A fixed state of things where sin will never penetrate again.
So again, the Millennium will not be a perfect state. The serpent will still eat dust. Open sin will be judged morning by morning. But at the end of it all, everything that has been tainted with sin when Satan was cast out of heaven, the Prince of the power of the air, that the heavens are not the 3rd heaven, the eternal dwelling place of God, but the created heavens are tainted with sin. Man sent his junk up into the into the starry heavens. Everything that Satan and man has touched is tainted. God is going to do it away.
Do away with it and he's going to introduce a new sphere of things wherein dwelleth righteousness. But remember this, and it's very important that in the eternal state, heaven and earth do not meld together. There'll still be a distinct heavenly company, and there will still be a distinct earthly company. They don't meld together. They're brought closer together, and time and distance aren't measured in the same way. There's still a heavenly company and an earthly company, and the bride still remains distinct has been said for all eternity.
Perhaps we can just look at that reference and, uh, Isaiah chapter 65. And it's been referred to earlier that there will still be sin during the Millennium and that will be judged. And we see this from, uh, verse 19 of that chapter. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem and joy and my people. And the voice of weeping shall no more be heard in her, nor the voice of crime.
There shall be no more dense an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not fulfilled his days, where the child shall die 100 years old, but the Sinner being 100 years old, shall be accursed. While this doesn't sound like typical language for the Millennium, does it? But it brings forth the truth that has been expressed this morning.
And I was just thinking of that.
Expression that we booked at He must rank. Today we have, and throughout history we have people who have assumed the throne.
01:00:02
On uh.
We're just trying to figure out how to put it. But not on their own. They're usurpers. They don't belong there. They put themselves there. And we think of that one emperor who, uh, even at the time of his coordination, uh.
Seized the throne and would not have another. Put it on his head, but he put it on himself. This is the act of the usurper. And that's man, isn't it?
And I suppose we we have no, uh, greater contrast than the one that is brought before us in Daniel Chapter 11.
And uh, verse 36 And the king shall do according to his will, and he shall exalt himself and magnify himself above every God, and shall speak marvelous things and against the God of God. Well, that's a usurper, isn't it?
But the war Jesus reigns in his own right, doesn't he?
I think it's a wonderful thing to get a hold of. We were talking earlier about, about the tendency for the hardest to see what I get out of it and we direct everything to me and, uh, how would we, umm, if we do that with the thoughts that have been before us, what do we get out of that? But when we turn around and we think of, of what, uh, we get in Genesis where God's rest was disturbed.
And now?
So security in what you and I are, it's, it's a, a time when God is bearing with this world and, uh, he's bringing out of it a people for his name. And it's also the glory of the Lord Jesus. But when we get to the end of the eternal state, it says that God may be All in all, as we mentioned, that's the Trinity. And so God's rest was disturbed. Now it's now he's going to come into his eternal rest. When you and I think about that.
And we think of God's portion of it if we should rejoice in that.
But if we leave God out of it and God thoughts out of it, it's not near the same. I mean, then it's all addressed to how is it going to affect me? And I lose something in that. But you know, when we, when we bring God into it, that it's God's thought, it's God's purpose and God is going to have his eternal rest. We rejoice in that. And uh, we get far more out of it when we, when we give God his place and these things.
Then if we try to think that, well, how does it affect me?
At least that's how I how I feel about it.
Well, I believe that's, uh, that's very true, Brother Ken. And that's one of the important points that we need to get hold of, as we said earlier in the meeting, because the tendency of man is to focus everything on himself. The natural man does it. And sad to say, we can get that way as Christians too, where we look upon our Christianity as well. What's in it for me? And if I can say it bluntly.
Sometimes where we go to worship the Lord is a decision made on the basis of, well, what do I get out of it, or does it suit me, or are my needs being met, or whatever it might be? Well, yes.
If things are right, the needs of the believers should be met. But at the same time, the character of Christianity is to give, not to receive. Yes, we do receive.
But the character of Christianity is to give. It's God's character. And so when we come to Christianity, true Christianity, we find that even in preaching the gospel, and I know I've said this before, but it bears your feeding. Even in preaching the gospel. Paul didn't start out with man's need, no.
Well, he brought that in, but if you read the book of Romans, it's abundantly clear that God starts out.
With His beloved Son, His purposes in his beloved Son, the glory of His beloved Son, and then our need and how that need is met. And if we approach things that way, I believe we will find, as we said earlier, God is far more glorified and we are far more blessed. If we approach things from our point of view, then not only does God lose His glory, but we end up being short changed.
01:05:11
Everything depends on God's purposes in Christ and the glory of Christ. And as I say, it's a theme that runs throughout all of Paul's ministry, and we can't do better than to get a solid hold on that. They're just in that regard. That's another reason why he must reign. Yes, I've enjoyed that because there are a number of reasons why he must reign. One, they'll never be order and peace in this world till he does.
But He must reign so that the heart of God can be finally fully satisfied. You know, God's heart is never going to be satisfied until His Son is vindicated, not just in heaven. He has his rightful place in heaven. He's crowned with a crown of glory and honor in heaven. Hebrews 2 tells us that. But God is looking forward to the day when His Son is completely vindicated and glorified here on planet earth. And Revelation 19 comes tells us He's going to come forth wearing many diadems.
Mr. Darby's translation, a diadem, is something that is worn by right and title as by royal birth. And the Lord Jesus is coming whose right it is to reign, and God is looking forward to that day. But it's very interesting. You can look it up in Hebrews 10. The Lord Jesus seated at the right hand of God this morning is looking forward to that too. You know, Scripture rarely tells us what the Lord Jesus is thinking about now at the right hand of God. But there is one thing for sure.
Henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. The Lord Jesus is sitting at the right hand of God this morning thinking about that time when he's going to come forth and have his rightful place in the world that spit in his face and said we will not have this man, crucify him, crucify him. They cast him out, He's coming. Whose right it is to reign, Brethren, does that throw your heart and mind? Does that make us want to live for Christ now?
As we think of his full exaltation and as we think of what God's part is going to be in that day.
When God finally has the full vindication of His Son, yes, we're going to have a part in it too. But it just thrills my heart to think that God's heart will be fully and eternally satisfied as His Son is given His rightful place universally.
Could we sing #40 in the appendix #40?
Hail to the Lord's heart.
Right.
Went with a boy that the golden years shall run.
He comes to break on Christmas to himself. That kind of breathing.
And.
You are reckoning.
All.
Ah, I think there's a mold and cry.
I have to go and fall like a Chihuahua.
Raining out when you can't come.
Sleeping for him on the world.
Umm, could we also sing part of #170?
170 the last.
3 verses beginning with verse four. Israel's race shall now behold him full of grace and majesty, and then.
Finally, in verse six, Yeah, all men, let all adore thee, high on thine exalted throne. 170 beginning at verse 4.
Could we stand?
Yay.
Right about our Father. Thank you for the blessed truth he's been enjoying meditating on this morning.
Through fact of the exultation of the Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior, and two, the knowledge of our.
Sharing is reigned with him, being joint heirs with him. His glory, which uh, will be manifested, will be revealed in a soon coming day when, uh, he is over all has put down all rule and authority and the last enemy to be destroyed to be death. So we thanks for all these.
01:15:16
Blessed things that we have, uh.
Enjoyed and made a.
You to cheer our hearts as we wait for the coming of the Lord Jesus for us. Thanks again for this time the name of the Lord Jesus our Savior. Amen, Amen, Amen.