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Our life is here, our.
Stand, I pray. I understand. My heart stays for our walls. I come on the table.
All the rest of the day.
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In Corinthians chapter 12.
It is not obedient for me, doubtless to glory, I will come to visions and revelations of the Lord.
I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago. Whether in the body I cannot tell, or whether out of the body I cannot tell. God knows such in one caught up to the 3rd heaven. And I knew such a man, whether in the body or out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth how that he was caught up into paradise and heard unspeakable words which it is not lawful for a man to utter.
Of such a one will I glory, yet of myself I will not glory, but in mine infirmities.
For though I would desire to glory, I shall not be a fool, for I will say the truth, but now I for bear, lest any man should think of me above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth of me.
And lest I should be exalted above measure through the abundance of the revelations, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh, the messenger of Satan to buffet me, lest I should be exalted above measure.
For this thing I besought the Lord thrice that I might depart from me. And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness.
Most gladly, therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, and reproaches, and necessities, and persecutions and distresses for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then am I strong.
I am become a fool in glory. Ye have compelled me, for I ought to have been commended of you for nothing am I behind the very chiefest apostles, though I be nothing.
Truly, the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs and wonders and mighty deeds.
For what is it wherein you were inferior to other churches, except it be that I myself was not burdensome to you?
Forgive me this wrong. Behold the third time I am ready to come to you.
And I will not be burdensome to you.
For I seek not yours but you. For the children ought not to lay up for the parents, but the parents for the children. And I will very gladly spend and be spent for you, though the more abundantly I love you, the less I be loved. But be it so I did not burden you. Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile. Did I make a gain of you by any of them whom I sent unto you. I desired Titus, and with him I sent a brother.
Did Titus make a gain of you? Walk we not in the same spirit, walk we not in the same steps?
Again, thank you that we excuse ourselves unto you.
We speak before God in Christ, but we do all things dearly beloved, for your edifying.
For I fear lest when I come I shall not find you such as I would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not, lest there be debates, and beings, wrath, strife, backbiting, whispering, swelling, tumult. And last, when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication.
And lasciviousness which they have committed.
It's a little hard to enter into a chapter like this number roughly at the end of a An Epistle without perhaps a little introduction. I wonder if, Chuck, you could introduce introduce it with somewhat of that's on your heart in regard to it.
Well, in this chapter we have a.
A man in Christ caught up to the 3rd heaven.
That's our position.
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That's our place, our position, and it ends very solemnly, lest when I come again, my God will humble me among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and lasciviousness which they have committed.
So we have on the one side a man in Christ caught up to the 3rd heaven, hearing and seeing things that we could not grasp or understand, not allowed for him to utter. And then we have the other side how that one that might be in that place of blessing can fall so deeply into sin.
Good to see two of that. In between we have a man going through a severe trial.
Don't we? So there's those three points in that chapter which are very good.
Who is the man?
Going through severe trial.
He lists in the previous chapter.
His credentials for his ministry.
He was being opposed by.
One in particular, but more than one at Corinth seeking to discredit him.
And he says in verse 22 of Chapter 11, Are they Hebrews? So am I.
Are they Israelites? So am I.
Are they the seed of Abraham? So am I. In other words, they have no advantage.
Over me in these regards in these matters. And then he asks, are they ministers of Christ? Well, they were anything but that. So he adds. Parenthetically, I speak as a fool, or I speak foolishly. They were not truly ministers of Christ. Or he says in verse 13, such are false apostles, deceitful workers transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel for Satan has transformed himself into an Angel of light.
Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness, whose end shall be according to their works.
That was the true character of these men that were opposing Paul, and it it seems as though they were not the direct fruit of his laborers. It seems as though they came in later.
There are some verses that would indicate that.
But they were opposing him. And Paul brings before these Saints at Corinth, that you are my work in the Lord.
They questioned his apostleship and he says, Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus our Lord?
If I'm not an apostle to others, I certainly am to you for the seal of mine. Apostleship, are ye in the Lord.
They existed as Saints of God through the ministry of Paul. I don't know whether that would be true of these that were opposing him, but it was certainly true of the bulk of the Saints at Corinth. And they were being misled and misguided by these others that were promoting themselves, that were seeking to exalt themselves. And these were Jews, Hebrews, he says. So Israelites of the seed of Abraham.
And they were there to withstand him.
And he had withheld telling these Corinthians of the fact that over 14 years ago he had been caught up to the 3rd heaven and had seen visions and revelations of the Lord, and he hadn't told anyone. But now came the time their state was such. They were so under the influence of these false apostles and teachers and false prophets that he now tells them of this.
And they were operating on the level of the first man, the flesh. They were carnal. He tells them that in the first epistle.
Your carnal you walk as men.
Your following leaders.
I am a power. I am of a palace, I am a Cephas, I am of Christ. All these parties that existed.
Now they weren't actually saying I am of Paul and I am of Apollos, but he says in the 4th chapter of the first Epistle I have transferred in a figure these things to myself and to Apollos to illustrate the principle. If he had named the man in particular that was opposing him, they would have said, well, you're just jealous of him, Paul. So he puts his name in there and he says Apollos, I have planted Apollos water God gave the increase. Neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that water it, but God that giveth the increase, we are nothing.
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But these men felt they were something and they were promoting themselves. And they were.
Operating on the level of the flesh. One more verse, verse 12 of chapter 10 to bring this out.
Paul says we dare not. Well in verse 11 he says let such in one. That's the particular one there that was opposing him. Think this.
That such as we are in Word by letters when we are absent, such will we be also indeed when we're present. This man that was opposing him was saying, well, he speaks very boldly in his letters, but then when he comes and he's present with us, then he has his he's not very bold. And he says, I will be bold when I come. And then he says in verse 12 of that 10th chapter, we dare not make ourselves of the number or commend or.
Compare ourselves with some that commend themselves. That's what they were doing, but they measuring themselves by themselves and comparing themselves among themselves.
Are not wise or are not intelligent or do not understand. Literally, that's the margin. They don't understand the true character of Christianity. Christianity is not a competition among laborers as to who's going to be first. You remember when the disciples asked the Lord he was on the way to the cross and they asked the Lord who's first among us?
Who's the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven that betrays the state of soul of the one that asks the question?
I want to be great. I want to be something. I want to be recognized. And that's what these men were like. That wasn't. That wasn't Paul. It wasn't that way at all. But he didn't come short of any of them in any of their qualities. He had far more. And then he lists in that 11Th chapter.
All that he had gone through, all his credentials as to be an apostle in Labour's more abundant in stripes, above measure, in prisons more frequent in deaths off and so on.
What a list of sufferings could they claim that? Could they claim that they had suffered for the name of Christ and for the testimony of Christ? These men that were opposing Paul? Not a bit of it.
That was history. Those were his credentials. Well, those. That's a little bit of a of a summary of what's come before and what what he's dealing with and why he now finally discloses to them about his being caught up to the 3rd heaven. Would you say that this is bringing up another subject? Because in the 7th chapter of the same second epistle and he said to the assembly, you have cleared yourself.
Yourselves Now is this another matter that is?
He's dealing with because apparently from those last verses, there still seem to be an unjudged spirit in in Corinth.
You get that? I'm glad you asked that question in Revelation chapter 2.
You get that same thing with emphasis. And I'll let me read the verses, chapter 2, verse one, on to the Angel of the Church of Ephesus. Right these things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks. I know thy works and thy labor and thy patience.
And how thou canst not bear them which are evil? And thou hast tried them, which say they are apostles.
And are not, and has found them liars, and has borne, and has patience. And for my namesake has labored and has not fainted. You say that's the perfect assembly. That's a perfect assembly. But then he says nevertheless, I have against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Now only his eye could see that we couldn't have seen it. We would have judged Model assembly. And yet there was the seed of departure there.
And so at Corinth, yes, they had cleared themselves, and with respect to that.
Wicked man. That doesn't mean that they were completely cleared in everything. They were still under the influence of false leaders, and these at Ephesus, they had tried those that said they were apostles and were not, and found them liars. And the Corinthians hadn't come to that point. They they hadn't gotten delivered yet from these men that were really promoting themselves, seeking to discredit and undermine Paul and what we've gone through, you'll notice that the enemy works by slandering.
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The Saints and discrediting those that are seeking to stand for the truth.
That's his tactic. That's the way he's been working for 20 centuries.
But there's an important point to realize. Some have interpreted these last verses of chapter 12 That there were still cases of immorality amongst the Saints in Corinth. I do not believe that that is the correct understanding of these verses. Why would Paul pick on one particular case?
And not mention the other cases. Brother Clawson, years ago Irvine Claussen helped me personally to understand that verse and I believe this is the correct interpretation. This refers to something that has happened in their life before they were saved and they had not really judged it. That might also help us understand why they tolerated this evil that was dealt with in the first epistle.
You know, if we have lift that way before we are safe and we have really not condemned and judged this and viewed it with God's side, When evil occurs in the church, in the assembly, we tend to be easy on the evil. And I believe that is the prop of you and how serious that is. You know it's a good thing that when we come to be saved that we view all our past.
And to judge it and view it with God's eyes from God's point of view.
Because it renders us.
Weak and unable to judge evil that occurs among those who are saved and and also makes U.S. Open to fall into the very sin again that might have been our way of life before we are saved. Would you agree with that? Yeah, I think the key the word in that verse in verse 21 is they they have not repented, yes.
Of the evil of their course, they have not really judged it. And if until we've judged it, we're still in it as far as God is concerned, we're still responsible for it. God looks upon us in that state as as having committed the sin until we've repented of it and judged it. And once we've done that, our state changes entirely, and we have to recognize that. So when we receive a soul back.
Who has sinned? They must have repented of the sin before they receive back. At least that should be the normal thing and we can make a mistake and we see someone back that hasn't truly repented of the sin.
That will cause trouble, but the the repentance of it changes the state, Mr. Darby says in two of his letters. He says we're still in the sin until we've repented of it.
And then then with our state changes. That's what he's dealing with here, isn't it?
I've seen it in the life of a relative that I was able to lead to the Lord and he had lived immorally before he was saved, but I don't think he really had judged it and he fell into that very evil after he was saved. But I believe then he did judge it and was truly delivered from it. We must never be easy on sin. And the translation in Mr. Darby's.
Translation in Psalm 51 is Take not the Spirit of Thy holiness from me. The danger is that when we fall into sin and are not truly repentant, that we do not have the discernment. We do not take sides with God against the sin when it occurs amongst the Saints of God. And that's disastrous, disastrous. Just think of the testimony.
The Lords name being dishonored and needs to be cleared. You know people think always of.
The need for the soul that has sinned to be restored. That's one of the reasons why discipline is administered. But the first reason is that the name of the Lord be clear, you know, And that's such a vital point to be considered and made. The Lord keep us.
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From looking at sin and belittling it in any way because it makes the door open, or opens the door for ourselves to fall into the evil at the name of the Lord is not clear.
The Lord said he that looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.
That goes far beyond just the act of doing it, but it's doing it in your mind.
And one of the things that is being promoted today and young people are being told it's a very legitimate thing to do, is to fantasize. Let your imagination run wild and you can enjoy things in your imagination that is absolutely condemned in the word of God. That's what the Lord says is sin. Just to look at a woman and lust after her is a sin. And so to fantasize these things is.
Sinful and it's it's being encouraged as a legitimate thing in the psychological world. Is that what the word lasciviousness means or would imply what you just said?
I think it's implied there, yes. In the 139th Psalm, the psalmist starts out and there's. Oh Lord, thou hast searched me.
But how does that end up?
He has searched me, O God, and see if there any wicked way in me.
And then what does he say? Leave me in the way everlasting. And it was Job that said, I made a covenant with mine eyes, that I should not look upon a woman.
Are upon a maid, and these things are vital to getting along in communion with the Lord to find on judge the evil. And the Lord he sees always there. If we confess our sins, he is faithful. And what? Just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness? Isn't that the way everlasting brethren? And where does it lead to? I think in the end of the 14th chapter of John is so beautiful the Lord says to the disciples, arise, let us go hence.
Well, may we arise and go hence because it ends in the glory, doesn't it?
Could we have brother? Chuck was saying just now. I thought of James one and 15.
Lest there be any thought in our minds that it's not.
That what he said doesn't.
Have more than just that one scripture in the gospel to support it.
We might read 14 and 15. Every man is tempted when he is drawn away of his own.
Lust and entice.
Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin.
And sin when it is finished bringeth forth death so.
I believe that repenting of the.
Course of one is essential, whether it says of our courses unbelievers, and I think that's what it brings before us at the end of 2nd Corinthians 12, or God requires that in connection with all of our failure that we repent and and rethink it and take his point of view in it. And I just mentioned this for those who are fathers.
One of the saddest things is to have to.
Judge in your children that which you did not judge in your own life.
That the Lord brings to your attention because you won't listen to Him when he deals with your own personal life.
They then have to see it displayed, as David had to see displayed publicly his own sin, even though I believe he really did repent. Yet God laid it out in front of everybody for it to be seen, and it's one of the saddest experiences. So if you don't want to have to judge it in your children, judge it in yourself first. How many times I've seen in, in things that happened in the lives of our children, I've seen exactly that which the Lord was dealing with me, that nobody knew about.
That was private and personal that I never dealt with in my own soul. To see it laid out before me, to my shame.
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In my own children, and I just say that as a word to those who are fathers and mothers.
That God might give us to judge in our own lives, to repent.
Thoroughly of the course of the things that perhaps no one had to know about that God knew. And he lays them out graphically sometimes for us in the lives of our children, so that we might judge them ourselves. Don't just come down heavy on the kid and say, oh, what a terrible thing, How could a child of mine do that, Say God has found out the iniquity of his servant.
That may be true, and I want to give the other scripture in John 9 The disciples asked the Lord.
Who sinned, this man or his parents? That he was born blind? And the answer came back. Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents, but that the works of God should be made manifest. So we have to be careful that we do not violate the Scripture, Judge nothing before the time, and the Lord will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and make manifest the councils of hearts. But we are not God, and we don't know the motives of the heart and what goes on. But God has his dealings with every one of us.
His individual government Peter says it in First Peter 117. If you call on the father who without respective persons judgeth according to the work of each past, the time of your sojourning here in fear, that's the government of the father over his family, and that's his government over each one of us.
And we have to live our lives before him, not before our brethren or before society, though we should listen to our brethren, and we should listen to these voices that come. But we have to answer to him. Every one of us should give a count of himself to God.
And he's the one that we lived before either regardless today, regardless it to the Lord either regardeth not the day it is to the Lord. He's it's not regarded. We live before him happy as he that condemneth not himself in that thing which he alloweth.
Well, we do.
Certainly recognize that even if the Lord has kept us from falling into things that are kids fall into.
That the grace has kept us from it.
And nature.
That makes them do what they do. They inherited from us.
And that's a very humbling thing.
To see that, it's a very humbling thing to see our offsprings go off. But I know that young people have purposed, when they grew into teenagers and had seen in the lives of some of their relatives immorality that they have said by God's grace, I will not live that way. And they didn't live that way. They did not have to potentiality to live that way.
The evil nature within them would have let them that way, but by God's grace they were able to live differently. And this is, I believe, what one can tell the young men and women in this audience Purpose in your heart to cleave to the Lord. Recognize that without His help and grace you cannot live that way, but with His help you can live honoring to Him and to bring glory to His name.
Instead of honor dishonoring him, I believe Mr. Darby, I believe, Mr. Darby said.
And a man asked him about studying the scripture. He said, study well 4 words. The flesh provided nothing. And I believe that's the great lesson that's in this chapter. He begins by saying it is not expedient for me, doubtless to glory. The cause of Peters fall was that he thought he was better than the rest of the disciples. He never thought that he would deny the Lord, and I believe he was thoroughly sincere in saying that. But he didn't realize what the flesh was.
And I believe with all of us, in divine things especially, we need to start with humility, realizing that we are nothing. It's only grace that met us in our sin and guilt and saved us, and it's only the grace of God that keeps any of us. And so I I think it's very lovely the way the chapter begins. It's not expedient for me, doubtless to glory and naturally speaking, he had much that he might have gloried about because of his revelations that were given them how God had used him.
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But nevertheless he recognized there was all sovereign grace. And that's the great starting point, whether it's young or old. I believe when we hear these warnings, we have within us every one of us sitting here, the capabilities of the vilest sins. If the Lord doesn't keep us, and if we daily start out with that sense, preserve be O God. For indeed do I put my trust, I believe that the Lord is able certainly, and will preserve us.
In the path that's pleasing to him, but we need to constantly, not only when we're first saved, but all through life. Repentance is a continual thing in the life, isn't it? That is, we're in all constantly having to watch that old man, and we need to be ever conscious that no matter how long we're saved, it has never changed. It's still the same, and if it loud it will bring forth those evil fruits that are mentioned in the end of this chapter.
You know where you're going. Yes. We're starting on turning and what heights and depths of love. And we certainly get the heights and depths in this chapter more than perhaps any chapter in the word of God. Because Paul takes his up into the 3rd heaven. And then we come down to the lowest level of humanity with these fightings and disputing. And we sang at the beginning of this meeting. Now let us run and never sire. And that's what we need, is really is to have these things brought before us because.
He's called Doc and it really brings us into the place of a Christian is to to know where our life is hidden with Christ and God, and to practically see it in our relationship one with another.
Maybe we should just pay a little bit more about that, because that's Paul's particular line of things, and we often speak of practical ministry. But Paul was not called by the Lord when he was on earth, but he was called by the Lord from heaven, unlike the disciples on earth. And so that's characteristic of his ministries. That's where it takes us. John's ministry brings heaven down to earth, and Paul's ministry is it where it takes our spirits up to heaven. And this chapter seems to.
Get coastal heights and depths of the Christian experience, and the land of Canaan was not like the land of Egypt, the flat land, but it was a land of hills and valleys.
I was thinking of three times that the Apostle Paul and said perhaps there's more, but sometimes he speaks up. I know now in Romans 7 you're Speaking of the flesh and the weakness of the flesh. It's nice here in Romans 7 and 18, for I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing.
For the will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not.
And the apostle had learned that in his flesh dwelled no good thing.
Well, in Philippians 3 he says that I may know him and the power of his resurrection.
And then again in second Timothy chapter 2 or chapter one rather.
Two Timothy chapter one.
How can you read the full verse, Second Timothy 1:00 and 12:00 for the witch, 'cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day Blessing of this in contrast to what he said in Romans 7. For I know that in me dwelleth no good thing here in Timothy says, for I know whom I have believed.
Well, how each one of us have found that out, so we cannot trust in the flesh for one moment.
Trust in that blessed One who has loved us and given himself.
In the first Epistle to the Corinthians, the first sin that Paul mentioned is not fornication.
It's not.
Any of the other things that come in the later chapters.
Going to law with one another.
Eating and drinking to excess so that one is even drunken at the Lord's Supper, not able to discern his body going to the Lord, going to tables of demons.
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Even error as to the resurrection. But the first sin mentioned is there exists divisions among you.
The sin of division.
The sin of leading Saints astray from the path of truth, I am convinced, is the worst sin we can commit.
Because these other sins are individual and no one's going to be misled into that kind of a life if one falls into a moral sin. But if one has such power over others and gift gifted man, and he uses that to mislead the Saints, that is a most serious thing and.
This is what Paul is combating in large measure in this epistle.
Is that why the Spirit of God zeroes in in the Old Testament on the sin of Jeroboam, the son of Nebat, that caused Israel to sin?
It seems striking that the Spirit of God, you might say, zeroes in on that over and over and over again. And you might say, well, weren't there worse things done? Ahab did some pretty terrible things, but I believe that that was a sin which rent asunder the people of God set up a competitive place of worship to that which God had established.
And God puts his finger on that over and over again in their history. I just would like to ask this. Our brother Chuck twice said that Paul was the one that was caught up in verse two, and I thoroughly agree with that. Some have questioned that based on verse 5, because he says I'm such a one. Will I glory or boast? But of myself will I not? And does he not then say that that's not he that well, I think the clue to it, if I might just.
Offer a first comment on that subject is a man in Christ, a man in Christ. And Paul was looking at that then in that light, as a man in Christ. And of course he's not. This is something that he's very careful about not glorying in.
As a as a man in the flesh. And so he's very careful to say, I know.
And that word no is interesting because there are two words for no in Greek as we have in English 2 two thoughts I should say in English, one is objective knowledge and the others conscious knowledge, and this time it's conscious knowledge, that is that which he was.
Thoroughly acquainted with, not just new as an objective thing. In his mind he knew a man in Christ. And I believe that it's put in that way so that the focus is not on Paul, but on the man in Christ. And so Paul says of such a one will I glory, but not of myself.
I believe knowing, and I think that's what the chapter is about, because you may be taken up to the 3rd heaven. I know in an objective way certain truth, but Paul said he was glory in his infirmity, that the that the power of sight may rest upon me, so that he might enjoy that truth practically. And how is the Lord going to make him to know that through the difficulty spoke of Peter and his failure, but the Lord?
In those deaths and in his failures, the Lord may have had to.
Allow Satan to skip them, that he might practically know the things that he knew objectively.
And so that's, I believe, why these two things are brought together in this chapter. And we say, well we're caught up into the 3rd heaven and we enjoy these wonderful truths of the believers position in Christ. And then we go to the assembly and we're and in our Christian lives and we're met with this kind of disputing and arguing. And we say, well why does the Lord allow us So that we might be in the conscious knowledge and the power of Christ might rest on us practically here in this earth amidst the difficulty and not just to know these things objectively.
No matter. Barry earlier suggested that the last verses indicate that there were still those in Korean who were opposing. I think that was your thought, right? Burberry, They were still those that.
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Although the assembly had judged the evil, I don't think they all agreed with the judgement. Isn't this what's going on among the gathered thing?
There are still voices that undermine the authority of the Lord in the assembly. In the pen, there are still debate undermining, you know, and even using what is a commendable thing to undermine the bread and give you an example. A young man stands there and preaches the gospel, refers to television programs and insulting the Saints as if they all were familiar with these programs or some cartoon strip and a brother finally says.
When are we going to hear the word of God? Now that was godly discipline, but it is used to undermine the brethren there. How terrible they were, How hard? Well, there are still these buildings, you know. And really the enemy is still trying to disrupt the fellowship and the harmony among the Saints of God. You know, it's not surprising if in the early days in the Church, although there was such an obvious case of evil.
That there were those who didn't agree with the judgment and they were still in the assembly and they were still causing problems.
You know, it's certainly more difficult in disciplinary problems where there is not a clear immorality case. You know, like one brother said, it's almost the only evil that's going to be judged amongst the Saints. What about heretical behavior? You know, dividing the Saints of God? Is that not one of the things that ought to be dealt with the Apostle Paul, that when he would get there because he had Apostolic authority?
That he would deal with these things.
You know, he teeth. Things should not go unjust, you know, and tolerate them. Let the enemy continue to do his work of undermining fellowship between the Gaddis Saints and then two, for peace sake of keeping everybody together. We tolerate this kind of a thing. Well, it's the work of the flesh, beloved brethren. It's not of God. It's it's more than a work of the flesh. It's the work of the enemy. Yes, the work of Satan.
The the the passage that proves what you just said is in the 10th chapter of this epistle and I'll read the two verses.
Verse five and six casting down imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. The reason Paul hadn't gone there, he had said he was going to go, and then he didn't go, was to spare them, and he wanted to leave them with his first epistle, still to work in their consciences, but there would come a point in time.
When all of those who were going to obey the word through Paul would have done so, and then there would be those that were left that would, that were disobedient. And he talks about that in the next verse, having in a readiness to revenge all disobedience or to avenge all disobedience. When your obedience is fulfilled, that is when all of those that may have taken a time in arriving at the right judgment, but when they finally arrived at it, there would be still some remaining who are called.
The disobedient ones. And he says when I come I will deal with them.
Like John says in the third epistle about diatrophies, he says when I come.
I will remember his works, which he do it praying against us with malicious words and so on. He would deal with it and that's what he was being charged with. He's powerful with his words and when he's writing, but when he comes, he Wilts and he says when I come, I will not spare. He would deal with it, so there would come a time. Sometimes we go too quickly and we try to force consciences to see it before they're ready.
They have to go through a certain amount of exercise before they come to the.
The right understanding of things and we must leave them until that point is reached. But once it's reached, then those that still won't see it. I was talking to a brother once and he just shook his head and he closed his eyes and he put his eyes, his head down. He says, I don't see it, I don't see it. And I said, brother, if you don't open your eyes you'll never see it. You've got to open your eyes to see it. And literally had his eyes shut. Well, it it's just what he had, he had. He just wouldn't see the truth.
00:50:07
And in that case they fall into the class of being the disobedient ones. Very serious matter, isn't it, to trouble the Saints of God.
Very so. I was just thinking of that in the book of Galatians where he spoke there.
He says.
In the 5th chapter of Galatians.
Where Paul was there in verse 11 And I, brethren, if I preached circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution?
Then is the offense of the cross ceased? Well, he wasn't so he wasn't preaching this. He had ceased from that. He had learned this Now he wasn't preaching if if if I would suffer persecution or suffer persecution, why am I if I preaching the cross? So he says I would. They were even cut off, which trouble you or I understand. Another rendering is they would cut themselves off which trouble you.
And the troubler of the people of God is one who is standing in a very precarious and dangerous position. And God doesn't deal. He doesn't settle all his accounts in one day or one month or even one year. We don't know. So it's a very serious matter with Aiken as the one who was the troubler of Israel, and God never forgot that.
One of the saddest things that we've seen happen.
Is the publication of fancied or real God knows sins? What would you think of a father who went to you and said, do you know what my son just did? He was caught stealing. He was caught as a thief. What would you think of a father that would broadcast the shame of his son in doing something like that?
Our to broadcast the.
The shame. Whether it's real or imagined, it doesn't matter. Even if it's a fact, to broadcast it, to hang all your dirty wash out for everyone to see, is not of God. It's not of God. There's a way of dealing with evil, but it's not by publicly broadcasting it and slandering and smearing. And that's what's been going on. And that's wicked. That's positively wicked.
Opposite is to cover it up. Yeah, that's bad. You know, there are not many Levites among the people of God. You know what I mean by that? They took the sword against their own flesh. And then the sons of Korah, you know, they separated from their own father. And how often natural affections influence us in our judgment. The Lord is looking for Levi. The Lord is looking.
For those who, like the sons of Korah, take a stand on the Lord's side, remember they were the ones that were made keepers in the House of God.
You know, and you can see why. But I wholeheartedly agree with what Chuck has said. You know, many times these things have been used to steal the hearts of the people, undermining those in authority in the assembly and drawing the young to follow the ones who broadcast this thing. As if there is no judgement of evil in the assembly and the leaders cannot be trusted.
Work of Satan, you know, let's be careful, beloved brethren. But how wonderful Paul speaks of that which he had seen. And it has been suggested that when he had that experience, it was when he was stoned and left for dead. I like that. I think that well, and I believe the time fits in with that experience And yet.
The Lord gives him a thorn in the flesh.
You know, the Lord realizes that Paul needs something to keep him humble.
And we love that. Isn't that what oftentimes we have to be reminded of? You know what? That which the Lord has given us to see in His word.
We need to remember that humility is what becomes us. It's not a natural trade, is it? It wasn't a natural trade for the apartment at all. But the Lord found a way of humbling him. You know my grace is sufficient is the answer.
00:55:10
Some believed that it was a problem that he had with his eyes.
You know there was a disease well known in those regions, and the appearance of that person is affected by that and his eyesight. Remember, he had always somebody else write the letters and he signed it except for the letter tribulation. And in the letter to regulations he said they would have been willing to pluck out their eyes for him. And that all seems to indicate that it was such an affliction. But the Lord allowed it in Paul's life to keep him humble. The Lord has his Ways and Means to keep us.
In that position. But we can rejoice in whatever he has given us to see of our position in Christ. And pride does not become us, because what we are, we are by the grace of God. Nice. I was thinking of a couple of verses in in the Epistle of Peter, first Peter chapter 4, just two verses there, verses 7:00 and 8:00. But the end of all things is at hand.
Is that not true? We're near the end of the day of grace. The end of all things is hand. Be therefore sober and watch unto prayer, and the results of that will be as we have in verse 8 above. All things have fervent love, or charity, or love among yourselves, for charity or love shall cover a multitude of sins. I was reading this comment of Mr. Darby's on that and he says.
He adds yay sins, he says, covers, love covers.
Doesn't do away with it, but it covers you. See a beautiful illustration of that when Noah.
Got drunk, planted a vineyard and got drunk and.
His two sons Ham looked upon the nakedness of his father.
And your young people? You probably know better than anyone else the inconsistencies and the failures of your father or your mother.
But to look upon that to expose it.
To tell others of it is wicked.
Sham and Japheth went backwards.
And they did not look upon the nakedness of their father. It was a shame that they covered it.
And love covereth a multitude of sins. That's the verse you just read. There's an illustration of it. And the word came. Cursed be Canaan, a servant of servants shall he be. That was the son of Ham. Noah's son Ham had looked upon his nakedness. Now his son Ham Son Canaan gets the curse. But you can see the government of God. What we reap, we sow them upon him.
I was thinking of this.
Expression at the end of verse two and at the end.
Verse at the beginning of verse four as to where Paul was caught up to as being very important to identify the place into which the Lord welcomed the dying thief.
And I just cautioned those who have Scofield Bibles in connection with this that there is a teaching in that Bible, one of several perhaps, that are not helpful. That's one where he indicates that Paradise somehow changed its location. And I believe that's not so. I believe here Paradise is identified for us.
I'm talking about not the Garden of Eden now, but I'm talking about the paradise of God.
That paradise is identified for us as the 3rd heaven.
Why 3rd heaven? 1St heaven, of course, is the atmosphere in which the birds fly and and where the clouds are. The 2nd heaven, if we may so put it, is outer space.
But the 3rd heaven is the uncreated dwelling place of God.
And that is where paradise is.
01:00:00
Paradise is in that place, uncreated, which was the eternal dwelling place of God prepared for us by the entry of the Lord Jesus into it. I used to think when I was a boy I used to picture the Lord when he says I go and prepare a place and I don't mean to be disrespectful in any way, but as a child will think I could picture the Lord somehow supervising angels and.
To with hammers and nails to prepare dwelling places for us. But I believe the thought is the entrance of that blessed man into the presence of God prepares the place for us. And so the Lord could say to the thief on the cross, today shalt thou be with me in paradise. Where is that? Paul tells us here that it's the 3rd heaven, and I think it's important to get simply take hold of that.
And reject the complicated and I believe unscriptural thought that somehow the Lord went into a place where kind of a waiting place, and took a whole lot of Saints and took them up into heaven when he ascended up on high. That is not the thought and I believe that heaven has always been the place of of the departed Saints.
Although it was not brought to light until the Lord Jesus came, and brought to light life and immortality, and so the veil is drawn back, and no longer is it she all or Hades for us, the unseen.
The unseen.
But it's now the place of revealed blessing and the place where God dwells. I just mentioned that because sometimes these things that we've taken for granted for so many years, maybe some of the young people have not had any instruction on it. And This is why we believe that when the Lord said to the thief on the cross today shalt thou be with me in paradise, he was Speaking of the 3rd heaven, the uncreated.
Dwelling place of God. They are identified here by the Apostle Paul as being the same.
What up into the third habit? He was caught up into paradise.
Albert Addict, you would agree?
That this is not yet the glory, is it?
No, because.
The father's house. This is not where the thief on the cross went.
Oh, he was with the Lord Jesus.
And it's a place, a place of bliss and happiness as we know it from Lazarus, who was in Abraham's bosom, but the glory we will enter when we are brought into conformity to the Lord Jesus.
When we will be like him and but already Paul says he had heard words there which he could not utter. And it's a wonderful place a condition that redeemed occupy when they are taken to be with Christ absent from the body present with the Lord or here it is called paradise, you know the paradise.
The Garden of Eden.
Was on earth, and God came and visited. But this paradise here is to dwell with the Lord Jesus already and be with him forever. But we will not yet be in that glorified state until our bodies are changed, when we are brought into full conformity to the Lord Jesus, perhaps even the statement that we make sometimes that He's home.
We know what people want to convey, but really the fullness.
Of blessings will be ours when the Lord Jesus comes, raises the dead, and changes us the living, and we will be brought into full conformity to Him and then forever be with Him in the Father's house. Isn't that more a question of state in place? In other words, I believe that we ought not diminish the fact that.
The believer when he's present with the Lord. Where is the Lord now?
He's in glory, so I believe that when we talk about.
The entering into glory or into the presence of the Lord. And it's we're talking about a state of body, soul and spirit being there in full consciousness and that we're looking forward to. That's not ours yet, nor any that have gone on to be with the Lord, but as to where they are.
01:05:15
I believe they're at the present, at the in the 3rd heaven, and in the presence of God, although not in conscious bliss, as we will be in the coming day, and there will be things that we will only enter into when we are glorified.
The departed Saints are with the Lord, but they're not quote in glory as far as their own bodies are concerned and well, they don't have a body.
There in the disembodied state, until they get a glorified body, they're not in glory in the full sense of the word. That's what you're saying.
I just wanted to make a comment on the expression he led captivity captive. You were talking about **** ****. And in some of our Bibles the margin says he led a multitude of captives and that gives rise to the error that's in the Schofield reference Bible. It really means he led captivity captive. Means he led the power that had held up us captive to sin captive, he let all the power of Satan captive to get it. In Hebrews too it's put in another word ways that says.
Through death he annulled him that had the power of death, that is the devil, and delivered them, who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to *******.
So we've been delivered from the power of Satan. We're no longer under his power. That power has been taken captive by the victor, our Lord Jesus, and set us free.