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264.
I'm going to.
Simon Peter, servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ.
Design that have obtained like precious space with us through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. Grace and peace be multiplied under you through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord according His His divine power is given unto us, all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that has called us under glory and virtue whereby are given unto us.
Exceeding great and precious promises.
And by these you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through us, and beside this giving all diligence back to your face virtue and the virtue of knowledge, and the knowledge templates, and the temperance and the patient's godliness.
And a godliness brotherly kindness and a brotherly kindness charity, where these things, the annual they make you that you should neither be barren nor unfruitful to the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
But he that lacketh these things is blind and cannot see it far off. And that's forgotten that he would heard from those things. Wherefore the rather brothers give diligence to make their calling and election sure.
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For if you do these things, you shall never fall. Pursue an entrance, shall be ministered under you abundantly into the everlasting Kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Wherefore I will not be negligent to put you always in remembrance of these things, though you know them, and establish the truth.
I think it means as long as I am in this Tabernacle, let's throw you up with putting you in remembrance, knowing that shortly I must put off this my Tabernacle, even as our Lord Jesus Christ has showed me. Moreover, I will endeavor that He may be able, after my deceit, to have these things always in remembrance.
We have not followed cunningly divide fables, when we made known unto youth power, and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, however eyewitnesses of His Majesty, for he received from God and Father honor and glory, and there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory. This is my beloved Son, from whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard when we were with him in the holy mountain. We have also a more sure word of prophecy.
Burn, Cody, you do well. You take eat another light that shining in a dark face until the day dawn and the day start the rise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation where prophecy came not in old times by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.
There's a lovely caption to the second Epistle of Peter. That one is enjoyed in the 71St song. You might just notice that Psalm 71.
Psalm 71 and verse 17.
Oh God, thou hast taught me from my youth.
And hitherto have I declared thy wondrous words now also, when I am old and Gray headed, Oh, God forsake me, not until I have showed thy strength unto this generation, and thy power to everyone that is to come.
Now we know the setting of this book is that Peter is anticipating martyrdom.
Just perhaps a few days.
And to see his desire as an old man desiring to show the power of God to this to the generation that was coming.
Now it's one thing to tell of God's power, but it's another thing to show it.
And we look at our elder brethren among us, and we realize that their physical limitations are closing in on them.
And they need daily grace from the Lord to be able to go on and to be strong in faith. And so when I see an old brother going on with the Lord, he's showing to me the power of God and his strength. So the apostle Paul could say that when I am weak, then am I strong in the Lord. And so the Lord is carefully chosen weakness as he not.
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To display his power, that it might be of God and not of us.
I just enjoyed that as a caption. The second Peter.
And brother Ron.
We are.
Quite willing to listen.
To men like you have described, and I enjoy it very much, you're calling our attention to that verse in Psalm, but we're quite willing to listen to these.
Dear children of God that have learned to know the Lord.
My experience over a period of time and experience his grace and love.
And then they speak to us as those that know what they're talking about.
And I just enjoyed the.
The Thought of Peter. Simon Peter.
He uses his natural name.
But he connects it with his name the Lord Jesus gave him.
And he said I'm a servant.
But I was given a responsibility of.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
And now I want to talk to you about that precious faith that we have received that's common to us.
And just as you have said, he wants to strengthen them.
In their Christian lives. And we do thank God for a book like this, The Second Peter.
And frankly, I had no thought of this after being suggested at all today. It's it's a surprise to me, but a pleasant one.
We're thankful that the Lord used a man like Peter to write to us this pastoral epistle.
Now that we might have the benefit of.
God's word through him.
With the background.
Of his long life of acquaintance with the Lord. We need this ministry, don't we?
It's helpful to get the scope first Peter and second Peter. I found it helpful to.
See that the first epistle really deals more with the government of God in the House of God. And a key verse in First Peter is probably First Peter 4/17. Time has come that judgment must begin at the House of God. And if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?
In second Peter, we get more the government of God in the world and how it's going to affect even that part of the world that professes the name of Christ. And it's kind of interesting just to get the scope in that way because in the first chapter of this epistle that we're starting to get into, it really is dealing more directly with believers in connection with this.
View of things, how they're going in the world around us today, and the awful judgments that will follow. In the second chapter more on those that profess the name of Christ, and in the third chapter the whole creation that will come under the judgment of God.
Florida Kingdom side of things, isn't it in Peter's epistles?
Could you give us some more thoughts on that?
We know that.
Peter.
Had not been given the ministry that we find in Paul.
Writings and towards the end of this chapter you know when he refers to that scene on the mountain.
And that is clearly referring to that millennial day and the glory that was coming and in view of the condition in the world.
What encouragement it gives to the soul.
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Especially those Jewish believers who before they came to the Lord Jesus.
All their hopes were centered on that glorious range, and it seemed to all come to an end with the rejection of the Lord Jesus.
Yet there is going to come a day when.
These things will be realized. The promises made to the Fathers will be fulfilled, although they will, as Christians, now have part in that from the heavenly side of things.
They will not be part of the 12 tribes who will be on earth, and will be brought into the blessings on earth yet.
What a encouragement it is that we are.
Assured that the promises given to the fathers will be realized.
If God would not fulfill these unconditional promises that He had made to the fathers.
How can we as Christians, be sure that he's going to fulfill that which he has promised to us? You know, when the covenant theologians are undermining this, they deny that there's going to be.
That millennial glory. And so we as Christians are not disinterested in these things. And Peter, who was writing especially.
The Jews, you know, he was the apostle of the circumcision.
Is led to refer to these things and give assurance that God is going to fulfill that, and that scene on the Mount of Transfiguration gave them a preview.
Of that which is yet to come.
But in view of the condition in the world, the believer, the Christian today, is to live acknowledging.
The authority of the Lord Jesus and the Christian is to live in the life of what the Lord is, not only as the head of the body, but also.
As living in the Kingdom, you know, and all these things that are developed here, what we should have in our faith, it's all very practical, connected with that. It's not going to be just for us as Christians, it's also going to.
Be that which will exercise souls who live in their coming day of glory.
You have pointed out Brother Heinz.
But to us, something that we have heard often.
And it's correct.
That Peter does speak more particularly to the Jewish believers.
And I believe we want to keep that in mind because.
He uses their.
Understanding of God's ways with that people of old, he uses that as a basis.
To tell them that they've got something higher and better now as believers in the Lord Jesus.
And I believe that we want to keep that in mind, but.
I'd like to share with my brethren something that has been a joy for me to believe, and that is that.
Though we acknowledge that Jewish thoughts here, let's realize that.
Jewish believer does not have anything better than you and I Gentile believers possess.
Now we may not come at it from the same direction, because take myself for example, I I don't even know what race I belong to exactly, but certainly a Gentile and.
No connection with those old promises or anything.
So I approached the truth of God from a different direction than a Jew would.
So what a blessing to realize that all the blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ.
Are common to us all and that a Jewish believer.
Has no advantage over a gentile believer.
Do they have a high priest in heaven? So do I.
Do they have an eternal inheritance?
And so do I. And so Jews and Gentiles all have the same spiritual blessings in our Lord Jesus Christ and I I found that very helpful for me to understand that if you have no advantage over me as a Gentile in our Lord Jesus Christ, we all have the same spiritual benefits and blessings. So Peter does approach it from the Jewish angle to help them to understand it.
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Now this verse one says.
Like Precious Faith.
Well, we all believe that.
The faith that we possess.
Is a gift of God.
We all believe that we wouldn't have faith at all if God had not given it to us.
But I personally believe that the thought in this verse when it says.
Have a pain. Like precious faith. It doesn't approach that thought so much as.
The personal faith that we have, but rather the deposit of faith that was given to God's people, its precious faith.
They had it in common.
And you get this thought. I believe in Jude. Let's turn to Jude, Chapter One, chapter.
Jude.
The third verse.
Jude, the third verse, Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation.
You see, they had a common salvation. It was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith.
That's the common faith which was once delivered to the same soul, it seems to me, and I'd like to be corrected by my brethren if my thought is not right. But in our verse it talks about attaining like precious faith. It's that deposit of food given to believe it.
To my brethren, see it that way.
One of the particular advantages to us now in recognizing the approach of the word of God-given us here, as has been pointed out from a particular Jewish point of view, is this. It gives us to see and gives them believers, Jewish believers, to see, that all of the promises of God and Him are yay, and in him Amen.
Now, in Paul's ministry, it's very clear that there is no difference, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But to the Jewish mind there was a difference. And so God very graciously gives the ministry of this beloved man in whom the Jewish people all had Jewish believers, all had respect to bring out the particular aspect of the truth to them to show.
That there is no difference, that God has now moved away from that particularly mind particular mindset of an earthly hope of an earthly Tabernacle to transfer their hearts to the Lord Jesus Christ in heaven as a glorified man. So to see that the Apostle is giving us this from that particular Jewish aspect enables us to appreciate the difficulty that they would have in moving away from the old Jewish order of things to the new order of things that the Apostle refers to in our chapter as a present truth, that body of truth given to them in the Lord Jesus Christ and death and resurrection.
And the reason that we can apply to ourselves with such profit, beloved, is because the promises confirmed to the fathers in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ are based on the same unmitigated grace of God that apply to all of the Saints in the present time. So it's good to see the grace of God and giving us ministry that would enable them to give up.
The old earthly hopes of an earthly religion and transfer their thoughts to the risen, glorified man in Christ.
So the random truth.
Points out their portion in the Lord Jesus connected with the heavenly side of things and that we have in common with them and.
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This is also connected with the knowledge of God.
Paul speaks of it in Colossians as to true knowledge of God. And we do not know God the way the Old Testament Saints knew him. We know Him fuller. You know we have the full revelation of God as we have in Hebrews one that in times past.
God was pleased to reveal himself and gave two men partial revelations of himself.
But in Christianity we have the full knowledge of God, the true knowledge of God.
And this is what we have to come to by faith, appreciate and lay hold of. And that's Christianity, and it is not connected with this earth.
And even in Christendom today, people are trying to again and again associate the Lord Jesus with earthly causes and in principle really try to.
Bring down Christianity to a Jewish level.
Christianity is not in the world.
To make the world a better place in which to live, Christianity is here.
To win souls for Christ and to unite them.
To the one who is in the glory, that's Christianity. In that coming day when he will come back in power and glory, he will deal with all of those things that are wrong in the world. Christians are not supposed to deal with these things. They're not called to do that because God himself is not doing it at the present time. And so the present truth, how important it is.
And we see that in Hebrews 2 very clearly point out that they were partakers of the heavenly calling, and all was directing their attention to the one that is above that blessed one. But how important to know God the way we know Him? You know, it's really a painful thing to hear when people on the radio address God, and by the way they address them, they clearly indicated they don't know Him.
And what a pleasure it is when you hear somebody pray and say.
A loving God, a gracious Father, and so on to address him the way we in Christianity have the right and privilege to address it.
It dropping down the middle wall. Of particular between us and the feet is that between the Jew and the Gentile made us all into one body.
So we don't.
Look back to the law. We don't look.
Anything else. But if Paul said in First Corinthians I determined not to know anything among you, among you, save Jesus Christ and Him crucified, unless the main object of our our, our confession of faith, is to know him. How many times in this chapter did it mention the knowledge of God, the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ? Several times. I don't know how many is mentioned with this. Several times it says the knowledge of God, the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
That's what we look to. That's what we need to be edified by the knowledge of Him who redeemed us with his own precious blood.
Look at what you said rather on about Peter introducing himself as a servant and an apostle, and that really beautiful that he speaks of a servant first of all.
He was an apostle, and very evidently that was probably a more important.
A function. But he loves to put the servant first, because that is the character that we should carry in our relationships one to another. Peter was the apostle of the circumcision, but here he says a servant and an apostle of Jesus Christ. To them that have obtained like precious faith, it's an important thing, isn't it To?
Seek to keep.
That character in our relationships, one with another, never get above when it's not necessary, That position of simply being a servant. The Lord Jesus himself, amongst his apostles, laid aside his garments, garments, would speak of the position we would occupy in this life. And he took a towel and girded himself. He says, I am among you.
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As one that serveth. It's interesting going through the epistles of Paul too. In some places he.
Doesn't use the title. Apostle uses servants when he doesn't have to address an important issue, like is the case in Philippians.
He joins himself with others of the Lord's servants and just uses that term. Servants the Lord keep us. We're living in a day and we need to respect authority where God has given it but.
And that's what we would see in the word apostle. But if we, those that are occupying that place would take that position as servants, I really believe.
That would give more weight in our testimony.
How often we need to be reminded, beloved, that he that thinketh himself to be something, when he is nothing deceived with himself.
And we don't have apostles anyway. And but what about was saying was the principle that there are those in.
Leadership amongst the Saints of God.
And there is no official authority conveyed on anyone today. If there is authority today, that is more of a moral character.
Moral authority and that can only be enjoyed by a life of godliness.
And true service to the Lord and God's people.
Some have the idea you know that.
Among the people of God in each generation, there's a.
One particular brother that has a special anointing from God and the mantle has fallen on him.
I don't believe any such thing.
And Bob, thanks for your words that Peter was a servant.
And he came to bring Christ to his brethren.
And we need to keep that concept fresh in our mind.
And I would like my brethren to tell us what is meant through the righteousness of God.
Why is that brought in?
In this verse.
Both his recognition suited to us through the yes of her direction, the Lord Jesus Christ you see in Romans.
Chapter 4 I think it is.
Chapter 4.
Verse 20 talking about Abraham.
He staggered not as the promise of God through unbelief.
Strong in faith, giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded what he had promised, he was able to perform. Therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
Not written for his sake alone, that was included to him, but for us also, to whom it shall be imputed if we believe on him. We raised up Jesus, our Lord from the dead, who was delivered for our fences, and raised again for our justification.
But you have just shown us, brother.
Is imputed righteousness, which I think is a little different than we have in our verse.
I would think and I would like more comments to be made on it.
But when it says have obtained like precious faith.
Through the righteousness of God, it would bring before us that God always does right.
In what he does and that the blessings of his people are on a righteous basis.
And how wonderful, rather than that God will never have to excuse himself for what He has given to us in His grace.
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It has a righteous basis.
And if you want to see a righteous basis.
For God's blessings, take a good strong look at Calvary Cross. And so all of God's blessings to his people are given to us on a righteous basis.
Is that right? Yeah, I don't believe it. It's a question that he counts us righteous through our personal faith. But when you think that it appears as if they lost everything, but now God in righteousness gives them that faith that they have now and that the Lord Jesus is included then in that too, you know?
That says.
Through the righteousness of God and our Savior Jesus Christ. It's not that because he was righteous and it is imputed unto us. There is a lot of confusion about.
Righteousness, as if God bestows of His righteousness upon us. But what you're bringing out is really the point that God has a righteous basis for bestowing this Christian faith to the Jews who seem to have lost everything as Jews.
Based upon the work of the Lord Jesus.
There is also the aspect of connecting the Jewish mind with a glorified priest. When the Lord Jesus referred to himself sending the Spirit of God, said he shall testify to the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment of righteousness. Because I go to my Father, so the gospel now is preached by the Holy Spirit sent down from heaven.
Pointing out the righteous basis that God has for blessing his people. But it also connects us with a glorified grace of righteousness. God receiving him back into the glory him heaven must receive until we get in the book of Acts. The pouring out of the blessings that these Jews anticipated, the refresh, all of the pure mercies of David being made good. So we have the righteousness of God as the basis for our blessing, but we have it connecting us with the risen glorified Christ as well.
If not was free verse 25 we have whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness, that is the righteousness of God.
For the remission of sins that are passed through the forbearance of God to declare, I say at this time, is righteousness. That he that guide himself might be just and the justifier of him that believes in Jesus. And I think this is a fundamental aspect of our Christian faith. When we talk to people in the world, their idea of salvation is that God is going to debase his standards a little bit. God is not going to demand all his righteousness.
A man is going to do a little bit better and somewhere in the middle there will be a meeting. That's not what we get in Scripture. What we get in scripture is God's righteousness was maintained by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary cross. God has not defaced his standards in any way, but because the Lord Jesus Christ paid the price of our sins on powerful cross, God can say you are righteous.
If you believe in Jesus, And that's the fundamental aspect of our Christian faith.
So the righteousness of God was manifested in dealing in judgment with His Son.
The righteousness of God demanded payment and punishment for sin. But the same God who righteously punished his Son for my sin is also manifesting His righteousness. Now in declaring me righteous, if I accept the Lord Jesus, he doesn't bestow any righteousness of himself or of his Son upon me, but He manifests His righteousness. The righteousness of God is manifested in both ways in dealing with his Son.
A sin deserves to be dealt and in dealing with me because I by faith accept his Son. That's the righteousness of God. And there is no such a thing as any amount of righteousness transferred over to us of God or of Christ's righteousness. But he considers us righteous. And here, as Ron has pointed out, it is God's righteous way of giving us what we have now in Christianity.
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God in righteousness says to me, you're a Sinner and there is a debt to be paid. But God in righteousness says that that debt was paid when the Lord Jesus Christ died on Calvary's cross.
And God in righteousness has said that same man at the highest pinnacle of glory.
And I think it's important, brethren, to keep that and before us in view of this epistle where it is dealing in the second and third chapters with the question of the judgment of God on what professes the name of Christ, and on the world itself. Because in view of these terrible times, that we are living right on the edge of the judgment of this world.
We see everything where around things ripening were made to feel that God will be righteous in taking the matters in hand. But how can we stand in view of that? We must know that that like precious faith we have obtained is on that same ground of his righteousness. When God acts in whatever way he acts, he always acts.
Consistent with his own.
Nature and he is righteous.
Through the righteousness of God it takes us back, as it has already been remarked, to the cross. And the hymn writer could say, God cannot pass the Sinner by. His sin demands that he must die. But in the cross Christ proceeds. How God can save yet righteously and again in Hebrews.
10 and 14 for my one offering.
Have perfected forever them that are sanctified a brother. We stand in all the perfection of Christ. Through that finished work and thought, mercy and truth have met together. Righteousness and peace have kissed each other. How could that be possible without the cross of Christ?
That.
Grace and peace be multiplied unto you.
Through the knowledge of God and Jesus Christ our Lord.
I asked one brother.
As I came into this building, I said, Why are you going in there?
Well, he indicated that he came.
That something good may be added to him about the Lord Jesus.
This is the heart of the dear servant that's speaking to us in this chapter. He wants the grace and peace of God to be multiplied unto God's people. And brethren, I came for that purpose. I certainly did. I can say it with an honest heart. I came to these meetings because I wanted to see more of Jesus, and I wanted to learn more of His word and His ways.
I liked God's mathematics.
And God speaks of multiplying and adding.
But you and I have seen enough of Satan's work. He's always subtracting and dividing.
But when it comes to God, he likes to multiply and add, so I'm so thankful for God's mathematics. They're they're much more profitable.
And here this this heart of the servant says, Oh, I want you to enjoy more.
Of the grace and peace that comes through the knowledge of our God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
The last word to the Hebrews by the Apostle in Hebrews 13 is.
It is good that our hearts be established in grace and not meet the natural tendency of my heart, and theirs is to go back to those things which we could see and hear and taste and feel.
But God would have us grace multiplied, coming into the sense of what he has done, coming into the midst of evil, out of the goodness of his heart working.
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For blessing and then have peace as a result. Not just peace as to my guilt and sins, but peace of God. That enables me to go on with my brethren in peace and to have peace about the circumstances through which we are passing.
So it's by the grace of God that we enjoy this peace being multiplied to us.
But it's so important that we see the connection there, isn't it? That it's through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord that grace and peace is multiplied? We have to admit, brethren, that oftentimes we feel the lack of grace.
And the lack of peace.
And I really believe there's a message here for us.
How much do we know God?
We profess to know him. The Apostle Paul knew the Lord, but is burning ardent. Continual desire was to know him more, and if we would spend more time meditating on the glories and the perfections, the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, brethren.
Individually and collectively to in our relationships one with another, the automatic result would be that grace and peace would be multiplied.
I really believe there's a message to exercise our hearts here, brethren, What is the occupation of my heart? What have I been contemplating this morning before I came to these meetings? Has it been the person of Christ?
We need to get into the Word. God is the only standard, the only thing. It reveals the Lord Jesus Christ through us.
When we neglect the word and neglect the assembly and neglect the reading meeting.
We're not gaining knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Bring into captivity every thought.
What we need is to keep into the word.
I just read the verse or two in the morning and forget about it during the day.
We studied. Meditate on it.
I'm sure that what our brother has just brought before us as to feeling the lack of these things is not because there's a deficiency on God's part. He has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. If there is weakness of it, it's because I fail to appropriate that which God has given. He's given all he needs to go on with him in these difficult days.
It's a good thing to pray.
For one another, that our love might increase more and more knowledge my people perish, it says in the Scriptures for lack of knowledge. As you get around in the Christian world and see what other Christians have in the way of personal fellowship or family devotions or assembly functions, you see that.
The Church is suffering. Individuals are suffering because of the lack of knowledge. Say Paul prayed through the Saints that live by and colossa he says, I pray that your love may abound yet more and more in all knowledge. So we need to open the word of God. We need to present the word of God not only to ourselves but to others too, as in Philippians 19. And this I pray.
That your love may abound yet more and more, in all knowledge and in judgment, that you may approve the things that are excellent.
We may be sincere and without offense till the day of Christ, and Paul brought that up with the Colossians too.
I believe that's really important what's been said, that if I want to know about Christ, I need to read the word of God, especially the Gospels. If I want to know about the person of the Lord Jesus and meditate on who he is and what he's done, what he's like, and I need to read those Gospels and see what Jesus was like as a man. The reason I don't know more about the Lord myself is because I haven't taken out a devotional study.
Of the person of Christ and the Gospels.
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What our brother has just said as to the life of our Lord Jesus Christ in the gospel, is absolutely true.
And he does indeed.
Form a perfect pattern for the life of godliness in this sea.
But we need to constantly keep before our souls that he is no longer as he was there.
He is there for our daily food, as a pattern for our life, but we know him as the man and the glory now. And the Apostle Paul teaches us in fourth chapter of the second Thistle, the Corinthians, that even if we knew Christ as he was here below, we do not now know him that way any longer. We do not know any man after the flesh. We know us.
As Saints of God in the new creation, connected.
Risen Christ. So we do feed upon him and we pattern our life after. He was as a man here, because he was a godly man in this scene, a man amongst men, but we know him as a glorified man at God's right hand. Paul says in Corinthians, if we have known Christ as after the flesh, we don't know him in that way any longer, so clearly showing that.
We have to be careful when we read the Gospels, especially when they present the Lord Jesus as the king.
That is not our relationship. And he realized that we are linked with a living Christ in glory. Our hope are not. Our hopes are not connected with Him coming here as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
We are identified with him that was rejected but is now glorified.
That's what we have to come to realize. And in Colossians one verse 9.
Verse might help us what is conveyed here in verse three through the knowledge of him that has taught us to glory and virtue. Verse 9 says for this cause in Colossians 1.
We also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, and that can only be gained.
If we walk in communion with the Lord and of course.
Having the light of the Word of God, having the Scriptures open to us, you know, I find, Beloved, that it is not always the most difficult thing for us to get a hold of scriptural principles.
What I find much more difficult is what scriptural principles apply to a particular situation, and that is where wisdom comes in and spiritual understanding, and we need that. And if you do not walk in communion with the Lord.
And keeping short accounts about any slips in our own lives, we cannot expect that we have the Lord's mind.
You would say though, Brother Heinz, that in the Gospels we do get the men. I don't. We and we need to feed on that continually or not. We're not setting that aside. It's just the what you're bringing out is that today we have Christ and glory, which is the old corner of the land. And so there are times when we do need the manna. It's passing through this world as a wilderness, as we experience in our experience, and sometimes the fleshly reactions that take place. That were the case amongst the people of God in the Old Testament.
We do need mana to sustain us, and there we get it in the Gospels. But we know Christ as well as the old corn of the land in his exaltation and glory, and that also is food for our souls. So we have to discern, as you say, what is the present need.
We might just say it in this way to clarify it, beloved, and that is that we pattern our lives after His life here below, but we are in relationship to him as a glorified man.
00:55:06
The knowledge that was pointed up in First Corinthians Second Corinthians 4 is a knowledge of relationship. We are not in relation to him as he was here, but we are related to him joined to him by 1 Spirit as arisen glorified grace.
I believe that one of the burdens that the Apostle Peter had on his heart was the destruction of Jerusalem, which was coming very shortly.
And you can imagine the Jewish mind, whether they were Christian or not, to think of that beloved city being sacked by Titus. Should they stay and defend it with their lives?
Or they would ask the question, what would the Lord have done if He were here at this time? And to see the grace that was given to those that when Titus gave him opportunity to leave, that they left, Grace was given to submit that the government of God was going to come in and destroy that which was once very dear to their heart, where the feast of Jehovah had been kept.
And to crossover into hella and to be able to do it in peace. So there are those prices that we have seen, prices that we feel and things that we count dear and brethren that we count dear.
Where? What is going to sustain us and bring us safely through? Is it not to meditate upon that light and to ask ourselves what would the Lord do in these circumstances?
Oh, he's our guide and he's our leader. And if we don't follow him, we're sure to miss our way.
This is an important verse for the Jewish Saints in days gone by, and I suppose as a left Jerusalem, that they look like turncoats. They look like those that were afraid and cowards. I believe that many of them went out in the joy of their heavenly calling and knew that God was righteous.
And sacking Jerusalem to the ground.
Called us, Mr. Darby says, by glory and virtue. And it brings to mind that the God of glory appeared unto Abraham, You know, and I think this is a very important statement here, called us by glory and virtue. So our position is connected with that calling that we have received, and it is by glory.
And virtue.
And our destiny is glory. There might also be the thought included as it is in the King James to glory.
I'm glad. I'm glad, Brother Heinz, that you?
Caught our attention to that change.
And called us by glory and virtue.
Is an important thing to see and I'm glad you spoke of it because it's important.
You see, I I very seldom make any notations on this particular copy of the.
King James Version of the Bible, which I enjoy so much I very seldom make any.
Any changes? But I'll have to tell you that I have written in on verse 3 the word by.
Where it says He's called us by glory and virtue, I've written that in because that's the right thought. Now I carry with me three other translations, always as reference, and they all sustain that change.
The original language has it He called us by or through glory and virtue. And that's the right thought. Well, I would like to reinforce that in this in this train of thought.
That the glory of God has been displayed.
By what he has called us to.
Is not so much what waits for us like it would be in the translation like we're called to it. No, that's not the point. The point is that it's the glory and virtue of God that has been the basis of what we've had. And we have already seen that in verse one where it's we enjoyed so much what we've already meditated about that.
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Everything is based upon God's righteousness, but in verse three we find that that the whole basis is his glory and his virtue. So the calling that we possess in the Lord Jesus is based upon the virtue and glory of God that lies at the root of it. And rather that's a most precious concept because God is glorified.
He is distinctly glorified.
By giving us this blessing.
Were called by.
His glory and his virtue. And it's for God's glory to do this for us. You would allow to his glorious displayed in it. Would you not allow that to? That's right, yes.
Absolutely. How wonderful in view of the world that we live in to.
Really. Let the words of verse three sink into our souls. Brethren. He is according to his divine power. He has given us all things that pertain into life. And Goddess all things every.
That.
We could need in our pathway through this world, he has fully supplied. There is not a need, as some are saying today, of the word of God. Then you need a little extra helps here and there. No, we have in the revelation of the Word of God that we have in our hands all things that pertain into life and godliness.
Is it your home life? How you live with your wife? Your children? Is it your business life? How you do business? Every situation of life? He and His divine power has given us all things that pertain to life and godliness. We need to search it out. We need to get into the Word, as we've been encouraged to do, because there is sufficiency in this book and we need to hold it, Brethren, We need to.
Exercise our faith. Sometimes people say I don't have very much faith. It's not a question of how much faith you have. Maybe it's just a small amount of faith you have. But exercise that faith that you do have and get into the Word and you'll find that your faith will grow. And you'll find that there are principles, if not direct verses that apply to every situation that you will ever find yourself in.
Why don't you take home?
Life and Godliness.
Like a commit on that? Like what is life? What godliness?
Pertain to life and godliness.
What was your thought? Well, I thought maybe life is our eternal life that we have and our salvation, but godliness is the way we walk down here in this life amongst other people.
Watch the world.
Life is what we obtained by faith in Christ.
Eternal life can't be destroyed.
The life that we live out in, the common, ordinary, day by day circumstances of life down here, isn't it? So we meet up with situations that are extremely difficult at times.
Is this book enough? Is the revelation that God has given us enough? It is, rather than this verse says it is.
That's why I mentioned about the life of the Lord when he's here on earth. And I had to mind the moral side of things. I realized Christ has risen and seated in glory and He's our object. But as I go through this life down here, what kind of character should I show?
What's been given to me to give me an idea of life and godliness in this world is how the Lord Jesus went through this world. So there is a Kingdom still on this world today. It's a moral thing and we're all in it. If we're saved and I'm just show the moral characteristics of Christ, he's not here, but we are. And that's been given to me. Everything that I need to go through this world with life and godliness has been given to me. I have the spirit of God.
Christ in heaven to look at in Christ life to meditate on down here when he was here. I have the Holy Ghost. I have the assembly. All these things are necessary for the Christians experience to go through this life and we have that there's many gifts of God in the scripture and and here's another of the gifts of God, these things that have been freely given to us.
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There again, it is through the knowledge of him, isn't it?
I just like to connect that with Colossians, which has been such a comfort to my own soul at times. Pass it on, especially to young believers here.
Colossians Chapter 2.
And verse 9 and 10 speaks of Christ the last word of verse 8 says, For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily, and ye are complete in him tremendous to lay hold of that truth, Brethren ye.
Are complete in him.
May we sing #67 in the appendix?
Hymn #67 in the offending.
The perfect righteousness of God.
Is witnessed in the Savior's blood.
The perfect.