Open—Ed Wilson
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Let's turn to Genesis.
Back to Genesis.
How many times we can go over?
The death of Christ.
How many times we can go over that?
The most momentous thing that has ever happened.
And all the annals of time or eternity, and the Spirit of God can give us one.
More aspect if we have the eyes to see it.
I just want to share a little thought with your brethren that I've enjoyed recently, and I believe I have the the mind of the Spirit of God in this too.
We've been here in a little bit, you know.
About the fact that Israel will be saved, The fact that you and I have salvation now through the precious blood of Jesus.
Look down at the end of Chapter 2.
And by the way, the book of Genesis, one has said, is the seed plot of the Bible. All of the great foundational doctrines of the Scriptures are found in this wonderful book.
Very precious.
I want to read from the 21St verse.
And the Lord God.
Caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam and he slept and he took one of his ribs. We've been hearing about bones.
He took one of his ribs and closed up the flesh instead thereof.
I want you to fix this phrase right here in your mind and closed.
Up the flesh thereof. Now let's go to John 19.
Gospel of John, the 19th chapter, that great chapter.
That the Spirit of God, through the Apostle John gave to us in connection with the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
I think I may take the liberty to read the 20th chapter 2 a few verses in there to connect up the the thought the 19th chapter.
The verse will pick up the thought from the 32nd verse. Then came the soldiers and break the legs of the 1St and of the other which was crucified with him that would usher these men into eternity.
And that's what it would do.
But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was dead already, they break not his legs, but one of the soldiers with a spear pierced his side.
Remember that the rib was taken out of Adam's side, right was taken from his side, for Roman soldier now and hatred raises that spear, and he pierces the side of the dead Christ.
You see, brethren, dear ones, the death of Christ is unique in every way.
You can see over and over again when you look at the death of Christ, you see facets and aspects about it which are totally unique.
Totally unique one among us is said. Think of the nails passing through his hands and his feet and not a bone broken.
Now this soldier raises this spear and pierces the side of the Lord Jesus, and something else miraculous happens because the blood issues forced.
Wonderful.
Now let's go into the 20th chapter and I want to see why this is so significant. You know the Bible.
Gives us contrast.
And here we're going to see a contrast now in the 20th chapter.
Verse 26.
And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them.
Then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hit her thy finger, and behold my hands, and reach, hit her thy hand, and thrust it into my side. And be not faithless, but be leaving.
00:05:05
Remember I told you earlier in Genesis to keep your eye fixed upon the fact that after God took that rib out of the side of Adam, he closed that flesh up again?
Now that precious Savior standing in resurrection life, that side is open.
It's open outside has never been closed.
I never realized, you know, you read it, but the impact of it does not hit you sometimes. That's why it's important to read the Word of God over and over again. Isn't that beautiful?
And Jesus is going to bear in his body forever those wounds in his hands, feet.
And his precious side.
Of course, what's Thomas? A pitcher up here?
He's no doubt a picture of the Jewish remnant that will believe in a coming day. They will believe.
But let's go on in the chapter, we'll see something.
Man, Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God, and he couldn't do any other. There was the evidence standing right in front of him.
Jesus after him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed.
That's the way it will be for the Jewish people. They'll see and they'll believe.
All that you and I have been called to something far greater. Look at the next bar. Blessed are they that have not seen and yet have believed. What a great thing.
What a great thing. You don't want to know that every practically every difficulty among us comes in as a result of two reasons.
Our unbelief.
And our self will.
Much mischief, if not all, can be traced to those two fountainheads. Unbelief.
And our own self will.
Oh, May God make us believing believers.
May make us believing believers that we will believe.
And made a self willingness, may it have no place.
Is everything.
I want to finish with a couple of thoughts in Ephesians. We touched on that book this morning. Beautiful book.
Ephesians chapter 2.
Verse 19 Now, therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, fellow citizens, with the Saints, and of the household of God built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. The thought is really the cornerstone, because there's only one.
In whom the whole building, all the building, but not in what it's, In whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord. Verse 22 is what I had specifically in mind.
In whom he also are builded together for inhabitation of God.
Through the Spirit back in Genesis, it tells us that with that rib that he took out of the side of Adam.
He builded a woman. That's what really the original word means there.
That verb build. It is brought over into the New Testament, and this word builded here for a habitation of God.
Through the spirit is the exact same verb in the Greek. Not interesting.
See how it all fits together.
You dear young people, you older ones, do you see how these things fit together?
Wonderful, isn't it?
Now it was our God who wrote the Bible.
Who is like unto me, declaring the end from the beginning, and things that are not as, and calling things that are not as though they were?
Wonderful, isn't it?
You know, wonderful to realize in the 5th chapter of Ephesians it says this.
This is a great mystery, but I speak as concerning Christ in the church. But a great thing it is.
But it's a blessed, blessed fact, a glorious fact.
Build it together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. Now there's nothing much drier than than than dry bones.
Their brothers brought that before pretty dry and that a dry bone Israel right to the point where there's not even a smell from a decaying corpse. Everything has just rotted away until there's a point where there's just nothing but but bones left, and dry ones at that.
00:10:17
But what is that in connection with the God of resurrection? Do you know this afternoon that resurrection is the greatest power that's known? Our God, our precious Savior, the one who himself said I'm the resurrection and the life. He is the one who holds that power. Brethren, this is the one we're gathered to. This is the one who's the head of the church.
This is the one who has called us to glory and virtue. This is the one.
Who? It says in Colossians, Christ is everything. Everything.
And so we have to bring the question home to our own hearts. What is He?
To me.
What is he to me?
I speak to you, dear young people.
Some of you have not taken your place at his table.
What's holding you back?
Do you know it's an unspeakable privilege to be able to sit down in his presence and remember him who not only went into death, but on that third day came out of that tomb triumphant? And as it tells us in Revelation 118, I am he that liveth and was dead. And behold, I am alive forevermore and had the keys of death and Hades of the departed state. It's all his. He has it all. In John chapter 10, it tells us very clearly, I am the resurrection and the life he that believeth in me.
Though he were dead, yet shall he live, And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. And he makes the question right home to her heart. Martha, do you believe this?
She says yay Lord, I believe.
She gets tested later.
Comes to the tomb.
The Lord turns to him. He says take away the stone.
It's very interesting the statement there and the sister of her of him that was dead. That's something that's like us. And the sister of her of him who was dead said Lord, by this time he stinketh, he's been dead for four days. And then the Lord says, said I not unto thee, that if thou wouldst what believe, I should see the glory of God resurrection.
Resurrection.
I want to finish with one final statement. Is this.
Do you and I believe.
Do you? And I believe this afternoon that we're on the verge of the greatest event.
Since the coming of the Holy Spirit.
To baptize all believers into one body, by the way, and not only baptize the church into one body, but it's the Spirit of God is going to lead us out of this world home to the Father's house, up there to meet Christ in the air. Think of it.
The power of the Spirit of God. I mentioned that to a brother the other day. It is interesting that the dead and the living rising, changing instantaneously in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trump. And I'll tell you something else that thrills my soul to think that all of the self will, all of what has been of man's arrangements that's going to be swept away.
At the coming of Jesus. One heart, one mind, 1 voice.
Blessed be his name, that's going to rise in a mighty crescendo to him, unto him that loves us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Brethren, we're getting closer. Apostle John reminds us in his first epistle, the 2nd chapter. I quote the first part of that verse. Little children, it is the last time. It is the last hour.
That's how it's read in the other translation.
We're right there, we're right there. What a thrill it's going to be to see that ancient people brought back.
Into blessing. What a thrill it's going to be to see Him given His rightful place. Every believer in this room longs for that day when Jesus alone is going to have His rightful place.
I trusted, so I just want to leave these few thoughts with us. May they encourage us. His side was opened and it will remain opened forever. Adams was opened and then it was reclosed.
In a lovely little pictures of the Spirit of God can give us in the word of God, I commend these things to us.
Recommend these things to us. We keep these things in mind. It will make the remembrance of the Lord really sweet to us, won't it?
That side is opened.
00:15:01
And we're going to see the marks of that servitude forever. Blessed be his name. Oh, may that love.
Grip our souls. May the realization of that love and amateur to a more fervent and a more arduous pursuit of those things that are pleasing to himself till he come.