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141.
2019.
All the northern art where it makes it a higher spin.
HIGHLAND, CA.
I have got some grass in a great sailor.
How far did we get Bob?
I suggest they start with verse four. I know we have made comments in four and five that we don't have to spend too much time there, but.
Ephesians, chapter 14.
According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world.
That we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. To Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He hath made us accepted. In the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.
Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence.
00:05:00
Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth, even in Him in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things.
After the counsel of his own will that we should be to the praise of his glory.
Who first trusted in Christ, in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation? In whom also after that you believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of His glory. Wherefore I also after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus.
And love unto all the Saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, The eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power.
To us who believe according to the working of His mighty power, which he wrought in Christ.
When He raised him from the dead, and set him at His own right hand in heavenly places, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And have put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him.
That filleth All in all.
As we were mentioning this morning, this chapter gives what God does. It's all his work in this chapter, and I think that's important to see. It's God's sovereign working man is responsible, He as well. But we don't get that in this chapter. Somebody has said that it's like the two rails of a railway track that runs side by side.
People constantly try to reconcile them, and in Scripture you find it presented. God is sovereign, man is responsible, and it runs side by side all through Scripture. And when we try to reconcile those things, sometimes we err, Brethren, let's leave the Scripture where they are. God is sovereign. At the same time, man is responsible.
And God is in this chapter is working. I'd like to point out something in verses four and five that I.
Have found helpful that in verse four when it's talking about choosing.
Or election we are talking about our persons he chooses persons but when we talk about predestination in in verse five we're talking about a position that he is when he chose us he had in mind for us to fill and as was brought out this morning it is says in the King James to the adoption of children. It's really.
To be brought into the position of sonship, remember.
In the story of the prodigal son, when the.
Younger son came back from the far country.
And he was going to say, Make me as one of thy hired servants.
God doesn't need any more hired servants, brethren. He's got millions of angels to do his will what he wants. His sons that can come into his house, that can sit down at his table, that can share his thoughts. That's the thought in sonship. That's where we've been brought. And so he's chosen us in verse four, and He's predestinated us to fulfill this position.
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Brethren, to be brought into all God's thoughts is wonderful and none of us get very far. But oh brethren, this is the place we have been brought to the older.
Son, who was also prodigal really, because he didn't want to come into the house when his father begged him to, wanted to make Mary with his friends. She didn't want to have anything to do really with his father. He was in his heart. He was as far away as his younger brother and was.
Really, even though he didn't outwardly transgress like his younger brother did. And that's where we are in nature. But just another thought here in verse four, brethren, that I've so thoroughly enjoyed.
He has chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. You know everything connected with the Church is heavenly, brethren.
So God first thought about us as being brought into sonship has no connection whatsoever with this world. It took place before there was any world in existence. I love what brother Eric Smith used to say about an old Indian, Bolivian Indian that explained it this way, he says.
Before God ever dropped a stone in place, He was thinking about this Indian Oh brother, and isn't that wonderful? He chose us in him, and it was that we should be wholly and without blame before Him in love. We're talking about position here. This is where we the place we occupy in Christ holy.
And this is complete holiness, positional, and we've been brought into it. It's not something we struggle to attain. This is where God has brought us in the work of Christ. And if we are brought into the enjoyment of it, it will give us power to walk in holiness of life practically.
Sometimes they give the illustration of a young lady who is going to be married and she puts on this beautiful white gown.
Beautiful. She goes out into the street to go to wherever it is. She's going to be married and out on the street there's a lot of dirty stuff. There's dirty cars. You think she's going to be careful how she walks down that street? She sure is. Why is she so careful? Because of that beautiful spotless gown she has on. And brethren, if we realize that's the position he's put us into.
It's not something I struggle to attain, but I've been brought into this and if we enjoy that, it will give us power to walk in holiness of life to not bring any.
Stain on that precious name that is named upon us.
That's because we have a divine nature that loves holiness. It's not something that we struggle to obtain. We we have.
That nature now that loves the things of God, has the capacity to enjoy the very same things that God himself enjoys. But we do have the old nature with us until the end of the story. So we have to walk with our brother Bob is beautifully brought before us, carefully, circumspectly, or else we, uh, can become.
Spotted.
With the world like the young lady that was going through a collary in Scotland with a beautiful white dress. The guide was taking them around through the coal mine and she said, Sir, is there anything wrong with me going down into the mine with this white dress on? Well, he said the young lady, lassie, it's there's nothing wrong in you going down, but I can't guarantee that you'll come up with a white dress.
So we are called upon to the unspotted from the world.
00:15:07
Mention two, that there is nothing in this chapter which is at variance with man's responsibility. Paul brings it in here in verse 12 and verses 12 and 13, how that he and others had first trusted in Christ, and that it was necessary for.
Them, of course, and they had trusted in Christ the same man whom the Spirit of God used to pen this epistle.
It's recorded of them in the 14th chapter of Acts that he and his company went into the synagogue in Iconium and so fake that a great multitude turned to the Lord. I'm sure when they spoke in that synagogue, it was not merely as was mentioned in the open meeting, going through the motions and saying it doesn't really matter what we say. No, they're no doubt was a real earnestness.
Why? Because they shared in the heart of God. But as Bob was mentioning, the emphasis here is on God and what He does.
I'd just like to mention the thought of adoption in a practical way.
Our brethren in uh, Ottawa have a young family of two children and they were adopted.
And the first time I saw them I would never connect.
He shouldered with the parents because one little girl was Ethiopian and I believe the young lad was from Africa. If I'm right now, just looking at the family situation, I would never guess in 1000 years that that was one family. I, I don't know. I mean, I wouldn't have known at that point. It wasn't until I talked to them.
And talk to the parents and to the brethren in that assembly, that that was a family now the children.
Believe fully that they were part of that family.
And I could see it, and others could see it. They love the parents and the parents love them. They were adopted even though they were totally different in nationality. And yet.
It was one.
Beautiful to have that adoption that we belong, uh, to a family and to the Lord Jesus Christ.
There's an Old Testament account that helps illustrate verse five. I could turn to it in Genesis.
Genesis chapter 48.
And verse 5.
This is when Joseph.
Brought his two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh.
Before his father Jacob, these boys were Jacob's grandsons.
And he brings them to his Father to be blessed.
Verse five. And now thy two sons, Ephraim and Manasseh, which were born unto thee in the land of Egypt, before I came unto thee into Egypt, are mine as Reuben and Simeon. They shall be mine, and thy issue, which thou begettest after them, shall be thine, and shall be called after the name of their brethren in there.
Inheritance. So there's an inheritance in view.
And.
Joseph brings these boys to his father, and his father says, as it were, they're not yours, they're mine. Well, they were Josephs.
They were born to Joseph. That's how they got into Jacob's family. They were born into it.
So what is Jacob saying?
When he says they're mine.
He qualifies it even as.
Reuben and Simeon.
Ruben and Simeon were these boys uncles.
And of the 12 sons of Jacob, they would all share in the inheritance that their father left them.
00:20:03
And now Jacob is elevating his two grandsons to the very same position of their uncles. And he said they're not going to get an inheritance through Joseph so much, but they're going to get an equal inheritance with their uncles. I'm bringing them to the same level and relationship to me as their uncles have. Well, their uncles were.
Jacob's sons, he says. These aren't my grandsons.
They're my sons and they're going to share in the inheritance equally and the purposes of God.
Levi was not going to get an inheritance.
That developed later and so God is providing in another side of things, splitting Joseph you might say, into two tribes, Ephraim and Manasseh, that there would be 12 tribes, all dividing the inheritance. Levi himself not having a portion. God was his portion.
And the and that was developed later. But here these two boys are brought to the same place as their uncles. That's the scriptural.
Doctrine of adoption.
You and I entered the family of God when by the will and word of God, we were born again.
There is only one way into God's family, and that is by birth.
But we have a status within that family of sons and there is a sharing of the inheritance with Christ. He's elevated us to that place to share the inheritance with his own son. And so we've been predestinated and the the word adoption really in Mr. Darby's translation is not there. It's sun ship.
Sun's place. He's brought us as near as could possibly be.
To the place of his own Son, to share that inheritance with his Son for all eternity. We've been predestinated. To that relationship of sons in the family of God. Again, you got into the family of God by His sovereign choice. You were born again.
But you have been given a status in that family, as close as could possibly be to that of his own. Son predestinated to sonship. Son's place.
Is often misunderstood, umm, it's not to receiving, uh, the divine life and being quickened, but it's really an upgrade into that position, uh, of the Lord Himself.
The Old Testament Saints were quickened, but they didn't have the adoption of sons.
I think that Steve has explained it very well.
Taking a person, uh, bringing a person into the family is not necessarily adoption in the scriptural sense of the word. Is that right, Bob?
Alright, question. Is it the same thought, brother Steve, uh, as we have in Romans 8IN connection with uh, uh, adoption there and then it adds the term joint air.
Is that the same thought there? Can I read the verses in Romans 8 and verse 15?
For ye have not received the spirit of ******* again to fear.
So you have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry ABBA. Father, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children.
Then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. I understand an illegal way is that joint heirs means to share equally.
Is this the same thought as you were bringing out?
I believe that is.
The same thought.
Perhaps.
The emphasis is more strongly.
On the place of being equal as heirs, then it is exactly the dividing of the inheritance and equal portions. In other words, it's the emphasis is more on the status to which we've been elevated than saying that Everett the Pi is divided in exactly 8 pieces, so to speak.
00:25:21
Maybe if we turn to Galatians we get a little more help with that.
Chapter 4.
And verse one.
Now I say that the air, as long as he is a child, differs nothing from a servant, though he be Lord of all that is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father. Even so we when we were children, were in ******* under the elements of the world.
But when the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law to redeem them, that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
And because ye are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, ABBA father. So we have children who are elevated to the position of sonship Son's place. And so in the Old Testament, those who were truly of faith were born of God, but they didn't know that they were children of God. They didn't enjoy that relationship as children of God. Why?
Because God was testing the 1St man.
Adams race and Adams race, the 1St man still had a standing before God until that test was completed. And so as long as the first man had a standing before God, that relationship of children could not be enjoyed or known.
But once that was done, then that could be brought out. And that's what the emphasis is in the Gospel of John. He gave them the right to be called the children of God, to know and enjoy that relationship as God's children and with one another as children of God.
And so the Jews, Paul says we Speaking of himself and the Jews.
In the Old Testament we're under, governors and tutors were any different than servants. So in a large, wealthy home, when the children are little, they might play with all the children of the servants that serve that home, and they all run around together and play games. And there are just no different. They're schooled together, they wrestle together, they play together. They're all just all on the same level. But the time comes.
When there's going to be a difference made?
They're no different than the servants, children when they were little. But the time comes when there's going to be a difference made. And that time came, the fullness of time. God sent his son, and he has brought them out from under that ******* of the law into liberty, into the place of sons. And then he says, And because ye are sons, Gentiles, we were never under the ******* of the law, never in that place, but we too have been brought into the place of sons because ye are sons.
God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son and your hearts crying ABBA Father to enjoy that relationship of.
Sons, I find it helpful, brethren, to distinguish between John's ministry which speaks of new birth into God's family by the will of God, and Paul's ministry speaks more of adoption and being brought into.
The position of sonship like has been explained, and I think it is helpful in natural things. You cannot be born into a family and adopted at the same time. But in the two aspects that we have in the ministry of John and the ministry of Paul, we have both that apply to us. So it's nice to take him as Scripture presents him, and that's simplicity.
Addiction and dignity.
Children, which is not really the, uh, correct translation. Here is relationship and nature which is developed in the future.
Questionnaire.
Uh, umm, wondering about Romans and Galatians and Ephesians here. If it's not the individual versus the, the collective, we know it's individual enrollments. We know it's the individual in, umm, in Galatians, but in Ephesians, it seems to me raises a question only so speaking about two groups and there, there's three examples of it. In the second chapter, we have the, the middle wall of partition between the Jews and the Gentiles.
00:30:25
Coming down to two groups.
In the first chapter verse 12 That we should be that appraised of his glory who first trusted or pre trusted in Christ the Jews and they of Pentecost and on those afterwards Enuma. He also trusted and he also trusted as we in need. See after that he heard the word of truth, the gospel your salvation. That's acts after 10 the Gentiles coming in.
As we see it purposely gonna be brought together in one perfect union in verse 10, a day coming, both groups are gonna be both. Those that are in in heaven, those are on earth. Is it not the collective here in Ephesians rather than the individual? Nothing makes a difference, I suppose.
I suggest that the emphasis in the first chapter is on individual privilege and then in the second chapter of the Spirit of God widens the spirit of collective privilege. So the collective privilege is not in any way left out here in the first chapter, because I believe Bob mentioned it in the reading meeting this morning, that at the end of the chapter, or maybe it was in the opening, I forget. But anyway, he mentioned that at the end of the chapter the collective aspect is brought in and of course in the.
Original ratings of the scripture. It wasn't divided into chapters and so.
What's at the end of chapter one as we have chapters divided?
Lead.
Excuse me, leads into the collective aspect. So it's just a matter of emphasis to show us. I believe that God deals first with individuals to give them the realization of their heavenly blessings and then brings in the collective part.
Going on in our chapter, uh, verse six says to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved or taken us into favor in the beloved. Here's another spiritual blessing, brethren, we stand before God in all the favor that he looks at his own beloved Son.
In that incredibly wonderful.
It's something we need to meditate on. Sometimes I see younger, young people and they don't feel accepted. They feel like they're the lone man out. They sit in a crowd like we are today, but they still feel alone.
Just let me say to you, if that's where you feel that you have been accepted in the highest level possible before God in Christ and you need to learn to enjoy that. Oh, the blessedness of it.
Taken into favor in the beloved.
Often enjoy the story of a. I'm sure many of you have heard it at Buckingham Palace in England. One morning a little boy appeared from the countryside. When he presented himself at the gate, he said, I want to see the Queen. And of course the guard said, no way, get out of here. And he stood off to the side. He'd come evidently from a distance and.
He didn't know what to do.
Down the street here comes another boy running towards the gate. And as he comes to the gate, the guards stand at attention. In your run straight in was the Prince of Wales. But as he gets into the gate he stopped. He had seen that little boy crying and he asked the guards what's what's wrong? Why is he crying? He wanted to see the Queen. He can't go in.
So the little Prince or the Prince says to the little boy, you come with me.
And he went right in to the queen with the Prince. He was accepted in the beloved. Oh brethren, do we understand that place of privilege and supreme favor that we occupy before God in Christ? If any question can be put on you in your position as a believer in the Lord Jesus, that question mark has to be laid on the Lord Jesus as.
00:35:30
At the same time, because we are accepted in the beloved. How beautiful, how wonderful, brethren.
HA Iron Side gave an illustration. He'd been on a farm years ago. It was a sheep farm. And he saw this creature running across the field and it looked like it had six legs and was tattered. And he asked one of the, uh, farmhands what that was. And the man ran and grabbed it and brought it back and it was a lamb and, uh, tied around it was a, a, another lambskin. And he asked him why.
He said, well, during birthing time we had a you that gave birth to a lamb, but it died. And we had another you that gave birth to a lamb and the you died. And so we thought, well, we'll put the orphan lamb with the living mother and let it nurse it and raise it. And they brought the lamb to it and she refused it. She sniffed it over. It wasn't hers, pushed it away, he said. So we skinned out the lamb that had died.
And we tied its fleece around the living one, and she smelled that and she accepted it and nursed it. And there was a happy little creature running across that field, well fed, accepted in the beloved.
And we said chapter one is what we are as children to the father, and chapter 5, what we are the spouse of the of the bridegroom, the what we are surprised.
Christ is the fact that we are going to share.
With the Lord, all this glory that he will have as Son of man, he's not going to take it alone. He's going to take it in His Saints. I don't know whether I'm answering your question or not, but.
What was your question again?
Chapter one is what we we are to the Father as children and chapter 5 what we are.
The the the bride of Christ to Christ.
What we are to Christ and what we are to the following, well, our position, uh, will be, uh, as the consort, the, uh, the queen of the uh.
Bedroom In that coming day, uh, there will be a complete, uh, new, uh, government in Ottawa. This, uh, where I live this week there was the inauguration of a completely new government.
New Prime Minister, uh, new cabinet. Everything was changed in Ottawa this week, 3000. People witnessed it. Well, when we are with Christ, there's going to be a complete change of the whole administration of this world. We're going to reign as, as with Christ as we drive, is going to share that inheritance which has connection with the earth.
Umm, with his bride, he's not going to reign alone. We are going to reign with him. I think that's the thought in verse 10, but I don't know if I've answered our brother's question or not.
Perhaps this doesn't answer the question, but it's along the same line. Umm, I've been listening to a tape in the car and I was with another brother and uh, I think that whoever was his brother sitting on the tape set, uh, there's not going to be one person in heaven any nearer to the Lord Jesus than you are. And the fellow riding on the car with me said, well, what about the person sitting on the left hand and the right hand?
Well, if you're reading a revelation in chapter 3, I, I suppose that's the overcoming of such a thing that overcome. I will give them, uh, I will get to him to sit with me in my phone and, uh, in any way that we can possibly imagine will be an all nearness in the closeness of correct.
00:40:13
We do get our relationship to God the Father.
Established and settled in the first chapter. Later on there's the development of the mystery and our relationship to Christ. But it's important in the order because first we're settled in our position before God. There's no question of as to our being there in any wise contrary to his nature. We're ex. We're before him without blame, holy and in love.