Reading
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Together in #207.
Shall we see thy face, and hear thy heavenly voice well known to us in present grace? Well may our hearts rejoice. 274.
Group 9 verse 30.
And behold their talk within two men, which were Moses and Elias, who appeared in glory, and spake of his disease, which he should accomplish at Jerusalem.
We ask the Lord.
Without diverting a call from the scriptures that have been before us, the one was thinking of the hymn that we just sung and the one that commenced almost the commencement of our meeting 1064, O bright and blessed scene, may return for a moment to Revelation 21.
Just a few versions of this chapter.
Rather.
This chapter and the first part of 22.
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the 1St heaven and the first earth were passed away, and there was no more seed. And Revelation 21 and one. And I I, John, saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the Tabernacle of God is with men, and he was dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain.
For the former, things are passed away.
And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Right, for these words are true and faithful. And he says unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life.
Freely in chapter 22.
And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystals, proceeding out of the throne of God, and of the land in the midst of the street of it. And on either side of the river was there the tree of life, which had 12 manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree were for the healing work, for the healing of the nation.
And there shall be no more curse but the throne of God, and of the Lamb shall be in it, and his servant shall serve him. And this is the verse that our hymn reminds us of just now. And they shall see his face, and his name shall be in there forehead, and there shall be no night there. And they need no candle, neither light of the sun.
00:10:12
For the Lord God give us him light.
And they shall reign forever and ever. And he said unto me, These things are faithful and true. And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent his angels to show unto his servants the things which must shortly be done. Behold, when I come quickly.
But your thought, Brother Smith to.
Rather, connect the subject with what we were considering as to the Councils of God in the first of Ephesians.
That was partially my thought, that the hymns brought it more vividly before me.
Your thought wasn't to take this up rather than Ephesians. No, it wasn't.
On the 13th.
13 first one.
Just to the end of the capture.
How far should we Read What you think? The End of the Chapter Brother Rule Seasons 113.
In whom ye also trusted after that she heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation.
And whom also after that he believed, he were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption.
Of the purchased possession, under the praise of the glory, under 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 and my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ the Father glory may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, and the knowledge of him with 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 sent him in his own right hand in the 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 half put all things under his feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him that fill us All in all.
Some felt that we dropped the subject of the ceiling of the Spirit without.
Further consideration that would be helpful.
It would be instructive for us to understand the difference between being born of the Spirit and being sealed by the Spirit if you turn to the first chapter of John.
And the third chapter you get being born of the Spirit.
Lord says to Nicodemus in the third verse of John three, he must be born again, or except a man, be born again. He cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
00:15:09
Then in the fifth verse you read, Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I stand to thee.
Except the man be born of water and of the Spirit, you cannot enter into the Kingdom of God.
There's two things that.
Are brought before us in connection with you. Birth the water and the Spirit. The water is the word of God, because the Lord says in the 15th chapter, Now ye are clean not to the water. I wash your feet with showing that was just the sign, but through the Word which I have spoken unto you, showing that the word of God is the vehicle or the instrument.
That the Spirit of God uses in connection.
With a new birth, well, that's another subject. We do not want to confuse these two subjects. And you'll notice that in the first chapter of Ephesians, the 13th verse, where we started reading, he says in whom ye also trusted. After that he heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Notice that, The gospel of your salvation.
And whom also after that she believed it was believing the gospel of their salvation. You were sealed without Holy Spirit of promise.
So one could be born of the Spirit before they're sealed with the spirit.
The the being sealed with the Spirit is definitely the result of believing the gospel, the gospel of your salvation.
I just mentioned that so we might have clear thoughts about this subject.
For the first work of the Spirit of God is to produce light. It's been likened to a dead corpse. Say a man was lying there on the floor in death, and you pile a lot of weights on his chest. He wasn't feeling. He wouldn't be any word from him. But suppose it was possible for you to impart late to that body. What is the first thing you would hear?
You'd hear a thief grow. Oh, get these weights off of me. Well, that's the way. The spirit of God.
Often works with the souls of sinners. He convicts them, he makes them feel that.
That they're, you know, they lost sinners, but they have peace with God, yet they may never have heard the full gospel of the death and resurrection of Christ.
Well, the Sinner is there, convicted of sin.
Before that, he was in a state of death of Ephesians, one tells.
For in our own converted state, we're looked at as dead in trespasses and sins, and the dead man has no sense of his lost condition. Conscience might trouble him about his sins at times, but to realize that he's lost on the way to a lost eternity, he hasn't realized that in his soul.
But as soon as the word of God reaches his conscience, he feels then so that he's lost and he's trouble about his sins. I think of a dear man that said that there was just one word that convicted him, That word was held. He said he was a policeman in Scotland on his beach one night and there was a street meeting going on down the street.
Then all he could hear was just a voice. And finally the preacher raised his voice and he got that one word. Hell, he says, That's where I'm going. I'm going to hell. And he said he had no peace slot ever. He was tormented and the thought that he was going to hell.
Until a brother came to him and presented the gospel to him one night and he accepted the gospel. And then he said he was in his room at the barracks of the police station and he went down to the mist hall where where they got their meals. It was in the night and he said two men, two soils, I mean two policemen had just come in from their beach.
00:20:08
And he thought to himself, well, now I have accepted the Lord, I shall give thanks for the meal. So he bowed his head. And as soon as he did that, while these policemen spoke up, they said, Max converted. Max converted Jonathan walking. But he said just the instant that he made that confession. In that way, he said he had the assurance in his soul that he was saved. Because it says, you know, in Romans 10 and 9.
Thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart.
That God has raised him from the dead, Thou shalt be saved. The confession gives the assurance to the soul of the work that has been wrought in the soul. So you can see how many a scripture has awakened the center. There's life there, but he hasn't heard the gospel. He hasn't entered into peace. Your old brother Will Car and Don used to say this, that believing in the person of Christ.
Will give life. Believing in the work of Christ gives peace.
Because those verses stated in this way who was raised, who was delivered for our offenses.
Was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. You see, the peace with God is the result of believing.
In the truth of the death and resurrection of Christ, then the soul enters into peace.
I just state this because I believe it's important to see that distinction between the new birth and the ceiling of the spirit.
The stealing of the spirit.
God's mark upon the believer.
If my brother Gill, expressing it this way, says you draw up a legal document, it's all written up and signed and then the government comes in and puts their seal upon it, then that is the finding of the government whose seal is a funny. So when we think of God's seal and the seal is the coming and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
Yes, binding an eternal God himself.
Indwelling the Spirit of God is true with those who believe the gospel, and it's the presence of the Holy Spirit which dwells in the body of the believer that makes us unhappy if we're not walking in the truth. Because God has revealed to us and the indwelling of the Spirit is the earnest as well as.
You find there and you get to the 4th of these seasons. The Apostle there says read not the Holy Spirit of God whereby you are sealed under the day of redemption. Here we get the truth of the Spirit of the seal that is his taking his place and dwelling in the believer now that he has come and he is dwelling in US. Let's be careful how we treat the divine guests, as old brother Haley is to say.
We have the divine gift dwelling in us. How do we treat him?
How would we treat the most honored guests that we ever had in our home? Would we just deliberately do things that would displease him, that would hurt his feelings and grieve him? Well, let's think of God's Holy Spirit. What a guess we have dwelling in us now as believers. Let's be careful we don't. We do nothing that will grieve that Holy Spirit, but you can't grieve him away.
Like many speak about grieving him away, but that very verse that tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God is the very verse that tells us that he remains in it.
As it says there, whereby we are sealed onto the day of redemption, that's when our bodies are redeemed, so we'll never cease to have the Holy Spirit of God dwelling within us.
00:25:07
It's a solemn thing for us to think about it if we're careless.
In our Christian walk, because the Holy Spirit, that divine person, is in our heart wherever we go. And if we go places that will grieve him, let us remember that we're taking him there.
And he's in our hearts, no matter what we look at, what we're occupied with.
No matter what we're doing, what we're saying, let's remember that he is there.
And he is there to occupy us with Christ.
If we walk in, the Spirit will not fulfill the lust of the flesh and what is walking in the Spirit, but being occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit would not occupy us with anything but Him and the things connected with him. And that's why it's good for us to be in meetings like this, because God by his Spirit.
Wants to occupy us with the Lord Jesus Christ, and what better is there than to be occupied with him to go along with the Holy Spirit that he's spoken of as a Comforter or an Advocate, one who goes alongside of us and he wants to draws along and occupies with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Oh, let's let's think about that. We have this in the scripture. We might sound a warning.
It christened them today in many quarters.
Gotten occupied with the Holy Spirit and they signed gifts, speaking in tongues and all that.
Well, perhaps.
There's a feeling of a lack in Christendom.
And because of wrong instruction.
The enemy comes in and gets God's people occupied with the spirit of God in the wrong way.
And instead of being occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ, they're getting occupied with the Holy Spirit.
And I'm sure, according to what we have in the words, that this is grievous to God.
To see people getting occupied with a third person instead of the second person, the Lord Jesus Christ, because why is the Holy Spirit come to occupies with Christ?
And not to occupy us with himself. And so dear souls are being LED into error in wrong ways.
And they're missing something when they're not occupied with the Lord Jesus Christ.
We need to remember that the word of God and the Spirit of God cannot be separated, and anything that is pretended to be according to the leading of the Spirit will at the same time stand the test of the word if it's really by the Spirit. And so even in new birth which was read to us after man be born of water and of the Spirit, the 2GO together.
And so in our whole pathway, the Word of God has been indicted by the Spirit, holy men of God, fake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost. And so let us never think the Spirit of God would ever lead us contrary to the Word of God. So when you hear of something that pretends to be something of the Spirit, tested by the Word, and this is how we'll find out in the 13th chapter of Deuteronomy, it tells us that there might be among the people.
Person who would arise and show a sign or a wonder, Well, how are the people to know whether this sign or wonder was from God?
Whether it came to pass, Oh no, it said it might come to pass. Even the Lord was not according to God. They were to know it by whether it was drawing them after some other than the Lord and teaching them disobedience to His Word. And whenever I see a talk about the spirits leading which is building up something that is contrary to the Word of God, I reject it, because the Spirit of God will lead by the Word.
Man bearing a pitcher of water, was leading those disciples to the place where the Lord would have them, and I believe it's a figure of how the Spirit of God always uses the Word. And we'll be kept from many things that are false if we remember this and test things not by whether there seems to be power or even whether The thing is true is it according to the word of God. This is the test by the Word of thy lips.
00:30:13
Have I kept me from the powers of the Destroyer? I remember having a few meetings in one place one time.
And some outsiders came to the meeting, and there was a couple that came, and they belonged to a particular group, where much emphasis was put upon the Spirit and speaking in tongues and women, women speaking too.
In the church.
And I have said nothing about this line of things. I was just preaching the gospel.
But after the meeting I got to talking with this couple and I don't know how we got on the subject of.
Of women speaking. But perhaps the ladies said something about that she she did some preaching sometimes because I believe both of them were ordained.
And so I just tried to point out from the Scripture that the woman was out of place to take a place like that and to speak in the church as she as she said, and that this was God's mind. God had given us this word through the Apostle Paul, by the Spirit, and the Spirit was saying that the women should keep silence in the assembly. All but she said, when the Spirit comes upon me, I have to speak.
Well, I tried to point out that the Spirit of God would not contradict what he had said. The Word was given by the Spirit, and he would not act contrary to the word that he had given. Well, I don't know if they gave me to it, I don't suppose, but it's a trap that the enemy gets people into, and he can trap every one of us in this way too.
You'll notice in these verses that you get two ways the Spirit of God is brought before us.
You get the ceiling of the Spirit, and then in the 14th verse you get the Earnest of the Spirit.
And in the.
First chapter, Second Corinthians. You also get the anointing of the spirit also in the and the second chapter, the first episode of John. Other passages. So we do have these three ways that the Spirit of God is brought before us.
And each house with distinct meaning how we've already.
Had brought before us that when it's the ceiling of the spirit, it has to do with security.
And you go on in this.
In the 13th verse there is more enjoyment.
So I believe we could state it this way. If the ceiling is for security, the anointing is for power, and the earnest is for enjoyment. Remember that passage where Peter is speaking in the 10th chapter of Acts where he says Jesus he was anointed with a Holy Ghost and with power who went about doing good. And so on so.
You get that in the first epistle of John connection with a believer, he have that power that even the Blessed Lord zest in connection with his ministry, because the Lord never went out in his ministry until after his baptism, when the Holy Spirit came down in dove like form and lighted upon him. That was the anointing of the Spirit, and we might just by the way call attention.
Into this that he came in a dove like form from the Blessed Lord. But he didn't come in a dove like form from those in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. He came in tongues of fire. Redemption had cleansed the vessel so that the Spirit of God could dwell in them, now that the work of the cross was over. But.
There's still that old nature within the believer that constantly.
Needs judgment. So fire is judgment, and there is the constant need of the judgment of everything that pertains to that old nature. Still we have the Spirit of God dwelling in US. But to get back to our subject here in the 14th verse, Speaking of the Holy Spirit of promise, he said, which is the earnest of our inheritance.
00:35:22
Until the redemption of the purchased possession of the praise of His glory.
To make it clear while an earnest means.
It's like the first payment. Say there's a house put up for sale.
And you say, well, there's a bargain. I want to buy that house, but I haven't all the money to pay for it. So you you pay a certain amount down on that for that property. Well, that's the earnest money. That's the security that all will someday be paid. Well, beloved, we have not yet entered into all that God has, indeed.
For the enjoyment and blessing of our souls.
Just like the portion Brother Smith was reading that takes us up into the coming scene of glory when we're with and like our Blessed Lord in those scenes of delight where we shall be with him forever. But we have already the earnest. The very fact that we see the faces of God's people and the enjoyment of these ministers, of these meetings and of these precious hymns, shows that that the earnest of the Spirit is at work, giving us the enjoyment of coming glory. That's before us. So when it's the earnest.
You see it has to do with the.
Coming blessings of God's people. Marvelous that we have the very same Holy Spirit dwelling in us now that we'll have when we're in glory with Him. Know when the Lord rose from the dead, He spake by the Holy Ghost as you read in the first chapter of Acts, and He is a pattern of all God's people, so it shows the same Holy Spirit will be dwelling in us when the Lord has taken us.
To the glory at home within the Father's house.
Perhaps he could just add, in connection with being filled with the spirit, that this is an exhortation, isn't it?
When one is sealed with a spirit, the earnest and the anointing take place simultaneously.
So all that the indwelling of the Spirit is the ceiling, the earnest and the anointing. But being filled with the Spirit is an exhortation. It says be not drunk with wine, we're in a success, but be filled with the Spirit. It says of those in the day of Pentecost that they were all filled with the Spirit.
Now this is not the thought that God does not, at the moment of one being sealed, give the Holy Spirit as a person. It tells us in John three God giveth not his Spirit by measure. Now I might mention that in our translation it says unto him, but in the new translation it's God giveth not his Spirit by measure. And each one of us have as much of the indwelling Spirit of God as the other, but each one is not fully yielded to the leading of the Spirit.
And so in the early church, they were yielded to the leading of the Spirit, and we're exhorted that we might do this.
How often it's true that instead of allowing the Spirit of God to lead us in all our actions.
Why? We hinder the work of the Spirit within our souls by something aloud that is contrary to him. The person is there and he is that blessed person. It's not a continual infilling, it's one person, the Holy Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity, who indwells the believer. But we need to yield to his leading, and one who is filled with the Spirit will be yielded to the leading of the Spirit in all things.
So he could never make such a boast that God could say such a thing.
Of an individual or of his people in the early days. But for a man to say is filled with a spirit would be a boast. We never find such a thing for the individual. It's an exhortation to be filled with the Spirit. Are we allowing this blessed person who indwells us to lead us in all things? Or is there something where we want our own wills? And so in connection with the work of the Spirit, the work of the Spirit is to occupy us with Christ.
00:40:00
But there are occasions where he must occupy us with soul now not to see if we're making progress, because this would lead to pride or discouragement. The Spirit would only occupy us with self to judge self. Because that's why, as our brother just remarked, when the Spirit came upon the believers, he came in cloven tongues as a fire, not upon the Lord, for there was nothing in him that required self judgment. But in us the Spirit is there, and so coming in glowing tongues as a fire is a continual exercise.
In our hearts. But if we're going to walk in communion, we must also walk in self judgment. And if there isn't that self judgment in our lives, communion will be broken. And one has sometimes said, the Christian can be the happiest person on earth or the most miserable because he is given to enjoy the most marvelous, wonderful portion, That it's possible for a human to enjoy what he has in Christ and for all eternity to enjoy it by the Spirit.
But he can also be the most miserable, because that divine guest who dwells within us will remind us of those things not pleasing and that are a hindrance and all. How miserable we can be. If the Spirit has to do that work that he doesn't like to do, but must do for God's glory and for our blessing, well, thank God. When we get home to glory, the Spirit will be unhindered and will be able to fill every heart to the fullest possible extent with the glory and loveliness of Christ.
And all that we have in him.
There's a beautiful illustration in the 4th chapter of Second Kings of his giving, not giving, his spirit by measure. You remember how the poor widow cried to Elijah the prophet while her son was being sold into captivity and his word was?
Go borrow vessels. Borrow not a few, for she had only one cruise of oil in in the house.
And then he told her to pour out. And so they poured out. And the more vessels, the more oil there was to fill those vessels.
At last she asked her son for another and he had to tell there was number more vessels.
And then it says the oil stayed. But it doesn't say the oil was exhausted, did it? There was all enough there to fill as many more vessels. But the limitations of receiving the oil depended on the faith of those that went out and borrowed those vessels. So the more obedience and faith we have to go on with grace, the more we have of the blessing and enjoyment.
Of the of the Spirit of God, because there's no limit to the blessing the Spirit of God can bring to our souls.
Perhaps we can just add a little comment on another thing that is much misunderstood. The baptism of the Spirit, I believe, have rather than that the enemy is making a great attempt to falsify the truth of the activities of the Spirit of God. In these days we're living in the last days. The power of Satan is increasing and will increase. We we know that after the Church is gone, there will be such a marvelous display of the power of Satan in this world.
And it tells us that when deceive it were possible of very election, there will be such an invitation of power displayed in the earth, that the world will be carried away with it, and Christians are liable to mistake the activity in this world of that which is false.
For that which is true, and the word of God is our only safeguard in these things.
If we go by the word of God, then we have positive and sure direction. Well, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is never spoken of in Scripture as an individual thing. It's a collective thing, and it's associated in Scripture with two different occasions. On the day of Pentecost, the Spirit of God came down and there were 120 in the upper room, or about 120, and it tells us that they were there and the Spirit came and sat upon each of them and filled the house where they were sitting. And those 120 were then baptized by 1 spirit into one body.
And the second occasion is the bringing in of the Gentiles in the House of Cornelius. And when this was related by Peter, he mentions that this again was a fulfillment of that promise that was made, and he shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. And that what took place in the day of Pentecost was of Jews only Then, when it was the bringing of the Gentiles, the same word is again used, and they were baptized with the Holy Ghost.
00:45:14
That is the those are the only two occasions, and it is the bringing of the Jew and Gentile. But the baptism of the Holy Spirit is not spoken of as an individual thing. It is that collective thing that unites us to every other believer.
On earth, unto Christ the head of glory. And now, just like adding to a group that already exists, we're added as individuals by the indwelling of the Spirit to what now exists the Church of God on earth. And as you remarked in this little incident in the Old Testament, I believe that's when the oil will stay, that is, when the last vessel, when the work of gathering out the bride is completed, then the work of the Spirit of God is gouging out. This bride will be completed, and he'll quicken our mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in US. And just as the servant brought the bride's back and didn't rest until he had presented the bride to Isaac.
So the work of the spirit is even associated.
Where the changing of these bodies and then will be presented to Christ, there in the glory as as His bride. Sometimes they swell to have a scripture to establish statements that are made. So I would suggest 1St Corinthians 1212 to corroborate what you have been saying, Brother Hill.
Or it's really a First Corinthians 12/13.
Or by 1 Spirit, are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, and have been made to drink into one Spirit?
You see, he makes a positive state by 1 spirit are and he doesn't say anywhere being baptized continuously, but he speaks out as a has a fact we are. That is, it's just like any organization, say the Mason Lodge. They're organized, but when they bring in another member, they don't break up the old organization and reorganize their lives. It's already established.
And they another individual is just brought in.
Unless the view of the Apostle is giving us there of the Church of God as the body of Christ by 1 Spirit.
Or are we all baptized into one body? Well, now just read on a little farther in the chapter.
And the.
18th verse But now have God set the members, everyone of them, in the body as it has pleased Him. The body was formed on the day of Pentecost. We get the compliment of whether he or shown us in the tents where the Gentiles were brought in and the baptism was complete. And now God is adding members to that which has already been formed by.
Coming of the Holy Spirit.
So that now the baptism of the Spirit is a complete thing. You'll never be another baptism of the Spirit of God, because the body is formed and just new members are being brought into that which the Spirit of God himself has formed. And we might just say this as a word.
To the conscience of any who.
Mike the entice on times to go and join some denomination or organization. Suppose I go and join some organization in Christendom. Sound as it might be, what have I done? I've simply gone and joined something. The Spirit of God has nothing to do with it because he has already formed the body and I didn't have to join it. When I accepted the gospel. The Spirit sealed me.
And put me into that body.
Just as Paul says, God has set the members everyone in the body. Not as that pleased me or someone else, but it has pleased him. He set each one in the body and the Lord. That's the only.
00:50:07
That's only the only church relationship that I own is membership of the Body of Christ.
Could we also just mention something else and that is the Spirit of God here on earth as a divine person? That is, not only does the Spirit of God indwell the bodies of believers, but on the day of Pentecost it tells us that he filled the house where they were sitting. It also says an Ephesians 2 That we are builded together for an habitation of God by the Spirit. Then it tells us in First Corinthians 3.
If any man defile the temple of God, him shall. God is destroyed, for the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. And in that passage he also says that the Holy Spirit of God dwelleth in you, but that is not in us as individuals. In First Corinthians 6 it says your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, but in First Corinthians 3 it's collectively the Spirit of God dwells in the house. Now brethren, this is what characterizes this present dispensation.
It never was true before. There were souls quickened in the Old Testament, but never indwelled by the Spirit. Led by the Spirit, Inspired by the Spirit, yes, but not indwelled by the Spirit. Nor does the Spirit dwell upon earth as a divine person in the Old Testament. But what was what specially characterizes this day is those two things, the indwelling of the Spirit in the believer and the Spirit of God on earth in the professing House of Christendom and when it says in First Corinthians 3.
If any man befile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. He is looking upon it as the professing house. And so if a man brings in wicked evil doctrine into the professing House of Christendom, he defiles the temple of God, where the Spirit of God dwells.
And this is a very solemn thing, because right into the place where the Spirit has come to lead us.
Into all truth of what's in the heart of God. What has man done? Well, through the workings of Satan he has introduced into it that which denies the person of Christ, the work of Christ, the leading of the Spirit. All this has been introduced, not into a Mohammedan country, but right into the place where the Spirit of God dwells. And this is solemn. And that's why it says about the different workmen in First Corinthians 3, if you read the chapter carefully.
It speaks about being workers together with God, and there we find.
Men At Work. There are three classes of workmen in that chapter. There is a saved Workman with good work.
And it says, if any man's work abide which he has built, thereupon he shall receive a reward. There is a save Workman, and his work is good, and it abides. Then it speaks of another class, a saved Workman with poor work. It says that if any man's work be burned, he shall suffer loss.
Yet he himself shall be saved, yet closed by fire. A true Christian can go to work and build up something that's not of God, and it will not abide the day of testing. It will be manifested that the work that he did was not according to the mind of God, even though he himself was the same man. And this will come out in the day when all is manifested. Then the third one is the one who defiles the temple of God, the man who is an unbeliever, who brings in wicked doctrines that attacks the very foundations of the faith, and this man.
Has brought in that which defiles, and it says, if any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy, which temple ye are. And in the time when all this is brought out for the unbeliever, this will be a tremendously solemn thing. And we find this in Hebrews 10, where it says of how much sore punishment. Suppose ye shall he be thought worthy, who have trodden under foot the Son of God.
And account of the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace there is one who defiled the temple of God, and the judgment is of a very solemn character. Well at the Lord's coming then the Spirit of God will no longer dwell in the professing House of Christendom. The spirit of God will leave. And although he'll be active in this world after, as he was even before the day of Pentecost, there is that which especially.
00:55:03
Characterizes the present day in which we live, and I believe if we see this, why I might say in a simple way. That's why when we gather together as an assembly, we recognize the presence of the Spirit of God and His leading. Not only leading me individually, but among His people leading whether it's in worship or in ministry.
In John's Gospel, we have two things brought together in the 7th chapter, verse 39.
It was on the last.
Today the great day of the feast that Jesus Christ, if any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that leaveth on me is the Scripture. Sent out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water, and it explains it. But this fakie of the Spirit, which they that live on him should receive, for the Holy Ghost was not yet given well, this was before the day of Pentecost, But on the day of Pentecost he was given, because the Jesus was not yet glorified.
Well, the Lord ascended up to glory 10 days before the Holy Spirit came. But these two things are connected here.
The giving of the Holy Spirit and Jesus being glorified. Well, this brings together the two things no doubt that we have in our chapter. Because we're pointed to the Lord Jesus Christ in the heavenlies. And we're made to know that when the Holy Spirit came down to indwell us, we're connected with the Lord Jesus Christ in glory, baptized into one body, but remembering that the Lord Jesus Christ is the head of the body.
And we're the members down here, and we're all joined together to one another and to the Lord Jesus Christ up there in the glory. And this is what constitutes us a heavenly people. We were joined to him, connected with him up there in the glory, and by the Holy Spirit who's been given, who indwells our hearts.
I mentioned need of the grieving of the Spirit of God.
The filling of the Spirit. Perhaps we could have some thought on the quenching of the Spirit.
We could quench the Spirit in another, couldn't we?
That's exercise for any of God's people that are conduct, something that we might say, or even our our action in a meeting might close the mouth of another that the Spirit of God could use if we hadn't failed in some way. So that there is a loss in the assembly. We grieve more of the Spirit of God in ourselves. We quench the Spirit of God.
More in connection with others.
That's an exercise for us, each one or anything in my ways that is quenching the spirit of God in the assembly. Would you gather this from what we have the scripture that gives that is First Thessalonians chapter 5, verse 19. And I was just asking would we gather what you're saying Brother Barry from?
Verses 19 and 20 it says in verse 19 whence not the Spirit. And then right after that it says despise not prophesying. Well, this sort of gives us the context, doesn't it? And what you were saying that we could hinder the Spirit in others while despising the prophesying would be along that line, wouldn't it?
Very good, Brother Anderson. One man ministry. The the quenching of the spirits as well. I'm sure that's right.
My brother just takes over Why? He's really quenching the spirit. You have to be careful.
Of course in the system. Why you see it there?
In a very sad way, because we have to be careful with those things will not creep in among us now that we're gathered to the Lord's name.
So there are many ways you might look at quenching of the Spirit.
But also in the verse of Brother Anderson has called our attention to despise, not prophesying. Read the next verse, prove all things hold fast after she's good. Because Brother ministers in the meeting is no guarantee that everything he said is is true and correct. We have to prove it.
01:00:09
We prove it by testing it with the Word of God. Is it right? Is it according to the Word?
And what is good, what we're to hold fast. But sometimes, you know, a humble brother or a simple brother may make remarks in the meeting or give a little word of exhortation. And you might say, well, that brother has no gift, isn't a good speaker, and my despise his efforts. In that way you'd be quenching the spirit.
Because in those days, as you get in the 14th of First Corinthians, that the prophet spoke to men to edification, exhortation, and comfort.
We have redemption mentioned in our chapter in verse 7.
Well, I take it that's the redemption of the soul there. It's redemption through the blood. That's what we have now. But redemption is spoken of also in verse 14. But that's a future thing, isn't it? That's the future part of redemption.
This is what we're looking forward to. At least we ought to be looking forward to that, that time when we'll be associated with the Lord Jesus Christ, when he'll have us with himself.
That's the completion of the transaction, isn't it?
The body is already purchased.
The Apostle says in the 6th chapter, First Corinthians, you are not your own. You're bought with a price. What was the price redeemed with the precious blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot?
That while they are purchased these bodies in the sense in which they are spoken of here, they're not yet redeemed.
The very fact we're wearing glasses and some hearing aids so that we're still in mortal bodies getting old and some feeble and many infirmities showing that we're only here for a time about a glorious, marvelous thing. The redemption of the body really is when these bodies are changed. What as we look at Philippians 3 for a moment.
Plenty of verse.
For our conversation is really citizenship is in heaven, from whence also we look for the Savior.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
Who shall change our wild body? Read that body of humiliation, that it may be faken like unto his glorious body, according to the working, whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.
My glorious, marvelous remarks, Oh surely are chains.
These poor bodies of humiliation. And what kind of a change is it? It's merely that we get a body that's suited for heaven, true as that surely is, but like aren't his glorious body our brother Clifford Brown?
Has an answer to those who raise all kinds of questions. How can the dust of?
There's millions that have died from Adam on that be brought together again. Those that have been drowned at sea and so on may be eaten of sharks. How can those bodies be recovered? He says. There are three words that answers the whole thing.
He is able. That's all we need. We don't need to reason on it and think of a marvelous power of God. He is able.
Faith asked no questions.
The work of the Spirit now is not manifested in taking us out of the sufferings that we have as part of this groaning creation, but in helping our infirmities. So we read in Romans 8. It says likewise also the Spirit helpeth our infirmities, and saw how wonderful it is that this person who is yet going to quicken these mortal bodies by the Spirit dwelling in US, that now the work of the Spirit is to help our infirmities.
01:05:18
And here is a dear St. with some weakness of body, and this great power that is now on our behalf, not openly displayed in taking us out of it, but in a more wonderful way, strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness. And I think we all can say that it takes much more energy of the Spirit of God to be patient in the midst of suffering.
And physical weaknesses than the display of that power that will even deliver us from it. If one was sick and the Lord raised him up to hell. But wouldn't be such a display of the power of God before the world, as here's one with that body of suffering, a living, shining testimony for the Lord Jesus? Well, what a privilege that we have. And if we would only allow the Spirit of God to help us, we cry out and ask Him to take us out of it. Perhaps His answer is sometimes to help us in it, to be faithful, to be patient, to be a testimony for him in it.
Wonderful, important part of the work of the Spirit.
Fishing to his blessed will in connection with the trial that He has permitted is one of the outstanding fruits of the Spirit. Isn't it submission to the will of the Lord?
No, that verse in the 17th of John where the Lord says, and I am glorified in them, God might be far more glorified and blessed Lord.
And a bedridden St. who is submitting to the Lord's will in the trial than in one who is out preaching the gospel, because one out preaching the gospel who is in active service, gets more or less of a prominent place among the Saints.
The one that's submitting to the will of God and the deep and sore trial. There's nothing to exhaust self in that at all, but just quietly, day by day as time goes on, submitting to the Lords blessed will in connection with the affliction that is precious in the sight of the Lord. And he says I am glorified in them, but he doesn't tell the ones that he is speaking to that he is glorified in them.
Lord, tell the Father about that.
Well, it's nothing. Burst, begins the apostles Prayer now for the Saints, doesn't it, That the Saints might know these things, they might lay hold of them not merely in their minds, but that they might lay hold of it in their hearts.
I suppose while we are sitting here and talking about these things.
We feel how feeble we are, how weak we are in the matter of entering into these things. Well, that's why we need a prayer like this.
We need to look at this prayer and and make it a pattern for our prayers because certainly we need the ability.
To enter into these things, we need grace and strength. We need to be enlightened. We need to have our eyes and our hearts opened up to take it in.
A verse where that tells of the apostles prayers. The 16th verse ceased not to give thanks for you making mention of you in my prayers that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, well that's the apostles prayer for the Saints.
You find 2 prayers. The second prayer is in the third chapter. The first prayer is that they might know. The second prayer is that they might take it in these marvelous councils of God that have been set before us in this first part of the first chapter.
Notice in this 15 verse two it ought to be the faith and love go together. It says in the end of Galatians faith which worketh by love we.
01:10:00
Here of people who brought fast faith, but if there isn't love for the Lord Jesus.
It's not living faith.
We know that there were those when the Lord was here who saw the miracles that he wrought, And it tells us many believed in his name when they saw the miracles which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself unto them. But where there is real living faith, there is always love, both for the Lord and for his people. It says in first Peter 2 unto you, therefore, which believe he is precious.
And in John's epistle, first John chapter 3, it says we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren. So where there is faith, living faith, there's always love. One is taught of God to love one another, and if one professed to be truly saved, how would we know whether the faith was in his head or in his heart? Well, the way I believe we know is whether that affection is there.
And if there is really faith that has been believed, has believed in Christ, there will be love to the Lord and love to His people.
So when Paul saw this in the believers now he prayed that they might go on and learn more of the truth. But this was the grand starting point. And it's true and everyone there is repentance and faith, but there is faith and love too. Because where faith is real, there is that love.
And the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, verse 17 The Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation. I believe its intelligence. Isn't it in the full knowledge of God.
You'll find when you count to the second prayer, that there is addressed to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, carrying out the thought we had before us yesterday morning, that the source of our blessings are the God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the Father has more. The thought of glory and power, as you'll see, developed.
The mighty power which brought in Christ, and so on that Moore suggests the thought of God. But we'll find in the second prayer that it's more the Father the Deep entering into his his love and his affections.
When it comes and it expresses the father of glory, it has the thought of the source of glory.
While there is sometimes used as the source that God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, that is the source of all glory, comes from the heart of God our Father.
When it's God, it's his nature. And here we are brought face to face with what is suited to God, in His nature, in His Holiness, and what he is essentially in himself. And how are we going to be able to rise up to that, to that which suits him? Well, it's only as we have.
This wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.
My brother garden will be a few minutes ago. I want to bring this up before we close. Something very important as far as I think and I'm not like we're but from First Corinthians 3, I want to know definitely.
What's the capital of style is?
And.
When there's one destroyed, how is that accomplished?
Now perhaps we should read it First Corinthians 3 and.
Read the ninth verse also First Corinthians 3 verse 9, for we are laborers together with God. We are God's husbandry.
We are God's building according to the grace of God, which is given unto us. Me as a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon.
But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon. How the 16th verse know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile the temple of God, him shall God destroy. For the temple of God is holy. Which temple ye are well. Now In Matthew 16, where the Lord speaks of his church, he said, upon this rock I will build my church.
01:15:25
Whatever is built in by the Lord Himself will not be anything but what is good, so that it tells us in that passage the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. But the Scripture takes 2 views. It takes the view where God is the builder, in which case there is all good material.
And against which Satan and all the powers of darkness cannot prevail. But then here in this passage we find that man is the builder, the same or a similar view as that taken in Second Timothy chapter 2, where we have the great house with vessels to honor and vessels to dishonor. When man undertakes to be a worker with God, then if he doesn't build according to the divine instructions, he will bring in that which is not acceptable.
And he brings it into that which is the temple of God on earth, looked upon not here as what is real and vital only, but as including that which man has built in. And so when is this going to be manifested? Well, in a similar way, in the similitude that was the good seed sown in the field that the enemy sowed tares, they both grew together until the harvest. And so in the processing House of Christendom there has been that which is good and that which is bad.
Now of course, in Second Timothy 2, it speaks of our individual conduct and how we're to act when the house has become a great professing house that we must separate from the vessels to dishonor. But we're not told to go out of the house, nor are we told to, nor are we told to make the final decision about who is real and is not. The Lord knows them that are His. We're in the great house, we can't leave it. But in the house there are clean dishes and dirty dishes, but they're all in the house.
Well here that isn't a view that's taken its rather when God makes the manifestation. And for the believer of course, that will be the judgment seat of Christ. When our lives pass into review and what we have done in the vineyard, in God's building will there be manifested what is of himself will abide and be rewarded. But as regards the unbeliever, it would not be until the Great White Throne where His work would be manifested.
But he has brought into the professing house that which is, shall I say, had a dishonouring to God. Dishonoring to Christ. He has defiled the temple of God, and defiling the temple of God is false doctrine attacking the person and work of Christ. But perhaps to answer the question more precisely, I would say again, for the believer this manifestation will take place at the judgment seat of Christ.
For the unbeliever it will not be until the Great White Throne, where it will be a very solemn thing to be manifested. As the Lord Himself said, many will come in that day, saying, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? And in thy name done many wonderful works, But he'll have to say I never knew you. They they worked in His name. They took that place in profession. So for them it will be judgment where the meeting closes. I'd like to just correct one thing.
I said that the spirit of wisdom and intelligence is correct as it is here in King James Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. It is right, as we saw on the eighth verse, wisdom and intelligence there. So I just want to correct that one thing. I guess our time is up.
Oh no, no. That's quite clear when it says in the.
14th verse.
15th verse If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss there It shows a man whose work was not acceptable to God, but he himself was saved, because saved through the work of Christ, say, through his precious blood. But what he had done was destroyed. But when the man himself was not saved, his work was unacceptable, but he himself was unacceptable, and so he must come under judgment.
01:20:13
Hundred 69169.
Lord, we can see by faith in thee a prospect right unfailing, where God shall shine, enlighten divine, in glory, never fading.
Oh Lord, we come through.
Life.