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First Peter chapter one.
And verse five, first Peter, chapter one, verse 5.
Who are kept?
By the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.
Wherein he greatly rejoiced, though now for a season if need be, ER, and heaviness through manifold temptations, that the trial of your faith being much more precious than a goal that perisheth.
It be tried with fire might be found onto praise and honor and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen.
A love in whom, though now you see him not yet believing, he rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory.
Spray.
Our Father and our God.
We have been reminded many times, uh, today of the riches that we have in Christ and all our hearts are bowed and Thanksgiving to the OR gathering a few of us together in this way to have one object before the glories of that blessed eternal Son of thy love to fill and satisfy every longing of our redeemed hearts.
We thank Thee for all that thou hast done, blessed Lord Jesus, and all that thou art doing and all that thou wilt do. It may be today that call shall come, and we're gone into Thy arms, precious Savior, forever.
We pray now that as we turn to Thy Living Word, operative Word powerful, that we may receive that which Thou just have for us and the portion that we have been considering.
May we, uh, the younger ones be able to take in that which would encourage them and stir their hearts into affection to Christ. Thy Spirit alone can do these things. And we pray and count upon thee, blessed God, to make this hour ahead of us, if we're left a time of rich blessing for thy glory, the exaltation of Christ and the blessing of each one of us. And we pray in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Payment.
For seven.
And whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, we already have abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having men know the mystery of His will according to His good pressure, which He had purpose in Himself. But in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together.
In one all things in Christ 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 council of His will, that we should be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ.
In whom you also trusted. After that she heard the word truth, the cost of your salvation. In whom also after that he believes were sealed that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchase possession under the praise of His glory. Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the things He's not to give thanks for you, make a 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, and 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 sin, 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 wore in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly faces, far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion. And every name was named, not only in this world.
00:05:30
But also in that wishes to come and have put all things under his feet, and gave him to his head over all things to the Church, which is his body, the fullness of him, that all.
We didn't touch on it in the previous meeting, but the expression at the end of verse six is so very precious and important, I wonder if we could just notice it, uh, in a special way.
He has made us accepted in the beloved.
It's a wonderful expression.
So, uh, let me.
Uh, Strand detranslation that says he's taking us into favor in the beloved.
God has.
Accepted us.
Received us in favor, not on the basis of anything in ourselves, but in Him, in the beloved.
The lovely hymn that goes in the beloved accepted of mine and it it sets forth a wonderful line of things that God receives us.
Because we're in Christ.
In other words, all the acceptance that Christ has, we have, and He's called the beloved. 1 here.
Umm, some months ago Brother Windman Hawthorne was visiting down in Willow Grove and I always enjoy when he gets up to give thanks on the Lord's Day morning and bread and he used the expression over and over again. Heavens beloved 1.
Heaven's Beloved 1.
And it burned itself into my soul and I was meditating on it and enjoying it and someone asked me later.
When I remarked about it, Well, does the Scripture ever say to these evidence, beloved one? Well, this is as close as I think you could come to it, isn't it in the beloved?
He's the beloved, and if he's the beloved, he's heaven's beloved one. Believe me, he's accepted, and we're accepted in him.
Safe in Christ, the weakest child stands in all God's favor.
Why? Because he's in Christ. It's a beautiful expression to be in Christ. And then it goes on to say in whom in the verse we're starting with, in whom we have redemption through his blood.
The forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace.
Maybe someone can tell us why?
I understand that versus, I mean authorized version is exactly the same in collections one as it is here, but in Colossians really it doesn't include through his blood.
Someone tell us why that is? Why here it belongs in a collage division?
Because in Colossians is just the person.
Totally the person there.
The headship of Christ or the Lord? You know, the headship of Christ.
All that he is for us here, it's the the.
The blood as part of that work.
Gut reasoning and they weren't really holding their head.
And so it was bringing before the preciousness of the person that did the work, as has been pointed out, is the person that's brought before us. And here is both the person and the means by which he did it.
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I think even the younger ones, they all felt, particularly at that stage in life that they've been a place and they don't know whether they're accepted or not. But, and, uh, we go through that little crisis when we're younger, especially whether we're gonna be accepted. But it's a wonderful thing to think that we're accepted in the beloved because of who has done the work and the means by which he's done the work that we're gonna feel at home and having in a way that we never feel felt at home here.
We don't ever really feel at home, even in our own homes. We look around and we see things that aren't finished maybe, or aren't exactly the way we'd like them to be, or in the assembly, or so on, or somebody goes off to school and things aren't exactly the way they want them to be, and so on. But when we get home to heaven, we're going to be. We're going to feel accepted, and we're gonna feel like we're finally home.
Lovely to see here in this chapter that we have 77 fold blessings, don't we? Probably been referred to already. We have.
We we've been chosen.
We have been umm.
Predestinated.
We've been accepted.
I'll step here. We've been forgiven.
We've been inheritance and we're sealed, but right in the center of this is redemption. Redemption.
Three things brought before us.
And in that, in that.
Umm, verse seven we have the middle of that redemption.
It's been wonderful to know that amidst all these things.
We have redemption. That's the key, isn't it? Without that redemption, we were doing nothing about these precious things, but it had been redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, so right in the center of this, in whom we have redemption through His blood, Liveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. Very beautiful.
That redemption goes right on to the end of the second or last verse of the first chapter of Corinthians.
That redemption is last in the list. That's the redemption of the body. So this one includes that. It's a redemption all the way through, including the redemption our changed bodies like His glory, a body of glory. So it's a full work right into glory.
OK.
Somebody comment on the last part of this one says add to the faithfully Christ Jesus I can in first Peter talks about.
All that as being a faithful brothers and sisters are trying to every believer, isn't it? If somebody could explain that.
We might get the notion that it's referring to a call to Christian and what are you talking about, to the faithful in Christ Jesus?
We're both, umm.
The Saints are the faithful in grace Jesus. It's not. It's a different way of talking about the same group. I think there is a notion in some people's mind that is talking about summer Saints and some are faithful in Christ Jesus. I don't think that's the thought at all. And if you read it carefully, you'll see that it's really the same people, but spoken of in two different ways.
When I talked about a faithful brother, I think that is making a.
Uh, calling attention to it something which characterized a brother and uh, that here does is not that good at all. Here is the thought of this is the Saints and faithful in Christ Jesus.
The position rather than the condition.
00:15:05
Yes, it's the word in that helps us understand that. You say he was faithful to so and so that's the person's condition. But the position we have that in our verse in whom we have redemption, not by whom we have redemption. It's true we have redemption by Christ, but it's in whom we have redemption. So the question is, is could he be refused?
I haven't, no. And I have redemption in him.
She's just even.
When we get the death of Christ.
Usually not all kinds.
We get the resurrection of Christ, Who don't we?
See that in Romans 4 he was delivered for our offenses.
And he was raised again for justification.
How we know? That's how we can positively say that we know that it's all all done. Work is all done because God raised him from among the dead. The cedar did in his own right hand, and the blessed Savior is there without one stem. No sin can ever enter the presence of God. The blessed Lord Jesus is there at God's right hand without any of our sins gone.
Not only has he died, but he's gone back to glory and been accepted as gone. Who's going to challenge that?
No one can challenge that truth.
Because it is God. God brings that before us, doesn't he?
Delivered for our offenses, we delivered in God here raised again, for whom? For our justification, God raised him. So I think it's very beautiful to see that since we have redemption here through His blood, forgiveness of sins according to the riches of His grace, wherein He has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. I mean, Brother Barry, some time ago, some years ago, you were mentioning about the explosion and your superlatives of Scripture.
And I see it throughout as we read some descriptions. Notice verse verse 8, wherein He has abounded toward us, abounded toward us in all wisdom and peace.
Always something beyond what the men would expect God is to enforce.
And we know it's not the work, not man's work at all. God's work, isn't it?
The founders were like Niagara Falls.
Pouring over not a limited little supply stream, but abounded. That's what he has furnished us with.
It's not just His grace, which is true, but it's the riches of His grace.
The riches of his parents as as you read through here, you see those precious little things that give us that positive assurance, don't you? Because you read through the word of God.
OK.
I have to remember that this, uh, portion of Scripture, the subject is Christ, the, uh, the apostle could say Christ is all and you know, and so when we read this, we can enjoy the thought that we have the blessings in Christ, but it really does help us to enjoy it and understand the purposes of God and bring us into the enjoyment of these things by understanding that Christ himself is the center of all of these thoughts that we're, we're speaking about.
Yeah.
Because at first.
Verse seven, it begins that point of the work of Christ, doesn't it? First seven down through verse, uh.
12 or 13 messages. And so we see as we read this, we can think God the Father was in the early part of this chapter, but now it's God's Son. The Son of God here is God before us. And it's interesting that it says.
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Uh, in whom we have reduction.
God, as God could not die.
But the Lord Jesus Christ took a body was capable of death in order to go into death for you and me, in whom we have redemption, wherein He has abounded toward us, and having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself. So how is beautiful all this put? It's put together in such a marvelous way that there can be no question about.
Our eternal salvation.
That's really why that expression faithful in Christ Jesus at the beginning of the chapter is so important, because if the faith is in Christ and the whole very much souls get into difficulty because their eyes are turned in on themselves. And so we see in this chapter especially, we're Speaking of the work of Christ. It gets our eyes off of ourselves and under the one who has done the work and the means by which he has done the work.
And he has.
He has abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence or intelligence. The question is, we say, well, we didn't know much.
We say did I come to the right the Lord in the right way. It's not what I love that expression in Isaiah by his knowledge on my righteous servant justifier instruct many is not really what what we know is by what he knew is what God knows is the value of the work of Christ. It's important and we get peace by entering into it and so he would bring these things before us, but God would have us look at things from his point of view.
And that's what this chapter does in such a lovely way.
See the expression here in verse 5 having predestinated us on the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, and dropping down to.
Verse 9. Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure.
Which he had purposed in himself.
It's God's good pleasure and delight to bring these precious things to ourselves, isn't it?
These are simple thoughts, but will they ever be fathomed? No.
We will never fathom God's purposes nor His goodwill.
We will ask in it for eternity, but we will never be able to found.
Natural things. Sometimes you see someone abound towards someone in grace or in love and yet do it without wisdom. Romantic love might lead somebody to become infatuated with somebody to the point where they can be irresponsible towards others or towards their parents, towards their job. They might go out and buy some expensive gift and and get themselves unwisely in debt by doing it because they're abounding in love towards someone.
But what God does is always perfect, and when He abounds towards us in love.
And when he shows himself towards us according to the riches of his grace, he does it, as it says here in all wisdom and proves he doesn't have to be, uh, inconsistent with himself in anything that he is in coming out to us in, in this bubbling over way of abounding, just like in the gospel where it's a beautiful thing that's the same we'll enjoy throughout eternity, that God is just and the justifier.
Of him which believeth in Jesus that he has found a way where he can be consistent with his own holiness and his own righteous nature and still justify the vilest Sinner and be just in doing it. That to me is a a beautiful, beautiful thing, and far much more so that the goodness of it falls out to us. But even if we were like angels standing on the side and watching this blessing go through to others, it's a beautiful thing to the mind, the renewed mind just to see how God abounds.
In such, uh, such, uh, uh, full way with wisdom and uh, improving through intelligence.
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These things were a mystery in the Old Testament, weren't they? They were hidden, they weren't on display. And it wasn't until the Lord Jesus died and rose again and went back to the Father that it could be the covering could be taken off, so to speak. Remember that when Joseph went down into Egypt and wound up in prison.
It says in the Psalms you sent a man before them. Joseph was fleet feet, was bound in fetters and umm, and he went, uh, was in prison and taken out of prison and exalted, and he was given a new name upon his exaltation in Egypt. And it meant the revealer of secrets, the Lord Jesus had to 1St go into death, come out of death triumphant over it, and go back to the Father before these things could be revealed.
And now the mystery is taken away. Now it's God's delight to unfold these things to us. And it should be our delight and our diligence to look into them and get acquainted with them. This is their eternal portion. It's our where we're everything is at for us forever. And so behooves us to to be diligent. And I'll say this for somebody else to know. This is for I'll leave this for the more educated or the more spiritual or those that are a little older, all of us right from.
They can comprehend should incline our ear and become acquainted with who we are and what's what's in store and who we're linked with.
We see a beautiful illustrated the whole work in the bread and in the cup. The bread occupies us with His body, it's blessed body, and His sufferings.
But there's no blood. The blood was only shed after there was death. And the blood brings the horse, the grace of God that has worked through the blessed Lord Jesus to bring us into this position of grace now to share these delights with the with the sun.
You know the expression in verse umm, not to go backwards at all, but not just to make sure we know that in verse umm 5 adoption.
We think of adoption differently from the way Scripture teaches it. We think of adoption of his child that doesn't have any bears, and someone comes along and says, well, I'll take that job. And that's a very beautiful concept. I don't want to destroy that in anyone's mind. But adoption in the scriptural sense, I think has to do with a formal acknowledging of a son in the Roman system.
Our son was acknowledged as a son.
And that was called adoption. And that is really what, what is the thought. And when we run into the word in scripture, it's not a poor child that didn't have any parents. That was taken up in a nice way. Umm, and many beautiful thoughts have been connected with that. I wouldn't want to destroy that in anyone's mind, but I think we need to understand what adoption means is the formal acknowledgment of sonship is it's, uh, recognizing a person as a son.
And.
Uh, it's been noted before that predestination is not seen ever in scripture as an abstract thing.
Uh, we say if you believe in predestination.
I think people, when they use that expression in that way, they think of kind of a that everything is predetermined. But that's not the thought in Scripture. It always has a purpose.
A destination.
It's always used with a destination predestinated unto.
Actually, in this passage, I think the better word is probably marked out beforehand. Marked out beforehand, but it whether it's that or predestination, it's with an object in view.
00:30:02
The person just isn't predestinated abstractly.
They're predestinated unto something and uh, uh, just keep that in mind and look at it everywhere you see it in Scripture. It's just like an unrelated thing, but it's the same concept that meditation in scripture never is looked at abstractly.
It's been introduced as an abstract thing in, in uh, heathen religions and, and umm, uh, Asian practices that are brought into our country, but it's never treated that way in scripture. It always has an object.
An object.
The deficiency of the story that's often told, and it's a cute story where the naturally born child in the family begins to pick on the adopted child in the family and says, well, you were only adopted, you know, and, and it's kind of, you know, beating on that kid. And, and the story goes, most all heard it that the adopted child brings back a retort that basically they had to take you, you were born in the family. But me they chose.
And and, you know, everybody smiles. It's a nice story, but the deficiency in it is that it gives the impression that being a child in the family, being one of the children and adoption are two different ways to bring you to the same place. Whereas I believe in Paul's gospel or Paul's doctrine, this expression, sonship or adoption, I think sometimes it's translated sonship in the Darby Bible is really a different thought. And that is.
Just it's more John's line of things to bring out beautifully, especially in his epistle. But now that the Lord Jesus like that seed, has fallen to the ground and died and brings forth much fruit, and now those things which were once only true in him, all of us were dead in trespasses and sins, and him was life and him exclusively. Now because of the work of of God in Christ, now it says in the first epistle of John which things are true in him and in you.
And so now there is this life propagated that we all.
Uh, enjoy together. And this is the privilege of children in the family. I could, you know, doing the best I can with my own limited understanding of this, but sonship is one of those. Uh, Stephen Stewart in his prayer in the last reading meeting referred to the dignity. I can't remember exactly how he put it, but the dignity of the place that we now enjoy in Christ and sonship has to do with this new.
Relationship or.
Uh, understanding that the believer now has, we have, like it says in Romans, we have not received the spirit of ******* under fear, but the spirit of adoption whereby we cry of the father. And though it's connected with the election, the stick was already saying, it seems to be coupled with this intimate knowledge of God as our father, so much so that we don't aren't fearful of God as an unknown being, but we know him intimately as one that we can say.
ABBA or parka tube. And this is a unique, one of the unique privileges, uh, personal privileges that we enjoy in Christianity and brought out here, uh, in verse five. I don't know if you took this up in the last meeting or not, but uh, predestinated us, pointed us out ahead of time to this place of being a son and enjoying sonship. One of the personal privileges that Paul.
Uh, reveals to us, common to every Christian.
And of course, much of what Paul reveals his collective common to us all together as members of one body.
Or when school was one time going over with a, a boy, uh, his results and so on. And he said, uh, Harrison, uh, was there, there was another Harrison, uh, is that your brother? Uh, and he said, well, yes, uh, one of us is adopted, but I don't know which one of us.
In other words, they adopted one was accepted as we are in that oneness.
The total oneness.
00:35:01
I'm sorry I didn't say Roland Dave mentioned for joint pairs with fried cell phone. I was just reading that first and my brother is commenting. Have a bother.
Joint heirs of Christ, that's what he brings into a special relationship, doesn't it? Position.
That's really what Paul is trying to bring out in this epistle, isn't it? That we would be intelligent. We get that enrollment. What is your reasonable or intelligent service? Christianity is an intelligent service, but he's bringing us into the intelligence of the position into which we've been brought.
We mentioned the prodigal son.
The Mephibosheth was mentioned. He was like that, that dog with the brick on his chest in the center of the room. But then when he got into David's presence, he said he would. He re he was breathing shame, but when he got into the Lord's presence, he would.
His presence, he realized he was a dead dog. We were seen as alive in our sins and we were also seen dead in our sin trespasses and sins. But now Paul would have us to see the dignity and the position into which we've been brought. And as you've been pointing out, as the Roman acknowledged his son as his son and we we see that in this epistle and then in the he goes on and he wants us to know what the length and.
Heights and depth and breadth of this mystery is.
Together.
The thought of sun, as someone has already said, brings in the thought of dignity, whereas children brings in the thought of relationship. Both are true, but every child of God is both has is in possession of both.
He has a place before God.
As the Son of God.
And dignity and he has a relationship now as a child of God. Marvelous to think that both are true of every child of God. Not all enjoying it, but however that's true. I was looking at that in Norman's date again, but clearly there.
A man praying, have a father have a cry of the children for the father, and father the ones the son.
Our highest elections are all individual.
And this problem that says this book takes up our highest blessings. And so it starts with what is individual. So it's for the statement to the faithful, not for the assembly. That's not for the church, or rather to the individual state. Not only that this, but everywhere goes out to the faithful in the Christ, and it puts us in established justice in the place of sun.
Has been brought up with tons to place the full growth and maturity of dignity and.
I might have a business and have a family and children, but there comes a time when I take my child and I bring him into the family business and I say, son, this is going to be yours someday. You're the heir. And I want to show you everything. I want to show you from the Logan God all the way up to the president's office. I want you to see all how it works. I want you to hear all my plans. I want you to understand everything I'm doing.
And then I go out by hanging a sign in front of that business and it doesn't say steward anymore. It says steward and stuff.
And I've used that for myself as a little illustration of what we've been brought into. God is saying, I want you to tell you all my plans. I want you to hear all my thoughts about my son. I want you to enter into and enjoy all the councils and purposes that I have in Christ. And I want you to enjoy it and walk in there. And he brings us into the place of confiding to us.
The secrets of his own heart.
Some is never contrasted if I can.
Convey the thought. It's never put in opposition to the thought of being a child of God. It's always brought out in contrast to the place of the service.
The ******* the children of God in the Old Testament.
Born in the liberty that we know, and it was the same as ******* in Galatians brings that out, though they were children.
Yet they were no different than service. But now in the New Testament, we've been brought into liberty and we've been brought out of the place of ******* and into place of freedom, and it's the place of the sun. And therefore the contrast is so the beginning of this chapter we have chosen and in that sense.
00:40:15
Naturally speaking adoption as we know it in this world, choosing a trial will be part of our family. We've been chosen, although that still doesn't rise up to the full thought of us here. But it goes on to tell us not only are we children, but we have.
The place of full growth, maturity he's confided in throughout all the thoughts of that. He has the purposes in his son. This has to come first. We have to be established in that relationship. We have to be in the good of it.
And knowing the heart of God, who has been before, he can unfold those thoughts to us before, He can abound to us now. Wisdom and support.
You can give to us an understanding of the mystery in which I did all the treasures of wisdom and not.
We have to be in the enjoyment and conscious knowledge of the relationship that we have at home.
Doesn't that then lead us on to the, uh, 9th and 10th versus? He makes known to us, having made known to us the mystery.
Of His will, that which was hidden before, He brings out and communicates it to us. And what is that?
OK. That in the dispensation of the fullness of times?
You might gather together in one all things in Christ.
Those who are old enough to remember our brother Harry Hayo know that he used to call that the key verse of the whole Scripture. I think he was right in that it is because it's the key verse of all God's purposes.
What is the highest thought that God has to gather together or to head up everything in Christ? And then everything flows out from that. And then He takes us into His secret, so to speak, and He makes that known to us and we understand it.
So our participation in it, any blessing that comes to us, is always connected with God's eternal purpose.
Is that great purpose that he had, which was to that Christ should be the center, an object of all?
What I'm going to do?
You're in the Millennium on the Lord Jesus reigns and the dispensation of the fullness of time. You might gather together if you want, all things in place, but he's revealing to us that He's epistle and other scriptures that what He has done with us now it's like that we are not one with Him in Christ. And I was thinking of those verses in John 17 when the Lord alluded to these things.
I did with the verses we read at the end of the chapter John chapter 17.
There's 29. I will pray I for these alone, but for them also, which shall believe on me through their word. They all may be one.
Father are in me, and I in Thee, but they also may be one in us, that the world may believe that how extensive and the glory which I gave me, I gave, I have given them, that they may be one even as we are one, I and them and Thou be, that they may be perfect in one, and that the world may know that Thou hast sent me and has loved them as Thou loved me. Proudly I will.
That they also whom thou hast given me, be with me where I am, that they may be heard. My glory, which thou hast given me. Foundation of the world, to be born in your love. What love? That love. But we find here the object of that love before the accommodation of the world. Lord Jesus, go over love with that same love. We're going to be before the Father in that same love, and right now in this world, one with Him.
We enjoy these things and the manifest in a practical way that oneness that if you give to us now, they want it twice.
In the second chapter of Ephesians, verse 7 refers to that time when.
I believe that will be manifest.
00:45:01
Two and verse 7.
That he ages to come, He might show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. Here we will be shining forth in glory with the Lord, with Him, one with him forever, through the defeating riches of his grace and His kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
It's rather humbling, uh, brother, to realize that that has been accomplished, that prayer of the Lord Jesus prayed to his Father that they all might be one that has been accomplished. There is that oneness, but what covers us with shame is the display of it today.
The disunity.
I'm getting paid.
Confusion resulting from it outside it is and we have a share and the responsibility and.
For this grand purpose that God has in heading up all things in Christ who are gathering together in one all things in Christ, it's nice to see in verse 12, umm, or in verse 11 rather, that in Him we also have obtained an inheritance. In other words, it isn't just some great purpose that God has had that leaves us out, but it's brought us in. We've obtained an inheritance in Him.
And uh.
We were predestinated or marked out beforehand, according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to His counsel of His own will, that we might be to the praise of His glory.
Who have first trusted in Christ and I think now we need to be careful in these verses to distinguish the we and you because Paul in these verses, I believe if I judge correctly and verses 12 and onward, he's he's talking about the we meaning the believing Jews.
And he goes on in verse UMM 13 to say in whom he also trusted, that is the believers in Ephesus, the Gentile believers in Ephesus. And so umm in verse 12, it's those who first trusted or pre trusted in Christ. In other words, at the beginning of the Christian dispensation there was a little group who did trust in Christ.
And they by grace.
But they were all Jews, weren't they? And, uh, they were, uh, brought into a enormous blessing through that. And they might be to the praise of his glory.
And then he goes on to say, and whom he also trusted. Who's the he? That sucks, isn't it? That's where we're brought in. Uh, and there's some ingredients there. We heard the word of truth.
The Gospel of our salvation.
In whom after that he believed, or I think it's better rendered, having believed he were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise.
One of the most outstanding examples of that, I believe, is umm, the case of Cornelius.
Uh.
Cornelius, it was told to call, uh Peter, and he might hear words whereby he might be saved.
A lot of people have concluded from that that that Cornelius didn't have light, but I believe it's very abundant that the evidence as you read through the sense of action and to see that he did indeed have life.
But they didn't have what we would call characteristically in Scripture, salvation.
They were born of God. They were accepted of God.
But they needed to hear words whereby they might be saved. They needed to hear what should we say, the gospel of your salvation? And there's a critical verse in that extent and I think might help us understand the passage we're looking at.
00:50:02
Peter opened his mouth in verse 34.
So the truth I I perceive that God is no respecter of persons. Every nation that he appears in and works righteousness is acceptable to him, and he says the word which he sent to the sons of Israel.
Preaching peace by Jesus Christ. He's Lord of all you know. You know that word. You didn't know it was for you, but you know the word.
And that testimony has been spread abroad when he goes on to talk about, uh, the crucifixion and the resurrection. And then he comes down to verse 43, which I believe is the critical verse in this to him give all the prophets witness.
And through his name, whosoever that believes on them will receive remission of sins. What is that? That's the gospel of Cornelius's salvation, of our salvation too. And they hear that. They hear the gospel, they believe it. And look at verse 44. While Peter was yet speaking these words, these words.
The Holy Spirit fell upon those who were hearing the Word.
And so the Holy Spirit at that time sealed them.
They became not just people who had life, but they became people who had salvation in our understanding of the Word, and they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.
Uh, it's a beautiful, I think, and the beautiful illustration of what Paul is teaching us in verses 12 and 13.
You see a lot of various, uh, pardon me, I was going to refer to Eden chapter 2 and verse umm 16, that you might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross. So there wasn't going to be a Jewish church and a Gentile church. And God brings in this truth very quickly, having slain the enmity thereby and came and preached peace to you, which were far off as the Gentiles, Cornelius and his household.
And to them, which were nine, the Jews. For through him we both have access by one sphere into the models.
Uh, this expression pre trusted in Christ, our first trust in Christ maintain the truth that there is going to be blessing for Israel as a nation. That's very important and that is never set aside. We get that in the book of Romans. There's a great deal of effort to set that aside because.
God determined, and I appreciated when our brother Bruce said that God found a way, but when did God find a way? It was an eternity past because all things were created by him and for his pleasure they are and were created. And so God determined in an eternity past that there was going to be blessing on heaven and on earth. And that man's skin did not frustrate that. But God found a way that he could be just in the justifier of them that believe in Jesus, that he could work out his plan to bring all things together in heaven and earth. And so he has an earthly people. But what about these Jews now that trusted the gospel when Peter preached it at the beginning of the act? They're not going to come into the national blessing of the Jews, but they've been brought into, as you pointed out.
There into the blessing of the church because they've been joined together with the Gentiles, the we the we the Jews. Paul was referring to himself and now the Gentiles are formed into one body and so the Jews were brought into those Jews were really brought into blessing ahead of time and then the then there will be blessing on heaven and earth. God is not frustrated. There was not a sort of an afterthought on God's part. I think we're all clear as to that these purposes were formed in an eternity past.
And he wants us to be in the intelligence of them as to what he's working out. And he'll go on to explain in the epistle as to the various families in heaven and earth, so to speak. But we see this that he has given us this earnest heal us with the Holy Spirit of promise. Is that just as in the illustration when the man was lying on the floor with the brick on his chest was given life, that that was a sovereign work of God. That's what we we find in John chapter 3.
But when finally the man, the brick is taken off the man's chest and he says I'm free, that's really, that's really, is it not? When we understand that we believe the gospel of our salvation and we realize what Christ has done and a man is sealed with the Holy Ghost and we see that that that is what our position is.
00:55:17
The difference between life and peace Isn't there life and peace?
Because that and connection with Cornelius.
You said that in in that chapter we were looking at the Chapter 11.
Umm.
Verse 13 And he showed us how he had seen an Angel in his house, which stood and said unto him, Send men to Java, and call for Simon, whose surname is Peter, who shall tell the words.
Whereby thou and all thy house shall be saved. Look at that expression. Before that do we All thy house shall be saved. In other words, now Cornelius will be peace. He had life before, but now he has peace. I think it's very beautiful.
And it says.
And they began to speak. As they began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us in the beginning. So the Day of Atonement. That was when all Israel confessed their sins of the previous year, and the high priest went in to the holiest of all with those sins and confessed them to God.
The people stood outside waiting for.
Aaron the high priest to come out.
And if.
If there was a delay, they would wonder.
Are our sins forgiven? And they waited, and then finally he appeared, and they knew, seeing it was still alive, because he'd borne their sins there. Now the Lord Jesus has is our high priest, and he has gone into heaven.
And has borne our sins. He never came back. He never came back again. I had never came back. Door. How do we know that we're accepting the Beloved? He has sent the Spirit of promise. The Holy Spirit has come down now and tells each one of us here in this room. You have been accepted because the one who took your sins is up in heaven now. And now you can have the assurance.
That you are accepted in the beloved.
Way back, 50 or 60 years ago mentioned that very thing he said, if you were to talk to Cornelius at the opening of the 10th chapter, and you said to Cornelius, are you really saying Cornelius would not have known what you were talking about?
They have life. Indeed he did.
Because it tells us though he did, he was pleased, all the people are gone and he was, he was kind and gracious and so on. But then he says, you come to the 11Th chapter and you ask him how? You say, yes, I know I'm safe now, I know your words whereby he might be saved.
Is it not true in our in our pathway? This individual heard the gospel and attended.
Against my will.
I don't want to speak about myself, but just to mention this little thought, against my will I went.
In that attempt, I was convicted.
And I accept that the Lord is my savings.
But if you'd have asked me weeks later, are you saved? Which was asking well, I, I think so I hope I am I I like to read the Bible and I like to talk about the Lord. I I hope I am.
But then an old sister gave me that verse. These things have I written unto you, that you may know that you have eternal life. Do you believe on the Lord Jesus? I suggest she said, then you can know that you have eternal life. KNOW that was peace to me. That was my peace. So there is a time lapse between life and peace. A lot depends on how we receive.
01:00:04
Truth of God.
Did I say this? Uh, perhaps some of the younger ones are sitting here and thinking, wow, this is stuff. I I have my doubts about this because this doesn't sound like conventional teaching on it.
First of all.
What we need to do is to remember that where God makes a distinction between things, we maintain those distinctions. If I don't understand it, don't be so arrogant is to say if I don't understand it, it can't be true. I've done that in my life and I'm sure some of us have here too. They said, well, I, I, I can understand the word and I don't see that in the word.
Maintain that distinction in your mind, maybe not this afternoon, but maybe in, uh, a week or two from now or a year or two from now, suddenly it'll all fall in place. You'll say, oh, that's what they were talking about, investor. Uh, that's what I heard about and such and such a place and the Lord will make it good to your soul. I've experienced that over my life. And I just encourage any younger one here to say, wait, I'm confused about all of this.
Maintain these distinctions. If God makes a difference, you make the difference too. You may not understand the difference, but acknowledge that there is a difference in the God has a right to make a difference and that he is the one who holds the key to understanding it. And when you do understand it, you'll be so happy that that God has been pleased to reveal it to you and and enjoy it because every truth that he gives us is not to conduct so that we can conduct theology lesson.
Every truth that He gives us is for the blessing and good of our souls. It's for warming our hearts.
It's for the glory of Christ. And I just add those thoughts because, umm, I think brethren did get into a lot of trouble years back by, uh, becoming too theological about some of these things.
And trouble came in among the Lord's people because of it. So I just encourage you to maintain if God makes a difference.
Maybe all along you thought that born again and saved is the same thing.
So God doesn't use the same word. Acknowledge at least that God doesn't use the same word and let him teach you that. But if you decide that they're the same and nobody's ever going to tell me differently, and you'll never learn, you'll never come into the joy of some of these things. That's just a little word for some of the younger ones to so you don't get discouraged, but you just ask questions, think about these things, go to the word about them.
And they'll give you the answer.
And when he does, you'll be blessed in yourself.
Theology too, because it helps to understand how to deal with souls where they are. You know, I heard of the.
A boy recently and he said to me, I'm praying that my Catholic grandmother would become a Christian. I said what she professes to be a Christian. You're confusing her. Tell her she needs to be saved. You know, set before the truth of salvation the finished work of Christ and so, but when we talk about new birth. You may find somebody that very anxious like Cornelius and their soul and what they need is the finished work of Christ said before them.
And that's really what is going to bring them peace.
And so these things, it's good to see that God sovereignly doesn't work to awaken a dead center out of their condition in parks in the divine life that would cause them to seek after God and to set before them the truth of the of the gospel. And that's really, as it's been pointed out, we'll bring them peace. But it helps, it helps know how to deal with souls. It's practical truth.
Going back to that 13 verse about the seating of the Spirit, it's interesting.
As we connected with the story of Cornelius, because we see that he believes the gospel of his salvation and they were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. We noticed too that when they received the Spirit, they started speaking in tongues and their constitution about that was just striking to me because Thunder gets to unbelievers and the unbelievers there were the Jews because they were seeing God bringing the gender of this elections, making those those Lena the same as Louise that we're talking about before us breaking down that little wall of partition.
01:05:05
I just want to add that there's confusion now among Christians about the stealing of the Spirit and the proof that one has received the Spirit. We've been talking about that in the first chapter that the doctrine and son, this is what God has been doing and the seal of the Spirit is the seal that adoption that we have now become sons of God through Jesus Christ for taking Jesus Christ. And I'm looking at that verse and go off before.
We know that they did receive the Spirit there in Acts chapter 10 and the proof of it for the believing Jews.
Galatians chapter 4 and verse six. And because we are sons, we went back in the 30.
But our father ABBA Papa has children. That is the truth. But still that we are the Lord. May I just use a homely illustration in connection with the gift of tongues and it's a sign. And what the Spirit of God was doing here is that you may drive by a field and see some bulldozers at work and something starting and you don't know quite what's going on, what's in the builders intention. And so we put somebody says, Oh yes, I think they're building a Jewish retirement community there.
And then a builder puts up a great big sign and he says, uh, this is going to be a housing community. And we have sales staff that speak every language spoken on the face of this earth. And so you say, oh, I know it's not an office building now. I know it's not a shopping center. I know it's going to be a housing community. I know it's not going to be a retirement Center for Jews. It's going to be for all ages and for all languages. And so a sign is put up and that's what the Spirit of God did. He gave a sign to show what he was doing.
Now you come back 30 or 40 years later, the builder doesn't still have the sign up, but what how is the builder's intention shown to those that drive by? It's by the we get that in Colossians is that the power of the spirit is now mentioned, is now manifested in umm, in uh, we see this umm in the 11Th and 12Th 1St strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power unto all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness.
So you don't come back 30 years later and you see all these houses and children running around and older people walking with their walkers and you don't say what was the builder's intention when he was the bulldozer there. You know you can see it. And man doesn't need to wonder what God's intention was in connection with forming the church that even that he even know that Jew and Gentile have been brought together into one body. There may be failures to the testimony of it, but we see what the purpose of God was in that. But the power of the Spirit now is man manifested in the careful maintenance of it. And so just as with the subdivision, the builders intentions are best maintained that people maintain their properties and they.
They use their properties in a way that he intended. I trust the illustrations, not too homely, but it does help us, I think, to understand what a sign was for.