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8215.
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances for to making himself obtain. 1 Newman.
So making peace.
And that he might reconcile both unto God and one body, by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you who were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by 1 Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints, and of the household of God.
And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord.
In whom ye also are builded together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit.
It reminds me a lot of the of the story of the Good Samaritan.
Because that man was left half dead in the Good Samaritan came down and he poured in oil and wine and he took and set him on his own beach and took him to an inn and said to the innkeeper, take care of him whatsoever they'll spend this more when I come again, I will repay. So we have in this chapter a picture of the those of us that were far off, particularly brought before us.
Dead in trespasses and in sins and uh, and uh, here we're brought nigh by the blood of Christ. And it goes on to the end of the chapter where it brings, if you like, before at the end. In other words, uh, God wants his children to have fellowship one with another.
And there is a ground for fellowship and that's himself. And so, uh, uh, it's lovely to see. And you get these beautiful pictures in the Bible. You know, in that story of the Good Samaritan, it says that he set him on his own beast and said and took him to the end. Now, what's the picture there when it says he set him on his own beast? Well, I believe that that beast.
Was what carried the Savior along or carried that Good Samaritan along? And he got off and he took that other man and he put him on the beach. He set him on his own beat. Now when we got saved, we got a new life, and that new life is a very, very life of Christ Himself.
And every believer has that life and the Lord wants us to enjoy.
One another, his children. When you go somewhere and you meet somebody who's a believer, what does it do to you? I'm sure it thrills you inside when you meet somebody and you've never seen them before.
You might find there are differences that you have because maybe they don't see things exactly the way you do and so on. But remember, we have that same life inside than the life that they have. If they've been born again, we've been set with a very power that carried that man along with the life of that beast. And so the life of Christ has been placed inside, and the Spirit of God is the power of the new life. And then we have dropped before us about near the end of the chapter. You're no more strangers or foreigners. Verse 19.
00:05:08
But fellow citizens with the Saints, verse 20, and are built upon the foundations of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom all the buildings fit the frame together. So the Lord has brought his people into a fellowship, and He wants us to enjoy fellowship together. Isn't it lovely to see that from the moment that we've been picked up from being dead in trespasses and in sins?
That he has a pattern for his children to go on to his work.
And at the position now where there are no national distinctions.
That's what's so beautiful, brother. I'm going from country to country, as some of us do sometimes, to find that same spirit that unites in Christ.
Lots of different customs of different countries you go to, but to experience the reality of the fact that we are made one in Christ now. So in these verses from verse 13 on.
You have that focused on, especially here in context, uh, the difference between the Jews and the Gentiles.
Now in Christ Jesus Yebu, sometimes we're far off, that's the Gentiles are made nigh by the blood of Christ, for he is our peace, who hath made bold human Gentile one. And then broken down the middle wall of partition between us there was a very distinct wall.
Of partition, the Jewish people were supposed to be separate, but now in Christ that all those distinctions are gone. Yes, we are from different nationalities, but we are part of one body. We have one spirit that unites. What a precious reality revenue in our relationships together.
That's why it was so hard for Peter in the book of the Acts, wasn't it? He really struggled with that. And when the sheet was let down and he was told to arise and slay and eat, he said, well, I've never eaten anything that's common or unclean. But the Lord was bringing before him how that there was not to be national distinction now. And those Gentiles that were without hope and away from the covenants of promise and so on, God had a wonderful place, the blessing that he was going to bring them into.
But it was difficult for Peter and even Paul struggled with it too. And the Lord had to deal with Paul. He kept going back to the Jews and so on. He had a real love and affection for them. But as you say, it's all been removed now. And so that there when it says He is, he is our peace. It's not so much peace with God. He's talking about his peace between the Jew and the Gentile. Now think, think of of Paul.
Writing to Jewish believers and, or to Gentile believers, but it would have been unheard of before the day of Pentecost and, uh, Peter, uh, ministering in Gentile assembly, so to speak. But they had to recognize that the barrier was gone now and that God saw them not so much as save Jews and save Gentiles. That's true. But he sees them now as the Church of God.
And that's why the redeemed in the coming day will then sing, uh, redeemed out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation.
Again, files are spoken out here as far off. That is, Gentiles didn't even have a religion that acknowledged God, the true God, Jehovah. The Jews did, and God had laid out in the Old Testament a a means of approach to them. It began in the book of Exodus when God said he would come down and dwell with them.
And there he instituted the Tabernacle. He gave the Tabernacle its plans and the way of approach. The thought was that God wanted to have fellowship with his people. And so all of those things given there in Exodus, in the other books of Moses to follow on.
00:10:02
Are pictures of the what is necessary for approach to God? How God and man could be brought together in fellowship?
But they never really were able to meet with God on that basis because of the failure of the people of Israel. And so they were nine. They had the means, they had the approach.
And God was there close, but it was never, uh, a perfect way for God and men to get together. But it is a beautiful picture of what the New Testament way has opened up for us. And that's true. The Lord Jesus Christ, and so his blood is what brings not only the Jews who are not, but Gentiles on the same basis.
And so we Gentiles are a greater demonstration of the power of God to bring us near, so close and so, so near in fellowship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ. And so Paul emphasizes this, how the Gentiles were, as we noticed earlier, they were dead in trespasses and sins. Here it's the thought of being so far away.
Uh, having no, no God without hope and so on in in the world.
And it's all based on the blood of Christ. And brethren, we never want to forget that. And so whether it was access for the, uh, Jews or access for the Gentiles in Christianity, it's all on the grounds of the blood of Christ. Because I was thinking when Doug was speaking about the access that they had in the Old Testament and how it was really imperfect. And that's in certain ones could only come so far and others could come a little further.
And yet, and, and it was never with real confidence. But when the apostle writes to Jewish believers in the book of Hebrews, he tells them that they have boldness. Now, why? Through the blood of Christ. That was the base. That's the basis of it. They never had boldness. They did have access, as Doug said, to a certain degree, but it was not with real confidence, but on the braces of the blood of Christ. Now there is boldness. And so here for the Gentiles, if they were going to be brought nigh, what is the basis for it? We're brought nigh by the blood.
Of, of Christ. And brethren, we never want to forget that. You know, this morning we had two things on the table, a loaf and a cup, and the cup is given separate. It's the way the Lord instituted it and it's a reminder of his precious blood. And we never want to forget. Yes, it's wonderful to go over the inheritance and the deep things of God, so to speak and so on, but we never want to forget what the basis of it all is.
And Brother Dave was talking about fellowship and how God desires fellowship with His creature. And I suppose we have it illustrated with Adam too. As soon as he sinned, there had to be the death and the shedding of blood of an innocent, of an innocent victim.
But I was thinking of it too, in First John, in first John, he takes up the subject of fellowship with the Father, with the Son, and as a result with one another. And we have been, has been said, brought into this wonderful place of relationship. We can have fellowship with the Father. We were brought into fellowship with the Father, the Son, and with one another. And what's the basis? The blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanses us from all sins. I used to read that verse that we so often quote that part of the verse in the in the gospel.
I wonder why it's inserted there. It used to seem almost out of place to me until I realized what he's really saying is the basis for fellowship with the Father, the Son, and with one another is the blood of Jesus Christ that has cleansed us from all sin. And so you often find that in the New Testament when he takes up the access and the fellowship that we have with God and with the sun and with one another, he always brings in the grounds, the basis for it, and that is the blood of Christ.
It is a wonderful experience and I just wanted to stay on a practical level rather than if you young people, especially if you get a chance to go to other countries, ask around if there's any that are gathered to the Lord's name there and take your time to go visit them. And you may not be able to speak their language perhaps, but just sitting down where they said and showing some interest.
00:15:09
Is a very real encouragement to them and I must say.
It has been a tremendous blessing to my own soul and I, I have to say, brethren, when I started traveling to Latin America, I was brought up in the media and I knew doctrine pretty well. But the practicality of what doctrine is has been brought home in a very real way to my soul by just being with those friends. It may not be able to explain it very well, but they know it in a way that perhaps we don't know it. So take time to go look for him and enjoy that fellowship.
We've been brought into it, and sometimes we take trips into other countries just for a vacation. I say if you want something that will really enrich you, take time to look at your driver and enjoy some fellowship with it, whatever level it may be. I often think of one of the richest experiences I think I've had in Latin America, the Dominican Republic, with Brother Clint Buchanan, one time in the home of a dear.
Black brothers zoom it was extremely poor. His house is just some stick stuck in the dirt and some banana leaves for the roof. And when you when it rains, you have to be careful with that not to get a brain done. But he invited us for a meal and the meal wasn't quite ready when we got there. We sat down on the benches at the table as N to sit.
Didn't have anything else to sit on. The dear brother didn't have anything to show us anything that was of any significance in the house. And he got out his Bible. Now you'll visit. And I wish you could see how that black face shown with joy. I didn't realize that at the time that he didn't even know how to read, but he quoted from memory scripture after Scripture of what was dear to his heart. And I just had to bow my head right there, brethren, and say, Lord.
Please help me that material things in the United States don't blind me to the reality of our spiritual heritage. It does, brethren. It does have that effect on it. It doesn't need to, but it does. So I must say I've been tremendously blessed by looking up some of those breath in. I'm sure you've had the same experience in the West Indies Gym and other places too. And let me just say this too, that it doesn't take great things to encourage and have fellowship.
Think sometimes young people are a little intimidated or afraid to go because they said, well, I don't have a great lot to offer any great ability or gift, but these brethren are glad just to see anybody else that's a believer and washed in the blood of Christ and just to sit down in their home. And maybe it's maybe it's the simplest things that from the scriptures that you enjoy, but just to sit there and enjoy a glass of juice with them and something of the person of Christ. I don't think we realize how it how.
What a blessing that is.
And let's realize too, that a lot of our fellow believers don't enjoy things like we've enjoyed this weekend. Think sometimes and and don't misunderstand me, young people, but I think sometimes as young people, we get the feeling that all you Christian young people have the same amount of fellowship and the ability to go to conferences and weekends together and so on. You realize that there's a lot of your fellow young people.
Who are very isolated in different countries and parts of the of the world. Young people who perhaps rarely if ever see any other young people apart from maybe their own family, who are true believers and that they can really enjoy something of the person of Christ with. You know how much it means to a young person to have you go and spend the day to go out of your way. Maybe you do have to make a little sacrifice.
Maybe you drink your juice and you will have to take a little medication tonight, but isn't that worth it? Wouldn't, wouldn't it be worth it? And when you get to heaven to realize that the few minutes you spent there and the little medication you had to take that night with something that helped the young person over a rough spot in their life or a family that was really struggling and discouraged. And you spent a day with them and you find out at the judgment seat of Christ, that was just the encouragement and the little word that they needed.
It's not gonna be worth a day out of your vacation or a trip over the mountain or a little trip hand to understand this. A trip on a speed boat that you think wonder is gonna get to the other side or something like it is worth it. It's a joy. And if it brings joy to your heart to do it because you'll be watered in your own soul, think of what joy it brings to their their heart. And above all that, think of the joy it brings to the heart of the Lord Jesus to have two of his own or more sit down and enjoy a little fellowship and encourage one another.
00:20:34
Those are cultural differences in classes of people that we, uh, experience in going from country to country that I suppose it was even more pronounced between the Jews and the Gentiles who had a God-given religion that did set them apart. And the sad thing was that instead of of giving them to act like the Good Samaritan, now they was Speaking of.
They were doing this like the office that the Jews were passing by on the other side. And, uh, and if it was a Gentile or a or, or, or a Samaritan, that's in that case, umm. And so when the Lord Jesus came and he broke that barrier down, that wall of separation that distinguished views from the other Gentile world and, uh.
That was a legitimate, up to a point, distinction that God had made between.
His chosen people and the rest of the world had to say that instead of using the, the uh, God-given religion of the law and its ordinances, uh, to in the right way, they began despising other people that didn't have that approach rather than being humble themselves by how they hadn't kept the law as they should have.
And so that's, I believe why that that story of the Good Samaritan house, the Lord takes the place of being that one who was compassionate and didn't separate himself as a better person.
He was a better person, but he put all that aside to reach out to the needy. And so that's what's broken down, this class distinction that existed at that time. And so how much more in our day.
Where we don't even have a God-given, uh, religion to keep us separate from other nationalities and cultures and so on. The spirit of that ought to characterize us in our outreach and love to souls.
We'll, we'll learn the subject of this talking about vacations and that sort of thing. I think that, uh, I, I really feel it should be an exercise about everything in our lives that what we do, we're doing because we want to please the Lord and, umm.
Even in going on a vacation to take a vacation, I mean the Lord said come to your part into a desert place and rest the wild. So that's what the Lord said. And it seems that there is a, a, can I say an opening like this that the Lord leads in his word for Saints that are going to need to have vacations. Now if you're going to take a vacation, I suggest that it's important for every one of us.
To ask the Lord about what we should do and where we should go.
And, uh, and I guess frankly that we be careful about putting ourselves in a position where we can't honor the Lord. And also if possible.
To go to a place where we can remember the Lord in fellowship with those that, uh, of like precious faith. So, umm, it's a, a tendency sometimes if somebody said one time, well, uh, I, uh, I go on a vacation and I, I don't take my Bible with me. Well, that's not a, that's not a good plan. So, uh, I was thinking of the 8th of Proverbs in connection with what Bob was talking about and.
There it tells us about the Lord who made the world look what a world he made look, how beautiful it was.
What was the Lord's desire in that world? As my delights were with the sons of man. And personally, I have found in my own life that they happiest time when going on a vacation is to be in a place where I can have fellowship with the Lord's people. So whether it's in a foreign country or whether it's in your own homeland and not very far away.
00:25:19
Umm, uh, to have a break in natural things. We're tying together spiritual with it as well is a good point.
What Paul wrote here too, in connection with this middle wall of partition being broken down and the enmity and so on really had impact and import when you consider the fact that Paul, perhaps like no one else does, all of Tarsus persecuted the Church of God. And Paul was above the I was a Pharisee of the law of blameless, touching the law of blameless. He was zealous and persecuting the Church of God. He did it thinking he was doing God's service. And there was that real hatred and enmity between Paul, as shall I say, a God fearing.
Religious Jew against those who were followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. But when he got saved as Saul of Tarsus on the Damascus Rd. it was a complete turn around. Even though they were afraid Ananias didn't want to go and see him. I've heard many things about this man and but there was a complete turn around and he had such a wonderful care for the Church of God, not just those who had been saved of the Jewish nation.
But those like the Ephesians of the Gentiles, the Thessalonians, he cared for them as a nurse and as a father and so on. But a turn around there was because that enmity had been removed. Christ takes care of all that. So I just suggest that when he writes to the Ephesians and they recognize what he had been and then what he had become, what an impact. And it is interesting too in his epistle when he addresses.
Gentile assembly. He usually addresses them in two ways, grace and peace. And history will tell us that grace in Bible times was the Gentiles salutation and peace or Shalom was the Jewish salutation. And it's beautiful to see the two are brought together there when he salutes, salutes the things of God he learned the day he was converted.
The truth of the Body of Christ.
Saw smile wide persecutest thou me must have been a shock to him to think that he was persecuting somebody in heaven that that was the reality of it and touching those believers is touching that the head in heaven. So what a wonderful truth it is. I I noticed here that enmity is mentioned in both verse 15 and 16.
But in verse 15 it says having abolished or annulled.
Uh, in his flesh the enmity, whereas in verse 16 it says having slain the enmity thereby.
Interesting. That enmity, like you said, is a very real thing, and you see it in the book of the Acts expressed in a lot of different ways, but it's gone now, Completely gone. Wonderful.
To, uh, realize we've been brought together on the same ground, Jews and Gentiles.
And notice that he came and preached peace to you, which were afar off the Gentiles, and to them that were nigh the Jews.
Then verse 18, notice this is so beautiful because you have the whole Trinity in verse 18 for through him that's the Lord Jesus. We both have access by 1 spirit unto the Father and the whole Trinity involved in our approach to God. Does it matter if you're Jew or Gentile now? No distinction.
By 1 Spirit, through Him we have access unto the Father, that wonderful brethren, to know that you and I have access into the very holiest of all. You know, sometimes we sit in the meeting room like this, or in our own local meeting rooms and I don't know if we get the picture properly, but really?
00:30:04
In spirit we are entering.
Heaven itself into the holiest of all, right before the presence of God. Just like the high priest went in once a year, he pushed that curtain aside and went into the very presence of God. Now that the veil has been rented, God has come out into the light. And now we are told to come in with boldness into the very friends of God. What a tremendous privilege.
Belongs to it. I don't know that we appreciate it properly rather, and we've often mentioned it that I I think it's worthwhile going back to re mention it again is that when it comes to the question of approach to God either in praise and worship or in prayer in those two meetings in the breaking of bread meeting in the prayer meeting, We are not there exercising guilt. That is not the place for the exercise of gift.
It's the exercise of priesthood and there, brethren, we need to all be exercise. It concerns me rather than that sometimes at a conference we expect just brother up in the front row to pray. That is not right. Thankfully, yesterday I heard some from the little farther back pray too. But let's all be exercised, you young brothers, be exercised about trains.
Got to pray along.
Betray What a privilege it is to present petitions to the Father. By 1 Spirit we have access unto the Father and the Lord. Exercise our hearts in the privilege that is ours as priests. To approach to God doesn't mean that the sisters can't either. Sisters are there and they are represented.
In the prayers and when a brother gets up to pray, he prays in the plural. Our Father, he didn't say, My Father, our Father, we ask thee. We're at sustaining the floral because the whole assembly is spraying in that voice. And so you can say them too. At the end you are afraid and that's why the sister covers or hesitation because she's praying.
In the prayer meeting too. Not in the audible voice, but she's praying.
And the petitions that are being presented.
I have no no.
I'm sorry.
I had a question about verse 15 about the enmity. It's been mentioned has been mentioned already.
It says they're having abolished in his flesh the enmity.
Even and then it describes the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, and so on.
I assume that's the the Law of Moses. Why is the Law of Commandments presented there as the entity?
I suggest that it was the law, the Old Testament, that commanded the Jewish people to be a separate people. They were not to mix with the different nations. So it's only in Christ when He came that that has been annulled in his work on the cross.
The fullness of the Godhead has come out in the revelation of the Lord Jesus Christ, and this is characteristic of Christianity that was never known before.
And no other religion that I know of embraces the whole Trinity, the three persons of the Godhead, like Christianity recognizes. And this, brethren, is.
Come home to me lately that the impact or the, the, uh, importance of it, that we know God in a much fuller way than ever was known before.
And that it as this commended in our 18th verse. The whole Trinity is mentioned. All three persons are mentioned in that verse, that one simple little short verse.
00:35:01
For through Him that's Christ, we both youth and Gentiles have access by 1 Spirit unto the Father. It takes the whole Godhead.
To be able to pray as we pray and have access to God. Wonderful. Think of the whole Godhead has been occupied with opening up this way for you and me to come.
Into his presence, he wants us there. And this is the fullness that has come out in Christianity of the revelation of God. And this is the fellowship that we're brought into, uh, and, and with our God, the Father, the Son.
The Holy Spirit and also it, it's not a, it's not a little insignificant thing.
It was there in the Old Testament too, wasn't it? Because Elohim, the Hebrew word, is plural. I understand it, and it's plural, which is in the Hebrew three or more in the beginning, God.
Pearl in three or more.
Created is singular. So there you have the Godhead from the very first verse of the Bible brought before us the the full light of it is revealed that you say in the New Testament, isn't it? But the secret of it is opened up to it. Now in this generation we can look back and see what God.
Umm, had there in the Old Testament. I know I've, I've talked one time to a Jewish lady and, uh, I asked her about that verse. Uh.
And they'll hardly repeat the word elohim. She was an Orthodox Jew. They'll hardly repeat the word eloquent. That so sacred. And I said to her, umm, what? Uh, what is that? Singular or plural?
And she said singular. And then she said, no, it's her.
And umm, I think he learned pretty quick, and I imagine she went and talked to a rabbi afterwards, but uh, there it is, right from the end.
It's important to understand too, in connection with these verses, that Scripture only recognizes one church. And sometimes when we approach a town or city, we see one of those famous signs that says the churches of Lawrenceville or Smith Falls welcome you. But that wasn't. That's not God's mind and it's in the book of the Acts when the church was formed. The Spirit of God is very careful throughout the book of the Acts to guard.
Lest we ever think there was a Jewish church and, or, and a Gentile church, or even a Jewish Gentile church with a hyphen. And so on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit of God descended and baptized those 120 or so believers into one body, that was something that took place. I'm going to say this and then I'll qualify it. It took place never to be repeated in the same way. The church was formed on the day of Pentecost by the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
But to guard lest we think in the 8th chapter there was a Samaritan church formed, and in the 10th chapter a Gentile church formed. And I, I hardly know how to say this, but perhaps you'll understand, there was not a repeat of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but a little extension of it to bring in the Samaritans and the Gentiles into what had already been formed on the day of Pentecost. And so the only time in the New Testament that you read of the churches as if the word church in the plural is when he is Speaking of local assemblies, like in Galatia, which was a province.
The churches of Galatia, he refers to them in that way, but they were the local expression of the truth of the one body of the church. But the church is looked at as one. And if I can just say this too, brethren, when we saw that loaf this morning on the table, I trust that every one of us saw in that loaf every believer alive on the face of the earth this morning. It didn't just represent those of us who were here in this room this morning.
Nor did it just represent those who expressed that truth in the breaking of bread today know that loaf to the heart of God and the Lord Jesus represented every member of the body of Christ, every believer alive on the face of the earth. And if we ever lose sight of that, we become narrow and sectarian in our view. Now it was very difficult, and Paul takes this up. It was very difficult for a Jew to accept this.
00:40:29
Now we have in these verses really that if there was going to be, if there's blessing and access. Now it's the same way for a Jew as a Gentile, he says it's the same way for those who were afar off. That's the Gentile As for those who are not very difficult for the mind of a God fearing Jew to get around this because he had been taught for generations that he was a peculiar people, a special people.
With the oracles of God and a special access and blessing that was for them as a nation. And you were born as a Jew or you were born as a Gentile. You were inside the circle of blessing or you were outside the circle of blessings before Christianity. And it was very difficult for a Jew to accept this. I suppose that's why the apostle in the book of Hebrews has to take 13 long chapters to go over with the Jewish believers that yet.
The law and the ordinances and the ceremonies and the the Tabernacle and so on in the Old Testament, yes, it was right and proper in its place. Yes, it was given by God for the time and had it significant. But that has all been set aside now. Those were just pale reflections and foreshadows of what has been fulfilled in Christ. And that if the Jew was going to receive blessing, he had to come in the same way as a Gentile. I think that was harder for a Jew to recognize than a Gentile to recognize that he had to come on the ground of faith. Wonderful for a Gentile to recognize that now.
Having been far off and outside in no hope that he could come, and by simple faith in Christ.
And the blood of Christ, he could be brought into this place of blessing. But I'd say it was very difficult for a Jew.
And Jim, while I add to that, I appreciate what you're saying, that we need to be careful too, that we treat those other Christians as the apple of his eye too, and we're going to have to give account for that. And so I think it's good for us to see that if we need somebody on the street, he's obviously not gathered as we understand it and believe in it, but he is the Lord, so we can rejoice with him. It would be wrong for us to cross the street and say, well, I can't talk to you. And yet you know that spirit of things sometimes.
Get into our, uh, our, uh, thinking and I'm not pointing a finger at anybody else. We sometimes wanna be a little bit apart. You know, he's talking to somebody during the break. And, uh, I didn't recognize them or the family and they used the expression from the outside. I said, please don't use that word to me. I don't like that. It's wonderful to see Christians who want to learn and grow on the face of the Lord. If you're a Christian, you're not outside. You're coming to, to, to be with, with the Lord's people.
And then the precious next step to be gathered to the Lord's name. So we can't, we've got to be careful about the hierarchy. We've got to be careful about levels of, of people in there. We've got to recognize that there are different, uh, understands. So, uh, when I set up my little ministry, for example, people are getting it who I don't know, I don't know their labels. So they don't really, that doesn't worry me, but it's nice to be able to communicate with other Christians and maybe.
Maybe we can be a little bit of help to them to, to move them along and the truth of the word of God, You know, Bill Frost's father used to say, let's be very careful about putting 16 year old or or 16 year, 16 year old head on a 16 year old shoulder. We need to understand that the that the comprehension and the truth of the word of God is not the same for everybody. But I think if we have something, the Lord has given us something we did first of all recognize that we've been talking about here and then showing that, demonstrating it. And if you will teach that to other Christians and to recognize them and not put them aside, you won't sit in the back seat. We don't, we don't want you to interfere with it. Be careful about that, don't we?
But that's why we need to see them in that lobe. If we sit down and see that person in that lobe on Lord's Day morning, it's, I believe, going to make a practical difference in my relationship to that person when I meet them on the street on Monday morning, or I sit at the desk next to them at school or at work or whatever. And gifts are given to the body, too. We need, I know it's not our subject here, but we need to recognize that too.
00:45:22
And in our recent trip, I said to Brother Hans, I said, Hans, many of these people that were visiting and ministering to and providing literature and Bibles to, I said, maybe none of them will ever be gathered to the Lord's name.
Yeah, we'd love to see souls gathered in the Lord's name. Don't misunderstand me. And as you have opportunity, we can present that aspect of the truth to them. But I said, perhaps none of them will ever be gathered to the Lord's name. But we can go. And as members of the body of Christ, we can encourage them. We can share Christ with them where they are, and we can provide good, sound literature for them, for their own encouragement and for the ministry that they carry on for other members of the body of Christ.
In their locality. But I say again, it all comes down to seeing them in the loaf on Lord see mourning. That's what's going to adjust our relationship with them otherwise.
Not to his name, but to his person because we will be with him at that time. I'd like to say on a practical level. And we send out letters.
We say sometimes from the assembly letters.
Uh, but we addressed the letter not to the assembly in Lawrenceville, but to those gathered to the Lord's name in Lawrenceville. That's why we use that instead of saying the assembly, you'd send a letter to the assembly in Lawrenceville. Where would you deliver it?
Why there are those who are part of the church, part of the assembly in so many different Christian groups?
Now we recognize that there is one ground, the ground of the assembly, one body, but it's to be gathered to the name of the Lord Jesus. And so that's why we don't, uh, address it to the assembly like Paul could do in that time, because there was no division at that time.
I remember there's one little town in Bolivia where Brother Lino Bueno, some of you remember his name, used to laugh. It's called Cheetah, and there are no other Christian groups in that town.
I think you can address a letter to the assembly because of that, because there's no division of Christian testimony in that town. But now because of the ruin of the Christian testimony, we address letters to those gathering to the Lord's name in such and such a place.
It's it's good to think through these things. They're they're real, but there's a lot in these last verses, these last three verses, last four verses and I think we need to touch on it. Brother, verse 19 Now, therefore you are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God.
And first Peter chapter 2.
Peter exhorts as strangers and pilgrims.
But here it says ye are no longer strangers and foreigners.
Because in Ephesians our place is in the heavenlies and.
And there we are, not strangers and foreigners, we are at home. Oh, what a wonderful thing to play hold of, brethren. We are fellow citizens with the Saints and of the household of God. Far better than the Jewish physician. Now Jews and Gentiles brought into this position of favor.
That makes it a level playing ground, doesn't it? Because that's what Ephesians all about.
But can I just back up a little bit, Bob, you made a comment earlier about, uh, the, uh, participation in the assembly meetings, uh, like this morning. And I, I agree with you on that, but would you, uh, accept this when it comes to teaching? Would you not, would you agree that there are teachers and that they should be the ones who, uh, uh, take that responsibility, not to take away from all any of the brothers who might want to say something, but for the younger ones.
00:50:16
Myself, we can ask questions and that creates an answer and that answer is a blessing to all of us so that they are not necessarily sitting there not paying attention or don't want to. They are learning that there's a teachers who share what they have. Would you agree with that? Well, you put that aside if you wish.
Yes, I I agree and I think we need to be sensitive as to those because every true believer has a gift.
And there's some of the young brothers down here that have a real gift. Maybe you don't realize it yet. You need to exercise it. I think those of us who are a little bit more advanced, uh, because there isn't such a thing as being advanced. Well, I think we need to be sensitive. Timothy was a timid person and Paul had to exhort him. Timothy, don't neglect the kids. That is in the.
And he had to stir it up, stir up the gift of God that is in need. So we say that to our younger brother here.
God has given you a gift. You need to be exercised. Maybe you said I don't even know what my gift is.
You may not.
The important thing is not to ask so much what your gift is, just simply saying, like the Apostle Paul said in the Davis conversion, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And be sensitive in your heart at the direction of the Holy Spirit in your life. He's a very real person. He lives within us and He's there to guide us into altering.
Every believer is a priest.
Not in the Old Testament, but in the new in.
New Testament Every believer is a priest, both sisters and brothers.
Sister is not to participate vocally in the assembly.
Keep silent, it says, but you still appreciate it.
And so a priest offers praise to God.
The sister can do and should do quiet.
There's no distinction between old and young when it comes to being a priestess. Am I right in that?
Yes. And so not to belabor it, but we need to distinguish always between three things. There's ability, there's gifts, and there's priesthood. And I believe they are very, three very distinct things in the Word of God.
When Ruth came to the land of Israel with her mother-in-law and she found favor in the eyes of Boaz, she said why have I found favor in thy sight seeing I am a stranger. She recognized that being a Moabitess that she really had no claim on the blessing. But we find that bike on the grounds of grace she's brought in. It's a beautiful picture there isn't it? And we often enjoy it in that regard.
But she recognized that as a Gentile, she was a stranger and had no right. And so that's what he's bringing out here. We've taken up how that as Gentiles we had no right. We were outside the circle of blessings that God had established in the Old Testament. But now he says ye are no more strangers. He says to these Gentile believers, these Ephesians, you are no more strangers. You're not outside.
The circle of blessings, because the circle of blessing in Christianity now, as we've been saying it encompasses both Jew and Gentiles who have come by simple faith and receive the Lord Jesus and on the grounds of the work of Calvary and the blood of Christ have been brought into the Church of God. So they did recognize, even a Gentile would recognize that in the Old Testament that they were a stranger. But here, what a wonderful thing that must have been to ring in the ears of these Ephesians. Ye are no more strangers.
You've been brought into the best place, the most blessed place that any human being has ever been brought into, and it was a far, far greater place of nearness and relationship than the Jew ever enjoyed under the Law.
00:55:00
I've really enjoyed that gym and connection with Ruth. And if I might just, uh, stay a little bit more on it that, umm, I used to puzzle like how Ruth could come in there and be blessed because it says the Moabite wasn't to come into the 10th generation. The reality is that Ruth didn't bring her Moabitish inheritance in. She came in as a stranger and she never claimed any blessing on the basis of being a Moabite.
She surrendered all that out.
And I believe that's a beautiful picture of what the church is to be to Christ.
In in Ephesians here we have over and over again the 1St chapter. In Him are our blessings, all our blessings.
The problem comes, brethren, when we try to bring our contribution to the table as Christians and we spoil it. It's like Ruth bringing going back to claim blessing on the basis of being a Moabite. She gave that all up, and the fact that she gave it all up and claimed only blessing through her mother-in-law on Jewish ground, which came to her through Boaz, she became the mother then.
Of a child that was better than seven sons she gave birth to that child and that child had no identity as being the mall by she did she surrendered up all her claims. I I think that's a beautiful lesson for us the the the we need to lay hold brethren of what is ours in Christ and then we'll then we'll let lay aside.
All of our own qualities and all of our own selves to bring add anything to our Christian position.
Verse 20 and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. So we have these last three real verses, the building.
And it talks in verse 20 necessarily of the foundation. Very important to understand what is the foundation work? You know, the foundation of the building is not very visible, but it is extremely important. And I think it is important for us to understand the foundations of our faith. What is it? The foundation here is called of the.
Apostles and.
Luke was not in the bottle that we read about, but he certainly was a prophet because he gave us something of the Word of God. But that is the groundwork of our relationship as the Church of God is important to understand that there are principles in the Word of God and when we act in assembly in our relationship together, there should be always some principle in the Word. God doesn't set aside the Old Testament.
But the Old Testament is a reflection and we draw pictures from there. But it is the New Testament Scriptures that are the foundation work of our position in this, in what we call the church or the assembly. That's why I'd rather you'll notice that you don't take out at a reading meeting in the conference.
Hardly ever have I heard it Old Testament scriptures that this happened once in a while. There's no logging, but it's.
Mainly New Testament Scriptures. Why we concentrating if the New Testament is just a small part of the Bible? Because that is the foundation and it is important that we understand it. I'm concerned that sometimes our young people are not getting very grounded in what is the foundation work of our faith. We need to be well grounded. We're living in days when everything is being challenged.
In the world that we live in, the very basics of the faith are being denied and openly denied by those who profess to be Christians and.
01:00:09
And we need to know where we stand. This is the foundation, and this will stand often. Think of the foundation of the temple In the Old Testament, when Nebuchadnezzar came in, he even broke up with the foundation work. And that had to be relayed at the time of Ezra when they came back to rebuild the temple. But in the New Testament, brethren, when we're talking about the truth of the church.
It says in Second Timothy 2, the foundation of God stands further. Oh, what a consolation. That is my soul. You might have to dig down through the rubble of men's ideas that you're going to find in this book. Solid ground on which to stand. Beautiful.
What is the material used to build this building?
Above the foundation.
We are built, aren't we?
Living stones, is that what you mean? Not bricks and mortar.
Of bricks and mortar, spiritual building. All right, thank you. So it's living stones that Peter takes up in his epistle, aren't they? I think it's important to see to this foundation and understand what it really is. I like your the verse you quoted in Timothy is really the answer to is it the 11Th Psalm that says if the foundation be destroyed?
What can the righteous do? But the foundation of the temple in the Old Testament might have been destroyed and rooted up, but the foundation that has been laid for us, the truth of God that has been laid for us, it'll never change. We might give up the truth, but that doesn't change the truth. I'd like to say this, that that's why in Acts chapter 2, and I know there in Acts chapter 2, it wasn't the Apostle Paul's teaching, I realized it wasn't the written epistles.
But I believe there's a good principle there in the order of the things that they continued steadfastly in after the day of Pentecost. They continued steadfastly in, first of all, the apostles doctrine. I know it was oral there, but the principle is there, isn't it? Because it's the apostle's doctrine that is the fellowship for the basis for everything else. The apostles doctrine was the basis for fellowship for breaking of bread.
And for prayers, those are the what we refer to as the collective or assembly meeting. And so if there has to be the foundation, it can't be everybody just deciding how they want to meet and what they want to do. No, there's been a pattern of things established for us in the act and the foundation principles laid down by the apostles and prophets. And Paul speaks of himself in First Corinthians 3 of having laid the foundation as a wise master builder.
Now, again, it includes, as you say, Bob, all the New Testament writers, because all the New Testament writers bring in some aspect of the church and principles of Christianity and so on. And so we need that whole foundation. But if we're going to really understand the truth of the church, what the church church is, it's calling, it's heavenly position and so on, where do we have to turn? We have to turn to the wise master builder because it.
Pauls ministry that gives us the real meat of the truth of the church. And I suggest that the reason there's so many believers who are floundering as to their as to the truth of the church and their heavenly calling and their relationship to the world and their reaction to it and in it and so on is because to a large degree they are have given up Paul's ministry. I I've had people tell me real Christians. Well, I don't read Paul's epistles. I think the gospels are.
Prophecy is more important or something like that. And then you talk to them and they don't understand the truth of the Lord's coming. They don't understand that they shouldn't be involved in the betterment of this world. They don't understand what it is to be gathered to the Lord's name or have the privilege of remembering the Lord every week. Those fundamental precious truths that so often we take for granted, but it's the result of turning away or neglecting Paul's ministry.
01:05:11
So we need those foundation principles, and I want to stress they don't change. You know, God reveals His mind at the beginning of a dispensation, and the truth He gives at the beginning does not change throughout that administration. You see it illustrated in the Old Testament when there were revivals in Israel. It wasn't some new revelation. It was going back and finding a copy of the law that was in the trash of the temple or part of the law being read in the King's ear or something like that.
And going back and acting on what had been established at the beginning. And men were exercised in this dispensation to go back and act on what was laid down at the beginning. And we enjoy the fruit of their exercise. And they're digging those things out. And we have their writings. And we seek by grace to act in a feeble way on those things. It wasn't something new. It was recovered light or truth, but it wasn't fresh light.
So important to always go back to the foundation. Building may need to be renovated from time to time, but you rarely go back. If there's a good foundation, you don't go back and dig up the foundation. You build on what was already laid at the beginning. And it's interesting, Jim, that verse you put it in first Corinthians 3, it says other foundation can no man lay then that which is laid, that is Jesus Christ.
And in a certain way we can save rather than that our foundation is the person of the Lord Jesus. When you come to him, you are on that foundation. But here it's called the foundation of the apostles and prophets because they delineate, they give the order of things in relation to this building that is being built in our present day. But it's interesting. There is a detail here that.
Is interesting is that Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone.
Perhaps we don't build in this way today when we build a building, but sometimes where they were stones used, they would begin with a cornerstone. They would put it right in the corner of the construction site and then every measurement had to be made from that stone. How long is this building going to be?
That's stone. How wide, how high. That was the reference point. How important that is if we follow the truth of the Word of God to make the Lord Jesus the reverence point, not ourselves sometimes as to the truth of being gathered to the Lord's name. I fear we cloud the true truth of the issue by making ourselves the reference point.
Thank God, if we are where the Lord wants to be, we are not the reference point in this end. If you're going to get the picture clear, you have to go back to that chief cornerstone. Well, for my limited experience, I find in talking to others that it, this is total foreign language to believers at large. And, uh, I find, and I'm sure others have, uh, that are here.
That one of the first questions.
People ask you when they find out you're a believer. Is this What church do you belong to?
No. You know, we've talked about a lot of things here.
Let's have what is the simple answer in view of the fact that people think that a church is a building, It's a denomination.
What is a simple answer that we can give other believers?
Who understand so little of really the truth of what the Church is.
And we have some help. And I lived in Bolivia. We made a change of Santa Cruz to Cochabambang. Cochabamba is an area where there are a lot of missionaries. And so you'd meet up front of them from time to time. And it was interesting they would ask that and why did you come to Cochabamba? You must be going to plant churches. That's a very common expression, plant churches, church planets.
01:10:05
I say no, I have not come to Atlanta church.
I have come and I want to recognize the church that began on the day of Pentecost by the descent of the Holy Spirit. And if I meet together with other believers, I want to meet together.
In recognition of that church that began on that day and God continues to build. And I think it's really important that we need clear on that. We are not starting new assemblies. There might be a new place where a new where there are believers gathering together through the Lord's name. Sometimes they say that's a new assembly. Well, not exactly a new assembly. I'd be a new gathering of the Lord's people to his name.
But to speak clear in our thoughts and our expressions of that precious truth, I don't know. I think there is a lot of ways you can answer that, I suppose. How do you answer, Dave?
I'll tell you what, a brother back home.
Was asked that question one time. What church did you belong to? And he answered this way by asking questions. Is there more than one?
And I think that brings out the realization that.
All the truth that we have here, it's, it's in this book, it's in God's Word. There aren't going to be any more truths brought forth by some kind of a revelation as some groups would think. It's all there. There's nothing new.
There may be something that's new to me that I haven't seen in the Word of God, and believe me, that's the truth. But we need to search it out. It's there. And so that will never change. I think we can't even get a hold of that. And then the answer to Dave's question is good, what he just said now there, is there another, is there another book that we should be considering? No, this is the only one.
And you see it, Christ loved the church and gave himself more. And that's a good verse that focuses on him. And you can ask, well, what church was that?
That's the church I belong to, and it of course includes every believer and it eliminates denominationalism.
And we can clear up our brethren all over the world. But a simple answer is often the best.
And perhaps the clearest scripture is the Lord added to the church, one church such as should daily, such as should be saved, and that work is still going on to that same church, as we said earlier, that was established on the day of Pentecost. We might have to add to our meeting room because we have bigger families and more come in. But it wasn't a physical building that the Lord was adding to or is adding to. What is He adding to the church?
It's those who should be saved who are saved as one and another get saved. He's daddy and he's still doing that work today, and he'll do it until the Spirit and the bride are called away. The very fact that we're still here today and the Spirit of God is still here shows that there's a work of the Spirit of God still to be done and adding to the church. So a brother is going to stand up and he's going to preach the gospel this evening, and another soul we trust will be saved. Maybe it'll be the last living stone placed in the Church of God.
But the loo, the Spirit of God is still working, adding to that same church, but it's not many churches. It wasn't a physical building there. It was a building composed of living stones. We had the end of the hour. I'd just like to say before we finish that we have two verses here that we haven't really touched, Verse 21 and 22, and verse 21 is all the buildings thinly framed together.
Bro I'm I'm doing fully simple in the Lord that is with a view to the future. We are growing towards being an holy temple in the Lord. But verse 22 is what we are at the present time. We are building together for inhabitation of God through the Spirit. So right now the Spirit of God dwells.
In the Church of God, we're talking about all the believers in the Lord Jesus. The Spirit of God dwells there. And that's why there should be a sensitivity in our lives as to the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. Sometimes we do not recognize and we quench the Spirit of God. Lord help us, brethren, it's a reality, the Spirit of God.
01:15:18
Dwells.
Not only individually in the believers body, but collectively in the Church of God at large. And He's here to guide us into all truth.
Let's not look at a certain brethren as if they're the ones that are going to leave it. Let's look to the Lord the Head in heaven. By his Spirit may he be free to use any instrument that he sees that.
330.
What raised the wondrous thought, or who did it suggest that we the Church to glory brought, should with the Sun be blessed 330.