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Allah Allah Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah Allah. Allah Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah. Allah Allah.
And where to start is the fact that if you see the new translation, there's a sentence that starts in verse 15 of chapter one and it goes beyond where we are in chapter 2. It's, I think the longest sentence in the whole of the New Testament. So it's, you're gonna, we're gonna be picking it up in the middle of something. And I, I would suggest that we, umm, start in verse 6.
Ephesians chapter 2.
Verse 6.
Maybe we can just read one word from verse five and that would be Christ.
And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places.
In Christ Jesus, that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
For by grace are you saved through faith, and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast, for we are his workmanship.
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Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained, that we should walk in them.
Wherefore remember that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh, made by hands, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel.
And strangers from the covenants of promise.
Having no hope, and without God in the world, 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 has made both one, and has 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 make in himself of twain, 1 Newman, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross.
Having slain the enmity thereby, and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by 1 Spirit under 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.
Gonna re summarize a little bit of what we had before us when we started yesterday, perhaps bringing it out slightly different way but the same thoughts.
This is what this chapter is not about what we are and are doing. It's not giving us exhortations here as to how we should live our lives, but it is what God is doing.
And what God is doing begins in the beginning of this epistle, in the first chapter.
And we learned there that number one with God isn't you, and it's not me.
Number one thing in the heart of God is His Son.
He is supreme.
And God has purposed.
In his Son, to his own glory, to God's honor, to the sons honor that everything that's created should be brought into a oneness, a conformity.
To God.
Under the headship of his son.
And that in doing so, God displays the greatness of himself in His own nature of love and glory and holiness. And in doing so, His Son is given a supreme place.
But we know that in the purposes of God, His Son became a man.
And as God has said, it's not good for a man to live alone.
And so as a man, he came into this world, but he was alone, morally alone, because there was none other like him.
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There wasn't a single other person, whoever lived on this earth, that lived as he did to the pleasure and glory of God.
But God's purpose was it wasn't that he should remain alone in that morally proper compared to us, better place, better way. And so God purposed to do a work for his Son that he would have companions.
In his manhood, and that they would be brought into the most intimate possible relationship to God himself and to His Son.
And so we learn in the first chapter of that purpose to be fulfilled in what we call the Church.
His body so intimately connected with himself that he has had.
That which is connected with him in his manhood is called his body.
Chapter 2 begins with, you might say, the raw materials.
That he has to work with to accomplish those purposes. And he looks at a collection of people that are dead.
In trespasses and sins.
And he says that's what I'm going to work with.
And that's what I'm going to use for my glory to fulfill my purposes. And so we have in this chapter a description of an ongoing work of God, particularly from God's side of the work rather than our responsibility side of it. That work that God is ongoing, taking steps in it this morning by having us here together in his presence to accomplish that work.
Of forming a habitation for himself.
Where he can dwell by the Spirit and that which is the greatness of His work. To have his Son have a bride, a body that is displayed in the glory with Himself.
Which is our destiny.
Again, just the general comment or two in connection with what we've already had, but I think it's helpful to find as we go through the book of Ephesians, that Ephesians detaches us from this world in every way except from the fact that we are still physically here. We're still physically here on planet Earth. We're in this building in Saint, uh, in Saint Louis the the morning.
But as far as our position, our hopes, our goals, Our Calling.
It's not connected with this world in any way. We notice yesterday that we once were part of this world system.
And we followed the course of this world, this world that's under judgment. But now as we have so secure as our position and so real is it even now that we are already seen as seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. And I believe we need to keep this before our souls at all times. Brethren, you know, the children of Israel when they cross the Red Sea and they had experienced not only redemption, but deliverance from their position in Egypt, a type of this world.
They never got back there. It's true in their hearts they returned into Egypt, Stephen says in his summary.
In the book of Acts. But positionally they never got back there. They were seen in a whole different light on a different ground. And brethren, God sees us in Christ, and seated in heavenly places in Him.
And in the measure in which we can grasp this in our souls and enjoy it as a reality.
It will have a very practical effect on our lives. It will detach us from our hearts returning into Egypt, so to speak, from seeking to be try to be part of this world's program and plans.
And when we speak of this world, we kind of alluded to it yesterday, but I think it's helpful to understand that the world in the Scriptures is taken up in three different ways. Sometimes it has to do with this physical planet, and we're still here in this world. I'll just give you an example of a verse. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners. That is, he came in incarnation. He was born in Bethlehem. He walked in this world. He was crucified here on planet earth.
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And then his feet left this planet in ascension, and he went back to heaven. That's the physical.
A planet. God so loved the world. God didn't love a planet. God doesn't love this globe, so to speak. It's the people in it. So sometimes it's the planet, sometimes it's the people. But when we speak of the world, the way it was present, it's presented in the first part of this chapter. It's, if I can put it this way, there's the planet, the people, and the program. 3 PS might help us to remember it. And the program is really a world system of things.
Set up by man in independence of God, of which Satan is the God of this world religiously.
And the Prince of this world politically. So I just say that to help us to understand, we talk about the world in this context, the context in which we've been talking about it this weekend. It's that program, it's that system. And we've been delivered completely from that, positionally from that. And we are, I say, already seen positionally as seated in heavenly places in Christ.
We have in verses 5 and six. First He is quickened us together with Christ, giving us life.
Verse six, it says he has raised us up together. In other words, we do not occupy a position in this place any longer. He's taken us completely out of that position. When right Lazarus was raised from the dead, he was given life.
But he didn't continue to live in the cemetery. That's not the place for living people. That's the place. That's the place for dead people. So he's taken completely out of that position and we have been too. But then, like you say, Jim, it's in verse six. He's made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That's our present position.
In Christ sitting together in Christ Jesus in heavenly places.
And I I love to think too, Brother Jim, how the Lord in his.
Sojourn here in this world, the 33 1/2 years that he was here.
How simply he lived.
Hardly had anything materially speaking to his name. Why did he live that way?
Brethren, the thought that has come to me, and I enjoy it so much, is that he had come from the Father's house, and there was nothing down here to attract him.
We get attracted to things down here, but oh brethren, we've been called to a higher sphere. We need to realize it So much. So is it that God already sees us in that position?
Make it a little more down to earth I like to say sometimes.
Supposing there was an election.
And I was elected to be the President of the United States.
I hope that never happens, but supposing it happened, well, the time of taking office hasn't come yet, but I could say if that was the case, my place is in the Oval Office in Washington DC. So brother, we can look up into the glory. So closely are we associated with the Lord Jesus that we can say we are seeing here as seated.
Together with Christ in heavenly places. Wonderful reality, brethren. Physically, like you say, we're still here, seated in Saint Louis. But this is not our position. Our position is about.
It says even when we were dead in sins.
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Now, when we were still in sins, we were dead.
But then on and that's in parenthesis.
Verse five the end. By grace ye are saved.
So from what are we safe now?
We are made alive and we were dead in sins, so that's what we are saved from. We are saved from our sins, from sins.
And we don't sin anymore.
And I'd like to refer to a verse in.
And first John 3, verse 6.
Whosoever abideth in him thinnest not.
Whosoever thinness hath not seen him, neither known him.
Now that's a very serious.
Expression.
It says that when we are safe, we don't sin any more.
And the fact is, we don't.
But that doesn't mean that we can't swim anymore.
But if we sin, we have.
An advocate, the Lord Jesus.
Right.
People think that. There are people who think that.
When they are safe, they.
And they sin again. Then they're not saved anymore, or or they are temporarily unsafe.
That's not possible. 1/3 has been quickened. We have made, uh, been made a life to God. We are, we are alive. We, we are dead too soon.
Then don't we? That's what that verse is saying. But in chapter one of the epistle to John it says if we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his true word is not in us. So that yes, if we allow the.
Old man the flesh to act in us, the result will be sin. So we need to qualify it that way, don't we?
So as a believer, I have a new life. When I'm born into this world, I have that sinful life. When I'm saved, I still have that sinful life. And so I do sin I.
Our sin was put on him at the cross and he was punished for it. Even if I sinned tomorrow, that sin has already been punished at the cross. And and those verses you mentioned in first John, if we sin, we have an advocate with the Father. And so if we live in our in the power of our new life.
The carnal man.
Then we're gonna get back into trouble. We're going to sin and it's and we need to bring that before the Lord as our advocate and confess it to Him. And if we confess our sins, be faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, that verse is to a believer is not to an unbeliever there. If a believer sins, he has an advocate and we can come to the Lord and he promises to forgive you. And you may go on in your sin. Uh, I'm sorry, you may go on in your guilt. Your sin may be forgiven, but you may still suffer in your soul because of the guilt of that sin. Well, you don't have to suffer from that guilt of your sin, the Lord Jesus.
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He says he'll cleanse you from all unrighteousness. He'll forgive you. You need to accept that forgiveness from the Lord. And so we can't say that a believer will never sin, Brother, we do sin, but we have an advocate with the Father.
The beautiful thing about what we're doing to today is we're, we're learning what God has done and bringing about a change in our, uh, in our condition. I've enjoyed the thought that, uh, the 1St 3 verses, the verses of this chapter tell us what we once were, how God saw us at one time, the condition that we were in, it was really, really bad, but because of the work of Christ and because of the purposes and the plan and the counsels of God.
We are no longer if we've put our trust in the Lord Jesus. We're no longer what those first three verses tell us. God has placed us in a completely new position. He is, He has. He has made us be in Christ. We are now associated with Him. And the purpose we're here today is to find out and to learn what God has done in bringing about a completely new change.
In our lives and the more we learn about our new position, our new life, the grace that has brought us here, coming from a limited, unlimited source of love from the Father's heart and bringing us into this blessing, The more we learn about this, the more we will be changed and the less we will want to reflect what we once were.
We are not that anymore.
We are in Christ, we have a new life. It it can never be said of us now.
Of the of that we are just the character of these first three verses we have there's a change that has been wrought and so the reason why we're here is to learn what God has done and.
How how great his his heart has and and and bringing this and making it possible.
So it's what He's done and what He's doing. It's what He's done for us, what he's doing in us, his ways with us. And in these verses we're considering this morning, it's not so much what we've been saved from, that's true, but it's what we have been saved for and what we have now. There's plenty of other scriptures we could go to that show us what mercy has saved us from, saved us from a lost eternity.
Saved us from our sins, saved us from a life of degradation and so on. But that's not what we have mainly in these verses. And brethren, to get a hold of in our souls of what we have been saved for, what is ours now as a present possession and what is ahead in those ages of ages. This is really what is going to lift us above the circumstances of this world. This is what is going to give us the character that he brings out at the end of the chapter.
Of strangers and foreigners. This is what is going to have a practical effect on our lives.
And you'll notice here that it's not so much mercy. Now I realize that yesterday in verse four, He began with God, who is rich in mercy. I realize that. And the reason he begins with that is because mercy.
As individuals, we are the recipients of mercy and we are all individuals. We're part of the Church of God, the bride of Christ, the body of Christ, but we are individuals. But he immediately he doesn't develop that subject. He goes on to speak of love and he goes on to develop the subject of grace. And so in these verses we're considering at the end of verse 5, by grace are ye saved? He in in verse seven that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches. Notice this.
Of His grace, mercy saves us from a lost eternity and so on. But it's grace that brings us into a position now where we have every blessing that God could give.
And remember this, the Church is never looked at as the object of mercy. Individually were the objects of mercy.
But the subject here is more in connection with the Church of God, the body of Christ.
And so he immediately takes up this subject of grace. And brethren, we need to get this concept of grace firmly implanted in our souls. Grace is really love, inactivity towards unworthy creatures. That's what grace really is. I say again, it's love, inactivity towards unworthy creatures. And it doesn't just save us from something. Mercy does that. But grace brings us into all the fullness.
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Of what God has for us in and through Christ. So in the previous chapter he speaks of the riches of his glory.
In verse 18 of the previous chapter, wonderful subject, the riches of his glory. But when we get home to heaven, brethren, we're not only going to be occupied with the riches of his glory, but he's going to show us the riches of his grace.
For all eternity.
We're never going to lose the sense of the richness of His grace, and when we get home to glory, we are going to realize, perhaps in a way that we have never realized before.
That it was all of grace. That grace provided everything.
That it was grace that worked in US and through us. That it was grace that saved us.
It's grace that picks us up, carries us along, and preserves us. It's grace that restores us when we do fail. And it's grace that's going to take us home to glory. And we're going to sit down and He's going to show us for all eternity the richness not only of His glory, but of His grace. And that's going to bring forth fresh bursts of praise from our hearts for all eternity.
Umm, because we've had multiple times in verse five, uh.
Starting point what we were.
Dad, and we already have in our lives as we sit in this room this morning, been brought in. We have been raised. This isn't future, but in Christ we have in the present position before God in Christ. We've been raised from that condition of death and we're alive toward God now. We weren't before we were saved, but today we are further than that. This is already been said.
We presently occupy, spiritually speaking, a place in heaven before God in Christ, and that's our present portion. But when we get to verse seven, it's something that's future. I would like to comment on this, which is still future. It says in the ages to come He might show. What is it that God wants to show? Well, He's going to show the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness.
Toward us through Christ Jesus. To get the thought of it. I appreciate if you turn with me to John's Gospel chapter 17, and it explains a little more in connection with it as to what he's going to show.
And, uh, John 17.
He says umm in verse 23, the Lord speaking to his Father, I and them and thou and me, and that they may be made perfect in one. And this is the point for reading it the next phrase.
That the world may know.
That thou hast sent me and hast loved them as thou hast loved me. Think of your neighbor, everybody or your school, somebody that's with you in school. God has a purpose and he says the day is coming when I'm gonna show your classmate at school. I'm gonna show your neighbor in the town where you live.
What I think of you.
What my heart, my God's heart is toward you. I'm going to display you in a place in heaven with my son that is going to show your neighbor, if you will, is going to show that fellow at school that I love you as much as I love my son. And I'm giving you that supreme place among all men. There'll be people on earth, there'll be people, other people in heaven that aren't you and I.
But I'm going to show how much I love you, and I'm going to put you on display.
That is going to display the riches of My grace to you.
And the expression of my love to you, and that you are going to be displayed to all the rest, to angels, to all the all the rest of men.
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That I love you just as I love my son.
And I just a little word, it's hard to keep exhortation out of anything we say, umm, even though this is not a chapter of exhortation. But brethren, let's not make it hard on him.
God's gonna fulfill this purpose. So in our lives, until that point, let's make it easy on Him to do His work and to fulfill the purpose that He has that will be suited to that display. Because when it happens, we will have reached that point of sinlessness. But right now it says He that hath that hope in Him purifieth himself as He is pure, that is.
Anything that is presently a hindrance to God making us more like the Lord Jesus Christ.
Less.
Put it aside, let's judge it and say God, keep on with your wonderful and perfect work in me for this purpose and this end.
Play will ultimately really be for the glory of His Son, the Lord Jesus.
I I like to read a verse in Second Thessalonians, one that brings this out, just to add a little thought to what dawn has brought before us, because it's very precious. We think of that wonderful day, and it will be a day of vindication for His church, for his people, but it will also be a day when Christ will have his rightful place. And even in the display of his church, it's going to reflect his glory.
And I've appreciated that in connection with a verse here in Two Thessalonians, one verse 10, when he shall come to be glorified in his Saints and admired in all them that believe. I'll leave out the parenthesis in that day.
What is that day? Well, it's that day of manifestation when the Lord Jesus is going to appear. Heaven is going to open up. The Lord Jesus is going to appear.
And we're going to appear in glory with him. And what thrills my heart to think of is the fact.
That when we appear with the Lord Jesus and have the world looks up to see us, wherever they look they're going to see Christ.
Christ perfectly reflected in every St. It isn't always true in my life now.
Sometimes the reflection of Christ in my life is pretty dim. Pretty dim.
And sometimes the world doesn't see that display that they ought to see. But it throws my heart to think.
That when I appear in glory with him, I'm going to in that day.
Perfectly reflect the glories of Christ. And as the world looks up, wherever they look, they're going to see Christ. Why? Because Christ is everything. And this is what God really wants. And this is what God is looking forward to. He's looking forward to his Son being completely glorified and vindicated here on planet earth. And we're going to share in that wonderful day with him. Well, if that doesn't motivate our hearts to live for Christ now.
And to let him have his way and not work in US. I don't know what goes on within our hearts.
When we look at these scriptures together, umm.
We see that verse 7 looks in the ages to come, in the future.
And that's like prophecy being written there with the verse before it is current. We are currently setting in the heavenlies. We have to be careful with the word places in there.
We're currently setting in the heavenlies as the Christians relationship with Christ that we are having here. What is currently taking place in our lives. And so we see this us. Let's not always us as italicize this first, but not always back and forth, not italicized, but you're hearing the brother and use us all the time. You're hearing the brother news we all the time because the theme of Ephesians is the church, the whole body.
Of Christ. And therefore it is an epistle, isn't it? And when it started out, back in chapter one, it started out and it tells us in verse three that we are blessed. It tells me in verse four that I've been chosen. It tells me in verse five I've been adopted. It tells me in verse six I've been accepted. It tells me in verse 7 redeemed. But it's not just me, it's us, it's us. Us have been blessed. I should have been chosen. Us have been adopted. Us have been accepted. Us have been redeemed.
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We are made alive, we are raised up and we have been made to currently set in the heavenlies. It it it it follows a theme of Joshua and Israel coming to the land of Canaan and everything. And of course we we flaw. Yes, we do, but it's the emphasis is on in Christ Jesus. That's why it's not only there in verse six, but we'll see it in verse 10.
And that is a selected walk. That is the current one. Right now we have a selected walk by him and that is created. That walk is we are his workmanship and created in Christ Jesus. So it's been ordained that we should walk in them by him. That's pre selected by him that walk.
I'd like to go verse 8 now.
For by grace, I saved through faith.
Now that is a very important ingredient.
Because if we don't have that.
We don't have anything.
We have to have that faith, and that faith we don't receive by works. It says it right there.
And that not of yourselves. We can't work for faith.
There's nothing, there's no any kind of work we can do by which we receive faith.
It is a gift of God.
But we have to have it.
It's absolutely important that we exercise faith in our life.
The Lord Jesus headed 100th growth fence.
Because whatever he said came to pass.
And we have to believe in the Lord Jesus. It says Jesus Christ in hand over sex and says Jesus Christ Jesus in the end of 07.
He is the one who gives us that faith.
Verse seven about the ages to come that I enjoy. Brethren, in Luke's Gospel, when the Lord Jesus was tempted by the devil, it says he showed him all the kingdoms of the world, the glory of them in a moment of time. That's all it took to show him the kingdoms of the world.
The glory of them, a moment of time when God shows the exceeding riches of his grace. It's in connection with the ages to come. And I like to think that that will be the display before this world during the millennial day. I do believe, like you say, Jim, it will be for eternity. But even in the millennial day, if you look at Revelation chapter 21.
One is speaking about the heavenly city.
And the dwelling place of God, that glory to come. Notice what it says in verse 24.
And the nations of them which are saved, that's necessarily the nations in this world, because there's no nations in heaven.
Shall walk in the light of it, of that heavenly city and the kings of the earth to bring their glory in honor to it, so that it will be on display through that millennial day.
We have lost the sense of any connectedness to heaven.
Long since because of our departure from God in general. But in the beginning it was quite normal that God would come down and he walked in the cool of the day, evidently to have fellowship with Adam. And he came to visit Abraham and he even came down to talk with Cain after he'd killed his brother. I mean, it was.
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Normal, the sense of a connection with heaven. But as this world that Jim was mentioning has developed into such a system where God has no place, we have a sense. We've lost that sense of connectedness. But in the millennial day, the heavenly city is going to be above visible from this earth. I think that's really interesting to think about. And the nations of this world are going to walk.
In the light of that heavenly city. And that's where in those ages to come.
Will be displayed the exceeding riches of His grace and His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
Isn't it beautiful?
At the beginning of the 21St chapter, there's something that's still distinct for eternity. The bride of Christ. She comes down as a bride adorned for her husband, not beautiful. We're not going to just melt into some meld of of eternity or the heavenly company or whatever. We're going to remain distinct because as we've been saying, I believe.
What begins in the Millennium goes on into the eternal state as far as the Church is concerned.
And brethren, to think that He, at the end of that thousand year reign, is going to deliver up the Kingdom to the Father.
That God might be All in all. And why is he going to deliver up the Kingdom to the Father? Well, there are a number of reasons. There's nothing more to be put down and so on.
He's going to deliver up the Kingdom to the Father, to devote eternity to His bride.
Brethren, if that doesn't stir our souls and we are going to remain for eternity the Bride of Christ, And the bride is the freshness and loveliness of what she means to His heart, and that is never going to fade for eternity.
Has of the Ephesians has the church is on display right now.
On display to the angels, isn't it, That it might show God's wisdom?
So the church is currently on display right now to there as well as in the future.
Same to me on the prayer meeting this morning. I think it's applicable to the reading meeting.
Umm, a lot of times when we pray and some of us, many of us, most of us, maybe all of us who came to this conference this weekend had these two words somewhere in our vocabulary. My needs, my need. And uh, I hope when this weekend is over, my need gets met.
And, uh, our lives, that word my has a pretty prominent place. It's my life. It's my need.
We may as Christians downplay it a little bit, but it's character of Adams, right? My glory, my freedom, my liberty.
Have it my way when I go to Wendy's to choose.
And so on it it. It's the whole vocabulary of life.
Let's remember.
All those things are gonna disappear.
There will not be a single person in this room when this display is taking place that's going to talk about my glory.
My needs, my life.
And part of the purpose, yes, we do have needs. I don't wanna be totally one sided in what I say. And the Lord Jesus came down into this world to live life as we've had to live it and are living it.
To enter into our needs and to be able to take our needs and this morning bear them before God at the throne of grace. We do have needs, but I'm speaking about the focus of life and we talk about need. And one of the things that in this chapter we have in these verses is God had a purpose.
But we couldn't participate by ourselves in accomplishing it. We're not gonna get to glory and say, Oh God, you and I did a real good work that's resulted in my being here with you and my being in this place in which I am with the the sun as part of his bride, his body. No, everything had to depend on God, not on me or mine or us or our.
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And so it's, it's bringing out to us the work that God is having to do, even in the expressions he has to have it, it has to depend on his grace. Otherwise it's not to be, it has to depend on his work that there be faith, that faith is essential, but it has to depend on him that it be there. Uh, there won't be any in the end that says, look at my glory here.
I really did a good one. I know my neighbor, he wasn't so smart as I, he didn't make these good choices that I've made that's resulted in my place here at the side of Christ and, uh, in this heavenly glory. No, because everything connected with Adam that he boasts in has to be left as useless before God. God can't use it. And so there'll be no boasting then. And in fact, as this chapter goes on.
He has to say in verse 10, we're his workmen ship.
Totally is worth.
All based upon what he's doing and will do. He had to start over in that way with us and say I gotta start over with you. There's nothing of that. What I found in you and Adam that I can make any use of for my purposes. Your identity will be the same. You'll still be you, but I'm gonna have to make you new. And so we're a new creation implied in that tenth verse where new creation in Christ Jesus.
And uh, the end result will be looked at and say, my God is a wonderful Craftsman. He's done a wonderful work. And uh, his work isn't even taking glory or credit for it. It's just happy to be his work.
Like to mention in verse eight, again it's been mentioned the importance of faith. That is the principle that brings the blessing that as has been mentioned, it's not of ourselves, it is the gift of God.
But I think it's so important to that verse in Romans chapter 10, which says.
Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. So that faith comes to us through the hearing of the Word of God.
Now does a dead person here?
Naturally speaking, we have to say no.
And at the beginning of this chapter, we're dead.
But in John 525 it says the hour is coming, now the hour is coming, and now is when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall live. So it is when God speaks His word. And I just like to say this to each one of us as we listen to God's word.
Let it penetrate. Maybe you say I don't understand it, but let it penetrate into your heart because it is through. That means that God imparts life to dead souls. There's somebody that hasn't truly accepted the Lord as your savior. Maybe you're raised in a Christian home, but you've always had a reserve in your soul to not let the word of God penetrate. Listen, the Lord.
Had so many times in his.
Earthly ministry, and it's in the Book of Revelation Two, He that hath.
An ear, let him hear what the Spirit says so that it's so important to listen to what God says. It's through. That means that faith comes into my soul to believe, to receive the blessing that we have here. So, so beautiful to see it working in souls. People. I've seen them when they just didn't seem to have a clue what you're talking about.
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But they listened.
And then you see the difference. New life has come into that soul because.
They listened. They let the word penetrate into their hearts.
And souls, oh, how important that is, not only for the outside world, but I'm saying.
US who have been raised in Christian homes.
Listen, let the Word penetrate into your heart. It's that by which God imparts life to dead souls.
One more my 2.
In the sense that work, as mentioned here, not by works, work connects with me. I work. And if I do work, then it's to my credit, it's to my honor, the work that I do.
And so it identifies itself with me.
Properly speaking, faith identifies with the object of the faith.
When I say I trust God, the honor is to God.
Not to me, it's to God. It's the worthiness of the object of faith that makes having faith important.
If you have faith in something that lets you down, then you're sorry that you had faith in it.
Uh, you say I trusted that chair and it fell apart on me and so you were not too happy with the chair.
But God created us in that fundamental relationship with himself, that Adam was to trust him. And the test of the trust was with Adam, obey him. And so God set up a test that would show that Adam would trust the goodness of God, that God would make the choices for Adam.
And that he would be a dependent creature as well. He had to be dependent and obedient, and he had a test to make sure he was. But man dishonored God when unbelief in him came into his heart and it resulted in his act of disobedience. But God, faith is essential because it's essential in the honor that is due to God.
So it must be in each one. But we're not going to get to heaven and say, boy, I had great faith that got me here.
No, I have a great God and he got me here.
The power is not in the faith, is it? The faith connects us to the power.
In God, you can have great faith in somebody that is not worthy of faith and you'll be let down, like you say. But it is faith in the per in the right source.
So it's not our work, as he says, but it's his work. Again, it goes back to what Don has said. So it's not of works, lest any man should boast, but it is of a work, not our work, but it's the work of God. It's just a simple illustration that might help us to understand this.
Those who know me best know that I'm absolutely useless with any tools with my hand. As a builder, there's no use putting a hammer or a screwdriver or a drill in my hand. I'm only going to ruin something and perhaps hurt myself.
And so 26 years ago, when we were going to buy a home, I said to my wife, I said, there's no use of us buying an older, older home. There's no use of us moving in. And then there has to be some work done on that home because as she had learned long before, it just wasn't going to work that way. And so I said, with the Lord's help, let's go to a development that's being put up and let's see what those new homes are like.
And perhaps we'll buy one of those so that at least when we first move in, there's nothing that has to be done.
And we were able to do that. We bought a brand new home. And if you were to come to my home, even to this day, I have nothing to boast in as far as the building of that home. I drove no nails in that home. I lifted no beams in that home. I nailed no shingles down in that home. Nothing in that home I can boast in as being my workmanship. And brethren, that's true in our lives as believers.
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We have absolutely nothing to boast in. As we've said, even the faith to believe is a gift of God.
If there's been any faith in our lives, whether it's to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior, whether it's been any confidence in God, in our Christian pathway, when we get to heaven, I'm not gonna look around and be able to say, well, I had more faith than you. You're not gonna be able to say, well, I'm here because I had a lot of faith, or I lived the Christian life such and such a way because I had more faith than somebody else. Again, we're going to realize the grace of God.
I, I know we stress this, but again, I suggest that when we get to heaven, we're going to have an appreciation and understanding of the grace of God in every aspect of what has been wrought in US and for us in a way that perhaps we've never had before. We're going to see it from the perspective that it's God that worked in us both to will and to do of his good pleasure. We quote that verse now. We give a cent to it. Yes, we understand that. We appreciate it, but brethren, we're going to see it.
Clear like we've never seen it before.
When we are the have their ex, uh, when we there have displayed to us that grace and kindness of God, I say we'll enter into it like never before.
The greatest motivator to good works, isn't it? And I think that's what it means in verse 10. We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works. Does good works have a place in the Christian life? It really does.
Lots of place, and we ought to be exercised in good works not to gain anything because we have a position of favor already with God. But if we understand the awfulness of the cost of that position we've been brought into, then we will want in our gratitude to God, to do all we can to show how grateful we are for what He has done for us.
The apostle Paul says in First Corinthians 15, and I like this because.
He sets, uh, he's talking about himself in connection with the other apostles.
But he says verse nine, I am not the least of the apostles.
Let him not meet to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God.
But by the grace of God, I am what I am. He didn't compare himself to Peter. To John. I am what I am. And His grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain. But I labored more abundantly than they all.
Yet not I, but the grace of God which was within me, and it will be evident in that day.
If there was anything, brethren, for the glory of God in my life.
It was because of the grace of God that worked in me. Nothing for our glory. Even the crowns on our heads are going to be taken off and cast at the feet of the Lord Jesus the worthy 1.
Bob, I'd like to in that connection, just read a portion in Titus. You know, it's often been said that Titus is the epistle of good works and good works are mentioned a number of times in the book of Titus. But I'd just like to in connection with grace and the work of God innocent for us. This is a very practical application and you'll allow a little digression here, but in chapter 2 and verse 11.
For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men.
Teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world, looking for that blessed hope and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity.
And purify unto himself a people, a peculiar people, zealous of good works. There's a lot here, and we won't take but a moment, but just to point out that grace here is what teaches us. Grace is a teacher. Grace saved us. But an appreciation of that grace that saved us in our souls is going to teach us to do and not do several things. First of all, it's going to teach us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts.
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You know when I see a Christian.
Who exhibits moral piety in their life?
I say there's a believer who understands and appreciates grace. You know, there were those and the Lord rebuked them in his day who turned the grace of God into lasciviousness. That is, they took license by saying, well, God's gracious and so.
I can live this way, maybe confess it at the end of the day or the end of the week, and God is gracious and everything's OK. They didn't understand grace. A Christian who lives carelessly and lives for this world is a Christian, maybe a true believer, but he doesn't understand and appreciate grace. But not only does grace teach us to deny those things that are unholy, but it also teaches us to live soberly.
Righteously and godly when in this present age, right now.
The grace of God is sufficient for the day, the age we live in. It was sufficient for Paul's day. It was sufficient for our grandfather's day, and it's sufficient to that we can live for God's glory now, here in this present age. But it teaches us something else too. It teaches us to be looking for something, looking for that blessed hope, the moment when we're gonna be called out of this world, perhaps before this meeting's over. It teaches us to look for something else, too.
The glorious appearing to love his appearance, the day when he is going to be vindicated. And as we said, he's going to have his full glory. And it is that which motivates us to good work, and that's what what he wants. And so how far reaching grace is. It's not only that which picked us up in our need and saved us. It's not only that which brings glory before us at the end, but it is that which is going to create in US by the work of God that which is care. We ought to characterize us now.
And those good works that He desires from us?
Were foreordained, in other words, God's purposes of blessing from that past eternity. We can be those whom God uses to do those good works if we understand what grace is really about. If I'm not walking in the sense of that, why God will use somebody else to do those works.
Because he's not limited in the instruments that he uses. So young people, we were older too. Let's be exercised. We live in a world of a lot of hurting people.
Let's just be exercised before the Lord what we could do to help in some way or another. It doesn't have to be a big thing, but be exercise to be used to walk in good works.
Not just doing good works, but that we would walk in them. It is really to be, brethren, the character of our life. You know, in the end we won't go back to it, but in the end of Titus one, it talks about those who are of good works, reprobate.
And so a person can do good works. Even the natural man can do what we might refer to as good works.
But what God wants is now, and what is working in US is that we would not only just do the odd good work, but that it would be the whole walk in them to be the characteristic of our life, our walk for Christ down here. The Lord Jesus, when he was here, He was here to do the Father's will. Everything he did was, so to speak, with a good work. Every motion he he made was in connection with good, with good doing good.
And that is to be the characteristic of our life. You know, I'm afraid sometimes there's believers and they do something and they feel they've done their, as we would say, their good deed for the week or their good deed for the day, or they might at certain times of the year be more characterized by doing good works. That's not what God wants. This is, I say again, to be what characterizes our life in every step of our walk for Christ down here.
Some of the same thoughts from the same book that is Ephesians, uh.
That we've just had before us and our chapter and verse 10 it says were his workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works. And now turn over to chapter 5 and we have a another way of looking at the same subject of good works.
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Umm, as the workmanship of God, God has done a work, He's given us life, He's made us a new creation in Christ Jesus. He has put the Spirit of God in us to dwell within us and so on. And uh, whereas we had in chapter 2, it's for a purpose that, uh, we might be creatures of, uh, that are of good works. Notice how it's presented in chapter 5.
Verse one and I'm going to read the new translation be therefore imitators of God as beloved children. He's done a work, He's created this creature that's going to be able to imitate him.
Think of that. He's got creatures that he's created in this room.
Not future day and glory, but right now, this day in this room, He has those that He has made a new creature in Christ for the present activity.
Of being his imitator.
So what's in verse two? Walk in love.
God is love.
And so this creature that he has made this workmanship of his is someone in this room, all the someone's intent in this room that are going to display as his imitators what he is in love in this world. When his son was here, he did it.
But his son's not here anymore.
He's in glory and so he has created others.
To imitate him.
Has good work for him in this world to display his own nature of love.
And it will be seen in practical activity, that's true. Uh, but the, the characteristic of it in the display of it is that which is in love.
Before and verse six, he says the wrath of God cometh upon the children of disobedience. That's what man is in Adam. He's a disobedient creature.
And uh, as Peter says, he brings it out, uses the same word he said, your children of obedience.
And so God is going to display Himself and His children as obedient unto Himself and to their responsibilities. So then he goes on just to.
Verse 11, he says, have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness.
All the works of man that come from Adam don't produce a good crop. They're just works and their motivation is wrong. And so they don't have God's character and consequently they have there's nothing for God in them. They don't produce anything that lasts as a fruit for God.
He says verse 8 and we'll just stop there. You can study these more on your own time.
He says in verse 8.
Uh, for you were sometimes darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord walk as children of light, He says. Here's you're the light of the world.
God is light and He's created you to be his imitator.
You have I have the responsibility to display to our fellow man that God is love and God is life. And that's a work in the world that God through which by the power of the Spirit of God, God can create fruit for himself that will last for eternity. And so to he wants good works, but he has a purpose in those good works.
Because by his spirit he will use those good works to produce for himself fruit.
That's the intent of work generally and, and farm work anyways is labor that's going to produce a crop and the crop is going to produce a good result. And so God wants to use the work of his children to result in something that he has by his power that will last for eternity. Some in this room are going to see others in heaven.
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That God.
Saved by using their good works as part of the means by his power, and they will see the fruit of their laborers.
It forever and that's the purpose of God and that that we might be his imitators as children.
Something about that work, that word ordained.
Which God hath before ordained.
Now this word has been perverted.
Today by many.
But it should read.
Which God has before prepared.
And that is a proper word for prepared.
Because.
A person that God wants to use, He prepares first.
The Lord Jesus was prepared.
As a perfect man.
Right in the in the body of Mary.
And that's the way that God works with his people whom he wants to use. He prepares them.
And this ordaining that.
Has been perverted by the religious groups worldwide.
Because they are ordaining men to do spiritual things and that can't be done.
Only God can do that, and He prepares them even before they are born.
He prepares the opportunity.
He prepares the time.
E.
Prearranges.
Everything in our lives.
So that He can accomplish His purpose in our life, that is according to His will.
And right down to the detail, it's not just the big things. If I can illustrate it this way, the Lord spoke of a cup of water given in his name and how that's a good work and it would be rewarded. But I've often thought when if you give a cup of water in His name when you get to heaven, you'll realize several things that the judgment seat of Christ. One is that first of all, He provided the cup of water. Secondly, He provided the opportunity to give it.
Thirdly, he implanted the thought in your mind and put the desire in your heart to give it.
Well, brother, no wonder. As Bob said earlier, when those crowns are handed out, we're going to cast them back at his feet.
Because we're going to realize that every detail, right down to the smallest iota, was nothing of ourselves, but was all of him. And I say that because when we speak of good works, sometimes we think of perhaps great outward things and big things.
But it goes down to everything in our lives, and that's why, as we've already said, that we should walk in them.
Everything we do in our lives, whether it's in the family circle, whether it's in connection with the unbeliever, we're to do good unto all men. Whether it's the household of faith, fellow believers, because it says, especially those of the household of faith. Whether it's in the home, whether it's at work, whether it's when we go to the grocery store, whether it's at a conference like this or in the local assembly, everything we do in our lives has been preordained or prepared.
And we are to walk in the conscious sense of doing those good works that he works in us to do.
In Titus chapter 2 verse seven brings that that out. You don't to do good work. You don't have to go down to the island, to Africa. That's not what the good works you're talking about.
You have relationships with and you build those relationships and your good works are gonna be manifesting to them the heart of God. And it says in Titus 2 verse seven and all things showing thyself a pattern of good works in doctrine, showing uncorruptness, gravity, sincerity, sound speech.
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They cannot be condemned and so on. Then in verse 9 talks about servants. If you have a job, you gotta be obedient to your master, your boss, and and so on. So whether you're in the home or in the workplace, there's opportunities that God can prepare you to to address in his time. It may take you months to develop a relationship before you can be used, but show a pattern of good works and and the Lord will provide the opportunities.
Hello, it's reflect and to glorify Christ on the earth and you talk we're talking about fruit. Several have mentioned fruit. You know fruit doesn't make any noise when it grows. You you wanna go to an apple orchard and listen to fruit to apples grow. Not a chance. You might hear the wind and the leaves and the birds in the branches and other things, but you'll never hear an apple grow. It's not a question of making a lot of noise. So I'd like to sum up what we've said in this connection and because this in in connection with glorifying Christ.
When the Lord Jesus was here, he glorified God on the earth and finished the work that he gave him to do. There's a few. And so God was glorified on the earth through his Son, the Lord Jesus. There's a day coming when the Saints are going to be glorified with Christ, as we've spoken. He's coming to be glorified in His Saints and to be admired in all them that are about Him in that day. But in the interim, that's past and future. But what about the present? What he desires is that Christ would be glorified in His Saints now.
That there would be something of Christ seen in our lives as dawn stressed imitators, so that when we leave this room, or we leave this conference and we go back to our daily sphere and routine.
Is there going to be something of Christ seen in our lives? Are we going to reflect Christ?
And not just what we say, but what we do.
Servant of the Lord, aren't they? I was looking at Ephesians 6 there where it speaks of that word servants, but it's really the thought of slaves, those that never had any time that they could dispose of from their own. But notice what it says there. It says verse 6 not with high service as men pleases, but as the servants of Christ.
Who are the servants of Christ here in this room? Don't be looking at special people, brethren. If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus, you are a servant of Christ with goodwill, doing service as to the Lord. So you say you're serving a earthly boss. Do it to the Lord. And I find, brethren, that those that take the place of preachers or missionaries sometimes are discounted.
What people really listen to is somebody that's just normal, got a normal job, but doing it hardly to the Lord. That's the kind of people that are listened to. So do it to the Lord. Wherever you are, you are a servant of Christ. I'm going to put that on for a moment. Time's up, brother.
117.
Not to ourselves.
Leo.
That we, O God, are thine Jesus the Lord.
Our night broke through.
And he gave us light, divine.
117.