Address—D. Bilisoly
DISCLAIMER: The following has been auto-transcribed. We hope it will help you to find the section of this audio file you are looking for.
Turn to.
First Corinthians, chapter 2.
First Corinthians chapter 2 verse 8 which none of the Princess of this world knew.
For had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
But as it is written, I have not seen nor ear heard.
Neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
Of course, that's a quotation from Isaiah 64 that ends at that point.
And certainly they had no revelation beyond that.
But now we continue to read.
Because verse 10 is for us.
But.
God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit.
For the Spirit searcheth all things ye the deep things of God.
For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him?
Even so, the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.
Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God.
That we might know the things that are freely given to us of God.
Which things also we speak not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth.
But which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged or discerned of no man.
For who hath known the mind of the Lord?
That he may instruct him. But we have the mind of Christ.
Isn't that a marvelous statement of Scripture? We have the mind of Christ. Oh, how humbling that should be to our hearts, to think of this divine favor that has brought us into such a position as this. We have the mind of Christ. And so, brethren.
You know, apart from divine revelation.
We would know nothing, so we have to have the revelation, and of course we have those most important revelations.
For this age, this dispensation given primarily through the Apostle Paul.
But then God had to inspire those as Paul.
To pen the divine revelation so you have inspiration.
Verse 13.
Revelation, inspiration, and then appropriation. You can't even appropriate it except by the Spirit of God.
And so we have the Spirit of God, we have the mind of Christ. Oh, how encouraging. How marvelous to consider this and.
Do we now know? Do we have any idea?
Of what God hath prepared for them that love him.
Yes we do. Yes we do, but we can only enter into it by the Spirit of God. It's an interesting development of thought in verse 12 because he is saying that we communicate between ourselves as men by our human spirit. You can't go and talk to an animal or we might talk to animals, but you can't reason with them. They may respond to the sound of your.
Voice and to certain signals. But you can't commune with an animal, but you can with man. And we do that by the spirit, our human spirit. But in the realm of the spiritual, in God's realm, we can only know and communicate by the Spirit of God.
00:05:05
It's another realm, you see, which he has brought us into.
By his grace and the natural man can't put it together. Of course he can't figure out, he can't discern the spiritual man. It's a great mystery. Perhaps we'll say a little more about that later on.
But we shouldn't be surprised that they do not understand because they do not have the Spirit of God.
So we need to be very careful how we conduct ourselves because they're ready to find fault with the spiritual man.
Ready to find fault otherwise to the poor.
Man of the world, the natural man.
He has no understanding what God hath prepared for them that love him, but we do.
And that's what I would like to talk about tonight. I would like to consider that line of things and perhaps 7, seven most important aspects. That is the eternal, the blessedness.
That is ours in Christ in perhaps a sevenfold way.
So let's think of it now. Let's think of it from the standpoint.
Of.
Our individual blessedness. You stay right here in First Corinthians and you go to chapter 15.
And let's focus in a little bit.
On the individual status.
I see it. I see it in this 15th chapter.
Because it is the resurrection chapter.
And he gets into the question of distinctions here.
And so in verse 39 he says all flesh is not the same flesh.
But there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts.
Another of fishes and another of birds.
There are also celestial bodies.
And bodies terrestrial, but the glory of the celestials one and the glory of the terrestrial is another.
There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars.
For one star different from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead. Now verse 41, for example.
Says more about the stars than what we read in Genesis one. You know, in Genesis chapter one it says and he made the stars also just in a passing sweep. And yet we know that man has research studied and is studying the stars, attempting to find out and to unlock the mysteries. And they won't give up. They won't give up even right at this very time.
They are.
Listening in with tremendously powerful instruments to see if they can pick up any alien sounds out there. They don't want to believe the Bible. That's why they don't want to bow to God's precious word and accept the fact that man is of the earth, earthy. This is his natural habitation.
Astounding that God permitted man to go out there and even to land on the moon.
We went into a mall in Winnipeg, I think it was, and here was a an exhibit of space age things indicating all the different countries that were involved in these space age things, France and Germany and India even, and England and of course Canada and the United States and all the involvement. And there were pictures there.
Of people walking on the moon.
Oh, they look so out of their element. So out of their element. But I spotted one picture and I looked and you couldn't read it, but I think it was that plaque that had Psalm 8 written on it.
Psalm 8. I understand they put that up on the moon.
Maybe God is patient with man because he made at least that acknowledgement.
Of the moon and the one who had the creator rights.
00:10:02
And will in that day assert his rights over this whole world. Doesn't it rejoice your heart to think that the Lord Jesus is going to have it entirely His way in this world? I love his appearing, don't you? Of course we're going to be with Him first of all.
But then he will have his rights in this world in due time.
Gloriously so.
But here we come to this 15th chapter of One Corinthians.
And we have more said about the stars than we have in Genesis 1.
Why does it talk about the stars in this way? For one star different from another star in glory, so also is the resurrection of the dead.
Brethren, God is a God of varieties.
I can remember looking through a book of snowflakes photographs blown up to a amazing size, every one of them different No2 snowflakes alike. God is a God of variety and so he will have glory in individuals.
For all eternity will we lose our personality.
We're not robots. No, we won't. Will we know each other in the glory I am confidently will. That's marvelous, isn't it? To think of all the vast company of the redeemed, and we'll all have our identity and we will each glorify the Lord. I believe in a certain way.
In eternity.
For one star different from another star in glory.
Oh brethren, what are we doing now? Are we really seeking to glorify the Lord Jesus now?
Here in this world, our individual responsibility, and I haven't talking, we're not talking yet about collective responsibility, but how about our individual responsibility? Do they know that we are Christians in our neighborhood? Do they know we belong to Christ down at the office, in the workplace, at school, young people?
Do they know that we're Christians when it comes noontime time to eat?
Boys and girls, do we bow our heads for a moment and thank Him for our food? Oh, you can glorify Him just in a little measure of that sort. One star differ from another star in glory. Now, brethren, this of course, is a vast subject. I couldn't begin to touch this subject. I wouldn't have the ability.
But shall we put it this way, we won't be lost.
In the crowd, that's kind of a crude expression, but.
You know, the Queen of England came to Newfoundland and came to Corner Brook, lowly little Corner Brook. The Queen came to visit Corner Brook, Oh, where the city fathers busy. They paved streets, they beautified this thing and that thing, and they made every preparation for the Queen. And when the day came.
We got down as soon as we could, but we were not soon enough and there were people packed everywhere. They must have come in from the outlying areas and the ladies were dressed up in their finest apparel. Men had suits and ties on and they wanted to greet the Queen. And I thought.
Here is a monarch. How can you ever get close at all to them? We were way back.
In the crowd and we could see her but we couldn't get anywheres near her. But it was so interesting because as this this great.
Entourage of cars came down the road.
A little girl.
Reached out a bouquet of flowers and the Queen stopped that whole.
Procession. She stopped it and called the little girl over.
And accepted her flowers. I thought that was very lovely and I could is it worthy Faces of envy, you know, that that little girl was able to get that close to the Queen.
Well, brethren, how is it possible that we shall see him face to face?
00:15:06
When you see somebody face to face is closer than I'm seeing you now.
In a certain respect, we're seeing each other face to face, but when you see someone really face to face, you're talking with them directly in front of you. How can that possibly be? Well, keep this in mind that we will enter the realm of of the spiritual, not spirits, but spiritual. We will not be governed by the law of physics.
As far as this life is concerned, and I really believe that he'll arrange it as only he is able to do. He is able. Scripture says he'll arrange it so that we all can see him face to face and talk with him face to face. And really, what is heaven all about anyway? It's a person, is it not?
What would heaven be without the person?
People talk about going to heaven, but do they want to be with Christ? Which is far better? Isn't that heaven? You know the answer to that.
I really believe that we'll have a way whereby we can personally, individually enjoy him, he said. In my father's house are many abodes. I believe it's an illusion of the Temple, which the Jewish mind would have understood.
He says, if it were not so, I would have told you, I go to prepare a place for you, that where I am, there ye may be also. Is he saying that perhaps we'll each have our own way to enjoy him? Personally, I don't want to speculate, but the Lord dealt a lot with individuals and it strikes me that in the Gospel of John.
Presenting him as the Son of God.
God manifest in the flesh. He's dealing with individuals a good deal. He is.
With individuals that had great needs, like the woman at the Well of Samaria, like Nicodemus and like.
The poor blind man of the 9th chapter born blind, dost thou believe on the Son of God, who is the Lord, that I might believe? He that speaketh unto thee? Oh, He revealed Himself to individuals in such a precious and a marvelous way. And so.
I enjoy that thought and I really believe that he will identify each of us personally according to his affection. Hold your place here a minute. We'll come back here. There's more we want to talk about in this chapter, but notice Revelation chapter 2.
Revelation chapter 2.
Verse 17.
To him that overcometh.
Will I give to either the hidden manna?
And will give him a whitestone.
And in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth, saving he that receiveth it.
Well, I believe that the Lord gave this special encouragement to Pergamus, and the whitestone was the symbol of approval. I believe they used it for balloting. They used it in court cases.
And so here he talks about the Whitestone, the symbol of his approval.
For all that they were suffering in connection with the state of things in Pergamus, and he says a new name written, which no man nor saving he that receiveth it. Perhaps something that indicated his special approval.
But giving a name a new name is an sovereign act.
Can you think of someone in scripture who changed people's names? You know Nebuchadnezzar, he changed Daniels name and he changed the names of his three friends. Daniel would never would accept the name that was given to him. It was linked with a God. But he changed Peters names name and he changed Paul's name. Paul couldn't be a Saul, you know, head and shoulders above the rest. He had to be a Paul that was little and his name.
00:20:03
Had to have a Grecian link to it and he was certainly had no Greek connection. He was a real Jew, but he had a name.
That had a great connection, but the point of it is.
That I believe he will give us a name suited to himself.
That will express his affection toward us. You like that thought? Oh, we're bought with a price, brethren. We're costly to him. And so it is very important to consider.
That we are individually loved. Can we express the language of Paul when he said the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me? Oh, that's lovely, isn't it?
When we can speak in that way, certainly he loved us and gave himself for us.
Certainly.
Now.
There's another consideration.
In connection with our thoughts and it's right here in this chapter. So we'll pursue it a little further here in Chapter 15 and that is.
In verse 45.
He talks about headships here. And so it is written. The 1St man Adam was made a living soul, the last Adam, a quickening spirit.
Howbeit, that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural, and afterward that which is spiritual. The 1St man is of the earth earthy, the 2nd man is the Lord from heaven.
As is the earthy, such are they also that are heavenly, And as is the such are they that are earthly. And as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one. That's how Mr. Darby words it. The heavenly one. We're going to be like him. Oh, that's so important to see. But now, brethren, what do we see? What else do we see? In this passage, it talks about the first Adam and the last Adam.
The first man.
And the second man, what is that all about? Oh, brethren?
That speaks to us of blessedness in humanity forever, because the Lord Jesus came into this world as a man, and he came by the way of Bethlehem Manger, and he went through this world as a man among men, wholly harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.
Who knew no sin, who did no sin, and in him was number sin.
But he was a real man amongst men.
And he went into the grave as a man, and he rose from among the dead as a man.
And he has ascended and gone back to heaven as a man.
There is one mediator between man, God and man, the man Christ Jesus. He is a man in the glory. We know these things, but I'm trying to put together.
A combination of thought as to our eternal blessedness.
So he remains a man forever. We remain as men forever too.
And Scripture says I shall be satisfied when I awaken his likeness. We will be like him.
And it's the work of the Spirit of God to conform us more to his image now morally.
But we will be morally like him, that's for sure. We'll see that in a minute.
But now.
There's a passage over in.
Psalm 110. There it is.
Psalm 110.
Verse 3.
Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power. Now, of course, that's looking on to a millennial scene.
Will be with him.
Thy people will be willing in the day of thy power, in the beauty of holiness.
00:25:01
From the womb in the morning thou hast to do of thy youth. What a striking statement of Scripture. Thou hast the do of thy youth.
The Lord Jesus, I believe, is in the prime of life right now as a man.
And I feel confident that we will too.
We will not have Gray hairs up there or the marks of our problems down here. Nobody will have scars but him, which are wounds.
And.
Everyone, I believe, will be in the prime of life. Of course, remember, we're in the eternal realm, and there's things about that that are not the same as in this life. We'll talk about that in a moment. But.
We might wonder why the Lord Jesus again and again and again referred to Himself as the Son of Man, the Son of Man, the Son of Man. Psalm chapter 80 back up to Psalm 80. What an interesting Psalm. What an interesting song. Israel, of course, should have been the nation that bore fruit.
To the glory of God.
But we see that his thoughts went to the man of his right hand. Verse 17.
Let thy hand be upon the man, the man of thy right hand, upon the Son of Man, whom thou made us strong for thyself.
They would have had no idea who this was Speaking of at that time.
A mysterious statement to the old theologians.
But it went even farther than that because Agar, who frankly admitted that he was brutish without divine knowledge.
Said, What is his name and his son's name if thou can tell? Here's a statement in the Old Testament that says, What is his name and his son's name, if thou can tell? He was the eternal Son.
From a past eternity, He is the eternal Son of God.
And he became the Son of Man.
Well, God has committed all judgment unto him, because He was rejected as the Son of Man. He will come back and judge this world as the Son of Man, and He will establish His Kingdom as the Son of man, till finally He pushed down all enemies. The last enemy to be destroyed is death, and He delivers up the Kingdom to the Father as the Son of Man. But the Kingdom, I believe, goes on in an honorary way.
Its own glory forever and will never diminish as we read in Daniel.
Chapter 2 I think.
But isn't that a remarkable passage of Scripture?
All the the scriptures abound with thought. Now go over to Philippians chapter three. Well, a chapter two first of all, of course.
Philippians, Chapter 2.
And verse 8.
And being found in fashion as a man.
He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name, or the name which is above every name.
That at the name of Jesus, that's his name in humanity.
As a man at the name of Jesus.
It's no wonder Scripture makes so much of that name of Jesus.
We see Jesus, his humanity, who is made a little lower than the angels.
For the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor.
Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow.
Of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Verse 18. Verse 20 makes it very plain that our conversation or that word is the same as Commonwealth.
00:30:09
In other words, it's more than just accepting a culture or taking.
Upon.
Country Citizenship.
A person who is born an Englishman is not only an Englishman by citizenship, but they are born an Englishman. I believe that's more the force of the thought here, Commonwealth, and that's true of us, that's characteristic of us, our conversation, Our Commonwealth is in heaven.
From whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior?
But Savior here of the body, you know these things, but it's good just to rehearse.
Savior of the body.
Yes, we have been bought with a price.
He possesses each one of his.
Redeemed spirit, soul, body, we belong to Him.
So he lays claim upon that body.
We look for the Savior of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Who shall change our vile body? Or it could read body of humiliation. These bodies aren't vile to him.
But they are humiliated by the effects of sin. We have to face it. We're all subject to it. There is no escape.
Who shall change our body of humiliation, that it may be fashion like unto His glorious body, or body of glory, according to the working whereby He is able even to subdue all things unto Himself? You know, brethren, if we didn't feel some of the groanings of this creation, we would have no real appreciation, or it wouldn't be as great.
In the thought of receiving.
Our body of glory.
But isn't it marvelous to consider?
That He wants us to have a body like his, body of glory, a body that is not subject to aging. And I believe when the change takes place, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, we will all suddenly be in the prime of life, young and old. I really believe it.
I don't want to speculate about these things, you know, but I just wonder even if those little fetuses and and stillborns won't be in the prime of life, I'm not saying what family they may represent in heaven.
But in all things he'll have the preeminence, though man bears the guilt.
Of what he's doing.
But in all things, he'll have the preeminence. I really believe we will be astounded.
When we are in the glory to see the results of his work.
Everything depends upon the work of Calvary's cross, the blessing of all past ages.
Romans 3 the sins that were passed, the blessing of all those that are ahead depends upon him, his work at Calvary's cross, but isn't that a comforting thought is good that I have been afflicted. The psalmist says we need to I thank the Lord When I got shingles a few weeks ago, I needed it. I needed it.
And these things help help us to appreciate what's ahead.
And so just keep that in mind, dear ones, when we experience some of the groanings of this creation, keep it in mind that we're going to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump. And this corruptible shall put an incorruption. Never subject to corruption again. This mortal must put on immortality, never subject to death again.
And no more of the groanings of this creation. But we'll have these.
New bodies of glory, like His body of glory that won't be affected by any of these things, isn't that comforting? We won't be disturbed or hindered in any way from the perfect enjoyment of Christ. Sometimes we get aches or pains and we don't feel too good or we're too weary that we can't enjoy the ministry or the reading of the Word. I often fall asleep trying to read the scriptures.
00:35:03
And we won't be bothered by any of those hindrances.
To our perfect enjoyment of Christ for all eternity.
Heaven is a person, and that will be.
A most blessed aspect of our eternal blessedness that will take our humanity with us, but nothing of the sinful state. All that's out of the picture.
Well, I know I'm missing many things of course, but we must go on.
What are we going to talk about next? Collective. Collective blessedness? Well, let's think that one over. Do we have anything here that we can think of in that way?
Well.
Go over to Thessalonians first.
Thessalonians.
There are some comforting thoughts.
In connection with.
What's ahead?
And over in chapter 4.
In verse 17.
It says then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together.
With them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. So shall we ever be with the Lord.
Together, together, together.
If any St. of God were missing, we would be.
Disturbed. We'd be troubled.
We're going to be together in the glory. The enemy is working.
Is working.
To in a way as never before to divide the Saints.
It is a real scattering work and it is tragic to observe it. It isn't just.
A group as it were breaking away and and not in agreement. No, we see how the enemy is scattering, scattering the Saints of God in many ways we're going to be together in the glory. Verse nine of chapter 5. It says for God hath not appointed us.
To wrath. No, no, that's not our appointment will be delivered from the coming wrath. That's not our part. That's made very clearly.
In First Thessalonians. But to obtain salvation, that's our final deliverance. You know, salvation is used in different ways we just saw.
A passage that talked about the salvation of our bodies and now it's our final deliverance out of this world.
To obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us.
That whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. It could have said we shall live with him, but it didn't. It said we shall live together with him. You see the point? We're getting these thoughts before us that our eternal portion is together with all the Saints and.
Scripture talks about being members of the body of Christ, yes.
But it does say also that we are members one of another. We are linked to all other believers. The practical demonstration of that is another thing we will acknowledge, and we should be exercised to do so as much as possible. The truth of the one body putting that loaf out on the table every Lord's Day certainly is a very practical demonstration that we, being many, are one brand.
But we can't disregard other important scripture.
To insist upon the body of Christ, precious as that truth is, we must bring in also truth connected with the House of God, which is extremely important now that ruin has come to the testimony.
In a general way.
But less we're looking on to the future. We're looking on to more blessed things.
And we're going to be with all the Saints in the glory. Now I'll repeat, as I said to another brother not too long ago, I must watch my spirit because I'm going to be with those Saints in the glory. We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ. So I must watch my spirit in these matters. We must hold to the truth.
00:40:08
But in what spirit are we doing it? And if there's feelings of resentment?
And worse, perhaps against any child of God. We'd better get on our knees and talk to the Lord about it.
And pray for them.
Job didn't get released until he prayed for his friends.
And he had good reason to be very bitter against them. You know the story.
Together with the Saints, notice Ephesians.
This will all come back to you, you know it well enough anyway. But let's put it together in a thought here.
In Ephesians.
Ephesians chapter 2.
Verse 4.
But God, who is rich in mercy for his great love, wherewith He loved us collectively, even when we collectively we're dead in sins, hath quickened us collectively together with Christ. By grace are you saved, and hath raised us up together.
And made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ.
God speaks of those things that be not as though they be, but this is true nevertheless. We will be together with all the Saints in the glory.
Now I'll just pass on to you something that impressed me even in connection with Israel.
You know, we see how rapidly the enmity came in between Judah and the other tribes.
And early, even before the days of the Kings, there was problems and tendencies toward a rift.
But we see that even before David.
Took the Kingdom in the time of.
Saul they separated.
And it took a while before those 10 tribes were drawn back together under David's authority. It took a while. There was feelings there.
And then finally, we see how.
They were seriously divided in the days of Jeroboam.
And how that feeling, that enmity?
Was manifested in different ways through the history of the kings. And so finally the 10 tribes go off into captivity first and and become scattered then among the nations. The Syrians took them off and took them away and so forth. And then they brought in those that became Samaritans.
So there they were, scattered off, and perhaps they were known to some extent where they were, I don't know, even up into the New Testament. But they are lost now. Does anyone here know where they are? I don't.
I have no doubt that there may be a number of them in China.
Isaiah 49 indicates that.
But is it in Isaiah 49? I'm not sure. Maybe we should better turn and take a look at it.
But it's either in Isaiah 49 or Jeremiah 31 or.
Somewhere.
That we get the thought.
That they are.
They feel this separation.
God will bring them into a state of exercise.
There it is in Isaiah 49. Here's the language of Judah.
Verse 21 Then shall thou say in thine heart, Who hath begotten me these, seeing I had lost my children, and am desolate in a captive, and removing to and fro? And who hath brought up these? Behold, I was left alone. And these, where had they been? You get the thought that they rejoice to see those 10 tribes return.
And the nation once again to be reunited in that millennial day. They rejoice over it.
Takes away the enmity between the peoples and they will enter into the blessing of that millennial age as a united nation, all 12 of the tribes. I believe that's just a little picture that should help us to realize that though we are separated from our brethren now and we can't do anything about it.
00:45:24
At least any extent.
In that coming day we will all be reunited in the glory and every bit of enmity will be removed. Will be so thankful to see all the Saints of God. We would be totally grieved if anyone was missing and the Lord will have the full glory in the end result that is so much a part.
Of our eternal state of blessedness.
That we don't want to under estimate it or we cannot overstate it.
Very important that we're going to be together with all the Saints, with one voice, one heart, one mouth. We will glorify God in that day. It's not being done now, but it will be done in that day, however.
Let us be exercised as much as possible, as gathered unto the name of the Lord Jesus, to follow these exhortations of the New Testament in that respect, and to be extremely careful of anything that brings.
Schism or a rift, or whatever it is in the assembly, whether locally or or collectively among the Saints.
Now, I'm not talking about turning our.
Our face away from evident evil and what's wrong? No, we've got to.
Hold firm for the truth. Absolutely, absolutely. But you understand what I mean. In very practical ways we need to be exercised about our attitude towards each other that we might in a collective way seek to honor God. We have that exhortation so strongly put in the New Testament, and we are responsible to be subject to the Word of God in regard to all those things not.
The failure and the ruin that has come in Well, brethren.
I believe we shall stop at that point. We've only covered a few aspects of our eternal blessedness individually.
Bearing humanity.
And collectively.
But there's far more than that. Shall we pray?