Hemet Conference: 2002
Table of Contents
Christ the Son of God
Address—C. Hendricks
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Well, we're going to trace from Scripture of the many, many times that he is called the Son of God.
And how he claimed to be the Son of God.
And when I say the Son of God, I'm talking about his pre temporal.
Ontological inter trinitarian sonship.
Pretemporal means before time eternal.
Ontological means that He is of the same nature and essence as the Father and the Spirit.
An inter trinitarian is that he's one of the trinities.
Father the Son and the Holy Spirit. So when we say the Son of God, we're talking about.
What he always was and is.
Not what he became.
But his eternal.
The angle.
Let's turn to the second Psalm, where we have.
I believe the first mention.
Of him.
In the second Psalm.
And verse 7.
Verse six of the father speaks, and he says, Yet have I set my king?
Upon my holy hill of Zion.
And then the son speaks. I will declare the decree.
The Lord Jehovah hath said unto me, Thou art my Son.
This day have I begotten thee.
Now the Jehovah's Witnesses, they deny that he is the eternal Son of God and that he is God.
And they've translated that you are my son this day. Have I become your father?
Unfortunately, the NIV translation reads the same way, but they have a correct translation in the margin at the bottom.
Which reads this day Have I begotten thee?
There's two statements there, the father speaking to him and he says thou art my son.
That's what he always was. He never became the Son of God.
Actually, he became the Son of Man when he entered into this world.
As a man, as a baby.
And he grew up to be a full man.
And he was the Son of man, but he was always the Son of God. But then it says.
This day have I begotten thee, that refers to the incarnation that refers to when God became a man.
This day is a point in time.
This day have I begotten thee.
He was begotten of God.
And the Spirit of God was the beginning power in his birth.
Now this verse is quoted 3 times in the New Testament.
The first one is in Acts 13.
Turn do it please.
Some have applied from this passage.
Of this expression to the resurrection. But let's look at it carefully.
Paul is speaking.
And.
Verse 32 He says, We declare unto you glad tidings.
How that the promise which was made unto the Fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children.
In that he raised up Jesus. The word again shouldn't be there.
He raised up Jesus, and that's not talking about raising him up in resurrection.
But it's talking about raising him up as a prophet here on Earth. That expression is used many times.
He hath raised up Jesus, as it is also written in the second Psalm.
Thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee. And then the next verse.
Refers to the resurrection. It's a different expression and as concerning that he raised him up from the dead.
Now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, and he quotes a different verse.
From the Old Testament I will give you the sure mercies of David.
So this day have I begotten thee applies to the incarnation of the Sun.
And.
As concerning that he raised him from the dead, and he quotes, I will give you the sure mercies of David.
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This passage is also found in Hebrews 1 and Hebrews 5. Let's look at it. And Hebrews 1 is a very and we want to look at that a little bit more in detail because he's talking about the sun from the first verse.
God, who at sundry times and endeavors manners, spake in time passed unto the fathers by the prophets.
Has I'm going to correct this translation a bit hath at the end of these days.
The days in which the prophets spake and the Messiah was to be introduced. He has spoken unto us in the person of His Son.
It's not speaking now through one of the prophets, a creature, but or even an Angel who's a creature.
But speaking himself, God, speaking himself, the Son.
Whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the world's the Son.
Heir of all things appointed of God the Father, and He is the Creator of the universe.
Who being the brightness of his glory and the express.
The expression of his substance through translation.
Of the same essence as God himself, He is God.
And upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down.
On the right hand of the Majesty on High, a man seated.
The highest glory for that man is none other than the Son, the eternal Son of God.
Being made or taking a place so much better than the angels.
As he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For under which of the angels said he, at any time thou art my Son.
This day have I begotten thee never said that to an Angel, but he said it to his Son. And again I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son. And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him. That makes it very clear he's not an Angel.
Is God the Son become a man?
Wonderful precious truth, this day of begotten thee is wrongly translated.
This day I have become his father, if God became his father at that point in time when he entered manhood.
That would deny the eternal sonship of Christ, which is a very, very serious error.
Well, that's not an admissible translation at all. This day have I begotten thee, begotten in time.
Into manhood through his mother Mary, by the begetting power of the Holy Spirit.
That's how he came into this world.
We have to stick very closely to Scripture in order to understand the truth of His person.
Let all the angels of God worship him when?
Peter made the mistake when he came to the House of Cornelius. I shouldn't say Peter. Cornelius made the mistake when Peter came to the house.
Of Cornelius. He fell down and worshipped him, and Peter said stand up, I'm just a man.
And John, he made the mistake twice in the Book of Revelation. John the.
Beloved Disciple, that brings before us the glory of His person, probably more than any other writer.
He fell down before the Angel, and the Angel said, Stand up, I am thy fellow servant.
Worship God. Worship God.
The Lord Jesus accepted worship the.
He is God.
Had he not been, it would have been.
Great sin for him to have accepted. Worship. Worship God.
But unto the Son he saith verse. I should read verse 7.
And of the angels he saith, who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire.
They are there to do his bidding, to carry out His will, But unto the Son he saith thy throne, O God, God the Father, addressing his beloved Son, and he addresses him as God.
Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever a scepter of righteousness.
Is the scepter of thy Kingdom.
Thou hast loved righteousness. He's talking about the Son here.
Thou has loved righteousness and hated iniquity, therefore God, thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fellows.
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When did he become his God? When he became a man?
When he became a man.
All through his pathway, he addressed God as my father or father.
Or ABBA father always father, the only time he used God.
Was on the cross during the hours of darkness when he cried.
My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
When did he become his God? When he became a man, the 22nd Psalm says.
Thou art my God, even from my mother's belly.
When he became a man.
Then he could look up and address him as God, he said to Mary Magdalene in John 20.
Go to my brethren and tell them I ascend to my father and your father. My father was a relationship.
That as the eternal Son He always had not one that he entered into.
Not one that will ever cease. An eternal relationship between the Father and the Son.
Son of God, thy Father's bosom ever was thy dwelling place.
That relationship never began. It's an eternal 1.
And then he says, my God and your God.
And so when we pray, we pray to God first. The God and Father of.
Our Lord Jesus Christ, to us He is God first.
And then because of redemption, the.
Address him as father.
Wonderful, that was. That's not true. The ungodly and the unsaved, He's not their father. He's their God, though.
But with the sun, it was just the opposite.
He was father 1St and then he became.
God to him as a man, precious and wondrous, He came to where we were.
That He might bring us into the immense blessing that we have been brought into. Or let's turn to the 5th chapter. I shouldn't dwell too long on any of these.
In the 5th chapter.
Verse 5 S Also Christ glorified not Himself to be made in high priest.
That was in his manhood and in his resurrection. He was made in High Priest and saluted.
As a priest after the order of Melchizedek in resurrection.
But he that said unto him, Thou art my son today have I begotten thee.
As he saith also in another place, thou art a priest forever. After the order of Melchizedek. Notice the order is exactly the same.
As in Acts 13 he quotes Thou art my Son is the of a begotten Thee. That was the incarnation, that was his becoming a man, and then he refers to the resurrection.
And here it's the same way, he said to him, Thou art my Son today. I have begotten thee the incarnation.
And then the resurrection, he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest forever.
After the order of Melchizedek that was in resurrection, he became the Melchizedek priest.
The eighth verse is a very, very important verse of chapter 5.
Though he were a son or though he were a son. Take the indefinite article out.
Though he were Son, yet learned he obedience.
By the things which he suffered. Notice it doesn't read because he was son.
Because he became Son, he learned obedience.
No, no, it says. Just the opposites, as though he were son.
Yet he came into a scene.
And took upon him the form of a servant, and he learned to obey.
As come become a man, though he was Son, he never obeyed in his eternal sonship.
Everyone obeyed him.
He was nothing less than God, but when he became a man, he.
Became something he became 1 He entered into a relationship that required obedience.
And that's the glory of his grace. He had learned he obedience.
By the things which he suffered.
Though he were Son, that's an eternal relationship that he had. He learned obedience as man.
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As a servant when he came here and then being made perfect in resurrection.
He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
All right, now let's go back.
To Matthew 22.
And.
The Lord here.
Asks the Pharisees who were his enemies.
Always trying to trip him up.
They didn't understand who they were up against. Of course, they could never succeed in that.
And in the 41St verse, while the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked.
Them saying, What think ye of Christ? Whose son is he?
They say unto him, the son of David.
That was right half right. That was the human side of his person.
The son of David.
But then he asks, he says to them, How then did David in spirit call him Lord, saying, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool. He's quoting the 110th Psalm, the first verse.
David's Psalm and he says Jehovah said to my Lord. David says Jehovah capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D it says to my Lord, capital L small Ord adonai.
Who is David's Lord, the Messiah?
Jehovah God the Father said to the Messiah.
What did he say?
He said sit thou on my right hand.
Till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
If David then call him Lord, how is he his son?
Well, he was David's son. In his humanity, he was David's Lord.
Son of God in his deity. They didn't understand that.
And no man was able to answer him a word.
Neither durst any men from that day forth ask him anymore questions.
That 110th Psalm first verse is the most frequently quoted Old Testament passage in the New Testament.
Quoted every It's quoted over and over and over again. The most frequently quoted, and here. The Lord quotes it here, and many others.
Quote that wonderful passage.
Now let's turn back to the 16th chapter of Matthew, where the Lord asks another question. In 22 He asked the Pharisees, and they couldn't answer.
They didn't know that the Christ was also God.
Verse 13 When Jesus came into the coast of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do men say that I, the Son of Man am? Now notice, just go down to verse 20 after this discussion and we'll come back here. Then charge to his disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ. Why? Because that testimony at this point in Matthew's Gospel had been rendered.
And rejected. He had been rejected as the Messiah. The Hebrew is Messiah, the Greek is Christ. Same same title. It means the anointed in both cases.
So he asked them, Whom do men say that? I, the Son of Manam? He doesn't say either. Christ AM.
He takes the broader title of Son of Man. As the Son of Man. He was rejected as the Christ.
And so then he takes the broader title, Son of Man, applying to the whole human race. He's about to introduce here the church.
He is about to give.
Something which was a tremendous advance over what they had in Judaism.
And they said, some say thou art John the Baptist, some Elias, that's Elijah, others Jeremiah or one of the prophets. All of these fell far, far short of who he really is.
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And he saith to them, But whom say ye that I am?
Whom say ye that I am?
And Simon Peter answered.
And said, Thou art the Christ.
That's Jewish ground. They were waiting for their Messiah, the Christ. There he is.
But then he gives something further that we can lay hold of.
And it's so precious, the Son of the living God.
Thought the Christ in his manhood, He is the Son of the living God in his deity.
God and man.
In one person.
All right, the challenge of this Muslim to the Christian was.
He never claimed to be the Son of God. Well, here he does.
He says to Peter, Who do you say that I am? And he said, You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Did he accept that? Did he verify it? Absolutely.
Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, for flesh and blood is not revealed it unto thee.
And I find this next statement so precious.
What? My father?
Which is in heaven.
That's so fitting when Peter confessed that he was the son of a living God.
He says my father told you that.
Not the Spirit. That would have been true. The Spirit could have revealed it to him.
But I think it's very precious that was his Father that told him of that eternal relationship that he had as the eternal Son.
Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona, and everyone of us that believes that truth.
Is blessed as His blessing.
And those that don't believe it.
Anyone love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema there. Anathem, Paul says accursed the Lord come.
Yes, the curse.
Rests upon those that reject Christ.
We recently had a day of prayer in this country.
It was very sad to listen to some of those prayers. I didn't hear many.
But they could pray to God, Almighty God.
And so on.
This God.
Most of them didn't mention.
The Lord Jesus Christ.
Mentioned him.
If you don't mention him, if you don't pray in his name, it's not a Christian prayer. It could be a Muslim prayer, it could be a Hindu prayer, could be a Buddhist prayer, it could be a Jewish prayer, but a Christian prayer.
Ah, they ask it in the name, that name which is above every name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I got saved when I was a freshman in college and I made the mistake. I was taking electrical engineering course.
Had an elective, some electives to.
Select and I selected a religion course. It was terrible.
Man was a rationalist and a modernist who didn't believe in the Bible. He made fun of it and so on. But every time I would speak of the Lord Jesus, I would always give him his full title, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Looked upon me with anger, students. They didn't like that. They didn't like me calling him his full title. And every time they gave me that look, I spoke of him again as the Lord Jesus Christ.
That's who he is.
Lord Jesus Christ.
Wonderful to own him.
To pray to God.
Through that blessed name.
Because no other name.
Is worthy.
Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona.
For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father, which is in heaven.
And then he tells us and he says, Thou art appearing on this rock. You just owned who I am. Yes, that's true. You got it from the Father. He says on this rock I will build my church.
And that's the most fundamental truth that the Church is responsible to uphold.
And that is the truth of his person, very God.
And very man.
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The gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Well, there's another instance that I just want to call your attention to where he says very definitely in John nine that he was the Son of God.
That's what this this Muslim was saying. They don't believe there's such a person as the Son of God. God doesn't have a son, and certainly if he had, he never would have treated him the way he did on that cross.
That's unthinkable. That's their thinking.
That was the foundation of all our blessing, wasn't it?
In John 9, you know it well, we'll pick it up.
Verse 29 They say, as they are reviling this man, we know that God spake unto Moses. As for this fellow referring to the Lord, we know not from whence he is.
Him he heareth, since the world began, was it not heard that any man opened the eyes of one that was born blind?
This man were not of God, he could do nothing. They answered and said unto him, Thou wast altogether born in sins, and dost thou teach us? You see, this is the tactic of the enemy. When he can't answer you, he he resorts to reviling you.
And that's what he did to this man that was altogether born in sins. And dost thou teach us?
And they cast him out.
Jesus heard that they had cast him out, and when he had found him, he said unto him.
Dost thou believe on the Son of God?
He answered and said, Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on him? Notice the beauty of the way the Lord answers that.
Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him.
He had never seen anyone before until the Lord opened his eyes.
And now he looks upon the Son of God. Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
And he said, Lord, I believe.
And he worshipped him.
He never claimed to be the sun God.
Look at the 10th chapter, verse 36, the Lord Jesus speaking.
Say ye of him whom the Father hath sanctified and sent into the world, thou blasphemous, because I said I am the Son of God?
Turn back to.
Matthew 3.
Where we have.
The highest testimony.
As to who he is of any.
Verse 16.
Of Matthew 3. Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water, and lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon him.
And lo, a voice from heaven saying, This is my beloved son.
In whom I am well pleased.
Father's testimony as to who he is.
Turn to the 4th chapter.
In verse 3, we're going to go over these very quickly.
And when the tempter came to him, he said, If thou be the Son of God.
Command that these stones be made bread. He's not questioning that he is. He's saying since you are, prove it, change these stones into bread.
And in verse 6 he says to him, If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down. And he quotes an Old Testament passage.
And he owns that. He is the Son of God.
Then in the 8th chapter of Matthew.
Verse 28. And when he was come to the other side, into the country of the Gergescenes, there met him too possessed with devils.
Demons. These are coming out of the tombs, exceeding first, so that no man might pass by that way.
And behold, they cried out, saying, What are we to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God?
Art thou come hit her to torment us before the time?
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They knew who he was.
They knew it very well.
Turn to the 14th chapter.
I just have to touch on these because of time.
The Lord walks on the water. Peter sees him walking, and he says, If it be thou, let me, bid me come unto thee on the water. And he said, come. And he started to walk in the water. He actually walked in the water for a short time. Then he began to sink when he saw the wind, boisterous. And he said, Lord, help save me. And the Lord reached out his hand and saved him.
And verse 33 then they that were in the ship came.
And worshiped him, saying of a truth Thou art.
The Son of God, we have the Father's testimony, we have this, the devil's testimony, we have the demon's testimony, we have the disciples testimony. And then in the 16th chapter that we just looked at, we have the testimony of of Simon Peter that was revealed to him from the Father who the Lord Jesus was. And then in the 26th chapter.
26th chapter of Matthew.
And 63 The high priest arose. Verse 62. Excuse me.
2662 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answered thou nothing.
What is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace, And the high priest answered, and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God. Now the Old Testament said, When you hear the voice of adoration, you must answer.
And so he answered, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said.
You know we have an English expression.
Very similar to that. You said it, you said it.
In other words, he's verifying the truth of it. Thou hast said the truth.
In Mark, to make it very clear, I'm not going to turn to it because of time.
In mark of.
Art thou the Christ, the Son of the Blessed? It reads.
And he answers. I am.
Thou hast said means I am.
That's what it means.
27th verse.
Of.
Excuse me?
We're in 27.
And.
40.
Verse 40.
Well, I'm not going to read all that verse 43. He trusted in God.
Let him deliver him now, if he will have him for he said.
I am the Son of God.
Testimony of his enemies.
Testimony of his disciples.
And in verse 54, when the centurion sent aid that were with him, we don't know how many there were.
Watching Jesus, saw the earthquake and those things which were done, they feared greatly, saying truly.
This was the Son of God.
Truly, this was the Son of God.
I turn to mark chapter 1. I like this one so much.
Mark doesn't use that expression.
My God, very often, in fact, only once, and that's at the cross.
But notice.
He doesn't use the expression the Son of God much either, but notice in the first verse.
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Son of God, now we know that Mark presented him as the perfect servant.
And it's as though the Spirit of God is saying through Mark, I'm going to show you.
The perfect servant at the very outset. But don't ever forget he's the Son of God. Don't ever forget that.
The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
And again, you have his enemies speaking up against him in the third chapter.
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But owning who he is chapter 3 and verse 11.
Verse 10 And he healed many, insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him.
As many as had plagues and unclean spirits, when they saw him, fell down before him and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God.
The devil, demons, unclean spirits, owning who he is.
15th chapter.
Of Mark.
Verse 39 and when the centurion now in Matthew it's the centurion and those that were with him here in Mark.
It's just the centurion.
Notice it says it a little differently which sit over against him. Saw that he so cried out.
There's two times when he was on the cross that he cried with a loud voice. The first time was the cry of abandonment. My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?
The last time he cried with a loud voice was to Telesty, which means it is finished.
The voice of the Conqueror. The first one was the voice of being abandoned.
And the next one was the voice of the victor.
When he saw that he so cried out and gave up the ghost, he said truly this man was the Son of God.
Son of God.
Luke 1.
Verse 35.
And the Angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee.
And the power of the Highest shall over shadow thee and the whole Trinity in this verse.
Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called.
The Son of God.
That baby.
That had come into this world through his mother, Mary.
Was called the Son of God.
Tremendous.
Turn to Luke 22. I am skipping a number of.
Versus because of time Luke 22.
Verse 69.
Hereafter shall the Son of man sit on the right hand of the power of God. They set all.
And said They all art thou then the Son of God.
That was the critical question, what they wanted to nail Iman.
You said unto them, Ye say that I am. That's the truth.
And they said what need we any further witness or we have heard ourselves have heard?
Of his whole mother out of his mouth, and the whole multitude of them arose and led him to Pilate, and so on.
Art thou then the Son of God?
That's what they wanted to hear. John 19. John 19.
This tells why they rejected him, why they crucified him.
Verse 6.
When the chief priests therefore an officer, saw him, they cried out, saying, Crucify Him, crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Take ye him, and crucify him, for I find no fault in him. The Jews answered him, We have a law.
By our law he ought to die because he made himself the Son of God.
Well, the real truth is that the Son of God made himself the Son of man. He never made himself the Son of God. He was always the Son of God.
They meant that he said he was the Son of God, which he did.
Now turn to Acts 9. Here we have the 1St.
Apostle happens to be Saul of Tarsus after his conversion.
And what does he confess?
Verse 19 And when he had received meat, he was strengthened, then was solved certain days with the disciples, which were.
At Damascus and straightway he preached Christ. I think it should read Jesus.
In the synagogues that he is the Son of God.
He's the first one of the apostles to preach that. Peter confessed it in Marx in Matthew 16. But when he preached to the Jews, he said, God hath made that same Jesus, whom you have crucified, both Lord and Christ. But Saul, the one who who had hated him so thou converted, become the apostle. He preaches that he is.
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The Son of God. Romans 1. Romans 1.
Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called an apostle, separated under the Gospel of God, which he had promised afore by his prophets in the Holy Scriptures concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. That's his humanity and declared to be the Son of God, that's his deity with power.
According to the spirit of holiness by the resurrection.
From the dead, remember in John two he said, destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.
46 years was this temple and building, and thou reared up in three days. They didn't understand his words, but he spake of the resurrection of his body.
Three days He would raise it up, and he did. And so he he He was proved by his resurrection not only of himself, but others as well, that He was and is the Son of God. 2nd Corinthians 1.
2 Corinthians 1.
Verse 19. Verse 18. But as God is true, our word toward you was not Yeah and nay, for the Son of God, Jesus Christ.
Who was preached among you by us, even by me and Sylvanus and Timotheus?
Was not ye, and nay, but in him was ye for all the promises of God?
And Him are yeah. And in him Amen unto the glory of God, by us all the promises of God centered focus.
In him the Son of God.
Turn to Galatians 2.
Verse 20. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless I live yet not I, but Christ liveth in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh. I live by the faith of the Son of God. That means the faith which has the Son of God as its object. That's the meaning of that expression. I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me.
And gave himself for me. Ephesians 4.
Paul was especially given to preach him as the Son of God.
Verse 12. For the perfecting of the Saints. I should read verse 11. He gave some apostles and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers for the perfecting of the Saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, that we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.
Unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness.
Of Christ.
Now in the book of Hebrews, turn to it, please. Hebrews of.
Was written, of course, to the Jewish people, and they had to have enforced upon them.
Who Jesus is in the very first chapter.
We saw that earlier and.
That he was indeed the Son of God. Now in the 4th chapter.
In the 4th chapter.
Verse 14 Seeing then that we have a great high priest.
That is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God.
Let us hold fast our profession, this one who is a man who.
Is our great High Priestess passed into the heavens as man? Is the Son of God?
That's insisted on in the 6th chapter. He says in verse 4 it is impossible.
For those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, if they shall apostatize, give up Christianity, that was the profession they were making, and go back to Judaism. He says It's impossible to renew them again unto repentance, seeing they crucified to themselves.
The Son of God.
Afresh and put him to an open shame.
Anyone that does that, any Jew that apostatized from his Christian profession who went back to Judaism, was an apostate and.
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Destined for help.
Again, in Hebrews 10 you have another case of apostasy.
Verse 26 For if we sin willfully now the willful sin of this passage is rejecting that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God. If we sin willfully after we've received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses law died without mercy.
Under two or three witnesses of how much sore punishment suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God?
And hath counted the blood of the Covenant, wherewith he was sanctified an unholy thing, and hath done despite.
Unto the spirit of grace.
Those that.
Tread under foot the Son of God, our apostates now, 1 John 3.
1 John 3.
These wonderful testimonies.
Of the Word of God.
Verse 8 He that committeth sin is of the devil, for the devil sinneth from the beginning.
For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested.
That he might destroy the works of the devil.
Chapter 4.
And verse 15.
Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
God dwelleth in him.
And he in God. I'll read that again. It's so such a powerful verse. Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God.
God dwelleth in him.
And he and God.
Verse 5 of chapter 5 Who is he that overcometh the world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Verse 10. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth not God hath made him a liar.
Because he believeth not the record that God gave of his son.
And this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
These things have I written unto you, that believe on the name of the Son of God, that ye may know that ye have eternal life.
That you may believe on the name of the Son of God and the 20th verse.
One of my favorites and we know that the Son of God is come.
And has given us an understanding that we may know him that is true.
This is one of those verses where you don't know exactly if he's talking about the Father.
Or the sun. Because they are one. They are one. They are one in deity, one in glory.
We know that the Son of God is common. Hath given us an understanding that we may know him that is true.
Who is that, Father or the Son? Well, it's true of both, and we are in him. That is true.
Even in his son Jesus Christ.
This is or He is the true God.
And eternal life, children, keep yourselves.
From idols.
Idolatry is any religion that leaves Christ out.
The greatest opponent to.
Christianity is religion.
You believe that the greatest opponent to Christianity is religion.
Christianity is not a religion, it's a person, the Son of God.
You know him. It's a relationship that we have with that most glorious person, the creator of the universe.
The only person of the Trinity that became a man.
Came to where we were.
One mediator between God and men. If he's going to be a mediator between God, he has to be able to lay hold on God.
And he has to be able to lay hold on that.
And he's both.
Are in.
In one person. The last one is in Revelation 3.
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In Revelation 3 to the address to Thyatira, Thyatira is the Romish system.
And they speak a lot about the Son of Mary. Lord is the Son of Mary, knows how he presents himself to Thyatira under the Angel of the Church in Thyatira write these things, saith the Son of God.
Who had his eyes like unto a flame of fire that was from the vision in the 1St chapter and his feet like fine brass. What's added here is and it heads the list is a he is the Son of God.
Would that they would recognize that and own that and give up their Mariola tree and worship only the sun of the living God.
Before I close, I want to ask you all a question. Do you know him?
Is he your Lord and Savior?
Your Creator, Your Redeemer.
The Son of the living God, the foundation rock upon which the church is built.
And you say he's yours.
And you say, as Peter said, thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.
Then he will say to you, Blessed art thou, whoever you are?
For flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee.
But my Father, which is in heaven.
And it's written.
This book.
I didn't read it, but I think I can quote it.
Many, many other things that Jesus which are not written in this book, but these are written that you might believe.
That Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God.
Not believing you might have life.
To his name.
Ruth
Luke 15
The Christian Home
Revelation of the Mystery
Address—C. Hendricks
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 Romans 16, please.
To begin.
Romans 16.
Verse 25.
Notice verse 24.
Verse 20 ends the epistle. The God of peace shall brew Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
And again, verse 24, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all.
Amen. And then we have the third PSI.
The second PS Now to him verse 25. That is of power to establish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, or by the prophetic scriptures.
Referring to the New Testament Scriptures according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all nations.
For the obedience of faith.
God only wise be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen. That's this last.
Section of Romans.
That I want to speak a little about.
He prays that.
He mentions that him to him that is of power.
To establish you according to my Gospel, the Gospel of the glory.
Which Paul preached, and the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the revelation of the mystery.
This mystery that he talks about was a secret never divulged and made known in the Old Testament.
That's what mystery means, the secret not known until revealed, and it has been now revealed, he says, which was kept secret since the world began, never made known. The Jews didn't know this. The Old Testament Saints knew nothing of this mystery. The Saints that were accompanied the Lord when he was here on earth didn't know this mystery even after His resurrection, 40 days of His man here.
They did not know this mystery. Then the Spirit of God was sent down after he ascended to heaven and 10 days later sent down the Spirit.
On the day of Pentecost, 50 days after his resurrection, and then.
The truth was brought out gradually, and finally the greatest enemy of the of the blessed Lord and his followers, Saul of Tarsus, was converted in the 9th chapter, and he began to preach.
And he gained a knowledge of this mystery, and he was the vessel used of God.
To give it to us in his writings. If we didn't have Paul's writings, we would not have the distinctive truth of Christianity which we have in his 14 epistles.
Because he has given it to us. Peter didn't preach the mystery and James didn't preach it. John didn't preach it, but Paul did.
And its most wonderful, it says they'd known to all nations for the obedience of faith. But now verse 26, it was kept secret, a mystery kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest and by the prophetic scriptures of the New Testament. The way it reads in our translation, you might think it was the scriptures of the Old Testament prophets. No, no, it was the New Testament prophets.
Revealed by the apostles and prophets in the Spirit.
According to the commandment of the everlasting, God made known to all nations, all Gentiles, not just something for Israel as the law was. But now this mystery is to be made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. So what we've learned about the mystery is it was a secret. It was not known before in the Old Testament. It wasn't known when the Lord was here on earth.
Wasn't known until he ascended and sent down the Holy Spirit.
And Saul of Tarsus was brought into the family of God.
And then he was used to bring out this greatest truth, which characterizes the Christian.
Testimony that we are part of.
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We are at the end of it, the end of this period when the mystery has been revealed. Now turn to 1St Corinthians chapter 2.
First Corinthians, chapter 2.
I'll read from verse 1 And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with Excellency of speech or of wisdom.
Declaring unto you the testimony of God.
For I determined not to know anything among you.
Stressed that because he knew far more than what he says here among the Corinthians, he knew far more and he he preached it, administered it to others, but he says, I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified. They were operating on the level of the first man saying I am of Paul, I am of Paulus, I am of Cephas, I am I am of Christ. They were making much of man and following man, and he had to speak of them as.
As though they were babes, he says in verse 1 of chapter 3. And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as under spiritual.
That is unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. And I fed you with milk, not with meat.
For hitherto you were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal. For whereas there is among you envying and strife and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul, and another I am of Apollos, are ye not carnal making much of man? So he determined not to know anything among them but Jesus Christ and Christ.
Crucified. We had a little of that.
Before us earlier this time this day conference.
Though he says, I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. Christ crucified brings before us the end of the first man, the end of the the man that is made so much of and promoted so strongly and highly in the world and even the Christian world. Sad to say that that's the case, but they're operating like the Corinthians did. They're on that level. So many Christians are on the level of.
Corinthians. Carnal Christians.
Not really understanding the true calling and destiny of the church. I was with you, he says, in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. He knew what they wanted to hear.
And he didn't give it to them. He could have told them right at the beginning that I'm the one that was caught up into the 3rd heaven. And I saw and I heard things unspeakable, unutterable. But he doesn't tell them that in this first epistle. He goes all the way to the 12TH chapter of the second epistle before he even mentions it. I knew a man in Christ above 14 years ago. Such an one, whether in the body or out of the body.
Cannot tell such an one caught up into paradise well.
He knew what they would like to have heard that would have tickled their ears. It would have been something that they could get a hold of on the level of Christianity where they were. But he says I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ and him crucified a person, not not just a mere man, but the God man, that Placid one who is now in the glory. Get a hold of him and be occupied with him and see him on the cross ending your history as.
After the flesh, the end of that. So to act in the flesh is to act inconsistently with the cross.
And so he says, I was with you in weakness, and in fear and much trembling.
And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom that would have, that would have.
Been.
Something that they could relish in man's wisdom.
Eloquence.
And man's wisdom, he said my speech and my preaching. Although he was the most easily, could have been the most eloquent of the apostles, he certainly was the most intellectual. He was the most learned. He had sat at the feet of Gamaliel. He was different than the 12 apostles who were just Galilean fishermen. They didn't have an education like he had, but he was the upper crust of society, and he had a mind that was.
Very, very rich indeed.
But it was all brought to be a servant to Christ.
All being subject to him.
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He says I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. He had Apostolic authority. He tells him in the second epistle he's going to come and use his Apostolic power to deal with the evil that was still unjudged in their midst. But he didn't do it. He didn't want to have to do it. He wanted to win them in the Spirit of Christ and direct them and guide them in the power of the Spirit of God.
My speech in my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit.
And of power.
And then he gives why that your face should not stand in the wisdom of men.
But in the power of God, one of the one of the.
The things that's wrong about theological seminaries and that line of things.
Is that their faith stands in the wisdom of men.
But he didn't want to commit that command that, but he wanted it to stand in the power of God.
Verse 6 Albeit we speak wisdom among them that are perfect.
They were not perfect. They were babes, they were carnal Christians. But he says we do speak.
This hidden wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor the Princess of this world that come to naughty. He is told these Corinthians in the 1St chapter that the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.
And you can never find him out.
The world by its own wisdom cannot find God out with all the intellect and all the philosophy and all the professors that there are, they can't find him out. It has to be revealed to us and we have the revelation here.
So he says we do speak wisdom among them that are perfect, yet not that's full grown mature Christians, which they were not. They were carnal, yet not the wisdom of this world, nor of the Princess of this world that come to naughty. That's not the kind of wisdom he's talking about. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world.
Unto our glory.
Here is a wisdom that comes from God. It was a secret.
It's the truth of the mystery we were seeing in Romans 16. And he says this hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory.
Christ glorified as a bride.
And that bride is composed of saved sinners like you and me.
And of the Gentiles, not just of the Jews, Jews and Gentiles. The middle wall of partition has been removed and broken down.
And there's no difference. There's no difference in our sinnership for all of sinned and come short of the glory of God. There's no difference in our saintship if we're Jews or Gentiles. It makes no difference. We're sinners saved by grace.
So he says, I speak the wisdom of God in a mystery which they hit, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of the Princess of this world knew.
What was it they didn't know? They didn't know the mystery. They didn't know that hidden wisdom, which he had not disclosed until he did it through the Apostle Paul. He did not know that.
Had they known it?
It's not saying had they known who he was. That's usually the way this verse is interpreted. That's not what it says. Had they known it, that hidden wisdom of God in a mystery, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
If they had only known.
That when they were carrying out the eternal purpose and will of God, when they crucified the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross.
They were helping on the foundation to lay the foundation for the Church which would spring from the dead Christ and risen Christ and the the blessing, the unfolding of the mystery would follow his crucifixion.
If they had known that, it says they would not have crucified him.
They would have sought to thwart the will of God.
Whose mystery was something unknown.
Which none of the Princess of this world knew, or had they known it, they would not.
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Have crucified the Lord of glory, but as it is written I hath not seen.
Nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him.
The heart of man never dreamed that through the death and resurrection of Christ, all the purposes of God would be fulfilled and unfolded and accomplished, and without that death and resurrection all would have been thwarted.
Had they known it, this says, they would not have crucified him.
It's not because.
They would have recognized who he was and bowed before him.
Mark 12 is it?
When?
The Lord of the Vineyard said, Having therefore one son, his well beloved, he said, I will send him also.
When he sent him, what did the what did the keepers of the vineyard do? What did they say? This is the air.
Let us kill him and seize the inheritance. They knew who he was.
And he tells us that in the Gospel of John, he says, Ye both know me, and you know whence I am.
Their conscience told him who he was. Their will rejected it.
And so they crucified him, and in so doing they laid the foundation for the.
Building of the church. The Mystery.
Which is his body.
I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man.
The things which God has prepared for them that love Him.
These wonderful things that have flowed out of the death of Christ. The greatest sin that was ever committed by man.
Was the nailing to that cross of ignominy and shame the Son of God?
But that from that the greatest blessing has flowed.
For what but God hath revealed them unto us?
By his spirit never entered the heart of man, but now it's been revealed.
Truth of the mystery unto us by His Spirit.
Spirit searcheth all things. Yeah, the deep things of God.
Wonderful truth, 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, and the Spirit of God has revealed these precious things to us. I don't want to take too much time on any of these passages. Turn to Ephesians one please.
Ephesians One.
I will begin in verse 7.
Verse 6. To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted.
In the Beloved more literal, he hath taken us into favor.
In the beloved.
In whom we have redemption through his blood. That's the gospel.
In him we have redemption. We have been redeemed from the ******* of sin and from Satan's power and delivered from it through his blood.
The forgiveness of sins. We have the forgiveness of all our sins according to the riches of His grace. His grace is rich in in the forgiveness of our sins and giving us redemption.
And then He goes on, having made known to us the mystery of his will.
According to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself.
The mystery of His will. What is that?
Well, he tells us what that is in verse 10.
He has purposed it in himself, that in the dispensation or the administration.
Or the economy of the fullness of times that will be the Millennium.
When the Lord reigns here 1000 years, he might gather together in one. And if you read it in the new translation.
It's more succinct and correct to head up to head up.
All things in the Christ.
In the Christ.
What is the Christ? I believe it's Christ and his church, and we'll see that in other passages when we get to them.
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That he might head up all things in the Christ, both which are in heaven.
And which are on earth even in him in the Old Testament.
They were looking forward to a king reigning in righteousness down here in this world.
But the mystery of his will tells us he's going to head up all things, whether they're in heaven or on earth. Not angels he's not he's not 2 angels. Hath He committed the world to come. Whereof we speak we want in a certain place testified, saying, What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the Son of Man that thou visitest him that was put all things under his feet?
The feet of a man Wonderful. And that man is our bridegroom.
We are the bride, and He will not reign without us. We're going to sit there next to him and reign with him. Mystery of his will, the Christ. That's Christ and his Church sitting together and reigning through over the heavens and the earth.
That's a mystery never hinted at in the Old Testament. Never hinted at in the Old Testament. It was given to Paul.
To bring it out, that in the dispensation of the fullness of times, that's the Millennium, you might gather together in one, or head up all things in the Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth. Even in Him in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will. This chapter is just filled with the will of God, the counsel of God, the purpose of.
God, it all is. It's a chapter all flowing from himself and for himself and through his beloved Son and for the glory of His Son. So oftentimes we're looking for ministry that speaks of us, and most of the ministry that's given in Christendom is centered around man, the wrong man, though it's us instead of the man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
And this ministry that Paul gives has Christ as the center, the head.
And he is the one in whom all of these councils and purposes will be fulfilled.
And His will be accomplished, that we should be to the praise of His glory.
Who first trusted in Christ?
Now I think he's talking there to his Jewish brethren. He said he, we, we who believe in this present day have pre trusted first trusted in the Christ. It will come for the nation of Israel later, but not yet. But now in this present day, those who are Jews and brought into this wonderful mystery are embraced in that. And then he says in verse 13, in whom ye you Gentiles also trusted after that.
The word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and whom also after that he believed you were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise. Now it's the Spirit of God that unites us to Christ.
It's the Spirit of God that came down on the day of Pentecost and formed the one body by the baptism of the Spirit.
And he indwells us, and he will never leave us.
And we're sealed by the Spirit.
And he forms that one body.
He formed it on the day of Pentecost. Jews were brought in and then the Gentiles in Acts 10.
And that embraces the baptism of the Spirit. For by 1 Spirit are you all baptized into one body.
Whether you be Jews or Gentiles, bond or free, and of all been made to drink.
Into one's spirit. So the baptism of the Spirit embraces Jews Acts 2 Gentiles Acts 10 and once that was completed, the baptism of the Spirit was completed. The baptism of the Spirit is not being repeated over and over again today every time a soul gets saved, but when he gets saved, the spirit of God takes up his dwelling in that person and brings him into.
An already baptized and formed body.
So we become members of the body of Christ.
Well, these are wonderful, wonderful truths. Now let's go to the third chapter.
The 3rd chapter of Ephesians.
For this 'cause I call the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles.
He doesn't say I'm the prisoner of Rome. No, he says I'm the prisoner of Jesus Christ.
Or you Gentiles. His ministry was for the Gentiles. He appealed to Caesar. The Gentiles had put him in bonds.
And yet he was not their prisoner, but he was the prisoner of Jesus Christ for the Gentiles to bring the gospel to them, and more than the gospel, if he have heard of the dispensation, the administration.
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The economy of the grace of God, which has given me to Your Word.
How that? By revelation?
He made known unto me the mystery. There you have it again.
He didn't learn it from the former apostles. They knew nothing about it. Peter didn't know anything. John didn't know anything until they were.
Instructed by the Spirit. We'll read that in a moment.
But it was given to Paul by revelation.
He says in Galatians one that he learned the gospel that he preached by revelation. Now it's the revelation of the mystery.
Held it by revelation He made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote a foreign few words, whereby when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men. Now that we we learned that from Romans 16. And here He repeats that as it is now revealed unto His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit.
Now it wasn't given to the other holy apostles and prophets to bring this truth out.
But it was revealed to them by the Spirit. So when Paul did bring it out, which was new truth, sometimes you hear it in our conferences. If you hear anything new, it's not true. That wasn't back. That wasn't true back then, because all the truth was not out yet. The truth of the mystery was given to the apostle Paul. So the Spirit of God.
Brought the other apostles and prophets by the Spirit into the knowledge of it, though they were not the ones that brought it out.
But when it was brought out, they didn't say, well, this is something new, and we don't find this in the Old Testament. That's right, it's not there.
It was a mystery, it was a secret, though the Spirit of God revealed it to them so that when it was brought out through Paul.
They could recognize it. Remember that expression in Peters epistle he says about Pauls writing some things hard to be understood. The truth of the mystery must have been very hard for him to understand.
Because it wasn't anywhere in his scriptures. Nowhere. It was brand new truth, a secret.
Revealed through by the Spirit, through the Apostle Paul, and by Revelation.
Read it again, verse 3. How did by revelation He made known unto me the mystery?
As I wrote a foreign few words, beloved, I can't help but think how little.
Christians know this.
Proving the world and all this, the level at which they're operating is like the Corinthians, Carmel.
Babes and Paul's ministry was that they might be uninstructed in the truth of the mystery what the church really is.
Much of the church doesn't know what the church really is. It's a heavenly entity. We're not here to correct things on earth.
We're just passing through. We're strangers and pilgrims here, but our head is in heaven.
And they've they've rejected him, They've cast him out, They mocked him, they spit upon him, they crowned him with a crown of thorns, they scourged him, they heaped all the anathemas they could upon him. He's now our head, and we're here to represent Him.
And not to go about setting the world right, he'll do that when he returns. And only he can do it. We can't and we're not called to do it. So all the energy that is being expended to.
Fix the sinking ship.
Is not the will of God.
Verse 5.
Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets.
By the Spirit, here it is. Here's the mystery 3:00. That's three parts to it. Number one, that the Gentiles.
To be fellow heirs. New translation that the gentiles should be joint heirs. Joint heirs with the Jews. Joint heirs.
That's the first thing. No difference.
No.
Like it says in verse 15 of chapter 2, He has abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, or to make in himself of twain of Jew and Gentile one new man so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body, by the cross having slain the enmity thereby.
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Joint heirs, Jews and Chantilles that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs.
With the juice.
And of the same body, joint body.
That's something that was unthinkable, unheard of in the Old Testament.
Absolutely, totally foreign to them.
When Peter was instructed in Acts 10 to bring the gospel to the House of Cornelius.
He was on the roof praying.
You saw the sheet let down, filled with all kinds of animals, clean and unclean rice. Peters lay and eat. Not so Lord, I've never eaten anything common or unclean. What God hath cleansed called that not common and that that happened 3 * 3 times in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Every word was established. Peter was so Jewish oriented that he says I'm not going to go, I'm not going to have anything with these unclean Gentiles. And God told him you're going to you're going to go there.
The Spirit of God said to him, Peter, three men secretly, they're at the door. Go on, go with them. Nothing doubting. He took 4 Dukes with him. He's 3. The Cornelius had sent.
He went, came to the House of Cornelius. Cornelius fell down to worship Peter. Peter said stand up, I'm just a man.
And Cornelius told him I was praying and I saw in the vision.
I should send for thee.
And thou has done well, that thou art come.
There was his house, Cornelius household. They're all sitting, ready to hear what he had to say.
And then Peter realized God is opening the door of grace to the Gentile.
Tremendous. We take that so for granted, we know it. But at the end of the day of grace, that was brand new then.
And that the Gentiles verse 6 should be fellow heirs. Fellow heirs, but the Jews joint heirs.
Tremendous truth.
And of the same body, joint body.
And joint partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel everything.
That is going to be fulfilled in Christ that was promised in the Old Testament is for us too.
Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same body and joint partakers of his promise.
In Christ, by the gospel whereof I was made a minister, Paul says according to the gift of the grace of God.
Given unto me by the effectual working of his power unto me, he says, Who am less than the least of All Saints.
Is this grace given?
Remember what he had done. He had persecuted the Church of God. He had wasted it.
He had letters from the chief priests to bind all that called in the name of Jesus on his way to Damascus.
He calls himself here less than the least of All Saints.
Is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ?
And to make all men see.
What is the fellowship or should read the administration?
Of the mystery.
The dispensation of the mystery.
The economy of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God.
Who created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places.
The heavenly sphere, The angelic hosts in the heavenly places are in the heavenlies.
That it might be made known by the church.
Manifold wisdom of God.
That was his secret.
We belong to a heavenly company, united to a heavenly man and.
The angels, seeing that he He has brought Jews and Gentiles together, united them into one body.
And.
We're fellow heirs.
And a joint body and joint partakers of the promise of Christ by the gospel. And they have learned the manifold wisdom of God.
The intent that now unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places might be made known, I should read by the Church.
A manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose.
Which he purposed in Christ Jesus.
Our Lord.
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Precious.
Now the fifth chapter.
5th chapter of Ephesians.
Verse 22.
Wives.
Submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
Doesn't it strike you?
We're here in the family sphere.
And we're going to learn that the principle of the mystery.
Of Christ in the Church.
Is used to govern us in our family relationship.
Between wives and husbands.
And even children.
Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as.
Christ is head of the Church.
He is the Savior, the preserver of the body.
Therefore, as the Church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands and everything.
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church.
And gave himself for it.
Notice that's past.
Christ loved the Church, gave himself forth. That was the cross.
The 26th verse is what he's presently doing, that he might sanctify and cleanse it.
You might sanctify it, cleansing it new translation, cleansing it with the washing of water.
By the word, that's what he's doing right now.
Right now, in this meeting, he is.
Sanctifying the Church by the ministry of the Word.
Ministry on the mystery.
And cleansing it from earthly thoughts and.
Wrong notions that we might have.
And then in 27th 1, the future.
That he might present it to himself a glorious church.
Or a church glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy.
And without blemish.
I used to wonder about this passage as he's talking about the marriage relationship. Or is he talking about the truth of the one body?
Well, he's talking about both.
And there's only one type in Scripture that brings out both the truths that are in Ephesians 5.
Which is the truth of the great mystery that verse 32 Says. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ in the church, and he's using the marriage relationship to illustrate it.
But that type is the type in Genesis 2 when Jehovah God put Adam to sleep.
He had brought all the animals to him, he had named them, but he didn't find any that was suitable to him that would have satisfied his heart.
And.
The Lord puts him to sleep. The picture of the death of Christ in type.
And then he performs the first operation.
Takes a rib out of Adam's side and builds a woman.
And what?
Adam wakes up. He sees Eve.
Who was from himself, made from himself.
He was part of him, all of his bones and flesh, of his flesh, and when he looked at Eve, he said.
This is now bone of my bones, flesh of my flesh. That's what we have in verse 30.
We are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.
And if you look at a new translation.
Even in Mr. Darby's translation, he brackets of his flesh and of his bones. Evidently some manuscripts didn't have it, but it should be there.
King James is right.
Take the bracket off.
Many of the translations leave it out and all it reads is we are members of his body. That's true but others flesh and of his bones goes back to Genesis 2 where Adam saw when he saw his wife he said this is now a bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.
Notice how he reasons on that truth. So he's looking. He's looking at.
At the truth of the one body.
And he's also looking at the truth of marriage.
Because the first wife, the first woman that was made, was made from Adam's body.
And so the church is made from Christ body. They plunge that spear into his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water. And that's the basis for the formation of the church.
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Blood and water.
And so we come from him.
Were part of him.
Paul says in First Corinthians.
See that is joined to a harlot is 1 flesh, but either is joined to the Lord is 1 spirit.
And seeing that him one spirit with the Lord, united to him, one with him.
Verse 27, again, that he might present it to himself, a church glorious, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that it should be holy and without blemish. So the Lord is working as it says in the 26th verse, that he's sanctifying it and cleansing it by the washing of water, by the Word He's, He's working to remove the blemishes, to correct the wrongs, and that one day he will present to himself.
His bride blameless, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. And then He applies this wonderful truth in verse 28. So ought men to love their wives.
As their own bodies.
He that loveth his wife loveth himself. Now that was literally true of the first man, Adam.
Because his wife was Eve and she came from his side, so when he loved her, he was loving himself because she was part of him.
And that's the truth of the one body, and that's the truth of marriage too.
The woman is.
Part of the man, he's one with him. We are so admin to love their wives as their own bodies. Either loveth his wife, loveth himself, or no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord of Christ, the Church.
So when you care for your wife and you care for our wives.
Nourish them.
And cherish them.
It's as though they're part of us, and they are.
The woman was taken from the man. She was not a separate creation like all the other animals. He created Adam out of the dust of the ground. He created all the animals out of the dust of the ground. But not Eve. No, she came from his side.
And so the church is not an independent thing connected with Christ do we came from him.
He's our head and we are the body.
And the members that respond to the head, and we're also the bride. He's the bridegroom.
That's all beautifully brought out in that first type of Adam and Eve.
No other type includes both.
No man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it Even so.
The Lord, the Church, for we are members of His body, of his flesh.
And of his bones such Genesis 2 isn't it in type. This is the fulfillment of it.
For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother shall be joined unto his wife.
And they too shall be 1 flesh. So we have two.
One flashes.
Eve was 1 flesh with Adam by creation.
And she's 1 flesh with Adam by the marriage union.
This is a great mystery. He says that I speak concerning Christ.
And the church.
Nevertheless.
Let everyone of you in particular so love his wife.
Even as himself.
And the wife see that she reverence her husband.
She comes from him.
And she's a part of him.
So when he loves her, you know.
Beautiful, beautiful picture.
Of marriage.
Picture of Christ in the church.
The one with him.
Well, this is a mystery never even hinted at in the Old Testament.
Brand new.
And knew. We know it. We've heard it.
Many times, but has it had upon?
Us as it had upon me.
In fact, it should have had.
In my marital relationship.
Yours as it had the effect it should have.
The very thought of when you look at it in the light of this mystery, the very thought of divorce is unthinkable.
But it has happened among Christians.
Expected to happen in the world.
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But in the light of what we have here.
Certainly.
Not according. You see in the Old Testament if a man.
Found something he didn't like in his wife.
He had the option to just divorce her.
The Muslim religion. All he has to say is to his wife. I divorce you, I divorce you, I divorce you 3 times and she's divorced.
He has no say in it.
Just like that. Well, the Old Testament was pretty much like that.
Not so today.
So today.
Now let's look at First Corinthians 12. We have just a few more minutes. First Corinthians 12, I mentioned something before and I said I would show you the the basis for that, and it's in First Corinthians 12, I believe the baptism of the Spirit. What does it embrace?
Umm, this is the chapter that just filled with the Holy Spirit.
Verse 3 the Spirit of God. Verse again at the end, the Holy Ghost.
And then the Spirit in verse 4, again in verse 7, the Spirit in verse 8, the Spirit in verse 9, the same Spirit. Well, that's still verse 8. And then the same Spirit in verse 9. And again the same Spirit. And then we come to verse 11. But all these worketh at one, and the self same Spirit dividing to every man severally as he will. Now here we have it.
For as the body is 1.
And hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body. So also is the Christ. It should read, I believe the Christ.
It's not just him alone, but he and his members.
You see, we would say so also is the church, because that's what the verse is talking about. It's talking about us as members.
Of his body.
But it says so also is the Christ gives us his name.
And so when you sisters married your husband, you took on his name.
That's scriptural.
It says in Genesis he called their name Adam and Eve, Adam called their name Adam, it was Mrs. Adam. And so we are Mrs. Christ. If you look at it this way, the church.
Christ.
Or how did How did this come about? What brought this into existence?
That there is an entity down here that is called the Christ.
Members of his body.
Next verse tells us 4 by 1 Spirit are we all baptized into one body.
Now this is a doctrine in Christendom today that is really confused.
They look at the baptism of the Spirit as sort of a second blessing, something like that. It's nothing of the kind. It's it's the formation of the body of Christ. When the Spirit of God came down in Acts 2 and brought him, the Gentiles, Acts 8, the Samaritans and Acts 10, the, excuse me, Acts 2, the Jews and then the Samaritans in Acts 8 and the Gentiles in Acts 10. That's because.
Notice the baptism of the Spirit embraces, whether we be Jews or Gentiles.
Use Acts 2, the Gentiles in Acts 10, whether we be bombed or free, and have been all made to drink into one's spirit.
So it's the Spirit of God that has formed this one body.
And has united us to the head in heaven and to one another.
I remember.
A brother used to be with the KLC brethren.
This brother had been a Mennonite, and he had learned the truth of the one body.
And then he learned that there were divisions among.
The states that held that truth.
And he just said that can't be. It's not possible that those that hold the truth of the one body could be divided.
Couldn't understand that he couldn't.
Really shook him.
It should.
To take all of us.
It could cause us to weep.
Causes to weep.
Have you ever shed a tear over the divided state of the Saints? Have you ever done that? Have I done that?
He died that he might gather together into one the children of God that were scattered above.
He prayed in John 17 that they all may be one, if thou, Father, art in me, and I and thee they also may be one in us, that the world may believe.
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Thou has sent me. Just think, if the Saints had gone on altogether in unity, that would have been the most powerful gospel testimony that you could ever think of.
Are you a member of that one body?
Are you united by the Spirit to the head in heaven and to all the other members, brothers and sisters in Christ?
What happens to this body when some member decides to do its own thing?
Doesn't act in harmony with the other members. The body is sick.
Maybe a bone is broken and I can't use this body.
As I should.
Sometimes it's another member that's very vital and.
Even exist without it functioning properly.
What happens to the body of Christ practically when members are not walking in the fellowship of the Holy Spirit?
Ephesians 4. Let's look at that.
Ephesians 4 says.
I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that you walk worthy of the vocation of the calling, wherewith your call we are called.
Into one body.
Walk worthy of that, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love.
How can you possibly walk in fellowship with one another with all the differences of views and the differences of backgrounds and nationalities and and even languages and all that? How can we do that?
With all lowliness and meekness.
With long-suffering for bearing one another in love, endeavoring using diligence to keep.
The unity of the Spirit.
In the bond of peace, the uniting bond of peace, there is.
One body still true. With all the divisions, there still is only one body.
And God sees it as such. And one day it's going to be displayed as one. He's saying that.
In that verse soon shall come that glorious day when seated on my throne.
Thou shalt.
To Wondering World's display.
Thee.
Or what?
That was seen in the early church.
The heart and soul of them that believed was one.
Either said any of them, the things that you possessed was his own, but they had all things common.
And with great power gave the apostles witness of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. What a wonderful day that was.
Well, that's going to come again.
When he takes us home.
Of the divisions.
All those things that have divided us will be gone forever.
Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit and the uniting bond of peace. That's our responsibility right now. There is one body and one Spirit. Act upon this, each one of us, even as ye are called, in one hope of your calling. 1 Lord, 1 faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is above all and through all.
And in the world?
Are you a member of that body? Are you saved by the grace of God? Have you been cleansed by the precious blood of Christ?
You know you're on your way to heaven. Are these fellow Christians that are sitting here, are they your brothers and sisters in Christ? If you're not saved, they're not.
Go outside.
Of this precious body.
Which is composed of members that are united to him.
Wonderful to be one of them.
Revelation An Outline