Open—C. Hendricks, R. Thonney
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Let's say #61 That'll get the people in too.
Have a real burden on my heart to continue what we had in the Reading meeting.
But in from a different portion turn with me to 2nd and 3rd John.
Second John and 3rd John for something for the young ones to do.
Count the number of times the truth is mentioned in these two epistles.
Second John.
The Elder unto the elect Lady and her children, whom I love in the truth.
And not I only, but also all they that have known the truth for the truth's sake.
Which dwelleth in US, and shall be with us forever.
Grace be with you mercy and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of the Father, in truth and love. I rejoice greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee, lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that which we had from the beginning, that we love one another.
And this is love that we walk after his commandments. This is the commandment that, as you have heard from the beginning, you should walk in it.
For many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward. Whosoever transgresseth, or goes forward and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God.
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He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine.
Receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed, for he that biddeth him Godspeed is particular of his evil deeds. Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face, that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister greet thee.
Truth is mentioned five times in this epistle.
3rd John the Elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth.
Rejoice greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers which have borne witness of thy thy love before the Church, who without bring forward on their journey after a godly sword, thou shalt do well. Because that for His namesake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.
I wrote under the Church, but diatrophies who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not. Therefore, if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, praying against us with malicious words, and not content therewith. Neither doth he himself receive the brethren, and forbideth them that would and cast them out of the Church. Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good.
Either do with good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. Demetrius hath good report of all men, and of the truth itself.
Yeah. And also we also bear record and you know that our record is true.
I had many things to write, but I will not with ink and pen Write unto thee. But I trust I shall shortly see thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee.
Our or the friends salute thee, greet the friends by name. In the second epistle, enemies are addressed. I mean they're he's, he's sending this second epistle to the elect lady and her children and warning her against those who are enemies. Deceivers, verse 4. Verse seven. For many deceivers are entered into the world.
Who confess not that Jesus Christ has come in flesh. This is what we had before us in those verses in first John four and I. I'm constrained to elaborate on this more.
In the second epistle it's addressed strangely. You might say you think that would be addressed to a man.
And the third epistle to a woman. But it isn't that way in the second epistle. It's to the elect lady and her children.
Striking, isn't it?
The man is the head, then comes the woman, and then comes the children.
But the woman is to be able to recognize, and her children to be able to recognize when someone comes to the door and hands out their literature, which is which denies the person of Christ.
Very.
For the truth sake which dwelleth in US, and shall be with us. And notice that in the third epistle the word beloved occurs several times, not once in second John, because second John is dealing with those that come purporting to.
Give out something that really denies the person of Christ.
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And it's an enemy that's working.
Enemy that's working, but the truth is mentioned in both and you can't really.
Beholding the truth, if you're not capable of discerning error, touching the person of Christ and discerning who is good and of God, that's their job. And that's that's addressed to Gaius the well beloved, Gaius to a man. And he uses the word beloved several times in the third epistle, not once in second John.
Striking.
Notice both epistles and with I have many things to write unto you. It would not with paper and ink and so on. Same thing. I had many things to write, but not with ink and pen. But second, John never uses the word friends.
3rd John does the IT ends with I trust I shall shortly see thee and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee the friends salute thee. Greet the friends by name. There was in 3rd John there was just this diatrophies who was an enemy.
But the the.
The main thrust of Third John is to write to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth.
There were those that traveled around. Notice in 3rd John verse.
Seven, it says, because that for his name's sake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles.
We therefore ought to receive such. Third John is commending those, is telling Gaius to receive those that are bringing the truth to them.
But in second John.
Verse 8. Verse seven. Many deceivers are entered into the world who confess not Jesus Christ come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an Antichrist. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ.
Hath not God?
This is striking. You'd think that second John would be written to the man and 3rd John to the woman and her children, but not so.
In 3rd John he writes to Gaius the well beloved and uses that term and he's addressed as a friend and greet the friends by name. That word friends is not in second John because we're dealing with enemies that come purportedly.
Disseminating their false doctrines.
It's striking that everyone of you children here are responsible as well, long as your mother, the elect lady responsible to know.
The truth as to the person of Christ.
See if someone would come to the door and say mom and dad are not there and they want to pass out their literature, which is not true and false and.
You've got to know. You're supposed to know. According to this, it's to the elect lady and her children. The children should know what the truth is as to the person of Christ. I hope you weren't sleeping when we were going over these things because it's so important. There's no more important truth in all of Scripture than to know who Jesus is, very God and very man.
And.
He says to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in the truth.
Someone would come to the door and.
Offer you some of their literature, The Mormons, the Jehovah's Witnesses, and there's many, many other groups.
That don't hold to the truth of the person of Christ.
The one in 3rd John were real. They went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles. Wherefore we ought to receive such. Third John tells us who we are to receive. Second John tells us whether it's the elect Lady or the children, tells them not to receive them.
I remember the time in Milwaukee when Jehovah's Witnesses were holding a crusade and they would go around into the different houses asking if they could put some of those that were coming up in a bed. And sad to say, I happen to know a Christian that lent his bed to such.
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He evidently didn't know that that was deadly error.
That they were having fellowship with.
He says in verse eight of chapter two of two, John, look to yourselves that we lose not those things which we have wrought.
With that, we receive a full reward and this word transgresseth should be whosoever goes forward. We explain that a little in the reading goes forward goes on into the deeper truth. You can't have deeper truth than the truth as to the person of Christ.
Whosoever goes forward and abides not in the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of Christ, is the truth, the true teaching as to who He is.
That hymn that we sang, The union of both.
God and man, deity and humanity are joined together in the person of Christ. He's the only man.
That ever walked this world, that was both God and man in one person, the only one.
And it's so important that we know who he is.
The elder to the elect lady and her children.
You know, if this was sent to the man and the third John was sent to the woman and.
The woman let in the these false teachers and those that were bringing error at second John let them in. Then he, the husband would say to her, why did you, why did you let such sin? Well, that's not addressed to me. That's addressed. That's addressed to not address to me, but to you.
But it's addressed to the elect lady and her children. She's responsible to close the door.
And those that bring the doctrine, the proper teaching of the union of God and men in one person.
And a child is responsible to do the same. You can be, you can be courteous and just say to them, you don't. You don't believe in my Jesus, my Savior, my Lord, I have nothing to do with you. And close the door, whether you're a woman or the mother or the children.
But in 3rd John the ones that were going about preaching and it says.
Verse seven. Because if for his name's sake they went forth taking nothing of the Gentiles.
They didn't go forth preaching the truth and expecting to get supported by the world.
They do it all the time in Christendom.
But they didn't do it in the early days, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such. Second John tells the elect lady and her children whom not to receive because they didn't, they weren't true to the person of Christ. And 3rd John tells him to receive.
That held to the truth of the Church, truth of the person We therefore ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers to the truth.
But there's a little sorry note in 3rd John verse nine. He says I wrote unto the church. But diatrophies.
Who love us to have the preeminence Preeminence among you receiveth us not.
I remember back in the time of Frederick, brother Grant and his brother.
And that was before the division, I guess. Brother Harrisman told me this account.
And.
There was a man that had come into this little assembly.
And he had a way with him that attracted them.
And there was a brother there, this brother Grant, not the one that was involved in the division, Robert granted was and he discerned.
That that man was trying to get a following and wasn't holding fast to the truth.
That was like diatrophies. He wanted to have the preeminence.
Didn't receive them. So this Robert Grant, he pointed to this man that there was getting a following and he says you can't say Lord Jesus.
And he tried and he tried, but he couldn't say Lord Jesus.
The Lord had closed his mouth and that made those others that were being taken up with such and the diatrophies is like that He wants to be get a following.
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I wrote to the church, but the atrophy is that's verse nine of third John who loveth to have the preeminence among them receiveth us not wouldn't receive the apostle John.
He wanted to, he wanted to be first. Wherefore if I come? John says.
I will remember his deeds, which he doeth, praying against us with malicious words, and not content therewith, neither does he himself receive the brethren, and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the Church.
Many uses that precious term, beloved.
Follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God.
But he that doeth evil hath not seen God.
And then he commends Demetrius. Demetrius hath good report of all men and of the truth itself. Yeah, and we also bear record, and you know that our record is true. Had many things to write, but not with.
Anything but face to face. And that's what he says to the Elect lady and her children.
Verse going back to second John again.
Verse 9, whosoever goes forward, I mentioned this man I sat next to in the elevated and he was wanted to know what I held and I went through the fundamentals of the faith and he smiled and said, that's nice, but you got to go ahead now into the deeper things. Those deeper things were error.
Deceivers.
If they're come unto you and bring not this doctrine, the union in the person of Christ, that's unique. There's no other.
There's no other human being that is God at the same time.
That he is man.
Youngest person in this room must know this, You must know this. And if someone comes to deny that don't have anything to do with them, close the door.
The elect lady and her children are responsible to know who Jesus is just as much as US men.
They will come unto you and bring not this doctrine. What is she or the children to do? Receive him not into your house either. Bid him Godspeed.
For he that biddeth him Godspeed is a partaker of his evil deeds. Have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but reprove them.
But.
The beloved Gaius. He's commended for receiving those that were going out, preaching the truth, and taking nothing of the Gentiles.
But that he was to be supported.
Quite a difference. Five times the truth is mentioned in second John and six times in 3rd John. You're not holding the truth if you support error. If you fellowship with those that are disseminating false teaching or denying this or that of a person of Christ, you're not holding fast.
In that case.
So in second John it tells us whom not to receive, and in 3rd John he says we therefore ought to receive such.
You've got to know the difference between those that are disseminating error under the power of Satan, denying who the Lord Jesus really is.
Just another prophet or whatever they say.
But you have to know who he is.
Sometimes the way we preach the gospel is.
Kind of.
Begging them to receive it, whatever it might be. Present Christ to the earth, to your audience.
And the one that knows who he is, is real.
The one that has embraced that which is not real.
Is the enemy and we're to refuse that.
So in 3rd John, it ends by saluting the friends by name. He's dealing with the friends. This diatrophies was one that was amongst those that held fast to the truth. But he wanted to have the 1St place.
That wasn't good, of course. Demetrius was one that he could commend. He has a good report of all men and of the truth itself.
The Lord Jesus said I am the way, the truth and the life.
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He came that he might bear witness to the truth.
He is the truth.
And if you deny the humanity?
Either one of the two parts of his being, his humanity and his deity. If you deny either one, you're not supporting the truth.
But if you really want to hold fast to the truth, you've got to know who's real and commend them and have fellowship with them, and you have to know who's not real and close the door and such.
Well, there are others that might want to say some things, but I was really burdened to go over those two precious epistles.
Second John and 3rd John.
You're responsible young person.
And sister to know who Jesus is as much as the men.
And to refuse fellowship with them in any way if they don't bring the truth of the union of God and man in one person.
And those that do and come to your door, you take them in, you give them something to eat, and you maybe even give them a bed for the night. You show fellowship with those that are real. How important.
Not to show fellowship with those that don't, that are not true to the person of Christ. That's the most fundamental, the most basic truth there is in Scripture. Hold fast to it. Reject the error and have fellowship with that which is good. The real truth. You're not really walking in the truth if you have fellowship with error.
Now the truth is, the positive side who he really is, and it's the negative side who he is not. Well, May God bless His word, speaking as to the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
To know who he is.
Is so important. It's often been mentioned that there are three scriptures that speak quite a bit about.
The glories of his person, John One. We've had verses read from that chapter.
Colossians one and Hebrews one. Those 3 portions I would like to look at Colossians one for a few minutes.
Rather than.
Do find that dwelling on the glories of the person of the Lord Jesus is something that.
Really does feed the soul. Tremendous.
The glory of his person when you take up the book of Hebrews.
It is such a beautiful book too, but I've found it quite interesting that.
In that book, the primary focus seems to be.
Who he is chapter one.
Through perhaps we could say chapter 8, it's all about who he is.
Not so much the focus of what he's done, although that's touched on, but it's the person that gives value to the work. Who was that that hung on that cross? It was no ordinary person that was hanging there. And so he spends a lot of time on who that person was. And then it addresses in chapters 9 and 10, the work.
That he did, how important that part is as well. But let's go to Colossians chapter one and.
Just go over a few of those verses that talk about this person, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Starting with verse 12, giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the Saints in light.
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son? There you have the Lord Jesus presented, and now from those verses on that verse onward you have something of His glory brought forth, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. Who is the image?
Of the invisible God, the first born.
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Of every creature for by him were all things created that.
Are in heaven and that are in earth visible and invisible.
Whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by Him and for Him, and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist or subsist. And He is the head of the Body, the Church, who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence for it. Please.
You'll notice the Father is an italics. It's really it was pleasing. It really is the Godhead that it's talking about.
That in him should all fullness dwell.
And having made peace through the blood of His cross, by him, to reconcile all things unto Himself, by Him.
I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven, there we get to his work side of.
Things, but I just want to meditate on the glory of His person. The first thing it mentions in verse 15 is that He is the image of the invisible God, images visible.
Representation. The Lord Jesus when he was here, asked.
Them when he asked to see a penny, he says. Whose image?
Is this on this penny? It was Caesar's. And so he says, give to Caesar that which is Caesar's, and to God that which is God's. The point is that the Lord Jesus was the visible representation of all that God was. You want to know God?
Get to know the Lord Jesus. He is the image.
Of the invisible God. Isn't that wonderful that we can say we have been brought into the knowledge of God through the Lord Jesus? I think it's been mentioned quite a few times, but the Muslims in their doctrine say that God is unknown and unknowable.
Over 1 billion people on this planet now profess that religion that say God is unknown and unknowable. And you and I can say we know God. To me, it is a tremendous thing to be able to say we have been brought to know God. How? In the person, a person who was born into this world, who lived and walked here, who died.
Who rose again, and who is living at God's right hand through that person? And you and I can read this story of his life in the Gospels. Every step, every word he spoke, every step he took.
Were a visible representation of who God is. He is the image of the invisible God. Wonderful to see how he had time.
For little children, he took them up into his arms and blessed him. We go to the president of the United States with a group of children, Think he'd have time to pick him up and bless him? I don't suppose so. But here's this person, the Son of God, the glorious God.
Come in the flesh and He has time for little children. Another thing that I marvel at as I see the Lord Jesus is how He was never rushed. You know, we get in a rush in our lives. I think it's probably from two different reasons.
It's one is that we waste a bunch of time and so then to make up we have to rush at things. Another thing is we probably try to do more than the Lord means for us to do and so we rush at it. Was the Lord Jesus ever in a rush? I marvel and I see him there. They call him when Lazarus was sick and say Lord.
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He whom thou lovest is sick.
He didn't go rushing over there to heal him. He let Lazarus die.
But the result was that there was more glory to God.
Because he raised him from the dead, He showed his glory.
By waiting two more days and when he got there.
He was already four days buried. Oh, what? Perfection in every way, he never had to say. Well, that's not exactly what I meant.
Never had to say that. Never said I made a mistake in that. I should have said it this way. Never.
Perfection in every way. Oh brethren, we need to feed on this glorious person. He is the image of the invisible God. We have a God that doesn't make mistakes. We make them all over the place. He doesn't. And the things He allows, He doesn't make mistakes.
Then it says he's the first born of every creature. And that title of first born occurs again in verse 18. And it's important to see that it's not necessarily a question of being born into a family. David in Psalm 89 is called the first born of the kings of the earth. You know that David was #8.
In the boys that were born into Jesse's family.
Why does it call him first born? You have to understand that first born is a title of preeminence.
So he is the one that has the preeminence in creation.
For by him were all things created.
That are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by him and for him. Interesting.
He is the creator. He is not a creature as those false cults would teach.
He is the creator, he says in John One.
By Him were all things created, and without Him was nothing created that was created necessarily. He is before all creatures. He is the creator of all things. And when you study the universe, what?
Footprints, or what can you say what fingerprints of God is, are left in all the creation. Who else could have made things and put it up there in such tremendous order? Not only create things that are visible, but things that are invisible were created by Him.
A force like gravity? Who put that there?
He did. He created it. You can't see gravity, but everybody knows.
How important that is in creation.
It's one of those invisible things that he has put there. Stocking yesterday to Ed.
And we were talking about the foundations of the earth. I asked Ed, what do you think the foundations of the earth are?
You see the Earth floating around in space. Where is the foundations of the Earth?
Ed said he didn't understand that, and I guess I have to say I don't really understand it either. But Scripture speaks about the foundations of the earth. Interesting to think about it.
We don't understand very much about creation. We do understand a very little debt, but the more you learn about creation, the more fantastic it is.
It is a work of order and I find it fascinating. Brethren, I'm sorry if you don't think I'm very spiritual about this, but I find it fascinating to study the stars. You get up on the high Altiplano Bolivia, you're 12,000 feet at that altitude and get out on a starry night when there's no moon. It is fantastic, the array of stars up at that altitude.
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Of course, you're away from the city lights too. You can actually see other galaxies up there besides the Milky Way Galaxy, little areas of light which are other galaxies. And that's just with the human eye, naked eye, what it must have been to look through those telescopes. And so we've gotten from the Hubble Space Telescope, they just see further and further. They just get more and more amazed.
At What's up there?
They now say, I was speaking to a group of young people out in California a while back and I made mention of the fact that they say that in the Milky Way Galaxy in which we are located, that's the group of stars we're located in.
There are approximately 100 billion stars.
Young brother came up to me afterwards and he says, you know what they really say? It's more like 200 billion stars now.
Wow. And besides that, they are now saying, I guess they can have to continually change their figures because they keep learning more. They say there's at least another 100 billion galaxies in the universe.
It's just totally leaves you behind, the vastness of this creation we're part of. And who are we? Just little specks.
I love to stand on the high Altaplano of Bolivia when you're 12,000 feet and look off.
Out into the West and so there's areas there you can just look off. It's so flat it looks like you'd walk off the edge out there.
And then you see these huge mountains, these Andes sticking way up.
Some to 21,000 feet.
Tremendous beauty and you stand there, you just feel how insignificant.
We really are.
And we're talking about the person now.
Who spoke it into existence? He spake and it was done. Let's the power of His word.
And that's the person that came down to hang on a cross that allowed people to spit in his face.
They crowned them with thorns.
I just don't grasp very well the glory of the person of the Lord Jesus. He put it all into into place there. He is the creator of all things. By Him we're all things created which are in heaven. That's a whole nother sphere which are on earth, visible and invisible, whether they be Thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created by Him and for Him.
The order of authority in this creation is put there by him.
It's the spirit of our age to resist authority, to question authority. Dear young people, don't get into that spirit of things.
Be submissive.
I marvel at Daniels friends when they were told to bow down.
To that image of gold. They weren't rebellious.
They simply were submissive to a higher power.
And they basically told Nebuchadnezzar, we cannot bow down to that idle because there is another authority higher than you that we have to be subject to. And so they were willing to take the consequences. They didn't run off and say we want to get out of here and escape the punishment. No, they submitted to being tied up.
And thrown into that furniture.
That's the right spirit for a believer because God has set authority in this world. The Lord Jesus, when he was standing before Pilate, did he try to get out of that awful situation? No. And Pilate said I have authority to crucify you, I have authority to let you go, and I have authority to crucify you.
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Lord Jesus recognized that authority, and He submitted to it, even though it was.
Wrongly used, he submitted, and all the blessing that has resulted.
From that.
Yes, he's the one that is put in place. Thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, all things were created by him and for him. Tremendous.
This is part of what creation is. And then it says in verse 17 he is.
Before all things necessarily, He is the Creator, He is eternal, and by Him all things consist, or the Word is subsist.
It means simply that not only did he put them out there, he maintains them.
And that ordered the watch on my arm. It has a battery. That battery runs out after a while.
Several years, it'll run out.
How long has the universe been going like it is now?
By him all things subsist continue.
In their clock like order. Wonderful.
And verse 18 And he is the head of the body, the Church, who is the beginning.
The first born from the dead. Now here is another.
Area in which the Lord Jesus has the preeminence. It's in new creation. New creation begins with resurrection. The Lord Jesus was raised from the dead. Sometimes people say, well, weren't there others that were raised from the dead before Jesus? Yes, but as far as we know they all died again.
But the Lord Jesus, when he was raised from the dead, was raised in the power of a life that death can not touch any longer its new creation. And so He is the head of new creation. He is the head of the body who is the beginning, the first born from the dead, that in all things He might have the preeminence.
Brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ is the central figure in all God's thoughts from time and in time and eternity. I love to think of that little expression in the midst that you have so often in the Bible. And if you go to Genesis chapter 2, you have it in the garden. There was a tree in the garden. It was in the midst of the garden.
Wasn't the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but it was the tree.
Of life you go to the very last chapter of the Bible.
You find that same tree in the heavenly paradise.
In that heavenly city, in the midst of the street of it, it says.
Was the tree of life wonderful? And it's interesting to trace that little expression through the Word of God in the mix. It's always referring to the Lord Jesus because it says that in all things He might have the preeminence. How important that is to keep that before us, brethren.
We're living in a world where we often speak of the fact that.
Humanism is the philosophy of this present age.
In other words, it's simply that man makes himself the center of his world.
If you don't like it, you go your way and I'll go my way. Leave me alone.
It's permeated the whole advertising system. The media is all based on humanism.
Brethren, God is not impressed.
God has already passed sentence on what man is. Naturally, He tested man under the law, a perfect law, and man proved to be a complete failure.
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And God is not interested in what we are in the flesh. He now has what is called a new creation, if any man be in Christ.
There is a new creation. Old things are passed away.
Behold, all things are become new. It's not what we are.
If I could get you young people to understand that, I really think it would be a blessing to you.
See so many young people and because of the way our culture runs, it seems like the focus is always put inside. Introverts. There are so many of us. There are introverts. I have to confess, I was that way too. Maybe I still am to a certain extent. I don't like to be a judge of that matter, but I say it's not what we are in the flesh that God is occupied with. It's what Jesus is and He's forming Christ in your life.
Forming Christ and mind, and the more you are occupied with this glorious person.
You get back to the Gospels and read the perfection of this person. It's going to have a moral effect on your life.
Says in Second Corinthians chapter 3, we all with unveiled face looking on the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of God.
What's going to change us?
Not criticizing each other. Yes, we do need exhortation about points sometimes. Scripture is clear about that. But it's really keeping the focus on this one that God has said must have the preeminence in all things.
For it was pleasing, and like I mentioned, I think you'll see in Mr. Darby's translation.
That there's a note that it really refers to the Father's italics, meaning that it was added by the translators, but the thought is more the Godhead was pleasing to the Godhead, that in him should all fullness dwell. Notice chapter 2 and verse.
9.
For in him the Lord Jesus.
Dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead.
Bodily.
Totally boggles our mind to try to comprehend what this means.
But just accept it in the simplicity and then to read the next verse.
And.
Ye are complete in him. Isn't that wonderful?
To realize you feel that you're lacking in certain areas, you feel that you're not sufficient.
That is a tremendous thing to realize, that we are not sufficient, but just remember this, there is One in whom the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily, and we are complete in Him, O brethren.
Let's meditate on the simplicity of the truth, the glory of this person we're talking about.
And let it sink into our souls. Let's feast on the glory.
Of this person and it will have an effect on you and me.
Whether we recognize it or not is not important. Others may see it.
In us, but the Lord help us that the person of the Lord Jesus in our lives too. It may be so that he has the preeminence. 132 someone raised the tune.