Address—Doug Buchanan
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Ephesians 4 Four has been read. There is one body.
One spirit, even as ye are called, in one hope of your calling.
And so we hope to touch briefly on the first of those three. We have taken them up in reverse order.
And if the Lord give time, I would like to give a few thoughts as to our behavior in the day of ruin.
Applying some of these principles and the resource and the mode of action today when things are in disorder outwardly now, I'd like to go back again to the Old Testament for the first example of the one body in Genesis chapter 2.
A type, and I believe it's probably the most complete type in the Old Testament.
We had before us Rebecca and the unnamed servant and how that was a picture of the bride of Christ and how the unnamed servant was the Holy Spirit. Beautiful example. And there are many other women that are pictures too of the bride of Christ. I believe in the Old Testament but the first is Eve.
Genesis 2, verse 18.
And the Lord God said it is not good that the man should be alone.
I will make him and help me for him.
Verse 21.
And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept, And he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof. And the rib which the Lord God had taken from Adam made he a woman, and brought her unto the man. And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh.
She shall be called woman.
Because she was taken out of man, Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife, and they shall be one flesh.
It's nice to see here that this was in the thought of God.
Before.
This thought was God's thought before sin came into the world. The man should not be alone, because Adam at that point was alone.
All by himself to rule and reign over the Kingdom that God had given him.
The picture is of Christ, the 2nd or the 2nd, the last Adam, the 2nd man.
Who is also the head of another Kingdom, and who is also to have his bride, the Church?
Which is his body.
For many years.
And oftentimes we have this truth brought before us at weddings.
And isn't it wonderful when God gives us that privilege to share a relationship like that husband and wife?
And so it's often spoken of in that way. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife.
And they shall be one flesh. And so the oneness begins at that time of marriage.
But we see something different here.
And this is the only woman, the only bride.
Besides the church that came into existence that way.
Where did Eve get her existence from the rib of Adam?
I have enjoyed it as seeing a picture of the Lord.
Suffering on the cross, and his side was opened up there with the spear.
And blood and water came forth.
That redeemed us. That brought us into existence.
In in Spanish there is an expression commonly used for ones girlfriend or ones wife too My rib.
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Nicostia.
Kind of like that expression.
It really expresses what we have here.
I noticed that you boys and girls that have attraction for each other like to sit close to each other.
God has prepared a way and a means for that for us in order.
But it must be according to God's thoughts.
Wonderful God instituted marriage.
It's holy. Matrimony is holy, we read in the New Testament.
And by it does wonderful, wonderful to be able to learn of Christ and the Church. So it says here, the rib which the Lord God had taken from man, made he a woman, and brought her unto the man.
Now I'd like to turn over to the fifth chapter and read a couple verses.
For an additional thought.
In Genesis 5 verse one, this is the book of the generations of Adam in the day that God created man in the likeness of God, made he him male and female, created he them and blessed them, and called their name Adam and Eve.
Do I see some eyebrows?
What did I read wrong?
Called their name Adam.
They shall be one. What happens to a girl when she gets married?
She takes on the name of her husband.
That's a good I'm thankful for that cultural practice that has carried on, I believe, since Genesis.
We have had that before us, the Christ.
And it refers to Christ and his church.
We are his body. Now let's turn over to the New Testament for that.
Something of this oneness and how we.
First Corinthians, Chapter 11.
And verse eight for the man is not of the woman.
But the woman of the man.
Everyone of us here was born of a woman.
Eve was not born.
She was created.
She was made from Adam.
And so the woman is of the man.
The church is of Christ.
And that's why it's so important that the Holy Spirit be sent down to unite us, that vital link, if we might say, when we're at such a distance still.
And so the church.
What isn't just made one with Christ at the marriage of the Lamb.
Already that link exists.
We are one in Christ.
The oneness that is ours then.
Nothing can touch it, nothing can ever break that union. It is sad when marriage relationships are broken and they are not of God.
God in His mercy allows under certain circumstances.
But it does not give a right expression to God's thoughts and what God does.
And God will never have to divorce something that he unites together in one wonderful the security that we have in Christ being members of his body. Now there are other expressions, there are other thoughts that the one body would bring before us. I'm going to be brief.
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On this subject this morning.
Let's.
Let's turn over to Ephesians 5 now.
Verse 23.
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, and he is the Savior of the body.
Verse 28.
So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself.
For no, no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord, the Church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother.
And shall be joined unto his wife, and they too shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the Church.
So I believe we have here reinforced what we have expressed about Eve having her existence from Adam being taken from his side. So the Church is one body.
In Christ, and that is the reason that a man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife.
To practically live together and give expression of that truth. And it is wonderful, the truths of God that can be expressed practically in our relationship.
In marriage, and we have in this chapter the two.
Main things that are enjoined on the husbands and the wives.
That is, the husbands ought to love their wives.
As their own bodies, each husband ought to love his wife.
Because Christ loved the church.
Oh dear young people, may that get into your soul and mine.
How much he loved us, you know, as you go along life.
And maybe you have some hard experiences and fail the Lord.
And I'm in a marriage relationship. This comes along too, you know, it doesn't take very long in a marriage relationship where you have to.
You know, work at the love little things come in to so that just the pure natural affection isn't enough to maintain what God instituted. We have to go to the Lord.
Where divine love comes from.
To fulfill our role that God gave us as husbands to love our wives.
Not only when they're lovable, but at all times.
Likewise the wives.
Submission.
And when we see our sisters in submission to their husbands.
It helps us as members of the Church of God, the Bride of Christ, by his body.
To be submissive.
Why is it, young people that we have and insist on certain rules and regulations up here?
Part of it is to teach you to be submissive to Christ.
And it hurts our souls when we see resistance to that.
It's not a personal thing between US and you.
It is that we long to see Christ formed in you.
And you submissive to him.
And the rest of us here too. I long to be that way.
And I learned something of that from my wife.
So we see here in the one body relationship that we have.
The expression of love and expressions of submission.
Two great secrets.
I'll just comment briefly now on a couple of others.
In Ephesians chapter 2, go back a couple chapters.
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And there are perhaps many more, but it might be helpful to just enlarge a little bit.
Ephesians chapter 2, verse 14. Verse 13.
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off, are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances.
For to make in himself of Twain 1 Newman, so making peace.
And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body, by the cross having slain the enmity thereby.
Here we see the one body.
Truth broadened out to include a little bit more, and it's thought we have here.
Especially for the Jewish mind, the bringing together of Jew and Gentile in one body.
Because the Jew at that time to whom the oracles of God had been given.
Were the only ones that had that relationship with God, Jehovah. But now God was opening the doors for the Gentiles too. And he didn't intend that there be two churches, two bodies. No, only one. And so they went through a rather transitional or a learning stage there.
To accommodate the Gentiles.
And so the thought of the one body is expressed there too.
In First Corinthians chapter 12, we have another.
Thought.
Verse 12.
For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body being many, are one body, so also is Christ in the Church.
Christ.
Here we have the thought of many individuals.
All united together in one.
This is also truth.
The one body.
Not so much that we're just connected with Christ, which of course is the principal thing, but we're united together in one and there are many members.
And each member has a different function and you have that.
The Spirit here giving out the gifts, diversity of gifts in this chapter and it's developed.
For the growth and the building up of the body. And so it is important for each one of us to realize.
Whatever member we might be of the body, some members are good at one thing and other members are good at another thing.
I can remember, I'll say this for the sake of some of the little children here, something that happened a long time ago.
And I don't remember too many stories about my youth, but I remember this one.
That we went away on a vacation down to Florida, to the beach my parents took me. I must have been maybe 8 or 10 years old the most, and we rented an apartment there along the beach.
And we're in enjoying ourselves, going swimming every day.
One day we all went down to the beach and we were so occupied in what we were doing that somebody went off and locked the keys to the apartment in the side. And so we came back and knocked on the office and nobody was home at the.
That the apartments there where we were staying and so my dad walked around to the back of the.
Building and sure enough there was a window open there in the back.
But the window was up about this high, and it was only about that big square.
And so my dad turns to me and says, can you crawl through that window?
I said yeah, yeah.
So he hoisted me up and I went and climbed through that window and got the keys and opened the door.
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I thought I was pretty big. Oops, I guess I was really small, wasn't I?
You see, you don't have to be big or important to do something for the Lord.
Sometimes it's better to be small.
If you want to get something out of the top of an old glass Coke can, you can't stick your biggest finger in there. To get it out, you have to use your littlest finger.
Well, that's just an illustration of.
How the Lord in his body gives different gifts. There's different things that are of importance and you don't have to be, as it were, the best and the biggest to be useful.
Oftentimes, I think it's the other way around.
Now I'd like to pass on and speak a little bit of the.
Something that I have enjoyed in my soul concerning how to function in the church in these last days of ruin when there is so much chaos and doctrines are thrown overboard.
And it's the church is in a state kind of like the vessel that Paul was shipwrecked on when it was all broken up in pieces.
And every man kind of had to fend for themselves to get to shore. And I believe that's a picture historically of what's happened down through this church period.
And we're living young people at the last time, just before the Lord's coming, to call his bride home to glory.
How are we gonna get to shore?
Well, Paul promised that everyone would, and they did.
How did they do it? By obeying Paul's word.
And how are we going to do it? By obeying Paul's doctrine.
Back to basics, first principles, building our faith on those original foundation stones of the Church.
Maintaining our link with Christ in glory.
Not following men.
When everything is going in order, you can follow men and you will stay in the path perhaps.
But in a time like this, it's impossible.
That's why I want to encourage you young people to search the scriptures about these things. Consider some of these points that have been brought out. Weigh them in your own soul. Don't just accept them because brother, so and so says them.
Put your own faith in what God says and walk in it.
Stand on it firm.
And he'll get you to. It'll get you to shore.
Now I'd like to read a couple stories in the Gospels to illustrate how the Lord is in control.
Matthew Chapter 17 Now at first this may appear to not have any connection and.
But bear with me a little and we'll get into it.
Verse 24.
And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter and said.
Doth not your master pay tribute? He saith. Yes.
And when he was come into the house, Jesus prevented, and that word means went before.
Prevented him saying, What thinkest thou, Simon?
Of whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute of their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of strangers Jesus said unto him, Then are the children free, notwithstanding lest we should offend them? Go thou to the sea, and cast, and hook, and take up the fish that first cometh up, and when thou hast opened his mouth thou shalt find.
Of money that take and give unto them for me.
And thee now I'd like to give a little background history here of the situation.
The Romans were ruling at this time.
The Jews.
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Were given only a limited amount of liberty and had to pay taxes.
Apparently the Romans did not.
And so the Jews.
Were under the dominion of the Gentile, the Roman Empire.
And that was very irksome to them.
That was a testimony constantly to the failure of their fathers.
And of the ruin of Jerusalem.
Where God had committed to them the government of the earth.
And paying tribute.
You know, money, money really gets to the heart that to the if you want to, if you want to really irk somebody, get in their pocketbook.
I'm not suggesting that, I'm just saying that's true of our nature.
And so when these publicans went around the tax gatherers.
They were listed with the sinners because they were looked at as traitors.
To the Jewish cause.
They were looked at as those who identified with the Romans and were not loyal Jewish citizens. So this was a very touchy point.
Now they come and ask Peter, doth your master pay?
Now I ask you, does God have an obligation to pay taxes?
Peter said yes.
He said yes without asking the Lord, and the Lord knew it. It doesn't say here that the Lord heard him. He may have, but I tend to think that the Lord.
Was telling Peter, Peter, I'm God and I know what you told them out there even though it wasn't there.
As man.
And then Peter, I think, had second thoughts. Did he answer right?
Well, the Lord is very gracious to Peter and He shows Peter something here.
And he gives the illustration here of the children.
And they were the children.
They were disciples of the Lord of the God the Father, walking with him, sharing in his rejection and all that the Lord went through.
And so the Lord makes it very clear.
That really in the Kingdom that the Lord was going to set up.
They wouldn't need to pay taxes.
But the time hadn't come to make that known yet to the world. And so.
He says not to offend.
Because we're to be as it says in Romans, Obey them that have the rule over you.
And we're to pay tribute to whom tribute is due.
That you was even though under the Kingdom.
That would not be necessary.
But the Lord left the hand of discipline upon them to keep them in remembrance of their failure. And I say to you at this time, in the time of failure of the church, you know, we have to suffer a lot of things that aren't just and right.
But remember, there's a lot of things that we haven't suffered for that we really are guilty of. Therefore, let us be humble and accept all those circumstances from the Lord, recognizing it's His hand upon us, just as His hand was upon that Jewish nation for their failure. And He didn't. Just when they said the first time that they said, yes, Lord, He didn't immediately come out and set the whole Kingdom.
And put everything out in order immediately.
No, that will have to wait till the right time.
He gives this little example of the fish, the hook, and the fish to Peter. Peter was a fisherman and the Lord took up an example that he knew Peter would understand.
So he tells Peter to go out, cast in the hook and take up the first fish.
Open its mouth, take the money out and go pay.
Now that was a miracle, wasn't it, Brother Brimley? Have you ever had that happen?
Never. No I I'd be surprised if it's ever happened since.
What it is a testimony is that.
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God.
Who doesn't need to pay taxes is still in control.
Over the creation, the Lord hasn't lost what Adam lost.
Yeah, and sometimes we think we don't have you all in control up here either, but the Lord does.
And you'll never get away with anything.
Neither will you miss any blessing that He intends for you.
He's in control. He was in control there and he had that fish there take up the money and it was the exact amount to pay for the two.
A testimony.
From creation, that Christ is still the head of the creation and in control.
Now let's turn over to Luke 22, verse seven. Then came the day of unleavened bread, when the Passover must be killed. And he sent Peter and John saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may eat. And they said unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
And he said unto them, Behold, when ye are entered into the city, there shall a man meet you bearing a pitcher of water. Follow him into the house where he entereth in, and ye shall say unto the good men of the house.
The Master saith unto thee, Where is the guest chamber, where I shall eat the Passover with my disciples, and he shall show you a large upper room furnished. There make ready. And they went and found as He had said unto them, and they made ready the Passover. When the hour was come, he sat down, and the 12 apostles with him.
Will this stop there? Because I think you're well familiar with.
Passage that follows.
I believe here we have another demonstration of the control that the Lord has in a different in a different aspect.
The fish and the money would portray to us the Lord's control in the creation and in the civil governments and how He is able. Here we have more the religious side or the spiritual side.
The approach to God.
And the place of the Lord's appointment and how to find it.
Because it's different here in Luke than it is in Mark.
In Mark.
If I'm not mistaken, it's there.
Now in Mark we don't have the first expression. Go and prepare us.
It's just that the disciples ask, Where wilt thou that we prepare?
Interesting. Here we get God's point of view of of this the Lord gave the word first go and prepare.
Now we'll go back and get a little more background again to this situation.
This was the night that the Lord was to be betrayed the Jewish nation, or at least the elders and the scribes and the rulers of the people.
Were already conniving how to get rid of the Lord Jesus.
He was rejected. He was about to be crucified. The city was in a certain turmoil over this.
And the disciples were following a man that was about to be executed.
Where in the city could such a company be safe and secure to eat the Passover? Could they go into the temple?
Where properly it was to be celebrated.
No.
Did these disciples have homes to do it? I don't know.
Probably they were poor. Most of them were from Galilee.
And I doubt really they had a place there in Jerusalem.
Where could this be done?
The Lord shows He's in control here.
And that he is able to provide that place in a difficult time.
And I think if we visualize it true and truly in its setting, we would have to admit it really was a true difficulty where the disciples could celebrate the Passover.
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So the Lord gives these instructions.
Go into the city, and there shall meet you a man bearing a printer of water. And many times I know we've heard this and and it's I've enjoyed it in my own soul of an example to us of finding the Lord's place of appointment.
But what I particularly want to bring out, and I don't know that has been brought out too often.
This side of it is how that it is a testimony from the Lord Himself.
That he is in control.
To find in finding the place you have to go into, they had to go into the city.
He didn't say who, what man this was. He just said a man bearing. Now I know it's often said that it wasn't common for men to wear bear pitchers of water because the women did it. That may be true.
But to me, that wouldn't be I still if I had been in their shoes with my weak faith.
I tend to think that when I saw that man, I would kind of have a second thought. Am I sure this is the man? What if I got the wrong man?
Well, the disciples obey.
To find the place, they had to obey the obedience of faith.
They walked. They didn't know where they were going to end up when they started.
It's good, brethren, that we don't preconceive where we want to go to worship.
Are you really willing to put this question into the Lord's hand and let Him guide you? If you do, I believe He will show you plainly as He did these disciples the place, and you can be just as sure that you're in the right place as these disciples were.
I can say in my own soul, he has made it abundantly clear.
But I cannot say that for you.
If you follow the Lord's guidance, He will show you.
That he is in control. And this I am saying now in a time when.
There is much confusion.
Much fogginess.
Much failure.
And if we look at the failure.
We may not see clearly the Lord's guiding hand.
The disciples had to, and there were two of them that did this. The disciples had to just explicitly obey the Lorde command and follow that man that was bearing the pitcher of water. And I know it's been compared to the Holy Spirit, but for our purpose this tonight, I just want to suggest that it is obedience to the Lord.
And whatever he tells us to do.
And when you do it, he confirms to you that it's the right thing.
And when they got to the place and then they'll eventually, the Lord must have come along a little later.
They were confirmed of the being at the right place, no doubts.
Very plain and simple. Well, I know the Lord was physically there, and He's not in the physical sense with us.
But I believe, and I've enjoyed comparing these two, the fish as the example of the Lord's control and power over the civil authorities and whatever disorder, and here how the Lord by His Spirit is able to guide us.
In the thoughts of our heart as to.
The Lords place for us and so I just commend that to you to meditate and all these thoughts that we've had and I believe if we act in faith in the Lord.
And if it helps to put your finger on a verse and read it and then act on it, we'll do that. Whatever is necessary, If it helps to say it out loud, read the verse out loud.
Tell it to the Lord out loud in prayer to make sure that your soul is convinced of what ground you are standing on.
And then take the step and go into the city and find the man bearing the pitcher of water.
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And it will be clear to you.
And when trouble comes along, you won't need have any doubts.
Because you've acted in faith in the Lord from heaven.
Let's close with prayer.