Shadow Hills Conference: 1989
Table of Contents
Crossing The Jordan
Address—C. Hendricks
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We were noticing last night.
The truth of the Red Sea.
The Passover and the Red Sea Passover Speaking of the death of Christ and the Red Sea, the death of Christ, particularly in a special way the death of Christ is shielding us from the judgment of God.
I come to the brink of the water of Jordan.
He shall stand still in Jordan.
And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hit her.
And hear the words of the Lord your God.
And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you.
And that he will without fail drive out from before you, the Canaanites and the Hittites.
And the highlights, and the parasites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites and the Jebusites, behold the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all. The earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
Now therefore take you 12 men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe of man.
And it shall come to pass as soon as the soles of the feet of the priest that bear the ark of the Lord.
The Lord of all the earth shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above, and they shall stand upon in heap. And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents to Passover Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as they that bear the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bear the ark were dipped in the brim of the water.
For Jordan, overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.
That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon in heap very far from the city, Adam, that is, beside Zaratan. And those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea failed and were cut off. And the people passed over right against Jericho. And the priests that bear the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan. And all the Israelites passed over on dry ground until all the people were passed clean.
Jordan.
And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Take you 12 men out of the people, out of every tribe of man, and command you them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place with the priests feet stood firm 12 Stones, and you shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place where ye shall lodge this night. Then Joshua called the 12 men whom he had prepared of the children of Israel out of every tribe of man.
And Joshua said unto them, Passover before the ark of the Lord your God, into the midst of Jordan, and take you up, every man of you, a stone which upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel.
That this may be a sign among you that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by the stones?
Then ye shall answer them, that the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord.
When it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off, and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel forever.
And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up 12 Stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
And Joshua set up 12 Stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bear the ark of the Covenant stood, And there they are unto this day.
For the priests which bear the ark stood in the midst of Jordan until everything was finished, that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people.
According to all that Moses commanded, Joshua, and the people hasted and passed over. And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over. And the priests in the presence of the people, and the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them about 40,000 prepared for war, passed over before the Lord unto battle.
Through the plains of Jericho.
On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel, and they feared him as they feared Moses all the days of his life.
And the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying, Command the priests that bear the ark of the testimony, that they come up out of Jordan. Joshua therefore commanded the priest, saying, Come ye up out of Jordan.
And it came to pass, when the priest that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord were come up out of the midst of Jordan, and the souls of the priests feet were lifted up onto the dry land, that the waters of Jordan returned unto their place and flowed over all his banks as they did before. And the people came up out of Jordan on the 10th day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal in the east border of Jericho, and those 12 Stones which they took out of Jordan.
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Did Joshua pitch in Gilgal?
And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones, Then you shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan and dry land, for the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you until you were passed over.
As the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up from before us until we were gone over, that all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord that it is mighty.
That ye might fear the Lord your God.
Forever came to pass, when all the kings of the Amorites, which were on the side of Jordan westward, and all the kings of the Canaanites which were by the sea, heard that the Lord had dried up the waters of Jordan from before the children of Israel, until we were passed over, that their hearts melted.
Neither was their spirit in them anymore because of the children of Israel at that time. The Lord said unto Joshua, Make these sharp knives.
And circumcise again the children of Israel the second time. And Joshua made him sharp knives and circumcised the children of Israel at the hill of the Foreskin's. And this is the cause why Joshua did circumcise all the people that came out of Egypt that were males. Even all the men of war died in the wilderness by the way, after they came out of Egypt. Now all the people that came out were circumcised, but all the people that were born in the wilderness, by the way, as they came forth out of Egypt, then they had not circumcised for the children of Israel.
Walked forty years in the wilderness, till all the people that were men of war which came out of Egypt, were consumed, because they obeyed not the voice of the Lord. Unto whom the Lord swear that He would not show them the land which the Lord swear unto their fathers, that He would give us a land that floweth with milk and honey. And their children whom He raised up in their stead. Them Joshua circumcised, for they were uncircumcised, because that they had not circumcised them by the way. And it came to pass, when they had done circumcising all the people, that they abode in their places in the camp till they were.
Whole. And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day have I rolled away the reproach of Egypt from off you. Wherefore the name of the place is called Gilgal unto this day. And the children of Israel encamped in Gilgal, and kept the Passover on the 14th day of the month, that even in the plains of Jericho. And they did eat of the old corn of the land on the Morrow after the Passover, unleavened cakes and parched corn in the South same day.
And the manna ceased on the Morrow, after they had eaten of the old corn of the land.
Neither had the children of Israel manna anymore, but they did eat of the fruit of the land of Canaan that year.
And it came to pass when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold.
There stood a man over against him, with a sword drawn in his hand. And Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Arthur, for us, or for our adversaries. And he said, Nay.
But as captain of the host of the Lord, it might now come.
And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my Lord unto his servant? And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot.
For the place wherein thou standest is holy.
And Joshua?
Did so.
We were noticing.
Last night.
The truth of the Red Sea.
The Passover and the Red Sea Passover Speaking of the death of Christ.
And the Red Sea.
The death of Christ In a special way, the death of Christ is shielding us from the judgment of God, shielding Israel from the judgment of God. It's wonderful to see the blood.
Shielding us and screening us from the judgment of God against our sins.
God against our sins.
But we saw in the Red Sea Speaking of the death and resurrection of Christ.
That which?
Is a full picture of salvation complete and full deliverance?
From the enemy.
From the power of the enemy, from Pharaoh, from the Egyptians, and from Egypt the House of *******.
And they were brought to God through the Red Sea. They went through those waters of death and judgment and came out on the wilderness side. And they were in type A risen people.
Identified with Moses as their leader.
In resurrection, the one who had gone through death and come out and the other side of death.
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In the Red Sea. And then they had the wilderness before them.
And we've read in this chapter, these chapters, that they were 40 years in the wilderness. Now we've read of the time when they are about to enter the land.
And they come to the river Jordan, another picture of death, the waters of death.
But a different aspect. Again, the Jordan speaks of the death and resurrection of Christ. These types are so beautiful.
At the Red Sea, it was deliverance from the House of *******. It was a it was a question of righteousness. And we saw that the book in the New Testament which answers to Exodus, the book of redemption is.
Romans, the Epistle to the Romans, where we are redeemed and saved, redeemed by blood and redeemed by power, power of God, which brought Christ through death into resurrection, and we now to walk in newness of life, and we too have died to sin, and so we are delivered from.
The power that held us captive, we once served sin.
And we once served Satan. We were once in ******* to sin. The Lord Jesus said, if the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed.
Set free now to serve the Lord.
A freed people, a delivered people, a saved people. And so in Exodus 15.
They sang the song of salvation and the song of redemption. They had no song to sing in Egypt.
They were safe under the shelter of the blood, but not saved yet because they had not been completely delivered from all the enemy.
And at the Red Sea, they could see God was fighting for them. The Egyptians even realized this.
As their chariot wheels came off and so on. And those waters of death which were salvation to the Israelites were death and judgment to the Egyptians when they tried to go through.
In pursuit of the Israelites, and the Israelites could look back and see all their enemies strewed dead upon the seashore.
God is for us the wonderful truth of the Red Sea. He saved us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. He saved us by taking us out of the old condition, in Egypt, in the world, in the flash, and in our sins. And He's brought us now to Himself.
In resurrection life.
To live in the risen life of Christ, a new creature.
A Newman.
The old man having died to sin, having been crucified with him at the cross.
Done with and now deliverance affected and the soul brought.
To God in Christ, risen from the dead.
This is all that the Red Sea typifies. He was delivered for our offenses. He was raised again for our justification. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. So what you get at the Red Sea is a picture of salvation, a picture of deliverance, Redemption by power as the Passover gives us, redemption by blood.
But now they've they've gone through the 40 years in the wilderness.
And they're about to enter into the promised land, Canaan.
The land of their possessions, their proper portion, the wilderness is not their portion at all.
But they had to learn in the wilderness the ways of God.
So if you look at the Red Sea, the death and resurrection of Christ as delivering us from the world and from sin and from Satan, from all the power that held us captive and bringing us to God and setting us free and God acting for us.
In bringing us out of this condemned system of things, this world to himself. That's the Red Sea. Then you have the wilderness, and then you have another picture of the death and resurrection of Christ in the river Jordan.
There is no enemy pursuing them.
There's no rod to be held up and to smite the waters to divide them. The rod of the judicial rod of judgment that was the Red Sea. Instead, it's an entirely different figure. Children of Israel arrive at the Jordan. It overflowed all its banks all the time of harvest, and there was no way they could crossover. The priests were instructed to carry the ark, the symbol of his very.
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And as soon as the feet of the priests would touch and stand in the river, the waters of the river would cease and and would store up and.
They could Passover on dry ground.
Another type of the death and resurrection of Christ.
The Red Sea speaks of His death and resurrection as delivering us from the from our sins and from sin and from Satan and from the world. The Jordan pictures the death and resurrection of Christ.
Enabling us to enter in to our heavenly blessings, to that which is ours. Canaan is a type of the heavenlies into which we have been brought in Christ risen from the dead. And the epistle that answers to this book of Joshua as Romans answered to Exodus, Ephesians answers to the book of Joshua.
And so in the book of Ephesians we have the heavenly places.
Mentioned five times.
And you'll notice I read into the 5th chapter and at the end of the 5th chapter there was a man there after they'd crossed over, after they were circumcised in the land, and after the manna ceased.
They, they, they, they celebrated the Passover. Now, having entered the Promised Land, they were.
Risen with Christ the The Jordan speaks of the death and resurrection of Christ, and our death and resurrection with Him.
It's one thing to see the work of Christ. For me, that's the Red Sea.
It's another thing delivering me from all that was against me, all the power that held me in captive and *******. It's another thing to see the work of Christ bringing me into my proper blessings.
And our proper blessings are not in the wilderness.
But in.
Canaan, a type not of heaven.
Because in heaven there is no conflict.
When we get to heaven, we'll be in perfect rest.
True, as we were singing, Heaven is our home and the heavenlies is a picture of that, but there's conflict. As soon as they entered Canaan, there was another enemy that was confronting them and they had to deal with those enemies. They had to conquer.
The land of their possessions, it was all given to them of God. It was theirs.
But they had to defeat the enemy in order to appropriate it for themselves. Every place that the soul of their foot was placed upon, that was theirs. They had to make it their own. And so it is with us. All these precious truths are ours in Christ. We are a heavenly people. We belong to heaven.
Heaven is our home, but the enemy is there to withstand us.
And so if you go through the Epistle to the Ephesians, after all of the blessings have been unfolded in the 1St.
5 1/2 Chapters.
He says wherefore.
Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
Take unto you the whole armour of God, that you may be able to stand against the Wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness. In heavenly places. It says in high places it should read in heavenly places.
In Christ.
Our warfare is against.
An enemy. Let's turn over to the Epistle to the Ephesians.
And trace.
Because this is what answers.
To what we have.
In Joshua.
We have.
Another figure. We've read it.
While the waters were.
Building up.
And the children of Israel were passing through. 12 Stones were placed in the River Jordan, the bed of the river, and then 12 Stones were taken from that riverbed and carried into the land.
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And they were ultimately placed at Gilgal.
Gilgal was the place where they were circumcised, where the cut off.
The most?
Illogical maneuver.
From a military standpoint was for them to cross the Jordan and then circumcise the males rendering them.
Thoroughly vulnerable to any attack.
Before they.
Met the enemy.
This is God's way. It is not man's way. If we are going to meet the enemy, it cannot be in the power of the flesh.
The flesh must be cut off.
And Paul says to the Philippians in chapter 3, we are the circumcision who worship by the Spirit of God and rejoice in Christ Jesus and have no confidence in the flesh.
We are those.
Of whom it is said that in the circumcision of Christ we too have been circumcised with a circumcision made without hands in the putting off the body of the flesh. In the circumcision of Christ, when He was cut off on the cross, He stood there not only was He charged with all our sins, but He became responsible for the sinful condition in which we.
Are found as children of Adam, and in his cutting off the flesh was dealt with and judged. God condemned sin in the flesh according to Romans 8.
The nature that we have which is at enmity with God.
Which cannot please God.
Which is.
Set against God.
Is condemned at the Cross all that we were in the first man.
It's done with.
And now if we're going to enter into the heavenly conflict.
That is spoken of at the end of Ephesians.
We have to understand.
What a Christian is.
A Christian is not just a righteous man, not just a redeemed man.
Not just a saved man.
But he's a heavenly man.
He is 1 whose interests? Whose associations of life.
Are heavenly.
He is 1 whose citizenship is heavenly. The death and resurrection of Christ has brought us into our proper portion in the risen Christ. We are dead with Him. The 12 Stones placed into the Jordan River speak of our death with Christ.
So fully identified with him in death, that the waters of judgment.
After the priests left the bed of the river and came up into Canaan, rolled over those 12 Stones, and we can see that's where we were left. We were left the old man. All that we were in the flesh and in Adam is left under the judgment of God.
Beautiful, these types in the word of God. And then there were 12 Stones taken out of the bed of the river, and they were placed in the land and then later removed to Gilgal. And Gilgal was the place where circumcision was carried out. Not only was Gilgal the place where circumcision was carried out, where the reproach of Egypt was rolled away.
Because.
The connection that we have with the world is in the flesh.
And when the flesh was cut off and put under the knife under the judgment.
Of God at the cross. Our connection with this old world system was severed.
And now as risen with Christ.
Those 12 Stones that were taken and placed in the land, we are now risen with Christ heavenly.
Persons.
As is the heavenly, Paul says. Such are they also that are heavenly.
And as we have borne the image of the.
Earthly. Even so, we shall bear the image of the heavenly that's still future.
Even as to these bodies, we're going to be like that heavenly man.
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We are like him now, in position, dead and risen with him.
But how few Christians there are that understand the truth of the Jordan?
It is not that we have to cross the Jordan, but in Christ God has.
Brought us across the Jordan.
We are.
In Christ, risen from the dead, we too have died.
Not now the thought of died to sin the old master, because in crossing the Jordan there was no enemy to be delivered from, but there was a possession to be entered into the heavenlies Canaan, a type of the heavenly. Some have thought, well the Jordan river is just a picture of death, and when we die we enter heaven.
There's a sense in which that may be a.
Partial application, but it's not what you get.
In the fullness of it, because there was, there was warfare, there was the enemy to be conquered, Israel had to.
Conquer their enemies in order to take possession in actuality of the land that God had given them.
God gave it to them in purpose, but they had to take possession of it. And so we are heavenly people positionally, but in order to enter into it.
We have to engage in that conflict with spiritual wickedness in the heavenlies.
In Ephesians one verse 3, the apostle.
Says, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places.
In Christ, in Christ where He is, our blessings are not material. They are not earthly as Israel's were.
Our blessings.
Are spiritual and heavenly.
If you read the 28th chapter of Deuteronomy, you'll find out that an obedient an obedient Israelite was promised blessings in the field.
Blessings in the fruit of the womb, Blessings in health, Blessings in one's job.
That is, all the blessings that were held out to the Israelites were earthly.
And they were material blessings.
But our blessings are not earthly and they're not material. They are spiritual and they are heavenly.
Blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies. It must be so. Notice he addresses him as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is to us as the God of our Lord Jesus Christ. What he was to him, that blessed man as he walked through the scene, the 22nd Psalm, he says, thou art my God, even from my mother's belly.
Wonderful.
The Jew could boast that the God that they knew was the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob.
The Christian can boast that the God that he knows was the God and Father.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ.
We know Him as the God of the Lord Jesus Christ. We know him as the Father of the Lord Jesus Christ. The blessings that flow to him in those relationships must be the very fullest. And so they are who have blessed us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ.
Someone would say that's mysticism. No, it's not mysticism. Mysticism occupies us with our feelings about Christ. Mysticism occupies us with our subjective state. The truth of Christianity occupies us with a heavenly object, Christ never with ourselves, but with the man in the glory.
And with our blessings, which are there where He is.
The end of chapter 1 is the second mention of heavenly blessings, and he prays that verse 17, the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, The Fountainhead of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. Notice the prayer in Ephesians 1 is addressed to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ.
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The prayer in Ephesians 3, verse 14 is addressed to the Father.
Of our Lord Jesus Christ, that twofold relationship. And so the epistles begin. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. I do not see, I do not think you will ever find the God addressed in the epistles as Heavenly Father. That was, you might say.
That was a title that the Lord gave.
When he was instructing the Jewish disciples on earth to pray our Father, which art in heaven, that was something beyond.
What they were used to in Judaism. But now we have something beyond that even, and that is we know him.
As the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
You remember as the risen man, he appeared to marry Magdalene.
And he said to her, Go to my brethren, the fruit of an accomplished redemption. He puts us in his place.
Before God and tell them, he says to Mary, don't touch me, Mary.
I have not yet ascended to my Father in heaven. You can't have me.
Until I have ascended to the glory. Christianity begins on the other side of the cloud. Christianity begins after He had ascended to the Father, after there was a man in the glory, and seated the right hand of God. From that place He sent down the Holy Spirit to unite us to Him, and from that place we come to know Him.
In that relationship, so he says, Touch me not Mary, I have not yet ascended to my father, but go to my brethren and tell them, I ascend unto my Father. To your Father he puts us in his place before the Father. To my God. To your God puts us in his place before God.
Nothing more precious, nothing higher, nothing more blessed than that.
And so the blessing that flows to us is from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. No wonder, it says, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. And now in this prayer at the end of the chapter, addressed to the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.
He prays that He may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling.
And what is the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints?
Hope of his calling to be there with and like Christ.
A bride for the Son, associated with him for all eternity. The hope of his calling. He's called us to eternal glory.
In association with that glorified man, and then the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the Saints, our inheritance is in heaven. How many times Saints of God have wrangled among themselves over an earthly inheritance?
Oh, that we might say, as Mephibosheth did when David returned after he had fled when Absalom.
Usurp the.
Of the throne.
And Absalom was dead, and King David came back.
And David said to Mephibosheth, I have said, he said, why didn't you go with Mephibosheth? Well.
Zaiba, his servant, had deceived him.
And he said that David says I have said Thou and Sibah divide the inheritance, and Amphibious says let him take all, let him take all, because my king has come in peace. All he wanted was David and the Christian.
Has a heavenly inheritance we have.
And he's praying that we might have our eyes enlightened the understanding.
That we might know what is the hope of His calling and what is the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the Saints. The Saints aren't His inheritance, but the Saints are going to inherit it with Him. Once we join Him at the rapture, we'll never be separated from Him again. We'll always be associated with Him and all that He does in His reign, in His taking the inheritance, all that He is won by virtue of His perfectness down here as a man.
And then the last thing he prays. And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to usward, who believe according to the working of his mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead? This is not the power put forth to create the universe. This is the power put forth to take a man and set him in his own right hand in heaven, and to associate us with him there in that heavenly position. This is what he's praying for.
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That you might know.
What is the exceeding greatness of his power towards us, who believe according to His mighty power which he wrought in Christ, when He raised him from the dead, and set him in his own right hand?
In the heavenly places.
So our blessings are in the heavenlies. They must be there because that's where he is.
He is the head of the body.
And he's in the heavenlies. God has set him there. And what he's praying for is that the Saints might be.
Imbued with this sense of their heavenly portion.
The hope of Our Calling, the riches of the glory of our inheritance in the Saints, of his inheritance in the Saints, and the greatness, the exceeding greatness of the power that set that man in the glory and that has associated us with him in that heavenly scene.
So he's in the heavenlies and our blessings are in the heavenlies now in chapter 2.
To verse 4.
But God, who is rich in mercy, Notice it starts out in verse one. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins. We were dead. As Christ lay in death, God raised and exalted him.
To his own right hand in heaven, He has done the same for us. We were once dead in sins.
And then it says, verse 5, Even when we were dead in sins, God hath quickened us together with Christ.
Quickened us with Christ, union with.
Christ himself.
And hath raised us up together.
And made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So our position.
Not only are our blessings in the heavenlies, not only are our blessings all spiritual and in the heavenlies, but Christ is there and we are seen there in him.
In him.
Risen and exalted.
To the right hand of God.
Made us to sit together.
In heavenly places.
In Christ Jesus.
The River Jordan.
That.
Going that's being identified with him in his death and resurrection. We have died with him and we are risen with him. We are in the land. We don't have to.
Do anything to get into the land. We're there positionally in Christ.
Now we have to appropriate it to ourselves, and the measure in which we are earthly minded is the measure in which the enemy succeeds in his heavenly warfare with us to rob us of our heavenly blessings.
The measure in which?
We are earthly minded.
Is the measure in which the enemy robs us of our heavenly portion.
In the 3rd chapter we have the 4th mention.
There he unfolds.
The truth of the Mystery, Christ and the Assembly.
Christ and the Church.
He says in verse 3, Have it by revelation. He made known unto me the mystery.
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 in the Spirit.
And then he mentions the three.
Cardinal truths of the Mystery, verse 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, joint heirs with the Jew.
You never get that in the Old Testament. Never.
And of the same body, a joint body with the Jew. 1 Newman.
He's reconciled us both unto God in one body by the cross brought into this new thing, Christ in the assembly. It's the Gentiles that are brought into it.
That was given to Paul especially to reveal the truth of the mystery.
And then joint partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel, all the promises that God made in the Old Testament, we were outside of it all. He says that in verse 12 That at that time you were chapter 212, that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the Commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise. The Gentile had no claim upon those promises.
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No, no, he he wasn't in covenant relationship with God at all.
He was outside it all, having no hope and without God in the world. That was the Gentile. That's where we were. But now in Christ Jesus, we who were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. That's the grand foundation for God to accomplish His eternal counsels and blessings to bring us into our heavenly blessing.
We were discussing and I enjoyed it so much.
When God brought Eve to Adam.
The King James says. And when Adam saw Eve, he had given names to all the animals, and he found none that was his.
Like his helper.
One that met his heart and it says in the King James when.
Adams, this is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh.
My brother was just sharing this with me and I enjoyed it so much.
Another way of putting that is, Adam said. Finally, someone that satisfies me.
Someone that is meeting all my needs finally.
And that's the thought when Adam saw Eve.
Someone I can share this dominion with?
Someone that I can?
Share it all with.
Not to have to be the Lord of this earthly creation alone.
God gave him Eve, and so God has given Christ the assembly, the Church, someone with whom he will share for all eternity.
The.
All that he is 1.
All that he is 1.
He won't have it alone.
When he enters into the inheritance, it will be in the persons of the Saints, that is, we will be the ones that take possession of it with him.
What a wonderful portion.
Is ours? Well, he goes into this mystery, He says in verse 7, whereof I was made a minister.
According to the gift of the grace of God-given unto me by the effectual working of his power unto me, whom less than the least of All Saints is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles.
The unsearchable riches of Christ preach among the Gentiles. It was given to Paul to be the apostle to the Gentiles.
The unsearchable riches of Christ and then to make all men see what is the.
Fellowship or administration 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.
Under the principalities and powers, where in the heavenly places might be made known by the assembly, by the Church, the manifold wisdom of God.
All the wisdom of God is contained in the mystery Christ in the church.
Christ in the Church.
And the angelic host, the principalities and powers, and the heavenlies are learning.
Through the assembly, the manifold wisdom of God that He could pick up the likes of us.
Lost, guilty, worthless, sinners of the gentiles, and bring us into.
This heavenly company blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ.
In that exalted, glorified man.
Adam now has his Eve. Christ now has the assembly to share it all with.
That's your portion and mine, and as the principalities and powers and the heavenlies.
Behold this manifold wisdom of God, they learn.
They learn God's.
Thoughts.
They are not part of it.
They're not part of this bride.
You and I are.
They're just servants.
We're sons, daughters, children and members.
Part of the bride.
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Nothing higher, nothing more blessed.
It's according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord.
There's the fourth time we hear of the heavenly places, and So I Believe then in the fifth time is in chapter 6.
After he talks about the armor, I've already quoted it but I'll read it. Verse 12.
For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places or in the heavenly places. Same word.
The enemy is in the heavenly places to withstand our progress.
We think that all the Christian has to do in order to.
To be successful in his Christian warfare is not to fall into some gross, immoral sin.
Well, certainly that includes that.
But Satan was satisfied with far less.
And and the extent that he has succeeded to is is seen by how earthly minded.
Christians generally are.
Satan has succeeded to.
Project.
The false.
Concept that the Church is an earthly religion.
Set here to.
Correct the ills of this world. Correct the ills of society.
Get involved in politics, get involved in the world's wars, get involved in.
Social reform and all the things that are wrong down here.
A good example of how wrong that is.
You can just imagine how some modern.
Christian leaders today would take up the cause of abolishing slavery if they lived in the days of the Apostle Paul. That was a terrible evil.
Take a human being and make a slave out of him.
What does the apostle Paul give us in Philip? In Ephesians? Well, we have it right here in chapter 6.
In chapter 6 he says to the servants. Verse 5 he says slaves. That's the word.
Be obedient to them that are your masters, according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart as unto Christ's.
Not with eye service as men pleasers, but as the servants of Christ doing the will of God from the heart.
With goodwill, doing service as to the Lord and not to men, you see one who is a slave.
Is a slave of Christ.
Paul was in prison, but he was.
The prisoner of Jesus Christ.
He wasn't the prisoner of Rome.
And the slave could consider himself the slave of Christ and all that I'm doing my service, I'm bringing Christian principles into the position that I am in, no matter how unsavory it may be, whether in prison or as a slave, but to bring Christian principles into that position where one may be.
He does say in First Corinthians 7 that if one is in the is a slave and he can be made free, he is entitled to use that privilege because it was a very undesirable thing to be a slave.
He does allow that, but he gives instructions not to abolish slavery, not to launch a campaign to to get the citizens of the land to get rid of slavery, but instead he gives Christian instruction how to live as a heavenly man.
In that situation, and he also gives directions to the masters in verse 9. Ye masters do the same things unto them, forbearing, threatening.
Knowing that your Master also is in heaven, neither is their respective persons with him. And so the word to the Master is, Treat them all fairly.
Don't abuse your position.
Christian masters now, but he doesn't seek to abolish slavery.
Christianity leaves the world right where it finds it and brings Christian principles in.
Why? Because the Christian is heavenly.
Now when we come back with the Lord Jesus, and we'll come back with him when he returns to set up his Kingdom.
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Will have part with him when he sets this world right.
But that's still future.
This isn't the time for that.
The Corinthians were reigning as kings.
While the apostles were being treated as the filth and the offscouring of the world, the refuse of all, until now.
Paul has to.
Show the great contrast from the way they were going on.
And the way.
Those true to the Lord Jesus were being treated.
Paul says to.
Young man Timothy says all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
That doesn't apply to all Christians. It only applies to those who live godly.
Those who are going on according to their heavenly calling.
Why is the truth of the Rapture being given up more and more today in Christendom?
Because how can they hold it if they don't believe in the heavenly character?
Nature, destiny and calling of the assembly. How can they hold to a heavenly hope?
And a heavenly rapture, a pre tribulation. How can they hold to that?
It's more consistent with their view of what Christianity is to say that the Christian will go through the tribulation because to them the Christians an earthly man.
And he's just part of an earthly religion. So naturally we should go through the tribulation if that were true. But we're not earthly. We're heavenly, and we belong to heaven. And I say again, why is that so hard for Christians to understand and enter into that They are across the Jordan that in the death and resurrection of Christ they are now risen.
And have completely new associations of life.
In heavenly places in Christ.
And we're going to share.
In that time too, when he sets things right.
And he's the only one that will be able to do it. When he returns, He'll set things right. When the Lord was here on earth, one came to him and said.
Make my brother divide the inheritance with me and he said man who made me a ruler and a divider over you.
And then immediately he gave them.
A lesson in covetousness.
A man's life consisteth not in the things which he possesseth. But isn't it sad to see some of the strife's and the turmoil and the difficulties among Christians, among heavenly people, over earthly things?
Over earthly things, Mephibosheth said. Let him take all.
I've got David.
And we have Christ.
Let him take off.
If we knew, if we entered into our heavenly calling.
The character of the conflict of Israel in the wilderness is entirely different than the character of the conflict of Israel in the land of Canaan.
In the wilderness they had to meet Amalek, Satan energizing the flesh.
That's a different conflict than the heavenly conflict mentioned in the Epistle to the Ephesians.
And why so few understand the warfare that's spoken of at the end of the Epistle to the Ephesians is because they don't understand their heavenly calling.
The power.
For living a holy life.
Is entering into our heavenly calling.
And that we are a separated people.
The heavenly man that was down here.
The heavenly stranger on earth.
His interests all were on high with the father.
And so ours are all on high. Why has he left us here? He's left us here to represent him. Who is there?
Because our portion is there, too, to show to the world that all its overtures to us have no attraction. Because we've found a truer game. We have a heavenly portion.
Heavenly inheritance.
Nay, world.
I turn away, though thou seem fair and good.
That friendly outstretched hand of thine is stained with Jesus blood.
And so we can turn away from all the world's offers to us. We've been delivered from it.
By the death and resurrection of Christ, I just want to say this here you have the Red Sea, Egypt, children of Israel crossing the Red Sea, the wilderness, and then the Jordan entering into Canaan.
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All that comes in here, the wilderness, are the ways of God.
The purposes of God are if you take the Red Sea and the Jordan.
You put the wilderness side of the Red Sea and the wilderness side of the Jordan together. You'll see the children of Israel going into the Red Sea and coming out the Jordan into Canaan. That's the councils of God. That's God's thoughts. He's left us here that we might learn things. But the purposes of God are to deliver us from this world and to bring us to heaven.
Why hasn't he done that yet? Because his ways are learned.
In the wilderness, and if you'll check it out, you'll see that in Exodus 14.
The children of Israel are seen entering into the Red Sea. They're not seen coming out, and they're not seen entering into the Jordan, but they're seen coming out. And so in the purpose of God, they go into the Red Sea and they come out the Jordan into Canaan, the promised land where their blessings were.
That's God's eternal purpose for us, to deliver us from this present evil world.
And to set us in heavenly places in Christ.
Time has run out, there's much more to go over, but we'll just leave it there. And that God the Holy Spirit.
Enlarge your thoughts as you meditate upon these things. We were speaking yesterday. We had a lovely fellowship. After the fellowship meeting here, we went to Brother Phil's home and a number of us were together and we were considering many things was most refreshing. I woke up at 3:30 this morning and these things were just going over in my mind.
And I couldn't get back to sleep.
So I went to his library and pulled out the synopsis and read some precious things which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Well, wonderful.
To meditate on these things and to be in the enjoyment.
Of that which is really ours. Our heavenly blessings in Christ where He is.
In the glory.
He's coming for us to take us.
There to take us our portion Is there the Father's house to take us there.
Not to come back to where we are to set up the Kingdom. He will do that. But first He wants us with him so that when he comes back.
We'll come back with him to share in that in that coming day.
His heavenly bride.
Let's close by singing 212.
Called from above and heavenly men by birth, who once were but the citizens of earth as pilgrims here.
We seek a heavenly home, our portion in the ages yet to come, 212.
Gideon Pt 1
Gideon Pt 2
The Spirit Of God
Address—C. Hendricks
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Look at a number of scriptures this afternoon. We'll begin with John Chapter 7.
John Chapter 7, As the Lord enables, I'd like to trace.
And through the New Testament.
The Spirit of God.
Wonderful subject, an immense subject, far too vast to cover in one little meeting.
But we'll see how.
The Lord enables John 737 In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink he that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said.
Out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this spake he of the spirit which they that believe on him should receive.
The Holy Ghost.
Because that Jesus was not yet glorified, I think it's important to remark that the Spirit of God was not down here.
In the in the way that the Lord refers to in this passage could not be until he was a man in the glory. Till he was a man in the glory, the Spirit of God was not yet given.
Because that Jesus was not yet glorified. The grand truth of Christianity is the presence of the Spirit of God down here in this world, to inhabit the house, to dwell within the individual believer, and to unite us to a glorified man, a heavenly man.
One who is not here. One who is out of this scene.
And who is in the glory now? John 14.
John 14.
Verse 15.
If you love me, keep my commandments.
The proof of love is obedience. If ye love me, keep my commandments. What are His commandments? We heard yesterday about the will of God. His commandments are the expression of that will.
And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter, that He may abide with you forever. The Lord was about to depart this scene and return to the Father. He was going to leave them. He would not remain with them. So now he speaks of another comforter. He had been their comforter when He was here on earth. He had provided for all their needs. And now he was about to leave and return to the Father. And He says that he may abide with.
Forever wonderful, tremendous truth. First time they'd ever heard this. This ministry given in John 13 through 16 is ministry that had never been unfolded before. He waited to give it until he was about to depart, until he was going to return, leave this world and return to the Father. And then he gave what they needed.
In His absence, in His absence, and here He brings before us. We've had in the feet washing chapter of John 13 very wondrous truths, and now He brings before us. In his absence. He would not leave them comfortless, but He would send the Spirit, and He would abide with them forever, never to leave us. The Spirit of God will be with us forever. When we're in the glory, He'll be there.
Us as the power of communion and worship.
He will abide with us forever, even the spirit of truth.
Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him. The world does not receive the spirit of truth, it does not have the truth. It is a very poor place to go to get truth, because it has rejected Him who is the truth, the Lord Jesus Himself.
Earlier in this chapter he says in verse 6, I am the way, the truth and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me. And so he was the truth. Objectively, the Spirit is the truth. Subjectively. He dwells within us. He makes good in my soul what is true of Christ outside of me. All our blessings are in Christ, and the Spirit of God has been given.
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To bring us into the enjoyment of Christ where He now is in the glory.
The great fault of Christians nowadays is trying to make of Christianity and earthly religion.
Don't do that. Don't allow your mind to settle down with thoughts of Earth.
If you make an object.
An earthly object. You will never be delivered from this scene and all its attractions, but God has given us a heavenly object, Christ in glory. This is not theoretical truth that I'm speaking, it's the most practical and soul transforming truth that we have in the Word of God.
How do we get delivered from all the evils we've been talk we've been speaking about? Do we address the problems that are amongst us?
The proper way, as I understand the word of God to address these problems.
And to deliver us from the evils which beset us because of the flesh and because of the world, and because of the devil, our tripartite enemies, as it were.
The way to get deliverance from that is by occupation with an object.
That is in heaven.
If you then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. Set your affection, your heart, your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. Oh teacheth soul the power to know of risen life with thee.
We belong to another world.
Death has closed our history in this world and the resurrection has introduced us into another world and we have part in that world where he has gone. The Spirit of God has been sent down here to bring us into the enjoyment of that world.
To bring us into the enjoyment of heavenly things, and of the man that Yonder lovely man in glory.
You get a glimpse of Him. You get your soul filled with Christ in glory.
The tinsel of this world will no longer have any appeal to you.
That's what we need, beloved, is occupation with a heavenly.
Object.
And this comforter who has been given to us will abide with us forever, even the spirit of truth. Verse 17.
Whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you.
And shall be in you. When the Lord was here on earth, he did not dwell in the disciples, He was in their midst. But here is here is 1. And this coming into the world of the Holy Ghost is as marvelous an event as the coming into the world of the Son of God.
A divine person has come from heaven to take up his dwelling.
In our bodies and in the assembly, viewed collectively as the House of God.
Tremendous truths.
We don't have that aspect of things in John's epistle, but as was remarked yesterday, the ministry the Lord gives in John 13 through 16 prepares us for the truths to be developed in their fullness in the epistles.
The mystery.
The mystery God's hidden secret thoughts never revealed before.
We are the only people that have ever lived on earth that those Saints of the present church period.
That have been brought into that secret, that wonderful mystery.
Christ in his church.
As I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.
And then in verse 19, I believe that's true. Now by the Spirit I will come to you. Verse 19. Yet a little while in the world seeth me no more, but you see me. Where do we see Him? Not on earth any longer. He was here, but now he's gone. We see Jesus crowned with glory and honor.
Who, by the grace of God, tasted death for everyone?
Where do we see Him? In the glory on high, a heavenly object for our souls.
A transforming object for our souls.
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It is a never failing principle of God that if we are occupied with Christ in glory, we will not.
Fall into sin on Earth.
We will be sanctified.
While I am on the point, I will quote the verse John 17. The Lord says let's just read it in John 17.
Verse 17 He says, Sanctify them through thy truth. Thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, Even so have I sent them into the world, and for their sakes I sanctify myself.
That they also may be sanctified through the truth.
He sets himself apart on high.
To be the object of his people's affections while they're passing through this wilderness, because the world has become a wilderness to us.
This world is a wilderness wide. We have nothing to seek nor to choose. We have no thought in the waste to abide. We've not to regret nor to lose. We're on the way to the glory where our object is, where the one who has run the race ahead ahead of us is our forerunner. He's there at the right hand of God in the glory.
And as we're occupied with that heavenly object, he sets himself apart on high to be the object of his people in glory, that we might be sanctified, that we might be practically separated from the evils of this world.
And from all its attractions and the only thing that is going to.
Effectively separate.
From the ills in this world is occupation with that glorified Christ in heaven.
And that's why the Spirit of God has been given to us. One of his primary functions is to occupy us not with earthly things, but with heavenly things, with that Yonder lovely man in the glory. And as we're occupied with him there, the old corn of the land, as we feed upon him there.
We can also look back and feed upon him as the manna.
As he was when he was down here, realizing that He is no longer here, but he's in the glory and the Spirit of God is the link.
Between our souls and that man and the glory.
Marvelous, tremendous, wonderful truth. Verse 19. Yet a little while in the world seeth me no more.
But you see me because I live. You shall live also, he said earlier in this gospel. I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it abundantly.
Abundant life is life in the power of the Holy Spirit that links us with a glorified Christ.
He lives now in the power of an endless life.
The risen life of Christ has been communicated to us. You get that in John 20. Turn to it while we're on that point. John 20.
Verse 21 Then said Jesus to them again.
Peace be unto you here He is the risen Christ. Appearing to his disciples. He proclaims peace to them in verse 19.
And now he shows them his hands and his side, And the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.
And now he proclaims peace to them a second time, And he says, as my father had sent me, Even so send I you. So he sends us out now to be the the bearers of this wonderful peace which he has brought us into. Not only has he brought us into it, but now we are to bring it to others.
And when he had said this, verse 22, he breathed down them, or into them, and saith unto them, Receive the Holy Ghost.
So here, now we have the power of the Spirit.
Characterizing the risen life of Christ, which has been breathed into them by the life giving Spirit, the risen Christ himself.
Adam was made a living soul, Christ a life giving a quickening spirit, and he breathes into them as Jehovah God did to that.
To the clay, the earth that He had formed into a man, and He became a living soul. Now He breathes into His disciples the breath of His resurrection life. Receive you the Holy Spirit. Now John 7 told us that the Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. So this is not the coming of the Holy Ghost as a person yet.
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But as a characterizing power of the new risen life that we have in Christ.
He came as a person to indwell us in Acts chapter 2, and we'll look at that just in a moment, but turn back before we do to John 16.
In John 16 verse five, he says, and now I go my way to him that sent me. That's the Father.
And none of you asketh me, whither goest thou? But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart. They were saddened, they were very saddened because the Lord said, I'm leaving.
I'm going to leave you. They did not like that idea. They did not like that thought. They wanted him to stay with them and it was absolutely necessary that he depart.
Says, Because I've said these things unto you, sorrow have filled your heart.
He had provided for their every need. They did not want him to leave.
He says, nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is expedient.
For you that I go away.
Absolutely necessary that I depart the new order of things.
That we call Christianity, could not be introduced until he had departed and returned to the Father, until he was glorified, till there was a man in heaven.
In Glory.
Then he says, It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the comforter will not depart unto you, will not come unto you. Excuse me, but if I depart I will send him.
Unto you.
Absolutely necessary, he tells them that I leave.
That I go back to the Father.
And then I'm going to send the Holy Spirit.
And when he has come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
The new translation reads that when he has come, he will bring demonstration to the world of sin.
And of righteousness and of judgment. Three things. The presence in this world of the Holy Spirit from an ascended glorified Christ demonstrates 3 facts.
3 facts. The first fact is sin, because he says of sin.
Because they believe not on me.
The presence in this world of the Spirit of God is the demonstration of the fact that the world has rejected Christ.
The sin of the world is stamped upon it it has rejected.
The Lord Jesus Christ, that is its sin of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more.
The world's sin was to reject him. The righteousness of God has exalted him to the very highest place in heaven, far above all principality and power, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but in that which is to come. Put everything under his feet.
Righteousness of God has exalted him, because I go.
To my father, you see me no more.
Of judgment, because the Prince of this world is judged young people.
We're going through a judged world.
A world which has had the sentence of judgment pronounced upon it.
John 12 gives us that Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the Prince of this world be cast out.
And here we find that the Prince has been judged. He met his judgment at the cross.
And the presence in the world of the Spirit of God demonstrates these 3 facts.
The sin of the world in rejecting Christ. They don't believe in me.
The righteousness of God and exalting him to the highest place in heaven.
And judgment, because the Prince of this world is judged.
This world is under judgment.
We're not here to improve it. We're not here to mend it. We're not here to correct its ills. We're here to pass through it as a heavenly people united to a heavenly man in the power of the Holy Spirit. That's Christianity. We're here to manifest his character, his life, his ways, his pathway.
A little while that he's gone and that little while, a little while, a little while it's repeated over and over again in John 16 has gone, has lasted nearly 2000 years now.
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This little while.
And then he's going to come and he's going to complete the story. Church will be completed. All the heavenly Saints will be gathered home to the heavenly barn on high.
Well, let us go on to Acts Chapter 1. Much to be covered.
Verse 4 Again, he is the risen Christ.
And being assembled together with them, he commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem.
But wait for the promise of the Father, which saith he ye have heard of me.
For John truly baptized with water, but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
Not many days hence.
When they were therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord.
Wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel? They ask this question after He had given all that in industry in John 131415 and 16, where He told them over and over and over again, I'm going to leave this world.
I'm going to return to the father.
And in my absence, I am going to send down that other comforter, Spirit of Truth.
He will abide with you forever. He'll dwell with you and be in you.
And he'll be the demonstration.
Of the.
Terrible sin of the world.
In rejecting him.
The righteousness of God and exalting Him.
In the judgment of the world's Prince.
And of all that is under his authority.
We're going through an enemy.
When they were therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord.
Wilt thou at this time restore again the Kingdom to Israel? They ask this question after He had given all that ministry in John 131415 and 16, where He told them over and over and over again, I'm going to leave this world.
I'm going to return to the father.
And in my absence, I am going to send down that other comforter, the Spirit of Truth.
He will abide with you forever. He will dwell with you and be in you.
And he'll be the demonstration.
Of the.
Terrible sin of the world.
In rejecting him.
The righteousness of God and exalting Him.
And the judgment of the world's Prince.
And of all that is under his authority.
For going through an enemy's land, don't forget it.
Don't make this your home. If you do that, if I do that.
I am not true to him.
I am saying that I can enjoy the scene where he's been turned out.
The scene which is under the judgment of God.
The scene where he is not.
And God says no, you can't.
Your heavenly people. And if you don't like heavenly truth, it's still true that you're a heavenly person.
You belong to a heavenly man.
And God is working in our lives to deliver us from our earthly mindedness.
Is not only from our gross sins.
He works to deliver us from all of those things.
But there's The Dirty side of the road and there's the clean side of the road, but it's all under the power of Satan.
God wants us to be in the enjoyment, not of anything that's here.
But of himself there.
So they wanted to know if he would restore again the Kingdom to Israel. They didn't understand. They didn't have the spirit yet.
He told them in John 14, that when the Spirit would come, He would bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever He had spoken to them. And in John 16 he tells them, I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when He the Spirit of truth, is come, He will lead you into all the truth.
And that we have unfolded to us in the epistles.
The wonderful truth of the assembly, the truth of the one body. We're looking at that a little yesterday.
And now he goes on to say, verse 8. But you shall receive power after that. The Holy Ghost is come upon you, and you shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem.
And in all Judea.
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And in Samaria.
And unto the uttermost part of the earth, that's the.
That's the progression of the message that was to.
Characterized Christianity. We are his witnesses. We are his witnesses. We are left here for that purpose, to be witnesses for Him.
We are not here to settle down in this world. We are not here to make a name for ourselves in this world which has cast him out. We are here to be his witnesses. We are here to remind this world over and over again you have rejected Christ.
And when the world, with its overtures, asks us to join us to join them in their plans for improvements.
Of this.
Judged, seen, we say no, we don't belong here.
We belong to another world.
And we belong to one whom you will not have.
And so we want to be true to him.
To be true to him.
Chapter 2 of Acts verse one.
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with 1 accord in one place, and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. Here we have the fulfillment of what the Lord had said, that not many days hence she shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost. The Spirit of God would come with power, and the first evidence of the Spirit of God coming is it filled the house where they were sitting.
I believe a picture of the assembly where the Spirit of God dwells and he fills the house.
And then what does it say? There appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. What's the significance of that? I believe the significance of that is that Christianity was not to be limited to 1 nation.
The Jews, Israel, one nation, but it was for all peoples and tongues and legends on the face of the earth.
And so the Spirit of God, the first manifestation of his presence here.
When he filled the house and then he filled the mall and they spoke with other tongues, was this new message, this new thing, this new order of things which would which was flowing from a glorified Christ would be for all peoples.
For the whole world, not limited to any.
Now at the end of the chapter.
Chapter 2 Verse.
32.
This Jesus Peter is speaking. He's explaining to them what had taken place.
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses, therefore being by the right hand of God exalted.
Now we have what the Lord told us in John 7. The Holy Ghost was not yet given because Jesus was not yet glorified. Now we have a man in the glory.
He is exalted.
Therefore, being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost when He was here on earth, the Spirit of God came down upon him at the river Jordan as a dove.
And the Father's voice was heard saying, This is my beloved Son, whom I am well pleased he was anointed the Holy Spirit.
At the Jordan he received the Spirit for himself, without blood, because of the perfection of his person. Now he receives the Spirit a second time because of the perfection of his work, and he sheds him forth upon all those who were under the value of that work down here in this world.
The 120 disciples and the baptism of the Holy Spirit in its initial stage takes place.
Because the baptism of the Holy Spirit embraces Jews and Gentiles.
I'll quote the verse. Time is running out. So many verses to look at.
1St Corinthians 12 by 1 Spirit were we all baptized?
Into one body, whether we be bond or free Jews or Gentiles, and have all been given to drink of 1 Spirit. So the baptism of the Holy Spirit embraces 2 groups of people, the Jews and the Gentiles.
The Jews in Acts 2, the Gentiles in Acts 10. We haven't come to that yet, but we'll get to it in a moment.
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In Leviticus 23, the feast of Pentecost says in verse 1 of chapter 2 of Acts, when the feast of Pentecost was fully come, there were two wave loaves representing the Jews and the Gentiles, the two companies that would make up that heavenly assembly united to Christ in glory.
It says in First Corinthians 12 in our King James Bible by 1 spirit are we all baptized into one body.
That should be were we all baptized? The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not taking place today. It's a completed thing.
It began on the day of Pentecost to bring in the Jews. That's the first wave loaf. It was completed on in Acts 10 when the Gentiles were brought in the second wave loaf, and then in Acts 11, Peter explains what had taken place. Let's just read it.
Let's just read it before we go back to Chapter 2, Acts 11.
Acts 11.
He's telling these Jews why he had gone into the Cornelius and eaten with the Gentiles, he says in verse 15 of Acts 11 as I began to speak.
The Holy Ghost fell on them, on these Gentiles, as on us Jews at the beginning.
Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water.
But she shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.
For as much then as God gave them the light gift, as He did unto us who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I that I could withstand God?
When they heard these things, they held their peace and glorified God, saying Then it got also to the Gentiles, granted repentance unto life.
Here we have now the Gentiles brought in the second part of the baptism of the Spirit, if you will, because it embraces both companies, Jews and Gentiles.
And now that they've been brought in, the baptism of the Holy Spirit is finished, Completed.
Not to. It's not going on today, as we hear so often in Christian circles. Have you been baptized with the Holy Ghost?
Baptism of the Holy Ghost brought the Jews into the one body and the Gentiles in and once that was accomplished, the baptism was finished and now we are brought when we receive the Lord Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God were sealed by the Spirit and brought into that baptized body.
And we are one with him. Marvelous.
Wonderful. True.
Acts 2 again.
Verse 33. Therefore, being by the right hand of God, exalted.
And having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost.
He had shed forth this which he now see in here. A man in the glory gets the Spirit of God a second time, if I can put it that way.
And by virtue of his perfect work of atonement, he sheds him forth.
To baptize, unite those individual believers into one body.
Best illustration I've ever read of the baptism of the Spirit.
Is a bowl with 120 beads in it.
And then there's a string and a needle and a thread, and someone takes those 120 beads and threads the string through them and makes it into a necklace. They're now united together into something new that never existed before. A necklace.
And that's a little picture of the baptism of the Spirit of God uniting us into one body.
Not just individuals any longer, but members of the body of Christ.
And of the living glorified head in heaven. Verse 36. Therefore let all the House of Israel know assuredly that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified both Lord and Christ. God has made him Lord in Christ.
Of righteousness, because I go to my Father. God has made him Lord in Christ. The righteousness of God has set him there in that place of glory, and the Spirit of God has been sent down from Yonder glory to earth to unite us to Himself on high.
A heavenly people.
Verse 38 Peter said unto them, repent and be baptized everyone of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Then in chapter 8 quickly.
Chapter 8.
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Samaria Verse 14 Now when the apostles, which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John, who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost.
While as yet he was fallen upon, none of them, only they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then lay their hands on them, and they received the Holy Ghost. So here you have the Samaritans brought in.
They were a mixture of Jews and Gentiles. And then in Acts 10.
Just quickly Acts 10 Peter now gives testimony verse 43.
To him Christ give all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins.
As soon as there's the testimony to the forgiveness of sins upon believing in him.
What happens while Peter yet spake these words? The Holy Ghost fell.
On all them which heard the word.
And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished.
These Jews were astonished that the Spirit of God came upon these Gentiles.
As many as came with Peter because that I'm the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Marvelous, and we've already read Peter's explanation of it.
There are so many other scriptures, I don't think we're going to have time to turn to them. I just want to refer to a few.
Well, let's turn to Romans 8 quickly.
Romans 8.
The New Testament.
Is just filled with references to the Spirit of God.
Because he is the power.
Of Christianity.
2 The law of the spirit of Life.
In Christ Jesus.
Hath made me free from the law of sin and death. Remember John 20, where the Lord is the risen Christ breathes into their nostrils the breath of his resurrection life, saying, Receive you the Holy Ghost.
Here he is as the power.
Of that new life.
The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
We have a power now to deliver us from the flesh.
Man in Romans 7 doesn't have the Spirit. He has divine life, but he's not sealed.
And he's in *******. He's under law.
The soul that has the spirit is not under law.
He set free. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.
And he's delivered from that power that held a man in Romans 7 in such ******* so that he could say, O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me?
Here you have a delivered soul now in the power of the risen life of Christ by the Spirit.
Notice verse 4, verse 5 for they that are after the flesh.
Do mind the things of the flesh.
But they that are after the Spirit, the things of the Spirit, there are two kinds of people in the world today, those who are after the flesh and those who are after the Spirit. And if you're saved, according to Romans 8, verse 5, you are after the Spirit.
What do you mind?
What does the one who is after the Spirit minds? He minds the things of the Spirit.
Not the things of the flesh.
Those that are after the flesh, mind the things of the flesh. I wanted to just bring this home before we close, especially for any young person here.
If you're contemplating.
Marriage.
With an unsafe person.
Remember this, they that are after the flesh, mind the things of the flesh. That's all they can mind.
They have no other nature.
Only the flesh.
But they that are after the Spirit, If you're the Lords, you mind the things of the Spirit. How can two walk together except they be agreed? And it's impossible for one who is after the flesh to be in agreement with one who's after the Spirit.
That's a moral, spiritual impossibility.
He makes it stronger in verse 6.
For to be carnally minded, or as my margin reads it, the mind of the flesh is death.
But the mind of the Spirit is life and peace.
Again.
The Christian has the mind of the Spirit and all that is life and peace.
But what is the mind of the flesh? Its death?
Young people, they'll say to you, come with us.
We are going to see life.
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We are going to.
Go out and enjoy ourselves in this world.
The mind of the flesh is death. They're not looking at life at all.
He that believeth on the Son hath life. He that believeth not, the Son shall not.
See life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. They're not looking at life.
They're looking at death, moral death, spiritual death.
Because this world has the stamp of death upon it everywhere.
And then we're we're passing through a defiling world. We've been looking at that in John 13, a world which is.
Defiled by the effects of sin, which is death, the wages of sin is death.
And the mind of the flesh is death.
How can you contemplate? How can you consider for one moment linking yourself up for all the rest of your earthly life?
With someone who has only the mind of the flesh, which is death, and it goes on and even makes it stronger in verse 7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God. Would you like to be married to someone whose mind is enmity against God?
But the mind of the Spirit, while verse 7 because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God, for it is not subject.
To the law of God, neither indeed can be.
Think of raising children under such circumstances.
It's hard enough for us when both are saved, husband and wife.
The difficulties of the way.
But here we have a situation where the one.
Is saved in the others lost.
The one who has the mind of the spirit, the other who has the mind of the flesh.
The mind of the flesh is death. It's not subject to the law of God. It cannot be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. How would you like to be married to someone that can't please God?
Whose very nature is at enmity with God.
Awful.
If you're involved in any kind of a thing like that, get out of it.
Cut it off. Stop it immediately.
Ninth verse.
But you're not in the flesh, but in the spirit.
If so, be the Spirit of God dwell in you. If you are a Christian, you have the Spirit of God dwelling within you.
How can you link up with someone, whether it be in business or in marriage or in any common pursuit?
Where you have to work together in fellowship, one with another, when they are nothing but the flesh.
And you have the Spirit of God.
Totally opposing powers.
And principles.
The Spirit of God is the one.
That occupies us and I want to close.
With one more verse and then I have to close because time is up. Second Corinthians 3.
Verse 18.
This is the same principle from Paul's writings.
That we have in John 17 where the Lord says He sanctifies himself on high.
That we might be sanctified by the truth, having a heavenly object, verse 18 but we all with open face.
Beholding is in a glass the glory of the Lord.
Are changed into the same image changed.
Transformed.
Metamorphosis is the Greek word. It's the word describing the process by which the the larva in the cocoon becomes that beautiful butterfly.
Unity And The Gifts
Reconciliation
Address—C. Hendricks
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Like to read a number of scriptures beginning in Ephesians 4?
Ephesians 4.
Verse 17.
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that she henceforth walk not his other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness to work all uncleanness.
With greediness.
Then we'll read 2nd Corinthians 5.
Beginning at verse 17.
Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new, and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation.
To it that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We pray you in Christ's stead be reconciled to God.
For he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.
That we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
Next we will read Colossians one verse 19. I'm going to change one word in the verse to make it.
More accurate.
Verse 19 For it pleased the Godhead, that in him should all the 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, and you that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now had He reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you wholly.
And unblameable and unreprovable in his sight.
And then we'll read a passage from Ephesians 2.
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 1 and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments containing ordinances. For to make in Himself of twain 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.
And then Romans 5.
Romans 5, verse 10.
For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the reconciliation that ought to read.
And lastly, Luke 15.
Verse 22 But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet, and bring, hit her the fatted calf, and kill it, and let us eat and be merry.
For this, my son was dead and is alive again.
He was lost and is found and they began to be married.
You've probably discerned in the reading of these scriptures that I'm going to talk on reconciliation.
I was thinking how the theme of the meeting this morning at the breaking of bread remembrance of the Lord was.
Very suitable.
For what the Lord laid upon my heart.
Reconciliation tremendous.
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New Testament doctrine.
You don't find it in the Old Testament. You find the word, but if you check it out, you'll find that the word translated reconciliation in the Old Testament is more properly rendered atonement.
The thought of reconciliation is appalling doctrine.
You don't find it in the other writings of the New Testament writers, and it's in the epistles that he wrote to the Gentiles.
Addressing Gentile believers.
Reconciliation. That class that was the farthest from God, has been brought the nearest.
The distance that.
Existed between US and God has been removed.
What is reconciliation? In order to get God's thoughts of it, don't reach for the dictionary because it will give you a definition which falls short.
Of what the word presents. You'll probably read something like to set things right, and that's true as far as it goes.
To set things right, two parties are at issue with each other and they get reconciled with one another. They have set things right between them, and the alienation, the distance, the enmity, the reserve, whatever it may have been, is removed and they are reconciled.
There are hymns that have been written of old. We don't sing them because they're not scriptural. Talking about God being reconciled, well, thank God, I can say this afternoon that God did not need to be reconciled to man. Man needed to be reconciled to God.
Man. Man's heart was turned away from God's, from God, not God's heart turned away from men.
God needed to be propitiated. He needed to have His holy nature vindicated as to the question of sin that took place at the cross, but man is the one who needed reconciliation.
Now, with that as an introduction, let's break up the subject into.
Why do we need to be reconciled? What is the need?
For reconciliation, well, the first verse we read in Ephesians 4 brings that before us probably the most.
Vividly of any verse in the New Testament.
In Ephesians 4 verse 18 describing the Gentiles that he's mentioned in verse 17.
That these Saints now that had been saved out of that state, out of that condition of being Gentiles, He says that you walk henceforth not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind, having the understanding darkened.
Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them.
Because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling, have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, unto lust.
To work all uncleanness with greediness.
Being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them.
There's a passage in First Corinthians 6 where the apostle outlines the number of evils and sins that the Saints at Corinth used to live in and after outlining them, he says, such were some of you, but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God, such were some of you. But when it comes to this question of alienation, this question of.
Conciliation and the need for it, we would have to say. Such were all of you. You were all everyone of you in this room, Every one of us.
Was alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that was in US. We were so far off that it is impossible for us to measure the distance until we look at the cross.
And there we see God himself.
Coming into this scene, becoming one of us.
And spanning that tremendous distance that existed because of this alienation from the life of God through the ignorance that is in US.
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We were dead in trespasses and sins. We sometimes sing an expression and I'm going to change it. It's just the opposite of what we sing. Farther we could not be.
Father, we could not be the expression is nearer. We could not be, for in the person of the sun we are as near as he and the only way to properly.
Estimate the distance that man is at with God.
Is to look at the cross.
For there we see what it cost him.
To bring to remove that alienation.
And to bring us into favor with himself.
So the need for reconciliation is that everyone of Adam's race, Jew and Gentile, bond and free, male and female, boy and girl.
Older one, younger one doesn't make any difference. Alienated from the life of God. Every single one of us in this room was in that category at one time.
Alienated from the life of God, So we were.
Away from God, we were in a life which is at enmity with God, a life of self will, independence.
And self pleasing and self love.
That was our life alienated from the life of God, not a movement Godward.
I was struck in hearing something.
Over the airwaves the other day and traveling.
How that man continues to cling to the false hope.
That he can solve his problems.
He is simply unwilling to face the indictment.
Which has been pronounced by God himself on the whole human race, and you get that in Romans 3.
The whole world is guilty before God.
Man is no longer under trial. He was under trial for 1500 years under the law.
And the cross ended that trial, and the judgment has now been pronounced. Man is guilty.
Every evil that's in this world, whether it be drugs, they talk about coping with it and addressing the issue and they never address the real issue.
They refused to face the truth that man is alienated from the life of God.
He's past feeling given himself over unto lasciviousness with greedy, unsatisfied lust.
Such as man's life, as far from the life of God as could possibly be. Not one thought, not one movement, not one desire.
In the heart of fallen man towards God.
Alienated enemies in your mind by wicked works.
Turn to 2nd Corinthians 5, where we come to the ministry of reconciliation. We've seen in that verse in Ephesians, and there are many more I could reproduce.
That of man's desperate need of reconciliation, of having things set right. I didn't give the full definition. According to the Word of God is to set things right according to God.
According to God.
Reconciliation to set things right according to God, so that everything is brought back into a state which is suitable to God Himself. That's reconciliation.
Being everything being set right according to God, being brought back into true and proper relationship with respect to himself, to be reconciled, and we're going to see the vastness of the subject.
But now let us look at verse 17 of 2nd Corinthians 5. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, we've seen the need of reconciliation, the need of a change of state. We're not talking so much when we're talking about reconciliation, of removing guilt that has to do with our sins, that has to do with what we have done. But here we're talking about state. We're talking about what we.
In the flesh what we are in Adam, and it is we are in a state which is alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in us because of the hardness of our hearts. That was our state, a state of alienation, a state of enmity against God such as man, whether he be the most.
00:15:23
Educated the most.
Refined and trained and learned or whether he be the bomb on Skid Row doesn't make any difference. He's his life is alienated from the life of God. So now we need a new creation and he says therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. There is a new creation. Old things are passed away. Behold all things are become new. Now that's absolutely essential in order to effect reconciliation.
The old has to be removed from before the eye of God, totally removed. Not only in at the cross are we privileged to see our sins removed. Wonderful truth, tremendous truth, to see that the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanseth us from every sin.
All sin, but to also see that that work that he did was to remove what we were in the flesh, what we were in the first man, what we were in that state of alienation, to remove it from before the eye of God and to bring in something which was suitable to God. So there's a new creation now. If any man be in Christ, there is a new creation. We are.
Creatures, we are a new creation. All things are passed away.
The old order of things gone forever. All things have become new in that new creation, and all things are of God.
Who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation?
This to me is just a tremendous thought, that He has taken the likes of me, and who was so far from Him could not farther be. I could not more wretched have been than I was in my sins and in my state in fallen Adam.
And neither could you have been farther. And he has reconciled us to himself by a person, by Jesus Christ, and then he's given to you and to me the ministry of reconciliation he has committed to us.
You might think, well, he would never commit that important message to the likes of us, we who were so far we who were such a failures and just groveling in sin. But no, he's he hasn't committed that ministry to angels. He hasn't committed that ministries to those that do his bidding and perfection those holy spirits.
Those angels who are spirits ministers do his will.
Now the holy angels, but he's committed that ministry of reconciliation to us. We who have come into the good of reconciliation, we have been brought near. We for whom all the distance and the enmity and the alienation and being outside of the life of God, we've been brought near into this new creation, partakers of this new life, Christ himself being our life that he.
Life that was with the Father and was manifested to us, now communicated to you and to me, and brought into this new creation of which Christ risen is the head, and He's committed to us the ministry of reconciliation, to wit, verse 19, that God was in Christ. When did this ministry of reconciliation begin?
It began with the person of the sun. Become a man down here in this world.
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them. The best illustration of that that I can think of is John chapter 8, where the Pharisees brought this sinful woman.
Into the presence of the Lord Jesus. And they posed a question to him, which they thought no matter how he answered it, they would have him. And he said this. They said this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses and the Law commanded us that such should be stoned, But what sayest thou?
Now if had he said let her go free, they would have accused him of violating the law. If he had said stone her, they would have accused him of having no mercy. He said neither. He stooped down, and with his finger he wrote on the ground, stooped down.
00:20:13
He came from heaven's glory.
Down into this world, stoop down to the very dust of death.
The very finger that had written the 10 commandments on those two tables of stone.
Wrote another message on the ground.
You can view it two ways. He who was the Lawgiver.
He who was the only one in that whole company, when the Lord Jesus said, he that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. He was the only one qualified to cast that stone. He was the only sinless one there.
And he stooped down.
He answered them.
How was he going to harden this woman?
Is it possible?
And the only way he could do it was to stoop down to the dust of death.
To become one of us in a part, and die that ignominious death on the cross. And so he says, as they are convicted, from the oldest to the youngest in their consciences, and they leave his presence and her presence. And he says to her, Hath no man condemned thee? And she said, No man, Lord, neither do I condemn thee.
Neither do I condemn thee. That word imparts to her the power.
To fulfill the next words, go and sin no more.
It is the sense of forgiveness. It is the sense of not being condemned. It's the sense of grace in our souls which imparts the power to live above sin. The law doesn't do it. The law requires it. The law demands it. But the Word of God says the strength of sin is the law. It doesn't give the power to carry out its demands.
What does the sense of grace, the sense that he who could have thrown the stone, he who could have condemned me?
Refused to do that.
God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.
He did not throw the stone. He could have, but he refused to.
Not imputing their trespasses unto them. And he has committed unto us the word of reconciliation you have committed to you. I have committed to me the most glorious message that has ever sounded out on human ears. It's the word of reconciliation God is beseeching. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ.
As though God did beseech by us.
Be, we pray you in Christ's dead. Be reconciled to God. That's the message. Be reconciled to God. God is beseeching man through whom? Through what? Messengers, through you and through me. God is beseeching we who have been reconciled, we who have been brought into the benefits of reconciliation, the distance having been removed, we who are now new creatures in Christ.
Old things passed away. All things become new.
We've been reconciling. He's committed to us the ministry of reconciliation, and we can go out and say God is beseeching you. Be reconciled to him. Be reconciled to him. I'm his ambassador. That's the message he's given me to proclaim to the world. He's given it to you.
The Ministry of Reconciliation.
Now, what is the basis for reconciliation?
There has to be a basis for it. God couldn't just.
Proclaim such a wondrous message to man who was alienated from him, who had not one movement towards God, not one thought towards God. God goes out to such and says be reconciled to God.
Come back.
My arms are open, I'll receive you. What's the basis for it? The next verse tells us verse 21. For he God hath made him Christ, to be sin for us who knew no sin.
That we might be made the righteousness of God in Him, the one who knew no sin, the one who came from heaven's glory without the taint of sin in his nature, the Holy One of God, the impeccable.
Christ.
The one whose humanity?
00:25:03
Was not innocent as Adams.
But holy.
Impossible for him to sin, impossible for him to desire anything contrary to the will of God. It was his very meat and drink to do the will of God.
My will.
My will, he said, is to do my meat.
Excuse me is to do the will of him that sent me.
And to finish his work, it's, it's what sustained him here.
Is very neat.
He could say, the Father hath not left me alone, for I do always those things that please Him.
He was the one who knew no sin, that one, the altogether righteous 1.
He became sin. He went into that darkness which enveloped Golgotha's cross, the three hours.
Before that darkness set in, he looked down upon his tormentors.
Well before he got on the cross, we see him in the struggle in the garden.
The father gives him that cup to drink.
And he has to say to Peter, the cup which my father hath given me, Shall I not drink it? Put up the sword into the sheath.
And then he has that struggle.
As a perfect man.
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will but thine be done.
As another has said, he couldn't find his meat in the wrath of God.
And as he looked into the cup that he would have to empty, to the very dregs, filled with the unmitigated wrath of a holy sin hating God, he cries out in the holy horror of his soul. Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me.
John 12. He says, Father, save me from this hour.
But for this cause came I unto this hour. And so in the garden he says, not my will.
But thine be done.
And again on the cross, he uses the term of relationship as he looks down upon those that had nailed him to that cross of ignominy and shame. And he says, Father, forgive them.
For they know not what they do.
And as he emerges from the darkness again, he uses the term of communion and relationship. Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit.
But during the three hours.
During the three hours.
It wasn't father.
It couldn't be.
We hear that cry piercing the thick darkness, telling what was transpiring during those awful hours.
When an eternity of suffering was condensed.
Into three hours.
Of.
Infinite.
Unknowable.
Suffering.
It was my God.
My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Not the term of intimacy and relationship and communion.
But the term he uses.
Tells us. Enables us to fathom just a little bit.
Of what was happening.
During those three hours when he was forsaken of God.
It was God in all that He is, as God in his holy nature, as the judge of sin.
He cries to him as man, my God.
My God, why hast thou forsaken me?
Alone he bare the cross, alone its grief sustained, His was the shame and loss, he the victory gate. Now none of you, nor I, nor any of us will ever know, will ever really fathom.
What transpired during those three hours?
When all that was in God against sin.
Was poured out upon the head.
Person of our substitute, when he who knew no sin.
Made sin for us.
That we might be made the righteousness of God in him, he went into the very thing that we were.
For we were nothing but a mass of sin, alienated from the life of God. You can never judge properly how far you were from God, how far I was from God.
Until we view the Savior on that cross, enveloped in those three hours.
Of unfathomable darkness, not one ray of light.
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Not one stream of comfort reaching him then.
Nothing to mitigate the sufferings.
As wave upon wave of divine wrath against sin rolled over his soul.
There we find that He answered not only to God for our sins.
But for the whole state that we were in as sinners.
Behold, the Lamb of God, John announced. That taketh away the sin of the world.
All that evil principle of sin that entered in through the disobedience of the first man.
The affront to God's holiness.
The insult that sin is to God.
To be dealt with.
Christ became.
Sin on the cross.
And now we have become.
What He was the righteousness of God. In him we who are nothing but sin, have now been made righteous. He, the altogether righteous, 1 was made sin.
That he might span the distance that reconciliation might be effective.
That the distance might be removed and that God could have a righteous basis now.
To communicate a new life and a new position and bring us into a new creation where all things are of God.
Marvelous, wondrous subject of reconciliation.
The basis was the cross, for he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
There are two of the offerings in Leviticus.
That say they are most holy. The one is the meat offering.
The other is the sin offering.
The need offering lest we fall into the error that so many today in Christian circles have fallen into.
It was without leaven.
Levin always a type of evil, the meat offering.
The holy humanity of Christ.
Showing that he was impeccable.
Showing that he couldn't sin. It's not enough to say he didn't sin.
But he could not sin because of who he was.
The holiness of his nature.
Is holy humanity.
It is most holy, it says. It also says that about the sin offering, lest we.
Fall into the air of saying that during those three hours of darkness on the cross.
He wasn't pleasing to God.
Never was he more pleasing to God than when he was burying the wrath of God.
But that pleasure could not then be expressed to him. But never was he more the delight of God the Father, than when his obedience rose to such heights as to accomplish the will of God in the face of divine wrath against sin.
So he could say in John 10, Therefore doth my father love me.
Because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. A fresh motive provided to the Father's heart. He was obedient even unto death. And that the death of the cross, the sweet savour of that burnt offering, ascending up to God.
The Savior of Christ's obedience, even when forsaken of God.
So it would, I believe it says of the sin offering it is most holy.
Had to be.
It was anything but holy. He could not have been the sin offering.
God hath made him.
That holy one.
Sin for us.
That we, the unholy, the unjust, might be made the righteousness of God in him.
And as we're.
Going to be seen in the glory.
They'll be able to point to us and say there they are, the display, the exhibition of God's righteousness in Christ.
Now let's look at the scope of reconciliation, the extent of reconciliation. We've looked at the need for alienated from the life of God.
We've looked at the Ministry of Reconciliation, which is committed to us, the reconciled ones.
We've looked at the basis of reconciliation, a place that Christ took on the cross when forsaken of God. Now let's look at the scope of reconciliation. Colossians 1.
Verse 20.
Having made peace.
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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.
Here reconciliation in its scope goes out to the whole universe.
Everything in heaven and everything in earth is going to be brought back into suitability to God Himself.
It's all based upon the cross. Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He laid the moral basis for that on the cross. He hasn't done it yet in power, but all it will take will be an active power to remove every trace of sin from His universe, whether it be a heavenly or an earthly sphere.
He made peace by the blood of his cross. I believe that that's the thought of peace. There is the work of Christ, God, word.
God would.
He has answered to God for every every aspect of sin.
Whether it be our individual sins or whether it be the nature and principle of sin.
Which motivates the natural man.
He's made peace.
By the blood of his cross, the blood Speaking of the death of Christ.
Speaking of the value of that death for the putting away of sin.
He's made peace.
Through the blood of his cross, so that now God can bring in the new order.
He's he's answered to God for the old order. He's removed it.
From before the eye of God.
In the judgment that has been executed against it.
Sins forgiven the old nature condemned. Romans 8 says he condemned sin in the flesh.
The thought of forgiveness for the old nature is foreign to Scripture, but it's condemned, not forgiven, and it's all been done at the cross.
Having made peace through the blood of His cross, by him, by Christ to reconcile, to bring back into suitability to God, to set everything right according to God, all things unto Himself.
By him I say, whether they be things in earth or things in heaven.
Today righteousness suffers. In the Millennium righteousness will reign, and in the eternal state righteousness will dwell. And then?
Everything will be brought into this reconciliation, every trace of sin.
From God's fair creation will be removed. I saw a new heaven and a new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness. No sin will ever be there in the Millennium. There'll still be some sin. Righteousness will reign, but there'll still be traces of sin here and there. But not so in the in the eternal state.
Then this reconciliation will be completed with respect to heavenly and earthly spheres.
Now verse 21 and you.
That were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, Yet now had he reconciled in the body of his flesh through death.
We've been reconciled. Now you will never be more reconciled to God if you're a believer.
Than you are right now.
We now have the reconciliation. The heavens and the earth await a future day when He'll put forth power to effect it. But the work that is the basis for it was accomplished on the cross. We saw that in 2nd Corinthians 521, the basis for reconciliation.
So the scope is to include all heavenly spheres. Even the heavens are not clean in His sight.
Satan has access to the heavens, the demons there and the fallen angels there, and sin has defiled the very heavens.
Well, the heavens have to be purified as well as the earth.
All is going to come on under the beneficial sway of Christ.
And every trace of sin forever removed, it's been, it's true of us now, you that were sometimes that were once alienated.
We were so far we could not farther be.
We were enemies in our minds by wicked works, Yet now hath he reconciled. He spanned the mighty gulf. He's eliminated the distance. He's brought us near, near to himself.
Yet now hath He reconciled everything set right. How did He do it? In the body of His flesh, Through death on the cross He was charged.
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He was held accountable, responsible for all that we were.
As well as all that we had done.
And God condemned.
All that we were at the cross, he put it away by the sacrifice of himself.
In the body of his flesh through death. It's a question of our state, not a question of our guilt Here it's a question of our state, the deeper thing, the tree that produces that ugly fruit.
Those evil works of the flesh.
Has brought us into a new creation.
And he's reconciled us right now.
To present you verse 22.
He's reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death.
To present you wholly.
And unblameable.
And unreprovable.
In his sight. Think of it.
We are holy.
We are unblameable.
We are unreprovable as a result of this reconciliation. We are as suitable to God in the new creation.
As it is possible to make us it is not in the sight of the angels, it's not in the sight of one another, but in his sight, and it must be so. And it's all begins with having made peace through the blood of his cross. Peace was made. It's the work of Christ, God word. So as reconciliation can be effective, every bit of.
Of evil removed.
Everything unsuitable to God in heaven and earth removed, and everything in US removed.
Well, it's not all removed yet. We still have the flesh.
We still have the old man that we have to cope with.
But as soon as we leave this scene.
That will be forever gone.
That will be forever gone.
And will be there.
In that scene of glory, supreme.
Light and love supreme.
What a day he waits us.
We're going to be there wholly.
Unblameable.
Unreprovable in his sight. We are that right now.
Because of the work of Christ.
There's one more thought of the scope of reconciliation in Ephesians 2 That we read. We might just look at that.
Ephesians 2.
In verse 13 Now in Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off, and O how far we were.
Are made nigh.
By the blood of Christ.
For He is our peace. Now here the thought of His being our peace has to do with the removing of the alienation that existed between Jew and Gentile.
And bringing these two opposing factions of humanity into one. Newman so making peace.
Reconciling. The thought of reconciling here is to bring Jew and Gentile into harmony, to set things right between them, to remove the distance that existed between them. We know how that the Jew would look upon the Gentile as a dog.
And the Jew was dispensationally near, and the Gentile dispensationally at a distance.
But now in Christ Jesus, that distance has all been removed and those earthly distinctions forever gone.
And he's made one Newman.
Let's read it.
But now in verse 14. But for He is our peace.
Our Jew and Gentile, who hath made both Jew and Gentile, 1 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. Of Jew and Gentile, 1 Newman. So making peace. The thought here of peace.
Is to bring into harmony, and to remove all distance and alienation and enmity between you and Gentile into one Newman, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body, by the cross having slain the enmity thereby. And he came and preached peace to you that were afar off, that's the Gentile, and to them that were nigh dispensationally near the Jew, but not.
Near until truly saved. For through Him Christ we both Jew and Gentile, have access by 1 Spirit unto the Father. That's the great effect of reconciliation.
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To remove the earthly distinctions whenever we set up.
Earthly distinctions like Peter did. We were discussing it last night in Acts 15, Peter says.
God put no difference between us and them, us Jews and them the Gentiles.
Giving them the same spirit that He gave unto us. Therefore we believe that they shall be saved, even as we know He doesn't say it that way. He says that we Jews shall be saved even this day, where we have to be brought in on the same ground of sovereign grace as the Gentiles have brought into.
And yet that same man, that great apostle when certain, came to Antioch from Jerusalem.
Peter withdrew himself, separated himself, and didn't eat with the Gentiles, and Barnabas was carried away too with their dissimulation. The presence of legality can cause us to succumb to it and to deny in our action, which is what Peter did, the very truth of the Gospel.
That's what he did. He denied the truth of the gospel, and he received a rebuke from the apostle Paul, and even Barnabas was carried away with their dissimulation. They were setting up. Peter was setting up. And what he did there in Galatians 2.
When they came to Antioch.
He was setting up a distinction and he had said God put no difference between us and them.
No difference and that's the truth of reconciliation. God has reconciled us both unto God in one body. No distinction between races, colors, creeds, nations, languages, tongues, whatever it is one in Christ, and whenever we.
We make a distinction whenever we set ourselves up above any of our brethren. We're denying that truth.
We are one in Christ.
He's reconciled us. Now let's turn to Romans 5.
Romans 5 verse.
Verse 10.
For if when we were enemies.
Colossians we read Enemies in Mind by wicked works.
Here when we were enemies.
In verse 6 he says we were without strength.
In due time, Christ died for the ungodly, without strength, helpless, unable to help ourselves to deliver ourselves from our lost condition. We were ungodly, we had no thoughts towards God. We left God out of our calculations. And ungodly person is one who lives his life without referring to God, just as though God didn't exist. I know well what that is. I live 19 years of my life when I got saved as a young man at 19.
I lived an ungodly life.
It wasn't excessively wicked.
But ungodly God was not in my thoughts. And then it says in verse 8, God commanded his love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners.
Christ died for us. Now that's more active in doing those things that are hateful to God. A Sinner is one who does what God forbids. He does acts of sin which are contrary to God's holiness so that we we pass more from the passive state of being ungodly and just living our lives without referring to God into active sins and then.
Verse 10. When we were enemies at enmity with God, alienated from the life of God, enemies of God.
Man won't admit that.
He won't admit that he's an enemy of God, but he is.
An enemy of God, such as his state so far, is man from God. What does it say we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son? It doesn't say we were reconciled to God by the blood of Christ here. It doesn't say we were reconciled to God even by the death of Christ, but the death of his Son.
The death of his son, having therefore one son, is well beloved, he said. I will send him also.
They will reverence my son, the darling of his bosom, the Son of his love. He couldn't have given more. He gave his son into death. He is reconciled as he's turned our hearts back to him. We look at that cross and we see the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. The death of his Son, that's won my heart.
That's removed the alienation. That's removed the distance. He loves me so much. He's given all he could possibly give. God himself exhausted himself.
In what He has given in order to effect this reconciliation. Having reconciled us, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son. Much more, more than that. Yes, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
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We shall be saved by his life. I'd like to talk about that tomorrow night, Lord Willie.
Not how he's brought us into relationship with himself, but how he maintains it and restores us.
Restoring grace of God is to me, is as wonderful a theme as the saving grace of God.
That here we're looking at the saving grace of God.
Reconcile this to himself by the death of his son.
If God hasn't won your heart, what more could he do to win it?
He's given all he could give, the darling of his bosom the death of his son.
Much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. He's brought us to Himself, set us in a place of nearness. He said to us, Come near to me, and he's brought us near and wrapped us in his arms of love, and blessed us with all that he has in his heart for us.
Now he wants to keep us there, and so he's living on high. We shall be saved as we walk through this wilderness, this defiling.
Wicked evil scene of death and defilement. He saves us from all the defilements of the way, and He's going to bring us all the way home to glory. We shall be saved by His life.
And not only so verse 11.
But we also now this is the this is the apex in the Epistle to the Romans, and it's probably a height in the New Testament beyond which you cannot go.
Not only so, but we also joy in God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
By whom we have now.
Right now, receive the reconciliation.
We join God.
The first verse of our chapter says Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, peace with God. That was the theme of our meeting this morning.
Peace has been made.
By the blood of His cross, he's brought us into it, and the effect of that is that we join God.
It's not just as it says in verse 2. At the end of the verse, we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. We want to be there, that place that we came short of all of sin and come short of the glory of God. Now a work has been done. We've been declared righteous. We have peace. We're rejoicing in hope of that glory.
But there's something even more than that. Wherejoying in God Himself, who is the author, the source of it all, with joy in God.
We've been brought so near.
There's not a cloud between us.
And as I said a moment ago, we can't rightly evaluate how far we were until we look at those three dark hours on the cross.
We won't fully ever understand it.
That's where we see how far we were. He had to go there.
He, the holy, spotless, sinless One, had to go there.
In order to bring us near, how near are we? Well, we sang it in this hymn.
It says.
In the deep eternal Council chose us in Christ the Son, before the earth's foundation or sin had yet begun, that we might all the nearness.
Of the beloved known.
And brought to these children our children's praises. Flow will not know how near we are.
Until we understand a little how near he is.
That's how near we are.
We won't know the distance we were at until we see him and understand in some way, in some measure.
The place he took when he was made sin.
But the nearness?
Is the nearness of the beloved.
Of God.
This is my beloved son.
Whom I have found my delight, and he brings us.
Into that nearness.
Not only so, but we also joy in God.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ.
By whom we have now received the reconciliation.
Joy and God.
Delight in him.
Joy in God Himself.
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Now let's look at Luke.
15 and then we're closed.
The word reconciliation doesn't occur here, but the the truth is right here in verse 22.
But the father said to his servants.
Bring forth the best Grove. That's Christ.
Christ is our righteousness.
And put it on him.
And put a ring on his hand, the symbol of eternal love.
And shoes on his feet that we might walk here for him.
And bring hit her the fatted calf and kill it.
We feast upon.
Christ, the fatted calf.
The very same food that the father feasts on.
Here we have the gain of reconciliation.
The gain of reconciliation. We've looked at the.
The need for reconciliation alienated from the life of God.
The ministry of reconciliation, He's committed that to us be reconciled to God.
The basis for reconciliation God made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. I mean we might be brought into such a place of favor and blessedness. The scope of reconciliation, Heaven and earth will all be brought back into divine suitability to God himself.
We already have been reconciled to God, Jew and Gentile, brought into one body in Christ, reconciled to one another, for He is our peace.
And then joy in God. We have joy in the God who has done it all.
God who has reconciled us to Himself. We have joy in God, and here we find God having joy in US.
The gain of reconciliation.
Bring hit her the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry. We're brought into the divine merriment.
Were brought in to enjoy what God enjoys.
And all the highest thought.
In addition to our joy in God is He joys in US.
He rejoices to have you reconciled to himself.
And He's going to joy for all eternity the divine merriment to have us around himself and to share all that is in his heart of love.
With the likes of us.
Bring Heather the fatted calf and kill it.
And let us eat and be married the God who said let us make man.
Here says, let us make merry.
We're going to be in that.
Bring hit her the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and be merry for this. My son was dead and is alive again. He was lost and is found.
They began to be merry. No end to that.
No end to that.
It is his own joy.
In having us.
With himself for all eternity.
Let's sing in closing 27 in the appendix so nigh.
So very nigh to God I cannot near be.
Or in the person of the Son I am as near as He, so dear, so very dear to God, more dear. I cannot be the love wherewith He loves the Son, such as his love to me.
Endevoring to Keep the Unity of the Spirit
Restoration
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.
First Epistle of John.
Chapter 1.
Verse 9.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Chapter 2.
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.
And if any man's sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only.
But also for the whole world.
He says in the first verse of that second chapter, by little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not.
What things was it? Were it? What things did he write to them? Well, in that first chapter he talks about.
That which was from the beginning which we have heard is referring to Christ, Christ as He was down here as a man in this scene which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, and which we have looked upon, contemplated, which our hands have handled, of the word of life. For the life was manifested, he says, and we have seen it.
And bear witness, and show unto you that eternal life that was with the Father.
And was manifested unto us.
It's referring to the person of the son.
Come down in flesh.
That which was from the beginning in the Gospel of John, it begins with an expression. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God.
In the beginning, refers to the dateless past.
There he was.
When anything that has a beginning began, the Word was in the beginning was the Word. It's the eternity of His being that's before us in John's gospel. And then in the 14th verse of that same gospel, we read, and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glorious of an only begotten, with a Father full of grace and truth.
The Word became flesh, and that's where John's epistle begins.
The expression that which was from the beginning refers to him become flesh, a man down here. How do we know that? Because it says which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon in our hands, have handled of the word of life. Wonderful to realize that the life which has been communicated to you and to me as believers in Christ.
Was manifested that eternal life that was with the Father from all eternity.
Was manifested in a man down here the word become flesh. Manifested to what end? That it might be also communicated to us?
He that hath the Son hath life. He that hath not the Son hath not life.
And he says in that 5th chapter of this epistle, These things I write unto you, who believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life.
And that you may believe on the name of the Son of God.
The knowledge of it, the possession of it.
And the manifestation of it in the person of Christ is what he brings before us. And then he goes on to say.
That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us.
With the apostles and truly our fellowship is with the Father.
And with his Son, Jesus Christ, so we're brought into that same fellowship, fellowship with the Father and the Son by community of life and nature. That same life that was manifested in that blessed man, the eternal Son down here in flesh, has now been communicated to you and me, that we might have fellowship with the Father and the Son.
That we we might have thoughts in common with the Father about the Son.
And thoughts in common with the Son concerning the Father. And he says these things rightly unto you, that your joy may be full. Fullness of joy consists in fellowship with the Father and the Son. And in order to being brought into that, we must receive the same life in nature, that same life which was manifested in all its perfection and fullness.
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In him.
As a man in this scene.
And I believe that's why he says in the second chapter.
Little children.
These things write I unto you, that ye sin not. That is, that there be no break in that communion, in that fellowship. It's the most precious.
The thing that we have fellowship with the father and with the son, communion, the enjoyment of himself. He's taken us into his confidence. He's brought us near. We saw that when we were considering the subject. Large day, afternoon of reconciliation. He's brought us even as near as his own son.
Brought us into favor. Taken us into favor in the beloved.
Graced us in the beloved, made us the objects of his favor in the beloved, brought us that near and.
He writes this that we sin not.
That there be no interruption to that sweet fellowship with himself and us. That's why he's reconciled this to himself. He says, Come near unto me, and he's brought us near. He's removed all that distance. We were occupied with that and that wonderful subject of reconciliation. And I'd like to take up tonight the subject of restoring grace.
Saving grace Most wonderful to think about.
How He's brought us to Himself. It's all grace. Whether it's saving grace or restoring grace, it's all grace from beginning to end of the Christian pathway.
If any man sin.
We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
Notice it doesn't say if we sin we have an advocate with the Father. Why doesn't it say it that way? Because.
That would give rise to the thought that the Christian must inevitably sin. We all sin. But it doesn't put it that way. It says if any man sinned, the exceptional case.
And it doesn't say if any man's sin, he has an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. That would give rise to the thought that the advocacy of Christ begins to function and to operate for the one who sins when he sins.
That isn't the thought of scripture either. The Lord told Peter that he would deny him. Peter said he wouldn't.
He would die with it for him, but not deny him.
And the Lord also said to Peter, But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not.
You're going to fail, you're going to deny me, but your faith won't fail. So he prayed for Peter before he failed.
Before he sinned, before he denied him. And so the wonderful truth that we gather here in first John 2 is, if any man sin the exceptional case, not looking at upon it as though it's necessary for the Christian to fail, that we all must fail, because after all, we're just sinners.
And therefore we all must fail. We all have the flesh, we all have the old nature. And that's true.
But to say that the Christian must sin is a denial of Christianity.
To say that none of us say that we have attained to a point of perfection where we.
Don't ever sin would be a denial of our true state.
In our true condition, we know that we do fail, but it's put here.
So that we can't.
Have a scripture to justify sinning if any man sinned. The exceptional case we the whole Christian community has an advocate with the Father at all times. Whether one is sinning or whether 1 is going on in communion. He's there in the Father's presence as our advocate, as our high priest, and as our advocate. He's there ever living to intercede for us.
We saw in that verse in Romans 5.
God has reconciled us to himself by the death of his Son. Much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. That is, we shall be brought through all this wilderness, seen through which we're passing by the power of that life of intercession.
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At the right hand of God, and we can view him living there as our High priest with God.
Bringing us through the difficulties of the way, suckering us, sympathizing with us. And then if anyone's sin is there with the Father, is our advocate, John 13 there to wash our feet, to remove the defilements of the way, the defilements that we may pick up.
As we go through this world.
And so communion may be interrupted.
But he writes these things that we do not sin. And then he says the exceptional case, if anyone's sin, we have an advocate. We the whole Christian company. He's there right now at this moment as our advocate with the Father. He's been there ever since he entered the glory as our advocate with the Father. You remember in John 13 it says he rises from supper and he girded himself.
And.
Took a basin and began to wash the disciples feet with the towel, wherewith he was girded.
A girded Savior is a serving Savior. So having finished the work of redemption on the cross, he enters the glory, and He now enters upon a new work, the work of interceding for His redeemed people, the work of priesthood, and the work of advocacy to bring us through all the difficulties of the way, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for us.
Well, that's a wonderful truth.
We shall be saved by his life.
He lives there in the presence of God for us. And so the truth is, if anyone sinned, we.
Have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. Here was one who never sinned. Here was one who never failed. He was the righteous one. If anyone sin, we have allowed the flesh. We have allowed indulge that which is displeasing to Him. Communion has been interrupted and we need to be restored. How does He restore us? Well, He uses the Word.
God and it says in that first chapter.
If we confess our sins.
He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us.
From all unrighteousness.
If we confess our sins, it doesn't say. I don't believe you'll ever find this supported in Scripture that we're told to ask for forgiveness. We're told to confess our sins, to name it before God, to judge ourselves. You can't really confess evil that we've done if we don't name it before the Lord.
I've had my boy come to me and say, Daddy, I'm sorry for what I did. Please forgive me. Well, what did you do, son?
Well, I'm sorry that I did it. Well, what did you do? And it's very hard to get him to name it, very hard to get him to confess the sin. And so it is with us. But that's the way of cleansing. And confession is good for the soul. I believe that's one of the reasons that we are so weak collectively.
Is because this confession is not practiced according to scripture.
James says confess your false one to another that she may be healed.
And here, if we confess our sins, if we acknowledge that we have failed, I have failed, I have sinned, I have done thus and so. And it had to be named. It had to be named. Remember when Aiken took of the accursed thing, Joshua asked him what did he do, and he named it.
He named it. Well, judgment fell upon him then. But here there's something else. If we confess our sins, we have the promise. It doesn't say He's merciful and gracious to forgive us our sins, but He's faithful and just. Faithful to whom? To the Lord Jesus, who is the propitiation for our sins. Faithful to the one who has borne our sins. Faithful and just to forgive.
It's based upon the work that Christ did.
God is faithful. God is just in the act of forgiving the soul that comes to Him in confession.
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But something else happens. A marvelous thing happens to the soul that confesses. He doesn't just get forgiveness, but he also receives cleansing. And to cleanse us from all unrighteousness, the very state that we fell into that led to the sin gets cleansed. And so we come out. We come out.
In in a suited state of soul to enjoy fellowship with himself once again.
We have that beautifully brought before us in Numbers Chapter 19. Please turn back.
To numbers 19.
The ordinance of the red heifer.
We have details in this.
Chapter in numbers that you don't get in the New Testament. Wonderful instruction.
For the restoration of a soul.
The Lord spake unto Moses and unto Aaron, saying, This is the ordinance of the law which the Lord had commanded, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring the red heifer without spot, wherein is no blemish, and upon which never came yoke.
That, of course, presents to us the Lord Jesus, a type of Christ. We don't find the red heifer in the Levitical offerings. Here we have a sacrifice. We have an offering, a sin offering. It was the red heifer that appears in the book that deals with the wilderness journeyings of the children of Israel.
This is the Wilderness book. In every one of the first four books of Moses, you have the sent. You have a central chapter.
That deals with the death of Christ in Genesis. It's the 22nd chapter Abraham offered Isaac.
And there you get the love of the father for the son, and giving his son.
As a sacrifice in Exodus, the central chapter theme is Exodus 12, the Passover lamb, the shedding of blood. Again, a picture of Christ in death.
When I see the blood, I will Passover you, the blood of Christ, screening us from the judgment of God, executed upon the land of Egypt. In Leviticus, it's the 16th chapter, the great Day of Atonement, when the high priest once a year entered into the holy of Holies and sprinkled before and on the throne that precious blood to sustain Israel, to keep them in relationship with himself, to maintain them in that position.
Of being his children.
His people. And here now in numbers, we have the central chapter, Chapter 19.
Where you have the red heifer, the picture of the death of Christ.
To maintain and restore communion once it has been broken. Children of Israel, as they pass through the wilderness, were in danger of contacting death in one form or another and to touch a dead body. Wages of sin is death. Death is a picture of sins. Wages of sin in its activity and in its result.
And to touch death, to touch a dead body, was to become defiled.
And what happened to the defiled soul? Well, if you turn back to Numbers 5 just for a verse or two.
Numbers Chapter 5 before we read on.
It says the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command the children of Israel that they put out of the camp.
Every leper, and everyone that hath an issue, and whosoever is defiled by the dead.
Well, the leper is dealt with in Leviticus 13 and 14, the one with the running issue is dealt with in Leviticus 15, and the one that is defiled by the dead is dealt with in Numbers 19 that we're reading tonight. Both male and female shall be put out without the camp. Should he put them that they defile, not their camps in the midst whereof I dwell. And the children of Israel did so, and put them out without the camp. As the Lord spake unto Moses, so did the children of Israel.
And so the one who touched death was put outside the camp for seven days with the lepers and with the ones with the running issue.
They were not suited, They were not suited for being in the camp. They were defiled and said that they were put outside.
And here you have this red heifer, this sin offering, and it's spoken of in verse two of our chapter 19. Without spot, wherein is no blemish never came yoke. The Lord was that spotless, that unblemished sacrifice, that perfect one, that holy one, that sinless 1.
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No sin upon him, no sin in him. And it says Upon which never came yoke. He never knew the yoke of sin.
He never knew what it was to serve sin. He said He that committeth sin is the servant of sin. But he never had that yoke. We've all had it. We've all been delivered from it, every one of us who was saved by His matchless grace. But here was one, this red heifer, this sin offering that was offered, and it had to be perfect to represent Him.
And ye shall give her unto Eliezer the priest, that he may bring her forth.
Without the camp, and one shall slay her before his face. An illies of the priest shall take of her blood with his finger.
And sprinkle of her blood directly before the Tabernacle of the congregation 7 times. Notice in verse 4 you have the blood shed and sprinkled in a specific place different from the the sprinkling of the blood in Leviticus where it was connected usually with the altar and connected with the mercy seat. Here it's sprinkled in the place that speaks of communion turn.
Exodus 29, please. Exodus 29.
Verse 40.
42.
This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the Tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord, where I will meet you to speak there unto thee and there.
I will meet with the children of Israel, and the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory.
And that's exactly where this blood of the red heifer was sprinkled. Verse 4 again of our chapter.
Iliasa, the priest shall take of her blood with his finger and sprinkle of her blood directly before the Tabernacle of the congregation 7 times. That was the place of communion. It was the place where God was to meet with the people and to speak with them. And it was sprinkled 7 times as a testimony to the perfect title that Israel had to have communion with the Lord.
In the place of communion.
So here we have the title for Communion, the title and the basis for fellowship.
With the Lord is the sevenfold sprinkling of the blood of the red heifer.
Then in verse 5 it says, And one shall burn the heifer in his sight.
Her skin and her flesh and her blood.
With her dung shall he burn.
What does that speak of?
Well, the sin offering was charged with the sins of the people. The priest laid his hand upon the sin offering and transferred figuratively the sins of the people to the sin offering and.
The Israelites viewed the consuming of the heifer in the fire. They could see their sins consumed in the death of Christ.
A wonderful truth.
The place of communion.
Before the Tabernacle of the congregation, they could look at that, they could see the sevenfold sprinkling of the blood. They had title. They had title to communion with God based upon that shed blood and that sprinkled blood at the very place of communion. And as they saw the flames consuming that heifer.
They could see their sins, which had been transferred figuratively to the sin offering, consumed. Beautiful picture of our sins. Gone as far as the East is from the West, so far as He removed our transgressions from us.
Cast all our sins behind his back and into the depth of the sea, consumed in the death of Christ. But there's more than that in verse 6. And the priest shall take cedar wood, and hyssop and scarlet, and cast it into the midst of the burning of the heifer.
If you'll turn over to 1St Kings chapter 4.
We'll have a passage that shows, I believe, the meaning of the cedar wood.
And the hyssop.
We know that the scarlet very well known figure of the glory of this world. They robed the Lord in scarlet. The Roman Empire is represented as a scarlet coloured beast.
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Picture of worldly glory.
And they mocked him, the King of kings and Lord of Lords, with a scarlet robe, the glory of this world, cast into the midst of the burning of the heifer. Verse 29. First Kings four. And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding, exceeding much and largeness of heart, even as the sand that is on the seashore. And Solomon's wisdom excelled, the wisdom of all the children of the E country, and all the wisdom of Egypt.
For he was wiser than all men, than Ethan, the Ezra Height, and Haman, and Calcol and Dart are the sons of Mahal.
And his fame was in all nations round about.
And he spake 3000 Proverbs, and his songs were 1005. And he spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall. He spake also of beasts, and a fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom. So what is the cedar wood says in verse 33? He spake of trees from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon.
Even under the hyssop that springeth out of the wall, from the greatest, the most majestic tree in nature, God's creation to the lowly hyssop that springs out of the wall, from the greatest to the least, Solomons wisdom encompassed all subjects in nature.
And it speaks of the wisdom of this world, and that was thrown into the midst of the burning of the heifer. So as I see that heifer consumed by the flames of divine judgment against sin, I see my sins gone. I also see the glory of this world represented by the scarlet. And I see the wisdom of this world represented by the cedar wood in the hyssop, all consumed in the death of Christ.
And so it says in in Galatians 6 the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.
He gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world and how important that is and significant in connection with the red heifer, because there we have Christ made sin for us, the sin offering bearing our sins and consumed and the the sins gone before God. But in his death the world judged as well the world and all its grandeur, the world and all its glory, the world in all its.
And splendor, the world and all its wisdom, and all its learning, and all its philosophy and psychology and all the wisdom.
Of this world gone in the death of Christ, and the apostle Paul treats that.
In the 1St chapter of First Corinthians we might read a few verses there. First Corinthians chapter 1.
He's giving the effects of the death of Christ and the work of Christ.
Verse 18.
Preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness, but unto us which are saved it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this world? Hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom, by its own wisdom, knew not God.
It pleased God by the foolishness of the preaching, Not preaching as a means, but the thing preached Christ crucified to the world. That was foolishness. It pleased God by the foolishness of the preaching. To save them that believe, for the Jews require a sign in the Greeks seek after wisdom. But we preach Christ crucified under the Jews stumbling block, and under the Greeks foolishness. But unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks Christ.
Power of God.
And the wisdom of God.
So the wisdom of this world has been reduced to ashes in the death of Christ.
And what folly it is for us.
To go to this world for our wisdom, to seek our counsel from the world and from worldly sources. When we have in this blessed book all that we need for our Christian pathway. Beloved, we have all that we need right here. We have the wisdom of God in this book. We do not have to go outside of it for our counseling and for our wisdom. He is our counselor and He is our wisdom. And here we have the wisdom of God.
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Recorded for us. And if they speak not according to this word, it is because there's no light in them.
The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. Let us not go to it.
For help when we have problems, we have all that we need.
With the Lord, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you an inheritance among all them that are sanctified through faith. That is in me. All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect.
Thoroughly furnished unto every good work. We don't have to go outside of this book.
God has given us all that we need here. What we need is to get into the book, to read it, to ponder it, to have its.
Blessed precepts and true saturate our souls, and we'll have light for the pathway. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light into my pathway.
So let us be delivered as we look at that cross and we see in the consuming of the red heifer.
We see the judgment of God falling upon all our sins, upon Him, and the removing of our sins, the consuming of our sins, but also the consuming of all this world splendor and glory and wisdom.
In the death of Christ, what? What a deliverance. Well, it's that very world through which we're passing that is so defiling. We're going through a scene filled with death and as you can picture, an Israelite walking through the wilderness.
There were dead bodies lying around, sometimes just the bone of a man. Sometimes death came into an Israelites tent, his very home, and it was defiling the presence of death, which is the wages of sin, whether it was touched or in the case of a grave, just walked over.
Soul was defiled by it. We're going to look at those things shortly.
But death, it is the touching of death, the proximity to death, the being in a scene where death is all around us. Young people, you are in a world that has the stamp of death upon it, and in whatever measure, we partake of the things that the world has to offer.
We are in danger of defilement.
And we need the water of separation. God has made provision. And that's the beauty of this chapter.
The blood was sprinkled at the place of communion are titled to fellowship is the precious blood of Christ.
But when a soul fails and needs to be restored, a fresh application of the blood is never what is what is used. The blood doesn't have to be reapplied because our title to fellowship always remains the same. It never changes. Failure doesn't change it. But there is something that has to be applied, and that's the water. The running water mixed with the ashes of the heifer.
And those ashes contained not only the residue of the heifer, but the residue of the cedar wood.
The Hyssop and the Scarlet.
That's all that's applied by the power of the Spirit of God. The running water in Scripture is a picture of the Holy Ghost.
And Stillwater is a picture of the word of God. But here you have, and we haven't come to it yet, but we'll read it shortly. The running water. Let's go on verse 7. Then the priest shall wash his clothes and he shall bathe his flesh in water, and afterward he shall come into the camp. And the priest shall be unclean until the even that is the one that had to do with these things.
There was a measure of defilement even for him and you see this is this chapter brings out the holiness of God, that association with evil even having to do with it sometimes we have to do with.
Restoring a brother.
Those which are spiritual restore such in What if a man be overtaken in a fault? Paul says to the Galatians.
Ye which are spiritual, restore such in one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted. Well, in order to do that, the Word of God has to be applied. Has to be used. In order to restore a soul can only be done by the Word of God.
And the soul that handles that situation comes in contact with the one who's defiled.
Also gets a measure, gets into a measure of defilement himself because we have a nature that that responds to that.
And so association with evil is defiling, is it not? Verse 9. A man that is clean shall gather up the ashes of the heifer, shall lay them up without the camp in a clean place, and it shall be kept for the congregation of the children of Israel for a water of separation. It is a purification for sin. Now that may seem strikingly strange, because it speaks of the water separation, and nothing has been mentioned about water.
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Well, it says in verse 17, For an unclean person, they shall take the ashes of the heifer, the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put there to in a vessel.
And there you have now the running water typical of the Holy Spirit mixed with the ashes of the heifer.
And what do those ashes contain? The residue of the of the heifer, cedar wood, the hyssop, and the scarlet. Our sins consumed in the death of Christ. The world's glory consumed in the death of Christ. The world's wisdom consumed in the death of Christ and.
The Spirit of God applies that to the soul that has indulged the flesh, going out after something that's in this world. Listen to the tempter's voice. We have three enemies, the world of flesh and the devil and.
The enemy, either the Flash or Satan himself, will use the world and the defilements in this scene.
To get us attracted to it and to partake of it and to touch it.
And to become.
Defiled, and then communion is interrupted, and then there's this wonderful provision of how that communion can be restored.
Verse 10 And he that gathereth the ashes of the heifer shall wash his clothes, and be unclean until the evening. Everyone that has to do with any aspect of this.
This matter of purification becomes unclean until the even and it should be under the children of Israel, and under the stranger that sojourneth among them for a statute forever. Now he tells how defilement was contracted. Verse 11. He that toucheth.
The dead body of any man shall be unclean not until the even, but seven days, seven days, a complete period of time represented here. I don't believe where to take it to mean literally 7 days, but a complete period of time. And it's it's a time that speaks of.
God dealing with the soul that has sinned that has.
Partaken of some of the defilements that are in this world and.
Contacted Death.
And has his lost communion and in this seven day period of time, whatever that period of time may take, we don't know how long it will take today, but it's called here 7 days. There will be two applications of the water of separation on the third day.
And on the 7th day, verse 12.
There will be two applications of the water of separation on the third day and on the 7th day, verse 12. He shall purify himself with it on the third day.
And on the 7th day he shall be clean.
But if he pure not find not himself the third day, then the 7th day he shall not be clean.
Whosoever toucheth the dead body of any man that is dead, and purifieth not himself, defileth the Tabernacle of the Lord, and that soul shall be cut off from Israel, because the water of separation was not sprinkled upon him. He shall be unclean.
Is uncleanness is yet upon him. It's a most solemn thing when God had made provision.
For the Israelite in the wilderness that came in contact with death in one form or another to neglect the prescribed method of cleansing. And it's a very solemn thing for us, for you or me who gets defiled.
By contact with the dead. Things in this world. The scene of death.
And we neglect the resource which God has given to us.
Of.
Having that communion restored. Remember a father, this was years back when I was quite a young man. He said to his sons, he said sons, you're going to sin, you're going to fail. I know that we all do, but keep short accounts with God. Own it right away. Confess your sins. We have that blessed verse. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to do far more than just forgive us, but to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
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From the very state that led to that fall that led to that sin.
So he said, keep short accounts with God, own it, and avail yourself of the cleansing provision which God has made in His precious word. So it was the most serious thing for Israel to neglect it. It says He shall be unclean. His uncleanness is yet upon him.
Now let's just Passover those 3 verses 14 through 16, and start with verse 17. We'll come back to them. And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel.
And a clean person shall take hyssop and dip it in the water.
And sprinkle it upon the tent, and upon all the vessels, and upon the persons that were there, and upon him that touched a bone.
Or one slain, or one dead, or a grave. And the clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day. And on the 7th day he shall purify himself, and wash his clothes, and bathe himself in water, and shall be clean. And even again the solemn warning. But the man that shall be unclean, and shall not purify himself.
That is, he doesn't avail himself of the provision that God has given.
To become clean, to be brought back into the camp.
Back into fellowship, back into communion. That soul shall be cut off from among the congregation because he hath defiled the sanctuary of the Lord. The water of separation had not been sprinkled upon him. He is unclean.
Now what is the third day sprinkling mean?
Well, I believe it refers to self judgment.
I've sinned against the grace that has saved me.
I've been reconciled to God and brought into his favor and brought into nearness and communion and sweet fellowship with himself, and the grace of God has done all that brought me near.
Forgiven me all my sins, set me at perfect peace with himself. And now I have indulged the flesh. I've listened to the tempter's voice. I've gone out after one of the.
Sinful, defiling things of this world.
And I have lost communion.
And then I abide under a sense of that.
For three days.
And after three days?
Testimony of not just competent, not just adequate, but sufficient and complete witness.
My sin, I own it before God. Self judgment, I judge myself, I ablhore myself. I have sinned against the grace.
That has put my sin away.
And the Spirit of God, the running water, takes the memory of the sufferings of Christ.
And brings to my remembrance that I have indulged the flesh.
In the very thing that cost Christ those infinite sufferings on the cross.
The ashes I have partaken of this cedar wood, the hyssop or the scarlet I have partaken of something of this world which has the stamp of death upon it.
I have sinned, I have done that which cost him the infinite sufferings.
Of the cross to put that sin away. And the Spirit brings that home in power to my soul, I think.
You see a beautiful picture of that with Peter. The Lord told Peter that he would deny him, and Peter denied him three times. You remember the account very well, and it says the Lord turned and he looked at Peter.
And that look.
That look of compassion, that look of love, that look which brought to Peter's remembrance.
His self confident assertion that he wouldn't deny the Lord though all denied him, yet not I, he said.
And now he had denied him with oaths and curses, it says. When he thought thereon, he went out, and he wept bitterly.
I believe that look from the blessed Lord was the third day sprinkling. It brought home the Peters conscience that he had sinned against the love that had made him Christ's.
He had sinned against the one that he loved so much.
That look brought it home, but then we read that when Christ rose from the dead.
We read of a secret encounter that the Lord Jesus had with Peter Simon. The Lord hath appeared to Simon all alone, private, and then he, I can just picture that conversation, the Lord says to Peter.
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Peter, you've dwelt long enough upon your sin.
You've applied yourself. You've judged yourself.
You did the very thing you said you wouldn't do, and I told you you would.
But I don't want you to dwell anymore upon your sin. I want you to dwell upon the love and the grace that's put it away now.
You're forgiven.
You've judged yourself.
Then you have the 7th day sprinkling.
You have now.
Grace in the presence of sin. The third day sprinkling is Sin in the presence of grace. I have sinned against the grace that has saved me and made me his child. But the 7th day sprinkling is.
No more occupation with how bad you are, Peter.
No more occupation with your sinfulness. You've thoroughly judged yourself and I want you to be occupied with my love.
My Grace that has brought you into blessing.
That's the 7th day sprinkling, but it says that if the third day sprinkling hasn't taken place.
The 7th day sprinkling cannot take place.
And that ought to guard us.
When we're dealing with one who is under discipline, whether it be in our family.
Whether it be in the assembly that until the soul has thoroughly judged himself or herself.
The third day sprinkling self judgment, abhorrence. I abhor myself.
And until that third day, sprinkling has really taken place.
The 7th day sprinkling cannot take place.
And if we undertake to do that?
And to restore the soul into communion when they haven't thoroughly judged themselves before God, and seeing the evil that they've committed as against grace.
They're really not restored.
And to assure them of our love.
Throw our arms around them too soon.
Might be very damaging.
And harmful and hinder the work of God in the soul in the way of.
Full and complete restoration but once that third day sprinkling and what answers to it real self judgment has taken place.
Then the apostle Paul says in two Corinthians 2, You ought rather such a he said, you should show your love to him, lest such in one should be overcome with excessive sorrow and grief. You should confirm your love to him and forgive him.
And restore him.
That's the 7th day sprinkling.
Well, what is it that defiles us?
Before I ask that question, I might just comment that it's much easier to get out of communion than to get back in.
And here we see in the 3rd and the 7th day sprinkling.
You might see a process, it isn't literally to be taken as three and seven days, but it represents the number 3 represents the number of complete testimony.
That the man has come into the realization of his sin, and the 7th day is the perfect.
Time when the soul can be brought into favor and the enjoyment of favor.
I remember talking to a soul once who wouldn't take his place at the Lord's Table, young man, and I asked him why.
Why haven't you that you'd come to meeting was always there and he was so dwelling upon how bad he was and how unworthy he was and how unfit he was. It's something like a soul in in the process of being restored, getting to the third day and never getting to the 7th day. It's good to judge ourselves when we failed, but it's not good to be constantly occupied with how bad we are.
I think of what Mr. Darby said once he said, when we've come to see that, I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing, and we've come to judge ourselves in that light. We thought enough about ourselves now. We should be occupied with His love and His goodness and His grace, and that's where we come into full restoration as long as we are occupied with ourselves, even in the judgment of the flesh.
We haven't been fully delivered, we're not fully restored, we're not at liberty in His presence in the sense of His grace. And that's the 7th day sprinkling. So He brings us into that. It may take a time, but He brings us into that and then we can enjoy himself again.
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And I want to make a comment on verse 19 it says.
The clean person shall sprinkle upon the unclean on the third day and on the 7th day, and on the 7th day he shall purify himself and wash his clothes and bathe himself in water, and shall be cleaned it even. That's very similar to the consecration of the priests recorded in Exodus 28 and 29, and it says when the priest was consecrated in what is symbolical of the new birth.
Is he shall be bathed in water, he should be washed all over. Now this is the very same thing that is done for the restored soul. And I take it to be significant of the truth that when a soul soul is restored to the Lord, he's back in the same place of favor and nearness and fellowship and communion that he enjoyed when he was just saved.
The restoring grace of God is as marvelous and as wondrous as the saving grace of God and all how He delights to have us in His presence and to have us enjoy Himself. And so He's made provision for that.
Now let's look at verse 14. How do we get defiled? Verse 11 was very general. He that toucheth the dead body of any man shall be unclean 7 days. But now in verses 1415 and 16 we have more detail. This is the law. When a man dieth in a tent, all that come into the tent and all that is in the tent shall be unclean 7 days. Death in the tent. What is the tent? It's our it's our homes. It was the place where Israel.
They lived in tents, they were in the wilderness, they didn't live in houses. That was in Canaan when they entered the land, but they dwelt in tents. And now death takes place in a tent and it says all that is in the tent.
And all that come into the tent shall be unclean. 7 days.
Now verse 15 adds a detail. And every open vessel which hath no covering bound upon it, is unclean. Why is it necessary? Why did the Spirit of God put it this way? Add that detail.
You already covered everything in verse 14. All that come into the tent and all that is in the tent shall be unclean 7 days.
And every open vessel.
Which hath no covering bound upon it is unclean. That singled out of everything that's in the tent, the open vessel is especially vulnerable to defilement.
And that open vessel, I believe, is a picture of our children in the tent, in the home. They are very vulnerable to death in the tent. The tent is our home. It's our residence. It's where we live and death.
Are those things that come in from the world into the tent which are defiling?
Death in the tents? Is there death in your tent? Is there death in my tent? The literature.
The things we hear, the things we look upon.
Are these the things of the world, or are these the things of God?
Well, if we bring into the.
That which has the stamp of death upon it.
Everything in that tent is defiled. Everything in the tent and everyone that enters the tent is defiled.
And especially the open vessel. The open vessel takes in everything that happens in that tent.
And there's nothing in that in the tent, nothing in our homes that take in that are so impressionable as our children.
Everything that Daddy allows or Mommy allows must be good for me, otherwise they wouldn't allow it. They wouldn't bring it into the tent if it wasn't for my good and my profit and my blessing. That's the way they think.
That's the way they reason.
And so the open vessel is singled out. Oh, solemn, isn't it?
And then it says in verse.
16 Whosoever toucheth one that is slain with the sword in the open fields, the open fields.
That's not the tent now, that's the world. The world, and the field is the world, the open field. So here's one walking out in the open field, and he comes across one that was slain with the sword.
That speaks of violence. One that was put to death by a sword. That's violence.
Or a dead body, one who has just died out there in the open field. He just fell sick and died or whatever.
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And that speaks of corruption.
Violence and corruption.
Out in the open field, that's what we see in the world. It's out there. Now, if we bring those things into the tent, if we bring violence and corruption into the tent, everything that's in the tent is defiled. Death in the tent. But here, out in the open field, you can't help but get defiled by those things because sooner or later you're going to you're going to run into it.
And as we get out in the world.
In school, in business, we are dealing with, we are in a world which is defiling.
Filing World.
Filled with death everywhere.
We can control what we bring into the tent though.
Now there might be someone that walks into a tent and all of a sudden someone just dies there. Well the person that just walked in is defiled unclean. 7 days.
He hasn't touched anything, but he's in that place. He's in that sphere where there's death in the tent. So how important?
We can't, we can't keep from having to do with the defilement that's out in the world.
Sometimes we just come across it and we may inadvertently come in contact with it. Someone may we in our hearing, utter a filthy joke.
Or something like that, or a dirty picture or something that is defiling suggestive or whatever it is and it comes to our attention and it has to be judged immediately.
It's a principle of death.
But if we indulge in those things, if our will gets active in those things, if we go out after those things and we've touched death, then we're unclean. We've lost communion outside the camp 7 days and we need the water separation applied that third day, self judgment for what we've allowed, what we've entertained, what we have had fellowship with in the world. And then the 7th day, full restoration to communion. But there's two other things mentioned. The bone of a man.
I've pondered that.
And I want to give a suggestion on that in job 20.
Job 20 There is a verse.
And this is only a suggestion.
I'm not pressing it, but I'm making this suggestion.
Verse 11.
His bones are full of the sin of his youth, which shall lie down with him in the dust. Now, in the margin of Mr. Darby's new translation, it reads this way. His bones are full of his secret sins.
Which shall lie down with him in the dust. His bones are full of his secret sins. And I would like to suggest that the bone which is not seen, you don't see any of my bones. You know, they're there, I can feel them. They're inside. They're covered with tissue, they're covered with flesh and muscle and so on.
But they're there.
And they're not exposed, but they're there. And it might represent our secret sins. We sometimes think that as long as we don't indulge in sin, we're not defiled. But if we in our wills entertain sin.
If we think upon it, as the Lord Jesus said, he that looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. If I entertain that kind of thing in my will, I am defiled. That may be what is suggested by the bone of a man. As you. As the Israelite walked out in the field, the bone looked absolutely harmless. All the flesh is gone. It's been eaten off by birds or animals.
But just a touch.
The bone of a man.
Death.
Outside the camp for seven days and then he says.
Or a grave.
A grave, if you'll turn with me to Luke 11.
Luke 11 We have the grave mentioned.
Verse 42.
Woe unto you Pharisees.
For you tithe, mint and rue in all manner of herbs and Passover judgment and the love of God.
These Archie to have done, and not to leave the other undone. Woe unto you, Pharisees, for ye love the uppermost seats in the synagogues and greetings in the markets. Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, for ye are as graves which appear not, and the men that walk over them are not aware of them. So here's one walking out in the open field, and he walks over a grave. He walks over a grave where a body has been buried.
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He doesn't touch death, he just walks on the ground, but underneath that ground.
Is a dead body and he walks over a grave. And it's the hypocritical, self-righteous religious hypocrisy of the Pharisees that the Lord likens to graves. Religious defilement, religious defilement, the way of Cain. I think we were talking about that in our reading Lord's Day morning. The way of Cain, religious defilement, bloodless religion.
Man approaching God as a worshipper.
Without the precious blood of Christ, religious defilement. There's many things that we can be defiled by in connection with religion. I don't believe there's any there's ever a time when we are so little on our guard as when we have to do with religious people. And we ought to be very much on our guard. And the man out there in the field, he could walk over a grave. You're as graves which appear not they didn't even know it and they were defiled.
By that religious defilement, so you have violence, man slain with the sword.
Corruption, A man dead in the field. The bone may be our secret sins.
And the graves which appear not as religious defilement, all these things, all these elements in the world.
Can defile us and render us unfit for communion and fellowship.
Sometimes I'm very alarmed at seeing some of the books that certain of the Saints have in their homes.
Some of them, I was talking to a young man and he was complaining about our reading meetings in that assembly. He says they're so dry and they don't, they don't stir him up. They don't, they don't challenge him and so on. He says, there's a man on the radio that really challenges me and really fires me up. And I say, would you mind telling me his name? And he told me his name and I said, do you know that man denies the eternal sonship of Christ? Do you know that that man says that the Lord Jesus could have sinned and he's the one that you're taking your spiritual food from.
No, young man. I warned him against that. I warned him against that. That's defiling to hear ministry from one that puts out that kind of thing. We have to be on our guard lest we walk over a grave and get defiled and don't even know it.
Well, God has made provision for us. Sorry for going over. He's made provision for us to be cleansed when there's either death in the tent.
Or we're out there in the world and we become defiled by contact with death, with some element of the world.
And he's made provision.
Water separation, Spirit of God brings to our memory the sufferings of Christ and what He has undergone to put that sin away, that we have indulged in our wills and become unclean thereby. And He applies that to our conscience, and we judge ourselves. And then we have the third day sprinkling, and then we come into the full liberty of grace, the 7th day sprinkling, and we enjoy His fellowship once again.
My little children.
These things I write unto you, that you sin not, and if anyone sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, not for ours only, but also for the whole world.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.
And to cleanse us.
From all unrighteousness. And so the restored soul was.