2007 Messages

Fellowship in Acts

• The Apostles, The Work, And The Church - Part 1
• A Contrast Between Jerusalem and Antioch - Part 2
• Healthy Teaching in the Church Life - Part 3
• The Pattern of the Work of the Holy Spirit - Part 4
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2007 Messages
The Apostles, The Work, And The Church - Part 1

The Apostles, The Work, And The Church - Part 1

The Apostles, the Work and the Church - Part 1
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• Our History is one of standing on the Bible as our only standard
• Approaching the Word of God:
  • The revelation of the truth
    • - the items of the faith
• Approaching the Word of God:
  • The revelation of the truth
  • Prescriptions, such as
    • "Take and eat; this is my body" -Matt. 26:26
    • "This is my commandment that you love one another." - John 15:17
    • "Always rejoice; unceasingly pray; in everything give thanks ..." 1 Thes. 5:16-18
• Approaching the Word of God:
  • The revelation of the truth
  • Prescriptions
  • Descriptions, such as
    • "And day by day, continuing steadfastly with one accord in the temple and breaking bread from house to house ..." Acts 2:46
    • "And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias; and he was counted with the eleven apostles." Acts 1:26
    • "For as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of the things which were sold and placed them at the feet of the apostles ..." Acts 4:34-35
• Apostleship
  • Gifts given to the church according to their measure of grace
    • "But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of gift of Christ." Eph. 4:7
    • "And He Himself gave some as apostles and some as prophets ..." Eph. 4:11
• Apostleship
  • Gifts given to the church
  • Set apart by the Holy Spirit for the work of ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.
    • Acts 13:2
    • Ephesians 4:11-12
• Apostleship
  • Gifts given to the church
  • Set apart by the Holy Spirit for the work of ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.
  • Called and appointed by Christ.
• Apostleship
  • "And He appointed twelve, whom He also named apostles." - Mark 3:14
  • "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus, a called apostle ..." -- Rom. 1:1
  • "Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead)" - Gal. 1:1
  • "And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles 1 Cor. 12:28
  • "For which I was appointed a herald and an apostle" - 2 Tim. 2:7
• Apostleship
  • Gifts given to the church
  • Set apart by the Holy Spirit for the work of ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ.
  • Called and appointed by Christ.
  • Confirmed through fellowship and prayer and sealed by the saints.
• Apostleship

  • "Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch and Saul. And as they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." - Acts 13:1-2
  • "... Are you not my work in the Lord? If to others I am not an apostle, yet surely I am to you; for you in the Lord are the seal of my apostleship." 1 Cor. 9:1-2

• The Work of the Apostles
  • Commissioned to perfect the saints unto the work of ministry unto the building up of the Body of Christ-Eph. 4:12
  • "Set apart" for "the work" beyond the confines of a local church-Acts 13:2
  • "Sent out" according to the measure which God has apportioned.
• The Work of the Apostles

  • But we will not boast beyond our measure but according to the measure of the rule which the God of measure has apportioned to us, to reach even as far as you. For we are not extending ourselves beyond our bounds, as if we did not reach you, for we were the first to come even as far as unto you in the gospel of Christ. We are not boasting beyond our measure in others' labors... 2 Cor. 10:13-15

• The Work of the Apostles
  • The apostles' work being for the profit of the local church (1 Cor. 3:21-22), but the local church NEVER being subjected under the apostle (consider the book of Philemon)
• Examples of the Work of the Apostles
  • Jerusalem: apostles lived in Jerusalem, but were occasionally sent out for special activities
    • Peter and John were sent out to confirm the Lord's work in Samaria-Acts 8:14-25
    • Phillip the evangelist was sent out to preach the gospel-Acts 8:26-39
    • Peter was sent out to bring salvation to Cornelius' house-Acts 10-11
• Examples of the Work of the Apostles
  • Jerusalem: apostles lived in Jerusalem, but were occasionally sent out for special activities
  • Antioch: apostles were raised up locally and sent out to raise up churches through the fellowship of the local church-Acts 13:1-2
• Examples of the Work of the Apostles
  • Jerusalem: apostles lived in Jerusalem, but were occasionally sent out for special activities
  • Antioch: apostles were raised up locally and sent out to raise up churches through the fellowship of the local church.
  • The apostles worked together as coworkers for the profit of the local churches
• Examples of the Work of the Apostles
  • Paul planted the Corinthian church and Apollos watered them, but their work was "one"-1 Cor. 3:6, 8.
  • Paul acknowledges Barnabas as a fellow fulltime coworker, even after their sharp contention-1 Cor. 9:6
  • Peter recommends Paul's writings, even after Paul exposed Peter's compromise with the truth in Gal. 2:11-15
• How does a Local Church Respond to Issues Among Apostles?
  • Having a realization that it is childish and fleshly to "take sides" and divide from one another by being "of" a man.
• How does a Local Church Respond to Issues Among Apostles?

  • And I, brothers, was not able to speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to fleshly, as to infants in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, for you were not hyet able to receive it. But neither yet now are you able, for you are still fleshly. For if there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly and do your not walk according to the manner of man?

• How does a Local Church Respond to Issues Among Apostles?

  • For when someone says, I am of Paul, and another, I of Apollos, are you not men of the flesh? What then is Apollos? And what is Paul? Ministers through whom you believed, even as the Lord gave to each one of them. I planted; Apollos watered; but God gave the growth. So then neither is he who plants anything nor he who waters, but God who causes the growth. Now he who plants and he who waters are one, but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's cultivated land, God's building.-1 Cor. 3:1-9

  • Having a realization that it is childish and fleshly to "take sides" and divide from one another by being "of" a man.
  • Following Ephesus's example to "try" the apostles.
    • "I know your works and your labor and your endurance and that you cannot bear evil men, and you have tried those who call themselves apostles and are not, and have found them to be false-Rev. 2:2
  • Having a realization that it is childish and fleshly to "take sides" and divide from one another by being "of" a man.
  • Following Ephesus's example to "try" the apostles.
  • Learning from three crucial examples in Acts
  • Acts 15:1-2
    • And certain men came down from Judea and began to teach the brothers, Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. And when no little dissension and discussion with them came about through Paul and Barnabas, the brothers directed Paul and Barnabas and certain others among them to go up to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem concerning this question.
  • Acts 15:36-39
    • Now after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, Let us return now and visit the brothers in every city ....And Barnabas intended to take John, who is called Mark, along with them also; But Paul did not consider it suitable to take with them this one who withdrew from them in Pamphylia and did not go with them to the work. And there was a sharp contention , so that they separated from each other, and Barnabas, taking Mark along, sailed away to Cyprus.
  • Galatians 2:11-14, 16
    • But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. For before some came from James, he continually ate with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to shrink back and separate himself, fearing those of the circumcision. And the rest of the Jews also joined him in this hypocrisy. But when I saw that they were not walking in a straightforward way in relation to the truth in the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how it it that you compel the Gentiles to live like the Jews? ... An knowing that a man is not justified out of works of law, but through faith...

A Contrast Between Jerusalem and Antioch - Part 2

Contrast Between Jerusalem and Antioch - Part 2
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• The Foundation of the Lord's Recovery
• The Word of God
• 3 Levels
  • Truth (the resurrection of Christ)
  • Prescriptions (the Lord's Table)
  • Descriptions (meeting from house to house)
  • Traditions
  • "Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?" - Matthew 15:3
• The Church in Antioch
  • A healthy pattern
  • Focused on Christ - "...announcing the Lord Jesus as the gospel"
  • Acts 11:20 - "...the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch."
  • Acts 11:26 - "... they were ministering to the Lord and fasting... "
  • Acts 13:2
  • Encouraging the development of the ministries of the saints - "Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers; Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul."
  • Acts 13:1
  • Full of loving concern for the other churches - "And the disciples, according to how one was prospered, determined, each one of them, to send things for dispensing to the brothers dwelling in Judea, which also they did..."
  • Acts 11:29-30
  • Led by the Spirit - "The Holy Spirit said, Set apart for Me now Barnabas and Saul for the work..."
  • Acts 13:2 - "They then, having been sent out by the Holy Spirit..."
  • Acts 13:4 - "Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit... said..."
  • Acts 13:9
  • Fellowshipping with the churches - Receiving the brothers from Judea (Acts 15:1) - Sending Paul and Barnabas to fellowship with the apostles and elders in Jerusalem (15:2) - Bringing great joy to the brothers in Phoenicia and Samaria (15:3)
  • Full of tolerance - Receiving the fellowship from co-workers (Acts 15:22,34) - Keeping the oneness of the Spirit even when the co-workers had sharp contentions (15:35-41)
• The Church in Antioch
  • "This was a great step taken by the Lord for the spread of the gospel... It was begun from Antioch....without the organizing of a mission, without the raising of funds, without human ordination, and without any human plan or method. It was initiated by five faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ, who gave the Head of the Body an opportunity... "
  • "This major step had nothing to do with the church in Jerusalem organizationally, and it was not under the authority and direction of Peter and the other eleven apostles in Jerusalem. It was begun solely and purely from a Gentile center, far away from the atmosphere and influence....even from the church in Jerusalem."
  • "It was absolutely a move by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and with the Spirit through the coordination of the faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ....It was not a religious movement with a human schedule. From Antioch the Lord's move on the earth for God's New Testament economy had an entirely new start."
• The Church in Jerusalem
  • A religious church life
  • Focused on something other than Christ - "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law"
  • Acts 21:20
  • Forming a special class of brothers
  • "When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them." (Acts 15:4)
  • "After we arrived in Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. And the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present." (Acts 21:17-18)
  • Emphasizing uniformity, canvassing the churches the Lord raised up through His other servants, leading them into their ideology - "there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:7) - "But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage." (Gal. 2:4)
  • Dominated by personalities rather than truth - "Some men came down from Judea and began teaching the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." (Acts 15:1) - "Since we have heard that some of our number to whom we gave no instruction have disturbed you with their words, unsettling your souls." (Acts 15:24) - "For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision." (Gal. 2:12)
  • Using strength in numbers to influence others - "And when they heard it they began glorifying God; and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law" (Acts 21:20)
  • Eventually, cutting off the ministry of brother Paul - "This you know, that all who are in Asia turned away from me." (2 Tim. 1:15)
• Our Current Situation
• The Contrast
  • Focused on Christ
  • Each local church led by the Spirit
  • Many ministers, many workers, many works
  • Fellowship of joy between churches
  • Focused on other things
  • Each local church uniformly follow leading of "the body"
  • One ministry, one work
  • Exclusion, quarantines, divisions, lawsuits
• Speaking Out Against the Deviance
  • "But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned... But when I saw that they were not walking in a straightforward way in relation to the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all... " (Gal. 2:11,14)
  • Paul's attitude: - "But if even we or an angel out of heaven should announce to you a gospel beyond that which we have announced to you, let him be accursed." (Gal. 1:9)
• The Present Deviance in Truth
  • 1. There is a unique "Minister of the Age," most recently Brother Witness Lee.
  • 2. The "blended co-workers" are the unique continuation of Brother Lee's "Ministry of the Age."
  • 3. There is a unique "Wise Master-builder," supervising God's building work on the entire globe.
  • 4. The "Master-builder" (Brother Lee or his continuation) oversees one global company of workers.
  • 5. There is only "one publication"
• The Truth of God's Word
  • 1) There are many ministers of the age of grace - "There are distinctions, diversities, varieties, of ministries, yet the same Lord." (1 Cor. 12:5)
  • 2) There are no other leaders in the church besides local elders and the apostles with their God-commissioned ministries and regions - "When they arrived at Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they reported all that God had done with them." (Acts 15:4) - "It then seemed good to the apostles and the elders with the whole church..." (Acts 15:22)
  • 3) There is no unique master builder, but rather the Lord has from the beginning of the age of grace used a multitude of builders - "as a wise master, I have laid a foundation, and another builds upon it." (1 Cor. 3:10)
  • 4) There was never in truth, prescription, or description, any global coordination of workers - "And there are distinctions, diversities, varieties of operations, but the same God who operates all things in all." (1 Cor. 12:6)
  • 5) God speaks through many gifted ones, ministers, and works, through many publications, with no central coordination - Matthew, Mark, Luke, John - Peter, Paul, James, Jude, Hebrews - The entire Old Testament
• The Present Deviance in Practice
  • Quarantine of Brother Titus
  • Lawsuits among the saints
  • Insisting on - attending the "seven annual feasts," - using only "The Holy Word for Morning Revival" - uniformity
• Genuine Local Church vs a Sect
  • "Do you know how to determine whether or not a particular Christian group is a sect? One way to determine this is to check whether or not that group receives all real believers in Christ. For example, suppose a brother in the Lord who is a Roman Catholic priest attends our Lord's table meeting. We certainly would receive him because he is our brother in Christ. However, any group that does not receive all true believers is a sect and is not practicing the fellowship of the apostles." (Life Study of Acts, Message 12, p. 94)
• Being General
• "Concerning the faith we must be very specific and particular (Jude 3; 1 Tim. 6:12); however concerning the other things we must follow Paul's example and be general, never insisting that others believe as we do (Rom. 14:1-8). To possess such a spirit of generality is the generality of the church life.
• If we are special and insist on anything other than the common faith, the oneness will surely be damaged, and divisions will occur." - (Benson Phillips, The Speciality, Generality, and Practicality of the Church Life)
• One Work?
  • Watchman Nee rejected one global company of co-workers as unscriptural and "Romish." He says, "Scripture... does not imply that all the apostles formed themselves into one company and placed everything under one central control...One company is not shown in the Word of God." He points out that "in the Scriptures...there is a company of apostles, but it is not great enough to include all the apostles. That is Romish, not scriptural." Witness Lee also warned against producing hierarchy, saying, "Regions of the work exist today.... If we organize these regions into one unit, it will lead to hierarchy with an official leadership. This would insult Christ's headship."
• One Accord vs Uniformity
  • "Can we be in one accord if we have differences? The answer to this question is 'yes.' We must be in one accord in spite of the differences. Both in the Gospels and in Acts, we are taught to be in one accord (Matt. 18:19; Acts 1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25; Rom. 15:6). Some would say that we must get rid of all the differences among the believers in order to be in one accord, but this is only to make everything uniform." (The Practice of the Church Life According to the God-ordained Way, pp. 37)
• Biblical?
  • "All the saints and all the churches everywhere should ... be restricted to one publication in the Lord's recovery" - Publication Work in the Lord's Recovery by the "Blended Brothers"
• Biblical?
  • "In every age God does not give His vision...to two men; He gives it to only one man...God does not give other ministers their own light and revelation. All the ministers in a particular age must enter fully into the vision of that age, speak only the contents of the unique vision...This is a strong principle that holds in every age, including today." - A "blended brother"
• Forsaking the Word
  • It is not a matter of right or wrong, biblical or non-biblical. It is a matter of whether there is one sound or more than one sound. - (Ministry Magazine, Vol. 9, No. 1, Jan. 2005, p. 186)
• The Lord's Way
  • "The Bible is our only standard. We are not afraid to preach the pure Word of the Bible, even if men oppose; but if it is not the Word of the Bible, we could never agree even if everyone approved of it." - Watchman Nee
• The Church in Pittsburgh?
  • "This was a great step taken by the Lord for the spread of the gospel... It was begun from Pittsburgh....without the organizing of a mission, without the raising of funds, without human ordination, and without any human plan or method. It was initiated by five faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ, who gave the Head of the Body an opportunity... "
  • "This major step had nothing to do with Living Stream Ministry organizationally, and it was not under the authority and direction of Ron Kangas and the other "blended brothers" in Anaheim. It was begun solely and purely from a Gentile center, far away from the atmosphere and influence...."
  • "It was absolutely a move by the Spirit, in the Spirit, and with the Spirit through the coordination of the faithful and seeking members of the Body of Christ....It was not a religious movement with a human schedule. From Pittsburgh the Lord's move on the earth for God's New Testament economy had an entirely new start."

Healthy Teaching in the Church Life - Part 3

Healthy Teaching in the Church Life - Part 3
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• The Bible is our only standard!
• Any subjective experience, inward leading, and outward teaching must be based solely on the Revelation in God's Word
• The Bible Nourishes us
  • Being nourished with the words of the faith and of the good teaching which you have closely followed (1 Tim. 4:16b)
  • As newborn babes , long for the guileless milk of the word in order that by it you may grow unto salvation, if you have tasted that the Lord is good (1 Pet. 2:2-3)
  • "Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out through the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4)
• The Bible Washes Us
  • That He might sanctify her; cleansing her by the washing of the water in the word (Eph. 5:26)
• The Bible Enlightens us, Giving us understanding
  • The opening of Your words gives light, imparting understanding to the simple (Psa 119:130).
  • And that from a babe you have known the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise unto salvation through the faith which is in Christ Jesus (2 Timothy 3:15).
• The Bible Gives us Revelation
  • That by revelation the mystery was made known to me, as I have written previously in brief, by which , in reading it, you can perceive my understanding in the mystery of Christ (Ephesians 3:3-4).
  • 1 Timothy 3:16: All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for conviction, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.
    • Ftn 161: To confront the death, corruption, and confusion in the church's decline, the eternal life, on which ch. 1 is based (1:1, 10), the divine truth, emphasized in ch. 2 (2:15, 18, 25), and the holy Scripture, highly regarded in ch. 3 (3:14-17), are all needed...
• A Healthy Church Life is Filled With Healthy Biblical Teaching
  • To bring us into the experience of the reality of the divine truth
  • To direct us according the revelation of the mystery of Christ
• Take heed to yourself and to your teaching
  • Descriptive
• Patterns and examples for us to learn from (See 1 Cor. 10:11)
  • Prescriptive
• Commands that we should obey (see John 15:12, 10)
  • Truth
• Items of the faith, namely, the truth concerning God, the Word of God, Christ and His redemptive work, the Spirit and the believers' divine salvation, the church, the Body of Christ
• Descriptive, Prescriptive, or Truth?
  • The Last Adam became the life-giving Spirit—1 Cor. 15:45
  • This do unto the remembrance of Me—1 Cor. 11:24
• Descriptive, Prescriptive, or Truth?
  • Go therefore, and disciple all the nations, baptizing them ...--Matthew 28:19
  • The Lord appointed seventy others and sent them two by two before His face into every city ... Do not carry a purse nor a bag ... Luke 10
• Descriptive, Prescriptive, or Truth?
  • The Law of the Spirit of life has freed me in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and of death—Rom. 8:2
  • But flee youthful lusts ... with all those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart—2 Tim. 2:22
• Descriptive, Prescriptive, or Truth?
  • And here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call upon your name—Acts 9:14
  • This is My commandment that you love one another even as I have loved you-- John 15:
• Descriptive, Prescriptive, or Truth?
  • And he (the Philippian jailor) was baptized immediately, he and all his household—Acts. 16:33
  • We have been buried therefore with Him through baptism into His death ... Rom. 6:4
• Descriptive, Prescriptive, or Truth?
  • ...Repent and each one of you be baptized ... Acts 2:38
  • Otherwise what shall they who are baptized for the dead do? If the dead are actually not raised, why then are they baptized for them? – 1 Cor. 15:29
• Descriptive, Prescriptive, or Truth?
• Receiving teachings from the Lord's Servants
  • Realizing
  • No servant of God is infallible
  • No servant of God in church history has the absolute final and canonized interpretation of every scripture
  • Every saint should follow the "noble” example of the Bereans who examined Paul's teaching with the Scriptures (Acts 17:11)
• Receiving teachings from the Lord's Servants
• We appreciate the teachings of all of the Lord's servants in church history
• Receiving teachings from the Lord's Servants
• Appreciating the inheritance we have received through Brothers Witness Lee and Watchman Nee
  • Studying the Word in context of the light we have received from these brothers
  • Discerning between prescriptive teachings, descriptive teachings, and teachings that convey the truth.

The Pattern of the Work of the Holy Spirit - Part 4

The Pattern of the Work of the Holy Spirit - Part 4
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• Through the Lord's Servants
  • The Manifestation of the Spirit
    • But there are distinctions of gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are distinctions of ministries, yet the same Lord; and there are distinctions of operations, but the same God, who operates all things in all. But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for what is profitable (1Cor. 12:4-7)
    • But the one and the same Spirit operates all these things, distributing to each one respectively even as He purposes (v. 11)
    • Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually (v. 27)
    • If the whole body were an eye, where would the hearing be? If the whole were the hearing, where would the smelling be? But now God has placed the members, each one of them, in the body, even as He willed (vv.17-18)
  • 1. Peter - growing unto maturity in every aspect of God's work
    • The Lord Himself calling him (Matt. 4:18-19, Luke 5:1-11).
    • Receiving revelation of Christ from the Father, and being given the keys of the kingdom of the heavens (Matt. 6: 16-19).
    • After many failures, being restored by the Lord and received the Lord's commitment to shepherd and feed His flock (John. 21:15-17).
    • Becoming a great servant of the Lord, and praying in one accord for the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, opening the door of the gospel to the Jews (I :14; 2:4,14,38,41).
    • Being the first to minister for the Lord in the New Testament age and bringing in three thousand and even five thousand believers; signs and power being with him; and experiencing the Lord's miraculous deliverance (2:14,41; 4:4; 5:12, 19; 12
    • Judging according to the authority of the Holy Spirit (5:3).
    • Opening the door of gospel to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius (10:24, 34, 44).
    • His later ministry is not clear. We know from his Epistles that he was in Babylon (1 Pet.5:13) and that he reached spiritual maturity.
    • He might have traveled among the Hebrew-speaking saints in the churches that Paul had raised up. This reveals that his work was related to Paul's in some way. (1Pet.1:1-2)
  • 2. Stephen- the first martyr for the Lord Jesus in God's economy
    • Being well attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (Acts 6:3).
    • Being full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, full of grace and power, doing great wonders and signs among the people (6:5,8).
    • Being the second particular person portrayed as ministering the word for the Lord in the age of New Testament. His message is the longest in the New Testament(7:2-53).
    • His words provoking people and a young man Saul. He was the first Christian martyred in the New Testament (7:54-60). (John's brother James was the first apostle to be martyred-l 2: 1-2.) His martyrdom stands as a turning point in the Holy Spirit's work(8: I).
    • Being full of the Holy Spirit, as he was being martyred he looked into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand of God (7:55-56).
  • 3. Philip - walking with God and growing unto ministry
    • Being well attested, full of the Spirit and of wisdom (6:3).
    • Going down to Samaria and proclaiming the Christ to them. (He healed people and cast out demons and performed many signs-8:4-7.)
    • Hearing the angel of the Lord and going on the road from Jerusalem to Gaza. Following the direction of the Holy Spirit, and approaching the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch he preached the gospel to him and baptized him. Afterwards, the Spirit of the Lord caught him away and he found himself in Azotus-8:26-39.)
    • Preaching the gospel from Azotus of Judea to Caesarea. (He lived there, becoming known to history as "Philip the evangelist"-8:40, 21:8.)
  • 4. Mark - Loving the Lord fervently yet having his weakness
    • Being a timid young man (Mark 14:51).
    • His house being a place where a number assembled to pray (Acts 12:12).
    • Brought to Antioch by his cousin Barnabas (12:25).
    • Going with Barnabas and Paul in their first journey. (Perhaps because of difficulties, he departed from them in Pamphylia and returned to Jerusalem-I 3:13.)
    • Being the source of disagreement between Paul and Barnabas (15:37-39).
    • Continuing to love the Lord faithfully. (He became Paul's fellow worker and a consolation to Paul while he was in jail (Col. 4:10-11.)
    • Timothy bringing him back to Rome, since he was useful to Paul for the ministry (2Tim. 4:11).
    • Peter referred to him as his son in his letter. (1 Pet. 5:13).
    • After the martyrdom of Paul, he seems to have been with Peter in Rome and finished his Gospel (Mark).
    • He might have raised up the church in Alexandria afterwards.
  • 5. Paul- suffering the loss of all things that he may lay hold of that for which he also has been laid hold of by Christ Jesus.
    • Being born in Tarsus of Cilicia, educated at Tarsus (At the time, Tarsus was a key commercial city with a very high reputation academically-22:3.)
    • Being trained at the feet of Gamaliel, according to the strictest interpretation of Jewish law (22:3).
    • When the Lord Jesus went to the feast in Jerusalem, it is likely he would have seen the Lord Jesus in person (26:4).
    • He should also have seen the great work of the Spirit in Jerusalem, yet he still lived as a Pharisee according to the strictest sect of Jewish religion (26:5).
    • It is very possible he was the primary person who stirred up the crowd to kill Stephen (7:58-60).
    • He also persecuted the people who were in the Way of the Lord (that is the Way which Jews called a sect, 24: 14) unto death (22:4)
    • Paul, seeing the vision
    • Hearing and seeing the Lord Jesus in the light (9:3-4,22: 14)
    • Also seeing the Body of the Christ, the church, in the vision (9: 12,22: 12-13)
    • Paul's pursuing - going to the wildness in Arabia for about three years (Gal. 1:17-18)
    • Preaching the gospel in Damascus full of power so that the Jews wanted to do away with him (Acts 9:23-25)
    • Preaching the gospel in Jerusalem full of power so that again the Jews wanted to do away with him (9:28-29)
    • Going back to Tarsus, preaching the gospel in the regions of Syria and Cilicia and raising up some churches (9:30, Gal. 1:21-23)
    • Going up to Jerusalem five times (Acts 9:26-28, 11:27-30, 15:2, 18:22, 21: 15-17)
    • Receiving the fellowship of Barnabas and going to Antioch (11:24-26)
    • Coordinating with brothers in Antioch for at least a whole year to build up the church in Antioch (11:25-26)
    • Having the organic relationship with the churches he served
    • Establishing a close relationship in Christ with the serving brothers in the churches (i.e., Philemon-Philem. 1)
    • Carrying out the Lord's commitment
    • Bringing the gospel from Asia to Europe in three journeys of preaching
    • Perhaps preaching the gospel to Spain after being released from his imprisonment in Rome (Rom. 15:23)
    • Manifesting his maturity in political and religious persecutions
    • Strongly testifying before a king and a governor (Acts 24:10, 26: 1)
    • Remaining in his own rented dwelling under guard, and writing the Epistles with revelations that testified of the Lord's work in him.- out of the constitution and maturity of truth, life and operation (28:30, Eph. 3:1-4, Philem. 9,
    • Col. 1:28-29).
    • After being released, he wanted to continue to Spain and was eventually martyred in Rome (2 Tim. 4:6-8)
  • 6. Barnabas a consecrated apostle was a son of encouragement
    • Barnabas experienced the revival in Jerusalem and consecrated everything to the Lord (Acts 4:36-37)
    • He was sent from Jerusalem to Antioch (11:22)
    • Barnabas introduced Paul to the apostles (9:27) and also sought out, found and brought Saul from Tarsus to Antioch to teach the disciples there (11:25-26)
    • He was set apart by the Holy Spirit with Paul for the work (13:2)
    • There was sharp contention between him and Paul regarding Mark, causing them to separate (15:39)
    • He still ministered to the churches and had Paul’s strong acknowledgment (1Cor.9:6, Col 4:10)
  • 7. There being prophets and teachers in the local church in Antioch (Acts 13:1)
    • Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul

Gospel Fellowship

• The Operation of Each One Part
• The Good Samaritan
• Parables
• Seeking The Lost
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The Pattern of the Work of the Holy Spirit - Part 4
The Operation of Each One Part

The Operation of Each One Part

The Operation of Each One Part
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• Out from whom all the Body, being joined together and being knit together through every joint of the rich supply and through the operation in the measure of each one part, causes the growth of the Body unto the building up of itself in love. (Eph.4:16)
  • Nor do men light a lamp and place it under the bushel, but on the lampstand; and it shines to all who are in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens. (Matt.5:15-16)
  • For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not of yourselves; it is the gift of God;
  • Not of works that no one should boast.
  • For we are His masterpiece, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand in order that we would walk in them. (Eph.2:8-10)
  • But rise up and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to appoint you as a minister and a witness both of the things in which you have seen Me and of the things in which I will appear to you; (Acts 26:16)
• Minister
  • for Ministry
  • Work
  • Saved by works
  • Justified by works - (James 2:24)
• Witness
  • for Testimony
  • Person
  • Saved by Grace
  • Justified by grace - (Eph. 2:8)
• Kingdom of the Heavens
  • As a Reward for Eternal Life
  • From Perdition
  • So also faith, if it does not have works, is dead in itself. But someone will say, You have faith, and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (James 2:17, 18)
  • You see that faith worked together with his works, and by these works faith was perfected. (James 2:22)
  • You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith only (James 2:24)
  • We are first justified by faith, and then we are justified by works. Unfortunately, many Christians only receive the first justification… The second justification is obtained after receiving the first justification through appropriating the Lord's good works. In James, his Epistle emphasized both faith and works; he never annulled faith. From this we see that faith is the foundation of justification.
  • The purpose of James' Epistle is to exhort people to " become doers of the word and not hearers only " (1:22). Furthermore, what he mentioned was merely a man's evaluation. Hence, words such as "Can that faith save him?" "Faith...is dead," and so forth, refer only to what people see in a believer and to the result of truth in man's eyes. They do not refer to the soul. We should know that we are first saved, then we perform good works. We do not perform good works first and then become saved.
  • Eternal life is different from the kingdom of the heavens. ..The kingdom of the heavens is obtained by works (Matt. 11:12, etc.). Eternal life means that we are saved from perdition. The kingdom of the heavens is the heavenly portion of the millennium. ..The kingdom of the heavens is where the saints rule as kings with the Lord Jesus in the millennium. This is a prize to be gained through works. Those in Matthew 7:22-23 will not lose their eternal life, but they will lose the kingdom of the heavens; that is, they will not be able to rule with the Lord for a thousand years. (Nee,Watchman, The Christian (5) pp.1039-1041)
  • A Christian needs a ministry that is particularly his, not just a general ministry. Every organ in the body has its special function… If you have a special knowledge of the Lord, this special knowledge will constitute your specific ministry.
  • Only specific ministries can serve the Body and cause the Body to grow. This is why every member has to continually seek and gain from the Lord what the Body does not have and convey it to the Body. When every member fulfills its ministry, there will be growth in the Body of Christ.(Nee, Watchman, Conferences, Messages, and Fellowship (4) p.844)
  • 36 Now in Joppa there was a certain disciple named Tabitha (which, when translated, is Dorcas); this woman was full of good works and alms which she did. 39 And Peter rose up and went with them. When he arrived, they led him up into the upper room. And all the widows stood by him, weeping and showing him tunics and garments, all of which Dorcas had made while she was with them.

The Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan
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• From the book of Luke, Chapter 10
  • 29 But he (a certain lawyer), wanting to justify himself, said to Jesus, And who is my neighbor?
  • 30 Jesus, taking up the question, said, A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who having both stripped him and beaten him, went away, leaving him half dead.
  • 31 And by coincidence a certain priest was going down on that road; and when he saw him, he passed by on the opposite side.
  • 32 And likewise also a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the opposite side.
  • 33 But a certain Samaritan, who was journeying, came upon him; and when he saw him, he was moved with compassion;
  • 34 And he came to him and bound up his wounds and poured oil and wine on them. And placing him on his own beast, he brought him to an inn and took care of him.
  • 35 And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, Take care of him; and whatever you spend in addition to this, when I return, I will repay you.
  • 36 Which of these three, does it seem to you, has become a neighbor to him who fell into the hands of the robbers?
  • 37 And he said, The one who showed mercy to him. And Jesus said to him, Go, and you do likewise.
  • 41 But the Lord answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things;
  • 42 But there is need of one thing, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her (Luke 10:38-42).
  • That I might be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles, a laboring priest of the gospel of God, in order that the offering of the Gentiles might be acceptable, having been sanctified in the Holy Spirit (Rom 15:16).
  • For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45).

Parables

Parables
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• The Greatest Stories Ever Told
• To Hear the Lord’s Word and Do It is to be Prudent, but if One Does Not Do It is to be Foolish.
• Building one’s house upon the rock and not sand – Matthew 7:24-27
• Letting your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in the heavens. - Matt. 5:16
• Let your word be, Yes, yes; No, no; for anything more than these is of the evil one – Matt. 5:37
  • Love your enemies, and pray for those who persecute you – Matt. 5:44
  • Take care not to do your righteousness before men in order to be gazed at by them; otherwise, you have no reward with your Father who is in the heavens. – Matt. 6:1
  • When you give alms, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. – Matt 6:3
  • In praying do not babble empty words as the Gentiles do; for they suppose that in their multiplicity of words they will be heard. – Matt. 6:7
  • For if you forgive men their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you also; But if you do not forgive men their offenses, neither will your Father forgive your offenses. – Matt. 6:14-15
  • Store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not dig through nor steal. – Matt. 6:20
  • No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other; or he will hold to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. – Matt. 6:24
  • Do not be anxious for your life, what you should eat or what you should drink; nor for your body, what you should put on. Is not the life more than food, and the body than clothing? – Matt. 6:25
  • Do not judge, that you be not judged. For with what judgment you judge, you shall be judged; and with what measure you measure, it shall be measured to you. – Matt. 7:1-2
  • Do not give that which is holy to the dogs, neither cast your pearls before the hogs, lest they trample them with their feet, and turn and tear you. – Matt. 7:6 (religious persons not clean , c.f. 2 Pet. 2:12, 19-22; Phil. 3:2)
  • Ask and it shall be given to you; seek and you shall find; knock and it shall be opened to you – Matt. 7:7
  • ...every good tree produces good fruit, but the corrupt tree produces bad fruit. – Matt. 7:18

Seeking The Lost

Seeking The Lost
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Dealing with Our Self

• Understanding our Enemy, Satan and his Strategy
• Overcoming Addictions
• Living in the Modern Age
• Clearance of the Past
• Leaving Religion
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Seeking The Lost
Understanding our Enemy, Satan and his Strategy

Understanding our Enemy, Satan and his Strategy

Understanding our Enemy, Satan and his Strategy
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• (Isaiah 14 12-14)
  • How you have fallen from heaven, Daystar, son of the dawn! How you have been hewn down t the earth, you wh made nations fall prostrate! But you said in your heart: I will ascend t heaven; above the stars of God. I will exalt my throne. And I will sit upon the mount of assembly in the uttermost parts of the north. I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the most high.
  • ...Therefore I sent forth fire from your midst; it consumed you, and I reduced you t ashes upon the earth in the sight of all those wh looked at you. ( Ezk.28:18b)
  • Satan-adversary, the devil-accuser, slanderer, the tempter
• His deceptions against us, the saved ones
  • Keeping us from being absolute in our consecration t GodBut Peter said,
    • Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart t deceive the Holy Spirit and t put aside for yourself some of the proceeds of the land? (Acts 5:3)
  • Holding us back from taking off our filthy garments
    • For because they were ignorant of God's righteousness and sought t establish their own righteousness they were not subject t the righteousness of God. (Romans 10:3)
    • Then they showed me Joshua...and Satan standing at his right hand t accuse him... Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments. (Zech. 3:1,3)
  • Working in fleshly jealousy and rivalry
    • But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, d not boast and lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which descends from above, but it is earthly, soulish, demonic. (James 3: 14-15)
  • Keeping us from the cross by means of other men
    • And Peter took him aside and began t rebuke Him, saying, God be merciful t you, Lord! This shall by n means happen t you! But He turned and said to Peter, get behind Me Satan! You are a stumbling block t me, for you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of men. (Matt. 16: 22-23)
  • Threatening us as a roaring lion
    • Be sober; watch. Your adversary, the devil, as a roaring lion, walks about, seeking someone t devour. (1 Peter 5:8)
  • Making us proud
    • Not a new convert, lest being blinded with pride he fall int the judgment suffered by the devil. (1 Timothy 3:6)
  • Causing us t doubt God's word
    • Now the serpent was more crafty than any other animal of the field that Jehovah God had made. And he said t the woman, did God really say, you shall not eat of any tree of the garden? (Genesis 3:1)
  • Setting up his snare
    • And he als must have a good testimony from those outside, that he may not fall int the reproach and snare of the devil. (1 Timothy 3:7)
  • Accusing us the believers
    • ...for the accuser of our brothers has been cast down, wh accuses them before our God day and night. (Rev. 12:10b)
  • Corrupting our faith
    • But I fear less somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your thoughts would be corrupted from the simplicity and purity toward Christ. (2 Cor. 11:3)
• The Warfare Required t Stand Against the Stratagems of the Devil
  • Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able t stand against the stratagems of the devil, for our wrestling is not against blood and flesh but against rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenlies.
  • Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able t stand in the evil day and having done all t stand. Stand therefore, having girded your loins with truth and having put on the breast plate of righteousness, (Eph. 6:11-18)
  • and having shod your feet with the firm foundation of the gospel of peace; besides all these, having taken up the shield of faith, with which you will be able t quench all the flaming darts of the evil one.
  • And receive the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Spirit is the word of God. By means of all prayer and petition, praying at every time in spirit and watching unt this in all perseverance and petition concerning all the saints.

Overcoming Addictions

Overcoming Addictions
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• Driven By Vision
  • God became man so that man could become God in life and nature, but not in the God-Head - 2 Peter 1:4-5
  • Having a God-man living today - Matthew 5:48
  • Shepherding others for the building up of the Body of Christ - Ephesians 2:21-22; 4:16
• Obeying God's Word - God's Standards are Absolute, Not Merely Excellent
  • "Knowing this, that our old man has been crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be annulled, that we should no longer serve sin as slaves…So also you, reckon yourselves to be dead to sin, but living to God in Christ Jesus. Do not let sin therefore reign in your mortal body so that you obey the body's lusts" - Romans 6:6, 11-12
  • "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price. So then glorify God in your body." - Romans 6:19-20
  • "Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? Purge out the old leaven that you may be a new lump, even as you are unleavened; for our Passover, Christ, also has been sacrificed. So then let us keep the feast, not with old leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and evil, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to mingle with fornicators, But not altogether with the fornicators of this world or with the covetous and rapacious, or idolaters, since then you would have to go out of the world. But now I have written to you not to mingle with anyone who is called a brother, if he is a fornicator or a covetous man or an idolater or a reviler or a drunkard or a rapacious man, with such a one not even to eat." - 1 Corinthians 5:6-11
• Addictive Behaviors
  • Doing things in isolation, that is, being mentally and emotionally detached whether people are around or not causing there to be a void in relationships and a lack of openness. It manifests itself by fantasizing about something or dwelling on something that one acts upon.
  • A double life where part of your living is secret and not transparent to others.
  • Self-obsession which leaves little room to give to others.
  • Self-gratification without regard to the harmful effects on others and on one's self.
  • Behaviors that result in guilt, regret, and feelings of emptiness.
  • Actions which escape pain and problems that only intensify but never solve anything.
  • A cycle of preoccupation, ritualization, and compulsive behavior that ends in despair.
  • Making excuses rather than not doing whatever it takes to rid yourself of the addiction through God's supply. This may involve rehabilitation, counseling, and/or social programs designed to deal with specific addictions. Some major areas of concern are sexual, drug abuse, alcoholism, debt, and uncontrollable anger.
• Practical Ways To Implement God's Word
  • "Do not be deceived: Evil companionships corrupt good morals."- 1 Corinthians 15:33
  • "I made a covenant with my eyes; How then can I gaze upon a virgin?" - Job 31:1
  • "For the weapons of our warfare are not fleshly but powerful before God for the overthrowing of strongholds; As we overthrow reasonings and every high thing rising up against the knowledge of God, and take captive every thought unto the obedience of Christ."
  • "But flee youthful lusts, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart." - 2 Timothy 2:22
  • "Be subject therefore to God; but withstand the devil, and he will flee from you." - James 4:7
  • "No temptation has taken you except that which is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow that you be tempted beyond what you are able, but will, with the temptation, also make the way out, that you may be able to endure it." - 1 Corinthians 10:13
• The End Result Of Following God Absolutely
  • Regaining and revitalizing your relationship with God in Christ Jesus through the Spirit
  • Regaining and revitalizing your relationship with your family
  • Regaining and revitalizing your relationship with the saints
  • Regaining and revitalizing your relationship to your particular gift or ministry God gave to you

Living in the Modern Age

Living in the Modern Age
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• Our High Vision
  • God became man that He might make man God, in life and nature, but not in the Godhead.
  • What does this look like?
• God becoming man
  • For though I am free from all, I have enslaved myself to all that I might gain the more.
  • And to the Jews I became as a Jew in order that I might gain the Jews….To those without law, as without law (though I am not without the law to Christ), that I might gain those without law.
  • To the weak I became weak that I might gain the weak. To all men I have become all things that I might by all means gain some. (1 Cor. 9:19-22).
  • To the college students, I became a college student, that I might save the college students. To the moms I became a mom, that I might save the moms.
  • To the sick I became sick, that I might save the sick; to those who exercise, I became one who exercises, that I might gain those who exercise.
  • To those who take walks in the park, I became one who takes walks, that I might gain the walkers.
  • To the TV watchers, I became as a TV watcher, that I might gain the couch potatoes; to the bowlers I became a bowler, to gain the bowlers.
  • To the Steeler fans, I became as a Steeler fan, that I may gain the Steeler fans.
  • To the Catholics I became as a Catholic, that I might gain Catholics; to the Pentecostals I became as a Pentecostal, that I might gain Pentecostals.
  • To the atheists I became as an atheist, that I might gain atheists; to the liberals I became a liberal, that I might gain liberals; to the conservatives I became a conservative, that I might gain conservatives.
  • To all Pittsburghers I have become all things, that I might by all means, save some.
• God has strategically placed each one of us to invade part of the world for His kingdom
  • The church is not our exclusive club that we are trying to maintain
  • God became man, by becoming all things, by using all means, to make some men God
• The Rules of God Becoming Man
  • God will not sin
  • God will not be worldly
  • God loves sinners, but hates the sin
  • God loves the world, but hates worldliness
  • How do we tell what is worldly?
• What is the World?
  • The lust of the flesh
  • The lust of the eyes
  • The vainglory of life
• The Lord's Secret Weapon
  • Leviticus 11
    • "These are the animals which you may not eat"
  • Eating
    • To eat is to contact the things outside of us that could affect us inside. This especially refers to our contacting of people and things of this modern life.
• 5 Categories of Animals
  • We are constantly surrounded by five categories of "animals"
  • We must learn how to discern these things to live the life of a God-man resulting in shepherding people
  • Discerning our Food
    • "Whatever has a divided hoof…and chews the cud among the beasts, that you may eat."
    • "Anything in the water that has fins and scales…these you may eat"
    • "Abominations among the birds; they shall not be eaten…vulture, falcon, raven…"
    • "These you may eat…flying insects…which have legs...to leap on the earth"
    • "Unclean to you…all the swarming things"
    • Beasts-feed and discern
    • Fish-protect and resist
    • Birds-transcendent life-eaters
    • Insects-leaping and flying above the world
    • Creeping things-one with the world
  • Not Touching Dead Things
    • Unclean until evening
    • Cleansed by the water (life-giving Spirit)
    • Earthen vessels must be broken
  • Christ, Only Christ
    • Christ is the only clean one
    • Christ is mingled with our spirit
    • Christ:
      • Divides the hoof and chews the cud
      • Is covered with scales and has fins
      • Has leaping legs
      • Is a clean cistern filled with living water
  • John 17:15-18
    • I do not ask that You would take them out of the world, but that you would keep them out of the hands of the evil one.
    • They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.
    • Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth.
    • As You have sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world.

Clearance of the Past

Clearance of the Past
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• A man who has been truly regenerated and saved will naturally bring all of his past to an end.
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 17 So then if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away; behold, they have become new.
• In the Old Testament, immediately after the Israelites were saved by keeping the passover, they left Egypt. They forsook the Egyptian ways of living. From that day forward they lived a new life and walked a new way; everything they did was new. This is a very clear type.
• God wants to renew us inwardly and outwardly, to make us a new man living a new life and walking on a new path. He wants to renew us completely from center to circumference.
• We know that all the religions of the world are built on their various religious codes. Their followers live and behave according to these rules. The Lord’s salvation is not like that. The salvation of the Lord, through the regeneration of the Holy Spirit, gives us a new life.
• Since we are saved and are a new man, our living and daily walk should have a new beginning. After we are saved, we should turn to the Lord to see whether any person, thing, or matter in our living should remain the same.
• This has nothing to do with the forgiveness you received from the Lord, but it is very much related to your testimony.
• God always draws our attention to the fact that our past sins are under the blood. We are fully forgiven and saved because the Lord Jesus has died for us.
• Our salvation is not based on how we deal with the past. Man is not saved by repentance for his past bad deeds, just as he is not saved by trusting in his past good deeds. Man is saved through the salvation accomplished by the Lord on the cross.
• We do not need to do anything additional to take care of our past sins. We do not need to search our past and deal with each item in a thorough way in order to obtain God’s forgiveness.
• Our past is under the precious blood of the Lord. God has forgiven us. It is finished.
• Hebrews 8:12 12 For I will be propitious to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins I shall by no means remember anymore.
• God in His grace has completely forgotten our past. God’s forgiving is the same as His forgetting. We should not remember what God has forgotten.
• Neither the Lord Jesus nor the Apostle Paul clearly taught anything in regard to the clearance of the past. They did not give any rules demanding what one must do to end his past. The Bible, however, does present numerous examples of things that believers did after they were saved.
• There is no direct teaching in the Scriptures concerning terminating the past; there are only examples.
• What are the things of the past that need to be cleared away after we are saved? What are the objects which must be ended and cleared up?
• There are four categories: (1) unrighteous matters (2) improper matters (3) evil and unclean matters (4) old ways of living
• (1) Unrighteous Matters Unrighteous means unjust, illegal. All that we have obtained in the past by unjust, illegal means, such as stealing, swindling, taking by force, not returning things that were borrowed long ago, and any other unjust dealings toward others are things that we should clear up.
• Luke 19:1-10 1 And He entered and was passing through Jericho. 2 And behold, there was a man whose name was called Zaccheus; and he was a chief tax collector, and he was rich. 3 And he was seeking to see Jesus, who He was, and could not because of the crowd, for he was small in stature. 4 And he ran on ahead and climbed up in a sycamore tree in order to see Him, for He was about to pass through that way.
• 5 And as He came to the place, Jesus looked up and said to him, Zaccheus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay in your house. 6 And he hurried and came down, and received Him, rejoicing. 7 And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, He has gone in to lodge with a sinful man.
• 8 And Zaccheus stood and said to the Lord, Behold, the half of my possessions, Lord, I give to the poor, and if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I restore four times as much. 9 And Jesus said to him, Today salvation has come to this house, because he also is a son of Abraham. 10 For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost.
• As soon as Zaccheus was saved, he immediately felt that he had extorted others in the past and was thus unrighteous. He also felt that he was a money lover with a stingy manner of living.
• He said therefore to the Lord that if he had taken anything from any man by false accusation, he would willingly restore him fourfold. Furthermore, he was willing to give half of his goods to the poor.
• Formerly, he had extorted money from others and was unrighteous; so, he put an end to his unrighteous deeds by restoring fourfold. He also gave half of his goods to the poor; that was to end his old way of living.
• The words of Zaccheus the tax collector to the Lord when he received Him demonstrate the overabounding power of the Lord’s salvation. These actions were not conditions for salvation, nor were they the requirement and commandment of the Lord, but they were the issue of the Lord’s dynamic salvation which came to Zaccheus.
• Based on this case of salvation, as soon as possible after we have believed in the Lord, we also ought to return any unrighteous gain to those whom we have wronged. Only then will we have a testimony before men and peace in our conscience.
• (2) Improper Matters Improper and unrighteous are close in meaning, yet they are different. Improper means that the very nature of a certain thing or matter is improper or indecent.
• For instance, things used in gambling and drinking can be obtained by legal means. Since both gambling and drinking are improper and indecent, the very nature of these things is improper and indecent. Reading obscene novels cannot be said to be unrighteous, but surely it is improper. All these matters are also things that we should put to an end.
• (3) Evil and Unclean Matters Evil and unclean matters are things related to idols This includes things such as graven or portrait idols, candlesticks and censers used in idol worship; items with the image of the dragon; unclean things related to curious arts, such as books on horoscopes, charms, etc.
• This also includes evil and unclean things, such as worshiping idols, worshiping ancestors, divining, fortune-telling, etc. These are hated by God even more than the things in the first two categories, and they are certainly intolerable to the life within us, which is holy and clean. Therefore, even more so must these things be thoroughly put to an end.
• 1 Thessalonians 1:8-9 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded out; not only in Macedonia and in Achaia, but in every place, your faith toward God has gone out, so that we have no need of saying anything. 9 For they themselves report concerning us what kind of entrance we had toward you and how you turned to God from the idols to serve a living and true God.
• This verse refers to the believers in Thessalonica. Once they believed in the Lord, they turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.
• We should leave the things of the past in the past but conclude anything related to our present involvements. Even though the offense of a person who worshipped idols in the past is washed away by the blood of the Lord once he believes in the Lord, he may presently still have an idol in his home.
• No matter how much he worshipped idols in the past, there is no need to speak of these experiences. However, from the day of his salvation, the idol in his home and in his life must be removed and terminated.
• Acts 19:18-20 18 And many of those who had believed came, confessing and making known their practices. 19 And a considerable number of those who practiced magic brought their books together and burned them before all; and they counted up the price of them and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 Thus, the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
• These verses describe the new Ephesian believers, who originally were worshippers of a goddess in Ephesus. After they believed and turned to God, they brought the evil books in their possession and burned them before all.
• The price of the books burned was fifty thousand pieces of silver. Since each piece of silver approximated a day’s wage, we can see that these books were worth a lot of money.
• The Bible specifically states the value of the things burned, showing that the believers in those days burned expensive items. They did not sell their books and give the money to the church. Instead, the books were burned.
• When we abandon demonic and filthy things, we should not consider the cost. If Judas had been present, he certainly would not have allowed this. This was much more than thirty pieces of silver which could have been given to the poor. But the Lord was pleased to have them burned.
• This case makes clear that after we have believed in the Lord, we should discard all evil and unclean things which have to do with idolatry and wicked works. Since we are people who belong to God, who worship and serve God, what we wear and what we display and store in our homes must not show any traces of these evil and unclean things.
• Exodus 20:4-5a 4 You shall not make for yourself an idol, nor the form of anything that is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water beneath the earth. 5a You shall not bow down to them, and you shall not serve them; for I, Jehovah your God, am a jealous God.
• Deuteronomy 7:5 5 But you shall deal with them in this way: Their altars you shall tear down, their pillars you shall shatter, their Asherahs you shall hew down, and their idols you shall burn with fire.
• God will not tolerate one who serves Him to bow down and worship before any idol. This is because there are demons hidden behind the idols. In the Old Testament, God demanded that His people smash and burn all idols.
• We who belong to God should do the same, never preserving any idols in order to give them to others. Not only the idols themselves, but also all objects related to the idols must be smashed and burned.
• 2 Corinthians 6:16 16 And what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God, even as God said, “I will dwell among them and walk among them; and I will be their God, and they will be My people.”
• 1 John 5:21 21 Little children, guard yourselves from idols.
• (4) Old Ways of Living Old ways of living refer to our entire old manner of living before we were saved. After we are saved, we must also put an end to our whole former manner of living and have a new beginning.
• In his former life, Zaccheus put an extreme value upon money. Covetousness was his philosophy of life. Loving money was his old way of living.
• When Zaccheus was saved and God’s life entered into him, his concept concerning money was immediately changed. He esteemed it to be of little value. He was willing to give. This shows that his life was changed and his old way of covetous living was ended.
• How far should we go in putting an end to the things of the past? To what degree should we proceed?
• Romans 8:6 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.
• The clearance of the past is not based on the demand of outward regulations, but on the sense of life within. When we are practicing the clearing of the past, what needs to be ended really depends on the sense of life within.
• We should care for the feeling of the conscience in terminating and dealing with these items. We must also be careful. We should not let our conscience become overly sensitive.
• We should use common sense to balance the feeling of our conscience. Therefore, we should not rush into dealing with the past simply because we have repented and are zealous. Rather, dealing with the past requires us to walk continually before the Lord.
• This is not a matter of outward regulation. Instead, the Holy Spirit will touch us concerning these matters. When He does, we should respond.
• If we follow the demand of our inner feeling to make restitution, to confess our sins, to eliminate improper and unclean things, and to end our old way of living, we will surely feel strengthened, enlightened, satisfied, and enlivened. We will also feel peaceful, secure, and full of the presence of the Lord.

Leaving Religion

Leaving Religion
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• What is Religion?
  • Religion-Theskeia (Gk.)
  • Refers to the ceremonial service and worship to God (implying the fear of God).
  • Religion in its external aspect.
  • An outward form of godliness.
• If anyone thinks himself to be religious and yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this one's religion is vain. (James1:26)
  • Having an outward from of godliness, though denying its power; from these also turn away. (2 Tim. 3:5)
• And after these things He went out and beheld a tax collector named Levi sitting at the tax office, and He said to him, Follow Me.
  • And leaving all, he rose up and followed Him.
  • And Levi gave a great reception for Him in his house; and there was a great crowd of tax collectors and others who were reclining at table with them. (Luke 5:27-29)
• And the Pharisees and their scribes murmured at His disciples, saying, why do you eat and drink with the tax collectors and sinners?
  • And Jesus answered and said to them, those who are healthy have no need of a physician, but those who are ill;
  • I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. (Luke 5:30-32)
• And they said to Him, the disciples of John fast often and make petitions, likewise also those of the Pharisees, but yours eat and drink.
  • And Jesus said to them, you cannot make the sons of the bridechamber fast while the bridegroom is with them, can you?
  • But the days will come when the bridegroom will be taken away from them; then they will fast in those days. (Luke 5:33-35)
• And He also spoke a parable to them: No one tears a patch from new garment and puts it on an old garment; otherwise, he will tear the new garment, and also the patch from the new will not match the old.
  • And on one puts new wine into old wineskins; otherwise, the new wine will burst the wineskins, and it will be poured out and the wineskin will be ruined;
  • But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. (Luke 5:36-38)
• And no one who has drunk the old desires the new, for he says, the old is better. (Luke 5: 39)
• O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly portrayed crucified?
  • This only I wish to learn from you, did you receive the Spirit out of the works of law or out of the hearing of faith?
  • Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? (Gal. 3:1-3)
• For the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. (Rom. 14:17)
• Let no one therefore judge you in eating and drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of the Sabbath,
  • Which are a shadow of the things to come, but the body is of Christ.
  • Let no one defraud you by judging you unworthy of your prize, in self-chosen lowliness and the worship of the angels, dwelling on the things which he has seen, vainly puffed up by his mind set on the flesh. (Col.2:16-18)
• Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I desired to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not!
  • Behold, your house is left to you desolate.
  • For I say to you, You shall by no means see Me from now on until you say, Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord. (Matt. 23:37-39)

Fellowship in Ephesians

• Introduction to the Book of Ephesians
• Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 1-6
• Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 7-14
• Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 13-21
• Christ Subjecting All Things to Himself
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Leaving Religion
Introduction to the Book of Ephesians

Introduction to the Book of Ephesians

Introduction to the Book of Ephesians
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• God's Heavenly View of the Church in Seven Aspects
  • The Body of Christ (1:23; 4:13) – not an amorphous blob, free or clergy-laity
  • The New Man (2:15) – exhibits the person of Christ
  • The Kingdom of God (2:19) – displays God's ways of righteousness
  • The Household of God (2:19) – intimate family relationship
  • The Dwelling Place of God – universally and locally (2:21-22)
  • The Bride of Christ (5:24-25) – a loving union and communion
  • The Warrior (6:11-12) – fighting for God's interests on the earth
• Unique Characteristics of the Believers
  • Blessed by the Triune God – (1:3; 1:7; 1:13)
  • Predestinated unto Sonship – to be holy and without blemish before Him in love (1:4-5)
  • God's Masterpiece – created in Christ Jesus for good works (2:10)
  • Freed by the abolishing of all ordinances, so making peace (2:15)
  • Being built together universally through each member in their locality (2:21-22)
  • Gifted members working together with all the members function harmoniously (4:11-12, 16)
  • Imitating God by walking in love (5:1-2)
  • Filled in Spirit by speaking to one another in psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (5:18-19; 1 Chronicles 25:1-3, 6)

Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 1-6

Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 1-6
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• Ephesians 1:1-6
• Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
  • Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ,
  • Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,
  • Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
  • To the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in the Beloved;
• 1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, ...
  • Paul was made an apostle of Christ, not by man, but through the will of God. This gave him authority to put forth the revelation in this epistle of God's eternal purpose concerning the church.
• 1 ... to the saints who are in Ephesus ...
  • The receivers of this book were the saints in Ephesus. The saints are those who are made holy, sanctified, separated unto God from everything that is common.
• 1 ... and are faithful in Christ Jesus:
  • The receivers were also the faithful in Christ Jesus. They had not only a sanctified position, but also a faithful living. In order to be qualified and positioned to receive this book, we need to be this kind of people.
• 2 Grace to you ...
  • Grace is God as our enjoyment. When God becomes our portion for us to enjoy, that is grace.
• 2 ... and peace ...
  • When we enjoy God as grace, we are in a condition that is full of rest, satisfaction, and joy. This is peace.
• 2 ... from God our Father ...
  • We are both God's creatures and God's sons. To us as God's creatures God is our God, and to us as God's sons He is our Father.
• 2 ... and the Lord Jesus Christ.
  • Grace and peace also come to us from the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our Redeemer, and we are His redeemed ones. As the Lord's redeemed ones, we have Him as our Lord.
  • We have a threefold status: we have been created, regenerated, and redeemed. We have God as our Creator, we have the Father as our Father, and we have Jesus Christ as our Redeemer.
• 3 Blessed be ...
  • The Greek word for blessed means well spoken of, praised with adoration. The Greek word for blessing means good speech, fine speaking, implying bounty and benefit.
• 3 ... the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, ...
  • God is the God of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of Man. God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. According to His humanity, God is His God; and according to His divinity, God is His Father.
  • "Lord" signifies Christ's lordship. "Jesus" signifies His humanity to be our Redeemer and Savior. "Christ" signifies that He is God's anointed One.
• 3 ... who has blessed us ...
  • The God whom we bless has blessed us. In the New Testament God speaks well regarding us. The books of the New Testament are filled with God's beautiful speech concerning us.
  • We bless God, because God has blessed us. Because He has spoken so well concerning us, we return the well-speaking to Him.
• 3 ... with every spiritual blessing ...
  • All the blessings, benefits, and bounties in the universe are of three categories. The first category is God's creation, the second is God's redemption, and the third is God's regeneration.
  • We are qualified to partake of all the good things of God's creation because we are God's creatures. As the redeemed ones, we enjoy forgiveness of sins, justification by faith, reconciliation in God's grace, and sanctification. Because we are redeemed, all the benefits in God's redemption are ours.
  • Because we have been regenerated, we enjoy God's life, His nature, and His Person. By these three qualifications–being created, redeemed, and regenerated–we are fully and thoroughly qualified to enjoy all the blessings in the universe, the blessings in God's creation, redemption, and regeneration.
• 3 ... in the heavenlies in Christ,
  • God has blessed us with blessings that are spiritual, in the heavenlies, and in Christ. The believers in Christ are enjoying on earth these heavenly blessings. They are different from the blessings with which God blessed Israel. Those were physical and earthly.
• 4 Even as He chose us ...
  • Verses 4-14 present a list of all the spiritual blessings with which God has blessed us. God's choosing is His first blessing bestowed upon us. God's choosing is His selection. From among numberless people, He has selected us.
• 4 ... in Him ...
  • Christ was the sphere in which we were selected by God. Outside of Christ we are not God's choice.
• 4 ... before the foundation of the world ...
  • God's selection was not made in time, but in eternity. Before the foundation of the world, God chose us. Among millions of people, He foresaw us before we were even born and selected us before the foundation of the world.
• 4 ... to be holy ...
  • God chose us that we should be holy. Holiness is neither sinlessness nor perfection. Holy not only means sanctified, separated unto God, but also different, distinct, from everything that is common. Only God is different, distinct, from all things. Hence, He is holy; holiness is His nature.
  • The way God makes us holy is to impart Himself, the Holy One, into us. For us, God's chosen ones, to be holy is to partake of His divine nature (2 Pet. 1:4). This makes our being holy, like God Himself in His nature and in His character.
  • Through which he has granted to us precious and exceedingly great promises, that through these you might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption which is in the world by lust.
• 4 ... and without blemish ...
  • A blemish is like a foreign particle in a precious gem. God's chosen ones should be saturated only with God Himself and have no foreign particles, such as the fallen natural human element, the flesh, the self, or worldly things. This is to be without blemish, to be without any mixture, to have no element other than God's holy nature.
• 4 ... before Him ...
  • "Before Him" means to be holy and without blemish in the eyes of God according to His divine standard.
• 4 ... in love,
  • Love here refers to the love with which God loves His chosen ones and with which His chosen ones love Him. Firstly, God loved us. This divine love inspires us to love Him in return.
• 5 Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, ...
  • Being predestinated unto sonship is the second item of God's blessing. The goal of God's predestination is sonship. As God's creatures, we need to be regenerated by Him so that we may participate in His life to be His sons.
  • Sonship implies not only the life, but also the position of the son. God's marked-out ones have the life to be His sons and the position to inherit Him.
• 5 ... according to the good pleasure of His will,
  • God predestinated us unto sonship according to the good pleasure of His will, which is His purpose. This reveals that God has a will in which is His good pleasure, the desire of His heart.
  • To be holy is the procedure, not the goal. The goal is sonship. God has chosen us to be holy so that we might be His sons. God does not merely want a group of holy people; He desires many sons.
• 6 To the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us ...
  • For God to grace us means that He has put us into the position of grace that we may be the object of His grace and favor, that is, to enjoy all that God is to us.
  • Here in the position of grace and as the object of grace we are fully accepted by God, and God is pleased with us. His delight is in us, and we are happy with Him.
• 6 ... in the Beloved;
  • The Beloved is God's beloved Son in whom He delights. For God to grace us is to make us an object in whom He delights. This is altogether a pleasure to God.
  • In the Beloved we were graced, made the object of God's favor and pleasure. As such an object we enjoy God, and God enjoys us in His grace in His Beloved, who is His delight. In His Beloved we also become His delight.

Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 7-14

Enjoying the Triune God
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• For the building up of the local church
• Christ and the church
• Now you are the Body of Christ, and members individually.
  • 1 Cor. 12:27
• The Father
  • Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ,
  • Even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world to be holy and without blemish before Him in love,
  • Predestinating us unto sonship through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will,
  • To the praise of the glory of His grace, with which He graced us in the Beloved;
• The Son
  • In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of offenses, according to the riches of His grace,
  • Which He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and prudence,
  • Making known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Himself,
  • Unto the plan of the fullness of the times, to head up all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him;
• The Spirit
  • In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise,
  • Who is the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.
• Enjoying the Triune God
  • The Father
    • Chose us
    • Predestinated us
  • The Son
    • Forgives us our offenses
    • Heads us up
  • The Spirit
    • Seals us
    • Our pledge
• NT Example
  • Now there were in Antioch, in the local church, prophets and teachers: Barnabas and Simeon, who was called Niger, and Lucius the Cyrenian, and Manaen, the foster brother of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
    • Acts 13:1
• OT Example
  • You shall number them, every one (this means me) who enters into the service to do the work of the Tent of Meeting (the church life)
  • And this is the charge of what they are to carry, according to all their service in the Tent of Meeting: the boards of the tabernacle and its bars and its pillars and its sockets, and the pillars around the court and their sockets and their pegs and their cords, with all their equipment (all the experiences of Christ)
  • And you shall assign by name (my name) the equipment they have been charged to carry.
  • According to the commandment of Jehovah through Moses they were numbered, everyone (this means me) according to his service and according to his burden.
    • Numbers 4:30-32,49
• Every Day
  • Daily enjoy the supply of Spirit in the Word-
  • Allow Christ to head us up as we operate in the local church
  • This makes the Father happy

Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 13-21

Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 13-21
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• The Apostle's First Prayer
  • Ephesians 1:13-21
    • 13 In whom you also, having heard the word of the truth, the gospel of your salvation, in Him also believing, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of the promise,
    • 14 Who is the pledge of our inheritance unto the redemption of the acquired possession, to the praise of His glory.
    • Heard---the Word (the gospel)
    • Believing---in Him
    • Sealed---with the Holy Spirit
    • The Promise—the Pledge of our inheritance
    • Unto the redemption of the acquired possession
    • 15 Therefore I also, having heard of the faith in the Lord Jesus which is among you and your love to all the saints,
    • 16 Do not cease giving thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers,
    • 17 That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the full knowledge of Him,
    • 18 The eyes of your heart having been enlightened, that you may know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of **His inheritance in the saints,
    • 19 And what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the operation of the might of His strength,
    • Hope of His calling---Christ
    • Riches of the Inheritance in the saints---the church
    • Greatness of His Power
    • Seeing is Believing
    • Toward us who believe
    • What do we See?
    • 20 Which He caused to operate in Christ in raising Him from the dead and seating Him at His right hand in the heavenlies,
    • 21 Far above all rule and authority and power and lordship and every name that is named not only in this age but also in that which is to come;
    • But be careful and guard your soul diligently, so that you do not forget the things which your eyes have seen and they do not depart from your heart all the days of your life; rather, make them known to your children and to your grandchildren (Deut.4:9).

Christ Subjecting All Things to Himself

Christ Subjecting All Things to Himself
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• Christ Subjecting All Things to Himself To Be Head Over All Things
  • I. The Triune God's Operation to Gain the Seven Aspects of the
  • Church – Eph. 1:3-14
    • A. The Body of Christ (Eph. 1:23; 4:13)
    • B. The New Man (Eph. 2:15)
    • C. The Kingdom of God (Eph. 2:19)
    • D. The Household of God (Eph. 2:19)
    • E. The Dwelling Place of God (Eph. 2:21-22)
    • F. The Bride of Christ (Eph. 5:24-25)
    • G. The Warrior (Eph. 6:11-12)
  • II. Christ Subjecting All Things to be Head Over All Things
    • Ephesians 1:22 – 23 "And He subjected all things under His feet and gave Him to be Head over all things to the church, Which is His Body, the fullness of the One who fills all in all."
    • A. The whole creation being subject to vanity
    • Romans 8:19-23 – "For the anxious watching of the creation eagerly awaits the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation was made subject to vanity, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it;
    • B. Man taking the lead to be rebellious against God and replacing God with something else – "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven upon all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness." – Romans 1:18
    • 1. Sinful things – "And even as they did not approve of holding God in their full knowledge, God gave them up to a disapproved mind, to do the things which are not fitting, Being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malignity..." – Romans 1:29
    • 2. Philosophical, Cultural, and Ritualistic Observances –
    • "Beware that no one carries you off as spoil through his philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elements of the world and not according to Christ." – Colossians 2:9 -
• The world would tells us:
  • God is love and would never condemn anyone for eternity
  • We should be politically correct and not be narrow minded or prejudiced in any way so we can accept everyone's beliefs
  • The path to God takes many forms and you should find whatever fits you
    • 4. We should worship with people we like and are comfortable with according to our social status, cultural background, or race
    • 5. We should worship together only when we all agree on our favorite ministers, doctrines or teachings, eating habits, drinking habits, dress, ascetic views, or favorite music
  • B. The Whole Creation Needing to Be Headed Up by Christ in Man
    • 1. Beginning with man's spirit – John 3:5-6
      • "Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God; That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
    • 2. Transforming man's soul – Romans 12:2; Mark 12:30;
      • "And do not be fashioned according to this age, but be transformed by the renewing of the mind that you may prove what the will of God, that which is good and well pleasing and perfect."
      • "And you shall love the Lord your God from your whole heart and from your whole soul and from your whole mind and from your whole strength."
    • 3. Transfiguring man's body – Philippians 3:20-21
      • "For our commonwealth exists in the heavens, from which also we eagerly await a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ; Who will transfigure the body of our humiliation to be conformed to the body of His glory, according to His operation by which He is able even to subject all things to Himself.
    • 4. Christ as a Man Heads Up through the eternal, divine life of God
      • "For just as in Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive. But each one in his own order: the firstfruits, Christ; then those who are Christ's at His coming; Then the end, when He delivers up the kingdom to His God and Father, once He has abolished all rule and all authority and power. For He must reign until God puts all His enemies under His feet." – 1 Corinthians 15:22-25

Fellowship in Philippians

• Philippians - Paul, A Slave of Christ Jesus
• Philippians - Learning the Secret
• Philippians - The One and Only Thing
• Philippians - Let This Mind Be In You
• Philippians - Recipe For A Healthy Church Life
• Philippians - Religiosity vs. Pure Pursuit Of Christ
• Philippians - Gaining Christ By Pursuing Him
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Christ Subjecting All Things to Himself
Philippians - Paul, A Slave of Christ Jesus

Philippians - Paul, A Slave of Christ Jesus

Paul, A Slave of Christ Jesus
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• Philippi
• Paul’s First European Gospel Outpost
• The Beginnings
  • Lydia—Maker of purple
• Positions
  • PAUL A SLAVE
• Positions
  • THE ELDERS ARE OVERSEERS
• Positions
  • BELIEVERS ARE SAINTS
• Slave-saint relationship
  • The saints hold the slave in their heart
  • The saints participate in the gospel out of their intimate relationship with their slave.
• Slave-saint relationship
  • As the slave remembers and longs after the saints, he petitions the Lord on their behalf
  • The slaves petitions fill him with joy
• Slave-saint relationship
  • CONFIDENCE:
    • The work that God has begun in the believers will be completed.
  • The Prayer
    • The love of the saints would abound, yet in:
      • full knowledge
      • discernment
    • The saints would prove by testing the more excellent things
    • The saints would harvest righteousness to the glory and praise of God

Philippians - Learning the Secret

Learning the Secret
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Enjoying Christ in the Midst of Discouragement

• "I have learned the secret"
• Philip. 4:12
• Theme of Philippians
  • Enjoyment of Christ
    • Grace
    • Joy
    • Rejoice
  • The advancement of the gospel
• What is the Gospel?
  • God coming to man
  • God getting into man
  • God living out of man
  • The grace of Christ becoming our inward joy and our outward rejoicing
  • It is Christ Himself expressed
• Philippians 1:12-18
  • 12 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the things concerning me have turned out rather to the advancement of the gospel,
  • 13 So that my bonds have become manifest as being in Christ among the whole Praetorian guard and to all the rest.
  • 14 And most of the brothers, being confident in the Lord because of my bonds, are more exceedingly bold to speak the word of God without fear.
  • 15 Some preach Christ even because of envy and strife, and some also because of good will,
  • 16 These out of love, knowing that I am set for the defense of the gospel.
  • 17 But the others announce Christ out of selfish ambition, not purely, thinking to raise up affliction in my bonds.
  • 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truthfulness, Christ is announced; and in this I rejoice; yes, and I will rejoice;
• The Gospel
  • Being in Christ (v 13)
  • Out of love (v 16)
  • Because of good will (v 15)
  • Being confident in the Lord (v 14)
  • In truthfulness (v 18)
  • Purely (v 17)
  • Bold to speak the word of God without fear (v 14)
  • Christ is announced (v 18)
  • In your self
  • Selfish ambition
    • Self-seeking, rivalry, faction
  • Envy and strife
    • Factiousness, partisanship
  • Fear
  • Pretense
  • Not purely-another motive
• Two Key Secrets
  • Dealing with frustrating situations
    • "The things concerning me have turned out rather to the advancement of the gospel"
  • Dealing with frustrating Christians
    • "What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truthfulness, Christ is announced; and in this I rejoice; yes, and I will rejoice."
• Bottom Line
  • Every frustrating situation we have is an opportunity for the gospel to ADVANCE!
  • Every frustrating Christian we deal with is an opportunity to REJOICE in Christ!

Philippians - The One and Only Thing

The One and Only Thing
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The One and Only Thing

• Philippians 2:1-5
• Philippians 2:1-2
  • "If there is therefore any encouragement in Christ,
  • if any consolation of love,
  • if any fellowship of Spirit,..."
• Encouragement
  • Greek paraklesis
  • Para – to one's side
  • Kaleo- to call out to
  • A calling to one's aid
  • Jesus Christ encourages us by coming to us in our spirit with His sympathetic humanity and empowering divinity
  • "Lord Jesus! Come here! I need You! Encourage us!"
• Consolation
  • Greek paramuthion
  • Para- nearby
  • Muthos-speech
  • A tender, near, intimate conversation
  • The Father dispenses Himself as loving consolation in our spirit through our intimate conversations
  • "Father God I love You! Console us!"
• Fellowship
  • Greek koinonia
  • Koinos-common
  • A mutual sharing, joint participation, of what we all have in common
  • The Spirit dispenses what the Father and Son are into and out of our spirit
  • "Spirit, flow in me!"
• Enjoying and Experiencing the Triune God
  • Christ's encouragement
  • The Father's consoling love
  • The Spirit's dispensing fellowship
  • We all enjoy
  • We dispense, receive, share, communicate, fellowship this enjoyment with each other through the Spirit in our spirit
• The One and Only Thing
  • FatherSonSpiritour spirit
  • Experience and enjoy the Triune God!
• The Result?
  • "...if any tenderheartedness and compassions,"
• Tenderheartedness
  • Greek splanchnon—inward parts, the seat of our emotions
  • When we experience the Triune God, He changes our heart, making us full of tender feelings for each other
• Compassion
  • TOWARD THE LOST
  • And seeing the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and cast away like sheep not having a shepherd. (Matt 9:36)
  • TOWARD THE SICK
  • And going forth, He saw a great crowd, and He was moved with compassion for them and healed their sick (Matt 14:14)
• Compassion
  • TOWARD THE HUNGRY
  • And Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, I am moved with compassion for the crowd, because for three days now they have remained with Me and they do not have anything to eat. And I am not willing to send them away hungry, lest they faint on the way. (Matt 15:32)
• Compassion
  • TOWARD THOSE IN DEBT
  • Then the slave fell down and worshipped him, saying, Be patient with me and I will repay you all.
  • And the master of that slave was moved with compassion and released him and forgave him the loan. (Matt 18:27)
• Compassion
  • TOWARD THE BLIND
  • And Jesus, standing still, called them and said, What do you want Me to do for you?
  • They said to Him, Lord, that our eyes may be opened.
  • And Jesus, moved with compassion, touched their eyes, and immediately they received their sight and followed Him. (Matt 20:34)
• Compassion
  • TOWARD THE SINFUL
  • And a leper came to Him, entreating Him and falling on his knees and saying to Him, If You are willing, You can cleanse me.
  • And He was moved with compassion, and stretching out His hand, He touched him and said to him, I am willing; be cleansed! (Mark 1:40-41)
• Compassion
  • TOWARD THE DEAD
  • And as He came near the gate of the city, behold, one who had died was being carried out, an only son of his mother, and she was a widow; and a considerable crowd from the city was with her.
  • And when the Lord saw her, He was moved with compassion for her and said to her, Do not weep. (Luke 7:12-13)
• Compassion
  • TOWARD THE SAINTS
  • Put on therefore, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, inward parts of compassion, kindness, lowliness, meekness, long-suffering;
  • Bearing one another and forgiving one another, if anyone should have a complaint against anyone; even as the Lord forgave you, so also should you forgive.
  • And over all these things put on love, which is the uniting bond of perfectness. (Col. 3:12-14)
• Oneness
  • "Make my joy full, that you think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking the one thing,"
• Philippians 2:3-5
  • Doing nothing by way of selfish ambition nor by way of vainglory, but in lowliness of mind considering one another more excellent than yourselves;
  • Not regarding each his own virtues, but each the virtues of others also.
  • Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,
• A Key to Oneness
  • Learning to appreciate the riches of the Triune God in ALL the saints
  • We do not think about our differences, or how our views are better or more spiritual or more right than others
  • This is all we think about:
  • "Lord Jesus, I love the Triune God in all the saints. All the saints are wonderful!"
  • If there is therefore any encouragement in Christ, if any consolation of love, if any fellowship of Spirit, if any tenderheartedness and compassions, make my joy full, that you think the same thing, having the same love, joined in soul, thinking the one thing. Doing nothing by way of selfish ambition nor by way of vainglory, but in lowliness of mind considering one another more excellent than yourselves; not regarding each his own virtues, but each the virtues of others also.
  • Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus,

Philippians - Let This Mind Be In You

Let This Mind Be In You
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• Philippians 2:6-11
• Christ as the Pattern
• Christ Jesus, Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped. (2:6)
• Existing in the form of God – the Lord’s preexistence from the beginning had the form or divine nature and character of God and is permanently identified with it. It is a perfect expression of a perfect essence. It is not something imposed from without, but something which proceeds from the very depth of the perfect being, and into which that being perfectly unfolds, as light from fire.
• Did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped – the Lord did not cling to His prerogatives as God’s equal.
• LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU
  • But emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men (2:7)
• Emptied Himself - The Lord stripped Himself of all privileges and rightful dignity. He divested Himself of that peculiar mode of existence which was proper and peculiar to Him as one with God. He was not unable to assert equality with God. He was able not to assert it.
• Taking the form of a slave – The Lord took upon Himself the nature of a bondservant. It is that Christ assumed that mode of being which answered to, and was the complete and characteristic expression of, the slave’s being. The mode itself is not defined. This is appropriately inserted here as bringing out the contrast with counted not equality with God, etc. What Christ grasped at in His incarnation was not divine sovereignty, but service.
• Becoming in the likeness of men – The choice of verb here is not was, but became: entered into a new state. Likeness of men expressed the fact that His mode of manifestation resembled what men are. This leaves room for the assumption of another side of His nature—the divine—in the likeness of which he did not appear. As He appealed to men, He was like themselves, with a real likeness; but this likeness of men did not express His whole self.
• LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU
  • And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross. (2:8)
  • Being found in fashion as a man – The Lord appeared in the guise of men. He was recognized as truly human.
  • He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death – The Lord humiliated Himself in obedience so as to die. This was how His self-emptying manifested itself.
  • And that the death of a cross – The Lord went as far as to actually die a criminal’s death. The Mosaic law had uttered a curse for anyone hung on a tree (Deut. 21:22-23) and the Gentiles reserved it for malefactors and slaves. Hence the shame associated with the cross (Hebrews 12:2). This was the offence or stumbling-block of the cross, which was so often urged by the Jews against the Christians (Gal. 3:13). To a Greek, accustomed to clothe his divinities with every outward attribute of grace and beauty, the summons to worship a crucified malefactor appeared as foolishness (1 Cor. 1:23).
• LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU
  • Therefore, also God highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name (2:9)
  • Therefore, also God highly exalted Him – As a consequence of such humiliation, God raised Him to the very highest place.
  • And bestowed on Him the name which is above every name – God freely gave Jesus the Name which stands above all other names or conferred on Him the Name which is supreme above every other name. The name Jesus was bestowed on Christ at the beginning of His humiliation, but prophetically as the One who should save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21).
• LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU
  • That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth (2:10)
  • That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow – So that in adoration of the Name of Jesus every knee should bend. In relationship to worshipping God there is only one spiritual sphere or holy element as it were, in which every prayer is to be offered and every knee to bow.
  • Of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth – Including all intelligent beings as well as all things in heaven, on earth and those in the underworld.
• LET THIS MIND BE IN YOU
• And every tongue should openly confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father (2:11).
• Openly confess – the verb may also be rendered thank or extol as in Matt. 11:25. In Luke 10:21 the sense is of open, joyful acknowledgment.

Philippians - Recipe For A Healthy Church Life

Recipe for a Healthy Church Life
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• Philippians 2:17-30
  • 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and I rejoice together with you all.
  • 18 And in like manner you also rejoice, and you rejoice together with me.
  • "For these men are not drunk as you suppose....but this is what is spoken through the prophet Joel, I will pour out of my Spirit..." (Acts 2:15)
  • 19 But I hope in the Lord Jesus to send Timothy to you shortly, that I also may be encouraged by knowing the things concerning you.
  • 20 For I have no one like-souled who will genuinely care for what concerns you;
  • 21 For all seek their own things, not the things of Christ Jesus.
  • 22 But you know his approvedness, that as a child with a father he has served with me unto the gospel.
  • 23 Him therefore I hope to send immediately, as soon as I see how things go with me.
  • 24 But I trust in the Lord that I myself also will come shortly.
  • 25 But I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother and fellow worker and fellow soldier, and your apostle and minister to my need,
  • 26 Since he longed after you all and was greatly distressed because you heard that he had become sick;
  • 27 For indeed he had become sick, near to death, but God had mercy on him, and not on him only but also on me that I might not have sorrow upon sorrow.
  • 28 I have sent him therefore the more eagerly, so that when you see him again, you may rejoice and I may be less sorrowful.
  • 29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all joy, and hold such in honor,
  • 30 Because for the work of Christ he drew near unto death, risking his life, that he might fill up your lack of service toward me.
• Summary
  • Being saturated and poured out like wine
  • Sharing your joy
  • Hoping in the Lord Jesus
  • Sending saints
  • Being encouraged when I learn of your condition
  • Being like-souled
  • Genuine care
  • Seeking not your interests, but Christ's
  • Proven worth in furthering the gospel
  • Trusting in the Lord
  • Serving in life (father-son)
  • Being a brother, a fellow-worker, and a fellow-soldier
  • Being an apostle, and minister to the saints needs
  • Longing for the saints
  • Not wanting to distress the saints
  • Receiving one another with joy
  • Holding co-workers in high regard
  • Willing to risk our life to serve the church

Philippians - Religiosity vs. Pure Pursuit Of Christ

Religiosity Vs. The Pure Pursuit of Christ
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• Philippians 3:1-11
• The Context
• Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord!
• Now, The Warning
  • Beware of the dogs
• Now, The Warning
  • Beware of the evil workers
  • Those that subject the Gentiles to the traditions and practices of the Old Testament and the Talmud
• Now, the Warning
  • Beware of the concision
  • Those that "mutilate the flesh" by their insistence on circumcising Gentile believers.
• The Irony
  • Dogs—a derogatory label the Jews had for the godless Gentiles
  • Evil workers—a typical Jewish condemnation of the unrighteousness of the Gentiles
  • The concision—a twist of the word circumcision and an act strictly forbidden in the Old Testament (Lev. 21:5)
• Paul's Testimony
  • His Religious Past
  • Confident in the flesh
    • proud, boastful, condescending, lover of the self, ignorant of weaknesses, unwilling to admit failures
• Paul's Testimony
  • His Religious Past
    • Circumcised the 8th day
    • A stellar history of following the "sanctioned" practices and traditions
  • As to position in the religious world
    • Of the race of Israel
    • Of the tribe of Benjamin
    • A Hebrew born of Hebrews
• Paul's Testimony
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