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While working on a draft for my local
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church's statement of faith, I found
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myself considering not just the primary
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issues for the faith that we must agree
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on to call ourselves Christians, but
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also the critical secondary issues that
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may not be essential for salvation, but
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are still immensely impactful in the
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faithfulness of our walk with God. I
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recall that throughout PT school, some
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of my professors often stated the mantra
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that experts do the basics well.
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I would add to that imperative that a
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foundation ignored is destined to ruin.
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Not only is it important to establish a
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firm foundation, but it must also be
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maintained. In constructing a building,
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you may be able to find a piece of
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ground so sturdy that nothing short of
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an earthquake will disrupt it. However,
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the human mind is not that reliable. Our
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minds are like loose soil in an
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extremely dynamic climate. We experience
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seasons of nourishing rain, desiccating
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drought, and sudden traumatic events.
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The unsteady nature of the human mind
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can result in cracked and even crumbling
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foundations over time if not properly
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attended to. Because of this truth and
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the growing disagreement that I've
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witnessed regarding many of these
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issues, I realized that it may be
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beneficial to write out concise
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statements for each of the most
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important, hotly contested topics along
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with the primary doctrines of the faith
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and then read through a few scriptures
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that reveal the critical details of
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those doctrines.
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When reading through the scriptural
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references, I'm going to provide minimal
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commentary for most for the purpose of
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this episode to allow the word of God to
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speak for itself.
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This is a confession of faith, a
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declaration of truth, and a call to
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unity under scripture.
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Speaking of the first statement that I
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want to make is in regards to scripture,
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the very word of God.
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The holy scriptures of the old and new
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testaments which comprise the Bible are
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the written word of God. All scripture
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is authored by God via the inspiration
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of the Holy Spirit expressed through the
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hands of the human writers. It carries
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the authority of God over all tradition,
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philosophy and cultural ideology.
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Scripture is inherent and therefore a
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trustworthy source of truth sufficient
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for all doctrine, correction, and
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instruction in righteousness.
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The scriptural sources that I chose to
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point to in support of this statement
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are Psalm 197-11,
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Mark 7 1-13, Colossians 2:8, 2 Timothy
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3:16-17,
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and 2 Peter 1 20-21.
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I'm next going to read each of those
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passages and briefly state why I chose
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to reference them. I will not be getting
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into a detailed defense of
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interpretation in this episode since the
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purpose of this message is to confess
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and reflect on the critical elements of
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the Christian faith.
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Psalm 19 7- 11.
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The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving
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the soul. The testimony of the Lord is
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sure, making wise the simple. The
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precepts of the Lord are right,
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rejoicing the heart. The commandment of
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the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
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The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring
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forever. The rules of the Lord are true
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and righteous altogether. More to be
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desired are they than even gold, even
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much fine gold, sweeter also than honey
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and drippings of the honeycomb.
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Moreover, by them your servant is
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warned. In keeping them there is a great
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reward.
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Here God tells us that his words are
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perfect, pure, righteous, trustworthy,
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and enlightening.
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Mark 7:es 1-3.
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Now when the Pharisees gathered to him
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with some of the scribes who had come
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from Jerusalem, they saw that those of
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his disciples that some of his disciples
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ate with hands that were defiled, that
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is unwashed. For the Pharisees and all
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the Jews do not eat unless they wash
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their hands properly, holding to the
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tradition of the elders. And when they
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come from the marketplace, they do not
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eat unless they wash. And there are many
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other traditions that they observe, such
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as the washing of cups and pots and
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copper vessels and dining couches.
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And the Pharisees and the scribes asked
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him, "Why do your disciples not walk
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according to the tradition of the
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elders, but eat with defiled hands?" And
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he said to them, "Well, did Isaiah
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prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is
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written, this people honors me with
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their lips, but their heart is far from
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me. In vain do they worship me, teaching
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as doctrines the commandments of men.
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You leave the commandment of God and
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hold to the tradition of men."
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And he said to them, "You have a fine
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way of rejecting the commandment of God
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in order to establish your tradition.
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For Moses said, "Honor your father and
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your mother." And whoever reviles father
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or mother must surely die. But you say,
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"If a man tells his father or mother,
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whatever you would have gained from me
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as Corbin, that is given to God, then
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you no longer permit him to do anything
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for his father or mother, thus making
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void the word of God by your tradition
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that you have handed down, and many such
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things you do."
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Here God tells us that scripture has
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authority over human culture and
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tradition.
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Colossians 2:8,
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"See to it that no one takes you captive
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by philosophy and empty deceit,
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according to human tradition, according
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to the elemental spirits of the world,
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and not according to Christ."
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This passage makes it clear that any
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philosophy which opposes Christ, the
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word made flesh, is empty deceit.
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2 Timothy 3:16-17.
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All scripture is breathed out by God and
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profitable for teaching, for reproof,
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for correction, and for training in
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righteousness, that the man of God may
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be complete, equipped for every good
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work.
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God's word makes it clear that while
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scripture may be recorded by men, it can
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only originate with the authorship of
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God and is the training manual for the
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man of God.
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Second Peter 1:es 20- 21.
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No prophecy of scripture comes from
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someone's own interpretation. For no
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prophecy was ever produced by the will
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of man, but men spoke from God as they
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were carried along by the Holy Spirit.
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There's no way around this. Men do not
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produce prophecy. Only the will of God
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initiates prophecy and delivers it to
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people through his spirit.
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The second statement that I'm going to
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give is a summary of the known critical
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characteristics of God according to his
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revelation.
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No man knows everything that there is to
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know about God. So don't allow the the
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following to flatten your view of God to
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this simple list of facts.
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That said, we can say with certainty
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that the God of the Bible is the one
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true God. He is the eternal non-created
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sovereign, the creator and sustainer of
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all things. He is holy, just, merciful,
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loving, omnisient, omnipotent, and
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omnipresent. According to his nature, he
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is unchanging in essence, character, and
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purposes. Furthermore, he desires to be
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known by his creation.
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My chosen references for this statement
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are Genesis 1:1, Deuteronomy 32:4,
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Nehemiah 9:6, Psalm 92,
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999
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and 139,
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Isaiah 45:es 5-7, Malachi 3:6, 1
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Corinthians 8:4-6,
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Colossians 1:16-17,
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and James 1:17 18.
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I'll next read those passages to show
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how they clearly reveal the truth of the
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monotheistic God of all creation.
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Genesis 1:1, in the beginning, God
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created the heavens and the earth. This
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tells us that God is the source of
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creation.
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Deuteronomy 32:4,
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"The rock, his work is perfect, for all
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his ways are justice, and a God of
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faithfulness and without iniquity. Just
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and upright is he."
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This tells us that God is just,
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faithful, and righteous.
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Nehemiah 9:6,
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"You are the Lord, you alone. You have
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made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with
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all their host, the earth and all that
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is on it, the seas and all that is in
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them. And you preserve all of them, and
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the host of heaven worships you.
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This passage reveals that not only is
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God the source of creation, but the
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sustainer of creation, meaning that
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without God, nothing could come into
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existence or continue to exist.
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Psalm 90:2
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Before the mountains were brought forth
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or even you had formed the earth and the
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world from everlasting to everlasting
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you are God.
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This passage reveals that God is the
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single unccreated source of creation and
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time. The uncaused first cause of
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everything that comes to be.
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Psalm 99:9,
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"Exalt the Lord our God and worship at
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his holy mountain, for the Lord our God
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is holy."
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In this statement, God tells us that he
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is worthy to be exalted and worshiped
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because he is holy.
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Psalm 139.
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Oh Lord, you have searched me and know
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me. You know when I sit down and when I
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rise up. You discern my thoughts from
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afar. You search out my path and my
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lying down and are acquainted with all
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my ways. Even before a word is on my
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tongue. Behold, oh Lord, you know it
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altogether. You hem me in behind and
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before and lay your hand upon me. Such
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knowledge is too wonderful for me. It is
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high. I cannot attain it. Where shall I
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go from your spirit? Or where shall I
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flee from your presence?
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If I ascend to heaven, you are there. If
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I make my bed and shill, you are there.
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If I take the wings of the morning and
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dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
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even there your hand shall lead me, and
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your right hand shall hold me. If I say,
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"Surely the darkness shall cover me, and
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the light about me be night. Even the
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darkness is not dark to you. The night
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is bright as the day, for the darkness
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is as light with you. For you formed my
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inward parts. You knitted me together in
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my mother's womb. I praise you, for I am
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fearfully and wonderfully made.
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Wonderful are your works. My soul knows
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it very well. My frame is not hidden
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from you. When I was being made in
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secret, intricately woven in the depths
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of the earth, your eyes saw my unformed
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substance. In your book were written,
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every one of them, the days were formed
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for me, when as yet there was none of
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them. How precious to me are your
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thoughts, oh God. How vast is the sum of
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them. If I would count them, they are
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more than the sand. I awake and I am
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still with you. Oh, that you would slay
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the wicked, oh God.
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Oh men of blood, depart from me. They
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speak against you with malicious intent.
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Your enemies take your name in vain. Do
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I not hate those who hate you, O Lord,
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and do not loathe those who rise up
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against you. I hate them with complete
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hatred. I count them my enemies. Search
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me, oh God, and know my heart. Try me
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and know my thoughts, and see if there
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be any grievous way in me, and lead me
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in the way everlasting.
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Psalm 139 poetically describes the
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literal truth that all of creation is
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within God's presence and under his
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complete sovereignty. Nothing is hidden
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from God, not even the future. He
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searches our minds and guides us away
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from evil and in the way of his eternal
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holiness.
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Isaiah 45:es 5-7. I am the Lord and
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there is no other. Besides me there is
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no God. I equip you though you do not
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know me.
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That people may know from the rising of
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the sun and from the west that there is
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none beside me.
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Okay. Start right after this on Isaiah
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45.
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Isaiah 45:es 5-7 I am the Lord and there
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is no other besides me there is no God.
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I equip you though you do not know me
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that people may know from the rising of
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the sun and from the west that there is
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none besides me. I am the Lord and there
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is no other. I form light and create
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darkness. I make well-being and create
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calamity. I am the Lord who does all
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these things.
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In this passage, God informs us through
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Isaiah that he's the one and only God.
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And then he provides general revelation
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to all, even those who do not know him.
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From other scriptures, we know that we
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observe this general re revelation in
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our souls and in the characteristics of
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his creation. Apart from any special
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revelation such as privately experienced
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miracles, this is how people all over
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the world in various cultures throughout
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time have recognized the signs of God in
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nature even without reading scripture or
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hearing the gospel.
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Malachi 3:6,
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for I the Lord do not change.
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A straightforward simple truth, God does
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not change. He is the same through
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eternity within and without the bounds
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of time.
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1 Corinthians 8:es 4-6.
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Therefore, as to the eating of food
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offered to idols, we know that an idol
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has no real existence, and that there is
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no God but one. For although there may
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be so-called gods in heaven or on earth,
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as indeed there are many gods and many
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lords, yet for us there is one God, the
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Father, from whom all things and for
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whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus
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Christ, through whom are all things and
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through whom we exist.
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Through this scripture, we know that the
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only true God created and sustains us
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for himself. We don't exist for personal
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fulfillment. We exist for the
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fulfillment of God's will. So thank God
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with all humility that even without need
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for us, he loves us and offers not mere
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toilsome servitude to a deity, but
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perfect relationally focused life with
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no remnant of pain in the new creation
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that is coming.
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Colossians 1 16-17.
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For by him all things were created, in
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heaven and on earth, visible and
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invisible, whether thrones or dominions
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or rulers or authorities. All things
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were created through him and for him.
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And he is before all things, and in him
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all things hold together.
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This passage nicely and concisely ties
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together God's role as creator,
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sustainer, and sovereign, as well as the
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purpose of all creation being for its
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creator.
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James 1:es 17-18.
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Every good gift and every perfect gift
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is from above, coming down from the
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father of lights, with whom there is no
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variation or shadow due to change. of
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his own will he brought us forth by the
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word of truth that we should be a kind
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of first fruits of his creatures.
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God both elevates and humbles us in this
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passage because he reveals that
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everything that we have that is truly
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good comes from his unchanging goodness
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and also points to us being the first
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fruits of his creatures.
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a nod to the fact that humans alone are
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made in the image of God and capable of
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doing good works.
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Again, not apart from God. He could just
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as easily not have made us or made us,
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but not with the honor of being in his
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image. If being made in God's image and
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blessed by him for every good thing that
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you have doesn't elicit from you a
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humbly aruck gratitude, then you are
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living in the shadow of your own pride.
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We've all been there. If that's where
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you are now, now's as great a time as
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any to kill your pride so that you can
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bask in the glory of God's presence.
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Statement number three is about the
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trinitarian existence of God. After
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reading the references for this
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statement, I'll proceed with nested
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statements regarding each of the three
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persons of the Trinity.
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God exists eternally as one divine being
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expressed through three distinct
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persons. Each fully God sharing the same
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essence, character, and purposes. The
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three persons of the Trinity revealed
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through scripture are Father, Son, and
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Holy Spirit.
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My chosen references are Matthew 28:19
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and 2 Corinthians 13:14.
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I'll now read each of those passages
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from the word of God and reveal in brief
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why I chose to cite them.
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Matthew 28:19, "Go therefore and make
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disciples of all nations, baptizing them
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in the name of the Father and of the Son
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and of the Holy Spirit."
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Baptism and disciplehip are for Father,
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Son, and Holy Spirit. Since baptism is
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an expression of faith leading to
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disciplehip for the one true God
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revealed throughout the Bible. This
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indicates that all three persons father,
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son, and spirit are God. Yet if he were
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only one at a time, then we would not
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need to baptize in the singular name of
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father, son, and holy spirit, which is
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the one being Yahweh. We would only need
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to baptize in one of God's names,
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plural, if he was one person switching
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modes in a multi-personal dance
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reminiscent of stage theater or
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dissociative identity disorder.
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2 Corinthians 13:14,
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the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and
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the love of God and the fellowship of
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the Holy Spirit be with you all.
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This scripture is special not in the
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identification of characteristics unique
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to one person or another within the
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Trinity, but in the revelation of God's
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traits with a unified will demonstrated
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through three persons, each fulfilling a
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distinct role despite their equal
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nature.
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The Trinity is full of grace because of
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love, which is expressed through
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relationship.
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This is taught to us primarily through
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the Holy Spirit by the example of Christ
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according to the father's authoritative
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initiation which enables us to have
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relationship with him.
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The father initiates creation and
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redemption. He is not before the other
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persons of the trinity but he is the one
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to whom they willingly submit to
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relationally. His authority as father is
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not established through dominion but
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through the unified will of God.
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My chosen references are John 6:44-46
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and Ephesians 1 3-1.
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I'll now read each passage and point out
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the reason for its inclusion in this
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list.
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John 6:es 44-46 says, "No one can come
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to me unless the Father who sent me
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draws him, and I will raise him up on
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the last day. It is written in the
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prophets, and they will all be taught by
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God.
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Everyone who has heard and learned from
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the Father comes to me, not that anyone
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has seen the Father except he who is
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from God, he has seen the Father."
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This scripture demonstrates that it is
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the initiation of God the father to draw
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people towards himself that leads people
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to God the son. It also reveals that he
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who was sent by God which is Jesus
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referring to himself is the only one who
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has seen the father. It also implies
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that despite Jesus Christ also being God
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he submitted to the initiation of the
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father to be sent into creation.
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Ephesians 1:es 3-11.
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Blessed be the God and Father of our
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Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in
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Christ with every spiritual blessing in
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the heavenly places, even as he chose us
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in him before the foundation of the
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world, that we should be holy and
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blameless before him. In love he
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predestined us for adoption to himself
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as sons through Jesus Christ according
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to the purpose of his will to the praise
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of his glorious grace with which he has
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blessed us in the beloved.
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In him we have redemption through his
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blood, the forgiveness of our
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trespasses, according to the riches of
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his grace, which he lavished upon us in
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all wisdom and insight, making known to
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us the mystery of his will, according to
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his purpose, which he set forth in
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Christ as a plan for the fullness of
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time, to unite all things in him, things
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in heaven and things on earth. In him we
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have obtained an inheritance having been
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predestined according to the purpose of
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him who works all things according to
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the counsel of his will.
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This passage of scripture tells us that
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God the father blessed us through Christ
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God the son according to his love and
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fornowledge of us from before we were
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made.
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Jesus Christ is the only person begotten
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of the father. He is eternally fully God
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and through the incarnation also fully
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man. He lived a sinless life as a man to
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pay the price of humanity's sins through
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crucifixion. He resurrected bodily from
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the grave and ascended to heaven by his
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own righteousness to intercede on our
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behalf and pave the way for our
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salvation.
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Similar to his miraculous ascension into
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heaven on a cloud, he will return to
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earth in the future to bring judgment
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against evil and bring all of his people
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into the presence of God. This is the
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good news of Jesus Christ, the gospel.
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My chosen references are more numerous
24:19
this time. Isaiah 53, John 1 1-14 and
24:25
3:13,
24:27
Acts 1:es 9-11, 1 Corinthians 15:es 3-8,
24:32
Philippians 2:es 5-11, Colossians 2:9,
24:37
and Hebrews 1:es 1-13,
24:41
2:es 14-18, and 4:15.
24:46
Next, I'll read those excerpts from the
24:48
Bible and explain why they made the
24:51
list.
24:53
Starting with Isaiah 53.
24:56
Who has believed what he has heard from
24:58
us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord
25:00
been revealed? For he grew up before him
25:03
like a young plant and like a root out
25:05
of dry ground. He had no form or majesty
25:08
that we should look at him and no beauty
25:10
that we should desire him. He was
25:12
despised and rejected by men. A man of
25:15
sorrows and acquainted with grief. And
25:18
as one from whom men hide their faces,
25:20
he was despised and we esteemed him not.
25:24
Surely he has borne our griefs and
25:26
carried our sorrows. Yet we esteemed him
25:29
stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.
25:34
But he was pierced for our
25:35
transgressions. He was crushed for our
25:37
iniquities. Upon him was the
25:40
chastisement that brought us peace. And
25:42
with his wounds we are healed.
25:46
All we like sheep have gone astray. We
25:49
have turned everyone to his own way. And
25:52
the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of
25:54
us all. He was oppressed and he was
25:57
afflicted yet he opened not his mouth.
26:01
Like a lamb that is led to the
26:03
slaughter, and like a sheep that before
26:05
its shears is silent, so he opened not
26:08
his mouth.
26:11
By oppression and judgment, he was taken
26:13
away. And as for his generation who
26:16
considered that he was cut out off out
26:19
of the land of the living living,
26:21
stricken for the transgression of my
26:23
people. And they made his grave with the
26:25
wicked and with a rich man in his death.
26:28
Although he had done no violence, and
26:30
there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it
26:32
was the will of the Lord to crush him.
26:35
He has put him to grief. When his soul
26:37
makes an offering for guilt, he shall
26:39
see his offspring. He shall prolong his
26:42
days. The will of the Lord shall prosper
26:44
in his hand.
26:48
Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall
26:51
see and be satisfied. By his knowledge
26:53
shall the righteous one, my servant,
26:56
make many to be accounted righteous, and
26:58
he shall bear their iniquities.
27:01
Therefore, I will divide him a portion
27:03
with the many. and he shall divide the
27:05
spoil with the strong, because he poured
27:07
out his soul to death and was numbered
27:10
with the transgressors. Yet he bore the
27:12
sin of many and makes intercession for
27:14
the transgressors.
27:19
What's incredible about this section of
27:22
the book of Isaiah is that it's a
27:24
detailed description of none other than
27:27
Jesus according to the gospel accounts,
27:30
yet written either five or seven
27:32
centuries prior to the incarnation of
27:34
Christ, depending on which scholarly
27:37
timeline you're more agreeable to.
27:39
Either way, at least half a millennium
27:42
prior to the live events of the gospel,
27:45
the book of Isaiah had already described
27:47
the arm of God, incarnated into man
27:50
without visible sign of divinity,
27:52
despised and rejected by his community,
27:55
lacking sin, and yet bearing the sins of
27:58
the people who hated him as he was
28:00
crushed to the point of death as an
28:03
offering so that he could intercede on
28:05
the people's behalf with God.
28:08
This is one of the most incredible and
28:11
obvious instances of Old Testament
28:13
prophecy fulfilled in the New Testament.
28:19
John 1:es 1-14.
28:22
In the beginning was the word and the
28:24
word was with God and the word was God.
28:27
He was in the beginning with God. All
28:29
things were made through him and without
28:31
him was not anything made that was made.
28:34
In him was life, and the life was the
28:37
light of men. The light shines in the
28:39
darkness, and the darkness has not
28:42
overcome it. There was a man sent from
28:44
God, whose name was John. He came as a
28:47
witness to bear witness about the light,
28:50
that all might believe through him. He
28:52
was not the light, but came to bear
28:54
witness about the light.
28:56
The true light, which gives light to
28:58
everyone, was coming into the world. He
29:01
was in the world, and the world was made
29:03
through him. Yet the world did not know
29:05
him. He came to his own and his people
29:08
did not receive him. But to all who did
29:11
receive him, who believed in his name,
29:13
he gave the right to become children of
29:15
God, who were born not of blood, nor of
29:18
the will of the flesh, nor of the will
29:20
of man, but of God. And the word became
29:23
flesh and dwelt among us. And we have
29:26
seen his glory. Glory as of the only son
29:30
from the father, full of grace and
29:32
truth.
29:36
This passage makes it clear that Jesus
29:38
Christ is not only from God but is God
29:41
and has always been God. Although he is
29:44
begotten of God the Father, he is not
29:47
created but equally eternal. And he
29:50
directly acted out the will of God to
29:53
create everything that has been created.
29:55
which is everything except for God
29:57
himself.
29:59
John also tells us here that Jesus came
30:01
as a man unknown to his people, the
30:04
people of Israel, to give the right of
30:06
adoption into God's family.
30:11
John 3:13,
30:13
no one has ascended into heaven except
30:15
he who descended from heaven, the son of
30:18
man.
30:20
In saying that Jesus ascended, it is
30:23
revealed that he entered the presence of
30:24
God by his own authority. He was not
30:27
taken up by God as had been done to
30:30
Enoch and Elijah. He ascended into
30:33
heaven because he was the one who came
30:35
from heaven to begin with.
30:39
Acts 1:es 9-11.
30:43
And when he had said these things, as
30:45
they were looking on, he was lifted up,
30:47
and a cloud took him out of their sight.
30:49
And while they were gazing into heaven
30:51
as he went, behold, two men stood by
30:54
them in white robes and said, "Men of
30:56
Galilee, why do you stand looking into
30:58
heaven? This Jesus who was taken up from
31:01
you into heaven will come in the same
31:03
way as you saw him go into heaven."
31:07
This passage reveals more details about
31:09
the scene of Christ's ascension into
31:11
heaven and reveals that he will return
31:14
to earth in a similar fashion in the
31:16
future.
31:19
1 Corinthians 15:es 3-8.
31:23
For I delivered to you as of first
31:25
importance what I also received. That
31:28
Christ died for our sins in accordance
31:30
with the scriptures. that he was buried,
31:32
that he was raised on the third day in
31:34
accordance with the scriptures, and that
31:36
he appeared to Cphus, then to the twel.
31:39
Then he appeared to more than 500
31:41
brothers at one time, most of whom are
31:44
still alive, though some have fallen
31:46
asleep. Then he appeared to James, then
31:49
to all the apostles, last of all, as to
31:53
one untimely born, he appeared also to
31:55
me.
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The point that Paul communicated in that
32:01
passage is that the most important
32:03
Christian belief is that Christ came to
32:06
fulfill the prior scriptures through his
32:08
life, death, burial, and resurrection to
32:12
offer salvation from sin, which was
32:14
witnessed directly by numerous people
32:17
prior to Christ's ascension into heaven.
32:22
Philippians 2:es 5-11.
32:26
Have this mind among yourselves, which
32:28
is yours in Christ Jesus, who though he
32:30
was in the form of God, did not count
32:32
equality with God a thing to be grasped,
32:34
but emptied himself by taking the form
32:37
of a servant, being born in the likeness
32:39
of man, and being found in human form,
32:42
he humbled himself by becoming obedient
32:44
to the point of death, even death on a
32:47
cross. Therefore, God has highly exalted
32:50
him and bestowed on him the name that is
32:52
above every name, so that at the name of
32:55
Jesus, every knee should bow in heaven
32:57
and on earth and under the earth, and
33:00
every tongue confess that Jesus Christ
33:02
is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
33:05
This part of scripture summarizes the
33:07
nature of the incarnation of God to make
33:10
clear that God the Son humbled himself
33:13
to be incarnated into flesh, fully man
33:16
and yet also fully God.
33:21
Colossians 2:9.
33:24
For in him the whole fullness of deity
33:27
dwells bodily.
33:30
If you had any doubt that Philippians 2
33:33
preserved the full deity of Christ while
33:35
in the incarnation, this verse from
33:37
Colossians 2 should put that doubt to
33:39
rest. The whole fullness of deity dwelt
33:42
in the body of Christ. It was not a
33:44
mixture, trade, or confusion of natures.
33:48
It was two fully complete natures
33:50
present in the incarnation.
33:56
Hebrews 1:es 1-13
34:00
Long ago at many times and in many ways
34:03
God spoke to our fathers by the
34:04
prophets. But in these last days he has
34:07
spoken to us by his son whom he
34:09
appointed the heir of all things through
34:12
whom also he created the world. He is
34:14
the radiance of the glory of God and the
34:17
exact imprint of his nature and he
34:20
upholds the universe by the word of his
34:22
power. After making purifications for
34:25
sins, he sat down at the right hand of
34:28
the Majesty on high, having become as
34:30
much superior to angels, as the name he
34:33
has inherited is more excellent than
34:35
theirs.
34:37
For to which of the angels did God ever
34:39
say, you are my son today I have
34:42
begotten you. Or again, I will be to him
34:45
a father, and he shall be to me a son.
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And again, when he brings the firstborn
34:50
into the world, he says, "Let all God's
34:53
angels worship him."
34:56
Of the angels, he says, he makes his
34:58
angels winds and his ministers a flame
35:01
of fire.
35:03
But of the sun, he says, "Your throne,
35:05
oh God, is forever and ever. The scepter
35:09
of uprightness is the scepter of your
35:11
kingdom.
35:15
You have loved righteousness and hated
35:17
wickedness. Therefore, God your God has
35:20
anointed you with the oil of gladness
35:23
beyond your companions. And you, Lord,
35:26
laid the foundation of the earth in the
35:28
beginning. And the heavens are the work
35:30
of your hands. They will perish, but you
35:33
remain. They will all wear out like a
35:35
garment. Like a robe, you will roll them
35:37
up. Like a garment they will be changed,
35:40
but you are the same, and your years
35:42
will have no end. And to which of the
35:44
angels has he ever said, "Sit at my
35:47
right hand until I make your enemies a
35:50
foottool for your feet."
35:54
By referencing the past use of prophets,
35:57
God emphasizes the contrast and climax
35:59
of God the son speaking in perfect
36:02
synchronization with the will of the
36:03
father. Additionally, the Son is said by
36:06
the Father to be the begotten heir,
36:08
creator, and sustainer of all things
36:11
with the same nature as the Father. The
36:14
angels are his, and he is to be
36:16
worshiped by them. If all that still
36:19
isn't enough for you to affirm the deity
36:21
of Christ, God refers to Christ as God
36:25
explicitly when the Father said to
36:27
Jesus, "Your throne, oh God, is forever
36:31
and ever.
36:35
Hebrews chapter 2:es 14-18
36:42
Since therefore the children share in
36:44
flesh and blood, he himself likewise
36:46
parttook of the same things, that
36:48
through death he might destroy the one
36:50
who has the power of death, that is the
36:53
devil, and deliver all those who through
36:56
fear of death were subject to lifelong
36:58
slavery. For surely it is not angels
37:01
that he helps, but he helps the
37:03
offspring of Abraham. Therefore, he had
37:06
to be made like his brothers in every
37:08
respect, so that he might become a
37:10
merciful and faithful high priest in the
37:12
service of God to make propitiation for
37:15
the sins of the people. For because he
37:18
himself has suffered when tempted, he is
37:21
able to help those who are being
37:23
tempted.
37:26
This is the scripture that explains the
37:28
need for God to be incarnated as a man
37:31
instead of coming in some other divine
37:33
or angelic form to establish the kind of
37:36
relationship that he sought with his
37:38
human creations. It was necessary for
37:40
him to take on the weakness of our flesh
37:44
and let us see him live as a man and
37:47
give himself up to death in our place.
37:51
This is immensely more meaningful and
37:54
evidential for God's love than simply
37:57
divinely waving away the consequences of
37:59
sin and death. That he chose to suffer
38:03
on our behalf and show us how to be
38:05
holy.
38:09
Hebrews 4:15.
38:12
For we do not have a high priest who is
38:14
unable to sympathize with our
38:15
weaknesses, but one who in every respect
38:19
has been tempted as we are, yet without
38:22
sin.
38:23
This statement clarifies that even as a
38:26
man tempted as any other, Jesus Christ
38:29
lived a perfectly sinless life to both
38:32
sympathize with our difficulties and yet
38:35
demonstrate the standard of God's
38:37
righteousness.
38:40
God, the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is
38:44
also fully God, proceeding from the
38:47
Father through the Son to provide every
38:49
believer a direct personal relationship
38:52
with God. The Spirit indwells and
38:54
empowers, convicts, and comforts,
38:57
sanctifies, and regenerates. The gifts
39:00
of the Holy Spirit are ongoing and in
39:03
accordance with the word must be tested
39:05
by scripture to ensure authenticity.
39:09
My chosen references are John 14 16-17
39:14
and 16 7-15,
39:18
Acts 5:es 3-4, Romans 811, 1 Corinthians
39:23
12 and 13, Galatians 5:es 22-2,
39:29
1 Thessalonians 5 19- 21, Titus 3:es
39:34
4-7, and 1 John 4:ES 1-3.
39:40
Let's consider how those references
39:42
clearly differentiate the Holy Spirit
39:44
from the Father and Son
39:47
beginning with John 14 16 and 17. I will
39:52
ask the Father and he will give you
39:54
another helper to be with you forever.
39:57
Even the Spirit of truth whom the world
39:59
cannot receive because it neither sees
40:01
him nor knows him. You know him for he
40:04
dwells with you and will be in you. Here
40:08
the son speaks of the helper which will
40:10
be sent by the father and calls him the
40:12
spirit of truth.
40:15
Now John 16 7-15.
40:20
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It
40:22
is to your advantage that I go away. For
40:24
if I do not go away, the helper will not
40:26
come to you. But if I go, I will send
40:28
him to you. And when he comes, he will
40:31
convict the world concerning sin and
40:33
righteousness and judgment. Concerning
40:36
sin, because they do not believe in me.
40:38
Concerning righteousness, because I go
40:40
to the Father, and you will see me no
40:42
longer. Concerning judgment, because the
40:45
ruler of this world is judged.
40:49
I still have many things to say to you,
40:51
but you cannot bear them now. When the
40:53
Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you
40:55
into all the truth. For he will not
40:57
speak on his own authority, but whatever
41:00
he hears, he will speak, and he will
41:02
declare to you the things that are to
41:03
come. He will glorify me for he will
41:06
take what is mine and declare it to you.
41:09
All that the father has is mine.
41:11
Therefore, I said that he will take what
41:14
is mine and declare it to you.
41:20
Jesus again refers to the helper as the
41:22
spirit having what is Christ's just as
41:25
Christ has what is the fathers. He will
41:28
convict concerning sin, righteousness,
41:31
and judgment. Furthermore, he will speak
41:34
what he has heard just as Christ did. In
41:38
this, we see that both the spirit and
41:40
the son submit to the father's
41:41
authority. In other words, they act on
41:44
his initiative.
41:48
Acts 5:es 3-4.
41:52
But Peter said, "Ananas, why has Satan
41:56
filled your heart to lie to the Holy
41:58
Spirit and to keep back for yourself
42:00
part of the proceeds of the land? While
42:02
it remained unsold, did it not remain
42:04
your own? And after it was sold, was it
42:07
not at your disposal?" Why is it that
42:10
you have contrived this deed in your
42:11
heart? You have not lied to man, but to
42:14
God.
42:17
Lying to the Holy Spirit is lying to God
42:20
because the Holy Spirit is God.
42:25
Romans 8 vers 11.
42:28
If the spirit of him who raised Jesus
42:30
from the dead dwells in you, he who
42:32
raised Christ Jesus from the dead will
42:35
also give life to your mortal bodies
42:37
through his spirit who dwells in you.
42:41
The him who raised Jesus from the dead
42:44
was God the father who now gives life
42:47
through his spirit. This is the
42:49
regeneration of the Holy Spirit.
42:54
1 Corinthians chapters 12 and 13.
42:59
Now concerning spiritual gifts,
43:01
brothers, I do not want you to be
43:02
uninformed. You know that when you were
43:05
pagans, you were led astray to mute
43:07
idols. However you were led. Therefore,
43:10
I want you to understand that no one
43:13
speaking in the spirit of God ever says
43:15
Jesus is a cursed and no one can say
43:18
Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit.
43:22
Now there are varieties of gifts but the
43:25
same spirit and there are varieties of
43:27
service but the same Lord and there are
43:30
varieties of activities but it is the
43:32
same God who empowers them all in
43:35
everyone.
43:38
To each is given the manifestation of
43:40
the spirit for the common good. For to
43:43
one is given through the spirit the
43:44
utterance of wisdom, and to another the
43:47
utterance of knowledge according to the
43:49
same spirit. To another faith by the
43:52
same Spirit. To another gifts of healing
43:55
by the one Spirit. To another the
43:57
workings of miracles. To another
44:00
prophecy. To another the ability to
44:02
distinguish between spirits. To another
44:05
various kinds of tongues. to another the
44:08
interpretation of tongues.
44:10
All these are empowered by one and the
44:12
same spirit who aortions to each one
44:16
individually as he wills.
44:20
For just as the body is one and has many
44:22
members and all the members of the body,
44:24
though many are one body, so it is with
44:28
Christ. For he in one spirit we were all
44:31
baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks,
44:34
slaves or free, and all were made to
44:36
drink of one spirit. For the body does
44:39
not consist of one member but of many.
44:42
If the foot should say, "Because I am
44:44
not a hand, I do not belong to the
44:45
body," that would not make it any less a
44:48
part of the body. And if the ear should
44:51
say, "Because I'm not an eye, I do not
44:53
belong to the body," that would not make
44:55
it any less part of the body.
44:59
If the whole body were an eye, where
45:01
would be the sense of hearing? If the
45:04
whole body were an ear, where would be
45:05
the sense of smell? But as it is, God
45:08
arranged the members of the body, each
45:11
one of them, as he chose. If all were a
45:14
single member, where would the body be?
45:16
As it is, there are many parts, yet one
45:19
body.
45:21
The eye cannot say to the hand, "I have
45:23
no need of you." nor again the head to
45:26
the feet, I have no need of you. On the
45:28
contrary, the parts of the body that
45:30
seem to be weaker are indispensable, and
45:33
on those parts of the body that we think
45:35
of less honorable, we bestow the greater
45:37
honor, and our unrepresentable parts are
45:40
treated with greater modesty,
45:42
which our more representable parts do
45:46
not require.
45:48
But God has so composed the body, giving
45:50
greater honor to the part that lacked
45:52
it, that there may be no division in the
45:54
body, but that the members may have the
45:56
same care for one another.
46:00
If one member suffers, all suffer
46:02
together. If one member is honored, all
46:05
rejoice together. Now you are the body
46:07
of Christ and individually members of
46:09
it. And God has appointed in the church
46:11
first apostles, second prophets, third
46:14
teachers, then miracles, then gifts of
46:16
healing, helping, administrating, and
46:19
various kinds of tongues. Are all
46:21
apostles? Are all prophets? Are all
46:25
teachers? Do all work miracles? Do all
46:28
possess gifts of healing? Do all speak
46:31
with tongues? Do all interpret? but
46:34
earnestly desire the higher gifts, and I
46:37
will show you a still more excellent
46:39
way.
46:42
If I speak in the tongues of men and of
46:44
angels, but have not love, I am a noisy
46:47
gong or a clanging symbol. And if I have
46:49
prophetic powers and understand all
46:51
mysteries and all knowledge, and if I
46:54
have all faith so as to remove
46:56
mountains, but have not love, I am
46:58
nothing. If I give away all I have, and
47:01
if I deliver up my body to be burned,
47:04
but have not love, I gain nothing.
47:08
Love is patient and kind. Love does not
47:11
envy or boast. It is not arrogant or
47:13
rude. It does not insist on its own way.
47:16
It is not irritable or resentful. It
47:19
does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but
47:21
rejoices with the truth.
47:24
Love bears all things, believes all
47:26
things, hopes all things, endures all
47:29
things. Love never ends. As for
47:33
prophecies, they will pass away. As for
47:35
tongues, they will cease. As for
47:38
knowledge, it will pass away. For we
47:40
know in part, and we prophesy in part.
47:43
But when the perfect comes, the partial
47:45
will pass away. When I was a child, I
47:48
spoke like a child. I thought like a
47:50
child. I reasoned like a child.
47:53
When I became a man, I gave up childish
47:56
ways. For now we see in a mirror dimly,
47:59
but then face to face. Now I know in
48:02
part, then I shall know fully, even as I
48:06
have been fully known. So now faith,
48:09
hope, and love abide, these three. But
48:12
the greatest of these is love.
48:18
To protect against the deceptions of
48:20
other religions, we are told that one
48:22
speaking through the Holy Spirit will
48:24
never curse the name of Jesus. And it is
48:27
a gift of the Holy Spirit that we have
48:29
the faith to call him our Lord. All of
48:32
the various spiritual gifts come from
48:34
the same Holy Spirit to each person
48:36
according to his will.
48:38
Yet each gift and receiver of that gift
48:41
is important to the body of Christ and
48:44
cannot be tossed aside any more than the
48:46
hands can toss aside the feet without
48:48
losing the ability to walk. Not every
48:51
believer will receive the power of every
48:53
gift of the spirit. But we should
48:56
earnestly desire these gifts for the
48:58
good of the body. If I were a hand, I
49:01
would earnestly desire to have feet so
49:03
that I wouldn't have to do the job of
49:05
the foot by crawling. A hand can't crawl
49:08
nearly as well as a foot can walk.
49:11
All that said, God wants us to clearly
49:14
realize that greater than the gifts of
49:16
prophecy, discernment, tongues, and all
49:19
the rest is the gift of love. Speaking
49:22
in tongues is not more than obnoxious
49:25
noise without love. Likewise, if I
49:29
understand the mysteries of the universe
49:31
and have the faith to move mountains,
49:33
but do not love, I am nothing.
49:36
Prophecies and tongues will one day no
49:38
longer be needed. But love is the
49:41
eternal gift of God that directs all
49:44
other gifts. So it is the love of God
49:47
that is the greatest gift that we have
49:49
through the Holy Spirit.
49:59
Galatians 5 verses 20 through 2-2.
50:04
The fruit of the spirit is love, joy,
50:06
peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
50:10
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.
50:13
Against such things, there is no law.
50:16
And those who belong to Christ Jesus
50:18
have crucified the flesh with its
50:20
passions and desires. If we live by the
50:23
spirit, let us also keep in step with
50:25
the spirit. Let us not become conceited,
50:28
provoking one another, envying one
50:30
another.
50:33
I really appreciate that this verse not
50:35
only describes the fruit of the spirit,
50:37
but also that it tells us that there can
50:40
be no law against it and that we should
50:43
live in step with the spirit and in
50:45
peace with each other.
50:49
1 Thessalonians 5 19- 21. Do not quench
50:54
the spirit. Do not despise prophecies,
50:57
but test everything. Hold fast what is
51:00
good.
51:02
These commands show us that the gifts of
51:04
the spirit are ongoing and should not be
51:06
detested, but tested according to what
51:09
is good, which from what the Bible says
51:12
elsewhere means testing everything
51:14
according to scripture and what we know
51:16
to be true. That means that supposed
51:19
prophecy that contradicts scripture is
51:22
not from God and therefore not prophecy
51:26
but deception.
51:28
Now, Titus 3:es 4-7.
51:33
When the goodness and loving kindness of
51:35
God our Savior appeared, he saved us,
51:38
not because of works done by us in
51:40
righteousness, but according to his own
51:42
mercy, by the washing of regeneration
51:45
and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he
51:47
poured out on us richly through Jesus
51:49
Christ our savior, so that being
51:52
justified by his grace, we might become
51:54
hes according to the hope of eternal
51:56
life.
51:58
This passage names the Holy Spirit as
52:00
the active agent performing the renewing
52:03
of all those who are saved through Jesus
52:06
Christ. Not because of our own works,
52:08
but because of God's mercy.
52:13
1 John 4:es 1-3.
52:17
Beloved, do not believe every spirit,
52:19
but test the spirits to see whether they
52:21
are from God. For many false prophets
52:24
have gone out into the world. By this
52:26
you know the spirit of God. Every spirit
52:29
that confesses that Jesus Christ has
52:31
come in the flesh is from God. And every
52:34
spirit that does not confess Jesus is
52:36
not from God. This is the spirit of the
52:39
antichrist which you heard was coming
52:41
and now is in the world already.
52:46
This passage reaffirms that we are to be
52:48
discerning but not only with prophecy
52:51
with everything we are told to believe
52:54
because there are many false prophets.
52:56
Test everything against the gospel of
52:58
Jesus Christ which does doesn't just
53:01
refer to the synoptic gospels but to the
53:04
entire word of God which is in unison
53:06
with those gospels of Christ as all
53:09
scripture must be.
53:12
Statement four pertains to the topics of
53:14
humanity, creation, and sin.
53:18
Humanity is created by God, for God, in
53:21
the image of God, and given life through
53:24
his breath. Because of these truths, all
53:27
human life at all stages of life, which
53:29
begins at conception, belong to God, and
53:32
are worth defending. Humanity fell under
53:35
the curse of sin and death through
53:36
disobedience to God. This curse affects
53:39
all humans since the first Adam.
53:43
My chosen references are Genesis 1:es 26
53:46
and 7 and chapter 2:7 as well as chapter
53:51
3, Psalm 8:es 4-7 and 139 13-16,
53:58
Jeremiah 15, Luke 1 41, Romans 3 23 and
54:06
5:12,
54:08
and Ephesians 2:es 1-3.
54:12
Now to read each passage and show how
54:15
they inform our understanding of
54:17
humanity, creation, and sin.
54:21
Genesis 1:es 26 and 7.
54:26
Then God said, "Let us make man in our
54:29
image, after our likeness, and let them
54:31
have dominion over the fish of the sea,
54:34
and over the birds of the heavens, and
54:36
over the livestock, and over all the
54:38
earth, and over every creeping thing
54:40
that creeps on the earth." So God
54:42
created man in his own image. In the
54:45
image of God he created them. Male and
54:47
female he created them.
54:51
I didn't mention this in regards to the
54:53
persons of the Trinity. But in light of
54:55
the inspired harmony of all scripture,
54:59
the phrase let us make man in our image
55:03
is the first revelation of the
55:05
multi-personhood of God from the very
55:07
first book of the Bible. because the
55:09
words us and our imply a plurality of
55:13
persons acting to create in their own
55:15
image. For the topic at hand though,
55:18
this part of the creation story reveals
55:20
that God created mankind in his image as
55:24
both male and female. Furthermore, he
55:27
created mankind to have dominion over
55:29
the earth and all of its other
55:30
inhabitants.
55:34
Genesis 2 7.
55:38
Then the Lord God formed the man of dust
55:40
from the ground and breathed into his
55:42
nostrils the breath of life. And the man
55:45
became a living creature.
55:48
So God created man from dust and life
55:51
through his breath.
55:54
Genesis 3.
55:58
Now the serpent was more crafty than any
56:00
other beast of the field that the Lord
56:01
God had made. He said to the woman, "Did
56:04
God actually say, 'You shall not eat of
56:07
any tree in the garden?" And the woman
56:09
said to the serpent, "We may eat of the
56:11
fruit of the trees in the garden, but
56:13
God said, "You shall not eat of the
56:15
fruit of the tree that is in the midst
56:17
of the garden, neither shall you touch
56:19
it, lest you die." But the serpent said
56:21
to the woman, "You will not surely die.
56:24
For God knows that when you eat of it,
56:26
your eyes will be opened, and you will
56:28
be like God, knowing good and evil.
56:33
So when the woman saw that the tree was
56:35
good for food, and that it was a delight
56:37
to the eyes, and that the tree was to be
56:39
desired to make one wise, she took of
56:41
its fruit and ate. And she also gave
56:44
some to her husband, who was with her,
56:46
and he ate. Then the eyes of both were
56:48
opened, and they knew that they were
56:50
naked. And they sewed fig leaves
56:52
together, and made themselves loin
56:54
cloths. And they heard the sound of the
56:56
Lord God walking in the garden in the
56:58
cool of the day.
57:01
The man and his wife hid themselves from
57:03
the presence of the Lord God among the
57:05
trees of the garden. But the Lord God
57:08
called to the man and said to him,
57:09
"Where are you?"
57:12
And he said, "I heard the sound of you
57:14
in the garden, and I was afraid because
57:16
I was naked and I hid myself." He said,
57:21
"Who told you that you were naked? Have
57:23
you eaten of the tree of which I
57:25
commanded you not to eat?"
57:27
The man said, "The woman whom you gave
57:29
to be with me, she gave me fruit of the
57:31
tree and I ate." Then the Lord God said
57:34
to the woman, "What is this that you
57:36
have done?" The woman said, "The serpent
57:38
deceived me and I ate."
57:41
The Lord God said to the serpent,
57:43
"Because you have done this, cursed are
57:45
you above all livestock and above all
57:47
beasts of the field. On your belly you
57:50
shall go, and dust you shall eat all the
57:52
days of your life. I will put enmity
57:55
between you and the woman and between
57:57
your offspring and her offspring. He
57:59
shall bruise your head and you shall
58:01
bruise his heel. To the woman he said, I
58:03
will surely multiply your pain and
58:05
childbearing. In pain you shall bring
58:08
forth children. Your desire shall be
58:10
contrary to your husband, but he shall
58:12
rule over you.
58:15
And to Adam he said, because you have
58:17
listened to the voice of your wife and
58:18
have eaten the tree of which I commanded
58:20
you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is
58:23
the ground because of you. In pain you
58:26
shall eat of it all the days of your
58:27
life. Thorns and thistles it shall bring
58:30
forth for you, and you shall eat the
58:32
plants of the field. By the sweat of
58:34
your face you shall eat bread till you
58:36
return to the ground. For out of it you
58:39
were taken, for you are dust, and to
58:41
dust you shall return.
58:45
The man called his wife's name Eve,
58:47
because she was the mother of all
58:48
living. And the Lord God made for Adam
58:51
and for his wife garments of skins and
58:53
clothed them. Then the Lord God said,
58:56
"Behold, the man has become like one of
58:58
us in knowing good and evil. Now lest he
59:01
reach out his hand and take also of the
59:04
tree of life and eat and live forever.
59:06
Therefore the Lord God sent him out from
59:09
the garden of Eden to work the ground
59:11
from which he was taken." He drove out
59:13
the man and at the east of the garden of
59:16
Eden he placed the cherubim and a
59:18
flaming sword that turned every way to
59:20
guard the way to the tree of life.
59:25
Eve was deceived by the serpent and Adam
59:28
failed to correct her error. So they
59:30
both sinned against God triggering the
59:32
initiation of the curse of sin and death
59:35
for humanity which also impacted all of
59:38
creation.
59:41
Psalm 8:es 4-5.
59:44
What is man that you are mindful of him
59:46
and the son of man that you care for
59:48
him? Yet you have made him a little
59:50
lower than the heavenly beings and
59:52
crowned him with glory and honor.
59:56
So despite the fact that God raised us
59:58
from the dust, he still cares for us and
1:00:01
wants to give us glory and honor. It's
1:00:05
amazing.
1:00:07
I'm aware that I've already read the
1:00:09
entirety of Psalm 139, but I'm going to
1:00:12
reread verses 13-16
1:00:14
now because they are particularly
1:00:16
important for this subject.
1:00:20
For you formed my inward parts. You
1:00:22
knitted me together in my mother's womb.
1:00:24
I praise you for I am fearfully and
1:00:27
wonderfully made. Wonderful are your
1:00:29
works. My soul knows it very well. My
1:00:32
frame was not hidden from you when I was
1:00:34
being made in secret. intricately woven
1:00:36
in the depths of the earth. Your eyes
1:00:39
saw my unformed substance. In your book
1:00:42
were written, every one of them the days
1:00:45
that were formed for me, when as yet
1:00:47
there was none of them.
1:00:51
This shows the intentional action of God
1:00:54
in creating mankind within the womb,
1:00:56
even as an unformed substance. And that
1:01:00
clump of cells is referred to with a
1:01:02
term indicative not merely of substance
1:01:05
but of personhood.
1:01:07
Me.
1:01:09
Remember that this is scripture breathed
1:01:12
out by God. That means that not only
1:01:15
does God create man in the womb of woman
1:01:18
just as he did from the womb of the
1:01:20
earth in the beginning, but that he
1:01:22
perceives a person in that unformed
1:01:24
substance. If God perceives a person
1:01:27
there, it's necessarily implied that
1:01:30
there is life. Thus, life begins with
1:01:34
the unformed substance conceived in the
1:01:36
womb.
1:01:40
Jeremiah 1:5,
1:01:43
Before I formed you in the womb, I knew
1:01:45
you. And before you were born, I
1:01:48
consecrated you. I appointed you a
1:01:50
prophet to the nations.
1:01:53
This verse again affirms the agency of
1:01:55
God in forming man in the womb and
1:01:58
furthermore reveals the intention of
1:02:00
creation for his own purpose of
1:02:03
consecration which means to be made
1:02:05
sacred or dedicated to God. We are not
1:02:08
made for our own purposes but for God's
1:02:11
purposes not our will but his will.
1:02:18
Luke 1 verse41
1:02:21
when Elizabeth heard the greeting of
1:02:23
Mary the baby leaped in her womb and
1:02:26
Elizabeth was filled with the Holy
1:02:28
Spirit.
1:02:30
This verse ensures that we can't take
1:02:32
the previous verses about conception in
1:02:34
life too metaphorically because it
1:02:37
describes a literal action of a baby in
1:02:39
a womb when that baby is touched by the
1:02:41
Holy Spirit of God.
1:02:43
The fetus is a baby, and that baby must
1:02:46
be truly alive to be able to experience
1:02:49
and respond to the Holy Spirit like
1:02:51
this. As an aside, if you ever find
1:02:55
yourself puffing out your chest because
1:02:57
of how filled with the Holy Spirit you
1:02:59
think you are, just remember that even a
1:03:03
person still in the fetal stage of life
1:03:05
can jump for joy when filled with the
1:03:08
Holy Spirit.
1:03:10
Everything good that we do must be
1:03:12
enabled by the Holy Spirit because of
1:03:14
our sin nature.
1:03:18
Romans 3 23.
1:03:21
All have sinned and fall short of the
1:03:23
glory of God.
1:03:26
This verse is the arrow against any man
1:03:29
who claims to live in sinless
1:03:30
perfection.
1:03:32
No one but God can maintain the standard
1:03:34
of God's perfection.
1:03:38
Romans 5:12, just as sin came into the
1:03:41
world through one man and death through
1:03:43
sin, and so death spread to all men
1:03:46
because all sinned.
1:03:50
This verse affirms that while one man
1:03:52
was responsible for the entry of sin and
1:03:54
death into creation, all of mankind is
1:03:57
guilty because of their own personal
1:03:59
sins.
1:04:02
Next, Ephesians 2:es 1-3. You were dead
1:04:06
in the trespasses and sins in which you
1:04:09
once walked, following the course of
1:04:11
this world, following the prince of the
1:04:13
power of the air, the spirit that is now
1:04:15
at work in the sons of disobedience,
1:04:18
among whom we all once lived in the
1:04:20
passions of our flesh, carrying out the
1:04:23
desires of the body and the mind, and
1:04:25
were by nature children of wrath like
1:04:27
the rest of mankind.
1:04:30
This passage affirms that humans are
1:04:32
born initially as children of wrath
1:04:35
because of our nature, the sin nature,
1:04:37
but tempts us to follow the way of sin
1:04:39
and death.
1:04:42
Statement five is in regards to
1:04:43
salvation from the curse of sin and
1:04:46
death. All topics addressed by the word
1:04:49
of God are important, but this is one of
1:04:51
the most important subjects for us to be
1:04:53
on the same page about and to
1:04:55
effectively communicate to the world.
1:04:59
We can tolerate disagreement on
1:05:01
secondary issues, but this is the
1:05:04
doctrine impacting the eternal destiny
1:05:07
of each human being. So listen closely,
1:05:11
think carefully and spend more time on
1:05:13
this if you're at all unsure of your
1:05:15
stance on this issue or if you are sure
1:05:19
but in disagreement with the mainline
1:05:21
Christian beliefs that have been
1:05:23
established since the days of the early
1:05:25
church.
1:05:27
Here's my
1:05:29
summarizing statement.
1:05:33
Because God is just and all of mankind
1:05:35
have fallen short of the standard of
1:05:37
righteousness, we are dependent on God
1:05:39
for salvation. Yet God does not force
1:05:42
salvation upon us. But by his will, he
1:05:46
requires that we respond to repent and
1:05:48
believe. He judges each person perfectly
1:05:51
according to the degree of revelation
1:05:53
received. The spiritual rebirth produces
1:05:56
good works, but no work of ours can wash
1:05:59
clean the stain of our sin. Thus,
1:06:03
salvation is acquired only by God's
1:06:05
grace through faith in Christ's death
1:06:07
and resurrection by which he suffered
1:06:10
the consequences of sin for all
1:06:12
believers despite having never been
1:06:14
guilty of sin himself.
1:06:17
Furthermore, even our faith is a gift
1:06:20
from God, and yet he still commands us
1:06:22
to receive it. By this, God's gift is
1:06:25
shown to be not inconsiderately
1:06:28
enforced, but lovingly offered.
1:06:32
My chosen references are Joshua 24:15,
1:06:36
Mark 1:15,
1:06:39
Luke 12:es 47-48,
1:06:42
John 14:6,
1:06:44
Acts 2:38
1:06:47
and 17 30 and 31, Romans 1:es 18- 21 and
1:06:54
2:es 12-6,
1:06:57
as well as 3:es 19-31
1:07:00
and Ephesians
1:07:01
2:es 8-10.
1:07:05
Listen to the clarity that the word of
1:07:06
God provides on this subject as I read
1:07:08
through each of those passages and
1:07:10
briefly explain their purpose in that
1:07:13
list.
1:07:14
Joshua 24:15 says, "If it is evil in
1:07:18
your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this
1:07:20
day whom you will serve, whether the
1:07:22
gods your fathers served in the region
1:07:24
beyond the river, or the gods of the
1:07:26
Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as
1:07:29
for me in my house, we will serve the
1:07:32
Lord.
1:07:34
This verse affirms the free will of
1:07:36
choosing what master we each will serve.
1:07:41
Mark 1:15.
1:07:45
Jesus went into Galilee proclaiming the
1:07:47
gospel of God and saying, "The time is
1:07:50
fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at
1:07:52
hand. Repent and believe in the gospel."
1:07:57
This is Christ's simple command. Repent
1:07:59
and believe in the gospel. Meaning turn
1:08:02
away from your sins and have faith in
1:08:04
the death and resurrection of Jesus
1:08:06
Christ for salvation.
1:08:10
Luke 12:es 47-48.
1:08:14
The servant who knew his master's will
1:08:16
but did not get ready or act according
1:08:18
to his will receive a severe beating.
1:08:21
But the one who did not know and did
1:08:23
what deserved a beating will receive a
1:08:25
light beating. Everyone to whom much is
1:08:28
given of him much will be required and
1:08:31
from him to whom they entrusted much
1:08:34
they will demand the more.
1:08:39
In this Jesus reveals that God will
1:08:41
judge fairly according not merely to the
1:08:44
weight of our sins but with
1:08:46
consideration for the degree of
1:08:48
understanding of our sin. Meaning that
1:08:50
those who sin in ignorance will have the
1:08:52
less severe judgment, but those who sin
1:08:55
knowingly will be judged more severely.
1:09:01
John 14:6.
1:09:04
Jesus says, "I am the way and the truth
1:09:06
and the life. No one comes to the father
1:09:09
except through me."
1:09:11
Jesus is the way. There is no other way.
1:09:15
No side door into heaven, no cheat code
1:09:17
to eternity. You are either saved
1:09:19
through Jesus or you are destined for
1:09:22
hell.
1:09:25
Acts 2:38.
1:09:28
Peter said to them, "Repent and be
1:09:30
baptized every one of you in the name of
1:09:32
Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your
1:09:35
sins and you will receive the gift of
1:09:37
the Holy Spirit."
1:09:40
So we turn from the way of sin and are
1:09:43
baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for
1:09:45
forgiveness of our sins and the
1:09:47
reception of the gift of the Holy
1:09:49
Spirit.
1:09:53
Next, Acts 17 30-31.
1:09:58
The times of ignorance got overlooked.
1:10:01
But now he commands all people
1:10:02
everywhere to repent because he has
1:10:05
fixed a day on which he will judge the
1:10:07
world in righteousness by a man whom he
1:10:09
has appointed. And of this he has given
1:10:12
assurance to all by raising him from the
1:10:14
dead.
1:10:16
God proves the identity of Christ
1:10:18
through the resurrection as the one who
1:10:20
will judge the world and calls us to
1:10:22
repent before the coming day of the
1:10:24
Lord.
1:10:27
Romans 1:es 18- 21.
1:10:32
For the wrath of God is revealed from
1:10:34
heaven against all ungodliness and
1:10:36
unrighteousness of men who by their
1:10:39
unrighteousness suppress the truth. For
1:10:41
what can be known about God is plain to
1:10:43
them because God has shown it to them.
1:10:45
For his invisible attributes, namely his
1:10:48
eternal power and divine nature, have
1:10:50
been clearly perceived ever since the
1:10:53
creation of the world in the things that
1:10:55
have been made. So they are without
1:10:57
excuse. For although they knew God, they
1:11:00
did not honor him as God or give thanks
1:11:02
to him. But they became futile in their
1:11:05
thinking and their foolish hearts were
1:11:07
darkened.
1:11:10
In scripture, we find that none have an
1:11:12
excuse. There is a general revelation of
1:11:15
at the bare minimum the power and
1:11:17
divinity of God through the witness of
1:11:19
creation. It is futile and foolish
1:11:22
thinking that prevents people from
1:11:24
recognizing God in creation even without
1:11:27
hearing the gospel of Christ.
1:11:30
Now, Romans 2:es 12-16.
1:11:35
For all who have sinned without the law
1:11:37
will also perish without the law, and
1:11:39
all who have sinned under the law will
1:11:41
be judged by the law. For it is not the
1:11:43
hearers of the law who are righteous
1:11:45
before God, but the doers of the law who
1:11:47
will be justified. For when Gentiles who
1:11:50
do not have the law by nature do what
1:11:52
the law requires, they are a law to
1:11:55
themselves. Even though they do not have
1:11:57
the law, they show that the work of the
1:11:59
law is written on their hearts. While
1:12:02
their conscience also bears witness, and
1:12:04
their conflicting thoughts accuse or
1:12:06
even excuse them on that day when
1:12:09
according to my gospel, God judges the
1:12:12
secrets of men by Christ Jesus. In this
1:12:15
letter to the Romans, God reveals that
1:12:17
not only do we have the external witness
1:12:20
of creation to direct our attention to
1:12:22
God, but we also have his law written on
1:12:25
our hearts, which we experience through
1:12:27
what is called the conscience. The
1:12:29
evidence is in the substantial overlap
1:12:31
of moral laws across the ages and
1:12:34
cultures of the world. A man's
1:12:36
conscience must be dulled by his own
1:12:38
selfdeception to believe that murder is
1:12:40
acceptable because God gifted us the law
1:12:43
written into our beings to afford us a
1:12:46
guide to show us how to combat our sin
1:12:48
nature.
1:12:50
Romans 3:es 19-31.
1:12:56
Now we know that whatever the law says,
1:12:58
it speaks to those who are under the
1:13:00
law, so that every mouth may be stopped
1:13:02
and the whole world may be held
1:13:04
accountable to God. For by works of the
1:13:06
law, no human being will be justified in
1:13:09
his sight, since through the law comes
1:13:11
knowledge of sin.
1:13:15
But now the righteousness of God has
1:13:17
been manifested apart from the law,
1:13:19
although the law and the prophets bear
1:13:21
witness to it. the righteousness of God
1:13:24
through faith in Jesus Christ for all
1:13:26
who believe. For there is no
1:13:27
distinction. For all have sinned and
1:13:29
fall short of the glory of God and are
1:13:32
justified by his grace as a gift through
1:13:34
the redemption that is in Christ Jesus
1:13:37
whom God put forward as a propitiation
1:13:39
by his blood to be received by faith.
1:13:43
This was to show God's righteousness
1:13:45
because in his divine forbearance he had
1:13:48
passed over former sins.
1:13:52
It was to show his righteousness at the
1:13:54
present time so that he might be just
1:13:57
and the justifier of the one who has
1:13:59
faith in Jesus. Then what becomes of our
1:14:02
boasting? It is excluded. By what kind
1:14:05
of law? By a law of works? No, but by
1:14:08
the law of the faith. For we hold that
1:14:11
one is justified by faith apart from
1:14:13
works of the law. Or is God the God of
1:14:16
Jews only? Is he not the God of Gentiles
1:14:18
also? Yes, of Gentiles also. Since God
1:14:22
is one, who will justify the circumcised
1:14:25
by faith and the circumcised through
1:14:27
faith?
1:14:29
Do we then overthrow the law by this
1:14:31
faith? By no means. On the contrary, we
1:14:34
uphold the law.
1:14:38
So because all have sinned and fallen
1:14:40
short of the standard of righteousness,
1:14:42
we're dependent on the redemptive love
1:14:44
of God for salvation through faith in
1:14:46
Jesus Christ and the sacrifice of his
1:14:48
blood to pay for our sin. In this way,
1:14:51
God has satisfied his own law through
1:14:53
faith in Christ on our behalf and calls
1:14:56
us to join in this faith.
1:15:01
Ephesians 2:es 8-10.
1:15:05
By grace you have been saved through
1:15:06
faith. And this is not your own doing.
1:15:09
It is the gift of God, not a result of
1:15:11
works, so that no one may boast. For we
1:15:14
are his workmanship, created in Christ
1:15:16
Jesus for good works, which God prepared
1:15:19
beforehand that we should walk in them.
1:15:23
This is the mystery of faith, that it is
1:15:26
a gift from God, and yet as he reaches
1:15:29
out to give it, he also calls us to
1:15:31
receive it. It's not our doing. And yet,
1:15:34
the emphasis throughout scripture is the
1:15:36
command for us to receive it. We aren't
1:15:39
required to work out the systematic
1:15:41
mysteries of faith to begin taking part
1:15:43
in it. We are simply called to be
1:15:46
obedient in our reception of it and let
1:15:49
that faith produce the work of God in
1:15:52
us.
1:15:55
Statement six is a summary explanation
1:15:58
of the church.
1:16:01
The church is the body of Christ and
1:16:03
Christ is the head of the church. With
1:16:06
the tearing of the veil, Christ
1:16:07
metaphorically proclaimed what was in a
1:16:10
later scripture clearly established, the
1:16:13
priesthood of all believers. This was
1:16:16
done so that by his intercession with
1:16:18
the father, every believer has a direct
1:16:20
connection to God through the Holy
1:16:21
Spirit. The great commission that God
1:16:24
gave for all members of his church is to
1:16:26
make disciples of all the people of the
1:16:29
earth, baptizing them in the name of the
1:16:31
father, son, and holy spirit.
1:16:36
My chosen references are Matthew 28
1:16:39
18-20, 1 Peter 2:es 5-9, 1 Corinthians
1:16:44
12-27,
1:16:47
Ephesians 1:es 22- 23 and 5 23 and
1:16:53
Revelation 1:es 5-6.
1:16:57
Consider how these passages individually
1:16:59
and together inform us of God's design
1:17:02
for the church.
1:17:06
Matthew 28 18-20 says, "Jesus came and
1:17:10
said to them, "All authority in heaven
1:17:12
and on earth has been given to me. Go
1:17:14
therefore and make disciples of all
1:17:16
nations, baptizing them in the name of
1:17:17
the Father and of the Son and of the
1:17:20
Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe
1:17:22
all that I commanded you. And behold, I
1:17:24
am with you always to the end of the
1:17:26
age."
1:17:29
This is the depiction of Jesus acting on
1:17:32
his authority as the head of the church
1:17:34
by issuing the command to go out and
1:17:37
disciple all the people of the world.
1:17:40
Next, first Peter 2:es 5-9.
1:17:45
You yourselves, like living stones, are
1:17:47
being built up as a spiritual house to
1:17:49
be a holy priesthood to offer spiritual
1:17:51
sacrifices acceptable to God through
1:17:54
Jesus Christ. For it stands in
1:17:56
scripture, "Behold, I am laying in Zion
1:17:58
a stone, a cornerstone chosen and
1:18:01
precious. And whoever believes in him
1:18:03
will not be put to shame." So the honor
1:18:05
is for you who believe. But for those
1:18:08
who do not believe, the stone that the
1:18:09
builders rejected has become the
1:18:11
cornerstone
1:18:13
and a stone of stumbling and a rock of
1:18:15
offense. They stumble because they
1:18:17
disobey the word as they were destined
1:18:20
to do. But you are a chosen race, a
1:18:22
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a
1:18:25
people for his own possession, that you
1:18:27
may proclaim the excellencies of him who
1:18:29
called you out of darkness into his
1:18:32
marvelous light.
1:18:36
In this, both Christ and his people are
1:18:38
depicted as the stones that are
1:18:40
collected and used to construct a new
1:18:42
temple, the church of Jesus Christ.
1:18:46
All who were included in the new temple
1:18:48
are called priests and called to
1:18:50
proclaim the truth of Christ.
1:18:53
I already read all of 1 Corinthians 12
1:18:56
earlier in discussing the Holy Spirit,
1:18:58
but I'm now going to reread just verses
1:19:00
12- 27 to point out the application to
1:19:03
the identity of the church.
1:19:07
So 1 Corinthians 12:es 12- 27.
1:19:12
For just as the body is one and has many
1:19:14
members, and all the members of the
1:19:16
body, though many, are one body,
1:19:19
so it is with Christ. For in one spirit
1:19:22
we were all baptized into one body, Jews
1:19:25
or Greeks, slaves or free, and all are
1:19:28
made to drink of one spirit. For the
1:19:30
body does not consist of one member, but
1:19:32
of many. If the foot should say,
1:19:34
"Because I am not a hand, I do not
1:19:36
belong to the body," that would not make
1:19:38
it any less part of the body.
1:19:43
And if the ear should say, "Because I am
1:19:45
not an eye, I do not belong to the
1:19:47
body," that would not make it any less a
1:19:49
part of the body. If the whole body were
1:19:52
an eye, where would be the sense of
1:19:54
hearing? If the whole body were an ear,
1:19:56
where would be the sense of smell? But
1:19:59
as it is, God arranged the members in
1:20:01
the body. Each one of them as he chose.
1:20:04
If all were a single member, where would
1:20:06
the body be? As it is, there are many
1:20:09
parts, yet one body. The eye cannot say
1:20:12
to the hand, "I have no need of you."
1:20:14
Nor the hand to the feet, "I have no
1:20:16
need of you."
1:20:18
On the contrary, the parts of the body
1:20:20
that seem to be weaker are
1:20:21
indispensable. And on those parts of the
1:20:24
body that we think less honorable, we
1:20:26
bestow the greater honor, and our
1:20:28
unrepresentable parts are treated with
1:20:30
greater modesty, which our more
1:20:34
presentable parts do not require. But
1:20:37
God has so composed the body, giving
1:20:39
greater honor to the part that lacked
1:20:40
it, that there may be no division in the
1:20:42
body, but that the members may have the
1:20:45
same care for one another. If one member
1:20:47
suffers, all suffer together. If one
1:20:50
member is honored, all rejoice together.
1:20:54
Now you are the body of Christ and
1:20:56
individually members of it.
1:20:59
In this metaphorical description of the
1:21:02
church as the body of Christ, it is
1:21:04
pointed out that no part of the body is
1:21:06
independent of any other. An eye cannot
1:21:10
hear without an ear, and a mouth cannot
1:21:12
preach from a stage without feet to walk
1:21:15
the body up the steps. Just as every
1:21:17
part of the body has its place and
1:21:19
function, regardless of the appeal of
1:21:21
its form, every member has a place and
1:21:24
purpose in the church. Even the covering
1:21:26
of less presentable parts is not to be
1:21:28
done in shame, but to protect and honor
1:21:31
as the standard of modesty applies to
1:21:33
the covering of humanity's physical
1:21:35
intimacies.
1:21:36
This way, the church is lifted up
1:21:38
together in unity rather than just as
1:21:40
individuals in a meritocracy.
1:21:45
Next, Ephesians 1:es 22- 23.
1:21:50
He put all things under his feet and
1:21:52
gave him as head over all things to the
1:21:54
church which is his body, the fullness
1:21:57
of him who fills all in all.
1:22:01
This reaffirms the headships of Christ
1:22:03
over the church as well as his place of
1:22:05
authority over all things. Because
1:22:07
Christ isn't just the head of the
1:22:08
Christian church, but over the rest of
1:22:11
creation as well.
1:22:14
Ephesians 5 23 says the husband is the
1:22:17
head of the wife even as Christ is the
1:22:20
head of the church his body and is
1:22:22
himself its savior.
1:22:25
This verse serves to show that the model
1:22:28
of headship in the church is similar to
1:22:30
the service of a husband's headship for
1:22:32
his family with the church relating to
1:22:35
Christ as a bride to her husband.
1:22:39
Revelation 1:es 5-6.
1:22:44
From Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
1:22:46
the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler
1:22:48
of kings on earth. To him who loves us
1:22:51
and has freed us from our sins by his
1:22:53
blood and made us a kingdom, priests to
1:22:56
his God and father. To him be glory and
1:23:00
dominion forever and ever. Amen.
1:23:05
This passage plainly states that Christ
1:23:07
has made a kingdom of priests out of his
1:23:10
people that will last forever.
1:23:14
Now, statement seven is in regards to
1:23:17
biblical ordinances.
1:23:21
There are two ordinances which are
1:23:23
visible proclamations of the faith
1:23:24
ordained by Jesus Christ to be practiced
1:23:27
through faithful obedience and
1:23:29
remembrance of him until his second
1:23:31
coming. They are water baptism and
1:23:34
communion.
1:23:37
Water baptism is an outward expression
1:23:39
of inward faith in the cleansing renewal
1:23:42
of the Holy Spirit. The ritual is not
1:23:44
salvific but celebratory proclamation of
1:23:47
salvation.
1:23:49
My chosen references are Luke 239-43,
1:23:54
Romans 6:es 3-4 and Titus 3:es 5-7.
1:24:00
Let's confirm the prior statement by
1:24:02
examining those scriptures.
1:24:05
Luke 23:es 39-43.
1:24:10
One of the criminals who were hanged
1:24:12
railed at him, saying, "Are you not the
1:24:14
Christ? Save yourself and us." But the
1:24:17
other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not
1:24:19
fear God since you are under the same
1:24:21
sentence of condemnation? And we indeed
1:24:24
justly, for we are receiving the due
1:24:26
reward of our deeds. But this man has
1:24:29
done nothing wrong. And he said, "Jesus,
1:24:32
remember me when you come into your
1:24:33
kingdom." And he said to him, "Truly I
1:24:36
say to you, today you will be with me in
1:24:39
paradise."
1:24:42
This passage does not relate directly to
1:24:44
baptism, but it is an example of
1:24:46
salvation without water baptism. Thus
1:24:49
proving that water baptism is not
1:24:51
required for salvation. This is why it
1:24:53
is described as an outward expression of
1:24:56
faith rather than salvific.
1:25:00
Romans 6:es 3-4.
1:25:04
Do you not know that all of us who have
1:25:06
been baptized into Christ Jesus were
1:25:08
baptized into his death? We were buried
1:25:11
therefore with him by baptism into death
1:25:14
in order that just as Christ was raised
1:25:16
from the dead by the glory of the
1:25:17
father, we too might walk in newness of
1:25:20
life.
1:25:23
This tells us that water baptism
1:25:26
represents being buried with Christ in
1:25:28
his death and then being raised to new
1:25:30
life.
1:25:34
Titus 3:es 5-7.
1:25:37
He saved us not because of works done by
1:25:39
us in righteousness, but according to
1:25:41
his own mercy, by the washing of
1:25:43
regeneration and renewal of the Holy
1:25:46
Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly
1:25:48
through Jesus Christ our savior. So that
1:25:50
being justified by his grace, we might
1:25:52
become hes according to the hope of
1:25:54
eternal life.
1:25:57
This describes the baptism of the Holy
1:25:59
Spirit, which is the baptism that every
1:26:01
new believer experiences independent of
1:26:03
water baptism. Water cannot wash away
1:26:07
our sins and justify us before God. Only
1:26:10
the cleansing and renewal of the Holy
1:26:12
Spirit does that because of the death
1:26:14
and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
1:26:20
Next,
1:26:21
communion.
1:26:23
Communion is the practice of breaking
1:26:25
bread and drinking from the the cup with
1:26:27
reverent remembrance of our savior's
1:26:29
sacrifice. The bread represents Christ's
1:26:32
body offered to be broken for us. And
1:26:34
the drink of the cup represents Christ's
1:26:36
blood freely poured out for us. We share
1:26:39
in communion to remember his sacrifice
1:26:42
with the hope of sharing also in his
1:26:44
resurrection. The communion table
1:26:46
belongs to God and is open to all reborn
1:26:49
believers.
1:26:51
My chosen references are Luke 22 19-20
1:26:55
and 1 Corinthians 11:26.
1:26:59
Listen as I read those passages and
1:27:01
point out their contribution to the
1:27:03
statement on communion.
1:27:05
Luke 22 19-20 says he took bread and
1:27:10
when he had given thanks he broke it and
1:27:12
gave it to them saying this is my body
1:27:15
which is given for you do this in
1:27:17
remembrance of me and likewise the cup
1:27:20
after they had eaten saying this cup
1:27:22
that is poured out for you is the new
1:27:24
covenant covenant of my blood
1:27:29
the scene is set as the Lord's table as
1:27:32
the elements and their purposes are
1:27:34
described
1:27:35
In this moment, Jesus initiated a
1:27:37
tradition of celebrating the new
1:27:39
covenant.
1:27:42
1 Corinthians 11 26 says, "As often as
1:27:46
you eat this bread and drink the cup,
1:27:48
you proclaim the Lord's death until he
1:27:51
comes."
1:27:52
This verse describes communion as a
1:27:54
proclamation of faith in Christ, which
1:27:57
we should practice until his return.
1:28:01
Now statement eight is in regards to the
1:28:04
Christian life and identity.
1:28:07
Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit,
1:28:09
every believer is baptized into the
1:28:12
death of Christ for freedom from death
1:28:14
and into the resurrection of Christ for
1:28:17
eternal life. Because of this, a
1:28:19
believer's life is replaced and
1:28:21
sustained by the life of God the Son,
1:28:24
such that our identity is found in Jesus
1:28:26
Christ, our savior. However, until the
1:28:29
second coming, we must continue to
1:28:32
endure the fallen creation and wrestle
1:28:34
against our sin nature. This requires
1:28:37
that we daily die to ourselves and
1:28:39
choose to live as Christ so that when we
1:28:42
sin, we quickly repent, turning away
1:28:44
from the sins of the dead flesh and
1:28:46
reminding ourselves of our identity in
1:28:49
Christ.
1:28:51
God showed his love for us by
1:28:52
sacrificing his son on the cross while
1:28:55
we were still sinners. Therefore, to be
1:28:58
Christlike requires us to love sinners
1:29:00
by rejecting sin and pointing them to
1:29:03
the cross where they too can find their
1:29:06
identity in Christ.
1:29:08
My chosen references are John 8:es
1:29:11
10-11, Romans 58 and 6 3-10, 1
1:29:16
Corinthians 6:es 9-11, Galatians 2:20,
1:29:21
and Colossians 3:es 1-1.
1:29:25
Allow me to read the truths of the prior
1:29:27
statement directly from the word of God.
1:29:29
Now,
1:29:31
John 8:es 10-11.
1:29:34
Jesus stood up and said to her,"Woman,
1:29:36
where are they? Has no one condemned
1:29:38
you?" She said, "No one, Lord." And
1:29:41
Jesus said, "Neither do I condemn you.
1:29:44
Go and from now on sin no more."
1:29:49
God does not forgive our past without
1:29:51
addressing our future. The judgment of
1:29:53
life with no condemnation comes with the
1:29:56
command to sin no more.
1:30:02
Romans 5:8, God shows his love for us in
1:30:05
that while we were still sinners, Christ
1:30:07
died for us.
1:30:09
Simple, straightforward, and incredible
1:30:13
is the fact that the midst of our
1:30:15
rebellion is the scene for God's
1:30:17
greatest expression of love through
1:30:19
sacrifice.
1:30:22
Now I already read Romans 6 3-4 in
1:30:25
discussing baptism but now I'm going to
1:30:27
read verses 3-10 as it paints a
1:30:31
wonderful picture of the Christian life
1:30:32
and identity.
1:30:36
Do you not know that all of us who have
1:30:38
been baptized into Christ Jesus were
1:30:40
baptized into his death? We were buried
1:30:42
therefore with him by baptism into
1:30:44
death, in order that just as Christ was
1:30:47
raised from the dead by the glory of the
1:30:49
father, we too might walk in newness of
1:30:52
life. For if we have been united with
1:30:54
him in a death like his, we shall
1:30:57
certainly be united with him in a
1:30:58
resurrection like his. We know that our
1:31:01
old self was crucified with him in order
1:31:04
that the body of sin might be brought to
1:31:06
nothing, so that we would no longer be
1:31:09
enslaved to sin. For one who has died
1:31:11
has been set free from sin. Now if we
1:31:14
have died with Christ, we believe that
1:31:16
we will also live
1:31:19
with him.
1:31:21
We know that Christ being raised from
1:31:23
the dead will never die again. Death no
1:31:26
longer has dominion over him. For the
1:31:28
death he died, he died to sin once for
1:31:31
all. But the life he lives, he lives to
1:31:34
God.
1:31:36
The old self of the flesh is a slave
1:31:39
chained by sin to death and only freed
1:31:41
from sin through the consequences of
1:31:44
death. But Jesus has broken the chains
1:31:46
of sin that bound us to our cursed fate.
1:31:50
This is how we are saved through Christ.
1:31:52
That our identity is no longer in
1:31:54
ourselves but in him. Through faith we
1:31:58
spiritually share in his death and
1:32:00
resurrection and find our identity as
1:32:03
written in the book of life. no longer
1:32:06
in our own insufficient selves, but in
1:32:08
the perfect fulfilling identity of our
1:32:12
savior.
1:32:16
Next, 1 Corinthians 6:es 9-11.
1:32:22
Do you not know that the unrighteous
1:32:23
will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do
1:32:26
you do not be deceived? Neither the
1:32:28
sexually immoral, nor idolattors, nor
1:32:31
adulterers, nor men who practice
1:32:33
homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the
1:32:36
greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor
1:32:39
swindlers will inherit the kingdom of
1:32:41
God. And such were some of you, but you
1:32:44
were washed. You were sanctified. You
1:32:46
were justified in the name of the Lord
1:32:49
Jesus Christ and by the spirit of our
1:32:51
God.
1:32:54
Names are representative of identity and
1:32:57
attached to our names are the labels of
1:32:59
our past sins. This is why God places
1:33:02
our identity in the name of Jesus Christ
1:33:05
by his Holy Spirit.
1:33:09
Galatians 2:20,
1:33:11
I have been crucified with Christ. It is
1:33:14
no longer I who live but Christ who
1:33:16
lives in me. And the life I now live in
1:33:19
the flesh, I live by faith in the son of
1:33:21
God who loved me and gave himself for
1:33:24
me.
1:33:27
This is a great summary of the new
1:33:29
identity of every believer that it is no
1:33:31
longer I who live but Christ who lives
1:33:34
in me by faith.
1:33:38
Colossians 3:es 1-1.
1:33:41
If then you have been raised with
1:33:42
Christ. Seek the things that are above
1:33:45
where Christ is seated at the right hand
1:33:47
of God, set your minds on things that
1:33:50
are above, not on things that are on
1:33:52
earth. For you have died and your life
1:33:54
is hidden with Christ in God. When
1:33:57
Christ, who is your life, appears, then
1:33:59
you also will appear with him in glory.
1:34:02
Put to death therefore what is earthly
1:34:04
in you. sexual immorality, impurity,
1:34:07
passion, evil desire, and covetousness,
1:34:10
which is idolatry. On account of these,
1:34:13
the wrath of God is coming. In these you
1:34:16
too once walked, when you were living in
1:34:18
them, but now you must put them all
1:34:21
away, anger, wrath, malice, slander, and
1:34:24
obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie
1:34:27
to one another, seeing that you have put
1:34:30
off the old self with its practices, and
1:34:32
have put on the new self, which is being
1:34:35
renewed in knowledge after the image of
1:34:37
its creator.
1:34:39
Here there is not Greek and Jew,
1:34:41
circumcised and uncircumcised,
1:34:43
barbarian, cythian, slave, free, but
1:34:46
Christ is all and in all.
1:34:51
Our identity is no longer in our earthly
1:34:54
origin, but in Christ. This body may
1:34:57
have been born into the dust of some
1:34:59
particular community and culture on
1:35:01
earth, but I am from God for God and
1:35:05
found in God. The sinful parts of my
1:35:08
prior identity, including every type of
1:35:11
sinful and unholy thing, must be put to
1:35:14
death to walk in the life of Christ. And
1:35:17
since we are still living in the cursed
1:35:18
creation until the day that we are fully
1:35:21
returned to our creator, we must choose
1:35:24
every day to put to death the sin that
1:35:27
tries to wrestle back control of our
1:35:29
lives.
1:35:30
We must not dwell in our sin, but live
1:35:33
in the life of Christ through faith.
1:35:39
Statement number nine pertains to
1:35:41
marriage and sexual ethics.
1:35:43
Marriage is not an invention of
1:35:45
humanity, but a discovered gift of God,
1:35:48
accounted for by his designs for male
1:35:50
and female. God defines marriage as one
1:35:53
man and one woman, and commands that
1:35:55
sexual intimacy is reserved for the
1:35:57
private context of marriage, not for
1:35:59
shame, but for honor.
1:36:02
My chosen references are Genesis 2:24,
1:36:05
Song of Solomon 4:16
1:36:08
through 5:1,
1:36:11
Matthew 19:es 4-9, 1 Corinthians 6
1:36:16
18-20,
1:36:18
and Hebrews 13:4.
1:36:22
This has become a rather controversial
1:36:24
topic in our culture despite the
1:36:27
relative unity of the church throughout
1:36:29
history on this subject. So the church
1:36:31
needs to be reminded of the clarity of
1:36:33
scripture on this topic.
1:36:37
Genesis 2:24,
1:36:39
"Therefore a man shall leave his father
1:36:42
and his mother and hold fast to his
1:36:44
wife, and they shall become one flesh."
1:36:48
God describes marriage as none other
1:36:50
than a man and a woman leaving their
1:36:53
families of origin to be joined
1:36:54
intimately in the formation of a new
1:36:57
family.
1:36:58
There are descriptions elsewhere in the
1:37:00
Bible of other kinds of relationships
1:37:02
involving homosexuality and more than
1:37:06
two individuals, but this is the
1:37:08
prescription for marriage, the one
1:37:10
approved model for us to replicate.
1:37:14
Next is Song of Solomon
1:37:17
4:16
1:37:19
through 5:1.
1:37:21
This text starts from the bride's point
1:37:23
of view and then switches to the groom's
1:37:26
point of view. First the woman says,
1:37:29
"Awake, O north wind, and come, O south
1:37:31
wind. Blow upon my garden. Let its
1:37:34
spices flow. Let my beloved come to his
1:37:37
garden and eat its choicest fruits."
1:37:41
Then the man says, "I came to my garden,
1:37:44
my sister, my bride. I gathered my with
1:37:47
my spice. I ate my honeycomb with my
1:37:49
honey. I drank my wine with my milk."
1:37:54
This passage well represents the
1:37:56
biblical approach to describing the
1:37:58
intimacy of marriage to others outside
1:38:01
the marriage itself. It begins with the
1:38:03
woman calling her husband to her and
1:38:05
then switches to the husband speaking in
1:38:08
the past tense affirming the
1:38:10
consummation of the marriage.
1:38:12
Furthermore, nothing is described
1:38:14
explicitly in literal terms. What is
1:38:17
stated in this context
1:38:20
is in metaphorical terms.
1:38:23
Even in this text where romantic love is
1:38:26
such a prominent theme and in so many
1:38:28
ways poetically discussed and depicted,
1:38:32
the Holy Spirit's inspired work in this
1:38:34
scripture demonstrates a closed door
1:38:37
model for romance. So while the
1:38:40
consummation of marriage is good and
1:38:42
intended, this text along with the other
1:38:45
biblical examples referring to it teach
1:38:48
us that the details of the marriage bed
1:38:50
are to be kept within the intimate
1:38:53
confines of the marriage itself.
1:38:58
Next, Matthew 19:es 4-9.
1:39:02
He answered, "Have you not read that he
1:39:05
who created them from the beginning made
1:39:07
them male and female and said, 'There a
1:39:10
man shall leave his father and his
1:39:11
mother and hold fast to his wife, and
1:39:14
the two shall become one flesh." So they
1:39:17
are no longer two, but one flesh. What
1:39:20
therefore God has joined together, let
1:39:22
not man separate? They said to him, "Why
1:39:25
then did Moses command one to give a
1:39:27
certificate of divorce and to send her
1:39:29
away?" He said to them, "Because of your
1:39:32
hardness of heart, Moses allowed you to
1:39:34
divorce your wives. But from the
1:39:36
beginning, it was not so. And I say to
1:39:39
you, whoever divorces his wife, except
1:39:41
for sexual immorality and marries
1:39:43
another commits adultery.
1:39:48
In this passage, Jesus affir affirms the
1:39:51
definition of marriage and then elevates
1:39:53
our understanding of it as a
1:39:55
prescription from God that is not to be
1:39:57
dissolved by divorce except in extreme
1:40:00
circumstances.
1:40:02
Jesus makes it plain as day that
1:40:04
marriage after an unjustified divorce is
1:40:07
already tainted by adultery because
1:40:09
marriage carries a moral responsibility
1:40:12
to lifelong faithfulness and shouldn't
1:40:15
be ended without a serious reason. And
1:40:18
again, the reason for this is that it is
1:40:21
not an invention of mankind, but the
1:40:24
joining of two into one by God.
1:40:30
Next is 1 Corinthians 6 18-20.
1:40:34
Flee from sexual immorality. Every other
1:40:37
sin a person commits is outside the
1:40:40
body, but the sexually immoral person
1:40:42
sins against his own body. Or do you not
1:40:45
know that your body is a temple of the
1:40:47
Holy Spirit within you whom you have
1:40:49
from God? You are not your own, but you
1:40:52
were bought with a price. So glorify God
1:40:55
in your body.
1:40:58
We are not our own, but owned by our
1:41:00
creator and commanded to glorify God
1:41:02
with our bodies by staying away from
1:41:05
every kind of sexual immorality.
1:41:09
Hebrews 13:4,
1:41:12
"Let marriage be held in honor among
1:41:14
all, and let the marriage bed be
1:41:15
undefiled, for God will judge the
1:41:18
sexually immoral and adulterous."
1:41:21
This verse beautifully contradicts any
1:41:24
negative attitude regarding physical
1:41:26
intimacy categorically by explicitly
1:41:29
telling us that God sees honor in the
1:41:32
marriage. It also reminds us that the
1:41:34
marriage bed is exclusively for the
1:41:36
married couple, meaning that anything
1:41:38
else is immoral by God's standard, the
1:41:41
only standard that matters.
1:41:45
Statement 10 regards church leadership.
1:41:50
Church leadership is prescribed by the
1:41:52
word, which reveals Jesus Christ as the
1:41:55
head of the church, extending authority
1:41:57
through qualified men in the office of
1:41:59
biblical eldership. This is not due to
1:42:02
the inability of women to lead, but
1:42:04
rather due to the authority of God's
1:42:06
word. God the Son submitted humbly to
1:42:09
the authority of God the Father through
1:42:11
their unified will without dominance or
1:42:14
inequality.
1:42:15
Similarly, all members of the church,
1:42:17
both male and female, are to submit
1:42:20
humbly to the authority of the elders,
1:42:22
as the elders submit to the authority of
1:42:25
Christ.
1:42:27
This reflects God's design for order,
1:42:29
responsibility, and love, as also
1:42:32
evident in both the Trinity and family
1:42:34
structures.
1:42:36
To qualify for eldership, a man must
1:42:38
have a good reputation according to the
1:42:40
expectations of scripture. He must be
1:42:43
sober-minded, disciplined, respectable,
1:42:46
hospitable, holy, not arrogant, not a
1:42:49
drunkard, not a lover of money, not
1:42:52
quarrelome, and not prone to violence.
1:42:55
He must hold firm to the word of God and
1:42:57
be able to teach it and correct those
1:42:59
who contradict it.
1:43:02
He must manage his household well so
1:43:04
that if he has children, they are
1:43:06
submissive according to the faith. And
1:43:08
if married, he must be a faithful man of
1:43:10
one wife. He also must not be a recent
1:43:13
convert so that he will be spiritually
1:43:16
mature for leadership. The elders must
1:43:18
also be held accountable as unlike
1:43:22
Christ, they are fallible and not above
1:43:24
rebuke.
1:43:27
The references for this section are
1:43:29
especially obvious. There are Galatians
1:43:31
2 11-14,
1:43:34
1 Timothy 3:es 1-8 and 5:es 19-22 and
1:43:40
Titus 1:es 5 through 2:1.
1:43:46
While this is not a primary issue for
1:43:48
Christian faith, it is still critically
1:43:50
important to follow the biblical
1:43:52
mandates on this issue and it's been a
1:43:54
hot topic for quite a long time.
1:43:57
Furthermore, there are an unfortunate
1:43:59
quantity of church bodies that are
1:44:01
suffering greatly at the hands of
1:44:03
unqualified leadership. For this reason,
1:44:07
in addition to the simple need to submit
1:44:09
to scripture in all regards, the church
1:44:11
as a whole desperately needs to regain a
1:44:14
greater adherence to the scriptural
1:44:16
standard for leadership.
1:44:19
Pay attention to the prescription of
1:44:20
God's word on this topic.
1:44:23
Galatians 2 11-14.
1:44:28
When Cphus came to Antioch, I opposed
1:44:31
him to his face because he stood
1:44:32
condemned. For before certain men came
1:44:35
from James, he was eating with the
1:44:37
Gentiles. But when they came, he drew
1:44:39
back and separated himself, fearing the
1:44:41
circumcision party, and the rest of the
1:44:43
Jews acted hypocritically along with
1:44:45
him. So that even Barnabas was led
1:44:48
astray by their hypocrisy. But when I
1:44:50
saw that their conduct was not in step
1:44:52
with the truth of the gospel, I said to
1:44:54
Cphus before them all, "If you though a
1:44:57
Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a
1:44:59
Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to
1:45:02
live like Jews?"
1:45:05
The purpose of this reference is to show
1:45:07
that even the leaders held in the
1:45:08
highest regard in the church, apart from
1:45:11
Christ himself, are still fallible and
1:45:14
not above rebuke and correction from
1:45:16
others in the church. We should not wait
1:45:18
for outsiders to point out our
1:45:20
hypocrisy. We should name it and excise
1:45:23
it ourselves, bringing correction
1:45:25
wherever possible.
1:45:29
1 Timothy 3:es 1-8.
1:45:32
The saying is trustworthy. If anyone
1:45:34
aspires to the office of overseer, he
1:45:37
desires a noble task. Therefore, an
1:45:39
overseer must be above reproach, the
1:45:41
husband of one wife, sober-minded,
1:45:44
self-controlled, respectable,
1:45:46
hospitable, able to teach, not a
1:45:48
drunkard, not violent, but gentle, not
1:45:51
quarrelome, not a lover of money. He
1:45:54
must manage his own household well with
1:45:56
all dignity, keeping his children
1:45:58
submissive. For if someone does not know
1:46:00
how to manage his own household, how
1:46:02
will he care for God's church?
1:46:06
He must not be a recent convert or he
1:46:09
may become puffed up with conceit and
1:46:11
fall into the condemnation of the devil.
1:46:13
Moreover, he must be well thought of by
1:46:16
outsiders so that he may not fall into
1:46:18
disgrace into a snare of the devil.
1:46:21
Deacons likewise must be dignified, not
1:46:24
double tonged, not addicted to w much
1:46:26
wine, not greedy for dishonest gain.
1:46:33
This passage describes in detail the
1:46:36
qualifications for eldership as well as
1:46:38
comparing another tier of leadership
1:46:40
that carries a lesser but still very
1:46:42
real degree of authority in the body.
1:46:47
1 Timothy 5:19-22
1:46:52
do not admit a charge against an elder
1:46:54
except on the evidence of two or three
1:46:56
witnesses. As for those who persist in
1:46:58
sin, rebuke them in the presence of all,
1:47:01
so that the rest may stand in fear. In
1:47:03
the presence of God and of Christ Jesus,
1:47:06
and of the elect angels, I charge you to
1:47:08
keep these rules without prejudging,
1:47:11
doing nothing from partiality. Do not be
1:47:14
hasty in the laying on of hands, nor
1:47:16
take part in the sins of others. Keep
1:47:19
yourselves pure.
1:47:22
So we are not to judge our leaders on
1:47:24
rumors but with confirmation of
1:47:26
witnesses and rebuke in the presence of
1:47:29
all because the offense of a leader is
1:47:32
against everyone that he is responsible
1:47:34
for not just the people who recognized
1:47:37
the error. This is about protecting the
1:47:40
church from the fallacies of its human
1:47:42
leaders and ensuring that no one is
1:47:44
placed on a pedestal next to Jesus, the
1:47:46
true head of the church.
1:47:50
Titus 1 verse 5- 2 verse 1.
1:47:55
This is why I left you in cree so that
1:47:58
you might put what remained into order
1:48:00
and appoint elders in every town as I
1:48:02
directed you. If anyone is above
1:48:04
reproach, the husband of one wife and
1:48:06
his children are believers and not open
1:48:08
to the charge of debauchery or
1:48:09
insubordination.
1:48:11
For an overseer as God's steward must be
1:48:14
above reproach. He must not be arrogant
1:48:16
or quick-tempered or a drunkard or
1:48:18
violent or greedy for gain, but
1:48:21
hospitable, a lover of good,
1:48:23
self-controlled, upright, holy, and
1:48:26
disciplined.
1:48:28
He must hold firm to the trustworthy
1:48:30
word as taught, so that he may be able
1:48:32
to give instruction in sound doctrine,
1:48:34
and also rebuke those who contradict it.
1:48:37
For there are many who are
1:48:38
insubordinate, empty talkers and
1:48:40
deceivers, especially those of the
1:48:42
circumcision party. They must be
1:48:44
silenced since they are upsetting whole
1:48:46
families by teaching for shameful gain
1:48:49
what they ought not to teach. One of the
1:48:51
credants, a prophet of their own, said,
1:48:54
"Cretins are always liars, evil beasts,
1:48:57
lazy glutton." This testimony is true.
1:49:02
Therefore, rebuke them sharply that they
1:49:04
may be sound in the faith, not devoting
1:49:06
themselves to Jewish myths and the
1:49:09
commands of people who turn away from
1:49:10
the truth. To the pure, all things are
1:49:13
pure. But to the defiled and
1:49:15
unbelieving, nothing is pure. But both
1:49:18
their minds and their consciences are
1:49:20
defiled. They profess to know God, but
1:49:22
they deny him by their works. They are
1:49:25
detestable, disobedient, unfit for any
1:49:28
good work. But as for you, teach what
1:49:31
accords with sound doctrine.
1:49:35
This text implicitly denies the model of
1:49:38
an exclusively centralized governing
1:49:40
body over the worldwide church by
1:49:43
prescribing the appointment of elders in
1:49:46
each local area. Elders are also to hold
1:49:49
firm to the word of God and correct
1:49:51
those who contradict it because every
1:49:53
local body is still part of the greater
1:49:56
corporate entity of the body of Christ.
1:49:59
False teaching must be stopped and those
1:50:01
who deny God by their works are not fit
1:50:04
for service to the church.
1:50:08
Finally, statement 11 pertains to the
1:50:11
last things, esquetology.
1:50:15
The Bible has many prophecies regarding
1:50:17
the end of this age. Yet, for now, we
1:50:19
know only in part what will come to
1:50:21
pass. What we are sure to affirm with
1:50:24
certainty is that Jesus Christ will
1:50:26
return for his second coming to judge
1:50:28
the world. At this time, he will gather
1:50:31
to himself the faithful and cast all
1:50:33
those who persist in their unrepentance
1:50:35
into hell, which is the consciously
1:50:37
torturous experience of permanent
1:50:40
separation from God for all that remain
1:50:42
unholy.
1:50:45
After that judgment, God will cleanse
1:50:47
creation and establish a new heaven and
1:50:49
earth with no more pain or death, where
1:50:51
the fullness of his presence will dwell
1:50:53
with his people for eternity.
1:50:57
My chosen references are Matthew 25
1:51:01
31-46,
1:51:02
Mark 3:29,
1:51:05
Acts 17:31,
1:51:08
1 Corinthians 13:es 9-12, and Revelation
1:51:14
20 10 through 21 27.
1:51:21
Listen now as I read some of the most
1:51:24
terrifying and encouraging statements of
1:51:27
God pertaining to the future of all
1:51:29
creation.
1:51:31
Matthew 25 31-46.
1:51:35
When the son of man comes in his glory
1:51:37
and all the angels with him, then he
1:51:39
will sit on his glorious throne. Before
1:51:41
him will be gathered all the nations and
1:51:44
he will separate people from one another
1:51:46
as a shepherd separates the sheep from
1:51:48
the goats. and he will place the sheep
1:51:50
on his right but on but the goats on his
1:51:52
left.
1:51:54
Then the king will say to those on his
1:51:56
right, "Come, you who are blessed by my
1:51:58
father, inherit the kingdom prepared for
1:52:00
you from the foundation of the world.
1:52:04
For I was hungry and you gave me food. I
1:52:06
was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was
1:52:08
a stranger and you welcomed me. I was
1:52:11
naked and you clothed me. I was sick and
1:52:13
you visited me. I was in prison and you
1:52:15
came to me." Then the righteous will
1:52:17
answer him, saying,"Lord, when did I see
1:52:20
you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and
1:52:22
give you drink? And when did we see you
1:52:24
a stranger and welcome you? Or naked and
1:52:27
clothe you? And when did we see you sick
1:52:29
or in prison and visit you?" And the
1:52:31
king will answer them, "Truly I say to
1:52:34
you, as you did it to one of the least
1:52:36
of these, my brothers, you did it to
1:52:38
me."
1:52:40
Then he will say to those on his left,
1:52:42
"Depart from me, you cursed, into the
1:52:45
eternal fire prepared for the devil and
1:52:47
his angels. For I was hungry and you
1:52:49
gave me no food. I was thirsty and you
1:52:51
gave me no drink. I was a stranger and
1:52:54
you did not welcome me. Naked and you
1:52:56
did not clothe me. Sick and in prison
1:52:58
and you did not visit me." Then they
1:53:01
also will answer saying, "Lord, when did
1:53:04
we see you hungry or thirsty or a
1:53:06
stranger or naked or sick in prison?"
1:53:09
and did not minister to you. Then he
1:53:12
will answer them, saying, "Truly I say
1:53:14
to you, as you did not do it to one of
1:53:16
the least of these, you did not do it to
1:53:18
me, and these will go away into eternal
1:53:21
punishment, but the righteous into
1:53:24
eternal life."
1:53:27
In this passage, Jesus describes hell as
1:53:30
the eternal punishment prepared for all
1:53:32
those who do not serve him. While this
1:53:35
is a terrifying fact, it is not the cost
1:53:39
of accidental misfortune but of
1:53:41
intentional rebellion against God.
1:53:46
Mark 3 29 says, "Whoever blasphemes
1:53:50
against the Holy Spirit never has
1:53:52
forgiveness but is guilty of an eternal
1:53:55
sin."
1:53:57
This is to say that eternity apart from
1:53:59
God is the consequence of denying the
1:54:02
spirit of God which is our sustenance
1:54:05
for eternal life. It only seems harsh if
1:54:08
you don't realize that it's the destiny
1:54:10
you choose for yourself by denying the
1:54:13
gift of the Holy Spirit.
1:54:16
Acts 17 verse 31.
1:54:21
He has fixed a day on which he will
1:54:22
judge the world in righteousness by a
1:54:24
man whom he has appointed. And of this
1:54:27
he has given assurance to all by raising
1:54:29
him from the dead.
1:54:31
This verse affirms that it is Jesus
1:54:33
Christ who was raised from the dead who
1:54:36
will come to judge the world by the
1:54:38
standard of righteousness.
1:54:43
Next 1 Corinthians 13 9-12.
1:54:48
We know in part and we prophesy in part.
1:54:51
But when the perfect comes, the partial
1:54:52
will pass away. When I was a child, I
1:54:55
spoke like a child. I thought like a
1:54:57
child. I reasoned like a child. When I
1:55:00
became a man, I gave up childish ways.
1:55:02
For now we see in a mirror dimly, but
1:55:04
then face to face. Now I know in part,
1:55:08
then I shall know fully, even as I have
1:55:11
been fully known.
1:55:14
In the acknowledgement by God in this
1:55:16
scripture of our limited knowledge, we
1:55:19
can take comfort in the intentionality
1:55:21
of our current suspense as we wait for
1:55:24
the full revelation of eternity.
1:55:29
And the final reference, Revelation
1:55:32
20 10 through 21 27.
1:55:37
The devil who had deceived them was
1:55:39
thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur
1:55:40
where the beast and the false prophet
1:55:42
were. and they will be tormented day and
1:55:45
night forever and ever. Then I saw a
1:55:48
great white throne in him who was seated
1:55:50
on it. From his presence, earth and sky
1:55:53
fled away, and no place was found for
1:55:55
them. And I saw the dead, great and
1:55:58
small, standing before the throne, and
1:56:00
books were opened.
1:56:02
Then another book was opened, which is
1:56:04
the book of life. And the dead were
1:56:06
judged by what was written in the books,
1:56:09
according to what they had done. and the
1:56:11
sea gave up the dead who were in it.
1:56:13
Death and Hades gave up the dead who
1:56:15
were in them, and they were judged, each
1:56:18
one of them, according to what they had
1:56:20
done. Then death and Hades were thrown
1:56:22
into the lake of fire. This is the
1:56:24
second death, the lake of fire. And if
1:56:27
anyone's name was not found written in
1:56:29
the book of life, he was thrown into the
1:56:31
lake of fire.
1:56:33
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth.
1:56:36
For the first heaven and the first earth
1:56:38
had passed away, and the sea was no
1:56:40
more. And I saw the holy city, New
1:56:42
Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven
1:56:44
from God, prepared as a bride adorned
1:56:47
for her husband. And I heard a loud
1:56:49
voice from the throne, saying, "Behold,
1:56:51
the dwelling place of God is with man.
1:56:54
He will dwell with them, and they will
1:56:56
be his people, and God himself will be
1:56:59
with them as their God.
1:57:02
He will wipe away every tear from their
1:57:04
eyes, and death shall be no more.
1:57:07
Neither shall there be mourning, nor
1:57:09
crying, nor pain anymore. For the former
1:57:12
things have passed away. And he who was
1:57:14
seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am
1:57:17
making all things new." Also he said,
1:57:19
"Write this down, for these words are
1:57:22
trustworthy and true." And he said to
1:57:24
me, "It is done. I am the Alpha and the
1:57:27
Omega, the beginning and the end. To the
1:57:30
thirsty, I will give from the spring of
1:57:32
water of life without payment.
1:57:35
The one who conquers will have this
1:57:37
heritage, and I will be his God, and he
1:57:40
will be my son.
1:57:44
But as for the cowardly, the faithless,
1:57:46
the detestable, as for murderers,
1:57:49
sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolattors,
1:57:53
and all liars, their portion will be the
1:57:55
lake that burns with fire and sulfur,
1:57:58
which is the second death. Then came one
1:58:01
of the seven angels who had the seven
1:58:03
bowls full of the seven last plagues,
1:58:07
and spoke to me, saying, "Come, I will
1:58:09
show you the bride, the wife of the
1:58:11
Lamb." And he carried me away in the
1:58:14
spirit to a great high mountain and
1:58:17
showed me the holy city of Jerusalem
1:58:19
coming down out of heaven from God
1:58:21
having the glory of God. Its radiance
1:58:24
like a most rare jewel like a jasper
1:58:27
clear as crystal.
1:58:29
It had a great high wall with 12 gates
1:58:31
and at the gates 12 angels. And on the
1:58:34
gates the names of the 12 tribes of the
1:58:36
sons of Israel were inscribed. On the
1:58:39
east, three gates, on the north, three
1:58:41
gates, on the south, three gates, and on
1:58:43
the west three gates.
1:58:45
And the wall of the city had 12
1:58:47
foundations. And on them were the 12
1:58:50
names of the twel apostles of the Lamb.
1:58:53
And the one who spoke with me had a
1:58:55
measuring rod of gold to measure the
1:58:57
city and its gates and walls. The city
1:59:00
lies four square, its length the same as
1:59:03
its width. And he measured the city with
1:59:05
his rod, 12,000 stadia. Its length and
1:59:08
width, the height are and height are
1:59:10
equal. He also measured its wall 144
1:59:14
cubits by human measurement, which is
1:59:17
also an angel's measurement. The wall
1:59:19
was built of jasper, while the city was
1:59:21
pure gold like clear glass.
1:59:24
The foundations of the wall, the city
1:59:27
were adorned with every kind of jewel.
1:59:30
The first was jasper, the second
1:59:32
sapphire, the third agate, the fourth
1:59:35
emerald, the fifth onyx, the sixth
1:59:38
carnelon, the seventh chryslite, the
1:59:41
eighth barrel, the ninth topaz, the 10th
1:59:44
crystal, the 11th jinth, the 12th
1:59:49
amethyst.
1:59:51
And the 12 gates were 12 pearls. each of
1:59:55
the gates made of a single pearl. And
1:59:57
the street of the city was pure gold
1:59:59
like transparent glass. And I saw no
2:00:02
temple in the city, for its temple is
2:00:04
the Lord God, the Almighty and the Lamb.
2:00:07
And the city has no need of sun or moon
2:00:10
to shine on it. For the glory of God is
2:00:12
its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By
2:00:16
its light will the nations walk, and the
2:00:18
kings of the earth will bring their
2:00:19
glory into it. and its gates will never
2:00:22
be shut by day, and there will be no
2:00:24
night there.
2:00:26
They will bring into it the glory and
2:00:28
the honor of the nations, but nothing
2:00:30
unclean will ever enter it, nor anyone
2:00:34
who does what is detestable or false,
2:00:36
but only those who are written in the
2:00:38
Lamb's book of life.
2:00:43
For the final judgment, God will raise
2:00:45
the dead to be judged. Those not found
2:00:47
in Christ will be cast into the lake of
2:00:49
fire, which is described as an eternal
2:00:51
torment, which does not indicate literal
2:00:54
annihilation.
2:00:56
After this judgment, those who remain
2:00:58
faithful to God will witness the
2:01:00
reperfection of creation through the new
2:01:03
creation, in which God replaces the sun
2:01:05
in the sky with the brilliance of his
2:01:08
immediate presence and wipes away every
2:01:10
stain resulting from sin, all pain,
2:01:14
sorrow, and regret.
2:01:16
Never again after that time will
2:01:18
anything unholy be found in all of
2:01:20
creation.
2:01:23
This episode has by no measure provided
2:01:27
a complete list of all Christian
2:01:28
doctrines.
2:01:30
There are other doctrines and mysteries
2:01:32
that are worth the time and effort to
2:01:34
understand for wise application through
2:01:36
the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
2:01:38
However, those included in this list of
2:01:41
statements are intended to constitute a
2:01:44
foundation for the regular practical
2:01:46
needs of the faith as represented by the
2:01:49
Bible and known since the early days of
2:01:51
the church. If we're consistent with
2:01:54
scripture regarding at least these
2:01:56
truths, then we will have a firm
2:01:58
foundation for Christian living.
2:02:03
Applying the word of God can be
2:02:05
challenging, but the fruit is always
2:02:07
worth the effort in eternity. I hope the
2:02:10
way I've presented this reflection
2:02:11
encourages genuine dialogue, both
2:02:14
private and public, rather than a merely
2:02:17
passive media consumption. I'm Jacob
2:02:20
Mlan and this is the Wisdom Crucible,
2:02:22
where time in the word refineses wisdom
2:02:24
and shapes the heart through God's
2:02:26
truth. If you're interested in further
2:02:28
studies and reflections related to the
2:02:30
Holy Bible, then you're welcome to
2:02:32
subscribe and engage with my other
2:02:34
teachings and reflections. Media metrics
2:02:37
drive the algorithms, but the word of
2:02:39
God is what drives me, and that's what I
2:02:42
hope to pass on. May the Lord bless you.
