Ben O'Grady - Do All for the Glory of God (1 Corinthians) - Class 3 - Ye Are Not Your Own

Automatically transcribed. Accuracy is good but not perfect, and words are sometimes wrong. Trust the audio over the text.

1. 0:02

   So to introduce our brother Ben’s comments to us this morning, we would ask our brother Derek Thelning to come forward and read for us. First of Corinthians 6, verse 7 to 20. Brother Derek. First Corinthians chapter 6, verses 7 to 20.

2. 0:24

   Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because you go to law one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Now you do wrong and defraud, and that your brethren know you not, that the unrighteous shall not inherit the Kingdom of God, Be not deceived.

3. 0:49

   Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the Kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God. All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient.

4. 1:27

   All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any meats for the belly, and the belly for meats, but God shall destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body, And God hath both raised up the Lord, and will also raise up us by His own power.

5. 1:59

   Know ye not that your bodies are the members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid what Know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is 1 body? For two saith he shall be 1 flesh, but he that is joined unto the Lord is 1 Spirit flee fornication.

6. 2:28

   Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own, For ye are brought with a price.

7. 2:52

   Therefore, glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods. Thanks brother Derek. We then call forward our brother Ben to speak to us to the subject. Ye are not your own. Ye are bought with a price. Thanks, brother Aaron and good morning everyone. Just before we get into the talk itself proper, I just want to update you on some conversations we had after the last session and give you two or three quotes which tied in quite nicely with it.

8. 3:21

   So you remember we were look at looking at the concept of the work suffering lost by fire. If you’re taking notes, and I’m sure the young people are, go back about 15 pages from the last two talks from Uncle Ron and and just jot down Genesis 19 where Lot was saved by fire. And that’s a really good example because he himself suffered loss.

9. 3:40

   He was saved himself, but he lost his entire house. And Numbers 21 with a spoil that Israel took was to be tried by fire and anything that survived that fire, such as the gold, etcetera, was able to be taken. But anything that burned obviously was gone. And also in Revelation 21, where the city is like pure gold and is garnished with all manner of precious stones, which is a a beautiful picture of the building that goes on with the the gold and the precious stones. So I just thought there were a few really nice little quotes which Tyne love in a lovely way into that section we were looking at yesterday.

10. 4:19

    So the ecclesia at Corinth, living in a wealthy, prosperous city with, with all the challenges of the idolatrous worldly worship around it, had been impacted by their environment. There were some major issues in Corinth, and this morning we have a tricky section as Paul begins to deal with them. I’ve said a couple of times that that these are the sort of issues where if you’re doing the readings with the kids at home, you’d tend to skip them to decide to indeed instead do one of the other readings.

11. 4:47

    It deals with some difficult problems. It deals with fornication, with putting away and disfellowship, with suing our brethren at law, with whether or not it’s good to marry, what to do if partners are not in the truth and if partners depart. They’re all quite difficult and complex issues that the apostle has to deal with.

12. 5:07

    But we will find that in the remarkable way the apostle has already done, he actually uses these particular matters to lay foundations of principle that we shall find are applicable, absolutely applicable to our life today. We may not be facing these particular issues, but the apostle will give us the keys as to how we can change our lives, change our perception and focus so that living the truth is something we do for the Father’s sake and not our own.

13. 5:36

    It’s the principles we’ve already seen, isn’t it? But the extension of those that our life is about God’s work, not our own. And, and we’ll find that those principles which have come out so strongly in the 1st 4 chapters will now lay the foundation that comes out even more powerfully this morning. And we won’t have time to deal with Chapter 7, unfortunately this morning.

14. 5:56

    But Paul’s method in Chapter 7 is consistent with what we’ve seen already and we’ll find in the in the first two chapters. So I’m happy to discuss those afterwards. Young people, particularly if you want to discuss whether or not it’s good to marry, I’m happy to take you through that section as well. Can I just say before we commence on the detail in here that the risk with this book of Corinthians is that we restrict the sections to telling us about the particular matters that have been raised.

15. 6:25

    As if it’s a good textbook or, or a good reference book that can sit on the shelf. And when a particular matter comes up, then we can pull it off the shelf and say, here it is. Look, we know how to deal with this particular issue and and use it as a reference book, but this book is so much more, as we’ve come to see already, because it gets to the heart of ecclesial problems and how to deal with them. So let’s launch straight into First Corinthians chapter 4 and in verse verse 6, because Paul whilst he’s dealing with these particular issues, we’ll find is actually dealing with a larger issue in the ecclesia itself.

16. 7:03

    First Corinthians 4 and verse 6. I have these and these things breather and I have in a figure transferred to myself into a polis for your sakes. We looked at that yesterday that you might learn and ask not to think of men above that which is written that no one of you be puffed up for one against another. That word puffed up is the idea of blowing up or inflating. So you get the picture, don’t you? Here is someone who has a a bit of a struggle with their own position, so they puff themselves up. Have you seen that puffer fish?

17. 7:35

    It’s a little skinny fish like this. It gets scared and form it puffs itself up and makes itself to be something it’s not. Puffs themselves up. They turn themselves into something big and strong on the outside. But it’s all this exaggeration, isn’t it? It’s this hyperbole of of making themselves something big. But when the little pinprick bursts them, they turn out to be just a skinny little thing underneath. They’re there in their own pride, blowing themselves up to be somebody that they know they’re not. And it’s human pride perfectly described to us. So if we see in verse 14, I write not these things to shame you, but as my beloved sons, I warn you through to verse 18. For though you have 10,000 instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers.

18. 8:21

    For in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me. For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways, which be in Christ. As I teach everywhere and every ecclesia, so here’s Paul as a father to that ecclesia, pleading to them as a father that they will hear him and respond to him.

19. 8:46

    Interestingly, there’s actually an interesting connection there, isn’t it? Be followers of me. Compared to saying I’m of Paul, I’m of Apollos. Now that now that they’re coming in the right attitude, he says follow me as a father for this ecclesia. But verse 18. Now some of you are puffed up as though I would not come unto you.

20. 9:06

    So he’s pleading with him, I’m, I’m your father. He’s taking them back to the origins of that ecclesia. But you can see straight away that Paul has put his finger right on the key issue. They had all these significant issues that he was going to deal with in the ecclesia, but the underlying problem of this ecclesia was that they were puffed up. And he says in verse verse 19, what? But I will come to you shortly if the Lord will and will know not the speech of them which are puffed up, but the power for the Kingdom of God is not in Word, but in power. He says I’m going to come to you and I’m going to talk frankly with you.

21. 9:45

    I’m not going to listen to the speech of them that are puffed up. I’m not interested in what people talk. I’m interested in what they’re doing, what’s going on underneath. The Corinthians were puffed up. They were making themselves out to be something that great, but they were missing the power of the word in action. So without having discussed any of the major issues at question here, he’s reached straight into the heart of the issue. He’s saying there’s a problem with an individual we’ll find with a person that’s acting in a way that is clearly wrong. But actually he says the bigger problem is within the rest of the ecclesia because they’re faults who are puffed up in Word, who are trying to defend his actions. We’ll find that it could have been a tragic but isolated issue that had now become something which threatened to tear the heart out of an ecclesia.

22. 10:34

    And so he says in this very aptly worded and slightly ironic way that Paul has sometimes, What will you? Shall I come unto you with a rod? We’re in love and in the spirit of meekness. It’s, it’s so beautifully said, isn’t it? I can come in the spirit of love. I’d love to do that. But it’s your choice.

23. 10:51

    And I may have to come with a rod. It’s a, it’s a bit like a father sometimes, isn’t it, To a child. Would you like a smack or a cuddle? Paul’s not going to put up with this sort of foolishness destroying the ecclesia and brothers and sisters, we shouldn’t either. We should not accept ecclesias pulling themselves to pieces. And so he then progresses into the issue itself. In chapter 5 and verse one, it is reported commonly that there is fornication among you, and such fornication as is not so much as named among the Gentiles that one should have his father’s wife.

24. 11:27

    It’s a difficult issue. We don’t need to go into the detail of it, do we? It’s self-evident and it’s clearly wrong. And in fact, he’s telling us that even the Gentiles in this incredibly immoral city were shocked by it. It’s something they wouldn’t even talk about themselves. Here’s a here’s an issue of immorality inside that ecclesia that was shocking even to the Gentiles of that city. But Paul’s point in verse 2 is ye are puffed up and have not rather mourned that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

25. 11:58

    Yes, there’s someone who’s doing something that is incredibly wrong, but the frustrating thing from Paul’s perspective is the response of the ecclesia. It’s not one of humility. It’s not one of mourning, but of being puffed up in response to us. It’s a sense, isn’t it, of this ecclesia here saying, oh, it’s a yes, it’s a major problem.

26. 12:19

    But but we’re going to reduce this issue to a nothing really. We’re we’re big enough and grown up up enough to be able to handle it. We’ll relax a little and and be big enough to let it happen. And Paul says you can’t fix a problem ever by ignoring it. You cannot help a brother, even a brother in this situation, to get over sin by pretending it doesn’t exist. An ecclesia cannot compromise its way together into the Kingdom, but ignore an issue and let it fester and it eats the heart out of an ecclesia.

27. 12:57

    And Paul’s response here actually is that that ecclesia in their in their response is putting themselves above the principles of God. They’re puffed up and they’re justifying it instead of responding to the situation. This idea of mourned here in verse verse 2, ye, ye are puffed up and have not rather mourned is the same Greek word in Matthew 5. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. And he’s really calling on that ecclesia to mourn as they realize the the awfulness of what is happening in their midst or to the same group in 2nd Corinthians 12 and verse 21. He later says, my God will humble me among you and that I shall bewail.

28. 13:36

    That’s the same word that Paul himself would be in their midst mourning and wailing because they have not repented. He says many which have sinned already. I I’ll come in your midst and I’ll bewail, I’ll mourn those who have sinned already. You haven’t fixed the issue. You’re you’re puffed up and as a result of that they had become mixed up in the issue yourself. First Corinthians 5 and verse 6, your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Your boasting’s not good.

29. 14:08

    He says the pride of the individuals within the ecclesia saying that they could handle this, that they can accept at this the sense of puffing themselves up were putting themselves ahead of the principles of God in response to sin. They were glorifying the sin and not God. So it’s really exactly the same principles that he’s laid down earlier.

30. 14:30

    It’s God’s glory versus our glory. It’s the pride being humbled and it’s our mourning in response to sin. And his plea to the ecclesia here is understand that this is a desperate problem amongst you, but it’s there because of your own pride. And that to truly solve the issue in that ecclesia, they needed to acknowledge that the issue was not just with the individual, but was actually sitting in the response of their own hearts. It’s interesting, isn’t it?

31. 15:00

    And if you just look at the, the sense of that five verse one of the shock to the Gentiles and the fact that this was something that even the Gentiles wouldn’t accept, but that in ecclesia could sit there saying, it’s fine, we can, we can let it happen. So in verse three he says I verily as absent in body, but present in spirit, have judged already as though I, I were present concerning him, that if so done this deed. What’s the echo here?

32. 15:28

    What is the idea that that Paul is giving? Paul’s saying I’m absent in body, I’m not there in body, but I’m present in spirit. It’s as if Paul’s gone on a far journey, isn’t it? He’s making the point that he’s judging from a distance. He’s not there in his physical presence in that ecclesia, but he’s there in the Spirit.

33. 15:49

    I believe that Paul is connecting or echoing back to the concepts of his work as Christ the Gentiles. He says, I’m here in the same way that Christ is here in this ecclesia. I’m here on behalf of Christ, and I’m marrying the Lord himself, who is absent in body, who’s gone on that long journey, as he said, but is present here in the Spirit. I’ve seen the issue, he says, and I’ve judged it already. And so he says in verse four.

34. 16:19

    He then expands this idea. He then invokes the name of of Christ to to show that he’s acting as as in the name of Christ, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ when ye are gathered together and my spirit with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ. This emphasis isn’t it to say this is me acting on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ who is absent himself, but who is present in your midst saying here is the judgement of it. He he double emphasizes the point that this is a judgement that is coming from Christ himself in the name and power of the Lord Jesus Christ.

35. 16:51

    This judgment in essence is coming from the Lord Jesus Christ himself. He’s asking them to gather together with the judgment and perception of Paul and to do so in the power of Christ. It’s a work within the ecclesial environment for the Lord Jesus Christ to fix this issue. And so Paul is delivering this judgement on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ. And what is that judgement?

36. 17:20

    Well, he says in verse 5 to deliver such and one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the Spirit may be saved in the day of Jesus Christ. To deliver. There is the idea of surrendering or or yielding up or, or to put into prison. It’s quite a difficult concept, particularly because this concept of delivering to Satan only comes up one other time in Scripture. What is Paul saying?

37. 17:45

    What does he mean to say that this individual who has done so should be delivered to Satan? Well, in First Timothy 1, if you just come across to First Timothy 1, we find the other time where this concept of being delivered to Satan occurs. First Timothy chapter 1 and verse 18 This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before in thee, that thou mightest war a good warfare, holding faith in a good conscience, which some having put away concerning faith, hath made shipwreck.

38. 18:28

    So he’s he’s exhorting Timothy to hold onto the faith and to war a good warfare. And then verse twenty of whom is Harmenius and Alexander, whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they might learn not to blasphemy. So. So here and in Corinthians are the two times with a sense of being delivered unto to Satan come up. So that’s all good.

39. 18:50

    It’s this idea of holding a good conscience to compared to others who have made shipwreck of their faith and delivering someone to Satan that they might learn not to blasphemy. But the verse doesn’t necessarily explain for us, does it, what it means to deliver someone to Satan. So what are the possibilities? Well, here are the three possibilities. That’s one, that it’s the sense of disfellowship, of putting them out of the ecclesial environment. 2, it suggested that it could be sending them back to the Jewish synagogue. And three, this idea of delivering them to the Roman authorities.

40. 19:24

    So it’s putting away from the, from the strength or influence of the ecclesial body. It’s delivering them to the Jewish synagogue, IE picking up the idea of the synagogue of Satan, or it’s delivering to the Roman authorities as the the Satan or the representation of the rulers of this world. The first point is that there is no indication throughout this book of the nationality of the perpetrator and no real hint through Corinthians of a Jewish nationality around the, the, the ecclesia. There’s no real hint of him being a Jew. There’s no strong connection back to the concepts of the synagogue throughout the book.

41. 19:58

    Interestingly, I’ve got it up on the screen for you now that you’re still there. This this other occurrence here in first Timothy, one if people referred to a Hymenius and Alexander and of course those are both Greek names, which really reinforces the sense that this wasn’t about the concept of sending them back to the synagogue of Satan.

42. 20:19

    It is possible to read the this idea of delivering to Satan as delivering the man to the Roman authorities as clearly in chapter 5, verse one at the start of that chapter, as we saw what the man was doing was abhorrent even to the Gentiles. However, if we come back to first Timothy, which we have on the screen here, there’s no indication that Paul had delivered Hymenius and Alexander to the Roman authorities and nor is it clear in chapter 1 five and verse one that the man himself was doing anything illegal from a from a Gentiles perspective. So again, there’s there’s no real indication or Hinton scripture that this is talking about delivering to the Roman authorities.

43. 21:00

    So let’s just for a moment go back to Acts 2026, because I think this helps to give us an insight. Acts 26 and verse 16 to 18. But rise and stand upon thy feet, for I have appeared unto thee for this purpose. This is the Lord talking to Paul. By the way, it is conversion to make thee a minister and a witness, both of these things which there has seen, and of those things in the which I will appear unto thee, delivering thee from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee. So this is Paul’s Commission to go out and to and to work in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

44. 21:36

    He’s told to open their eyes and to turn them from the from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith. That is in me. So Paul’s mission as he’s given here at the beginning of the commencement of his, of his mission, he’s being told to go in to open their eyes, to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan unto God.

45. 22:02

    And that included this, the forgiveness of their sins and the inheritance among those who are sanctified in faith. So if we come back to First Corinthians chapter 5 and keep this concept in in mind, First Corinthians 5 and verse 5 to deliver such and one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the Spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus Christ is actually a reversal here of the of the mission or work of the apostle Paul. The Apostle Paul’s focus or desire was to go and to save people from the power of Satan, whereas here this man was to be delivered back to the power of Satan, back to the power of sin, as it were.

46. 22:46

    It’s with the intention, we see that the flesh should be destroyed. He says for the destruction of the flesh, but that the Spirit would be saved. So Paul’s request to the ecclesia or commandment to the ecclesia is that you are to deliver this man to Satan, to the power of the flesh so that the flesh itself can be destroyed, but the spirit saved. For those who are taking notes, there’s an interesting connection into Luke chapter 12 and verse 58 because that word deliver, there is is a fairly unique word and it’s talking about the judge delivering thee to the officer, which is the same same word in verse 5 here as delivering to Satan. So on balance, adding all of those things together, I believe that Paul is saying to the ecclesia to remove this man from their midst.

47. 23:35

    That is, to take the action of disfellowship, which would put him away from the power and the strength of ecclesial fellowship, and as we shall find, would also take away his influence upon the ecclesia. But the interesting thing to note here is that he is doing so, that Paul is doing so with the desire still essentially to save this man from the power of Satan, with the desire that the removal of the man will help him to realise his position that pride in the flesh is nothing and therefore potentially to bring him back in spirit to God.

48. 24:09

    But in what sense then? It doesn’t quite make sense, does it? Because in what sense does this disfellowshipping process mean that the man’s flesh will be destroyed but save the spirit? I suspect we all know that in the majority of cases where a disfellowship occurs, it does not sadly end in the return of the individual.

49. 24:29

    So how can Paul here be saying that disfellowship should be used as the basis of saving the individual? I believe his point is this, which is consistent with where he’s been in the book so far, that there is more chance of salvation of that individual if the matter is dealt with. Then if the brother is left encouraged in his wrongdoing inside the ecclesial environment, I’ll say that again, there is more chance of salvation of this individual in spite of the horror of his sin, if the matter is dealt with so that he can see his sin. Then if the brother is left encouraged in his wrongdoing and believing that he has no sin even inside the ecclesial environment, Paul is following the general theme of the book, that the flesh must be destroyed so that God can live. He’s saying it’s far more likely that he will face up to his sin if he’s shown that what he’s doing is clearly wrong rather than being defended.

50. 25:37

    It’s like all of us, isn’t it, That our flesh has to be brought to nothing so that we can truly learn of salvation. But it’s not just this, the particular individual that Paul is concerned about, because in verse 6, Paul, Paul expands this idea. Your glorying is not good. So again, he’s saying to the ecclesia, the problem actually sits within the ecclesia itself. No, you’re not That a little liven liveneth the whole lump. Paul is saying to deal with the issue, not just because of the individual, but because the problem had become in the response of all of the individuals within the ecclesia that that ecclesia had allowed the individual to stay there in gross and open immorality had actually had an impact on the entire ecclesia.

51. 26:21

    He says, and he uses as proof the fact that a little, little leaven leavens the whole lump. Yes, it might be an individual who sins, but you’re protecting, he says to the ecclesia, you’re protecting and assisting and glorifying that sin in your midst. And as a result of that, the, the horror of that little leaven, that individual is not just impacting on itself, but its, its influence is starting to spread out into impact on the, on the entire life of that ecclesia. It’s working its insidious way through and corrupting everything it touches.

52. 26:54

    Not that they were involved in the sin itself, of course, but that their response to that act was in itself sin. And I’ll say that carefully and I’ll say that again. It’s not that they were involved in the sin of the individual itself, nor were they responsible for the sin of the individual themselves. They were not tainted by his sin, but their sin was their response to the sin.

53. 27:20

    Their sin was the was the fact that they were prepared to glorify the sin in the in their own midst and in that they were sinning. So his message to the Corinthian ecclesia was don’t just deal with the individual. In fact, he gives a very quick answer to that, doesn’t he? Here’s the issue. Deal with it.

54. 27:39

    Send him out, get rid of him. But his point, his overriding point here, is don’t just deal with the individual, but fix your own attitudes also, because it’s that which is stopping you dealing with the problem. And it’s so often the case in ecclesial life when issues arise. The issue itself might be relatively isolated, but the problem festers and it becomes a sore which ends up dividing ecclesias. What started off as one individual has become an issue that has now spread out and leavened, infected the whole lump and the whole ecclesial environment is affected by it. And Paul’s homing right in on the issue. I’m telling you to get rid of that man. The sin is a horrific thing which God hates. But I’m telling you, I’m showing you, particularly your ecclesia in Corinth, that it’s your own attitudes here that you need to fix.

55. 28:26

    It’s your glory, you who are being puffed up, you who are giving proud words and justifying the destruction of God’s righteousness. And that’s resulted in this one little issue impacting the entire lump. And that, brothers and sisters and young people, is the insidious nature of decay inside eclesial life. Now, of course, that needs to be done with balance, doesn’t it?

56. 28:51

    We need to be careful not to overreact and say that every little sin which someone else has done is something that could impact on the entire lump, and therefore anyone sinning should be cast out. It’s possible to create this sort of argument, isn’t it, That any sin is bad and therefore we’ve got to get rid of that person.

57. 29:06

    But if that’s the case, then we end up in little ecclesias of one as we’re by ourselves in our own fellowship. It needs the balance around that. But Paul’s point here is that he’s, he’s trying to get the individuals of that ecclesia to look at their own hearts, to understand their own motivation, to see their own thoughts and feelings, the pride that’s behind them, and to lead them to deal with the issue which was destroying God’s holiness.

58. 29:33

    Now, Paul could have just commanded a disfellowship of the person, which they would have done instead of having this whole section. He could have just said get rid of that man, and they would have done it, but it wouldn’t have fixed the underlying issue that was really the festering saw of that ecclesia. It was their own pride, their own glory puffed up that was making an issue this big into an issue that was eating the heart out of the ecclesia.

59. 30:08

    In First Corinthians 5 and verse 7. He then expands this idea of the leaven leavening the whole lump. Purge out, therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump as ye are, and leaven. So he’s telling them you can’t have that leaven inside an ecclesial environment. If you look at the picture up on the screen here, I’m not sure if you can see it very well. We’ve got the lights on at the front here. But this little loaf here is 1.

60. 30:32

    You can see all the little dots and bubbles all over it. It’s impacted on the entire lump. You’ve got the dough here. That’s fine. But as soon as you put a little piece of leaven in this bit here, it starts to go out. And the point is that it impacts on every component, on every part of that ecclesia.

61. 30:50

    Leaven inside the the dough of an ecclesia will eventually impact the entire ecclesial environment. So what’s his point here in verse 7 then? It’s to get rid of the leaven. But then he says, for even Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us. What’s his point? Purge out the old leaven that ye may be a new lump as ye are. And leaven for even Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us. What’s the connection that he’s making here? Paul is saying that our desire to get rid of the living out of our life is in response to the fact that Christ, our Passover, has been sacrifice for us, for Christ, our Passover has been sacrifice for us.

62. 31:35

    What’s he referring to? Well, he’s clearly referring back to the concepts of the Passover, isn’t he? So let’s come back to Exodus chapter 12, where the Passover is first inaugurated. Exodus chapter 12.

63. 31:50

    Exodus chapter 12, which is the the chapter where the the feast of the Passover is is instituted. But you see the interesting thing is that the feast of the Passover was actually preceded by a time of seven days that is known as the Feast of Unleavened bread. Exodus chapter 12 and verse 15. Seven days shall ye eat unleavened bread. Even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses. For whosoever eateth leavened bread, from that first day until the 7th day, that soul should be cut off from Israel. So this feast of unleavened bread is introduced in as seven days of them going through eating unleavened bread. And then verse 21, Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said unto them, Draw out and take your lamb according to your families, and kill the Passover.

64. 32:41

    So this feast of unleavened bread was to go for seven days, where they were not allowed to eat leavened bread. They had to eat unleavened bread.

65. 32:50

    But just see the power or the OR the emphasis that is given in verse 15 here even the first day you shall put away leaven out of your houses. For whosoever eateth leavened bread from the first day until the 7th day, that soul shall be cut off from Israel. So if there was an individual inside that ecclesial and inside that congregation in Israel who partook with leavened bread, they were to be cut off from Israel. That’s a relatively severe sort of judgement, isn’t it? It has quite long lasting consequences upon the person who’s had a piece of leavened bread. Eat a piece of leavened bread and wash your dead heads off or you’ve been stoned.

66. 33:37

    It’s a major principle that’s being established here. Have a look in verse 19, just in case we’d missed the point. Verse 19. And as it happens, verse 20, just just so we really get the .7 days, shall there be no leaven found in your houses? In case we’ve missed the point. For whosoever eateth that which is leavened, even that soul shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel, whether he be stranger or born in the land.

67. 34:00

    And in case we hadn’t quite yet got it, verse 20, he shall eat nothing leavened and and another little time for us in all your habitation. Shall you eat unleavened bread. Now, whenever the Scriptures emphasize a point, it’s because it’s telling us focus on this, understand the principle here and the feast and this concept of the impact of leaven is not just given to us twice. It’s actually a quadruple repetition of emphasis that’s given here.

68. 34:27

    The Bible is making an emphatic point. The Feast of Unleavened Bread is a build up to the Passover and it’s about having no leaven. If you were found eating leaven, then you were cut off from the ecclesial congregation. And verse 21, Moses called for all the elders of Israel and said, draw out and take your lamb according to your families and kill the Passover. Feast of the Unleavened Bread and the Passover are inextricably linked from its very inception. It’s completely connected to the Passover. It’s a process that Israel must go through to remove all the leaven from their house, and then after 7 days of that process, they were to partake of the Passover. So if we come back to First Corinthians 5 and verse 6, we find absolutely that Paul is picking up this concept and the seriousness of this concept.

69. 35:25

    He uses the same strong sort of language, doesn’t he? First Corinthians 5, verse 6, your glorying is not good. Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump purge out, therefore the old leaven leaven that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ, our Passover is sacrificed for us. He’s absolutely connecting these two ideas and He’s telling us that if we want to partake of the Passover, then we must also go through the process of the unleavened feast. He uses strong language because he is completely clear about the impact that that one man was having on everyone. The concept that the that the little piece of leaven would live in the entire lump was impacting on the whole ecclesia. And Paul picks up that principle and he says if you are going to be partaking of the Passover, you you cannot share in the Passover.

70. 36:20

    He says you cannot gain the benefit of Christ as our Passover unless we’ve gone 1st through the Feast of unleavened bread, taking the time to purge out the old leaven. But his point actually is far more than just doing that for the individual, isn’t it? Because he’s actually dealing with two issues in tandem here. 1 is the is the large and clear issue, which he’s very clearly dealt with and told get rid of that man, take out the leaven. But he’s also dealing more particularly with the leaven of pride and of arrogance that was allowing that issue to overtake the whole ecclesial environment.

71. 36:55

    And his message is actually one of individual consequence that we actually have to go through our individual lives and purge out the leaven. And if if you recall back in Exodus, that was exactly the point of it, wasn’t it? That each individual in that nation had to go through themselves and search out and clean out the leaven and they could not partake of the leaven themselves as individuals.

72. 37:18

    It’s an individual focus, an individual contribution we need to make to our ecclesial environment to examine our own lives. His point to the brethren here is get rid of that man because he’s living in your midst. And if he’s living there and it’s impacting on you, then you cannot partake of the Passover. He’s using strong words because it’s a strong concept he’s talking about.

73. 37:46

    If we have influences in our ecleses that are pulling us away from the Passover, from the principles of the truth, then it will impact our ability to partake in the Passover. It’s a massive personal wake up call for our own self examination. Is there any possibility that my actions as an individual are creating leaven in the ecclesial environment? Is there any possibility that that my own personal actions are a corruption inside the ecclesial environment that will impact every individual and destroy their ability to partake of the Passover?

74. 38:29

    Interestingly, it’s exactly the same concept he picks up in First Corinthians 11, isn’t it? Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat, and so let him drink. He’s actually telling us that as we come to the memorial feast, we are to examine ourselves first, the process of removing the leaven before partaking of the Passover, of the bread and the wine on Sunday by Sunday. We cannot share in fellowship with the Father unless we have first gone through the process of self examination. We need to examine our lives with honesty to see if there is Livin in our lives and to remove that before we share the Passover meal.

75. 39:11

    So Paul is getting the individuals of the ecclesia to focus on their own attitude, their own pride, their own glorying as the basis by which the entire ecclesial lump had been livened. And it’s exactly the same for us. Yes, there are matters from time to time, particular issues that an ecclesia needs to deal with, but in reality, the far stronger issue is that we need to examine ourselves because it’s in ourselves as individuals that we find the core issue of everything that arises in eclesial life. In other words, if each of us, if each of us, if as individuals, have purged out the leaven, if we’ve been sincere and humbling ourselves and not being puffed up, then there can be no leaven.

76. 40:01

    To destroy the ecclesial lump. Now I know that that is striving for perfection, that that is the perfection of what an ecclesial environment can be, that we are weak and we fail. And we all know our own weaknesses, don’t we? But Paul is showing them it’s about a focus on putting away the leaven of this life to partake of the Passover in an unleavened environment. So having dealt with this issue in chapter 5, Paul all then moves on to his next issue in this ecclesia in chapter 6. And this is the little matter of them deciding to sue one another through external courts of law.

77. 40:41

    First Corinthians 6 and verse one to four. Dear, any of you having a matter against another, go to law before the unjust and not before the Saints. Do not you know that the Saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are you unworthy to judge the smallest matters? Know ye not that we shall judge angels? How much more things that pertain to this life? If then you have judgments of things pertaining to this life, set them to judge who are the least esteemed in the ecclesia. So that here’s a circumstance in the Corinthian ecclesia where two people were in dispute.

78. 41:15

    They, they were, they were in a position where they, where they didn’t agree on something and they couldn’t get to agree on something. And so one of them said, right, I’m going to take you off. I’m going to take you to the to the Roman judges and we’ll find out who’s who’s right here.

79. 41:31

    But Paul’s response here is interesting, isn’t it? Because when you read it, he seems to be advocating that we set the the weakest, that we look for the weakest, most struggling person in an eclesial environment and say, right, you’re the one who’s got to make this decision.

80. 41:46

    Paul’s Paul’s saying that this eclesional environment here in Corinth had got to such an extent that they were out there taking each other to external law. And then he says, now you find that the weakest person and you take that back and and he can judge it for you.

81. 42:04

    Well, his point is, what’s his point here? He’s saying in the future we are going to judge the world. Verse 2, Do you not know that the Saints shall judge the world? And if the world be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? We’ll be in authority, every single one of us, brothers and sisters, where we are judging the world.

82. 42:34

    And he’s saying, if that’s the case, if we are each of us, excuse me, going to be in a position where we are judging the world, how come in our ecclesial environments today, we cannot work through the the matter, through any matter that arises and come to a wise answer? It’s, it’s a brilliant argument from Paul.

83. 42:53

    If we’re going to judge the world in the future, then surely today we must learn to judge with wisdom and arrive at the right outcomes. It’s actually a really interesting principle because it’s easy to think, isn’t it, that we go through life today and we’re developing towards the Kingdom. And then when we’re made immortal, there’s this sudden and dramatic change in in who we are and our characteristics and our way of thinking, and we’ll be perfected and we’ll be able to judge wisely.

84. 43:22

    So of course, yes, then we are perfect. Yes. Then we have the strength of immortality. Yes, our tendency to sin is taken away. But Paul is telling us that today we are developing the characteristics and the capabilities that we will learn to use in the Kingdom. We are to develop today the wisdom in our approach to circumstances, even in this mortality, that will form the basis of our experience on how to judge in the Kingdom.

85. 43:51

    It changes our perception a little, doesn’t it? We’re finding that we have opportunity today to learn how to act as immortals in the future. And in fact, we have the responsibility to be picking up and developing the wisdom that will form the basis of our immortal role in the Kingdom. Now, I, I say that carefully.

86. 44:11

    I absolutely accept that there are dramatic changes that will occur under immortality and that we are no have no more tendency to sin. But I think the point is still valid, Paul’s point If in the Kingdom we’re going to judge the world, how come we can’t judge the little matters of ecclesial life today? So back to this question then, as Paul literally saying that the least esteemed should be the judges in the ecclesia. Well, I believe the answer is no, because clearly from a scriptural perspective, we know there’s a clear process for the appointment of appointments of deacons and elders. There is a sense inside an ecclesial environment in which we are asked to look to those who can guide us in wisdom. I’ve got just the quotes which we all know so well. They’re often on our ecclesial voting papers, aren’t they? Of Titus one and verse 5, and the particular characteristics that we are to look for in those who are to provide the rule over our ecclesial environments, and also in First Timothy 3 as well. These ideas or these Scriptures clearly tell us that that it is important that we have our ecclesial elders to assist us in our decision making processes.

87. 45:24

    So I don’t believe that that Paul is saying we should turn that that order around and and just ask someone who’s who’s struggling and wait to to make the decisions. So what’s what’s the point then that Paul is making? Well, he’s clearly making the point in irony, isn’t he? Verse 5, he says, I speak to your shame.

88. 45:43

    Is it not so that there is not a wise man among you? No, not one that should be able to judge between his brethren. And he’s saying if we’re going to be judges of the world, then all of us today should be able to judge in wisdom to get the right outcome in a wise way. If we are prepared to put ourselves to one side in the future, if we are to judge the world, then today, even in our even today, in our ecclesial environments, we should be able to work through a matter wisely, wisely and arrive at the right outcomes.

89. 46:14

    It’s the irony of the point that he’s making them to to them, isn’t it? Look, he says, any of you should be able to judge this matter wisely because in the future we are to judge the world. I speak this to you. Shame, he says. And actually that that ecclesial environment had broken down to the point where not one of them was able to judge and come to the to the right outcome.

90. 46:34

    He says, he says, is it so that there is not a wise man among you? Not not one of the ecclesia was actually able to sit people down and say, let’s just work this through. Let’s take the heat out of the situation and just work through what the circumstance is here when any one of them as future judges of the world should have been able to put themselves aside and to judge in wisdom.

91. 46:58

    So here’s the message for us in our ecclesial environment, isn’t it? He’s saying to us as individuals that there’s nothing in our ecclesial environment today if we’re prepared to work in God’s glory, where any one of us should not be able to sit down and to work out the issues that arise until we come to the right conclusion in the right way together. Now again, that’s that’s the perfection, isn’t it, that we’re striving and we’re here in our weakness. But Paul’s showing us the power of what an ecclesial environment can be like.

92. 47:32

    If we are prepared to put ourselves to one side, any matter that arises, we should be. We should be able to sit down and work through. If we hope to have the wisdom to judge the world, then we need to have the wisdom now to work through matters wisely and to get to the right conclusion. Now, of course, Paul does not leave it just there, does he? He doesn’t just say that that’s the final answer. Because then in verse 7, he says there is utterly a fault among you because you go to law one with another. Why do you not rather take wrong? Why do you not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? Now you do wrong and defraud and that your brethren. And so he now provides this little next gem of of insight into the issue here.

93. 48:18

    He doesn’t just leave it to say we should be able to work it through, but he says actually there’s a broader A deeper principle involved here. And he gets to the key principle of interaction together in ecclesial life. He’s telling us that instead of standing up for our rights, we should allow the matter. If it’s a matter against me personally, if it’s a matter where I’ve been defrauded, where I’ve been impacted, he says we should put that to one side.

94. 48:47

    We should allow ourselves to be defrauded. Why? Why do we take the wrong? He says, sorry, why do we not take the wrong? Why don’t we just accept that that’s happened to us individually and and know that it’s actually going to have no major impact on us. Instead of going out there and saying it’s my right, you’re wrong, I’m going to hold on to my issue against you, which is so often what happens that instead we suffer the wrong, we take the wrong, we suffer ourselves to be defrauded. Yes, all of us at various times have some, some sort of wrong done against us, something little or even something large that might have happened.

95. 49:25

    There’s there’s some perhaps tiny matter in ecclesial life that becomes all of a sudden this huge matter that we make it when in the broader scheme of life it’s nothing and we end up holding a grudge against somewhere, someone in our ecclesial environment. We fester on the on the wrong and we allow that festering to do massive damage.

96. 49:46

    He’s saying why are you doing that, Suffer yourselves instead to be defrauded, to suffer the wrong, to accept the position for the sake of the ecclesial environment. So we should be able to sit down as an ecclesia whenever division occurs and carefully and humbly work through the matter together if there is a if there is a problem.

97. 50:06

    But we do so on the basis that it’s not about my own rights and what I want and how I’ve been impacted. To accept that we’ve been defrauded, to acknowledge that it’s nothing in the border scheme.

98. 50:19

    And it’s also telling us that we need to sit down and look at our own motivation to make sure that any of the issues that are arising in an ecclesial environment are not of our own creation. That we’re not holding onto matters because of personal issues ourselves where we felt we’ve been wronged ourselves. It comes back to that core foundation principle of our working together in ecclesial life. It’s not about me, it’s not what I want personally. It’s about building together with God to build up the ecclesial environment together in humility, working together to achieve the right outcome.

99. 50:58

    So let’s come across to to verse 19. What? No, you’re not that. Your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which you have of God, and ye are not your own for a year brought with a price. We’re not our own. We’re brought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods.

100. 51:26

     He’s reminding us that we are slaves of God, that we’re not our own. We have no control over ourselves or, or the OR what we get out of life. We are not our own. We don’t even own ourselves at this point. And you can see again the sense of emphasis here, can’t you? You are not your own.

101. 51:43

     You’re brought with a price. Someone else now owns you. Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are gods. So we’re not here as individuals in our own right, for our own objectives, for our own purposes, for ourselves. We’re not even our own, He says we are gods and we’re part of the broader body of Christ.

102. 52:06

     So in these principles that Paul has established in this chapter, he has laid the foundation for the perfect ecclesial environment. He’s told us that it’s not about ourself, ourselves, or our own right, our demanding of our own right. He’s reminded us that we do not even own ourselves, that we are slaves, that we belong to God.

103. 52:26

     And then he’s telling us that we are to do it for the body of Christ. We cannot stand up for our rights and hold on to grudges. We’re instead to suffer ourselves to be afforded and to take wrong and to understand that it’s not us that exists, but the body of Christ. We’re simply a slave who is owned for the use of God Himself. I want to come back to verse 12 because in verse 12 Paul again establishes a foundation principle, not just of ecclesial life, but of our complete attitude towards God and the truth.

104. 53:12

     All things are lawful unto me, but all things are not expedient. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be bought under the power of any. Now again, Paul does not make sense on the first read, does he? Because he’s just explained that there are things which are clearly unlawful. In fact, he said it’s so bad that you’ve got to remove that person out of your environment because they’re eating the heart out of the ecclesia. So how can Paul now turn around and say all things are lawful? Well, it’s another foundation principle here that he, that he gives of our approach to life and the truth. And, and this is incredibly powerful. All things are lawful or right, but all things are not expedient.

105. 54:02

     We can always think of justifiable reasons why all things are lawful pretty well why we might be able to do this or that. You might be able to justify something on the basis of law, is what he’s saying. We might be able to find a reason why the particular thing that we’re doing or that we want to do, or the particular doctrinary hold or the particular focus that we have is right, why we’re right. I think Paul’s point is that that whatever the circumstance or matter is almost, we can always find the self justification that proves that we are right if we try hard enough.

106. 54:43

     You might be able to justify something he says, but is it expedient or as the margin says, is it profitable? The test of ecclesial life and of our relationship with God is not. Is there some way we can think of to justify our position? But is what I’m doing here or the approach I’m taking helpful and profitable to the body of Christ, given we are not our own, given that we are brought with a price, that we are gods, how dare we take any action whatsoever that would defile or hurt or destroy that body?

107. 55:25

     So the principle here is that in Corinth they were saying we’re not under law anymore. So therefore all things are lawful to me. And in fact, the that they were taking an even deeper sense to say, here’s the reason why I can justify what’s happening. It’s what they were doing even with the man who had his his father’s wife, that they were thinking up a legal justification.

108. 55:45

     And in a deeper sense, brothers and sisters and young people, this is this is exactly at the core heart of what we do in our own lives today. What we do is we take a particular matter and we build up a justification for ourselves as to why it’s right and we justify the ourselves on the basis of a rational argument. Yes, someone said it’s wrong because of these reasons, but I can actually justify it because of this point or of that point. I can explain away why I’m doing it because actually it’s not so bad for this reason and for that reason and we build up this nice little framework of self justification. We all do it, don’t we?

109. 56:26

     I know I do it, absolutely. And I know that you do it too. We end up doing things in our life that are not right, but we’ve managed to convince ourselves on a legal justification, on a rational argument that they’re right. It’s lawful for me to do it. I can justify it.

110. 56:44

     Now, that actually begs the question, doesn’t it? And it’s a question I’ve often asked myself, if we’re always able to come up with a legal justification, A rational argument as to why we are right or not. And how do we know if we’re actually right Because someone else will disagree with us and they think that they’re right because they have their own justification in place.

111. 57:08

     And the two ideas might be diametrically opposed and you can’t have both of them being right. But we’ve both managed to convince ourselves that we’re right and we’re lawful and therefore we’re right. And this problem of our self justification is at the heart of every festering saw of eclesial life. So how can we ever be in a position where we say we’re right and I’ve got a conviction I’m right when someone else might be convinced the other way?

112. 57:33

     We’ve built up layer upon layer of our own justification. And this is exactly the issue that Paul is addressing here. We’ve convinced ourselves that what we’re doing is lawful. We build up our argument that it’s lawful and and right and we justify ourselves. You know, this issue of self justification encompasses every spectrum of a collegial life from liberal to legalistic is covered by this statement.

113. 57:59

     I can justify myself and my own approach. Whichever approach we take or however we approach our life, it is possible for us to defend our actions, to find someone else who is more extreme on one end or the other, and therefore to see ourselves in the balance. And to say, I can do what I’m saying is right here. I’ve justified myself.

114. 58:23

     But the point is that both of these approaches are on the basis of law. If we are in a process of self justification, no matter what our approach to ecclesial life, we are living life on the basis of law. We are living life on the basis of all things are lawful to me, I’ve come up with a justification that justifies my position. It’s the refrain of the Corinthian ecclesia that Paul was quoting back to them.

115. 58:59

     All things are lawful for me. Can’t you just see that bursting through the pages of of this book? So what can we do about that then? How can we ever get to a point where we are able to say whether what we’re doing is right or is wrong? And the answer to this is absolutely incredible because what Paul says is it’s not a question of self justification.

116. 59:23

     It’s not a question of can I justify the position, put the concept of law to one side, put the concept of can I rationally find an argument as to why I’m right to one side? The answer is not am I right or wrong from the basis of law?

117. 59:42

     It’s not. Am I allowed to do this because I’ve managed to justify my my position on this. He hasn’t. He hasn’t told us to do this at all. He completely turns his, this whole thing on its head. And he says rather than finding a justification for your life, he says all things are not expedient. This idea of expedient is the idea to bear up, to bear together, to contribute, to be conducive, to give advantage. And in this concept, in this principle, is the powerful principle that can transform utterly our ecclesial life. Paul is saying that when we’re faced with a, a decision in life or a position on how we act or how we walk, the question is not can I justify myself on the basis of law or of rational reasoning, so much as how will this action contribute to my growth?

118. 1:00:42

     And more particularly, how will this action allow me to contribute to beer together or be conducive to the ecclesial environment? What advantage will this action give me in my contribution to ecclesial life? Now, we need to be careful even with that, don’t we? Because it’s then possible to, to argue that to, to use exactly the process of self justification and to argue that that what we’re doing is right when it’s clearly wrong from God’s perspective. But can you see the transforming power of of this argument here? It’s not what can I justify my for myself, but in an honest humble approach, what is going to do the best for my brothers and sisters to build them up.

119. 1:01:21

     This is an expansion of the concept we saw yesterday where where God was talking about our our Co labouring together with God, that our focus and our reward as it were, is to build up and to contribute to the growth of the ecclesial environment. And he’s saying, absolutely take that concept and make that your life.

120. 1:01:39

     And the reality is, brothers and sisters and young people, that that test will result in far greater care in what we do in our life than if we try and justify on the basis of law. It’s a care that is based not on our own strength. But is it a desire then to contribute to Beer Up and to help others? And Paul’s point screams us to out to us, doesn’t it? Loud and clear here in the midst of all the horror that he has to deal with in that ecclesia, in that in that environment where people were taking each other to law with fornication, with a father’s wife, severe matters he’s dealing with. He turns them around and he says, understand that it’s not about being puffed up, not glorying in your own strength. But that is individuals I want to build up. Will it assist?

121. 1:02:31

     Will it develop my brothers and sisters and young people? When he talks about us taking out the living to examine ourselves and to remove the living, that is the test we should be using. It’s not self examination on the basis of can I justify my position, but a self examination that says have my actions Co laboured together with God to build up and grow his ecclesial environment.

122. 1:03:02

     It’s not a question of can I justify because we do don’t we young people particularly, but all of us really. We take the world into our life in so many ways and we justify it on the basis of a legal argument. But there is no way we can justify that on the question of expedience. Is what we’re doing going to assist our brothers and sisters or fellow young people to the Kingdom? And is it going to assist us to shine forth the glory and the splendor of the Father in all its light? I believe Paul’s principle here is a fundamental change to the principle of life we should be living by. It’s not living law by self, living life by self justification.

123. 1:03:52

     It’s not what is the minimum I can get away with. It’s not what is the benchmark so that I can attain this in my own strength. It is what will assist me to contribute, to bear together and to grow our eclesial environment. And so by way of conclusion then Paul comes in verse 19 to another beautiful principle of our life before God. What know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, which is in you, which He have of God, and ye are not your own?

124. 1:04:28

     All introduces us or or brings us again to the concept of our body as the living temple of God. Just stop and contemplate for a moment what He is saying. Picture here the temple, the outer court, making way to the innermost sanctum, through the holy place, to the Most Holy place where the Father Himself grows with his people.

125. 1:05:00

     It’s a beautiful picture of God descending and dwelling with his people in the spirit of holiness, in the beauty of holiness as it’s described, and the absolute joy of fellowship between the Father and his people. But Paul is telling us in this verse that that beauty of holiness, that that place where the Father will come down and dwell with his people is our body.

126. 1:05:26

     That our body is actually the environment where the Father himself will come and dwell. That we are the holy temple in which God chooses to dwell. Just stop for a moment and contemplate the power of this. It’s the answer to all of the issues that Paul was dealing with and that ecclesial environment. We are the temple of God.

127. 1:05:53

     So what are we doing with our body? Are we allowing the Father to remain dwelling in our body? It’s the process of self examination he’s asking us to do to to liven out the liven, to take out the liven to make sure that we are doing things to build up and for constructive outcomes. Not because of self justification, but because we understand that right inside ourselves is the dwelling place of God himself.

128. 1:06:21

     Let’s come across in conclusion to Isaiah 66 because Paul, Paul was really picking out this concept that’s come from Isaiah here of the of God dwelling in his people. Isaiah 66 and verse one and two. Thus saith Yahweh, the heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. Where is the house that you build unto me, and where is the place of my rest? For all those things hath mine handmade, and all those things hath been saith Yahweh.

129. 1:06:53

     This is Yahweh who is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. The earth, the massive expanse of the heavens is His throne, the full expanse of the heavens there where God sits. And the earth is just His footstool. All the fullness of the earth is just His footstool where He places his feet to rest.

130. 1:07:14

     That’s the enormity and the power and the wonder of our Father is the Creator of the heavens and the earth. Where is the place that you build unto me? He says, Where is the place of my rest? You know, there is no place that we can build that would be glorious enough or rich enough or luxurious enough to justify the Father coming down and deciding to dwell there.

131. 1:07:34

     There is nothing that we can create like that. We have no ability to require the Father to come in to dwell with us. The Father looks about out upon all that He’s made and He’s and all that His power has created. The heavens is His throne and and the earth is His footstool.

132. 1:07:52

     What does He say but to this man will I look even to Him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and that trembleth at my word.

133. 1:08:07

     He looks across the expanse of the stars and the fullness of the heavens. He looks at the fullness of the earth, and this morning, brothers and sisters and young people, he comes across the seas to the place of New Zealand. He looks upon the country of New Zealand, and his eyes and his focus come into Canterbury, to Kaipoy, into this hall.

134. 1:08:35

     And he’s saying to this man, Will I look even to him? That is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembles at my word. When Paul says that we are the temple of God, that is what he means. He’s saying that the Father is looking upon us as a place where he wants to dwell.

135. 1:08:58

     But he cannot do that if we’re puffed up and dwelling in our own strength. If we’re there with the leaven of our own glory shining in US and overwhelming us, He wants us to stop and to examine ourselves, to remove the leaven so that we can share the Feast of the Passover with the Son Himself. He’s wanting us to consider the basis of life as expedients towards others, as what is best for the growth of His glory, for the assistance of our brothers and sisters in the strength of our eclesional environment.

136. 1:09:33

     But to do that we have to learn the lesson of humility, to understand that we are nothing of ourselves, that we are poor and broken. We learn to tremble at the wonder and the power of His Word, because then, then He can elevate us to sit in the wonders of heavenlies in Christ Jesus.

137. 1:09:57

     He can take our hearts and make that the holiest of all. And Yahweh, the Creator of the heavens and of the earth, will be pleased to dwell in US.