355: Ben O’Grady – Let Him Glory in the Lord (1 Cor. 1:10-31)

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Welcome to good Christophian
talks.

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I’m Levi.
I’m Chris.

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I’m Jason.
And I’m Brian, thank you for

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joining us this week on this
podcast.

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We select one talk a week to
help us get the Bible in our

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Daily News feed.
Each week we post a talk that we

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previewed from suggestions sent
in by listeners from around the

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world.
Then we record a short intro

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beforehand as a personalized
recommendation to you on why we

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are sharing the talk.
And now let’s talk more about

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this week’s talk.
Hi everyone, it’s Jason Hensley.

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This week we are listening to a
class by brother Ben O’Grady

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given in 2014 at the New Zealand
Summer School.

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This class is the first in his
series on 1st Corinthians.

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And what I really loved about it
was the whole class, it felt

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like, had this big emphasis on
not just unity and what unity

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means, but how do you create
something like this.

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And I felt like Brother Ben’s
explanation and his focus on

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this was so helpful.
Ultimately, and I guess this is

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sort of a spoiler, but
ultimately what he concludes is

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that being unified really comes
from a humility and a

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willingness to recognize that
God is right and we have to put

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ourselves aside.
And in fact, what Brother Ben

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suggests is that God has created
his gospel and his ecclesia in

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this way so that it only really
works, and we only really can

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work together if we are willing
to put ourselves aside.

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So this is class #1 in this
series on 1st Corinthians, this

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class is entitled Let him Glory
in the Lord.

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The view is breathtaking across
the precipice of the Acropolis

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or the rocky outcrop and down to
the new bustling city of

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Corinth.
The buildings are fresh

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whitewashed and the terracotta
roofs provide a pleasing

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contrast to the neat lines of
the temple columns.

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The eye follows the wealth of
that place and the busy like

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roads that lead to the edge of
the city.

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We’re a long set of walls, some
2 miles in length, protects the

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access to the principal port of
lithium.

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Humming with ships, our view
drifts across the US, Europe,

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blue waters of the Corinthian
Gulf to the hills and valves of

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the Peloponnesus Peninsula, and
out again across the

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Mediterranean.
Corinth is a beautiful city.

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It’s strategically positioned at
a meeting place of sea and land

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linking the Peloponnesus
Peninsula that you can see here,

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here, down in the bottom, down
here, hopefully you can see the

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mouse down here, this
Peloponnesus Peninsula with the

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eastern Mediterranean and
through to Italy, Sicily and the

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rest of Greece.
And through that city pours the

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wealth and the aristocracy of
the region.

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The city is perfectly positioned
in this little area in here on a

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strategically important isthmus,
allowing ships to avoid the

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dangerous passage around the
Peloponnesus Peninsula around

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here, and particularly what they
called the fingers that were

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renowned for their very violent
storms.

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You can see here that there are
actually 2 ports that are

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associated with the city.
There’s the main port of Lykium

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here, which goes through into
the Gulf of Corinth.

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And on the other side, there’s
the second port of Sincrea.

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And so strategic was this small
little isthmus could connecting

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the Corinthian Gulf with the
Saronic Gulf.

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That’s centuries before Paul’s
time.

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A stone overland ramp had been
built across those kilometres

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known as the dial costs.
And that had been built so that

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boats could be ported from one
side to the other.

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It was a highly strategic piece
of land.

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If we expand the picture a
little, we can see the broadest

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strategic value of of Corinth
from here, as it flows out

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across to to Italy and on to
Rome and through to the island

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of Sulissi and to the rest of
Greece.

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Because of its positioning, the
city had a history of influence

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in the region.
But in 146 BC Corinth was

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besieged and captured by the
Roman general Lucius Mummies,

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who received afterwards the
title A Caicus.

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The title A Caicus as the
Conqueror of Akaya, which is

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actually this region of the
palpinesis furniture and up into

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up into Greece through here
Lucius put the men to the sword.

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He sent the woman and children
into slavery before burning the

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city to the ground.
And Corinth remained largely

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deserted until Julius Caesar
refounded the city in 44 BC,

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calling it, as you can imagine
from someone like Julius Caesar,

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the colony of Corinth in honour
of Julius.

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But unfortunately he was
assassinated lock not long after

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and it didn’t do much honour.
Following this time, Corinth was

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rebuilt as a major city in the
region of Akaya following its

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devastation, and it became the
capital city of Greece with a

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large population of Romans, of
Greeks and of Jews.

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So what?
So all this tells us that in

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Paul’s time, less than 100 years
later, Corinth was a new, a

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thriving and an influential
city.

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It’s not surprising to find that
in a city of such prosperity and

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position, the excesses of the
Roman Empire were well ensconced

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in the culture.
This here is a picture of the

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Temple of Apollos.
It was a magnificent structure,

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25 meters by 50 meters, columned
temple to Apollos, who was the

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God of just about anything.
He was the God of music, of

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poetry, of art, oracles,
archery, plague, medicine,

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sunlight and knowledge.
Perhaps we could say in our

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terms today he was the God of
recreation.

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But if this was not enough, you
can see on the Acropolis behind

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the city there.
And if we go in a bit, a bit

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closer, you can see it even more
so here on the rocky outcrop

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known as the Acro Current, that
is the upper current, was the

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high temple of Epaphroditus, the
goddess of love.

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Her vile priestesses were
frequent visitors to the city.

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And from every angle of that
city, her temple laid down upon

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its people, we find that the
city was surrounded, was

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overshadowed, was encompassed by
idolatry, by wealth and

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extravagance.
And if we are honest with

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ourselves, living then in the
middle of that thriving city of

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Corinth was not too dissimilar
to the environment we live in

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today.
Wherever we look, whichever way

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we turn into the very sanctuary
of our homes.

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The idols of this world are
emblazoned in flashing lights,

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enticing music and wealth beyond
compared to other generations

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and the pet.
The point is perhaps more keenly

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felt when we realise with shock,
as we’ll go through in the book

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together, that the worldly
environment of Corinth had made

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an impact, in fact a significant
impact, on the ecclesia of God

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in that place.
It is a sad fact of history,

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isn’t it, that the environment
we live in so often will impact

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on our life in the truth.
And I believe deeply, brothers

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and sisters and young people,
that the book of Corinthians has

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a startling relevance for us in
surely the last generation

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before Christ’s return.
That the issues that that

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ecclesia faced, and more
particularly the beautiful way

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in which the impossible
transforms their thinking beyond

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the reach of this world, of this
world, beyond the particular

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issue to the fundamental insight
into into how we can hold on to

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the truth until the Lord shall
come.

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That that is of particular
relevance to us in these

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generations.
Paul is dealing with some

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significant issues in the
Corinthian ecclesia, and yet in

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in typical Paul fashion, he
deals with them by first

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focusing them, their attention
back to the fundamental

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principles, the fundamental
principle of the truth that

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matters.
That’s that’s being wrecked in

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the 1st place.
And Paul is so brilliant at

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putting his finger right to the
heart of the issue and at

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reverting to the core foundation
point in which the principle has

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been lost.
And we find that whenever we

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individually have failed in the
truth as individuals, well,

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whenever we have failed as
eccleses, it’s because we have

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crept away and lost these godly
foundation principles.

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This is Paul’s signature in
every book, whether in Romans or

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Hebrews, Thessalonians or
Corinthians, is his incredible

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ability to bypass the symptoms
and to focus attention on the

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foundation principle that will
restore our relationship with

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God.
So often ecclesial matters blow

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up or personal, personal failure
occurs because we argue about

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the symptoms and miss the core
foundation principle at stake.

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And in typical pool fashion, in
this book he transforms the mind

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of the ecclesia to take them
back to the fundamental

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principles of their relationship
in God.

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It is interesting to note, as I
said in the opening night, that

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this that this book is quite
different than some of the other

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epistles of Paul.
While there are clear

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references, and we’ll see many
of them and links to the Old

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Testament, it’s not so much a
book of exposition of Old

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Testament themes.
It’s a simpler book.

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It’s a logical book, but with a
clear theme and a key, a key for

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us that is developed at the
start and progresses throughout

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the book.
It’s catering to the Greek mind

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and it’s valuable for us because
it focuses us on the

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fundamentals of the truth in
order to overcome the issues

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that arise.
And so we pick up the story in

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First Corinthians chapter 1 and
in verse one Paul and just see

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if you can pick up the the focus
of the attention that the

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apostle gives in these verses in
his opening verses.

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This is Paul’s traditional
opening salutation that he

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gives.
Paul called to be an apostle of

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Jesus Christ through the will of
God and Sosthenes our brother

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unto the ecclesia of God, which
is at Corinth, to them that are

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sanctified in Christ Jesus
called to be Saints, with all

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that in every place call upon
the name of Jesus Christ our

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Lord, both theirs and ours.
Grace be unto you in peace from

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God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ.

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I thank my God always on your
behalf for the grace of God

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which is given you by Jesus
Christ.

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Can you see the focus that Paul
is giving to this book right

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from the beginning?
In other salutations, he

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introduces himself and and gives
greetings to them in this book.

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You’ve probably noticed that his
focus is immediately on the Lord

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Jesus Christ.
His focus is on God, and

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particularly the work of the
Lord Jesus Christ. 10 times in

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these opening verses he refers
to Jesus Christ even as he gives

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his traditional greeting, even
before he talks about the issues

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of that ecclesia.
And here, more than in any other

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epistle, he focuses their
attention on the work of the

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Lord Jesus Christ.
And right from the start, he’s

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telling them that is the answer
to their issues to come back to,

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to understand the focus on the
Lord Jesus Christ right from the

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beginning.
The ultimate answer for that

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ecclesia, as it is for us today,
is to focus back on the work of

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God with our Lord Jesus Christ.
Verse one, I’m called to be an

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apostle of Jesus Christ.
Verse 2, you are sanctified in

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Jesus Christ.
He’s telling the ecclesia at

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Corinth that everything they
have, their salvation is because

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of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He’s called to be an apostle of

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Jesus Christ, that there is an
ecclesia because they are

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sanctified in Jesus Christ.
And not just in Corinth, he

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says.
But in every ecclesia across the

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world there are those who call
upon the name of the Lord, both

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theirs and ours.
He is our Lord.

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But he says he’s also the Lord
to all our brothers and sisters

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in every ecclesia, and he is the
Lord Jesus Christ.

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And so we pick it up in verse 4I
Thank my God always on your

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behalf for the grace of God
which is given you by Jesus

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Christ, that in everything you
are enriched by him in all

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utterance and in all knowledge.
Even as the testimony of Christ

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was confirmed in you, so that
you come behind in no gift,

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waiting for the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who shall

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also confirm you unto the end,
that you may be blameless in the

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day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Can you just see the way that

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that that focus on the work and
the contribution of the Lord

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Jesus Christ Just pause out.
It’s focused on him and the work

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that he has accomplished.
It’s the calling that he he has

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in Christ.
It’s the work of salvation of

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Christ, the sanctification
provided through Christ.

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There are others brought into
that sanctification, grace and

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00:13:49,160 –> 00:13:52,320
peace through Jesus Christ.
It’s the testimony of Jesus

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Christ.
It’s the future hope of the

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coming of Jesus Christ.
It’s the day of our Lord Jesus

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Christ.
Every component of our faith is

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utterly dependent on the work of
Jesus Christ.

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And then he pulls it together so
perfectly in verse 9.

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God is faithful by whom you were
called unto the fellowship of

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his Son, Jesus Christ.
Our Lord.

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Our whole being, our whole
purpose, our whole focus in life

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is that we become part of the
fellowship, the bringing

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together of so many diverse
individuals into one in Christ.

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That is the theme of this
wonderful book.

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It is Christ’s work, it’s
Christ’s calling, it’s Christ’s

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sanctification, It is the
extension of God’s grace through

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Christ.
It is the hope of Christ’s

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00:14:50,720 –> 00:14:54,640
coming that binds us together as
brothers and sisters in

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00:14:54,640 –> 00:14:58,640
fellowship, bound together in
his Son Jesus Christ.

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Note in passing just also that
concept of being called out

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verse one Paul who is called to
be an apostle in verse one.

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But in verse 2 unto the ecclesia
of God at Corinth, to them that

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are sanctified in Christ Jesus
called to be Saints.

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So in the same way that the
apostle was called to be an

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00:15:16,600 –> 00:15:20,400
apostle, in the same way we are
called also to be to be Saints.

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00:15:20,400 –> 00:15:23,520
It’s God’s work who has called
us together.

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00:15:24,160 –> 00:15:28,400
And in verse 9, God is faithful
by whom ye were called unto the

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00:15:28,400 –> 00:15:31,920
fellowship.
We’re bound together because of

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00:15:31,920 –> 00:15:35,680
his calling that binds us
together in the fellowship of

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00:15:35,680 –> 00:15:39,920
His Son.
So why does Paul focus such

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00:15:39,920 –> 00:15:42,880
attention at the beginning of
his of this epistle more than

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00:15:42,880 –> 00:15:45,640
any other, as I say, on this
concept of unity on the

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00:15:45,640 –> 00:15:48,160
fellowship that binds us
together in the work of the Lord

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00:15:48,160 –> 00:15:51,480
Jesus Christ and calls us
together in one in Christ.

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00:15:51,480 –> 00:15:56,000
Well, we don’t need to get far
into the book before we learn

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00:15:56,240 –> 00:16:01,200
the reason in verse 10.
I beseech you, brethren, by the

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name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that ye all speak the same

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00:16:04,600 –> 00:16:07,520
thing, that there be no
divisions among you, but that ye

255
00:16:07,560 –> 00:16:11,600
be perfectly joined together in
the same mind and in the same

256
00:16:11,600 –> 00:16:14,520
judgement.
For it has been declared unto me

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00:16:14,520 –> 00:16:17,040
of you, my brethren, by them
which are of the House of Chloe,

258
00:16:17,440 –> 00:16:19,400
that there are contentions among
you.

259
00:16:19,800 –> 00:16:22,360
And so having given this
introduction to focus them upon

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00:16:22,360 –> 00:16:26,120
thee, their calling as one
united body in Christ, he now

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00:16:26,120 –> 00:16:30,120
raises the issue which is at the
real heart of of this ecclesial

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00:16:30,120 –> 00:16:34,040
problem, and that is the issue
of contentions of divisions and

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00:16:34,040 –> 00:16:36,800
schisms that there were amongst
that ecclesia.

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00:16:39,920 –> 00:16:42,040
He’s pleading, isn’t he?
See that language there?

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00:16:42,040 –> 00:16:47,360
Now I beseech you, he says, I
beseech you by the work of

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00:16:48,320 –> 00:16:51,800
sorry, I beseech you in the name
of our Lord Jesus Christ that

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00:16:51,800 –> 00:16:59,160
you speak the same thing.
The issue when and what is that

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00:16:59,160 –> 00:17:00,520
issue?
Why is he pleading?

269
00:17:00,520 –> 00:17:04,760
Why does he plead in such a way?
Verse 12 Now this I say that

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00:17:04,760 –> 00:17:06,680
everyone of you says I’m of
Paul.

271
00:17:06,839 –> 00:17:10,520
I have Apollos and and I have
Cephas and I of Christ.

272
00:17:11,480 –> 00:17:15,599
So here is the issue in Corinth.
Here’s this ecclesia that’s

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00:17:15,599 –> 00:17:18,680
bound together in Christ.
But there were some who said,

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00:17:18,680 –> 00:17:20,880
actually, I’m a follower of
Paul.

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00:17:21,880 –> 00:17:24,720
Paul preached to me.
I was there when he first came.

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00:17:24,880 –> 00:17:28,000
I’m a Paul man.
And there are others who said,

277
00:17:28,000 –> 00:17:30,840
well, what about Apollos?
Paul wasn’t a patch on him.

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00:17:31,920 –> 00:17:34,000
The man was an orator.
He could expound the word like

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00:17:34,000 –> 00:17:35,760
you couldn’t believe.
I follow his approach.

280
00:17:35,760 –> 00:17:39,120
I follow Apollos.
And someone else said, you think

281
00:17:39,120 –> 00:17:41,560
that’s good?
Well, I follow Peter because he

282
00:17:41,560 –> 00:17:43,360
was there in the time of the
Lord’s ministry.

283
00:17:43,600 –> 00:17:45,400
He’s the rock upon which I
stand.

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00:17:46,120 –> 00:17:50,520
And others say, well, well,
those are just men.

285
00:17:50,560 –> 00:17:55,040
I’m of Christ, which may have
been the right answer, but in

286
00:17:55,040 –> 00:17:58,720
this circumstance is being used
in entirely the wrong spirit.

287
00:18:00,360 –> 00:18:03,760
We’re being told that the
ecclesia at Corinth was ripping

288
00:18:03,760 –> 00:18:07,640
itself to pieces because it had
pushed itself into different

289
00:18:07,640 –> 00:18:10,520
groups based on different
personalities.

290
00:18:12,520 –> 00:18:15,400
And Paul’s answer to all of
these issues of all of that

291
00:18:15,400 –> 00:18:18,080
division is to say you forget
all of that.

292
00:18:18,720 –> 00:18:21,200
You come back to the
fundamentals of our life in

293
00:18:21,200 –> 00:18:25,920
Christ to understand that Christ
is the centre and the heart and

294
00:18:25,920 –> 00:18:29,760
the soul of every component of
our life, that we have no

295
00:18:29,760 –> 00:18:32,920
calling, no sanctification, no
gift of grace from God.

296
00:18:33,080 –> 00:18:36,520
We have not the hope of His
coming if we do not focus on

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00:18:36,520 –> 00:18:40,360
Christ and the fellowship in Him
that binds us together.

298
00:18:41,800 –> 00:18:43,960
To answer their schisms.
He takes their mind and He

299
00:18:43,960 –> 00:18:47,120
transforms their thinking to
understanding the power of

300
00:18:47,120 –> 00:18:50,600
salvation, the foundation
principle of salvation and unity

301
00:18:50,600 –> 00:18:53,720
in Christ.
And it will work just as

302
00:18:53,720 –> 00:18:57,040
perfectly for us brothers and
sisters and young people if we

303
00:18:57,040 –> 00:18:59,600
can do that in our ecclesias
today.

304
00:19:07,040 –> 00:19:09,480
So what is it that the Ecclesia
sorry?

305
00:19:09,480 –> 00:19:13,200
What is it that the Sorry, I’ve
got my notes messed up in order

306
00:19:13,200 –> 00:19:25,400
here.
What is it that the apostle is

307
00:19:25,440 –> 00:19:30,640
is asking the Ecclesia to do
here in verse 10?

308
00:19:30,760 –> 00:19:33,920
I beseech you, brethren, by the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ,

309
00:19:33,920 –> 00:19:37,320
that you speak the same thing,
that there be no divisions among

310
00:19:37,320 –> 00:19:40,720
you, but that you be perfectly
joined together in the same mind

311
00:19:40,960 –> 00:19:45,600
and in the same judgement.
Just stop for a moment and look

312
00:19:45,600 –> 00:19:49,960
at the power of what the apostle
is asking this ecclesia to do.

313
00:19:50,800 –> 00:19:54,400
I beseech you, He says he’s
pleading to that ecclesia by the

314
00:19:54,400 –> 00:19:59,520
name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
that you speak the same thing.

315
00:20:00,560 –> 00:20:03,080
Just just pause for a moment and
consider what he’s asking the

316
00:20:03,080 –> 00:20:04,800
ecclesia to do there.
That’s that.

317
00:20:04,800 –> 00:20:08,760
When one member of an ecclesia
speaks, and then someone else in

318
00:20:08,760 –> 00:20:11,600
that ecclesia speaks, that they
are actually saying the same

319
00:20:11,600 –> 00:20:14,240
thing.
More than that, he says that

320
00:20:14,240 –> 00:20:17,440
there’d be no divisions among
you, but you’d be perfectly

321
00:20:17,600 –> 00:20:20,880
joined together in the same mind
and in the same judgement.

322
00:20:20,880 –> 00:20:22,560
Can you see the emphasis that
he’s giving here?

323
00:20:22,560 –> 00:20:24,880
He’s not just saying think the
same way.

324
00:20:25,040 –> 00:20:27,520
He’s saying I want you to speak
the same thing.

325
00:20:27,600 –> 00:20:31,040
I want you to be perfectly
joined together in the same mind

326
00:20:31,360 –> 00:20:33,960
and in the same judgement.
That’s powerful, isn’t it?

327
00:20:34,720 –> 00:20:37,200
And what he’s asking that
Ecclesia to do is to actually

328
00:20:37,200 –> 00:20:41,240
see that they need to think the
same as all their brothers and

329
00:20:41,240 –> 00:20:45,200
sisters to be perfectly joined
together in the same mind.

330
00:20:46,600 –> 00:20:50,800
That idea of the same, the same
mind is used extensively through

331
00:20:50,800 –> 00:20:54,520
the New Testament, and it’s used
to denote a self, an individual.

332
00:20:55,440 –> 00:20:58,520
In other words, he’s asking that
Ecclesia to think as if they

333
00:20:58,520 –> 00:21:03,080
were one person.
He’s asking them to think like

334
00:21:03,080 –> 00:21:06,440
they were one individual.
I’ve got on the screen here 3

335
00:21:06,440 –> 00:21:09,360
quotes out of Philippians which
pick up exactly the same idea

336
00:21:09,360 –> 00:21:12,680
and the same emphasis that that
Paul gives fulfilling my joy

337
00:21:12,840 –> 00:21:16,360
that you’d be like minded having
the same love being of 1 accord

338
00:21:16,360 –> 00:21:17,760
of one mind.
And you can see again the

339
00:21:17,760 –> 00:21:21,200
emphasis Philippians 3.
Nevertheless we’re two.

340
00:21:21,200 –> 00:21:24,120
We have already attained.
Let us walk by the same rule.

341
00:21:24,520 –> 00:21:29,240
Let us mind the same thing or
Philippians 4 dealing with a

342
00:21:29,240 –> 00:21:32,080
particular issue.
I beseech Yodius and Sinteki

343
00:21:32,080 –> 00:21:36,480
that they be of the same mind in
the Lord, and so his message to

344
00:21:36,480 –> 00:21:37,960
the Philippians is exactly the
same.

345
00:21:38,240 –> 00:21:42,800
It’s that concept, isn’t it,
that an ecclesia has this real

346
00:21:42,800 –> 00:21:48,800
sense of unity in how they think
what the Apostle is asking our

347
00:21:48,800 –> 00:21:57,560
ecclesia to do.
What the apostle is asking our

348
00:21:57,560 –> 00:22:00,800
ecclesia to do is to sit down
together and talk through these

349
00:22:00,800 –> 00:22:05,840
issues and humility together.
He’s asking us to understand and

350
00:22:05,840 –> 00:22:07,320
agree on things together.
Isn’t he?

351
00:22:08,080 –> 00:22:11,960
That when one of us speaks, it’s
as if all the mind of us all is

352
00:22:11,960 –> 00:22:13,800
being opened up and all of us
talking.

353
00:22:14,800 –> 00:22:18,560
He’s not saying here to hold on
to our differences, but to live

354
00:22:18,560 –> 00:22:20,680
life pretending they’re not
there.

355
00:22:21,480 –> 00:22:25,840
He’s saying to us, and this is a
powerful message, if we want

356
00:22:26,240 –> 00:22:31,160
fellowship in Christ.
It is about creating the mind of

357
00:22:31,160 –> 00:22:37,040
Christ together in each one of
us in a United Way.

358
00:22:37,960 –> 00:22:40,400
It’s not to paper up our
differences and to leave the

359
00:22:40,400 –> 00:22:44,000
chasms lying under it.
It’s not just saying to accept

360
00:22:44,000 –> 00:22:45,960
that we have a difference of you
and to paper them up.

361
00:22:45,960 –> 00:22:49,480
He’s saying if you understand
the power of fellowship in Jesus

362
00:22:49,480 –> 00:22:51,280
Christ, then speak the same
thing.

363
00:22:51,280 –> 00:22:56,120
To be of the same mind is the
picture that He’s giving us when

364
00:22:56,120 –> 00:22:58,360
you talk.
What comes out of the math needs

365
00:22:58,360 –> 00:23:01,640
to be the same consistently
within our ecclesia.

366
00:23:03,600 –> 00:23:06,480
Can you just pause for a moment,
brothers and sisters and young

367
00:23:06,480 –> 00:23:11,080
people, and understand the power
of that concept?

368
00:23:12,600 –> 00:23:16,640
Because that concept is the key
to ecclesial harmony.

369
00:23:20,840 –> 00:23:26,360
But how can we attain this?
What about our diversity?

370
00:23:27,520 –> 00:23:30,480
How can we ever be perfectly
joined together in the same

371
00:23:30,480 –> 00:23:35,040
mind, thinking the same way?
Well, Paul does deal with

372
00:23:35,040 –> 00:23:37,680
diversity beautifully later on
in the book.

373
00:23:37,680 –> 00:23:42,080
We have diversity, absolutely.
But let’s not miss the point

374
00:23:42,080 –> 00:23:45,360
here that he’s giving us, which
is there is only one answer.

375
00:23:46,680 –> 00:23:50,920
And that answer becomes the core
theme to this book, that our own

376
00:23:50,920 –> 00:23:57,040
mind, our own will, is
crucified, and we live as the

377
00:23:57,040 –> 00:24:00,560
mind of Christ.
That we are not our own, but

378
00:24:00,560 –> 00:24:04,840
purchased with the precious
blood of Christ, and being his

379
00:24:05,760 –> 00:24:09,920
together we become of one
united, harmonious mind.

380
00:24:16,160 –> 00:24:19,680
So what was the particular issue
in the Corinthian ecclesia?

381
00:24:21,520 –> 00:24:24,320
Love phrased it the particular
burden that that ecclesia ball

382
00:24:24,320 –> 00:24:29,720
was the I brigade.
Verse 12.

383
00:24:31,320 –> 00:24:37,720
Now this I say that everyone of
you saith I am of Paul, and I of

384
00:24:37,720 –> 00:24:42,160
Apollos, and I of Cephas and I
of Christ.

385
00:24:44,040 –> 00:24:48,160
They were pretending to stand
behind the banner of Paul or of

386
00:24:48,160 –> 00:24:53,320
Peter or of Christ, but in
reality, Paul says it was their

387
00:24:53,320 –> 00:24:58,320
own egos at play.
I am of was the particular issue

388
00:24:58,320 –> 00:25:01,920
and burden of that ecclesia.
It wasn’t actually the Paul

389
00:25:01,920 –> 00:25:05,920
brigade or the Apollo’s brigade,
but it was about me, about I and

390
00:25:05,920 –> 00:25:08,040
the I brigade that they belong
to.

391
00:25:08,040 –> 00:25:10,880
Their focus was upon themselves.
And Paul gets right to that

392
00:25:10,880 –> 00:25:12,480
issue.
You’re not standing behind Paul.

393
00:25:12,680 –> 00:25:15,440
You’re actually talking about
yourself and your own egoing.

394
00:25:16,560 –> 00:25:20,000
And Paul’s message again is to
come back to the fellowship in

395
00:25:20,000 –> 00:25:23,000
Christ.
It’s not about you, it’s about

396
00:25:23,000 –> 00:25:24,800
the mind of Christ.
And he gives this brilliant

397
00:25:24,800 –> 00:25:28,640
response here in verse 13.
So here’s some saying, I’m of

398
00:25:28,640 –> 00:25:31,400
Paul, I’m of Cephas, I’m of
Apollos, I’m of Christ.

399
00:25:32,000 –> 00:25:34,200
Oh, he says, really?
Is Christ divided?

400
00:25:34,680 –> 00:25:38,360
Was Paul crucified for you?
Or were ye baptized in the name

401
00:25:38,360 –> 00:25:41,360
of Paul?
It’s a brilliant response here.

402
00:25:41,520 –> 00:25:44,720
There’s some saying I’m of Paul.
And Paul himself says, really,

403
00:25:44,920 –> 00:25:48,320
you’re of me.
Oh, so I was the one crucified

404
00:25:48,320 –> 00:25:51,960
for you was I am I the one who’s
provided the way of salvation

405
00:25:51,960 –> 00:25:54,840
for you?
Was I or were you actually

406
00:25:54,840 –> 00:25:56,840
baptized into my name?
Were you?

407
00:25:57,480 –> 00:26:02,360
Is that the basis of salvation?
He says he answers the division

408
00:26:02,360 –> 00:26:05,120
so brilliant by by saying that’s
that’s a nothing.

409
00:26:05,120 –> 00:26:07,120
It cannot be true.
It’s complete rubbish.

410
00:26:07,400 –> 00:26:10,080
It’s not about the individuals.
It’s about 1:00 work.

411
00:26:10,560 –> 00:26:14,240
It’s about the way of salvation
that has been opened unto us in

412
00:26:14,240 –> 00:26:17,640
Christ.
And then he carries on to give

413
00:26:17,640 –> 00:26:20,840
by his own example this fact
that it’s not about him.

414
00:26:20,840 –> 00:26:24,520
Verse 14 I thank God that I
baptized none of you but Crispus

415
00:26:24,520 –> 00:26:28,680
and Gast this any of you should
say that I have baptized in my

416
00:26:28,680 –> 00:26:30,480
own name.
He says it’s not about me.

417
00:26:30,640 –> 00:26:32,920
I don’t want groups of people
behind my banner.

418
00:26:33,400 –> 00:26:34,960
He’s saying this is about
Christ.

419
00:26:35,760 –> 00:26:38,600
It’s about a fellowship with a
single minded devotion to the

420
00:26:38,600 –> 00:26:42,720
things of Christ together.
Because we are not followers of

421
00:26:42,720 –> 00:26:50,000
men.
It is easy to look at the

422
00:26:50,000 –> 00:26:53,760
Corinthian ecclesia and to see
the madness of what they were

423
00:26:53,760 –> 00:26:56,680
doing.
That they should be followers of

424
00:26:57,000 –> 00:27:03,000
pull and lose Christ, That they
should love the rhetoric of

425
00:27:03,000 –> 00:27:07,440
Apollos and ignore the power of
salvation in Christ.

426
00:27:09,280 –> 00:27:12,600
But the reality is, brothers and
sisters and young people, that

427
00:27:12,640 –> 00:27:17,840
every difficulty that occurs in
ecclesial life and also for

428
00:27:17,840 –> 00:27:21,960
ourselves as individuals is
because we forget this

429
00:27:21,960 –> 00:27:23,720
fundamental principle of the
truth.

430
00:27:24,560 –> 00:27:27,760
We forget this foundation
principle from God, that it is

431
00:27:27,760 –> 00:27:31,040
not about us.
It is about the work of

432
00:27:31,040 –> 00:27:34,160
salvation that God has
accomplished through His Son,

433
00:27:34,600 –> 00:27:38,240
Jesus Christ.
If we could only understand this

434
00:27:38,240 –> 00:27:41,360
as individuals and eccleses
together, we would move so much

435
00:27:41,360 –> 00:27:44,640
beyond the difficulties and the
struggles of life to the real

436
00:27:44,640 –> 00:27:48,880
power and the fabulous riches of
fellowship that can be available

437
00:27:49,080 –> 00:27:51,080
in ecclesial life together in
Christ.

438
00:27:51,080 –> 00:27:53,280
It’s not about you.
It’s not about me as

439
00:27:53,280 –> 00:27:55,800
individuals.
It’s about the work of salvation

440
00:27:56,360 –> 00:27:58,720
that Christ has accomplished
with his Father.

441
00:27:59,600 –> 00:28:04,080
Verse 17 For Christ sent me not
to baptize, but to preach the

442
00:28:04,080 –> 00:28:07,960
gospel, not with wisdom of
words, lest the cross of Christ

443
00:28:07,960 –> 00:28:11,600
should be made of none effect.
His point is clear.

444
00:28:11,600 –> 00:28:13,200
It’s not about me choosing to do
this.

445
00:28:13,200 –> 00:28:16,360
He says Christ has sent me.
I am called by him to do this

446
00:28:16,360 –> 00:28:19,120
work, but interestingly, not
what his work is.

447
00:28:19,120 –> 00:28:22,360
He says it’s not to baptize, but
to preach the gospel.

448
00:28:23,320 –> 00:28:26,000
And it’s an interesting focus
even in our preaching, isn’t it?

449
00:28:26,000 –> 00:28:28,960
To just contemplate for a moment
or even with our children

450
00:28:28,960 –> 00:28:32,520
perhaps that are in focus is so
often on baptism, on getting

451
00:28:32,520 –> 00:28:35,520
them as being a member of the
Christadelphian community, as if

452
00:28:35,680 –> 00:28:40,160
baptism is the the fundamental
thing to be become part of the

453
00:28:40,160 –> 00:28:43,360
ecclesial environment.
Paul’s point, and I say this

454
00:28:43,360 –> 00:28:48,080
carefully, Paul’s point here in
this verse is the baptism itself

455
00:28:48,080 –> 00:28:51,040
was irrelevant.
Now I say that carefully because

456
00:28:51,040 –> 00:28:54,520
I understand and I agree that
clearly baptism is a fundamental

457
00:28:54,520 –> 00:28:56,200
part of the process of
salvation.

458
00:28:56,920 –> 00:28:59,960
But Paul’s focus, he is saying,
is not on how many people he can

459
00:28:59,960 –> 00:29:01,680
tick off as having been
baptized.

460
00:29:02,280 –> 00:29:04,920
He says I haven’t been given a
quota by the Lord Jesus Christ

461
00:29:04,920 –> 00:29:07,000
to have baptized 78 people this
year.

462
00:29:07,880 –> 00:29:11,360
It’s not my work.
It’s the work that Christ has

463
00:29:11,360 –> 00:29:13,240
given me.
And he’s given me the gospel,

464
00:29:13,720 –> 00:29:17,040
and I will preach the gospel as
his servant.

465
00:29:17,840 –> 00:29:20,760
And then it becomes the work of
Christ to accomplish salvation.

466
00:29:20,760 –> 00:29:24,760
For those who respond, we begin
the work, as we shall find in a

467
00:29:24,760 –> 00:29:27,880
later chapter.
But God accomplishes the work.

468
00:29:29,520 –> 00:29:32,040
It’s not just baptism that Paul
is focused on.

469
00:29:33,360 –> 00:29:36,440
He’s focused on the growth of a
group of people who are in

470
00:29:36,440 –> 00:29:40,520
fellowship with Christ.
It’s not the point of baptism,

471
00:29:41,440 –> 00:29:44,520
but the focus on creating a
group of people who are united

472
00:29:44,520 –> 00:29:48,080
together.
That is his work, and therefore

473
00:29:48,080 –> 00:29:52,120
Paul says that the focus on his
work is nothing about himself.

474
00:29:53,200 –> 00:29:56,680
He says it’s not with wisdom of
man’s words.

475
00:29:56,680 –> 00:30:00,360
He says he’s not out there with
any of his own oratory skills

476
00:30:00,360 –> 00:30:04,440
showing how intelligent he is.
The point is, it’s not about me.

477
00:30:04,920 –> 00:30:07,480
It’s about the work of cross, of
the cross of Christ.

478
00:30:08,440 –> 00:30:11,400
In fact, he says, if I’m
standing up there spouting in my

479
00:30:11,400 –> 00:30:15,880
own wisdom, I’m actually making
the cross of Christ of non

480
00:30:15,880 –> 00:30:18,000
effect.
If I’m there is a man standing

481
00:30:18,000 –> 00:30:20,960
up there because I think I can
give my own wisdom to you, I’ve

482
00:30:20,960 –> 00:30:23,880
destroyed the power of the cross
of Christ.

483
00:30:25,120 –> 00:30:28,600
I wasn’t sent to baptize, but to
preach the gospel, to open the

484
00:30:28,600 –> 00:30:33,000
power of God’s word so that
Christ could live and the

485
00:30:33,000 –> 00:30:36,440
individuals who heard it.
I’m not doing it in my own

486
00:30:36,440 –> 00:30:38,720
strength.
He says, well, my own power, but

487
00:30:38,720 –> 00:30:41,160
it’s shedding forth the gospel
of Christ so that the cross of

488
00:30:41,160 –> 00:30:48,000
Christ can work its own power.
The salvation and sacrifice of

489
00:30:48,000 –> 00:30:52,000
Christ can accomplish salvation
if we allow the word to be

490
00:30:52,000 –> 00:30:55,040
opened up.
But if we put ourselves in the

491
00:30:55,040 –> 00:31:00,160
way, if we make this an issue
about ourselves, then we make

492
00:31:00,160 –> 00:31:02,840
the cross of Christ of none
effect.

493
00:31:04,040 –> 00:31:08,040
It’s about losing ourselves.
It’s about forsaking ourselves

494
00:31:09,040 –> 00:31:12,680
because it becomes God’s work
and Christ’s work are not our

495
00:31:12,680 –> 00:31:16,880
own.
So then in verse 18 to verse

496
00:31:16,960 –> 00:31:20,200
right through to verse 29, Paul
moves into this brilliant

497
00:31:20,280 –> 00:31:23,520
section, this quite astonishing
section really on how God has

498
00:31:23,520 –> 00:31:27,880
positioned his work and and what
a remarkable work that it is.

499
00:31:28,440 –> 00:31:31,160
So here in verse 18 for the
preaching of the cross is to

500
00:31:31,160 –> 00:31:36,920
them that perish foolishness,
but unto them us which are

501
00:31:36,920 –> 00:31:42,440
saved, it is the power of God.
It’s a simple picture that Paul

502
00:31:42,440 –> 00:31:45,000
gives and one that we are very
familiar with, but it is

503
00:31:45,000 –> 00:31:47,360
incredibly powerful.
Hopefully you can you can see

504
00:31:47,360 –> 00:31:52,640
that up there, right?
God, he says verse verse 18.

505
00:31:52,640 –> 00:31:56,080
The preaching of the cross is to
them that perish foolishness,

506
00:31:56,680 –> 00:31:59,680
but unto us which are saved it
is the power of God.

507
00:32:00,440 –> 00:32:04,920
The point is that God has used
preaching, and as He says, the

508
00:32:04,920 –> 00:32:08,280
foolishness of preaching later
as the mechanism by which He

509
00:32:08,280 –> 00:32:12,400
will teach others of His ways.
But the reality is that as

510
00:32:12,400 –> 00:32:14,440
individuals we then have a
choice to make.

511
00:32:16,040 –> 00:32:19,080
Both of us have the ability to
listen and to hear that.

512
00:32:20,400 –> 00:32:25,400
But for some of us and for the
world in general, he says we can

513
00:32:25,400 –> 00:32:29,920
choose to see it as foolishness.
It’s the wise, the scribe, the

514
00:32:30,040 –> 00:32:32,080
the disputer of this world.
He says later, who, who?

515
00:32:32,080 –> 00:32:34,520
Look at that in verse, verse 20.
Where is the wise?

516
00:32:34,520 –> 00:32:36,480
Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this

517
00:32:36,480 –> 00:32:38,360
world?
Hath not God made foolish the

518
00:32:38,360 –> 00:32:41,480
wisdom of this world?
And so it’s possible for us to

519
00:32:41,480 –> 00:32:46,480
come in our wisdom and to see
what God has presented to us

520
00:32:46,480 –> 00:32:48,920
through the gospel and to say
it’s foolishness.

521
00:32:48,920 –> 00:32:51,120
It doesn’t make sense.
It can’t work properly.

522
00:32:51,120 –> 00:32:54,280
This is, this is foolish from
human reasoning, from human

523
00:32:54,280 –> 00:32:58,560
perspective, it is foolishness.
And the end result of that, he

524
00:32:58,560 –> 00:33:04,280
says, is that you will perish.
If we come to God’s gospel, if

525
00:33:04,280 –> 00:33:11,120
we come to the truth, seeing it
from man’s wisdom, then it will

526
00:33:11,120 –> 00:33:13,920
be foolishness and we will
perish.

527
00:33:15,520 –> 00:33:19,120
But if, on the other hand, he
says not many wise, not many

528
00:33:19,120 –> 00:33:22,840
mighty, not many noble are
called, if we come to see the

529
00:33:22,840 –> 00:33:26,040
real power of God that is
hidden, hidden there, then it

530
00:33:26,040 –> 00:33:27,880
becomes salvation for us,
doesn’t it?

531
00:33:28,240 –> 00:33:30,640
You might just notice that one’s
slightly wider and one’s

532
00:33:30,640 –> 00:33:32,880
slightly narrower.
That’s a reference back, of

533
00:33:32,880 –> 00:33:36,520
course, to the borders, the way
which leads to destruction and

534
00:33:36,520 –> 00:33:37,840
and narrow being the way as
well.

535
00:33:38,080 –> 00:33:40,520
It’s, that’s a real echo of, of
the sense, isn’t it?

536
00:33:41,080 –> 00:33:45,120
If we come to the truth from
man’s wisdom, from man’s

537
00:33:45,120 –> 00:33:49,680
perspective, then we are going
to lose an, an awareness of the

538
00:33:49,680 –> 00:33:52,600
salvation that’s available.
We’ll see it as foolishness and

539
00:33:52,600 –> 00:33:54,280
the end result of that is is
perishing.

540
00:33:54,840 –> 00:33:57,080
But if we come to an
understanding that this is the

541
00:33:57,080 –> 00:34:00,320
power of God, then it gives us
salvation.

542
00:34:03,920 –> 00:34:08,719
This so God has laid out through
preaching the gospel of His

543
00:34:08,719 –> 00:34:10,920
salvation.
For those who are going to

544
00:34:10,920 –> 00:34:13,120
perish, they see it as
foolishness, but for those who

545
00:34:13,120 –> 00:34:15,520
are saved, it becomes the power
of God.

546
00:34:16,960 –> 00:34:20,199
And verse 19 he quotes out of
Isaiah.

547
00:34:20,199 –> 00:34:23,199
It is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and bring

548
00:34:23,199 –> 00:34:25,400
to nothing the understanding of
the prudent.

549
00:34:25,600 –> 00:34:28,320
Let’s just hold your hand there
and come back to Isaiah 29

550
00:34:28,320 –> 00:34:31,199
because it is a perfect context
as you can imagine with the

551
00:34:31,199 –> 00:34:33,760
apostle Paul.
He’s, he quotes this in a

552
00:34:33,760 –> 00:34:46,320
perfect context out of Isaiah
29, Isaiah 29, and verse 13.

553
00:34:51,080 –> 00:34:55,440
Wherefore the Lord said, For as
much as this people draw near me

554
00:34:55,440 –> 00:34:58,240
with their mouth and with their
lips to honor me, but have

555
00:34:58,240 –> 00:35:02,240
removed their heart far from me,
and their fear toward me is

556
00:35:02,240 –> 00:35:05,160
taught by the precept of men.
And therefore, behold, I will

557
00:35:05,160 –> 00:35:08,040
proceed to do a marvellous work
among this people, even a

558
00:35:08,040 –> 00:35:11,960
marvellous work, and a wonder.
For the wisdom of their wise men

559
00:35:11,960 –> 00:35:14,960
shall perish, and the
understanding of the prudent men

560
00:35:14,960 –> 00:35:17,560
shall be hid.
So Paul picks up and quotes out

561
00:35:17,560 –> 00:35:20,800
of Isaiah here, doesn’t he?
That last section, the wisdom of

562
00:35:20,800 –> 00:35:23,120
their wise men shall perish in
the understanding of their

563
00:35:23,120 –> 00:35:26,280
prudent head.
But what is the context telling

564
00:35:26,280 –> 00:35:28,160
us as to why their wisdom will
perish?

565
00:35:28,680 –> 00:35:32,280
The context is telling us that
it’s because they draw nigh to

566
00:35:32,280 –> 00:35:37,400
God on the outer as if they are
worshipping God, but inside

567
00:35:37,760 –> 00:35:42,120
their heart is far removed and
their fear towards God is taught

568
00:35:42,120 –> 00:35:46,160
by the precept of men.
The apostles point in picking up

569
00:35:46,160 –> 00:35:50,640
this quote out of Isaiah is
Isaiah’s telling us that if we

570
00:35:50,640 –> 00:35:56,760
get the precept of man, the
wisdom of men in the way, then

571
00:35:56,880 –> 00:35:59,760
we will not understand the
wisdom of God.

572
00:36:00,160 –> 00:36:04,040
We come to it on our lips on the
outer honouring God.

573
00:36:04,560 –> 00:36:07,240
But if we come to it with our
own wisdom with our heart far

574
00:36:07,240 –> 00:36:10,160
removed from God and and
teaching and said the precepts

575
00:36:10,160 –> 00:36:13,920
of men will never understand it.
And then in fact, in verse 14,

576
00:36:14,240 –> 00:36:17,720
God’s response to that.
If we do that, if we come with

577
00:36:17,720 –> 00:36:20,120
an attitude that says I’m
actually going to bring my own

578
00:36:20,120 –> 00:36:22,680
wisdom to this and teach the
presets of men, he says in verse

579
00:36:22,680 –> 00:36:26,000
14, I will proceed to do a
marvelous work among this

580
00:36:26,000 –> 00:36:30,040
people, even a marvellous work
and a wonder because the wisdom

581
00:36:30,040 –> 00:36:32,440
of the wise will perish and the
understanding of the prudence

582
00:36:32,440 –> 00:36:34,600
shall be lost.
And I think what he’s telling us

583
00:36:34,600 –> 00:36:38,360
here in Isaiah is if you come
believing that your own wisdom

584
00:36:38,360 –> 00:36:41,680
is the basis on which you can
understand God, then God has

585
00:36:41,680 –> 00:36:44,760
deliberately put a mechanism in
the way that will mean you trip

586
00:36:44,760 –> 00:36:47,480
up.
If you come saying, here’s my

587
00:36:47,480 –> 00:36:50,680
wisdom and I’m coming in my own
wisdom, then God is going to do

588
00:36:50,680 –> 00:36:53,880
a marvellous work.
But that marvellous work will

589
00:36:53,880 –> 00:36:57,920
cause the wise men to perish.
So what is that marvellous work?

590
00:36:57,920 –> 00:37:00,520
We’ll come back to first of
Corinthians again.

591
00:37:01,400 –> 00:37:11,160
What is that marvellous work?
Verse 18 For the preaching of

592
00:37:11,160 –> 00:37:16,840
the cross is to them that perish
foolishness, but unto us which

593
00:37:16,840 –> 00:37:19,240
are saved, it is the power of
God.

594
00:37:20,200 –> 00:37:22,920
And that God deliberately
allowed his Son to go through

595
00:37:22,920 –> 00:37:28,320
the process of crucifixion on
the cross to create a mechanism

596
00:37:28,320 –> 00:37:31,880
whereby the wonder and the power
of his salvation could be shown

597
00:37:31,880 –> 00:37:35,320
to others, the glory of his of
his work of salvation.

598
00:37:36,240 –> 00:37:39,240
But that in doing so there was a
mechanism, mechanism which said

599
00:37:39,240 –> 00:37:42,440
if men come to it in their own
strength and look at the cross,

600
00:37:42,440 –> 00:37:44,040
they’ll say it doesn’t make
sense.

601
00:37:44,040 –> 00:37:48,440
Why would God do that?
And that process of the cross

602
00:37:49,080 –> 00:37:54,720
will trip them up in itself.
God created the marvellous work

603
00:37:54,720 –> 00:37:59,440
of crucifixion so that the wise
man’s wisdom would perish.

604
00:38:04,000 –> 00:38:08,480
So in verse 19 through to verse
21, God shows us that this work,

605
00:38:08,960 –> 00:38:11,960
that God’s work becomes actually
a work of differentiating

606
00:38:11,960 –> 00:38:16,960
between the wisdom of this world
and the wisdom of of God, or

607
00:38:16,960 –> 00:38:19,000
really between wisdom and
foolishness.

608
00:38:22,120 –> 00:38:26,360
It’s interesting to note that
the world has positioned itself

609
00:38:26,360 –> 00:38:30,920
as wise, but that God is
deliberately using foolishness

610
00:38:30,920 –> 00:38:35,280
in the world’s view to create
the wisdom of God.

611
00:38:38,640 –> 00:38:42,200
So we come to verse 21.
For after that in the wisdom of

612
00:38:42,200 –> 00:38:44,360
God, the world by wisdom knew
not God.

613
00:38:45,160 –> 00:38:47,840
It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save

614
00:38:47,840 –> 00:38:50,040
them that believe.
Now this is quite a difficult

615
00:38:50,040 –> 00:38:52,680
verse, isn’t it?
What is it saying after that in

616
00:38:52,680 –> 00:38:56,520
the wisdom of God, the world by
wisdom knew not God please God

617
00:38:56,520 –> 00:38:59,280
by the foolishness of preaching
to save them that belief.

618
00:38:59,400 –> 00:39:01,880
Well, I think he’s picking up
exactly that concept out of

619
00:39:01,880 –> 00:39:05,080
Isaiah.
That God has has created his way

620
00:39:05,080 –> 00:39:08,600
of salvation in a way that says
if we are coming to it in our

621
00:39:08,600 –> 00:39:13,640
own wisdom, the world by wisdom
knowing not God, then in God’s

622
00:39:13,640 –> 00:39:15,960
wisdom he has created a
mechanism which will trip that

623
00:39:15,960 –> 00:39:19,480
up.
But instead, rather than just

624
00:39:19,480 –> 00:39:20,960
doing that and saying right,
you’re tripped up.

625
00:39:20,960 –> 00:39:24,600
He has then created a mechanism
which is the foolishness of

626
00:39:24,600 –> 00:39:28,480
preaching.
He has created the mechanism of

627
00:39:28,480 –> 00:39:34,360
salvation that essentially is 1
of foolishness in the world’s

628
00:39:34,360 –> 00:39:38,680
view.
God has specifically designed

629
00:39:38,680 –> 00:39:43,160
his creation in just such a way.
He could have created or chosen

630
00:39:43,160 –> 00:39:46,880
a mechanism of salvation that
ticked the boxes of the wisdom

631
00:39:46,880 –> 00:39:49,600
of the wise.
If we had wanted to.

632
00:39:49,600 –> 00:39:52,760
He could have created a Greek
philosophical way of approach to

633
00:39:52,760 –> 00:39:56,680
salvation that would have
absolutely transfixed the Greeks

634
00:39:56,800 –> 00:40:00,040
in their brilliance and far
surpassed the mental and

635
00:40:00,040 –> 00:40:02,520
academic stimulation they were
after.

636
00:40:02,680 –> 00:40:07,560
God could have done that easily.
But Paul’s point.

637
00:40:08,200 –> 00:40:11,040
Is that instead God has
deliberately and specifically

638
00:40:11,040 –> 00:40:14,160
created the mechanism of
salvation in Christ.

639
00:40:15,480 –> 00:40:18,920
That salvation is done in such a
way that if we bring our own ego

640
00:40:18,920 –> 00:40:21,680
and our wisdom to it, then it
comes to nothing.

641
00:40:22,680 –> 00:40:28,120
That God’s wisdom cannot be
obtained when we approach this

642
00:40:28,120 –> 00:40:37,200
salvation with the pride of man.
Verse 21 This concept of

643
00:40:37,200 –> 00:40:40,760
preaching, it pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save

644
00:40:40,760 –> 00:40:49,400
them that belief, as I notes in
Isaiah 61, that the work of

645
00:40:49,400 –> 00:40:53,520
Messiah would be to preach good
tidings, to preach good tidings

646
00:40:53,840 –> 00:40:58,440
unto the meek.
It’s exactly the same concept

647
00:40:58,800 –> 00:41:03,080
that the use or the mechanism of
preaching was a basis by which

648
00:41:03,080 –> 00:41:06,880
God would preach to the meek
about which the wise of this

649
00:41:06,880 –> 00:41:12,880
world would not understand.
It’s a brilliant plan from God.

650
00:41:13,600 –> 00:41:16,760
It’s not responding to the
greatness or the wisdom of man,

651
00:41:16,760 –> 00:41:19,560
but to the true wonder of
salvation in Christ.

652
00:41:19,760 –> 00:41:23,520
It’s saying there that he would
say, see the end of verse 21.

653
00:41:23,520 –> 00:41:27,160
It please God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them, that

654
00:41:27,160 –> 00:41:32,360
belief that God established A
mechanism by which salvation

655
00:41:32,520 –> 00:41:37,360
would come to those who were in
simple belief able to accept the

656
00:41:37,360 –> 00:41:41,520
gospel of God.
But just think about the cross

657
00:41:41,520 –> 00:41:44,720
for the moment.
You think of salvation through a

658
00:41:44,720 –> 00:41:49,440
mechanism of a man who dies in
agonizing death, of the hero who

659
00:41:49,440 –> 00:41:52,640
dies in agonizing death on the
cross in meekness.

660
00:41:53,760 –> 00:41:57,320
And you can see it’s foolishness
from man’s perspective or the

661
00:41:57,320 –> 00:42:01,280
concept of preaching and of us
preaching as a way of showing

662
00:42:01,280 –> 00:42:04,080
God’s glory is of is of itself
foolishness, isn’t it?

663
00:42:04,080 –> 00:42:05,960
You just think of it from a
man’s perspective.

664
00:42:06,240 –> 00:42:09,360
He’s God in his wisdom, who’s
the the creator of everything,

665
00:42:09,400 –> 00:42:11,280
all powerful with complete
wisdom.

666
00:42:12,000 –> 00:42:16,960
And he’s created a mechanism by
which the world in its wisdom

667
00:42:16,960 –> 00:42:21,680
cannot understand God, but
instead whereby he takes us in

668
00:42:21,680 –> 00:42:27,040
our weakness and our
foolishness, and he uses us to

669
00:42:27,040 –> 00:42:29,040
reveal the glory and the power
of God.

670
00:42:29,040 –> 00:42:31,240
That’s the foolishness of
preaching, isn’t it?

671
00:42:31,520 –> 00:42:34,400
What a, what a from a, from a
worldly perspective, what a mad

672
00:42:34,400 –> 00:42:36,560
way of God showing forth his
glory.

673
00:42:37,240 –> 00:42:40,920
But we shall find in our studies
together that this is absolutely

674
00:42:40,920 –> 00:42:43,480
the glory of God, that he is
able to take us in our weakness

675
00:42:43,480 –> 00:42:46,680
and to turn us instead into the
vessels of his glory.

676
00:42:47,800 –> 00:42:51,040
From the world’s perspective,
it’s foolishness, but it’s

677
00:42:51,040 –> 00:42:54,160
brilliant wisdom.
When we come to understand the

678
00:42:54,160 –> 00:43:03,160
mind of God from the wisdom of
the world, it is madness.

679
00:43:04,840 –> 00:43:08,760
Why would such an incredibly
powerful Creator take the

680
00:43:08,760 –> 00:43:11,600
fullness of His glory and reveal
it to individuals who are weak

681
00:43:11,680 –> 00:43:18,840
and fail?
Verse 27 God hath chosen the

682
00:43:18,840 –> 00:43:22,280
foolish things of the world to
confound the wise, and God hath

683
00:43:22,400 –> 00:43:24,960
chosen the weak things of the
world to confound the things

684
00:43:24,960 –> 00:43:27,520
which are mighty and base things
of the world and things which

685
00:43:27,520 –> 00:43:29,320
are despised.
Hath God chosen?

686
00:43:29,520 –> 00:43:32,640
Yeah, and things which are not
to bring to naughty things that

687
00:43:32,640 –> 00:43:36,320
are.
God has specifically chosen

688
00:43:36,320 –> 00:43:39,400
things which are foolishness to
this world as the basis upon

689
00:43:39,400 –> 00:43:40,880
which he achieves His grand
work.

690
00:43:41,560 –> 00:43:44,880
He’s specifically chosen His way
of salvation to confound those

691
00:43:44,880 –> 00:43:47,360
who come in their own wisdom
with their own ego.

692
00:43:48,720 –> 00:43:51,120
He’s chosen the weak things to
confound what is mighty and

693
00:43:51,120 –> 00:43:54,560
strong in the sense of this
world face things which are

694
00:43:54,560 –> 00:43:56,080
despised.
God has chosen.

695
00:43:56,880 –> 00:43:59,800
And what is the point?
Well, he pulls it together so

696
00:43:59,800 –> 00:44:04,880
beautifully here in verse 29
that no flesh should glory in

697
00:44:04,880 –> 00:44:09,000
His presence.
This is the fundamental

698
00:44:09,000 –> 00:44:12,000
principle that Paul has been
building up to in this chapter.

699
00:44:12,800 –> 00:44:16,000
No flesh can glory in God’s
presence.

700
00:44:16,160 –> 00:44:21,920
Why is God doing this this way?
It’s the foundation principle of

701
00:44:21,920 –> 00:44:26,800
coming to understand God and His
work in our lives that God will

702
00:44:26,800 –> 00:44:31,040
not have in His presence any
component of the flesh that

703
00:44:31,040 –> 00:44:35,640
glories in itself.
God’s work is a work that is

704
00:44:35,640 –> 00:44:38,640
done without the power and the
wisdom of this world.

705
00:44:38,640 –> 00:44:40,720
Just come across to Isaiah
chapter 14.

706
00:44:47,200 –> 00:44:56,840
Isaiah 40 and verse 5 And the
glory of Yahweh shall be

707
00:44:56,840 –> 00:44:59,040
revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together.

708
00:44:59,040 –> 00:45:01,120
For the mouth of Yahweh hath
spoken it.

709
00:45:01,520 –> 00:45:04,560
So here is Yahweh that’s going
to be revealed, and all flesh,

710
00:45:04,560 –> 00:45:08,000
we’re told, is going to see it.
And the voice said, cry.

711
00:45:08,800 –> 00:45:15,600
And he said, What shall I cry?
All flesh is grass, and all the

712
00:45:15,600 –> 00:45:18,760
goodliness thereof is as the
flower of the field.

713
00:45:20,320 –> 00:45:24,400
The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth because the spirit of

714
00:45:24,400 –> 00:45:27,960
Yahweh bloweth upon it.
Surely the people is grass.

715
00:45:28,240 –> 00:45:32,200
The grass withereth, the flower
fadeth.

716
00:45:33,840 –> 00:45:36,840
God’s glory is going to be
revealed and its brilliance is

717
00:45:36,840 –> 00:45:38,440
revealed.
And we’re we’re there like a

718
00:45:38,440 –> 00:45:40,640
field of of withered grass
before it.

719
00:45:41,480 –> 00:45:44,440
We cannot handle the glory of
Yahweh that blows down upon our

720
00:45:44,440 –> 00:45:46,840
flesh and we wither and we
perish.

721
00:45:46,840 –> 00:45:50,040
And the flesh is completely done
in the presence of Yahweh’s

722
00:45:50,040 –> 00:45:53,440
glory, in the face of God’s
presence, we wither and perish.

723
00:45:53,720 –> 00:45:56,720
No flesh or glory in his
presence.

724
00:45:57,880 –> 00:46:02,080
We’re just like a little piece
of grass in a paddock that can’t

725
00:46:02,080 –> 00:46:06,480
stand the Canterbury nor Norwest
wind as it comes up and it fades

726
00:46:06,480 –> 00:46:14,120
away and Withers and dies.
But God does not leave us there

727
00:46:14,960 –> 00:46:17,760
because the rest of verse 8 then
gives us the hope, doesn’t it?

728
00:46:17,760 –> 00:46:21,640
But the Word of our God shall
stand forever.

729
00:46:22,560 –> 00:46:24,920
And here is Yahweh’s glory
revealed.

730
00:46:25,040 –> 00:46:29,160
It Withers our flesh, but the
Word of God stands forever.

731
00:46:30,200 –> 00:46:33,840
It’s telling us if there is in
our hearts any little component

732
00:46:33,840 –> 00:46:37,720
of the Word of God that is
living and abiding, then as the

733
00:46:37,720 –> 00:46:41,560
flesh is stripped away, the Word
of God is left to stand upright

734
00:46:41,840 –> 00:46:46,520
and that will stand forever.
We’re told that is God’s work

735
00:46:46,520 –> 00:46:49,480
that He is accomplishing, that
no flesh will glory in His

736
00:46:49,480 –> 00:46:51,800
presence.
The Spirit of Yahweh blows upon

737
00:46:51,800 –> 00:46:55,160
us and we wither away, become
nothing, except that His Word

738
00:46:55,280 –> 00:46:57,760
lifts us up, abiding in our
hearts.

739
00:46:58,000 –> 00:47:01,080
And that’s exactly the concept
that we have back here in One

740
00:47:01,080 –> 00:47:05,120
Corinthians chapter 1.
What is God’s focus in One

741
00:47:05,120 –> 00:47:08,120
Corinthians?
That no flesh would glory in his

742
00:47:08,120 –> 00:47:11,000
presence.
What does it mean by the

743
00:47:11,000 –> 00:47:14,200
presence of God?
How do we mean the presence of

744
00:47:14,200 –> 00:47:16,800
God?
You probably know that the Greek

745
00:47:16,800 –> 00:47:19,560
word there means his face.
That is, we stand in the

746
00:47:19,560 –> 00:47:22,080
presence or before the face of
God.

747
00:47:23,320 –> 00:47:26,280
It’s a concept of presence that
we often associate with worship

748
00:47:26,520 –> 00:47:29,120
because it’s a phrase that’s
used in the Old Testament to

749
00:47:29,320 –> 00:47:32,480
refer to the priest who’s
standing in the presence of God

750
00:47:32,600 –> 00:47:36,560
is an intercessor between God
and man, to see the face of God

751
00:47:36,560 –> 00:47:40,000
and to stand between US.
And therefore, we often

752
00:47:40,240 –> 00:47:43,400
attribute this concept of the
presence of God to worship.

753
00:47:43,640 –> 00:47:46,480
No flesh can glory in the
presence of God as we come to

754
00:47:46,480 –> 00:47:52,400
worship Him.
And that is exactly the case as

755
00:47:52,400 –> 00:47:54,320
we are gathered here at the
school together.

756
00:47:54,320 –> 00:47:59,640
We are in the presence of God.
God is part of us and with us.

757
00:47:59,640 –> 00:48:03,880
We are in front of the face of
God as we are here this morning.

758
00:48:05,680 –> 00:48:09,040
It’s interesting also to note in
passing that that that word is

759
00:48:09,040 –> 00:48:11,840
also comes up in Romans 3 and
verse 20.

760
00:48:12,000 –> 00:48:15,320
By the deeds of the law in our
own strength, no flesh will be

761
00:48:15,320 –> 00:48:18,520
justified in the sight of God,
in the presence of God.

762
00:48:19,440 –> 00:48:22,520
So that God is, is watching over
us and and seeing our actions,

763
00:48:22,520 –> 00:48:24,400
isn’t it?
And we’re starting to get the

764
00:48:24,400 –> 00:48:27,880
sense that that presence perhaps
delves delves more deeply than

765
00:48:27,880 –> 00:48:31,960
just the concept of our of our
worship before God.

766
00:48:36,040 –> 00:48:39,800
There’s no boasting, there’s no
glory that we can bring as we

767
00:48:39,800 –> 00:48:43,960
approach the presence of God.
We can’t be justified by our own

768
00:48:43,960 –> 00:48:47,320
deeds.
But we haven’t yet quite

769
00:48:47,320 –> 00:48:50,200
answered the question, have we?
What does it mean that no flesh

770
00:48:50,200 –> 00:48:54,520
will glory in His presence?
The concept of presence also

771
00:48:54,520 –> 00:48:57,160
comes up frequently in the New
Testament, interestingly,

772
00:48:57,160 –> 00:48:59,280
particularly in Luke and in the
Acts.

773
00:49:00,680 –> 00:49:04,760
And the concept there is the is
the idea of standing in the face

774
00:49:04,760 –> 00:49:07,200
or the presence of an individual
time and time again.

775
00:49:09,120 –> 00:49:14,600
But Psalm 139, which I’ll just
read to you, Psalm 139, starts

776
00:49:14,600 –> 00:49:17,480
to open this concept of the
presence of God a little more

777
00:49:17,480 –> 00:49:22,560
for us.
Psalm 139 And in verse 7,

778
00:49:24,960 –> 00:49:29,920
Whither shall I go from Thy
spirit, or whither shall I flee

779
00:49:29,920 –> 00:49:33,760
from Thy presence?
If I ascend up into heaven, Thou

780
00:49:33,800 –> 00:49:35,680
out there.
If I make my bed in the grave,

781
00:49:35,680 –> 00:49:37,480
behold Thou out there.
If I take the wings of the

782
00:49:37,480 –> 00:49:40,040
morning and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea, even

783
00:49:40,040 –> 00:49:43,240
there shall Thy hand lead me,
and Thy right hand shall hold me

784
00:49:43,240 –> 00:49:48,640
up.
We’re told that we cannot hide

785
00:49:49,120 –> 00:49:51,840
from the presence of God
wherever we go, to the deepest,

786
00:49:52,080 –> 00:49:53,840
darkest night, or the depths of
the sea.

787
00:49:53,840 –> 00:49:57,720
Wherever I am, God’s presence is
there, and He’s able to see and

788
00:49:57,720 –> 00:50:02,680
to know us.
And verse one of that sun, O

789
00:50:02,680 –> 00:50:06,360
Yahweh, thou hast searched me
and known me.

790
00:50:07,320 –> 00:50:10,000
Thou knowest my down sitting and
mine uprising.

791
00:50:10,640 –> 00:50:12,800
Thou understandest my thought
afar off.

792
00:50:13,200 –> 00:50:16,200
Thou compassest my path and my
lying down an art acquainted

793
00:50:16,200 –> 00:50:20,080
with all my ways.
For there is not a word in my

794
00:50:20,080 –> 00:50:25,200
tongue, but lo, O Yahweh, thou
knowest it altogether.

795
00:50:27,640 –> 00:50:30,800
The presence of Yahweh is
everywhere.

796
00:50:32,240 –> 00:50:35,600
Our life is not just in the
presence of God on a Sunday

797
00:50:35,600 –> 00:50:38,960
morning.
In every moment of our life,

798
00:50:39,880 –> 00:50:44,440
every thought we take, every
breath we take is done in the

799
00:50:44,440 –> 00:50:48,960
presence of Yahweh Himself.
And therefore, when Paul says in

800
00:50:48,960 –> 00:50:51,560
Corinthians that no flesh will
glory in his presence, he is

801
00:50:51,560 –> 00:50:54,240
talking about far more than just
our attitude as we approach the

802
00:50:54,240 –> 00:50:56,800
Sunday meeting.
He’s talking about every moment

803
00:50:56,800 –> 00:51:00,400
and every component of our life
that the Father’s looking at our

804
00:51:00,400 –> 00:51:03,880
attitude to sit and he wants to
see us developing, to see.

805
00:51:03,880 –> 00:51:07,040
It’s not about me.
I’m prepared to put myself to

806
00:51:07,040 –> 00:51:10,120
one side.
I understand that my salvation

807
00:51:10,120 –> 00:51:13,760
is having been sanctified in
Christ, called in Christ, that

808
00:51:13,760 –> 00:51:16,760
we’ve received grace through
Christ, and our hope of

809
00:51:16,760 –> 00:51:18,960
salvation is on His coming
alone.

810
00:51:20,240 –> 00:51:23,920
And therefore we’re prepared to
put our ego aside, to not think

811
00:51:23,920 –> 00:51:27,320
about what we want to
accomplish, but to understand

812
00:51:27,320 –> 00:51:30,120
that every moment of our life is
lived in the presence of God

813
00:51:30,120 –> 00:51:34,600
Himself.
God wants to know that there is

814
00:51:34,600 –> 00:51:38,960
no component of our flesh that
glories in itself while He is

815
00:51:38,960 –> 00:51:41,680
with us on a constant, daily
basis.

816
00:51:42,280 –> 00:51:45,640
That’s perfection, isn’t it?
We’ll struggle, brothers and

817
00:51:45,640 –> 00:51:48,040
sisters and young people, to
ever get anywhere near that.

818
00:51:48,560 –> 00:51:51,320
But that’s the reality of what
Paul is telling us when he says

819
00:51:51,320 –> 00:51:54,040
no flesh or glory in his
presence.

820
00:51:54,920 –> 00:51:59,800
That God is working in our lives
to bring us to a point where we

821
00:51:59,800 –> 00:52:01,800
understand that we are nothing
before him.

822
00:52:04,320 –> 00:52:06,440
But see, Paul does not just
leave us there, does he?

823
00:52:06,440 –> 00:52:09,920
Broken and smashed down like
that, having understood that no

824
00:52:09,920 –> 00:52:13,080
flesh well glory in his
presence, he then lifts us up

825
00:52:13,080 –> 00:52:17,680
again.
In one Corinthians 1, Paul takes

826
00:52:17,680 –> 00:52:21,880
us in his final concluding
comments into such a beautiful

827
00:52:21,880 –> 00:52:24,600
space.
And verse 30 Of him are ye in

828
00:52:24,600 –> 00:52:27,280
Christ Jesus, who of God has
made unto us wisdom and

829
00:52:27,280 –> 00:52:29,760
righteousness and sanctification
and redemption?

830
00:52:29,920 –> 00:52:34,600
Of Him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God has made unto us

831
00:52:34,600 –> 00:52:37,320
wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption.

832
00:52:37,480 –> 00:52:41,600
If we are prepared to lose
ourself, to put aside the wisdom

833
00:52:41,600 –> 00:52:45,960
of this world, then God is able
to elevate us incredibly in

834
00:52:45,960 –> 00:52:50,120
Christ and give us wisdom.
And not just wisdom, not just

835
00:52:50,120 –> 00:52:54,200
wisdom, but righteousness and
sanctification and redemption.

836
00:52:55,880 –> 00:52:58,920
God will accept no flesh
glorying in His presence, but

837
00:52:58,920 –> 00:53:03,000
once we have understood that he,
he lifts us up with this

838
00:53:03,000 –> 00:53:05,760
incredible revelation.
He gives us in verse 31 that

839
00:53:05,760 –> 00:53:08,920
according as it is written, he
that glorieth let him glory in

840
00:53:08,960 –> 00:53:16,720
the Lord.
Paul’s telling us that we we can

841
00:53:16,720 –> 00:53:20,200
become part of the glory of God
ourselves.

842
00:53:23,160 –> 00:53:25,680
There is the world focused in
their own wisdom and saying

843
00:53:25,680 –> 00:53:30,400
God’s foolishness and in reality
God’s looking at them saying

844
00:53:30,400 –> 00:53:34,720
they’ve got it all wrong because
I’ll show you that the flesh is

845
00:53:34,720 –> 00:53:38,040
nothing.
But if we can accept that we are

846
00:53:38,040 –> 00:53:43,440
nothing in foolishness, that we
need salvation in Christ, then

847
00:53:43,440 –> 00:53:48,920
God will lift us up to give us
true wisdom and righteousness

848
00:53:48,920 –> 00:53:57,120
and wisdom and sanctification
and redemption in Him.

849
00:53:58,720 –> 00:54:01,160
We have the ability to gain true
wisdom.

850
00:54:02,160 –> 00:54:05,600
We have the ability to be made
righteous, to be sanctified,

851
00:54:05,600 –> 00:54:09,080
made holy, and given the basis
of redemption.

852
00:54:11,440 –> 00:54:17,520
And he shows us that while we
have no glory of ourselves, we

853
00:54:17,520 –> 00:54:20,560
can never glory in the presence
of God because of our weakness,

854
00:54:21,280 –> 00:54:25,680
that in him, our way of Christ,
we are made righteousness and

855
00:54:25,680 –> 00:54:29,480
sanctification and redemption,
and therefore let him glory in

856
00:54:29,480 –> 00:54:32,360
the Lord.
So we are being told that we can

857
00:54:32,360 –> 00:54:36,480
glory, that whilst no flesh will
glory in His presence, we do

858
00:54:36,480 –> 00:54:39,400
have the ability, brothers and
sisters and young people, to

859
00:54:39,400 –> 00:54:43,200
glory in God.
That we can glory in something

860
00:54:43,400 –> 00:54:47,040
in the presence of God.
That we are able to stand in the

861
00:54:47,040 –> 00:54:50,200
presence of God both in daily
life and in our worship, knowing

862
00:54:50,200 –> 00:54:53,680
that we have glory with Him.
To rejoice in the glory that

863
00:54:53,680 –> 00:54:56,520
we’re sharing, but to do so
knowing that it’s nothing of

864
00:54:56,520 –> 00:54:58,920
ourselves because it’s God’s
glory alone.

865
00:55:00,560 –> 00:55:05,240
Just briefly, all quotes here
out of Jeremiah Chapter 9.

866
00:55:05,560 –> 00:55:07,880
We won’t go back and and have a
look at that whole section

867
00:55:07,880 –> 00:55:11,160
there, but what we find is that
this whole section that he’s

868
00:55:11,160 –> 00:55:13,720
been working through is actually
an expansion of the ideas of

869
00:55:13,720 –> 00:55:17,400
Jeremiah 9.
Thus saith Yahweh, let not the

870
00:55:17,400 –> 00:55:20,320
wise man glory in his wisdom,
neither let the mighty man glory

871
00:55:20,320 –> 00:55:22,400
in his might.
Let not the rich man glory in

872
00:55:22,400 –> 00:55:25,680
his riches, He says, but let him
that glorieth glory in this that

873
00:55:25,680 –> 00:55:29,520
he understandeth and knoweth me
that I’m Yahweh, which exercise

874
00:55:29,520 –> 00:55:33,000
loving kindness, judgment and
righteousness in the earth from

875
00:55:33,000 –> 00:55:36,960
those things I delight saith
Yahweh and Paul just picks up

876
00:55:36,960 –> 00:55:39,280
with that little phrase.
He that glorieth led him glory

877
00:55:39,280 –> 00:55:43,720
in the in the in the Lord to
show us that this whole concept

878
00:55:43,720 –> 00:55:46,280
has been taken out of Jeremiah
and Chapter 9.

879
00:55:46,680 –> 00:55:49,600
You can see here the the echoes
through verse 26 as he just

880
00:55:49,680 –> 00:55:52,880
starts to introduce the concepts
of the wise and the mighty and

881
00:55:52,880 –> 00:55:57,080
the noble who who won’t stand in
the presence of God, and then

882
00:55:57,080 –> 00:56:01,160
pulls it together in 27 and 28
and through to verse 31.

883
00:56:03,360 –> 00:56:09,320
But we find that the context of
Jeremiah is a horrific picture

884
00:56:10,280 –> 00:56:14,480
of a nation who had sank to the
lower steps, who were told that

885
00:56:14,480 –> 00:56:18,600
their carcasses would be left
like dung upon the open field of

886
00:56:18,600 –> 00:56:21,600
a nation that had come to
complete devastation.

887
00:56:25,000 –> 00:56:29,200
Jeremiah’s pointers.
There is no wise man who can say

888
00:56:29,200 –> 00:56:32,920
they’ve done anything special.
There is no powerfully strong

889
00:56:32,920 –> 00:56:36,200
man who can ever say that
they’ve got strength to stand in

890
00:56:36,200 –> 00:56:42,520
the presence of God.
There is no wealthy man who can

891
00:56:42,520 –> 00:56:46,040
say that they have the ability
to look after themselves.

892
00:56:49,280 –> 00:56:51,680
There is a glory that we can
have, Jeremiah says.

893
00:56:52,800 –> 00:56:55,160
And we are to look at this
subject of the glory through

894
00:56:55,160 –> 00:56:57,680
Corinthians in more detail in
one of our latest sections.

895
00:56:59,160 –> 00:57:02,680
But just see the point that Paul
is picking up here.

896
00:57:03,600 –> 00:57:07,080
What is the glory that we have?
It’s not just to rejoice in the

897
00:57:07,080 –> 00:57:09,400
fact that God himself is
glorious.

898
00:57:10,440 –> 00:57:15,400
It’s to glory in the Lord, he
says, but let him that glorieth

899
00:57:15,400 –> 00:57:19,320
glory in this that he understand
and knoweth me, and who is the

900
00:57:19,320 –> 00:57:23,920
me that I am Yahweh, which
exercise loving kindness,

901
00:57:23,920 –> 00:57:25,680
judgement and righteousness in
the earth.

902
00:57:26,400 –> 00:57:32,280
What’s the point?
What is Yahweh but an

903
00:57:32,280 –> 00:57:38,160
explanation of God’s purpose to
reveal Himself in a multitude of

904
00:57:38,160 –> 00:57:40,920
people who are like Him in every
way?

905
00:57:42,920 –> 00:57:47,200
The point is, there is no glory
that we can have of ourselves.

906
00:57:48,480 –> 00:57:52,600
But when we understand the work
of God, when we come to see the

907
00:57:52,600 –> 00:57:56,040
glory of God’s work, we realise
that He is able to lift us up

908
00:57:56,520 –> 00:58:01,920
and to transform us beyond our
weakness into the glory of God

909
00:58:01,920 –> 00:58:04,960
himself.
You can see there, can’t you?

910
00:58:04,960 –> 00:58:06,920
I am Yahweh.
I’ve got this purpose of

911
00:58:06,920 –> 00:58:10,560
bringing in a group of people
like me, and to that end I

912
00:58:10,560 –> 00:58:13,800
exercise loving kindness and
judgment and righteousness in

913
00:58:13,800 –> 00:58:18,040
the earth that God’s whole work
is to take us and to transform

914
00:58:18,040 –> 00:58:23,480
us into His glory.
We’re being told that we can

915
00:58:23,480 –> 00:58:26,920
glory in Yahweh when we come to
know by experience the power of

916
00:58:26,920 –> 00:58:29,680
His loving kindness and the
judgement and the wonder of

917
00:58:29,680 –> 00:58:31,120
God’s righteousness in the
earth.

918
00:58:31,720 –> 00:58:35,280
He is Yahweh, whose glory will
be revealed in a group of mighty

919
00:58:35,280 –> 00:58:42,400
ones who have His glory, who
have His character, because they

920
00:58:42,400 –> 00:58:45,480
have come to understand the
power of Him working in their

921
00:58:45,480 –> 00:58:48,720
lives, of His loving kindness,
of His judgment, and of His

922
00:58:48,720 –> 00:58:51,200
righteousness upon the earth.
They know that Yahweh delights

923
00:58:51,200 –> 00:58:55,480
in these things, and they share
that delight together with Him.

924
00:58:57,640 –> 00:59:01,920
I’ll just conclude in Second
Corinthians chapter 4, where

925
00:59:01,920 –> 00:59:04,960
Paul in a later letter to this
ecclesia, picks up these ideas

926
00:59:04,960 –> 00:59:06,760
and expands them so, so
beautifully.

927
00:59:06,760 –> 00:59:11,000
Second Corinthians chapter 4 and
verse 6 for God, who commanded

928
00:59:11,000 –> 00:59:14,080
the light to shine out of
darkness, have shined into our

929
00:59:14,080 –> 00:59:18,400
hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in

930
00:59:18,400 –> 00:59:22,680
the face of Jesus Christ.
We’ve come to see that light, to

931
00:59:22,680 –> 00:59:26,640
see the glory of God, of the
purpose and power of His

932
00:59:26,640 –> 00:59:30,320
character as revealed unto us in
the face of Jesus Christ.

933
00:59:31,200 –> 00:59:34,760
He’s become the heart, the
center of all our focus.

934
00:59:35,440 –> 00:59:39,640
And God shines with that light
out of our heart in verse 7.

935
00:59:40,880 –> 00:59:46,400
But we have this treasure in
urban vessels, that the

936
00:59:46,400 –> 00:59:51,600
Excellency of the power may be
of God and not of us.

937
01:00:07,860 –> 01:00:09,980
Thank you for listening to the
good Chris Adelphian Talks

938
01:00:09,980 –> 01:00:12,540
podcast.
We hope this talk helped you in

939
01:00:12,540 –> 01:00:14,100
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940
01:00:15,220 –> 01:00:17,300
If you would like to hear more,
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941
01:00:17,300 –> 01:00:19,800
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942
01:00:19,800 –> 01:00:23,880
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943
01:00:23,880 –> 01:00:26,360
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01:00:26,360 –> 01:00:29,120
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945
01:00:29,120 –> 01:00:33,240
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946
01:00:33,480 –> 01:00:36,000
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947
01:00:37,280 –> 01:00:39,760
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01:00:39,760 –> 01:00:42,280
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955
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956
01:01:02,680 –> 01:01:02,920
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