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

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So to introduce our brother
Ben’s comments to us this

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morning, we would ask our
brother Derek Thelning to come

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forward and read for us.
First of Corinthians 6, verse 7

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to 20.
Brother Derek.

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First Corinthians chapter 6,
verses 7 to 20.

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Now therefore there is utterly a
fault among you, because you go

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to law one with another.
Why do you not rather take

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wrong?
Why do you not rather suffer

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yourselves to be defrauded?
Now you do wrong and defraud,

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and that your brethren know you
not, that the unrighteous shall

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not inherit the Kingdom of God,
Be not deceived.

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Neither fornicators, nor
idolaters, nor adulterers, nor

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effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, nor

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thieves nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor

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extortioners, shall inherit the
Kingdom of God.

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And such were some of you.
But ye are washed, but ye are

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sanctified, but ye are justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus,

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and by the Spirit of our God.
All things are lawful unto me,

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but all things are not
expedient.

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All things are lawful for me,
but I will not be brought under

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the power of any meats for the
belly, and the belly for meats,

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but God shall destroy both it
and them.

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Now the body is not for
fornication, but for the Lord,

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and the Lord for the body, And
God hath both raised up the

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Lord, and will also raise up us
by His own power.

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Know ye not that your bodies are
the members of Christ?

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Shall I then take the members of
Christ, and make them the

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members of an harlot?
God forbid what Know ye not that

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he which is joined to an harlot
is 1 body?

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For two saith he shall be 1
flesh, but he that is joined

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unto the Lord is 1 Spirit flee
fornication.

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Every sin that a man doeth is
without the body, but he that

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committeth fornication sinneth
against his own body.

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What know ye not that your body
is the temple of the Holy

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Spirit, which is in you, which
ye have of God, and ye are not

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your own, For ye are brought
with a price.

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Therefore, glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which

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are gods.
Thanks brother Derek.

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We then call forward our brother
Ben to speak to us to the

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subject.
Ye are not your own.

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Ye are bought with a price.
Thanks, brother Aaron and good

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morning everyone.
Just before we get into the talk

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itself proper, I just want to
update you on some conversations

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we had after the last session
and give you two or three quotes

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which tied in quite nicely with
it.

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So you remember we were look at
looking at the concept of the

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work suffering lost by fire.
If you’re taking notes, and I’m

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sure the young people are, go
back about 15 pages from the

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last two talks from Uncle Ron
and and just jot down Genesis 19

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where Lot was saved by fire.
And that’s a really good example

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because he himself suffered
loss.

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He was saved himself, but he
lost his entire house.

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And Numbers 21 with a spoil that
Israel took was to be tried by

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fire and anything that survived
that fire, such as the gold,

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etcetera, was able to be taken.
But anything that burned

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obviously was gone.
And also in Revelation 21, where

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the city is like pure gold and
is garnished with all manner of

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precious stones, which is a a
beautiful picture of the

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building that goes on with the
the gold and the precious

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stones.
So I just thought there were a

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few really nice little quotes
which Tyne love in a lovely way

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into that section we were
looking at yesterday.

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So the ecclesia at Corinth,
living in a wealthy, prosperous

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city with, with all the
challenges of the idolatrous

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worldly worship around it, had
been impacted by their

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environment.
There were some major issues in

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Corinth, and this morning we
have a tricky section as Paul

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begins to deal with them.
I’ve said a couple of times that

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that these are the sort of
issues where if you’re doing the

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readings with the kids at home,
you’d tend to skip them to

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decide to indeed instead do one
of the other readings.

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It deals with some difficult
problems.

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It deals with fornication, with
putting away and disfellowship,

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with suing our brethren at law,
with whether or not it’s good to

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marry, what to do if partners
are not in the truth and if

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partners depart.
They’re all quite difficult and

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complex issues that the apostle
has to deal with.

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But we will find that in the
remarkable way the apostle has

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already done, he actually uses
these particular matters to lay

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foundations of principle that we
shall find are applicable,

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absolutely applicable to our
life today.

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We may not be facing these
particular issues, but the

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apostle will give us the keys as
to how we can change our lives,

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change our perception and focus
so that living the truth is

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something we do for the Father’s
sake and not our own.

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It’s the principles we’ve
already seen, isn’t it?

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But the extension of those that
our life is about God’s work,

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not our own.
And, and we’ll find that those

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principles which have come out
so strongly in the 1st 4

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chapters will now lay the
foundation that comes out even

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more powerfully this morning.
And we won’t have time to deal

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with Chapter 7, unfortunately
this morning.

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But Paul’s method in Chapter 7
is consistent with what we’ve

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seen already and we’ll find in
the in the first two chapters.

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So I’m happy to discuss those
afterwards.

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Young people, particularly if
you want to discuss whether or

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not it’s good to marry, I’m
happy to take you through that

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section as well.
Can I just say before we

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commence on the detail in here
that the risk with this book of

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Corinthians is that we restrict
the sections to telling us about

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the particular matters that have
been raised.

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As if it’s a good textbook or,
or a good reference book that

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can sit on the shelf.
And when a particular matter

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comes up, then we can pull it
off the shelf and say, here it

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is.
Look, we know how to deal with

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this particular issue and and
use it as a reference book, but

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this book is so much more, as
we’ve come to see already,

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because it gets to the heart of
ecclesial problems and how to

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deal with them.
So let’s launch straight into

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First Corinthians chapter 4 and
in verse verse 6, because Paul

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whilst he’s dealing with these
particular issues, we’ll find is

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actually dealing with a larger
issue in the ecclesia itself.

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First Corinthians 4 and verse 6.
I have these and these things

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breather and I have in a figure
transferred to myself into a

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polis for your sakes.
We looked at that yesterday that

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you might learn and ask not to
think of men above that which is

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written that no one of you be
puffed up for one against

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another.
That word puffed up is the idea

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of blowing up or inflating.
So you get the picture, don’t

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you?
Here is someone who has a a bit

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of a struggle with their own
position, so they puff

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themselves up.
Have you seen that puffer fish?

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It’s a little skinny fish like
this.

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It gets scared and form it puffs
itself up and makes itself to be

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something it’s not.
Puffs themselves up.

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They turn themselves into
something big and strong on the

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outside.
But it’s all this exaggeration,

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isn’t it?
It’s this hyperbole of of making

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themselves something big.
But when the little pinprick

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bursts them, they turn out to be
just a skinny little thing

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underneath.
They’re there in their own

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pride, blowing themselves up to
be somebody that they know

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they’re not.
And it’s human pride perfectly

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described to us.
So if we see in verse 14, I

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write not these things to shame
you, but as my beloved sons, I

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warn you through to verse 18.
For though you have 10,000

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instructors in Christ, yet have
ye not many fathers.

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For in Christ Jesus I have
begotten you through the gospel.

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Wherefore I beseech you, be ye
followers of me.

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For this cause have I sent unto
you Timotheus, who is my beloved

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son and faithful in the Lord,
who shall bring you into

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remembrance of my ways, which be
in Christ.

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As I teach everywhere and every
ecclesia, so here’s Paul as a

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father to that ecclesia,
pleading to them as a father

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that they will hear him and
respond to him.

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Interestingly, there’s actually
an interesting connection there,

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isn’t it?
Be followers of me.

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Compared to saying I’m of Paul,
I’m of Apollos.

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Now that now that they’re coming
in the right attitude, he says

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follow me as a father for this
ecclesia.

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But verse 18.
Now some of you are puffed up as

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though I would not come unto
you.

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So he’s pleading with him, I’m,
I’m your father.

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He’s taking them back to the
origins of that ecclesia.

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But you can see straight away
that Paul has put his finger

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right on the key issue.
They had all these significant

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issues that he was going to deal
with in the ecclesia, but the

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underlying problem of this
ecclesia was that they were

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puffed up.
And he says in verse verse 19,

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what?
But I will come to you shortly

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if the Lord will and will know
not the speech of them which are

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puffed up, but the power for the
Kingdom of God is not in Word,

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but in power.
He says I’m going to come to you

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and I’m going to talk frankly
with you.

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I’m not going to listen to the
speech of them that are puffed

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up.
I’m not interested in what

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people talk.
I’m interested in what they’re

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doing, what’s going on
underneath.

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The Corinthians were puffed up.
They were making themselves out

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to be something that great, but
they were missing the power of

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the word in action.
So without having discussed any

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of the major issues at question
here, he’s reached straight into

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the heart of the issue.
He’s saying there’s a problem

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with an individual we’ll find
with a person that’s acting in a

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way that is clearly wrong.
But actually he says the bigger

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problem is within the rest of
the ecclesia because they’re

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faults who are puffed up in
Word, who are trying to defend

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his actions.
We’ll find that it could have

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been a tragic but isolated issue
that had now become something

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which threatened to tear the
heart out of an ecclesia.

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And so he says in this very
aptly worded and slightly ironic

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way that Paul has sometimes,
What will you?

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Shall I come unto you with a
rod?

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We’re in love and in the spirit
of meekness.

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It’s, it’s so beautifully said,
isn’t it?

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I can come in the spirit of
love.

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I’d love to do that.
But it’s your choice.

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And I may have to come with a
rod.

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It’s a, it’s a bit like a father
sometimes, isn’t it, To a child.

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Would you like a smack or a
cuddle?

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Paul’s not going to put up with
this sort of foolishness

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destroying the ecclesia and
brothers and sisters, we

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shouldn’t either.
We should not accept ecclesias

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pulling themselves to pieces.
And so he then progresses into

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the issue itself.
In chapter 5 and verse one, it

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is reported commonly that there
is fornication among you, and

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such fornication as is not so
much as named among the Gentiles

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that one should have his
father’s wife.

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It’s a difficult issue.
We don’t need to go into the

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detail of it, do we?
It’s self-evident and it’s

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clearly wrong.
And in fact, he’s telling us

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that even the Gentiles in this
incredibly immoral city were

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shocked by it.
It’s something they wouldn’t

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even talk about themselves.
Here’s a here’s an issue of

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immorality inside that ecclesia
that was shocking even to the

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Gentiles of that city.
But Paul’s point in verse 2 is

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ye are puffed up and have not
rather mourned that he that hath

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done this deed might be taken
away from among you.

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Yes, there’s someone who’s doing
something that is incredibly

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wrong, but the frustrating thing
from Paul’s perspective is the

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response of the ecclesia.
It’s not one of humility.

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It’s not one of mourning, but of
being puffed up in response to

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us.
It’s a sense, isn’t it, of this

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ecclesia here saying, oh, it’s a
yes, it’s a major problem.

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But but we’re going to reduce
this issue to a nothing really.

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00:12:22,560 –> 00:12:25,280
We’re we’re big enough and grown
up up enough to be able to

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00:12:25,280 –> 00:12:27,880
handle it.
We’ll relax a little and and be

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00:12:27,880 –> 00:12:33,160
big enough to let it happen.
And Paul says you can’t fix a

219
00:12:33,160 –> 00:12:39,120
problem ever by ignoring it.
You cannot help a brother, even

220
00:12:39,120 –> 00:12:43,120
a brother in this situation, to
get over sin by pretending it

221
00:12:43,120 –> 00:12:47,520
doesn’t exist.
An ecclesia cannot compromise

222
00:12:47,520 –> 00:12:52,200
its way together into the
Kingdom, but ignore an issue and

223
00:12:52,200 –> 00:12:55,680
let it fester and it eats the
heart out of an ecclesia.

224
00:12:57,160 –> 00:13:00,000
And Paul’s response here
actually is that that ecclesia

225
00:13:00,000 –> 00:13:02,880
in their in their response is
putting themselves above the

226
00:13:02,880 –> 00:13:05,480
principles of God.
They’re puffed up and they’re

227
00:13:05,480 –> 00:13:08,160
justifying it instead of
responding to the situation.

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00:13:08,560 –> 00:13:12,320
This idea of mourned here in
verse verse 2, ye, ye are puffed

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00:13:12,320 –> 00:13:15,880
up and have not rather mourned
is the same Greek word in

230
00:13:15,880 –> 00:13:19,320
Matthew 5.
Blessed are they that mourn, for

231
00:13:19,320 –> 00:13:21,880
they shall be comforted.
And he’s really calling on that

232
00:13:21,880 –> 00:13:25,280
ecclesia to mourn as they
realize the the awfulness of

233
00:13:25,280 –> 00:13:29,000
what is happening in their midst
or to the same group in 2nd

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00:13:29,000 –> 00:13:33,280
Corinthians 12 and verse 21.
He later says, my God will

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00:13:33,280 –> 00:13:36,120
humble me among you and that I
shall bewail.

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00:13:36,120 –> 00:13:38,640
That’s the same word that Paul
himself would be in their midst

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00:13:38,640 –> 00:13:42,520
mourning and wailing because
they have not repented.

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00:13:42,960 –> 00:13:44,840
He says many which have sinned
already.

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00:13:44,840 –> 00:13:47,720
I I’ll come in your midst and
I’ll bewail, I’ll mourn those

240
00:13:47,720 –> 00:13:51,440
who have sinned already.
You haven’t fixed the issue.

241
00:13:51,440 –> 00:13:55,760
You’re you’re puffed up and as a
result of that they had become

242
00:13:55,760 –> 00:14:01,280
mixed up in the issue yourself.
First Corinthians 5 and verse 6,

243
00:14:02,040 –> 00:14:05,080
your glorying is not good.
Know ye not that a little leaven

244
00:14:05,240 –> 00:14:08,560
leaveneth the whole lump.
Your boasting’s not good.

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00:14:08,560 –> 00:14:11,000
He says the pride of the
individuals within the ecclesia

246
00:14:11,000 –> 00:14:13,720
saying that they could handle
this, that they can accept at

247
00:14:13,720 –> 00:14:17,720
this the sense of puffing
themselves up were putting

248
00:14:17,720 –> 00:14:21,440
themselves ahead of the
principles of God in response to

249
00:14:21,440 –> 00:14:24,960
sin.
They were glorifying the sin and

250
00:14:24,960 –> 00:14:28,160
not God.
So it’s really exactly the same

251
00:14:28,160 –> 00:14:29,720
principles that he’s laid down
earlier.

252
00:14:30,320 –> 00:14:32,160
It’s God’s glory versus our
glory.

253
00:14:32,720 –> 00:14:37,480
It’s the pride being humbled and
it’s our mourning in response to

254
00:14:37,480 –> 00:14:40,000
sin.
And his plea to the ecclesia

255
00:14:40,000 –> 00:14:44,200
here is understand that this is
a desperate problem amongst you,

256
00:14:45,080 –> 00:14:46,880
but it’s there because of your
own pride.

257
00:14:47,600 –> 00:14:50,080
And that to truly solve the
issue in that ecclesia, they

258
00:14:50,080 –> 00:14:52,720
needed to acknowledge that the
issue was not just with the

259
00:14:52,720 –> 00:14:56,800
individual, but was actually
sitting in the response of their

260
00:14:56,800 –> 00:15:00,480
own hearts.
It’s interesting, isn’t it?

261
00:15:00,480 –> 00:15:04,480
And if you just look at the, the
sense of that five verse one of

262
00:15:04,480 –> 00:15:07,000
the shock to the Gentiles and
the fact that this was something

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00:15:07,000 –> 00:15:10,520
that even the Gentiles wouldn’t
accept, but that in ecclesia

264
00:15:10,520 –> 00:15:13,320
could sit there saying, it’s
fine, we can, we can let it

265
00:15:13,320 –> 00:15:16,760
happen.
So in verse three he says I

266
00:15:16,760 –> 00:15:21,480
verily as absent in body, but
present in spirit, have judged

267
00:15:21,480 –> 00:15:24,560
already as though I, I were
present concerning him, that if

268
00:15:24,920 –> 00:15:27,640
so done this deed.
What’s the echo here?

269
00:15:28,200 –> 00:15:30,120
What is the idea that that Paul
is giving?

270
00:15:30,400 –> 00:15:36,040
Paul’s saying I’m absent in
body, I’m not there in body, but

271
00:15:36,040 –> 00:15:39,440
I’m present in spirit.
It’s as if Paul’s gone on a far

272
00:15:39,440 –> 00:15:42,400
journey, isn’t it?
He’s making the point that he’s

273
00:15:42,640 –> 00:15:45,920
judging from a distance.
He’s not there in his physical

274
00:15:45,920 –> 00:15:48,480
presence in that ecclesia, but
he’s there in the Spirit.

275
00:15:49,480 –> 00:15:52,120
I believe that Paul is
connecting or echoing back to

276
00:15:52,120 –> 00:15:55,600
the concepts of his work as
Christ the Gentiles.

277
00:15:56,560 –> 00:16:00,600
He says, I’m here in the same
way that Christ is here in this

278
00:16:00,600 –> 00:16:03,720
ecclesia.
I’m here on behalf of Christ,

279
00:16:04,560 –> 00:16:08,160
and I’m marrying the Lord
himself, who is absent in body,

280
00:16:08,160 –> 00:16:11,680
who’s gone on that long journey,
as he said, but is present here

281
00:16:11,680 –> 00:16:15,000
in the Spirit.
I’ve seen the issue, he says,

282
00:16:15,440 –> 00:16:19,760
and I’ve judged it already.
And so he says in verse four.

283
00:16:19,760 –> 00:16:22,920
He then expands this idea.
He then invokes the name of of

284
00:16:22,920 –> 00:16:26,720
Christ to to show that he’s
acting as as in the name of

285
00:16:26,720 –> 00:16:29,440
Christ, in the name of our Lord
Jesus Christ when ye are

286
00:16:29,440 –> 00:16:32,760
gathered together and my spirit
with the power of our Lord Jesus

287
00:16:32,760 –> 00:16:34,880
Christ.
This emphasis isn’t it to say

288
00:16:35,120 –> 00:16:38,240
this is me acting on behalf of
the Lord Jesus Christ who is

289
00:16:38,240 –> 00:16:41,160
absent himself, but who is
present in your midst saying

290
00:16:41,400 –> 00:16:44,240
here is the judgement of it.
He he double emphasizes the

291
00:16:44,240 –> 00:16:47,360
point that this is a judgement
that is coming from Christ

292
00:16:47,440 –> 00:16:50,880
himself in the name and power of
the Lord Jesus Christ.

293
00:16:51,440 –> 00:16:54,600
This judgment in essence is
coming from the Lord Jesus

294
00:16:54,600 –> 00:16:58,080
Christ himself.
He’s asking them to gather

295
00:16:58,080 –> 00:17:02,640
together with the judgment and
perception of Paul and to do so

296
00:17:02,640 –> 00:17:09,000
in the power of Christ.
It’s a work within the ecclesial

297
00:17:09,000 –> 00:17:12,920
environment for the Lord Jesus
Christ to fix this issue.

298
00:17:13,640 –> 00:17:17,240
And so Paul is delivering this
judgement on behalf of the Lord

299
00:17:17,240 –> 00:17:19,359
Jesus Christ.
And what is that judgement?

300
00:17:20,160 –> 00:17:23,599
Well, he says in verse 5 to
deliver such and one unto Satan

301
00:17:24,000 –> 00:17:26,760
for the destruction of the
flesh, that the Spirit may be

302
00:17:26,760 –> 00:17:29,080
saved in the day of Jesus
Christ.

303
00:17:30,680 –> 00:17:32,080
To deliver.
There is the idea of

304
00:17:32,080 –> 00:17:35,480
surrendering or or yielding up
or, or to put into prison.

305
00:17:36,080 –> 00:17:39,560
It’s quite a difficult concept,
particularly because this

306
00:17:39,560 –> 00:17:42,920
concept of delivering to Satan
only comes up one other time in

307
00:17:42,920 –> 00:17:44,840
Scripture.
What is Paul saying?

308
00:17:45,360 –> 00:17:48,240
What does he mean to say that
this individual who has done so

309
00:17:48,240 –> 00:17:53,320
should be delivered to Satan?
Well, in First Timothy 1, if you

310
00:17:53,320 –> 00:18:01,480
just come across to First
Timothy 1, we find the other

311
00:18:01,480 –> 00:18:11,560
time where this concept of being
delivered to Satan occurs.

312
00:18:12,520 –> 00:18:16,880
First Timothy chapter 1 and
verse 18 This charge I commit

313
00:18:16,880 –> 00:18:19,160
unto thee, son Timothy,
according to the prophecies

314
00:18:19,160 –> 00:18:22,520
which went before in thee, that
thou mightest war a good

315
00:18:22,520 –> 00:18:25,880
warfare, holding faith in a good
conscience, which some having

316
00:18:25,880 –> 00:18:28,160
put away concerning faith, hath
made shipwreck.

317
00:18:28,320 –> 00:18:32,960
So he’s he’s exhorting Timothy
to hold onto the faith and to

318
00:18:32,960 –> 00:18:36,000
war a good warfare.
And then verse twenty of whom is

319
00:18:36,120 –> 00:18:39,560
Harmenius and Alexander, whom I
have delivered unto Satan, that

320
00:18:39,560 –> 00:18:41,680
they might learn not to
blasphemy.

321
00:18:41,680 –> 00:18:43,600
So.
So here and in Corinthians are

322
00:18:43,600 –> 00:18:46,480
the two times with a sense of
being delivered unto to Satan

323
00:18:46,920 –> 00:18:49,880
come up.
So that’s all good.

324
00:18:50,080 –> 00:18:53,280
It’s this idea of holding a good
conscience to compared to others

325
00:18:53,280 –> 00:18:56,840
who have made shipwreck of their
faith and delivering someone to

326
00:18:56,840 –> 00:18:59,400
Satan that they might learn not
to blasphemy.

327
00:19:01,040 –> 00:19:03,360
But the verse doesn’t
necessarily explain for us, does

328
00:19:03,360 –> 00:19:05,920
it, what it means to deliver
someone to Satan.

329
00:19:06,120 –> 00:19:09,000
So what are the possibilities?
Well, here are the three

330
00:19:09,240 –> 00:19:11,760
possibilities.
That’s one, that it’s the sense

331
00:19:11,760 –> 00:19:13,960
of disfellowship, of putting
them out of the ecclesial

332
00:19:13,960 –> 00:19:17,120
environment. 2, it suggested
that it could be sending them

333
00:19:17,120 –> 00:19:20,200
back to the Jewish synagogue.
And three, this idea of

334
00:19:20,200 –> 00:19:22,360
delivering them to the Roman
authorities.

335
00:19:24,160 –> 00:19:27,040
So it’s putting away from the,
from the strength or influence

336
00:19:27,040 –> 00:19:29,200
of the ecclesial body.
It’s delivering them to the

337
00:19:29,200 –> 00:19:32,120
Jewish synagogue, IE picking up
the idea of the synagogue of

338
00:19:32,120 –> 00:19:35,960
Satan, or it’s delivering to the
Roman authorities as the the

339
00:19:35,960 –> 00:19:39,160
Satan or the representation of
the rulers of this world.

340
00:19:40,400 –> 00:19:43,560
The first point is that there is
no indication throughout this

341
00:19:43,560 –> 00:19:46,960
book of the nationality of the
perpetrator and no real hint

342
00:19:46,960 –> 00:19:50,680
through Corinthians of a Jewish
nationality around the, the, the

343
00:19:50,880 –> 00:19:53,120
ecclesia.
There’s no real hint of him

344
00:19:53,120 –> 00:19:55,720
being a Jew.
There’s no strong connection

345
00:19:55,720 –> 00:19:58,200
back to the concepts of the
synagogue throughout the book.

346
00:19:58,880 –> 00:20:01,920
Interestingly, I’ve got it up on
the screen for you now that

347
00:20:01,920 –> 00:20:05,320
you’re still there.
This this other occurrence here

348
00:20:05,320 –> 00:20:08,880
in first Timothy, one if people
referred to a Hymenius and

349
00:20:08,880 –> 00:20:12,280
Alexander and of course those
are both Greek names, which

350
00:20:12,360 –> 00:20:16,000
really reinforces the sense that
this wasn’t about the concept of

351
00:20:16,000 –> 00:20:17,840
sending them back to the
synagogue of Satan.

352
00:20:19,720 –> 00:20:24,080
It is possible to read the this
idea of delivering to Satan as

353
00:20:24,080 –> 00:20:28,080
delivering the man to the Roman
authorities as clearly in

354
00:20:28,080 –> 00:20:30,600
chapter 5, verse one at the
start of that chapter, as we saw

355
00:20:30,840 –> 00:20:33,640
what the man was doing was
abhorrent even to the Gentiles.

356
00:20:35,040 –> 00:20:37,560
However, if we come back to
first Timothy, which we have on

357
00:20:37,560 –> 00:20:40,880
the screen here, there’s no
indication that Paul had

358
00:20:40,880 –> 00:20:44,800
delivered Hymenius and Alexander
to the Roman authorities and nor

359
00:20:44,800 –> 00:20:47,720
is it clear in chapter 1 five
and verse one that the man

360
00:20:47,720 –> 00:20:50,800
himself was doing anything
illegal from a from a Gentiles

361
00:20:50,800 –> 00:20:53,480
perspective.
So again, there’s there’s no

362
00:20:53,480 –> 00:20:56,720
real indication or Hinton
scripture that this is talking

363
00:20:56,720 –> 00:20:58,920
about delivering to the Roman
authorities.

364
00:21:00,760 –> 00:21:06,960
So let’s just for a moment go
back to Acts 2026, because I

365
00:21:06,960 –> 00:21:08,560
think this helps to give us an
insight.

366
00:21:08,720 –> 00:21:13,200
Acts 26 and verse 16 to 18.
But rise and stand upon thy

367
00:21:13,200 –> 00:21:15,560
feet, for I have appeared unto
thee for this purpose.

368
00:21:15,560 –> 00:21:17,800
This is the Lord talking to
Paul.

369
00:21:17,800 –> 00:21:20,880
By the way, it is conversion to
make thee a minister and a

370
00:21:20,880 –> 00:21:24,000
witness, both of these things
which there has seen, and of

371
00:21:24,000 –> 00:21:27,000
those things in the which I will
appear unto thee, delivering

372
00:21:27,000 –> 00:21:29,520
thee from the people and from
the Gentiles, unto whom now I

373
00:21:29,520 –> 00:21:31,520
send thee.
So this is Paul’s Commission to

374
00:21:31,520 –> 00:21:35,880
go out and to and to work in the
name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

375
00:21:36,240 –> 00:21:39,480
He’s told to open their eyes and
to turn them from the from

376
00:21:39,480 –> 00:21:44,840
darkness to light and from the
power of Satan unto God, that

377
00:21:44,840 –> 00:21:48,120
they may receive forgiveness of
sins and inheritance among them

378
00:21:48,120 –> 00:21:50,600
which are sanctified by faith.
That is in me.

379
00:21:50,960 –> 00:21:53,920
So Paul’s mission as he’s given
here at the beginning of the

380
00:21:53,920 –> 00:21:57,840
commencement of his, of his
mission, he’s being told to go

381
00:21:57,840 –> 00:22:00,400
in to open their eyes, to turn
them from darkness to light and

382
00:22:00,400 –> 00:22:02,160
from the power of Satan unto
God.

383
00:22:02,520 –> 00:22:05,800
And that included this, the
forgiveness of their sins and

384
00:22:05,800 –> 00:22:08,720
the inheritance among those who
are sanctified in faith.

385
00:22:10,160 –> 00:22:14,600
So if we come back to First
Corinthians chapter 5 and keep

386
00:22:14,600 –> 00:22:18,640
this concept in in mind, First
Corinthians 5 and verse 5 to

387
00:22:18,640 –> 00:22:21,960
deliver such and one unto Satan
for the destruction of the flesh

388
00:22:22,320 –> 00:22:25,200
that the Spirit may be saved in
the day of the Lord Jesus Christ

389
00:22:25,880 –> 00:22:29,720
is actually a reversal here of
the of the mission or work of

390
00:22:29,720 –> 00:22:34,240
the apostle Paul.
The Apostle Paul’s focus or

391
00:22:34,240 –> 00:22:37,640
desire was to go and to save
people from the power of Satan,

392
00:22:38,600 –> 00:22:41,760
whereas here this man was to be
delivered back to the power of

393
00:22:41,760 –> 00:22:44,560
Satan, back to the power of sin,
as it were.

394
00:22:46,240 –> 00:22:49,280
It’s with the intention, we see
that the flesh should be

395
00:22:49,280 –> 00:22:51,320
destroyed.
He says for the destruction of

396
00:22:51,320 –> 00:22:55,320
the flesh, but that the Spirit
would be saved.

397
00:22:56,000 –> 00:22:59,880
So Paul’s request to the
ecclesia or commandment to the

398
00:22:59,880 –> 00:23:04,400
ecclesia is that you are to
deliver this man to Satan, to

399
00:23:04,400 –> 00:23:07,760
the power of the flesh so that
the flesh itself can be

400
00:23:07,760 –> 00:23:13,200
destroyed, but the spirit saved.
For those who are taking notes,

401
00:23:13,200 –> 00:23:15,760
there’s an interesting
connection into Luke chapter 12

402
00:23:15,760 –> 00:23:18,800
and verse 58 because that word
deliver, there is is a fairly

403
00:23:18,800 –> 00:23:22,080
unique word and it’s talking
about the judge delivering thee

404
00:23:22,080 –> 00:23:25,600
to the officer, which is the
same same word in verse 5 here

405
00:23:25,600 –> 00:23:29,560
as delivering to Satan.
So on balance, adding all of

406
00:23:29,560 –> 00:23:31,960
those things together, I believe
that Paul is saying to the

407
00:23:31,960 –> 00:23:34,800
ecclesia to remove this man from
their midst.

408
00:23:35,480 –> 00:23:38,880
That is, to take the action of
disfellowship, which would put

409
00:23:38,880 –> 00:23:41,880
him away from the power and the
strength of ecclesial

410
00:23:41,880 –> 00:23:45,920
fellowship, and as we shall
find, would also take away his

411
00:23:45,920 –> 00:23:49,600
influence upon the ecclesia.
But the interesting thing to

412
00:23:49,600 –> 00:23:52,960
note here is that he is doing
so, that Paul is doing so with

413
00:23:52,960 –> 00:23:56,400
the desire still essentially to
save this man from the power of

414
00:23:56,400 –> 00:24:00,560
Satan, with the desire that the
removal of the man will help him

415
00:24:00,560 –> 00:24:04,360
to realise his position that
pride in the flesh is nothing

416
00:24:04,880 –> 00:24:07,680
and therefore potentially to
bring him back in spirit to God.

417
00:24:09,160 –> 00:24:11,280
But in what sense then?
It doesn’t quite make sense,

418
00:24:11,280 –> 00:24:12,880
does it?
Because in what sense does this

419
00:24:13,160 –> 00:24:16,880
disfellowshipping process mean
that the man’s flesh will be

420
00:24:16,880 –> 00:24:21,560
destroyed but save the spirit?
I suspect we all know that in

421
00:24:21,560 –> 00:24:25,360
the majority of cases where a
disfellowship occurs, it does

422
00:24:25,360 –> 00:24:27,840
not sadly end in the return of
the individual.

423
00:24:29,280 –> 00:24:31,800
So how can Paul here be saying
that disfellowship should be

424
00:24:31,800 –> 00:24:33,960
used as the basis of saving the
individual?

425
00:24:35,680 –> 00:24:38,920
I believe his point is this,
which is consistent with where

426
00:24:38,920 –> 00:24:43,880
he’s been in the book so far,
that there is more chance of

427
00:24:43,880 –> 00:24:47,920
salvation of that individual if
the matter is dealt with.

428
00:24:49,360 –> 00:24:52,720
Then if the brother is left
encouraged in his wrongdoing

429
00:24:53,480 –> 00:24:56,720
inside the ecclesial
environment, I’ll say that

430
00:24:56,720 –> 00:25:02,440
again, there is more chance of
salvation of this individual in

431
00:25:02,440 –> 00:25:08,840
spite of the horror of his sin,
if the matter is dealt with so

432
00:25:08,840 –> 00:25:12,360
that he can see his sin.
Then if the brother is left

433
00:25:12,360 –> 00:25:15,600
encouraged in his wrongdoing and
believing that he has no sin

434
00:25:16,800 –> 00:25:20,880
even inside the ecclesial
environment, Paul is following

435
00:25:20,880 –> 00:25:24,960
the general theme of the book,
that the flesh must be destroyed

436
00:25:25,920 –> 00:25:29,640
so that God can live.
He’s saying it’s far more likely

437
00:25:29,640 –> 00:25:33,080
that he will face up to his sin
if he’s shown that what he’s

438
00:25:33,080 –> 00:25:36,440
doing is clearly wrong rather
than being defended.

439
00:25:37,880 –> 00:25:41,040
It’s like all of us, isn’t it,
That our flesh has to be brought

440
00:25:41,040 –> 00:25:44,880
to nothing so that we can truly
learn of salvation.

441
00:25:46,640 –> 00:25:49,760
But it’s not just this, the
particular individual that Paul

442
00:25:49,920 –> 00:25:55,160
is concerned about, because in
verse 6, Paul, Paul expands this

443
00:25:55,160 –> 00:25:56,760
idea.
Your glorying is not good.

444
00:25:56,760 –> 00:25:59,000
So again, he’s saying to the
ecclesia, the problem actually

445
00:25:59,000 –> 00:26:02,200
sits within the ecclesia itself.
No, you’re not That a little

446
00:26:02,200 –> 00:26:07,560
liven liveneth the whole lump.
Paul is saying to deal with the

447
00:26:07,560 –> 00:26:10,520
issue, not just because of the
individual, but because the

448
00:26:10,520 –> 00:26:13,120
problem had become in the
response of all of the

449
00:26:13,120 –> 00:26:16,680
individuals within the ecclesia
that that ecclesia had allowed

450
00:26:16,680 –> 00:26:19,440
the individual to stay there in
gross and open immorality had

451
00:26:19,440 –> 00:26:21,240
actually had an impact on the
entire ecclesia.

452
00:26:21,240 –> 00:26:25,200
He says, and he uses as proof
the fact that a little, little

453
00:26:25,200 –> 00:26:29,600
leaven leavens the whole lump.
Yes, it might be an individual

454
00:26:29,600 –> 00:26:33,360
who sins, but you’re protecting,
he says to the ecclesia, you’re

455
00:26:33,360 –> 00:26:37,800
protecting and assisting and
glorifying that sin in your

456
00:26:37,800 –> 00:26:40,240
midst.
And as a result of that, the,

457
00:26:40,400 –> 00:26:43,600
the horror of that little
leaven, that individual is not

458
00:26:43,600 –> 00:26:46,400
just impacting on itself, but
its, its influence is starting

459
00:26:46,400 –> 00:26:49,080
to spread out into impact on
the, on the entire life of that

460
00:26:49,080 –> 00:26:51,640
ecclesia.
It’s working its insidious way

461
00:26:51,640 –> 00:26:53,960
through and corrupting
everything it touches.

462
00:26:54,720 –> 00:26:57,960
Not that they were involved in
the sin itself, of course, but

463
00:26:57,960 –> 00:27:02,040
that their response to that act
was in itself sin.

464
00:27:02,640 –> 00:27:04,480
And I’ll say that carefully and
I’ll say that again.

465
00:27:04,880 –> 00:27:08,000
It’s not that they were involved
in the sin of the individual

466
00:27:08,000 –> 00:27:11,440
itself, nor were they
responsible for the sin of the

467
00:27:11,440 –> 00:27:14,720
individual themselves.
They were not tainted by his

468
00:27:14,720 –> 00:27:19,440
sin, but their sin was their
response to the sin.

469
00:27:20,360 –> 00:27:23,920
Their sin was the was the fact
that they were prepared to

470
00:27:23,920 –> 00:27:28,600
glorify the sin in the in their
own midst and in that they were

471
00:27:28,600 –> 00:27:31,840
sinning.
So his message to the Corinthian

472
00:27:31,840 –> 00:27:34,840
ecclesia was don’t just deal
with the individual.

473
00:27:35,280 –> 00:27:37,280
In fact, he gives a very quick
answer to that, doesn’t he?

474
00:27:37,640 –> 00:27:39,000
Here’s the issue.
Deal with it.

475
00:27:39,320 –> 00:27:43,120
Send him out, get rid of him.
But his point, his overriding

476
00:27:43,120 –> 00:27:46,600
point here, is don’t just deal
with the individual, but fix

477
00:27:46,600 –> 00:27:50,080
your own attitudes also, because
it’s that which is stopping you

478
00:27:50,080 –> 00:27:53,520
dealing with the problem.
And it’s so often the case in

479
00:27:53,520 –> 00:27:55,440
ecclesial life when issues
arise.

480
00:27:55,960 –> 00:27:59,360
The issue itself might be
relatively isolated, but the

481
00:27:59,360 –> 00:28:03,640
problem festers and it becomes a
sore which ends up dividing

482
00:28:03,720 –> 00:28:06,200
ecclesias.
What started off as one

483
00:28:06,200 –> 00:28:09,200
individual has become an issue
that has now spread out and

484
00:28:09,200 –> 00:28:12,000
leavened, infected the whole
lump and the whole ecclesial

485
00:28:12,000 –> 00:28:15,560
environment is affected by it.
And Paul’s homing right in on

486
00:28:15,560 –> 00:28:16,960
the issue.
I’m telling you to get rid of

487
00:28:16,960 –> 00:28:19,400
that man.
The sin is a horrific thing

488
00:28:19,400 –> 00:28:21,440
which God hates.
But I’m telling you, I’m showing

489
00:28:21,440 –> 00:28:24,640
you, particularly your ecclesia
in Corinth, that it’s your own

490
00:28:24,680 –> 00:28:26,960
attitudes here that you need to
fix.

491
00:28:26,960 –> 00:28:30,440
It’s your glory, you who are
being puffed up, you who are

492
00:28:30,440 –> 00:28:33,200
giving proud words and
justifying the destruction of

493
00:28:33,200 –> 00:28:36,040
God’s righteousness.
And that’s resulted in this one

494
00:28:36,040 –> 00:28:38,200
little issue impacting the
entire lump.

495
00:28:39,360 –> 00:28:42,000
And that, brothers and sisters
and young people, is the

496
00:28:42,000 –> 00:28:45,760
insidious nature of decay inside
eclesial life.

497
00:28:47,160 –> 00:28:50,680
Now, of course, that needs to be
done with balance, doesn’t it?

498
00:28:51,600 –> 00:28:54,360
We need to be careful not to
overreact and say that every

499
00:28:54,360 –> 00:28:56,560
little sin which someone else
has done is something that could

500
00:28:56,560 –> 00:28:59,360
impact on the entire lump, and
therefore anyone sinning should

501
00:28:59,360 –> 00:29:01,920
be cast out.
It’s possible to create this

502
00:29:01,920 –> 00:29:04,800
sort of argument, isn’t it, That
any sin is bad and therefore

503
00:29:04,800 –> 00:29:06,120
we’ve got to get rid of that
person.

504
00:29:06,280 –> 00:29:09,440
But if that’s the case, then we
end up in little ecclesias of

505
00:29:09,440 –> 00:29:12,120
one as we’re by ourselves in our
own fellowship.

506
00:29:12,120 –> 00:29:13,720
It needs the balance around
that.

507
00:29:14,200 –> 00:29:17,680
But Paul’s point here is that
he’s, he’s trying to get the

508
00:29:17,680 –> 00:29:21,200
individuals of that ecclesia to
look at their own hearts, to

509
00:29:21,200 –> 00:29:24,760
understand their own motivation,
to see their own thoughts and

510
00:29:24,760 –> 00:29:28,400
feelings, the pride that’s
behind them, and to lead them to

511
00:29:28,400 –> 00:29:31,680
deal with the issue which was
destroying God’s holiness.

512
00:29:33,280 –> 00:29:36,800
Now, Paul could have just
commanded a disfellowship of the

513
00:29:36,800 –> 00:29:40,440
person, which they would have
done instead of having this

514
00:29:40,440 –> 00:29:42,760
whole section.
He could have just said get rid

515
00:29:42,760 –> 00:29:47,840
of that man, and they would have
done it, but it wouldn’t have

516
00:29:47,840 –> 00:29:52,360
fixed the underlying issue that
was really the festering saw of

517
00:29:52,360 –> 00:29:56,440
that ecclesia.
It was their own pride, their

518
00:29:56,440 –> 00:30:01,360
own glory puffed up that was
making an issue this big into an

519
00:30:01,360 –> 00:30:03,240
issue that was eating the heart
out of the ecclesia.

520
00:30:08,360 –> 00:30:10,600
In First Corinthians 5 and verse
7.

521
00:30:10,600 –> 00:30:14,280
He then expands this idea of the
leaven leavening the whole lump.

522
00:30:15,800 –> 00:30:20,000
Purge out, therefore the old
leaven, that ye may be a new

523
00:30:20,000 –> 00:30:23,800
lump as ye are, and leaven.
So he’s telling them you can’t

524
00:30:23,800 –> 00:30:26,000
have that leaven inside an
ecclesial environment.

525
00:30:26,000 –> 00:30:28,200
If you look at the picture up on
the screen here, I’m not sure if

526
00:30:28,200 –> 00:30:29,880
you can see it very well.
We’ve got the lights on at the

527
00:30:29,880 –> 00:30:32,680
front here.
But this little loaf here is 1.

528
00:30:32,680 –> 00:30:34,880
You can see all the little dots
and bubbles all over it.

529
00:30:35,000 –> 00:30:36,600
It’s impacted on the entire
lump.

530
00:30:36,760 –> 00:30:40,080
You’ve got the dough here.
That’s fine.

531
00:30:40,440 –> 00:30:42,520
But as soon as you put a little
piece of leaven in this bit

532
00:30:42,520 –> 00:30:45,720
here, it starts to go out.
And the point is that it impacts

533
00:30:45,720 –> 00:30:49,000
on every component, on every
part of that ecclesia.

534
00:30:50,000 –> 00:30:53,640
Leaven inside the the dough of
an ecclesia will eventually

535
00:30:53,640 –> 00:30:55,680
impact the entire ecclesial
environment.

536
00:30:56,600 –> 00:30:58,520
So what’s his point here in
verse 7 then?

537
00:31:01,200 –> 00:31:05,640
It’s to get rid of the leaven.
But then he says, for even

538
00:31:05,640 –> 00:31:08,560
Christ our Passover is
sacrificed for us.

539
00:31:08,560 –> 00:31:11,400
What’s his point?
Purge out the old leaven that ye

540
00:31:11,400 –> 00:31:14,440
may be a new lump as ye are.
And leaven for even Christ, our

541
00:31:14,440 –> 00:31:18,440
Passover is sacrificed for us.
What’s the connection that he’s

542
00:31:18,440 –> 00:31:23,880
making here?
Paul is saying that our desire

543
00:31:23,880 –> 00:31:28,640
to get rid of the living out of
our life is in response to the

544
00:31:28,640 –> 00:31:32,840
fact that Christ, our Passover,
has been sacrifice for us, for

545
00:31:32,840 –> 00:31:35,320
Christ, our Passover has been
sacrifice for us.

546
00:31:35,800 –> 00:31:37,840
What’s he referring to?
Well, he’s clearly referring

547
00:31:37,840 –> 00:31:39,800
back to the concepts of the
Passover, isn’t he?

548
00:31:39,800 –> 00:31:43,320
So let’s come back to Exodus
chapter 12, where the Passover

549
00:31:43,320 –> 00:31:46,560
is first inaugurated.
Exodus chapter 12.

550
00:31:50,880 –> 00:31:54,920
Exodus chapter 12, which is the
the chapter where the the feast

551
00:31:54,920 –> 00:31:57,560
of the Passover is is
instituted.

552
00:31:58,520 –> 00:32:01,080
But you see the interesting
thing is that the feast of the

553
00:32:01,080 –> 00:32:05,920
Passover was actually preceded
by a time of seven days that is

554
00:32:05,920 –> 00:32:07,800
known as the Feast of Unleavened
bread.

555
00:32:08,880 –> 00:32:13,520
Exodus chapter 12 and verse 15.
Seven days shall ye eat

556
00:32:13,520 –> 00:32:17,400
unleavened bread.
Even the first day you shall put

557
00:32:17,400 –> 00:32:20,360
away leaven out of your houses.
For whosoever eateth leavened

558
00:32:20,360 –> 00:32:22,920
bread, from that first day until
the 7th day, that soul should be

559
00:32:22,920 –> 00:32:26,000
cut off from Israel.
So this feast of unleavened

560
00:32:26,000 –> 00:32:31,200
bread is introduced in as seven
days of them going through

561
00:32:31,200 –> 00:32:35,160
eating unleavened bread.
And then verse 21, Moses called

562
00:32:35,160 –> 00:32:37,520
for all the elders of Israel and
said unto them, Draw out and

563
00:32:37,520 –> 00:32:40,800
take your lamb according to your
families, and kill the Passover.

564
00:32:41,240 –> 00:32:43,920
So this feast of unleavened
bread was to go for seven days,

565
00:32:44,040 –> 00:32:46,440
where they were not allowed to
eat leavened bread.

566
00:32:46,520 –> 00:32:48,320
They had to eat unleavened
bread.

567
00:32:50,520 –> 00:32:56,040
But just see the power or the OR
the emphasis that is given in

568
00:32:56,040 –> 00:33:01,000
verse 15 here even the first day
you shall put away leaven out of

569
00:33:01,000 –> 00:33:04,400
your houses.
For whosoever eateth leavened

570
00:33:04,400 –> 00:33:08,120
bread from the first day until
the 7th day, that soul shall be

571
00:33:08,120 –> 00:33:13,960
cut off from Israel.
So if there was an individual

572
00:33:13,960 –> 00:33:17,000
inside that ecclesial and inside
that congregation in Israel who

573
00:33:17,000 –> 00:33:20,120
partook with leavened bread,
they were to be cut off from

574
00:33:20,120 –> 00:33:23,840
Israel.
That’s a relatively severe sort

575
00:33:23,840 –> 00:33:26,120
of judgement, isn’t it?
It has quite long lasting

576
00:33:26,480 –> 00:33:29,720
consequences upon the person
who’s had a piece of leavened

577
00:33:29,720 –> 00:33:31,440
bread.
Eat a piece of leavened bread

578
00:33:31,720 –> 00:33:35,360
and wash your dead heads off or
you’ve been stoned.

579
00:33:37,640 –> 00:33:40,520
It’s a major principle that’s
being established here.

580
00:33:40,600 –> 00:33:43,440
Have a look in verse 19, just in
case we’d missed the point.

581
00:33:43,440 –> 00:33:45,760
Verse 19.
And as it happens, verse 20,

582
00:33:45,760 –> 00:33:49,840
just just so we really get the
.7 days, shall there be no

583
00:33:49,840 –> 00:33:53,080
leaven found in your houses?
In case we’ve missed the point.

584
00:33:53,080 –> 00:33:56,000
For whosoever eateth that which
is leavened, even that soul

585
00:33:56,000 –> 00:33:58,640
shall be cut off from the
congregation of Israel, whether

586
00:33:58,640 –> 00:34:00,240
he be stranger or born in the
land.

587
00:34:00,600 –> 00:34:03,960
And in case we hadn’t quite yet
got it, verse 20, he shall eat

588
00:34:03,960 –> 00:34:08,400
nothing leavened and and another
little time for us in all your

589
00:34:08,400 –> 00:34:10,880
habitation.
Shall you eat unleavened bread.

590
00:34:11,120 –> 00:34:14,280
Now, whenever the Scriptures
emphasize a point, it’s because

591
00:34:14,280 –> 00:34:18,360
it’s telling us focus on this,
understand the principle here

592
00:34:18,600 –> 00:34:22,280
and the feast and this concept
of the impact of leaven is not

593
00:34:22,280 –> 00:34:25,639
just given to us twice.
It’s actually a quadruple

594
00:34:25,639 –> 00:34:27,639
repetition of emphasis that’s
given here.

595
00:34:27,840 –> 00:34:30,239
The Bible is making an emphatic
point.

596
00:34:31,120 –> 00:34:35,639
The Feast of Unleavened Bread is
a build up to the Passover and

597
00:34:35,760 –> 00:34:40,400
it’s about having no leaven.
If you were found eating leaven,

598
00:34:40,760 –> 00:34:43,440
then you were cut off from the
ecclesial congregation.

599
00:34:44,360 –> 00:34:47,239
And verse 21, Moses called for
all the elders of Israel and

600
00:34:47,239 –> 00:34:49,960
said, draw out and take your
lamb according to your families

601
00:34:49,960 –> 00:34:53,679
and kill the Passover.
Feast of the Unleavened Bread

602
00:34:54,040 –> 00:34:56,920
and the Passover are
inextricably linked from its

603
00:34:56,920 –> 00:35:00,960
very inception.
It’s completely connected to the

604
00:35:00,960 –> 00:35:04,320
Passover.
It’s a process that Israel must

605
00:35:04,320 –> 00:35:07,280
go through to remove all the
leaven from their house, and

606
00:35:07,280 –> 00:35:10,760
then after 7 days of that
process, they were to partake of

607
00:35:10,760 –> 00:35:13,680
the Passover.
So if we come back to First

608
00:35:13,680 –> 00:35:17,600
Corinthians 5 and verse 6, we
find absolutely that Paul is

609
00:35:17,600 –> 00:35:20,720
picking up this concept and the
seriousness of this concept.

610
00:35:25,240 –> 00:35:27,800
He uses the same strong sort of
language, doesn’t he?

611
00:35:28,000 –> 00:35:31,480
First Corinthians 5, verse 6,
your glorying is not good.

612
00:35:31,880 –> 00:35:34,920
Know ye not that a little leaven
leaveneth the whole lump purge

613
00:35:34,920 –> 00:35:38,000
out, therefore the old leaven
leaven that ye may be a new

614
00:35:38,000 –> 00:35:41,960
lump, as ye are unleavened.
For even Christ, our Passover is

615
00:35:41,960 –> 00:35:44,160
sacrificed for us.
He’s absolutely connecting these

616
00:35:44,160 –> 00:35:47,560
two ideas and He’s telling us
that if we want to partake of

617
00:35:47,560 –> 00:35:51,480
the Passover, then we must also
go through the process of the

618
00:35:51,480 –> 00:35:57,040
unleavened feast.
He uses strong language because

619
00:35:57,040 –> 00:36:02,520
he is completely clear about the
impact that that one man was

620
00:36:02,520 –> 00:36:06,880
having on everyone.
The concept that the that the

621
00:36:06,880 –> 00:36:11,040
little piece of leaven would
live in the entire lump was

622
00:36:11,040 –> 00:36:14,960
impacting on the whole ecclesia.
And Paul picks up that principle

623
00:36:14,960 –> 00:36:19,080
and he says if you are going to
be partaking of the Passover,

624
00:36:19,080 –> 00:36:20,720
you you cannot share in the
Passover.

625
00:36:20,720 –> 00:36:24,000
He says you cannot gain the
benefit of Christ as our

626
00:36:24,000 –> 00:36:27,320
Passover unless we’ve gone 1st
through the Feast of unleavened

627
00:36:27,320 –> 00:36:31,000
bread, taking the time to purge
out the old leaven.

628
00:36:32,240 –> 00:36:34,840
But his point actually is far
more than just doing that for

629
00:36:34,840 –> 00:36:37,320
the individual, isn’t it?
Because he’s actually dealing

630
00:36:37,320 –> 00:36:41,320
with two issues in tandem here.
1 is the is the large and clear

631
00:36:41,320 –> 00:36:43,800
issue, which he’s very clearly
dealt with and told get rid of

632
00:36:43,800 –> 00:36:47,360
that man, take out the leaven.
But he’s also dealing more

633
00:36:47,360 –> 00:36:51,760
particularly with the leaven of
pride and of arrogance that was

634
00:36:51,760 –> 00:36:54,960
allowing that issue to overtake
the whole ecclesial environment.

635
00:36:55,320 –> 00:37:01,680
And his message is actually one
of individual consequence that

636
00:37:01,680 –> 00:37:05,040
we actually have to go through
our individual lives and purge

637
00:37:05,040 –> 00:37:06,960
out the leaven.
And if if you recall back in

638
00:37:06,960 –> 00:37:09,240
Exodus, that was exactly the
point of it, wasn’t it?

639
00:37:09,240 –> 00:37:11,920
That each individual in that
nation had to go through

640
00:37:11,920 –> 00:37:14,720
themselves and search out and
clean out the leaven and they

641
00:37:14,720 –> 00:37:18,880
could not partake of the leaven
themselves as individuals.

642
00:37:18,880 –> 00:37:22,960
It’s an individual focus, an
individual contribution we need

643
00:37:22,960 –> 00:37:26,240
to make to our ecclesial
environment to examine our own

644
00:37:26,240 –> 00:37:29,360
lives.
His point to the brethren here

645
00:37:29,360 –> 00:37:31,880
is get rid of that man because
he’s living in your midst.

646
00:37:32,840 –> 00:37:36,120
And if he’s living there and
it’s impacting on you, then you

647
00:37:36,120 –> 00:37:42,720
cannot partake of the Passover.
He’s using strong words because

648
00:37:42,720 –> 00:37:44,760
it’s a strong concept he’s
talking about.

649
00:37:46,360 –> 00:37:49,760
If we have influences in our
ecleses that are pulling us away

650
00:37:49,760 –> 00:37:53,040
from the Passover, from the
principles of the truth, then it

651
00:37:53,040 –> 00:37:56,560
will impact our ability to
partake in the Passover.

652
00:37:58,080 –> 00:38:03,160
It’s a massive personal wake up
call for our own self

653
00:38:03,160 –> 00:38:07,320
examination.
Is there any possibility that my

654
00:38:07,320 –> 00:38:12,200
actions as an individual are
creating leaven in the ecclesial

655
00:38:12,200 –> 00:38:15,280
environment?
Is there any possibility that

656
00:38:15,480 –> 00:38:19,400
that my own personal actions are
a corruption inside the

657
00:38:19,400 –> 00:38:24,560
ecclesial environment that will
impact every individual and

658
00:38:24,560 –> 00:38:27,000
destroy their ability to partake
of the Passover?

659
00:38:29,360 –> 00:38:32,160
Interestingly, it’s exactly the
same concept he picks up in

660
00:38:32,160 –> 00:38:36,400
First Corinthians 11, isn’t it?
Let a man examine himself, and

661
00:38:36,400 –> 00:38:38,400
so let him eat, and so let him
drink.

662
00:38:39,040 –> 00:38:42,000
He’s actually telling us that as
we come to the memorial feast,

663
00:38:42,240 –> 00:38:46,160
we are to examine ourselves
first, the process of removing

664
00:38:46,160 –> 00:38:49,680
the leaven before partaking of
the Passover, of the bread and

665
00:38:49,680 –> 00:38:55,000
the wine on Sunday by Sunday.
We cannot share in fellowship

666
00:38:55,000 –> 00:38:58,680
with the Father unless we have
first gone through the process

667
00:38:58,680 –> 00:39:02,760
of self examination.
We need to examine our lives

668
00:39:02,760 –> 00:39:08,040
with honesty to see if there is
Livin in our lives and to remove

669
00:39:08,040 –> 00:39:09,720
that before we share the
Passover meal.

670
00:39:11,680 –> 00:39:13,960
So Paul is getting the
individuals of the ecclesia to

671
00:39:13,960 –> 00:39:17,040
focus on their own attitude,
their own pride, their own

672
00:39:17,040 –> 00:39:20,560
glorying as the basis by which
the entire ecclesial lump had

673
00:39:20,560 –> 00:39:23,640
been livened.
And it’s exactly the same for

674
00:39:23,640 –> 00:39:27,360
us.
Yes, there are matters from time

675
00:39:27,360 –> 00:39:30,320
to time, particular issues that
an ecclesia needs to deal with,

676
00:39:31,640 –> 00:39:36,040
but in reality, the far stronger
issue is that we need to examine

677
00:39:36,040 –> 00:39:41,360
ourselves because it’s in
ourselves as individuals that we

678
00:39:41,360 –> 00:39:45,040
find the core issue of
everything that arises in

679
00:39:45,040 –> 00:39:49,240
eclesial life.
In other words, if each of us,

680
00:39:49,240 –> 00:39:53,120
if each of us, if as
individuals, have purged out the

681
00:39:53,120 –> 00:39:57,320
leaven, if we’ve been sincere
and humbling ourselves and not

682
00:39:57,320 –> 00:40:00,480
being puffed up, then there can
be no leaven.

683
00:40:01,320 –> 00:40:05,320
To destroy the ecclesial lump.
Now I know that that is striving

684
00:40:05,320 –> 00:40:08,000
for perfection, that that is the
perfection of what an ecclesial

685
00:40:08,000 –> 00:40:10,240
environment can be, that we are
weak and we fail.

686
00:40:10,560 –> 00:40:12,760
And we all know our own
weaknesses, don’t we?

687
00:40:14,000 –> 00:40:17,640
But Paul is showing them it’s
about a focus on putting away

688
00:40:17,640 –> 00:40:21,640
the leaven of this life to
partake of the Passover in an

689
00:40:21,640 –> 00:40:26,840
unleavened environment.
So having dealt with this issue

690
00:40:26,840 –> 00:40:30,840
in chapter 5, Paul all then
moves on to his next issue in

691
00:40:30,840 –> 00:40:36,360
this ecclesia in chapter 6.
And this is the little matter of

692
00:40:36,360 –> 00:40:39,920
them deciding to sue one another
through external courts of law.

693
00:40:41,080 –> 00:40:43,840
First Corinthians 6 and verse
one to four.

694
00:40:44,360 –> 00:40:47,440
Dear, any of you having a matter
against another, go to law

695
00:40:47,440 –> 00:40:49,760
before the unjust and not before
the Saints.

696
00:40:50,760 –> 00:40:52,920
Do not you know that the Saints
shall judge the world?

697
00:40:53,080 –> 00:40:55,800
And if the world shall be judged
by you, are you unworthy to

698
00:40:55,800 –> 00:40:59,880
judge the smallest matters?
Know ye not that we shall judge

699
00:40:59,880 –> 00:41:01,560
angels?
How much more things that

700
00:41:01,560 –> 00:41:04,400
pertain to this life?
If then you have judgments of

701
00:41:04,400 –> 00:41:07,320
things pertaining to this life,
set them to judge who are the

702
00:41:07,320 –> 00:41:11,080
least esteemed in the ecclesia.
So that here’s a circumstance in

703
00:41:11,080 –> 00:41:13,760
the Corinthian ecclesia where
two people were in dispute.

704
00:41:15,280 –> 00:41:18,360
They, they were, they were in a
position where they, where they

705
00:41:18,360 –> 00:41:20,800
didn’t agree on something and
they couldn’t get to agree on

706
00:41:20,800 –> 00:41:22,840
something.
And so one of them said, right,

707
00:41:22,840 –> 00:41:25,200
I’m going to take you off.
I’m going to take you to the to

708
00:41:25,200 –> 00:41:28,360
the Roman judges and we’ll find
out who’s who’s right here.

709
00:41:31,560 –> 00:41:33,720
But Paul’s response here is
interesting, isn’t it?

710
00:41:33,720 –> 00:41:36,720
Because when you read it, he
seems to be advocating that we

711
00:41:36,720 –> 00:41:39,960
set the the weakest, that we
look for the weakest, most

712
00:41:39,960 –> 00:41:42,400
struggling person in an eclesial
environment and say, right,

713
00:41:42,480 –> 00:41:44,280
you’re the one who’s got to make
this decision.

714
00:41:46,800 –> 00:41:50,440
Paul’s Paul’s saying that this
eclesional environment here in

715
00:41:50,440 –> 00:41:53,680
Corinth had got to such an
extent that they were out there

716
00:41:53,680 –> 00:41:55,080
taking each other to external
law.

717
00:41:55,080 –> 00:41:58,480
And then he says, now you find
that the weakest person and you

718
00:41:58,480 –> 00:42:01,240
take that back and and he can
judge it for you.

719
00:42:04,840 –> 00:42:06,560
Well, his point is, what’s his
point here?

720
00:42:08,240 –> 00:42:13,720
He’s saying in the future we are
going to judge the world.

721
00:42:16,800 –> 00:42:20,160
Verse 2, Do you not know that
the Saints shall judge the

722
00:42:20,160 –> 00:42:24,160
world?
And if the world be judged by

723
00:42:24,160 –> 00:42:27,080
you, are ye unworthy to judge
the smallest matters?

724
00:42:27,880 –> 00:42:30,960
We’ll be in authority, every
single one of us, brothers and

725
00:42:30,960 –> 00:42:33,760
sisters, where we are judging
the world.

726
00:42:34,640 –> 00:42:38,080
And he’s saying, if that’s the
case, if we are each of us,

727
00:42:38,400 –> 00:42:40,800
excuse me, going to be in a
position where we are judging

728
00:42:40,800 –> 00:42:44,400
the world, how come in our
ecclesial environments today, we

729
00:42:44,400 –> 00:42:47,360
cannot work through the the
matter, through any matter that

730
00:42:47,360 –> 00:42:50,000
arises and come to a wise
answer?

731
00:42:51,000 –> 00:42:52,960
It’s, it’s a brilliant argument
from Paul.

732
00:42:53,800 –> 00:42:58,120
If we’re going to judge the
world in the future, then surely

733
00:42:58,120 –> 00:43:01,520
today we must learn to judge
with wisdom and arrive at the

734
00:43:01,520 –> 00:43:05,040
right outcomes.
It’s actually a really

735
00:43:05,040 –> 00:43:08,400
interesting principle because
it’s easy to think, isn’t it,

736
00:43:08,400 –> 00:43:11,720
that we go through life today
and we’re developing towards the

737
00:43:11,720 –> 00:43:13,480
Kingdom.
And then when we’re made

738
00:43:13,480 –> 00:43:16,080
immortal, there’s this sudden
and dramatic change in in who we

739
00:43:16,080 –> 00:43:18,200
are and our characteristics and
our way of thinking, and we’ll

740
00:43:18,200 –> 00:43:21,160
be perfected and we’ll be able
to judge wisely.

741
00:43:22,320 –> 00:43:24,680
So of course, yes, then we are
perfect.

742
00:43:25,440 –> 00:43:27,080
Yes.
Then we have the strength of

743
00:43:27,080 –> 00:43:30,600
immortality.
Yes, our tendency to sin is

744
00:43:30,600 –> 00:43:33,120
taken away.
But Paul is telling us that

745
00:43:33,120 –> 00:43:36,880
today we are developing the
characteristics and the

746
00:43:36,880 –> 00:43:40,320
capabilities that we will learn
to use in the Kingdom.

747
00:43:41,120 –> 00:43:44,000
We are to develop today the
wisdom in our approach to

748
00:43:44,000 –> 00:43:47,640
circumstances, even in this
mortality, that will form the

749
00:43:47,640 –> 00:43:50,840
basis of our experience on how
to judge in the Kingdom.

750
00:43:51,720 –> 00:43:53,760
It changes our perception a
little, doesn’t it?

751
00:43:55,000 –> 00:43:58,920
We’re finding that we have
opportunity today to learn how

752
00:43:58,920 –> 00:44:01,440
to act as immortals in the
future.

753
00:44:02,080 –> 00:44:05,200
And in fact, we have the
responsibility to be picking up

754
00:44:05,200 –> 00:44:08,440
and developing the wisdom that
will form the basis of our

755
00:44:08,440 –> 00:44:11,360
immortal role in the Kingdom.
Now, I, I say that carefully.

756
00:44:11,720 –> 00:44:14,360
I absolutely accept that there
are dramatic changes that will

757
00:44:14,360 –> 00:44:18,120
occur under immortality and that
we are no have no more tendency

758
00:44:18,120 –> 00:44:20,280
to sin.
But I think the point is still

759
00:44:20,280 –> 00:44:24,840
valid, Paul’s point If in the
Kingdom we’re going to judge the

760
00:44:24,840 –> 00:44:29,760
world, how come we can’t judge
the little matters of ecclesial

761
00:44:29,760 –> 00:44:33,720
life today?
So back to this question then,

762
00:44:33,720 –> 00:44:38,520
as Paul literally saying that
the least esteemed should be the

763
00:44:38,520 –> 00:44:41,840
judges in the ecclesia.
Well, I believe the answer is

764
00:44:41,840 –> 00:44:44,920
no, because clearly from a
scriptural perspective, we know

765
00:44:44,920 –> 00:44:47,880
there’s a clear process for the
appointment of appointments of

766
00:44:47,880 –> 00:44:51,000
deacons and elders.
There is a sense inside an

767
00:44:51,000 –> 00:44:53,680
ecclesial environment in which
we are asked to look to those

768
00:44:53,680 –> 00:44:55,960
who can guide us in wisdom.
I’ve got just the quotes which

769
00:44:55,960 –> 00:44:58,040
we all know so well.
They’re often on our ecclesial

770
00:44:58,040 –> 00:45:01,240
voting papers, aren’t they?
Of Titus one and verse 5, and

771
00:45:01,240 –> 00:45:04,520
the particular characteristics
that we are to look for in those

772
00:45:04,680 –> 00:45:07,960
who are to provide the rule over
our ecclesial environments, and

773
00:45:07,960 –> 00:45:14,200
also in First Timothy 3 as well.
These ideas or these Scriptures

774
00:45:14,920 –> 00:45:19,400
clearly tell us that that it is
important that we have our

775
00:45:19,440 –> 00:45:23,120
ecclesial elders to assist us in
our decision making processes.

776
00:45:24,480 –> 00:45:26,840
So I don’t believe that that
Paul is saying we should turn

777
00:45:26,840 –> 00:45:29,760
that that order around and and
just ask someone who’s who’s

778
00:45:29,760 –> 00:45:32,160
struggling and wait to to make
the decisions.

779
00:45:32,600 –> 00:45:35,040
So what’s what’s the point then
that Paul is making?

780
00:45:35,800 –> 00:45:38,760
Well, he’s clearly making the
point in irony, isn’t he?

781
00:45:39,720 –> 00:45:42,840
Verse 5, he says, I speak to
your shame.

782
00:45:43,640 –> 00:45:46,400
Is it not so that there is not a
wise man among you?

783
00:45:46,400 –> 00:45:49,040
No, not one that should be able
to judge between his brethren.

784
00:45:49,680 –> 00:45:53,880
And he’s saying if we’re going
to be judges of the world, then

785
00:45:53,920 –> 00:45:57,000
all of us today should be able
to judge in wisdom to get the

786
00:45:57,000 –> 00:46:00,440
right outcome in a wise way.
If we are prepared to put

787
00:46:00,440 –> 00:46:04,880
ourselves to one side in the
future, if we are to judge the

788
00:46:04,880 –> 00:46:07,720
world, then today, even in our
even today, in our ecclesial

789
00:46:07,720 –> 00:46:10,960
environments, we should be able
to work through a matter wisely,

790
00:46:11,040 –> 00:46:13,280
wisely and arrive at the right
outcomes.

791
00:46:14,200 –> 00:46:16,800
It’s the irony of the point that
he’s making them to to them,

792
00:46:16,800 –> 00:46:19,360
isn’t it?
Look, he says, any of you should

793
00:46:19,360 –> 00:46:23,000
be able to judge this matter
wisely because in the future we

794
00:46:23,000 –> 00:46:25,000
are to judge the world.
I speak this to you.

795
00:46:25,000 –> 00:46:28,440
Shame, he says.
And actually that that ecclesial

796
00:46:28,440 –> 00:46:31,680
environment had broken down to
the point where not one of them

797
00:46:31,680 –> 00:46:34,120
was able to judge and come to
the to the right outcome.

798
00:46:34,120 –> 00:46:38,640
He says, he says, is it so that
there is not a wise man among

799
00:46:38,640 –> 00:46:40,200
you?
Not not one of the ecclesia was

800
00:46:40,200 –> 00:46:43,040
actually able to sit people down
and say, let’s just work this

801
00:46:43,040 –> 00:46:44,320
through.
Let’s take the heat out of the

802
00:46:44,320 –> 00:46:47,760
situation and just work through
what the circumstance is here

803
00:46:48,680 –> 00:46:51,720
when any one of them as future
judges of the world should have

804
00:46:51,720 –> 00:46:55,760
been able to put themselves
aside and to judge in wisdom.

805
00:46:58,160 –> 00:47:00,560
So here’s the message for us in
our ecclesial environment, isn’t

806
00:47:00,560 –> 00:47:03,360
it?
He’s saying to us as individuals

807
00:47:04,760 –> 00:47:09,440
that there’s nothing in our
ecclesial environment today if

808
00:47:09,440 –> 00:47:13,920
we’re prepared to work in God’s
glory, where any one of us

809
00:47:13,920 –> 00:47:17,760
should not be able to sit down
and to work out the issues that

810
00:47:17,760 –> 00:47:23,000
arise until we come to the right
conclusion in the right way

811
00:47:23,600 –> 00:47:25,960
together.
Now again, that’s that’s the

812
00:47:25,960 –> 00:47:28,160
perfection, isn’t it, that we’re
striving and we’re here in our

813
00:47:28,160 –> 00:47:30,800
weakness.
But Paul’s showing us the power

814
00:47:30,800 –> 00:47:32,840
of what an ecclesial environment
can be like.

815
00:47:32,960 –> 00:47:36,520
If we are prepared to put
ourselves to one side, any

816
00:47:36,520 –> 00:47:37,960
matter that arises, we should
be.

817
00:47:38,240 –> 00:47:41,000
We should be able to sit down
and work through.

818
00:47:42,440 –> 00:47:46,480
If we hope to have the wisdom to
judge the world, then we need to

819
00:47:46,480 –> 00:47:50,640
have the wisdom now to work
through matters wisely and to

820
00:47:50,640 –> 00:47:54,600
get to the right conclusion.
Now, of course, Paul does not

821
00:47:54,600 –> 00:47:57,440
leave it just there, does he?
He doesn’t just say that that’s

822
00:47:57,440 –> 00:48:00,200
the final answer.
Because then in verse 7, he says

823
00:48:00,200 –> 00:48:03,840
there is utterly a fault among
you because you go to law one

824
00:48:03,880 –> 00:48:06,920
with another.
Why do you not rather take

825
00:48:06,920 –> 00:48:09,200
wrong?
Why do you not rather suffer

826
00:48:09,200 –> 00:48:11,960
yourselves to be defrauded?
Now you do wrong and defraud and

827
00:48:11,960 –> 00:48:14,920
that your brethren.
And so he now provides this

828
00:48:15,240 –> 00:48:17,880
little next gem of of insight
into the issue here.

829
00:48:18,040 –> 00:48:19,960
He doesn’t just leave it to say
we should be able to work it

830
00:48:19,960 –> 00:48:22,240
through, but he says actually
there’s a broader A deeper

831
00:48:22,240 –> 00:48:26,720
principle involved here.
And he gets to the key principle

832
00:48:27,320 –> 00:48:29,680
of interaction together in
ecclesial life.

833
00:48:31,120 –> 00:48:36,480
He’s telling us that instead of
standing up for our rights, we

834
00:48:36,480 –> 00:48:39,360
should allow the matter.
If it’s a matter against me

835
00:48:39,360 –> 00:48:43,200
personally, if it’s a matter
where I’ve been defrauded, where

836
00:48:43,200 –> 00:48:46,440
I’ve been impacted, he says we
should put that to one side.

837
00:48:47,000 –> 00:48:48,920
We should allow ourselves to be
defrauded.

838
00:48:48,920 –> 00:48:50,400
Why?
Why do we take the wrong?

839
00:48:51,200 –> 00:48:53,960
He says, sorry, why do we not
take the wrong?

840
00:48:53,960 –> 00:48:55,960
Why don’t we just accept that
that’s happened to us

841
00:48:55,960 –> 00:48:58,840
individually and and know that
it’s actually going to have no

842
00:48:58,840 –> 00:49:01,960
major impact on us.
Instead of going out there and

843
00:49:01,960 –> 00:49:04,640
saying it’s my right, you’re
wrong, I’m going to hold on to

844
00:49:04,640 –> 00:49:08,720
my issue against you, which is
so often what happens that

845
00:49:08,720 –> 00:49:12,760
instead we suffer the wrong, we
take the wrong, we suffer

846
00:49:12,760 –> 00:49:17,400
ourselves to be defrauded.
Yes, all of us at various times

847
00:49:17,400 –> 00:49:21,760
have some, some sort of wrong
done against us, something

848
00:49:21,760 –> 00:49:24,080
little or even something large
that might have happened.

849
00:49:25,040 –> 00:49:28,160
There’s there’s some perhaps
tiny matter in ecclesial life

850
00:49:28,160 –> 00:49:32,160
that becomes all of a sudden
this huge matter that we make it

851
00:49:32,880 –> 00:49:36,160
when in the broader scheme of
life it’s nothing and we end up

852
00:49:36,160 –> 00:49:39,400
holding a grudge against
somewhere, someone in our

853
00:49:39,400 –> 00:49:42,400
ecclesial environment.
We fester on the on the wrong

854
00:49:42,920 –> 00:49:45,200
and we allow that festering to
do massive damage.

855
00:49:46,320 –> 00:49:49,400
He’s saying why are you doing
that, Suffer yourselves instead

856
00:49:49,400 –> 00:49:52,520
to be defrauded, to suffer the
wrong, to accept the position

857
00:49:52,920 –> 00:49:55,040
for the sake of the ecclesial
environment.

858
00:49:56,760 –> 00:50:00,280
So we should be able to sit down
as an ecclesia whenever division

859
00:50:00,280 –> 00:50:03,440
occurs and carefully and humbly
work through the matter together

860
00:50:03,600 –> 00:50:05,240
if there is a if there is a
problem.

861
00:50:06,040 –> 00:50:09,920
But we do so on the basis that
it’s not about my own rights and

862
00:50:09,920 –> 00:50:12,560
what I want and how I’ve been
impacted.

863
00:50:13,240 –> 00:50:16,120
To accept that we’ve been
defrauded, to acknowledge that

864
00:50:16,120 –> 00:50:17,600
it’s nothing in the border
scheme.

865
00:50:19,720 –> 00:50:23,440
And it’s also telling us that we
need to sit down and look at our

866
00:50:23,440 –> 00:50:26,920
own motivation to make sure that
any of the issues that are

867
00:50:26,920 –> 00:50:30,160
arising in an ecclesial
environment are not of our own

868
00:50:30,160 –> 00:50:32,920
creation.
That we’re not holding onto

869
00:50:32,920 –> 00:50:37,240
matters because of personal
issues ourselves where we felt

870
00:50:37,240 –> 00:50:41,200
we’ve been wronged ourselves.
It comes back to that core

871
00:50:41,200 –> 00:50:43,800
foundation principle of our
working together in ecclesial

872
00:50:43,800 –> 00:50:46,600
life.
It’s not about me, it’s not what

873
00:50:46,600 –> 00:50:50,200
I want personally.
It’s about building together

874
00:50:50,200 –> 00:50:53,080
with God to build up the
ecclesial environment together

875
00:50:53,760 –> 00:50:56,560
in humility, working together to
achieve the right outcome.

876
00:50:58,080 –> 00:51:00,280
So let’s come across to to verse
19.

877
00:51:05,720 –> 00:51:07,800
What?
No, you’re not that.

878
00:51:07,800 –> 00:51:10,120
Your body is the temple of the
Holy Spirit, which is in you,

879
00:51:10,120 –> 00:51:15,080
which you have of God, and ye
are not your own for a year

880
00:51:15,080 –> 00:51:18,160
brought with a price.
We’re not our own.

881
00:51:19,400 –> 00:51:22,800
We’re brought with a price.
Therefore glorify God in your

882
00:51:22,800 –> 00:51:25,240
body and in your spirit, which
are gods.

883
00:51:26,760 –> 00:51:30,040
He’s reminding us that we are
slaves of God, that we’re not

884
00:51:30,040 –> 00:51:32,200
our own.
We have no control over

885
00:51:32,200 –> 00:51:35,080
ourselves or, or the OR what we
get out of life.

886
00:51:35,280 –> 00:51:38,160
We are not our own.
We don’t even own ourselves at

887
00:51:38,160 –> 00:51:40,520
this point.
And you can see again the sense

888
00:51:40,520 –> 00:51:43,440
of emphasis here, can’t you?
You are not your own.

889
00:51:43,960 –> 00:51:45,960
You’re brought with a price.
Someone else now owns you.

890
00:51:46,280 –> 00:51:49,920
Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which

891
00:51:49,960 –> 00:51:54,160
are gods.
So we’re not here as individuals

892
00:51:54,160 –> 00:51:57,400
in our own right, for our own
objectives, for our own

893
00:51:57,400 –> 00:52:00,840
purposes, for ourselves.
We’re not even our own, He says

894
00:52:01,000 –> 00:52:04,720
we are gods and we’re part of
the broader body of Christ.

895
00:52:06,400 –> 00:52:09,960
So in these principles that Paul
has established in this chapter,

896
00:52:09,960 –> 00:52:12,960
he has laid the foundation for
the perfect ecclesial

897
00:52:12,960 –> 00:52:16,080
environment.
He’s told us that it’s not about

898
00:52:16,080 –> 00:52:19,560
ourself, ourselves, or our own
right, our demanding of our own

899
00:52:19,560 –> 00:52:22,360
right.
He’s reminded us that we do not

900
00:52:22,360 –> 00:52:25,480
even own ourselves, that we are
slaves, that we belong to God.

901
00:52:26,160 –> 00:52:29,600
And then he’s telling us that we
are to do it for the body of

902
00:52:29,600 –> 00:52:33,160
Christ.
We cannot stand up for our

903
00:52:33,160 –> 00:52:38,640
rights and hold on to grudges.
We’re instead to suffer

904
00:52:38,640 –> 00:52:42,800
ourselves to be afforded and to
take wrong and to understand

905
00:52:42,800 –> 00:52:45,240
that it’s not us that exists,
but the body of Christ.

906
00:52:46,320 –> 00:52:51,200
We’re simply a slave who is
owned for the use of God

907
00:52:51,200 –> 00:52:57,760
Himself.
I want to come back to verse 12

908
00:52:59,200 –> 00:53:04,680
because in verse 12 Paul again
establishes a foundation

909
00:53:04,680 –> 00:53:09,880
principle, not just of ecclesial
life, but of our complete

910
00:53:09,880 –> 00:53:11,720
attitude towards God and the
truth.

911
00:53:12,840 –> 00:53:16,880
All things are lawful unto me,
but all things are not

912
00:53:16,880 –> 00:53:20,560
expedient.
All things are lawful for me,

913
00:53:20,560 –> 00:53:23,720
but I will not be bought under
the power of any.

914
00:53:24,360 –> 00:53:27,200
Now again, Paul does not make
sense on the first read, does

915
00:53:27,200 –> 00:53:29,800
he?
Because he’s just explained that

916
00:53:29,800 –> 00:53:31,720
there are things which are
clearly unlawful.

917
00:53:32,480 –> 00:53:34,880
In fact, he said it’s so bad
that you’ve got to remove that

918
00:53:34,880 –> 00:53:37,120
person out of your environment
because they’re eating the heart

919
00:53:37,120 –> 00:53:40,680
out of the ecclesia.
So how can Paul now turn around

920
00:53:40,680 –> 00:53:46,240
and say all things are lawful?
Well, it’s another foundation

921
00:53:46,240 –> 00:53:49,080
principle here that he, that he
gives of our approach to life

922
00:53:49,560 –> 00:53:51,760
and the truth.
And, and this is incredibly

923
00:53:51,760 –> 00:53:55,960
powerful.
All things are lawful or right,

924
00:53:56,600 –> 00:53:58,760
but all things are not
expedient.

925
00:54:02,720 –> 00:54:09,080
We can always think of
justifiable reasons why all

926
00:54:09,080 –> 00:54:13,400
things are lawful pretty well
why we might be able to do this

927
00:54:13,400 –> 00:54:17,080
or that.
You might be able to justify

928
00:54:17,080 –> 00:54:20,000
something on the basis of law,
is what he’s saying.

929
00:54:21,120 –> 00:54:24,640
We might be able to find a
reason why the particular thing

930
00:54:24,640 –> 00:54:27,160
that we’re doing or that we want
to do, or the particular

931
00:54:27,160 –> 00:54:29,880
doctrinary hold or the
particular focus that we have is

932
00:54:29,880 –> 00:54:34,640
right, why we’re right.
I think Paul’s point is that

933
00:54:35,080 –> 00:54:38,240
that whatever the circumstance
or matter is almost, we can

934
00:54:38,240 –> 00:54:41,120
always find the self
justification that proves that

935
00:54:41,120 –> 00:54:42,720
we are right if we try hard
enough.

936
00:54:43,880 –> 00:54:47,440
You might be able to justify
something he says, but is it

937
00:54:47,480 –> 00:54:50,880
expedient or as the margin says,
is it profitable?

938
00:54:52,720 –> 00:54:57,400
The test of ecclesial life and
of our relationship with God is

939
00:54:57,400 –> 00:55:00,440
not.
Is there some way we can think

940
00:55:00,440 –> 00:55:06,040
of to justify our position?
But is what I’m doing here or

941
00:55:06,040 –> 00:55:09,560
the approach I’m taking helpful
and profitable to the body of

942
00:55:09,560 –> 00:55:15,160
Christ, given we are not our
own, given that we are brought

943
00:55:15,160 –> 00:55:19,160
with a price, that we are gods,
how dare we take any action

944
00:55:19,160 –> 00:55:23,560
whatsoever that would defile or
hurt or destroy that body?

945
00:55:25,880 –> 00:55:28,160
So the principle here is that in
Corinth they were saying we’re

946
00:55:28,160 –> 00:55:30,920
not under law anymore.
So therefore all things are

947
00:55:30,920 –> 00:55:33,960
lawful to me.
And in fact, the that they were

948
00:55:33,960 –> 00:55:36,720
taking an even deeper sense to
say, here’s the reason why I can

949
00:55:36,720 –> 00:55:38,760
justify what’s happening.
It’s what they were doing even

950
00:55:38,760 –> 00:55:41,440
with the man who had his his
father’s wife, that they were

951
00:55:41,440 –> 00:55:43,760
thinking up a legal
justification.

952
00:55:45,520 –> 00:55:48,560
And in a deeper sense, brothers
and sisters and young people,

953
00:55:49,280 –> 00:55:54,160
this is this is exactly at the
core heart of what we do in our

954
00:55:54,160 –> 00:55:57,400
own lives today.
What we do is we take a

955
00:55:57,400 –> 00:56:02,000
particular matter and we build
up a justification for ourselves

956
00:56:02,000 –> 00:56:05,880
as to why it’s right and we
justify the ourselves on the

957
00:56:05,880 –> 00:56:10,480
basis of a rational argument.
Yes, someone said it’s wrong

958
00:56:10,480 –> 00:56:13,200
because of these reasons, but I
can actually justify it because

959
00:56:13,200 –> 00:56:17,080
of this point or of that point.
I can explain away why I’m doing

960
00:56:17,080 –> 00:56:19,840
it because actually it’s not so
bad for this reason and for that

961
00:56:19,840 –> 00:56:23,960
reason and we build up this nice
little framework of self

962
00:56:23,960 –> 00:56:26,120
justification.
We all do it, don’t we?

963
00:56:26,720 –> 00:56:30,040
I know I do it, absolutely.
And I know that you do it too.

964
00:56:31,080 –> 00:56:33,760
We end up doing things in our
life that are not right, but

965
00:56:33,760 –> 00:56:36,440
we’ve managed to convince
ourselves on a legal

966
00:56:36,440 –> 00:56:39,320
justification, on a rational
argument that they’re right.

967
00:56:39,320 –> 00:56:41,760
It’s lawful for me to do it.
I can justify it.

968
00:56:44,800 –> 00:56:48,440
Now, that actually begs the
question, doesn’t it?

969
00:56:48,440 –> 00:56:53,240
And it’s a question I’ve often
asked myself, if we’re always

970
00:56:53,240 –> 00:56:56,520
able to come up with a legal
justification, A rational

971
00:56:56,520 –> 00:56:58,280
argument as to why we are right
or not.

972
00:56:59,320 –> 00:57:03,160
And how do we know if we’re
actually right Because someone

973
00:57:03,160 –> 00:57:05,880
else will disagree with us and
they think that they’re right

974
00:57:05,880 –> 00:57:08,200
because they have their own
justification in place.

975
00:57:08,400 –> 00:57:10,960
And the two ideas might be
diametrically opposed and you

976
00:57:10,960 –> 00:57:12,440
can’t have both of them being
right.

977
00:57:12,600 –> 00:57:14,640
But we’ve both managed to
convince ourselves that we’re

978
00:57:14,640 –> 00:57:17,080
right and we’re lawful and
therefore we’re right.

979
00:57:18,240 –> 00:57:22,200
And this problem of our self
justification is at the heart of

980
00:57:22,240 –> 00:57:24,280
every festering saw of eclesial
life.

981
00:57:25,720 –> 00:57:28,000
So how can we ever be in a
position where we say we’re

982
00:57:28,000 –> 00:57:31,640
right and I’ve got a conviction
I’m right when someone else

983
00:57:31,640 –> 00:57:32,960
might be convinced the other
way?

984
00:57:33,800 –> 00:57:36,920
We’ve built up layer upon layer
of our own justification.

985
00:57:37,880 –> 00:57:40,480
And this is exactly the issue
that Paul is addressing here.

986
00:57:40,480 –> 00:57:42,920
We’ve convinced ourselves that
what we’re doing is lawful.

987
00:57:43,600 –> 00:57:46,920
We build up our argument that
it’s lawful and and right and we

988
00:57:46,920 –> 00:57:51,120
justify ourselves.
You know, this issue of self

989
00:57:51,120 –> 00:57:54,520
justification encompasses every
spectrum of a collegial life

990
00:57:55,200 –> 00:57:59,440
from liberal to legalistic is
covered by this statement.

991
00:57:59,440 –> 00:58:02,120
I can justify myself and my own
approach.

992
00:58:03,040 –> 00:58:06,520
Whichever approach we take or
however we approach our life, it

993
00:58:06,520 –> 00:58:10,680
is possible for us to defend our
actions, to find someone else

994
00:58:10,680 –> 00:58:13,360
who is more extreme on one end
or the other, and therefore to

995
00:58:13,360 –> 00:58:19,080
see ourselves in the balance.
And to say, I can do what I’m

996
00:58:19,080 –> 00:58:21,560
saying is right here.
I’ve justified myself.

997
00:58:23,720 –> 00:58:30,520
But the point is that both of
these approaches are on the

998
00:58:30,520 –> 00:58:36,240
basis of law.
If we are in a process of self

999
00:58:36,240 –> 00:58:41,480
justification, no matter what
our approach to ecclesial life,

1000
00:58:42,880 –> 00:58:45,760
we are living life on the basis
of law.

1001
00:58:46,960 –> 00:58:50,360
We are living life on the basis
of all things are lawful to me,

1002
00:58:50,360 –> 00:58:53,520
I’ve come up with a
justification that justifies my

1003
00:58:53,520 –> 00:58:57,000
position.
It’s the refrain of the

1004
00:58:57,000 –> 00:58:59,040
Corinthian ecclesia that Paul
was quoting back to them.

1005
00:58:59,040 –> 00:59:02,560
All things are lawful for me.
Can’t you just see that bursting

1006
00:59:02,560 –> 00:59:04,160
through the pages of of this
book?

1007
00:59:05,600 –> 00:59:07,200
So what can we do about that
then?

1008
00:59:08,160 –> 00:59:10,920
How can we ever get to a point
where we are able to say whether

1009
00:59:10,920 –> 00:59:12,760
what we’re doing is right or is
wrong?

1010
00:59:13,960 –> 00:59:17,960
And the answer to this is
absolutely incredible because

1011
00:59:17,960 –> 00:59:22,320
what Paul says is it’s not a
question of self justification.

1012
00:59:23,120 –> 00:59:27,360
It’s not a question of can I
justify the position, put the

1013
00:59:27,360 –> 00:59:32,280
concept of law to one side, put
the concept of can I rationally

1014
00:59:32,280 –> 00:59:34,840
find an argument as to why I’m
right to one side?

1015
00:59:35,240 –> 00:59:40,080
The answer is not am I right or
wrong from the basis of law?

1016
00:59:42,080 –> 00:59:45,560
It’s not.
Am I allowed to do this because

1017
00:59:45,560 –> 00:59:48,560
I’ve managed to justify my my
position on this.

1018
00:59:50,360 –> 00:59:52,320
He hasn’t.
He hasn’t told us to do this at

1019
00:59:52,320 –> 00:59:55,120
all.
He completely turns his, this

1020
00:59:55,120 –> 00:59:58,120
whole thing on its head.
And he says rather than finding

1021
00:59:58,120 –> 01:00:04,800
a justification for your life,
he says all things are not

1022
01:00:04,800 –> 01:00:09,160
expedient.
This idea of expedient is the

1023
01:00:09,160 –> 01:00:14,280
idea to bear up, to bear
together, to contribute, to be

1024
01:00:14,280 –> 01:00:19,320
conducive, to give advantage.
And in this concept, in this

1025
01:00:19,320 –> 01:00:23,120
principle, is the powerful
principle that can transform

1026
01:00:23,240 –> 01:00:27,040
utterly our ecclesial life.
Paul is saying that when we’re

1027
01:00:27,040 –> 01:00:30,960
faced with a, a decision in life
or a position on how we act or

1028
01:00:30,960 –> 01:00:35,200
how we walk, the question is not
can I justify myself on the

1029
01:00:35,200 –> 01:00:40,520
basis of law or of rational
reasoning, so much as how will

1030
01:00:40,520 –> 01:00:42,840
this action contribute to my
growth?

1031
01:00:42,880 –> 01:00:46,880
And more particularly, how will
this action allow me to

1032
01:00:46,880 –> 01:00:49,720
contribute to beer together or
be conducive to the ecclesial

1033
01:00:49,720 –> 01:00:52,400
environment?
What advantage will this action

1034
01:00:52,400 –> 01:00:54,440
give me in my contribution to
ecclesial life?

1035
01:00:54,800 –> 01:00:56,360
Now, we need to be careful even
with that, don’t we?

1036
01:00:56,360 –> 01:01:00,360
Because it’s then possible to,
to argue that to, to use exactly

1037
01:01:00,360 –> 01:01:02,960
the process of self
justification and to argue that

1038
01:01:03,080 –> 01:01:05,120
that what we’re doing is right
when it’s clearly wrong from

1039
01:01:05,120 –> 01:01:07,760
God’s perspective.
But can you see the transforming

1040
01:01:07,760 –> 01:01:11,520
power of of this argument here?
It’s not what can I justify my

1041
01:01:11,520 –> 01:01:17,440
for myself, but in an honest
humble approach, what is going

1042
01:01:17,440 –> 01:01:20,400
to do the best for my brothers
and sisters to build them up.

1043
01:01:21,040 –> 01:01:24,360
This is an expansion of the
concept we saw yesterday where

1044
01:01:24,360 –> 01:01:27,440
where God was talking about our
our Co labouring together with

1045
01:01:27,440 –> 01:01:30,280
God, that our focus and our
reward as it were, is to build

1046
01:01:30,280 –> 01:01:32,600
up and to contribute to the
growth of the ecclesial

1047
01:01:32,600 –> 01:01:35,000
environment.
And he’s saying, absolutely take

1048
01:01:35,000 –> 01:01:37,720
that concept and make that your
life.

1049
01:01:39,440 –> 01:01:42,640
And the reality is, brothers and
sisters and young people, that

1050
01:01:42,640 –> 01:01:48,000
that test will result in far
greater care in what we do in

1051
01:01:48,000 –> 01:01:51,840
our life than if we try and
justify on the basis of law.

1052
01:01:52,840 –> 01:01:55,920
It’s a care that is based not on
our own strength.

1053
01:01:56,560 –> 01:01:59,760
But is it a desire then to
contribute to Beer Up and to

1054
01:01:59,760 –> 01:02:03,760
help others?
And Paul’s point screams us to

1055
01:02:04,080 –> 01:02:06,280
out to us, doesn’t it?
Loud and clear here in the midst

1056
01:02:06,280 –> 01:02:09,160
of all the horror that he has to
deal with in that ecclesia, in

1057
01:02:09,160 –> 01:02:11,600
that in that environment where
people were taking each other to

1058
01:02:11,600 –> 01:02:14,480
law with fornication, with a
father’s wife, severe matters

1059
01:02:14,480 –> 01:02:16,640
he’s dealing with.
He turns them around and he

1060
01:02:16,640 –> 01:02:21,640
says, understand that it’s not
about being puffed up, not

1061
01:02:21,640 –> 01:02:27,320
glorying in your own strength.
But that is individuals I want

1062
01:02:27,320 –> 01:02:30,520
to build up.
Will it assist?

1063
01:02:31,480 –> 01:02:34,560
Will it develop my brothers and
sisters and young people?

1064
01:02:36,920 –> 01:02:40,280
When he talks about us taking
out the living to examine

1065
01:02:40,280 –> 01:02:43,320
ourselves and to remove the
living, that is the test we

1066
01:02:43,320 –> 01:02:47,440
should be using.
It’s not self examination on the

1067
01:02:47,440 –> 01:02:52,640
basis of can I justify my
position, but a self examination

1068
01:02:52,640 –> 01:02:58,760
that says have my actions Co
laboured together with God to

1069
01:02:58,760 –> 01:03:00,840
build up and grow his ecclesial
environment.

1070
01:03:02,880 –> 01:03:06,320
It’s not a question of can I
justify because we do don’t we

1071
01:03:07,160 –> 01:03:09,240
young people particularly, but
all of us really.

1072
01:03:10,440 –> 01:03:15,400
We take the world into our life
in so many ways and we justify

1073
01:03:15,400 –> 01:03:17,240
it on the basis of a legal
argument.

1074
01:03:19,200 –> 01:03:23,200
But there is no way we can
justify that on the question of

1075
01:03:23,200 –> 01:03:26,840
expedience.
Is what we’re doing going to

1076
01:03:26,840 –> 01:03:29,600
assist our brothers and sisters
or fellow young people to the

1077
01:03:29,600 –> 01:03:33,720
Kingdom?
And is it going to assist us to

1078
01:03:33,720 –> 01:03:37,320
shine forth the glory and the
splendor of the Father in all

1079
01:03:37,320 –> 01:03:41,640
its light?
I believe Paul’s principle here

1080
01:03:41,640 –> 01:03:45,240
is a fundamental change to the
principle of life we should be

1081
01:03:45,240 –> 01:03:48,920
living by.
It’s not living law by self,

1082
01:03:49,280 –> 01:03:51,360
living life by self
justification.

1083
01:03:52,280 –> 01:03:54,680
It’s not what is the minimum I
can get away with.

1084
01:03:55,400 –> 01:03:58,240
It’s not what is the benchmark
so that I can attain this in my

1085
01:03:58,240 –> 01:04:01,320
own strength.
It is what will assist me to

1086
01:04:01,320 –> 01:04:06,040
contribute, to bear together and
to grow our eclesial

1087
01:04:06,040 –> 01:04:10,320
environment.
And so by way of conclusion then

1088
01:04:10,320 –> 01:04:16,040
Paul comes in verse 19 to
another beautiful principle of

1089
01:04:16,040 –> 01:04:21,840
our life before God.
What know ye not that your body

1090
01:04:21,920 –> 01:04:25,400
is the temple of the Holy
Spirit, which is in you, which

1091
01:04:25,400 –> 01:04:27,040
He have of God, and ye are not
your own?

1092
01:04:28,960 –> 01:04:33,640
All introduces us or or brings
us again to the concept of our

1093
01:04:33,640 –> 01:04:37,480
body as the living temple of
God.

1094
01:04:39,040 –> 01:04:42,160
Just stop and contemplate for a
moment what He is saying.

1095
01:04:43,160 –> 01:04:49,480
Picture here the temple, the
outer court, making way to the

1096
01:04:49,480 –> 01:04:55,520
innermost sanctum, through the
holy place, to the Most Holy

1097
01:04:55,520 –> 01:04:58,880
place where the Father Himself
grows with his people.

1098
01:05:00,080 –> 01:05:03,280
It’s a beautiful picture of God
descending and dwelling with his

1099
01:05:03,280 –> 01:05:05,800
people in the spirit of
holiness, in the beauty of

1100
01:05:05,800 –> 01:05:09,560
holiness as it’s described, and
the absolute joy of fellowship

1101
01:05:09,560 –> 01:05:11,160
between the Father and his
people.

1102
01:05:13,040 –> 01:05:18,000
But Paul is telling us in this
verse that that beauty of

1103
01:05:18,000 –> 01:05:22,320
holiness, that that place where
the Father will come down and

1104
01:05:22,320 –> 01:05:25,320
dwell with his people is our
body.

1105
01:05:26,840 –> 01:05:29,600
That our body is actually the
environment where the Father

1106
01:05:29,760 –> 01:05:34,880
himself will come and dwell.
That we are the holy temple in

1107
01:05:34,880 –> 01:05:41,080
which God chooses to dwell.
Just stop for a moment and

1108
01:05:41,080 –> 01:05:45,640
contemplate the power of this.
It’s the answer to all of the

1109
01:05:45,640 –> 01:05:48,440
issues that Paul was dealing
with and that ecclesial

1110
01:05:48,440 –> 01:05:51,520
environment.
We are the temple of God.

1111
01:05:53,040 –> 01:05:54,360
So what are we doing with our
body?

1112
01:05:55,920 –> 01:05:58,800
Are we allowing the Father to
remain dwelling in our body?

1113
01:06:00,320 –> 01:06:03,200
It’s the process of self
examination he’s asking us to do

1114
01:06:03,200 –> 01:06:08,600
to to liven out the liven, to
take out the liven to make sure

1115
01:06:08,600 –> 01:06:11,600
that we are doing things to
build up and for constructive

1116
01:06:11,600 –> 01:06:13,040
outcomes.
Not because of self

1117
01:06:13,040 –> 01:06:18,040
justification, but because we
understand that right inside

1118
01:06:18,040 –> 01:06:21,200
ourselves is the dwelling place
of God himself.

1119
01:06:21,200 –> 01:06:26,280
Let’s come across in conclusion
to Isaiah 66 because Paul, Paul

1120
01:06:26,280 –> 01:06:28,680
was really picking out this
concept that’s come from Isaiah

1121
01:06:28,680 –> 01:06:32,480
here of the of God dwelling in
his people.

1122
01:06:34,040 –> 01:06:40,400
Isaiah 66 and verse one and two.
Thus saith Yahweh, the heaven is

1123
01:06:40,400 –> 01:06:42,960
my throne, and the earth is my
footstool.

1124
01:06:43,120 –> 01:06:45,760
Where is the house that you
build unto me, and where is the

1125
01:06:45,760 –> 01:06:49,200
place of my rest?
For all those things hath mine

1126
01:06:49,200 –> 01:06:52,440
handmade, and all those things
hath been saith Yahweh.

1127
01:06:53,760 –> 01:06:56,680
This is Yahweh who is the
Creator of the heavens and the

1128
01:06:56,680 –> 01:06:59,800
earth.
The earth, the massive expanse

1129
01:06:59,800 –> 01:07:03,600
of the heavens is His throne,
the full expanse of the heavens

1130
01:07:03,600 –> 01:07:07,520
there where God sits.
And the earth is just His

1131
01:07:07,520 –> 01:07:10,080
footstool.
All the fullness of the earth is

1132
01:07:10,080 –> 01:07:13,520
just His footstool where He
places his feet to rest.

1133
01:07:14,360 –> 01:07:17,760
That’s the enormity and the
power and the wonder of our

1134
01:07:17,760 –> 01:07:20,040
Father is the Creator of the
heavens and the earth.

1135
01:07:20,680 –> 01:07:22,160
Where is the place that you
build unto me?

1136
01:07:22,160 –> 01:07:24,200
He says, Where is the place of
my rest?

1137
01:07:25,040 –> 01:07:27,880
You know, there is no place that
we can build that would be

1138
01:07:27,880 –> 01:07:32,160
glorious enough or rich enough
or luxurious enough to justify

1139
01:07:32,160 –> 01:07:34,320
the Father coming down and
deciding to dwell there.

1140
01:07:34,320 –> 01:07:37,680
There is nothing that we can
create like that.

1141
01:07:38,240 –> 01:07:41,360
We have no ability to require
the Father to come in to dwell

1142
01:07:41,360 –> 01:07:44,840
with us.
The Father looks about out upon

1143
01:07:44,840 –> 01:07:48,880
all that He’s made and He’s and
all that His power has created.

1144
01:07:48,880 –> 01:07:51,760
The heavens is His throne and
and the earth is His footstool.

1145
01:07:52,720 –> 01:08:00,160
What does He say but to this man
will I look even to Him that is

1146
01:08:00,160 –> 01:08:05,240
poor and of a contrite spirit,
and that trembleth at my word.

1147
01:08:07,280 –> 01:08:11,560
He looks across the expanse of
the stars and the fullness of

1148
01:08:11,560 –> 01:08:15,080
the heavens.
He looks at the fullness of the

1149
01:08:15,120 –> 01:08:18,960
earth, and this morning,
brothers and sisters and young

1150
01:08:18,960 –> 01:08:23,399
people, he comes across the seas
to the place of New Zealand.

1151
01:08:25,000 –> 01:08:28,479
He looks upon the country of New
Zealand, and his eyes and his

1152
01:08:28,479 –> 01:08:33,560
focus come into Canterbury, to
Kaipoy, into this hall.

1153
01:08:35,040 –> 01:08:39,000
And he’s saying to this man,
Will I look even to him?

1154
01:08:39,000 –> 01:08:42,840
That is poor and of a contrite
spirit, and trembles at my word.

1155
01:08:44,760 –> 01:08:49,760
When Paul says that we are the
temple of God, that is what he

1156
01:08:49,760 –> 01:08:53,240
means.
He’s saying that the Father is

1157
01:08:53,240 –> 01:08:56,479
looking upon us as a place where
he wants to dwell.

1158
01:08:58,600 –> 01:09:02,040
But he cannot do that if we’re
puffed up and dwelling in our

1159
01:09:02,040 –> 01:09:05,040
own strength.
If we’re there with the leaven

1160
01:09:05,040 –> 01:09:10,120
of our own glory shining in US
and overwhelming us, He wants us

1161
01:09:10,120 –> 01:09:14,520
to stop and to examine
ourselves, to remove the leaven

1162
01:09:14,520 –> 01:09:17,800
so that we can share the Feast
of the Passover with the Son

1163
01:09:17,800 –> 01:09:21,120
Himself.
He’s wanting us to consider the

1164
01:09:21,120 –> 01:09:26,120
basis of life as expedients
towards others, as what is best

1165
01:09:26,120 –> 01:09:29,240
for the growth of His glory, for
the assistance of our brothers

1166
01:09:29,240 –> 01:09:32,240
and sisters in the strength of
our eclesional environment.

1167
01:09:33,880 –> 01:09:37,600
But to do that we have to learn
the lesson of humility, to

1168
01:09:37,600 –> 01:09:41,960
understand that we are nothing
of ourselves, that we are poor

1169
01:09:42,600 –> 01:09:45,680
and broken.
We learn to tremble at the

1170
01:09:45,680 –> 01:09:52,080
wonder and the power of His
Word, because then, then He can

1171
01:09:52,080 –> 01:09:56,320
elevate us to sit in the wonders
of heavenlies in Christ Jesus.

1172
01:09:57,400 –> 01:10:01,840
He can take our hearts and make
that the holiest of all.

1173
01:10:03,520 –> 01:10:09,400
And Yahweh, the Creator of the
heavens and of the earth, will

1174
01:10:09,400 –> 01:10:11,400
be pleased to dwell in US.