Ben O’Grady – Do All for the Glory of God (1 Corinthians) – Class 5 – A More Excellent Way

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To introduce to Ben’s talks,
we’re going to read First

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Corinthians chapter 12 from
verse 25 to chapter 13, verse 7.

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But if you read your handbook,
there’s a brackets until 8I.

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I would guess that means the
first sentence of first sight of

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chapter 13.
So we’ll get Brother Andrew

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Ackerman to read that for us,
please.

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Reading with you First
Corinthians chapter 12, starting

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verse 25.
That there should be no schism

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in the body, but that the
members should have the same

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care one for another.
And whether one member suffer,

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all the members suffer with it,
or one member be honoured, all

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the members rejoice with it.
Now ye are the body of Christ

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and members in particular, and
God has set some in the

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ecclesia.
First apostles, secondarily

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prophets, thirdly teachers.
After that, miracles meant gifts

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of healing, Helps governments,
diversities of tongues.

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Are all apostles are all
prophets, Are all teachers, are

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all workers of miracles, Have
all the gifts of healing.

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Do all speak with tongues, do
all interpret, but cover

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earnestly the best gifts, and
yet show I unto you a more

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excellent way.
Though I speak with the tons of

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men and of angels, and have not
love, I am become as a sounding

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brass, or a tinkling symbol.
And though I have the gift of

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prophecy, and understand all
mysteries and all knowledge, and

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though I have all faith, so that
I could remove mountains, and

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have not love, I am nothing.
And now I bestow all my goods to

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feed the poor.
And though I give my body to be

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burned, and have not love, it
profiteth me nothing.

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Love suffereth long, and is
kind.

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Love envieth not.
Love wanteth not itself, is not

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puffed up, does not behave
itself unseemly, seeketh not her

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own, is not easily provoked,
thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not

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an iniquity, but rejoiceth in
the truth.

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Beareth all things, believeth
all things, hopeth all things,

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endureth all things, love never
faileth.

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Thank you, Andrew, with that
introductory reading.

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Now we ask your attention to
Brother Ben’s talk.

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Yet shall I unto you a more
excellent way.

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Well, thanks, brother Charles,
and good evening.

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Good morning, my dear brothers
and sisters and young people.

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So we’ve come to know that
struggling Corinthian ecclesia,

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haven’t we?
We’ve come to to reach into the

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heart of the issues that were
eating the heart out of that

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ecclesia.
And yet we’ve seen with Paul

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that power of the ability to to
pull away from just these issues

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here in the nitty gritty of
those and to come back to the

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broader principles that are at
stake, the principles of God,

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which actually give us the
answers to exactly how we can

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create unity and strength within
our ecclesial environments.

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So yesterday we saw some strong
connections to to Moses and to

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Israel in the wilderness.
And I just want to commence this

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morning by pulling that together
to show to show the different

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connections that we’ve seen and
just pull that together to see

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why Paul was making this
connection.

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And then particularly to see why
Paul is doing that and the power

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of that for us.
So here I have up on the screen

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now I must just say that many of
these connections were given to

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me by brother Stephen Palmer.
So appreciate the contribution

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he’s he’s made in this and some
of the connections that we saw

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yesterday as well.
So there are two parallel

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components that that the apostle
pulls through here.

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There are a number of
connections back to the

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wilderness wanderings and the
work of the wilderness

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wanderings.
The first is that there is a

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comparison between Paul himself
and Moses, the role of Moses and

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the role of Paul.
And the second is the comparison

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between the, the congregation in
the wilderness and the ecclesia

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at Corinth.
So the first, which we saw in

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our first talk together was that
in Exodus chapter 4, where Moses

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says, I’m not eloquent, I I
can’t come, I can’t go and speak

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to Pharaoh.
I can’t do it myself.

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So this was a man, remember, who
is mighty in Word and deed, and

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yet had turned to a man who was
completely humbled and said, I

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can’t do it.
I can’t go on my own strength.

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And likewise, we saw in in one
Corinthians 1 exactly the same

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character out of Paul himself
who says, and remember, this is

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Paul who is the the great
Pharisee.

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He came with.
He sees I came not with

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Excellency of speech.
There’s also a connection out of

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Numbers chapter 12, this idea of
being faithful, faithful in all

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my house, God’s description of
Moses, and likewise a connection

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into the stewards and the man
being found faithful.

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I’m not going to go through them
all in detail here, but what I

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just want you to to do is to see
the number, to be impressed by

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the number of connections that
there are back to the wilderness

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wanderings.
And to see this is a very clear

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theme.
So First Corinthians 2 and four,

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as you see here, and then into
the section of First Corinthians

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13 and 14 where there’s also a
number of connections as you see

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on the screen there.
And as we saw yesterday, there

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was also the very strong
connections into First

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Corinthians 10.
So there’s a number of

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connections that take us back in
our thoughts to the congregation

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in the wilderness.
So why does the Apostle Paul do

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this?
Why is he making this clear

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connection back to the concepts
of the ecclesia in the

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wilderness?
Well, I believe it’s because the

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particular issues of the
congregation in the wilderness

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are exactly those that he was
struggling with in in Corinth.

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The first was that they
challenged the authority of

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Moses.
There was this constant

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challenge against the authority
of Moses.

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The second was that there were
individuals who would create

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issues that would then spread
throughout the whole

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congregation.
And interestingly, if you go

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back and have a look in 1st
Corinthians 10, as we did

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yesterday, a number of those
issues had occurred from

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individuals who had started that
often because they were

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challenging Moses, and that that
would then go and spread

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throughout the whole
congregation.

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We find that God’s glory is
revealed both in judgement and

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in evidence of His support
towards the faithful and

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particularly of Moses, but also,
interestingly, that everyone,

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including Moses and Aaron
themselves, were learning that

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they did nothing in their own
strength.

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They learnt that they were there
as instruments of God to help,

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to build up and to encourage the
congregation in its journey

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through the wilderness until
they could finally come into the

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Promised Land.
It’s the challenge against

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Moses, individuals who cause
issues to spread through the

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whole congregation, God’s glory
being revealed both in judgement

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and support, and all of us
learning that we do nothing in

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our own strength but as
instruments of God.

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So why then does Paul pick up
this obvious and strong

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connection back to the
wilderness wanderings?

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Well, clearly he is drawing a
comparison between himself and

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Moses as faithful stewards with
whom God had communed.

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I believe that actually the
apostle Paul is showing the

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Corinthian ecclesia that the
attitude that they were showing

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towards him and their challenge
of him as their father in the

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truth was very similar to the
constant challenge that Moses

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had with the ecclesia in the
wilderness.

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He showed the clear parallels
that existed between Israel in

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the wilderness and the issues
that were eating out the heart

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of the Corinthian ecclesia, and
therefore he is warning the

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Corinthian ecclesia to look
closely at themselves.

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Now here’s the lesson for us,
because living in these last

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days, could we imagine that the
that the warnings of Paul taken

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out of the congregation in the
wilderness are not equally

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applicable to us?
Well, he tells us in 1st

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Corinthians 10 that they are
exactly there for our case.

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Now these things were our
examples to the intent we should

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not lust after evil things as
they also lusted.

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These things were our examples
was the comment that Paul made.

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So he’s telling both the
Corinthian ecclesia, but 2000

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years later he’s calling out to
us also that the things that

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happened to that ecclesia were
examples to us because they

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mirror what happens in ecclesial
life even today.

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Am I taking that too far?
Well, let’s go to the next verse

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he uses on that.
Now all these things happened

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unto them, for in samples
they’re an example.

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They’re an in sample to us, and
they are written for our

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admonition upon whom the ends of
the world are come.

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He writes to the Corinthian
ecclesia upon whom the ends of

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the world are come, brothers and
sisters and young people.

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If that phrase was relevant to
the Corinthian ecclesia in

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Paul’s time and the change of
the world that was to occur in

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that time, how much more
powerful is that phrase for us

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who live with a cacophony of the
screams of the world as it’s

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going to the end of the world of
all worlds.

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For us who live at the time,
we’re the end of all the world’s

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that come essentially as all of
time is come together focused

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upon the return of Christ.
And we can clearly take the the

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lessons out of both the
congregation in the wilderness,

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but also out of the ecclesia and
Corinth to ourselves, can’t we?

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Because it’s saying those things
were in samples.

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They were provided to us as an
in sample.

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They are written for our
admonition, that we need to take

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the example and the admonition
out of it.

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Upon surely whom the ends of the
world are come.

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And then comes the warning in
the very next verse.

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Wherefore let him that thinketh
he standeth.

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Take heed lest he fall.
The Apostle, as he has done

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throughout this book, but is now
starting to do so very

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powerfully, is pleading with us
to take the principles from the

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Corinthian ecclesia and to apply
it to ourselves personally.

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He’s saying to us that the words
he has spoken, that the

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principles he has talked about,
are principles that we must

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personally make our own, that we
must take and actually take into

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our own hearts.
It’s not just something that

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someone else in the ecclesia
should be considering.

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It’s not something that we can
use to take a good whack at

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someone else in the ecclesia
who’s clearly missing the point.

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The apostle has made a a
dramatic plea for each of us

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personally to take these
principles and apply them to

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ourselves.
You know, it would be so easy

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for us, wouldn’t it, brothers
and sisters?

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Because this is often what we do
is to just be touched by the

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principles we’ve heard, to think
about them and and to be touched

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by them, and then to walk away
without changing, without

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transforming ourselves.
We need to take the time to sit

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down and to think about the
principles that we’ve seen out

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of this book to the Corinthian
ecclesia.

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We actually need to take the
time to sit down to stop the

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rush of daily life and to write
out how we can apply them to our

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life.
Maybe to take the top ten issues

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or or the top ten matters that
are that we’re struggling with

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and to say, how can we take
these principles?

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How can we apply the the wisdom
of the apostle Paul and go back

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to the godly principle involved?
Here’s the issue now.

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What’s the godly principle
involved and how can we learn

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ourselves to respond to this?
Let him that thinketh, he

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standeth.
Take heed lest he fall.

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It’s it’s a plea to each of us
to stay, to say even when we

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think we’re going well, there is
a clear lesson here that we need

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to stop and examine ourselves
and learn and see where we might

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actually be struggling
underneath.

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It’s not good enough just to be
touched and to walk, walk away,

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but we need to actually apply
them in our own lives, he says

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in the next verse.
There hath no temptation taken

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you, but such as is common to
man.

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But God is faithful who will not
suffer you to be tempted above

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that ye are able, but will with
the temptation also make a way

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to escape, that ye may be able
to bear it.

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There hath no temptation taken
you, but such as is common to

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man.
And what the apostles point is,

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the temptations that the
ecclesia in the wilderness faced

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were exactly the same
temptations that the ecclesia in

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00:12:55,680 –> 00:12:58,240
Corinth were facing.
There was no difference.

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He’s shown it was a completely
different era with completely

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00:13:02,160 –> 00:13:05,560
different technologies.
Even in Paul’s time, it was in

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such a different environment.
You couldn’t take a a more

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00:13:07,960 –> 00:13:09,320
different environment, really,
could you?

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Between the the ecclesia or the
congregation in the wilderness

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00:13:12,440 –> 00:13:15,920
with all of their struggles, and
the thriving metropolis in the

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00:13:15,920 –> 00:13:18,400
beautiful city of Corinth with
all their struggles.

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And yet the apostle says the
temptations that have taken both

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00:13:22,600 –> 00:13:24,640
of those eccleses are exactly
the same.

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There is no new temptation.
And if that’s the case, brothers

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00:13:28,760 –> 00:13:32,560
and sisters, then how much more
do those words apply to us who

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are living at the times of the
ends of the world?

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To say, even in our
technological age, even with all

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of the struggles we have, the
temptations and the difficulties

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00:13:41,840 –> 00:13:44,920
that we face are exactly those
which are brethren in the

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00:13:44,920 –> 00:13:47,880
wilderness and our brethren in
the Corinthian ecclesia

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00:13:47,920 –> 00:13:51,240
themselves faced.
How can that be?

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00:13:52,360 –> 00:13:54,840
They didn’t face the sort of
temptations that we face with

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00:13:54,840 –> 00:13:59,080
technology and all the the the
the busyness of life and rushing

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00:13:59,480 –> 00:14:03,400
from from place to place.
They didn’t have those issues.

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00:14:05,840 –> 00:14:10,080
But the point that the apostle
has shown us is the principles,

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00:14:10,800 –> 00:14:13,240
the underlying principles are
exactly the same.

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00:14:14,480 –> 00:14:20,360
That we need to learn that flesh
is nothing, that no flesh can

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00:14:20,360 –> 00:14:24,200
glory in God’s presence.
That we are not our own, that we

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00:14:24,200 –> 00:14:28,080
are brought with a price, and
therefore that our whole work is

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00:14:28,080 –> 00:14:30,960
to become a slave, a minister
for God.

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00:14:31,600 –> 00:14:35,480
That God can then lift us up and
turn us into Co labourers with

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00:14:35,480 –> 00:14:39,200
Him, so that our focus becomes
only upon building and

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00:14:39,200 –> 00:14:41,680
developing and growing the
ecclesial environment.

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00:14:41,680 –> 00:14:44,600
Those principles are powerful
for the ecclesia in the

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00:14:44,600 –> 00:14:49,400
wilderness, for the ecclesia in
Corinth, and for our ecclesia

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00:14:49,400 –> 00:14:53,000
now in the last days before
Christ’s return.

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00:14:55,160 –> 00:14:57,560
And so the apostle in this
section here from First

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00:14:57,760 –> 00:15:02,000
Corinthians 12 through to 14,
starts to turn his focus to the

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00:15:02,000 –> 00:15:05,440
problem of the Spirit gifts and
the use of the Spirit gifts.

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Interestingly, the issue with
the Spirit gifts was exactly the

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00:15:11,880 –> 00:15:14,240
same issue as had been faced by
Moses.

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Not that they had the spirit
gifts in the wilderness, but so

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00:15:18,040 –> 00:15:21,280
the issue time and time again in
the wilderness was the challenge

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00:15:21,280 –> 00:15:25,720
to the authority of Moses.
In every circumstance there were

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00:15:25,720 –> 00:15:33,160
individuals who were envious of
Moses and ambitious for pre

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00:15:33,160 –> 00:15:39,120
eminence in the congregation.
That one of the major problems

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00:15:39,120 –> 00:15:44,240
of the ecclesia in the
wilderness was ambition for pre

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00:15:44,240 –> 00:15:50,080
eminence in the congregation.
And that is exactly the issue

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00:15:50,800 –> 00:15:54,720
that the Apostle Paul deals with
this morning around the matter

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00:15:54,720 –> 00:15:58,360
of the Spirit gifts.
Because the issue in One

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00:15:58,360 –> 00:16:02,440
Corinthians 12 and the use of
the Spirit gifts was caused by

267
00:16:02,440 –> 00:16:05,320
the ambitions of people within
the Corinthian ecclesia who

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00:16:05,320 –> 00:16:10,760
wanted to have the most visible
and the most respected of gifts.

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00:16:11,760 –> 00:16:14,560
Although interestingly, we shall
find that it was not the most

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00:16:14,560 –> 00:16:18,160
beneficial of gifts, the gift
that they all desired, that they

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00:16:18,200 –> 00:16:21,160
all wanted to have, was not the
one that would build up the

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00:16:21,160 –> 00:16:24,960
ecclesia the most, but which was
the most visible so that other

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00:16:24,960 –> 00:16:29,360
people could see them and their
use of the gifts and their pre

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00:16:29,360 –> 00:16:34,000
eminence in the ecclesia.
So this chapter has to do with

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the use of the Spirit gifts,
which of course we don’t have

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00:16:37,560 –> 00:16:41,240
today.
But the reality is, as we have

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00:16:41,240 –> 00:16:44,840
often found with the apostle,
that in answering this

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00:16:44,840 –> 00:16:49,760
particular issue he gives us the
border principle, which becomes

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00:16:49,800 –> 00:16:56,440
utterly relevant for us today.
The issue created by the misuse

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00:16:56,440 –> 00:17:00,160
of the Spirit gifts in Paul’s
time, the disharmony that it

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00:17:00,160 –> 00:17:03,800
created, is exactly replicated
today.

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00:17:04,680 –> 00:17:09,079
If we act in a selfish, or more
particularly if we act with

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00:17:09,079 –> 00:17:16,119
ambition in ecclesial life
today, there is no place for

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00:17:16,119 –> 00:17:20,760
ambition, no place for seeking
pre eminence in the ecclesia.

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00:17:22,280 –> 00:17:27,319
To have ambition in ecclesial
life will inevitably lead to

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00:17:27,319 –> 00:17:30,400
division and heartache in
ecclesia.

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00:17:31,640 –> 00:17:35,440
You see, the principle of
Corinthians is that it is about

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00:17:35,440 –> 00:17:41,440
flesh being nothing, that we
become slaves of God and

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00:17:41,440 –> 00:17:45,680
therefore we are working to the
expansion of God and of his

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00:17:45,720 –> 00:17:49,600
glory.
And so we find that the Apostle

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00:17:49,600 –> 00:17:53,200
Paul gives us the perfect
antidote, the perfect answer to

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00:17:53,200 –> 00:17:58,160
his to to the ambition shown
within the ecclesia and to show

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00:17:58,640 –> 00:18:04,600
instead the fundamental
importance of diversity that

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00:18:04,600 –> 00:18:08,800
each diverse brother and sister
brings to eclesial life

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00:18:09,320 –> 00:18:12,440
together.
It is not about ambition in

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00:18:12,440 –> 00:18:16,720
terms of pre eminence, but about
the contribution that we make as

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00:18:16,720 –> 00:18:21,160
diverse brothers and sisters
working together for the sake of

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00:18:21,160 –> 00:18:24,760
and for the glory of God, that
we can build and develop the

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00:18:24,760 –> 00:18:28,440
ecclesia together.
And so here in first Corinthians

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00:18:28,440 –> 00:18:31,200
12 and verse one.
Now concerning spiritual gifts,

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00:18:31,200 –> 00:18:33,520
brethren, I would not have you
ignorant.

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00:18:33,840 –> 00:18:36,320
So the apostle is dealing
particularly clearly with the

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00:18:36,320 –> 00:18:38,640
use of Holy Spirit gifts in
Corinth.

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00:18:38,640 –> 00:18:42,960
So what was the problem?
Verse 2 You know that you were

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00:18:42,960 –> 00:18:45,920
Gentiles carried away into these
dumb idols even as you were led.

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00:18:45,920 –> 00:18:48,520
Wherefore I give you to
understand that no man speaking

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00:18:48,520 –> 00:18:51,600
by the Spirit of God calls Jesus
accursed, and that no man can

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00:18:51,600 –> 00:18:54,280
say that Jesus is the Lord but
by the Holy Spirit.

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00:18:55,120 –> 00:18:57,600
So there were people who were
clearly saying things that were

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00:18:57,600 –> 00:19:01,040
against the principles of truth,
but claiming to do so with the

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00:19:01,040 –> 00:19:02,840
Holy Spirit.
And that the apostle says it

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00:19:02,840 –> 00:19:05,840
cannot be the case.
You cannot have the Holy Spirit

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00:19:06,360 –> 00:19:09,880
and be using the Holy Spirit to
say things which destroy the

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00:19:09,880 –> 00:19:12,040
principles and the doctrines of
the truth.

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00:19:13,680 –> 00:19:17,640
Verse 4.
There are diversities of gifts,

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00:19:18,120 –> 00:19:22,960
but the same Spirit.
There are differences of

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00:19:22,960 –> 00:19:24,520
administrations, but the same
law.

318
00:19:24,560 –> 00:19:27,280
There are diversities of
operations, the same God which

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00:19:27,280 –> 00:19:31,320
worketh All in all.
And so he’s telling the ecclesia

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00:19:31,320 –> 00:19:34,440
that there is this diversity,
this difference of contribution

321
00:19:34,440 –> 00:19:36,720
that they make to the ecclesial
environment.

322
00:19:37,920 –> 00:19:41,440
But if we come across to chapter
14, we find that this diversity

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00:19:41,440 –> 00:19:44,400
of contribution in itself had
become what then started to

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00:19:44,400 –> 00:19:46,640
cause the issue within that
environment.

325
00:19:46,640 –> 00:19:51,320
So chapter 14 and in verse one
follow after love and desire,

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00:19:51,320 –> 00:19:54,280
spiritual gifts, but rather that
ye may prophecy.

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00:19:54,920 –> 00:19:58,120
For he that speaketh in an
unknown tongue or in tongues,

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00:19:58,280 –> 00:20:00,360
speaketh not unto men, but unto
God.

329
00:20:00,840 –> 00:20:03,560
For no man understandeth him,
howbeit in the Spirit he

330
00:20:03,560 –> 00:20:07,160
speaketh mysteries.
But he that prophesieth speaketh

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00:20:07,160 –> 00:20:11,160
unto men, to edification,
exhortation, and to comfort.

332
00:20:12,000 –> 00:20:14,680
So he says if someone’s there
speaking in a foreign language

333
00:20:14,680 –> 00:20:17,840
in tongues and no one
understands it, then the whole

334
00:20:17,840 –> 00:20:21,040
thing is pointless, isn’t it?
He said someone can stand up and

335
00:20:21,040 –> 00:20:24,040
talk in a foreign language, and
if they did that to me, I would

336
00:20:24,040 –> 00:20:27,280
have no idea whatsoever.
I did very badly in French and

337
00:20:27,280 –> 00:20:29,000
Latin at school, and even worse
in German.

338
00:20:29,520 –> 00:20:32,000
If someone speaks to me in a
foreign language, I’ll have no

339
00:20:32,000 –> 00:20:35,360
idea what they’re saying, I
can’t understand it, and the

340
00:20:35,360 –> 00:20:39,160
whole thing is pointless.
But he says, if they’re speaking

341
00:20:39,160 –> 00:20:43,160
in the common tongue and using
the Spirit of Prophecy to build

342
00:20:43,160 –> 00:20:47,280
up the power of scriptural
exhortation and exposition, then

343
00:20:47,280 –> 00:20:50,920
it encourages all.
Verse four, He that speaketh in

344
00:20:50,920 –> 00:20:54,840
a tongue edifieth himself, but
he that prophesieth edifieth the

345
00:20:54,840 –> 00:20:57,160
ecclesia.
I would that ye all speak with

346
00:20:57,160 –> 00:20:58,840
tongues, but rather that ye
prophesied.

347
00:20:58,840 –> 00:21:00,800
For greater is he that
prophesieth than he that

348
00:21:00,800 –> 00:21:04,360
speaketh with tongues, except he
interpret that the ecclesia may

349
00:21:04,360 –> 00:21:07,960
receive edifying.
Now, brethren, if I come unto

350
00:21:07,960 –> 00:21:10,560
you speaking with tongues, what
shall I profit you, except I

351
00:21:10,560 –> 00:21:13,200
speak to you either by
revelation, or knowledge, or

352
00:21:13,200 –> 00:21:16,480
prophesying, or by doctrine?
So he’s saying just the use of

353
00:21:16,480 –> 00:21:20,400
tongues itself is not going to
be helpful, that it has to be

354
00:21:20,400 –> 00:21:23,400
actually the contribution of the
opening up of the word.

355
00:21:23,720 –> 00:21:26,880
That was to be the powerful
contribution for for the

356
00:21:26,880 –> 00:21:29,800
ecclesia.
So there were people who who

357
00:21:29,800 –> 00:21:33,600
thought that the best gift to
obtain was the ability to speak

358
00:21:33,600 –> 00:21:37,040
in tongues.
It was the most obvious, the

359
00:21:37,040 –> 00:21:40,880
most impressive and visible.
Wow, look how impressive they

360
00:21:40,880 –> 00:21:42,560
are.
They must be spiritual because

361
00:21:42,560 –> 00:21:46,080
they’re able to stand up and
visibly, visibly show the power

362
00:21:46,080 –> 00:21:48,280
of God by speaking another
language.

363
00:21:48,280 –> 00:21:50,440
It’s clear that they have the
spirit gifts there.

364
00:21:51,040 –> 00:21:55,800
It was an obvious visible gift,
and people had become ambitious

365
00:21:56,040 –> 00:21:59,000
to have this visible gift.
It became the gift that everyone

366
00:21:59,000 –> 00:22:01,240
wanted to have.
We want to have this visible

367
00:22:01,240 –> 00:22:04,760
gift of the tongues.
And Paul says no, it’s not about

368
00:22:04,760 –> 00:22:09,320
that, he says it’s about
desiring to have gifts that can

369
00:22:09,320 –> 00:22:11,720
be used in a way that edifies
the most.

370
00:22:13,960 –> 00:22:17,800
So here is the lesson of
ambition.

371
00:22:19,600 –> 00:22:26,200
There is no place, no benefit
for ambition in ecclesial life

372
00:22:27,720 –> 00:22:30,080
to seek the pre eminence or the
importance.

373
00:22:32,760 –> 00:22:42,160
No ambition does exist and it
exists in Eclesial life and it

374
00:22:42,160 –> 00:22:48,200
devastates eclesial life because
we put ourselves above the

375
00:22:48,200 –> 00:22:54,600
ecclesia.
God is asking us to contribute

376
00:22:54,600 –> 00:23:01,240
with every fibre of our being
the gifts that God has given us.

377
00:23:03,320 –> 00:23:08,720
But it can never be on the basis
of ambition because ambition

378
00:23:08,760 –> 00:23:11,960
will always cause division.
It will always lead to division

379
00:23:11,960 –> 00:23:15,160
because it’s about me and what
I’m doing and what I try to

380
00:23:15,160 –> 00:23:16,680
achieve.
And whenever that becomes the

381
00:23:16,680 –> 00:23:20,640
focus of an ecclesia and the
whole power of an ecclesia and

382
00:23:20,640 –> 00:23:22,760
its ability to work together is
destroyed.

383
00:23:24,240 –> 00:23:28,240
You may have noticed in those
verses we read that edify and

384
00:23:28,240 –> 00:23:31,800
edification becomes one of the
key themes and of course that

385
00:23:31,800 –> 00:23:35,040
picks up from what we’ve looked
at in the last few sessions,

386
00:23:35,040 –> 00:23:37,160
isn’t it?
All things are lawful to me.

387
00:23:37,160 –> 00:23:41,240
I can justify anything, but all
things edify not, do not build

388
00:23:41,240 –> 00:23:46,080
up and and assist the ecclesia.
So verse three, he that

389
00:23:46,080 –> 00:23:49,800
prophesied speaketh unto men to
edification and exhortation and

390
00:23:49,800 –> 00:23:51,720
comfort.
The purpose of it was to edify

391
00:23:51,720 –> 00:23:54,560
to build up.
Verse four, he that speaketh in

392
00:23:54,560 –> 00:23:58,360
a tongue edifieth himself.
He might help himself, he might

393
00:23:58,360 –> 00:24:00,440
learn some things himself, but
all he’s doing is building

394
00:24:00,440 –> 00:24:03,040
himself up.
It doesn’t contribute or assist

395
00:24:03,040 –> 00:24:06,680
anyone else.
But if you can prophecy that

396
00:24:06,680 –> 00:24:11,400
edifies the entire body of the
ecclesia, at the end of verse 5

397
00:24:12,280 –> 00:24:14,360
he says I would through that
verse I would.

398
00:24:14,360 –> 00:24:16,760
You’ll speak with tongues, but
rather you prophesied.

399
00:24:17,120 –> 00:24:19,360
For greater is he that
prophesied than he that speaketh

400
00:24:19,360 –> 00:24:22,240
with tongues, except he
interpret that the ecclesia may

401
00:24:22,240 –> 00:24:25,680
receive edifying.
And so the Apostle shows us that

402
00:24:25,680 –> 00:24:29,680
the focus of our contribution
must not be on our pre eminence

403
00:24:29,680 –> 00:24:34,440
and what we can do to be
visible, but to see what we can

404
00:24:34,440 –> 00:24:37,960
do to contribute the most for
edification and for building up.

405
00:24:39,560 –> 00:24:45,080
What can we contribute with
every fibre of our being that

406
00:24:45,080 –> 00:24:48,760
will build up and assist our
ecclesial environment?

407
00:24:48,760 –> 00:24:51,480
You know he says in verse 33 of
of that chapter in such a

408
00:24:51,480 –> 00:24:54,600
beautiful phrase, God is not the
author of confusion, but of

409
00:24:54,600 –> 00:24:56,800
peace.
As in all the eccleses of the

410
00:24:56,800 –> 00:24:59,560
Saints.
God is not the author of

411
00:24:59,560 –> 00:25:02,640
confusion.
God does not intend our

412
00:25:02,640 –> 00:25:04,960
ecclesial environments to be 1
of confusion.

413
00:25:06,200 –> 00:25:11,160
He wants them to be a place of
peace and of harmony.

414
00:25:13,160 –> 00:25:18,120
If matters are creating
confusion and division in

415
00:25:18,120 –> 00:25:22,880
ecclesial life, then they cannot
have come from God, because God

416
00:25:22,880 –> 00:25:25,800
will never be the author of
confusion, but of peace.

417
00:25:27,200 –> 00:25:30,280
You know, it got to such an
extent in that ecclesia in

418
00:25:30,280 –> 00:25:33,120
Corinth that Paul had to tell
them that if they were giving a

419
00:25:33,120 –> 00:25:36,320
a public lecture to preach to
external people who had no

420
00:25:36,320 –> 00:25:39,440
knowledge of God, that if they
all stood up there in their pre

421
00:25:39,440 –> 00:25:41,600
eminence, in their ambition to
have their show and were

422
00:25:41,600 –> 00:25:44,840
babbling away at the same time
in tongues that no one else

423
00:25:44,840 –> 00:25:47,200
could understand, then it was
clear they were not making

424
00:25:47,200 –> 00:25:49,400
sense.
You imagine that as a picture

425
00:25:49,400 –> 00:25:51,800
for a public lecture.
In walks the visitor and

426
00:25:51,800 –> 00:25:54,600
everyone’s standing up at the
same time, all rabbiting away in

427
00:25:54,600 –> 00:25:56,200
tongues which no one else can
understand.

428
00:25:56,200 –> 00:25:59,960
And the visitor looks there and
says this is madness, this is

429
00:25:59,960 –> 00:26:02,760
confusion.
And to someone who doesn’t

430
00:26:02,760 –> 00:26:06,800
understand the tongues, they’ll
come in and say you’re mad and

431
00:26:06,800 –> 00:26:09,280
the glory of God is absolutely
destroyed.

432
00:26:10,160 –> 00:26:13,400
It made no sense to me.
It made no sense to you.

433
00:26:14,120 –> 00:26:16,360
I’m going to leave this place
because they’re mad.

434
00:26:18,520 –> 00:26:23,040
Paul’s message is very clear
that rather than wanting to have

435
00:26:23,040 –> 00:26:29,480
the visible, impressive, obvious
gifts, he pleads with them to

436
00:26:29,480 –> 00:26:33,560
control the use of the gifts.
He says the Spirit is subject

437
00:26:33,560 –> 00:26:36,640
unto you.
So even even if you have the

438
00:26:36,640 –> 00:26:41,280
spirit that allows you to speak
in tongues, if no one can

439
00:26:41,280 –> 00:26:46,600
interpret, then you stay quiet,
because otherwise you are

440
00:26:46,600 –> 00:26:48,640
causing disharmony, not
edification.

441
00:26:49,960 –> 00:26:52,680
When we come together in our
ecclesias, brothers and sisters

442
00:26:52,680 –> 00:26:57,120
and young people, God is never
the author of confusion, but of

443
00:26:57,120 –> 00:27:02,760
peace.
He wants us to edify and to

444
00:27:02,760 –> 00:27:06,080
build up rather than bring
confusion.

445
00:27:08,200 –> 00:27:11,520
There’s a lovely little phrase
at the end of chapter 14 and

446
00:27:11,520 –> 00:27:15,840
verse 14.
Let all things be done decently

447
00:27:15,840 –> 00:27:19,560
and in order.
It’s a phrase perhaps we we

448
00:27:19,560 –> 00:27:22,160
rather glibly throw out there in
an ecclesial context, doesn’t

449
00:27:22,160 –> 00:27:25,560
it?
But just stop for a moment and

450
00:27:25,560 –> 00:27:27,520
contemplate the beauty of that
phrase.

451
00:27:28,800 –> 00:27:32,120
All things done decently and in
order.

452
00:27:33,840 –> 00:27:36,400
If only that could be the focus
that we bring to our

453
00:27:36,400 –> 00:27:39,760
contribution to ecclesial life.
It’s it’s not about me.

454
00:27:40,640 –> 00:27:45,080
It’s not about my visibility.
How can I constructively provide

455
00:27:45,080 –> 00:27:48,600
to the enclosure what will be
done decently and in order so

456
00:27:48,600 –> 00:27:51,040
that the whole ecclesial
environment there is is in a

457
00:27:51,040 –> 00:27:54,320
decent and ordered and
harmonious sense.

458
00:27:55,000 –> 00:27:59,720
It’s not people focused on
themselves, but want, wanting

459
00:27:59,720 –> 00:28:03,200
things to be done pleasantly and
constructively to build up.

460
00:28:06,400 –> 00:28:08,760
So Paul was dealing with this
situation where the where the

461
00:28:08,760 –> 00:28:12,640
ecclesia had become ambitious
for the visible gifts, ambitious

462
00:28:12,640 –> 00:28:14,320
to be seen with the greatest
gifts.

463
00:28:15,320 –> 00:28:19,080
And therefore the focus had gone
on perhaps the least beneficial

464
00:28:19,080 –> 00:28:21,480
of all gifts, the gift of
tongues.

465
00:28:23,000 –> 00:28:27,240
And so therefore, if we come
back to chapter 12 and verse 4.

466
00:28:32,920 –> 00:28:37,440
The apostle starts to tell us
about the power of the different

467
00:28:37,440 –> 00:28:42,240
gifts that the Spirit has given
in First Corinthians 12 and in

468
00:28:42,240 –> 00:28:46,080
verse 4.
There are diversities of gifts,

469
00:28:46,080 –> 00:28:49,320
but the same Spirit.
There are differences of

470
00:28:49,320 –> 00:28:51,200
administrations, but the same
Lord.

471
00:28:52,200 –> 00:28:55,120
There are diversities of
operations, but it is the same

472
00:28:55,120 –> 00:28:57,360
God which worketh all and in
all.

473
00:28:58,520 –> 00:29:02,920
There are different gifts, but
it’s the same Spirit that gives.

474
00:29:04,000 –> 00:29:07,480
So whether the Spirit has given
an ability to speak in tongues

475
00:29:07,960 –> 00:29:13,440
or to prophecy or in some other
capacity, I need to remember

476
00:29:13,440 –> 00:29:17,960
that it is what the Spirit wants
rather than how I appear.

477
00:29:19,480 –> 00:29:25,400
The Spirit has deliberately
provided a diversity of gifts in

478
00:29:25,400 –> 00:29:28,400
order for the whole ecclesial
body to work together.

479
00:29:28,400 –> 00:29:31,680
Can I say that again, because
this is fundamental to the

480
00:29:31,680 –> 00:29:38,000
working of our ecclesias, the
Spirit has deliberately provided

481
00:29:38,960 –> 00:29:44,160
a diversity of gifts in order
for the whole ecclesial body to

482
00:29:44,160 –> 00:29:47,600
work together.
But the point is that that just

483
00:29:47,800 –> 00:29:50,600
cries out to us from this
section here, that those

484
00:29:50,600 –> 00:29:54,000
diversities of gifts are given
by the same Spirit that is

485
00:29:54,000 –> 00:29:57,880
working, the same Spirit that is
working for the same common

486
00:29:57,880 –> 00:30:01,080
outcome to build up and to
develop the glory of God.

487
00:30:01,280 –> 00:30:04,440
So chapter 12 and verse 4, we’ve
seen here it’s the same spirit.

488
00:30:04,680 –> 00:30:09,160
Verse 5, it’s the same Lord.
Verse 6, it’s the same God which

489
00:30:09,160 –> 00:30:14,000
worketh All in all.
Verse 8 it’s given by the one

490
00:30:14,000 –> 00:30:16,360
Spirit, the Word of wisdom to
another, by the Word of

491
00:30:16,360 –> 00:30:19,920
knowledge by the same Spirit.
Verse 9 to another faith by the

492
00:30:19,920 –> 00:30:22,760
same Spirit, the gifts of
healing by the same Spirit.

493
00:30:23,840 –> 00:30:27,680
Verse 11 all these worketh that
one in the self same spirit.

494
00:30:28,560 –> 00:30:32,360
Verse 13 For by 1 spirit are we
baptized into one body, whether

495
00:30:32,360 –> 00:30:35,400
George, Gentiles, whether bond
or free, and have all been made

496
00:30:35,400 –> 00:30:39,400
to drink into one spirit.
So the point is this is God’s

497
00:30:39,400 –> 00:30:41,880
work.
It’s God’s focus that he has

498
00:30:41,880 –> 00:30:46,560
here and he is using his Spirit
to, to use our diversity and the

499
00:30:46,560 –> 00:30:50,720
strengths that we bring to, to
develop the unity through the

500
00:30:50,720 –> 00:30:53,560
same spirit that he’s using to
build up that ecclesial

501
00:30:53,560 –> 00:30:56,240
environment.
It’s God’s provision, it’s God’s

502
00:30:56,240 –> 00:31:00,600
work, not our own.
Interestingly, in verse 5, there

503
00:31:00,600 –> 00:31:03,040
are differences of
administrations, but the same

504
00:31:03,040 –> 00:31:05,920
Lord begins to expand the
concept, doesn’t it?

505
00:31:06,160 –> 00:31:09,640
It’s not just the the visible
spirit gifts we have, but it’s

506
00:31:09,640 –> 00:31:14,040
the ministry, the service, the
slavery that we can provide.

507
00:31:14,040 –> 00:31:16,000
Remember, we’re slaves.
That was the concept we saw

508
00:31:16,040 –> 00:31:19,840
earlier in Corinthians.
We’re slaves to provide service

509
00:31:19,840 –> 00:31:21,400
for the building up of an
ecclesia.

510
00:31:22,640 –> 00:31:25,440
And can you see how this takes
the focus of the ecclesia away

511
00:31:25,440 –> 00:31:29,240
from their ambition to have the
visible gifts to remind us all

512
00:31:29,240 –> 00:31:33,360
that we are slaves together who
are ministering to the ecclesial

513
00:31:33,360 –> 00:31:39,000
environment?
Each of us have different

514
00:31:39,000 –> 00:31:44,680
services that we provide.
It’s not about me or my ambition

515
00:31:45,080 –> 00:31:49,200
or my greatness.
It’s about what I as an

516
00:31:49,200 –> 00:31:56,040
individual can do in service to
serve my Lord and brothers and

517
00:31:56,040 –> 00:32:01,240
sisters and young people.
It’s the same Lord who we all

518
00:32:01,240 –> 00:32:05,000
share together.
Verse 6.

519
00:32:05,280 –> 00:32:09,400
There are diversities of
operations, but it’s the same

520
00:32:09,400 –> 00:32:14,800
God who worketh all and all.
It’s God’s work as the Spirit.

521
00:32:15,600 –> 00:32:18,440
Diversities of service, yes, but
one Lord who we serve,

522
00:32:18,680 –> 00:32:22,880
diversities of operation.
But what we do in ecclesial life

523
00:32:23,760 –> 00:32:28,200
underneath it all is exactly the
same God who is there working in

524
00:32:28,200 –> 00:32:33,200
your life and in my life.
And the point is, it’s God which

525
00:32:33,200 –> 00:32:39,880
worketh all and in all.
That concept is that God is

526
00:32:39,880 –> 00:32:42,520
working in each one of us as
individuals.

527
00:32:42,520 –> 00:32:45,960
There is not one of us, brothers
and sisters, who God is not

528
00:32:45,960 –> 00:32:49,960
working with, who he is taking
and working with and working in.

529
00:32:50,000 –> 00:32:54,400
Can you see that He is all and
in all that every one of us with

530
00:32:54,400 –> 00:32:58,640
our different gifts are a, are
a, a work which God is doing to

531
00:32:58,640 –> 00:33:01,400
work in US and as part of us and
through us.

532
00:33:02,360 –> 00:33:05,880
And this concept of All in all
actually becomes a major theme

533
00:33:07,280 –> 00:33:11,120
throughout this this book of, of
Corinthians, the concept of God

534
00:33:11,120 –> 00:33:14,000
being All in all, which we shall
see in its final glorious

535
00:33:14,000 –> 00:33:18,440
conclusion in the resurrection
tomorrow in One Corinthians 15

536
00:33:18,800 –> 00:33:21,080
is really the concept of God’s
glory.

537
00:33:21,760 –> 00:33:24,560
So I want to take a moment to go
back and just to show you the

538
00:33:24,600 –> 00:33:28,120
theme of God’s glory as it’s
been developing through this

539
00:33:28,120 –> 00:33:31,240
book.
The 1st that we saw was in One

540
00:33:31,240 –> 00:33:35,520
Corinthians 1 and verse 29 that
no flesh should glory in God’s

541
00:33:35,520 –> 00:33:37,720
presence.
We saw that very clearly, didn’t

542
00:33:37,720 –> 00:33:39,560
we?
The first concept that ecclesia

543
00:33:39,560 –> 00:33:42,080
had to learn and which we need
to learn is it’s not about us.

544
00:33:42,080 –> 00:33:46,720
It’s not our glory, no flesh, no
ability of the flesh to glory in

545
00:33:46,720 –> 00:33:50,080
God’s presence.
But verse 31 of that chapter

546
00:33:50,080 –> 00:33:53,680
instead to to turn our attention
and to show us that he that

547
00:33:53,680 –> 00:33:56,120
glorieth let him glory in the
Lord.

548
00:33:57,040 –> 00:34:00,640
And what we found in in that
talk was not that that us

549
00:34:00,640 –> 00:34:03,280
glorying in the Lord is just to
say, well, there’s God and I can

550
00:34:03,280 –> 00:34:06,880
rejoice in him, But more
particularly that the concept of

551
00:34:06,880 –> 00:34:10,560
US glory in the Lord is that we
desire to contribute to, to

552
00:34:10,560 –> 00:34:13,679
become part of his glory.
It’s the concept of God

553
00:34:13,679 –> 00:34:16,520
manifestation, isn’t it?
No flesh can glory in his

554
00:34:16,520 –> 00:34:19,480
presence, but we desire to, to
become part.

555
00:34:19,480 –> 00:34:23,280
We can glory.
He’s telling us we can glory in

556
00:34:23,280 –> 00:34:27,960
Yahweh’s glory, his work to, to,
to fill the earth with his

557
00:34:27,960 –> 00:34:30,120
glory.
We’ve got no glory of ourselves,

558
00:34:30,840 –> 00:34:35,920
but we can glory in God.
In First Corinthians 2 and verse

559
00:34:35,920 –> 00:34:40,239
7, he said we speak the wisdom
of God in a mystery, even the

560
00:34:40,239 –> 00:34:45,280
hidden wisdom which God ordained
before the world unto our glory.

561
00:34:47,440 –> 00:34:49,639
So he’s just changed that focus
a little, hasn’t he?

562
00:34:50,040 –> 00:34:55,280
We are to glory in the Lord, to
glory in God, but God

563
00:34:55,280 –> 00:35:02,080
interestingly before has taken
the hidden wisdom and before the

564
00:35:02,080 –> 00:35:04,080
world, He’s ordained it unto our
glory.

565
00:35:04,880 –> 00:35:08,040
So God’s actually saying that
His glory can become part of our

566
00:35:08,040 –> 00:35:13,040
glory, that we can become
glorious with Him as we grow and

567
00:35:13,040 –> 00:35:17,120
develop with Him.
Well, First Corinthians 2 and

568
00:35:17,120 –> 00:35:20,240
verse 8, which none of the
Princess of this world knew, for

569
00:35:20,240 –> 00:35:23,400
had they known it, they would
not have crucified the Lord of

570
00:35:23,400 –> 00:35:26,600
glory.
And so he’s telling us there

571
00:35:26,600 –> 00:35:31,080
that Christ becomes the ultimate
Lord of glory, the Lord who

572
00:35:31,080 –> 00:35:33,200
provides glory.
I’ll, I’ll just quote to you

573
00:35:33,200 –> 00:35:36,720
from Hebrews one.
Don’t worry about turning this

574
00:35:36,720 –> 00:35:39,600
up, but Hebrews 1.
So here’s this concept.

575
00:35:39,600 –> 00:35:42,280
If we just keep this in our mind
that no flesh glories in in

576
00:35:42,280 –> 00:35:45,680
God’s presence, but that we can
glory in the fact that we become

577
00:35:45,680 –> 00:35:50,120
part of God’s glory, and that
God is wanting us to become part

578
00:35:50,120 –> 00:35:53,680
of His glory, in that context,
just listen to this phrase in

579
00:35:53,680 –> 00:35:58,440
Hebrews 1.
God hath in these last days

580
00:35:58,440 –> 00:36:02,480
spoken us unto us by His Son,
whom He hath appointed heir of

581
00:36:02,480 –> 00:36:06,040
all things, by whom He made the
world, Who being the brightness

582
00:36:06,040 –> 00:36:09,720
of His glory and the express
image of His Person, and

583
00:36:09,720 –> 00:36:12,600
upholding all things by the word
of His power, when He had by

584
00:36:12,600 –> 00:36:16,120
Himself purged our sins, sat
down on the right hand of the

585
00:36:16,120 –> 00:36:18,880
majesty on high.
He is the brightness of God’s

586
00:36:18,880 –> 00:36:22,120
glory, we’re told.
So here is Christ as the Lord of

587
00:36:22,120 –> 00:36:26,200
glory who picks up and reflects
the glory of God and who becomes

588
00:36:26,240 –> 00:36:28,960
our Lord of glory that that we
learn to focus on.

589
00:36:32,240 –> 00:36:36,840
So it’s no glory of ourselves,
but God is asking us to learn

590
00:36:36,840 –> 00:36:41,120
the glory of the Father, and
He’s given us the Lord of glory,

591
00:36:41,120 –> 00:36:44,240
who is the brightness of God’s
glory as the one who we can

592
00:36:44,240 –> 00:36:49,000
focus upon.
And we saw yesterday in one

593
00:36:49,000 –> 00:36:54,680
Corinthians 10 Wherefore whether
therefore ye eat or drink,

594
00:36:55,440 –> 00:36:59,600
whatsoever ye do, do all to the
glory of God.

595
00:37:00,800 –> 00:37:06,280
That the Father is asking us to
shift our focus so that our

596
00:37:06,280 –> 00:37:11,280
entire life becomes one that is
bound up in living to God’s

597
00:37:11,280 –> 00:37:14,720
glory.
That everything we do, even the

598
00:37:14,960 –> 00:37:17,160
even the question of eating and
drinking, which she had dealt

599
00:37:17,160 –> 00:37:21,120
with in the Corinthian ecclesia,
was one that we must consider in

600
00:37:21,120 –> 00:37:24,600
the context of doing everything
to the glory of God.

601
00:37:25,720 –> 00:37:28,040
See, it’s just an expansion of
the principles we’ve already

602
00:37:28,040 –> 00:37:30,800
looked at, isn’t it?
That God’s asking us to realize

603
00:37:30,800 –> 00:37:35,000
our entire life becomes bound up
and living to God’s glory.

604
00:37:36,560 –> 00:37:41,400
And here in First Corinthians 12
and verse for diversities of

605
00:37:41,600 –> 00:37:44,640
gifts, but the same spirit
diversities, differences of

606
00:37:44,640 –> 00:37:48,120
administration, but the same
Lord, and they’re diversities of

607
00:37:48,120 –> 00:37:51,400
operation, but it’s the same God
which worketh all and in all.

608
00:37:51,400 –> 00:37:54,440
And here it brings together the
sense doesn’t of God’s glory in

609
00:37:54,440 –> 00:37:57,360
this way in which He is
encapsulated in everything that

610
00:37:57,360 –> 00:38:01,200
we do, that each one of us
become the reflection of and the

611
00:38:01,200 –> 00:38:04,480
working of God.
So that when we are working, it

612
00:38:04,480 –> 00:38:07,960
is God who is working, That when
we are interacting together, it

613
00:38:07,960 –> 00:38:09,800
is God who is interacting
together.

614
00:38:09,800 –> 00:38:15,120
And it is All in all, it is God
who is working in our midst.

615
00:38:15,720 –> 00:38:18,240
It is God who is working with
every one of us.

616
00:38:19,800 –> 00:38:23,840
Every one of us become a
reflection of him.

617
00:38:26,160 –> 00:38:27,880
So I’ll ask a question for a
moment.

618
00:38:28,200 –> 00:38:30,920
It’s one I’ve asked a few of you
through the school and generally

619
00:38:30,920 –> 00:38:32,960
I’ve had the same answer,
although there has been some

620
00:38:32,960 –> 00:38:37,000
diversity of answers.
What is the glory of God?

621
00:38:39,840 –> 00:38:45,000
We generally define the glory of
God as being His character, and

622
00:38:45,000 –> 00:38:47,400
we say the whole earth is to be
full of God’s glory, and

623
00:38:47,400 –> 00:38:50,120
therefore the earth is to be
full of His character.

624
00:38:50,120 –> 00:38:53,320
It’s that perfect balance of
righteousness and mercy, of love

625
00:38:53,320 –> 00:38:58,160
and compassion and of judgement
that God is working to fill the

626
00:38:58,160 –> 00:39:04,960
earth with His character.
And that is absolutely true, but

627
00:39:04,960 –> 00:39:08,800
it does limit the full extent of
what God’s glory is.

628
00:39:10,240 –> 00:39:15,600
If I said to you, what was
Solomon’s glory, you would tell

629
00:39:15,600 –> 00:39:17,120
me that it was a combination of
things.

630
00:39:17,120 –> 00:39:21,880
You’d say it was his wisdom, it
was his riches, it was the work

631
00:39:21,880 –> 00:39:26,320
that he accomplished.
See, Solomon’s glory is not just

632
00:39:26,320 –> 00:39:30,840
his character, but it’s the full
extent of his accomplishments

633
00:39:30,840 –> 00:39:34,120
that he achieved that his
character and his personality

634
00:39:34,120 –> 00:39:37,080
achieved.
Solomon in all his glory was not

635
00:39:37,080 –> 00:39:38,680
arrayed like these is the
phrase.

636
00:39:38,680 –> 00:39:42,840
It’s it’s a, it’s a, a concept
of, of glory being everything

637
00:39:42,840 –> 00:39:49,280
that’s achieved by Solomon.
And when we restrict God’s glory

638
00:39:49,280 –> 00:39:52,720
to just being his character, we,
we limit perhaps the fullness of

639
00:39:52,720 –> 00:39:57,920
what God’s glory is and actually
the power of what God’s glory is

640
00:39:57,920 –> 00:39:59,320
to us.
Now don’t get me wrong.

641
00:40:00,200 –> 00:40:03,880
God’s character.
Is the fundamental component of

642
00:40:03,880 –> 00:40:08,480
how His glory is accomplished.
But to say that his character,

643
00:40:08,800 –> 00:40:13,360
that His glory is his character,
removes the full extent of his

644
00:40:13,360 –> 00:40:15,840
work and of the power of his
glory.

645
00:40:18,120 –> 00:40:23,440
Paul’s point throughout the book
of Corinthians is that it is

646
00:40:23,440 –> 00:40:30,240
God’s glory to take us as weak,
foolish people with all our

647
00:40:30,240 –> 00:40:35,280
foibles and problems and
struggles we have, and somehow

648
00:40:35,280 –> 00:40:41,360
to transform us into people who
have his character, who reflect

649
00:40:41,360 –> 00:40:46,520
his glory and who contribute to
his work of building.

650
00:40:48,160 –> 00:40:51,800
So that he’s not just given his
character to us, but he has

651
00:40:51,800 –> 00:40:55,720
turned us into people who
contribute to his work and the

652
00:40:55,720 –> 00:40:59,720
accomplishment of his work.
So here is Solomon in all his

653
00:40:59,720 –> 00:41:01,800
glory, who accomplished
incredible things.

654
00:41:02,000 –> 00:41:05,040
And in the same way, God is
working with his character, but

655
00:41:05,040 –> 00:41:08,680
with his glory to expand that in
us so that we become an

656
00:41:08,680 –> 00:41:12,720
extension of God’s character and
an extension of God’s glory.

657
00:41:13,680 –> 00:41:15,200
Here’s the picture.
We’ve, we’ve seen this

658
00:41:15,200 –> 00:41:18,480
PowerPoint before.
So remember, we saw the fact

659
00:41:18,480 –> 00:41:21,560
that we’ve got Yahweh’s glory in
its fullness and entirety around

660
00:41:21,560 –> 00:41:23,000
us.
But Paul was telling us back in,

661
00:41:23,000 –> 00:41:25,640
in early Corinthians that he was
man and their wisdom.

662
00:41:25,840 –> 00:41:27,960
And if they sat in the little
bubble of man’s wisdom, they

663
00:41:27,960 –> 00:41:30,640
would never see, they would
never comprehend or be able to

664
00:41:30,640 –> 00:41:33,080
understand the fullness of, of
Yahweh’s glory.

665
00:41:35,440 –> 00:41:39,480
But he’s showing us that if we
learn to put aside man’s wisdom,

666
00:41:41,560 –> 00:41:44,480
then we become part of the
extension of God’s glory that we

667
00:41:44,480 –> 00:41:46,400
have.
We have to lose, as it were,

668
00:41:46,400 –> 00:41:49,040
that that sense of our own
wisdom and and the power of

669
00:41:49,040 –> 00:41:52,800
flesh and learn to look outside
that to see the fullness of

670
00:41:52,800 –> 00:41:58,040
Yahweh’s glory and his wisdom.
And when we do that, then we

671
00:41:58,040 –> 00:42:00,400
become part of God’s glory
itself.

672
00:42:01,720 –> 00:42:04,920
But see, the interesting thing
is that when we become bearers

673
00:42:04,920 –> 00:42:10,600
of God’s glory, there are other
people who look at us in their

674
00:42:10,600 –> 00:42:16,480
wisdom and they see God’s glory.
And in a very real sense, that

675
00:42:16,480 –> 00:42:18,960
individual has looked at us in
seeing God’s glory.

676
00:42:19,160 –> 00:42:24,600
And they learn that it’s not
about man’s wisdom, but it’s

677
00:42:24,600 –> 00:42:28,080
about God’s glory.
And therefore they are

678
00:42:28,080 –> 00:42:32,520
transformed themselves to become
part of that glory.

679
00:42:34,040 –> 00:42:38,200
So it’s the brilliance of God’s
work and the power of his glory

680
00:42:38,560 –> 00:42:41,640
to take us as individuals with
all our struggles and our

681
00:42:41,640 –> 00:42:45,160
weakness in our problems, and to
transform us into children who

682
00:42:45,160 –> 00:42:49,160
bear his character and who work
for the building of his glory.

683
00:42:49,520 –> 00:42:53,000
To take on that glorious
ourselves, but with our

684
00:42:53,000 –> 00:42:55,800
motivation, not being for
ourselves or our own

685
00:42:55,800 –> 00:43:00,040
preeminence, but with a deep
motivation to share that glory

686
00:43:00,040 –> 00:43:02,240
with others so that we
contribute to the work of

687
00:43:02,240 –> 00:43:05,880
building of God’s glory.
Can you see that His character

688
00:43:05,880 –> 00:43:10,200
is made so glorious in this work
of transforming individuals from

689
00:43:10,200 –> 00:43:13,280
weakness into glorious strength,
from false to wise.

690
00:43:14,280 –> 00:43:18,120
So what is God’s glory?
It’s His ability to take us who

691
00:43:18,120 –> 00:43:22,920
are weak and failing and
struggling individuals, and to

692
00:43:22,920 –> 00:43:26,680
transform us bit by bit until we
become the fullness of His

693
00:43:26,680 –> 00:43:28,400
glory.
We know that, don’t we?

694
00:43:28,400 –> 00:43:30,560
How?
We all know how much we struggle

695
00:43:30,560 –> 00:43:34,360
and how much we fail, how much
we fall short of the glory of of

696
00:43:34,360 –> 00:43:39,080
God, but it’s his work to pick
us up and to transform us and to

697
00:43:39,080 –> 00:43:42,000
build that work in US.
What a glorious work that is,

698
00:43:42,000 –> 00:43:44,240
brothers and sisters and young
people, and what an incredible

699
00:43:44,240 –> 00:43:48,040
glory it is to to the Father for
that work to have been

700
00:43:48,040 –> 00:43:50,880
accomplished in US.
Do you remember the phrase that

701
00:43:50,880 –> 00:43:54,880
he takes the foolishness of
preaching that concept that he

702
00:43:54,880 –> 00:43:58,080
takes all his glory as the
magnificent Creator of all

703
00:43:58,080 –> 00:44:02,120
things, and for some reason he
takes a weak individual and he

704
00:44:02,120 –> 00:44:05,120
places that glory in them and
says, go and teach others about

705
00:44:05,120 –> 00:44:07,040
my glory.
It’s a foolish thing from the

706
00:44:07,040 –> 00:44:10,280
world’s perspective, but it’s
the glory of God to accomplish

707
00:44:10,280 –> 00:44:14,600
that, building the growth of His
glory through each one of us.

708
00:44:15,120 –> 00:44:21,480
The real glory of God is to
expand His character and His

709
00:44:21,480 –> 00:44:27,600
work and His accomplishments
through the use of us as weak,

710
00:44:27,880 –> 00:44:32,120
insignificant creatures until we
are transformed into the

711
00:44:32,120 –> 00:44:34,960
glorious light of the Father
Himself.

712
00:44:37,560 –> 00:44:43,720
Can you see that His character
is made so glorious in this work

713
00:44:43,720 –> 00:44:47,040
of transforming individuals from
weakness into glorious strength?

714
00:44:48,240 –> 00:44:52,760
It’s God’s glory revealed in
individuals.

715
00:44:54,040 –> 00:44:57,560
And the point of the apostle is
we do that when we learn that

716
00:44:57,560 –> 00:45:02,040
man’s wisdom is nothing and
instead we desire to be part of

717
00:45:02,040 –> 00:45:11,000
God’s glory.
And the interesting thing is

718
00:45:11,000 –> 00:45:13,720
that there is then an extension
of that work of God’s glory,

719
00:45:15,640 –> 00:45:19,160
because what we’ve seen is God’s
glory revealed in individuals.

720
00:45:20,480 –> 00:45:26,080
But even more surpassing that is
the glory of His work, to take

721
00:45:26,440 –> 00:45:30,760
those individuals with all their
foibles and struggles and

722
00:45:30,760 –> 00:45:36,240
inadequacies, and to bind them
into the body of Christ in unity

723
00:45:36,240 –> 00:45:41,960
so that they have the same mind.
So that that body of Christ in

724
00:45:41,960 –> 00:45:46,000
itself becomes a reflection of
the glory of God.

725
00:45:47,080 –> 00:45:50,200
So that their individual
diversity is channelled in the

726
00:45:50,200 –> 00:45:53,400
most selfless of ways to build
together and to bear up the

727
00:45:53,400 –> 00:45:57,600
congregation until it strides
forth as the one united body of

728
00:45:57,600 –> 00:46:00,840
Christ in all its diverse unity,
and it’s shining forth and

729
00:46:00,840 –> 00:46:02,640
shouting forth the glory of the
Father.

730
00:46:02,920 –> 00:46:05,600
Can you see that this building
sense of His glory and of the

731
00:46:05,600 –> 00:46:08,920
glory of His work, and if it’s
an incredible thing that He can

732
00:46:08,920 –> 00:46:12,520
take us in our weaknesses and
overcome those so that we become

733
00:46:12,520 –> 00:46:16,160
a reflection of Him, how much
more glorious is that?

734
00:46:16,160 –> 00:46:20,240
He takes each one of us in our
diversity and manages, manages

735
00:46:20,240 –> 00:46:24,320
to put us together so that we
lose ourselves and become the

736
00:46:24,320 –> 00:46:28,320
United body of Christ working
together solely for His glory.

737
00:46:28,320 –> 00:46:33,320
That is Yahweh’s glory that the
apostle is talking about in this

738
00:46:33,320 –> 00:46:37,840
section here.
It’s a work which He is doing

739
00:46:37,840 –> 00:46:42,520
now in our eclesial
environments, to gather together

740
00:46:42,520 –> 00:46:47,280
all of our eclesial body into
one, so that we might shout

741
00:46:47,520 –> 00:46:52,480
aloud the glory of the Father.
And that work continues,

742
00:46:52,520 –> 00:46:55,640
brothers and sisters, until one
day, as we shall see tomorrow,

743
00:46:56,480 –> 00:47:03,320
His glory as revealed in
everything and anything in every

744
00:47:03,320 –> 00:47:08,120
way upon the earth.
Can I just expand on this idea

745
00:47:08,120 –> 00:47:10,880
that Yahweh’s glory is more than
just His character?

746
00:47:10,880 –> 00:47:22,520
If we come across to Exodus 33,
see Exodus 33 is where we find

747
00:47:22,520 –> 00:47:25,480
this concept that that Yahweh’s
character is His glory.

748
00:47:25,480 –> 00:47:29,840
But it also hints to us that it
is just that little bit more,

749
00:47:30,960 –> 00:47:35,440
that it is His work in pulling
together the body, the glory of

750
00:47:35,440 –> 00:47:37,200
his character revealed in a
whole group.

751
00:47:38,760 –> 00:47:42,800
Exodus 33 and verse 18.
Moses said, I beseech thee, show

752
00:47:42,800 –> 00:47:46,840
me thy glory.
So Moses pleads with God to see

753
00:47:46,840 –> 00:47:50,480
God’s glory, and he says, yes,
Moses, I know you want to see my

754
00:47:50,480 –> 00:47:52,480
glory, the physical glory that
comes from me.

755
00:47:52,480 –> 00:47:55,080
He said, actually, I’m going to
take all my goodness and it’s

756
00:47:55,080 –> 00:47:57,960
going to pass before thee, and I
will proclaim the name of Yahweh

757
00:47:57,960 –> 00:48:01,200
before thee and will be gracious
to whom I will be gracious and

758
00:48:01,200 –> 00:48:03,920
show mercy on whom I will show
mercy.

759
00:48:04,840 –> 00:48:08,360
So in response to God’s to
Moses’s request to see God’s

760
00:48:08,360 –> 00:48:11,280
glory, God says, yes, I’m going
to make my goodness pass before

761
00:48:11,280 –> 00:48:13,240
you.
I’m going to proclaim the name

762
00:48:13,240 –> 00:48:15,600
of Yahweh.
And I’m telling you, Moses, that

763
00:48:15,600 –> 00:48:19,040
I will be gracious to whom I
will, I’ll be merciful to whom I

764
00:48:19,040 –> 00:48:22,520
will.
And that tells us, doesn’t it,

765
00:48:22,520 –> 00:48:26,000
that it is the work of His
character, of His grace and of

766
00:48:26,000 –> 00:48:30,920
His mercy, and of the work of
the name of Yahweh to accomplish

767
00:48:30,920 –> 00:48:34,280
that salvation.
Verse 20 He says, Thou canst not

768
00:48:34,280 –> 00:48:36,440
see my face, for thou shall no
man see me and live.

769
00:48:36,760 –> 00:48:39,280
And so Yahweh says, I’m going to
take you, I’m going to place you

770
00:48:39,280 –> 00:48:41,920
in a rock.
Verse 22 And and it shall come

771
00:48:41,920 –> 00:48:44,880
to pass, that while my glory
passes by, that I’ll put the

772
00:48:44,880 –> 00:48:48,760
inner cleft of the rock, and
will cover thee my with my hand.

773
00:48:48,760 –> 00:48:52,080
While I pass by, I’ll take away
my hand, and thou shalt see my

774
00:48:52,080 –> 00:48:54,040
back parts, but my face shall
not be seen.

775
00:48:54,720 –> 00:48:57,400
So that in itself tells us,
doesn’t it, that it’s not just

776
00:48:57,400 –> 00:49:00,920
His expression of His character
that becomes the glory because

777
00:49:00,920 –> 00:49:03,520
he does actually say I’m going
to show you my physical glory.

778
00:49:03,680 –> 00:49:05,800
You can’t see my face in the
glory of my face.

779
00:49:05,800 –> 00:49:08,320
He says, I’m just going to let
you see the back parts of my

780
00:49:08,320 –> 00:49:09,240
glory.
I’m going to put you in the

781
00:49:09,240 –> 00:49:12,280
Cliff of the rock and then I’ll
let you see the back part of my

782
00:49:12,280 –> 00:49:15,960
physical glory as I go past.
So even in this section here,

783
00:49:15,960 –> 00:49:19,520
which we look at and say is the
the concept of God’s character

784
00:49:19,520 –> 00:49:22,400
being revealed in glory.
We’re told that his character

785
00:49:22,400 –> 00:49:25,600
that his glory expends also to
encompass his physical glory.

786
00:49:26,080 –> 00:49:28,920
The glory that he would show
that he couldn’t see.

787
00:49:28,920 –> 00:49:32,520
He couldn’t handle the the front
fullness of God’s glory, but

788
00:49:32,520 –> 00:49:37,960
would see his glory passing by
from the hind part, verse 5 of

789
00:49:37,960 –> 00:49:41,040
chapter 34.
And Yahweh descended in the

790
00:49:41,040 –> 00:49:43,520
cloud and stood with him there
and proclaimed the name of

791
00:49:43,520 –> 00:49:46,200
Yahweh.
And Yahweh passed by before him

792
00:49:46,200 –> 00:49:50,440
and proclaimed Yahweh, Yahweh,
Elohim, merciful and gracious,

793
00:49:50,440 –> 00:49:54,440
long-suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping

794
00:49:54,440 –> 00:49:57,240
mercy for thousands, forgiving
iniquity and transgression and

795
00:49:57,240 –> 00:49:59,120
sin.
And that will by no means clear,

796
00:49:59,120 –> 00:50:01,720
the guilty visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the

797
00:50:01,720 –> 00:50:04,240
children, and upon the
children’s children unto the 3rd

798
00:50:04,520 –> 00:50:07,560
and the 4th generation.
And so there we have it, don’t

799
00:50:07,560 –> 00:50:09,600
we?
Yahweh has taken His goodness

800
00:50:09,720 –> 00:50:13,720
showed to show God’s Moses His
goodness, to proclaim His name.

801
00:50:14,320 –> 00:50:17,840
And what’s His name encompass?
Well, it does encompass His

802
00:50:17,840 –> 00:50:20,800
character, doesn’t it?
Merciful and gracious,

803
00:50:21,280 –> 00:50:23,880
long-suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping

804
00:50:23,880 –> 00:50:26,200
mercy for thousands for
forgiving iniquity and

805
00:50:26,200 –> 00:50:28,800
transgression and sin, by no
means clearing the guilty,

806
00:50:28,800 –> 00:50:31,320
visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children to the

807
00:50:31,320 –> 00:50:36,080
third and 4th.
It is his character that is

808
00:50:36,080 –> 00:50:40,960
being revealed, isn’t it?
But can you see that it’s not

809
00:50:40,960 –> 00:50:46,480
just his character, but it’s the
work of his character and the

810
00:50:46,480 –> 00:50:49,240
accomplishment of his character
that’s being revealed because he

811
00:50:49,240 –> 00:50:53,080
reveals his character at the
same time that he reveals His

812
00:50:53,080 –> 00:50:54,240
name.
And what is his name?

813
00:50:55,200 –> 00:50:59,360
He who will be.
And the whole concept of

814
00:50:59,360 –> 00:51:04,360
Yahweh’s name is that he is
gathering a multitude of people

815
00:51:04,800 –> 00:51:10,240
who will reflect his glory.
And so God has told Moses, yes,

816
00:51:10,440 –> 00:51:15,040
there is a physical component to
my glory which is too powerful

817
00:51:15,200 –> 00:51:19,440
for men to see.
It is encompass my character,

818
00:51:20,200 –> 00:51:24,080
but particularly it encompasses
my character in a way which will

819
00:51:24,080 –> 00:51:28,280
allow my purpose to be fulfilled
so that everyone left upon the

820
00:51:28,320 –> 00:51:33,720
earth is a complete reflection
of my glory and of my majesty.

821
00:51:35,600 –> 00:51:38,040
And we can see that reinforced
for us in verse 10.

822
00:51:38,040 –> 00:51:43,320
He said, Behold, I make a
covenant before all thy people.

823
00:51:43,320 –> 00:51:46,520
I will do marvel such as has not
been done in the earth, nor in

824
00:51:46,520 –> 00:51:50,880
any nation, and all the people
among which thou art shall see

825
00:51:50,880 –> 00:51:54,520
the work of Yahweh, for it is a
terrible thing that I will do

826
00:51:54,520 –> 00:51:56,720
with thee.
And His point is My glory.

827
00:51:56,720 –> 00:52:00,960
Moses is going to be revealed in
my work with the nation of

828
00:52:00,960 –> 00:52:05,280
Israel, that my character will
work in a way where the rest of

829
00:52:05,280 –> 00:52:08,600
the world will look at it and
will see the power of my glory

830
00:52:09,560 –> 00:52:14,560
and will understand that that is
the work of Yahweh to pick up

831
00:52:15,440 –> 00:52:18,800
and to reveal His glory in so
many people.

832
00:52:20,680 –> 00:52:23,480
It’s just a little change, a
little nuance, isn’t it?

833
00:52:24,840 –> 00:52:27,000
But I believe, brothers and
sisters and young people, it

834
00:52:27,000 –> 00:52:31,160
gives so much more power to the
sense of God’s glory that it is

835
00:52:31,160 –> 00:52:34,640
not just the building of His
character in us, but it is.

836
00:52:34,680 –> 00:52:40,920
It is desiring us to become part
of His work, to use us in our

837
00:52:40,920 –> 00:52:44,360
weakness, to become part of His
glory and to build His glory,

838
00:52:45,120 –> 00:52:48,960
and then to take us as weak
individuals and somehow to bind

839
00:52:48,960 –> 00:52:53,240
us together in united ecleses
that shine forth the glory of

840
00:52:53,240 –> 00:52:59,120
the Father Himself.
It’s God’s work to take every

841
00:52:59,120 –> 00:53:03,120
one of us in our diversity and
to bring us together into the

842
00:53:03,120 –> 00:53:06,520
body of His Son.
He’s made His Son as the head

843
00:53:06,680 –> 00:53:09,560
and is bringing each of us
individually as components of

844
00:53:09,560 –> 00:53:13,920
that body to show forth the
fullness of His glory in His

845
00:53:13,920 –> 00:53:19,000
Son.
There is that diversity of work

846
00:53:19,000 –> 00:53:24,160
that we each bring, but it’s one
God who is working.

847
00:53:24,160 –> 00:53:32,480
All in all, it’s a very, very
powerful way that the apostle

848
00:53:32,480 –> 00:53:35,240
deals with the ambitious use of
the most visible gift.

849
00:53:36,400 –> 00:53:40,360
It’s not your work, he says.
It’s not your gift.

850
00:53:41,640 –> 00:53:46,200
You bring the diversity that the
Spirit has given you, but God

851
00:53:46,200 –> 00:53:51,200
brings the ability to unify and
to transform you into the

852
00:53:51,200 –> 00:53:57,080
reflection of His glory.
In fact, your most visible gift,

853
00:53:58,080 –> 00:54:02,520
your most ambitious pre
eminence, is useless unless it

854
00:54:02,520 –> 00:54:07,760
contributes to the unity and
strength of the body and even

855
00:54:07,760 –> 00:54:12,840
more from God’s eyes.
That the sole reason we have

856
00:54:12,840 –> 00:54:17,120
that capability is to use it to
enhance the ecclesial body.

857
00:54:18,600 –> 00:54:22,200
We do have diversity, and we
need to appreciate and love that

858
00:54:22,200 –> 00:54:25,160
diversity, as we’ll see shortly.
But as individuals, we cannot

859
00:54:25,160 –> 00:54:29,840
use the excuse of diversity to
impact at all upon the ability

860
00:54:29,840 –> 00:54:34,600
of an ecclesia to unite around
the glory of God and to grow as

861
00:54:34,600 –> 00:54:38,800
a full reflection of the
fullness of the Father’s glory

862
00:54:39,240 –> 00:54:45,840
itself.
And so we come to the concept of

863
00:54:45,840 –> 00:54:50,400
the ecclesial body back in First
Corinthians and chapter 12.

864
00:55:01,320 –> 00:55:05,840
We saw the concept in our first
talk together of the power of

865
00:55:05,840 –> 00:55:09,440
the same mind that essentially
the apostle was pleading with

866
00:55:09,440 –> 00:55:13,760
that ecclesia to to put aside
their own thinking and to become

867
00:55:13,760 –> 00:55:18,000
one mind bound together.
And we saw that that concept is,

868
00:55:18,000 –> 00:55:21,360
is one of, of a mind that thinks
the same as if it’s one person

869
00:55:21,680 –> 00:55:24,320
who’s thinking the same, that
he’s asking an ecclesia to be

870
00:55:24,320 –> 00:55:27,520
bound together so that it
approaches life and things the

871
00:55:27,520 –> 00:55:30,040
same way that that when one
thinks, it’s as if the other

872
00:55:30,040 –> 00:55:33,280
thinks.
But we look at that and say, how

873
00:55:33,280 –> 00:55:36,480
can that work?
Because we have diversity within

874
00:55:36,480 –> 00:55:39,520
the ecclesial environment.
And so now he, he transitions

875
00:55:39,520 –> 00:55:41,760
his focus onto this concept of
the body.

876
00:55:41,760 –> 00:55:46,880
Verse 12 of 1 Corinthians 12 For
as the body is 1 and hath many

877
00:55:46,880 –> 00:55:49,720
members, and all the members of
that one body being many are one

878
00:55:49,720 –> 00:55:54,200
body, so also is Christ.
So he’s drawing the picture now

879
00:55:54,480 –> 00:55:57,760
of the ecclesial body, and he’s
saying that body is 1.

880
00:55:58,720 –> 00:56:02,040
It’s got many members, different
parts of the body, but we are

881
00:56:02,040 –> 00:56:06,520
one body in Christ who think
according to the same mind of

882
00:56:06,520 –> 00:56:09,560
our Lord.
For by 1 Spirit are we baptized

883
00:56:09,560 –> 00:56:12,680
into one body.
We’re the George Intiles bond or

884
00:56:12,680 –> 00:56:16,560
free, Whoever we are, whatever
characteristics we bring, we’re

885
00:56:16,560 –> 00:56:22,560
made to drink into one spirit.
And then he says the body is not

886
00:56:22,560 –> 00:56:27,000
one member, but many.
So here’s the picture, isn’t it?

887
00:56:28,000 –> 00:56:31,040
It’s an ecclesial body that is
made-up of a whole lot of

888
00:56:31,040 –> 00:56:37,760
diverse individuals.
And that body is 1 body, but at

889
00:56:37,760 –> 00:56:40,760
the same time it’s not one body
but many.

890
00:56:42,480 –> 00:56:48,800
It’s an ecclesia, a body that is
in diverse parts, but we are

891
00:56:48,800 –> 00:56:51,920
part of Christ bound together in
one body.

892
00:56:51,920 –> 00:56:55,640
It’s the perfection of diversity
in unity.

893
00:56:57,080 –> 00:57:00,720
And then he says, verse 14 and
15, the body is not one member,

894
00:57:00,720 –> 00:57:02,720
but many.
If the foot shall say because

895
00:57:02,720 –> 00:57:06,960
I’m not the hand, I am not of
the body, is it therefore not of

896
00:57:06,960 –> 00:57:08,760
the body?
So here’s the foot down here at

897
00:57:08,760 –> 00:57:12,000
the bottom and if it decides
actually I’d prefer to be a

898
00:57:12,000 –> 00:57:14,360
hand, I don’t want to be a foot
anymore.

899
00:57:14,360 –> 00:57:16,240
I’m not the hand.
And in fact, because I’m not the

900
00:57:16,240 –> 00:57:17,960
hand, I don’t want to be part of
the body.

901
00:57:18,640 –> 00:57:21,560
Can the foot just take itself
off and walk away from the body?

902
00:57:22,520 –> 00:57:23,960
Well, I’ve tried, but it doesn’t
work.

903
00:57:23,960 –> 00:57:26,480
I can’t actually take my foot
off and and take it away from

904
00:57:26,480 –> 00:57:29,360
the body.
The foot is a fundamental part

905
00:57:29,360 –> 00:57:33,160
of the body that only exists
because it is attached to the

906
00:57:33,160 –> 00:57:35,960
body.
Its sole purpose of being for

907
00:57:35,960 –> 00:57:40,160
being is to be part of my body.
If I didn’t have my foot, I

908
00:57:40,160 –> 00:57:41,480
wouldn’t be able to stand up
here.

909
00:57:42,440 –> 00:57:45,360
The body requires the foot to be
there.

910
00:57:46,400 –> 00:57:48,920
And just because my foot decides
that it would prefer to be a

911
00:57:48,920 –> 00:57:52,720
hand doesn’t mean to say that
it’s not contributing to the

912
00:57:52,720 –> 00:57:54,360
body.
It needs to be there for the

913
00:57:54,360 –> 00:57:56,600
sake of the body is the point
he’s making, isn’t it?

914
00:57:59,200 –> 00:58:03,480
So you can’t say my role in
ecclesial life and the

915
00:58:03,480 –> 00:58:08,280
contribution I can make is 1.
I’d prefer not to be, but I want

916
00:58:08,280 –> 00:58:10,080
to have some other contribution
I want to make.

917
00:58:10,360 –> 00:58:12,200
I’m a foot now and I hate being
a foot.

918
00:58:12,200 –> 00:58:14,720
I want to be a hand because I
can’t be a hand.

919
00:58:14,720 –> 00:58:16,880
I’m not going to contribute, is
his point.

920
00:58:18,480 –> 00:58:20,080
It’s a ridiculous example, isn’t
it?

921
00:58:21,480 –> 00:58:25,360
But it shows the power of the
fact that each of us have a

922
00:58:25,360 –> 00:58:29,760
contribution that we make as
part of the body and we cannot

923
00:58:29,760 –> 00:58:33,760
live or exist away from that
body.

924
00:58:36,640 –> 00:58:40,520
But he’s also telling us that
that foot has a fundamental

925
00:58:40,520 –> 00:58:45,320
contribution.
It makes verse 16, if the ears

926
00:58:45,320 –> 00:58:47,440
shall say, because I’m not the
eye, I’m not of the body.

927
00:58:47,440 –> 00:58:49,480
It’s therefore not of the body.
It’s the same thing, isn’t it?

928
00:58:49,600 –> 00:58:51,920
The ears sitting here saying I’d
actually prefer to be the eye

929
00:58:52,240 –> 00:58:54,080
and because I’m not the eye, I’m
not part of the body.

930
00:58:54,520 –> 00:58:59,920
No, the body needs to have ears.
If the whole body were an eye,

931
00:58:59,920 –> 00:59:02,400
where were the hearing?
If the whole we’re hearing,

932
00:59:02,480 –> 00:59:04,760
where were the smelling?
He says, imagine if the whole

933
00:59:04,760 –> 00:59:08,680
body was was just an eye.
You just have one huge ginormous

934
00:59:08,680 –> 00:59:12,240
eye on the table, wouldn’t you?
But all it could do would be to

935
00:59:12,240 –> 00:59:13,440
see.
And in fact it wouldn’t see.

936
00:59:13,440 –> 00:59:15,160
It wouldn’t have that because it
wouldn’t have food coming to it,

937
00:59:15,160 –> 00:59:17,080
wouldn’t have any of the other
parts that required life.

938
00:59:17,960 –> 00:59:21,360
So you cannot have an ecclesial
environment that’s made-up of

939
00:59:21,360 –> 00:59:25,760
just one sort of person.
It needs the diversity of an

940
00:59:25,760 –> 00:59:29,120
ecclesial life in order for that
to work perfectly and to

941
00:59:29,120 –> 00:59:31,280
contribute perfectly towards the
ecclesia.

942
00:59:32,320 –> 00:59:36,960
We all have our diverse
contributions that we are able

943
00:59:36,960 –> 00:59:39,520
to make to our eclesial life
together.

944
00:59:44,080 –> 00:59:48,600
If we desperately want to be an
I to force ourselves into that

945
00:59:48,600 –> 00:59:54,280
role, then the ecclesia loses
its ability to hear or to smell

946
00:59:55,280 –> 00:59:59,120
or to eat.
Can you see the picture of chaos

947
00:59:59,120 –> 01:00:03,360
that the apostle shows or talks
about by people who wanted

948
01:00:03,360 –> 01:00:05,560
specific roles for ambition’s
sake?

949
01:00:06,600 –> 01:00:10,800
To have the pre eminence or
perhaps who felt inadequate or

950
01:00:10,800 –> 01:00:15,960
or second class.
And yet the apostle says never

951
01:00:16,520 –> 01:00:20,640
underestimate the power of the
contribution that you can make

952
01:00:21,240 –> 01:00:22,840
as an individual to ecclesial
life.

953
01:00:24,560 –> 01:00:27,160
There is not one of us here
saying, who don’t have the

954
01:00:27,160 –> 01:00:30,000
ability to contribute to the
ecclesial environment.

955
01:00:30,480 –> 01:00:35,280
Verse 18 But now hath God set
the members, every one of them,

956
01:00:35,280 –> 01:00:36,840
in the body as it hath pleased
him?

957
01:00:36,840 –> 01:00:38,120
And here he gets the point,
doesn’t he?

958
01:00:38,440 –> 01:00:41,720
Brothers and sisters and young
people, the Father in heaven has

959
01:00:41,720 –> 01:00:45,560
given every one of us our
capabilities and our attributes,

960
01:00:45,640 –> 01:00:50,000
our characteristics, and God has
set us together in the body to

961
01:00:50,000 –> 01:00:53,000
create the body as it hath
pleased Him.

962
01:00:53,000 –> 01:00:56,560
This is God’s work, and He’s
saying to each one of us that we

963
01:00:56,560 –> 01:01:01,520
have a powerful contribution
that we can make, and if we take

964
01:01:01,520 –> 01:01:05,240
those capabilities that the
Father has given us and don’t

965
01:01:05,240 –> 01:01:09,600
use them, then we rob the
ecclesial body of the

966
01:01:09,600 –> 01:01:11,640
capabilities that the Father has
provided.

967
01:01:13,640 –> 01:01:16,160
So the point is screaming out to
us, isn’t it, that there is

968
01:01:16,160 –> 01:01:20,280
something very powerful and
immensely necessary that every

969
01:01:20,640 –> 01:01:23,400
single one of us here in this
room can contribute to the

970
01:01:23,400 –> 01:01:25,600
ecclesial body.
There is not one of us in this

971
01:01:25,600 –> 01:01:28,560
room who does not have a
function that we can play in

972
01:01:28,560 –> 01:01:31,200
ecclesial life.
We’re all part of the ecclesial

973
01:01:31,200 –> 01:01:36,440
body, and regardless of what
capability we have, we all have

974
01:01:36,520 –> 01:01:39,720
a part to play.
We all have capability.

975
01:01:40,160 –> 01:01:43,760
We all have strengths.
We all have contributions that

976
01:01:43,760 –> 01:01:46,360
we can make that benefit the
ecclesia.

977
01:01:47,560 –> 01:01:50,200
And if we don’t, the ecclesia
suffers.

978
01:01:51,240 –> 01:01:54,720
And if we provide it, then the
ecclesia thrives.

979
01:01:55,560 –> 01:01:58,960
Now verse 21 and 22, he turns it
on its head and focuses on it

980
01:01:58,960 –> 01:02:02,400
from the other angle.
The I cannot say to the hand, I

981
01:02:02,400 –> 01:02:05,560
have no need of thee, nor again
the head to the feet I have no

982
01:02:05,560 –> 01:02:07,880
need of you.
They much more those members of

983
01:02:07,880 –> 01:02:11,000
the body which seem to be more
feeble are necessary.

984
01:02:11,880 –> 01:02:15,560
And so he dealt first with the
fact that the person who was a a

985
01:02:15,560 –> 01:02:19,160
foot wanted to be a hand.
But now he says you her a hand,

986
01:02:19,160 –> 01:02:20,720
can’t say to the foot, I don’t
need you.

987
01:02:21,080 –> 01:02:23,720
I’m so good as a hand.
I can walk around on my hands

988
01:02:23,720 –> 01:02:25,520
all the time.
I don’t need you as a foot.

989
01:02:25,520 –> 01:02:28,600
He’s saying actually the body
needs all of those different

990
01:02:28,600 –> 01:02:30,840
components together.
And there is no way, brothers

991
01:02:30,840 –> 01:02:33,160
and sisters, that any of us can
look at someone else and say we

992
01:02:33,160 –> 01:02:35,560
don’t need you and your
contribution in the ecclesial

993
01:02:35,560 –> 01:02:37,960
environment.
God’s put us together to build

994
01:02:37,960 –> 01:02:41,920
and to contribute the power of
that body working together.

995
01:02:46,320 –> 01:02:52,000
There is no way that we can work
as a body unless we appreciate

996
01:02:52,000 –> 01:02:54,600
the diversity that each of us
brings to ecclesial life.

997
01:02:55,680 –> 01:02:57,960
Each of us has capabilities and
strengths.

998
01:02:58,920 –> 01:03:00,440
There’s no one who cannot
contribute.

999
01:03:01,880 –> 01:03:05,280
We each have capabilities and
strengths which we have to use

1000
01:03:06,640 –> 01:03:10,600
if we are to bond together the
ecclesia and the unity of the

1001
01:03:10,600 –> 01:03:15,400
body.
The answer is that we use the

1002
01:03:15,400 –> 01:03:19,120
strength of our diversity, the
strength of the characteristics

1003
01:03:19,120 –> 01:03:22,760
that we bring in an ecclesial
environment to contribute to the

1004
01:03:22,760 –> 01:03:28,360
growth of an ecclesia.
But we do so remember on the

1005
01:03:28,360 –> 01:03:33,400
basis that it’s not about me and
my preeminence, but the basis of

1006
01:03:33,400 –> 01:03:38,520
what can I do to assist the
growth of the glory of the

1007
01:03:38,520 –> 01:03:41,840
Father.
It’s not diversity so that we

1008
01:03:41,840 –> 01:03:46,080
can do our own thing.
It’s diversity that enriches

1009
01:03:46,960 –> 01:03:49,480
because we bring it in self
sacrifice with different

1010
01:03:49,480 –> 01:03:52,680
strengths and different
contributions for the good of

1011
01:03:52,680 –> 01:03:55,000
the body.
Now I have to say brothers and

1012
01:03:55,000 –> 01:03:58,520
sisters and young people that we
see that diversity working so

1013
01:03:58,520 –> 01:04:00,400
beautifully in this school
together, don’t we?

1014
01:04:00,880 –> 01:04:03,920
There are so many brothers and
sisters and young people who are

1015
01:04:03,920 –> 01:04:08,840
working tires tirelessly in so
many different contributions to

1016
01:04:08,840 –> 01:04:11,240
the bringing together of the
atmosphere and the environment

1017
01:04:11,240 –> 01:04:14,320
of this school.
I saw it yesterday afternoon

1018
01:04:14,640 –> 01:04:16,480
with the brethren who were doing
the Craft class.

1019
01:04:16,480 –> 01:04:19,320
So I just was there for a moment
and really enjoyed the way there

1020
01:04:19,320 –> 01:04:21,720
were so many different brethren
working together with the young

1021
01:04:21,720 –> 01:04:24,720
kids absolutely enjoying
themselves and enthralled with

1022
01:04:24,720 –> 01:04:26,600
just the way that they were
working together.

1023
01:04:26,600 –> 01:04:29,080
It was, it was a beautiful
picture just for a moment of the

1024
01:04:29,080 –> 01:04:32,760
power of that diversity working
together in a way where brethren

1025
01:04:32,840 –> 01:04:35,680
were working so perfectly.
And I’ve seen it in so many

1026
01:04:35,680 –> 01:04:37,480
other ways throughout the school
together.

1027
01:04:37,840 –> 01:04:42,120
It’s all there because we all
bring our contribution.

1028
01:04:43,280 –> 01:04:46,760
It’s what invigorates it.
What’s it’s what lifts up the

1029
01:04:46,760 –> 01:04:52,960
ecclesial body.
Verse 25.

1030
01:04:54,000 –> 01:04:56,400
There should be no schism in the
body, but the same members

1031
01:04:56,400 –> 01:04:58,160
should have the same care one
for another.

1032
01:04:58,400 –> 01:05:00,800
Whether one member suffer, all
the members suffer with it, or

1033
01:05:00,800 –> 01:05:03,320
one member be honoured, all the
members rejoice with it.

1034
01:05:03,680 –> 01:05:06,920
Ye are the body of Christ, and
members in particular.

1035
01:05:07,520 –> 01:05:13,000
We bring our diversity together
because we become part of the

1036
01:05:13,000 –> 01:05:19,480
body of Christ.
We’re there with the same mind.

1037
01:05:21,960 –> 01:05:26,200
It’s not our work, It’s not
man’s work who can achieve this.

1038
01:05:26,200 –> 01:05:29,240
It’s only possible by the wisdom
and power of the Father.

1039
01:05:30,640 –> 01:05:33,080
And therefore it’s that great
accomplishment of His glory,

1040
01:05:33,080 –> 01:05:35,520
isn’t it?
How good and how pleasant it is

1041
01:05:35,520 –> 01:05:38,880
for brethren to dwell together
in unity.

1042
01:05:45,000 –> 01:05:48,600
At the end of that chapter, he
says covet earnestly the best

1043
01:05:48,600 –> 01:05:49,800
gifts.
I believe what he’s saying there

1044
01:05:49,800 –> 01:05:52,760
is covet those gifts, desire to
have those gifts that are going

1045
01:05:52,760 –> 01:05:55,760
to build up the most in the
ecclesial environment.

1046
01:05:55,960 –> 01:05:58,760
And yet he says, I’m actually
going to show you that there’s

1047
01:05:58,760 –> 01:06:01,560
something even more powerful,
yet show I unto you in a more

1048
01:06:01,720 –> 01:06:05,200
excellent way.
That word excellent is the Greek

1049
01:06:05,200 –> 01:06:10,720
word hyperbole, hyperbole.
And you can see the the

1050
01:06:10,720 –> 01:06:13,160
connection there to our English
word hyperbole.

1051
01:06:13,640 –> 01:06:16,720
It’s a, an absolute super
eminence that it’s talked about

1052
01:06:16,920 –> 01:06:19,240
a throwing behind others.
And that idea is that that

1053
01:06:19,440 –> 01:06:22,240
someone’s throwing a distance
and someone else comes who just

1054
01:06:22,240 –> 01:06:25,800
manages to throw the ball way,
way beyond what anyone else has

1055
01:06:25,800 –> 01:06:28,240
accomplished.
The sense of of just excelling

1056
01:06:28,520 –> 01:06:32,240
way beyond super eminence, far
more exceeding, he says.

1057
01:06:32,240 –> 01:06:35,400
So here’s the work of the spirit
and the different diversities of

1058
01:06:35,400 –> 01:06:37,120
spirit contribution that that
are made.

1059
01:06:37,400 –> 01:06:39,680
He says, I’m actually going to
show you something that far

1060
01:06:39,680 –> 01:06:42,720
exceeds the contribution that
that the spirit gifts can do.

1061
01:06:43,120 –> 01:06:46,040
The spirit gifts might be
helpful, but there’s another

1062
01:06:46,040 –> 01:06:48,960
contribution which you can make
to the ecclesial environment

1063
01:06:48,960 –> 01:06:54,240
that is going to far more exceed
that in the far more excellent

1064
01:06:54,240 –> 01:06:59,240
way he says is the concept of
love and bringing love to the

1065
01:06:59,240 –> 01:07:02,360
ecclesial environment.
I’m conscious that we’ve only

1066
01:07:02,360 –> 01:07:05,600
got 5 minutes left, so you have
to bear with me as I go through

1067
01:07:05,600 –> 01:07:08,160
this relatively quickly.
But let’s just spend the time to

1068
01:07:08,640 –> 01:07:11,800
to look at this concept because
it is extremely powerful.

1069
01:07:13,720 –> 01:07:18,440
There is one thing that that
that can create ecclesial unity.

1070
01:07:19,720 –> 01:07:23,000
It is not about our pre eminence
or the great thing that we do.

1071
01:07:23,840 –> 01:07:27,760
It’s not the grand, impressive,
visible thing that we do, but

1072
01:07:27,760 –> 01:07:29,840
it’s about our love for one
another.

1073
01:07:30,880 –> 01:07:33,920
I can have all of those gifts,
the most visible of

1074
01:07:33,920 –> 01:07:37,920
contributions, but he says if I
have not love, it is nothing.

1075
01:07:38,760 –> 01:07:41,520
One Corinthians 13 and verse 1,
though I speak with the tongues

1076
01:07:41,520 –> 01:07:44,920
of men and of angels and have
not love and become a sounding

1077
01:07:44,920 –> 01:07:47,840
brass or a tinkling symbol.
You might have the gifts of

1078
01:07:47,840 –> 01:07:50,800
tongues, he says, and be the
most pre eminent in in in your

1079
01:07:50,800 –> 01:07:53,360
ability to speak visibly with
the gift of tongues.

1080
01:07:53,760 –> 01:07:57,040
But if you don’t do it in love,
you’re just like a a little

1081
01:07:57,480 –> 01:08:00,120
tinkling symbol or a sounding
brass.

1082
01:08:00,760 –> 01:08:03,280
And though I have the gift of
prophecy, it might even be that

1083
01:08:03,280 –> 01:08:05,800
I have the the gift of prophecy
that and understand all

1084
01:08:05,800 –> 01:08:07,200
mysteries and have all
knowledge.

1085
01:08:08,120 –> 01:08:10,640
I can have all of that
capability so I could remove

1086
01:08:10,640 –> 01:08:16,160
mountains and have not love.
I am nothing, not just that your

1087
01:08:16,279 –> 01:08:19,840
your contribution is is reduced.
If you do it without love, then

1088
01:08:19,840 –> 01:08:23,279
you are nothing.
He says you can be there in the

1089
01:08:23,279 –> 01:08:26,240
greatest exposition of of
prophecy, but if it’s done

1090
01:08:26,240 –> 01:08:28,240
without love, then you’re
absolutely nothing.

1091
01:08:31,240 –> 01:08:34,840
It’s extreme, isn’t it?
The greatest extent of all of

1092
01:08:34,840 –> 01:08:38,760
those gifts can be used in a way
without love that accomplishes

1093
01:08:38,760 –> 01:08:43,560
nothing.
But see, in verse three, he

1094
01:08:43,560 –> 01:08:47,080
expands the concept beyond just
that of the use of gifts.

1095
01:08:47,319 –> 01:08:52,439
Verse 3 Though I bestow all my
gifts to feed the poor, and

1096
01:08:52,439 –> 01:08:56,000
though I give my body to be
burned and have not love, it

1097
01:08:56,000 –> 01:09:00,080
profiteth me nothing.
We’ve given our gifts to the

1098
01:09:00,080 –> 01:09:02,520
poor.
We’ve given our body to be

1099
01:09:02,520 –> 01:09:09,960
burned.
Hang on, don’t we define love as

1100
01:09:09,960 –> 01:09:12,760
being our willingness to
sacrifice ourselves for the sake

1101
01:09:12,760 –> 01:09:16,479
of others?
Christ himself says that greater

1102
01:09:16,479 –> 01:09:19,319
love hath no man than this, that
a man lay down his life for his

1103
01:09:19,319 –> 01:09:21,399
friends.
And here’s someone who’s

1104
01:09:21,399 –> 01:09:24,399
responded to that, and they’ve
been willing to give their body

1105
01:09:24,399 –> 01:09:29,040
to be burned.
But it’s not love.

1106
01:09:31,399 –> 01:09:35,520
Love is a difficult concept to
track through scripture.

1107
01:09:36,960 –> 01:09:40,880
It’s difficult to find a verse
that tells us what love is.

1108
01:09:42,359 –> 01:09:46,720
Almost every verse tells us
either God is love, or more

1109
01:09:46,720 –> 01:09:49,200
particularly, tells us what love
does.

1110
01:09:50,479 –> 01:09:53,279
Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his

1111
01:09:53,279 –> 01:09:58,160
life for his friends.
And so many other verses on love

1112
01:09:58,160 –> 01:10:03,520
tell us how love responds in its
actions, but they do not tell us

1113
01:10:04,080 –> 01:10:10,080
what love in itself is.
So what we often end up doing is

1114
01:10:10,080 –> 01:10:12,000
we define love as being an
action.

1115
01:10:13,200 –> 01:10:17,320
We say that if we self
sacrifice, then I must have

1116
01:10:17,320 –> 01:10:20,560
love.
That if I’ve given all my gifts

1117
01:10:20,560 –> 01:10:23,600
to the poor, then I’ve revealed
love.

1118
01:10:24,800 –> 01:10:28,160
If I’ve sacrificed myself to the
fullest extent and given my body

1119
01:10:28,160 –> 01:10:32,040
to be burned, then I’ve revealed
the action of love.

1120
01:10:33,920 –> 01:10:37,400
The apostles telling us that
actually that is not the case,

1121
01:10:38,800 –> 01:10:43,920
that just the action of self
sacrifice is not in itself love.

1122
01:10:45,840 –> 01:10:50,760
They can show the appearance of
love, but have not acted in

1123
01:10:50,760 –> 01:10:53,440
love.
And if we do so, brothers and

1124
01:10:53,440 –> 01:10:56,800
sisters, then it accomplishes
nothing.

1125
01:10:57,280 –> 01:10:59,080
I’ve done all these incredible
things.

1126
01:10:59,080 –> 01:11:01,240
I’ve, I’ve got the tongues of
men and of angels.

1127
01:11:01,240 –> 01:11:03,320
I’ve the greatest orators who
speak as an Angel.

1128
01:11:03,520 –> 01:11:06,080
I’ve got a great understanding
and knowledge and prophecy and

1129
01:11:06,080 –> 01:11:09,000
faith, awareness of mystery that
all the world holds.

1130
01:11:09,600 –> 01:11:12,520
I could give every last cent
that I own to the poor, and I

1131
01:11:12,520 –> 01:11:17,760
could even give my body my life
in complete sacrifice and yet do

1132
01:11:17,760 –> 01:11:21,920
those things without love.
So what is love?

1133
01:11:24,640 –> 01:11:27,600
Well, love, as we’ve seen, is
more than just a visible act.

1134
01:11:29,040 –> 01:11:34,040
Let’s have a look in verse 4.
Love suffers long and is kind.

1135
01:11:35,400 –> 01:11:43,200
Love envieth not love.
Vaunteth not itself, is not

1136
01:11:43,200 –> 01:11:47,280
puffed up, doth not behave
itself unseemly.

1137
01:11:47,280 –> 01:11:53,320
Seeketh not her own, is not
easily provoked, Thinketh no

1138
01:11:53,320 –> 01:12:00,000
evil.
Again, these can be seen as

1139
01:12:00,000 –> 01:12:03,960
actions, can’t they?
But I, I believe the apostle

1140
01:12:03,960 –> 01:12:07,920
here has actually given us that
little key which opens up just

1141
01:12:07,920 –> 01:12:10,640
that little bit further what the
fullness of love is.

1142
01:12:12,360 –> 01:12:15,160
See, these are the responses to
the little things of life.

1143
01:12:16,520 –> 01:12:19,240
It’s not necessarily giving my
body to be burned in the

1144
01:12:19,240 –> 01:12:23,800
ultimate sacrifice or giving all
I own to the poor, But love is

1145
01:12:23,800 –> 01:12:27,560
about our daily response to the
little actions of daily life and

1146
01:12:27,560 –> 01:12:29,120
our interactions with one
another.

1147
01:12:30,800 –> 01:12:33,600
But that in itself does not
explain the fullness of love.

1148
01:12:35,600 –> 01:12:38,520
Love suffers long and is kind.
It envieth not.

1149
01:12:39,000 –> 01:12:41,640
It vaunteth not itself is not
puffed up.

1150
01:12:42,760 –> 01:12:45,360
And the apostle is taking us
back to the concepts that he’s

1151
01:12:45,360 –> 01:12:47,760
already talked about, hasn’t it?
These were the issues within the

1152
01:12:47,760 –> 01:12:49,440
Corinthian ecclesia.
They were puffed up.

1153
01:12:49,760 –> 01:12:51,400
They were envying in their
ambition.

1154
01:12:52,360 –> 01:12:59,200
And he’s saying love.
We’ll only be love when it’s

1155
01:12:59,200 –> 01:13:01,920
done.
So because we have put ourselves

1156
01:13:02,160 –> 01:13:06,640
completely to the side.
It’s not just actions which I

1157
01:13:06,640 –> 01:13:11,760
love, but actions which are done
because we are recognizing that

1158
01:13:11,760 –> 01:13:14,880
we are nothing.
That we have come to the point

1159
01:13:14,960 –> 01:13:18,960
where the focus is not upon
ourselves, but the work of the

1160
01:13:18,960 –> 01:13:22,280
growth of the ecclesial body.
That we desire to be an

1161
01:13:22,280 –> 01:13:25,080
extension of the glory of the
Father Himself.

1162
01:13:25,360 –> 01:13:29,440
And therefore everything we are
doing is being done for the sake

1163
01:13:29,440 –> 01:13:32,560
of the edification and the
building up and the growth of

1164
01:13:32,560 –> 01:13:36,160
our ecclesial environment.
It’s not just that we act in

1165
01:13:36,160 –> 01:13:40,640
self sacrifice, it’s that we are
prepared to empty ourselves to

1166
01:13:40,640 –> 01:13:45,080
be the slaves of God because we
are not our own, and therefore

1167
01:13:45,080 –> 01:13:48,600
that motivates us to contribute
every component of our life to

1168
01:13:48,600 –> 01:13:51,720
the building up and the glory of
the of God Himself.

1169
01:13:53,120 –> 01:13:56,800
It’s the responses in the little
things of life that reveal

1170
01:13:57,440 –> 01:14:00,480
whether in reality we are
prepared to put ourselves to one

1171
01:14:00,480 –> 01:14:04,400
side, to recognise that the
flesh is nothing and to live our

1172
01:14:04,400 –> 01:14:07,240
life to the glory of God
Himself.

1173
01:14:07,480 –> 01:14:12,680
It’s not there for itself.
We’re there in love and

1174
01:14:12,680 –> 01:14:16,600
consideration for others to
contribute to the growth of the

1175
01:14:16,600 –> 01:14:20,920
ecclesial body.
We cannot force love.

1176
01:14:22,400 –> 01:14:26,760
By forcing action we fulfil
love.

1177
01:14:28,480 –> 01:14:34,880
We become love when we learn
that we are nothing but with all

1178
01:14:34,880 –> 01:14:38,680
our fibre, with every part of
our heart.

1179
01:14:40,600 –> 01:14:46,240
We long to build up and to
encourage and to assist the

1180
01:14:46,240 –> 01:14:48,000
growth of the ecclesial
environment.

1181
01:14:49,280 –> 01:14:53,720
We fulfill love, brothers and
sisters and young people, when

1182
01:14:53,720 –> 01:14:58,560
we are prepared in humility to
use the gifts that the Father

1183
01:14:58,560 –> 01:15:04,440
has given us to contribute to
the growth and the unity and the

1184
01:15:04,440 –> 01:15:10,080
strength of the ecclesial body.
John tells us in First John

1185
01:15:10,080 –> 01:15:12,040
Four.
We love one another because love

1186
01:15:12,040 –> 01:15:19,280
has come from God, and we love
him because he first loved us.

1187
01:15:21,920 –> 01:15:27,880
Our love together, our care
together, our contribution to

1188
01:15:27,880 –> 01:15:32,520
ecclesial life, our willingness
in our diversity to contribute

1189
01:15:32,560 –> 01:15:36,400
our part to the ecclesial body
is a response to the love that

1190
01:15:36,400 –> 01:15:41,640
the Father has shown to us in
the giving of his Son.

1191
01:15:43,960 –> 01:15:49,440
And therefore we are prepared to
become nothing to ourselves, to

1192
01:15:49,440 –> 01:15:54,160
become his, and all we do is for
him.

1193
01:15:55,720 –> 01:16:02,400
In that way it is agape, a true
life, a true love based on self

1194
01:16:02,400 –> 01:16:06,840
sacrifice.
It is to the measure we come to

1195
01:16:06,880 –> 01:16:13,600
understand the sacrifice of
Christ, the body broken and the

1196
01:16:13,600 –> 01:16:18,760
blood out poured, that we are
able to comprehend the fullness

1197
01:16:18,760 –> 01:16:22,720
of the love of the Father and
the love of the Son as they work

1198
01:16:22,720 –> 01:16:24,520
together for the unity of the
body.

1199
01:16:25,880 –> 01:16:28,440
Brothers and sisters and young
people, may that become the

1200
01:16:28,440 –> 01:16:34,800
motivation that helps us to love
truly one another, to contribute

1201
01:16:34,800 –> 01:16:39,640
to the unity of the ecclesial
body with all of the diversity

1202
01:16:40,640 –> 01:16:41,600
that we share together.