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Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit who helps us in prayer, the Pharisee and the Publican, part 3.

Thu, 19 Nov 2020 05:00:50 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-460-201119
Thursday November 19, 2020 Luk 18:9-14 And He also told this parable to certain ones who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and viewed others with contempt: 10 "Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee, and the other a tax-gatherer. 11 "The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself, 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer. 12 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.' 13 "But the tax-gatherer, standing some distance away, was even unwilling to lift up his eyes to heaven, but was beating his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me, the sinner!' 14 "I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself shall be humbled, but he who humbles himself shall be exalted." Anything other than humility is a false front. Before the holiness and immensity of God, we must know ourselves to be a little more than nothing. It is not things that we need to be separated from, but self. Nothing is evil in itself, for God has created it. It is the perversion of those things for the love of self that makes them sinful and evil. God has crucified our old self. We have put on the...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit who helps us in prayer, the Pharisee and the Publican, part 2.

Wed, 18 Nov 2020 05:00:49 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-459-201118
Wednesday November 18,2020 Ray Kurzweil, entrepreneur and inventor, director of engineering at Google, predicts the rapid evolution of humanity through technology, with the end being the merging of biological and machine intelligences. Eventually, he predicts: “The entire universe will become saturated with our intelligence.” Ray Kurzweil The Singularity Is Near, 2005 Ray is in for a big surprise. “Kurzweil promotes “the singularity” not only as allowing for the perfectibility of mankind – long a goal of theological speculation – but also as a step toward immortality, with our brain patterns imprinted as software and preserved permanently. This ‘transhumanist’ vision also reflects an almost obsessive concern to the aging inventor, who takes around 150 vitamin supplements a day in the hopes of delaying his own demise.” [The New Class Conflict, Joel Kotkin] As the tech oligarchs know, for decades at first, only the very rich will have access to the technology to implant machine into human so as to augment longer lives. Kurzweil describes those who will refuse cybernetic augmentation or are incapable of getting it as Mostly Original Substrate Humans, or...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit who helps us in prayer, the Pharisee and the Publican.

Tue, 17 Nov 2020 05:00:48 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-458-201117
Tuesday November 17, 2020 God is not hiding from us, nor is He making it difficult to see Him the way we should. There is only one way, and in a sea of counterfeits, we have to discover that way and learn all we can about it. “That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly.” [Thomas Paine] God is going to train you to be like His Son, no matter what you ask for, but you have to be like His Son to properly use and enjoy any gift. If we’re not reaching for it and asking for it, or even asking for the clarity to find our way like Pilgrim in John Bunyan’s allegory, then that says something about our desire for it. As God transforms us into the children capable of using the things we ask for, we must keep asking so that we know He is molding us and will answer – and we don’t lose heart and expect His gift. Luk 11:9-10 “And I say to you, ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks, receives; and he who seeks, finds; and to him who knocks, it shall be opened.” There is so much to prayer, and as scripture tells us, we don’t...

Ephesians 4:4-6,One Spirit who helps us in prayer when we are humble, part 4.

Sun, 15 Nov 2020 05:00:47 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-457-201115
Sunday November 15th If we have to keep looking every day and notice the seeds that God is sending our way, designed to plant spiritual vitality and further understanding in us, then we have to be sober and alert every day. The seed in the parable of the sower is the word of God, Luk 8:11. Luk 8:11-15 “Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. 12 And those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they may not believe and be saved. 13 And those on the rocky soil are those who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and these have no firm root; they believe for a while, and in time of temptation fall away. 14 And the seed which fell among the thorns, these are the ones who have heard, and as they go on their way they are choked with worries and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to maturity. 15 And the seed in the good soil, these are the ones who have heard the word in an honest and good heart, and hold it fast, and bear fruit with perseverance.” Our learning doesn’t stop when we leave Bible class. It has only just begun. The advanced classroom is life. The word we learn in...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit who helps us in prayer when we are humble, part 3.

Thu, 12 Nov 2020 05:00:46 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-456-201112
Thursday November 12, 2020 Reminding us where we are: The Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayer because of our weakness, not knowing how to pray. Keep praying. God is transforming us and we need to always know He is working. Remember that God wants most of all to give us Himself. All things and events and circumstances in life are being used by the Father to do just that. The superficial self, the old self, is not the true self. It is just a mask that we must learn to take off and throw away. C.S. Lewis: “He wants you to know Him; wants to give you Himself. And He and you are two things of such a kind that if you really get into any kind of touch with Him you will, in fact, be humble – delightedly humble, feeling the infinite relief of having for one got rid of all the silly nonsense about your own dignity which has made you restless and unhappy all your life. He is trying to make you humble in order to make this moment possible: trying to take off a lot of silly, ugly, fancy-dress in which we have all got ourselves up and are strutting about like the little idiots we are. … getting rid of the false self, with all its “Look at me” and “Aren’t I a good boy?” and all its posing and posturing....

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit who helps us in prayer when we are humble, part 2.

Wed, 11 Nov 2020 05:00:45 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-455-201111
Wednesday November 11, 2020 Veterans Day. The following is a blog published today by Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie. I’m Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie. On Veterans Day in 1988, Ronald Reagan said … “We remember those who were called upon to give all a person can give, and we remember those who were prepared to make that sacrifice if it were demanded of them in the line of duty. . . Most of all, we remember the devotion and gallantry with which all of them ennobled their nation as they became champions of a noble cause.” Each Veterans Day is a remembrance set aside to honor those who have defended our country in peace and war. On November 11th, we pause to reflect on American Veterans, men and women who have served and sacrificed while wearing the uniforms of the Nation—ordinary Americans performing extraordinary service. In March of 1864, after almost 3 years of devastating fighting in the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln reminded the nation of the sacrifices veterans make for us all … “All that a man hath he will give his life for his country … the soldier puts his life at stake, and often yields it up in his country’s cause. The highest merit, then, is due the soldier.” That demonstration of “highest merit”...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit who helps us in prayer when we are humble.

Tue, 10 Nov 2020 05:00:44 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-454-201110
Tuesday, November 10, 2020 Without the choice to do good and bad, there can be no love. Love has to choose. God chose to become a Man and die for our sins, taking what we deserved upon Himself though He was innocent. We choose to believe in Him and we choose to love Him and give into His will. Either we bow our knee and say, “Father, Your will, not mine,” or else if we do not, God will say to us, “Your will and not Mine.” Love is the craving in the human heart to belong in the sacredness of trust and a relationship. Daily prayer helped by the Holy Spirit is an extension of that love of God. Love is clearly seen when a child of God prays to God his Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit intercede. It is almost as if the Trinity is wrapping the child in love and working tirelessly to give to him what he needs. We are almost to the end of the healing of the man at the pool of Bethesda. I have chosen to study this event because of Christ’s question to the man, “Do you wish to get well?” All that God has done for us: Eph 4:1-6 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been...

Memorial for Lisa Byers

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 05:00:43 GMT

Memorial Service Series
Class number: MEM-1-201108
Wednesday November 11,2020 Memorial for Lisa...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, keep seeking, but do it humbly.

Sun, 08 Nov 2020 05:00:42 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-453-201108
Sunday November 8,2020 There is an issue that can prevent us from becoming Christlike, which in another wording would mean that we have become whole or complete in character, and that is that we really don’t want it, despite the fact that we say that we do. “Are you willing to be made whole?” – Are you willing to be fitted for the highest and purest life? Do we ask for it, while secretly asking “not yet.”? Joh 5:1-6 After these things there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 2 Now there is in Jerusalem by the sheep gate a pool, which is called in Hebrew Bethesda, having five porticoes. 3 In these lay a multitude of those who were sick, blind, lame, and withered, [waiting for the moving of the waters; 4 for an angel of the Lord went down at certain seasons into the pool, and stirred up the water; whoever then first, after the stirring up of the water, stepped in was made well from whatever disease with which he was afflicted. – not in the best MSS] 5 And a certain man was there, who had been thirty-eight years in his sickness. 6 When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he had already been a long time in that condition, He said to him, "Do you wish to get...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, being transformed into people capable of using what we ask for.

Thu, 05 Nov 2020 05:00:41 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-452-201105
Thursday November 5, 2020 To be the type of people we have been called to be, it is imperative that we know that we are hearing the truth from the scripture, since only the truth will free us from the bondage of what we are not to be what we are. Joh 7:14-18 But when it was now the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and began to teach. 15 The Jews therefore were marveling, saying, "How has this man become learned, having never been educated?" 16 Jesus therefore answered them, and said, "My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God, or whether I speak from Myself [of His own making]. 18 "He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. By ceasing to pray, and therefore ceasing to look for and anticipate the answer with joy, we lose a thousand of God’s gifts not recognizing the very thing we need is brought within our reach. We see the change of circumstances, not the fresh opportunity; we feel the disappointment, and fail to see the hand of God giving us humility; we recognize the bitterness and sorrow, but do not recognize the heavenly mind and abandonment of...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, continual prayer to keep us as the right type of people, part 2.

Wed, 04 Nov 2020 05:00:40 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-451-201104
Wednesday November 4, 2020 The ministry of the Holy Spirit in prayer, like everything God does for us, is concerned with making us people of a certain type. In Christianity, we are all to be of the greatest type of humanity: the new humanity which is the life of Christ. If God gives us all the things we want, makes our life comfortable and leisurely, and we don’t possess the type of inner heart where the Christ resides at home, we will live impoverished, contemptible lives. The life is the life of Christ. There is nothing in all of the history of the billions of men that is like the death of a Galilean as a Jewish state criminal and the confession that depicts this executed man as a preexistent divine figure who becomes a man and humbles Himself to a slave’s death. Yet, it is the Christology of the church. Paul said of Him, “Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus … who did not regard equality with God a thing to be maintained, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, being made in the likeness of men.” Material prosperity was often enjoyed in Israel, and during many of these times, Israel’s heart was sick. During the reign of...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, continual prayer to keep us as the right type of people.

Sun, 01 Nov 2020 04:00:39 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-450-201101
November 1, 2020 In all city-states, nations, or empires that began as democratic, over time leisure and decadence as well as centralization and concentration of wealth in the hands of the elite, and simultaneous loss of the middle class led to a loss of the liberties they set out to ensure and protect. Due to the loss of equality of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, and the loss of the proper mindset needed for a democratic, constitutional republic, unproductive citizens multiply and never decrease in numbers, family enterprises give way to corporate and governmental entities; public subsidy are offered to the landless and jobless detritus. Rural becomes urban, popular culture overwhelms all levels of society. Even language is refashioned to convince that work is drudgery, simplicity boredom, and charity entitlement, words themselves reinvented so that capital accumulation might become “success,” chaos “diversity,” selfishness “freedom,” and the failed a “victim.” I say this because it is an historical fact that keeps repeating, and is once again repeating in our own nation. I say it, not for any political reason, but because it proves that it is not the amount a material or military power that makes any group, from a small family to an empire, good. It is the type of people that make it good. Not even...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, encouragement to continually pray, part 2.

Thu, 29 Oct 2020 04:00:38 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-449-201029
Thursday October 29, 2020 Eph 4:1-6 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. The foundation of God’s kingdom: the one Trinity and the one people that He has made the Lord’s body by the one baptism of the Spirit, giving us the one hope of our calling, all beholding to the one faith, which is the truth that only belongs to our beloved Trinity. Here we sit in time, of the few who know. It is sad that the knowing are so few, for God has shown His light, the life of Christ, to the whole world. Yet, even among Christians, those who know of this foundation are few. And yet again, cautioned by our Lord to beware, that we too could have our hearts swept away to the earthly, the esteem of men, the want of personal desire, material,...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, encouragement to continually pray.

Wed, 28 Oct 2020 04:00:37 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-448-201028
Wednesday October 28,2020 Christ instructed His disciples, and so us, to keep on praying, even for the same thing. Not because the Father forgets or needs pestering, but so that we will not lose heart. Luk 18:1-8 Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lose heart, 2 saying, "There was in a certain city a judge who did not fear God, and did not respect man. 3 "And there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, 'Give me legal protection from my opponent.' 4 "And for a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, 'Even though I do not fear God nor respect man, 5 yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, lest by continually coming she wear me out.' " 6 And the Lord said, "Hear what the unrighteous judge said; 7 now shall not God bring about justice for His elect, who cry to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? 8 "I tell you that He will bring about justice for them speedily. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?" The conundrum is the same here as it is for other questions about prayer: sovereignty and omniscience vs. the free-will of God’s creatures...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, our Helper in prayer and builder of the one body.

Tue, 27 Oct 2020 04:00:36 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-447-201027
Tuesday October 27, 2020 In one passage, the Holy Spirit intercedes for the believer as he prays. This should excite your prayer life. He guides the believer and prays for him to the Father. Rom 8:26-27 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; 27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. This truth eliminates all prayers by rote. Since it is true that we don’t know how to pray as we should, we have to rely on Someone who knows how. We are promised the Holy Spirit to take that role. However, we go to God with desire. Desire, right or wrong, doesn’t need to be explained in proper words or procedures. It just is. Pray to God with proper desire for His good things, unworried about phrasing or style, and the Holy Spirit will intercede. The question arises as to why the Holy Spirit, and the Lord Jesus intercede for us. Rom 8:33-34 Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, our Helper in prayer.

Sun, 25 Oct 2020 04:00:35 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-446-201025
Sunday October 25,2020 To allow the Holy Spirit, by faith, to direct every part of our life, which is the humility of dependence, obedience, and dedication is to admit our limitations and to be filled with the Spirit rather than ourselves (self-dependence). Apart from Me, the Lord said, you can do nothing. Self-dependence is self-love. Despair is the absolute extreme of self-love. It is reached when a man deliberately turns his back on all help in order to taste the rotten luxury of knowing himself to be lost. Eph 4:1-3 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Eph 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. We all are indwelt by the one Spirit, and all with the same purpose: to gain the knowledge and the power to live Christ’s life. Our part...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit, our Helper.

Thu, 22 Oct 2020 04:00:34 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-445-201022
October 22, 2020 One Spirit: The Holy Spirit is a Person and is God. He is involved in creation (Gen 1:2). He is the inspirer and revealer of Scripture. He is the empower of divine action in believers. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Son and goes forth from the Father. He is obedient to the Father and Son as the Son is to the Father, but in no way inferior. The Holy Spirit was the agent of the virgin birth of Christ. During the incarnation, the Son of God relied upon the Holy Spirit to guide, empower, and instruct. Jesus’ use of the Holy Spirit is the prototype for us. The Holy Spirit is also responsible for making the written word known to man in a way that he can apply it to certain problems and situations. The Holy Spirit indwells every believer in the age of the church, and from there He sanctifies those who are dedicated, undefeated, dependent upon, and obedient to Him. Eph 4:22-5:3 that, in reference to your former manner of life, you lay aside the old self, which is being corrupted in accordance with the lusts of deceit, 23 and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and put on the new...

Ephesians 4:4-6, One Spirit.

Wed, 21 Oct 2020 04:00:33 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-444-201021
Wednesday October 21,2020 One Spirit: The Holy Spirit is a Person and is God. Involved in creation (Gen 1:2). The inspirer and revealer of Scripture. The empower of divine action in believers. The Holy Spirit is sent by the Son and goes forth from the Father. He is obedient to the Father and Son as the Son is to the Father, but in no way inferior. As a part of the eternal purpose of the Trinity, the HS undertook all the ministry necessary to sustain the Son during the incarnation in which the Son was to lay aside His own glory and power to some measure. Jesus’ use of the Holy Spirit in His life is the very prototype of our own. In fact, the HS undertook to beget the Son of God from the virgin Mary, to fill the man Jesus, and to supply all necessary enablement to sustain the Son in the sphere of His humiliation and empower Him for His life among men. G/HS is the source of God’s word and your source of its personal revelation: It is God’s divine purpose to make Himself known, and it is the work of the Holy Spirit to carry out that...

Ephesians 4:4-6, Our calling is the only hope.

Tue, 20 Oct 2020 04:00:32 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-443-201020
Tuesday October 20, 2020 Eph 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. One body. We closed our study of spiritual gifts with the means of unity in the body of Christ. Humility and love are the means of unity. Following each list of spiritual gifts given by Paul in Rom 12, 1Co 12, and Eph 4, Paul follows with instructions on love, serving one another in humility, the mark of the great society of believers, the way of the kingdom of God. He who has the Spirit will find a place in the body of Christ. To isolate and not seek out His brethren to serve them is to quench and grieve the HS. “By an instinct of its life, the new-born soul forms bonds of attachment for itself to the Christian souls nearest to it, to those amongst whom it is placed in God’s dispensation of grace.” [G.G. Findlay] Same author: “Where the Spirit of Christ dwells as a vitalizing, formative principle, it finds or makes for itself a body. Let no man say: I have the spirit of religion; I can dispense with forms. I need no fellowship...

Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body, its variety, and God’s love that unites it, part 4.

Sun, 18 Oct 2020 04:00:31 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-442-201018
Sunday October 15, 2020 Notice the previous sentence to Paul’s list of spiritual gifts in Rom 12: Rom 12:1-2 I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect. There is the way of the world and the way of God; the things of the world and the things of God. We have to learn to discern them and then we can walk with God, meaning that we walk in His way. Prove by testing that which is good, acceptable (euarestos = well-pleasing), and perfect (teleios = complete, finished, full-grown). Rom 12:3-5 For through the grace given to me I say to every man among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think; but to think so as to have sound...

Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body, its variety, and God’s love that unites it, part 3.

Thu, 15 Oct 2020 04:00:30 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-441-201015
Thursday October 15, 2020 Last time we read Jesus’ words which He spoke about our vision. Being able to see physically, and therefore seeing the world and its needs, which He summed up as food, drink, and clothes, did not equal light within, i.e. being able to see as He sees, being able to see His life. For His life was the light of the world and He didn’t care about worldly needs. First, we must see Him through faith in the gospel. Second, we must discover that eternal life is more so a type of life than it is a duration of life. Third, we must look for that life with all our heart. All our heart is the only path to seeing. I did not say that, the Lord did. Some perhaps preferred my older teaching that might be summarized as all one had to do was listen to the word of God and confess sins and all would be fine. Now I teach that listening is just the beginning. We must do, or act upon what we hear, striving to do so, and that we must do for a long time, our whole lives in complete commitment and obedience. Again, not my words but the Lord’s. Why does the Lord tell us to keep asking, seeking, knocking? Mat 7:7-11 "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be...

Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body, its variety, and God's love that unites it, part 2.

Wed, 14 Oct 2020 04:00:29 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-440-201014
Wednesday October 14th, 2020 Last time we looked at Psa 133. In this one stanza poem, it moves from brothers dwelling together to a nation dwelling together to all the people of God, Jew and Gentile, dwelling together for all eternity because of the blood of Christ. Everything that makes for unity, spirituality, blessing, and anything good is a gift from God. The existence and results of these many blessings from God are found among those people who recognize and utilize them. For us to not let diversity lead to division, we must see the sovereign purpose of God. We must see as Christ sees. Human life is a blessing from God, but in the hands of fallen man it ends in disaster without regeneration, God’s greatest blessing in giving us His only-begotten Son. God has given us heavenly life through His Son. The Son of God entered earth and explained that life before He did what was necessary to give it to us. Jesus, like Paul in 1Co 12, uses a human body analogy. Mat 6:22-23 “The lamp of the body is the eye; if therefore your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of...

Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body, its variety, and God’s love that unites it.

Tue, 13 Oct 2020 04:00:28 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-439-201013
Tuesday October 13, 2020 We should not be so fascinated by the individual gifts that we forget the main reason why Paul listed them: to remind us that they unite us in our ministries to the one body. In 1Co 12 and Rom 12, Paul is eager to apply the family-likeness which reflects Christ’s Lordship over all Christians to the diversity of ways in which this likeness can find creative expression. Whenever we see the different members of the Trinity acting in different capacities, we never imagine anything other than Their oneness. Even the virgin-birth of Jesus does not give any notion in our minds of anything other than a Trinity, coequal and coeternal, one. The Trinity is the foundation of unity-in-diversity and diversity-in-unity. 1Co 12:1 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 1Co 12:11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. The Holy Spirit bestows these gifts "as He will" (1Co 12:11), not as we will. No Christian should complain about his or her gifts, nor should any believer boast about his or her gifts. We...

Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body and the variety of gifts, part 5.

Sun, 11 Oct 2020 04:00:27 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-438-201011
Sunday October 11,2020 Giving (“with liberality”) and showing mercy (“with cheerfulness”) relate to sharing material aid with those in need, as well as supporting God's servants in ministry. Giving of any material with cheerfulness is a manner that God loves. He is the greatest giver and so loves it. When we manifest Him in any way, it pleases Him. Only with God is such a thing not conceited. Although he did not request personal support, Paul spent close to ten years soliciting funds for what is commonly referred to as the Jerusalem collection. This was a collection he took up among the Gentile churches to help Judean believers who were facing harder than usual economic times as a result of a famine during the mid to late 40s. Paul and Barnabas made an initial famine-relief visit to Jerusalem in A.D. 46 and delivered a monetary gift from the church at Antioch (Act 11:29-30). At that time the Jerusalem church expressed the hope that the believers associated with Paul would continue to remember the Judean believers, which Paul was more than eager to do (Gal 2:10). The collection effort was successfully completed in A.D. 57, and the funds were delivered by Paul and a group of delegates chosen by the contributing Gentile churches....

Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body and the variety of gifts, part 4.

Thu, 08 Oct 2020 04:00:26 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-437-201008
Thursday October 8, 2020 Title: Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body and the variety of gifts, part 4. Wanted to share with you a passage from Fields Without Dreams by Victor Hanson. “Office man can get allergies from plaster, carpet, and perfume. Put that same invalid in the middle of a blooming apricot orchard, his arms in constant motion with the shovel, his brain full of calibrations of water and fertilizer, his eyes following pollen-carrying, life-giving bees, and he revives. A great weight has been lifted. His sinuses will inhale dust and pollen – and then clear as the throbbing over the eye disappears. For he will be growing food by himself, not devising an ad campaign for Korean tennis shoes… Corporate man has brought himself riches and leisure but not happiness. No wonder Virgil spoke of the always complaining but continually blessed farmer, “O the farmers most fortunate beyond what is due – if they only but knew their happiness. Is not such rehabilitation and therapy, such cure for malady and affection, religious at its heart? For if you see, hear, and smell the incessant birth, death, and renewal of plant and animal, the sudden inexplicable destruction of crop through hail or frost, the devastation of a year’s grapes in a second, how can there not be some God that wishes to...

Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body and the variety of gifts, part 3.

Wed, 07 Oct 2020 04:00:25 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-436-201007
Wednesday October 7, 2020 1Co 12:1-3 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware. 2 You know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to the dumb idols, however you were led. 3 Therefore I make known to you, that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, "Jesus is accursed"; and no one can say, "Jesus is Lord," except by the Holy Spirit. There is one Lord, and all believers confess Him. Paul contrasted their experience as unconverted idolaters with their present experience as Christians. They had worshiped dead idols that never spoke to them, but now they belonged to the living God who spoke to them as the divine Holy Spirit within and through the spiritual gifts of apostle and prophet. In their demonic, pagan worship, some would claim to be the voice of the false god speaking through them, and now, Paul points out to them, that they all are indwelt by the Holy Spirit who speaks through them that Jesus is Lord. And this, not in loss of control, but in full self-control, for the fruit of the Spirit is self-control. The Trinity is one and so must the body of Christ be. Paul uses the human body as an analogy. It has various members with different functions, but it is one body. It has inner weaker parts, inner organs,...

Ephesians 4:4-6, The one body and the variety of gifts, part 2.

Tue, 06 Oct 2020 04:00:24 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-435-201006
Tuesday, October 6, 2020 1Co 12:4-11 Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 And there are varieties of ministries, and the same Lord. 6 And there are varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons. [one Trinity as in Eph 4:4-6] 7 But to each one is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. 8 For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, and to another the word of knowledge according to the same Spirit; 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, and to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 and to another the effecting of miracles, and to another prophecy, and to another the distinguishing of spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually just as He wills. Some gifts were temporary to support the building of the infant church: healing, miracles, prophecy, tongues. And yet all, the temporary and the permanent are through the “same” Holy Spirit. Learning and training are necessary, but do not substitute or neglect the mighty operations of the Holy Spirit in the function of gifts. 1Co 12:12-22 12 For even as the body is one and yet has...

Ephesians4:4-6, The one body and the variety of gifts.

Sun, 04 Oct 2020 04:00:23 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-434-201004
Sunday October 4, 2020 Verses 4-6, the second sentence, set forth the foundation upon which the temperament of unity rests. Eph 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. The groundwork of every building in God’s holy temple is the unity of God; the Trinity, the purpose, and plan. The church is built on this foundation, and where it has not been, schism and division have risen. Paul instructed his following teachers and pastors to be careful how they build in 1Co 3. They are to build upon Paul’s blueprints as the wise architect and on the foundation which is Christ. If they do, their churches will produce gold, silver, and precious stones, if not, wood, hay, and stubble that is fit to be burned. The pride of Christians must be removed and humility and meekness take its place. Unfortunately, this hasn’t always happened, and to further complicate the problem, the ecumenical church or visible church has a certain number of non-believers either professing to be Christians, or, not...

Ephesians 4:4-6, The foundation of all good things - the unity of the Trinity, His purpose, and plan.

Thu, 01 Oct 2020 04:00:22 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-433-201001
Thursday October 1, 2020 God has said much to us lately about humility. [from Barnhouse on Romans] A beautiful illustration comes from the life of the late Chief Justice, Charles Evans Hughes. When Mr. Hughes was appointed Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, he moved to Washington and transferred his letter to a Baptist church there. His father had been a Baptist minister, and Hughes had been a lifelong witness to his own faith in Christ. It was the custom in that Baptist church to have all new members come forward during the morning service and be introduced to the congregation. On this particular day, first to be called was a Chinese laundryman, Ah Sing, who had moved to Washington from San Francisco and kept a laundry near the church. He stood at the far side of the pulpit. As others were called, they took positions at the extreme opposite side. When a dozen people had gathered, Ah Sing still stood alone. Then Chief Justice Hughes was called. He took his place next to the laundryman. When the minister had welcomed the group into the church fellowship, he said, "I do not want this congregation to miss the remarkable illustration of the fact that at the cross of Jesus Christ the ground is level." You see, Mr. Hughes behaved like a true Christian. He took his place beside the laundryman, and by his act prevented embarrassment...

Ephesians 4:1-3, The family of God must manifest their unity and purity.

Wed, 30 Sep 2020 04:00:21 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-432-200930
Wednesday September 30, 2020 Eph 4:1-3 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. We were called, and knowing this, we are pulled towards a lifestyle worthy of that calling. That lifestyle pleases God, Col 1:10. As Paul puts it in Colossians, God qualified us to share in the inheritance of the saints. That inheritance is nothing material, as if the kingdom of God has any basis in the material things that men of the world love to possess. The inheritance of the saints is comprised of all the virtues and loves and knowledge of Christ. Part of that inheritance is humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, and love. Christ used the same word, gentleness, when He said, “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.” Jesus Christ described Himself as humble and meek. This is a part of the inheritance of the saints....

Ephesians 4:1-3, A worthy walk is always open to the believer.

Tue, 29 Sep 2020 04:00:20 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-431-200929
Tuesday September 29, 2020 Eph 4:1-3 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. You were called – aorist passive indicative of kaleo = at salvation God called you. You couldn’t call yourself. Aorist points to the moment of your salvation, passive means that God called you and that no one elects themselves, and the indicative means that your calling is not in doubt. It is of extreme importance that a believer know without a doubt that he is elected. He can know, not from any sign or work, for those could be in doubt, but because he has believed in Jesus Christ as his Savior. Salvation is by faith and not by works. Knowing that we are elected, we are entreated by Paul to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which we have been called. “worthy” – axios = of weight or worth. Our lives...

Ephesians 4:1-3, False teachers cloud the issue of election.

Sun, 27 Sep 2020 04:00:19 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-430-200927
Sunday September 27,2020 No reward from God can possibly be used selfishly for self. God’s rewards or blessings (unconditional and conditional) are all linked to Himself. I have been deemphasizing conditional rewards out of my desire to get us to see that we walk in a manner worthy because of the fact that we are called. Perhaps that has been in error. The plain teaching of the scripture is that God rewards those who follow Him, but the rewards essentially are receiving more of God Himself. There are unconditional and conditional blessings. Believers can easily get distracted with rewards when they view them incorrectly. We must be careful not to become competitive with one another. Rewards are more of God, which we share with one another. 1Pe 3:8-14 To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; 9 not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. 10 For [Psa 34:12-16 – David narrowly escapes the Philistines], "Let him who means to love life and see good days...

Ephesians 4:1-3, The reason for walking worthy – you were called by God, and it is rewarded.

Thu, 24 Sep 2020 04:00:18 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-429-200924
Thursday September 24, 2020 “Don’t only practice your art, but force your way into its secrets, for it and knowledge can raise men to the Divine.” [Ludwig van Beethoven] He is referring to composing, but it is a truth concerning anything that is profitable to understand deeply, and nothing is more profitable than the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the mystery from long ages past revealed. We could be content with living as we ought, somewhat blindly, or we can seek God with all our heart and find the secret, the mystery of that life. Certainly, it is better to blindly live as you ought than not, if you are searching and groping in your relationship with God for the understanding of that mystery. It may be worse for someone to just go through the motions of what is perceived as the Christian life and do so without a care to know God. A person going to church because he should, without a desire for knowing the Lord, would perhaps be closer to the kingdom of God if he was honest and stopped going (perhaps). Eph 4:1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, The motivation for living the life of God’s will is...

Ephesians 4:1-3, Exegesis, part 2 (Who is called by God?).

Wed, 23 Sep 2020 04:00:17 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-428-200923
Wednesday September 23, 2020 The NT is written in Koine Greek or common Greek of the first century. There are excellent English translations, some better than others, but even with the best of these, it is important to get a deeper meaning and nuance by looking at the original Greek text. And in case you did not know, no one possesses the originals, but so many copies of them have been discovered over the centuries that we can compare them all, finding almost all textual errors that inevitably come from copying, resulting in a copy of the original text that is almost without variants, and where we do still find variants so far unresolved, none of them (words or passages) affect any doctrine. Eph 4:1-3 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. First, we will review the Greek words which we have already seen. The first word in the sentence is “entreat.” “I entreat (beseech)...

Ephesians 4:1-3, Exegesis.

Tue, 22 Sep 2020 04:00:16 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-427-200922
Tuesday September 22, 2020 Before we get into some exegesis on this passage, let’s be reminded that the truths or doctrines of Eph 1-3 that are to give us each peace that protects our souls, making the unity of the body of Christ possible. Love and peace (headliners of the fruit of the Spirit) are the bond of unity. There is one Spirit who baptizes all believers into Christ Jesus, which fact cannot be affected by anything human. By the Holy Spirit we are all made a part of one body with Christ as its head and that forever, which is what Paul will allude to in his next sentence. Eph 4:4-6 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. Eph 4:1-3 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Col...

Ephesians overview – 4:1-3, The New Society in the old society of hatred.

Sun, 20 Sep 2020 04:00:15 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-426-200920
Sunday September 20,2020 Eph 4:1-2 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, Love is the final quality, which embraces the preceding four: humility, gentleness, patience, and forbearance. Love is the crown and sum of all virtues. Paul’s extended definition of love in 1Co 13 includes all the fruit of the Spirit in Gal 5, which lists love first. These are the five foundation stones of Christian unity. If they are absent, then no structure can create unity. No unity is pleasing to God that is not the child of charity (love). The contrast between this and the current outward behavior of some in our nation is striking. We would have to conclude that the hate we see had already been latent in their souls, and now has found a form of expression that has no reprisal. Luk 10:25-37 And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and put Him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 And He said to him,...

Ephesians overview – 4:1-3, The New Society: Unity through patience and forbearance.

Thu, 17 Sep 2020 04:00:14 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-425-200917
Thursday September 17, 2020 Patience, makrothumia, is a fruit of the Spirit, Gal 5:22. The partner of patience is forbearance. It is a mutual tolerance without which no group of human beings can live together in peace. We saw last time that God is extremely patient with all the world in order to give them time for repentance and faith. The same word is to describe how we are with one another in the body of Christ, and of course with the unsaved, since we are to be imitators of our Father in love. Forbearance – anecho (ana = up + echo = to have or to hold) = literally “to hold up,” means to bear with, endure, tolerate. When the disciples could not heal the demon possessed boy who was mute, Jesus responded: Mar 9:14 "O unbelieving generation, how long shall I be with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring him to Me!" Paul accused the Corinthians of forbearing with fools and false teachers. The sister passage to ours, Col 3:12-15, we are commanded to forbear one another and forgive one another. Forbearance is also needed for...

Ephesians overview – 4:1-3, The New Society: Unity

Wed, 16 Sep 2020 04:00:13 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-424-200916
Wednesday September 16, 2020 There is only way we will know for sure that humility, meekness, patience, forbearance, and love will make for peace. We have to diligently be and do them, knowing the HS will accomplish it. Malachi prophesied about 100 years after Judah returned from her Babylonian exile. The Temple was rebuilt and the hope was that Israel would learn from her error and discipline and finally be the nation that God willed. They were not. The exile taught them nothing. They returned to unfaithfulness. Through Malachi, God makes various claims to which they respond and God counters. For example, He says that He loved them, and they say how? God responds that He loved and chose Jacob and rejected Esau. God says that they defiled His Temple, to which they respond, “How?” God responds that they bring Him sick and worthless animals as offerings. There are six of these, and in one, God says, “Test Me to see if I will not bless you.” Mal 3:8-12 "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed Thee?' In tithes and offerings. 9 "You...

Ephesians overview – 4:1-3, The Way of Christ’s Life.

Tue, 15 Sep 2020 04:00:12 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-423-200915
Tuesday September 15, 2020 Everything in Eph 1-3:13 was the background. Blessed, elected, predestined, graced out, redeemed, forgiven, wisdom, insight (understanding the mystery of His will), possessing an inheritance, seeing His glory, sealed by the HS, the fulness of Christ, made alive together with Him, risen together with Him, seated together with Him, made for good works, full access by the HS, of God’s household, new men, established in peace, enlightened by the mystery of Christ, knowing the unfathomable riches of Christ, and bold access to the throne of God. For three chapters Paul has been unfolding for his readers the eternal purpose of God. Through Jesus Christ, the mystery unfolded – He died for sinners and was raised from the dead and by Him God the Father created something new: a new humanity and a new society for them. Paul sees the alienated humanity reconciled to God, the fractured humanity being united, and a new humanity being created. Now Paul moves from the new humanity and his new society to the standards that are expected of it. He turns from exposition to exhortation. He turns from what God has done in the indicative to what we must do in the imperative, from doctrine to duty. As one writer put it, from the...

Ephesians overview – 4:1-3, The Way of Christ’s Life.

Sun, 13 Sep 2020 04:00:11 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-422-200913
Sunday September 13, 2020 We have concluded the first half of the letter. The first half is about the truth of the divine life in man; the second half turns to the way of that life under the commands. So far in the letter there has been only one imperative, but now we will find many. As in other letters from Paul, the doctrine expounded upon in the earlier part is to be worked out according to practical guidance given in the later part, the transition from the one to the other being marked by the adverb “therefore.” As members of the new humanity, the readers have already been reminded of the purpose to which God has called them: the hope of their calling (1:18) requires lives which are in keeping with their high destiny. Paul, as “the prisoner of the Lord,” appeals to them to conduct themselves accordingly. In 3:1 he was Christ’s prisoner for their sake, and in 4:1 he addresses himself as a prisoner of the Lord in practice, meaning that it demands of him a certain walk, which is his calling, and now he invites them to consider their own calling. What does their own calling demand of them? In chains Paul is the Lord’s ambassador, and ambassador in chains, 6:20. Out of chains, his readers are...

Ephesians overview 3:20-21, The Doxology

Thu, 10 Sep 2020 04:00:10 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-421-200910
Title: Ephesians overview – 3:20-21, The Doxology. Eph 3:16-19 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. Being filled by God is to be our reality. In this prayer we see that being filled to the fullness of God is conditioned on the riches of God’s glory strengthening us with power through the Holy Spirit within; knowing and living in the life of Christ so that the Christ would dwell at home in our hearts; being rooted and ground in love, with all the saints, apprehending all dimensions of Christ love. It is one kind of life, the life of heaven that Christ brought to earth with Him and gave to us freely. When we know it, explore it, and live it consistently, we will find ourselves being filled up with the perfect attributes of God. This is how God fulfills us, fills us so that we lack nothing, and gives us a mighty feeling of contentment....

Ephesians overview – 3:14-19, The character of being filled to the fullness of God.

Wed, 09 Sep 2020 04:00:09 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-420-200909
[neTitle: Ephesians overview – 3:14-19, The character of being filled to the fullness of God. Eph 3:16-19 that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, 19 and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fulness of God. The genitive, the fulness of God, is either to be understood as objective or subjective. If objective, then God’s fullness is the abundance of grace which He bestows. If it is subjective, it is the fullness which fills God Himself, in other words His perfect attributes. Naturally, I think we’d rather accept the former because the latter seems way too high. But the preposition (“to”) is eis, which indicates that we are to be filled not ‘with’ so much as ‘unto’ the fullness of God. Staggering as the thought may be, the more probable meaning is that we are to be filled up unto all the fulness of God, meaning His perfect...

Prescott Conference 2020: Sunday AM: Summary of David’s life and the psalms that garnished it

Sun, 06 Sep 2020 04:00:08 GMT

Prescott Conference 2020 Series
Class number: Pres Con-4-200906
Prescott Conference 2020 Class 4: Sunday Morning, September 6, 2020 The Tears of the Penitent, Psa 32, 51, 6 Adversity had taught David self-restraint, had braced his soul, had driven him to grasp firmly the hand of God. He had prosperity for nearly 20 years. Gratitude had followed deliverance, and the sunshine after the rain had brought out the fragrance of devotion and the blossoms of glad songs. A good man such as David, especially at his age, seldom falls so low, unless perhaps there has been previous, perhaps unconscious, relaxation of the girded loins. We can scarcely conceive of such a temptation conquering him unless there was a previous decay of his spiritual life, and likely the prosperity of his royal life dulled his eyes to it. Self-indulgence and ease can be mighty dangerous. The narrative tells us that it was the time for kings to go to battle, and this emphasis cannot be randomly placed. David contented himself with sending his troops against Ammon while remaining in the king’s house in Jerusalem. His soldiers are sweltering in the hot sun while David, far behind them, is taking his afternoon siesta in his cool and shaded room. Rather...

Prescott Conference 2020: Saturday PM: Summary of David’s life and the psalms that garnished it

Sat, 05 Sep 2020 04:00:07 GMT

Prescott Conference 2020 Series
Class number: Pres Con-3-200905
Prescott Conference 2020 Class 3: Saturday Night, September 5, 2020 Psalms: Youth - 8, 19, 29, 23 Exile: Surround House - 59 Nob - 52 Gath - 56 Hills of Judah - 54 Engedi - 7, 57, 142 Ziklag - 31 Ziklag: Psa 31 - God gives rest after a long “winter.” To this period of comparative security one psalm has been supposed to belong - 31. Psa 31 For the choir director. A Psalm of David. 31 In Thee, O Lord , I have taken refuge; Let me never be ashamed; In Thy righteousness deliver me. 2 Incline Thine ear to me, rescue me...

Prescott Conference 2020: Saturday AM: Summary of David’s life and the psalms that garnished it

Sat, 05 Sep 2020 04:00:06 GMT

Prescott Conference 2020 Series
Class number: Pres Con-2-200905
Prescott Conference 2020 Class 2: Saturday Morning, September 5, 2020 Youth and Exile We know nothing of David’s childhood beyond what we may imply by imagining a youngest son of several who was unloved by his brothers and unregarded by his father; who was likely ignored, given menial work, and in his teens lived a solitary life as a shepherd in the Judean wilderness. We also discover that through whoever were his teachers, he learned the law and loved it, learned the harp and was exceptional at it, and somehow learned war and was a fine warrior. The ignored, unloved, solitary boy did not let his situation do what it does to those weaker than him, and we can be sure that it was the law of God that taught him to overcome. Psa 8, 19, 29, and likely 23. Psa 19 For the choir director. A Psalm of...

Prescott Conference 2020: Friday PM: Summary of David’s life and the psalms that garnished it

Fri, 04 Sep 2020 04:00:05 GMT

Prescott Conference 2020 Series
Class number: Pres Con-1-200904
Prescott Conference 2020 Class 1: Friday Night, September 4, 2020 Reference: “The Life of David as Reflected in the Psalms” by Alexander Maclaren, 1888. Summary of David’s life and the psalms that garnished it. First, why did God give us David’s life in so much detail compared to others? God could have recorded anything He wanted in the scripture, but He highlights certain people. David is highlighted and is arguably, of all the OT people, the greatest type of Christ. The things in the OT were written, or recorded, for our instruction. ROM 15:4 For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction, that through perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope. David is a type of Christ, and it is Christ who all believers are called to be in image. David was Israel’s greatest king outside of Christ. All believers are called to reign in this life. ROM 5:17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in...

Ephesians overview – 3:14-19, Filled with the perfect attributes of God.

Tue, 01 Sep 2020 04:00:04 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-419-200901
Tuesday September 1, 2020 It is vital to know the truth of Rom 5:12-21, for from it comes the victory to live the life given; explained in chapters 6-8. To not know it is to live a weak Christian life of partial obedience in which one is defeated in many spheres. Following the wonderful news of Rom 5, that we are made alive in Christ, severed from our old relationship to Adam, made righteous to eternal life in Christ, justified, made new to reign in life, we do not have to question our position in Christ because we still find sin in our lives. Rom 6 tells us that we are still capable of sin. Yet also, being what we are following Rom 5, we are not to be complacent about sin, nor are we in any way to concede defeat to it. We are to be in practice what God has made us to be, and to that truth Paul is sure to instruct us in the truth of the matter. We died to sin; therefore, we should not live in it. We are alive in Christ; therefore, we should walk in newness of life. Rom 6:1-2 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace might increase? 2 May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Then, in...

Ephesians overview – 3:14-19, Filled by God to be alive with Christ (Rom 6), part 3.

Sun, 30 Aug 2020 04:00:03 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-418-200830
Sunday August 30,2020 Quench (sbennumi - put out like a fire) the Spirit – not following the commands. The Holy Spirit empowers us like an inner furnace when we obey by faith. We arrive at this conclusion through the context of the passage in 1Th 5:19. After several commands concerning our conduct in life, a new sentence...

Ephesians overview – 3:14-19, Filled by God to be alive with Christ (Rom 6), part 2.

Sun, 23 Aug 2020 04:00:02 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-417-200823
Sunday August 23,...

Ephesians overview – 3:14-19, Filled by God to be alive with Christ (Rom 6).

Thu, 20 Aug 2020 04:00:01 GMT

EPHESIANS Series
Class number: EPHESN-416-200820
...