Colossians -July Class

[0:00] If everybody has a sheet that begins with number 920 in the corner, that's where we'll be starting. Actually, that's the beginning of chapter 2, and we got that underway last time.

[0:13] And we completed the whole of the first side and got started on the second. But I'd like to move along a little more quickly if we can. We could be in Colossians for a long time because the content is so deep, and yet there are other things to be taught as well.

[0:29] So thank you for being here this morning. I trust you enjoyed your breakfast. And not only is summer practically halfway over, but so is the year.

[0:43] It's already halfway over. Can you believe that? Amazing, isn't it? The older we get, the faster it goes. But I appreciate you being here for our July session, and let's look to the Lord.

[0:55] Father, we are truly grateful for what you've been pleased to provide for us. And we know that it is our responsibility as a result of your giving it to us to search it and understand it, to walk in it, and to benefit from it.

[1:09] Thank you for this gracious provision you've made through Revelation. We ask now that as we engage these great truths, you will enable us to enter into them in such a way that our spiritual person will be fed and edified.

[1:23] This we ask in Christ's name and for his sake. Amen. All right. If you will note in chapter 2, the Apostle Paul begins the chapter.

[1:38] Actually, he didn't begin it, but whoever divided the chapters years ago began it with Paul's expression for the spiritual growth and benefit and understanding, appreciation of what these people possessed in Christ.

[1:54] And it was a great item on Paul's heart. And it ought to be on the heart of every Bible teacher because once an individual has come to faith in Christ, there is absolutely nothing that is more vital to them than their growth and maturity.

[2:12] And there is a parallel there that we are all familiar with, with a little baby. The first obstacle is being born, is getting into the world. But that little tyke no sooner exits the womb, then the first thing it needs is nourishment, needs to start taking in.

[2:31] And so it is with the Word of God. The next most important thing you can do to actually being saved is understanding the ramifications, implications, and blessings of that salvation.

[2:43] We've been conducting a class, as many of you know, out at one of the local care facilities, and that grand court here in Springfield.

[2:57] And we've been going through the list of 33 things that God has provided for those who are believers in the Lord Jesus. And as we go down through the list, it becomes very apparent that these dear people had little understanding of what God has provided for them in Christ.

[3:18] And yet, there is no believer anywhere that is not a beneficiary of all of those 33 things. But if you don't know them, you can't use them.

[3:28] You can't benefit from them. You can't get any mileage from them. And when Paul is writing this to the Colossians, I'm sure that it is connected with a statement that he made to Barnabas.

[3:42] When they had completed their first missionary journey, which was limited pretty much to Asia Minor, it didn't even get over into Europe with the first journey, but the second one would be a lot more extensive.

[3:54] And Paul turned to him and said, Let us go and visit the brethren where we were and see how they do.

[4:06] Someone has said that's the first official verse in all the Scripture that justifies follow-up work. You don't just lead someone to Christ and drop them because, well, the important thing is that they're saved.

[4:18] Now they're up to the Holy Spirit and you just walk off and leave them alone. No, no. What they really need is instruction. And this is what Paul begins chapter 2 with. I would that you knew what great conflict I have for you.

[4:29] I'm really upset, concerned, exercised about you and for them at Laodicea and for as many as have not seen my face in the flesh. And here's what I'm upset about.

[4:42] I want their hearts to be comforted, being knit together in love, and unto all riches of the full assurance of understanding, to the acknowledgement of the mystery of the mystery of God and of the Father and of Christ, in whom are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

[5:04] And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the Spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ.

[5:23] And as you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him. And then here, verse 7, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith.

[5:36] He uses an agricultural motif, and he uses a construction motif. And the agricultural has to do with rooted. A plant is going to be no more productive than what the root system will allow it to be, because it all starts with the root.

[5:55] What is below the ground is vital to what is going to be above the ground. That's being rooted. And then, being established in the faith.

[6:06] And this has to do with the edification complex. Every believer is engaged in building an edification complex. It is that which builds you up, stabilizes you, strengthens you.

[6:21] It's a word from which we get the word edifice. Edification means to build up, the idea of story on top of story. And the more we are built up in the faith, the more spiritual information, knowledge we have, the more we can use, the more we can benefit from.

[6:38] And this is supposed to be the norm. This is not supposed to be an exception. I mean, our Lord told us in John 10, I am come that man might have life and have it more abundantly.

[6:50] One of the things that God wants us to do with this life we have is enjoy it. Be enriched by it.

[7:01] Revel in it. Just be exuberant with what we have in Christ just because we have it and what he has provided for us.

[7:12] It's just, and sometimes you get the impression that some believers do not enjoy the Christian life. They endure it. And it was never given for that purpose.

[7:25] You can endure just regular life without Christ and try to eke it out and get through. That's the world's endurance. But we do not endure our life in Christ. We enjoy it.

[7:37] And let's turn the page there. And of course, that's always a byproduct of really understanding who and what you are in Christ.

[7:49] The most grateful Christians you will ever find are those who know the most about what God has done for them in Christ. The whiners, the complainers, the bellyachers, they are those who do not really understand or appreciate how rich they really are in the Lord Jesus.

[8:12] And it just leaves them off. Why did God let this happen to me? Why did this come my will? What did I do to deserve this? And Thanksgiving is far from them because they're not taught.

[8:23] So, if we want people to be joyful in Christ, productive in Christ, live rich and full lives in Christ, they have to know who and what they are in Christ.

[8:36] That becomes the basis for it. Beware, verse 8, lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit.

[8:46] Some of these other translations are helpful here. Take care, 20th century New Testament says, take care there is not someone who will carry you away by his philosophy, a hollow sham.

[9:02] Take care, Weymouth says, lest there be anyone who leads you away as prisoners by means of his philosophy and idle fancies. There are people who come along who have a line, who have a story, who have charisma and appeal, and they can gather a crowd and people hover around them.

[9:25] And they hang on their every word and they believe everything they say. And it would never occur to them that this person could actually be leading them astray. And that is why I don't care who the Bible teacher is, the most capable, always have to be lined up with the word of God.

[9:44] And it's your responsibility to do that. It's not the teacher's responsibility to do it for you. It is your responsibility to be a Berean. You know, when Paul and Silas preached the gospel, the people there at Berea who were Old Testament, I guess we would say Old Testament believers, they were Jews.

[10:04] They said, let us search the scriptures and see whether these things be so. We know what these guys have told us. Let's see if it lines up with the word of God.

[10:15] And if it doesn't, you scrap it. You dismiss it as vain philosophy. And there's a lot of it out there. Someone has said there are 1,500 religions, isms, cults, splits, splinters, etc.

[10:30] 1,500 out there all over the world. And the only thing they have in common is that each one claims to be the truth. Somebody's lying.

[10:41] Even if they don't know it, somebody's lying. So all of these things are out there. Phillips translates it, Be careful that nobody spoils your faith through intellectualism or high-sounding nonsense.

[10:55] I cannot think of better examples of this than some of our young people who are reared in evangelical churches. Very often they are not really rooted and grounded, which is the burden that Paul is talking about here.

[11:12] They are saved. They know the Lord. Or in some cases, of course, they don't. But they've had very little teaching. Very little understanding. Very little really solid to base their faith on.

[11:25] And when they go away to colleges or universities and the first contact they come into with a well-educated, suave, polished, smooth-talking PhD who has advanced degrees from here or there, their faith has just made shipwreck.

[11:44] And I have read accounts where some of these professors just delight, delight in dismantling a young person's faith.

[11:54] And if you've got a faith that can be easily dismantled, then you didn't have much substance to begin with. And this is something that we must fault the church for because it is the church's responsibility to edify, establish, strengthen through the teaching so that when these young people go off to school or to the military or wherever they go, they will have the basis for their faith and they will be able to give an answer to everyone who asks them a reason for the hope that is within them with meekness and with fear.

[12:30] But all too often that is not the case. So what Paul is doing here is trying to see to it that these people are grounded and that they know what they need to know in order to stand fast. Roger?

[12:40] I know a friend's boy went to Houghton College up in Michigan. They literally threatened him. And he would shock them out of his faith or something.

[12:53] I mean, atheism is just crazy. Yeah. Yeah. You're not going to get a good grade if you don't straighten up. Yeah. Yeah. He started to argue with the professor.

[13:06] Yeah. Well, this is, you know, standing firm for the faith. And that passage in 1 Peter also tells us how we are to do it.

[13:17] You know, we've got to have the right attitude. It's with meekness and with fear. And we ought to be kind in our position and in setting it forth. But too many of our young people are just ill-equipped.

[13:31] And these professors with the smooth, suave talking, high degrees, et cetera, can just steamroller right over them. And it leaves the poor kid embarrassed.

[13:42] And he's feeling inadequate and feeling like, you know, feeling like he's just a country bumpkin, which they often make them out to be. And it's tragic. See, and to add salt to the wound, these are usually your taxpayer dollars at work, paying the salaries of people who are doing that.

[14:01] When Casey was in philosophy at Wright State, he would argue, he was a professor. Uh-huh. Nobody would stand up behind him. But after the class was over, they'd say, hey, come Casey, way to go.

[14:17] Yeah. They wouldn't trip in. Yeah, yeah. Well, they were afraid. They were intimidated, see. But Casey had a different spirit about him. They gave him the top senior award because they admired that.

[14:30] So at least there was some. Well, that's terrific. Or whatever with the staff that they thought that was neat that he stood up. Absolutely. May his tribe increase.

[14:42] While I'm certainly not opposed to education, you ought to get all that you can get. But you need to realize at the same time that just because someone is so-called well-educated doesn't mean he has all the answers.

[14:56] But you can understand how these kids, 18, 19 years old, are completely intimidated by these people who are very articulate and very well-read. And they seem to have all the answers.

[15:08] And who am I? How many degrees do I have? I don't know anything. And that's the way many of them feel. So it's really sad. You know, Ken Ham has written a book that's gotten quite a bit of attention.

[15:23] And it's called Already Gone. Already Gone. And the book talks about and laments the fact that so many of our young people opt out of the church.

[15:39] Once they graduate from high school, they're gone. Of course, many of them are gone physically because they often go away to college or university. But many of them just drop out entirely because of the contact with the world and lack of influence from the church anymore.

[15:55] And the church really never did anything to glue them into the body while they were there. And that's a concern that I think probably every pastor has is how do you keep these young people intact?

[16:11] A lot of times they come back after they marry and have a baby. And they feel the responsibility for another life and to get things serious again. But so many of them drop out in high school and college.

[16:23] And his contention is the reason that so many of them do is because they are not really prepared to live their Christian life or explain it while they are there in the church.

[16:36] That if they know what they need to know, then they can go out into the world and make it. Otherwise, they're just duck soup for everything that comes along. And you know something? This isn't new.

[16:46] So this is going on back here. This is 2,000 years ago. So it is after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world. And these other translations here, basic things that the world deals with and focuses on, plural questions of this world and not with Christ.

[17:09] The world's crude notions corresponding to the elemental spirits of the world. All of this depicts a kind of shallowness that is just epidemic in our culture today.

[17:24] And as you look on the public scene and see what comes out of institutions and places of notoriety or prominence or get a lot of media press, etc.

[17:37] The Hollywood crowd, the entertainment crowd. You never saw such incredible shallowness of thinking in your life.

[17:48] And yet, these people very often live a lifestyle and have publicity that so many idolize. And young people almost worship.

[17:59] And this is the crowd that is supposed to be among the most admired. And yet, the shallowness that is there and the misery that is there.

[18:12] They've got all of the glamour and the glitz and a lot of the money. But very unhappy lives often. And they go through marriages like one after another.

[18:24] And they are, I refer to them as poor little rich people. And yet, these are what people tend to idolize and look up to. And so many of our young people do.

[18:35] Because they are, the magic word is, cool. If you can be cool, it doesn't matter. And cool has always been an attraction to a lot of people.

[18:48] And that involves the rudiments of the world and all the rest of it. And what he's doing here, this argument that Paul is making, is that, listen, Christ is everything.

[19:03] Or he's nothing. The law of the excluded middle applies. Christ cannot be mostly everything.

[19:15] He's everything or he's nothing. Yeah. Yeah. Absolutely.

[19:27] And when he presents this person, he is trying to elevate Christ above and beyond any possible competition that could buy for first place.

[19:44] He is establishing the supremacy of Christ. And he does so in verse 9 by saying, In him, in Christ, dwells all the fullness of the Godhead in a human body.

[19:56] In other words, he is saying, Everything that makes the Father God is resident in the Son, Jesus Christ.

[20:08] Philip says, Yet it is in him that God gives a full and complete expression of himself, within the physical limits, that he set himself in Christ.

[20:22] Ken Taylor, Living Bible says, For in Christ, there is all of God in a human body, and you are complete in him.

[20:34] If you're complete in him, what can the world possibly add to it? If you are complete in him, in reality, there's no space for anything else.

[20:48] He fills our all in all. That's what it means to be made full or complete. And he is the head of all principality and power.

[21:02] Remember, shortly after our Lord's resurrection, well, it wasn't shortly, it was at least 40 days, it was right before he ascended, when he said to his disciples, All authority is given unto me in heaven and in earth.

[21:20] And that, at least in part, was what he purchased. The right to exercise all authority and power based upon his crucifixion and his resurrection.

[21:31] I'm sorry? Is that spiritual? Oh, yeah. Mm-hmm. Authority and power. And he's the head of all principality and power.

[21:43] And this means angelic beings, the powers of other orders, or the powers of this earth, and it makes no difference. And then he uses some curious expressions here that tend to throw a lot of people for a loop because it's just very puzzling on the surface.

[21:58] And he says, In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands. Well, what in the world is that all about?

[22:10] I am convinced that there is a considerable element of Jews in this congregation here at Colossae, to whom he is writing. We know that was true in the Galatian epistle.

[22:21] We know there were Jews involved in the Philippian epistle because remember, what's her name? Lois.

[22:32] Was it Lois? Who was the seller of purple? Who was it? Lydia. Lydia. Yeah, I know it started with an L. Lydia. She was a Jewess. And others that Paul found when they went outside the city of Philippi, there by the river, where they had water for purification for Jews.

[22:49] We know there were Jewish elements there. And I am satisfied that Paul is speaking here principally to those who are Jews in this assembly at Colossae, but Jews who have come to embrace Jesus as the Messiah.

[23:06] And he's writing to them as Jewish believers. And prior to their coming to faith in Christ, they, of course, placed a great deal of importance and emphasis upon their ritual circumcision, circumcision, which every Jewish baby underwent at eight days of age.

[23:23] And Paul is not debunking that at all. He's not saying that it didn't count for anything or that it didn't matter. But he's saying there is another circumcision that outranks that.

[23:35] And it is the circumcision made without hands. That is a spiritual circumcision. How is that done? Well, there is no flint knife used and there is no actual flesh that is cut.

[23:51] But it is a spiritual circumcision. And what it is that is circumcised is the human spirit. Paul, Paul, well, I don't know, I don't know if it was Paul.

[24:06] I'm talking about now the Old Testament. And I don't remember which prophet it was. The verse just popped into my mind. I don't know if it was Isaiah or Jeremiah who it was. But the plea was for the people of Israel to have a circumcised heart and ears.

[24:26] They put so much emphasis and credit on their physical circumcision that they ignored the spiritual. And what the circumcision had to do with, it represented in a physical way, I'm talking about the physical circumcision now, it represented cutting away the flesh of the body.

[24:50] And that part that was cut away was representing sin in the life of the believer. And the idea was this portion of their body was being separated from them.

[25:04] Now, it didn't actually make them something that they weren't. I mean, technically, it made them a Jew, you know, if they were a member of the seed of Abraham. But it is what it symbolized.

[25:16] And of course, it did have practical applications too that we won't go into we've talked about before. But there is a physical circumcision and there is a spiritual circumcision. An interesting thing about this one is the ladies can get in on this one too.

[25:31] It's not just a masculine thing. And he goes on in verse 11 and says, In whom you are also circumcised, and the word circumcised simply means cut around.

[25:42] It's the word from which we get the word circumference and circle. And it means to just cut around. You are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

[26:02] Now, that's not talking about Christ's circumcision that he underwent when he was eight days old. This is talking about the spiritual circumcision that he performs upon every believer who comes to faith in him.

[26:16] And it is done without hands. In other words, it isn't physical. There's no physical knife involved. There's no physical organ involved. This is a matter of the spirit.

[26:29] And some of these other translations help us to understand that. The ASV says, In the putting off of the body of the flesh, or when you threw off the tyranny of the earthly body and received the circumcision of Christ, when you threw off your sinful nature in the circumcision of Christ, this is one more thing that happened at the instant you came to faith in Christ.

[26:58] One of the 33 things that we've been talking about. And they all happen simultaneously. And they all happen simultaneously. All at once. And, for the most part, we aren't even aware that they're happening.

[27:11] There are believers who have lived their whole life and maybe only knew two or three of the 33 things. They are spiritually impoverished and disadvantaged because of what they do not know.

[27:24] And this is just one more thing that happened at that time. Buried with him in baptism. This is another. This takes place at the instant of salvation.

[27:37] We are baptized into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit. It is one more of those things that happen. And, like the circumcision, it is not physical.

[27:52] It is spiritual. This spirit baptism has no water involved with it. And then he says, wherein you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God.

[28:06] In other words, Paul is making a case here that is designed to, as strongly as possible, identify the believer into the oneness of Christ so that he knows he is locked up in the Savior.

[28:20] You are one with him. You are complete in him. You belong to him. He belongs to you. You are amalgamated, infused, into Christ, welded together with him.

[28:33] It is a beautiful concept. And Paul uses this term repeatedly throughout his epistles. In Christ, in Christ, in Christ, in him, in him. Yeah, Roger? Does that connect with the, you are blessed with all spiritual blessings?

[28:47] Oh, absolutely. Well, well, all of the spiritual blessings, all of the spiritual blessings that we possess in Christ are spiritual truths that are revealed to those who are in Christ.

[29:06] And once again, it goes right back to these 33 things. It's being circumcised without hands. That's a spiritual truth. It's not only a spiritual operation, it is a spiritual truth.

[29:19] It is something to know, to lodge in the heart. And buried with him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead.

[29:37] we know we are crucified with Christ, we are buried with Christ, we are risen with Christ, we are seated with Christ in the heavenly places.

[29:51] None of these things are physical, but they are all spiritual realities. And you know, this is something that, as many of you may know, I've been giving a lot of thought to this spiritual component of our makeup for a long time.

[30:05] And I am satisfied that the spiritual component of our being is the principal part of ourself, not the body.

[30:16] It is the spirit. And all of this ties in with the spiritual operation, which is immaterial. And I think it ties in also with what our Lord said that God is spirit and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

[30:35] This means information and truth that is spiritual in content. It's not the kind of thing you can see or touch or feel, but it is real nonetheless.

[30:49] And it is in that immaterial part of our being. when Paul said what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him.

[31:03] That's where we house our knowledge and information. And that's where these spiritual truths dwell. And it is out of the human spirit that we function and operate. And it is through the human spirit that we understand spiritual things.

[31:17] And this too ties in with 1 Corinthians 1 and 2. Other comments or questions? Anybody? Carolyn? You know the verse that says that the Holy Spirit will pray for us and groanings too deep for words.

[31:29] And the rest of that verse it says I don't know if I know it exactly. Do you know the verse? And then it says he who knows the mind of the spirit knows the mind of God and the rest of it.

[31:40] It might get the people confused in that verse. It's the people who he's talking about. The spirit I'm embarrassed I brought everything with me but my Bible. What have you got?

[31:52] No I think it was I think she was talking about 1 Corinthians weren't you? Well it says that the spirit prays for us with groanings too deep for words because we know how to pray as we should.

[32:03] Yeah that's Romans that's Romans 8. Romans 8. I get confused as to the people spoken about in here as to who he's talking because it's God the Father and it's the spirit and it's us.

[32:15] Okay well let's take a look at it. Can I use it? 1 Corinthians 8. 1 Corinthians 8. 1 Corinthians 8. Likewise the spirit also held by firmness for we know what we should pray for as we walk but the spirit itself makes any sense of rest with groanings which cannot be ever.

[32:31] Look at 27. This is where I get confused. He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the spirit is because he now who's the he? Because he intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

[32:45] Well I think it is the spirit yeah I think the spirit is yeah Who is the he who searches the heart? Is that the Holy Spirit too? Knows what the mind of the spirit is so that can't be the spirit also.

[33:03] Well it's capital he. So is it God the Father? You have a capital he? What translation? What is this King James? Okay.

[33:14] Well in the original Greek of course there is no capitalization. They're all small case letters so you can't really go by that. He who searches the heart knows what the mind of the spirit is.

[33:29] So do you think that's God the Father? Because he can't be the spirit. Yes I would say I would say that he that searches the heart would be God the Father knows what is the mind of the spirit because he the spirit makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.

[33:46] Yeah. God is spirit. Right. God is spirit. Yeah. It is confusing. It is confusing.

[33:57] Absolutely. Yeah. Well your confusion is legitimate because there's a lot of room there for confusion. Yeah. Yeah.

[34:11] And the baptism of course is spiritual. You would be surprised how many people particularly in Protestant circles teach that under the law there was circumcision but under grace there is water baptism and that water baptism has taken the place of circumcision but when you look at the context here it simply will not allow for that.

[34:44] What takes the place there is something that takes the place of physical circumcision and that is spiritual circumcision and there is something that takes the place of water baptism and that is spiritual baptism.

[34:58] That's the thing that so many Christians have difficulty getting beyond because we want something physical. We want something we can see or touch or handle and yeah and when you talk about the spiritual it just sounds so vague and indefinite and how can you really get a handle on the spiritual but you just need to understand that as there is a physical world with which we are all familiar even so there is a spirit world and the spirit world does not occupy time and space and the spirit that is in every individual whether they're believers or not does not occupy time and space but we know it is the life principle of the body it is what animates the body and this is what James was talking about when he said the body without the spirit is dead it's the spirit that gives life and Christ said I think it was in

[36:01] John 6 the flesh profiteth nothing the words that I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life that means they have substance but not physical substance and that is so hard for us to grasp and you know this is this is this is one of the central tenets of of atheism that sometimes can can be equated with naturalism and sometimes equated with materialism and naturalism says there is there is nothing that cannot be explained by natural means or natural phenomena so they of course rule out altogether anything to do with the spirit because they insist that in order for an entity to have objective existence it has to be subject to laboratory experimentation you have to be able to weigh it and measure it and evaluate it and see it etc.

[37:19] that's real that's real but what you're talking about they would say doesn't have any objective reality it just doesn't exist you think and this is the standard view taken today by many of our neuroscientists and what it boils down to I realize this sounds really weird but this is what they believe and these are highly educated people I mean we're talking about professional physicians some of them surgeons neurologists etc.

[37:50] and they actually embrace the idea that you do not have a mind you only think you do you have a brain well your brain they think you have you have a physical brain and that's all you have and the mind is a figment of your imagination well sure the brain is electrical yeah absolutely it's electrical but their position is you see we've got a whole lot of things associated with our being and our personality that are very real to us and very dear to us as human beings and I'm talking about memory imagination creativity personality have you ever seen a creativity you see what creativity can do as it is extended through the body but it is the creativity behind the body that enables the body to do what it does so we believe that there is an immaterial part of our being that is just as legitimate and just as real as the physical part of our being but a physicalist or a naturalist would say there is no such thing as spiritual reality and if we say there is they say okay show me where is it show me spiritual and I'll believe it but that's a contradiction in terms because if it's spiritual it can't be shown and their position of course is it has no existence you only think it does consequently they believe that the physical brain itself which we know to be about a three pound mass of gelatinous like jelly matter that the brain originates in its physical self ideas memory imagination creativity personality emotions all of those things and you say how does it do that they'd say well we haven't got that figured out yet but we know that it originates in the brain the brain the physical brain is responsible for everything and the

[40:09] Christian position of course is we have a brain we have a mind the brain is physical the mind is not physical but it has just as much reality you see some cannot get past the idea that if it has reality it has to be material but the scriptures of course speak otherwise and when we point to the scriptures as our authority most of the scientists are not terribly impressed any other thoughts about that alright let's move on buried with him in baptism that is we are crucified with Christ we are baptized into his body we are buried with him we are raised with him from the dead Paul talks about that in Galatians 2.20 and you being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh hath he quickened together with him having forgiven you all trespasses and this quickening of course means to make alive how or what was it that he made alive and we've made a point of this before it is the spiritual part of your being that was regenerated that is the essence of life we're told in Genesis 2 that

[41:42] God had made Adam God made Adam and God created Adam he made him out of pre-existing material dust of the earth but he created him out of that which had no previous existence and he breathed into him the breath of life and that's something that has no materiality to it when the life we talk about the life has gone out of the person that simply means the spirit has vacated the premises isn't there any longer and the spirit absent from the body is present with the Lord yeah Roger read that article in the Sunday paper about creatism yeah yeah I did well you know it's just the same old arguments I mean the creationists argue for their point and the evolutionists argue for their point yeah well you know the big bugaboo that creationists have about the evolutionary hypothesis is is the opposite of what theirs is what we are saying as creationists is okay we are creationists and we understand that there are many scientists maybe even most scientists who do not believe in creationism but they fully go with the evolutionary route okay well if science is going to be worthy of the name it needs to be open and available to the investigation of all possibilities and the moment you shut down something and say we will not even consider that you have just stepped out of the scientific method because what science is all about is a willingness to discover to examine to consider and to try to reach conclusions but if you refuse to even allow certain data to enter the discussion that is not a scientific approach and frankly they ought to be ashamed and our position is simply this we don't like the teaching of evolution and we are convinced that it is wrong but we would be willing for evolution to be taught provided you allow the other position to be taught too and allow the student to decide for themselves but they are terrified of that they will not cave into that for a moment because

[44:23] I think they know that there are some pretty formidable cases that can be presented on behalf of a creator god and they don't want to let a foot in the door they are scared of the emotional influence or the impact that it might have on kids and as far as I'm concerned they have reason to be scared because the truth is pretty powerful and it can be pretty convincing he would he would I remember Dr.

[44:55] Dwayne Gish who I heard debate a couple of times and he's with the Lord now I think he died in his 90s but he was he was referred to among the creations was referred to as God's bulldog and when when the creationists would make offers and try to get meetings and schedule meetings for different philosophy or professors or biology professors or whatever to debate Dr.

[45:33] Gish there would be a number of volunteers would want to take him on because they were convinced that they could just make mincemeat out of this hick from wherever that believes in the Bible you know and to their amazement Dr.

[45:47] Gish never used the Bible never quoted a verse never referred to it at all he just stayed on their turf nothing but pure science and more often than not the opposition couldn't wait to get off that platform because he just decimated them and he did it in such a kind unassuming way with just pure logic and scientific information and that was repeated many many times over I've seen some of his video debates and he was really an unusual guy any other thoughts about this is all tied in with our being our character our nature and an appreciation of who and what we are and this phrase having forgiven you all trespasses is something that is stunning and very difficult to contemplate because most of us know something about our trespasses and we are aghast at the fact that

[47:04] God would be willing to forgive them but you know what that does no matter the magnitude of your sins no matter the multitude of your sins the fact that God has forgiven us all trespasses in Christ simply illustrates the incredible redeeming power of the death of Christ on that cross this death in this one person was sufficient efficient it was capable able to cleanse the entire world of the sin issue that's what was wrapped up in this person and of course that requires that deity dwell in such a person as that in order to be able to accomplish that this is what theologians call the efficacious nature of Christ's death it's a word related to both efficiency and effectiveness and it means that who he was and what he was was sufficient to handle the task at hand his death was efficacious for the sins of the entire world and that's the basis for our forgiveness blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us which was contrary to us and this again is what makes me believe that he is addressing at least in this portion the

[48:35] Jewish constituency and his audience because the Gentiles were never really under the handwriting of ordinances that was against them this was a Jewish thing and the law of Moses was given to the Jew so I'm confident that at least in this respect he is talking to them he says he canceled the bond which stood against us the bond that consisted of ordinances which was directly hostile to us and the reason these things were hostile was simply because they contained prohibitions and our sins were violations of those prohibitions so that made the law our judge our enemy our condemner if you will and he took it out of the way nailing it to his cross and having spoiled principalities and powers and some are of the opinion and I think they're probably right that these principalities and powers have nothing to do with earthly factions these are angelic beings supernatural beings and they are they whom he spoiled or he stripped himself stripped off from himself dominions and powers he robbed of their prey death is looked upon as the final enemy that will be destroyed and all of these things come about as a result of that new english bible says on that cross he discarded the cosmic powers and authorities and made a show of them openly triumphing over them in it how did he do that

[50:16] Mud this this this is is a take off of a custom that ancient armies had back in the days of Paul and the Roman army used it prolifically because they had opportunity to use it a lot of times And that is when they would go into battle with an enemy and defeat that enemy, they would immediately subject them to a prisoner status, put them in chains.

[50:42] And what they would usually do then with those that they didn't execute on the spot, they would put them in chains and bring them back to their homeland. That is to the Roman homeland.

[50:53] And then they would have a big victory parade and they would parade through the streets of Rome showing off their booty. All of these human beings in chains, they were the enemy.

[51:06] These are they that we defeated. And, of course, people would throw Johnson tears and things at them and, you know, insult. And, you know, this goes on today. This goes on today.

[51:16] It went on in Vietnam when they would take captured American servicemen, put them in cages. Bamboo cages and roll them through the cities and let the people hurl things at them and throw things at them.

[51:32] Nothing has changed. This still goes on today. And it went on in Mogadishu, too. And it goes on in Afghanistan whenever they have the opportunity. This is their way of triumphing over their enemies and gloating in it.

[51:44] And this is exactly what Christ did with the principalities and powers. He disarmed them. He took the sting out of them and he made a show of them openly.

[51:56] And I don't recall any place where it is ever recorded that anything like that was done anywhere geographically or physically.

[52:07] And that leads me to believe, in connection with this whole context, these are spirit beings. And the parade was in front of spirit beings in a world that we cannot penetrate with these physical bodies.

[52:21] But there are angels, fallen angels, demonic beings, demonic spirits. These are the principalities and powers that Ephesians talks about. And it is to them that he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it.

[52:35] And you remember when Christ descended into Hades and he preached to the spirits in prison? That's still a problematic passage, and I don't begin to understand it as much as I would like.

[52:48] But what makes the most sense to me is that these spirits in prison were incarcerated, demonic beings that are yet there held in chains.

[53:01] And I don't know what kind of chains they are. Apparently, they're not physical chains. But I think these were the ones to whom he went and proclaimed his death, burial, and resurrection.

[53:13] And related to them the fact that all of their negative efforts to prevent the redemption of the human race had failed. And here I am, crucified, buried, and risen again.

[53:30] And it was a triumphal outing, to say the least. He made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. Well, I suspect that it was open to them, but it's not open to us.

[53:44] Because you see, connection with what we were talking about regarding the spirit. Angels are spirit beings. We don't know the composition of these angelic beings, but we know they are not human.

[54:00] Although, it is apparent that they were and are capable of assuming a human form. And they are regarded as humans.

[54:11] They are thought to be humans a number of times in the Old Testament and in the New. But we are told, of course, that they are spirit beings that are sent to minister to those who will be heirs of salvation.

[54:24] And we don't know exactly how that plays out either. But there is much about the spirit and the spirit part of our being that is involved here.

[54:37] In fact, almost all of this is involved. Because when you grow in Christ, you don't grow physically. You grow spiritually. And nobody can see your spiritual growth.

[54:50] But they can see the result of it in your demeanor and your attitude and your actions. Carolyn? Do you think that these evil spirits, the ones that are still in existence, that are not down in Hades, do you think that they have the ability to take on a human body today, the evil ones?

[55:09] I really don't know. I really don't know. I just don't know what the capability of these beings is. I do know, and we saw this from our revelation study a couple of years ago, that there is going to be an enormous upsurge in demonic activity during the tribulation period.

[55:28] That becomes very apparent. I just don't really know what capabilities angels had. Some have the theory that everybody has a personal angel.

[55:41] I think too many of them saw George Bailey in It's a Wonderful Life, and poor old, what's his name, Clarence, is trying to earn his wings, you know, and that everybody has an angel assigned.

[55:56] Well, perhaps that's a stretch. But on the other hand, I do not doubt for a moment that there have been some miraculous instances where there has been probably some kind of angelic intervention or protection or something, but we all know that it is something you can count on.

[56:23] Don't be stupid and drive 100 miles an hour in a 65 zone counting on your guardian angel to protect you. We just don't know how that works. But they are ministers to those who shall be heirs of salvation, and that's us.

[56:37] I don't know in what capacity they work. I just don't understand that, and we're not told. But they have a being. Yes? I believe in 1989 there was a battle for my soul. And they don't have to be that article.

[56:51] Well, I certainly would not dispute that. I would not dispute that. There is an ongoing conflict. There is an ongoing conflict for the souls of men, and the battle is raging.

[57:05] Donald Gray Barnhouse several years ago wrote an excellent book. I don't think it's in print, but you could probably get a copy of it through Amazon or something.

[57:16] It's called The Invisible War. And it is the spiritual conflict that is going on between the principalities and powers. And we don't know exactly what they know, but they are real, and they are there.

[57:32] Yes? But you know that they can't separate us from the love of God. That's right. Romans 38. Yeah. Romans 8. None of those things can separate us from the love of God.

[57:45] Yeah. Yeah. Verse 14, when it says blotted out or canceled. Mm-hmm. Is that in reference to when a believer accepts Christ or believes on the Lord, then that righteousness of Christ is put to his account?

[58:04] Is that part of that blotting out? I think it is. The blotting out here has to do with anything and everything that a believer ever did under whatever circumstance that would register on his account against him is blotted out.

[58:25] It's blotted out. It's redacted. Yeah. That's right. That's right. We've got absolutely nothing on the minus side that would condemn us.

[58:41] Who is he that condemn us? And on the plus side, we've got the righteousness of Christ. So you cannot be in a better position.

[58:54] That is incredible. And once again, all that points to is the amazing effectiveness of the death of Christ on our behalf. It's a glorious thing, to be sure.

[59:06] Well, our time is gone. Thank you all for being here today. The good Lord willing and the creep don't rise. We'll be here for the second. Yeah. The creep might rise. Creeps are rising, aren't they?

[59:20] Well, let me put it this way. We intend to be here. The Lord willing. Yeah. Right. The second Tuesday in August. I can't believe I'm saying August, but it just came out of my mouth.