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[0:00] That Joe reminded us that it is not anything that we have done that gives us eternal life.! It's all about what God has done.

[0:12] ! So Christ is, in fact, the end of the law. Now, if you've looked, 1 Samuel, we're going to begin there again.

[0:24] We were there some time ago. We're going back. 1 Samuel 2, beginning with verse 12, if you would, please. 1 Samuel 2, verse 12.

[0:39] Now, the last time that we were here, engaged in these studies in 1 Samuel, we looked at the dedication of Samuel, and we spent most of the time with Hannah's prayer that's recorded in chapter 2, verses 1 through 10, if you remember.

[1:01] And you'll recall that in Hannah's prayer, she rejoices in God's work in her life. She rejoices in the holiness of God.

[1:13] She rejoices in the omniscience of God. And she rejoices in the sovereignty of God. Now, as you think about that a little bit, compare that with the way this begins, because now our lesson is a really...

[1:31] I struggled with getting a positive lesson out of Eli's sons. But we're going...

[1:42] The one thing right to begin with, compare what Hannah understood about God. She knew God. You see that prayer?

[1:55] She rejoices in what he does in her life. She rejoices in his sovereignty, his omniscience, and his holiness. She knows God.

[2:06] Now, compare that with right in the beginning as we begin to read. Chapter 2, beginning with verse 12. Now, the sons of Eli were worthless men.

[2:20] They did not know the Lord. Now, by the way, I'm going to back up just a moment. The sons of Eli are... You don't have to say it aloud, but it's fine if you do.

[2:34] They operate... They are of the tribe of Levi. And they are the household of Aaron. That is, they are direct descendants of Aaron. And so, they are the ones who are serving as priests for the people of God.

[2:52] Well, and we'll see a bit about that. So, back to the text. They did not know the Lord, although they're priests, and the custom of the priests with the people.

[3:06] When any man was offering a sacrifice, the priest's servant would come while the meat was boiling with a three-pronged fork. He would thrust it into the pan or kettle or cauldron or pot.

[3:18] All that the fork brought up, the priest would take for himself. Thus, they did in Shiloh to all the Israelites who came there. Also, before they burned the fat, the priest's servant would come and say to the man who was sacrificing, give the priest meat for roasting, as he will not take boiled meat from you, only raw.

[3:41] And if the man said to him, they must surely burn the fat first, and then take as much as you desire, then he would say, no, you'll give it to me now, and if not, I will take it by force.

[3:54] Thus, the sin of the young men was very great before the Lord, for the men despised the offering of the Lord. That wasn't going to be the end of the text, but that's going to be where I'm stopping this morning.

[4:10] You keep it in the complete context. The context of this goes clear through 36 to the end of the chapter. So, as you're studying it and as you're checking it, as you will do, because you check the scriptures daily to see if these things be so, the context is verse 36.

[4:37] But I'm going to stop with there, because we're going to take, we're going to try to take three lessons from these sons of Eli.

[4:51] And these are lessons for us today. Now, we know, first of all, the sons of Eli functioned as priests. They were the go-between between God and the people, the worshipers.

[5:05] And that was ordained by God in the Mosaic law. He organized it. And I don't think Nathan's probably going to go through every 613 laws, but amongst those are the laws regarding the priests and their function and how they function and what they burn and what they don't burn and how the sacrifice is made.

[5:35] And you'll notice in the reading that God made the point to relate that they took sacrifices that didn't belong to the priest. See, the sacrifice, now these are not sin sacrifices.

[5:50] Don't misunderstand, because what he refers to here are not the sacrifices wholly devoted to God. These were sacrifices that were brought by the people in worship of God.

[6:02] This is their worship. And it's the only place they were really allowed to worship, if you will, in service, as far as sacrificing and who offered the sacrifice and so forth.

[6:17] So that part is ordained. But what they were doing was taking more than the priests' share, and they were taking some of it before the fat was burned.

[6:29] In the wave offering and the heave offering, the animal would be slaughtered, but the fat was to be burned on the altar before the meat was divided.

[6:40] And what would happen is, if you were a worshiper then, you would sacrifice this to God, and then your family would get a portion and the priest would get a portion. And the priest's portion was the right shoulder and the rib cage, and that's what he was supposed to get.

[6:57] But they were taking the best, and they were taking it by force. And if you read the context, that's not all they were doing. They were doing egregious sexual sin at the tabernacle.

[7:15] So, three lessons, though, to try to delve into this. The sons of Eli did not know the Lord, verse 12.

[7:28] The sons of Eli did not know the custom of the priests with the people. You can read custom as ordinance, how God ordained that it should be done. That's verse 13.

[7:39] And then verses 14 through 17 is the culmination of not knowing the Lord, and not knowing what God has ordained. The sons of Eli despised the offering of the Lord.

[7:53] Those three things we're going to look at a little bit, but we're going to look at it through the Pauline lens. Because if we look for the church today, we have to look at it through the lens of the Pauline epistles, simply because this is the day of grace, and as we are memorizing, Christ is the end of the law for them that believe.

[8:22] So, the law no longer holds the sway. Nevertheless, Christ still gives some marching orders for the church. Jesus did not stop talking when he went back to heaven.

[8:40] So, all of the words of the scripture are Christ's words, and important for me to remember that. So, we'll look at those three things.

[8:53] Number one, the sons of Eli did not know the Lord. I'm going to preface it with Proverbs. This is not the only place you will read this, but Proverbs 9, 10.

[9:07] The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the holy is understanding. Knowing God is the basis for real understanding.

[9:24] I'm not going to understand if I don't know God. So, I'll preface it with that. Now, there are at least three things that are going to affect our knowledge of God.

[9:40] One is commonly referred to as natural revelation or general revelation, and that has to do with the cosmos, the creation.

[9:57] We'll look at that a little bit. The other is special revelation, and that has to do with the scripture.

[10:09] That's God's special revelation. That's his direct word to man. And the third is, okay, where does my human reason come into this?

[10:22] And I'll jump ahead of myself just a moment here and say, you know someone, you don't do it, of course, but you know someone who says, well, that's not what I think.

[10:37] I think, or I believe, or God wouldn't do that. He must be this way. Now, do I know God just because I say what I think he should do?

[10:54] That's an easy answer. The answer is no. Does my understanding of God change who God is? Not at all.

[11:06] Now, it is to my benefit to know him and know him well, but I'm not going to change God if I don't know him, and they're not going to change God, by the way.

[11:18] In your context, you'll see quite a prophecy against Eli, Eli's descendants, and against his two sons specifically because of these behaviors.

[11:32] So, some things about God, though, can be known from Revelation. If you will turn to Romans chapter 1, you know these verses, I'm sure.

[11:45] Romans chapter 1, beginning with verse 18. The context is verse 18 through 25.

[11:56] I will just hit, if you will bear with me, I'll just hit the highest points to keep the flow of thought about what this natural revelation is.

[12:07] But he begins with a daunting statement. chapter 1 of Romans, beginning with verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth.

[12:28] And he goes on to clarify that. Verse 19. Because that which is known about God is evident within them. There's something in every person that says, yeah, there probably is an order to this.

[12:43] For God made it evident. Verse 20. For since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes, pardon me, his eternal power and his divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what has been made.

[13:02] That's the creation of the cosmos. So that they are without excuse. I'll pause here and mention, this is why all men are answerable to the holy God.

[13:17] Because deep in our heart, we know that this didn't happen by accident. We know that the forces, if you will, of nature are not simply random.

[13:33] It's interesting how an archaeologist can dig through a ruin and find a little piece of pottery this large and say human intuition made this.

[13:48] This is evidence of intelligence. And then they can look at a human eye and say, this is all random. That's what God's talking about here in Romans.

[14:06] So, there are a couple of things that he's already mentioned that I can know about God apart from seeing anything in the Bible. One, that he is.

[14:19] Two, that he has to be eternal. He has to always have been there or he can't create anything for a beginning. There can't be a start if he's not already there. And number three, he can't be contained.

[14:32] He's holy. He can't be contained within what he has made. God didn't make a universe that hems him in. He acts truly in it. That's in special revelation.

[14:44] He acts truly within his creation. And he acts, he acts truly within time. In the, when did Christ come?

[14:57] In the fullness of time. God ordained when that was, and Paul will, in Athens, Paul will mention that. He said, you know, in time past, God kind of winked it at mankind.

[15:09] However, he has appointed or ordained, the word is actually ordained, a day on which he's going to judge the world. There is a day coming. So, I can know some things about God just by creation.

[15:26] Yet, verse 21 in Romans chapter, chapter 1, for even though they knew God, they did not honor him as God, nor give thanks, but they came futile in their speculation.

[15:43] The knowledge, the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the holy is understanding. This is the opposite.

[15:55] Because they didn't acknowledge God, what about their thinking? It is futile. It's worthless. Goes to no point.

[16:06] Goes to no end. They exchanged, verse 25, they exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshipped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever.

[16:21] And now this gets into where my human reason comes in or interferes. interferes. So I say, well, God must be like this.

[16:34] And I'm always going to have the tendency to build God as an image of me. All the idols kind of look like men with just bigger strength.

[16:47] They can just make more of a mess. But they still do the same thing men do. And here he says they are worshipping the creature rather than the creator who is forever blessed.

[17:00] Now, in Psalm chapter 50, God answers something about this. He is talking, in Psalm 50, he is talking directly to his people, Israel, and he's talking specifically about some things that they are doing in defiance, if you will, or, yeah, I'll say it, defiance against God and what God had said.

[17:26] But here's the big point. These things you've done, and I kept silent, says God, you thought that I was just like you. And the answer, of course, is, no, I'm not, says God.

[17:45] And he says, I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes. Now, consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces and there will be none to deliver.

[18:00] It's a pretty big statement there, but that would be, if you're looking for it, that's Psalm 50, 21, 22. God says, don't make the mistake, Roger, to think that I'm like you are.

[18:14] I'm not. He's not at all like me. Yes, we are image bearers, if you will. We are created in the image of God, but that didn't make God like us.

[18:26] God is not created in my image. I bear a very faulty image of God, a very limited image of God, but it is certainly not an exact image of God.

[18:39] So, God warns about that. Now, the second consideration has to do with special revelation. Francis Schaeffer entitled one of his small books, He is there and he is not silent.

[18:57] the God who created this, that all men know intrinsically there must be. He said, he has spoken specifically to mankind.

[19:13] We won't get into all the verses that have to do with that, but let's look for a moment. If you would, please turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and we will also move to 1 Corinthians chapter 4 just a little bit.

[19:29] 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 17 through 31 is our context. We know that his existence and his eternal power and his holiness can be known by natural revelation.

[19:44] However, God himself and his definite plan is known only by special revelation, by what he has revealed through his prophets and apostles in the scripture.

[20:02] This is where we come to know God. He is not known by my reasoning and he is not known by my assumptions about him.

[20:18] Whether preconceived or deduced, that is not how he's known. He's known by his verbal revealed word.

[20:32] Notice 1 Corinthians chapter 1 verses 17 through 31 will go through similarly as we did before. I won't hit every verse or every place, but you will have the context to check it.

[20:48] Paul talking to the Corinthian church who's having some problems. That's a mild way of putting it, isn't it? If you're familiar with 1 Corinthians, you know these problems were not just some problems.

[21:01] they were huge problems. And in the first three chapters especially, and he culminates it, and we'll get to it in a bit, if I don't forget, early in chapter 4, but the big deal, the presentation was, I follow Paul, I follow Apollos, I follow Peter, I follow the Lord Jesus.

[21:28] Well, and Paul says, they're not divided, Christ is not divided, that's number one, and number two, we're only workmen.

[21:39] But that was just the presenting problem. As you read those three chapters, you see that the big division was coming because I know better than you about God and his plan.

[21:53] That's the big division. and they were puffed up as it were, and we'll see what happens with them in a bit, but Christ, in answering this, Paul speaks to, starting with verse 17, Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void.

[22:34] It doesn't mean that Paul did not try to articulate, he just said that's not the point. Later on, somebody's going to make the comment, it's not in 1 Corinthians, but later on somebody will make the comment, well, his letters, they're pretty weighty, but I'll tell you what, when you see him in person, it's not much.

[23:00] He doesn't look like much, and his speech is contemptible. So, he says, not in cleverness of speech, because he's preaching Christ, the cross of Christ.

[23:14] For the word of the cross, verse 18, is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it's the power of God. Go to verse 21, for since in the wisdom of God, okay, this is God's doing, in the wisdom of God, the world, through its wisdom, did not come to know God.

[23:40] God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message preached, to save those who believe. You see, it was in God's plan that man could not figure him out on our own.

[23:56] That's God's point. In the wisdom of God, the world, through its wisdom, could not come to know God. We did see that. So, but to those who are, or God was well pleased through the foolishness of the message, that is the gospel of the grace of God, for by grace you are saved, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.

[24:28] You see, it's for God's glory. It's not for man's glory. So, to save those who believe. Four, Jews ask for signs, Gentiles search for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified.

[24:44] To the Jews, it's a stumbling block, to the Gentiles foolishness. Verse 24, but to those who are the call, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.

[24:58] You notice the juxtaposition there. Israel looks for signs that, read that, miracles, power, power, and Greeks look for wisdom, and to those, the gospel of the cross of Christ is a stumbling block to the Jews because it's by works, or they want to do it by works.

[25:29] Don't misunderstand me, please. And to the Greeks, they want to do it by their own philosophy, by their own thinking, reasoning. And Paul says, to the Jews, it's stumbling block, to the Greeks, it's stupid, but to those who are being saved, it's the power of God and the wisdom of God.

[25:53] So he's saying the gospel, it comes from God, and it satisfies both the power and the wisdom. Now, but it can't be learned by just wisdom.

[26:11] That's the point. And he's going to make the point further. So, it was through the message that was preached.

[26:21] In this case, preached by Paul, and later on, the scripture will have been, by the time 1 Peter comes out, he acknowledges Paul's letters as being scripture.

[26:34] scripture. And he says, Paul's letters, some of you, or some people, he said, will distort the letters of Paul like they do the other scripture.

[26:49] So, by the time 1 Peter comes along, that is written, it is acknowledged by all of the church that the apostle Paul's writings are scripture, scripture, on par with Isaiah, if you will, or anyone else that is recognized as a prophet or an apostle.

[27:15] So, the message preached to those who believe, for, to those who are called, it is the power of God and the wisdom of God, because the foolishness of God, verse 25, there in 1 Corinthians, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

[27:40] Now, why has God done this? Verse 29, so that no one may boast before the God. By his doing, you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption.

[28:01] So, let him who boasts, boast in the Lord, boast in Christ. He quotes from the Old Testament, but we know that to be Christ now. So, it is by God's doing that we are in Christ.

[28:18] It's not by my own wisdom, and it's not certainly by any power, and it's not by works. Christ. So, in chapter 2 of 1 Corinthians, and we won't read it, but Paul reminds them of his apostolic office.

[28:39] You see, they were saying, okay, I have this knowledge, or many were at least in the church. I have this knowledge, and who's Paul to say this?

[28:51] And Paul reminds them of his apostolic office, which is quite a bit different. In the Old Testament, it would be known as a prophet. That is, the apostles are getting revelation directly from God that they can't get any other way.

[29:10] And the apostle Paul gets this message where frequently he will write, but now, or however, in this time.

[29:23] God's God's revelation directly to his chosen apostles.

[29:34] In chapter two, Paul reminds them that he has an apostolic office, and his teaching about God and God's plans, not from his reasoning, nor the reasoning of any other man, but it's given by the revelation from God.

[29:51] that's what we're calling the special revelation. And in chapter three, God shows that he has, through the apostle Paul, that he has revealed the gospel through Paul, and those who follow must be careful of their teaching, and that their teaching conforms to that.

[30:08] That's the building, remember? No one can lay another foundation other than that which is laid, and Paul was given by God to be the wise master builder.

[30:22] And he said, I laid the foundation, that is the gospel of Christ. Take care then, take care Roger, how you build upon that, because no man can build upon the foundation any differently than what I've laid.

[30:39] And if you build with wood, hay, and straw, and he's talking about teaching within the church here. Now, we can extrapolate that to the way we live our lives. fairly safely, but, specifically in this context, he's talking about teaching in the church, and he's saying if you teach wrong stuff, it's going to be burned up.

[31:03] It's stubble. It's wood. But if you build upon it with gold, silver, precious stones, it'll come through the fire.

[31:14] It'll last through the fire. fire. But it's going to be tested. And he said, so, be careful.

[31:27] The church is God's. It's not yours. That's what he's saying to the teachers. This doesn't belong to you, and the glory doesn't belong to you. It belongs to God.

[31:37] going on. He will summarize that issue in the first few verses of chapter 4.

[31:49] If you turn there, you'll see them in chapter 4, and he begins it in verse 1, and I'm going to skip down to 6 and 7 after that.

[32:00] Let a man regard us, and he's talking specifically about himself and the apostles, in this manner, as servants or stewards of the mysteries of God.

[32:14] That is, we're responsible for the mysteries of God, and he'll go on to explain on that, but we're going to verse 6. Now, these things I have figuratively applied to myself and to Paulus for your sakes, so that in us you may learn not to exceed what is written.

[32:32] that is, don't add to this word. That's what he's telling them. That's what you should learn, he says, so that none of you will become arrogant in behalf of one against another.

[32:50] Verse 7, for who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive, and I'll parenthesize it, from me, or from God, through me, what do you have that you didn't receive?

[33:07] If it's anything true, you received it, and why do you boast as though you had not? That's what he said. Their problem, their presentation was their excuse, I'm following Cephas, or I'm following Paul, but the real problem was I'm following myself.

[33:29] I'm following my own ideas, and we'll see where that takes them maybe in a little bit. Now, Paul has just said that it doesn't come from the wisdom of man.

[33:42] Now, so what's the place for wisdom? What's the place for human reasoning? Is there any place for human reason? Well, let's look back to our beginnings with general revelation.

[34:00] Just, you'll remember this. Go back to Romans chapter 120. You don't have to turn there. You'll remember it. But, for since the creation of the world, his invisible attributes and his eternal power and his divine nature, here he says it, have been clearly seen, being understood by what has been made.

[34:24] So, human reason comes into it. Human understanding comes into it. Thinking comes into it. He's saying, you don't get the revelation from yourself, but you use your mind in understanding that revelation.

[34:40] So, and in Psalm, you thought I was just like you, but I will reprove you and consider this, you who forget God.

[34:51] So, he tells them to consider it. Well, you have to consider it with your mind. So, there is a place for human reason, but human reason is not, while it is necessary, it is not primary.

[35:11] Human reason, while it is necessary, it is not primary. My reason must always be subservient to the revealed word of God. if it is not based upon that and it is not subservient to what God says propositionally in his word, I am going to be amiss.

[35:32] And so, that is his warning there. So, they did not know the Lord. That is, the sons of Eli did not know the Lord.

[35:44] If I would know God, I need to know him through his revelation, through the scripture. That is how I will know God. Now, he does give a little bit of a warning, by the way, in 1 Timothy, and we won't go there because of time, but in 1 Timothy chapter 1, he mentions a warning about those who teach without knowledge, or teach without knowing God.

[36:13] 1 Timothy 6, the same kind of thing, and in Titus 1, the same thing. So, within the church, there is a danger of teachers teaching without knowing God.

[36:29] And that's why the Bereans were more noble than the Thessalonians, because they searched the scriptures daily to see if these things be true. They went back to the scripture.

[36:42] scripture. Let's go on then, because they did not know, that is, the sons of Eli did not know the custom of the priests.

[36:57] Now, we know that the priesthood was finished along with the law, and Paul will mention to Timothy, there is one God, you know this, one God, one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus.

[37:19] Right. So, there is no earthly priesthood, he is our high priest, and he's the only priest, by the way. He's the only one that mediates.

[37:32] He's the only one that mediates. We pray for one another, but we can't truly mediate. for one another, that's the Lord's job. So, one mediator, so, there, they didn't know the custom of the priest, they didn't know how the priests were to behave.

[37:51] We don't have a priesthood, but what I can learn is how a member of the body of Christ, because we don't have a congregation going to the tabernacle anymore.

[38:02] Now, we are a local congregation, the body of Christ. priest, and so I can learn how I should behave there. I may not know, I may not have a priest, but I do have a body of brothers and sisters in the Lord, and I'm going to rush.

[38:24] I'm sorry. 1 Corinthians chapter 12, we're going back there again. If you go back to 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verses 4 through 27, is the context.

[38:40] And remember, when Paul is writing this, he is, if you glanced over the first couple of verses, he said, to the church which is in Corinth.

[38:54] He's writing to a local congregation. So, to the church which is in Corinth, and in our case, to the church was in Springfield, Ohio, at Grace Bible Church.

[39:06] So, this is what he says, or these are some of the things. This certainly is not exhaustive, you know. As we read these, they're delivered within the context.

[39:19] There are varieties of gifts, starting with verse 4. There are varieties of chapter 12, 1 Corinthians, but the same spirit, varieties of ministries, the same Lord, varieties of effects, but the same God who works all things in all persons.

[39:37] Jumping to verse 12, for even as the physical body is one body, yet many members, so also is Christ. For by one spirit we're all baptized into the body, and we're all made to drink of one spirit, one body, so that, verse 14 of chapter 12, 1 Corinthians, the body is not one member, but many.

[40:03] Okay, now he goes on to explain it in verse 15. If the foot says to the hand, I, because I'm not a hand, I'm not therefore a part of the body, it is not for that reason, any less a part of the body.

[40:20] Just because I say, I don't get to do what I want to do, or God hasn't equipped me to do what I want to do, therefore I don't really have a place.

[40:35] No, he doesn't say that. He said, just because you're not a hand, if you're a foot and not a hand, he said, that doesn't take you out of the body.

[40:46] You're still a part of the body, because God has placed every member in the body just as he desired, and if everyone were the same member, if everyone were the hand, where would the body be?

[41:01] You know those verses. The church is several members making one body, and we'll go to Ephesians chapter 4 for time. Ephesians chapter 4.

[41:14] Ephesians chapter 4, beginning with verse 1, the context is 1 through 29.

[41:32] Therefore I, that is Paul, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called. He's speaking again to a local congregation with all humility and gentleness and patience, showing tolerance for one another in love.

[41:49] By the way, I'm not saying you shouldn't tolerate those outside the body, but you can't use this verse to prove it. This is said specifically to a local congregation.

[42:02] He said, this is how you should behave in the body. Showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the spirit of bond of peace.

[42:15] Verse 4, there is one body, one spirit, one hope of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all. Verse 7, but to each one, each member of the body was a grace given according to the measure of Christ's gift, that is, as he desired, and he gave some as apostles and prophets and evangelists and pastors and teachers for the equipping of the saints for works of service, to what end?

[42:45] To the building up, that is, edification of the body of Christ. This is what every Christian in the body is about, edification one of another. That's why we meet.

[42:59] That's what we're about. So, incidentally, if I'm a foot and not a hand, do I edify only feet? Am I supposed to edify only feet?

[43:13] That's an easier answer. And the answer is no. Every member edifies all members. My comment is, everyone has a place.

[43:30] at the very least, I can be a bad example. You can say to your children, don't do what he's doing. No, the point is, every member of the body is part of the body.

[43:47] So, what will be the end of this edification? Verse 13, Ephesians 4, 13, the point of the edification, till we all attain to the unity of the faith and to the knowledge of Christ, the Son of God.

[44:13] Remember, knowing God, not knowing God, this is how I, this is what edification is for. I know God specifically through his revealed word, and you help me know God by the edifying that you do.

[44:31] Until we all are attained to the unity of faith and the knowledge of God to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fullness of Christ.

[44:46] Verse 14, as a result, no longer children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, this is a result of edification.

[44:59] Knowing Christ, you see that, spiritual maturity, so that we'll no longer be children, and the last one, a grounded truth, not tossed around by every wind.

[45:15] So, that's why the body together is important, is very important. You help me toward spiritual maturity, you help me know Christ, and you help me be grounded in truth.

[45:35] It's all, and verse 15 will continue there in Ephesians chapter 4, with the opposite of being tossed about by every wind of doctrine.

[45:49] look at 15, but speaking the truth in love, we grow up in all aspects to him who is head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, not just some, every one, according to the proper working of each individual part, it causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love.

[46:13] every member has a part. And jump down to verse 25, and let's see, well, let's go to 17 first. For I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer as the Gentiles in the futility of their mind, and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

[46:36] And verse 25, therefore, these are all united, you'll see, you'll have to check my context, but see how they flow. Therefore, laying aside falsehoods, speak truth each of you with his neighbor, for we are all members one of another.

[46:51] And he goes on to say, let no unwholesome word, but only such that will impart grace and edify one another. Here's the point. Notice the contact there between verse 15 and verse 25.

[47:06] Speaking the truth in love in 15, it is the same thing that he's talking about, speak truth each one of you with his neighbor.

[47:17] Remember, we're to be renewed. We no longer think like we did before we were saved. We're thinking like Christians now. So, when he's talking about speaking the truth, he's not talking about quit lying, as in quit telling Joe stories about Sherry.

[47:37] Now, I shouldn't lie about her. That's true. But that's not what he's talking about in this context. What he's talking about is speaking the truth of the gospel.

[47:49] He's talking about telling the truth about Christ. And notice also, I'm no longer to walk in the futility of the mind that I had before.

[47:59] That equates with verse 25 laying aside falsehood. So, those are connected in there. That's what we're about. that's why you build me up to know Christ.

[48:14] And you build me up to spiritual maturity. And you build me up, and I'm figuratively on my own, but this applies to all of us, and you build me up so that I am grounded in truth.

[48:29] That's what the body is about. So, they did not know that. And the last one was they did not respect the offering of the Lord. And you'll notice you have, you know someone who has tried to tell you that when we read from 1 Corinthians about the Lord's Supper, when we do communion, you've heard someone take, let a man examine himself and pull that out of context.

[48:57] And if there's any sin in your life that you haven't confessed, you need to get that squared up before you share in communion. That's not what he's talking about. And in fact, I will, they despise the offering of the Lord.

[49:14] The Corinthian church was despising the body of Christ. Remember when they were meeting, each one was eating his own food and some were getting fat and sassy and drunk and others were going hungry.

[49:29] And he said, you're not at the Lord's table when you do that, you're at your own. He said, that's not what the body's about. And that's where you get in the context with a man, let a man examine himself.

[49:46] Look at verse 29, if you have this for your homework, in 1 Corinthians, where we talk about that, chapter 11, verse 29, you will know this verse, for he who eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.

[50:08] See, when a man examines himself at the table of the Lord, I'm to recognize that we're all under common grace. There is no one that comes to Christ on his own.

[50:20] There is no one that is saved because he's good. it's because what Christ has done. And we proclaim the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ when we share around the table and the church proclaims that you are as important as me in the body of Christ.

[50:40] We have a sober judgment. And we're going to have to stop there. And you have a wonderful week.

[50:55] And let's listen to this that comes from the Lord in Ephesians. To God be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever.

[51:11]  Amen. Have a wonderful week.