THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS

Photo by B Smith from the kitchen door

 

246 - THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS

May 20, 1962

Henry F. Kulp

 

I Timothy 3: 15, 16 But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory.

Last week we talked about the true church, and how thou shalt behave thyself in the true church. And folks certainly made a mistake talking about the church. They think the church is a building or some visible organization. But a simple illustration will make clear the difference between the church as a visible society on earth and as a spiritual fellowship of believers united only by their common relationship to Jesus Christ. 

Take the case of John Smith. His friends know him as a tall, thin man with black hair, brown eyes and a good sense of humor. That is the popular way of describing a man. But let us take a closer look. Suppose John Smith dies. We go to the funeral home and we look at his body, and folks say my, doesn’t he look wonderful—he looks real good. At once we are aware of the fact we are viewing a corpse, not the real John Smith at all, for he is absent from this body, and then we understand that the real John Smith was not the body—John Smith was the invisible person who lived in that body.

Just so, we usually think of a church as a building, or an organization. Actually, a church is a spiritual house—it is composed of all those who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and are saved. It is a spiritual house, and all who believe on Jesus Christ are taken by the Holy Spirit and are made a habitation of God, where God comes down and dwells in the lives of those who are saved. The church is visible only and in as much as the Holy Spirit comes and dwells in the physical bodies of those who believe. But they are not Baptist, they are not brethren, they are not Lutheran, they are not even independent.  Anyone who believes in the Lord Jesus is part of the called out assembly, which is the house or dwelling place of God.

1/  And this house of God which is the assembly of God is the  one which is to propagate and spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Then we come to the fact that God became a man is the mystery. Notice, our Lord was made manifest in the flesh—the word, manifest, is to make visible. Remember, Jesus Christ‘s aid o the Samaritan woman, God, as to His nature, is Spirit—that  is God is an incorporeal being—he, in other words, does not have a physical body, He therefore is invisible.  

John 4: 24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

John 18 and 14

2/  Let us notice then, Matthew 11: 24  All things are delivered unto me of my Father, and no man knoweth the Son but the Father.  

This helps us understand the mystery of the incarnation. God and man in one person.  This is past human comprehension. Man can’t understand about God the Son becoming man and yet remaining God. He stumbles over it at all times. But man just as he believes the Bible, believes the mystery. How softly we should tread whenever we speak of the person of our Lord, for the full knowledge is only with the Father. This shows the nonsensical argument some say—well, you prove to us that Jesus Christ is God and man. Go ahead tell us how it can be. You can’t, only the Father can fully understand it—but we accept it by faith.

3/  You take, right at the beginning with His virgin birth—going on to the transfiguration, and all the miracles He did, and then His agony in the garden when He cried out—if it be possible let this cup pass from me. Then you go to the cross and you see Him die, and when you read about His dying, it says He gave up the ghost—He dismissed the Spirit. No one ever died that way before, no one ever came to an end like that, Then He rose from the dead and then he ascended on up into heaven, and is seated on the right hand of God the Father—no man has ever had a life like that.  Understand it you can’t, but believe, it, yes.

4/  Now let us notice another portion of scripture. 

II Thessalonians 2: 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

The  one mystery is the cause for great rejoicing—the other is a sinister and dark mystery. This is called the mystery lawlessness.  

In I Thessalonians, the return of the Lord Jesus Christ is the main theme—actually, not the second coming, but the rapture. Now Paul says, here, that this mystery is already working. It is in the world right now—and what is the mystery of lawlessness? Just compare it with the mystery of Godliness—it is Satan coming and dwelling in human flesh. You notice it talks about the man of sin, the son of perdition—it shows the duel nature of this man who will come upon this earth. You will notice in verse 8 he is called the wicked—and it should be the wicked one. The difference here is that Satan comes and indwells in the body of a man, but actually the mystery of Godliness is God becoming a man, which is different, but Satan is imitating God.

5/  Let us look at the relationship of this man and Satan.  

Ezekiel 28: 1 - 4 The word of the Lord came again unto me, saying, Son of man, say unto the prince of Tyrus, Thus saith the Lord God; Because thine heart is lifted up, and thou hast said, I am a God, I sit in the seat of God, in the midst of the seas; yet thou art a man, and not God, though thou set thine heart as the heart of God: Behold, thou art wiser than Daniel; there is no secret that they can hide from thee: With thy wisdom and with thine understanding thou hast gotten thee riches, and hast gotten gold and silver into thy treasures:

Here it talks about the Son of Man saying unto the Prince of Tyrus—if you go over to verse 12 you will read about  the King of Tyrus. So we have two different persons talked about in this Scripture—the King of Tyrus, and the Prince of Tyrus. What is the relationship between a King and a Prince? It is that of father and son. Everyone admits that the king of Tyrus in verse 12 is Satan. The prince of Tyrus is the anti-christ who is Satan’s son. You will notice that the sin of the son is that of the father, Satan. He says, I am God, I sit in the seat of God. In other words, he made himself out to be God, and Satan did.  

Isaiah 14 

6/  Then notice, John 8: 44  Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it.

Here we read that the devil is a liar, he was a murderer, and when he speaketh the lie, he speaks of his own, for he is a liar and the father of it—the father of what—why, the lie. What is the lie—that is his son is the anti-christ.

7/  Now notice in II Thessalonians 2: 7 For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way.

It says that this mystery doth already work, only He that now letteth shall let until He be taken out of the way. When our English version was made, let, meant to hinder—it now means to permit. What the Apostle Paul was really saying was this—you know what restrains that he might be revealed at this time—it is that the Holy Spirit is hindering him from coming to set up his program at this present time—but that program of anti-christ, man of sin, is already in the world, and it is the program of religions.

8/  But let us make sure it is the Holy Spirit who hinders who now keeps the anti-christ from coming into the world. Well, who is it after all who restrains sin.The answer is found in the Bible, and God is the one who restrains sin.  

Genesis 6: 3 And the Lord said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.  

It declares that the Spirit of God was restraining sin in the days of Noah.  

Then you go to Isaiah 59: 19 So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him.

Here it says the enemy shall come in like a flood—the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him—or as it could best be translated—the Spirit of the Lord shall restrain him—down through the ages it has been the restrainer—the Hinderer of sin, and today the Holy Spirit dwells in the body of the believer, and He is the restrainer of sin.

9/  So you can see the mysteries here. One is of Godliness, the other is of lawlessness, one is God becoming man—the other is Satan indwelling man.

10/  Then notice, he was justified in the spirit—the word justified means vindicated—endorsed, proved. His humanity was clearly seen, but His deity was not seen—it was hidden under a cloak of humanity. Yet at times, momentary flashes of His deity were seen, and so this means that the Holy Spirit bore witness that Jesus Christ was God – He was not an imposter.  

John 1: 32 And John bear record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from Heaven like a dove and it abode upon Him—that is the testimony of the Holy Spirit, as to the Lord Jesus Christ as being God.

11/  Then notice, was seen of angels Our Lord was seen by angels.The incarnation was a spectacle to the angel world.They never saw God prior to this time, except when He took up an abode in a physical body in the theophanies, but here Jesus Christ comes to live in a physical body for all eternity. This is a spectacle to the angels.

12/  We find that the word, seen—seen of angels, is not the word usually used in the New Testament for looking at a thing, and this word here means to look at a thing intently—to look at a thing with interest—the angels were watching the Lord Jesus Christ in every move that He made.

13/  Then notice, preached unto the Gentiles. Perhaps you do not think that this is a very remarkable thing, and wonder why it should be in this verse—preached unto the Gentiles. But here is a remarkable thing for 4000 years God had not sent a Gentile.Think of that. For 4,000 years, God had not dealt with the Gentiles except through the nation of Israel. The Gentiles were on the wrong side of the middle wall of partition.

Ephesians 2: 11,12 Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:  

They were without God In this world—they were as atheists.This was from the time of Abraham for the next 4,000 years.

14/  Then, you will notice, Christ was not received of His own—so then God, through the Apostle Paul who was the Apostle of the Gentiles—he carried the message of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles. If things had continued as they had for 4,000 years, as a Gentile this morning, we would have no hope—we would be without God in this world—there would be absolutely nothing for us to look forward to, but an endless eternity of fire and suffering in hell. But, praise God, the Apostle of the Gentiles has made Jesus Christ known to us. God has a message for the Gentiles.

15/  Acts 13: 44 - 46 And the next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles.

Here we find that the Jews would not hear the Word of God, but the Gentiles asked to hear the word Of God and the Jews, jealous of there own position to seek to keep them from it. You will notice, on the next Sabbath, nearly the whole city gathered to hear Paul.  Here is Paul addressing a throng, overwhelmingly Gentile, and then the Jews sought to turn the Gentiles from the faith, contradicting those things which were spoken by Paul, and blaspheming. Here we have the story about Jesus in the first part of Acts 13, all over again.

16/  Their contradiction and blaspheming was a particularly serious matter. In the light of our Lord’s warning that whosoever should speak blasphemy against men is forgiven, but whosoever blasphemed or spoke against the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven, neither in that age, nor the age to come.  

Matthew 12: 31, 32  Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men. And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of man, it shall be forgiven him: but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come.

Jesus Christ said in those days, beware—I have sent the Holy Spirit to you—if you contradict or blaspheme Him you will never be forgiven for it. So then Paul says, he would turn to the Gentiles. This is a wonderful thing, a marvelous thing. The Word is preached unto the Gentiles—the Gentiles are now the  object of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  And of course, this is only true through the fall of Israel.  

17/  Romans 11: 11, 12 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy. Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness? 

Here God says, through their fall—the fall of Israel—salvation is come unto the Gentiles for to provoke them to jealousy. God says this word is being preached to the Gentiles to provoke the Jews to jealousy, and the fall of  them  be the riches of the world, the Gentiles and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles.  For Paul says, I speak to you Gentiles, in as much as I the apostle of the Gentiles.  Notice this word of this Christ who is God, being made in human flesh, is now sent abroad to the Gentiles.

18/  Then notice, believed on in the world. That is no small thing, either, is it? The glorious mystery of God in human flesh is believed. It is not believed everywhere, we know that—this world is still antagonistic and agnostic it is filled with religion rather than Christianity—all those who say, we don’t accept the Bible, we don’t believe that Jesus Christ has the truth.  But praise, God, there are some who do believe it. Can you praise God this morning, that you are among those who do believe in this mystery?

19/  Let us turn to another book. 

II Thessalonians 1: 8, 9  In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;

Here Paul says, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who know not God, and obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and the glory of His power. Here God says, He is going to punish those who refuse to believe wonderful, marvelous God.

20/  Then notice, received up into Glory. Who received him?  A person is not received unless there is someone there to receive him.  If you go to visit someone and find that person is not home—they are out—you say, there was nobody to receive me.  The word, receive, means reception. Who was there to receive the son of God? Did He have a reception? He most certainly did. He was caught up into Heaven, received by God the Father.

21/  What a wonderful reception He had. 

Hebrews 7: 26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;

He was made higher than the Heavens.  

Philippians 2: 9 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

God had highly exalted Him, and given Him a name  which is above every name—His position or rank is authority. Jesus Christ had a glorious reception when He went to Heaven. He was given this exalted position because He took the lowly position of being man, and suffering the awful curse of being crucified, and praise God, He is now seated on the right hand of God the Father, in the place of exaltation.

AMEN

 Ref: 05/20/1962 / THE MYSTERY OF GODLINESS / 05/15/2021

FOR MEN ONLY

Photo by B Smith from patio

 

244-FOR MEN ONLY

 March 25, 1962 

 Henry F. Kulp

 

I Timothy 2: 9 -15 In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Here, Paul deals with women in the assembly, and first of all, he talks about her dress— how she should dress, and he puts two restrictions upon women in the assembly—first of all she is not to teach the Bible to men. Secondly, she is not to usurp authority over man.

1/ The first reason is given to us in the 13th verse For, Adam was first formed, then Eve.

It is a matter of why God created Adam and Eve—created man and women. Man was created first as the protose, the file leader—the leader of the regiment. Man is to have the head place.

Notice, Genesis 2: 18 And the Lord God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.

God says that it is not good that a man should be alone—I will make him a help-meet— that means an assistant. Woman’s place in life is to make up what is lacking in man, and woman should not be disturbed by this position, because that is the place God has given her, and this is the place where she is happy.

2/ Then notice the second reason why God says the woman is not to teach man the Bible nor usurp authority over him. Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived. Now, on the face of this seems to be contrary to fact. Was not Adam deceived? The Bible says not. He sinned with his eyes open. Satan tempted Eve directly, but he did not tempt Adam directly. As we said, Adam sinned with his eyes wide open. Adam knew what he was doing, but Eve did not. She was deceived. She believed what the devil told her. The devil in the form of a serpent said to Eve, if you eat of the fruit, you will be wise. You will be like God, you will be God. You will know all things, and as you know, she believed the devil. Adam didn’t believe the devil, he knew better. Adam knew it was a lie—she was deceived. She took the fruit and gave the fruit to Adam, and Adam took the fruit from her hand, and he knew what he was doing. He knew he was sinning against God, his eyes were wide open. Of course, Adam was guilty, but he did it to save Eve.

Romans 5: 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

3/ So Adam gave himself that his wife might be saved and because of this, God put woman in the place of subjection.

4/ But remember woman does have a ministry. It is not in the open meeting, the assembly. It is not in teaching the Bible to men, or usurping authority over men, but the woman has a wonderful opportunity in private conversation.

Let us illustrate what I mean by this by looking at Acts 18: 24 - 26 And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

5/ It is noteworthy to see that Apollos received his advanced theological training, not at a seminary, nor from any of the great leaders of the day, but from two humble tent- makers. One a woman. This is amazing. This shows how God can use women.

6/ Nor, is this the last we hear of this service of this Godly couple for Christ.

I Corinthians 16: 19 The churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house.

7/ The kind of teacher Paul had in mind in this portion of Scripture is spoken of in Ephesians 4: 11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;

These positions are to be filled by men, there is a restriction upon women holding these positions. This does not down-grade the women—that does not make her be insignificant, but God has a place for her in His program, and her place is not holding offices.

8/ You will notice it was because Eve deserted her position that women are put in this position. That is the second reason. You say, that is unfair---what happened to Eve should not have any bearing on us, but it does.

For notice, Romans 5:12 Wherefore, as by one man, sin entered into the world.

We are sinners today, and sin has been passed down to us because of Adam, and we die because of Adam’s sin. You say, it’s not fair. God didn’t ask you—this is the way God has worked it out, in Adam all have sinned, and in Adam all die.

First notice, I Corinthians 15: 21 For since by one man came death. And the 22nd verse, In Adam all die.

Man may not like this position, but it is true, and rebellion against it doesn’t make it any better. The same is true of the woman, she may rebel and say, I don’t have to suffer because Eve degraded her position, but she does, and God says it is so—and the only sensible thing to do is to accept God’s position and be the person God wants you to be, and obey His Word, and then He can prosper you.

9/ I Timothy 2: 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

That has nothing whatsoever to do with a woman who has a child being saved—but, rather, she is saved through the coming of the Seed of the woman. The Seed is the Lord Jesus Christ, who has provided salvation.

10/ Then notice in I Timothy 3: 1 This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.

The word, bishop, is the word overseer. There is no authority in the New Testament for what we know as a bishop in this day...man who holds a high office in the church and wears a specially constructed “robe.” That is simply not in the Bible. The word bishop simple means one who is an overseer—one who is willing to take charge in the affairs of the assembly. To understand, first of all, I think we would have to recognize that the teaching of the clergy today of the hierachy in the church is something that God hates.

11/ Let us show you something about what is known as the clergy, or the hierarchy of the church. In Revelations, chapters 2 and 3 we have seven churches mentioned—the third one is the church of Pergamos—and notice Revelations 2: 15 So hast thou also them that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitanes, which thing I hate.

In this church there are two outstanding doctrines. The doctrine of Baalim, and the doctrine of Nicolaitanes. The doctrine of Baalim is the doctrine of tolerance. Baalim encouraged Israel to mingle with the Gentiles nations about them thereby causing this nation to lose their separated position. Nicolaitism, means ruler over the people. So we have here the clergy, and they set themselves aside from the laity. And I want you to notice, God hates this thing. God hates this thought.

If you go over to Revelations 2: 6 But this thou hast, that thou hatest the deeds of the Nicolaitanes, which I also hate.

12/ Now let us notice the kind of man a bishop or an overseer in the assembly ought to be. Verse 2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

This description means that this man is a man of high moral life, and it is a description that is hard to fill.

13/ First of all you will notice it is something to be desired. This word does not mean just a passive waiting for, but an act of reaching for—an eager coveting. First of all, this man is to be blameless. That means without reproach. The bishop, or the overseer, must be of such spotless character that no one can point an accusing finger at him. Of course, people will always accuse the overseer, but when they make the accusation, it means that they will not be able to make it stick. People will accuse you of a thousand and one things. Any man who makes a stand for God will have people make accusations against him. But these accusations, if they are true, are proven true—he is not fit to be an overseer. But, of course, you just can’t listen to gossip—they must be substantiated facts.

14/ The husband of one wife. And now we come to something that has caused much confusion and much hardship in the church. What does it mean? The husband of one wife? Some say, it means he must not have more than one wife at a time. Others say, if his wife dies, he must not marry again, he must stay unmarried. Then others say, it means that someone who is unmarried cannot, possibly, be an overseer of the assembly, and of course, this is not true. The literal translation is this—A MAN OF ONE WOMAN and we could translate it this way—A ONE-WIFE SORT OF HUSBAND.

We speak of the German Sheppard dog, as a one-man dog. I have a dog, we call his name Apache. He is a German Sheppard—some call him a police dog, and we have folks say, he is a one-man dog—you better watch him, and we have folks say you better take care of him—he only takes to one person in the family—he picks one person out and makes that one person his sole master. That is exactly what is meant here—it is a man who has just one woman as his wife. What does all this mean? First of all, it doesn’t mean one who is unmarried cannot be a bishop or an overseer. What we must remember is back in the days when Paul was writing, these people came right out of paganism, sexual sin ran rampant. All one has to do is read the New Testament, and know at that time sexuality, evil sexuality was everywhere. It is a prohibition against polygamy. If they had a man come into the church, he was saved, and while he lived in heathenism, he had more than one wife, he was not permitted to be a bishop or overseer. And also, I believe it means that if a man was not strictly faithful to his wife, he was to be disbarred from being an overseer, being a bishop.

15/ He was to be vigilant—that means, discreet. He is to be sober, meaning, serious, or in earnest. Then he was to be of good behavior, a bishop, or overseer must not only talk well, but he must walk well. A bishop is one who practices what he preaches. Given to hospitality. The word, hospitality means, being kind to strangers. It means to welcome strangers into your home. A home that is open where folks are welcome.

16/ Apt to teach. This overseer must be a teacher—apt to teach means, not merely given to teaching, but one that is able and skilled at teaching. Then he is not to be given to wine—that means not sitting over wine, not becoming quarrelsome over

it. He is not to be a striker. The idea is here of a violent man—one who is pugnacious either with hand or tongue. Some people’s tongue can be a deadly weapon—it can be devastating. How many people can be real vicious with their tongues. An overseer must be one who is careful how he uses his tongue.

Whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teaching things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.

Money is not evil in itself. Many men who had money have been godly men. Abraham of the Old Testament was a rich man who was a godly man.

There is a problem when men preach just to make a living—just for the money. Then it becomes filthy lucre. It is a ministry that the Lord can no longer bless.

Motives are so important. Make sure your motives are pure in all that you do, especially in the pulpit.

AMEN

Ref: 03/25/1962 / 244 - FOR MEN ONLY / 05/13/2021

SHOULD A CHRISTIAN WOMAN WEAR JEWELRY?

Photo by B Smith from the garden

 

243 – SHOULD A CHRISTIAN WOMAN WEAR JEWELRY?

March 18, 1962

Henry F. Kulp

 

I Timothy 2: 9 - 15  In like manner also, that women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with shamefacedness and sobriety; not with broided hair, or gold, or pearls, or costly array; But (which becometh women professing godliness) with good works. Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Actually, Paul is telling young Timothy that he should be over-seer of these assemblies in Ephesus about the woman and her charm. He was told how to handle the female side of the church, and I am sure that this young man was thankful for the guidance he received from this older man, the Apostle Paul. 

1/  You will notice, in like manner also, that woman adorn themselves also in modest apparel and so forth.  I am sure you can see from the context that Paul is thinking especially of the women coming to worship, and he lays down rules so that they might know how to dress for such an occasion, or better still, how they should not dress for such an occasion. They are not to dress as if they were going to the theater, to a dance, or a banquet—in other words, there is to be a strict avoidance of vulgar display. Of course, this goes beyond just going to church. 

2/  When Paul says the woman is to dress in modest apparel, I think if we were to put that in our present-day language, it would be best translated good taste. A woman is to dress in good taste when she comes to the assembly. It is not good taste to dress in such a way that you become outlandish because you are trying to look like a Christian, for there is no holiness in that.

3/  For the word shamefacedness, it is not an easy word to translate in our present day language. What does the average person think about when he reads the word, shamefacedness. Well, actually it means to allow nothing that would embarrass or outrage a proper sense of shame. So that goes right along with the idea of modest apparel in good taste. And then the word, sobriety, has nothing to do with strong drink, but, of course, a Christian woman will not have anything to do with strong drink. But the word, sobriety, is saneness, so you can see the whole thought is that a woman should dress in good taste, so they will not embarrass anyone’s shame, and then be very sane in the way that they dress. So that would show that to dress as the styles were forty years ago is not being sane, is it? I think a woman should look neat, clean, and up-to-date but not with great extravagance so that she will attract attention. 

4/  Then he talks about the hair, and of course, this is the most beautiful thing that a woman has. The hair is a woman’s glory. He says, not common use of braids. The Greek word refers to an elaborate gathering of the hair into knots. History informs us that the Roman women of the day were prone to be ridiculous in their extravagance of adorning the hair. She would just keep putting the hair in one knot after the other, until it absolutely looked ridiculous. Her hair would be high above her head. Many times they used to braid strands of gold into the hair, and jewelry. This does not teach that a woman should not have a decent hairdo. But she shouldn’t have an extravagant one—she should not be outlandish in the manner of wearing her hair.

5/  Then secondly, the matter of jewelry is taken up. And here he points out the Christian woman is not to have extravagant ornaments. We are told by scholars that in that day they used to hang jewelry around one’s person as one would hang ornaments on a Christmas tree. That which is forbidden here is not the wearing of jewelry itself, but the extravagant, gaudy and conspicuous display of jewelry. Notice, the last two words costly array.That which is expensive just to show off. 

6/  Notice Genesis 24: 22 And it came to pass, as the camels had done drinking, that the man took a golden earring of half a shekel weight, and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekels weight of gold;

Here we have the getting of a bride for Isaac, and in the 82nd verse it talks about golden earrings of half a shekel’s weigh and two bracelets for her hands of ten shekel’s weight of gold. Certainly God would not pick a woman for Isaac who was to be so important in God’s program, if she were wrong in wearing jewelry. But it is a matter of a modest wearing of jewelry.

7/  Then notice, Exodus 35: 4, 5 And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying,Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass,

They brought jewelry for the building of God, so this is under law, remember that, and jewelry was not forbidden under law. Only the lavish display of jewelry was forbidden. We have these folks who say, you shouldn’t wear rings, you shouldn’t wear bracelets. They do not find that the Bible. That is the tradition of men—that is some thought that a man has advanced. 

8/  Proverbs 25: 12 As an earring of gold, and an ornament of fine gold, so is a wise reprover upon an obedient ear. 

In other words, what he is saying here, is that a rebuke kindly administered by a wise man should be esteemed of greater value than a costly present. And he is not rebuking the use of jewelry here. In other words, it is an accepted thing according to this portion of Scripture.

9/  Isaiah 61: 10 I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.

 

And here it talks about a bride adorning herself with her jewels. Certainly if it is wrong to wear jewelry, it should be wrong to have a bride wear jewels. Here, even under the law, jewelry was worn by the bride. It is not that God is against the use of jewelry—He is against the lavish display of it.  

10/  Then Paul talks about the woman’s place in the public assembly. Remember, all this has to do with the woman in the public assembly. It says let the woman learn in silence, with all subjection. And God puts two restrictions upon a woman—not to usurp authority over the man, and not to teach. The woman is not to teach men, or usurp authority over the man. Remember, He is referring to ministry and public worship. But please remember that does not restrict the woman in any other way in the assembly. Aside from teaching men, usurping authority over men, there is no service she cannot perform in the assembly, such as singing, teaching children, and playing piano, playing the organ, doing many other things. 

11/  Of course, it is wrong for a woman to be a preacher. God never intended the woman should pastor a flock or to teach a man’s Bible class, or a mixed Bible class. But I want you to notice some women that God used mightily in the assembly.

12/  Romans 16: 1 I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:

Again we come to this woman Phebe, who was a deaconess, if you please, in the church. In other words, a servant of the church. She is the one who carried the Roman epistle to the church at Rome, where God used a women a women.

Luke 8: 2 - 3 And certain women, which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities, Mary called Magdalene, out of whom went seven devils, And Joanna the wife of Chuza Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others, which ministered unto him of their substance.

Certain women which had been healed of evil spirits and infirmities—Mary called Magdalene, Johanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward—Suzannah and many others ministered unto the Lord of their substance. These women had a great deal to do with comforting and ministering unto the Lord Jesus Christ. God used them in this capacity. 

Psalm 68:11 The Lord gave the word: great was the company of those that published it.

It says, the Lord gave the word—great was the company of them that published it. The word, company, is the word, women, It could be rendered—God gave the word, but many were the women that published it. That was not only true in that day, but it is true in our day. Go out in the missions fields of the world, you will find the women doing a real work for the Lord Jesus Christ. Go to many of the Sunday Schools and see women who are faithful as they teach the children in the things of the Lord Jesus Christ.

13/  And then we can go in Acts 16: 14, 15 and discover a very lovely soul in the person of Lydia. How God used Lydia in the life of Paul. 

And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul. And when she was baptized, and her household, she besought us, saying, If ye have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and abide there. And she constrained us.

14/  I Timothy 2: 11 Let the women learn in silence with all subjection. 

The word, silence, should not have been translated silence, but quietness. It doesn’t mean silence. There is another word for silence used in revelation where it says there was silence in Heaven about the space of half an hour. But that is not the word used here—it is quietness, for God loves quietness. And then it goes on to say, with all subjection. Many folks like to go back to other portions of Scriptures where it means in subjection to the husband, but the word, husband does not appear here, and it is not the thought. The women in the assembly are to be quiet, and she is to learn. In other words, she is not to put herself in the place of equality. You will notice the havoc that has been raised and put forth by many of the evil sects of our day—they have been started by women who have been way out of place.

15/  The reason why women are not allowed to usurp authority from men is given to us in two reasons. 

#1 Adam was first formed, then Eve. You see, she was made for second place. It is not that she is inferior to man, but God made her for second place, and when woman gets out of that second place, she gets into trouble. The Greek word, first, in verse 13 for Adam was first formed, is protose—it means file leader—then Eve. This is the order that God created them. It is just a matter that Adam was created before Eve in the matter of time, but that Adam was created as the file leader, and when woman refused to look to man as being first, then mankind is in trouble. We have this in political offices today—woman was created to be a congresswoman—she is not created to be a mayor of a city—she is not created to be a president of the United States. She was created for second place—a place where God wanted her to be.

16/  I know many women rebel against this—they don’t like it, and they fight against it, and they hate it, but that doesn’t change it—this is exactly what God says, and when we reject what God says, when we reject God’s council, there is only one thing that can result, and that is chaos, and that is a loss to ourselves. As I think about this, my mind goes back to a Scripture in the Old Testament.

Psalm 81: 13 - 16  Oh that my people had hearkened unto me, and Israel had walked in my ways! I should soon have subdued their enemies, and turned my hand against their adversaries. The haters of the Lord should have submitted themselves unto him: but their time should have endured for ever. He should have fed them also with the finest of the wheat: and with honey out of the rock should I have satisfied thee.

Here God is telling what He would have done foe Israel if they had followed Him closely. If they would have obeyed Him, I would have subdued their enemies, turned my hand against their adversaries—I would have fed them with the finest of wheat, with honey out of the rock—I would have satisfied them. But they, Israel, would not and did not—and they did not get the finest of wheat or honey out of the rock. God had it for them, but instead of being like sheep, keeping close to the shepherd to get tender grass—that the shepherd might lead them to where he wanted them to go -- they wandered afar— He said, I would have given you this, but they didn’t get it. How believers are like that. God has so many things for us, but we don’t want—and so we rebel against it.

17/   Psalm 78: 72  So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skillfulness of his hands.

This verse shows the faithfulness of God—and this means God did everything He could for them. He has done everything for you and me that He can. If we don’t have all that God would give us—it is not His fault, it is our fault. And so He says, He fed them according to the integrity of His heart. He could not give them the finest of wheat—He could not because they would not permit Him. Yes, God was faithful, He did all that He could, but He had to say, you could have had the finest of wheat and honey out of the rock, but I couldn’t give it to you. You wouldn’t permit me. So folks may rebel against what the Word of God teaches. But you are the loser when you disobey God. 

18/  Then secondly, Adam was not deceived, but the woman. On the face of this, this seemed to be contrary to the fact—was not Adam deceived? No, the Bible says not— he sinned with his eyes wide open. Satan tempted Eve directly, but he did not tempt Adam directly. As we said, Adam sinned with his eyes wide open—he knew what he was doing, but Eve did not. Eve was deceived. She believed what the devil told her. The devil in the form of a serpent said to Eve—if you eat of the fruit, you will be wise, you will be like God – you will know all things, and she believed the devil. Adam didn’t believe. Adam knew it was a lie, but she believed it and she was deceived—she took the fruit and she gave the fruit to Adam, and when Adam took that fruit from her hand, he knew what he was doing. He knew he was sinning against God—his eyes were wide open. Adam, of course, was the guilty one—but he did it to save Eve. 

Romans 5: 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam's transgression, who is the figure of him that was to come.

19/  Romans 5: 12 Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:

Now sin has not come into the world through Eve, and Eve is never blamed for that—sin came into the world through Adam—he sinned deliberately, he was not deceived, and the whole human race fell—but Eve was deceived, and Adam gave himself that she might be saved, and so she was in the place of subjection. But remember, the woman can speak and teach, but it is not in the open meeting, in teaching or usurping authority. The woman has a wonderful opportunity in private conversation. 

Let us illustrate what I mean by this by looking at Acts 18: 26 And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

And it says here, he began to speak boldly in the synagogue, whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly. Of course, they might have criticized him and just let it go at that, but he evidently was a good man, and it would have been a pity to leave him right where he was—he could be used by God. He was a splendid creature—he was eloquent, mighty in the Scriptures—that is as far as he went—fervent in enthusiasm—diligent in his work, he was courageous. We couldn’t let a man go with all these fine gifts. He was able to draw crowds to the synagogue when he was preaching, and yet there were two members of his congregation who could immediately tell something was wrong—his doctrine was at fault he knew only the baptism of John. 

Then notice, they did not rebuke him in public. Aquila was too sensitive a soul to take the matter up in public, but instead; Apollos was invited to the privacy of the home, and here Priscilla was able to join in the talk, and take her share of the exposition of the Word of God. Notice, it does not say that he, Aquila, did it, but they did it. The woman had her chance, and she took it. Yes, even though disbarred from the pulpit and public worship, she found a way to bear her public testimony, and to get across God’s message.

AMEN

Ref: 03/18/1962 / 243 - SHOULD A CHRISTIAN WOMAN WEAR JEWELRY? 05/13/2021       

DELIVERED UNTO SATAN

Photo by B Smith from the patio

 

240-DELIVERED UNTO SATAN

February 26, 1962

 Pastor Henry F. Kulp

 

I Timothy 1: 15 - 20 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever and ever. Amen. This charge I commit unto thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare; Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck: Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

Paul has told us that he is the protose, he is the file leader, he is the head of the regiment, of those who would believe on Jesus Christ and be saved, because had been given to him a special office.

1/ Then notice in Verse 17 he refers to Jesus Christ as King, eternal, immortal. Now, he doesn’t mean the Father—I am sure of that. The key, of course, is the word, immortal. It means one who has immortality. A human being who is now immortal and shall not die. It means this human being has a human body that is not subject to death, and Christ is the only one that fits that category. Well, you say, how about me—I am a believer, I trust Jesus Christ, do I not have immortality in my body?—Not as yet. If you die before Jesus Christ appears in the Heavens, death will claim your body.

2/ It is true that immortality is promised to you. We shall be raised to immortality when Jesus Christ appears in the Heavens, and then death will never touch our body again. But Christ is the only one at this present time in this whole universe who has a physical immortal human body that is a body that death cannot touch.

3/ Paul’s body is still in the grave—rotting in the grave. Moody’s body is rotting in the grave. Luther’s body is still rotting I n the grave. But Jesus Christ alone died, and His body has been raised from the dead.

4/ I Timothy 6: 15, 16 Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; ho only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

In this verse, and the other one in I Timothy 1: 17 are the only two places where the Apostle Paul mentions Jesus Christ as, or calls Jesus Christ, King. Paul presents Jesus Christ as the head of the Body. Now, Jesus Christ is the King of the Jews.

Matthew 2: 2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.

Zachariah 14: 9 And the Lord shall be king over all the earth: in that day shall there be one Lord, and his name one.

It says the Lord shall be King over all the earth. That is at the second coming of Jesus Christ when He will be King over all the Jews, and King over all the world. But to us, He is head of the body.

5/ But now notice in I Timothy 6: 16 it tells us who only have immortality, and of course we don’t have that at this time. Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen.

I Corinthians 15: 51 - 54 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory.

Here it is talking about the rapture of the church, when we shall be caught up to be with the Lord, and it says, the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we, the living shall be changed, for the corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality we have yet to put it on, but Christ has it right now.

6/ But of course, this does not talk about the inward man for the inward man has eternal life, already. We know that the Bible says those who are saved, it is absent from the body, and present with the Lord. We won’t ie. We continue to live on and on. Mortality, here is used of the physical body. Now, it is true, the Bible never speaks of an immortal soul, but that does not mean the soul is mortal, for you will notice, Matthew 10: 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.

Our Lord says, fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul.

So it is clear that a soul cannot be killed when the body is killed. So that must mean we have an immortal soul. But the Bible reserves the word, immortal for the physical body.

7/ Then notice, in Verse 18 that Paul talks about the charges committed to his son, Timothy, and he says that he might war a good warfare—in other words, in carrying out this charge that he has mentioned before, will not be easy—it will be hard. Carrying out this charge is going to cause him great stress and strain. He is going to have many enemies, he is going to have much opposition, but for this charge he is going to war a good warfare. You will notice it is not a good warfare, but the definite article, the, is there—it is the good warfare that we all expierience this warfare—we are all thrust into war. the Christian is not an easy life, it is not a life of walking among beds of roses

8/ You will notice Paul gave Timothy some other instruction about this warfare.

II Timothy 2: 4 Now, he says, No man that wareth, entangleth himself. That word, entangleth, means to braid in, to weave. So he doesn’t interweave or braid in to himself the affairs of this life or his livelihood. In other words, you cannot live for this life and please God and war a good warfare.

9/ This warfare is in the mind.

II Corinthians 10: 3 - 5 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;

Here is where the warfare takes place in the mind. Our imagination is our enemy. Thoughts are enemies, and we have to have our imaginations and thoughts captive and brought into the obedience of Christ, that we might war a good warfare, and that is exactly what Paul is telling Timothy. If he wants to carry out this charge and do it the way God wants him to do it, his mind must be upon the Lord Jesus Christ. Then you will notice, Verse 19, 20 Paul points out two there in the church at Ephesus who needed to be corrected, they had been teaching fables and myths and rumors and endless genealogies—the two men were Hymenaeus

( Hy me nee’ us) and Alexander. Then notice, Paul says, I have delivered unto Satan. The moment we read that, our mind goes back immediately to the matter of demons and casting out of demons, giving people over to Satan. What does it mean when Paul says, I have delivered these two men over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme?

10/ You will notice, first if all that Paul had a special office. Paul is the protose—he has just finished telling us that. He is the one who is the first, the file leader, and with this position came privileges—real powers. He was caught up into Heaven. God revealed to him wonderful and marvelous truths that had never been revealed to anyone else.

Romans 11: 13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

He says I speak to you Gentiles in as much as I am the—not an apostle among apostles, but the word, the, is there the definite article, of the Gentiles. I magnify my office. He had a special office. Peter was given the keys of the Kingdom. Paul was given this job as the protose for the church, which is the body of Christ.

11/ Then, I wonder if you recognize in the book of Acts and in the Pauline Epistles that Paul refers to himself by using the first-personal pronoun “ I” over 1,000 times. Was he egotistical conceited, presumptious, or deluded? No, he was none of those things. He, as the protose had a special position and he says,I magnify my office. With this in mind, we go back to I Timothy 1: 20 Of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander; whom I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not to blaspheme.

He said I delivered these two men unto Satan—not that the congregation has—not that Timothy could do this, but Paul does it because he has special power. Remember, this was not a matter that the congregation got together—this is not ecclesiastical discipline, it was not ex-communication by the assembly, not at all, this was not discipline in the assembly it was power invested in Paul. Paul could do this thing,He could turn these two men over to Satan.

12/ Many folks have had trouble with I Corinthians 5: 5 To deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus.

They have had trouble because they have failed to see Paul’s position.

Paul tells us in I Corinthians 5: 2 And ye are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might be taken away from among you.

Ye are puffed up, because there had a man in their midst who was committing fornication with his step-mother, a terrible sin, and this congregation had not mourned that he that had done this deed had not been taken away—not that they were to take him away, but that they would not uphold him. For he says, I—notice the personal pronoun, I, as absent in the body, but present in the spirit, have judged. He said, I have done the judging here, Paul said, I have investigated the facts, and this man is to be delivered unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh that the spirit may be saved in the Lord Jesus Christ. All this was done through Paul’s investigation under Paul’s authority—he had the right to do this.

13/ But please remember, we don’t have this right to do this today, Paul’s not present, the Protose is not here, the Apostle to the Gentiles is not here. He had a special authority, he had special powers that we do not have today. I defy anyone to try to take this authority on himself this day and age.

14/ Let us get another example of what we are talking about.

Acts 13: 9 - 12 Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him. And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand. Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord.

Notice with this evil wicked Jew, it was Saul who became Paul who set his eyes on him and said that he was a child of the devil, an enemy of righteousness, that he was perverting the right ways of the Lord, and he said, thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. Would you attempt to do this? Do you think you would have the right to go to someone who was trying to stop the preaching of the Gospel and bring blindness upon them? I think we know better then that. This was a special power that was given to Paul as the Protose, as the file leader, as the one who has this special office, the one who was the apostle to the Gentiles.

15/ Paul has never anywhere in the Scriptures given us instructions that we are to give people over to Satan. He has never told us that we have this authority, that we have the right to say, this person is sinning and doing a grievous thing and therefore they should be given over to Satan, or they should be blind, not seeing the sun. This is authority that was committed to Paul and Paul alone as the Apostle to the Gentiles in which he magnified his special office, and as protose, the file leader, the leader of the regiment.

16/ You will notice the difference between this and casting out demons. There are many folks who are out on this kick today of casting demons out of people. You remember that commission was given by Jesus Christ to His own.

Matthew 10: 6 - 9 But go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out devils: freely ye have received, freely give. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses,

Then in Mark 16: 15 - 8 And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

There is no doubt that Jesus Christ gave His own the authority to do these things, to have the ability to do these things, to cast out demons. But nowhere does Paul tell the church, the body of Christ that they are to cast out demons. Not in any way, shape or form. You can’t twist any command of Paul’s to teach this doctrine that is so popular today. We don’t go around casting out demons in our day and age.

15/ Ephesians 2: 1, 2 And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins; Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince

of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Here as Paul talks about the salvation of the soul, he sats that in days gone by, we walked according to the Prince and the power of the air, who worketh among the children of disobedience. In others words, everyone who is unsaved is evidently demon possessed. He is possessed by the demon that dwells within him, because to work in him he has to be in him. But what happens to us?

Verse 5, 6 Even when we were dead in sins hath quickened us, made us live together in Christ, hath raised us up together and made us sit together in Christ Jesus.

In other words, salvation got rid of the power of Satan, his demons working in the lives, the bodies of those who are unsaved and are now saved individuals. You notice, Paul doesn’t say, we cast out demons—not at all. The thing to do is to preach the Gospel of Jesus Christ to those who are unsaved. It is the liberating power, and believers are not indwelt by a demons or demons—certainly when we become part of the body of Christ, we are not demon possessed.

18/ Then notice, I Timothy 2: 1, 2 I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.

I am sure we have failed this, have we not? We can easily criticize our president, and I believe there are times when he deserves criticism, but do we pray for him every day? Not only is the word, prayer here—but we are to intercede. These men who are in authority, hold much authority. They are going to have a lot to answer for, and these men in authority can cause us suffering or they can cause us joy. They can cause us that we live a more peaceable life, or they can do wrong and bring disaster upon us so certainly it is well that we pray for these men in high places.

19/ Then notice we are to give thanks. We ought to be thankful for what we have. We ought to be thankful that we live in this land that we do. If we lose our freedom it is because we haven’t been thankful for our freedom that has been given to us.

02/26/1962/ 240 - DELIEVERED UNTO SATAN / 05/07/2021