THE HARDEST THING FOR A MAN TO BELIEVE

Photo taken from B Smith's Kitchen Window

250 - THE HARDEST THING FOR A MAN TO BELIEVE

10-21-1962 

Henry F. Kulp

Ephesians 3: 1 - 7 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; That the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel: Whereof I was made a minister, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power.

In the spiritual realm, there is one truth above all others which man finds exceedingly difficult to believe. In my years of experience in dealing with man relative to the things of God, I make this statement, and I am sure that most preachers will concur with my thoughts. 

1.  MANY PEOPLE FIND IT HARD---To believe in the reality of Heaven. They just can’t comprehend it, and others have a hard time believing in a hell of fire and brimstone. Others stumble over the virgin birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus, and still others have a hard time with the deity of Jesus Christ. But others have problems with the verbal inspiration of the Scriptures, still others with the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.

2.  BUT ABOVE ALL THESE, the glorious revelation that man is saved and justified by grace and grace alone is the most difficult for man to believe. Only the Spirit of God can reveal this wonderful truth to his blighted soul. Only by the Holy Spirit can he begin to comprehend it.

I Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritual discerned. Nothing appears more foolish to the unsaved person than the doctrine of the grace of God. Sin has so blighted his mind and his thoughts that he just can’t believe it.

3.  MAN BECOMES ENRAGED when this doctrine is taught. He becomes incensed and he is willing to kill and destroy to stamp out this doctrine of the grace of God. Let me show it to you in the Bible. I want to show you the climatic statement made by the Apostle Paul in the synagogue at Antioch---Acts 13: 16 Then Paul stood up and beckoning with his hands said, men of Israel and ye that fear God, give audience. After recounting God’s dealing with the nation and the story of Christ’s death and resurrection---Paul make this startling statement. Acts 13: 38, 39 Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren that though this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins, and by Him all that believe are justified by the law of Moses. Think of it---here is Paul’s statement---justification apart from the law of Moses. Nothing but a miracle of God could open man’s blinded eyes to see this truth. 

4.  NOW, THIS PREACHING BY PAUL OF THE GRACE OF GOD aroused violent opposition on the part of the religious people, first of all, notice, Acts 13: 44, 45, 50 The next sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God. But when the Jews, the religious people, saw the multitudes, they were filled with envy, and spake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blaspheming. My, how they hated the grace of God and spoke against it. Then this 50th verse. But the Jews stirred up, the devout and honorable women, and chief men of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of their coasts. 

From Paul’s day to this day, the Gospel of the grace of God has been the subject of bitter attack. From the time that Cain, in self-will, brought before God his basket of fruits and vegetables unto our present day, men have hated, taught against, and sought to overthrow this grand doctrine of the Bible. YOU WILL NOTICE IN Ephesians 3: 1, 2 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: Here we read about the dispensation of the grace of God. What do we mean by the dispensation of the grace of God? This present day is known as the dispensation of the grace of God. But now, what is grace? We have told you so often the best definition we can find for grace is everything for nothing, and this is what man hates---he wants to do something for God, where God says, He has already done it for us. 

BUT BEFORE WE GO ON STUDYING THE DISPENSATION OF THE GRACE OF GOD, let us look at a few verses in the Book of Romans that absolutely thrill my soul. Romans 5: 20, 21 Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.

5.  HERE WE READ ABOUT SIN ABOUNDING. If you were ever given the supernatural power to be able to behold all of the sin, the wickedness that is in the world, all the evil thoughts, all the terrible deeds of all the people living upon the face of the earth, you would then know the meaning of abounding sin. BUT, where sin abounded, grace did much more abound, and of course, that means super abound, and it has the Greek word Hoop-pear, which means over and above. Where sin abounds, grace did much more abound, upon super, super abound. No matter how much sin is in your life, there is more then enough grace to compensate for it. 

6.  NOW LET US LOOK AT THE 21st verse and here few folks have ever read this Scripture with real comprehension. It is a thrilling passage of Scripture. You will notice there are two things reigning in this verse. You have the same word reign that means to reign as sovereign, to reign as a king. First of all, sin hath reigned unto death. Sin has reigned sovereign unto death.  Sin hath reigned as a sovereign unto death. Sin has been in the world as a despot, ruling over man as a tyrant. Sin and death do not ask their subjects to bow before them---they reign over them in force, and they make mankind seek to postpone physical death as long as possible. Death has secured this control over mankind by the means of sin, and it has brought all humanity under its power.

7.  EVEN SO DOES GRACE REIGN. Grace is on the throne right now. Grace is sovereign over sin and death. Grace reigns today.  Let us show you another thrilling Scripture. 

Hebrews 4: 16 For we are instructed, Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace,.. Grace is on the throne, and it is on the throne in greater power then sin ever had. In one respect, the most important word in the last verse of the 5th chapter of Romans is the first word ‘that’.  It is a word of great purpose. It could be just as well translated, so that, or in order that. So what is the thought? Grace super abounds in all that grace might reign.

8.  FOR THE CHILD OF GOD--God considers the reign of death to be over for those who are in Jesus Christ. Sin and death did not abdicate, death and sin we conquered. Conquered by the grace of God. He says sin abounds and grace does much more abound. They are different words in the Greek. The word abound means overflow. The picture is this---a stream and the bed of the stream is filled with water from the rains until the banks over-flow--that was sin, sin was like a river or stream that over-flowed its banks. Sin has abounded in this world.  But grace does super-abound, and so we see the picture of sin as a stream that has over-flowed its banks, but up the hill there is a great body of water, held back by a dam, and because of the rains and the weight of the water, the dam gives way, and there is a great flood, and now all the country is flooded, and you can’t find the river---even the river itself is gone. You cannot see the course of it. That is where super abundance overcomes abundance. Sin as a river overflowed and just hid sin, but GRACE washed it away. What a wonderful fact, grace is now reigning on the throne. Reigning as a sovereign, as a king.

9.  BUT NOW, LET US GO BACK and consider that this is the dispensation of the grace of God. Now, I want to emphasize the difference between the grace of God in a dispensation and the dispensation of the grace of God. There is a world of difference there. You have had grace in every dispensation. Noah found grace in the sight of God. 

Genesis 6: 8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. But grace was not reigning then---that was not the dispensation of the grace of God. Men living under the dispensation of the law were saved by the grace. Men living under the dispensation of law were saved by grace, but that was not the dispensation of grace, and grace was not reigning on the throne at that time. 

10. FIRST OF ALL LET US NOTICE that Christ Jesus had to abolish death before the dispensation of the grace could begin. Before there could be a reign of grace through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christ abolished death. 

11. AND THEN ALSO, before the dispensation of God could be in effect, before the human race could be rescued, Jesus Christ had to die and destroy him who had the power of death, that is the devil.  Hebrews 2: 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 

Do you remember when Jesus Christ was going to the cross to die, and then to be resurrected from the dead, He said concerning Satan in John 12: 31 Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. By the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the prince of this world was judged. Christ destroyed him who had the power of death---that is the devil. The abolition of death and the judging of Satan had to happen before there could be a reign of grace. 

12. BUT THERE COULD NOT BE A REIGN OF GRACE DURING THE REIGN OF THE LAW.  God had to abolish the law. He had to get the law out of the way. Let us notice the Scripture to prove this Colossians 2: 14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out the way, nailing it to His cross. Yes, death is abolished. The devil is judged, the law blotted out. Now, when we see the ordinances that were written with handwriting, we immediately remember the Law of Moses. Remember the law was ordinances that were against people, not for them.  And I find that the word, contract comes from the word that means an adversary. An adversary that is too much for you---one that you cannot overcome. 

13. THEN DID YOU EVER KNOW that when Jesus Christ was nailed to the cross, He himself nailed something to the Cross.  When they were driving the nails through His hands, Jesus Christ was nailing to the LAW that which was written against every man---the Law of Moses, the Ten Commandments. Jesus Christ nailed it to the cross and the debt was paid and we are free.

14. THE THOUGHT HERE IS THAT IN THE TIME OF ROME a debt was a crime. A man who was in debt was always in danger of not being able to pay and if the time came that he could not pay then he and his family could become slaves. It was a glorious time when a man’s debt was paid and he could say he was clear. Often a man wanted his neighbors to know that he was no longer in danger of servitude, so when the debt was paid, he took the old canceled debt, nailed it over his door, and all the neighbors knew that he was a free man. That is exactly what God did. He nailed our sin debt to the cross so that we can see that we are free. The law had to be abolished, done away with, before the reign of grace could take place, before the dispensation of grace could be begun. 

15. WHAT ELSE? WELL, SIN HAD TO BE PUT AWAY BEFORE GRACE COULD REIGN, before the dispensation of grace could begin. Hebrews  9: 26 For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Christ Jesus put sin out of the way. What a glorious, wonderful, truth. 

16. WHAT ELSE?  ISRAEL HAD TO BE CAST AWAY. Romans 11: 15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead. Then notice the 12th verse 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 fullness? And, the 30th verse---for as ye in times past have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy through their unbelief:  The middle wall of partition between Jew and Gentile had to be broken down, so that now there is no difference---all have come short of the glory of God. Both Jew and Gentile. There is no favorite nation. That position had to crumble and pass away, before the grace of God could reign. 

17. TITUS 2: 11 - 14. If you want to see what grace is doing under the reign of grace, under the dispensation of grace, here we have its work in capsule form. First of all, the grace of God saves, for nothing else can. Then the grace of God schools, it child trains us. Then the grace of God satisfies, it provides life with a hope. To live without hope is a terrible thing, but whoever is saved by the grace of God under the reign of grace, the dispensation of grace, has hope. And then grace secures. You are secure in Christ for all eternity.           

Ref: 10/21/1962 / 250 - THE HARDEST THING FOR A MAN TO BELIEVE /2/18/2020 

THE TRAGEDY OF CARNALITY

The view from our kitchen window

286 - THE TRAGEDY OF CARNALITY

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

January 24, 1965

Romans 8: 4 - 9 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. ⁵ For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. ⁶ For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. ⁷ Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. ⁸ So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. ⁹ But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

In this Scripture, we have some very important facts—first of all, there is no judgment for the believer—there is no judgment day ahead for him. Then secondly, we are free from the law of sin and death, which is in every individual, and we have been made free by the law of the Spirit of Life that is in Christ Jesus, and this is true because Christ bore our sins in His body. Right at this point, there are three words that I would like to study with you—it is important that you know these words and understand them. The first word is ransom, the second is redeemed, and the third is reconciled. 

First of all turn to I Timothy 2: 6. Who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time. As I read these Scriptures—there are three Scriptures that I want to read—I want you to keep in mind the three words—ransomed, redeemed, reconciled, and, of course, this is the first one—Who gave Himself a ransom for all, and when we come to redeemed we will find they are different, and when we come to reconciled, we will find that is different form the other two. But now it says He gave Himself a ransom. Who is He? Who is the Son of God? He is Man and God, the Wonderful Being, the One Who left His place in the glory where He created the universe, and came down here and took humanity upon Himself and became God and Man in one Being. The Body in which Christ lived, that Body was human and divine, the most precious thing in the universe, and He gave this a ransom for us. 

Ephesians 1: 7 In whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;..  For a ransom He gave Himself, for redemption, He gave His blood. Then it says, He gave Himself a ransom, there is no mention of blood, because He was giving Himself as the price for us to be free. A ransom is given for those who are held in bondage by an enemy, and a ransom must be paid. The ransom necessary for us was so great that only God Himself could pay it, for redemption, and that brings in sin, there has to be blood, so we are redeemed by His blood, and for that reason, He had to go to the Cross. 

The third word, is reconcile. Romans 5: 11 Here you have the word, atonement, but it is really the word, reconciliation, And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement. Or, reconciliation. Being ransomed is by the gift of Himself, redemption is by the pouring out of His blood, reconciledby His death. So man is reconciled by the death of Christ, and you have to distinguish between these three. Man is at war with God and man needs to be reconciled to God—there is enmity between man and God, and thereby Jesus Christ died, that we might be reconciled.

1.   But now we come to a very important verse, Romans 8: 4. That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. What does this mean? Right away someone will say, if you don’t walk a certain way, you are not saved, but this is not talking about our personal walk. What this verse is actually saying is that we are keeping the law. You say ‘’We are? In days gone by you said we can’t keep the law. We can’t keep it in our own flesh, our own endeavor, but nevertheless, we are keeping the law, and we are keeping the law perfectly. Everyone who is saved is keeping the law and keeping it perfectly. How has this come about? You are not able to keep the law to be saved, and after you are saved, you still can’t keep the law, but the One Who lives in you keeps the law. The being kept in you—maybe you don’t realize it, but if you are saved this is exactly what is taking place. How does God fulfill the law in us? Christ was the only One who ever kept the law, Who ever met the demands of the law, and in Colossians 1: 27 To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Christ in you the hope of glory. In this one instance, He is our Hope of glory. He is fulfilling the law in us. He is keeping the law in us.

2.   The law demands two things: Whenever you have summed up the whole law it demands two things. What are these two things? Let us first of all notice in this law might be fulfilled in us. First of all, it demands righteousness, and we do not have righteousness. Remember, I Corinthians 1: 30 But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption: He is righteousness within us.

3.   Galatians 5: 14 For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Where all the law is fulfilled in one word—notice, all the law is fulfilled in one word. What is this one word? Even this, that thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Romans 13: 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Here is the same thing, the law demands righteousness, the law demands love. But you do not have love within yourself. But love is what the law demands. Notice, I Timothy 1: 5 Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: Do you realize that in John’s Gospel and in John’s epistle he uses the word, love, in different forms 102 times. Paul uses it 109 times, and he says in I Corinthians 13 the greatest of these is love. Christ is our righteousness, and let us notice another Scripture about love now. Romans 5: 5 And this is a good verse to remember. And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. This is not an experience that some people have. I would like to have that experience. You do have it when you are saved. This is what happened when you were saved, and if it didn’t happen, you weren’t saved. The love of God was shed abroad in our hearts and this is what came in when the Holy Spirit came into live in our life. So Christ and the Holy Spirit in us are keeping the law, fulfilling it perfectly.

4.   Let us notice the words, who walk not after the flesh—you say that means a Christian shouldn’t walk in the flesh, no, that isn’t what it means at all—notice verse 9. That ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit. This is what it means in II Corinthians 5: 17Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. He is a new creation, and he is now spiritual. He wasn’t before, but he is now. This is true of all believers, and then he goes on to say, old thing have passed away. That is the flesh, and behold, all things are become new.

5.   What is the flesh and what is the Spirit? Anyone who is in Adam is fleshly—we said earlier in this study of the Book of Romans, God only recognizes two men—the first Adam and the second Adam—Adam and Christ—if you are in Adam, you are fleshly, if you are in Christ, you are spiritual, and all who are saved are walking after the Spirit. The important word here is, after, after the Spirit.

6.    Now beginning in Romans 8: 5 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. We have a comparison between this new life that is in us and the old life in the flesh. Some people read these verses from verses 5 on as a warning to God’s people. But it isn’t that all—it is a comparison. Some people think this is a warning to us not to live according to the flesh, but to live according to the Spirit. But that 9^th verse shows us how foolish this is. But ye are not in the flesh—you see, that is a definite statement. We have been taken out of it—out of the flesh, and we have a new life for the Holy Spirit has come in. Let us look fully at that verse 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. If the Holy Spirit didn’t come in and bring the life of God, then you are not saved. The Holy Spirit’s coming in is not a second experience, it is when you are saved. God gives you the Holy Spirit and He does the work of bringing in righteousness and the love of God into your life.

7.   Now look at Romans 8: 7 Because the carnal mind is amenity against God, for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. That is a distinction that is one that is not saved. He is showing here what it means to have the Holy Spirit, He is not here warning the Lord’s people, He is showing the difference between the life that we have in the Spirit and the life that is lived without the Spirit.

8.   Romans 8: 8 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. Now, look at the 9^th verse. But ye are not in the flesh. Do you see the difference? It matters now how good a life a man tries to live, if he is still in the flesh and doesn’t have the Holy Spirit, he cannot please God. So he is showing a distinction between a man who is saved, and a man who is unsaved.

9.   I wonder how many folks really realize what a wonderful position we have today. Having salvation and the Holy Spirit dwelling in us—Christ in us. I am sure we don’t realize this as we ought—God couldn’t do it for David. He could not do for David what He has done for you. He could not do for Abraham, Isaac. And Jacob, or Moses or Joseph or any other character in the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit was not given as the Holy Spirit is given today. In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit only operated.

10.This came home to my heart very clearly as I was studying the Book of Judges the other day. It says four different times that the Spirit came on Samson. Judges 14: 5, 6 Here, it says, Then went Samson down, and his father and his mother, to the vineyards of Timnath: and, behold, a young lion roared against him. And the Spirit of the LORD came mightily upon him, and he rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand:…

This was the Bible’s Hercules. We don’t understand this the Holy Spirit operating in Samson—not at all—Holy Spirit gave to David the wisdom to rule, and to some others He gave them the wisdom to write poetry, to others to be great leaders of armies—but to Samson, the Holy Spirit was physical power. Did you ever see a picture of Samson? And he had those great muscles like a giant. From studying the Scriptures, he wasn’t anything of the kind. His strength was not in great physical muscles, like a giant. It was in the Holy Spirit coming in his body. Notice, he couldn’t have taken this young lion and rent him like a kid, if the Holy Spirit hadn’t come upon him.

11. And then, Samson had a vow that he made—he was a Nazarite, and when he broke his vow, the Holy Spirit didn’t come upon him, he was as weak as any other man. A Nazarite should never have his hair cut, nor his head shaven, but Samson told his vow, the secret of his power. 

Judges 16: 16 – 19   And it came to pass, when she pressed him daily with her words, and urged him, so that his soul was vexed unto death; ¹⁷ That he told her all his heart, and said unto her, There hath not come a razor upon mine head; for I have been a Nazarite unto God from my mother's womb: if I be shaven, then my strength will go from me, and I shall become weak, and be like any other man. ¹⁸ And when Delilah saw that he had told her all his heart, she sent and called for the lords of the Philistines, saying, Come up this once, for he hath shewed me all his heart. Then the lords of the Philistines came up unto her, and brought money in their hand. ¹⁹ And she made him sleep upon her knees; and she called for a man, and she caused him to shave off the seven locks of his head; and she began to afflict him, and his strength went from him.

When they shaved his head, he was just like any other man, and the Holy Spirit did not come upon him to empower him. Verse 20 when she said, (that is Delilah) The Philistines be upon thee, Samson. And he awoke out of his sleep, and said, I will go out as at other times before, and shake myself.—but what happened, the Lord had departed from him. The Holy Spirit was not going to come upon him and empower him this time. And then notice, verse 21 the Philistines took him and put out his eyes. They didn’t even bind him to put out his eyes. It was when they brought him down to Gaza that they bound him with fetters of brass. For he was just like any other man. The Holy Spirit did not come upon him and empower him. His strength was in the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit only operated in the Old Testament. But in the New Testament, He dwells and lives in us. This makes the difference.

12. Now notice, Romans 8: 11 But if the Spirit of Him that from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. We, and then He says, therefore, brethren, we are debtors to God for what He did. This Holy Spirit in us also guarantees our resurrection body. Some people read in the 11^th verse to read that He quickens our mortal bodies right now. But the mortal body is the body that dies, mortal means that it must die. And it says here, shall also quicken or raise up your mortal bodies—that is future. When you pass away from this present life and lay your body in the tomb, you are with the Lord, and that is why we keep telling you that we only sow the body of the believer. 

I Corinthians 15: 42, 43 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: ⁴³ It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: The Holy Spirit in us is a guarantee, a foretaste--a down-payment of the fact that even though now we have mortal bodies, one of these days, our bodies will be like the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh, that we might understand that.

13. It is wonderful to know that we are not in the FLESH, BUT we are in the Spirit. This is not taking about our everyday walk, but it is talking about our position in Jesus Christ. Again, we must warn you, this is not a warning, this is a comparison; this is a distinction. Rejoice in what you have in Christ Jesus.

14. We have entitled this message, the tragedy of carnality. Carnality is death, to be fleshly is death, you are fleshly if you are in Adam, but not in Christ. Remember, I Corinthians 16: 22 “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.”

It is our prayer that you love Christ, you are no longer fleshly, but now you are spiritual.

Ref: 01/24/1965/ 286 - THE TRAGEDY OF CARNALITY / 2/11/2020

DOES THE BIBLE TEACH FATALISM?

Photo from B. Smith's Kitchen Window

295 - DOES THE BIBLE TEACH FATALISM?
May 30, 1965

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

Romans 8: 28, 29 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren.

As we have been studying this portion of Scripture, we find this is our fifth week on this one portion of Scripture--I have found that it is absolutely impossible to exhaust these verses. Of course, you can’t exhaust any part of the Bible, this Bible is just so rich with many wonderful thoughts, that you could preach week after week, and still you would have so many more wonderful things to bring out.

1/ I would like you to see this morning, when it says, all things work together for good. I was thinking about that this past week and my mind was hit with it in a wonderful way, and it is interesting to notice that the words, “thing” and “things” are found more than 1600 times in the King James version of the Bible. It is also very interesting to me that in Paul’s epistles we find the expression “all things” 76 times. We could not possibly exhaust the 76 times that Paul mentions them, but there are a few things I would like you to see about “all things”.

2/ Our society lives for things. Not just material things, but circumstances, happenings--our economy is based on things--our happiness is based on things. Notice, the study of the word, “happiness”, it has “happenings” in it. But in Colossians 1: 17 we read, and He, Christ, is before all things. He, Christ, is the One Who has always existed. He is more important than things because He was before things.

3/ Now let us go back to Colossians 1: 16 And he is before all things, and by him all things consist. For by Him, were all things created that are in Heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible. Christ is the Creator of things. Then in Colossians 1: 17 And He, Christ, is before all things, and by Him all things consist. Are held together--are kept in their perfect harmony. Is it any wonder we can say, all things work together for good to them who love God?

4/ Colossians 1:18 --that is in all things He might have the preeminence. This is at the present time--God wants Him to have preeminence in all things. Do you give Him pre-eminence in your life? This, of course, means that He is to have first place.

5/ Hebrews 1: 2 We read: Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;

--that God hath spoken in these last days by His Son, Whom He hath appointed Heir of all things. Notice, Heir, not of many, not, of most, but of all things. And, of course, we are joint-heirs with Christ, so all things are ours.

6/ Because of all these things, we as Christians, should obey Ephesians 5: 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;--giving thanks always for all things. Notice--Thanks for all things--all things work together for good, and we are to give thanks for all things. And then, of course, it should follow that we do--Philippians 2: 14--Do all things without murmurings and disputings: When we know that all things work together for good, and all things are ours, and that Christ is to have preeminence in all things, we can be thankful for all things, and it is possible to do all things without murmurings and disputings. This is a natural result.

7/ Of course, we are not to pray for more all things. We are to appreciate and appropriate our all things.

8/ All things work together for good because we are a part of God’s predestined program. As we told you last week, predestination is not an evil thing, but it is a very good thing. It is not something to be afraid of, but something to shout “Hallelujah” about. We said it comes from two different words--the first word, “pre”,which means before, or beforehand. Destiny--which means climax, or the end. So, predestination has to do with something beforehand, and something at the end. It has nothing to do with anything in between. It has nothing to do with salvation, it has to do that God had a corporate body in mind and God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit decided in eternity past, that this program would come into existence--there would be a church which is known as the Body of Christ and that one day, this Church would be made like the Lord Jesus Christ, predestination is being conformed to the image of God’s Son.

9/ God does not predestinate individuals, but rather He predestines a corporate body. And you become part of this corporate body by believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember, predestination is for a corporate body. God did not predestinate the individual, but this complete corporate body to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. But now, in the Bible, there is one exception to this statement. God has predestined one outstanding individual in two places, and you will find this fact in I Peter 1: 11. Notice, the Lord Jesus Christ was predestined to suffering, and He was predestined to the glory which should follow. In the original Greek, the word, Glory should be in the plural--it is “glories”. Of course, the Old Testament prophets wrote of the sufferings of Christ, and the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, because God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit decided this program in eternity past. The Church which is the body of Christ is possible as a predestined group because Christ was predestined to bleed, to die and to suffer and then to be glorified after He was resurrected and ascended into the Heavenlies.

10/ Now, let us think about this matter of Christ being predestined to suffering, to death and to glory. Revelations 13: 8 where we read: And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Christ was slain from eternity. There are some folks who have a very poor view of this matter of salvation. They think God made the universe, and then the devil came in and spoiled it--the whole human race fell, and then God had to get busy and do something to counteract it. That is what I would call a makeshift plan of salvation, and salvation isn’t a makeshift. God knew all about it from eternity--even before He created this universe, this world--long before He created this universe, this world--long before Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. All plans were laid from eternity. Salvation started away back before the foundation of the world, and the devil is powerless to stop it. He is not as powerful as most people think he is. Here Jesus Christ was predestined in ages past to come to this earth and to die and purchase our salvation. This is the end of salvation--nothing else can be done for our salvation--He paid the price on the cross of Calvary. That is why He sat down, because the work was finished.

11/ Now, notice, none of this is fatalism, because God’s predestined group, the church, is a corporate body. God also has another predestined group, and it is Israel. But none of this is fatalism. If you want to be part of this program, you must make a decision for Jesus Christ, you must trust Him.

12/ Notice the rest of Romans 8: 29. For whom He did foreknow, He also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of His Son--for what reason? That He, Christ, might be the first born--among--many brethren. Here is the final climax of the eternal purpose of God. All things work together for good--we know that because we are called according to His purpose, and this purpose is that Jesus Christ might be the first born among many brethren. You have these folks who like to come to your door, knock on your door and act real studious and tell you there is no hell and there is no Trinity. They try to tell you Jesus Christ is the first-born of God. This means He had a beginning. And it doesn’t mean that at all. Let’s examine what it means to be the first-born among many brethren.

13/ Christ was never born before He came into this world, and when He was born into this world, He was not the first-born of God. He was then born of man. When He was the first-born of God is an entirely different time.

14/ Let us turn and study very carefully Colossians 1: 18. And he is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead; that in all things he might have the preeminence.

Here, Christ is the Head of the Body, the Church, Who is the beginning, the first-born from the dead. Some have argued that since Christ is the first-born, He had a beginning. The first born is, of course, the first one born in any family, and Christ is here called the first-born. Some have argued that there must have been a time, then, when Christ was begotten because He is also called “the only begotten”. Here you read in Colossians 1:18 He, Christ, is the first-born from the dead. There was a time when God gave His Son to die. God had only one Son eternally, and God gave that Son to die, and He was dead and buried, and in the grave three days and three nights, and why He was begotten of God from the dead, brought back from the dead--that was the time that He was the first-born from the dead.

15/ Acts 13: 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And here we read, quoting the 2nd Psalm Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten Thee. When was that day? This verse says, when He raised up Jesus again. So, the Lord Jesus Christ is the first-born from the dead, and He is the first-born of a new creation--a creation of which you are a part, if you are saved. God began a new thing in the resurrection, a new creation.

16/ Up to the time of the resurrection, no man had ever been raised from the dead in a glorified body, but the Lord Jesus Christ was. And God, in Christ, is creating a new race. He is the first-born from the dead.

17/ You will remember that Jesus Christ is the eternal Son of God, but when He came to this earth and He was made sin, He laid aside that privilege, and God had to forsake Him--give Him up as He was made sin. But in resurrection, God the Father, declared Him to be His only begotten Son. Now He is seated on the right hand of God the Father and He is the first-born of this new creation. And this new creation is the church which is the body of Christ. This new thing that God is doing today--this corporate body that is predestined to be like the Lord Jesus Christ.

AMEN

REF: 05/30/1965/ 295 - DOES THE BIBLE TEACH FATALISM? / 10/17/2019