DO YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR FATHER?

Photo taken from B Smith's Window

208 - DO YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR FATHER? 

September 20, 1964

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

Romans 5: 12 - 15.  Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all mane, for that all have sinned: 13 For until the law sin was in the world: but sin is not imputed when there is no law.

This chapter has many hard things to say…things that you have to think through. But, the important ingredient in this chapter is that you must have faith in what God has to say. God wants you above all else to believe His Word, to believe what He has said. He doesn’t want you to call Him a liar. Let us show you in the Old Testament what God thinks of a man who believes what He has to say –has faith in His Word. 

Exodus 13: 18 But God led the people about, through the way of the wilderness of the Red sea: and the children of Israel went up harnessed out of the land of Egypt.

Now when Joseph was sold into Egypt, he became ruler in Egypt, and he brought his father Jacob and his brethren down. Joseph lived for some years after his family was there with him. But when he came to die he called his family about him and said, you are in Egypt, but God has given you Palestine, the Promised Land, and God is going to take you out of Egypt and put you into the Promised Land. That was faith –there was absolutely no evidence of it, but Joseph said, when you go, dig up my bones. Most folks don’t like to talk about disposing of their bones after they are dead. God noticed that and He was pleased, and God put it in the New Testament. 

Hebrews 11: 22 By faith Joseph, when he died, made mention of the departing of the children of Israel; and gave commandment concerning his bones.

Joseph when he was dying gave commandment concerning his bones. That is one thing in the life of Joseph that God put His finger on. Remember he was a mighty ruler, he saved the world from famine, he did great things, but God didn’t take notice of that in the New Testament, but rather in the New Testament He said when he was dying, he had faith. That is precious to God, and that is one thing that God has recorded in the 11^th chapter of Hebrews.     

1/ Then there is another example of faith that always stands out in my mind when I read my Bible. 

Exodus 14: 6 And he made ready his chariot, and took his people with him: Here, it is talking about Pharaoh, and it said he made ready and took people with him. And the 8^th verse says, And the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh, king of Egypt, and he pursued after the children of Israel: and the children went with an high hand. And the 10^th vs. And when Pharaoh drew nigh, the children lifted up their eyes, and, behold, the Egyptians marched after them; and they were sore afraid: and the children Israel cried out unto the Lord. Then notice the 13^th vs. And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD, which He will shew to you today: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen today, ye shall see them again no more forever. 

That was faith – it was the faith of a man named Moses. Here he had the mountains to the left, the right. He had the Red Sea in front of him, and he had the Egyptians pursuing after him. Humanly speaking, there was no answer, but he was not afraid. He knew that God was going to deliver them. In the midst of the awful trial he was not afraid. We are told when he led the people out of Egypt, he was not afraid of the king’s commandment. So, you see, he had faith. He wasn’t afraid of Pharaoh anymore. My, how the modernists; the liberalists who claim to be Christians, are afraid of the miracles of the Bible. They don’t want to accept God’s Word. 

Exodus 15: 8 And with the blast of their nostrils the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as an heap, and the depths were congealed in the heart of the sea. Here where Moses is singing the song of deliverance from the Red Sea, he has this in his song --- and with the blast of Thy nostrils, the waters were gathered together, the floods stood upright as a heap. 

I am sure you will recognize that you can’t possibly pile up water as you pile up bricks. But God can, God can pile up water as a heap, and I don’t have any trouble believing that. I like what Paul Rader said about the crossing of the Red Sea. He said that day many a fish bumped his nose into the wall and had to go back. It certainly was real to that fish. But modernist like to say there was a great wind and the wind drove the sea back and the wind parted the sea and there was a shallow place where the Children of Israel went over. But God said it was on dry ground, and He piled the water in a heap. There is no trouble for me to believe this ---God said it and I accept it by faith.

2/ God said He created man male and female, He created them Adam and Eve and put them in the garden.  Just as man refuses to accept that Adam and Eve were the first man and we all have come from Adam; just so human man does not want to accept the story of the fall of man.  Did you ever hear the foolish opinions that modernists put forth about the fall of man?  In the middle ages, in the dark ages, the notion of celibacy was introduced into the church.  And the natural union of man and woman was consequently regarded as evil, and out of this teaching came the thought that the forbidden fruit was the sex act. But God told the original pair to be fruitful and multiply the earth.  As a matter of fact, it was required of God, not forbidden by God.        

3/ Others have alleged the fruit was the grape, and that the original sin was drinking wine, which made man drunk.  Again, this is foolish, for since the fruit was eaten before the curse was passed upon the earth, before the flood, there was no fermentation, and there could be no wine.  So, the original sin was not drinking wine.  Then others have talked about eating an apple, but God doesn’t say anything about an apple here.  How men have distorted the fall of man. 

4/ The easiest way to understand a passage of Scripture is to accept it literally, just what it says.  This is true of many difficult passages in the Bible.  God placed man in the Garden of Eden and gave him dominion over everything except a few square yards of ground in the midst of the garden, where one tree was growing.  The fruit of this tree was forbidden to man, but to be absolutely technical, he was not forbidden to work around the ground on which the tree grew.  He was not forbidden to bask in its shade. He was not told he couldn’t look at the fruit nor he couldn’t touch. He was simply told he could not eat it. This prohibition was a symbol of man’s creature-hood that he was dependent upon God, and that he was in subjection to God.   

5/ Here lies the nature of the acts which man committed and by which sin entered into the world.  It was not enough for man to have everything with just one exception.  He immediately wanted that thing that was the exception.  It was as though he said, I know that I have everything north, south, east and west of this tree, but as long as I cannot eat the fruit of this tree, something is withheld from me. Do you know who I am?  I’m Adam, I’m Eve, and I’m superior to the animals which I have named, there is real injustice here, God is keeping something back from me. But I shall right that wrong. I will eat of the fruit of the tree, actually, it all came down to one thing --- disobedience to God, and comes down to one thing --- the rejection of God’s Word. And, so, salvation, then, is the acceptance of God’s Word. Faith cometh by hearing and hearing by the Word of God.  

6/ All in Adam have sinned.  Adam is the federal head of the Race. He represents us all, and we have all come from him. How man loves to trace his ancestry...back a few generations, but we cannot trace them back too far. But we should remember, all of us go all the way back to Adam who was created by God.  People like to say, John gets his blue eyes from his mother’s side, or Mary gets her red hair from her father, and some people will even go so far to say, He inherited that terrible, sour, mean disposition from his grandfather --- and, of course, it is on the other individual’s side. Then you hear the expression, he is a chip off the old block.  We really are---we are a chip off the old block, and we are just like Adam.  For we are born in Adam; and Adam sinned, and we have Adam’s sin nature.

7/ The next thing we want to see is in 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.

What we see is that Adam did not sin after the manner we sin, and he is a figure of Him that was to come.  What does all of this mean?  How was Adam a figure of Christ who was to come?  To understand what it means that Adam is a figure of Christ, or a type of Christ, for that is exactly what the word means, we have to go back to the first family.  

Genesis 2: 24 Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife: and they shall be one flesh.

Here Adam is speaking, telling what a husband should do for his wife.  Notice, the most important thing we want to see in our study is that the husband is to cleave to his wife.  In other words, he is to love her, watch over her and cleave to her.  The husband should be the clinging vine. 

8/ But soon after Adam had promised to cleave unto his wife, the tempter came into the Garden of Eden, and tempted the woman in the absence of her husband, Adam. The question immediately rises, why did the devil not tempt Adam first, and why did he begin with the woman, for remember, Adam was the federal head of the race, and the whole earthly creation therefore would fall, if he would fall. But the devil started out on Eve. Eve was an individual and not a federal head when she fell. She fell as an individual, and did not bring the rest of creation down with her.  Therefore, it would have been more logical to tempt Adam first, but Satan tempted Eve first.   

9/ There are two reasons why Eve was tempted first. The first one is Eve never heard God’s command concerning the forbidden tree from the mouth of God. Genesis 2: 16, 17 And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die. 

What information she had received, she had received second-hand from Adam, because God gave this commandment to Adam before Eve was created. Secondly, and more important was the reason why Satan tempted the woman first.  Satan must have had his doubts as to whether he would have been able to cause Adam to fall directly.  There is reason to believe that Adam would not have succumbed to the temptation. The tempter than seeks to get at Adam through his love for his wife.  Remember Adam loved his wife with a pure undefiled love.  He wasn’t a sinner.  His love was free from all unholy passion and fleshly lust. Therefore, he loved his wife far more than any husband since that day.  This love could not stand to have any separation come between him and his wife.                                                                                             

10/ But more than that, Adam also knew God and His nature and the will of God better than we do.  And, so, he deliberately gave his life and fell into sin that Eve might be saved.

11/ Let us get Scripture for this.  I Timothy 2: 14, 15 And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. 15 Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.

Notice, Adam was not deceived, and Eve was deceived. She believed the lie of the devil, but Adam did not.  He knew better, so when he sinned, he didn’t sin because he was deceived. He did it with his eyes wide open.

12/ The moment Eve ate, she fell and was under the sentence of death and would have been lost forever, unless a way was provided for her deliverance, and he knew the only way she could be saved was through the bearing of a seed.  But she couldn’t have seed from Adam unless Adam was a fallen creature as well. And so he deliberately, with his eyes wide open, with great love in his heart, for his wife, sinned.  

Now let us go back to I Timothy 2:14, 15 and notice, it says Adam was not deceived and Eve will be saved in in child-bearing. In the original it reads—THROUGH BEARING OF A CHILD and then after they had both sinned you have Genesis. 3: 15, that great wonderful verse. And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.  

So Adam, in giving himself, is a picture of Christ giving himself for us. But the sad part Adam giving himself plunged the whole human race and the creation of this world into sin.  But in Christ, as He gave Himself for us, we have life.  We are saved. 

13/ Ephesians 5: 31, 32 For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. 32 This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

Here it says Christ gave Himself for the church, and Adam is a picture of Christ and Adam is a picture of Christ and he gave himself for Eve.  The great thing to see here is the fact of love.  A husband is to love his wife give himself for her.  This is exactly what Adam did. 

14/ Romans 5: 15 But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if though the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is y one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many.

I want you to notice in the 15^th vs. God is talking about a gift.  The word, free, isn’t needed, for a gift is always free. But God has to emphasize something here in order that we might understand, so He puts in the word, free. This is a free gift. God emphasizes that. Everything that God has or God gives to us is free.

15/ And the gift by grace.  Of course, grace is in that chapter. All, is by grace. Let us for a few moments go to Ephesians 3: 2 and there we read, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward:  That’s what this is.  This is the dispensation of the grace of God.  There was never an age like this.  People do not understand the Old Testament, because they do not understand that it was not an age of grace.  People were saved by grace, absolutely, but it was not an age of grace.  In the Old Testament, God had a nation and He kept it under the law.  There is a difference between the Old Testament message and this message of grace for today.  

David was famous for the number of men he killed. David’s mighty men were famous for the number of men they killed, and if you go to the Old Testament, you’ll it is killing in the Old Testament.  David, to get his wife, had to go out and kill 200 Philistines, he boasted about it.  What is the message that Paul has for us?  It is how a man can get saved, and that is the difference, isn’t it?  In the Old Testament, God had a nation and He was protecting that nation, in order that we might have salvation by grace.  He took that nation and gave them His word, gave them His covenants, and He said to other nations, don’t you dare touch Israel. If you touch Israel, I’ll bring judgement down upon you.  

So, God told Israel, you kill these people if they interfere, if they try to touch you, so the Old Testament is a story of killing. But the New Testament, God doesn’t do that.  He tells us how we might be saved by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.  Did you ever see a vehicle coming down the road with its sirens wide open, its big red light on the top, flashing? You will notice everybody gets out of the way.  That was Israel.  God said to other nations, stand aside, My, nation is coming along, and they have the covenants and they have My work, don’t you dare touch them.  Praise God, today we are living in the age of grace, the age of the free gift, plus nothing. 

Ref: 9/20/1964 / 208 - DO YOU LOOK LIKE YOUR FATHER? / 2020

SOMEBODY'S PERFECT

FROM B SMITH'S KITCHEN WINDOW

637-1 SOMEBODY'S PERFECT
Pastor Henry F. Kulp
October 11, 1981

John 1: 1 - 3 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made.

As we have studied the last two Sunday mornings we have seen that Jesus Christ is Very God. It is clear, that if you want to be saved, if you are trusting Jesus Christ you must believe that he is God.

John 8: 24 I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins.

1/ Words cannot be clearer. Ye shall die in your sins for if ye believe not that I am He, ye shall die in your sins. He is literally taking the name of God. "I AM".

2/ The Jews who listened to Him, knew quite well that I AM was Jehovah God, and Jesus Christ is saying I AM Jehovah.

3/ Exodus 3: 13 -15 And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is his name? what shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses, I Am That I Am: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I Am hath sent me unto you. And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations.

When Moses asked the Name of God, I AM that I AM was the mysterious answer. Then He says at the end of the 14^th vs. You say unto the children of Israel, I AM has sent me unto you, and in vs. 15 He says, you tell the children of Israel, the Lord God of your fathers--the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob has sent me unto you. 

So, I AM is the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob. So Jesus Christ is taking that Name.

4/ But now we have another problem that we must face. How can this God be a real man? Certain questions force themselves upon us. Was He really a man? Was He a real man? Being a man did He cease to be God? These are questions all of us must answer. Then another important question, Is it necessary that we believe that Jesus Christ was a real man? So we will search the Scriptures this morning to find the answer to these questions.

5/ John 8: 39 - 40 They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.

Here He was debating with the Jews as to whether, or not they were the children of Abraham. He said, If you were Abraham’s children, you would do the works of Abraham, but now ye seek to kill me--a Man who has told you the truth which I have heard of God. So there is no question--He calls Himself a man.

6/ Acts 2: 22 Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:

In Peter’s famous sermon on the day of Pentecost, he said to the nation, Ye men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a Man approved unto God among you by miracles and wonders and signs. So you see that Peter does not hesitate to say that Jesus Christ is a Man. In the following verses Peter hastened to announce also the preexistence and the deity of this man. But, he does not scorn to use the term that tells us there was humanity in Jesus Christ.

7/ Whether Jesus Christ was Man was debated in the early church. In those early days they never had a question as to His deity. But, it was hard for them to understand how God could also be a man. But, the leaders of the early church were very dogmatic as to the manhood of Jesus Christ. So here we have what theologians call the hypostatic union, the humanity and the deity of Jesus Christ.

8/ Paul was sure of the real humanity of Jesus Christ. Romans 5: 15 But not as the offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. And the gift of grace which is by one man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many, so that also is clear.

9/  I Corinthians 15: 21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. He writes to the church at Corinth, for since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead.

10/ I Timothy 2: 5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; Again, he calls Jesus a man when he writes to Timothy, for there is one God and one Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus. Believe me, anyone who reads the Scriptures with honesty in his heart will soon be convinced that Jesus Christ was god and that Jesus Christ was a real, or true man. 

11/ To show also that Jesus Christ was a real or true Man, we read in Matthew 4: 2 That when He had fasted 40 days and nights He was desperately hungry. So the human nature of Jesus Christ knew the weakness and suffering that comes from the lack of food. And when he had fasted forty days and forty nights, he was afterward an hungered. Any person upon this earth who cries to God that he is hungry, will know that God is conscious of what it is like to be hungry.

12/ John 4: 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. His body experienced a great and overpowering weariness. Notice in the 6th verse. It says, He, being wearied with His journey sat by the well. You have to realize they were within a few hundred yards of Sychar, and He sat on the curb of the well to rest and recover His strength, while His disciples went on into the village in pursuit of food. Tired by the long jorney, worn by the heat of the day, the Man, Jesus Christ, said to the woman of Samaria, I thirst, give Me a drink. So He was tired and He was thirsty.

13/ Matthew 8: 20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head. Being a real man, He had a need of sleep. Perhaps the saddest words that ever came from His lips were spoken when He stood in the gathering dusk and said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man hath not where to lay His head." Many were the weary nights that He wrapped Himself in His mantle and lay under the canopy of the stars to refresh His weary body.

14/ Mark 10: 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go they way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. Here we have the case of the rich, young ruler. He came to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ, beholding him, loved him. He loved.

15/ John 11: 5 Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. Here we have that Jesus loved Martha and her sister, Mary, and Lazarus. It was a home where they entertained Him often, and whenever He had time, He turned to the shelter of their home in Bethany and refreshed His spirit with companionship and communion with other human beings whom He had loved.

16/ Matthew 9: 36 But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd. Here we see a real human instinct. Here we read, but when He saw the multitude, He was moved with compassion on them. Why? Because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no Shepherd.

17/  What was the purpose of the incarnation? Why did God, Why did Deity become humanity? He become a real man?

18/ The God-man is the answer to man's unceasing search for God. Man has a natural instinct to worship, and man has tried to satisfy that instinct by making idols, and we have in Romans 1: idols of wood, gold and stone. Man as wanted to see God, that's why he paints pictures of God. He wants to know what God looks like--he tries to form in his mind an image of God. So God put Himself in the place where man could see Him.

John 1: 18 tells us that "no man has seen God at  any time. The only begotten Son which is in the bosom of the Father, He hath declared Him." That means a manifestation or a showing forth so that the only thing of God you will ever see is Jesus Christ’s humanity.

19/ This should be almost at the beginning John 1: 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth. Notice that this verse starts with the conjunction, And. Here, and, connects two thoughts, but I don't believe this means to connect verse 13 with 14, but rather verse 1 with verse 14. In the beginning was the Word, and now the Word became flesh. Between verses 1 and 14 we have a big parenthesis. We see that God became a man, a real man, a perfect man. You hear the phrase over, and over, again, "no one is perfect" but when we look in the Bible we see a man who was perfect in every way.

20/ John 1: 14 And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Here we read, and dwelt among us. This is a great key in the understanding of the humanity of Jesus Christ, or why He became true Man. His sojourn among us was supposed to be temporary, in order, that John might express the temporary aspect of the coming of the Logos, he used a Greek word which, rightly translated, is TENTED, OR PITCHED HIS TENT. A tent is a thing that is used for a temporary dwelling, either by Nomads, or by soldiers. It was not the purpose of Jesus Christ to  come down here and live as long as He could. He could have lived much longer than the short span of His 33 years. We are born into this world to live, but he was born into this world to die.

21/ Now we must see when Jesus Christ arose from the tomb, He did not merely have a restoration, or a resuscitation of the old body. His old body was gloriously transformed. He took uponHimself a new resurrection body. Which was unique and immortal, it couldn't die. His body that died became a seed for a resurrection body, never again will He come back into the body He had then, in the body of His humiliation, but in the body of His resurrection, the body of His glorification. Never again was He to die. He is now to live forever as the King of kings and Lord of lords, the only Potentate.

22/ We entitled this message, "Somebody's Perfect". When Jesus Christ was on earth, He was the perfect Man. Let's look at some Scriptures that will prove this. I John 3: 5 And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.

Here we read, "and in Him is no sin." II Corinthians 5: 21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. He knew no sin. 
Hebrews 4: 15 For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Yet without sin. So it is very clear that Jesus Christ was not a sinner. He did not have a sin nature, and He was the perfect Man in flesh.

23/ The question is often asked, could Jesus Christ have sinned? He was a perfect Man, but could He have sinned? I say absolutely not. This perfect man could never have sinned no matter what. Hebrews 7: 26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate fro sinners, and made higher than the heavens; Here we read He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners.

24/ It is ridiculous to teach that Jesus Christ could have sinned. It was absolutely impossible for this perfect Man to have an evil thought, to succumb to the devil.

25/ Could Jesus Christ have sinned when He was tempted there in Matthew 4? He was in the wilderness, facing that great tempter, Satan. Of course not. One Scripture will answer forever that proposition that He could have sinned when the devil tempted Him.

John 14: 30 Hereafter I will not talk much with you: for the Prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me. Here He says, the Prince of this world cometh and has nothing in Me. It is impossible that Satan could have caused that true Man to sin. There was nothing in Him that Satan could use--no old nature.

Ref: 10-11/1981 / 637-1 SOMEBODY'S PERFECT / 3/18/2020

  

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