THE GROANING CREATION

Photo taken by B Smith's Kitchen Window

291 – THE GROANING CREATION

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

March 21, 1965

Romans 8: 17 – 23 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

You remember the last few weeks we have been talking a great deal about being joint-heirs with Jesus Christ. As members of the body of the Lord Jesus Christ, He will not parcel out our inheritance to us, He will not divide it, but we will share it equally with the Lord Jesus Christ. We’ll all have the same amount, even Jesus Christ will have the same amount as we do. This is a glorious truth. We have been showing you that He tells us because this is true we will be glorified. Certainly when we walk down the streets today, people do not say, there goes a child of God, look at the glory of that individual. If you get into a bus and sit down, people don’t turn around and stare, because you look just like any other individual. But there is a day coming when you will come into possession of this wonderful inheritance, and you will be glorified. Even your physical body will be glorified.

1/ You remember in Ephesians 5 Jesus Christ said that He loved the Church and gave Himself for the Church, and He is going to present the Church to Himself as a glorious church.

2/ II Corinthians 4: 17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;

Here we read, our light affliction which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Here he gives us a great comparison, or it may be a contrast. A contrast between light and heavy. For the word, weight, means heavy. The afflictions are light, but the glory is heavy, and we’ll have to have new bodies to bear the weight of glory—the old body couldn’t bear it. So there is something heavy about glory. We think the things we bear now are heavy, but they are only light when contrasted with the glory that is going to be revealed in us. Now notice a far more exceeding and eternal—how he piles on the words—he can’t say it in one word. He has to pile up adverbs.

3/ It is going to be eternal glory—this is uncreated glory. This is the glory that God has by the very nature that He is God. The word, eternal is interesting. We have tried to explain it and other preachers have tried to explain it in the past. We have tried to illustrate it by saying if every leaf on every tree in the summer time represented a thousand years, how long a time would that be? The leaves on a single tree would take us far into the ages of eternity. The leaves of a thousand trees would take us a thousand times farther into the endless ages of eternity, but it will only be the beginning of eternity. If every grain of sand in all the seashores of the world represented a thousand years, how long would it be before that marvelous number was completed and how far into eternity would we be? But single out one grain, and say it is a thousand years, and separate another grain and that is another thousand years—how long would it take you to separate the grains of sand that you can hold in your hand? And when you are through with all the sand from the seashores of the Atlantic, go to the Pacific and other seas and then the sands of the deserts of the world, you would just be starting eternity, and this glory is eternal.

4/ Hebrews 1: 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

Here we have a wonderful portion of Scripture. We are going to be like the Lord Jesus Christ. We are going to share in His glory, and what is His glory like? 

Last week we went to Matthew 17: 1, 2 where His face did shine as the sun. And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart. 2 And was transfigured before them: and his face did shine as the sun, and raiment was white as the light. 

I want to go beyond that this week, and here in Hebrews 1: 3 we read, Who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; 

The word, His, is in italics, and it should be left out. So, it should read, Who being the brightness of glory. Christ is the brightness of all glory. In the margin of our Scofield Bible, instead of the word, effulgence, and it means radiant splendor—brilliance or brightness. So, you have the effulgence of all glory, and it is Jesus Christ, so it means He is the brightness, or the brilliance, or the radiant splendor of all glory, and actually this word could be translated by a flood of light. The Lord Jesus Christ in His Person, is a flood of glory—all the light in the universe—so actually the glory is light, and this goes along with Matthew 17: 2 when His face did shine as the sun.

5/ Revelations 18: 1 There we read, And after these things, I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory. 

That angel lighted up the whole world. Where did that angel get his glory? From the Lord Jesus Christ. He was created by the Lord Jesus Christ, and we see in the Bible that angles were seen by the multitude. See if you can work out a problem in glory. If the light from an angel, the glory of one angel can light up this world, what must be the glory of the whole body of angels? There are millions and billions of them in the heavens. If you could see all the glory of the angels gathered in the heavens, when you would see the Lord Jesus Christ, His glory would be far above the angels combined. You would never see the angels for Christ, He would out-shine them.

6/ II Corinthians 4: 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Here we read, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Again, this goes with Matthew 17: 2 And His face did shine as the sun. Certainly no one could paint a face like that. Oil and canvas could not portray this glorified Christ.

7/ I Peter 5: 10 This is an important verse, But the God of grace, who hath called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you. 

Only the God of grace could do that. God has to be the God of grace to call you to glory. The law couldn’t do that. The law robbed you of everything, and that includes glory. Remember, it is eternal glory, it is never going to end in uncreated glory. We don’t get a very good idea of glory down here. We don’t know of any other kind of glory, but to be famous, or to be rich, or to be wise. I don’t know of any other kind of glory. Maybe I’ve overlooked something, but I don’t think so, and this glory is not lasting, for men lose this glory, especially in death, they leave it behind. But this glory is eternal glory. It is glory that shall never end.

8/ This glory is reflected in your physical body, for in I Corinthians 15: 41 - 43 There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from another star I glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raided in incorruption: 43 It is sown in dishonor; it is raided in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power:

It says the resurrection body is a glorious body, and our whole being will be glorious. But this glory is mainly centralized, I believe, in the face. Let us look, first of all at the glory of the law—the Ten Commandments. 

II Corinthians 3: 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraver in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance, which glory was to be done away: 

There was a glory of the law, but it didn’t last, and where did the glory of the law show forth? In the face of Moses. When Moses came out from the presence of the Lord, his face was shining, but that glory did not last. It soon faded and was gone. That glory in the face of Moses was to be abolished.

9/ Let us examine the giving of the law and the shining of Moses’ face. Moses went up into the Mount, and the elders of Israel accompanied him, perhaps half way up the mountain. He told the elders to stay there until he came back. Then he took Joshua a little farther up into the mountain, and told Joshua to stay there until he returned. Moses was there 40 days and 40 nights. Moses was there seven days before the Lord spoke to him. Moses must have been a remarkable man, because we are told on the seventh day God spoke to him, and Moses had been patiently waiting for God to speak. Then God gave him the law, written by the finger of God. 

He came down out of the Mount, Joshua was waiting for him. He came on down to where he left the elders, but the elders were not there, so they went back down to the nation and said What’s become of Moses? We do not know, so the people said, we have to worship something--let’s make a golden calf, so the golden calf was made, and when Moses came down out of the mount, he came upon the scene, and as you will remember, Moses cast the tables out his hands and break them beneath the mount, and it was a good thing that he did get rid of those commandments.  If Moses had come down into the midst of that nation with those Ten Commandments in his hands, the whole nations would have been destroyed, it could not have been otherwise. It was a good thing that Moses got rid of them. Yet 3,000 died. Than we read that Moses went into the mount with God again. 

Exodus 33: 21 And the LORD said unto Moses, Behold, there is a place by me, that thou shall stand upon a rock: 22 And it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rock, and will cover thee with my hand while I pass by: 23 And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen.  

God’s back was turned. When Moses went up into the mountain, God turned His back. What blessing could there be with God having turned His back on the people? 3,000 had already been destroyed. There is not much glory in that, is there? I am glad I am under grace and not under law, when he came down from the mountain the second time, his face was shining. 

Exodus 34: 29 And it came to pass, when Moses came down from mount Sinai with the two tables of testimony in Moses’ hand, when he came down from the mount, that Moses wist not that the skin of his face shone while he talked with him. 

When he came to the people his face was shining, and the people were afraid. Most people think Moses’ veil on his face was to hide the glory so he could talk with them. That isn’t true. Moses talked with them while his face was shining. He made them come to him. 

Notice this 30^th vs. And when Aaron and all the children of Israel saw Moses, behold, the skin of his face shone; and they were afraid to come nigh him. 

They were afraid to come to him, so Moses called them to him. He didn’t put a vail on at this time.  He called them to him and he talked to them while his face was shining. Most people believe that in order to get the people to come to him he had to put a vail on his face, but he didn’t.  He made them come, he called and they came. There is no vail as yet.

Then notice the 33^rd vs. And till Moses had done speaking with them, he put a vail on his face.

The word “till”, you will find is in italics and shouldn’t be there because it alters the meaning of the verse, so it ought to read, and Moses having done speaking with them, put a veil on his face.  

Then notice the 34^th vs. But when Moses went in before the LORD to speak with him, he took the vail off, until he came out. And he came out, and spake unto the children of Israel that which he was commanded.

And when Moses went in before the Lord to speak with Him, he took the veil off. So, when he was through with the people he put a veil on his face until he went into the tabernacle, into God’s presence. He took the veil off to get a new shine, because the old shine was gone. Moses put a veil on his face so that the people wouldn’t know that the glory was going to fade away. He didn’t want them to know that. So, he took the veil off and went into the presence of God, and the Lord made his face to shine again. Then he came out to the people with his face shining. The people didn’t know but what it was the same shine. But he had a new one. He came out and talked to the people, then put the veil on again, and kept it on so they wouldn’t know that the glory was fading. 

Notice, II Corinthians 3: 13 And not as Moses, which put a veil over his face that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end, or the fading. That is why he put the veil on, so they couldn’t look to the fading of that which is abolished.  

10/ But now let us go to Hebrews 1: 3 Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high;

11/ Revelations 18: 1 And after these things I saw another angel come down from heaven, having great power; and the earth was lightened with his glory.

12/ I Corinthians 4: 6 For God, who commanded the light to shine out of the darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Notice the glory of God in Jesus Christ is mainly in His face. His whole being, of course is glorified. 

II Corinthians 4: 6 with II Cor.  3: 13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished: 

The face of Moses, the face of Jesus Christ. The glory that was in the face Moses didn’t last, but the glory that is in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ is eternal. This glory is going to be ours someday. Our faces will shine with the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. Just as His face does shine greater than this noon-day sun, just so shall our faces shine and our beings shall be glorified.

13/ II Corinthians 3: 18 But we all (that sort of sounds Southern, doesn’t it?) But we all with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.  

It is true that someday we are going to be recipients of this glory, but what about right now?  We are to catch the glory of God and reflect it--of course, it will be a poor reflection, because we do not have our resurrection bodies. We are to look at the face of Jesus Christ in glory till we catch the glory. How much glory is there in this verse? There is glory upon glory. The word, beholding, can be translated, showing forth, or reflecting. The word, glass, is the word mirror. When you look into a mirror you see yourself. You don’t see anyone else. You can’t see the Lord by looking in a mirror, and it says, beholding as in a mirror. If you look in a mirror, you will see yourself, that isn’t what you want to see--you’ve seen enough of that fellow. So, it should be translated reflecting as a mirror the glory of the Lord. 

You have seen a little boy take a small mirror in his hand, and throw the sun in your eyes, that is just the reflection of the sun, and I believe that is what this verse means.  When the little glass is turned aside, it is just same as it always was. The glass doesn’t absorb the glory it merely reflects the glory. We are to keep our faces toward the Lord Jesus Christ to reflect His glory, and isn’t that exactly what we are told in Hebrew 12: 2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Looking unto Jesus? The glory is reflected by us. We are told to be mirrors we are to be reflectors of the Lord Jesus Christ.  But one of these days we will not be mirrors reflecting that glory, but we will actually have that glory.

AMEN   

               

Ref: 03/21/1965 / 291 – THE GROANING CREATION / 2020

THE SECRET CONCLUSION OF THIS AGE

Photo taken from B Smith's kitchen window

  333 - THE SECRET CONCLUSION OF THIS AGE

  December 30, 1973

  Pastor Henry F. Kulp

I Corinthians  15: 51 - 58 

Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, 52 In a moment, in the twinkling an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. 54 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. 55 O death, where is they sting? O grave, where is thy victory? 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 58 There, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

This is a marvelous chapter—the resurrection chapter. To start with this morning I want to contrast two verses in this chapter. Verse 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ,  we are of all men most miserable.

This would reduce the Christian life to a here and now affair. But this is exactly what the left-wing teachers and preachers are doing. They make Christ a great teacher, a 

Way-shower, telling us what needs to be done in our present day and age. Is it any wonder that many of our young people are disillusioned, for the world is no better today than it was ten years ago—as a matter of fact, it is worse, and Paul sets up a principle here that tells us Christianity is not mainly for this world. It has some fringe benefits, but the main thrust is not for here and now.

 1/  Now the next verse I’d like you to see is Verse 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 

The word that is important here is the word victory. The Christian life has victory. Many talk about a victorious life, but this victory is not a victory that takes place on earth in this present day and age, but is a future one. Every true child of God is promised victory.  And that is what we want to study this morning.

2/  This age will end with a secret—it started with a secret and it ends with a secret. It started with the blinding of Israel. Romans 11: 25  For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

There could be no church, the body of Christ, until Israel was blinded. So the Age of Grace opens with a secret and closes with a secret.

3/  Verse  51 WE SHALL NOT ALL SLEEP. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, What a lovely word this is to describe the condition of those who have died in Jesus Christ.  Let us see it again. 

I Thessalonians  4: 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

And here it means, put to sleep by Jesus.  And this, of course, refers to the physical body.

4/   But then we are told, but we shall not all sleep.  There is going to be one generation that will not die. There will be one generation that will be an exception.

5/   There are three reasons why believers want the Rapture, or this secret to take place.

1. They are unhappy with life here and now. Life is a burden so they want the

Rapture to take place so they can escape their life situation. But this should not be so. The believer should not be longing for the Rapture to escape the problems of life. God has given us the Bible, doctrine in that Bible, and promises so that we can have joy in this life.

2. Then there are those who are afraid to die. Some want to escape the Valley of the Shadow. It is probably true that many of them are afraid of how they will die.

II Corinthians  5: 8 We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.

3. They love the Lord and want to be with the Lord. II Timothy  4: 8 Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

To love His appearing means they love Him, it means they are overwhelmed by their love for Him. That they want to be with Him. The things on earth have grown strangely dim as they contemplate this meeting. 

6/  But it matters not whether we live, or die in Christ, we shall be changed. It makes no difference whether we are dead, or not. 

This truth is also taught in I Thessalonians 4: 16 - 18. For the Lord himself shall depend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of god: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: 17 Then we which are alive and rempinshall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.

It could be this present generation that will not die. That we do not know.

7/  There is a terrible gimmick used by some who claim to love the Bible. They try to scare people into living for the Lord Jesus. They say if you are doing anything displeasing to the Lord at the time of the Rapture, you will not go up. You should live for the Lord, but it makes no difference whether in fellowship, or out of fellowship with the Lord, you will go up. 

8/   CHANGED  In the Greek it is AL - LAS’ – SO and it means to make different.  So you see, we are going to be changed. Made different. I am sure this will be a victory for us. For instead of having a human body, we will have a spiritual body.

9/   HOW LONG TO CHANGE OVER? It is the word, moment, which is AT - OM - OS and this means an atom of time. This means 1, 10 millionth of a second. Try to measure that if you can. Do you know of any instrument that is capable of measuring a 10 millionth of a second? 

10/  At the last trump. Some say this makes it Jewish—not at all. Why is it called the last trump? The expression was very familiar to people in those days. It was in common use in the Roman army. When a Roman camp was about to be broken up, whether in the middle of the night or day, the trumpet was sounded. The first blast meant, strike tents,  and prepare to depart. The second meant, fall into line, and when that which was called the last trump was sounded it meant march away. The Apostle uses that figure of speech and when the last trump is sounded this age is over, and we march away to be with the Lord. 

11/  The dead and the living are brought forth here. So we have two groups, the dead and the living. 

12/  Verse 53  Corruptible speaks of those who are dead, mortal as those who are living.  A mortal can die, but he puts on immortality so he cannot die. 

13/  Verse 54  Then is an important key word in this verse.  Only when the Rapture takes place will the saying be brought to pass—death is swallowed up in victory.  This is a quote from Isaiah 25: 8 He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord GOD will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from all all the earth: for the LORD hath spoken it.

And the words “swallowed up” means to DRINK DOWN we have a phrase that is similar to it today—BOTTOMS UP we mean that we drain the last bit that is in the glass, so there is nothing left in the glass. So death is completely abolished for us in this event. 

14/  Verse 55 O death, where is they sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

Here Paul quotes Hosea 13: 14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.

When the grave claims the body of the believer it is a victory for the grave. And there is a sting in death. Have you ever lost a loved one? You know the bitter tears that flow.  You don’t cry for the one who dies, but you cry for those who are left behind, and there is a sense in which the body is left in the grave. 

15/  TRY TO IMAGINE IF YOU CAN, NO MORE PARTING, NO MORE FUNERALS, DEATH IS BANISHED.  What a comforting truth this is. 

16/  Verse 56 The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law. 

The sting of death is sin and this refers to the old sin nature. That is the sting of death—in having an old sin nature. And the strength of the old sin nature is the law. This is because the law proves we have an old sin nature. But yet there is another reason for saying the strength of sin is the law. But when you personally keep the law, are able for a period of time to keep the Ten Commandments, what have you produced? Human good, which is as filthy rags. This is all self-righteousness, which is completely rejected by God. 

17/  Verse 57 But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The word, thanks, is the word grace.  So it should read, grace to God.  Then the word, giveth, is another key.  Grace and giving go hand in hand. The victory is given to us because of grace. Not who and what we are, but who and what God is and what He has done. But how the old nature hates the grace of God.

18/  Verse 58 There, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

Here He shows that the contemplation of this victory is a motivation to service. 

      1.  Be ye, is literally, become. IT IS PRESENT, ACTIVE IMPERATIVE, and it means keep on continuously becoming stedfast.

      2.  Beloved brethren, shows they are saved. Carnal but saved I Corinthians 3: 1 - 3 And I, brethren, couldn’t speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. 2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for thitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. 3 For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men 

      3.  There are three applications of this victory to the believer’s life. 

           1.  Stability in time. Romans 16: 25 Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and he preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began,

           2.  Production in Time

           3. Purpose in Time

19/   We are to be steadfast, unmovable, and the word, steadfast means to be

stabilized, and the word, unmovable, is unshakable. This same thought is given to us

in Ephesians 4: 14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and

carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness,

whereby they lie in wait to deceive;

20/   Abounding means multiplying the work of the Lord. How many believers are just

plain lazy?

21/   And there should be a purpose in time. Your labor is not in vain. Your work is not in

vain, empty, or useless.

AMEN

Ref: 12/30/1973 / 333 - THE SECRET CONCLUSION OF THIS AGE / 04/11/2020

GRACE IS THE ANSWER

321 - GRACE IS THE ANSWER

December 28, 1976

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

Ephesians  2: 7 - 10  That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.

Here we have a beautiful portion of Scripture. Most of you know two of the four verses by heart, and I would like you to know all four of them and see the wonderful truths that are presented here.

1/  God, of course, has a plan and it is not a series of accidents, lucking out and working out.  God is a perfect God, and of course, a perfect God had produced only a perfect plan.

2/  We have to see that there are three divisions in the believer’s life. 

  #1 is salvation.

  

  #2 is life on this earth before we die, or are raptured. 

  #3 eternity when we are with the Lord. Vs. 7 is the third division—eternity for the believer. Vs. 8, 9 are division #1—this is salvation, passing from death into life, passing from a child of Satan to a child of God. Vs. 10 is a division of # 2, our life after salvation on this earth—prior to death or rapture. We want to look at these three sections and see what God has to say.

3/  Vs. 7 that in the ages to come. That introduces a purpose clause, because He is going to do something for us in the ages to come. IN THE AGES THAT ARE COMING ONE UPON ANOTHER. So this means eternity future, God is going to do something for us.  

4/  HE MIGHT SHOW is a very interesting word in the Greek—N - DIKE - NEW - ME - and it means to show, to manifest, to give outward proof, to demonstrate. THAT HE MIGHT BY OUTWARD DEMONSTRATION 

5/  What is He going to show us?  The exceeding riches of His grace.  The word, exceeding is HOOP - PEAR - BAL - O. Balo means to throw.  And hoop means beyond, and here it can mean super, and it is in the Present Tense. That means he’s going to continue doing this throughout all eternity —all during division # 3. What a future we have!  Riches, or wealth, so that He might outwardly demonstrate to us, the super-wealth of His grace. Romans 5: 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:

6/  How will this differ from His demonstration of Grace today? Today we are saved and kept by grace, but He is not able to demonstrate His super-wealth of grace to us, because we still have our old nature. He has to send suffering into our lives, He has to train us, correct us, and then from time to time send prosperity into our lives. But in eternity future we will be minus the old nature, and all God will shower upon us will be prosperity, no need for suffering, or correction. What a future lies ahead for us, we do get glimpses of it at this present time, but only a glimpse. 

7/  Then also, we have to see that we couldn’t stand to have anything but prosperity.  We would be insufferable, self-centered, and we would want glory rather than giving it to God. 

8/  Grace means everything for nothing.  We might ask the question, how much grace is a super-wealth of Grace? Romans 5: 20 Moreover the law entered, that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 

There we see a superabounding amount of Grace. Far more then we can ever comprehend. And God is going to be permitted to reveal this to us in eternity future. 

9/  IN HIS KINDNESS

Kindness, CRAY - STOW - TACE And it means generosity.  God has a perfect  generosity.  Here is a father who has a son.  He is always out of line, doing that which is wrong, so the father cannot demonstrate his generosity, because he is constantly discipling, correcting, but the time comes when the son decides to change his lifestyle, then his father begins to show his generosity. It is the son who is holding back the father’s generosity.  IN CHRIST JESUS all of this is true because we have union with Christ.

10/  Vs. 8, 9 Now we are in division # 1. By grace are ye saved.  It is in Perfect Tense in the Greek.  It is something that happened in all the past that goes on forever.  That is the cross.

11/  Through faith.  This is the instrumentality of Salvation, Faith and Grace are the important sections of salvation.  Grace is the divine part, faith is the human part. The only things you do is believe, and there is no merit in believing. It is the gift of God.  And it should read, Not out from yourselves.  The word, that, is two-toe and it is neuter gender.  Grace and faith are feminine gender, so that cannot modify grace or faith, but rather salvation.

12/  It is a gift of God.

13/ Not of works—what does this mean?  That means not of human good.  We need to see we have an old nature that is not only capable of sin, but it is capable of human good—doing many fine things. But we need to see that human good is dead. Hebrews 6: 1  Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God.

All human good works are dead works. They are dead as far as God is concerned, not as far as man is concerned. Then we need to see they are not only dead to God, but they are not acceptable to God. Isaiah  64: 6 But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away. 

All the nice things we do, all the kind things we do are rags.  

14/  Human good cannot save man. Romans  11: 6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

II Timothy  1: 9 Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,

Titus 3: 5, 7 Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; 7 That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

15/  Let us notice the old nature and human good. Man was created without a sin nature, therefore he did know human good. But when man fell, man received an old sin nature, and the first thing man did after he sinned was human good. We have operation fig-leaves. The first thing was not sinful, but human good, trying to cover his nakedness.  

16/  Lest any man should boast. What does it mean to boast? To find something in your life that makes you look good. Man is constantly doing this in religion.

I Corinthians 1: 30, 31 But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, redemption: 31 That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. 

I Corinthians 4: 7 For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?

AMEN 

REF: 12/26/1976 / 321 - GRACE IS THE ANSWER / 04/10/2020

GOD'S SUPERMAN

88 - God’s Superman
December 23, 1973 
Pastor Henry F. Kulp






Philippians 2: 5 - 8 Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Here we have one of the most important Scriptures that we can study and understand. It has to do with the hypostatic union. The most neglected and yet one of the most important subjects in the Bible. I am sure that most of you say, what does that mean?

1/ It is a doctrine over which there has been much controversy since the beginning of the Age of Grace. Most cults have not understood this truth.

2/ In the person of Christ, there are two natures inseparably united. WITHOUT MIXTURE, WITHOUT LOSS, OR TRANSFER OF THESE ATTRIBUTES— WITHOUT LOSS OF SEPARATE IDENTITY. Christ is both God and man. He has identity as God and identity as man.

3/ The cults say Jesus Christ is Deity and not humanity. Or, they say He is humanity and not Deity. They cannot understand this union. Some say He was God, but when He became man, He gave up His Deity and, of course, this is impossible.

4/ In vs.6 Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: He was in the form of God. Here it speaks of His Deity. HE THOUGHT IT NOT FORGERY TO USE GOD’S SIGNATURE WITH HIS LIPS. 

He kept saying, “I AM”. John 18: 8 Jesus answered, I have told you that I am he: if therefore ye seek me, let these go their way:

Here Christ says, “I AM”. If He is not God, then He is guilty of a terrible deed. He was guilty of forgery. If I go down to the bank and I want some money because I need some money, but I haven’t any money in the bank, and I know I haven’t any money in the bank. I pick up a check and write out an amount--say $5,000, and I know that you have $5,000 in the bank, so I sign your name, and then cash the check against your account. I am breaking the law--I am a forger. I am guilty of a crime and spend time in prison. If Christ used the Name of God and He is not God, then He is not worth believing in, trusting in. He is a criminal.

5/ Satan desired to be equal with God. Isaiah 14: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.

And he was the highest of all God’s creation. He was the anointed cherub, he was the sum, full of beauty and wisdom, but he wasn’t satisfied. He wanted to be like God. BUT ONLY GOD CAN BE LIKE GOD. SO, THEREFORE, JESUS CHRIST MUST BE GOD.

6/ You remember Eve. This was her sin. Genesis 3: 5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.

She thought it was not robbery to be equal with God. The only One who can make that statement is Jesus Christ.

Now, I would like you to see vs. 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: He took upon Him the form of a slave and was made in the likeness of men.

LIKENESS
HOM-OY-O-MAH. It means He was like a member of the human race, but also, He was different. In that in His humanity, He was superior to any man who ever lived. No member of the human race was as strong as He, as great as He, as intelligent as He, or as brave, or anything else.

8/ HE HAD THE SAME PHYSICAL STRUCTURE, BUT HE WAS DIFFERENT—A male of the species.

How I dislike religious art—Christ with a scrawny, weak body. He was the most powerful that ever lived. In His humanity, He was a man in every sense of the word, but He was the greatest Man who ever lived. He was a superman.

9/ Let me show you a few of the reasons why He became a man:

    1/ TO BE OUR SAVIOUR 
He died to be our Saviour. He could not die as Deity, Jesus Christ as God is Eternal Life, and Eternal Life cannot die. As God, He is omnipresent. In other words, everywhere present, and He could not reduce Himself to one place, the cross, if He were not a man.

    2/ MEDIATOR  
I Timothy 2: 5, 6 And if a man also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive lawfully. 6 The husbandman that laboureth must be first partaker of the fruits. Jesus Christ in His divine nature could not be a Mediator. He had to be a man. 

Let us look at Job 9: 1, 2, 32, 33. Then Job answered and said, 2 I know it is so of a truth: but how should man be just with God? 32 For he is not a man, as I am, that I should answer him, and we should come together in judgment. 33 Neither is there any daysman betwixt us, that might lay his hand upon us both.

A Mediator must be equal with both parties of the Mediation. He had to be both God and man. The only way to bridge the gap between God and man was to become a man. As God He could not. But as God and man, He could.

    3/ KING OF THE JEWS 
One of the promises given to David was that from Him would come One Who would be King. The program of Israel was four-fold: a land, a seed, a throne and a king.

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

Psalms 72: 11 Yea, all kings shall fall down before him: all nations shall serve him.
As Deity, He could not be the King of the world. He had to be a Man to be King.

10/ John 8: 58 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am. We have His Deity. In John 19: 28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. He said, “I thirst.” Deity cannot thirst.

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. 40 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. 

John 4: 6 Now Jacob's well waas there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. 

He grew tired (just as a man) and needed sleep. Being in the fashion of a man he needed sleep and water.

11/ Philippians 2: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

FOUND
U-RISK-O. And, it means recognized. Having been recognized in fashion. And the word Fashion, in the Greek SKAY-MAH. THIS IS AN OVERT LIKENESS. This Scripture should read, Having been recognized in outward appearance as a Man, He humbled Himself. Again, Deity cannot be humbled. Only a Creature, or man can be humbled. This is another reason for Him becoming a man.

12/ OBEDIENT
WHO-PAY-KOSE means total obedience, total submission to authority. In this case it is to the Father’s authority as a Judge, as God judged the sin of the world in Christ, and it should be to the extent of death, even the death of the cross. He didn’t die a heroic death. He didn’t die a normal death. It isn’t a matter that He just died, but that He died an accursed death. He didn’t die quietly among HIs friends, or on the battlefield, but He died as a criminal. In our day, the gallows, or the electric chair would be the same.

13/ It was a death of shame--that is why it annoys me to see women with crosses as jewelry, for that seems so beautiful. The cross is not a thing of beauty, the cross is a thing of shame. Galatians 3:13. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

14/ Philippians 2: 9 - 11 Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10 That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

THE SON OF GOD HONORED
Because of all this, He has been highly exalted, and none of this would have been possible if He had not been born in Bethlehem of the Virgin.

AMEN

Ref: 12/23/1973 / 88 - GOD'S SUPERMAN / 4/10/2020