[0:00] and we'll continue with our study through this book. Enjoyed last Sunday having Brother Greg Virginia with us.
[0:21] Enjoyed getting to sit down with him a few times for lunch and just getting to know him and getting to know his heart. And I enjoyed his Sunday school lesson about the obstacles to the mission field and showing from some scriptural premises things that he faces on the mission field.
[0:43] And I don't know that every, obviously most of you weren't even here that night. Some of you were here when Andy Hearn spoke on a Wednesday night, a missionary that's been in Nepal for years.
[0:54] And he spoke of the Eastern mindset, which is so far different than the Western mindset and the Hinduism of the nation that he was dealing with.
[1:06] It's not that much different. I suppose it is in some ways. But the thought of this man, Greg Virginia in China, he can't go in there with a big boastful mouth and be this big red, white, and blue American.
[1:21] That just doesn't fly. They don't care. They don't want to hear that. And so he goes in there humbly and subtly and teaching English and building relationships.
[1:32] And he is a very humble guy. I enjoyed that about him. I enjoyed talking with him and seeing that he doesn't think anything of himself. He said more than once to me, anything that's been done there is God. And the souls that were saved and that are still serving Jesus Christ there, that's God's work, God's hand.
[1:48] And he said, I am, he meant it. I am just privileged to be able to go there, to be called to minister for Jesus Christ. And it was a blessing to meet him. And I hope you enjoyed him.
[1:59] I really enjoyed his sermon too as well. And sadly though, we're not, we didn't record that. We're not putting it online. He can't be online at all, being that he wants to get back to China. And that would be kind of counterproductive.
[2:11] So anyway, I enjoyed last week. And now let's get back into Ephesians. We're in chapter 2. And I'd say we're around verse 13, 14, somewhere in there. So just a subtle, slow review here is that verse 1, we were dead in trespasses and sins, but we've been made alive through the Lord Jesus Christ.
[2:31] God, because of his mercy in verse 4, his great love in verse 4, his grace in verse 5 and in verse 8, he saved us when we believed on Jesus Christ and repented of trusting anything else and laid that aside and said, I'll take Christ, what he did on the cross was for me, and I'll believe in him.
[2:53] And then God saves us by his grace as we place our faith in him. There's no works involved in verse 9. And after salvation, God then creates a new man in Christ, a new man inside of us that he says, Jesus, his workmanship.
[3:11] And he ordained that that new man walks in good works. And there's a whole lot more we could comment on that, but we'll try to move past it. Again, he goes to the past and says in verse 11 and 12 that you pretty much had no connection to God.
[3:27] Apart from Jesus Christ, you could have been the most religious person, the most moral person. You could have been keeping every good deed and good law you've ever heard of, and you're just, you're without hope, and you're without God.
[3:40] The bottom line is you're still in your sins. You're still dead in your trespasses and sins. But in Jesus Christ, verse 13, but now in Christ Jesus, there's the, I don't know if it's the key phrase, but it is very key to this study and to being saved.
[3:57] In Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. Now the mention of far off is meaning that you're Gentiles. You were not part of the Jewish community or the way that God worked through Israel, through the covenants.
[4:14] You were Gentiles. And the commonwealth of Israel from verse 12, you weren't part of that. You were far off. But now in Christ, you're made nigh. And so you don't have to go to the Jew as a nation to their law.
[4:27] You don't have to convert to Judaism as it was in the past to get to God. Now you need to go to Christ. And if you go to Jesus Christ, you can bypass that whole setup and you can get straight to God, have your sins forgiven, be made nigh by the blood of Christ.
[4:42] All right, verse 14, for he, that is Jesus Christ, he is our peace. Why does he use the word peace there? He uses it later in verse 17, and came and preached peace to you, which were afar off.
[4:58] Now keep your place, but come to Romans chapter five, just to notice a verse. This is a verse, this is Bible, this is something that we need to know and believe of our condition before Calvary or before Christ.
[5:15] Romans chapter five, look at verse number one. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with God.
[5:28] And you can't end the verse there, through our Lord Jesus Christ. So what happens if you're not justified by faith? Well, this is what you are.
[5:40] Look down at verse number 10. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his son.
[5:50] And so there's a, this is a doctrinal teaching that needs to be understood by sinners and saved alike, is that you don't just go around telling people God loves you and God just, he just wants to save you.
[6:01] Just say the words. And it's all good. A sinner needs to recognize that they're on their way to hell and that they are in, they're deserving of God's judgment against their wicked sins against him.
[6:15] They're not good people. Sinners are not good people. That's your mother. If she's lost, she's not a good person. Your grandmother, the sweetest lady in the world, I know, she's on her way to hell and she's going to get judged by a holy God and find out how wicked she is compared to him.
[6:35] She needs to be justified by faith. Now, it's easy for me to say that about some criminal and some derelict of society, like, oh yeah, they're bad. But no, the sweetest people that you know of, if they're not saved, they're enemies with God.
[6:50] Now, back in Ephesians chapter 2, Jesus Christ is our peace. If you want to be reconciled to a holy God, you're a sinner. You want to be reconciled to him, there's one way. And it's a great way because it's free.
[7:03] It's the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our peace. If you have him, then you can be at peace with God. He'll accept you based upon his son. Remember in chapter 1, we read in verse number 6, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in Christ.
[7:26] We're accepted in Christ. So apart from Jesus Christ, there's no acceptance, and there's no peace. You're not reconciled to God. Alright, so in verse number 14, he is our peace, who hath made both, that's Jews and Gentiles, he hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us.
[7:49] Now there's a wall that's erected back in Genesis chapter 12 with Abraham. And when God calls Abraham out of the Gentile, out of the world, out of the sea, so to speak, he puts a wall up and says, if you're not Abraham, if you're not him, and of his seed, you're out.
[8:11] There was a wall built. And it was built with Abraham, and it passed on to Isaac, and it passed on to Jacob, and the twelve tribes, and all through history, God's dealing with the Jews.
[8:22] He put a wall up. That wall was broken down in Jesus Christ. In verse 14, he is our peace, who hath made both one, and broken down the middle wall of partition between us, having abolished in his flesh.
[8:35] So what took place on Calvary was him abolishing the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances, for to make in himself, there's the phrase again, and again, and again, of twain, Jews and Gentiles, one new man, so making peace, and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby.
[9:01] Now, we're dealing with a new man, it says in verse 15. That's not the inner man of the heart, the new creature in Christ. That's the body of Christ, making of Jews and Gentiles together, anyone who will come to Christ, a new body.
[9:18] Look at Colossians chapter 2. Colossians chapter 2. On this thought of God abolishing and breaking down, what stood in our way, what kept us from getting to God, he removed it.
[9:38] Colossians chapter 2. And I'll just, man, well, why not? Let's start in verse 10.
[9:51] Colossians 2 verse 10. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power, in whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands and putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who hath raised him from the dead.
[10:15] And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.
[10:36] So, there's a lot to say here, but we won't, I won't bore you with it or drag it out any further, I guess. But a lot of the language matched what we just studied in the previous weeks and even mentioned in review here in Ephesians of being dead in your sins, the uncircumcision of your flesh, that's being Gentiles.
[10:55] You have no access, you have no God, no hope, and he quickens us together with Christ. Ye are complete in him. If there's a life verse, I might talk about some of that later on today.
[11:07] If there's a life verse or at least a verse that just says it all, that would be a good one in Colossians chapter 2 there. Ye are complete in him. That's a position that every one of us that has Jesus Christ, we can state with confidence.
[11:24] I don't have to add to my salvation, I don't have to work for it, I don't have to show you, I don't have to prove anything to anybody because in Jesus Christ, it's finished, sins of all trespasses forgiven, all of that's been taken out of the way, and I'm justified by faith.
[11:44] Alright, coming back to Ephesians chapter 2, he abolished in his flesh, he broke down, he took them out of the way, the law of commandments contained in ordinances.
[11:56] Now, this isn't something I'm prepared or want to take the time to study, but I'll just throw it out to you. The Seventh-day Adventist, take, and they don't understand, for one, these passages, and they come up with their own little statements here about the law of God.
[12:13] They believe they need to still submit to the law of God, and they keep the Seventh-day Sabbath, and probably yesterday around here, they were meeting together. And there's a problem, because the Bible says that he broke that thing down, that he abolished it in his flesh.
[12:28] He fulfilled the law. It says in verse 15, the law of commandments contained in ordinances. And they go from that, and they go from Colossians, what we read, to try to interpret the scriptures to say that there's basically two kinds of commandments.
[12:44] And they, I can't think of the one term they use. The one they say is there's the moral law. Oh, and the other one is the ceremonial law. And this is their own concoction here.
[12:56] That's not a scriptural, they're not scriptural words. This is what they teach. When the Bible, if you take the Bible at what it says, it sure makes it look like he just wiped the whole thing out and took it out of the way.
[13:06] But they say, well, no, thou shalt not kill. That's still a commandment, right? He didn't take that away. Well, I'll tell you this, if you killed somebody and are guilty of it, he took that away.
[13:19] He took away what that law was going against you, against your soul. But they say, well, see, there's still some commandments intact, and the seventh day of worship is one of them. He took away these ordinances of circumcision, those certain feast days that they had to keep, or they were cut off from among the people.
[13:36] And so they've interpreted the Bible to match their doctrine. Shame on them. Again, I wasn't really going to go through this, but just understand, they take some of these thoughts from Ephesians 2 and Colossians 2, and try to say that he only took away the ceremonial laws, but the moral laws are still intact, and then they make the seventh day a moral law, of course.
[13:59] Anyway, moving on. Verse 16 of Ephesians chapter 2, that he might reconcile both. That's Jews, Gentiles, unto God, and one body. That'd be the church that he already referenced.
[14:10] Remember back in chapter 1, verse 23, says, which is his body. Previous to that was, made him head over all things, to the church, which is his body.
[14:21] And this body is the church. It's Jews and Gentiles, made up of Jews and Gentiles, that have placed their faith in Christ, and have been quickened from the dead, and placed into Jesus Christ, the body of Christ, a.k.a. the church.
[14:36] All right, he reconciled both unto God, in one body, by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby. Oh, he only slew the ceremonial part of the enmity. It doesn't say anything like that in your Bible.
[14:49] Verse 17, and came and preached peace to you, Gentiles, which were afar off, and, he's preaching peace to them that were nigh, the Jews. They also needed peace.
[15:03] They needed to be reconciled to God. They were sinners just as much as we were. Verse 17, and came and preached peace to you, which were afar off, and to them that were nigh, for through him, that is through Christ, we both, Jews and Gentiles, have access, by one spirit, unto the Father.
[15:23] Now, if you don't know that there's a trinity, that God is a three-part being, there it is in verse 18, through him, the pronoun is Jesus Christ, the antecedent, we both have access, by one spirit, the Holy Spirit of God, unto the Father.
[15:38] All three persons are mentioned in one verse. There's a lot of cases of this in the Bible. People say the word trinity is not in your Bible. But it surely is. The word is not. But surely the concept, and the teaching, the doctrine, is.
[15:53] All right, verse 19, Now therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners. So he's talking to Gentiles, that have been placed in the body of Christ, who were aliens from the commonwealth of Israel.
[16:04] Verse 12, strangers from the covenants of promise. Ye are, Now therefore, ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God.
[16:17] So we're in. Because of Christ, because of what he took out of the way, and made access for us to get in, through the blood of Jesus Christ, verse 13, we are made nigh, we're in, we are of the household of God.
[16:31] We call ourselves brothers and sisters in Christ. We believe that we are children of God, by faith in Christ Jesus. We're of the household of God, waiting for the adoption, when he brings us in completely, and changes us to be like him.
[16:51] Verse 20 says, And are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself, being the chief cornerstone. Now here comes a picture, a picture of the body of Christ, I don't want to say replacing, but he's using the Old Testament analogy of the tabernacle, to show you what we are, a habitation of God.
[17:16] We are a place that God dwells. So we're built upon, now he's given us this chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, this foundation that's laid, and then built upon, that is us.
[17:29] Verse 21, In whom all the building, fitly framed together, groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord, in whom ye also are built together, for an habitation of God, through the Spirit.
[17:45] Now in the Old Testament, it was a tabernacle, where God dwelt, his habitation. The word tabernacle means dwelling place. And they understood that, in the Jewish culture, that they had that building erected, and God dwelt there.
[17:58] He would place his name there. He would place his presence there. Paul says, that's what you are. This body. You're likened to a body, you're likened to a building.
[18:09] These are analogies, that we can understand. This building is built, with all these blocks, individual blocks. He references, perhaps, that we could consider ourselves.
[18:20] He uses the word, fitly framed together. So he doesn't actually, talk about blocks specifically, but if you need to picture it in that way, the building is made up, of individual members.
[18:31] And so is the body, 1 Corinthians 12, the body of Christ, individual members. Come to 1 Peter, chapter 2. Let's look at a verse, that Peter says. And he does use, the word stones, in talking about this building.
[18:55] 1 Peter, chapter 2. And we'll begin in verse 2. As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.
[19:09] If so be ye have tasted, that the Lord is gracious. To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious, ye also, as lively stones, alive, living, not dead, living, as living stones, are built up, a spiritual house, and holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God, by Jesus Christ.
[19:39] So, just like the Old Testament set up, the priests went in, they offered up sacrifices to God. They kept that thing going. They had multiple instruments, and functions in that tabernacle, that from the bread, to the incense, to the brazen altar, and to the certain specific things, that they had to follow, in accordance to doing that correctly.
[20:06] they offered up sacrifices, at that tabernacle to God. And so, Peter likens us, to these lively stones, built together, for a place that God dwells, keep, keep thinking on this, go to 1 Corinthians 3, a place that God dwells in, 1 Corinthians 3, and, in that dwelling, we, are to offer up, spiritual sacrifices.
[20:33] Now, earlier this year, we went, I think it was this year, we went through a study, on Wednesday night, about spiritual sacrifices, that we offer up to God. And a few of them, are mentioned, in, in Hebrews 13, there's something in, Ephesians, and we went through a few, I'd say, I think I want to say, about three or four weeks, of looking at those, spiritual sacrifices, they're not animals, don't bring your animals, to church, don't, don't you dare, try to do that, or we'll have somebody here, and I'll be the one, getting in trouble.
[21:07] But God's not interested, in the blood anymore, is he? The blood doesn't atone, for your sins anymore. He wants to see, spiritual sacrifices, and if you're not sure, what they are, get your Bible out, look them up.
[21:18] 1 Corinthians, chapter 3, and let's come down here, verse 16. Know ye not, that ye, that's plural, the church, these believers, that ye, are the temple of God.
[21:35] Ye are the temple of God. Now you know, from chapter 6, that it says, your body, is the temple, of the Holy Ghost. Chapter 6, and verse 19, your body, is the temple, of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own.
[21:50] And so individually, you have the spirit of God, within you. Collectively, as a body, the Lord God, dwells in us, among us, and with us. Verse 16, again, back in chapter 3, know ye not, that ye are the temple of God, and that the spirit of God, dwelleth in you.
[22:09] If any man defile, the temple of God, him shall God destroy, for the temple of God, is holy, which temple ye are. And it's always plural, in verses 16, and 17.
[22:21] The temple of God, is holy. And as we come in here together, we're to be holy, and cleansed of our sins, and through Jesus Christ, we are. We're sanctified, by the blood of Jesus Christ.
[22:34] And we come in here, to offer up, spiritual sacrifices to God. If you come to church, granted we had a little breakfast, this morning. And maybe that was on, some of your minds, then so be it.
[22:44] Praise the Lord, that was fun. But if you come to church, on every Sunday, thinking what's, what's going to be there, or who's going to be there, what, it's just in your mind, looking for this little bits, and pieces of social interaction, or something, or, you're missing something.
[23:01] You're, we together, are coming together, to offer up, spiritual sacrifices to God. From our, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks. The communicating of giving.
[23:12] We do that here. We give to God. We praise his name. And we together, lift each other up, and edify one another, in Christ. If you're not offering him anything, you're missing out, and you're probably, don't take this wrong, but you're probably dead weight.
[23:29] Dead weight that needs to be, quickened, and stirred up, and changed, and come alive, and get active, and pull your weight. Come back to Ephesians chapter 2 again.
[23:41] Let's finish this chapter here. So there's the analogy, of this temple, or this building, and in verse 22, he says, we're built together, for an habitation of God, through the spirit.
[23:54] spirit. So the father is not, is not descending his throne, as we would picture it in our minds, to dwell in here. But, I'm going to read a verse from John 14.
[24:08] You might want to look at it, if you can, quickly. In John 14, Christ is promising, that the spirit, the comforter, is going to come. And, in the comforter, that is the spirit of God, who God just said there, or Paul just said there, that, it's a habitation of God, through the spirit.
[24:29] So, in the person of the Holy Spirit, is the father, and the son. This is, you don't have to understand it, and I don't, but it's what the scripture teaches, I believe it, the trinity, one member, is God, the fullness of it.
[24:44] But, verse, verse 23, Jesus answered, and said unto him, if a man love me, he'll keep my words, and my father will love him, and we, who, who's we?
[25:01] My father, and we will come unto him, and we'll make our abode with him. So, who's coming to, verse 26, the comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the father will send, in my name?
[25:15] Back in verse 16, I will pray the father, and he shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever, even the spirit of truth. Actually, keep reading that, verse 17, even the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye know him, for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
[25:37] He, who's the he? You say, well, it's the spirit of truth. Yeah, probably so, but at the same time, verse 20, at that day, you shall know that I am in my father, and ye in me, and I in you, and the connection, we get in, in this light to the, the three persons of the Godhead, as one dwells in us, they're all three interconnected, in each member, it's like, we've, we haven't broken through, but he's brought us, or made us nigh, and so the father, dwells, we, Jesus Christ said, verse 23, the father in Christ, will come unto him, and make our abode with him, um, um, well, we'll stop with that, enough of that, there's more references to run on that as well, so in, in verse, the last verse of Ephesians 2, in whom ye also are builded together, for inhabitation of God, through, the spirit, through the spirit, so it's his spirit that comes, and makes his abode in us, but it's in the spirit is,
[26:43] Christ says, I'm there, you know, in Romans 8, it says, the spirit of Christ, it doesn't say, the spirit of God, it says, if the spirit of Christ, let me read that to you, just, turning quickly, uh, so here in verse, in Romans 8, verse 9, it says, 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 not of his, and if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the spirit is life, it's the spirit, Christ, spirit of God, they're all just, the terms are interchanged, because the persons are, in a sense, alright, coming back to Ephesians, let's begin chapter 3 here for a few minutes, and it continues to go, Ephesians chapter 3, for this cause, I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles, remember Paul's in prison, and here he calls himself, Christ's prisoner, 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 word, now we'll pause here just for a moment, and I want to tackle a little bit, of this word dispensation, it came up in chapter 1, and I really didn't say a whole lot about it, and I want to be clear, maybe clearer at least today, about this word, and now, as you know,
[28:14] I trust you're familiar with the term dispensation, and if not, well it's a Bible term, and it has a meaning, now, if you pick up, a lot of theologians, and scholars, and read their works, and their teachings, some of them good men, and pretty good teachings, but a lot of them, say a dispensation, is a period of time, which God, this, this, and the other thing, and in general, they're right, what they're saying, is that God is dealing with man, this way, it could be through the law, and through sacrifices, and holy dates, and then it could be, as we understand now, through the blood of Jesus Christ, and the grace of God, and through faith, and all of that, generally speaking, their, their, breaking down, or understanding, of a dispensation, is correct, but, but to call it a time period, it's, that's not correct, at all, because, there's so much overlapping, in these different, for instance, all the way back to the beginning, or just beyond that, and this is, not a course on dispensations, certain things, carry over, they go on, at the age of conscience, or they call the dispensation, of conscience, after innocence, it, it, it did not just stop, when something else, took place, when,
[29:35] Noah got off the ark, and instituted, what has been called, human government, that didn't just disappear, certain things of that, carry on all the way through, it didn't stop, when God then started, dealing with Abraham, which they call, the dispensation, of promise, or of the patriarch, or some call it, the age of patriarch, or promise, so there's not start stops, like so many think, now when it comes to, this law business, and the old testament, and the new testament, now the covenant thing, you could kind of, draw a line on, but to call dispensations, a, a, period of time, would be inaccurate, because, they overlap, and things continue on, even through today, that were instituted, back in Genesis, now he says, if you've heard of the dispensation, of the grace of God, because of this term, so many have taken, that phrase to say, there's the dispensation, of the grace of God, and it's not, not inaccurate really, but, when you take that phrase, just as it stands, then you have to look, through your Bible, to find other dispensations, and you really don't find, that word being used, elsewhere, like this, this is like, to build it all off, of this one verse, it's kind of a hard thing to do, in Colossians, he says, the dispensation of God, in 1 Corinthians,
[30:52] Paul says, a dispensation of the gospel, is committed unto me, well nobody calls, a time period, a dispensation of the gospel, or no one calls, a time period, the dispensation of God, so, the biblical terminology, doesn't lend itself, to that teaching specifically, but let me tell you, what it is, let's understand this, look at Colossians 1, I'll show you another reference here, just a few pages, to the right, Colossians 1, and it's in verse 25, where this teaching is, or this phrase, Colossians 1, 25, whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation, of God, which is given to me, for you, to fulfill the word of God, and I'll continue reading, just for a moment, even the mystery, notice that word mystery, which hath been hid, from ages, and from generations, but now is made manifest, to his saints, to whom God would, there's the revelation, make known, and he goes on to say, would the riches of the glory, of this mystery, among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory, there's a lot to cover here, what I really just want, to accomplish with this, is giving you an understanding, of the term dispensation, and why it's been, adopted as the term, for the teaching of, quote unquote, dispensationalism, and we are dispensationalists, in that light, that we believe, that there are, that God dealt with mankind, differently, through different ages, or just as, through his word, as he, he alters his dealings, with man, we don't have any problem, with that, that's for somebody, to ignore that, and say no,
[32:43] Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever, that's a nice verse, that's true, but that doesn't mean, he doesn't change, his dealings with man, proof is, you didn't bring an animal, to sacrifice today, or anytime this week, for your sins, so either you haven't sinned, or you're not following, the scripture, or God has altered, how he deals with man, I think we're all dispensationalists, whether you acknowledge it or not, people that don't like, dispensational teaching, are dispensationalists, and they just don't want to admit it, the cross proves it, so here's what it means, the definition of the word, is an exemption, from a rule, or a usual requirement, an exemption, from something, that's already in place, it's also, looked at as a system, of order, or government, especially existing, at a particular time, but it's not, again, not exclusively, a start stop to it, it's subject to change, is the idea, so let me give you, two sentences, where this word's used correctly, and see if you can, make an understanding, of what it means, the priest, asked for dispensation, from his vows, the priest vowed, to live his life this way, but then he asked, for dispensation from it, for, as the definition goes, an exemption, from that rule, he asked to, so there's like, an overriding nature, to what a dispensation is, here's another phrase, or a sentence, the state gave the town, a special dispensation, dispensation, allowing it to ignore, the law in this case, allowing it to ignore, the law in this case, now this applies, really well, to Ephesians chapter 3, a dispense, the dispensation of God,
[34:37] Paul's saying, there has been, an exemption from a rule, or from a system, or from an order, that God has established, in verse 2, if ye have heard, why does he say that, because he says, in verse 1, the prisoner of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiles, Gentiles, what do you mean, God cares about us Gentiles, have you not heard, of the dispensation, of the grace of God, what he's saying, is God has put a, God's, pardoning grace, is being, published, and, and extending, to Gentiles, whereas, it was exclusively, for the Jews, so what God has done, as he has exempted, or, he's created an exemption, the dispensation, of, his grace, an exemption, from the law, from the way, he had ordered, and dealt with man, for so many, hundreds, of years, so when Paul says, if you've heard of, have you heard about, what God is doing, it's a dispensation, it is a, a, a pausing, of one law, or rule, or an overriding, of that law, by another one, and this one is,
[35:51] God is opening up, salvation, for all, he says in verse two, if you have heard, of the dispensation, of the grace of God, which has given me, to you word, how that by revelation, he made known unto me, the mystery, as I wrote a four, and a few words, whereby when you read, you may understand, my knowledge, in the mystery of Christ, what's he saying, well he talked about it, just back there, in chapter two, when we read through there, that you were Gentiles, and they were Jews, and you guys, were separate, but he made both one, and he made peace, through the blood of Christ, and by the body of Christ, and the cross, made a new man, and he preached peace, to you, who were far off, so now he's talking about it, more specifically, here in chapter three, he just wrote about it, in a few words, now let me come back, through chapter two, or chapter three, verse three, and I'll skip the parentheses, where's the parentheses start, yeah, I'll go three to five, so let it flow, in verse three, how that by revelation, he made known unto me, the mystery, verse five, 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, and what exactly, is that mystery, and this revelation, verse six, that the Gentiles, should be fellow heirs, and of the same body, just said that in chapter two, and partakers, of his promise, in Christ, by the gospel, whereof,
[37:21] I was made a minister, according to the gift, of the grace of God, given unto me, by the effectual working, of his power, and just he goes on, and on, now he's going to say, this word mystery, a bunch of times, here he says in verse three, said it again, I just read it, where was that, oh, it's later on actually, in verse nine, and we read it, in Colossians, when he says, the dispensation of God, to me, given for you, and he says something, about a mystery, now a lot of people, I'm going to close with this, there's a lot of different, takes on studying the Bible, on rightly dividing the word, the common and popular one, has been dispensationalism, has been teaching how God, every time that God, institutes something, and man messes it up, and then God, tweaks it, or changes it, or alters it, or goes a different direction, for instance, Gentiles, or for instance, Adam and Eve, and that blew up, and altering things, throughout the course of history, and the study is, is recognizing the differences, in these, and making sure we know, what commands, and teachings, we're supposed to follow, and submit to, and that's a great way, to study your Bible, others don't take that outlook, that the Bible's written, or that the lines are drawn, quite that way, others study the Bible, through covenants, and they believe, that it's you study the covenants, it started in, an Abrahamic covenant, and they'll go through,
[38:55] Mosaic, and Davidic, and try to come into, some stuff here, with the Lord Jesus Christ, or a new covenant, and they look at it, like we study the Bible, this way, and to do that, you almost have to ignore, some other things, and there's no perfect system, I don't think, one of the things, I'd have to say, I like the best, but I haven't fully understood, or at least, I haven't fully, went through the scriptures, personally, to really dive into it, is, I have to like it though, I do like it, for its simplicity, is the teaching, that God has two programs, not exclusively, from cover to cover, but the majority, of the trouble, that everybody has, is misunderstanding this, God has two programs, one, is, a prophetic thing, with Israel, it's called, the kingdom program, and you can, lump a good bit, of the Old Testament, into that kingdom program, and all the prophecies, to Israel, into what he has planned, for the kingdom,
[39:56] I mean that really is, the majority of your Bible, and the theme of your Bible, and then a separate program, God has, which we've even seen, here in Ephesians, which he purposed, in himself, in Christ Jesus, before the world began, which is now being revealed, through this mystery, they call the mystery program, and the mystery program, was just tucked away, in Christ, hid in God, is the term, the Bible uses, I think even here maybe, yeah verse 9, look at verse 9, 3, 9, to make all men see, what is the fellowship, of the mystery, which from the beginning, of the world, hath been hid in God, who created all things, by Jesus Christ, so God had this mystery, program, if we call it that, wherein, dwells the body of Christ, his purpose, for the body of Christ, and for the future, and the heavenly, and that's been hid, and just tucked away, while God is only revealing, through his prophets, the kingdom program, Jesus Christ comes on the scene, preaching the gospel, of the kingdom, preparing that nation, to receive that kingdom, the constitution, of that kingdom, and then they reject, and kill, and all of that, and then God, through Apostle Paul, opens up, the understanding, he reveals, he makes known, this mystery, and then the mystery, kind of comes to a close, and the kingdom program, picks right back up, and continues on, that, that little system there,
[41:19] I find to be simple, and to, a whole lot fits, very well right into it, a kingdom, and a mystery program, not saying that it, dots all the I's, and crosses all the T's, or even gets really back, you can kind of, bring it all the way back, to the Garden of Eden, with the, the kingdom of heaven, and Adam having dominion, so, nevertheless, we'll come, we'll come back to this, and move past, the dispensation word, and continue through, and cover some of this, mystery talk, that the Apostle Paul, speaks of, so let's take a break there, and then we'll meet back, in 10 minutes.