Christ Is The Life Of The Church

[0:00] Thank you for choosing to listen to today's message by Reverend Dr. David Etrie. We know you will be blessed as you seek and serve God. We believe that this message will stir up a desire for more of God even as you listen.

[0:13] Be blessed. Colossians chapter 1 reading from verse 15. He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creations. For by him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible.

[0:26] Whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things.

[0:38] And in him all things consist. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. That in all things he may have the preeminence.

[0:55] For it pleased the father that in him all fullness should dwell. And by him to reconcile all things to himself.

[1:08] By him whether things on earth or things in heaven. Having made peace through the blood of his cross. Amen.

[1:18] Amen. I explained how I spoke about how Jesus is the image of the invisible God.

[1:30] And I spoke about how in all things. Let me just draw your attention to something. Look at verse 15.

[1:42] He is the image of the invisible God. The firstborn. The firstborn. The firstborn. The firstborn. What? Over every creature. I'm using the King James.

[1:57] Sorry. Let's stay with the new King James. It's okay. So the firstborn over what? All creatures. All right. But now look. Let's count the all things you see in this text.

[2:11] From verse 16. For by him. How many? One. For by him. All things. Okay. So for by him all things were created.

[2:23] That are in heaven or on the earth. On earth. Visible or invisible. Whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers.

[2:36] All things were created. How many? All things were created through him and for him. So it's very interesting. All things were created. So. Interesting. By him.

[2:48] All things were created. And then when you come down there it said. All things were created through him and for him. So you realize that it's almost like what is in Romans chapter 11.

[2:59] Verse 36. Excuse me. Verse 36. Where it talks about. For in him and through him and to him are all things. To whom be glory forever.

[3:10] Who is the him talking about here? Jesus. Not God. Okay. Jesus is God. But specifically this is talking about Christ. Jesus. Okay. So. So. For. Of him.

[3:21] And through him. Through Jesus. And to him. Through Jesus. Are all things. To whom be the glory. The glory must be to Jesus forever. Back to Colossians.

[3:32] So. He says that. All things were created through him. And for him. Verse 17. And he is before what? All things. And in him.

[3:43] All things. How many? Four. So far. Have you noticed that all things. I'm talking about who is Jesus. Who should we listen. He's telling us that by him.

[3:55] All things were created. And for him. All things were created. And before him are all things. Sorry. And he's before all things. And in him.

[4:06] All things consist. So. He is before all things. All things were created by him. And all things were created for him. He is before all things. In him.

[4:17] All things consist. All things hold together. All things hold together in Christ. Say all things. All things.

[4:29] When it comes to dealing with Christ. It's an all inclusive relationship. His relationship. When it's dealing with you. Your Christian life. Is not only. Touching on only a few things in your life.

[4:41] It touches on all things. Because Christ. Is there all things. God. He is before all things. He is before all things.

[4:54] Verse 18. Verse 18. He is the head of the body.

[5:06] The church. Who is the beginning. The first born from the dead. That in him. How many? All things. Number what? Five. Within three verses.

[5:18] All things. In relation with Christ. And all these things. In relation with Christ. It's all things. All things. All things. All things. All things were created.

[5:30] By him. All things were created. For him. Or for him. He is before all things. In him. All things consist. And he is the head of the church. That. In all things.

[5:41] He may be. He may have the preeminence. The super eminence. He must be. The first. The first. So. When he comes to church. In my dealings with you. First.

[5:52] It's Christ. Other than that. I've veered. Outside of church. Some of you didn't get it. Anything.

[6:05] Outside. Of Christ. Is not church. That he might have the preeminence.

[6:21] Let me go to 19. I'll come. I'll just take time. A little bit on verse 18. For it pleased the father. That in him. All the fullness.

[6:32] Should dwell. You want to know. The holiness of God. Look at. It's in Jesus. God is happy. That everything. About God. You can ever know. It's in Jesus. In Jesus. So.

[6:43] In. In. I think. In. In. Yeah. I think it's Colossians. Chapter. 2. Verse. 10. No. Yeah. Verse 10. It said. Verse 11. Verse 11. It said. Yeah. You are.

[6:53] No. Verse 10. Yeah. It's the best time. I'm looking for. Sorry. And you are complete in him. So. When you are in Christ. You are actually complete. Yeah. Hallelujah. I don't know where your shoe.

[7:06] Is coming from. Your. Your. Your bag. Your phone.

[7:18] But for some reason. Everything has made in. Somewhere. Yeah. Indonesia. Philippines. China. Nigeria.

[7:31] Texas. Ghana. Great Britain. Germany.

[7:45] France. Spain. You know. And all that. Made in. Turkey. Taiwan. Taiwan. And all those. So everything has. Has a.

[7:55] Made in. It said. Bible said. All things were made. Through him. By him. Made in. It said. Bible said. All things were made. Through him. By him. Wow. Wow. And that.

[8:06] Even. Relates more. To. The. Important. Major. Things. In your life. All things.

[8:17] Were made by him. All things. And Bible says that. It pleased. The father. In other words. You know. He's just. He's just. He's just. Happy to see it. Happening like that.

[8:27] Mm-hmm. Yeah. That's how I want it. You know. Sometimes you. You. For those of you. Like. You live in a house. With your. Little sister.

[8:38] Or your daughter. Or your. Son. Or little brother. Or cousin. Or some. Little. Yeah. It's a child. And you bought. The child. Maybe something. A toy.

[8:48] Which they. And you saw. You were just watching them. The way they were playing with the toy. And you just watch them. And say. Yeah. I'm happy you like it. I'm happy. It's like this. And or maybe.

[8:58] Three of them. This one has got his own. This one has got. And they are all. You see your child. Or you see your cousin. Your brother. You bought a new book for them. And they are always in the book. And you are watching the way.

[9:09] They are reading the book. Previously. Maybe they didn't like. Reading. But they are reading the book. And it pleased you. That they are doing it this way. It pleased you.

[9:20] He is before all things. And in him. Verse 17. In him. All things consist. All things consist. Say Christ is before all things.

[9:31] Christ is before all things. And in him. And in him. All things consist. All things consist. And Bible says that. Verse 19. It pleased the father that in him.

[9:42] All. All. Death fullness. Death fullness. Should dwell in him. And God was pleased.

[9:53] To look at it like that. That's what I want. In chapter 2. Verse 9. It says that. For.

[10:05] In him. Dwells. See the same thing. Did you see that? Did you see that? Let's read it out loud. Let's read it. If those of you can see the screen. Let's go. For in him. God. All the fullness.

[10:16] Of the God. One more time. For in him. God. All the fullness. Of the God. And God. Is it not same. As what we read. In verse 18. Of chapter 1. Verse 9. Sorry.

[10:26] Verse 19. Of chapter 1. That. For it pleased the father. That in him. All the fullness. Should dwell. What the fullness. The fullness. Of the Godhead. The fullness. Of deity. The fullness.

[10:37] Of godness. Dwells. Physically. But. Humanly. Dwells in him. In Christ. Now. I want. Last week. Because I promised you.

[10:47] Let me just. Do that. I want to dwell on the verse 17. Of Colossians chapter 1. A little bit. And talk about. Christ having the preeminence. It's very important.

[10:58] And he's the. Creation. He's the firstborn of all creation. Let's start from. Thank you Jesus. Verse.

[11:11] Verse 15 says. That the image of the invisible God. The firstborn of all creation. All creation. In him. Verse 17 talks about how.

[11:22] In him. All things. Sorry. Verse 18. Verse 17 should be. Yeah. In him. All things consist.

[11:33] All things consist in him. He's the firstborn of all creation. And then the verse 18 talks about. That's the key one. He is the head of the body. The church. He's the head of the church.

[11:45] Who is the beginning? Christ. Who is the beginning? The firstborn from the dead. That all things. Okay. All things.

[11:56] In all things he may have the preeminence. So he's the head of the church. He's the beginning. The firstborn from the dead. That in all. That in all things he might have the preeminence.

[12:08] When you come. When you talk about church. Watch this very carefully. I don't want you to miss this. Christ is the one who matters. It's all about Christ. Real church.

[12:22] Is Christ. The church. One of the names for the church. In the Bible. Oh.

[12:33] I can't say phrase. But it's kind of. That's how the church is described. As. Ephesians chapter 2 verse 15. Ephesians 2 verse 15. I need to rush through this quickly.

[12:44] Having abolished in his flesh. That's talking about Jesus. The enmity. That is. The law of commandments. Containing the ordinance. So as to create. So as to do what?

[12:55] Create. Jesus had to abolish something. Why? To abolish. Jesus had to abolish something. Why? To abolish. So he abolished the enmity.

[13:07] So as. To create. He abolished in his flesh. The enmity. That is the law of commandments. Containing the ordinance. So as to create. In himself.

[13:19] One human. Now. In the original Greek. The word. In. In. I. N. In. Also. Can be. Can be. Can be. Can be. Can be rendered. With. With.

[13:31] And both. Are correct. So. He created. He is the. He abolished the enmity. And created.

[13:42] In. What does it mean to create in? That means. The sphere. We are all. Sitting. In the hotel. We are here. So the sphere. Of. We are. Worshipping.

[13:53] We are. Dancing. We are. Praising. We are. Talking. We are. Preaching. We are. Sing. In the hotel. So he created. In himself. The sphere. Anything.

[14:03] Outside of himself. Is not church. So. That he. To. The bible. The bible says. So as to create. In himself. And. With himself. He is the substance.

[14:14] Of the church. The constituent substance. Of the church. Is Christ. That is why he must have the preeminence.

[14:28] And he must have the supremacy. Over everything. When it comes to church. Now watch this. So as to create. In himself.

[14:40] One new man. From the two. That's making peace. All right. So. There was enmity between the two. The Jews. And the Gentiles. Right.

[14:50] Religious. Enmity. Religious. Enmity. Jews. And Greeks. Jews. Jews. And Gentiles. Don't sit down together. To have meals. No. It doesn't work.

[15:01] All right. If you're a Jew. And you go to a Gentiles house. You have to go through purification. Or you have been to a Gentiles house. That's why. When God appeared to Peter. He says.

[15:11] Go to Cornelius house. Peter said. I can't go there. He said. Hey. Don't call what God has called. Don't call unclean. What God has called clean. And you know what happened. After Peter went there.

[15:22] He was summoned to the Jerusalem church. In Acts chapter 11. He was summoned. Peter. You have gone to. Sit in Gentiles house. Why? Because. Watch this. Because. The Jews.

[15:33] Bible sometimes calls them circumcision. Because. When you hear the word circumcision. The Jews. Who are actually practicing Judaism. Because. You have. You have to be circumcised. If you are coming.

[15:43] You are a descendant of Abraham. You have to be circumcised. Circumcised. To show that you are part of the covenant. All right. So. There are times. Bible called them. The second day of the circumcision.

[15:54] That means. The practicing Jews. Those who are actual Jews. And. On the day of Pentacles. When the Jews have gathered. The Holy Ghost came. And then. So. The Holy Ghost came. And it was in Jerusalem. It.

[16:04] Pentacles. It was a Jewish festival. All right. So. After. The Holy Ghost came. Now. The gospel was about to spread. To the other parts. And so.

[16:15] God sent Peter. To go to Cornelius house. And when Peter went there. The authorities in Jerusalem. Had that Peter. Has gone to Jews house. So they called him. Now. Are you spoiling. Sorry. Gentile house. Are you spoiling the Christianity now.

[16:27] Because they thought. Christianity. Is a continuation of Judaism. Right. So the laws of Judaism. Must be. Must be adhered to. Especially when it comes to Gentiles.

[16:38] They used to have something called. Proselitization. So. If you are a Gentile. And you want to be. Practice Judaism. You have to go through. Proselitization. You become a proselyte.

[16:48] And a proselyte. Is someone. Who is not original Jew. But is now. Among. Is like a Jew. Practicing. Converted. Yeah. Converted. Practicing Judaism. And when you go to the synagogue.

[16:59] They don't come in. They sit there. It's a small wall. So it's like. We all are here. And then there's a small. Not a big wall. A small wall. And the Gentiles. Sit behind. In that. In that hall.

[17:10] So. There is a wall. It's called. The wall. Of. Partition. Or the wall. Of deburcation. The wall. Of separation. Say. You went into. Uncircumcised men.

[17:21] And ate with them. How? They cried Peter. Sorry. Look at verse 2. Look at verse 2. Just so it makes sense. In your Bible. And when Peter came up to Jerusalem. Those of the.

[17:32] Jesus. Those of the. What does that mean? The Jews. What does that mean? So those of the circumcision. Contended with him. What was the contention about?

[17:44] Say. You went into. Uncircumcised men. And ate with them. You went to mingle with. How? People who are not Jews. Ah. Peter. How?

[17:55] How can you do that? Because. It was not acceptable in those days. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. So. Even when you convert. And you are proselytes. And you come into a. A Jewish worship. You don't enter the main auditorium.

[18:07] There is a wall of demarcation. It's called wall of separation. Are you listening to me? Yes. Yes. It's called wall of separation. Okay. And you sit Gentiles. Proselytes.

[18:17] Sit. Behind that wall. And they also worship. Now. In the church. We don't have that. Now. So. Does that make sense? While the early church. Went so much.

[18:27] Went through so much opposition. By the Christian Jews. Because the Christian Jews. Were saying no. If you have to be a Christian. You have to be circumcised. If you have to be a Christian.

[18:39] You have to practice their law. What? Circumcision brings you into covenant. With God. So you have to practice the circumcision. You have to go through the law. You have to adhere. Keep the law.

[18:50] The righteousness of the law. And Paul was saying. Hey. You Galatians. Who asked you to. Who bewitched you? You have been Christ. Why are you now going back to the law? Because in Galatians chapter 2.

[19:01] It's very interesting text. Galatians chapter 2. I think from verse 10. Bible says that. The Galatians were doing well. Chapter 3 instead. When Peter.

[19:11] He says that. Peter was even overtaken. By the hypocrisy. It's not chapter. It should be somewhere in chapter 2. Where it talk. From verse 10. Downwards. That way.

[19:22] Peter said. To the extent. That. No. Paul said. Peter played the hypocrisy. Now. He changed. His approach towards the. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The.

[19:32] The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. The. 11.

[19:52] Paul. Paul. You see. Don't think there are churches. Let's all be nice. Nice. Nice. He said. I was told Peter. I confronted him. He said. I was told him to the face.

[20:02] This is Paul. Talking. Why did he have to do this? Why? Look at the next verse. For before shelving men came from James. He would eat with the Gentiles.

[20:14] But when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing those who were of the circumcision. He didn't want to feel like, ah, Peter, why are you eating Gentiles? But these are believers.

[20:26] In believers, we are all one. Suddenly, when the Jews came from Jerusalem, James was in Jerusalem, when they came, Peter behaved like, does he know the Gentiles? Ah, so Paul said Peter.

[20:37] Look at the next verse. Look at the next verse. You'll like this. And the rest of the Jews also played their hypocrisy with him. So even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy. Peter, why are you doing that?

[20:49] Peter. So, now, so there was this enmity. Natural, religious enmity. It's not like hatred.

[21:01] But we don't mix. All right, we don't mix. So even in the church, they wouldn't mix. So that's why the Jews were coming to fellowship and saying, hey, Gentiles, you can't mix with Jews.

[21:14] No. Or Jews, you can't mix with Gentiles. We are in church. But listen, don't. It was a big issue. They had to write. Watch this. They went to Jerusalem from Antioch. They traveled to Jerusalem in Acts chapter 15 and went and discussed this matter at length.

[21:29] And they had to send prophets, Silas and Judas. There's another guy, Judas. It's not in Acts chapter 15 from verse 17 and 18. Not Iscariot.

[21:39] But this is a good Judas. Acts 15, I think, verse 17 and 18. They sent them to go to Antioch with letters to accompany Paul. And to go and sort out.

[21:50] Is it that? The rest of them. No, I think it's somewhere in verse 15, verse 18, 19. So they sent them to go and sort this matter. He said, don't let us saddle them with things that we, the Jews, couldn't even keep.

[22:03] He said, why are you? Why are you? So it was a very complex situation in the early church. Because what? Do you know why it was a problem? Because religiously, they know that you, a Jew, shouldn't mix with a Gentile.

[22:16] And now you have become a Christian. So it looks like even more serious towards God. That's when you have to even stay away from business. So mixing with Gentiles was a no-go area. And now, but Jesus Christ, watch this.

[22:29] Now, Ephesians chapter 2. Having, this is what Jesus did. Did you see what he did? He abolished, look at from verse 14.

[22:40] You would like, you would like, let me just, watch this. For, watch this. For he himself is what? Oh, come on, louder.

[22:53] What does he mean by peace? He's not talking about like, just my peace at home. But the two of us. Okay, me and you, we are not friends. We don't get home. But Christ is our peace.

[23:06] Why? Why? Who has made the two? Both. Jews and Gentiles. How? One. How did he do it? Broke the, see the wall of separation I spoke about.

[23:17] The middle wall. So even in worship, there was a wall. Even in worship, there was a wall. Between, it was a racial wall.

[23:28] It was a religious wall. It was a wall of segregation. It was a wall of division. Sometimes if you don't take care, you can be born again and still maintain a wall. Maintain a wall.

[23:42] You are dealing with certain people of different race and your attitude is deep inside you. You are dealing with people of different gender and it's deep inside you. You are dealing with people of different social.

[23:53] Some of you in church, you will never relate to other people. Because you think they are not your class. Shame. You have brought social division. Class systems into the church.

[24:06] No, he said, Jesus Christ died to remove this. Why are you bringing it back? He removed the middle wall of partition. Look at it again. Look at verse 15.

[24:22] Having abolished in his flesh. Dying on the cross. In his flesh. The enmity. That is the law of commandment containing all these ordinances. Do this.

[24:32] You don't do this. This is how we do this. He abolished in his flesh. Why did he do that? So as to create in himself one new man from the two.

[24:48] Okay. That's making peace. This is a very important text. Now, why did I come to this text? The church. The church is called the one new man.

[25:01] Amen. Somebody say the church is called the one new man. The church is called the one new man. I don't like this song. The church is called the one new man.

[25:15] The church is called the one new man. Look at the text again, verse 15. So as to create. Let's all say create. Create.

[25:26] Say create. Create. The church is the one new man. Another word for the church is new creation. So 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 17 said, If any man be in Christ, he is a new creation.

[25:40] All right. Anyone who is in Christ is a new creation. So the church is also called a new creation. Created in Christ Jesus. Look at Ephesians chapter 4 verse 24.

[25:51] Ephesians 4 verse 24 talks about, And that you put on the new man. It's also called the new man. One new man. One new man. This is a very important thing I want you to understand.

[26:03] One new man. Who is this new man? What is the constituent of the new man? So what is the old man? Actually, if there is a new man, there must be an old man. And actually, the Bible talks about the old man.

[26:16] Ephesians chapter 4 verse 22. Look, Ephesians 4. Let's already allow. Let's already allow. Let's go. That you put on concerning your former conduct. The old man is true to the ground.

[26:29] The old man is true to the ground. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. What did he put on the screen earlier? Ephesians.

[26:40] So he said, watch this. That you put on concerning your former conduct. The old man. What's the old man? The old man is you in Adam. Your original you.

[26:50] Your nature. It's without God, without divinity. Without the nature of God. That is your old man. All right. Now, watch. This is a very important thing I want you to understand. The old man does not feature in the church.

[27:07] Your old self. So your original self. Before you came into Christ. Now, what do I mean? So let's say, okay, you are male.

[27:19] When you come into Christ, it doesn't change your maleness. Your maleness is actually the old creature. So don't use maleness when it comes to Christ. So male does not matter.

[27:32] Yes, when it comes to Christ. So male does not matter. That's why Paul says that. The things, I was a Jew, a born of this, and this, and this. He said, when I came to Christ, I count them as done.

[27:44] Because none of these things. He said, so I will not have confidence in the flesh. All these things actually don't matter. So watch this. When, let's say, you see anybody being promoted in church.

[27:56] Do not be quick to think that God is promoting this person because of his education. Right. Right. Right. Right. You are crediting church thing to the old man. Ah. Ah.

[28:07] Ah. Ah. You are crediting the grace of God on a person to the old man. That is an assault. Wow. Because he says the old man.

[28:19] The old man does not have a role to play when it comes to the church. Anything truly church, truly God is outside of the old man.

[28:32] But, so I'm going to show you how. But, okay. Let's say, I am a trained nurse. I am a trained pilot. I am a trained architect.

[28:44] I am a baker. I am this. I am this. And now I'm in Christ. Those things really don't matter. That's not what Christ is doing. So, but that's my normal human living.

[28:55] How? Because I still possess the old nature. The old man. I still possess the old man. How do I work in newness with this old man? When you are born again, Ephesians chapter 4 verse 22, the same text again.

[29:12] Ephesians 4 verse 22 says that, put off concerning your old conduct. The old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lust. Your original. And then the verse 24 says, put on the new man.

[29:25] And you put on the new man which is created according to God in true righteousness and in holiness. So, you have to put on the new man constantly. When you become born again, watch this.

[29:36] When you become born again, you are a new creation. You have now been part of the new man. You are now part of the new man when you are born again.

[29:47] When you are born again, you are part of the new man from your spirit. You are part of the new man and still operating with the old man. That's what is causing a lot of problems in church.

[30:02] All problems in church is the old man problem. The pastor is preaching and your old man kicks in. Me, I normally, when people talk like this, I know what they are trying to say.

[30:13] See, the old man is trying to spoil the work. The old man is coming. The old man is coming. The old man is coming. When you read Galatians chapter 5 verse 16, chapter 6 verse 15.

[30:29] For in Christ Jesus, neither, you know what circumcision means? What does it mean? Those from here, those from this room. What does circumcision mean?

[30:40] Jesus. Okay. People who are Jews and circumcised in the court. Okay. What does uncircumcision mean? Gentiles.

[30:51] People who don't have it. All right. It says, in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything. It doesn't matter. Whether you were born Jew or your father was a priest, your mother was an armed robber.

[31:03] It says, no, it doesn't matter. It said, in Christ, in Christ, it does not matter. It's very important.

[31:14] It says that in Christ. Say in Christ. In Christ. What does that mean? In Christ means in church. So this is what Christ did. This is what God did. This is, you like this. He looks at, Bible said, God who is able to make his light shine or call the light out of darkness.

[31:30] He looks at you in your darkness. Humanity has fallen. Christless. Godless. Christ. And he said, I know what I'm going to do. I'm going to step into humanity and create one new man.

[31:41] So he came into humanity. How did he create from one new man? By sawing himself. Christ. As Christ. He sawed himself into humanity and created one new man.

[31:54] Out of the Christ in you. Christ in her. Christ in me. Christ in them. Christ in us. The Christ in us is what forms the one new man.

[32:06] God did that. How did he start? By Christ coming to redeem us because you are. Come. Come. Wow. Are you okay? What are you eating?

[32:20] Man. Okay, let's do it here. If you don't mind, you can just lie on the floor. Just lie. Anyway. Anyway, you're comfortable with.

[32:31] So. Christ. No, that's okay. That's okay. Yeah, just. At least it will make those sleeping, including the potential medical doctors to wake up.

[32:48] Christ. Watch this. Christ. Sold himself. By redemption. And we were sinful. We were both Jews and Gentiles. We were sinful.

[33:00] And Christ comes to redeem us. And raises us. Or brings us from the sin. In full states, we are in God. So God was angry with humanity.

[33:11] Christ comes to appease the wrath of God by redemption. He redeemed us by his blood. But that was not enough. And now the Holy Ghost regenerates. To regenerate us is to bring us, give us new life.

[33:24] So you were dead in your transgression. Now your transgressions are forgiven. You don't owe. But it doesn't mean you have life. So the Holy Spirit regenerates us. And then when the Holy Spirit regenerates us, God now infuses divine nature into us.

[33:41] So the infused divine nature into us is what makes us the sons of God. Now, anything outside of that is not workable with God.

[33:53] God's eternal, I said it last week. God's eternal plan was to work himself into the divine sonship and to work through us. So the church, the new man, watch this.

[34:05] The new man is a composition of a corporate sonship. Sons, sons, sons, sons, sons. Who are sons? Redeemed, regenerated, and God has now put his divine nature into us.

[34:19] So he redeemed us from our sins according to John 3, 16. And then Bible says that according to John 3, 6, whatsoever is born of the flesh is flesh.

[34:33] Whatsoever is born of the spirit is spirit. So it's the spirit which gave birth to us. And according to John 3, 36, the life of God in us. I'm talking about what constitutes the church of God in us.

[34:47] I'm talking about what constitutes the church. So some people think that they are church, but they are not church. Most of us think that church is just, I'm going to sit in a garden.

[34:59] No, it's not just that. It is more than that. It is more than that. It is Christ. If Christ is not all, if Christ is not in you, if the work of Christ has not applied to your life, you are not part of, you can be part of a local church.

[35:15] You can join on their books. But so long as God is concerned, you are not a son. You are not part of the church. You are not part of the one new man. So according to 2 Peter 1, verse 4, it says that we have the nature of God.

[35:32] We have which he has, 2 Peter 1, verse 4, that through this we might be partakers of the divine nature. Can you imagine?

[35:42] The nature of God himself has been infused into us. Now, that is the greatest mystery of Christianity. That people look at you.

[35:55] They knew you from when you were in secondary school. They knew you were partners in crime. And now, you haven't changed, but inside you, you carry the divine nature.

[36:07] You carry the divine nature. Does someone want to carry a divine nature? I carry a divine nature. That's sonship. So Christ comes, pulls us out by redemption.

[36:23] The Holy Spirit regenerates us, and now God imputes himself into us. And that is what, if it doesn't happen to you, you are not part of the new man. And you will die and go to heaven?

[36:37] No? You won't go to heaven. You will die. Heaven is just, we are just going back home. We are going to the default position. Because the Spirit came, in fact, we are sons.

[36:49] Galatians chapter 3, verse 6, it talks, no, Galatians chapter 4, verse 5, and 6, and 7.

[37:01] Galatians chapter 4, verse 5. It says that, to redeem those who are under the law, that we might receive adoption as sons. Look at verse 6. And because you are sons, God has sent, because you are sons.

[37:14] Say, we are sons. We are sons. God has sent for the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, which Christ our Father. Look at verse 7. All about sonship. Therefore, you are no longer slaves, but what? A son.

[37:25] This whole thing is about sonship. The inward, what is? The inward, the intrinsic nature of the church is the divine sonship.

[37:42] Wow. If you don't have that sonship, you are not part of the church. Let me end by adding this.

[37:54] Let me round it up by adding this. Colossians 3, 10, and 11.

[38:07] Wow, this text is loaded. And have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge. Have put on what?

[38:18] The new man. Put on what? The new man. What is the new man? The church. What makes us the church is the new man.

[38:32] We are a new man. In spite of your weaknesses, in spite of your background, in spite of the things you have done, in spite of the things, what you used to be, if you are in the church, you are a new man.

[38:52] You are part of the new man. Now, it says that, and this is a very interesting thing. So, if I'm in the new man, why then should I put on the new man? Because I said, and put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him who created him.

[39:10] Christ created the new man, and we are renewed in knowledge of his image. Now, watch this. Look at verse, I like the verse 11. That's a very strange. Shall we all read the verse 11 together? Yeah. Barbarian, Jesus, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, the great, Scythian, slave, not free.

[39:30] But Christ is born and the whole. All in all in all. In all his own own. Watch this. He said, put on, verse 10 again, let me just throw a bit of one.

[39:44] Put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of him, the image of him who created him, and watch this, verse 11. So, put on the new man where there is neither Greek nor Jew.

[39:59] You remember we spoke about Greek and Jew a lot? Greek nor Jew, that's racial division. Circumcised or uncircumcised, religious division. Barbarian, in other words, you are bush.

[40:16] You know, you are class. This is not my class. This is not my class. That's my class. This is not my type. Look at you talking about types. And then, Scythian.

[40:29] Slave. No, oh, it's class Scythian. Barbarian. Okay. Slave. Not free. Whether he's employed, he's not employed. Whether he's a boss, he's not a boss.

[40:39] Whether he has a company, whether he's educated, whether he's educated, he doesn't have an education. It does not matter.

[40:52] Watch this. This is Scythian. And he says, what matters? Christ is all. Be careful you don't try to enter church or do church with your background.

[41:09] Be careful. So that he says that he is the head that in everything he might have the preeminence. The reason why he might have the preeminence is because it is, Christ is all and in all.

[41:24] The real, real, listen, real, real church is Christ. Real church is Christ. It's Christ. If you're a singer, if you're in the choir, you're really not doing church until you are doing it in Christ.

[41:43] And when you see somebody, I said earlier on, you see anything you see, people see, can't imagine, people see how God is blessing this church. And then he says, because they use the hotel.

[41:55] You see, you have insulted Christ. Yeah. Yeah. They are footballers in their church. In Africa, I means the importance of your church.

[42:08] There are three MPs in my church. It's what determines the importance of your church. There are three MPs in my church. There are, there's the chief executive of Barclays, Africa, is in our church.

[42:20] And there's, in fact, we don't know who is here. One of the things that you realize in this church is the way I talk.

[42:35] I'm not like trying to win your favor. I'm just trying to elevate Christ in your life. So I really, I really don't care your pay grade.

[42:54] I really don't care whether you are pretty or not. I really don't care the value of your watch.

[43:05] I don't care. What I care is Christ in you. And so that the church, this whole thing is Christ. Christ alone. Christ alone.

[43:19] Someone shout Christ alone. Christ alone. Shout out, shout out, shout out, Christ alone. Christ alone. We have to, and we have to be intentional and always remind ourselves that so that, Bible said, neither Greek nor Jew, circumcised or circumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, nor free, but Christ is all and in all.

[43:46] Amen. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. That is what God is looking for. So when anybody enters the church doors, what we are concerned about is not where you live, so long as status is concerned.

[44:07] What we are concerned about is not the car you drive. What we are concerned about, and what we should be concerned more about, is not your Louis what, the tone.

[44:28] I told you. What we are, what we are concerned about, you may be driving, I hear there's a car called Ghost.

[44:50] Yeah. Fantastic. If you are not careful, you will enter the church with your ghost. Hey. How do you do that? You know, when you come, you are thinking to yourself, this boy don't know who I am.

[45:03] Excuse me. Excuse me. Excuse me. Hey. Hey. It's when you come to town, you look different from others. Yeah. It's when you come to town, you look different from others.

[45:17] Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I hope you, you, you. I don't want to describe that, but let me actually focus on what is important.

[45:30] Yes, sir. It's Christ. Yeah. So, who you are in the flesh, in your social status, social standard, in Adam, doesn't matter.

[45:40] You say, put off the old man. Put off the old man. Do you know why? Because, back to Colossians, he says that, so that in the church, Christ might have the preeminence.

[45:53] The reason why he needs to have the preeminence is because the church, he created the church in himself and with himself. Anything, in fact, I heard a certain man trying to preach some church people.

[46:07] I heard on the internet. He was doing outreach on some stuff. Do you know what? this priest in America walked out and told him, the guy was quoting from Paul, that Paul, the Bible says that this is wrong.

[46:19] Don't do this. Don't do this. The guy said, but Jesus didn't say anything. Paul was wrong. But, hey, the priest, so I was called, this is my first time hearing someone saying that what Paul wrote, it's Paul's opinion.

[46:31] What Jesus said is what we go by. Wow. Wow. They are things, though. He said, my Lord. But in conclusion, we are in church because of Christ.

[46:45] And Christ is what matters. If you want relevance with God, please get closer to Christ. Grow the Christ in you. How do you put on the new man?

[46:57] Walk in the spirit. It's the spirit, the new man is in your spirit. And the more you walk in the spirit, the more you put on the new man.

[47:07] That's as simple as that. The more you walk in the spirit, the more you put on. Because the new man is created in your spirit. And so the more you walk in the spirit, Galatians chapter 5, verse 16, 5, verse 25.

[47:20] The more you walk in the spirit, you have to walk in the spirit. Galatians 5, 16, what does it say? It says, walk in the spirit and you will not fulfill the desire. So walk in the spirit and you shall not fulfill the last of the flesh.

[47:31] Verse 25. Look at verse 25. If we live in the spirit, let us also walk in the spirit. Right? So when you walk in the spirit, that's the only way this new man, new man, Christ man, the new man, the new nature in you, now you can be walking in the new man.

[47:49] You can put on the new man. So you can be, watch this, you can be in the church and still not walking in the spirit and that problem to the new man. Because you are in church, you are singing well in choir, you are ushing well in the ashes, but you are playing the instrument well, but you are just the old man.

[48:09] And that is not church. What is church? The church is Christ alone. Christ is the life of the church. Let's all say that together.

[48:20] Christ is the life of the church. One more time. Christ is the life of the church. Tell someone if you are comfortable about that and tell the person, Christ is the life of the church. Christ is the life of the church.

[48:32] And he is all that matters. Tell the person another person, Christ is the life of the church. And he is all that matters.

[48:44] Not your shoes. Not your status. Not your feelings. Not your opinion. Christ is the life of the church.

[48:57] And he is all that matters. Shout hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. So I'm pleased to title my message, Christ is the life of the church.

[49:19] Christ is the life of the church. We are going to pray a simple prayer. Shall we all rise to our feet, please? Thank you, Lord Jesus.

[49:31] We are going to pray a simple prayer. You want to pray a prayer and say, Lord, help me to live the church life. Help me to live a Christ-centered church life. Because it is within that that God can reward you.

[49:45] God rewards based on Christness. He rewards based on their good works. He said, we are called to do good works. Their good works is their church work.

[49:56] And the church work is not just your labor, but it's your Christ-centered work, activities. Thank you, Jesus.

[50:08] I want us to pray. How many of us want to really do the church work? How many of us want to really live their Christ life to their fullest? I want us to pray. Lift up your hands and say that, Lord, help me.

[50:19] I need you to pray. Be honest with yourself. Pray a genuine prayer that, Lord, help me. Help me that you will be my focus. That you will be my focus. It will all be about you.

[50:29] I'll focus on you and do what I need to do to build the church and what I need to do to live the church life, to live the Christ life. Begin to pray that prayer right now.

[50:40] Lift up your hands. Ask God. Ask God. Ask God to help you, to deliver you from distractions. Distractions. The things that will distract you, that will focus you on the wrong things.

[50:53] We want to pray that, God help me. Lord, help me. Lord, help me. In Christ alone, my hope is found. In Christ alone, my hope is found. In Christ alone, my hope is found.

[51:04] I will do the Christ work. I will not relate with anybody just based on the external. I will not relate with anybody based on my old man or based on their old man. I'll relate with people based on Christ.

[51:16] Lord, help me. Somebody pray this prayer. Lord, help me. Help me. Help me to be Christ-centered. Help me to be Christ-centered because Christ is the life of the church. Help me to live the real church life.

[51:28] Help me, Lord. In the name of Jesus.

[51:43] Father, thank you. Thank you for calling us into a deep relationship, corporate sonship, in union with the triune God, that you and us will be mingled into one entity called the church, the new man.

[52:03] We pray for grace. We receive grace to put on the new man. We receive grace to walk in the spirit. We receive grace not to stay in the old man. Thank you, Lord.

[52:16] We give you praise. Hallelujah. Oh, God bless you. Now, now, now. Yeah, yeah, yeah. God bless you. We thank God for using his servant, Reverend Dr. David Entry, to share this awesome word.

[52:28] If this message has blessed you in any way, please spread the word by sharing it and send us an email to amen at charis.org. Remember to stay connected with us on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and Twitter for regular updates on what God is doing here at Charis Ministries.

[52:44] Stay blessed.