Good evening. Turn with me to
Ephesians chapter 3. I want to return here to pick
up where we left off last week in this epistle. I want to pick
up in verse 8. Let's read 8 and 9 first. Paul
writes unto me who am less than the least of all saints is this
grace given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable
riches of Christ and 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. And so The first thing that struck
me here when I was reading this passage was that the Lord has
made us partakers of His spiritual blessings. We are made partakers
with the saints in light with that blessing of God. And we're
made partakers of these blessings through the revelation of the
gospel and all that that entails. All the blessings of God which
are revealed unto us in the gospel. That is the good news of Jesus
Christ and what he's accomplished for us. And God has brought us
into what he calls here the fellowship of the mystery. The fellowship
of the mystery, meaning that it pleases our God to reveal
this mystery unto you. Unto you who gather together
to hear your God, to worship your God, to hear the Word of
your God, and to know the true and living God. And so He reveals
this mystery of His glorious salvation unto us that now believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ. And one of the things that we
know, that we understand, that we see here in the scriptures
is that faith is a confirmation. Faith is a confirmation that
Christ died for us. And that's why it's said that
faith is eternal life. Because it is a confirmation,
you that believe by the fruit of the Spirit, that believe that
Christ died for me, for my sins, to deliver me from eternal death
and that He was raised from the dead for my justification. You
that believe by that fruit of the Spirit, that's a picture,
a testimony that God has sent Christ and Christ died for you.
That is a testimony of God there, you that believe. And so the
salvation of God is not known unto the natural man. When I'm
talking about faith, I'm not talking about man-made faith
and the faith that's commonly tossed around in this world,
but that spiritual faith and salvation, the salvation of God
is not known by the natural man. It's not known by his wisdom.
It must be revealed unto us by God. And it is revealed unto
us by God. It is revealed by God to his
people. It's a revelation. He makes known. Now, let me say a few things
on that. That salvation is revealed unto
us. First, salvation is a mystery
to the natural man. When you understand that the
knowledge of Christ, that the salvation, what Christ has done,
and you that believe him, when you understand that natural man
doesn't get that, he doesn't believe that, he doesn't rest
in Christ, he has no hope in Christ, when you understand that
he can't come to it, we can't come to it except it be revealed
unto us, then you understand what I mean when I say that faith
is the testimony of God. that He gave His Son for you. Look with me in Mark 4. Let's
just look at a few verses here. Mark chapter 4, and we're going
to read verse 11. Here first, I'm just laying the
groundwork that salvation is a mystery to the natural man.
He doesn't understand it. So Mark chapter 4 verse 11, And
Christ said unto them, Unto you it is given. He's speaking to his disciples.
Unto you it is given to know the mystery of the kingdom of
God, but unto them that are without, all these things are done in
parables. And so the Lord shows us in his
scriptures that there is a people to whom this is given, to whom
this salvation is revealed. There is a people. He has a people
to whom he reveals this salvation, and there is a people to whom
salvation remains a mystery. They never come to an understanding
of Christ. They're ever learning, but never
coming to a knowledge of Christ, a saving knowledge of Him. It
comes in parables that they or the them, right? Well, who's
talking about they and them and us? Those that believe have the
testimony, the witness of God in you. that he sent his son
to save you from your sins to deliver you from death that's
a testimony of God as opposed to them who who here and never
believe Christ, who never trust Christ, who think, no, no, no,
it's by my works, or no, it doesn't matter if I come down this way,
or it doesn't matter if I go by this religion. They never
come to that knowledge, to that understanding, and so it's foolishness
to them. It's a stumbling block to them,
just like it was foolishness to the Greeks, and it was a stumbling
block to the Jews. By nature's wisdom, we can't
find these things out. By nature's wisdom, we don't
know the truth of these things. And we see a pattern of this
throughout scripture. We see this pattern in scripture. There's a difference revealed
in the scripture between us which are saved, us to whom this is
the power of God unto salvation, and them to whom this is foolishness,
them who are perishing. We see it in Abel and Cain. Abel believed God, worshipped
God, came with a lamb, came in the blood of a lamb. Whereas
Cain came with the works of the dust of the earth, the works
of his flesh. And he was angry with God because
he didn't receive them. We see it in Isaac and Ishmael. Isaac being the son of promise. A picture of him who is the son
of promise, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that like him, we all that
are believers in Christ, who are given this faith in Christ,
are sons, are children of promise. as opposed to Ishmael who mocked
and persecuted him that understood these things to whom this was
revealed. We see it in Jacob and Esau. So that Jacob who by
natural man's assessment was a more wicked man according to
the flesh. A man who was easy to pick apart
what he did and say, that man's wrong, that man's a sinner. And
yet God chose Jacob and revealed himself to Jacob and left Esau
in darkness, saying, Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated. We see it in scripture. We see
it with David and Saul. God being merciful to David.
revealing and saving David and leaving Saul to himself so that
he never came to a knowledge of Christ. To believe that Christ
laid down his life for him. And there's people that never
come to that knowledge of Christ. Now some may understand an interpretation
of scripture. We can learn doctrine. we can
memorize scripture, we can learn a good understanding of scripture,
we can be taught that to some degree, and we can have it explained
to us, or we can read the understanding of the parables that Christ revealed
to his disciples, and therefore say that we have an understanding
of those things, but if God doesn't reveal it to us, we'll never
understand it any better than Judas understood it. And we'll
keep looking to the works of the flesh rather than believing
that Christ is all our righteousness, the righteousness of God to deliver
me, to save me from my sins. And that's what he shows his
children. And so it's a mystery that must
be given by God, revealing it to his people. Let's look at
another example. of our Lord explaining it in
Luke chapter 10. Let's look at Luke chapter 10
in verse 21 and 22. It says, in that hour, Jesus
rejoiced in spirit. This is when the 70 came back,
declaring what they had done and what they saw. And Jesus
rejoiced in spirit and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord
of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the
wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight. And so our God has hidden
this truth from some, the truth from some, and he's revealed
it unto others. All things, Christ said, are
delivered to me of my Father, and no man knoweth who the Son
is but the Father, and who the Father is but the Son, and he
to whom the Son will reveal him." And what our Lord is showing
us here is that, by nature, the mystery of God is hidden from
man. No matter how smart he is, no
matter how intelligent he is, No matter how brilliant he is
in solving puzzles and riddles and inventions and creations,
it doesn't matter. It's not a thing of intelligence. It must be spiritually discerned. Without the Spirit of God, we
won't come to an understanding or knowledge of Christ because
it must be revealed. It must be given unto us. And so, contrary to the brilliant
and the wise, the Lord can take the most base, vile, foolish,
nothing of a man and reveal Christ to him and deliver him from that
darkness and deliver him from that prison of sin and bondage
and death, all by his grace and power and his spirit being given
to him, him being washed in the blood of Christ and delivered
by the grace and power of God. And so it's not a thing of intelligence,
but of revelation by the Spirit of God. Let me show you this
now in 1 Corinthians 2. 1 Corinthians 2. And we'll pick up in verse seven. Paul explains it here, but we
speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which
God ordained before the world unto our glory, which none of
the princes of this world knew. These were some of the most educated
people in the world at this time. None of the princes knew this,
for had they known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of
glory. But as it is written, I hath
not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. And so, these things that Paul's
speaking of here have to do with the eternal purpose of God in
Christ, kept hidden from the foundation of the world. Verse 10, but God hath revealed
them unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth
the things of a man save the spirit of man which is in him?
Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the spirit of God. It just says you can't read my
mind and I can't read your mind. So it is that God's spirit knows
the things of God. And except he reveal them to
us, we don't know them. We can guess. We can feel around
in darkness. We can think we know. But we
don't know except God reveal it to us. That's what he's showing
us here. Now, verse 12, now we have received
not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God,
that we might know the things that are freely, graciously given
to us of God, which things also we speak, not in the words which
man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing
spiritual things, with spiritual. And so he's talking here about
we preach the gospel, we preach Christ crucified, we declare
unto you, we show unto you from the scriptures how that Christ
died according to the scriptures, how that Christ was buried and
raised again according to the scriptures on the third day.
And we declare this gospel unto you, brethren, this is the word
we speak. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the
Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. Neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned. And so God has commissioned
us, preachers and pastors, being supported by the church whom
he has gathered and assembled together to declare this word,
to reveal this mystery to our hearers. Praying the blessing
of God be upon us that we would hear, hear it not by the natural
ear, but hear it by the grace and power of God revealing this
to us by faith. Giving us His Spirit and making
us to know these blessed truths that are according to His eternal
purpose. according to how God saves His
people from their sins. And so, there will be a demonstration
of God's power in them that believe. Meaning, you that believe, that
is the manifestation of God's power. It's His testimony that
Christ's blood was shed for you. You believe him and follow him
and continue to follow him, not departing from Christ, not going
off into the world, not going off into false doctrine, not
going off into other religions, but staying upon Christ. It is
a testimony of God's grace and power in you because it's his
work, it's his grace, it's his salvation. He does it from beginning
all the way to the end. The whole thing, the Lord does
the whole work. He's the author and finisher
of our faith. And so it's a testimony in that
one who is, it's God's testimony in that one who is made alive
and given faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Now let me show you what
this looks like, this declaring of the gospel, this hearing of
the word in Romans chapter 10. Let's go to Romans chapter 10
and we'll pick up In verse 8, and then after that, I'll show
you what our God reveals about this mystery of his salvation
through the gospel. Where we see the why and how
the Lord does this. What does it mean? What are these
eternal purposes of God? First, let's look at the gospel.
Romans 10, 8. But taking a phrase from verse
six where it says, now the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on
this wise. The righteousness which is of
faith. What saith it, verse eight, meaning what saith the righteousness
which is of faith? It says the word is nigh thee,
even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is the word of faith
which we preach. It's not in the works of your
hands, it's in your mouth, it's in your heart. where God reveals
this, where He brings to light Christ, that if thou shalt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, that our lives are in His mighty
hand, that He is King, that He is Lord, that He is all unto
us, that He is the Savior. He is the salvation of God. He's
the Christ. He's the one whom the Father
gave into His hands to save His people from their sins. That's
our confession that the Lord Jesus, "...and shalt believe
in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved." incorporating this truth that we are sinners
that we cannot save ourselves that the son of God came taking
upon him flesh to put away our sins to save us completely that's
the confession that we're confessing that he gave his life and and
that God raised him from the dead, thereby declaring unto
us, we are justified, we are freed, all that God has promised
us in Christ is accomplished. It is finished, brethren, in
and by the Lord Jesus Christ. That's our confession. For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness. That Christ turns
us from dead works, that Christ turns us from wicked works that
are vile and wretched, that Christ turns us from the love of this
world and turns us unto Christ, that turns us and gives us a
hunger and thirst for His righteousness, to know Him, to walk in fellowship
with our God in the light of Christ. He reveals this to us. He works this in us. And He turns
us from the death of this world and the wickedness of this world
unto the light of Christ. Unto the light of God revealed
in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ. So with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness, as he continues in Christ, following
him, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. These
are all describing spiritual works of God being brought in
us, being brought forth by the power of our God who says, I
will and you shall. I will and you shall. And so
faith is that testimony of his grace for us in Christ. For the
scripture saith, verse 11, whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed. And so it's God's manifestation
unto us, making us to know these things that Christ laid down
his life for me. Lord, I believe, help thou mine. Unbelief Lord save me don't pass
me by keep me or reveal this in me and keep me don't let me
go Don't let me drift back into darkness. Don't let me drift
back into this world. Save me Lord. Keep me Fulfill
you all the word of your promise to me in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He does that and so There's an emphasis here in these things
that the Lord is showing us that it's by grace, by grace, by grace,
apart from our works. It's by the Lord Jesus Christ,
and he will bring forth these blessings, these fruits of his
spirit in us. And he rests it all on the faith
of Jesus Christ. When I say the faith of Jesus
Christ, I'm talking about the faithfulness, the faithful work
of the Lord Jesus Christ. We believe the Father, that Christ
faithfully accomplished all that the Father sent Him to do. He believed the Father. He trusted
the Father, believing all that the Father said to Him. Christ
came and did it. He did it. For there, verse 12,
there's no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the
same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon Him. for whosoever
shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." And there
again the Lord is emphasizing to us there's one salvation,
one Savior for all his flock, for all God's children there
is one Savior, one salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. How then
shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how
shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And
how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach except
they be sent? As it is written, how beautiful
are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things. And so Paul is showing here that
God manifests these blessings in the hearts of his people.
in his people, revealing Christ to us through the preaching of
the gospel. That's where the Lord testifies
of his grace unto you in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where he reveals faith
in the hearts of his people, hearing Christ. Christ breaking
that bread unto us and feeding us the living bread from heaven. His flesh, His blood. And He
opens our eyes and blesses our hearts to behold and see that
Christ loved me and gave Himself for me. And the life which I
now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God. His faith,
His life, what He accomplished, working mightily in me. Believing
our God, giving Him all the thanks and the praise, believing that
He accomplished all that I need to stand before God, accepted
of Him on the cross, and that when He died, I died with Him.
When he was buried, I was buried, and all my sins put away. And
when he rose again, I rose again to newness of life in and by
Christ. So that that was secured by him
and now is manifested and revealed unto you in the preaching of
the gospel, brethren. So we preach the gospel of Christ
because that's where the Lord meets with us and brings these
things to pass in our hearts. making us to know that Christ
is my God and my Savior, my Lord, my hope, my all. Second, let
me show you what further glories our God reveals in this mystery
of his salvation. As we preach these things, we're
bringing out these eternal truths, these eternal purposes of God
through the preaching and teaching of the gospel to his people.
This is where our God makes known to us the mystery of these things. How, how, how did God do this?
When did God do this? How did he know to do this? Right? All these things are brought
forth. Let's go back to Ephesians chapter three. I'm going to read
a little further, but let's pick up in verse nine once more, and
then we'll read on further. Paul says, and 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, to the intent that now unto the principalities and
powers and heavenly places might be known by the church the manifold
wisdom of God. according to the eternal purpose
which He purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness
and access with confidence by the faith of Him." And again,
I want to emphasize, by the faith of Christ. not my faith in Christ,
but by Christ's faith, by his faithfulness in what he accomplished
for us. And so Paul is telling us that
there's an eternal purpose of God that was kept hidden from
his creation. So that natural man doesn't know
this, except it be revealed. Natural man doesn't understand
how that God saves sinners, except it be revealed to us through
the preaching of the gospel, through the giving of His Holy
Spirit, which raises us from the death of this natural, old
man of flesh, born again by the Spirit of Christ, born again
by the seed of Christ, whereby we hear and receive these things
by His blessing, by His glory, by His power being revealed in
us. And so angels, what he's saying
there is even angels, the angels of God wondered at these things.
and look intently to see as it's unfolding what God has done for
his people in the Lord Jesus Christ. Even the prophets of
God, we're told, labored diligently to know these things, understand
these things, to search these things out. They endeavored diligently
to understand this for the things that, to you and
I, are revealed, given freely in the gospel. that are revealed. So Peter, in 1 Peter 1 verse
9 through 12, Peter says, receiving the end of your faith, even the
salvation of your souls, it's revealed plainly unto you, boldly
unto you, clearly unto you, we're not holding anything back. I'm
not saying now, first of all, you gotta dress right, or you
gotta do these several things first, and you gotta do this
before you can know these hidden secrets. Nope, we're just telling
you plainly, freely, without any cost to you. how that God
saves sinners in and by the Lord Jesus Christ. It's freely, freely
given to the people of God. You think of how when Peter,
the first time he went to Cornelius' house, the first time he began
to preach the gospel, the first time they heard it, the Spirit
of God was poured out upon them. Prophets of old labored. You
think of Daniel. who fasted for weeks, begging
for God to reveal to him the things that he was seeing, to
understand what he was studying, labored for weeks. And yet God,
in one message, poured out his Holy Spirit freely on Cornelius
and all his household." What a beautiful picture. That's why
I say to you that faith is the testimony of God's grace unto
you in the Lord Jesus Christ. You that believe Christ, you
that confess he's Lord, he's my salvation, and I don't hunger
and thirst for another righteousness because he's all the righteousness
I need to stand before holy God accepted of him. That's a testimony
of God's grace. And if it sounds easy, just look
up Acts 10 in Cornelius. when the Holy Spirit was poured
out upon them. Even the Jews of the circumcision looked at
it in wonder and awe, thinking, what is going on here? Even they
are declaring the glories of God, the Holy Spirit being poured
out upon them. And Peter just said a few things
glorifying Christ. And they heard and believed.
Of which, he says, of which salvation the prophets have inquired and
searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come
unto you. They spoke of the grace, the free grace of God that should
come unto you searching what or what manner of time the Spirit
of Christ which was in them did signify when it testified before
him the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow. That glory which follows is being
declared unto you now that Christ saves sinners. That he saves
freely, not by your works, but by his grace, by his blood, he
put away the sins of his people. So that you that believe him,
your sins are covered and put away. Look to Christ and live. Believe him. Follow him. Trust
him. and walk in the light of God,
believe in Christ, trusting him. Whereas they search diligently,
but this fellowship of the mystery is given to us through the gospel.
This, you that believe, this, that is the glory that is spoken
of, that followed. because of Christ's salvation
work, because of the faith of Christ in doing what he did for
us. Unto whom it was revealed that
not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things
which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the
gospel unto you, with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven,
which things the angels desire to look into. You think he was
remembering what he saw when he preached the gospel to Cornelius?
I do. I'm certain of it. Because it
was amazing to see God's power demonstrated so freely in that
moment. So this is the eternal purpose
of God, which is now revealed through the gospel, and was at
the first only known by God the Father, God the Son, and God
the Holy Spirit in the eternal counsel of God. He determined
this. He purposed this glorious salvation. And now it's revealed unto you.
It's revealed through the preaching of the gospel. So, let me just
say a few things on this. Back in Ephesians chapter one,
we see some of these things doctrinally now. In Ephesians one, verses
four and five, show us the work of the father. His work in this
salvation. What the father did, he chose
a people. And he committed us into the
hand of Christ for our salvation. He said, you're going to be saved.
You are saved. You are delivered from death,
because he put us in the hands of Christ to do this. He's our
short team. He's our Savior. He speaks for
us. He accomplished our redemption.
Look at Ephesians 1, 4, and 5. According as God hath chosen
us in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we should
be holy and without blame before him in love. in love, having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
himself according to the good pleasure of his will, not contingent
or hanging on what you or I would or wouldn't do, all contingent
upon Jesus Christ, our Savior, to whom we were given for this,
to know this glory, to know this grace. And God sent him into
the world, spared him not, but delivered him up for us all,
that is, Jew and Gentile, scattered throughout the world, to bring
us through this, to this one fold of his sheep, to know the
true and living God in him. And God raised him from the dead
for our justification. It says of Christ that he was
delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of
God, and that Men with wicked hands took him and slew him,
according to that purpose of God, for our salvation, for our
deliverance, for our good, whom God raised up, having loosed
the pains of death, because it was not possible that he should
be holding of it. Now, back in Ephesians 1, verse
6 and 7, we see two verses that declare the work of the Son of
God. They declare His work. Verse
six, to the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath
made us accepted in the beloved. He did this, he's made us accepted
in the beloved, in whom we have redemption. That's how he did
it, by the redemption through his blood. the forgiveness of
sins according to the riches of His grace. And when you think
of what sinners we are, you that believe Christ, you can imagine
just how great the riches of Christ are, how great they must
be to deliver any one of us from the clutches of sin in this world
into the arms of Christ. to believe Him, to follow Him,
to trust Him. Those are mighty riches. Those
are everlasting riches. Those are abundant riches of
grace being declared unto you in the face of Christ. He did
this. He was, Isaiah says, he was wounded
for our transgressions, right? This is what he saw, the sufferings
of Christ. He saw he was wounded for our
transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement, those stripes,
those whips, those beatings that I deserve for my sin were laid
upon him. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. In other words,
God will not withhold his grace to his child for whom Christ
suffered and paid the price and penalty for those sins. He will
not withhold it from us. But rather, it pleases him to
make us to know him, to deliver us from those things, to turn
us back unto our God, to walk in the way of truth. When He
deals with us, it's not in a punishing way. We're chastised, we're taught,
we're corrected, we're kept, but it's all done in grace and
in mercy to deliver us from death, to deliver us from carnal ways
and wicked ways, to walk after Christ our Lord and Savior, to
trust Him, to believe Him. to not pursue the things of this
world thinking this is what, I gotta get it. If I don't get
it, I don't get nothing. No, we have an eternal inheritance. You can pass the momentary pleasures
of this world by because we have an eternal inheritance, full
of the riches of Christ. These things are nothing in comparison
to him, nothing in comparison to him, their death, Our Lord
said, I've manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest
me out of the world. Thine they were, and thou gavest
them me, and they have kept thy word. He does it. It's his blessing. It's his grace to do this. His
salvation work goes triumphantly forth, conquering the hearts
of his people. He does not fail. He is not the
failure savior, he's the successful savior. He accomplished redemption
for his people. This is that salvation which
is through the faith of Christ, through the faith, the faithfulness
of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith, by
faith. That's the faith, that's the
salvation we need. When we know anything about ourselves
and what sinners we are, we need the righteousness which is by
faith. And that's how God saves, through the righteousness which
is by faith, the faith of Jesus Christ. If you would be found
righteous by God, justified of your sins by holy God, then believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved. And what he starts, he will finish. It's all resting on El Shaddai,
God Almighty. It's resting on Him. It's resting
on Him. Believe Him. In Ephesians 1,
8, and 9, these two verses, we see the work of the Spirit, the
work of the Holy Spirit given unto us, wherein he hath abounded
toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he
hath purposed in himself. Who makes known to you the mystery
of God's salvation in Christ, through faith in Christ? The
Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit makes this known.
And so the Holy Spirit is given unto us to regenerate the children
of God. I say it a lot, I'll say it again.
We're generated by the seed of Adam, that corrupt, sinful, vile,
dead seed. Therefore we are regenerated,
born again by the Spirit of God, by the seed of Christ Jesus. Because He said, except a man
be born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God. We can't
even see the Kingdom of God. It's a mystery to us. It's foolishness
to us. So He gives the Spirit to make
it known unto us. taking the things of Christ and
showing them unto us with the power of His grace to believe
it. John 15, 26, when the Comforter
is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the
Spirit of truth which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify
of me. He reveals Christ unto us and
in us. So by the gospel, we are peering
into the eternal purpose of God, which makes known unto us why
God did this, how God did this, how is this possible. He makes
it known to us through the preaching and teaching of the gospel, and
it's received by faith. by the power of the Spirit. It's
a full and complete salvation, which transforms the people of
God from being nothing but old men of flesh, old men who cannot
serve God, dead in trespasses and sins, to having a new nature
born in them of Christ's seed, the new man born of His grace,
whereby Christ is made all unto us. I'm going to close it there,
but Lord willing, we'll come back and see how that truth practically
manifests, how we walk now in these truths and are blessed
in these truths. So I pray the Lord bless that
word to our hearts, brother. Amen.