Back to Romans eight. Looked at two down to 14 last week. Thought we'd continue on in the thought process that we've been looking at as we've been looking at Paul's writing about this continual warfare that we experience as the child of grace. We started in chapter seven and have been working our way this direction. And kind of the underlying theme that I've been trying to convey has been that there is no progressive sanctification in the child of grace. there is a progressive illumination of who our Savior is and the person in whom our salvation is wrapped up in. The gospel is about Jesus Christ. It's not about what you do for Jesus Christ. The gospel is about what Christ has accomplished, not about what you have to become, okay? The gospel is the good news of the finished work of Jesus Christ on behalf of all of his children.

And so we've been looking at this struggle that Paul has put forth that even though the child of grace has been justified before God by the blood and righteousness of Jesus Christ, that in this life, God has ordained that that child of grace continue in this body of death that this flesh, this outward man, this person that we are in the first Adam, that we continue on in that, and that person, that flesh, this Adamic man, cannot keep the law of God. It cannot do anything to please God. It cannot do anything to make himself or herself acceptable to God, whether it's for eternity or for a short amount of time. There is nothing that you can do to please God. The only thing that is pleasing to God is His Son. And then the works that are wrought in us by the Son are pleasing to God because He ordained them, right? For we are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus unto good works which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them, and then the Bible tells us that all of our works are wrought in God, right? They're worked out by God, for it is He who works in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure.

So we can't put claim to anything, and we surely can't claim that this outward fleshly man is getting better, getting more holy, or putting off more and more sin every day, because the Bible clearly has told us, and we've looked at this, in the past already. The Bible says that the outward man perishing, but the inward man is renewed every day. The inward man is the one who is being held and kept and sustained by the power of God in the spirit of God. And it is the inward man who is continually being revealed. His mercies are new every day. His illumination and revelation of who he is to the child of grace is what is the thing that is growing. We grow in the grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. We don't grow in the grace and the activity of holiness. It doesn't say that. We grow in the grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And then as we looked at last week, we do mortify the deeds of the flesh, but we found out that mortifying the deeds of the flesh is not me stopping sinning. That's not what mortifying the deeds of the flesh means. To mortify the deeds of the flesh or to reckon myself dead means to not trust or not put hope in this flesh to produce any kind of righteousness. That's what mortifying the deeds of the flesh are. To mortify the deeds of the flesh is to put to death the notion that we can produce a righteousness by our outward man. And then to walk in the spirit or to walk by faith or to be led by the spirit means to be walking in faith of what Christ has done as our righteousness, that he is the righteousness that God is looking at on our behalf. He's not looking at Mike Smith and what Mike Smith is doing to obey him as a righteousness, because the Bible says that all of our righteousnesses are his filthy rags.

And I know I say this a lot, I know I pound this to the nth degree, but always notice in that verse, it says all of our righteousnesses, not our unrighteousnesses. See, our unrighteousnesses are surely sin, but all of our righteousnesses is considered such because we cannot fully keep the law of God. And if you don't keep it all, then you've broken it all, right? So it's either, complete and total obedience or it's complete and total sinfulness.

Our outward man, our sinful man, our fleshly man can do nothing but sin. That's why Paul says, when I long to do that which is good, I find that evil is with me continually because the outward man cannot produce righteousness. The inward man has been given by the Spirit of God a desire and a longing for righteousness, a desire and a longing for holiness, a desire to please and to love the Lord God, but it finds that in my flesh there dwells no good thing.

We can't keep it, we can't do it. There's nothing that we can do where God looks at that and says, oh yeah, you've done something to show that you are mine, that you love me, okay? The only thing that we can say or look at is that God has put his love in our hearts, therefore we can love him. God has wrought a work in us, and therefore we experience that, we feel that.

Paul is leading us through this warfare of the flesh against the spirit, the spirit against the flesh. And we found ourselves in the chapter eight where when we found out that there was nothing good that we could do and all we can do is with our flesh serve the law of sin and then with our mind serve the law of God, then how are we to live on that? How are we to come and get that in the in the quiet of the night whenever we're sitting there and we realize what a pathetic failure we've been all day long in trying to be a righteous person, whenever we know the depths of our sinfulness, our depravity, our disobedience, and even those things which are lustful and sinful and debaucherous, those things that are wicked and evil, morally speaking, that we may have committed.

And we sit there in the wake of the night and we start thinking to ourselves, how in the world could God love me? How in the world could I be his child? How in the world is that? Paul comes in with 8 1. There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

But then the question becomes, how do we know that we are in Christ Jesus? How do we know that we are one of his? How do we know that What he has done was done for us, right? Well, that's where we kind of get to today.

Number one, he's already hinted at it. Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, verse nine, if so be that the spirit of God dwell in you. Now, if any man have not the spirit of Christ, he is none of his. So if the spirit of Christ is not in us, we are none of his. But if the Spirit of Christ is in us, we are walking by the Spirit.

What does that mean? That means that the Spirit is cultivating within us a mindset that looks away from self and self-righteousness and looks to Christ alone for righteousness. Remember, I was talking about that last week. The repentance of the scriptures, the thing that Paul is getting us to is there has to be a change in mindset. Quit thinking that we can obtain a righteousness by outward works and look by faith to Christ and what He did in His works for us. That's the mindset change. That's the repentance. We turn from self-righteousness, we turn to His righteousness. We turn from putting any confidence in our flesh and we put all confidence in Christ and His promises. That's the change of mindset.

So Paul here has said, if you are a child of grace, the spirit of God is in you. And now the spirit of God is leading you and he's leading you into righteous thinking, not unrighteous thinking. Remember, Paul, whenever he said those that were trying to still live after the law, he said that they've not submitted to, they've not submitted to God, that they're trying to produce a righteousness of their own. and that they've not submitted to the gospel, they're not submitted to the righteousness, which is in Christ Jesus.

Well, that's what happens in the flesh. The flesh looks away and wants to submit to the law. It wants to try to submit to the law, but the child of grace knows that I can't submit to the law and therefore he submits to the righteousness, which is in Christ Jesus. It's a mindset thing. It's a thought in our mind, taking every captive thought to the obedience of Christ. We take all of our thoughts, not from our flesh and what it can accomplish, but we take our thoughts and make them captive to the obedience that is in Christ Jesus. Everything we do, what should I do? How should I please God? What should I do? Look to Christ Jesus. I know people say, well, that's just too simple. It is. It is very simple. in a way of speaking. It's impossible to do unless you are a child of grace, unless you are enabled by God, unless the Holy Spirit is in you doing this very work in you.

And so Paul picks up today, we left off in verse 14, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. So how do we know that this is us? what the Spirit of God is leading us away from our flesh for righteousness and leading us and giving us rest and peace and comfort to know that Christ has accomplished it all for us. To know that God has accepted us because of what Christ did. He's not accepting us based upon what we need to try and do. accepted us based upon Christ.

And so we left off in 14, but let's move on from 14 and make our way down. Verse 15, for you have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. See what we had before the spirit of God quickened us and before we was given revelation of the gospel and illumination to our salvation. Before that, what did we have? We had do this and live. We had keep up a performance before God to be acceptable before God. We had a self-righteousness that was driving us. How am I gonna get to go to heaven? My good deeds gonna have to outweigh my bad deeds. You know, that type of mentality. And so we are in bondage to the law. That's how seven started out, remember? We were in bondage to our first husband. But now that husband has died. The old covenant has ended. The old covenant is dead. It's died. It's gone. The new covenant has been made manifest. And the new covenant is made upon better promises. See, you couldn't keep and obtain the promises of the old covenant. The new covenant is built on better promises. You know why? Because those promises are not got anything to do with you. That's what's so good about the new covenant. The new covenant is built on better promises because it is not contingent upon your keeping anything or doing anything. The promises are to be kept in Christ. The Bible says that all the promises of God are yay and amen in Christ, right? That's the good part of it.

And so Paul here is saying, you have not received the spirit of bondage again to go back into bondage again. Whenever the spirit came in, the spirit didn't come in to tell you to get back to work to the law. When the spirit came in, the spirit came in to give you liberty, to give you freedom from the law, to give you liberty in Christ Jesus, to know that all my law keeping has already been done. that God is not looking at my performance, but he looked at Christ Jesus. And that he has given us the spirit and we walk in that. We're not in bondage and fear again.

But he says, but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father. We've been adopted. This old fleshly man that cannot Please God, this old fleshly man that cannot do any good, this old fleshly man that all he does is sin and break God's law and is full of filthy unrighteousness. Guess what? God adopted that. And he said, guess what? I'm gonna adopt that.

For a couple of reasons, I believe. Number one, I believe he adopted that because of what was inside of that. He adopted that outward man because of the new man that is inside of him. Who is that new man that is inside of us? Well, that new man that is inside of us is the seed of Christ Jesus. He's the child of grace. He's the child of Christ. That new inward man is a child of God. and because of him being a child of God, this outward man has been adopted for a time. This outward man has been given adoption, has been given a love because of the inner man.

Now, the second reason I believe that is because the inner man is in Christ Jesus. It's a seed of Christ and Christ is the first beloved. Christ is the first love. He is the first elect. He is the elect of God. We are in him. He is the first that is blessed of God, and we are blessed because we are in him. Ephesians 1 again, we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. It's because of our eternal vital union to Christ that we have been blessed Therefore, that inward man who is not only a child of God, but it is actually a spiritual seed of Christ himself, that eternal life that is Christ has given life to us. His life is our life. We have eternal life because we are a child of grace. Just like these kids here have natural life because of me. They have my natural life. They are my seed. They are my offspring. And therefore, because if, now the Lord hasn't blessed me with any kind of monetary anything, but if he would have, these children would be blessed with something because I was blessed with something. Now they may be blessed in other ways, but that's for another discussion.

So because we are children of God spiritually, that spiritual person has been put in this earthen vessel. This earthen vessel has been adopted of God. You say, well, I don't know about that preacher. Bear with me. The spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God. Now, here's where hope, here's where assurance of faith, the hope of faith, here's where it comes in. Notice if you would what we've been talking about. It is not an outward work. It is an inward work. It is not an outward righteousness. It is a imputed righteousness. It is an inward desire of righteousness, but it can't be accomplished outward.

So how do I know that this is for me? How do I know that this is who that I am, who Paul is talking about? How do I know that I am a child of God and that the promises that Christ has given are for me?

Well, we know it isn't because of any deeds that I do on the outside because all the deeds that I do on the outside point that I am not a child of it. But here's the blessedness of adoption, brother. That despite how bad and wicked and evil this outward man is because of who I am in the inward man and who that life sprang forth from in the first Adam. Excuse me, the second Adam. I am adopted of God. And being adopted of God, He has sent forth His Spirit, whereby that child who is in the inner man can cry out to Him, Abba Father.

Despite the outward flesh not being able to do anything pleasing to God, the inward man is compelled to look to the Holy of Holies and say, Abba Father. Does that not coincide with the Bible that says that we have been given access to God whenever the veil was written to, and we were given access to God, and the Bible says that we can now come boldly before the throne of grace?

Well, before that, we couldn't. Why? Because that wall of separation was put up. That veil was there. The only one that could go into the Holy of Holies was someone who had been cleansed The priest that went in there, he had to make atonement for himself. He had to cleanse himself. He had to wear all the right garb. He had to go in and whenever he went in, he went in because, picturesque, he was cleansed and perfect and holy. Nobody else could go in there. And if he happened to go in without following God's strict law about how cleansing should be done, if he went in, he died. If anybody else outside the court would have ran in and went back behind that veil, they would have died. If some Gentile would have came into the court and walked into the back of that thing, guess what? They would have died. No one was to go into the Holy of Holies except who God had prescribed.

And before the new covenant was manifested to us, all we had was Mount Sinai. you put your hand to this, you're gonna die. If we try to put our hand to the law and do it, we're gonna die. Why? Because in my flesh was no good thing. Because I can't keep the law of God. And so the spirit of adoption comes to us and the spirit of adoption tells us, the spirit itself bears witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.

Where does my hope of assurance, my hope of faith come? It doesn't come from my outward works or the outward things that I do. I never try to get assurance by who I am outwardly and what kind of work I'm doing for the Lord. I get it because the Spirit of God produces it in me. The Spirit of God produces that in me. It is a work of the Spirit. The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are His. It's a supernatural thing. It's a divine thing. It's a spiritual thing. It's not a physical thing. It's a spiritual thing. God spiritually works within the child of grace to let them know that they are his. I can't produce that.

All these people that teach and listen, I'm one of them. I'm guilty of it. I'm one of them. I used to teach on how we can be assured of this or that. How we know that we are God's people. How we know that we are God's children. How we know these things. We can have this assurance based upon this, this, this, this, this, this, whatever. I used to do that. I used to preach and teach how we can cultivate our spiritual gifts. I would teach on the gifts of the spirit throughout the scripture and how we can build them up. Even had little lesson books and had little ideas about how we can build our spiritual gifts. I even give tests out on how you can find your spiritual gift and know what your spiritual gift is.

See, I preached like that because I was ignorant. Ignorant of the scriptures. Ignorant of the truth. I preached those things because God had not revealed truth yet. And so I would preach that we could know that we are his children by the outward things that we do. You will know them by their fruit. The only thing is, is we think that fruit is outward works of religion, and not the inward works of the Holy Spirit.

See, that's the fruits that we know them by, is the inward works of the Spirit. And if children, the Spirit himself bear witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if so be that we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified together. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.

" Now, brethren, here it is. This is kind of getting in some deep things here. If we are children, then we are heirs of God. That means that everything that God has promised, we are heirs of. They're ours. by right. Not right because of who we are on the outward man, but because who we are in Christ Jesus. We are heirs, joint heirs with Christ. But it says, if so be that we suffer, that we may also be glorified together.

See, if there's no suffering, if there's no struggle in these things, what's the suffering that Paul's talking about here? Well, if we look in context of what Paul has been preaching in seven and eight, we're looking at the struggle between the outward man and the inward man. About the true seed of God and the adopted child of God, the struggle between those two, the flesh and the spirit, the struggle that we have here, we are struggling between the flesh and the spirit. We are suffering the things of this outward man. As the inward man, the inward man experiences the struggles of this outward man. And the outward man experiences the struggles because of the inward man.

He says. For the earnest expectation of the creature. Pay note to that word there. For the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation of the sons of God. Now, we just learned here that the sons of God is not the outward man. Because that person had to be adopted. So who are the sons of God talking about? It's talking about who we are in the spiritual man, the inward man.

Remember, brethren, We are a spiritual people. We are spiritual Israel. We make up a spiritual family. We are a spiritual tabernacle in where God dwells. He no longer dwells in tabernacles made with hands. He dwells in spiritual tabernacles. Stay close to that because I want you to see something here in a minute.

beautiful, beautiful continuity of God's Word. He says the earnest expectation of the creature waited for the manifestation or the revelation or the showing forth of the sons of God. Well, who's the creature here talking about? Now, I've grown up hearing and preaching and teaching even whenever I came here, myself has even said this, that the creature in view here is all of creation. That all of creation has an earnest expectation and is waiting for the manifestation of the people of God or the sons of God.

And then I go on into verse 20 and say, for the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope, because the creature itself shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.

And so in all of that, that word creation, that word creature, I always took to be all of God's creation. that all of creation is groaning. These trees are out there groaning to be released from the curse. All the people on earth are yearning to be released from the curse. All the animals are yearning to be released from the curse.

But brethren, what is the context of our scriptures here? That there is a man inside of the outward man who groaneth to be released from this body of death. Paul even said it on a couple of accounts. Who shall deliver me from this body of death? There is a time whenever this body will be put down and a new body will be given to house that inner man so that the inner man and the outer man will be one whole man, not two.

So that that one inner man will have an outer body that is just as sinless and righteous as that inward man. And that's what we are longing for. Paul said, I long to go home and to put off this tent that I live in. And so right here, he says, for the earnest expectation of the creature. I looked that word up, creature. And creation. And I found that 11 times in our Bible, in the New Testament, at least 11 times. It is translated creature six times, it's. Translated creation.

But turn with me if you would to Hebrews chapter nine. I want you to see another way that that word for creature is translated by God or used by God. Hebrews chapter nine. And look with me at verse 10. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts and they will be, and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people.

Now he's talking about a spiritual thing here. He's talking about a spiritual Israel. He's talking about putting the law in their mind. That's what Paul said, I will serve the law of God in my mind, not in my flesh, in my mind. He says, I will put my laws in their mind and write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God. I will now cause them to look to me as their God, as their father. where they cry, I have a father and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people. They will be my people, my seed. I've adopted them. And they shall be to me a seed.

But look at verse 11. And they shall not teach every man his neighbor. Oh, I'm sorry, brother, I wanted to stop at verse 10. There, now drop down to verse, chapter nine and look with me at verse 11. That was chapter eight. Now look with me at verse nine and verse 11.

But Christ, being come a high priest of good things to come by a greater and more perfect tabernacle. That word tabernacle there is the exact same word creature. back in Romans, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building. So Christ becoming a high priest of good things to come by a greater tabernacle. God is becoming a priest, or Christ is becoming a priest in a greater tabernacle.

Now that word tabernacle is the exact same word that God uses for creature. Now, how does he connect this tabernacle that Christ is mediating in as the priest? See, Paul was saying that the Spirit had been given to him, and that Spirit that is given in him or given to him is not only calling out Abba Father, but that Spirit is also looking unto Jesus for his righteousness, looking unto Jesus as his atonement. Looking unto Jesus as his perfection for his salvation. He's looking to Christ to be our mediator between God and man, to bring us to God, to have access to God, to have satisfaction of justice.

He says, neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats and of the ashes of the heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctify to the purity of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, here it is, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God. That's the mindset again, brethren, that Paul is talking about in Romans eight. The mindset is that when the Holy Spirit comes, he purges our conscience from thinking of dead works, outward works. Everything that we do in the outward man is dead works. Their works They're active. They're zealous. They're religious. There may be moral. They may be, you know. In adherence to some things in the Scriptures, but the Bible says they are dead works. And the Spirit has been given to us to purge our conscience from the incessant need to continue to produce dead works. Why? because we have a mediator in this tabernacle. We have a mediator in this tabernacle who is mediating better promises, who is mediating a better covenant.

Now, that word there, again, means a building or a tabernacle. Look with me, if you would, at 2 Corinthians chapter 5. If you haven't picked up on it, Pressing that the word creature in Romans 8 is speaking of the spiritual man that is in us Which is the spiritual tabernacle of God in where God dwells? 2nd Corinthians chapter 5 and look with me if you would at verse 17 It says when I therefore was thus minded did I use lightness or the things? Not in the right one No, sorry 517 2 Corinthians 5, 17. It says, therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Notice that. That which is in Christ is a new creature. Now, this old man, this outward man is not in Christ. He is in Adam. Not Christ, he's in Adam. but this outward man has been adopted for a time, but the inward man is the one who is the new creature.

Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new." Now, to the rank Arminian, previous Mike Smith, that meant All my sins are passed away, and now obedience is where I go. I quit doing all those things that I used to do, and now I start doing all the things that God wants me to. The old man is passed away. He's not here anymore. I'm not what I once was. I'm not what I ought to be. Now I'm stressed to be this person. But brethren, what's he talking about here? He's talking about the old man. The old covenant is what he's talking about. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. The old nature and it's. Tied to the old covenant is passed away. The law is gone. The outward man and his inability to keep the law for the creature is of no consequence anymore.

Now what has come in is a new covenant with better promises. And it is worked in. It is regulated in. It is brought to the mind of that new creation, the new creature in where God dwells. God dwells in the new tabernacle. That's where his service is being performed. That's what the tabernacle was for, right? The tabernacle was the place of service. That's where you went to serve God in the tabernacle. That was the place of service. And now God is calling this inward man, the tabernacle, and that is the place of service.

How do we serve God in the inner man? Is that not what Paul said? I know that with my outward man, I'm gonna serve the law of flesh, but with my inward man, with my mind, I'm going to serve the law of God. Why? Because my inner man is the dwelling place of God, the tabernacle of God, the place where service is to be conducted. And in that tabernacle dwelleth the righteous king of all. Who happens to also be the only mediator between God and man. Who happens to be the only priest who can mediate these things between God and man, between man and God. He mediates the service. He's the one who works in me to will and to do His good pleasure. I'm the one who is given revelation of who He is, and I am given the work of the Spirit in me to bring me into worship and to love and to adoration to Him, to love for the brethren.

See, Paul is saying, listen, God is doing something in this tabernacle that could never be done in this outward tabernacle. This outward tabernacle couldn't produce a righteousness. It was just as tainted as the earthly tabernacle. That tabernacle never was meant to be something religious. By the way, neither will be the one that if there's ever one built in the future, it's never going to be anything either. Because he doesn't dwell in tabernacles made with hands. He doesn't dwell in tabernacles of service. That's no longer his mode of operandi. He is working in the spiritual hearts of all of his people who have become a spiritual people unto himself. And he, as those people have taken them as lively stones and have placed those lively stones and has spiritually built a spiritual house unto him. Every child of grace is a stone. Every child of grace builds up that heavenly tabernacle. We are the tabernacle of God. We are his stone.

But let me get back to this creature. Look back with me in Romans eight. Well, I'll tell you what, let's look at another verse just to kind of solidify what I just said. Colossians chapter one. Verse 15, the scripture says, speaking of Jesus, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.

Now, let's think about this for a minute. God elected a people in Christ, right? The Bible says that in him is life. He is eternal life. Therefore, all of his children derive their spiritual life from the spiritual head.

From the spiritual seed, whenever I say head, I'm not talking about face, skull, eyes, nose. I'm talking about the fountain. Whenever we talk about where a spring comes up the head of the fountain. What does that mean? That's where the spring, whenever you go to Roaring River and you go back and look at that pretty cave and see all that water and how blue it is and how deep it goes down, somewhere down there, way down there that nobody's reached yet, is a place where all of those millions of gallons of water comes up.

Me and Lori stopped at a place in Van Buren, Missouri a while back, and we walked up to this place and there was a hole in the ground and water was shooting up out of there and created a river. And I was reading on the little thing. It produces 218 million gallons of water a day. And it was coming out of a hole in the ground. You could just see it coming right up.

That's the head. I looked down the stream and I see all that water and how it's flowing out everywhere. It all comes from the head. The life of that stream, the life of that river, the flow of that head makes manifest in the river that it produces.

But where did it come from? It came from the head. Whenever we're talking about Christ as our head, we're talking about Christ as the source from where our life comes. The source from who we are. And He is the head. And it says here, He is the firstborn of every creature. That means that we have derived our life from him. So all this creature that is being talked about here, Christ is the first. God brought Christ forth to be manifested as in manhood so that he might be the representation, but also the head of all his generation. Who shall declare his generation? His seed. his people, his children, his life source that is going to flow from him.

Whenever Adam was created, all of his posterity was created in him. And everyone that you see in this whole entire world that has ever been and ever will be has flowed from the head, Adam, number one. We are all seeds of Adam, number one. But the children of God are all seeds, or the life flow of that inward man comes from the head, or the source, or the place where it originated, which was from the man, Christ Jesus, in whom God had chose to reveal himself to them through. to have relationship with. God chose to have a relationship with a people that He elected and He chose to do that through the mediation of the man Christ Jesus. Therefore, He brought forth Christ Jesus. He put Himself in Christ Jesus. All the fullness of the Godhead dwells bodily in Him. It says here that He is the firstborn of every

So I believe that this creature back in Romans chapter 8, the earnest expectation of the creature is speaking of the inward child of grace. That spiritual man. And what is it saying about that spiritual man? For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of sons of God. Is that not what Paul is saying? I'm waiting to put off this body. To disrobe from this tent and to see the manifestation of the true child of God. See, you can't see the child of God right now because he's invisible as God is. But one of these days, that true child of grace will put on immortality and will be seen. He says, for the creature was made subject to vanity. That child of grace whose fountainhead is Christ himself, the spiritual eternal life that came to those people was made subject to vanity. How? By being placed in these earthen vessels. We is made subject to vanity. That word vanity means sinfulness, corruption, That child of grace who knows no sin, that child of grace who cannot sin, that person that is the spiritual seed that flows from everlasting life has been put in an earthen vessel subject to sin.

For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly. See, we didn't choose to do that. It wasn't by our choice. God did that by His sovereign choice. God chose to do that. God didn't have to choose that. He elected us before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him in love. He could have easily, if He desired to, then created us in spiritual bodies that were spiritually perfect, that could walk around in front of all the other people that weren't spiritual people and show them what spiritual God looked like. But He didn't. He didn't do that. He chose to put that person within this earthen vessel so that we would, in hope, in faith, look to our fountainhead. So that we would look in hope to the day whenever this body that has been adopted would be resurrected. To a new body. He did that so that we would be subject to this vanity so that we might know and experience and live in hope and to learn dependence and trust upon our fountainhead, Christ.

For the creature was made subject to vanity not willingly, but by reason of him who has subjected the same in hope. because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. One of these days, this inward man, who is the child of God, will be liberated from this body of death. That's what Paul was asking. Who shall deliver me from this body of death? He says, for we know that the whole creation groaneth and treveleth in pain together until now. And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves grown within ourselves, waiting for the adoption to with the redemption of the body."

You see there's where that body comes in play. God has adopted this body until the day of redemption. The day of redemption, for this body will come whenever this body will go back to the dust, and a new body will be raised up. He says, for we are saved by hope, but hope that is seen is not hope. For what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for? But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it?

Look, if you would, I wanna, Reiterate this revelation about Christ being the fountainhead of the creature or the creation. Look in Revelation 3.14. I found some interesting things when studying this verse. Revelation 3.14 Christ speaking to Laodicean church here, introduces himself. He says, and unto the angel of the church of the Laodiceans write, these things saith the amen.

Interesting fact about the word amen there. If you trace that back into the Old Testament, that word amen there is referred to as God. It refers to the personage God and specifically it refers to the person of God in Christ Okay, and Christ here is calling himself the amen if you ever have a Jehovah's Witness or somebody like that a Mormon or somebody like that who says well Jesus never did you know claim to be God will take them right here to this verse right here because Jesus called himself the amen and The Hebrews understood amen to mean the person of God Christ is the person of God. If you want to put a personage upon God, Trinitarians like to make three personages, but if you want to put a personage to God, it's Christ. He is the person of God. He is the image of the invisible God, God manifested in the flesh.

And unto the angel of the church of the lay out of sin is right. These things say the amen, the faithful and true witness. Here it is, the beginning of the creation of God.

Now I got to thinking about that. He is the beginning of the creation of God as it pertains to this work. And by the way, that word creation there is also that same Greek word that we was looking at earlier, that tabernacle, that building, but it has to do with the people of God.

I looked at this phrase up, the beginning of the creation of God. I thought, I'm gonna go back and look at some other earlier Bibles, earlier translations of the scripture to see how they worded that and see if there was an understanding that might be there or this thought that I was having about the creation or the creature being the children of God and Christ being the fountainhead of that creation, meaning being the spiritual life and the spiritual life that we have flows because we are in him, because we are his children.

Young's literal translation, says that he is the chief of the creation. He is the chief of the creation. The literal, Greene's literal translation, which also was translated, used in all the same translation works as the King James Bible, says that he is the head of the creation. These things say the amen, the faithful and true witness, the head of the creation of God.

So at that point, he's not talking about a specific time in which the creation began. He's talking about being the source of that creation, right?

Well, I looked at the bishops Bible, which the bishops in the Geneva Bible pretty much always say the exact same things. And they did in this instance, it said the beginning of the creatures, it actually used the word creatures instead of creation of God.

Now, I don't know, brethren, listen, I'm not saying you're losing any meaning by saying creature or creation. Whenever you speak of the creation of God, you're talking about them as a whole in their in their institutional speaking, okay? But here he says the beginning of the creatures of God. The creation of God makes up the, or the creatures of God makes up the creation of God. But we see here that Jesus is the beginning of the creatures of God.

But in the apostolic polyglot, I found this phrase, which I thought was great because it combines the Bishop's Bible, the LITV, and the thought that we've seen where Christ being the head of his people. The polyglot says, these things sayeth the amen, the faithful and the true witness. And then it says, the source of the creation. It's where the creation comes from.

Now, brethren, I know that every bit of that can be said to say someone can come and say, well, yeah. That. Chair, that tree, this world, these leaves, that ground. Everything in this earth is the creation and God is the head of the crisis, the head of that in the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God. Everything that was made was made by him and for him. He is the creation of all things. By him, all things consist.

I know everybody could say that. And I think that you can apply that to that. I think that there is an instance that you can apply that there. But brethren, where does it fit within the direct context of Romans chapter eight, where Paul is dealing with the inner man and Paul is dealing with the outward man. And Paul is dealing with the subject of the groanings of the inward man because he can't produce a righteousness in the outward man. And who's going to deliver him from the body of death?

Paul's direct context is the struggle of the inward man who, by God's sovereign will, enslaved that inward man within the body of the outward man who cannot keep his law. He subjected him to vanity, but he did it for a purpose. He didn't just do it out of, you know, meanness. He did it for a purpose. And he tells us the purpose, that he subjected the same in hope. He subjected to them so that they might have hope in Christ. And that's what Paul was preaching about, that we are led by the Spirit. We are led by hope. We are led by faith. We are led by the promises of God, not by our outward man, not by our works, our dead works.

And so Paul is saying, you know, hey, I don't know if we're gonna deliver the crying out of the child of grace, who shall deliver me? What am I to do? But look, verse 26, likewise, The Spirit also helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray as we ought. But the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered."

Now, just a side note, Pentecostals use this verse for speaking in tongues. See there? The Spirit makes intercession for us, and then there's groanings which cannot be with utterance. You know, the Spirit gives us to speak things which Uh, it comes from the heart. You know, this is a spiritual language. Notice it says there that with words that cannot be uttered.

So what the Spirit is doing in the whenever we don't know how to pray, they say, well, whenever someone prays in the with tongues, it's because they don't know how to pray in the Spirit is interceding and they're speaking in tongues. Well, brethren says here and with words that cannot be uttered. There's a groaning in us that we can't express, that we can't get to the bottom of. A longing for something that we've never experienced before. A longing for a place that we've never been to, which the Bible calls our home. It says that we're just passengers, or we're just strangers down here passing through. But this is all we've ever known. Not the inward man. The inward man was born from above. He came from home. He came from home down to here. Just as Christ descended from heaven down to here, our life came from there down to here, and there is a groaning and a longing to be back home. A place where we've never been, where we've never seen, where we don't ever have any clue of what it's actually gonna be like. But yet the Bible says, Our spirit groan for these things and the Holy Spirit comes and makes intercession. Whenever we pray about these matters. And we don't know even know how to utter and he says and he that searches the hearts. Know with what is the mind of the Spirit. Because he maketh intercession for the Saints whenever we desire.

When Paul says I desire to keep the law of God in my mind. What's happening there? This God who searches the spirit knows, hey, the spirit that I have put in that man desires holiness. Why? Because I placed it there for one. Second of all, it's my spirit. Third, it's my life. That I put in him. But he that searches the heart knoweth what is the mind of the spirit. He knows what the spirit is bent on and desires and looks to. And so he makes intercession according to the will of God. So brother, I put forth that this creature, this creation that has been made subject to vanity, vanity is the inward child of grace. Who is at war with that man of the flesh? And that we have an earnest expectation. So putting down of this body. the relieving of this inward man, who shall deliver me from this body of death?

All right, does anybody have any questions, comments, or corrections and rebukes? Any thoughts on anything? Anybody want to share anything? All right. Thanks again, once again, for being here and for Your prayers for my dad this week, continue to remember Michael Orr. They're gonna be having a funeral for his mom today. Be in prayer for them and him and his brother and any other family that might be out there, but keep them in your prayers if you would. My dad hopefully will be going home today, so keep him in your prayers as he continues to recover.

All right, anybody else got a prayer request or anything? I have a friend named Lindsay, she had a surgery. I think her second surgery on her back. And I'd like God to be there to help her heal. So she can come back. Okay. All right. So remember, remember, Lindsay. All right. Anybody else?

All right. Once again, Father, we come to you thanking you so much for the man, Jesus Christ. We thank you that you've come forth from heaven and assumed our place in our stead, and you've taken upon yourself the sins of all your people. And because of that, Father, we who are your children can look and hope the earnest expectation of the removal of this body of death that we might, in all of its fullness, experience the sinless and righteousness and holiness of God as we live for eternity in your presence.

Father, Lord, I pray that the things that were said today, I pray if they are not of truth, Lord, that you would bring me into correction. But Father, I pray that if these be the things of truth, I pray that they have been a comfort to every child of grace that may be listening. Father, I pray that you might continue to keep us in the faith, to keep us looking to the gospel of Jesus Christ and looking away from our own self-righteousness. Lord, may you give us rest in him. May you give us comfort to know that all the promises are yea and amen in him. And Father, may we ever be here As we gather together, be here to glorify him and him alone and not our own efforts, not in the works of our flesh, the dead works that we pray that your spirit will continue to purge us from.

Lord, we just ask now that you'd be with us as we go this week. We do pray for those just mentioned this morning. I thank you for the surgery that my Dad went through for the pacemaker and Lord for you sustaining his life through that and being with all those working with him. We pray for brother Michael or during this time of bereavement, Lord of his mother, that you might be with him today as they celebrate her home going. Lord, I pray that you would just bless them in that. And I also pray Lord for Daniel's friend, Lindsey. that you would be with all those who will be working with her during this surgery or through this surgery and the rehabilitation afterward.

Father Lord, if it be your will, we ask all these things be done, but not as we will, but as you will, because we know that what you desire, what you have decreed, what you have determined, what you purpose is right and holy and true. And so Lord, we just place all these things in your will and knowing that your will will be done in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay your hand. It's in Christ's name that we pray these things. Amen.