down there in Spring Lake, great
preaching, all blessed. We worship the Lord. It was a
sweet time. Those folks I hadn't seen in
a long time. Now, this Wednesday night, we're not having service. David and I are going to Winston-Salem.
David's brother has had pancreatic cancer. It looks like he might
be coming back, so we're going to see if we can spend a little
time with him. I remember him, Randy, in your prayers. I also
remember us as we traveled. He said, we won't have Wednesday
night service, and maybe not be back Thursday. And we'll figure
it out, okay? Yeah, I found that. And other
than that, I can't think of any other announcements. I remember
that there's been added to the prayer list, Wanda Vance, Alice
Dyer, Ernest Pantler, Patty Hadley, and Alma. Anybody else? our worship service this morning
with hymn number 466, Christ Live Within Me. But if not for the light, I found
the right to live within thee. Christ liveth in me! Christ liveth in me! Oh, what a salvation this, that
Christ liveth in me! And the praise of life Christ is living in me. So, praise the Christ liveth in me! Christ liveth in me! What a salvation this, that Christ
liveth in me! With all, with all my heart, may be Christ liveth in me! What a salvation this, that Christ
liveth in me! beginning at verse 1, I'm going
to read through verse 11. If ye then be risen, or such
ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection
on things above, not on things of the earth. For ye are dead,
and the life is in Christ, who is our life, shall
appear. Then shall ye also appear with
him in glory. Mortify, therefore, your members,
which are on the earth, for an occasion of uncleanness, in order
that affectation of evil concupiscence, covetousness, which is idolatry.
For which thing's sake the wrath of God cometh on the children
of disobedience? In the which ye also walked some
time when ye lived in them, But now you have put off these, anger,
wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communications out of your mouth.
Lie not one to another, seeing that you put off the old man
of his deeds. And have put on the new man,
which is renewed in the knowledge after the image of him that created
him. Where there is neither Greek
nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, bond or
free, but Christ is all, and in all. that you have given to your children. It gives them understanding and
knowledge. Through faith they see wondrous
things that you have done for them. The things that you have
done for them are by nature unbelievable. And we who know you and have
been given faith find that Most of the stuff we declare to believe
in love, we can't even explain. It's a wonder and a mystery and
amazing. And we are thankful that you've
given us faith. Without it, we would never see
anything. We thank you for the grace of
God and the mercy that is ours every day. and a sufficient grace
for every need. We know that's because Jesus
Christ, your blessed spotless son, gave his life on account
of his truth, paid the sin that we owe, satisfied your justice
and law, and was made to be our righteousness. And we stand,
even though we know what we are and are embarrassed by what we
are, We stand accepted in the blood because you see us in Jesus
Christ. Help us, Lord, to be thankful
every day that we consider that what you have done has made our
sins to be forgiven and put away and not even remembered anymore.
That you've justified us and sanctified us and made us holy. What can we say to these things? We know that the believer's lot
in life is trial and tribulation. We thank you for them, Father,
for we know that the end product of things they bring us to the
feet of Jesus Christ. You will make us know, as we
live in this world, that this world cannot help us. Father,
we pray this hour that you might be pleased to give us worship. In Christ's name, amen. Unworthy am I. Unworthy am I of the grace that
you give. Unworthy is your due respect. Amazing! The Heavenly Word was
done! and now by I'm I'm worthy Worthy of angels to sing I feel
just to know that You love me so much A partner along with
the King He, unworthy, a beggar in God's
eternal home. But He made me worthy to have
by His grace. His mercy has made me His own. glorious Savior, and having accomplished
salvation for His people, redeemed them by His blood, sits now at
Thy right hand, ever living, to make intercession for them.
We know, because You have taught us by Your Spirit what we are
by nature, that we have nothing of value save what You have given
to us in Your great covenant of grace. Let us return unto
Thee that which belongs to You. For we ourselves are bought with a price. Let us worship
You in this manner, we pray in Christ's name. Amen. and and and you you chapter 3, these words are spoken
according to verse 12, to the elect of God. The elect of God
are those who were chosen to salvation before the foundation
of the world, Christ being made their surety and assuming their
sin debt before they even entered this world, taking accountability for that
sin debt, ensuring that it would be When we seek to understand these
things, they are too great for us. To think that we, as children
of God, as the elect of God, came into this world, not owing God anything. Because Christ did as some guy
did. That's what it surely is. He
signed his name, guy did. God never looked to us to pay.
He looked to Him to pay. And He did. He paid that debt.
And these words are spoken to those who are chosen of God from
the foundation of the world, for whom Christ was made sure
to. They are called the elect. In other places, they are called
the church. Still other places, they are called the sheep. In
the Old Testament, they were called those who were severed
from humanity. and the children of the brethren
of the Lord Jesus Christ, who he said in Hebrews, I'm not ashamed
to call them brethren. I'm not ashamed. I'm glad he's not, because I'm
ashamed all the time. In my mind, in my heart, I'm
continually embarrassed by the thoughts that run through my
head. But this is a, these verses are admonitions and assurances
based on some particular absolutes found in the previous chapter
those elected here speaking to in chapter 2 verse 9 are said to be that in him dwelleth
the fullness of the Godhead bodily and verse 10 says you are complete
in him which is the head of all principality
and power in baptism, for and also ye are
risen with him through the faith of the operation of God who raised
him from the dead." In this glorious assertion where
Christ is all in all, that's how this verse 11 ends with these
words. Christ is all and in all. In all who? In all who are complete
in Christ? in all who are the elect of God
in all who are buried with Him in baptism and risen with Him
Christ raised Him and God raised Him from the dead for those referred
to in these verses Christ is all and He's in all of them He's
in all of them for those who are complete in Him for those
who are buried with Him this is not hyperbole this is one
of the wonders of scripture No man can explain how in the world
I was in Jesus Christ on Calvary Street. I can't. I know it was
considered in Him, God saw me in Him, but in Him? It's a wonder. We were having this discussion
down at the meeting this week, that most of the stuff that we
believe is unbelief. Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit are all one, and yet they're three distinct characters. And
yet Christ is all of them put together. For in Him dwell the
fulnesses of God and His body. For unto us a Child is born,
and unto us a Son is given. In Him shall we be called Wonderful,
Counselor, and the Mighty One, the Everlasting Father, and the
Prince of Peace. He's all, and He's in all who
are His people. emotions, or sentiment, which
change with every wind, can be altered by any circumstance,
this is just so. This is just so. To these, the
elect, Christ is all, and in all. And this itemization of
glad tidings begins with the words, if ye be risen with Christ. We know that word, if, is high,
it's an argumentative if, it means since. The word ye and
risen are the same word in the original language. Ye are risen. So the word risen is used twice
here. The actual reading is, if risen,
therefore risen with Christ. This speaks of this first resurrection
when the elect were risen together with the Lord Jesus Christ. That
too is a mysterious language, but it is the language of God.
In Ephesians chapter 2, verses 5 and 6, it says, even when we
were dead in sin, quickened together with Christ
by grace you're saved and he's raised us up together and made
us to sit together in heavenly places in the Lord Jesus Christ
it's a simple phrase that means since you were risen with Christ
since this is so here's the first admonition seek those things
which are above now he's going to make a dual application here. He's going to talk about things
that are above and things that are below. Things that are in
heaven and things that are in earth. That's what he's going
to deal with here in this passage of scripture. The focal point
of the believer's view is above. It's an upward view. It's a view
of the Lord Jesus Christ. Looking unto Jesus, the author
of the message of our faith, before the joy set before him,
endured the cross, despising the shame, and he sat down at
the right hand of the Father. John chapter 5, verse 39 says,
you search the scriptures and you think you find eternal life,
but they are they which testify of me. And in Luke 24, he took
the disciples to Emmaus and set them aside and told them all
the scriptures, how they spoke of him, whether it be in the
Psalms, or the Proverbs, or the Prophets, the Old Testament,
the first five books. All of them speak of me, he said.
And then he opened their understanding, so they'd understand the scripture.
Some people say that Simon Peter got the keys to the kingdom,
and they say, well that means he's the pope. They don't mean
he's the pope, because you know what is the key to the kingdom?
Jesus Christ is the key of knowledge, it says in the scripture. Simple
phrase, seek those things which are above. But this is not an
admonition to ponder the wonders of heaven, or walk around with
your head in the clouds and an ethereal grin on your mug, because
things which are above are defined as this, where Christ sits. Where Christ sits at the right
hand of God. Now those two things mean a great
deal. First of all, Christ is sitting down. It is declared
very much, Christ sits. He's not up, he's not busy, he's
not hanging over the banisters of heaven, wringing his hands,
wishing you'd do something. He's sitting down. Why? He's
sitting down because he's finished the work. If you read the Hebrews,
when he talks about the priesthood, and they were busy twenty-two
hours a day, they never sat down seven days a week. They worked.
They kept the candles lit, they kept the showbread fresh, they
kept the Altar coals burning, they kept incense up. That's
going on all day long. They ran in shifts. In fact,
they had six-week sections where a priesthood worked for six weeks
and he was off for six weeks. Because they were so busy, they
had to take some time off. So busy. They never sat down. There was not a couch or a set
tee or a chair anywhere in the tabernacle. Read it. Read the
temple. Find out what the elements were.
There's no chair there. There's no place to sit down. But he speaks of Jesus Christ
in reference to those who were under the law and who those priests
who did all this work. He said, but this man, after
he had made one sacrifice forever, he sat down. For by himself he
hath purged our sins, it says in Hebrews chapter 1. When he
had purged our sins, he sat down. So after purging our sins, he
sat down on the right hand of God. There's nothing left to
do in the salvation of sinners, except the application of it
by the Holy Spirit to those whom God has already redeemed. And
the good news they have is not that they can be saved, but that
they are. They have been saved. This is their salvation. Their salvation. We set our affection where Christ
sits. Christ sits. It's perfected for
ever them that are sanctified. The right hand of God is an exalted
position. He sits there because he earned
the right to do so, because he finished the work that God gave
him to do, having perfectly accomplished the salvation of those who are
risen with him. Scripture declares that plain
in Philippians 2. He was obedient to the even to
the death of the cross, wherefore, because he did that, wherefore
God has highly exalted him and given him a name above every
name, that every knee at the name of Jesus, every knee shall
bow and every tongue confess that he is Lord to the glory
of the Father. For to this end, it says in Romans
14, and for to this end he died, rose, and resurrected. that he
might be the Lord of the living and of the dead. He sits there
exalted because he earned the right to sit there as a human
being, honoring God in all aspects of his law and his justice. He sits upon the throne of lordship,
being king of kings and lord of lords. He has taken his power
unto himself and he reigns in indisputable sovereignty. This
is the designated view. Look yonder. Set your affection
on things above and not on things of this earth. He's a sovereign,
successful substitute. He's the Lord of glory, the Lamb
upon the throne, and this is who He is to all believers. This seeking is further defined
in terms of affection or love. Set your affection, that's singular,
on things above and not on things of the earth, we pay attention
and give ourselves to that which were those who we love. A strong distinction is included
in these words. Set your affection on things
above and not on things of this earth. on things above and not on things
of the earth. Our view is to be vertical and
not horizontal. Things eternal and not things
temporal. I'm sad to say I don't do this
very well. How about you? This again does
not mean we are not to live and to function in this world. No,
but rather Christ is to be our point of reference. We're to
measure everything by our relationship with Him and His relationship
with us. He is the governing principle,
that which informs us, defines us, and motivates us in all that
we do. We are to live in the light of
the fact that our Savior sits at the right hand of the Father,
has finished our salvation, and rules in absolute sovereignty.
And I confess to you, I fail on this about every day. Circumstance
does have an effect on me. What goes on in the world has
an effect on me. Shame on me. Christ is all. This is where
our love is to be. Because, read verse 3, if you
are risen with Him, you must have likewise been dead with
Him. For you are dead and your life
is hid with Christ and God. When Christ died, we died. death. He's all our death. He's all and in all, he's all
our death. What does that mean? It's good
news to redeem sinners because it declares that the law has
no power over us and no grounds upon which it can accuse us.
The law can't touch a dead man. That's why people get so upset
when someone who commits some heinous crime and murders somebody
gets killed. Because we don't feel like they got justice. We
want justice. We want them to go to court.
We want them to be sentenced. We want them to be put in jail
for life or go to the electric chair. So we want that. We don't
get that. We don't get that. That person
cannot be touched by the law. We want the law to do something
about it. And most of religion wants the law to do something
about you. Wants the law to condemn you. Wants the law to catch you
in some act. Wants the law to sentence you.
Most of religion, that's why they use the law to keep people
guilty, run them down. But the law can't touch you if
you're dead. Go to the graveyard, start accusing those people,
see how they act. You can't touch them. We're dead. Paul said dead to the law. By
the law. Even the law itself declares
we're dead. And so the law can search us
top and bottom and can find nothing whatsoever. That's good news. That's good news. Christ, when
he died a perfect death, it satisfied the law, the justice of God.
His work was our death. When we take the Lord's table,
what do we show for? His death. When we go into the
baptismal water, what do we show for? When we preach the gospel,
what do we do? We show forth His death. We are
dead in Him and we will never suffer the second death. And
our natural demise is accounted as nothing more than falling
asleep in Christ. with Christ in God. This addresses
our safety and protection. Surely, Scripture declares that
no weapon formed against us shall prosper our life, our spiritual
experiences, hidden with Christ in God. This is a double safety. This means also that we have
in Christ this spiritual life cannot be seen, cannot be discerned. He said that He shed the Holy
Ghost in our hearts. The Holy Ghost of God and I.
Would you like to show me your Holy Ghost? I can't show you mine. It's one
of those things you've got to believe or do believe if you're
a child of God because you can't prove any of it. This is a life
that was hid with Christ in God. It cannot be proved. The world
and its religion cannot touch our life because God has concealed
it. Scripture says in the Proverbs, and it's the glory of the Lord
to conceal a thing to conceal a thing the fact is that it's a fine
thing that we can't see it because I think we'd probably try to
tinker with it if we did it's a fine thing our flesh cannot
touch our spirit because our flesh we cannot look at anything
we do and see it as entirely spiritual for what we did. Our flesh and
our spirit are contrary to one another. Our life is here with
Christ and God. We can't see our life. So we
don't know, we're not too sure that anything we do is really
becoming as good as that bird in and of itself. We could, if
we could, our flesh would love this life if we could see it
and applaud it and we would pat ourselves on the back for anything
good that we might think we've done. Thank God our life is here. All you can say is, I believe. And that don't stand with the
world. Because the world says, you've got to show me something.
You've got to show me something. You say, I can't. Why? Well,
my life is here with Christ and God. Verse 4 declares, when Christ,
who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with
him in glory. Religion talks about inviting
Christ into your life, but the fact is you don't have a life
unless Christ is your life. What you are or what you have
without Christ is a walking death. Without Christ, you're an ambulatory
corpse, a whited sepulcher full of dead men's bone. To truly
live is to live eternally accepted by God, and that life is Jesus
Christ. That's our life. Now this one's
going to end, and you know the older we get, the more we see
the reality of that fact, the more we feel it in our bones.
We know we'll soon pass off this scene, we know that. Life is
a vapor, it's a flash. Ask our dear old ones here in
church, and I'm one of them dear old ones, how fast this life
is going. That's why the Lord said, cease
ye from men whose breath is in his nostrils. He didn't say whose
breaths are in his nostrils. He says whose breaths are in
his nostrils. Because if the Lord gives you
the next breath, our life is a vapor and it passes
so fast. To truly live, you can say you have a life is to be accepted by God and
Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ is all of it what's my life?
Christ who is our life who is our life when he who is our life
shall appear it says we shall appear with him in glory when
he appears our life now hidden in him will be revealed as him
he is our life Christ is all the mortification of the deeds
of the flesh. Look at verses five through seven. Mortify.
That means crucify. Nail unto the cross. Mortify therefore your members
which are upon earth. Fornication. Folks don't talk
about that anymore. Uncleanness. Inordinate affection. Loving what you shouldn't love.
Evil concupiscence. All manner of That's idolatry, you see. To
want something that God hasn't given you, to put your mind and
heart upon it and warn it what God has not given you is idolatry. For which things the wrath of
God come on the home of children of disobedience? Now the Lord
spoke about the children of disobedience in another place. In Ephesians
chapter 2, He made some distinctions there. It says in verse 1, "...and you,
if he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein
times passed, you walked according to the course of this world."
In other words, you followed the dictates of the narrative
of this world. You listened to what the world
said and you made up your minds and your decisions based on what
the world is saying. According to the prince of the
power of the air, the devil. the spirit that now worketh in
who? The children of disobedience.
What a five-year deed in the flesh, because those things are
what the wrath of God come upon the children of disobedience.
Like in Ephesians 2, it says, among whom also we had our conversation. We were there. That was us by
nature. In times past in the blood fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and the mind and we were by nature born this way the children
of wrath even as others I'm so glad those two little words are
there we were by nature that but we're not that by the spirit
because if you'd be risen with Christ it's a whole different
ballgame and therefore you can mortify the deeds of the flesh
by looking to Christ Looking to Christ, setting our affections
on things above and not things on the earth. Mortify their folk,
you see. Based on what? Based on the fact
that you're looking at the Lord Jesus Christ. They do not die by means of carnal
effort. If you want to try to quit doing that,
go ahead and try if you want to. If I'm going to start doing
this, go ahead and try to start if you want to. It ain't going
to work. They do not die by means of carnal
effort. By trying to dress up Adam or
putting lipstick and a pretty bow on a pig. Or quitting this
or starting that. They die only one way. Starvation. Starvation. Being starved for affection.
Do you set your affection on things above? they become less and less important. With our affection, I said on
Christ, the affection of the flesh is severely diminished.
That's the only way it happens. Christ is all our mortification
of the flesh. He's all of it. You remember
the old story that every man has two wolves in him. One evil
and one good. when you feed. Verses six through
nine are illumination of our flesh, for which things say the
wrath of God cometh upon children of disobedience, into which ye
also walked sometime when ye lived in them. But now also ye
have put these off, anger, wrath, malice, blasphemy, and filthy
communications out of it, lie one not one to another, seeing
that ye have put off the old man with his deeds. That is us and Adam. The old
man was crucified with Christ, but he died a slow death. And
we know by nature or by experience that he ain't dead yet. That's
why we're not told he actually died. We're told to reckon him
to be dead. That's setting your affection
on things above, reckons him to be dead. That's a reckoning
for him to be dead. Love not the things of the world,
John said in 1 John chapter 2. For the things of the world are
the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, and the lust of the
flesh. These things are not of God, they're of the world, and
they will pass away. They will pass away. Putting
off the old man is reckoning him to be dead, to have died
when we die. And one day that will come to
pass in truth. It's a kind of imputation. When
we charge him with death, we say he's dead. Well, he don't
feel dead, and I feel him rising up in my bosom all the time.
He's dead! We just ain't buried him yet,
but we will one day when they put our carcass six feet under.
No evidence may say otherwise. The Lord says, stop doing these
things in the flesh. Faith in Christ reckons him dead. verse 10 reveals our estate in
Christ and you put on a new man which is renewed in the knowledge
after the image of him that created him this reveals our estate in
Christ referred to as the new man or the new creation or the
new creature you ain't no creator and neither am I there's just
one creator and it's Jesus Christ We understand by faith and by
faith we reckon it to be so. We cannot see it or feel it or
show evidence of it. This new man, this new man is
a believer and his faith is in Christ alone. His life is invisible.
It's hidden from God and he's dead. This is the language used
in scripture. Christ is all the new man. He's
all the new man. Verse 11, and this is a wondrous
thing, where there is neither Greek
nor Jew. That means there's neither religious or intellectual. Not incorrect. You know, the
world talks a whole lot about freedom and equality, but in
the natural realm that is an absolute impossibility. Because if you have freedom,
somebody is going to try to do better than somebody else. It's
just human nature. And there goes equality, ultimately. If you have freedom, you can
try for an effort at opportunity of equality. But the two are
absolutely enemies in the natural world. But there is a place. There is a place. where everyone is free and everyone
is equal. They have an equal standing.
There's not one of them more righteous than anybody else.
There's not one of them that have a greater standing in heaven
than anyone else. Not one. They're all equal. And yet they are totally free
to enjoy all that God has given them. And that's what this is talking
about. Not in Christ. Not in Christ. There's neither barbarian nor
Scythian. That's talking about race. In Christ there is no race. There is no race. Christ is all
our religion. Christ is all our internet. Christ
is all our identity. Christ is all our culture. Christ
is all our race. Neither barbarian nor Scythian.
Christ is all our state. Neither bond nor free. Neither
bond nor free. all the same, that's what it
says, in Jesus Christ. Men and women are the same in
Jesus Christ. They may hold different offices,
may have different functions, but exactly they have the same
standing in Jesus Christ. What is that standing? It's Christ.
The Lord, our righteousness. He is our righteousness. Christ
is all. All of our estate, Christ is
all. And in every child of God, everyone born of the Spirit and
washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, every one of them, Christ
is held by His Spirit through the Word of God. Father, bless
us to win our understanding of prayer in Christ's name. Amen.