Biblical and
Contemporary
Applications
of the Holy Spirit,
from a
Wesleyan-Pentecostal
Perspective
Oliver McMahan
Pentecostal Theological Seminary
Cleveland, Tennessee
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Table of Contents
Engaging Culture with Our Pentecostal Distinctives..................................................................................... 4
SANCTIFICATION ......................................................................................................................................... 15
INITIAL EVIDENCE ........................................................................................................................................ 18
SECOND COMING ........................................................................................................................................ 25
By the Spirit: The New Body for the New Heaven and New Earth ............................................................. 40
Poured Out to Grow In the Beauty of the Lord .......................................................................................... 44
Jesus’ Ministry Through the Holy Spirit ...................................................................................................... 45
By the Spirit ................................................................................................................................................. 48
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Engaging Culture with Our Pentecostal Distinctives
Introduction
Walking down the hallway to the meeting room, the shouts are obvious. Ovations of
jubilation ring with support and affirmation. Those gathered feel the wonderful
feelings that coming together can bring. They feel support from their colleagues and try
to gain more converts. Shouting fills the air while voices rise even louder. Everyone is shouting
because of the great victory that has been won. When will it all stop? Everyone hopes, never.
There is an exhilaration in victory, a triumph in blessings. Why should anyone sorrow or fret
because there is victory in the house. Banners line the hall, the band is playing and the leadership
is so encouraging.
What kind of meeting is this? Could it be a worship service? Or, could it be
something else? It sounds like worship? It feels inspirational? It almost seems devout? But, could
this also be a description of something far different, or maybe too
similar? Could the description just as well be of a political rally or a party convention?
As the members invite persons to come in, preaching the cause and expressing their slogans,
everything has been planned and prepared with great faith in the future.
With the sights, sounds and celebration of a Pentecostal revival, the joy and enthusiasm
of a Charismatic rally, and the faith of a healing service another political rally goes into full
campaign mode. The party faithful, the loyal members and the consistent contributors have all
benefited and are assembled for another grand meeting of the party of their political choice.
As the party faithful religiously applaud their candidate, similarly, Pentecostals may flock
in their worship services to applaud the Lord's man or woman. As a political party organizes to
get out the vote, a local church may advertise for revival and church growth. As Pentecostals and
Charismatics move forward with gifts, power and manifestations, political parties may be
mimicking in similar fashion to stir up enthusiasm, power and position. Pentecostals and
Charismatics have become politically astute and politics have become religiously transformed.
Who has engaged whom? Just one snapshot of one aspect of contemporary culture, i.e.,
politics, reveals how permeable the boundaries have become between the church and culture. In
the arenas of music, education, recreation, communication and virtually every aspect of
contemporary culture our vision may be blurred.
Have we arrived or are we lost? We really do not know if we cannot see our target.
Pentecost and today’s culture may be like the people who have no vision, or at least blurred
vision. Is our vision of Pentecost accurate? Is our vision of the church in today’s culture
reliable? Is the Pentecost we see, remember or envision real or is it just the reflection of our
culture? Is the church in today’s culture relevant or only an image seen through a “glass
darkly?”1
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I Corinthians 13
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Recognizing Culture and the Church
Our culture today is looking through the dark, glassy image of the church. The shape of
the church within the demands of contemporary culture continues to be a journey of adjustment
and challenge. The very mission of the church is at stake. Focus on mission is crucial in this
reminder by Ed Stetzer,
Establishing a missional church means that you plant a church that’s part of the culture
you’re seeking to reach. Since in some cases, many will be hard-core emerging
postmodern communities, this doesn’t mean that the term postmodern can never be used.
Thus, the mind-set of your mission field may be postmodern, but your methodology is
missional.2
People in the pew of today’s church are “dreaming” of a church that can stay on it’s
mission, clear, focused and biblical as indicated by Dan Kimmel, when he asked his emerging
church what kind of church they dream about. Kimmel shared some of their responses,
…that reaches the broken world to bring a healing that can only come from Jesus
Christ….that does not get caught up in technicalities and politics but stays focused on the
Lord….that helps me understand….that is more about helping others than about us….that
listens to the Holy Spirit and is bigger than man's efforts….is honest and open-minded
rather than self-righteous and dogmatic OR has donuts. I will be OK with either.…80%
of them were about others and outreach focused in bringing the love of Jesus to others
and serving in our community.3
Whatever we think, time continues to move forward and the church is more than
emerging, it is evolving. This revolution of evolution is propelled by insights that church goers
bring with every new Sunday. Every service is a crossroads, every meeting a creation, every
person a promise.
What will Christianity look like in the next 1,000 years? is the question asked by Kevin
Kelly in Willow Magazine of the Willow Creek Association,
If a devout Christian from the year 1000 A.D. were to be dropped into a mid-morning
service at a 21st century progressive church, the medieval Christian would not recognize
the Christian faith, says Kevin Kelly in the latest issue of Willow magazine – a
publication of the Willow Creek Association.
So it's "reasonable and responsible to
expect tremendous change in the Christian church" in the next millennium.4
The church cannot ignore issues of culture. Finding the place of Pentecost in the mission
of the church today may be like the following description:
2
Ed Stetzer, Planting Missional Churches, Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman Publishers, 2006, p. 1
DAN KIMMEL, I DREAM OF A CHURCH, NEXT-WAVE, CHURCH AND CULTURE, JUNE, 2006, http://www.the-next-waveezine.info.com
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Audrey Barrick, Portrait of Christianity in the Next 1,000 Years, Christian Post, Sat, Feb. 09, 2008 Posted,
http://www.christianpost.com
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A cartoon portrays two young men sitting in the sun, wearing their baseball caps
backward. One bright young man remarks to the other: "Somebody ought to invent a cap
that would give a guy some shade." When we think about the challenges of the present
and future church, we may want to contemplate this image. Like a baseball cap that has
been reversed, the church's structure remains but often it seems to have lost its original
purpose.5
The cries of our culture to find authentic Christianity, and the attempts of a searching
church draw us to the source, Pentecost itself, for a fresh vision of God’s in breaking and
outpouring on the culture humanity has created.
Recognizing Pentecost and Culture
Pentecost is a promise given by God that continues to be fulfilled. The “fully come” of
Acts 2:1 is an ongoing outpouring that was promised as far back in the Old Testament as
Deuteronomy 16. The promise and subsequent fulfilling of Pentecost have distinctive elements
that engaged culture then and now.
Pentecost foretold and fulfilled is not something captured in time by a tradition or
lifestyle. The outpouring of the Spirit unites rather than polarizes the generations. Polarization
yields one generation’s experience as the superior standard for another. The Day ushered by
Pentecost encompasses rather than isolates the globe. Isolation discounts one part of the globe
by exclusively addressing a handful of nations. What began in the upper room and poured out
into the streets of Jerusalem informs rather than eliminates every tongue, tribe, nationality and
ethnicity. The outpouring that took the apostles first to the lame man by the gate, out of their
religiosity, past their comfort zone and into Jerusalem, Judea, Asia Minor, and the uttermost
parts of the world must be recognized for what it is in Scripture and then in our culture, not for
what we might have made it.
In trying to engage culture with Pentecostal distinctives, there are three coordinates that
map our progress, culture, the church and Pentecost. Not only is each important, but their
interaction affect our perception. Two primary records of Pentecost, one from the Old
Testament, Deuteronomy 16, and one from the New Testament, Acts 2, address these three
coordinates, engaging culture and the Church.
Deuteronomy 16
Pentecost is missional as part of God’s plan for today’s culture. The mission of Pentecost is to
sustain the believer from the seed time of salvation to the end time harvest.
1. Pentecost is part of God's plan of the Feast of Passover, the Feast of Pentecost and the
Feast of Tabernacles v. 16
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Donald E. Messer, Reinventing the Church, Religion Online March 3, 1998
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a. Feast of Passover vs. 1-8
Prophetically fulfilled at the Cross. Celebrated at the seed planting time of
agricultural year. The Cross represents the planting of our seed of salvation and
the promises of God in Christ.
b. Feast of Pentecost vs. 9-12
Prophetically fulfilled at Pentecost. Celebrated at the mid-point of the
agricultural year when the first signs of fruit, or first fruits, began to
appear.
The time of Pentecost is the affirmation that between seedtime and harvest God
supplies.
c. Feast of Tabernacles vs. 13-15
Prophetically fulfilled at the end time harvest and coming of the Lord.
"Tabernacle" simply meant "holding place" and represented the holding
places that held the harvest. Celebrated at the end point of the agricultural
year at harvest time.
Pentecost means a productive life, to harvest what God has promised. Contemporary culture
longs for a productive existence.
2. Promise that Produces-the “sickle” v. 9
Persons came before the Lord at Pentecost with a sickle in their hand
indicating their faith that God would bring a harvest and fulfill His
promises that had been planted at the Passover, at the beginning of the
agricultural year.
Pentecost is a life of praise before God. Alternative forms of worship by today’s culture point to
the longing of the human spirit to rejoice in God’s Spirit.
3. Promise of Praise-“rejoice” v. 10
Persons came before the Lord at Pentecost with praise and rejoicing. The
Spirit supplies our praise in good and bad times. The emphasis of the
work of the Spirit was empowerment of praise by the Spirit.
Pentecost is the responsive recognition that God has blessed us. Our culture seeks the blessings
of God just as much as it longs to offer blessings unto God.
4. Promise of Blessing Unto the Lord in Response to the Blessing of God-“according” v. 10
Persons came before the Lord with praise unto the Lord as the Spirit of Pentecost
prevailed and empowered their praise. The emphasis earlier was on empowerment of
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praise by the Spirit. In this promise in verse 10 the emphasis was upon the quantity and
motivation of praise. The motivation was the blessing that the Lord had already placed
upon them.
They were to praise the Lord, empowered by the Spirit of Pentecost according to the
blessing that God had given them. That is, they were to praise the Lord in proportion to
the blessing that God had given them. God's own blessing was the motivation for their
praise. They were to praise because God had blessed them. This motivation was
according to past blessing in bringing them to this point in the agricultural year and in
anticipation of the blessing that God would give them as He would bring them to the
fulfillment and end of the growing year.
Pentecost is the place of the gathering of groups that were once fragmented by the structures of
society. Culture today seeks to be inclusive, especially to those that have been marginalized.
5. Promise of Place-“you and your…” v. 11
The children of Israel were sojourning to the Promised Land. As they sojourned,
they had been instructed to not only allow but recruit others to join them. They were not
an inclusive band, but a missional movement through the wilderness. Provisions had
been made in the law, particularly in Deuteronomy, as to the manner they were to
incorporate strangers and foreigners into their group.
As a result, there was inherent in Pentecost the promise that everyone would have a
place. Every member of their family, their household, including bond and free, strangers
and others who had come into the fold of the children of Israel.
The Spirit promised everyone to have a place. They were all to come to the Lord on
equal ground. This missional incorporation was impossible without the work of the
Spirit. Even though others may have been ceremonially and officially been made part of
their movement through the wilderness, the Spirit melted and molded them into a melting
pot to be known as the family of God. The Spirit fulfilled the promise that they all had a
place at the Lord's table.
Pentecost reminds us that we have been delivered from dehumanizing bondages. Contemporary
culture goes to great lengths to authenticate each person because it has grown up in the shadows
of the prisons of modernity.
6. Promise to those in Bondage-“bondman” v. 12
The children of Israel, and consequently the Spirit-filled church of today not only had an
empowerment and motivation of praise but a remembrance of praise. By the
empowerment of the Spirit of Pentecost, they were to remember their former state of
bondage. This remembrance was to fulfill their praise with gratitude and recognition of
their source of their praise. They had been nothing, without life, freedom or vision. The
Lord brought them from nothing to the privileged position of being His people. The
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Spirit was the means by which they were to come into full realization of the promise of
who they really were, not bondmen but children of the most High God. This
remembrance was only fully possible by the Spirit of Pentecost.
Pentecost eliminates shame and emptiness. To not be ashamed, alone, may be the ultimate quest
of postmodernity.
7. Promise of Provision-no longer "empty" v. 16
They would not come before God at Pentecost "empty" (v. 16) but fulfilled. That is, they
would not only be filled with the provision of the Lord, but with
provisions that had
been promised and planted in their lives by God. The fulfillment of their planted promises,
the ability of means to make it to the
provisions they would receive at the end time
harvest, would come by means of
the Spirit of Pentecost.
ACTS 2
Pentecost is the fulfilling of the old covenant with an outpouring of the Spirit in the new
covenant. Culture is in part an attempt to experience the fulfillment of God’s promises.
8. Pentecost Fully Come v. 1
Acts 2 was the event at which the Pentecost of God's eternal plan would come to pass.
The outpouring of the Spirit was not only understood for its dynamic effects upon those
present in the upper room and those to come in the centuries that have followed, but it
was understood in prophetic terms. The prophetic promises of God's profound planting
and rich harvest of fulfillment were fulfilled at Pentecost.
Just as Feast of Pentecost assured the children of Israel in the wilderness of the promise
of their seed planted at Passover, it also assured them of the harvest at the time of the
"holding places" or tabernacles. Promises planted and promise fulfillment anticipated
were fulfilled at Pentecost, not only for the growing year but in the divine plan of God,
for the nation, for them personally, and for their families. Acts 2 and the upper room, the
outpouring of the Spirit and the reaching of the world, meant that God's divine Pentecost
had fully come.
Pentecost is the unity of all races, ethnicities, socio-economic strata, nationalities, languages
and gender, a dream for a searching culture.
9. Fulfilling the promise of Unity v. 1
The Spirit would bring them, as in Deuteronomy 16 to the fulfillment of God's promise
that they all had a place. That fulfillment of having a place was fulfilled by the unity they
experienced. This is why Pentecost and the work of the Spirit is marked by the coming
together of the nations, peoples, ethnicities, different levels of socio-economics, different
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ages and all the diversities that had plagued humanity since the Tower of Babel. What
the world had thought was babbling was actually God's undoing of the depression of
divisions between all of us.
Pentecost is a place for the manifestations of the reality of God, a quest shared by sincere
churches in each culture throughout the globe.
10. Fulfilling the promise of place and power v. 2-3a
The Spirit coming at Pentecost assured them that the place that God had provided through
His promises was filled with His power. It was a holy place, a place overwhelmed in
sight and sound, by what they heard and saw, by His awesome place. The Spirit moved
in the wind and fire to let them know that Pentecost was His work and His alone.
Pentecost is God filling the person with a new spirituality that is the beginning of a new life fed
by the breath of the Spirit. Today’s culture has called a moratorium on doing church without
actively seeking God’s presence.
11. Fulfilling of the promise to the person v. 3b
The Spirit outpouring at Pentecost was to overwhelm the individual. Each individual, not
just the nation of Israel, not just the nations of the world, not just the privileged according
to the systems of the world, but every person, would receive the fulfillment of the
promises of God, made possible firstly and primarily, through the work of the Spirit.
That each individual had been personally overwhelmed was evidenced by the
overwhelming of speech. Just as speech had divided the individual and the peoples of the
world at the Tower of Babel, speech known only to God, unknown to the speakers, would
now unite each person in the family of God.
Luke, the most descriptive writer of the New Testament, a physician who was a master of
detail, especially in describing the human anatomy and physiological effects of the work
of God upon the person, chose to limit his description of the personal filling of the Spirit
and the fulfillment of Pentecost to only the most essential detail, speaking in other
tongues. Uttering a speech unknown to the speaker, as the Spirit directed that speech in
their mind and on their lips, was the sole identifier Luke used to describe when each
person became filled with the Spirit of Pentecost.
Pentecost is the undoing of Babel and the oneness of all nationalities, ethnicities and societies, a
oneness sought by today’s culture.
12. Fulfilling of the promise to the nations v. 5
Once again, Acts 2 describes the fulfilling of the promise of place by specifying that
nations, peoples and ethnicities were present and experienced Pentecost by hearing their
own languages. This reverse of the work of Babel, fulfilled the missional call and
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inclusive message of the Feast of Pentecost. The Spirit drew the nations as it filled those
who received.
Pentecost is the counter culture response to a skeptical society. Living in any culture one
eventually knows that culture cannot stand uncriticized.
13. Fulfilling the promise to a skeptical society vs. 6-13
The Spirit persevered despite the "put downs" of society. The Spirit of Pentecost, just as
it combated the attack of the locusts in Joel 2, now, worked to fulfill God's promises
despite the attack of the skeptics. Just as the locusts and cankerworms in Joel could not
keep back the growth and harvest of what God had planted, the skeptics and scoffers of
Acts 2 could not keep back the power of the people filled with the life giving Spirit of
God.
Pentecost is the initiation of God into the reality that the end of this earth has begun. Today’s
culture experiences the downward spiral of society and longs for a way to understand life from
an eternal perspective.
14. Fulfilling the promise of prophecy vs. 14-36
Peter stood and worked through the prophecies of Pentecost, demonstrating that though
this was a personal overwhelming God's Spirit in individual lives, it had prophetic
dimensions. Pentecost was and is not only an emotional infusion but it was and is a
prophetic power that fulfills God's promises to His people in the wilderness of Sinai, the
people gathered in the promenande of the upper room of the Temple, but also His people
in the places of the world today.
Pentecost creates a new identity of living as the prophets and ministers of God. Culture is
wandering, desperate for an identity that can make a difference, especially in the lives of others.
15. Fulfilling the promise to fill the earth with God's prophets vs. 14-18
So strong is the prophetic element of Pentecost, prophecy would mark the people of
Pentecost. This is not the gift of prophecy alone. It is primarily the overwhelming work
of God that marked all prophecy. Prophets did the work of God that could only be done
by God. Their words were straight from God, their actions were directly from God and
their destinies were in the hands of God. They wandered, worked and witnessed so that it
was evident to those around them that they were completely reliant upon God.
Peter emphasized this by adding to the prophecy of Joel 2 a second time that they would
"prophesy." They would be those dependent upon God though the work of the Spirit of
God. They would be prophetic community and not just prophetic individuals. The would
work together as well as individually because they were baptized by the Spirit (Acts 2:4;
I Corinthians 12:13). This act of the Baptism of the Spirit ("baptize" in the Greek) would
transform them into prophetic living and missional ministry.
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Pentecost ushers into the life of the believer the promise that the end is coming and the new
heaven and new earth’s beginning has started as foretold by God. Postmodernity is only the
harbinger of what must ultimately come to an end and the eternal destiny that must surely be on
the horizon.
16. Fulfilling the promise of the end times vs. 19-20
Peter proclaimed the promise of the Feast of Tabernacles ("holding places") though the
outpouring of the Spirit. This was the assurance of the fulfillment of the harvest of God's
plan through end time events. The outpouring of the Spirit meant that the end, the
fulfillment of God's promises and eternal plan, was assured. The world would change.
The walls of the nations would come down. The ways of the wicked would cease. God
would bring a peace that the world could not give (John 14:27) both individually,
familially, corporately and globally, now and into eternity.
Pentecost assures the believer of the salvation of God in the midst of judgment. Cultural change
only increases the heart’s desperation for a Saviour.
17. Fulfilling the promise of the salvation of the Lord v. 21
Peter declared as Joel did in Joel 2:32 that the outpouring of the Spirit of Pentecost would
be the deliverance of God's people. The end times would not mean punishment or
judgment upon the people of God but divine rescue. The harvest would be the harvest of
God's people. The outpouring of the Spirit then and now was the assurance of God's
harvest deliverance of His people and judgment of the world. The promise of the
Passover that rescued the lives of His people in Egypt and condemned the pagans of
Egypt was the fulfilled with the outpouring of the Spirit of Pentecost. The Spirit
outpouring was the equivalent of the angel of the Lord passing over the people of Israel
in Egypt at Passover, rescuing them from the judgment that came upon Egypt.
Pentecost is the sign that Christ that was crucified as the first fruit of those that will rise to meet
Him. Contemporary culture at it’s deepest despair is dying with the hope that there is a life
greater than the one that we endeavor to create.
18. Fulfilling of the resurrection promise vs. 22-24; 29-32
Peter described the ultimate rescue as the resurrection, first fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The
world had crucified the Lord, but He was now risen and alive. The Spirit outpouring at
Pentecost, then and now, was the assurance of the resurrection and rescue of God's
people. The Spirit outpouring was the reason they knew that Christ was with them. This
is why Paul would later say in Romans 8:11 that it was the Holy Spirit that raised Christ
from the dead and the same Spirit now dwelled in them.
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Pentecost makes the heart glad at the presence of the One Who guards us, standing face to face
with us. The greatest forces of culture only leave those without the presence of Christ in the
vulnerability of isolation.
19. Fulfilling of the promise of gladness and His guardianship vs. 25-28
The resurrection Spirit dwelling in them, assuring them of the living presence of Christ,
was not only a fact to be adored but a joy to be experienced, that joy especially be
marked by speech unknown to the speaker. Peter referred to the Spirit baptism and
tongue speaking experienced prophetically by David. In Acts 2:26, Peter referred to
David's Spirit prompted speech by quoting David's witness of that experience when his
"tongue was glad (literally, "fluttered')," quoting Psalm 16:8. Peter was clarifying that
the Spirit overwhelming and baptizing they were experiencing was the same thing that
David experienced in Psalm 16.
Pentecost ultimately places the believer under the assurance of Christ’s reign. The chaos of
contemporary culture only drives our longing souls toward the need for One Who will reign over
all things.
20. Fulfilling the promise of Christ's reign vs. 33-36
The Spirit outpouring fulfilled the promise that Christ was supreme Lord and reigned
over all the earth for eternity. Peter describes the majesty and reign as the final
explanation of what the Spirit outpouring and speaking in tongues unknown to the
speaker meant. It meant Pentecost, the celebration, experience and affirmation that
despite all that would happen to attack God's planting of His promises, God would fulfill
His promises and harvest what He had begun. The harvest was assured because Christ's
Lordship was an actuality and they knew this because they had the affirmation of the
Spirit's baptism of Pentecost.
The Church, Pentecost and Contemporary Culture
Pentecost initiated the church while at the same time transforming culture. Pentecost as
an ongoing process calls the church to its formational coordinates, transforming culture itself.
Pentecost brings the church to a place where God is, the culture of the church. What emerges is
Pentecost as culture.
All of the distinctives of Pentecost, i.e., promise, rejoicing, blessings, deliverance, provision,
unity, place, spirituality, nations, response to a skeptical society, prophecy, prophets, end times,
salvation, resurrection, gladness, and Christ’s reign move the believer from a citizen of culture to
a community cultivated and sustained by the Spirit. Just as God breathed into the dust and
formed a living person, Pentecost is the process that blows upon all the earth and creates
something not of this world.
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In the midst of empires, enterprises and entertainment, the culture of the Spirit transforms us
to a fresh community of immigrants. For all the nuances and challenges emerging today, the
culture of Pentecost casts the believer on a pilgrimage away from the religion of Jerusalem, to
reach the outcasts of Samaria, onto the mission of Antioch and beyond to the divine chronology
of the end of time. The Spirit envelopes us until we emerge as pilgrims, prophetic, unified and
experiencing the end of all things. Church as the community of the Spirit, birthed in the ongoing
process of Pentecost, becomes the place provided by the Spirit where culture is fed by the breath
of God.
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SANCTIFICATION
The Heart of Holiness
Leviticus 11, 19, 20 & 21; Matthew 15; Exodus 26 & 29
Introduction: Holiness is such an important term but a very misunderstood reality, even more it is
avoided by many because of past experiences and uses/abuses of the word.
1. Two Great Commandments According to Jesus as the Heart of the Ten Commandments
(Matt. 22:35-40)
35 Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying,
36 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt
love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.
38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the
prophets.
2. Where does the ability or failure to follow the Ten Commandments, especially the heart
of the Ten Commandments, i.e., the Two Great Commandments, come from? The heart
of persons. (Matthew 15:16-20)
16 And Jesus said, Are ye also yet without understanding? 17 Do not ye yet understand,
that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the
draught? 18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart;
and they defile the man. 19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries,
fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies: 20 These are the things which defile a man:
but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
3. The Heart of the Tabernacle in the Wilderness, the Holy of Holies (Ex. 26:34; 29:42-46)
and the Heart of Holiness
34 And thou shalt put the mercy seat upon the ark of the testimony in the most holy place.
42 This shall be a continual burnt offering throughout your generations at the door of the
tabernacle of the congregation before the Lord: where I will meet you, to speak there unto
thee. 43 And there I will meet with the children of Israel, and the tabernacle shall be
sanctified by my glory. 44 And I will sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation, and the
altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his sons, to minister to me in the priest's office.
45 And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be their God. 46 And they shall
know that I am the Lord their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I
may dwell among them: I am the Lord their God.
4. The Definition of “Holiness” (Hebrew terms) indicate a complete consecration of life as
the heart that produces clean living and worship
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a. “Holy”-(qadash), also, sanctify; holy by virtue of the presence of God,
devotion/devoted to God
b. “Cleanse”i. (chata), to not miss, to be pure
ii. (tahar), shine, bright
c. “Clean” vs. “Holy”-related, but Holy distinguished by the presence of God
i. “Clean” does not automatically mean “Holy”
ii. “Clean” does not automatically lead to “Holy”
iii. “Holy” will be reflected by being “Clean”
5. Leviticus, the Old Testament book of Holiness
a. Holiness in daily living-the second great commandment (chps 11-20)
i. Introductory call to holiness (qadash) of living (11:44-45)
44 For
I am the Lord your God: ye shall therefore sanctify yourselves, and ye shall be holy;
for I am holy: neither shall ye defile yourselves with any manner of creeping thing that
creepeth upon the earth. 45 For I am the Lord that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt,
to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.
ii. Summary call to holiness (qadash) of living-(19:2; 20:7-8, 26)
19 1And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, 2 Speak unto all the congregation of the
children of Israel, and say unto them, Ye shall be holy: for I the Lord your God am holy.
20 7 Sanctify yourselves therefore, and be ye holy: for I am the Lord your God.
8 And ye shall keep my statutes, and do them: I am the Lord which sanctify you.
26 And
ye shall be holy unto me: for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you from other
people, that ye should be mine.
b. Holiness in worship unto God-the first great commandment (chps 21-27)
i. Introductory call to holiness of worship (21:1b, 6)
21 1And the Lord said unto Moses, Speak unto the priests the sons of Aaron,…. 6 They shall
be holy unto their God, and not profane the name of their God: for the offerings of the
Lord made by fire, and the bread of their God, they do offer: therefore they shall be holy.
6. The Heart of Holiness, the Great Commandment, and the Spirit (Gal. 5-6)
5:4 Christ
is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are
fallen from grace. 5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
6 For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith
16
which worketh by love. 7 Ye did run well; who did hinder you that ye should not obey the
truth?
14 For
all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as
thyself. 15 But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of
another.
16 This
I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are
contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
17 For
19 Now
the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication,
uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath,
strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of
the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such
things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But
the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have
crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
23 Meekness,
25 If
we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. 26 Let us not be desirous of vain glory,
provoking one another, envying one another. 6 Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault,
ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself,
lest thou also be tempted. 2 Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
3 For if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself.
17
INITIAL EVIDENCE
When the World is Changing, The Lord Teaches and Refreshes Us,
Speaking His Word by His Spirit
Isaiah 28
Introduction: This world is groaning under the weight of sin and the curse of the Fall (Rom.
8:18-28). In the midst of this terrible and weight, the Lord teaches and refreshes us by the Word
of His Spirit.
18 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. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creature
waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God. 20 For the creature was made subject to
vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope, 21 Because
the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious
liberty of the children of God. 22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and
travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And
not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our
body. 24 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? 25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience
wait for it.
26 Likewise
the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for
as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be
uttered. 27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because
he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.28 And we know that all
things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to his purpose.
Isaiah 28
1. The “beauty” of this world is fading v. 1
28 Woe to the crown of pride, to the drunkards of Ephraim, whose glorious beauty is a
fading flower, which are on the head of the fat valleys of them that are overcome with wine!
2. The Lord has come and is coming to remove the fallen “beauty” of the world vs.2-4
2 Behold,
the Lord hath a mighty and strong one, which as a tempest of hail and a
destroying storm, as a flood of mighty waters overflowing, shall cast down to the earth with
the hand.3 The crown of pride, the drunkards of Ephraim, shall be trodden under feet:
4 And the glorious beauty, which is on the head of the fat valley, shall be a fading flower,
and as the hasty fruit before the summer; which when he that looketh upon it seeth, while it
is yet in his hand he eateth it up.
18
3. Only the Beauty of the Lord will remain vs. 5-8
5 In
that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty,
unto the residue of his people, 6 And for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in
judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate.
7 But they also have erred through wine, and through strong drink are out of the way; the
priest and the prophet have erred through strong drink, they are swallowed up of wine,
they are out of the way through strong drink; they err in vision, they stumble in judgment.
8 For all tables are full of vomit and filthiness, so that there is no place clean.
4. The Lord teaches us His Beauty, His Ways, and the meaning of His Judgments through
the Word and Language/Tongues of His Spirit; and thereby refreshes/gives us life in the
midst of a dying world vs. 9-13
9 Whom
shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them
that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts.
10 For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line;
here a little, and there a little: 11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak
to this people. 12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to
rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
13 But the word of the Lord was unto them precept upon precept, precept upon precept;
line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little; that they might go, and fall
backward, and be broken, and snared, and taken.
“Teach” is from the Hebrew word, “yarah.” It meant to “pour, cast something down and
thereby teach or set something.” In Is. 28:9 it is in a continuing sense, that is, it would
continually happen once given. Also, used for pouring rain. Hos. 6:3 and synonymous
with “pour” and “rain” in Joel 2:23, 28 and Acts 2:17.
“Stammering” in “stammering lips” comes from the Hebrew word, “la’ag.” It meant “to
be foreign, so foreign that it appears barbarous.” Also, see Is. 33:17-20.
5. Take heed because the teaching and refreshing of the Word of the Spirit is about the
complete judging of the dying world and raising of the New Heaven and New Earth vs.
14-20
14 Wherefore
hear the word of the Lord, ye scornful men, that rule this people which is in
Jerusalem.
ye have said, We have made a covenant with death, and with hell are
we at agreement; when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, it shall not come unto
us: for we have made lies our refuge, and under falsehood have we hid ourselves:
16 Therefore thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation a stone, a tried
stone, a precious corner stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste.
17 Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall
sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place. 18 And your
15 Because
19
covenant with death shall be disannulled, and your agreement with hell shall not stand;
when the overflowing scourge shall pass through, then ye shall be trodden down by it.
19 From the time that it goeth forth it shall take you: for morning by morning shall it pass
over, by day and by night: and it shall be a vexation only to understand the report. 20 For
the bed is shorter than that a man can stretch himself on it: and the covering narrower
than that he can wrap himself in it.
Note: The Word/Language/Tongues of the Spirit are as “strange” to us as God’s judgment and
complete change of the whole earth described in the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ vs.
21-22
21 For
the Lord shall rise up as in mount Perazim, he shall be wroth as in the valley of
Gibeon, that he may do his work, his strange work; and bring to pass his act, his strange
act.
6. “Consume” yourselves with not being drunk with the fallen, dying world, but be filled
with the Spirit by the Word of the Spirit (Eph. 5:18)
22 Now
therefore be ye not mockers, [Acts 2:13] lest your bands be made strong: for I have
heard from the Lord God of hosts a consumption, even determined upon the whole earth.
23 Give ye ear, and hear my voice; hearken, and hear my speech.
24 Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground?
25 When he hath made plain the face thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and
scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rie in
their place? 26 For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and doth teach him.
27 For
the fitches are not threshed with a threshing instrument, neither is a cart wheel
turned about upon the cummin; but the fitches are beaten out with a staff, and the cummin
with a rod. 28 Bread corn is bruised; because he will not ever be threshing it, nor break it
with the wheel of his cart, nor bruise it with his horsemen.
29 This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, which is wonderful in counsel, and
excellent in working.
Isaiah 59
1. At the moment that sin climaxes, God intervenes vs. 15-18
a. By laying his eye upon the work of Satan to make us a prey of sin and evil
15 Yea,
truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the Lord
saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.
b. By intervening Himself in our behalf
16 And
he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor:
therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.
20
c. By intervening as a warrior in our behalf
17 For
he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head;
and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.
d. By helping consequences of defeat upon the enemy
18 According
to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence
to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. 19 So shall they fear the name of the
Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun.
2. God lifts up His Spirit as a battle standard against the enemy
When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard
against him. 20 And the Redeemer shall come to Zion, and unto them that turn from
transgression in Jacob, saith the Lord.
3. God’s Spirit applies Christ’s work to our lives and fills our mouth with prayer and praise
unto Him as a means of victory of the enemy in battle
21 As
for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the Lord; My spirit that is upon thee, and
my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the
mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the Lord, from henceforth
and for ever.
What Does It Mean to Be Pentecostal?
"Being Pentecostal is not to be tied to a tradition but in constant communion with and by the
Spirit of God which makes life in God possible. Pentecostals emphasize the Spirit not as an
elitist group but a focused group on the Paraklete, Who is the constant presence and life-giving
power of God to live the Christian life, bound for the new heaven and new earth."
Acts 2
1. The Spirit came as prophesied (e.g. Deut. 16) and baptized all of them. The act of
baptism was a “witness maker” event by its very nature Acts 2:1-4
2 When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord[g] in one place.
2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled
the whole house where they were sitting. 3 Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as
of fire, and one sat upon each of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
2. The crowds immediately saw and heard their witness which came from the Spirit, a
witness that pointed to God in Christ Acts 2:5-13
21
5 And
there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men, from every nation under heaven.
when this sound occurred, the multitude came together, and were confused, because
everyone heard them speak in his own language. 7 Then they were all amazed and
marveled, saying to one another, “Look, are not all these who speak Galileans? 8 And how
is it that we hear, each in our own language in which we were born? 9 Parthians and Medes
and Elamites, those dwelling in Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia,
10 Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjoining Cyrene, visitors from
Rome, both Jews and proselytes, 11 Cretans and Arabs—we hear them speaking in our own
tongues the wonderful works of God.” 12 So they were all amazed and perplexed, saying to
one another, “Whatever could this mean?” 13 Others mocking said, “They are full of new
wine.”
6 And
3. Peter with the disciples gave the first verbal witness empowered by Spirit Baptism to the
crowd, proclaiming Who Christ was. Acts 2:14-36
14 But
Peter, standing up with the eleven, raised his voice and said to them, “Men of Judea
and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and heed my words. 15 For these
are not drunk, as you suppose, since it is only the third hour of the day.
a. That the disciples were under the prophetic control of the Holy Spirit so that those
under judgment would call upon the Lord Acts 2:16-21
this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: 17 ‘And it shall come to pass in the last
days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream
dreams. 18 And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in
those days; And they shall prophesy. 19 I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in
the earth beneath: Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the
great and awesome day of the Lord. 21 And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord Shall be saved.’[h]
16 But
b. That the Spirit had brought them face to face with Jesus, whom they now bore
witness of. Acts 2:22-28
22 “Men
of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by
miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves
also know— 23 Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God,
you have taken[i] by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death; 24 whom God raised
up, having loosed the pains of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by
it. 25 For David says concerning Him:
‘I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be
shaken. 26 Therefore my heart rejoiced, and my tongue was glad; Moreover my flesh also
will rest in hope. 27 For You will not leave my soul in Hades, Nor will You allow Your Holy
22
One to see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the ways of life; You will make me
full of joy in Your presence.’[j]
c. That the Spirit through them was giving the same witness of the Messiah that
David had given, the One Who is Lord over all, the Crucified One Acts 2:29-36
29 “Men
and brethren, let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David, that he is both
dead and buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Therefore, being a prophet, and
knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body, according to
the flesh, He would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne,[k] 31 he, foreseeing this, spoke
concerning the resurrection of the Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His
flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses.
33 Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father
the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear. 34 “For
David did not ascend into the heavens, but he says himself: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit
at My right hand,
35 Till I make Your enemies Your footstool.”’[l] 36 “Therefore let all the house of Israel know
assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”
4. People responded the Spirit empowered witness of the disciples by believing in Christ
Acts 2:37-39
37 Now
when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the
apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?” 38 Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and
let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and
you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is to you and to your
children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
Acts 10-11
1. Breaking Out of Religiosity/Judaism-Prejudiced Peter changes 10
10:14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.”
15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not
call common.” 16 This was done three times….44 While Peter was still speaking these
words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who heard the word. 45 And those of the
circumcision who believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because the gift of
the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. 46 For they heard them speak
with tongues and magnify God.
2. Two Churches at Different Places-Jerusalem and Antioch 11
11:2 And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those of the circumcision contended with him,
3 saying, “You went in to uncircumcised men and ate with them!”…. 15 And as I began to
speak, the Holy Spirit fell upon them, as upon us at the beginning. 16 Then I remembered
the word of the Lord, how He said, ‘John indeed baptized with water, but you shall be
23
baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 If therefore God gave them the same gift as He gave us
when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could withstand God?”
18 When they heard these things they became silent; and they glorified God, saying, “Then
God has also granted to the Gentiles repentance to life.”
Acts 19:1-10
While Apollos was winning crowds to Christ, Paul was being used by God to minister to 12 at
Ephesus who needed the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Apollos as yet had not been baptized in the
Spirit, but God was using Him mightily. Paul was withdrawing from the crowds, but God was
still using him mightily, though mysteriously when compared to the perception that “great
ministry only means great crowds” 19:1-10
19 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the
upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, “Did you
receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” So they said to him, “We have not so much as
heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
3 And
he said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?” So they said, “Into John’s
baptism.” 4 Then Paul said, “John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to
the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ
Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And
when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with
tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
8 And
he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and
persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened
and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them
and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued
for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews
and Greeks.
24
SECOND COMING
How Long, O Lord
I Thessalonians
Introduction: It’s hard to wait for anything. We can get discouraged and give up on what we are
waiting on. What keeps us going for a while is the hope of what we are waiting for. It’s when
we give up our hope that we truly give up. The hope and the waiting has a way of ordering our
waiting lives. We change because of what we are hoping for. “How long, O Lord, before your
Coming back to fully bring Your new heaven new earth Kingdom?” was the lungful condition of
the Thessalonians. Paul had heard they were losing hope. Paul knew that their loss of hope
would affect their living for Christ. So, Paul wrote to encourage them that Christ is coming.
Do we live a hopeless Christian life today because we have lost the hope of His Coming? And,
as a consequence, has zeal and consistency been lost?
1. The Word sounded to others by your example, that Christ is coming to “deliver us from
the wrath to come (the final judgment)” 1:2-10
2 We
give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers,
without ceasing your work of faith, labor of love, and patience of hope in
our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of our God and Father, 4 knowing, beloved brethren,
your election by God. 5 For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power,
and in the Holy Spirit and in much assurance, as you know what kind of men we were
among you for your sake.
6 And you became followers of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much
affliction, with joy of the Holy Spirit, 7 so that you became examples to all in Macedonia
and Achaia who believe. 8 For from you the word of the Lord has sounded forth, not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith toward God has gone out, so
that we do not need to say anything. 9 For they themselves declare concerning us what
manner of entry we had to you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living
and true God, 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even
Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.
3 remembering
2. Walk worthy of the God Who is calling us to His Kingdom and Glory 2:1-10
2 For you yourselves know, brethren, that our coming to you was not in vain. 2 But even[b]
after we had suffered before and were spitefully treated at Philippi, as you know, we were
bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God in much conflict. 3 For our exhortation
did not come from error or uncleanness, nor was it in deceit.
4 But as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, even so we speak,
not as pleasing men, but God who tests our hearts. 5 For neither at any time did we use
flattering words, as you know, nor a cloak for covetousness—God is witness. 6 Nor did we
seek glory from men, either from you or from others, when we might have made demands
as apostles of Christ. 7 But we were gentle among you, just as a nursing mother cherishes
her own children. 8 So, affectionately longing for you, we were well pleased to impart to you
25
not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you had become dear to us. 9 For
you remember, brethren, our labor and toil; for laboring night and day, that we might not
be a burden to any of you, we preached to you the gospel of God.
10 You
are witnesses, and God also, how devoutly and justly and blamelessly we behaved
ourselves among you who believe; 11 as you know how we exhorted, and comforted, and
charged[c] every one of you, as a father does his own children, 12 that you would walk
worthy of God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory.
3. Wrath is already coming upon those who oppose the Gospel 2:13-16
13 For
this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you received the word
of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in
truth, the word of God, which also effectively works in you who believe. 14 For you,
brethren, became imitators of the churches of God which are in Judea in Christ Jesus. For
you also suffered the same things from your own countrymen, just as they did from the
Judeans, 15 who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have persecuted us;
and they do not please God and are contrary to all men, 16 forbidding us to speak to the
Gentiles that they may be saved, so as always to fill up the measure of their sins; but wrath
has come upon them to the uttermost.
4. Christ coming again is our hope, joy and crown of rejoicing 2:17-20
17 But
we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in
heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. 18 Therefore we wanted
to come to you—even I, Paul, time and again—but Satan hindered us. 19 For what is our
hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus
Christ at His coming? 20 For you are our glory and joy.
5. Sometimes we are tempted to doubt Christ’s Coming and the coming of His Kingdom
3:1-5
3 Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens
alone, 2 and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the
gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith, 3 that no one
should be shaken by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we are appointed to
this. 4 For, in fact, we told you before when we were with you that we would suffer
tribulation, just as it happened, and you know. 5 For this reason, when I could no longer
endure it, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the tempter had tempted you, and
our labor might be in vain.
6. We must continually “perfect” and “establish” our faith in the Lord’s Coming and
coming Kingdom 3:6-13
6 But
now that Timothy has come to us from you, and brought us good news of your faith
and love, and that you always have good remembrance of us, greatly desiring to see us, as
26
we also to see you— 7 therefore, brethren, in all our affliction and distress we were
comforted concerning you by your faith. 8 For now we live, if you stand fast in the Lord.
9 For what thanks can we render to God for you, for all the joy with which we rejoice for
your sake before our God, 10 night and day praying exceedingly that we may see your face
and perfect what is lacking in your faith? 11 Now may our God and Father Himself, and our
Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way to you. 12 And may the Lord make you increase and
abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you, 13 so that He may establish
your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord
Jesus Christ with all His saints.
7. Waiting for Christ’s Coming sanctifies us to live by the Lord’s commandments 4:1-8
4 Finally then, brethren, we urge and exhort in the Lord Jesus that you should abound
more and more, just as you received from us how you ought to walk and to please God;
2 for you know what commandments we gave you through the Lord Jesus.
3 For
this is the will of God, your sanctification: that you should abstain from sexual
immorality; 4 that each of you should know how to possess his own vessel in sanctification
and honor, 5 not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God; 6 that no one
should take advantage of and defraud his brother in this matter, because the Lord is the
avenger of all such, as we also forewarned you and testified. 7 For God did not call us to
uncleanness, but in holiness. 8 Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God,
who has also given[d] us His Holy Spirit.
8. The greatest commandment that we are to live by while the hope of Christ’s coming
sanctifies us 4:9-12
9 But
concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you
yourselves are taught by God to love one another; 10 and indeed you do so toward all the
brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and
more; 11 that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work
with your own hands, as we commanded you, 12 that you may walk properly toward those
who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.
9. The fact of His Coming that encourages and comforts us while we wait. 4:13-18
Note: The Coming of the Lord for the saints to deliver them from the wrath of His judgment was
a major teaching of the prophets, Jesus, and Paul-Ezekiel 37:9, 12-14; Matthew 24:31; 2
Corinthians 15:50-54
Ezek. 37:9 Also
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the
breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on
these slain, that they may live.”’”…. 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the
Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from
your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the
Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your
27
graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own
land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the
Lord.’”
Matt. 24:31 And
He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
2 Cor. 15:50 Now
this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put
on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has
put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is
swallowed up in victory.”
I Thess. 4:13 But
I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen
asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.[e]
15 For
this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until
the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus
we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
10. The Coming of the Lord is certain, so wake up, be alert, waiting as a soldier alert in battle
5:1-11
5 But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write
to you. 2 For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in
the night. 3 For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon
them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. 4 But you,
brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all
sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. 6 Therefore let us
not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. 7 For those who sleep, sleep at night,
and those who get drunk are drunk at night. 8 But let us who are of the day be sober,
putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 9 For
God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
10 who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him.
11 Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.
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11. Equip yourself by works of living sanctifying you because you have the hope Christ’s
Coming 5:12-22
12 And
we urge you, brethren, to recognize those who labor among you, and are over you in
the Lord and admonish you, 13 and to esteem them very highly in love for their work’s sake.
Be at peace among yourselves.
14 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn those who are unruly, comfort the fainthearted,
uphold the weak, be patient with all. 15 See that no one renders evil for evil to anyone, but
always pursue what is good both for yourselves and for all.
16 Rejoice always, 17 pray without ceasing, 18 in everything give thanks; for this is the will of
God in Christ Jesus for you.
19 Do not quench the Spirit. 20 Do not despise prophecies. 21 Test all things; hold fast what is
good. 22 Abstain from every form of evil.
12. Christ personally is working in you to sanctify you through the hope of His Coming 5:2328
23 Now
may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit,
soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 24 He who
calls you is faithful, who also will do it.
25 Brethren, pray for us. 26 Greet all the brethren with a holy kiss.
27 I charge you by the Lord that this epistle be read to all the holy[f] brethren.
28 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
Without Delay
II Thessalonians
Introduction: The Coming of the Lord is urgent! Many think Christ has already come, that He is
delaying his coming, think He might not come back, think he is not coming back, have never
hearth that He is coming back, do not think about His coming back or have forgotten that He is
coming back. In this letter, Paul declares that not only is Christ coming back but His return is
imminent and urgent!
1. Christ’s coming is about His judgment 1:3-10
Note: Paul is describing a time of “tribulation” that is marked by judgment and destruction. This
is described in Rev. 4-19. Christ comes first to “gather”(2:1) the saints with Him in the air, then
He “comes”(2:1) back to earth with the saints to complete the judgment begun in the
“tribulation”(1:6) in the “day” (1:10) of final judgment.
a. Christ returns to earth to “repay with tribulation” v. 6
b. He will also be revealed “from heaven with His mighty angels” v. 7 This is the
time when the saints will be “gathered together with Him” (2:1) in what is
commonly called the “rapture” but could biblically be called the ”gathering.” It is
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also described in Ezekiel 37:9, 12-14; Matthew 24:31; 2 Corinthians 15:50-54; 1
Thessalonians 4:13-18 and here in 2 Thessalonians 1:7; 2:1.
c. Christ judges the earth with final judgment, a “day,” in which Christ will be
“glorified in His saints” (1:10)
3 We
are bound to thank God always for you, brethren, as it is fitting, because your faith
grows exceedingly, and the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other, 4 so that
we ourselves boast of you among the churches of God for your patience and faith in all
your persecutions and tribulations that you endure, 5 which is manifest evidence of the
righteous judgment of God, that you may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for
which you also suffer; 6 since it is a righteous thing with God to repay with tribulation those
who trouble you, 7 and to give you who are troubled rest with us when the Lord Jesus is
revealed from heaven with His mighty angels, 8 in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who
do not know God, and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 These
shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the
glory of His power, 10 when He comes, in that Day, to be glorified in His saints and to be
admired among all those who believe,[a] because our testimony among you was believed.
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the
breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on
these slain, that they may live.”’”…. 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the
Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from
your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the
Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your
graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own
land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the
Lord.’”
Ezek. 37:9 Also
Matt. 24:31 And
He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
2 Cor. 15:50 Now
this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God;
nor does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all
sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last
trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we
shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put
on immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has
put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is
swallowed up in victory.”
I Thess. 4:13 But
I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen
asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and
rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus.[e]
15 For
this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until
the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord
30
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus
we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
2. The calling of the believer includes the “gathering” of the saints in the air with Christ and
the “day” of His “coming” to judge the earth with final judgment and of His being
glorified by the Saints in the New Heaven and New Earth. 1:11-12
11 Therefore
we also pray always for you that our God would count you worthy of this
calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power,
12 that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and you in Him,
according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3. By contrast many will be deceived by a counterfeit Christ 2:1-4 This may be during the
tribulation when Christ dispenses the judgment of the tribulation from the Temple in
Heaven where the gathered saints are with Him. And by contrast, the counterfeit Christ
deceives others that he is God and he will have his own counterfeit temple.
2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering
together to Him, we ask you, 2 not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or
by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ[b] had come. 3 Let no one
deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first,
and the man of sin[c] is revealed, the son of perdition, 4 who opposes and exalts himself
above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God[d] in the temple of
God, showing himself that he is God.
4. The deceptive, counterfeit Christ will perform miracles. It will be an atmosphere of
“delusion.” 2:5-12
5 Do
you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And now
you know what is restraining, that he may be revealed in his own time. 7 For the mystery of
lawlessness is already at work; only He[e] who now restrains will do so until He[f] is taken
out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume
with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. 9 The coming
of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying
wonders, 10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did
not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. 11 And for this reason God will
send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, 12 that they all may be
condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.
5. In the meantime, believers must remain faithful and comforted that Chris still coming to
gather the saints in the air and that the “day” of the Lord coming to judge the earth is still
coming 2:13-16
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13 But
we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord,
because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the
Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of
the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. 15 Therefore, brethren, stand fast and hold the
traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle.
16 Now
may our Lord Jesus Christ Himself, and our God and Father, who has loved us and
given us everlasting consolation and good hope by grace, 17 comfort your hearts and
establish you in every good word and work.
6. In the meantime pray for one another, directed by the love and patience of God 3:1-5
3 Finally, brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may run swiftly and be glorified,
just as it is with you, 2 and that we may be delivered from unreasonable and wicked men;
for not all have faith.
3 But
the Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one. 4 And we
have confidence in the Lord concerning you, both that you do and will do the things we
command you. 5 Now may the Lord direct your hearts into the love of God and into the
patience of Christ.
7. In the meantime, do not become idle, which may be the seedbed for not understanding
that the Lord is coming for the “gathering” and the “day” of His judgment 3:6-13
6 But
we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you withdraw
from every brother who walks disorderly and not according to the tradition which he[g]
received from us. 7 For you yourselves know how you ought to follow us, for we were not
disorderly among you; 8 nor did we eat anyone’s bread free of charge, but worked with
labor and toil night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you, 9 not because we
do not have authority, but to make ourselves an example of how you should follow us.
10 For
even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work,
neither shall he eat. 11 For we hear that there are some who walk among you in a disorderly
manner, not working at all, but are busybodies. 12 Now those who are such we command
and exhort through our Lord Jesus Christ that they work in quietness and eat their own
bread.
13 But
as for you, brethren, do not grow weary in doing good. 14 And if anyone does not obey
our word in this epistle, note that person and do not keep company with him, that he may
be ashamed. 15 Yet do not count him as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
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The Revelation of Jesus Christ
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Christ Revealed as Conqueror: Christ’s Second Coming to Earth With His
Bride, The Church
Revelation 19
Introduction: The Church is described in many ways in Scripture, but the ultimate description in
the Book of Revelation is as His Bride. The unfolding of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb is in
four parts.
First Part: A Praise Service in Heaven as a Prelude to the Wedding vs. 1-5
1. Many People in Heaven Declare as One Voice a Twelve-Fold Description That Christ Is
The…(with the “smoke” of the sacrifice of praise rising eternally to God) 19:1-3
a. One to be praised (Alleluia)
b. One Who is Saviour
c. One to be Glorified
d. One to receive all honour
e. One Who has all power
f. One Who is Lord
g. One Who is God
h. One Who is True in Judgment
i. One Who is Righteous in Judgment
j. One Who judged the Whore (Rev. 17-18), the corrupter of the earth
k. One Who avenged the blood of those martyred by the Whore
l. One to be praised repeatedly (again, Amen, Alleluia)
Revelation 19
1 And after these things I heard a great voice of much people in heaven, saying, Alleluia;
Salvation, and glory, and honour, and power, unto the Lord our God: 2 For true and
righteous are his judgments: for he hath judged the great whore, which did corrupt the
earth with her fornication, and hath avenged the blood of his servants at her hand.
3 And again they said, Alleluia And her smoke rose up for ever and ever.
2. The People in Heaven, The Church, Four and Twenty Elders, and Four Beasts/Spiritual
Beings, That Have Given the Praise, Are Seen Falling Down, Declaring Affirmation
(Amen) and Praise (Alleluia) v. 4
4 And the four and twenty elders and the four beasts fell down and worshipped God that
sat on the throne, saying, Amen; Alleluia.
3. A Voice from the Throne Commands Praise… v. 5
a. Unto God
b. By all His servants
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c. By all that fear Him
d. Regardless of their stature (small and great)
5 And a voice came out of the throne, saying, Praise our God, all ye his servants, and ye
that fear him, both small and great.
Second Part: The Entry of the Bride vs. 6-10
4. The Church as a Great Multitude Respond With Praise to God and that the time of His
Bride, the Church, has come- vs. 6-7a
a. Their sound of praise was as many waters
b. Their sound of praise was as mighty thunderings
c. They sound praise (Alleluia)
d. They declare His Lordship
e. They declare He is God
f. They declare He is King (omnipotent reigneth)
g. They affirm their gladness
h. They affirm their rejoicing
i. They give honor to Him
j. They declare the time of the marriage of the Lamb and the Bride has come
6 And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters,
and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord God omnipotent
reigneth. 7 Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the
Lamb is come,
5. The Church Declares Her Readiness as the Bride for Christ, the Groom- vs. 7b-8
a. That the Bride Church is made herself ready
b. That the Bride Church has been given the ability to dressed and ready in a wedding
garment that represents her condition
i. Finery prepared for her
ii. Clean
iii. Pure from unfaithfulness
iv. Righteousness as those separated unto Christ (saints/holy)
Note: The Church was warned to be ready as the Bride for if they hear the Spirit and overcome,
they would receive what a Bride receives:
 New Name (Pergamos, 2:17; Philadelphia, 3:12)
 A Wedding Garment (Sardis, 3:5; Laodecia, 3:18)
The Church, as it responded to the Spirit and overcame, would receive victory at the White
Throne Judgment
 Not experience the second death (Smyrna, 2:11; 20:6)
35
The Church, as it responded to the Spirit and overcame, would receive at the New Heaven and
New Earth:
 The Tree of Life (Ephesus, 2:7; 22:12)
 Crown of Life (Smyrna, 2:10; 22:3-4)
 Christ Who is the Light/Star (Thyatira, 2:28; 22:5)
and his wife hath made herself ready. 8 And to her was granted that she should be arrayed
in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
6. John is Commanded to Record that Blessing is Given to Those Who Are Ready for the
Marriage Supper of the Lamb- v. 9
9 And he saith unto me, Write, Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper
of the Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
7. The Voice From the Direction of the Throne (v. 5, now v. 10) is Identified as a Fellow
Servant Messenger Who Identifies the Revelation of Jesus as Prophecy and That the
Covenant Testimony We Have With Him Is to Bear Witness/Prophesy of Him; further,
Our Covenant Testimony is a Witness/ Prophecy of Him- v. 10
10 And I fell at his feet to worship him. And he said unto me, See thou do it not: I am thy
fellowservant, and of thy brethren that have the testimony of Jesus: worship God: for the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.
Note: The Spirit of Prophecy means the message is from God, but the message is not so powerful
that the message or the messenger is to be worshipped. God alone is to be messenger. We fail in
this when we focus more on the message or messenger than upon the One that the message is
about. This is an appropriate correction because the One that the message is about is suddenly
revealed after this as the Victorious One Who now receives His Bride.
Third Part: The Entry of the Groom vs. 11-18
8. Christ Comes Down from Heaven- vs. 11-13
a. Riding a White Horse of Victory and Conquering
b. He is Called Faithful
c. He is Called True
d. He Judges in Righteousness
e. He Makes War
f. His eyes pierce as flames of fire
g. On His head are many crowns of supreme sovereignty
h. His Name is so divine, it is not fully known by humanity
i. His garment has been colored with blood (perhaps His blood spilled at the Cross
and/or the blood of the martyrs)
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j. His Name serves as the Word, Himself, that has been given
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was
called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. 12 His eyes
were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written,
that no man knew, but he himself. 13 And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood:
and his name is called The Word of God.
9. With Christ as His Wedding Entourage Are the Armies of Heaven- v. 14
a. The army is upon horses of conquering also
b. The army is clothed similarly as the Bride, fine linen, white and clean garments
14 And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine
linen, white and clean.
10. Christ Is Further Described, Emphasizing His Victory and Rule- vs. 15-16
a. His weapon is His Word which proceeds from His mouth as a sharp sword
b. He smites the nations with His Word
c. He rules the nations with an unbreakable rod
d. He carries out the fierce wrath of God
e. On His body and thigh garments are written the declaration of His sovereignty,
King of Kings and Lord of Lords
15 And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and
he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and
wrath of Almighty God. 16 And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written,
King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords.
11. An Angel Declares That Creation Should Make Itself Ready for the Processional
Departure of the King, His Bride and His Army. The supper of His judgment is the battle
that is a Wedding Supper- vs. 17-18
a. The Angel is greater than all of nature by standing in the sun
b. The Angel declares and commissions nature to be ready
c. The Angel commissions the birds of the air to come to the marriage supper for they
will be the ones to harvest the devastation that Christ the One and Only King will
bring upon all other rivaling powers
17 And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the
fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper
of the great God; 18 That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the
flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of
all men, both free and bond, both small and great.
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Fourth Part: The Glorious Processional Departure of the Groom, Bride and Wedding
Party (Army of the Groom) That Consequently Win a War Against the Unfaithful and
Kings on Earth vs. 19-21
12. The Beast Worshipped Falsely Rather than Christ, the Powers (Kings) of Earth, and Their
Armies Gather to War Against Christ and His Army of Heaven as they Come from the
Marriage Celebration- v. 19
19 And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to
make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army.
Note: The setting is one which compares the Harlot/Whore of Rev. 17-18 and the Bride, the
Church/24 Elders, that has been with Christ in heaven during the Tribulation. The Harlot
represents unfaithfulness and the driving force behind the deception of the Tribulation (depicted
by the Harlot sitting upon multitudes in Rev. 17:1 and upon the beast Rev. 17:3). This is the
setting because the context which ushers the Battle of the Second Coming is the Marriage Supper
of the Lamb. Christ proceeds from the Marriage Supper/Celebration of Readiness and
Faithfulness to conquer the unfaithfulness wrought by the Harlot.
13. The Consequences of Christ’s Victory at the Battle of the Second Coming Are Described
vs. 20-21
a. The Beast that was falsely worshipped and miracle working false prophet, both
described in Rev. 13, are cast into hell
b. The kings and armies are slain by the Word proceeding from Christ and the fowls
of the earth that were told in vs. 17-18 to make themselves ready for this task, now
devour their carcasses
20 And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before
him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that
worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with
brimstone. 21 And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse,
which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.
Note: This Battle that takes place upon Christ’s Second Coming to Earth, accompanied by the
Church as the Bride and the armies of heaven is not the Battle of Armageddon. Armageddon is
the one last great battle described in Rev. 20:7-10. Armageddon takes place after the Millennial
Reign, Rev. 20:3b-4. The sequence is as follows:
1. The Rise of the Whore/Harlot Revelation 17-18
2. Revelation 19
a. The Marriage Supper of the Lamb,
b. Second Coming of Christ with the Bride and the Armies of Heaven,
c. Winning of the War at the Second Coming Against the Kings of the Earth
3. Revelation 20
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a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
Satan Placed in Hell for 1,000 Years,
The Millennial Reign of Christ and the Saints Upon the Reclaimed Earth,
The Second Resurrection of the Rest of the Dead,
Satan Released for a Brief Time,
The Battle of Armageddon Against Satan and the Nations,
Satan Put in Hell Forever,
The Great and Final White Throne Judgment
Revelation 19 foretells the outcome of the unfaithful who give in to deception as unto a whore
versus the celebration and victory for those who remain faithful as a bride.
39
By the Spirit: The New Body for the New Heaven and New Earth
I Corinthians 15
Introduction: Spirituality is a reality. Paul’s subject in I Corinthians has been the spiritual life.
The outline of I Corinthians is an Outline of God’s Work of the Spirit:
1-2
3-11
12-14
15
By God’s Spirit/Jesus and His Cross is Revealed
But, the Work of the Spirit is Hindered Because You Are Not Spiritual
Even Though, The Spirit Works to Be in You Individually and As Christ’s Body
Because, In Eternity We Will Have a Spiritual Body
Now and in reality, our entire life, body, mind and spirit are drawn by the Spirit of God. The
eternal reality of life in the Spirit of God will be that we will have a “spiritual body.” It will not
be a spirit only, but a body in which we will be known as we are known. However, the body will
not be dependent upon natural things that are temporary. Rather, our body will then live
dependent upon the Spirit of God. It will be a “spiritual body.” This is Paul’s summary teaching
to the Corinthians on what it means to be spiritual, now and in eternity.
1. Our spirituality in Christ is not in vain because of Christ’s resurrection, wherein He arose
from the dead with the body of the new heaven and new earth, the first Adam. Vs. 1-11
15 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you
received and in which you stand, 2 by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word
which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For
I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day
according to the Scriptures, 5 and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. 6 After
that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain
to the present, but some have fallen asleep. 7 After that He was seen by James, then by all
the apostles. 8 Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
9 For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I
persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace
toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the
grace of God which was with me. 11 Therefore, whether it was I or they, so we preach and so
you believed.
2. We will have the body of the new heaven and new earth when we are resurrected. We
will be resurrected because He was resurrected. Therefore, our faith in Christ is not in
vain. We have hope beyond this life because of Christ’s resurrection and the new body
that we will have at the resurrection, a body for the new heaven and new earth that we
will have throughout eternity. Vs. 12-19
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12 Now
if Christ is preached that He has been raised from the dead, how do some among
you say that there is no resurrection of the dead? 13 But if there is no resurrection of the
dead, then Christ is not risen. 14 And if Christ is not risen, then our preaching is empty and
your faith is also empty. 15 Yes, and we are found false witnesses of God, because we have
testified of God that He raised up Christ, whom He did not raise up—if in fact the dead do
not rise. 16 For if the dead do not rise, then Christ is not risen. 17 And if Christ is not risen,
your faith is futile; you are still in your sins! 18 Then also those who have fallen asleep in
Christ have perished. 19 If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men the
most pitiable.
3. Our body was the old fruit of the first Adam, but we, at the resurrection, will receive the
fruit of Christ, the Second or New Adam. The resurrection will also be the end of the
rule and authority of the life system of the first Adam and the beginning of the system of
Christ, the New Adam. Vs. 20-28
20 But
now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have
fallen asleep. 21 For since by man came death, by Man also came the resurrection of the
dead. 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ all shall be made alive. 23 But each one in
his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.
24 Then comes the end, when He delivers the kingdom to God the Father, when He puts an
end to all rule and all authority and power. 25 For He must reign till He has put all enemies
under His feet. 26 The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For “He has put all
things under His feet.”[a] But when He says “all things are put under Him,” it is evident that
He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to
Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that
God may be all in all.
4. We are baptized not to be transformed because of death as many ancients, including the
Egyptians believed, i.e., death was a baptism, welcoming the hope that death was a final
end that relieved someone from the perils of this life. Rather, we believe the
transformation unto a new life through the life of Christ’s resurrection. Awake to the
hope of the new heaven and new earth body rather than be rush to the destiny of death as
our only hope of relief from this life. 15:29-33
29 Otherwise,
what will they do who are baptized for the dead, if the dead do not rise at all?
Why then are they baptized for the dead? 30 And why do we stand in jeopardy every hour?
31 I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. 32 If, in
the manner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it to me? If the
dead do not rise, “Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die!”[b] 33 Do not be deceived:
“Evil company corrupts good habits.” 34 Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some
do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame.
5. “How” is the “bargain” to not believe new life in a new heaven and new earth body is
possible. “How” is answered by the necessity that the Spirit calls us to eternal existence
wholly dependent upon the Spirit of God. Earthly thinking convinces us of the necessity
41
of an earthly existence, but Spiritual thinking calls us to the necessity of eternal
dependence on the Spirit of God. 15:35-49
a. God created us, therefore, He will raise us vs. 35-38
35 But
someone will say, “How are the dead raised up? And with what body do they come?”
one, what you sow is not made alive unless it dies. 37 And what you sow, you do
not sow that body that shall be, but mere grain—perhaps wheat or some other grain. 38 But
God gives it a body as He pleases, and to each seed its own body.
36 Foolish
b. The body that depends on the Spirit of God is different from the body that
depends on the natural, fallen world. The Spirit of God is “life-giving” to the
resurrected body, but a life that is different. Vs. 39-45
39 All
flesh is not the same flesh, but there is one kind of flesh[c] of men, another flesh of
animals, another of fish, and another of birds. 40 There are also celestial bodies and
terrestrial bodies; but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is
another. 41 There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of
the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. 42 So also is the resurrection of the
dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. 43 It is sown in dishonor, it
is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power. 44 It is sown a natural body, it
is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. 45 And so it
is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.”[d] The last Adam became a lifegiving spirit.
c. The resurrection body will patterned after the heavenly, new heaven and new
earth, body of Christ. Our present body is patterned after the Adam of the Garden
of Eden, which was placed in a fallen state because of Adam and Eve’s sin. Vs.
46-49
46 However,
the spiritual is not first, but the natural, and afterward the spiritual. 47 The first
man was of the earth, made of dust; the second Man is the Lord[e] from heaven. 48 As was
the man of dust, so also are those who are made of dust; and as is the heavenly Man, so also
are those who are heavenly. 49 And as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall
also bear[f] the image of the heavenly Man.
6. The details are hidden in a “mystery” from us now, but nevertheless the experience is
guaranteed to us and will begin with the gathering with Christ in the sky at the sounding
of the trumpet of God (rf. Ezekiel 37:9, 12-14; Matthew 24:31; I Thessalonians 4:15-18)
vs. 50-54
50 Now
this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor
does corruption inherit incorruption. 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet.
For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be
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changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on
immortality. 54 So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put
on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: “Death is
swallowed up in victory.”[g]
Ezek. 37:9 Also
He said to me, “Prophesy to the breath, prophesy, son of man, and say to the
breath, ‘Thus says the Lord God: “Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe on
these slain, that they may live.”’”…. 12 Therefore prophesy and say to them, ‘Thus says the
Lord God: “Behold, O My people, I will open your graves and cause you to come up from
your graves, and bring you into the land of Israel. 13 Then you shall know that I am the
Lord, when I have opened your graves, O My people, and brought you up from your
graves. 14 I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own
land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,” says the
Lord.’”
Matt. 24:31 And
He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they will gather
together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.
I Thess. 4:15 For
this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain
until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord
Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the
trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus
we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
7. The eternal cry of the hope of those who are thoroughly spiritual is that our spiritual
dependence on God will be perfected eternally, in a body that is dependent on the Spirit
of God. Therefore, we do not depend on the Lord through His Spirit in vain. Vs. 55-58
55 “O
Death, where is your sting?[h] O Hades, where is your victory?”[i]
56 The
sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. 57 But thanks be to God, who
gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
58 Therefore,
my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work
of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
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Poured Out to Grow In the Beauty of the Lord
Isaiah 28
Introduction: “How are we guided by Christ today?” is answered by the same answer to, “How
was Christ raised from the dead?” the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit raised Christ from the dead
(Rom: 8:11) and the same Holy Spirit guides us today (John 16:13). How Christ guides us by the
Holy Spirit is described in Isaiah 28.
1. The Fading Flower The “beauty” that this world has become drunken with is a fading
flower Is. 28:1
2. The Fallen Beauty The Lord has come and is coming to remove the fallen “beauty” of the
world Is. 28:2-4
3. Crowning Beauty Only the Beauty of the Lord will remain Is. 28:5-8
4. Learn the Beauty of the Lord The Lord teaches us His Beauty, His Ways, and the
meaning of His Judgments through the Word and “stammering lips” of His Spirit; and
thereby refreshes/gives us life in the midst of a dying world Is. 28:9-13
“Teach” is from the Hebrew word, “yarah.” It meant to “pour, cast something down and
thereby teach or set something.” In Is. 28:9 it is in a continuing sense, that is, it would
continually happen once given. Also, used for pouring rain. Hos. 6:3 and synonymous
with “pour” and “rain” in Joel 2:23, 28 and Acts 2:17.
“Stammering” in “stammering lips” comes from the Hebrew word, “la’ag.” It meant “to
be foreign, so foreign that it appears barbarous.” Also, see Is. 33:17-20.
5. The Covenant With Death Will Not Last Take heed because the teaching and refreshing
of the Word of the Spirit, “stammering lips,” is about the complete judging of the dying
world and raising of the New Heaven and New Earth. Is. 28:14-21
6. Fields Ripe to Receive Christ’s Beauty “Consume” yourselves with not being drunk with
the fallen, dying world, but be filled with the Spirit by the Word of the Spirit. Is. 28:22-29
7. The Poured Out Like Rain, To Nourish and Teach The Holy Spirit poured out like rain
was the fulfillment of Isaiah 28.
8. Taught by His Spirit with Stammering Lips God’s guiding/teaching by His Spirit
continues as we are “filled” (Eph. 5:18) and “pray” (Jude 20) in the Holy Spirit
44
Jesus’ Ministry Through the Holy Spirit
Introduction: Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to carry out His ministry and Jesus said the Holy Spirit
would be a “Comforter” (paraklete) to us. A “comforter” was someone who was present with a
person to minister to and for them.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he
may abide with you for ever;
John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my
name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I
have said unto you.
John 15:26 But 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:
John 16:7 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away : for if I
go not away , the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart , I will send him unto
you.
1. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit is to bring us victory over the
condemnation brought on by sin Rom. 7:14, 24-5; 8:1
14 For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am carnal, sold under sin….24 O wretched
man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 I thank God—through
Jesus Christ our Lord! 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in
Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.
2. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit is to bring life our spirituality Rom. 8:1-2,
4-7
8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not
walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 2 For the law of the Spirit of life in
Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death….4 that the righteous
requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but
according to the Spirit. 5 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the
things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For
to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 7 Because the
carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can
be.
3. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit is to help us please God and be in stronger
relationship with God Rom. 8:8-9
45
8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in
the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit
of Christ, he is not His.
4. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit is to raise and transform our physical
bodies into the body of the New Heaven and New Earth, that is, as Christ’s resurrected
body Rom. 8:10-11
10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of
righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He
who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit
who dwells in you.
5. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit places us in a place where we dependent,
namely, indebted to God Rom. 8:12-13
12 Therefore, brethren, we are debtors—not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.
13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death
the deeds of the body, you will live.
6. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit is what makes us children of God. The
Cross of Christ makes it possible and the application is done through the Holy Spirit.
Rom. 8:14-17
14 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. 15 For you did not
receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom
we cry out, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are
children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if
indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
7. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit helps us deal with the pains and boundaries
of this present life Rom. 8:18-19, 22-25
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 19 For the earnest expectation of the creation
eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God…. 22 For we know that the whole
creation groans and labors with birth pangs together until now. 23 Not only that, but we
also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly
waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body. 24 For we were saved in this hope,
but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? 25 But if we
hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.
26 Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should
pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings
which cannot be uttered.
46
8. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit is the way that Christ intercedes works all
things together for us so that our lives are according to the will of God and we are made
to be Christlike Rom. 8:2727 Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes
intercession for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that all things
work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His
purpose.
9. The ministry of Jesus through the Holy Spirit is so that we will be embraced and held in
God’s love, despite all circumstances that may try to break us apart from God Rom. 8:3139
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He
who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him
also freely give us all things? 33 Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God
who justifies.
34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is
even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written:“For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
37 Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. 38 For I
am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor
things present nor things to come, 39 nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing,
shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
47
By the Spirit
I Corinthians 1-2
Introduction: God lifts the Cross of Christ in our lives be planting His Spirit in us. Every work
of Satan is targeted against this end. All of the deception of the world is directed to against this
goal. Each time we are tempted another effort is made against this Divine plan.
I Corinthians is about the work of the Spirit to realize Christ within us. The outline of I
Corinthians is an Outline of God’s Work of the Spirit:
1-2
By God’s Spirit/Jesus and His Cross is Revealed
3-11 But, the Work of the Spirit is Hindered Because You Are Not Spiritual
12-14 Even Though, The Spirit Works to Be in You Individually and As Christ’s Body
15
Because, In Eternity We Will Have a Spiritual Body
1. We called to be saints in Christ 1:1-3
1 Paul, called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our
brother,
2 To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus,
called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,
both theirs and ours:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
2. God has given you Christ and desires that His gifts be fully in you 1:4-9
4I
thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by
Christ Jesus, 5 that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all
knowledge, 6 even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, 7 so that you come short
in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, 8 who will also
confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our
Lord.
3. But, Christ in You is Hindered by Divisiveness 1:10-17
10 Now
I plead with you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you all speak
the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly joined
together in the same mind and in the same judgment. 11 For it has been declared to me
concerning you, my brethren, by those of Chloe’s household, that there are contentions
among you. 12 Now I say this, that each of you says, “I am of Paul,” or “I am of Apollos,” or
“I am of Cephas,” or “I am of Christ.” 13 Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Or
were you baptized in the name of Paul? 14 I thank God that I baptized none of you except
Crispus and Gaius, 15 lest anyone should say that I had baptized in my own name. 16 Yes, I
also baptized the household of Stephanas. Besides, I do not know whether I baptized any
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other. 17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of
words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
4. The world and the natural mind thinks that the Cross of Christ is foolish, but God
destroys this foolishness with His wisdom in the Cross life 1:18-25
18 For
the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are
being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the
wise, And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”[a] 20 Where is the wise?
Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did
not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save
those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we
preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks[b] foolishness,
24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the
wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of
God is stronger than men.
5. Your calling is foolish to the world but at the heart of God’s wisdom
26 For
you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many
mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to
put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the
things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are
despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that
are, 29 that no flesh should glory in His presence. 30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who
became for us wisdom from God—and righteousness and sanctification and redemption—
31 that, as it is written, “He who glories, let him glory in the Lord.”[c]
6. God’s Cross wisdom is demonstrated and revealed by God’s Spirit and power, producing
faith 2:1-5
2 And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom
declaring to you the testimony[d] of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among
you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in
much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of
human[e] wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should
not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.
7. God’s Cross wisdom is revealed to those who love Him 2:6-9
6 However,
we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age,
nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 But we speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which
none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the
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Lord of glory. 9 But as it is written: “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into
the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”[f]
8. God’s Cross wisdom is revealed by His Spirit, we know the Cross by the Spirit, not by
the things or wisdom of the world 2:10
10 But
God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things,
yes, the deep things of God.
9. The spirit of a person controls a person, whether a carnal spirit away from God or a spirit
controlled by the Spirit of God 2:11
11 For
what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him?
Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.
10. Those who love God and are not divisive receive the Spirit of God as the means by which
we know what God has given us 2:12
12 Now
we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we
might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
11. The Spirit of God teaches us things that we, if we are guided primarily by natural things
will think are foolish. The things of God are discerned by spiritually in our spirit, under
the control and influence of God’s Spirit 2:13-14
things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the
Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. 14 But the natural man does
not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned.
13 These
Holy[g]
12. The very mind of Christ is given to those who know Christ and the Cross life through the
Spirit of God and not a life and mind centered on the natural world 2:15-16
15 But
he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. 16 For
“who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?”[h] But we have the mind
of Christ.
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