You Shall Not Go Very Far Away - Part Three Jan 31, 2021 by: John Herbert | Series: You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T013_20210131.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” We will continue today to look at things surrounding our own 3 days' journey. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday January 31st 2021 You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Part 3 1). Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away……… We have seen from our previous weeks of study that the enemy of our soul has sought to keep the eternally saved from this dispensation within the confines of his kingdom in an attempt to prevent those who would hear the Word of the Kingdom from producing fruit and becoming joint heirs with Christ – Mt 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ” The ‘tares’ sown among the wheat, seen in the Matthew 13 parables, introduced a corrupted message which countered that which the Word of the Kingdom taught. This corrupted message would take a variety of forms but would be encapsulated in 3 specific and complimentary, destructive doctrines – Re 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Re 2:20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. The doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans form part of the condemnation given to the church in Pergamos. A name, as we had seen last week, that pictured the time in church history when the church became married to the world through becoming the exclusive religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. a). Since that time the church has continued to be enmeshed in the present world system and has grown in a way it was never supposed to within its polluted soil – Mt 13:31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” And as a result of this unnatural growth it has, in general, become a national institution where the ‘birds of the air’, the emissaries of Satan, readily find their home – 1 Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. Within this ‘home’ the gospel of grace is still preached, charitable deeds are performed and the Scriptures, after a fashion, are taught, but all of this is done within the confines of Satan’s kingdom. The majority of the eternally saved have not gone very far away and the faith required to complete the 3 days’ journey is not there – Lk 18:8b Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find [the] faith on the earth?” Re 3:16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— Despite what may be a somewhat depressing picture, there have been a significant number of eternally saved individuals during the past 2000 years who, having been called out of the world, have readily made the 3 days’ journey. A process of continual separation from the grip of the present world system – Re 3:4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ And for those who pursue this diligently to the end, there is a wonderful promise – Re 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, ‘He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. And it is no coincidence that the church, the called out from this world, who have an open door set before them that no one can shut, are defined by the name ‘Philadelphia’, brotherly love. b). And the expression of brotherly love is what we had seen with regards to the church in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 4:32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And this we had seen expanded further for us in Ephesians and Hebrews Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. We had seen our individual responsibility to receive the teaching of the Word of God so that we will be thoroughly equipped for every good work, the work of ministry, and how as a result of receiving the Word, we are to grow in our knowledge of the truth so that we would not be carried away by the doctrine of Balaam, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and the doctrine of Jezebel. c). We see that we are individually responsible for doing our share in this and what we supply through this endeavor knits the body together and brings about spiritual growth and edification in love as we assemble ourselves together to stir up love and good works and to exhort one another, and so much the more as we see the Day approaching. d). Our receiving the Word is paramount in this – Jas 1:18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. 19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. It is the Word alone that is able to work the metamorphosis in us that we should not be conformed to the world. It is the Word of God alone, brought forth from above, that overcomes the world and as we believe and act upon that Word so our faith will be the means by which we overcome the world through it. e). And as we move on our journey from faith to faith, we are continually under pressure to conform to the world because of our old man, our flesh, who cannot make the 3 days’ journey and enthusiastically embraces the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life – Eph 4:22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts……… And it is through our old man, the flesh, that the world, and all that is in the world, has connection with us. 2). Ro 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. Paul states categorically that in our ‘flesh’ nothing good dwells. He has the will to do good, but that cannot be done in his flesh, nor in ours either. a). So, exactly what is meant by this word ‘flesh’? And as always it is so important that we are clear about the scripturally defined terminology that we use. b). To begin, let’s look at some verses concerning the Lord Jesus – Heb 2:14 ¶ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…….. Heb 5:7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear…. Heb 10:19 ¶ Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh……. In these 3 sets of verses from Hebrews we see firstly, in Chapter 2, that Christ shared in the same body of ‘flesh and blood’ as we have. And in Chapter 5, the phrase, ‘the days of His flesh’ refers to the duration of His life on earth in that body of flesh and blood like ours. c). And then in Chapter 10, we see His ‘flesh’ given as a sacrifice for sin making possible our entry into the Holiest of Holies. d). Because we know that Christ is without sin, we must come to the conclusion that there was nothing sinful about His ‘flesh’ – His natural body. e). Nor is there anything sinful about our natural body either. That which prevents our insides from being our outsides is just flesh. It is made up of 3 layers, the epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis and of itself is entirely neutral, being neither inherently good nor evil. It is just flesh or skin if that would make it easier to understand. It is the casing if you will, that contains the on-going battle between the old man and the new man, the soul and the spirit. f). Clearly then, the word ‘flesh’ used by Paul in Romans 7:18 is dealing with something other than the natural body. And by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we can find what is meant by the use of this word – Joh 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. Here we see a contrast made between the Spirit, ‘who gives life’ and the flesh that, ‘profits nothing’ – the Spirit and the flesh are set as opposites with an inheritance in view for one but not the other. Ga 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise……………….29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. We see two distinct births here, one of the flesh connected with bondage and one of the Spirit connected with promise. And the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit. And again, from Galatians Chapter 4 - Ga 4:30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. The one who is born first, in bondage, the son of the bondwoman, will have no inheritance. It is the one born second, through promise, the son of the freewoman, who alone will receive the inheritance. g). And having been brought forth from above at the moment of our eternal salvation, our second birth, it is now the man of the spirit alone who can receive the promise and the inheritance, never the man of the flesh - Joh 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3). We were all born through the process of procreation into the world under Satan’s dominion, in an unredeemed condition, in the likeness of Adam after the fall - Eph 2:1 ¶ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins……. Our natural birth, in an unredeemed condition, is our first birth and we see in the verse from Ephesians that our first birth is inseparable from death. It is only through being brought forth from above, our second birth, our eternal salvation, that we have life – guaranteed life for the ages of the ages – and conditional life for the age to come. a). From this we can conclude that the word ‘flesh’ as used in Romans Chapter 7, in which nothing good dwells, is a word to be seen describing our condition at our first birth: having a sin nature, that which is dead in trespasses and sins. That which is associated with the son of the bondwoman and cannot therefore have an inheritance, that which Scripture also refers to as our ‘old man’ who remains connected to the world and the things in the world. b). And our flesh, referring to the ‘old man’, is under sentence of death – Ro 6:23a For the wages of sin is death……… Ro 8:13a For if you live according to the flesh you will die……….. This we will return to, but for the moment let’s go back to the foundation. 4). Ge 1:1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 ¶ Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. This by now is very familiar to us. In these verses we see the ruined material creation in the place of death beneath the raging waters, covered in darkness, and in order for that material creation to be restored there had to be a sovereign act of God – the enactment of His word by the breath of His Spirit. a). And because God said, so light entered where there was only darkness and a division was made between the two. And in this and the five days which followed, an unchangable pattern for the restoration of a ruined creation was set. b). The light from this point onwards would be the dominant force but the darkness still remained. And although it continues even today there is a terminal point when the literal darkness from Genesis 1:2 will be done away with, as we have seen in a previous study - Re 21:5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." Re 22:5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. The darkness, which came as a result of Satan’s sin, that finds its association with the ruined material creation, that we experience as night, will be done away with. c). In the new heaven and new earth all that is connected with the ruined material creation will be gone and darkness, as a part of this will be gone also. Just as at the end of the Millennial Kingdom sin will be no more and the consequence of sin, death and the place of the dead, will be thrown into the lake of fire, so darkness, both literal and figurative, as part and parcel of this whole picture cannot and will not exist any longer either. d). Our first birth, our natural birth through procreation, that brought us into the world dead in trespasses and sins placed us as a slave in Satan’s kingdom. Our ‘old man’, the flesh, remains inextricably connected to the present world system under Satan and in bondage to it. And that which we have seen in the last two weeks – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, are manifest in the actions and thoughts of our ‘old man’. And as these three epitomize the nature of the world, and the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one, it is not difficult to see that through our first birth, through our ‘old man’, the god of this world has a direct access to us to try to keep us from going very far away. And the present world system and the god of this world are characterized figuratively by darkness - Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. And our old man, our flesh, finds his place in this very same darkness, that figurative darkness which came into being because of Satan’s sin. That same darkness that we saw pictured in the literal darkness in Genesis 1:2 – Joh 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Evil deeds find their place in darkness under the authority of the rulers of the darkness of this age, and this darkness is set in antithesis to the light - Ro 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Here in Romans the evil deeds of John 3 are described as works of darkness – and the counter to these is to put on the armor of light. We are to cast off one thing and put on another in its place. 1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God. Then in 1 Corinthians we see the hidden things of darkness – which can only be the works of darkness of Romans 13, the evil deeds of John 3, connected to a time of Judgment for Christians. And at this time of judgment the hidden things of darkness will be brought into the light. e). This of course is a reference to the Judgment Seat of Christ when all things will be revealed by Christ as Judge - Heb 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. The hidden things of darkness would have to refer to the works of our flesh, that which is done apart from faith, that have not been confessed to be cleansed by our High Priest. In other words, this would be sin in our lives that we have chosen not to deal with. f). Our ‘old man’, our flesh is incapable of producing anything except works of darkness – please don’t be deceived – as Paul made clear in Romans Chapter 7, in our flesh nothing good dwells – and our ‘old man’ does not improve with age. g). It follows then, that as our new man, the man of the spirit, makes his 3 days’ journey, not only is there a process of separation from the world and the things in the world but also a process of separation from the old man, the flesh, who we must leave behind, along with the darkness in which he lives, if we are to find that abundant entrance into our Lord’s Kingdom at the end of our journey – Ru 2:11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” We will continue next time – if the Lord is willing. You Shall Not Go Very Far Away - Part Three Jan 31, 2021 Speaker: John Herbert Series: You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T013_20210131.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” We will continue today to look at things surrounding our own 3 days' journey. The full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday January 31st 2021 You Shall Not Go Very Far Away Part 3 1). Ex 8:27 We will go three days’ journey into the wilderness and sacrifice to the LORD our God as He will command us.” 28 So Pharaoh said, “I will let you go, that you may sacrifice to the LORD your God in the wilderness; only you shall not go very far away……… We have seen from our previous weeks of study that the enemy of our soul has sought to keep the eternally saved from this dispensation within the confines of his kingdom in an attempt to prevent those who would hear the Word of the Kingdom from producing fruit and becoming joint heirs with Christ – Mt 13:23 But he who received seed on the good ground is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”24 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field; 25 but while men slept, his enemy came and sowed tares among the wheat and went his way. 26 But when the grain had sprouted and produced a crop, then the tares also appeared. 27 So the servants of the owner came and said to him, ‘Sir, did you not sow good seed in your field? How then does it have tares?’ 28 He said to them, ‘An enemy has done this.’ The servants said to him, ‘Do you want us then to go and gather them up?’ 29 But he said, ‘No, lest while you gather up the tares you also uproot the wheat with them. 30 Let both grow together until the harvest, and at the time of harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather together the tares and bind them in bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat into my barn.” ’ ” The ‘tares’ sown among the wheat, seen in the Matthew 13 parables, introduced a corrupted message which countered that which the Word of the Kingdom taught. This corrupted message would take a variety of forms but would be encapsulated in 3 specific and complimentary, destructive doctrines – Re 2:14 But I have a few things against you, because you have there those who hold the doctrine of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit sexual immorality. 15 Thus you also have those who hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate. Re 2:20 Nevertheless I have a few things against you, because you allow that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess, to teach and seduce My servants to commit sexual immorality and eat things sacrificed to idols. The doctrine of Balaam and the doctrine of the Nicolaitans form part of the condemnation given to the church in Pergamos. A name, as we had seen last week, that pictured the time in church history when the church became married to the world through becoming the exclusive religion of the Roman Empire in the 4th century AD. a). Since that time the church has continued to be enmeshed in the present world system and has grown in a way it was never supposed to within its polluted soil – Mt 13:31 Another parable He put forth to them, saying: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, 32 which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” And as a result of this unnatural growth it has, in general, become a national institution where the ‘birds of the air’, the emissaries of Satan, readily find their home – 1 Ti 4:1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, 2 speaking lies in hypocrisy, having their own conscience seared with a hot iron, 3 forbidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from foods which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. Within this ‘home’ the gospel of grace is still preached, charitable deeds are performed and the Scriptures, after a fashion, are taught, but all of this is done within the confines of Satan’s kingdom. The majority of the eternally saved have not gone very far away and the faith required to complete the 3 days’ journey is not there – Lk 18:8b Nevertheless, when the Son of Man comes, will He really find [the] faith on the earth?” Re 3:16 So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of My mouth. 17 Because you say, ‘I am rich, have become wealthy, and have need of nothing’—and do not know that you are wretched, miserable, poor, blind, and naked— Despite what may be a somewhat depressing picture, there have been a significant number of eternally saved individuals during the past 2000 years who, having been called out of the world, have readily made the 3 days’ journey. A process of continual separation from the grip of the present world system – Re 3:4 You have a few names even in Sardis who have not defiled their garments; and they shall walk with Me in white, for they are worthy. 5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels. 6 “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” ’ And for those who pursue this diligently to the end, there is a wonderful promise – Re 3:7 “And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write, “These things says He who is holy, He who is true, ‘He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens”: 8 “I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name. And it is no coincidence that the church, the called out from this world, who have an open door set before them that no one can shut, are defined by the name ‘Philadelphia’, brotherly love. b). And the expression of brotherly love is what we had seen with regards to the church in Acts Chapter 2 – Acts 2:44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved. Acts 4:32 Now the multitude of those who believed were of one heart and one soul; neither did anyone say that any of the things he possessed was his own, but they had all things in common. And this we had seen expanded further for us in Ephesians and Hebrews Eph 4:11 And He Himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, 12 for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, 13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ; 14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ— 16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Heb 10:23 Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful. 24 And let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, 25 not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, and so much the more as you see the Day approaching. We had seen our individual responsibility to receive the teaching of the Word of God so that we will be thoroughly equipped for every good work, the work of ministry, and how as a result of receiving the Word, we are to grow in our knowledge of the truth so that we would not be carried away by the doctrine of Balaam, the doctrine of the Nicolaitans and the doctrine of Jezebel. c). We see that we are individually responsible for doing our share in this and what we supply through this endeavor knits the body together and brings about spiritual growth and edification in love as we assemble ourselves together to stir up love and good works and to exhort one another, and so much the more as we see the Day approaching. d). Our receiving the Word is paramount in this – Jas 1:18 Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures. 19 So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; 20 for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God. 21 Therefore lay aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. 22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. It is the Word alone that is able to work the metamorphosis in us that we should not be conformed to the world. It is the Word of God alone, brought forth from above, that overcomes the world and as we believe and act upon that Word so our faith will be the means by which we overcome the world through it. e). And as we move on our journey from faith to faith, we are continually under pressure to conform to the world because of our old man, our flesh, who cannot make the 3 days’ journey and enthusiastically embraces the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life – Eph 4:22 that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts……… And it is through our old man, the flesh, that the world, and all that is in the world, has connection with us. 2). Ro 7:18 For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. Paul states categorically that in our ‘flesh’ nothing good dwells. He has the will to do good, but that cannot be done in his flesh, nor in ours either. a). So, exactly what is meant by this word ‘flesh’? And as always it is so important that we are clear about the scripturally defined terminology that we use. b). To begin, let’s look at some verses concerning the Lord Jesus – Heb 2:14 ¶ Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil…….. Heb 5:7 who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear…. Heb 10:19 ¶ Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, 20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh……. In these 3 sets of verses from Hebrews we see firstly, in Chapter 2, that Christ shared in the same body of ‘flesh and blood’ as we have. And in Chapter 5, the phrase, ‘the days of His flesh’ refers to the duration of His life on earth in that body of flesh and blood like ours. c). And then in Chapter 10, we see His ‘flesh’ given as a sacrifice for sin making possible our entry into the Holiest of Holies. d). Because we know that Christ is without sin, we must come to the conclusion that there was nothing sinful about His ‘flesh’ – His natural body. e). Nor is there anything sinful about our natural body either. That which prevents our insides from being our outsides is just flesh. It is made up of 3 layers, the epidermis, the dermis and the hypodermis and of itself is entirely neutral, being neither inherently good nor evil. It is just flesh or skin if that would make it easier to understand. It is the casing if you will, that contains the on-going battle between the old man and the new man, the soul and the spirit. f). Clearly then, the word ‘flesh’ used by Paul in Romans 7:18 is dealing with something other than the natural body. And by comparing Scripture with Scripture, we can find what is meant by the use of this word – Joh 6:63 "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. Here we see a contrast made between the Spirit, ‘who gives life’ and the flesh that, ‘profits nothing’ – the Spirit and the flesh are set as opposites with an inheritance in view for one but not the other. Ga 4:22 For it is written that Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a freewoman. 23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he of the freewoman through promise……………….29 But, as he who was born according to the flesh then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so it is now. We see two distinct births here, one of the flesh connected with bondage and one of the Spirit connected with promise. And the one born according to the flesh persecuted the one born according to the Spirit. And again, from Galatians Chapter 4 - Ga 4:30 Nevertheless what does the Scripture say? "Cast out the bondwoman and her son, for the son of the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman." 31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman but of the free. The one who is born first, in bondage, the son of the bondwoman, will have no inheritance. It is the one born second, through promise, the son of the freewoman, who alone will receive the inheritance. g). And having been brought forth from above at the moment of our eternal salvation, our second birth, it is now the man of the spirit alone who can receive the promise and the inheritance, never the man of the flesh - Joh 3:6 "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. 3). We were all born through the process of procreation into the world under Satan’s dominion, in an unredeemed condition, in the likeness of Adam after the fall - Eph 2:1 ¶ And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins……. Our natural birth, in an unredeemed condition, is our first birth and we see in the verse from Ephesians that our first birth is inseparable from death. It is only through being brought forth from above, our second birth, our eternal salvation, that we have life – guaranteed life for the ages of the ages – and conditional life for the age to come. a). From this we can conclude that the word ‘flesh’ as used in Romans Chapter 7, in which nothing good dwells, is a word to be seen describing our condition at our first birth: having a sin nature, that which is dead in trespasses and sins. That which is associated with the son of the bondwoman and cannot therefore have an inheritance, that which Scripture also refers to as our ‘old man’ who remains connected to the world and the things in the world. b). And our flesh, referring to the ‘old man’, is under sentence of death – Ro 6:23a For the wages of sin is death……… Ro 8:13a For if you live according to the flesh you will die……….. This we will return to, but for the moment let’s go back to the foundation. 4). Ge 1:1 ¶ In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. 3 ¶ Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. 4 And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day. This by now is very familiar to us. In these verses we see the ruined material creation in the place of death beneath the raging waters, covered in darkness, and in order for that material creation to be restored there had to be a sovereign act of God – the enactment of His word by the breath of His Spirit. a). And because God said, so light entered where there was only darkness and a division was made between the two. And in this and the five days which followed, an unchangable pattern for the restoration of a ruined creation was set. b). The light from this point onwards would be the dominant force but the darkness still remained. And although it continues even today there is a terminal point when the literal darkness from Genesis 1:2 will be done away with, as we have seen in a previous study - Re 21:5 Then He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." Re 22:5 There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. The darkness, which came as a result of Satan’s sin, that finds its association with the ruined material creation, that we experience as night, will be done away with. c). In the new heaven and new earth all that is connected with the ruined material creation will be gone and darkness, as a part of this will be gone also. Just as at the end of the Millennial Kingdom sin will be no more and the consequence of sin, death and the place of the dead, will be thrown into the lake of fire, so darkness, both literal and figurative, as part and parcel of this whole picture cannot and will not exist any longer either. d). Our first birth, our natural birth through procreation, that brought us into the world dead in trespasses and sins placed us as a slave in Satan’s kingdom. Our ‘old man’, the flesh, remains inextricably connected to the present world system under Satan and in bondage to it. And that which we have seen in the last two weeks – the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life, are manifest in the actions and thoughts of our ‘old man’. And as these three epitomize the nature of the world, and the whole world is under the sway of the wicked one, it is not difficult to see that through our first birth, through our ‘old man’, the god of this world has a direct access to us to try to keep us from going very far away. And the present world system and the god of this world are characterized figuratively by darkness - Eph 6:12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. And our old man, our flesh, finds his place in this very same darkness, that figurative darkness which came into being because of Satan’s sin. That same darkness that we saw pictured in the literal darkness in Genesis 1:2 – Joh 3:19 "And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. Evil deeds find their place in darkness under the authority of the rulers of the darkness of this age, and this darkness is set in antithesis to the light - Ro 13:12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. Here in Romans the evil deeds of John 3 are described as works of darkness – and the counter to these is to put on the armor of light. We are to cast off one thing and put on another in its place. 1Co 4:5 Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one's praise will come from God. Then in 1 Corinthians we see the hidden things of darkness – which can only be the works of darkness of Romans 13, the evil deeds of John 3, connected to a time of Judgment for Christians. And at this time of judgment the hidden things of darkness will be brought into the light. e). This of course is a reference to the Judgment Seat of Christ when all things will be revealed by Christ as Judge - Heb 4:13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. The hidden things of darkness would have to refer to the works of our flesh, that which is done apart from faith, that have not been confessed to be cleansed by our High Priest. In other words, this would be sin in our lives that we have chosen not to deal with. f). Our ‘old man’, our flesh is incapable of producing anything except works of darkness – please don’t be deceived – as Paul made clear in Romans Chapter 7, in our flesh nothing good dwells – and our ‘old man’ does not improve with age. g). It follows then, that as our new man, the man of the spirit, makes his 3 days’ journey, not only is there a process of separation from the world and the things in the world but also a process of separation from the old man, the flesh, who we must leave behind, along with the darkness in which he lives, if we are to find that abundant entrance into our Lord’s Kingdom at the end of our journey – Ru 2:11 And Boaz answered and said to her, “It has been fully reported to me, all that you have done for your mother-in-law since the death of your husband, and how you have left your father and your mother and the land of your birth, and have come to a people whom you did not know before. 12 The LORD repay your work, and a full reward be given you by the LORD God of Israel, under whose wings you have come for refuge.” We will continue next time – if the Lord is willing.