the Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Seventeen - I Oct 27, 2019 by: John Herbert | Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Audio Study Notes PDF https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T001_20191027.mp3 Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. We will continue to look sat the child training of the Lord with respect to the salvation of our soul. There full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday October 27th 2019 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 17I ‘What More Shall I Say?’ 1). Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. In the Book of James, we find God’s commentary on Abraham’s faith at the time of the offering of Isaac. And it is clear from these verses that at this point in Abraham’s life that by works his ‘faith was made perfect’ – literally brought to completion or brought to its goal. And as we compare Scripture with Scripture we can see exactly what that goal of faith is – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. Here in Peter we find that the end, the goal or the completion of the faith is the salvation of the soul, and this is exactly the outcome that we must see for Abraham. In fact, the Book of Hebrews makes this clear – Heb 11:17 By faith [to the saving of the soul] Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” Although Abraham lived some 2000 years before the Lord’s first advent, he had seen the ‘inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away’ that awaits the time of the Lord’s Kingdom – Ga 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” Heb 11:10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. He had embraced the promise although it was ‘afar off’ and had then organized his life toward that end, being submitted to the will and purpose of the God who called him. And in consequence he was ‘kept by the power of God through [his] faith [to the saving of the soul] for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time’. a). And all this of course was millennia before the Lord’s resurrection. The supernatural event that had to take place in order for the ‘so great salvation’ to be realized – Jn 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Ge 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. Heb 11:19 concluding that God was able to raise him up [Isaac], even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense [in a type]. But we have also seen that in order for Abraham to get to the point where his faith was brought to completion by his works, he had to undergo the child training of the Lord, through the testing of his faith – which is what Peter has described for us - In this [the salvation of the soul] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, And we would have to know that all the OT saints seen in Hebrews Chapter 11, who are commended for their faith to the saving of the soul, had their faith brought to completion by their works also. They heard what God had said and then acted in accordance with what God had told them. And we would also know that they all would have been child trained by the Lord as well. In fact, it is impossible for anyone’s faith, to the saving of their soul, to be brought to completion without it, because faithful obedience in the eternally saved is not an automatic, default setting. b). Rather this is something that must be taught within the transforming work of the Spirit through the Word of God in relation to the testing of faith to prove its genuineness. And the testing of faith will always be in conjunction with ‘works’ – having heard His voice while it is still today, will we choose to be a doer of the Word or a hearer only? Here is the test of our faith. And when faith to the saving of the soul has been proved through testing it will result in ‘praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ’. c). For Abraham, as we know, the genuineness of his faith was proven during his lifetime through the testing of his faith. Would he be faithfully obedient to that which God had told him to do? And the process of the proving of Abraham’s faith is pictured for us in his journey from the land of his birth to the land of his inheritance. d). And the nature of this journey for the proving of his faith was characterized through the instruction that God gave him before he left Ur of the Chaldees – Ge 12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. For Abraham this was a literal separation to be brought about through a literal journey and it is interesting to note that it is only once the literal separation from his family and his father’s house was completed that God then showed him the land as He had promised – Ge 13:14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” And through this literal journey and literal separation came Abraham’s evolving spiritual separation from the Kingdom under Satan – Ge 14:22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— For us, that pictured through Abraham’s journey and separation can be seen in Romans Chapter 12 through the command to stop being ‘conformed to this world [age]’ – Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Although having said this, the fulfillment of this command might require a literal separation and a literal journey. We should not discount it. But also realize that it is not in the literal of itself that the spiritual is to be realized. e). And as we seek to obey the command to stop being conformed to this world, we must also embrace the command to be ‘transformed by the renewing of your mind’ instead. And the word translated ‘renewing’ has the idea of a gradual process. f). And this gradual renewing process can be seen as our journey to spiritual maturity, our progress from faith to faith and if we have embarked on this journey then the child training of the Lord will be active in our life to bring our faith to the saving of our soul to completion. g). So, as our mind is gradually renewed, we are in the process of being transformed and being transformed is set in contrast to being conformed to this ‘world’. Being conformed we could liken to wearing a fancy-dress costume at a fancy-dress party. Having on the costume makes us look the same as everyone else. It would be the person without the costume that would look odd. The fancy-dress party is the ‘world’ and the costume we would wear at this party would be our ‘old man’. h). Walking around dressed in our ‘old man’ would enable us to go undetected among those who are of the world, but the transforming process is to bring to the forefront the ‘new man’ - gradually removing the costume so that our true identity is revealed. So that we would walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. And in this transforming process we find the separation pictured through God’s instruction to Abraham before he left Ur – Ga 3:9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. i). What does the Scripture tell about our ‘new man’? Well, let’s see – Eph 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off [once and for all], concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on [once and for all] the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off [once and for all] the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on [once and for all] the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, In both sets of verses, we see the renewing process with respect to ‘the spirit of your mind’. In Colossians we see the ‘new man’ is ‘renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him’ and in Ephesians that the ‘new man’ ‘was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness’. j). So then, through this transforming process, our outward appearance, the way that we live before others, is to be characterized by having put on the new man, and having done so we are not to be fearful of what those in our wider circle of acquaintance may think of the change they see in us. This is something we saw a couple of weeks back – 1 Pe 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. In both the verses from Ephesians and Colossians we see that we are to have put off the old man and put on the new ‘once and for all’, but just as we had seen last time with our old man having been crucified with Christ – Ro 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. The reality of the Scripture needs to transfer into our daily experience. We have put off the old man and we have put on the new once and for all, the Scripture clearly tells us so, but this is likely not our experience on a day to day basis and so our mind, the way we believe what the Scripture teaches us, must be gradually renewed so that we may be transformed thereby showing in our lives that which Scripture says to be true. k). And here again we will come back to the child training of the Lord, as the child training of the Lord and the transforming process are accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word. 2). Heb 12: 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. What we should realize by now of course, is just how important the child training of the Lord is to the transforming process that leads to the salvation of our soul, so that we may be one of the many sons who will be brought to glory. a). V9 sets this in place - Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? – on the natural level we have had ‘human fathers’ who corrected and guided us, ‘as seemed best to them’ to grow us up ‘properly’ and we have been subject to them in this and can respect their efforts in that role. b). But now, through our spiritual birth we have a Heavenly Father, who is the Father of spirits, who corrects and guides us ‘for our profit’, to grow us up to be His own son. And the idea of profit and loss we have seen used in conjunction with the salvation of the soul – Mt 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. So, the premise is, that the Lord corrects and guides us so that we might be profitable, separating us from the world so as to be ‘partakers of His holiness’. And to be a partaker of His holiness would take us again to the reality of having put off the old man and having put on the new man created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. c). And the end result of this is the salvation of our souls. This being the case, then shouldn’t we ‘much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?’ And ‘live’ here is to have life in the age to come, to be a part of the Bride, one of the many sons brought to glory. Why would we not submit ourselves to the perfect child training of the perfect Father given the purpose He has for us? Heb 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. However, it is always possible for us to become weary and discouraged in our souls through our long-term engagement in the process. And if we find ourselves in that place then we are to look to the patient endurance of our Lord and remember how He shed His blood for the joy that was set before Him. And in conjunction with this let’s also call to mind the enormity of the ‘so great salvation’ on offer to us that His sacrifice has made possible; and the enormity of becoming a joint heir with Christ, and the enormity of becoming glorified together with Him, so that in this knowledge we might be re-energized to continue to press toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus our Lord – Heb 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Let us not be hunched over and down-trodden in our race – let’s not come to a standstill, but rather let’s stand up straight and hold our heads high, knowing who we are in Christ and having the certainty of what awaits us in the near future – 1 Jn 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ‘We shall be like Him’ – apart from sin and covered with glory – a king and a priest unto our God, a part of His Bride, adopted as firstborn son. It is not yet time for us to leave the fancy-dress party, but it is time for us to take the costume off – Mt 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. With this determination then we need to make ‘straight paths’ for our feet. The word translated ‘straight’ is not the opposite of crooked but rather of being smooth and even. What is conveyed through it, is the idea of having a clear course set before us, free from obstruction. A clear path that we can follow and that can be followed by those walking with us. A pathway leading to glory whose surface is smooth and even through the transforming child training of the Lord so that there is nothing for us to stumble over and therefore become lame as we walk its length – Php 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 2 Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Here in Peter is the transforming process, the removing of the fancy-dress costume; our progress from faith to faith, our journey to spiritual maturity. This is the ‘straight’ path that we need to make for our feet so that we will never stumble. And if we do, ‘an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.’ d). And the implementation of each of the things in this catalogue will be a work on our part – for example as we ‘add’ self-control to knowledge, self-control is something we must choose to do; we must be a doer and not just a hearer only. e). Then what we have believed about adding self-control to our knowledge will be tested to see if it is genuine and here is the child training of the Lord. And if we respond correctly, according to the Scriptures, then we can look to be protected by the power of God through faith, in the confident expectation that our faith will be brought to its goal. Just as Abraham’s was. More next time – if the Lord is willing. the Word of God - A Survey of the Bible - Part Seventeen - I Oct 27, 2019 Speaker: John Herbert Series: The Word of God - A Survey of the Bible Category: Sunday Morning https://s3.amazonaws.com/cornerstonejax/sermonfiles/T001_20191027.mp3 Download Audio x
Refresh A Recap from the Sermon Heb 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. We will continue to look sat the child training of the Lord with respect to the salvation of our soul. There full text of this message can be found by clicking the PDF button. Sunday October 27th 2019 The Word of God A Survey of the Bible – Lesson 17I ‘What More Shall I Say?’ 1). Jas 2:21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered Isaac his son on the altar? 22 Do you see that faith was working together with his works, and by works faith was made perfect? 23 And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.” And he was called the friend of God. 24 You see then that a man is justified by works, and not by faith only. In the Book of James, we find God’s commentary on Abraham’s faith at the time of the offering of Isaac. And it is clear from these verses that at this point in Abraham’s life that by works his ‘faith was made perfect’ – literally brought to completion or brought to its goal. And as we compare Scripture with Scripture we can see exactly what that goal of faith is – 1 Pe 1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, 5 who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 8 whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, 9 receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls. Here in Peter we find that the end, the goal or the completion of the faith is the salvation of the soul, and this is exactly the outcome that we must see for Abraham. In fact, the Book of Hebrews makes this clear – Heb 11:17 By faith [to the saving of the soul] Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, 18 of whom it was said, “In Isaac your seed shall be called,” Although Abraham lived some 2000 years before the Lord’s first advent, he had seen the ‘inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that does not fade away’ that awaits the time of the Lord’s Kingdom – Ga 3:8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” Heb 11:10 for he waited for the city which has foundations, whose builder and maker is God. He had embraced the promise although it was ‘afar off’ and had then organized his life toward that end, being submitted to the will and purpose of the God who called him. And in consequence he was ‘kept by the power of God through [his] faith [to the saving of the soul] for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time’. a). And all this of course was millennia before the Lord’s resurrection. The supernatural event that had to take place in order for the ‘so great salvation’ to be realized – Jn 8:56 Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.” Ge 22:4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. Heb 11:19 concluding that God was able to raise him up [Isaac], even from the dead, from which he also received him in a figurative sense [in a type]. But we have also seen that in order for Abraham to get to the point where his faith was brought to completion by his works, he had to undergo the child training of the Lord, through the testing of his faith – which is what Peter has described for us - In this [the salvation of the soul] you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, And we would have to know that all the OT saints seen in Hebrews Chapter 11, who are commended for their faith to the saving of the soul, had their faith brought to completion by their works also. They heard what God had said and then acted in accordance with what God had told them. And we would also know that they all would have been child trained by the Lord as well. In fact, it is impossible for anyone’s faith, to the saving of their soul, to be brought to completion without it, because faithful obedience in the eternally saved is not an automatic, default setting. b). Rather this is something that must be taught within the transforming work of the Spirit through the Word of God in relation to the testing of faith to prove its genuineness. And the testing of faith will always be in conjunction with ‘works’ – having heard His voice while it is still today, will we choose to be a doer of the Word or a hearer only? Here is the test of our faith. And when faith to the saving of the soul has been proved through testing it will result in ‘praise, honor and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ’. c). For Abraham, as we know, the genuineness of his faith was proven during his lifetime through the testing of his faith. Would he be faithfully obedient to that which God had told him to do? And the process of the proving of Abraham’s faith is pictured for us in his journey from the land of his birth to the land of his inheritance. d). And the nature of this journey for the proving of his faith was characterized through the instruction that God gave him before he left Ur of the Chaldees – Ge 12:1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father's house, To a land that I will show you. For Abraham this was a literal separation to be brought about through a literal journey and it is interesting to note that it is only once the literal separation from his family and his father’s house was completed that God then showed him the land as He had promised – Ge 13:14 And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot had separated from him: “Lift your eyes now and look from the place where you are—northward, southward, eastward, and westward; 15 for all the land which you see I give to you and your descendants forever. 16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered. 17 Arise, walk in the land through its length and its width, for I give it to you.” And through this literal journey and literal separation came Abraham’s evolving spiritual separation from the Kingdom under Satan – Ge 14:22 But Abram said to the king of Sodom, “I have raised my hand to the Lord, God Most High, the Possessor of heaven and earth, 23 that I will take nothing, from a thread to a sandal strap, and that I will not take anything that is yours, lest you should say, ‘I have made Abram rich’— For us, that pictured through Abraham’s journey and separation can be seen in Romans Chapter 12 through the command to stop being ‘conformed to this world [age]’ – Ro 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Although having said this, the fulfillment of this command might require a literal separation and a literal journey. We should not discount it. But also realize that it is not in the literal of itself that the spiritual is to be realized. e). And as we seek to obey the command to stop being conformed to this world, we must also embrace the command to be ‘transformed by the renewing of your mind’ instead. And the word translated ‘renewing’ has the idea of a gradual process. f). And this gradual renewing process can be seen as our journey to spiritual maturity, our progress from faith to faith and if we have embarked on this journey then the child training of the Lord will be active in our life to bring our faith to the saving of our soul to completion. g). So, as our mind is gradually renewed, we are in the process of being transformed and being transformed is set in contrast to being conformed to this ‘world’. Being conformed we could liken to wearing a fancy-dress costume at a fancy-dress party. Having on the costume makes us look the same as everyone else. It would be the person without the costume that would look odd. The fancy-dress party is the ‘world’ and the costume we would wear at this party would be our ‘old man’. h). Walking around dressed in our ‘old man’ would enable us to go undetected among those who are of the world, but the transforming process is to bring to the forefront the ‘new man’ - gradually removing the costume so that our true identity is revealed. So that we would walk in the Spirit and not in the flesh. And in this transforming process we find the separation pictured through God’s instruction to Abraham before he left Ur – Ga 3:9 So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham. i). What does the Scripture tell about our ‘new man’? Well, let’s see – Eph 4:20 But you have not so learned Christ, 21 if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: 22 that you put off [once and for all], concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, 24 and that you put on [once and for all] the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Col 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off [once and for all] the old man with his deeds, 10 and have put on [once and for all] the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him, In both sets of verses, we see the renewing process with respect to ‘the spirit of your mind’. In Colossians we see the ‘new man’ is ‘renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him’ and in Ephesians that the ‘new man’ ‘was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness’. j). So then, through this transforming process, our outward appearance, the way that we live before others, is to be characterized by having put on the new man, and having done so we are not to be fearful of what those in our wider circle of acquaintance may think of the change they see in us. This is something we saw a couple of weeks back – 1 Pe 4:1 Therefore, since Christ suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same mind, for he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, 2 that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. 3 For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. 4 In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. In both the verses from Ephesians and Colossians we see that we are to have put off the old man and put on the new ‘once and for all’, but just as we had seen last time with our old man having been crucified with Christ – Ro 6:6 knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. The reality of the Scripture needs to transfer into our daily experience. We have put off the old man and we have put on the new once and for all, the Scripture clearly tells us so, but this is likely not our experience on a day to day basis and so our mind, the way we believe what the Scripture teaches us, must be gradually renewed so that we may be transformed thereby showing in our lives that which Scripture says to be true. k). And here again we will come back to the child training of the Lord, as the child training of the Lord and the transforming process are accomplished by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Word. 2). Heb 12: 3 For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls. 4 You have not yet resisted to bloodshed, striving against sin. 5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. What we should realize by now of course, is just how important the child training of the Lord is to the transforming process that leads to the salvation of our soul, so that we may be one of the many sons who will be brought to glory. a). V9 sets this in place - Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? – on the natural level we have had ‘human fathers’ who corrected and guided us, ‘as seemed best to them’ to grow us up ‘properly’ and we have been subject to them in this and can respect their efforts in that role. b). But now, through our spiritual birth we have a Heavenly Father, who is the Father of spirits, who corrects and guides us ‘for our profit’, to grow us up to be His own son. And the idea of profit and loss we have seen used in conjunction with the salvation of the soul – Mt 16:26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. So, the premise is, that the Lord corrects and guides us so that we might be profitable, separating us from the world so as to be ‘partakers of His holiness’. And to be a partaker of His holiness would take us again to the reality of having put off the old man and having put on the new man created according to God in true righteousness and holiness. c). And the end result of this is the salvation of our souls. This being the case, then shouldn’t we ‘much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live?’ And ‘live’ here is to have life in the age to come, to be a part of the Bride, one of the many sons brought to glory. Why would we not submit ourselves to the perfect child training of the perfect Father given the purpose He has for us? Heb 12:11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. However, it is always possible for us to become weary and discouraged in our souls through our long-term engagement in the process. And if we find ourselves in that place then we are to look to the patient endurance of our Lord and remember how He shed His blood for the joy that was set before Him. And in conjunction with this let’s also call to mind the enormity of the ‘so great salvation’ on offer to us that His sacrifice has made possible; and the enormity of becoming a joint heir with Christ, and the enormity of becoming glorified together with Him, so that in this knowledge we might be re-energized to continue to press toward the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus our Lord – Heb 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed. Let us not be hunched over and down-trodden in our race – let’s not come to a standstill, but rather let’s stand up straight and hold our heads high, knowing who we are in Christ and having the certainty of what awaits us in the near future – 1 Jn 3:2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. ‘We shall be like Him’ – apart from sin and covered with glory – a king and a priest unto our God, a part of His Bride, adopted as firstborn son. It is not yet time for us to leave the fancy-dress party, but it is time for us to take the costume off – Mt 5:14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. With this determination then we need to make ‘straight paths’ for our feet. The word translated ‘straight’ is not the opposite of crooked but rather of being smooth and even. What is conveyed through it, is the idea of having a clear course set before us, free from obstruction. A clear path that we can follow and that can be followed by those walking with us. A pathway leading to glory whose surface is smooth and even through the transforming child training of the Lord so that there is nothing for us to stumble over and therefore become lame as we walk its length – Php 3:17 Brethren, join in following my example, and note those who so walk, as you have us for a pattern. 2 Pe 1:1 Simon Peter, a bondservant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have obtained like precious faith with us by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ: 2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Here in Peter is the transforming process, the removing of the fancy-dress costume; our progress from faith to faith, our journey to spiritual maturity. This is the ‘straight’ path that we need to make for our feet so that we will never stumble. And if we do, ‘an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ.’ d). And the implementation of each of the things in this catalogue will be a work on our part – for example as we ‘add’ self-control to knowledge, self-control is something we must choose to do; we must be a doer and not just a hearer only. e). Then what we have believed about adding self-control to our knowledge will be tested to see if it is genuine and here is the child training of the Lord. And if we respond correctly, according to the Scriptures, then we can look to be protected by the power of God through faith, in the confident expectation that our faith will be brought to its goal. Just as Abraham’s was. More next time – if the Lord is willing.