Identification Truths

Morning? First, what I wanted to do, I tell Mike this all the time, I was like, you know, I am... I'm slow. I'm the first to admit it. I am an engineer. So I need constant, you know, it's kind of like a dog. You've got to train them so many times before they...

So I always try and go back on things. You know, it's like I try and go back on a lot of the words and what we go through and these terms, reckoning, and all these terms that we use all the time. And I, you know, I know them that week and then a week later it's like, what exactly was that? So I tend to go back over a few things. So what I wanted to do, and you can actually cheat this time. I mean, you can get the answers. if you have next week's lessons, and you turn it over.

I want to go over, we've kind of, you know, I talk to Mike about this all the time, that we a lot of times go and we microscopically focus in on one area and one scripture, and we kind of go down, and we kind of go down, and we just really, you know, burrow into the Word. But then sometimes I would like to come up and get a look and see where we're at and what we're, We've looked at it with a microscope all the way along the way, but you never looked up to see where the trees are and the forest and all that kind of good stuff. So, what I wanted to do is just go back real quick.

We've been going over the identification truths. We started out with who we are in Adam, our identification with him. We've gone to our identification with Christ. And now we've been going over what Lewis Barry Chafer has put together, the 34 possessions that we have the instant you become one of the Lords.

So we've been going through them and week by week we take two or three. This week we're only going through one because we know we're trying to get through four. We were originally going to try and get through four of these per lesson, which we both finally realized that's impossible.

So what I want to do is just go back real quick over what we have. Now this is things that you have immediately. Once you receive the Lord and you are identified with Him, this is what you get. It's not what you have to wait for. And so, I just want to go back through some of those. So, the first thing we went over is in the eternal plan of God. You are foreknown, you are elect, predestined, chosen, and called. Remember how, you know, this is the thing that finally, you know, I've always struggled with over the years, this select and elect versus free will and all that.

And this really put it in. The Ephesians one really helped me out in a lot of that. Not just the Ephesians, but the in Him part. Once you're in Him, then, once you are in Him, like I said, you look back, it's like you walk through the door, you're in Him, and you look back, and now you have eternity behind you.

Because everything that's true about Christ is true about you. Was He eternal? Was He foreknown? All these things we talk about are true of Christ. identified with Him, they are true about us. So that makes more sense to me now when you see about predestined, chosen, elected, all those things, those terms. If you look at all those things, it always has in Him. after it, in Him, in Him, in Him. That's true of Him. Guess what? That's true of us.

So that helps me with this battle of free will. Are we elected, selected, chosen before? I kind of struggle with that, that God just already chose. Mike's friend over here wasn't chosen, so he's out of the boat. He never had a chance because God And I always struggle with that.

Well now, when I look at these things, now with the in Him part, it makes sense to me. Because once you're in Him, all that's true. You know, like I said, we look forward, but we can look back too. Everything was true eternally back, because we're identified with Him. So all those terms come through. Then reconciled. We are reconciled by God and to God. You know, two different aspects of that. He's the one who did it, and He reconciled us to Him. So two different aspects of our reconciliation to Him. We're redeemed.

Great piece in that. But the next one is the one that I think we struggle with and a lot of people struggle with is no condemnation. Mike and I have talked about this. The condemnation and the sinning and different things. We're not under condemnation. down to number six, too, all sins removed by His blood. Between the two of those, we struggle with that one, we sin. I find a lot of people, and including myself, I've told Mike over the last several years that I've gotten more of the identification truths in some of these things, and really, as I think Myles has come to this, we actually have to believe what God said in the Scriptures. It's come to that. In the condemnation, you beat yourself up over a sin. And is there condemnation for that sin? And has that sin been paid for? Is the sin that tomorrow that you do, is that paid for? Is it? Yeah. You know, so I'm going to beat myself up and the guilt and all that. Yeah, you should feel, kind of, the only bad part is you're not acting like who you should be. You're a new creature in Christ.

And that's where, you know, I have so much more peace where, you know, if I do something dumb, and I know it, I used to beat myself up, you know, God just is, He's so mad at me for that. You know, He's going, I just, I have to do something to get back in there, you know, back into His good graces. How foolish is that now? I mean, I think about that now, and I go, why do I do that? And I just have a lot more peace. If I do something dumb, I know it's dumb, but I feel sorry because I'm not acting like who I should be.

I'm in Christ. And so, you know, the no condemnation I find is a lot of people have struggled with those two things, number four and number six, the no condemnation and all sins removed. You know, and they just, you struggle with that, like you sin and now God just has a little niche against me, a little mark.

I think why that is is because we truly don't see that it was past tense. And when you see it's past tense, then you can see it's Well, yeah, in the future. When you think about this, on the cross 2,000 years ago, if you just put it in that perspective, 2,000 years ago I paid, well, the sin I did yesterday, today, and tomorrow, that was what I paid for 2,000 years ahead. Why do we have this problem with tomorrow or today when It was already 2,000 years ago. We can accept that one for yesterday. But today and tomorrow... Well, it was 2,000 years in advance when He died on the cross and paid for these sins. So I just find a lot of people struggle with that and I just want to encourage you in that really take hold of those two things.

No condemnation and all sins removed. Isn't it actually self-righteousness? It is. Because you're looking to yourself, that's exactly what it is. And that's why all of our stuff that we're looking at about our identification with Adam and our identification with Christ, if we truly latch on to this identification with Christ, what's true about him is true about us. And the sin issue has been dealt with. The sins have been paid for. and we are new creatures in Christ. We still have the old nature, there's still two of us here, the old nature and the new creation.

But I find a lot of people beat themselves up, and it's for this false sense And it is. It's selfishness. That's exactly right. It's the old man. It really goes back to the old man. The old man is the one going, hey, you fell down a notch. You got to build it back up. I'll help you build it back up. Do, as Mike says, the spiritual push-ups. We'll get you strengthened up so you can get right back. Climb the rung back up to get a little closer to God. As we see, there are a lot of things where we've been drawn close. I just want to encourage you. to really take hold of those two things in particular.

No condemnation and all sins have been paid for. If you continue in sin, I think the Lord will deal with you and try and help you to bring you back to fellowship. But there is no condemnation for it. He still loves you the same today, tomorrow, forever. I had it explained. Oh, I read it about two years ago, but I'll just blow it by here.

Job's ditch. We just end up in Job's ditch. Endless. When he thinks he's self-righteous enough to get back out of the ditch, then God slaps him back in the ditch. And we go through this year after year. And sin defeats sin because we see the futility.

Yeah, and I think God works that out in you a lot of times. I mean, okay, you want your own efforts? Go for it. As I was saying, I think I was telling Jessica last week and Craig, the flat forehead syndrome. I mean, you hit it so many times that finally it's like, oh, yeah. So I think the Lord just takes you through a lot of things until you hit so many walls, you've hit your forehead so much, you've got a flat forehead that you finally figure out It's not me. It's not me. And that's when you finally look up. I think of Job. If you really want a good wake-up call, read the end of Job when God gives a little talk to Job. Where were you when everything was created? Where were you when?

And he thinks he's uplifted. Well, God just goes, wait a minute, and gives him the speech. So that selfishness suddenly gets whittled down in a hurry. And what do you have to come to? Yeah, I mean, but he took everything away. Everything away. Just quickly going down, five related to God through propitiation. And propitiation means? It's right there.

Yes, vitally joined together with Christ for judgment of the old self unto a new walk, free from the law. Nine, two, children of God. I mean, do you really see yourself as a child of God, born again, quickened, a child of God, a new creation, regeneration? Is that the way you see yourself? As a child of God? You know, you think about that when you're beating yourself up about stuff and trying to uplift yourself. You're already a child of God. There's nothing you can do. Like I said, it's all over. There's no choice now. Once you're in the family, you can't disown yourself. You are identified. The other one was adopted, placed as adult son. Remember what that meant? What adopted? We're already children of God, why did we need adoption? It's right there too. Yeah, adult. That's the thing.

Because in the Jewish adoption, you had full vested rights as a son at that point. You're adopted as adult son. So you then have all the rights of an adult son at that point, which means you have everything that the father has, you have, or it is legally yours. So the adoption was kind of an offset in that you're a child of God, but not only that, you don't have to grow in the spiritual maturity to a point of full vested, like in the Jewish culture, as an adopted or an adult son. The minute we are are a new creation, we are not only a child of God, but one with full vested rights. You didn't have to wait for the father to die. Right, you didn't have to wait for the father to die, or become the oldest son, you know, and that kind of thing. So, you're immediately that way. So, that was just a different one, because a lot of people go, child of God, why am I adopted?

And it's not like what we see today as adopted. When you said Jews, it was Arabism, wasn't it? I don't know. Bar Mitzvah now is into manhood, but I don't know if that means... I think that means you're stepping into manhood, but I don't think that means as adopted or fully vested, but I'm not 100% on that. And I don't know when the Bar Mitzvah came in, whether that's a recent... I have no idea. I don't either. It's one of them nails they put in their sandals. It's the name of the Bach Mitzvah, right? Bach Mitzvah for the girl? The daughter? I don't know. Yeah, I don't know. That's a new one on me.

The other one now, acceptable to God. Again, this goes with some of that no condemnation and free from the law. We're acceptable to God. We are made the righteousness of God, sanctified positionally, perfected for today. No, forever. Made accepted in the beloved, made qualified, Those are all things we have right now. We're acceptable to God.

Don't beat yourself up with the old man trying to do something that's going to make you better. If I go down to the rescue mission today, God will just smile a little more on me today because I went down to the mission. That's not it. I mean, you can certainly do that, but it isn't going to make you more acceptable. You're already fully accepted in Him. You know, I don't want to discourage you from going down to the mission, but if your motive is to make God just smile a little bit more, that's not the way.

You're fully accepted. Justified. We're justified in Him. We're forgiven all trespass. And then the other one, in 14, made close. Do you feel close? I mean, you are made close to Him. In Ephesians, James, and Hebrews, it says we are drawn near to Him. We are close. We are children of His. We are drawn near to Him. That is where we can cry out, Abba, Father, Daddy. Can you imagine that? Somebody told me that, and I thought that was almost sacrilegious. But that's really what that means. When you really get a hold of that, that's what that means.

It's like me going to my earthly father and saying, you know, Daddy, Dad, that is the same thing that we can do to the God of the universe, the one who created all this stuff, created us. We can go to him and say, Daddy, Daddy, I mean, when you read in the scripture, when Revelation, they're on their face. They're down. The righteousness or whatever, man, they're... We have an access, we can go before God face to face and say, cry out, Daddy.

I mean, do you get a hold of that? Do you understand that? I mean, that just blows you away when you think about that, what you have. So, I mean, we have so much, and like I said, we're only, that's only 14, 15, delivered from the powers of darkness, translated into the kingdom.

And then the one we're going to do today is on the solid rock. So we've only gotten through 16, and think about what I've just gone through, what we already have. We're not even halfway through. I guess we're halfway at 17. So, let's look at these verses and...

Erica's shaking her head saying, start at the front. But then I can't torment the other daughter, so... Oh, we'll start with Caroline. First Corinthians. Was it 311? I'm going to make sure to pull up to the right. Let me get here. Yeah. For other foundations can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.

Mike, 220? Ephesians 220. Do you have the lesson that's up there if you want to read that? What? Oh, we're on 22. Lesson 22. I have been... Ephesians 2.20 Having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone. Okay.

Steve, you want to do 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians 1.21? Now he who establishes us with you in Christ and appointed us in us his Now he who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God. And coming to him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and preciousness by the God, you also, as living stones, are being Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in him will not be disappointed. Okay, back on. We're on lesson 22. So, first question. Is this building set on a foundation a fulfillment of something Christ has said? See Matthew 16, 17.

I'm checking to remember if that was... You see the three questions. I think they're all kind of three. You know, I've got to tell you this. Mike made up these questions and I had to go through and make up, you know, for the class today. There were two that I thought I had to really research it. I'm going to go over to Mike when he gets back because there are two that I kind of went, you know, and I studied them and I went back and it was kind of like, is it the question that's bothering me or what? So anyway, yeah, if you want to pull up Matthew, what was Matthew 16?

Yeah. But it's not only what he said, it's what he's done. It was kind of out of place with what the foundation won. I actually looked at, and the answer I put was yes, that yes it was. I looked at Matthew 7, 24. If you look at that, Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine, Christ speaking, and acts upon them may be compared to a wise man who built his house upon the rock. That's fine, it feels good to me. The answer is yes.

In Matthew 7.24 it says, Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine, Christ speaking, so it's a fulfillment of what he said, and acts upon them, they may be compared to a wise man who built his house upon the rock, or the foundation.

So he did say it, and this is a fulfillment. I also have... Actually, it was in that 1 Peter 1 in Isaiah 28, 16. Therefore, thus says the Lord God, Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, a costly cornerstone for the foundation. Firmly placed, he who believes in it will not be disturbed. So again, this was a fulfillment of what Christ had said about being a foundation. So, my answer was yes. Why do we need a solid foundation? Give me the analogy with us and our foundation. Why do we need a firm foundation? Solid foundation?

Don't all speak at once. He had to write duh. I'll tell you what's duh. Faith has to have facts to base itself on. So, I think a foundation is a fact, a literal fact that you can rest in. Yeah, it's what we've been talking about a lot over the last few weeks. Know and then believe. You know, but then you have to believe it. So the knowing is the foundation, the fact, the yes. I mean, it's just what we've been talking about. But the analogy of a building, I are an engineer. If you don't have a foundation, you don't have a building. I can attest to this.

The house I grew up in, in Littleton, old farmhouse built in 1889. I spent 10 or 12 years there, 10 years maybe. That's where I was born and raised. Anyway, one thing we had though was the house we had, my parents, was built in 1889. The thing, great house, three story, fantastic farmhouse, fantastic. However, the foundation was built in 1889.

Without engineers. Well, not that that makes any sense. It could be a problem with the engineer, I guess. So the foundation was falling apart. The house was great, but the foundation was gone. And the reason why we ended up selling is we couldn't afford to basically make it into or fix the foundation. The house was great, but the foundation was gone. And so we had to sell the house.

The end of the story was that it actually got on the register of National Historic or Old Buildings or what. So your tax dollars paid for the foundation to be fixed. So they went in and fixed it up and made it a, I don't know, historical whatever. So they got some low-cost grant.

But the key is, without the foundation, and we had a gorgeous house, without a foundation, what happens? The house isn't worth a whole lot. You know, it collapses. The analogy that is given here is that a building can't stand on a poor foundation. It'll stand for a while, maybe, but anything that comes up and pushes it, moves it, shifts it, it's down, it's gone.

It's a very good analogy to bring out here. You have to be on a firm foundation. We have to know what we believe. Because if you don't know, how do you stand? When somebody challenges you, when something comes up, you're still saved, you're still a new creation, but you get buffeted by the winds and the things. You get moved, you get changed. When you're on a firm foundation, you don't move.

The other one was in Luke 6, 47 and 49. Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and acts upon them, and this is Christ again speaking, I will show you whom he is like. He is like a man building a house who dug deep and laid a foundation upon a rock. And when a flood rose, the torrent burst against the house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly is like a man who built a house upon a ground without any foundation. When a torrent burst against it, and it immediately collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great. Again, it's a great analogy.

You need to know the firm foundation, and I think we'll get into that in this next one right here. The example of the building is used in 1 Corinthians 3 and Ephesians 2.20. Describe the material used in this spiritual building. What is the foundation? And this one's kind of, you know, I kind of went back and forth on this one, but I did a little bit of research. What is the foundation based on those verses? I mean, you know, out of 1 Corinthians 3 and Ephesians 2. What is the foundation?

I'll say the Word of God. Yes. Jesus Christ. Yeah, Jesus Christ. I mean, and through His Word, that's how we know Him and that foundation is laid. So, Jesus Christ. But, read the Ephesians verse. So I'll read it for you. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. So, one thing I wanted to point out too, The foundation has been, past tense, laid. The foundation has been laid. But what did that verse say? What is the foundation also?

Apostles and prophets. This is one of those ones, Mike. What did Mike want on this one? Then I started researching a little bit more about that. It is the apostles and the prophets. It was kind of interesting. I got one of the commentaries looked up about that and it kind of brought kind of a neat thought to it. The apostles and prophets are the foundation but the cornerstone and I guess what is the cornerstone? What is the importance of the cornerstone? It makes the building square. Square but it is the pivot point where all the strength is.

Without the cornerstone, There is no strength to the foundation. It flops one way or the other. The cornerstone is the key piece of a foundation. That's what brings the whole foundation together into a solid structural member. So they used to build rocks, and they'd put rocks. Well, without the cornerstone, The wall flips and flops either way. The cornerstone actually is the one that holds it together.

And then you have a rigid structure. Then it doesn't move. So the cornerstone is the key or linchpiece. It's like in an arch. The keystone, you know, an arch goes up. But without the keystone, this is the same thing on a foundation. The cornerstone is the key member of a foundation. Isn't there a fourth cornerstone? Yeah, but the cornerstone is in a corner, so that's the cornerstone.

Yeah, there are four of them or eight, wherever it is, wherever the wall comes together. Well, like what was that in Luke, the guy had to dig down to the rock? Yeah. See, that rock has to be set on virgin ground where it's never been disrupted, so it can't be... Well, that's actually, he dug down to the foundation, so the foundation is a rock. So that is Christ and the Apostles and Prophets. The verse says about the Apostles and Prophets, but this is kind of a cool commentary that I think pulled it together.

The Apostles and Prophets are the foundation of that building. They may be so-called in a secondary sense, Christ himself being the primary foundation, but we are rather to understand it of the doctrine delivered by the Prophets of the Old Testament and the Apostles of the New. It follows Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone.

In Him, both Jews and Gentiles meet and constitute one church. And Christ supports the building by His strength." So it's kind of the Old and the New, Apostles and Prophets. It was the Jews and then the Gentiles coming together. And then the one that binds it and holds it and strengthens it is Christ the cornerstone. So it's kind of the Prophets being Old Testament, the Apostles being the New, They come together and what locks them and binds them and creates a solid foundation is Christ the cornerstone. So that was kind of, you know. So apostles and prophets and Christ. But Christ being the key element in there.

Okay, building blocks. Who are the building blocks? Ephesians 2, 21. in whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit." Who are the building blocks? You. You're the building blocks. You are the building blocks. And what are the building blocks being made into? What?

The holy temple. Holy temple. Okay. We are the building blocks of a holy temple. Occupants. Who are the occupants? Holy Temple. We are the Holy Temple. And who are the occupants? God. God and the Holy Spirit. And us. We are the building blocks and occupants. Remember in the Old Testament times, where did God reside? in the temple. Guess what? Picture's the same. So we are the building blocks of the holy temple God dwells in. Does God dwell in you in the Holy Spirit? Who is the holy temple?

We are now. So it all fits together. We are the occupants. The occupants are us and God dwelling in us. He occupies the holy temple. So, purpose. Growing into a holy temple. Yes, it's basically a place for God and his people to dwell together. A place for us to be with God. That's what the temple was for, is a place for God to dwell. And we are now allowed into the temple because we are the temple. Yeah, before it was only the Levitical priest who could go in once a year.

Didn't Vern just send something about that? Shattered that long-standing thing about... He sent me, I don't know if he sent it to all you guys, it was a few months ago. I'd always heard the priest who went in once a year, they always hooked like a rope on him in case he was toast in front. And so they always had to put a rope on him and they had bells on his robe and stuff so he'd hear when he moved and other stuff. And then the lifeline, they'd yank him back out.

Vern gave something and he said that was untrue. I'm like, really? I'd heard that all my life. I've been a Christian. So there was something about that. You guys didn't get it, maybe you just sent it to some of the teachers or something like that. But it was like shattered. There wasn't a rope attached to the Levitical priest when he went in. I guess he's in, he's toasted. He doesn't come out. That's it. The temple next year is not a pleasant place. I don't know, but he sent something, and I was kind of... Anyway, I'll just shoot there. Yeah, it's basically the purpose is a place for God and his people to dwell together, a holy temple.

And 1 Corinthians 3.16, Do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? And then an interesting one, which I thought would go to the next question, I think. If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are."

Another commentary, God dwells in all believers now. They having become the temple of God through the operations of the Blessed Spirit, and His dwelling with them now is an earnest of their dwelling together with Him to eternity, through eternity. So again, it's right now a picture of what we're going to be throughout eternity, dwelling with God. We'll always be with Him. Okay, number eight, or E. Can this building ever be destroyed? No. But then I looked at, you know, what did that verse, what did Corinthians just say? If any man destroys this temple, I will destroy him. Hmm. Hmm. Yeah. Yeah, I know. This is one of those ones that, Mike, I'm going, what did he want here? What did he want?

So I said, no, however, what does 1 Corinthians say? I looked it up, and actually the word, I got my Greek geek hat on and went back in, and the word for destroy there is more defile, not physically destroyed. So what he's saying is if anybody defiles, it's not destroy, so the temple can't be destroyed. And it's really talking about if somebody defiles. And the word is fithro. It says, probably strengthened from fithio, probably to shrivel or to wither, to spoil by any process, or generally to ruin, especially figuratively or by moral influences, to deprave. So, the Corinthians one isn't saying that the temple will be destroyed. It's saying the temple will be defiled.

In answer to this one, no, the temple can never be destroyed, but it can be defiled. We can't be destroyed. Can Christ be destroyed? Well, actually it's a type of the work of the cross, where the body of Christ, his body was put to the cross, but he was resurrected. Right. Everything that's true about Christ is true about us. Can Christ be destroyed? No. And we are eternal. And so that building, we are in Him. This holy temple, this dwelling place can never be destroyed. So it is no. But then, like I said when I read the Corinthians, I thought, man, if, if, is there a possibility of it? And then I read it and really it isn't a possibility of destroying it.

It's just like the salvation aspect. Everybody worries about the salvation. If you could destroy the temple, I think there would be a call of losing salvation. There are so many verses that give us the fact that we can't lose our salvation. We're identified. We're new creatures. It's like the day of provocation. It doesn't destroy, it just defiles. Would that be like the false teachers? Yeah, and being led astray or you know. Those that are maybe built on the wrong foundation. That are built on the wrong foundation, I don't think. Hmm, who would that be? Who would that be?

I don't know, you know, I mean... That in a sense is a false teaching. Yeah, I mean, to be drawn off, I mean, that could be, I mean, the building is not destroyed. It's, you know, as long as you have Become a new creature. And this is taking the left turn where you're off. Because those tend to get off of that. Right, yes. But you can't lose it. Like I said, you want to be careful. Because there are Catholics and others that are Christians. They don't have all the blessings. They haven't looked at the list. You know, they're still under a law system and all the different things. And a Christian unbeliever wouldn't even be in that. Right. Exactly. See, and that's what I'm... Right. You're not... yeah.

So that's why I say it's a little bit, you know, it's... when you say off the foundation, I mean, if you're on the foundation, if you're in Christ, you can never leave. You can, you know, go into left field and, you know, but you... I think there's a lot of churches today that are wandering off theology. I mean I just, I look and I long, you know, we're talking about... They're all believers. Yeah, they're believers, but they're just, they're working. They don't, just what Mike said, they don't have the rest. It gets to be crucial in a sense that somebody knows Greek. You know, I don't want to come across ever to say that you need to know Greek to know what's in the Scriptures.

It's a further, I think, for the hungry heart or for some of these tough passages to clear them up and clarify them. I think that it really helps because I've found, and I forgot a lot of the Greek, you know, and how to structure them, but I can go in and look at it now. I can pull the words up, you know, when we were in HALS class, we'd, you know, we'd, well, we'd sentence diagram it, we'd have to get the definitions, you know, we did all that, and it was like, wow, I'd be hard-pressed to do some of that now, but I have programs that can do that. I mean, it's like the tenses, we'll get into some of those, like the tenses really mean a lot. you could go trotting off and live ten years of your life thinking that, well, I'm pretty vulnerable, I could be destroyed. Exactly.

Because you just don't understand the distinction. And I think many of these offshoots are because of that. They take a verse or a concept and go with it and they don't know what the root of that word is. And I'm amazed at that, that somebody hasn't gone back to the Greek or something and said, well, no, that doesn't mean that. That's why scripture has to interpret sense. Yeah, exactly. I wouldn't even need the Greek, really, because Scripture will interpret Scripture.

Exactly, and that's the point I want to make, too, is that if you just look at this one, you can get in an offshoot and go for a long ways. But yeah, Scripture will verify Scripture, and so you don't need to, you know, what Christ said, it's simple as for a child.

It is simple, but there are things that if you look at it like this, you can go off. And if you don't know those things, like destroy it. I mean, I looked at that and I thought, wow, you know, maybe that's what Mike was getting at. But then I looked at it and it's like, no, it's not, it's not the word.

So, I mean, I don't want to say that you have to know Greek to do this. It's really kind of just an enhancement to dig deeper. In other words, the Greek class is full. Yeah, it's just, it's a good thing to look at. I mean, I didn't appreciate, yeah. I couldn't appreciate all these tenses.

We'll get to some of these down below where... Man, we are not going fast. I'm going to just be... Mike is going to just... Yeah, yeah, yeah. All right. Since Brian just went out, that was the first bell. But the Greek helps in a lot of ways. Number four. If the Lord Jesus is a rock, then explain what is your function? Just to rest on the rock. Did it say work for it? Did it say anything else? Did it say anything that we're supposed to do other than Stand firm. You know, this goes back to a lot of things we said, and I think I brought it up a little bit last week, too.

The idea of, you know, we're going to go out and slay dragons. We're the ones that go out and attack Satan. We're the ones that go out and fight the good fight of faith. Faith is not, you know, Steve, what you're saying about people get averse and go off. Fight the good fight. I hear that all the time. When somebody's struggling, I'm going to fight the good fight. I'm going to go after those demons. I'm going to go after them. I'm going to... They clip the verse. And I'm guilty of this too.

Fight the good fight of faith. That's all we have to do. It's not go out and slay the dragons. You know, we just have to believe. All that will be there, but that's not our worries, to go out and slay the world. Well, it may be, but who's already slayed them? It won't be us this time. Right, we can be used, absolutely.

But that verse gets twisted so many times. And I hear that. They're a missionary who's struggling with whatever, and I'm fighting demons and all this. You fight from a state of rest. Exactly. When you look, as we said, when we go over the fusion, all the armor of God and all the things, they're all defensive. Except the sword, but that even is a defensive one, standing there. They're all defensive. It's not an attacking thing.

We are to stand firm. Or let us labor. To enter into that place. Yeah, but to rest. Yeah, the labor is seeking out what's in the word that are needed. And getting to a position of faith, knowing and believing. Right, the labor is not real labor. It's knowing and believing.

We were talking about rest last week, I guess it was. I don't know if you've ever been around somebody that's always on the edge of fighting rage. Internally, if you're around someone like that, you have a sense of tension around them because there is no rest. I've just become such an advocate of that. If it's a lot of work and a lot of effort and you're struggling, think about it. Something's wrong.

Not to say that there's going to be challenges. I mean, you can have the world collapse on you. But does God think anything else of you than what He does right now? Does He love you a little less because He had the building collapse on you? Is there anything else?

The trials and tribulations will come. But there is peace in that. There is rest in that. I think they're engineered for us to get our facts straight. Oh yeah. You know, to where it's precept upon precept, line upon line. You know, it's what we, you know, my one scripture that I've memorized, or about ten that I've memorized, you know, is the James one, is, Consider all, Joe, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, and let that endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete.

Consider it all joy. What do you mean? I always have that in the back of my head. With trials and tribulations, consider it all joy. Think of it as joy. The Lord's working on you. His house says, peel a few more layers of that onion off. Most of the time, the trials are meant to identify self and the old man, the old nature. That's what it's meant to do. You know, because you're going to, you know, a trial, man, I'm going to buck it up, I'm going to go, I'm going to push, I'm going to shove, I'm going to...

Wait, who's doing the work there? You know, the Lord works it out and says, okay, when are you going to rest in me? When are you going to rest in me? When are you going to rely on me? It's my work. You know, when everything is falling apart and everything is stripped away, What's God saying, actually just, are you going to believe my words? Exactly. It's come down to this, we have to believe. Believe in what he said. And that's really what all those trials are meant to do. So standing firm on the foundation. That's all we're supposed to do. This was kind of a cool one too, which I thought was kind of an interesting one. From a cultural perspective at the time, when this was brought to the Jews.

The apostles were recommending that the Christian church and the constitution of those dispersed Jews, it was natural for them to object that the Christian church has no such glorious temple, nor such a numerous priesthood, but its dispensation was mean, the services and sacrifices of having nothing of the pomp and grandeur which the Jewish dispensation had. To this the apostle answers that the Christian church is a much nobler fabric than the Jewish temple.

It is a living temple, consisting not of dead materials, but of living parts. Christ, the foundation, is a living stone. Christians are lively stones, though they have no lively stones, and these make a spiritual house. And they are a holy priesthood, and though they have no bloody sacrifice of beasts to offer, yet they have much better and more acceptable and they have an altar, too, on which to present their offerings. For they offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God by Jesus Christ." So he was presenting a temple, because the Jews had always had a temple. And so what the commentator was saying, he's now equating, as a Christian, do you have a temple that you go every year and sacrifice animals to? I mean, you don't. I mean, not... What? Holly Hill. Yeah, Holly Hill, yeah. I wonder where the sacrifice is.

But I can now see the picture why he created also a temple, because the Jews were so into their temple and the grandeur and this, you know, they always went to the temple and there was always, you look through the history of the Jews and the temple was always a significant piece of their history.

Well, under Christianity, we don't have a glorious temple. But he now is saying, you're the temple. And he's bringing it back to them that even though we don't have a physical temple, we have a living temple now. So the word picture was meant for the Jews, especially for them who had been steeped in temples. He now brings it back to them and says, it's even better. You're the temple. That's what's interesting about the Mormon.

Because they have a temple. And they have one temple. And every ward has its own. But they have one temple. And they go by genealogy. But see how significant and subtle to get back to a temple. The offshoots and all the deceptions bring us back to all these things. The temple. People wanted a temple. Boy, how can I draw you over here? I'll give you a temple. Thank God we do have a place to gather.

Oh yeah, you look at Acts 2.42 or whatever it is. It's praying, fellowship, teaching, and breaking bread. There are the four things of the New Testament Church. We are to fellowship. It's not that we're just individual temples. We are supposed to fellowship too. There's a lot of things. And we're to be used for each other. There's lots of different things. That must have been the second bell.

Was there a question somewhere where it was asking about the definition of anointing? Where was it? I was trying to find it. You know, I'm debating whether I will finish this up next week. Yeah, number eight. Eight on the second one. What does it mean to be anointed? So, I'll see what Mike wants to do, whether I'll take it next week and finish up. We got through four. We still have eight more.

I got really close today. Alright, why don't we close with prayer? Father, we thank you for this day and every day. Father, we just are so thankful. We are so thankful that you dwell in us, that we are the Holy Temple now, and that the Holy Spirit resides in us and dwells in us. Father, we just thank you for the things that you offer that the world can't. Rest in peace. Father, we just thank you that you can offer that, and what sweet, sweet rest we can have in you, no matter what the trials, what you bring before us.

We know that you are sovereignly in control and Father that you are just drawing us closer to you and just bringing us to a point where we don't rely on self but we rely on you. And we just thank you for identification with Christ that we are identified with him and all that's true of him is true of us. We just thank you as we look through just this short list of things that we have. As we have become in Him, we have recognized all these things immediately, these different aspects. We thank you for it and we just commit this day to you and thank you for it in Jesus' name. Amen.