Book of Ephesians - Ch. 4, Vs. 8-27 (08/12/2001)

Park Meadows Church

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Chapter 4, verse 8. Chapter 4, verse 8.

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Wherefore he saith, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

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Now that he ascended, what is it but he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

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He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above the heavens, that he might fill all things.

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All right, first of all, when he ascended on high, he led captivity captive.

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There were before the cross a place of the righteous and a place of the dead that were held in captivity.

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For they, when you died, you would go here waiting to go to heaven.

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Now on the cross, somebody find on the cross where he spoke to the thief.

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Where is that? As the thief was dying, he told him to remember him when he came into his glory.

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You got it, Virg? All right, read that.

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Where is it, B? All right. All right,

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Jesus tells us where he's going. First, he's going to paradise.

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This is the place that all of the saints were held. He went to paradise, and when he ascended up on high, that means what,

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Bill? All right, he led captivity captive.

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This is, the saints in this place were held captive, they couldn't get out of it.

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They were waiting on something, and gave gifts unto men.

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Now, he led paradise to heaven, but Sheol, he did not.

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The place of the damned, they're still there. If you die outside of Christ today, that's where you go.

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It's a place of torment. We know because the rich man was in torment, you remember torments.

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Not in the final resting place. He led captivity captive and gave gifts unto men.

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Gifts unto men. When Christ ascended, he took paradise and all of those that were with him in heaven.

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He went to the cross, went to paradise from the cross. Now, there are those that teach that Jesus went down into hell.

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Preached to those people to give them a second chance. Well, that's wrong on several counts, but let's...

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They use 1 Peter 3 .8, somebody looked that up.

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2 Peter 2 .14. Hebrews 9 .27. And John 6 .44.

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These are the verses they use to prove that. 1

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Peter 3 .8, who has that? Anybody?

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That's 1 Peter 3 .8. Well, look at 2

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Peter 2 .4. I cast him down to hell and delivered him from the chains of darkness.

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To be preserved in the ocean. All right, read it.

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By whom also was he lying longsuffering in the days of Noah, on the ark of the

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Inferno, which he used as a base for a stable in the water. When the freezing night came to an end, by whom also he went to preach to the spirits of Israel.

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All right, they say that proves that Christ went to hell and preached to the ones in prison.

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That does not prove that. That's talking about the days of Noah. He preached to the people in Noah by spirit.

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It was his spirit that was working in Noah. Now, Hebrews 9 .27.

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So, those that get a second chance, don't get a second chance. John 6 .44.

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You ought to be able to quote that. Yes. All right.

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He did go to paradise. Because he told us that was where he was going.

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In the 8th verse, he said that he led captivity to the place of the dead saints captive. He took paradise to heaven with him.

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Today, when a saint dies, he goes straight to be with him. There's no holding place for them, but the dead seed of Satan does still go to Hades, the holding pen for them.

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Luke 16 .23. Yes. He lived, and then he died, and saw

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Abraham go away, and Lazarus in his bosom. All right.

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Lazarus in his bosom. Paradise. All right.

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Is this more that Catholics get people to go to the purgatory, the scriptures, or is it more that it's not the sight of the soul?

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They get it from here and a lot of other places, too. They misinterpret

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Scripture as though it was true, but it's not true. I don't know.

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I don't know if some of the scriptures here, were they applying the verses of the purgatory to this one or the other?

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I'm sure this is it. Yes. Russell, do you know

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Greg? I only know a small few, but in the book of Hippocrates, they address it as the end of birth.

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I've read it. It is the end of birth. The first day, the first two,

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Christ's being, and all that He's supposed to have happened with Him. I thought about the

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Bible teaching, the Bible teaching back to the

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Father. That's referring to the Christian. That's a direct quote from Paul, from the

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Psalms. Perhaps fill me in on what you're all talking about.

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My question is, were there teachings in there? Are we talking about the

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Bible teaching back to the Father, or are we talking about an ascension after His death on the cross, where He was brought to His blood, and He was baptized in the

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Holy Spirit? You said the first time.

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No, I thought there was. When was the time? He did take

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His blood. Was that before or after this? Well, where does it say that?

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Where does it say that? I had to look it up.

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It was there. It said that the Old Testament saints, that the saints appeared to the people in Jerusalem.

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But this is saying that after His death, in the glorious resurrection, when

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Captain Ackley offered His blood, at that point, I think we're saying, the captives were released during that period.

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I put it on the show. It refers to Acts 1, 9, 11, which says, now when

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He exposed these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and clouded the sea, and they went out of their sight, while they were baptized in the

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Holy Spirit. He went up, and the whole community stood by Him and watched. That's when He ascended after the resurrection, which is what you're talking about.

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Alright, what does 8 mean? In that three -day period before the resurrection.

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We need to be careful that we don't read too much into a verse or passage that we think is a complication.

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Because if you read this, if you read this verse, wherefore

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He said, when He ascended on high, He gave gifts to men, but that's not the original part.

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That's a quotation from Psalms. If you go back and read the quotation from Psalms, that is from 68

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A .D., it says, Now as I ascended on high, I said,

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I received gifts from men, gave them to the religious all of a sudden, for the

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Lord God might dwell amongst them. Then there's also in the passage in Judges 5 -12, it says,

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Awake, awake, ever awake, awake, that our song arise up from the rock, and be captivated and captivated.

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All He's really saying here is that Christ has called us to the battle of the saints, and those things that used to be captive, that used to captivate us, that we used to be captive to, have been taken under the authority of Christ, and we're no longer subject to.

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Now that seems to be a more straightforward...

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Well, it may mean that, but it has to do with the captives in Paradise also, because the empty

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Paradise. Sometime, I don't know when. But notice, 9 and 10, verse 9 and 10,

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I'll read it this way, He's a descendant, what is it that He's a person in the lower parts of the earth?

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He's a descendant in the same hospital, an ascendant up far above all of that, that He might fill all the saints.

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if you've read what I've kind of read, it seems like it's in a perfect order, where it should have come from.

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My excuse is incorrect. Well, He is the one that came down to us, and He is the one that went back.

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First, to see a picture of His bed. All right. Three days in the grave.

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Russell? It matched with the size of Him, with the loud voice of Joseph, period.

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And behold, the veil of the temple was pointed to, from the tops to the bottoms, and the earth to the plates, and the rocks to the cliffs.

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And the grave was opened, and He was bodied, and the saints and the clefts were raised, and out of the grave, after His resurrection, went to the

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Holy City, and appeared in the city. Well, I'd still have to study it.

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After His resurrection, He let them out, prior to that, period. But after His resurrection, the grave was opened, and He was bodied, and the saints and the clefts were raised, and out of the grave, after His resurrection, went to the

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Holy City, and appeared in the city. They would not have appeared before His resurrection, because His resurrection was the power and the first that He sent.

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The saints and the spirits before the

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Holy City. All right. I want to get to gifts unto men.

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He gave gifts unto men.

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Who and what are these? All right.

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He gave gifts unto men. Are they for the man?

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Who are they for? For the church. He did go to paradise.

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Satan still goes to Hades. He gave some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors, some teachers.

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He did not give these to the individual for the individual. He gave to each church what it needed.

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Some apostles, some pastors, and so forth. This verse does not refer to the gift given to men.

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He gives certain men to the church. Special notice. The purpose of the earthly church is to edify, educate the members, cause them to understand

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His holy word. By this the church grows spiritually and each member can walk in a more

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Christlike way. That's the reason you come to church is to learn about Christ. The purpose of the earthly church is not to save the world.

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It is not to change the morals of the community or the city.

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It is not to protest. It is not to march in a picket line.

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It is not to try to stop an execution. It is not to get involved in politics.

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It is to teach and cause the members to be well founded in His holy word.

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The church is to grow up. It's not to do all of these things that the church is doing today.

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Apostles. This is one who had personally been seen the resurrected Christ and has been directly commissioned by Him.

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There's none of them today. Prophets. These were given peculiar insight into the doctrine of faith.

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There are none today. Evangelists. These are traveling preachers. They are to go into a new unchurched territory, to go alone, depending on the

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Holy Spirit to guide and provide. They're not to have advanced men to organize advertising, arrange stopping, eating, meeting accommodations.

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Neither are they to be pastors. Pastor. They are the shepherds of the flock.

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They are to care for, to feed, to see that they eat, to see to their health, physical and spiritual, but most of all, to be sure that they're being taught the word.

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While we are here discussing these offices, let me relate the reason for deacons in the church.

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Today, the deacon board is run by the pastor. Not in this church.

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While the duties of the deacon are to serve and to minister in the working of the earthly church, the reason they came into existence is found in Acts 6, 1 -4.

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It was so that the preacher could give more time to study the Holy Word. It was not so he could run the church through the deacon body.

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They would come into existence to satisfy a need, but to give the preachers more time to study.

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Teachers, I believe these are the most important of all. The church is not to appear ignorant before the world.

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All these men are to prepare the church to do the work of building up the body of Christ.

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A pastor has a special gift of teaching. Do not expect to find all of these qualifications in one person.

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For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ, till we all come in the unity of faith and knowledge of the

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Son of God unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of fullness of Christ.

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All gifted men are given to churches for only one reason.

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What is it? Building up the body of the elect.

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Would you get on board an airplane today if the pilot didn't know any more than the average church member does about his

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Bible? You wouldn't go. That we henceforth be no more children tossed to and fro and carried about by every kind of doctrine, wind of doctrine, by the slight of men and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.

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But speaking the truth in love may grow up unto him till all things, which is the head, even

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Christ. Children. We were all children once, physically and spiritually.

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Children are fond of novelty and change. They get tired of the same old thing.

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They want their own way, and they will, and they want to be in control.

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They envy and try to ignore what you have. This definition fits most preachers and associates of most churches today.

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What can we do about it? Nothing but pray. You'd be surprised.

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Well, maybe you wouldn't. How many preachers are children in Christ, children in the

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Spirit, wanting their own way? Every wind of doctrine, wind, only light substance can blow about by the wind.

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Slight. They are small manipulations of the truth for personal ends.

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Deceive. They are watching for an opportunity to promote their own program. They scheme how to promote their own end, and no regard for the truth or the feelings of others.

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Speaking love. This is not necessarily gentle love, but honestly, manfully, out of the love for souls of Christ, grow in knowledge and grace.

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Things. These are all works, all experiences, and all knowledge. False teachers deal with truth, and men as playing with dice.

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So the number always turns up to suit their purpose. Just as a child is only excited about a new toy, so is a false leader.

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From whom the whole body, fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in them, measure of every part, making increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

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From whom the whole body, fitly joined together. We had fitly the other day.

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What does it mean, fitly joined? Debbie? It is precise and exact.

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Right. It exactly fits only one position. This I say therefore, and testify in the

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Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk in the vanity of their mind.

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Each person is placed in Christ in the right place, so that the working of one benefits the whole.

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Compacted is like a tamping pole when you set a fence post. How many know what a tamping pole is?

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The church is a growing body. Christ is the source of the life giving power for growth.

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Is this a growing body? This church, is it a growing body?

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That's right. It's not in number, it's in body. It is faith that connects us all together under one head.

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The entire body is composed of individual saints, constantly coming more and more closely joined together, constantly growing together into a union through the life of the head.

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This does not accord, this does not, does so according to the measure of every part.

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The degree to which this life of Christ flows in the member is determined by the individual saints' fellowship with the

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Lord and his fellow believers. What if we had all of the members, and there was one of them that refused to grow?

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What would it do to the group? Bill? So every member is to be in their place, growing as they can for Christ.

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Is that right, Russell? It is in our mind that we love, walk and exercise, play and worship, pray and worship.

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Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them because of the blindness of their heart, who being past feeling, have given themselves over into lasciviousness to work all uncleanliness and greediness.

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Darkened. Darkened is a perfect participle. It speaks of a precise process completed in past time having present results.

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Do you see that in the word darkened? The translation reads, being those who have been permanently blinded with respect to the mind.

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They are ignorant of divine things, morally blind. Blindness.

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Blindness is hardness. Their lack of understanding is due to an alienated life brought on by the hardening of their heart.

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All people that are not his, he has blinded to the truth.

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Do you believe that? Who, the meaning of this, who of such a nature, being past feeling, this is a participle in the perfect tense.

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The word means to cease and to feel pain or grief, to become callous, insensible to pain.

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It is a moral insensibility. Their heart cannot be stimulated by conscience to work.

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This means to a working of all unclean greediness.

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The hardening of the heart is of God, but the willingness is of man.

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Therefore, man's held responsible. But you have not so learned

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Christ, if so that since you have heard him and have been taught by him, as the truth is in Jesus.

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Ye, this is singular. It means each one of us as an individual saint.

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Christ, the word Christ does not stand for the doctrine of Christ, but Christ is the subject of his own message.

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Neither does it mean learn to know Christ. Christ must be taken as the object of the teaching that he put off concerning the former conversations, the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind.

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You put off the old man. Diane, what are we talking about the old man?

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Now, we put him off. How do we do that? Christ has spoken to Christ and spoken to him.

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It brings remembrance how you should handle the stories of the past. You had the old man totally killed on the cross when

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Christ was crucified. We were placed into him at his death,

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Romans tells us. Well, we do most of the time.

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We have the shovel on our back. We go dig him up. Be renewed.

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This is present passive. Think on things that are holy.

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And that you put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

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Wherefore, put in away lying, speak every man true with his neighbor, for we are all members one of another.

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Lying. Is it ever all right to lie?

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In that day, even those in the church did not condemn lying. Some of the beliefs of the day concerning lies are lies better than a hurtful truth.

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Is that true? When telling a lie will be profitable, let it be told.

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These are things that they believe. Yes. That's right.

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He may lie who knows how to do it. Don't try it if you don't know how.

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There is nothing good in truth but when it is profitable. Yes, sometimes truth is hurtful and lying profitable to men.

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So you can see why Paul tells them to stop lying. Be angry and sin not.

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Oh my goodness. Get angry but don't sin. How are you going to do that?

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Bill, how do you do that? Debbie, how are you going to do it?

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Depends on why it's not right. Jesus was also angry.

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I mean, he had anger. I mean, sometimes he was angry but he didn't say it.

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Jesse wants to say something. Anybody, just want to break the anger.

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That's right. I just want to say something. Wrestle. And sweat.

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When we did that, the other thing was to be angry and serious.

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I'm not saying serious. This is a question that cannot be answered except by you.

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You will know. I'll put it that way. You will know when you're angry for personal gain.

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Neither give place to the devil. Now, Clarence, how are you going to do that?

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Give place to the devil. Well, I think it doesn't let the devil out in your actions.

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It keeps him out of all sin.

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That's part of it. Oh, yeah. That's part of that verse. He's angry at Sinai.

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That has a central doubt behind the breath. It says that if you are, try to take care of it then.

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Try to discuss it. You've got to talk about it. It's a chance. It's an attempt to pray. But even the attempt to pray is an attempt to take care of it.

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What does that mean? You said it. Yeah, you had something in your phrase.

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Then you should pray. No, I'm saying you should make an attempt to correct it. That's true.

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And sometimes you can't. So in praying, you're still making an attempt to pray to the

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Lord to correct that. That's true, but you're praying to start with. Start praying and then go.

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Yes. Yes. Don't go first and then resort to prayer.

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Pray first. Pray as you go. Under certain circumstances, it is a righteous passion to have when guarded by reason, angers, and a right affection.

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Scripture permits it and on said occasions one must be angry with sin in order to be loving in truth.

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While angry, we should be sure that no element of sin is mingled with it.

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We must dismiss at once the irritation toward an individual. Neither give place.

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This is such an opportunity. This is such an as opportunity, power occasion in the devil.

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We're going to stop here and we'll start again next week.

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No, David will have it next week. So, two weeks will be what?

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What's two weeks from today? What? All righty.

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Let's stand and we'll be dismissed. Bill, dismiss us please.

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Dismissal. Proclamation. Bill is out of date.

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I'm out. Bill is out. I was informed.