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Bro. Otis Fisher
I hope you all have studied the first chapter of the Book of Romans. Bill, do angels have whiskers? Joy, do angels have whiskers? Well, they're spirit beings. They have no whiskers. Some opening remarks about the Book of Romans.
Discernment is for you only. You cannot discern to or for others. Today, prophecy is not for telling the future. It's a declaration of that which cannot be known by natural means. It is to edify, to comfort, to encourage the believers.
1 Corinthians 14 .3 But he that prophesieth speaketh unto men in edification, and exhortation, and comfort. The teacher of today has taken the place of the prophet of yesterday. In 2 Peter 2 .1 we find that there were false prophets also among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among you.
Now, the Greek language is quite colorful. It has an expression or word for every expression. Isn't it fortunate that it was here when God was writing the Bible? No, God did not use the Greek language just because it was here.
He brought it into existence so that the most expressive speech would be used for his holy word. In writing this letter, Paul carries on a complicated method by design. While he is teaching on one thing, he gives us the opportunity of learning one or two other things that are necessary for us.
Always remember, God is the center of all things, not man. Learn to look at every event from the viewpoint of God. Now this will take some practice. There are two seeds in the world. I remember Brother Barney, which I have mentioned many times, said to me one day, Otis, remember there are two seeds in this world.
He said it in such a way that I don't think he was aware of what he was saying. He passed over it immediately. It was just a parting thought. But it meant a lot to me. It meant everything to me. There are two seeds.
I think we have come to understand this. In Ephesians 1 .11, All things means all things. Paul had never been in Rome at the time of this writing of this letter. It was sent to the metropolis of the known world.
Now we come to A .D. 58. The writing of the book of Romans, chapter 1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God. Paul, a servant. We need to look at this word servant.
In the Greek language, the word is doulos, d-o-u-l-o-s. Those of you that have been in my Bible studies from times past have learned this. It means a bond slave. This is one that has been marked in some way.
Turn to Exodus 21 .5. If you will please. We won't take my word for it. We'll look at the holy word. Exodus 21 .5. And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children, I will not go out free, then his master shall bring him unto the judges.
He shall also bring him to the door or unto the doorpost, and his master shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he shall serve him forever. Greg, the first thing that they do when there is this situation, they go to court.
And a judge hears the evidence and he agrees. This man can be a servant of you forever. Then the master takes him to the doorpost or the door. And you all know what an awl is, don't you? What is it, Greg?
All right. And he bores his ear through. Now, what's that mean? Yes. Then he puts in that golden ring or something, and he's marked forever. The only way that that relationship can be broken is for one or the other of the two to die.
Now, Paul calls himself a doulos. Paul's telling us here that before he was a doulos of Jesus, he was a doulos of Satan. He was a bond slave to Satan. He now is a bond slave to Jesus, but there has to be a death.
Before we were notified of belonging to God, we also were bond slaves of certain Satan. We were never the seed of Satan. There's a difference. Only a servant. Remember now that the only way this relationship can be severed is a death of one or the other.
Why was it that we started our salvation walk in death, on the cross, in Jesus? Greg, tell me. Why was it we started our walk, our Christian walk, after salvation, we immediately started in the death of Jesus?
Thank you. That's the death. There had to be a death, and that was it. We find the death explained in Romans 6 and 3, which we will get to, but I'd like to jump ahead and read 6, 3, just to prove what we're talking about.
Know you not that so many of us, as we're baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized into his death. There is the death. Now, the word baptized, let's be sure we understand this. You could read it, know you not that so many of us, as we're placed into Jesus Christ, were placed into his death.
Here is the death, and it was required that broke us from Satan. We're now a bond slave of Jesus Christ. And you cannot escape except by the death of one or the other. The new man's not going to die, and God's not going to die.
Let me give you a complete definition of the word baptized. Now, if you can remember this, that's fine. If not, you write it in your Bible someplace. It's this. The placing of a person or a thing from one environment into another environment and doing it in such a way that it changes its relationship to the previous environment.
Now, those of you trying to write it down, let me go back. The placing of a person or a thing from one environment into another environment and doing it in such a way that it changes the relationship to the previous environment.
Example. You take a horseshoe from the hot forge. You drop it into the bucket of water. You have changed the environment from dry to wet. And in doing that, you have changed it internally. You have rearranged its atoms.
Does everybody understand what baptized means? Anybody that wants it repeated? All right. Also, when you were moving that horseshoe over or while we were being placed into Jesus, you didn't do it. Now, you did the horseshoe, but the horseshoe didn't do it.
We're done unto. David, what is the force that places me into that death? That's right. The word called to be should read a called apostle. He wasn't called to be. He was a called apostle. Paul was called by our Lord.
Therefore, he was a called apostle. We find in 1 Timothy 1 that Paul was an apostle by the commandment of the Lord. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Savior and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope.
Greg, what is it that is our hope? Jesus Christ. Commandment, divinely selected and appointed. Well, who are the called? Turn to Deuteronomy 7 and 6. Someone go to John 3 .10. Someone else to Romans 8 .9 .8.
Who has Deuteronomy 7 .6? All right. And 7. Now, John 3 .10. Who has that? First John 3 .10. Excuse me. I made that mistake when I wrote this up, and I had to go back and correct it. All right. Now, Romans 9 .8.
All right. All right. That is narrowing it down. Matthew 13 .38. Diane, do you have that? Okay. Joy, do you have it? All right. All right. More ammunition. Now, turn to John 10 .26 and 27. Read it when you get it.
Boy, that's pretty plain, isn't it? Now, John 13 .18. First one that gets it, read it. The key phrase I wanted was, I know whom I have chosen. Genesis 3 .16. Now, Greg, I want you to turn to that and read it.
Genesis 3 .16. All right. Most people read that and skip over, am thy conception, thinking it's all one thing. For conception had to be increased. Why? Satan's seed. All right. First Timothy 1 .1. He was an apostle by commandment.
Deuteronomy 7 .6 and 7, defining his people. 1 John 3 .10 is Jesus talking about his children. Romans 9 .8, those of the flesh are Satan's children. Matthew 13 .38, the parable of the tares. John 10 .26 and 27.
John 13 .18. Then Genesis 3 .16. Did you get them? All right. Now, Genesis 3 .16. Thy sorrow was multiplied and thy conception was multiplied. It had to be multiplied so that Satan's seed could come into the world.
The only ones that would have been born, had there been no sin, would be God's chosen. Remember, we were chosen before there was ever any seed of Satan. Now, if you're wondering how many that is, when you get there, count them.
Because they are the only ones that will be there. Just chosen. That he chose long before. Separated. Going back to our verse now, we look at the word separated. Ephorizo. To appoint. To set apart for some purpose.
And it's passive. The significance of this is that it was done to Paul by someone else. It also is imperative, denoting that it was done once and one time only. Never to be done again. It's permanent.
The word gospel. The glad tidings of salvation through Christ. Gospel. An elect apostle having been separated unto the gospel of God. Now, he says, I'm called. It's the same word for elect. We're called in regeneration, elected in sanctification, and crowned in glorification.
Paul was utterly separated from the world for this work, as God's elect people are today. Any questions about verse 1? To verse 2. Which he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures. That is, the gospel was promised.
It had been prophesied by the writers of the Old Testament. They knew there was something coming, which was the gospel. It had been prophesied by the writers of the Old Testament. They knew not about the Messiah.
They knew about him, but could not understand as to what he was. They knew the word. They knew there was a being coming. Verse 3. Concerning his son, Jesus Christ, our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh.
Now, his son, Jesus Christ. The most important, the all-important, Jesus Christ. Last week, I asked you to start surveying or putting down notes on Jesus Christ. Why? We'll discuss that later. I want you to continue assimilating facts.
This son of Jesus Christ, our Lord, used by Christ himself, doubtless in order that he might imitate, animate his messiahship. And also that he might designate himself as the head of the human race. The man, the one who both furnished the pattern of perfect man and acted on behalf of man.
Was made means to become, to come to pass, to happen, to arise, appear in history, come upon the stage to be made, finished. He had a being before he was made. Do you understand that? He was made a man, Jesus.
But he had a being before that. He was made the seed of David by the flesh. John 7 .42. Hath not the scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed of David and out of the town of Bethlehem where David was?
2 Timothy 2 .8. Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel. According to an earthly body, he was a descendant of King David. You can trace the genealogy back.
This came through his mother only because he had no earthly father. Why was the virgin birth necessary? Greg? Alright. Then what did he inherit? Alright. The virgin birth was absolutely necessary. The substitute for us could not be a man with the sin nature.
Do you understand that? He could not be as I am with the sin nature. Jesus had no sin nature. He was therefore, he could have sinned had he wanted to as Adam. But he chose not to as Christ. Adam chose to sin.
1 Corinthians 15 .45. And so it is written. The first man Adam was made a living soul. The last Adam was a quickening spirit. What's the difference between a living soul and a quickening spirit? David?
Alright. Declared to be the son of God. He does not bear this title in consequence of his miraculous birth. That's not why he's called the son of God. Nor his incarnation. An exaltation to the Father's right hand.
This is a title of substance and not of office. The sonship of Christ denotes his equality with the Father. To call Christ the son of God is to assert his true and proper deity. The second person of the Trinity.
Because his eternal relation to the first person is the son of God. He is the son of God as to his divine nature. Christ was the son of God before his incarnation. Incarnation means before he was made carnal.
And that his claim to this title is a claim of equality with God. It is the singular. It is always used of the second person of the Trinity. The son of God. Jesus Christ was absolutely necessary in God for the world to work as he had planned.
Now that's a small part of what I want you to research. We'll talk more about it as we move through this book. Jesus was ordained to be the slain lamb for the purchase of his elect. In Acts 2 .23 we find him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.
You have taken him by wicked hands, have crucified and slain. Revelation 13 .7, and it was given unto him to make war with the saints and to overcome them. And power was given him over all kindreds and tongues and nations.
13 .8, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him whose names are not written in the book of life. Of the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So every knee will bow. Everybody will worship him, whether they want to in this life or not.
This causes us to know that the redeemed have had their names written in the Lamb's book of life from before the foundation. Greg, your name was there before you had that name. With power, dunamis, inherent power, residing in the thing by virtue of its nature.
Our word dynamite comes from the same Greek word. Then we come to the term resurrection from the dead. This should read resurrection from among the dead. Resurrection means a standing up. Now why is that important, Russell?
Why is it important that we understand that's what the word resurrection means? Standing up is done what? Yes. But it is also a standing up. You can't stand up a spirit. So this will be a bodily real resurrection.
That's right. Yeah. Alright, does somebody else have their hand up? I guess that was your hand. Alright. Resurrection, a bodily resurrection. Resurrection means standing up. You can't stand up a corpse and it will be done unto you.
It was the power of the Father that raised Jesus. And he was on this earth with all the power of the Holy Spirit. In fact, his entire ministry was conducted under the power of the full Holy Spirit. In John 3 .34, It wasn't measured out to him.
He had the entire Holy Spirit. Not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly according as God has dealt to every man the measure of faith. We have it by faith, Christ had all of it.
The word spirit, the disposition or influence which fills and governs the soul of anyone, the efficient source of any power, affection, emotion, desire, and so forth. This is why Jesus Christ sent his spirit home.
Remember when he said that on the cross? He said it for our benefit. Because his spirit was going home. By whom we have received, verse 5, By whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations, for his name.
We're saved by works, believe it or not. Joy, how does, not our works, it was the work of Jesus. We are saved by grace in order to worship the Father that is given to us. You do not accept salvation, one of the key phrases in the whole Bible.
You can search the Bible over. If you have a King James Version that you're searching, you cannot find where you accept salvation. To accept something calls for a choice on your part. Received is passive, imperative.
We have received this grace of our Lord, not because of our obedience, but rather so that we can be obedient. Let's go back and read the verse. By whom we have received grace and apostleship for obedience.
It's not so you can be obedient, but it's so you will be obedient. It's impossible for anyone to be an obedient servant without knowing his master's design or demands. It's impossible for you or me or anyone to be a servant and never know his plan.
Study the holy word he has given us, that plan. That's right. If we would just be obedient. And that's all. Beg pardon? Yes. Most things do sound simple. 2 Timothy 2 .15 Study to show thyself approved unto God a workman that needeth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Now, John, is that study to show thyself approved unto God? Are you studying to show God that you have studied? Then to whom does this study belong? Whom does this word study belong? All right. Study to show thyself approved unto God, to show yourself.
And if you study what you are, won't it show itself? This obedience is that obedience which his obedience demands that he demand. It comes forth from faith. The faith that originates with the father. Man cannot produce faith.
I had a man in the class years ago that argued with me on that. And he finally quit coming. Which is just as well, I guess. By the way, God accepts only that which has its beginning in him. That's a good thing to remember.
For his name, because of what Jesus has done. Well, we have time for one more. Romans 6, 1 -6. Among whom are ye also the called of Jesus? First John 3 -10. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil.
Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God. Neither he that loveth not his brother. No man can come to me except the father. John 6 -44. No man can come to me except the father which hath sent me draw him.
And I will raise him up at the last day. Now, to draw. Very interesting. It means to be compelled by a superior, irresistible force. To draw. To drag. A trailer being pulled by a pickup truck. I used to use a team in a wagon.
I found out a lot of people didn't know what a wagon was. The one being drawn has no power to resist. Is that true or false? True. He cannot be drawn. It is never against your will. Because he changes your will.
He cannot not be drawn. I knew that was... You cannot not be. Because he takes it away from you. It's all of him. Now, one moment you don't want Christ, your interest is someplace else, and the next moment you do want him.
What changed? Something had to change within you. What was it, Greg? Your belief. I remember the first time I heard that. He changed my belief. And I didn't believe it. But that's exactly what he did, and he tells us so.
In Philippians 2 .13,. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. Philippians 1 .29,. For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, so the belief was given to us, but also to suffer for his sake.
So was the suffering. John 6 .65,. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me except it were given unto him of my father. I'm going to stop here. Any words from anybody? Thank you, Clarence.
That's a good one. Well, if there's nothing else, let's stand. Jesse, will you dismiss us, please?