King of Your Heart and King of the Nations | Sermon 07/31/22

Apologia Utah

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Praise God, I'm so thankful to be able to deliver a sermon again to you guys.

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It's always a terrifying thing to be standing up here, rightfully so, rightfully so.

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One thing we forgot to mention, which is extremely awesome, is actually we have two baptisms happening after service. So the way it's going to work is that after the sermon is completed,

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Wade will come up here and he will perform the baptisms and then we will do the sacrament together, which is a glorious thing.

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So praise God for that. I'm very, very excited. So go ahead guys, open up your

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Bibles to 1 Corinthians 15, starting in verse 20, alright?

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So in the last sermon, we went over the angel of the covenant, or the messenger of the covenant.

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He was the one who made the Father known to the people of the old covenant. But now, that angel, right, the messenger has made himself known to the world.

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This was the word made flesh, Jesus Christ, the second person of the

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Trinity, the one whom the covenant with Abraham was dependent upon. Remember, Hebrews 6, 13, we went through this a few times in the last sermon, it states that God swore upon himself to uphold his covenant with Abraham.

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Therefore, the success of the birth of the Messiah was not dependent upon the

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Israelites. Instead, blessings were contingent upon their obedience. It was by no surprise to God that the

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Israelites were disobedient. For all people were under the headship of Adam at that time.

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Even man's nature reflects that of his first father. The Hebrew word for the nature of man, remember, is

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Adam. It was also this Adam who was given the dominion mandate in Genesis, which states this,

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Genesis 1, 28, and God blessed them and God said unto them, be fruitful and multiply and replenish the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the fowl of the air and over every living thing that moves upon the earth.

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Yet in his failure, because Adam was a failure, he was still expected to take dominion.

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Think about it. But the fullness of his rule was limited by his fallen nature.

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The fullness of the dominion mandate could not occur. We needed someone greater.

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So God made himself known to the Israelites through the prophets and saints of old in his son, Jesus Christ.

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Remember John 1, 18. No one has ever seen the father except the unique and only son who has made him known.

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And he brought to fulfillment the incarnation, the second person of the Trinity. The Logos took on flesh and it was all of history that was bound up in him and he made it successful even through the failure of the sons of Adam.

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However, upon God taking upon himself Adam, the nature of man, we find a cosmic shift occur within the state of man in his fallen relationship with God.

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That was called Emmanuel, which is God with us. The death, burial, and resurrection of the

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God -man, Jesus Christ, brought about the new covenant in which the sons of Adam are made new through the blood of their creator.

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The messenger of the covenant now became the initiator of that covenant. This affects the relationship between man and God from born in sin to born again.

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We have been brought near by the blood of Christ and now God has given us what we like to call the

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Dominion Mandate 2 .0, sort of speak of, with the Great Commission. And this is the Great Commission in Matthew 28, verses 18 through 20.

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This is right before Jesus' ascension into heaven after the resurrection, right? This is what it says.

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And Jesus came and said to them, all authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

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Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the

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Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.

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And behold, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Therefore, the fulfillment, embodiment, and the success of the

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Great Commission was sealed at the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was the second

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Adam in which we are born again through the blood of Jesus Christ to fulfill the Great Commission and the

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Dominion Mandate. No longer are we children of wrath. We exist as Christians under the federal headship of Christ, as citizens of a holy nation, the people of the

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King, the same King from old who has now made himself known to the world for all are without excuse.

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And it is true that even those who reject Christ's completed work, they're not correct.

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They're living in delusion. Okay? And that is the point of this sermon, to truly understand what it means to be now in Christ, to be under his headship.

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And we must understand then how we are to live when Christ is not only

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King of our hearts, but King of the nations. Again, in order to understand humanity, life, family, government, we must have a clear grasp on the relationship between Christ's headship, his people, and the redemption of the world.

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We were shown how Christ governed the affairs of men while they existed under the headship of Adam and the failed kings.

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Now we must understand how all things are being placed under the feet of Christ by the power of the

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Father until he returns again with all power, glory, and honor when the last enemy to be defeated is death and the meek inherit the earth through the kingship and governance of the

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God -man, Jesus Christ. Hold onto this. We are post -incarnation, post -cross, living in the spiritual reign of Christ where all his enemies are being placed under his feet, where his scepter splits the heads of the kings of men and his blood transforms our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh in which the nations will come to obey their creator.

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And this must occur, it must happen, because it's wrapped up in Christ's completed work under his perfect headship through the blood of the new covenant poured out for us for the redemption of our sins and of the world through the proclamation of the gospel by the feet of his people, we have a responsibility.

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Understand this, the enemy is fleeing. We are to chase, maim, and destroy by the power of the authority of Christ.

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If we truly live as Christ is king, only then can we truly love our neighbor. And my hope today is for us to be convicted, to see how we have failed as Christ's people and that the wrath of God abides on our unbelieving neighbors because our abdication of the kingship of Christ.

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Romans 10, 14 through 15 states, how then will they call on him in whom they have not believed and how are they to believe in him who they have never heard and how are they to hear without someone preaching and how are they to preach unless they are sent as it is written, how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news.

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Paul almost paraphrases this from Isaiah 52, 6 through 10, which states this, their rulers wail, declares the

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Lord, and continually all the day my name is despised. Therefore my people shall know my name.

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Therefore in that day they shall know that it is I who speak, here I am. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, your

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God reigns. The voice of your watchmen, they lift up their voice. Together they sing for joy, for eye to eye they see the return of the

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Lord to Zion. Break forth together into singing, you waste places of Jerusalem, for the

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Lord has comforted his people. He has redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord has barred his holy arm before the eyes of all the nations and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our

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God. So the gospel of Jesus Christ, guys, contains the gospel of the kingdom and the success of the gospel of the kingdom is predicated on the headship of Christ.

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So we must act as if Christ is truly king in order to love God and love our neighbor, which means we need to act as Christians under the headship of Christ and preach the good news to our neighbors.

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If we do not, the wrath of God abides on them. So let's pray. Lord, I thank you for this day.

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I thank you for your service. All glory is given to you.

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Lord, we are people who are failures. We are sinners. You say any of us who say that we are without sin, that the truth is not in us.

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Jesus, you were the only one without sin. You were the only one in perfection. Yet you, Lord, gave yourself up for us.

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You are fully God and fully man. You Lord are reversing the curse as far as it is found and we praise you.

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Lord, let our hearts be open to your word today. Get me out of the way, Lord, and let your word shine through.

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I love you and I thank you in Jesus' name, amen. So remember, guys, the topic of this sermon is

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Christ as king of the nations and king of our hearts. So we must ask ourselves the question, how then shall we live as Christians?

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And there's two sections of scripture that we'll use for the backdrop of this topic. The first is 1

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Corinthians 15, 20 through 27, which will detail the authority in which the new covenant and the redemption of the world is held secure.

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And the second section of scripture that we're going to go through is Colossians 2, 1 through 15, which perfectly describes the foundation for the

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Christian life and the authority of our resurrected Messiah. Let's start with 1 Corinthians 15, 20.

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Follow along with me in your words. Hear the words of the living and true God. But in fact,

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Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. For as by a man came death, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead.

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For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

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But each in his own order, Christ the firstfruits. Then at the coming, at his coming, those who belong to Christ.

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Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power.

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For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death.

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It's quite amazing. It's one of the most awesome promises in scripture that we have, the kingship and reign of Christ.

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But when reading this scripture, we must remember the context. Here we have Paul addressing the church in Corinth and reiterating the truth of the gospel after he has laid out the groundwork for the workings and order of the church, which is happening earlier in the book of 1

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Corinthians. The church in Corinth struggled with divisions, sexual immorality, even unity within the church.

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And Paul in previous sections lays out the biblical foundations to address each issue.

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From church discipline, biblical principles of marriage, to how to live amongst one another in unity.

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Paul in 1 Corinthians also has some of the most detailed addressing of the spiritual gifts.

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Now they ought to function within the body at that time. Following suit, Paul in 1

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Corinthians 15 now reminds the church in Corinth of the foundation through which all of their faith is presupposed.

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It's this, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the gospel of the kingdom, and then the bodily resurrection for all who believe in Christ.

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We find in 1 Corinthians 15, verses 3 through 18, the proclamation of the historical reality that death has been defeated through Jesus Christ.

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We then find Paul addressing the church, stating that if Christ was not raised from the dead, we would still be in our sins.

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Paul is now addressing those in Corinth that may have been questioning whether or not the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ occurred.

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During this time, there was a massive influx of Gnostic and Platonic philosophy that rejected the material reality, that material reality could actually hold something good and pure, that this realm is what the

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Gnostics and some of the Platonic philosophers thought was merely a shadow of the perfect. However, the point

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Paul is making is that there was a reason for the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ.

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And if you deny his bodily resurrection, then you deny all that the scriptures have taught, which are the very foundation on which the incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection occurred.

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As we noted in the last sermon, the Logos, the second person of the

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Trinity, was deeply involved within all of human history, more specifically though to Israel, with regards to bring about the fulfillment of his promise with Abraham, a promise of which he swore on himself since there was no one greater.

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The Old Testament spoke of one who was to come to take away the sin of Adam by his power of his own death and resurrection.

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This is the one who was to inaugurate a new covenant, one in which he reigns supreme as their king.

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Now Paul, in 1 Corinthians 15, verse 21, he begins to make sure that the church in Corinth fully understands the implications of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection.

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Because first we are told, by one man came death for all. Verse 21 it says, for as by a man came death.

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By a man has also come the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

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So we're first going to hang on the topic of Adam and his headship in order to understand the beautifulness of the headship we now have inherited through Jesus Christ, okay?

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We must first understand our fallen nature and what happens to humanity from that nature in order then to understand what it means to be redeemed under the headship of Jesus Christ, okay?

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The first man that we have is Adam. He was the proto -man, the first human created by God.

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It says he was taken from the dust of the earth and life was breathed into him by God. Isaiah 45 says that the earth was formed and God created man upon the earth.

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He's the first human created by God. He was our federal representative. It was through his disobedience that we are made sinners.

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However, before we dig more into the federal headship of Adam, let's take a look at what the scriptures say

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Adam was made to do. You heard me talk about it in the first place. It was called the dominion mandate.

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But that was the first call to action for Adam in the garden. This is what man was created to do.

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And I'm going to read it again from Genesis 126 through 28. Then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.

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So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him. Male and female he created them.

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And God blessed them and God said to them, be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

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So what we have here is the dominion mandate. And this is not just a direction or a suggestion.

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The creation mandate in Genesis, it details the very reason for the existence of humanity.

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Do you understand that? We're told here why we were created. It's hard to really fathom why we're here.

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It's one of those deep questions. Why am I here? Where am I going when I die, right? Well, in order to understand that, we first must submit ourselves to the superiority of Scripture to even to begin to understand why we as people exist.

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Therefore we must humble ourselves for without this perfect revelation, without Scripture, we would be lost in our sin, unable to understand even exactly what and why we are the way we are.

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Isn't that amazing? Scripture tells us the very simple reason of our existence is to take dominion, to reflect the image of God to all of his creation.

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God states in the creation mandate there that we are made in his image and likeness to rule and to subdue, to be fruitful and multiply, to cultivate the earth.

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Therefore, when God made man, it was good. Adam's rule in the creation mandate ought then to be good.

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It ought to represent the image of God to the beast of the earth, sea, and the wind perfectly.

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The reign and rule of Adam would not have only been through him, but his posterity as well, his offspring, right?

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In multiplying, the earth as a garden would have been perpetually renewed through the beautiful work of image of God bearers.

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That's if Adam never fell. We must understand that the Bible demonstrates that only people are made in the image of God, not the animals, not the plants, not the earth, not the universe, but humanity is the only creation of God made in his image.

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And we must understand because the fall of man is so important because it is us made in the image of God that fell.

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To really understand the depth of our depravity, you must understand that we are the only creation of God made in his image.

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Genesis 9, 6 states this, whoever sheds the blood of man by man, his blood shall be shed for God made man in his own image.

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Psalm 8, 5 states this, it says, yet you have made him a little lower than the heavily beings and crowned him with glory and honor.

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That means there was a responsibility for man to reflect this image to the rest of God's creation, imperfection.

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Hang on to that, imperfection. We are to work out the image of God to the benefit of the world in all that was within it.

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That is what was expected of Adam, to rule without death, to reign without sin, to live in communion with God, to reflect his glory to the rest of his creation, to subdue in peace, to take dominion for the benefit of his creation.

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This was to be the headship in which Adam was to reflect. First Corinthians 11, 3 tells us this, but I want you to understand that the head of every man is

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Christ and the head of a wife is her husband and the head of Christ is God. Male and female made equal in terms of being made in the image of God, right?

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But in roles complementary. Male to rule and lead, feminine to be the helpmeet,

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Genesis 2, 18 states that. Both when done in communion with God, according to his headship and character would be done perfectly.

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The world would then have benefited through the rule and reign of humanity to the glory of God alone.

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With regards to First Corinthians 15 though, we find that Adam through his flesh, he was a representation for the rest of his offspring.

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Why? What does it say? For in Adam all die. His posterity would then have been wrapped up in his representation.

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This is his federal headship that is what we represent. Paul is showing here the purpose of the bodily resurrection.

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There's a reason why God took upon flesh. Adam created in the flesh with human nature was to reflect the glory of God through his image and likeness to all of creation.

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But Adam in his flesh and nature sinned against the holy and a righteous God and his posterity would now be that of a broken image.

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They would inherit a sin nature that would be reflected to all of mankind. R .C.

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Sproul I think states what's happened in the garden beautifully. He says, in the garden there was a cosmic offense against God in which

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Adam was a mere creature from the dirt who defiled the creator, the preeminent God, through disobedience.

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The cosmic offense, I love the way R .C. Sproul states that. I like the way the KJV puts this verse as well.

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In 1 John 3, 4 it states, whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin is the transgression of the law.

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Well, Adam was commanded to not eat from the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. And we know he did.

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He transgressed the law of God and he sinned. Genesis 2, 15 through 16 states, the

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Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the

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Lord God commanded the man saying, you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat.

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For in that day you eat it, you shall surely die. We all know what happened from there, right?

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Adam took the fruit given to him by his wife Eve and ate of it. He then shifted the blame for the lack of his leadership onto his wife.

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At this time, this is what occurred. We're told in the New Testament, this is exactly what happened when sin entered the world.

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Romans 5, 12, therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man and death through sin and so death spread to all men in that moment when he ate.

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Romans 3, 10 through 18 states this, this is for his posterity. No one is righteous, no, not one.

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No one understands, no one seeks God. All have turned aside, together they have become worthless.

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No one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave, they use their tongues to deceive.

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The venom of asps is under their lips, their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood, in their paths are ruin and misery.

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And the way of peace they have not known, there is no fear of God before their eyes. That's you in the posterity of Adam, that's me.

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Man, as Adam, in thinking he can do what is right, he assumed autonomy.

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He thought he was being a law unto himself. He tried to dethrone the king of glory.

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When being commanded by God to not do something and then doing that which you are commanded not to do, you are sinning.

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Autonomy in human relations, it is a lie. Why? Because the wages of sin is death and anyone who sins transgresses the law of God.

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Therefore, you are not a law unto yourself, it is not possible, you would be sinless.

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Autonomy is a lie. God is the only autonomous being and His perfect character reflects the perfect law of God.

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It's just so amazing. Man is not a law unto himself but was created with the responsibility to reflect the perfect law and character of God to all creation.

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So at once, humanity made only ones in the image of God who were the pinnacle of God's creation, which

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He placed as people who were to reflect His glory were now at the pinnacle of God's wrath.

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Ephesians tells us that we are children of wrath and the fundamental reality of human existence is the very real fact that we are fallen human beings, starting with Adam, dominoing into the rest of his posterity.

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But in this fallen state, the dominion mandate did not disappear. It didn't disappear just because Adam sinned,

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God didn't say, now you're not expected to do as I commanded you to do. Listen, Genesis 3, 17 through 19 states, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which

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I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life.

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Thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you and you shall eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, so you return from the ground, for out of it you were taken, for you are dust and to dust you shall return.

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Man was expected still in this passage to rule and reign over all creation, but now the rule and the reign of the sons of Adam was a painful rule.

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The earth was fighting against the cosmic defier, the tilling of the ground was now to create sweat, thorns and thistles produced because the image of God bearers had defied the holy

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God. Dominion and rule, not reflecting the perfect character of God, was now tainted with sin.

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It was a broken reflection of the image of God and it brang into the world this, death, idolatry, sexual immorality, anger, rivalries, domination, not dominion, domination, cruelty, hatred, enmity, strife, division, malice, gossip, slander, drunkenness, orgies and the like.

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That is in whose headship we are born. In Adam we stand before God as the pinnacle vestibules for his wrath, awaiting cosmic judgment and condemnation.

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That is who we are. That is what comes from the headship of Adam. You must understand that to understand the beauty in the headship of Jesus Christ, okay?

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However, during that time, when sin enters the world through Adam, when Adam was cursed by God, the promise of the gospel was given during the cursing of the serpent.

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Genesis 3 .15 states this, I will put enmity between you and the woman and between your offspring and her offspring.

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He shall bruise your head and you shall bruise his heel. This is called the proto -evangelium, the very first promise of salvation given in the garden to Adam and Eve.

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That there will be one who comes that will crush the head of the serpent, yet he will be bruised in the process, the seed in which the curse upon man will be lifted.

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For it says in Isaiah 9 .6 and 53 that the government will be on his shoulders and everlasting life will be given to all of those who believe.

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It was then that the pre -incarnate Logos appeared to Adam and Eve and clothed them in the sacrifice of animal skins and sent them out of the garden.

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Though they were sent out of the garden, though, they were never left without a mediator. Jesus Christ has always been the

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Savior. In 1 Corinthians 15, right there in verse 21, we're being told about the headship of Adam.

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In Adam, all die. It's so much bigger than that. This is the reality of all who are in him.

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It's a relationship in enmity with our creator. It's at odds with the creator of the universe, a relationship in which we cannot even truly understand what it means to be human without divine intervention.

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Guys, the scriptures are divine intervention. They are a mercy given to all of mankind.

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It's either something that brings upon salvation through the knowledge of Jesus Christ or as a condemnation for spitting upon the mercy that God has granted us.

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It's one or the other. However, it remains that prior to the incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the fundamental reality of all human life is that they were under the headship of Adam.

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Think about it. Therefore, the sons of Adam would reign as kings of men up until the coming of Christ.

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It's like we talked in the last sermon, we must also understand that God in his nature is king of the universe.

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He's still king over all creation. Therefore, when the kings of the earth do not do as is expected of them, they suffer under the wrath of God.

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However, in Adam, in the flesh of the posterity of Adam, prior to the coming of Christ, death reigned.

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Death reigned. Think of it this way. After the fall of man, Adam was still expected to fulfill the dominion mandate.

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You and I are expected to fulfill the dominion mandate, but since he's fallen and sinful, the dominion mandate cannot be fulfilled by fallen man.

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Humanity reigns under the headship of Adam, therefore death reigns under the rule of men.

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We must understand that any shed of grace and mercy that we find in the Old Testament was given by God.

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It was not something that man achieved on his own accord. Man left to his sin begets nothing but sinfulness.

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God, rich in mercy through the mediator and promise of the gospel, in his glory he was patient with a sinful humanity.

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But all of this grace and mercy was predicated on the headship of Christ, on the one who was to come.

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All of the mercy, all of the grace was not given to man because of who man is. No, it was given to man as a foreshadow of the rule and reign of the headship of Christ.

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So we must understand the following things. Adam was a created being, humanity in nature, flesh in body.

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Adam sinned and his nature was corrupted and his flesh was as well to inevitably face death.

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All his posterity as well inherited his sinful nature and corrupted flesh.

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Therefore God took on human nature, Adam, and flesh. Jesus was obedient to the law, he was sinless, perfect in every way that Adam failed.

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He then sacrificed himself as our representation to appease the wrath of the Father. He then defeated the grave and through faith in him we are now under his headship as redeemed people.

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So Christ's headship versus Adam's looks like this. Christ's headship is this, fully

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God, fully man, not just man. Perfect, succeeded, without sin, seated at the right hand of the majesty on high,

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Hebrews 1, right? Rules with a glorified body with all power, authority, and honor.

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So what does that mean for the Christian? Salvation is fully rooted and dependent on Christ and Christ never failed.

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The kingdom of God expands due to the rule and reign of the perfect King Jesus. That we are citizens of a holy nation not under the headship of Adam.

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Where death once reigned, grace reigns all the more. It's quite beautiful. The success of the gospel is not predicated on Adam, but the second

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Adam. As far as the curse is found, it is being lifted through the headship of Christ.

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And we will one day have a resurrected body and live eternally with Christ. That is what we must understand with what

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Paul is showing us here in 1 Corinthians 15. If Christ never resurrected from the dead, our faith is in vain.

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There's a reason why he took on flesh. Let us read the section again, 1 Corinthians 15, 21 through 26.

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For as by a man came death, by a man has also come the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive.

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But each in his own order. Christ the firstfruits, then at his coming those who belong to Christ. Then comes the end when he delivers the kingdom to God the

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Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet.

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The last enemy to be destroyed is death. This is what it means, guys, to be alive in Jesus Christ.

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In every way, in every aspect of our lives, we are bound to God through the headship of Jesus Christ.

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We are not only alive in body but alive in spirit to worship God in spirit and in truth.

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Think about this. In every aspect of our being, we were once dead in our trespasses and sins.

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But now in every aspect of our being, we are made alive in Christ. The second

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Adam came and we are now in his headship and he is the perfect priest, prophet and king.

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That is the reality of the world that we live in today. But there's also this, there's still two headships at play.

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There's an unseen war that's already been won by Christ in which the gospel is conquering. Psalm 110 .1

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states this, it says, The Lord said to my Lord, sit in my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

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Meaning this, that there are those who are still in Adam who rule and have power and authority while the second

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Adam is still ruler of them all. Because the next verse from Psalm 110 .1 states this, The Lord sends forth from Zion your mighty scepters, speaking of Jesus in his reign now, rule in the midst of your enemies.

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Therefore, guys, as Christians, we live in a world that is being conquered by God through the blood of Christ and the rule of his kingship.

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So we must understand this. Since Christ is king, the dominion mandate can be fulfilled because in the exchange of the old covenant with the new covenant, the mandate's success is not predicated on the fallen

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Adam, but on the success of Christ. What does it say in Isaiah chapter 9? The government shall be on his shoulders, and to the increase of his government there shall be no end.

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When you take of the sacraments today, you are reminding yourself that Jesus Christ is king and Lord of the universe and over all.

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You are to remember that just like the Jews in Deuteronomy were to remember God constantly with the

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Passover. This is for you not to forget, Christian. Jesus Christ has conquered the grave, and he is king, and you live under his headship.

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You are no longer under Adam. That is to remind you. Don't take it lightly, right?

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And it's shown to us with the dominion mandate how it can now be fulfilled in Christ in the great commission.

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I'm going to read it again just so you can get that understanding of what's going on here from the old and to the new covenant, from the headship in Adam to now the headship in Christ.

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Matthew 28, 18 through 20, the dominion mandate 2 .0, the great commission states,

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And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

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Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the

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Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold,

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I am with you always to the end of the age. So in 1 Corinthians 15,

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Paul is clearly reiterating the success of the gospel of Jesus Christ for salvation, but also, he's also preaching the truth of the gospel of the kingdom.

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There's two. The rule and reign of Christ in every aspect is detailed to the church in Corinth, but there's a very reason why

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Christ took on flesh. It was for our salvation and for the redemption of the world. He must reign until all of his enemies are put underneath his feet.

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That's the gospel of the kingdom. It's amazing. If he did not resurrect from the dead, again, our faith is in vain.

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It is the gospel of God, guys, that contains the gospel of the kingdom, and we forget all of the time.

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So understand this, the incarnation, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ established the following, and we're going to go through some verses here.

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You can write down some, I'm going to give you a lot of verses. You can write them down to look up later, but I'm going to read one from each section, okay?

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So this is what Christ established, all right, within the first century. Christ established his kingdom in the first century,

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Mark 115 and Mark 9 .1, John 18, 33 -37, and Colossians 1 .13,

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but we're going to read Mark 1 .15 here. This is the words of Jesus. The time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand.

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Repent and believe in the gospel. Two, this is what Christ had accomplished in the first century.

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Satan was bound in the first century. Matthew 12, 28 -29,

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Luke 10, 18, John 12, 31, Colossians 2, 15, Hebrews 2, 14, and 1

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John 3, 8, but we'll read Matthew 12, 28 -29. This is how we know

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Satan was bound. But if it is by the spirit of God, this is the word of Christ, that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

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Or how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man?

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Then indeed, he may plunder his house, and the strong man being referred to there is Satan. Number three, we know

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Christ now is ruling and reigning over his kingdom. We have Acts 2, 32 -36,

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Romans 8, 34, Hebrews 1, 3, 10, 12 -13, but we're going to read

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Acts 2, 32 -36. And this is Peter preaching here, it's so amazing, it's one of the most awesome sections of scripture.

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I love it so much. It says, Peter, this Jesus God raised up, and of that we are all witnesses.

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Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.

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For David did not ascend into the heavens, but he himself said, the Lord said to my Lord, sit at my right hand until I make your enemies your footstool.

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Peter quoting now from Psalm 110 -1, let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both

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Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified, he is ruling and reigning in his kingdom now.

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However, that reign is a spiritual one in heaven with a glorified body through the means of the redemption of his saints.

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Luke 17, 20 -21, Romans 14, 17, and John 18, 36 -37.

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I'll read, I'm actually going to read all of them because I think they're so good. This is the spiritual reign of Christ in heaven.

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Romans 14, 17, for the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness and peace and joy in the

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Holy Spirit. Quickly, what does Jesus say in John 14 about the Holy Spirit?

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He's going to come and he's going to convict the world of sin and unrighteousness. He says, it is better for you that I leave, so that the

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Holy Spirit will be with you. He'll testify both of the Father and of the Son. God with you, Holy Spirit in you, beautiful.

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We know that that's the present age in which we live now. Luke 17, 20 -21, being asked by the

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Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered, the kingdom of God is not coming in ways that can be observed, nor will they say, look, here it is or there.

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For behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you. Referring to this, that the kingdom of God is not conquered through bloodshed, right?

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This is something where God takes the hearts of stone and makes them hearts of flesh and causes people to obey his statutes.

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It's one in which redemption brings about, the redemption of his saints brings about the redemption of the world.

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It's not a king who comes and laps the heads off of people. Hebrews 1, 3 then states this, he is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power.

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After making purifications for sins, he sat down at the right hand on the majesty on high.

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It's Jesus reigning in heaven on a throne not built by human hands, with a glorified body as our new representative.

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Hold it. Hold fast to this. This is the truth that is being taught to us in scripture. This is the word of God.

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Therefore this, get this in your minds, the church will not ultimately fail at its task in the great commission.

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Its success is bound up in the success of Christ's work. Doesn't mean we don't have responsibility, but it's predicated on the success of Christ.

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Matthew 13, 31 through 32 states this. He put another parable before them saying, the kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field.

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It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown, it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree. So let the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.

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And then Matthew 16, 18. These are two actually verses that Pastor Wade quoted, which

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I loved because it's the truth. We had the mustard seed parable, but now we also have this.

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And I tell you, you are Peter, Matthew 16, 18. And on this rock, which is the gospel, not

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Peter, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.

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We must understand what you've probably heard, that gates are to protect something, right?

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The gates of hell to protect the gates of hell. So the Christian gospel, the gospel of God is on the offense while hell is on the defense, but the gates will not prevail against the offense of the gospel.

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So since Christ is truly king, guys, and defeat is not an option, the question

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I ask again is how then shall we live as Christians? We must live as people who truly believe that we're under the headship of Christ.

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We are not people who suffer for the sins of a wicked king. No, we are people of a king who is perfect.

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The reality of the world that we live in is this. The success of the gospel is unavoidable.

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Have you been thinking about it wrong is the question. Isaiah 2, 1 through 5 states this, and this is a beautiful prophecy of the coming of the kingdom of God, essentially.

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This is so good, guys. Listen to this. Isaiah 2, verses 1 through 5. The word that Isaiah the son of Amos saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem, it shall come to pass in the latter days that the mountain of the house of the

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Lord shall be established, and the word there for established is kun in the Hebrew, which means firmness.

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Hold on to that. As the highest of the mountains and shall be lifted up above the hills, and all the nations shall flow to it, and many people shall come and say, come, let us go up to the mountain of the

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Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob, that he may teach us his ways, that we may walk in his paths.

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For out of Zion shall go forth the law and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

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He shall judge between the nations and shall decide disputes for many peoples, and they shall beat their swords in the plowshares and their spears in the pruning hooks.

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Nations shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn of war anymore. Oh, house of Jacob, come, let us walk in the light of the

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Lord. So the house of the Lord mentioned in Isaiah 2 -2 refers to the temple where the

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Lord dwells, right? And typically when we think of a temple, we think of a temple, a physical location, right?

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The one in Jerusalem, for example. However, what does the New Testament, guys, we must be thinking biblically.

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What does the New Testament tell us about the temple of God in which he dwells? First, we must understand this, that Jesus, when speaking to the woman at the well, he states this in John 4, 21 -24.

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Jesus said to her, Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the

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Father. You worship what you do not know. We worship what we know, for salvation is from the

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Jews. But the hour is coming and is now here when the true worshipers will worship the

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Father in spirit and in truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth, not on this mountain, not on that mountain, not where you think

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God should be worshipped, not the temple in Jerusalem. And at the initiation of the latter days, remember the same language that is used in Isaiah 2, which was brought about in the time of the

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Pentecost, when Peter is quoting from Joel 2 and Acts chapter 2, he's stating that the prophecy is being fulfilled at that time.

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He says this, In the last days it shall be, God declares that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.

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Therefore, in the latter days, the New Testament describes the foundational covenantal change where through the blood of Christ spilled, a physical temple where sacrifices are to be performed, it's no longer applicable.

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Instead, God's people become the house of the Lord, where we worship God in spirit and in truth, offering ourselves as a living sacrifice to God.

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Why? Because it's under Christ's headship. First Peter 2, 5 states this,

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You yourselves, like living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.

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Paul, in Ephesians 2, 18 through 22, he agrees, states this,

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For all though, all through him, we both have access in one spirit to the

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Father. So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

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Built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone in whom the whole structure being joined together grows into a holy temple in the

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Lord. In him, you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the

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Spirit. So what we see in Isaiah chapter 2 here is that the house of the Lord is referring to his people, right?

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The house of the Lord is the body of Christ and through the success of the Great Commission, this dwelling place is growing and growing.

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Furthermore, the author of Hebrews clarifies the language of Zion, because in Isaiah chapter 2, we're told of Zion, out from Zion.

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This is what we have in Hebrews 12, 22 through 25. But you have come to Mount Zion, the city of the living

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God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks of a better word than the blood of Abel.

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Zion, out from Zion, out from God's people. Then we're given a solemn warning right after that in Hebrews.

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See to it that you do not refuse him who is speaking, for if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

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So the Zion in Isaiah 2 that is being spoken of, in which the law of God is going forth, is from the body of Christ, in whom the law of God is written upon their hearts, in which the

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Holy Spirit had caused them to observe. This is the heavenly rule and reign of Christ who acts upon the earth through his people.

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This is the kingdom that cannot be shaken, Hebrews 12, 28 through 29.

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Therefore, let us be grateful for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, and thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence and awe, for our

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God is an all -consuming fire. When it says to not be shaken in reference to Isaiah 2, the house of the

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Lord in the firmness that is there, not to be shaken. Under the headship of Christ, we are now to take biblical dominion under grace, right?

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Through the training up of our families in the fear and admonition of the Lord in the workplace and through the proclamation of the gospel to the world.

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As I said earlier, there's a responsibility for us as Christians, do you hear it? There's a responsibility out from Zion, God's people.

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We must act as if Christ is king. It's out from the body of Christ that flows the law of God to train up the nations, the great commission, right?

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Who is it but we? Who is it but we, the body of Christ, who is responsible for sharing the good news that God has given us in this new and better covenant?

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So think about this. If you truly loved your neighbor, you would understand that the fruits of Christ's kingdom come are there when we truly live like Christ is king.

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This is what I mean. Love God and love neighbor is a summary of the gospel of God and the gospel of the kingdom.

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When we Christians do not live in such a manner, we stand at odds with the completed work of our

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Savior. Are you living like Christ is truly king? Hebrews 11 talks about those who lived with faith in their accomplishments prior to the incarnation of Christ and after the action of their faith were then challenged by the author of Hebrews, being reminded that we live now in a new and better covenant.

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So this is the faith of those who worked in Christ prior to his coming.

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Okay? This is the faith that they had. Says this, Hebrews 11, 39 through 12, 2.

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And all these, though God commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised.

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Since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us, they should not be made perfect. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight and sin which clings closely to us.

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Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

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So again, the question is, if you go back and read Hebrews 11, it's the hall of faith of the saints of old, and they can do this prior to the initiation of the new covenant, then how shall we live as Christians and people redeemed through the blood of Christ, who are citizens of a holy nation, bound up in the headship of Christ, in a world full of people who are also in Adam as children of wrath?

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Let's take a look at that right now. So now we're going to go more into the application section of this sermon, then how then shall we live?

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How do we have a mind as Christians in order to make an impact on this world? Number one, it's predicated through the headship of Christ.

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Number two, we need to live as Christ is truly king and do what his word says. So how do we have a heavenly mind in a world where there are still people in Adam?

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Colossians is one of the most amazing books that tells us exactly how to do that. So I'm going to read to you

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Colossians 2, 1 through 15, go through a little context, and then we're going to dive deep into some application for us as Christians to remain heavenly minded as the gospel of God is bringing about his kingdom into this world.

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OK, Colossians 2, 1 through 15 states, for I want you to know how great a struggle

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I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is

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Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments, for though I am absent in the body, yet I am with you in spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

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Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, established in the faith just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

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Verse 8, see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

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For in him, in Christ, the whole fullness of deity, the fullness of God dwells bodily.

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And you, Christian, says you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

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In him you are also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead.

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And you, who were dead in your trespasses, in the uncircumcision of your flesh, write the posterity, the headship of Adam, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses by cancelling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.

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This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him.

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I get it's a long section of scripture to read. However, guys, it is full of gems, fully applicable to us today.

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And these are the gems, which are the treasures that we need to remember as the body of Christ in order to act as a

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Christian ought and to remember the wonderful authority in which our savior reigns as king of our heart and king of the nations, just like as we take of the sacrament to remember who

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God is in order for us to truly love God and love our neighbor. Paul wrote this epistle while in prison.

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And it's also believed that he wrote Ephesians and Philemon at the same time, three different letters written at the same time going to three different places.

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We have Colossians, which was sent to the church in Colossae. Philemon was actually the one who opened his home for those in Colossae and Ephesians, which was sent to the church in Ephesus.

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But if you read this letter back to back in conjunction with Ephesians, you will see where Colossians details things that Ephesians does not and where Ephesians details things and expounds on things where Colossians does not.

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They're sister letters. That's what it's called. And it's actually quite amazing. And I challenge anyone, a good first book of the

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Bible for you to memorize is Colossians. I know it sounds crazy. Wow. Memorize the book of the Bible. You can do it.

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The Holy Spirit wants you to do it, to store God's word in your heart. I challenge you, go try to memorize the book of Colossians.

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It will be to your benefit, not to your detriment. It's impossible. So the church in Colossae, we find that Paul did not plant this church himself.

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It's believed that Epaphras during the time he was in Ephesus reported and responded the gospel message and went back and proclaimed that gospel in Colossae and started a church there, which

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Philemon opened his house to those people. What is extremely interesting is that we find Epaphras is in prison with Paul in the letter of Colossians.

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It's really interesting at the last chapter, Epaphras sends his greetings. He's always in urgent prayer for the people in Colossae.

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He's in prison with Paul. But with regard to the sermon, we find that the church of Colossae was struggling with air that was creeping into the church because we got to understand perspective of what was going on in the book of Colossians.

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This is around 62 AD. Nero was the Roman emperor at this time and persecution for the church was rampant.

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It would have been to the immediate physical benefit, the physical benefit for the individual to denounce

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Christ as the one true and living God. That's the temptation, right? Caesar is not

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Lord. Jesus is Lord. And if you say that Caesar is Lord, give that pinch of the incense to Caesar, which we always hear

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Pastor Jeff say, then your physical body will not be killed by the Romans, right? That's the physical benefit

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I'm referring to. So the people in Colossians were very challenged at this time to not give up who

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Jesus was. That is why Colossians in Paul details so heavily on the rule, reign, and supremacy of Christ in all aspects of living, wisdom, and authority.

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This is why we have to have a proper understanding of Christ and his lordship overall in order to properly understand the trials that we face in our lives.

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And the duty we have to respond to them as Christians under the authority of the one who holds all power.

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How are you going to respond in your life to trials and sufferings if you don't really know who

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Christ is? That's what Paul addresses to the church of Colossians. This is what they're struggling with.

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He doesn't say, do this, do this, and do that, right? Make plans for this and do that, or go this way or go that way.

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No, he says you need to be spiritually healthy. It's what Jesus says, right? He says in John chapter 17 that he's not to take us from the world, but to keep us from the evil one, that you will suffer if you believe in Christ.

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You're promised that. We must understand that right now we're not living under as much persecution as the

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Christian church with the reign of Nero. However, we as Christians, we have a delegated authority, an authority given to us from Christ in the great commission, right?

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In order to preach the gospel to our nation. We live in a society, guys, that's based upon Christian principles that has been allowed for so long to go unchecked, right?

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We have a government who has overstepped their bounds of authority. They raise our children, collect a tithe to pay for things that the church and family should be supporting.

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The government collects a tithe. They really do. They do much more in their sphere of sovereignty than God has given them.

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They have drawn outside the line, so to speak. What's the rule of sphere of the sovereignty that God has given the state, right?

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It's to punish those who do wicked and to praise those who do good, to protect the people. That's what the state is in charge to do, which is the authority in which they are to act, which has been given to them from God.

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They have drawn outside the lines. But why is that is the question. How are we to live in a world full of people in Adam?

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We, as the people of God, have allowed this to occur. We have shrunken back into our own little houses and have not consistently preached the gospel in the public square.

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We have forgotten that it is Christ who judges the nations and that we are his citizens of a holy nation.

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We are responsible to live a life in love of God and of neighbor.

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Really think about it. We have the living water and we have held it back to keep it to ourselves for so long.

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We have become drunk on the living water. We must be reminded who it is exactly that we worship in order to not synchronize our beliefs like the

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Israelites in the promised land. And I believe we've done that. I've done it.

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I know it. I know I've synchronized my beliefs. I know I've wandered. That's why we have scripture to slap us back into place.

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And the book of Colossians does just that. We are told in chapter two of the great fullness of our salvation in Christ, spiritually, physically, mentally, and objectively, that Christ is and should be the chief object of our devotion.

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We're told first by Paul in Colossians 1, 2 through 3. He says, For I want you to know how great a struggle

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I have for you and for those at Laodicea and for all who have not seen me face to face, that their hearts may be encouraged being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is

01:00:08

Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Remember, like I said, Paul is in prison at this time.

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He had never been to the church of Colossae, but he does encourage them to find all of their fulfillment in Christ.

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That they are to be knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery, which is

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Christ. And that in Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. This is all -encompassing, guys.

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Truly understand what is being said here. Here's the negative aspect of when we're not doing this. We're promised this.

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Your lack of fulfillment and assurance of salvation is rooted in your knowledge or lack thereof of Christ and his accomplishment on the cross.

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Two, in order to be knit together in love as one body, we must be what? Rooted in Christ. Three, to have a justification for knowledge and wisdom, it must be firmly grounded in the

01:01:01

Messiah. If you don't have any of those things, you don't have that. Now for the positive promise that we find in this section of scripture.

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We know that our heart can be encouraged and knit together in love for one another. In Christ. Full assurance of understanding with regards to the mystery of Christ and his work on the cross.

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We can have that. In Christ are hidden all aspects of truth, whether wisdom or knowledge. And this promise is given to his people, his people, who are to be the salt and light to the world.

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Full assurance of our knowledge of Christ in the gospel, guys, is paramount when understanding what it truly means to be human.

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Right? In the previous section of this sermon, we detailed what it meant to be an Adam. What it now means to be in Christ.

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Part of the assurance of understanding is understanding exactly what it is that Christ accomplished.

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We must see history through the heavenly lens of Christ and his work on the cross throughout all of redemptive history.

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In Adam, men ruled through death. In Christ, all are made alive in him. We live in the reality that Christ has brought peace with God through his blood.

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That no longer are we far off from the father, but we have been brought near through the blood of Christ.

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It's phenomenal. Therefore, guys, we are in direct relationship with God, father, son, and spirit.

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A relationship predicated not on my successes and failures, but on the work of Christ alone.

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In this, I have assurance of Jesus, which brings about the assurance of my salvation, in which

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I am fully dependent on the one who has already defeated sin and death. The redemption of the world is predicated under his headship.

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Do you believe it? Do you believe that Christ is truly king? It's the question you got to ask yourself.

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He'll never lose us. Jesus states this in John 17, 15 through 21, referring to us and his disciples.

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John 17, 15 through 21. It's one of my favorite sections of scripture. It's the high priestly prayer. The night before Christ is crucified.

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I do not ask that you take them out of this world, but that you keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world just as I am not of the world.

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Sanctify them in the truth. Your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.

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And for their sake, I consecrate myself that they also may be sanctified in the truth. I do not ask for these only, referring to the disciples, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they all may be one, just as you,

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Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me.

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Do you hear the gospel of God and the gospel of the kingdom? Father, just as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be in us, the gospel, communion with God, so that the world may believe that you have sent me, the gospel of the kingdom.

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It's always there. Guys, this is only the one section of the high priestly prayer. But do you believe what is being said here?

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Do you hear what is being said? Jesus is not only praying for his disciples, but for everyone who believes in him.

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That means when he was making that prayer, if you believe in God through faith, he had you in his mind, you, personal relationship with you.

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He knew you before the world began. You were on his mind. It's amazing.

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I love that so much. But listen, he's not, he's praying that they're not to be taken from the world, but to be kept from the evil one.

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And that we are to be sanctified by the word of God, that his church shall be of one mind through the power of the

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Holy Spirit. But again, what does that mean for us? Think about it.

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Jesus is praying here. And we must understand that Jesus was sent to do the will of his father.

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In perfection, in the perfection of Christ, his prayer here is essentially the will of the father.

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Meaning that the father, son, and spirit are in perfect harmony with regard to the fulfillment of our salvation.

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Do you believe what Jesus prays for you is the question. If you are a Christian, you are to be kept from the evil one.

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That's a promise. You are to be sanctified in the word of God, and that you will be one through the Holy Spirit, unified to the body of Christ.

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Therefore, this will happen regardless of your own will. God will sanctify his people, and he will lose not one of them to the evil one.

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What does it say in 1 John? It states that those who left us were never of us.

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So the question you must ask yourself is these. These are some questions you should ask yourself. Is my will aligned with the will of God, or am

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I fighting against an inevitability? Is my worldly living in direct correlation to my spiritual health?

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Are my sins that I struggle with a consequence of my spiritual inaction? Where have

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I failed in knowing Christ? The will of God for you is highlighted in the high priestly prayer.

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So what are you asking God for? What are you asking God for? In Colossians, Paul does not ask for the church of Colossae to find assurance in prosperity and things that rust and decay.

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Instead, he is challenging them to find their fulfillment in the will of God for their lives in Christ. Full assurance of understanding of the knowledge of God's mystery, which is

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Christ, in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. It's amazing.

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He doesn't say you need to gain this amount of money to buy this house here or buy that house there in order to overcome the sufferings ahead of you.

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No. You must be spiritually mature, and to be spiritually mature, you must grow in the knowledge of your Lord and Savior, because in him are hidden all the aspects of hidden treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

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It's the reality that this, you are no longer in Adam. Therefore, the things of this world will not satisfy the desires of a heart for a new creation.

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You are a new creation in Christ Jesus, set to live according to the ways in which God ascribes to you.

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And where do we know that? In his word. You are to love, Christian, the things of the Lord. You are to grow in the knowledge of our

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Lord and Savior. You are to be conformed to his image by treasuring every aspect of your salvation.

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Treasure your salvation. Are you fighting against the inevitable?

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In other words, the creator of the universe is now in a relationship with you through the blood of Christ.

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We live in his universe and should operate according to his standards. And he has shown us his will for us in his word.

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We should live as Christians as we ought to live in Christ, under his kingship. Our spiritual health is predicated upon our living in action according to the word of God.

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And a healthy church is like a river of flowing water onto the desolate world of secularism, meaning that a healthy church actually has direct impact on the culture of the world.

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Think about that. So when we look at the world today and see its problems, the first thing we should do is look inward and see how we as the body of Christ have failed at loving

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God, in which we have failed at loving our neighbor. Hear me clearly, people.

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People in Adam are fully incapable of truly loving their neighbor without the intervention of God's people upon humanity, meaning that the kingdom of God grows through the mission of the church, the preaching of the gospel, and the living according to God's means.

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Therefore, the health of the nations shows a direct correlation to the spiritual health of each individual in the body of Christ.

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So when you see the secular world slaughtering their babies, not understanding their own gender, and heartily approving of wickedness, we must understand that they're merely doing what people in Adam do when left to their own devices.

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They are reigning in death, and at large this is due to the inaction of God's people, in which this inaction occurs because we have lost in some aspect what it truly means to be in Christ as individuals.

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When we forget who God is and what he has done, we do exactly what the Israelites did in the wilderness.

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We synchronize with culture, creating judgment for the world and discipline for God's people. We're then not truly living in the reality of our salvation.

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It is God's people who have the greatest treasure of all, which is Christ. He's king of our hearts and king of the nations.

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We must not try to find assurance or fulfillment in anyone or anywhere else but in him in whom are hidden all, not some, but all the riches of hidden knowledge and wisdom.

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I believe Paul in some aspects is quoting from the Proverbs here in Proverbs 1, 1 -7, it states, The Proverbs of Solomon, son of David, king of Israel, to know wisdom and instruction, to understand words of insight, to receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity, to give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth, let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb in a saying, the words of the wise and their riddles.

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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. Fools despise wisdom and instruction. Do you hear the gospel of God and the gospel of the kingdom there?

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The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. In order to deal with righteousness, justice, and equity, you must first love

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God in order to love your neighbor. Heed the words of Solomon, in which we find the fulfillment of in Christ.

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It is in him that justice, righteousness, and equity can be given. In love of God, it outpours to our neighbors, and we must understand and humbly submit to Christ as being the one in which he is the one who guides in all of the directions and the hearts of the nations.

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Anything but Christ and his law brings about the rule of Adam in a world that is being renewed by the kingdom of God through the power of the gospel.

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The rule of Adam and the law of man cannot bring peace when it is at odds with its creator and its living now alien in the kingdom of God.

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We must first put on Christ and find our assurance in him through a correct understanding in order to have a healthy impact on the world and to have an impactful spiritual growth.

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Because we find that Paul then states in Colossians 2, 4 through 8, I say this, what he said earlier about Christ in whom were hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

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He says, I say this in order that no one may delude you with plausible arguments. For though I am absent in the body, yet I am with you in the spirit, rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.

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Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him, and established in the faith just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.

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So see to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and by empty deceit according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

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So the way to not be fooled in this present reality is to then therefore find ourselves firmly rooted in Christ.

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The reason why Christians find themselves plagued with the pleasures and knowledge of Adam is because in some aspects we have lost our fulfillment and knowledge in Christ.

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Let me give you some examples of plausible arguments from the world that have deluded many Christians. Some people believe that humans have derived from primordial goo from about 3 .7

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to 4 billion years ago. They even have... There's plausible arguments for this.

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They believe it. Some people believe that morality is relative to the nations and the popular beliefs at that time.

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Some people also believe that Jesus Christ was merely a great teacher and not fully God. Some people believe that God is to be left out of politics there should be no say from the

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Bible in the legal affairs in the affairs of daily men. In all of these examples, there are fundamental denials of God's word.

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Every single example is worldly wisdom and knowledge gained from Adam and not from Christ. This is empty philosophy in human traditions, the ones of our time in which compete with our devotion to Christ.

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These are the lies propagated by men and the elemental spirits of the world that aim to subvert the spread of the kingdom.

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But those are just some of the lies that the Christian church is to subdue and conquer by the holiness of God's word.

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See, Paul tells us to not be deluded by these things. And in order to do that, we must be firmly rooted in our salvation.

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Being thankful that God has truly delivered us from the pit in order to live a life in reality according to God's word.

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When you're thankful and rooted in your salvation, you're humble because you know there's nothing that you did to deserve it.

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Therefore, you trust in God and his word so that you cannot be deceived by the traditions of men.

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Because the truth is this, God created the world in six days and on the seventh, he rested. God created the world and he told us how he did it.

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All rejections of God's inspired word with regards to creation will dilute some critical aspect of our theology.

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Second, from God comes morality. What is right comes purely from his character. It is unchanging regardless of our location on earth.

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What is wrong is in direct opposition to his character and in direct conflict to the image of God that we are created with.

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Our conscious bears witness to the truth. Jesus Christ is fully God and fully man. He is not just a teacher.

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He is our king. He is the king of our hearts and the king of the nations. All political affairs are to be governed under the authority of Christ and the success of the nations depends, the success of the nations depends on their allegiance to the king of kings and lord of lords.

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He will dethrone them. That's why we wanted to read Psalm 146. It's about the princes of the earth who will die, but the king's throne reigns forever.

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The success of the nations, guys, depends on their allegiance to the king of kings and lord of lords and his people are to proclaim the truth to the nations.

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Every single rebuttal made to the worldly knowledge of Adam comes from the word of God. To find our habitation in the word of God, we must first love

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Christ and through the Holy Spirit we'll be led to judge the things of this world first through the word of God.

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Not to try to shape the world of God to the worldly knowledge of Adam. It just does not work that way.

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That's called syncretism. The Christian then should live in a way in which we understand the implication of Christ in his kingship.

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And here, this is the clencher from Paul and this is how we're wrapping up, Colossians 2, 9 through 15. For in him, the fullness of deity dwells bodily and you have been filled in him who is the head of all rule and authority.

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In him also you were circumcised with a circumcision made without hands by putting off the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ.

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Having been buried with him in baptism in which you were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God who raised him from the dead.

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And you who were dead in your trespasses in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him having forgiven us all our trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands.

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This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed all the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them in him.

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So first and foremost, Jesus is God. In his incarnation, he displayed in truth the reality of true human creation and correct relationship with God.

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Fully God and fully man. And we, as Paul states, as his people, don't let it hit you lightly.

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As his people, we have been filled in him who is the creator of the universe. Isn't this amazing?

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It's a miracle. It's absolutely mind -blowing that you have been filled in him. We are no longer in Adam.

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Do you get it? We have had a circumcision of the heart. Adam has died.

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The Adam in us has died. And we have been raised as new creations in Christ Jesus by the powerful working of God who raised

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Jesus from the dead. This is absolutely an amazing reality of our salvation. Under Christ's headship, we are made alive together with him.

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He has forgiven us all of our trespasses by canceling our sins through the shedding of his blood on the cross.

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In this, he also disarmed all of the elemental spirits, powers, and rulers that sit opposed to Christ.

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Whether spiritual or physical, we in Christ are set free to follow God. When Christ sets you free, you are free indeed.

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That's the reality of it, of being in Christ. You are now free to truly understand what it means to be human.

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He put the authorities to open shame, guys, in his death, burial, and resurrection. Again, you are filled in him, no longer in Adam, but in Christ.

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Daniel 7 .13 -14 states this. This is a prophecy, right, of the ascension of the

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Son of God to go sit on his throne. This is the reality of what's going to happen in our world.

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Daniel 7 .13 -14 states, I saw in the night visions and behold, with the clouds of heaven, there came one like a son of man, and he came to the ancient of days and was presented before him.

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And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him.

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His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom is one that shall not be destroyed.

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This is the reality in which you, Christian, are called to live, in which I am called to live.

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If we truly loved our neighbors, we would act as if Christ is truly king of our hearts and king of the nations.

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So ask yourself, in what way have I misunderstood Christ? In what way have I tried to conform him to the worldly knowledge of Adam?

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Where am I synchronizing my beliefs in Christ with the things of the world? I assure you that the spiritual climate of the nation shows that in some aspects, we have put our idols ahead of Christ.

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We have assumed a worldly mind instead of the heavenly mindset that which we are called to live in. But again, do not be dismayed.

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The success of the world is predicated on the perfect work of Christ. Understand that the world in our inaction will suffer the judgment and wrath of God.

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But for the Christian, we are under the discipline of a loving Father. But that should compel us, right?

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We need to learn in this discipline, in this judgment that we face, to be the salt and the light to all the nations, to put to death what is earthly in us, to follow

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Christ, to the fullest through God's Word. Then and only then will we see the nations bow in allegiance to God.

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We must take hold of the heavenly promises of God. For His dominion is an everlasting dominion.

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It will not pass away and His kingdom will not be destroyed. Let us live in that promise and give all praise to Jesus Christ, who is

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King of our hearts and King of the nations. He will never leave us or forsake us. Remember, He swore upon Himself to fulfill

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His covenant with Abraham. He is the great promise keeper where we are the great covenant breakers.

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And this right here, the sacrament, is to remind us that He fulfilled that promise. Would He not fulfill then in bringing all nations in allegiance to Him?

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He already fulfilled the first part of the covenant. Remember, it is promised that we are to be kept from the evil one amidst the persecution of calling the nation to repentance.

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There will be persecution. But in order to face persecution, we must understand that the spiritual strongholds of the enemies of God have already been defeated.

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We are not in a war of flesh and blood, but in a war in which the power of the gospel converts enemies of God into lovers of God through the blood of Jesus Christ, in which then they love

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His law, where swords will be turned to plow shears and peace will conquer and love and mercy reigns and death has no sting.

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It's the gospel of the kingdom of God. Remember, in your hunger, Jesus is King. In the tearing of your flesh at the hands of persecutors,

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Jesus is King. When your children are ripped away from you for public evangelism,

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Jesus is King. In your sleeping in the dirt, Jesus is King.

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At the depths of depression and anxiety, Jesus is King. When your family disowns you for coming to Christ, Jesus is

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King. In the loss of your savings due to inflation, Jesus is

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King. Due to the lack of freedom from a wicked government, Jesus is

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King. And the heavenly promise is this, that all of these things are being worked together for our good and for God's glory.

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In this, and only through this, can we find the beauty of suffering that it's used to bring about the kingdom of God through the headship of Christ.

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Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this time.

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Lord, we thank you, Jesus, that you reign supreme, that you are

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King. We understand what that means through the power of your word, that there's nothing that can stop the spreading of your kingdom.

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You were successful in every single way in your death, burial, in resurrection. And you hold us fast through that.

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And we exist in your headship as your people. Lord, let this convict us to spur us on into good works that were prepared beforehand for us to walk through in you.

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Let us, Lord, keep a heavenly mind as we go about our daily lives, a heavenly mind in which looks through our circumstances and sees you and the glory of your promises that you have a kingdom that can never be defeated.

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And that we are citizens of that nation through the gospel of God, which is the fact that Jesus, you took on flesh, lived a perfect life and died the death that we deserve.

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And then you resurrected from the dead. The second Adam came so that we could fulfill the covenants of God through the great commission,

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Lord. We praise you and we thank you. Let us love you in order to love our neighbors. It's in Jesus' name we pray, amen.