0:03
planned that today would be the Q&A for um Aaron's Deuteronomy study. Um I have not confirmed with him whether or not he still intends to do that. There's a
0:14
possibility that we'll do that next week. Um I'm going to go ahead and do what I was going to do, the sort of introductory lesson of what I was going to launch into uh of my study here. Um,
0:27
I found myself as various people were asking me, "What are you going to be teaching on with an increasingly unwielding title to the point that I asked Dr. Failure to just help me make it fully unwieldy and turn it into a
0:38
Puritan title." So that's what I've written up here on the board as best I can is a very Puritan title for my study here, which I'm entitling True Religion or the encouragement of obedience drawn
0:49
in five holy buckets from the well of the law of liberty. these buckets being the minor epistles of first and second Thessalonians, Titus, Phileiman, and Jude, but I feel like it's probably a little too short actually. It could have
1:00
been longer. Um, I don't know why I'm Jenny, did you remember to hit the stream button? Okay, thank you. Um, don't know why I'm worked up about that
1:10
since Aaron's title was um, the law is lawful if one uses it lawfully. Mine isn't any more unwieldy, having called it the encouragement of obedience. But
1:20
uh I also found myself as I was working on this uh bridging more and more to his study, not intentionally. I've been kicking around this idea for a while. Um
1:33
in some respects, I've been thinking about this since before I I started on my Amos study that we did last time I was here. uh in part and I I'll be
1:45
honest with where I came to it from because I've I've gone in various different routes to get here. I was thinking about the minor epistles as I've entitled them which is not a thing that most people use. There are a
1:56
number of commentaries I have that are called the general epistles and they pick different books to be the general epistles. You usually get uh first and second Peter, 1, second, third John and
2:06
the Thessalonians get thrown in there. The thing I was thinking about in particular was the fact that Titus, Phileiman, and Jude to a lesser extent, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, they often get
2:17
their own commentary. Titus, Phileim, and Jude, if they get a commentary at all, they get thrown in with other things. Um, they're somewhat neglected, I think,
2:27
at least. I guess I'll be frank. In the things I read, the reformed theology and the books I I read, the things I've been studying, these tend not to get very
2:37
detailed treatments. And when they do get detailed treatments, it's because we've treated them as a punching bag to go find our proof texts about something else we want to talk about. Titus, in particular, gets ransacked every time we
2:48
want to talk about elders. Okay? So, that's where we go for that. Um, I recognize though that what I'm about to do, um, maybe makes me guilty in some respects of the same thing, which is I'm
3:01
actually going to take them together as a whole. a whole. Because as I was reading them and rereading them, thinking about these books being neglected and and people not working with them as much as I would
3:12
like, I ended up finding what I think is a through line that connected them together. And oddly enough, as I was coming across this and sort of having a dawning awareness in myself of, hey,
3:22
there's actually a thing here, an idea that threads through these books together more and more um by the the spirit of providence, uh it started to connect to the sermon and to the
3:34
Thursday night class and to Aaron's study. And I said, "Well, fine. That's where we're going then. Uh it connects so nicely. We're going to do it." So maybe I'm guilty of the same thing in
3:45
putting these together. Um, and I have to say what I intend to do in the study and I'm going to give you an outline is not actually to treat with all of them
3:55
in depth verse by verse through these books. Um, I may reserve the right to come back and do that again later. But what I want to do, um, and Anna is
4:07
teaching the Sunday school class, I think, so she can't help me out on the dendrology, uh, analogy here. You know, sometimes you hear that, well, you can't see the forest for the trees. Sometimes when you're going verse by verse or book by
4:19
book, you miss the larger picture. Um, I'm I'm really at this point neither looking at the forest nor the trees, but maybe a glade. Okay, so we're standing in a nice little clearing here in the New Testament trying to look at these
4:31
things as they hold together. But I do think that it has a a line here, uh, a particular connecting idea that ties in with these things. There's
4:43
a there's a sense in which all of scripture has external connections to each other. You could theoretically pick up any two books of the Bible and study them in parallel and you would find many
4:53
many many things that connect. But I like I said I found myself as I was preparing this and thinking about this and the way the teaching schedule landed it happened that I landed here now with
5:05
something that I think relates exactly to the things we've been talking about. Um, this is not a sort of lectio continuo, but I've been thinking about that. I was
5:15
just talking with somebody uh two weeks ago about that. The sort of fact that we do that as our our philosophy for the sermon, which is we pick a book and we go through verse by verse. That's what
5:26
the elders have done for a really long time. And how many times by God's providence, that particular verse or passage they land on relates really particularly to something that's
5:37
happened in the body? We had an example just a couple of weeks ago. Um, by providence, that's the pace that the verse byvere exposition took us to and it landed exactly where it needed to
5:48
because God is in control of all of these things. So, um, in many there are many examples of the teaching sort of aligning this way and and in some ways, how could it not? All
6:00
of scripture is in some ways a tessillation of itself. Uh, it is the the revelation of God. All of it relates to himself and to his character. So all of it is is interconnected. Um like I
6:11
said, I was not intending initially to tie in directly to the Deuteronomy study. Um, study. Um, also last week's sermon was basically a
6:23
version of what I intended to do this morning in my introductory study because that is effectively the sermon from last week um is effectively what I think we
6:35
have these five we count first and second first and second Thessalonians separately. These five books expand on that concept.
6:46
What is it to walk uprightly according to the law of liberty or according to the law of love? What is it to show that love? Um it is perhaps
6:59
a counterbalance or maybe it's just the other side of the coin actually from what Aaron has been doing. So Aaron's been talking about the law is lawful if one uses it lawfully out of Deuteronomy.
7:09
Looking at those things in Deuteronomy and in Moses's discourse there that apply to us that do apply to the church and give us great wisdom and understanding. I'm on the very other end of the
7:20
spectrum here in terms of both the revelation of God and and the sort of way these things get treated. But I actually think they tie in perfectly well together, which is the things that
7:32
we have in these books, the instruction that we have for life and for walking with one another uh tie into that and are are are
7:42
very useful to us. Um there is one sense in which uh I use this analogy talking to Aaron uh about his study. I feel like he's the sort of
7:52
farmer in the um lake district of of England as as he plows his field every couple of yards he has to stop and lift out a big old stone and put it over to the side to build his
8:04
wall as he plows the rocky field whereas I am potentially going into a field to borrow the biblical phrase ripe for harvest. Um the the the material here is
8:15
maybe not as challenging or at least not challenging in the same way. The Deuteronomy study has had a lot of heavy lifting to do. Aaron has had a lot of work to do to help us understand the
8:27
discourse in part because it's so intricate and so many lines run through it. These books are not any less intricate necessarily, but their tone, their our ability to read them, and perhaps even their
8:38
familiarity to us is a lot more common. Um, I I would hazard maybe you all read Deuteronomy a lot for fun. Um, I know a number of people have told me that they
8:49
read first and second Thessalonians all the time because it's very encouraging, and it is. But I would also say I think there are some things in here that are going to challenge us um but perhaps in
8:59
a different way from what we were doing. So, um I am going to give you a little outline of what I was thinking we were going to do
9:11
and you can uh tell me how crazy I am if you want uh and or object to my summary here as soon as I find this
9:22
outline that I had prepared for myself. I will say I've I've spoken to some folks and I've been reading um GK
9:34
Beiel's New Testament biblical theology in which he has some discussion on uh chronology chronology of books. We've talked about this particularly in some
9:45
of the Old Testament studies where these books land in relation to each other and when they land in the revelation of history. Beal holds in in his introduction to his work that the
9:59
order of the New Testament books is somewhat less important in part because of how closely together they were written. Um, written. Um, I will say that as far as I can read in
10:09
the study I've done, the chronology is something like first and second
10:20
Um, then Phileiman, Titus, and Jude. Or at least that's the generally
10:31
accepted order that these things went in. Which means that in your scripture, in the way they are in your Bible, these two are flipped as you come to them in order. I have no intention of going out
10:42
of the order that we have in our scripture. I don't think we necessarily gain anything here by reading Phileiman before we read Titus. We're just going to go in the order that we have them in our New Testament. Um, and take them
10:53
that way. So, my plan is hopefully to take these uh more or less a chapter at a time and then uh a book at a time, although we're
11:04
going to spend um probably two weeks each in these as I've outlined it for myself. But I'm going to outline for you the things that I think here as my sort
11:15
of summary of each of these chapters as sort of an outline and see if you guys concur with me that this is
11:29
well I guess I'll challenge you as we go through the the book and we work together here to um to see if I have correctly identified these or if you think I'm way off base.
11:43
Actually, I should probably start writing on this half of the board.
12:24
Well, if you can't see, nobody on the camera is going to be able to see.
12:59
The example of faith, a witness to the churches and to all.
14:01
So, chapter 2, imitators enduring. Chapter 3, faith, hope, and love. Encouragement to the teachers.
14:38
Um, chapter four, an upright walk, excelling still more. Chapter five is probably where I may get myself in trouble.
15:06
the day of the Lord and Christian conduct. Um, pause here for a second. In studying and reading these, I I I'll admit slashreco recognize that the chapter divisions are of course
15:19
artificial. These were written well after the fact. The uh chapter divisions were inserted well after the fact. Generally speaking, I don't have a lot of objection to the chapter divisions. We need them
15:31
somewhere. Um somewhere. Um I will say in having read a lot of the commentaries and looking at first and second Thessalonians, the day of the Lord gets a lot of ink. And we talked a
15:42
lot about the day of the Lord actually in the Amos study because Amos talks a lot about the day of the Lord. Um, and he uses it in a particular way. I find it very interesting that it's here in 1
15:52
and 2 Thessalonians. I don't intend to focus on it particularly as we go through here. I'm not going to ignore it. It's part of the book. I don't intend to spend a long time on it here, not because I think it's fully an aside,
16:04
but because I think people tend to get bogged down in it in a discussion of New Testament prophecy and miss it in its larger contexts. So what
16:17
I propose to do as we go through here and we go through first and second Thessalonians again is not to ignore or jettison any particular part of the book but to try to take it at such a pace
16:27
that we can hold the whole concept together. And I'll tie this back to my earlier comment. The chapter divisions are somewhat artificial as are the verse
16:41
Um these would have been read as a letter. you would have read it straight through as Is that door latched? Somebody tapping on the door? No. Oh, okay.
16:52
Oh, okay. Oh, back there. Okay. Um, so as I said, you may find some reason to object and I I hope you'll raise your hand and tell me as we go through here
17:02
if you think I'm off base as we get into this section of it. But I do think um again, these are my sort of key highlights as an outline.
17:20
that I think um allows us to read these books together as a whole or as a grouping and find a particular thought or thread out of the scriptures. And again, as I've been reading, um, and I've been appreciating Chuck's, um,
17:31
teaching on biblical theology that he's been doing on Thursdays.
17:43
I do intend to be anchored in these books and take them together. But I do think that there is a thread, there is a idea or a I don't know. I don't think echo is the
17:54
right word. I'm going to stick with thread that runs through here that connects them together that there is an idea that these different New Testament writers are um seeing. So, I mean, I
18:04
guess Jude is the only one that's not Pauline here, but runs through here and it connects for us. And I'm going to say a few more words before we're done on what I think is connecting in
18:15
particular, but I'm going to finish here. Second Thessalonians
19:51
So as we consider second Thessalonians um I have my headings as the relief of faith and perseverance. Lawlessness contrasts to standing firm in the gospel and his abjgeration of
20:52
Titus as a whole, if I summarize in a little title here, Titus has a lot to say about elders. It does. We're going to touch on it when we look at it. But I would actually say in this thread, or at
21:03
least as I'm planning to hang it on here with the rest of it, I don't think it's unfair to say that he's contrasting truth according to godliness versus empty talkers.
21:14
empty talkers. And it relates not only to the elders, but to all of those in the church. Okay? So again, bear with me. If you want to object when we get there, you can
21:24
object. If you want to object now, you can object. You can throw your hand up and tell me, "This is crazy. you're never going to make it. Maybe it's a two-parter. We'll find out. Um, but I I
21:35
guess this is what I'm trying to say. And my aim here in this study is to take these books that are either neglected or used as proof texts and
21:46
read them together and hear what the word has to say when we stand them up together and read them as a whole. Does that make sense to everyone? Okay.
22:00
All right, Phileiman or Filimon if you want to be that way about it,
22:12
which is probably more accurate to the Greek, I guess.
22:45
do the hard thing for the good of the body. There's a lot made in Phileiman of u of u the specific circumstance that's being
22:56
talked about there. You can spend a long time on the history. I was frankly baffled the number of times I opened a commentary on Phileiman of which there are only a few by the way and almost
23:07
always connected to Colossians where we hear Onesimus mentioned um that immediately spiritualize this relationship. Okay. So they tell us that
23:19
um that uh Phileiman is the father and Onesimus is the sinner and Paul is acting like Jesus interceding on his behalf between
23:32
behalf between stop that. If you actually just read Phileiman, and I encourage you to do this as we go through here, just read it as it is written, as a letter,
23:44
he basically says, I could order you to do it, but I shouldn't have to because you should do it immediately because it's good for the body. Um, I was doing
23:55
some other reading and I I would say I actually think um I think there are some churches in Greenville where you could get yourself stoned to
24:06
death if you stood up and said first Corinthians 6
24:20
out loud and didn't tell anybody that it came out of the scripture. Maybe even if you told him it came out of the scripture. He says here as he's chastising them for um their their lawsuits against one another.
24:34
I'm going to pick up in verse 5. I say this to your shame. Is there no one among you that is wise enough to decide between his brothers? But brother goes to law with brother and that before unbelievers. Actually then it's already
24:44
a defeat for you that you have lawsuits with one another. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be defrauded?
24:55
On the contrary, you yourselves wrong and defraud. You do this even to your brethren. He says, "Fine, let them cheat you. Be wronged
25:06
Be wronged for the good of the body." And at this point, I would probably be shot. We don't lie down and let other people trample over. Are you saying I should just accept whatever happens to me?
25:17
Well, I'm going to argue as we go through here from more than a few of these, Paul says, "If it's for the good of the body, if it's for the increase of the faith, yes, take it."
25:32
So, maybe a little bit different from the way that the Deuteronomy study has gone, but I think probably not any less challenging actually. Finally, Jude
26:33
The errors of the ungodly versus keeping yourself upright in love. Jude is an interesting one. I always wonder if he ever finished writing the thing that he says he
26:43
started writing the beginning there. Um, I have sort of subtitled this section that I'm planning to do as the
26:54
law of liberty, which does not actually appear in any of these books. Uh, it appears twice in James and depending on how you translate first or Romans 14.
27:04
Some people actually throw that phrase in there, I think, intentionally connect. I don't see it there in the actual Greek. Most of the translations don't do that, but at least one I found did. Um, and I'm not intending to to steal from Chuck's upcoming
27:17
um, preaching series that he will do when he resumes in Romans next time in Romans 14. Well, 13 and 14. But, um,
27:28
I was fascinated. I was reading somebody's commentary on Jude and he immediately brought that up because he said um he said there are inevitably when you talk about the law of liberty
27:38
or Christian liberty at all you will encounter those who will immediately turn that into license for lentiousness and that's what Jude is concerned about
27:48
primarily but it's not all he's concerned about so we'll read that together as we go through there but in some ways I think Jude is perhaps for us the perfect capstone here as we go
27:59
through here because I will argue and I will continue to argue through here. All of these books have a thread in them of living according to Christian liberty and what
28:11
it actually looks like, including being at perfect liberty to be wronged for the good of the body and being at
28:22
perfect liberty to do things that may or may not look right according to people around you for the good of the body. not
28:32
in lawlessness, not in committing sins. There's a lot of things that connect here. Um, again, I've said it, I said it just a minute ago, and I think it it
28:43
completely ties in with the sermon that we had last Sunday on what is it to live according to the law of love and and
28:55
owing other people, looking for their due. That's I I ended up as I was thinking and reading about this, that's where I ended up here in 1 Corinthians 6 going, "Man, Paul says, even if it
29:05
wasn't their due, they took it from you unfairly, and yet for the good of the body, let that go." Um, I think this is an expansion or an
29:17
examination of of part of the how then shall we live um idea. Uh I also again am contending here that these books held
29:28
together have a lot to say alongside each other. I I do think we could spend a whole series in any one of these books. I know uh probably 10 plus years ago dad did a number of sermons out of
29:39
Phileiman. Um, also in terms of encouragement, but I've also added I I I went back and forth in terms of whether the law of liberty or the encouragement
29:50
of obedience should be the title versus subtitle. And I guess I'll just hold them both together and you can choose. A bunch of this in here is encouragement for those who have taught and are
30:00
teaching you. Encourage them by being upright. A number of these books are the books where we turn and we read with great joy. As Paul says, I have great joy and thanksgiving in
30:12
writing to you because of your great faith. Okay, these are people who are encouraging their teachers by walking uprightly in that ministry that he began
30:23
them in. So walking according to the law of liberty is also an encouragement. It's an encouragement to your fellow
30:34
believer. And most of all, it's an encouragement to those who have labored to teach you to walk according to their teaching.
30:59
in a book and I still don't know the guy's first name. It just says a Venet Alexander. Okay. I scoured the front couple of pages of the book. The the one that you lent me was published in 1853.
31:11
It was apparently the second edition and I could not find in any of the editor's notes where it said when Mr. Vanet had originally written these notes. So probably very early 1800s, probably not
31:21
much later than 1830 or something like that. Alexander Venet, Swiss uh preacher and teacher wrote this book on pastoral ministry. He had this phrase and I've
31:32
excised a certain um uh tirade against the Catholic Church out of the middle of this. But he had this to say. He said, "The
31:43
ministry of the word does not suffer the word to materialize itself and turn itself into a right. It aims to be the action of soul upon soul and liberty on
31:56
liberty. Before all, it remains a virtue. It is thought that there is no mystery in the action of soul on soul in the ministry of the word because this is an
32:08
ordinary affair as if that which is ordinary was not often the most mysterious and unsearchable.
32:19
He's talking about the idea that the preaching of the word, the word is mediated through those who preach and teach. The word is meant to be taught in the churches.
32:30
the churches. It is meant to be taught in the churches because by God's intention, the ministry of the word, the means of grace, as it is sometimes termed, is the action of
32:41
soul upon soul. It is not held in isolation. It is not read in a hermitage. It is through interaction in the body. And so the the
32:53
outworking of that love amongst the brethren inside the body is a response to the word taught and it should be of encouragement. We should be of encouragement to those who teach us by
33:06
responding to that word. Not least of all we should be giving glory and joy to God in responding to the word.
33:22
also another thought I'm going to throw in here since this is the introductory lesson. I've been thinking about and reading uh some things regard regarding the kingdom, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, um, which is a phrase that
33:34
shows up a number of times, particularly in Jesus's teaching, but not exclusively. and thinking about the church in regard to conquering Israel. And this is where one of those uh some
33:45
of the bridging aspects have come out from myself uh in response to Aaron's study. The idea of the sort of church militant. Aaron alluded last week um to
33:56
the idea that we as a as a body are described in the New Testament both as a family and as a military.
34:12
Israel was that Israel was a picture and a type for us. They were related to each other through the patriarch, were they not? And yet they were gathered and or ordered and organized into an army to go
34:22
and conquer that promised land. God ordered and directed them that way. The body is that same the body of Christ is that same picture. We are a family. We
34:33
are described as brothers and sisters. And yet we are also told a that we're at war, spiritual warfare. We're told to put on the whole armor of God. We are
34:45
told to stand ready. We are told to do these things. What does that really mean? And I think actually as we go through here, we will see quite a bit of that, what it means to be at war. I
34:57
there's a lot of people these days that still um do the whole oh the devil tempted me kind of thing or I'm you know the devil's really uh attacking me today etc etc. I am going to argue
35:12
from the scripture spiritual warfare is not primarily one-on-one. The spiritual warfare is primarily the action of the body as a whole in the
35:26
world. Okay. It's not you being sent off into a mob of demons with your plastic uh armor of God set that I had when I was eight years old. Okay. It is the body together
35:38
as a military unit facing off against a world that is in opposition to it. And if the body is disorganized, if the body
35:49
cannot hold together, if the body has no respect for one another, think about that in terms of a military unit, if you will not cohhere, how easy will you be
36:00
to separate and destroy. Okay? Spiritual warfare is primarily the action of the church, of the body working together as a unit,
36:13
which we will see as we go forward. Any thoughts or objections at this point? To what purpose?
36:36
I would say if you look at history, there are a number of moments, we often call them revivals. There are a number of moments in which the church was graced with a massive outpouring of the Holy Spirit and many were saved and the
36:46
gospel advanced. Chuck has pointed out a number of times you can sort of trace the generally speaking Calvinistic doctrine moving across the globe and the
36:58
change in the culture where those things have happened. have happened. I think there is more there in terms of the advance of God's banner of his kingdom in the world by the action of
37:11
the church than is usually accounted for. Jerry
37:52
Yes. No, that's an excellent point because he is he does point out there you're effectively dragging the name of the church in the mud by going before parading the business of the body of the
38:22
Not saying this shouldn't happen. Right. Right. Absolutely. Absolutely. Obviously, I I threw 1 Corinthians 6 out there somewhat out of context. He is absolutely saying a that you shouldn't
38:34
you shouldn't be defrauding each other. He's not saying that's fine. Go ahead and defraud each other and get away with it. Um and he's also not saying that you should have to just take it, but he is
38:44
saying rather than defame the church, rather than drag its name through the mud, yes. in order to preserve its witness. Sometimes as a last resort, you will
38:55
endure pain or suffering at the hands of a fellow believer. Frankly, I think it connects highly to Phileiman. It is it is often pointed out in the context or the the discussions of
39:06
Phileiman and the historical context there that potentially Phileiman had the right to execute Onesimus for what happened to him. And Paul says, not only that, I'm asking you to receive him
39:16
basically as a free man and a brother. Elizabeth, you had your hand up and then we'll come back.
40:12
So, let me let me address that really quick. Uh quick. Uh there's there's a couple of things there. One, there are some things that transcend. I mean, Chuck pointed out in his sermon of last week, um we're not to
40:24
not obey the civil authorities in these things except where they're at conflict. So if somebody is committing a crime in the church like that that rises to the level where the civil authority ought to
40:35
be involved. Absolutely. Um sorry go ahead. Sure.
41:48
or or even just violence. I mean, violence, that kind of thing.
42:09
No. And and I would I would actually raise the point um part of you mentioned in their you know dealing with it internally. I would I would say that a number of these churches that have become so high-profile is because their
42:20
dealing was not dealing but covering up. They were not actually addressing the issue. They were simply trying to obscure it. That's not what Paul's talking about. Paul is saying don't go out and seek uh the defamation of this
42:32
by parading it in front of everybody of look what we have going on here. But he's also not saying hide these things, bury them, obscure them. I will also point out in in relationship to what
42:42
Chuck just said, there's a number of these that talk about there are plenty of things in in both Paul and in Jude's mind that rise to the level of
42:53
excommunication. Separate them from you. Don't let these lawless ones into your assembly because it will confuse lawlessness with liberty. And that is a distinction made
43:06
throughout these books. Jerry, you had your hand up. Yes. Also relationship
43:55
things have to be dealt with. Sure. And and that's exactly what he's saying there in in first Corinthians is is there not anyone among you who's wise enough to discern these matters. That's
44:07
exactly what we're talking about. And and I have actually really appreciated as Aaron has been working through Deuteronomy. He's pointed out a number of times, the reason why we read through Deuteronomy, even though we do not hold
44:18
that we fully apply the uh law the way it applied to Israel, Jesus has come. We now live according to the law of liberty. Yet reading these things,
44:29
understanding Moses's discourse there and the other related and Leviticus study is a good example. These things are there for us to gain wisdom, to understand and to be discerning.
44:42
I think we should forget the last Yes. Truth does not cover up,
44:58
I think Titus talks about that. I think Jude talks about this actually. um talking about those who will deal falsely versus those who will deal in
45:09
truth and build up the body. Uh it was also pointed out one of the things that Jude brings up here in particular is those who set up divisions.
45:22
We can talk a lot about that when we get down there. But those who set up divisions in the church, this group, that group, dividing the body is incredibly condemned here throughout
45:33
these. So, I appreciate what you're saying. I think we're going to get into that as we go through them book by book and chapter by chapter. These aren't necessarily blanket
45:45
statements, but a lot of them also have a lot less qualifications than we would like them to have. I'll say it that way. They have fewer caveats than we would like to lawyer them into doing. Um, I think we
45:57
will be challenged in some of these things, but not according to folly, but according to wisdom. Uh the
46:11
I guess we'll talk a little more next time I'm up here and actually pick up the phrases there in um in James where he talks about the law of liberty uh also in 2 Corinthians uh 6 and 7. Aaron
46:22
mentioned those in relationship to his study and I think they they actually provide for us a nice sort of bridge and foundation for where we're going. Just as I'm capping off here since we're out
46:33
of time, of time, Paul quotes from from Deuteronomy there. He he he sets up for them an understanding of the body in relationship to one another. Aaron used
46:43
the phrase, he's making an argument there from our relationship as brothers, just as Moses was making an argument to the people of Israel of their relationship to each other as brothers.
46:55
That foundation of brotherhood, that foundation of fellowship in Christ is at the core of all of these things.
47:06
Again, I I would redirect you to the sermon of last week that the relationship of believer to believer in the body is one of the most fundamental
47:17
things for the doctrines that we find in the New Testament. and their wise outworking depends on that entirely. Um
47:33
again the the the summary of last week was sort of what is what is due to others and what is due to God. Let us glorify him through the way that we pull together, that we uh treat one another,
47:44
the way that we love one another, and let us do it in wisdom and in uprightness, in the truth that he has revealed through his word. Let's close in prayer as we go upstairs.
48:02
Father, we do ask that you would help us to attain to wisdom, that we would understand these words properly, that we would not use them as a cudgel, but that we would use them to shape and guide our thinking
48:14
to be as he has written to us uh perfecting our walk in holiness. We ask that you would do that work that you have begun in us as you perfect us,
48:25
shape us, and mold us. That we would fit together more and more as the living stones, building up that holy edifice of the church, that it would be strong, unmoved in the face of the world,
48:36
standing fast, holding on to that rock that is our foundation. We ask that you would be glorified among us this morning as we go upstairs to worship in song and
48:48
in prayer and in the taking in of the word preached that we would be engaged and active and delighted in your word. We ask all of these things in Jesus name. Amen.
