Latest / Near East Christian Fellowship Sermons / The Issues about Women's Liberty pt 17
Transcript
- 0:01Welcome to NECF Sermons. Each message here is
- 0:06designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
- 0:09walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
- 0:13the end for a rewarding experience. Let's dive
- 0:17right in. Hallelujah. Luke chapter 3. Luke chapter
- 0:283. Thank you, Jesus. So we are continuing our
- 0:39message. We started long ago. And last Wednesday,
- 0:48we saw that in Luke, Dr. Luke was somehow to
- 0:55rewriting Genesis chapter 5. And we know that
- 1:03that Genesis chapter 5 is also linked to Genesis
- 1:07chapter 1, verse 26 to 27. In fact, verse 1 and
- 1:132 is also of Genesis chapter 5 is right in Genesis
- 1:201. Are we together? Verse 26 and 27. Amen? And
- 1:27we also noted that That Jesus, as Luke presented,
- 1:33traced Jesus back, not just to Adam, but also
- 1:38to God. But he said at the last part, and I want
- 1:41us to read that please. He said, the son of Adam,
- 1:44the son of God. Hallelujah. Are we in Luke chapter
- 1:503? Look at verse 23. Luke chapter 3, verse 23.
- 1:57Now Jesus himself. began his ministry at about
- 2:0230 years of age, being, as was supposed, the
- 2:08son of Joseph, the son of Heli. And then when
- 2:12you go and we saw all the son of this, the son
- 2:14of that, and traces Jesus back to Adam. Look
- 2:19at verse 38. It said, the son of Enos, the son
- 2:24of Seth, the son of Adam, the son. of God. The
- 2:31son of Seth, the son of Adam, the son of God.
- 2:38And remember we said go back to Genesis chapter
- 2:455. Genesis chapter 5. Look at verse 1. He said,
- 2:58this is a book of the genealogy of Adam. In the
- 3:03day that God created man, he made him in the
- 3:09likeness of God. Verse 2, he created them male
- 3:14and female and blessed them and called them mankind.
- 3:20In the day we are created. We said this also
- 3:26was rewritten, just when we read Genesis 1, 26
- 3:29and 27, you will see that. Now in verse 3 of
- 3:35that chapter 5, it says, And Adam lived one hundred
- 3:39and thirty years, and begot a son in his own
- 3:43likeness after his own image, and named him Seth.
- 3:53And name him Seth. And then we talked and noted
- 3:58that that word image is relational. Or we said
- 4:03that word image, we can say it means son. It
- 4:08means son. Or we can say family or kingship.
- 4:15It means that what unites you with the other.
- 4:19And so when we go back. and look at what Luke
- 4:22is saying, and say the son of Seth, which means
- 4:26Seth in the image, sorry, the son of Seth, yes,
- 4:29the son of Adam, that means Seth is a son of
- 4:32Adam, which means Seth in the image of Adam.
- 4:37Are we together? And Adam in the image of who?
- 4:41God, because he said the son of God, which means
- 4:44the image of God. Are we together? So which means
- 4:47that Jesus, the image of God, or Jesus, the son
- 4:50of God, Jesus, the image of God. Are we together?
- 4:52Hallelujah. Go back to Matthew 19. And what we
- 4:59just last concluded on Wednesday, we said, so
- 5:03why is Jesus called the image of God? We said
- 5:09Jesus is called the image of God because he became
- 5:12a man. Hallelujah. Matthew 19. Matthew 19. Look
- 5:27at verse 4. He said, and he answered and said
- 5:33to them. Of course, this is in response. This
- 5:36is Jesus' response to the Pharisee questioning
- 5:38verse 3. The Pharisee, verse 3, also came to
- 5:42him, testing him. And saying to him, Is it lawful
- 5:47for a man to divorce his wife for just any other
- 5:51reason? And verse 4, And he answered and said
- 5:58to them, Have you not read that he who made them
- 6:05at the beginning made them male and female? Made
- 6:12them. Male and female. Of course, Jesus pointing
- 6:17them back to Genesis 1, verse 27. Also Genesis
- 6:265, verse 1 and 2. Hallelujah. Now, in his response,
- 6:33Jesus did not own exclusively the phrase, the
- 6:40image of God. He made them at the beginning male
- 6:46and female. So Jesus was pointing the issue that
- 6:52male and female are made in the image of God.
- 6:56Now I want you to note something here. Again,
- 6:59how Jesus responded to the Pharisee. When they
- 7:05asked him, is it lawful for a man to divorce
- 7:08his wife for just any other reason? In verse
- 7:103. He did not say, well, it depends whether she's
- 7:15born again or not. That's not what Jesus said.
- 7:20Hallelujah. Remember, they were Pharisees. They
- 7:24were not born again because he made them to understand
- 7:27that even the issue of divorce, of putting away,
- 7:30it was not so in the beginning. Are we together?
- 7:36And they were asking because that was what they
- 7:38were doing. In fact, they wanted to claim, they
- 7:40said, Moses even asked us, they said, we should
- 7:43give a certificate of divorce. What we are trying
- 7:47to say is that this is already, we have a certification
- 7:51in this process. You see? There's something we
- 7:59are standing on. We are not just speaking. We
- 8:03have a source from the Bible. You see? And some
- 8:08of us say, It is written now. It is written now.
- 8:12It's in the Bible. It's in the Bible. We want
- 8:15to defend our... It's in the Bible. Hallelujah.
- 8:22So, what are we trying to say? So, Jesus responded.
- 8:25He didn't say, well, you can divorce your wife
- 8:29if she's not born again. You can put her away.
- 8:32You understand? That's not what he's talking
- 8:34about. The issue of the image is not an issue.
- 8:38exclusive to those who are born again. Are we
- 8:43together? We've already talked and said image
- 8:46is identity. It's a collective identity. You
- 8:52understand? Rather Jesus pointed them that in
- 8:58the beginning it was not so. And therefore what
- 9:01God joined together because he mentioned that
- 9:07He said, let no man put asunder. What God has
- 9:11joined together is not marriage ceremony. He's
- 9:15talking about joined in creation. Are we together?
- 9:20He's talking about in creation. So, because these
- 9:28people are unbelievers, they are hard -hearted
- 9:33people. They disrupted the plan of God. And today
- 9:39we still have that identity crisis. Hallelujah.
- 9:43The world is full of identity crisis. All kinds.
- 9:49So the first thing you will be able to help yourself
- 9:54is that your understanding of a woman and of
- 10:00a man be shaped by Scripture. Your understanding
- 10:05of a man and a woman be shaped by Scripture.
- 10:10Colossians chapter 15. Let's go there. I'll still
- 10:14press a little bit on the issue of why Jesus
- 10:19is called the image of God. We have already established
- 10:23earlier that the reason why he's called the image
- 10:26of God is because he became a man. Colossians
- 10:30chapter 1. Verse 15. Colossians 1, 15. It says,
- 10:45He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
- 10:52over all creation. Over all creation. And I want
- 10:58you to know the word, who is the... image of
- 11:01the invisible God. The image of the invisible
- 11:06God, the firstborn of every creature. Hallelujah.
- 11:15Now, if you look at it, maybe just glance, it
- 11:18will look as if Paul is saying that Jesus is
- 11:22the only image of the invisible God here. Jesus
- 11:26is the only image of the invisible God. If you
- 11:29just look at it, just By face value. I mean just
- 11:32glance through it. But no. Look at the word.
- 11:37By using the firstborn of every creature. Because
- 11:41it didn't stop there. It said the firstborn.
- 11:45So the image of the invisible God. Is not exclusive.
- 11:49It said the firstborn of what? Of. Over every
- 11:55creation. Now that word every creation is talking
- 11:59about. is man or refers to man. Firstborn of
- 12:03every creation. That is man in the image of God.
- 12:08So Jesus, because he's man, is the image of the
- 12:12invisible God. The first, you understand, born
- 12:15over all what? Creation. So it means he is the
- 12:21first, you understand, over all creation. So
- 12:26image is a collective identity. The first bond
- 12:31is the word prototokos, P -R -O -T -O -K -O -S,
- 12:44prototokos in Greek. It means the model of how
- 12:53other sons will look like, meaning that it is
- 12:57not the... Only, but means that there are others.
- 13:02Are we together? How others, he is the model
- 13:05of how others will look like. So, and that is
- 13:10talking about, and I want us to note, look at
- 13:16verse 18 of that same Colossians. Look at verse
- 13:2018. He said, and he is the head of the body.
- 13:24Are we together? Amen. He is the head of the
- 13:29body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn,
- 13:37from what? From the dead. I want us to come together.
- 13:42I mean, just follow me. From the dead, that in
- 13:46all things he might have the preeminence. Acts
- 13:54chapter... 13 verse 33. Acts 13, 33. Acts 13,
- 14:1233. He said, God has fulfilled this for us, their
- 14:20children, in that he has raised up Jesus. As
- 14:26it is also written in the second Psalm. You are
- 14:31my son. Today have I done what? Begotten you.
- 14:38So of course he's talking about the resurrection
- 14:40of the body. So our hope of the resurrection.
- 14:46Is because he was risen. Is because he was risen.
- 14:53And of course I want to just read. A text in,
- 14:57remember, Prototokos showing us a model of what
- 15:04we will be, all of us. Men, not angels. Hallelujah.
- 15:16What we would be, men, we, men, will be, you
- 15:21understand, not angels. Glory to Jesus. 1 Corinthians
- 15:2715. Let me read some few things there. Look at
- 15:42what's starting. But if there is no resurrection
- 15:50of the dead, then Christ Christ is not risen.
- 15:58Verse 20. But now Christ is risen from the dead
- 16:03and has become the what? The first fruit of those
- 16:09who have fallen out as what? As sleep. Of those.
- 16:16The first fruit of who? Those. So when he said
- 16:23the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
- 16:27over all creation, he's not trying to say that
- 16:32Jesus exclusively is called the image of the
- 16:36invisible God. Are we together? It's an inclusive
- 16:40word. It's a collective term. Image. Image is
- 16:48a collective term. And when you look at verse
- 16:5423, it says, but each one in his own order. Christ,
- 17:02the what? The first fruit. Afterward, those who
- 17:07are Christ at his what? At his coming. So you
- 17:15see, there will always be those. Are we together?
- 17:18There will always be what? Those. Every creation.
- 17:23All over all creatures. Listen. Of course, he's
- 17:28not talking about the plants, the animals, everything.
- 17:31Listen. He's talking about men. Those. Those.
- 17:40In fact, Romans 28 says brethren. Are we together?
- 17:47Romans 8. Look at 29. He clearly says brethren.
- 17:53He didn't say those even. He said brethren. 29.
- 17:59He said for whom he foreknew, he also predestined
- 18:05to be conformed to the image of his son that
- 18:12he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
- 18:19Firstborn. among many brethren. So image is inclusive.
- 18:30Talks about image is relational. Image is family.
- 18:35Are we together? Family is a plan of God that
- 18:42we are together. Understand? Remember the last
- 18:47time we discussed It's not the plan of God to
- 18:51stay in isolation. You understand? To stay in
- 18:57isolation. You cannot achieve God's purpose alone.
- 19:03You cannot achieve God's purpose in isolation.
- 19:08This freelancer kind of a believing life is not
- 19:12God's will. You understand? You are a freelancer.
- 19:21You move from your online. Today is Sunday. You
- 19:27attend 20 services. You move from this one to
- 19:32that one. And you are not in any. God wants us
- 19:42to be together. Hallelujah. Amen. So, Jesus.
- 19:51Patuk from our nature. Man. Man. So, when we
- 20:04talk about Jesus, the image of God, he points
- 20:07us to what he has come to do. Are we together?
- 20:13Amen. Look at this text. Let me read because
- 20:21I think it's good to read the whole of it. Hebrews
- 20:26chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2. Let me read from
- 20:46verse 9. Hebrews chapter 2, I will read from
- 20:49verse 9. Verse 11. And those who have been sanctified
- 21:46are all of one. For which reason he is not ashamed
- 21:54to call them brethren. Saying, I will declare
- 21:59your name to my brethren. In the midst of the
- 22:05assembly, I will sing praise to you. Again. Look
- 22:12at verse 13. And again. I will put my trust in
- 22:15him. And again, here am I and the children whom
- 22:23God has given to me or given me. Look at verse
- 22:2614. Inasmuch then as the children have partaken
- 22:33of flesh and blood, he himself, he himself likewise
- 22:39share in the same. Verse 16. Verse 16. But he
- 23:14does give aid to the seed of Abraham. He gives
- 23:21aid to the seed of Abraham. He said, those who
- 23:27belong to Christ are the seed of Abraham. Hallelujah.
- 23:32Say, I have help. I have help of God. He said,
- 23:38therefore, in all things. He had to be made like
- 23:43his brethren. Oh, are you together with me? Are
- 23:47you together with me? He had to be made like
- 23:51his what? Like his brethren. He became a man.
- 23:57That he might be a merciful and faithful high
- 24:01priest in the things pertaining God to make propitiation
- 24:07for the sins of the people. Hallelujah. Amen?
- 24:15Are we together? So Jesus, being the image of
- 24:24God, or we say the image of the invisible God,
- 24:26is not exclusive to him. Rather, it shows the
- 24:32inclusive nature of what he came to do. Of what
- 24:43he came to do. That's why you saw. Verse 17 will
- 24:50say. Therefore. In. In all things. He had to
- 25:00be made. Like his brethren. He had to be made.
- 25:06Like brethren. Go back a little bit to. Hebrews
- 25:11chapter 1. Hebrews chapter 1. God who at various
- 25:19times and in various ways spoke in time past
- 25:23to the fathers by the prophet has in these last
- 25:28days spoken to us by his son whom he has appointed
- 25:33heirs of all things through whom also he made
- 25:38the worlds. Verse 3. who being the brightness
- 25:43of his glory and the express image of his person,
- 25:49and upholding all things by the word of his power.
- 25:57That word image is a great word character. C
- 26:04-H -A -R -A -K. T -E -R, character. Now, this
- 26:17word is different from the one we read. You understand?
- 26:23A little bit in what I mean different. I mean,
- 26:27they're not the same spelling. You understand?
- 26:31In Colossians 1 .15, which we said the invisible
- 26:34God, also the image. of his son, that the image
- 26:39that is in Romans chapter 8 verse 29. Of course,
- 26:45we have many other places in scripture that talks
- 26:48about the image. For example, 2 Corinthians 4,
- 26:514 talks about also the image. You understand?
- 26:57Character is, this is the only place we have
- 27:01this word character. You understand? In Hebrews
- 27:04chapter 1 verse 3. Character refers to representation.
- 27:11You understand? It talks about the person, representation
- 27:16also. Now, the word, image, which I said we read
- 27:23in Colossians 1 .15, Romans 8 .28, and so forth
- 27:30and so on, I mean, and so many of those other
- 27:32places, is icon. E -I -K -O -N, icon in Greek,
- 27:39icon. It also refers to representation, status
- 27:46or representative figure or likeness. You understand?
- 27:51In fact, this word icon is the one used most
- 27:55in the New Testament Greek. You will see it appears,
- 27:59for example, in the King James Bible more than
- 28:0223 times. Or about 23. Let's say 23. So you can
- 28:08see that. And this word icon. The Hebrew word
- 28:15is Salem. You know what we study? So icon. The
- 28:20Hebrew word is Salem. Which we have already studied.
- 28:25Which is image. Now if you look at it. You will
- 28:30see that. Character. and a corn are synonymous.
- 28:41They are synonymous. All of them refers to likeness
- 28:48or representative or representative figure or
- 28:52representation. Therefore, the theology that
- 29:00Jesus Is the image of God is correct. But it
- 29:06does not show. That the description image of
- 29:11God. Is exclusive to him alone. Are we together?
- 29:15It's correct to say Jesus the image of God. But
- 29:19that description. Is not. Exclusive to him. In
- 29:28fact as we have noted. That he's called the image
- 29:32of God because he became a man. So, God who became
- 29:41a man is called the image of God. You've heard
- 29:47him called also the son of man a lot. Are we
- 29:50together? Hallelujah. Yes. He is a son of man.
- 29:59He is a son of God because he is a son of man.
- 30:06So, our view about man, about, when I say man,
- 30:14I mean male and female, believers or not, should
- 30:24be that of The representatives of God. In the
- 30:31plan of God that he created all of us to represent
- 30:38him. Are we together? To be as his image. You
- 30:46know, I told you that word in the image. You
- 30:49know, probably that's what we use. So I want
- 30:53to use that word as his image because it means
- 30:55to represent him. And what that means is that
- 31:01it's not just man or him alone in terms of male.
- 31:12It's male and female. And remember we said in
- 31:19the plan of God, They are not to walk in isolation.
- 31:25It's a collective term. It shows us that God
- 31:31desire to build a family. That in God's plan
- 31:36is to build a family. So he made them male and
- 31:45female in the image of God. In the image. of
- 31:52God. Remember, one of the problems which I will
- 31:58come to it is that our view have to be adjusted
- 32:09because even though, yes, somehow we know that
- 32:15men in this church that men are not born sinners.
- 32:20Did you get what I'm trying to say? Are we together?
- 32:24But you see, sometimes there's some debris that
- 32:27makes you to think that you are of a higher value
- 32:33to God than those who are unbelievers. In fact,
- 32:41there's a way we sometimes say sometimes this,
- 32:43you understand? I am the apple of God's eye.
- 32:51There is a jealousy of God over my life. You
- 33:00are a dead man if you say anything against me.
- 33:07So we conjure scripture and we grab here, grab
- 33:11here. And we are happy. When others are suffering.
- 33:19It's only when you hear that they are killing
- 33:21believers. Then you say. Lord save them. Lord.
- 33:26What is this? But once you hear. Especially those
- 33:29who have been against you. Once. You have heard.
- 33:35You say. That's the judgment of God. They are
- 33:41joking with the God's anointed. You see, your
- 33:44theology is tempered. Something is wrong. It
- 33:53makes it look as if the love of God has high
- 33:56and low. There is some certain situation, certain
- 34:02condition. When you received him, his love is
- 34:06higher towards you. When you have not received
- 34:10him, his love towards you is low. and his dispositions
- 34:15toward those who are against him, he killed them.
- 34:23Our worldview ought to be shaped by the word
- 34:29of God. That in the plan of God, male and female,
- 34:36you understand, in the image of God. You have
- 34:46to fight your village. Because so many of us
- 34:50have been walking with our villages, even though
- 34:52we have left it far away. But he's still following
- 34:56us. There's nothing wrong to go to a village,
- 35:03but let it not continue to be in your head. When
- 35:12you see a woman, what is your disposition towards
- 35:14her? What is your first instinct? And even our
- 35:24women, our ladies, each time you come among people,
- 35:31I've seen it in class. We say, who represent
- 35:35us? The man who you know is the dumbest in the
- 35:39class, you come out. The smart ladies, you see
- 35:43them. He said, you, can't you? No, he can't do
- 35:48it. Because consistently we have been taught
- 35:53or society have made it to look like you are
- 36:00inferior. And your value is only in marriage.
- 36:08And many of us unconsciously You are sitting
- 36:13now. Even though you are doing well in school,
- 36:16your main goal, your ultimate desire, your apex,
- 36:24your zenith, you understand, in life, is to get
- 36:30married. You feel something, as people told you,
- 36:38that... If you didn't see men crowding around
- 36:42you, something is wrong with you. Did you see
- 36:44that your village is still following you? You
- 36:53must understand that there is an inherent value,
- 36:57an essence and a significance that God has made
- 37:03you. In his own image, just like the man. We
- 37:13might differ because of, in terms of reproduction
- 37:16and things. Are we together? But there are not
- 37:20two kinds of men, God admit. There are not two
- 37:23kinds of images. Did you understand what I'm
- 37:26trying to say? It's one. It's one. Look at what
- 37:37James said. Look at James. Chapter 3. Let me
- 37:52read from verse 6. James chapter 3 verse 6. He
- 37:56was talking about the tongue. He said the tongue
- 38:00is a fire. A wall of iniquity. The tongue is
- 38:05so set among our members. That is the fire. Verse
- 38:288. Verse 8. Full of deadly poison. Look at verse
- 38:439 where I'm going. Oh, let's read together. One,
- 38:46two, go. With it, we bless our God and Father.
- 38:52And with it, we curse men who have been made
- 38:56in the world. Oh, talk to me again. Hallelujah.
- 39:03That word, similitut. That word, similitut. He
- 39:11didn't say believers who. He said man. All man.
- 39:16Made in the similitude of God. That was similitude.
- 39:22It's homoesis. H -M. H. Did I say H -M? H -O.
- 39:31H -O. Don't worry. Maybe I want to return to
- 39:35Hebrew. You know, in the earlier Hebrew, there
- 39:37was no vowels. H -O -M -O -I -O -S -I -S. H -O
- 39:52-M -O -I -O -S -I -S. It means likeness. Interestingly,
- 40:01this word in Hebrew is the moot. Remember? Image
- 40:09and likeness, which we have studied before. Are
- 40:11we together? Which was used also for Seth. He
- 40:17was born after the likeness and the image of
- 40:21God. And we noted that the word likeness, you
- 40:25understand, is the same like image, which is
- 40:30Salem. Are we together? So, this word similitude
- 40:34also means... Or it means, you can say, it's
- 40:39the same thing with image. It's a man made in
- 40:45the image of God. So this means all of us, male
- 40:55and female, male and female, have been made in
- 41:00the image of God. Did you see that, what I'm
- 41:07saying? He said, who have been made, not who
- 41:12will be. Are you with me? He did not say who
- 41:16will be. Did you understand what I'm saying?
- 41:19Who have been made. That's why we said the word
- 41:26image is not something that is even exclusive
- 41:29to believers. Every man and every woman. Look
- 41:44at Acts. Look at what Paul said. Jesus. Acts
- 41:5317. Acts 17. I want you to see what is the view
- 42:04of the Bible in this regard. I want you to see
- 42:09how these apostles... How the prophet of old
- 42:13wrote and what they meant by the image of God.
- 42:21And what the apostles, when they came, also what
- 42:24was their view? What was their understanding
- 42:27and revelation concerning this? Look at verse
- 42:3017. Well, let me read from verse 16. Acts 17.
- 42:39Verse 16. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens,
- 42:44his spirit was provoked within him when he saw
- 42:48that the city was given over to idols. Therefore
- 42:51he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and
- 42:54with Gentiles, worshipers, and in the marketplace
- 42:57daily with those who happened to be there. Then
- 43:02certain Epicureans and Stoic philosophers encountered
- 43:06him. And some said, what does this babbler want
- 43:11to say? Others said, he seems to be a proclaimer
- 43:15of foreign gods because he preached to them Jesus
- 43:20and the resurrection. Verse 19. And they took
- 43:27him and brought him to the Areopagus saying,
- 43:32may we know what this new doctrine is of which
- 43:40you speak. For you are bringing some strange
- 43:46things to our ears. Therefore, we want to know
- 43:50what these things mean. These are not believers.
- 43:54For all the Athenians and the foreigners who
- 44:01were there spent their time in nothing else.
- 44:06but either to tell or to hear some new things.
- 44:14Then Paul, verse 22, stood in the midst of Areopagus
- 44:20and said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in all
- 44:25the things you are very religious. For as I was
- 44:30passing through and considering the... objects
- 44:35of your worship. I even found an altar with this
- 44:40inscription to the unknown gods. Therefore, the
- 44:46one whom you worship without knowing, him I proclaim
- 44:49to you. Look at verse 24. God who makes the world
- 44:57and everything in it. Since he is Lord of heaven
- 45:08and earth, does not dwell in temples made with
- 45:14what? Made with hands. Verse 25. No, is he worshipped
- 45:19with men's hands as though he needed anything
- 45:23since he gives to all life breath and all things.
- 45:30Verse 26. And he made. Please note verse 26.
- 45:37What did he do? And he made from one blood every
- 45:44nation of men to dwell on all the face of the
- 45:51earth and has determined their pre -appointed
- 45:55times and boundaries of their dwellings. Verse
- 46:0127. So that they should seek the Lord in the
- 46:05hope that they might grow for him and find him.
- 46:10Though he is not far from each of us. For in
- 46:20him we live, we move and have our being. As also
- 46:26some of your poets have said. also is offspring.
- 46:36Therefore, since we are the offspring of God,
- 46:40we ought not to think that the divine nature
- 46:45is like gold or silver or stones or something
- 46:50shaped by art and man's devising. I want you
- 46:58to know that Paul, first and foremost, was not
- 47:00speaking in church. He was not speaking to believers.
- 47:05So he was not speaking to Christians. He was
- 47:08speaking to these philosophers. Are we together?
- 47:12Look at verse 26. He said, and he makes from
- 47:17one blood every nation of men. Every. Every.
- 47:28One blood from one blood. This means that every
- 47:34human being has the same identity. Did you understand
- 47:39what I'm trying to say? Every human being has
- 47:42the same identity which came from God. Remember
- 47:48what James said. You understand? Men who have
- 47:53been made, how? In the similitude of God. Paul
- 47:59is again reaffirming that every man, every human
- 48:04being, you understand, have the same identity.
- 48:11That same identity is what Jesus partook. You
- 48:17understand? Are we together? And the word became
- 48:27flesh. And he dwell among us. The word became
- 48:38flesh. And he dwell among us. So Paul. In this
- 48:45text. Is pointing. To Moses view. In Genesis
- 48:53chapter 1 and 2. About man. James pointed us
- 48:58to that one also. Remember we have said that
- 49:02these people were not writing from a thin air.
- 49:05Did you understand what I'm saying? The apostles,
- 49:07when they were writing and teaching, they were
- 49:10not writing from a thin air. It was the materials
- 49:13of Moses and the prophet they were using. So
- 49:17every view that we are holding, we ought to see
- 49:21it across scripture. Because what they were holding
- 49:24were actually what was taught and revealed. So
- 49:30Paul agrees with even the poet. You know, you
- 49:34don't need, it's all necessary. You know, I see
- 49:37many believers when something happens and then
- 49:42they ask, and maybe something very spectacular
- 49:44and it happens and they ask, who is he? Is he
- 49:49a believer? I know that thing is from the pit
- 49:52of hell. Did you hear what I'm trying to say?
- 50:00We have not seen that kind of pattern. Please,
- 50:04Jesus did not save you to enter into bitterness
- 50:11with those people who are not saved. Are we together?
- 50:22The fact that you acknowledge The good things
- 50:27of God in man doesn't mean that you subscribe
- 50:32to their ideology. Did you understand what I'm
- 50:35saying? Paul agreed with their poet. This philosopher,
- 50:40he agreed with them. Remember, we have it in
- 50:42our... I think it's here, right? In him we do
- 50:47what? This is not a quotation from Bible. It's
- 50:53not from any Old Testament. This is Paul's extraction
- 50:57from the philosophers. Did you understand what
- 51:02I'm saying? From these poets. Please don't deny
- 51:07good things. Don't deny good things. You know,
- 51:15I know brothers do that. If you see good things,
- 51:20acknowledge it. Acknowledge it. It's always seen.
- 51:28It means you are healthy. Acknowledge it. You
- 51:42know, in those days, anything you see, an invention
- 51:44in the world or anything that is good, you say,
- 51:46we know who is giving them those ideas. They
- 51:51are getting it from the pit of hell. It's from
- 51:54the marine world. How did you know? Were you
- 51:56there? There are truths, and we taught this during
- 52:04the time we were talking about the communicity
- 52:06of Scripture, I think during one of our cataclysms,
- 52:08right? There are many texts, many biblical writers
- 52:13that actually quote from materials from unbelievers.
- 52:20But the fact that you quote a piece does not
- 52:22mean that you say everything they are writing
- 52:24and everything is okay. No, that's not what they're
- 52:26saying. In fact, if you check here, in that same
- 52:29place, Paul disputed some of the things also
- 52:32they are saying. Did you understand what I'm
- 52:34trying to say? So it's not that blanketly. Oh,
- 52:37let me see that place. Verse 29. Therefore, since
- 52:43we are of the hospital of God, we ought not to
- 52:46think that the divine nature is like gold. Did
- 52:49you see that? That means they are taking that
- 52:52the divine nature is like what? He said, no,
- 52:55no, no, no, that's wrong, that's wrong, that's
- 52:56wrong. So the fact that Paul quoted from them
- 52:59and said this is right does not mean that he
- 53:02subscribes to everything they are saying. Are
- 53:04we together? So please acknowledge this. If you
- 53:08see a lady beautifully dressed, you say, oh,
- 53:10you are beautifully dressed. You know, sir? Don't
- 53:14you say, bless you, sister. And then when you
- 53:21go in your heart, say, this lady is endowed.
- 53:30Hallelujah. You are human. Live it. Humanity
- 53:36is not sinfulness. Do you understand what I'm
- 53:38saying? Do you get what I'm trying to say? I
- 53:41see some people do look as if you are a believer.
- 53:47You make Christianity look as if it's about you
- 53:50frowning your face. When people are laughing,
- 53:55you don't want to laugh. What is that? When we
- 54:11are fellowshipping and everybody is speaking
- 54:13and eating some this thing. You don't want to
- 54:15eat before bread. What is the meaning of that?
- 54:26You say, what do you call it? Ministerious ethics.
- 54:33Where did you learn that? From your Jesus? Hallelujah.
- 54:47Now, as I close for today, the question is, is
- 54:56that identity, the human identity, is that image,
- 55:02that identity, sin of sin? No. We have already
- 55:11noted that that has never been the teaching of
- 55:14Moses. Moses never taught that. That we are born
- 55:18sinners. Never. Are we together? Moses never
- 55:24taught that. The apostles never taught that.
- 55:28Never. They never taught that. Many people misinterpret
- 55:35Romans chapter 3. We have taught it in this place.
- 55:38Romans chapter 3 verse 23. You understand? All
- 55:41have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.
- 55:44You understand? Or Romans 5. Verse 12. No. That's
- 55:50not what Paul is saying. He didn't say that everybody
- 55:52on earth have sinned. It's not true. You know,
- 55:57son, when we come next, we will ask the question,
- 56:01is our physical body part of the image of God?
- 56:09Is our physical body part of the image of God?
- 56:16Because we need to address a lot of things. And
- 56:19so that you see it clearly. That, you know, there
- 56:24are some teachings of a mixture of different
- 56:28things. Whereby you think is by destroying your
- 56:32body and killing your body is the body of sin.
- 56:35Is the body of sin. We have to kill it and we
- 56:39die daily. Okay, from what? Of course, I die
- 56:45daily. See my gray hairs. But that's not what
- 56:51Paul is saying. Are we together? But as you are
- 56:55moving, know that there is an inherent value.
- 56:59The same value like that of a man. God has no
- 57:03different value for a woman different from that
- 57:06of a man. Are we together? You have an inherent
- 57:09value. And it's not because you have done anything.
- 57:13James told us that he has made. Meaning that
- 57:17it's an identity not by doing, but by being.
- 57:21Are we together? By being. You do nothing to
- 57:26receive such inherent value. It's an act of God.
- 57:30It's the doing of God. It's the work of God.
- 57:35And we have seen it. And we tell the Lord for
- 57:40it. Can you just thank the Lord for that? And
- 57:46say, Lord, let my view concerning my sister change.
- 57:52Concerning who I am change. To the one that is
- 57:56yours. That you have value in her. Just like
- 58:01you have value in me as a man. That we are both
- 58:05in the image of God. That you never desire that
- 58:09we... Stay in isolation. That together. That
- 58:15together. That it is your plan we stay together.
- 58:18That it is your plan. You are planning. You are
- 58:24planning right from the beginning. You wanted
- 58:27a family. A family that is connected. Male and
- 58:31female. You wanted a church. Male and female.
- 58:39Glory to Jesus. Oh, thank you, Lord.