Weekly Bible Study – December 1, 2014

Doctrine of Election, Part 6.
The difference between Cosmic One and Cosmic Two.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links (i.e., those without an already written scripture quote or brief explanation) are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

STUDY TITLE:

Doctrine of Election, Part 6.
The difference between Cosmic One and Cosmic Two.



OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all verse reference links are active there (but not hover active) and Enlarged Text is also an available option – right click the above link then left click “Open Link in New Window” or “New Tab”

Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

Doctrine of Election, Part 6.
The difference between Cosmic One and Cosmic Two.

The Doctrine of Election Part 6. The difference between Cosmic One and Cosmic Two.

C1 Emphasizes arrogance and pre-occupation with self.
C2 Emphasizes animosity, antagonism toward God and His plan.

C1 Target: Ego, self consciousness of soul.
C2 Target: Truth or doctrine.

C1 Result: preoccupation and obsession with self to the exclusion of God and man.
C2. Result: antagonism toward Christ as the living Word and doctrine as the written Word.

C1 Emphasizes self in contrast to God and objective reality.
C2 Stresses human viewpoint over Divine viewpoint.

C1 Represents Satan’s attitude at time of his pre-historic fall.
C2 Represents Satan’s attitude at the time of man’s historical fall.

C1 Believer in cosmic one assumes the arrogance inculcated with the attitude of Satan before human history.
C2 Believer becomes inculcated with the attitude of Satan during human history.

C1 Believer is slave to self.
C2 Believer is a slave to Satan.

The believer in Cosmic one is said to be grieving the Spirit because the OSN controls the soul as well as indwelling the body. Therefore, the issue is who controls the soul: The OSN or the Holy Spirit. This is an absolute; you’re either filled with the Holy Spirit and inside the Pre-Desogned Plan of god (PPOG) which is 100% spirituality, or you’re in the cosmic [world] system, which is 0% spirituality and 100% carnality.

This absolute status applies to any stage of spiritual growth.

1CO 3:1-3, And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual men, but as to men of flesh, as to babes in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food; for you were not yet able {to receive it.} Indeed, even now you are not yet able, for you are still fleshly. For since there is jealousy and strife among you, are you not fleshly, and are you not walking like mere men?

Remember that believers are commanded to make their calling and election a reality:


2PE 1:10 11, Therefore brethren, be all the more diligent or more motivated [this is from your perception of doctrine and the ability to recognize your invisible assets] to make certain about His calling and election; For as long as you practice these things [fulfillment of the PPOG, perception of doctrine], you will never stumble [become a loser in cosmic system]. For in this way [execution the PPOG in time], your entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ [this is at the judgment seat of Christ when you are in the state of ultimate sanctification in the resurrection body] will be will be abundantly supplied to you [conveyance of the escrow blessings to winners in the eternal state].

This brings out a very important aspect of election. There is a means of tapping into the eternal riches that God elected you to receive! So Peter says in 2PE 1:11, for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom. This is the third and final state for the believer. There are three stages for the believer. The first is the temporal state for the believer. The temporal state is from the time of salvation through faith in Christ until either physical death or the rapture occurs. The temporal state is the time for the believer to choose the PPOG. The temporal state and your dedication in the PPOG determines whether you enter eternity abundantly or deficiently, rich or poor, winner or loser. For there are going to be rich and poor believers forever and ever and ever in the eternal state! They will not be poor as we think of poor but they will suffer loss of rewards and what they had been elected to receive; 1CO 3:11-15. The loser believer is described under at least seven categories in the New Testament.

1) The loser believer has “drifted off course from grace,” GAL 5:4. The Greek says they had drifted off course from grace. They started out in grace at salvation and then some time after that they drifted off course from grace.



2) The loser believer will have shame at the Judgment seat of Christ and are said to “come short of the grace of God,” HEB 12:15. And guess how you come short of the grace of God. One way is described in HEB 12:15, bitterness.

3) The loser believer is described as “lukewarm” in REV 3:15-16.

4) The loser believer is said to be “shipwrecked” as believers, 1TI 1:19.

5) Believers who are losers are described as “psycho” or a double-minded believer, JAM 1:8.

6) The loser believer is said to be those who fail to metabolize doctrine, JAM 1:22-24.

7) The loser believer is called “the enemy of the Cross,” PHI 3:18-19.

So this state, called the temporal state, the believer is either a winner or a loser either rich or poor relatively speaking. God will either distribute the different forms of wealth in your escrow account to you or He will not.

The conveyance of the wealth that God has elected you to receive means that you will be rich forever and not just be a regular believer in heaven forever. REV 22:12-14, “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. You can be rich forever in a resurrected body! Or you can be in a relative state poor forever in a resurrected body! It’s all a relative comparison.

So a “loser” never means loss of salvation, it means spiritually poor in time and spiritually poor compared to the winner believer in eternity.

Winners will be spiritually rich in time and spiritually rich in eternity. And I’m not talking about rich in terms of monetary standards. I’m talking in terms of the phenomenal spiritual blessings which have been provided for every believer which may include financial blessing depending on whether or not you have a capacity for it. Whenever believers think of their fantastic blessings they always focus in on finances, and that may never become a reality as long as they’re so occupied with it.

2CO 9:6, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully.”

LUK 6:38, “Give, and it will be given to you in a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, they [blessings] will pour into your lap. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”


PRO 11:24-25, One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.

Giving graciously or sacrificially produces an attitude in the individual which allows God to pour more blessing to the one who gives. So, I’m talking about rewards and decorations that will benefit for all of eternity.

First all we have the temporal state. In the temporal state you make many decisions. Positive decisions regarding Bible doctrine and the PPOG leads to life and prosperity, DEU 30:15-19.

Negative decisions regarding Bible doctrine leads to residence in Satan’s cosmic systems, 1JO 2:15-17.

Positive volition toward doctrine = spiritually rich in time, spiritually rich in eternity.

Negative volition toward doctrine = spiritually poor in time, spiritually poor in eternity.

Rich or poor are synonyms for winner or loser. The second state of the believer is called the interim state.

The “interim state” is the in-between state. It is the state of the believer after physical death.

2CO 5:1-8, For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down [physical death], we have a building [another dwelling place, not a resurrection body but what is known as an interim body which is temporary until the resurrection body] from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this house [our human body] we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling [the interim and resurrection body] from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked [without a body for our soul and human spirit]. For indeed while we are in this tent [this human body], we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed [naked with just a soul and spirit], but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. Now He who prepared us for this very purpose is God, who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge. Therefore, being always of good courage, and knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord for we walk by faith, not by sight we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord.

After physical death the believer is 2CO 5:8, absent from the body and face to face with the Lord.

However, in this state winner or loser rich or poor is not an issue. The “interim state” is a state of equality. Both winners and losers, rich or poor believers, have interim bodies and great happiness. And no distinctions are made in the interim state. Then finally, there is the third state which is the eternal state. The eternal state begins with the resurrected body and the Rapture of the Church. The eternal state is the status-quo of having a resurrected body and either being rich or poor. Having great decorations or having none.

The “Judgment seat” of Christ in the eternal state determines and distinguishes between “rich and poor” and “winners and losers” in the spiritual realm. Now, as a part of election, God willed for you to be a winner and rich.

However, as we saw already, you can reject that which God wills. God’s desire is to bless you, and He has, however your desires can cause you to reject His blessings. Just like God’s desire for the unbeliever is to be saved but His perfect complete desires are not always fulfilled. 2PE 3:9 “The Lord is not willing for any to perish but for all to come to a change of mind [repentance]”.

Human volition can and does reject the saving work of Christ and the Christian way of life

Now, this brings out a very important aspect of election. There is a means of tapping into the eternal riches that God elected you to receive! So Peter says in 2PE 1:11, for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom.

This is the third and final state for the believer.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – November 30, 2014

This week’s sermon title:
The Sword of the Spirit manifested in the
life of Jesus Christ, the Passover Analogies.

Today’s Sermon Message:
The Sword of the Spirit manifested in the
life of Jesus Christ, the Passover Analogies.
Video & Audio

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME!!

# # # # # # # #

from - Romans 8:38-39

Thank you for joining us for today’s worship service. Please enjoy the music before you watch and|or listen to today’s message.

TIP to enlarge the print hold down the “Ctrl” key on your key board, while it is being held down, move your mouse forward until the desired print size is just right for you. To return to normal screen size, reverse the process (some will see a % in the lower right corner of your screen, normal is 100%)

The lyrics have been provided so you can sing along with the artist in your mind and soul; imagine that the artist’s voice is your voice. I’m not a very good singer myself so I often get the lyrics for some of my favorites and sing along in my mind and soul, this way it’s as if I’m doing the singing to the Lord; try it.

Hymn #1

By Faith – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Hymn #2

Change My Heart Oh God – Lyrics in Video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately to God the Father.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” NKJV (New King James Version)

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is faith alone in Jesus Christ alone:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Lectionary

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) GNB-UK

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. (2 Tim. 3:16-17) GNB-UK

Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) GNB-UK

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Opening Prayer
(Do your best to make it your own – below is a sample prayer)

Heavenly Father, we pray that we will all be richly edified by Your Word today and that You will make what we study today clear to us. We pray that all participants in this service as well as those who review it at a later date will be edified and blessed by today’s message. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to teaching the Word of God from the original languages and making it available at no charge throughout the world.

Today's Sermon

The Sword of the Spirit manifested in the
life of Jesus Christ, the Passover Analogies.

TO VIEW THE SERMON: Right click the link above, a small window will open then left click either “Open in New Window” or “Open in New Tab” and the church service notes page will open, it has three options in the upper right side of the page, right click the link titled “download mp3” and just like before, select either Open New Window or Open New Tab to open the MP3 player, this will leave the notes page open so you can move back to it, so go back to the notes page to follow along in the notes, the streaming audio should begin automatically in your default audio/video player (like, Windows Media Player).

If you need to leave the service, when you come back, to move the MP3 player forward, press and hold the left click down on the player progress bar where you see the little arrow under the time on progress bar and move your mouse forward

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

If you wish to use it, right click the link and in the drop-down box, left click the "Open Link in New Window"; when the new window opens, reduce the window size of both the on-line bible and the slideshow and configure them to be side-by-side. Also, the window opens to John 3:16, click the word “more” below the verse, you will then see two online bible columns, Use the column on the left as it is set for the NASB95, at the top of the column where you see John 3:16 in the search box, type the book and verse the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1tim 5:21, or eph 3:10, etc., then click “Enter” on your key board. You can use the “right column” if you wish for a different bible version but you’ll need to type in the verse you want each time as I directed you for the column on the left side.

Hymn #3

Come and See – Lyrics in Video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

CLOSING PRAYER:
(Again, below is a sample prayer, do your best to make it your own)

Heavenly Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit will make what I’ve learned today clear to me, for I pray this in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s name. Amen

If you have any questions that are pertinent about today’s message, please don’t hesitate to ask, you are welcome to ask them via a private message or by a reply in today’s post. However, sometimes questions can be real short but require a much longer answer in order to give an adequate answer. If I don’t think that the question is able to be answered quickly I’ll reply back telling you that I’ll research it and get to you with the answer (it may even be a few days as I’m a little slower than I used to be). Please don’t let what I’ve just said make you hesitate to ask questions.

I want to thank all of you who have attended this Sunday service as well as those who will view it at a later time or date.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can instantly receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – November 24 2014

Doctrine of Election, Part 5.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links (i.e., those without an already written scripture quote or brief explanation) are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

STUDY TITLE:

Doctrine of Election, Part 5.



OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all verse reference links are active there (but not hover active) and Enlarged Text is also an available option – right click the above link then left click “Open Link in New Window” or “New Tab”

Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

Doctrine of Election, Part 5.

We have now established the fact the cosmic system of Satan, which is his power system, is designed to cause doctrine to be choked or suffocated in our souls, MAT 13:22; MAT 4:19. When we talk about the Cosmic System, we are talking about two fundamental systems: Cosmic One and Cosmic Two.

Cosmic One is Satan’s power system or plan of emphasizing love for ourselves only, with emphasis on selfishness rather than selflessness. Cosmic two is Satan’s power system of emphasizing antagonism toward the Bible, the Word of God and attacking the grace and forgiveness of God. The cosmic system is Satan’s strategy as the ruler of this world to control believers. It is His policy for the rulership of this world.

Cosmic one, living for self, is Satan’s means of controlling the human race. Satan invented arrogance, for arrogance was his original sin. This arrogance is documented for us way back in Eze 28 and Isa 14.

In Eze 28, we meet the devil in all of his glamour and beauty and glory so that we can understand why he was so determined to designed the two cosmic systems, C1 and C2. To truly understand why Satan designed C1 or C2, we must see him as he really is. The most attractive, most beautiful, the most astounding personable creature that has ever lived.

EZE 28:11-12, Again the word of the Lord came to me saying, “Son of man, take up a lamentation over the king of Tyre [The king of Tyre was one of the few individuals in human history who was possessed by Satan just like the serpent in the garden and Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord.] and say to him, Thus says the Lord God, You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty.”

This is the Lord speaking to Satan who had possessed the King of Tyre.

The phrase “You had the seal of perfection” is very important. Of all of the creatures to come from the hand of God, Satan was the most beautiful, the wisest, the most personable of them all.

EZE 28:12, “Thus says the Lord God, You had the seal of perfection, Full of wisdom [he’s a genius] and perfect in beauty [his overt beauty is perfect].”

If there’s anything that destroys genius, smartness, talent and beauty, or anything else that can be considered to be worthwhile, it can be destroyed by arrogance. Arrogance makes a smart good looking man, ugly and dumb. Arrogance makes a beautiful intelligent female, homely and stupid. And arrogance begins with a thought. First, there is the thought of arrogance. Then there is the decision of arrogance. Then there is the action of arrogance.
Just as with Satan, first he thought it, then he decided it, and then he did it! He led the first great revolt in the universe. He started the first conspiracy in the universe known as the pre-historic angelic conflict.

EZE 28:13, “You were in Eden, the garden of God;”

Satan was not only perfect but he also lived in a perfect environment. The original sin among angelic creatures is like the original sin among human creatures, it occurred as a decision in perfect environment. Adam was perfect in appearance and brains, just as Satan was. And the environment was perfect.

So immediately we know that there are three things that you can do without as far as happiness in life is concerned;

1. You don’t have to be a genius to be happy. In fact, it’s very hard to be a genius and be happy.

2. You don’t have to be beautiful to be happy.

3. You don’t need a perfect environment to be happy. Yet it’s very interesting, people associate happiness with these three things and yet they are the least important things in life as far as true happiness is concerned.

Happiness comes from truth. Happiness is a state of mind. Above all, happiness is something that all members of the human race are born without. We are not born happy, even as we are not born free. One of the most asinine stupid statements is the fact that people are born free. The extent of the helplessness of the baby guarantees no freedom at first, and that’s the way it’s supposed to be. We weren’t born free, we were born helpless. Born stupid! Born without happiness!

Satan was created in an adult stage as far as angels are concerned. He was created an adult with perfect beauty, with the greatest genius of any creature God ever made and with perfect environment. He didn’t have to acquire these things. He had them from the start of his life. With self-consciousness, he had perfect beauty, perfect brains, in a perfect environment.

EZE 28:12 says he was the sum total of perfection, and he made a decision. He had everything people ordinarily think would give them happiness. I think the majority of us would say that if we had perfect brains, perfect beauty in a perfect environment, we would be happy. But we’re just kidding ourselves. Because people who have all of these things or a part of these things, always want something else. They’re not happy. Something’s missing. And do you know what it is that they think is usually missing? They want power. They want approbation. They want to be recognized. You see, that’s the power of beauty.

What good is beauty if others in your life don’t recognize it. Someone doesn’t say you’re beautiful.
Satan had beauty and brains from the start of his life and he also had authority being the anointed cherub or the Messiah’s angel, but he got tired of being second in charge. He became bored. He had everything except God’s power and that’s what he wanted.

So a principle emerges, Arrogance promotes ambition, or today we call that inordinate ambition. By the way, this is why the first sin mentioned in God’s top seven is arrogance, the sin of Satan. Arrogance is satanic. Arrogance is found in tremendous measure among born again believers.

Many of them are so busy cleaning up the devil’s world, they don’t know a thing about the angelic conflict and why they are here. They ignore the principle of separation of church and state which is a basic concept of freedom. They are then following the devil’s pattern.

“I can do a better job of the universe than God can!”

“Vote for me angels and I’ll give you a better universe!”

The lust for power has its roots in arrogance. The lust for power is simply much more than having the ability to manipulate people. The lust doesn’t begin with trying to exercise authority or influence over people. The arrogance part of the cosmic system, especially C1 states it all when it says “Look at me!”

It is pre-occupation with self. Satan says “Look at me, I’m beautiful, smarter than anyone else.”

Arrogance is a desire for recognition.

So, again, in EZE 28:13, “You were in Eden, the garden of God.”

Satan was indeed in God’s garden of Eden, however, he did not appear there as a minister of God, but as an apostate and venomous serpent eager for the ruin of the new creation. That is what Satan’s cosmic system, C1 and C2, is all about. This could have been the same Garden of Eden or may not have been the same, all we do know is, at this time, he was worshipping God.

EZE 28:13, “You were in Eden, the garden of God; Every precious stone was your covering: The ruby, the topaz, and the diamond; The beryl, the onyx, and the jasper; The lapis lazuli, the turquoise, and the emerald; And the gold, the workmanship of your settings and sockets, Was in you. On the day that you were created They were prepared.”

This verse says he was a genius, and he has the most beautiful body of any creature, the most beautiful face, the best sounding voice, the greatest personality. And the adorning with jewels suggests his great importance and the glory of his appearance. Even in the Garden of Eden, his name nahash, translated “serpent,” means `the shining one.’ And that is what his cosmic system is all about. His cosmic system is filled with human good, self-improvement and making the world a better place to live.

The Apostle Paul even states that he is even now transformed into an angel of light, 2CO 11:14, And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light.

It’s also interesting that in verse 13, these precious stones mentioned are displayed three times as recorded in the Bible.

a) In the high priest’s breastplate as a manifesta¬tion of divine grace. The breastplate was filled with 12 stones representing each tribe of Israel. It was also accompanied by the Urim and Thummim. Together they represented the divine guidance of the Lord. The cosmic system of Satan has a counterpart.

b) Secondly, in the New Jerusalem, which reflects the glory of God, these are the stones that we are told are there.

REV 21:15-21, And the one who spoke with me had a gold measuring rod to measure the city, and its gates and its wall. And the city is laid out as a square, and its length is as great as the width; and he measured the city with the rod, fifteen hundred miles; its length and width and height are equal. And he measured its wall, seventy two yards, according to human measurements, which are also angelic measurements. And the material of the wall was jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundation stones of the city wall were adorned with every kind of precious stone. The first foundation stone was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, chalcedony; the fourth, emerald; the fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, topaz; the tenth, chrysoprase; the eleventh, jacinth; the twelfth, amethyst. And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was a single pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

These stones that Satan possessed were also manifested in the eternal state.

c) The third time the stones are mentioned is in our passage as the covering of this great angel, which signalizes the highest of all creation. This once pointed to Satan but now points to the King of kings and the

Lord of lords, our Lord Jesus Christ, who has authority over Satan’s cosmic system. No distinction could be imposed on any creature more exalting than is imposed by these covering stones. And there is something very interesting about these stones, Satan only possesses nine of them not all twelve.

Why?

Well, each one of these stones represent a different tribe of Israel with different meanings for those tribes.

The interesting thing is that the three stones that missing are the third row in the breastplate;

The jewel for the tribe of Issachar is missing because it represented the sin and burden bearer which Satan is not. The jewel for the tribe of Gad is missing because it represented victory and Jesus is the victor who was crucified. The jewel for tribe of Asher is missing because it represented the royal seed, and Jesus, not Satan is the royal seed, the Royal King forever. ‘

Next it says: the workmanship of your settings and sockets refers to the fact that he did not need an instrument to praise and glorify God, he was given a built-in Royal crown of praise to praise to his Creator. This is why his voice is like a pipe organ. He did not need an instrument of praise to glorify his Creator; he was an instrument of praise.

Notice the last phrase in EZE 28:13, On the day that you were created They were prepared. Remember, Satan is still a creature created but God and he hates to reminded of that. EZE 28:15 tells us that when the Lord says through the prophet Ezekiel to Satan, “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created, Also, we read in PSA 148:2-5, “Praise Him, all His angels; Praise Him, all His hosts! Let them praise the name of the Lord, For He commanded and they were created.”

So Satan hates to be reminded that he would be nothing if it were not for the grace and love of God.

In the next verse, EZE 28:14, we seem to pass from the royalty of Satan to his priestly dignity. He is said to have been the Anointed Cherub that covers by God’s appointment¬.


EZE 28:14, “You were the anointed cherub [that is the highest rank of angelic creatures] who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God [third heaven]; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.

The word anointed means the Messiah’s angel as we would say in our day and age, the Messiah’s right hand man. Satan was in the throne room of God. He is also said to have been upon the Holy Mountain of God and to have walked up and down in the midst of the Stones of Fire.

Some say that this passage in Eze 28 refers to the king of Tyre and not Satan. There are many problems with that interpretation and conclusion:
First, EZE 28:12, the Bible teaches no man is perfect and yet we read the phrase “You had the seal of perfection.

Secondly, Verse 12, it says that the one who the Lord is talking to was Full of wisdom and perfect in beauty, and that’s a problem.

Thirdly, the king of Tyre was never in Eden, the garden of God as EZE 28:13 “You were in Eden, the garden of God;

Fourth, the king Tyre was never an anointed cherub who covers,

Fifth, he never walked in the midst of the stones of fire, only an angel could do that.

Six, in EZE 28:15, it could be said to the king Tyre, “You were blameless in your ways From the day you were created,

The point is that we are definitely talking about an angel, namely, Satan, the devil, or Lucifer, who has developed those two cosmic systems.

So, in EZE 28:14, “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you {there.} You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire.

The holy mountain of God is the place of His presence in visible glory, where our Lord’s High Priest would stand before Him to minister to Him, EXO 4:27, PSA 2:6.

Satan’s presence on the holy mountain would indicate his enjoyment of the full Cherubic privilege of nearness to the throne of God.

Remember that the cherubim were the group of angels related to the throne of God as protectors and defenders of His holiness.

Therefore, we can conclude that this great angel was created above all angels to be a proctor and defender of the throne of God. So do not be surprised when you run into someone who is suppose to protect and defend the authority over them but instead attacks it and discredits it, it started with their father the devil, not literally in many cases, but experiential.

EZE 28:14-15, “You were the anointed cherub who covers, And I placed you there. You were on the holy mountain of God; You walked in the midst of the stones of fire. You were blameless in your ways [not innocent, blameless] From the day you were created, Until unrighteousness was found in you.”

The first sinner of all creatures was Satan. He had everything to make him happy but he lusted for power!

And the unrighteousness found within him is told to us in EZE 28:17, “Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom by reason of your splendor.

His sin obviously was pride. In fact, the scripture tells us that he was conceited. In 1TI 3:6, Paul is warning Timothy not to put men in positions of authority too soon, and he says “And not a new convert, lest he become conceited and fall into the condemnation incurred by the devil.”

EZE 28:16, “By the abundance of your trade You were internally filled with violence,


The phrase the abundance of your trade refers to his genius plans. Satan has come up with many plans.

Plans for his angels, plans for the human race, plans for you and me. This is why when Satan sinned one third of the angelic creatures went with him, and he had plans for them. Perhaps he promised them what a lot of conspirators promise their victims, promotion. Satan organized them against God. Once man was created, Satan had plans for man which we will study. By the way the Hebrew word for trade, rekullah is also translated slander, it means to go about in order to traffic something against someone, or to slander, or to try and destroy someone’s reputation by trafficking gossip and slander. It speaks peddling things for the sake of personal gain. It indicates that going about among the angels which was necessary for Satan to do to secure their allegiance to his program of rebellion and conspiracy against God. Satan is a master of conspiracy! In fact, he is the originator of conspiracy!

EzeE 28:16-17, “By the abundance of your slander You were internally filled with violence, And you sinned; Therefore I have cast you as profane From the mountain of God [this is future, it has not been accomplished yet, he still has access into heaven]. And I have destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the stones of fire. Your heart [right lobe] was lifted up because of your beauty;

He’d walk around with all of those stones and see his reflection and say “Boy, you’re fine!”

When he said mirror mirror on the wall, he knew the answer to the question: who’s the greatest of them all?

And his self-consciousness was parlayed into a tremendous case of pride.

EZE 28:17-19, “Your heart [right lobe] was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom [this means to distort it] by reason of your splendor [your breath-taken beauty]. I cast you to the ground; I put you before kings, That they may see you [this is future]. By the multitude of your iniquities, In the unrighteousness of your trade [your dishonest transactions, a reference to the fact that Satan entered into conspiracy], You profaned your sanctuaries [that’s Satan’s first fall, his second fall is mentioned next which will come in the Tribulation period]. Therefore I have brought fire from the midst of you; It has consumed you, And I have turned you to ashes on the earth In the eyes of all who see you. All who know you among the peoples Are appalled at you; You have become terrified, And you will be no more.”

This will all take place before the Millennial reign of Christ and after it as well! It is obvious that these verses point out the immediate, future and the final judgment of God upon this mighty angel, all of which is more com¬pletely described in other parts of the Bible. In this one context however, God records the origin, the estate, the character, and the sin of the greatest of angels.

Why?

One of the reasons is simply because he wants us to see the devastating affects of arrogance and pride.

Arrogance basically has to do with thought while pride has to do with action.

PRO 8:13, “Respect for the Lord is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way, And the perverted mouth, I hate.”

ISA 13:11, Thus I will punish the world for its evil, And the wicked for their iniquity; I will also put an end to the arrogance of the proud,

Notice that there is a difference between pride and arrogance. The difference has to do with thought and action, thought they are very closely related. Here’s the point, this passage brings out the fact that God did not create Satan as such, He created an angel who was perfect in all his ways, and that angel sinned by opposing the will of God.

So, let’s review, repeat, and recognize some important principles again concerning the Cosmic system.

Cosmic one, living for self, is Satan’s means of controlling the human race. Satan invented arrogance, for arrogance was his original sin.

Cosmic Two is Satan’s propaganda and indoctrination college to educate and promote antagonism toward anything related to God, especially the grace of God.

Cosmic two represents religion and works and antagonism toward God and His grace.

Cosmic One, living for self, represents Satan’s attitude at the time of his prehistoric fall.

By prehistoric I mean before the human race was created.

Cosmic Two, antagonism toward God and His grace, represents Satan’s attitude at the time of Adam’s fall in the garden of Eden up until the end of human history.

Cosmic One, living for self, emphasizes arrogance and abnormal preoccupation with self.

Cosmic Two emphasizes antagonism and intolerance toward the plan, purpose, and will of God, as well as toward all Christians executing it.

In GAL 4:29, But as at that time he [Ishmael] who was born according to the flesh [from Hagar the slave girl] persecuted him [Isaac] who was born according to the Spirit [from Sarah], so it is now also.

To this day, legalism persecutes grace. To this day, the children of the bond-woman, persecutes the children of the free woman. To this day, Ishmael’s children, the Arabs, persecutes Isaac’s children, the Jews. To this day, religion and legalism, persecutes grace and truth.

Cosmic One is Satan’s philosophy in the prehistoric angelic conflict. Cosmic two is Satan’s philosophy in human history as the ruler of the world.

The target of Cosmic One is yourself:
The target of Cosmic Two is Bible doctrine.

Cosmic One, we destroy ourselves.
Cosmic Two, we become antagonistic toward Bible doctrine.

Cosmic One emphasizes self in contrast to God.
Cosmic Two emphasizes the human viewpoint of psychological living in contrast to the divine viewpoint of spiritual living.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Internet Church Service – November 23, 2014

This week’s sermon title:
The functions which take place at a Jewish Passover and the
tremendous analogies pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Today’s Sermon Message:
What the Jewish people celebrate points to the person of Jesus Christ.
Video & Audio

Please join us as we fellowship in the Word of God, listen to
Christian Music, Pray in Christ’s Name and Praise the Lord
in our Hearts and Minds.

ALL ARE WELCOME!!

# # # # # # # #

from - Romans 8:38-39

Thank you for joining us for today’s worship service. Please enjoy the music before you watch and|or listen to today’s message.

TIP to enlarge the print hold down the “Ctrl” key on your key board, while it is being held down, move your mouse forward until the desired print size is just right for you. To return to normal screen size, reverse the process (some will see a % in the lower right corner of your screen, normal is 100%)

The lyrics have been provided so you can sing along with the artist in your mind and soul; imagine that the artist’s voice is your voice. I’m not a very good singer myself so I often get the lyrics for some of my favorites and sing along in my mind and soul, this way it’s as if I’m doing the singing to the Lord; try it.

Hymn #1

Blessed Assurance – Lyrics in video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Hymn #2

One Pair of Hands – Lyrics in Video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

Preparing yourself for the study of God’s Word

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is— you have trusted in Him for eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to take-in God’s Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge your sins privately to God the Father.

1 John 1:9 says—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” NKJV (New King James Version)

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is faith alone in Jesus Christ alone:

John 6:47 says: “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” NKJV

Notice again what John 6:47 says, “he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life.” It doesn’t say, “will have”; it says, “has.” Therefore, the very moment you believe Jesus Christ’s promise of everlasting life, you have it (it’s really just that simple), and it can never be lost or taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God’s Word, if there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Lectionary

The word of God is alive and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. It cuts all the way through, to where soul and spirit meet, to where joints and marrow come together. It judges the desires and thoughts of the heart. (Heb. 4:12) GNB-UK

All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living, so that the person who serves God may be fully qualified and equipped to do every kind of good deed. (2 Tim. 3:16-17) GNB-UK

Do your best to win full approval in God's sight, as a worker who is not ashamed of his work, one who correctly teaches the message of God's truth. (2 Tim. 2:15) GNB-UK

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Opening Prayer
(Do your best to make it your own – below is a sample prayer)

Heavenly Father, we pray that we will all be richly edified by Your Word today and that You will make what we study today clear to us. We pray that all participants in this service as well as those who review it at a later date will be edified and blessed by today’s message. We pray this in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen

Our guest Pastor-Teacher is:

Robert McLaughlin - Grace Bible Church
and Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries

Doctrinal Statement

This ministry is non-denominational and is dedicated to teaching the Word of God from the original languages and making it available at no charge throughout the world.

Today's Sermon

The functions which take place at a Jewish Passover and the
tremendous analogies pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ.

TO VIEW THE SERMON: Right click the link above, a small window will open then left click either “Open in New Window” or “Open in New Tab” and the church service notes page will open, it has three options in the upper right side of the page, right click the link titled “download mp3” and just like before, select either Open New Window or Open New Tab to open the MP3 player, this will leave the notes page open so you can move back to it, so go back to the notes page to follow along in the notes, the streaming audio should begin automatically in your default audio/video player (like, Windows Media Player).

If you need to leave the service, when you come back, to move the MP3 player forward, press and hold the left click down on the player progress bar where you see the little arrow under the time on progress bar and move your mouse forward

OPTIONAL: On-line Bible – NASB95

If you wish to use it, right click the link and in the drop-down box, left click the "Open Link in New Window"; when the new window opens, reduce the window size of both the on-line bible and the slideshow and configure them to be side-by-side. Also, the window opens to John 3:16, click the word “more” below the verse, you will then see two online bible columns, Use the column on the left as it is set for the NASB95, at the top of the column where you see John 3:16 in the search box, type the book and verse the Pastor asks you to go to a particular Bible verse, e.g., 1tim 5:21, or eph 3:10, etc., then click “Enter” on your key board. You can use the “right column” if you wish for a different bible version but you’ll need to type in the verse you want each time as I directed you for the column on the left side.

Hymn #3

By Grace Alone – Lyrics in Video
(You can skip the commercial if there is one)

CLOSING PRAYER:
(Again, below is a sample prayer, do your best to make it your own)

Heavenly Father, we pray that the Holy Spirit will make what I’ve learned today clear to me, for I pray this in my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ’s name. Amen

If you have any questions that are pertinent about today’s message, please don’t hesitate to ask, you are welcome to ask them via a private message or by a reply in today’s post. However, sometimes questions can be real short but require a much longer answer in order to give an adequate answer. If I don’t think that the question is able to be answered quickly I’ll reply back telling you that I’ll research it and get to you with the answer (it may even be a few days as I’m a little slower than I used to be). Please don’t let what I’ve just said make you hesitate to ask questions.

I want to thank all of you who have attended this Sunday service as well as those who will view it at a later time or date.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can instantly receive eternal life: Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.

Weekly Bible Study – November 17 2014

Doctrine of Election, Part 4. The Election of The Church.

PLEASE READ FIRST

Scripture References, Word & Phrase descriptions: If available on the website you're viewing this on, a few links (i.e., those without an already written scripture quote or brief explanation) are hover pop-up active, meaning the scripture reference will just pop-up if you hover your cursor over it (don’t click on the link, just hover your cursor over it), they work best using the Firefox browser – pop-ups in Internet Explorer, Chrome & other browsers only appear for a few seconds at best. If you don’t have Firefox (or hover pop-ups aren’t available on the website you’re viewing this on), that’s OK, move your cursor off and on the link until it is read; or left click the link which will open the verse at the online bible; or you can always use your Bible to look up the verses.

Prepare yourself for learning the Word of God!

Before we begin, if you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (that is; you have believed [trusted] in Him for His promised gift of eternal life), it is important to prepare yourself to learn God's Word so take a moment to name, cite or acknowledge (confess) your sins privately to God (i.e.; with your thoughts directed only to God the Father).

1 John 1:9 says: "If we confess our sins, He (God) is faithful and just to forgive us our sins (known sins) and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [unknown or forgotten sins]." NKJV (New King James Version) [italics added]

If you have never personally believed in the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior (that is, believed in Him for eternal life), the issue for you is not to name your sins; the issue for you is to have faith alone in Jesus Christ alone for eternal life:

John 6:47 says: "Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." NKJV [italics added]

Notice again what Jesus said in John 6:47: "…he who believes in Me (Jesus Christ) has everlasting life." It doesn't say, "will have"; it says, "has." Therefore, the very moment you believe in Jesus Christ for His promise of everlasting life, you have it (it's really just that simple; nothing more and nothing less), and it can never be taken away from you (John 10:28-29). Furthermore, the gift (Ephesians 2:8c) of everlasting life (also called eternal life in scripture) is available to every human being; there are absolutely no exceptions.

John 3:14-18 says: "¹⁴ And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, ¹⁵ that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. ¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. ¹⁸ He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." NKJV

Let us now bow our hearts and take a moment to prepare for worship and learning God's Word. If there is any known sin in your life, this is the time to just cite it privately to God the Father with your thoughts directed towards Him. With your head bowed and your eyes closed, you have total privacy in your mind and soul:

Study to show yourself approved to God!

Grace Bible Church
Robert R. McLaughlin Bible Ministries

The Tree of Life is a weekly teaching summary:
God’s Word is Wednesday, Friday and Sunday mornings

STUDY TITLE:

Doctrine of Election, Part 4.
The Election of The Church.



OPTION: If you would prefer to go directly to the Grace Bible Church website to read this study message, all verse reference links are active there (but not hover active) and Enlarged Text is also an available option – right click the above link then left click “Open Link in New Window” or “New Tab”

Terms & Abbreviations used:

PPOG = Predesigned Plan of God
Human Good = Evil + Good Deeds while not in fellowship with God
OSN = Old Sin Nature
TLJC = The Lord Jesus Christ
SSE = Spiritual Self Esteem
PVTD = Positive Volition Towards Doctrine
+H - The Happiness of God
NVTD = Negative Volition Towards Doctrine
Doctrine = Bible Truth

To look up other “terms”, go to:

Alphabetical Listing

BEGIN BIBLE STUDY
Unless otherwise noted, all scripture quotes and references
are from the NASB – New American Standard Bible

Doctrine of Election, Part 4. The Election of The Church.

In our doctrine of election, we are now ready for the point of doctrine that applies to us as members of the Church-age.

As a believer in Christ, you have a calling and an election for you to respond to. All Church-age believers must understand what election is all about! This is why the apostle Paul said in 1TH 1:4, knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you or His election for you.

The Greek verb for to know is eidotes which in the perfect tense means that you should know fully and be able to recognize completely what election really means and how it relates to God’s plan for your life.

You have been elected to operate in the Royal Family Honor Code as in COL 3:12, Dress yourselves, therefore, as elected ones belonging to God, separated ones, having been loved, [and then the verb is in view] dress yourself with the affections of grace compassions, kindness, [true sensitivity] humility, gentleness.

To understand your election, you must function under the Royal Family Honor Code. God has not only chosen and elected you to something, but He wants you to know what that calling and election entails. First of all, you must understand and throw away the concept that you have been called and elected to be good moral people, because in the eyes of God human good is just as disgusting as the Pharisees according to the prophet Isa in ISA 64:6.

As a part of Election, God willed for you to have wealth, His wealth. As a result of becoming believers in Jesus Christ, we have the most fantastic wealth in our portfolio of invisible assets. This wonderful wealth is mentioned a number of times throughout the New Testament epistles.

ROM 9:23, And He did so in order that He might make known the riches of His glory upon vessels of mercy, which He prepared beforehand for glory,

As members of the Royal Family of God, we are described as “vessels of mercy,” i.e., we have received mercy. When we believed in Jesus Christ, we received at least forty things from God. That was the beginning of God’s mercy and God’s grace toward us. After that, we receive logistical grace support and blessing. All believers receive this whether they are winners or losers. We are the beneficiaries of the most fantastic plan that God has ever put together for those who are believers in Jesus Christ. This verse tells us that each believer has a destiny, although very few believers understand that they have a personal sense of destiny, which is the experience of attaining spiritual self-esteem and beyond.

There are two categories of destiny:

1) The temporal destiny is the advance to maturity and becoming an invisible hero.


2) The eternal destiny which begins with the Rapture of the Church when we receive our resurrection bodies.

There are two categorical functions of volition:

There is the sovereignty of God who has provided everything for our benefit, here referred to as “the riches of His glory given to vessels of mercy.”

There is also the free will of man which means that there coexists
God’s sovereignty and human volition.

We can have these riches through our positive volition toward the mystery doctrine of the Church-age. Now, is the only opportunity we have to use the free will God has given us in order to exercise it for His plan and purpose and to enjoy the riches He provided for us in eternity.

EPH 3:16, I pray that He may give you on the basis of the riches of His glory to become strong by means of power through His Spirit in your inner being.

ROM 11:33-36, says in effect O the depth [inexhaustibility] of the wealth, both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How inscrutable are His decrees; how untraceable are His ways! Who then has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has become His advisor? Or who has given to Him and has not been compensated? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

In EPH 1:18 Paul says, “I pray that the eyes of your right lobe may be enlightened so that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.”

To be enlightened requires perception of the Word of God, metabolization of Bible doctrine, the attainment of wisdom beginning at spiritual self-esteem. You have a fantastic inheritance and a fantastic destiny. You will have the greatest opportunity that has ever been given in history to born-again believers.

Nothing like it ever existed in the Old Testament. Only Jesus Christ was the recipient of it during the dispensation of the Hypostatic-union.

EPH 3:8, To me, the very least of all saints, this grace has been given to preach to the Gentiles the inscrutable wealth of Jesus Christ.

In eternity past, God the Father provided for you a complete portfolio of invisible assets and escrow blessings.

COL 1:27, In whom God willed to reveal to the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

COL 2:2, That their right lobes may be encouraged, having been knit together in virtue love, and attaining to all the wealth that comes from the full assurance of understanding on the basis of metabolized doctrine of God’s mystery.

Promises of Wealth.

PHI 4:19, My God shall supply all of your needs on the basis of His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

These riches include logistical grace support. This means that God’s justice is imputed to God’s righteousness to us at salvation. God’s righteousness given to us at the moment of salvation is the basis for God being able to give us anything He does after salvation. Possessing God’s perfect righteousness means that whether you are a winner or loser in life, God will support and bless you. He does so because His justice imputes all blessing down the grace pipeline from His justice to His righteousness in you.

So blessing never depends on how good or bad you are, or on anything else you do or don’t do. God blesses us on the basis of His riches in glory, not on the basis of who and what we are, or on the basis of what we do.

HEB 13:5-6, Let your lifestyle be free from love for money; be content with what you have, for He Himself has said, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you. So that we may say with confidence, The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid of what man will do to me.

That’s a promise to winners and losers alike, to the spiritual and the carnal, to the spiritual adult and to the apostate. You have all of God’s wealth available to you in your portfolio of invisible assets. The wealth in eternity is forever and ever and ever. It is conveyed at the judgment seat of Christ completely. The first conveyance or the down payment occurs in time as a transfer of phenomenal spiritual wealth and blessings!

In time, spiritual capacity or maturity is needed to taste these blessings. However, the second conveyance occurs at the Judgment seat of Christ. It will be staggering to the winner at that time. We call it crowns, decorations, and rewards, but those descriptions do not even begin to describe the fantastic things that God has elected every single one of us to have.

The principle is simple. Because all of us have a free-will, there will be great differences among believers in heaven forever and ever. We call them winners and losers because that’s what the Bible calls them.

The Bible tells us that there will be those who will suffer a loss of rewards in 1CO 3:11-15.

1CO 9:24-27, Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.


COL 3:23-24, Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.


2TI 2:5, Similarly, anyone who competes as an athlete does not receive the victor’s crown except by competing according to the rules.

HEB 12:1, Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.

1TI 6:10-12, For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief’s. But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.”


MAR 8:34-38, “Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for his or her soul? If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”


PHI 3:12-14, “Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me. Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.”

GAL 6:9, “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”

JAM 1:12, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.”

ECC 9:10, “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for in the realm of the dead, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

The following link is to a good news message describing how one can receive eternal life:
Ticket to Heaven, it was written for anyone not absolutely certain about their eternal future.