SNT 0482 - 1 Corinthians 1
I Corinthians 1
December 27, 1970
Expository teaching on God’s wisdom and like-mindedness in the Body of Christ.
SNT – 482
Format: audio
Publication Date: 12-27-1970
Victor Paul Wierwille was a Bible scholar and teacher for over four decades.
By means of Dr. Wierwille's dynamic teaching of the accuracy and integrity of God's Word, foundational class and advanced class graduates of Power for Abundant Living have learned that the one great requirement for every student of the Bible is to rightly divide the Word of Truth. Thus, his presentation of the Word of God was designed for students who desire the in-depth-accuracy of God’s Word.
In his many years of research, Dr. Wierwille studied with such men as Karl Barth, E. Stanley Jones, Glenn Clark, Bishop K.C. Pillai, and George M. Lamsa. His formal training included Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Theology degrees from Mission House (Lakeland) College and Seminary. He studied at the University of Chicago and at Princeton Theological Seminary from which he received a Master of Theology degree in Practical Theology. Later he completed his work for the Doctor of Theology degree.
Dr. Wierwille taught the first class on Power for Abundant Living in 1953.
Books by Dr. Wierwille include: Are the Dead Alive Now? published in 1971; Receiving the Holy Spirit Today published in 1972; five volumes of Studies in Abundant Living— The Bible Tells Me So (1971), The New, Dynamic Church (1971), The Word's Way (1971), God's Magnified Word (1977), Order My Steps in Thy Word (1985); Jesus Christ Is Not God (1975); Jesus Christ Our Passover (1980); and Jesus Christ Our Promised Seed (1982).
Dr. Wierwille researched God's Word, taught, wrote, and traveled worldwide, holding forth the accuracy of God's "wonderful, matchless" Word.
1Co 1:1; (Eph 4:11)
1Co 1:1-13; Act 18:17
1Co 1:3-7; Rom 10:9
1Co 1:7-10; (Rom 12:1)
1Co 1:10-26
1Co 1:27-31
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DRAFT
Snt-0482_1-corinthians-1(vpw)(12-27-1970) DRAFT
SUMMARY KEYWORDS
word, Christ, called, world, works, revelation, lord, church, Jesus Christ, speak, gift, peace, fellowship, ministry
Turning to First Corinthians tonight please. It is never difficult at the way international headquarters to pick the Word of God, or to select this word of God to teach on. But on a closing Sunday night of an old gear anticipating a new, like anticipate a new day every day. I thought it would be most fitting and proper. If tonight I went back to the first chapter of Corinthians and set before you some of its inevitable greatness. The way is a biblical Research Center. On an evening like this, it might be apropos at times to reminisce on how the way ministry came into being to the place where it is today. But tonight, if we're going to reminisce at all, I'd rather go back on the reminiscing of how the word unfolded. It was a tremendous revelation of my soul. When I found out that the four gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John did not belong in the New Testament, that really blew my mind, like 100 Other things, or 1000 other things in the Word of God, if done through the years. Every Bible that you have ever seen has Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John in the New Testament. And if there's anybody in the world who can prove to me that that's where it belongs, I'll eat the book lift really. And you eat it, if I can prove to you that it doesn't belong there. Because the word of God teaches that the gospels were the closing up on the law, the Old Covenant, the book of Malikai, was written by a man of God, a prophet. And then for about 400 years, there wasn't a prophet among all the children of Israel, until John the Baptist came along and immediately upon his ministry followed the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ was the fulfillment of the law. The Book of Romans says that he was a minister to the circumcision. Everything that it's in the Old Testament, Jesus Christ came to fulfill and he literally fulfilled it. Literally, even to the extent that when he died, he was dead three days and three nights, which used to bother me, I don't, I can't understand why people can go through life and really never get bothered about the baloney that they believe. That's right. I just can't understand it. Well, it's true that there are a lot of people across the country perhaps getting a little concerned and a little bother today, but not nearly like they ought to be as far as I'm concerned. Because if they really started asking questions, the way ministry could read them the word of God, and they'd have some answers. How in the world, you can get Jesus Christ dying on Good Friday and up on Easter Sunday morning, and get three days and three nights out of that you've got to be in higher math and higher math is higher. It's impossible. And yet, we consistently go through the same thing. Then I said to some of these people, well, how come? How come three days and three nights? If Jesus Christ died, he was a dead one second after he was dead is he was three days and three nights later, right? If you're dead, you're what? If God's gonna raise it, it is just as great a miracle to raise him one second after he's dead, then three days and three nights later, right? Why the three days and three nights because Christ fulfilled the law. The law required that a man could be only dead and declared officially dead after a period of 72 hours, three days and three nights. And Jesus Christ fulfilled below. This is why God didn't raise him until after three days and three nights. Now we're a biblical Research Center. It is our calling our mission, our job, to work the integrity of the word, so that that word again fits like a hand in a glove, and that it works with a mathematical exactness and with a scientific precision, if they can do this in other fields of science, if the Bible is what it declares it is, then this word of God has to work with that same exactness as anything in any other field of truth. Now, the book of Acts, is really the pivotal book. It is the fulcrum on which the Old Testament moves, as well as the revelation to the church and the New Testament. To me, it is the pivotal point. The book of Acts is sort of like the closing up of the old and the opening of the new. The book of Acts gives the history, the truth regarding the rise and the expansion of the Christian church. Then the book of Romans, Next in line is the first book of the Word of God addressed in basic reality to the body of believers, the church, bringing them in from both Jew and Gentile. Then comes the book of Corinthians. Corinthians corrects the practical error, which crept into the church in the first century, because they failed to adhere to the revelation given in the book of Romans. Then comes gelation, and the book of Galatians corrects the doctrinal layer that crept into the church because of wrong practice, due to the failure of adhering to the revelation giving you the book room. So you have Romans, the revelation, you have Corinthians, correcting the practical error, because they failed to believe and operate the greatness of that revelation. Then you have Galatians, where they were they had doctrinal error. You see, you practice something wrongly for a while, then you make a doctrine out of it. You don't make a doctrine first and then begin practicing it. They practice error, or truth either way, and then finally, somebody makes a doctrine out of it. The Word of God is like that. Romans is the revelation then Corinthians cracks the practical air Galatians corrects the error in doctrine. Then comes the feature. And he patience is the greatest revelation that has ever been given to the church. When I take people through the foundational class, and we work their way to God, then I tell my people, eat, sleep and drink the book of Romans. Every place that I've ever seen any evangelistic campaigns going on today that give out the book of John, that's a difference in our ministry. They want to be Old Testament. And if you're going to be Old Testament and Old Covenant, you got 936 laws, odds and ends do God obey, then Christ is not the end of the law at all what the Word says the dress to the jury. Ephesians is the greatest revelation that's ever been given. Nothing equals the revelation in Ephesians, to the church, to which you and I belong. Then Philippians corrects the practical air, and Colossians corrects the doctrinal layer. And then after of course, Colossians comes Thessalonians and Thessalonian stands alone, because it is the gathering together the body of believers, the coming of the Lord. Now tonight, I want to get into Corinthians, because Corinthians corrects the practical error that has crept into the church. And today people are practicing and in the world, in the church, because they are not adhering to the revelation given in the bigger Roman. Now to get to some of this great truth, we begin with the first verse. Paul was called to be an apostle of who Jesus Christ. And Apostle is one of the five ministries in the body of believers there five minutes, priests in the body, says so many Ephesians four apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers, pastors, these are ministries in the body, to the body of believers, that the believers can become strong, knowledgeable, in walk in the manifestation of Christ in the life. Now here, it says Paul was called to be an apostle, and apostle is not one that goes to a college or a seminary, he may
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it doesn't qualify him or disqualify him. But to have a ministry in the body, it has to be a gift of God in a perpendicular relationship where God calls this man and God gives him that ministry. Now if the man is very uh, depth, versatile, and he really works, he will manifest the abundance of that ministry in a beautiful and wonderful way. And he is called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. The reason the word Jesus precedes the word Christ in this verse is because when we are called as apostles, we are called as men to minister on an horizontal level or horizontal plane to God's body of believers. And that means we have to minister in a world of humiliation. Every time the word Jesus precedes the word Christ, it is always to emphasize Jesus's humility while he was here upon Earth. Whenever the Bible wants to emphasize his messianic mission here, from a godly point of view, they put the word Christ first. This is true all the way through the word of God, that which I've just shared with you. There are a number of places in your King James version where they have inverted these words the translators have, but that isn't God's fault. He didn't give it that way. But you can always get it from the context as to whether it's Christ that is being emphasized, or whether it's the Jesus the humility part. That's why the word of God says regarding the born again believer, the Christian, it never says that he is in Jesus. It always says he is in Christ. Because it's Christ in you the hope of go read that makes you a believer. This is its use a tear in the first verse of this tremendous chapter of Corinthians. And this called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ on an horizontal level, through the will or the desire of God, he did the calling. And sussed the knees, our brother. This says, the nice fella, you can read about in X, take a flip over to us back to it. X 18 It tells you something about him. In verse 17, it says then all the grapes are the Gentiles, the Assyrians took Susten he is the chief ruler of the lat synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. At one time, he had been a chief ruler in the synagogue, and now he was a companion, a minister along with the apostle Paul, and writing to the church at Corinth. He said he was called to be an apostle, through the will of God and Susten. He is the brother on to verse two, to the church of art, which is at Corrin. It's addressed to the Church of God. It's not addressed to the Jews or the Gentiles, it's addressed to the born again believer. to them that are sanctified, sanctified in Jesus Christ. Know if it said that your Bible would fall to pieces you couldn't put it together. You're not sanctified it Jesus Christ, humility. Were sanctified in that God raised Him from the dead were sanctified in Christ, who was the one who was humiliated, who was humbled, whom they crucified, but God raised Him from the dead. The word sanctified means to be set apart. Before you're a Christian, you're set apart without Christ, you have no eternal life abiding within you. But when you are born again of God's Spirit, you are sanctified, set apart, because now you have eternal life. You are now his son by birth. That's what the word Sanctification means.
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sanctification, biblically, is not of the works of man, as the theologians in certain denominations or groups of thought. Sanctification is what God wrought in Christ. And in the individual believer when they accepted him. Were sanctified in Christ Jesus, and were called to be watched That's right. called to be saints. You don't have to wait till you're dead 500 years and they dig up your bones and decide to throw them in the Mediterranean and Satan eyes you or something. You're already the moment you're born again of God's Spirit, you're a saint. That's pretty pretty, because you're never gonna be an angel. But you can be a saint. They'll soar, like your sense of humor will come up someday.
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I love you. So, it's a wonderful thing to be a saint. Then you ought to walk like it's your act like Word says, We all if you're waiting for canonization from that other side, you you may never get it. But the Lord's already taken care of this thing when you accepted him because you're in Christ Jesus, and if you're in Christ, Jesus, your lot, a saint. Now a saint ought to act the party ought to play the role. You see it? It's just like a tail following a dog. I don't care how you pray, or don't pray. That thing always comes along with a dog goes a tail is when we're born again of God's Spirit, we're saints and being saints it's that's just what we are. Now you can either be a very profitable one, one that really works like one or you can be little the God who saved you. And for the most part, people have been tripping out on God. They've always be little God are the things that God for they just can't believe to say what the word sales. And you and I are what the Word of God says we are we have what the Word of God says we have will be what the Word of God says we'll be and we got our raise ourselves up to the point where we say what the Word says, no matter if people believe it, or don't believe it. Not a question whether they believe it or don't question is that what the words say as well. With all that, in every place, call upon the name of Jesus Christ, our what? Lord, Jesus Christ, our Lord, both theirs and ours. This word, Lord, Jesus Christ, our Lord, is used six times in the first 10 verses of this chapter. You're in verse two. I got him circled in my Bible. I don't care what you do in yours. But in verse two, in verse three, got it? In verse seven, in verse eight, verse nine, and verse 10, six times, you see him in the first 10, verses of this chapter, you have the words Jesus Christ, you have the word, Christ Jesus, and then six times you'll have the word, Lord Jesus Christ, or Jesus Christ, our Lord. 10 verses a real beautiful usage. And I remember last Sunday night or in one of the sessions recently I taught you the, the usage of the word, Lord and its meaning was, it's been recent. Well, here, you've got the same truth now. Okay, verse three. Grace. Grace is divine favor from God. Demand is perpendicular. It's not a works. If it's works, it's not grace. If it's grace, it's grace. If it's works, it's worth it. So but Supertop apple butter, it's apple butter. Grace beyond to you. divine favor the unto you, and what? peace and peace from you see the word from? Now you know what you want to write next, United Nations? Washington. We're working like that in many sections of the country, aren't we? Thinking that piece has to come out of Washington, our piece has to come out of Hanoi, or a piece has to come out of some other place. You're never gonna have peace until you get the Prince of Peace. Because there's nobody in Washington big enough to bring peace. All they can bring at best is the cessation of temporary firing, that's all and when you have a cessation today at this place, tomorrow it breaks out someplace else. How in the world do you expect to have peace between nations when you haven't even got piece with your next door neighbor you know many people arrived oh I'm not dog and you're just telling it like it is. They can't even get along with the next door neighbor can get along into communities. I forget how many were shot in Dayton or hurt this week? I heard this on the TV we're right or wrong I don't know. But they can't even get along in Dayton together can't get along in new Knoxville.
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How do you expect people then in nations to get along? Where one group here and another one over there. Look what the Word says in the word is right? Grace, divine favor to you and peace, peace from hope. And without that there is no peace. The Bible says there will be wars, rumors of wars and increases of wars until Christ comes because they will never have peace until they have the Prince of Peace running the show. Run in the outfit, run on the things here up on Earth. Until that time, man is full of pride. He's full of jealousies, full of wrath, he's full of everything. Just contrary to Lord. And I don't care how many prayer tents you set up across the country make a bit of difference. That's just to get more boats. The word stands par excellence. To have peace you got to have the Prince of Peace, not just born again in your heart. But he has to be the ruler, he has to have his kingdom set up and in operation. He has to be the King who is head of the kingdom. But as an individual, as an individual, you and I have grace, and we have peace because we have Christ within and when we renew our minds put on the mind of Christ. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus be transformed by the renewing of your mind. When we put on this mind of Christ here, then I can live peacefully in the helplessness of the world or the society with which I'm thrilled. One of the psalmist said even if he was in someplace the depths of hell, I think he said the Lord was later that fella had renewed his mind knowing what peace was. pieces like joy. You know, it talks about the fruit of the Spirit and gelation love joy. And the next one is one piece an inside job. It's not something artificial. It's not something man can make or do it is something which has to come from God Almighty, through His Son, Jesus Christ, who is the Prince of Peace. And the reason that you and I can live together in peace is because you have renewed your mind. I have renewed mine and we want to live peacefully together. Peace an inside job. Happiness is dependent upon the surroundings. You know, if you got lots of things that you think you need, money, power, prestige, so on and so forth, you got your happy, but peace. You know, you can have all those things and not have one peace. Well, grace, and peace are from God, our worship, who is our Father? God, that's pretty good. Okay, well, if he's our father, then if I declare anything less than what my father says, I'm belittling him. I'm making my father out as being not as good a father as he says in His word he is
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and from the Lord Jesus Christ, in order to be a Christian, you have to confess with your mouth, Jesus is humiliated one as lot Lord in your life. And believe God raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved, Romans did not. You don't get saved by confessing your sin. Men get saved by confessing the Savior from sin, the Lord Jesus Christ, professing Him as their Lord, then he is party of the first part. Then I am party on the second part
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I thank my God verse For always on your behalf. For the grace of God, which is given are was given to you it's given to you it's a gift to you Grace, divine favor this gift of God to you, by Jesus Christ by what he accomplished for us. Verse five, that in everything, not just some things, look what it says that in everyone thing ye are enriched by him. In everything you are enriched by him in all attributes, and in all knowledge. Now, this word or this word uptrends, here, you are enriched in everything you are enriched by him, in all the things you say all the sayings, you know, everything you speak, you are enriched by him. So, now you speak that richness. And in all knowledge, the word knowledge is experiential knowledge, it's just not a knowledge that is, like experience, it is experiential knowledge. And if I was going to translate it, literally, I would simply write it,
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in everything you are enriched by him. So, speak that enrichment. As you have experienced that enrichment in your life, that would be the essence of that verse.
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You see, what you speak. And what you experience in him, is enriching to you. It enriches your life. As you speak the words, you get the enrichment, as you have the experiential knowledge of Christ in you and you set it forth, then you become enriched. That's why verse six begins with those two verses, the words, even as what you speak and experience is enriching to you, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. This word testimony is the same word that's used in a court of law, where a man is asked to give a testimony that that testimony makes known some facts. In a court of law, it brings those facts out into the open. That's this word testimony, even as the testimony of Christ. He is the one who made these things known he brought them out into the open, was confirmed in you. The word confirmed is by the proof given, that's the word confirmed. Its by the proof given, it's confirmed in you. This testimony of Christ was proven, was proven, it's confirmed, it's proven. How is it proven because God raised Him from the dead? I have said this hundreds of times. And it just has to be said over and over and over again. Because we're living in an age where it's somebody's got to say it long enough till somebody believes it. And that is, there is no one living who can prove to me that George Washington live. There is no one who can prove to me that Abraham Lincoln lived. And for many of you in the auditorium tonight, there's not no one who can even prove that Franklin Delano Roosevelt please. Only those of us over 29. And yet, I doubt very much if there's anybody in the auditorium who does not believe that George Washington live. All right, our Abraham Lincoln, our Franklin Delano Roosevelt, then upon what authority do you believe they live? Did you see them? Did you talk To you believe it because somebody wrote it or somebody said it, or they play you a record that says, This is the voice of Franklin Delano no rose about, you're just believing what somebody else said, right? You have really no proof in yourself. You're accepting somebody else's opinion. And accepting that as fact, but you have no absolute proof.
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But I have proof. Have this testimony of Christ, that it was confirmed in May. I've got proof. I've got proof that God raised Him from the dead. I've got proof that Jesus Christ live. And the Word of God says the proof is that when God raised Him from the dead, He ascended up into heaven and shed forth this which you now see in here. When I confessed, with my mouth, the Lord Jesus, believing God raised Him from the dead. The proof that he is alive, is that I can speak in tongues. And when I speak in tongues, I have the external manifestation in the census world of the internal reality and presence of Christ Jesus. I know many people who believe in Abraham Lincoln, but they can't speak in tongues ngani proof about a or George Washington. People want a wonderful day it is when we can prove I don't care whether I can ever prove it to you, that wouldn't be so not on my primary interest. My concern is I've got to know that I know I've got to know that Christ is alive for me. You've got to know he's alive for you. And the only way you'll ever be able to prove it. You've got to be born again of God's Spirit, then you have Christ in you. Then you can speak in tongues under speaking in tongues is the proof in the census world. You can't see spirit, you can't smell it. You can't taste it again. Spirit spirit. Like people say, they went to a meeting, you know, and it was so spirit, they could just feel the presence of God, God saw a bunch of baloney. Anything that's that you can feel has to be in the census category. The Bible says God is Spirit. You can feel spirit, whatever it is, in that meeting, you felt had to be something in the census round couldn't be spirit. If you want to prove it to yourself, the Bible says that God is present here tonight. Reach out and get yourself a handful. Oh. Simple as that. But we've got to approve of the testimony of Christ which is confirmed with the proof, it's confirmed in you confirmed in you. The proof is that we can operate the manifestations of the Spirit. The manifestations are the proof of Christ with it. What he's talking about, but you can read that verse six until you're blue in the face, unless you understand what's addressed to the church. And understand that this is a book correcting the practical error that is crept into the church. You miss all these great truths that are written here just as beautiful day set here like diamonds not fly very seven sales. So that cheat come behind in no what gift. The no here is a double negative. That you come behind in No, no gift. That's the emphasis. And if you come behind in no gift, I tell you, you must have all the gifts in operation. And there are only five apostles, prophets, evangelists, teachers and pastors and ministry. There's only the gift of salvation. And then in the manifestations you have gifts of healing or gifts of healings, which are only a gift because all healing is a gift of God.
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Even when the doctor sets the arm he can heal it there are no more gifts The manifestations speaking in tongues is not a gift. interpretation of tongues is not a gift.
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These are manifestations. The gift is God in Christ in you. That's a gift. apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and he says that you come behind in No, no. What would you say that from the Word of God, the church at Corinth was loaded, or had been loaded with men who were teaching the word to them? Absolutely. You come behind in no gift, waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ waiting for his sorrow sort of a you know, a lethargic type of thing. You just sit around and wait. No, that's wait. No, the waiting for biblically is with eager expectation. This is waiting for certainly has a different connotation in our current usage, doesn't it? In one sense, it does in the other sense. It does. Now our children, our grandchildren two were waiting for Christmas Eve. Do you think they were just sitting around folding their hands? Or were they eagerly expecting? Get What You Believe for? They were eagerly expecting all excited could hardly wait. Well, that's the word here that you become behind in no gift, eagerly expecting. The Greek word here is very interesting, because it's made up of two words. The first one is spelled APK, APAC. And the second part of that word is the word deco mind. Eagerly expecting. It's an internal awareness and in an internal warmth and internal thing where you are so convinced of the presence of Christ that you're just eagerly within debt calm I not long Bonnell debt coma, expecting what the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, that's all we got to look forward to. If If in this life only you have to look forward to this life. And what's happening in the here and now it's a miserable trip. It's a lousy jaunt. But with Christ in us and that grace and that peace and our eager expectation of His return. It's a happy trip. It's a joyous trip. It's a fruitful one. It's one that makes it possible for you to live on par var. Gianni, now, very safe, who shall also confirm you on to the end, the word and is Kalos. Who shall also confirm you the proof all the way through the proof all the way through until the end, blameless. After an investigation has been made, and you are totally declared blameless, such this word. It is not just somebody gets up and says you're blameless. It's blameless a declaration after an investigation has been made.
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Nothing is laid to one's charge is the word blameless after the investigation has been made. It has to be this way to your Bible fall to pieces because it teaches that Satan does everything to obstruct the believer, even to the end that he just never wants any believer to ever be gathered unto the Lord or anything else. But he'll confirm you the proof is unto the tailors that we are blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. And the day of our of our Lord Jesus Christ is waiting for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ when he That's the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. Verse nine, God is faithful, by whom you weren't called. Unto the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ, our Lord. And the word fellowship is the word Koinonia. We hear about Koinonia groups. They're simply fellowship groups. They're great, great, it's going to kneel the English translations fellowship. God is faithful by whom you're called unto the fellowship, the fellowship. Now, remember, in the foundational class, I teach the people that you can't have a fellow in the ship with you until you're first got the ship. In other words, if I'm going to go out boating, I got to have a boot. Then I can put a filly in the boat, and I could have a fellow the ship. You cannot have any fellow ship with God until you first are BORN AGAIN of God's Spirit, you got to have the boat, Christ in us the hope of glory, then we can have fellowship, fellowship with home, his Son, Jesus Christ, who is our what? Exactly what Romans nine declares? Romans 10 Nine, right? Fellowship coin a Neha fellowship now since we have fellowship with Him, and the testimony of Christ has been confirmed in us. And we are eagerly awaiting the Lord Jesus Christ. Now what do you and I do? You see you and I won't have any trouble with God this way. Our opportunities arise with fellow believers who are born again of God's Spirit. But somehow or other, they never let this word have the pregnancy in their life by the renewed mind. And so they keep tripping out. Well, verse 10, says, Now I beseech you
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know what the word beseech me. I beg you, I implore you. I just do everything to get you to do so. And so I beseech you.
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In other usages, I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies, a living sacrifice, which is your religious service, the same word, I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now there are four things that he beseeches us to do, number one, that you all speak the same thing. Number two, that there be no divisions among you. Number three, that to be perfectly joined together in the same lot, mind. And you got to repeat these words. Now this is an omission. A bigger a speech called omission. Because to have the same mind, we must be perfectly joined together in the same judgment and judgment as the word opinion perfectly joined together in the same mind perfectly joined together in the same one opinion. What'd you say? I have to say what I say you have to say, but both of us have to be sure that we're saying what's the word second. This is our criteria of truth, the word not what people say about not what someone may write about it. But what does the word itself declare? That is our point of departure. And we're to speak the same thing. If I tell you that Jesus Christ died on Wednesday and got up on Saturday, and someone else teaches he died on Friday and got up on Easter Sunday morning, we are not speaking the same thing. Now one or the other of us has to be what are both wrong?
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Right. It can't be Both not to be one or the other or neither. As simple as that, not class if it's truth. If it's truth, there can never be two opinions regarding truth.
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Because truth is truth, without opinions. Because my opinion of it does not invalidate it or substantiate it. I do not increase its truthfulness or untruthfulness. By my opinion, it's still truth. If it's truth, my opinion means nothing. I have to get my opinion lined up with what is true, then I have to speak that which the words and today people are not saying what the Word says. They're simply saying what somebody else has mouths for them, for the most part. That's right. somebody's mouth, their pablum and gave it to him. And they like their pablum. I guess whatever that is. Can you imagine your mother taking these mice potatoes and she puts them in her mouth and when she gets through Maldon wilds, give them to you. That's a delightful dish. People, God is so tremendous. And his word is so beautiful and so simple, that you've got to learn to eat this food yourself. You have to be able to chew it yourself. You digest it yourself, you walk on, you have to get that big. It is the will of the Lord, that you all speak the same way that there be no division. When we do not speak the same thing, there's always a one div h
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I think there's a book in the foundation or class that everybody gets when they register when the first stage and the class why there are divisions or why divisions I think the title of it. You know why there's division. Because we're, we're not working the integrity and accuracy of the words that visually, so that we can have the same mind. And Spirit speak the same thing. Because when we speak the same thing, there will be no division, because we will be perfectly joined together in what one mind. And we'll be perfectly joined together in the same opinion. You see, opinion goes with divisions, mind goes with speaking the same thing. For great truce in that 10th verse of that tremendous chapter. Now, let me just read for the most part, the rest of the chapter, because it all is now contingent upon those first 10 verses read has been declared on to me of you, my brother by them which are the house of Colet, that there are contentions what so they must not be obeying the principles that he just said forthright. Practical error has crept into the church. Now this I say that every one of you says I'm a Paul, I'm gonna apologize I have seapass I have Christ. Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized in the name of Paul? I thank God I baptized none of you, but Crispus and Gaius lest any should say that I baptized Monet. And I baptized also the houses Stephanus besides this I know not whether a baptized any others he forgot things that were passed. Or when Paul grew up this stuff most people don't know. I think most people believe that the apostle Paul got all of this revelation of God's word just like that. No, no. The apostle Paul was a human being and he grew up. And whenever he could receive more, God gave him more. And you can trace this through the Epistles with the greatness of the revelation because God can't give any man more by revelation than the man is capable of receiving. You can hold that in abeyance for a day or two and think about it. Then work the word and find out how beautiful it is very 17 says For Christ sent me not to watch. But to preach the gospel good news. And to preach this gospel not with wisdom of lots word, less the cross of Christ should be made of non effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish what? That's right. But to us who are saved, it is the power of art, for God raised Him from the dead. When he was crucified on a tree, the word here is tree all the way through text wise, when he was truth crucified on this tree, he became knew no sin became sin, forest, all of that stuff in vile, but God raised Him up. And those of us who are saved it is the power of us. Sure, but to those who are perishing, and want to go to hell, it's wrong. That's right. You talk about a fella by learning leverage of prayer, how to pray to believe how to believe when you pray, and how to get answers to prayer like we talked about, and read for for our people with them in the foundational class. You talked to somebody outside of the payload doesn't care to hear at all about Jesus Christ, that kind of stuff is wants to him as what the Word says. So why do you get upset about don't upset me in the fellow wants to be stupid? Well, praise the Lord stay stupid. See, if they think it's foolishness. Bless the Lord. Well, he's already told you you're not gonna change it. To those who perish. It's what? That's what it says. That's what it means. What your us who are saved, it's the power of who?
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Right? Verse 19, for it's written, I would destroy the wisdom and the WISE will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the lies? Where's the scribe? Where's the disputer? This world has not God made the foolishness Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this last year. For after that in the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not what you can send all of this through every top echelon of intellectualism. And the world do not God for the the world by wisdom can only know things which are in the senses world, things that they can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, and take into a laboratory and analyze. Have you ever thought about taking an ounce of love into a laboratory I tell them in the foundation of flowers, put it in a test tube on top of what kind of burner and get hot love. If you want hot love, you can't get her that way. That's wrong. Because anything that the world can analyze is something in the category of the senses. Something they can see, hear, smell, taste or touch. You could take this candle into a laboratory and analyze it. Take this flower into laboratory, take this Bible, take this suit that you could do. But God is spirit you can't get him into a laboratory and analyzing. God is only known from the revelation of Himself in His Word. The Word of God is what? That's right. And nobody can know the will of God without knowing the Word of God. And how little time we spend on the way to God. Really the best. It plays God by the foolishness of preaching. Because the senses wisdom man calls it foolishness. This word, the foolish things that man calls foolish. It pleases God to say them that do one thing what Billy? Now he says a tremendous truth in verse 22. For the Jew, or the Judeans by religion, they are required a sign something they could see. People say well, if I could just see a miracle, I believe in one. The Bible says that they saw somebody raised from the dead they will try and the Greek, the Gentiles or the Syrians. Those follows seek after lot wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified. Under the Jews a stumbling blocks and under the Greeks or the Assyrians or The Gentiles it's what went on today those are them which are cold, both Jews and Greeks, Christ, the power of God and the love why they caused the foolishness of God is wiser than one. Now that is a tremendous figures. That's a real Conde Sensio isn't it? the foolishness of Whoa? Can you imagine God being one iota foolish? But this tremendous figure, the foolishness of God is smarter than all the wisdom of me. And the next one, the weakness of God, see the parallel is stronger than one. Min verse 26, where you see your calling brother, and how that not many wise man after the flesh are what? Well, not many mighty, not many noble, so forth are what called they are called is properly supplied. Why? Because usually they reject, because they only believe in what they can see, hear, smell, taste, or touch, and you can't see God you can't smell him, you can't taste them or touch him. And they never get into a fellowship where people are operating manifestations like speaking in tongues interpretation and prophecy. All day once in a while get to revival meeting, as they call it, where somebody gets saved because the reason they know that God saved is because they gave up their Juanita buck or something, you know, before they got saved, they chewed. Now since they got saved, God cleaned up their life they don't do so they have built their believing on chewing tobacco or cigarettes or dancing or rock bands or given those up or something. I know people who don't believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, don't you.
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That's wrong. The most wonderful people that I have ever been been with are the Jains in India.
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They are the high highest Hindu of Hinduism religion. You talk about good works. They just are so absolutely dedicated. They don't, they don't even ride on a new they wouldn't sit on you. Because they feel that would be degrading the animal. So they want they don't even breathe in a bug, you know, things that fly. They because every one of them has a like a piece of muslin, put across their mouth and their nose. And whatever they breathe, they breathe through that. So they don't breathe in an animal. Because they just don't want to hurt anything. Whenever they walk, they carry. I call it a little white mop. You know what a mop is. This one is specially made for them. And they carry this and they never look up. They're so dedicated not to hurt anything. They always look down when they walk. And if there is as much as an ant down there, they sweep it out of the way. They just don't walk over anything. And the Shahryar three tofu is the brain. When I got all through he commented on how tremendous it was. But he said how sorry, he felt that the Bible could be so inaccurate that this poor man had to so hurt that animal by sitting on hurts wailing. He felt sorry for you. You're talking about discipline about not hurting anybody or anything, even an animal and I'm not making this facetious. This is like it really is. They had good work. We're not saved by good works. We're saved by the Lord Jesus Christ. And the works that you and I are manifest are supposed to manifest is like Jesus Christ said the work that I do you show up. Do also well what did he do? You find out what Jesus Christ did and then you start doing that you're doing the work isn't a tremendous how we tripped out on this done we got to thinking that to be a Christian when you got to be a Christian if you chewed spearmint or you quit chewing spearmint that's gone. Beach not is tobacco for some people why don't we just come to the word let that word leave. If you're if you ever believe that you can get people together and somebody all to walk the same walk because a certain manner of dress or combing of hair or something else you'll never make it. If we ever make it it has to be that we stand upon the word perfectly joined that we speak the same word that we are of the same opinion regarding the word. Wouldn't it be awful if everybody wore a silly suit? Like I got on, you know,
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blue with blue stripes. And with a tie that doesn't belong to me I borrowed it from my son without asking him. Then when I walk in here I find out tonight it was a Christmas gift from the Randalls to him, Randall I imagine you're recognizing this time you wonder how I got it. I've just now told
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like I tell my people, explanations are unnecessary your friends don't need them your enemies won't believe. What's still a wonderful time, I don't want to degrade this I get in trouble with the family. But the suit I bought and is faithful. So suppose suppose everybody dressed like we're gonna be $1 you see yet we can have the same opinion. He can wear that beautiful brown and you've got a lot of brown up here in front of blue, purple, lavender, green, orange. That's not doesn't make that a lot about the price in us. What about the renewed mind all speak the same thing on the words that I think we can accomplish in our day in time. I think we can get enough people in our day and time to speak the word again. And we don't have to speak the other because the other is entirely irrelevant to the words. Well, verse 27, says, God's chosen the foolish things of the world that does. Confound that run, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are want and based things in the world and things which are despised, as God chosen, and things which are not to bring to not things that are not no flesh should glow ray in his was not of Him of him. If you're up someone you have wadding see, of him of God, are ye in Jesus? Up it said in Jesus your Bible, all the pieces again, of him are ye and Oh, Christ Jesus, who are God is made unto us, he's made unto us. What is he made unto us? Wisdom? Well, if he's made wisdom unto us, then I have one. If I go, reading his will, he's made wisdom unto us. He has made righteousness unto us. Then whose righteousness? Do I have? God's righteousness, well, how righteous is God? And sanctification? And what? Redemption, that according as it is written, He that glorious, led him want glory and home. Amen. Not in my ability or your ability, not in my doing or you're doing what I want God wrought in Christ Jesus. We don't glory in our perfection. In our walk, we don't glory in what we are able to do. We glory in what God was able to do in his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, who is our Lord and our Savior. Isn't that wonderful? People there has never been the closing of an old year and the up and coming opening of a new one more important than the one we're closing this week and opening this week. In many respects, I feel that this year is like a fulcrum, on which the pinnacle on which we stand by and boldly declare that word. The kid with the same mind, same opinion, that there be no debate, just speak the word.
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It's the word that produces the fruit. The word without that word, there can be no free.
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And I think it's a tremendous time. I'm not discouraged, I am encouraged. I'm not downcast, I'm elevated. I am happy to be alive at this time. I'm just tickled to death, to have the opportunity of declaring the word in this generation in which we live. It's just a greatest privilege in the whole world. Because whenever you hold forth the accuracy of that word, you simply stand by yourself in your community. And that's treeman. For the most part, you're saying by yourself, because there is such little knowledge of the accuracy of God's words. When you say again, like the province of Oh, but says the Lord, you usually will be in a position just by yourself, you and the Lord. You see what a tremendous time it is. Somebody has got to say that somebody or those who know the word you believe we talk about evangelism. Revival has never done the job. We've had churches, religions, denominations here in the United States, for I don't know how many years we've been here 1714 92, Columbus came. And sometime after that, we had July the fourth. And I don't know. But this one thing I know that there is very little accurate knowledge of God's Word today. And we've got to come back to the Word. God's will is dependent upon his words. We don't need to criticize anyone. But we need to hold forth the accuracy of the words. If people think that his criticism then let them think what they want to think. Because it's foolishness to the senses, world anyway. But for those who are called, it's still the power of God. And faith cometh by hearing and hearing comments, Allah. No word of God. That's right. And isn't it wonderful to know that that word is available today, that we can teach it that we can share it that we can hold it for, and gathered here at the way headquarters, along with other places throughout the United States, but no greater place than right here? Come men and women, young people and adults who really believe that unless this word is held for, in all of its beauty and all its race, there is nothing worth living for. Or this is the only thing that sets men and women free and given demand. And that's what I am living for. This is my desire. This is a great emphasis of my heart, to make note in my lifetime to the greatest amount, ability to as many people as care to hear the ineffable greatness and the inherent accuracy of God's wonderful matchless word.