1 00:00:00,620 --> 00:00:04,640 I think it is quite unnecessary for me 2 00:00:04,640 --> 00:00:11,040 to spend any time by way of introduction 3 00:00:11,040 --> 00:00:18,040 in speaking of the object of these meetings, 4 00:00:19,420 --> 00:00:25,480 but rather shall we let the meetings speak 5 00:00:25,480 --> 00:00:26,380 for themselves. 6 00:00:26,380 --> 00:00:33,480 and the message which we have defined the 7 00:00:33,480 --> 00:00:35,060 nature of our gathering. 8 00:00:37,350 --> 00:00:42,870 So let us immediately come to the point. 9 00:00:45,440 --> 00:00:50,720 What we have in view is what we 10 00:00:50,720 --> 00:00:57,700 believe to be God's all-inclusive purpose. 11 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:08,920 Christianity has many aspects and Christian people are 12 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:13,700 occupied with those various aspects. 13 00:01:15,280 --> 00:01:26,650 Evangelism, teaching and building up Christians, contending 14 00:01:26,650 --> 00:01:27,610 for the faith. 15 00:01:32,510 --> 00:01:40,250 There are movements which are entirely occupied with 16 00:01:40,250 --> 00:01:46,210 prophetical matters relating to the coming again of 17 00:01:46,210 --> 00:01:48,710 Christ and so on. 18 00:01:49,750 --> 00:01:56,560 All these are right, but they can and 19 00:01:56,560 --> 00:02:00,100 often do become things in themselves. 20 00:02:03,590 --> 00:02:09,150 And while being so good and right, they 21 00:02:09,150 --> 00:02:13,970 very often make Christians into sections. 22 00:02:14,970 --> 00:02:21,810 Circling round some interpretation or some teaching or 23 00:02:21,810 --> 00:02:24,690 some specific object. 24 00:02:28,720 --> 00:02:35,340 And the inclusive and supreme object of God 25 00:02:35,340 --> 00:02:42,740 in and through and over all is very 26 00:02:42,740 --> 00:02:44,700 often lost sight of. 27 00:02:46,840 --> 00:02:50,120 It is that we might seek to bring 28 00:02:50,120 --> 00:02:56,140 that object more definitely into view that we 29 00:02:56,140 --> 00:03:00,280 are coming together in these evenings. 30 00:03:00,940 --> 00:03:08,120 Our concern then is with God's inclusive object. 31 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,790 And I'm sure that you will agree with 32 00:03:12,790 --> 00:03:18,710 me that the value of any one aspect 33 00:03:18,710 --> 00:03:25,210 or side of teaching or work will very 34 00:03:25,210 --> 00:03:29,330 largely be governed by its relationship to the 35 00:03:29,330 --> 00:03:30,830 whole purpose of God. 36 00:03:32,460 --> 00:03:37,900 And the value will be more immediate if 37 00:03:37,900 --> 00:03:42,580 that whole purpose is seen and kept all 38 00:03:42,580 --> 00:03:44,920 the time in view. 39 00:03:46,100 --> 00:03:50,800 God does not commit himself wholly to any 40 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,360 one part of his purpose. 41 00:03:54,360 --> 00:04:00,300 He only commits himself wholly to the all 42 00:04:00,300 --> 00:04:02,400 of his intention. 43 00:04:03,880 --> 00:04:10,140 And so we desire to find God committing 44 00:04:10,140 --> 00:04:10,800 himself. 45 00:04:11,780 --> 00:04:15,380 It does really become necessary for us to 46 00:04:15,380 --> 00:04:20,680 know that to which he will commit himself. 47 00:04:21,680 --> 00:04:28,260 The inclusive object to which we refer is 48 00:04:28,260 --> 00:04:34,160 inherent in the words which we are taking 49 00:04:34,160 --> 00:04:43,280 for our background from the chapter which has 50 00:04:43,280 --> 00:04:45,100 been read this evening. 51 00:04:45,820 --> 00:04:52,920 The few simple words from Ezra chapter 6 52 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:55,260 and verse 3. 53 00:04:56,240 --> 00:05:01,120 Let the house be built. 54 00:05:02,660 --> 00:05:08,800 That is God's all-inclusive object. 55 00:05:08,800 --> 00:05:18,100 You notice that Ezra traced this 56 00:05:18,100 --> 00:05:26,860 decree back through and beyond the instrument, the 57 00:05:26,860 --> 00:05:28,700 ruler who made it. 58 00:05:29,640 --> 00:05:32,460 He traced it back to God. 59 00:05:34,540 --> 00:05:40,900 He pointed out that this decree while made 60 00:05:40,900 --> 00:05:46,580 by an earthly ruler originated with God. 61 00:05:47,780 --> 00:05:51,980 He said God put it into the heart 62 00:05:51,980 --> 00:05:53,040 of the king. 63 00:05:55,300 --> 00:05:59,040 This came from God. 64 00:06:00,800 --> 00:06:06,020 And being shown that it originated with God, 65 00:06:07,240 --> 00:06:11,180 the rest of the story shows how God 66 00:06:11,180 --> 00:06:17,880 committed himself in sovereign ways to that thing. 67 00:06:19,300 --> 00:06:22,080 God instigated this. 68 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,780 God supported this. 69 00:06:27,640 --> 00:06:35,980 God consummated this in spite of numerous and 70 00:06:35,980 --> 00:06:37,660 great difficulties. 71 00:06:39,810 --> 00:06:44,150 If that is true, we want to discover 72 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,960 where that can be true in our time. 73 00:06:51,740 --> 00:06:53,160 How that can be true. 74 00:06:54,670 --> 00:07:00,510 The one thing that I believe all Christians, 75 00:07:00,750 --> 00:07:06,230 true Christians, people of God, would seek after 76 00:07:06,230 --> 00:07:13,530 and know in our time is that which 77 00:07:13,530 --> 00:07:15,390 God has instigated. 78 00:07:16,390 --> 00:07:21,050 That which God takes upon himself to support 79 00:07:21,050 --> 00:07:22,250 and see through. 80 00:07:22,250 --> 00:07:29,050 That which in spite of everything, a great 81 00:07:29,050 --> 00:07:33,210 vast everything, God will finish it. 82 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:38,380 I say it is that that we want 83 00:07:38,380 --> 00:07:39,340 to discover. 84 00:07:41,080 --> 00:07:44,380 How God will commit himself. 85 00:07:45,370 --> 00:07:49,300 Now that brings us to a vital and 86 00:07:49,300 --> 00:07:54,300 fundamental principle of biblical interpretation. 87 00:07:57,660 --> 00:08:02,540 A thing that everybody who handles the Bible 88 00:08:02,540 --> 00:08:05,500 ought to recognize. 89 00:08:07,600 --> 00:08:11,480 And this ought always to be present when 90 00:08:11,480 --> 00:08:13,100 we take up our Bible. 91 00:08:14,980 --> 00:08:20,920 It is simply the eternity of God. 92 00:08:22,060 --> 00:08:24,820 That perhaps does not convey very much to 93 00:08:24,820 --> 00:08:26,780 you as I say it. 94 00:08:27,900 --> 00:08:32,559 But the great fact that there is no 95 00:08:32,559 --> 00:08:33,520 time with God. 96 00:08:36,130 --> 00:08:41,110 All time as it is with us is 97 00:08:41,110 --> 00:08:42,610 present time with God. 98 00:08:42,610 --> 00:08:47,610 There is no past, present, future with God. 99 00:08:49,810 --> 00:08:52,210 He is the eternal God. 100 00:08:53,510 --> 00:08:59,330 From eternity to eternity thou art God. 101 00:09:01,660 --> 00:09:07,420 God may accommodate himself to the time periods 102 00:09:07,420 --> 00:09:09,940 of men and their selves. 103 00:09:11,100 --> 00:09:14,480 But he himself dwells in eternity. 104 00:09:15,480 --> 00:09:18,100 His thoughts are eternal thoughts. 105 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:23,200 His purpose is an eternal purpose. 106 00:09:27,090 --> 00:09:34,610 The architect has the whole plan before him. 107 00:09:36,780 --> 00:09:42,140 The builder only has the day to day 108 00:09:42,140 --> 00:09:45,570 part or parts. 109 00:09:47,520 --> 00:09:53,560 Those who only see the parts may be 110 00:09:53,560 --> 00:09:55,800 confused. 111 00:09:58,360 --> 00:10:02,620 They may not understand. 112 00:10:06,180 --> 00:10:11,130 They may even begin to make the part 113 00:10:11,130 --> 00:10:12,810 the whole. 114 00:10:12,810 --> 00:10:19,080 A writer of one of the New Testament 115 00:10:19,080 --> 00:10:28,040 letters or documents introduced his thesis in this 116 00:10:28,040 --> 00:10:28,360 way. 117 00:10:29,160 --> 00:10:36,980 God who at sundry times and in different 118 00:10:36,980 --> 00:10:44,960 manners spake unto the fathers through the prophets. 119 00:10:47,200 --> 00:10:52,740 God did speak in times and different times. 120 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:58,060 In different manners and different portions. 121 00:10:59,630 --> 00:11:06,650 But with God the whole from eternity to 122 00:11:06,650 --> 00:11:08,290 eternity was present. 123 00:11:10,550 --> 00:11:14,510 And every part that came from God had 124 00:11:14,510 --> 00:11:15,870 the whole in it. 125 00:11:19,420 --> 00:11:21,620 You must ever remember that when you are 126 00:11:21,620 --> 00:11:22,440 handling the Bible. 127 00:11:23,480 --> 00:11:29,920 Otherwise you will wrongly divide the word of 128 00:11:29,920 --> 00:11:30,400 truth. 129 00:11:31,400 --> 00:11:36,960 The full design of God governs every part 130 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:39,880 where he is concerned. 131 00:11:40,840 --> 00:11:44,160 God's mind does not grow. 132 00:11:45,180 --> 00:11:49,180 There is no progress with God. 133 00:11:50,160 --> 00:11:56,380 He is full and complete and final at 134 00:11:56,380 --> 00:11:57,740 all times. 135 00:12:01,930 --> 00:12:10,030 God has brought his thoughts into time by 136 00:12:10,030 --> 00:12:14,170 means of models and figures. 137 00:12:16,460 --> 00:12:22,100 But they are only models and figures of 138 00:12:22,100 --> 00:12:26,380 spiritual and eternal realities. 139 00:12:28,080 --> 00:12:30,040 And the principle is this. 140 00:12:30,220 --> 00:12:35,620 That whatever comes from God at any time 141 00:12:35,620 --> 00:12:36,980 from our standpoint. 142 00:12:37,380 --> 00:12:39,340 From this world's standpoint. 143 00:12:40,140 --> 00:12:44,820 Whatever comes from God has in it the 144 00:12:44,820 --> 00:12:48,800 eternal and complete thought of God. 145 00:12:51,070 --> 00:12:55,270 It has in it the whole of the 146 00:12:55,270 --> 00:12:59,050 spiritual mind of God. 147 00:13:00,830 --> 00:13:06,510 We have to look through the immediate form 148 00:13:06,510 --> 00:13:12,990 of presentation to discover that spiritual and eternal 149 00:13:12,990 --> 00:13:15,670 thought that lies there. 150 00:13:19,100 --> 00:13:20,640 This house. 151 00:13:22,560 --> 00:13:24,800 Let the house be built. 152 00:13:25,200 --> 00:13:34,860 This house is only an earthly, temporary, limited 153 00:13:34,860 --> 00:13:44,520 representation of the vast, eternal, spiritual thought 154 00:13:44,520 --> 00:13:45,460 of God. 155 00:13:46,480 --> 00:13:48,520 A poor representation. 156 00:13:49,960 --> 00:13:50,980 It will pass. 157 00:13:50,980 --> 00:13:54,060 But God's thought will never pass. 158 00:13:54,860 --> 00:13:58,680 What lies behind it will have no end. 159 00:14:01,560 --> 00:14:02,880 It has come out of eternity. 160 00:14:03,560 --> 00:14:06,880 It will go on to eternity. 161 00:14:08,480 --> 00:14:12,220 Now the whole Bible is just a manifold 162 00:14:12,220 --> 00:14:15,500 expression of this principle. 163 00:14:16,500 --> 00:14:20,700 Beginning to end the Bible in its numerous 164 00:14:20,700 --> 00:14:25,220 forms of presentation and representation. 165 00:14:26,360 --> 00:14:28,680 Type, symbol, figure. 166 00:14:30,200 --> 00:14:34,780 The whole Bible is one comprehensive expression in 167 00:14:34,780 --> 00:14:38,700 numerous and various ways of this one idea 168 00:14:40,910 --> 00:14:46,590 that lies here inherent in this word house. 169 00:14:48,030 --> 00:14:51,410 Let us get behind the figure. 170 00:14:52,010 --> 00:14:58,170 Behind the representation to the great spiritual truth. 171 00:14:58,590 --> 00:14:59,910 The reality. 172 00:15:01,450 --> 00:15:02,390 Here it is. 173 00:15:03,830 --> 00:15:06,750 Out from eternity. 174 00:15:08,690 --> 00:15:12,830 Out from unknowableness. 175 00:15:13,830 --> 00:15:19,190 Out from incomprehensibleness. 176 00:15:20,490 --> 00:15:24,270 Out from inaccessibility. 177 00:15:25,690 --> 00:15:35,840 God resolved to presence himself in 178 00:15:35,840 --> 00:15:40,520 a creation of his own making. 179 00:15:42,660 --> 00:15:51,240 In something which amongst many other titles and 180 00:15:51,240 --> 00:15:53,700 designations is called a house. 181 00:15:55,280 --> 00:16:02,660 God determined to come out from all that. 182 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:09,020 Vast, unknowable, inaccessible, eternal. 183 00:16:11,200 --> 00:16:12,100 And presence himself. 184 00:16:15,330 --> 00:16:19,730 Presence himself to make himself known. 185 00:16:20,510 --> 00:16:23,330 To make himself accessible. 186 00:16:27,220 --> 00:16:33,340 To dwell in a house. 187 00:16:37,440 --> 00:16:42,980 But as we take hold of that truth. 188 00:16:43,140 --> 00:16:43,820 For it's a truth. 189 00:16:45,280 --> 00:16:48,160 From the beginning of the Bible to the 190 00:16:48,160 --> 00:16:48,460 end. 191 00:16:48,780 --> 00:16:51,340 That is the truth that is running all 192 00:16:51,340 --> 00:16:51,920 the way through. 193 00:16:53,420 --> 00:16:56,320 That is the thing that is governing everything 194 00:16:56,320 --> 00:16:59,120 as we shall see, I think, as we 195 00:16:59,120 --> 00:16:59,800 proceed. 196 00:17:00,700 --> 00:17:05,839 As we take hold of that great truth. 197 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:10,560 And move with it through the Bible. 198 00:17:11,880 --> 00:17:13,700 All the way through. 199 00:17:14,760 --> 00:17:18,079 We begin to make a discovery about it. 200 00:17:19,390 --> 00:17:23,490 That while it is a wonderful idea. 201 00:17:23,930 --> 00:17:26,910 An amazing thought. 202 00:17:30,420 --> 00:17:32,760 It is something much more than a thought 203 00:17:32,760 --> 00:17:33,740 and an idea. 204 00:17:34,920 --> 00:17:40,680 But something very much of the heart of 205 00:17:40,680 --> 00:17:41,100 God. 206 00:17:42,040 --> 00:17:43,840 Not only of his mind. 207 00:17:45,360 --> 00:17:47,120 But of his heart. 208 00:17:47,120 --> 00:17:53,180 Something greatly cherished by God. 209 00:17:56,550 --> 00:18:02,750 Something with which God's greatest interests are bound 210 00:18:02,750 --> 00:18:03,070 up. 211 00:18:06,410 --> 00:18:09,210 It turns out, if I may put it 212 00:18:09,210 --> 00:18:09,730 like that. 213 00:18:09,870 --> 00:18:15,210 It turns out to be not something objective 214 00:18:15,210 --> 00:18:18,010 to God himself at all. 215 00:18:18,230 --> 00:18:19,690 But a very part of himself. 216 00:18:22,340 --> 00:18:27,000 An organic expression of himself. 217 00:18:29,340 --> 00:18:30,340 Of his thought. 218 00:18:30,960 --> 00:18:32,000 Of his heart. 219 00:18:32,680 --> 00:18:33,560 Of his will. 220 00:18:37,840 --> 00:18:40,200 I think that one of the most staggering 221 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:45,020 statements in the Bible is this. 222 00:18:46,180 --> 00:18:51,680 The church of God which he purchased with 223 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:52,840 his own blood. 224 00:18:56,200 --> 00:19:04,160 God purchased this thing called the church with 225 00:19:04,160 --> 00:19:06,520 his own blood. 226 00:19:07,900 --> 00:19:13,180 That will defeat and defy every attempt to 227 00:19:13,180 --> 00:19:14,740 comprehend and balance. 228 00:19:18,540 --> 00:19:24,780 Blood is the very vitality of any organism. 229 00:19:27,620 --> 00:19:28,540 This thing. 230 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:32,020 I am calling it that for the moment. 231 00:19:33,400 --> 00:19:38,760 This thing has the very life of God 232 00:19:38,760 --> 00:19:40,080 bound up with it. 233 00:19:42,620 --> 00:19:45,460 God has given his life for it. 234 00:19:49,070 --> 00:19:51,970 There is something more than a matter of 235 00:19:51,970 --> 00:19:53,050 objective interest. 236 00:19:55,550 --> 00:20:00,470 The very heart of God is in this. 237 00:20:02,630 --> 00:20:03,550 His own life. 238 00:20:04,920 --> 00:20:06,140 Himself. 239 00:20:07,240 --> 00:20:07,940 Himself. 240 00:20:12,380 --> 00:20:13,060 What is it? 241 00:20:14,380 --> 00:20:15,320 This thought? 242 00:20:16,700 --> 00:20:19,520 This thing so near to the heart of 243 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:25,470 God with which all his interests are bound 244 00:20:25,470 --> 00:20:25,790 up? 245 00:20:27,950 --> 00:20:33,410 It is God present amongst men. 246 00:20:36,070 --> 00:20:47,280 God related to an organism as 247 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:49,560 the inhabitant. 248 00:20:49,860 --> 00:20:51,220 The occupier. 249 00:20:51,820 --> 00:20:55,600 The indweller of that organism. 250 00:20:56,520 --> 00:21:00,300 That surely is the simple plain meaning of 251 00:21:00,300 --> 00:21:00,840 a house. 252 00:21:02,500 --> 00:21:04,120 It is something to be dwelt in. 253 00:21:04,500 --> 00:21:06,520 To be lived in. 254 00:21:06,520 --> 00:21:14,820 It has no meaning unless it is inhabited. 255 00:21:16,340 --> 00:21:17,520 God's thought. 256 00:21:17,720 --> 00:21:20,240 You may call it house or what you 257 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:20,660 like. 258 00:21:21,080 --> 00:21:23,020 The Bible has many names for it. 259 00:21:23,920 --> 00:21:25,240 God's thought is this. 260 00:21:26,100 --> 00:21:27,860 To be there. 261 00:21:28,840 --> 00:21:29,320 Present. 262 00:21:30,420 --> 00:21:30,920 Indwelling. 263 00:21:31,960 --> 00:21:36,260 With the object of making himself known and 264 00:21:36,260 --> 00:21:36,960 understood. 265 00:21:38,000 --> 00:21:43,740 And with the object of having blessed fellowship 266 00:21:43,740 --> 00:21:49,200 with that which comprises the house. 267 00:21:53,080 --> 00:21:55,800 I have said that the Bible contains the 268 00:21:55,800 --> 00:21:59,620 history of that thought through the ages. 269 00:22:02,210 --> 00:22:03,230 Yes. 270 00:22:04,590 --> 00:22:09,870 The Bible therefore throughout and entirely is the 271 00:22:09,870 --> 00:22:15,810 embodiment of this one eternal divine concept. 272 00:22:17,660 --> 00:22:23,640 It begins with a very simple primal expression 273 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:28,140 of the thought in a garden. 274 00:22:30,540 --> 00:22:35,260 The man and the woman and God present. 275 00:22:36,260 --> 00:22:38,880 Walking in the garden. 276 00:22:39,860 --> 00:22:40,940 Talking. 277 00:22:41,920 --> 00:22:42,520 Communing. 278 00:22:43,680 --> 00:22:47,500 Making his thoughts and intentions known. 279 00:22:49,610 --> 00:22:56,030 A picture of happy fellowship between God and 280 00:22:56,030 --> 00:22:56,430 man. 281 00:22:56,870 --> 00:22:58,310 Man and God. 282 00:22:59,450 --> 00:23:02,970 Man in relationship with God. 283 00:23:03,940 --> 00:23:07,450 In terms, may I use the word, of 284 00:23:07,450 --> 00:23:07,810 friendship. 285 00:23:10,560 --> 00:23:13,240 And on a basis of commission. 286 00:23:14,480 --> 00:23:18,300 To be God's regent here. 287 00:23:19,060 --> 00:23:24,300 For the development and fulfillment of his purposes. 288 00:23:26,670 --> 00:23:28,520 Everything speaks of peace. 289 00:23:29,360 --> 00:23:30,240 And order. 290 00:23:30,960 --> 00:23:31,720 And beauty. 291 00:23:32,940 --> 00:23:36,680 And all that the human heart longs for. 292 00:23:37,520 --> 00:23:43,200 It's there in this simple first representation. 293 00:23:45,240 --> 00:23:48,980 God has created for himself a house. 294 00:23:49,500 --> 00:23:50,160 And is in it. 295 00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:51,840 And is walking in it. 296 00:23:52,140 --> 00:23:53,520 And talking in it. 297 00:23:57,710 --> 00:24:02,150 From that point, this divine intention has a 298 00:24:02,150 --> 00:24:04,850 long and chequered history. 299 00:24:07,850 --> 00:24:12,850 All the actions of God are related to 300 00:24:12,850 --> 00:24:13,690 that thing, remember. 301 00:24:14,690 --> 00:24:18,850 And all the reactions in history that we 302 00:24:18,850 --> 00:24:20,910 have in the Bible are against that one 303 00:24:20,910 --> 00:24:21,210 thing. 304 00:24:23,890 --> 00:24:24,890 To drive God out. 305 00:24:25,670 --> 00:24:27,430 To exclude God. 306 00:24:29,380 --> 00:24:33,860 To make a condition to which God cannot 307 00:24:33,860 --> 00:24:35,420 permit himself. 308 00:24:35,960 --> 00:24:37,400 Where he cannot be present. 309 00:24:37,840 --> 00:24:38,540 That's the Bible. 310 00:24:40,240 --> 00:24:46,260 It focuses upon this one eternal desire of 311 00:24:46,260 --> 00:24:47,280 the heart. 312 00:24:52,880 --> 00:24:53,880 But where does it end? 313 00:24:55,260 --> 00:24:59,800 Yes, it is a long and chequered history 314 00:24:59,800 --> 00:25:03,120 through which this intention passes. 315 00:25:03,120 --> 00:25:09,880 But in the end, it's realized. 316 00:25:12,780 --> 00:25:15,520 And it is realized in two ways. 317 00:25:17,850 --> 00:25:24,730 Firstly, it is realized in himself as incarnate 318 00:25:24,730 --> 00:25:25,550 in himself. 319 00:25:28,160 --> 00:25:35,490 We have not yet recognized the supreme significance 320 00:25:35,490 --> 00:25:39,870 of Jesus Christ as the Son of God. 321 00:25:39,870 --> 00:25:43,910 Until we have recognized that in him this 322 00:25:43,910 --> 00:25:46,650 eternal conception finds its realization. 323 00:25:47,430 --> 00:25:48,750 He is Emmanuel. 324 00:25:49,570 --> 00:25:50,830 God with us. 325 00:25:52,790 --> 00:25:54,690 God has reached his object. 326 00:25:56,520 --> 00:26:00,600 He himself has made for himself an abode. 327 00:26:01,960 --> 00:26:03,920 God was in Christ. 328 00:26:05,280 --> 00:26:07,260 Reconciling the world unto him. 329 00:26:09,730 --> 00:26:16,770 In that first and fundamental way, God reaches 330 00:26:16,770 --> 00:26:17,810 his end. 331 00:26:20,370 --> 00:26:23,390 And we discover that the house is not 332 00:26:23,390 --> 00:26:23,750 an it. 333 00:26:24,050 --> 00:26:24,970 It's a him. 334 00:26:25,350 --> 00:26:26,410 It's a person. 335 00:26:29,920 --> 00:26:35,020 And then he proceeds from the one to 336 00:26:35,020 --> 00:26:35,480 the many. 337 00:26:36,300 --> 00:26:38,900 From the individual to the corporate. 338 00:26:38,900 --> 00:26:45,860 And an elect body is brought into view 339 00:26:47,810 --> 00:26:52,450 in terms of a dwelling place for God. 340 00:26:56,100 --> 00:26:57,140 The end of the Bible. 341 00:26:59,140 --> 00:27:02,240 Again, the end of the Bible is again 342 00:27:02,240 --> 00:27:06,700 in symbolism as much as the beginning was 343 00:27:08,010 --> 00:27:10,350 a city and a garden. 344 00:27:11,430 --> 00:27:15,410 And the music of these words. 345 00:27:15,870 --> 00:27:18,710 The tabernacle of God is with men. 346 00:27:19,610 --> 00:27:22,230 And he will dwell with them. 347 00:27:23,710 --> 00:27:28,770 They shall be his people and he will 348 00:27:28,770 --> 00:27:30,250 be their God. 349 00:27:30,710 --> 00:27:32,090 That's where your Bible ends. 350 00:27:34,860 --> 00:27:36,660 History is consummated. 351 00:27:44,300 --> 00:27:48,620 Well, I have said that this divine intention 352 00:27:48,620 --> 00:27:53,760 explains the Bible from every angle. 353 00:27:55,180 --> 00:28:01,660 All the actions and all the reactions are 354 00:28:01,660 --> 00:28:04,100 centered in this one thing. 355 00:28:04,900 --> 00:28:09,100 That God may have a place for himself. 356 00:28:10,100 --> 00:28:15,240 And be there in these terms of fellowship 357 00:28:16,880 --> 00:28:18,160 and peace. 358 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:23,720 I say again, there is nothing in the 359 00:28:23,720 --> 00:28:29,980 Bible that is not related to this all 360 00:28:29,980 --> 00:28:35,460 -governing purpose and thought of God. 361 00:28:37,220 --> 00:28:42,520 Here is the object of God's concern. 362 00:28:43,660 --> 00:28:46,640 And of God's jealousy. 363 00:28:50,690 --> 00:28:55,270 If God was jealous over a temple in 364 00:28:55,270 --> 00:28:59,110 Jerusalem or over Jerusalem or Zion. 365 00:28:59,810 --> 00:29:03,650 As the prophet so strongly said, think you 366 00:29:03,650 --> 00:29:08,750 that his jealousy was exhausted in an earthly 367 00:29:08,750 --> 00:29:11,870 temporary representation of something? 368 00:29:12,870 --> 00:29:16,130 Nay, it was because of the something represented 369 00:29:16,130 --> 00:29:17,850 that God was jealous. 370 00:29:20,080 --> 00:29:20,780 And it was this. 371 00:29:23,090 --> 00:29:32,120 What then is the house of God's question 372 00:29:32,120 --> 00:29:34,440 is raised. 373 00:29:36,060 --> 00:29:38,300 Isaiah raised it. 374 00:29:38,600 --> 00:29:42,780 Thus said Jehovah, Heaven is my throne. 375 00:29:43,720 --> 00:29:45,700 The earth my footstool. 376 00:29:46,640 --> 00:29:49,520 What manner of house will ye build unto 377 00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:49,820 me? 378 00:29:51,180 --> 00:29:55,340 And what place shall be my rest? 379 00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:59,540 For all these things hath my hand made. 380 00:29:59,540 --> 00:30:08,780 You remember Stephen in that 381 00:30:08,780 --> 00:30:13,520 magnificent message which cost him his life. 382 00:30:14,900 --> 00:30:16,920 So significant in this very connection. 383 00:30:17,560 --> 00:30:19,320 Quoted these words from Isaiah. 384 00:30:20,840 --> 00:30:27,000 It was almost the culmination of that great 385 00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:27,680 discourse. 386 00:30:28,640 --> 00:30:31,800 Working up, heading up to this. 387 00:30:33,120 --> 00:30:38,780 He says, Acts chapter 7, if you know, 388 00:30:39,240 --> 00:30:41,540 verses 48 to 50. 389 00:30:42,380 --> 00:30:44,520 Solomon built himself up. 390 00:30:49,050 --> 00:30:52,010 What manner of house will ye build me? 391 00:30:52,690 --> 00:30:53,430 Said the Lord. 392 00:30:54,690 --> 00:30:58,650 The heaven of heavens cannot contain him. 393 00:31:01,060 --> 00:31:02,560 What manner of house. 394 00:31:03,560 --> 00:31:07,160 There are some things there to take note 395 00:31:07,160 --> 00:31:07,460 of. 396 00:31:08,680 --> 00:31:14,960 Firstly, it is an intimation of the infinite, 397 00:31:15,680 --> 00:31:22,580 infinite greatness of God requiring something infinitely great. 398 00:31:24,060 --> 00:31:29,020 No magnificent temple of Solomon or any other 399 00:31:29,020 --> 00:31:33,240 builder can answer to this demand. 400 00:31:38,630 --> 00:31:41,690 It requires something very great. 401 00:31:42,210 --> 00:31:46,110 That, in other words, which will show off 402 00:31:46,110 --> 00:31:48,230 the greatness of God. 403 00:31:54,470 --> 00:31:58,970 The Apostle Paul, more than anyone else in 404 00:31:58,970 --> 00:32:03,490 the Bible, saw the meaning of this house. 405 00:32:06,960 --> 00:32:11,720 And exhausted all the language at his command 406 00:32:11,720 --> 00:32:16,440 to try and speak about it. 407 00:32:20,000 --> 00:32:23,600 And you know the Greek language is a 408 00:32:23,600 --> 00:32:25,320 very comprehensive language. 409 00:32:27,520 --> 00:32:34,360 It has a tremendous number of words and 410 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:34,980 ideas. 411 00:32:36,100 --> 00:32:39,100 Far, far more than our English. 412 00:32:40,100 --> 00:32:44,620 Paul was hard put to it with his 413 00:32:44,620 --> 00:32:50,660 knowledge and command of that language to put 414 00:32:50,660 --> 00:32:55,360 into expression this house. 415 00:33:00,040 --> 00:33:03,860 The breadth and the length and the height 416 00:33:03,860 --> 00:33:06,860 and the depth. 417 00:33:09,230 --> 00:33:11,130 The unsearchable. 418 00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:22,140 These words, this language with which he is 419 00:33:22,140 --> 00:33:30,090 wrestling, cannot express how great this is. 420 00:33:30,450 --> 00:33:33,970 But, note, and here is the wonderful thing. 421 00:33:34,710 --> 00:33:37,170 Where we are getting very near to it 422 00:33:37,170 --> 00:33:39,230 or it is getting very near to us. 423 00:33:40,100 --> 00:33:42,910 There are two or three things that the 424 00:33:42,910 --> 00:33:48,490 Apostle Paul makes perfectly clear as defining the 425 00:33:48,490 --> 00:33:50,770 nature and purpose of this house. 426 00:33:51,790 --> 00:33:57,490 Firstly, that it is that in which this 427 00:33:57,490 --> 00:34:03,690 knowledge surpassing love of God is manifested. 428 00:34:07,940 --> 00:34:14,139 God conceived this object in order that in 429 00:34:14,139 --> 00:34:19,780 it the knowledge surpassing love of his heart 430 00:34:19,780 --> 00:34:20,560 should be manifested. 431 00:34:28,120 --> 00:34:33,260 And then Paul passes on to grace. 432 00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:36,760 The riches of his grace. 433 00:34:37,280 --> 00:34:39,280 The glory of his grace. 434 00:34:40,199 --> 00:34:44,020 And he brings that all into relationship with 435 00:34:44,020 --> 00:34:44,560 this house. 436 00:34:45,239 --> 00:34:48,360 That in the ages to come in that 437 00:34:48,360 --> 00:34:53,260 house, body, call it what you will, in 438 00:34:53,260 --> 00:34:58,180 that the infinite grace of God should be 439 00:34:58,180 --> 00:35:00,520 displayed to a wandering universe. 440 00:35:03,710 --> 00:35:04,990 He does not stop there. 441 00:35:05,170 --> 00:35:06,650 He passes to wisdom. 442 00:35:07,650 --> 00:35:13,550 The infinite wisdom of God to be shown 443 00:35:13,550 --> 00:35:20,780 to principalities and powers in this house. 444 00:35:23,150 --> 00:35:25,750 It wants a big house to comprehend that. 445 00:35:26,850 --> 00:35:29,030 The greatness of his love. 446 00:35:29,990 --> 00:35:31,750 The greatness of his grace. 447 00:35:32,110 --> 00:35:33,710 The greatness of his wisdom. 448 00:35:35,740 --> 00:35:41,200 God present in such terms of self-manifestation. 449 00:35:43,090 --> 00:35:45,710 This is not all language. 450 00:35:46,750 --> 00:35:47,670 You have it. 451 00:35:48,090 --> 00:35:54,030 It's here plainly stated in the scripture. 452 00:35:58,550 --> 00:36:02,430 But I must pause there because another thing 453 00:36:02,430 --> 00:36:03,550 is implied here. 454 00:36:05,110 --> 00:36:08,230 It is the implied misapprehension of man. 455 00:36:10,580 --> 00:36:13,800 Man has a way, you know, of catching 456 00:36:13,800 --> 00:36:16,220 on with big ideas. 457 00:36:18,880 --> 00:36:20,360 Wonderful conceptions. 458 00:36:20,800 --> 00:36:21,940 And taking hold of them. 459 00:36:23,660 --> 00:36:25,080 Man has got the idea. 460 00:36:25,220 --> 00:36:26,220 He's taken it up. 461 00:36:27,200 --> 00:36:30,580 This idea of a house for God. 462 00:36:31,280 --> 00:36:33,200 A dwelling for God. 463 00:36:33,380 --> 00:36:36,720 But man has given it a twist and 464 00:36:36,720 --> 00:36:39,640 brought into it a false interpretation. 465 00:36:40,640 --> 00:36:44,840 Man has tried to capture God and put 466 00:36:44,840 --> 00:36:47,220 him into a house of man's own making. 467 00:36:51,630 --> 00:36:54,690 By so doing, limiting God. 468 00:36:57,190 --> 00:36:58,610 Confining God. 469 00:37:00,110 --> 00:37:01,390 Possessing God. 470 00:37:02,530 --> 00:37:07,430 And making God exclusive to some particular house 471 00:37:09,890 --> 00:37:11,030 made by man. 472 00:37:12,030 --> 00:37:15,030 A building on the earth. 473 00:37:16,190 --> 00:37:17,710 An institution. 474 00:37:19,350 --> 00:37:20,670 Something like that. 475 00:37:22,030 --> 00:37:28,700 And then this terrible propensity of man to 476 00:37:28,700 --> 00:37:30,560 make God his property. 477 00:37:31,100 --> 00:37:34,480 And the property of his particular kind of 478 00:37:34,480 --> 00:37:35,000 house. 479 00:37:35,800 --> 00:37:39,020 The uprise of a terrible exclusivism. 480 00:37:39,200 --> 00:37:42,320 That if you don't belong here, go this 481 00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:42,640 way. 482 00:37:42,820 --> 00:37:45,080 Then you're outside the pale. 483 00:37:46,160 --> 00:37:46,920 See what I mean? 484 00:37:49,540 --> 00:37:53,380 Idea taken hold of but misapplied. 485 00:37:54,480 --> 00:37:55,940 A false interpretation. 486 00:37:57,180 --> 00:38:00,600 You see, that was Israel's tragic blunder. 487 00:38:01,600 --> 00:38:05,960 Against which the prophets raged and stalled. 488 00:38:10,870 --> 00:38:14,210 It was that into which Jesus came. 489 00:38:17,350 --> 00:38:21,930 And like new wine in old wineskins, burst 490 00:38:21,930 --> 00:38:22,870 the whole thing. 491 00:38:23,170 --> 00:38:27,520 But in so doing, lost his life. 492 00:38:30,870 --> 00:38:33,750 They had made God's house an exclusive thing. 493 00:38:35,530 --> 00:38:36,270 Their own. 494 00:38:37,990 --> 00:38:40,890 They possessed God. 495 00:38:44,320 --> 00:38:45,940 That was their blunder. 496 00:38:48,620 --> 00:38:55,580 And as Jesus was walking away into the 497 00:38:55,580 --> 00:39:01,520 eternal spiritual reality, he said, Your house is 498 00:39:01,520 --> 00:39:02,780 left unto you desolate. 499 00:39:03,800 --> 00:39:04,540 Your house. 500 00:39:05,260 --> 00:39:05,980 Your house. 501 00:39:06,940 --> 00:39:08,520 That's an awful indictment. 502 00:39:09,180 --> 00:39:10,240 Your house. 503 00:39:18,460 --> 00:39:21,500 We must take this all very seriously because 504 00:39:21,500 --> 00:39:27,200 it was, from one point of view, in 505 00:39:27,200 --> 00:39:35,420 relation to this misapprehension, false interpretation, this caricature, 506 00:39:37,080 --> 00:39:40,800 that Jesus came to correct it. 507 00:39:43,950 --> 00:39:46,150 He did so in two ways. 508 00:39:46,970 --> 00:39:50,670 We have pointed out, firstly, he corrected it 509 00:39:50,670 --> 00:39:51,890 in his own person. 510 00:39:53,050 --> 00:39:54,290 In his own person. 511 00:39:57,560 --> 00:39:59,980 Do you want to see the house of 512 00:39:59,980 --> 00:40:00,200 God? 513 00:40:00,540 --> 00:40:01,080 What it is? 514 00:40:01,340 --> 00:40:01,960 Look at him. 515 00:40:09,050 --> 00:40:10,870 And then he did it in his teaching. 516 00:40:13,700 --> 00:40:17,040 The gospel by John, if you did but 517 00:40:17,040 --> 00:40:24,080 recognize it, stands in the whole biblical purpose 518 00:40:25,080 --> 00:40:31,620 to show how Jesus supplants and transcends all 519 00:40:31,620 --> 00:40:35,300 earthly and material representation. 520 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:41,600 It makes perfectly clear that he supplants and 521 00:40:41,600 --> 00:40:45,940 takes the place of the temple in Jerusalem. 522 00:40:49,080 --> 00:40:53,500 He supplanted and took the place of the 523 00:40:53,500 --> 00:40:54,180 priesthood. 524 00:40:55,180 --> 00:41:00,880 Became the high priest himself and offered himself 525 00:41:00,880 --> 00:41:05,280 a sacrifice acceptable to God. 526 00:41:06,460 --> 00:41:11,940 Thus, not only fulfilling all types, but showing 527 00:41:11,940 --> 00:41:17,060 that God had never been satisfied until Christ 528 00:41:17,060 --> 00:41:18,400 offered himself. 529 00:41:19,660 --> 00:41:25,120 He supplanted and transcended all the Jewish feasts. 530 00:41:25,620 --> 00:41:28,480 You notice how through John's gospel the feasts 531 00:41:28,480 --> 00:41:31,240 of the Jews are constantly referred to and 532 00:41:31,240 --> 00:41:35,960 Jesus figures in them, over against them. 533 00:41:42,430 --> 00:41:46,270 Jesus takes the place of the manna in 534 00:41:46,270 --> 00:41:49,610 the wilderness and is the bread of God. 535 00:41:50,410 --> 00:41:51,450 Come down from heaven. 536 00:41:53,050 --> 00:41:56,530 Jesus takes the place of the water from 537 00:41:56,530 --> 00:42:00,450 the smitten rock and says, He that drinketh 538 00:42:00,450 --> 00:42:01,890 of the water that I shall give him 539 00:42:01,890 --> 00:42:02,670 shall never thirst. 540 00:42:03,470 --> 00:42:05,490 He that believeth on me out of him 541 00:42:05,490 --> 00:42:08,130 shall flow rivers of living water. 542 00:42:09,570 --> 00:42:12,430 He takes the place of the knights in 543 00:42:12,430 --> 00:42:14,490 the temple and says, I am the light 544 00:42:14,490 --> 00:42:16,130 of the world. 545 00:42:17,090 --> 00:42:19,590 He takes the place of all the old 546 00:42:19,590 --> 00:42:23,390 shepherds of Israel and says, I am the 547 00:42:23,390 --> 00:42:24,410 good shepherd. 548 00:42:26,000 --> 00:42:31,180 He takes the place of Israel and builds 549 00:42:31,180 --> 00:42:37,190 a new flock out of his own blood. 550 00:42:38,770 --> 00:42:40,270 I lay down my life. 551 00:42:42,500 --> 00:42:45,680 Yes, Jesus is the answer to God's eternal 552 00:42:45,680 --> 00:42:46,220 quest. 553 00:42:48,170 --> 00:42:52,770 But Jesus, as the New Testament goes on 554 00:42:52,770 --> 00:42:55,470 to show, does not stand alone. 555 00:42:56,350 --> 00:43:02,190 Jesus' incorporate organic expression is the house of 556 00:43:02,190 --> 00:43:02,410 God. 557 00:43:04,170 --> 00:43:06,570 Where and what is the house of God? 558 00:43:08,890 --> 00:43:16,050 It is where there is spiritual, organic, vital 559 00:43:16,050 --> 00:43:17,530 union with Christ. 560 00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:22,200 No more, no less. 561 00:43:24,420 --> 00:43:27,760 For we were all baptized in one spirit 562 00:43:27,760 --> 00:43:30,940 into one body. 563 00:43:32,000 --> 00:43:38,040 Jesus fulfills all the functions and expresses all 564 00:43:38,040 --> 00:43:43,100 the features of God's presence. 565 00:43:45,110 --> 00:43:49,420 God's presence in the midst of men. 566 00:43:58,060 --> 00:44:00,340 This is a statement, but this is a 567 00:44:00,340 --> 00:44:00,620 challenge. 568 00:44:00,620 --> 00:44:07,940 Not knowing how great is his house, but 569 00:44:07,940 --> 00:44:13,360 how spiritually definite is his house. 570 00:44:16,200 --> 00:44:19,680 It is built upon the love of God. 571 00:44:23,100 --> 00:44:24,220 That's testing enough. 572 00:44:26,060 --> 00:44:29,300 The very object and purpose, let me repeat, 573 00:44:29,820 --> 00:44:36,130 of this house is for the expression of 574 00:44:36,130 --> 00:44:37,270 the love of God. 575 00:44:39,600 --> 00:44:43,380 And if that love of God is not 576 00:44:43,380 --> 00:44:52,840 present, is contradicted, the house ceases to 577 00:44:52,840 --> 00:44:55,600 be what God intended it to be. 578 00:44:57,680 --> 00:45:02,960 The explanation of Israel, who were once called 579 00:45:02,960 --> 00:45:05,520 God's house as a nation. 580 00:45:09,430 --> 00:45:11,930 The explanation of why they were set aside. 581 00:45:11,930 --> 00:45:15,430 Here is the infinite love of God brought 582 00:45:15,430 --> 00:45:17,090 into this world in the person of his 583 00:45:17,090 --> 00:45:17,550 Son. 584 00:45:17,870 --> 00:45:19,030 And what does he mean? 585 00:45:20,350 --> 00:45:21,370 Infinite hate. 586 00:45:24,310 --> 00:45:26,310 Love cast out. 587 00:45:27,470 --> 00:45:30,030 Your house is left unto you desolate. 588 00:45:32,400 --> 00:45:34,540 The infinite grace of God. 589 00:45:35,920 --> 00:45:42,080 All this theology and doctrine about justification not 590 00:45:42,080 --> 00:45:45,200 by works, but by faith and so on. 591 00:45:45,560 --> 00:45:47,900 It can be so cold after all. 592 00:45:48,200 --> 00:45:54,660 It can become legalistic and righteous in a 593 00:45:54,660 --> 00:45:55,780 sense of hardness. 594 00:45:55,780 --> 00:46:00,120 But remember that all that is there in 595 00:46:00,120 --> 00:46:03,140 the word of God in order to magnify 596 00:46:03,140 --> 00:46:04,760 the grace of God. 597 00:46:05,160 --> 00:46:06,040 Not of works. 598 00:46:06,960 --> 00:46:08,400 The grace of God. 599 00:46:10,330 --> 00:46:14,210 The house of God, dear friends, therefore exists 600 00:46:14,210 --> 00:46:17,790 on the basis that men and women have 601 00:46:17,790 --> 00:46:22,030 discovered first of all that their deepest and 602 00:46:22,030 --> 00:46:25,290 most terrible need is the grace of God. 603 00:46:26,290 --> 00:46:29,930 And they have come into the knowledge of 604 00:46:29,930 --> 00:46:30,610 that grace. 605 00:46:30,810 --> 00:46:34,930 And the one word uppermost in their vocabulary 606 00:46:34,930 --> 00:46:36,350 is grace. 607 00:46:36,550 --> 00:46:40,330 It's the most wonderful word in the language 608 00:46:40,330 --> 00:46:41,370 of earth and heaven. 609 00:46:41,550 --> 00:46:42,130 Grace. 610 00:46:42,790 --> 00:46:43,450 Grace. 611 00:46:43,910 --> 00:46:44,390 Grace. 612 00:46:44,850 --> 00:46:47,330 It's that that constitutes the house of God. 613 00:46:47,330 --> 00:46:52,650 You and I are living in the meaning 614 00:46:52,650 --> 00:46:57,950 of that wonderful word, grace. 615 00:46:58,870 --> 00:47:00,790 God is very near to us. 616 00:47:02,130 --> 00:47:03,890 That's where we shall find him. 617 00:47:04,250 --> 00:47:07,290 God beholdeth the proud afar off because the 618 00:47:07,290 --> 00:47:09,730 proud have no sense of their need of 619 00:47:09,730 --> 00:47:10,210 grace. 620 00:47:11,310 --> 00:47:14,730 Pride is an abomination to God simply because 621 00:47:14,730 --> 00:47:18,310 it is such a contradiction to the grace 622 00:47:18,310 --> 00:47:18,810 of God. 623 00:47:21,040 --> 00:47:22,720 To this man will I look. 624 00:47:23,480 --> 00:47:24,580 Here's your house of God. 625 00:47:26,280 --> 00:47:29,520 Him that is of a broken, a humble, 626 00:47:30,020 --> 00:47:35,300 a content, that trembles at my word. 627 00:47:37,860 --> 00:47:40,900 That's the atmosphere of the house of God. 628 00:47:43,200 --> 00:47:45,360 And so you see it is not a 629 00:47:45,360 --> 00:47:45,640 thing. 630 00:47:46,520 --> 00:47:48,480 It is not a place. 631 00:47:48,480 --> 00:47:51,920 It is not something that man makes. 632 00:47:52,620 --> 00:47:54,380 It is a spiritual thing. 633 00:47:55,600 --> 00:47:57,180 On what ground does it rest? 634 00:47:58,260 --> 00:48:00,740 It rests on the ground of the cross. 635 00:48:04,750 --> 00:48:10,430 The house ever came after the altar and 636 00:48:10,430 --> 00:48:13,790 stood as the background to the altar. 637 00:48:15,190 --> 00:48:18,110 The church of the New Testament is the 638 00:48:18,110 --> 00:48:19,370 background to the cross. 639 00:48:21,320 --> 00:48:23,720 It comes by the cross. 640 00:48:24,560 --> 00:48:26,780 The cross, what does it do? 641 00:48:28,100 --> 00:48:32,740 It sets aside man and makes room for 642 00:48:32,740 --> 00:48:33,040 God. 643 00:48:34,380 --> 00:48:38,400 It puts man out that God may be 644 00:48:38,400 --> 00:48:40,300 all and in all. 645 00:48:43,830 --> 00:48:46,210 The intention of the cross is to make 646 00:48:46,210 --> 00:48:49,710 possible the realization of God's eternal thought to 647 00:48:49,710 --> 00:48:55,650 be there where the cross is wrought most 648 00:48:55,650 --> 00:48:58,470 deeply into the life of a people. 649 00:49:00,230 --> 00:49:02,990 There most fully you will meet the Lord. 650 00:49:06,050 --> 00:49:09,330 You will not meet the Lord in uncrucified 651 00:49:09,330 --> 00:49:10,970 men and women. 652 00:49:12,250 --> 00:49:17,270 In the presence of the flesh God stands 653 00:49:17,270 --> 00:49:17,590 back. 654 00:49:18,870 --> 00:49:21,710 I close with asking one more question. 655 00:49:21,710 --> 00:49:25,190 What then is the dominant necessity? 656 00:49:26,710 --> 00:49:28,530 The answer is twofold. 657 00:49:29,970 --> 00:49:35,010 The dominant necessity for the realization of God's 658 00:49:35,010 --> 00:49:39,850 desire bringing in of this house in it's 659 00:49:39,850 --> 00:49:44,650 beauty, in it's love, in it's grace, in 660 00:49:44,650 --> 00:49:48,730 it's fellowship, in it's peace, in it's order, 661 00:49:49,910 --> 00:49:57,650 in it's divine manifestation is a Christ consciousness. 662 00:49:59,880 --> 00:50:01,160 A Christ consciousness. 663 00:50:02,280 --> 00:50:04,660 Oh, that does not convey much I know 664 00:50:04,660 --> 00:50:05,360 as it's stated. 665 00:50:05,360 --> 00:50:08,500 Dear friends, what you and I need more 666 00:50:08,500 --> 00:50:11,100 than anything else perhaps is more of this 667 00:50:11,100 --> 00:50:12,100 Christ consciousness. 668 00:50:14,030 --> 00:50:17,930 Are we not ever and always rebuked when 669 00:50:17,930 --> 00:50:22,010 we hear Paul saying, the love of Christ 670 00:50:22,010 --> 00:50:27,350 constraineth us because we thus judge that one 671 00:50:27,350 --> 00:50:30,790 died for all, therefore all died that they 672 00:50:30,790 --> 00:50:34,030 which live should henceforth live not unto themselves 673 00:50:34,030 --> 00:50:34,970 but unto him. 674 00:50:35,630 --> 00:50:38,610 Henceforth again we know no man after the 675 00:50:38,610 --> 00:50:38,870 flesh. 676 00:50:42,090 --> 00:50:43,930 I say we are always rebuked by that. 677 00:50:45,230 --> 00:50:49,310 I am, you not, do we not know 678 00:50:49,310 --> 00:50:51,130 one another so much after that. 679 00:50:52,950 --> 00:50:57,890 Instead of laying hold on whatever there may 680 00:50:57,890 --> 00:51:02,270 be even remotely of Christ in one another 681 00:51:02,270 --> 00:51:05,150 and making the most of that, we do 682 00:51:05,150 --> 00:51:05,810 the other thing. 683 00:51:05,950 --> 00:51:08,090 We make the most of one another's faults 684 00:51:08,090 --> 00:51:11,530 and weaknesses and un-Christ-likeness, and there's 685 00:51:11,530 --> 00:51:15,010 plenty of it, God knows, but all for 686 00:51:15,010 --> 00:51:16,370 this Christ consciousness. 687 00:51:17,070 --> 00:51:20,910 That we would give ourselves more to this 688 00:51:20,910 --> 00:51:25,490 than laying hold of what there is, be 689 00:51:25,490 --> 00:51:30,250 it very small of Christ and making the 690 00:51:30,250 --> 00:51:31,310 most of that. 691 00:51:32,110 --> 00:51:33,510 Christ consciousness. 692 00:51:34,070 --> 00:51:35,270 The house will be built. 693 00:51:36,790 --> 00:51:39,370 God will find his house and commit himself 694 00:51:39,370 --> 00:51:40,670 if we will do that. 695 00:51:41,390 --> 00:51:42,030 God has done. 696 00:51:42,950 --> 00:51:47,050 And having said Christ consciousness, it means house 697 00:51:47,050 --> 00:51:47,710 consciousness. 698 00:51:49,490 --> 00:51:50,470 House consciousness. 699 00:51:51,810 --> 00:51:53,230 Is that the wrong word? 700 00:51:54,210 --> 00:51:56,150 It's fellowship consciousness. 701 00:51:57,770 --> 00:51:59,890 It's relatedness consciousness. 702 00:52:00,810 --> 00:52:04,050 That we are members one of another. 703 00:52:06,730 --> 00:52:09,670 And the hand cannot say to the foot, 704 00:52:10,590 --> 00:52:13,170 I don't need you, I can do without 705 00:52:13,170 --> 00:52:13,670 you. 706 00:52:16,320 --> 00:52:18,540 Call it house, call it body, call it 707 00:52:18,540 --> 00:52:19,380 what you will. 708 00:52:20,000 --> 00:52:25,100 It's this corporate consciousness that is needed today 709 00:52:25,860 --> 00:52:32,320 to destroy, destroy all this disintegrating, divisive kind 710 00:52:32,320 --> 00:52:32,800 of thing. 711 00:52:35,320 --> 00:52:40,120 Well, we must leave it there tonight. 712 00:52:41,480 --> 00:52:44,660 But word to God that something of the 713 00:52:44,660 --> 00:52:47,460 impact of this might come upon our hearts. 714 00:52:49,000 --> 00:52:52,840 Lift us out of our all too small 715 00:52:52,840 --> 00:53:01,000 conceptions of God's house and govern our attitudes 716 00:53:01,000 --> 00:53:07,500 in relation to all, all who rest upon 717 00:53:07,500 --> 00:53:10,620 the love of God, all who rest upon 718 00:53:10,620 --> 00:53:15,120 the grace of God, all who have come 719 00:53:15,120 --> 00:53:19,780 to see and to acknowledge that it is 720 00:53:19,780 --> 00:53:22,880 by the wisdom and only by the wisdom 721 00:53:22,880 --> 00:53:26,580 of God in solving all the human problems, 722 00:53:26,580 --> 00:53:29,220 their own and others, that God will at 723 00:53:29,220 --> 00:53:33,800 last find what he is seeking, a place.