July the 2nd, 1973 in Richmond, Virginia.
Ministry is being given through Brother Stephen Kong.
Last night we read from the letter to
the Ephesians, and this morning we would like
to continue on that.
Will you please turn to the epistle to
the Ephesians chapter 2.
Ephesians chapter 2.
We'll read from verse 11.
Chapter 2 verse 11.
Wherefore remember that ye, once nations in the
flesh, who were called uncircumcision by that called
circumcision in the flesh done with the hand,
that ye were at that time without Christ,
aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers
to the covenants of promise, having no hope,
and without God in the world.
But now, in Christ Jesus, ye who once
were afar off are become nigh by the
blood of the Christ.
For he is our peace, who has made
both one, and has broken down the middle
wall of enclosure, having annulled the enmity in
his flesh, the law of commandments in ordinances,
that he might form the two in himself
into one new man, making peace, and might
reconcile both in one body to God by
the cross, having by it slain the enmity.
And coming he has preached the glad tidings
of peace to you who are afar off,
and the glad tidings of peace to those
who are nigh.
For through him we have both access to,
by one spirit, to the Father.
Verse 19.
So then, ye are no longer strangers and
foreigners, but ye are fellow citizens of the
saints, and of the household of God, being
built upon the foundation of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the cornerstone, in
whom all the building fitted together increases to
a holy temple in the Lord, in whom
ye also are built together for a habitation
of God in the Spirit.
Then we'll read from chapter 4 verse 17.
Chapter 4 verse 17.
This I say therefore and testify in the
Lord, that ye should no longer walk as
the rest of the nations walk in the
vanity of their mind, being darkened in understanding,
estranged from the life of God by reason
of the ignorance which is in them, by
reason of the hardness of their hearts, who,
having cast off all feelings, have given themselves
up to lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with
greedy unsatisfied lust.
But ye have not thus learned the Christ,
if ye have heard him and be instructed
in him according as the truth is in
Jesus.
Namely, you are having put off, according to
the former conversation, the old man, which corrupts
itself according to the deceitful lusts, and being
renewed in the spirit of your mind, and
you are having put on the new man,
which according to God is created in truth
for righteousness and holiness.
The last verse, 32.
And be to one another kind, compassionate, forgiving
one another, so as God also in Christ
has forgiven you.
Chapter 5 verse 1.
Be therefore imitators of God as beloved children,
and walk in love, even as the Christ
loved us, and delivered himself up for us,
an offering and sacrifice to God for a
sweet-smelling savour.
The same chapter, verse 8.
For ye were once darkness, but now light
in the Lord.
Walk as children of light, for the fruit
of light is in all goodness and righteousness
and truth, proving what is agreeable to the
Lord.
And do not have fellowship with the unfruitful
works of darkness, but rather also reprove them,
for the things that are done by them
in secret, it is shameful even to say.
But all things having their true character exposed
by the light, are made manifest, for that
which makes everything manifest is light.
Therefore he says, Wake up, thou that sleepest,
and arise up from among the dead, and
the Christ shall shine upon you.
See therefore how ye walk carefully, not as
unwise, but as wise, redeeming the time because
the days are evil.
For this reason be not foolish, but understanding
what is the will of the Lord.
And be not drunk with wine, which is
debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, speaking
to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual
songs, singing and chanting with your heart to
the Lord, giving thanks at all times for
all things to him who is God and
Father, in the name of our Lord Jesus
Christ, submitting yourselves to one another in the
fear of Christ.
We mentioned last night that we are called
out of this world into Christ.
This is our calling.
And this is the very meaning of the
word Ecclesia, which in modern language is the
word Church.
Ecclesia means called out once.
We were called out of every nation, every
tribe, every tongue, and every people, that we
may be gathered together unto Christ.
And that is the meaning of the word
Church.
And that is our calling.
That is what we are.
In the letter to the Ephesians, you'll find
Paul tries to tell us the various aspects
of our on high calling.
And last night, we began with the first
one.
In chapter one, we find we are called
to be the body of Christ.
The wholeness of him who fills all and
in all.
What is the meaning of a body?
A body is to contain the riches of
the head.
And therefore, in chapter one, you find Paul
shows us how God has blessed us with
every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ
Jesus.
In other words, all the riches that is
in the head, have been given to the
body.
Have been deposited in the body.
And how can we fathom the riches of
the head?
Because Christ is the fullness of the Godhead.
All the fullness of the Godhead dwells in
him bodily.
And we are complete in him.
Why?
Because we are his body.
And as you read the first chapter, you'll
find Paul just mentioning a few of the
riches of Christ that have been given to
the body.
For instance, he said we are chosen in
him before the foundation of the world.
We are chosen.
That we should be holy and blameless before
him in love.
His purpose concerning us is that we should
be holy and blameless before him in love.
Having mocked us out beforehand for adoption from
Jesus Christ to himself.
Adoption.
Sonship.
We are called to be the body of
Christ.
We are not only being chosen to be
little children, but we are mocked out for
adoption.
That is for sonship.
To the praise of his, of the glory
of his grace.
He has taken us into favor in the
beloved.
We are favored by God in Christ.
Through his blood, forgiveness of offenses.
All our sins are being forgiven.
So you'll find here just a few things
and then he continues on how we are
sealed with the Holy Spirit as the earnest
of our inheritance.
Now these are just a few samples of
the riches of the head that have been
deposited in the body.
And brothers and sisters, I want to emphasize
again, we are called to be the body
of Christ.
It is our calling.
It is not just something that we can
take up and drop.
It is not something that we can just
talk about and forget it.
It is not something that just comes alongside.
No.
A calling is something that we must be
occupied with.
And what are we called to be?
We are called to be the body of
Christ.
Think of that.
We are called to contain the riches of
Christ.
And we are called to express all that
he is.
To display Christ in all his fullness.
And that is what the body is.
And that is our calling.
The way the letter to the Ephesians is
written is such that first Paul will present
to us our calling.
That we may have a revelation of what
our calling is.
A glimpse of our calling.
And then together with that, Paul will exhort
us to walk worthy of the calling wherewith
we have been called.
We are called to be the body of
Christ.
This is our calling.
And because of that, how should we walk
worthily of our calling as the body of
Christ?
In Ephesians chapter 4 from verse 1 through
verse 16, we find two principles.
The two basic principles of the life of
the body.
The body is one.
One body.
But has many members.
In other words, here in the body, if
we want to walk worthily of the body
of Christ, we must diligently keep the unity
of the spirit in the uniting bonds of
peace.
First is unity.
And then diversity.
To each one of us is given grace
according to the measure of the gift of
the Christ.
On the one hand, you have the unity.
Oneness.
We are one in God.
One body.
One spirit.
One hope of our calling.
One Lord.
One faith.
One baptism.
One God and Father who is over all,
through all, and in us all.
God has already given us the unity of
the spirit because we are called to be
the body of Christ.
And what we need to do is diligently
keep that unity.
And if we keep that unity, we are
able to fellowship one with another.
And the result is we will arrive at
the unity of the faith and of the
full knowledge of the Son of God.
Then at the same time, being members in
that body, we need to be living, functioning
members of the body.
God has put us in the body of
Christ.
Every member is necessary.
Every member is given a function to fulfill.
Every member is given gifts that we may
fulfill our function.
And it is necessary for all the members
of the body to function coordinately, not independently,
under the head.
Then you'll find the body will be built
up in love.
Last night we mentioned especially that body ministry
is not some people ministering to the body.
Body ministry is the body ministers to itself.
All the members of the body begin to
function coordinately under the headship of Christ.
Then you'll find there is body ministry.
The body will build itself up in love.
Now we cannot go back and repeat the
whole thing, but I just mention it to
keep us informed that we may go on
to what we would like to share this
morning.
The second aspect of our calling, as we
find in the letter to the Ephesians, is
we are called to be the household of
God.
And to use the modern word, the family
of God.
I think that is again very simple.
As you read the second chapter of Ephesians,
you'll find in the first part of the
second chapter, Paul deals with the matter of
our salvation more in a personal way.
You know there is a personal side of
our salvation.
We who are once dead in sins and
transgressions.
How true it is.
Even though outwardly we seem to be very
much alive.
And if we were not alive, how could
we sin at all?
And yet in the sight of God we
were dead.
Dead in sins and transgressions.
In other words, our spirits.
That part of our being which is able
to contact God and communicate with God was
dead in sins and transgressions.
Therefore there was no more contact with God.
The communication between us and God was cut
off.
We were dead in sins and transgressions.
And how did we live in this world?
We lived in this world according to the
age of the world.
According to the fashion of this world.
Oh how we need, we want to be
fashionable.
How we want to follow the current of
this world in everything.
Now that was the way we lived before.
To be popular, to be fashionable.
And of course we actually were driven on
by the ruler of darkness.
We might not realize it.
We thought that we have liberty.
We thought that we we could do anything
we like.
But actually we were driven on by a
hard master.
The ruler of darkness was behind.
For this reason we were sons of disobedience.
We did not obey God.
Even when we were religious we were not
obeying God.
We were just following our own lusts.
Following the thoughts of our own selves.
Now these were the way we walked before.
But God.
You know I like the word but God.
I think someone, I forgot who, probably is
Oswald Chambers.
I don't remember.
Someone point out that.
How much better it is but God and
not God but.
You know sometimes our whole approach is God
but.
That's very tragic.
But if it is the right order but
God.
Now how blessed it is.
We were once dead in sins and transgressions
and that's the way we were before.
But God who is rich in mercy.
How his grace has come to us in
Christ Jesus.
He has quickened us with Christ.
He has raised us up together with Christ.
He has seated us with Christ in the
heavenlies.
We are saved by grace through faith.
Not of ourselves but of God.
The work of God.
So brothers and sisters I think we are
familiar with this personal side of salvation.
And this side is very important.
Because everyone has to be saved personally.
No one can be saved for the other
people.
Now even though in Corinth you know they
had a practice.
But actually Paul did not endorse it.
In Corinth they had a practice.
They baptized for the dead people.
A dead person, a person was dead and
he wasn't baptized yet.
So a living person would be baptized for
him.
Now of course Paul just mentioned that.
Paul didn't endorse it.
No one can believe in the Lord and
be saved for another person.
Everyone has to enter into a personal experience
of salvation.
There is this personal side.
Very important.
But dear brothers and sisters very often we
emphasize the personal side of salvation and we
overlook the corporate side of salvation.
Do you know that when God saves you
it is more than just saving you individually?
When God saves, He saves us not only
individually but corporately.
To use typology, when God saves the children
of Israel, God not only saves this man
and that man of Israel.
But God saves the whole nation.
There is a corporate side of salvation.
And this corporate side of salvation is presented
to us in the second part of the
second chapter of Ephesians.
So here you'll find Paul says, wherefore remember
that ye were nations in the flesh.
He moved from the personal to the corporate.
Once ye were nations in the flesh who
are called and circumcisioned by that which called
circumcision in the flesh done with the hand.
So here you'll find Paul moves from the
personal to the corporate.
When we are saved, we are not only
saved individually but as God saves us.
He has saved us in such a manner
that there is a corporateness in it.
You know in the world there are lots
of divisions, distinctions and discriminations.
Why?
Because sin essentially divides and separates.
You remember even in the book of Genesis
when sin entered into the first family, Adam
and Eve.
You'll find when sin entered into the first
family, Adam and Eve, immediately sin divided Adam
and Eve.
Because when God began to ask questions, you'll
find Adam said, well it is the woman.
It is the woman.
You'll find the unity, the harmony of the
family was broken up.
And then in the second generation, even with
the two brothers, you'll find Cain murdered his
brother Abel.
So because sin is in this world, therefore
in this world you'll find everything is broken
up.
Everything is divided.
You cannot expect this world to be one
in peace and in harmony.
Because where sin is, it divides.
The world is broken up into all pieces.
You have racial problems.
You have social problems.
In other words, race can divide people.
Social status can divide people.
Religious background can divide people.
In this world everything tends to divide and
not to unite.
And of all the divisions you'll find in
this world, there is no division that is
harder, more impossible to be reconciled than religious
division.
So here you'll find the division between the
Jews and the Gentiles.
The division between the Jews and the Gentiles
is more than a division of race.
The division of the Jews and the Gentiles
is a religious division.
Why?
Because the Jews consider themselves as the commonwealth
of God.
They have the covenant of God.
They are the chosen people.
All the promises of God are given to
them.
But the Gentiles are outside of the commonwealth.
They are outside of the covenant of promises.
They have no God.
They have no hope.
They are defiled, unclean.
So the Jews look upon the Gentiles as
dogs.
Why do they look upon the Gentiles as
dogs?
Because the Gentiles eat unclean food.
You know the Jews eat only clean food
according to Leviticus chapter 11.
And because they eat the clean food they
consider themselves as clean.
But the Gentiles eat the unclean food therefore
they are unclean as dogs.
They look down upon the Gentiles.
You are outsiders.
You have no part in God.
God is our exclusive possession.
And they are so strong in this that
you find if you go to the temple
in Jerusalem during the days of our Lord
Jesus, the temple was built in such a
way.
You know aside from the temple proper there
is a temple area.
Now anyone who has been to Jerusalem you
know the temple area.
It is there lifted up, high up plateau,
almost like a plateau, the top of Mount
Moriah.
And in that temple area they have what
they call the court of the Gentiles.
Gentiles can come to worship God.
But they can only be in the court
of the Gentiles which is in the very
outside of the temple area.
Very far away from the temple proper.
And then between the court of the Gentiles
and the court of the women, that is
to say the women, the Jewish women, they
could enter into the court of the women.
Closer now to God.
But between the court of the Gentiles and
the court of the women there was, we
were told, there was a very low wall.
And at different intervals on the wall will
be something written like this.
A Gentile can only come thus far and
no further.
If you cross beyond this point you risk
your own life.
In other words the Gentiles were completely kept
outside.
Far away.
They were far off.
Only the Jews were nigh to God.
And there was a wall of enclosure, a
wall of partition between the Jews and the
Gentiles.
And dear brothers and sisters, if we were
living at that time we would appreciate this
much more than today.
Now today we do not feel it very
much.
But you know during the days of Paul
this was such, there was such a wall
between the Jews and the Gentiles.
All religious leaders, they were completely separated.
They would have nothing doing with one another.
And it was a hostility, an enmity that
was very very deep and very very strong.
And humanly speaking it was an impossible situation.
How could the Jews and the Gentiles be
reconciled and brought into one?
Impossible.
But thank God.
On the cross in his own body our
Lord Jesus has annulled the enmity between the
Jews and the Gentiles.
On the cross he has put aside the
whole old creation.
That all the distinctions, all the impossibles, all
the divisions, all the separations, however deep, however
strong, however impossible, you find all of these
have been nailed to the cross and done
away with.
He is our peace.
In Christ Jesus he has brought us together
into one new man.
Brothers and sisters, it is more than just
the enmity between the Jews and the Gentiles.
This is but an illustration because this is
the strongest hostility.
But it includes all the divisions, all the
discriminations, all the separations, all the distinctions you
can think of in this world.
In this whole creation have all been cast
aside.
Annulled through the cross and then in Christ
Jesus we are made into one new man.
It is not trying to educate, reform, improve
the old man so that we can be
united into one.
It is the casting aside of the old
and bringing in the new man.
In other words, God has brought the Jews
and the Gentiles into the church.
God has brought the free man and the
born man into the body.
God has brought the Scythians and the Barbarians
into the body.
God has brought the circumcised and the uncircumcised
into the body.
But when God has brought them into the
body through the cross, the result is there
is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither circumcision nor
uncircumcision, neither Barbarians nor Scythians, neither born man
nor free man, but Christ all and in
all.
Now that is the one new man.
When God called us to himself to be
that one new man, as we come we
have to pass by the cross.
And as we pass through the cross to
enter in, as it were, you'll find all
the divisions, all the discriminations, all the distinctions,
all the separations were there unknowed by the
cross.
So after we pass the cross, you'll find
we have left all these things behind.
The old creation and the separation and the
division, they were all left on the cross
crucified, unknown.
And in newness of life, in the life
of Christ, we are now being joined together
as one new man.
Therefore it is a new creation.
All things are new, all things are new.
And because we are now one new man,
therefore we are of the household of God.
You know as you read Paul's writing, sometimes
he throws in different metaphors, figures of speech
together.
And sometimes we find it's very confusing.
Because you'll find he runs from one figure
of speech to another figure of speech.
And to him it seems that they are
all one.
He was talking, he was talking about a
one new man.
How God has brought us together in Christ
to make us one new man.
And then he said you are no longer
strangers or foreigners but you are fellow citizens
and you are of the household of God.
From the one new man he immediately goes
into the household of God.
And from the household of God he immediately
runs into, we are built together into a
holy habitation of God.
So here you'll find at least three metaphors
run together.
One new man, household of God, the house
of God.
But actually you'll find these three are closely
related.
In other words, how can we live as
members of the family of God?
Only when we live in that one new
man.
If you try to live in your old
man, immediately you'll find you disturb the unity
and the peace of the household of God.
Only when we realize that our old man
was crucified, the old creation was on the
cross.
Now we are in Christ being one new
man.
We live in the newness of life.
Then we are able to live peaceful, peacefully
and in harmony with our brothers and sisters
as of the household of God.
And only when we live as members of
the family of God, the house of God
is able to be built.
So actually you'll find these three metaphors run
together and become one.
Brothers and sisters, we are not only called
individually, we are called cooperatively.
We are not only saved individually and personally,
but when we are saved we find that
in God's salvation we are saved that we
may be one new man, the household of
God.
We have in this family many brothers and
many sisters.
We are not isolated, individual Christians.
The life that we receive from the Lord
is a life that we have to share
with our brothers and sisters.
Because the very life of Christ is shared
by all of us.
We are of the family of God.
That's what we are called into.
We are called to be the family of
God.
Now I know believers today realize that we
belong to one family, the family of God.
But the question is, do we really see
that the family of God is our calling?
You know you belong to the family of
God, but do you know that is your
calling?
I do not know how to impress upon
you, but in my heart I know the
difference.
There is such a difference between knowing that
you belong to the family of God and
knowing that the family of God is your
calling.
If you know you belong to the family
of God, well you thank God for your
brothers and sisters.
But when your brothers and sisters are becoming
a little bit more difficult, then you'll find
you can easily protect yourself by separating yourself
from them.
In other words, it is a matter of
convenience.
If it is convenient to you, if it
suits you, well you need that family.
If you feel it is not convenient, and
it doesn't suit you, and it doesn't give
you the liberty you want, off you go,
like the people today.
All they were young people today, excuse me
for saying young people, but I just use
it as an illustration.
Young people today, they need their family, sure.
When they need it.
But when they feel the family is getting
too much on them, off they go.
Brothers and sisters, is it not true with
God's people today?
They know they need fellowship.
They know they need the family of God.
They know they need brothers and sisters.
They know they belong to the family.
And if it's convenient, oh they just go
after it.
But whenever there is a discipline, whenever it's
getting a little bit more difficult, what will
be your reaction?
Off you go.
Why?
Because it is not a calling to you.
If you really see that the family of
God is a calling, this is what we
are called to be, then there is no
way of escaping your family.
I really hope that the Spirit of God
will really impress upon you, brothers and sisters.
This is not a light matter, because we
are called to be the family of God.
If this is our calling, then we must
apply ourselves to make that family a family,
prosperous, peaceful, successful, glorifying God.
This is our calling.
Today Christians are too individualistic.
They are only thinking of their own benefit,
even their own spiritual growth, and they forget
the welfare of the family.
We are called to be the family.
That is our calling.
I don't think I need to dwell on
this too much, because you know it.
But here you'll find, because we are called
to be the family of God, therefore, we
are exhorted to walk worthily of our calling.
You know, I think Paul spends more time
on this than on the other two aspects
of our calling.
Why?
Because from Ephesians chapter 4 verse 17 on
to chapter 6 verse 9, Paul is dealing
with nothing but how to walk worthily as
of the family of God.
How should we walk as of the family
of God?
This morning we would like just to point
out a few points.
Number one, Paul said, once upon a time
you walked in the vanity of your mind
as the nations.
How did we walk before?
Paul went into the root and said, you
walk as the nations according to the vanity
of your mind.
You know, the way you live, your manner
of life, your mood of life, your pursuit
of life, the way you walk is primarily
governed by what you think.
Your mind governs your...
If you set your mind, say, on money,
then your whole walk of life will be
trying to get money.
If you set your mind on fame, then
your whole direction of life will be trying
to get a fame.
Our mind, that is where we set our
mind, the mind thing, that which we set
our mind upon, that which we value, that
which we consider as important.
You see, the way you think decides the
direction you go.
So when we were of the nations, when
we did not know God, how did we
walk?
We walked by the vanity of our mind.
What?
Because of strife and vainglory.
We were vain.
We wanted to get to the front.
And because of that, anything, anyone that might
stand in our way, we had to struggle
with.
Therefore, our life was in the spirit of
strife and vainglory.
Even when we were doing good things, it
was motivated by vainglory.
Vain.
That was our mind.
And because our mind was such, therefore you'll
find our way of life will be full
of strife and vainglory.
Seeking things for ourselves.
And if that is the mind, no wonder
there is no peace.
You don't have peace in yourself because you're
never satisfied.
And there is no peace between you and
other people.
Everything was broken up.
But thank God, after we are saved, when
we are taught in Christ, Paul said, you
do not learn Christ in this way.
If you have been instructed in Christ, in
the truth that is in Jesus, then you
know your old man was crucified.
There is the renewing of the spirit of
your mind.
In Romans chapter 12 verse 2, Paul said,
present your bodies a living sacrifice.
Do not be conformed to the world, but
be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that you may prove what is the perfect
will of God.
There you'll find, if we present our bodies
a living sacrifice, then our mind will be
renewed.
We will look at things very differently.
We will value things very differently.
We will think very differently.
We will set our mind on something very
differently.
And here you'll find efficient, he said, if
not only your mind is renewed, even the
spirit of your mind is renewed.
There are two possible interpretations about the renewing
of the spirit of your mind.
One is, the spirit here can be interpreted
as an attitude.
In other words, your mental attitude, your spiritual
attitude will be renewed.
And there is another interpretation which goes to
the root of it.
Because your spirit is quickened, and the Holy
Spirit lives in your spirit, and there is
such communion between your spirit and the Holy
Spirit, so the power of the Spirit reaches
to your mind and controls it.
Formerly your mind is controlled by your self
-life, because self is behind your mind, therefore
everything is vain.
But now, being born again, and being controlled
by the Holy Spirit, you'll find the life
of Christ begins to control your mind, so
you have the mind of Christ.
The mind of Christ.
And this is what Paul means.
We who are being saved, we now have
the mind of Christ.
The spirit of our mind is renewed, therefore
we walk differently from this world.
How do we walk?
What is the mind of Christ?
In Philippians chapter 2, you'll find it is
simply stated, the mind of Christ is humility.
He who is equal with God.
He who subsists in the form of God.
That is to say, he who is essentially
God.
In every respect he is God.
And yet, he emptied himself of his glory,
of his dignity, of his power, of his
authority, of his position.
He emptied himself.
He took upon himself the form of a
slave.
He really became a slave to God.
And he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the
Father, even unto death, and yet the death
of the cross.
In other words, humility.
I think it's Andrew Murray who says, humility
is not to think less of yourself.
Humility is to think not of yourself.
Here you'll find our Lord Jesus was willing
to give up himself completely.
His glory, his position, his rights, everything.
In order that he may fulfill the Father's.
He does not think of himself in any
way, in any sense.
He is only thinking of doing the Father's
will.
He is only thinking of us.
How he can complete us according to the
Father's will.
That is humility.
Brothers and sisters, whereas in the past as
we were the nations, we walk in the
vanity of our mind.
Now, in the household of God, we walk
in the humility of Christ.
That's different.
How can we maintain peace in the family
of God, if we all walk humbly before
God and before one another.
If we are not high-minded, thinking that
we are far above all the others.
And if we are high-minded, surely we
will try to load over everybody else.
And if our opinion is not respected, we
immediately throw into a fit.
Be not high-minded.
Be low-minded.
Humble.
Esteeming our brothers and sisters as more excellent
than we are.
Why?
Because you don't look at yourself.
And if we learn to gird ourselves with
humility, brothers and sisters, if every member in
the family walks humbly before one another, prefers
one another in honor, you know what will
be the result.
That family is very peaceful.
Very happy.
Very harmonious.
And will be prosperous.
The problem today is, there is so much
strife in the family of God.
Because everyone wants to be the greater one.
You remember even among the twelve disciples, with
the Lord physically in their midst.
We can almost say that continuously they are
striving against one another.
Why?
Everyone wanted to be the greater one.
Vain.
Vanity of the mind.
No peace.
But thank God, the Spirit of Christ is
in us.
And if we learn Christ, if we have
learned Christ, we will be girded with humility.
And we can walk humbly before our brothers
and sisters.
And as we do that, the result is,
that family will really be built up.
That is to walk worthily of our calling
as the family of God.
Does it mean to say that to walk
humbly will mean that you will be so
soft, so weak, so weak, no strength anymore?
Not at all.
Because you'll find it's very, very interesting if
you read with that in mind.
You will find it's very interesting.
Why?
Because it says, be angry and do not
sin.
Now if you read it within the context.
Be angry and do not sin.
Now you will say that if you walk
humbly before your brothers and sisters, how can
you be angry?
You shouldn't be angry.
At all.
Because you are so soft.
You just cannot see anything wrong with your
brothers and sisters.
How can you be angry with them if
you don't see there's anything wrong?
But you know the Lord Jesus, He was
so humble.
Therefore, He had the right to get angry.
We have no right to get angry.
Why?
Because we are not humble.
Whenever we get angry, we are involved.
Our self is there.
We see.
But look at our Lord Jesus.
He was so selfless.
And because He was so humble, He could
see so clearly.
He was not angry with people.
He was angry with anything that is not
of God.
His angry was righteous anger.
He has the right to be angry.
And He does not sin.
Brothers and sisters, if we walk humbly, you'll
find there will be strength to deal with
things that are not of God.
And do not sin.
Let not the sun go down upon your
lap, nor give room for the devil.
In other words, you can be angry with
your brothers and sisters.
Why?
Because you find that they are not walking
according to God.
And yet, you are not over-righteous in
the sense that you cannot forgive.
Before the sun goes down, you forgive.
You forgive.
Now, that is humility.
That is strength.
Otherwise, you will give room for the devil.
Why?
Because you will consider yourself as more righteous
than your brothers and sisters, and you'll fall
into the trap.
You know, when I read, I find it
interesting.
He said, let the stealer steal no more,
but rather let him toil, working what is
honest with his hands that he may have
to distribute to him that has need.
Suddenly, Paul seems to fall so low.
He talked about thieves.
And said, if you steal before, don't steal
anymore.
But does he stop there?
No.
He said, you work with your hands, so
that you may have something to give to
those who are in need.
Apply it spiritually, if you will forgive me.
You know how we steal from the family
often?
Instead of giving, supplying, contributing to the family,
we are stealing from the family all the
time.
Now, steal no more.
Work with your hands that you may have
something to contribute.
Isn't that a good principle?
Don't be so lazy.
Let your brothers and sisters exercise themselves before
the Lord, labor before the Lord, so that
they can have something to give, and you
just take it from them.
That's stealing.
You are not doing anything.
You are just taking it easy.
But labor before the Lord.
Like the children of Israel, they labor, they
toil the land, in order that they may
have something to give to God and to
the needy ones.
Now, what kind of spirit is that?
The spirit of Christ.
It is no longer everything for me.
It is having more to give.
So, brothers and sisters, for a family to
really be prosperous, everyone has to work for
the family and not the family works for
him.
Our attitude has to change.
How often we go to a meeting.
For what purpose?
You feel yourself weak, depressed, empty, and you
go to a meeting, you hope that you
will be filled.
And if after a meeting you are not
filled, then you will criticize and say, well,
that's a flop.
I don't, I'm not filled.
Do you come to meet with your brothers
and sisters only with that purpose?
Or you come bringing what you have toiled
and God has given you the increase and
give to the family.
If everybody is doing that, how rich will
be the family?
Walk in humility.
And then, secondly, we just go through the
points.
Secondly, walk in love.
Walk in love.
Paul said, as beloved children of God, let
us walk in love.
As Christ loves us.
And offering himself for us as a sacrifice
and offering to God a sweet smelling savor.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in the family of
God, we must have love.
The family of God is not a court
where we come to reason.
The family of God is a home where
love prevails.
Let us learn to love one another as
Christ has loved us.
And you know, in love there is always
that element of sacrifice.
If there is no sacrifice, something is missing
in love.
The Lord Jesus loves us and he offers
himself as a sacrifice for us.
If we love our brothers and sisters, we
are willing to sacrifice for our brothers and
sisters.
And in the book of Romans you'll find,
love negatively never does anything harmful for the
brethren.
And love positively, always try to establish, build
up the neighbors.
So Paul said, owe nobody anything except love.
In other words, we will never come to
a point where we can say we have
loved our brothers and sisters enough now.
Now that's Peter.
Peter think, thought that he had forgiven his
brother enough after seven times.
The Lord said no.
Seventy times seven.
We always owe our brothers and sisters in
love.
And then thirdly, walk in light.
Because we are children of light.
Now the light here of course simply means
the light of life.
In him was light, life.
And the light was the light of man.
We have the light of Christ in us.
And this light gives light to our path.
If we walk in the light, as he
is in the light, we have fellowship one
with another.
And the blood of Jesus Christ his son
cleanses us from all our sins.
Now let me just briefly say this.
Every one of us in the family of
God must learn to walk in the light
of life that God has given to you
today.
It is true.
Some brothers and sisters have greater light to
walk in.
Some have smaller light to walk in because
their life is younger.
But everyone must learn to walk in the
light that he has.
And if we all walk in the light
that we have, we can have fellowship not
only with the Lord, but with one another.
But remember one thing.
Those who have greater light are not to
measure those with smaller light with their life
and criticize them.
Those with greater light should walk before those
brothers and sisters with lesser light.
And if they walk before them, those with
lesser light will be exposed by the greater
light.
And they will thereby grow before the Lord.
In other words, for the older brothers and
sisters in the family, you know, that's always
happened.
In a family you have maybe seven like
in my family, my father's family.
And the older ones, of course, they are
more advanced in knowledge and everything.
Now if the older ones always look upon,
look down upon the younger ones and say
you do this wrong and you do that
wrong and always criticizing them because they measure
them with their light, with their knowledge.
You know what will happen?
The younger ones will try to evade and
avoid the older ones.
There's no fellowship anymore.
They are not helped.
But the older ones instead of condemning them
or not even trying to trying to teach
them, they just walk before them, live before
them.
And you know it is the younger one
always look up to the older ones and
try to imitate them.
You see, that's the way the light should
shine.
That's the way the light will expose, reprove,
show the character of everything and build up.
And finally, as members of the family of
God, we mustn't walk wisely.
And by wisely here, it simply means walk
in the will.
If you walk in the will of God,
you walk wisely.
But how can we walk in the will
of God?
Be filled with the Holy Spirit.
If your life is controlled by the Holy
Spirit, you walk in the will of God.
And if you walk in the will of
God, you'll find everything will be set in
order.
The relationship between the husband and wife, parents
and children, master and servants, the relationship among
the brothers and sisters, you'll find everything will
be in order.
In the family, the order of the family
will be established.
Because everyone walk in the will of God,
keeping his or her place.
And we will all be rightly related under
our Lord.
Brothers and sisters, this is to walk worthily
of our calling as the family of God.
So may the Lord have mercy upon us.
Shall we pray?
Our Heavenly Father, how we praise and thank
Thee Thou has not only saved us individually,
but Thou has put us into this great
family of God.
Oh, we thank Thee for Thyself.
We thank Thee for our brothers and sisters,
how we need Thee and how we need
one another.
But Lord, do show us that this is
our calling.
Lord, do teach us how to walk worthily
of this calling.
Oh, that we may all gird ourselves with
humility, that we may really walk in love,
that we may walk in light and walk
wisely.
Oh Lord, we do desire to see Thy
family peaceful, happy, growing, prosperous, glorifying Thyself.
Oh Lord, we praise and thank Thee.
There is a part for us to play,
and we just commit ourselves for this Thy
calling.
In the name of our Lord Jesus.
Amen.