Through the Bible with Les Feldick
LESSON 3 * PART 2 * BOOK 73
HOLY SPIRIT (PNEUMA HAGION) – 2
Psalms 51:11 and Luke 24:49
We’re going to get back on our study of the incarnate Christ for at least this program. Let’s continue on here in Philippians chapter 2. For those of you joining us out in television, again we just appreciate the fact that you feel like you’re part of the class. We’re just like a Sunday school class. That’s the best way I can put it. I’m not here to preach, and I’m not here to holler at you. We’re just going to see what the Book says, and I think we’re making a dent.
All right, let’s come back and continue on a little further in Philippians chapter two. We ended up how that Christ died the death even the death of the cross—now verse 9.
Philippians 2:9a
“Wherefore…” Now, whenever you see that word wherefore, what is that supposed to do to you? It should send you back a little ways to the verses that we just covered. And what’s it talking about? His becoming flesh, His death on the cross—and since all that has been accomplished, now God also has highly exalted Him.
Now think for a moment. What two positions are we now looking at? What did I tell you He came as? The lowest point on the social scale, a bond slave. Where is He ending up? The highest possible place in all of God’s operations, highly exalted. That’s what the cross accomplished. But you know what? That’s us!
We’re nothing but hell-bound sinners, and by simply appropriating by faith all of this, we, too, are now seated in the heavenlies. Not here on earth—we’re just strangers passing through and always equate all of this. In fact, let’s go back to Romans chapter 8 for a minute. I think we may have looked at it in the last taping, but it never hurts to repeat these things. Romans chapter 8 and drop in at verse fourteen, because I’m afraid too many believers are just sort of floating along. You know you’re saved, you know you’re not going to Hell, but do you really appreciate your position as a member of the Body of Christ? Do you really appreciate that one day we’re going to be there?
In fact, I just shared with someone on the phone last night. I said, “You know, we all talk rather glibly, and we hope the Lord is coming soon.” My, I get phone calls and letter after letter, and I think we are all pretty much agreed that nothing better could happen to us than for the Lord to blow the trumpet, and we’re out of here. And we talk about it rather glibly. But do you ever really stop and just think about it? What if five minutes from now that trumpet should sound? And it’s coming. It’s getting closer all the time. They can scorn it all they want. The more they scorn it, the closer it gets, because that’s what Scripture says. So just stop and think about some of these things and how that it’s reality. This isn’t pie in the sky or wishful thinking. It’s going to happen!
Whenever I say it’s going to happen, a verse comes to mind every time. We used it last taping. That’s why I’ve been trying to ignore it today, but I just can’t. It’s in Galatians. What does it say?
Galatians 4:4a
“But when the fullness of the time was come, (What’s the next part?) God sent forth His Son,…” Now, from the time the prophets stopped writing and dealing with Israel, which was Malachi, how long was it before the angel appeared to Mary and John the Baptist? How long? Four hundred years of total silence.
Israel had never experienced that kind of silence in her history. So what do you suppose a lot of them began to think? It’s not going to happen. God has forgotten all about us. But, beloved, it did. When the fullness of time was come, God moved and Christ appeared. It’s the same way today. Oh, you know it’s been nineteen hundred and some years now, and a lot of people have almost given up and think that this is never going to happen. Don’t you believe it, because it is! I don’t know when. It may be a long time, yet. I can’t see how it can, but it could be. God is timeless. But I’ll tell you, beloved, one day it’s going to happen. God’s going to move. All right, now where was I?
Romans 8:14
“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, (We’ll look at some of these verses when we get into the Holy Spirit aspect later this afternoon.) they are the sons of God.” See, that’s a present tense verb. Not that you hope to be, not that you might be, but you are here and now. Children of God is a better word here than sons of God. Verse 15:
Romans 8:15a
“For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear;…” That’s the joy of being a true believer. We don’t have to fear God. I had a letter yesterday where a girl grew up with a mentality that all God was waiting for was for her to think something wrong, say something wrong, and do something wrong so He could zap her. That was her thinking of God. Well, she’s not alone. There are legions, and that’s why they don’t want anything do with Him. But listen, it’s just the opposite. We don’t have to fear.
Romans 8:15b-17
“…but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, (In other words, God has placed us as sons of God.) whereby we cry, Abba, Father. 16. The Spirit, (the Holy Spirit) himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are (present tense) the children of God: 17. And if children, (then it follows) then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with Him, that we may be also glorified together.” Then the next verse, we can’t really stop here.
Romans 8:18
“For I reckon (Paul says) that the sufferings of this present time (And he knew what it meant to suffer like no other human on earth, not counting the Lord Himself, of course. But he suffered over such a long period of time that his was far beyond any others.) are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us.” That’s still future, and its coming! All right, now back to Philippians, if you will.
Philippians 2:9-10
“Wherefore (Since Christ has finished the horrible suffering and the work, as well as the victory and the majesty of the resurrection, which we’ll look at next.) God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10. That at the name of Jesus every (Underline that word if you don’t mind marking your Bible. Every—and that means exactly what it says.) knee should bow, (Not just of this present Age of Grace, but from whatever period of time God wants to deal with.) of things in heaven, (the angelic hosts) and things in earth, and things under the earth;” I think that even delves into the satanic demons and so forth. Everything that has any symbolism of personality is going to kneel before Jesus Christ.
Philippians 2:11a
“And that every tongue (I think this includes lost humanity as well as the saved.) should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,…” Oh, for most it’s going to be too late. It’s not going to bring their salvation. But before they go to their doom, they’re going to be brought to that place of recognizing that the One they rejected was who He said He was.
Philippians 2:11b
“…confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” All right, let’s jump all the way to Revelation chapter 20 where this is laid out in plain English.
This, of course, is all the lost of the ages. No believers are here, because the believer has already done this. It’s not left for him to do at all. Every believer has already bowed the knee and recognized who Jesus Christ is. That’s part of our salvation. But it is for the rest of everything, whether it’s the demon host or whether it’s the fallen angels, and we know they’re going to be in this group. As Philippians said, even some of the heavenly beings are all going to be here to bow the knee before the great judge of the Great White Throne, which is now spoken of here in Revelation 20. Let’s jump in at verse 11.
Revelation 20:11-12a
“And I saw a great white throne, (Don’t ask me where it’s at. I don’t know. It’s going to be out there some place.) and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heavens fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God;…”
Now, I’ve got to stop. I can’t help it. Come back with me to John’s gospel. These will be verses that I doubt very many people in Christendom even know are in their Bible, but they are. We’re going to look at them. Now remember what we’re talking about, the Great White Throne where every knee that has ever existed and ever experienced will bow and recognize Christ for who He was. This is not for salvation, because this is the lost.
John 5:28-29
“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, (Now, if you’ve got a red letter edition, it’s red, so Jesus is speaking in His earthly ministry.) in the which all that are in the graves (All, not just believers, all that are in the graves or have lived and died.) shall hear His voice, 29. And shall come forth; (Not all at once, you’ve got to compare Scripture with Scripture, so don’t picture all of this happening at the same time. No, no, but they will all come forth.) they who have done good, (people of faith) unto the resurrection of life; (Eternal life, Old Testament as well as New) and they who have done evil, (No faith—the Cain’s and Esau’s, the Ishmael’s, the King Saul’s, and so forth. They who are of no faith, they’re going to come–) unto the resurrection of condemnation.”
They’re going to be resurrected. Now that takes some explanation, doesn’t it? All right, when lost people die today, where do they go? Well, they go to Hell as we see it in Scripture. But that’s not the end. That’s not the Lake of Fire. I had a whole half hour program on that once upon a time, I think. The difference between Hell and the Lake of Fire, which is all the difference in the world, is that Hell is just the waiting place in the spirit realm. They’re not down there bodily. They’re only in soul and spirit. But they’re going to be resurrected, and, I think, be given a body fit for the Lake of Fire. They, too, will become body, soul, and spirit once again. But they’re going to “come unto the resurrection of condemnation.”
All right, now I’ll come back to Revelation 20, and here are the lost of all ages. Here they are bodily. They’ve got a body fit for their eternity, just like we’re going to have a body fit for glory—verse 12.
Revelation 20:12
“And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; (What person of the Godhead? Jesus Christ! Because it is at Him that every knee will bow, so we know that Christ will be the judge at the Great White Throne.) and the books (plural,) were opened: and another book (singular) was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead (These lost who have been resurrected and brought before the Judge.) were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.”
God’s keeping track. They’re going to have that long list of evil and wickedness and unbelief, even church people who have been hearing the Gospel and rejecting it. It’s all written down. They’re going to be confronted with it, and it’s going to be awful. That’s why preachers don’t want to touch on it. It’s going to be awful!
Revelation 20:13-15
“And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. (That’s the eternal.) This is the second death. (That’s the end. They’re separated. That’s what death amounts to here. It’s a spiritual death. They are separated from their Creator God for the rest of eternity.) 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.” We don’t like to hear that. I know we don’t. But it’s a biblical reality, and people have to be made aware of it.
All right, now if you will come back quickly with me with me to Philippians chapter
2 verse 11.
Philippians 2:11
“And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” All right, let’s move over to chapter 3. We have another set of verses that, again, trumpet the incarnation.
We’re going to be looking at the final result of His death, shed blood, and His burial. Paul is going to give us some thoughts on the resurrection in chapter 3. Let’s start at verse 7. The Apostle Paul is pouring out his own feelings from within of where he had come from as a great religious leader in Israel. And he, too, was lowered to the very lowest rung of society when Christ saved him on the road to Damascus. All right, verse 7:
Philippians 3:7-8a
“But what things were gain to me, (In other words, all he was gaining in his religious activity, and he probably gained financially as well as every other which way. Those things were gain to him.) those I counted loss for Christ. 8. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord:…” See, that’s exactly what chapter 2 was talking about, that every knee will come to this same recognition. That’s where we’ve been, and that’s where we are. We know who He is. Now reading on:
Philippians 3:8b
“…for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,” Have you ever stopped to think about that?
The Apostle Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, rather, was one of the top wheels in Judaism. He probably had one of the most beautiful homes in Jerusalem. And they lived sumptuously. I’ve referred to that before on one of our tours in Israel. Remember that, Iris? When the archeologist took us through, and my, when he showed us one of the homes that they had dug up and uncovered way down below the temple mount. It’s to the side a ways, but anyhow it was down below. We went down a bunch of steps, and it was all underneath. Here they had uncovered one of the homes of one of the chief priests of Judaism—seven bathrooms. Now you take a home today with seven bathrooms, and you know that’s going to cost you a few million bucks, isn’t it?
And the wall he showed us with the various layers of beautiful wall material. Sumptuous! Remember it? And then he made the analogy that no doubt the high priest’s wife went to Athens and visited this big fancy home and came back and said “Honey, I’ve got to have that wall material that I saw in Athens.” Well, that’s all right, we can afford it. So that was the first layer. Then he says a couple of years later she must have gone to Rome, and she saw another beautiful wall material. She came back to Jerusalem and said, “Honey, I’ve got to have this.” Well, o.k., we can afford it. Then she evidently went to a third city at that time, because there were three layers of these beautiful wall materials, one right after the other.
So, they lived sumptuously. Well, so did Saul of Tarsus. He said more than any of his peers. And he turned his back on all that. But I’m confident that he had a wife and kids, and he turned his back on all that for the Gospel. And that’s what we have to understand, how this man suffered, not just physically or even emotionally, but that he turned his back on all the good life that he had lived as a religious Jew. All right, back to our text.
Philippians 3:8b
“…I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, (trash) that I may win Christ.” Not that he had to work for his salvation, but that he might hear one day, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
Philippians 3:9
“And be found in him, (positionally) not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, (As Saul of Tarsus, remember, he was a self-righteous Pharisee.) but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” One of those three absolutes we looked up at the beginning of the afternoon. All right now, verse 10, here’s the heart of this lesson.
Philippians 3:10a
“That I may know him,…” What does it mean to know somebody? When you really know them? Well, I come to the conclusion, Iris and I have found out, that you don’t really become acquainted with someone until you sit down and have a meal with them. Isn’t that about right? That’s why so much of church history back here was centered around that fellowship supper. That’s where they really got to know each other. All right, Paul wants to know Christ like we could know the best friend that we’ve got. Even as a friend, not as Savior and Lord and God, but as friend.
Philippians 3:10a
“That I may know him, and the power of His resurrection,…” Now, you’ve heard me say on this program over and over, how much power did it take to raise Christ from the dead? All the power that God Himself could gather, because who was fighting to resist it? The powers of Satan—absolutely the last thing Satan wanted was for Christ to be raised from the dead.
But God overcame it. So resurrection power is that which catapults every believer into the Christian experience. That’s why we’re different, not odd, different. I either read or heard something just the other day. I think I was listening to a tape somebody sent me. The guy made the statement—and we see it in our mail over and over that once they comprehend this gospel of Grace that we enter into by faith plus nothing, without their even trying their lifestyle changed.
In fact, we had an interesting couple—can I share it? They are way over in England. They picked us up on the internet. They had no spiritual life whatsoever, not a smidgen. They were living together without benefit of marriage. They partied most nights of the week. He had a well paying job. They found us on the internet over in the Book of Romans. And in about three weeks’ time, in Romans, the Lord gloriously saved them.
What was the first thing they did? Got married! The first thing they did after they were both saved is they went and got married. What was the next thing they did? No more partying. And then he said without even thinking, “I was a three pack a day smoker. All of a sudden, four days after we were saved, I said, Katie, I haven’t had a cigarette in four days.” Well, what’s happened?
He said their whole lifestyle turned 180 degrees. Well, there was no evangelist there prodding them. It was just the Word of God having its effect. And that’s what we hear, letter after letter after letter. My life, my family, our home is totally changed. That’s as it should be, beloved. Not that that’s what’s going to gain our salvation, but it’s the result of it.
How in the world, when you understand the work of the cross and all of His suffering, and then, yes, now as we see all of its glory, how can you turn around and go down into the trash of this world? We can’t stand that trash any more. We’re not supposed to. In fact, I read something else the other day, and it encouraged me. You know what is the best guarantee that you are a true believer? I’m not going to put you on the spot. I’ll answer it for you. To realize the moment you sin. That’s the best guarantee that you are a true believer. That the moment you sin, the Spirit convicts you. Now, that doesn’t mean a horrendous thing. You don’t have to go out and do something horrible. But whenever we sin, we are immediately made aware of it. The unbelieving world doesn’t have that. So, there’s your guarantee. O.k., verse 10 again:
Philippians 3:10-11
“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto His death; 11. If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.” In other words, what we call the Rapture. Oh my, that’s our Blessed Hope—that’s what Titus calls it.
Titus 2:13
“Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ:”