Book 36

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 2 * PART 3 * BOOK 36

EPHESIANS 2:1-10

As we begin this lesson let me say that we try to reach across all denominational lines and get people to study the Word of God. I had a phone call from a gentlemen yesterday who was 69 years old, and he hadn’t been to church since he was 9 years old. He hadn’t even listened to anyone on television, but he happened to have caught our program, and said, “You have totally turned me around, and now this Book is consuming me. I can’t get enough of it.” Well we just praise the Lord for things like that, and continue to covet your prayers. Our goal through the Holy Spirit is to continue to open the Word where anybody can understand it. Now let’s go back to Ephesians chapter 2, and begin this lesson with verse 6. However to pick up the flow we will begin with verse 4.

Ephesians 2:4-6a

“But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us. 5. Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ. (by grace ye are saved;) 6a. And hath raised us up together,…”

That is, after God, who is rich in mercy hath made us alive with Christ, by virtue of the work of the Cross. Remember when He died, we died, and when He rose from the dead it was by that same power we’ve also been raised out of deadness. In the first two lessons we showed you the 3 circles on the board that shows our makeup. Remember in our center circle we are born into the human family dead spiritually, with a sin nature which is the engine of all carnal activity. Now looking at the third circle we find that now as believers the old Adam has been crucified, we have been given a new nature. We have been generated by the Holy Spirit, and now we’re a completely new person.

Now in our closing remarks last lesson I pointed out that we still have the old nature to fight with, and we have to keep him under control, and let the new nature control our activity. That’s why from time to time Christians fail and behave like they’re not Christians. That’s when they let that old sin nature, that old Adam, raise his ugly head and take over their lives for a little while. That can happen to any of us, but that doesn’t mean that we have lost our salvation. Now reading verse 6.

Ephesians 2:6

“And hath raise us up together, (he has given us resurrection power, and eternal life) and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:”

Now when we first started teaching this Book of Ephesians what did I tell you the prepositional phrase was throughout this whole little book? In Him, In Whom, In Christ, which was a positional thing.. We are in Christ as a result of our salvation experience, it’s a work of God. Along with everything else that happened the moment we believed such as He has redeemed us, justified us, sanctified us, but He has also placed us positionally into the Body of Christ. It’s a work of God, and we take it by faith. I mean, you can’t lay out a diploma and say, “See this is what God gave me.” But rather we just simply take it by faith. The Book says that it has happened and we believe it. So in verse 6 we find that Paul writes that we’re in the heavenlies, but we’re still on the earth. But positionally we are in Christ Jesus in the heavenlies. All of a sudden a verse just comes to mind. We’re living in such crucial days, and let’s let some of the Scriptures just thrill your heart. Turn to the Book of Titus chapter 2 for a moment, and let’s look at verses 12 and 13. This goes right along with what we’ve been saying in these last 3 lessons, that now because of the Grace and mercy and love of God we’ve been brought out of that life of desire to live in the nature of Old Adam. Now this is what we’ve been translated to.

Titus 2:12-13

“Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, (desires) we should live (instead) soberly, righteously, and godly, (not when we get to heaven, but where?) in this present world: (that’s to be our lifestyle. Now here’s the verse that came to mind. We are at the same time) 13. Looking for that blessed hope; and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;”

Now here Jesus Christ is claiming to be the great God, and I know this flies in the face of people who claim that Christ never claimed to be God. Yes He did. Paul claims He was by inspiration, and this is what we can be looking for. “The glorious appearing of the great God and our Savior Jesus Christ.” What a hope we have. And why can we do it? Because in verse 14 it tells us that.

Titus 2:14

“Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.” Now coming back to Ephesians chapter 2, and we’ll read verse 6 again.

Ephesians 2:6

“And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.”

We’re in the Body of Christ, although we’re living here on the planet. But now look at verse 7. See this life is just a little snap of the finger compared to eternity. Oh eternity is beyond our comprehension, and I’ve said before and I’ll say again, the Bible doesn’t really tell us that much of what we’re going to be doing. But this much we know, that when we get to glory it’s going to be beyond human comprehension. All the things that we think are enjoyable on this earth will be as Paul says, “Dung” by comparison. So this much we can rest on.

Ephesians 2:7

“That in the ages (eternity) to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.” God didn’t have to save the human race, but rather He did it out of love and Grace. Now verse 8 is one of the super, super Pauline verses.

Ephesians 2;8

“For by grace (unmerited favor) are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: (not something that you’ve worked for, not something you’ve decided to do, but) it is the gift of God:”

Now I don’t have to tell you what a gift is. It’s something that you do not work for. A gift a lot of times is something that we don’t deserve. I can look at some of you and say, “You’ve given Iris and I things that we don’t deserve.” But salvation was a gift of God that none of us deserves. Now the next verse tells it all.

Ephesians 2:9

“Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Now that flies in the face of probably 90 % of Christendom tonight. They are somehow either blatantly or by innuendo making people feel that they’ve got to do something, and some more than others. But let’s look at what Paul says.

Ephesians 2:9

“Not of works, lest any man should boast.”

Faith + Nothing = Salvation. Let’s go to Romans chapter 4. And here Paul uses Abraham as his prime example, but of course it’s prompted by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 4:2-3

“For if Abraham were justified (or made right with God) by works, he hath whereof to glory; (or boast) but not before God. 3. For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God,(+ nothing) and it (his believing) was counted unto him for righteousness.” And then jump down to verse 5. I’ve used this verse to lead quite a few to the Lord.

Romans 4:5

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

As soon as someone says, “I’ve got to do this or that”, then that cancels the work of the cross. But if you just believe then God will justify the ungodly. God doesn’t justify Godly people. You remember in His earthly ministry, what did Jesus say? Who needs the physician? Not the well person, but rather the sick. If there were such a thing as a Godly person he wouldn’t need salvation, but there is no such thing as an Godly person. Let’s look at Romans 3:23.

Romans 3:23

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;”

To the unsaved person, all are ungodly whether they’re well behaved or not. God sees everyone potentially as fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and we’re children of wrath like everybody else regardless of how we have been inhibited in our training. So let’s look at Romans 4:5 again.

Romans 4:5

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.”

And we could just go on and on, come back a page to Romans chapter 3 for another one, and let’s just drop down to verse 24. The language throughout all of Paul’s writings are the same. It’s not by works, it’s by faith in that finished work of the cross.

Romans 3:24

“Being justified (made just as if I’ve never sinned. That’s what God does when we become a believer.) freely (without any works) by his grace (and how does He justify us?) through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Then come on down to verse 26.

Romans 3:26

“To declare, I say, at this time his (Christ) righteousness: that he (God) might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.”

Do you see how simple all of this is? And oh my goodness, the world of religion is just putting people under all kinds of pressure and superstition. They look for this and they look for that, and all they’d have to do is just say, “But God did it all.” It’s finished, and we are expected to believe it. Now go back to Ephesians chapter 2.

So like Abraham he couldn’t be saved by works or he would have boasted, and you’ve heard me use this before. “Can you imagine what a horrible place heaven would be if everybody could boast of how they got there. Why we’d cross one side of that golden strand to the other rather than listen to someone tell it again, and again how they got there.” But it’s not going to be that way. Not a single person in glory is going to be able to boast of what they did to get there. No not a one. And we’re all going to sing the same song,“Nothing but the blood Christ!” That’s the only way. People think that we’re kind of a know-it-all when we say, “I know I’m going to go to heaven when I die,” and they say, “Who do you think you are anyway?” “Well I’m a nobody, but the One I’m trusting is Somebody! He’s the Creator of the universe, He did it all.” Now verse 10.

Ephesians 2:10a

“For we (who have been made alive out of deadness in trespasses and sin) are his workmanship,…” Now that doesn’t sound like much in the English, but do you know what that is in the Greek? It’s the same word from which we get the word poem, and you know what a beautiful work of art a poem can be. Do you know how our English has come down through centuries from various Greek words and do you know what word we use commonly that comes from this same Greek word translated “workmanship?” Symphony.

Now maybe some of you don’t like symphony music, but that’s beside the point. What makes a symphonic rendition of music? A putting together of all the various instruments. The bigger the orchestra the better it sounds. But what did it take to get the trumpets to play that note, and the French horn this one, and the violin that one, and the drums this one? Just what did it take? It took the fantastic mind of these composers, and do you know what blows my mind? A lot of those composers back in the 1800’s wrote those scores of music for every individual instrument in that symphony without ever touching one themselves. Now think about that. Think of a man with the wherewithal of music that he could write the score of every instrument in that huge orchestra without playing one of them himself. Now that’s what this word says that we have become in God’s hand as believers. We are like a grand symphony, and God has put everyone of us in exactly the right place, and we are to strike exactly the right sound if I may use that expression. Why? Because of His Sovereign way of putting us all together. Now let me show you another verse I like to use here. When we receive a larger offering than normal, I try to write back, and this is the verse I use so often. I Corinthians chapter 3, but it also applies if it someone who give $1.00 or a $1000.00 it doesn’t make a bit of difference, it still applies. This is again only talking to believers.

I Corinthians 3:9a

“For we are labourers together with God:…”

Do you see what a royal vineyard you and I are working in? We’re all working for the same cause. I’ve told everyone that’s been part of our ministry whether it’s our class people here, or whether it’s the people who contribute out in TV land. When I come up before the Bema Judgment Seat for rewards, it’s not going to stop with me. It’s going to be funneled out to everybody who’s been a part of my ministry, because we’re all laborers together with God. So again:

I Corinthians 3:9

“For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” Then he goes on as we’ve studied before, how God will reward us for all of our laboring. Remember not for salvation, but as a result of salvation. Now back to Ephesians chapter 2.

Ephesians 2:10a

“For we are his workmanship, (God has intrinsically in His Sovereign Grace brought every believer into his place in the Body of Christ. Whether we’re rich or poor, black or white, or regardless what country we live in. We’re all working together to bring about the fruition of the completion of the Body of Christ. So we’re His workmanship, we’re like a poem, we’re like a symphony. Now what’s the next word?) created in Christ Jesus unto good works,…”

Now another verse just comes to mind in II Corinthians chapter 5. You know too many people think salvation is just a fire escape to keep them from going to Hell. Oh listen, that’s just a small portion of it. But God has created us to be something in His vineyard. We are to be something in that great symphony that He has constructed and created. Let’s start with verse 14.

II Corinthians 5:14-15

“For the love Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, (or conclude) that if one died for all, then were all dead: (we’ve already come to that conclusion) 15. And that he died for all, that they which live (have been raised out of their deadness in sins and trespasses) should not henceforth live unto themselves, (in other words, the attitude shouldn’t be, well I’m safe from going to Hell, and that’s all I have to worry about. Oh no, that’s not it. Once we become a believer we don’t live unto ourselves) but unto him which died for them, and rose again.”

See, that’s the Gospel. Every time you turn around in Paul’s letters you get the Gospel, how that Christ died for our sins, how that He was buried, and how that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. We must believe that for eternal life, and there it is again at the end of verse 15, it just keeps popping up. Now verse 16.

II Corinthians 5:16a

“Wherefore (since Christ died for our sins, and rose from the dead) henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have know Christ after the flesh,…”

I’m sure that Paul is making reference here to Christ’s earthly ministry. That’s not our salvation today. Although it’s good in application, it’s certainly good to know of all the miracles He performed, and all that He taught, but that’s not the Gospel to get us to heaven. Remember Paul and Christ were about the same age, so if Jesus was 30 years old when He began His ministry, then the apostle Paul was about the same age, and beginning his activity in the Sanhedrin. So they were contemporary with one another. So Paul could say, “Sure I knew Christ in the flesh.” Now I don’t think they ever had a face to face confrontation, but old Saul of Tarsus knew all about Him. Now continuing on with verse 16.

II Corinthians 16b

“… yet now henceforth know we him no more.”

Now that’s just plain English. What’s Paul saying? I’m not lifting up Christ’s earthly ministry, and remember this is Holy Spirit inspired, but what does Paul lift up? His death, His burial, and resurrection, His shed blood. See that what Paul knows, that’s what been revealed to Paul from heaven. Now verse 17 is the verse I wanted.

II Corinthians 5:17

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, (if we’re in the Body of Christ) he is a new creature: (or creation) old things are passed away: behold, all things are become new.”

Now who alone can create something like this? Only God! That’s why as you look at this, can you see now that works can never have a thing to do with our salvation? Because all the areas that we’re working on are the invisible. Now they’re real, but invisible. The old Adam has been crucified, and who but God could do it? It’s impossible to do that, but God can. Who but God can give us a new nature? Nobody. And that’s why it has to be all of God. You can join 15 churches, but it’s not going to give you a new nature. You could join as many churches as you want and do all the things they require for salvation, and it’s not going to take care of old Adam.

But when we let God do it, by us simply believing the finished work of the cross, then He moves in and does it all. He regenerates our spirit, He baptizes us with the Holy Spirit into the Body of Christ, He gives us a new divine nature that controls the body, and we’re in fellowship with Him, and it’s all because of what He accomplished on our behalf at the cross. Oh the world thinks we’re crazy, but I don’t. I wouldn’t trade places with the world for anything.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 2 * PART 2 * BOOK 36

THE INVISIBLE MAKE-UP OF THE SAVED

Now for starters let’s get right back to Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1 and Paul is speaking to us believers.

Ephesians 2:1

“And you hath he quickened, who were (past tense) dead in trespasses and sins:”

In the last lesson we went back and reconstructed Adam as he was created. Remember we had the three circles on the board, and in that first circle we had the makeup of Adam as he was created with a perfect body, with no seeds of death. Adam could have lived forever. God gave him a personality of a mind, will, and emotions patterned after the very personality of God Himself. Also in that first circle we found Adam also had that third part the spirit that made him complete so that he could fellowship with God. And with his spirit operating correctly it had an influence on his personality, and it in turn had an influence on the body. So Adam was under a perfect set of circumstances in a perfect body, and with perfect soul and spirit.

But then we went and looked in the second of the three circles at how he ate, and immediately the body begin to die even though he lived 930 years, he still died. We’re talking about physical death with his soul being separated from his physical body. He also lost that third part, the Spirit. Then we pointed out in our last lesson how the moment Adam ate of the fruit became a sin nature. Now the reason I’m using that word is because so often Paul uses the terminology that “we are sin -natured.” The things that we do naturally are not Godly, but rather ungodly. Now that’s just the bent of the old Adamic Nature, but remember the spirit part of Adam died and completely became inoperative, and so every child born from Adam and Eve on are now only a two part being of physical body with a soul, of mind will and emotion, but that soul is a sin -natured creature.

Now we’re going to pursue the lost person a little further, because that’s the format of Scripture. The natural first, and then the spiritual. So we’re going to look at the natural for a little bit yet. This is the person who is living but is spiritual dead, and what is his future if he does not come into God’s saving Grace. Let’s go back to John’s gospel chapter 5, and we’re going to jump in at verse 28. Now this is Jesus speaking during His earthly ministry, and they’re asking Him many questions. But here again Jesus doesn’t give us any doctrine on how all this is brought about, but rather He leaves that for the apostle Paul to reveal. But Jesus does tell us the end result of a person who is nothing more than body and soul.

John 5:28-29a

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming (He doesn’t put a date or year on it, but it’s a future point in time) in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice. (that is the voice of God to come forth.) 29. And (they) shall come forth, (there will not be anyone that won’t hear that call to come forth from the grave, whether they’re lost or saved. They will come forth, not the saved and lost at the same time, but all will come forth.) they that have done good,…”

Remember there’s only one way we can please God, and what is it? BY FAITH! Jesus doesn’t come right out and say it here, but the scriptures are so plain that there’s only one way of doing good in God’s eyes, and that is by exercising Faith.

Hebrews 11:6a

“But without faith it is impossible to please him:…” So those who are of faith will come forth.

John 5:29b

“… unto the resurrection of life;…” Now the word eternal is not in there, but it’s certainly implied, because what does John 3:16 say?

John 3:16

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” So that’s always implied that the believer is looking forward to an eternal life situation. Now let’s look at the next part of the verse.

John 5:29b

“…and they that have done evil, (or having no faith) unto the resurrection of damnation.”

Now I could stand here the rest of the afternoon and give you scriptural instances of lost people who were lost only because they would not believe what God said. I can start with Cain. I wouldn’t doubt a bit that Cain was probably a nicer man than his brother Abel. He was probably the kind of guy that people would say, “Isn’t he a swell guy?” But what was his problem? No Faith! He couldn’t believe what God had told him to do, so Cain goes out into eternity lost.

The next person we could use as an example is Esau. Jacob and Esau were twins, they had the same parents, the same environment, and again I wouldn’t doubt that Esau was probably a more likable fellow than Jacob, in fact from a man’s point of view, he was. Because which one of the two did their father Isaac prefer? Esau. Nice guy, good fellow, but what was his problem? No faith! Whatever God said didn’t mean a thing to him, and that’s why he was willing to sell his birthright for a bowl of bean soup. Oklahoma people know all about bean soup. So Esau gave it all up for a bowl of soup, and the reason is no faith, and he’s lost for all eternity. So you can find that all the way up through Scripture, the ones without faith may have been better people, they may have been more moral, but they were destitute of faith, so God calls them evil.

John 5:29b

“…and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”

A better word for damnation would be condemnation. In other words every lost person from Cain, who left this life when their body died, their soul continued to live. So many times Paul uses the word “sleep” when he refers to those who have died. In fact let’s look at the Scriptures so you’ll know what I’m talking about. So turn with me to I Corinthians 15, he also uses it in I Thessalonians chapter 4. Let’s just drop down to verse 51.

I Corinthians 15:51

“Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not sleep, (to die physically) but we shall all be changed.” Now let’s take time to also read the one over in I Thessalonians.

I Thessalonians 4:13

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as other which have not hope.”

And all Paul is talking about is believers who have died. Now there are cults who have taken that to mean that when a believer dies he goes into an unconscious state, and some cults even feel that the soul stays with that body in the grave, and it is merely asleep. Listen the soul never sleeps! The soul of a lost person, as we’re going to see here in a minute, goes immediately to Hell.

Now people don’t like to hear that expression anymore, but you see I’m not afraid of that. I’ve always said the if people don’t like the way I teach, then they can push the off button. If the money stops coming in for our television time, then I quit coming up here each month to record these lessons, and that will give me more time with my cattle. Now I’m sure the Lord doesn’t want it that way, but I’ve got that option, so it doesn’t scare me that I’m going to lose a retirement if I can’t keep doing what I’m doing like it would other preachers and teachers who are depending on a denomination retirement pension. So I’m going to teach it just like the Bible puts it, and if people don’t like it, then that’s tough. The lost person is going to go to Hell!

All right, the soul never sleeps, but what about the body? We can refer to it as being asleep because what’s going to happen one day? It’s going to be resurrected, it’s going to be waked up, it’s going to be changed. I guess the best example I ever had of that, and it’s only happened once in my life. I came in one noon hour, and I was so exhausted, but yet I had a lot of work to do that afternoon. So I told Iris that I was going to take a 30 minute nap, and then I’ve got to get going again. You know from the time my head hit the pillow until Iris woke me it seem like it was only a split second.

Have you ever had that happened? Now that’s exactly what physical death is. The old body is put in the grave, and it’s really asleep. But before it knows that time has even gone by, what’s going to happen? The Lord’s going shout, and the trumpet of God is going to sound, and that body is going to be raised from the dead, and will be awake in a split second. But always remember, “the soul never sleeps” OK so let’s deal with the lost person first and then we’ll come back and look at the believer.

So the lost person’s body dies, his old sin nature, which has never gotten right with God, goes out into eternity, to Hell, the place that is waiting for the resurrection of the lost person. Now let me take you back to Ephesians chapter 2 for a moment and then we’ll go to Matthew.

Ephesians 2:2-3

“Wherein (that is in trespasses and sins) in time past ye (believers) walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, (Satan) the spirit(small s so it’s not the Holy Spirit) that now worketh in the children of disobedience: 3. Among whom also we (including ourselves) all had our conversation (manner of living) in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh, and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.”

Now turn with me to Matthew chapter 7. These are verses that you don’t hear much any more. Most teachers and preachers just skip over them. My, when I was young I heard this quite often. I haven’t heard about this for a long time, but these verses are still in the Book. And on top of that this is what the Lord said Himself.

Matthew 7:13-14

“Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, (not eternal life, but rather eternal condemnation) and many there be which go in thereat: (why do many take the broad way?) 14. Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, (eternal life) and few there be that find it.”

Years ago I had a fellow who did a lot of buying from me and so forth, but he was a member of one of the largest religious systems in the world, and he was trying to implore me to become a part of his religious system. And I said to him, now wait a minute, my Bible tells me that based on numbers alone you’re going the wrong direction, and I don’t want to be part of it. He said, “What do you mean?” I said, “Have you ever heard about the verse in the Bible that says, “broad is the way, and many go in thereat, but narrow is the way that leads to eternal life, and few there be that find it.” I said, “Tell me something, does your particular religion qualify for many, or few?” He said, “Well we’re many.” I said, “Then according to that where are you?” He said, “On the way to destruction?” I said, “You named it.”

Because you see all through, has God ever had the “many?” Never! That’s a doctrine that you can follow all the way from Genesis to Revelation, and I call it the “Doctrine of the remnant.” Now those women who go to the fabric shops, what do you like to find? A remnant.” It’s just a little bit left of the whole bolt. Well you see that’s what God has kept all the way through human history, is that little remnant. Once it got so small He could hardly see it, like at the end of the first 1600 years of human history, we had the event of the flood. How many were saved from the flood? 8 out of probably 4,000,000,000.

Then you come to the next graphic description and that is when Elijah was confronting the prophets of Baal up there on Mount Carmel. And then Elijah ran scared from Queen Jezebel clear down to the south end of the Sinai peninsula. He hid under a Juniper tree, and what was his graphic statement? “Lord I’m the only one left.” But what did God say? “Elijah I have 7000 who have not bowed their knee to Baal.” In other words these 7000 were still believers. Now that sounds pretty good, but you see Israel has always had a population coming out of Egypt running between 7-10 million. Do you know what the percentage is of 7000 out of 7 million? It’s .01. Not 1/10th, but rather it’s one, one hundredth of one percent. It’s a pretty small remnant isn’t it? And it’s always been that way, and it’s that way today. We’re getting down to a smaller and smaller percentage everyday. But is God surprised? Why of course not, because it’s always been that way. So this is what Jesus meant when He said this is Matthew chapter 7 and verse 13.

Matthew 7:13b

“…for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:”

And that’s where most people are headed. Because they’re going out into eternity with nothing more than that physical body that’s now been laid in the grave, it’s a sleep waiting for the resurrection that Jesus talked about in John chapter 5. And they went out with a rebellious sin -natured soul that is one day going to be called up to the Great White Throne Judgment, and that judgment is only for the lost. Now in the few minutes we have left let’s come back to Revelation and follow these lost people.

Now if you doubt me that lost people go to Hell consciously just read Luke 16 about Abraham, Lazarus, and the rich man. The Scripture gives us just one little window of opportunity for information, and it’s the only time we have this account in Scriptures, but again the Lord Himself refers to it. And through that little window we found Abraham conversing with the rich man who was in Hell. The rich man was in torment. The rich man was conscious even though he wasn’t there in body, but rather only in the area of the soul, the mind, the will, and emotions. Yet the conscience was so real that what did he ask Abraham to do? Somehow dip his finger in water and cool his tongue, because he was in torment in the flames. Now the Lord Jesus Himself used that. That didn’t come from story tellers.

So we know that the lost is in a torment situation, but that’s not the end, because they’re going to be resurrected out of Hell, because Jesus said they would. After they’re resurrected out of Hell, they’re going to be given a body, not fit for glory, but rather a body fit for their next abode which is found in Revelation chapter 20.

Revelation 20:4

“And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment (or rule) was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.” I think this includes the believers of all ages, as well as the Tribulation believers who will have been martyred. Now verse 5. Now we look at the lost being resurrected.

Revelation 20:5a

“But the rest of the dead…”

Well if you’ve got all the believers involved up here in verse 4, then naturally who are the rest of the dead in verse 5? Lost people all the way from Cain, and Esau, and all the way on up through when there was a time of opportunity. Now continuing on.

Revelation 20:5a

“But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished…” So there’s coming a day when they’re brought back on the scene to have their day before our Lord to see what degrees of punishment they will receive in the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 20:5b

“This is the first resurrection.”

Now this is always confusing, because it’s not talking about the rest of dead in the first part of verse 5, but the ones up in verse 4. They were in the first resurrection which was the resurrection unto life.

Revelation 20:6

“Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: (the believers) on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priest of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Now come on down to verse 11.

Revelation 20:11-15

“And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, (which will be Christ) from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12. And I saw the dead, (the lost who have been down in Hell in torment ever since they died) small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead (those spiritually dead who never entered into salvation) were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13. 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. This is the second death. (remember a believer will never face second death, because we experience our second death when we identified with Christ when He died on the cross. Remember Paul says, `we are crucified with Christ!’) 15. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.”

So these unbelievers will be resurrected out of Hell and given a body that is fit for the Lake of Fire. That sounds horrible doesn’t it? But that’s what the Book says.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 1 * PART 4 * BOOK 36

EPHESIANS 1:13-23 – PART 2

We just trust the Lord will bless you as we open the Word for this lesson, and trust that you will get your Bible and study right along with us. Now let’s get back to where we were in Ephesians chapter 1, and I would remind you again that the Book of Ephesians is a deeper doctrinal Book than Romans, Galatians, and the Corinthians. It is constantly teaching us of our exalted position “In-Christ” as members of the Body of Christ, of which He is the Head. Now let’s start with verse 20.

Ephesians 1:20-21a

“Which he wrought in Christ, (that is the power of resurrection) when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places. (here’s His position now during this age of Grace) 21. Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion,…”

In other words, there is no power on earth, or heaven or in hell that He is not far above. That’s His power, that’s His Sovereignty. Now I constantly run into people who never understood until I taught it that Jesus Christ was the Creator of Genesis 1:1. When people hear this it just blows them away, and yet Paul makes it so plain, as well as John’s gospel, that it was God the Son, the One who became flesh, who spoke the Word of creation. So we have to recognize that He has the power of creation, He has the power over everything He ever created naturally, and so there is nothing to compare with the power of Jesus Christ. That’s why we can trust Him, we can place our faith in Him, because He will fulfill that which He has promised.

Maybe we should stop for a couple of minutes and show you that He was the Creator. I teach someone who’s been in Church 50 years, and he very educated man, and he was just blown away by these verses that showed Jesus was the Creator, so maybe we need to show that more. He also told me that when he took that into his Sunday School class, they just about threw him out. I said, “Well who in the world do think did the creation?” “Oh they think God did.” I asked Him, “Well who do they think Jesus is?”

But listen, we have to remember that Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God, He was a member in the Godhead, and according to the New Testament He was the Creator of Genesis 1:1, even though it’s just referred to as God. So let’s just take a brief look at these verses. I hadn’t intended to do this either, but I’m being prompted by the Holy Spirit to do it, so let’s turn to John’s gospel, chapter 1. And remember this still fits with what we’re seeing in Ephesians, that He is above all powers, dominions, and principalities. Why? Because Jesus Christ the Creator created them. I’ve always made the statement, that while they were nailing Him to that Roman cross, what was the real situation? “The created beings were doing it to their own Creator!” Have you ever thought of it that way? And with one word He could have just zapped all of them, they could have all been wiped off the scene, but why didn’t He? Because look at what Philippians says.

Philippians 2:8

“And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” He did this in order to purchase man’s salvation, but He didn’t have to do that, because He was the Creator. Now let’s look at some of these references.

John 1:1-3

“In the beginning was the Word, (that’s capitalized) and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. (He’s one in the same) 2. The same was in the beginning with God. 3. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made.” Then you come all the way down to verse 14 and it explains who the Word was.

John 1:14a

“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us,…”

Now that’s not so hard to comprehend is it? Who dwelt among the Jews? Jesus of Nazareth. And what was the purpose of all of His miracles, signs, and wonders? To prove to Israel that He was the Son of God.” Now let’s leave John, and let’s run quickly over to Ephesians chapter 3:9 where Paul tell us “the purpose of his apostleship.”

Ephesians 3:9

“And to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ:”

So the triune God as we saw back in Acts chapter 2, in counsel, predetermined everything that would happen, before anything was ever created. They determined that Jesus the Son would be the one, to call everything into being. And that’s why Paul writes, “God created all things, but by Jesus Christ.” All right, then the next one is in the Book of Colossians chapter 1. And my goodness I don’t see how people can argue with the Word. I don’t care what their opinion is they simply can’t argue with what God has written, and this isn’t interpretation. I mean, this is exactly what it says, I’m not twisting it, I’m just reading it as it sets in the King James version, and I don’t think any of the other translations can foul this up. I mean this is pretty obvious.

Colossians 1:14-16

“In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins: (now only one person of the Godhead shed His blood, and that was Jesus Christ) 15. Who is the image of the invisible God, (the Godhead which implies the Trinity, the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit. And God the Son is) the firstborn of every creature: (because He was God in pre-existence. Now verse 16 is just plain English.) 16. For by him (the Son) were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:”

See those are the same words we looked at in Ephesians. So Jesus the Christ created everything, and that’s why God could set Him far above everything, because our Lord created them. Christ is the Creator! He was the Creator! They were created for Him. Let’s see what the next verse says.

Colossians 1:17

“And he is before all things, and by him, (His power) all things consist.” (are held together.)

I mentioned in one of the previous programs that out of all the billions and trillions of bodies in outer space, have you ever seen the astronomers record one of them crashing into another? Why of course not. Now there may be explosions of new ones being made, but you never read how two of them banged into each other, and caused a turmoil out there. Why? Because the Creator has perfect control of every one of them. I mean every one of them, He knows exactly where they are at any given moment in time. Why? Because that’s the only way they can keep from crashing into each other. If that happened then it would be like a nuclear fission out in space. Let’s look at one more in the Book of Hebrews. I could also take you to Revelation, but we won’t take time to look at that one, because Revelation says the same thing that all the rest of these do. “That He created everything by Jesus Christ!” But let’s look at this one in Hebrews chapter 1:1

Hebrews 1:1-2

“God, (just like in Genesis 1:1. It’s the same word) who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers . (that is the nation of Israel) by the prophets 2. Hath in these last days (the last days of Scripture is from His first advent until the end, and we’re in the last days. Now we’re also getting close to the latter days, which means the end of the last days. But in these last days which began with His birth at Bethlehem He hath) spoken unto us by his Son, whom he (God, the Trinity) hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds;”

Now you put all those together, who’s the Creator? Jesus of Nazareth! Think for a moment, where did Christ get the power to calm the waves of the sea of Galilee? Well He was the Creator of them. And where did He get the power to raise dead Lazarus? He was the Creator of him. He’s in total control. There is nothing that He doesn’t supersede. Do you see how all of this fits together? Now come back to Ephesians again in chapter 1. So Paul fits right in with all that by declaring then that when God set Him at His right hand up in the heavenlies –

Ephesians 1:21

“Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, (that covers everything. Heaven, Hell, earth, space, everything is under His control) and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come.” Now verse 22. And because of that exalted position God –

Ephesians 1:22

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church,”

Most people think that last verse should read, “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the King over all things to the church.” But you see that’s not what it says. But rather “God hath set Him to be head of all things to the Church, which is His Body.” Now if we are the Body, are we decapitated without a head? No! Now let’s come back to I Corinthians chapter 12, and look at that. In these verses we’re going to look at, he gets down to such simplicity that it’s almost ridiculous, but Paul is trying to drive the point home. What is the Body of Christ? Well it’s just like this human body, it’s composed of billions of cells. And every cell whether it be a fingernail, or an eyeball, or an ear drum has a different make up and each is important. So you see Paul is using the analogy of a human body as an example of the Body which is His Church. Now let’s look at it.

I Corinthians 12:12

“For as the body (the human body) is one, and hath many members, (hands, feet, eyes, etc.) and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: (before we go any further, what controls the body? The head!) so also is Christ”.

Paul is making that same analogy. You and I as believers are members of a Body of which Christ is the head. And we’re just as connected in this Body of Christ, as our head is to our own human body. Looking at some more of the analogy in verse 15.

I Corinthians 12:15

“If the foot shall say, Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body; is it therefore not of the body? 16. And if the ear shall say, Because I am not the eye, I am not of the body: is it therefore not of the body?” Then let’s see what Paul says in verse 18.

I Corinthians 12:18

“But now hath God set the members (that is you and I as believers) every one of them in the body, as it hath pleased him.”

Now in our mother’s womb, and I’ve used this analogy often. One of the miracles of reproduction is that as the mother prepares that little baby in the womb you don’t have fingernail cells going any place but to the fingers. And all these separate cells go exactly to the right place. And at the end of that 9 months whenever the baby is complete, then you have birth. That’s miracles of miracles. Well God is doing the same thing in a Spiritual realm. He is building the Body of Christ of believers from every walk of life from around the planet. The Chinese, or Jew, or any other nationality when they become believers are just as much a part of the Body of Christ as we are. And we’re all connected to that one source, which is Christ the head. Now come on down to verse 27.

I Corinthians 12:27

“Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.”

God never loses sight of our individualism. God hasn’t lost us in the crowd, we’re not just a number in God’s mind, He knows us as an individual. Now that’s the Body of Christ. Now come back again to the Book of Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1:22-23a

“And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23. Which is the body, the fulness…”

Now if you have a marginal Bible, the other word for fullness is complement. As members of the Body of Christ we have become a complement. Now the best way to explain that is to go all the way back to Genesis where everything begins. We’ll start in chapter 2.

Genesis 2:18

“And the LORD God said, It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him an help meet for him.”

Now you take the Hebrew root, and what do you suppose that word help meet is in our English? Complement. Or a better definition for it would be, “Someone called along side to help.” Do you see that? That’s the whole idea of a husband and wife relationship even to this day. The wife is that complement to the man that really completes him and brings the help that he needs, and that’s what Eve was to Adam. This was all set in type of course looking forward to the greatest union that could ever take place which was the marriage between Christ and the Church. Now for a moment let’s go back to the Book of Romans chapter 7. My how these verses just drop into place. Remember Paul is writing to believers.

Romans 7:4

“Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; (His physical body that was crucified) that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, (not just to escape hell fire, but also) that we should bring forth fruit unto God.”

We’re to be worth something to God, we’re not to be deadwood. We’re to be working, and bring forth fruit for His honor and His glory. Now coming back to Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1:22b-23a

“…and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, 23. Which is his body,…”

And that’s a concept that few believers, I think, have any idea that we’re members of a living organism. Now you know as well as I do that as long as we’re living our body is a composite of living things. Our cells are alive, our enzymes are alive, and as soon as they die, we dead. All right it’s the same way with the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is not an organization like the country club. I know that’s what most Churches are getting to be like I’m afraid, but that is not the true scriptural definition of a local Church. We are to be a living organism, with life. Not physical life, but rather spiritual life. And that life is enhanced by fellowship, by the Word, by prayer, and all because we’re connected to the head who is in heaven. God knows we’re waiting for the day when there won’t be that huge space between the head and the Body. Why? Because one day we’re going to be brought into union with Him, and we’re going to revel throughout all eternity in His presence, and that’s something to glory in.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 2 * PART 1 * BOOK

THE INVISIBLE MAKE-UP OF THE LOST

In our last lesson we finished chapter 1, so today we’ll start chapter 2. Personally the way I look at Ephesians chapter 2 is the same way I look at what chapter 8 is to the Book of Romans, and most people know what I’m talking about. Romans chapter 8 is just the highlight of almost all of Scripture, but especially of the Book of Romans. And here chapter 2 is also the highlight of this short little letter to the Ephesians. It’s a tremendous chapter, and if we get past the first 3 or 4 verses today I’ll be surprised because there is just so much in here that we can’t gloss over, and we’re going to take our time with it.

I’m constantly urged to repeat things as we study, and I was looking this morning at the verses we’ll probably cover today, and here again in just a few verses, the Holy Spirit repeats things two or three times. Well if the Holy Spirit, the author of the Book, uses repetition, then who am I to say, I can’t repeat something. So let’s just start with verse 1. And remember Paul always writes to believers, because you see the whole concept is if we know what we believe, then we can share it with those who are lost. God doesn’t expect the Church to save the lost, but rather the individual believer to do that, and then bring them into the fellowship of the Church. We’ve got to teach the believers of where we are positionally, and why we’re there so that we can be free to share it with those who are still out in darkness.

Ephesians 2:1

“And you (the believer) hath he quickened, (made alive) who were (past tense) dead in trespasses and sins;…”

Now as you know I always like to define words so that anybody can understand. What really is death? Well we normally think of when something dies, it’s dead! Well what happens when something dies. Let’s keep it in perspective by using the human race as an example. What happens when a person dies? Well their soul, the invisible part of them is separated from the physical body. Now that’s all death is. Now that’s probably over simplifying, but death is simply the separation of the invisible part of us, for believers it’s soul and spirit. For the unbeliever it’s only the soul, his spirit hasn’t become an entity.

Spiritual death is also a separation, but it’s a separation from God. So the person who is spiritually dead has been separated from the Creator God. And Paul is saying here, “This is where we were before salvation.” Let’s look at what he says.

Ephesians 2:1b

“…who were dead…”

You were separated from God. Now we’re going to go all the way back to Genesis chapter 2. As you know I’m always stressing Paul’s epistles for the basis for most of what we believe, but that doesn’t mean we don’t use the rest of Scriptures. Remember all Scripture is inspired of God, and is profitable. So when Paul says you were dead in trespasses and sins, what was he talking about, when did it happen? Well spiritual death or this separation from God was an event, it wasn’t a process, but rather an event.

We find that God has now created Adam, he’s still alone. Eve is still in Adam, but she hasn’t been brought out of him to be his help mete. And you pick it up in verse 16

Genesis 2:16-17

“And the LORD God (which was God the Son on this occasion) commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.”

Or he would be separated from God. There will become a gulf between them. That’s what’s going to happen Adam if he eats of this one tree Now let’s go over to chapter 3 and see what happened. And again you all know this, but there’s some that don’t. Let’s jump in at verse 2. Now Eve is now on the scene.

Genesis 3:2a

“And the woman said unto the serpent,…”

Remember back there in verse 1 he was called the most subtle of all the creatures that God had created. If you ever wonder what that word means, look in the dictionary. It means to be sly, cunning, deceitful and so forth. So all these things were wrapped up in this creature that Satan is using. Let’s see what Eve says to the serpent.

Genesis 3:2b

“…We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden:”

Now Eve wasn’t with Adam when he got his instructions from God back there in chapter 2. So where did she find out what God had said? From Adam. And I’m bringing that out to point out Adam’s headship. God told Adam, and that’s where He left it, and then it was Adam’s responsibility to instruct Eve, and he had. So she has the right answers.

Genesis 3:3

“But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die.”

I’ve had people ask me, “Well did they have a concept of death? Well it’s kind of hard to say yes or no, but I believe they did, or otherwise God would have just been speaking empty words. So they understood what He was talking about. They knew that if they disobeyed Him they’d be separated from Him. Now verse 4. Here comes the very first lie in Scripture. First turn quickly to John chapter 8 and verse 44.

John 8:44b

“…for he (Satan) is a liar, and the father of it.” Now let’s see what Satan says to the woman. Turn with me to Genesis 3 and verse 4 and following.

Genesis 3:4-5

“And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: 5. For God doth know (doesn’t that sound like the false teachers of today using the Scriptures? Oh they give credit to the Holy Spirit, and make it sounds so official, but it’s just as much the power of Satan as this was. So Satan can say) that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, (small “g” of course) knowing good and evil.” Now is that what God had said? Come back to chapter 2 again for a moment, we’ve got to compare Scripture with Scripture. God is speaking.

Genesis 2:17a

“But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it:…”

See that’s exactly what God called that tree. Do you see how meticulous Satan can be when he gets ready to deceive somebody? Oh he didn’t goof it up, but rather Satan said it to Eve just exactly the way God said it. Now coming back to chapter 3 and verse 5

Genesis 3:5-6

“For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. (this is why God had told Adam not to eat of the tree.) 6. And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, (remember knowledge leads to wisdom) she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.”

OK the moment Adam ate, what happened? He died. Oh not physically, but spiritually, and he was separated from God. He could no longer expect Him to come and fellowship with him, and walk with him, because that had been totally destroyed, because of sin. Now remember sin in it’s simplest definition is what? “Disobeying the revealed Word of God.”That’s what sin is, and they disobeyed the will of God by eating. Now if you’ll just look at the end of verse 6 where it says, “and he did eat.” Immediately what happens in verse 7? Well the results of their sin.

Genesis 3:7a

“And the eyes of them both were opened,…”

That’s exactly what Satan said would happen. But not to have their eyes opened for a greater appreciation for their Creator, but rather to know good and evil. So immediately, the moment Adam sunk his teeth into that fruit, their spiritual eyes were opened to know good and evil, and their relationship with God was immediately broken. So spiritually they died. Now physically of course Adam lived 930 years, but when did the seeds of death begin? The moment he took part of that fruit. Now do you see all of that?

Now I had Mark Wood a young man in our audience who is an artist draw three circles on the chalk board before the class began. And now I would like to go back like we did when we were teaching the Book of Genesis, and I use these circles to just simply indicate the three parts of man. The outside circle represents the tent in which we live which is what we call the “body.” That’s just the simple exercise of the five senses. Now within this body, we also a smaller circle called the “soul,” and within the soul is a still smaller circle called the“spirit.”

Now when I was teaching Genesis I defined the “soul” as the “mind, the will, and emotions,” all of which are invisible. But these make up the personality, and it’s in the area of the“soul” that we were made in the likeness and image of God. Now I’m going to have you turn all the way up to the Book of I Thessalonians chapter 5, and then we’ll come back to Genesis. I think it’s interesting to note how much in Scripture is tied to the number three. Beginning with God Himself, a Trinity. Here Paul is signing off his letter to the Thessalonians, and let’s see what he says.

I Thessalonians 5:23

“And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; (or completely) and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

So what are we? We are a three part being. Now I guess the theologians would call it a trichotomy, but that’s too big a word for me. We are just simply a three part being. We are body, soul, and spirit, and that’s the way Adam was created. He was created with that perfect body that could have lived forever. He was created with a personality, patterned after the personality of the three persons of the Trinity, a mind, a will and a set of emotions. But he also had the third part which is what we call the spirit. So this first circle completed with all three parts of body, soul, and spirit represents Adam as a perfect three part being.

Normally I like to put it this way. The spirit is the area where Adam had fellowship with his Creator God. The spirit was also intrinsically united with the soul, and we still look at it that way. So that Adam in his purity, in his original state, through his spirit fellowshipped with his Creator, and through that fellowship with his Creator, it had an effect upon his very personality, his mind, his will, and his emotion, and that in turned exercised the body. Now we don’t know how long Adam and Eve were in the Garden before they fell, but however long it was it was perfect. It was a glorious experience, and they could look forward to their Creator coming down, maybe once or twice a day to walk with them, and commune them.

Now naturally I’ve still got lots of questions about Adam and Eve for example, where did they sleep at night? Where did they experience their days of habitation? Did the Lord also have a beautiful home for them? I’d like to know that. I’m sure they didn’t wonder around in the Garden of Eden 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, what did they do to occupy their time.I’ve always told people that the Bible tells us everything we need to know, but it doesn’t tell us everything we’d like to know. This we do know though, Adam and Eve lived in perfect communion, and fellowship with their Creator. Sin hadn’t even showed it’s ugly head.

Now then, the next thing we know is that Adam sinned when he ate, and for that I want to move to the second set of circles. Remember over here in the first set of circles before Adam ate we have Adam complete. So in this next set of circles, again this outside ring represents the human body. Adam is still living just like he was in the first circle. He is still a body, he’s still has his soul, the mind, will, and emotion, none of that has changed since he ate, but the moment Adam ate of the fruit, he lost that third part, the spirit, and he becomes nothing now but a body, and a soul, and now the spirit is dead!

Now, from Adam and Eve on every person that is born, comes into the human experience with only a body and soul. That spirit part of each is dead. It has no fellowship with God, it has no communion with God. Also remember the moment Adam sinned the soul became a sin nature. So now Adam and Eve have become sin-natured creatures, and that’s the way each person is when they come into this world. That’s the best way I can explain it. They are now operating under a sin nature, and this sin nature is separated from God, and it’s going to influence the physical body, not for good, but rather for evil. That’s the whole concept of the spiritually dead individual.

Now this is exactly what Paul talks about when he says in Ephesians 2. Let’s look at that and start at verse 1.

Ephesians 2:1b

“…who were dead in trespasses and sins;”

We weren’t dead because of what we did, but rather we started there at birth. Every baby that is born is born in sin, dead in trespasses. Let’s go back to Romans chapter 5 for a moment and let me show you. Do you realize that all the way from Genesis chapter 3 to Romans chapter 5 there is not a word of Scripture that deals with Adam, with the exception of one or two places as a name in a genealogy. Not one word of Adam being the cause of sin and death. Not one word of how he at one time was a spiritual being in fellowship with God. We don’t find this until we get to the apostle Paul’s writings. Now in this chapter here it comes.

When you think about these things it is amazing that Jesus in His 3 years of earthly ministry never revealed this. Have you ever thought of that? Why didn’t Jesus take the time with the twelve or during His teaching, and say “Now look folks, the crux of your problem was Adam. And it was with Adam that sin and death came into the world.” But you see Christ never mentioned that. And the closest you can come to that in the Old Testament is found in Jeremiah. Let’s turn to Jeremiah 17 and start at verse 9.

Jeremiah 17:9a

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked:…” But that as close as you can get to the problem, and you can’t build doctrine like Paul does on that one verse. Now let’s look at what Paul says in Romans chapter 5 and verse 12.

Romans 5:12a

“Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death (entered) by sin; and so death passed upon all men,…”

Death passed upon all men. And the reason is that every person that has ever been born, that spiritual part of them is dead. Death and sin are almost synonymous. If there never would have been sin, there never would have been death. So death and sin almost become partners. When Adam sinned that spirit died, his soul became a sin -natured thing that can think nothing but evil, and it was contrary to the will of God, and the reason is because the spirit is dead. So this is where the human race is as Paul says in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 1.

Ephesians 2:1b

“… (you) who were dead in trespasses and sins.”

Even good people are walking around spiritually dead. They have no connection with God whatsoever. They can’t have because they are spiritually dead. Now reading the last part of Romans 5:12

Romans 5:12b

“…and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:” And you come on down to verse 14.

Romans 5:14a

“Nevertheless death reigned from Adam (do you see how Paul puts the finger on it? Death didn’t come in some place along the line, but rather it came in when Adam ate from that forbidden tree) to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression,…”

Now let’s turn over to I Corinthians chapter 15 where again Paul brings out this same problem. Paul lays it right out here just what the crux of our problem is, and how we can overcome it one day. My goodness, it looks like our time is gone already for this lesson, and we won’t have time to read all the Scripture I had intended.

I Corinthians 15:45

“And so it is written, The first man Adam was made (or created) a living soul: (that was back here in this first set of circles when Adam was complete) the last Adam (speaking of Christ) was made a quickening spirit:”

And how does man become complete? Believe Paul’s Gospel found in I Corinthians 15:1-4.

 

Through the Bible with Les Feldick

LESSON 1 * PART 3 * BOOK 36

EPHESIANS 1:13-23

Now let’s look at the next verse in Ephesians chapter 1. Here the apostle Paul is going to utter a prayer on behalf of the believers. He is praying for them, and as such he is praying for us today. I think it’s also a lesson on how we can pray for ourselves as well as for others. Now when we think of the Lord’s prayer back in Matthew 6, which the Lord Jesus gave as an example to the twelve, so this prayer is an example for us today, and is so appropriate. The prayer starts out with “Wherefore…” Now what have I told you over the years aboutwherefore? When the apostle Paul says “Wherefore” what is he reflecting on? Well what he’s just said in the previous few verses, and here he’s just proven that here we are positioned in Christ, indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who leads us and reproves in all the things that we need. And we’re waiting for the day of redemption when this old body will disappear, and we’ll have a new body, but until that day of redemption-

Ephesians 1:15a

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith…”

I want to make people aware, when you read Paul’s letters, how he’s always referring to believing and faith. Not what we can do, but rather that we trust in what God has already done. And then on that basis we can move into what he’s now asking for on our behalf.

Ephesians 1:15

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints.” Now that reminds me of a verse in I John chapter 3. Let’s just start at verse 11, because I don’t like to just jump on one verse. I think most of you realize that by now.

I John 3:11-12

“For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” Boy now that’s plain language isn’t it? And it’s never changed. The unbelieving world hates the believer. He might not always show it, but he would if he had a chance, and so Cain had his chance, and sure enough he showed it. Verse 13.

I John 3:13

“Marvel not my brethren, if the world hate you.”

A lot of people have the idea that since Christianity is such a tremendous experience, and lifestyle, because there isn’t another lifestyle on earth that can come close to it. You look at a good Bible based Christian home, and you couldn’t ask for anything better. But you see, the world can’t see it that way. The world thinks we’re a bunch of kooks, and we’ve got our heads in the sand, and all these other things. So don’t be amazed if they don’t like your lifestyle, and that’s what John is saying here.

I John 3:13-14a

“Marvel not my brethren, if the world hate you. 14. We know that we have passed from death unto life, (from an unsaved state to a saved state) because we love the brethren.”

John is speaking of fellow believers. The world won’t necessarily, but we have that affinity to other believers that no matter where we go we can have a love for them, and it’s an immediate love. I’ve shared this with you before, wherever Iris and I travel, and spend the night with believers, you’re not strangers for 5 minutes, why is that? Because there’s that affinity, you can’t see it or put your finger on it, but it’s there. And the moment we sit down at their table and have a cup of coffee, we don’t talk about sports or the weather or politics, but rather we talk about the BOOK! And that’s the way it should be, because “we know we have passed from death unto life because we love the brethren.” Now back to Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1:15-17

“Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints. 16. Cease not (I never stop) to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers;” (now here’s his real prayer) 17. That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit (the Pneuma) of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him:”

Now what’s the purpose? Well you see the more we love Him, the more capable we are of serving Him. And it’s the same way in a marriage relationship. The more that husband and wife love each other, the better influence they’re going to have on family, relatives and everybody else, it spreads. And it’s the same way here. Paul prays that we might have such a God given wisdom and knowledge. Now I’ve learned from my class people here in Oklahoma that they were always afraid to share the Gospel with people because they just didn’t have enough knowledge of the Scriptures to be able to answer questions, or confront, rebuke, and so forth. But after they’ve been in our class for a while and get skilled in the Scriptures, they love to witness, they love to talk about the Scriptures. And that’s the way it should be, as we grow in Grace and knowledge it becomes easier to share with people.

You can talk to people in any kind of an occupation, and I like to use an auto mechanic as an example. You talk to one about engines, and cars, is he bashful? Is he shy to talk about his trade? Is he going to put his head down, and act like he doesn’t want to talk about what he does best? Heavens no, because you’re in his bailiwick now, and he’s ready to tell you everything he knows, and that’s as it should be. Now that’s the way we should be with the Book. We have to be so skilled in our knowledge of it that we don’t have to back away when someone comes up with a question or rebuke. We can say, “look this is what the Book says.” This is always my best argument. It’s not what I think, or what my denomination says, but rather it’s, “But what does the Word of God say.” Now this is what Paul is praying even for these early believers, that their wisdom and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ might be so great. Verse 18.

Ephesians 1:18a

“The eyes of your understanding being enlightened;…”

Now listen that takes time to accomplish. I mean the moment we’re saved we don’t have a full knowledge of all these things, but rather it’s a growth process. In fact that’s the whole idea of the early chapters of Romans, and we call it those 3 chapters on sanctification. Now you want to remember that at salvation, yes we’re sanctified, we’re set apart, but in our everyday experience it’s a process of sanctification. It’s a continuous growth in our Christian experience, and in our knowledge of the Scripture. Now that comes with continuous effort on our part. We have to put something into it. Now that doesn’t add to our salvation, because that’s complete. But if we want to really gain the knowledge and wisdom of God, now we’ve got to put some feet to it. We’ve also got to put some time into the Word of God. Another thing that just thrills Iris and I is when we get letter after letter from people saying that for the first time in their lives they are studying their Bible. Some of these people have been Christians for over 50 years. Well, listen nothing could thrill us more, because this is what we want people to do. You don’t go by what I say, but rather get into the Word of God.

And once you understand this graphic difference between Law and Grace, between Peter’s preaching and Paul’s preaching. when you’re able to separate those two, then studying this Book gets so exciting. When you’re able to see that, then you’ll see how it all fits. There won’t be anymore contradiction, there’s no more gobbledy gook to it, and I say that reverently. It’s not confusing, it’s all laid out so perfectly, but you have to learn to discern these things. So that’s all part of what Paul is talking about.

Ephesians 1:18

“The eyes of your understanding, being enlightened; (or opened up) that ye may know (you don’t go through this life groping and wondering and hoping, but rather) what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints,”

Now again I dare say if we ask the average believer, “What’s in store for you after this life?” And they’ll reply, “I’m going to go to heaven after I die.” Well that’s great and that’s nice to know, but is that all you can tell me? Well for most of them they will say, “Is there more than that?” Yeah there’s a lot more than that. It’s not enough to know that we’re going to go to heaven when we die, which will be great, but God wants us to get at least as much as He has revealed of what’s out there. I mean, it’s not just an empty darkness. God is getting something fantastic ready for us, and there’s a lot the Scripture doesn’t tell us, but on the other hand He’s already revealed some of what’s in store for us. We’re going to have a glorified body, like Christ’s glorified, resurrected body. Never again an ache or pain, never again an injury, illness, or disease. In the next life we’re going to have power to go from one place to another in that split second of time as He did. We’re going to be able to go through walls like He did, in fact it says so in I Corinthians.

I Corinthians 2:9

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

Eye has not see nor ear heard. Now what does that tell you? There is nothing in our earthly experiences that can even come close to that which God is preparing for us. And again I’ve had men who just love to fish? They just think that’s the epitome of living, and they’ll say, “Well what greater thing can there be than fishing?” And I say, now look when you get to eternity, I don’t know exactly how it’s going to be, but God has something in store for you that will make your fishing experience pale in comparison. And it will be the same way with anything else that we may think is great in this life. Once we get into the realm of glory, what God has prepared for us is going to be so much greater that it’s beyond human comprehension, and this is what we have to get excited about.

We’re not just going to die and go to heaven, and what will be will be. No, God wants us to get a glimpse of glory, and a glimpse of what it’s going to like to be in His presence forever and ever. You know I never set dates but I believe that we’re getting so close to the time we will find ourselves in heaven with Him. Now coming back to Ephesians chapter 1, and now verse 19 as Paul continues his prayer. Not only does he want us to understand the inheritances that waiting for us, but also that we’re to understand.

Ephesians 1:19a

“And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe,…”

Salvation always come down to believing doesn’t it? It’s not what our denomination demands. Oh you ought to hear some of the things that we hear on our telephone from people who have been told wrong. We hear, “Well someone says I must do this, and someone else tells me I’ve got to do that. I just say to all that, “Forget it!” There’s only one requirement and that is faith, and believing, but it must be genuine, and not just a mental accent. Oh I could show you over and over how many verses that it’s all faith on our believing the Gospel + NOTHING! And remember the only way you can do that in Scripture is rightly divide the Word. Keep Peter’s teaching and the Law separate from Paul’s teaching and Grace. If you don’t separate the two then you will wind up with a mixture of Law and Grace, and God won’t have any part of it.

You know we’ve got some pins or buttons that say, “Faith + Nothing = Salvation!” And while we were in Israel we had just enough buttons for the number of people who were with us, so everyone received one to wear. While coming out of Jordan, I’ll never forget my own experience, as we were waiting in the passport line, and a gentlemen in another line probably 15 or 20 feet over from us was looking at the message on the buttons and finally he couldn’t take it any longer. So he comes up to me and read the button, “Faith + Nothing = Salvation? “ he said. Now this man was a middle easterner I’m sure, but he talked perfect English. So he said, “You mean it’s not work, work, work like my religion teaches?” I told him no, and he said, “What?!” He then went back and got in line.

Well we had several experiences like that all over Israel, those people have never heard of such a thing. But we’ve got millions right here in our own country who have heard it and read it, but refuse to believe it. Well those buttons are a good conversational piece anyway. But you see that’s where it’s at – “Faith + NOTHING!” But that faith has to be in that finished work of the cross as Paul describes in I Corinthians 15:1-4. When Christ said while on the cross that, “It is finished” how in the world can people then say, that you have to do this and that? If that’s the case then our Lord lied! If He said it was finished, and it wasn’t, then Christ lied. But we all know that our Lord did not lie, because He did finish it! And all He’s asking us to do is to believe it with all our heart, and then let these other work things follow. That’s all well and good, but don’t try to tie them to salvation. So looking at the verse again.

Ephesians 1:19-20

“And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, 20. Which he wrought in Christ, (not only when He died on that Roman cross, but it was epitomized, it was crescendo) when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,”

You don’t hear about Him being raised from the dead much any more do you? You don’t hear much about resurrection power, but listen that where it’s at. Had Christ, as Paul says in I Corinthians 15, not been raised from the dead, we’d be as lost as dogs. I mean we wouldn’t have any hope at all, but He was raised from the dead. In fact let’s look at a verse in Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1:1-4

“Paul a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, 2. (Which (Gospel) he had promised afore by his prophets in the holy scriptures,) 3. Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh. 4. And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by (what event?) the resurrection from the dead.”

Had He not been resurrected there would have been no power. Had He not been resurrected we would yet be in our sins. Satan would yet be in total control, and death would still be an absolute. But on the flip side, since He did resurrect, since He was raised from the dead, now we know Satan is defeated, we know death is defeated, and we know that we have an eternity where He is alive forever more. And it was because of the power that was manifested in His resurrection. Now then, what does Paul also teach? That as Christ was resurrected from His earthly tomb, we have been resurrected from our deadness in transposes and sins. We’ll be coming to that real soon in Ephesians chapter 2. And what has happened? Well let’s just take a quick look see right there in verse 1.

Ephesians 2:1

“And you hath he quickened, (made alive) who were (past tense) dead in trespasses and sins:” Well what kind of power did it take to make us alive from being dead? Resurrection power. The same power that raised Christ from the dead. Look at Romans 8 for moment to compare. Now this is Bible study. We’re not here to preach at you, but rather just show you what the Bible says. These verses all fit so beautifully together.

Romans 8:10-11

“And if Christ be in you, (by the person of the Holy Spirit) the body is dead because of sin; (we were born in sins, and we’re sons of Adam) but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (or make alive) your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.”

Is it all ringing true? Oh I hope so. The indwelling Holy Spirit is the mark, the ownership of God. It’s also that power that raises us out of our lost condition, and gave us life. It’s that same power that’s literally going to propel us on up until we meet the Lord in the air. And it’s that power of the Holy Spirit that guides us and directs us every moment of our existence. That’s why I don’t have to have, “Thou shalt not, and Thou shalt.” I have never ran across a true believer who says, “Oh I can go ahead and steal from my neighbor, it doesn’t bother me a bit.” Can you imagine a believer saying something like that? No. If that happened, then I’d have to say, Well I don’t think you’re a believer, because the Holy Spirit would never give you that kind of freedom. The Holy Spirit absolutely forbids those kinds of activities, and when we’re under His control, it’s going to effect us. Now back to Ephesians chapter 1.

Ephesians 1:20a

“Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,…”

In order for God to raise Christ from the dead, what powers did God have to over come? Satanic, didn’t He? He had to defeat Satan on his own ground, and all the powers of Satan, and hell itself had to be overcome in order for Christ to be raise from the dead. Remember that’s the last thing that Satan wanted to happen. If Satan could have kept Christ in the grave, then he would have finally gotten what he wanted, and that is to be God. But Satan couldn’t hold a candle to God, because all the power of heaven was released for you and I when God raised Him from the dead. Let’s look at the second part of that verse.

Ephesians 1:20b

“…and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places.”

For us Christ is not the King sitting on the throne of David on Mount Zion. He will be for Israel yet someday, but for us He ascended back to glory, sat down figuratively speaking, at the right hand of the Father to become now the Head of the Body, which is you and I, the Church here on earth. We have that union with Him that Israel knew nothing of, we have a union that no one in antiquity knew nothing of, but it’s only unique to the Church Age believer that as we live and move on this earth we are connected to our Head who is in heaven.