1 Corinthians (Program #8) – Christ, Our Wisdom, Righteousness, Sanctification and Redemption

In our human society we typically have a high regard for the wise and the well born among us and conversely we tend to despise even to disregard the poor and the lowly ones. Yet in God salvation there is no room for man to boast in himself. So God in His wisdom renders all our human wisdom mere folly in Christ. Well at the same time He Himself becomes wisdom and strength and status to all those who had been called. Listen to Paul’s writing in 1 Corinthians chapter 1

“For consider your calling, brothers, that there are not many wise according to flesh, not many powerful, not many wellborn.  But God has chosen the foolish things of the world that He might shame those who are wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world that He might shame the things that are strong, And the lowborn things of the world and the despised things God has chosen, things which are not, that He might bring to nought the things which are, So that no flesh may boast before God.”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Exodus (Program #108) – The Altar of Burnt Offering (5)

The record of the Passover given in Exodus gives us a detail account of Christ’s redeeming death.  But another picture in Exodus also touches redemption and that picture is the altar of the burnt offering in the tabernacle.   These Old Testament pictures unveil redemption in its thorough and wonderful details.  To see redemption and to see the redeeming Christ in the picture of the altar will make a deep and lasting imprint upon any lover of Jesus.

We come today to our 5th program dealing with the altar of burnt offering that was in the Outer Court of the tabernacle.  It may seems to a lot of people, like this is too much time to spend on such an Old Testament item as the altar.  But what we’ve really been spending our time on is the redeeming Christ.  How is the altar a clear type of redemption and the redeemer?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Romans (Program #57) – Righteousness – The Power of the Gospel (1)

Our God is righteous.  He is right, He is just, He is righteous in all of His acts.  In the redeeming death of Christ, the righteousness of God was not only manifested – it was satisfied.  And now this righteousness becomes the power of the gospel.

We are going to see in the next two days that God’s righteousness is the power of the gospel and the foudation of our salvation.  This is not a common thought to think of God’s righteousness as the power of the gospel …… what we need to see is not so much the power itself in this particular session; rather, we need to see the reason the gospel is so powerful –  powerful enough to be called “the power of God unto salvation”.  The reason for the power is that the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel of God.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Romans (Program #42) – Saved in Life from Naturalness

Romans can be summarized three words: redemption, life and building. The matter of life is stated clearly in Romans 5:10 “…much more we shall be saved in His life”. If we don’t know life and building, we’re missing two-thirds of God’s salvation.

Romans is arguably the definitive book of the Bible regarding Christian doctrine but we’re finding out that it is much more than that. It is really a book opening the way for all of us, as believers in Christ, to enter into the rich experience of the saving life of Christ everyday.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Romans (Program #4) – The Source of Wickedness and the Way of Restriction

We can be protected so that for the sake of God’s interest, God’s purpose – yes, for the sake of the divine romance, we may be preserved vessels that the Lord can train, fill, and use, to fulfill His heart’s desire of a bride, a wife, for eternity.

We have a message today that includes a strong section on God’s condemnation. We know that as believers in Christ, we have been saved from God’s condemnation, so why we are going back today to see the source of wickedness and the way of restriction?… more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Romans (Program #1) – A Foreword

Our God is a God of newness and we enjoy Him and apply Him for this new start in the Life-Study series.

Historically, Romans has been presented and studied as one of the great books of Christian doctrine and theology. Certainly we will recognize it in this way and touch these bulwarks of the truth in the weeks ahead, but that will not be our primary emphasis in this Life-Study of Romans. Although we in no way intend to minimize the significance of Romans as a basic book of doctrine and theology – more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Exodus (Program #28) – Pharaoh’s Last Struggle

God’s complete salvation includes redemption, escape from the world and baptism.  These 3 elements are all vividly portrayed in the book of Exodus.  As we see ourselves again and again through the depiction of this wonderful book.  Pharaoh, representing God’s enemy plays a key role in God’s bringing His people Israel through these stages of complete salvation.  How does He use Pharaoh in our lives today?  That will be our focus on our life study of the Bible.

Today’s program brings us to a very marvelous presentation of the escape of the children of Israel from the pursuing Pharaoh and his Egyptian army.  Through the first 14 chapters of Exodus, we have seen a lot of things but there are really 3 significant events related to the Lord’s people; the Passover, their exodus or exit out of Egypt and the crossing of the Red Sea.  As pictures of our own experience, these are really unmatched in Scripture.  What did these sections refer to in our experience?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

Exodus (Program #23) – The Passover (1)

Nearly all Christians know that Christ is the Lamb of God, who accomplished redemption for us.  John 1:29 says “the next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.  Though most of us may be familiar with Christ as the Lamb of God, we may not have seen all the rich and deep aspects presented in the details of His redemption. This picture is presented in Exodus chapter 12 and it is these details that will be our focus today, for in them are the deep and marvelous facet of this most blessed event.

We have the first of the two tremendous programs dealing with the passover in Egypt as a type of the redemption of Christ.

The New Testament speaks about redemption, where about Christ is our redeemer in many passages.  But this picture in Exodus 12 is marvelously complete and comprehensive.   Why is the passover depicted in Exodus such a good picture of redemption?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

John (Program #51) – Life in Resurrection (2)

We should treasure the way the Lord has ordained to be present with us now. May the Lord really open our eyes: that what is precious to God, that is the invisible, indwelling, pneumatic Christ, would also become precious to us.

In John 20 as in the Gospel of John as a whole, we see the Trinity both in His essence and in His economy. The Divine Trinity is a trinity of essence eternally that is the Father, Son, and Spirit coexist and co-inhere in the Godhead eternally. This is the Trinity in essence. But in order to have the fulfillment of God’s economy, the essential Trinity must function as the economical Trinity to pass through the process in order to, on the one hand, enter into God’s people, and on the other to bring God’s people, now redeemed and regenerated, into God. By the time we reach chapter 20, we have at least the initial completion of this process in which the very God who became a man and died for our redemption, in resurrection became the Spirit, so that, economically speaking, the Father, Son, and Spirit may indwell us.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS

John (Program #46) – Life Processed for Multiplication (1)

The main thing is that these garments were left there in this orderly way as a testimony of His resurrection. This was not something like someone got in and stole His body as reported. No. He did this Himself. He resurrected.

The account of the crucifixion in the Gospel of John is different in the fact that it brings out these two aspects(redemption and imparting life). In the other Gospels it only mentions the redemptive aspect. But, in the Gospel of John, you do have the two aspects which are shown by the two substances that came out of His side. In verse 34 of chapter 19, it says, “one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.” When the soldier pierced His side, out came blood; that’s for the redemptive aspect. And water, that’s for the life aspect.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: TuneIn | RSS