BY DAN BAKER
It’s real good to be here after so many delays because of health. My family is all healthy today. And we’re just happy to be here with you, happy to be with our Brethren behind the camera out there as well. They’re very important to us. I found myself thinking about this this morning and hoping that one day I’ll get to meet everyone out there that has been viewing these messages.
I think I’ll start today by giving you a Hillary update. I don’t think most of you have heard the results of Hillary’s March 3rd appointment. She’s had a twenty decibel gain in her hearing in the ear that she had operated on. And that still leaves her with about twenty-five decibels difference between the left ear and the right ear. So she’s unable to distinguish where sounds are coming from. And she still has a little bit of trouble recognizing voices that are speaking to her specifically in a crowd when there’s a lot of background noise, so. The ear apparently takes a long time to heal and her next appointment is in about six months. So slowly but surely her hearing is improving. And we’re very happy about that.
We’re going to spend a good deal of our time today in 2 Corinthians 4. So if you want to just put a marker there, but we’re not going to start out there. We’re going to start out in 2 Timothy 2 and verse 15. I thought it would be a good idea to review why we do things the way we do sometimes. What I’m basically doing is going through a Bible study that I had at home. It’s a word study. And I thought it’d be a good idea to just review the purpose behind the way I do things during sermons. So 2 Timothy 2 verse 15, it says,
2 Timothy 2:15. Be diligent
In The King James it says, “Study.”
The word means to use speed, to make effort, to be prompt or earnest, to be diligent in labor or study.
And I don’t know how many hours of study and prayer and meditation go into each sermon, but I do know it’s quite a few. And I also know that the person giving the sermon benefits from it much more than those who are hearing. It’s a lot of effort, but it does bear fruit. At least I hope!
2 Timothy 2:15. Be diligent
to present yourself approved to God,
The word “present” means to exhibit, to stand before, to stand before God, to show yourselves approved to God, acceptable, not commended by yourself but commended by God, to show yourself unto God, not to please men, not to glorify men.
2 Timothy 2:15b. rightly
dividing the word of truth.
I skipped a phrase.
2 Timothy 2:15b. a worker
who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
“Rightly dividing.” This word means to make a straight cut, to dissect, to expound correctly.
And I believe we’re all trying to do that, Brethren. No one tries to twist the Scriptures. I pray earnestly for the ability and the discernment to do that responsibly. Not trying to impose my agenda into the Scriptures, but trying to take God’s agenda from the Scriptures. The goal is to grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ. 2 Peter 3:18, you don’t have to turn there. Not of men, the knowledge and grace of Christ, as the Holy Spirit leads us. We actually want to use the talents God gives us in a productive and responsible way, Brethren, neither adding to nor taking away from the content of the original canonized Scriptures.
Let’s turn to Matthew 25 to pick up that principle. Matthew 25 and verse 24.
Matthew 25:24. “Then he who
had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man,
reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered
seed. 25) ‘And I was afraid, and went
and hid your talent in the ground. Look,
there you have what is yours.’ 26) But his
lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I
reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. 27) ‘So you ought to have deposited my money
with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. 28) ‘Therefore take the talent from him, and
give it to him who has ten talents.
The one who made the use of his talents, the one who built upon what he was originally given. There’s a responsibility spoken of here to do something with that which has been entrusted to us—the foundational knowledge and understanding that we already have been given by God. So we delve deeper. We try to understand more about God and what He wants of us and do it in a way that honors and glorifies His wisdom, not our wisdom, not man’s wisdom.
Turn to 1 Corinthians 3, 1 Corinthians 3 and verse 11.
1 Corinthians 3:11. For no
other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. 12) Now if anyone builds on this
foundation with gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, straw, 13) Each
one’s work will become [manifest]; for the Day will declare it, because it will
be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it
is.
We’re to be workmen rightly dividing the word of truth for a purpose. We’re to add to the foundation that we’ve been given, Brethren, gold, silver, and precious gems. Things that honor and glorify God! Things that endure! That build up! That edify! That help others to have a better relationship with God as well as ourselves. So we want to build on that foundation, Brethren, with the most precious treasures we can find.
Now keeping this in mind, let’s turn now to 2 Corinthians 4 and we’ll begin reading in verse 1 just to get the full context. The verses I really want to concentrate on are a little bit later.
2 Corinthians 4:1. Therefore,
since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose
heart. 2) But we have renounced the
hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God
deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves to
every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
3) But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are
perishing, 4) Whose minds the god of
this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the
glory of Christ,
Think about the content of that phrase: “The glory of Christ”!
2 Corinthians 4:4b. who is
the image of God, should shine on them.
5) For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and
ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake.
So Paul has got a correct concept of his ministry, what it means to be a minister, what it means to speak the words of God. And we want to have that same concept, Brethren.
As we go through this, please observe the fact that nothing is being taken away from Scripture. Nothing is being added. The meaning of the Greek words that are already there are deeper and more profound than we’ve ever understood before. This isn’t new doctrine. It’s not new truth that I’m trying to impose. It’s always been there. The words mean the same thing they always have, the same thing that Paul understood them to mean. And he had a proper perspective on his own role and responsibility as a minister of Jesus Christ.
Verse 6, let’s pay careful attention to the wording here, because this is one of those places where Paul just packs a mountain of knowledge into a single sentence. Verse 6,
2 Corinthians 4:6. For it is
the God who commanded [the] light to shine out of darkness,
He’s pointing to God as the one who said, “Let there be light.”
2 Corinthians 4:6b. who has
shone in our hearts
So He’s the Creator of all things that have existed. And He’s the one that said, “Let there be light.” And now it says,
2 Corinthians 4:6 cont. [He
is shining and shining in our hearts] to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
I’d like to break this down a little bit. The word “shined” is the Greek word lampo. It’s a beam to radiate brilliancy. The word “heart,” kardia, the seat and center of human life. The word “light,” photismos, illumination from the Lord Himself is what that word means. “Glory” number 1391 doxa, recognition of something for what it is. “In the face of Jesus Christ,” the word “face” means prosopon.
And I’m probably butchering all these Greek words, but Marissa, my oldest daughter, took a course in Greek when she was in high school. And one of the things she learned during that course is that the Koine Greek that the Bible was written in, the New Testament anyway, is a language that has ceased to exist. No person alive today has ever heard it spoken. So, even the scholars disagree as to the pronunciation of a lot of these Greek words. So it seems they’re no more well informed about how to pronounce these words than we are. So we just do the best we can.
But this word prosopon means countenance, presence, person.
So this verse, verse 6, is saying that God Himself, the
Creator, the One who said, “Let there be light,” is still creating. He hasn’t stopped creating. He’s putting something into us here. We’re the ones that are the focus of His
created acts. Light, illumination that
He’s putting into the very core and center of our beings, His glory, doxa, in the very person of Jesus
Christ. That verse right there would be
enough for a full length sermon. Just
think about what He’s just said, what His intention for us is.
The verse that I want to focus on though is verse 7. And it begins
2 Corinthians 4:7. We have
this treasure in earthen vessels,
Think about that in light of what we’ve just said about
verse 6, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels.” And I intended to use that phrase for a title
today. But in light of what I’ve spoken
on since the Feast, I thought it might be a good idea to tie it in with some
things that I’ve said before and to tie it in with the sermons that I’ve given
on the
The word “treasure” in the Greek is theasuros. It means a deposit of wealth. Not our kind of wealth, Brethren, God’s kind of wealth. Not material physical wealth, but something of far more permanent and lasting value in the person of Jesus Christ. Zodhiates calls it, “spiritual treasures pertaining to the mind or to eternal life.” And according to him, it can also mean “treasury.” Treasury! Think of yourself as a treasury, the storehouse of the mind. This is quoting Zodhiates again: “the storehouse of the mind where the thoughts, feelings, and counsels are laid up, a repository for things that are contained in the person of Jesus Christ, whom God the Father wants to put inside of us.”
“Treasure in earthen vessels,” the word “earthen” means frail, fragile, clay, of the earth, earthen. We’ve also spoken in times past about weak, frail, and fragile all of us are.
Let’s turn now to Psalm 39, holding our place here, because we are going to come back as I said. Psalm 39 and verse 4.
Psalm 39:4. “Lord, make me to know my end, and what is the measure of my days, that I may know how frail I am.
Remember who this is talking here. This is the man after God’s own heart, one of the greatest men of the entire Bible. He seems to know the snares of arrogance and pride. And yet, he was ensnared by them still.
Psalm 39:4b. that I may know how frail I am.
5) Indeed, You have made my days as
handbreadths, and my age is as
nothing before You; certainly every man at his best state is but vapor.
Isn’t that the way it is with all of us?
Psalm 39:6. Surely every man
walks about like a shadow; surely they busy themselves in vain; he heaps up riches,
Not the kind of riches that God’s talking about in 2 Corinthians 4.
Psalm 39:6b. and does not
know who will gather them. 7) “And now,
Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
And that’s where our hope should be too.
Jeremiah 17 and verse 9 continues this thought. Jeremiah 17 and verse 9,
Jeremiah 17:9. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; Who can
know it? 10) I, the Lord, search the heart, I test the mind, even to give every man
according to his ways, according to the fruit of his doings.
Brethren, just an observation from just fifty-six years of life and I realize that many of you are older than that and have much more experience in life than I do. But from what I’ve observed, the worst thing that can happen to a man is to have an easy ride through life. It’s the worst thing! To always be told that he’s the cream of the crop, that he’s the best. It does something to the ego, Brethren. It puffs a man up and it makes him unrealistic in his opinions of himself.
We look at Scriptures like these and we can see ourselves in our proper relationship with God. We realize the vanity of exalting ourselves and exalting other men. And we look to God for His truth, for His direction and His guidance. We are of the earth, clay pots, dirt. And He is omnipotent, high, mighty, powerful, as we’ll see in Scriptures to come!
Now let’s go back to 2 Corinthians 4. How about that? I even marked my Bible.
2 Corinthians 4:7. But we
have this treasure in earthen vessels,
And this word “vessels” just blew my mind when I looked it up in Zodhiates’. The word is number 4632, skeuos. And I don’t think I’ll even try to pronounce that. But it means an implement, equipment, apparatus. And literally it means, literally or figuratively, a wife as contributing to the usefulness of her husband. Think about the meaning of that word as it applies to the Church, Brethren.
It literally amazes me at times how interrelated and complementary the messages that we hear are over a given span of time. It’s a very humbling testament to the power of God to convey what He wants us to learn, His truth, through small frail, fragile, earthy men. I’d like to invade for just a moment Harold Lee’s territory in Proverbs 31:10 if you’d turn there.
Mr. Lee mentioned something during his last sermon on The Virtuous Woman that I’d like to pick
up on. He mentioned an e-mail
correspondence that he and I had had in which I made the statement that it
appeared that God was using our sermons to weave together a tapestry, weave it
together. That’s the kind of thing that
God does so that no one man receives all His truth. So, that all His knowledge can’t be contained
in a man to make him vain, puffed up.
So, that we all share this fellowship.
We all have a part in it. And it just amazes me the things that he and
some of the other speakers mention in their messages that I’ve been studying
that really relate well to this.
Proverbs 31 verse 10.
Proverbs 31:10. Who can find
a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. 11) The heart of her husband safely trusts
her; so he will have no lack of gain.
God expects gain. And the wife He’s talking about here is the Church. Or at least it seems that way to me. But look how much value God places on a faithful and virtuous Church! His Wife!
As Mr. Lee already said, the word “virtuous,” chayil, means valor, strength, and power.
And I’d like to look at another word that’s translated “virtuous,” at least in The King James Version, in Luke 6 and verse 17. Luke 6 verse 17.
Luke 6:17. And He came down
with them and stood on a level place with a crowd of His disciples and a great
multitude of people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and from the seacoast of Tyre
and Sidon, who came to hear Him and be healed of their diseases, 18) As well as those who were tormented with
unclean spirits. And they were healed.
How were they healed?
Luke 6:19. And the whole
multitude sought to touch Him, for power
This is the word that’s translated “virtue” in The King James Version.
Luke 6:19b. power
went out from Him and healed them all.
Think about that! This is a mass healing, Brethren! “Virtue” in The King James, “power” here. It’s the word dunamis, number 1411. It means power, achieving power, power to get the job done.
I’d like to go to Acts 3 and verse 12 to continue this thread of meaning. Acts 3 verse 12. This will show us an early manifestation of this “virtue” in the called out Bride, the Wife, the Vessel in the persons of Peter and John. Acts 3 verse 1.
Acts 3:1. Now Peter and John
went up together to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.
2) And a certain man lame from his mother’s womb was carried, whom they
laid daily at the gate of the temple which is called Beautiful, to ask alms
from those who entered the temple; 3)
Who, seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, asked for alms. 4) And fixing his eyes on him, with John,
Peter said, “Look at us.” 5) So he gave
them his attention, expecting to receive something from them.
And look at what Peter says!
Acts 3:6. Then Peter said,
“Silver and gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you: in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise
up and walk.” 7) And he took him by the
right hand and lifted him up, and
immediately his feet and ankle bones received strength. 8) So he, leaping up, stood and walked and
entered the temple with them—walking, leaping, and praising God. 9) And all the people saw him walking and
praising God. 10) Then they knew that it
was he who sat begging alms at the Beautiful Gate of the temple; and they were
filled with wonder and amazement at what had happened to him.
Let’s go to verse 16, verse 16. No, let’s just continue with verse 11 here.
Acts
That’s the power of Jesus Christ at work in a vessel—two vessels actually. God is making an investment in His Son’s Bride. And He’s putting His greatest treasure into that Bride to increase her value and her virtue as a wife to His Son. This healing was evidence to all of where God the Father was putting His Son’s virtue, the power that had healed multitudes before. And remember this was shortly after the first Pentecost for the New Testament Church, Brethren, the implanting of the Holy Spirit in men.
Now this connection goes back to 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 7, once again. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 7.
2 Corinthians 4:7. But we
have this treasure in earthen vessels,
Why?
2 Corinthians 4:7. But we
have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power
[dunamis] may be of God and not of
us.
The excellence! The
word means throwing beyond others. That
is figuratively supereminence in the highest possible degree of the power, dunamis.
“That it may be of God and not of us,” His virtue in us, His power in us. The same power that healed the paralytic in Acts 3; same power that healed the woman who was infirm for twelve years; and healed them all when Christ walked among the crowds of people seeking physical healing in Luke 6 to be rid of demonic influences which plagued them and diseases which afflicted them. And He wants to manifest that in earthen vessels for His glory, not for man’s glory, but for His glory.
Turn to Acts 9, if you would please. Acts 9 and verse 15 and we’ll see what Christ says of Paul. Speaking to Ananias,
Acts
A chosen vessel! Remember the definition of that word? A wife as contributing to the usefulness of her husband. “A chosen vessel unto Me.”
Turn to Romans 9. Romans 9 and verse 21.
Romans 9:21. Does not the
potter have power over the clay, from the same lump to make one vessel for
honor and another for dishonor? 22) What if God, wanting to show His wrath and to make His power known,
endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath prepared for
destruction, 23) And that He might make
known the riches of his glory [Notice this!] on the vessels of mercy,
That seems to be talking about His Church.
Romans 9:23b. which He had
prepared beforehand for glory,
For glory! Here He
speaks of vessels created to fulfill various roles in His master plan. He’s speaking of Old Testament
But now let’s turn to 2 Timothy 2 and verse 20. 2 Timothy 2 and verse 20, here again we see this distinction made.
2 Timothy 2:20. But in a
great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also wood and
clay, some for honor and some for dishonor.
21) Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter,
The things of dishonor, things that we spoke of in 1 Corinthians 3.
2 Timothy 2:21. Therefore if
anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor,
sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work.
These verses make it clear that a man can purge, can cleanse himself from these, the things that would bring dishonor. That a man can build with gold, silver, and precious gems instead of wood, hay, and stubble. It can be done, Brethren.
When we think of ourselves in the role of a vessel, a Wife to our Savior, a Wife that is of use to her Husband, we can ask the question: What is the function and purpose of a vessel? A vessel is usually used to contain something. Its purpose is to be filled. We should desire to be filled with that which brings honor and glory to God, righteousness, His character.
If you recall, the last two messages I shared with you, the
last time I spoke with you all, it was during a message entitled Faith In The Operation Of God. Before that, it was a message called Reverence My Sanctuary. And we discussed how God desires to live in
this thing called the Naos, the
He says in Acts 7 and 17 that He does not dwell in naos-es, temples made with hands. But he dwells in a different kind of temple. In 1 Corinthians 3 and 6 and in 2 Corinthians 6, He says that we’re temples, naos, temples of His Holy Spirit for His indwelling, Brethren. And I’d just like to turn to 2 Corinthians 6. It’s only a couple of pages away from where we’ve got our marker. 2 Corinthians 6 and we’ll start reading in verse 11. This is just a brief reminder of what it says here.
2 Corinthians 6:11. O
Corinthians! We have spoken openly to
you, our heart is wide open. 12) You are
not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.
Isn’t that the way it is with earthen vessels?
2 Corinthians 6:13. Now in
return for the same (I speak as to children), you also be open. 14) Do not be unequally yoked together with
unbelievers. For what fellowship has
righteousness with lawlessness? And what
communion has light with darkness? 15)
And what accord has Christ with Belial?
Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever?
He’s just talking about the purity of the way that we’re supposed to worship Him and live our lives.
Verse 16,
2 Corinthians 6:16. And what
agreement has the
Notice that! “I will dwell in them” in the person of Jesus Christ.
Verse 17,
2 Corinthians 6:17. Therefore
“Come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, and I will
receive you.” 18) “I will be a Father to
you, and you shall be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.”
How many of us want that relationship with God?
What is the most valuable material or physical thing you’ve ever been given in life? Your spouse? Your children? A job? A home? A car? Your yacht? I don’t know about you folks, but I don’t have any material thing that someone can’t figure out a way of taking away from me. Anything material, Brethren, is either going to wear out, break, go out of style, be lost or stolen. If it’s a person, it can become ill or die. And, as I grow older, I understand that I myself am growing near to the end of the road. I’ve seen people my own age and even younger losing their physical lives. I just read an obituary last week about an old friend of mine that I went to high school with that had died at the age of fifty-six.
There’s only one thing, Brethren, that’s eternally valuable. One thing! One treasure that will last and can last beyond death. God’s Word tells us that He’s willing to put that into us. Is that amazing? That sends chills up and down my spine, Brethren!
Let’s turn to Isaiah 33. Isaiah 33 and we’ll start reading in verse 5.
Isaiah 33:5. The Lord is exalted for He dwells on high;
He has filled
“The fear of the Lord is His treasure.”
Matthew 6:19.
Matthew 6:19. “Do not lay up
for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where
thieves break in and steal; 20) “But lay
up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and
where thieves do not break in and steal.
21) “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
Do we want God’s treasure inside of us?
Let’s turn to Matthew 12 and verse 35.
Matthew 12:35. “A good man
out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good things, and an evil man
out of the evil treasure brings forth evil things 36) “But I say to you that for every idle
word men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37) “For by your words you will be justified,
and by your words you will be condemned.”
What good treasure do we have inside of us, Brethren, besides the Holy Spirit and the presence of a Savior like Jesus Christ? Inside of us! Working on us from the inside out, working on His Bride.
Turn to Ephesians 5, Ephesians 5 and verse 26. Let’s start in verse 25.
Ephesians 5:25. Husbands,
love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church [the virtuous wife] and
gave Himself for [it], 26) That He might
sanctify and cleanse [it] with the washing of water by the word, 27) That He might present [it] to Himself a
glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that [it]
should be holy and without blemish. 28)
So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his
wife loves himself. 29) For no one ever
hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. 30) For we are members of His body, of His
flesh and of His bones. 31) “For this
reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and
the two shall become one flesh.” 32)
This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. 33) Nevertheless let each one of you in
particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
Yes, Brethren, this is a great mystery. The relationship between the living Christ and His Bride, the Vessel, the Wife, the virtuous woman which when filled with power, with His power, becomes a truly virtuous Church.
Turn to Matthew 1 and verse 20. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at this Scripture in quite this light or not. But as I was going through these notes, I saw it in a little bit different light. Matthew 1 and verse 20 speaking of Joseph, the betrothed husband of Mary,
Matthew 1:20. But while he
thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a
dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your
wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
What about that which is conceived in us, Brethren? Through a begettal, that which is conceived in us? The treasure that God has placed in earthen vessels?
Let’s turn to Galatians 4 and verse 19. This is a thread that Mr. Buchanan touched on several sermons back that I thought would be a very appropriate addition to this sermon. Galatians 4 verse 19, Paul says,
Galatians 4:19. My little
children, for whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you,
So Christ is formed in you. That’s the goal of our lives! To have Christ formed in us!
Turn to Proverbs 13. Proverbs 13 and verse 7, it says here,
Proverbs 13:7. There is one
who makes himself rich,
Apparently speaking about the worldly goods that we all tend to seek.
Proverbs 13:7. There is one
who makes himself rich, yet has
nothing; and one who makes himself poor [who humbles himself before God and],
yet has great riches.
Riches that he is blessed with by God Himself!
Let’s turn over to Proverbs 22 while we’re in this book. Proverbs 22 and verse 4,
Proverbs 22:4. By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches and honor and life.
Treasure in earthen vessels!
Luke 16 and verse 11. I know we’re turning to a lot of Scriptures here. I hope we’re not going to wear our Bibles out, but that’s why we’re here. Luke 16 and verse 11,
Luke 16:11. “Therefore if
you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your
trust the true riches?
True riches! What kind of true riches is He talking about here? Paul makes a statement about true wealth in Romans 11 in verse 33. Let’s turn back there. We’ve already been in Romans 11 once, but I’d just like to pick up a certain point here. Verse 33,
Romans 11:33. Oh, the depth
of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out! 34) “For who has known the mind of the Lord?
Or who has become His counselor?”
35) “Or who has first given to Him and it shall be repaid to him?” 36) For of Him and through Him and in Him are all things, to whom be glory forever.
This Being wants to put that kind of wealth into us, Brethren! Treasure in earthen vessels!
Turn to Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1 and verse 7,
Ephesians 1:7. In Him we
have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches
of His grace
“The riches of His grace”!
Ephesians 1:8. Which He made
to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence,
9) Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His
good pleasure which He purposed in Himself,
10) That in the dispensation of the fullness of the times He might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth—in Him. 11) In
Him also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestined according to the
purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, 12) That we who first trusted in Christ
should be to the praise of His glory.
Let’s skip to verse 17.
Ephesians 1:17. That the God
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you, the spirit of
wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him,
Is that treasure? That’s treasure.
Ephesians 1:18. The eyes of
your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His
calling, what are the riches [Notice!] of the glory of His inheritance
in the saints, 19) And what is the exceeding greatness of His power
toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power 20) Which He worked in Christ when He raised
Him from the dead and seated Him at
His right hand in the heavenly places,
Let’s look at chapter 2 verses 6 through 8.
Ephesians 2:6. And raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7) That in the ages to come He might show the
exceeding riches
Think about that in light of what we’ve covered so far!
Ephesians 2:7b. the exceeding
riches of His grace in His
kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
In Jesus Christ!
Ephesians 2:8. For by grace
have you been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,
It’s the gift of God!
Let’s turn over to chapter 3 and verse 8.
Ephesians 3:8. To me, who am
less than the least of all the saints, this grace was given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
Do we believe that they’re unsearchable?
Verse 14,
Ephesians 3:14. For this
reason I bow my knees to the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, 15) From whom the whole family in heaven and
earth is named, 16) That He would grant
you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might
through His Spirit in the inner man,
In the naos, the
Ephesians 3:17. That Christ
may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and
grounded in love, 18) May be able to
comprehend with all the saints what is
the width and length and depth and height—
19) To know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled
with all the fullness of God.
Treasure in earthen vessels! How much do we want God to make that deposit into the temple treasury, Brethren? Into each of us?
Let’s turn to Colossians 1 and verse 26. Let’s start in verse 24 to get the context.
Colossians 1:24. I now
rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up in my flesh what is lacking in
the afflictions of Christ, for the sake of His body, which is the church,
The Bride! The Vessel! The Wife!
Colossians 1:25. Of which I became a minister according to the stewardship from God which was given to me for you, to fulfill the word of God, 26) The mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints. 27) To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory”!
Let’s look at Hebrews 11 and verse 26. We’ll see how Moses looked upon this treasure that God wanted to place in earthen vessels. Start reading in verse 24.
Hebrews 11:24. By faith
Moses, when he became of age, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s
daughter, 25) Choosing rather to suffer
affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of
sin, 26) Esteeming the reproach of
Christ greater riches than the treasures in
And that word “looked,” Brethren, the sense of the Greek word is to look away from everything else, to be that devoted to our calling, that devoted to the Christ.
Let’s turn back to 2 Corinthians 4 and verse 6 for a brief review. 2 Corinthians 4 verse 6,
2 Corinthians 4:6. For it is
the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our
hearts to give the light of the
knowledge of the glory of God in the face [in the person] of Jesus [the]
Christ.
In His presence, in His person in us and it’s put into earthen vessels.
2 Corinthians 4:7. But we
have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be
of God and not of us.
In frail weak, earthy vessels, a wife as contributing to the usefulness of her Husband!
Let’s turn to John 3 and verse 16. This verse has been used and misused for many years, but there’s still great meaning to it. John 3 and verse 16,
John 3:16. “For God so loved
the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should
not perish but have everlasting life.
What I want to point out to you is that the Father gave Jesus Christ to the world, not just to die for us, but to live in us.
Turn to Romans 5 and verse 10. Romans 5 and verse 10,
Romans 5:10. For if when we
were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more,
having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
“Much more, we shall be saved by His life”! The Greek word for “saved” is sozo. And it means to deliver, protect, heal, to make whole. His job today is to make us all whole, complete, perfect and to do it from within.
His glorification made it possible for the Holy Spirit to be given. God so loved the world that He put Him into His called out ones.
Luke 11 and verse 33—Luke
Luke 11:13. “If you then,
being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy
Spirit to those who ask Him!”
What a treasure that is!
A true father gives good gifts to his children—the best gifts. He gives his children his treasure. That’s what God the Father wants to do with
us. So we see that God’s putting His
treasure, the treasure of His own presence, the treasure of His Son’s
indwelling into the temple, the Vessel, the Church, the Wife! And He actually inhabits or indwells us. He speaks to us using this terminology in 1
Corinthians 4 to get His point across.
In effect, He’s putting His greatest treasure into a temple, into lots
of different temples, Brethren, that He can indwell. A temple of earthen vessels in us!
Transcribed by kb