BY AL BUCHANAN
I’d like to begin by asking you to, again, turn to Leviticus 23. I’d like to begin there where Jeff spent some time in the sermonette, familiar territory for the Holy Days. Leviticus 23 and in verse 1, we read that
Leviticus 23:1. And the
[Eternal] spoke to Moses, saying,
And this is the very Being who later emptied Himself of His position in which He held at this time to offer Himself as an offering and a sacrifice fulfilling what all of the Old Testament offerings and sacrifices pointed toward and pictured.
Leviticus 23:1. And the
[Eternal] spoke to Moses, saying,
So He’s giving instructions to him to pass on to
Leviticus 23:2. “Speak to the
children of
So here He mentions the Feasts of the Eternal, the
appointments that the Eternal has made, first of all with
Verse 3.
Leviticus 23:3. ‘Six days
shall work be done, but the seventh day is
a Sabbath of solemn rest, a holy convocation.
So the annual Holy Days were holy convocations. Also the weekly Sabbath is a holy convocation which basically means it’s a summons. We have been summoned by God to appear before Him on these appointed times.
Leviticus 23:3b. You shall
do no work on it; it is the Sabbath of the [Eternal] in all
your dwellings.
And then in verse 4.
Leviticus 23:4. ‘These are the feasts of the [Eternal], holy
convocations which you shall proclaim at their appointed times.
So then He mentions the annual Sabbaths. After the weekly Sabbath, He mentions the annual festivals here that would picture a great plan that They’re in the process of working out here on this earth.
Verse 5.
Leviticus 23:5. ‘On the
fourteenth day of the first month at
twilight is the [Eternal’s] Passover.
The first festival of seven festivals is the Passover. We kept it two nights ago. Physical
Verse 6.
Leviticus 23:6. ‘[Then] on
the fifteenth day of the same month is
the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the [Eternal]; seven days you must eat
unleavened bread.
So then comes the second festival which contains two Holy Days, two High Days within the seven. And this is the second festival. It clearly tells us during this period of time, this seven day period of time, that we are to eat unleavened bread. This began last evening as we kept the Night To Be Much Observed. As the sun set last evening, we entered into this very special period of time.
In Exodus 12 verse 42—please don’t turn there—it states
Exodus 12:42. It is a night of solemn observance to the
[Eternal] for bringing them out of the
And we heard a great deal about that yesterday. And the children of
We celebrate this with the spiritual understanding that
And then verse 7.
Leviticus 23:7. ‘On the
first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall do no customary work on
it.
And, again, it’s a summons. It’s a convocation. We have been summoned to be here.
Verse 8.
Leviticus 23:8. ‘But you
shall offer an offering made by fire to the [Eternal] for seven days.
We no longer have to do this because Jesus Christ fulfilled what these offerings pictured.
Leviticus 23:8b. The seventh
day shall be a holy convocation; you
shall do no customary work on it.’”
And so next week on the weekly Sabbath, we will keep that seventh day.
I want to read down through these next verses. I intended to just very, very briefly touch on what Mr. Schmidt covered in the sermonette. I want to go down and make just one particular point there.
Leviticus 23:9. And the
[Eternal] spoke to Moses, saying, 10)
“Speak to the children of
Now I want to pay particular attention to the wordage here that the day that is being spoken of is the day after the Sabbath. Now there’s been a great deal of confusion in that people put emphasis on the Sabbath rather than as the wording clearly shows the emphasis on the day after the Sabbath. So really the only reason the Sabbath is even mentioned here is just referencing that the day that the really emphasis is on is the day after it. That’s the only reason why the Sabbath is mentioned. Now if this wordage were to be in The New Testament, rather than saying the day after or the morrow after the Sabbath, it would say “the first day of the week.” Today, if you and I were discussing this, we would say, “Sunday.” So it’s the Sunday is where the emphasis is.
Now since people have put emphasis on the weekly Sabbath, many people think that weekly Sabbath needs to be during the Days of Unleavened Bread. It’s not the weekly Sabbath where the emphasis is. It’s the day after the weekly Sabbath and it’s that day that needs to be within the Days of Unleavened Bread. And so really if you want to know when the Wave Sheaf falls, there’s a very simple, simple rule: It’s the first Sunday after Passover, every year. No matter when Passover falls, whether it falls on a weekly Sabbath or any other day, it’s the Sunday following Passover. It works out that way just very clearly.
In verse 10, I already read over that. I was going to make a point but he’s already done that so I don’t need to.
I do want to go back to the Scripture that he turned to in John 20 and put emphasis on something there. John 20, some words that Jesus Christ said there. Mr. Schmidt read over this but I want to read it again. John 20 verse 17, where He said
John 20:17b. “Do not cling
to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go
to My brethren
And we’ve pointed this out before that in the New Testament this is the first time He ever refers to us as “His Brethren.” He does now. Why? Because He’s about to complete what makes it possible for us to become His Brethren. Notice!
John 20:17b. “Do not cling
to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say
to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’”
What He had already done, He had completed the sacrifice. He is resurrected back to life again following His three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. Now He’s only got to ascend to the Father to be accepted on our behalf and once He’s accepted on our behalf, then it’s possible for us to become His Brethren to enter in to the very Family of God. That was impossible until He had done what He had done and it still was impossible until He was accepted on our behalf as an acceptable sacrifice for us. And then, we can call His Father our Father. We can call His God our God. Very, very special event as Mr. Schmidt was bringing out that took place at that time.
I’m going to skip over some of this. I want to go back now to Leviticus 23 and in verse 6. I want to begin to take note of something here today that I have never emphasized before during the Days of Unleavened Bread. It’s always been there. I just haven’t emphasized it as it is. Leviticus 23 verse 6.
Leviticus 23:6. ‘And on the
fifteenth day of the same month is
the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the [Eternal]; seven days you must eat unleavened
bread.
Now we’ve made the point before that it is very important that we eat unleavened bread, physically consume unleavened bread every day during the seven. Now Mr. Armstrong told us that if you are in a position where you just do not have access to unleavened bread and you cannot get any due to circumstances, it’s not a horrible sin if you don’t do it. But there is an incredible lesson for us in this—and we’ll see it today—in eating unleavened bread for all of these seven days.
Now here’s the point that I want to begin to make here today and that is: the definition of what unleavened bread is. The Hebrew word that’s rendered “unleavened bread” has to do with the fact that it does not have yeast in it. There is no yeast in it. Here’s the definition: It has the connotation of sweetness since it is not made sour with yeast. So it hasn’t had any yeast put in it. Specifically it is an unfermented loaf. There has been no fermentation that’s taken place in this dough. It’s unfermented loaf.
Now let’s go to Exodus chapter 13 and in verse 3.
Exodus 13:3. And Moses said
to the people: “Remember this day in
which you went out of
Now “leavened bread” then is rendered from a different Hebrew word and that word means the normal process of bread making included some form of yeast to make the bread rise. The natural fermentation of benign bacteria—I’ve never made this point before—but during Biblical times, their means of leavening bread was with yeast which is literally a bacteria. It’s a living thing. It’s a benign bacteria. Our bodies have bacteria thriving in them constantly and in the proper balance, they do their job within our bodies to digest our foods and so forth. They are very beneficial to us. Out of control they can cause problems. And the wrong kind of bacteria certainly can cause problems. But the leavened bread in Biblical times was leavened in this way.
Now today, we have other chemicals, actually, in which you can get the same effect as you get from the living organisms that grow as a result of putting the yeast in bread. In the living organisms, the benign bacteria spread through the dough and cause this fermentation and the bread rises. Now you can get the same effect today with baking soda, baking powder. There’s different means of getting the same effect. But the point is when the Bible was written, when the instruction was given, the living yeast, the living organisms that were placed in the dough, teach us something very important.
Now today any leavening agent—I want to make this very clear—that any leavening agent today should be avoided whether chemical, whether a yeast or whatever. The leavening agent should be avoided. Leavened bread, whether it’s leavened with yeast or whether it’s leavened with some chemical or some means—you might say artificial fermentation—should be avoided. There’s very strong lessons to be learned just from the fact that bread puffs up.
But there’s also very important lessons to be learned from the living organisms being present within dough and how those living organisms spread through the dough. It starts little and spreads through. And, again, there’s something very important for us to understand.
Exodus 12 verse 19.
Exodus 12:19. ‘For seven
days no leaven shall be found in your houses,
No leaven of any kind is to be found in your houses for these seven days.
Exodus 12:19b. since whoever eats what is leavened,
Now notice the seriousness here.
Exodus
At the time this was written and the instruction given to
Exodus
So this command that we’re given is twofold. And, as we pointed this out many times, we
are to avoid leavening and we’re to avoid eating leavened products and leavened
bread or bread products but at the same time we are then to eat unleavened
bread for these seven days. So there’s a
twofold command. We are to avoid eating
that which is leavened but we must eat that which is not for all seven
days. Clearly God sees this as something
very serious. Even in physical
Now let’s read some words from Jesus the Christ when He was here on the earth in the flesh and note some things that He had to say. Let’s begin in Matthew chapter 5. I want to begin reading here in verse 17. Matthew 5 verse 17, Jesus Christ speaking
Matthew 5:17. “Do not think
that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.
So the instructions concerning the Holy Days, including the instructions for the festivals.
Matthew 5:17. “Do not think
that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets.
I did not come to destroy but to fulfill.
Now verse 18.
Matthew 5:18. “For assuredly,
I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no
means pass from the law till all [has its fulfillment].
“Till all is fulfilled.” So nothing changes. However, as we’re going to see here, He is going to instruct them that there is a spiritual application that we are now to understand and have understanding of.
Now verse 19, very important verse.
Matthew 5:19. “Whoever
therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments,
Concerning leavened bread, concerning any of the commandments God gave.
Matthew 5:19. “Whoever
therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so,
shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom
of heaven.
Now what’s important here is we understand what the meaning
of the word “breaks” is. And when we
were out in
Now if you want to find an example of this, when John the Baptist was talking about Christ was to come after him and he wasn’t worthy to loosen, to unloose the latch of His sandal, same word, that’s what it means to loose something that is bound. To unbind, to release, to set free, to undo, to dissolve, to annul, to do away with, to deprive of authority. So you see this takes on a whole different meaning then here and importance to us to understand this.
Matthew 5:19. “Whoever therefore [loosens or annuls or does away with] one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, [that individual will] be called least in the kingdom of heaven;
Not just transgressing but to attempt to do away with and to teach others that it’s okay to do away with. Jesus Christ said, “There’s not a jot, a tittle, nothing is changing.” The only thing He’s going to do here is show that it rises up to a higher level and has spiritual application and we’ve got to keep it in the spirit as well as the letter.
Verse 20.
Matthew 5:20. “For I say to
you, that unless your righteousness exceeds the
righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you will by no means enter the
kingdom of heaven.
Verse 21.
Matthew 5:21. “You have
heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever
murders will be in danger of the judgment.’
22) “But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother
And so on. So it goes to the intent. It goes to the spirit of this, down to the intent of the heart, intent of the mind not just the literal act.
Then we go down to verse 27.
Matthew 5:27. “You have
heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28) “I say to you that whoever looks at a
woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.
And so we’re getting now down. He’s bringing us to a level that is intent of the mind, intent of the heart not just the literal act.
Now let’s go to Matthew 16. So those teachings concerning leavened bread and unleavened bread then, we are to rise up to a higher level now as we are part of the Israel of God. Let’s notice Matthew 16 beginning in verse 5. We’ll read through verse 12 very quickly here. We’re going to come back to this later.
Matthew 16:5. Now when His
disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6) Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 7) And they reasoned among themselves,
saying, “It is because we have taken
no bread.” 8) But [when] Jesus
[perceived] it, [He] said to them, “O
you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have
brought no bread? 9) “Do you not yet
understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand and how many
baskets you took up? 10) “Nor the seven
loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up? 11) “How is it that you do not understand
that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—But [you should] beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
Sadducees.” 12) Then they understood
that He did not tell them to beware
of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees and Sadducees.
So the leaven we are to avoid now is not just the leaven that makes bread rise. It goes beyond that. He is showing here leavening has to do with false teachings even. Clearly here Jesus is raising this keeping of these Days to a higher level, to a spiritual level. So not only do we avoid consuming leavened physical bread into our bodies, but we are to avoid consuming spiritual leavening into our minds, into our make up.
Now it’s interesting that this word “leaven” here that Christ uses, even here in the New Testament, means “fermenting matter or sour dough.” So again, it is a fermentation. It is a result of a living organism.
Now Matthew 26 and verse 17, let me just refer to this. There we find the word “unleavened” and in the Greek it means “unfermented, without fermentation.” So it simply means unfermented bread.
Now so we’re beginning to see a consistency from the Old Testament to the New Testament in the instruction that’s given. It has to do with this living type of fermentation. As a result of living organisms, you get this fermentation that causes the bread to rise. So, leavened bread involves the presence of fermentation. Unleavened bread involves the absence of fermentation. And, again, the fermentation is the result of the presence of living benign bacteria or living organisms.
Now again, today we have these other means of leavening products. And I don’t want you to get the wrong impression that only that kind of bread product that has this natural yeast leavening needs to be avoided. It’s all types because again we’re going to see that the puffing up, there’s lessons to be learned from that.
But today, today in this message, I would like for us to pay particular attention to what we can learn from this effect of living things resulting in this fermentation that spreads through the dough. There’s a very important lesson, more than one, for us to learn from this.
Now let’s notice again words that Jesus the Christ said in Luke 13. Luke 13. Very interesting here Jesus is going to use the word “leavening” in a very positive sense. Normally, when we see leavening used, we think of it in the negative sense. Let’s notice what He says. Luke 13 and verse 20, we can see a parallel to this in Matthew 13 verse 33. Here He says
Luke 13:20. And again He
said, “To what shall I liken the
And, again, we would normally think leaven would be something that would have a very negative connotation to it. Here it’s very positive. Notice!
Luke 13:21. “It is like
leaven, which a woman took and hid in three measures of meal till it was all
leavened.”
So the
Now in two places, in 1 Corinthians 5:6—we’re going to turn there after a while—and in Galatians 5:9, we find the phrase, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.” “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” with this idea that it starts little and it spreads through the dough until it is all leavened. In both cases here, 1 Corinthians 5 verse 6, Galatians 5 verse 9, the use of leaven is in a negative sense. Something that is harmful that starts small and then spreads. So if you want a title to the message today, it is A Little Leaven Leavens The Whole Lump.
1 Corinthians 5, let’s go there. 1 Corinthians 5 and we’re familiar with this section of Scripture, I think. We typically turn to this every year during the Days of Unleavened Bread. 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 1.
1 Corinthians 5:1. It is
actually reported that there is sexual
immorality among you, and such sexual immorality as is not even named among the
Gentiles—that a man has his father’s wife!
So apparently a member in this congregation there at
Verse 2.
1 Corinthians 5:2. And you
are puffed up,
Now again, whether you put natural yeast that has living organisms in it or whether you use some chemical, the effect that you get from it is a puffing up of the bread. And so in the context of the Days of Unleavened Bread here, Paul is addressing this issue and he is saying that “You are puffed up.” And the margin shows that this could be arrogance. It could be pride. So again, leavening causes bread to puff up. And they were puffed up, not as bread literally, but they were puffed up as a people. Now he said to them
1 Corinthians 5:2. And you
are puffed up, and have not rather mourned,
Now how were they puffed up as a result of what was going on there? How did this result in them becoming puffed up? Well, we can only read between the lines and try to figure out what they’re actually, how they’re responding to this. Actually, as you read through here, Paul’s concern in what he says is not so much for the person guilty, it’s the impact that it’s having on the group. And the group as a whole is puffed up. So now how did that come about? How did this individual within the congregation, guilty of this sin, how is that resulting in them being puffed up? Well, we can only guess that they were puffing themselves up and feeling good about themselves because, as they knew at that time that God was capable of forgiving their sins through the sacrifice of Christ, that perhaps they were kind of feeling good about themselves that they could forgive this person too. They could forgive this person for doing this. And they were allowing him to continue to be among them in their congregation and the whole congregation was beginning to become puffed up and filled with pride. I don’t know. I’m just guessing. I don’t know what exactly was happening. But Paul is clearly saying, “They’re puffed up and they’re not mourning as they ought to be mourning as a result of this going on in their congregation.”
Now just hold your place there and let’s go to James 4. And let’s notice what the apostle James wrote. James chapter 4 and in verse 7. James 4 verses 7 through 10.
James 4:7. Therefore submit
to God. Resist the devil and he will
flee from you. 8) Draw near to God and
He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your
hearts, you double-minded.
Notice what they should be doing!
James 4:9. Lament and mourn
Now he said, “They were puffed up. They were not mourning.”
James 4:9. Lament and mourn
and weep! Let your laughter be turned to
mourning and your joy to gloom. 10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the
Lord, and He will lift you up.
And so this mourning seems to be connected with humility. So as they recognize—it is just talking about here, “Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.” If you’re guilty of these things, you need to be mourning. You need to be humbling yourself. You need to be recognizing your guilt. Rather than being puffed up, you need to be mourning.
And so back here then it seems that these people were being puffed up and becoming arrogant rather than humbling themselves of a result of what was going on in their midst.
1 Corinthians 5:2. And you
are puffed up, and have not rather mourned, that he who has done this deed
might be taken away from among you.
So Paul is clearly saying, “Look, you can’t any longer tolerate this as part of your group. You need to get this person out and remove him from your congregation.”
1 Corinthians 5:3. For I
indeed, as absent in body but present in spirit, have already judged (as though
I were present) [concerning] him who has so done this deed. 4) In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, when
you are gathered together, along with my spirit, with the power of our Lord
Jesus Christ, 5) Deliver such a one to
Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day
of the Lord Jesus.
And so, his instruction was for the good both of the individual that maybe he’ll wake up and he’ll recognize his guilt and repent himself, but also it’s for the good of the congregation of getting this problem out from their midst.
Verse 6, notice!
1 Corinthians 5:6. Your
glorying is not good.
So again, they were puffed up. They were glorying for some reason and the only thing I can think of is that they were seeing themselves in a good light in the sense that they were willing to forgive as God forgives, even though this was a situation where the person was not repenting. He was not making any changes. He was continuing to do this.
1 Corinthians 5:6. Your
glorying is not good.
And then he asks a question.
1 Corinthians 5:6b. Do you
not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump?
And so everybody in the congregation is going to be following suit and you’re all going to be puffed up and filled with arrogance if this continues.
Then verse 7.
1 Corinthians 5:7. Therefore
purge out [this] old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are
unleavened. For indeed Christ, our
Passover, was sacrificed for us.
This instruction would apply individually or collectively. He’s instructing the congregation to get this person out but if we as an individual recognize that we’re doing something that’s harming ourselves, harming somebody else, or transgressing a law of God, that we need to correct that and stop doing that and get it out of our lives. When recognized, a sin that is present should be removed. We should make every effort to remove it.
Now I think some of us maybe have at least some time in our lives reasoned the way maybe these folks were reasoning that we’ve got this problem, we’re not correcting it, we’re tolerating it in our lives, but we think God will forgive me. God will continue to forgive me. Could we actually individually be guilty of something very similar to what these individuals were guilty of here? When we recognize that we’ve got a problem, we really do need to make every effort to get rid of it.
Now as Paul said—now here’s an interesting thing—Paul said in Romans 7 that he had sin dwelling in him as if it were something almost alive. It was almost like he’s comparing it to a living thing that was in him and he said—remember—he tried every, he would try to do what he knew was right, but he continued to do what he knew was wrong. He would continue to fail. And we talked about how that that could very well be the thorn in the flesh that he talked about in another place that was there to help keep him humble.
Do you realize that we can have something like this that actually can have a good result? But it also, if we don’t fight it and resist it and try with every fiber of our being to control it, it can get out of control and can kill us. In Paul’s case, he said that thorn in the flesh actually proved to be good for him because it worked to keep him humble. Remember? But out of control, if he didn’t work to control that, if he didn’t fight it—as clearly in Romans 7, he is fighting it. He’s resisting it. He’s trying his best to overcome it. And he’s saying finally, “I thank God. Who’s going to rescue me from this state? I thank God it’s through Jesus Christ.” He understood that ultimately the only hope he had for the forgiveness of his guilt was through Jesus Christ’s sacrifice. He couldn’t do it on his own. But nonetheless, he was to continue to fight this and struggle against it throughout his life. Else, if he let it get out of control, again, it could kill him. It could overcome him.
This is something that I did not know till I poked around a little bit about this is that do you know all of us have yeast in us? We have yeast in us and if our immune system gets low enough, it can get out of control and kill us. I didn’t know that till I just poked around a little bit here recently. And I thought that’s very interesting in light of what we’re talking about here.
Now in verse 8, in 1 Corinthians 5 verse 8.
1 Corinthians 5:8. Therefore
let us keep the feast,
So Paul makes it abundantly clear that we are to continue to keep this festival.
1 Corinthians 5:8. Therefore
let us keep the feast,
But he says
1 Corinthians 5:8b. not with
old leaven,
Notice what he says!
1 Corinthians 5:8 cont. [not]
with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
While he makes it abundantly clear that we’re to keep this festival, he makes it equally clear that we are to keep the spirit of the meaning as well as the physical. So he’s very clearly showing that malice and wickedness is leavening. Sincerity and truth, he likens to that which is unleavened.
Now malice and wickedness, it’s interesting when we look for what the definition of them is. The definition of malice is wickedness. The definition of wickedness is malice. It’s included in the definition of each one. Basically they are the same thing. Malice means wickedness as an evil habit of the mind. This is something that’s really a problem. It even—Thayer’s defines “malice” as malignity, a malignity, ill will, desire to injure, and again, the definition can be wickedness. “Wickedness” is defined as evil nature, malice, or malicious. So actually we’re talking about something here that’s developed to pretty much of a state of a problem. If you come to the point that you have malice and you have wickedness within you, you’re at a state where you’ve got a problem you need to be dealing with.
Matthew 16, now let’s go there. I want to go back to there. Matthew 16, I believe we were there already once. I won’t read—well, I do want to read all of this again. Matthew 16 verse 5.
Matthew 16:5. [And] when His
disciples had come to the other side, they had forgotten to take bread. 6) Then Jesus said to them, “Take heed and
beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the Sadducees.” 7) And they reasoned among themselves,
saying, “It is because we have taken
no bread.” 8) But [when] Jesus
[perceived] it, [He] said to them, “O
you of little faith, why do you reason among yourselves because you have
brought no bread?
And then in verse 9 and 10, notice what He says.
Matthew 16:9. “Do you not
yet understand, or remember the five loaves of the five thousand [that were
fed] and how many baskets you took up?
Now what happened there in that example? Five loaves of bread, a very small amount, increased in size to where it fed five thousand people and they had all these baskets of fragments left over. So something started small and it grew big. Even in the context of all of this, He’s using these examples.
Matthew 16:10. “Nor the
seven loaves of the four thousand and how many large baskets you took up?
Then verse 11.
Matthew 16:11. “How is it
you do not understand that I did not speak to you concerning bread?—But [you should] beware of the leaven of
the Pharisees and Sadducees.” 12) Then
they understood that He did not tell them
to beware of the leaven of bread, but of the doctrine of the Pharisees
and Sadducees.
Something that is false in the way of a false doctrine can
be very harmful. It can start small and
get to be very large. Now I want you to
think about something. We all lived
through what happened in the Worldwide Church of God where false doctrines
began to be introduced and at first, rather small, at least in number. Just a little twist on this word or that word
and then it got more and more and more until we saw it got to the point where
we ended up having to separate ourselves from that source. But think about what has happened as a result
of that starting. It started very
small. Look where it is today. It is spread throughout the
Luke 12 verse 1, I won’t even turn there. There He mentions again the leavening of the Pharisees but there He calls it hypocrisy. This leaven of the Pharisees which is hypocrisy which means to pretend, the act of a stage player, the acting of a stage player, someone pretending to be something that they’re not, anyone pretending to be something that they are not, again, every one of us is susceptible to this. Every one of us is susceptible to this. It can start small. It can start in a small area. And it can grow to the point of being destructive to us. So all of these things, they start small and they grow.
Now I want to go to a few verses here with the word “malice”
included. Now again, remember the
definition of malice is a malignity.
Malignity is a definition of malice.
It’s one of the definitions.
Let’s go to Ephesians 4 and in verse 30 where Paul is writing to the
Brethren there in
Ephesians 4:30. And do not
grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by [which] you were sealed for the day of
redemption.
How would you grieve God’s Spirit? He goes on to say what you need to avoid doing.
Ephesians 4:31. Let all
bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor,
Which in the margin shows is quarreling.
Ephesians 4:31b. and evil
speaking be put away from you, with all malice.
Any one of these things can begin small. We can become bitter over something that’s really insignificant at times. And that bitterness can grow and it can grow and it can grow until it destroys us. The same way with many of these things, “bitterness, wrath, anger.” You become angry over something and anger gets out of control. We ought to be angry—the Bible says—and sin not. Many times when we get angry, we do sin. But evil speaking, all these things need to be put out.
Colossians 3 verse 8.
Colossians 3:8. But now you
[must also] put off all these: anger,
wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy language out of your mouth.
These are things that need to be gotten rid of, gotten out of our lives.
James 1:21.
James 1:21. Therefore lay
aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness,
That’s the way they’ve rendered the same Greek word that rendered “malice” other places.
James 1:21b. Therefore lay
aside all filthiness and overflow of wickedness, and receive with meekness the
implanted word, which is able to save your souls.
1 Peter 2 verse 1, very similar words Peter said. 1 Peter 2 and in verse 1.
1 Peter 2:1. Therefore,
laying aside all malice, all [guile], hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking,
Notice this is repeated. Basically the same things are repeated over, and over, and over, and over again. But these are things we’ve got to get out of our lives.
1 Peter 2:2. As newborn
babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby,
Now James said that we ought to pay particular attention to this implanted word. Now he talks about this pure milk of the word. Remember the command is twofold. We are to avoid that which is leavened but we are to eat that which is unleavened.
Let’s go to John chapter 6 and look at this section of Scripture. John chapter 6 and let’s notice what we read.
In 1 Corinthians 5 verse 8, I didn’t point this out when we were there. But it says that we are to eat this unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Remember? Avoid the leaven of malice and wickedness but consume this unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. Sincerity means purity, purity. The word “truth” there simply means the unveiled reality, truth as the opposite to falsehood, error, or insincerity. So we’re to consume this unleavened bread of sincerity and truth.
Here in John 6 and in verse 27.
John 6:27. “Do not labor for
the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life,
which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on
Him.” 28) Then they said to Him, “What
shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” 29) Jesus answered and said to them, “This is
the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” 30) Therefore they said to Him, “What sign
will You perform then, that we may see it and believe You? What work will You do? [And they said,] 31) “Our fathers ate the manna in the desert;
as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”
Now from what we know about this manna that was given to them, this was little small wafers that they ate. Virtually certain, it was unleavened. It was unleavened bread that they ate, this manna.
Verse 32.
John 6:32. Then Jesus said
to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, Moses did not give you the bread from
heaven, but My Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
Now He’s referring to Himself. That He now is likening Himself to the manna. He’s likening Himself to unleavened bread. And obviously this is raising this to a higher level. This is raising it to a spiritual level here.
Verse 33.
John 6:33. “For the bread of
God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34) Then they said to Him, “Lord, give us
this bread always.” 35) And Jesus said
to them, “I am the bread of life. He who
comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst.
Over in verse 47 then.
John 6:47. “Most assuredly,
I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
Our belief in this Being begins very small. We understand just a very small amount of what we need to understand about this Being. It begins very small. Our knowledge and understanding of the words He delivered begins very small. It begins small but it’s to increase. It’s to increase.
Hold your place there and I want to go back to James 1. You don’t need to turn there if you don’t want to. James chapter 1, you can just put it in your notes. Let me read it. James 1 verse 17.
James 1:17. Every good gift
and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning. 18) Of His own will
Of God’s own will, the Father of lights’ will
James 1:18b. He brought us
forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His
creatures.
So the process begins with a small understanding of this precious truth. If it increases as it should, we come to the necessary understanding that we need to come to. Eventually it leads to us becoming part of the very Family of God. It begins very small and it increases to the point till we become one of His Brethren in the very Family of God.
John 6:47. “Most assuredly,
I say to you,
Back in verse 47.
John 6:47b. he who believes in Me has everlasting life.
Verse 48.
John 6:48. “I am the bread
of life.
“I am the bread of life.” Once again now, He is without sin. He is unleavened. He is bringing to this earth pure truth.
John 6:48. “I am the bread
of life. 49) “Your fathers ate the manna
Now many people connect what we read here in John 6 with the
taking of the Passover and there may be some connection there but the primary
connection is with the manna. That He is
bread that we are to consume. As the
manna was bread that sustained
John 6:48. “I am the bread
of life. 49) “Your fathers ate the manna
in the wilderness, and are dead. 50)
“This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not
die.
Verse 51, notice!
John 6:51. “I am the living
bread
“I am the living bread.” Now remember the fermentation in bread dough is the result of the work of living organisms, living bacteria. They very actively spread throughout the lump of dough. Again, a little leaven leavens the whole lump.
Now Jesus the Christ is here likened to—He Himself likens Himself to—living bread. “I am the living bread,” He says. Unleavened in the sense of having no sin. There was no sin involved and what He brought to this earth was pure. It was sincerity and truth. But this unleavened spiritual bread has life! And can impart life in us! Our knowledge and our understanding of this precious truth that He brought starts small and it increases throughout our lives. From year to year to year to year, it should continue to increase to the point to where He gives us eternal life. He gives us everlasting life.
Hold your place here. John 14 and verse 19. The very night after He had instituted the symbols and before He died, He said this. John 14 verse 19.
John 14:19. “A little while
longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.
They were very much physically alive when He said these words. He had to be talking about a spiritual life. He had to be talking about the everlasting life that would come.
John 14:19. “A little while
longer and the world will see Me no more, but you will see Me. Because I live, you will live also.
If we consume what He brought and if it continues to grow and develop.
Verse 20.
John 14:20. “At that day [at
His return] you will know that I am
in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
Not only will we have life, we will have it as part of the very Family of God. Incredible, incredible truths that is contained within these Scriptures!
Back to verse 51, John 6 verse 51.
John 6:51. “I am the living
bread which came down from heaven. If
anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall
give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52) The Jews therefore quarreled among
themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53) Then
Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of
the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.
It could be that He is referring to the symbols that He would institute a year after this. This was in the vicinity of Passover the year before He would die. So He may be referring to those symbols here but the context has to do with manna. And we’ll see He is going to come back to it again. We’re to consume Him. We’re to consume all that He is, all that He taught us with His example as well as with the words that He said.
Verse 54.
John 6:54. “Whoever eats My flesh
and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last
day. 55) “For My flesh is food indeed,
and My blood is drink indeed.
It’s a life long process.
Once we start just like we are to consume unleavened bread for seven
days, those seven days picture our entire journey from the time God begins to
lead us out of spiritual
Verse 56.
John 6:56. “He who eats My
flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him.
This is talking about a relationship. This is talking about a relationship that our knowledge, our understanding, and our belief should result in. We should come to the point of having a personal relationship with these Beings, both of Them. We’ve seen recently how much They desire to be part of our lives, how much They want to come into us and live Their lives in us. They want this relationship and we need to desire it as well throughout our lives.
Verse 57.
John 6:57. “As the living
Father
Notice!
John 6:57. “As the living
Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will
live because of Me. 58) “This is the
bread which came down from heaven—not as your fathers ate the manna,
Notice, He’s coming right back to manna again.
John 6:58b. and are
dead. He who eats this bread will live
forever.” 59) These things He said in
the synagogue as He taught in
Over in verse 53, 63 I’m sorry, it says
John 6:63. “It is the Spirit
[which] gives life; the flesh profits nothing.
The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.
And so the message that He brought, the truth that He brought, the sincerity and truth that He brought is what’s so important that we consume.
Let’s go back to Exodus then and we’ll wrap up real quickly here. Exodus 13 and in verse 6.
Exodus 13:6. “Seven days you
shall eat unleavened bread, and on the seventh day there shall be a feast to the [Eternal]. 7) “Unleavened bread shall be eaten seven
days. And no leavened bread shall be
seen among you, nor shall leaven be seen among you in all your quarters. 8) “And you shall tell your son in that day,
saying, ‘This is done because of what
the [Eternal] did for me when I came up from
He promised to write it on our hearts and in our minds. We’re to understand the commands regarding the law as it applies in the physical as well as the spiritual level that we need to be adhering to it now.
Exodus 12 verses 19 and 20 and we’ll quit.
Exodus 12:19. ‘For seven
days no leaven shall be found in your houses, since whoever eats what is
leavened, that same person shall be cut off from the congregation of Israel,
If you eat that which is leavened, it’ll grow and it’ll
spread. And if we continue to consume it
and allow it to spread, it can kill us.
In
Verse 20.
Exodus 12:20. ‘You shall eat
nothing leavened; in all your [habitations] you shall eat unleavened bread.’”
Transcribed by kb