25-1005sc Transcript

(0:04) Let’s go to our Heavenly Father in prayer. Most gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you so much (0:11) for this beautiful day and this beautiful morning. We thank you for the measure of safety and health (0:17) that we enjoy that enables us to enjoy the blessings and to take advantage of all that (0:24) you provide for us during the day and through our lives, and especially for the safety and (0:32) health that we enjoy.

At this time, we know that we’ve come together to study your plans, (0:44) especially the mystery that you revealed to Paul in Ephesians about your plan for redeeming us, (0:54) and we pray that you will help us to comprehend it and to be able to understand it and have insight. (1:03) We pray your blessings upon this congregation and that it will grow. We want to be a beacon (1:12) into the community. We pray these things in Jesus Christ’s name. Amen.

I believe it’s in Ephesians (1:23) that Paul says that he’s praying for their study, he’s praying for their growth, and in that he (1:34) mentions the fact that he prays that God, and he uses that, that God will (1:44) open their eyes of understanding and give them insight into their studies and into their (1:54) understanding of who God is and the plan of salvation.

And so I like that, and I think that (2:03) it’s something that I want to try to incorporate in my prayers, especially for me and for all of (2:10) those who sit in the audience, and that God will open our eyes of understanding. I think it all (2:19) depends on the version that you’re reading, whether he uses your eyes of your heart, (2:27) but the version that I’ve been reading out of, which is the New American Standard here lately, (2:33) but I like the New International Version, and I stay with it. (2:38) But the eyes of our heart, the eyes of our understanding, and give us the insight.

(2:46) And I pray that the individual who wrote this material for us, that his understanding is (2:53) correct and his inspiration and his insight is correct, too. And I believe it is. That’s the (3:02) reason why I’m holding on to it and presenting it.

I believe it’s that he does have the correct (3:08) understanding. And so in Chapter 2, he’s wanting us to perceive that Jesus came to save us from our (3:20) sins. That’s in the very first page of Chapter 2. And that Christ’s purpose was not to save the (3:29) world from war or poverty or famine, but that he came to save us from our sins.

And he gives us (3:40) the Scriptures that helps us to appreciate that. For in Matthew, we see the account, Chapter 1, (3:49) verse 21, where the angel came to Joseph and said that he’s going to be named Jesus, for it is he (4:03) that shall save his people from their sins. And so there on the first page of your lesson, he says, (4:17) and he wants to focus in on the fact that he did not come to spare us from war or poverty or famine.

(4:28) But, you know, many people approach God, many people approach religion with the concept that (4:37) it is material blessings that we’re looking for, and it’s material blessings that we’re hoping God (4:43) will bless us with. And so my sermon this morning is going to be based on that. So the thing is, (4:55) it is a benefit of being a Christian.

And like in any community, there are sections of the city. (5:06) I know there’s a section in Lorain that definitely could benefit from being Christians, (5:17) because there’s nothing but turmoil, there’s nothing but bad marriages and unruly children (5:28) and various other things. And I know that if you were to look into their lives, (5:35) they don’t have very good jobs, they don’t have very good relationships with their families, (5:41) husbands and wives, and they’re living in dumps.

And so they know they want a better life, (5:55) but if they would just live their lives the way God wants them to live, it would be better. (6:02) And I’m going to try to point that out in the sermon. But the thing is, even in Jesus' day, (6:14) they were looking at God to prolong their lives, they were looking for God to make them (6:23) a great nation, they were looking to God to help them with their health.

And so whenever (6:33) they were worshiping God and going to God through their priests, basically they weren’t really all (6:42) concerned about their spiritual well-being with God. And so when Jesus came into the world, (6:52) and of course that’s chapter 3, and when we get into chapter 3, when Jesus comes into the world, (6:57) they’re looking for a Messiah that is going to be restoring their well-being, restoring (7:10) what they used to know under David. And of course the prophets of old, if you would look at their (7:18) prophecy, it would lead them to believe that that’s exactly what is going to happen, that (7:23) God is going to be their Savior, this Messiah is going to save them, this Messiah is going to do (7:29) that.

But the thing is, as we look at lesson 2, that Jesus did not come into the world to (7:40) be that. And chapter 3 is going to point out how Israel, in particular, was looking for the (7:52) fulfillment of their promise to Abraham as being able to bless the nations. And so they’re not (8:03) thinking in terms of being saved from their sins.

So as we look at Ephesians, and if you have (8:14) your Bibles, it’s quoted here in the material that you have, Ephesians 1, chapter 1, starting (8:24) with verse 9 through 11. "…​making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good (8:29) pleasure, which he purposed in him unto a dispensation of the fulness of times, to sum up (8:36) all things in Christ, the things in heaven, the things upon the earth, in him, I say, in whom also (8:43) we were made a heritage, having been ordained according to the purpose of him who worketh all (8:50) things, after the counsel of his will. Christ did not fail to provide redemption.

He accomplished (8:58) God’s pre-planned purpose for him, as plainly stated in another epistle." And he quotes 2 Timothy, (9:08) chapter 1, "…​who saved us and called us from a holy calling, not according to our works, but (9:16) according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before times eternal." (9:26) So he has an eternal purpose, and God’s intent for the church was according to the eternal purpose (9:32) which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Ephesians 3, 11. His reference to the plan of salvation, as we (9:40) generally speak of it, is to God’s eternal purpose.

God’s plan to save us was purposed in his great (9:49) mind in eternity before time began, and spanning the poles of time extends into eternity after the (9:59) consummation of the ages. And Paul reveals this to us in the following. God purposed redemption (10:07) before time began.

And he quotes 1 Corinthians, chapter 2, "…​we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery, (10:17) even the wisdom that hath been hidden, which God foreordained before the worlds unto our glory." (10:25) As I point out in chapter 3, and of course you don’t have chapter 3 in front of you, (10:32) but as I point out in chapter 3, (10:38) when you read the Old Testament and you look at the Old Testament, you really don’t have the (10:47) concept that the prophets are really foreordaining Jesus is dying on the cross. You don’t really have (10:56) them foretelling or prophesying that he’s going to save them from their sins and restore the (11:02) relationship with God. It’s basically materialism that they’re looking at, and nationalism.

(11:08) And the only way that we are going to be able to, if we’re looking at the Old Testament, (11:13) what does Paul say, I believe in 2 Corinthians, where if you study the Old Testament you have a (11:19) veil over your eyes. And in order to take that veil away and to be able to really appreciate (11:27) what God was prophesying through the prophets is viewed through Christian eyes. We’re on this side (11:36) of the cross, we’re looking back, and as we look back we see, aha! It was spiritual! It was! He was (11:48) wanting us to be forgiven of our sins and reconcile us back to Him and restore us back to Him, (11:56) and that was his plan from the very beginning.

You remember, you know, when Adam and Eve sinned (12:03) and God gives them in Genesis 3.15 the fact that there’s going to be enmity between her seed and (12:15) Satan, and that in this enmity they’re going to have a scuffle, and in the scuffle we’re going to (12:23) see that Satan is going to bruise the heel of her seed, her man-child, but he is going to bruise the (12:34) head of Satan. And so if you look at a skirmish and fighting, you watch fights, who wins? (12:46) The one who hits the head and knocks him out. It’s not the one who gives him a toe hold.

(12:55) It’s the one who actually puts him out and gets him down for the count of three. (13:01) And so we have that being given to us, and of course that is carried out when Jesus is resurrected (13:08) from the grave. He’s the first fruit from the grave, and the reason why he’s the first fruit (13:14) from the grave is because nobody else has come and has defeated Satan, and with their wholesomeness (13:22) and sinlessness, Satan did not have the ability to hold him, and so he breaks forth from the grave, (13:30) and he gives us the opportunity to perceive that there is life after death.

And of course we know (13:37) that the concept has always been there, because when Paul is standing before the Sanhedrin, (13:46) what does he perceive? He perceives that some are (13:52) publicans and some are (13:58) Sadducees. There we go. I had to come up and I had to think about it.

The publicans and Sadducees. (14:03) What’s the difference between the publicans and the Sadducees? The Sadducees didn’t believe (14:08) Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, or Deuteronomy. They would not accept the Prophets and their (14:15) writings, but the Pharisees accepted Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and the Prophets, (14:23) and Jesus accepted the whole ball of wax too, didn’t he? And so when Paul stands up there, (14:29) he perceives, I am being persecuted for my belief in a resurrection.

(14:37) Why did he say that? Because he knew the Pharisees believed in the resurrection, (14:44) and so he’s putting them at odds with one another, and he has to do that. So there was a concept of a (14:51) resurrection, but they really did not have any real concrete information to go by. They did not have (15:00) a definite resurrection as we do today, and Jesus is the one who defeats Satan and begins to do (15:10) these things.

So it is with the resurrection that he is able to defeat Satan and also bring about (15:20) yours and my reconciliation with God, forgiveness of our sins. And so he sees that (15:29) Paul was preaching the gospel, and I believe it’s in the Ephesian letter that (15:38) he is saying to them, or it’s in Acts, when he’s making his defense, he’s said that he is preaching (15:49) the gospel of God, God’s gospel. And there’s a distinction, but it’s God’s gospel, and he is the (16:01) one who’s providing us with the life that we need to have in order to know how to be pleasing to him.

(16:10) So the only way that we’re going to know these things is through the Bible, and the Bible is the (16:18) only source that is available to us that helps us to appreciate God’s plan and God’s intervention in (16:27) our lives. And so you talk about being lucky with escaping that incident with the bicyclist in the (16:37) car, you know, who’s to say God was with you? Now I believe that with all my heart. God was with you, (16:47) divine intervention, providence, and preservation.

And so as we reflect upon this, so (16:55) he goes on, Paul was preaching the gospel of Christ, but he says that he was speaking (17:02) God’s wisdom. The gospel then is God’s wisdom to save man. And he goes on to say that what he was (17:11) speaking was once a mystery because it was hidden from man, and that it was the very thing which God (17:21) ordained for the world unto our glory.

The view of this from eternity to eternity is presented (17:30) in the diagram that’s there in your material. But just think, I think I’ve tried to explain this (17:39) on the last time I was here, but eternity to eternity. Where is God when he’s planning (17:46) the creation of the world and putting man in it? Where is God? (17:51) He’s in eternity, has always been in eternity.

So he’s in eternity planning our role, planning to (18:02) redeem us, planning to save us and to have us be with them eternally in heaven and reconciling us (18:09) to us. And as he wants to point out to us, he knew man was going to sin. He didn’t design man to sin, (18:20) he knew man would sin, using our own primordial agency and so on.

He knew man was going to sin, (18:28) so he anticipated ahead of time how he was going to redeem us and reconcile us to him. (18:36) And that’s the real definition of grace. Grace is unmerited favor, right? Before he even knew (18:47) us, before he even created us, he is planning our salvation and redeem to us.

That’s what grace is, (18:57) unmerited favor, planning ahead of time and providing it before we even, before we knew. (19:10) So from eternity, what is he planning? He’s planning for our future. And what is our future (19:20) going to be? With him in eternity.

So from eternity to eternity, he has one thing in mind, (19:35) and that is that you and I, who are Christians, who have been reconciled to him and come to God (19:41) through the blood of Christ and his sacrifice, we’re going to be able to be with him eternally. (19:50) From eternity to eternity. It’s this little space in between that involves you and me.

(19:59) And so that’s where he’s talking about from eternity to eternity. Any questions or observations? (20:08) Okay, let’s pick up with this. God’s foreknowledge that man would fall through sin (20:17) is not to be equated with God’s foreordaining man to sin.

God foreknew that man would sin (20:24) and so foreordained or predetermined a plan to save him. This was to the glory of God (20:33) and the glorification of the saved. And as I said, that’s grace in its 100% definition.

(20:41) Ephesians 1-14 details this purpose in Christ, which God himself is working to consummate (20:50) through his Son. God’s purpose to be consummated in eternal glorification of his saints. (21:01) Romans 8, verse 28-30, and we know that to them that love God, all things work together for good, (21:09) even to them that are called according to his purpose.

For whom he foreknew, (21:17) but for whom he foreknew, he also foreordained. And whom he foreordained, then he also called. (21:26) And whom he called, then he also justified.

And whom he justified, then he also glorified. (21:36) The scope of God’s great eternal purpose to redeem us from sin extends from eternity (21:42) before the world began to the eternity after the consummation of the ages, (21:48) when the saints will be glorified according to that purpose. (21:52) Paul’s revelation of God’s intent to save the ruined race of mankind sets the stage (21:58) for a correct view of the study of the Bible.

The Bible is the record of the fulfillment of that (22:04) purpose as it is consummated in Christ. It reveals how God interfered in the course of history (22:14) from the very beginning in order to fulfill his redemptive plan. Also, this sets the stage for (22:22) a correct view of the course of history itself.

The events of history have not been left entirely (22:29) to man’s efforts. God himself has been responsible for much of history, and he is as involved in the (22:39) affairs of men today as in ancient days and for the same redemptive purpose. And so therefore, (22:47) that’s the concept that is there, but you never really see it in printed form per se, (22:55) and that is divine intervention, providence, and preservation.

The concept is there (23:02) all the way, and that’s the reason why I really want to stress every time that I have the (23:08) opportunity, when we talk about God, he divinely intervenes in our lives, and this is evidence. (23:17) He started out with Adam and Eve. He’s divinely intervening, and the seed line, he kept it intact (23:27) and brought it to consummation through Jesus.

That was divine intervention and providence of God, (23:35) and our salvation through Christ is the divine intervention and providence and preservation. (23:43) So he’s worked to us. We didn’t plan it.

We didn’t know it. There is no way that you and I (23:51) would have ever come up or conceived this plan of salvation. There’s no way.

It is in the mind of (24:00) God, and it is only revealed when God wanted to reveal it, and he revealed it to the apostles (24:09) on the day of Pentecost, and it became the message, the gospel, God’s gospel, the gospel of (24:19) Christ. So we can look at it, good news, and God is reconciling us through him, through Jesus, (24:29) and he wants us to come to God. He wants us to come to him through Jesus, and Jesus is our (24:35) high priest.

He is interceding for us, and we need to appreciate the purpose of (24:43) priesthood, don’t we? I think my time is up. Oh, you got until a quarter after. Oh, (24:52) a quarter after? Okay.

I forgot. We started at 9 30, didn’t we? (24:59) So I forgot there. So Jesus gave us his word that to motivate us to get us on with the task (25:09) of world evangelism when he said, all authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth.

(25:18) Go ye therefore and make disciples of all the nations. And lo, I am with you always, (25:26) even unto the end of the world. That’s Matthew 28, verse 18 and 19.

So the redemption is promised. (25:34) So it’s in this manner that we cooperate with God in fulfilling his purpose in redemption. Early (25:41) in our history, God’s purpose to save us was promised to be fulfilled through Abraham’s seed.

(25:47) The rest of the Bible is the record of the fulfillment of that promise as God worked it (25:53) out in history. Notice the promise is quoted here in Genesis the 12th chapter and also in the 22nd (26:01) chapter, where God comes to Abraham and tells him that through his seed shall all the families of (26:12) the earth be blessed. And also in Genesis the 22nd chapter, when Abraham is upset because he (26:21) doesn’t have a child yet and God is promising him that he will have a child.

And then he takes (26:28) him out and shows stars in the sky and so on and says, your seed is going to be numberless just (26:35) like this. And Abraham believed it and he was accredited for righteousness. And so he repeated (26:47) to Abraham that in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed.

And there again, with (26:56) that concept in mind, you don’t really know that he’s talking about being redeemed. You think he’s (27:03) talking about material blessings. You think he’s talking about a kingdom.

You think he’s talking (27:10) about what Israel became under David. You think he’s talking about, you know, worldly possessions (27:20) and so on. All the nations will be blessed.

And so the Israelites got into their mind and their (27:27) brain that because they knew they were blessed by God, they knew they were blessed by God. We see (27:35) that in Psalms 147, the very last few verses out there, where it talks about how that God (27:42) dealt with them and provided with them the intimate information. And he dealt with them as a nation (27:50) and as a people in ways that he did not deal with the Gentiles or anybody else in the world, (27:59) that he focused in and gave his blessings and watched over Israel, protected them, and so on.

(28:09) And so they’re looking at this from that concept. And so it takes Christian eyes, (28:17) it takes Christian eyes to be able to see that he is talking really about being reconciled to us, (28:24) that we will be blessed through his nation. Who is going to bless us out of his nation, (28:32) out of his seed, if it’s not Jesus, the Messiah, the Anointed One.

So Jesus came (28:41) through Abraham’s seed. He came through David’s seed, because David was promised (28:49) that through his seed the world would be blessed. So the world is being blessed, isn’t it? (28:58) The world is being blessed through Jesus.

And he is blessing the whole nation. And that’s when (29:08) he brings in the Gentiles. And of course, Israel won’t stand for that.

They won’t stand for that. (29:17) And so it’s one of those things that they just can’t believe that the salvation is being offered (29:25) to the Gentiles. They just can’t believe that.

They won’t accept it. And yet it is Jesus who (29:32) is pointing out to them that by faith they’re going to be accepted. And the Israelites are (29:42) going to have to be saved by faith themselves.

And so it doesn’t matter whether you’re a Gentile or (29:50) Jew, the only way you’re going to be saved is by faith. Faith that Jesus is the Christ, (29:56) the Son of the Living God, and that through him you have redemption and forgiveness of your sins, (30:03) and you’re being reconciled to God. And so that’s where that comes from.

(30:08) Abraham’s promise fulfilled is in Christ, the remission of sins and the Church. (30:15) Paul’s inspired interpretation of the meaning of the Abrahamic promise is set forth in Acts (30:21) 26, starting verses 6 and 7. And you see, it requires Christian eyes to be able to perceive (30:30) what God intended to do through Abraham’s seed. It is through Christian’s eyes that we’re able to, (30:38) and how does the Christian get it? He only gets it through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

(30:43) The Holy Spirit is revealing it to Paul. The Holy Spirit is revealing it to the apostles. (30:51) The Holy Spirit is revealing it to you and me through the Word.

And the only way that we’re (30:57) going to be able to perceive that the blessings that we’re receiving is through Christ. And so (31:07) the Holy Spirit is the one who is making this available to us, because we know that the Holy (31:12) Spirit is the one who stirs up the prophets. We know that the Holy Spirit is the one who (31:19) involves the apostles.

And take a look at 2 Peter, and the very last few words of the first (31:29) chapter where it talks about, we did not speak from our own inspiration, but we wrote, or the (31:37) prophets wrote, as they were being inspired by God, or by the Holy Spirit. And so the Holy Spirit (31:47) is the one who’s revealing to us, and we know that the Bible is the product of (31:53) the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit was told, just like Jesus was told, and oftentimes we (32:05) overlook this, that Jesus was an agent of God.

The Holy Spirit is an agent of God. And as agents, (32:18) you can only speak as you’re authorized to speak. And Jesus only said and taught as He was (32:28) authorized to say.

He did not ad-lib. He didn’t speak off the cuff. He spoke as He was authorized (32:39) to speak.

And the Holy Spirit is told by God, Jesus, and I believe John, the 16th chapter, (32:46) that He will only speak what He has heard or authorized to say. So we only know about God (32:58) what the Holy Spirit wants us to know, or God wants us to know, and He’s revealing it to us (33:04) through Jesus and through God, or the Holy Spirit. And so you want also to pick out the fact that (33:12) even though the Holy Spirit and Jesus were agents, they were deity, and they shared in the Godhead.

(33:23) So that is part of it. So Paul’s inspired interpretation of the meaning of the Abrahamic (33:33) promise is set forth in chapter 26, and now we stand to be judged for the hope of the promise (33:40) made of God unto our fathers, unto which promise our twelve tribes earnestly serving God night and (33:48) day hope to attain. And concerning this hope, I am accused by the Jews, O King." And so he’s (34:00) actually pointing out that they had a hope, but their hope was misdirected.

His hope that he was (34:08) preaching on was the gospel of God and forgiveness of sins in eternity. But the hope that they were (34:15) holding onto was that God was going to bless the nations through Him, through them. He’s talking (34:23) about that.

So he says once again, I stand here to be judged for the hope of the promise made of God (34:30) to our fathers, unto which promise our twelve tribes earnestly serving God night and day hope (34:38) to attain. And concerning this hope, I am accused by the Jews, O King. And the thing is, Paul will point (34:48) out in this very same chapter in Acts that he, before he was converted on the road to Damascus, (34:56) was just as under the same impression that they were.

And that’s why he was out there persecuting (35:06) Jews that wanted to go the way and accept Jesus as the Christ. So he was just as vehement about (35:19) being against Jesus as they were. And that’s the reason why he got letters from the chief priests (35:28) to go to Damascus to arrest those who were in the way.

Because he was just as misunderstanding (35:37) about the purpose of God and what he wanted to do through the nations through Abraham’s seed line (35:45) and David’s seed line. He believed that himself. But it took Jesus himself to confront him and say, (35:54) why are you persecuting me? Who art thou, Lord? And that’s when Jesus points out to him, (36:03) we’ve got a different way here.

You better straighten out your thinking. Get your thinking (36:10) right. And from that moment on, Paul saw the light.

He saw the light. And so he’s doing that. (36:21) So Paul points out that he is being accused by the Jews for the hope of the promise (36:28) made to Abraham.

But of course, he was being accused for preaching the gospel. (36:35) Therefore, the gospel was the fulfillment of the promise to Abraham. The hope which Israel had for (36:43) the fulfillment of that promise was more physical and nationalistic than spiritual.

The Jews did (36:51) not understand it to be fulfilled in Christ and the gospel, though the apostles explained it (36:58) that way. Hence, those who disbelieved the apostolic interpretation of the promise (37:05) as being redemption in Christ Jesus would persecute the apostles. (37:13) There was a world of difference separating the Jews' desired interpretation of the promise of (37:19) Abraham and Paul’s inspired interpretation of the promise.

The following shows that the promise to (37:27) Abraham is fulfilled in Christ and in the remission of sins. Galatians 3, 16, where Paul (37:36) writes, "…​now to Abraham, where the promise is spoken, and to his seed, he saith not, (37:44) and to seeds, as of many, but as of one, and to thy seed, which is Christ." And so we know that (37:54) God instituted the rite of circumcision, and the circumcision was to help us to appreciate (38:03) the descendants of Abraham. Look at all the people that were in the world.

(38:12) All the people that were in the world, he’s excluding them as looking forward to being blessed (38:20) by God and having the promised seed. He’d given the seed, the promise, to Abraham and Abraham (38:28) only. And Paul wants us to know that this is the way that we’re going to know who are the (38:38) descendants of Abraham, those who were circumcised.

And only the ones who were (38:44) circumcised were descendants of Abraham, or those who became disciples of Abraham or (38:51) a part of their nationality. Once again, the original promise is quoted from Genesis 22, (38:59) verse 18. This time Paul interprets the blessing as justification or redemption from sin.

(39:06) Peter also quotes the original Abrahamic promise and says that it means that Jews could have their (39:15) sins blotted out. Then he quotes, "…​you are the sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which (39:23) God made with your fathers, saying unto Abraham, and in thy seed shall all the families of the (39:30) earth be blessed. Unto you first God, having raised up his servant, sent him to bless you, (39:40) and turning away every one of you from your iniquities." Acts 3, verse 25 and 26.

(39:50) Paul’s statement that the promise was fulfilled in justification of the Gentiles by faith, (39:57) Peter’s statement that the promise was fulfilled in Jews who turned away from (40:03) their iniquities, clearly shows that the promise is fulfilled in redemption for all mankind. (40:12) Thus, the all nations to whom the promise was to come are the Jews and Gentiles who received Christ (40:21) as Redeemer. Jesus announced his purpose to build his church, Matthew 16, verse 18.

Also, (40:30) his purpose was to save men from sin. But when he saves men from sin, he ends them to the church, (40:38) Acts 2, verse 47, which is the body of the reconciled, Ephesians 2, verse 16. Consequently, (40:46) he builds his church by saving men.

Inasmuch as those who receive the promised blessing of (40:54) forgiveness are added to the church, the church is therefore seen to be a part of the fulfillment (41:01) of the promise to Abraham. In conclusion, God’s great redemptive plan for mankind, (41:09) which he purposed before time began, was promised to come through Abraham’s seed. (41:16) The Bible reveals that that redemption was fulfilled in Christ and the church.

Here we (41:24) find the centrality of Christianity, the meaning of history, and the purpose of man. Paul majestically (41:33) expresses it. Now to him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or (41:41) think according to the power that worketh in us, unto him be the glory in the church and in (41:48) Christ Jesus unto all generations forever and ever, Ephesians 3, 20, 21.

Thus concludes chapter 2. (42:02) We’ll pick up with chapter 3 when I get back from Texas. That’ll be a week from now, (42:10) two weeks from now, I guess it is. But I appreciate your attention and I appreciate (42:17) your patience coming through this.

Any questions or any observations? Clear as mud, huh? I hope it is. (42:26) I hope it is. Now for the portion.