WEBVTT 00:00:02.060 --> 00:00:07.580 Hi there, welcome to NECF. We're excited to share 00:00:07.580 --> 00:00:10.699 today's message with you. Don't go anywhere, 00:00:10.880 --> 00:00:14.500 stay with us till the end for some valuable resources 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:18.359 to enrich your faith. Here's today's sermon. 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:31.469 Genesis chapter 9, we will read. From verse 1, 00:00:31.629 --> 00:00:36.409 we are continuing from where we stopped on Sunday 00:00:36.409 --> 00:00:47.210 on the issues or issues around women's liberty. 00:00:47.549 --> 00:00:53.270 And we're trying to see what Scott's original 00:00:53.270 --> 00:01:05.359 intention to create the woman. We saw that God's 00:01:05.359 --> 00:01:09.099 intention for creating a woman is not different 00:01:09.099 --> 00:01:14.060 from his intention for creating the man. He intended 00:01:14.060 --> 00:01:23.980 to create one kind of man, male and female. We 00:01:23.980 --> 00:01:27.359 saw that he has a collective identity and he 00:01:27.359 --> 00:01:30.700 wants to build a family. He wants to make them 00:01:30.700 --> 00:01:35.319 his temple. He wants to make them his body. And 00:01:35.319 --> 00:01:42.280 that's what we've been exploring. And we try 00:01:42.280 --> 00:01:46.439 to also look at the issue of what image means. 00:01:47.140 --> 00:01:50.500 I'm moving to understand why is Christ called 00:01:50.500 --> 00:01:53.760 the image of God. We saw that that term is a 00:01:53.760 --> 00:02:02.609 collective term and that Jesus is referred to 00:02:02.609 --> 00:02:05.189 as the image of God because he became a man. 00:02:05.989 --> 00:02:14.349 So the image of God is an identity of man. In 00:02:14.349 --> 00:02:18.050 other words, it's a human identity. It's not 00:02:18.050 --> 00:02:25.189 an identity of God. So to say that he's given 00:02:25.189 --> 00:02:31.129 to man. An identity of man given to Christ. I 00:02:31.129 --> 00:02:34.530 don't understand what I'm trying to say. Christ 00:02:34.530 --> 00:02:39.590 became a man, so he is in the image of God. And 00:02:39.590 --> 00:02:45.770 we saw the image means to represent God. And 00:02:45.770 --> 00:02:50.050 I want to take the study in direction today that 00:02:50.050 --> 00:02:55.189 will help us to expand that thought. Also, the 00:02:55.189 --> 00:02:58.750 issue of... Christ becoming a man because he 00:02:58.750 --> 00:03:03.409 took on flesh. John 1, 14 says, and the world 00:03:03.409 --> 00:03:08.750 became flesh. The world among us. And I want 00:03:08.750 --> 00:03:13.189 us to start with the text we tried to study some 00:03:13.189 --> 00:03:19.909 time ago. We just touched it and I said we're 00:03:19.909 --> 00:03:24.150 going to come back to it. Genesis chapter 9, 00:03:24.349 --> 00:03:33.349 verse... One is a soul God blessed Noah and his 00:03:33.349 --> 00:03:38.969 sons and said to them, be fruitful and multiply 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:45.889 and fill the earth. And the fear of you and the 00:03:45.889 --> 00:03:50.449 dread of you shall be on every beast of the earth 00:03:50.449 --> 00:03:56.000 and on every bird of the air. On all that move 00:03:56.000 --> 00:04:00.759 on the earth and on them, and on all the fish 00:04:00.759 --> 00:04:05.800 of the sea, they are given into your hands. Every 00:04:05.800 --> 00:04:11.840 moving thing that lives shall be food for you. 00:04:11.939 --> 00:04:16.959 I have given you all things, even as the grain 00:04:16.959 --> 00:04:25.300 has. But you shall... Do not eat flesh with its 00:04:25.300 --> 00:04:30.800 life, that is, its blood. Verse 5. Surely for 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:35.120 your life, Lord, I will demand a reckoning from 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:39.519 the hand of every beast. I will require it from 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:45.920 the hand of man. From the hand of every man's 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:49.120 brother, I will require the life of man. Verse 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:57.689 6. Whoever sheds... Man's blood by man, his blood 00:04:57.689 --> 00:05:02.470 shall be shed. For in the image of God, he made 00:05:02.470 --> 00:05:07.629 man. In the image of God, he made man. And we've 00:05:07.629 --> 00:05:10.769 seen this thought already from here. Last time 00:05:10.769 --> 00:05:15.670 we looked at, James also was making that same 00:05:15.670 --> 00:05:20.370 thing. Looking about men created in the similitude 00:05:20.370 --> 00:05:23.920 of God. Now look at verse 1 again. It says, So 00:05:23.920 --> 00:05:27.579 God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:30.759 Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. 00:05:31.480 --> 00:05:36.759 Remember this is verse 28. Also Genesis chapter 00:05:36.759 --> 00:05:41.100 1. So Adam and Eve filled the earth, multiplied 00:05:41.100 --> 00:05:46.920 and blessed them. You remember? So and we noted 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:52.399 that even from Genesis that that's couldn't likely 00:05:52.399 --> 00:05:59.360 be God asking them to just give birth. Because 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:04.399 we know that Adam couldn't do that. After all, 00:06:04.439 --> 00:06:08.439 we noted that Genesis 1, 26 and 27 is talking 00:06:08.439 --> 00:06:14.160 about mankind, humanity, not just Adam and Eve. 00:06:14.620 --> 00:06:17.240 And so we saw that by the time you come to chapter 00:06:17.240 --> 00:06:20.860 6, we saw how the devil... corrupted with so 00:06:20.860 --> 00:06:27.519 wickedness as filled the earth, so to say. And 00:06:27.519 --> 00:06:33.639 that was not God's intention. So it is counter 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:42.040 God's... Just look at chapter 6, verse 13. Chapter 00:06:42.040 --> 00:06:46.259 6, verse 13 of Genesis. It said, And God said 00:06:46.259 --> 00:06:50.240 to Noah, the earth The end of all flesh has come 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:54.980 before me, for the earth is filled with violence. 00:06:55.759 --> 00:07:00.959 That wasn't God's intention. The earth is filled 00:07:00.959 --> 00:07:06.860 with violence through them. And behold, I will 00:07:06.860 --> 00:07:09.459 destroy them with the earth. Make yourself an 00:07:09.459 --> 00:07:12.459 ark. And then so on and so forth. So you see, 00:07:12.579 --> 00:07:17.959 Genesis 1. lead out God's intention to fill the 00:07:17.959 --> 00:07:23.379 earth with righteousness. We saw by Genesis 6, 00:07:23.480 --> 00:07:28.139 the earth is filled with violence. By the time 00:07:28.139 --> 00:07:36.079 everything was taken, God had to use Noah and 00:07:36.079 --> 00:07:40.620 then give him again that very intention he stated 00:07:40.620 --> 00:07:44.259 from the beginning. So Genesis 9 stated, So God 00:07:44.259 --> 00:07:47.639 blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, be 00:07:47.639 --> 00:07:51.560 fruitful and multiply. We can call that like 00:07:51.560 --> 00:07:55.220 the great commission. So this is just almost 00:07:55.220 --> 00:07:57.980 a replica. If you look at it through down scriptures, 00:07:58.240 --> 00:08:05.000 like a replica of Matthew 28, from verse 18, 00:08:05.100 --> 00:08:08.439 19 and 20, we call generally the great commission, 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:12.839 meaning to go. and fill the earth. There's a 00:08:12.839 --> 00:08:17.240 kind of species God wants on the earth, in the 00:08:17.240 --> 00:08:20.579 sand, and to make disciples of all nations. So 00:08:20.579 --> 00:08:23.560 that's the perspective that Scripture guides 00:08:23.560 --> 00:08:29.759 us through. And I want us to also note that here, 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:33.840 very quickly, verse 3. Just look at verse 3 of 00:08:33.840 --> 00:08:43.320 Genesis 9. shall be with food for you. I have 00:08:43.320 --> 00:08:49.120 given you all things, even as the green herbs, 00:08:49.360 --> 00:08:52.379 even as the green herbs. And compare it with 00:08:52.379 --> 00:08:56.600 chapter 6. He said, for whoever sheds a man's 00:08:56.600 --> 00:09:02.120 blood. Now, already by saying he has given them 00:09:02.120 --> 00:09:05.559 all other things, already he is giving a distinction. 00:09:07.580 --> 00:09:11.399 Between animals and other living things. And 00:09:11.399 --> 00:09:17.940 man. Understand. And man. I want to know. Have 00:09:17.940 --> 00:09:24.320 you ever killed an animal before? Or. Or you 00:09:24.320 --> 00:09:34.700 don't kill. You only eat. Well. Whether you don't 00:09:34.700 --> 00:09:38.070 kill but you eat. That means, are you a conspirator? 00:09:39.529 --> 00:09:43.490 Because you don't kill, but you eat. I mean, 00:09:43.549 --> 00:09:45.750 you can imagine those innocent chickens here. 00:09:45.830 --> 00:09:48.730 I mean, they have suffered with some of us. For 00:09:48.730 --> 00:09:50.269 example, we just grabbed them. They didn't do 00:09:50.269 --> 00:09:53.990 anything. We just catch them, kill them, and 00:09:53.990 --> 00:09:57.350 we eat. But that's the point. Because they don't 00:09:57.350 --> 00:10:00.269 have the same value with man. You understand? 00:10:00.570 --> 00:10:09.190 So, you can kill, eat, right? But if you look 00:10:09.190 --> 00:10:14.870 at from verse 6, he talks about man. In the sign, 00:10:14.970 --> 00:10:20.870 verse 6 says, Whoever sheds man's blood by man, 00:10:21.129 --> 00:10:27.850 his blood shall be shed. For in the image of 00:10:27.850 --> 00:10:33.470 God, he made man. In the image. So the reason 00:10:33.470 --> 00:10:36.090 why you should not shed blood because the man 00:10:36.090 --> 00:10:40.490 in the image of God. Of course, as we have noted, 00:10:40.649 --> 00:10:43.929 this place is not talking about Christians alone. 00:10:44.149 --> 00:10:48.649 Because we would have said, if it is Christian, 00:10:48.730 --> 00:10:50.990 then that means we are free to kill anyone who 00:10:50.990 --> 00:10:52.929 is not a Christian. There is no problem. No. 00:10:53.730 --> 00:11:00.509 As we noted, that image is inclusive of all. 00:11:02.230 --> 00:11:08.830 He talks about every man. So every human being 00:11:08.830 --> 00:11:16.210 is in the image of God. It means that everyone 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:19.169 born in the world carries the same identity. 00:11:19.889 --> 00:11:24.929 That's why as you walk around, once you see someone, 00:11:25.090 --> 00:11:29.169 you must see that person with that value. that 00:11:29.169 --> 00:11:34.529 that person has same value as I have. And once 00:11:34.529 --> 00:11:37.070 you do that, you will always walk with compassion. 00:11:37.690 --> 00:11:42.529 You will always see people correcting you. You 00:11:42.529 --> 00:11:45.149 will not, even if when somebody is doing something 00:11:45.149 --> 00:11:49.350 very terrible, you will see the person as God 00:11:49.350 --> 00:11:52.970 desires or as God intended. You know, sometimes 00:11:52.970 --> 00:11:55.950 you can be overtaken with emotion, you understand, 00:11:56.190 --> 00:12:01.190 and that can, blind us by the attitude of people. 00:12:02.230 --> 00:12:07.090 And then you begin to completely hate them by 00:12:07.090 --> 00:12:11.250 what they do. Yes, people can be wicked. But 00:12:11.250 --> 00:12:14.330 you must know the spirit which is at work in 00:12:14.330 --> 00:12:19.090 the children of disobedience. So, and that will 00:12:19.090 --> 00:12:22.070 help you to know. In fact, that will give you 00:12:22.070 --> 00:12:27.330 more energy. I mean, steer you to go for evangelism 00:12:27.330 --> 00:12:31.059 more. Because you want that person, understand, 00:12:31.539 --> 00:12:37.700 not to go against what God desires for his life 00:12:37.700 --> 00:12:43.419 or what God desires for her life. So here, man, 00:12:43.580 --> 00:12:48.039 as the image of God, shows a very good distinction 00:12:48.039 --> 00:12:51.480 between animals, as I said, and the physical 00:12:51.480 --> 00:12:55.139 body. Because the blood here is not talking about... 00:12:55.320 --> 00:12:58.080 Spiritual blood is physical blood. He said you 00:12:58.080 --> 00:13:03.679 shed. So he's talking about the body here. Physical 00:13:03.679 --> 00:13:08.159 body. Because that's where the blood is. So he 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:12.379 shows that the image is related to the physical 00:13:12.379 --> 00:13:18.200 body as well. So image is not just only spirit. 00:13:19.879 --> 00:13:25.940 But image also involves the physical body. Therefore, 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:29.460 the question is that, is the physical body of 00:13:29.460 --> 00:13:34.720 man part of the image of God? Yes. Is the physical 00:13:34.720 --> 00:13:40.279 body part of the image of God? Yes. This is another 00:13:40.279 --> 00:13:44.940 piece of evidence again that shows us that the 00:13:44.940 --> 00:13:50.019 image is not doing. It's being. Human being. 00:13:50.320 --> 00:13:53.899 Understand? Because once you are born a human 00:13:53.899 --> 00:13:57.000 being, you are born in the image. You don't need 00:13:57.000 --> 00:14:01.379 to do anything to be in the image or to be as 00:14:01.379 --> 00:14:05.500 the image. Remember we did that kind of discussion 00:14:05.500 --> 00:14:08.379 on the issue of the word, whether it is in or 00:14:08.379 --> 00:14:12.559 as. Understand? If you check, we have noted that 00:14:12.559 --> 00:14:16.659 you can say by interpretation, but what we have 00:14:16.659 --> 00:14:21.500 already done, say human beings are made. as the 00:14:21.500 --> 00:14:27.940 image of God. As the image of God. So, what can 00:14:27.940 --> 00:14:32.659 we conclude from this? We can see that here that 00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:38.700 the image means to be embodied. Image means to 00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:43.240 be embodied because this has to be doing physical. 00:14:43.940 --> 00:14:48.220 It says, don't shed a man's blood because it 00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:53.440 says, for in the image of God, He made man. Which 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:58.460 means that because among God's created things 00:14:58.460 --> 00:15:02.980 and this body, this man's body is different. 00:15:03.559 --> 00:15:06.779 The kind is different from that of the animals. 00:15:07.399 --> 00:15:12.179 There is a value inherent in man's body. You 00:15:12.179 --> 00:15:14.279 understand? So what I'm trying to say is that 00:15:14.279 --> 00:15:18.899 to be in the image means to be embodied. Again, 00:15:19.039 --> 00:15:22.679 that's why we said, Jesus is referred to as the 00:15:22.679 --> 00:15:26.980 image of God because he became a man. He became 00:15:26.980 --> 00:15:41.059 a man. So, it means that our bodies are a core 00:15:41.059 --> 00:15:48.460 part of the image. This also means that our bodies 00:15:48.879 --> 00:15:52.360 are not useless to God. Remember that time when 00:15:52.360 --> 00:15:55.559 we had some discussion about understanding the 00:15:55.559 --> 00:15:59.159 Bible? When I told us about some certain philosophical 00:15:59.159 --> 00:16:04.779 ideas that crept into the early church? And we 00:16:04.779 --> 00:16:08.220 still have it today. That seems to discard the 00:16:08.220 --> 00:16:13.220 body. That seems to... In fact, Colossians told 00:16:13.220 --> 00:16:18.730 us that touch not... Remember that? where people 00:16:18.730 --> 00:16:22.909 feel as if the sin is in their body. So they 00:16:22.909 --> 00:16:26.769 neglect the body. They feel that to live spiritually, 00:16:27.110 --> 00:16:33.549 to live a pure life, is by destroying the body, 00:16:33.610 --> 00:16:41.730 is by torturing the body. And the writer, Paul, 00:16:41.889 --> 00:16:47.450 in Colossians, told us that that's not how to 00:16:47.450 --> 00:16:51.669 restrain sin. That sin cannot be restrained by 00:16:51.669 --> 00:16:55.389 torturing your body. By saying, touch not, taste 00:16:55.389 --> 00:16:59.009 not, you understand? He said, this has a form 00:16:59.009 --> 00:17:03.429 of a wisdom. It looks, it's as a way of, there's 00:17:03.429 --> 00:17:07.349 a form of a wisdom in it. But it lacks the power 00:17:07.349 --> 00:17:13.630 to restrain a mind from indulgence. And so, and 00:17:13.630 --> 00:17:18.880 this is how we, I mean, We combine a lot of ideas 00:17:18.880 --> 00:17:24.960 and that lead to show that the body is not useless. 00:17:25.400 --> 00:17:31.599 It is very crucial, very important to God. Very 00:17:31.599 --> 00:17:36.140 important. Very crucial. Look at 1 Corinthians 00:17:36.140 --> 00:17:51.380 chapter 6. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter 6. Look 00:17:51.380 --> 00:17:56.539 at 19, verse 19, that's Corinthians 6, 19. He 00:17:56.539 --> 00:18:04.299 said, or do you not know that your body is a 00:18:04.299 --> 00:18:12.900 temple of the Holy Spirit? Who is in you whom 00:18:12.900 --> 00:18:21.980 you have from God and you are not your own? Did 00:18:21.980 --> 00:18:27.279 you see how your body is so important? So our 00:18:27.279 --> 00:18:30.440 body is not useless. He says it's the temple 00:18:30.440 --> 00:18:35.940 of God. Paul says your body, you're speaking 00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:41.240 to the church. He says it's the temple of the 00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:48.849 Holy Spirit. Remember, Look at that word there. 00:18:48.950 --> 00:18:55.029 He said, you are not your own. You are not your 00:18:55.029 --> 00:18:58.089 own. Remember what we said about image. Image 00:18:58.089 --> 00:19:01.710 is collective. Image is relational. Image is 00:19:01.710 --> 00:19:09.769 not independent. You understand? Image is not 00:19:09.769 --> 00:19:14.309 independent. We say image is belonging to another 00:19:14.309 --> 00:19:19.740 one. It is family. It's kinship. Are we together? 00:19:21.279 --> 00:19:25.839 You know, these days, you hear people say something 00:19:25.839 --> 00:19:29.740 like, and that's actually a lot of the problem 00:19:29.740 --> 00:19:33.240 we have today is because we have created a system 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:43.099 that makes us feel we have no reason. I mean, 00:19:43.119 --> 00:19:45.859 we are independent in our decision. We take decisions 00:19:45.859 --> 00:19:49.940 without considering anyone. I don't care. I don't 00:19:49.940 --> 00:19:53.519 care. I don't have to live to promote anybody's 00:19:53.519 --> 00:19:57.579 good. I look at my own good. That's all. Where 00:19:57.579 --> 00:20:03.240 did you learn that? Oh, it is my body. It is 00:20:03.240 --> 00:20:05.859 my body. I can do whatever I want to do. No, 00:20:05.920 --> 00:20:08.759 it's not your body. It's not. It's not your body. 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:12.960 He said, you are not your own. And remember, 00:20:13.079 --> 00:20:16.220 this is not just about that you are in Christ. 00:20:16.539 --> 00:20:20.279 You understand? Remember you are made by God 00:20:20.279 --> 00:20:25.299 in the image. Image is collective. You understand? 00:20:25.740 --> 00:20:28.859 So it's not about whether you are in Christ or 00:20:28.859 --> 00:20:31.500 not in Christ. You are not on your own. God has 00:20:31.500 --> 00:20:35.579 never created man to be independent. It's anti 00:20:35.579 --> 00:20:40.809 -God's creation. You understand? If dependence 00:20:40.809 --> 00:20:48.069 is not weakness, we're not talking about... When 00:20:48.069 --> 00:20:54.250 I say dependence, I'm not talking about idleness. 00:20:54.849 --> 00:20:58.589 No, they are not the same. I'm not talking about 00:20:58.589 --> 00:21:04.829 idleness. Idleness is a causing to laziness. 00:21:05.930 --> 00:21:10.480 And it is not God's will. It's not in the agenda 00:21:10.480 --> 00:21:15.359 of God. For a man to be idle, he that should 00:21:15.359 --> 00:21:18.640 not walk should not eat. He should not eat at 00:21:18.640 --> 00:21:23.920 all. So the point we are making here is that 00:21:23.920 --> 00:21:29.380 God desires us to belong. That even in taking 00:21:29.380 --> 00:21:34.539 decisions, your decisions must be common. Your 00:21:34.539 --> 00:21:42.559 thoughts must be common. Your goals must be common. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:49.339 It tempers with the plan of God. When a man makes 00:21:49.339 --> 00:21:52.259 decisions just to prosper, he may lose. He does 00:21:52.259 --> 00:21:55.400 not regard how he tramples and kills and destroys 00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:58.740 and scatters others. That is not God's will. 00:21:58.759 --> 00:22:05.980 It's a corruption. The idea of God is that we, 00:22:06.140 --> 00:22:12.680 whatever thing we do, That we know that we belong. 00:22:13.700 --> 00:22:18.140 You understand? We know we belong. Meaning, we 00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:23.059 know we are united. We are connected. So, anything 00:22:23.059 --> 00:22:28.039 that will make people say pricks, you understand? 00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:33.619 Anything is anti -God's agenda. That's why when 00:22:33.619 --> 00:22:36.440 the Pharisee came with the question, Can a man 00:22:36.440 --> 00:22:39.180 divorce his wife for any other reason? Remember, 00:22:39.259 --> 00:22:41.079 we said this is not, you are not, he's not talking 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:43.220 about Christians. Jesus didn't say, it depends. 00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:48.779 No. Jesus didn't say, it depends. Whether you're 00:22:48.779 --> 00:22:50.960 a believer or not believer. No, no, no, no, no, 00:22:50.960 --> 00:22:56.279 no, no, no. He said, it was not so in the beginning. 00:22:56.359 --> 00:23:05.120 In creation, God desire this connection. And 00:23:05.120 --> 00:23:08.819 that is what image is about. It's a collective 00:23:08.819 --> 00:23:16.500 identity. It's a collective identity. So we're 00:23:16.500 --> 00:23:20.160 seeing here, he's talking about, listen, this, 00:23:20.259 --> 00:23:24.819 as we said, image talks about being embodied. 00:23:24.940 --> 00:23:28.779 It means to be embodied. And when you're talking 00:23:28.779 --> 00:23:31.759 about to be embodied, you are talking about the 00:23:31.759 --> 00:23:34.579 temple. Therefore, you can see the connection. 00:23:35.059 --> 00:23:38.200 You understand? In other words, what we're saying 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:41.279 is that the image of God relates to the temple. 00:23:41.420 --> 00:23:45.000 It's a temple language. You understand? The temple 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.740 of God. And because we belong to God, we also 00:23:49.740 --> 00:23:53.259 belong to others. This is what God wants us to 00:23:53.259 --> 00:23:57.240 understand. You cannot say, like some of these 00:23:57.240 --> 00:23:59.779 discussions we used to say, My personal relationship 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:01.759 with God. We don't have that. There's nothing 00:24:01.759 --> 00:24:04.000 like that. What do you mean by personal relationship 00:24:04.000 --> 00:24:07.740 with God? You understand? Your relationship with 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:14.700 God, you understand, is or automatically makes 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:19.779 you relate with others. It's a family. You can't 00:24:19.779 --> 00:24:26.759 relate with God and not relate with others. That 00:24:26.759 --> 00:24:30.759 is... God's intention. That is God's desire. 00:24:31.759 --> 00:24:36.440 Let me sound it again. Anything you do. That 00:24:36.440 --> 00:24:40.660 makes you separate. In the sense. That anything 00:24:40.660 --> 00:24:43.980 you are thinking. You are thinking individualistic. 00:24:44.940 --> 00:24:49.220 You are always thinking. Me, me, me, me. Is anti 00:24:49.220 --> 00:24:57.000 -God's agenda. So from today. As you are thinking. 00:24:57.559 --> 00:25:00.140 as you are thinking to make progress, even in 00:25:00.140 --> 00:25:03.140 your career, even in things that are not pertaining 00:25:03.140 --> 00:25:08.700 to God, your thoughts must be, how will this 00:25:08.700 --> 00:25:12.500 decision contribute to the development of my 00:25:12.500 --> 00:25:16.539 people? How will it contribute to the development 00:25:16.539 --> 00:25:23.440 of the church? How will it? Because God desires 00:25:23.440 --> 00:25:29.220 us to be in Atlanta. So God values the body. 00:25:30.759 --> 00:25:38.440 God values the body. The very reason why we have 00:25:38.440 --> 00:25:43.000 the body is that it becomes the temple of God. 00:25:43.140 --> 00:25:48.019 He said, don't you know that your body is a temple 00:25:48.019 --> 00:25:51.220 of the Holy Spirit? He said, you are not your 00:25:51.220 --> 00:25:55.839 own. You are not your own. You are God's. Look 00:25:55.839 --> 00:25:58.769 at verse 20. He said, for you, we are bought 00:25:58.769 --> 00:26:02.130 at a price. Bought there doesn't mean an exchange. 00:26:02.210 --> 00:26:06.349 We have explained it. It means redeemed. It means 00:26:06.349 --> 00:26:13.329 that you have been reclaimed. Because purchased, 00:26:13.730 --> 00:26:18.009 in our modern time, we know purchased is to exchange 00:26:18.009 --> 00:26:22.410 something. No. Redeemed or purchased in Bible 00:26:22.410 --> 00:26:25.089 language is to claim back that which is your 00:26:25.089 --> 00:26:28.519 own. That's what it means. It's to claim back 00:26:28.519 --> 00:26:32.019 that which is your own. That's what it means. 00:26:32.640 --> 00:26:38.339 So if, for example, your father has an inheritance 00:26:38.339 --> 00:26:42.400 for you, then it's normal and you wanted to go 00:26:42.400 --> 00:26:46.779 and do it. You're not going there to give something. 00:26:47.099 --> 00:26:49.400 You're just going there to identify, to claim 00:26:49.400 --> 00:26:52.559 back that which is your own. That means you are 00:26:52.559 --> 00:27:01.079 a diminutive. So it is not your own. See, you 00:27:01.079 --> 00:27:06.720 are bought with a price. It's not your own. Therefore, 00:27:06.920 --> 00:27:12.359 you glorify God in your body. Are we together? 00:27:12.539 --> 00:27:19.059 In your body. The other parts, those are additions. 00:27:19.180 --> 00:27:22.079 It's not in the original. You and your spirits, 00:27:22.240 --> 00:27:25.619 which are God's. There are other parts, obviously. 00:27:26.960 --> 00:27:30.200 We have done that in the church about the issue 00:27:30.200 --> 00:27:35.380 of majority tax and Nestle, Allen, and the rest. 00:27:35.799 --> 00:27:39.119 All those manuscripts and the rest. So, but the 00:27:39.119 --> 00:27:41.299 idea is talking about, of course, if you read 00:27:41.299 --> 00:27:43.700 in the context, it's focusing about body, body, 00:27:43.779 --> 00:27:46.839 body, not spirit. You understand? So, you understand 00:27:46.839 --> 00:27:49.759 that Paul is focusing on the body, body, body. 00:27:49.920 --> 00:27:54.660 That is the temple of God. So, the physical body, 00:27:55.039 --> 00:28:02.299 Is the image of God. When. To show us. That how 00:28:02.299 --> 00:28:06.059 this body is very important. Is not only in this 00:28:06.059 --> 00:28:10.599 life. We will have body. Understand. We may have. 00:28:11.420 --> 00:28:14.599 A changed body. But we will still have a body. 00:28:14.700 --> 00:28:18.740 So body is important. Brother. Is in the image 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:26.710 of God. Body. Is the temple of God. Glory to 00:28:26.710 --> 00:28:33.950 Jesus. Now look at what Jesus demonstrated and 00:28:33.950 --> 00:28:36.470 that's exactly what happened to us. John chapter 00:28:36.470 --> 00:28:50.089 20. Look at John 20 first. John 20, 27. John 00:28:50.089 --> 00:29:00.109 20, 27. He said, then he said to Thomas, he said, 00:29:00.170 --> 00:29:04.069 reach out, he said, reach your finger here and 00:29:04.069 --> 00:29:08.869 look at my hand and reach your hand here and 00:29:08.869 --> 00:29:15.630 put it into my sight. He said, do not be unbelieving, 00:29:15.690 --> 00:29:25.869 but believe it. Do not be unbelieving. but believing. 00:29:26.089 --> 00:29:29.670 When Jesus resurrected, he resurrected bodily. 00:29:30.730 --> 00:29:40.269 You should reach out, reach out to see. Luke 00:29:40.269 --> 00:29:48.809 24. Look at Luke 24 verse 36. Luke 24 verse 36. 00:29:54.670 --> 00:29:59.250 And now as he said these things, Jesus himself 00:29:59.250 --> 00:30:03.029 stood in the midst of them, this is after the 00:30:03.029 --> 00:30:05.750 resurrection, and said to them, Peace to you. 00:30:06.150 --> 00:30:09.630 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed 00:30:09.630 --> 00:30:13.769 they had seen his spirit. And he said to them, 00:30:13.890 --> 00:30:20.390 Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise 00:30:20.390 --> 00:30:27.779 in your heart? Behold my hands. my feet, that 00:30:27.779 --> 00:30:32.839 it is my soul. Handle me and see. For a spirit 00:30:32.839 --> 00:30:35.940 does not have what? Flesh. It means a spirit 00:30:35.940 --> 00:30:43.200 does not have body and bones as you see I have. 00:30:43.720 --> 00:30:54.900 So Jesus resurrected body. This shows to us that 00:30:54.900 --> 00:31:01.059 the body is very important. The body is valuable 00:31:01.059 --> 00:31:09.079 to God, just as our spirit. It is valuable. It 00:31:09.079 --> 00:31:24.039 is valued by God. Where we studied last time, 00:31:24.059 --> 00:31:29.660 we said that the resurrection of Jesus is called 00:31:29.660 --> 00:31:33.799 the first fruit because that has happened to 00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:39.359 him. It happens to us. It's the first fruit or 00:31:39.359 --> 00:31:45.339 the firstborn. Firstborn prototokos or prototokos 00:31:45.339 --> 00:31:53.089 in Greek. It means It is like the rest, that 00:31:53.089 --> 00:31:59.769 is, he is a first, we will be like him. Meaning 00:31:59.769 --> 00:32:04.250 he is a chief, we will be like the rest, like 00:32:04.250 --> 00:32:14.490 his brethren. We read also in 1 Corinthians 15, 00:32:14.970 --> 00:32:18.990 he told us that he is a first in that order. 00:32:21.230 --> 00:32:28.349 In that order, 1 Corinthians 15, in that order, 00:32:28.410 --> 00:32:35.009 verse 23, he said, but each one in his order 00:32:35.009 --> 00:32:41.829 is a Christ the first fruit. Afterward, those 00:32:41.829 --> 00:32:48.049 who are Christ at his coming. Those who are Christ 00:32:48.049 --> 00:32:53.119 at his coming. Those who have Christ at his coming. 00:32:57.140 --> 00:33:04.700 So I want you to note something. That this shows 00:33:04.700 --> 00:33:12.339 to us how the body is important. The body is 00:33:12.339 --> 00:33:15.359 man. I hope that in the nearest future, we will 00:33:15.359 --> 00:33:18.220 have to study something very, very carefully. 00:33:21.999 --> 00:33:28.980 about the body, the soul, and the spirit. Because 00:33:28.980 --> 00:33:33.740 there is truth that has been eroded here. We 00:33:33.740 --> 00:33:39.319 need to study that again. Because it will help 00:33:39.319 --> 00:33:45.740 us to not to move. Romans chapter 8. Let's go 00:33:45.740 --> 00:33:50.329 on this journey first. Romans chapter 8. Look 00:33:50.329 --> 00:33:59.210 at verse 14. Look at verse 14. For as many as 00:33:59.210 --> 00:34:04.029 are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons 00:34:04.029 --> 00:34:10.110 of God. Verse 15. For you did not receive the 00:34:10.110 --> 00:34:13.150 Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received 00:34:13.150 --> 00:34:15.670 the Spirit of adoption. I want you to know this 00:34:15.670 --> 00:34:21.079 word, the Spirit of adoption. by whom we cry 00:34:21.079 --> 00:34:25.340 out, Abba, Father. Spirit himself be our witness. 00:34:25.960 --> 00:34:31.239 We are spirit. We are children of God. If children 00:34:31.239 --> 00:34:35.420 then hear of God and join ears with Christ, even 00:34:35.420 --> 00:34:40.059 did we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified 00:34:40.059 --> 00:34:43.980 together. For I consider that the suffering of 00:34:43.980 --> 00:34:47.079 this present time are not worthy to be compared 00:34:47.079 --> 00:34:50.110 with the glory which shall be revealed in us. 00:34:50.670 --> 00:34:54.489 For the earnest expectation of all creation eagerly 00:34:54.489 --> 00:35:01.510 awaits for the revealing of the sons of God. 00:35:01.929 --> 00:35:04.849 For the creation was subject to futility, not 00:35:04.849 --> 00:35:09.289 willingly, but because of him who subject it 00:35:09.289 --> 00:35:16.409 in hope, because the creation itself also. will 00:35:16.409 --> 00:35:19.010 be delivered from the bondage of corruption into 00:35:19.010 --> 00:35:21.030 the glorious liberty of the children of God. 00:35:22.269 --> 00:35:26.449 For we know that the whole creation groans and 00:35:26.449 --> 00:35:30.949 labors with birth bans. Gather until now, verse 00:35:30.949 --> 00:35:36.969 23, not only that, but we also who have the first 00:35:36.969 --> 00:35:42.230 fruit of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan 00:35:42.230 --> 00:35:48.340 within ourselves, eagerly, I wait for the adoption. 00:35:49.519 --> 00:35:53.420 And he called that adoption the what? The redemption 00:35:53.420 --> 00:36:01.679 of our body. The redemption of our body. Now 00:36:01.679 --> 00:36:04.039 if you look at this, this text also shows us 00:36:04.039 --> 00:36:09.219 how the body is very important. You understand? 00:36:10.480 --> 00:36:13.920 That again, and I want us to notice very, very. 00:36:16.739 --> 00:36:21.760 uh, carefully. If you see verse, as I said, verse 00:36:21.760 --> 00:36:24.199 15, I said, note that word adoption. He said, 00:36:24.219 --> 00:36:27.880 we have received the spirit of adoption. Understand? 00:36:27.900 --> 00:36:31.019 The spirit of adoption. Usually, we stop here. 00:36:31.460 --> 00:36:35.619 Verse 15. Understand? But by the time you go 00:36:35.619 --> 00:36:39.079 to chapter 23, he said, also, again, adoption, 00:36:39.260 --> 00:36:44.079 he said, the redemption of our body. Which means 00:36:44.079 --> 00:36:48.320 that that word adoption, It means sonship. Because 00:36:48.320 --> 00:36:51.380 if you see, it's a spirit of adoption. You understand? 00:36:51.420 --> 00:36:54.400 The spirit of sonship. Because you are a son, 00:36:54.480 --> 00:36:57.860 you receive that spirit. You understand? So, 00:36:57.880 --> 00:37:02.119 because he calls this, you understand? And he 00:37:02.119 --> 00:37:08.360 also calls the body adoption also. Which means, 00:37:08.460 --> 00:37:11.780 what he's trying to say is that, that you are 00:37:11.780 --> 00:37:17.989 just a son of God in your spirit. Just as you 00:37:17.989 --> 00:37:22.250 are also a son in your physical body. That means 00:37:22.250 --> 00:37:26.650 you are also a son of God in your physical body. 00:37:29.289 --> 00:37:34.510 You are a son in your physical body. You are 00:37:34.510 --> 00:37:38.010 a son in your physical body. What am I trying 00:37:38.010 --> 00:37:42.989 to say is that the physical body is part of salvation. 00:37:43.230 --> 00:37:53.530 What God says. is part of salvation. That shows 00:37:53.530 --> 00:37:58.550 to us how the physical body is important. So 00:37:58.550 --> 00:38:01.570 that's why you cannot just call the physical 00:38:01.570 --> 00:38:04.989 body like one part of man that is not important. 00:38:05.969 --> 00:38:10.110 You understand? The physical body is very crucial. 00:38:10.289 --> 00:38:15.690 It's son also. It's man. You cannot say as if 00:38:15.690 --> 00:38:20.090 it's one like a clue that will just be true. 00:38:20.230 --> 00:38:24.510 No, no, no, no. The physical body is man also. 00:38:25.750 --> 00:38:30.110 Yes, sir. You can't talk about your sonship without 00:38:30.110 --> 00:38:38.150 talking about the physical body. I'm trying to 00:38:38.150 --> 00:38:41.989 connect to you why you see that the image it 00:38:41.989 --> 00:38:45.989 talks about that to be embodied means you are 00:38:45.989 --> 00:38:49.420 in the image. Because the physical body is man. 00:38:53.340 --> 00:38:55.320 You know, some people think that immediately 00:38:55.320 --> 00:39:00.340 at the resurrection, you know, we will just become 00:39:00.340 --> 00:39:08.480 spirits. Like we will not have body. No. Now, 00:39:08.480 --> 00:39:13.320 look at verse 23 again. He said, eagerly waiting 00:39:13.320 --> 00:39:22.409 for the adoption. waiting for the adoption of 00:39:22.409 --> 00:39:26.590 the body, of our body. The word their redemption, 00:39:26.869 --> 00:39:31.289 sorry, waiting for the adoption, yes, the redemption 00:39:31.289 --> 00:39:35.030 of our body. That word redemption, which I've 00:39:35.030 --> 00:39:42.690 already noted in the psalm, is the word apolitrosis. 00:39:43.750 --> 00:39:53.219 Apolitrosis. A -P... O -N -Y -T -R -O -S -I -S. 00:39:54.840 --> 00:39:59.679 Apolitrosis. In Greek. It means to be delivered. 00:39:59.699 --> 00:40:03.599 To be set free. It means to be fully claimed. 00:40:03.659 --> 00:40:06.260 To fully claim something. Just like I mentioned. 00:40:06.739 --> 00:40:11.880 To claim something. That which of course. Is 00:40:11.880 --> 00:40:17.710 your own. So it means. We are not fully saved 00:40:17.710 --> 00:40:19.829 without our body. That's why I say you cannot 00:40:19.829 --> 00:40:22.889 talk about sonship without talking about the 00:40:22.889 --> 00:40:29.530 body. Listen. Your body is important. The Holy 00:40:29.530 --> 00:40:32.909 Spirit in us is a proof that the physical body 00:40:32.909 --> 00:40:37.550 is going to be forever. Of course, not at this 00:40:37.550 --> 00:40:41.550 day. It will be changed. It will be quickened. 00:40:42.369 --> 00:40:47.130 Are we together? It's a proof that this body 00:40:47.130 --> 00:40:50.949 is going to be forever. We're not going to be 00:40:50.949 --> 00:40:55.969 without body. And we'll be always with the body. 00:40:59.590 --> 00:41:03.409 We'll be with the body. So the physical body 00:41:03.409 --> 00:41:07.730 is as much as same as other part of man, as any 00:41:07.730 --> 00:41:13.750 other part of man. That's why there's a claim 00:41:13.750 --> 00:41:21.980 of it. This is the reason of our hope. That what 00:41:21.980 --> 00:41:26.840 Christ saved or reclaimed, redeemed, are we together? 00:41:27.719 --> 00:41:30.219 Through his blood, it's not just our spirit, 00:41:30.460 --> 00:41:39.940 it's also our body. It's also our body. So your 00:41:39.940 --> 00:41:45.559 redemption is not just your spirit, it's also 00:41:45.559 --> 00:41:54.400 your body. If we look at 1 John 1, 1 John 1, 00:41:54.400 --> 00:42:07.139 I want to read especially verse 3. In verse 3, 00:42:07.199 --> 00:42:25.159 verse 2. He said that below, now, we are children 00:42:25.159 --> 00:42:30.860 of God. And it has not yet been revealed what 00:42:30.860 --> 00:42:38.079 we shall be. But we know that when He is revealed, 00:42:38.179 --> 00:42:43.280 we shall do what? So we shall be like Him. He 00:42:43.280 --> 00:42:50.610 is the firstborn. showing us what we shall be. 00:42:50.809 --> 00:42:56.710 Remember, prototokos. What we shall be. We will 00:42:56.710 --> 00:43:01.670 be changed into the likeness of His body, that 00:43:01.670 --> 00:43:06.929 body that resurrected. For we shall see Him as 00:43:06.929 --> 00:43:13.429 He is. Verse 3 says, and everyone who has this 00:43:13.429 --> 00:43:18.769 hope, because it's what we are hoping for. He 00:43:18.769 --> 00:43:23.150 said, hope in him purify himself. No, no, no, 00:43:23.170 --> 00:43:26.829 no, no, no. Now, we have already thought that 00:43:26.829 --> 00:43:33.250 purification is once and for all. It's not what 00:43:33.250 --> 00:43:38.150 we do. It's not our job. We have been sanctified, 00:43:38.369 --> 00:43:41.829 purified, justified. So it's not that those who 00:43:41.829 --> 00:43:47.260 have hope in him will purify themselves. you 00:43:47.260 --> 00:43:51.639 can adjust that, bring himself in the place of 00:43:51.639 --> 00:43:54.860 purify and bring purify in the place of himself. 00:43:55.260 --> 00:43:59.059 You will see that there is a better adjustment. 00:43:59.360 --> 00:44:02.340 So I will read it this way. He said, and everyone 00:44:02.340 --> 00:44:08.380 who has this hope in him, comma, himself purifies 00:44:08.380 --> 00:44:14.019 just as he is pure. Oh, did you get the difference? 00:44:14.840 --> 00:44:18.349 Meaning that, He is the one that purifies just 00:44:18.349 --> 00:44:21.670 as he is pure. Did you get the point? Not that 00:44:21.670 --> 00:44:24.989 you purify just as he is pure. No, you can't 00:44:24.989 --> 00:44:27.530 do that, sir. No, no, no, no. That's not the 00:44:27.530 --> 00:44:30.269 job of a human being. No human being can purify 00:44:30.269 --> 00:44:33.750 himself just as he is pure. That is just as Christ 00:44:33.750 --> 00:44:37.750 is pure. No, it's Christ that purifies. Are we 00:44:37.750 --> 00:44:42.090 together? It's Christ that purifies just as he 00:44:42.090 --> 00:44:49.929 is. Hallelujah. In fact, you see, when you read 00:44:49.929 --> 00:44:57.030 Hebrews, Hebrews chapter 2, verse 11, says something 00:44:57.030 --> 00:44:59.690 very important. We have done this study before, 00:44:59.829 --> 00:45:04.090 but I just want to remind us again so that we 00:45:04.090 --> 00:45:07.130 know. So that you know, give undue pleasure to 00:45:07.130 --> 00:45:10.929 yourself, wanting to purify what has been purified. 00:45:11.469 --> 00:45:14.849 Because you cannot purify what has been purified. 00:45:15.070 --> 00:45:20.739 Glory to Jesus. You see that? He was told, he 00:45:20.739 --> 00:45:24.780 said, for both, Hebrews 2, 11, for both he who 00:45:24.780 --> 00:45:28.079 sanctifies and those who are being sanctified, 00:45:28.099 --> 00:45:31.400 or those who are sanctified. Sanctified means 00:45:31.400 --> 00:45:35.940 to be purified. Are we together? To be made a 00:45:35.940 --> 00:45:39.920 saint. That is from the word saint. That is, 00:45:39.920 --> 00:45:44.559 you are pure. He said, who is the one that sanctifies? 00:45:45.519 --> 00:45:48.969 He said, he that sanctifies. Are we together? 00:45:49.670 --> 00:45:53.510 It is Christ that sanctifies, not you. So when 00:45:53.510 --> 00:45:57.110 you go back to this verse, John, he said, and 00:45:57.110 --> 00:46:02.670 everyone who has this hope in him himself purified 00:46:02.670 --> 00:46:13.230 just as he is pure. And when you see verse 2 00:46:13.230 --> 00:46:16.789 talks about we will be like him, that's exactly 00:46:17.400 --> 00:46:22.380 What Philippians 3 is talking about. What Philippians 00:46:22.380 --> 00:46:28.300 is talking about. That he will change. Are we 00:46:28.300 --> 00:46:34.840 together? He will change. Philippians 3 .20. 00:46:34.940 --> 00:46:51.199 Let me read 20 and 21. It's in our citizenship. 00:46:52.260 --> 00:46:56.199 It's in heaven from which we also eagerly wait 00:46:56.199 --> 00:47:01.320 for the Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ. I don't 00:47:01.320 --> 00:47:03.599 think it is somewhere else. You are currently 00:47:03.599 --> 00:47:08.420 now in heaven. Are we together? He said we are 00:47:08.420 --> 00:47:11.820 raised together. We team and seated together. 00:47:12.159 --> 00:47:14.739 Are we together? In the heaven. That's where 00:47:14.739 --> 00:47:17.800 you are. And that's where. So this scripture 00:47:17.800 --> 00:47:22.900 is not different from what Romans 8, 11 talks 00:47:22.900 --> 00:47:27.239 about that it is from within. Understand? He 00:47:27.239 --> 00:47:30.559 said from within. He said the spirit that dwelleth 00:47:30.559 --> 00:47:33.780 in you will quicken your mortal body, will give 00:47:33.780 --> 00:47:39.539 life to your mortal body. Jesus is with us. He's 00:47:39.539 --> 00:47:42.739 not coming from somewhere else. The issue of 00:47:42.739 --> 00:47:45.059 resurrection of the body and the coming of Christ 00:47:45.059 --> 00:47:47.840 is not him coming from somewhere. He is with 00:47:47.840 --> 00:47:54.400 us. is disappearing. He said, who, verse 21, 00:47:54.699 --> 00:47:58.780 who will transform our lowly bodies? Did you 00:47:58.780 --> 00:48:01.099 hear that? That's exactly what Romans is saying. 00:48:01.320 --> 00:48:05.039 The spirit that is in you will quicken. He said, 00:48:05.119 --> 00:48:09.099 from heaven we await a savior. That's where you 00:48:09.099 --> 00:48:11.880 are. It's the same where you are. That's where 00:48:11.880 --> 00:48:16.690 we are expecting him to appear. He said he would 00:48:16.690 --> 00:48:20.030 transform our lowly body that we might conform 00:48:20.030 --> 00:48:25.449 to his glorious body according to the working 00:48:25.449 --> 00:48:30.389 by which he is able even to subdue all things 00:48:30.389 --> 00:48:36.530 to himself. So the physical body as I shall say, 00:48:36.730 --> 00:48:51.309 the physical body is constantly. What that means 00:48:51.309 --> 00:48:57.610 is that it's in the image of God. What that means 00:48:57.610 --> 00:49:06.269 is that you are not your own. What that means 00:49:06.269 --> 00:49:12.690 is that you are not your own. You belong to a 00:49:12.690 --> 00:49:16.869 family. That's why if you understand that, you 00:49:17.179 --> 00:49:20.820 cannot be depressed. You cannot say, I don't 00:49:20.820 --> 00:49:24.519 have a sense of belonging. No. It's inherently 00:49:24.519 --> 00:49:29.679 built in you to be part. You are. You belong. 00:49:30.900 --> 00:49:37.820 You belong. Don't say, I don't belong. Of course, 00:49:37.820 --> 00:49:42.760 you don't belong to evil. The plan of God is 00:49:42.760 --> 00:49:49.860 that you belong to this family. He belonged to 00:49:49.860 --> 00:49:57.880 his family. And Jesus came and be the firstborn 00:49:57.880 --> 00:50:03.820 of this family and be the protocos. Are we together? 00:50:04.639 --> 00:50:10.219 And model what we would be in our body. Just 00:50:10.219 --> 00:50:21.539 as in him, so are we in this world. And then 00:50:21.539 --> 00:50:29.400 we notice that we are predestined. We're talking 00:50:29.400 --> 00:50:31.920 about predestination. We're talking about full 00:50:31.920 --> 00:50:34.980 knowledge. We are to foreordain to be in the 00:50:34.980 --> 00:50:39.739 image of God, to belong to a family. This is 00:50:39.739 --> 00:50:46.659 male and female. This is male and female. Image 00:50:46.659 --> 00:50:52.309 of God is a singular, inclusive, collective identity, 00:50:52.730 --> 00:50:58.269 male and female, indicating equality and value 00:50:58.269 --> 00:51:05.829 in essence, in significance. It points us to 00:51:05.829 --> 00:51:10.969 how valuable we are to God. It points us also 00:51:10.969 --> 00:51:16.230 to God's intention for mankind. So image points 00:51:16.230 --> 00:51:20.519 us to value. we have all before God equal value, 00:51:20.679 --> 00:51:25.119 equal essence, equal purpose. It also points 00:51:25.119 --> 00:51:33.380 us to God's intention on the earth is that of 00:51:33.380 --> 00:51:36.480 a building of a family, is that of a relation, 00:51:36.639 --> 00:51:42.199 is that of a connection, not an isolation, not 00:51:42.199 --> 00:51:49.039 an independence, male and female. Not only male. 00:51:49.159 --> 00:51:52.820 So God's intention for the man is the same with 00:51:52.820 --> 00:51:57.039 God's intention for the woman. So you cannot 00:51:57.039 --> 00:51:59.340 come tomorrow and say, no, no, no, no, she cannot 00:51:59.340 --> 00:52:03.260 do certain things. It's only men that should 00:52:03.260 --> 00:52:07.139 do it. No, it's not that way in the agenda of 00:52:07.139 --> 00:52:11.739 God. The agenda of God is that of cooperation. 00:52:13.579 --> 00:52:17.159 Is that one that you come to achieve his purpose. 00:52:18.239 --> 00:52:23.480 You are the image of God as a woman. The man 00:52:23.480 --> 00:52:26.840 is also the image of God. You are the temple 00:52:26.840 --> 00:52:31.039 of God as a woman. The man is equally the temple 00:52:31.039 --> 00:52:41.619 of God. The same identity. No diminution. That 00:52:41.619 --> 00:52:48.750 is God's desire. That is God's intention. That 00:52:48.750 --> 00:52:59.449 is God's doing. That is God's doing. So I wanted 00:52:59.449 --> 00:53:02.730 to just think about all that we have been saying. 00:53:04.929 --> 00:53:10.130 In all the things we have talked about so far 00:53:10.130 --> 00:53:18.300 now. You will see that you need women in the 00:53:18.300 --> 00:53:21.099 south because they are part of God's agenda. 00:53:21.980 --> 00:53:25.900 They are not to be relegated in the south. They 00:53:25.900 --> 00:53:31.059 are not to be treated using culture. Recently 00:53:31.059 --> 00:53:34.320 and often I have been very, very annoyed with 00:53:34.320 --> 00:53:37.639 the way we do wedding in Africa. And it's part 00:53:37.639 --> 00:53:40.179 of the problem and we got to stop it. And the 00:53:40.179 --> 00:53:42.190 children have not been Doing well in teaching 00:53:42.190 --> 00:53:50.289 well in this area. You understand? The woman 00:53:50.289 --> 00:53:54.409 is portrayed as a commodity. You understand? 00:53:56.230 --> 00:53:58.530 It is during our time of wedding that she will 00:53:58.530 --> 00:54:02.329 be sold. In some cultures there are different 00:54:02.329 --> 00:54:06.449 type of... What do you call it? Depending on 00:54:06.449 --> 00:54:09.530 which school she has gone. Depending on what 00:54:09.530 --> 00:54:13.579 level has she stopped. That's how her, what they 00:54:13.579 --> 00:54:21.260 call, bride price. And you will see that upon 00:54:21.260 --> 00:54:25.179 a daughter, precious, the image of God, and they 00:54:25.179 --> 00:54:28.380 are negotiating upon her head. As if she's a 00:54:28.380 --> 00:54:32.659 goat. No, we want to give this. No, we want to 00:54:32.659 --> 00:54:47.199 give that. used to ask where all this while they 00:54:47.199 --> 00:54:50.280 gave birth to her you didn't use culture to name 00:54:50.280 --> 00:54:54.199 her they gave birth to her you understand you 00:54:54.199 --> 00:54:56.880 didn't use culture to send her to school they 00:54:56.880 --> 00:54:59.780 gave birth i mean she she continued all her life 00:54:59.780 --> 00:55:02.300 you never use culture all of a sudden she came 00:55:02.300 --> 00:55:04.880 to to be married then they say in our culture 00:55:04.880 --> 00:55:07.440 where then the culture has become and the most 00:55:07.440 --> 00:55:10.000 unfortunate thing is that this culture it has 00:55:10.510 --> 00:55:15.309 It has transformed. It has metamorphosed. You 00:55:15.309 --> 00:55:19.730 understand? It has moved. The culture, we saw 00:55:19.730 --> 00:55:22.429 that, you see, they will put in culture, Henneking, 00:55:22.789 --> 00:55:26.469 Gulda. In your village, in those that work there, 00:55:26.510 --> 00:55:34.889 you see Gulda. So even in this, they will put 00:55:34.889 --> 00:55:39.550 all kinds of things of modernization. They will 00:55:39.550 --> 00:55:41.710 say culture. Where does the culture? You could 00:55:41.710 --> 00:55:48.690 see the greed of people. No. For God has saved 00:55:48.690 --> 00:55:52.110 my generation. No devil will do that. No devil. 00:55:53.110 --> 00:55:56.889 Even if they sent him, he will not do that. You 00:55:56.889 --> 00:55:59.590 see parents relinquishing their own authority. 00:55:59.889 --> 00:56:03.010 A father will say, no, I'm not the one. Some 00:56:03.010 --> 00:56:05.409 unscrupulous element will be taking decision 00:56:05.409 --> 00:56:07.530 for your daughter at that time. Let me come and 00:56:07.530 --> 00:56:14.309 see that devil. I mean, it's so annoying. It's 00:56:14.309 --> 00:56:18.349 so annoying. You could see greed. You could see 00:56:18.349 --> 00:56:23.889 lack of love. Trying to squeeze things. We need 00:56:23.889 --> 00:56:27.929 to change. Our daughters have suffered so well. 00:56:28.489 --> 00:56:32.329 We need to change those things. It's not the 00:56:32.329 --> 00:56:38.690 issue of change. It has changed. You see? It 00:56:38.690 --> 00:56:42.449 has changed. Nothing is wrong with the culture 00:56:42.449 --> 00:56:45.969 and all those things. As long as, you understand, 00:56:46.170 --> 00:56:49.690 we have a good culture in Africa. We are relational, 00:56:49.829 --> 00:56:53.590 naturally. You understand? But we have imbibed 00:56:53.590 --> 00:56:57.590 certain things that creep into us. You understand? 00:56:59.590 --> 00:57:03.829 To the extent of this. So people will hear me 00:57:03.829 --> 00:57:06.730 say, hey, is that African culture? You understand? 00:57:07.230 --> 00:57:09.969 And then you move from Africa, you go to white 00:57:09.969 --> 00:57:15.070 culture. That's the problem. You say, me, I don't 00:57:15.070 --> 00:57:17.550 bother about anybody. I don't bother about anybody. 00:57:17.869 --> 00:57:21.250 You now move, you and your wife, you go to court 00:57:21.250 --> 00:57:23.449 and wait. Your parents didn't know. You are confused. 00:57:23.710 --> 00:57:26.789 Something is wrong with your head. That means 00:57:26.789 --> 00:57:28.710 you are thinking you are also independent. That's 00:57:28.710 --> 00:57:31.909 another extreme. That's the Western culture now. 00:57:32.150 --> 00:57:34.289 So don't run away from what we are talking about 00:57:34.289 --> 00:57:36.929 culture. You think that we're a gay African culture. 00:57:37.150 --> 00:57:40.030 You now go to another stupid culture. You understand 00:57:40.030 --> 00:57:41.949 what I'm trying to say? No, that's not what we're 00:57:41.949 --> 00:57:45.030 talking about. We're talking about a culture 00:57:45.030 --> 00:57:47.829 that is shaped about love. That is unconditional. 00:57:49.210 --> 00:57:54.210 You understand? That is considerate. In all its 00:57:54.210 --> 00:57:57.710 actions. Whether during wedding or not during 00:57:57.710 --> 00:57:59.889 wedding. You understand? We're talking about 00:57:59.889 --> 00:58:03.530 a culture that treats each and everyone with 00:58:03.530 --> 00:58:07.679 dignity. That we treat our sisters with dignity. 00:58:07.980 --> 00:58:10.280 We treat also just the same way we treat our 00:58:10.280 --> 00:58:12.019 brothers because they are equal before God with 00:58:12.019 --> 00:58:14.780 value. They are both made in the image of God. 00:58:21.260 --> 00:58:26.239 That's what God desires for his children. That 00:58:26.239 --> 00:58:31.480 we shouldn't be wicked. We should let love, unconditional 00:58:31.480 --> 00:58:35.130 love. that we're looking for to develop others, 00:58:35.250 --> 00:58:37.710 that every decision we're taking, we're not thinking 00:58:37.710 --> 00:58:41.849 to harm anyone. We're not thinking to take advantage 00:58:41.849 --> 00:58:46.710 of another person. Whether the person is knowledgeable 00:58:46.710 --> 00:58:51.670 or not, whether the person understands, we cannot 00:58:51.670 --> 00:58:55.230 take advantage of another person. They ignore 00:58:55.230 --> 00:58:59.110 us. Some of us leaders, God has given to us advantages. 00:59:00.650 --> 00:59:04.219 Don't use such advantage. To cheat another person. 00:59:05.760 --> 00:59:08.920 Don't take advantage of sisters. Don't take advantage 00:59:08.920 --> 00:59:11.760 of. Also brothers. Just because they didn't know. 00:59:12.960 --> 00:59:17.000 You just take advantage of it. Know. What God 00:59:17.000 --> 00:59:22.320 is teaching us. In this season. He has made us. 00:59:22.559 --> 00:59:28.760 As leaders. We are not different. From those. 00:59:29.400 --> 00:59:34.519 Whom God have. Given us opportunity. To preside 00:59:34.519 --> 00:59:38.360 over. We are not lords. We are leaders. We lead 00:59:38.360 --> 00:59:44.460 by example. We lead by example. We lead by example. 00:59:45.280 --> 00:59:49.179 And I'm talking to sisters as we lose. You understand? 00:59:51.500 --> 00:59:54.940 Don't look down on yourself. I want you to see 00:59:54.940 --> 00:59:58.780 yourself as God sees you. I want you to speak 00:59:58.780 --> 01:00:03.599 as God sees you. Speak. In the image. He made 01:00:03.599 --> 01:00:08.119 you. Tell yourself I have value. As we said. 01:00:08.820 --> 01:00:12.460 You understand. The value. Marriage is good. 01:00:13.119 --> 01:00:15.519 If you are doing it. Do it to the glory of God. 01:00:16.360 --> 01:00:18.280 But that doesn't mean. It's not a must. You must 01:00:18.280 --> 01:00:22.840 do it. You understand. But if you are not doing 01:00:22.840 --> 01:00:27.239 it. Do it also for the glory of God. Those people 01:00:27.239 --> 01:00:29.920 who refused to marry. They didn't. They didn't 01:00:29.920 --> 01:00:32.760 refuse to marry. Because of selfishness. It's 01:00:32.760 --> 01:00:35.280 not because they are angry with men. Or it's 01:00:35.280 --> 01:00:38.179 not because they were angry with women. When 01:00:38.179 --> 01:00:41.000 Paul refused to get married and Barnabas, you 01:00:41.000 --> 01:00:43.400 understand? It's not because they were angry 01:00:43.400 --> 01:00:48.159 with women. That the women did them shaky. They 01:00:48.159 --> 01:00:51.059 say, we will not marry again. But that's not 01:00:51.059 --> 01:00:55.619 what they said. But the reason why they did not 01:00:55.619 --> 01:00:57.960 get married, we read it in 1 Corinthians 9. Even 01:00:57.960 --> 01:01:00.679 in the book we are reading. It was consecration. 01:01:01.480 --> 01:01:04.280 They waive that right for the sake of the gospel. 01:01:04.579 --> 01:01:06.719 As I said, whether you get married or not get 01:01:06.719 --> 01:01:10.119 married, you should do it for the sake of God's 01:01:10.119 --> 01:01:12.719 kingdom. But don't get married because you want 01:01:12.719 --> 01:01:15.440 to have honor. No, no, no. You are getting it 01:01:15.440 --> 01:01:17.980 wrong. That means you have not understood that 01:01:17.980 --> 01:01:21.139 you are in the image of God. Don't get married 01:01:21.139 --> 01:01:25.960 because you want to be... Because they told you, 01:01:26.039 --> 01:01:28.619 you know, women who are not married, they are 01:01:28.619 --> 01:01:33.280 not... They are not, what do you call this? They 01:01:33.280 --> 01:01:40.079 are not respected. No, not at all. So that is 01:01:40.079 --> 01:01:42.639 the desire of God for us. And I pray that the 01:01:42.639 --> 01:01:44.800 Lord will continue to help us. We'll continue 01:01:44.800 --> 01:01:47.420 to explore in this. We just scratched some facts. 01:01:47.539 --> 01:01:49.739 Of course, we are going to come. Because the 01:01:49.739 --> 01:01:51.679 prayer taught us some time ago. You understand? 01:01:51.699 --> 01:01:54.760 Quoting from Philippians. You understand? Paul 01:01:54.760 --> 01:01:57.360 was talking about to repeat again and again to 01:01:57.360 --> 01:02:00.840 you is safe to you. We are coming back to it 01:02:00.840 --> 01:02:05.639 to dig deep on these thoughts and concepts in 01:02:05.639 --> 01:02:08.800 the sense of the image of God and to see much 01:02:08.800 --> 01:02:12.920 more how God desires us to live based according 01:02:12.920 --> 01:02:18.800 to how he sees us. Hallelujah. Thank you for 01:02:18.800 --> 01:02:21.840 listening to today's sermon. Your journey matters 01:02:21.840 --> 01:02:25.849 to us. Let's keep walking together. Visit our 01:02:25.849 --> 01:02:29.050 website for more resources and follow us on social 01:02:29.050 --> 01:02:32.710 media to stay updated. Feel free to check the 01:02:32.710 --> 01:02:36.130 show notes for additional insights. If today's 01:02:36.130 --> 01:02:38.929 message was a blessing, share it with a friend. 01:02:39.170 --> 01:02:41.510 Till next time, be blessed.