Welcome to NECF's sermons. Each message here
is designed to uplift and strengthen you in your
walk with God. Don't miss out. Stay with us until
the end for our rewarding experience. Let's dive
right in. and i trust that you are following
me and god is giving us understanding amen so
we we are going to investigate what the scripture
is all right since the scripture is now very
much a serious matter of conversation in our
attempt to do good works to do greater works
since the scripture you can write as a topic
if you're writing the scriptures since the scriptures
are the foundation and the context of the works
of jesus so when we're looking for the works
of jesus the context the background the inspiration
of the works of jesus that he's calling the believers
to do we will go to the scriptures so since the
scriptures are the foundation and the context
of the works of jesus christ the scriptures are
also the foundation and the context of the works
of the apostles because they do the works of
jesus and the ministry we are called to do today
as well find its context or their context and
foundation from what is found in the scriptures
we must understand the scriptures correctly all
right it means that we are to know and understand
the scriptures correctly we have to know what
are the scriptures we have to understand what
when we say scriptures what are they or what
is the scripture what is the central purpose
okay what is the central purpose of the scriptures
because that is our manual for the greater works
we will do we must understand the central purpose
of the message or the message of the scriptures
what do the bible reveal about itself all right
what is our role message that is you know find
the different books we found or we'll find in
the scriptures to claim that we have the authority
of scriptures to claim that we are you know doing
a bible inspired ministry or a bible you know
founded ministry we must first understand what
the scripture is saying and we say the bible
says oh we are doing it according to the word
of god we should be able to interpret our beliefs
in the light of the whole council of scripture
not some isolated verses because that's what
we found ourselves doing nowadays you know it's
good to memorize verses it's good to cut verses
but what i've learned over my maybe short period
of life is that you know the intention of memorizing
you know good intention that we have of course
to memorize we have to memorize we have to have
the word in dwelling in us but oftentimes we
take away in context of scripture we take verses
or part of scriptures in isolation but all scriptures
must work together hallelujah either in what
we call the old testament or in the new testament
there is a you know fine theme of the scripture
okay so we have to understand this so later on
as i keep waiting our appetite as we go further
in this conference we'll have time to go into
practice of interpretation which our pastor will
bring message to us but much more what is the
importance of proper scriptural interpretation
what is the importance of it in what we've been
called to do sound interpretation is essential
for understanding scripture so that we will faithfully
you know carry out greater works okay if we don't
understand scriptures if we don't interpret scriptures
correctly it is impossible for us to do these
greater works that we have been called to do
so interpretation matters because our doctrine
and practice are shaped by how we understand
the scriptures all right our teachings and our
practices the things we do the things we say
how we go about doing the things that we are
doing are shaped by our understanding of the
scriptures so interpretation is key in helping
us to do what god is calling us to do so the
goal of interpretation will be for us to discover
the author's intended meaning all right because
the bible has an intention the scriptures all
right has an intention so we must be able to
discern or to discover the authors intent is
intended meaning before we can apply the text
to our lives before we can even see you know
the application of the text in the things we
do and of course the ministry that we are called
to do so we can just insert our own meaning into
scriptures because that's what you know we can
easily do without proper understanding we are
forced to insert our own meanings into scripture
thereby altering the author's intended purpose
for that text so as far so we bring into us the
help that will guide us in proper interpretation
i hope there will be better equipped in order
to interpret the scriptures well in jesus name
but now let's just go in this context that we've
started about let's look at an example in scripture
of Jesus's ministry Matthew 5 verse 17 Matthew
5 verse 17 let's read this text and see something
very important Matthew 5 verse 17 I'll be jumping
some verses I'll be jumping some so that it will
help us to be faster all right let me read verse
17 then i'll jump to some verse some verses do
not think jesus is speaking here do not think
that i have come to destroy the law or the prophets
that is he's not come that he might put away
what was written in the laws what moses wrote
the laws refers to the five or the books that
are attributed to moses the first books five
books attributed to moses i mean of course the
prophets the writings of the prophets and invariably
it will include the Psalms okay from Genesis
to Malachi so Jesus here is saying that he has
not come to destroy or to put an end or to render
them useless no that's not what he has come to
do all right so the idea that you are a New Testament
believer is a questionable idea because you cannot
find that in even the New Testament itself so
do not think that i have come to destroy the
law or the prophets i did not come to destroy
but to what to fulfill it hallelujah so jesus
christ comes to do what to fulfill now let's
look at verse 21 to verse 22 move to verse 21
to verse 22 you have heard okay it was said to
those of old not if the bible is yours maybe
on the land you have heard or in the old kingdoms
if you say ye have heard 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 but i say to you that whosoever is angry
with his brother without a curse shall be in
danger of the judgment and whoever says to his
brother raka shall be in danger of the council
but whoever says you fool shall be in danger
of hell fire i don't know how comes fire enter
this place hallelujah but in danger of hell hallelujah
now let's look at verse 27 and verse 28 verse
27 and verse 28 you have heard another similar
word phrase you have heard ye have heard you
have heard that it was said to those of old you
shall not commit adultery but i say to you that
whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has
already committed adultery with her in his heart
now let's say it was 31 and was 32 right furthermore
it has been said so you see the phrase you have
heard you also see the phrase it has been said
whoever divorces his wife let him give her a
certificate of divorcement of divorce but i say
to you that whoever divorces his wife for any
reason except sexual immorality causes her to
commit adultery and whoever marries a woman who
is divorced commits adultery was 33 and was 34
again you have heard that it was said to those
of old you shall not swear falsely but shall
perform your oath to the lord but i say to you
do not even swear at all neither by heaven for
it is god's throne all right it is god's throne
was 43 and was no no no was 38 and was 39 was
38 and was 39 yes you have heard that it was
said an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth
but i tell you to i tell you not to resist an
evil person whoever slaps you on the right cheek
you but whosoever slaps you on the right cheek,
turn the other to him also alright then of course
verse 43 and verse 44 verse 43 and verse 44 verse
43 and verse 44 you have heard it was said you
shall love your neighbor and what and hate your
enemy verse 44 but i say to you love your enemies,
bless those who curse you, do good to those who
hate you, and pray for those who spicefully use
you and persecute you. All right? So oftentimes
when we read this, we are tempted to conclude
that what Jesus was doing here was contradicting
what was written in the 39 books of the Old Testament.
We begin to infer that Jesus is is rewriting
the old testament or jesus is putting an end
to the practices of the old testament no he was
rightly interpreting the scriptures in the in
the context by which they were inspired hallelujah
note there were many materials and sources in
the time of jesus christ there were many interpretations
in the time of jesus christ there were many schools
of thoughts because oftentimes you see the pharisees
will bring an issue to jesus and say it is written
what do you say about this now what is your own
claim about this portion of the law what is your
own interpretation of this part of the scriptures
so there are many materials many sources many
interpretations many commentaries and materials
in a time of jesus's interpretation all right
so when you hear you have heard or it has been
said he wasn't referring to necessarily necessarily
he wasn't referred to referring to the 39 books
most of the things he said you have heard most
of them were not referring to even the altar
semantics even though they were involved in what
he was saying Jesus was referring to the prevailing
interpretation of what was written in that text.
We'll see an example. Let's see an example of
his engagement with the Pharisees. Matthew chapter
19 verse 1 to 9. They brought to him Deuteronomy
chapter 24 verse 1 to 4. Matthew 19 verse 1 to
9. Now it came to pass when Jesus had finished
these sayings that he departed from Galilee.
and came to the region of Judea beyond the Jordan
and a great multitude followed him and he healed
them there the Pharisees also came to him now
the Pharisees came to test him saying saying
to him is it lawful for a man to divorce his
wife for just any reason you see for just any
reason the father okay and he answered and said
to them have you not read alright have you not
read he who made them were at the beginning made
them male and female and said for this reason
a man shall leave his father and mother and be
joined to his wife and the two shall become one
flesh so then they were no longer two but one
flesh therefore what god has joined together
let no man separate they said to him then why
did moses give command to give a certificate
of divorce and to put her away now jesus has
interpreted that text to them all right concerning
the issue of marriage yes yes reveal goes wheel
and purpose concerning marriage okay then they
come and then they propped more by bringing in
the conversation of moses moses because of the
hardness of your hearts okay moses because of
what the hardness of your heart permitted you
to divorce your wives but from the beginning
what it was not so in the beginning that is not
or that was not the will of god all right and
i say to you whoever divorces his wife except
for sexual immorality and marries another commits
adultery and whoever marries her who is divorced
commits adultery so the first is as i said eron
they were trying they were interpreting detronomy
24 let's look at detronomy 24 verse 1 to 4 where
they were bringing in their argument for their
question detronomy 24 verse 1 yes when a man
takes a wife and marries her and it happens that
she finds no favor in his eyes because he has
found some uncleanness in her and he writes her
a certificate of divorce puts in her hand and
send her out of his house when she has departed
from his house and goes and becomes another man's
wife if the latter husband detests her and writes
her a certificate of divorce and puts in her
hand and sends her out of the house of his house
or if the latter husband dies and dies who took
her as his wife then the former husband who divorced
her must not take her back to be his wife after
she has been defiled for that is an abomination
before the lord and you shall not bring sin on
the land which the lord your god is giving you
as an inheritance so the broad of this takes
try to query or question jesus christ but in
martin 19 verse 4 particularly he said have you
not read have you not read which means is like
is like an insult to them these are men that
have been grounded in the laws of moses and he's
telling them have you not read have you not read
these are men who are schooled in the scriptures
and he's telling them have you not read the phrase
from is from a greek word which refers to know
accurately so invariably jesus is saying how
don't you have an accurate knowledge okay to
know accurately to acknowledge to read properly
or thoroughly all right to know accurately to
read properly or in another words to interpret
properly and come to that place of knowledge
the right knowledge we see they use in Matthew
12 verse 5 let's see how it was used in other
texts too Matthew 12 verse 5 oh have you not
read in the law that of the Sabbath the priest
in the temple profane the Sabbath and are blameless
22 verse 31 Matthew 22 verse 31 another place
where it is what was used matthew 22 verse 31
but concerning resurrection of it have you not
read what was have you know read what was spoken
to you by god saying okay so this means that
the scriptures must be read accurately and interpreted
properly all right to come to this place of proper
and accurate knowledge they must be read properly
all right they must be read properly jesus referred
them toward to our to the foundation of interpretation
itself which they always negate all right they
try to interpret the tronomy without genesis
so we must read and interpret scriptures correctly
because biblical teaching it involves faithfully
explaining its meaning so others can understand
and apply it properly you see so the wrong knowledge
notion that they have established their interpretation
that they have established okay will result in
their practice will result in the kind of life
they will live and even the ministry they will
do in luke 24 25 jesus modeled this expounding
the scriptures to his disciples the word expounded
he used a word expounded mark in luke 2427 meaning
to explain thoroughly expounded luke 2427 and
beginning at moses and all the prophets he expounded
to them in all scriptures the things concerning
himself so the Pharisees should have expanded
from all the writings of the scripture because
the scriptures cannot be interpreted individually
we must explain the scriptures in his wholesome
so jesus gave an example here by expounding by
expounding the scriptures explaining thoroughly
interprets by implication to translate the scriptures
he unfolded its true meaning and reveal how it
points out it is pointing to him from luke chapter
24 verse 27 all right now we're going to go back
to that later on and look at that issue of marriage
later much more properly now let's see another
example in matthew 7 26 was 24 Matthew 7 verse
28 rather to 29 what we are establishing is a
need is a need for proper interpretation because
there are varied assumptions about the meanings
of scripture and we must know how to interpret
scriptures properly Matthew 7 verse 28 and 29
how was jesus's teaching for he taught them as
one having authority not as the scribes what
differentiated jesus's teaching from that of
the scribes for he taught them as one having
authority and not as the scribes okay jesus did
not interpret the scriptures as the scribes and
the Pharisees were doing they were astonished
at his interpretation at his teaching they've
been hearing the scribes and the Pharisees they've
been hearing the narratives but what jesus was
saying was counter conventional the same scriptures
okay but different from what was known at that
time because jesus explained and interpreted
the scriptures as pointing to him to himself
so we can observe the source of jesus's doctrine
is more of teaching or interpretation from the
early verses in this matthew chapter 7 verse
12 see verse 12 that's some text matthew chapter
7 verse 12 we see where he was teaching actually
in that context of matthew 7 that the bible says
the way astonished by his way of teaching therefore
okay yes therefore whatever you want men to do
to you do also to them for this is the law and
the prophets which means that jesus was teaching
from what from the law and the prophets all right
but they were astonished to how he was explaining
the scriptures because his mode of communication
his kind of interpretation his kind of explanation
is not as the Pharisees and the scribes were
doing in that day so he mentioned the law and
the prophets which refers to the ultimate scriptures
are stated in the verses we read in Matthew 7
verse 12 he explained from the scriptures so
the word doctrine in Matthew 7 28 implies that
the explanation explanation that implies that
the statement the people were astonished at his
doctrine is really referring to the mark of jesus's
explanation of the all testament scriptures so
we can henceforth infer that there is a christ
note of explanation of the all testament books
okay there is a way in which jesus explained
the all testament scriptures jesus taught from
the scriptures giving an example of how the scriptures
should be properly explained is disciples also
stayed within this same interpretation this mode
of explanation that jesus gave of the scriptures
of the old testament books of the bible all right
so we in the same light must investigate which
we are going to go in the course of this this
conference to see how the scriptures are to be
interpreted especially the old testament scriptures
hallelujah so what is the authority of the scriptures
let's look at this we're still investigating
the scriptures let's see the authority of the
scripture jesus established the authority of
the scripture look to the nine verse one and
two we see how jesus in safe established the
authority of the scriptures look to the nine
verse one and two look to the nine verse one
and two then he called his twelve disciples together
and gave them power and authority now please
look at this carefully he gave them power and
authority over all demons and to cure diseases
verse two he sent them to preach the kingdom
of god and to heal the sick so deers have authority
that he gave the apostles to go and preach and
to heal and to cast out devils verse 28 Matthew
28 verse 18 to 20 Matthew 28 verse 18 to 20 we
are seeing the authority Jesus has okay and Jesus
came and spoke to them saying all authority has
been given to me in heaven and on earth go therefore
and make disciples to all of all nations baptizing
them in the name of the father of the son and
of the holy spirit them to observe all things
that I have commanded you and know I am with
you always to the end of the age okay mark 16
verse 15 to 20 mark 16 verse 15 to 20 we're going
to see how Jesus commissioned the apostles to
preach and to make disciples and he said to them
go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature he who believes is baptized will
be saved but he who does not believe will be
condemned and this science will follow those
who believe in my name by the authority that
is in the name of jesus christ they will cast
out demons they will speak with new tongues they
will take up serpents and it will and they will
drink and if they drink if they drink any deadly
anything deadly it will by no means hurt them
they will lay hands on the sick and they will
recover all right yes so then after the lord
has spoken to them he was received up into heavens
and sat down at the right hand of god verse 20
with short rows how they went about and they
went out and preach everywhere the lord working
with them and confirming their words through
their company signs amen so we can add look to
the 24 verse 44 we can act accept the one verse
eight we can also add x to two was two to eight
so we can see that apart from jesus commissioning
the apostles to go and preach and make disciples
giving them authority we can see that he gave
them also authority all right to teach to raise
his apples and he gave them the boundary of how
this authority will be used okay the authority
is through the scriptures all right the things
that he has taught them and what he has taught
them is from the scriptures so they are not inventing
a message but the authority he has given to them
is is is is guided by what by the scriptures
all right let's look at his life himself jesus
christ although jesus the all authority belonged
to him we've seen this in matthew 18 verse 28
verse 18 he himself consistently affirmed the
authority of the scriptures luke chapter 24 verse
44 let's read that text again luke 24 verse 44
then he said to them these are the words which
i spoke to you while i was still with you that
all things must be fulfilled which were written
in the law of moses and the prophets and the
psalms concerning me do you know the implication
of this the implication is that jesus christ
has all authority okay but while he was on earth
he never did something that is outside the scriptures
despite of him being god he inspired the writers
of the text by the holy ghost you know what jesus
is older than the scriptures all right jesus
is a reason for the for the text jesus is what
the text is aiming at explaining yet when he
was on earth what did he do he confined himself
within the authority of the scriptures let's
take an example of his temptation Matthew 4 verse
1 to 11 Mark 1 verse to 13 which one will we
read let's read Luke Matthew 4 1 to 11 Luke 4
1 to 13 let's read Matthew 1 11 we'll see and
jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness
to be tempted by the devil and when he had fasted
40 days and 40 nights after what he was hungry
now when the tempter came to him he said if you
are a son of god command these stones to become
great but he answered and said to him it is written
where it is written it is written in the scriptures
that mine shall not live by bread alone but by
every word that proceeds from the mouth of the
law of god then the devil took him up in a holy
city set him on the pinnacle of the temple and
said to him if you are the son of god throw yourself
down for it is written he shall give his angels
charge over you and in their hands they shall
bear you up lest you dash your foot against a
stone jesus said to him it is written except
for him to just say i know who i am or use any
word he can use he went back to the scriptures
he confined himself within the scriptures giving
authority to the scriptures he said it is written
again you shall not tempt the lord your god and
again the devil took him up on an exceeding high
mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the
world and their glory and he said to him all
these i will give you if you will fall down and
worship me jesus said to him again away with
you satan for it is what it is written you shall
worship the lord your god and him only you shall
what you shall serve all right so during his
temptation we see clearly repeatedly that he
uses the word it is written it is written though
he inspired the scriptures and existed before
them he chose to submit to their authority that's
what i want to portray from here all right jesus
submitted himself to the authority of the scriptures
isn't it amazing jesus never separated his ministry
from the written word he never separated his
life from the written word even though he precedes
the written word he taught from the scriptures
jesus public ministry was grounded in the written
scripture look chapter four verse six to twenty
one we can write this down we'll see that jesus's
teaching were enshrined in the written word he
taught the scriptures and give him a treat of
the five verse seventeen imagine of the five
or seventeen we'll see that he fulfilled the
scriptures he came not to do what to destroy
it but to what to fulfill the scriptures he taught
from the scriptures he fulfilled the scriptures
his corrections were from the scriptures he correct
errors from the scriptures jesus corrects forms
doctrine by directing people back to the scriptures
matthew 22 verse 29 matthew 22 verse 29 we'll
see that his corrections were from the scriptures
jesus answered and said to them you are mistaken
not knowing the scripture nor the power of god
because i think the context is about resurrection
right not knowing the scripture nor the power
of god so if you know the scripture you will
not come with this interpretation hallelujah
so he corrected errors through the scriptures
he rebuke from the scriptures during his temptation
we see as we read jesus rebuke satan by repeatedly
quoting the scriptures demonstrating the authority
and the sufficiency of God's word. He rebuked
from the scriptures. He didn't wear into Aristotle
and garner some wisdom from, which philosopher
was one of the famous philosophers within his
time? Socrates, right? Jesus did not pick up
some Socratic wisdom to rebuke the enemy or the
people of his day to correct them. he didn't
go into which one will i call today into this
famous english writer what's his name Shakespeare
yes he didn't go into the Shakespearean wisdom
to communicate to the even though Shakespeare
lived long long long his contemporary hallelujah
but jesus ministry alive was within the boundary
of the written word was within the boundary of
the scriptures was within the boundary of genesis
to malachi hallelujah so he revealed those words
through the scriptures okay we'll see again look
24 25 and revealing those words Jesus did not
bring any new revelation there's no revelation
Jesus brought he revealed the will of God the
purpose of god the word of god through the scriptures
he revealed the redentive plan by explaining
how all scriptures pointed to him okay there
was no invention in what he came about the specific
words even on the cross you see that the word
he was saying were within the confines of the
written word so our ministry must be hinged on
the authority of the scriptures the authority
and the effectiveness of our ministry are measured
by how faithfully by how faithfully we understand
all right the authority of a script of our ministry
will be analyzed or will be seen by how much
we understand how much we interpret and apply
the scriptures not by how popular we are not
by the amount of influence we command in society
not even by our personal experiences because
sometimes we are tempted to ignore our personal
experiences our individual experiences that might
not necessarily be scriptures above the authority
of God's word Jesus never even Paul himself even
in his speakings he quoted that he knows a man
that was caught in the third heavens he didn't
tell us what happened in the third heavens anyway
he said that he saw things that even works he
doesn't have words to explain them suddenly in
our time today people have gone to heaven and
they've returned and they are able to explain
what they saw in heaven to ask scriptures i don't
know maybe i'll be maybe i'll study it but i've
not seen any man that goes to heaven and he came
back and he have plenty things to say almost
everyone that went to heaven have an experience
when he comes and his mouth is shut because there
are things you know that when jesus came on earth
he never tell us how he was relating with the
father how they were doing the things the way
he confined himself there is a lot he can say
all right but all his explanation all his interpretation
of the father all this interpretation of the
you know in in john chapter 14 the scriptures
were written the disciples were saying shows
the father i will be okay they wanted something
more to know the father and the father has only
one way by which he will be known through the
sword which is within the boundary of what of
the expanded scriptures hallelujah so this is
the reality of the kind of ministry that you
and I have been called to do we cannot go outside
the authority that christ himself have given
to the scriptures the authority of our ministry
is how biblical we are or how politically correct
we are you know in this generation everybody
wants to move in a line that he's he's not you
know he's trying to balance there's nothing like
the gospel is not balanced you can't balance
the gospel the the gospel is already balanced
by itself are we together so you cannot try to
be politically correct in the bits to conform
yourself to a certain category of people to a
certain movement to a certain association of
people that you will be accepted no the gospel
itself rightly interpreted is balanced are we
together so your authority in ministry is how
biblical you are not by how many fellowships
have endorsed you but how biblical you are how
you know you remain within the authority of the
scriptures as rightly explained as rightly interpreted
so scripture is meant to guide us in exercising
the authority god has given us the way jesus
did he says all authority in heaven has been
given on to me therefore you go and he didn't
just tell him to go he gave them a context of
what they will teach and preach hallelujah he
said all the things i've taught you what did
he teach them he taught them within the scriptures
same thing teach others what you've received
before me in the presence of many witnesses get
some faithful people and give them hallelujah
some of you will be leaving us very soon and
you'll be going back on my trust in god that
you go back to wherever you're going to do the
work of god wherever god will take you to and
i want you to know that there's no invention
you're going to do outside what you've had hallelujah
the context of what you would do is within the
authority of the scriptures so the bible the
scriptures has been given to us as the guide
in exercising the authority that we have he who
has authority before the scriptures that is jesus
he has authority before the scriptures we are
written he submits himself to read then we don't
have any valid excuse to do ministry without
the written word hallelujah jesus who is god
submitted himself to the scriptures that he inspired
through human authors okay i want to bring to
you that is human beings that wrote the scriptures
not god all right in the writing is men that
wrote it inspired by the spirit of god in human
language language that men can understand men
with flows like you and like me men like david
a murderer men like moses the one that killed
someone in egypt and ran away men of light uh
how do they explain elijah like passion as us
all right ordinary men but god inspired through
them to write the words of the holy scriptures
to which god himself while coming to earth confined
his authority within that scripture that is a
humility of god i would say confirmed himself
within the authority of what was written by men
and in it in the inspiration of scriptures it
the inspiration of scriptures did not take away
human inefficiency all right the scripture was
not inspired you know the scripture was not written
by perfect men that's what i want to say sometimes
the writings of scriptures it exposes the weakness
of the characters and the scriptures all right
it exposes their flows what was so secure that
you could write even the flows of his prophet
in the scriptures the scripture is honest about
human feelings and feelings to read the songs
songs of solomon you know what is there you read
lamentation you're wondering why the lamentation
all right so the bible is not the scriptures
we're not ignorant of human emotions and feelings
and feelings but they are sacred hallelujah they
are sacred they are holy and jesus christ himself
who is god came into flesh submitted himself
to the authority of the world so the greater
works we are called to do are define their context
that's what i want to say the greater works we
are called to do find its context pattern and
the way of execution from the written word okay
we are not inventing the wheel we are not reinventing
the wheel all right so we have a pattern we have
a message we have uh how to do it and it's given
to us in the written word god has delegated to
the written text how he must be known and how
he must be followed all right so if you want
to know god he has given to us in a written text
how he must be known and how he must be followed
so whatever revelation that you bring from whatever
part heavens whatever portals that by grace or
by your own doings might be open to see must
align itself if it does not align with the written
word if it does not find its authority in the
written word then it is not qualified to be an
inspiration or a sense of direction for the believer
because god has delegated to the written text
how he must be known and how he must be followed
there's no biblical ministry without the written
scriptures we keep emphasizing okay is no biblical
ministry without the written word without the
written scriptures so the greater works christ
is calling us to do must be carried out according
to the pattern that he has shown to us in scriptures
and not creating a new message we are loyal to
the written word so sound doctrine requires careful
study all right it requires careful study to
know biblical doctrine teaching must be carefully
developed through patience and accurate study
study of the scriptures we don't become lazy
we become patient that we might be accurate in
a delivery of the message that god has given
us effective teaching of scripture effective
teachers of scripture handle ghost world with
diligence and precision that you may not add
your own opinions as overall authority over scripture
so we are called on to that kind of ministry
and the ministry is within the authority of the
scriptures that we have hallelujah now let's
look at the scripture more acts of the 20 verse
25 to 28 paul communicating to the church in
ethesus and indeed now i knew that i know that
you all and indeed now i know among whom i have
gone preaching the kingdom of god will see my
face no more yes therefore i testify to you this
day that i am innocent of the blood of all men
for i have not shown to declare to you the whole
council of god therefore take it to yourself
and to the flock among which the holy spirit
has made you overseers to shepherd the church
of god which he has purchased with his own blood
okay to appreciate Paul's statement in this text
let's look at verse 27 he says for I have not
shown to declare to you the whole council of
God the whole council of God where will the whole
council of God be found he has not shown he has
not ceased from declaring to them the whole council
of God now to understand and to appreciate that
statement is important for us to flow to understand
the flow of his farewell address to them in that
particular text contextually here paul has spent
about three years in ethesus okay teaching them
daily preaching the gospel performing miracles
and establishing the church during the time all
the residents of asia had the word of the lord
demonstrating the depth and the impact of his
ministry you can see this in acts of the 19 was
one to ten acts 19 was one to ten let's have
a context to understand what he mean that he
has not shown to declare to them the word council
of god's word and it happened while apollos was
occurring that paul having passed through the
opera regions came to emphasis and finding some
disciples he said to them did you receive this
the holy spirit when you believe so they said
to you we have not so much as heart whether there
is a holy spirit as a shokah and they were disciples
and he said to them into what then were you baptized
so they said into john's baptism then paul said
to them john and they baptized with the baptism
of repentance saying the people that they should
believe on him who will come after him that is
on to christ so john was pointing on to someone
that will come in the future so there's heightened
they see that their message right their ministry
was established on a messiah that is to come
but because they've not had that there's a measure
that has already come and he has died and he
is raised again and the spirit has been given
they were holding on to the all -time religion
they were holding on to the ministry of John
there's nothing wrong with the ministry of John
there's nothing wrong with the ministry or the
message of John but we must understand the context
of the ministry of John when they had this they
were baptized in the name of the lord jesus christ
and when paul had laid hands on them the holy
spirit came upon them and they spoke with tongues
and prophesied now the men were about 12 in all
and he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly
for three months reasoning and persuading concerning
the things of the kingdom of god but when some
were hardened and did not believe but spoke evil
of the way which way the way of the gospel the
way of the kingdom of god all right but speaking
of the way before the multitude he departed from
there and with you with the disciples this young
these people i will call them at this moment
these young ministers reasoning daily in the
school of what he was reasoning daily with them
in a school called the school of tyranus and
this continued for how many years for two years
so that all who dwelled in asia had the word
of the lord jesus both jews and non -jews all
right then in chapter 20 verse 17 to 21 we'll
see from mellitus all right paul summoned these
men that have become elders the official elders
and reminded them of how he had served with humility
and faithful teaching he preached publicly and
from house to house calling both the jews and
the deltas who work to repentance and faith in
christ jesus okay there was 20 to 24 and we'll
see how paul declared that although imprisonment
and suffering awaits him is highest priority
was to finish the ministry of christ that has
been entrusted to him so when we arrive at verse
20 to 27 that we read we see that knowing this
as a context will likely be the final meeting
him knowing that this might be the final meeting
that you have with them paul affirmed that he
was innocent of being of their blood because
he had what he had not shrunk in the old kingdom
he says he has not shrunk from declaring the
whole council of god he had taught god's complete
message without compromise or omission all right
he has taught god's complete message the entirety
of the message of god with that word compromise
or omission therefore in verse 28 to verse 31
we see paul will charge the elders to shepherd
ghost flock and he warned them that false teachers
will arise even from among them their own leaders
to distort the truth and lead believers astray
is a warning he was giving them before he would
depart from them okay then it was 32 and 35 we
read and we see that he committed them to god
and to that message that he has been teaching
them they has been preaching to them emphasizing
that god's word can build believers up and establish
them in their inheritance that is their heritage
indeed that is what builds them up and mold them
and shape them into what god has you know brought
them for then the concluding part in verse 36
to 38 we see that the meeting ended with prayers
tears and hard farewell and elders they were
grieved you know that they will not see Paul
again so many of the truth Paul's letter wrote
in Ephesians reflects what he had already taught
them impressive okay if we read the book of Ephesians
we'll discover that this whole council of God
is what he later reminded them in the book of
Ephesians hallelujah for example now if you read
efficiency of the one verse three to fourteen
it speaks about god's eternal purpose in christ
all right this is this is this is the world council
of god efficiency of the one verse three to fourteen
speaks about the eternal purpose of god in christ
okay and then we'll see that expressed in the
concept of salvation by grace we'll go to Ephesians
2 verse 1 to 10 Ephesians 3 verse 1 to 7 we'll
see the idea of salvation by grace this is him
expounding the whole council of god all right
we'll see him calling them to holy living in
Ephesians 4 chapter 5 holy living how they can
live as who they are in christ and then he talks
about spiritual warfare chapter 6 and centrality
of God's word in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 17
specifically talks about God's word so all of
these form the whole council of God that Paul
has faithfully declared during his ministry in
Ephesus hallelujah this involve all it encapsulate
what Paul referred to as the whole council of
god that paul faithfully declared during his
ministry in ethesus so acts of the 20 verse 27
is not merely a statement about preaching everything
in general okay oh you know i've taught you about
politics i've taught you about uh business i've
taught you about about marriage i've taught you
about anything but it's specific the council
of god is specific hallelujah the council of
god is specific and has context it's not just
anything it's specific is that everything in
general it reflects post commitment to teaching
the full scope of god's redemptive plan revealed
in the scriptures so that all council of god
we see in in axe chapter 20 verse 27 is specific
to what the whole scope of God's word of God's
redemptive plan as revealed within the boundary
of the scriptures and as we've emphasized from
the beginning that when we say scriptures we
have many words Genesis to Malachi so Ephesians
will be Genesis will be Paul explaining Genesis
to Malachi so the role of the spirit is in helping
him understand the written word and then he wrote
and he's able to interpret and wrote the epistles
hallelujah so where did paul get the whole council
of god that he declared onto them that he paul
has spent about three years in effesus teaching
daily preaching the gospel the authority to perform
miracles and also establishing the church we've
said it that this whole council of god that is
commending them to in acts of the 20 verse 32
that is the whole council of god that paul later
wrote to them in a few in the epistles where
you know from the scriptures from the all testament
scriptures from the all testament scriptures
now let's let's look at the word council what
is the word council from that axe 2027 the word
council that word council give me access council
for i have not shown to declare to you the word
council of god that word council is from the
greek word bole b -o -u -l -e b -o -u -l -e and
it means purpose okay it means purpose it means
also a plan it means also intention or sometimes
you know the wheel all right or a deliberate
design you know you have a design for something
so that's what council will be referring to the
purpose of god will be referring to the plan
of god will be referring to the wheel of god
or god's deliberate design so it refers to carefully
considered decision of predetermined purpose
explaining that word council especially one that
proceeds from god bringing it to context here
in the scriptures that we just read all right
so we can see some of his use in the new testament
looked at the seven verse 30 all right looked
at the seven verse 30 quickly to see where this
word council was used to proper understand it
but the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the
will of god for themselves not having been baptized
by him so here that word will is actually the
word council so the Pharisees here and the lawyers
rejected the purpose of god for themselves how
how do you reject it by rejecting the message
of jesus christ concerning salvation that's what
they did here all right actually two verse 23
the word here means god's sovereign predetermined
plan of redemption him being delivered by the
determined purpose that determined purpose here
has to do with the word council okay is the same
word in the greek the council and the for knowledge
of what you have taken by lawless hands and have
crucified and put to death so this is god's design
okay been delivered by the design and the purpose
of god so jesus was delivered by the design the
determined design and the purpose of god that's
the word council all right another way is axe
of the 20 axe 428 axe 428 axe 428 to do whatever
your hand and your purpose determined before
to be done this is a prayer of the apostles so
that word there they're speaking about jesus
christ and what he has done and how they persecuted
that they persecuted him and they're persecuting
them so this is talking about god's eternal purpose
efficiency of the one verse 11 referring to god's
wise sovereign purpose governing all things if
just one verse 11 in him also have we have obtained
an inheritance been predestined according to
the purpose of him who works all things according
to the council of his will hebrew six verse 17
that word is used for god's unchanging plan hebrew
six verse 17 hebrew six verse 17 so god determined
determined to show more abundantly to the hairs
of promise the immutability please help me this
word is a bit heavy let's break it give me nlt
the immutability of god's council god also bound
himself with an oath so that those who receive
the promise could be perfectly sure that he will
never change his mind all right that is what
that immutability is going to explain the inability
of god to change his position concerning the
matter of salvation i read together yes in his
desire to show to the hares of the promise the
unchanged the unchangeable nature of his purpose
god's purpose concerning salvation does not change
so that was this talking about his plan that
is unchanging is unchangeable so when paul says
he declared the whole council of god now you
understand what that council is he is referring
to god's complete plan and purpose as revealed
in the scriptures okay and that plan and purpose
is revealed in genesis to malachi which form
the basis of his preaching and teaching it means
the scriptures or the scriptures we can call
it is the book that reveals gos plan all right
the scripture reveals gos plan gos purpose gos
plan and gos purpose this means it is important
to adequately interpret and understand the council
of god as revealed in the scriptures because
we cannot know the plan and the purpose of god
outside the scriptures you can never know god's
plan for you outside the scriptures you can never
know god's plan for humanity outside the scriptures
you cannot know the reason for the creation of
the world outside the scriptures you cannot know
the reason or how redemption or what the promise
of redemption outside the scriptures hallelujah
so let's see acts 20 verse 20 he says how i kept
back nothing that was helpful this is what's
familiar remember we're reading timothy timothy
use the word timothy use the word profitable
and when he said profitable what was he referring
to the whole scriptures all scriptures right
now paul is using the same conversation is speaking
in the same pattern here how i came back nothing
that was helpful but proclaimed to you and taught
you how publicly and from house to house okay
now that was helpful is translated from a greek
word sin feral i may not pronounce it well but
i will spell it and tell us the meaning s y m
meaning to be profitable meaning beneficial it
means advantageous to helpful or helpful rather
to bring together for a useful purpose or to
contribute to someone's good this is a valid
expression or the uses of this word all right
so what paul is saying that he held back nothing
that is useful for them and how did he help back
nothing by declaring to them the whole council
of god's word and where is the council of god's
word located is located within the scriptures
so everything you need that is helpful that pertains
to life and to godliness has been fully supplied
in the scriptures so paul will say i held back
nothing that was that was helpful to you but
proclaim to you and talk to you publicly and
from house to house and i can see him saying
you know some of you came to me in the night
on signing council some things that has happened
i held back nothing from you that was helpful
some of you were having issues with your husbands
and your wives i held back nothing to you that
was helpful some of you have issues even in your
your civil life your natural life i held back
nothing that was helpful for you which means
that all the believer needs that is helpful for
his life on earth is delivered in the whole council
of god is helpful for his life for his stay within
the earth hallelujah so paul is saying that he
taught everything that was spiritually beneficial
and every unnecessary for the believers growth
withholding nothing that will help them know
christ and mature in the faith បបបបបបប first
Corinthians six verse. I want us to read this
first Corinthians six verse 12. First Corinthians
six verse 12. Give me that first Corinthians
six verse 12. All things are lovable for me,
but not all things are, but all things are not
helpful. So this is the application or the usage
of that word. And not all things are beneficial,
right? First Corinthians 10 verse 23. all things
yes yes same same same same same same he says
all things are lovely for me but not all things
are helpful all things are lovely for me but
not all things are edify so he uses the word
help the helpful day and is from that word sin
ferro all right so in second timothy table three
verse 16 we saw another word closely related
to this and i said is the word profitable So
what is the difference or what relates these
two together? Sinfero from Acts 20 -20 is a verb,
all right, which means to benefit. We've seen
the, what do you call it? The definition. And
ophilimus is an adjective, all right? Sinfero
emphasizes what contribute to a person's good
or advantage. it emphasizes what contributes
to a person or advantage, to his person's advantage,
whereas Ophilemos emphasizes the quality of being
useful or profitable. Let me repeat it again.
St. Pharaoh speaks about or emphasizes the contribution
to a person's good or advantage, while Ophilemos
in Timothy speaks or emphasizes the quality of
being useful or profitable talking about the
scriptures so the scriptures is it contributes
to a person good or to a person's advantage and
the scripture also has the quality of being useful
or profitable in a person's life hallelujah so
this is very important that we understand the
usefulness of the scriptures as the basis to
which we find the whole council of God all right
so we've established that when Paul taught the
Ephesians taught and wrote to the Ephesians and
to Timothy both Ephesians and Timothy the book
of Ephesians and the book of Timothy let me be
very he wrote this around AD 63 and AD 67 the
new testament had not yet been completed okay
and the bible does not yet exist in the form
that we have it today when paul wrote Ephesians
and also wrote Timothy and especially his counselor
we saw in the book of acts the new testament
bible have not been collaborated that as we have
it today paul's epistles came later ad okay his
epistles were written between ad 48 and ad 67
they are actually the earliest new testament
writings paul's writings his epistles were actually
new the earliest you know books were written
that comprises the new testament the gospels
were written later after the epistles were written
later on in sometimes around AD 65 -67 we'll
see that was when the book of Mark was written
Matthew was written later on at AD am I too fast?
okay the book of Mark was written around AD 65
-70 the book of Matthew was written around AD
70 -85 the book of luke was written around 80
80 and 90 and lastly john was around 90 to 95
ad okay so the new testament books we are having
today all we have today we are recognized by
the church in the fourth century ad that is about
367 ad 367 and ad 397 approximately about 360
years after the death of christ and his resurrection
why am i listening this is to bring to our understanding
that when paul said i did not shrink from declaring
to you the whole council of god in acts of a
20 verse 27 and later wrote that all scripture
is god breath in second timothy was three to
16 it was primarily referring to the Old Testament
scriptures Genesis to Malachi from these scriptures
Pope proclaimed the whole council of God God's
completely redemptive purpose revealed through
the Old Testament and fulfilled in Jesus Christ
this is a same Christ -centered approach Jesus
modeled when he began with Moses and all the
prophets and then he interpreted across the scriptures
the things concerning himself in luke chapter
24 verse 27 and luke 24 verse 44 to 47 hallelujah
so am i in any way saying that the new testament
is not scripture i did not allude that all right
am i in any way downgrading the authority of
Matthew to Revelation I did not mention that
so if you are hearing that then you are not hearing
from what I'm saying but I'm building a case
and the case I'm trying to build is that we must
learn to appreciate the scriptures in its wholesomeness
because we cannot be accurate in our practice
in our ministry when we relegate Genesis to Malachi
you cannot watch let me use something kind of
to give us an understanding you cannot approach
you cannot appreciate Welcome to America that
was acted on a few years ago you know the movie
you cannot you cannot appreciate the one that
was acted most recently without watching the
one that was acted was produced in the 90s you
will not appreciate the movie but when you have
watched the one that was before and lo and behold
you watch a sequel of it today or for instance
you watch wakanda that was done most recently
and you have no idea of the one that was done
before how will you appreciate what you have
today and understand the storyline without going
back to watch the previous it's impossible for
you to comprehend the storyline and that is also
with the scriptures is impossible for you to
understand the plan and the purpose of god as
expressed in the new testament scriptures what
we call the new testament scriptures we dial
a comprehensive appreciation that comes from
proper interpretation proper explanation of the
old testament scriptures and i'm hoping and i'm
trusting god in my heart that before this conference
will end we'll go into the old testament scriptures
and we will try to know the word council of god
from the old testament we will try to explain
as much as we can i know that we cannot exhaust
it in one meeting but we'll try to touch even
if it's even even if it's a part of it to try
to show to us that the new testament scriptures
are they have no value without the old testament
scriptures so in our ministry we must we must
be willing to appreciate the whole council of
God's word. The reason for the rascality we have
in our Christianity today and the false doctrine
we see parading in our society today, in our
practice today, is because of our misunderstanding
of God's intended plan from the beginning. Because
when we don't understand God's intention from
the beginning, there's no how we can communicate
God's plan effectively. Hallelujah. so we must
understand the context the background the the
curriculum the the guide for what god has called
us to do so what are the episodes for main four
okay if i have so much from the beginning till
now emphasize so much okay the importance of
genesis to malachi which we're going to return
back later then someone may be asking them what
are they what is the essence of the epistles
what are they meant for now the epistles are
post -resurrection letters meant to highlight
the importance of the resurrection in gos grand
plan i just try to make it in a simple short
word the importance of the epistles is to highlight
okay the the the epistles are meant to highlight
the importance of the resurrection who's the
resurrection jesus is resurrection in god's grand
plan are we together so in god's grand plan for
humanity for creation for humanity the epistles
helps us because by the help of the spirit the
apostles were able to write from the background
of what they know as a promise john will say
we've seen him we've touched the word of life
we've seen the promise of god as one that came
from god he lived from we live within us and
he is the eternal life so the new testament books
are what we mostly establish or formulate our
doctrines nowadays okay who will talk about tongues
and interpretation of tongues somebody will say
i don't follow paula i follow jesus but you speak
in tongues so how many tongues did jesus speak
you are a prophet and you don't follow you you
only follow jesus what is the context of your
prophetic ministry hallelujah so we must know
what you are doing we're dealing with so that
we can we will not go there and be shaming ourselves
okay we'll not go there and be disgracing ourselves
so our desire is that god will establish us in
his word that we will be those men that know
the plan of god from the beginning okay so as
i said we establish our doctrines or most of
the things we establish our doctrines nowadays
are from the new testament scriptures but we
must be cautious with that okay we must be careful
with that i'm not saying it's wrong but i'm saying
that we must be careful on the line the word
careful with that do you know that early church
do not even have them collected as we have today
the new testament scriptures they don't even
have them as collected today but yet they are
the standard for us all right which means that
the church okay the bible they use was genesis
to malachi are we together then we see their
writings and their holy spirit working with them
we must not take away the role of the spirit
in the early church and even in our church today
hallelujah because if we limit our understanding
of god to the epistles alone please if you are
sleeping right if you are writing right alone
so that you know go and say what i did not say
if we limit our understanding of god to the epistles
alone we will not be doing justice to the writers
of the epistles you understand what i said we
will not be kind to them because we are not fair
to their writings their epistles because that
was not even their intention in the beginning
paul who taught from the old testament did not
limit our understanding of god to his epistles
all right he did not limit our understanding
of god to his letters alone therefore we emphasize
that the bible in its wholesomeness is a council
of god okay you must be those kind of teachers
that must teach the whole council of god so the
scriptures communicates one coherent message
with a clear focus that unites all their parts
from genesis to where to revelation okay from
genesis to a to revelation there's a coherent
message with a clear focus each has a focus in
all their parts they have a focus the the the
the gospels focus on the humanity of jesus christ
and what he did on the earth the epistles focus
on what the resurrection and all that we have
obtained by the spirit in the resurrection and
all of them will all be connecting to a the genesis
to malakai in order to establish and bring a
picture for us of the entirety of the council
and the plan and the purpose of god for our lives
so we must read the bible properly together as
a whole no part of the bible should be read alone
we don't try to pick the passages that make sense
to us and ignore all three others as lesser the
whole bunch of scripture collected together must
be read together you know the babu is not like
going to a restaurant there's a restaurant in
levkosha where when you enter you know they give
you a plate and then you pick whatever you want
and then you go and sit down and then you pay
you don't come to the word of god like that you
don't cherry pick what you want from the scriptures
there is nothing like favorite scripture or favorite
verse the entire scripture is your favorite and
you you make it your favorite hallelujah the
entirety of scripture is the whole council of
god so we must understand this and We have a
temptation to read the Bible in isolated themes
or topics. It's good, but it's dangerous also.
The Bible is God's story woven around men. So
when we begin to focus on some specific topics,
as good as character study, we'll end up emphasizing
things that are not meant to be emphasized. I'm
forgetting the entire council of God, the story
of God, because the Bible is a story from Genesis
to Revelation. Hallelujah. So you cannot pitch
a tent in Malachi and establish a whole council
of God in Malachi without knowing that Malachi
started from Genesis and is headed towards the
Revelation. Hallelujah. So as I said, the New
Testament is a sequel of the Old Testament. And
for us to understand the New Testament properly,
we must understand the Old Testament. If we remove
context from a story, what it means is I will
be telling a different story. I remember a game
where people would line up, all right, and then
one person would tell something, something else,
and the next person would tell the person. And
before the story reached the last person, what
the first person said have changed meaning because
the story has lost you know the important ingredient
that makes it the complete story so we can't
remove a part of scripture and treat it more
special than the other because the word of god
is a complete story so the new testament writers
always assume that their audience are familiar
with the Old Testament scriptures all right the
New Testament writers they have an assumption
most times they have assumption they assume a
position that their their hearers their audience
have an understanding of the Old Testament the
story in the Old Testament so you cannot just
pick up the story in the New Testament without
sitting at where they sat knowing what they knew
so that you better understand what they wrote
that you will come to a place of proper interpretation
and even teaching hallelujah so we must give
context to what we are studying that we will
be able to be better ministers so i'm tempted
to say something here do the new testament scriptures
or writers ask and answer the questions we are
asking today okay the serious matter when the
new testament writers were writing We are confronted
with the same issues we are confronted with today.
I think it was when he was a brother before he
became Pasota Kunda. One day he came to me and
he asked me a question. Is it about transgender?
And honestly I've never thought about it. I don't
know how I answered him but I just let it go.
I have to go and think about it. Say for example
now, a man changed his sex and said he's a female
and then he comes to you and says he's now born
again. Is he a she or a he? I don't know, but
let's assume there is a she now. And then you
are the pastor of the church that belongs, that
that person is a fellow shaman. Now this person
has changed gender. He's now a she now. And this
person is led to marry. and it came to you as
a parcel of that trust for counselling. How will
you deal with that circumstance? Show me any
text in the New Testament that interprets that
scenario. How will you address that matter? And
I was, okay, let me think about it. How will
you address that matter? Because you know what?
When the writers of a New Testament were writing,
they have no idea of what is called transgender.
you understand but you know what as a man of
god you must be equipped to give answer to that
okay because you must explain you must guide
you must teach how will you confront that kind
of situation from the council of goals or how
will you confront it so do the new testament
writers attempt to write to confront the issues
we are dealing with today one of the challenges
we face today is trying to answer today's questions
using the writings in the new testament we must
also be careful to not move into error in application
of their holy writings okay also will teach us
about context i'm waiting i i don't know how
much i'm waiting for a session hallelujah i love
them i i want to i want to hear that context
is king hallelujah One of the most important
principles of Biblical interpretation is to allow
the New Testament writers to answer the questions
they were actually addressing themselves. Rather
than forcing them to answer a question that arose
in our time or in many centuries later. Every
epistle was written to a real audience. Is there
any epistle that's written to those people in
left kosha in the year 2026 it's not a person
like that it was written to a rip most of them
you see timothy is a young man like us in his
time and his season and the issues he was dealing
with some of them could be familiar to our situation
that we can apply but some of them are not really
an issue right so a real audience in a specific
historical context to address particular issues
facing the early church so our responsibility
is to first understand their question what are
they trying to ask what are they trying to answer
then we'll find a way to apply their answers
in our world today for example now i said he
has a we are not the corinthian church okay no
we are the efficient or the roman the roman church
Indeed, the thing is written, we are written
for, they were written for us, they were written
to us. Is it to us? Romans 15 verse 4. The things
that were written were not written to us, but
they were written for us. That is, we are not
the ones that have been addressed, but we are
written for our identification. For whatever
things that were written before were written
for our learning even them right in the time
that we're writing the epistles they refer to
the writings of the Old Testament they contextualize
the Old Testament for whatever things were written
before were written for our learning that we
through patience and comfort of the scriptures
might have hope so there's a sense of hope in
the scriptures so the central concern of the
New Testament is the New Testament is God's redentive
plan in Christ. His humanity, his dead, his resurrection,
his exaltation, and the implication of the gospel
to the church. So these are the things that they
were faced with. Okay? They were faced with the
idea of the humanity of Christ. If you read what
Paul read, give me Luke 1 verse 1, you see what
Luke was telling Theophilus. Many people have
written a record, right? But it seems good to
me that I will also write my own. okay why is
he writing in order to set it to set in order
the narrative of those things which have been
fulfilled among us you were not there when those
things were fulfilled all right so verse two
he says just as those who from the beginning
ways eyewitnesses and minister of god deliver
them to us so he was addressing specifically
a man says okay it's simple to me also having
perfect understand of all things from the very
first to write you an orderly account most excellent
yours was for that you may know the certainty
of those things which you were instructed so
this is to encourage a young man that he may
have conviction in the things that he has been
taught so there's a context to the writings of
the new testament scriptures hallelujah so i
said here i said for example now When the epistles
were written, Paul was never writing with the
intention of discussing women in ministry. Specifically
about the issue of women in ministry. When he
was writing the epistles, Paul did not write
his letters to settle modern -day debate. What
is modern -day debate? can women serve in ministry?
That was all the question Paul was writing to
address. So if you go to the epistle and try
to answer the question of can women serve in
ministry, you have to be very careful to interpret.
In fact, you have to go back to Genesis to know
whether women can serve in ministry or not, because
Genesis gives us the entire plan for the purpose
of God for the creation of the man and the woman.
So if you go to the epistles, you can double
into error in trying to answer a question that
it was never intended to if paul was aware that
today in our world today we'll be discussing
can women be ministry maybe he could have write
it boldly and clearly not to put us in an ambiguous
position because that was his intention but we've
tried to answer questions with what was written
what he wrote and that was not his intention
hallelujah another concept today is can salvation
be lost the new testament writers address right
the primary addresses assurance perseverance
faithfulness and warning against apostasy rather
than framing the discussion around later theological
question can a truly regenerated believer lose
his elevation their focus is the believer's life
in christ and perseverance in faith not so in
the entirety of the new testament if you read
carefully you will discover that the idea of
salvation in the minds of the writers of the
epistles and even the gospel is that salvation
is an eternal stuff there's nothing there they
were not trying to answer whether salvation can
be lost or not hallelujah so if we try to answer
both the answer can salvation be lost what of
these things what of this says baba go to the
context and see from the beginning what is the
intent of that writing was it meant to talk about
that and then you begin to properly interpret
this you discover that that is all what there's
time to answer hallelujah there are issues we
will address okay but i hope that we will have
time to go after them one after the other i will
see the pattern that jesus used in answering
question remember when he was confronted with
the issue of divorce where did it go to jesus
went to the beginning all right he went to genesis
all right so all the questions we are facing
today we can answer them from the scriptures
hallelujah there is no question that we confirm
you are confronted today that cannot be answered
from the scriptures that is when we read it in
the entirety of his context the whole council
of god but when we try to you know read it out
of context or picture depict scriptures alone
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carried this word with you throughout your week.
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