Matthew 12:1-8 KJV
(1) At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn;
and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and
to eat.
(2) But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy
disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
(3) But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when
he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
(4) How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread,
which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him,
but only for the priests?
(5) Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days
the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
(6) But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the
temple.
(7) But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and
not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
(8) For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.
The disciples broke a law of Moses that day.
- The bible does not
say they broke what people mistakenly thought was a law of Moses.
- It says they did something
"which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day."
- And furthermore, Jesus
admitted their actions were similar to, "on the sabbath days the priests in
the temple profane the sabbath".
- He said they actually
profaned the sabbath!
- They truly did!
- They slew sacrifices.
- They kneaded and baked
bread for shewbread.
- They killed the passover,
sprinkle its blood, wipe its inwards, and burn the fat on the sabbath day.
- They Jews write,
"that which is forbidden to be done on the sabbath, is lawful to be done in
the sanctuary".
And so doing something that sabbath
day forbade was the same as when david was hungry and went into the house
of God and ate shewbread that priests alone could eat, and the same as the
priest profaning sabbath every time they slew a sacrifice, washed it and
baked shewbread in the temple.
- And it was all because
verse 6 said HE WAS GREATER THAN THE TEMPLE.
If these things that were unlawful
to do on sabbath were blameless when done IN the house of God and IN the
temple, and Jesus said One there is greater than the temple, then Jesus was
referring to a truth that is very little spoken about amongst some Christians
today, but is very much repeated in the bible.
- What it means to be
"IN CHRIST".
I recall studying this years
ago and talking to an old pentecostal brother, now deceased, who knew pentecost
for decades.
- I brought up the issue
of being IN CHRIST, and he said he knew nothing about that, although he did
know about Christ in us, the hope of Glory.
- Likewise not many
have heard of this sort of thing.
- But it's everywhere
in the New Testament.
Let's look into this issue of
being IN CHRIST in order to learn what Jesus meant about the sabbath day violation
of the disciples that was actually blameless since they were IN CHRIST, as
David was blameless in doing something forbidden since he was in the house
of God, and the priests were blameless in the temple.
- This does not mean
we can sin if we are in Christ.
- It deals specifically
with the mindset of WORKS and GOOD DEEDS and religious LAWS, and gives us
the proper understanding of the kingdom of God today.
Being in CHRIST actually begins
when we are BAPTIZED INTO JESUS CHRIST.
Romans 6:3 KJV
(3) Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ
were baptized into his death?
From that point onward we learn that everything Christ experienced
as a man is said to now be our history.
Romans 6:6 KJV
(6) Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him,
Romans 6:4 KJV
(4) Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into
death:
Romans 6:5 KJV
(5) For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death,
we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection:
Colossians 2:12 KJV
(12) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are
risen with him through the faith of the operation of God,
who hath raised him from the dead.
And furthermore Christ was quickened....
1 Peter 3:18 KJV
(18) For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but
quickened by the Spirit:
Colossians 2:13 KJV
(13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven
you all trespasses;
Ephesians 2:5 KJV
(5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together
with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
WE WERE QUICKENED WITH HIM.
Ephesians 4:8 KJV
(8) Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high,
he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
Ephesians 1:20 KJV
(20) Which he wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead,
and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Ephesians 2:5-6 KJV
(5) Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with
Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)
(6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together
in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:
We also were quickened, Ascended and seated together with him.
WHY DID ALL THIS HAPPEN TO US????
- It all started
when we were baptized into Him.
And Paul teaches us that we are
now new creatures as well.
2 Corinthians 5:16-17 KJV
(16) Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though
we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.
(17) Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old
things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
"if any man be in Christ"
So being in Christ is a very important and vital issue.
Look how much it is mentioned.
Ephesians 1:3-4 KJV
(3) Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath
blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:
(4) According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him
in love:
Ephesians 1:6 KJV
(6) To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made
us accepted in the beloved.
Ephesians 1:7 KJV
(7) In whom we have redemption through his blood, the
forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Ephesians 1:10 KJV
(10) That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather
together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven,
and which are on earth; even in him:
Ephesians 1:11 KJV
(11) In whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will:
Ephesians 1:12-13 KJV
(12) That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted
in Christ.
(13) In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the
word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after
that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
Ephesians 2:6 KJV
(6) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus:
Ephesians 2:13 KJV
(13) But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were
far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.
Ephesians 2:15 KJV
(15) Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one
new man, so making peace;
Ephesians 2:16 KJV
(16) And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body
by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
Ephesians 2:18 KJV
(18) For through him we both have access by one Spirit
unto the Father.
John 15:5-7 KJV
(5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without
me ye can do nothing.
(6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a
branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire,
and they are burned.
(7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
There are many more!
Bro Simmons recently said that Christ needs to abide in us by faith which
means he needs to become so comfortable with living inside us by having
no resistance to His will in us, and able to freely move through us with
His will.
Ephesians 3:17 KJV
(17) That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being
rooted and grounded in love,
And notice that in many places where we read of HE IN US, there is a particular
order of terminology where it first mentions US IN HIM.
John 15:5-7 KJV
(5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in
me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without
me ye can do nothing.
(6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is
withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
(7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye
shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Why does it mention us in Him first?
One man phrased it by saying we have been "IN-CHRISTED".
Bro. Simmons' son mentioned a picture of being covered in Jesus' blood.
- And he felt the Lord
tell him that it meant nothing we could do by way of good works or deeds can
give us access to go before God's presence except the blood of Jesus.
- Not one single good
deed or good act awards us any chance to so much as meet and face God.
- Jesus' blood can do
it.
- This is a great picture
of being IN CHRIST!
This is what Esther's story represented
when we read how she fasted in self denial for three days and nights, which
speaks of the cross, and then ENROBED HERSELF IN ROYAL GARMENTS.
- She represented someone
who is IN CHRIST.
Being in Christ means that we
belief His works of dying for us and carrying our sins in doing so were our
only means of us being ever able to even stand in God's presence.
- In effect, we died,
and were buried and resurrected to go into the presence of God THROUGH HIM.
- ...OR IN HIM.
I did not physically die, but
IN CHRIST I did die.
It's like the Passover in Egypt, when they put the blood on the doors.
- Doors are entrances.
- And we ENTER
INTO CHRIST'S DEATH by baptism.
- Israel was in the
LAMB'S DEATH when they were inside the doors surrounded with blood.
- And when the spirit
of death came it could not inflict death since death of the firstborn THROUGH,
THE LAMB'S DEATH, already occurred.
- We claim that death
of Christ as OUR DEATHS.
- We point to the cross
of Jesus and say I AM IN HIM, or in other words, HIS DEATH IS MINE.
We can only point to Jesus' death,
burial and resurrection "AS US" to claim access to God in any way.
When we totally depend on that work of Christ then we can say we are IN
CHRIST.
That is why we read this:
Colossians 2:6-14 KJV
(6) As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk
ye in him:
(7) Rooted and built up in him, and stablished in the faith, as ye
have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving.
(8) Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy
and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world,
and not after Christ.
(9) For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
(10) And ye are complete in him, which is the head
of all principality and power:
(11) In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision
made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the
circumcision of Christ:
(12) Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him
through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
(13) And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your
flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
(14) Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against
us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his
cross;
To Spoil means to ROB and STEAL.
- When you rely totally
upon Christ's work on the cross to save you, you are saved by being put into
Christ.
- That is what baptism
is all about.
- You need to be baptized,
if you already have not been, because it is baptism into His death that saves
you.
- So we must WALK or
LIVE IN HIM if we are IN HIM.
- WALK IN HIM.
- Get established IN
HIM so that you cannot be removed from your stedfastness in Him.
Colossians 2:5 KJV
(5) For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the
spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the stedfastness of your faith
in Christ.
You are COMPLETE In Him.
- That means that not
only does His death count as your death to pay sin's penalty, and His entrance
into the most holy presence of God count as your own, but every single thing
that the old testament rituals said people had to do in order to be be right
before God are also all considered as DONE BY US just by BEING IN CHRIST!
- He is your sabbath
day keeping, and your atonement, and your redemption, and whatever other ritualistic
law keeping had to occur before Jesus came.
Colossians 2:16-17 KJV
(16) Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect
of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
(17) Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
Do not let anyone demand that you keep a sabbath day, therefore, because
ALL SABBATH DAYS were a shadow of Christ.
- But we have the BODY
and not a mere shadow.
- We actually have CHRIST
HIMSELF!
- So looking away from
Him in order to be right before God by not working on a certain day is being
REMOVED FROM CHRIST, and STOLEN from Him.
- Whatever sabbath day
keeping did for people in the Old Testament is what we get by simply relying
on Christ as OUR SABBATH.
So being in Christ is not ONLY
relying upon Him for salvation, but it is relying upon HIm for everything
people had to do in the old testament in order rot be right before God.
- Since He has come,
if we seek God's favour upon us by doing anything the old testament commanded
people to do, then we are denying Christ and claiming He is not the fulfillment
of it all.
- We are saying we are
not complete in Jesus, in order to be right before God, and must do
something in addition.
- Church, we do things
in obedience to God and as Christians, but THEY ARE NOT DONE TO GAIN GOD'S
FAVOUR FOR US!
- They are not done
to make us righteous!
Anything in the Old Testament
that was done to please God is no longer regarded by God SINCE JESUS CAME.
- Any of those blessings
are only given to us by relying upon being in Christ alone for such blessings.
- If Christ is not everything
we require to please God in our hearts, then we are not IN HIM.
Being in Him is being fully dependent
upon Him for access to God.
Legalism is not a doctrine that says we must live right.
- It is a doctrine that
teaches that we must do something to gain Jesus' approval and smile.
- It says we must do
or not do something in order to be right before God.
- It is looking OUTSIDE
CHRIST to find things we require in order to please God.
Imagine death angel creeping
through Egypt and Israelites walking outside their doors where the blood
stood in order to ensure they are safe as they look for something other
than the lamb's death and position in the lamb???
2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV
(21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
IN HIM!!!
That is why the disciples profaned the sabbath but were considered as blameless
as David and the priests who profaned law of God because they were IN A
HOLY HOUSE.
- These disciples were
examples of BEING IN CHRIST!
Esther fasted in self denial
for three days and nights that speak to us of the cross.
- What greater self
denial can there be besides learning that we had to die with Christ and
lose every whim of a thought of self's works gain us any access to Him?
- Not only do our works
not help us, but we ourselves must completely DIE ANYWAY through Christ!
- What does that say
about our good works?
- Don't try your best...
JUST TOTALLY DIE!!!
And after three days, Esther
put on her royal apparel.
- After we get a real
revelation of how the cross alone saves us, WE WILL SUDDENLY BE COVERED IN
HIS BLOOD.
- WE WILL BE CLOTHED
IN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS.
- IN HIS GOODNESS --
IN HIS GOOD WORKS.
Many make a huge mistake and
take what good works are noted in the New Testament as things which will
save us.
- There are good works
in the New testament, and we are told to do them.
- But THEY DO NOT SAVE
US!
- WE DO THEM BECAUSE
WE ARE SAVED AND BECAUSE WE ALREADY HAVE ACCESS TO GOD.
Much of these good works are
done TO KEEP US SAVED.
- You start going into
bars and strip joints, and start drinking, you are going to be filled ungodliness
and sinfulness.
Paul tells us who we are in Eph
1-3.
- He says we are seated
with Christ in the heavenlies.
- And then chapter 4
says this:
Ephesians 4:1 KJV
(1) I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk
worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,
WALK LIKE IT NOW.
ACT LIKE IT.
Noah entered an ark.
- Gen 8 shows that after
the ark landed on Ararat, and the waters abated from off the earth, that Noah
left the ark, and sacrificed and received a covenant from God.
People can be so defeated
by emotionalism.
- Some people only feel
like Christians when they EMOTIONALLY FEEL a touch of God in church.
- When we simply KNOW
what the book says about having faith in Christ, and we have THAT faith, then
we KNOW!!!
- When we live a life
based upon really believing that truth about being in Christ, then Christ
can dwell in us by faith as Eph says.
But get outside of Christ, and
you fall from grace and are under judgment.
Inside the temple the priest could bake, work and sacrifice on sabbath
and be blameless.
- Outside they would
be stoned!
- Outside of Christ,
your sins will send you to hell.
- But inside Christ,
those sins are washed away.
- And you continue without
sin once inside Christ.
- But if you should
make a mistake and sin, the same blood washes you when you repent and ask
forgiveness.
Inside Noah's ark, Noah had left
a world of vile sin that God destroyed, and the ark carried him into a new
world.
- Like a new creation
where God spoke to him the same things he spoke to Adam, regarding multiplying
and replenishing the earth.
- God takes us from
an old sinful creation existence, THROUGH CHRIST, into a new creaturehood.
- IN CHRIST, we are
new creatures.
When we can truly see ourselves
in His death, burial and resurrection and even sitting in Him in heavenly
places, and realize that no good works of our own, but only his work on
the cross, saves us, WE CAN SAY WE ARE IN CHRIST!
AND THAT allows Him to abide in us!
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