WEBVTT - 1 Peter 1:10-16 - What is the Trinity? Is Modalism Biblical? 0:00:02.680 --> 0:00:12.080 Life Audio. Hi Faith for listeners, Welcome to the Bible 0:00:12.119 --> 0:00:15.680 Explain podcast on this lovely Thursday morning. I hope you 0:00:15.680 --> 0:00:17.880 guys have a nice hot cup of coffee or tea 0:00:18.239 --> 0:00:20.720 ready to drink as we dive into the Book of 0:00:20.880 --> 0:00:23.440 First Peter. But before we do that, let me know 0:00:23.760 --> 0:00:26.040 how all of you guys are. I haven't heard from 0:00:26.040 --> 0:00:28.159 you in a while. Everybody is really respectful on my 0:00:28.200 --> 0:00:32.199 week off. I got hardly any emails or questions or 0:00:32.240 --> 0:00:35.280 really anything all last week. But of course I'm always 0:00:35.360 --> 0:00:38.080 open to prayer requests, so it doesn't matter if I'm 0:00:38.120 --> 0:00:41.519 taking time off. You can always send me a prayer request. 0:00:41.600 --> 0:00:43.880 But if you send me a question or a comment 0:00:44.000 --> 0:00:46.760 or something like that, if I'm taking any time off, 0:00:46.800 --> 0:00:49.640 I may not respond immediately. Just to let you guys 0:00:49.680 --> 0:00:52.519 know about that. But I really appreciated your guys's respect 0:00:52.680 --> 0:00:55.040 of my time off last week. But now I miss 0:00:55.080 --> 0:00:57.120 you guys, and I'd love to hear from you, so 0:00:57.240 --> 0:01:00.200 please contact me. You're going to find the contact information 0:01:00.240 --> 0:01:02.160 listed in the description of this episode. Tell me how 0:01:02.160 --> 0:01:04.600 you found the podcast, Tell me where you live, what 0:01:04.640 --> 0:01:07.560 the weather is like, whether you like tea or coffee. 0:01:07.560 --> 0:01:10.720 That's very important. Question. It tells me whether or not 0:01:10.840 --> 0:01:16.000 you're crazy. All right, you'll find my contact information listed 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:19.040 in the description of this episode. Go ahead and grab 0:01:19.160 --> 0:01:21.759 your Bible and your cup of coffee or your cup 0:01:21.760 --> 0:01:25.360 of tea for you crazy tea drinkers while this advertisement plays, 0:01:25.400 --> 0:01:27.240 and after that we will dive into the book of 0:01:27.280 --> 0:01:32.319 First Peter one ten through sixteen. Okay, let's go ahead 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:34.440 and read all of this as usual. I will be 0:01:34.480 --> 0:01:37.200 reading from the web. You guys are going to want 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:38.760 your Bibles in front of you, I think for this 0:01:38.840 --> 0:01:41.080 episode because I am going to be jumping around in 0:01:41.120 --> 0:01:44.360 scripture quite a bit today as we discuss the Trinity 0:01:44.760 --> 0:01:50.160 and also modalism and some other more in depth topics 0:01:50.240 --> 0:01:53.360 today based upon what we are reading again, this is 0:01:53.360 --> 0:01:58.960 First Peter one ten through sixteen concerning this salvation. The 0:01:58.960 --> 0:02:02.960 profits sought and searched diligently. They prophesied of the grace 0:02:03.080 --> 0:02:05.640 that would come to you, searching for who or what 0:02:05.720 --> 0:02:07.960 kind of time. The Spirit of Christ which was in them, 0:02:08.000 --> 0:02:10.840 pointed to when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and 0:02:10.880 --> 0:02:13.440 the glories that would follow them to them. It was 0:02:13.480 --> 0:02:16.799 revealed that they served not themselves but you in these 0:02:16.840 --> 0:02:19.480 things which now have been announced to you through those 0:02:19.520 --> 0:02:21.520 who preach the good news to you by the Holy 0:02:21.560 --> 0:02:24.880 Spirit sent out from Heaven, which things angels desire to 0:02:24.919 --> 0:02:29.320 look into. Therefore, prepare your minds for action, be sober, 0:02:29.560 --> 0:02:31.480 and set your hope fully on the grace that will 0:02:31.480 --> 0:02:33.919 be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, 0:02:34.360 --> 0:02:37.919 as children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your 0:02:37.919 --> 0:02:40.600 former lusts, as in your ignorance. But just as he 0:02:40.680 --> 0:02:43.400 who called you as holy, you yourselves also be holy 0:02:43.480 --> 0:02:45.920 in all of your behavior, because it is written you 0:02:46.000 --> 0:02:50.240 shall be holy, for I am holy. On Tuesday, we 0:02:50.280 --> 0:02:52.600 talked about the first portion of First Peter, and if 0:02:52.600 --> 0:02:54.800 you did not get a chance to listen to that episode, 0:02:54.800 --> 0:02:56.720 I highly recommend that you do go back and listen 0:02:56.720 --> 0:02:58.560 to it so that you're up to date with everything 0:02:58.800 --> 0:03:02.600 that we previously talked about. To put it all in 0:03:02.639 --> 0:03:06.720 a nutshell, Peter was writing to the Christians who were 0:03:06.840 --> 0:03:11.040 going through persecution, reminding them that they have been given 0:03:11.480 --> 0:03:16.040 a grand gift, this gift of salvation, and since they've 0:03:16.080 --> 0:03:19.600 been given salvation, we should be living as people changed 0:03:19.840 --> 0:03:22.440 by God. So here's what he says in verse ten, 0:03:22.600 --> 0:03:26.480 which starts our passage for today concerning the salvation, the 0:03:26.520 --> 0:03:30.639 prophets sought and searched diligently. They prophesied of the grace 0:03:30.680 --> 0:03:33.720 that would come to you, searching for who or what 0:03:33.919 --> 0:03:36.760 kind of time. The Spirit of Christ which was in them, 0:03:37.120 --> 0:03:40.320 pointed to when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and 0:03:40.400 --> 0:03:43.560 the glories that would follow them. So Peter is going 0:03:43.600 --> 0:03:46.320 all the way back to the Prophets in order to 0:03:46.440 --> 0:03:51.520 prove how special salvation actually is, because as Christians, you know, 0:03:51.560 --> 0:03:56.320 we have a tendency sometimes to forget the sufferings of Jesus. 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:59.080 For those of you who've grown up in the church 0:03:59.280 --> 0:04:02.400 like I have, you might even get kind of bored 0:04:02.640 --> 0:04:04.800 with the Gospel message. And I am ashamed to say 0:04:04.840 --> 0:04:08.240 that that has been me throughout the years where I'm like, man, 0:04:08.280 --> 0:04:11.600 I wish we'd go into like more in depth topics. 0:04:11.640 --> 0:04:14.400 You know, I've heard about Jesus's sacrifice a million times. 0:04:14.920 --> 0:04:18.279 But here's the thing. Jesus's sacrifice is what the entire 0:04:18.400 --> 0:04:23.320 Gospel hinges on. It's what everything is connected to in scripture. 0:04:23.880 --> 0:04:28.080 Even the Old Testament points to Jesus and to his sacrifice. 0:04:28.480 --> 0:04:32.719 Everything in the Bible is connected by Jesus's love for 0:04:32.960 --> 0:04:37.120 humanity and his sacrifice for the entire world. It is 0:04:37.160 --> 0:04:40.680 something that we should be treating with great reverence. In fact, 0:04:40.760 --> 0:04:43.640 Peter actually says that at the very beginning of his letter. 0:04:44.000 --> 0:04:46.120 He says in verse two that he's essentially writing this 0:04:46.240 --> 0:04:49.720 letter that you may obey Jesus Christ and be sprinkled 0:04:49.839 --> 0:04:53.960 with his blood. Thinking about Jesus's sacrifice on a day 0:04:54.000 --> 0:04:57.600 to day basis for our souls, it's probably one of 0:04:57.640 --> 0:05:01.479 the most healthy things that we can reflect on, thanking 0:05:01.560 --> 0:05:04.400 Jesus for what he has done, giving reverence to him 0:05:04.880 --> 0:05:07.600 for his sacrifice that he did not need to do 0:05:07.760 --> 0:05:14.400 on behalf of sinful humanity, remembering our flaws, remembering our 0:05:14.520 --> 0:05:18.200 sins that we laid on Jesus's shoulders, and remembering that 0:05:18.320 --> 0:05:22.880 Jesus did physically and tortuously suffer for us, and that 0:05:22.960 --> 0:05:26.640 his blood truly did flow on our behalf. And this 0:05:26.680 --> 0:05:31.120 is how important this salvation actually is. Even the prophets 0:05:31.200 --> 0:05:35.200 in the Old Testament were seeking it diligently. It says 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:39.159 in verse ten that the prophets sought and searched diligently 0:05:39.320 --> 0:05:42.719 concerning this salvation, So they were looking for this, they 0:05:42.720 --> 0:05:45.280 were wondering what was going to happen. And this is 0:05:45.320 --> 0:05:51.280 an excellent answer for anybody who questions, if people don't 0:05:51.320 --> 0:05:54.080 hear the name of Jesus, does that automatically mean that 0:05:54.120 --> 0:05:56.599 God is going to send them straight to hell? Well, no, 0:05:56.720 --> 0:05:59.000 because even the prophets in the Old Testament had never 0:05:59.040 --> 0:06:02.160 heard the name of Jesus. They just understood that a 0:06:02.200 --> 0:06:06.440 messiah was coming. They understood that salvation was coming. So no, 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:08.920 God does not throw every single person that doesn't hear 0:06:08.960 --> 0:06:11.160 the name of Jesus straight into hell, because he didn't 0:06:11.160 --> 0:06:13.479 even do it in the Old Testament days. But it 0:06:13.480 --> 0:06:16.599 does say. I think it's in Romans ten that people 0:06:16.680 --> 0:06:19.880 have no excuse for not understanding about God, even if 0:06:19.920 --> 0:06:22.920 they never do hear the name of Jesus Christ, even 0:06:22.960 --> 0:06:26.839 if they die their entire life not hearing Jesus's name once, 0:06:27.320 --> 0:06:30.880 there is still no excuse for them not to know God, 0:06:31.320 --> 0:06:35.960 because they can see creation, and creation testifies that there 0:06:36.160 --> 0:06:40.559 is a God. I was reading a book recently called 0:06:40.640 --> 0:06:45.280 Tortured for Christ by this guy named Wormbrand, and he 0:06:45.320 --> 0:06:51.120 went through extreme suffering and persecution during the nineteen forties 0:06:51.800 --> 0:06:55.680 under Joseph Stalin terrible things happened to Christians in Russia 0:06:55.760 --> 0:06:58.640 during that time with the Communist takeover, and he was 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:02.159 talking about the underground church that he started before he 0:07:02.240 --> 0:07:05.839 got arrested and tortured, and he dedicated his ministry to 0:07:06.000 --> 0:07:10.920 reaching Russian soldiers and people who worked for the Russian 0:07:10.960 --> 0:07:14.280 Communist government. And he met to this husband and wife 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:18.080 couple who were sculptors and they were tasked with sculpting 0:07:18.120 --> 0:07:22.040 a large statue I guess of Stalin. And apparently what 0:07:22.240 --> 0:07:28.320 happened was before they even talked to Pastor Wormbrand, they 0:07:28.320 --> 0:07:32.320 were fascinated over the fact that they had thumbs, saying 0:07:32.400 --> 0:07:35.200 that if we didn't have thumbs, we would never be 0:07:35.240 --> 0:07:39.200 able to hold our hammers or our chisels, we would 0:07:39.280 --> 0:07:41.880 never be able to do anything. In fact, all of humanity, 0:07:41.920 --> 0:07:44.960 if we didn't have thumbs would be completely useless. We 0:07:45.000 --> 0:07:47.400 wouldn't be able to do half of the things that 0:07:47.440 --> 0:07:50.480 we are able to accomplish now with our thumbs. And 0:07:50.520 --> 0:07:54.040 the thumb is such a small little thing that essentially 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:58.040 it controls the course of life. So there must be 0:07:58.160 --> 0:08:01.680 somebody out there who created the thumb. And in order 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:06.160 not to get arrested and tortured, for believing in God. 0:08:06.280 --> 0:08:09.680 They called God, who they worshiped nobody, and they said, 0:08:09.680 --> 0:08:12.840 I worshiped nobody because they didn't know God's name. They 0:08:12.840 --> 0:08:14.960 had never heard the name of Jesus once in their 0:08:15.080 --> 0:08:19.240 entire lives until they met Pastor Wormbrandt, who witnessed to 0:08:19.280 --> 0:08:22.960 them about Jesus. And they were fascinated because they had 0:08:23.040 --> 0:08:27.840 been worshiping Jesus that entire time, the creator of the universe, 0:08:28.160 --> 0:08:31.120 the savior of the world. And they just understood these 0:08:31.120 --> 0:08:35.520 things about Jesus because they saw their own thumbs. They 0:08:35.600 --> 0:08:39.400 saw creation, because Creation talks about Jesus. But that was 0:08:39.400 --> 0:08:41.720 a very long tangent. I was talking about how the 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:44.880 prophets of old never heard the name Jesus, but they 0:08:44.920 --> 0:08:49.080 were worshiping him as the Messiah. They knew that the 0:08:49.120 --> 0:08:52.360 Messiah was going to come, but they were searching, it 0:08:52.360 --> 0:08:55.440 says in verse eleven, for who or what kind of time. 0:08:55.760 --> 0:08:58.400 The Spirit of Christ which was in them, pointed to 0:08:58.920 --> 0:09:00.880 when he predicted the Son, the frings of Christ, and 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:04.319 the glories that would follow them. So it's really interesting 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:07.760 here because the Holy Spirit is called the Spirit of 0:09:07.880 --> 0:09:11.040 Christ right here. Some of your versions might say the 0:09:11.520 --> 0:09:15.000 Spirit of Jesus. In fact, if you turn to Acts 0:09:15.080 --> 0:09:18.880 chapter sixteen, verse seven, this is not the only time 0:09:18.920 --> 0:09:22.320 we see the Spirit of Jesus mentioned. When they came 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:25.720 to Missia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the 0:09:25.760 --> 0:09:28.880 Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. That's from the 0:09:28.920 --> 0:09:32.520 CSB version, by the way, So the Spirit of Jesus 0:09:32.559 --> 0:09:36.640 is mentioned on a handful of occasions throughout scripture, and 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:40.199 that might make you wonder, is the Holy Spirit Jesus's 0:09:40.240 --> 0:09:43.200 spirit instead of a third member of the Trinity. Is 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:46.920 he just the Spirit of Jesus, almost like Jesus in 0:09:46.960 --> 0:09:50.240 a different form. So let's go to Romans eight, verses 0:09:50.280 --> 0:09:54.360 one through eleven and see how Paul describes the Trinity. 0:09:55.000 --> 0:09:57.720 Starting in verse one, it says, there is therefore now 0:09:57.880 --> 0:10:01.440 no condemnation to those who are in Christ. Jesus so 0:10:01.559 --> 0:10:04.440 first member of the Trinity, who don't walk according to 0:10:04.480 --> 0:10:08.439 the flesh, but according to the spirit. Second member of 0:10:08.480 --> 0:10:11.760 the Trinity. For the law of the Spirit of life 0:10:12.200 --> 0:10:15.520 in Christ, Jesus made me free from the law of 0:10:15.600 --> 0:10:18.840 sin and death. For what the law couldn't do, in 0:10:18.880 --> 0:10:21.440 that it was weak through the flesh, God did. So 0:10:21.480 --> 0:10:23.360 that's the third member of the Trinity, God the Father 0:10:23.840 --> 0:10:27.280 sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 0:10:27.320 --> 0:10:30.560 and for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh, that 0:10:30.640 --> 0:10:33.360 the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, 0:10:33.400 --> 0:10:35.840 who don't walk according to the flesh, but according to 0:10:36.440 --> 0:10:39.640 the Spirit. For those who live according to the flesh 0:10:39.679 --> 0:10:41.480 set their minds on the things of the flesh, but 0:10:41.559 --> 0:10:44.960 those who live according to the Spirit the things of 0:10:45.040 --> 0:10:50.240 the Spirit. So Paul is differentiating between all three members 0:10:50.280 --> 0:10:53.400 of the Trinity, saying that all three of them had 0:10:53.480 --> 0:10:58.200 different roles in accomplishing the same goal. So first and foremost, 0:10:58.320 --> 0:11:03.160 Jesus Christ did the sacrifice. Secondly, the Spirit used Jesus's 0:11:03.160 --> 0:11:08.080 sacrifice to provide freedom, and God the Father sent his 0:11:08.240 --> 0:11:13.040 son Jesus to become the sacrifice. So they all had 0:11:13.080 --> 0:11:17.160 the exact same goal, but they all had separate roles 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:22.320 in accomplishing that goal. So, continuing in verse nine, it says, 0:11:22.360 --> 0:11:24.559 but you are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. 0:11:25.080 --> 0:11:27.280 If it is so that the Spirit of God dwells 0:11:27.320 --> 0:11:30.360 in you. But if any man doesn't have the Spirit 0:11:30.440 --> 0:11:34.680 of Christ, he is not his. So there's another mention 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:37.120 of the spirit of Jesus or the Spirit of Christ. 0:11:37.760 --> 0:11:40.440 So the Spirit is now referred to in this passage 0:11:40.760 --> 0:11:44.680 as three different things. Firstly the Spirit of God, secondly 0:11:44.720 --> 0:11:49.040 the Spirit of Christ, and thirdly the Spirit of Life. 0:11:49.160 --> 0:11:53.199 This passage reminds us that there are three members of 0:11:53.240 --> 0:11:57.560 the Trinity, but that all three members are God. That 0:11:57.720 --> 0:12:02.840 is why Isaiah nine, verse six can say this about Jesus. 0:12:03.679 --> 0:12:06.200 For a child is born to us, a son is 0:12:06.240 --> 0:12:09.599 given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders, 0:12:09.880 --> 0:12:13.959 and his name will be called Wonderful counselor Mighty God, 0:12:14.760 --> 0:12:20.240 Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. All of those names describe 0:12:20.520 --> 0:12:23.959 a member of the Trinity. That Jesus's name will reflect 0:12:24.480 --> 0:12:28.200 each member of the Trinity. Wonderful Counselor that's who we 0:12:28.240 --> 0:12:31.480 call the Spirit, Mighty God, that is who we call 0:12:31.520 --> 0:12:34.959 all three of them. Actually, Everlasting Father, that is who 0:12:34.960 --> 0:12:38.080 we call the Father, and Prince of Peace, that is 0:12:38.120 --> 0:12:42.520 who we call Jesus. So this son, Jesus Christ is 0:12:42.679 --> 0:12:45.600 all of them. He is the Wonderful Counselor, he is 0:12:45.720 --> 0:12:48.360 Mighty God, he is the Everlasting Father, and he is 0:12:48.840 --> 0:12:52.760 the Prince of Peace. But he's also different from each 0:12:52.840 --> 0:12:56.080 one of them as well. I am not a modalist, 0:12:56.559 --> 0:13:00.560 which means that God is just one person and he 0:13:00.600 --> 0:13:03.760 wears different masks depending on what he is doing. So, 0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:05.959 in other words, he's God the Father most of the time, 0:13:06.000 --> 0:13:09.520 but he came down as Jesus, so God the Father 0:13:09.640 --> 0:13:12.520 was not actually in heaven anymore because he assumed the 0:13:12.559 --> 0:13:15.200 form of Jesus to come down to earth. They just 0:13:15.320 --> 0:13:19.160 believe that there is no trinity, essentially, that God is 0:13:19.280 --> 0:13:23.720 just one being that assumes different forms depending on what 0:13:23.800 --> 0:13:26.440 he is doing. But I'm not a modalist, and I 0:13:26.440 --> 0:13:32.400 think that modalism is blatantly unbiblical because if God was 0:13:32.520 --> 0:13:35.760 just one entity and there was no trinity, then that 0:13:35.840 --> 0:13:38.839 makes scripture out to be a liar in a lot 0:13:38.880 --> 0:13:41.720 of cases. For example, when it says no one has 0:13:41.760 --> 0:13:44.800 seen God, that is referring to God the Father, no 0:13:44.840 --> 0:13:47.319 one has seen him. If the Father is the exact 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:51.800 same person as Jesus and he comes down to earth, well, 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:54.640 then that verse becomes a lie because people did see 0:13:54.640 --> 0:13:57.480 God the Father at that point. And then there's verses, 0:13:57.520 --> 0:14:01.000 for example, where Jesus says that once he ascends back 0:14:01.080 --> 0:14:04.160 up into Heaven that somebody greater than him is going 0:14:04.200 --> 0:14:07.720 to come. Well, if Jesus is the exact same person 0:14:07.880 --> 0:14:11.319 as the Holy Spirit, why would Jesus call one form 0:14:11.480 --> 0:14:15.720 of himself greater than another form of himself? And there 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:19.280 are just too many scriptural passages that talk about the trinity, 0:14:19.640 --> 0:14:23.240 even going back to the very beginning of everything in 0:14:23.280 --> 0:14:27.000 the Book of Genesis, chapter three, verse twenty two, right 0:14:27.080 --> 0:14:30.080 after the man and the woman sinned in the garden. 0:14:30.200 --> 0:14:34.360 Here's what God says in verse twenty two. Yahweh God said, behold, 0:14:34.400 --> 0:14:37.840 the man has become like one of us, knowing good 0:14:37.840 --> 0:14:40.440 and evil. Now lest he reach out his hand and 0:14:40.560 --> 0:14:43.400 also take of the tree of life and eat and 0:14:43.480 --> 0:14:46.480 live forever. Therefore, Yahweh God sent him out of the 0:14:46.480 --> 0:14:49.120 garden of Eden to till the ground from which he 0:14:49.280 --> 0:14:52.960 was taken. God right there in that verse said that 0:14:53.000 --> 0:14:58.640 there was a trinity. He said, us us infers that 0:14:58.680 --> 0:15:04.000 there is more than one. So modalism is just not biblical. 0:15:04.320 --> 0:15:06.640 There is no basis for it in scripture. And that 0:15:06.760 --> 0:15:10.840 is certainly not what Peter is implying in One Peter 0:15:11.000 --> 0:15:13.600 one eleven that the Spirit of Christ means that the 0:15:13.640 --> 0:15:17.240 Spirit is the exact same person as Christ. He's not 0:15:17.280 --> 0:15:20.200 saying that there is no trinity. He is saying that 0:15:20.280 --> 0:15:24.400 there is a trinity where all three persons are interconnected, 0:15:24.880 --> 0:15:28.360 that all three of them are different yet equal. He 0:15:28.440 --> 0:15:31.200 says the Spirit of Christ, which was in these prophets 0:15:31.280 --> 0:15:34.000 pointed to when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and 0:15:34.080 --> 0:15:36.840 the glories that would follow them to them. It was 0:15:36.880 --> 0:15:39.680 revealed that they served not themselves but you in these 0:15:39.760 --> 0:15:42.480 things which now have been announced to you through those 0:15:42.520 --> 0:15:44.760 who preached the good news to you by the Holy 0:15:44.880 --> 0:15:49.160 Spirit sent out from Heaven, which things angels desire to 0:15:49.200 --> 0:15:52.840 look into. So first and foremost the prophets, even though 0:15:52.840 --> 0:15:57.240 they were diligently searching for what this salvation meant, what 0:15:57.280 --> 0:16:00.120 the Holy Spirit was telling them, they desperately wanted to 0:16:00.120 --> 0:16:03.640 know it themselves, but they began to understand over time 0:16:04.280 --> 0:16:07.520 that they weren't going to get the answer to their question, 0:16:07.920 --> 0:16:10.480 at least not on this side of eternity. They were 0:16:10.480 --> 0:16:14.200 prophesying for the benefit of people in the future, the 0:16:14.240 --> 0:16:17.320 benefit for people like us who can go back and 0:16:17.440 --> 0:16:20.760 read the prophets right now. For example, that verse in 0:16:20.840 --> 0:16:23.160 Isaiah that we just read about Jesus that a son 0:16:23.160 --> 0:16:25.440 would be born to us, we can go back and 0:16:25.520 --> 0:16:30.560 read that Isaiah wrote that hundreds of years before Jesus 0:16:30.680 --> 0:16:33.720 was born, and be like, wow, this is the truth. 0:16:34.200 --> 0:16:36.800 All of this stuff has been preserved, which, by the way, 0:16:36.800 --> 0:16:41.320 the Book of Isaiah. God proved how preserved that book 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:44.720 specifically really was when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found, 0:16:45.080 --> 0:16:48.120 and the Dead Sea Scrolls were written two hundred years 0:16:48.160 --> 0:16:52.280 before Jesus was born, and when scholars compared what was 0:16:52.320 --> 0:16:55.280 found in the Isaiah version of the Dead Sea Scrolls 0:16:55.560 --> 0:17:00.280 to the modern nineteen forties version of Isaiah, it was 0:17:00.400 --> 0:17:03.720 nearly word for word, absolutely amazing how the Book of 0:17:03.760 --> 0:17:09.040 Isaiah has been preserved. It talks about everything from Jesus's 0:17:09.160 --> 0:17:13.800 birth to his death, to the Second Coming, to the millennia. 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:17.159 It talks about like everything, it is prophecy through and 0:17:17.200 --> 0:17:21.160 through some of it not even being fulfilled, yet absolutely amazing. 0:17:21.480 --> 0:17:24.600 And these prophets were writing these things on our behalf, 0:17:25.240 --> 0:17:28.080 knowing that God was using them to serve people in 0:17:28.119 --> 0:17:32.359 the future, to serve us, to serve you, to serve me, 0:17:33.160 --> 0:17:35.840 and even for the angels as well. This isn't just 0:17:35.840 --> 0:17:39.720 a benefit for you and I, but also for the angels. 0:17:39.960 --> 0:17:43.440 We've talked a little bit about how angels don't quite 0:17:43.560 --> 0:17:47.320 understand the message of salvation the same way that humans do. 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:49.960 It hasn't been revealed to them in the same way. 0:17:50.480 --> 0:17:55.120 So the angels actually are looking into things themselves. They 0:17:55.119 --> 0:17:58.160 are attending our church services. That's mentioned in First Corinthians, 0:17:58.200 --> 0:18:02.880 I think ten. They are viewing how Christians live their lives. 0:18:03.000 --> 0:18:06.000 I think that's mentioned in First Corinthians four. And they're 0:18:06.040 --> 0:18:11.800 also viewing how Jesus responds to somebody becoming saved. Actually 0:18:12.240 --> 0:18:17.080 that's mentioned in let's see here. I think it was Luke, 0:18:17.240 --> 0:18:21.760 chapter fifteen, verse ten. Even so, I tell you there 0:18:21.880 --> 0:18:24.800 is joy in the presence of the angels of God 0:18:24.960 --> 0:18:29.159 over one sinner repenting. Notice that verse. A lot of 0:18:29.160 --> 0:18:32.560 times that verse is misconstrued to say that the angels 0:18:32.920 --> 0:18:36.199 are joyful when a sinner repents. But that's not what 0:18:36.240 --> 0:18:39.359 it says. It says there is joy in the presence 0:18:39.480 --> 0:18:43.320 of the angels of God over one sinner repenting. It 0:18:43.440 --> 0:18:47.240 is God who is doing the rejoicing in the presence 0:18:47.280 --> 0:18:50.879 of the angels. That is so much more grand than 0:18:50.920 --> 0:18:53.800 twisting it to say that the angels are rejoicing over us. No, 0:18:53.920 --> 0:18:57.800 it is God himself rejoicing over us, and the angels 0:18:57.840 --> 0:19:01.440 are watching that because they don't quite under stand the 0:19:01.440 --> 0:19:05.960 mystery of salvation yet it hasn't fully been revealed to them. 0:19:06.480 --> 0:19:10.439 And that's what Ephesians three nine through eleven says, to 0:19:10.520 --> 0:19:13.640 make all men see what is the administration of the mystery, 0:19:13.920 --> 0:19:17.000 which for ages has been hidden in God, who created 0:19:17.040 --> 0:19:20.880 all things through Christ Jesus, to the intent that now, 0:19:20.960 --> 0:19:24.760 through the assembly, the manifold wisdom of God might be 0:19:24.880 --> 0:19:28.119 made known to the principalities and the powers in the 0:19:28.160 --> 0:19:32.360 heavenly places, according to the eternal purpose which He accomplished 0:19:32.359 --> 0:19:35.960 in Christ, Jesus our Lord. So that was written by Paul, 0:19:36.000 --> 0:19:38.240 and he basically says that the mystery that has been 0:19:38.240 --> 0:19:42.199 revealed to us, that was hidden for ages, still is 0:19:42.200 --> 0:19:45.400 not quite revealed to the angels. So the angels, going 0:19:45.480 --> 0:19:49.720 back to one Peter one, they desire to look into 0:19:50.080 --> 0:19:53.320 this message of salvation. They are trying to figure it 0:19:53.320 --> 0:19:57.359 out for themselves right now, is what Peter says. That 0:19:57.520 --> 0:20:01.879 is how amazing this salvation is that the prophets prophesied 0:20:01.920 --> 0:20:05.800 about it hundreds of years, thousands of years in some cases, 0:20:05.840 --> 0:20:10.000 before Jesus even was born, and that the angels now 0:20:10.440 --> 0:20:14.800 are attending our church services looking at our lives, looking 0:20:14.920 --> 0:20:19.720 into these prophecies, desiring to understand this salvation. That is 0:20:19.760 --> 0:20:22.920 how amazing all of this really is. So Peter gives 0:20:23.000 --> 0:20:25.440 us a call to action. He says, therefore, prepare your 0:20:25.520 --> 0:20:29.879 minds for action, be sober, and set your hope fully 0:20:29.920 --> 0:20:31.880 on the grace that will be brought to you at 0:20:31.880 --> 0:20:35.879 the revelation of Jesus Christ. So Jesus is going to 0:20:35.880 --> 0:20:38.960 give us grace when he returns, which means that we 0:20:39.040 --> 0:20:41.320 need to be watching out for him. That's actually what 0:20:41.400 --> 0:20:45.159 Jesus mentions in Luke twelve thirty five. He says, let 0:20:45.240 --> 0:20:48.879 your waist be dressed in your lamps burning, and he 0:20:48.920 --> 0:20:52.800 goes on to give a parable about people who are 0:20:52.880 --> 0:20:56.320 watching for their lord. So we have to be watching 0:20:56.359 --> 0:20:59.639 and waiting for Jesus that when he does come again 0:20:59.760 --> 0:21:03.800 the second time, which I believe wholeheartedly that he wills someday, 0:21:04.359 --> 0:21:06.480 we won't be left in the dark. We won't be 0:21:06.560 --> 0:21:09.880 caught not waiting for him or caught surprised by his presence, 0:21:09.960 --> 0:21:12.040 but we'll be ready for him, ready for him to 0:21:12.160 --> 0:21:15.040 take us up into heaven and finally free us from 0:21:15.080 --> 0:21:19.919 this temporary life that we currently live. That's why, to 0:21:19.960 --> 0:21:24.119 conclude in one Peter one fourteen and fifteen, he says, 0:21:24.400 --> 0:21:28.680 be children of obedience, not conforming yourselves according to your 0:21:28.720 --> 0:21:32.080 former lusts, as in ignorance. But just as he who 0:21:32.160 --> 0:21:35.399 called you is holy, you yourselves also be holy in 0:21:35.440 --> 0:21:37.600 all of your behavior, because it is written you shall 0:21:37.640 --> 0:21:40.879 be holy, for I am holy, and I apologize. It 0:21:40.920 --> 0:21:44.280 was actually to verse sixteen. Jesus calls us to be 0:21:44.359 --> 0:21:48.199 holy in all things because he himself is holy. And 0:21:48.240 --> 0:21:51.440 if we're gonna say that we believe in Jesus, then 0:21:51.480 --> 0:21:54.560 we better be obedient to what he says. If we 0:21:54.600 --> 0:21:57.040 tell Jesus God, we are going to serve you, then 0:21:57.040 --> 0:21:59.800 we better serve him. We better obey him, just as 0:21:59.840 --> 0:22:04.720 a servant obeys their master. So also we Christian servants 0:22:04.840 --> 0:22:09.000 must obey our master, otherwise we're not really servants. And 0:22:09.040 --> 0:22:12.920 that is what Peter's entire letter comes down to, is obedience. 0:22:13.240 --> 0:22:16.760 How do you truly follow Jesus in the truth. So 0:22:16.840 --> 0:22:19.199 in order to be ready for Jesus, we have to 0:22:19.240 --> 0:22:22.000 turn away from the previous sins and lusts that we 0:22:22.160 --> 0:22:24.680 used to do, and we have to follow after Jesus 0:22:25.200 --> 0:22:28.560 as he conforms our life as He molds us into 0:22:28.960 --> 0:22:33.160 something that looks more like him, and we allow him 0:22:33.400 --> 0:22:35.560 to do that in our lives, and that is how 0:22:35.880 --> 0:22:38.840 we are going to be ready for Jesus's second coming. 0:22:40.920 --> 0:22:45.000 It's really amazing how everything comes down to obedience, you know, 0:22:45.119 --> 0:22:47.679 especially as we just finished up the Book of James, 0:22:47.760 --> 0:22:51.480 where James mentions that faith without works is dead, and 0:22:51.520 --> 0:22:54.439 he mentions the obedience that Abraham had and how that 0:22:54.600 --> 0:22:59.160 obedience was actually a work that Abraham performed. So it's 0:22:59.160 --> 0:23:01.679 not so much good works that we do for other people, 0:23:02.000 --> 0:23:04.760 but it's obedience to what God calls us to do. 0:23:04.920 --> 0:23:07.760 That is the good work that we are supposed to 0:23:07.840 --> 0:23:11.119 do and the thing that goes hand in hand with faith. 0:23:11.440 --> 0:23:14.480 But faithful listeners, before I end today's episode, please listen 0:23:14.480 --> 0:23:19.639 to this last sponsored advertisement for today. So faith and 0:23:19.680 --> 0:23:23.399 obedience go hand in hand. You know, we talked a 0:23:23.440 --> 0:23:26.080 little bit on Tuesday about how we need to be 0:23:26.119 --> 0:23:31.000 born again. Being born again, you know, that baby doesn't 0:23:31.040 --> 0:23:33.679 know when he or she is conceived in the womb, 0:23:34.040 --> 0:23:36.760 and that baby has to grow over time, and that's 0:23:36.840 --> 0:23:39.240 kind of the same thing when it comes to us 0:23:39.320 --> 0:23:41.960 being born again. We have to learn to grow in 0:23:42.119 --> 0:23:46.440 faith and in obedience. Hence why Jesus told his disciples 0:23:46.720 --> 0:23:49.919