THE RECOVERING OF CHRIST

PART V

THE SEED OF GOD - WHICH IS CHRIST

The cry of our hearts must certainly become, if it has not already, the revealing of the Son - REVEAL THY SON IN ME.

Recovery of Vision, Voice and Glory

I want to deal in our series here concerning the New Creation or the recovering of Christ in a New Creation. That is really what the New Creation is all about. It is about the recovering of what was lost in the old creation. What was lost was the very Vision, Voice and Glory of God. All of that is fully recovered in Christ - Christ to be revealed and become the full harvest of a New Creation. But in the process of everything coming from one creation to another (that is everything coming from the first man to the second man or from the old to the new), there is this method by which God deals with the old and finishes the old for His plans and purposes. We then see in the first creation there is established the very clear pattern, principle of God, with regard to a creation - His intention for a creation. We have seen and are yet seeing that brought forth in the seed. It produces after its KIND and results in a full HARVEST of that ONE KIND. Now that is the principle, and it is undeniable.

Adam – First Creation

We saw also the fulfillment of that principle in a MAN or, in type and shadow, the man - Adam. That man fell short of God's glory yet the type is established in him, the pattern, the principle. But that man, being dust, comes up short of the fulfillment of that plan, that purpose of which he speaks. God brings that very purpose to perfection in another man and in another creation. But what of the first Adam, what of the first creation? Does God just abandon it - just leave it to be? Or does He have an answer? Well, He has an answer for it.

Reference:

Gen 2:7

And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.

Destroyed

Remember what we said. This whole issue is not just about us. It is not just about creation. It is God in His infinite wisdom dealing with a rebellion in heaven. The usurper - Lucifer, Satan, that old serpent, the devil, usurped this whole creation. It was usurped by him, becoming as it were his kingdom. It was so much so that the Lord looked at that generation, summing up that whole creation, and said, "You are of your father the devil…" (Jn 8:44). That creation falls short of the glory of God. Paul says we were "…by nature the children of wrath…" (Eph 2:3). "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom 3:23). It is the wisdom of God that in dealing with this man, He shall deal with the enemy of God himself. He shall take away his kingdom. He shall bring to nothing his power. We will make an open show of him in the very earth - in the very earth that he usurped! He will cut all the ground, as it were, out from under him. He will destroy the works of the devil. Now - get ahold of that word "destroy". He does not make it sick, does not hinder it or hamper it. He will destroy - the Bible says, "destroy" the works of the devil.

References:

Col 2:15

And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it [the cross].

Heb 2:14

1Jn 3:8

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Old Creation – Nothing Good

Well now friends, the scripture states this. (I will give you scriptures, but I would rather you see the thing in the volume of the book.) Ephesians 2:10, "For ye [you and I in Christ] are His workmanship [God's workmanship], created in Christ Jesus." So where is the work of God? It is in Christ Jesus. This old creation is the work of the devil. Now we have to understand that. We must take care of the old creation before we can come to view the second. And I want to deal with that. But why would God destroy the old creation? Because it has become not only the symbol, but it has become the very incarnation of the devil. There is NO righteousness in it. We have to come to admit that about ourselves. Outside of Christ, there is nobody righteous. I am not worth saving. We like to sit back sometimes in our smugness and all of that - we won't go on with this because I think you comprehend that attitude. "I am alright. I am as good as so-and-so." Well, so-and-so stinks! So, if you are as good as so-and-so, you stink too! But we do that. "Well, I am just as good as so-and-so", but they are evil to the core. Is that your standard? We compare ourselves. Paul says, We are not as those who compare ourselves among ourselves (2Cor 10:12). But that is what happens. We compare ourselves among ourselves. My God, we have brought that mentality right over into the church. That reality is not found in Christ, but we have brought that mentality right over into the church. "Well, I don't do this you see, and I don't do that. I would never go there and I would never wear that, and I would never look like that." Well, you need to get out and travel around the world a little while. You need to see what the believers look like in India and in China. God help us. Some Americans sure need to get out and travel around a little bit because we find our righteousness in what we drink and what we wear. Paul says, If ye be dead to those things, then why are you in bondage to them? If you are dead, then what difference does it make whether you wear wool or linen? That was a big deal then. Now, it is something else.

References:

2Co 4:4

In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.

Eph 2:2

Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:

Rom 3:10-11

As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.

Rom 3:23

For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;

Rom 7:18

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.

Eph 6:12

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Col 2:20

Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,

Destroying the Works of Satan

No, you see God here is not just striking out at a creation that He created. He is bringing to the end, in the infinite wisdom of God, the kingdom and the works of Satan. He is bringing them to nothing - to an end - destroying the works of the devil. That is what we want to talk about. Let us start in Galatians 3:27, "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ..." Remember that Paul says the same thing in Romans 6 verses 3 and 4, "Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead [from among the dead] by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life." The King James Version will not say "from among the dead" but the Concordant Literal New Testament will. I will not stop right now to explain the importance of the fact that He was not raised from the dead but rather raised from among the dead.

References:

1Jn 3:8

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Heb 2:14-15

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

All Die – One Lives

Do you see something there in the verses Galatians 3:27 and Romans 6:3-4? Many died in one but only one now lives, but He lives in many. "Like as Christ was raised up..." (Rom 6:4). Why? So that we might walk in newness of life. For if we have been buried in the likeness of his death, we have been raised in the likeness of - not some resurrection, but His resurrection. What a tremendous truth! Paul is saying exactly the same thing to the Galatians. He is not preaching two different baptisms. He is saying the same thing. If you have been baptized into Christ, you have put on Christ. You say, "Wait a minute, Paul says ‘buried into his death’". Look at the next verse. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28). That does not mean you are one Jew now. We can not find our oneness in each other - for ye are one. It does not mean you are all one Jew – No. Well, one Gentile? – No. Well, we are just one humanity? - No, No. YOU are not the source or the view of the oneness. The one that we are is the one HE is - the one seed - the one who is now living in many. Many died in one. Paul brings that into perfect view in II Corinthians the fifth chapter verse 14 where he says, In that one died for all, all were made to be dead. All died - so that many died in one, so that now ONLY ONE LIVES - IN MANY. Consequently, that one who lives now, Colossians 3 verse 9-10, Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man, with his deeds, and have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him. The new man, where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision or uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond or free, but CHRIST IS ALL AND IN ALL.

References:

2Cor 5:14 (KJV)

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:

2Cor 5:14 (ASV)

For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that one died for all, therefore all died;

Col 3:9-11

Lie not one to another, seeing that ye have put off the old man with his deeds; And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him: Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.

This is not speaking of an old creation. This is speaking of a New Creation where Christ is the all of it, and He is in all of it - CHRIST ALL AND IN ALL. It is one living in many. Therefore it is many living only as one. My point is we can not find our oneness among ourselves. We try to do that. The Christian community tries to find its oneness as the Christian community, but the oneness of the Christian community is not itself. And we try to find our oneness there. Well, we are all Christians, but that comprehension is short of the true comprehension of the Spirit. And in the work it finally has divisions all along in it, because it leaves us being able to say, "Well, that's true, but I can't do this or that, but I can still love you, brother, because we are still one." We go off, split, arguing, fractured - but we are all God's children.

Reference:

1Cor 12:12-14

For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many.

One Body

What I am saying is that these things are not totally true. The concept of it is incomplete. We are all God's children as one seed - not a bunch of seeds that are different - one seed. Until we come to comprehend Him, we will never really understand the One that we are. And there will always be place in our heart for division because our comprehension will allow it. The comprehension of children allows division. And when our comprehension allows division, there will be division, because there is enough stuff to bring it. But if our comprehension says no, absolutely no... Look at a husband and a wife. Can I use that? I know there are a lot of problems with that, but let me bring it into effect as Christ and the church, and put it in its perfect sense. If there is a true comprehending on behalf of the man and the woman as Christ and the church, then that comprehension does not allow for two. It allows for one head and body - one, one. That is what that comprehension is. And that comprehension does not allow for division. Now look at me in the natural. I am not a real intelligent individual, but I am smart enough to know that if you cut my head off, I have serious injuries. I mean let's even say that I am not going to live long. It does not take a great deal of intelligence to understand that about me. But you see if that comprehension comes in by the Spirit into a husband and wife or moreover into Christ and the church, we can see a greater comprehension. There are all kinds of reasons for divisions that will come about every day, but comprehension knows that division would be silly - I can not do that. If my hand gets injured, I could just cut it off. But my greater comprehension recognizes the stupidity of that and keeps me from doing it. People who have even something organically wrong, who are mentally deficient, do hurt themselves. They cut themselves. Why? Does it not hurt? Sure it hurts. Do they not bleed? Sure they bleed, but they have no comprehension. There is a greater comprehension.

References:

1Cor 1:10-13

Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath been declared unto me of you, my brethren, by them which are of the house of Chloe, that there are contentions among you. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ. Is Christ divided? was Paul crucified for you? or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?

1Cor 3:1-4

And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ. I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men? For while one saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am of Apollos; are ye not carnal?

Eph 5:22-23

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body…

Eph 5:31-32

For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church.

1Cor 1:20-21

Where is the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.

Comprehending the One Seed

I am using comprehension because Paul uses this term "comprehension" in Ephesians 3:18, when he prays that they "May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height" of the fullness of God in Christ. This is not mental comprehension but spiritual comprehension. And I am telling you that there is a greater comprehension of the Spirit with regard to our oneness than simply that we are one because we are all God's children - or we are one because we are all Christians. No – we are one because of the SEED. The seed makes us one. And if that comprehension takes hold of us, it goes far beyond the fact that we are just Christians. We do a lot of things to each other in the name of being Christians. I may, in the fit of anger, get a hammer and pound on your foot, but I would have to be absolutely crazy to get a hammer and pound on my own foot. We still have not come to that comprehension of the seed that says we are bone of his bone and flesh of his flesh, spirit of his spirit. We still do not have a comprehension that absolutely resists and makes unthinkable divisions and strife among the very body we claim to be. Why? Are we not that body? Yes, we are that body, but without comprehension - the comprehension of the seed.

References:

Gen 2:23

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.

Eph 5:29-30

For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church: For we are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones.

HARVEST is synonymous with the term "comprehension". What does it mean to grow up in Christ and bring forth His fullness? It is a people coming forth in the full comprehension of the Lord - in the fullness of the Spirit of Truth. What does your Bible say? "Till we all come IN the unity [not TO, IN the unity] of the faith…" (Eph 4:13, emphasis added). It is not something you come TO. It is something that is birthed in you at the revelation of Jesus Christ and you come IN it. We are always trying to figure out how TO get along, how TO do this, how TO love, how TO, etc. It is not something you come TO. It is something that is birthed in you in the revelation of Jesus Christ. It is a comprehension that is formed in you in the revealing of the seed. And then we all come IN, IN the unity of the faith - the faith (anything set off with "the" - for instance the faith, the love, the - in the scriptures is synonymous with 'the faith of the Son of God'). "Till we all come in the unity of THE faith..." (Eph 4:13, emphasis added). The very next phrase describes what that is, "…the knowledge of the Son of God" (Eph 4:13). What will ever bring this creation together in the comprehension of the newness and all of that? Well, the knowledge of the Son of God! In Ephesians 4:13, "Till we all..." See, all ministry is towards that. He has given in the body of Christ, ministries of Christ, measures of Christ and all of these measures find their fullness and their completion in HARVEST - not dividing the saints of God against each other.

References:

Mrk 4:26-29

And he said, So is the kingdom of God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground; And should sleep, and rise night and day, and the seed should spring and grow up, he knoweth not how. For the earth bringeth forth fruit of herself; first the blade, then the ear, after that the full corn in the ear. But when the fruit is brought forth, immediately he putteth in the sickle, because the harvest is come.

2Ptr 1:3

According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue.

Harvest

My God, would it not be wonderful if everyone called of God truly found the fullness of His purpose in HARVEST, not division - all prophets, pastors, evangelists - all of these being measures of the one Christ with Him giving them all for the complement of Himself and Him giving them all for the full measure of Himself - all of them being measures of the operation of the Spirit, having one purpose - bringing creation, the saints of God to the knowledge of the Son of God. Till we all come IN the faith of the Son of God… . We sing a song that I believe is an Old Testament reference to that "…unto Him shall the gathering of the people be" (Gen 49:10). That is unto Him; that is all coming in unity of the faith - the unity, which is the knowledge of the Son of God. If we come in the unity of the faith, we are coming in the unity, which the knowledge of the Son of God has produced. This means that without the knowledge of the Son of God, we shall never come in unity. We will come in division; we will come in doctrinal statements; we will come in ideologies, etc. But what is it that is coming here - that is coming in the unity of the faith? It is the knowledge of the Son of God. We are not coming TO unity. We are coming IN unity. Then what are we coming to? A FULL-GROWN MAN! We are coming to a perfect man, a man full-grown in comprehension, a perfect man.

References:

Eph 4:11-12

And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:

Eph 4:15-16

But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: From whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the measure of every part, maketh increase of the body unto the edifying of itself in love.

Gen 49:10

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and unto him shall the gathering of the people be.

Eph 4:13

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:

Col 1:28

Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus:

Fullness of Stature of Christ

What is the measure of this completion? What is the measure? The measure is the FULLNESS OF THE STATURE OF CHRIST! What does the word stature mean? It means age. It has nothing to do with height. It has nothing to do with inches or feet. We measure man that way. God said that to Samuel the first time he was over there anointing David. Before he anointed David he started and tried to anoint every brother David had. And God said, wait a minute, don't do that - that's not mine anointed. I do not judge as man judges. Man judges by the outward appearance, I look upon the heart. The first brother that ran out was probably almost as big as Saul himself - looked good to Samuel. Let's anoint him! He went through seven of them like that before David who was out keeping sheep was brought in - a man after God's own heart. Stature means age - coming to the full age, coming to maturity, growing up. Hallelujah to God!

References:

Eph 4:13

Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature <2244> of the fulness of Christ:

Strong’s Greek Lexicon: Eph 4:13, "stature" <2244>

2244. hlikia helikia hay-lik-ee’-ah; from the same as 2245; maturity (in years or size):— age, stature.

Online Bible Greek Lexicon: Eph 4:13, "stature" <2244>

2244 hlikia helikia hay-lik-ee’-ah

from the same as 2245; TDNT-2:941,308; n f

AV-stature 5, age 3; 8

1) age, time of life

1a) age, term or length of life

1b) adult age, maturity

1c) suitable age for anything

1d) metaph. of an attained state fit for a thing

2) stature, i.e in height and comeliness of stature

1Sam 16:7

But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.

1Sam 16:10-14

Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither. And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he. Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah. But the Spirit of the LORD departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the LORD troubled him.

This is speaking of the whole creation transformed into the Man for whom it was created. It is the whole creation filled with the knowledge of the Lord. It is a whole creation coming to be measured in the age of CHRIST. BLESSED BE THE LAMB OF THE LIVING GOD!

New Creation – Body, Soul, Spirit

Now, let us look in Galatians concerning that SEED and see this creation. We can take any one part of this creation, for example you and I; let us take a believer, because it is CHRIST ALL AND IN ALL. So, we can take any part of this creation and have a miniscule example of the creation itself. That is not mysterious, but I just want to show you that instead of using the whole creation I am going to take part of it out, diagram that - you and I, the believer. So we have the believer here, body, soul and spirit. Let us look at this believer, this creation. "…If any man be in Christ he is a new creature…" (2Cor 5:17). We know the Greek says a "new creation". "If any man be in Christ, he is a new creature…" in that he is part of a New Creation. WHAT IS NEW ABOUT IT?

Thy Seed Which Is Christ

Adam had a body out of dirt; we do too. Adam was made a living soul. Yes, he fell short of the glory of God, but Adam had a living soul. Then, what is new about this creation? Well, this creation has what Adam never had, and that is why I have been so laborious on this - what Adam never had. Adam never had, nor was produced by, the seed of God. He was not of the kind. He was not of the seed of God. The promise was brought of the seed and (in Genesis the third chapter, called the seed of the woman) prophetically fulfilled as we have seen - in "…thy SEED, WHICH IS CHRIST" (Gal 3:16, emphasis added)! It is not many, but one seed - to one seed. Then in 1 Peter 1:23, Peter is speaking concerning our being born again, "Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever". THY SEED, WHICH IS CHRIST! Here is what the New Creation has, the old did not have - THE SEED OF GOD - CHRIST! Christ in you - the expectation of glory, which is synonymous with harvest! CHRIST IN YOU!

References:

Gen 3:15

And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Col 1:27

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Christ Revealed

This is the great revelation of the Apostle Paul. In this same book of Galatians, the first chapter verses 15 and 16, "For when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, called me by his grace..." to do what? "...to REVEAL HIS SON..." where? "... in me, that I might preach Him." That is his answer to verses 9 and 10 of that same chapter, where he says, "I tell you brethren, I certify you brethren, that the gospel which is preached by me did not come by man, neither was I taught it by man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." What is that? GOD REVEALED HIS SON IN ME! The revelation of Jesus Christ is God revealing His Son in me. I have been saying that this is synonymous with this word, "and the Lord appeared, and the Lord appeared" over in the Old Testament. When the Lord appeared or when God reveals His Son, things always take place. Things are never the same after that because He reveals His Son as the light. Where does He reveal His Son? He reveals His Son in the very midst of the heart, in the very midst of the soul! And we are going to look at that right now in Galatians the fourth chapter.

The Word In You

What is this seed of God? This seed of God is - THE WORD OF GOD. This seed of God is the LIGHT. This seed of God is the LIFE; all of those things are attributed to him. The Word who liveth and abideth forever. THE WORD IS IN YOU - THE SCRIPTURES DECLARE HIM - THE SPIRIT REVEALS HIM! The Spirit only reveals what the scriptures declare. Now let's get that straight. It is not time to throw your Bibles away. The Spirit only reveals what the scriptures declare. I will say it again. The Spirit only reveals what the scriptures declare. You get out beyond the scriptures and you have gone too far. Now, you may get beyond man's "concepts" of the scriptures, or as it were my little colloquialism, stick your head under a peach basket and get your revelation there. No, no. The scriptures declare Him. The scriptures declare Him; the Spirit reveals Him. And the Spirit reveals in you the one that the scriptures declare on these pages. "Search the scriptures…they are they that testify of me" (Jn 5:39). They are given to you. They are tried and proven and acceptable for... see, they declare. What they declare the Spirit reveals, the Living Word, so that the land, the creation begins to bring forth the Living Word. All of this is going on to full harvest. It is the knowledge of the Lord bringing forth one perfect man and coming forth in His completion. Where is the New Man?

References:

Lk 8:4, 11

And when much people were gathered together, and were come to him out of every city, he spake by a parable: …Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God.

Gal 3:16

Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Jn 1:1, 4

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. …In him was life; and the life was the light of men.

1Ptr 1:23

Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

1Cor 15:3-4

For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Heb 10:7

Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.

Jn 16:13-14

Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.

Mtt 13:23

But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

His Expression

The new man is the second man. I Corinthians chapter 15, verses 45-49, "And so it is written, The first man Adam [which is also the second man] was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit [life-giving spirit]. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual [in other words, Adam], but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual. The first man is of the earth, earthy: the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy [Adam], such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly [Christ], such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly." THAT IS HARVEST!

All About Him

That is what Ephesians 4 was talking about a while ago. That is what I am talking about. We must comprehend that all of this is talking about HIM. It is not really making you or me anything other than who HE ALREADY IS! It is not ME becoming what He is, but you and I becoming His very expression. Yes, there is a transformation, but the center here is not me; IT IS CHRIST! Here, it is the seed who is in you finding all... and all of the fullness of God is in that SEED. And it is the seed that is in you being revealed in you, filling your soul, your heart, with the comprehension of HIMSELF - having HIS manifestation. Hallelujah! - in the earth - having HIS manifestation in the earth.

References:

Col 2:9

For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Eph 3:11

According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord:

It is not you and I learning how to be like Jesus. No, it really is HE - HE IS being revealed in you. It is not cleaning up, as it were the earth and making the earth look better. As I said one time, and I was hinting at this before: do we just go out and prepare a field, get all the rocks out of it, get it looking good, fertilize it and everything? What good is it if there is no seed in it? Who wants good dirt with no seed in it? We act like God's just after good dirt. Well, my dirt is better than your dirt. My dirt is white and sandy; your dirt is black and gooey; somebody else's dirt is red clay. So we are going to make better dirt. Well let's make better dirt. Let's mix the dirt together. See you can do that if you want, but it is not going to make the dirt any better. As far as dirt is concerned, you are not going to make it any better. Honey, the whole secret of this thing is not the dirt. It is THE SEED! Our fellowship is in the SEED, our oneness is in the SEED, you see. Hallelujah! That is what makes everything new – IT IS THE SEED! It is the learning of HIM, the knowing of HIM. It is not the dirt trying to be better dirt. THE HARVEST OF THE DIRT IS THE SEED! God, yes, I would not have you believe that God does not deal with the dirt, the flesh, but let's get it right. We look at the field. We are the field of God, the cultivated field of God and seem to forget the SEED is the important thing here, not the cultivated field. I have done it before, and I have seen it done before. You can take a field, break it up and cultivate it. You can do all that, and if you do not put a seed in it, it will just grow weeds. And the weeds will get there. You do not have to put the weeds there. They will get there. I sometimes think they are already there. They are just part of the dirt! And I am telling you - you and I can come at this thing from the outside in (like we usually do), from the outside in, and we just get ourselves all cultivated, and we just grow the weeds of our own nature and the weeds of our own lives. These things will grow with or without the rain of the spirit. Sometimes I think the less rain there is the more the weeds grow.

References:

Jas 5:7

Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain.

Is 5:1-4

Now will I sing to my wellbeloved a song of my beloved touching his vineyard. My wellbeloved hath a vineyard in a very fruitful hill: And he fenced it, and gathered out the stones thereof, and planted it with the choicest vine, and built a tower in the midst of it, and also made a winepress therein: and he looked that it should bring forth grapes, and it brought forth wild grapes. And now, O inhabitants of Jerusalem, and men of Judah, judge, I pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done in it? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes?

Jn 15:8

Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.

Jn 15:16

Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain…

The SEED is what is important. It is the SEED. The whole matter here is the SEED. And who is that? Who is that new man in this creation? Who is that second man to fill up this creation with the increase, the kind, His nature, His character, the essence of Himself and come forth in perfection, a perfect man and a creation giving, oh, what is beautiful about that creation – it is the harvest! What is beautiful about a field – it is the harvest that makes it beautiful. Yes, you see then that the WHOLE is glorified in the harvest. There the field finds its beauty. The whole thing is viewed AS ONE - as one new man, as one creation. The whole thing, in the end, is viewed that way.

Christ Formed In You

You see it does not get that way just because you preach it that way. It is the coming forth of CHRIST that makes the difference. No wonder in this chapter, in this very same book Galatians, Paul says, "...until Christ be formed in you" (Gal 4:19). He says I am praying for you Galatians. He starts off; he reveals Him - the revelation of Jesus Christ. He continues, I am praying that this Christ who is being revealed in you, be formed, that you take on His form, that He be formed in you. I just want to show you that the new man, the second man is the Lord from heaven. My God, no wonder you are a heavenly creation - THE LORD FROM HEAVEN LIVES IN YOU! He has made His creation His residence by His Spirit. The Lord from heaven dwells here, the second man. As we have borne the image of the first, we shall bear the image of the second. This is the prophetic statement God made back there in Adam. Adam in the first instance was never after the image or in the likeness. That was God's predicted view of a Man to come, because in Genesis those two terms mean "an image, a type, without substance." But their fulfillment is in Christ, "image and form" because the foundation upon which they sit is the word "kind" - we are after His kind, after His seed. And His seed is in His image. God's seed is in His image. Read that in Colossians the first chapter, verse 15 and 16, "Who is the IMAGE of the invisible God." Hallelujah!

References:

Jn 14:23

Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Gen 1:26

And God said, Let us make man in our image <6754>, after our likeness <1823>: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon: Gen 1:26, "image" <6754>

6754. Mlu tselem tseh’- lem; from an unused root meaning to shade; a phantom, i.e. (figuratively) illusion, resemblance; hence, a representative figure, especially an idol:— image, vain shew.

Online Bible Hebrew Lexicon: Gen 1:26, "image" <6754>

6754 Mlu tselem tseh’- lem

from an unused root meaning to shade; TWOT-1923a; n m

AV-image 16, vain shew 1; 17

1) image

1a) images (of tumours, mice, heathen gods)

1b) image, likeness (of resemblance)

1c) mere, empty, image, semblance (fig.)

Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon: Gen 1:26, "likeness" <1823>

1823. twmd d@muwth dem-ooth’; from 1819; resemblance; concretely, model, shape; adverbially, like:— fashion, like (- ness, as), manner, similitude.

Gen 1:11

And God said, Let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed is in itself, upon the earth: and it was so.

Giving Him Expression

So what we have is the invisible God being formed in a creation who will give him visibility in nature and expression. Do you see that? I have seen that distinction in years and years of preaching Christ, but I have never seen that distinction so clearly in the scriptures as I do in this comparing of the creations. Yes, you are a New Creation. But what good is a New Creation without purpose, without seed, without kind, without harvest? Yes, we are brought into Christ. Yes, Christ is in you - just as importantly - CHRIST ALL AND IN ALL. Yes, you are in Him, and He is in you. He says that, and you will comprehend that at that day, the coming of the Spirit of Truth - "…That I am in My Father, you are in me and I am in you" (Jn 14:20). But why is the seed there? Well, to fill up creation with the light of the knowledge of the glory of God - the Word - the Light - the Life, and the scriptures teach Him in each of these respects.

References:

1Ptr 2:9

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

2Cor 4:6

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Is 11:9

They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

Hab 2:14

For the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea.

The Heir – The Inheritance

Galatians 4, "Now I say that the heir..." Why would he be talking about an heir here? It is because we are talking about inheritance. With Abraham we are talking about inheritance. We are talking about the land, the promise, the inheritance of God. "Now I say that the heir as long as he is a child..."(this word "child" means an immature one, one without comprehension). Well, "as long as he is a child differeth nothing from a servant though he be lord of all." But if he has no comprehension, he is liable to serve anything. He is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the Father. What is it that we are kept under until the coming of comprehension and of faith? We are kept under the law until the coming of faith. What is the law called? It is called a schoolmaster (tutors and governors). We are kept by it until the coming of faith. When do we come to faith? Well, we talk about this soul now coming to faith, this heart coming to faith. "Faith cometh by hearing". From where does the hearing of the soul come? Hearing cometh by the Word. You know you can have perfect ears, and if you are in a place where nothing is said, you might as well be deaf as a stone. It takes sound to create hearing. It takes light to create sight. I have been in places as far as two miles down into the heart of the earth. If you turn the lights out down there, and even if you can stay there the rest of your life, your eyes will not adjust because there is nothing to adjust to. There is no light there; you can not see. In fact without light, you will go blind. Your eyes are useless where there is no light. It takes light to produce sight. It does not matter how good your eyes are.

References:

Gen 15:2-5

And Abram said, Lord GOD, what wilt thou give me, seeing I go childless, and the steward of my house is this Eliezer of Damascus? And Abram said, Behold, to me thou hast given no seed: and, lo, one born in my house is mine heir. And, behold, the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, This shall not be thine heir; but he that shall come forth out of thine own bowels shall be thine heir. And he brought him forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and tell the stars, if thou be able to number them: and he said unto him, So shall thy seed be.

Strong’s Greek Lexicon: Gal 4:1, "child" <3516>

3516. nhpiov nepios nay’-pee-os; from an obsolete particle nh- ne- (implying negation) and 2031; not speaking, i.e. an infant (minor); figuratively, a simple-minded person, an immature Christian:— babe, child (+- ish).

Gal 3:23-25

But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Rom 10:17

So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

Jn 9:5

As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world.

Jn 9:39

And Jesus said, For judgment I am come into this world, that they which see not might see; and that they which see might be made blind.

Hearing By the Spirit

It does not make any difference how acute your hearing is. Until something is said, there is nothing to hear. A soul can not hear from the flesh or body. The brain hears from the flesh, what is natural. The soul truly only hears what is said of the Spirit - this Word, this Voice. That is the reason why we have intellectual believers who, as far as the soul is concerned, are dumb as doorknobs. The soul was created for something and is incomplete without it. The soul was created for the Spirit of Life making this creation complete.

Spirit of Life In You

Spirit, yes, that indwelling Christ - for "…he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit" (1Cor 6:17), "…and have been all made to drink into one Spirit" (1Cor 12:13), being born again of one seed, and coming to comprehend "Christ in you". Hallelujah! All of this comprehension is coming in as "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ" (2Cor 4:6). God brings the soul to comprehend what the brain can never comprehend: what the eye can not see, the ear can not hear, and the natural heart can not discover. We are brought to comprehend all that the sense knowledge can not. Most believers just have a sense knowledge of God. They have felt God's presence. They simply have sense knowledge. And I am not suggesting that what they have felt is not real. I am saying that you can not know it in the feeling of it. You can not know God that way. It puts your whole salvation in one-third of the creation: the body and flesh. That is not the third that was supposed to have this understanding anyway. That is the third that is supposed to "evidence" what is known. But we have reversed it! So, it is all from the outside, and the soul has heard nothing. We have heard many scriptures; yet the soul has heard nothing! We have a lot of doctrine; yet the soul is still deaf, dumb, and blind - waiting for a voice; waiting for light. THE LIGHT IS IN YOU. THE WORD IS IN YOU, but as long as we are a child... what is God's answer to that?

References:

2Cor 4:6

For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

1Cor 2:9-10

But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.

2Cor 5:16

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.

Fullness of Time is Come

God answers that, "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Gal 4:4). Here is the cross. God's answer is THE CROSS. We are going to get into the disruption of that old creation. But why? It is in order to REDEEM them that were under the law. And what is the purpose of redemption? That we might receive the ADOPTION OF SONS! Now what is the "adoption of Sons"? Romans talks about it, "...has given to us the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba Father!" Consider the word "adoption". In Biblical language, the word "adoption" can only apply to something born of that father. The father can only adopt which is of his own seed. I know that we have used the term for bringing others into our household, but the Biblical term is not so, because adoption means THE PLACEMENT OF A SON. That is what it means in the Greek - "son placement" - the placement of a son. A father knew that his child had come to maturity. He then calls a big feast. Abraham did for Isaac. The father calls a big feast and invites everybody in. Then he takes this born-one, who has been a child, and brings him before everybody. Now he declares this one to be HIS SON - bearing his name and having full authority in the household. He places him as a son. That is adoption.

References:

Rom 8:14-16

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:

Strong’s Greek Lexicon: Gal 4:5, "adoption" <5206>

5206. uioyesia huiothesia hwee-oth-es-ee’-ah; from a presumed compound of 5207 and a derivative of 5087; the placing as a son, i.e. adoption (figuratively, Christian sonship in respect to God):— adoption (of children, of sons).

Gen 21:8

And the child grew, and was weaned: and Abraham made a great feast the same day that Isaac was weaned.

Lk 15:21-24

And the son said unto him, Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son. But the father said to his servants, Bring forth the best robe, and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: And bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry: For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found. And they began to be merry.

Spirit of His Son In You

Now be careful on this part. We have received the "spirit of adoption". We were redeemed ultimately for the adoption to be wrought with regard to, and in, sons. What is in fact the adoption? The next verse tells you; it is not all that mysterious. "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son…" (Gal 4:6). Right here He has sent forth the spirit of His son into your heart or soul. It is the spirit of His Son, Himself that has a voice in your soul - and cries out - what the ear can not hear, but the soul can, "God, you are my Father!" The Son himself testifies in YOU. God doing what? God gives placement IN YOU to HIS SON and reveals His own Son in you. And you enjoy and become a partaker in the allotment of the heir. Hallelujah to God! Joint heirs - the creation where HE is given HIS place and where HE establishes HIS throne and HIS rule. The adoption - God placing His Son in a creation prepared and purposed for such a placement. God reveals His Son in a believer - yes - believers, creation purposed for such revealing. God brings you and I into the spiritual comprehension that CHRIST IS MY LIFE AND GOD IS THEREFORE MY FATHER. It is not just 'born-ones' but ones participating in the very adoption of the Son. That is the very comprehension of the Son.

References:

Rom 8:17

And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

Rom 8:23

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.

Eph 1:5

Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,

This is exactly what Paul meant when he said that God revealed His Son in me (Gal 1:15-16). This is not a doctrine. It is a work of the Holy Spirit. You will identify it with the scripture, but it is not just reading the scripture. It is the Holy Spirit literally revealing the Son in you. What farmer would plow his land, get his field perfect and everything ready, and then stand right there in the middle of that field and read the ALMANAC to it about planting and harvest. No, you have to really put a SEED in it. I am telling you that this thing is not doctrine. It is not teaching though we may teach it, It is a result of God having birthed us for the purpose of ADOPTION. He has brought forth a creation for the purpose of harvest - revealing the Son, forming the Son, finally, coming to full manifestation of the Son. The Bible says the whole creation waiteth for such a manifestation of the sons of God - the HARVEST.

References:

Gal 1:15-16

But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by his grace, To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:

Rom 8:19

For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.

The SEED IS IN YOU. We are made to be joint heirs - not heirs instead of Him - joint heirs with Him - as one with Him. It is all because of the SEED. You can not look to yourselves. It is looking unto Him. He is that One Seed. When it gets into this area of adoption, according to the time appointed of the Father, only the Father can release the spirit of adoption. So, until there is such a revealing of Christ, well then, there is a soulish believer who differs nothing from a servant, though he be lord of all. For the LORD OF GLORY, the LORD from heaven is in him.

Everything In the Seed – In You

Blessed be the Lamb of the Living God. I had in my mind to take this teaching into the harvest because the Lord Jesus deals with the harvest. He deals with the thirty, the sixty, the hundred fold, with the blade and the stem, the full field, and all of that the fulfillment of what he sets forth in Israel as the three feasts of Israel. We know that there were seven parts to that, but three major feasts of Israel, leading to the Great Ingathering, the Great Harvest. Hallelujah! And we know all of that is fulfilled in the Lord Jesus Christ and is to be brought forth in a people. What I am telling you is that everything that is in this seed (here is what you must see) is to be brought forth in reality, and fullness in YOU! How is that accomplished? It is not through what the dirt does but through what the Spirit does in revealing and forming the Son "…until Christ be formed in you" (Gal 4:19), until Christ is manifested. This body will not be able to hold it or contain it. No, this body shall be changed. Hallelujah to God! The dirt of any kind will never give Him full expression. That is what your Bible teaches. All I have done is bring that to a SEED. It begins with a SEED. It is not just God doing something to a bunch of people. This has a SEED to it. This thing is for the purpose of the SEED. This thing is for the purpose of God's SEED. This thing is for the purpose of God getting his glory in a creation, the creation which you are - IN CHRIST JESUS! What a purpose! You and I are really purposed for something, really set forth. No wonder the Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2, verses 7, "But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which God ordained before the world unto our glory" (1Cor 2:7). There is a glory connected with this. And the glory is in you - CHRIST IN YOU - THE EXPECTATION OF GLORY (Col 1:27). But the expectation of it is that this creation, you and I, not any one of us, but all of us as a creation come forth in the brightness of his glory. The word "glory" does not just mean a bright light. That is a type of it. The word "glory" has to do with an expression of his divine nature. Imagine a whole creation in expression of his divine nature rather than one who is by nature the children of wrath. Hallelujah!

References:

Mrk 4:3

Hearken; Behold, there went out a sower to sow:

Mrk 4:8

And other fell on good ground, and did yield fruit that sprang up and increased; and brought forth, some thirty, and some sixty, and some an hundred.

Mrk 4:26-29

1Cor 15:51-53

Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Col 1:27

To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:

Vine's Dictionary: "GLORY, GLORIOUS", <1391>

A. Nouns.

1. doxa ^1391^, "glory" (from dokeo, "to seem"), primarily signifies an opinion, estimate, and hence, the honor resulting from a good opinion. It is used (I) (a) of the nature and acts of God in self-manifestation, i. e., what He essentially is and does, as exhibited in whatever way he reveals Himself in these respects, and particularly in the person of Christ, in whom essentially His "glory" has ever shone forth and ever will do, <John 17:5,24; Heb. 1:3>; it was exhibited in the character and acts of Christ in the days of His flesh, <John 1:14; John 2:11>; at Cana both His grace and His power were manifested, and these constituted His "glory", so also in the resurrection of Lazarus <11:4,40>; the "glory" of God was exhibited in the resurrection of Christ, <Rom. 6:4>, and in His ascension and exaltation, <1 Pet. 1:21>, likewise on the Mount of Transfiguration, <2 Pet. 1:17>. In <Rom. 1:23> His "everlasting power and Divinity" are spoken of as His "glory," i. e., His attributes and power as revealed through creation; in <Rom. 3:23> the word denotes the manifested perfection of His character, especially His righteousness, of which all men fall short; in <Col. 1:11> "the might of His glory" signifies the might which is characteristic of His "glory"; in <Eph. 1:6,12,14>, "the praise of the glory of His grace" and "the praise of His glory" signify the due acknowledgement of the exhibition of His attributes and ways; in <Eph. 1:17>, "the Father of glory" describes Him as the source from whom all divine splendor and perfection proceed in their manifestation, and to whom they belong; (b) of the character and ways of God as exhibited through Christ to and through believers, <2 Cor. 3:18> and <4:6>;…

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words)

Basically what I wanted to say is that CHRIST, THE SEED, IS IN YOU. The Seed is there for a purpose. That purpose is to bring forth unto full harvest, the full harvest of HIMSELF - ONE SON REVEALED AND FULLY MANIFESTED IN MANY SONS! Hallelujah!

References:

Heb 2:10

For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

Rom 9:23-24

And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory, Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles?

2Cor 3:18

But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.

Lord, we just thank you today for your grace, your mercy and thy Spirit. Keep our hearts set upon the Lord. Keep our hearts set upon knowing Him. Keep our hearts set upon Christ - REVEAL YOUR SON - to bring forth in the inner man - oh - to bring forth in the inner man the new man, to reveal your Son in volumes and in realms of Himself. My God unto a man most complete - completely - in full age of the Lord Himself. Deal with us by your Spirit in regard to the truth of your word. in Jesus' name. AMEN.

***