Major Bible Themes

All right, we are in chapter 40. I don't know, you guys probably don't, but it is good to read these things. Because, you know, we've used the slides that Hal and Roger put together back in 2003. And as I read through this chapter, you know, I have lots of notes and everything on it too. You know, there are tremendous amounts of gems in here. You can see all the highlights in here and different stuff.

The other thing is, I noticed as I went through it, some of the slides, I mean we have all these slides, but they don't cover nearly all the things that are in here. So, I would encourage you to read it. There's a tremendous amount of information that we don't even cover. I'm going to try and cover some of those points as I went through it that aren't covered on the slides necessarily. I'll expand it a little bit. But I do encourage you to read the chapters. There are a lot of things in there that, again, we don't necessarily cover through the slides. The various teachers may or may not pick them up or add them in there.

So, we are on chapter 40, the Church, the Body and Bride of Christ, and I think, let me pull this out real quick, we are scheduled to get through by the end of the year. We are going to have you just read chapters 41, 42, and 43. That's the Sabbath and the Lord's Day. Chapter 41, 42 is the Gentiles in history and prophecy, and chapter 43 is Israel in history and prophecy. We're just going to have you read those, and then Mike will be back next week. I've got to travel next week. So he'll be teaching on Chapter 44, Events Preceding the Second Coming of Christ.

So I do encourage you to read them. It's good stuff. All right. So this one is the Church, the Body and Bride of Christ and Her Reward. Lewis Perry Chaffer's book, this is again going over, for those on tape, this side, we are in chapter 40 of Major Bible Themes, 52 Vital Doctrines of the Scripture, Simplified and Explained by Lewis Perry Chaffer. In this chapter, he lays out the seven figures that are used to reveal the relationship between Christ and the Church. And as you look on the screen, the seven that he calls out are the shepherd and the sheep, the vine and the branches, and we've gone through many of these, but he's just listing out about the relationship again between Christ and the church. And I want to specify something, it's real specific to the church, because there are things on the individuals.

So, the cornerstone and the stones of the building, the high priest and the kingdom of priests, the head and the body with its many members. Again, there's a note on there, we cover that in chapter 39. And then the last Adam and new creation. And then the final one, the bridegroom and the bride.

Are there any more that you can think of? All you scholars out there? Nothing else? There are things that are individually called out in our relationship. He brought this to the church, which is the body whole. There are a lot of different relationships that are called out between God and individuals. So, I want to make that distinction. What he's calling out here is just between God and, or Christ, and the church as a whole. Individually, there's a whole bunch of other ones.

You know, if you look at Lewisbury Chafer's actually, his 34 things that you get immediately when you believe. If you look at that list that he compiled, which I encourage you to do too, if you just start meditating upon just a few of those things, it'll change you.

As I always say, do you believe this? We go through a lot of these topics and then I ask, do you believe it? Because some of the things you just talk about, we talk about the bride and the bridegroom when we get to that. Do you really understand that and what that means, the intimacy of that?

And when you look at the 34 things on the individual side, there are some amazing things. We're called children of God immediately, and this is, through Lewis Perry Chase, there's 34 things he just documented. And there's another list that's, I forget, 120 some odd. It's 200, I forget the number.

And these are things that are usually positionally true of you immediately when you become a believer. But some of the other ones I just pulled out, you know, children of God, we're children of God, do you believe that? You're a child of God. What about you're an adopted adult child of God? And that's out of Romans 8, 15 and 23 in Galatians 4, 5 through 7. We're his inheritance. Ephesians 1, 8, 18, excuse me.

Heavenly Citizens, Philippians 3.20, Ephesians 2.19, Hebrews 12.22, Luke 10.20.

Citizens, you know, for some of us, We get excited about politics, but I'm always drawn back by where is our citizenship. I try and equate politics to watching a football game now. I root them on and do all this, but it means nothing in the scheme of things, in the eternal scheme of things. I get excited like watching the football game yesterday for a little bit of time. I get excited about it, but it means nothing. We aren't going to have elections and campaigns and things where we are. We're not going to have all this. We're not going to have big debates. We're not going to have all this stuff where we are from.

So when you put that in perspective, that really helps get through a lot of the stuff we're seeing today in our society, in our world, in our country, all these different things. Because we're not from around here. We're sojourners. We're visitors. We're ambassadors to this world. Because our citizenship's in heaven.

We're complete in Him, Colossians 2.10.

Do you believe you're complete? You know, my hips a little bad, my knees... Are you complete in Him? In our thoughts. We're complete in Him. Just in our thoughts? Well, not in your hip. Well, I'm just... You know, if you worry about my hip, my knees, whatever, I'm complete in Him. Everything that I need is in Him. You know, whether I'm hobble around here or whatever, I'm complete in Him.

There's nothing more that I need. And so, I just want to go over these things that are individual. We're talking about in this lesson things that are the relationship between Christ and the Church. So again, just the distinction, because there's a whole lot of things that are individually talked about in our relationship between Christ and us. But this is with the church.

The first one of these seven is the shepherd and the sheep. If you look, the sheep of your pasture, speaking of the Old Testament, is of Israel and the Jews. If you look at that scripture, Psalm 74.1, It says, Oh God, why have you rejected us forever? Why does your anger smoke against the sheep of your pasture?

Who's he talking to? Jews. Okay. And so it's the sheep of your pasture. and then the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. And that's in Psalm 95, verse 7, where it says, For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Again, who is he talking about? Jews. Israel. Jews. Israel in the Old Testament was of a different fold of the flock of sheep.

Now, all you ranchers, Do you know the difference between a fold and a flock? Yes. Isn't the fold where they're kept and the flock is the sheep themselves. The fold is where they stay in the enclosure. Yeah. And it's typically the fold is a small, smaller unit of the flock. So a fold is an individual. And it can be used almost synonymously. The fold is where you have the open gate or where they were kept. But usually that's a smaller subsection or subset of the flock. Because there can be many folds of the flock. The flock is the one main group. So Israel was talked about as a fold. Basically, it's a fold of the flock of God's sheep. Today, how many folds or flocks are there? How many flocks are there? Many. Well, how many does God see? One. One. One flock. Okay?

So, and we see that if we read in John 10, if you go through 16 through 18, it says, actually through, I think I went through 16. It says, I am the good shepherd, and I know my own, and mine own know me, even as the father knows me, and I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep, which are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will hear my voice, and they will become one flock with one shepherd." So who are those other sheep?

That's us. It's us? And who is us? The church. Huh? The church, but specifically? In Christ. Huh? In Christ. I guess what I'm looking for was the first fold we talked about was the Jews. The second flock that was brought in that was not part of it originally was Gentiles. Okay. So I have other sheep which are not of this fold. I like this.

I must bring them also. and they will hear my voice and they will become one flock and one shepherd. Basically, all the parable of John 10, 1 through 17 speaks of a loving, caring, protecting shepherd who would lay down his life for the sheep or the people.

And the thing I like is who know him intimately. You know, I get, you know, a lot of you know that. I mean, I like the intimacy of God. I think as you, and this probably stems back to Mike when I first met him, and I've told this many times, when you go to read God's Word, don't go to read facts, go to know Him. It's a relationship. And again, that changed the way I look at the Bible.

I look to see how the intimacy that I have with Christ, I look at who He is, because if I know who He is, who do I know? I know Him, but who else do I know? You. Me, in Christ. And if I don't know Him, how do I know who I am in Christ? So, you know, it changed the way I read the Bible, literally. Because if I look at it, I'm seeing who Christ is and how He sets up the church, the body, and the intimacy with Him. As I get that intimacy, I get to know who I am. And I can rest, I can relax. I know that's nothing of me. It's the intimacy that I just... So when I see this sheep of the shepherd and he's willing to lay down his life, how much more care or loving can you have than to lay down your life for someone? So I like this analogy.

And then B, you probably all know, Psalm 23.1. What is that?

I shall not want. Exactly. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He is the one shepherd of the one flock. I shall not want. Again, I just like the intimacy of this. So in a sense, are we also the sheep of this David? Yeah, we're the sheep of his flock. One flock. And you just see the care.

And you can get in, I think it's in the John 1 through 17 passage, where you get into the hireling would not lay down his life, but the shepherd would. And again, just showing the intimacy that we have, that care, that loving, that he was willing to give his life. Did he give his life for us? Yes, he did. So the analogy is there. I mean, the shepherd laid down his life for the flock.

All right, the vine and the branches. Again, we've been over that. I'll read it, John 15, 1 through 5. I am the true vine, and my father is the vine dresser. Every branch that does not bear fruit he will take away, and every branch that bears fruit he prunes it so it may bear more fruit. You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. Abide in me. and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing."

Again, do you remember what the pruning means? The pruning, what does that mean? Does that mean we're cut off if we're not producing? Remember what? No, well this pruning, it's a horrible translation. It's a horrible translation. Do you remember what it actually means? That you learn more? No. It doesn't mean cut off the excesses that you don't need. No, the actual word, nobody remembers that? We went through this. What that means? It doesn't mean like, do you remember? No, I don't. You never went through that.

It's what a vine dresser does. If it's not producing, the vine is on the ground. Oh, you groom it. You lift it up. It's to lift up. Put it back on the, you know how vines are lifted up and off the ground? That pruning, the word evidently is not prune, like cut. It's to lift up. And our Greek scholar can probably find that. But it was a horrible translation. Because everybody goes, oh, if I'm not producing. And it meant to lift up. So we've been through that. And so when you read that, especially in the New American Standard, it's, you know, I don't know. Does King James have that as prune? Is that who has New King or the end of the year? Other translations? That's John 15, correct? 10, whatever it is. 15, 1 through 5. Yeah, 15, yes. And where is it? King James says, purges it. Purges it? Purges it. OK. Yeah. It's not yet. 15, 2. Yeah. Purges? Yeah. Again, not great translations.

And so again, it's to lift up. And it was what the vine dresser does. He basically takes the non-producing vine that's on the ground and he lifts it up. So it'll produce. So again, just... Those are kind of a... My new living translation says he cuts off every branch of vine that doesn't produce fruit. Well, I mean... You say he lifts it up. to produce, yeah, puts it back on the trellis to be able to grow.

Really, I thought we've been through this a bunch of times. Are you a Greek scholar? Are you looking up the word? You know, I was going to, but the upgrade to iOS blew out my entire Olive Tree. I just found that out. That did mine too. I have to re-download it. That did me too. Sorry, all of us who got the new Apple new operating system, it purged. It purged. It pruned it. It definitely pruned it. No, so you lost yours too. I lost mine too, but my BibleSoft one is still here.

Yeah, just found that out. Anyway, you can look it up, but it's a horrible translation. Everybody uses that. If you're worried about salvation, it's, you know, oh gee, I've got to do, I've got to do, I've got to go, I've got to do everything, or I'm going to get pruned. So look that up. Like I said, it's horrible translations, but the actual word is for lifting up. And it makes sense.

That's what the vine dresser did. If a vine was on the ground and it wasn't producing, you lifted it back up, put it on the trellis, or the vine, or the line, and it would produce. So, again, just kind of a side bullet. Again, just as you go through that, the vine and the branches.

I am the true vine, and my father is the vinedresser. Abide in me, and I in you, as a branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine, so neither can you unless you abide in me. I am the vine, you're the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he bears much fruit. For apart from me, and you can do nothing.

What does all this show? That we need Christ. We need Christ? There are a lot of words in there that show up in what we get into John 17, but what is... That we are nothing without Him. Nothing without Him? That we are connected to Him. Connected to Him?

Again, what's my big word? Intimacy. Not prone. You're back. You're back. Intimacy. Abide in me. Apart from me. What does it all do? It links. It connects. It gives us that intimacy. Abide in me. Again, I just go to these things. Do you believe that? Do you do that? Do you abide in it? What does abide mean? Rest. Rest in him. Abide? But I don't do that all the time. You know, I mean, you get separated because you're busy. You know about stupid stuff if you think about it. Yeah, I mean, we're in the world but not out of the world.

It's like pray without ceasing. What does that mean? Constantly pray. So are you praying right now? I pray when I drive. I pray all the time, yeah. And we do too. I mean when you talk to God, I talk to God when I'm gardening, but is that what you call that frame?

Yeah, anytime hanging out with Him, I think is abiding with Him, is the fellowship with Him. It's not that you're 24-7 having to be. We have to function in this world, but it's functioning as who we are in Christ. You're understanding who you are in Christ and how you relate in the world. It's the intimate time.

I talk with God all the time. I'm just always thinking of Him, relating, thinking different things about Him. The intimacy as I know more about Him, I think the world becomes less and less important to me. Don't you think, Eve, when you look at the mountains or you're up there looking for leaves, and it's so glorious, it's an essence of prayer. I hope Mike listens to this tape.

I agree totally. And if you look at Romans 1, we see God through creation, or without excuse. And I agree with that. The flip side of that is, can you learn anything about Christ from looking at that beautiful scenery? Well, no, you can't actually. And that's the point. You know that there's a God and that He's powerful and He's created and He's done all this. You see that. You understand that. But you don't, through creation, see Christ's salvation. No. I do the same thing. I scuba dive. And I remember saying, man, it's so cool when you're down there.

I see God's handiwork. I mean, to see a fish that is just, you know, unbelievably colorful or just perfect. It looks like a rock, you know. I mean, you see all these different corals or you see, like I said, fish that are, you know, grooming another fish, you know, and just all these things. I'm like, man, that is God's handiwork.

Well, Mike gives me grief. Yeah, you're looking at this dead world, this dying world. So I agree. You see God's power in it. And Romans tells us that. Romans 1 tells us that. But it doesn't give us anything about salvation through Christ. But it shows that there is a God and he's powerful. And I think it shows, as I put, he could have made this whole world great. Just bleh. But we see colors, we see beautiful sunsets, we see the fall colors, we see fish, we see amazing things. I think that shows God just how marvelous he is. That he's not just a gray, drab, far away entity. self here. There isn't anything that re-elaborates on that.

So you'd really have to know some other study techniques or know your Greek or something. It's in the Greek. It's in the Greek. You know, when you look at that word in the Greek, if you got it, but Zodiatis, if you're looking at Zodiatis or some of that, it'll expand on that. But like I said, it's become a horrible translation. And it's led to a lot of problems. Because people think you can lose your salvation. It leads to, I've got to get busy. I've got to produce fruit.

When I used to have Bible studies with Hal, there used to be a guy that taught on Thursdays versus Hal. And he would talk about how if you go up into Alaska, like people would get up there where almost no one can get to, and it would be melting, and there would be these beautiful little flowers blossoming. No one would ever see that. He said that's just still glorifying. Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I mean, yeah. I mean, again, it just shows God's, you know, amazing creation. It is a dying world, but it shows again in His creation that it wasn't just gray.

Alright, we should get on here. The cornerstone and the stones of the building. This shows a contrast between the Old Testament, which had a physical temple, and that we are now God's temple. In the Old Testament, if you look at Exodus 25, verse 8, it says, Let them construct a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell among them. So that was the command. Let them construct a sanctuary for me, that I may dwell among them. In the New Testament, in Ephesians 2, 21 and 22, it says, In whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Notice the difference we have. In the Old Testament, the temple was built that God may dwell among them.

Remember only once a year, what happened? Once a year in the Old Testament, what happened? Priests went in. One guy, one priest, one time, went behind curtain number three and offered the sacrifices for all of Israel. One time, one guy. So, what was it? God dwelt in the building, right? Okay, what is different now? Or the building.

Do we have to wait for one guy, one time, once a year? No. No. Because who are we? We are the devil. So we don't have to wait. It's a completely different scenario this time. So again, it was not all the people back in the Old Testament. It was one guy now. Back then, it wasn't a personal, intimate relationship.

As New Testament believers, we are living stones, if you look at 1 Peter 2.5, creating the actual dwelling place or temple of God in the Spirit.

The important aspects of the building is that Christ is the cornerstone and the foundation. We'll go through these bullets. Christ is a foundation stone. No man may lay a foundation other than Jesus Christ. So what is the prime? I'm an engineer. What do you have to have in a building that's really important? Foundation.

And then if you look, this chief cornerstone was a prime or precious, we'll see in other verses, a precious stone. It's the cornerstone. Usually it's kind of interesting, what happens on a cornerstone in a building now? Do you know what happens on a cornerstone? They like stamp it or put a date. Yeah, that's kind of the important one. It says this building was built on XY by Billy Bob and whoever else. To man's glory. To man's glory.

The cornerstone now that we have is called a choice or precious stone. So it's not just your basic stone. And it forms the cornerstone. That's the important corner or that of the foundation. The key is the foundation. The foundation is Christ. If we built on anything else, what do we got? Wood, hay, stubble. Wood, hay, stubble. It's going down.

So, Christ is a precious cornerstone, 1 Peter 2.6.

Each stone in the building is itself a living stone. You also are as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God. So, what does it mean to be a living stone? Do you feel like a living stone this morning? I just feel like a stone this morning. I'm that qualifier. A living stone. What does it mean to be a living stone? To be a part of Christ. That we are in Christ. Okay, we're in Christ. A living stone.

I was gone for a while and I came back and I have a lovely little golden cross on the door. I live in a condominium. You know, I came back and It was gone. It was pulled from a thing and gone, you know. So I put a note on it this week when I came back and I said that to you who I would appreciate the return of this small golden cross. But if not, do yourself a favor and take to heart the message that it represents.

So that's kind of my... What are we representing? Christ. We are His temple, where He dwells. So a living stone is somebody who is part of this body, this building, who represents Christ, built on the foundation of Christ. But it's kind of weird that you think of yourself as a living stone. That's kind of an odd thing, at least as I was going through this. Again, do you believe that you are the dwelling place of God in the Spirit?

Ephesians 2.22. The whole structure is a habitation of God. The whole building is growing into a holy temple in the Lord. You also being built together into a dwelling of God. Do you feel like you are the dwelling place of God this morning? Yes. You? Good. You should. Thank you.

You know, and I think a lot of times we don't. I mean, when I got up this morning and it was early, I'm a late nighter. That early morning stuff, you know, that God is dwelling in me at that point, I've got to remember that. Because it's awfully hard at early morning for me to think that I am the dwelling place of God.

I like what Schaefer says, In the figure of the building, the dependence of each believer upon Christ as the foundation and chief cornerstone is evident, and the stones of the building likewise reveal the interdependence of believers with the building as the whole temple of God through the Spirit. in the figure of the building, the dependence of each believer upon Christ. So we have dependence upon Christ as the foundation chief cornerstone is evident. And the stones of the building likewise reveal interdependence of believers with the building as a whole, as a whole the temple of God through the Spirit. I kind of like that.

We're dependent upon Christ, but what about amongst believers? I felt like Briggs. Laid up. What if four bricks over here are gone? We have interdependence upon it ourselves. I mean, as believers, and again with the body concept, as you look at the body concept too, you know, if you're a finger and I'm a heel and you're a knee and a hip and whatever, we all need to be there. We're interdependent. On each other, you mean? We live each other?

And this goes to fellowship that's called out, you know, Acts 2.42. You know, we're to fellowship.

I think there's a lot of interdependence. So we're building together. Well, our whole dependence is on Christ, but there's, I think, interdependence among believers as living stones. Yeah, I think it's so important too then to go to church on Sundays because you get the fellowship and if you've fallen off then you can get back because you're with like-minded people. I think we support each other. Yeah, that's a better word. But I don't mean legalistic, you don't have to come every... No, no, no. Just Wednesdays. Just Wednesdays. Tuesday man said he had to be there, but other than that, no. Alright, the high priest and the kingdom of priests.

Christ is our High Priest, and we see that in Hebrews 10, 5 and 10, 4, 14, and 9, 24. So also Christ did not glorify himself, so he has become a High Priest, being designated by God as a High Priest according to the order of Melchizedek. Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, for Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us." So, a lot on the high priest.

I'm going to try and get through this a little bit, because I want to hit the last bullet when we're getting it tight here. Every believer is a priest unto God. Do you believe that? Say that again. Every believer is a priest unto God. Do you feel like you're a priest unto God? No. You should. You should.

Do you guys know Melchizedek and what that means? You've probably been through it a bunch. Does everybody know Melchizedek? He's pretty old. He's an old guy. So do you know what Melchizedek, who he represented? Best way I'd put it, he was a king and a priest. And you look through the Old Testament, there are priests and there are kings. So Melchizedek was a king and a priest. And Christ could not be, he was not on the Levitical side, so he couldn't be a priest under that lineage. But he is a king and a priest. So that's under the order of Melchizedek. Anyway, so we're believer, we're believer-priest. Let me see if I can get through this. If you look also, every believer is a priest under God. And if you look at the 1 Peter 2, 5 section. 1 Peter 2, 9.

But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, so that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who has called you out of darkness into this marvelous light. Again, I always ask the question, do you feel like a chosen race, a royal priesthood? When you woke up at 6 this morning or 7 this morning or whenever, did you wake up and think that you were a royal priest?

Why is he a higher order than the Levites? Because I believe the king and the priest, they were just priests. He was a king and a priest. That's why he goes under that order. And he couldn't be under the Levitical one, but the higher order was he was a king and a priest, is my understanding of it. Because the Levitical was only priest, you're of the line. But he was a king and a priest. Again, the chapter states that a believer priest has a fourfold sacrifice, presenting himself to God, service of worship and giving praise and thanksgiving to God, the sacrifice of good works, and the sacrifice of sharing.

You see that in Hebrews 13 and 16. I want to go ahead. The last Adam and a new creation. This is all about identification. Who are we identified with now? Christ, who is called the Last Adam. Okay. See how much I want to go. Okay, we'll go, you know, basically the 1 Corinthians 15 section.

So also it is written, the first man, Adam, became a living soul. The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. However, the spiritual is not first, but the natural, then the spiritual. The first man is from the earth, earthly. The second man is from heaven. As is the earthly, so also are those who are earthy. As is the heavenly, so also are those who are heavenly. Just as we have borne the image of the earthy, we will also bear the image of the heavenly. Again, contrasting the first Adam and the last Adam, the new creation. All believers are a new creation in Christ. And you can look at the 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Ephesians verses. Again, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is what?

Not a dusted off, better Adam. Revised. Fixed up the hips, the knees, the ankles. He's dusted off. Now he can fulfill the law. Is that what it is? That's what many books and churches would maybe believe. And that's why I said the identification truths, I think, are the key. Because I don't think you understand grace until you understand this concept about a co-crucifixion. Adam was removed. co-crucified. Positionally, at the cross, we were co-crucified with Christ.

And we are now a new creation. And it's the kynos, is the new, qualitatively new, as contrasted with neos, which is temporarily new, the Greek words. New as opposed to old, or former, and hence implying better, because it is different. So it's a completely new creature. You are not a dusted off, better atom. You are a new creature in Christ. That's a key point in identification.

And that you understand that. Because otherwise you're still struggling to try and make Adam better. A lot of people feel that now that you're a believer, now you can fulfill the law. That just allows you, in Adam, to fulfill the law. Totally incorrect. One, are we under the law anymore? No. You know, and I look at that, and there's so many scriptures that say that, and yet people always want to put us under the law, which is the old Adam, because that's how Adam functions, is under the law. It was for the flesh. For all you who baptize in Christ and close yourselves to Christ, for you are all one in Christ. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ for good works. So He Himself might make the two into one new man. Okay?

I want to get to this one, because the intimacy of this one just, you know, maybe April when she just got married, or I remember long, long, long time ago. You know, when I came around, I came down the aisle, and then I looked, and when Ingrid came around and came down the aisle, that was amazing. That was like nothing else.

The bride and the bridegroom, the intimacy that is shown there in a marriage is incredible. And now you transpose us into, we are the bride of Christ, who is the bridegroom. You know, Christ is the bridegroom. We are the bride. I mean, how more intimate of a relationship than you can portray than that? And do you believe that? I mean, and of all the figures, the six that we've gone through and this one, this is the only one that's prophetic. It's going to happen. Has the marriage happened? Yes? Chickens. Chickens. All of you. Chickens.

It will come when He gets us. The marriage will happen after He comes. The rapture. Actually, looking at Scripture, it looks like the marriage happens right before the return of Christ for the Millennial Kingdom. We'll have the marriage feast. So, this is the only one of the seven relationships between Christ and the body that is to happen in the future. We are the bride, and he is the bridegroom, but the marriage will not happen until after we are raptured and before the millennial kingdom happens, if you look at the revelation scriptures.

But again, I just think, you know, I keep trying to, I don't know how else I can say it, just understand, if you begin to understand just a few of these concepts, do you feel like the bride of Christ? Christ, God of the universe, You are the bride? Wow. You think, when you're married and your spouse comes down the aisle, and what amazing that is, wait till we have the marriage with Christ.

I kind of feel like he's the husband and the caretaker, you know. That I go back almost to the vine dresser. The vine dresser is the one that kind of props us up, keeps us going. I look at this as just intimate relationship. He wants to have an eternal, intimate relationship with us. And it's like no other relationship that you can think of.

This is the God of the universe. When you start contemplating all these intimacies, God is just desiring us to be with Him, to share His glory. I implore you, look at John 17, the real Lord's Prayer, and you look at the intimacy there, Him, us and Him. It's God and Christ, Christ and us, all of us together.

It's this intimate relationship that He wants to share His glory. He wants to have this intimate relationship with us. Man, that puts everything in perspective. You know, all these politics and all the stuff that we get wrapped up in and finances and cars and whatever.

You know, our citizenship's in heaven. We're going to have an eternal relationship with the God of the universe that is beyond all intimacy that we can even contemplate. That's how you get that peace that surpasses all understanding. That's how you get rest. That's how you get all these things. If you understand these things as intimacy, all the stuff that goes on in your life, it doesn't matter.

It's because we have that intimacy, that relationship that will be eternal with God. And again, I put all this in, God loves us, so even the trials that he brings through us are to what? Draw us to him. He wants that intimacy. We're the ones going, uh-uh, and going the other way. Why do we do that? It's the old man. We take our focus off of him to this and we walk away. The more we have that intimate fellowship, it is so, I mean, the world All right, we need to close.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for this time. Father, again, we just thank you for any time we can get together and study your Word. We thank you for just all you've shown as a body of believers, the intimacy that we have with you as a group, a sheep, a building. a bride, all these different things that you've shown that show just the intimacy that you have with us and want to have with us in fellowship. And this will be eternal. And we just thank you for that. We thank you for what that means to us now and through eternity. Father, we just uplift Vern as he gives us a message upstairs. We just pray for him. Prepare our hearts to receive it. Father, we just thank you for this day. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.