GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE: CHRIST & HIS BRIDE

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Howard Barker
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1 I. INTRODUCTION GOD'S ETERNAL PURPOSE: CHRIST & HIS BRIDE (No /1/15 - NLC) A. God is eternal 1. Deut. 33:27: The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. 2. Isa. 57:15: For this is what the high and lofty One says He who lives forever [lit. inhabits eternity NKJV], whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and lowly in spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly and to revive the heart of the contrite. 3. Ps. 93:2: Your throne was established long ago; You are from all eternity. 4. Ps. 90:2: Before the mountains were born or you brought forth the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting You are God. B. We celebrate eternal life through Christ 1. John 3:16; 17: Thess. 4:16-17 C. God s kingdom (2 Pet. 1:11) & judgment (Heb. 6:2) are eternal D. God s plans are eternal 1. We often quote Jer. 29:11, saying, God has a plan for your life true, but He has BIGGER PLANS (we need to zoom out to see the big picture! 2. Ps. 33:10-11: 10 The LORD foils the plans of the nations; He thwarts the purposes of the peoples. 11 But the plans of the LORD stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through ALL generations. 3. Eph. 3:2-11: 2 Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly. 4 In reading this, then, you God's Eternal Purpose - Christ & His Bride.doc 1

2 will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to men in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God's holy apostles and prophets 7 I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God's grace given me through the working of His power. 8 Although I am less than the least of all God's people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to make plain to everyone the administration of this mystery, which for ages past was kept hidden in God [NOTE: the mystery of God s purpose already existed ages ago!], who created all things. 10 His intent was that now, through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms, 11 according to HIS ETERNAL PURPOSE which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord. 4. Prov. 29:18 (KJV): Where there is no vision the people perish. 5. Rom. 16:25-27: 25 Now to Him who is able to establish you by my gospel and the proclamation of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, 26 but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all nations might believe and obey Him 27 to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen John 2:12-14: 12 I write to you, dear children, because your sins have been forgiven on account of His name. 13 I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you have overcome the evil one. I write to you, dear children, because you have known the Father. 14 I write to you, fathers, because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one. a) 3 levels: children, young men, fathers b) The church needs fathers who have a revelation of the eternal God & His eternal purpose for the church 2 God's Eternal Purpose - Christ & His Bride.doc

3 II. GOD S ETERNAL PURPOSE: ADAM & EVE (GEN. 2) A. Gen. 1:1 In the beginning But there was something BEFORE the beginning: God & His eternal purpose B. Gen. 1-2 amazingly similar to Rev : paradise (no sin, curse or death), tree & river of life, and a MARRIAGE: Adam & Eve 4 chapters are like the covers of a book around the other 1,185 chapters! C. Gen. 2:7-17: 7 The LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there He put the man He had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters 15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die. D. Adam needed a mate comparable to or like him (Gen. 2:18-20): 18 The LORD God said, It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for [ comparable to NKJV] him. 19 Now the LORD God had formed out of the ground all the beasts of the field and all the birds of the air. He brought them to the man to see what he would name them; and whatever the man called each living creature, that was its name. 20 So the man gave names to all the livestock, the birds of the air and all the beasts of the field. But for Adam no suitable helper was found. E. Gen. 2:21-25: 21 So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, He took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. 22 Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib He had taken out of the man, and He brought her to the man. 23 The man said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man. 24 For this God's Eternal Purpose - Christ & His Bride.doc 3

4 reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh. 25 The man and his wife were both naked, and they felt no shame. F. NOTE: This all occurred BEFORE the fall (Gen. 3) or redemption! III. THE 2 ND ADAM & HIS BRIDE (EPH. 5) A. Eph. 1:3-14: 3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For He chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love 5 He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with His pleasure and will 6 to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has freely given us in the One He loves. 7 In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace 8 that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. 9 And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ. 11 In Him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of Him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of His will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of His glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ WHEN you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession to the praise of His glory. B. *Pray for revelation: Eph. 1:17-18 (Paul prayed FIRST before he tried to teach!); Luke 24:27, 32 C. (Eph. 3:9-11) D. Eph. 5:22-33: 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, His body, of which He is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her 26 to 4 God's Eternal Purpose - Christ & His Bride.doc

5 make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. 28 In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 After all, no one ever hated his own body, but he feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church 30 for we are members of His body. 31 For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh. 32 This is a profound mystery but I am talking about Christ and the church. 33 However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband. 1. This is not just good marriage counsel or a nice wedding sermon 2. Paul, by quoting Gen. 2:24, is saying that Adam & Eve are a picture of Christ & the Church a profound mystery! 3. God revealed His ultimate purpose BEFORE sin and the fall: Christ & His Bride! E. Just as there is a last (2 nd ) Adam [Adam = man ], so there is also a last (2 nd ) Eve (1 Cor. 15:44-49): 44 If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. 45 So it is written: The first man Adam became a living being ; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. 46 The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that the spiritual. 47 The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second Man from heaven. 48 As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the Man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. 49 And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the Man from heaven. F. The deep sleep of death came upon the last Adam (Christ) on the Cross, and from His pieced side (rib) came forth His Bride 1. Jesus is the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world (Rev. 13:8). 2. The woman (EVE) was IN ADAM; the Bride was IN CHRIST (Eph. 1:4) 3. The rib cage protects the heart; Christ poured out His heart, making Himself vulnerable to a world of lost sinners God's Eternal Purpose - Christ & His Bride.doc 5

6 G. 2 Cor. 11:2-3: 2 I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to Him. 3 But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent's cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ. 1. This Scripture eliminates any doubt those espoused to marry the last Adam, Jesus Christ, are His Eve 2. We must be kept as a pure virgin for Him IV. CONCLUSION A. We are blessed if He has called us to be His Bride, but there is a preparation 1. Rev. 19:6-9: 6 Then I heard what sounded like a great multitude, like the roar of rushing waters and like loud peals of thunder, shouting: Hallelujah! For our Lord God Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and be glad and give Him glory! For the wedding of the Lamb has come, and His bride has made herself ready. 8 Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. (Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints.) 9 Then the angel said to me, Write: Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb! And he added, These are the true words of God. 2. Eph. 5:25-27: 25 Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her 26 to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, 27 and to present her to Himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. B. Christ s Bride must be suitable for Him: LIKE HIM! 1. Rom. 8:28-29: 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose. 29 For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers Cor. 15:49: And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the Man from heaven. 6 God's Eternal Purpose - Christ & His Bride.doc

7 3. 2 Cor. 3:18: And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit John 3:1-3: 1 How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2 Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as He is pure. 5. Phil. 3:20-21: 20 But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who, by the power that enables Him to bring everything under His control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like His glorious body. C. Rev. 21:9-11: 9 One of the seven angels who had the seven bowls full of the seven last plagues came and said to me, Come, I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb. 10 And he carried me away in the Spirit to a mountain great and high, and showed me the Holy City, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God. 11 It shone with the glory of God, and its brilliance was like that of a very precious jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal. D. Rev. 22:7, 12, 17, 20: 7 Behold, I am coming soon! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy in this book. 12 Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. 17 The Spirit and the bride say, Come! And let him who hears say, Come! Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life. 20 He who testifies to these things says, Yes, I am coming soon. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. God's Eternal Purpose - Christ & His Bride.doc 7

SHOW US YOUR GLORY Part 5: Glorious Gospel, Glorious Church

SHOW US YOUR GLORY Part 5: Glorious Gospel, Glorious Church (No. 1110 - NLC) I. THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL A. The gospel that Paul and the other apostles preached was a gospel of glory 1. 2 Thess. 2:14: He called