Until The Conversion Into What Has Been Purchased

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:13,14)

redeem - to buy or pay off; to recover by payment; TO CONVERT INTO (as defined, in part, by Webster's College Dictionary)

"In Him you also, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is (that "sealing") the down payment of our inheritance (Paul, Peter, John, James etc.) until the conversion in your hearts into that which has been paid for by Jesus Christ, to the praise of His glory." (An amplification of Ephesians 1:13,14)

Now, the inheritance. "In Him also we have (P,P,J,J etc.) OBTAINED an inheritance, being predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who first trusted in Christ should be to the praise of His glory." (Ephesians 1:11,12)

God the Father had made known to them the mystery of His will. Jesus Christ: what He is, what was the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints is the exceeding great reward. They had become perfect and complete (James 1:2,3) in understanding and persevering in it.

Go Out Into The Plain

"Then the hand of the Lord was upon me there, and He said to me, 'Arise, go out into the plain, and THERE I SHALL TALK WITH YOU.'  So I arose and went out into the plain, and behold, the glory of the Lord stood there, like the glory which I saw at the River Chebar; and I fell on my face." (Ezekiel 3:22,23)

"Will I not in that day, says the Lord, even destroy the wise men from Edom, and understanding from the MOUNTAINS OF ESAU? Then your mighty men, O Teman, shall be dismayed to the end that everyone from the MOUNTAINS OF ESAU may be cut off by slaughter." (Obadiah v.8,9)

"This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit,' says the Lord of hosts. 'Who are you, O GREAT MOUNTAIN? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain! And he shall bring forth the capstone with shouts of 'Grace, grace to it!' " (Zechariah 4:6,7)

"And he went into all the region around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, as it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet, saying: 'The voice of one crying in the wilderness; prepare the way of the Lord; make His paths straight, every valley shall be filled and EVERY MOUNTAIN AND HILL BROUGHT LOW; the crooked places shall be made straight, and the rough ways smooth; and all flesh see the salvation of God.' "(Luke 3:3-6)

The "mountains of Esau" describe an attitude of unrepentant confidence in the flesh; a carnal mind. Esau and his descendants, the Edomites, wanted no part of the testimony of Jacob and his descendants, the Israelites. What the Father was showing Jacob and his descendants to do was to go out into the plain: free from ambiguity and evasion(Malachi 3:17,18). If we allow the Father, through faith in Jesus Christ by the Spirit of Christ to show us the way to leave this mountain behind and go out into the plain, there He will show us how to ascend, with Him, on Mount Zion, where "there shall be deliverance (or salvation), and there shall be holiness." (Obadiah v.17)

" My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."(2 Corinthians 12:9)

Hedging With The Son Of God

hedge - to mitigate a possible loss by counterbalancing; to avoid commitment by evasive statements (two of many definitions in Webster's College
Dictionary)

"Then they came to Jerusalem. And as He was walking in the temple, the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders came to Him. And they said to Him, 'By what authority are You doing these things (Mark 11:15-17)? And who gave You this authority to do these things?' But Jesus answered and said to them, 'I also will ask you one question; then answer Me, and I will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John--was it from heaven or from men? Answer Me'. And THEY REASONED AMONG THEMSELVES, saying, 'If we say, "From heaven", He will say, Why then did you not believe him? But if we say, "From men" ' --they feared the people, for all counted John to have been a prophet indeed. So they answered and said to Jesus, 'WE DO NOT KNOW.' And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.' "(Mark 11:27-33)

There could have been a much better result to come from their confrontation. Jesus, by the Spirit of Christ, knew their hearts--that they had not been willing to receive the baptism of John: the baptism of repentance toward God, making themselves ready to receive Israel's Messiah. Reasoning amongst themselves and fearing the people resulted in less, rather than more, of Him. Jesus goes on to explain, by the Parable of the Wicked Vinedressers (Mark 12:1-11) what judgement they were approaching. These men were making friends for themselves, by unrighteousness, with those whose eternal home is not heaven, nor can ever be.

We Must Esteem Him

"Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried away our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted." (Isaiah 53:1-4)

"But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."(Isaiah 53:5)

If we find ourselves consistently transgressing (violating His commands), iniquitous (involved in gross wickedness or injustice), restless and/or sick, we must consider that we are not esteeming Him as we should. The reconciliation of these things comes through faith in Jesus Christ, believing. We must understand and partake worthily of communion with Him.

"O you afflicted one, tossed with tempest, and not comforted. Behold, I WILL LAY your stones with colorful gems, and lay your foundations with sapphires. I WILL MAKE your pinnacles of rubies, your gates of crystal, and your walls of precious stones. All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children. In righteousness you shall be established; you shall be far from oppression for you shall not fear; and from terror, for it shall not come near you. Indeed they shall surely assemble, but not because of Me. Whoever assembles against you shall fall for your sake." (Isaiah 54:11-15)

The most recent study discussed 'a made man is assured of success'. IT IS ALL in the making! We will remain unmade and bothered if we hide our faces from Him.

 

A Made Man Is Assured Of Success!

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were MADE through Him, and without Him nothing was MADE that was MADE. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend (overcome) it." (John 1:1-5)

"There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was MADE through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (MADE OF GOD). And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:6-14)

made- assured of success (one of seven definitions for this word in Webster's College Dictionary)

I could say that all things were assured of success through Him; not just anything would be assured of success, but that which has been assured, could be, only through Him.

What things? "For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified."(Romans 8:29,30)

The people that inhabit the earth have been "assured of success" because of, through, with and in Jesus Christ. They are more likely to see if we, who are predestined and called, also are justified and glorified through faith in Jesus Christ, believing.

Sparing Not The Son(s)

"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things? Who shall bring a charge (to ask as a price or fee; to lay a command or injunction upon; to fill or refill so as TO MAKE READY FOR USE) against God's elect (v.29,30)? It is God who justifies! Who is he who condemns? (to judge or pronounce to be unfit for use or service). It is Christ who died and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written: 'For Your sake we are killed all day long; We are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.' Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us." (Romans 8:32-37)

Notice! We are more than conquerors THROUGH Him who loved us. He can/will show us what that means. Who brings the charge? God who justifies! Who is he who condemns? Christ who died! We know that there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1) 

Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword separate us from the love of Christ? You ask yourself that! At what price will you turn away? These THINGS (Romans 8:28) come to separate us from He who is HEAD of ALL THINGS to the church, which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all (these things; Ephesians 1:22,23); and have, and will depending upon what we say to them! (Romans 8:31)

God charges us, bringing the requirement. Jesus Christ shows us the way, the truth and the life IN ALL THESE THINGS! Assuredly, by the Holy Spirit, we know when we are fit for the Master's use. If unfit or unready, our heart, by the same Holy Spirit, condemns us. 

(Definitions within initial paragraph are from Webster's College Dictionary)

Don't Take Your Own Supper Ahead Of...

"Now in giving these instructions I do not praise you, since you come together not for the better but for the worse. For first of all, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you and in part I believe it. For there must be factions among you, that those who are approved may be recognized among you. Therefore (regarding those unapproved factions) when you come together in one place, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper. For in eating, EACH ONE TAKES HIS OWN SUPPER AHEAD OF others; and one is hungry and another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and shame those you have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you in this? I do not praise you. For I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus on the same night in which He was betrayed took bread; and when He had given thanks, He broke it and said, 'Take, eat; this is My body which is broken for you; do this in remembrance of Me.' In the same manner He also took the cup after supper, saying, 'This cup is the new covenant in My blood. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.' For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord's death till He comes."  

(1 Corinthians 11:17-26)

"Therefore, whoever eats this bread or drinks this cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup. For he who eats and drinks in an unworthy manner eats and drinks judgement to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. For this reason many are weak and sick among you, and many sleep. For if we would judge ourselves, we would not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened by the Lord, that we may not be condemned with the world. THEREFORE, MY BRETHREN, WHEN YOU COME TOGETHER TO EAT, WAIT FOR ONE ANOTHER. BUT IF ANYONE IS HUNGRY, LET HIM EAT AT HOME, LEST YOU COME TOGETHER FOR JUDGEMENT." 

(1 Corinthians 11:27-34)

Very important that the church, when we come together, be led by the words of our Master. He told His disciples that they should speak to that which impedes the receiving of His words. (Mark 11:20-26) With the removing of the impediment, the Living Bread, which He was, and is, which the Father made recognizable to man through the life of Jesus Christ, ministers to the hearts of the approved and gives the unapproved the opportunity to receive. Why would Paul admonish the church to wait for one another? There are those who, by reason of use, are ready to receive when they arrive at church. There are those who arrive unprepared, very busy with the cares of this world. At the last supper Jesus had with His disciples, He reminded them that His body was food indeed. Babies cannot receive solid food yet they must learn to accommodate it, one bite at a time.

When you enter the meeting place, speak to the mountain to remove it so you may receive that next bite of Living Bread. The church is a place where we are to learn to discern the Living Bread. Other foods/drinks should be consumed elsewhere.