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We are going to do something unusual tonight. We are going to do Ephesians, Chapter 1. Now we already have a message on Ephesians, Chapter 1. It is a message on which I exhorted you on Ephesians, Chapter 1, with absolutely no study. I may have looked up one or two words. The Lord led me back to it this time, and we are going to do it word by word with alternate translations. I prayed about it several times and I feel that the Lord wants me to do it. It is very possible that we are going to have a radically different message. I know one time I preached the message called Salvation, and we lost the recording. At the request of the congregation I repreached it. I know one of the disciples said, if that is the same message, it did not sound the same at all. You never know how it is going to come out. We will try it.
Ephesians, Chapter 1 Verse 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. The Greek word translated faithful means believing. I would like to point out to you that there is a doctrine of Christ, 2 John 1:9, which says whosoever transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the will of God. Let me remind you of our definition of an apostle. An apostle is anyone in whom Christ Jesus is manifesting. That is not the Holy Spirit now, but the engrafted word that is bringing forth the Christ child in your heart. The name of that Christ child is Christ Jesus. If he is manifesting in you; if he is thinking through you; if he is manipulating your body; if you are going where he is sending you; if you are saying what he is speaking through you; if you are thinking what he is thinking through you; you are an apostle. There are apostles of different degrees. There are very young apostles, junior apostles, and there are mature apostles. Jesus Christ in full stature was an apostle.
I know in the Church world it is commonly said that you are an apostle if you start churches. Well, I guess you could say that. Those who start churches in people are apostles. We have a whole message on that. I am not going to get into it. You are an apostle if Christ Jesus is manifesting in you. If Christ Jesus is manifesting in you, and your words are spirit, and your words are life, you are raising up human beings that are churches. What is a church? It is a temple for the Lord. Paul is an apostle because it is Christ speaking through him. That is what makes you an apostle. Then Paul said, there are signs of apostleship. He says you are the signs of my apostleship. If you are truly an apostle you have the spiritual authority to bring forth Christ in another human being. Another way of expressing that is spiritual fatherhood. Paul said, you are the proof that I am an apostle. Why? Because when I met you, you had the Holy Ghost, and now Christ is appearing in you, and you have been under my stewardship. That is what Paul said.
Alternate translation of Ephesians 1:1; Paul, the God appointed apostle of Jesus Christ writing to the holy ones at Ephesus, who believe in Jesus Christ. Paul is saying he is an apostle because God called him to be so. He is writing to the holy ones at Ephesus, and they are holy because God has ordained them to be in His body that he considers holy. Potentially, all of humanity is holy from what time? Since when is humanity potentially holy? Anybody know? Yes, since Jesus ascended and poured out from on high. When we did this study in Daniel 7, we found out God now calls humanity His holy ones, because it is just a matter of time until we are cleaned up. Until we are cleaned up, we are holy by faith. God calls us holy because the way God sees us is what we will become. To say that and believe that we are actually, in reality, experientially, holy now, is just foolishness. Let us get it together.
Ephesians 1:2 in the King James. Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. I have three scripture references for you on grace. Ephesians 2:5; Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved). Now we have talked about this several times. I suggest to you that the grace of God is the very Christ. The grace of God is Christ. He is that which is your ability to enter into every promise of God, and to stop sinning.
Ephesians 2:7; That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. The grace of God is Christ Jesus, Christ in you, the hope of glory. If Christ is not in you, you have not received the grace of God. If you have the Holy Ghost alone, you have not yet received the grace of God. The grace of God is Christ, not the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost points you to Christ, but he is not Christ. A sperm is your potential to bear a child, ladies, but the sperm alone is not the child.
Ephesians 4:7; But unto everyone of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ. But unto everyone of us is given grace. We are given Christ according to the measure of the gift of Christ. We are dealing with Ephesians 1:2. Grace be to you, and peace, from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Peace. Romans 16:20; And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen.
So when Paul says grace be to you and peace, he is saying let Christ be in you. That is what he is saying. Grace be to you and peace from God, our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Now if you have a King James Bible, please note that that word from is in italics. The word and; from our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. That Greek word translated and is Strong’s #2532 and it can also be translated also or even. I want to suggest to you that when I looked at this in the Greek, I found it to be saying, God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ are one. What it is saying is grace be unto you and peace from God our Father, even or the one who is the Lord Jesus Christ. So here is another hole being blown in the trinity. If you look at this in the Greek, it is saying God our Father, the Lord Jesus Christ. It is like saying your minister, Sheila Vitale. Glory to God. They are all one.
Now the Lord Jesus Christ is one and the same as the Father, so who is the Son? Who is the Son? Well, Jesus of Nazareth is not around anymore. We are the son. We are Christ Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ has returned on high. His river has flowed into the ocean of God, and when a river flows into an ocean, you cannot tell what water is from the river and what water is from the ocean. The Lord Jesus Christ is now the Father. The Son, Christ Jesus, is growing up in a group of human beings right now, and the Holy Ghost is who? He has a specific name. The Holy Ghost is the Glorified Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Father. The Holy Ghost is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Father, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost are all one. They are just different names.
The Lord Jesus Christ has ascended on high. His river flowed into the Father’s ocean and they are one. The Holy Ghost is the name that the Lord Jesus Christ takes when he enters into the heart of a man. His name changes. When the Holy Ghost gets inside of you, when the Lord Jesus Christ gets inside of you, his name changes to the Holy Ghost. Then the son is Christ Jesus, whom the Holy Ghost brings forth in your heart. So there is just the Father and the Son. The Father is the Spirit outside of a man, enters into your heart and reproduces Himself in your heart and you bear the son, the Christ child or the manchild of Revelation 12.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians Chapter 1:2. May grace be imparted to you and peace from God our Father, even the Lord Jesus Christ. So what it is really saying is may Christ Jesus be imparted unto you. That is what it is saying. May grace and peace, which is Christ Jesus, that is coming from God our Father, who is the Lord Jesus Christ, may he be imparted to you. May he be formed in your heart too. When Paul wrote this letter he was saying to the Ephesians, let Christ be formed in you. That was what he was saying.
Verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. The Greek word translated blessed can also be translated adored, to be caused to prosper, or to cause to kneel down. That is interesting. I know that we studied this on another message. To be caused to kneel down is the same word as blessing. What does that mean? It means that if you are a rebellious spiritual criminal, and Jesus Christ comes to you, and causes you in your rebellious, reprobate, wicked, evil condition, to kneel down, you are blessed. How does he get such a wicked person to kneel down? How does he do it? He beats them, man. He whips them until they are blue. My Bible says that if you find yourself under such a severe correction, you are blessed. It sounds like a contradiction, but it is not, because in submission to Christ is great blessing.
Still on verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. As I said, the word blessed can be translated adored, to be caused to prosper, or to cause to kneel down. The word heavenly in the Greek is plural. In the Greek it is heavenlies. The word places does not appear in the Greek, so the Interlinear or the Greek Text says, in the heavenlies in Christ Jesus. Let me give you the whole phrase. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. I want to suggest to you that Paul is speaking about the kingdom of the two heavens.
You may remember that we did a study on the kingdom of God as opposed to the kingdom of heaven. We found out that every time you look up the phrase the kingdom of heaven in the Greek, it really says the kingdom of heavens or the kingdom of the two heavens. Does anybody remember the difference between the kingdom of God and the Kingdom of the two heavens? Answer from congregation. Is the kingdom of God when you have got the mind of Christ and you are beginning to war? Is the two heavens when Christ is actually your mind? Well, that is close, but let me make it clearer. That is close.
The kingdom of God is the mind of Christ. You can have the kingdom of God and your carnal mind can still be functioning. In such an instance you are called a double minded man. You have two minds. The kingdom of the two heavens is when that mind of Christ completely subdues the carnal mind, binds it up, and renders it unfunctional so that the two minds are operating as one mind; Christ. So the kingdom of the two heavens is a double portion. You can have the mind of Christ and not be in full stature, but to have the kingdom of heaven in its fullness within you, you must be in full stature. That is because the kingdom of the two heavens implies the brain death of the carnal mind. Is everybody okay?
We are in Verse 3. The Interlinear reads blessed is the God and Father of the Lord of us, Jesus Christ. Please note that the word of is not in the Greek. It is in italics. That is how I know it is not in the Greek. I suggest to you then that the sentence should read blessed is the God and Father, the Lord of us, Jesus Christ. So once again what I am saying to you is that in the Greek the Scripture is really saying that the Lord God, our Father, and Jesus Christ are one. Let me read it to you again.
The word of is not in the Greek. It should read, blessed is the God and Father, the Lord of us, Jesus Christ. They are one in the same or we could say blessed is God the Father, our Lord Jesus Christ. They are one in the same, brethren. They are one in the same. There is just the Father and the Son. There is just the Father and the Son. The Lord Jesus Christ is now the Father, and we, or Christ in us, as he emerges is the son. Hallelujah. He who confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is an anti-christ. He must be coming in the flesh of men, brethren, in your flesh and in my flesh. Christ is appearing in the flesh of men.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1:3. Adored is God the Father, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who has caused us to kneel down into the whole of the spiritual prosperity which is in submission to Christ. Let me go over that with you. Blessed be God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places. Who has blessed us, who has caused us to kneel down, who has caused our carnal minds, brethren, to submit to Christ so that we might come into the spiritual prosperity which we find when we are in submission to Christ.
Amplified translation of Ephesians 1:3; Adored is God the Father, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who has caused us, who has enabled us, who has forced us to submit to Christ and thus enter into all spiritual prosperity. Brethren, if the Lord is not chastening you, if he is not breaking your will, if he is not forcing you to submit to Christ, he is not bringing you into all spiritual prosperity. Now no chastening is pleasant, brethren. It is grievous for the season. I do not know about you, but it sure helps me to know that it is a loving God that is letting me go through all this pain so that I can enter into all spiritual blessing. All spiritual blessing is in Christ, and to enter into that your flesh must die. There is no other way. The carnal mind has to die.
You do not always have to give up everything, but you have to be willing to give it up. Sometimes, the Lord gives me a dry run. It looks like I am going to lose something that is dear to me. It really looks like it is gone, and I take the victory in my mind and in my heart, and then he gives it right back. Sometimes he will give it back five years later. Sometimes it turns out that I really did not lose it, but I was so convinced that I lost it, that as far as God is concerned, I passed the test. Can anyone not say amen to that? Do you know what I am talking about?
Verse 4 of Ephesians, Chapter 1. According as he has chosen us in him, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. You might notice that going through all of verse 11 this is really all one sentence. When I say to you according as he has chosen us, I am really picking up after verse 3, which is saying that Jesus Christ, who is our Father, who has caused our carnal mind to kneel down so that we could enter into the prosperity of Christ, in accordance with the fact that, or according, as he has chosen us. He is doing this to us. He is causing us to kneel down that we could enter into spiritual blessings according as he has chosen us. He is doing this to us because he has chosen us.
In Him, in Himself, before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love. So He is doing this to the people that He has chosen before the world. I have heard all kinds of discussions about this. How could God pick one and not another? It sounds so unfair, but I have a revelation of that for you tonight, brethren. We will see it in more depth right in the Scripture a few verses down. My understanding of this issue, which really is a problem for a lot of people, how could God choose one and not another and be a righteous God?
My understanding of this problem right now, brethren, is that human beings walking around on the face of the earth are clay houses. If Christ is not in them, they are nothing but mannequins walking around for a season. They live out their life and they are crushed. The ones who are chosen are the ones in whom Christ is appearing. It is like saying the potter got up and he made fifteen thousand toy soldiers knowing that ten thousand of them would get wrecked or would get broken in the processing. He only needed five thousand. I am not explaining this too well. Let me try it again.
It is like saying a toy maker only needed five thousand toy soldiers, but he made fifteen thousand toy soldiers, saying some of them will get broken, some of them will get lost, and then he can have his pick out of all of those ten or fifteen thousand. He will just choose five thousand, and the others will just get thrown in the garbage heap. That is a hard word, but that is what the Lord is saying. I have it in verse 11. It came up. It is right there in the Scripture. It sounds terrible on the surface, but it is not terrible, because if you come into this world, and you are not called to be a vessel for which Christ is going to be manifested, you live your life, bear children, and you pass on. Maybe one of your children will be called, but as far as you are concerned, you do not burn in hell forever. You make your mark on the world and you go on. That is how some can be chosen and others not.
Actually, I am saying this all wrong and really messing up. The one who is chosen is Christ. The one who is chosen is Christ, and when he appears in a particular human being, then that human being becomes chosen. Do you know what I am talking about? I am going to go on because I am hitting a blank wall. It is a hard word. I have given you a similar concept in the past talking about flocks. We know that the forefathers had flocks of cattle. If you look up the word nations, the Greek word or the Hebrew word that is translated nations in the Scripture is talking about flocks of cattle. Brethren, we are animals. We are in animal bodies, and the whole of humanity is the herds and flocks of the Lord. When he wants to appear for a particular purpose, he goes into his flocks and he picks one of us and he calls us out to manifest himself through us for his purpose.
We will find out in verse 11 that the one who is chosen is Christ, and the human beings that he is manifesting through are picked by lot. If you remember the old covenant practice of drawing lots, sometimes we call it drawing straws, who gets the short straw. They are the one that is picked for whatever the experience or the responsibility is. Under the old covenant when the Hebrews drew lots to see who was picked, it was known of the Hebrews that God was controlling the whole thing. This was God’s way of telling men whom God had chosen, rather than having a prophet like Samuel when he went looking for David saying that is the one. In that instance God used a prophet, but in other instances God would have the Hebrews draw lots. Whoever drew the assignment, it was accepted that God had picked that man and made His will known by having that person draw the lot.
Christ is the one who is chosen, and Christ was chosen by his Father, and the human beings or the animals in which Christ is appearing, the animals out of the flock, are picked by lot. Brethren, listen to me. This is very important because it lines right up with what I have been teaching for awhile now. It is a hard word, but this lines right up with it. Listen! If you are pregnant with Christ, or if someone is pregnant with Christ, and they abort or if they do not make it, there is always another animal out of the flock. Christ is going to appear in this earth. Christ shall appear. As far as the vessels are concerned, if one does not make it, there will be another one. This is a hard word. He is the only one that is important, brethren.
Verse 4. According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. The Greek word translated according can also be translated since. Him can be translated himself, and before the foundation of the world, that Greek word translated foundation can also be translated to conceive; to conceive. It means a throwing or a laying down the injection or depositing of the virile semen in the womb. It is used of the seed of plants in animals. So this Greek word translated foundation can also be used to describe semen that is strong enough to impregnate a woman. When we read in verse 4 of Ephesians, Chapter 1, before the foundation of the world, we could really take that to say before the virile semen was cast into the world.
Does anybody have any idea what this is talking about? Before the virile semen of God was cast into the earth. Who is the first man in which the virile semen of God was cast into the earth? What was the name of the man? The virile semen of God was cast into one man. The name of the man was Jesus. Christ was the name of his mind. The name of the man was Jesus. The virile semen of God was cast into the man Jesus and his human spirit conceived and Christ was born. Virile means alive enough to impregnate a woman. Virile means strong.
According as he has chosen us in himself before the world was founded. I want to give you a reference that would back up what I just said. I just suggested to you that this phrase is referring to the conception of Christ in the mind of Jesus of Nazareth. 1 Corinthians 3:11; For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. The Greek word translated world is cosmos. We have talked about this many times. Each of us is an individual cosmos. Each one of us is a system. We each have our own heart. We each have our own lungs. We operate and walk around as an individual system. According as he hath chosen us in himself before the virile semen was cast down into the cosmos of the man Jesus of Nazareth.
I am suggesting to you that this verse is saying that Christ chose us to be a part of himself, a part of the body of Christ, before he incarnated as the man Jesus. I just want to pray. Everybody is sleeping on me. There is a real death over here tonight. I just rebuke this spirit of death. I rebuke this spirit of death. I rebuke this spirit of sleep and heaviness, and I just rip these veils off of everybody’s eyes. I pray, Father, that you anoint our ears, and our eyes, to see and to hear, and to be alert, and to understand. I dispel all witchcraft and wickedness out of the minds of these people. I ask that Christ arise in the name of Jesus.
I am suggesting to you that Christ chose us before he incarnated in the man Jesus. Listen! According as he hath chosen us in himself before Jesus Christ of Nazareth manifested as Christ. We, who are the second generation of Christ, were ordained to appear in the earth before Christ was ever conceived in the man Jesus of Nazareth. God had this plan from way back when. The form of the verb, should be holy, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. The phrase is should be holy. The form of the verb is in the infinite form. In the Greek it does not say should be holy. It says to be holy; to be holy.
Now you may recall my teaching on grammar. When the Greek or the Hebrew is in the infinitive form, that means the translator has the right to choose whatever tense they want to choose. The King James translators chose the tense that is translated should be holy. I want to suggest to you that the correct form of the verb is not should be, but could be. It should not be should be, but could be, meaning not that we are to become holy and blameless in our own power. If I say to you that you should be holy, that means if you are not holy, you are to blame. Right? I suggest to you that the verb should be is could be holy. Let me read it to you.
According as he hath chosen us in himself, before Christ was conceived in Jesus of Nazareth, for the purpose that we could be holy and without blame, because Christ in us is our ability to be holy. He is our power to be holy. Glory to God. This thing is on me too. I just want to lay down and go to sleep. It is not just you, but we are going to plod through. Amen. Glory to God. I rebuke you, spirit of sleep.
I am suggesting to you that the form of the verb should not be should be, but could be, meaning not that we are to become holy and blameless in our own power, but that He would enable us to be holy and blameless. The Greek word translated blame means without blemish. The Greek word translated before can also be translated in the presence of. The Greek word translated love is agape. 1 John 4:8 says; He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. We are going to take that word love and we are going to change it into God, that we should be holy and without blame before him in Christ. Is everybody following me?
That we should be holy and without blame before him. Well what does that mean in love? Did you ever wonder what that meant, that we should do it in love? We should do it in Christ. You cannot be holy and without blame if you are living out of your carnal mind. You cannot be in Christ if you do not have Christ. So you have to get Christ, which is the grace of God, which comes after the Holy Spirit causes your human spirit to conceive. You have to start at the bottom, brethren, and work your way forward.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1 Verse 4. Since God chose us to be a part of Himself before He incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth so that we could be holy and without sin in His presence. Remember verse 1 thru verse 11 is all one sentence. Amplified translation of Ephesians 1:4. Since God chose us to be His body before He incarnated as Jesus of Nazareth so that we could be holy and without sin in His presence.
Verse 5. Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will. Predestinated means determining beforehand. Good pleasure means kindly intent.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1:5. Having decided because of His own desire and kind intentions towards the human race to adopt us as His own children through Jesus Christ. Having decided and His reason for it is His own desire and kind intentions towards humanity, He has decided to adopt us as His own children through Jesus Christ. Now I remind you that if we need to be adopted, we are not the Lord’s children. Therefore we must have a father who is not God, and our father is the devil. Our father is the devil. That is why the Lord needs to adopt us. He is adopting us through the Lord Jesus Christ, through the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is now pure Spirit, and who is pouring out of himself upon all flesh. When he gets into your flesh his name becomes what? When the Lord Jesus Christ pours out of his Spirit and gets inside of the flesh of a man, his name changes to the Holy Ghost. Praise God.
That is how He is adopting us as His own children through Jesus Christ. When the Holy Ghost gets inside of you, he causes your human spirit to conceive. When your human spirit conceives, the name of your child is Christ Jesus. When Christ Jesus begins to appear in you, that is the seal of your adoption. Your spiritual adoption papers is the formation of and the functioning of Christ Jesus in you. That is how we are being adopted, through Jesus Christ. Having decided because of His own desire and kind intentions towards the human race to adopt us as His own children through Jesus Christ.
Verse 6. To the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He has made us accepted in the beloved. The phrase is, to the praise of. The Greek says in praise, the glory and grace of him. Praise means submission. We have talked about that many times. It is nice to raise your hands in church, but the true praise of God is when you submit to His will, when you lay down your carnal will and desires, and do what He tells you to do, which is always the exact opposite of what you want to do. It would not be a sacrifice to give up your carnal desires for God if your desire was one and the same as His. But He is Spirit and we are flesh, and our desires are always the opposite of God’s. The true praise of God is to give up your will and do His will.
We are dealing with the phrase, to the praise of. The Greek Interlinear says, in praise, the glory, the grace of Him. Praise means submission. Glory; we have talked about all these phrases before. Glory is the word which describes the Spirit of God in the soul realm, and the grace of God is Christ.
Alternate Translation of first half of Ephesians 1:6. In submission to the Spirit of God in the soul realm, which is his Christ. See these are all parts of a sentence. Let me go back a little. To the praise of the glory of his grace. Having decided because of his own desire and kind intentions towards the human race to adopt us as his own children through Jesus Christ, and that we should be in submission to the Spirit of God in the soul realm. He is adopting us as His children through Jesus Christ so that we will have what it takes to be in submission to the Spirit of God in the soul realm. There is no way to submit to God, brethren, down here in hell, without Christ. You will never submit to God if you do not have Christ. That is what the Lord is saying. He is giving us His grace, which is Christ, so that we can submit, so that we can receive all of the spiritual blessings of the kingdom of heaven.
Continuing with the second half of Ephesians 1:6. Wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. The Interlinear says, accepted in the one having been loved. You may recall from our study in Jesus In The Jordan, Part 1, that when the Father said of Jesus that this is my beloved son, He was actually saying that Jesus had been raised up to full stature.
Alternate Translation of second half of Ephesians 1:6. By whom God has made us acceptable, now talking about Christ. By whom God has made us acceptable because we are in the one having been loved. In Christ we have been made acceptable to God because we are in him. Actually, from down here in hell, we would say he is in us. We say Christ is in us, but God says we are in him. When his mind is in us, when his life is in us, we are a part of his body, and because we are a part of his body, we are acceptable to God.
Amplified translation of second half of Ephesians 1:6. By whom God made us. I am talking about Christ now. By whom God made us acceptable when we became members of his body. You are not acceptable until you are a member of his body. You become a member of his body when? When you receive the Holy Ghost? No! You become a member of his body when the word engrafts to you, and Christ begins to be formed in you.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1:6. So that we might be in submission to God, through Christ, by whom God made us acceptable when we became members of his body. 1 Corinthians 12:27 says; Now ye are the body of Christ and members in particular.
Verse 7. We are still speaking about Christ. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace. Redemption is Strong’s #629. You may recall that there are several words translated redemption. This is a word that means a releasing affected by payment of a ransom. Let me remind you how Jesus is our ransom. In the natural, if someone kidnaps a rich person’s child, the rich father pays the ransom to the kidnapper, and he gets his child back, and the kidnapper goes away.
But in spiritual matters our heavenly Father, who is the rich Father, is paying the ransom. Who is the criminal that wants the ransom? Satan. The whole living soul needs a ransom. God is the rich millionaire that is going to pay the ransom. What has been stolen from God? Actually, it is His wife that has been stolen. Remember the seed of God’s life is in humanity, and Satan has stolen her. That is true. So Satan is going to get the ransom. I do not know that Satan is asking for the ransom, because Satan likes it the way things are. But she is going to get the ransom, and the ransom is God’s Son, Jesus Christ. When that ransom is paid to this living soul in its fallen condition, the robber does not go running away with the money. The ransom is getting nailed to the robber, and the robber is going to receive life, or the living soul is going to receive life, and Satan will be put down into a harmless position. When the living soul is going to receive life, when this ransom is paid, the ransom is going to kill the robber. The robber is not going to run off and live in Tahiti for the rest of his life.
Jesus Christ will be nailed to the living soul for the life of the ages because he is the ransom. He is the factor that is giving us life. If he should remove himself from us, the living soul would die. So the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ has gone way beyond the sacrifice of his physical body, which occurred on the cross. He has sacrificed his entire soul life by allowing himself to be nailed to the living soul for the life of the ages, so that we could live, because without him we would die. His sacrifice has gone way beyond Calvary. He is nailed to the sin filled wicked reprobate living soul, but we are going to see a miracle. At the end of all things he will not be dragged down by our wickedness, but we will be purified and made holy by his righteousness.
One of the ministries of the son is that God will take a son and put them in relationship with wicked people, and that son will suffer, but eventually the end will be that the wicked person will receive of the righteousness of God. The Lord Jesus Christ in this hour, as he struggles with this reprobate humanity, is suffering. He has not come down off the cross yet, brethren. I know we say that to people that use crucifixes and we say he is off the cross, but that is a different situation. Do not tangle me up in my words. I would say the same thing to someone showing a crucifix that Jesus is off the cross. He is off the physical cross, but he is not off the spiritual cross. He is still joining himself to reprobate hearts and reprobate carnal minds, and suffering. He is still being struck down time and time again by the wicked carnal mind. The end of all things is the Spirit of the Lord Jesus Christ will prevail over the carnal mind, and the carnal mind will be raised up in the newness of Christ. I just said that a little wrong. The living soul will be raised up. The carnal mind will be dissolved. Glory to God.
There is an incredible spirit here. I am saying it is a spirit of sleep. Maybe it is just the anointing. It is so thick. Everybody is sleeping. Is it the anointing? I, myself, am fighting to keep my eyes open. I think it is the anointing. I said it was a spirit of sleep earlier, but it is not. It is the anointing. It is awesome. I am going to try and finish this out. I cannot even talk straight. It is a good message. (Laughter)
In whom we have redemption through his blood. We have this redemption. We have this ransom through his blood. Brethren, we are not talking about the red blood that fell down on Golgotha Hill. We are talking about his spiritual blood, that is his very life, which was poured out on the day of Pentecost; his spiritual blood, brethren. The red blood of the natural man, Jesus, could not do you any good, and in fact, it does not exist anymore. Blood typifies life. The life of the flesh is in the blood. So it is his spiritual blood, which is his Spirit. We are saved by his Spirit, brethren. Let me use the right words. We are redeemed through his blood. Brethren, we are purchased back. Humanity is purchased back to the Father because the spiritual blood of Jesus Christ is available today to bring forth Christ Jesus in the hearts of the individual.
We also have in him the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace. The Greek word translated sins is #3900 and that word means a lapse or a deviation from the truth. Everything that is not the truth is a lie. Brethren, the form that we are existing in today is not the truth. The truth is the form which God intended us to appear in, and we are not in the correct form. We are alive because Satan stole God’s creation, fertilized His wife, and brought forth a perverted offspring, and that is us. That is why we need to be adopted. We are bastard children of God’s unfaithful wife.
Therefore, we have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and we need forgiveness. Brethren, the forgiveness of sins is more than a short statement. I could tell you I forgive you from morning until night, but unless that forgiveness, which is a spiritual work, comes forth in my heart, I have not forgiven you. God’s forgiveness of you is the utter and complete purging of sin from your heart. For you to be truly forgiven of a sin by the Lord Jesus Christ, that sin and the potential for that sin in the future must be uprooted and ripped out of your heart. We find God telling us that we are forgiven, and yes we are forgiven in faith, but for God to tell us that we are forgiven is the beginning of the process. For the forgiveness of sins to be complete, that potential must be ripped out of us.
When Jesus said to the adulterous woman, go and sin no more, he had fixed her heart. He had written in the earth of her heart a new nature that would enable her to no longer be an adulterous. The true forgiveness of sins is the impartation by Christ of an ability to stop sinning. In Christ we have redemption through his Spirit. We have the forgiveness of sins, the ability to stop sinning, according to his riches and his grace. The riches is the wealth of his Spirit and his grace, of course, is Christ, by Christ Jesus in you. Jesus Christ has given us these things and these gifts, the redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to his riches, are all in Christ. For you to get this gift, Christ must appear in you.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1:7. The one whose blood is a ransom, which purchases the forgiveness of our sins by the spiritual wealth of Christ. We are talking about Christ Jesus, the one whose blood is a ransom which purchases the forgiveness of our sins by the spiritual wealth of Christ. Verse 8. Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence. The Greek word translated abound is #4052 means to be abundant, to overflow. Wisdom is #4678 means the wisdom which belongs to men. Prudence is #5428 is the knowledge, intelligence, or the holy love of the will of God.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1:8. We are talking about the riches here, which are in Christ. Which spiritual wealth he has caused to overflow from within himself towards us, through all manner of human wisdom and intelligence, and in giving us an understanding of, and a holy love for the will of God. Now brethren, hear this. I am going to give it to you again. The spiritual wealth of God’s life that he has caused to overflow from within himself, the way it gets to us, is through human wisdom and human intelligence. God will reveal Himself through human wisdom and human intelligence. He will lay hold of your wisdom, your very own wisdom and your human intelligence, and he will give you revelations. He will give you understanding. He will use what you have. He will enhance it. He will enlighten it. He will invigorate it, and it will function. What you have will function because Christ is in it.
A lot of people in the Church get confused as to how God talks to us. They want some spiritual ghost or something. God speaks through your own mind. If you are not attuned to it, you will think it is your own thought. God puts thoughts in your mind. He works with knowledge that you have gained through secular sources. God teaches me through books, through movies, through the TV. He teaches me through all sorts of methods, but if you do not recognize it, then you may never know that it is God. The Lord is telling us here that the spiritual wealth of the Father has caused to overflow from within Himself into Christ into the individual. It comes towards us through all manner of human wisdom and human intelligence, and in giving us as understanding of and a holy love for the will of God.
What is that saying? Carnal preachers have an ability to give us an understanding of the will of God. Carnal preachers have an ability to give us an understanding of and a holy love for the will of God. Well here we have a scripture supporting all these imputed preachers. This is what they are anointed to do. Preachers that are carnal men, who think with their own wisdom, and their own intelligence, and their own understanding, when God touches them, have an ability to impart to men a holy love for the will of God. They are not anointed to teach on the Book of Revelation. They are not anointed to criticize God’s apostles. Most of them are not anointed to counsel, but they are anointed to preach out of the Bible in a manner that will produce a holy love of God in carnal men. They can get them started into a spiritual program, that Lord willing, can end up for them in the kingdom of God.
We are only going thru verse 11, so hang on. We are almost done.
Verse 9. Having made known unto us the mystery of His will, according to his good pleasure, which he has purposed in Himself.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1:9. Having revealed to us the secret of His kindly intentions towards us, which He intends to do to us in Himself. Brethren, God’s kindly intentions are towards Himself. The Father’s kindly intentions are towards Himself. Who is Himself? Yes, the Lord Jesus Christ, but more recently, Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus. Christ in you the hope of glory. God’s kindly intentions, His promises to humanity, He is doing to Himself. The promises are for those human beings in whom Christ Jesus is manifested.
Amplified translation of Ephesians 1:9. Having revealed to us the secret of His kindly intentions towards humanity, which He intends to do, through His body. See, He is doing it to Himself. He is doing it in Himself, and then it is going to flow out of Himself. Remember we said up above in verse 1:8 all of His spiritual wealth He has caused to overflow from within Himself. So He is doing it in Himself in those who have Christ, and when He does it in Himself to those who have Christ, He is going to flow out to those who do not have Christ.
Amplified translation of Ephesians 1:9. Having revealed to us the secret of His kindly intentions towards humanity, which He intends to do, through His body.
Verse 10. That in the dispensation of the fullness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him. Dispensation is #3622. It means the management of a household administration. Management of a household or administration? What could that possibly mean? Well, the family of God is a household. The body of Christ is a household. I want to suggest to you that as each individual is a cosmos, each individual could be called a household. So let us find out what this mysterious verse is saying, that in the dispensation or in the management of the fullness of times.
The Greek word times is #2540 means seasons, or the appointed season, or the appointed time. He is going to gather in one. One is #346 and it means to sum up, or to condense. I want to suggest to you that the phrase, in the fullness of times, means at the end of the seasons. Christ has had many experiences in the flesh. At the end of this time, he is going to gather in one, at the end of all of Christ’s experiences, he is going to gather in one. Let me just put this on the message for people who may just be listening to this message alone. In the beginning Christ was a living soul, and at the end he is a quickening Spirit. Christ Jesus has had many experiences as a soul man. When the soulish aspect or the immaturity of his life comes to an end, as he approaches full spiritual manhood, he is going to gather all in one. He is going to condense into a summary all things.
Now the word things is not in the Greek. It is just the all. He is going to condense the all into one. He is going to condense them into Christ. I want to suggest to you that this scripture is talking about the individual household, the individual believer. What this is saying is that at the end of the immaturity of Christ, at the end of the soulish times of Christ, that which are two, the carnal mind and the mind of Christ, are going to be condensed into one. He is going to gather it all together. He is going to sum it all up. What he is talking about is bringing the carnal mind into submission and taking the divided creation and making it one again, because the creation died.
When Satan separated out from under righteous Adam’s authority, the creation died. At the end of Christ’s experiences as a soul man, he is going to bring that carnal mind back into submission, bind her to the horns of the altar, which is Christ, and the mind of Christ in the creation will be functioning as one mind. We will have Satan bound up unto Christ. Christ is our altar. Satan is going to be bound to the horns of the altar, and the creation will no longer be a duality, but will be single minded because Satan will be under the complete authority of Christ. The phrase in the King James is; all things in Christ, both which are in heaven. The Greek says that this word heaven is plural. Again, I am suggesting to you it is speaking about the kingdom of the two heavens.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1:10. That through the management of the household of God, at the end of the seasons he, Christ, might condense spirit and soul into one. Into one what? Into one mind. The intelligence of the soul shall be condensed into one by being brought into submission to Christ in himself. I have a witness for you. Ephesians 2:15; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments, contained in ordinances, for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace. Of the mind of the flesh, and the mind of God, Christ will make one mind. It is the binding of Satan unto the kingdom of God. It is the end of the duality of the creation. The creation bound together will become single, and that also is the resurrection of the dead, and the attaining of full stature.
Amplified translation of Ephesians 1:10. That in the last days, every man who was in servitude to Satan, might experience the liberty which is in Christ Jesus by joining in the battle to bring his own carnal mind into submission to Christ. Let me read you the whole thing. This is amazing. In the dispensation of the fullness of times, that Christ might gather into one all things, both which are in heaven and which are in earth, even into him. Alternate Translation. That in the last days, every man who was in servitude to Satan, might experience the liberty which is in Christ Jesus, by joining in the battle to bring his own carnal mind into submission to Christ.
This is the last one we are doing tonight. It is short. Hang in there with me.
Verse 11. In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will. The phrase obtained an inheritance is one Greek word, Strong’s #2820. The Interlinear translates this phrase, we have been chosen to an inheritance. Thayer says that this word can also be translated to determine by lot. The word predestinated means appointed beforehand. The Interlinear says, in him in whom we have been chosen an inheritance being predestinated according to the purposes of the one.
I am suggesting to you that it is Christ Jesus who is predestinated according to the purpose of the Father, and we are the ones, those human beings are the ones chosen by lot. We are predestinated according to the purpose of him. Purpose is #4286 and that means the setting forth of a thing, the placing of it in view. I suggest to you that that word is referring to the Father’s ability to bring His imagination into a physical plane. Worketh; according to the purpose of him who worketh. That Greek word means to work effectually. It means to labor, to knead, to manipulate, or to mold. It is talking about molding clay, and that is how we are going to use it. The Greek word translated all things can be translated all men. The word counsel, which is Strong’s #1012, is speaking about the purpose of a thing. The Greek word translated will is Strong’s #2307 and it means that purpose which the one willing intends to accomplish.
Alternate Translation of Ephesians 1:11. We are speaking about Christ Jesus now. The one who was chosen beforehand. Christ Jesus is the one who was chosen beforehand, having selected us by lot according to the vision of his Father, who effectively molds all men according to the purpose which He intends to accomplish in men. Christ, who existed before the incarnation, he is the one who was chosen beforehand. Christ has selected the human beings that he will be appearing in by lot according to the vision that the Father showed him, the Father, the one who effectively molds all men according to the purpose which He intends to accomplish in them.
Brethren, if you have had a word from God that you are going to be a preacher, or you are going to be in the ministry, and you look at yourself and you think it is impossible, I remind you that if that word was of God, you received a word from the one who has the power to mold you into anything that He wants to make you. If anyone would have told me that I would be a preacher twenty years ago, I would have laughed in their face. But if God has called you, if He has chosen you by lot, it is His will that you will be whatever He has called you to be. You look at yourself now and you say impossible. I say unto you that you have been called by the one who has the power to mold you and make you into everything that He has predetermined that you will be. It is His work. You just take the lumps.
Think of yourself as a vase on a clay wheel, and He is just smoothing you out, and sticking His thumb in you, and making everything out of you that He wants. You are screaming and yelling, but He has the power to make your personality into whatever He wants it to be. You have heard that phrase, You cannot change a leopard’s spots. God can change your spots. You, who are red as crimson, shall be white as snow if He wills it. We are laboring under a lie in the world today that God only does what you ask Him, but that is not true. He will pick you out of His flock if He wants to, and He will make you into anything that He wants you to be. No matter how hard you scream, no matter how hard you yell, and no matter how far you run, if He has truly called you, there is no place to go.
Recap of Ephesians Chapter 1 Verses 1 thru 11. Paul, the appointed apostle of Jesus Christ writing to the holy ones at Ephesus, who believe in Christ Jesus. May grace be imparted to you and peace from God our Father, even the Lord Jesus Christ. Adored is God the Father, even our Lord Jesus Christ, who has caused us to submit to Christ and thus enter into all spiritual prosperity. Who, having decided, because of His own desire and kind intentions towards the human race to adopt us as His own children through Jesus Christ so that we might be in submission to God through Him, by whom God made us acceptable when we became members of His body.
The one whose blood is a ransom which purchases the forgiveness of our sins by the spiritual wealth of Christ, which spiritual wealth he has caused to overflow from within himself towards us through all manner of human wisdom and intelligence, and in giving us an understanding of and a holy love for the will of God. Having revealed to us the secret of His kindly intentions towards humanity, which He intends to do through His body, that in the last days, every man who is in servitude to Satan, might experience the liberty which is in Christ Jesus by joining in the battle to bring His own carnal mind into submission to Christ, the one who was chosen beforehand, having selected us by lot according to the vision of the Father who effectively molds all men according to the purpose which He intends to accomplish in them. Glory to God. Any questions?
Congregation: You were saying before about when God speaks to you. Concerning any issue, how do you know that you know that it is God speaking to you about a certain thing in your life, and it is not your carnal mind when you hear something.
Pastor Vitale: Well, it is very hard. This is my recommendation, and I cannot give you any guarantee, but pray negatively and not positively. Most people would say, Father, I have got a vision. If this is your will, let it come to pass in my life. That is praying positively. To pray negatively is to say, Father, if you did not give me that vision, I cast it down. If the Lord did not give me that vision, let it die. If the Lord did not give me that vision, I break the curses. That kind of praying negatively will not hurt any vision that is of God, but will save you from any ungodly vision that is in your mind. We have to really work at it. Go after it. That is your best bet. Pray negatively. Anybody else? Glory to God.
02/06/13 Transcribed by MJS
