OK, belly up for another shot of truth with no chaser.
Today, we'll address the phrase, "In whom," the phrase, "In whom" here in Ephesians chapter 1.
Ephesians 1, Ephesians 1:7, a verse used as a gotcha verse against those of us who stand on the fact that God stopped imputing sins to the world.
Yes, as, as hard as it is to believe, there are actually people among grace circles claiming to be Pauline in their doctrine that despise what the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to pen multiple times.
2 Corinthians 5:19, Romans 5:8, Romans 5:10, verse 13, and also Colossians 1:20.
Ephesians 1:7 isn't a gotcha verse, sorry.
The phrase, "In whom" means the same thing it's always meant.
So, if you have your Bibles, get Ephesians chapter 1.
This is Paul's letter to the church at Ephesus.
Ephesus is, is on the western coast of Turkey.
It was a Roman providence of Asia at the time of Paul's letter here.
Ephesus was an extremely wealthy city, a city known for, for having a lot of impressive architecture.
They had what might have been the largest grand theater of that day according to historical accounts, it, it seated about, I think it was close to 25 or 30 thousand people.
That's where you could go and watch things like gladiators.
You could see the gladiator spiked there.
OK, if you've got your Bible there and you've got Ephesians, we're in
chapter 1 verse 7, In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
Now, we want to pay attention, pay special attention to the first two words in this verse, "In whom," one of my many favorite verses from Paul here but, but those who limit the crosswork, they'll come here and grab the, "In whom," and say, See, you have to be in Christ before you can get forgiveness.
Well, in your mind maybe, but that's not what this says at all.
Hard to believe, but some actually think salvation comes before forgiveness.
"In whom" is not the position of the believer, it's the person of Christ.
Just look at this verse.
It's basic grammar.
It's not the position of the believer, it's the source whereby forgiveness comes.
The phrase, "In whom" does not mean positionally being in the church the body of Christ, it has nothing to do with that.
Believer or non-believer, Christ is the sole source of forgiveness, and that's what this is saying.
The word, "In," there's our preposition, and the word, "whom," who is Christ, there's the object of the preposition.
"In whom" is a prepositional phrase showing the source whereby forgiveness comes from, not in.
For example, let's, let's see if I can give you an example to help here.
Um, let's say, let's say you have two witnesses to a crime.
All right, let's say I'm a juror sitting on the jury and one of the witnesses, one of the witnesses in this case his name is Scotty, and the other witness uh, let's call him Michael.
Scotty and Michael sounds like the Chicago Bulls of the 90s.
OK, after hearing both testimonies, I say, Michael is the only one in whom I believe.
Can I tell you what this doesn't mean?
This doesn't mean that I'm in Michael, that I'm a member of the church which is Michael's body.
That makes no sense because it doesn't mean that.
That's not how the English language works.
The words of our King James Bible were inspired by the Holy Spirit himself and written during an era that well, some would argue was a time when the English language was at its quintessential best.
Of course that's, that's debatable, that's, it's subjective, but
an argument nonetheless.
But what's not subjective, what's not a subjective argument, is the fact that every word of this Bible was Holy Spirit inspired.
So, when we read Ephesians 1:7, here's how it should be read, here's how you give it an honest reading, In whom (Christ the source, not the church the body of Christ) we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;
This means that Christ is the source of our redemption.
Christ is the source of the forgiveness of sins.
That's an honest rendering of this text.
Whether you're a believer or non-believer, that doesn't matter.
There is no other person, no other source for forgiveness than Christ the Son.
Not the Father, as some are saying.
The Father never died for even one sin.
The Father was never buried, and the Father never raised from the dead.
The Oneness Godhead group, who teach Jesus is the Father, they're teaching a false gospel.
A false gospel that won't save anyone.
Not one soul will be in heaven having believed that the Father died for their sins.
Not one.
The one single source is Christ.
That's the, "In whom."
It was his blood, the blood of Christ, God the Son, Hebrews 1:8, that was shed at the cross.
God the Son's blood, Acts chapter 20 verse 28.
The Son performed perfectly, and it was the Father that stopped imputing sins.
But the Father didn't die.
So don't get it twisted.
Now, come with me, just drop down, we're already here, but drop down, instead of, we're looking at verse 7, drop down to verse 20.
We're in the same chapter.
Ephesians 1, Which he wrought in Christ, (there's those two words) when he raised him from the dead, and set him at his own right hand in the heavenly places,
Do you notice something about this?
Same chapter, same chapter as the verse in question, verse 7, here in verse 20, we just drop down a few verses, in verse 20, the, "in Christ" here matches the, "In whom" in verse 7.
Same thing.
And neither, now notice, neither one have anything to do with a person being in Christ.
But rather, it has to do with the work, the work that was done in Christ, his work.
Not you being in him, but the work that he did.
The, "In whom" represents the source, the person of Christ.
And you won't catch these things without giving careful examination.
So, we ask you to do so.
Pray about it and give these things careful examination without taking man..., you don't want to put man's word over God's word.
Just let the infallible word of God go to work effectually in you.
You that believe.
Here's another one for you.
Romans chapter 8 verse 2, Romans 8:2, For the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
So, here we go.
Think about it.
Here we go again.
Is this, is this about having to be a believer in Christ?
Of course not.
It says, the law of the spirit of life in Christ.
But this isn't people.
No, this isn't people here.
It's the spirit of life that's in Christ.
So, you cannot go, read Paul's 13 epistles, you cannot do that and with integrity, every time you come to the words, "in Christ," make that about the believer, and the position of the believer.
Can't do it.
So, stop allowing someone to pull the wool over your eyes concerning forgiveness.
Instead, study to show yourself approved.
Okay, let's turn some pages, and let's go over to Romans 8.
See, now this is what they don't want us doing.
They just want you to accept their friend request.
So you can accept their memes.
So you can watch a video of an online Bible school grad who can't even discern the difference between faith and faithfulness, let alone teach the Holy Bible to anyone.
Listen, Christ being faithful and Christ needing to have faith in something he hasn't seen and doesn't know, as if there is such a thing,
are different.
This isn't a complex issue.
It's elementary, actually.
But some are prone to fall in line with the rest of the herd.
As if they were born to be sheeple.
So, they turn off their brain and fall in line.
But as for me and my house, nope, don't think so.
We'll just continue to be workmen who have no need to be ashamed.
Egg on face isn't a good look.
Okay, if you've got Romans 8, look there, look here at verse 39.
Everyone here is familiar with this one, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Now, look at the verse closely.
The quote, "separate us," that's referring to saved people.
But watch.
The quote, "which is in Christ," what is that referring to?
The, "in Christ" here isn't referencing people at all.
It's referring to the love of God.
See that?
It's the love of God, which is in Christ.
The Holy Spirit's grammar is perfect.
It's perfect.
But it's a shame that many don't respect that.
Paul's not even talking about people, believers.
He's referring to the love of God found in the person of Christ.
Christ is our source for love.
Listen, when Paul is speaking of believers, believers being in Christ,
you'll know it.
How?
Because he'll most likely tell you.
He makes it plain.
Like in Romans 8:1, There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.
How do we know that the, "in Christ" here is speaking of believers?
The word, "them."
A pronoun.
And here's another one that's about the position of the believer, the believer being in Christ.
Romans 12:5, So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.
See, that's pretty simple.
We know, we can see that this is about the believer being in Christ.
This is about the position of the believer.
And if you do your homework, you'll notice that the same goes for several other references of the term, "in Christ."
You'll find them over there in Romans chapter 16, same thing, it's about the position of the believer, and not about what we're discussing today in Ephesians 1:7.
It's different.
But listen guys, you can't be lazy with this.
It'll require you to pay very close attention to what you're reading.
Don't take anyone's word for it just because they seem to understand the uniqueness of Paul's ministry.
Just because they seem to know that Paul is the apostle of the body of Christ.
That's not good enough.
We're called to stay vigilant and be on guard.
Always testing.
Always proving.
Always searching the scriptures because you need to be careful of the outright butchering of the English language that has never been more prevalent than it is today among so-called Bible believers.
The Holy Spirit himself inspired every word in your Bible.
Yet some are willing to appeal to the by any means necessary mentality to push their narrative.
Some claim to follow Paul but still hold dear to the things they were taught over there in their former denominational system.
And willing to tamper with the Holy Spirit's grammar.
Why do they do that?, because his grammar is perfect and it exposes their limited forgiver position.
The one that says, forgiveness only comes to you after you're saved.
It does not.
Sanctification does.
Righteousness does.
Justification does.
These are things that require belief.
But forgiveness, no.
At the moment of belief we get what Christ has.
But he never got forgiveness now did he?
Forgiveness doesn't equal salvation.
No one will or ever has been justified for simply being forgiven.
That's a false teaching among many who claim the mid-Acts position.
Grab the book of Exodus.
Get Exodus chapter 34 real quick.
You need to see this.
We call ourselves Truth Time for a reason.
We didn't just flippantly come up with that name.
We don't make claims we can't support with scripture.
Exodus 34.
Exodus chapter 34, starting with verse 6, And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth,
Verse 7, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will... now watch this... and that will by no means clear the guilty;
See that?
But I've always been taught that forgiveness means salvation.
Can't help that.
Can't help what you've been taught.
Can't help that you decided to take man's word without being like a Berean and searching for yourself.
I can't help that, because I used to be the same way.
All I can do is tell you that a time came in my life, a couple of decades ago when I began to think that I might not have been taught the truth.
Let me check into this.
And I decided to start checking things out on my own.
You know, maybe my reliable sources wasn't so reliable after all.
So, so here's the bottom line, guys, you can forgive someone without their belief.
You can forgive someone without them even knowing it.
And deep down, come on, deep down, you already knew this.
You can forgive a person without their permission, because forgiveness only requires one, not two.
And this isn't some complex truth here.
Sometimes I wonder why we even have to stop and address things like this, but you know, things get started, rumors start, then get parroted,
next thing you know, there's an issue being made out of something that's really simple.
But if the question were asked, Does the forgivee have to believe the forgiver in order for forgiveness to happen?, everyone I know would answer that question in about a half a heartbeat.
It's quite simple.
It isn't about what camp you're in or what the strategy is.
It's about having the integrity just to be honest.
People who argue against God having stopped imputing sins at the cross,
I mean, you sometimes, you just have to wonder if they even read their Bible.
In Acts chapter 7, we find Luke's account of the apostle Stephen on trial.
He's there on trial before the Sanhedrin.
Stephen, sort of acting as his own lawyer, he delivers what might be called the greatest offense of all time.
He scorched his Israelite brethren with a very eloquent and detailed indictment.
In verse 54, the Bible says, When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
Verse 55, But he, (Stephen) being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, (that's the Father) and Jesus (the Son) standing on the right hand of God,
This is quite significant here because, unlike the priests of the Old Testament when they stood to offer the repetitive sacrifices, in Acts chapter 2 verses 33 and 34, we find Jesus taking his royal rest by sitting, sitting at the right hand of God.
A well-deserved rest, by the way, after being the one, single, perfect sacrifice for the world's sins, but here in Acts chapter 7, okay, now we see him standing.
Why is that?
Well, to find our answer, we could appeal to man's commentary.
We could Google search it or perhaps find a book about it.
We could attend an online cemetery school and hope they steer us in the right direction.
Or, we could do as Paul commands us and take two fingers, flip the pages, and compare spiritual things with spiritual.
Here we go, Isaiah, Isaiah 3:13, The Lord standeth up to plead, and standeth to judge the people.
Psalm 82:1, God standeth in the congregation of the mighty; he judgeth among the gods.
Amos 7:7, Thus he shewed me: and, behold, the Lord stood upon a wall made by a plumbline, with a plumbline in his hand.
(Verse 8) And the LORD said unto me, Amos, what seest thou? And I said, A plumbline. Then said the Lord, Behold, I will set a plumbline in the midst of my people Israel: I will not again pass by them any more:
(Verse 9) And the high places of Isaac shall be desolate, and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste; and I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.
There it is.
This is the Lord standing to judge, to judge.
So, when Stephen saw Jesus standing there at the right hand of the Father, it was judgment time.
And in verse 60, Stephen knelt down and cried out, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge.
And he didn't.
Here we see the word of God, we see how it exposes the limited forgivers
who say that forgiveness is only for the believer after getting saved.
No, these weren't believers.
These were blaspheming Jews.
Yet God didn't pour out his wrath upon them.
He laid not their sin to their charge, and did so without their belief.
Proof that forgiveness only requires one, not two.
And then in the next chapter, here comes the Lord as he encounters Saul.
This all makes such perfect sense as the dots connect.
Limited forgiveness is not sound.
This twisting of Paul's gospel is something that makes its rounds every few years, so it's no surprise to us.
There has always been a split among some in mid-Acts concerning this.
And it has grown over time.
Back in the early 2000s, almost no one we associated with believed or taught that God only stopped imputing sins to people after they believed.
Not many back then were so brazen to change the very words of scripture.
2 Corinthians 5:19, they didn't go there and change the word, "world" to believers.
That's dangerous ground to be on.
It was only around 2012 we began to see limited forgivers creeping into grace circles.
First noticed it popping up on social media.
So, these out here trying to get you to believe that the teaching of God having stopped to impute the world's sins at the cross, how it's supposed to be some sort of new teaching, they're doing so in their attempt to discredit it.
That's what it is.
But, sorry to tell you that truth will prevail.
Truth prevails, and Paul's gospel in its purity isn't going anywhere.
So buckle up, buttercup, just buckle up.
Here, and maybe you're unsure about where you're going to spend eternity, well, I've got good news.
The best news ever.
It's about Christ and him crucified.
Which caused the Father to stop imputing, stop counting, stop charging sins to the world.
Christ died for our sins, was buried with our sins, but death could not defeat him.
And if you will trust that what he did on your behalf was sufficient,
death won't be able to defeat you either.
You'll resurrect, get caught up in the catching away, and will be forever with the Lord.
Grace and peace.
Grace and peace.
This is Janice Arthur just calling to say hello and thank you for the live stream with Truth Time Radio.
It's always a blessing to be able to take a trip.
Doesn't matter when I get in the car, I can turn on Truth Time Radio
and hear something uplifting, something wise to learn, share with my friends whenever I can get an opportunity.
It's just a blessing.
The word is truth and we appreciate your efforts and the hard work you put in to every episode.
Thank you so much.
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