And one particular verse kind of jumped out at me. Then as I kind of got to looking at a few more verses again, I kind of once again was led down kind of a rabbit trail. Larry said something in a thing that he did, I can't remember if it was this week or last week, but he was talking about how the church or the people of God have replaced Israel. There's this notion, not to get into eschatology or not to get into all the different views of different things, but there is this mainstream notion that Israel as a nation is God's chosen people, and that whenever they rejected Jesus as the Messiah, that that began a pause in the timeline of God and then God opened up this church age and then started the church and then the church is all this group of people that are of the Gentiles and this time of the Gentiles is going on and then there's going to be a certain point at the end of that that God's going to come back and rapture out all of the church and then you're going to pick right back up with the nation Israel and establish them once again as his nation and put them in control, and he's going to rule with them in the kingdom, and all like this, and that Israel is going to continue to be his chosen people. And those of us, or at least those of me, I don't want to speak for everybody that's here, but I think we're all somewhat the same mind, most of us here understand the scriptures to teach that the nation of Israel in its capacity as a fleshly nation or a natural people was just like everything else in the old covenant system, was a type and a foreshadow of the spiritual realities that God had set up in his kingdom. And Larry made a very controversial statement in his deal whenever he said that the church has replaced Israel. And I agree with what Larry said, although I wanna expound on that just a little bit further, and I think Larry probably won't find any disagreement with what I will say here, or if he does, he can holler at me about it later. But I'm gonna expound a little bit on something that Larry said. He said that the church, or the people of God, have replaced Israel, and we are, given all kinds of names because of things that we believe in. One of the things is, you know, we believe in what's called replacement theology. That's kind of what they call what we're saying is replacement theology. And whenever they give us that moniker or that name, you're a replacement theologian. They do that to make us feel bad that we are going to get some orthodoxy. And that's what all named hyper Calvinist, antinomian, you know, whatever, the hard shell, all these names are given to people to make people think that, ooh, that's bad, you better stay away from that, I don't want to have that name tag, so you better come over here to my side and believe what I believe. Now, Replacement Theology, I'll be honest with you, I don't know all the tenets of what is actually embedded in that in its academic understanding, but I will say this, if what Replacement Theology is teaching is that the elect of God are the true Israel of God, and that the fleshly national people of Israel in the old covenant system was a type and a foreshadow of that, then I would say, yes, I believe in replacement theology. Okay? So I can go on record of saying that. And I think the Bible is very clear in that. Now, the people that believe that mostly today, are what we would call dispensationalists. That's kind of the academic theological term that is used for them, is dispensationalists. Now, we don't believe in dispensationalism here. We do have varying differences in our eschatologies here, and we never make that a point of fellowship. Me and Larry see a few things different in eschatology, but that doesn't cause us to have broken fellowship over that. We don't see that that's a gospel issue. However, the only time we do let eschatology be a fellowship issue is when it comes down to how people are saved. And if Israel is saved because Israel is the fleshly group of people, then that's not the gospel and that will be something that we will divide over and everything. But that being said, this issue or this statement that Larry made that the people of God, the church, has replaced Israel is a very controversial statement here. And I believe that it's true because whenever Jesus came and he died and rose from the dead and ascended back to the Father, the Bible is very clear throughout Hebrews and other places in Scripture that that was the fulfillment, the ending, and the putting away of the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant is the Old Covenant. It's been put away. Hebrews is very clear that the old covenant is gone, the new covenant has come. The new covenant wouldn't have to have come if there was something wrong with the old covenant. The old covenant had promises that was based upon the ability of man, and the ability of man was not able to keep the covenant. So now it's built upon better promises, a promise that Christ will fulfill all righteousness. and that that promise of righteousness will be given to the people of God by grace. That's why it's a better covenant, because it doesn't involve our dirty hands, okay? Our dirty hands can't do anything. So this new covenant has come in, and because of that, Christ not only did he fulfill all of the law on our behalf, he fulfilled all of the prophecy concerning himself, coming as our Messiah, coming as our substitute, coming as our Redeemer, He fulfilled all of those things. That covenant, that old covenant, was done away with. Okay? So it's ended. It's gone. And so what has come? Well, starting with the gospel, starting with John the Baptist, his preaching and teaching, the Bible says that the gospel began with John. And John came preaching the kingdom of God. And he was preaching the kingdom of God is at hand. Jesus was preaching the kingdom of God is at hand. And the apostles were preaching that the kingdom of God was at hand. So the preaching of the kingdom was the spiritual kingdom of God that was being realized or being manifested and being taught. Now this spiritual kingdom is something that for the Jew and for most of the world, actually but specifically to the Jew, had been hidden as mystery for all the previous years until Christ came and the Holy Spirit came. We see that in Ephesians chapter 3. That was said that this was hidden in mystery and wasn't known to those people back then as it is known now. Now there was teaching in the Old Testament that there would be Gentiles included in the people of God. It's just not the fleshly people of Abraham but it's people of the Gentiles as well who are no kin to Abraham. There's several places in the Old Testament that talks about that. However, their eyes were blinded to that, their heart was hardened to that, their ears were deaf to that because God had not revealed it. It still was the truth. It still was truth to be known and thankfully We live on this side of Pentecost, and the Spirit has been given to us in a way that it was not given to them in the past to understand the mystery of the inclusion of the Gentiles and the whole people of God being of every nation, language, tribe, and tongue. So, this understanding of the Gentile inclusion was something that was hidden, but with the coming of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, And specifically, the giving of the Holy Spirit in power at Pentecost, when that Holy Spirit baptism was done, it was promised that Jesus would baptize the church in the Spirit of God. That there was whenever the church began to understand and see and be taught the mystery that was it is not a physical, but a spiritual kingdom. It is a spiritual kingship. It is a spiritual servitude. It is a spiritual matter, not a physical matter. The old covenant was that old covenant of circumcision in the flesh. The new covenant is a circumcision in the shedding of blood by the Lamb of God. It is a spiritual covenant. It is not a fleshly covenant. And so whenever we look at that, We see, well, if this is a spiritual covenant, and if this is a spiritual kingdom, and if we see that the Old Testament people are included in this spiritual kingdom, and the New Testament people are included in this kingdom, and now we see that the Gentiles are included in this kingdom, meaning that it's neither Jew nor Gentile. It's neither Greek nor barbarian. It's of every language, tribe, and tongue. then we see that the true Israel is not made up of just fleshly Israelites. It's made up of fleshly Israelites, fleshly Gentiles, Italians, Spaniards, Germans, Russians, Chinese, Indonesians, whoever, okay? It's made up of everybody. And so whenever Larry made that comment that the church replaces Israel he was absolutely correct in that statement because the kingdom of Christ had come and It was no longer about the kingdom of Israel in its fleshly form in type and foreshadow Because all of that was to signify and to show forth that which was to be in the spiritual realm If you will look with me in Hebrews In chapter 8, I want you to look at something here, and we will get back to Ephesians and what I was looking at this morning, but the Lord seems to want to take me down a different path here in the last half hour or so. In Hebrews chapter 8, if you would, look with me at verse 1. It says, Now of the things which we have spoken, this is the sum. We have such a high priest who is set on the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven. Now pay close attention to what's being said here. A minister, speaking of Christ, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord pitched and not man. Now the earthly tabernacle, whether it was the first one or the second one, or whether it was this preconceived one that might be built in the future sometime now, that's a tabernacle that men will pitch, that men have pitched. We're talking about a tabernacle that God had pitched, meaning God had set up or God had built. The word pitch means to build. Christ is the minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle, meaning that Christ is not the minister to necessarily, although Christ is a minister to us, but he's the minister within the true tabernacle. Because the priest, if you remember in the Old Testament, the priest went into the tabernacle and their ministry was within the tabernacle. Every day they came in and they offered up sacrifices. Once a year they went into the Holy of Holies, and in that Holy of Holies, they offered up the atonement sacrifice for the nation of Israel. So, this imagery here is what's being talked about. And here we're seeing that Christ, at the right hand of God, in the majesty of heaven, is the minister of the sanctuary and the true tabernacle. Now if I'm not mistaken, the sanctuary, and I can be correct on this, the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, that's two different things. There's the true tabernacle and then there's the sanctuary, the Holy of Holies. But look what it said, verse 3. For every high priest is ordained to offer gifts and sacrifices, wherefore it is of necessity that this man have somewhat also to offer. So if the high priest and the tabernacle that was pitched by man is working and doing all these things to, what does it say, to offer, okay, then if they're doing that, then Christ even the more. Christ even the more. Because see, these men were given this, and here's the reason why. For if he were on earth, He should not be a priest seeing that there are priests that offer gifts according to the law who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things. See, the whole purpose of the Old Covenant, the whole purpose of the tabernacle, the whole purpose of the Holy of Holies, the whole purpose of the priesthood was to be for an example and shadow of heavenly things. Something that was already being done in the heavy. Now listen, I don't mean to get philosophical here or anything, but let me tell you, or ask you, how can something be an example and shadow of unless there's already a substance? If something is an example of something, that means there's an original already, right? If it's a shadow of something, that means there's a substance that's casting that shadow. Whenever I stand out there in the center, or if I look out the window right now, I see the sun shining from over here, and I see shadow of that tree cast over there. Well, that shadow ain't gonna be there unless there's already a tree standing there, right? If there's no tree, there's no shadow, okay? So if the earthly tabernacle, sanctuary, and priesthood is an example and shadow then that means the substance had already existed. It's not something that we're waiting for in the future to happen. It wasn't something we were waiting on for after the cross of Jesus Christ to happen. It's something that was already being done and it says here that the minister of that heavenly tabernacle, that substance that we see the earthly shadow signifying to, that the minister of that is Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was already ministering his place as high priest within the sanctuary and true tabernacle that God had already pitched in the heavenlies. And what took place on earth was just a shadow and type example of what was in the heavenlies. who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle. For see, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount." The pattern that was shown to Moses in the mount can't have a pattern unless there was already a plan, right? The pattern is something that was already there, it was already drew up, it was already after something that was already pre-configured. He says, See, saith he, that thou makest all things according to the pattern shown to thee in the mount. But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant which was established upon better promises. For if the first covenant hath been faultless, then should no place have been sought for for the second. For finding fault with them, he saith, Beholdeth the days, come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their father." So see, the covenant that we're looking at, that is the covenant going forward, which is the everlasting covenant, the eternal covenant, the covenant that came from the heavenlies, the covenant that is the covenant that is binding the work in the true sanctuary and the true tabernacle by the true high priest, the true minister of his people, that is a covenant that is not according to the covenant that was made in a timely way with the old covenant people. It's a new covenant made with new covenant people. So we must search the Scriptures and find out, does the Bible reveal, does Christ reveal to us in the Word who the new covenant people are? And I believe He does. The new covenant people are just as Larry said, those spiritual people of God, the elect of God, the people of God. But He says, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day. He's not going to do anything as far as the New Covenant is concerned as it pertained to the Old Covenant. The Old Covenant has no hand in the New Covenant works. He said, Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord. And he refers back here to, in the Old Testament, well, he also refers back to what he had previously said, but in Zechariah, he says, I will put my law in their mind and write them in their heart and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people, and they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know me from the least to the greatest. Now, in verse 13 he says, In that he saith a new covenant he hath made the first old, now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. what solidified that Old Covenant was the destruction of Jerusalem. That's whenever God ended the Old Covenant. Whenever they were made desolate, whenever that system was made desolate, that was the end of the Old Covenant. And whenever Paul wrote this to the Hebrews and over in Ephesians, as we'll see, and other places of Scripture, that time was not yet happened. The fall of Jerusalem had not yet happened. Now, the reason I believe that Brother Larry is correct whenever he said that the people of God is this replacement is number one, verse 10 goes back to the New Covenant being taught in the Old Testament where it says that I will take out of their heart a heart of stone and put in it a heart of flesh. and I will put my laws in their mind and I will put my laws into their hearts and I will cause them to walk in my statutes. We see these New Testament concepts in Jeremiah and Ezekiel, Isaiah, we see all these concepts here. But we know throughout scripture that this is talking about the spiritual Israel and not about the fleshly national Israel. So whenever he uses this, for this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, he's speaking now of the Israel that is not the fleshly Israel, but the spiritual Israel. Paul has already made these things clear in Romans, that it is not the children of the flesh who are the children of the promise, but it is the children of promise that these things are coming to, the children of the spirit that these things are talking about. We see here in Hebrews, we see that there was a pattern that was given, and that pattern was before it was given to Moses. It was already here. There was a pattern in the heavenlies. Now, if you'll look with me to 2 Chronicles. 2 Chronicles, that's in the Old Testament. 2 Chronicles, look with me through chapter 3. This is describing how this temple was built. It says, and he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, 20 cubits, and the breadth thereof, 20 cubits, and overlaid it with fine gold amounting to 600 talents. So he made the house, the most holy house, was 20 cubits by 20 cubits. Okay, so the length and the breadth were equal, right? Now, look with me, if you would, keep that in mind. That's the pattern that God gave Moses to build the earthly that was patterned after the substance in heaven, okay? So that heavenly tabernacle that was in heaven that Christ is the minister of was pictured as a building in which the length and the breadth were exactly the same. Now look if you would with me over in Ephesians. In Ephesians chapter 3, And actually the whole epistle to the Ephesians is a letter that Paul is writing to give the good news to the Gentiles that they have been included in those that chapter 1 say are the blessed, those who are the faithful in Christ Jesus. See, Paul starts us out with, to the saints which are of Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus. See, if you remember, the Gentile during the old covenant time was excluded from all the ordinances of God, all the things of God. They weren't considered God's people as far as the fleshly things were concerned. But here now, Paul is letting the Gentiles know that This whole thing of this elect of God is something that took place before the foundation of the world, and it's something that has included even you. And so, Ephesians 1 and 2 is Paul letting them know that all the blessings of this elect is not upon the nation Israel as a people, but it is upon the blessed of God who were chosen in him before the foundation of the world. That's who are the recipients of the promise of this new covenant. And they are included in that. And so whenever Paul begins the third chapter, he says, For this cause I call the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you, how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery, as I wrote afore in few words, whereby, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, and of the same body," now there's the word body, God uses the word body sometimes to describe his people as a whole, collective. He uses a marriage, husband and a wife. Sometimes he uses a building, okay? Wherefore I was made, excuse me, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs of the same body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel, whereof I was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power. Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God." So this fellowship of Jew and Gentile, or Israel, of the flesh and Gentiles of the flesh all being one people in Christ Jesus, the Bible said this was set up. It was pitched before the foundation of the world. It was already set up. It was built. It was already there before the foundation of the world. But it was being hid because in the old covenant system, God chose to use national Israel as a picture of you spiritual Israel. He didn't choose everybody else, he chose Israel. Just like in the spiritual realm, God doesn't choose everybody, but he has chosen his people. And so Paul is saying that this relationship of a oneness, one body, one flesh, one building, One marriage is the union of Christ and his people, and that was set up for the foundation of the world. He says, and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the world have been hidden in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ, to the intent that now, under the principalities and powers in heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God. Principalities and powers understood this, but now it's being made known by the church, the manifold wisdom of God. According to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord. Well, we learned that the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord in Romans chapter 9 is the purpose of election. The purpose of God according to election will stand. And what was Paul's point in Romans 9 of election? That even though there are unbelieving Jews, that means God's promise didn't fail because God didn't promise to save all national Jews or national Israel. He promised to save all his people. Not all that are Israel are of Israel. There are the elect among Israel just like there are the elect among all the Gentiles. And in Ephesians 1, he said that it was according as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world. That choosing us before him in the foundation of the world, that's election. That's another phrase for election. So we, our recipients, if we're Gentiles, we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, not after the fact. Okay? We were already part of that building. We were already part of that. Now, naturally, not our fleshly bodies. We're not talking about that, are we, brethren? Again, we're talking about the spiritual house. We're talking about the spiritual things. And it says that we were already a part of this building. And it says, to the intent that now, under the principalities and powers of heavenly places, might be known by the church the manifold wisdom of God according to the eternal purpose which he purposed in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence by faith of him. Wherefore, I desire that ye faint not at my tribulations for you, which is your glory. For this cause, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven..." Now he's relating us as a family. "...the whole family in heaven and in earth is named." Now, brethren, what does that mean, the whole family of heaven and earth is named? Now, he's speaking, I bow my knee unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named. If somebody is named, that boy right there is named Zach Smith. That boy in there is named Waylon Smith. That boy that sits right there, his name is Caveman Smith. How is he named? He is named because he is my son. And he will carry my name on from generation to generation to generation as long as there is a seed within him. Right? We are sons of God And we are named, we are given a name, we are given a name as His sons. And that, Paul is saying, is something that we were a part of before the world began. If you don't think there's eternal union, there it is. If you don't think there was Gentile inclusion before, there it is. If you don't think that the true Israel of God is those out of every kindred and tongue, there it is. that He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man." There it is. He's talking about the inner man. Who are these people? It's the people of the inner man. The reprobate does not have the inner man. All they have is the outward man of the flesh, which is an Adam. But the child of grace has the outward man of Adam, but he has the inward man of the second Adam. It is the seed of the second Adam that we are talking about, who is the family, who is the body, who is the building, who is the bride. That's who we are talking about. We're talking about those who are of the spiritual nature, the descendants of Christ. They are his seed. He is our head. We are His body. He is our husband. We are His bride. We are His building. He is the minister of the building, and He is the glory within the building. Just like in the Old Testament, the ministry within that Holy of Holies was a picture of Christ, but so was the glory of God that came and filled that building was the picture of Christ. Let's go on and look. He says that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able... Here it is. This is what's tying back into what we've already been talking about. And you'll see that there is a connection in the verbiage again. What we've seen in Hebrews, what we've seen in 2 Chronicles. That ye being rooted and grounded in love may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height. See, it's going back and describing that tabernacle in the Old Testament. The length and the breadth and the depth, and now it's included the height, but it shows in the Old Testament that that was built after the pattern in the heavenlies. Paul is drawing the imagery the visuals from the Old Testament tabernacle which was built after that pattern in the heavenlies, which is the people of God. And so the true tabernacle is not a tabernacle built by man in this world. It is not a tabernacle that is made up of rocks and bricks and mortar. It's a tabernacle that is built up with the people of God who has now become as our perception is, has now become the place of God's dwelling. No more does God dwell in that brick and mortar tabernacle where His glory would come down and fill that place and He would meet with His people there above the Ark of the Covenant, above the mercy seat. Now God's presence is being manifested and felt and known within the true tabernacle which is us. We are the tabernacle of Christ. And he's making that comparison that we might know what is the breadth and the length and the depth and the height, that we might know what the breadth is, how far reaching it goes. It reaches to all nations, to all tribes, to all tongues. It's not just for the Jews. The breadth of this tabernacle reaches to every nation. The length of it goes from eternity to eternity. It's a tabernacle that has been with God and ministered by Christ from beginning to the end. The depth of it, brethren, listen, we don't know how deep the love of God goes in bringing this building together. We don't know. Now, we know it's called a remnant. We know that it's smaller than those who are on the other road. But brethren, the Bible says that there are thousands upon thousands and ten thousands and thousands of thousands. Which to me, in my understanding, means an innumerable number of people. You can't count them. That is making up this. Whenever I see the word height, I at least think that there's nothing can get over the walls of it. It's unfathomable the height, nothing's gonna get in and take it away from us. But it says, may be compared, comprehend with the, excuse me, may be able to comprehend with the saints what is the breadth and length and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ with passive knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now unto him that is able, to do exceeding abundantly above all that we can ask or think according to the power that worketh in us. Unto him be glory and the church. So here again, he's saying that this group of people that make up this invisible spiritual tabernacle, now I'm not talking about an invisible church. I'm talking about an invisible people that is on the inside. We can't see it. It's been hidden with God through all the ages. The mystery of it is being revealed. It's the inner man. Kingdom of God is within you. He says here, unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages. Not just since he passed away and rose again and ascended on high, but through all ages, world without end. We see another picture of this in the Revelation. Whenever Christ is talked about in In Revelation 21, we see in verse 2, it says, And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of God, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride, going for her husband. And if you jump over to verse 9, it says, And there came unto me one of the seven angels, which had the seven vows, full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife. And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God. So he's going to show him the bride, but then he goes and shows him a city, which I believe is representing the bride, descending out of heaven from God. So this is a city that descended from God. It was in heaven, descended from God. And then it gives all the different things about gates and about the apostles being the foundation, which the Bible says that the apostles are the foundation of the church, laid first in the foundation of the church. But he says in verse 15, and he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city and the gates thereof and the wall thereof. And the city lie four square, and the length is as large as the breadth. And he measured the city with the reed 12,000 furlongs, the length and breadth and the height of it are equal. And he measured the walls thereof in 144 cubits according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel." So we see here again the Bible says that the length and the width and the breadth was all equal. So that imagery again is being shared from what we've seen back in Chronicles, what Paul was given credence to in Ephesians to the church or the people of God, the people of God. We also see in Hebrews chapter 12 this same imagery being talked about when Paul writes Hebrews chapter 12 and look if you would with me at verse 22. It says, but ye are come. Ye are come. Not ye will come, but ye are come. That's a present perfect. That means that something that has already happened in the past and it continues on today. And it's also an indicative meaning that it's a present reality, it's a statement of fact. But ye are come unto Mount Zion and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven and to God, whose names are written in heaven, maybe, which are written in heaven and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. That's that inner man. The spirits of just men made perfect. That's that inner man. The spirit that comes to live within us. The Bible says that that new creation is created in righteousness and true holiness. But Brother Paul makes that very clear back in Ephesians, if you want to turn back there again. He makes that very clear that this is not Jews nationally, physically, fleshly, but this is speaking of the spiritual people of God. out of every language, nation, and tongue. They're the ones that make up this holy city, that makes up this holy tabernacle, that makes up this bride, this family, this body, this eternal union of a husband and a wife. It is us, Gentiles. And Paul here, whenever he's writing this, this was good news to the Gentiles. Matter of fact, whenever Paul first went among the Gentiles, kind of the watershed verse for me as far as the Doctrines of Grace is concerned, whenever this message began to go out to the Gentiles, and that's chapter 13 and verse 48, whenever Paul was preaching in Antioch, he preached this message to them in Antioch. He was preaching the mystery of Christ in the church. meaning the mystery of Christ as we've seen in Ephesians, what was Christ doing in the church? He was a minister of, or excuse me, in Hebrews, he was being a minister to them. But in Acts chapter 13, in verse 48, he said, and when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. They were glad to hear this good news. The good news is, hey, We Gentiles are included in this promise. It isn't just fleshly Israel. It isn't national Israel. It isn't just the Jewish people. That includes us. This promise is for us. And you know what it said there? Look at it. It said, and as many as were ordained to eternal life believe. It didn't say all of the Gentiles believed, but it said all that were ordained to eternal life believed. Well, why is that? Well, because those who were ordained to eternal life have been given the faith of Christ. They've been given the faith of Christ to believe upon Christ, and that, brethren, is what Paul was saying there in Ephesians. Look back where we were there in Ephesians. He said, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named, that He would grant you according to the riches of His glory to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith, that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth and the length and the depth, that He might give you faith to believe that you are a part of this promise, just like all the rest. See, brethren, it's by faith that He has given us these things. He's given us faith to believe that we are His. He's given us faith to believe that we are a part of that everlasting covenant. That's where our hope comes from. It's the faith that has been given to us. And we, by faith, we walk in faith. We walk by the faith of the elect, which is Christ. He is the elect one and we walk by His faith. We walk looking towards His obedience, to His perfection, to His righteousness. That's what's been given to us because those who are perfect inwardly are the seed of that man and His righteousness is our righteousness. Not this outward man, not this fleshly man. It's been adopted until the day of redemption whenever we will put off this body and put on that body that is prepared for that inward man. But brethren, until then, we continue to walk in this flesh and we walk in the warfare between the flesh and the spirit. But brethren, who we truly are in Christ Jesus, whether Jew or Gentile, we are that true sanctuary, that true tabernacle, and where righteousness dwells and where the minister of that tabernacle has been ministering as our, as I preached a few weeks ago, our mediator before the foundation of the world. He's been mediating that covenant within his people amongst his people, for his people, from before the foundation of the world. So what Larry said as far as we have replaced Israel is exactly true. The church has replaced that in our time perspective. But the fuller understanding of what Brother Larry, as I understand what he was preaching, is this, is that it is the elect people of God that has been elected before the foundation of the world who is in view of those people that have been replaced. National Israel, as our perception of time, period, goes. But as far as eternality goes, it has always been the people of God. It has always been those out of every kinder child. Matter of fact, the children of God, that inward man, those spiritual seeds, the Bible says there is no Jew or Gentile, right? There is no Greek or barbarian. So there is no ethnic differences in that inner man. We are all the same. We are Christ's. God has planted us in vessels of clay in our habitations wherever they might be. Whether it's in America or whether it's in Israel or whether it's in the Arab nations or whether it's in the African nations or the Chinese Asian nations. He's placed those seeds within those bodies, but the inner child that comes from God has no ethnic birth, has no ethnic name tag. There is no male or female. There is no Greek or barbarian. We are all one in Christ Jesus. That's why the Bible says that whenever Christ died and that veil was written to, He said the middle wall of partition has been taken down Now, that middle wall partition is still seen in the eyes of men in this lifetime, in the flesh, because we still believe the ethnic differences here and there and here and there, which I believe there are ethnic differences between people. People have different cultures, ethnic leads and all that kind of stuff. I'm not saying that that's not there, but what I'm saying as far as the spiritual people of God is concerned, there is no difference in us. There's no difference in us. We're not afraid to preach that which was in mystery in the Old Testament, but is in full revelation in God's Word now in the new covenant, that we are the people of God who inhabit this new Jerusalem, this new tabernacle. All right, anybody got any questions, comments, or corrections or reviews? Father, thank you for this day, and thank you for Christ Jesus, and thank you for the Word of God, and thank you, Father, for the promises of God, and thank you for the continuity of the scriptures. Thank you, Father, that you have called your people by your name, and that you have provided for them within your covenant a salvation that cannot be touched with human hands, that cannot be changed, revoked, cannot be altered, cannot be sullied by our sin, by our inadequacy. We thank you, Father, that it is championed by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who is the mediator of this new covenant, who is the minister within this tabernacle, this building, this body, this bride, our husband. We thank you, Father, that you've given us such a perfect that we might look to him, that our faith might be found in him. Father, that you might grant us perseverance in the faith, not only in the doctrine of Christ, but in our looking to him. And again, we thank you for all these brethren that are here, that call upon your name, that claim and hope to be children of God. And Father, we pray that you continue to remind them of these things, encourage them by these things. Father, we pray that as this gospel continues to go out throughout this world, wherever your people are found, no matter what nation or ethnicity that they are, that they might hear the gospel promise of salvation for them and that they might repent from their thinking of religious activity and adherence to some religious system of works for your for your acceptance, and that they might look to Christ Jesus, who has finished all things on their behalf. Father, I pray that you keep everybody safe. We especially pray for all those, Lord, during this cold weather, that you might keep them safe and warm. Lord, we pray that you'd be traveling mercies with the Phillips as they travel back home today. And Lord, we just ask that you would guard us and guide us throughout this week until we meet again. And it's all in Christ's name that we pray.