OpenTheo

The Gospel & Union with Christ

For The King — FTK
00:00
00:00

The Gospel & Union with Christ

April 10, 2022
For The King
For The KingFTK

We are wrapping up a VERY long series on gospel foundations! If you have been with us the whole time we are very thankful you stuck with it and are finishing up with us as well. We end with the great doctrine of union with Christ. Being united in sweet communion with God almighty is a great truth that we as Christians live in on a daily basis. The union Christ has with his father we now get when united with him. What a sweet truth, we pray this blesses you.

Key Texts:

* Colossian 1:26-27; 3:3-4

* Ephesians 1:3-4; 1:10; 2:4-6; 2:12; 

* Romans 6:2-11

* 1 Corinthians 12:13; 15:22

* Psalm 133:1

* John 14:16-17; 15:4; 17:21

* 1 John 2:5-6

Website: forthekingpodcast.com

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/For-The-King-105492691873696/

Gab page: https://gab.com/ForTheKingPod

Contact: forthekingpodcast@gmail.com

Donate Crypto: https://commerce.coinbase.com/checkout/f63fd7db-919e-44f6-9c58-8ec2891f3eb5

Kingly Clothing: https://www.bonfire.com/store/for-the-king/

Share

Transcript

Even so, consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus. This is a very long text I just read, but you should have picked out as I read it. There's about four or five, I didn't count them exactly, I think there might be five, different places where it says either with him or in him or in Christ Jesus.
With or in or united, there's actually the word united used there,
which is like very clearly talking about union. But the ins and the wits, that language is articulating this point that we're trying to make this whole episode here. Don't think I will even ask you to make Jesus Lord of your life.
That's the most preposterous
thing I could ever tell you to do. Jesus Christ is Lord of your life. Whether you serve him or not, whether you bless him, curse him, hate him, or love him, he is the Lord of your life because God has given him a name that is above every name so that the name of Jesus Christ every knee shall bow and tongue confess that he is Lord.
Some of you will bow out of the grace that has been given to you
and others will bow because your kneecaps will be broken by the one who rules the nations with a rod of iron. And I'll not apologize for this God of the Bible.
[Music]
For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ and God.
Colossians 3-3. This is the For
the King podcast and I'm your host Rocky Ramsey joined with my co-host and brother Bryce where we proclaim the edicts of the king over all his creation that Yahweh reigns. Our topic today is union with Christ.
Again our topic is union with Christ. So we've been doing a series here on the
For the King podcast that we've titled Gospel Foundations and the question we're going to pose to start off here is why are we ending here? This is actually the last episode of this whole Gospel Foundation series we've been doing. Why are we ending here? Or rather could we have begun here? You guys have probably picked up on this theme throughout the entire series that we've done but all these things run together.
They interact with each other in a unique way when God is portraying
them to us in his word. I have a quote by John Murray that hopefully articulates why we're going to be ending here. This is the last episode of the Gospel Foundation series.
John Murray says on page
171 of his book Redemption Accomplished and Applied he says quote "Nothing is more central or basic than union and communion with Christ." Amen. What a beautiful quote. This is why we're ending here guys and hopefully as we go through the text and we learn today what union with Christ is, you guys see why we ended here and why this is really the foundation being united with Christ.
So what is our union with Christ? Bryce can you answer that question for us? Yeah, like Rocky said it's central to the Christian life and John Ellen on chapter 21 of his Greater Catechism on of the privileges of believers. Question two he asks that very question. What is our union with Christ? And he answers it this way.
"It is a holy spiritual conjunction unto him as our
head, husband, and foundation whereby we are made partakers of the same spirit with him and derive all good things from him." So that's how John Owen answers it and even in his glory of Christ, he goes on more fully to describe it that just as a man and a wife are made one flesh together, so too when we are united with Jesus we are of the same spirit. And John Owen's careful to mean that this isn't us partaking of the divine, meaning that we become one as God, but this is our union with him as a relational union as Owen clearly indicates. So it's our holy spiritual conjunction unto him as our head and foundation.
So that's our union with Jesus, with Christ,
our husband, our head, our foundation, all of that. It's our conjunction with that great Savior. Yeah, that's good.
Thank you Bryce for reading that. So the first text as we expand on how John
Owen answers that, we're going to try to give you guys a glimpse at why John Owen's would answer it that way. So our first text to make our case today is as follows, "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ just as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we would be holy and blameless before him." And then he goes on to say, "In love he predestines us." So really beautiful text here.
And we wanted to start here because this really gives us the language in Christ,
in him, in Christ, the inside of the person of Christ, the union that we have with him, is God doing these things. So even before God is electing individuals, he's considering the union that they have with his son. In him, is he being moved to act in these ways? So the point here is the term in Christ is the key component of the passage.
All of this choosing language is founded
on a union with Christ that we are to have. It is there on the outset of his electing of persons. He has our union with Christ in mind from the beginning.
Amen. Yeah, that's really well said.
It's before the foundations is the whole point of the passage.
Yep. That our union with him is,
like you said, it's founded. It's guaranteed from the very beginning.
And this is what the
the Divines of Old call the Pactum Salutis, which is the counsel of peace with the Father, the Son, and the Spirit to save and redeem mankind all through the four ordination of those who will be united to him. Yeah. No, I mean, this is one of the... I mean, so we've read this text multiple times throughout this series.
And why do we keep returning to the same text? Because we're drawing
out a little snippet of a different facet of this gospel that God's given us. And today, like we've said, we're dealing with the union of Christ. These are the words we're honing in on.
In Christ,
in him, before the foundation of the world, is he doing these things? Beautiful. Anything else you want to remark on there? We have a lot of text to get through. Yeah, we have a lot.
I mean, yeah, we'll just keep going through. Just keep focusing on the
in with within a part of keep focusing on that language. Yeah, that language.
As we're listening to this. Exactly. So if we see union in his electing, as we saw just now in Ephesians 1, 3 through 4, how do we see it in his atoning work? Let me read from you Romans, chapter 6, verses 2 through 11.
How shall we who died to sin still live in it? Or do you not know
that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into his death? Therefore, we have been buried with him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in do this of life. For if we have become united with him in the likeness of his death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing that that our old self, no, sorry, knowing this, that our old self was crucified with him in order that our body of sin might be done away with so that we would no longer be slaves to sin, for he who has died is freed from sin. Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we also will live with him, knowing that Christ hadn't been raised from the dead is never to die again.
Death no longer is master over him. For the death that he died, he died to sin once
for all, but the life that he lives, he lives to God. Even so, consider yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
This is a very long text I just read, but you should have picked
out as I read it, there's about four or five, I didn't count them exactly, I think there might be five different places where it says either with him or in him, or in Christ Jesus with or in, or united, there's actually the word united used there, which is like very clearly talking about union. But the ins and the wits, that language is articulating this point that we're trying to make this whole episode here. So, do you want to add something Bryce? Yeah, I mean, that's just the totalizing of the Christian life right there, that not only have we been united with him and at death like his, not only have we been united with him and his burial, but also in his resurrection.
Today we have a lot of Christians who identify themselves as being united with Christ and his resurrection, yet their sins have not been trampled over, their sins have not been killed, their old man, the flesh that wages war against their souls has not been put in the grave. And yet they think that they're with Christ and his resurrection. Union with Christ means that you're united with him in every aspect of his life.
And that includes his death, his burial and his
resurrection. So we cannot ally ourselves with sin any longer. Sin in our lives has been buried, and we are alive with Christ.
So this brings out the real key element of union, that union with
Christ, like Rocky's been mentioning this whole time, it's totalizing, it's holistic. It's not just this weird individualistic type of doctrine. This is something that is totalizing in the Christian's life.
So this is why it encompasses everything that we've already been mentioning.
So I think that's such a good point that we need to constantly be in remind ourselves of, and I need to remind myself of is that we have died with Christ and it's no longer us who lives, but Christ who lives in us. Exactly.
Yeah, amen. So the point of this text, we share in his death by
dying with Christ in our new birth to be born again, right? We must, we must die. The old man must die like Christ is saying.
We are out in his death and the old man is out with, to put to death,
and we die once for all as we are raised in his life, united in his death and then united in his life. It's the same thing we share in his death as we share in his life. If we went to share in his life, we must share in his death.
The old man must die as Christ, he who, 2nd Corinthians 5 21, he who
knew no sin became sin, that we might become his righteousness, the righteousness of God. Christ became sin and put sin to death. We must put our sin to death.
We must follow in his footsteps
and then be united with him in his life, truly live in him. Good. So to corroborate our union with his life again, let me read another text or sorry, three different texts.
I'm just going to go through
these Bryce and I can comment on them real quick. But the point, the point of all three of these I'm about to read is we are alive with Christ. You cannot be alive apart from Christ.
You have to
be united to him. You have to be one with him. If you want to be alive, you can't be, you can't be alive without Christ is the point.
So here we go. Ephesians 2 4 through 6, but God being rich in
mercy because of his great love with which he has loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ by grace. We have been saved and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus.
Okay. So there's four times there
that we see clearly that we have to be united with Christ. We're doing all this with him and he's the leader.
He's leading us in this. Um, in the same sense that you're united, the husband
and wife are united together. Yet the man is the leader.
He's leading out in all this. Um, Colossians
3 3 through 4, for you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life is revealed, then you also will be revealed with him in glory.
We come along with him.
First Corinthians 15 22 for as in Adam all die. So with Adam we all die.
So also in Christ,
all will be made alive. So with Adam there's death with Christ there's life. Right.
The kind of death
that we have with Christ, those the kind of death that leads to life, right? We must put the old man to die to come to life. Adam, his life is one that leads to death. So good.
And that really just
further corroborates the point of the union that we have with Christ is again, we keep, I want to keep hitting this drum. It's not that we become the same being as Christ. This is again, all relational because we're seated with him in the heavenly places.
We become co-heirs with him. Um, we have
been Christ is our life and we've been hidden in him. And also he is our representative as not, as Adam was our representative for sin, Christ is our representative for righteousness of life.
Right. So this is all about, this is, this is relational language. This is not ontological being language.
Exactly. Not that we become one with Christ in this, in the sense that we partake
of his divine nature, um, and that sort of way, but we partake of it in a different way relationally. Exactly.
Yeah. Yeah. And if we want to, the reason why this is the foundation of the Christian life,
because if you want to, like, right.
So I've been saying very often about this, the last series,
sorry, this, the last couple of episodes about grace, how we're just benefits of God's grace. We have to be, we have to share in Christ, be united to him to receive the benefits in the same sense that we receive because we're in Adam, we receive the effects of the fall from Adam. We have to be united with Christ to receive the benefits of the benefits are election.
The benefits are
redemption, atonement, propitiation, grace, justification, sanctification, glorification, all the things we've been talking about. But the first thing that has to happen is there has to be like Bryce is saying, a relational component where Christ will give us these things. We can be found in him and receive the benefits.
And that's why it is very closely related to election. As we
saw in, uh, Ephesians one, God's choosing in Christ, there's a relational component where we receive it. It's not just a cold hearted election.
The in Christ, the with Christ is where we see the heart
of God connecting with election. It's not a cold hearted, dead election where you just choose somebody to be on your team because you don't like them, but you choose them in love, right? There's, there's the relational aspect to it. Can you aim in that? Or did I say some heresy there? A little bit, but I'll let us slide.
So reminder, the point we're alive with Christ and that's the only reason we're alive because we're with him, united in, but we remember that we receive redemption in real time. Ephesians two 12, remember that you were at that time separate from Christ excluded from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise having no hope and without God in the world. Here's the point.
There is a time before God applies the work of new birth
in elections to us that we were separate from him, having no union or communion with God. That's what makes this doctrine sweet. Although he's considering the relational component of us being in him in Ephesians one three through four before the foundation of the world, there's also the very, the very intimate reality that that still has to happen to us so we can rejoice when it happens.
We can't presume that that's going to be us. We experience things in time. This is what John Murray says in his book, that book I quoted from earlier, redemption accomplished and applied.
He says union with Christ is a very inclusive subject.
It embraces the wide span of salvation from its ultimate source in the eternal election of God to its final fruition in the glorification of the elect. It is not simply a phase of the application of redemption.
It underlies every aspect of redemption, both in its accomplishment and in
its application. Union with Christ binds all together and ensures that to all for whom Christ has purchased redemption, he effectively applies and communicates the same. So it's a sure thing, but we remember that there is a time when we once were separate, we were alienated, we were not with Christ.
Now we're with Christ. So anything you want to add there, Bryce?
No, that's good. Okay, so now let's get a little Trinitarian up in here.
Let's get, you know, we're,
we're not tri theists, but we are Trinitarian. So let's, let's get a little Trinitarian. Get on trinity, trinity up in here.
Oh, that was pretty good, Bryce. Okay. So, um, as we get Trinitarian, let me read a text for you.
First Corinthians 12, 13, for by one spirit, we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, and we are all made to drink of one spirit. We're sharing in, we're united in Christ. The point is the spirit is the glue by which union with Christ coheres.
Trademark that somebody, somebody, uh, did it before Rocky does. Yeah. Copyright or patent or whatever it's called.
But I want, I want that sentence, uh,
for sure, because I think it's beautiful. And I think, I think I'm saying something true there. I don't think I'm lying.
Uh, anyways, uh, the spirit, this is, this is the reason why
I'm going here is because we want to see in this doctrine, the beauties of the trinity, the trinity and the Godhead, right? All working together. Uh, so, uh, the son accomplishes and the spirit applies the work of redemption. Exactly.
It's beautiful. So when we want to think about our
union with Christ, how, how do we stay connected? It's the spirit by the spirit. We are baptized into one body, the, the body of Christ, one body.
So, um, do you want to add anything or continue on?
I mean, one point on that would be in Ephesians one 13 and 14, it talks about how when we believed in the words of truth, the gospel of our salvation and believed in him, that we were sealed with the promised Holy spirit. So that ceiling is, is what's happening in our union. It's a seal that is marking us as the, it's like the seal of might like right now.
I know you guys can't see it,
but here's my wedding ring. This is a seal of my union with my wife, right? The spirit, like Rocky saying is the, is the seal. It's the glue that holds us together.
That shows the
covenant relation that we have with God and our union. So that's, that's really what Rocky's hitting on. And it's just such a good point that we, the spirit is necessary.
And this act in the
same way that the son and the father are necessary. Yeah. Here's another analogy I thought of.
It's
like we are Christ is a magnet. We are a magnet. Our poles are opposite and the magnetic force by which we are drawn together is the Holy spirit.
That is the force by which we're being united
clicking together. Right. What do you think about that one? In comes that, uh, I don't know what that gay musician is, but you know, the song gravity.
Oh no. I don't know. It's cold, but it might be
John Mayer, bro.
I don't know. I'm taking a shot. Yeah.
Yeah. We could, we could easily put that
in there, but yeah, it's the force. It's the binding parts.
Right. Um, okay. So that's more
like stall Wars than anything else.
So I'm sorry. What did that sound a lot like? It's getting a
little, uh, more sci-fi culture on you. Um, where was I at? Okay.
So there, okay. There's great
mystery in the things of God. You knew with Christ is a great teaching.
So let me read a text for
you. And then John Murray is going to help us out again. Colossians one 26 through 27.
That is the
mystery, which has been hidden from past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to his saints to whom God willed to make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. So again, why are we ending here? Well, last time we talked about glorification, right? We were doing that, the glorifying grace, the hope of glory is that Christ is in us. That's the hope of glorification that we're united to Christ.
That's the hope of election from the beginning to end elections, the beginning,
glorification is the end and union with Christ is the, the stream that runs, runs alongside the doctrine the whole way in our Christian life. Um, so the mystery, the mystery is this that in the old covenant, there was confusion. How can God forgive wicked sinners? How can someone like David be blessed because he is iniquities have been cleansed from him.
And that's the mystery
revealed that Christ is in him, right? He's born again. So that's the beauty of that text right there. Yeah, that text is awesome.
Claust is 126 27 that this beautiful. So agreed Bryce. This is
the, this is the point.
Uh, are you union with Christ and then we start seeing the spirit come
in? This is a mystery. It's not unintelligible though. It's made intelligible by the mind of God to us.
That mystery is Christ in us. It's revealed. It's not a mystery.
It is a deep, deep
truth, but it's truth. Nonetheless, we can understand it. That's the point.
So here's what
John Murray says, which I thought was beautiful on page 178 of that book, redemption accomplished and applied. He says the wide range of similar to use in scripture to illustrate union with Christ is very striking on the highest level of being it is compared to the union, which exists between the persons of the Trinity and the Godhead. This is staggering, but it is the case.
John 14,
23 and John 17, 21 through 23 on the lowest level, it is compared to the relation that exists between the stones of a building and the chief cornerstone Ephesians two 19 through 22 first Peter two, four through five in between these two limits. There's a variety of similar to drawn from different levels of being and relationship is compared to the union that exists between Adam and all of his posterity Romans five 12 through 19 first Corinthians 15 19 through 49. Like I was reading earlier from first Corinthians 15 that as an Adam all die and then continue on.
It is compared to the union that exists between man and wife and Ephesians five and John three. It is compared to the union that exists between the head and the other members of the human body. Ephesians four, it is compared to the relation of the vine and the branches.
John
15. Hence we have analogy drawn from various strata of being ascending from the inanimate realm to the very life of the persons of the Godhead. So it is this is a truth littered all throughout God's revelation by vines and branches and the way plants work all the way up to the Godhead itself.
A unity of co cohesion. It's even present in chemistry when we see bonds
covalent and ionic bonds between different elements, right? This is a teaching. It's a principle by which we can understand what's happening between us and Christ in salvation.
Amen. Yeah, I just think that was so cool and especially because scripture uses so many different analogies for us to understand that this union not only is it is a good truth, a deep truth that we can learn from it bleeds into the saints interacts with one another. Psalm 133.
One behold how good and pleasant is it is when brothers dwell together in unity. Let
me couple that with John 17 21 that they may all be one even as you father are in me and I in you that they may also be in us so that it so that the world may believe that you sent me. So part of our witness to the world is our union with the Godhead and our union with each other.
Here's our point. Here's the point here. Union with Christ will produce a union with the saints.
That's beautiful. If you don't feel union with the saints at church, you probably aren't around saints. If you go to church, what'd you say? Or you're just not a Christian or or you're not or or you're yeah exactly or you're not in union with Christ.
But if you don't see union in the brethren
at church when you congregate with believers, there is something wrong. You're not sharing in the Godhead and neither are the people around you if there's an issue there and you might be the problem or others might be the problem, but you ought to test the spirits. And this is also when when Christ talks about us being a kingdom of priests to God that we are the kingdom of Christ that he has made by entering into that kingdom through the new birth.
And we're supposed to be
the salt and light of the world. One large way that's displayed is through our brotherly affection and love for one another. It's the same thing when all the pagan nations would look at Israel and say what a nation that has just laws like this.
And it draws them to want to be a part
of Israel. That's why David can pray, "Blessed is the nation who has Yahweh as their God." So the union with Christ as it's originated in him produces like Rocky saying the union with the saints, which is the ultimate display of the gospel to the world. Yes, we must and should preach the gospel to the world, but we also display it in the sense of our union of what Christ has affected in our lives.
Exactly. So it's all of it. It's whole encompassing.
It's not like the dumb Pope said
that you preach the gospel all the time that if necessary use words, that's heresy, because it's at the exclusion of preaching. Preaching is something that's already spoken, so it's kind of an incoherent statement anyways. Our union is supposed to be a display to the world that does not have union.
The only thing that they're united with is chaotic sin.
Exactly. What does that are real taste of union? Yeah, amen.
What does our lack of union
in the brethren articulate about our union with Christ? It says something. I guess I'll leave it at that. Yeah.
The picture of union with Christ, that great foundation
of all things spoken of thus far consists in this John 15, 4, "Abide in me and I in you, as the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it abides in the vine. So neither can you unless you abide in me." Abiding in Christ is the foundation. That's where spiritual life comes from.
The union being close to Christ. Your closeness to Christ will articulate that in spiritual health and your farness from Christ, grieving the spirit through continual hard-hearted sin, right? You won't have as much life in you. So let's synthesize and apply.
John 17, 21, like I read earlier, that they may all be in you as even as you, Father, are in me and I knew that they may also be in us so that the world may believe that you sent me. Let's couple that with 1 John 2, 5 through 6, "But whoever keeps his word in him, the love of God has truly been perfected." By this, we know that we are in him. The one who says that he abides in him ought himself to walk in the same manner as he walked.
So the point there is if you want to
in the same sense that abiding in Christ is how we bear fruit, that fruit is evidence that we are in him. That's my point here. In the same sense that Christ had perfect communion with the Father, therefore he was without sin, right? That's what perfect communion with the Father looks like, is the way Christ modeled that for us.
So if you want to bear fruit, fruit is an evidence of your
union with Christ. We ought to walk in the same manner he walked. Truly is the love of God perfected in us when that happens.
So union with Christ produces union with the Trinity.
Here's where we finish off our Trinitarian devotion here in this doctrine, John 14, 16 through 17, "I will ask the Father and he will give you another helper that he may be with you forever. That is the Spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it does not see him or know him, but you know him because he abides with you and you and he and will be in you." We see Father, Son, and Spirit asking the Father, the Father listening, the Son sending the Spirit, the Spirit being applied, applying all the grace, all the work, all the unity.
So the point is unity with Christ produces
unity with all members of the Trinity and our fellow brother and sister. Amen. Amen.
Do you have anything else to add there? No, that's really good.
Okay. So let me finish with one more text and then we'll be done.
Ephesians 1.10.
So God has a, this is Paul speaking here in Ephesians 1.10. He says, "A view to an administration suitable to the fullness of times, that is the summing up of all things in Christ, things in heaven, and things on earth." So God is, as we get to this, we're ending today, right, on this series of gospel foundations and we're ending with unity with Christ. And we read this last text because what is God doing with the world? What is he doing with other people? He's calling them to himself. He's uniting all things to himself.
God wants union. It's the ministry of reconciliation and
it comes through the feet of those who bring the good news. That's really kind of the idea of reconciliation there.
He wants to be one again with his creation, but because it's fallen and
he's doing that work, obviously, he's going to accomplish it, but he's winning all things. He's uniting all things, things in heaven and things on earth to him. This is the end.
And now
we're going to get into the scope of the gospel, God's work in doing that and how he includes us in that. We'll talk about evangelism. We'll talk about discipleship.
We'll talk about
post-colonialism. We'll talk about a lot of things, but we're going to get into now the scope of the gospel, the work God has given us and that he's doing and accomplishing to unite all things to himself. Amen.
Amen. And the reason Rocky and I are wanting to go this direction is because the
scope of the gospel is the thing that has been devoid in those preaching. We so often hear pure, right doctrine that has no scope, has no range, has no application to the world.
It's a
fake calling of repentance and faith that has no regards for sin or that winks at sin. It's a fake repentance and calling of faith into Christ without true genuine faith in the Christ who saves. So I heard from a pastor recently, he talked about a person preaching a very faithful sermon on the doctrine of the limited atonement.
And he goes up and he says to the pastor, like, what a great
sermon. You really hit that. You really hit the text very well.
You exposited it well, but your
daughter's up here wearing a miniskirt. Right. So this is the application of the gospel that we're willing to talk about that even though you might have right doctrine, you might have orthodoxy.
It might not actually be leading into your orthopraxy. So right doctrine orders right life. And this is what we want to get into is that all of life is for the glory of God.
And the gospel
has scope to it. It has a mission. It has a purpose.
It has something it's aiming at. It's
not just this pointless doctrine of Christ's burial, death, burial and resurrection that doesn't affect anything. It's the gospel that changes and transforms not only the world, but culture and creates culture.
So this is what we want to hit on.
Yep. Amen.
And so, yeah, and just to reiterate the point more in my own words,
when we see that Christ is summing up all things in himself, in Christ, things in heaven and things on earth, you know what that includes? The way you dress, the things you say, the way you operate your business, the way you condemn tyrants, the way you disobey tyrants, the way you build a home, the way you build a home architecture, the way you conduct science, the way you develop a hypothesis when you look at the world, the way you make art, your interests, your hobbies, the way you walk, the kind of car you buy, the people you do business with and don't do business with, the people you talk to and you don't talk to, the kind of words you write, the words you say, the prayers you pray, the people you make friends with. And David clearly says that even the way you sleep in Psalm 4, he says, "In peace I will both lie down and sleep for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety." He can't even sleep right apart from it. It's all encompassing, totalizing faith about giving us.
Yeah, we're talking about Christian culture here. That's what the scope of the gospel is. It's God's world being made.
He's got a kingdom. Kingdoms have traditions, arts, they have their,
right? Like everything that happens in a kingdom, everything, all the different professions. That is what we're getting at here.
Christian culture, the scope of the gospel, all really the
scope of the gospel is in light of the truth of reality, how do you develop all your customs and traditions by which you live by on a daily basis until you're dead? Yeah, and that's what we're going to get into. And it does involve evangelism, discipleship and all that, but we're going to be super practical with the things we say, and we're going to condemn things pretty hardcore. You've probably never heard condemn before because you probably thought it was neutral.
You probably
thought brushing your teeth was neutral, that kind of thing. So that's what we hope to do in this next section. Anything else you want to add, Bryce? That's good.
Okay, so expect on these Sundays now,
episodes concerning the scope of the gospel. We hope that the gospel foundation series was a blessing for you. I think it's been three or four months we've been doing this series.
I hope it really
blessed you guys and you were awakened and revitalized to the truths of the good news of individual salvation that we can be made right with God. But you've also started to see the totalizing aspects of the gospel and we're going to get into that and we're going to apply it. So we hope this blessed you guys.
Thanks for listening. Thanks for those that tune in on a
regular basis. You can always like the podcast or share it, try to spread the word, that kind of thing.
I've got a website at forthekingpodcast.com. I just released a new blog on the for the blog
section. But yeah, we just appreciate you guys listening and we just hope you get just a little bit of truth out of this and a little bit of reason to glorify God. That's what we want to do.
So yeah, if you have any inquiries or questions, you can reach me at forthekingpodcast.com. Amen. Good. Okay.
To the king of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God,
the honor and glory forever and ever. Amen. Sole day.
Oh, glory.
Holy moly. Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh,

More on OpenTheo

Licona and Martin Talk about the Physical Resurrection of Jesus
Licona and Martin Talk about the Physical Resurrection of Jesus
Risen Jesus
May 21, 2025
In today’s episode, we have a Religion Soup dialogue from Acadia Divinity College between Dr. Mike Licona and Dr. Dale Martin on whether Jesus physica
Licona vs. Fales: A Debate in 4 Parts – Part Four: Licona Responds and Q&A
Licona vs. Fales: A Debate in 4 Parts – Part Four: Licona Responds and Q&A
Risen Jesus
June 18, 2025
Today is the final episode in our four-part series covering the 2014 debate between Dr. Michael Licona and Dr. Evan Fales. In this hour-long episode,
Do People with Dementia Have Free Will?
Do People with Dementia Have Free Will?
#STRask
June 16, 2025
Question about whether or not people with dementia have free will and are morally responsible for the sins they commit.   * Do people with dementia h
Could Inherently Sinful Humans Have Accurately Recorded the Word of God?
Could Inherently Sinful Humans Have Accurately Recorded the Word of God?
#STRask
July 7, 2025
Questions about whether or not inherently sinful humans could have accurately recorded the Word of God, whether the words about Moses in Acts 7:22 and
Bible Study: Choices and Character in James, Part 1
Bible Study: Choices and Character in James, Part 1
Knight & Rose Show
June 21, 2025
Wintery Knight and Desert Rose explore chapters 1 and 2 of the Book of James. They discuss the book's author, James, the brother of Jesus, and his mar
What Should I Teach My Students About Worldviews?
What Should I Teach My Students About Worldviews?
#STRask
June 2, 2025
Question about how to go about teaching students about worldviews, what a worldview is, how to identify one, how to show that the Christian worldview
The Biblical View of Abortion with Tom Pennington
The Biblical View of Abortion with Tom Pennington
Life and Books and Everything
May 5, 2025
What does the Bible say about life in the womb? When does life begin? What about personhood? What has the church taught about abortion over the centur
Shouldn’t We All Be Harvesters?
Shouldn’t We All Be Harvesters?
#STRask
August 4, 2025
Questions about how to handle objections from Christians who think we should all be harvesters and should not focus on gardening, and whether attendin
What Are the Top Five Things to Consider Before Joining a Church?
What Are the Top Five Things to Consider Before Joining a Church?
#STRask
July 3, 2025
Questions about the top five things to consider before joining a church when coming out of the NAR movement, and thoughts regarding a church putting o
Licona and Martin: A Dialogue on Jesus' Claim of Divinity
Licona and Martin: A Dialogue on Jesus' Claim of Divinity
Risen Jesus
May 14, 2025
In this episode, Dr. Mike Licona and Dr. Dale Martin discuss their differing views of Jesus’ claim of divinity. Licona proposes that “it is more proba
How Can I Tell My Patients They’re Giving Christianity a Negative Reputation?
How Can I Tell My Patients They’re Giving Christianity a Negative Reputation?
#STRask
August 7, 2025
Questions about whether there’s a gracious way to explain to manipulative and demanding patients that they’re giving Christianity a negative reputatio
More on the Midwest and Midlife with Kevin, Collin, and Justin
More on the Midwest and Midlife with Kevin, Collin, and Justin
Life and Books and Everything
May 19, 2025
The triumvirate comes back together to wrap up another season of LBE. Along with the obligatory sports chatter, the three guys talk at length about th
Is It Problematic for a DJ to Play Songs That Are Contrary to His Christian Values?
Is It Problematic for a DJ to Play Songs That Are Contrary to His Christian Values?
#STRask
July 10, 2025
Questions about whether it’s problematic for a DJ on a secular radio station to play songs with lyrics that are contrary to his Christian values, and
What Would Be the Point of Getting Baptized After All This Time?
What Would Be the Point of Getting Baptized After All This Time?
#STRask
May 22, 2025
Questions about the point of getting baptized after being a Christian for over 60 years, the difference between a short prayer and an eloquent one, an
Can a Deceased Person’s Soul Live On in the Recipient of His Heart?
Can a Deceased Person’s Soul Live On in the Recipient of His Heart?
#STRask
May 12, 2025
Questions about whether a deceased person’s soul can live on in the recipient of his heart, whether 1 Corinthians 15:44 confirms that babies in the wo