1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:07,100 You’re listening to a sermon from Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 2 00:00:07,100 –> 00:00:16,480 To contact us call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 or visit our website at www.openthebible.org. 3 00:00:16,480 –> 00:00:17,760 Let’s get to the message. 4 00:00:17,760 –> 00:00:20,680 Here is Pastor Colin. 5 00:00:20,680 –> 00:00:25,320 Please open your Bibles at 2 Corinthians chapter 5. 6 00:00:25,320 –> 00:00:31,959 We looked last time from verse 14 at what it means to be controlled by the love of Christ. 7 00:00:31,959 –> 00:00:36,880 We saw the testimony of the Apostle Paul that the love of Christ really took a grip in his 8 00:00:36,880 –> 00:00:42,660 life, took hold of his life, when he came to two conclusions about the death and the 9 00:00:42,660 –> 00:00:45,500 resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. 10 00:00:45,500 –> 00:00:51,480 The first was that Jesus changed death, that he died in our place, in order to change the 11 00:00:51,480 –> 00:00:53,139 face of death forever. 12 00:00:53,259 –> 00:00:58,820 That’s why he says, one has died for all and therefore all have died. 13 00:00:58,820 –> 00:01:04,459 He has changed death from what it would have been, a passing into condemnation, into what 14 00:01:04,459 –> 00:01:09,900 it will be for a person who’s in Christ and entering into celebration, he’s changed the 15 00:01:09,900 –> 00:01:12,260 face of death for all of his people. 16 00:01:12,260 –> 00:01:18,040 And then, not only that, we saw that the Lord Jesus has changed the face of life, the whole 17 00:01:18,040 –> 00:01:19,480 purpose of life. 18 00:01:19,480 –> 00:01:26,339 He died to bring us from the misery of living for self, into the joy of living for him. 19 00:01:26,339 –> 00:01:31,820 He died, verse 15, that those who live might no longer live for themselves, but for him 20 00:01:31,820 –> 00:01:35,139 who for their sake died and was raised. 21 00:01:35,139 –> 00:01:42,099 Now, in these verses, we’ve really come to the core of what God has done in Jesus Christ 22 00:01:42,099 –> 00:01:44,059 for all of his people. 23 00:01:44,059 –> 00:01:51,940 He’s changed death, he’s changed life, and he’s done it for all who are in Jesus Christ. 24 00:01:51,940 –> 00:02:00,879 Now, today, we’re going to come to the first of, really, a series of conclusions, or applications 25 00:02:00,879 –> 00:02:06,660 that come from the great truth of who Jesus is and what he has done and what he has accomplished 26 00:02:06,660 –> 00:02:08,259 for his people. 27 00:02:08,320 –> 00:02:14,179 So, we’re really coming, therefore, to a series of conclusions from this wonderful reality 28 00:02:14,179 –> 00:02:16,820 that the love of Christ controls us. 29 00:02:16,820 –> 00:02:21,479 What we’re going to see today is that when that is the case, it changes the way that 30 00:02:21,479 –> 00:02:28,800 we see other people, and it also changes the way in which we see ourselves. 31 00:02:28,800 –> 00:02:36,080 I want to try and show you from the Bible today how it is that knowing Jesus Christ 32 00:02:36,160 –> 00:02:44,220 will change the way you view others, and it will change the way in which you see yourself. 33 00:02:44,220 –> 00:02:50,220 So, we come, therefore, to verse 16 and verse 17, and I’d like to read these verses again 34 00:02:50,220 –> 00:02:51,940 for you now. 35 00:02:51,940 –> 00:02:57,559 From now on, therefore—so the word therefore means this is a conclusion, this is what comes 36 00:02:57,559 –> 00:03:00,320 from what we’ve been learning before. 37 00:03:00,320 –> 00:03:10,399 From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh, even though we once regarded 38 00:03:10,399 –> 00:03:13,419 Christ according to the flesh. 39 00:03:13,419 –> 00:03:18,860 So that same phrase a second time, even though we once did this, we regard him thus no longer. 40 00:03:18,860 –> 00:03:25,699 Then, this marvelous verse, therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old 41 00:03:25,940 –> 00:03:30,500 has passed away, behold the new has come. 42 00:03:30,500 –> 00:03:35,020 Now the key words here are the words according to the flesh. 43 00:03:35,020 –> 00:03:40,399 And you’ll notice that that little phrase comes twice in verse 16 as if to underline 44 00:03:40,399 –> 00:03:46,020 its importance, from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. 45 00:03:46,020 –> 00:03:53,580 We once regarded Christ according to the flesh, but we do so no longer. 46 00:03:53,580 –> 00:04:00,100 Now what does it mean to regard someone according to the flesh? 47 00:04:00,100 –> 00:04:05,899 Well very simply, to regard someone according to the flesh means to form an impression about 48 00:04:05,899 –> 00:04:11,720 a person from the most obvious things about them. 49 00:04:11,720 –> 00:04:18,019 Remember the Bible says, man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart. 50 00:04:18,019 –> 00:04:22,600 We often emphasize rightly the second half of that verse, God looks on the heart. 51 00:04:22,640 –> 00:04:27,000 We forget the first part, which is that man looks on the outward appearance. 52 00:04:27,000 –> 00:04:34,239 We form impressions on what is immediately apparent in regards to other people. 53 00:04:34,239 –> 00:04:39,279 Of course we do want to know the heart, but as everyone knows, that takes time and you 54 00:04:39,279 –> 00:04:40,799 can’t do that with everybody. 55 00:04:40,799 –> 00:04:47,339 You’re only able to know the heart of a limited number of people. 56 00:04:47,440 –> 00:04:56,160 I want to list for you 10 factors that distinguish us according to the flesh. 57 00:04:56,160 –> 00:04:59,480 Let me give you this health warning before we get into it. 58 00:04:59,480 –> 00:05:02,019 Every one of them is sensitive. 59 00:05:02,019 –> 00:05:03,299 Every one of them is sensitive. 60 00:05:03,299 –> 00:05:09,480 That was the thing, as I was meditating on this and listing out what does it mean to 61 00:05:09,480 –> 00:05:13,420 be in the flesh, and what does this phrase, according to the flesh, mean? 62 00:05:13,540 –> 00:05:15,940 And I’m meditating on it, so I’m going, oh, that’s sensitive. 63 00:05:15,940 –> 00:05:18,619 Oh, so’s that, oh, so’s that. 64 00:05:18,619 –> 00:05:25,299 And the reason for that is that these things reflect our life in this world, and as you 65 00:05:25,299 –> 00:05:31,200 will see, they are therefore the focus of great tension in many spheres. 66 00:05:31,200 –> 00:05:32,739 Here is number one. 67 00:05:32,739 –> 00:05:33,760 Appearance. 68 00:05:33,760 –> 00:05:36,260 The most obvious of them all. 69 00:05:36,260 –> 00:05:42,579 This is obviously the first way in which we identify people in ordinary conversation. 70 00:05:42,579 –> 00:05:46,720 Everyone will say, Oh, you know, I spoke to Mary Jones this morning. 71 00:05:46,720 –> 00:05:48,899 And I’ll say, now, who is she? 72 00:05:48,899 –> 00:05:52,399 And she’ll say, well, she’s the tall lady with the dark curly hair, and she walks with 73 00:05:52,399 –> 00:05:54,359 a bit of a stoop, and she always wears a green coat. 74 00:05:54,359 –> 00:05:59,540 I mean, that’s the kind of ordinary conversation that we have all of the time in regards to 75 00:05:59,540 –> 00:06:03,160 how we describe or identify people. 76 00:06:03,160 –> 00:06:09,000 According to the flesh, you have a certain height, and you may either like that or not 77 00:06:09,000 –> 00:06:10,179 like it. 78 00:06:10,220 –> 00:06:14,959 You are of a certain weight, and you may either like that or you may not like that. 79 00:06:14,959 –> 00:06:19,200 You have your own style, you have your own level of fitness, and all of these things 80 00:06:19,200 –> 00:06:22,100 are immediately apparent. 81 00:06:22,100 –> 00:06:26,859 All of us have thoughts about our own appearance, whether we like it or whether we don’t like 82 00:06:26,859 –> 00:06:30,500 it, how it compares with the appearance of others, and that’s why these things become 83 00:06:30,500 –> 00:06:31,619 sensitive. 84 00:06:31,619 –> 00:06:36,799 But our appearance is a factor that distinguishes us according to the flesh. 85 00:06:36,799 –> 00:06:37,799 That’s number one. 86 00:06:37,820 –> 00:06:39,399 Number two, ability. 87 00:06:39,399 –> 00:06:45,779 I’m thinking here about gifts, talents, abilities that each of us have in different spheres, 88 00:06:45,779 –> 00:06:53,739 sports, arts, music, so forth and so on, and our abilities in different areas are part 89 00:06:53,739 –> 00:06:58,899 of what we are according to the flesh. 90 00:06:58,899 –> 00:07:06,799 Now, I went to high school for six years, and the reason I hasten to add is not that 91 00:07:06,920 –> 00:07:08,760 I did particularly badly. 92 00:07:08,760 –> 00:07:13,720 It was that we didn’t have middle school, and so at the age of 12, you went to what 93 00:07:13,720 –> 00:07:19,540 was called secondary school, effectively high school, and were there for six years. 94 00:07:19,540 –> 00:07:23,679 So I began there at the age of 12. 95 00:07:23,679 –> 00:07:30,260 And in the high school that I attended, for which I will always be grateful, we were divided 96 00:07:30,260 –> 00:07:33,700 into streams according to ability. 97 00:07:33,700 –> 00:07:38,579 And many others will have had this kind of experience. 98 00:07:38,579 –> 00:07:43,739 There were five classes in each year. 99 00:07:43,739 –> 00:07:48,200 And, if you’re curious to know where I was, the answer actually is very, very boring. 100 00:07:48,200 –> 00:07:51,779 I was absolutely slap-bang right in the middle. 101 00:07:51,779 –> 00:07:59,500 Well, I guess the school didn’t want it to be too obvious that the classes were streamed. 102 00:07:59,500 –> 00:08:05,720 And so the classes were given what seemed to be random names. 103 00:08:05,720 –> 00:08:11,059 They were X, G, T, H, and K. 104 00:08:11,059 –> 00:08:16,239 And so you would go into 1X or 1G and 2X and 2G and so forth, and so on. 105 00:08:16,239 –> 00:08:20,059 Well, of course, all the kids, as is always the case, knew who was at the top and who 106 00:08:20,059 –> 00:08:21,200 was at the bottom. 107 00:08:21,440 –> 00:08:28,920 And so here we were, 12 years old, trying to work out what these apparently random 108 00:08:28,920 –> 00:08:33,000 letters might actually stand for. 109 00:08:33,000 –> 00:08:39,479 And we worked it out, X, we decided for sure, must be for excellent, because these kids 110 00:08:39,479 –> 00:08:40,799 were the high flyers. 111 00:08:40,799 –> 00:08:45,000 G, which was the next slot, therefore must be for good. 112 00:08:45,000 –> 00:08:48,599 T, which was us, we dubbed terrific. 113 00:08:48,640 –> 00:08:51,960 Though other classes reckoned that it may well be terrible. 114 00:08:51,960 –> 00:08:59,520 H, which was obviously for horrible, which left K, which by universal acclamation was 115 00:08:59,520 –> 00:09:02,479 regarded as standing for chronic. 116 00:09:02,479 –> 00:09:07,799 And these kids lived with that for six years. 117 00:09:07,799 –> 00:09:13,640 Now this is the world in which we live, and how many of you have these awful memories 118 00:09:14,559 –> 00:09:19,799 of two captains picking teams for some kickabout game with a ball, and there you are, all the 119 00:09:19,799 –> 00:09:23,799 kids standing on the wall and, oh, I love this person, I love this person. 120 00:09:23,799 –> 00:09:27,799 And the first ones to be chosen, they walk out with a kind of swagger because they’re 121 00:09:27,799 –> 00:09:33,000 obviously the best players, and then the number that are standing by the wall becomes lower 122 00:09:33,000 –> 00:09:38,400 and lower and the last kids the chosen kind of walk out with their heads hanging because 123 00:09:38,400 –> 00:09:41,679 everybody knows that they’re the ones who are least wanted on the team. 124 00:09:41,679 –> 00:09:42,679 Why? 125 00:09:42,719 –> 00:09:48,200 We have a lower level of ability when it comes to this particular game. 126 00:09:48,200 –> 00:09:57,039 We have different abilities that distinguish us according to the flesh. 127 00:09:57,039 –> 00:09:59,179 Number three, age. 128 00:09:59,179 –> 00:10:02,239 The young and the old and everything in between. 129 00:10:02,239 –> 00:10:08,559 Paul says to Timothy, let no one despise your youth. 130 00:10:08,559 –> 00:10:10,000 What’s the point of him saying that? 131 00:10:10,000 –> 00:10:14,440 Some people will not give him a lot of credibility because he is young and he’s going to have 132 00:10:14,440 –> 00:10:19,099 to earn their trust and their respect. 133 00:10:19,099 –> 00:10:26,820 Similarly, older people often feel pushed to the margins in a society that chases increasingly 134 00:10:26,820 –> 00:10:28,479 after the young. 135 00:10:28,479 –> 00:10:35,559 How many tensions in society relate to these differences between us relating to age? 136 00:10:35,559 –> 00:10:38,719 Number four, friends. 137 00:10:38,719 –> 00:10:41,919 When you’re at school, this can be a huge factor in your life. 138 00:10:41,919 –> 00:10:44,179 Who are your friends? 139 00:10:44,179 –> 00:10:45,960 What’s the group to which you belong? 140 00:10:45,960 –> 00:10:49,419 Which group wants you in and which group doesn’t want you in? 141 00:10:49,419 –> 00:10:52,159 This remains true throughout life. 142 00:10:52,159 –> 00:10:58,080 We talk about social circle and it becomes important and significant with regards to 143 00:10:58,080 –> 00:10:59,640 who we are in the flesh. 144 00:10:59,640 –> 00:11:02,380 Number five, race. 145 00:11:02,380 –> 00:11:07,080 We’re talking about the things that distinguish us according to the flesh. 146 00:11:07,219 –> 00:11:14,900 Clearly race or ethnicity is one of these and it’s very striking how often in the Bible 147 00:11:14,900 –> 00:11:21,200 you have reference to the Jews and the Gentiles and often the great tensions between these 148 00:11:21,200 –> 00:11:24,380 two and how they might be overcome. 149 00:11:24,380 –> 00:11:31,419 You can’t understand the history of America or of the tensions in our country today apart 150 00:11:31,419 –> 00:11:36,940 from this issue and the many, many injustices that have gone with it. 151 00:11:37,020 –> 00:11:39,020 Number six, gender. 152 00:11:39,020 –> 00:11:47,400 God has made us male and female and this distinguishes us according to the flesh. 153 00:11:47,400 –> 00:11:52,719 As we think about race and about gender, just think about this, these are the great issues 154 00:11:52,719 –> 00:11:57,859 that cause so much tension, so much debate within our society. 155 00:11:57,859 –> 00:12:03,760 We’re trying to work out how we live together well with what distinguishes us according 156 00:12:03,760 –> 00:12:06,239 to the flesh. 157 00:12:06,539 –> 00:12:10,039 Number seven, work. 158 00:12:10,059 –> 00:12:17,260 According to the flesh our life in this world, the kind of work that a person does leads 159 00:12:17,260 –> 00:12:21,960 to a very different kind of experience in life. 160 00:12:21,960 –> 00:12:29,200 Manual labor, business, education, health, arts, science, or as your work in the home 161 00:12:29,219 –> 00:12:31,760 and with the family. 162 00:12:31,760 –> 00:12:37,140 And the kind of work you do relates very much to the kind of experience that you have in 163 00:12:37,140 –> 00:12:38,140 your life. 164 00:12:38,140 –> 00:12:43,479 I’m always interested to ask people now what’s your work because that gives a great insight 165 00:12:43,479 –> 00:12:52,200 into what a person’s experience of life actually is according to the flesh. 166 00:12:52,200 –> 00:12:53,679 Number eight, home. 167 00:12:53,679 –> 00:12:58,179 I find it difficult to know what to call this one. 168 00:12:58,239 –> 00:13:02,659 But think about everything that goes into a person’s lifestyle. 169 00:13:02,679 –> 00:13:09,380 The home you live in, the car that you drive, the vacations you enjoy, the restaurants you 170 00:13:09,380 –> 00:13:15,260 frequent, the entertainment that you choose, the leisure activities you pursue. 171 00:13:15,280 –> 00:13:19,200 All of this is driven in very significant measure by what? 172 00:13:19,200 –> 00:13:29,000 The underlying means that are available to you, to sustain this particular style of life. 173 00:13:29,000 –> 00:13:33,299 So, I could have called it wealth, I could have called it lifestyle, I called it simply 174 00:13:33,299 –> 00:13:34,299 home. 175 00:13:34,299 –> 00:13:36,479 Home has associations. 176 00:13:36,479 –> 00:13:41,219 We sometimes use the phrase, you know, brought up on the wrong side of the tracks. 177 00:13:41,219 –> 00:13:43,859 Why do we use that phrase? 178 00:13:43,919 –> 00:13:49,840 So many communities have a more prosperous part of the community that is one side of 179 00:13:49,840 –> 00:13:57,000 a railway line and a less prosperous part of a community that is on the other side of 180 00:13:57,039 –> 00:13:59,099 the tracks. 181 00:13:59,099 –> 00:14:06,659 Number nine, family, and here we can include family of origin, family by adoption, and 182 00:14:06,659 –> 00:14:09,820 family by marriage. 183 00:14:09,820 –> 00:14:18,059 And there’s the whole issue of the mix that gets scooped out of the jean pool and gets 184 00:14:18,059 –> 00:14:20,479 poured into you. 185 00:14:20,479 –> 00:14:27,440 And we think most of us perhaps a great deal from time to time about that, gifts and talents 186 00:14:27,440 –> 00:14:33,500 and physical features that were passed to you from your parents but then along with 187 00:14:33,500 –> 00:14:39,780 that, battles and struggles and desires that were in your father or mother and may also 188 00:14:39,780 –> 00:14:43,840 in some degree now be in you. 189 00:14:43,840 –> 00:14:49,780 And most of us therefore try to spend some time figuring out now, what is in us? 190 00:14:49,780 –> 00:14:52,340 And where did it come from? 191 00:14:52,340 –> 00:14:59,799 And when we do this we are very simply trying to figure out who we are according to the 192 00:14:59,799 –> 00:15:00,799 flesh. 193 00:15:00,840 –> 00:15:07,059 All part of what’s being spoken of in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and verse 16. 194 00:15:07,059 –> 00:15:11,700 And for some, this whole business has many more blessings than it has sorrows. 195 00:15:11,700 –> 00:15:17,239 You think primarily of what you have received genetically in terms of what you aspire to 196 00:15:17,239 –> 00:15:21,140 in those you have seen that you’ve gone before. 197 00:15:21,140 –> 00:15:24,640 And for others there are many more sorrows than there are blessings and when you think 198 00:15:24,640 –> 00:15:29,599 of this whole thing you’re thinking of what you want to try and avoid in terms of what 199 00:15:29,900 –> 00:15:32,520 has gone before. 200 00:15:32,520 –> 00:15:37,960 For some who don’t know who their biological parents are, there are open questions and 201 00:15:37,960 –> 00:15:41,479 curiosity about, what is in me? 202 00:15:41,479 –> 00:15:47,679 But what I’m saying to you is that for every single one of us, this whole business is a 203 00:15:47,679 –> 00:15:57,979 mixed bag according to the flesh, which leads to number ten, experience. 204 00:15:58,179 –> 00:16:03,820 And who we are according to the flesh is shaped not only by nature but by nurture, not only 205 00:16:03,820 –> 00:16:09,799 by the genes that have been passed to us but also by the environment of our experience. 206 00:16:09,799 –> 00:16:15,659 And so our early experiences, either of great love or of great neglect, will have significant 207 00:16:15,659 –> 00:16:20,500 influence on the shaping of our lives according to the flesh. 208 00:16:20,500 –> 00:16:26,400 The opportunities that come or do not come to us in our growing up years also will be 209 00:16:26,400 –> 00:16:27,900 significant. 210 00:16:28,159 –> 00:16:33,179 Some people seem to have a track in which all the doors open for them. 211 00:16:33,179 –> 00:16:37,940 And others have a track in which it seems all the doors close for them. 212 00:16:37,940 –> 00:16:47,520 And it makes a significant difference in our experience of life according to the flesh. 213 00:16:47,520 –> 00:16:48,520 So there are ten factors. 214 00:16:48,520 –> 00:16:52,820 When I got to ten, I thought I’ve got to stop, otherwise I’ll go on forever. 215 00:16:52,840 –> 00:16:59,900 You can discuss this in the Life Groups, you can add other factors to the list. 216 00:16:59,900 –> 00:17:03,539 But as I’ve been reflecting on these issues, and just going through the list and saying, 217 00:17:03,539 –> 00:17:10,119 Why is it that these are the issues that are so sensitive in our world? 218 00:17:10,119 –> 00:17:16,400 I think it’s for this reason that because, for many people, what we are according to 219 00:17:16,400 –> 00:17:20,140 the flesh is the only thing there is. 220 00:17:20,140 –> 00:17:26,420 And if what you are, according to the flesh, is the only thing there is, you will be uptight 221 00:17:26,420 –> 00:17:28,819 about who you are according to the flesh. 222 00:17:28,819 –> 00:17:30,540 You have to be. 223 00:17:30,540 –> 00:17:37,260 If that is all there is, you will always be battling it, and never find a way of coming 224 00:17:37,260 –> 00:17:40,560 to peace with it. 225 00:17:40,599 –> 00:17:50,280 And now that we have looked at these ten, I want you to see, hear, and feel the extraordinary 226 00:17:50,280 –> 00:17:58,319 power of what God says to us in 2 Corinthians 5 and verse 16. 227 00:17:58,319 –> 00:18:09,079 From now on, therefore, we – that is, we who are in Christ – regard no one according 228 00:18:09,079 –> 00:18:13,680 to the flesh. 229 00:18:13,680 –> 00:18:18,119 That is an extraordinary radical statement. 230 00:18:18,119 –> 00:18:22,520 In a world in which everything is about what we are in the flesh. 231 00:18:22,520 –> 00:18:30,839 The Apostle Paul says from now on we regard no one according to the flesh. 232 00:18:30,839 –> 00:18:37,400 In a world in which people’s lives are perceived to be shaped and defined by the ten factors 233 00:18:37,400 –> 00:18:42,800 that we’ve looked at and others that may be added, the Apostle says that for us who 234 00:18:42,800 –> 00:18:52,380 are in Christ, we don’t see these things as ultimately defining of any person. 235 00:18:52,439 –> 00:18:59,739 From now on we regard no one according to the flesh. 236 00:18:59,739 –> 00:19:05,000 So now that we’ve tuned our minds into how extraordinarily important this is and how 237 00:19:05,020 –> 00:19:11,439 deeply it speaks to our entire world and to our personal lives, I want to put this case 238 00:19:11,459 –> 00:19:13,619 before you. 239 00:19:13,619 –> 00:19:22,560 That a change in how you see Jesus will lead to a change in how you see others, 240 00:19:22,579 –> 00:19:26,880 and a change in how you see yourself. 241 00:19:26,880 –> 00:19:32,699 That is the thrust of these verses that are before us as we follow what the apostle Paul 242 00:19:32,699 –> 00:19:34,180 is saying. 243 00:19:34,180 –> 00:19:41,579 A change in how you see Jesus will lead to a change in how you see others and a change 244 00:19:41,800 –> 00:19:44,260 in how you see yourself. 245 00:19:44,260 –> 00:19:49,560 And this is wonderfully liberating for all who are in Christ. 246 00:19:49,560 –> 00:19:52,819 Let me build that case then in these three steps and start here. 247 00:19:52,819 –> 00:19:55,739 A change in how you see Jesus. 248 00:19:55,739 –> 00:19:57,579 This is where it begins. 249 00:19:57,579 –> 00:20:00,380 Look at verse 16. 250 00:20:00,459 –> 00:20:11,040 Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. 251 00:20:11,040 –> 00:20:13,560 You see what Paul is saying. 252 00:20:13,560 –> 00:20:19,180 He is talking about the way in which he viewed Jesus, the opinion he formed about Jesus. 253 00:20:19,180 –> 00:20:23,540 And he is saying the opinion that I had of Jesus was formed entirely by what he was 254 00:20:23,540 –> 00:20:25,479 according to the flesh. 255 00:20:26,479 –> 00:20:31,780 A Jewish man, born into a poor family, raised in an obscure village, a carpenter by trade, 256 00:20:31,780 –> 00:20:37,920 of unusual ability in leading others, who hung out with sometimes embarrassing friends 257 00:20:37,920 –> 00:20:44,579 and died early in life without owning more than the robe for which the soldiers gambled 258 00:20:44,579 –> 00:20:48,819 while he hung on the cross. 259 00:20:48,819 –> 00:20:52,339 That was my opinion of Jesus. 260 00:20:52,359 –> 00:20:56,920 And all of these people worshipping him, therefore, was the most offensive thing imaginable to 261 00:20:56,920 –> 00:20:57,920 me. 262 00:20:57,920 –> 00:21:01,819 That’s what Paul is saying. 263 00:21:01,819 –> 00:21:08,560 Now as you read the gospels, there are actually multiple examples of people who dismissed 264 00:21:08,560 –> 00:21:13,000 Jesus because they regarded him according to the flesh. 265 00:21:13,000 –> 00:21:17,339 And because people still do this today, I want just to take a moment to show you this. 266 00:21:17,339 –> 00:21:20,479 Let me give you some examples. 267 00:21:20,479 –> 00:21:25,160 In John 6 and verse 42, Jesus says, I am the bread of life. 268 00:21:25,160 –> 00:21:29,640 He’s been saying, I am the bread of life that came down from heaven. 269 00:21:29,640 –> 00:21:31,140 The crowd doesn’t like what he’s saying. 270 00:21:31,140 –> 00:21:34,640 And they begin to grumble and here’s what they said. 271 00:21:34,640 –> 00:21:43,680 Is this not Jesus, the son of Mary and Joseph, whose father and mother we know? 272 00:21:43,680 –> 00:21:48,800 So you go down your ten factors of what shapes us according to the flesh and they’re dismissing 273 00:21:48,800 –> 00:21:49,800 Jesus. 274 00:21:49,939 –> 00:21:52,000 He was his brother by on the basis of his family of origin. 275 00:21:52,000 –> 00:21:54,260 They’re saying we know his parents. 276 00:21:54,280 –> 00:21:56,119 So how can he possibly be the bread of life. 277 00:21:56,119 –> 00:22:00,859 So they completely dismiss him on the basis of family. 278 00:22:00,859 –> 00:22:03,699 Matthew chapter 13. 279 00:22:03,699 –> 00:22:10,680 When Jesus comes into his hometown of Nazareth and they listen to him speak, the scripture 280 00:22:10,680 –> 00:22:18,319 says, Matthew 13 and verse 55, is this not the carpenters son? 281 00:22:18,520 –> 00:22:22,079 Now, you go down to your list of ten, what are they doing their? 282 00:22:22,079 –> 00:22:26,280 They’re dismissing Jesus because they view him according to the flesh and they’ve got 283 00:22:26,280 –> 00:22:27,599 him tagged, why? 284 00:22:27,599 –> 00:22:28,599 By his job. 285 00:22:28,599 –> 00:22:30,500 He’s a carpenter’s son. 286 00:22:30,500 –> 00:22:33,280 He follows in the lines of the carpenters. 287 00:22:33,280 –> 00:22:34,280 That’s what he does. 288 00:22:34,280 –> 00:22:40,660 How can these things that he’s been saying be true when he’s simply a carpenter. 289 00:22:40,660 –> 00:22:42,660 Mark chapter two and verse 16. 290 00:22:42,660 –> 00:22:45,880 Here are all these people rejecting Jesus dismissing him. 291 00:22:45,880 –> 00:22:46,880 Why? 292 00:22:47,699 –> 00:22:48,699 Because they view him according to the flesh. 293 00:22:48,699 –> 00:22:54,060 The Pharisees see the company that he’s keeping and they ask this question of the disciples. 294 00:22:54,060 –> 00:22:59,920 Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners? 295 00:22:59,920 –> 00:23:01,979 And the Pharisees are dismissing Jesus. 296 00:23:01,979 –> 00:23:02,979 Why? 297 00:23:02,979 –> 00:23:05,719 Because they are judging him according to the flesh. 298 00:23:05,719 –> 00:23:10,160 And in particular, they have come to this conclusion because they’ve looked at the 299 00:23:10,160 –> 00:23:12,119 friends he is keeping. 300 00:23:12,119 –> 00:23:18,319 He’s in that circle of people there so he cannot possibly be the Messiah. 301 00:23:18,319 –> 00:23:21,199 Let me add this one, because there are so many. 302 00:23:21,199 –> 00:23:27,560 John 7 in verse 41, when the Pharisees are debating the claims of Jesus and one of them 303 00:23:27,560 –> 00:23:30,300 says, can the Christ come from Galilee? 304 00:23:30,300 –> 00:23:33,339 Well, you see, that’s the location of the home. 305 00:23:33,339 –> 00:23:40,119 And they’re dismissing Jesus on the basis of judging him according to the flesh. 306 00:23:40,160 –> 00:23:47,319 And then you remember Pilate, and he puts up the sign above Jesus on the cross. 307 00:23:47,319 –> 00:23:52,319 And Pilate has dismissed Jesus, because he regards him according to the flesh. 308 00:23:52,319 –> 00:23:56,900 He does not see him as the son of God, and so he puts up the sign and what is it? 309 00:23:56,900 –> 00:24:02,819 This Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. 310 00:24:02,819 –> 00:24:07,599 And there’s a racial slur there without doubt which is why the Jews the Bible says came 311 00:24:08,199 –> 00:24:10,119 can you change what you’ve written. 312 00:24:10,119 –> 00:24:14,119 Pilate says, what I have written I have written. 313 00:24:14,119 –> 00:24:22,760 Here’s a racial slur, here’s the best of them, the king of the Jews. 314 00:24:22,760 –> 00:24:31,400 So all through the Gospels you have clear examples of people who had dismissed Jesus 315 00:24:31,400 –> 00:24:36,359 because they regarded him according to the flesh. 316 00:24:36,400 –> 00:24:46,599 They formed an opinion of him based on family, based on work, based on home location, based on race. 317 00:24:48,479 –> 00:24:55,040 And the apostle Paul says in the verse that’s before us today, that’s what I was, regarding 318 00:24:55,040 –> 00:24:57,760 Jesus according to the flesh. 319 00:24:59,760 –> 00:25:02,760 Now how did that change? 320 00:25:02,760 –> 00:25:06,680 The answer of course is the resurrection. 321 00:25:06,680 –> 00:25:11,800 And it changed for the apostle Paul on the road to Damascus when the risen Lord Jesus 322 00:25:11,800 –> 00:25:13,640 appeared to him. 323 00:25:13,640 –> 00:25:18,479 Saul, Saul, I am Jesus who you persecute. 324 00:25:18,479 –> 00:25:22,040 He sees the risen Lord. 325 00:25:22,040 –> 00:25:27,800 And from that moment he cannot possibly write off Jesus as a misguided Jew who died on the 326 00:25:27,800 –> 00:25:29,319 cross. 327 00:25:30,160 –> 00:25:34,839 Friends, for those of you who are struggling with whether you should really come to a commitment 328 00:25:34,839 –> 00:25:40,959 of faith in Jesus Christ, let me try and make this very simple for you today. 329 00:25:40,959 –> 00:25:50,079 Either Jesus Christ is the sovereign risen Lord, who by virtue of who he is and what 330 00:25:50,079 –> 00:25:56,160 he did in his birth, life, death and resurrection, either he’s the sovereign Lord who by virtue 331 00:25:56,160 –> 00:26:06,839 of who he is and what he has done lays claim to your life and to every life or Christianity 332 00:26:06,839 –> 00:26:10,500 should be thrown out completely. 333 00:26:10,500 –> 00:26:19,280 If Jesus Christ truly is raised from the dead, he is in a category of one as the unique sovereign 334 00:26:19,760 –> 00:26:27,699 If Jesus rose from the dead, for you to push him away is the height of madness. 335 00:26:27,699 –> 00:26:31,959 And if he’s not the reigning lord, why are you even tinkering with Christianity? 336 00:26:31,959 –> 00:26:33,359 What would be the point? 337 00:26:33,359 –> 00:26:43,160 Now, you see, this is the great transformation that has come in the mind of the Apostle Paul. 338 00:26:43,160 –> 00:26:48,380 He had come to the conclusion that Christianity should be rejected completely because he judged 339 00:26:48,619 –> 00:26:51,060 Jesus according to the flesh. 340 00:26:51,060 –> 00:26:55,300 That’s why he persecuted the church, that’s why he set out to destroy it. 341 00:26:55,300 –> 00:26:56,300 Why? 342 00:26:56,300 –> 00:27:02,619 Because he regarded Jesus according to the flesh, and as long as he did that, the idea 343 00:27:02,619 –> 00:27:11,640 of one man laying claim to the lives and the loyalty of all others seemed to him to be 344 00:27:11,640 –> 00:27:15,839 completely and utterly preposterous. 345 00:27:15,880 –> 00:27:18,819 And of course, many have come to that conclusion today. 346 00:27:18,819 –> 00:27:23,119 How can you say that Jesus is the only person by whom we can come to God? 347 00:27:23,119 –> 00:27:29,319 How can you say that Jesus can claim to be first in your life and first in every person’s 348 00:27:29,319 –> 00:27:30,319 life? 349 00:27:30,319 –> 00:27:31,319 Isn’t that preposterous? 350 00:27:31,319 –> 00:27:37,439 Well, it would be if you regarded Jesus according to the flesh, but you see, when Paul is confronted 351 00:27:37,439 –> 00:27:44,459 by the risen Lord he finds himself offering his own life into the hands of the one he 352 00:27:44,699 –> 00:27:48,619 had previously despised. 353 00:27:48,619 –> 00:27:53,420 And that’s why he says even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we 354 00:27:53,420 –> 00:27:57,459 regard Him thus no longer. 355 00:27:57,459 –> 00:28:00,619 And I want you to notice the significance of the word we here. 356 00:28:00,619 –> 00:28:02,660 It’s not I, it’s we. 357 00:28:02,660 –> 00:28:07,619 He includes himself because this great transformation in his view about Jesus has happened in his 358 00:28:07,619 –> 00:28:14,040 own life, but it’s not limited to him as a person who directly saw the risen Lord Jesus 359 00:28:14,099 –> 00:28:15,339 Christ. 360 00:28:15,339 –> 00:28:20,500 Now, what he’s saying is that this is the core truth about every person who really is 361 00:28:20,500 –> 00:28:26,500 a Christian, that a Christian is a person who has come to a new opinion about Jesus 362 00:28:26,500 –> 00:28:29,819 on the basis of the resurrection. 363 00:28:29,819 –> 00:28:33,959 We no longer regard Him as a figure of history according to the flesh. 364 00:28:33,959 –> 00:28:40,859 We see much more then that, we come to worship Him as the risen Lord, as the sovereign King, 365 00:28:41,099 –> 00:28:48,099 as the gracious Redeemer, as God with us and God for us. 366 00:28:48,439 –> 00:28:51,359 Now, that’s at the core. 367 00:28:51,359 –> 00:28:57,040 To put it in the New Testament question, what do you think of Jesus Christ? 368 00:28:57,040 –> 00:29:01,640 Because what he claims and how he is presented in the Bible to you is this. 369 00:29:01,640 –> 00:29:08,640 That he is the sovereign Lord who lays claim to your life and to every life and that to 370 00:29:09,060 –> 00:29:16,060 fight against him is a battle you can never, never, never win. 371 00:29:17,839 –> 00:29:21,760 Change in how you see Jesus. 372 00:29:21,760 –> 00:29:28,760 And here’s the application that Paul is making – a change in how you see Jesus will lead 373 00:29:29,060 –> 00:29:32,680 to a change in how you see others. 374 00:29:32,699 –> 00:29:39,000 We no longer regard Jesus according to the flesh, and from now on, verse 16, therefore 375 00:29:39,000 –> 00:29:45,680 we regard no one according to the flesh. 376 00:29:45,680 –> 00:29:52,680 Friends, here’s something that is beautiful and unique to the body of Christ. 377 00:29:53,420 –> 00:30:00,439 The things that make us different according to the flesh are overwhelmed by the new life 378 00:30:02,900 –> 00:30:09,900 that is enjoyed by those who are in Jesus Christ. In the flesh, our life was living 379 00:30:10,119 –> 00:30:17,119 for ourselves. And so it’s all about which group is going to gain precedence in the endless 380 00:30:17,660 –> 00:30:24,660 struggle that revolves around the ten factors that differentiate us, make us different. 381 00:30:26,760 –> 00:30:33,760 But in the body of Christ where new life has come through Jesus Christ, these things that 382 00:30:33,760 –> 00:30:40,760 make us different are simply overwhelmed by what now binds us together in our new life 383 00:30:41,560 –> 00:30:46,239 that is received from him and shared in him. 384 00:30:46,239 –> 00:30:52,199 That is why very wonderfully in Galatians 3, the apostle says this of those who are 385 00:30:52,199 –> 00:30:54,459 in Christ. He says, 386 00:30:54,459 –> 00:30:58,359 In Christ, there is neither Jew nor Greek. 387 00:30:58,359 –> 00:31:02,319 In Christ there is neither slave nor free. 388 00:31:02,319 –> 00:31:06,459 In Christ there is neither male nor female, 389 00:31:06,619 –> 00:31:12,020 for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” 390 00:31:12,020 –> 00:31:18,420 That’s something that’s not possible in the world, because in the world it’s all 391 00:31:18,420 –> 00:31:24,500 about what we are in the flesh, but in the body there is a new life that is 392 00:31:24,500 –> 00:31:27,859 about who we are in Jesus Christ. 393 00:31:27,859 –> 00:31:34,900 And that is why the church offers for all who are in Jesus Christ the wonderful 394 00:31:35,300 –> 00:31:39,300 responsibility of pursuing a new community, in which that which makes us 395 00:31:39,300 –> 00:31:44,560 different is overcome by that which makes us one. 396 00:31:44,560 –> 00:31:51,420 A community in which men and women of every race, people of every appearance 397 00:31:51,560 –> 00:31:57,060 and age, people of every background and experience, people from every trade 398 00:31:57,599 –> 00:32:02,760 every level of ability are brought together in one body 399 00:32:02,760 –> 00:32:06,979 IN THE LORD! 400 00:32:06,979 –> 00:32:11,000 Why? Because we’ve all been brought to peace with the same God through the 401 00:32:11,000 –> 00:32:16,180 blood of the same Savior and we have submitted our very very different lives 402 00:32:16,180 –> 00:32:20,500 to the authority of the same Lord. That’s beautiful. 403 00:32:20,640 –> 00:32:24,719 And it’s only possible when Christ is at the center 404 00:32:25,040 –> 00:32:32,099 and where Christ is exalted it’s why we want to be a church that is Christ 405 00:32:32,099 –> 00:32:37,199 exalting because that’s what’s going to pull people together around him. Exalt 406 00:32:37,199 –> 00:32:41,079 anything else and what makes us different will be all that will be 407 00:32:41,079 –> 00:32:50,079 apparent. So a change in how you see Jesus, no longer according to the flesh, but as 408 00:32:50,400 –> 00:32:55,280 exalted in the risen Lord, leading directly to a change in how we regard 409 00:32:55,280 –> 00:33:03,380 and relate to one another and lastly the change in how you see Jesus will lead to 410 00:33:03,380 –> 00:33:07,619 a change in how you see others and a change in how you see yourself. Why? 411 00:33:07,619 –> 00:33:15,859 Because verse 17 if anyone is in Christ he or she is a new creation. That’s true 412 00:33:16,560 –> 00:33:22,459 for every Christian. Being a new creation means very simply that there is more to 413 00:33:22,459 –> 00:33:31,760 you than what is in you according to the flesh. There is more to you than what is 414 00:33:31,760 –> 00:33:38,739 in you according to the flesh. You have been reconciled to God. You have been 415 00:33:38,739 –> 00:33:45,199 adopted into his family. You have an inheritance in heaven that can never 416 00:33:45,400 –> 00:33:50,439 spil or fade. The Holy Spirit lives within you. Your little life—my little 417 00:33:50,439 –> 00:33:56,420 life—has been caught up into the eternal sweep of the great, redeeming 418 00:33:56,420 –> 00:34:02,839 purpose of God. And so when you are tempted to lose heart because of what 419 00:34:02,839 –> 00:34:08,280 you are according to the flesh, take heart from who you are—Christian 420 00:34:08,280 –> 00:34:14,399 brother or sister—in Jesus Christ. And remember this when you become 421 00:34:14,399 –> 00:34:19,159 discouraged about issues relating to the flesh. There are natural gifts that 422 00:34:19,159 –> 00:34:23,959 may impress people who judge according to the flesh, but there are spiritual 423 00:34:23,959 –> 00:34:29,520 gifts that Christ gives that will make you really useful in life for him. 424 00:34:29,520 –> 00:34:35,800 There is a natural beauty that may get a face on the cover of a magazine, but 425 00:34:35,800 –> 00:34:42,239 there is a spiritual beauty that brings pleasure to the heart of God. There is a 426 00:34:42,280 –> 00:34:46,780 natural strength that can come from developing your muscles, but there is a 427 00:34:46,780 –> 00:34:51,959 spiritual strength that God can give to bring you through the hardest of trials. 428 00:34:51,959 –> 00:34:58,360 There is a material wealth that will last only for a time, but there is a 429 00:34:58,360 –> 00:35:05,100 spiritual wealth that will last for an eternity, and if you have had experiences 430 00:35:05,100 –> 00:35:11,979 in the flesh that have broken your heart, remember this, that there are 431 00:35:11,979 –> 00:35:19,620 experiences of the love of Christ in the spirit that are able to rebuild your 432 00:35:19,620 –> 00:35:25,659 soul. So from now on, we regard no one according to the flesh. Why? Because if 433 00:35:25,699 –> 00:35:36,340 anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. So a change in how you see 434 00:35:36,340 –> 00:35:44,320 Jesus going to lead to a change in how you see others. And as he’s the sovereign 435 00:35:44,320 –> 00:35:51,439 Lord of your life, it’s going to lead to a change in how you see yourself. 436 00:35:51,520 –> 00:35:59,159 So wrapping this up in these last moments, if you judge yourself according 437 00:35:59,159 –> 00:36:04,719 to the flesh, you’ll either spend your life looking down on other people 438 00:36:04,719 –> 00:36:08,260 because you see yourself as superior, more gifted, and all this kind of thing, 439 00:36:08,260 –> 00:36:16,879 more successful, or you will always be losing heart because you see that others 440 00:36:16,879 –> 00:36:20,219 have more gifts, more talents, more advantages in life, and more opportunities 441 00:36:20,340 –> 00:36:26,500 than you do, and here is the wonderfully good news that Jesus Christ does 442 00:36:27,639 –> 00:36:30,820 not regard us according to the flesh. 443 00:36:30,820 –> 00:36:34,219 Aren’t you thankful for that? 444 00:36:34,219 –> 00:36:41,320 Jesus Christ does not regard us according to the flesh. 445 00:36:41,320 –> 00:36:46,780 If Jesus Christ regarded us according to the flesh, who would be in heaven? 446 00:36:46,879 –> 00:36:52,899 All the ones who were in class X and possibly class G and the rest of us in 447 00:36:52,899 –> 00:36:58,979 TH and K would not have a chance if Christ regarded us according to the flesh. 448 00:36:58,979 –> 00:37:03,159 Who would be in heaven if Christ regarded us according to the flesh? 449 00:37:03,159 –> 00:37:07,199 The super talented, God would take an interest in them, the super successful, 450 00:37:07,199 –> 00:37:10,139 the super rich perhaps, the super healthy. 451 00:37:12,340 –> 00:37:14,860 Thank God. 452 00:37:14,879 –> 00:37:19,620 Jesus Christ does not regard us according to the flesh. 453 00:37:19,620 –> 00:37:20,979 In fact, He says this. 454 00:37:20,979 –> 00:37:26,520 You, he says to the Pharisees, judge according to the flesh. 455 00:37:26,520 –> 00:37:28,020 I judge no one. 456 00:37:28,020 –> 00:37:29,860 Of course, he doesn’t mean that he’s not the judge. 457 00:37:29,860 –> 00:37:31,600 The Bible tells us he is the judge. 458 00:37:31,600 –> 00:37:34,280 What he’s saying here is, I don’t judge as you do. 459 00:37:34,280 –> 00:37:35,760 You judge according to the flesh. 460 00:37:35,760 –> 00:37:37,760 I don’t. 461 00:37:37,760 –> 00:37:41,260 I don’t form an opinion about people and decide whether I’m going to take 462 00:37:41,260 –> 00:37:44,120 an interest in them on the basis of their appearance, their 463 00:37:44,120 –> 00:37:47,159 ability, their age, their friends, their race, their gender, their work, 464 00:37:47,159 –> 00:37:51,580 their home, their family, or their experience. 465 00:37:51,580 –> 00:37:55,560 What you are according to the flesh, friend, will not make Jesus more 466 00:37:55,560 –> 00:38:01,199 interested in you, and it cannot make Jesus less interested in you. 467 00:38:01,199 –> 00:38:04,040 He’s not drawn to you because of these things, because of what you are 468 00:38:04,040 –> 00:38:09,159 in the flesh, and He certainly will not be kept from you because of what you 469 00:38:09,320 –> 00:38:11,820 in the flesh. 470 00:38:11,820 –> 00:38:19,120 So our Jesus offers Himself to every person of every race, of every ability, 471 00:38:19,120 –> 00:38:23,639 of every background at every economic level, every kind of work, and He does it 472 00:38:23,639 –> 00:38:26,679 without partiality. 473 00:38:26,679 –> 00:38:31,300 And He offers Himself as the living Savior and as the reigning Lord. 474 00:38:31,760 –> 00:38:40,639 And whatever you are according to the flesh, He is able to make of you a new creation 475 00:38:40,639 –> 00:38:48,340 if anyone is in Christ, he or she is a new creation. 476 00:38:48,340 –> 00:38:52,260 So what matters most about you is not what you are in the flesh 477 00:38:52,260 –> 00:38:57,500 in any one or even all of these ten areas. 478 00:38:57,500 –> 00:39:01,179 But are you in Christ? 479 00:39:01,179 –> 00:39:10,159 And when you are in Christ and he is your risen Saviour and your reigning Lord, 480 00:39:10,159 –> 00:39:15,040 then what he thinks of you, what he thinks of you 481 00:39:15,040 –> 00:39:22,199 is the one thing and ultimately the only thing that really matters, 482 00:39:22,199 –> 00:39:26,159 which is why a change in the way you see Jesus is going to lead to 483 00:39:26,159 –> 00:39:29,280 a change in the way you see others 484 00:39:29,280 –> 00:39:37,540 and a change in the way that you see yourself so that you will not lose heart. 485 00:39:37,540 –> 00:39:47,300 Father, thank you for the transforming power of the gospel of Jesus Christ 486 00:39:47,300 –> 00:39:53,399 in lives like ours, in a world like this. 487 00:39:53,399 –> 00:39:57,060 We thank you in Jesus’ name. 488 00:39:57,060 –> 00:39:58,600 Amen. 489 00:40:00,080 –> 00:40:04,719 You’ve been listening to a sermon with Pastor Colin Smith of Open The Bible. 490 00:40:04,719 –> 00:40:09,639 To contact us, call us at 1-877-OPEN-365 491 00:40:09,639 –> 00:40:14,760 Or visit our website openthebible.org