The speaker wishes everyone a happy Sabbath and discusses the importance of reconfirming their commitment to God as they approach Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread. They focus on Jude 11 as a warning against false teachers and the sins of Cain, Balaam, and Korah. They explain how Cain's attitude problem and rejection of God's way led to his murder of Abel. They discuss the dangers of relying on human works and the importance of faith in God's salvation. They also mention Balaam's delusion and his attempt to curse Israel.
Well, hello brethren, greetings to you and from wherever you are in the world we do wish you all a happy Sabbath, which is God's time, God's precious time, for us to learn more of his way. As we are approaching Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread, it's a time to reconfirm our commitment to the covenant we made with God the Father and Jesus Christ upon baptism. I would like to place some emphasis on this one verse, Jude 11, and present it as a warning for those whom God has called.
My purpose is to elaborate on the sins of the three people mentioned in this verse, the different sins that they had, and as a warning for us not to fall into any of their shortcomings. So it's a challenge for us. I'll begin here by quoting from page 1125 of the Faithful Version regarding Jude's warning. Now I can't word it any better than this. I quote, Jude's epistle is a stern warning against false teachers and prophets who seek to destroy the true faith, hope, and love as taught by the apostles of Jesus Christ.
Jude's closing admonition includes an earnest appeal to true believers to remain in the faith and love of God while continuing in the hope of eternal life, end quote. Verses 5 to 16 of Jude describes the nature, errors, and fate of false teachers plaguing the Christian church. Now Jewish readers are familiar with Israel's history, and the passage references in the Old Testament events help to explain the apostate's sins, the danger they pose, and how God will punish them.
And Jude references the unbelief of Israel after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt, rebellious angels, the ungodly people of Sodom and Gomorrah, and the dangers of allowing such people to mingle with those who obey God and keep his word. And now I'd like to read verse 11 of Jude. Woe to them, for they have walked in the way of Cain, and for Gain, they have wholly given themselves up to Balaam's delusion, and have perished in the rebellion of Korah.
So this is referring to false teachers. The first person mentioned here is Cain. And Cain is quite unique in being the first human being born in natural childbirth to Adam and Eve. Like his parents and his brother Abel, he had access to God at the east gate of Eden. So we pick up the story of Cain in Genesis 4. We know that in Genesis 4, it's after Adam and Eve had sinned, when Satan got to them.
So sin is already in the world. In verse 1 of Genesis 4, Then Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, and said, I have gotten a man from the Lord. So Cain means get, or I get. And this is typical of the way they chose, because human nature is very much in the world. And she bore again his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller of the ground.
It came to pass that Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground. He brought an offering of the fruit of the ground. Now God requires firstfruits, the best of what we have. And Proverbs 15 says, The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord. So Cain had an attitude problem. So we just go to verse 4 and 5. And Abel also brought of the firstlings of his flock an offering of the fat of it.
And the Lord had regard to Abel and his offering. Because Abel brought of the firstlings of his flock. But he did not have regard unto Cain and his offering. And Cain was extremely angry and his countenance fell. So, as I said, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination. So Cain had an attitude problem, but he had the choice. He chose to be angry instead of asking God. Because he had access at the East Gate of Eden.
Asking God, Lord, what do I need to do to rectify this? How do I make this right? And the Lord said to Cain, Why are you so angry? And why has your countenance fallen? If you do well, or do what is right, shall you not be accepted? But if you do not do well, sin lies at the door, at the door of our mind. We have to guard the door of our mind, Proverbs 4.23. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.
So Cain would have received instruction on what is right, doing what God commands. Passover requires a lamb offering, while vegetables were certainly not appropriate for this purpose. So we must master our minds, and that requires self-control. What are the fruits of the Spirit? And I just want to refer to this section of Jude 11. For they have walked in the way of Cain. So Cain did have a great opportunity to rectify the situation in talking directly to God, having this access.
But he chose to go his own way. What is the way of Cain? Cain envied God's acceptance of his brother's offering, and of Abel, and not of him and his offering. In Hebrews 11, we see why God accepted Abel's offering and not Cain's. We go to Hebrews 11, Hebrews is the faith chapter, and Abel is mentioned in the faith chapter. In verse 4 of Hebrews 11, By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts, and through it though he died, he is yet speaking.
So the word of God is so true and relevant, that it always comes across in the present tense, even though it happened thousands of years ago. Moreover the way of Cain was a way of hatred, which led to the murder of his brother, verse 8 of Genesis 4. It was then a frustration with God's rejection of his offering, that Cain murdered Abel. Cain developed a false view of salvation, when he thought he could work out his way to God, his way instead of God's way.
He rejected the need to come to God by faith. That is why God calls Cain a wicked one. I remember years ago seeing a picture of a person who was supposed to be representing Cain. It was some large muscular man with a gigantic club, who was in the act of clubbing a poor defenseless man about half his size. Now although it doesn't say how Cain killed Abel, rather than the picture I saw, it may have been something more like this.
In anger he may have uttered something like, you want a blood sacrifice, alright I'll give you a blood sacrifice. He may then have proceeded to slit Abel's throat to make a sacrifice out of him. Anyway, the way of Cain is a way of self, pride and of human works. God is not in this application. Cain's way that tries to establish his own righteousness, rather than the free gift of God by the death of Jesus Christ and his shed blood, is apostasy.
Whether or not anyone likes God's way of salvation is irrelevant. God's word teaches that man is totally depraved and completely incapable of saving himself. Insistence on human works, or works of law, leads to the rejection of God's grace. And I want to return to Ephesians 2 here, which has something to do with works. The way the Apostle Paul put it, we come a verse to chapter 2 and verse 8. Ephesians 2 and verse 8. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this especially is not of your own selves, it is the gift of God.
So it's faith that Abel had, and Cain did not have. So we do not come to God on our own terms as Cain did, but by our own, not by our own works, energy and what we do. And continuing in verse 9. Not of your own works, so that no one may boast, for we are his workmanship, being created in Christ Jesus under the good works that God ordained beforehand, in order that we might walk in them.
And so we are being created. The good works refer to the keeping of God's commandments in the spirit of the law. When we are doing what God commands, it is not our own works. Another aspect of the way of Cain is a religion with a faith in sacrificial blood. In Genesis 4, Cain brought his offering from the fruit of the ground instead of a blood offering. In effect, he invented his own religion of his own effort.
And one could say that he was a pioneer of false religion, centuries before Nimrod came onto the scene. Cain worshipped God after the dictates of his own conscience, rather than the dictates of God's instruction. In our case it would be God's instruction through his word. The next section of Jude 11 is where it says, And for Cain they have wholly given themselves up to Balaam's delusion. Who was Balaam? He was a flamboyant and self-styled prophet, an interpreter of dreams, who used God's name for purposes of sorcery.
Strangely, he wanted to curse Israel, as is evidenced by his willingness to go along with Balak, the king of Moab. We pick up this story in Numbers 22, the book of Numbers, chapter 22. The book of Numbers is quite a fascinating book, written by Moses, because it does portray the journey of Israel through the wilderness for those 40 years. In verse 1 of Numbers 22, Then the children of Israel set out and pitched on the plains of Moab on this side of the Jordan by Jericho.
Now, this is on the east side of the Jordan River before they went into the Promised Land. And continuing verse 2, And Balak the son of Zippor saw all that Israel had done to the Amorites. And Moab was much more much afraid of the people because they were many. And Moab was worried because of the children of Israel. So Balak was worried about the situation and he wanted something done about it. Therefore in verse 5, Therefore he sent messages to Balaam, the son of Beor, to Pithor, by the river of the land of the children of his people, to call him, saying, Behold, a people has come out from Egypt.
Behold, they cover the face of the earth, and they are dwelling across from thee. Therefore I pray you, come now and curse this people for me, for they are too mighty for me. Perhaps I shall prevail, so that we may strike them, and so that I may drive them out of the land. For I know that he whom you bless is blessed, and he whom you curse is cursed. And we see God's response to this request in verse 12.
And God said to Balaam, You shall not go with them. You shall not curse the people, for they are blessed. And from this response to God, we come to verse 15. And Balak sent leaders again, more numerous and more honourable than those. And they came to Balaam and said to him, Thus says Balak, the son of Zippor, Please let nothing hinder you from coming to me. So Balak was serious about this, and he wanted it resolved his way.
For I will raise you up a very great honour, and I will do whatever you say to me. Please come then and curse this people for me. And we know that Balaam had this reward offered to him, and he certainly wanted it. But he could only do and say what God instructed him to say. And continuing in verse 20. And God came to Balaam at night and said to him, If the men come to call you, rise up, go with them, but only the word which I say to you, that you shall do.
And Balaam rose up in the morning and settled this donkey and went with the rulers of Moab. He went with them for the purpose of cursing Israel. So he had this ulterior narrative. He had an agenda. And God's anger was kindled because he went, and the angel of the Lord stood in the way as an enemy against him. And as he was riding upon his donkey and his two servants with him. So the next several verses is the section where the donkey got out of the way of the angel of the Lord.
And unknown to Balaam, who beat the poor animal three times before God opened up the donkey's mouth. Just imagine Balaam's surprise at this, here it is, his donkey talking to him. I remember watching Mr. Ed, the talking horse on TV years ago. And I found that quite funny, especially when the horse often came across as more intelligent than Wilder, his owner. But brethren, this was not some make-believe comedy. This is something, this is a real thing.
It happened. The episode of the donkey was a rebuke against Balaam for his greed. A couple of things about donkeys I'd like to mention. They are portrayed in scripture as symbols of service, humility, suffering and peace. Jesus did not ride into Jerusalem on a great white stallion to conquer and to conquer in triumph. But he asked for a donkey, because the animal would show that the kingship of Jesus was not from men, but from God the Father.
He was the ultimate example in meekness, Matthew 11, verse 29. Let's go back to the story, we pick it up in verse 31. Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he saw the angel of the Lord standing in the way, and his sword drawn in his hand, and he bowed down his head and fell on his face. Balaam knew about the God of Israel to the extent that he could be influenced by him. And the angel of the Lord said to him, Why have you beaten your donkey these three times? Behold, I came out to withstand you, because your way is perverse before me.
He had an agenda to do evil. Then verse 33, And the donkey saw me and turned from me these three times, and unless she had turned from me, surely now I would have killed you and saved her alive. And Balaam said to the angel of the Lord, I have sinned, for I did not know that you stood in the way against me. Now therefore, if it pleases you, I will go back again. Did Balaam really repent? He still wanted to gain, as it says in Jude 11.
And the angel of the Lord said to Balaam, Go with the men, but only the word that I shall speak to you, that you shall speak. So Balaam went with the leaders of Balak. So Balak became a very frustrated king when repeated attempts to have Israel cursed by Balaam became blessings because of God's intervention. And from here we go to chapter 24 to continue the story. Chapter 24 of Numbers, and we pick it up in verse 10.
Balak's anger was kindled against Balaam, and he struck his hands together. And Balak said to Balaam, I called you to curse my enemies, and behold, you have kept on blessing them these three times. Without me to your place, I thought to lift you up to great honor. But behold, the Lord has kept you back from honor. Balak was a very frustrated king when repeated attempts to have cursed Israel by Balaam became blessings because of God's intervention.
Well Balaam would have been very disappointed to be prevented from being given great honor by the king of Moab. However, Balaam still wanted to be in favor of this king. So when the frontal assault failed, he found a way to do it through the back door. He persuaded Balak to corrupt the men of Israel by being involved with the pagan Moabite women. And this is mentioned in Numbers 31. So we have the count here of Numbers 31, but I just want to go to one verse in here, verse 16.
Behold, these caused the children of Israel, through the counsel of Balaam, to commit sin against the Lord in the matter of Peor, and the plague was on the congregation of the Lord. So because of Balaam's counsel, the sin and the sin that resulted, the children of Israel suffered. In Revelation we have a warning to the church of Pergamus for holding to the teaching of Balaam. So in Revelation chapter 2, just one verse here, chapter 2 verse 14.
But I have a few things against you, because there are those who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to cast the stumbling block before the children of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols, and to commit fornication. And the apostle Peter also gives a warning about false teachers, and mentions Balaam in 2 Peter. Just breaking into verse 13, so Peter had a view of false teachers. He mentioned it in his letter, 2 Peter 2, verse 13.
They are bringing upon themselves the reward of unrighteousness, while finding a pleasure in satisfying their lustful desires day by day. They are stains and blemishes, reveling in their own deceptions, while feasting together with you. They are wolves in sheep's clothing, having eyes full of adultery that cannot cease from sin. They are engaged in seducing unstable souls, having a heart trained in lustful cravings, cursed children, who have abandoned the straight way. They have gone astray, having followed the way of Balaam, the son of Beor, who loved the reward of wickedness.
But he received a rebuke for his own transgressions. The dumb donkey, speaking in a man's voice, restrained the madness of the prophet. Think of the ways of society that are contrary to the ways of God. And we do have it in governments, in businesses, in the education system, in health, in so many other areas. We have to be aware that we are not caught up in this ourselves. The doctrine of Balaam is not only a serious problem, but a devious one.
Balaam counseled Balak on the most effective way to weaken Israel. And this was through seduction, using Midianite and Novite women to tempt the Israelites into sexual relationships and into pagan rituals. And those who participated in this brought judgment upon themselves. That's mentioned in Numbers 25 verses 1 to 9. The doctrine of Balaam is an attitude that one can be fully cooperative with the world and still serve God. It teaches compromise, wanting people to forget that we are called to be separate and holy, mentioned in 1 Peter 2.9 and 1 Peter 1.2.
The doctrine of Balaam makes God's chosen indistinguishable from the world. In Matthew 5.13, we're the salt of the earth. In practical terms, the teaching or doctrine of Balaam is the view that God's people can compromise their convictions for the sake of popularity, money, sexual gratification or personal gain. Now while we can't and shouldn't totally avoid the presence of unbelievers and those in the world, 7 verse 34, we are obligated to stand up for the truth, Ephesians 4.25.
For righteousness, Romans 14.22. And for goodness, Galatians 5.22 and Matthew 5.16. We are to do this whether others want to believe it or not. I just want to look at an example of this in Acts 24. In Acts chapter 24, we see the way the Apostle Paul reacted with people who were not called. Acts 24 verse 24. Now after certain days, Felix appeared with his wife, Drusilla, who was a Jewess. He sent for Paul and listened to him speak about the faith in Christ.
And he reasoned concerning righteousness and self-control and the judgment to come. Felix became fearful and answered, you may go now and when I find an opportunity, I will call for you. And the Apostle Paul certainly wasn't going to apply the doctrine of Balaam just to get on the right side of the authorities. And we now come to the last part of Jude 11, which says, and have perished in the way of Korah. Who was Korah? According to Numbers 16, verse 1, Korah was a great-grandson of Levi through Kohath.
Moses was also descended from Levi through Kohath, which makes them their first covenants. However, unlike Aaron, also his first coven, Korah was not a priest, which was appointed to Aaron and his sons. Numbers 16 outlines the rebellion of Korah who had his allies of Bathan and Abiram of the tribe of Reuben and 250 of their allies. And here is a snapshot of what happened in Numbers 16. They took men, verse 1, rose up, verse 2, gathered themselves together and accused Moses, you take too much upon you, verse 3.
Now let's look at Numbers 16 and verse 3 and we see the whole account of what happened here. In verse 3, and they gathered themselves against Moses and against Aaron and said to them, you take too much upon you since all the congregation are holy, every one of them, and the Lord is among them. Why then do you lift yourself up above the congregation of the Lord? So their complaint against Moses and Aaron, whom God chose, was that they became too lofty and exalted above the people.
Interestingly, Korah and his gang used the holiness of the congregation as their excuse for challenging Moses and Aaron. As an initial response to this, Moses fell on his face, verse 4. Unlike Korah, Moses was very meek. Moses did not claim to speak for God nor did he seek to defend himself. He simply pointed to God as the ultimate arbiter of justice and submitted himself to the same judgment that Korah would be subjugated, verses 5 to 7.
And after deferring to God, Moses points out Korah's hypocrisy and selfishness. We refer to verse 8, verse 8, number 16. And Moses said to Korah, Hear now, you sons of Levi, is it too little a thing to you that the God of Israel has separated you from the congregation of Israel to bring you near to himself, to do the service of the tabernacle of the Lord, and to stand before the congregation to minister to them? And he has brought you near, all your brothers, the sons of Levi, with you.
And do you seek the priesthood as well? Therefore you and all your company are gathered against the Lord, and what is Aaron that you murmur against him? Being born of the tribe of Levi, Korah held a unique position among the nation of Israel. The tribe of Levi was considered a special possession of the Lord, mentioned in Numbers 3, 6 and 9 and Deuteronomy 10, verse 8. He was set apart to serve the Lord in his tabernacle and was privileged to minister to the rest of the tribes as the representative of God.
Unfortunately Korah had rejected each of the blessings that his status as a Levite afforded him because of his selfish ambition. And Moses nails it in verse 10, and do you seek the priesthood as well? Moses identified the motivation behind Korah's rebellion. He was not satisfied with the hierarchy that God had previously established in the priesthood. Korah's uprising against Moses and Aaron was directed at God, as indicated in verse 11. So then the narrative ends in a day of judgment, with Korah and his rebels on one side and Moses and Aaron on the other.
These two groups were to approach God, approach the doorway to the tent of bleeding, the place where God reveals his glory and his will to the people, each man to his own sense. So we pick it up in verse 18. And every man took his censer, and put fire in them, and laid incense on it, and stood in the door of the tabernacle of the congregation with Moses and Aaron. The censer was used in priestly worship to burn fire and incense.
The sweet aroma of the incense served as a visual representation of both the people's prayers and God's holy presence. In liturgies 16, verse 12 and 13, it is important to note that it wasn't just Korah and Moses holding representative censers, but every man involved in this affair held their own. And it indicates personal responsibility amid corporate sin. All of this is to say that the presence of these utensils marked this occasion as related to the solemn of a holy God.
This procedure should have been a clear designation for all involved to approach God with humility. However, this was not the spirit which Korah arrived at to meet God. We look at verse 19. And Korah gathered all the congregation against them to the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and the glory of the Lord appeared to all the congregation. Up to the last moment, Korah continued to stir rebellion among the people against God's chosen servants. We can see that Korah's pride, arrogance and bullishness is in stark contrast to God's holiness, righteousness and purity.
So how did God respond to this? Initially he was prepared to destroy the whole congregation. But we see the intercession in verse 22, the intercession of Moses and Aaron. And they fell upon their faces and said, O God, the God of the spirits of all flesh, shall one man sin and you be angry with all the congregation? Now while these people in the congregation were rightfully guilty, they had allowed Korah and his band of rebels to stir the hearts towards the satisfaction and distrust of God's leaders and thus God himself.
While God heard the incessory prayers of his servants and responded with mercy and forgiveness, he unleashed punishment on the sinful rebellion. And we pick it up in verse 28. And Moses said, By this you shall know that the Lord has sent me to do all these works, and that I have not done them from my own heart. If these men die the common death of all men, or if they are visited according to the fate of all men, the Lord has not sent me.
But if the Lord creates a new creation, and the earth opens her mouth and squalls it up with all that they have, and they shall go down alive into the pit, then you shall understand that these men have provoked the Lord. And it came to pass, as he had made an end of speaking all these words, the ground under them split apart. And the earth opened her mouth and swallowed them up, and their households, and all the men who were for Korah, who were for Korah, and all their goods.
They and all that they had went down alive into the pit, and the earth closed upon them, and they perished from among the congregation. So this gruesome judgment was public for a reason. It served as a warning to the people that God did not tolerate a haughty spirit, a complaining tongue, and irreverent worship. In retrospect of this narrative and number 16, there are three points that I want to mention as a warning for us. Point one, discontent breeds spiritual unrest, ingratitude, and arrogance.
If we take our minds of Christ and settle them on speculation, fear, and carnal desires, we open ourselves up to a spirit of discontent, which is the opposite of trusting and resting in God. And an example of this is in 2 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians chapter 10. We see how Paul looks at this, and this is a spiritual battle that we're in. In verse 3, for although we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God, through the overthrowing of strongholds. Well, the strongholds are in our minds, we think. And the weapons of the law of warfare, you can relate to Ephesians 6, 12-17. And in verse 5, casting down vain imaginations, and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought into the obedience of Christ. That's every thought. The actions of Korah did not accomplish a closer relationship between God and his people.
Instead of fostering intimacy, the sins of discontent and pride only served to drive a wedge between them. The good news for us is that through Christ, God has provided for us peace that surpasses and transcends understanding, intimacy in a relationship with God the Father, Jesus Christ, and with one another, and power to grow in righteous character. Point two that I want to mention here, grumbling and complaining are never harmless. These snares always produce the fruit of active rebellion against God, and often bred unrest in the minds of those around us.
I just want to mention, come to James chapter 1, how sin can be generated here. In verse 14, James 1, but each one is tempted when he is drawn away and is enticed by his own lust. And after lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin, and sin, when it is completely finished, brings forth death. Now that ultimately is the lake of fire, and it generates. When sin starts, it generates, and it gets more serious as it goes on.
God is not mocked. If we choose to foster discontent in our own hearts, and sow it to those around us, we will be held accountable. But others may suffer the consequences as well, Galatians 6 verse 7. And point three, pride leads to a spiritual blindness and a rejection of truth. Well, the pride of life is not from God, nor does it honour him as God. And let's look at 1 John 2, where it says something about pride of life here.
1 John chapter 2, referring to the pride of life, beginning at verse 15. Do not love the world, nor the things that are in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him, because everything that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pretentious pride of life, pride of physical life, is not from the Father, but it is from the world.
And Satan is the god of this world. And the world and its lust is passing away. But the one who does the will of God abides forever, so there's a contrast. The world is only temporary, whereas loving God and doing his works will last forever. However, pride can take a form, take on a form that is not as recognisable as the brazen pride that we may picture. It can be disguised by seemingly honourable reasons. Chorus complaint against Moses and Aaron was grounded on his belief that since the whole nation of Israel was considered holy, that no one else should be seen as more exalted than anyone else.
However, chorus pretense was soon revealed as selfish ambition, twisting God's word for his benefit, thus rejecting the need for God to have authority placed on his head. There is no blessing in prideful living. God steps himself against the proud, but he gives grace to the humble, James 4 verse 6. He scorns the scholars, but he gives grace to the lowly, Proverbs 3.34. When we focus back on this one verse of Jude 11, in mentioning the sins of Cain, Balaam and Korah, we can see the far wide-reaching extent of the sins that have been covered.
The verse begins with woe to them. In Isaiah 5, there are several woes mentioned for the sins of the people. And I'll just mention a few of these. In Isaiah 5, and obviously it's the world is not going God's way, and doing the wrong thing is going its own way. In verse 18, woe to those who draw iniquity with cords of vanity, and sins with cutthroat. And in today's society, we look at, in modern times, modern terms, politically correct people in so many different facets of life.
In Jesus' day, there were those who were Pharisees in control of Judaism, they were making life hard for people to keep their works of law. In verse 20, woe to those who call evil good, and good evil, who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter. Try saying that to a judge in court today, in today's judicial system, and see how far you go. In verse 21, woe to them that are wise in their own eyes, and prudent in their own sight.
And we think of Korah, who certainly was that way. We are to do the exact opposite of this, and have the opposite qualities of men such as Cain, Balaam, and Korah. So as we come closer, draw closer towards the Passover, and the Days of Unleavened Bread, we think of what Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11, verse 28, Let a man examine himself. And we all need to do this for ourselves, individually. God wants our attitude to be right, in every way that pleases Him.
And Jesus Christ, in humility, and in awe of our great Creator, who has made everything possible through the great sacrifice of His only Son. I would like to conclude here with some verses in Colossians 1. Colossians chapter 1, where Paul mentions some spiritual values that we need to have. In Colossians 1, and verse 17. And he is before all, and by him all things subsist. So by him all things are held together. And he is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, firstborn among the dead, so that in all things he himself might hold the preeminence.
For it pleased the Father that in him all the fullness should dwell. And that's the fullness of the Godhead, held together. And having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him, whether the things on the earth or the things in heaven, for you were once alienated as enemies in your minds by wicked works, but now he has reconciled you. We could not be reconciled until we were called, had repented, baptised, had received the Holy Spirit, and made the covenant to live in the way that is pleasing to God.
And in verse 22, in the body of his flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblamable and unimpeachable before him. So that is referring to the church. And as we heed God's warnings to us to come out of and avoid sin, and where Jude 11 is just one verse describing a whole range of sins, we are encouraged to strive to overcome and attain perfection in the kingdom of God, which is God's purpose for us. Thank you, brethren, and I wish you all a happy Sabbath.
