The Lord’s Work – Part 42
1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. …
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; …
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; …
So… how do we, as men, anoint the body of Christ? We take that same oil that we have been given, and we pour it out to other men. We preach the gospel. We reprove them with words.
Psalms 141:5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: …
Its not a carnal work of anointing the feet of men. Its not any carnal works of caring for the poor.
Its not sweet, beautiful words of encouragement and loving kindness that anoints a man. Its words of rebuke and reproof.
Reprove a man such that he understands how to repent. This is oil on his head. This is loving your neighbor, your brother. This is anointing the body of Jesus Christ. This is a good work.
Giving him oil is giving a man the gospel so that he gets saved; i.e. so that the Holy Spirit comes upon him.
Rebuke your neighbor with wisdom (oil), so that his sin can be removed from him.
Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
You love your enemy when you rebuke him. You ANOINT him with oil when you preach the gospel to him. You show kindness to him when you get the sin off of him. You need to REBUKE a sinner, to love him.
To NOT rebuke your neighbor is to suffer sin upon him – and to suffer sin upon him is to hate him.
Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
To NOT rebuke your neighbor is to hate him. If you don’t warn him, and give him the gospel, you’ve hated your neighbor.
The Good Samaritan was Jesus’ example of loving your “neighbor”, doing good. What did the Good Samaritan (the enemy) do? He went to the half dead man, binding up his wounds, and according to Luke 10:34 – “pouring in oil and wine” (the Holy Spirit and the Blood of Jesus Christ). That is what we ought to do. That is loving your neighbor. That is a true good work. Give him oil, to save his eternal life.
In Matthew 25, Jesus says there were ten virgins. Five were wise and five were foolish. While they waited for the bridegroom, they all slumbered and slept. Those that woke up WITH OIL, went in to be with the Lord, those that woke up WITHOUT OIL were shut out and the Lord told them “I know you not”.
To be ready for your death (the night), you need to have OIL!
Mary Magdalene’s work was to prepare the Lord’s body for his burial. But that was the figure.
A true good work, THE good work, is supplying men with oil (the Holy Spirit) to prepare them for their death. So then, when they die, they die and are buried with Christ. They die, they sleep, with oil.
While the figure of a “good work”, like pouring oil on the head of a man, may be done in the flesh, the true good work is performed to the body of Christ, and it is performed without hands.
9 good works. 1 in the OT. 1 During Jesus’ ministry. 7 afterward.
The first 2 good works appear before Christ died, the remaining 7 appear after the resurrection of Christ.
1 of 29 “good work(s)” appear in the OT. 23 of 29 “good work(s)” all appear in Acts – 1 Peter. Good works are for New Testament Christians. We were created unto good works, in Christ Jesus.
#3
1 Timothy 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
A bishop’s job is to feed the sheep. To care for the church, the house of God. To preach the gospel. This is a good work. This is THE good work. This work, in truth, is the only good work. All other good works mentioned are really just doing this main good work: to feed the house of God. To build NJ.
To save souls, and establish them in the faith.
Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
A bishop is set over the house of the Lord as a steward of God’s house.
A steward is supposed to manage the Lord’s supplies, and use them faithfully to feed and grow the house.
The things that the bishop is supposed to minister to the house are the Lord’s things, not man’s things.
A bishop is supposed to feed the church with the word of God.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
A bishop’s job is to feed the church of God. So a good work is to feed the church of God. So what are we doing folks? Why aren’t we out there running soup kitchens and giving out free thanksgiving turkeys.
Jeremiah 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
This is a true good work. This is THE true good work. To feed the house of God, but to do so, spiritually, without hands.
#4
Acts 9:36-39 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. 37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. 38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
Dorcas/Tabitha was “full of good works”, but the only work that is specifically mentioned is… making clothing.
Clothing the naked is called out as a good work in the Bible.
Matthew 25:34-40 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Just like with the oil… who must we do it to? To Jesus. To the body of Christ. We must CLOTHE Jesus. And how do we clothe Jesus? We clothe the brethren, the church!
Dorcas did this in figure. The elect, have done this in truth. They found the body of Christ naked, and clothed it. However, many of the elect who have done it, don’t even know they did it! And the lost, who have done it, they don’t know they haven’t done it. They likely, think they DID do it.
So how do we clothe the naked? We save souls of course. A soul-winner clothes the naked. A soul-winner feeds and clothes the house of God. When you win a soul, you clothe the naked body of Christ. Not only that, but when you got saved yourself, you clothed yourself; yourself being a member of Christ’s body. You did a good work, clothing a child of God.
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
When a man gets saved he is covered with salvation, clothed with righteousness. When you clothe a naked sinner with righteousness, you clothe the body of Christ. You do it, not to flesh, but to Jesus Christ.
Clothing a man spiritually is giving him an incorruptible body.
2 Corinthians 5:1-3 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
When a man is saved, he is clothed with eternal clothing. This is a good work.
Should we clothe the naked and poor on the earth? Yes. Dorcas did, and she was credited with the 1st “good work” after Jesus Christ’s resurrection. But that is the figure of the true. We do the true. And because we CAN do the true good work, and we ought to do it.
The necessities of the body are food and clothing. Feed and clothe the body of Christ. Grow His vine, build His building. That is the good work.
#5
The next 4 good works appear in the same verse, and constitute a list of good works that should be present in a “widow indeed”. The widow indeed is worthy of being supported by the church financially.
1 Timothy 5:9-10 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, 10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
Sandwiched between the “good works” and “every good work”, Paul lists 4 specific “good works”.
These are the figures of the true good works. Notice, if a window has done these good works carnally, she is not “saved”, or rewarded eternally. Rather she is taken care of carnally.
Mar 14 2022
The Lord’s Work – Part 42
Downloadable Word document:
The Lord’s Work – Part 42
The Lord’s Work – Part 42
1 Samuel 16:13 Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. …
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; …
Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; …
So… how do we, as men, anoint the body of Christ? We take that same oil that we have been given, and we pour it out to other men. We preach the gospel. We reprove them with words.
Psalms 141:5 Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: …
Its not a carnal work of anointing the feet of men. Its not any carnal works of caring for the poor.
Its not sweet, beautiful words of encouragement and loving kindness that anoints a man. Its words of rebuke and reproof.
Reprove a man such that he understands how to repent. This is oil on his head. This is loving your neighbor, your brother. This is anointing the body of Jesus Christ. This is a good work.
Giving him oil is giving a man the gospel so that he gets saved; i.e. so that the Holy Spirit comes upon him.
Rebuke your neighbor with wisdom (oil), so that his sin can be removed from him.
Leviticus 19:17 Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thine heart: thou shalt in any wise rebuke thy neighbour, and not suffer sin upon him.
You love your enemy when you rebuke him. You ANOINT him with oil when you preach the gospel to him. You show kindness to him when you get the sin off of him. You need to REBUKE a sinner, to love him.
To NOT rebuke your neighbor is to suffer sin upon him – and to suffer sin upon him is to hate him.
Proverbs 13:24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
To NOT rebuke your neighbor is to hate him. If you don’t warn him, and give him the gospel, you’ve hated your neighbor.
The Good Samaritan was Jesus’ example of loving your “neighbor”, doing good. What did the Good Samaritan (the enemy) do? He went to the half dead man, binding up his wounds, and according to Luke 10:34 – “pouring in oil and wine” (the Holy Spirit and the Blood of Jesus Christ). That is what we ought to do. That is loving your neighbor. That is a true good work. Give him oil, to save his eternal life.
In Matthew 25, Jesus says there were ten virgins. Five were wise and five were foolish. While they waited for the bridegroom, they all slumbered and slept. Those that woke up WITH OIL, went in to be with the Lord, those that woke up WITHOUT OIL were shut out and the Lord told them “I know you not”.
To be ready for your death (the night), you need to have OIL!
Mary Magdalene’s work was to prepare the Lord’s body for his burial. But that was the figure.
A true good work, THE good work, is supplying men with oil (the Holy Spirit) to prepare them for their death. So then, when they die, they die and are buried with Christ. They die, they sleep, with oil.
While the figure of a “good work”, like pouring oil on the head of a man, may be done in the flesh, the true good work is performed to the body of Christ, and it is performed without hands.
9 good works. 1 in the OT. 1 During Jesus’ ministry. 7 afterward.
The first 2 good works appear before Christ died, the remaining 7 appear after the resurrection of Christ.
1 of 29 “good work(s)” appear in the OT. 23 of 29 “good work(s)” all appear in Acts – 1 Peter. Good works are for New Testament Christians. We were created unto good works, in Christ Jesus.
#3
1 Timothy 3:1 This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work.
A bishop’s job is to feed the sheep. To care for the church, the house of God. To preach the gospel. This is a good work. This is THE good work. This work, in truth, is the only good work. All other good works mentioned are really just doing this main good work: to feed the house of God. To build NJ.
To save souls, and establish them in the faith.
Titus 1:7 For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre;
A bishop is set over the house of the Lord as a steward of God’s house.
A steward is supposed to manage the Lord’s supplies, and use them faithfully to feed and grow the house.
The things that the bishop is supposed to minister to the house are the Lord’s things, not man’s things.
A bishop is supposed to feed the church with the word of God.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
A bishop’s job is to feed the church of God. So a good work is to feed the church of God. So what are we doing folks? Why aren’t we out there running soup kitchens and giving out free thanksgiving turkeys.
Jeremiah 3:15 And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.
This is a true good work. This is THE true good work. To feed the house of God, but to do so, spiritually, without hands.
#4
Acts 9:36-39 Now there was at Joppa a certain disciple named Tabitha, which by interpretation is called Dorcas: this woman was full of good works and almsdeeds which she did. 37 And it came to pass in those days, that she was sick, and died: whom when they had washed, they laid her in an upper chamber. 38 And forasmuch as Lydda was nigh to Joppa, and the disciples had heard that Peter was there, they sent unto him two men, desiring him that he would not delay to come to them. 39 Then Peter arose and went with them. When he was come, they brought him into the upper chamber: and all the widows stood by him weeping, and shewing the coats and garments which Dorcas made, while she was with them.
Dorcas/Tabitha was “full of good works”, but the only work that is specifically mentioned is… making clothing.
Clothing the naked is called out as a good work in the Bible.
Matthew 25:34-40 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: 35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: 36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me. 37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink? 38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee? 39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee? 40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Just like with the oil… who must we do it to? To Jesus. To the body of Christ. We must CLOTHE Jesus. And how do we clothe Jesus? We clothe the brethren, the church!
Dorcas did this in figure. The elect, have done this in truth. They found the body of Christ naked, and clothed it. However, many of the elect who have done it, don’t even know they did it! And the lost, who have done it, they don’t know they haven’t done it. They likely, think they DID do it.
So how do we clothe the naked? We save souls of course. A soul-winner clothes the naked. A soul-winner feeds and clothes the house of God. When you win a soul, you clothe the naked body of Christ. Not only that, but when you got saved yourself, you clothed yourself; yourself being a member of Christ’s body. You did a good work, clothing a child of God.
Isaiah 61:10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels.
Job 29:14 I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem.
When a man gets saved he is covered with salvation, clothed with righteousness. When you clothe a naked sinner with righteousness, you clothe the body of Christ. You do it, not to flesh, but to Jesus Christ.
Clothing a man spiritually is giving him an incorruptible body.
2 Corinthians 5:1-3 For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. 2 For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: 3 If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
When a man is saved, he is clothed with eternal clothing. This is a good work.
Should we clothe the naked and poor on the earth? Yes. Dorcas did, and she was credited with the 1st “good work” after Jesus Christ’s resurrection. But that is the figure of the true. We do the true. And because we CAN do the true good work, and we ought to do it.
The necessities of the body are food and clothing. Feed and clothe the body of Christ. Grow His vine, build His building. That is the good work.
#5
The next 4 good works appear in the same verse, and constitute a list of good works that should be present in a “widow indeed”. The widow indeed is worthy of being supported by the church financially.
1 Timothy 5:9-10 Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man, 10 Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints’ feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work.
Sandwiched between the “good works” and “every good work”, Paul lists 4 specific “good works”.
These are the figures of the true good works. Notice, if a window has done these good works carnally, she is not “saved”, or rewarded eternally. Rather she is taken care of carnally.
By Pastor • Christian Doctrine, Good Works • 0