DOES GOD NEED US TO “LEND A HAND”? God did not need the help of Abram & Sarah to fulfill the promise of making a great nation? Genesis 12:2-3; Genesis 16:1-6 Ephesians 3:10 The manifold wisdom of God When man tries to help out God, trouble follows… Jesus never tried to “help” out the Father; He was well-pleased to do His Father’s will Luke 22:41-44; Phil. 2:5-9

“For whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction…” Romans 15:4 1Samuel 5:1, 6-12 1Chronicles 13:1-4 (Numbers 4:15-20) 2Samuel 6:5-8 Uzzah simply tried to “lend a hand” Numbers 20:8-12 God was specific as to what He wanted Moses to do… Moses tried to “help God” by “lifting up his hand…”

“That You Make All Things According To The Pattern” (Hebrews 8:5) “In order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church…” (Ephesians 3:10) 2Corinthians 3:5-6 How could it be possible to improve on what God had already set in place; all according to eternal purpose, plan and design (Ephesians 1:3-14) You Can’t Improve On Perfection

THE KEY IS OBVIOUS, AND HAS BEEN SINCE TIME BEGAN “…That you make all things according to the pattern.” Hebrews 8:5 “In order that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church…” Ephesians 3:10 How could it be possible to improve on what God has set in place? All according to Divine purpose, planning and performance CAN’T IMPROVE PERFECTION 2Corinthians 3:5-6 Ephesians 1:3-14

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as is it written, ‘But the righteous man shall live by faith’” (Romans 1:16-17) APPARENTLY SOME ARE ASHAMED OF THE GOSPEL, AS THEY HAVE SOUGHT TO LEND GOD A HAND BY SEEKING TO ALTER IT IN SO MANY DIFFERENT WAYS

EACH ONE LINKED TOGETHER GOD HAS SET IN PLACE A SEVEN PART PLAN FOR UNITY WITH RESPECT TO THE CHURCH; EACH ONE LINKED TOGETHER When man tries to “lend a hand” to help God out, it only serves to weaken the chain… Ephesians 4:1-6 ONE: Body, Spirit, Hope, Lord, Faith, Baptism & God the Father 1Corinthians 3:6-9 UNITY: organization, life, purpose, authority, doctrine, induction and worship