1. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen Hebrews 13:20-21 NKJV

2. Jesus’ Roles and Authority Man’s need for God’s authority Man’s duty to God’s authority Fundamental attacks on Jesus’ authority

3. Jesus Has Authority Over All Things
Matthew 28:18 Hebrews 4:13

4. Jesus Has Authority Over Our Thoughts
Hebrews 4:12-13 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.
I. Thoughts
A. Heb. 4:12-13
1. He has authority to define what thoughts all men may and may not welcome and dwell on
2. Nothing is hidden
B. What to avoid and put away
1. Rom. 1:29-31
a. if sinners are not under the law of Christ, then by what law are these things wrong?
b. many of these can be done w/o any outward action, emphasizing Jesus’ authority over man’s thoughts
2. Pride can exist only in our thoughts (for a time)
a. viewing yourself, your ideas, or your work as being more important than God views them---only God is able to determine the proper place of each person.
b. Everywhere God has revealed an order I must learn my place and neither diminish nor exalt my part, per 3 Jn. 9.
i. with pride, I inflate the value of my ideas and preferences, or
ii. I don’t consider the needs and benefits of others—only what I want to do or avoid.
c. If I see this as a weakness in myself, that does not mean I am guilty of ongoing sin (unless I don’t view it as a weakness)---I am only guilty when I make my decisions based on an inflated view of myself, such as
i. disobedient to parents often begins with thoughts of pride (“I don’t want to be told what to do”)
ii. haters of God is the result of suppressing truth and pursuing futile thoughts (“maybe life can come from non-life” or “maybe something came from nothing”).
iii. undiscerning result of deciding that I can figure life out on my own, w/o help from God (end of Pr. 1)
C. What to pursue and put on
1. Phil. 4:8 Beyond avoiding the above thoughts, I must think on these things
2. Humility 1 Pet. 5:5-6
a. v6 first, learn how great God is and how little you are
b. v5 then you are prepared to work with others and to participate in things that were not your idea nor your preference---that will happen in your work, your home, and in this church
c. Jesus did several things beyond “the bare minimum” for our benefit—is it hard for me to do that?
D. Every sinful and righteous thought is not specifically named, but enough is said about the two kinds of thoughts to discern both good and evil, if I want to know the difference.
E. The commitment to think differently than I used to is among the most difficult and beneficial parts of living under the authority of Christ.

5. Jesus Has Authority Over Our Thoughts
What to avoid and put away Rom. 1:29-31
What to pursue and put on Phil. 4:8; Pet. 5:5-6
Pride
Humility
I. Thoughts
A. Heb. 4:12-13
1. He has authority to define what thoughts all men may and may not welcome and dwell on
2. Nothing is hidden
B. What to avoid and put away
1. Rom. 1:29-31
a. if sinners are not under the law of Christ, then by what law are these things wrong?
b. many of these can be done w/o any outward action, emphasizing Jesus’ authority over man’s thoughts
2. Pride can exist only in our thoughts (for a time)
a. viewing yourself, your ideas, or your work as being more important than God views them---only God is able to determine the proper place of each person.
b. Everywhere God has revealed an order I must learn my place and neither diminish nor exalt my part, per 3 Jn. 9.
i. with pride, I inflate the value of my ideas and preferences, or
ii. I don’t consider the needs and benefits of others—only what I want to do or avoid.
c. If I see this as a weakness in myself, that does not mean I am guilty of ongoing sin (unless I don’t view it as a weakness)---I am only guilty when I make my decisions based on an inflated view of myself, such as
i. disobedient to parents often begins with thoughts of pride (“I don’t want to be told what to do”)
ii. haters of God is the result of suppressing truth and pursuing futile thoughts (“maybe life can come from non-life” or “maybe something came from nothing”).
iii. undiscerning result of deciding that I can figure life out on my own, w/o help from God (end of Pr. 1)
C. What to pursue and put on
1. Phil. 4:8 Beyond avoiding the above thoughts, I must think on these things
2. Humility 1 Pet. 5:5-6
a. v6 first, learn how great God is and how little you are
b. v5 then you are prepared to work with others and to participate in things that were not your idea nor your preference---that will happen in your work, your home, and in this church
c. Jesus did several things beyond “the bare minimum” for our benefit—is it hard for me to do that?
D. Every sinful and righteous thought is not specifically named, but enough is said about the two kinds of thoughts to discern both good and evil, if I want to know the difference.
E. The commitment to think differently than I used to is among the most difficult and beneficial parts of living under the authority of Christ.

6. Jesus Has Authority Over Our Words
Matthew 12:37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.
II. Words
A. Mt. 12:37
1. Nothing is hidden
2. Jesus has authority to define what words we may and may not speak—how does He do that without revealing a list of approved and forbidden words?
B. What to avoid and put away
1. Eph. 4:25a (lying, no exceptions, even to spare feelings), 26 (sinful anger), 29a (corrupt, pollute), 30-31; 5:4a
2. Corrupt speech
a. corrupt- “degeneracy from original virtue” (from reference to sapros #4550 in discussion of poneros #4190, Strong’s)
b. Matt. 6:9 every way we identify God is holy
i. Profane speech uses some word identifying God in a blasphemous way, often to express anger
ii. Profane speech uses some way of identifying God in a common way, often to express surprise
iii. examples: God, Lord, Jesus combined with other words or altered forms of those words which mean the same thing (did you know that gosh, golly, gee, OMG, Lordy are all altered forms of God, Lord, or Jesus?).
c. Avoiding corrupt speech requires me to know what I mean by what I say and what others who hear me think of when I speak
i. Eph. 4:29 I am responsible for the effect of my words on others
ii. a dictionary is a simple way to determine what others hear
iii. the meaning of words can change, but that happens slowly and assumes that everyone who hears me does not know what the word I’m using means---if they do, my words have the opposite effect of edify, grace.
iv. When I know Christ examines my words, then I will too---but putting off such speech is not all that Jesus directs us to do--
C. What to pursue and put on
1. Eph. 4:25b, 26 (there are times to be angry), 29b, 32; 5:4b
2. Words that give grace---favor, benefit, see Prov. 25:11
a. we live in a world of useless words (information overload)---useless topics of discussion abound
b. Jesus used perfect judgment when He had opportunities to speak
i. Mt. 13:34 In speaking to the crowds, Jesus began with “milk”
ii. Mt. 15:3; 21:27 Jesus spoke to the religious leaders differently
iii. Jn. 16:12, 25 the apostles’ were progressively given more than the crowds, but still with wisdom
iv. in each case, there was benefit available to the hearer
c. as Christians, truth and right are the conversations we should be trying to have
i. the reality of God and objective-universal truth with people with little knowledge of spiritual things
ii. the difference between the evidence of the Bible and the claims of other religious books
iii. the differences between the plan of salvation in Scripture and the common plans taught today
iv. among each other, the needs we have as a church and as ind members will edify (warn, comfort, ...)
v. What benefit do people gain from hearing you talk?
D. There is no exhaustive list of sinful and righteous words but enough is said about the two kinds of words to discern both good and evil, if I want to know the difference..
E. The commitment to speak differently than I used to is among the most difficult and beneficial parts of living under the authority of Christ.

7. Jesus Has Authority Over Our Words
What to avoid and put away Eph. 4:25ff
Corrupt speech
“degeneracy from original virtue” (Strong’s dictionary)
II. Words
A. Mt. 12:37
1. Nothing is hidden
2. Jesus has authority to define what words we may and may not speak—how does He do that without revealing a list of approved and forbidden words?
B. What to avoid and put away
1. Eph. 4:25a (lying, no exceptions, even to spare feelings), 26 (sinful anger), 29a (corrupt, pollute), 30-31; 5:4a
2. Corrupt speech
a. corrupt- “degeneracy from original virtue” (from reference to sapros #4550 in discussion of poneros #4190, Strong’s)
b. Matt. 6:9 every way we identify God is holy
i. Profane speech uses some word identifying God in a blasphemous way, often to express anger
ii. Profane speech uses some way of identifying God in a common way, often to express surprise
iii. examples: God, Lord, Jesus combined with other words or altered forms of those words which mean the same thing (did you know that gosh, golly, gee, OMG, Lordy are all altered forms of God, Lord, or Jesus?).
c. Avoiding corrupt speech requires me to know what I mean by what I say and what others who hear me think of when I speak
i. Eph. 4:29 I am responsible for the effect of my words on others
ii. a dictionary is a simple way to determine what others hear
iii. the meaning of words can change, but that happens slowly and assumes that everyone who hears me does not know what the word I’m using means---if they do, my words have the opposite effect of edify, grace.
iv. When I know Christ examines my words, then I will too---but putting off such speech is not all that Jesus directs us to do--
C. What to pursue and put on
1. Eph. 4:25b, 26 (there are times to be angry), 29b, 32; 5:4b
2. Words that give grace---favor, benefit, see Prov. 25:11
a. we live in a world of useless words (information overload)---useless topics of discussion abound
b. Jesus used perfect judgment when He had opportunities to speak
i. Mt. 13:34 In speaking to the crowds, Jesus began with “milk”
ii. Mt. 15:3; 21:27 Jesus spoke to the religious leaders differently
iii. Jn. 16:12, 25 the apostles’ were progressively given more than the crowds, but still with wisdom
iv. in each case, there was benefit available to the hearer
c. as Christians, truth and right are the conversations we should be trying to have
i. the reality of God and objective-universal truth with people with little knowledge of spiritual things
ii. the difference between the evidence of the Bible and the claims of other religious books
iii. the differences between the plan of salvation in Scripture and the common plans taught today
iv. among each other, the needs we have as a church and as ind members will edify (warn, comfort, ...)
v. What benefit do people gain from hearing you talk?
D. There is no exhaustive list of sinful and righteous words but enough is said about the two kinds of words to discern both good and evil, if I want to know the difference..
E. The commitment to speak differently than I used to is among the most difficult and beneficial parts of living under the authority of Christ.
God, Lord, Jesus
Alternate spelling, same meaning
(OMG, Lordy, gosh )

8. Jesus Has Authority Over Our Words
What to avoid and put away Eph. 4:25ff
What to pursue and put on Eph. 4:25ff
Corrupt speech
Edify, Grace
Prov. 25:11
Jesus
II. Words
A. Mt. 12:37
1. Nothing is hidden
2. Jesus has authority to define what words we may and may not speak—how does He do that without revealing a list of approved and forbidden words?
B. What to avoid and put away
1. Eph. 4:25b, 26 (there are times to be angry), 29b, 32; 5:4b
2. Words that give grace---favor, benefit, see Prov. 25:11
a. we live in a world of useless words (information overload)---useless topics of discussion abound
i. there has been talk recently about “fake news”
ii. what is the benefit of 24-hr discussion of politics, sports, business—is everything true also useful?
b. Jesus used perfect judgment when He had opportunities to speak
i. Mt. 13:34 In speaking to the crowds, Jesus began with lessons that would help with later lessons
ii. Mt. 15:3; 21:27 Jesus spoke to the religious leaders differently
iii. Jn. 16:12, 25 the apostles’ were progressively given more than the crowds, but still with wisdom
iv. in each case, there was benefit available to the hearer
c. as Christians, truth and right are the conversations we should be trying to have
i. the reality of God and objective-universal truth with people with little knowledge of spiritual things
ii. the difference between the evidence of the Bible and the claims of other religious books
iii. the differences between the plan of salvation in Scripture and the common plans taught today
iv. among each other, the needs we have as a church and as ind members will edify (warn, comfort, ...)
v. What benefit do people gain from hearing you talk?
D. There is no exhaustive list of sinful and righteous words but enough is said about the two kinds of words to discern both good and evil, if I want to know the difference..
E. The commitment to speak differently than I used to is among the most difficult and beneficial parts of living under the authority of Christ---this is our duty and our need.

9. Jesus Has Authority Over All Things
Matthew 28:18 Hebrews 4:13