The Grace of Confession, Part 16

04-15-26 grace of confession 16

High-Detail Theological Outline of the Sermon Recording

Content creation date: 2026-04-15 19:06:40

Model attribution: gpt-5

Opening Logistics, Context, and Confession Review

Visual/technical check:

 “Evening, evening. So far, everyone can see that the slides are up.”

Technical note: Ongoing uncertainty about last week’s issue—“I still can't figure it out… I was able to restore what I needed to restore.”

Series placement and flow:

 Lesson sixteen within the “Grace of Confession” series.

Recent transition toward “Glory of God’s Grace.”

This study is counted within “Grace of Confession,” though confession will be addressed only at the start of service.

Silent prayer practice:

 A moment of silent prayer before beginning the study.

Recap provided for new listeners; regular attendees know the reason.

Fifteen-week summary on grace of confession:

 Salvation mechanics:

  At salvation, through baptism of the Holy Spirit, the believer is brought into union with Christ.

The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is received and cannot be lost; salvation cannot be lost.

God will never leave or forsake the believer.

Sin nature and acts of sin:

 Believers still possess a sin nature and commit acts of sin.

Sins are not imputed to the believer; they were imputed to Christ on the cross, and He paid the penalty.

Fellowship doctrine (First John as the epistle about fellowship):

 Fellowship with God is broken when believers commit acts of sin.

When fellowship is broken, believers move outside the “pre-designed plan of God” into the “cosmic system.”

God’s plan for believers:

 General plan: Grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Purpose: Glorify God in our bodies while on earth.

Restoration protocol (1 John 1:9):

 “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Word study:

 “Confess” = homologeo (to name, cite, agree). Non-meritorious.

Compared with pistuo (believe). Non-meritorious; salvation is by faith, the merit lies in the object (Christ), not in the act of believing.

Homologeo: Anyone can name/cite sins; no credit accrues to the confessor.

Warning against additions:

 Do not add to salvation (faith alone in Christ alone).

Do not add to confession (name and cite only).

Not: name + feel guilty; name + feel sorry; name + vow “never again”; name + “make it up to God.”

Example: “Father, I confess the sin of anger.” Immediate restoration—God is faithful and just to forgive and cleanse.

Emotional neutrality:

 How you feel about the sin is inconsequential to restoration.

The less you “learn to feel” about the sin, the better; feelings are not the issue.

Recognize sin as sin; acknowledge the judicial satisfaction at the cross.

Importance of confession for spiritual function:

 Without the filling of the Spirit:

  You cannot metabolize Bible doctrine.

You will be wasting your time.

Your prayers will not be heard.

Keep short accounts with God; stay filled with the Spirit.

Before intake of the Word (e.g., tonight), take silent prayer to address any unconfessed sin.

Opening Prayer

Thanksgiving:

 For time to study, God’s Word, God’s plan, and opportunity to glorify God.

Petitions:

 Opportunities to glorify God more.

Protection against distractions and obstacles, including during the service.

The Holy Spirit to open hearts to receive truth, producing growth, edification, learning.

Empowerment and authority to speak with biblical authority and with grace.

Closing:

 “In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Series Navigation and Teaching Plan

Reference to QR code for materials to catch up.

Intention to return to the topic—Grace Apparatus for Perception (GAP).

Attribution:

 Term “Grace Apparatus for Perception” originally coined by Pastor Colonel R.B. Thieme (R. B. Thieme Jr.).

Counsel on terminology:

 Don’t get caught up in titles (“pre-designed plan of God,” “divine dinosphere,” “problem solving devices”).

Principles matter more than labels. Example: “Problem solving devices”—ten biblical principles that solve life’s problems; call them what you wish.

Teaching plan:

 More detailed than anticipated.

New notes composed at lunch; will proceed slowly; may continue next week.

Handout provided; hope to cover it.

Slide reference:

 “Slide number sixty-nine” in the GAP sequence.

Opening Illustration and Cognitive Framework

Illustration:

 “Right when I should have rolled left, but we’ll get it down.” Sets a tone of learning-by-correction and iterative practice.

Cognitive framework of the soul:

 Right side as categorical storage:

  Vocabulary

Frame of reference

Process:

 Perception of the Word of God is transferred by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Non-meritorious faith is “mixed” with the Spirit’s power, producing transfer from gnosis (knowledge) to epignosis/epignōsis (full knowledge).

Result: Doctrine becomes usable and recallable.

Doctrine of Recall by the Holy Spirit

Observation:

 Verses once “forgotten” appear suddenly in thought.

Reason:

 Stored in the soul; the Holy Spirit brings to remembrance “at any point in time.”

Primary Text Setup and Definition of GAP

Instruction:

 Turn to 1 Corinthians 2 (displaying vv. 12–13 but starting from v. 10).

Definition of GAP:

 “The God-designed, grace-based system by which the believer learns, understands, and applies Bible doctrine after salvation.”

As salvation is by grace through faith, so spiritual growth operates on grace, not human ability.

Bible doctrine is spiritual information, not accessible by human intellect alone; it requires a divine system empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 2:10–13 (Sequence Maintained)

1 Corinthians 2:10:

 “For to us God revealed them through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:11:

 “For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so, the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God.”

1 Corinthians 2:12:

 “Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God.”

Notes:

 “Received” in the aorist tense: a moment-in-time event.

Purpose clause: “so that we may know” (oida—absolute knowledge), not ginosko.

Emphasis: Knowledge of “the things freely given to us by God.”

1 Corinthians 2:13:

 “Which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in those taught by the Spirit, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words.”

Paraphrase clarifications:

 Explaining spiritual truths by spiritual words.

Interpreting spiritual truths by spiritual means.

Establishing the Subject Focus and Methodological Cautions

The verses speak about:

 The Holy Spirit’s role in revelation and understanding.

The “spirit” given to believers at salvation.

Methodological caution:

 Scripture sometimes presents truths without exhaustive mechanical explanations (e.g., foreknowledge, election, predestination).

Danger: Going outside Scripture to fill in speculative mechanics; adding to what is written.

Posture: Accept by faith where revelation does not give full mechanics; avoid “paralysis of analysis.”

Concern about doctrinal errors:

 Mixing categories can lead to conclusions like “sinless perfection.”

Maintain distinctions and allow Scripture’s clarity to shape boundaries.

Detailed Notes on 1 Corinthians 2:12–13 and Related Concepts

Aorist “received”:

 One-time reception of “the Spirit who is from God” (indwelling/filling ministry to be distinguished later).

Purpose:

 Oida (absolute knowledge) of grace gifts—“the things freely given to us by God.”

Means:

 Words taught by the Spirit, not human wisdom; Spirit-dependent communication and perception.

Terminology clarification:

 “Spiritual” = pneumatikos: Pertaining to the spirit; information originating with God; understood only through the Holy Spirit.

Not based on human IQ, empiricism, rationalism, or experience; based on the divine system of perception.

Introducing the Key Category: Capacity

Doctrinal term: Capacity.

Framework of debated mechanics:

 View A: Man is born spiritually dead; the human spirit is regenerated at salvation.

View B: Salvation entails a new creation—something brand new is given (a new human spirit).

Scripture provides limited detail on mechanics; four main passages mentioned in a handout (not read here).

Non-speculative focus:

 Why we have it and what it does.

Central assertion:

 At salvation, believers receive “capacity”—the ability to understand spiritual phenomena—which they lacked as unbelievers.

This capacity is essential for the “Glory of God’s Grace,” because glorification depends on being filled with the Spirit and then perceiving, metabolizing, and applying doctrine.

No other way to perceive and apply doctrine than by the system studied here (GAP).

Anthropology Distinctions: Soulish vs. Spiritual; Dichotomy vs. Trichotomy

Unbeliever:

 “Soulish only”—cannot understand spiritual truth.

Believer:

 Trichotomous—body, soul, and spirit.

Scripture references (not turned to at this moment, listed for later):

 1 Thessalonians 5:23 — “spirit, soul, and body.”

Hebrews 4:12 — The Word of God divides between soul and spirit.

Counsel:

 Do not get lost in speculative mechanics; accept the spiritual realities presented.

Creation and Regeneration Language; Human Spirit Defined

Salvation as rebirth:

 Soul imparted at physical birth (personality, self-consciousness).

Spirit imparted at rebirth (regeneration)—a new organ/capacity for spiritual relation.

Distinction maintained:

 The “human spirit” is distinct from the “Holy Spirit.”

Do not confuse verses that refer to one with the other.

Definition (given at lunch):

 “The human spirit is the immaterial part of man that gives him the capacity to relate to God and understand spiritual truth.”

Clarifications:

 Immaterial—non-empirical; cannot be seen, felt, or touched.

Distinct from the soul:

 Soul functions: thinks, chooses, feels—personal identity.

Spirit function: connects man to God; receives spiritual phenomena.

Two lobes of the soul (introduced briefly):

 Left lobe: nous (mind)—academic perception.

Right lobe: category exists; slide needs correction; further detail pending.

Perception Mechanics: From Gnosis to Epignosis (Correction of Lobe Terminology)

Correction:

 Initial mistake corrected: Doctrine first enters the left lobe (nous; Greek: νοῦς), i.e., the mind.

Terms and distinctions:

 Gnosis (γνῶσις) = academic knowledge at initial perception.

Academic reception illustration:

 “Two plus two is four” — reiteration of facts is academic understanding (gnosis).

Language analogy: If the speaker used a foreign language, you wouldn’t even have gnosis (no comprehension).

Bible class activities:

 Hearing doctrine, learning categories, vocabulary, and concepts.

Crucial caution:

 Academic reception alone does not transform life.

Faith-Rest Drill parallel:

 Stage one (claiming promises) does not solve the problem; further stages are required.

Hearing doctrine alone is insufficient; transformation requires metabolization and application.

Metabolized Doctrine: Epignosis and the Right Lobe (Heart)

Transition process:

 Epignosis (ἐπίγνωσις) = full knowledge, wisdom; “metabolized doctrine.”

Mechanics: Doctrine is believed, internalized, transferred, and circulates in the right lobe (heart/core of thinking).

Warning from Hebrews (general reference):

 One of the few biblical calls to “be afraid” refers to hearing doctrine and failing to metabolize it.

Illustration: Ten spies who failed to enter the Promised Land (failure at the metabolization/application stage).

Doctrinal point: God provides a rest (pre-designed plan), but entrance requires believing and applying doctrine.

Application:

 Encouragement: Failure at application is possible; do not be condemned—do not quit.

Emphatic exhortation: “Don’t quit! Don’t quit!”

Anticipation:

 Future study on stages of spiritual maturity.

Ephesians implied reference: “no more tossed to and fro,” “grow up.”

Parental analogy: Joy of observing stages of growth in children parallels God’s joy as believers grow.

Means of growth: Filling of the Spirit plus perceiving, metabolizing, and applying doctrine.

Process of Perception (Applied also to Salvation)

Defined process:

 Perception: Doctrine enters the mind (left lobe).

Faith response: Believer exercises non-meritorious faith.

Metabolism: Doctrine transfers to the heart as wisdom; forms a frame of reference.

Application: Doctrine becomes usable under pressure.

Salvation parallel and personal testimony:

 Conversion through written material—booklets by R. B. Thieme Jr.

Titles mentioned: “Mental Attitude Dynamics” and “Rebound and Keep Moving.”

Method: Saved through reading—illustrates the incorruptible seed of the gospel (message, not method).

Principle: The content of the gospel is the power; the messenger or medium is secondary.

Ephesians 2 — Before and After Salvation

Ephesians 2:1:

 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins.”

Establishes “before salvation” reality as spiritual death (not physical).

“Dead” = separation from God; inability for communion with God.

Thematic note on original sin and regeneration:

 Teacher’s leaning: “Death spread to all men, because all men have sinned” (born spiritually dead).

Acknowledges other studied verses suggesting God created something entirely brand new.

Position: Both may be “two sides of the same point.” Key concern—God did it, why it happened, what it means, and how we live now.

Ephesians 2:5:

 “Even when we were dead in our transgressions made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.”

Interpretive emphasis:

 Sounds like something “made alive,” not necessarily created brand new.

States personal leaning while recognizing differing teachings and avoiding minutiae.

Capacity defined (English dictionary notes; Cambridge American Dictionary cited):

 “The maximum amount something can hold, produce, or contain.”

A person’s “ability, talent, or legal competency to do something.”

A role or position: “Operating right now in the capacity as a pastor-teacher.”

Synonyms: ability, volume, competence, potential, aptitude.

Theological application:

 Before salvation: No capacity to commune with God or understand spiritual things.

After salvation: Regeneration gives capacity to understand—God must grant it.

Human Spirit and Holy Spirit: Roles and Analogy

Doctrinal definitions:

 “The human spirit equals the capacity, the ability to receive truth.”

  Given by God at salvation; enables reception of spiritual information.

“The Holy Spirit… gives the ability to understand and apply truth.”

 The Holy Spirit is the teacher; makes received doctrine understandable.

Analogy:

 Human spirit = receiver.

Holy Spirit = sender of the signal (and teacher).

Word of God is the content; cannot be removed from the process.

Method necessity:

 No “osmosis”: Must study the Word; doctrinal classes provide spiritual information (pneumatikos—spiritual information).

Proper sequence:

 Pastor-teacher communicates spiritual information.

Human spirit receives.

By faith, the Holy Spirit converts gnosis into epignosis (usable, full knowledge).

Becomes part of frame of reference and vocabulary; becomes applicable wisdom.

Common Grace and Efficacious Grace at Salvation

Gospel uniqueness:

 The only spiritual information the unbeliever can understand (by common grace).

Efficacious grace:

 The Holy Spirit makes the unbeliever’s inadequate faith effective for salvation.

Instant regeneration and the “forty things” at salvation occur and cannot be undone.

One of the “forty things”:

 The impartation of the human spirit, granting capacity for all doctrines (e.g., reconciliation, propitiation).

The Source of Truth and Purpose of the Spirit

Affirmations:

 “The source of truth is the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit = “Spirit of truth”; source of all truth.

Purpose: Understanding—“so we may know.”

First Corinthians — The Natural (Soulish) Man

1 Corinthians 2:14:

 “But a natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.”

Term: “Natural person” (psychikos/soukikos; teacher pronounces “Sukikos”).

Assessment: Soulish, unregenerated, lacks the regenerated spirit; no capacity to understand spiritual things.

Jude — Confirmation of the Soulish State

Jude 19:

 “These are the ones who cause divisions, worldly minded, devoid of the Spirit.”

Application:

 Confirms the “natural minded” are “devoid of the spirit.”

They “do not accept” (Greek nuance noted as personal, volitional rejection) the things of the Spirit.

Identification of “things of the Spirit”:

 Divine viewpoint

Bible doctrine

Revealed truth

Clarification:

 Not emotionalism or feelings; not “feeling spiritual” from music or sentiment.

Strictly doctrinal content and divine viewpoint.

Word Study: “Foolishness”

Greek: moria (ΜΩΡΙΑ; spelled out as M O R I A).

Meaning:

 Absurdity, nonsense, irrational.

Comment:

 “Foolishness” is a weaker English rendering; many consider us “nuts” for believing doctrine.

Pastoral Illustration: Capacity and Compassion Toward Unbelievers

Practical counsel:

 View unbelievers as lacking capacity; akin to those ruled legally incompetent to stand trial—cannot understand.

Cultivate patience and grace; expect rejection and ridicule without anger.

Believers and varying capacity:

 Recognize different stages and levels of growth.

Provide privacy and freedom to grow.

Do not mock or condemn believers taught differently (e.g., tongues); practice patience and a graceful attitude.

Capacity grows; believers have capacity but may feel overwhelmed by how much they do not yet know.

Personal Testimony: Transformation and Public Perception

Background:

 Known history of mental illness (bipolar disorder), medications, inability to cope.

Radical change into a “spiritual warrior” and pastor-teacher, surprising family and acquaintances.

Some initially judged the change as a manic phase.

Stopped medication (not initially public); approaching two years “next month” from the sermon date.

Timeline references:

 Two years since discovering “Pastor Bob’s teaching” (attribution: Pastor Robert McLaughlin, often referred to by congregants as “Pastor Bob”).

About one year actively teaching; two years “back” into serious doctrinal engagement.

Initial re-engagement around May (year not specified); church attendance resumed months later (December/January window mentioned).

Observations:

 Some now dismiss prior diagnosis (“probably never even had bipolar disorder”).

Root issue remains spiritual capacity: Unbelievers need regeneration, the gospel, and the new human spirit.

Clarifying “Cannot Understand”: Capacity, Not Intelligence

1 Corinthians 2:14 elaboration:

 “Cannot understand” does not mean lack of intelligence.

It means lack of capacity (unregenerate state).

Very intelligent people still cannot grasp spiritual phenomena without grace/regeneration.

Grace emphasis:

 All understanding is grace-based; God prevents human boasting.

God supplies the capacity; no one will glory in heaven by their own merit.

Spiritual Discernment and the Supernatural Christian Life

“Because they are spiritually discerned”

 Spiritual phenomena require spiritual means.

Definition:

 The Christian life is a supernatural way of life.

Diagnostic principle:

 Anything an unbeliever can accomplish by willpower (quit drinking, drugs, swearing, smoking) is not the spiritual life.

Application caution:

 This does not justify living however one wants.

Moral reform is not the essence of spirituality; true spiritual life is supernatural, Spirit-enabled.

Process of Metabolization (Recap)

Steps:

 Pastor-teacher communicates spiritual information (pneumatikos).

Human spirit receives.

Faith is exercised.

Holy Spirit recognizes faith and converts gnosis to epignosis (full knowledge).

Doctrine enters frame of reference and vocabulary.

Doctrine becomes wisdom for application.

Necessity of filling with the Holy Spirit:

 Ensures the Spirit’s active ministry of teaching and transfer into epignosis.

Relation to salvation mechanism:

 Common grace enables hearing the gospel.

Efficacious grace makes faith effective.

Regeneration imparts human spirit and installs permanent salvific assets (“forty things”).

Post-salvation: the same pattern of faith leading to Spirit-enabled understanding applies to all doctrines.

Ephesians 1:17–18 — Prayer for Epignosis and Enlightened Heart

Ephesians 1:17–18 quoted/expounded:

 “That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him.”

Prayer: “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know what is the hope of His calling, and what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance to the saints.”

Doctrinal notes:

 The word “knowledge” in v. 17 = epignosis (full, metabolized knowledge).

Paul is not praying for new blessings but for understanding of what believers already possess.

Power systems:

 Filling of the Holy Spirit: A power system; the Spirit is the teacher of truth.

Gnosis vs. pressure: A believer may have gnosis and still fall apart under pressure without the Spirit’s filling and epignosis.

Three Essential Things Every Believer Must Know (Derived from Ephesians 1:17–18)

Pre-foundational curriculum for new believers:

 Learn the character and nature of God.

Learn who you are in Christ (gospel doctrines and mechanics).

Learn the mystery doctrine of the Church Age (comprehensive doctrinal framework).

Pastoral admonition regarding ministry placement:

 Necessity of being under a pastor-teacher who teaches these doctrines.

Statement: If your pastor-teacher does not teach propitiation, reconciliation, predestined plan of God, etc., “you are out of the plan of God for your life.”

Rebuke of motivational-only preaching: “You are wasting your life” without doctrinal instruction.

Divine assignment:

 Assertion: God assigns each born-again believer to a specific pastor-teacher.

Personal stance: Not seeking to relocate believers from their churches; responsibility is to communicate doctrine daily (mailing list, Facebook posts).

Role definition: Teach line upon line, precept upon precept; not to run lives or condemn.

Mechanics of growth: Positive volition + Spirit-enabled understanding = capacity growth, executing God’s plan, displaying grace.

Pastor reference: “Pastor Bob” remark—criticizing an approach of mere potluck/social events without doctrinal teaching.

Volition and provision:

 Positive volition: God will provide the right teacher.

Negative volition: God does not force rebound, doctrine intake, or plan execution.

Escrow blessings: Salvation is secure; experiential grace blessings require doctrinal execution.

The three essentials (aligned to Ephesians 1:17–18):

1.  The hope of His calling:

  Includes election, eternal future, and your place in God’s plan.

Effect: Stabilized thinking; pre-designed plan realities from eternity past must be walked in.

2. The riches of the glory of His inheritance:

 Abundance beyond measure; God’s grace on display.

Cross-reference noted for further study: Ephesians 2:7.

3. The surpassing greatness of His power:

 Identified as the filling of the Spirit and execution of the predestined plan of God.

Purpose clauses highlighted:

 “May give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge (epignosis) of Him.”

“I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened” so that you know:

 The hope of His calling (election, eternal future, place in God’s plan).

The riches of His inheritance (grace on display).

The surpassing greatness of His power (Spirit’s filling, plan execution).

Possession and Capacity: Living What You Already Have

Key thesis:

 “You already possess every spiritual blessing in Christ; if you don’t understand them, you cannot live in them.”

Paul prays for enlightened eyes to understand existing possessions.

Capacity theme:

 At salvation, capacity is given to receive spiritual truth.

Ongoing process:

 Intake of doctrine + faith-mixing + Spirit’s teaching = frame of reference.

Capacity increases progressively, enabling greater or more complex doctrinal intake and application.

Analogy: Progressive overload in weightlifting.

 Natural design and capacity development through consistency and incremental increases.

Spiritual parallel: Regular doctrinal intake leads to spiritual capacity growth.

Series Logistics and Scope

Current progress:

 Slides: Currently on slide 76 of 94.

Plan: Finish next week with review; do not rush, as these principles are essential to later applications in “God’s grace on display.”

Anticipated studies:

 Seven laws of the harvest: Drawing spiritual truths from natural life parallels.

Doctrinal Q&A Paper Review: Spiritual Death and Regeneration Mechanics

Summary heading: “What we know for certain.”

Baseline:

 Man is born physically alive, spiritually dead.

At salvation, God makes the believer spiritually alive.

Scriptural references (presented in this review section):

 2 Corinthians 5:17 — “new creation.”

Ezekiel 36:26 — “new spirit” (new heart/new spirit).

Ephesians 2:5 — “made us alive.”

Colossians 2:13 — “made alive.”

Balanced doctrinal conclusion:

 Scripture presents both new-creation language and life-from-death language without detailing internal mechanics.

Key teaching statement: At salvation, God performs a supernatural work:

 Transition from spiritual death to spiritual life.

Believer becomes a new creation in Christ.

Practical application:

 Before salvation: No capacity for spiritual truth.

After salvation: Capacity to understand and relate to God.

Christian life focus: Learning, thinking, and applying truth in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Personal doctrinal leaning:

 Inclination: A spiritually dead capacity/regenerable faculty is made alive at salvation.

Concession: God could create it brand new; mechanics not dogmatically specified.

Emphasis: Something real happened at salvation—believers have what they did not have before.

Concluding Emphasis of the Session’s Flow

Confession aligns the believer with the filling of the Spirit.

GAP explains how Spirit-enabled capacity (human spirit) receives and processes spiritual data.

1 Corinthians 2:10–13 anchors the necessity of the Holy Spirit for revelation, knowledge (oida), and communication of spiritual truth.

Distinction:

 Human spirit (capacity organ) vs. Holy Spirit (divine teacher/enabler).

Goal:

 Operate in the Glory of God’s Grace by consistent confession, Spirit filling, doctrinal perception, metabolization, and application.

Closing Exhortation and Prayer

Exhortation:

 Emphasis: Clear understanding precedes execution; do not rush doctrinal foundations.

Promise: Expect “fantastic growth” as grace is put on display through doctrinal execution.

Closing prayer content:

 Thanksgiving for study time.

Petition: That God would “quicken these things to our souls and spirit,” teach, and grow us.

Ephesians 1:18 prayer echoed: Enlighten the eyes of the heart to know the hope of His calling.

Practical trust: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart… acknowledge Him… He will direct your paths.”

Blessing: Prayer for God’s blessing on the remainder of the evening.

Conclusion: “In Jesus’ name, Amen.”

Scripture References in the Exact Order Mentioned

1. 1 John 1:9 — “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us… and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

2. 1 Corinthians 2:10

3. 1 Corinthians 2:11

4. 1 Corinthians 2:12 — oida vs. ginosko; aorist “received”

5. 1 Corinthians 2:13

6. 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (listed contextually; “spirit, soul, and body”)

7. Hebrews 4:12 (listed contextually; division between soul and spirit)

8. Hebrews (general warning reference; fear of hearing without metabolizing; ten spies illustration)

9. Ephesians (implied: 4:14–15; “no more tossed to and fro,” “grow up”)

10. Ephesians 2:1 — “you were dead in your trespasses and sins”

11. Ephesians 2:5 — “made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved”

12. 1 Corinthians 2:14 — “a natural person does not accept… cannot understand… spiritually discerned”

13. Jude 19 — “cause divisions, worldly minded, devoid of the Spirit”

14. Ephesians 1:17–18 — “spirit of wisdom… knowledge (epignosis)… eyes of your heart enlightened…”

15. Ephesians 2:7 — “in the ages to come… surpassing riches of His grace” (supportive cross-reference)

16. 2 Corinthians 5:17 — “new creation”

17. Ezekiel 36:26 — “new heart… new spirit”

18. Colossians 2:13 — “made alive”

19. Proverbs 3:5–6 — “Trust in the Lord with all your heart… acknowledge Him… He will direct your paths” (quoted in closing prayer)

Names and Attributions

R. B. Thieme Jr.:

 Attribution for “Grace Apparatus for Perception.”

Booklets instrumental in conversion:

 “Mental Attitude Dynamics”

“Rebound and Keep Moving”

Pastor Robert McLaughlin (“Pastor Bob”):

 Referenced regarding approach emphasizing the insufficiency of social events (e.g., potluck dinners) versus doctrinal teaching.