Are You Under the Law? -- 1/20/13

Sunday, January 20, 2013

ARE YOU UNDER THE LAW?

Gal. 5:18; Rom. 5:20-6:14; Gal. 3:10-25

            ________, can I ask you a question?  Okay, here's the question:  "Did you keep the Ten Commandments yesterday?"  Some of you may have a question for me:  "Why are you asking such an embarrassing question?"  Or, "Is that any of your business?"  Or, "Ron, what about you?  Did you keep the Ten Commandments yesterday?"  Perhaps some of you have some even deeper questions:  "Should that be our concern?"  Or, "Is that our job -- to keep the Ten Commandments?"  Or, "Were the Ten Commandments intended for Christians?" 

            Now let me ask all of us a second question.  This is a simple yes-or-no question.  "Is the Christian free from the law?"  How do you answer?  Let me ask it again:  "Is the Christian free from the law?"  What do you think?  Some of you seem rather hesitant, and there is good reason for your reluctance to answer that question.  That phrase "free from the law" can be defined in different ways.  On one extreme, a person might understand "free from the law" to mean nothing more than being free from the punishment received by those who do not keep the law.  On the other extreme is the one who takes it to mean that the person who comes to Christ is no longer responsible to live up to any moral standard.  So before we decide if we can describe Christians as being free from the law, we want to make sure we understand what that language means.

            As we think about these questions, we are setting the stage for going back to Galatians 5, where we spent two or three sessions during the past couple of months.  Paul said to the Galatians, and to us, "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  Live by the Spirit, and you will not bring to completion your own desires.  It is a command with a promise.  We are commanded to walk in the Spirit.  If we do, the promise is that no way will we fulfill our own evil desires. 

            By now we are aware that walking in the Spirit can be described in other ways.  It is essentially the same thing that Jesus commanded when He said, "Abide in me, and I in you.  He who abides in me and I in him bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).  Walking in the Spirit is basically the same as being filled with the Spirit, as commanded in Eph. 5:18.  And as we saw last week, being filled with the Spirit is closely paralleled with, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."  As we let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, our focus is on our Lord Himself, the one who gave us the perfect example of walking in the Spirit.  And as we continue to gaze on Him, we are transformed into His likeness.

            So let's come back to Galatians 5 and read Gal. 5:12-23...

I could wish that those who trouble you would even cut themselves off! For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another. For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this: "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But if you bite and devour one another, beware lest you be consumed by one another! I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

            This morning we want to focus on verse 18, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."  That statement is composed of very few words and is extremely simple, but it covers a lot of territory.  It certainly raises some honest questions.  So this morning we want to deal with it as honestly as we can.  Not only do we want to know what it means, but we need to know how it fits in with the rest of the passage.  Specifically, what does not being under the law have to do with being led by the Spirit? 

I.  Are Christians Under the Law?

            Let's come back to the question, "Is the Christian under the law?"  This verse says, "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."  Immediately, some of us want to ask the question:  "What if you are not led by the Spirit?"  At this point, there is something else I need to tell you.  Some would say that it is legitimate to translate it, "Since you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."  It is the same construction that we find in Col. 3:1, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above..."  The NIV translates that verse, "Since then you have been raised with Christ, set your heart on things above..."  In the case of Col. 3:1, we know that it is a fact that we have been raised with Christ, so the translation "since you have been raised with Christ" does not present anything new.  However, many would question the translation here, "Since you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law," because they are not convinced that all Christians are led by the Spirit.

            We will come back to that idea, but first let's think more on this concept of not being under the law.  Though we are not certain Gal. 5:18 tells us that all believers are not under the law, this is not the only verse that speaks of this concept.  There aren't that many passages which speak directly of being under the law.  Let me share some of them with you...

Rom. 6:14-15...For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? Certainly not!

Gal. 3:23...But before faith came, we were kept under guard [supplied by NKJV; text literally says "under the law"] by the law, kept for the faith which would afterwards be revealed.

Gal. 4:4-5...But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, 5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.

Gal. 4:21... Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law?

            Let's focus on Rom. 6:14, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."  To whom is Paul speaking?  He is speaking to believers in the church at Rome.  However, there is a context.  Alex spoke on Romans 6 three weeks ago.  The whole context has to do with an objection that was bound to confront Paul's strong emphasis upon the grace of God.  Rom. 5:18, "... But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more."  The objection comes in 6:1, "What shall we say then?  Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?"  How many people have said that today?  "It's no big deal if we sin.  We're forgiven and going to heaven.  If we sin more, God will just forgive us more."  Paul's short answer to "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" comes in 6:2, "Certainly not!  How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"  Then he gives a longer explanation throughout the rest of chapter 6.

            Think about those words:  "How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?"  The one who has been saved by the grace extended by God through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus has died to sin and has been raised to new life.  Our old man was crucified with Christ and now we are alive with Christ (6:6).  But as we live day by day in this world, there is a question that inevitably arises:  "I sure don't seem to be dead to sin.  It certainly appears that sin is alive and well in me."  That is what Alex dealt with extensively, when he preached on this passage.  We don't yield to our feelings; we trust what God says.  Rather than relying upon our own experience, we obey the first command found in the book of Romans.  That's right, the first command.  It's not found in verse 12, but in verse 11, "Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord."  Just as Jesus died to sin once and for all when He died and now lives to God (6:10), reckon the same thing to be true in your life, because you are now united with Christ through His death and resurrection.  He doesn't say, "Pretend that you are dead to sin and alive to God in Christ, even though you know it's not really true."  Rather, "Consider what is true and reckon it to be so."  Since you have indeed died with Christ and been raised with Him, bank on the truth that you are indeed dead to sin and alive to God, regardless of the way you might feel.

            Now you understand that we are talking about the true believer, the one who has truly been made alive in Christ.  We're not talking about the person whose master is still sin and who has never been redeemed by the blood of Christ.  And we should always remember that there are millions of people in churches today who do not really belong to Christ, just as there are people here this morning who have not yet received life in Jesus.  Nevertheless, there will be times in the life of the true Christian when he doesn't feel dead to sin.  Don't base your life on what you feel; base your life on what is true, that you died to sin and are alive to God in Christ Jesus.

            After we have reckoned ourselves to be dead to sin and alive to God, then we are ready for the command found in verses 12-13, "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts.  And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God."  The battle begins in reckoning what is true; it begins in the mind and heart.  Then we are ready to fight the battle in the experiences of life, presenting all the members of our bodies to God as instruments (weapons) of righteousness.  This is the Christian life.

            Now comes the little summary of assurance in verse 14, "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace."  That is a little verse, but it has huge implications.  In the context of the promise, "Sin shall not have dominion over you (shall not lord it over you)," Paul tells us that we are not under law, but under grace.  It seems pretty clear that this is an absolute statement.  The believer is not under law.  Rather, he is under grace.  We might be tempted to say, "Well, if he reckons himself dead to sin and alive to God in Christ and refuses to let sin reign, then he is not under law."  But the truth is that the believer will indeed reckon himself dead to sin and alive to God, not letting sin be king over him.  Though he will not do it perfectly, that is the pattern of his life.  The believer is not under law.

II.  What Does It Mean to Be Under the Law?

            That brings us back to the same question:  "What does it mean that we are not under law"?  It is the context of Romans 6 that helps us understand what it means.  Of course, it certainly means that we are not under the penalty due those who do not obey the law.  We are free from the punishment, the condemnation of the law.  We have seen in Gal. 3 that the person who tries to earn his salvation by obeying the law is under the curse, because it is impossible for him to obey the law.  No human being will be justified through obedience to the law.  "For by grace are you saved through faith; and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).  We are all clear on the fact that when we come to Christ, we are no longer under the penalty of the law.

            The greater question is this:  "Does not being under the law mean more than this?"  Yes, it does.  Romans 6 is not dealing with eternal punishment due the person who disobeys God's law.  Rather, it is dealing with how to live a life that is not ruled by sin.  The argument of the stalwart Jewish lawyers could be paraphrased like this:  "You can't tell people they can just be forgiven.  You can't lead them to believe that God is gracious and will forgive them apart from keeping the law.  If you do, all morals will go down the drain.  People will rejoice in their forgiveness and live like the devil.  If you don't hold the law over them, there will be no moral restraint."   In Romans 6 Paul turns that argument upside down.  He contends that it isn't the law that will effectively restrain sin, but it is the very grace of God to which these Jewish leaders were so opposed.  That is exactly what Paul means when he says, "Sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace. The reason you will have victory over sin is because you are no longer under law but under grace."

            We need to pause here and give this some thought.  This is an extremely important concept.  I need to keep coming back to it again and again, because it runs contrary to the world's thinking and to the pride of our flesh.  Apart from God's grace, there are basically two ways we can go -- the way of law or the way of license.  We have talked about this a little bit.  The way of law tells us that to be acceptable to God we must live up to a certain standard.  Of course, people will argue about what the standard is.  According to God's Word, the only acceptable standard is the law that God has set forth in His Word.  But regardless of what standard a man looks to, he is trying to measure up to the standard so he can be acceptable to God.  There are others who, for whatever reason, throw the standard out.  Maybe they have realized that they can never attain the standard, so they just give up.  "Why try?  I'll never make it."  Others simply don't care.  "Eat, drink, and be merry.  Tomorrow I die, and who cares?"  That is the way of license.  I have a license to do whatever I want and it doesn't matter.  This is the person who might say, "If I go to hell, all my friends will be there with me."

            Now which of these two ways gains God's acceptance?  Neither.  The one who tries to keep the standard is no more justified before God than the one who throws the standard to the wind and does his own thing.  A standard of law does not have any power to make him right with God.  Even God's own law cannot make a person right before Him.  Of course, it should be stated that all men in their natural state are under the law of God, whether they like it or not.  They face the judgment of God's law for not keeping God's law.  They may respond to the law by trying to keep it or by refusing to even try, but they are still under the law.  Not only will they be judged by it, but at that point in their lives they have no higher resource than to look at the law and try to obey it.  That is part of being under the law.  It is a life of hopelessly being unable to live up the standard.

            There is no greater example than Paul himself, who was known as Saul before he met Christ.  Paul knew the law of God.  He spent his life studying it, understanding it, and trying to obey it.  If there was ever a man who had any hope of saying, "I have obeyed the law of God and am therefore acceptable to God," it was Paul.  In Phil. 3:6 he says that concerning the righteousness which is in the law, he was blameless.  Outwardly, it seemed that Paul lived up to the standard.  Nevertheless, Paul himself tells us elsewhere that he couldn't get by that inward command, "You shall not covet."  "You shall not lust."  He said that commandment killed him (see Rom. 7:7-9).

            We won't go into detail on the subject, but Paul tells us that the law actually stirs up sin.  Furthermore, he makes this statement in I Cor. 15:56, "The sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law."  Think about that for a minute.  The strength of sin is the law.  We don't have time to explore all the implications of that statement, but just get a taste of it for a moment.  The strength of sin is the law.  Paul tells us in Rom. 3:20 that "by the law is the knowledge of sin."  The great purpose of the law is to expose our sin.  The exposing of our sin is a painful process, just as it was in the life of Paul.  The law stirs up sin.  Paul says in Rom. 5:20, "Moreover, the law entered that the offense might abound."  It is God's very design that the law stir up sin.  Think of it like this:  An ugly black substance is in a glass of water.  After many hours that black stuff has settled to the bottom.  Because it is there on the bottom, it is not even noticeable, unless you are looking for it.  But now put a spoon in the glass and stir vigorously.  What happens?  All the water turns gray and ugly.  The amount of the black substance has not increased; it has only been stirred up.  That's what the law does.  We would like to think that the law will help us to overcome sin, but the best it can do is stir up sin so that we are aware of how ugly it is.  Praise God that the law does indeed expose our sin, but may we understand that it can never remove our sin, nor is it effective in restraining sin. 

            As long as we are using the law standard to curb sin and live righteously, we are doomed to failure.  Why will sin not have dominion over the Christian?  Paul answers that question directly:  "Because he is not under the law, but under grace."  It is because we have been given something infinitely more effective than the law, when it comes to living a life pleasing to God.  And what is it?  It is grace.  Grace does not operate by trying to achieve a certain level by means of an outward standard.  Rather, it is centered in the Christ who fully measured up to the standard once for all when He walked on this earth.  By grace that life, the very life of Jesus Christ, has been give to all those who trust in Him who died for our sins on the cross and rose from the dead for our justification. 

            Yes, it is grace because we didn't deserve it, but grace involves far more than what is captured by our little definition:  "Grace is undeserved favor."  Grace is not just about forgiveness of our sins, but it is also all about power over sin.  "Sin shall not have dominion over you, because you are not under law but under grace."  By grace we have been given the very life of Christ through the Holy Spirit.  By grace, we were crucified with Christ.  His death became our death and His resurrection is our resurrection.  We have indeed been raised to live a new kind of life, the Jesus kind of life.  That's grace!

III.  What Relationship Does the Law Have to the Believer?

            There is one other important aspect that we can't afford to leave out.  It is a rather difficult question, and we won't try to give a detailed answer, but we must not neglect it.  The question is this:  "So what is the relation of the law to the believer?"  Down through the ages, true Christians have answered that question in different ways.  For now suffice it to say that not being under the law does not mean that the believer is free to violate the law of God.  In other words, since we are no longer under the law, are we free to steal, lie, commit adultery, and dishonor our parents?  We know the answer to that question.  Though we are not confined to the law as a standard by which we oppose sin, the life of the Christian will reflect the principles of the law of God.  We know that is true because the law itself is a reflection of God's character.  For me, one particular passage puts this truth beyond question.  It is Romans 8:3-4," For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, 4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." 

            There was no fault in the law.  The law did exactly what God intended; it exposed our sin in all its ugliness.  But when it comes to making us better, the law was weak through the flesh.  The problem was not the law; the problem was us.  The law set forth the standard, but we couldn't keep it.  The attempt to do so is part of what it means to be under the law.  But what about the statement in Heb. 8:6-7, "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second."  The first covenant he speaks of is that which was centered in the law.  To say in this context "if that first covenant had been faultless (or without fault)" implies that there was fault in the first covenant and the law.  But listen to verse 8-9, "Because finding fault with them, He says: 'Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.'"  The fault wasn't with the law, but with "them," with those who were under the first covenant.

            But praise God that the law is fulfilled in us who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.  That is another way of saying, "You are not under the law but under grace."  Sin will not lord it over us; the law will be fulfilled in us by the grace-filled work of the Spirit.

            Galatians states the truth that we are not under the law as clearly as does Romans.  All we have to do is go back to chapter 3.  We read it earlier this morning, but let's read again Gal. 3:19-25...  

What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the Seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. 20 Now a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one. 21 Is the law then against the promises of God? Certainly not! For if there had been a law given which could have given life, truly righteousness would have been by the law. 22 But the Scripture has confined all under sin, that the promise by faith in Jesus Christ might be given to those who believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under guard by the law, kept for the faith which would afterward be revealed. 24 Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

            Let's follow Paul's argument.  Earlier Paul said that the law, which was given 430 years after the promise to Abraham, cannot do away with the promise.  Rather, it was added after the promise and was in effect until the Seed (which is Christ) should come.  Before we were introduced to faith in Christ, we were in sin, but we were kept under guard by the law.  Listen to the ESV translation of verse 23, "Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed."  Like a tutor, or guardian, the law pointed out our sin and laid out the punishment for it.  So the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.  By exposing our sin, the law showed us how desperately we needed a Savior, and the gospel revealed that the Christ who died was worthy of all our trust.  We usually stop there after verse 24, but read verse 25, "But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor."  And what was the tutor?  Clearly from verse 24, "The law was our tutor..."  So Paul states clearly that now we are in Christ through faith, we are no longer under law.

            I realize we spent a great deal of time dealing with this concept of not being under the law, but it seems necessary, if we are going to get a grasp on Gal. 5:18.  Even with what we have done this morning, there will still be many questions, and we can talk about those questions.  Nevertheless, we must understand that in our battle with sin we are not restricted to a law system which cannot bring us victory.  We have something that goes far beyond the law.  Now notice three terms that are used in contrast with the law way of righteousness...

1.  Grace -- Rom. 6:14, "You are not under law, but under grace."

2.  Faith -- Gal. 3:23-25.  "But after faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor," which is the law.

3.  Spirit -- Gal. 5:18, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

            Please be thinking about how grace, faith, and the Spirit fit together in our lives.

            Next time, Lord willing, we will spend our time specifically looking at Gal. 5:18 and its context.

Conclusion

1.  We are not under law, but we have far greater resources in battling sin.

2.  Think about how this truth fits with the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

3.  Would you say that you are being led by the Spirit?

  

There Is Mercy with the Lord -- 1/27/13

Sunday, January 27, 2013

Occasion:  Dale's Baptism

THERE'S MERCY WITH THE LORD

I.  God -- Perfectly Just, All-Knowing, All-Powerful

            Do you love justice?  Then you surely you should love God, because He is absolute justice.  He is righteous.  Every single thing He does is right.  There are no exceptions.  No human being can make such a claim, but it is absolutely true of God.  He is just.

            Add to that truth the fact that God is all-knowing.  Consider the truth that God knows everything.  Nothing you have ever done, said, or thought has escaped His notice.  We all have some idea of what sin is.  Sin is a violation of God's law.  It comes from a heart that demands its own way, and that is a perfect description of every human being who has ever been born on this planet.  God knows all about our sin.  You can't list all your sins, because you have forgotten most of them.  On top of that, they are so numerous that you are not capable of keeping them all before you.  But God can list every one of them.  The Psalmist wrote:  "If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?" (Ps. 130:3).  He does mark iniquities.  He has a perfect record.  The answer is obvious -- no one can stand. 

            Now put together with God's perfect justice and His infinite knowledge the fact that He is all-powerful.  God knows every sin you have committed, and He will deal with every one of them as a just judge.  And what does a just judge do with evil?  Does a just judge excuse the crimes of a criminal and set him free?  No.  He bangs his gavel and says, "Guilty," and then he gives him a sentence appropriate for his crime.  Can God do any less, since He is more just than any human judge?  God must and will punish every sin you have ever committed, and as the all-powerful Creator of the universe, He has the authority and power to carry out whatever sentence He pronounces.  Every evil deed, word, and thought is open to His eyes and subject to His judgment. 

            But what is an appropriate punishment for your sins?  Maybe God should see that you spend five years in jail.  But maybe your sins are worse than those of most, so perhaps your punishment might be 25 years in jail.  Such sentences are indeed appropriate for sins against mankind, but what about sins against God Himself.  You say, "But most of my sins are not against God; they are against other people."  I remind you of the words of David, who had committed adultery with Uriah's wife and then had Uriah killed to cover up his sin.  David said to God, "Against you and you only have I sinned and done this evil in your sight" (Ps. 51:3).  All of our sins are against God, because God is the one who created us and the one who gave us His law that is to regulate our lives.  Every sin is first of all against our Creator.  Surely the punishment for sinning against man pales in comparison with that for sinning against a holy God.

            Here's the big question:  Who decides what the punishment should be?  There is only one person who is just and righteous.  Surely He is the only one qualified to pronounce the appropriate punishment for our sins, and He has done so.  "The wages of sin is death" (Rom. 6:23).  Oh yes, that means that all of us are going to die because of our sins, but that death is not exhausted by physical death.  The Lord also speaks of a second death, a death which will follow the death of this body.  Jesus said, "Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul.  But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matt. 10:28).  Our sin earns a wage, and that wage is death -- both physical and eternal. 

            So here's the bottom line.  Since God is absolutely just and He has decreed that our sin earns for us the punishment of eternal death, then we must conclude that we all deserve to go to hell.  In other words, that sentence which God has pronounced is perfectly just.  If God were to announce that every one of His creatures will spend eternity in hell, who could find fault with that judgment?  That is what we deserve.

            But surely someone will say, "No, that punishment doesn't fit the crime.  It is not just to reward finite sins with an infinite punishment."  There is a certain logic in that line of thought, but such protest is evidence that we don't understand the righteousness and holiness of God.  We don't understand the depth of the evil in sinning against an infinite God.  Some who commit crimes against humanity receive life sentences.  Others have been executed for those crimes.  If that is true of crimes against humanity, what is appropriate for crimes against the Creator, the holy and righteous God of the universe? 

            I am emphasizing this point because we have a great need to understand this truth.  Somehow we tend to get the idea that a God who carries out such strict judgment is unfair.  He is fair.  When Paul was confronted by those who accused God of being unfair, he responded by denying man the right to reply to his Creator.  As it is ridiculous for the pot to question the potter, it is just as incredible that man would question the justice of his Creator.  But some resent the idea of comparing man with a pot.  But as man stands far above a pot, so God stands infinitely higher above the potter.         Modern man has come up with the idea that the dignity of humanity always deserves something better than condemnation.  Don't we understand that this entire universe beats with the glory of God?  The man or woman who rejects His glory and fights against it will be condemned, because that is exactly what he or she deserves.  The Lord is not willing that any should perish, but neither is He willing to compromise His glory.  Is. 42:8, "I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another."  When a man refuses to submit to the Lord of glory, he will receive the judgment upon which he insists by his stubborn rejection of our glorious Lord.

II.  Where Does That Leave Man?

            So where does that leave man?  We can't cry out for the justice we deserve, because strict justice means condemnation.  We have all sinned and come short of God's glory.  No flesh will be justified by keeping God's law, because no one keeps it.  All our righteous deeds are like filthy rags (Is. 64:6).  "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way" (Is. 53:6).  Ultimately how can we escape saying with the people of Jeremiah's day, "The harvest is past; the summer is ended, and we are not saved"? (Jer. 8:20). That day is coming soon, much sooner than you think.

            But wait!  I know a man... one man, but He is a man.  I know a man who didn't fit the mold, a man who loved the glory of God.  I know a man who brought heaven to earth, a man who never once went astray.  True, there is only One, but He is the One.  He was born in Bethlehem and grew up in Nazareth.  A few weeks ago we depicted the angels singing His praises and the wise men bowing down to Him.  Young ones, who is He?  Who is this One who is different from all other men?  Yes, it is Jesus.

            Jesus was taught the law of God from childhood.  And yes, He was tempted to disobey God's law.  He was tempted to go His own way, but never once did He depart from the will of His Father.  Not only did He refuse to lie, steal, dishonor His parents, commit murder and adultery, but He practiced everything He preached.  He loved His enemies and refused to take revenge, though it was in His power to do so.  I Pet. 2:22-23, "Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth; 23 who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously."  Behold His righteousness.  As surely as we trampled on the law of God, Jesus upheld it.  No wonder the Word of God calls Him "the righteous one" (I John 2:1).

            In light of Jesus' righteousness, how much more are we deserving of condemnation?  How could God ever welcome us into the same heaven where He lives with His precious, beloved Son?  Wouldn't our sin corrupt the atmosphere of heaven?  How fitting that God should welcome Jesus into heaven and assign all of us God-defying rebels to hell.  How understandable that He would put as much distance as possible between the holy Jesus and those who crucified Him.  Don't ever cry out for justice from God, because that is what justice would mean for everyone of us.

           

III.  How Can There Be Forgiveness with God?

            Come back to Ps. 130:3, "If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord who could stand?"  The answer is obvious.  He does mark iniquities, and no one can stand before Him.  But now verse 4, "But there is forgiveness with you, that you may be feared."  There is forgiveness with God.  How can that be?  What can that possibly mean?  If God overlooks sin, then He is no longer just.  As we read in Prov. 17:15, "He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the just, both of them alike are an abomination to the Lord."  God hates those who justify the wicked; so how could He ever do that Himself?  How can God forgive without compromising His justice?

            Please let me be clear.  God will never overlook one single sin.  Even if you had sinned only once against God, that would justify Him condemning you to hell.  Today it is common to say "I'm a sinner" but have no idea of the depth of our sin.  That is because we don't understand that God is just and righteous.  I repeat, God will never overlook a single sin.  He will punish every sin, no matter how insignificant we think it is.  If you are hoping God will consider all your good deeds and on that basis overlook your sin, you will be sadly disappointed on the judgment day.  You will hear Jesus say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness" (Matt. 7:23).  Again, even your righteous deeds are like filthy rags.

            So how can there be forgiveness with God?  Let me come directly to the heart of the matter.  Jesus pleased God His Father in everything He did.  He lived up to the standard laid out in the law of God.  But before the Father welcomed Him into heaven, there was one thing Jesus was assigned to do.  In reality, it was the very reason He came to this earth.  A few days before He died, Jesus spoke these words, "Now is my soul troubled, and what shall I say?  'Father, save me from this hour?'  But for this purpose I came to this hour" (John 12:27).  Do you understand what He is saying?  How can He ask the Father to bypass the very thing He came to accomplish?  So Jesus didn't pray that prayer.  Then we have recorded what He did pray, "Father, glorify your name" (12:28).  What did He mean?  "Father, no matter what it costs me, bring glory to yourself."  In praying that, Jesus knew exactly what it meant.  It meant going to the cross.

            Later just hours before His arrest, Jesus would pray, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will" (Matt. 26:39).  What was this cup of which He spoke?  Yes, it was the suffering He would have to endure.  But what kind of suffering was it?  The suffering Jesus dreaded was not the nails in His hands, not the crown of thorns, not the struggling for breath, nor the exposure to the elements.  No, the cup was nothing less that bearing our sins.  I John 4:10, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  Propitiation -- simply a sacrifice that bears wrath.  Jesus took on Himself the wrath of God, the punishment for sins.  He had no sin of His own, but God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us (II Cor. 5:21).  We deserved the wrath of God.  His full punishment should have fallen on me, because I was a rebel against Him.  I defied Him by running my own life instead of yielding to Him.  But Jesus volunteered to take my place on that cross.

            That is why there is forgiveness with God, because Jesus paid the price.  God didn't overlook a single sin that I have ever committed, but He punished my sins by providing the sacrifice, His own Son Jesus.  Down in verse 7 of that same Psalm 130, we read, "...For with the Lord there is mercy, and with Him is abundant redemption."  God took pity on us and sent His own Son to die in our place.

            So what?  What does that accomplish?  It would have accomplished nothing, if Jesus had remained in that grave, but He didn't.  He rose in victory.  All our sins could not hold Him in that grave, because His Father raised Him up, and He will never die again.  He ascended to heaven and from there He sends His Spirit to every person who calls upon His name. 

            Down through the years this has been referred to as "the great exchange."  Jesus takes our sins upon Himself and in exchange gives us His life.  How can it be?  That isn't fair.  No, that is love.  That is mercy.  That is grace.  Praise God that He is not only just, but He is love.  It is the cross that allows God to remain righteous, while washing away our sins.  He is just because He punishes our sins completely... in Christ.  He is love because He provides a way so that we don't have to be punished for those sins. 

Conclusion:  So What Is Your Part?

            What's your part?  How can you find that forgiveness?  Only through the cross of Jesus.  Jesus put it simply:  "Repent and believe the good news."  How can you know if you have repented?  After what you have heard this morning, what do you think about your sin?  If you are not filled with regret for your sin, if you do not despise your sin, if you think you can continue to sin and it not fill your heart with sorrow, then you have NOT repented.  Repentance comes from the conviction of God's Spirit.  When the Spirit of God turns His light upon your sin, you fall down before Him because you see your sin for what it is.  You say with Isaiah, "Woe is me, for I am undone."  If it were not for Jesus, you would have no hope.  But the other side of the coin of repentance is belief.   Praise God!  There is a Savior!  There is One who came to rescue you from the depth of your sins.  That same Psalm 130 begins with these words, "Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord!"  Out of the depths of your sin you can cry to the One who died and rose to take away your sins.  You can trust Jesus.  You can throw yourself on Him as your only hope.  You can rest your life upon Him.  Jesus said, "Come unto me, all you who labor and are heavy laden (burdened down), and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). 

            Please listen to the words of the old hymn...
Come every soul by sin oppressed,  there's mercy with the Lord;

And He will surely give you rest by trusting in His word.

For Jesus shed His precious blood, rich blessings to bestow;

Plunge now into the crimson flood that wash as white as snow.

Yes, Jesus is the Truth, the Way, that leads you into rest;

Believe in Him without delay, and you are fully blest.

Refrain:  Only trust Him, only trust Him, only trust Him now.

     He will save you, He will save you, He will save you now.

            Today won't you repent and believe!  Perhaps this message is the culmination of a great struggle within you.  You have been resisting God and you don't want to resist Him any longer.  Won't you fall on your knees before Him even now.  You can do that right where you are.  Or maybe you want to unashamedly come and kneel here this morning.  I will give you time to let God deal with you just now.  Let's pray.

Let the Word of Christ Dwell in You Richly -- 1/13/2013

Sunday, January 13, 2013

Let the Word of Christ Dwell in You Richly

(Col. 3:16)

Read Col. 3:1-17

 Context in Colossians...

            Read Col. 2:6-7.  "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him, rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving."  But in verse 8 Paul tells them to beware of the philosophies and traditions of men.  Now come down to verses 20-23, "Therefore, if you died with Christ from the basic principles of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to regulations-- 'Do not touch, do not taste, do not handle,' which all concern things which perish with the using--according to the commandments and doctrines of men? These things indeed have an appearance of wisdom in self-imposed religion, false humility, and neglect of the body, but are of no value against the indulgence of the flesh."  These outward efforts and stringent rules will not bring victory over the flesh.

            That brings us to chapter 3.  The key is this root principle which we find in verses 1-4, "If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory."  We are to do two things:  seek those things which are above and set our minds on those things.  In these same verses, we see three motivations for this seeking and setting of the mind...

                        ...We were raised with Christ

                        ...We died and our life is hid with Christ in God

                        ...The time is coming when we shall be made manifest with Christ, who is our life

                               (past, present, future)

            So in 3:1-4 the focus is on our union with Christ and the power and motivation that comes from that union.  Then in 3:5-4:6 we have the application of our union with Christ.  Now comes the practical guidelines for the day to day lives we are to live.

                        3:5-11...........   Vices of the old life that are to be abandoned

                        3:12-17.........   Virtues of the new life that are to be cultivated

                        3:18-4:1........   Family relationships that are to be strengthened

                        4:2-6.............   Godly duties that are to be performed

            We are focusing in on verses 12-17, for it is there that we find the command to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly.  In verse 12, Paul addresses his readers as the chosen of God, holy ones, and those who are beloved of God.  The virtues to be put on in verses 12-14 are summed up by love.  Then in verses 15-17 Paul sets before us the peace of Christ, the word of Christ, and the name of Christ.

            Now in that context, let's look at this little command:  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."  We must understand that obedience to this command is central in living out the life we have in Christ.

 Looking at the key words...

Dwell --  The word translated "dwell" in Col. 3:16 is enoikew.  Notice how it (and two other forms of

                   it, which have very similar meaning) is used in the New Testament.

katoikew  (The common word for physical dwelling/living. Used over 40 times in the New Testament.  For example, this word is used 12 times in Revelation, almost every time of "those that dwell upon the earth."  But four times it is used metaphorically, that is, not in a literal sense.)

Ephesians 3:17...  that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love,

Colossians 1:19...  For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,

Colossians 2:9...  For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;

2 Peter 3:13...  Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

oikew     (exhaustive -- that is, every use in the New Testament)

Romans 7:17...  But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Romans 7:18...  For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.

Romans 7:20... Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

Romans 8:9... But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Romans 8:11... But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells  (enoikew) in you.

1 Corinthians 3:16...  Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

1 Corinthians 7:12...  But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him, let him not divorce her.

1 Corinthians 7:13...  And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.

1 Timothy 6:16...  who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom be honor and everlasting power. Amen.

enoikew     (exhaustive)

 Romans 8:11... But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells  (oikew) in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

2 Corinthians 6:16...  And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people."

Colossians 3:16...  Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.

2 Timothy 1:5...   when I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.

2 Timothy 1:14...  That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.

* Scriptures quoted from the New King James Version

Richly -- Noun:  normally of physical wealth, but 4 times metaphorically = Eph. 2:4; Jms 2:5; II Cor.

                       8:9; Rev. 2:9

            Adverb:  Exh--  Col. 3:16; II Tim. 6:17; Tit. 3:16; II Pet. 1:11 (note that in the KJV it is twice

                     translated "abundantly"

            = abundantly, to the full

Word of Christ -- Can be taken in one of two ways...

            Subjective -- The words which Christ has spoken

            Objective -- The message about Christ

      *Both are equally correct grammatically.  Down through the years some have favored one and some the other.

            I see no reason why we can't emphasize both.  Jesus spoke many words.  We have already read quite a few of them this morning.  On the other hand, the New Testament is full of the message that is centered in Christ, which is basically the gospel.  For example, I Cor. 1:18 and II Cor. 5:19.  For examples of the use of the term "word" where it could refer to Christ's words or to the message about Christ, see John 17:20 and Acts 8:25; 13:49; 15:35; 16:32; 19:10.

So back to the command:  "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."  What does it mean?

>> oikos...  This is the Greek word for house.  Do you see that it is closely related to the three words

          we looked at earlier.  oikos, of course, is the noun form.  It means "house," but strictly speaking

          "an inhabited house."  There is another separate word for a building.  We sometimes speak of

          the difference between a house and a home.That is the idea here. Oikos speaks more of a home.

    

  Let the word of Christ be at home in you, be abundantly at home in you, be absolutely at home in 

       you.

            Ill. -- All of us feel more at home in some places than others.   I love all of you, but I don't feel at home in all of your houses.  If I go into a home where I have never been before, I don't feel very at home.  Now it's true that those who live there can speak works to help me feel at home, and that is nice.  If I go to Norman and Rita's house, I feel more at home.  Good.  If I go to Tracy and Lindsay's house, I feel more at home than at Norman and Rita's.  After all, they are raising our grandkids there!  And we have spent a lot of time with them, especially the one who grew up in our home for 18 years.  If I go over to Granny's house, perhaps I feel even more at home, because I have been in that house more than any other except my own.  One of he main reasons I had to lose some weight was because I have shared many meals in that house.  But where I feel most at home is in this house right over here.  Why?  Because it is absolutely home.  I live there.  I sleep there in the same bed every night.  I eat most of my meals there.  Now that the cold weather is here and Rhonda is teaching in the mornings, I am even doing most of my studying there.  Even more than that, the person I know best in this world lives with me there.  In other words, there is nothing to hide when I am in my home.  If I want to lounge around in my sweats and houseshoes, I do.  And Rhonda is absolutely at home with me.  We share everything.  We feel absolutely comfortable in our home and with one another. 

            That is the way the word of Christ is to be at home in us.  When I come home into the house with Rhonda, the whole place is open to me.  There isn't a part into which I cannot go.  I pretty well know the location of everything in the house (unless I have forgotten).  That is the way the word of Christ is to dwell in me and in you.  To put it simply, the word of Christ is to dwell in us richly, to be absolutely at home in us, to fill us to overflowing.

            This is more than acquaintance with the Word of Christ.  And this is far deeper than head knowledge.  Suppose Norman gives me a floor plan of his house and I study it diligently.  He notes on that plan where all the furniture is.  Once I have learned that, will I feel at home when I go to his house?  Not really.  The only way I will feel at home is if I spend time in the house and getting to know the people who live there.  This indwelling of the word of Christ is not an academic pursuit, but a way of life.

            Perhaps a more direct illustration would be along the lines of how we make someone else feel at home in our own house.  Suppose I say to you, "Welcome to our home.  This is your bedroom.  You can put all your things in here.  You can use the adjoining bathroom."  That's nice, but that isn't going to make you feel very much at home.  You will make sure you pretty much stay within those two rooms.  But suppose I say, "Now this is your bedroom, where you will sleep.  And this adjoining bathroom should meet your needs.  But you have the full run of the house.  Feel free to raid the refrigerator in the middle of the night.  There are the washer and dryer, if you want to do laundry.  We spend most of our time in the den.  Feel free to come in and join us at any time.  Here is the key to the house, in case you come in late."  In both cases, you will be staying in my house, but there is a world of difference between the two situations.  

            "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."  Let the word of Christ have the run of your life.  Let it be abundantly present in every room.

Col. 3:16 and Eph. 5:18

            As some of you know, Colossians and Ephesians are sometimes referred to as companion letters.  That is be-

cause there are some great similarities.  Nowhere is this as true as in Col. 3:16b-4:1 and Eph. 5:19-6:9.  Just scan through those passages.  At first there is the little bit about speaking to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs.  Then in both letters Paul addresses, wives, husbands, children, and fathers in the same order, followed by a word to slaves and masters. 

            Now notice what comes before those similarities in these two letters.  Obviously, in Colossians it is, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly."  In Ephesians it is, "Be not drunk with wine..., but be filled with the Spirit" (5:18).  We cannot escape a parallel between these two commands.  While they are not identical, they are essentially the same.

            Though this parallel is widely recognized, sometimes we are uncomfortable with it.  Why?  Because we feel like emphasizing this parallel waters down the meaning of being filled with the Spirit.  "Oh, being filled with the Spirit is simply letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly."  The problem is not in watering down the meaning of being filled with the Spirit; the problem is in the fact that we haven't fully appreciated the depth of letting the word of Christ dwell in you richly.  While we can't so easily reduce being filled with the Spirit to mechanics, that is exactly what we tend to do with the word of Christ.  We turn it into reading, memorizing, and Bible study.  Those are not bad things, but you can practice all three and not let the word of Christ dwell in you richly.  When we properly understand what it means to let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, then we won't have any trouble paralleling it with "Be filled with the Spirit."

            Let me remind you of our little study of the word "dwell."  Do you remember what we found?  Let me give you a review.  Consider the two primary words that are translated "dwell" (oikew and enoikew).  Of the 14 uses of these two words, five of them speak of the Spirit dwelling within us.  Yet this is the very word that Paul uses when he commands us to let the word of Christ dwell in us.  The connection between the two is stronger than just the parallel between Eph. 5:18 and Col. 3:16.  How can we separate the word of Christ from the Spirit of Christ?

Eph. 3:17

            Also I want to bring you back to Eph. 3:17, where the other oikew word was used (katoikew).  Though this word is widely used in the New Testament to speak of physical dwelling, it is used metaphorically four times, and one of them is in Eph. 3:17, "that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith..."  It is the same basic idea that we find in Col. 3:16, "that Christ may settle down and be at home in your hearts."  Of course, this speaks of Christ Himself instead of the Word of Christ.

            That brings us back to John 15, which we looked at last week, as we noticed the strong connection between walking in the Spirit and abiding in Christ.  Let's read again John 15:5, "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  But now come to 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you."  Verse 5 speaks of Christ abiding in us, which verse 7 speaks of His words abiding in us.  Again, though they are not identical, how can we separate them?

Now let's come to the actual word of Christ...

            As I explained, we can take the word of Christ to mean the words that Christ spoke, as well as the message about Christ.  Now I want us to read some of the words Jesus spoke as well as the message about Him.

            I am just doing with you what I did by myself about a week ago.  I was dwelling on this idea of letting the word of Christ dwell in me richly -- both the words with Christ spoke and the message about Christ.  I determined that I would ask the Lord to bring to mind special words of Jesus to me and then alternately great passages about Jesus.  Then I took my Bible, got on my knees, and began to read passages from His Word.  No, that is not the end, but it sure makes for a good beginning.  I'm saying, "Lord, I want to welcome into this home the word of Christ.  Lord Jesus, I want your words and the good news about you to be at home in me and occupy me at all times."

Phil. 2:5-11                  Mt. 9:35-36                             Jn. 10:1-18,27-30                    Lk. 23:23-37

Matt. 5:3-12                Mk.1:9-2:17                            Heb. 13:8                                Jn. 19:28-30a

Luke 4:18-21               John 3:14-21                           1 Pet. 2:21-25                          Lk. 23:46

Acts 10:38                   Mt 11:28-30                            1 Pet. 3:18a                             I Cor. 15:1-4

            You may notice that these passages alternate between the word (message) about Christ and the words which Christ spoke.  (Earlier this morning we read John 15 and John 17, all the words of Jesus).

Assignment...

1.  Pray...         going back over what we looked at this morning

                        letting the Lord search your heart

                        asking that Christ's Word dwell in you richly (for His glory)

2.  Read -- the passages listed above  (or let the Lord lead you to passages)

3.  Rejoice -- What a privilege to have Christ's word dwelling in us richly!

        ...Ex:  Mary (Luke 1:46-56)... echoing Hannah in I Sam. 2:1-10

        ...Ps. 37:4 -- Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you desires of your heart.

4.  Share -- Opportunities will be found in...    ... daily life

                                                                        ... this Wednesday evening

                                                                        ... next Sunday morning

The Word:  Handle it (II Tim. 2:15), Hide it  (Ps. 119:11), Heed it  (Matt.       13:9), Hold it forth (Phil. 2:16)...     from John MacArthur

Jesus' Submission to the Father -- 1/6/13

Sunday, January 6, 2013                    

JESUS' SUBMISSION TO HIS FATHER

            Let's begin this morning by reading from Matthew 17.  This is what we often refer to as "The Transfiguration."  Let's read it in Matt. 17:1-8...

Now after six days Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother, led them up on a high mountain by themselves; 2 and He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light. 3 And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them, talking with Him. 4 Then Peter answered and said to Jesus, "Lord, it is good for us to be here; if You wish, let us make here three tabernacles: one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah." 5 While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!" 6 And when the disciples heard it, they fell on their faces and were greatly afraid. 7 But Jesus came and touched them and said, "Arise, and do not be afraid." 8 When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only.

            Just think about that scene for a moment.  Elijah had been dead for about 800 years by this time, and Moses had been dead for about 1,500 years.  Suddenly there they are on the mountain.  You might ask, "How did the apostles recognize them?"  I don't know, but they obviously did, because Peter referred to them by name.  By some supernatural revelation, they understood that these two biblical heroes were alive and well on the mountain with Jesus.  What would you think, if you saw Abraham Lincoln standing and before an audience?  Or what if you saw Noah or David or Abraham?  Yes, they would be absolutely amazing.

            Now forget about what you would think, and ask yourself what God the Father thought.  He was well aware that Peter and the others were quite impressed with the appearance of Moses and Elijah.  Though Jesus face shone like the sun, Peter suggested that they make three tabernacles (or tents), one for Jesus, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.  But before he could finish speaking, a bright cloud came upon them and they heard a voice.  The voice said clearly, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.  Hear Him!"  No doubt, God the Father loved Moses and Elijah.  He had demonstrated His great power through them while they walked on the earth, but He said nothing about them on this occasion.  God the Father pointed to only one of the three upon which the apostles looked, and that one was Jesus.  He didn't suggest that they listen to Moses and Elijah, but He commanded them to listen to His beloved Son.

            We could speculate about why Moses and Elijah were there on the mountain, but one thing is absolutely clear--they could not compare with Jesus.  After the Father told the twelve to listen to Jesus, they fell down on their faces and were greatly afraid.  That's because they heard the voice of God.  Though they were confused, Jesus said to them, "Get up and don't be afraid."  Then listen to verse 8, "When they had lifted up their eyes, they saw no one but Jesus only."  Moses and Elijah were gone.  They would never be seen again, but Jesus was there before them.  They would look upon Him again and again, and they are still beholding Jesus.

            Please hear me.  In our lifetimes we will see many amazing things.  We may meet some famous people, even some very godly people.  Remember that people and things will come and go, but there is no one so constant as Jesus.  Oh that it might be said of us, "They saw no one but Jesus only."  "Turn your eyes upon Jesus; look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace."

            Our emphasis this morning is very simple:  Look to Jesus and hear Him.     

 I.  Jesus Walked in Spirit

            Come back again to Gal. 5:16, "I say then:  Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh."  More literally, "Walk in the Spirit, and you will not bring to completion the desire of the flesh."  By "flesh," Paul is not talking about the skin that covers our bones and muscles.  Rather, the flesh is who we are outside of Christ.  The flesh refers to those desires that do not come from Christ or His Spirit, our selfish desires.  What a great promise we have here:  "Walk in the flesh, and there is no way you will bring to completion your own selfish desires." 

            If you want to know about the indwelling of the Spirit in the New Testament saints, where do you look?  We began with the words of Jesus in the Gospel according to John.  This is where Jesus introduces the Spirit and teaches us about Him.  Specifically, we would look at chapters 14-16.  Surely it is no accident that right in the middle of these chapters where the Spirit is prominent we find John 15:1-8, where Jesus urges us to abide in Him.  When we look at the work of the Holy Spirit, there is nothing more important than abiding in Christ.           

            Let's take a moment to read John 15:1-8...

                 I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7  If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.

            Now compare Gal. 5:16 with John 15:5.  "He who abides in me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without me you can do nothing" (15:5).  If I do not abide in Christ, I will be able to do nothing of eternal value, nothing that is pleasing to God.  In the same way, if I do not walk in the Spirit, I will bring to completion my own selfish desires.  These two concepts are essentially the same.  To abide in Christ is to walk in the Spirit; to not abide in Christ is to fulfill the lust of the flesh.

            A few weeks ago we asked this question:  Did Jesus walk in the Spirit?  He certainly did.  We find this truth emphasized in the early chapters of Luke.  When Jesus was baptized, the Spirit descended on Him in the form of a dove.  "Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness" (Luke 4:1) to be tempted of the devil.  After ministering down in Judea, He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.  When Jesus went to the synagogue in his home town of Nazareth, He read these words from the scroll of Isaiah:  "The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed me to preach the gospel..." (Luke 4:18).

            Yes, Jesus walked in the Spirit.  We can just as truthfully say that He did not bring to completion the desires of the flesh.  He didn't live according to His own desires.  Putting it bluntly, Jesus didn't say, do, or think the things He Himself wanted to say, do, or think.  But how could that be true of any man or woman?  Can anyone here say that?  We may get a taste of it, but I don't know any of us who is there yet.  That is why Jesus is such a perfect example for us.  We have a man to whom we can look, a man who walked in the Spirit.  We can actually look at a man who was free from thinking His own thoughts, saying His own words, and doing His own deeds.

            So what was Jesus' secret?  Jesus knew He could do nothing of Himself.  Listen again to His words in verse 19, "The Son can do nothing of Himself..."  Let's pause there for a just a moment.  Doesn't that kind of remind you of what we just read in John 15:4-5, "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.   5 I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing."  If we do not abide in Jesus and He in us, we can do nothing.  We have some understanding of that concept, that of ourselves we can do nothing of eternal value.   But now we hear Jesus saying the same thing.  Isn't that amazing!  We have a tendency to conclude that we can't be like Jesus because He has a huge advantage over us in that He is God.  But let's hear clearly what He says.  Just as we can do nothing of ourselves, He bluntly tells us that neither can He.

            Now comes the question:  How can that be true of Jesus, who was the Son of God, who was God in the flesh?  Surely Jesus' own thoughts, words, and deeds would have been wonderful and perfect.  This is where we must think about the Word of God becoming man.  "And the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory..." (John 1:14).  When we think of God, we tend to think of raw power and infinite knowledge, but what about Jesus?  Consider His knowledge?  When He walked the earth, did He know everything?  Consider Mark 5:30, "And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, 'Who touched My clothes?'"  Jesus knew someone had touched Him, but He asked who it was.  Someone might say that He already knew before He asked, but there is no evidence that He did.  An even more startling example is Jesus statement that He didn't know the appointed day of His return.  Mark 13:32, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father."  At other times He demonstrated supernatural knowledge.  He knew that Peter's first catch would be a fish with a coin in its mouth (Matt. 17:27).  And He knew when Lazarus died, though no one told Him (John 11:11-13).

            While we are thinking about Jesus' degree of knowledge, let's come to Phil. 2:7, "But made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men."  The KJV and NKJV say that Jesus made Himself of no reputation.  The NASV gives a very literal translation:  "But emptied Himself..."  While that is a very literal translation, it has been taken in very different ways.  The big question is simply this:  Of what did Jesus empty Himself?  Some have taught they Jesus emptied Himself of His deity.  That is, when He came to this earth, He was no longer God.  Others have contended that He emptied Himself of His supernatural power and knowledge.  But if that is true, then how did He know that the woman at the well had been married five times?  And how was He able to calm the Sea of Galilee with a mere word?  So what does it mean that Jesus emptied Himself? 

            J. I. Packer explained it like this...

We see now what it meant for the Son of God to empty Himself and become poor.  It meant a laying aside of glory; a voluntary restraint of power; an acceptance of hardship, isolation, ill-treatment, malice, and misunderstanding; finally, a death that involved such agony--spiritual, even more than physical--that His mind nearly broke under the prospect of it.  (Knowing God, p. 55)

            Let's focus on that idea of laying aside His glory and voluntarily restraining His power (both in miraculous deeds and supernatural knowledge).  We can verify this in scripture.  Listen to Jesus' words in John 17:4-5,  "I have glorified You on the earth. I have finished the work which You have given Me to do. 5 And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."  Jesus desired a return to His glory, for He had laid it aside when He came to earth.  We can understand His voluntarily restraining of His power in terms of John 5:19 and similar statements recorded in John's gospel.  "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do."  If the Father wanted Jesus to exercise miraculous power, He did so, but only then.  If the Father wanted Him to demonstrate supernatural knowledge, Jesus did so.  That explains why He sometimes knew things and at other times did not.

            As we think about these things, we continue to discover how remarkable was Jesus' submission to His Father.  If anyone would be tempted to do things in His own strength, it was Jesus.  Yet we find Him continually submitting to God the Father.  And how was He able to do it?  He tells us very clearly.  Back to John 5:19, "The Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner."  John 5:30, "I can of Myself do nothing.  As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father who sent me." Jesus was actively seeking to do and hear what the Father wanted.  He was watching His Father and listening to Him constantly, so that He could work together with Him.

            We have no reason to believe that such submission on Jesus' part was in operation only during His time on earth.  Did not Jesus submit to the will of the Father when He came to this earth?  Though we are not given details, I get the sense that Jesus was simply doing what He had always done.  Perhaps we have a hint of this in I Cor. 15.  Speaking of Jesus' reign, Paul says, "The last enemy that will be destroyed is death. 27 For He [God the Father] has put all things under His feet. But when He says 'all things are put under Him,' it is evident that He who put all things under Him is excepted. 28 Now when all things are made subject to Him, then the Son Himself will also be subject to Him who put all things under Him, that God may be all in all" (I Cor. 15:26-28).  Jesus was subject to His Father before He came to this earth, and He will still be subject to His Father when every knee bows to Him and every tongue confesses that Jesus is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

             

II.  Jesus' Submission -- An Amazing Truth

            Please take your Bibles and turn to the Gospel According to John.  I want to read you what I call the "not/nothing" passages.  I have read these passages many times, but Andrew Murray in his book Humility actually compiled a list of them.  I won't take time to read the context of all these verses, but I encourage you to do so.  I am going to give you a list of these passages, so that you can go back over them.  (Pass out list). 

            This is a most amazing truth.  Consider the idea that Jesus was a great teacher.  Was He?  Certainly Jesus was far more than a great teacher.  We despise the warped notion that Jesus was a great teacher and nothing more.  Nevertheless, no one can deny that He was indeed a great teacher.  But why was Jesus such a great teacher, even the greatest teacher that ever walked the earth?  Surely it was because He was God.  He knew everything, and that allowed Him to teach with authority and relevance.  No, that isn't it.  Jesus didn't know everything.  When He was born, did He know that Moses was a great Old Testament prophet?  No.  When He was two, did He know that He would one day be crucified on the cross?  No. 

            This is where we must pause to emphasize the truth that Jesus was a man.  Was Jesus God?  Absolutely, but that does not diminish the truth that He was man.  Phil. 2:7 tells us that Jesus came in the likeness of men.  We read in Heb. 2:14, "Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy Him who had the power of death, that is, the devil."  The New Testament, especially Hebrews, emphasizes the truth that Jesus was indeed a man.  Heb. 4:15, "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." 

            When Jesus was on earth, He was tempted to use His own knowledge and skill as a teacher, but He did not.  Jesus refused to rely upon His own resources.  If we question that statement, let us come to what Jesus Himself said about His teaching.   Come to John 7.  Chapter 7 begins with the upcoming Feast of Tabernacles.  People were wondering if Jesus would show up at the feast.  As they talked about Him, some said He was a good man; others said He was a deceiver of the people.  Now let's read John 7:14-15, "Now about the middle of the feast Jesus went up into the temple and taught. 15 And the Jews marveled, saying, 'How does this Man know letters, having never studied?'"  The people were amazed at Jesus' teaching.  They wondered how a man who had never been to Bible college or seminary teach like that.  We might expect Jesus to say, "What do you expect?  Haven't I told you that I am from above?  Don't you understand that I am God in the flesh?"  But that is not what Jesus said.  Basically, He says just the opposite.  Rather than asserting His deity, Jesus says, "My doctrine [teaching] is not Mine, but His who sent Me" (7:16).  Jesus claimed nothing for Himself.  Listen to the rest of His explanation, as we read all of 7:16-18...

Jesus answered them and said, "My doctrine is not Mine, but His who sent Me. 17 If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is from God or whether I speak on My own authority. 18 He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who seeks the glory of the One who sent Him is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him."

            Now come to chapter 14.  Speaking to His own apostles just hours before His arrest, Jesus says in 14:9-10...

                   Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; so how can you say, 'Show us the Father'?        10 Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.

Then let's come down to 14:23-24... "Jesus answered and said to him, 'If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.   24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.'"

            Do you see?  Jesus goes out of His way to say that He is not speaking His own words.  He is not communicating His own ideas, but only those of His Father.  But what if Jesus had spoken His own ideas?  Would He not have been a great teacher?  In the eyes of men, He no doubt would have been considered a great teacher.  Would He not have far excelled Plato and Aristotle?  Absolutely.  But in reality for Jesus to have spoken His own ideas instead of those of the Father would have been sin.  Let me repeat it:  It would have been sin.  And His words would not have carried the power of the Spirit. 

III.  Why Such Dependence Upon His Father?

            Why was Jesus so intent on speaking only on behalf of the Father?  We find the answer in John 6:38, "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me."  Then again in 7:27-28, "However, we know where this Man is from; but when the Christ comes, no one knows where He is from.

 28 Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, 'You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know.'"  And again in 8:26-29...

                 'I have many things to say and to judge concerning you, but He who sent Me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I heard from Him.'  27 They did not understand that He spoke to them of the Father.  28 Then Jesus said to them, 'When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things.  29 And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him."

            Do you see how focused Jesus was upon doing only the will of His Father?  That is why He said back in John 4:34, "My meat [food] is to do the will of Him who sent me and to finish His work."  If Jesus had done things on His own, He might have received the credit for it, but again and again we find that Jesus refused to take the credit for anything.  Listen to Jesus' words to the Jewish leaders in John 5:41-44...

I do not receive honor [literally, "glory"] from men.   42 But I know you, that you do not have the love of God in you.  43 I have come in My Father's name, and you do not receive Me; if another comes in his own name, him you will receive.  44 How can you believe, who receive honor from one another, and do not seek the honor that comes from the only God?

Jesus can honestly say that He refuses to receive glory from other people.  Why is He like that?  Because He wants the glory to go to His Father.  Jesus says again in John 8:50, "I do not seek m own glory." 

Conclusion

            Brothers and sisters, those of you are truly in Christ, it is absolutely critical that we understand and learn to live this truth.  But why is it so important?  Let me give you a quick review.  There is only one way to live what we call "the Christian life," and that is by the power of the Spirit.  With our own resources, it is absolutely impossible to please God, to live as He wants us to live.  If we don't live by the power of the Spirit, we will bring to completion our own selfish desires.  But praise God, when we do walk in the Spirit, we have the promise that we will not fulfill those selfish desires.  Then comes the big question:  But how do I walk in the Spirit?  As we read in Heb. 12:2, "Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith."  We look to Jesus, who Himself walked in the Spirit.  How did He walk in the Spirit?  By submitting Himself completely to His Father, by refusing to do, say, or think anything on His own.  That is our goal.  Will we fail?  Yes, but there is forgiveness with Him.  We say with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease."

            I have given you this list of passages, so that you can use them to fix your eyes upon Jesus.  We will never be able to submit ourselves to the Father through determination and hard work, for determination and hard work are the very things upon which the flesh thrives.  It will happen as we keep on looking to Jesus.  We find this principle confirmed in other scriptures as well.  Jesus said in John 7:37-39...

                 On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."  39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

Keep on coming to Jesus and keep on drinking from Him and keep on trusting Him.  As the Spirit empowers us to do that, rivers of living water will flow out of us.  Paul teaches the same basic thing in II Cor. 3:18, " But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord."  As we continue to behold the glory of our Lord Jesus, we will become more and more like Him.

            We fix our eyes on Jesus by coming again and again to the Word, saying, "Lord, as I read and think about the words of scripture, let me see Jesus clearly."  You can rest assured that such a prayer is according to the will of God, and when we pray according to His will, we have confidence that He hears and will answer (I John 5:14-15).

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Hebrews 12:1-2,   Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking unto [literally, "fixing our eyes upon] Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

The Not/Nothing Passages...

            "The Son can do nothing of Himself" (John 5: 19).

            "I can of Myself do nothing; and My judgment is righteous, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of the Father who sent me" (John 5: 30).                               

            "I do not receive honor [literally 'glory']  from men" (John 5: 41).

            "I have not come... to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent me" (John 6:38).

            "My doctrine [teaching] is not Mine, but His who sent me" (John 7:16-18).

            "I am not come of Myself" (John 7:28). 

            "I do nothing of Myself" (John 8:28). 

            "I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true" (John 8: 42).

            "I do not seek My own glory" (John 8:50). 

            "The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority, but the Father who dwells in Me does the works"  (John 14: 10).

            "The word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me"  (John 14:24).