Reading: 2:1-16
Text: Rom 2:1-6
--The outline of Romans
Man Can't Save Himself--Rom 1:18-3:20
God Saves Sinners--Rom 3:21-11:36
God Expects Saved Sinners to Live For Christ--Rom 12:1-16
--1:18-32 demonstrated the depravity of the human race
--Now God takes on those who use some
excuse or another to disapprove of “them,” as if the judgers are any better.
--What this is NOT talking about
--This is NOT saying that the church cannot judge or discern
--This is NOT saying that the church cannot discipline.
--This is talking about individuals judging others based on personal standards as an excuse for their own sin.
1. Human Judgment is inexcusable—(Rom 2:1)
a. Therefore…. What is the “therefore” there for? Salvation is through faith alone, because man in thoroughly sinful and reprobate
b. Heresies galore
(1) Some look at 2:1-6 and conclude that there is a way of salvation by works
(2) Some even conclude that there is a way of salvation outside of Christ
(3) Some say Christians should never condemn sin
c. NASB “…Therefore you have no excuse, everyone of you who passes judgment…” Humans can never judge sin based on their own individual authority, because we all have sin problems “…for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things. ..”
(1) Suppression of the the truth
(2) sin against the knowledge of God
(3) unthankfulness
(4) idolatry
(5) vile passions—homosexuality in any form
(6) unrighteousness
(7) sexual immorality
(8) wickedness
(9) covetousness
(10) maliciousness
(11) envy
(12) murder
(13) strife
(14) deceit
(15) evil-mindedness
(16) they are whisperers
(17) backbiters
(18) haters of God
(19) violent
(20) proud
(21) boasters
(22) inventors of evil things
(23) disobedient to parents
(24) undiscerning
(25) Untrustworthy
(26) Unloving
(27) Unforgiving
(28) Unmerciful
(29) Tolerance of sin
b. What about the “You Can’t Judge Me” excuse applied personally or within the church? Do the “judge not” passages mean that the church may never judge?
(1) No—First of all, we are commanded by God to judge within the church, among God’s people, and outside the church, among those who preach and teach false doctrine—Mat 18:15-20, 1 Cor 5:12 - 6:6, 1 John 2:18-23, 4:1-6, 2 John 7-11
(2) Secondly, we are commanded by the Lord to reprove and rebuke evil, wherever we find it. When we reprove evil, we are obeying orders.
(3) Some Reproof Verses—Luke 17:3, 1 Cor 5:1-11, Eph 5:11 , 1 Tim 5:20, 2 Tim 4:2, Titus 2:15. These verses clearly show that the Bible tells us we MUST judge.
(4) In fact, in the 1 Corinthians passage, Paul severely reprimands the Corinthian church because they are NOT judging a particular individual!
(5) The phrase, “Judge Not” does not mean that a Christian cannot make personal judgments and apply discernment to a situation; it does NOT mean that the Christian can never reprove evil. This phrase from Matthew 7 tells the Christian “When you judge and make distinctions, do not put yourself in the place of God, and use only His standards.”
(6) In fact, Matthew 7 is not telling us to never judge, it is telling us HOW, when, and in what attitude to judge correctly: 5 "Hypocrite! First remove the plank from your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother's eye.” It does not say—“never judge,” it says, check your attitude and your standards first, “then” deal with the situation.
2. God’s judgment—
a. Is True –2:2
(1) So long as it is Judgment under God’s authority “…The judgment of God Is according to Truth—…”
(2) An absolute and objective Standard—God’s Word, and an Absolute Person—
(a) Absolute Word
(i) John 12:48 "He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him; the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day.
(ii) 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart…”
(b) An Absolute Person—(Acts 17: 31) "… He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead.""
(c) An all-knowing Judge—Heb 4:13 “…Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do…”
(d) An Authoritative Judge—Dan 4:34 “…For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, And His kingdom is from generation to generation. 35 All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven And among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand Or say to Him, "What have You done?"
(3) Those judged
(a) “…them which practice such things…” with practice, lifestyle, habit.
(b) The judgment of God is against people who habitually live in the ways depicted in 1:18-32
b. God’s Judgment Is Inescapable (Rom 2:3
(1) First, when it comes to whether or not lost people are guilty before Him, God does not distinguish between types of sin—
(a) Obviously some sins are worse than others in their effect and in their heinous nature
(b) As Jesus told us in the Sermon on the mount, it is sin to even want to sin, but it is still worse to actually commit the sin because of the effect on others.
(c) However, when it comes to being a sinner—sin is sin.
c. God’s kindness should lead to repentance –Rom 2:4
(1) Despising God’s opportunities
(a) The word for “despise” carries the same meaning as our modern term, “look down the nose at…”. Mankind looks down its nose at the goodness forbearance, and longsuffering of God.
(b) God is patient, and man arrogantly takes that patience for weakness— Ecc 8:11--Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil
(2) What men despise— God is kind to the human race beyond our imagination. God’s Goodness—Exo 34:6, 1 Chr 16:34, Psa 8:3-8, Psa 86:5, Mat 5:45
(3) “The problem of evil”—philosophers and many other people try to reason out how a loving God can allow so much misery in the world
(a) A more Biblical perspective would be “How can a just and Holy God put up with us?” As wicked and rebellious as our race is, why are we not all continuously in hell all the time?
(b) The goodness of God does not lie in how comfortable He makes our circumstances.
(c) The goodness of God is seen by His temporary toleration of our rebellion, and by His actions taken to save us. Acts 17:22-3
(d) But the day of forbearance will end soon!
(4) God is the author of repentance—
(a) A man or woman does not repent when they get good and ready—they repent when GOD gets good and ready—Acts 11:18, 2 Tim 2:25, John 6:44-45
(b) The argument over whether a sinner cannot or will not really doesn’t make any difference—the sinner does not until he or she is convicted by the Holy Spirit.
d. Man has a Heart Problem—Rm 2:5
(1) His heart is hard and impenitent
(2) Each human’s own heart is storing up wrath: In Accordance—the degree of wrath you are saving up for yourself is in accordance with the degree of hardness and impenitence in your heart.
(a) Impenitent heart—a heart that will not repent, and a heart that CANNOT repent – ”…heart incapable of repentance.” (Charles Hodge)
(b) If you put the propositions about salvation to the minds of lost men, they will always, always, always, reject them—1 Cor 2:14, Rom 8:7
(c) The preaching of the Gospel must be accompanied by the power of the Holy Spirit, or men will never believe. God Saves Sinners, we do not save ourselves!
3. We Are Judged According to What we have done—Rom 2:6
a. It does NOT mean that you can earn salvation
b. It DOES mean that when God judges the unsaved, they will be judged according to their deeds.
(1) It is commonly taught that the “sin question” is settled, and only the “Son question” is open, since Christ has died for the sins of all, and that the only sin that condemns a man is the sin of rejecting Christ.
(a) That is true in the sense that only Christ can save you from your sins
(b) This is true in the sense that the blood is available for all mankind
(c) This is true in the sense that rejecting Christ seals one’s doom
(d) But, the application of the blood—propitiation—only takes place through faith (Rom 3:25-26), and those who have not believed have the entire weight of all their sins on their shoulders, unless and until they confess Christ as Savior.
(e) See John 8:24, Rev 21:1-8, 1 Tim 1:9-10, 1 Cor 6:9-11, Matt 7:21-23 and Rev 20:11-15 for more evidence that the lost are judged for all their sins, not just the sin of rejecting Christ
(2) You will not be judged according to what your parents did, but what you did.
(3) Your deeds will be judged, and you will not be judged according to a standard that man might set—60% is passing, or 70% is passing—but according to the absolute standard that God sets—100%
(4) Not only that, but when God sets the 100% standard, He not only judges by outward actions, but by inward motivation. If you do something good for the wrong reason, it counts as a sin!
(5) There won’t be any questioning of the judge’s decision, there won’t be any argument about the sentence, there won’t be any court of appeals.
c. Are there any “good?”
(1) The standard is constant, continual, perfection—Mat 5:17-20, 5:48!!
(2) Can anyone meet this standard?
(3) If you are not a born-again Christian, if you have not been to the Cross for salvation, you will be judged according to your deeds.
(4) Your judgment will not be according to how you compare to me, or to your neighbor, but according to how you compare to the absolute perfection found in the life of Jesus the Messiah, The Son of God and God the Son.
(5) God’s standard is absolute, and there is no fine print.
Friday, December 28, 2007
Monday, December 24, 2007
The Glory of God Manifested In the Proclamation of the Truth and the Salvation of a Sinner “…full of Grace and Truth…”
Introductory Thoughts
* Remember, the book of John was written for a reason, and we know for certain what that reason was: John 20:30-31
* The Gospel of John begins by explaining in detail who Jesus is and what He has done—the prologue to the book, 1:1-18, tells us the deep Truths about who Jesus is and sets up the rest of the book.
1. Christ is Full
a. Christ is fully qualified to save, Because He has the Fullness of Grace and Truth—John 1:14 "… full of grace and truth."
b. The Fullness of God—
(1) In Hebrew, “melo,” which means, “all there is.”
(a) Psa 16:11 "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
(b) Psa 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein."
(2) In Greek, “pleroma,” which means complete fullness… Col 1:19 "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,"
c. The Fullness of Christ
(1) His Personal fullness—Col 2:9 "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
(2) The Fullness shared—Col 2:10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."
(3) Why would any Christian need to supplement Christ’s power and glory in any way? We are complete in Him!
d. The implications of Christ’s fullness
(1) Since all fullness dwells in Him, He is fully qualified to save sinners.
(2) Since He is particularly full of Grace and Truth, the Bible emphasizes that He possesses all that is needed to save sinners.
(3) Since Christ being full of Grace and Truth is in the context of His Deity, His fullness is limitless—there is no limit to His ability to save.
(4) Since Christ is the loving Savior, He is willing to save.
2. Christ is Full of Grace—
a. Definition of Grace—
(1) Not unmerited favor, but favor shown where there is demerit.
(2) Favor shown to the totally undeserving, who actually deserve exactly the opposite.
b. The importance of an accurate doctrine of Grace.
(1) To understand the importance of the doctrines of Grace, we must understand that we are insulting God and taking away from what He has done if we ascribe any part of salvation to the works, merits, or will of man.
(2) God will not share His Glory—Isa 42:8 "I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images."
(3) We must understand that salvation is totally a work of God.
(a) Jonah 2:9 "But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.""
(b) Psa 3:8 "Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah"
c. We must give God the Glory for what He alone Has Done.
(1) 1 Cor 4:7 "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"
(2) 1 Cor 1:29 "that no flesh should glory in His presence."
(3) Eph 2:9 "not of works, lest anyone should boast."
(a) Boast, glory = kauchaomai, kow-khah'-om-ahee; to vaunt (in a good or a bad sense):--(make) boast, glory, joy, rejoice.
(b) One of our main purposes as believers is to proclaim the Truth about what He has done, NOT to take credit or even partial credit for His grace and power.
(4) 1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
(5) What Does Grace Do?
(6) Grace Convicts and makes alive—Eph 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…..”
(a) We do not convict ourselves, the Holy Spirit pricks the heart.
(b) We do not make ourselves alive—it is the Grace and Power of God, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that makes us alive.
(7) God, Through His Grace, reveals Christ, and calls His People.
(a) Mat 16:17 "Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
(b) 1 Cor 1:26-28 "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,"
(c) 1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
(i) No man can reveal Christ to our heart—only God can.
(ii) No man can call us, it is God who calls us inwardly, through the power of the Spirit.
(iii) In this, we see God’s sovereignty, omnipotence and mercy.
(8) Grace Justifies, that is God justifies through Grace—
(a) Rom 3:24 "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"
(b) Rom 8:33 "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies."
(c) No man can justify a sinner, only God can.
(d) It is a legal declaration by God that we are not guilty, and once a person is justified, they can have no charge brought against them, and God will not impute sin to them. Rom 4:8 "Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.""
d. Grace Sanctifies, that is, God Manifests His Glory in Changed Lives
(1) 1 Cor 6:9-11 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
(2) 1 Cor 6:19-20 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
e. Christ is full of Grace, and God’s glory is manifested in Grace, because God loves the salvation of sinners.
(1) Christ Came to Save Sinners—Luke 5:32 ""I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.""
(2) The Salvation of a sinner causes Joy in Heaven—Luke 15:7 ""I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."
3. Christ is Full of Truth
a. The Glory of God is Manifested in Truth—Because it is Through Preaching the Truth That God Saves Sinners. James 1:18 "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
b. Preaching is the primary task of the man of God and the primary focus of the church. 1 Cor 1:17-18 "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
(1) 2 Th 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(2) 2 Cor 4:5-6 "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
c. Christ Is the Truth Personally
(1) Christ is the Truth— John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
(2) Christ spoke the Truth and bore witness to the Truth. John 18:37 "… I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.""
(3) 1 John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."
(4) Truth—the only acceptable standard for preaching and ministry.
(a) His people are called upon to speak and live Truth.
(b) Eph 4:15 "but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ;"
(c) Eph 4:25 "Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another."
(d) Eph 5:9 "(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),"
(e) Eph 6:14 "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,"
d. His preachers are called upon to preach only the Truth.
(1) 2 Tim 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
(2) 1 Th 2:13 "..when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God…”
(3) 2 Th 2: 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,"
e. His Church is grounded on Truth 1 Tim 3:15 "…. the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
f. The foremost characteristic of Satan is lying, and the foremost characteristic of those who are fooled by the Antichrist is that they do not love Truth.
(1) John 8:44 ""You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
* Remember, the book of John was written for a reason, and we know for certain what that reason was: John 20:30-31
* The Gospel of John begins by explaining in detail who Jesus is and what He has done—the prologue to the book, 1:1-18, tells us the deep Truths about who Jesus is and sets up the rest of the book.
1. Christ is Full
a. Christ is fully qualified to save, Because He has the Fullness of Grace and Truth—John 1:14 "… full of grace and truth."
b. The Fullness of God—
(1) In Hebrew, “melo,” which means, “all there is.”
(a) Psa 16:11 "You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
(b) Psa 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein."
(2) In Greek, “pleroma,” which means complete fullness… Col 1:19 "For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell,"
c. The Fullness of Christ
(1) His Personal fullness—Col 2:9 "For in Him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily;
(2) The Fullness shared—Col 2:10 and you are complete in Him, who is the head of all principality and power."
(3) Why would any Christian need to supplement Christ’s power and glory in any way? We are complete in Him!
d. The implications of Christ’s fullness
(1) Since all fullness dwells in Him, He is fully qualified to save sinners.
(2) Since He is particularly full of Grace and Truth, the Bible emphasizes that He possesses all that is needed to save sinners.
(3) Since Christ being full of Grace and Truth is in the context of His Deity, His fullness is limitless—there is no limit to His ability to save.
(4) Since Christ is the loving Savior, He is willing to save.
2. Christ is Full of Grace—
a. Definition of Grace—
(1) Not unmerited favor, but favor shown where there is demerit.
(2) Favor shown to the totally undeserving, who actually deserve exactly the opposite.
b. The importance of an accurate doctrine of Grace.
(1) To understand the importance of the doctrines of Grace, we must understand that we are insulting God and taking away from what He has done if we ascribe any part of salvation to the works, merits, or will of man.
(2) God will not share His Glory—Isa 42:8 "I am the LORD, that is My name; And My glory I will not give to another, Nor My praise to carved images."
(3) We must understand that salvation is totally a work of God.
(a) Jonah 2:9 "But I will sacrifice to You With the voice of thanksgiving; I will pay what I have vowed. Salvation is of the LORD.""
(b) Psa 3:8 "Salvation belongs to the LORD. Your blessing is upon Your people. Selah"
c. We must give God the Glory for what He alone Has Done.
(1) 1 Cor 4:7 "For who makes you differ from another? And what do you have that you did not receive? Now if you did indeed receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?"
(2) 1 Cor 1:29 "that no flesh should glory in His presence."
(3) Eph 2:9 "not of works, lest anyone should boast."
(a) Boast, glory = kauchaomai, kow-khah'-om-ahee; to vaunt (in a good or a bad sense):--(make) boast, glory, joy, rejoice.
(b) One of our main purposes as believers is to proclaim the Truth about what He has done, NOT to take credit or even partial credit for His grace and power.
(4) 1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
(5) What Does Grace Do?
(6) Grace Convicts and makes alive—Eph 2:4-5 "But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…..”
(a) We do not convict ourselves, the Holy Spirit pricks the heart.
(b) We do not make ourselves alive—it is the Grace and Power of God, through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, that makes us alive.
(7) God, Through His Grace, reveals Christ, and calls His People.
(a) Mat 16:17 "Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven."
(b) 1 Cor 1:26-28 "For you see your calling, brethren, that not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. 27 But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to put to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to put to shame the things which are mighty; 28 and the base things of the world and the things which are despised God has chosen, and the things which are not, to bring to nothing the things that are,"
(c) 1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
(i) No man can reveal Christ to our heart—only God can.
(ii) No man can call us, it is God who calls us inwardly, through the power of the Spirit.
(iii) In this, we see God’s sovereignty, omnipotence and mercy.
(8) Grace Justifies, that is God justifies through Grace—
(a) Rom 3:24 "being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"
(b) Rom 8:33 "Who shall bring a charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies."
(c) No man can justify a sinner, only God can.
(d) It is a legal declaration by God that we are not guilty, and once a person is justified, they can have no charge brought against them, and God will not impute sin to them. Rom 4:8 "Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin.""
d. Grace Sanctifies, that is, God Manifests His Glory in Changed Lives
(1) 1 Cor 6:9-11 "Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God."
(2) 1 Cor 6:19-20 "Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? 20 For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's."
e. Christ is full of Grace, and God’s glory is manifested in Grace, because God loves the salvation of sinners.
(1) Christ Came to Save Sinners—Luke 5:32 ""I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance.""
(2) The Salvation of a sinner causes Joy in Heaven—Luke 15:7 ""I say to you that likewise there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance."
3. Christ is Full of Truth
a. The Glory of God is Manifested in Truth—Because it is Through Preaching the Truth That God Saves Sinners. James 1:18 "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
b. Preaching is the primary task of the man of God and the primary focus of the church. 1 Cor 1:17-18 "For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect. 18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God."
(1) 2 Th 2:13-14 "But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, 14 to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(2) 2 Cor 4:5-6 "For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. 6 For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ."
c. Christ Is the Truth Personally
(1) Christ is the Truth— John 14:6 "Jesus said to him, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me."
(2) Christ spoke the Truth and bore witness to the Truth. John 18:37 "… I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.""
(3) 1 John 5:20 "And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us an understanding, that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life."
(4) Truth—the only acceptable standard for preaching and ministry.
(a) His people are called upon to speak and live Truth.
(b) Eph 4:15 "but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head; Christ;"
(c) Eph 4:25 "Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another."
(d) Eph 5:9 "(for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth),"
(e) Eph 6:14 "Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,"
d. His preachers are called upon to preach only the Truth.
(1) 2 Tim 2:15 "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
(2) 1 Th 2:13 "..when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God…”
(3) 2 Th 2: 13 But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth,"
e. His Church is grounded on Truth 1 Tim 3:15 "…. the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
f. The foremost characteristic of Satan is lying, and the foremost characteristic of those who are fooled by the Antichrist is that they do not love Truth.
(1) John 8:44 ""You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it."
Friday, December 14, 2007
The Glory of God Manifested to Mankind
John 1:14
Introductory Thoughts
* This Morning, we looked at the awesome truth that God became a man and lived among us.
* This evening, we will look more closely at what that means, as we analyze the next phrase of this powerful, amazing verse:
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
* It is not just that Christ came to live among us, but He came to manifest to us the Glory of God—
But what is the Glory of God?
1. The Glory of God— and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father
a. A very large topic
(1) The Meaning of the Words
(a) OT, “kabod”: weight, or worthiness, splendor, wealth, reputation.
(b) NT, “doxa”: reputation. “…its chief use is to describe the revelation of the character and the presence of God in the Person and work of Jesus Christ…” (New Bible Dictionary)
(2) Hundreds of References
(3) The Glory of the Lord is spoken of as a burning light which no sinful man may see. Exo 33:18-22 "And he said, "Please, show me Your glory." 19 Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." 20 But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." 21 And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 "So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by."
(4) The Glory of God is seen in His creation…Psa 19:1 "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork."
(5) The Glory of God is spoken of as a vision of His Presence…Acts 7:55 "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,"
(6) The Glory of God is the light which will light heaven itself. Rev 21:23 "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light."
b. A key: The context of this verse.
c. The Glory of God is the burning light of His Presence, revealing the absolute perfection of His Being, and encompassing all of His attributes, but the particular emphasis of this term here is on Christ:
(1) His relationship with the Father
(2) The moral perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His fitness to be our Savior.
(3) The Power and Authority of Christ
(4) The Manifested Glory of Christ through His Person and Work
(5) We behold HIS glory, we put all our trust in Him, we follow Him.
2. The Relationship Between the Father and Son—the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
a. As of—these words do not mean, as we use the phrase, “similar,” but mean “appropriate to.”
(1) The Glory of Christ is the Glory which is due to Him as the Son of God, as the Glory of God is spoken of as the praise which is due to Him.
(2) Psa 29:2 "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."
(3) John 17:5 ""And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
(4) The Glory is His glory; it is properly His; it is not reflected Glory, but it is His own.
(i) HE is in now way less than the Father
(ii) He possesses His own glory
(5) Christ is called the Brightness of God’s Glory Heb 1:1-3 "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,"
b. The Relationship of Father and Son— the only begotten of the Father,
(1) Begotten does not mean “less than.” As God the Son and the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is divine, eternal, and equal with the Father in every way.
(a) Phil 2:6 "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:" (form = morphe = in very nature God)
(b) John 5: 18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he …..said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."
(c) John 10:30 ""I and My Father are one.""
(d) Zec 13:7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones."
(e) A man is God’s fellow? Yes, the God-man, the Savior, the Redeemer, He is God’s fellow.
(2) Begotten does not mean “created,” for Christ was not created. Col 1:16 ”… by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."
(3) “Begotten” does not mean inferior, because Christ is not inferior to the Father, but is One with Him. John 10:30 ""I and My Father are one.""
(4) “Begotten” does not mean Christ had a beginning, because He is without beginning, He is eternal. Rev 1:8 ""I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.""
(5) Micah 5:2 ""But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.""
(6) As man, Christ was acting in our place, and He assumed the role we should, but in essence, He is not in any way subordinate to or inferior to the Father.
3. The Glory of God Manifested In The Life Of Christ—“We Beheld His Glory.”
a. In His Life (selected episodes).
(1) Luke 2—the Angels declare His Glory. Luke 2:8-14
(2) Matthew 3:17—The Father witnesses His approval "17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
b. His miracles are a revelation of His Glory John 2:11 "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him."
(1) Matthew 8—Christ shows His Glory
(a) Power over disease Mat 8:1-3, 14-16
(b) Power over demonic spirits Mat 8:28-34
(c) Power over the natural world—stilling the storm. Mat 8:25-27 "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?""
c. The glory manifested in the Sermon on the Mount—the moral perfection, wisdom, and authority of His teachings. Mat 7:28-29 "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
d. The Glory Manifested on the Mount of Transfiguration. Mat 17:1-9
e. The Glory Manifested In the Garden
(1) As He prayed for us on the way—John 17
(2) As He prayed alone
(3) As He knocked them down with a word. John 18:4-6
f. The Glory Manifested on the Cross
(1) The Son is Glorified—John 12:23-24 "But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."
(2) The Father is Glorified John 12:28-33
(3) How can we say that glory is manifested in the Cross? How can such an ugly thing as the Son of God being slain on the Cross be glorious?
(4) On the Cross, God’s perfections are revealed.
(i) God, Who is Holy, showed how much He hates sin
(ii) God, Who is Love, showed how much He cared for sinners.
(iii) God, Who is Just, dealt with sin
(iv) God Who is all-knowing, knew our sins and made a plan to atone for our sins.
(v) God, Who is Sovereign and all-powerful, brought His plan to pass.
(vi) And the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, The Son of God and God the Son, the Savior, the Redeemer, laid down His life as a voluntary sacrifice for sinners. Glory Be To His Name!
g. The Glory Manifested in His Resurrection Mat 28:1-4
h. The Glory Manifested in His ascension Acts 1: 9-11
(1) The Glory Manifested in His intercession—Acts 7:55, Rom 8:34 "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."
(2) Heb 7:25 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
(3) The Glory is to be Manifested in the Local Church Eph 3:14-21
(4) Remember, principalities and powers, the rulers of the universe, are watching this Earth and are watching the drama of redemption being unfolded by God’s Sovereign Hand. Eph 3:10-11
(5) When God’s people in the church follow Him and give good witness by their words and actions, God is glorified.
(6) If you are a professing believer in Christ and a church member, the way you live and work and act in the church is not your business alone, for the personal reputation of God is at stake in your conduct as a believer!
(7) When Christians act in unGodly ways,
(i) When believers live like pagans, God’s reputation is being drug through the mud.
(ii) When churches fuss and fight over non-essential items, it is God’s reputation which is beaten up.
(iii) When believers fail to do their part to support the ministry of their local church, it is God they are failing.
(iv) When preachers fail to preach the Truth, It is God they are letting down.
(v) When Christians refuse to study and be disciples, when they have enough time for everything except God’s business, it is God who is being neglected.
(vi) When these things happen, it is the Name and reputation of God Himself which is under attack.
(vii) “…Well, preacher, that’s why I don’t attend church very much. I’ll just glorify God somewhere else…”
(viii) God is to be glorified in the church! The Answer is not to forget the church or neglect the church, or leave the church, the answer is to heed God’s word and glorify Him in the Church!!!
i. The Glory to be manifested in His return and rule—The Glory Manifested to John in the Apocalypse Rev 1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants; things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,"
(1) John shows the glories of the worship of heaven now—
(2) John shows the glories of the return and reign of Christ—
(3) The Glory to be manifested when every knee shall bow. Phil 2:9-
Introductory Thoughts
* This Morning, we looked at the awesome truth that God became a man and lived among us.
* This evening, we will look more closely at what that means, as we analyze the next phrase of this powerful, amazing verse:
and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth."
* It is not just that Christ came to live among us, but He came to manifest to us the Glory of God—
But what is the Glory of God?
1. The Glory of God— and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father
a. A very large topic
(1) The Meaning of the Words
(a) OT, “kabod”: weight, or worthiness, splendor, wealth, reputation.
(b) NT, “doxa”: reputation. “…its chief use is to describe the revelation of the character and the presence of God in the Person and work of Jesus Christ…” (New Bible Dictionary)
(2) Hundreds of References
(3) The Glory of the Lord is spoken of as a burning light which no sinful man may see. Exo 33:18-22 "And he said, "Please, show me Your glory." 19 Then He said, "I will make all My goodness pass before you, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before you. I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." 20 But He said, "You cannot see My face; for no man shall see Me, and live." 21 And the LORD said, "Here is a place by Me, and you shall stand on the rock. 22 "So it shall be, while My glory passes by, that I will put you in the cleft of the rock, and will cover you with My hand while I pass by."
(4) The Glory of God is seen in His creation…Psa 19:1 "To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork."
(5) The Glory of God is spoken of as a vision of His Presence…Acts 7:55 "But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God,"
(6) The Glory of God is the light which will light heaven itself. Rev 21:23 "The city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light."
b. A key: The context of this verse.
c. The Glory of God is the burning light of His Presence, revealing the absolute perfection of His Being, and encompassing all of His attributes, but the particular emphasis of this term here is on Christ:
(1) His relationship with the Father
(2) The moral perfection of the Lord Jesus Christ, and His fitness to be our Savior.
(3) The Power and Authority of Christ
(4) The Manifested Glory of Christ through His Person and Work
(5) We behold HIS glory, we put all our trust in Him, we follow Him.
2. The Relationship Between the Father and Son—the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,
a. As of—these words do not mean, as we use the phrase, “similar,” but mean “appropriate to.”
(1) The Glory of Christ is the Glory which is due to Him as the Son of God, as the Glory of God is spoken of as the praise which is due to Him.
(2) Psa 29:2 "Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness."
(3) John 17:5 ""And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
(4) The Glory is His glory; it is properly His; it is not reflected Glory, but it is His own.
(i) HE is in now way less than the Father
(ii) He possesses His own glory
(5) Christ is called the Brightness of God’s Glory Heb 1:1-3 "God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,"
b. The Relationship of Father and Son— the only begotten of the Father,
(1) Begotten does not mean “less than.” As God the Son and the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ is divine, eternal, and equal with the Father in every way.
(a) Phil 2:6 "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:" (form = morphe = in very nature God)
(b) John 5: 18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he …..said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God."
(c) John 10:30 ""I and My Father are one.""
(d) Zec 13:7 Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith the LORD of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered: and I will turn mine hand upon the little ones."
(e) A man is God’s fellow? Yes, the God-man, the Savior, the Redeemer, He is God’s fellow.
(2) Begotten does not mean “created,” for Christ was not created. Col 1:16 ”… by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist."
(3) “Begotten” does not mean inferior, because Christ is not inferior to the Father, but is One with Him. John 10:30 ""I and My Father are one.""
(4) “Begotten” does not mean Christ had a beginning, because He is without beginning, He is eternal. Rev 1:8 ""I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End," says the Lord, "who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.""
(5) Micah 5:2 ""But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.""
(6) As man, Christ was acting in our place, and He assumed the role we should, but in essence, He is not in any way subordinate to or inferior to the Father.
3. The Glory of God Manifested In The Life Of Christ—“We Beheld His Glory.”
a. In His Life (selected episodes).
(1) Luke 2—the Angels declare His Glory. Luke 2:8-14
(2) Matthew 3:17—The Father witnesses His approval "17 And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
b. His miracles are a revelation of His Glory John 2:11 "This beginning of signs Jesus did in Cana of Galilee, and manifested His glory; and His disciples believed in Him."
(1) Matthew 8—Christ shows His Glory
(a) Power over disease Mat 8:1-3, 14-16
(b) Power over demonic spirits Mat 8:28-34
(c) Power over the natural world—stilling the storm. Mat 8:25-27 "Who can this be, that even the winds and the sea obey Him?""
c. The glory manifested in the Sermon on the Mount—the moral perfection, wisdom, and authority of His teachings. Mat 7:28-29 "And so it was, when Jesus had ended these sayings, that the people were astonished at His teaching, 29 for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."
d. The Glory Manifested on the Mount of Transfiguration. Mat 17:1-9
e. The Glory Manifested In the Garden
(1) As He prayed for us on the way—John 17
(2) As He prayed alone
(3) As He knocked them down with a word. John 18:4-6
f. The Glory Manifested on the Cross
(1) The Son is Glorified—John 12:23-24 "But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. 24 "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."
(2) The Father is Glorified John 12:28-33
(3) How can we say that glory is manifested in the Cross? How can such an ugly thing as the Son of God being slain on the Cross be glorious?
(4) On the Cross, God’s perfections are revealed.
(i) God, Who is Holy, showed how much He hates sin
(ii) God, Who is Love, showed how much He cared for sinners.
(iii) God, Who is Just, dealt with sin
(iv) God Who is all-knowing, knew our sins and made a plan to atone for our sins.
(v) God, Who is Sovereign and all-powerful, brought His plan to pass.
(vi) And the God-man, the Lord Jesus Christ, The Son of God and God the Son, the Savior, the Redeemer, laid down His life as a voluntary sacrifice for sinners. Glory Be To His Name!
g. The Glory Manifested in His Resurrection Mat 28:1-4
h. The Glory Manifested in His ascension Acts 1: 9-11
(1) The Glory Manifested in His intercession—Acts 7:55, Rom 8:34 "Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us."
(2) Heb 7:25 "Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them."
(3) The Glory is to be Manifested in the Local Church Eph 3:14-21
(4) Remember, principalities and powers, the rulers of the universe, are watching this Earth and are watching the drama of redemption being unfolded by God’s Sovereign Hand. Eph 3:10-11
(5) When God’s people in the church follow Him and give good witness by their words and actions, God is glorified.
(6) If you are a professing believer in Christ and a church member, the way you live and work and act in the church is not your business alone, for the personal reputation of God is at stake in your conduct as a believer!
(7) When Christians act in unGodly ways,
(i) When believers live like pagans, God’s reputation is being drug through the mud.
(ii) When churches fuss and fight over non-essential items, it is God’s reputation which is beaten up.
(iii) When believers fail to do their part to support the ministry of their local church, it is God they are failing.
(iv) When preachers fail to preach the Truth, It is God they are letting down.
(v) When Christians refuse to study and be disciples, when they have enough time for everything except God’s business, it is God who is being neglected.
(vi) When these things happen, it is the Name and reputation of God Himself which is under attack.
(vii) “…Well, preacher, that’s why I don’t attend church very much. I’ll just glorify God somewhere else…”
(viii) God is to be glorified in the church! The Answer is not to forget the church or neglect the church, or leave the church, the answer is to heed God’s word and glorify Him in the Church!!!
i. The Glory to be manifested in His return and rule—The Glory Manifested to John in the Apocalypse Rev 1:1 "The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show His servants; things which must shortly take place. And He sent and signified it by His angel to His servant John,"
(1) John shows the glories of the worship of heaven now—
(2) John shows the glories of the return and reign of Christ—
(3) The Glory to be manifested when every knee shall bow. Phil 2:9-
The Day That God Changed His Clothes Part 1
John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us…”
Introductory Thoughts
- The mystery of mysteries
-- What is a mystery? It is a wonderful Truth that God is revealing or has revealed.
-- The Incarnation is a mystery.
1 Tim 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory."
- An essential part of our salvation.
-- God so loved—John 3:16 ""For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
-- No mere man could have done this
- An Essential part of Christian doctrine.
1 John 4:2 "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God," 3 "and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."
-- You may be wrong about the mode of baptism, but that won’t affect your salvation.
-- You may be a believer in freewill to the point that you think a Christian can lose his salvation, but that doctrinal error doesn’t mean you are lost, just ill-taught.
-- You may be off on the end times, but that is of no consequence to your salvation.
-- You may have sucked in some liberal thinking in other areas.
-- But if you do not accept the Incarnation, that is prime evidence that you are lost.
- A verse and a concept beyond the reach of any human preacher
-- The Word Became Flesh
-- The Word Dwelt Among Us
1. The Word Became Flesh—John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
a. What or Who Is The Word?
(1) The Word is Eternal—“In the Beginning, was the Word (already was)…”
(2) The Word is the face to face companion of the Father—“…The Word was with God…” (face to face with God the Father—1:18)
(3) The Word is God “…and the Word was God…”
(4) Yet, the Word is distinct from the Father—“…He was in the beginning With God…” (face to face)
(5) The Word is Creator—“…All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being…”
(6) The Word is the Source of Life and Light—1:4
(7) The Word is victorious over the darkness—1:5
(8) The Word is the universal illuminator—John 1:9, Ps 19:1
(9) When He Came, the Word was ignored by the World and by His own people—Jn 1:10-11
(10) But the Word was accepted by those who were made alive by God—(James 1:18) "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
(11) The Word is the Full Explanation of God—John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."
b. Before the Word Became Flesh…..
(1) Pre-existence—He is Eternal:
(a) Micah 5:2 ""But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.""
(b) John 8:58 "Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.""
(2) Christopany—He appeared often in the Old Testament, in various forms—Dan 3:25 ""Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.""
(3) Glory—He lived in glory, the adored Prince of heaven. John 17:5 ""And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
(4) In Love—He lived in love, in perfect, loving relationship with the Father and the Spirit. John 17:24 ""Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."
(5) And He Left all of that for us. He left all of that to live among us; He left all of that to teach us; He left all of that to die for us.
2. The Word Was Made Flesh—Was made: Became—not the creation of a being, but of a body and soul.
a. He WAS and IS the Creator
(1) Christ was not created—John 1:3
(2) All things hold together in Him—Col 1:17
(3) But His body and soul were specially created, a gift of God the Father to the Son—Heb 10:5-10
b. The incarnation
(1) The author—Luke 1:35 "And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."
(2) The Act—the Incarnation was the conception, not the birth. The birth merely completed the process. Christ had been incarnate for 9 months when He was born in Bethlehem’s manger—Luke 1:39-43 "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
c. Flesh—the definition of this word “sarx” is not just a human body, but an entire human nature. His flesh was real flesh
(1) Not just a physical body, but a human soul
(2) But Not Sinful Flesh
(a) 1 Pet 2:22 ""Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth";"
(b) Heb 4:14-16
(c) 2 Cor 5:21
d. In His Incarnation, Christ surrendered nothing but the external expression of His Glory. But what is important is what He took on—humanity, and humble humanity at that.
(1) His former Home: Heaven
(2) His former seat—the throne of Glory
(3) His former condition—all comfort and continually worshipped.
(4) His former state—Spirit
(5) His life as a man—humiliation.
e. The Condescension—In every way a man, but never ceased to be God.
(1) Phil 2:5-8 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
3. The Word Dwelt (spread His Tent) Among Us—John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
a. Tabernacled—Christ put His Tent up among us.
(1) Amazingly, He did not come for just an overnight stay.
(2) He was not just slumming
(3) He lived among us, worked among us, etc.
(4) He shared our lives and our pains.
(5) He was not born into the family of a rich merchant, who could have given Him all the comforts of earth.
(6) He did not come as the son of an earthly king.
(7) He was not born into the family of Caesar.
(8) He was not born into the country club set.
(9) He was not given a pleasant home in the cool alps as the son of a tribal chief.
(10) He came into the humblest of homes, as a member of a conquered race, and raised with none of the advantages of life so well-counted by sinful man.
(11) He Dwelt among us:
(a) Poor
(b) Conquered
(c) The adopted son of a working man.
(d) As a small-town boy in a place even the Jews had not much use for. John 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
b. The Reality of His Human Experience
(1) Sorrow—Mat 26:37 "And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed."
(2) Growth—Luke 2:40 "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."
(3) Hunger—Luke 4:2 "being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry."
(4) Sleep—Luke 8:23 "But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy."
(5) Poverty—Luke 9:58 "And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.""
(6) Fatigue—John 4:6 "Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour."
(7) The Victim of False Whispers—John 8:41 "You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father; God."
(8) The Victim of Betrayal—Judas
(9) The Victim of False Accusation—
(10) The Victim of Denial—
(11) The Victim of Physical Abuse—
(12) The Victim of a Travesty of Justice—
c. The Blessings of His Presence For Those Who saw Him here.
(1) His healing hand
(2) His teaching and preaching
(3) His perfect obedience to the Law—Those who saw Him, saw One who really obeyed the Law, not the rote, perfunctory observance of the Pharisees and the scribes. But the obedience of the One who wrote the Law—
(4) And He met temptation the way we are to meet it, with the Word of God.
(5) His substitutionary death on the Cross
(6) His Triumphant Resurrection
(7) His Glorious Ascension And Intercession
d. The Primary Blessing of His Presence among us—The Salvation He Wrought for us
(1) Mat 1:21 ""And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.""
(2) 1 Tim 1:15 "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
Introductory Thoughts
- The mystery of mysteries
-- What is a mystery? It is a wonderful Truth that God is revealing or has revealed.
-- The Incarnation is a mystery.
1 Tim 3:16 "And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, Justified in the Spirit, Seen by angels, Preached among the Gentiles, Believed on in the world, Received up in glory."
- An essential part of our salvation.
-- God so loved—John 3:16 ""For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
-- No mere man could have done this
- An Essential part of Christian doctrine.
1 John 4:2 "By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God," 3 "and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world."
-- You may be wrong about the mode of baptism, but that won’t affect your salvation.
-- You may be a believer in freewill to the point that you think a Christian can lose his salvation, but that doctrinal error doesn’t mean you are lost, just ill-taught.
-- You may be off on the end times, but that is of no consequence to your salvation.
-- You may have sucked in some liberal thinking in other areas.
-- But if you do not accept the Incarnation, that is prime evidence that you are lost.
- A verse and a concept beyond the reach of any human preacher
-- The Word Became Flesh
-- The Word Dwelt Among Us
1. The Word Became Flesh—John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
a. What or Who Is The Word?
(1) The Word is Eternal—“In the Beginning, was the Word (already was)…”
(2) The Word is the face to face companion of the Father—“…The Word was with God…” (face to face with God the Father—1:18)
(3) The Word is God “…and the Word was God…”
(4) Yet, the Word is distinct from the Father—“…He was in the beginning With God…” (face to face)
(5) The Word is Creator—“…All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him, nothing came into being that has come into being…”
(6) The Word is the Source of Life and Light—1:4
(7) The Word is victorious over the darkness—1:5
(8) The Word is the universal illuminator—John 1:9, Ps 19:1
(9) When He Came, the Word was ignored by the World and by His own people—Jn 1:10-11
(10) But the Word was accepted by those who were made alive by God—(James 1:18) "Of His own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures."
(11) The Word is the Full Explanation of God—John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."
b. Before the Word Became Flesh…..
(1) Pre-existence—He is Eternal:
(a) Micah 5:2 ""But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.""
(b) John 8:58 "Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.""
(2) Christopany—He appeared often in the Old Testament, in various forms—Dan 3:25 ""Look!" he answered, "I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and they are not hurt, and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.""
(3) Glory—He lived in glory, the adored Prince of heaven. John 17:5 ""And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was."
(4) In Love—He lived in love, in perfect, loving relationship with the Father and the Spirit. John 17:24 ""Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am, that they may behold My glory which You have given Me; for You loved Me before the foundation of the world."
(5) And He Left all of that for us. He left all of that to live among us; He left all of that to teach us; He left all of that to die for us.
2. The Word Was Made Flesh—Was made: Became—not the creation of a being, but of a body and soul.
a. He WAS and IS the Creator
(1) Christ was not created—John 1:3
(2) All things hold together in Him—Col 1:17
(3) But His body and soul were specially created, a gift of God the Father to the Son—Heb 10:5-10
b. The incarnation
(1) The author—Luke 1:35 "And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God."
(2) The Act—the Incarnation was the conception, not the birth. The birth merely completed the process. Christ had been incarnate for 9 months when He was born in Bethlehem’s manger—Luke 1:39-43 "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth. 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit. 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! 43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me? 44 "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
c. Flesh—the definition of this word “sarx” is not just a human body, but an entire human nature. His flesh was real flesh
(1) Not just a physical body, but a human soul
(2) But Not Sinful Flesh
(a) 1 Pet 2:22 ""Who committed no sin, Nor was deceit found in His mouth";"
(b) Heb 4:14-16
(c) 2 Cor 5:21
d. In His Incarnation, Christ surrendered nothing but the external expression of His Glory. But what is important is what He took on—humanity, and humble humanity at that.
(1) His former Home: Heaven
(2) His former seat—the throne of Glory
(3) His former condition—all comfort and continually worshipped.
(4) His former state—Spirit
(5) His life as a man—humiliation.
e. The Condescension—In every way a man, but never ceased to be God.
(1) Phil 2:5-8 "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, 6 who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 7 but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."
3. The Word Dwelt (spread His Tent) Among Us—John 1:14 "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth."
a. Tabernacled—Christ put His Tent up among us.
(1) Amazingly, He did not come for just an overnight stay.
(2) He was not just slumming
(3) He lived among us, worked among us, etc.
(4) He shared our lives and our pains.
(5) He was not born into the family of a rich merchant, who could have given Him all the comforts of earth.
(6) He did not come as the son of an earthly king.
(7) He was not born into the family of Caesar.
(8) He was not born into the country club set.
(9) He was not given a pleasant home in the cool alps as the son of a tribal chief.
(10) He came into the humblest of homes, as a member of a conquered race, and raised with none of the advantages of life so well-counted by sinful man.
(11) He Dwelt among us:
(a) Poor
(b) Conquered
(c) The adopted son of a working man.
(d) As a small-town boy in a place even the Jews had not much use for. John 1:46 And Nathanael said to him, "Can anything good come out of Nazareth?" Philip said to him, "Come and see."
b. The Reality of His Human Experience
(1) Sorrow—Mat 26:37 "And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed."
(2) Growth—Luke 2:40 "And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him."
(3) Hunger—Luke 4:2 "being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry."
(4) Sleep—Luke 8:23 "But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy."
(5) Poverty—Luke 9:58 "And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.""
(6) Fatigue—John 4:6 "Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour."
(7) The Victim of False Whispers—John 8:41 "You do the deeds of your father." Then they said to Him, "We were not born of fornication; we have one Father; God."
(8) The Victim of Betrayal—Judas
(9) The Victim of False Accusation—
(10) The Victim of Denial—
(11) The Victim of Physical Abuse—
(12) The Victim of a Travesty of Justice—
c. The Blessings of His Presence For Those Who saw Him here.
(1) His healing hand
(2) His teaching and preaching
(3) His perfect obedience to the Law—Those who saw Him, saw One who really obeyed the Law, not the rote, perfunctory observance of the Pharisees and the scribes. But the obedience of the One who wrote the Law—
(4) And He met temptation the way we are to meet it, with the Word of God.
(5) His substitutionary death on the Cross
(6) His Triumphant Resurrection
(7) His Glorious Ascension And Intercession
d. The Primary Blessing of His Presence among us—The Salvation He Wrought for us
(1) Mat 1:21 ""And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name JESUS, for He will save His people from their sins.""
(2) 1 Tim 1:15 "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
Thursday, December 13, 2007
The First Words of the New Testament Age—The Testimony of Elizabeth, John, and Mary--- Luke 1:39-55
See again how this Gentile writer stresses so much the role of Israel in God’s plans!
1. Word of Elizabeth—Luke 1:39-45
a. Mary Visits Cousin Elizabeth—Luke 1:39 "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
(1) With haste—to share the good news with Elizabeth, and also to compare notes about God’s miraculous acts in their lives.
(2) The city is not named, but it is likely the city of Hebron. Josh 21:9-13
b. John’s Reaction— 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; ….44 "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
(a) This is very curious, but also very real and very highly stressed. These are not throw away words. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb reacted to the baby (embryo) in Mary’s womb. How? How could he?
(b) Maybe God knows more about babies than we do
(c) God can do whatever He wants to do whenever He wants to do it.
(i) Psa 115:3 "But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases."
(ii) Psa 135:6 "Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places."
(d) God made a donkey talk, He has made the lame walk and the blind see. He has parted the Red Sea—Is anything too hard for Him?
c. What John’s reaction teaches us about The human fetus:
(1) Life begins at conception—Mary had only just conceived, but she is already the “ Mother of my Lord.”
(2) The Human Fetus can experience and express joy.
(3) The Human Fetus can experience spiritual illumination and life—
(a) Luke 1:15 ”… He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.”
(b) Jer 1:5 ""Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.""
d. Elizabeth’s Reaction-- and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit……..43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
(1) The Holy Spirit ministered special Grace to Elizabeth just for this moment—He took control of her.
(2) She had special humility—“Why…?”
(3) She had special spiritual insight. This is all due to the illuminating work of the Spirit.
(a) It was revealed to her that Mary was expecting.
(b) It was revealed to her that Mary was expecting the Messiah—“The Mother of my Lord….”
e. the mother of my Lord…
(1) Mary is not called “the one who will be mother of my Lord…”
(2) Mary is not called “potentially the mother of the One who will potentially be my Lord…..”
(3) Mary is already “the Mother of my Lord,” because the Incarnation had already taken place, and the embryo in her womb was already the God-man, the Lord of Elizabeth (and everyone else too).
f. Elizabeth’s Prophecy—42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ……45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
(1) 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice—Elizabeth had kept her own pregnancy quiet for five months. She had been shy about it. But now, with the Savior present “in utero,” Elizabeth gives way to ecstatic joy, and she proclaims the Truth loud enough for all to hear.
(2) and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb
(i) God has blessed you, Mary
(ii) Your Fruit is the best Fruit ever
(iii) And AGAIN—not blessed will be the fruit of your womg—but blessed IS the fruit of your womb.
(3) 45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." God will keep all the promises He has made to Mary.
2. Mary Gives All the Glory to God not herself.
a. She is humble toward herself, and breathless in praise of God—"And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
(1) Magnifies— to make (or declare) great, i.e. increase or (fig.) extol:--enlarge, magnify, shew great. Mary praises the greatness of God. Psa 34:2 "My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad."
(a) She makes no claim for herself
(b) She does not boast in herself
(c) She boasts only in God.
(2) Rejoice in the SAVIOR
(a) Psa 35:9 "And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His salvation."
(b) Hab 3:18 "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
(3) Mary Knows What She Is—God my Savior—Mary is a sinner saved by Grace
(4) All have sinned, and there are not any who are righteous (Rom 3:10-12)
(5) Salvation is by Grace alone through faith alone.
(6) If God is her Savior, then she must be a sinner who has been saved by grace through faith.
b. God my Savior—This tells us:
(1) God is the Savior
(2) Conversely the Savior (the babe in her womb) is Jehovah God in flesh. Isa 43:11 "I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior."
(3) 1 Tim 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,"
(4) 1 Tim 2:3 "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,"
(5) Titus 1:3 "but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;"
(6) Titus 2:10 "not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things."
(7) Titus 3:4 "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,"
(8) Jude 1:25 "To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen."
c. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
(1) Psa 138:6 "Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar."
(2) “Blessed Mary”—For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. Again, this does not make Mary some special Holy Being. God blessed Mary, not because of what she was, but in spite of what she was!
(3) Luke 11:27 "And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!""
(4) Luke 11:28 "But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!""
“This has the sense of “Yes, but rather…” While not denying the blessedness of Mary, Christ did not countenance any tendency to elevate Mary as an object of veneration. Mary’s relationship to Him as His physical mother did not confer on her any greater honor than the blessedness of those who hear and obey the word of God.” (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1537)
(5) But far too many have confused “blessed” with “special” or sinless.
(6) “Blessed” is a passive thing. If we receive a blessing from God:
(a) It is not earned, else it would be something due to us, not a blessing.
(b) God has initiated the blessing because of His plan and His will, not because of any merit in us—as human beings, we don’t possess any merit, and cannot produce any.
Isa 64:6 "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away."
3. The Word of Mary
a. What is important is God’s Person—49 For He who is mighty
(1) She looks to the mighty one, El Shaddai of Israel—Gen 17:1 "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless."
(2) Psa 91:1 "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
b. What is important is God’s Work— has done great things for me
c. The Almighty—El Shaddai—is the Name of God often associated with special blessings, fruitfulness, provision. Gen 28:3 ""May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;"
(1) Gen 35:11 "Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body."
(2) Gen 48:3 "Then Jacob said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,"
(3) Gen 49:25 "By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb."
(4) But El Shaddai is also associated with judgment, and with trials (Job uses the Name often), and as Mary will discover, her baby is going to judge, and He is going to be judged, and she will undergo agony and trial.
d. The Name that is Holy is God’s Name—And holy is His name. Psa 111:9 "He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name."
Isa 6:1-3 "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""
Rev 4:8 "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""
(1) It is not Mary who is Holy, it is God, it is the special One Who she carries.
(2) No mere man, no mere woman, is Holy except as God has made them Holy by His grace.
e. What Sinners need is God’s Mercy—50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. Exo 34:6 "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,"
(1) And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. She praises God’s mercy, as anyone who had received mercy would do.
(2) And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. Fear, reverence, honor, respect—
Psa 103:17 "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children,"
And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation
(3) Faith is not inherited, but it can be a legacy.
f. The Only Praise to sing is praise of God— Mary’s Psalm—51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."
(1) This Psalm of praise reminds us of Hannah’s Song. Hannah was likewise the recipient of a miracle child (though from natural generation, not supernatural). 1 Sam 2:1-10
(2) Mary’s song shows her great knowledge of Holy Scripture.
(3) But Mary’s Song is also a prophecy of Her Child’s Work—she, like Abraham, believes in the Almighty: Rom 4:17 "…. Him whom he believed; God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;"
(4) 51 He has shown strength with His arm; God has demonstrated His Deity by doing great things. In the Life to be lived by Mary’s Child (Heaven’s Child), He will bare His arm of power often.
(5) He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
(6) God has certainly done this in the past, and he will certainly do this again.
Psa 33:10 "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect."
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
(7) Christ will do both of these, spiritually as well as physically.
(8) 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
(9) At long last, Israel’s Messiah has come. At long last, God’s remnant will see Him.
(10) 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."—Her baby is both the recipient and fulfillment of all the promises—He is the Seed of Abraham.
Gal 3:16 "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ."
4. Applications
Doctrinal—those who make Mary to be something she is not insult her as well as God. She knows the score, and she tells us here.
Doctrinal—Jesus is God. His deity is directly declared by Mary (God My Savior), and every word of her song of praise confirms it.
Mary and Elizabeth show an outstanding example of Christian fellowship in trying times.
Mary especially shows us the wonderful grace of humility.
Mary especially shows us what a comfort there is in a thorough knowledge of the Bible.
1. Word of Elizabeth—Luke 1:39-45
a. Mary Visits Cousin Elizabeth—Luke 1:39 "Now Mary arose in those days and went into the hill country with haste, to a city of Judah, 40 and entered the house of Zacharias and greeted Elizabeth.
(1) With haste—to share the good news with Elizabeth, and also to compare notes about God’s miraculous acts in their lives.
(2) The city is not named, but it is likely the city of Hebron. Josh 21:9-13
b. John’s Reaction— 41 And it happened, when Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, that the babe leaped in her womb; ….44 "For indeed, as soon as the voice of your greeting sounded in my ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
(a) This is very curious, but also very real and very highly stressed. These are not throw away words. The baby in Elizabeth’s womb reacted to the baby (embryo) in Mary’s womb. How? How could he?
(b) Maybe God knows more about babies than we do
(c) God can do whatever He wants to do whenever He wants to do it.
(i) Psa 115:3 "But our God is in heaven; He does whatever He pleases."
(ii) Psa 135:6 "Whatever the LORD pleases He does, In heaven and in earth, In the seas and in all deep places."
(d) God made a donkey talk, He has made the lame walk and the blind see. He has parted the Red Sea—Is anything too hard for Him?
c. What John’s reaction teaches us about The human fetus:
(1) Life begins at conception—Mary had only just conceived, but she is already the “ Mother of my Lord.”
(2) The Human Fetus can experience and express joy.
(3) The Human Fetus can experience spiritual illumination and life—
(a) Luke 1:15 ”… He will also be filled with the Holy Spirit, even from his mother's womb.”
(b) Jer 1:5 ""Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.""
d. Elizabeth’s Reaction-- and Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit……..43 "But why is this granted to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
(1) The Holy Spirit ministered special Grace to Elizabeth just for this moment—He took control of her.
(2) She had special humility—“Why…?”
(3) She had special spiritual insight. This is all due to the illuminating work of the Spirit.
(a) It was revealed to her that Mary was expecting.
(b) It was revealed to her that Mary was expecting the Messiah—“The Mother of my Lord….”
e. the mother of my Lord…
(1) Mary is not called “the one who will be mother of my Lord…”
(2) Mary is not called “potentially the mother of the One who will potentially be my Lord…..”
(3) Mary is already “the Mother of my Lord,” because the Incarnation had already taken place, and the embryo in her womb was already the God-man, the Lord of Elizabeth (and everyone else too).
f. Elizabeth’s Prophecy—42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! ……45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord."
(1) 42 Then she spoke out with a loud voice—Elizabeth had kept her own pregnancy quiet for five months. She had been shy about it. But now, with the Savior present “in utero,” Elizabeth gives way to ecstatic joy, and she proclaims the Truth loud enough for all to hear.
(2) and said, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb
(i) God has blessed you, Mary
(ii) Your Fruit is the best Fruit ever
(iii) And AGAIN—not blessed will be the fruit of your womg—but blessed IS the fruit of your womb.
(3) 45 "Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfillment of those things which were told her from the Lord." God will keep all the promises He has made to Mary.
2. Mary Gives All the Glory to God not herself.
a. She is humble toward herself, and breathless in praise of God—"And Mary said: "My soul magnifies the Lord, 47 And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior.
(1) Magnifies— to make (or declare) great, i.e. increase or (fig.) extol:--enlarge, magnify, shew great. Mary praises the greatness of God. Psa 34:2 "My soul shall make its boast in the LORD; The humble shall hear of it and be glad."
(a) She makes no claim for herself
(b) She does not boast in herself
(c) She boasts only in God.
(2) Rejoice in the SAVIOR
(a) Psa 35:9 "And my soul shall be joyful in the LORD; It shall rejoice in His salvation."
(b) Hab 3:18 "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation."
(3) Mary Knows What She Is—God my Savior—Mary is a sinner saved by Grace
(4) All have sinned, and there are not any who are righteous (Rom 3:10-12)
(5) Salvation is by Grace alone through faith alone.
(6) If God is her Savior, then she must be a sinner who has been saved by grace through faith.
b. God my Savior—This tells us:
(1) God is the Savior
(2) Conversely the Savior (the babe in her womb) is Jehovah God in flesh. Isa 43:11 "I, even I, am the LORD, And besides Me there is no savior."
(3) 1 Tim 1:1 "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ, by the commandment of God our Savior and the Lord Jesus Christ, our hope,"
(4) 1 Tim 2:3 "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior,"
(5) Titus 1:3 "but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior;"
(6) Titus 2:10 "not pilfering, but showing all good fidelity, that they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior in all things."
(7) Titus 3:4 "But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared,"
(8) Jude 1:25 "To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen."
c. 48 For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant;
(1) Psa 138:6 "Though the LORD is on high, Yet He regards the lowly; But the proud He knows from afar."
(2) “Blessed Mary”—For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. Again, this does not make Mary some special Holy Being. God blessed Mary, not because of what she was, but in spite of what she was!
(3) Luke 11:27 "And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!""
(4) Luke 11:28 "But He said, "More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!""
“This has the sense of “Yes, but rather…” While not denying the blessedness of Mary, Christ did not countenance any tendency to elevate Mary as an object of veneration. Mary’s relationship to Him as His physical mother did not confer on her any greater honor than the blessedness of those who hear and obey the word of God.” (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1537)
(5) But far too many have confused “blessed” with “special” or sinless.
(6) “Blessed” is a passive thing. If we receive a blessing from God:
(a) It is not earned, else it would be something due to us, not a blessing.
(b) God has initiated the blessing because of His plan and His will, not because of any merit in us—as human beings, we don’t possess any merit, and cannot produce any.
Isa 64:6 "But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away."
3. The Word of Mary
a. What is important is God’s Person—49 For He who is mighty
(1) She looks to the mighty one, El Shaddai of Israel—Gen 17:1 "When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, "I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless."
(2) Psa 91:1 "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."
b. What is important is God’s Work— has done great things for me
c. The Almighty—El Shaddai—is the Name of God often associated with special blessings, fruitfulness, provision. Gen 28:3 ""May God Almighty bless you, And make you fruitful and multiply you, That you may be an assembly of peoples;"
(1) Gen 35:11 "Also God said to him: "I am God Almighty. Be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall proceed from you, and kings shall come from your body."
(2) Gen 48:3 "Then Jacob said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan and blessed me,"
(3) Gen 49:25 "By the God of your father who will help you, And by the Almighty who will bless you With blessings of heaven above, Blessings of the deep that lies beneath, Blessings of the breasts and of the womb."
(4) But El Shaddai is also associated with judgment, and with trials (Job uses the Name often), and as Mary will discover, her baby is going to judge, and He is going to be judged, and she will undergo agony and trial.
d. The Name that is Holy is God’s Name—And holy is His name. Psa 111:9 "He has sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever: Holy and awesome is His name."
Isa 6:1-3 "In the year that King Uzziah died, I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, and the train of His robe filled the temple. 2 Above it stood seraphim; each one had six wings: with two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, and with two he flew. 3 And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""
Rev 4:8 "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""
(1) It is not Mary who is Holy, it is God, it is the special One Who she carries.
(2) No mere man, no mere woman, is Holy except as God has made them Holy by His grace.
e. What Sinners need is God’s Mercy—50 And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. Exo 34:6 "And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth,"
(1) And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. She praises God’s mercy, as anyone who had received mercy would do.
(2) And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation. Fear, reverence, honor, respect—
Psa 103:17 "But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting On those who fear Him, And His righteousness to children's children,"
And His mercy is on those who fear Him From generation to generation
(3) Faith is not inherited, but it can be a legacy.
f. The Only Praise to sing is praise of God— Mary’s Psalm—51 He has shown strength with His arm; He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly. 53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty. 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy, 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."
(1) This Psalm of praise reminds us of Hannah’s Song. Hannah was likewise the recipient of a miracle child (though from natural generation, not supernatural). 1 Sam 2:1-10
(2) Mary’s song shows her great knowledge of Holy Scripture.
(3) But Mary’s Song is also a prophecy of Her Child’s Work—she, like Abraham, believes in the Almighty: Rom 4:17 "…. Him whom he believed; God, who gives life to the dead and calls those things which do not exist as though they did;"
(4) 51 He has shown strength with His arm; God has demonstrated His Deity by doing great things. In the Life to be lived by Mary’s Child (Heaven’s Child), He will bare His arm of power often.
(5) He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts. 52 He has put down the mighty from their thrones, And exalted the lowly.
(6) God has certainly done this in the past, and he will certainly do this again.
Psa 33:10 "The LORD brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He makes the plans of the peoples of no effect."
53 He has filled the hungry with good things, And the rich He has sent away empty.
(7) Christ will do both of these, spiritually as well as physically.
(8) 54 He has helped His servant Israel, In remembrance of His mercy,
(9) At long last, Israel’s Messiah has come. At long last, God’s remnant will see Him.
(10) 55 As He spoke to our fathers, To Abraham and to his seed forever."—Her baby is both the recipient and fulfillment of all the promises—He is the Seed of Abraham.
Gal 3:16 "Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, "And to seeds," as of many, but as of one, "And to your Seed," who is Christ."
4. Applications
Doctrinal—those who make Mary to be something she is not insult her as well as God. She knows the score, and she tells us here.
Doctrinal—Jesus is God. His deity is directly declared by Mary (God My Savior), and every word of her song of praise confirms it.
Mary and Elizabeth show an outstanding example of Christian fellowship in trying times.
Mary especially shows us the wonderful grace of humility.
Mary especially shows us what a comfort there is in a thorough knowledge of the Bible.
The First Words of the New Testament Age—part 2 The Word To Mary Lk 1:26-38
Introductory Thoughts
* A little more than Six months have now passed since the vision in the temple. Elizabeth hid herself for five months, but now the blessed news is out. Zacharias is still silent, and everything else is as it was before.
* We now meet one of the most unique individuals in the Bible. She is a young lady who is going to have a completely unique ministry, one never before done, and never to be repeated.
· She is no prophetess, no theologian, no queen. She is a young girl, a simple girl, a girl from a rural backwater town and a poor family, and she is about to hear the most wonderful news that any human ear ever heard. This news will change her life for time and eternity, and it also has changed the lives of all other people who have ever lived.
· False Teachings about Mary—These teachings have no basis in the Bible whatsoever. In fact, they are an insult to God, to the Lord Jesus, to the plan of salvation, and to Mary herself.
** The Mediatrix—that Mary is a Mediator between God and man, and that she has special influence with God.
1 Tim 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"
** The co-Redemptrix—that Mary, along with the Father, Son, and Spirit, accomplished redemption.
** The Immaculate Conception—
*** That Mary herself was virgin born, and her mother, and her mother.
** That Mary Remained a Virgin and never had any other children.
** The Assumption—That Mary herself ascended bodily into heaven.
1. The Situation and Participants—Luke 1:26 "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
a. The Situation—
(1) The sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy—the news is out, and people are amazed and rejoicing at Zacharias’ and Elizabeth’s blessing.
(2) In Galilee, not in the mainstream of Israel’s life, there is a betrothed couple in a little village called Nazareth. Nazareth is an obscure town, and this is a poor couple.
(3) As a betrothed couple, they are already legally bound as if they were married, but they have not married yet, nor have they consummated their relationship. However, they could not dissolve their betrothal without a formal divorce.
b. God—The Lord is the Actor and the Subject here. Gabriel is on a divine mission.
c. Gabriel—one of two holy angels named in scripture, the other being Michael.
(1) Michael is named five times, Gabriel four.
(2) Gabriel is always seen delivering important messages to God’s people—Daniel, Zacharias, and Mary.
d. Mary—A young girl. By the customs of the time, perhaps 13 or 14 years old.
e. Joseph—a carpenter, a descendent of David.
(1) Probably somewhat older than Mary, perhaps as little as 21, but maybe much older.
(2)He is a just man and a kind one—Mat 1:19-20 "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."
(3) “The phrase ‘a just man,’ is a Hebraism suggesting that he was a true believer in God who had thereby been declared righteous, and who carefully obeyed the Law….” MacArthur Study Bible, p 1394
Gen 6:9 "…..Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God."
2. The Salutation—28 And having come in, the angel said to her,
a. The Command to Joy—"Hail (Rejoice, )
b. The Recipient of Grace—highly favored one…
(1) Highly favored—this does not mean that Mary was in some way more Holy than any one. The term is used to describe all believers in one place.
(2)The phrase means accepted in Christ, not by our own merits, but by His. Mary was accepted because of the future actions of the baby she was going to have. Eph 1:6 "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved."
c. 30…Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
(1) Not that Mary is anything special in herself—she has found favor in God’s eyes, a thing of total grace.
(2)Gen 6:8 "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Did noah have grace because of works, or did he have works because of Grace? What is the uniform teaching of Scripture? Grace is a gift from God, and it creates within the recipient a life that works. Eph 2:8-10 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
d. Providence—the Lord is with you;
Deu 31:8 "And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."
Judg 6:12 "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour."
e. The Blessed – blessed are you among women!"
(1) It is not that Mary is of some special category of woman. She is blessed “among” women, and the blessing comes from God, not from anything in her. The blessing is not given by God because she was already blessed, or had already performed some work of merit. The Blessing is from God, and she is blessed because of what God has done in choosing her, not because of anything she has done.
(2) She is blessed among women, not separate from them.
(3) Mary is a sinner—a saved sinner, but a sinner still. She is NOT personally sinless and perpetually virgin. After Christ was born, she had other children by Joseph.
(4)Luke 1:47 "And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior."—by her own mouth, Mary admits her status as sinner, because a sinless person has no need of a Savior.
Rom 3:10-12 "As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.""
3. The Announcement of The Messiah
a. This is a fulfillment—31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son
(1) Of God’s Plan
1 Cor 2: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
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 as sons."
1 Pet 1: 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."
(2) A fulfillment of Prophecy
Gen 3:15-16 "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." 16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.""
Isa 7:14 ""Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."
Isa 9:6 "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Micah 5:2 ""But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.""
b. and shall call His name JESUS
(1) Jesus = “Jehovah Saves!”
Mat 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
(2) Emmanuel—what He is, what He is called.
(3) Jesus, His Name, What He does.
c. 32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; (the Greek term here is used in the LXX to translate “Most High God.”)
(1) Both Christ and John are to be called Great.
(2)But John is the prophet of the Highest, and Jesus is the Son of the Highest—Luke 1:76 ""And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,"
d. and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David
(1) Mary was from David’s line, therefore, Christ was as well.
(2) He is the prophesied Son of David
Isa 11:1 "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots."
Jer 23:5-6 ""Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
(3) Mat 22:45 ""If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"" Christ is here making a riddle, not challenging His own Person. As MacArthur says:
David would not have addressed a merely human descendant as “Lord” Here Jesus was not disputing whether “Son of David” was an appropriate title for the Messiah; after all, the title is based on what is revealed about the Messiah in the OT….and it is used as a Messianic title in Mat 1:1. But Jesus was pointing out that the title, “son of David” did not begin to sum up all that is true about the Messiah who is also “son of God” (Luke 22:70). (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1436)
(4) Please note that this prophecy cannot be fulfilled unless there is a literal Messianic Kingdom at some future date.
33 "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Dan 2:44 "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever."
(5) God’s kingdom ruled by Messiah is the final rule , never to be replaced. It has a millennial phase and an eternal future, but it is the same king who rules both. (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1230).
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
4. The Angelic Explanation
a. The Virgin Conception—35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you;
(1) What the Virgin Birth was NOT
(a) Pagan cohabitation between divine and human.
(b)Mormon physicalism
(c) Existential non-reality
(2) This is a creative act of God.
Gen 1:2 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
(3) How can a sinful woman mother a Holy Child?
(a) Guilt comes from the Father, because of Adam’s Federal Headship.
(b)Christ is NOT the seed of the man, He is the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15-16)
(c) The “Power of the highest” can do anything!
36 "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."
b. The Trinity—therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
(1) The “power of the Highest” overshadows.
(2) The Holy Spirit comes upon her
(3) The Holy One is to be born of her.
(4) Note: The Holy one TO BE BORN. From the moment of Conception, the child is the Holy One.
5. Mary— The Simple Faith of a Young Girl
a. 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
(1) There had been 400 years of silence. Remember the fear that Zacharias had known, and He was a man of God, mighty in the Word, and a believer with many years of following God. The appearance of the angel so staggered Zacharias that his faith wavered.
(2) Mary is troubled, but she does not react with foolish or needless words, she “considers.” Mary was a thinker. What amazing poise and calmness for a young girl! Simple faith excels—the priest trembles and stumbles, but the young believer shows faith.
Luke 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 8 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."
Luke 2:49-51 "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart."
b. Mary, the theologian of the virgin birth—34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
(1) Again, Mary amazes us.
(2) Liberal theologians, in attempting to deny the virgin birth, have tried to say that “virgin” doesn’t really mean virgin, and numerous other ruses, but Mary pins them to the wall here with her simple, yet profound question.
(3) She is just a young girl from a backwater rural village, she is not one with more degrees than a thermometer, but one thing among many that her mother had taught her was this: “the birds and the bees.”
(4) She says, “I have never been with a man. How does this work?”
(5) Unlike Zacharias, she is not questioning the angel or the truth of the message; she just wants to know the mechanical details.
c. Mary, The obedient servant—38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her."
“Mary was in an extremely embarrassing and difficult position. Betrothed to Joseph, she faced the stigma of unwed motherhood. Joseph would obviously have known that the child was not his. She knew she would be accused of adultery—an offense punishable by stoning…..Yet she willingly and graciously submitted to the will of God. “ (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1512)
(1) There is no hesitation here, no questioning of divine authority, no desire to consult with anyone.
(2) What is here is obedience.
(3) We non-Catholics are often accused of downgrading or short-changing Mary. It is true, that we don’t make her into an assistant “god,” nor do we give her special status or holiness because of her merits.
(4) However, we must say and we must realize that this young lady is one special young lady. She is spiritually mature beyond her years and has Great faith .
d. Mary—who fades out of sight after her Son’s ascension.
(1) Mary was not a leader in the early church.
(2) Mary was not the object of veneration in the early church.
(3) Mary was not even a factor in the Early Church. From the time of Christ’s ascension, Mary disappears from the Bible.
Acts 1:12-14 "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. 13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."
Applications
1. First, Doctrinal—
a. Our Savior is perfect in every way. He was virgin born, conceived without a human father, and was therefore born sinless, perfect, and Holy.
e. Mary, while a wonderful human being and a remarkable woman, was and is, just a woman, a sinner saved by Grace. She is not a fit object of worship.
6. 2. Observe the faith of Mary—observe her obedience.
7. 3. See the love of God and all the trouble He went to, for us to have eternal redemption.
8. See in the Christ child the Man who lived a perfect life for you, the Man who hung on the Cross for your sins, the Man who rose from the dead, the Man who ascended to intercede, and the Man who is returning to reign and rule. He is the God-Man, He is Christ, He is Jesus. Believe in Him today.
* A little more than Six months have now passed since the vision in the temple. Elizabeth hid herself for five months, but now the blessed news is out. Zacharias is still silent, and everything else is as it was before.
* We now meet one of the most unique individuals in the Bible. She is a young lady who is going to have a completely unique ministry, one never before done, and never to be repeated.
· She is no prophetess, no theologian, no queen. She is a young girl, a simple girl, a girl from a rural backwater town and a poor family, and she is about to hear the most wonderful news that any human ear ever heard. This news will change her life for time and eternity, and it also has changed the lives of all other people who have ever lived.
· False Teachings about Mary—These teachings have no basis in the Bible whatsoever. In fact, they are an insult to God, to the Lord Jesus, to the plan of salvation, and to Mary herself.
** The Mediatrix—that Mary is a Mediator between God and man, and that she has special influence with God.
1 Tim 2:5 "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;"
** The co-Redemptrix—that Mary, along with the Father, Son, and Spirit, accomplished redemption.
** The Immaculate Conception—
*** That Mary herself was virgin born, and her mother, and her mother.
** That Mary Remained a Virgin and never had any other children.
** The Assumption—That Mary herself ascended bodily into heaven.
1. The Situation and Participants—Luke 1:26 "Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a city of Galilee named Nazareth, 27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary.
a. The Situation—
(1) The sixth month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy—the news is out, and people are amazed and rejoicing at Zacharias’ and Elizabeth’s blessing.
(2) In Galilee, not in the mainstream of Israel’s life, there is a betrothed couple in a little village called Nazareth. Nazareth is an obscure town, and this is a poor couple.
(3) As a betrothed couple, they are already legally bound as if they were married, but they have not married yet, nor have they consummated their relationship. However, they could not dissolve their betrothal without a formal divorce.
b. God—The Lord is the Actor and the Subject here. Gabriel is on a divine mission.
c. Gabriel—one of two holy angels named in scripture, the other being Michael.
(1) Michael is named five times, Gabriel four.
(2) Gabriel is always seen delivering important messages to God’s people—Daniel, Zacharias, and Mary.
d. Mary—A young girl. By the customs of the time, perhaps 13 or 14 years old.
e. Joseph—a carpenter, a descendent of David.
(1) Probably somewhat older than Mary, perhaps as little as 21, but maybe much older.
(2)He is a just man and a kind one—Mat 1:19-20 "Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not wanting to make her a public example, was minded to put her away secretly. 20 But while he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take to you Mary your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit."
(3) “The phrase ‘a just man,’ is a Hebraism suggesting that he was a true believer in God who had thereby been declared righteous, and who carefully obeyed the Law….” MacArthur Study Bible, p 1394
Gen 6:9 "…..Noah was a just man, perfect in his generations. Noah walked with God."
2. The Salutation—28 And having come in, the angel said to her,
a. The Command to Joy—"Hail (Rejoice, )
b. The Recipient of Grace—highly favored one…
(1) Highly favored—this does not mean that Mary was in some way more Holy than any one. The term is used to describe all believers in one place.
(2)The phrase means accepted in Christ, not by our own merits, but by His. Mary was accepted because of the future actions of the baby she was going to have. Eph 1:6 "to the praise of the glory of His grace, by which He has made us accepted in the Beloved."
c. 30…Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God.
(1) Not that Mary is anything special in herself—she has found favor in God’s eyes, a thing of total grace.
(2)Gen 6:8 "But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD." Did noah have grace because of works, or did he have works because of Grace? What is the uniform teaching of Scripture? Grace is a gift from God, and it creates within the recipient a life that works. Eph 2:8-10 "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."
d. Providence—the Lord is with you;
Deu 31:8 "And the LORD, he it is that doth go before thee; he will be with thee, he will not fail thee, neither forsake thee: fear not, neither be dismayed."
Judg 6:12 "And the angel of the LORD appeared unto him, and said unto him, The LORD is with thee, thou mighty man of valour."
e. The Blessed – blessed are you among women!"
(1) It is not that Mary is of some special category of woman. She is blessed “among” women, and the blessing comes from God, not from anything in her. The blessing is not given by God because she was already blessed, or had already performed some work of merit. The Blessing is from God, and she is blessed because of what God has done in choosing her, not because of anything she has done.
(2) She is blessed among women, not separate from them.
(3) Mary is a sinner—a saved sinner, but a sinner still. She is NOT personally sinless and perpetually virgin. After Christ was born, she had other children by Joseph.
(4)Luke 1:47 "And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior."—by her own mouth, Mary admits her status as sinner, because a sinless person has no need of a Savior.
Rom 3:10-12 "As it is written: "There is none righteous, no, not one; 11 There is none who understands; There is none who seeks after God. 12 They have all turned aside; They have together become unprofitable; There is none who does good, no, not one.""
3. The Announcement of The Messiah
a. This is a fulfillment—31 "And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son
(1) Of God’s Plan
1 Cor 2: 7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory, 8 which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
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 as sons."
1 Pet 1: 20 He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you 21 who through Him believe in God, who raised Him from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope are in God."
(2) A fulfillment of Prophecy
Gen 3:15-16 "And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, And you shall bruise His heel." 16 To the woman He said: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband, And he shall rule over you.""
Isa 7:14 ""Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel."
Isa 9:6 "For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace."
Micah 5:2 ""But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting.""
b. and shall call His name JESUS
(1) Jesus = “Jehovah Saves!”
Mat 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins."
(2) Emmanuel—what He is, what He is called.
(3) Jesus, His Name, What He does.
c. 32 "He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; (the Greek term here is used in the LXX to translate “Most High God.”)
(1) Both Christ and John are to be called Great.
(2)But John is the prophet of the Highest, and Jesus is the Son of the Highest—Luke 1:76 ""And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways,"
d. and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David
(1) Mary was from David’s line, therefore, Christ was as well.
(2) He is the prophesied Son of David
Isa 11:1 "There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, And a Branch shall grow out of his roots."
Jer 23:5-6 ""Behold, the days are coming," says the LORD, "That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, And execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS."
(3) Mat 22:45 ""If David then calls Him 'Lord,' how is He his Son?"" Christ is here making a riddle, not challenging His own Person. As MacArthur says:
David would not have addressed a merely human descendant as “Lord” Here Jesus was not disputing whether “Son of David” was an appropriate title for the Messiah; after all, the title is based on what is revealed about the Messiah in the OT….and it is used as a Messianic title in Mat 1:1. But Jesus was pointing out that the title, “son of David” did not begin to sum up all that is true about the Messiah who is also “son of God” (Luke 22:70). (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1436)
(4) Please note that this prophecy cannot be fulfilled unless there is a literal Messianic Kingdom at some future date.
33 "And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever and of His kingdom there will be no end."
Dan 2:44 "And in the days of these kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed: and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand for ever."
(5) God’s kingdom ruled by Messiah is the final rule , never to be replaced. It has a millennial phase and an eternal future, but it is the same king who rules both. (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1230).
Isa 9:7 Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end, upon the throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and to establish it with judgment and with justice from henceforth even for ever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this."
4. The Angelic Explanation
a. The Virgin Conception—35 And the angel answered and said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you;
(1) What the Virgin Birth was NOT
(a) Pagan cohabitation between divine and human.
(b)Mormon physicalism
(c) Existential non-reality
(2) This is a creative act of God.
Gen 1:2 "And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
(3) How can a sinful woman mother a Holy Child?
(a) Guilt comes from the Father, because of Adam’s Federal Headship.
(b)Christ is NOT the seed of the man, He is the seed of the woman (Gen 3:15-16)
(c) The “Power of the highest” can do anything!
36 "Now indeed, Elizabeth your relative has also conceived a son in her old age; and this is now the sixth month for her who was called barren. 37 "For with God nothing will be impossible."
b. The Trinity—therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
(1) The “power of the Highest” overshadows.
(2) The Holy Spirit comes upon her
(3) The Holy One is to be born of her.
(4) Note: The Holy one TO BE BORN. From the moment of Conception, the child is the Holy One.
5. Mary— The Simple Faith of a Young Girl
a. 29 But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was.
(1) There had been 400 years of silence. Remember the fear that Zacharias had known, and He was a man of God, mighty in the Word, and a believer with many years of following God. The appearance of the angel so staggered Zacharias that his faith wavered.
(2) Mary is troubled, but she does not react with foolish or needless words, she “considers.” Mary was a thinker. What amazing poise and calmness for a young girl! Simple faith excels—the priest trembles and stumbles, but the young believer shows faith.
Luke 2:16 And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger. 17 And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. 8 And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. 19 "But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart."
Luke 2:49-51 "And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? 50 And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them. 51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart."
b. Mary, the theologian of the virgin birth—34 Then Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I do not know a man?"
(1) Again, Mary amazes us.
(2) Liberal theologians, in attempting to deny the virgin birth, have tried to say that “virgin” doesn’t really mean virgin, and numerous other ruses, but Mary pins them to the wall here with her simple, yet profound question.
(3) She is just a young girl from a backwater rural village, she is not one with more degrees than a thermometer, but one thing among many that her mother had taught her was this: “the birds and the bees.”
(4) She says, “I have never been with a man. How does this work?”
(5) Unlike Zacharias, she is not questioning the angel or the truth of the message; she just wants to know the mechanical details.
c. Mary, The obedient servant—38 Then Mary said, "Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word." And the angel departed from her."
“Mary was in an extremely embarrassing and difficult position. Betrothed to Joseph, she faced the stigma of unwed motherhood. Joseph would obviously have known that the child was not his. She knew she would be accused of adultery—an offense punishable by stoning…..Yet she willingly and graciously submitted to the will of God. “ (MacArthur Study Bible, page 1512)
(1) There is no hesitation here, no questioning of divine authority, no desire to consult with anyone.
(2) What is here is obedience.
(3) We non-Catholics are often accused of downgrading or short-changing Mary. It is true, that we don’t make her into an assistant “god,” nor do we give her special status or holiness because of her merits.
(4) However, we must say and we must realize that this young lady is one special young lady. She is spiritually mature beyond her years and has Great faith .
d. Mary—who fades out of sight after her Son’s ascension.
(1) Mary was not a leader in the early church.
(2) Mary was not the object of veneration in the early church.
(3) Mary was not even a factor in the Early Church. From the time of Christ’s ascension, Mary disappears from the Bible.
Acts 1:12-14 "Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. 13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren."
Applications
1. First, Doctrinal—
a. Our Savior is perfect in every way. He was virgin born, conceived without a human father, and was therefore born sinless, perfect, and Holy.
e. Mary, while a wonderful human being and a remarkable woman, was and is, just a woman, a sinner saved by Grace. She is not a fit object of worship.
6. 2. Observe the faith of Mary—observe her obedience.
7. 3. See the love of God and all the trouble He went to, for us to have eternal redemption.
8. See in the Christ child the Man who lived a perfect life for you, the Man who hung on the Cross for your sins, the Man who rose from the dead, the Man who ascended to intercede, and the Man who is returning to reign and rule. He is the God-Man, He is Christ, He is Jesus. Believe in Him today.
Saturday, December 1, 2007
The First Words of the New Testament Age—Part 1, The Word To Zacharias
Luke 1:5-25
Introductory Thoughts
-Our faith is based on a unique, remarkable, wondrous series of events that happened in the Middle East a little over 2,000 years ago.
-The date when these events took place sounds odd, because of a mistake in our calendar, but they actually took place beginning some time in either the year 7 or 8 B.C., and continued for approximately the next 16-18 months, culminating in a series of events that took place in Bethlehem, Judea in and around the year 6 B.C.
-This series of miraculous events began with an angel visitation to a Jewish priest, and culminated with the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The Journey Israel had walked.
a. The Growth of Israel
(1) One elderly man and his family
(2) Israel had grown to be a nation in spite of its sin, because of God’s Providence
b. Israel and God’s Word—
(1) Israel had always had a Word from God, but had usually rebelled against that Word
(2) Every generation had at least one prophet, one judge, one patriarch, one priest or leader.
(3) But each generation had generally the same result—they rejected the messenger and the message.
c. God had prophesied of the famine of hearing God’s Word, and now, there was silence and had been for 400 years—Amos 8:11 ""Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD."
d. The Silence
(1) Israel had been left with one final word, written by Malachi
(a) The Second Coming—(Mal 4) ""For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch.
(b) The First Coming—2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
(c) The Second Coming—3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this," Says the LORD of hosts.
(d) Instructions in the meantime—4 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments.
(e) The Prophecy of the forerunner—5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.""
(2) Since this last Word, God had been silent toward Israel for over 400 years!
(3) At last, when Israel had finally defeated idolatry within itself, when Israel was purified from those influences and seemingly ready to be used, then it was that God elected to become silent, and He stayed silent for 400 years.
2. The Spiritual State of the Times
a. There was a believing remnant—Mary, Joseph, Anna, Simeon, Elizabeth and Zacharias, and others. The true servants of God obeyed the Law, but also had heart faith.
(1) Anna and Simeon—Luke 2:25-26, Luke 2:36-37
(2) Mary and Joseph
(3) Those who looked for redemption
b. The philosophical condition of the pagan world when Christ came
(1) Pagan philosophy and religion had run its course, and the degradation and decline of Rome had already started, even though it was supposedly at its high point.
(2) From the Birth of Christ until the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in 68 A.D., the empire declined from the evil but effective majesty of Augustus Caesar to the total dissolution of Nero.
(3) There were new and odd religions springing up all over the empire.
c. The Spiritual Condition of Israel When Christ Came.
(1) Five groups of Jewish leaders
(a) Pharisees—
SEPARATISTS (HEB. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt against his heathenizing policy. The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were divided (145 B.C.). The other two sects were the Essenes and the Sadducees. In the time of our Lord they were the popular party (John 7:48). They were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses (Matt. 9:14; 23:15; Luke 11:39; 18:12). Paul, when brought before the council of Jerusalem, professed himself a Pharisee (Acts 23:6-8; 26:4, 5).
(i) the supposed fundamentalists, actually popular with the masses.
(ii) Their name means “separatist,” and they were a type of Jewish Puritan with a noble heritage, but the generation that was there when Jesus came had forgotten their reason for being and had constructed a human religion of words.
(iii) They should have received Christ warmly, but instead they became His greatest opponent.
(b) Saducees—materialists, doctrinal liberals in the modern 20th century sense
(c) Herodians
(d) Hellenists
(e) Zealots
(f) The Essenes
(2) The people were poor and oppressed by the rich, the tax collectors, and the Romans
(3) The only place of learning and worship for most people most of the time was the synagogue.
(4) But the Temple did have enormous significance and festival days and required “showings” were well attended.
3. Elizabeth And Zacharias—Lk 1:5-7
a. The Time—"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea—The Herod family Circus
b. The Family of Zacharias
(1) Descended from Aaron
(2) Of the course of Abia—he would have the opportunity to minister in the temple twice a year as a part of that family.
c. The Family of Elizabeth—also a daughter of Aaron, of the priestly line, but with apparently some family connection to Mary, who was of the tribe of Judah.
d. The Character of Zacharias and Elizabeth—1:6
(1) Zacharias took an active role in the Temple worship.
(2) They were observant Jews—Luke 1:59 "So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child;
Luke 1:5-6 "There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."
(3) Righteous—just. They were, in the sight of God, just, which means they were true believers. No distinction between Old and New Testaments on this.
(4) Walking—not only were they righteous by imputation, but their lives testified to the reality of their faith.
(5) Blameless—not sinless, but above reproach, not ones who could be accused of anything.
e. The Trial of Zacharias and Elizabeth—7 And they had no child”…
(1) This was a trial of immense proportions in their day.
(2) First, a woman who could not bear children was considered under a curse. A man with no children was considered to have been likewise cursed.
(3) With no children, they would have no “social security.”
(4) This says something about the character of Zacharias and the love which he had for Elizabeth—in the culture of his day, he could have legally divorced Elizabeth and married another woman who could have borne children, but he did not.
(5) This was a situation seemingly beyond recovery—they had no children, Elizabeth was barren, and they were old.
f. The Prayer of Zacharias and Elizabeth—13…"Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard…”
(1) We know nothing about this prayer
(2) We know not how long they had prayed.
(3) But here, Zacharias, who had no doubt prayed for a son, was about to be immeasurably blessed.
4. A Moment of Supreme Drama, the Pinnacle of Zacharias’ Career—1:8-9
a. A task of great honor—Exo 30:1-8 ""You shall make an altar to burn incense on; ….. 6 "And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 "Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. 8 "And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations."
(1) The Altar of Incense—placed in front of the Veil, symbolic of the prayers of God’s people, symbolic of the meeting place of God and the people.
(2) Except for the high priest’s yearly task on the day of atonement, when he went behind the veil to put the blood on the mercy seat, there was no holier or more significant task for a member of the priesthood than to burn the incense in either the morning or the evening.
(3) Because of the number of priests there were, some priests lived and died without ever having a chance to perform this task, and a man was only permitted to perform this task once during his ministerial career.
(4) For a pious, Godly, man such as Zacharias, this was a great moment, the high point of his life of ministry. It would be perhaps as if a country preacher like myself would have the opportunity to give the keynote address at the Southern Baptist Convention, or be asked to preach a revival at Thomas Road Baptist Church, Or Grace Community Church in Palo Alto, CA
(5) . Being a holy, Godly, man, Zacharias must have approached this with great emotion and anticipation.
b. The Stage is set—10
(1) The aged priest Zacharias takes the fire and the incense, and prepares to go into the holy place.
(2) Outside, the gathered worshippers, Jews from all over the world, the high priest, the other priests in Zacharias’ course, his cousins, uncles, nephews, were all praying. Simeon, that holy man who was waiting for Messiah, would have been there as well, praying.
(3) In the court of the women, Elizabeth must have been there as well, praying for her husband and worshiping in her own right.
(4) Anna, the holy widow who would, in 16 months or so, bless the Christ child, would have been there.
(5) Simeon, another faithful one waiting for the Messiah was undoubtedly there.
(6) Thousands of Jewish believers are praying, the temple musicians are praising Jehovah, as Zacharias, his heart pounding, overcome by the emotion of the moment, steps into the Holy Place for the pinnacle, the moment in the limelight, the most solemn and awesome duty of his career.
(7) This was to be a short moment—Zacharias was to burn the incense, then come back out and pronounce the blessing of Aaron on the assembled multitude: Num 6:24-26 ""The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace."
5. The Silence is Broken—God Communicates with His People
a. The Angel Visitation—11-12
(1) The Angelic Visitation
(2) Fear—the natural reaction of a believer in this situation.
b. The Word— This is a word given to a Biblically astute man
(1) “…Fear not, Zacharias:
(2) Your Prayers are answered, you’re going to have a son—“…for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
(3) Your son will be a great and holy man, great in God’s eyes, which is true greatness—14-15
(4) Your son will be an evangelist— 15-16
(5) Your son is the awaited Forerunner—Zacharias knew his Bible, that is the only thing the following verses can have meant to him. 1:17
c. The Reaction—The Power of Unbelief in the Life of a True Believer
(1) The irreverent Question 1:18
(2) The Indignant Reply— 1:19
(a) Zacharias, you have been praying for this—are you surprised that God has answered you?
(b) Who do you think you are talking to? You know who I am! You know the Bible, you know how rare this moment is!
(c) I have the best news for you that a man in your position could hear, and you question me?
(3) The Chastisement Fits the Crime—20
(a) You did not believe what I said, so you will not be able to talk.
(b) You have waited your whole life for this opportunity, and now that God has blessed you over and above what you could have wanted, you question Him and His messenger!
(c) Your voice is gone!
(i) No blessing to the people
(ii) No sharing of this vision
(iii) No opportunity to teach and minister in your home village.
(4) The Reaction of the Crowd—21-22
(a) Perhaps they were afraid that old Zacharias had suffered a heart attack.
(b) “What’s he doing in there?”
(c) He saw a vision! Is the silence over?
(d) Why didn’t Zacharias write and tell the others what had happened? After challenging the Angel and being struck dumb, he decided the best thing to do was nothing. He might have been similarly disbelieved, even ridiculed—he decided to let God do the talking from now on.
6. God’s Promise Kept—Luke 1: 23-25
a. The Unbelief of Zacharias did NOT keep God from accomplishing His intent!
(1) Put that in your name-it-and-claim-it pipe and smoke it!
(2) Zacharias had challenged God and had shown unbelief—God smacked him with chastisement, and blessed him anyway.
b. Elizabeth’s joy!
(1) Why did she hide herself five months?
(a) “Am I going nuts?”
(b) “No one will believe this!”
(2) Though her inclination was to make a big splash, she patiently waited, because she understood this was a gift from God.
c. This was only the first of several events to come!
7. The Preacher’s Lesson
a. The Bound Prophet—“…The Mute Christian Under the Rod…” (“…Now…”)"Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. 59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child…”
b. The Surrendered Prophet “… and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John." 61 But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." 62 So they made signs to his father; what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled…” 64
c. The Released Prophet A Spirit Filled Believer and prophet makes up for 9 months of silence —“…Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God…”
(1) , “… 67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying…”
(2) What comes out is theology and praise, doctrine and declaration
d. Redemption—I Know My Redeemer Lives…” 68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people…”
(1) Has visited and brought redemption…aorist –this is a fact, it is accomplished, even though it will be three more months until the nativity and 30 plus years until the Cross
e. The Abrahamic Covenant “… And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life…”
f. The Davidic Covenant—“…69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David…”
g. Prophesies and Promises
(1) The Whole Line of the Prophets—“…70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began…”
(2) The promises will be fulfilled“…71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers…”
h. The Last Prophet…The Mission of the Last Prophet of the Old Testament—. “…65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him."
i. …76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet ito the way of peace
Introductory Thoughts
-Our faith is based on a unique, remarkable, wondrous series of events that happened in the Middle East a little over 2,000 years ago.
-The date when these events took place sounds odd, because of a mistake in our calendar, but they actually took place beginning some time in either the year 7 or 8 B.C., and continued for approximately the next 16-18 months, culminating in a series of events that took place in Bethlehem, Judea in and around the year 6 B.C.
-This series of miraculous events began with an angel visitation to a Jewish priest, and culminated with the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ.
1. The Journey Israel had walked.
a. The Growth of Israel
(1) One elderly man and his family
(2) Israel had grown to be a nation in spite of its sin, because of God’s Providence
b. Israel and God’s Word—
(1) Israel had always had a Word from God, but had usually rebelled against that Word
(2) Every generation had at least one prophet, one judge, one patriarch, one priest or leader.
(3) But each generation had generally the same result—they rejected the messenger and the message.
c. God had prophesied of the famine of hearing God’s Word, and now, there was silence and had been for 400 years—Amos 8:11 ""Behold, the days are coming," says the Lord GOD, "That I will send a famine on the land, Not a famine of bread, Nor a thirst for water, But of hearing the words of the LORD."
d. The Silence
(1) Israel had been left with one final word, written by Malachi
(a) The Second Coming—(Mal 4) ""For behold, the day is coming, Burning like an oven, And all the proud, yes, all who do wickedly will be stubble. And the day which is coming shall burn them up," Says the LORD of hosts, "That will leave them neither root nor branch.
(b) The First Coming—2 But to you who fear My name The Sun of Righteousness shall arise With healing in His wings; And you shall go out And grow fat like stall-fed calves.
(c) The Second Coming—3 You shall trample the wicked, For they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet On the day that I do this," Says the LORD of hosts.
(d) Instructions in the meantime—4 "Remember the Law of Moses, My servant, Which I commanded him in Horeb for all Israel, With the statutes and judgments.
(e) The Prophecy of the forerunner—5 Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet Before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD. 6 And he will turn The hearts of the fathers to the children, And the hearts of the children to their fathers, Lest I come and strike the earth with a curse.""
(2) Since this last Word, God had been silent toward Israel for over 400 years!
(3) At last, when Israel had finally defeated idolatry within itself, when Israel was purified from those influences and seemingly ready to be used, then it was that God elected to become silent, and He stayed silent for 400 years.
2. The Spiritual State of the Times
a. There was a believing remnant—Mary, Joseph, Anna, Simeon, Elizabeth and Zacharias, and others. The true servants of God obeyed the Law, but also had heart faith.
(1) Anna and Simeon—Luke 2:25-26, Luke 2:36-37
(2) Mary and Joseph
(3) Those who looked for redemption
b. The philosophical condition of the pagan world when Christ came
(1) Pagan philosophy and religion had run its course, and the degradation and decline of Rome had already started, even though it was supposedly at its high point.
(2) From the Birth of Christ until the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in 68 A.D., the empire declined from the evil but effective majesty of Augustus Caesar to the total dissolution of Nero.
(3) There were new and odd religions springing up all over the empire.
c. The Spiritual Condition of Israel When Christ Came.
(1) Five groups of Jewish leaders
(a) Pharisees—
SEPARATISTS (HEB. persahin, from parash, “to separate”). They were probably the successors of the Assideans (i.e., the “pious”), a party that originated in the time of Antiochus Epiphanes in revolt against his heathenizing policy. The first mention of them is in a description by Josephus of the three sects or schools into which the Jews were divided (145 B.C.). The other two sects were the Essenes and the Sadducees. In the time of our Lord they were the popular party (John 7:48). They were extremely accurate and minute in all matters appertaining to the law of Moses (Matt. 9:14; 23:15; Luke 11:39; 18:12). Paul, when brought before the council of Jerusalem, professed himself a Pharisee (Acts 23:6-8; 26:4, 5).
(i) the supposed fundamentalists, actually popular with the masses.
(ii) Their name means “separatist,” and they were a type of Jewish Puritan with a noble heritage, but the generation that was there when Jesus came had forgotten their reason for being and had constructed a human religion of words.
(iii) They should have received Christ warmly, but instead they became His greatest opponent.
(b) Saducees—materialists, doctrinal liberals in the modern 20th century sense
(c) Herodians
(d) Hellenists
(e) Zealots
(f) The Essenes
(2) The people were poor and oppressed by the rich, the tax collectors, and the Romans
(3) The only place of learning and worship for most people most of the time was the synagogue.
(4) But the Temple did have enormous significance and festival days and required “showings” were well attended.
3. Elizabeth And Zacharias—Lk 1:5-7
a. The Time—"There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judaea—The Herod family Circus
b. The Family of Zacharias
(1) Descended from Aaron
(2) Of the course of Abia—he would have the opportunity to minister in the temple twice a year as a part of that family.
c. The Family of Elizabeth—also a daughter of Aaron, of the priestly line, but with apparently some family connection to Mary, who was of the tribe of Judah.
d. The Character of Zacharias and Elizabeth—1:6
(1) Zacharias took an active role in the Temple worship.
(2) They were observant Jews—Luke 1:59 "So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child;
Luke 1:5-6 "There was in the days of Herod, the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the division of Abijah. His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. 6 And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless."
(3) Righteous—just. They were, in the sight of God, just, which means they were true believers. No distinction between Old and New Testaments on this.
(4) Walking—not only were they righteous by imputation, but their lives testified to the reality of their faith.
(5) Blameless—not sinless, but above reproach, not ones who could be accused of anything.
e. The Trial of Zacharias and Elizabeth—7 And they had no child”…
(1) This was a trial of immense proportions in their day.
(2) First, a woman who could not bear children was considered under a curse. A man with no children was considered to have been likewise cursed.
(3) With no children, they would have no “social security.”
(4) This says something about the character of Zacharias and the love which he had for Elizabeth—in the culture of his day, he could have legally divorced Elizabeth and married another woman who could have borne children, but he did not.
(5) This was a situation seemingly beyond recovery—they had no children, Elizabeth was barren, and they were old.
f. The Prayer of Zacharias and Elizabeth—13…"Do not be afraid, Zacharias, for your prayer is heard…”
(1) We know nothing about this prayer
(2) We know not how long they had prayed.
(3) But here, Zacharias, who had no doubt prayed for a son, was about to be immeasurably blessed.
4. A Moment of Supreme Drama, the Pinnacle of Zacharias’ Career—1:8-9
a. A task of great honor—Exo 30:1-8 ""You shall make an altar to burn incense on; ….. 6 "And you shall put it before the veil that is before the ark of the Testimony, before the mercy seat that is over the Testimony, where I will meet with you. 7 "Aaron shall burn on it sweet incense every morning; when he tends the lamps, he shall burn incense on it. 8 "And when Aaron lights the lamps at twilight, he shall burn incense on it, a perpetual incense before the LORD throughout your generations."
(1) The Altar of Incense—placed in front of the Veil, symbolic of the prayers of God’s people, symbolic of the meeting place of God and the people.
(2) Except for the high priest’s yearly task on the day of atonement, when he went behind the veil to put the blood on the mercy seat, there was no holier or more significant task for a member of the priesthood than to burn the incense in either the morning or the evening.
(3) Because of the number of priests there were, some priests lived and died without ever having a chance to perform this task, and a man was only permitted to perform this task once during his ministerial career.
(4) For a pious, Godly, man such as Zacharias, this was a great moment, the high point of his life of ministry. It would be perhaps as if a country preacher like myself would have the opportunity to give the keynote address at the Southern Baptist Convention, or be asked to preach a revival at Thomas Road Baptist Church, Or Grace Community Church in Palo Alto, CA
(5) . Being a holy, Godly, man, Zacharias must have approached this with great emotion and anticipation.
b. The Stage is set—10
(1) The aged priest Zacharias takes the fire and the incense, and prepares to go into the holy place.
(2) Outside, the gathered worshippers, Jews from all over the world, the high priest, the other priests in Zacharias’ course, his cousins, uncles, nephews, were all praying. Simeon, that holy man who was waiting for Messiah, would have been there as well, praying.
(3) In the court of the women, Elizabeth must have been there as well, praying for her husband and worshiping in her own right.
(4) Anna, the holy widow who would, in 16 months or so, bless the Christ child, would have been there.
(5) Simeon, another faithful one waiting for the Messiah was undoubtedly there.
(6) Thousands of Jewish believers are praying, the temple musicians are praising Jehovah, as Zacharias, his heart pounding, overcome by the emotion of the moment, steps into the Holy Place for the pinnacle, the moment in the limelight, the most solemn and awesome duty of his career.
(7) This was to be a short moment—Zacharias was to burn the incense, then come back out and pronounce the blessing of Aaron on the assembled multitude: Num 6:24-26 ""The LORD bless you and keep you; 25 The LORD make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; 26 The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace."
5. The Silence is Broken—God Communicates with His People
a. The Angel Visitation—11-12
(1) The Angelic Visitation
(2) Fear—the natural reaction of a believer in this situation.
b. The Word— This is a word given to a Biblically astute man
(1) “…Fear not, Zacharias:
(2) Your Prayers are answered, you’re going to have a son—“…for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
(3) Your son will be a great and holy man, great in God’s eyes, which is true greatness—14-15
(4) Your son will be an evangelist— 15-16
(5) Your son is the awaited Forerunner—Zacharias knew his Bible, that is the only thing the following verses can have meant to him. 1:17
c. The Reaction—The Power of Unbelief in the Life of a True Believer
(1) The irreverent Question 1:18
(2) The Indignant Reply— 1:19
(a) Zacharias, you have been praying for this—are you surprised that God has answered you?
(b) Who do you think you are talking to? You know who I am! You know the Bible, you know how rare this moment is!
(c) I have the best news for you that a man in your position could hear, and you question me?
(3) The Chastisement Fits the Crime—20
(a) You did not believe what I said, so you will not be able to talk.
(b) You have waited your whole life for this opportunity, and now that God has blessed you over and above what you could have wanted, you question Him and His messenger!
(c) Your voice is gone!
(i) No blessing to the people
(ii) No sharing of this vision
(iii) No opportunity to teach and minister in your home village.
(4) The Reaction of the Crowd—21-22
(a) Perhaps they were afraid that old Zacharias had suffered a heart attack.
(b) “What’s he doing in there?”
(c) He saw a vision! Is the silence over?
(d) Why didn’t Zacharias write and tell the others what had happened? After challenging the Angel and being struck dumb, he decided the best thing to do was nothing. He might have been similarly disbelieved, even ridiculed—he decided to let God do the talking from now on.
6. God’s Promise Kept—Luke 1: 23-25
a. The Unbelief of Zacharias did NOT keep God from accomplishing His intent!
(1) Put that in your name-it-and-claim-it pipe and smoke it!
(2) Zacharias had challenged God and had shown unbelief—God smacked him with chastisement, and blessed him anyway.
b. Elizabeth’s joy!
(1) Why did she hide herself five months?
(a) “Am I going nuts?”
(b) “No one will believe this!”
(2) Though her inclination was to make a big splash, she patiently waited, because she understood this was a gift from God.
c. This was only the first of several events to come!
7. The Preacher’s Lesson
a. The Bound Prophet—“…The Mute Christian Under the Rod…” (“…Now…”)"Now Elizabeth's full time came for her to be delivered, and she brought forth a son. 58 When her neighbors and relatives heard how the Lord had shown great mercy to her, they rejoiced with her. 59 So it was, on the eighth day, that they came to circumcise the child…”
b. The Surrendered Prophet “… and they would have called him by the name of his father, Zacharias. 60 His mother answered and said, "No; he shall be called John." 61 But they said to her, "There is no one among your relatives who is called by this name." 62 So they made signs to his father; what he would have him called. 63 And he asked for a writing tablet, and wrote, saying, "His name is John." So they all marveled…” 64
c. The Released Prophet A Spirit Filled Believer and prophet makes up for 9 months of silence —“…Immediately his mouth was opened and his tongue loosed, and he spoke, praising God…”
(1) , “… 67 Now his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Spirit, and prophesied, saying…”
(2) What comes out is theology and praise, doctrine and declaration
d. Redemption—I Know My Redeemer Lives…” 68 "Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, For He has visited and redeemed His people…”
(1) Has visited and brought redemption…aorist –this is a fact, it is accomplished, even though it will be three more months until the nativity and 30 plus years until the Cross
e. The Abrahamic Covenant “… And to remember His holy covenant, 73 The oath which He swore to our father Abraham:74 To grant us that we, Being delivered from the hand of our enemies, Might serve Him without fear, 75 In holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life…”
f. The Davidic Covenant—“…69 And has raised up a horn of salvation for us In the house of His servant David…”
g. Prophesies and Promises
(1) The Whole Line of the Prophets—“…70 As He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets, Who have been since the world began…”
(2) The promises will be fulfilled“…71 That we should be saved from our enemies And from the hand of all who hate us, 72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers…”
h. The Last Prophet…The Mission of the Last Prophet of the Old Testament—. “…65 Then fear came on all who dwelt around them; and all these sayings were discussed throughout all the hill country of Judea. 66 And all those who heard them kept them in their hearts, saying, "What kind of child will this be?" And the hand of the Lord was with him."
i. …76 "And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest; For you will go before the face of the Lord to prepare His ways, 77 To give knowledge of salvation to His people By the remission of their sins, 78 Through the tender mercy of our God, With which the Dayspring from on high has visited us; 79 To give light to those who sit in darkness and the shadow of death, To guide our feet ito the way of peace
Sunday, November 25, 2007
The Sin of Toleration—We Can Make No Peace With Wickedness Rom 1:32 , Jer 6:14
Introductory Thoughts
One of the nicest things some people think you can say about a man is that he is tolerant. Tolerance is a highly praised attribute in our society.
One of the meanest things you can say about a man in our society is that he is intolerant—an intolerant man is thought to be just plain ignorant, bigoted, and stupid.
As with most lies, there is a degree of Truth in this concept of society. We should be gracious and tolerant in small things, and we must make allowances for people in some cases and in some areas. We need to be ever ready to be merciful and compassionate.
However, there are several problems here. One is that the definition of “tolerance” has been subtly changed in the perception of most people.
Tolerance used to mean that, if you don’t bother me, I will leave you alone. I won’t burn your house or shoot at you, and I won’t spit in your eye when I see you on the street. However, I don’t have to approve of you, I don’t have to affirm you, and I might just tell you that you are wrong.
Now tolerance means I must affirm you, I must approve of you, and I can never object to your actions at all. That is modern society’s idea of tolerance.
1. Who knowing...
a. Who?-- Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;---- those who suppress the Truth—which includes those who hide the Gospel instead of proclaiming it in the full counsel of God.
(1) Who? Lost people who tolerate wickedness because they want their own wickedness tolerated.
(2) Who? Lost Church members, who want a little hell insurance, and who won’t take a stand because they have nothing to stand on.
(3) Who? Saved people—Saved people who have not been properly taught, Saved people with no leadership, Saved people who are just plain being disobedient toward God.
b. Knowing—
(1) The voice of conscience, not totally quiet even in a degenerate society—Rom 2:15
(2) The Bible—many unbelievers are fully aware of what the Bible teaches about sin, yet they do it anyway, and reject the Gospel anyway.
(3) Believers—we certainly should know, and our silence and suppression of the Truth is inexcusable.
c. The Righteous Judgment of God—God’s judgment is right—He is always right and just in whatever He does
(1) The Satanic impulse—to challenge God’s authority—Is 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer… 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
(2) This is the same temptation Adam and Eve succumbed to—to be God, to have their own way.
d. Those who commit such things....
(1) "Commit" = Practice--(prasso, pras'-so: to "practice", i.e. perform repeatedly or habitually
(2) "Such things"--"...do those things which are not fitting;" (NKJV) unrighteousness--(legal) injustice, wrongfulness (of character, life or act):--iniquity, unjust, wrong.
(3) "...Are worthy of death..." The death penalty for backbiting? Yes, the ultimate death penalty!
2. The Sin of Toleration of Evil -- "..., not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them...."-- For the Bible-believing Christian, toleration of evil is friendship with the world, which is sin.
a. James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
b. Not only do--those who tolerate various kinds of evil usually have something in their closet too.
c. Have pleasure in them--approve of them—the sin of toleration.
d. What I do NOT mean—Condemnation of persons, Violent behavior or unloving confrontation, Pettiness
e. What I do mean:
(1) Loving the sinner, but hating and rebuking sin—John 4:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,'18 "for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
(2) John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
(3) We not only are allowed to take a stand on moral issues, we are commanded to be salt and light in this world.
(4) Taking a stand on moral issues, Taking a stand on wickedness, Not being quiet and going along to get, along. Not wishing people well in their sin—this is what we are supposed to be.
3. Tolerance Of Evil is Heresy
a. This stress on toleration is a lie—when it comes to the Christian being tolerant of sin and of societal disintegration, we are NOT to be tolerant of evil, and we may make no peace with evil.
b. If we take no stand, we really have taken a stand—we have declared to the world that we do not care, and we have tacitly approved wickedness.
c. As this passage in Romans 1 has condemned the sin of mankind, as this passage has told us of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against the sin of man, as God has specified in detail the sins with which He is most displeased, we come now to the saddest sin of all—toleration of sin by people who know better.
d. How do we tolerate sin?
(1) We tolerate sin when we speak in favor of it, or at least tolerantly of it.
(i) “Well, that’s just the way they are, it is not mine to judge whether that is right or wrong.”
(ii) “Well, I know what they are doing is wrong, but it isn’t my place to tell them.”
(2) We tolerate sin when we say or do nothing—
4. The Bible’s Hall of Shame of Toleraters
a. Adam —Gen 3:1-6
(1) The tolerance
(2) The Results
b. Abraham with Hagar
(1) The tolerance—God had never told Abraham nor Sarah to take the direction they did with Hagar
(2) The Results—4,000 years of civil war—and the whole world is now suffering from this family feud
c. Lot
(1) The Tolerance
(a) First, he pitched his tent “Toward” Sodom
(b) Then He was a resident of the city
(c) Then he was the mayor.
(2) Result—total ruination of his family and his testimony.
d. Eli’s weak and tepid rebuke of his own sons
(1) A prophet had come to Eli to warn him, but he had done nothing.
(2) Even after the grossest of sins of his sons were revealed to him, he gave a mild rebuke and did nothing—(1 Sam 2:22-24) "Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 23 So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24 "No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress."
e. Samuel’s Sons were Likewise evil—1 Sam 8:1-5
(1) Amazing, after seeing the same thing happen to Eli’s sons, Samuel let the same thing grown in his household
(2) How could he have done better? It is no shame to have a prodigal son or a son with “issues…”—but it is something else indeed to make them the spiritual and political leaders of Israel!
f. David was tolerant with his own sin (for a season), and the consequences nearly ruined his reign and his family.
g. David with Absalom
(1) Absalom was a rebellious, vain, evil man.
(2) David loved him above his other sons
(3) Even when Absalom rebelled and David defeated the conspiracy, during which battle Absalom died, and David mourned, not for his supporters who died to defend his reign, but for his rebellious son, who had publicly humiliated him, and who would have gladly seen David dead—1 Kings 18:32-19:7
h. Solomon with himself, The People of Isaiah’s day, The People of Jeremiah’s day
i. Many of the good kings of Judah, such as Jehoshophat, who allied himself with Ahab, the evil king of the Northern Tribes.
j. The churches of Asia—Rev 2:12-29—Thyatira and Pergamos.
5. Examples of Those who did NOT Tolerate
a. Moses
b. Some of the kings (Josiah, for instance)
c. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc.
d. Our Lord, during His earthly ministry and now.
e. The Holy Spirit, who is grieved at our sins.
f. Paul
g. A couple of the churches in Asia—Philadelphia (The Good Church) and Ephesus (who had leaned on the other direction)
h. But most supremely, it was our God who did not tolerate evil, who does not tolerate evil, who cannot tolerate evil and who will not tolerate evil
(Psa 99:9) "Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy."
(Isa 6:3) "And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""
(Hab 1:13) "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?"
(Rev 4:8) "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""
(1) This is why the cross was a requirement
(2) This is why the Lake of fire is real and permanent.
i. The bottom line for believers is that we should not tolerate evil in our lives, our families, our community, our nation, or our church.
(1) Toleration of sin within ourselves, without examination, discovery, confession, and repentance, opens us to attacks from the enemy and chastisement from the Father.
(2) The Family
(a) Personal tolerance of ungodly behavior in ourselves undermines your leadership at home.
(b) Tolerance of evil and rebellious behavior in our children will bring the fruits of misery to those children later on.
(c) Young people, if your parents are tough on you, it is from Godly love for you and a concern for your future.
(3) The community—Christians should be ever-vigilant about the moral state of the community in which they live. In a place like this one, that which the believers won’t put up with, will be changed.
(4) The same goes on a national level. The evidence that most American church goers are truly lost is to be found in what our nation puts up with.
(5) Finally, the church.
(a) A church that has no care for the true spiritual state of its people is a church mired in false tolerance
(b) Believers need to be held accountable for their lives, and the Bible both requires this and tells us how to do it.
(c) If the behavior of the members of the church is a negative witness in the community, it is the fault of the church.
(d) If a church has a small group that messes up life for the rest of the church, it is because that church tolerates that situation.
One of the nicest things some people think you can say about a man is that he is tolerant. Tolerance is a highly praised attribute in our society.
One of the meanest things you can say about a man in our society is that he is intolerant—an intolerant man is thought to be just plain ignorant, bigoted, and stupid.
As with most lies, there is a degree of Truth in this concept of society. We should be gracious and tolerant in small things, and we must make allowances for people in some cases and in some areas. We need to be ever ready to be merciful and compassionate.
However, there are several problems here. One is that the definition of “tolerance” has been subtly changed in the perception of most people.
Tolerance used to mean that, if you don’t bother me, I will leave you alone. I won’t burn your house or shoot at you, and I won’t spit in your eye when I see you on the street. However, I don’t have to approve of you, I don’t have to affirm you, and I might just tell you that you are wrong.
Now tolerance means I must affirm you, I must approve of you, and I can never object to your actions at all. That is modern society’s idea of tolerance.
1. Who knowing...
a. Who?-- Rom 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;---- those who suppress the Truth—which includes those who hide the Gospel instead of proclaiming it in the full counsel of God.
(1) Who? Lost people who tolerate wickedness because they want their own wickedness tolerated.
(2) Who? Lost Church members, who want a little hell insurance, and who won’t take a stand because they have nothing to stand on.
(3) Who? Saved people—Saved people who have not been properly taught, Saved people with no leadership, Saved people who are just plain being disobedient toward God.
b. Knowing—
(1) The voice of conscience, not totally quiet even in a degenerate society—Rom 2:15
(2) The Bible—many unbelievers are fully aware of what the Bible teaches about sin, yet they do it anyway, and reject the Gospel anyway.
(3) Believers—we certainly should know, and our silence and suppression of the Truth is inexcusable.
c. The Righteous Judgment of God—God’s judgment is right—He is always right and just in whatever He does
(1) The Satanic impulse—to challenge God’s authority—Is 14:12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer… 13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: 14 I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the most High.
(2) This is the same temptation Adam and Eve succumbed to—to be God, to have their own way.
d. Those who commit such things....
(1) "Commit" = Practice--(prasso, pras'-so: to "practice", i.e. perform repeatedly or habitually
(2) "Such things"--"...do those things which are not fitting;" (NKJV) unrighteousness--(legal) injustice, wrongfulness (of character, life or act):--iniquity, unjust, wrong.
(3) "...Are worthy of death..." The death penalty for backbiting? Yes, the ultimate death penalty!
2. The Sin of Toleration of Evil -- "..., not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them...."-- For the Bible-believing Christian, toleration of evil is friendship with the world, which is sin.
a. James 4:4 Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
b. Not only do--those who tolerate various kinds of evil usually have something in their closet too.
c. Have pleasure in them--approve of them—the sin of toleration.
d. What I do NOT mean—Condemnation of persons, Violent behavior or unloving confrontation, Pettiness
e. What I do mean:
(1) Loving the sinner, but hating and rebuking sin—John 4:15 The woman said to Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." 16 Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." 17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You have well said, 'I have no husband,'18 "for you have had five husbands, and the one whom you now have is not your husband; in that you spoke truly."
(2) John 8:10 When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, "Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?" 11 She said, "No one, Lord." And Jesus said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more."
(3) We not only are allowed to take a stand on moral issues, we are commanded to be salt and light in this world.
(4) Taking a stand on moral issues, Taking a stand on wickedness, Not being quiet and going along to get, along. Not wishing people well in their sin—this is what we are supposed to be.
3. Tolerance Of Evil is Heresy
a. This stress on toleration is a lie—when it comes to the Christian being tolerant of sin and of societal disintegration, we are NOT to be tolerant of evil, and we may make no peace with evil.
b. If we take no stand, we really have taken a stand—we have declared to the world that we do not care, and we have tacitly approved wickedness.
c. As this passage in Romans 1 has condemned the sin of mankind, as this passage has told us of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against the sin of man, as God has specified in detail the sins with which He is most displeased, we come now to the saddest sin of all—toleration of sin by people who know better.
d. How do we tolerate sin?
(1) We tolerate sin when we speak in favor of it, or at least tolerantly of it.
(i) “Well, that’s just the way they are, it is not mine to judge whether that is right or wrong.”
(ii) “Well, I know what they are doing is wrong, but it isn’t my place to tell them.”
(2) We tolerate sin when we say or do nothing—
4. The Bible’s Hall of Shame of Toleraters
a. Adam —Gen 3:1-6
(1) The tolerance
(2) The Results
b. Abraham with Hagar
(1) The tolerance—God had never told Abraham nor Sarah to take the direction they did with Hagar
(2) The Results—4,000 years of civil war—and the whole world is now suffering from this family feud
c. Lot
(1) The Tolerance
(a) First, he pitched his tent “Toward” Sodom
(b) Then He was a resident of the city
(c) Then he was the mayor.
(2) Result—total ruination of his family and his testimony.
d. Eli’s weak and tepid rebuke of his own sons
(1) A prophet had come to Eli to warn him, but he had done nothing.
(2) Even after the grossest of sins of his sons were revealed to him, he gave a mild rebuke and did nothing—(1 Sam 2:22-24) "Now Eli was very old; and he heard everything his sons did to all Israel, and how they lay with the women who assembled at the door of the tabernacle of meeting. 23 So he said to them, "Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24 "No, my sons! For it is not a good report that I hear. You make the Lord's people transgress."
e. Samuel’s Sons were Likewise evil—1 Sam 8:1-5
(1) Amazing, after seeing the same thing happen to Eli’s sons, Samuel let the same thing grown in his household
(2) How could he have done better? It is no shame to have a prodigal son or a son with “issues…”—but it is something else indeed to make them the spiritual and political leaders of Israel!
f. David was tolerant with his own sin (for a season), and the consequences nearly ruined his reign and his family.
g. David with Absalom
(1) Absalom was a rebellious, vain, evil man.
(2) David loved him above his other sons
(3) Even when Absalom rebelled and David defeated the conspiracy, during which battle Absalom died, and David mourned, not for his supporters who died to defend his reign, but for his rebellious son, who had publicly humiliated him, and who would have gladly seen David dead—1 Kings 18:32-19:7
h. Solomon with himself, The People of Isaiah’s day, The People of Jeremiah’s day
i. Many of the good kings of Judah, such as Jehoshophat, who allied himself with Ahab, the evil king of the Northern Tribes.
j. The churches of Asia—Rev 2:12-29—Thyatira and Pergamos.
5. Examples of Those who did NOT Tolerate
a. Moses
b. Some of the kings (Josiah, for instance)
c. The prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, etc.
d. Our Lord, during His earthly ministry and now.
e. The Holy Spirit, who is grieved at our sins.
f. Paul
g. A couple of the churches in Asia—Philadelphia (The Good Church) and Ephesus (who had leaned on the other direction)
h. But most supremely, it was our God who did not tolerate evil, who does not tolerate evil, who cannot tolerate evil and who will not tolerate evil
(Psa 99:9) "Exalt the LORD our God, And worship at His holy hill; For the LORD our God is holy."
(Isa 6:3) "And one cried to another and said: "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!""
(Hab 1:13) "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness. Why do You look on those who deal treacherously, And hold Your tongue when the wicked devours A person more righteous than he?"
(Rev 4:8) "The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!""
(1) This is why the cross was a requirement
(2) This is why the Lake of fire is real and permanent.
i. The bottom line for believers is that we should not tolerate evil in our lives, our families, our community, our nation, or our church.
(1) Toleration of sin within ourselves, without examination, discovery, confession, and repentance, opens us to attacks from the enemy and chastisement from the Father.
(2) The Family
(a) Personal tolerance of ungodly behavior in ourselves undermines your leadership at home.
(b) Tolerance of evil and rebellious behavior in our children will bring the fruits of misery to those children later on.
(c) Young people, if your parents are tough on you, it is from Godly love for you and a concern for your future.
(3) The community—Christians should be ever-vigilant about the moral state of the community in which they live. In a place like this one, that which the believers won’t put up with, will be changed.
(4) The same goes on a national level. The evidence that most American church goers are truly lost is to be found in what our nation puts up with.
(5) Finally, the church.
(a) A church that has no care for the true spiritual state of its people is a church mired in false tolerance
(b) Believers need to be held accountable for their lives, and the Bible both requires this and tells us how to do it.
(c) If the behavior of the members of the church is a negative witness in the community, it is the fault of the church.
(d) If a church has a small group that messes up life for the rest of the church, it is because that church tolerates that situation.
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