Our Glorious, Eternal Union with Christ

God the Father was working salvation out for His elect through the cross of Christ. Colossians 2:14 describes how He accomplished it. That verse says "by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the cross." This was a spiritual work God performed in order to save His people, from His own justice, His own wrath. The debt we all owe God is punishment for the way we have lived our lives. This is a debt we could not pay. However, God in His steadfast love and tender mercy, that Lamentations 3:22-23 says is new every morning. Nailed our debt to the cross - He placed our sins on the sinless Christ and poured out His wrath on Christ instead of us.

But God, also describes our union with Christ in other ways. I can summarize this with one verse. 1 Corinthians 1:30 "and because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption."

Our union with Christ is indeed glorious. We are to live out our whole Christian life out of our union with Christ, our Mediator. Colossians 1 again "To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory. (v. 27) This rich glory, this mystery that was hidden is our union with Christ!!

I was reading through a free course offered at Covenant Seminary titled Christian Worship by Mark Dalbey. One of the interesting points he made in the first lecture, was concerning John 4 where Jesus is engaged in a discussion about worship with a woman of Samaria. His lectures points to our union with Christ, and its importance. The point centered around the type of worshiper the Father is seeking. That chapter states that the Father is Spirit and He is seeking those who will worship Him in spirit and truth. The point Dalbey made was that the only One who has ever worshipped the Father completely in spirit and truth is Jesus Christ. So where does that leave us? The worship that is pleasing to God is only done by those who are in a relationship with His Son Jesus Christ. Worship is about union with Christ. It is about being joined to Him by grace through faith.

As Christ offers true worship to the Father we offer true worship to the Father as we hold onto Him.

So why should our worship be Christ-centered? Because there would be no true worship because Christ is the only one who worships fully in spirit and truth. This underscores the vital union we have with Christ.

Sinclair Ferguson says this "Worship is a congregational event in which Christ mediates our prayers, conducts and leads our praise and preaches His Word to us. He alone is the God-ordained worship Leader, the Minister in the sanctuary."

As Christ presents our worship which is so often tainted with wrong motives, not fully holding to the truth - He presents and perfects our worship and the Father receives our worship as if it is His Son's worship.

 

That is amazing. Dalbey also stressed the importance of the regulative principle of worship. Which is

basically saying that we want to worship the way God has told us to do it.

I for one believe, many churches have strayed far from worshipping God the way He has prescribed in His Word. We have brought worldly entertainment into the church and the question is do you think God is pleased? For many, there is not even any consideration of whether it is pleasing to God or not.

This wonderful union with Christ is emphasized in a more profound way in that Christ is still the God-man. He is sitting on the throne in His glorified human body! This is for us to hold fast and strengthen ourselves in this glorious doctrine of union with Christ. 

It is also vitally important that in order for God to accept our worship, His Son has to be connected to every aspect of how we worship for it to be acceptable to God.

Let us seek comfort, joy, strength and grace from the fact that God has joined us to Christ. Christ will always be the God-man. His identity with His people, His creatures.  Christ will always be our Mediator. We will be in eternity for millions of years and the reason we are there will never change, it will always be that Christ died in place of us, and was offered up for us, that he laid down His life for us. We are joined to Him, to live each day out of that union. God promises to never leave us nor forsake us. We are in union with Christ. Growing in maturity out of our union with Christ bonds us more and more to our Great God and Savior. As I said above Lamentations 3 says God in faithfulness crowns every morning with steadfast love and mercy. What greater love towards us, what greater mercy do we need than that we are joined to Jesus Christ, today, and forever, and ever.

Hell and Judgement

Amazingly, we still do not hear much about hell. Most preachers still do not preach about it. Yet, there was a time when men did preach about it. It is said by most theologians that Jesus preached much about hell. How wonderful it is that the only One who can save from this horrible place would spend much time preaching, warning men that heaven or hell just like death awaits us all.

I am going to include a portion of a couple of sermons by Samuel Rutherford (1600 - 1661). Which is from a collections of sermons Rutherford preached on the healing of the Canaan woman's daughter (Matt. 15:21-28). I think Rutherford makes the point very well and it is a good study for us on hell.

To preach on hell correctly, it takes a pastor's heart, someone who cares about the souls he is preaching to, so say, when this subject is preached it should be done so with tears, with prayer that all who hear, will indeed, hear. I think Rutherford does this well.

Why do we not hear and see Christ revealing Himself in His ways and works? Reason would say, if hell and judgment were before our eyes, we should hear, and come to Christ. Suppose we saw with our eyes, for twenty or thirty years together, a great furnace of fire, of the quantity of the whole earth, and saw there, Cain, Judas, Ahithophel, Saul, and all the damned, as lumps of red fire, and they boiling, and leaping for pain, in a dungeon of ever-lasting brimstone; and the terrible devils, with long and sharp-toothed whips of scorpions, lashing out scourges on them: and if we saw there our neighbors, brethren, sisters, yea, our dear children, wives, fathers and mothers, swimming and sinking in that black lake; and heard the yelling, shouting, crying of our young ones and fathers, blaspheming the spotless justice of God; if we saw this, while we are living here on earth, we should not dare to offend the majesty of God; but should  hear, come to Christ, and believe, and be saved. But the truth is, if we believe not Moses and the Prophets, neither should we believe for this; because we see with our eyes, and hear with our ears, even while we are in this life, daily, some tumbling in their blood, thousands cut down of our brethren, children, fathers; malefactors hanged and quartered, death in every house. These these be little hells, and little coals and sparkles of the great fire of hell, and certain documents to us, that there is a hell; yet we neither hear, not come to Christ.

The following is from another sermon in the same collection.

There is no iron sinew in Christ's will, it was easily broken; the tip of God's finger, with one touch, broke Christ's will: "Lo, I come to do thy will, O God" (Heb. 10:9) "O my Father, if it be possible, remove this cup; nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." (Matt. 26:39). O, but there is a hard stone in our will: the stony heart is the stony will; hell cannot break the rock and the adamant, and the flint in our will: "Nay, but we will have a king" (1 Sam. 8:19), whether God will or no. God's will stands in the people's way, bidding them return. They answer, "There is no hope" but we will walk after our own devices" (Jer. 18:12). Hell, vengeance, omnipotence, crossed Pharaoh's will, but it would neither bow nor break.

Rutherford makes some profound points for us to consider. The examples of little hells that surround us every day. Only by the grace of God have we not been consumed in some of these things that happen all around us, violence, etc.

Secondly, the hardness of our hearts, or wills. To see these little hells and be startled for a moment but then to continue on as if nothing happened. From ancient times there has been God's warning about hell, Christ came down from heaven to warn and to provide salvation from the awesome wrath of God. Each day of our life, that warning has been there. Each day of our life, the hand of salvation has been offered. This will continue until the One who now saves, will save no more, salvation will come to an end. The one who once saved will come with legion of angels to Judge. Examine our hearts/wills are they hard against the warnings of God? Have they seen much, and are not moved? Be not like Pharaoh, who although a great king, was still a man as you and I are before the Almighty. Little man do not continue to raise up in defiance against God, though all may seem good now, the one who has your life, breath, and being in His hand is not One to be trifled with.

Let us hear, and come to Christ, Lord, we pray, make it so.

The Sinfulness of Sin

The world's view of sin is usually reserved for the other guy, when it is considered at all. As Christians we must remind ourselves of the evil of sin. So, Let's take a look at what George Swinnock thought about sin. He lived from 1627 to 1673.

This is taken from "Trading and Thriving in Godliness," The Piety of George Swinnock, Profiles in Reformed Spirituality, Reformation Heritage Books, Grand Rapids, Michigan (pp. 43-44).

If God be so incomparable, that there is none on earth, none in heaven comparable to him, it may inform us of the great venom and malignity of sin, because it is an injury to so great, so glorious, so incomparable a being. The higher and better any object is, the baser and worse is that action which is injurious to it. To throw dirt on sackcloth is not so bad as to throw dirt on scarlet or fine linen. To make a flaw in a pebble of common stone is nothing to the making a flaw in a diamond of precious stone. Those opprobrious speeches, or injurious actions, against an ordinary person, which are but a breach of the good behavior, and bear but a common action at law, if against a prince, may be high treason, because of the excellency of his place, and majesty of his person. The worth and dignity of the object doth exceedingly heighten and aggravate the offence.

How horrid then is sin, and of how heinous a nature, when it offendeth  and opposeth not kings, the highest of men, not angels, the highest of creatures, but God, the highest of beings; the incomparable God, to whom kings and angels, yea, the whole creation is less than nothing!

We take the size of sin to low, and short, and wrong, when we measure it by the wrong it doth to ourselves, or our families, or our neighbours, or the nation wherein we live; indeed, herein somewhat of its evil and mischief doth appear; but to take its full length and proportion, we must consider the wrong it doth  to this great, this glorious, this incomparable God. Sin is incomparably malignant, because the God principally injured by it is incomparably excellent. . . .

Random Notes

Reading good theological books is a way to strengthening our souls in the ways of righteousness. Those books that express biblical principles in a mode of application. They give little gems of truths that are helps for the soul.

Here are small portions of some of the gems from books I have read and that have and still do serve as a means of refreshing, humbling and strengthening my resolve to be grounded and grow in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. I share them in the hope that they will do the same for you.

For inasmuch as all who exalt themselves wage war with God, He must needs encounter them with the awful power of His Hand, in order to restrain their madness.    John Calvin

Despite the mutability of our wills, the corruption of our nature, the animosity of Satan, and the weakness of the new creation in us, the Spirit preserves grace in the believer. He strengthens and increases grace with us (Eph. 3:16). The Spirit gives us a holy reverence for God which is necessary in prayer (Heb. 12:28). Striking us with a holy dread and awe of the Majesty of God. 

Thomas Boston

It is hard starving this sin (pride), when it can live almost upon anything.  Richard Mayo

Let no man think to kill sin with a few, easy or gentle strokes. He who hath once smitten a serpent, if he follow not on his blow until it be slain may repent that ever he began the quarrel, and so he who undertakes to deal with sin, and pursues it not constantly to the death.   John Owen

Sins are more heinous when they are committed by someone who has greater experience of grace, eminent for profession, gifts, office, if they are a guide to others and whose example is likely to be followed by others.    Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 151

God desires to be known and worshipped so He reveals Himself in all His glory. He reveals Himself in Scripture, in nature, in His attributes. God wants man to know and enjoy His greatness.

Jonathan Edwards

Prayer delights God's ear; it melts His heart, and opens His hand. God cannot deny a praying soul.

Thomas Watson

Wretched man, wanting to be somebody in himself, forgets and misunderstands the source of his good; and by an act of outrageous ingratitude, he sets out to exalt himself in pride against his Maker and the Author of all that is excellent in him.  Walter Marshall

All our reading, studying, and preaching is but trifling hypocrisy, till the things read, studied, and preached be felt in some degree upon our own hearts.   John Flavel

Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.  Proverbs 3:7-8

God appointed so many ordinances and duties of religion on purpose, to maintain daily communion between Christ and His people.    John Flavel

Keeping watch over the soul is foundational to other spiritual duties, because their effectiveness depends on large part upon the removal of those encumbrances that dampen the affections. Unconfessed sin, unchecked pride, and undisciplined thoughts tend to render the soul insensible to any "influences" that God sets forth in duties. Our first responsibility, therefore is to remove all hindrances to communion.   Stephen Yuille

Any desire within us for true holiness has come from God, not ourselves.  J. I. Packer

The soul must give Christ time each day to impart His love and His grace. Time alone with the Lord Jesus each day is the indispensable condition of growth and power.  Andrew Murray

It is the goal of good theology to humble us before the triune God of majesty and grace. The main message of Scripture is the unfolding mystery of Christ, who reveals His Father and reconciles us to Him.  Michael Horton

Don't believe everything you think. You cannot be trusted to tell yourself the truth. Stay in the Word. J. Bridges

And He died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for Him who for their sake died and was raised.  2 Corinthians 5:15

The Spirit of God subdues us to His will.   Westminster Larger Catechism Q. 155

In discipline God takes our hearts away from this present world by degrees, and makes us look heavenward.  St. Augustine sweetly said upon the answer of God to Moses: "You cannot see my face . . . and live," (Exodus 33:20) "Then Lord, let me die that I may see your face."

Thomas Case

Be careful to make a good improvement of your precious time. When we cease from our labor, fill up our time in reading, meditation, and prayer, and while your hands are laboring, let your heart be employed, as much as possible, in divine thoughts.  David Brainerd

Sin is not simply making bad choices or mistakes. Sin is having the desire in our hearts to do the will of the enemy of God.  R. C. Sproul

When we delight in God's moral law, God twists His glory and our good together. Thomas Watson

God is deemed omnipotent . . . because governing heaven and earth by His providence, He so overrules all things that nothing happens without His counsel. "He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased." (Psalm 115:3).  John Calvin   

God's Process

Jesus in what has been called, His high priestly prayer in John17 asks the Father this: "Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved me before the foundation of the world."

That is a wonderful, awesome request made by Jesus Christ for Christians. That is the goal we have before us. That is where we are headed if we truly belong to God. To see the glory of Christ.

As I was reading this I noticed a process that God describes in the proceeding chapters of the gospel according to John in the 14th chapter primarily but also in the 15th chapter.

The first part of that process is spelled out in John 14:6 Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me." You must be in Christ, in order to know the way to the Father. You can not get to the Father in a saving way, unless you come to Him through the life, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession of Jesus Christ. As a matter of fact, you do not even have a desire to come to Him, to follow Him, other than by the Person and Works of Christ being applied to you.

The next part of this process we see at John 14:15 "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Before this verse, Jesus talks about the works that He has done, saying that those who love Him will be able to do greater works. We have to remember Jesus is talking to His disciples, those who have every reason to not only love Him, but to adore Him. For us as well, to know what Jesus has done for us is to be brought to gratitude, love, adoration. The real reason for this is John 14:16 "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever." It is the precious work of the Holy Spirit to turn our dead fallen hearts into a place that loves Jesus Christ. Another awesome fact being made here is that we have Him (the Holy Spirit) now and we will have Him always!!

Another step in the process is John 14:21 "He who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him." Jesus is pointing us to a way to measure our Christian walk. This is not something new, it is as old as the Word of God, but it has been obscured in a lot of ways. The things that God ask us to do can't be done apart from His Spirit that He has given us. We know this well, especially when we try to accomplish God's work in our own strength. Obedience has always been the measure God looks at. Man has a tendency to soften God's requirement, and in the process, ends up serving an idol instead of the One True, Living God. We cannot alter God, God will always be God, the God of the Bible. When He draws near He is the same awesome God that He has always been. We must stop trying to change Him, to accommodate our corruption. For those who persist in following a Savior, who is not the Savior of the Bible will cause you to hear Jesus declare to them, "I never knew you; Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." (Matthew 7:23)  That will be terror to those who hear it. It is the graciousness of Almighty God, that this warning has been presented for as long as the Word has been here.  Just before that verse Jesus is speaking a warning about false prophets, who He calls ravenous wolves. and that you will know them by their fruit.

Which brings us to our final step in this process John 15:8 "My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples." One of the fruit we should be bearing is obedience, we will not have absolute perfect obedience on this side of glory, but we are on the wrong track if we use that as way out. Jesus says we should be seeking to prove that we are disciples of His. The biggest measure of this is our obedience, you are only going to serve the body of Christ out of your measure of obedience. If you have no regard for obedience, how can you truly serve Christ. You will only love your neighbor as yourself, out of the measure of your obedience. This is not saying that your obedience is what you are working for. You obey out of your love for Christ. Christ commands obedience, He always has and He always will. You love Christ out of the understanding that the Holy Spirit burns into your soul, of what Christ has done for you. You obey because you are growing in the knowledge of Him, we are not gaining anything for yourself, you are denying yourself. And more importantly, or most importantly, it brings glory to the Father!! That should be enough. Your obedience brings glory to Father.

Let us be on guard against teaching that does not stress obedience, obedience for the glory of the Father. There are many false prophets who have made an idol and are presenting that as Jesus, because its more attractive to man's fallen heart. The Jesus of the Bible commands obedience, and our proper position before Him, is one of awe and reverence. To treat Him in any other way may indicate that your Jesus is an idol and not the Holy One of God.
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"It must be our desire if we want to be disciples of Christ to fill our minds with such a great reverence for God and with such an unrestrained obedience that we may triumph over all contrary inclinations and submit  to His plan."                 John Calvin

God's Active Control

In Dr. R.C. Sproul's devotional magazine Tabletalk the lesson for March 1 is on God's Eternal Decree. This lesson's central point is the sovereignty of God. The One who is "Sovereign Lord" as described at Acts 4:24.

The interesting point I would like to emphasize here is the main Scripture reference Dr. Sproul uses for his lesson, it is Ephesians 1:11 "In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will."

I want us to see the point Dr. Sproul emphasizes; that God "works" he says this is a present active participle of the verb "to work" or "to expend effort." God is working in every thing all the time. He is actively working. He is not passive and His creation is moving along under its own power. The creation was created by the word of God and it is held up by His power. It continues because of God's active participation of upholding it and governing it.

Some may ask if God is in control, why is there all this evil and bad stuff going on? My own short answer, because their are evil bad people and there are consequences to their evil and bad actions and  thoughts. Their evil and bad actions and thoughts, God hates and he has promised that one day they will come to an end and be judged. The fact that that hasn't happen today, is a reason to be thankful, that somewhere God has brought someone into His kingdom, through their trust in Jesus Christ.

Dr. Sproul says God's active control of all things is governed by the counsel of his will (God's). God's plan is actively going forth, according to his eternal wisdom. To what end to the return of Jesus Christ, each day that is delay is a day of salvation somewhere for somebody, and that is according to God's sovereign, active control.