Born To Reign In Us Forever

Well, last week, I worked to show you the all-sufficient merit of Jesus Christ, Son of God and Son of Man.

We saw in John 5 how our Lord Jesus, number one, is equal with God. That was verse 18.

Number two, how Jesus accomplished the work of God, verses 19 through 21.

And number three, last week, how all authority that Christ holds is from God, verses 22 and 23.

So today we'll begin our reading at verse 24, and we'll go to the end of chapter 5.

So John chapter 5, starting at verse 24.

John 5 · chapter mention

What I want you to listen for, I want you to hear what King Jesus declares about his own authority.

So hear God's own word, remembering that God's word is inspired, inerrant, infallible, clear, and sufficient.

John 5, 24.

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.

Truly, truly, I say to you, an hour is coming and is now here when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God,

and those who hear will live, for as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself.

And he has given him authority to execute judgment, because he is the Son of Man.

Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out.

And those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment.

Verse 30.

I can do nothing on my own as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own, but the will of him who sent me.

If I alone bear witness about myself, my testimony is not true.

There is another who bears witness about me.

And I know that the testimony that he bears about me is true.

You sent to John, and he has borne witness to the truth.

Not that the testimony that I receive is from man, but I say these things so that you may be saved.

He was a burning and shining lamp, and you were willing to rejoice for a while in his light.

But the testimony that I have is greater than that of John,

for the works that the Father has given me to accomplish, the very works that I am doing,

bear witness about me that the Father has sent me.

And the Father who sent me has himself borne witness about me.

His voice you have never heard.

His form you have never seen.

And you do not have his word abiding in you,

for you do not believe the one whom he has sent.

You search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life,

and it is they that bear witness about me.

Yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life.

I do not receive glory from people,

but I know that you do not have the love of God within you.

I have come in my Father's name, and you do not receive me.

If another comes in his own name, you will receive him.

But how can you believe when you receive glory from one another,

and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God?

Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father.

There is one who accuses you, Moses, on whom you have set your hope.

For if you believed Moses, you would have believed me,

for he wrote of me.

But if you do not believe me,

believe his writings,

how will you believe my words?

Well, this is the word of our Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Let's pray.

Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit.

And I pray, Father,

this hour in a special way,

fill me with your love

and your earnestness,

so that as your word is proclaimed,

we can all confidently believe

and gratefully obey you,

King Jesus, we pray.

Amen.

You may be seated.

The sheep bleat.

The lame walks.

The temple crowds shove.

The lawyers whisper tactics to incriminate

the God of all justice.

The established elite plot to kill

the only meritorious man to have walked the earth.

The great high priest whose name is love

fulfills God's law perfectly at every turn.

The only possible mediator between God and man

prays.

The king of all glory patiently waits.

The dust in the temple courtyard settles.

Then he speaks.

Verse 24.

Truly, truly, truly, I say to you,

whoever hears my word

and believes him who sent me

has eternal life.

He does not come into judgment,

but has passed from death to life.

Truly, truly, I say to you,

an hour is coming and is now here

when the dead will hear the voice

of the Son of God

and those who hear will live.

For as the Father has life in himself,

so he has granted the Son

also to have life in himself

and he has given him all authority

to execute judgment

because he is the Son of Man.

The Son of God was born the Son of Man

so that his heavenly kingdom

now comes to earth.

We sang this in the hymn.

Born thy people to deliver.

Born a child and yet a king.

Born to reign in us forever.

Now thy gracious kingdom bring.

That's what King Jesus declares

for whoever has an ear to hear him.

And what I see in this passage,

my goal is to walk us through

verse by verse

in the order that Christ gives it.

I see two ways that you can respond.

Number one,

you will either obey him

as your king now and live.

Or number two,

you will refuse him now

knowing that you will face him

as judge later.

So those are my two points.

Number one,

why you must obey King Jesus.

And number two,

what refusing Jesus as your king means.

And I plead to you,

his kingdom is coming.

Heed his voice.

So first,

why you must obey King Jesus

in three verses.

24,

25,

and 26.

I've got three observations here.

Number one,

you must obey King Jesus now

because his hour

to rule as king

is here.

That's what he says

in verse 25.

The hour is coming

and is now here.

So what I want you to picture

is two different kingdoms,

two different nations.

On one side

is a kingdom of death

and destruction

and poison

and sin

and Satan

going around like a lion

seeking who he can devour

in this kingdom

of darkness.

And then there's

a very thin line,

like a thin thread.

That's the border

between the two kingdoms.

There is no middle ground.

And on the other side

is the kingdom of life

and light.

It's the power

of heaven.

It's the white throne

of God

ruling over this domain,

this dominion.

And the king of heaven,

King Jesus,

speaks out

over the darkness.

And when he speaks,

his voice,

it's creative

and powerful

and it's effectual.

Effectual.

The dictionary defines

effectual this way.

It's possessing

the necessary virtues

that gives

effective power.

In other words,

it's effectual

when there is power

to produce

the promised effect.

So King Jesus,

in these verses,

we see

he effectually

gives life

through his voice.

his voice

exhales

the spiritual life

into every soul

that hears him

and believes.

Look at verse 24.

Those who hear

will live.

It's effectual.

When you hear

the voice of

King Jesus

and you believe in him,

your name

is now

revealed

as one who

he has given life to

and has passed over

and now your name,

you can know

with certainty,

it is in his book

of life.

We sang

he left riches

without number.

He was

in the kingdom

of heaven,

riches without number.

He left that

and he was born

in the world

within a cattle stall.

This,

our everlasting

wonder,

Christ

was born.

the Lord

of all.

King Jesus

gives life

through his voice.

King Jesus

also effectually

grants you

citizenship

into his

kingdom

of heaven

when you believe

in him.

You have

the passport.

You have

citizenship.

You can never

be kicked out

of his kingdom

if you are

united to Christ.

If you believe

in him,

look at verse 24.

You have

passed.

In the past tense,

you have

passed

from death

to life.

How do you

know that?

Because you have

the word

of the king

himself

effectually

making it so,

declaring you

belong to him.

That's what it

means to be

ransomed

by Christ.

It means that

he entered

this fallen

world to bring

you to the

kingdom of heaven,

to pass you

from this

domain of

darkness

into his

kingdom

of light.

So we're

promised by

our Lord

that you

have passed

from death

to life.

And he says

those who hear

will live.

So we need

to try to

understand what

is our Lord

revealing to us.

He's talking

here about

a type of

life that

only goes out

to those who

believe.

See, it's

exclusive.

It's only

those who

will hear

him.

So he's

talking about

a spiritual

life.

What is

spiritual

life?

Well,

spiritual

life is

when your

soul is

united to

God.

When your

soul is

one with

your maker,

the giver

of life,

you have

spiritual

life.

So what

is spiritual

death?

Spiritual

death is

when the

soul is

separated

from God.

Your soul

is dead

at birth

until the

Holy Spirit

makes your

inner being

able to

hear the

voice of

Jesus Christ.

And you

are so

dead in

sin,

the Bible

teaches,

that your

heart,

your soul,

your mind,

and your

body are

all tainted

by sin.

And it

binds your

will.

It binds

your freedom

to sin.

You are

a slave

to sin.

That's

the language

the Bible

uses.

You are

now

imprisoned

to sin,

Satan,

and death.

That's what

Colossians 2.13

says,

you who

were dead

in your

trespasses,

in your

flesh.

You were

made alive.

How?

Together

with him.

You were

made one.

You were

united to

Christ,

his one

person,

two

natures.

made

alive

together

with

him,

having

forgiven

us

all

our

trespasses.

So

God,

by his

creative

power,

his

effectual

voice

as

king

over

all,

he

speaks

life.

And he

speaks into

that dead

soul and

causes the

deaf to

hear his

voice.

And by

doing that,

by believing

through faith

in his

grace for

you,

you are

united to

him,

and you

pass over

from death

to life.

That's what

he promises

in verse 24.

And that's

why you must

obey king

Jesus now,

because this

is his

hour.

His rule

is now

here.

He is

speaking into

the domain

of darkness

so that

you will

believe.

Number two,

you must

obey king

Jesus now

because his

grace is

your only

hope in

life and

in death.

notice how

gracious

king

Jesus is

in these

words.

He

graciously

declares,

you who

hear him

now,

you are

pardoned

forever.

You get

the judicial

pardon from

the highest

court,

from the

king,

over the

kingdom.

You are

pardoned

forever.

Look at

verse 24.

You do

not come

into

judgment

if you

are roped

in his

righteousness.

That's all

that the

father

sees.

Now,

as I

mentioned,

it's only

some who

are robed

in Christ's

righteousness.

Who is

it?

It's only

those who

hear his

voice now

and believe.

So spiritually,

it's those who

are in the

domain of

darkness but

believe they

have spiritual

life now.

And this

is in

contrast with

verse 28.

See,

he says,

there's another

hour that's

coming when

all will

hear.

But this

does not

refer to

spiritual

life.

This

refers to

the final

judgment.

The time

to hear

him

spiritually

is now.

It's only

those who

hear who

will live.

They will

enjoy union

with Jesus

Christ.

Romans 7

23 drives

this point

home.

Even as

a Christian,

you are

going to be

fighting against

remaining sin

till your

final breath.

But you

have spiritual

life in

Christ.

You're

united

with

Christ.

Listen to

how Paul

describes the

bondage of

the will

to sin.

Romans 7

23.

It's

captive to

the law

that is

the rule

or the

principle

of sin

that dwells

in your

members,

he says,

your body

or your

fallen

flesh.

You need

to believe

in Christ

now because

his voice

is effectual

for all

who he

causes to

hear and

believe him.

Think about

God's

providence.

Children,

your parents

brought you

to church.

You hear

the scripture.

You hear

the word

of God.

That's

his kindness.

It's

his providence

for you

so that

you will

believe

because

he is

your only

hope.

His grace

is our

only hope

in life

and in

death.

Left

on your

own without

him speaking

to you,

you will

refuse

his grace.

Your will

is free.

You

have

free

will

to

refuse

God.

John

Owen,

Puritan

pastor,

wrote,

the sinner's

will has

the power

to refuse

God's

grace.

The

ministry

of the

word

alone

without

the work

of the

spirit

cannot

convert

sinners.

Human

persuasion

is

useless

to

change

fallen

nature

any more

than the

most effectual

arguments

can prevail

to make

a blind

man see

or a

lame

man walk

or a

dead

person

rise

from

the

grave.

You

know why

this is

important?

If this

is what

the scripture

teaches,

you need

to start

there.

Your

unregenerate

will

is free

only to

refuse

God.

And this

is important

because

God

alone

gets

all the

glory

in our

salvation.

This

is what

Christ

makes

very

clear.

If you

believe,

it's

because

his

Holy

Spirit

has

taken

that

effectual

word

of the

king

and

worked

it

into

your

soul

to

unite

you

to

Christ

so

that

your

soul

can

have

life

by

being

united

in

God

and

belonging

spiritually

to

his

kingdom.

Obey

the

voice

of

King

Jesus.

His

grace

is

your

only

hope.

Number

three,

you

need

to

obey

King

Jesus

now

because

only

King

Jesus

has

this

spiritual

life

for you.

He's

the only

one

who can

give

life

to

your

soul.

Remember,

that's

what

spiritual

life

is.

It's

when

your

soul

is

united

to

God.

But

because

of sin

and

Adam's

sin

and

your

own

sin,

your

soul

was

born

separated

from

God.

But

Christ

alone

can

give

your

soul

the

life

that

it

needs.

Your

soul

will

be

unhappy.

It

will

be

miserable

until

it's

life

in

himself.

So

he

has

granted

the

son

also

to

have

life

in

himself.

You

know,

when the

Lord

formed

Adam

out of

the

dust,

his

earthly

body

was

formed,

but it

wasn't

until

God

breathed

the

spirit

into

him,

gave

him

a

soul,

that

the

body

had

life.

We

agree

in

John

John 1:4

chapter

1

verse

4,

in

Christ

was

life.

In

Christ,

in

union

with

Christ

was

life.

And

that

life

was

the

light

of

men

who

were

otherwise

in

darkness.

This

theme

is

echoed

throughout

all

of

scripture.

You

could

say

this

is

the

dominant

note

in

all

the

gospel

of

John.

One

example

is

Psalm

36

9.

The

psalmist

confesses

of

God

with

you,

with

you,

in

union

with

you,

in

your

presence

is

the

fountain

of

life.

in

your

light

do

we

see

light.

There

is

darkness

apart

from

God,

but

with

his

presence

is

the

fountain

of

life.

The

kingdom

of

heaven

is

filled

with

the

life

that

is

in

God

alone.

God,

our

most

glorious,

most

radiant

creator,

it's

his

essence

that

gives

spiritual

life

to

anyone

who

will

belong

to

his

kingdom

through

Christ.

apart

from

God

is

only

death.

When

the

Holy

Spirit

unites

you

to

Christ,

he

puts

into

your

soul

his

life.

Can

you

hear

the

voice

of

King

Jesus

effectually

calling

you,

commanding

you,

believe

in

him.

He

is

the

only

source

of

life

for

your

soul.

We

just

read

this

in

the

Chalcedonian

Creed.

It's

only

King

Jesus

as

the

Son of

God

and

the

Son of

Man

who

can

bring

the

kingdom

of

heaven

to

earth.

Do you

see why

this is

so

important?

He

unites

in

one

person,

one

mediator

between

God

and

man,

the

two

natures

that

are

needed,

God's

divine

nature

and

representative

of

all

humans.

God

and

God

and

God

and

God

and

man

according

to

his

human

nature

he

is

in

all

things

like

unto

us

yet

without

sin

and

according

to his

divine

nature

he

is

begotten

before

all

ages

of

the

father

according

to

the

God

head

one

person

two

natures

for

the

very

purpose

of

our

salvation

that

we

can

be

united

to

God

a

high

view

of

Christ

his

person

and

his

work

is

vital

for

your

hope

of

salvation

it's

vital

Satan

wants

to

attack

your

view

of

God

Satan

wants

you

to

lower

your

view

of

Christ

this

will

always

be

a

temptation

this

is

why

we

are

always

being

reformed

in

our

thinking

under

the

word

of

God

and

Satan

wants

to

go

after

your

faith

and

my

faith

when

we're

most

weak

most

tired

and

I

promised

last

week

I

would

not

leave

you

hanging

with

Athanasius

remember

Arius

and

those

who

had

a

low

view

of

Christ

the

liberals

you

could

say

within

the

church

they

wanted

to

bring

Christ

down

a

few

notches

and

there

was

one

point

when

Athanasius

was

seemingly

the

only

man

within

the

church

writing

to

defend

from

scripture

how

Christ

is

fully

God

fully

divine

and

because

that

group

took

over

the

government

and

the

church

they

exiled

him

not

one

time

not

twice

not

three

times

five

different

times

Athanasius

was

exiled

weak

abandoned

alone

his

medieval

biographers

described

this

period

as

Athanasius

contra

mundum

in

Latin

Athanasius

against

the

world

and

Athanasius

was the

first

one

to

confess

yes

I

am

weak

I

am

feeble

but

that's

not

the

source

of

my

strength

you

could

see

Athanasius

got

to

experience

what

God

promised

to

all

who

are

in

him

in

1

John

5

3

who

is

it

that

overcomes

the

world

except

the

one

who

believes

that

Jesus

is

the

son

of

God

for

this

is

the

love

of

God

that

we

keep

his

commandments

and

his

commandments

are

not

burdensome

Athanasius

would be

the first

one to

say

it was

not

by

my

strength

I

just

simply

heard

the

voice

of

the

king

and

he's

exalted

to

obey

king

Jesus

uncompromisingly

is no

burden

if you

belong

to the

kingdom

of

heaven

Athanasius

wrote

for the

might

of

man

and of

all

creatures

is weak

and poor

but the

the

might

capital

m

Jesus

Christ

which is

above

man

and

uncreated

is rich

and

incomprehensible

and has

no

beginning

but is

eternal

that's

who

Jesus

Christ

is

he

is

our

strength

and as

first

John

wrote

everyone

who has

been

born

of

God

everyone

overcomes

the

world

and this

is the

victory

that has

overcome

the world

our

faith

it's

not

our

strength

it's

our

union

with

Christ

it's

our

view

of

him

our

faith

in

Christ

overcomes

the

world

even

when

we're

most

weak

well

that's

why

you

must

obey

King

Jesus

now

he

has

overcome

the

world

he

extends

the

father's

love

to

you

by

grace

alone

and

he

speaks

today

because

his

hour

is

here

he

was

born

to

reign

in

you

forever

heed

his

voice

obey

King

Jesus

but

if

you'll

notice

beginning

at

verse

27

all

the

way

to

the

end

of

the

chapter

verse

47

the

rest

of

Christ's

sermon

is

warnings

and

if

we're

going

to

practice

expository

preaching

we're

going

to

flow

through

these

verses

with

the

warnings

of

Christ

because

his

kingdom

is

coming

and

you

need

to

heed

his

voice

so

what

refusing

King

Jesus

means

if

you

refuse

him

now

four

things

number

one

you will

face

him

later

as

judge

King

Jesus

already

holds

all

authority

as

high

judge

you

are

refusing

the

one

now

who

already

has

God's

full

authority

as

judge

look at

verse

27

he

has

given

him

authority

to

execute

judgment

because

he

is

the

son

of

man

so

refusing

to

God

is

God

has

given

him

King

Jesus

fulfills

the

promise

to

enact

God's

justice

over

all

creation

this

is

no

surprise

this

is

what

God

has

declared

and

preached

to

every

single

generation

that's

why

he

says

in

verse

28

do

not

marvel

at

this

for

an

hour

is

coming

when

the

son

of

man

will

judge

all

our

Lord

Jesus

is

making

it

very

clear

to

them

and

to

you

and

me

as

well

you

are

without

excuse

every

generation

has

heard

that

the

just

God

is

also

all

powerful

and

he

will

bring

his

kingdom

to

the

new

heavens

and

the

new

earth

be

ready

for

that

day

it

will

happen

how

well

the

book

of

Jude

verses

14

and

15

tells

us

Enoch

the

seventh

from

Adam

so

Adam

and

Eve

as

they

knew

God

and

walked

with

him

in

the

garden

and

experienced

the

banishment

and

they

also

had