What is the Church? Part 2

Well, good morning. It's good to see all of you.

You have all been singing the gospel today as you've been singing about the work of our

! Lord Jesus Christ, what He's accomplished for us through His death and resurrection,

and the benefits we get to enjoy because of the victory that He has pronounced over death

and resurrection and now offered to you and I to enjoy through faith in Jesus Christ.

That's an important truth. The gospel is centered on the person of Christ, and so you can imagine

that the doctrine of Christ is not only important, it is vital. It's essential not only for saving

faith, but it's essential for you to enjoy life with God. Not just knowing things about the

Scripture, not just knowing doctrines themselves, but knowing truths that then you embrace and

become a part of your day-to-day life. You're fundamentally changed. You're changed by the

truth, and it leads to a different kind of life because as we know who Jesus is, we believe who

He is, it fundamentally results in transformation for you and I. It should be no surprise then that

early on, very early on, the doctrines of Christ were challenged from heretics who sought to oppose

those core essential truths and to disrupt the benefit of saving faith for those who would believe in

Christ. Going all the way back to the fourth century, to early 300s, there is a church father known as

Athanasius. He's one of my favorites. He was a bishop in Alexandria, and if you don't know, Alexandria was one of

the key cities, the capital cities in the modern world. It was in Africa. It was one of those key cities where

Christianity was expanded and the truth was given. Athanasius was a defender of the doctrines of Christ

against what was known as the Arian heresy. That Arian heresy was known to try to challenge

the essential nature of who Jesus Christ was, to say that He was not eternal God, but that He was a

created being. Arian's teaching made Christ the highest creature, but it made Him one that was made and not

one that existed eternally through all of time. So when Athanasius became bishop, of course, his role was

significant. His teachings weren't just important for his church, but were important for the region,

were important for Egypt, were important for the surrounding regions. He was a man who understood

the significance of doctrine, the significance of the nature of Christ and sought to defend it.

He was fighting not merely for private opinion, but for doctrinal integrity, and I would say

he was fighting for your and my salvation, the understanding, the right and correct understanding

of salvation so that we could enjoy the benefits of the true Christ.

But this fight that he fought was one that resulted in exile. There were at least five occasions during

his life in ministry where he was exiled, which he was moved away from being bishop. He often had to

run and to exile himself in secluded areas so that he could escape persecution. But it was a suffering

one worth suffering for. It meant being driven from his city, driven from friends, often at the risk of

his own personal jeopardy in health and safety. And during one major exile in the beginning of 356,

he was exiled for six years. One of those followers of his, because of the active hostility

and opposition that he faced, said to Athanasius, it said that he mentioned this to Athanasius,

Athanasius, the world is against you. To which Athanasius responded, well then I am against the

world. Because his commitment to truth, his commitment to doctrine, his commitment to Christ

Christ. In extending the truth of the scriptures to us so he could enjoy and benefit from the true

nature of the Lord Jesus, he recognized that it mattered. This was not a debate over small doctrinal

refinements. This was the essential issue of the nature and identity of Jesus himself.

You could say that Athanasius cared about the glory of God. And over the past several weeks,

we've been talking about the significance of the church and what does the church mean and how does

the church begin and what is the aim of the church? And we said that the church exists ultimately for the

glory of God. What is glory, Andrew? What does that even mean? We said that God's glory is the visible

manifestation of his presence, power, and authority. Of course, we see this all over creation. The heavens

declare the glory of God. We see this as the greatest blessing in salvation. From 2 Corinthians 4,

2 Corinthians 4:6

verse 6, it says, for God who said, let light shine out of darkness, has shown in our hearts to give the

light of the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. And of course,

the final outcome of history, whether you are a believer or unbeliever, it will result inevitably

in God receiving the glory that he's due. Because every knee will bow and every tongue will confess

that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Seeing and savoring the glory of God

is the ultimate end of creation. It is the ultimate objective of the church, those who belong to Jesus.

And championing the glory of God is a distinct mission and privilege that we, as God's people,

being part of his church, get to communicate. The joy of putting on display the wonder of who God is

by allowing his presence, his power, his word, his nature, his truth to be seen and heard and understood

by the people that God has put in circles, in connection with you as an individual.

But what is the church? If the church is meant to express the glory of God, well, what is the church after all?

John Piper has said, the church is a group of baptized believers who meet regularly to worship God

through Jesus Christ under the guidance of duly appointed leaders.

And last week, we began to kind of develop, well, what is the church?

What kind of constitutes the church? What can you expect to be true about the church?

How does the church get together?

How do they carry out their function?

And we said last week that a church is a group of followers of Jesus Christ.

And we're going to press into that a bit more.

We're going to drill down.

What does it mean to be a follower of Jesus?

We also said that the church will have a confession of faith and repentance.

That they will believe in the essential truths of the Lord Jesus.

And it will change them.

Repentance is a change of heart, a change of perspective, a change of direction.

There will be repentance in their life.

They will see the ways that they have been trekkened in sin.

And the reality of the wonder of God will change their heart and their affections towards Him.

We saw third, that it was a testimony of believers' baptism.

That Jesus was baptized.

And He wasn't baptized because He was a sinner.

He baptized to set an example, to fulfill all righteousness for us.

For those of us who are sinners.

To recognize that one of the signs, one of the symbols of our repentance in turning to God is baptism.

It is a way for us to express that we belong to Him.

And Jesus helped to really help this illustration to grow and to carry weight through His Son, Jesus.

That through baptism, it's an expression of our being buried with Him and then raised to new life.

And so, it's a confession of the work that Christ has already done in the heart of true believers.

As we come to be baptized.

Fourth, we saw the beauty of the indwelling Holy Spirit.

That God's Spirit comes on and in His people.

Unlike what was taking place in the Old Testament.

Where the Spirit came in special ways on certain people for certain lengths of time.

To equip them for specific ministry.

He came on them and not in them.

And now a whole new age.

A whole new era.

This church age has been born.

Where every believer can enjoy the benefits of this enduring nature of the Spirit.

This indwelling work of the Spirit.

And last week we saw, finally, that we were distinct from the world.

That God has made us a holy people.

That God has made us a kingdom of priests.

That was His original purpose.

To make a kingdom of priests.

Of holy nation.

And He's accomplished that in His Son, Jesus.

We can be what He made us to be.

A holy people.

Distinct from the world.

Because of His work.

So this morning we come back to our text.

And I would encourage you to turn with me, if you would, to Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

We're going to be beginning in verse 22.

And kind of seeing this through.

Verse 22 to 36.

And kind of developing some more.

The wonder of this doctrine of Christ.

What must one believe about Christ to be a follower of Jesus?

What does it mean to follow after Him?

To be a disciple of Christ?

Christ.

Now remember, here we are in Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

In the very beginnings of this chapter.

We see this assembly of individuals who have come to worship in Jerusalem.

These devout followers from every known nation in the Roman world are there assembled.

It was one of three occurrences.

Where the Jewish man was required to gather and to worship the Lord on this given feast.

This Pentecost feast.

They had a deep knowledge of the Word of God.

Their hearts were guided by the Scriptures.

They wanted to follow after the truth.

That's why they're there in Jerusalem.

They're submitting themselves to the Word of God in this way.

They have this first hand knowledge of the Scriptures.

They have seen Jesus for themselves.

They're aware of His ministry.

They've heard His teaching.

They've seen His miracles.

They've heard about all the things that Jesus did in their midst for the three years of His earthly ministry.

They knew about His death.

They knew about His resurrection.

At least had heard about His resurrection.

But knowing the facts about Jesus are not enough for saving faith.

Knowing the facts about Jesus are not enough.

And that's what we see here there at the very beginning of Acts chapter 2.

Acts 2 · chapter mention

A group of very committed, very devout followers of Jesus.

They knew the Word.

They sought to obey the Scriptures.

But they did not have saving faith.

And so Peter, here in this sermon, will help them to understand a little bit more what saving faith requires.

Saving faith is not merely admiration for Jesus.

But trusting in the true Christ as God reveals Him.

So how did God reveal Jesus Christ?

Well, we see that beginning in verse 22.

The true Christ was fully man.

He was fully man.

See this with me.

Verse 22 to 24, it says this.

Men of Israel, hear these words.

Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through Him in your midst.

As you yourselves know, this Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God.

You crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.

God raised Him up, loosing the pangs of death because it was not possible for Him to be held by it.

We're going to develop those verses over the next several points.

But first, Jesus was truly Christ by being fully man.

Why is this important?

Well, it's important for Jesus to be a man so that He could represent men.

It was important for Jesus to be a man because, as you remember, He was the mediator between God and men.

If Jesus was going to represent God to man, He needed to be a man Himself.

Jesus was, as Peter says here, a historical figure.

Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God.

He stepped into our time and space.

He was a historical figure.

He lived a real life as a real person.

He lived in Nazareth.

He had a real heritage.

He came from a real family.

His humanity is an essential quality of saving faith.

Why is that important, Andrew?

Well, because the Apostle John says this in 1 John 4, verses 2-3.

1 John 4:2–3

He says,

By this you know the Spirit of God.

Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

Every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God.

This is the Spirit of Antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.

Jesus' humanity was essential for Him to welcome us into saving faith.

To recognize that He came into time and space to rescue us from our sin.

We find in His humanity a humility about Him.

Philippians 2, verses 5-8 developed this.

Philippians 2:5–8

And we don't have time to really go into detail.

But you can see it even here.

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

who, though He was in the form of God,

did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped.

But He emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant,

being born in the likeness of men,

and being found in human form,

He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,

even death on the cross.

What words stand out about the Lord from those verses?

What do you see?

What do you see about the essential nature of Jesus Christ?

He was in the form of God.

Now, it's important to understand that the Greek word form here

is not just that He had an outward appearance of God,

but that He shared the essential nature of God Himself.

That when you look at Jesus,

the exact imprint of Christ's nature,

the exact character of God was painted on Christ.

He was God in every way.

And so in the same way as demonstrating the form of a servant,

in coming in the likeness of men,

He also came in true humanity.

The stress is that He shared the nature of God,

but then was willing to empty Himself in some way

of pushing aside the expression of His deity

to be a man,

to come with human limitations.

He took this form of a servant.

He humbled Himself.

He became obedient.

God becomes obedient.

Consider some of these breathtaking statements

we find from the Lord Jesus Himself

throughout the Gospel of John.

It says in John 5, verse 19,

John 5:19

So Jesus said to them,

Truly, truly, I say to you,

the Son can do nothing of His own accord,

but only what He sees the Father doing.

For whatever the Father does,

that the Son does likewise.

Just let that settle on your heart for just a moment.

And the mission team,

we're working through a book called Christ for Real,

Christ for Real by Charles Price,

and the deacons are kind of reading through this book as well.

And just understanding the wonder of the Gospel

and what Jesus actually did as a man

to express His humanity.

Can you wrap your head around this statement?

Jesus says,

The Son can do nothing of Himself,

not because He couldn't do anything,

but because He restricted Himself

to be dependent on the Father,

His will, His direction,

obedience to Him,

and the power of the Holy Spirit working through it.

Just so you know that this isn't a verse

that's kind of out in the fringe,

John 5, verse 30.

John 5:30

Jesus says,

I can do nothing on my own.

As I hear, I judge,

and my judgment is just,

because I seek not my own will,

but the will of Him who sent me.

John 8, verse 28.

John 8:28

So Jesus said to them,

When you have lifted up the Son of Man,

then you will know that I am He,

and that I do nothing on my own authority,

but speak just as the Father taught me.

John 12, verses 49 and 50 says,

John 12:49

For I have not spoken on my own authority,

but the Father who has sent me

has Himself given me a command,

what to say and what to speak.

And I know that His commandment is eternal life.

What I say, therefore,

I say as the Father has told me.

Even down to the very words of our Lord Jesus Christ,

every single word was given to Him by the Father.

Every single work,

every single action of obedience

was in concert with God the Father

and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

His humanity coming into full view.

Jesus depended completely on the Father

and the Spirit.

So why does His humanity matter?

It matters for so many reasons,

but especially because as a man,

now Jesus could fill all the promises

that were given covenantally.

We find that Jesus is the seed of the woman.

He is the actual offspring of Eve.

Genesis chapter 3, verse 15,

Genesis 3:15

I will put enmity between you and the woman,

between your offspring and her offspring.

He shall bruise your head,

and you shall bruise his heel.

Jesus is also the seed of Abraham.

Galatians chapter 3, verse 16,

Galatians 3:16

Now the promises were made.

To Abraham and to his offspring,

it does not say,

and to offsprings,

referring to many,

but referring to one.

And to your offspring,

who is Christ.

In order for Jesus to fulfill the promise to Abraham,

He had to be a man.

And then to David,

Jesus is the Son.

Of David.

A fulfillment of that promise.

Luke chapter 1, verses 31 to 33.

Luke 1:31–33

Draw that to our attention.

And behold, you will conceive.

In your womb and bear a son.

You shall call his name Jesus.

He will be great.

He will be called the Son of the Most High.

And the Lord will give to him

the throne of his father David.

And he will reign over the house of Jacob forever.

And of his kingdom,

there will be no end.

Jesus is a man

in fulfillment of promises.

He came in the form of man.

He became a servant

so that he could show us

what obedience to the Father really meant.

The true Christ was fully man.

But the true Christ is also fully God.

We see that also in verse 22.

Peter continues,

Hear these words,

Jesus of Nazareth.

A man attested to you

by God

with mighty works

and wonders

and signs

that God did through him

in your midst

as you yourselves know.

Throughout Christ's life

and ministry,

he was the indisputable

image of God.

He was God made flesh

indisputably.

But why does it matter

that Jesus

was fully God?

Well,

because only God

can bear the weight

of divine wrath.

Only God

can bear the weight

of divine wrath.

So Jesus as God

can bear that cost

for desperate sinners.

Notice how Peter

stresses this point.

He was attested to you.

He was proven to you.

He demonstrated

in a public way,

a public fashion,

in an indisputable way

that he was in fact

from God.

Remember those protests

from the Pharisees?

Who can forgive sins

but God alone?

And Jesus is like,

exactly.

Luke chapter 5,

Luke 5:21

verse 21.

Jesus says,

okay,

I'll show you that

I not only have power

to forgive sins,

I'm going to say

to this man,

take up your bed

and walk

and he's going to do that

and it will show

that I have power

over the flesh

and power over sin.

I have that authority.

Thanks for bringing it

to everyone's attention.

The Pharisees would also say,

you being a man,

make yourself God.

In John chapter 10,

John 10:30–33

verse 30 to 33.

And Jesus says,

well, believe me.

Believe me for the,

not just because

of the words that I speak,

believe me on account

of the works.

You have this testimony.

The confirmation of words

that are coupled with works.

You see them working out.

You see the evidence

right in front of you.

Yes,

I am making myself God.

That's the point

because I am God.

The Pharisees

who also said to him,

who gave you

this authority?

As Jesus is casting out

the money changers

and turning over tables

in the temple

and they recognize

the authority

of the Lord

and Jesus confirms,

yes,

the zeal

for the Lord's house

has eaten me up.

God.

It's for him

and that's who

I am serving.

I'm serving him.

And then in John

John 5:18

chapter 5,

verse 18,

it says this,

this is why the Jews

were seeking

all the more

to kill him

because not only

was he breaking

the Sabbath,

but he was even

calling God

his own father,

making himself

equal with God.

Time and time again,

Jesus wants to make

it absolutely clear,

I am God.

I'm attested to you

by God

through signs

and wonders

which God is doing

through me.

Believe me.

Believe me.

So the Pharisees

were not confused.

They knew exactly

what Jesus was claiming.

Jesus was claiming

to be God

and in fact,

he demonstrated

that nature

with mighty works,

with wonders

and signs

and the goal

of all of these

wonders and signs

and miracles

was not just

to capture attention

but to draw them

to faith,

to help them

understand the

significance of

this is God

in the flesh

among you.

Of course,

the nature of Christ

was also confirmed

through the Father.

At his baptism

in Matthew chapter 3,

Matthew 3 · chapter mention

the Father says,

this is my beloved Son

in whom I'm well pleased.

We see at his transfiguration

the same kinds of words

where the Father says

a voice comes out

of the cloud,

this is my Son,

my chosen one,

listen to him.

And even in the final moments

of Jesus' public ministry

before he takes his disciples

to be with him

in the upper room,

we find this

in John chapter 12

John 12 · chapter mention

where Jesus says,

my soul is troubled

and what shall I say?

Father,

save me from this hour

but for this purpose

I came to this hour.

Father,

glorify your name.

Then a voice

came from heaven

saying,

I have both glorified it

and will glorify it again.

A third confirmation,

a testimony

of the Father

glorifying his Son

in a very public way

so that everyone

could hear.

And Jesus would attest

to him,

his own deity.

Remember,

the woman at the well

in John chapter 4,

John 4 · chapter mention

the woman says to him,

I know the Messiah is coming

who is called the Christ.

When he comes,

he will tell us all things.

And Jesus says to her,

I who speak to you am he.

I'm the guy.

I'm the Messiah

you've been looking for.

You're looking at him

right here.

He tests to his divinity.

And then,

the centurion

at the cross

who says,

truly,

this was the Son of God.

We see

the nature

of our Savior,

his deity

coming through,

affirmed consistently

throughout his ministry.

And so,

this is the issue.

This issue

is the dividing line

for every true

saving faith.

Every world religion

apart from Christianity

will reject

the nature

of Christ

as being

the eternal

Son of God.

God himself

in the flesh.

whether you're

talking about Islam

or Judaism

or Mormonism

or Jehovah's Witnesses

or Buddhism

or Hinduism,

it doesn't matter.

They all reject

the essential nature

of Christ's divinity.

But fragments

of that,

I think,

seep into

our own hearts,

even for believers.

believers.

How easy

is it

for us

to know

the doctrines

of God

but not to allow

those doctrines

to really be

fleshed out

in our life?

You see,

when churches

lean on

branding

or strategy

or charisma

or production

or vision

or strategies

instead of

dependence

on Christ,

they are

demonstrating

that Christ

is not enough.

You see,

Christ's humanity

is diminished

when we decide

that Christ's

divinity

is not

sufficient

for us

and other problems

that we face.

We diminish

his humanity

when we believe

that Christ

is too far away.

He doesn't really

care about my needs

and yet

the word of God

became flesh.

he dwelt

among us.

His humanity

was to help us

understand

that his presence

is here

and ready

for us to enjoy.

We diminish

his humanity

when we forget

that Jesus

entered into

our weakness.

He embraced

your sorrow.

He knows

the troubles

that you are

going through

and he is a

high priest

who can sympathize

with your weaknesses.

We diminish

the humanity

of Christ

when we separate

his obedience

from the command

that we are given

to follow after him.

And we diminish

his divinity

when we believe

that worship

is optional.

We diminish

his divinity

when we treat

sin lightly.

We diminish

his divinity

when our own

desires

crowd out

submission

to the Lord,

the Master,

the Sovereign King.

God has called

us as Lord

to worship

and bow

in humility

as Christ did

to consider

ourselves nothing,

to submit

to him in obedience,

to wear

and to embrace

the beauty

of servanthood

to God.

You see,

the true Christ

was fully human.

The true Christ

was fully divine

and the true Christ

died for sinners.

We see that

in verse 23.

this Jesus

delivered up

according to

the definite plan

and foreknowledge

of God.

You crucified

and killed

by the hands

of lawless men.

This wasn't

God's backup plan.

Jesus wasn't

a victim

of circumstances.

He wasn't

overpowered

by cruel

and wicked men.

This was God's plan

from the very

beginning

to die

for sinners.

sinners.

So everything

we enjoy

in the Christian life

is a result

of the work

of Christ's death.

So why did

his death matter?

Well,

his death mattered

because only

a crucified Savior

can pay the price

for sin.

Only man could die

in the place of man

and only God

could give

that death

infinite saving worth.

The two come together

in the person

of Christ.

The mission team

is memorizing

through Psalm 103

and it says this.

It says,

Bless the Lord,

O my soul,

and all that is

within me,

bless his holy name.

Bless the Lord,

O my soul,

and forget not

all his benefits.

Who forgives

all your iniquities.

Who heals

all your diseases.

Who redeems

your life

from destruction

and crowns you

with steadfast love

and mercy.

Who satisfies

your soul,

your mouth,

with good things

so that your youth

is renewed

like the eagles.

Bless the Lord,

O my soul,

and all that is

within me.

Bless his holy name.

We benefit

because of the

blessing

of a crucified Savior.

All of the benefits

that we have

are a result

of his death

for us.

And you see,

there in your notes

a list

of a number

of theological terms.

The things

that God has done.

This is just a sampling,

by the way,

of all the things

that Christ has accomplished

for us

through his death.

Just briefly,

his atonement.

What is atonement?

Well,

atonement is that

Jesus bore the penalty

for your sin.

You see,

Romans 6.23 says,

the wages of sin

is death.

And because we're

all sinners,

we all deserve to die.

Not just in a physical way.

We deserve to be

separated from God

forever.

And Jesus died

for that.

Not just atonement,

but also propitiation.

What's that fancy word

supposed to mean?

Well,

propitiation is that

God satisfied

the righteous

requirement

of God's wrath

for you

so that you could

enjoy the benefits

of his peace.

John 3.18 says,

whoever believes in him

is not condemned,

but whoever

has not believed

is condemned already.

And that's our

plight.

So that

John 3.36

will say,

to anyone who has

not come to faith

in Christ,

that the wrath of God

remains on him,

on her.

God's wrath

remains on us.

We are condemned

if we do not believe.

But if you believe

in Jesus,

the wrath of God

landed on Christ.

He paid for your sin.

He extends to you

peace.

Peace.

You can see

in your notes

substitution

that he died

in the place

for sinners.

His redemption,

that his blood

paid the price

for your sin

and mine.

Reconciliation,

where he brings

sinners back to God.

Forgiveness,

that his blood

secures our pardon.

Cleansing.

He purifies

guilty sinners.

Justification,

Romans 3.26,

God is just

and the justifier

of those

who have faith

in Jesus.

And from 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 5 · chapter mention

chapter 5.21,

it says,

For he made him

who knew no sin

to be sin for us

that we might become

the righteousness

of God in him.

The righteousness

of God?

You are the righteousness

of God

in him.

Does that

make you marvel?

Does that

take your breath

away?

You are righteous

in God's eyes,

not because you're

righteous,

but because he is.

And he,

in his righteousness,

paid the price

for sinners

so that you

could be called

and I could be called

righteous,

holy,

pure,

radiant,

blameless.

Not because of

the credentials

that we bring

to the table,

but because of

his credentials.

Oh,

the death of Christ,

all that he accomplished

for us.

It's unbelievable.

It should

inflame within our hearts

a love for God

and a desire to worship.

All the blessings,

the benefits that we have

because of Christ's death.

But marvel at the riches

of his grace

and his kindness

to us in Christ.

But if Christ

had not also risen,

we would not enjoy

the real benefits

of his death.

It is in his resurrection

that we get to enjoy

the power of that resurrection.

New life

because of Christ.

So the true Christ

was raised

from the dead.

In Acts chapter 2,

Acts 2:24–31

verses 24 to 31,

it says,

God raised him up,

loosing the pangs of death

because it was not possible

for him

to be held by it.

Why does the resurrection matter?

Well,

it matters because

only a living Savior

can offer life

to those who believe.

Only a living Savior

can offer life

to those who believe.

Well,

Peter will spend

the next several verses

that are drawn

from Psalm chapter 16

Psalms 16 · chapter mention

and then he

not just reads them

but then he applies them

to the immediate situation

of his audience.

We see it in verse 25.

It says,

For David says concerning him,

I saw the Lord

always before me

for he is at my right hand

that I may not be shaken.

Therefore my heart was glad,

my tongue rejoiced,

my flesh also will dwell

in hope.

For you will not

abandon my soul to Hades

or let your Holy One

see corruption.

You have made known to me

the paths of life.

You will make me full

of gladness

with your presence.

Peter provides this

emphatic,

prophetic word

from David

about this ministry

of Christ.

God has sworn to you

an oath,

meaning if God does not

keep his promise,

then God cannot be trusted.

That's how important

this word from David

was and how now

Peter will place

this word

on the immediate situation

and say,

see,

God is faithful.

You can trust him

because he did give David

a son

and this son did die

and this son

did not see corruption.

He did rise again

and this son will sit

on David's throne.

All of these promises

bound together,

inseparable.

And while we are yet

awaiting the triumph

of Christ

in coming

and reigning

on a throne,

we can believe

that if God was

faithful in the order

of all these other things,

he will be faithful

in that as well.

We can trust that.

But the resurrection

was a real struggle

for the Jews

and Gentiles.

We see in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 1:22

chapter 1

verses 22 and 23,

it says,

for the Jews demand

a sign

and Greeks seek wisdom.

But we preach

Christ

crucified,

a stumbling block

to the Jews

and folly

to the Gentiles.

Why?

Why was the resurrection

of Christ

such a stumbling block

for the Jews?

I think there are

probably lots of answers

but maybe something

along these lines.

How could God be born?

How does God

have a beginning

at least in the minds

of those who were there

in the first century?

How could God die?

How could God exist

for eternity

and yet step into

creation

through being born

in Bethlehem?

This was a repeated refrain.

This was the struggle,

the difficulty

of those

during Christ's day.

The Pharisees would say

in Luke chapter 4

Luke 4:22

verse 22,

is this not

Joseph's son?

And then in John

John 6:42

chapter 6

verse 42,

is not this Jesus

the son of Joseph

whose father

and mother we know?

How does he now

say I have come

down from heaven?

This is absolutely

ridiculous.

It's a stumbling block.

I can't believe it.

In John chapter 8

John 8:57

verse 57,

the Pharisees say

of Jesus,

you are not even

50 years old

and you have seen

Abraham?

Come on!

We know you're a man.

This is not possible.

And so for the

unbelieving Jew

to have a crucified

Messiah

Messiah

was a stumbling block.

How is it possible

for their king

to be treated

like a criminal

on the cross

and put to death?

For the same way

it was a foolishness

to the Gentiles.

This bodily resurrection

was not a welcome doctrine

for Gentiles.

They viewed the body

as weakness

and the spirit

as kind of this

elevated part

of our nature.

So for Christians

to claim the bodily

resurrection

was offensive to them.

It was foolishness

to them.

But Paul will say

of the resurrection

in 1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians 15 · chapter mention

chapter 15,

if Christ has not

been raised

then our preaching

is in vain

and your faith

is in vain.

We serve

a risen Savior.

He's in the world today.

I know that He's living

whatever men may say.

We see His hand of mercy.

We hear His voice of cheer

and just the time

we need Him

He's always near.

He lives.

We're going to sing that

I'm sure

or maybe a song

similar to that.

I don't want to put that

on John.

In two weeks.

Can you believe

we're going to be

celebrating Easter

in just a couple of weeks?

A risen Savior.

And just as real

and physical

as the resurrection

had to be

the Son of David

needs to reign

from the throne

over a real kingdom.

These promises

are bound together

and that's where

we turn at the end.

The true Christ

was exalted

to the Father's

right hand.

The true Christ

was exalted

to the Father's

right hand.

Peter,

drawing from

the Psalm

says in Acts

Acts 2:29

chapter 2

verse 29,

Brothers,

I say to you

with confidence

about the patriarch David

that he both died

and was buried

and his tomb

is with us

to this day

being therefore

a prophet

and knowing

that God

had sworn

with an oath

to him

that he would

set one of his

descendants

on the throne.

Said

of Christ

he foresaw

and spoke

about the resurrection

of the Christ

that he would be

resurrected

but also

that he would reign.

And then in verse 33

being therefore

exalted

at the right hand

of God

and having received

from the Father

the promise

of the Holy Spirit

he has poured out

this

that you yourselves

are seeing

and hearing

for David

did not ascend

into the heavens

but he himself

says

the Lord

said to my Lord

sit

at my

right hand

let all the house

of Israel

therefore know

for certain

that God

has made him

both Lord

and Christ

this Jesus

whom you crucified.

What's the significance

of an exalted

Savior?

well

an exalted

Savior

stands

with final

authority

an exalted

Savior

has been

confirmed

as the one

who is over all

an exalted

Savior

is in fact

above all

dominions

and powers

and rulers

and authorities

above both

visible

and invisible

thrones

or dominions

he's over it all

confirmed

that now

he sits

at the Father's

right hand

saving faith

you see

is not

a generic

in a generic

religious figure

saving faith

is in

the Son

Jesus Christ

and all the things

that are necessary

believing in his

humanity

his divinity

his death

his resurrection

his exaltation

so that we can

worship

a risen

Savior

Romans 10

9 and 10

says this

because if you confess

with your mouth

that Jesus is Lord

and believe in your heart

that God raised him

from the dead

you will be saved

for with the heart

one believes

and is justified

and with the mouth

one confesses

and is saved

Jesus

as the exalted

King above all

is Master

and Ruler

and Lord

have you submitted

your heart

to King Jesus?

have you recognized

the exalted position

that he's in?

day by day

and I

I just evaluate

my own life

how often

do I lose sight

of the exalted

Savior

who's at

the Father's right hand

and I

mix myself up

and all the petty

things of life

I'm so

dominated

at times

with the

the trivial

things of this world

anxious about

troubles

that I can't control

in not

recognizing

or embracing

the sovereignty

and power

of God

over all

you see

through Christ

God's glory

comes into full view

it's diminished

because of sin

all have sinned

and fallen short

of the glory

of God

but now because of Christ

and because of his work

those who believe

in the gospel

can enjoy now

this renewed

sense of glory

the presence of God

that comes to dwell

in hearts

the authority

of God

that is present

as his people

submit to his sovereignty

the word of Christ

the nature of Christ

as we bow our knee

in obedience

to his will

and we bear

the fruit of the spirit

love

joy

peace

patience

as the nature

of Christ

changes us

and transforms us

from one degree

of glory

to the other

you see

the work

of salvation

is complete

and Jesus

is restored

to his rightful place

of authority

honor

worship

and glory

oh may God's people

worship him

in the way

that he deserves

not only

when we come to church

on Sunday

but throughout the week

day by day

may people see

the glory

of God

Father we thank you

for sending your son

thank you for his work

of salvation

his death

his resurrection

thank you that he is now

seated at the Father's

right hand

thank you that he has

accomplished

once for all

the work of salvation

and you invite us

to enjoy it

together

oh Lord may

the wonder of

of Christ

fill us

from day to day

and may you be pleased

with our lives

in Jesus name

amen

God bless you

have a great week