God's Glory & the Bible

Well, greetings St Paul's family. The staff team, you're probably aware of this already, are away at the moment on a retreat out in Bathurst.

We are training, we are planning, we are praying for our life together here at St Paul's and we're praying for you this morning as you gather.

Although it is a little bit different today, I'm coming to you via the screen.

We are continuing our series in the Bible.

Our aim in this whole series is to build confidence in the Bible, in what the Bible is, what God says about it, so that we might grow in confidence and relationship with the God who gives us the Bible for our joy.

Now, last week in this series, we were in Psalm 19 and the topic was the necessity of the Bible.

The Bible is necessary in order to know God correctly, to know ourselves correctly, to know the way of salvation and to navigate life well in God's world.

Although God, we saw there in Psalm 19, although God communicates in a general way his glory and his majesty through his created order in such a way that all of humanity is without excuse,

he communicates specifically who he is, who we are and how we are to live through his perfect and powerful word.

He communicates specifically in that way to us.

So the truest and the most vivid glimpse we get of the majesty and the glory of God is in his word, the Bible.

Not by sitting on the edge of the Pacific Ocean and gazing into the abyss or even just staring at the glory of the French Alps, God's nature and created order.

So how can we get to this point where we are confident that this is in fact so, that God, all of his majesty and glory is revealed to us in his word in such a way that we find that it is sweet and our souls are refreshed.

Now to answer that question this morning, I want to intertwine, if you like, the Bible text we're looking at with the life and the work of John Calvin,

someone who was a phenomenal student of God's word.

Why would I want to do that?

Why am I bringing Calvin to you today?

Well, B.B. Warfield, who was the last principal of Princeton Theological Seminary, and in fact one of the great theologians of the 19th and 20th centuries,

said this of Calvin,

No man ever had a profounder sense of God than he.

That is a remarkable, remarkable commendation from someone as great as B.B. Warfield.

So who was Calvin?

And what happened to him that someone like Warfield would praise him so highly?

Well, Calvin was born in France in 1509.

When he was 14, his father sent him to study theology at the University of Paris.

When he was 19, his father had some issue with the Roman Catholic Church at that time, which Calvin himself was.

And he told his son to leave the studying of theology and to study law himself instead.

And so as a dutiful son, that's exactly what he did.

However, two years later, his father died and Calvin abandoned his studies of law and moved to the thing that he loved the most, and that was the classics.

He published his first book in 1532 at the age of 23.

And it's during this time, somewhere around this time, he came into contact with the teachings of the Reformed faith.

He came into the Reformed faith.

He came into contact with the Reformed faith.

He came into contact with the Reformed faith.

He came to understand the gospel of Jesus Christ for the first time.

And so by 1533, at the age of 23, 24, something dramatic happened in Calvin's life and totally changed the whole course of his life.

This is how he describes it in his own words.

God, by a sudden conversion, subdued and brought my mind to a teachable frame.

Having thus received some taste and knowledge of true godliness, I was immediately inflamed with an intense desire to make progress.

To make progress in the things of the Christian faith.

In fact, 24 years later, he died when he was 54.

24 years later, unchanged in his passions and goals, and one month before he died, he wrote in his will,

That statement there describes Calvin's entire life.

In all things, he pursued the majesty and the glory of God.

So what happened to him?

He saw the supremacy and the majesty and the glory of God for the first time when he was 23.

He couldn't see it, and then he did see it.

And when he saw it, it captivated his life.

So let's jump into seeing God's glory in the Bible.

First of all, I've got four points there you'll notice in your outline.

Seeing God's glory in creation, in Jesus Christ, in the gospel, and in the scriptures.

Let's just quickly jump through those things.

So seeing God's glory in creation.

The Bible shows that God intends for us to have a well-grounded conviction that he is powerful,

that he is wise, that he is a merciful creator and sustainer of the world by means of sight of his glory in and through creation.

That's where we were last week in Psalm 19.

The heavens declare the glory of God.

They reveal the glory of God.

They communicate God's glory.

Notice, though, in Psalm 19, the heavens themselves are not the glory of God.

The heavens are not God.

They are pointing, they are a window to see the glory of God.

We need eyes to see through the glory of nature in order to see the glory of the God who created all nature.

But it is possible to see the glory of creation, but not the glory of the God behind creation.

We see that in Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

But we also see God's glory in Jesus Christ.

That is God's self-authenticating glory shines in Jesus Christ.

That is, God expected people in Jesus' day, first century Palestine, to see the glory and the majesty of God in Jesus,

and therefore knowing that he is himself the Son of God, even though he was as human as we are and looked just as ordinary as we do.

John chapter 1 verse 14 says,

John 1:14

So many, many people in first century Palestine looked at God in human flesh, Jesus Christ himself, and they did not see God.

The glory of God in Christ was missed by a whole heap of people.

And yet, the Son of God was really there for those who had eyes to see the glory.

The problem was not that the glory of Jesus was not adequately revealing his divinity.

The problem, according to Matthew 13 verse 13, was that those seeing, they do not see.

Matthew 13:13

Though hearing, they do not hear or understand.

So that's God's glory is revealed in creation.

It is revealed in Jesus Christ.

Thirdly, it's revealed in the gospel itself.

God's self-authenticating glory shines in the gospel.

And that brings us to the text for this morning, 2 Corinthians chapter 4.

2 Corinthians 4 · chapter mention

And verse 4 says this,

The God of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers so they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

The gospel, the word gospel is here.

It's a story of how God came to save sinners.

And the gospel shines a supernatural light to the eyes of the heart.

It's called there the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.

The light of the gospel shatters our blindness in verse 6.

God says,

So in verse 4,

What Paul is saying there in those two verses is the way that we come to know that the Christian gospel,

as recorded in the Christian Bible,

is in fact God's word, that it is God's truth,

is by seeing the glory of God in it, in the face of Christ.

That's what he's saying there.

This glory of the gospel shines throughout all of the Bible because it all points to Jesus.

But most brightly in the gospel of the Son of God crucified for the sake of sinners.

And part of what makes the glory of God in the scriptures so unusual and yet so spectacular

is the way that God's glory is described.

It is the way God's majesty and his supremacy and his complete otherness is expressed through his total meekness,

through his mercy, through his grace.

God magnifies his glory.

We see a magnified, spectacular God as we see a God who descends to save us.

That is glory like our world does not know.

He magnifies his magnificence, his supremacy, his glory

by making himself the supreme treasure of our hearts,

even at great cost to himself.

God satisfies us.

God serves us in the gospel.

And in the very act of doing that,

he reveals and magnifies his magnificence.

This is the light of God's glory

that shines through the whole Bible

and it comes to its most beautiful radiance

in the person and the work of Jesus Christ,

dying and rising for his creatures,

the very ones who have rejected him.

Fourthly, we see the glory of God in the Bible.

God's self-authenticating glory

shines in the Bible itself.

God confirms that the world is his

by revealing his glory through it.

God confirms that Jesus Christ is the son of God

by revealing his glory through him.

And that the gospel is the gospel of God

by revealing his glory through it.

And so the whole Bible authenticates itself

by shining with the majestic and meek glory

of the God who inspired it.

That is the only way that we can know

that the Bible is the word of God

is because in their true meaning,

we see the self-authenticating glory of God.

But there's a problem here

and it's a massive problem.

It's an insurmountable roadblock.

It is something that we as human beings

cannot fix, we cannot get over,

we cannot see.

By nature, we are told here in 2 Corinthians 4

that we are blind to the glory of God.

We cannot see the glory of God

any more than a blind person

can see the heavens themselves.

Romans 1, in fact, says we're not just blind,

innocently walking around blind,

but Romans 1 says that we actually suppress

the glory of God.

We suppress the truth of God.

We are not just innocent people

stuck in blindness hoping to see.

John chapter 3 tells us

John 3 · chapter mention

we love the darkness.

We want to be in the darkness.

We want to be blind.

Paul says,

in 1 Corinthians 2, verse 14,

1 Corinthians 2:14

the person without the spirit

doesn't accept the things

that come from the spirit of God,

but considers them foolishness

and cannot understand them

because they are discerned only

through the spirit.

The only hope

for any person

to see the glory of God

in the Bible

and have a well-grounded confidence

that it is, in fact,

God's word

is for God himself

to take away our blindness,

for God himself

to perform a miracle,

to take away the blindness

that we are born with,

the blindness that we delight in,

for himself to remove it.

And Paul says

that that's exactly what God does.

This is the miracle of new birth,

even though he doesn't use that language

specifically here in 2 Corinthians 4.

This is the miracle of new birth.

God comes to us

and he speaks a word

of new creation,

just like he did

at the beginning

with the created order

when he said,

let there be light.

And it was so.

No further actions required.

And it was so.

And so he does the same

in the human heart.

2 Corinthians 4 verse 6,

2 Corinthians 4:6

God, who said,

let light shine out of darkness,

made his light shine in our hearts

to give us the light

of the knowledge

of God's glory

displayed in the face of Christ.

And when God

flicks that switch

in our hearts

that moves us

from darkness

to light,

a moment that we're not

even looking for it,

we don't think we need it,

we're not asking for it,

and God chooses to do it,

in that moment

we know

that Christ is real.

You know

that the gospel

is real.

You know

that the scriptures

are true.

And it's because

God said,

let there be light

in that heart.

it's then

that we see

God's glory

and you know

that this is God.

You see lights

and it's the first time

you realise

that in fact

my whole life

has been plunged

into darkness.

What the Apostle Paul

declares here

that John Calvin

experienced

and later wrote about

and what you have

experienced

as a Christian

and where I started

in fact

my first message here

when I said

I was sitting

in a shed

in Katoomba

and all of a sudden

it's like

someone lit a candle

in my heart

to help me see.

That experience

is what theologians

call

the inward witness

of the Holy Spirit.

Why do Christians

believe

that the Bible

is the word of God

in which God

reveals

to us

the reality

of his presence

the reality

of his glory

the reality

of the universe

the reality

of our sin

the reality

of redemption

through the Lord

Jesus Christ

why do we believe

that that is true?

The answer is not

because we're smart

it's not because

of our

our cultural

environment

that we're brought

up in

it's not because

we can follow

a logical chain

of human reasoning

about the historical

reliability

of scriptures

that pushes me

over the line

and convince me

it's true

those things

might be helpful

the answer

is that God

himself

has confirmed

it through

the Holy Spirit

it is entirely

an act of grace

it is not

by our own

reasoning

but a pure

gift

from God

we do not

the Christian

does not

hold a position

of the Bible

stubbornly

and cling

to it

despite all

the assaults

on it

what we

discover is

that in fact

God is holding

us

through his

word

and at every

point confirming

to us

it is

his

word

so how do we

pursue God's

glory then

what does

it mean

for us

if it's

purely

an act

of God

what does

it mean

for us

to pursue

his glory

well in

his early

20s

John

Calvin

experienced

the miracle

of having

the blind

eyes of

his heart

opened by

the Spirit

of God

to use

his words

and I'm

not sure

if he pulled

this directly

out of

2 Corinthians

4 but

to use

his word

I at

length

perceived

as if

light

had broken

in on

me

and what

he saw

immediately

and without

any intervening

chain of

human reasoning

were two

things that

would determine

the entire

rest of his

life

number one

he saw

the glory

of God

and number

two

he saw

the glory

of God

in the

word of

God

through

the work

of God's

Spirit

the Bible

facilitated

seeing the

glory of

God

and the

glory of

God

once saw

seen

vindicated

the Bible

as God's

word

he said

that the

highest

proof

of Scripture

derives in

general from

the fact

that God

in person

speaks

through it

and

neither

the Holy

Spirit

nor the

Bible

by

themselves

allow

a person

to see

the glory

of God

the Holy

Spirit

can't do

it by

itself

and the

Bible

can't do

it by

itself

they have

to work

together

the Spirit

works through

God's

word

to bring

light

into the

darkness

of our

hearts

so that

we might

see the

glory of

God

that

realization

for Calvin

completely

changed his

life

geographically

and vocationally

in 1537

he took up

in Geneva

the role

of professor

of sacred

scripture

again still in

his 20s

in sacred

scripture

and within

four months

he was

appointed

as the

pastor

of St

Peter's

church

the city

council

was not

happy with

Calvin

at all

and so

they banished

him roughly

a year

or something

later

in April

1538

Calvin

thought in

that moment

that oh

this is

fantastic

God is

relieving

me from

the crush

of pastoral

duties

so that I

could get

back to

studies

you know

get back

into my

study

and just

write

stuff

instead

he ends

up in

Strasbourg

where for

three years

he served

as a

pastor

for 500

French

refugees

as well

as teaching

the New

Testament

in the

university

he also

wrote his

commentary

on Romans

in those

three years

and put

out his

second

enlarged

edition

of the

absolute

bedrock

foundational

theological

book

of the

institutes

of Christian

religion

back in

Geneva

however

is

making

the

city

council

think

that

maybe

they

were

a

bit

hasty

on

Calvin

things

were

better

when

Calvin

was

there

and so

three

years

after him

being

banished

the

city

council

of

Geneva

reversed

the ban

on

Calvin

and held

him up

for the

first time

to be

in fact

a godly

man

he

served

there

the

church

there

until

his

death

on

May

27

15

64

160

years

ago

last

Monday

he

wrote

tracts

the

institutes

he

wrote

commentaries

on all

of the

New Testament

books

except the

book of

Revelation

plus he

wrote

commentaries

on the

first five

books of

the

Bible

he

wrote

commentaries

on the

psalm

which I've

used

in

looking at

Psalm

19

last week

he wrote

commentaries

on Isaiah

and Joshua

he gave

biblical

lectures

throughout

the course

of the

week

in the

university

in Geneva

and he

preached

10 sermons

every two

weeks

plus the

leading of

multiple

Bible studies

everything in

his life

everything in

his life

in his

ministry

was the

exposition

of scripture

this was

the ministry

that was

unleashed

in him

having seen

the glory

of God

in scripture

Calvin

preached

steadily

through

book

after book

after book

of the

Bible

he never

wavered

from this

approach

to preaching

for almost

25 years

of his

ministry

in the

pulpit

in Geneva

to give

you some

idea

of the

scope

of his

preaching

he began

his series

on the

book of

Acts

on the

25th

of August

1549

and ended

it in

March

1554

after

Acts

he went

on to

Thessalonians

46

sermons

Corinthians

186

sermons

pastoral

epistles

86

sermons

Galatians

43

sermons

Ephesians

48

sermons

until

1558

because he

was sick

in 1559

he began

what his

series called

the harmony

of the

gospels

and he

had not

yet finished

it when

he died

in May

1564

it's a

five year

sermon

series

he preached

139

sermons

on Job

200

on

Deuteronomy

353

on Isaiah

123

on Genesis

and so

on

and so

on

and so

on

and this

was a

specific

self

conscious

to work

in

truth

in fact

on

Easter

day

1538

after

preaching

he left

the pulpit

of St

Peter's

Church

in Geneva

because he

was banished

by the

city council

three years

later

in September

the 3rd

1541

he climbs

the stairs

into the

pulpit

on the

very next

Sunday

picks up

on the

very next

verse

that he

left

three years

earlier

Calvin

saw

the

majesty

of God

in his

word

he

believed

with all

of his

heart

that the

word

of God

was indeed

the word

of God

and that

all of it

was inspired

it was profitable

it was radiant

with the light

of the glory

of God

the very thing

that every

single human

being

is designed

to see

we were

created

to glory

to marvel

in God's

magnificence

and glory

for our

joy

and he

said

we see

it

unadulterated

clearly

in the

scriptures

through the

work of

the spirit

now through

this series

I've used

various

arguments

to build

confidence

in Bible

as God's

word

how can

we really

know the

Bible

is God's

word

and that

it is

right

that it

is good

that it

is sweet

for our

joy

God

is the

one

who

enables

us

to see

what is

really

there

divine

glory

is

really

shining

in

and

through

nature

divine

glory

really

is

in

and

shining

through

the

person

of

Jesus

Christ

divine

glory

really

is

in

and

shining

through

the

gospel

of

Jesus

Christ

divine

glory

is

really

shining

in

and

through

the

God

intent

meaning

of

the

God

inspired

Bible

and what

this means

for us

here at

St. Paul's

is really

simple

really

simple

for

instance

don't

ever miss

the preaching

of God's

word

if you

want to

see

glory

glory

it

means

that

we

will

bend

every

effort

to

find

that

meaning

and

to

see

that

glory

we

will

take

every

opportunity

make

every

effort

every

single

effort

we

can

to

find

the

meaning

and

to

see

the

glory

we

will

not

presume

to

see

the

glory

in

scripture

where

we

have

not

seen

the

meaning

of

scripture

and

we

will

not

be

satisfied

that

we

have

seen

the

meaning

of

scripture

as

we

ought

to

if

we

have

not

seen

the

glory

of

God

coming

through

it

if

we

labor

to

know

God

and

his

word

in

this

way

our

confidence

in

the

scriptures

will

be

well

grounded

and

our

joy

in

the

glory

of

God

will

be

great

and

will

be

able

to

live

a

life

of

Calvin

I

wish

I

had

more

time

to

express

to

you

the

adversity

he

went

through

in

life

and

how

steadfast

and

constant

he

was

as

he

gazed

on

God's

glory

and

endured

everything

so

so

my

challenge

to

you

this

morning

if

you

are

not

laboring

to

know

the

Bible

you

cannot

see

the

glory

of

the

God

who

has

created

you

and

therefore

you

cannot

know

the

deep

joy

in

life

that

he

offers

you

your

joy

is

at

stake

read

your

Bible

and

pray

for

the

miracle

God

help

me

see

help

me

see

your

majesty

and

your

glory

for

my

joy

Amen