Christ as Mediator (1 Timothy 2:1-7) - Pastor Kenneth Collins Maple

Let's take our Bibles now and open up to 1st

Timothy chapter 2. I have in the bulletin there

just verse 5. I'm actually going to read verses

1 through 7. Just as a reminder of what we've

been doing, or perhaps this may be your first

time with us, in these fourth Sunday evening

worship services this year we have been looking

at key doctrine. from Scripture, things that

we believe to be true that are very essential.

And so far this year, we have looked at creation,

we have looked at the fall into sin, we've looked

at God's providence, we have studied the Trinity,

and we have looked at God's Word. Tonight, though,

we look at the mediation of the God man. We look

at Jesus Christ, the Son of God. And so having

heard that bit of an intro, let's read. 1 Timothy

2, 1 through 7. First of all, then, I urge that

supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings

be made for all people, for kings and all who

are in high places. that we may lead a peaceful

and quiet life, godly and dignified in every

way. This is good. And it is pleasing in the

sight of God, our Savior, who desires all people

to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the

truth, for there is one God and there is one

mediator between God and men, the man, Christ

Jesus. who gave himself as a ransom for all,

which is the testimony given at the proper time.

For this, I was appointed a preacher and an apostle.

I am telling the truth. I'm not lying. A teacher

of the Gentiles in faith and truth. This is God's

word. Let us pray. The Holy Spirit would grant

us help in understanding. Lord, we do praise

you and we thank you for your word. that is a

lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We

thank you for a word that is living and active

and sharper than a two -edged sword, and we thank

you for this word. But certainly, we need your

help. We need to understand this. And so, Lord,

would you open up our hearts and our minds to

hear from you tonight? We pray in Christ's name.

Amen. Do any of you Have you or do you currently

engage in debates? Anybody in school, maybe you

were in debate club, I'll put my hand down. I

wasn't, nobody ever invited me to do such a thing,

which is probably a good thing. But when you

are in a debate, you have to give, you should

give logical arguments, right? And sometimes

logical arguments, they have a name to them.

And this might be a big word and not a word that

you use every day, but the word syllogism. If

I say syllogism, do you understand what I'm talking

about? Blank stares. All right. So within a syllogism,

typically you have three parts. You can have

more, but usually it's three. You have a claim,

a premise, and a conclusion. Claim, premise,

conclusion. where the claim is supported by the

premise and leads to a conclusion. Here's a famous

example of a syllogism. All men are mortal, that's

your claim, all men are mortal. Premise, Socrates

was a man. Conclusion, therefore Socrates was

mortal. I don't know why Socrates is always used

in this, because it could work for any man except

for Jesus. But you see how that works. A syllogism

expresses truth, usually. Sometimes it expresses

opinion. Sometimes it expresses humor. Here's

one I came up with. Old Presbyterian churches

are the best. That's my claim. Old Presbyterian

churches are the best. Fairview is the oldest

Presbyterian church in Greenville County. That's

your premise. The conclusion, Fairview is the

best. Presbyterian Church in the county. And

I believe that to be a true statement. But why

am I telling you about syllogisms? You didn't

sign up for an evening of logic and debate, did

you? The reason I'm presenting this to you is

because as we look at First Timothy chapter two,

specifically verses four through six, we see

something a little bit like if you squint a little

bit. You see something like a syllogism that

is here. I'm not saying it's Paul's intent. I'm

not saying it's foolproof. But listen to it put

this way, the claim, there is one God who desires

all people to be saved. The premise, there is

one mediator between God and men, Jesus. The

conclusion, therefore, Christ gave himself as

a ransom for all. What I want you to see tonight.

is that Christ is your mediator, and he's the

only one who could do it. So, let's look at the

claim, the premise, and the conclusion of this.

Claim. There is one God desiring salvation for

all people. Now, for foreign Presbyterians, Calvinists,

we see verse four, And we're not entirely sure

what to do with this at times. We immediately

have this question, what does the word all mean

here in verse four? And I would love to entertain

your thoughts on this. But there's something

that it is not referring to. The word all cannot

refer to all people throughout all of time. It

cannot. And the reason for this is not just because

we're not universalists, but because Paul speaks

elsewhere, and the scriptures speak elsewhere,

of what's called definite atonement, that God

the Father gave to God the Son people to save,

and that not everybody believes the gospel message.

This is a hard truth, but it's a biblical one.

For instance, If we were to go to Romans chapter

Romans 10:16

10, verse 16, you would see what I'm talking

about, that not everyone believes the gospel

message. Just this one verse here, Romans 10,

16. But they have not all obeyed the gospel,

for Isaiah says, Lord, who has believed what

he has heard from us? And you can see surrounding

that verse, there are other places that tell

us those who are saved are those who call upon

the Lord in faith. But the sad reality is that

not everyone does. And so when Paul uses the

word all here in verse four of First Timothy

chapter two, he's not talking about universalism.

So something else must be going on. For further

evidence of this, we don't even really have to

leave the book of First Timothy. Go back up into

1st Timothy, just the end there of chapter one,

and you see these two men named Hymenaeus and

Alexander. And the text says here that Hymenaeus

and Alexander have shipwrecked their faith. And

it says that Paul says, I have handed them over

to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

So truly, people do reject the gospel. So once

again, I don't think that that word all refers

to all people throughout all of time. And so

that may lead us to ask, is there something wrong

with Jesus' atoning work? No, of course not.

Hymenaeus and Alexander in the text, they're

the ones at fault. There's nothing wrong with

Paul or with Jesus' mediation. the problem is

those who reject it. Friends, the problem is

our sin. And so again, there's something else

going on here. And I think it could be kind of

a combination of what I'm about to say. The reason

that I believe that Paul says, can say, that

God desires all people to be saved and yet doesn't

here indicate all people, is this is referring

to God's desire to execute the decrees election

and reprobate reprobation but even as God does

that and desires to execute those decrees he

does not take delight in the reprobation for

evidence of this we can see Ezekiel chapter 33

Ezekiel 33:11

verse 11 that reads say to them as I live declares

the Lord of God I have no pleasure in the death

of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his

way and live. Turn back, turn back from your

evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?

God does not take delight in that, but it is

part of his sovereign decree. There's also could

be something else going on within this verse

and this word all. is that Paul is referring

to all types of people, meaning that God doesn't

just choose from one nation or another. For we

remember what Paul has said, there is now neither

Jew nor Gentile, right? And so what this is getting

at is that the gospel message that salvation

is to go out to all people, to all nations and

tribes and tongues. And so the key here is to

see that our God is one of mercy and love and

grace. For no matter what we do with the all

word, we do still see in the verse that it's

God's desire to save, right? And friends, this

ought to be our desire as well, shouldn't it?

This is God's desire. It ought to be our desire

as well for others to know the one true God.

Christianity is one that is exclusive and that

there is only one way to God and it's through

Jesus Christ. He says so. I'm the way, the truth,

and the life. No one comes to the Father but

through me. So that's exclusive. But we don't

know who the elect are, do we? And so we are

to take the gospel everywhere. We saw that within

our sermon series in First Thessalonians. about

how Paul commends their faith, that their faith

is going everywhere. Friends, that should be

us. Taking our faith everywhere we go, whether

it's to work, whether it's to the kids' soccer

game, whether it's to the gym or to the library

or to the bank, let us take our faith everywhere

we go and share the gospel. because people need

to know who the one true God is. And as Paul

makes this claim here about the one true God,

the oneness of God, we remember key texts that

tell us that God is one. Deuteronomy chapter

six. Rejoice, O Israel, the Lord our God, the

Lord is one. Or perhaps you remember the one

from Exodus 15, the song the Israelites sing.

Who is like you among the gods, O Lord? The answer

is quite obvious. No one is like our God. No

one. There is only one God and he is a God of

mercy and he is the God who gives the mediator.

And so let's look at the premise, the mediator.

I mentioned Exodus just a second ago. This is

a good place for us to understand the mediator

because Moses was the mediator between God and

between Israel. Now, you might say, well, what

is a mediator? Well, if you've ever helped people

who were kind of at odds, you know what a mediator

is because you've served in that role. A mediator

is one who stands in the gap between persons

or groups of people who need help in reconciliation,

who need help in peace. Moses did this. Moses

was Israel's representative to God. Moses interceded

for the people. Moses received the law for the

Israelites. But Moses is not the one true mediator,

is he? He's not because Hebrews chapter three

says that Jesus is far superior. Listen to this

from Hebrews three, five, and six. Now Moses

was faithful in all God's house as a servant.

to testify to the things that were to be spoken

later. But Christ is faithful over God's house

as a son. Moses' work as we read it, what it

really does for us is it points ahead to Jesus'

work. Moses' ministry was not Jesus' ministry

because the point of that verse there in Hebrews

is that Christ is faithful as a son. Listen to

this quote. from a commentator who says, Moses

represented Israel before God, but he was not

God. Jesus, on the other hand, is the mediator

in whom God and man are perfectly united, for

Jesus possesses both a divine nature and a true

human nature. It is said often and it is true

that Jesus is fully God, and fully man. Jesus

has two natures. Church history tidbit for you.

Take yourself back to 451, the Council of Chalcedon.

If you're ever over in Istanbul, you need to

cross over to the Asian side. You can take the

ferry or you can get across the bridge, but you

can stand in the location believed to be where

Church fathers gathered for the Council of Chalcedon

and what they were wrestling with at Chalcedon

was the two natures of Jesus. How do we understand

Jesus? How do we reconcile divinity and humanity?

And so they produced the Chalcedonian definition

listen to this therefore following the Holy Fathers

we all with one accord teach men to acknowledge

one and the same son Lord Jesus Christ, at once

complete in Godhead and complete in manhood,

truly God and truly man, consisting also of a

reasonable soul and body. And with that divine

nature, and with that human nature, Christ is

the only one who could be the mediator between

us fallen people and between holy God. Anselm

of Canterbury said, salvation could not have

been done unless man paid what was owing to God

for sin, but the debt was too great, that while

man alone owed it, only God could pay it. So

that the same person must be both man and God.

Not to give you too many quotes, but R .C. Sproul

has a wonderful one here when he says, The fact

is that only one man qualifies to be the mediator.

No one but Christ has the necessary qualifications

to effect reconciliation between God and man.

Missing from all other religions is an atonement

that satisfies the justice of God. They have

only men. Christianity alone has a God man. To

take it back then to logic, our syllogism for

tonight, this is the premise that Jesus is the

one mediator between God and man because he's

the only one with both natures. Jesus, as you

know, as you read the scriptures, you know that

Jesus has that human nature. The scriptures tell

us that Jesus grew in stature, that Jesus grew

in knowledge. We know that Jesus was hungry at

times. We know that Jesus got thirsty just like

we do out in the heat. We know that Jesus experienced

pain and the pain on the cross, the agony of

that. We know that Jesus experienced sorrow.

You remember how he wept over Lazarus, right?

And so all of these examples and so many more

show us that Jesus truly had a fully human Nature

and that he then identifies with us in every

single way Yet without sin listen to this from

Hebrews 415 For we do not have a high priest

who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses

But one who in every respect has been tempted

as we are yet without Friends, I hope that it

is great comfort, encouragement to know that

when you go through something terribly difficult,

especially as you battle sin, that Jesus knows

what you're going through, that Jesus can identify

you have a high priest who knows what you're

going through. And so you can lean on him and

you can trust him and you can take that sin to

him and plead God's forgiveness and know that

Christ has come to make atonement for your sin.

But not only is he got a human nature, he also

is the divine son. Jesus has perfect communion

with the Father and with the Spirit. What Jesus

did, he did as sent by the Father and under the

anointing of the Holy Spirit. Jesus, as you know,

is the word incarnate. Jesus is the one that

we need. But typically when we think of mediation,

maybe we think of being inside a room. There's

a big board table there, there's people sitting

around it, and there's a form that needs to be

signed and drafted up. Friends, Jesus does a

lot more than sign a piece of paper. Jesus gives

his life. Jesus laid down his life for you. Let's

look at the conclusion then, the ransom from

chapter two, verse six. Jesus who gave himself

as a ransom for all. Christ, as you know, laid

down his life so that you would have eternal

life with him. And he's the only way for mediation

to come between God and sinful man because Jesus

is holy man. Christ did this for us. thinking

about that term ransom there, I'm reminded, and

perhaps you are too, of a wonderful, somewhat

contemporary hymn called How Deep the Fathers

Love for Us. And if I was half a singer, I'd

sing it for you. But the problem is, I've never

gotten through that song without tearing up a

little bit. I'm gonna read you a verse from this

song. And hopefully the waterworks don't come.

I will not boast in anything. No gifts, no power,

no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ,

his death and resurrection. Why should I gain

from his reward? I cannot give an answer. But

this I know with all my heart. His wounds have

paid my ransom. Friends, do you know that tonight?

Do you know that Jesus has paid your ransom?

That he went to the cross to lay his life down

for you? Do not leave this sanctuary without

knowing this wonderful truth. But also let's

think, what do we do with this now? We know that

he has paid our ransom. What do we do with it?

Well, there's a lot we could say here, but I'll

keep it brief. Go back to the beginning of our

text in chapter 2 there, 1st Timothy 2. Look

at verses 1 and 2, and I'll read this again for

us. You see that word all again in two different

locations. What are we to do with this ransom?

According to Paul here, we are to pray. And we

are to pray for all people and for their salvation.

Now you might say, well, how do I pray for all

people? Well, again, what we said just a few

minutes ago, this may be referring to types of

people. And I think that that is evidenced by

verse two. as Paul tells Timothy to pray for

kings in those in high positions. Why? Why should

we pray for those in high positions? Why pray

for leaders? Why pray for kings or presidents,

mayors and governors? Why? Because it's their

leadership that ought to protect the rights of

people to worship, ought to protect the rights

of people to spread the gospel. ought to lead

to people living quiet and peaceful lives with

one another and so yes we should pray for all

people and especially for those in positions

of leadership but not only ours remember we are

to take our faith we're to take the gospel to

the ends of the earth and so we pray not just

for our leaders but we must pray for leaders

across the world especially those who lead in

tyranny those who lead in ungodly ways. We ought

to pray that the Lord would move in their hearts

to loosen the grip and to allow people to hear

the gospel and to know that Jesus is their mediator.

That's who we should pray for. But secondly and

finally, by way of application, know this church

family. Jesus does not cease to be our mediator.

We think, of course, and rightly, that Jesus,

on the cross, he said it, it is finished, right?

He atoned for our sins, but Jesus doesn't quit

being our mediator. Because what is Jesus doing

right now? Jesus is praying. The book of Hebrews

says that Jesus lives to intercede. so friends

please know that tonight Jesus continues he lives

on to be your mediator. Thanks be to God. Let's

pray.