New Testament Archives - Page 145 of 208

The Apostles Creed 2: God the Father

Ben Zornes on June 18, 2017

What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction:
So we begin the Creed with the statement “I believe.” Believe in what or whom? We do not believe in a generic deity, with details to be filled in later. We begin with the confession that we believe in a personal God, identified by name, and revealed in His Son. I believe in God the Father.

The Text:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Summary of the Text:
This phrase in the Creed is not a stand-alone name. It is defined and filled out a moment later when we add that we believe “in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord.” In other words, we are not confessing our faith in a Deity who is in some vague metaphorical sense like a father. No, we believe in God the Father of Jesus Christ. This is a confession that is most specific.

The Structure of Salvation:
Speaking of the new unity between Jew and Gentile, the apostle Paul admirably summarizes the structure of salvation within the compass of one brief verse. “For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” (Eph. 2:18). In a paraphrase, we would render it this way. “Through Christ we have access to the Father by means of one Spirit.” If I might employ something of a homely metaphor, the Father is the place we are driving to, the Son is the road, and the Holy Spirit is the car. The Father is where we are all going, Jesus is the way we get to Him, and the Spirit is the power that enables us to take that way to Him.

And this is why Jesus spoke of Himself in this way, “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6). Jesus is the way (hodos)—road or path—and the Spirit empowers us to travel on that road. We do not walk in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Rom. 8:4). We are instructed to walk in the Spirit (Gal. 5:16), and then again (Gal. 5:25). The Father is where we go, the Son is the way we go, and the Spirit is how we go.

When We Pray:
This is why, when Jesus taught us to pray, He taught us to pray to the Father (Matt. 6:9). This is how Christian prayer is supposed to function. We pray to the Father, in the name of the Son, in the power of the Spirit.

We are not neglecting the Son or the Spirit because we are not addressing them directly. It is a travesty of prayer when we separate out the persons of the Godhead and create factions in the church according to our separations. In some ways, this is far worse than “I am of Paul, I am of Apollos.” Liberals says they believe in the brotherhood of man, fatherhood of God (BOMFOG). But if you don’t have the Son, you don’t really have the Father (1 John 2:23), whatever you say. And charismatics focus on the Spirit—but the Spirit points away from Himself. It is the Spirit’s task to glorify Son (2 Cor. 3:18), whose task it is in turn to glorify the Father (John 17:1). Evangelicals focus on Jesus—but Jesus came to bring us to the Father.

Anthropomorphism Backwards:
In our glib unbelief, we say things like this—“We all have experience with human fathers, and so our ancestors naturally enough invented a ‘sky father,’ who would protect us, terrify us, provide for us, etc. But we have grown past that stage where we project our image into the heavens.”

In our arrogance, we think we have created God in our image. But the Scriptures say that God created us in His image (Gen. 1:27).

If there is no God, we are an inchoate mess. We are a shapeless lump of protoplasm, and have no image to project. We are what these chemicals would always do under these conditions and at this temperature. We cannot project our image onto the screen of the heavens because we have no projector, and no movie. We are nothing.

In our arrogance, we think that we have fashioned a heavenly Father out of our earthly fathers. But again, it is the other way around. “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named” (Eph. 3:14–15). We derive our faint reflections of masculinity and fatherhood from Him, and most emphatically not the other way around.

Fatherhood as Ultimate Reality:
The central point of all reality is ultimate, infinite, absolute masculinity. Fatherhood is at the center because the Father of Jesus is at the center. But this overwhelming. We cannot handle absolute Fatherhood. He dwells in unapproachable light (1 Tim. 6:16). We would crater under the slightest glimpse of it.

We cannot have the Father “raw,” but we must have the Father. What are we to do? Remember, he who has the Son has the Father. Remember what Jesus said to Philip. “Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Show us the Father?” (John 14:9).

But we preach Christ, not as a stand-in for the Father, but as the appointed and divinely fashioned way to the Father.

John the Baptist — His Message

Ben Zornes on June 11, 2017

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Sermon text: Matthew 3:1-3

In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying,
“Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” This is he who was spoken of
through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.’”

John’s message from 40,000 feet
______________________________

In the context of Isaiah 40

Gospel foundation in light of Hebrews 11:6

Repentance — back to front
___________________________

Judgement is real — Malachi 4:1, 5-6

Repentance and belief

Practical teaching on what that looks like.
______________________________________

Two types of people — Matthew 3:7 and Luke 3:10

Two types of instruction — Matthew 3:8-9 and Luke 3:11-14

Two types of power with two outcomes — Luke 3:15-18

Apostles Creed 1: I Believe

Ben Zornes on June 11, 2017

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What we now know as the Apostles Creed descended from an earlier form of the creed, known as the Old Roman Symbol. The beginning of the creed dates from as early as the second century. We do not have any direct evidence that it was penned by any of the apostles, but it is an admirable summary of the apostolic teaching.

Introduction:
Most of the sermons preached at Christ Church are expositional, and seek to unfold and apply the meaning of a text of Scripture. Sometimes the messages are topical, and various passages of Scripture are brought to bear on the selected theme. This is a bit different. It is an expositional message of an uninspired text, but the thing that makes it a sermon is that this uninspired text is going to be used as the basis for the selected themes we will then treat, gathering the teaching of Scripture from all over as we go. We are going to be working through the Apostles Creed, phrase by phrase.

The Text:
I believe in God the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, his only begotten Son, our Lord. He was conceived by the Holy Ghost, and born of the virgin, Mary. He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried. He descended into Hades. On the third day He rose again from the dead, ascended into Heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from thence He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Ghost, the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting. Amen.

Summary of the Text:
The first two words of the Creed are individual and personal. I believe. The Creed began as the confession that men and women would make upon their baptism, and so it is, as baptism is individual, so also the confession is individual. I believe.

Sole Instrument:
The noun form of this word in the New Testament is pistis, and the verb form is pisteuo. In order to get the same connotations in English, we have to use words with different roots. The word faith presupposes genuine faith, but believe doesn’t quite have the same force. “Everyone should believe in something. I believe I’ll have another drink.” To get the force if the New Testament usage, we would say something like I trust.

In Scripture, the sole instrument for apprehending all God’s blessings is faith. This begins in the first instance with justification, but it extends throughout our lives. “Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law” (Rom. 3:28).

But it is not the case that faith is some kind of a nanosecond thing at the beginning of the Christian life, disappearing immediately after. “Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?” (Gal. 3:3). We walk as Christians the same way we became Christians, which is by trusting God.

The Spirit is the one who enables us to do anything worthwhile, and He accompanies us throughout our lives. And the power of the Spirit is available to us through faith, and only through faith. “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Rom. 1:17).

There are two crucial things to note here. One is that the righteousness of God is revealed by faith, from first to last. There is no other way for it to be revealed. The second is that faith undergirds absolutely everything spiritual in our lives—the righteous will live by faith.

The Elements of Faith:
There are three elements to genuine faith, or to genuine believing. They are knowledge, assent, and trust (notitia, assensus, and fiducia). The first is awareness of the content of what is to be believed. The second is intellectual assent to it. The last is trusting in it. When you have all three together, and the object of faith is the truth of God, you are looking at a gift of God.

A Gift of God:
In our own fallen nature, we are incapable of trusting God. This is a moral inability, not a natural inability. We cannot trust God because we don’t want to trust Him. But our hearts are fully capable of trusting. They just aren’t capable of trusting anything good. If I could repent and believe with my old heart, then it is plain that I wouldn’t need a new heart.

This is why Scripture teaches that saving faith is a gift of God. We don’t gin it up ourselves. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Eph. 2:8–9). “For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake;” (Phil. 1:29). “For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith” (Rom. 12:3).

The Object of Faith:
You have heard a number of times from me that there is no virtue or strength in a transitive verb. Everything depends on the nature of the direct object. What would you rather have? “I have bigfaith in puny object,” or “I have punyfaith in big object”? What is the difference between the early inventor with Batman wings jumping off a bridge, and a nervous and panicked little granny flying across the country in a 747? If we compared the size of their faith, the guy on the bridge has more.

Sara was able to conceive because “she judged him faithful who had promised.” (Heb. 11:11). And this is why Jesus taught us the mustard seed principle. “And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6).

Is your faith alive? And is it resting in the appropriate object? And of course the only appropriate object of faith is Christ Himself.

John the Baptist – The Greatest Born of Women

Ben Zornes on June 4, 2017

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Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist; yet whoever is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. Matthew 11:11

Who was this greatest man born of women? It seems with a recommendation like this from the Lord Jesus, we should be pretty interested to know as much as we can about this man that Jesus lauds as any of the Old Testament saints or New Testament Apostles.

1. John the Baptist’s background.

Heritage (Luke 1)

Prophecies (Luke 1, Isaiah 40:3, Malachi 4:5-6)

2. John the Baptist’s character in light of Jesus’ praise.

Prophet (Mark 11:29-33)

Spiritual Insight (Matthew 3, John 1)

Fearless (Luke 3:19)

Humble (John3:30)

Faithful (John 3)

3. How can those who are least be greater than John the Baptist?

Not Externals (Mark 10:23-26, Matthew 5:20)

By Faith (John 5:33-36, Matthew 11:28-30)

Word and Spirit, Spirit and Word

Ben Zornes on June 4, 2017

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Introduction:
Last week we marked Ascension Sunday, the crown of the objective gospel. When we point to the objective gospel, we are talking about those elements of the gospel that would have been true had you or I never been born. But an objective gospel by itself saves no man—there has to be application. And when we are talking about application, we are talking about the two great elements of Pentecost, which are the Spirit and the Word.

The Text:
“That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory” (Eph. 1:12–14).

Summary of the Text:
There are too many blessings crammed into the first chapter of Ephesians to be able to deal with them adequately. But suffice it to say that God has blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (v. 3). This includes election (v. 4), and predestination to our adoption as sons (v. 5). This is a purpose that lines up with His good purpose and will (v. 5). Our salvation results in praise for the glory of His grace (v. 6). We have redemption in accordance with His riches, not in accordance with our poverty (v. 7). In this God abounds toward us (v. 8), delighting to reveal the mystery of His will (v. 9). The point is the unification and unity of all things everywhere (v. 10). We were predestined to be included in all of this (v. 11), those believing first being to the praise of His glory (v. 12). And what is the catalyst that makes all of this take shape in the world? Hearing the word of truth, the gospel of our salvation, and trusting (v. 13). Having trusted, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit of God, which is the earnest of our inheritance (v. 14).

Higher Than I:
In order for us to be saved from our sins, there has to be a transcendent and immovable place that is extra nos, outside of us. Lead me, the psalmist cries, to a rock that is higher than I (Ps. 61:2). We live in a therapeutic age, where everyone wants deliverance to be whatever happens when drowning sinners clutch at each other.

And so it is. Your salvation is anchored outside human history entirely. It is fastened to the eternal counsels of God, counsels that settled on you and your salvation before the first atom was created. It is not bolted to the good pleasure of God—that would not be secure enough. It is the good pleasure of God.

There are two halves of realized salvation—the objective message, which is about Jesus, His birth, perfect life, spotless sacrifice, silent burial, explosive resurrection, and glorious coronation. That is gospel. Jesus is Lord. But what is that to you? How does it engage? What is it that causes it to plug into a sinner’s life and there to begin its transformative work?
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain” (1 Cor. 15:1–2).
In this place, Paul begins by noting the subjective response, and then goes on to declare the objective elements of objective gospel—death, burial, resurrection.

In This Room:
The work of the Father was before all worlds. The work of the Son was outside Jerusalem, two thousand years ago. The work of the Spirit is here and now, in this room. The Spirit’s work in all of this began on the day of Pentecost, when the Spirit was poured out in Jerusalem, and the words about Christ were preached in the streets of Jerusalem. Keep in mind what God is doing—He is saving the world. The earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. Two thousand years ago, the Spirit was poured out in the streets of the city of man, and the gutters have been wet ever since. Some places we are already ankle deep, but oceanic glory is coming. Are you trying to avoid it? What are you going to do, stand on your chair?

So Put Out Your Hand:
This gospel reality exists independently of you. But you are summoned. You are invited. You are called. The gospel is objective forgiveness that God would place in your hand. What are you called to do? You are called to extend your hand, palm up. That is faith, and faith is the sole instrument for receiving the blessings of the gospel.

Do not dispute. Do not wrangle. Do not carp at words. Just extend your hand. Do not imitate those amateur high Calvinists who claim they cannot extend their hand. In defense of the prerogatives of the Potter, they tell the Potter not to tell them what to do.

The Praise of His Glory:
When grimy sinners are cleansed, all the glory goes to God. Philosophy can’t do this. Renewal projects cannot do it. Legislation cannot fix it. What can restore a drunk and drug addict? What can free men and women from the chains of lust? What can liberate us from churchy self-righteousness? The answer is, of course, exactly what the old gospel song said, which is nothing but the blood of Jesus.

When a sinner is saved, the sinner gets the forgiveness and joy. But who gets the glory? Paul was at pains to emphasize this in the passage surrounding our text. What He does results in praise of the glory of His grace (v. 6). He hauled us out of the mire so that we might be to the praise of His glory (v. 12). The culmination of our salvation is to the praise of His glory (v. 14). We are talking about God’s glory, but never forget that in this context we are talking about the glory of His grace.

What could possibly glorify the glory of God? The answer is porn addicts, drunks, liars, thieves, abortionists, sodomites, gluttons, and whores. The mines of God are deep, and He brings up the most unlikely ore. But when the propitiatory smelting is done, and the Craftsman of God is finished with us in His workshop, the crown that results is true glory added to infinite glory.