Christ Church

Expositional

The Child King & His Army (Psalms | King’s Cross) (King’s Cross)

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INTRODUCTION

Psalm 8 is one of the great psalms of praise and wonder: marveling at the greatness of God’s creation and the greatness of His mindfulness of man. But the center of that mindfulness is Jesus Christ who has been given the name above all names, who has silenced sin and death. Everything has been put beneath His feet, and He will reign until His name is confessed as the greatest name in all the earth.

The Text: “TO THE CHIEF MUSICIAN UPON GITTITH, A PSALM OF DAVID. O LORD our Lord, how excellent is thy name in all the earth!…” (Ps. 8:1-9).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The “Gittith” is probably a musical instrument or tune and is probably related in some way to the winepress in Gath. Because of this, it has historically been associated with a harvest festival. The Psalm opens and closes with an exuberant doxology of praise to the majesty and excellence of the name of God in all the earth (Ps. 8:1, 9). Between those two bookends there are a number of parallels: children taming enemies (8:2) and all the beasts, birds, and fish being tamed (8:7-8). You have the heavenly works of God’s fingers (8:3) and the dominion over the works of God’s hands (8:6). And at the center of the Psalm, there is the awe-inspired questions: What is man? Why do you care for him? And God has even crowned him with glory and honor (8:4-5).

A PROPHECY OF CHRIST

We’ve said that the psalms are all generally the songs of Christ, but some of them are directly Messianic and specific prophecies of Christ. Psalm 8 is one of those Psalms. We know this because the New Testament tells us: Hebrews specifically insists that Psalm 8 is prophesying Christ who, even though we do not yet see all things put under Him, “was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor” (Heb. 2:8-9). Paul applies this Psalm to Jesus in 1 Cor. 15:27: “For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. For he hath put all things under his feet…” And again in Ephesians 1:21-22: speaking of the resurrection, it says that Christ has been seated at God’s right hand: “Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come. And hath put all things under his feet…” Finally, Christ Himself appeals to this psalm when He clears the temple of the money changers and the children followed Him crying out in the temple, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” When the chief priests and scribes objected, Jesus appealed to Psalm 8:2 and said it was talking about Him. We might add to all of this that it is the name of Jesus in particular that will be magnified in all the earth: every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord (Phil. 2:9-11).

This is a Psalm about the dominion of Jesus. He was born of a woman, and even His cries were the beginning of the defeat of all our enemies. He became a man, the son of man, and visited us in person because God remembered all His covenant promises. He was made a little lower than the angels in the incarnation in order to suffer and die for us. And He was raised from the dead and crowned with glory and honor, and all things have been put beneath His feet. All of creation belongs to Him: all nature, all kingdoms, all families, all nations, all people, all galaxies.

THE CHILD KINGDOM

There is a remarkable childlike theme throughout Scripture that began in the Garden of Eden. There is a childlike faith and curiosity and courage that God is determined to bless, and there is a devilish old fussiness that God is determined to destroy. Adam and Eve were meant to trust their Father, but they grasped for maturity and grew old and died. But God promised that the seed of the woman, a child, would crush the head of the seed of the serpent. And so the tension builds: Will Sarah have a son? Will Hannah conceive? And they do, and so does Ruth, and her great-grandson was a young shepherd boy who fought lions and bears and giants. But David was promised a son, who would be God’s own son, and Isaiah said that a virgin would conceive: unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given (Is. 7, 9). And a little child would come and tame the wolf to lie down with the lamb, and the leopard to lie down with the baby goat, and lions and calves would play together, and a nursing child would play with poisonous snakes (Is. 11:6-8).

Psalm 8 is about that Child King taming the enemies, the sons of the snake, the lions and giants that roar and taunt. And when John saw his vision of the incarnation, he saw the dragon hunting a woman giving birth to a man child who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron, “and her child was caught up unto God and to His throne” (Rev. 12:4-5). Jesus is the man child whose cries silence the enemy and the avenger. Jesus is the Child King caught up to God and His throne who rules all the nations.

APPLICATIONS: FAITH & WONDER

Hebrews says that faith does many different things: faith builds enormous ships, moves to strange lands and builds altars, conceives babies, offers impossible sacrifices, suffers afflictions, and sometimes faith goes to war and subdues kingdoms. It is trendy to overly spiritualize the obedience of faith on the one hand, and it is sometimes strongly tempting to overly carnalize the obedience of faith. Faith always wins, and sometimes it looks like winning and sometimes it doesn’t. Faith doesn’t look like the wisdom of carnal men, but faith really is wise. Faith obeys, works hard, studies hard, learns from mistakes, doesn’t give up, and faith wonders at the glory of it all.

Jesus says that what He is looking for is the faith of children. When His disciples asked Him who is the greatest in the Kingdom, Jesus set a little child in front of them and said, “verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven” (Mt. 18:3-4). The apostles were the first little children of the Kingdom (Lk. 10:21), but there have been many generations since: missionaries, businessmen, scientists, statesmen, soldiers, mothers, teachers, pastors, artists, and musicians.

Child-like faith and wonder are essential to Christian dominion. This is not a call for sentimentalism or mysticism. We need men and women who are strong and confident and full of wisdom and courage, but we need an army that knows that their greatest power is found in the fact that they are children of God.

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Armed & Dangerous (The Living Stone) (Living Stone Reformed Church)

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INTRODUCTION

A real temptation for Christians is to think that in order to overcome temptation or to refute some atheist that what they need is more information. Of course, we are to be diligent students of the Word. But remember what Peter said earlier in his letter about being like newborn babies desiring milk. In the face of both temptation and persecution, your greatest weapon is to return to the simplicity of the Gospel.

THE TEXT

1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; 2 That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. 3 For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: 4 Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you: 5 Who shall give account to him that is ready to judge the quick and the dead. 6 For for this cause was the gospel preached also to them that are dead, that they might be judged according to men in the flesh, but live according to God in the spirit. […] 1Peter 4:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

The saints are to live in the reality that by their baptism, they are intimately joined to all of Christ’s redeeming work, particularly his ascension (2:18-22). This is what arms the saint in their battle with the flesh (v1). Baptism isn’t a way to “tap out” of this earthly sojourn; but it does equip you to live out your days according to the will of God and not the lusts of men (v2). These saints had once walked according to the will of the Gentiles (strikingly Peter includes himself); this way of life is marked by by “lust off the leash” (v3). Now, however, the saints have become strange to their old friends, and all sorts of slanderous things are laid to their charge (v4). Though Christians are maligned by evil men, Peter reminds them that these men will one day stand before the ascended Christ to give an account of themselves (v5). These glad tidings (glad for the righteous, at least), have been heralded even to the dead (v6, 2:19), so that no man may claim an exception from Christ’s judgement on the quick and the dead.

The end of the old world is upon these Christians. Peter exhorts them how to behave themselves in light of the looming judgement which was coming. The immediate application of these words is to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70. However, by extension we may apply this to all saints since then as we await the final judgement. How should saints behave in the shadows of looming judgement? Don’t be drunk. Pray like a midnight sentinel. Be fervent in love for each other, quick to cover each others sins in love (vv7-8, Pro. 10:12). Make room in your home for displaced Christians, without complaining (v9). God has poured out innumerable gifts upon His people and they are to use those gifts in service to each other and for the glory of God through Jesus Christ (vv10-11).

A fiery trial is coming, and so the saints shouldn’t be caught flatfooted by this trial, which is intended to prove them (v12). Instead, when the trial comes, they are to rejoice. Why? Because they are so joined with Christ that like His sufferings led to his glory, their sufferings will result in their receiving exceeding joy (v13). Being reproached for the name of Christ is not cause for distress, it is cause for celebration; for the spirit of glory rests on Christ’s people (v14, Cf. Is. 11:2). Evil men rejected the Living Stone, and now, as their judgement draws nigh, they heap up their faults by persecuting the followers of the Living Stone (v14b). Peter reaffirms the Christian’s duty to observe the Law of Moses regarding things like murder, theft, false witness, and adultery (v15). They should not be ashamed if they suffer due to being enlisted in the army of Christ, but should glorify God that this is evidence of their close union with Christ (v16). Judgement is coming. Christ has marked those who are His, so those who have not obeyed the Gospel of God should tremble (vv17-18). As the saints pass through the fiery judgement, they must say with Christ, “Into thine hand I commit my spirit” (v19, Cf. Ps. 31:5).

STICKS & STONES

A feature of the persecution of the righteous is the potency of slanderous names and mockery. Peter has called to mind the wicked men of Noah’s day, and how they troubled him as he patiently built the ark and preached righteousness. Ahab called Elijah the troubler of Israel. 2 Chronicles 36:15-16 summarizes how the wicked regularly reproached the righteous. However the name Christian arose, it soon became a name that bore a death sentence. Christians were accused of all manner of vile practices. Cannibals. Atheists. Sorcerers. Inbreeds. Traitors. Throughout Church history, wicked men have labelled faithful Christians with insulting and slanderous labels. John Wycliffe’s followers, because they devoted themselves to prayer, were ridiculed as Lollards (probably from the Dutch for mumblers). Evangelical. Puritan. Jesus Freaks. Kirkers. Such name-calling has a strong potency. It can make people flinch and lean away from what they ought to be loyal to.

On the other side, we are warned to not take the accusations of our enemies as a license to lawlessness. Just because they call you a horse thief doesn’t mean you should saddle up. This can be seen in recent years as the radical left amped up their accusations towards Christians of being Nazis, racists, and White Supremacists. Sadly, like a slow drip wears down rock, many Christians were worn down and have gradually allowed those once slanderous titles to actually be true about them. This is not an insignificant or uncommon temptation to Christians under pressure. Satan tempts us by starving us through persecution, and then seducing us through sweet poison.

Rather, we are instructed here to arm ourselves. This passage is plain with what our weaponry is: the same mind as Christ had. By faith in Christ, by baptism, you bear His name because you are joined with Him. Think of all the aspersions cast upon Him. What was Christ’s mindset in facing both the slander and the sufferings? Christ knew that God’s power is perfected in weakness.  The Stone must be rejected by the builders, before it became the cornerstone of the Lord’s temple. Glory comes through suffering. A crown awaited Him on the far side of the cross. Peter wants you to arm yourself with the knowledge that your baptism unites you to Christ. To endeavor to skirt suffering through compromise or cowardice or through retaliation is to live contrary to your baptism. Remember, Peter is equipping you to endure your trials through faith, not escape your trials.

DEFIANT REJOICING

The lusts of the flesh really do entice us with joy. In fact, you’ll notice that part of the pressure put upon these Christians is that they had left the lifestyle of carnal indulgence, and this brought about the slander. Sinners never want to be alone in their sin. Come with us. Share in our guilt. Wicked men think that somehow if everyone does some sinful thing that it waters down the guilt. No. It does’t work that way. That just shows that beyond simply having poor impulse control, you also have all the leadership qualities of a singular wildebeest running with the stampeding herd.

But what we are presented with here is a summons to defiant rejoicing. Faced with temptations to leave righteousness and go back to the life of lust, Peter admonishes you to arm yourself with your baptism, your union with Christ. Faced with fiery persecutions, Peter tells you to think about how you are now wonderfully joined with Jesus. All of Jesus.

Peter frames this is in superlative terms. Exceeding joy. The Spirit of Glory resting upon you. Glory. Happiness. This is because the glad tidings of Christ plants you in the deep soil of His everlasting joy in His own sufferings and glory. Your sin is entirely forgiven. Your persecutors will soon face the wrath of the Lamb. Your prayers will soon give way to eternal praise. Your pain will melt into pleasures evermore.

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Postmillennial Worship (Christ Church)

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INTRODUCTION 

Postmillennialism is the conviction that prior to the Second Coming of Christ, the earth will be as full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. The church’s marching orders, the Great Commission (Matt. 28:18-20), will be successfully fulfilled. All the enemies of Christ will be subdued by the power of the gospel, with only one exception—that exception being death itself, which will be destroyed by the personal appearance of the Lord (1 Cor. 15:25-26).

The reference to postmillennial worship means that we believe right worship of God to be the central instrument that He will use to bring this about. Right worship, offered up with the faith of Abraham (Rom. 4:13), will receive Abraham’s promise.

THE TEXT

“For from the rising of the sun even unto the going down of the same My name shall be great among the Gentiles; And in every place incense shall be offered unto my name, and a pure offering: For my name shall be great among the heathen, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 1:11).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In the first part of this chapter of Malachi, the prophet is chastising the people for their corrupt and lame worship of Him (v. 8). They do not honor God as they ought (v. 6). As a consequence, He no longer accepts their offerings (v. 10).

And then comes the abrupt promise of our text. God will have the honor His name deserves, and He will fetch that honor from every point of the compass. His name will be great among the Gentiles, and pure worship will be offered to Him in every place.

THE AUTHORITY OF CHRIST

Jesus Christ has ascended into the heavenly places, into the court of the Ancient of Days, where He was given universal dominion (Dan. 7:13-14). He bought all the nations of men with His own blood, and He intends to have them (Ps. 2:7-8). He told His followers that He had been given all authority in Heaven and on earth, and that was why they were to fan out and disciple all the nations on earth (Matt. 28:18-20). That includes planting churches, centers of worship.

We glorify the name of Christ as we worship Him in the heavenly places. And in the Lord’s Prayer, we ask for His kingdom to come, for His will to be done “on earth as it is in Heaven.” We are asking for the name of Christ to be exalted on earth in just the way we exalted it in Heaven.

FIGHT FROM THE HIGH GROUND

We ascend into the heavenlies in our worship and meet with our God there (Heb. 12:22). But this heavenly worship is not something that has somehow fearfully run away from the enemy on earth. Rather, as the book of Revelation shows in great detail, the worship of the saints in heaven accomplishes God’s judgments and purposes on earth. The twenty-four elders worship God in heaven (Rev. 4:10), and the seven seals are opened in heaven (Rev. 5:5). But this does not leave the earth untouched or unaffected. What happens in heaven drives what happens on earth.

So if you want to fight the culture war, you have to fight from the high ground. And the only high ground we can successfully fight from is the high ground of Heaven, where our Lord Jesus is seated at God’s right hand.

WHAT WORSHIP DOES

“For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;) Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Cor. 10:3-5).

Note that we are expressly told that we do not accomplish this mission by means of physical weapons. One of the things that has disturbed our local secularists is that they have heard us saying things like “all of Christ for all of life for all of Moscow.” This seems to them as though we want to get control by earthly means. But we are talking about spiritual warfare. At the same time, spiritual warfare is not ethereal warfare, or some form of make-believe warfare.

ECHOS OF THE CELESTIAL CORONATION

Our worship services are a weekly celebration of that great coronation that happened two thousand years ago. And coronation celebrations always spell trouble for all pretenders to the throne. This is what Adonijah discovered to his dismay. His coronation party was quite overshadowed.

“And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating . . . And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, so that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard. And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom . . . And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way” (1 Kings 1:39-49).

One celebration ruined the other celebration.

WARFARE THROUGH NEW EYES

God established the antithesis at the very beginning of human history (Gen. 3:15). There is therefore a constant state of war between the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent. The Lord Jesus crushed the serpent’s head in His crucifixion and resurrection, but by His grace He permits us to participate in that struggle (Rom. 16:20). He crushes the adversary badly, bruising him under His heel. But remember, as His body, we are that heel. “And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church” (Eph. 1:22).

But there is more. Jesus promised us that in this conflict, the gates of Hades would never prevail against us (Matt. 16:18). But please note that the gates of Hades are not an offensive weapon. We are not besieged by the gates of Hades. We are the besiegers. We are not manning our tiny little Alamo, fighting desperately until we finally go under. It is the other way around. This does not mean that our warfare is easy. Far from it. The first men up the scaling ladders can find the fighting pretty hot at the top of the wall. But it is the top of their wall.

PROCLAIM TILL HE COMES

Every faithful sermon that declares Christ as Savior and Lord is a proclamation, but not just to the gathered believers. The message is also for unbelievers, as well as all the principalities and powers. Every time we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, which we do every seven days, we proclaim the vicarious death that conquers the whole world (1 Cor. 11:26). And every time we open our mouths and our psalters to sing, we want to do so in a way so that Adonijah can hear it.

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Your Marriage and The Cosmos (The Living Stone) (Living Stone Reformed Church)

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INTRODUCTION

Far too many people have a compartmentalized view of the cosmos. We’ve sorted things out, and we want them all to stay put. Butterflies over here. Archangels over there. But we cannot seal off one area of life from another. No matter how imaginative secular man gets, he cannot create a world other than what exists. A world in which Christ is Lord over all.

THE TEXT

1 Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives; 2 While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear. 3 Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; 4 But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price. […] 1 Peter 3:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Having just pointed to the example of Christ’s patient sufferings, and exhorting servants to endure even cruel masters by imitating Christ, Peter exhorts wives to adopt a similar manner. A wife is to be submissive to her own husband (v1). Even unbelieving husbands can be won over, not by his wife’s nagging, but by her righteous manner; Peter further details what this righteousness looks like in practice: sexual purity braided with reverence (vv1-2). A wife’s primary adornment is the ornamentation of a meek and quiet spirit; in God’s economy such a demeanor is like a set of rare pearls (vv3-4). Peter puts a compelling example before Christian women: their mother in the faith, Sarah, who obeyed Abraham not only in word but also in deed (vv5-6). Women were especially vulnerable in the ancient world. So, as persecution looms on the horizon, Christian women must be fearless (v6, Cf. Pro. 31:25). The last in the household instructions is the husband, or head of household. Men are also to look to Jesus in determining how to conduct themselves. A man’s spiritual resume is primarily evidenced in how he treats his wife. A husband should not merely share the same dwelling as his wife, he must endeavor to know her entirely. Furthermore, he is to honor her by not crushing her with his strength or misusing her by handing over his responsibilities to her. Above all, a husband is to be mindful that she too is a fellow heir of the grace of life. If he neglects this, his prayers will bounce off the ceiling (v7).

The entire congregation should strive to treat one another with remarkable love and considerate courtesy; instead of a retaliatory culture, they must live as those who are to inherit a blessing (vv8-9). To drive all this home, Peter recites a lengthy stretch of Psalm 34, which reminds us that since God has delivered us, we ought to conduct ourselves according to the new life which that deliverance brought about for us (vv10-12). Peter then reiterates his teaching from the previous chapter. Most of the time, doing good is not met with punishment (v13); but if they do suffer for righteousness, they are to remember Christ’s teaching, that immense blessing rests on those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. Therefore, they must not be fearful (vv13-14, Cf. Mt. 5:10 & 10:28). This way of living is going to raise questions. So, Christians should be prepared to point to the hope they have in Christ, even when condemned as evildoers (vv15-17).

The bulk of Peter’s letter has actually been building up to this teaching on baptism. Christ suffered in your place (atonement), in order to bring you to God (justification); He accomplished this by His crucifixion, whereby our flesh is put to death, and by the Spirit vivifying Jesus, whereby our spirits are made alive (sanctification) (v18). Though Christ, the only innocent man, was cruelly mistreated by both earthly rulers and heavenly principalities, he bore that mistreatment silently (2:22); but after His resurrection He was the thunderous Word. He heralded His conquest to all beings, including the imprisoned souls of those disobedient in the corrupt days of Noah (vv19-20). The water of judgement in Noah’s day was a type of baptism. Baptism saves us. Whereas the Jewish washings cleansed ceremonial uncleanness, baptism stands as a binding oath to God of loyalty; your baptism is to make you conscientious that by the resurrection of Jesus you have entered the new life, the new world, which He has made (v20). Baptism delivers you from the old creation, marked by cruelty and corruption, into a new creation in which Jesus rules in heaven, triumphant over all angels, authorities, and powers (vv21-22).

CHRIST’S SUFFERINGS & YOUR MARRIAGE

Modern women are encouraged to be loud. Loud in their defiance of the patriarchy. Loud in shouting their abortions. Loud in their immodesty. They are encouraged to make their voice heard. All of this is undertaken in order to revolutionize the world. Peter sets before Christian women a model for feminine virtue that offends the modern feminist. First, Christ suffered while entrusting Himself to the justice of God. Second, Sarah, as the mother of faithful women, exemplifies the potency of a wife quietly and respectfully following where her husband leads; she now has daughters spread across the entire world. A wife who is sexually faithful to her husband, diligently reveres him, meekly & quietly goes about doing good in her home without fear is making the most potent statement that can be made. She is stating that her faith and hope are in Christ, who suffered cruelly but is now exalted as judge over all heavenly and earthly authorities. Peter says that this “conversation” speaks volumes, and if her husband is disobedient to the Word, her faithful obedience to the Word might just win her husband to the Word. So then, the challenge to wives of Christian husbands is to reflect on this. If unbelieving husbands can be transformed by the radical and unswerving Christlikeness of a submissive wife, how much more a believing husband?

Husbands are also poignantly challenged here. Peter stresses that a husband should be close to his wife not only in proximity, but in attentiveness. A godly husband is called to intricately know his wife, her needs, and her capacity. He must continually bear in mind that she’s a comparatively weaker vessel; like a porcelain tea set compared to rugged camping gear. You husbands did not marry a man, so do not treat your wife as if she were. Instead, fill her with love. Physical, financial, and spiritual love. If you don’t do this, you are sabotaging your own spiritual authority.

CHRIST’S ASCENSION & YOUR SUFFERINGS

Peter’s teaching on baptism is the crescendo of all his other teachings thus far. Your sufferings at the hand of tyrants, your various duties (citizens, slaves, wives, husbands), are all done in light of not only what Christ accomplished by His sufferings, but in light of the glory which followed His sufferings. In your, you are joined to those sufferings and those glories.

Baptism, Peter asserts, is both a certain deliverance and a certain judgement. To illustrate this, he reminds us of the world before Noah’s flood. The world was full of corrupt men who persecuted Noah. The waters which drowned the men of disobedience also bore up the ark which saved Noah and his family. Peter teaches us that Christ, after being vivified by the Spirit, and before appearing to His disciples, went down into Hades to proclaim His conquest over death and evil. He then ascended and is now seated as Lord over all angelic powers.

By faith in Christ you are saved by this baptism. The salvation is not found in merely the outward sign, Peter cautions. The salvation found in baptism is found in fidelity to what that sign binds you to. You are bound in pledge to Christ the King over all angelic and earthly powers. This has pertinent application in regards to infant baptism. A baptized child is set aside, marked out, and tasked to live as becomes a follower of Christ. He is to grow up breathing the air of repentance and faith, confession of sin and love towards God and His people. Baptism is a pledge to God, and puts you in mind to live as a member of this new creation. As you face suffering and temptation, Peter teaches that baptism is to be a continually comfort in distress and a spur towards righteousness. Are you baptized into Christ? Then all your persecutors are heaping up condemnation upon themselves. Are you baptized? Then live like a citizen of this new creation. Judgement & salvation are both displayed in our baptism. As one writer put it: Baptism is spiritual warfare.

TO BRING YOU TO GOD

All of Christ’s sufferings were undertaken to restore you to God. Of course, as Peter has exhorted, we are to live as a holy nation; but this follows the gracious gift of new life which the Word of Christ has brought about in us. God didn’t spread a feast and then command you to go make for yourself a mouth. Rather, He made a feast and gave you a mouth for the feast. He made marvelous light, and then gave you eyes to see that light. He handed you the gift of Christ, and then gave you hands of faith to receive it all. From first to last Salvation is a gift.

Christ’s gift of salvation leaves no aspect of of the cosmos untouched. Your marriage is not disconnected from Christ’s conquest over fallen angels or corrupt men. Your sufferings are not meaningless. Christ has descended to Hades, and bodily heralded His triumph to the damned. Christ has ascended on high. And by your baptism, Christ brings you through the fiery judgement, and into the new heavens and new earth which He inaugurated.

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