Yuba-Sutter Grace Church
  • Info
  • Articles
  • Sermons
  • Location

Particular, Definite Redemption

10/27/2016

0 Comments

 
In His high priestly prayer to His Father, Our Lord Jesus said, “All mine are thine, and thine are mine; and I am glorified in them” (John 17:10). We know that all scripture is truth (John 17:17; Ps. 119:89). Yet some scripture is more easily understood than others. The disciples did not understand much of what Jesus told them when He first spoke to them. On one occasion, they said, “Lo, now speakest thou plainly” (John 16:29). And Peter said that Paul wrote, “some things hard to be understood” (2 Pet. 3:16). Nevertheless, some scripture is as clear as a sea of glass. This is one such scripture. With undeniable exactness, our Lord Jesus identifies the people of God. They are the ones that belong to God the Father. And they are the ones who belong to God the Son, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our one Mediator. In all these, Christ is glorified.

In the sixties, when I was in grade school, I think that some of the tools popular at NASA spilled over into the public school curriculum. One such topic was “set” theory. At the time, most students and parents wondered what this “new math” was all about. Turns out, I benefited from that instruction much later in my life when I found the need to program computers for a living. Now, a “set”, in mathematics, is a well-defined collection of distinct objects. For example, the books in my bookshelf may be considered a set. The cars in my garage make up a different set. A set has to do with specific instances of things. In set theory, it’s not enough to talk about oranges, or even a specific number of oranges, such as “five oranges take away two oranges is three oranges.” What is important in set theory are those specific oranges that are on the counter of my kitchen at 3:01 pm on Thursday, 27-Oct-2016. By tomorrow, that set will be a different set, because one of them may have been eaten!


Now, in John 17:10, Jesus says to His Father, “All mine are thine.” In other words, all those people who belong to the Lord Jesus, also belong to His Father. These are individuals who are named and uniquely identifiable throughout time and eternity. By His statement, all who belong to the Lord Jesus Christ also belong to the Father. But that is not all our Lord said here. If that were all that He said, we would have to allow that there may be some who belong to the Father that do not also belong to the Son. For example, my wife and I have six children. My wife and I have never had any other children than those we had together. Therefore, not only are all of my children her children, but all of her children are my children. A nerd-like person might say that we share the same “set” of children. She has no children that are not also mine. And I have no children that are not also hers. The only children I have are the children she has. And vice-versa. This is what our Lord is saying here in John 17:10. All of those people that are His, are all of those that belong to the Father. The Father has no people but those that belong to the Son. The Son has no people but those that belong to the Father. The Father has given all of His people to His Son. And the Son has become Surety for all of the people, the sheep, that belong to the Father. He makes them sure to God in spite of the guilt and corruption of their sin and the demands of God’s holy law and justice. There are no others included in this “set” who are “the elect of God.” Therefore, every person whom God the Father chose before the foundation of the world, were given to the Son of God to have as His own children, people, sheep, church, bride, temple, generation, nation, body (1 Pet. 2:9). They were given to Him to redeem, to make holy and blameless by His one offering of Himself to God in their place (Eph. 1:4-7; Heb. 10:10,14). He would fulfill His assignment and present them to God the Father as the adopted, redeemed sons of His eternal love (Eph. 1:4-5; Heb. 2:10; John 11:49-52; 1 John 3:1-2). The Father gave all of His elect to Christ. And all those given by God the Father to Christ to bring to glory, are the only people that belong to Christ. He has no others.


But to this fact our Lord adds these all-important words of fulfillment. “And I am glorified in them.” This final statement is Divinely sovereign and glorious! What is He saying here? That Christ is glorified in all those chosen by God the Father before time began. In other words, Christ is glorified in them because He has finished the work God gave Him to do. He is glorified in their eternal redemption. He is glorified because they are conformed to His image. He is glorified in their preservation. He is glorified in their presentation to God the Father as faultless and blameless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy (Jude 1:24-25)! His work now completed (John 17:4), our Lord speaks of the everlasting covenant fulfilled in His blood in the ever-present now of eternity. What was set in unalterable purpose by the will of God in eternity, is fulfilled in the unfailing, successful work of Christ. God’s will and decree and covenant and promises and His word and His work all concern the same individuals and the same eternal purpose in Christ Jesus the Lord (Eph. 1:3-11; 3:11). And here in John 17:10, our Lord Jesus speaks of that work as complete. All has been fulfilled in all those chosen by God and predestinated according to the good pleasure of Him whose will and word cannot be altered. All the thoughts of His heart and His counsel shall stand forever. He will do all His pleasure (Ps. 135:6; Isa. 46:9-11; Ps. 33:11; Job 23:13)!
​
"God is not a man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath he spoken, and shall he not make it good" (Num. 23:19)?

"The gifts and callings of God are without repentance" (Rom. 11:29).

"Whom he did predestinate...them he also glorified" (Rom. 8:30).
Rick Warta
0 Comments

Christ our Foundation, Salvation our Walls

10/15/2016

0 Comments

 
“We have a strong city; salvation will God appoint for walls and bulwarks. Open ye the gates, that the righteous nation which keepeth the truth may enter in” (Isa. 26:1-2).

Notice, not walls and bulwarks for salvation, but salvation for walls and bulwarks. Christ is not only the only foundation of our souls, but His salvation comprises the walls and shield against every enemy of His Church.

The apostles preached Jesus Christ alone (1 Cor. 1:17-23; 3:9-11). They were built on Christ. All who now believe are built on Christ by their ministry. They stood firm because Jesus Christ our Lord saved them. In saving them, He made them know that He is all of their salvation. There is no part of salvation that is not Him (Acts 4:12; Col. 3:11). Peter said it this way: “We believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they (Gentiles)” (Acts 15:11). “And if by grace, then it is no more of works” (Rom. 11:6).

Christ lives in His people (Gal. 2:20; Heb. 8:11; 2 Cor. 3:3; Eph. 3:17). It is the belief and confession of Christ that evidences that we are built upon Him (Matt. 16:15-16; 1 John 5:1). Our Lord ordained His apostles. And by the enabling grace of the Spirit of God, which was specially given to the apostles, they were enabled to preach Jesus Christ as the chief cornerstone in the temple of God (Acts 4:11-12). Now, through their ministry, we also "are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord" (Eph. 2:20-21). We are built on Christ Himself. He is our salvation (Isa. 12:2; Luke 2:30). His salvation is the walls and bulwarks of the city into which the righteous nation enters. That nation is made up of all elect, redeemed, believing sinners (Philippians 3:3; Gal. 3:26-29; 4:28). Believing Christ, we keep the truth (Acts 15:9; 2 Tim. 2:25; 1 Pet. 1:22).
Rick Warta
0 Comments

Christ our Passover

10/10/2016

0 Comments

 
"For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:11)

In His law, God gave the sacrifice to be offered in the place and for the benefit of the one who sinned. The sin of the one for whom it was offered became the sin of the sacrifice. The punishment of the sacrifice was the punishment of the one for whom it was offered. The satisfaction made to God by the offered sacrifice was satisfaction to God for the one in whose place and on whose behalf the sacrifice was offered. The life of the sacrifice was offered up as the life of the one for whom it was offered. The acceptance of the sacrifice was the acceptance of the one for whom it was offered. Knowing this makes the Gospel good news indeed! "Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7). "He died the Just for the unjust, to bring us to God" (1 Pet. 3:18). “Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood...be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Rev. 1:5-6).
Rick Warta
0 Comments

John 3:13-15

10/5/2016

0 Comments

 
“No man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. 14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: 15 That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:13-15).

v13) No man hath ascended up to heaven...

The Lord Jesus Christ is the Son of man (John 1:51). He refers to Himself by this title more than twice as often in the NT as He does the title, “Son of God.” Nicodemus asked, "How can these things be" (John 3:8)? Jesus speaks of Himself here in answer. Christ is the answer to every question, is He not?

Now, the order in which Jesus spoke to Nicodemus about ascending and descending may seem confusing at first. In v13, Jesus puts “ascended up to heaven” before “came down from heaven.” 
We may therefore think that His ascension occurred first, followed by His descent. But Eph. 4 makes it clear that Christ first descended: “Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things” (Eph. 4:9-10). It is clear from Ephesians that Christ first descended to make atonement to God for His people. Having made atonement, He then ascended to heaven’s throne and gave gifts to His Church. Therefore, in John 3:13, our Lord is correcting the kind of thinking that Nicodemus must have held. Nicodemus would have had Moses in mind. God called Moses up to mount Sinai. There, He gave him His law on two tables of stone, written with the finger of God. God then sent Moses down from Sinai with that law to the people. In Moses’ case, we see a man ascending Sinai to God, then returning back down Sinai to men: ascending, then descending. Nicodemus must have thought that Jesus was taken up by God to heaven to receive power to heal and wisdom to teach, and then sent back down from heaven to men on earth. But what Jesus says here corrects all such thinking. When we read Christ’s words to Nicodemus as a correction, we see the reason for the order that He gave: “No man hath ascended up to heaven, but He that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.” Our Lord’s answer reveals several things here. First, that the Son of man did not begin to be when He was born. He is the eternal Son of God. Second, the Son of man is the one Mediator between God and men, who descended from heaven to earth and would ascend from earth to heaven upon accomplishing the purpose for which He was sent. Third, as Jesus stood talking with Nicodemus, He also was in heaven in Spirit: "even the Son of man which is in heaven" (John 3:13). Let us consider Christ as our Mediator.


Jesus Christ is the Son of God and the Son of man. He is the one Mediator between God and men (1 Tim. 2:5). Only One first descended from heaven to earth, and then ascended from earth to heaven. Now, a mediator is a go-between who brings two different parties together. A mediator ensures that the needs of both parties are met with a view to their mutual reconciliation and satisfaction. As Mediator, Christ met God’s requirements; He did God’s will. It was God's will that Christ take His elect, stand for them, fulfill all for them, and bring them to God (Heb. 10:6-9; Lk. 2:49; John 4:34; 5:36; 6:38-40; 17:1-24; 19:30; 1 Pet. 3:18). Our Mediator met the requirements God placed on Him. And, as Mediator, Christ met the needs of His people. He took away our sins and established our everlasting righteousness. He saved us from our sins and brought us to God. In meeting God’s requirement, He abundantly met our needs.

Christ is our Surety. As Surety, He answered God in repayment of every debt His people owed, and in fulfillment of every obligation God placed on them. He paid the uttermost farthing. As Surety, God laid the complete salvation of His people on Christ. Genesis 43 gives the account of Judah engaging with his father Jacob as surety for his brother Benjamin. In Genesis 44, Judah stands before Joseph the governor to answer charges brought against Benjamin.
As Judah was surety to his father Jacob for his brother Benjamin before Joseph the judge, Christ is Surety to His Father for His people before God’s law and justice. As Judah drew near to plead for Benjamin, so Christ entered heaven with His own blood, "now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Heb. 9:24). As Judah offered himself to Joseph in the place of Benjamin to save Benjamin from condemnation and prison in Egypt, so Christ substituted Himself for His people under the curse of God to save us from the prison of our sin and the eternal condemnation our sin deserves from God. God, as Judge, looks to Christ and finds in Christ everything He demands from His people. As Surety, Christ made His people sure to God though justice demanded a curse for their many crimes.


v14) As Moses lifted up the serpent...

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up” (John 3:14).

In Numbers 21, the people of Israel were discouraged in the way. They spoke against God and Moses. They accused God of bringing them out of Egypt into the wilderness to die. They complained about the bread from heaven that God gave to them every morning. Their complaining was the result of the grievous sin of unbelief. So “the LORD sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people; and much people of Israel died” (Num. 21:6). Many died. There was no cure for those bitten. Everyone one who was bitten was certain to die. “Therefore, the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live” (Num. 21:7-8).

No doubt Nicodemus knew this story well. But he did not know what it meant. But the Lord Jesus unfolds to Him and to us that mystery here in John 3. As God told Moses to get fire to heat and his hammer to beat brass into a serpent, so God’s law required the heat of God's wrath to come upon Christ (Ps. 88:7; Rev. 1:15) and required His beating as a transgressor (Isa. 53:5,12).

Two things run throughout scripture, yet are not clear until the NT. When we learn of them, it startles and astounds us. The first is that Christ was made sin for His people. “
He who knew no sin was made sin for us” (2 Cor. 5:21). The second is that the eternal Son of God was born as a man and was made under God’s law (Gal. 4:4). Under that law, the Lord Jesus Christ was cursed by God for His people. “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). Whoever hangs on a tree is cursed of God. Christ hung on the cross tree because He was cursed of God.
Christ took the sins of His people and owned them as His. He who knew no sin was made sin. He became guilty for our sins and He knew the guilt of them in Himself (Ps. 40:12; 69:5). He felt the shame and anguish and plague of those sins in His own body and soul (Isa. 53:4-12). Death is the wage of sin. Christ received that wage in Himself as the payback for the sins of His people.

v15) whosoever believeth in him should not perish...
​

Our Lord preached Himself to Nicodemus, and preaches Himself now to us now in the Gospel of John 3:14-15. Nicodemus was troubled, perplexed and frustrated by what Jesus said: “How can these things be” (John 3:8)?! Jesus told Nicodemus that he could not see and had not entered the kingdom of heaven (v3,5). He said that unless he was born of the Spirit of God, he would never see it or enter it. Though our Lord told Nicodemus the truth, he had not received the testimony from heaven (v11). Then, in v14, our Lord puts Nicodemus in the same crowd as those sinners who were bitten by fiery serpents. In answer to Nicodemus’ question, “How can these things be?”, our Lord explains that He is the Mediator who came from heaven to earth and must be lifted up on the cross, bear the sin and curse for His people, and ascend up again to heaven. He told him that He Himself is the Son of man and the Son of God, the Lord of glory, God over all, the Christ of God. He would redeem His people from sin and the curse by bearing their sins and their curse as their Substitute in offering to God. Jesus told Nicodemus that as those bitten by serpents in the wilderness did not perish in looking on that brass serpent on the pole, even so, all who believe Christ will never perish but have eternal life.


Therefore, look to Christ as the One who was lifted up, made sin and cursed under God’s law for His people! All who look, live! All who were bitten by serpents were told to look at the one serpent on the pole. They were not to cover their wounds. They were not to put a tourniquet on their arms or legs to prevent the spread of poison. They were not to seek refuge from the serpents. There was only one thing they were to do. Look! In spite of your death plague, look! When all seems hopeless in yourself, look to Christ! There is only one thing sinners are to do. Look to Christ! Come to Him. Believe Him. “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out” (John 6:37). “Come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). “You will not come to me that you might have life” (John 5:39). “These things were written, that you might believe, that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you might have life through His name” (John 20:31).

​None of us live to God until we come to Christ. But all who come, already live and shall never die (John 11:26).
Rick Warta
0 Comments

    Author

    Pastor Rick Warta

    Archives

    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013

    Categories

    All

    RSS Feed

Proudly powered by Weebly