Let us turn to the chapter we
were reading here in the 2nd epistle of Paul to Timothy chapter
2 and we turn this morning to the passage of verse 11 through
13 in 2nd Timothy 2 and reading from verse 11 through 13 which
is a faithful saying For if we be dead with Him, we shall also
live with Him. If we suffer, we shall also reign
with Him. If we deny Him, He also will
deny us. If we believe not, yet He abides
as faithful, He cannot deny Himself. It's the force of those faithful
and true sayings that we've been looking at the last couple of
weeks. Remember we have three of them
in the first epistle to Timothy there in chapter 1 verse 15 and
then subsequently in chapter 3 and verse 1 and chapter 4 verses
7 through 9. So this is the fourth of the
faithful and true sayings and then The fifth one is to be found
in Titus, and there in chapter 3 verses 4 to 8. So we're going
to look, my turn, at each of these remarkable statements that
we find throughout these epistles, these pastoral epistles, as Paul
addresses himself to these young men who are engaged with him
in the work of the ministry of the gospel. And what we have
in the verses that I've just read are these parallel statements. There's a certain poetic form,
we might say, to the words. Remember in the Old Testament,
in the book of Psalms, one of the marks of Hebrew poetry is
that parallelism where you get the same truth expressed in different
ways or you get a certain truth and you see the contrast in parallel
statements with regards to that particular truth and so here
we also have these statements that are parallels but there
is a certain theme that runs through these three verses and
it is that of union with the Lord Jesus Christ. Union with
the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a faithful saying, for
if we be dead with Him, we shall also live with Him. If we suffer,
we shall also reign with Him. If we deny Him, He also will
deny us. If we believe not, yet He abideth
faithful, He cannot deny Himself. We know there is of course an
eternal union between the Lord Jesus and his people because
they were chosen in him before the foundation of the world as
Paul makes so very plain in that remarkable opening chapter of
the epistle to the Ephesians there is an eternal union the
Lord knoweth them that are his We have that statement here in
verse 19. Nevertheless the foundation of
God standeth sure, having His seal, the Lord knoweth them that
are His, and has known them from eternity, and in eternity they
were chosen in Christ, and so there is an eternal union with
the Lord Jesus. But what we read of here is more
especially what we might term an experimental union. What it
means in their experience to be those who by faith are brought
into this relationship. What was purposed in eternity
must of course be realized in time by the gracious work of
the Spirit in the souls of those whom the Lord is pleased to save. And so we have this experimental
union being spoken of. And I want this morning as we
look at the verses to deal with just three points. First of all
to say something with regards to a union in sufferings, and
then a union in which they are reigning with him, and then finally
a union in which we see the faithfulness of God and also as a consequence
their faith in God and their faithfulness to God. I want to
do with those three headings as the Lord is pleased to help
this morning. First of all, this union in sufferings. We might say that what we have
here in verse 11, if we be dead with Him, is then answered by
what follows in verse 12, if we suffer. If we be dead with him, and then
in verse 12, if we suffer. And the statements parallel one
another in a sense, and explain one another. With the believer there is of
course a certain sense in which they are in a state where they
have died to sin in the Lord Jesus Christ. When they come
to faith in him they die to sin. There's a sort of objective union
and remember how in Romans chapter 6 Paul speaks of baptism as a
remarkable picture as it were of that union where in the believer
as he is baptized, as he is immersed in the water, so it represents
how he has now died to sin. This is what Paul says, isn't
it, there in that sixth chapter of Romans, verse 4, Therefore
we are buried with him by baptism into death. that like as Christ
was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been
planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall also be
in the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man
is crucified with him. that the body of sin might be
destroyed that henceforth we should not serve sin. If we be
dead with him, the believer is one then who has died to that
old way of living and objective union. But what's being spoken
of here in the second chapter in 2nd Timothy is not the same
as what we have there in Romans chapter 6. We might say that
what we have here really is speaking of a subjective union. Yes, if we take the parallel
statements and see how one interprets the other, if we be dead with
him, it says in verse 12, if we suffer. If we suffer. So this being dead with him is
associated in some way with regards to suffering with the Lord Jesus. what Paul calls the fellowship
of his sufferings being made conformable onto his death. And how it is in the believer's
experience when the Lord begins to deal with him in his grace,
is he not brought to a sense of what he is? He feels something
of his deadness. He's dead by nature in trespasses
and sins. And the strange thing is when
the Spirit of God comes into the soul of a man, When he begins
to feel the conviction of sin, he then feels what he is, he
feels his spiritual impotence. He begins to understand the truth
that is there in the word of God, the solemn, the awful doctrine
of the sinner's total depravity. Even as the spirit begins with
the man then. He is suffering, he is suffering
because now he realizes what his true state is. Previously
he was oblivious. he was altogether dead in trespasses
and sins by the work of the spirit he now begins to suffer real
conviction of sin and to feel his own inability to do anything
for himself or the Lord God turns the man to destruction however
what we have here before us this morning is not so much just the
beginning of the believer's experience but is it not really referring
in a sense to the whole life of faith if we be dead with him if we
suffer with him if we are those who are truly united to the Lord
Jesus Christ in this world we will know something of trial
and trouble This is the way God is pleased to deal with his people.
Where there is that real faith, that saving faith, there's also
continually the trying of that faith. Paul says to the Philippians
there at the end of chapter 1, unto you it is given in the behalf
of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for
his sake. It's given on the behalf of Christ.
What is given? Well, faith. Faith is the gift
of God. But not only faith, but also
to suffer for his sake. As John Newton certainly knew
something of it. He says, his way was much rougher
and darker than mine. Did Christ my Lord suffer? And shall I repine if we be dead
with him? or we shall know something of
what it is to suffer also with Him. We'll know something of
that fellowship of His sufferings. And we know that this man Paul
certainly was aware of that. Referred to those words at the
end of Philippians 1 until he was given in the behalf of Christ
not only to believe on Him but also to suffer for him. And what does Paul go on to say,
having the same conflict, having the same conflict which he saw
in Mary, and now here to be in Mary. He is writing then to these
various individuals or these particular churches, he's writing
out of the fullness of his own experience. And the things that
he is saying here concerning the faithful saying, they were
true with regards to himself as they must also be true ultimately
in the experience of Timothy and in some measure with regards
to all the people of God. Remember how Paul can write to
the Corinthians there in 2nd Corinthians chapter 4 and there at verse 10 He says, "...always bearing about
in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also
of Jesus might be made manifest in our body, for we which live
are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life
also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh. So then
death worketh in us, but life in you. Again, he says to those
Corinthians, I die daily, I die daily, not just with regards
to the troubles that he knows, the troubles without, but how
about the fears within, not just external troubles but inward
conflicts, that conflict that he has with himself, with sinful
self, with the old nature, Or the saint who fills a load of
sin, yet comes off victorious, suffers martyrdom within, though
it seem less glorious. Or there's an inward martyrdom.
And Paul certainly knew something of those experiences. How the
flesh lusteth with the spirit and the spirit with the flesh.
And how these are contrary one to the other, he says to the
Corinthians, or rather to the Galatians, he cannot do. what
she would, she cannot do, all wretched man that I am who shall
deliver me from the body of this death I thank God through Jesus
Christ our Lord there's union then real union with the Lord
Jesus in sufferings dying to the world, dying to self suffering
with Christ, living with the Lord Jesus Christ That's an experience of the people
of God. But he goes on, doesn't he, to
speak of another aspect of this union. He speaks in a sense of
the believer united with Christ in that he reigns. How striking are the words. He
says at the end of verse 11, we shall also live with him. Doesn't that answer to what he
says there in the middle of verse 12? We shall also reign with
him. If being dead with him is paralleled
by sufferings, so living with him is paralleled here by reigning. Or the Lord Jesus Christ is that
one of course who is risen from the dead. and isn't there a blessed
union with the risen Christ? Paul says that I may know Him
and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings
being made conformable to His death. I find those words in
Philippians 3.10 so interesting because we know that the order
must be first the death and then the rising again from the dead
that was true with regard to the Lord Jesus He first makes
the great sin atoning sacrifice but by that death on the cross
of course He vanquishes He vanquishes sin and He vanquishes that death
that is the consequence of sin He vanquishes Satan and all the
powers of darkness and deadness and so he rises again from the
dead but it's interesting isn't it that there in that 10th verse
in Philippians 3 the apostle mentions in the first place the
power of his resurrection well that power, that resurrected
life must come into the soul of the sinner first the power
of his resurrection then the fellowship of his sufferings
then the conformity to his death the blessing of union with the
risen Christ. Again, Paul writing there in
Romans 5 at verse 10 says we were reconciled to God by the
death of His Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved
by His life. And when he says saved by His
life, he's speaking of that resurrected life that must come into the
soul of the sinner. Where is the risen Christ? He
has risen again from the dead. He showed himself those 40 days
to his disciples by so many infallible proofs. They could bear testimony
to the blessed truth that he was indeed risen again from the
dead. But then he ascended into heaven. The risen Christ now reigns in
heaven. Oh, we shall live with Him, it
says. We shall also reign with Him. He's in heaven and there, of
course, He's at the Father's right hand and all power, all
authority is given unto Him in heaven and in earth. God has
put all things under His feet and given Him to be head over
all things to the church. which is His body, the fullness
of Him that filleth all in awe." And it is that reigning grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ that prevails in the hearts of His
people. There is a union, you see. There's
a union with the risen, the ascended, the glorified Christ. What has God done? He has raised
us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in
Christ Jesus. That's a blessed truth, is it
not? Yes, we're here upon the earth and yet spiritually we
are in heavenly places in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where
our righteousness is. I've told the tale previously
of dear Bunyan so troubled in his own soul because of his sin
and wanted to know where his righteousness was and going into
the field and looking into the heavens and realizing how it
came to him that's where his righteousness was he had a righteousness
in heaven, he had a righteousness before the throne of God this
is a way of access into God's presence. This is our boldness
when we come to pray. It's boldness and access with
confidence by the faith of Jesus Christ. We look to Him and His
reigning there in heaven. And that reigning grace, how
it prevails in the hearts of all His people. How He is able
to save to the uttermost all that come unto God by Him." There's
a union then with the Lord Jesus Christ by which believers are
reigning. And that is the truth now. In
the humblest of all the children of God there is a reigning with
Christ in Heaven. He has made us unto our God kings
and priests. And he says we shall reign on
the earth. We're kings and priests who are said to be reigning on
the earth. Well how is it that these believers
can reign on the earth? Well that is the wonder of course
of the prayer lives of the people of God. or do we really understand
the significance of what it is for us to be able to commune
with God through the Lord Jesus Christ and to pour out our hearts
to Him and to make our requests known unto Him and by our prayers
as it were to be those who are reigning on the earth remember
those words in Isaiah 45 I've offered you words to them Isaiah
45 11 Thus saith the Lord, the Holy One of Israel, and His Maker,
Ask of me things to come, and concerning the works of my hand,
command ye me." What a remarkable statement is that by the Lord
God. Thus saith the Lord, and of course
as so often it's the God of the Covenant, It's the great I am
that I am, it's Jehovah. It's the Lord God Himself. Ask
of me, says the Lord. And He's the Holy One of Israel.
He's the Creator of His people. And He says, ask of me things
to come, and then He goes on and says this concerning the
works of my hands command ye me. And you know we see it set
before us so remarkably there in the book of the Revelation
and the language that we find being used in the 8th chapter
in Romans Revelation 8 and there at verse 3 through 5 John says,
another angel came and stood at the altar having a golden
censer and there was given unto him much incense that he should
offer it with the prayers of all saints upon the golden altar
which was before the throne and the smoke of the incense which
came with the prayers of the saints ascended up before God
out of the angel's hand and the angel took the censer and filled
it with fire of the altar and cast it into the earth and there
were voices and thunderings and lightnings and an earthquake. Now the language of course is
highly symbolic we know that but much of it is rooted of course
in what we have in the Old Testament and what we read of the worship
of God there in the tabernacle and then in the temple. Here
we have mention of the golden censer and it's associated with the
prayer of saints, the incense is in the censer. Well, of course
in the Old Testament we have the golden altar. where the incense was to be burned
and that representative of the prayers of the people of God
coming up before the throne of God in the typical language that
we have there in the Old Testament worship and so the incense is
very much identified with prayers quite clearly there in that third
verse. There was given unto him much
incense that he should offer it with the prayers of all saints
upon the golden altar before the throne. And then we're told
how the smoke of the incense comes up with the prayers and
ascends before God. And then the striking verse is
verse 5, what the angel does. He takes the censer, filled with
fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth, and as a consequence
there are voices, thunderings, lightnings, and an earthquake.
The prayers of the saints have an effect on things that are
taking place happening in this world. And we have the language,
don't we, of the Samis? By terrible things in righteousness
will they answer us, O God of our salvation. Or let us not
forget that when we come to prayer we have the ear of God, that
God hears us. And we might feel at times our
prayers are such poor prayers. They're just stutterings, murmurings,
groanings. sighs, cries and yet our poor
prayers in a sense rule the world because we have the very ear
of God we shall live with Him we shall also ride with Him such
is the union between the Lord Jesus and the believer well we
don't only suffer with Him And that's a great privilege, to
have that faith, that faith that is true and genuine, that faith
that God takes account of, that faith that God purifies in fiery
trials. There's not only the sufferings
of the saints, there's also the fact that they are able to reign
with their God, their prayers are not in vain, their prayers
are heard, their prayers are answered and God is pleased to
listen to all their poor pleadings and He is sure to answer them
and He is able of course to do exceeding abundantly above all
that we ask or think. Oh God grant that we might have
such a view then of what our prayers are how God delights
in the prayers of his people. He has told them concerning the
work of my hands, command ye me. But then the third aspect
of this union I want to mention this morning is that of a union
in faithfulness. It's interesting there, there
is a difference as we go through these verses. This faithful saying,
There in verse 11 and the beginning of verse 12 you will observe
that all the pronouns are in the plural. It's we. It's we. If we be dead with him,
we shall also live with him. If we suffer, we shall also reign
with Him. But then when we come to the
end of verse 12 and verse 13 it's both the plural and the
singular pronoun. If we deny Him, He also will
deny us. If we believe not, Yet hereby
does faithful he cannot deny himself. And of course we always
do well when we come to the Word of God to take account of what
is actually being said. You don't need me to remind you
of the great accuracy of our Authorized Version, the faithfulness
of those men who were raised up at that remarkable period. Just at the end of the period
of the Protestant Reformation but a visitation from heaven
was that not surprising then that such a book as we have here
in our authorized version is the product really of that great
outpouring of the spirit there in the well it was in the 16th
but also going on into the 17th century 1611 is just the beginning
isn't it of that 17th century and we have God's word and much
of it of course much of the authorised version is straight from from
Tyndale it's a product of the Reformation and so we should
study it with some with some carefulness and take account
of little details and that's what I want to do here with regards
to these these pronouns but here we see this great truth that
God is faithful We have that statement in verse 13 Yet he
abideth faithful or the faithfulness of God and the union with God
who is a faithful God and surely if we are those who have faith,
real faith we will be those who want to be faithful in all our
dealings with our God. We're looking at the parallels
here It says, if we deny Him, and then, the beginning of verse
13, if we believe not. Isn't there a relationship between
those two? To believe not, and to deny Him. Unbelief. What is unbelief? It is the denial of God. Unbelief
is to deny God. And unbelief, of course, is at
the very root of all our sins. We've said it before, it's there,
it's the root sin in the garden of Eden, unbelief. We're considering, aren't we,
the faithful sayings of God. And God is faithful. We have
these five sayings, faithful and true sayings, but we know
that all of Scripture from Genesis 1 right through to Revelation
22, all the Old Testament, all the New Testament, it's all the
faithful Word of God. All Scripture is given by inspiration
of God and is profitable. doesn't Paul go on to say that
here at the end of the third chapter you know that that portion
all scripture is given by inspiration of God literally it's the breathings
of God the breath of God and it's profitable for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness
that the man of God may be perfect throughly furnished unto all
good works. That's what we have here in the
Word of God. And what are we to do with it?
Well, we are to beware of denying any part of the Word of God.
Unbelief is the denial of God. And we have the Word of God.
And what are we to do with that Word of God? or we're to believe
it, all of it and we're to recognize the importance because there's
a wholeness of the word of God although it's made up of two
testaments made up of 66 books and there are a whole variety
of the human authors but all these holy men of God they're
speaking as they're moved by the spirit of God there's a wonderful
unity in the word of God and we're to recognize that we're
to accept it in its totality we're to see the importance the
historicity, the literalness of what we read there in the
opening book, in the opening chapters of Genesis we're to
believe these things because if we deny any part of the Word
of God it will affect the whole of the Word of God you think
about the literal Adam Adam was a real man Adam is a type of the Lord Jesus
Christ. We have it in the New Testament.
The first man, Adam, was made a living soul. The last, Adam,
was made a quickening spirit. The first man is of the earth,
earthers. The second man is the Lord from heaven. You know, you
tamper, you see, with what we are told concerning Adam and
the creation of Adam and the fall of Adam. and it affects
what we read in the New Testament concerning the last Adam, the
second man, the Lord from Heaven. Oh, let us beware of denying
any part of God's Word. What does that mean for us personally?
Well, we're not to doubt His promises. Or do we doubt His
promises? You know unbelief is a terrible
sin. And doubt is a manifestation
of unbelief. We are not to query as threatening.
There is not only promises in scripture. There is words of
warning and threatening. If we doubt his promises, if
we query these warnings, we're really denying God himself. That's what you have to recognize.
We're not to deny God in any sense. Isn't that what we see really
with regards to Adam and Eve? How does the devil begin? You
remember we have the account there in Genesis 3. What is the
first thing? The first words that the serpent,
as the instrument of Satan, utters to the woman. Well, he's questioning
the word of God. He questions the words of God
there in Genesis 3.1, Yea, hath God said. Yea, hath God said? No, it's questioning, is it really
the word of God? Is it what God has said? God had said, thou shalt surely
die. If Adam disobeyed and partook
of the fruit of that tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
God says thou shalt not eat of it in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die. And the devil questions, yea
hath God said. And then he goes on, doesn't
he, to deny. He says ye shall not surely die.
he says to the woman you shall not he denies the word of God
we are to believe the word of God because we are not to deny
God if we deny him if we believe
not Unbelief, you see, is the denial
of God. That's the solemn truth. He that
believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he hath not believed
the record that God gave of his son. Do we really believe what
we have before us here in Holy Scripture? So, we also have these parallels. He also will deny us. at the end of verse 12, and then
the end of verse 13, He cannot deny Himself. Interesting comparison that we
have there. He also will deny us, but He
cannot deny Himself. Or God cannot deny Himself. When
God made a promise to Abram, remember, He swore by Himself. he gave his word and then he
confirmed his word by taking an oath and the oath was that
he swore by himself and so his word you see has been
magnified Psalm 138 verse 2 I will praise thy name for thy truth says the Psalmist I
will praise thy name for thy truth, for thou hast magnified
thy word above all thy name." Now is that true with regards
to the Word that we have before us here in Holy Scripture? Isn't
the psalmist also in a sense referring to Him who is the Word
of God incarnate? I will praise thy name for thy
truth, grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Thou hast magnified
thy words above all thy name, O the Lord Jesus Christ. And
what does Christ say? Whosoever shall deny me before
men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Who are we those who are careful
never to deny our Lord Jesus Christ? You know, I can only
look to myself, can't I? And there are many occasions
where there's an opportunity to speak a word, a word of testimony,
and yet one fails. How solemn it is to deny Christ
before me. Whosoever shall deny me before
me, and him will I also deny before my Father which is in
heaven. If we deny him, he also will
deny himself. But then here is our comfort,
if we believe not, yet he abideth faithful. Always a faithful God. He cannot
deny himself. That's how comfort is in life. Our comfort is the fact that
we deal with God who is faithful. or that we might know then what
it is to enjoy the blessings of this union to be those who
dying to self are suffering with our Lord Jesus Christ those who
as we live here upon the earth are reigning over the earth and
in a sense or how we long that we might know what it is for
the Lord to come and reign over ourselves and to subdue all our
iniquities and we need to be those then who would make much
of the opportunity of prayer to plead with this God that he
will answer our prayer by subduing every sin within us and delivering
us from all our accursed ambulation because we desire above all things
that we might know what it is to enjoy that union which is
expressed in true faithfulness faithful to Him these faithful
sayings we come then here to the penultimate one we go on
the Lord willing to look at what is recorded there in Titus this
evening but let us remember now it is
a faithful saying For if we be dead with Him, we shall also
live with Him. If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.
If we deny Him, He also will deny us. If we believe not, yet
we abide a faithful. He cannot deny Himself. And Paul says of these things,
put them in remembrance. Oh the Lord be pleased then to
write His truth in all our hearts for His name's sake. Amen.