Oh, we just come before Thy throne
with very grateful hearts for all You've done for us. For we
who believe, You've redeemed us and sanctified us. purchased us with your precious
blood, Lord Jesus. May we ever be mindful of that,
too. And may we be mindful that it was only your grace that chose
us in Christ. And may we glorify you in the
preaching today and in the singing and in everything we do. May
you be glorified. May you be magnified and lifted
high and mighty. And may you draw men to thee,
we pray. And we pray your will be done.
In Jesus' name, Amen. Today we'll be in 2 Corinthians
1, verses 20-22. 2 Corinthians 1, verses 20-22.
For all the promises of God, verse 20, There's a wide, broad scope,
eh? For all the promises of God in
Him are yea, and in Him, Amen. Unto the glory of God by us.
Notice how it says by us there. We give all the glory and all
the honor and all the praise to God. Through who? Through
Christ Jesus our Lord. It all goes to Him. It all goes
to Him. Now He which stablishes us with
You in Christ and hath anointed us is God, who hath also sealed
us and given the earnestness of the Spirit in our hearts.
So here before us in our text, Paul's reminding the believers
at Corinth and us today, too. Isn't it amazing that something
that was written thousands of years ago is relevant for us
today? He's reminding the believers
and us today that all that God has promised in His Word, all
that He has promised is certain. It's certain. And it's as sure as His name
and His character. Turn, if you would, to 2 Timothy
2 and Titus 1. All that God has promised in
this Word is as certain and sure as His own name and character. For all the promises, our text
says, for all the promises of God are in Him. That's Christ.
All the promises of God are wrapped up in Christ. They're nowhere
else. Remember, we've looked often in Ephesians chapter 1.
It says that all spiritual blessings are in Christ, right? So everything
is in Him. And our Scripture here declares
that all the promises of God are in Christ. And they're yea,
they're yes, which means they're certain. They're certain. And they're amen. So we can trust
what God says. We can trust. Look at 2 Timothy
2.19. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure, having this seal. The Lord knoweth them
that are His. God knows His people. that everyone
that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity." But look
at that. Nevertheless, the foundation
of God standeth sure. It's sure. It's a sure foundation. It's sure. Remember back in our
text, all the promises of God are in Him. Yea and Amen. Sure. It's a sure foundation. And in Titus 1, verses 1-3, Paul, a servant of God and an
apostle of Jesus Christ according to the faith of God's elect.
And the acknowledging of the truth. Oh, when the Lord saves
us, we acknowledge the truth, which is after godliness. In
hope of eternal life, which God cannot lie. Remember? All the
promises of God are in Christ, are yea and amen. They're sure. They're certain. God cannot lie. He cannot lie. When He says He's
going to bring all His people, He will bring them all. There's
not going to be one missing. Not one. When He says that, and
think of this, beloved, for you and I who are saved. When He
says that He's going to keep us, that's sure, isn't it? That's sure. Oh, what comfort
for God's people. What comfort. Because if it was
dependent upon us, we'd be in a heap of trouble, wouldn't we?
But with Him, it's sure. It's sure. So do you see how
all these things, all these promises, He's our what? He's our wisdom,
right? That's sure. He's our redemption. That's sure. He's our righteousness. That's
sure. He's our sanctification. That's
sure. What comfort. What comfort for
the believer. Oh. Paul, a servant of God and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect and
the acknowledgement of the truth, which is after God, and the hope
of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the
world began. Oh, what a promise. But hath
in these due times manifested his word through preaching, which
is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our
Savior. Oh, Christ became man and was manifested in the world.
And we preach Christ. We don't preach ourselves. We
preach the one who was manifested. Oh, where all the promises of
God are in him. They're all in Him. They're nowhere
else. And these promises were made according to His own will
and purpose. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians 1. These promises
were all made according to His own will and purpose. Ephesians 1, verse 11. And turn with me, if you would,
to Romans chapter 4. Put your finger in there as well. Oh,
these promises of God are sure and certain. Ephesians 1.11, and whom also
we have. Now, a lot of error, I've said
this before and it's so true, and I got this from Hawker, it's
not my own, a lot of error could be cleared up if we looked at
who the books of the Bible are written to. Now this book of
Ephesians is written to God's people, the church at Ephesus,
the called out, the ekklesia, the called out people. They're
called out assembly. It's not the building, it's the
people who are called out. So it's a called out assembly
in the Greek. And look at what it says, in
whom also we have obtained, look at that, we have obtained. See, there's so much uncertainty
in the religious world, right? Because it's all based upon what
you do. But for the believer, we've obtained an inheritance.
It's sure. Again, why is it sure? Because
it's in Him. It's in Christ. And all promises
are yea and amen in Him. in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."
So all the promises of God in Christ are all worked out according
to the counsel of his will. He does, and the promises were
made according to his will, according to God's will, and according
to his purpose. Ephesians 1.11. And then turn with me, if you
would, to Romans 4. The promises that God makes, what God promises,
He is able to perform. He is able to perform. Look at Romans 4, verses 20 and
21. Speaking of Abraham, he staggered
not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith,
giving glory to God, and being fully persuaded that what he
had promised He was also able to perform.
So do you see how certain? Do you see how God's promises
are certain? What God promises, He will perform. He will perform. And that goes
back to our text where it says that all the promises, all the
promises of God are in Him. They're in Christ. And they are
yea, yes, and amen. unto the glory of God by us.
We glorify God in what He has done. And all these precious
promises display the qualities of God who gave them. Turn, if
you would, to 2 Peter 1, verses 3 and 4. 2 Peter 1, verses 3
and 4. All these precious promises display
the qualities of God who gave them. Look it. According as His
divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto
life and godliness through the knowledge of Him that hath called
us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great
and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of
the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the
world through lust. So the first point I'd like us to look at
is the range and scope of these promises. Back in our text, it
says, for all the promises of God. I remember when I was in religion,
and we used to believe, I don't believe it anymore, We used to
believe that all the Old Testament promises were for the Jews, and
all the New Testament promises were all for believers, but no,
beloved. All the promises of God are for
all of God's elect. All of them. It says, all the
promises of God in our text. For all the promises of God in
Him are yea, and in Him amen, and to the glory of God by us. Think of this. There is not a
need any guilty sinner has that the promises of God does not
meet. There is not a need any guilty
sinner has that the promises of God does not meet. In Him we find, as I said earlier,
all our redemption. all our wisdom, all our sanctification. Paul says Christ is all and in
all. Turn, if you would, to Philippians
chapter 4. This verse is often used by the
health, wealth, false preaching, prosperity preachers out there.
They like to use this verse to say that if God will give
you whatever you want, you've just got to ask for it or put
your seed money in or anything like that. Philippians 4.19, But my God
shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus. Spurgeon had a note on this verse.
He says it's Paul's God who took care of the Philippians, and
it's Paul's God who will take care of you and me. My God, says
Paul, shall supply all your need, not as you have supplied mine
out of your poverty, but according to His riches in glory by Christ
Jesus. Do any of you know the measure
of this immeasurable text? According to His riches in glory
by Christ Jesus? He goes on to say, Do not imagine
that you will ever exhaust God's riches in glory or drain the
treasury of all sufficiency that cannot be. Think of this. Now, you get false preachers
that say this is all about money. Has not God supplied all our
spiritual needs in Christ? Every single thing
that a sinner needs is in Christ. He supplies all our needs, doesn't
He? Everything, everything we need is in Christ. So the range
and the scope of this, God will provide for His people. And He
always does. Always does. And this gives the
sinner, this gives God's sheep great encouragement, right? We
look to Christ. Ephesians 1.3, Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with
all spiritual blessings. Now tie that in with Philippians. in heavenly places in Christ. There it is. Hence, we see the
text that says all the promises of God are in Christ. They're
all in Him. This is why the preachers say,
keep your eyes on Christ. Look to Him. No matter what. We're ungodly, right? We are.
But Christ died for the ungodly. When we were yet without strength,
we had no strength, we couldn't save ourselves, no ability, we
couldn't do anything. When we were yet without strength,
Christ died for the ungodly. I remember reading Spurgeon's
All of Grace and he brought that out how we are the ungodly. But yet Christ dies for sinners. There's no greater love. No greater
love. No. Think of this. We're in desperate need of a
perfect righteousness, aren't we? To be able to stand in God's
presence. Well, all our spiritual needs
are in Christ, right? He provides that. We need a new
heart. This old heart's wicked. He gives
us a heart that desires the things of God. Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, that I will raise up unto David a righteous branch,
and a king shall reign and prosper and shall execute judgment and
justice in the earth. I will greatly rejoice in the
Lord my soul, shall be joyful in my God, for He hath clothed
me with the garments of salvation. He hath covered me with the robe
of righteousness. And then it says, and I'll give
them one heart. In Ezekiel, that was in Jeremiah and Isaiah, and
in Ezekiel it says, I'll give them one heart. One heart, united. We have unity in the body of
Christ. And I'll put a new spirit within you, born again in the
Holy Spirit of God. I'll take that stony heart of
flesh. Religion says, just give your heart to Jesus. Well, he
takes that stony heart out, doesn't he? I'll give him a heart of
flesh. Oh, he gives us a heart that
hungers and thirsts after righteousness. You see, all our blessings, all
the promises of God are in Christ. We're weary and heavy laden,
are you? And Christ says, I'll give you rest. I'll give you
rest. We're thirsty. Oh, when the Lord starts to move
in our lives, we become thirsty for the things of God. He's the
water of life. Person says, I'm hungry. Hungry
for salvation. He's the bread of life. He's
the bread of life. The next point is, the promises
are sure. Look at, for all the promises of God in Him, they're
in Christ and only Him, right nowhere else. All spiritual blessings,
all promises are in Christ. And in Him, amen, unto the glory
of God by us. Oh, God's... God's promises are sure. For
all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him amen. Here's a question. Is there pardon
for sin in Christ? Yes. Yes. Scripture says yes. Thou art
a God ready to pardon. Nehemiah 9, 17. Yes. Is there hope of salvation in
Christ? Yes. Neither is there salvation in
any other. They're sure, aren't they? These are sure promises.
There's none other name under heaven given among men, whereby
we must be saved. Is there forgiveness of sin in
Christ? Yes. All of our sins. It's sure, isn't
it? It's sure promise. In whom we
have redemption? Through His blood. The forgiveness
of sins, Ephesians 1, 7. Is there justification in Christ?
Yes. It's sure. These promises are
sure. Being justified freely through
His grace, Romans 3.24. You see, so when we're tossed
to and fro with life, because we are. And when we start to
doubt, I was talking to Brother Zane yesterday, and one of the
things that came up is so true. Oh Lord, help my unbelief. Is
it like that with you? It is with me. I know I'm a preacher,
but we struggle just like everyone else. I remember Donny Bell's
the first preacher I ever heard called himself a sinner. When we were in religion, we
were the sinners in the pews and the guy behind the pulpit,
he wasn't no sinner. He reached this unknown or unbiblical
height of sanctification that no one else had ever met. But
no, no, we're all sinners, aren't we? We doubt, we get tossed to
and fro. But see, these promises are like
anchors for us. They're sure. They're certain. We can rest in this. We can rest
in the fact that we're justified freely through His grace, not
through our works. And every promise of God in Christ
is sure to all who believe, Romans 4.16. They're sure. Oh. And the third point is this,
all the promises serve to work to one glorious end. Look in
our text here. For all the promises of God are
in Him, so they're in Christ and only in Him, are yea and
in Him, amen. So they're sure. Oh, what a foundation. Unto the glory of God by us. God is so designed and purposed
His salvation so that we sinners cannot boast in the flesh. Because we like to boast. That's
another thing that Zane and I were talking about, pride. Pride is
horrible in all of us. I remember hearing a message
one time and the grace preacher proclaimed to the folks, he said,
there's enough pride in me to burn this whole building down.
He's just being honest. Just being honest. So we don't
want to glory in anything we do because really, We don't have
anything to glory in. He's done it all. This is His
salvation in Christ. This has been given to us, and
God has designed it and purposed His salvation to prevent any
sinner from making a boast in the flesh. Turn a few words over to 1 Corinthians
1, verse 30. I know this is a verse we go
to often, but let's think of it in light of this. That God
has designed and purposed salvation so that none of us can boast.
None of us. And remember, all the promises
of God are in Him. And they're yea and in Him, amen.
And they're all for the glory of God. That's our first purpose,
really, is to glorify God. To give Him all the glory. So
many churches, they think that soul winning is the main thing.
Glorifying God. We're here to glorify God. God
does the saving. He does the saving. We desire
people to come to Christ, don't we? We pray for that. But God
has to do the work. Look at this, but of him, verse
30, but of him are ye in Christ Jesus. So this is what we are,
remember? And remember, the promises of God are sure, aren't they?
They're sure. But of him are ye. Are ye in
Christ Jesus, who of God has made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption? And then look at the next verse.
That according as it is written, he that glorieth, let him glory
in the Lord. See, there's no room in verse
30 for the sinner to boast. There's no room. And we don't
want to boast. But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus.
We're this in Christ Jesus. Not in ourselves. And this is
a sure promise, too. Look at this. Made unto us wisdom. Oh, he's all wisdom. He's the
wisdom of God. Righteousness. We know that our
own righteousness is like filthy rags in the eyes of the Lord.
But we're made righteous in Christ, we who believe. That's incredible
all on its own right there. Sanctification, to be made holy. Sinners. But it's all in Christ
and redemption. We've looked at that oftentimes.
We cannot pay for one of our sins. But He paid them all. He paid it all for His people.
And then, of course, now we tie that according to His written,
He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. We have no room
for boasting. It's all in Christ. It's all in Him. So redeemed
sinners give all the praise and glory to God and to Him alone. in the promise of salvation is
totally in and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Turn, if you would, to Galatians
6. And I'll read Psalm 115, verse
1, which says, Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy names
give glory for Thy mercy and for Thy truth's sake. If you
want to write that down, it's Psalm 115, verse 1. Not unto
us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy name give glory for
Thy mercy. For His mercy, see? We're acted
upon, aren't we? It's all Him. It's all His glory.
He gets all the glory. And for Thy truth's sake. So
God's elect desire to glorify God. They desire to glorify God
by ascribing to Him all the perfections of His nature. Oh, don't we marvel
in how He's perfect and holy and just? And we rejoice in Him. We rejoice
in the attributes of His nature, too. We rejoice in those. And
we seek to glorify Him by giving Him thanks, giving God thanks,
for the mercies that he's given us, both spiritual and both in
our lives. We give him all the glory. I
give him all the glory for everything I have, because it all came from
him. Any knowledge I have comes from him. Anything I have comes
from him. My children come from him. They're gifts from him. They're
on loan. But what a blessing. A loving
spouse is a gift from the Lord. What a blessing. All these blessings
we have. And even every day we get up
and we have air to breathe, we don't even think about that. If you like coffee, you have
coffee. Think of this. I've talked to young Jacob about
this. That coffee that you drink every morning, if you like coffee.
Well, there was somebody way off somewhere that picked that
bean. It got made into coffee, ground
up, right? Put it in a little bag, ship
from there to the store. You went to the store and purchased
it. That's all by the providence of God to come right to you.
See, everyday things that we just don't even think of. But
yet, God's hand of providence is at work providing for us.
It's wonderful. It's marvelous. And we glory
in Him. We give Him all the glory because
we see Him at work in all these things. And in our faith rests
upon Christ that He's a promising God. Isn't that what He's promised
He will accomplish? Oh, look at Galatians 6.14, But
God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto
Paul, unto the world. I had Paul in my mind there as
our eye unto the well. Now think of Paul. He was taught and very learned man. And he
says, but I'm only one of glory, save in the cross of our Lord
Jesus Christ. He's born again. He says, I've
ceased to care about glory in men. He ceased to care about
making other people glory in his converts too. He wants to preach Christ and
Him crucified. The world is dead to Him and
He to it. He's determined to know and make
Christ known. None but Christ. He gloried in
Christ's crucifixion. He gloried. He said, I'm determined
to preach Christ and Him crucified. He gloried in the effects of
Christ's crucifixion. Think of the effects. Peace. Peace with God. Pardon for all
your sins. Righteousness. Perfect righteousness. Eternal life. Salvation. And they all come through the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross for His people.
He gloried in these things. He gloried in what Christ had
done on the cross. For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. Oh, what suffering. What suffering
Christ went through on the cross. And He did it to redeem His people
from their sins. That He might bring us to God. We who were far off are made
nigh by the blood of Christ. We have peace with Him, reconciled
with God. We who were enemies by our wicked
works and our minds. What grace. You know, as I've
said many times, we can't even plumb it. We can't even fathom
it. As the heavens is from the earth,
as far as the east is from the west, He's forgiven all the sins
of His people. Think of that as high as the
heavens, where He dwells. It's an unfathomable distance. That's how much He's forgiven
His people in Christ. Gives us hope, doesn't it? We
can rest on the sure promises of God. Oh, for all the promises of God
in Him are yea. Yes. Yes. He says He came to
redeem His people from their sins. And He did it. He says that we who are sinners are purchased by His blood, we
who believe. And He purchased us. And He says one day we'll be
with Him. One day we will. We rejoice for
those who are already with Him, although it's hard for us, isn't
it? We miss them. I have a dear brother who I love
dearly, and I still think of him every day. But I'm going to see him again. And the only reason is
because we're both redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. and that
God's promises are yea and amen in Christ.