Open your Bibles, if you would,
to 2 Corinthians chapter 1. 2 Corinthians chapter 1. The name of the message is, Yea
and Amen in Christ. Yea and Amen in Christ. But we're
going to read the context of our verses here. Let's start
in verse 12. And we'll read to verse 22. For
our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience, that in simplicity
and godly sincerity, not with fleshy wisdom, but by the grace
of God, we have had our conversation in the world and more abundantly
to you work. For we write none other things
unto you than what you read or acknowledge, and I trust you
shall acknowledge even to the end. is also you have acknowledged
us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as you are ours
in the day of the Lord Jesus. And in this confidence I was
minded to come unto you before, that you might have a second
benefit, and to pass by you into Macedonia, to come again out
of Macedonia unto you, and of you to be bought on my way toward
Judea. When I therefore was thus minded,
did I use lightness? Or the things that I did purpose,
do I purpose according to the flesh? That with me there should be
yea, yea, and nay, nay? For the Son of God, oh, but God is true, our word
towards you was not nay, or not yea and nay, for the Son of God,
Jesus Christ, who was preached among you by us, even by me and
Silvanus and Timotheus, was not yea and nay, but in Him was yea. For all the promises of God in
Him are yea, and in Him, amen. And that's being Christ, unto
the glory of God by us. Now he would establish us with
you in Christ and hath anointed us as God, who also has sealed
us and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. In
the first epistle to the Corinthians over in chapter 16, Paul had
indicated that he would stop in Corinth on his way to Macedonia. And after he had finished what
he had to do in Macedonia, he had planned to come back to Corinth
and spend a long time with the saints there. Now we who are
God's people, we know, we know this to be true, sometimes our
plans are not God's plans. Oftentimes, oftentimes. And the Lord ordered things otherwise
than what Paul had planned. And Paul did not visit them.
And this change of plans caused a little trouble with some at
the Church of Corinth. Caused a little trouble. Some
accused Paul of unfaithfulness. And some accused him of going
back on his word. And of course, the enemies of
Paul, the false teachers, they just jumped all over this. The
enemies of the gospel, they just jumped. They tried to capitalize
this. Seeking something that destroys Paul's influence, they're
all over it. Any little thing they can get
their hands on, they're all over it. To speak evil of the preacher. And they're trying to destroy
Paul's influence with the church at Corinth. And Paul answers
the charges that he had falsified his word in not coming to Corinth
as he had promised by applying to his own conscience and his
integrity in the faith and sincerity towards God. the glory of God and his church. Let's read verses 12 to 13. For
our rejoicing is this, the testimony of our conscience that in simplicity,
that means not double mindedness, not double mindedness, and godly
sincerity as opposed to hypocrisy. Not with fleshy wisdom, which
is craftiness to accomplish one's selfish ends. But by the grace
of God, we had our conversation in the world and and more abundantly
to you, Lord. For we write none other things
unto you than what ye read or acknowledge, and I trust ye shall
acknowledge even to the end." So in verse 13 he's bringing
forth that there's no double meaning in what he said. What
he or other gospel preachers say or write, there's no double
meaning in it. And he brings forth the things
which he's writing They know and acknowledge to be truth.
They know and acknowledge to be, and he hopes that they will
acknowledge him to be true to the end of their lives. And we
see that in verse 13, is also you have acknowledged us in part
that we are your rejoicing, even as you also are ours in the day
of the Lord Jesus. Brother Henry Mahan brings forth
that this statement in part may refer to persons or things as
all to be a sincere minister of the gospel. And they rejoiced and blessed
God that God had given them an understanding of the things that
Paul preached. And always remember, we preachers,
we get up and proclaim the Word, but it's God that gives the understanding.
He gets all the glory and all the honor and all the praise.
It don't matter who's preaching. It's the Word that's being proclaimed.
Who's being proclaimed? Christ and Christ crucified.
And so the saints of God were blessed, blessing God and praising
God that He gave them an understanding of Christ. When the gospel was
preached, not only by Paul, but also by Silvanus and Timothy
and other preachers. And don't we do that? Don't we
rejoice when we hear a message and the Lord speaks to us through
His word and ministers to us? No one else knows it's happening.
And we're rejoicing, aren't we? We give thanks to God. We give
thanks to God. And think of this, this is in
opposition to those who had spoken falsely of Paul. Those who had
treated Paul wrong, and other preachers wrong. The blood-bought,
born-again saint of God. Thanks God for sending preachers,
don't we? We thank God for doing that. And we rejoice to hear
the gospel preached. We rejoice to hear it. We rejoice
to hear it preached and proclaimed. And we want to be there when
the gospel is being preached, don't we? We want to hear the
word of God. And we rejoice in it. Anytime
we can. And Paul brings forth that when
the Lord Jesus Christ shall come to judge the world in righteousness,
he shall rejoice in his labor among them. Because it wasn't
in vain. It wasn't in vain. And so what
a blessing when gospel preachers and the people of God rejoice
together in each other for what God's done for us. Isn't it wonderful? We who are the blood-bought saints
of God, we can all rejoice together for the great things that God
had done for us. Each one of us can say he saved this sinner.
And though I'm still a sinner, I'm a safe sinner. And I praise
God for that. Don't you? It's wonderful. He
didn't leave you where you were. He didn't pass you by. He sought
you out. And he saved you. Oh, you're
born again by the Holy Spirit of God. Now you rejoice when
you hear the Gospel. When God's preachers, we rejoice
to preach the Gospel because all the time in our study we're
learning and feasting on the Word of God. And then we just
want to tell others what we learned. It's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. And in verses 15 and 16, we see
a special and particular reference to the church at Corinth. We
see Paul's intention to visit them, that they may receive a
second benefit. A second benefit. The first time
he visited them, the benefit they received from God, and remember,
we always receive benefits from God, right? We enjoy each other's
fellowship, but our fellowship is in who? Christ. It's in Christ. So the benefit, though, the first
benefit that they had received from God was to hear the gospel
and to be converted. They were born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. They were saved. They were redeemed. So a second
benefit in his visiting them again would be for their edification
and their growth in grace. That's also why we come. We come
to get uplifted by the gospel, don't we? And we do. We grow
in grace as the Holy Spirit has us grow. And we rejoice. We rejoice. Paul had planned to see them.
We see that spoken of in chapter 16 of 1 Corinthians. Turn there
if you would. 1 Corinthians chapter 16. And look here in verses 6 and
7. And as I was looking at this
for the message, I thought, boy, this is a wonderful thing for
us to say. You know, we always say, Lord
willing, and that's true, but this is also wonderful too. It's right
in the same vein. Look at verses 6 and 7. And it
may be that I will abide ye in winter with you, that ye may
bring me on my journey whithersoever I go. Look at verse 7. For I will not see you now by
the way, but I trust to tarry a little while with you, if the
Lord permit. Isn't that what we say? Lord
willing, if the Lord permits it, we'll see you. So, notice that Paul said, if
the Lord permits it. If the Lord permits. And God,
now God in his providence, had not allowed Paul to see them
again. He didn't allow them to go. He, as Paul said, if the
Lord permits. We put our lives in the Lord's
hands no matter what we're going through, don't we? No matter
what we're going through. Oh, my. Let's go back to our
text and we'll read verses 15 to 17 in light of this, that
God in his providence had not allowed Paul to go to see them.
And it's often being said, man plans, but God disposes. Man plans, but God disposes. God does whatever he pleases.
Sometimes we make all kinds of plans, don't we? And they never
come. They never come to anything. But they come and everything
happens as God He's pleased to have it happen. Look at verses
15 to 17. And in this confidence I was
minded to come unto you before that ye might have a second benefit,
and to pass by you into Macedonia, and to come again out of Macedonia
unto you, and of you to be bought on my way toward Judea. When
I therefore was thus minded, did I use likeness? So he's answering. He's answering those who said
he was unfaithful to his word. No, the Lord didn't allow him
to come back. Was he using lightness when he
said that? Did he just say, well, yeah, I'll come back and see
ya? No, he honestly thought he was gonna be able to come back
and see them again. But the Lord didn't permit it. Or the things that I purpose,
do I purpose according to the flesh? See, man purposes, but
God disposes, right? That with me there should be
yay-yay and nay-nay? So we see now Paul turned to
those things after this. He's now addressed the Corinthian
church. Now we're seeing him turn to things which are of a
public concern after addressing that personal matter there. He
brings forth to the whole church of God that all the promises
of God we see are in Christ, in him alone. Nowhere else. And
my prayer is always is that may God the Holy Spirit be our teacher
and illuminate the scriptures for us. That we who are the sheep
of God may leave here being comforted and refreshed by the wonderful
scripture here before us. And seeing this is the end of
the year, I thought it would be a comfort for the Lord's people
as we're heading into a new year to find comfort in the fact that
all the promises of God are in Christ, yea and amen. We can
draw comfort of how God has comforted us in this past year. A lot of
things have happened to each one of us in this last year.
And we who are the born-again, blood-bought people of God, we've
been comforted by our God, haven't we? We have been. Just as He's comforted us in
the years that preceded this year. He's always watching over us.
He's always taking care of us. And we can draw comfort in knowing
that God the Father has established us in Christ. We'll see that
today, too. We're established in Christ,
we who are His people. And He promises to keep us and
watch over us all through our journey in this life, and each
day He gives us. And remember, each day He gives
us is a gift. But then for we who are His people, our death
is a glorious day, isn't it? It's a day when we will see our
Savior face to face and be in his presence forever. When we drop this veil of flesh,
the sinful flesh that we're in, oh my, what a day that'll be.
But for now, for however long we have, and none of us know
how long we have, we who are his people trust him
each and every day. Each and every day. And He watches
over us. He gives us grace and strength
through each day. I had a dear sister in the Lord
this week go home to be with the Lord who I met in Montana.
Wonderful sister. She had Parkinson's or ALS and
she was suffering through all that. The Lord took her home. She's not suffering anymore.
She's rejoicing. She's rejoicing. You know, she
told me one time, she said, do you remember the Israelites used
to have to collect Fana each morning? And she said, you know
why they had to collect manna each morning? Because yesterday's
manna is not sufficient for today. She says, you need to read your
word all the time. I'm like, oh, that's wonderful. This is
manna for us. This word of God is manna for
us, beloved. It feeds us and sustains us and
tells us about Christ, who is the bread of life, who's the
manna from heaven. And we feast on him each day,
don't we? It's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. Now
the false teachers and enemies of grace had suggested again
that Paul, since he did not come, he didn't keep his word in coming
to them as he promised. And they used this as an opportunity
to say that he couldn't be dependent upon in his ministry. And Paul
declares that God, as God was true to his promise, therefore
he calls the Lord to be his witness. And that's what we should do
too. Always call the Lord to be our witness. He called the
Lord to be his witness that his words that he preached among
them and his personal words to them were true, honest, and sincere.
They were not yes and no. In light of God not allowing
Paul to return to them, even though he had told them he intended
to, we must always remember that our intentions and plans and
others' plans and intentions are all subject to the will and
providence of our great sovereign God. We must always remember
that. We should remember what Paul
said, if the Lord permits. If the Lord permits. Look at
verse 18, but as God is true, our word towards you was not
yay and nay. What solemn words we have here
before us, Paul is here speaking of the preaching of the gospel,
the doctrine of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, that it
is not uncertain. It's not uncertain. And it's
not changeable. There's only one gospel. The
gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ and Christ alone.
Salvation in and for Jesus Christ in Him alone. There's salvation
in no other but Christ. He is the only sacrifice that
God will accept for sin. Because He is the sinless sacrifice.
The perfect spotless Lamb of God who died in the room and
place of His people. So observe what Paul is here
saying, that his doctrine was not yea and nay. Paul did not
preach one thing and then sometimes another. No. He didn't do that. His preaching was not contradictory
to itself. Whenever Paul could, he preached
a complete salvation in Christ. That's why we tell sinners, flee
to Christ. He's the only hope for sinners.
There's no hope. There's no hope in yourself.
None. And there's no hope outside of
Christ for acceptance with God. None at all. So we preach a complete
Christ. A complete salvation in Christ.
A salvation accomplished by Him alone. By Him alone. Just like the scriptures say,
salvation is of the Lord. He did this at Calvary's cross.
Why? Because of all the promises of
God. in Christ are yea and amen. Everything
is wrapped up in Christ. This book is all about Christ.
In the Old Testament and the New. And so Paul is here by inspiration
of the Holy Spirit of God, as we will see in our text before
us, reminding the believers in Corinth, and we who are reading
today too, We who are God's people right now, that all that God
has promised us, in His Word, is certain and sure. It's certain
and sure. He said, I'll have a people,
and He does, doesn't He? He says, I'll give them a new
heart, and He does, doesn't He? We're born again by the Holy
Spirit of God. He says, I'll serve them and
they'll never depart. And He keeps us, doesn't He? The Lord
keeps His Word. His Word is certain, beloved,
and sure as His own name and character. Turn, if you would, to 2 Timothy
2, verse 19. Keep that in mind as we read
this scripture right here, that our Lord's Word is sure, it's
certain. It's sure and certain. When God
saves the people, He really saves them. And they're not kept by
their own strength. They're not saved by making a
decision. They're saved by God. And they're kept by God. Look
at this in 2 Timothy 2, verse 19. Nevertheless the foundation
of God standeth sure. It's sure. Why? Because it's
God. This foundation is in God. Who's the foundation of our salvation? Christ. In Christ alone, the
foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth
them that are His. Read that, beloved. He knew us
before we ever knew Him. He's loved us from eternity.
When I read this, I think, the Lord, You loved me? Even when
I was dead in my trespasses and sins? Yeah. He knew me. The Lord knoweth them that are
His. I didn't know I was one of His. I had no clue. I was
out doing my own thing. And the Lord came to me, and
the Lord saved me. Is it so with you? Glory to His
name. Glory to His name. The Lord knoweth
them that are His, and let every one that nameth the name of Christ
depart from iniquity. Now we're still sinners, aren't
we? We're safe sinners, we who are saved. But we sure don't
like to sin, do we? We hate it in ourselves. We hate
it. Can you not wait until we can't
sin no more? It's going to be glorious. What
a day that's going to be when we see our Lord face to face,
when we're in glory with Him and we never sin again. That's
going to be wondrous. Absolutely wondrous. So we see then that the gospel
which Paul preached was not a yay and nay gospel. It was not a yea and nay gospel.
It was not an uncertain creed. It did not halt between two opinions. It did not say, God's done all
He can do, now the rest is up to you, did it? No, it didn't
say that at all. Not at all. Always remember that all of God's
promises are in Christ, yea and amen. All of them, beloved. Every
single one of them. and they are not subject to change. God will only accept sinners
in Christ. And that's not subject to change. Now, man in his own self-righteousness
says, well, I'm a good person, and God says there's none good.
No, not one. Man boasts of his self-righteousness,
and the Lord says there's none righteous. Why? That all the world should become
guilty before God. Every single one of us in this
room, every single one of us in this world, in our natural
state, is guilty before God. Because we're all sinners by
birth, nature, and choice. But there's salvation in one.
There's salvation in Christ alone. There's salvation in the great
substitute, the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's why we preachers say,
look to him and live. There's salvation in none of
it. But Christ and Christ alone. Oh, may God give you grace to
look to him. Oh, he's he's such a wonderful redeemer, such a
wonderful savior. He is the only one. Christ is
the eternal son of God. He's the believer's surety. He's
our redeemer. He's our mediator. He's our prophet.
He's our priest. He's our king. And Paul brings
forth whom we preach to you, in whom we have life through
this person. And this work is not yes and
no, it's all of God's work. Because all of God's promises
are in Christ, yea and amen. All and only in Him. And Paul
preached Christ and Him crucified. The Son of God who came. Why
did Christ come to this world? To save His people from their
sins. This is glorious. I'm a sinner, I can't save myself,
can you? But the Lord come to this earth,
what? To save His people from their sins. The sinless one. God incarnate in the flesh. Oh,
this is wonderful. What good news this is for sinners.
Wonderful news. Wonderful news. All of God's promises in Christ
are yes. Yes. And Paul again preached
Christ in him crucified. Look at verse 19. For the Son
of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you. He didn't
preach how to live a victorious Christian life. He preached Christ,
beloved. He preached Christ, the only Savior for sinners.
The only mediator between God and man. The man, Christ Jesus. God incarnate in the flesh. This
is wonderful. For the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
who was preached among you by us, even by me, and Silvanus,
and Timothy, and was not yea and nay, so it wasn't a halt
between two opinions, no, but in him was yea. Salvation's in
Christ alone. It wasn't the sinner and Christ,
no. It's Christ alone. It's all in
Him. It's all in Him. And Paul did
not shy away, we know from the book of Ephesians, he did not
shy away from preaching that Jehovah had chosen the church
in Christ from before the foundation of the world, because that's
true. He didn't shy away from preaching that. Some folks say,
I remember when the Lord was revealing grace to me and I heard
one person say one time, well, you shouldn't preach election
to young Christians. Well, Paul did it in 1 Thessalonians. It's truth. It's truth. And when we hear this truth preached,
it overwhelms us, doesn't it? Election is one of my favorite
truths of the scripture. Because I know I never would
have chosen God. Would you? You who are His people, would
you ever have chosen God? Not one of us here would have, but
He chose us. In eternity. When we were dead,
He saw us dead in trespasses and sins and chose us out of
our generation, beloved. It fills us with awe. And He
did it just because it pleased Him to do so. It's wonderful. So Paul didn't
shy away from preaching these precious truths. He didn't shy
away from preaching that Christ died for His sheep. He did not. Because it glorified God. And
Paul preached and proclaimed that Christ died for the salvation
of sinners. And God's people were born dead
in trespasses and sins, aren't we? We're born sinners. We're
not holier than thou. We're not better than anyone
else. No, we're needy sinners. I needed Christ when he saved
me, and I need Christ even more now. Is it so for you? I need
him more now than I've ever needed him before. And I'll tell you this, as you
grow in grace, you don't see yourself getting more holy. No.
You see yourself more and more as a sinner. Because growth in
grace reveals to you and I, who are His people, how great our
God is, how magnificent our God is, how holy our God is, and
how much of sinners we are. And in turn, we just glorify
God for saving us. It's amazing. It's amazing grace. That's what it is. It's absolutely
amazing grace. Amazing grace. So Paul preached
and proclaimed that Christ died for the salvation of sinners,
His people, who were given to Him by the Father in eternity.
And their salvation, the salvation of His people, was accomplished
by Christ. And nothing was left to their
decision. Nothing. Nothing. Nothing was left for us to do.
It is finished. That means it's perfect. It's
perfect. Something's perfect. There ain't
nothing to add to it. Oh, this is a wonder of salvation. And
it's not left to our decision or our ability, because we don't
have any ability to choose Christ, do we, in our natural state.
No, He makes us will in the day of His power. That's what makes
this salvation so glorious, so wondrous. Oh my, because we have
no ability to save ourselves. So the gospel preacher preaches
and proclaims a successful savior who accomplished that which he
came to do is the redemption of his people to save his people
from their sins. All here, not here, not lose
one here, not lose. Aren't you thankful? I'm thankful.
I'm thankful he won't let us go. He won't. And not only did
Paul preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified, but this is what
all of God's faithful preachers do. Paul brings forth that Christ
was preached also by Silvanus and Timothy. Just the same gospel
he preached was the same gospel they preached. The same person
he preached was the same person they preached, the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what they proclaimed,
because they were sent by God. They were sent by God. Now take
note again that in verse 19, the Son of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ, was the one who was preached among the Corinthians. The Lord
Jesus Christ. And He still preached and proclaimed
today by God's servants where they are sent to preach. He still
proclaimed today. He still proclaimed today. And
note, this was no yea and nay doctrine that they preached.
No, they preached a person. The Lord Jesus Christ. The Lord
Jesus Christ. All true doctrine centers around
Christ. It all centers around Him. That's
why we preach Christ and Him crucified. Because all the promises
of God are yea in Him, isn't it? And amen. Then no one else
to preach but Christ. And it's wonderful. It's absolutely
wonderful. He's the sum and substance of
the whole Bible, isn't He? He really is. He's the sum and
substance of the whole Bible. He's Jehovah's Son, the Word
of God incarnate. Emmanuel, God with us, who came
to save his people from their sins. Wonder of wonders. And they also preach and proclaim
salvation in Christ alone. No other. No other. The one complete
and perfect sacrifice for sin that God will accept. Christ. Christ. Christ died as the sinner's
substitute. Died in the room and place of
his people. The great substitute of sinners. Which we are, aren't we, in our
natural state. And again, which we are even after we're saved
and will be until the day the Lord takes us home. I'm so thankful that Christ came
to save sinners. Because I'm one of them. It's
glorious. It's absolutely glorious. We preach salvation in Christ. Salvation which is not partly
man and partly God. No, we preach salvation in Christ
and Christ alone. Complete. Salvation is in Him,
through Him. And we are only saved in Christ.
And the sinner finds forgiveness of all our sins. Just marvel in that. All our
sins. All. The ones we've long forgotten. The ones which we did intentionally.
The ones which we didn't even know we did. Sins of the heart. Sins of the mind. Sins of actions
and deeds. Forgiven. Washed. In the precious blood of Christ. It's marvelous. What a salvation. Some say, well, you don't know
how much of a sinner I am. No, but I know how much of a
sinner I am. And the Lord saved me. And like John
Newton said, he said, if the Lord saved me, he can save anyone.
If it pleases him to do so, he can, can't he? It's wonderful. It's absolutely wonderful. Oh
my. And Christ then is the believer's
all in all. And this is what Paul preached
and proclaimed. Again, that all the promises
of God were in Christ, yea and amen. Now, don't ever take for
granted if you have a place to attend where the gospel is preached
and proclaimed. Don't ever take it for granted. Don't ever do
that. Don't ever take for granted where
a man's been sent to preach and proclaim Christ and Him crucified.
I talk to people all the time who have nowhere to go. Who have
nowhere to go. Or they attend the place with
no preacher. And they would love to have a
place where they could come, and they could hear God's Word
preached and proclaimed. And they would love to be able
to fellowship with the saints of God. So beloved, don't ever
take it for granted. We are so blessed to have each
other, and to have a place where we can attend. Now let us consider
verse 20, which proclaims this wondrous truth, that all the
promises of the Bible are yea and amen in Christ. There's not a promise of God
that's outside of Christ. Not one. Not one. Look at verse
20. For all the promises of God in
Him are yea, and in Him amen. Look at this. Unto the glory
of God by us. So there's not one promise of
God to His people that's outside of Christ. That's wonderful. That's absolutely
wonderful. All the promises of God are in
Christ Himself. The first promise which was promised
when our father Adam fell and we fell in Him, it was promised
that the seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. He
is the seed of the woman. We looked at that precious promise
last week, didn't we? when we looked at the incarnation
of our wondrous God, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Genesis
3.15, the scriptures proclaim, and I will put enmity between
thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed, it shall
bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. That's speaking
of Christ. Always remember that the promises
God made to his people were all made according to his will. That'll make us marvel as well.
The fact that we were included in that number, and the fact
that all those promises were made to us in Christ, all according to God's will and
purpose. Turn if you would to Romans chapter
4 verses 20 and 21. What God promises, the scriptures
teach us, God will perform. He's able to perform. Why? Because
not only does He have the power to perform that which He promises,
but He has the power and the ability. He's absolutely sovereign
over all. Therefore, He can do whatever
He pleases. Now sometimes we want to do something, but we
lack the power or the ability to do those things. Not so with
God. Not so with God. Look at Romans
4, verses 20 and 21. He staggered not at the promises
of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory
to God. Now we give glory to God, don't
we, for the promises that we have in Christ. And being fully
persuaded that what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
So not only does God promise things, but he's able to perform
those things. So that brings the believer great
hope, especially when we see that we're established in Christ
by God. That we're kept by the power
of God. It's absolutely wondrous. Because left to ourselves, what
would we do? We know what sheep are. Sheep just wander away.
Oh, let's go over here. One's going over there, one's
going over there. That's what we do left to ourselves. But
the good shepherd of our soul watches over us, doesn't he?
Keeps us. He's able to perform that which
he promises in all the precious promises. Turn, if you would,
to 2 Peter 1. All the precious promises of
God, they display the qualities of God who gave them. Never,
never forget the promises the believer has in Christ, that
these promises are exceedingly great, beloved. What do we have?
We have redemption and justification and salvation in Christ, and
we're kept by His almighty power because He's promised to do so.
And it's all in Christ. Look at 2 Peter 1, verses 3 and
4. According as His divine power, So he promises something, he
has the ability to do it, and he has the power to do it because
he's the divine one. He's God, he's a sovereign God.
This is wonderful. According as his divine power
hath he given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness
through the knowledge of him. See, he gives us the knowledge
of him, doesn't he? We don't know him in our natural state,
we have no idea who he is. of Him that called us to glory
and virtue, whereby, look at this, marvel in this, whereby
are given to us exceeding great and precious promises, that by
these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, were born
again by the Holy Spirit, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust. given to us exceeding great and
precious promises, justified by Christ, adopted by God in
Christ, redeemed by the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ,
kept by the power of God, and one day to be presented to God
faultless before His throne in Christ, clothed in the perfect
spotless righteousness of God. Oh, my. When we consider the
promises of the new and everlasting covenant of which Christ is the
mediator, surety and messenger, we can only proclaim after considering
how blessed we are in Christ. And the fact that all the promises
of God are in him, yea and amen, that truly these promises of
God in Christ are exceedingly great, are they not? Oh, they're
wondrous. When we consider who is the author
of the promises that are yea and amen in Christ, that is the
great God of heaven and earth, who is under no obligation to
make promises of anything to any of his creatures. Think of
that too. He's under no obligation to make
promises to us, but he has to his people, hasn't he? When we consider that these promises
in Christ have arose from the great grace and favor of God
and God alone. Do we not succeed in the great?
Oh, my. They're precious, aren't they?
And they all find their fulfillment in Christ, in Christ alone. The promises the believer has
in Christ are confirmed by his oath. By his oath and made sure
by his power and made sure by his faithfulness. by His faithfulness,
and they're wondrous, and they're great. Let's read verses 20,
21, and 22 all together. For all the promises of God in
Him, our yea and in him amen unto
the glory of God by us. Now he would establish us with
you in Christ and hath anointed us as God who hath sealed us
and given us the earnest of our hearts. There are some precious
truths in these verses which will always bring great comfort
to God's saints. No matter where we find ourselves,
no matter whether we find ourselves in times of trial or times of
trouble or times of quietness and rest, Take note in verse
20, for all the promises of God in him are yea and in him amen
unto the glory of God by us. Take note of the range and scope
of these promises. All the promises of God. All
of them. There's not one left out. Marvel
at this, that all the promises of God rest upon Christ and in
him. Not upon the sinner. Not upon
our doing, but all upon what He's done. All upon what He's
done. They rest upon Christ alone as
their support. We would do well to always remember
that it is only in Christ that God the Father propitiates to
us, that we have the forgiveness of all our sins in Christ, in
Christ alone. The scriptures here boldly proclaim
that all the promises of God are fulfilled in Christ alone.
This again is why we preach Christ and Him crucified. This is why
we must preach Christ and Him crucified. Because there is salvation
in no other. Think upon this. There is not
a need a guilty sinner has that the promises of God does not
meet. There is not a need that a guilty sinner has. that the
promises of God does not meet. And this gives sinners great
encouragement who look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Great encouragement. Because the Lord Jesus Christ
supplies all our need, doesn't he? We are ungodly. Christ died for
the ungodly. We stand naked before God's holiness. Christ provides a perfect robe
of righteousness. His righteousness. for us to
be clothed in. We are hard hearted, aren't we
sometimes? Even after we're saved we can be hard hearted. We're
hard hearted though in our natural state, we're hard hearted. God
promises in the covenant of grace to what? Give us a new heart,
doesn't he? And he has. He's given us a new heart that
hungers and thirsts after righteousness. It's wonderful. Are you weary
and heavy laden with sin? Christ says, come unto me, all
ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Rest. Are you thirsty for spiritual
life? Christ says, he's the fountain
of the water of life. Are you hungry for salvation?
Christ says, I'm the bread of life. I'm the Bread of Life. So these promises are certain
and sure because they're in the Lord Jesus Christ in Him alone.
For all the promises of God in Him are yea and in Him Amen. Amen. Is there pardon for sin
in Christ? Yes. Thou art a God ready to
pardon. See all our needs. All sinners
needs are found in Christ. Is there hope for salvation in
Christ? Yes. Neither is there salvation in
any other. That means not in our own works,
or in any other person, or any other thing. Neither is there
salvation in any other, for there is none other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved. None. Is there the
forgiveness of sin in Christ? Yes. In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins. And that means all our
sins. Past, present, and future. Because for every one of us in
this room who are the blood-bought saints of God, every one of our
sins was future at Calvary's cross. Glorious. What a, what a Savior. Is there
a justification in Christ which allows me to stand in the presence
of God, uncondemned? Yes. Yes. being justified freely
through His grace. So we see every promise of God
in Christ is sure to all who believe. All these promises serve
and work to one glorious end. What? Unto the glory of God by
us. That we would give God all the
glory and honor and praise. All of it. God is so designed
and purposed His salvation which is in Christ to prevent any sinner
To prevent any sinner making any boast in the flesh. Because
the redeemed sinner gives all the praise and glory to our great
God. We give it all to Him. Because
the promise of salvation is totally in Christ. And we rejoice in
that, don't we? We rejoice in that. Turn, if
you would, to Psalm 115. We see that this truth is preached,
that we give the glory to God and God alone. It's preached
both in the Old Testament and it's preached in the New Testament.
Now religion, they get all the glory, don't they? They get all the glory. They
want to tell you about everything they've done. But in grace, Christ
gets all the glory. Look what my Savior's done. He
did that which I could never do. He saved me from all my sins. Look at this in Psalm 115, verses
1. Not unto us, O Lord, not unto
us, but unto Thy name give glory for Thy mercy and for Thy true
sake. See, God's people, we give glory unto God for His mercy,
don't we? We give glory unto God for the
mercy that we received in Christ. We don't have nothing to boast
about. All we own is our sin, don't we? We've done the sinning
and He does the saving. Scott Richardson used to say.
And that's so true. Oh my, He's the perfect spotless
Lamb of God. Now turn to Galatians chapter
6. And we see that Paul pens these words over in Galatians
chapter 6. So we saw there that God gets all the glory. Not unto
us, we don't take the glory, but unto thy name give glory
for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Psalm 115 verse 1. And
then over in Galatians chapter 6, the scriptures proclaim this.
That God forbid that I should glory. See Paul says, I can't
glory in nothing than myself. Now we know he did as a proud
Pharisee, didn't he? I did as a proud religious Pharisee.
I used to glory in myself all the time. Now God gets all the
glory. Give him all the glory. Be quick,
as Brother John says, be quick to give him all the glory. Be
quick to give God all the glory, because he's the only one worthy
of it all. But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ. We glory in Christ, don't we?
He's our glory. We glory in what he's done for
us. We tell others the wondrous things that Christ has done for
us. Save in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. Why do we
glory in the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ? Because He redeemed
us from all our sins at Calvary's cross. It's absolutely wondrous. And He did it all, so we give
Him all the glory. By whom the world is crucified
unto me and I unto the world. Let's go back to our text and
we'll look at verses 21 and 22 now. In 2 Corinthians chapter
1. Verses 21 and 22. Look at this. Now He which establishes us with
you in Christ and hath anointed us is God, who hath also sealed
us and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts. Now we know it's God the Father
who chose us in Christ as He who has planned and purposed
us before the world began that we would be redeemed by the Lord
Jesus Christ. We are called by the Holy Spirit
of God all according to His plan and purpose. And it's He who
secures the believer in Christ. It's God who does all this. It's
God who does all this. Note with wonder the truths that
are being brought forth here in verse 21. That it's God and
God alone who establishes the saint of God in Christ. The people of God, beloved, are
in Christ. Firm. Settled. Established. Isn't that wonderful? That's our state and condition
after the Lord saves us. We're established in Him. Ponder this, as one commentator
said, the believers are encircled in the arms of everlasting love.
That's wondrous. They are secure. Now, we know
how much of sinners we are, don't we? Even still now. We're secure
in Him. Now, again, that doesn't give
us a license to go crazy. No, people say that. They say,
oh, well, if I preach like you did, people go crazy. No, they
won't. No. Love of Christ, again, constrains
us. No, but we are secure in Christ,
we who believe. We are settled and secured in
Christ. Established. Encircled, as that
one common savior said, by the everlasting arms of God, secure
in the favor of God in Christ. Because we're in Christ. We're engraved on his hands.
The scripture, it's a metaphor, but we're engraved on his hands
wherever means wherever before him. Wherever before our great
God beloved. Ever before him, John Codd said
that one time that we're engraved in the palms of the hands because
wherever before him he ever sees us. And watches over us. And think of this, this establishes
they're in a place where they can never be removed. Isn't that wondrous? Is this
not a great salvation? Are these promises that we have
in Christ not exceedingly great when we consider these things?
It's marvelous. We are taken into his family
by adopting grace and we will never, ever, ever be turned away
because we're in Christ. And the believer in Christ is
justified by God. They shall never enter into condemnation
because all our sins were judged at Calvary's cross. All. And again, we're born again and
regenerated and sanctified by the Holy Spirit of God. That
means we're set apart. True believers will never fall
from grace because God keeps us. God keeps us. They're established in Christ.
It's wondrous. It's absolutely wondrous. Now
think of this, we had no stability in Adam, did we? None at all. None at all. But in Christ the
believer's standing and stability is in him. It's in him. I want us to leave here thinking
of this, we who are his blood-bought people. We are in Christ. And therefore,
the love of God towards us is unchangeable. And the favor of
God towards us is unchangeable. That's wonderful, isn't it? Unchangeable. It'll never change. Never. What security the believer has
in Christ. What security the believer has
in Christ. It is He who is all our salvation. We are safe and
secure in Him. He is the Rock of Ages. And no
one can remove one of God's people from Christ. Turn, if you would,
to John chapter 10. John chapter 10. We are safe
and secure in Him forevermore. John chapter 10. And we'll go
back to our text in just a little bit and we'll be done. John chapter
10, verses 27 to 29. Look at this. My sheep hear my
voice. It doesn't say they might. My
sheep hear my voice. We are called by an effectual,
invincible call. My sheep hear my voice. They
will. Every one of God's sheep, His lost sheep will one day hear
His voice. They'll be called by Him. Just as every one of
us who are saved in this room were called by God. We heard
His voice through the preaching of the Word. And we fled to Christ. My sheep hear my voice and I
know them. Oh my, He knows us. How long has He known us for?
From eternity. From eternity. I know them. And that's Gnoska. That's that
intimate relationship. He loves us. Oh my. I know them. And what? And they
follow me. They follow me. And I give unto
them eternal life. He's the one who gives it to
us. And they shall never perish. And never there means never.
Doesn't mean maybe. This is the Master, this is God
incarnated in the flesh saying this, and they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Why? Because
we're established in Christ, just like the scripture says
in 2 Corinthians 1, we're established. That's why no one will pluck
us out of his hands, because we're established in him. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all. So no man can pluck us out of
the Savior's hand, because the Father is greater than all. He's
the Creator. He's the Sovereign One, the Majestic
One. And no man is able to pluck them
out of my Father's hand. So we can't be plucked out of
Christ's hand, and we can't be plucked out of the Father's hand,
because they're both God. were established in Christ and
who established us in Christ. Let's go back to our text. Look
at this in verse 20. Twenty one. Now he would establish
us with you in Christ and hath anointed us is God. This is a
work of God. Wonder of wonders. Beloved of
God, you who are the blood-washed saints of God, be in awe and
wonder at the truth set here before us. It is God who chose
us in Christ, we are redeemed in Christ, He has called us in
Christ, and we are forever secure in Christ. Wonder of wonders! This is wondrous! And it's all
God's work. It's all God's work. Now He would
establish 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. Beloved, God has owned us as His own. God owns
us as His own. He's put His seal upon us. He's
put His seal upon us. It's God who has given us the
Holy Spirit as an earnest or pledge of the heavenly inheritance. We are truly blessed, we who
are His people. To know that all the promises
of God are in Christ, yea and amen. And we who believe, we
have everything that we need, don't we? All that a sinner needs
is found in Christ. And if you do not know Him, may
God grant you faith to believe upon Him. Heavenly Father, we thank you
again for allowing us to gather together. And look in thy word,
oh, how wondrous it is, O Lord Jesus. Oh, how wondrous it is
for we who are your blood-bought people, we who have been born
again by the Holy Spirit of God, how wondrous it is for us to
look at these truths, to know that all the promises of God
are in you, Lord Jesus, yea and amen. And to know that we are
established by our Father, established by Jehovah in thee, O Lord, kept
secure, safe. This is a marvel for every true
believer. Glory to your name, Lord Jesus,
for what you've done for us. Glory to your name for leaving
the glories and splendors of heaven to come here and to redeem
our souls, to redeem we who are sinners. Praise your name. It's in your name we pray. Amen.