John 11. John 11 is where we'll
be today. I'm going to start a four-part
series. A four-part series. Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John 11, verses 25-27 is where
we'll be looking. Jesus Christ, the Son of God. John 11, 25-27. As I said, this
will be a four-part study. This is an introduction, and
we'll be looking at the three offices of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Prophet, priest, and king. And only He holds all three of
those offices. Only He. David was a king and
a prophet, but he wasn't a priest. Aaron was a priest, but he wasn't
a king or a prophet. But only the Lord Jesus Christ
holds all three offices, prophet, priest, and king. John 11, 25-27,
Jesus said unto her, I am, there's the I am again which we looked
at last week, I am the resurrection and the life. He's the self-existent
one, the great I am. He that believeth in me, we must
believe on Christ. Folks who say that people go
to heaven without believing in Christ are promoting lies. Because
there is salvation in no other. No other but Christ. And only
Him alone. No other. He is the resurrection
and the life. The great I AM declaring who
He is and what He is. I am the resurrection and the
life. He that believeth in Me, though He were dead, yet shall
He live. We are born into this world dead
in trespasses and sins, and when we're saved, we're born again,
and then we will live eternally with our great King. And then
he asks the question, and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall
never die. And look at this, here's a question for every one
of us, for all, all. Believest thou this? And there's
the question of the ages right there. Believest thou this? She
saith unto him," and here's the answer of someone who's been
born again by the Holy Spirit of God, "'Yea, Lord, I believe
that Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which came into the
world.'" So I'd like to start a four-part series with this
being the introduction, and next week we'll look at prophet, then
priest, and then king the following weeks. But the Lord Jesus Christ
is the only one who is prophet, priest, and king. He is the Son
of God. God incarnate in the flesh. The
Almighty. The Great I Am. Come to redeem
His people from their sins. And as I said last Sunday in
our evening and morning services, we looked at how clearly the
Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed Himself to be the Great I Am. The Great I Am. Left no doubt. The self-existent One. The self-existent
One. He needs no one and nothing. He is perfect. And the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Great I Am. The self-existent One in the
flesh. He's the Son of God who existed
in eternity. And eternity passed. He's the
Son of God who is one with the Father. He's the Son of God who
is one with the Spirit. Without Him, there'd be no Trinity. He's the eternal Son of God.
Turn, if you would, to John 10. One chapter back. And then turn
to Philippians 2. Put your finger on Philippians
2. John 10. He is equal with the Father.
Equal with the Father. John 10, verse 27-30. Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. My sheep, verse 27. My sheep. And look at how definite this
is. It's not a question of, will they hear His voice? Well, according
to free willism, that's what they believe, right? that the
decision's in the hands of the sinner. No, beloved. No. Our God is almighty. Our God is sovereign. And when
He affectionately calls a sinner, they come right to Him. They
run to Him. They flee to Him. My sheep hear
My voice, and I know them. Gnoska in the Greek, that's that
intimacy again. That intimacy. And I know them,
and they follow Me. There's no question. And I give
unto them." Now, according to free willism, you gain eternal
life by your decision. Well, according to the Scripture,
that's false. Because the Scripture plainly
declares, and I give unto them eternal life. Christ gives eternal
life to His people. And they, look at this, what
security for the believer through whatever we go through in this
world, and they shall never perish. Neither shall any man pluck them
out of My hand. My Father which gave them Me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
My Father's hand. We are held in Christ's hand and in the Father's
hand. Look at this, now here He declares
His deity. Here He declares His equality
with the Father. I and My Father are one. One. God. God incarnate in the flesh. And then turn to Philippians
chapter 2. Again, it's clearly stated that Christ is God. Philippians chapter 2, verses 6 to 11. who, being in the form of God,
thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself
of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant, and
was made in the likeness of man. and being found in fashion as
a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly
exalted Him and given Him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow. And that is every
knee, whether they believe in Him or not. Every knee is going
to bow to the King of glory. Every knee. Of things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth. And that every
tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of
God the Father. Look at verse 6. Who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God. Oh, this is God in the flesh.
The Son of God was God in eternity. And in the fullness of time,
He became a man. The God-man mediator. Fully God
and yet fully man. conceived by the Holy Ghost in
Mary's womb. He was born without sin. Perfect. Spotless. Behold the Lamb of God, the seed
of the woman, the promised Messiah, the promised Messiah. Turn, if
you would, to Genesis 3.15. And I'll read Galatians 4, 5,
which says this. But when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under
the law. But when the fullness of time
was come, at God's exact appointed time, and not a second later,
and not a second earlier, at God's exact appointed time. That when the fullness of time
was come, God sent forth His Son, the Son of God, Jesus Christ,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them, Scripture
declares in Galatians. Here's why He came. To redeem
them that were under the law. To redeem them who could never
redeem themselves. That we might receive the adoption
of sons. And note how this ties into Galatians
3.15, "...and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and
between thy seed and her seed." This is Christ. This is a prophecy
of Christ. "...It shall bruise thy head,
and thou shalt bruise his heel." And note this, that Christ was
born in the exact fullness of time when God appointed that
time. He came into this world. He came
into this world. And he came into this world to
redeem his people who were under the law. He came to redeem sinners,
to purchase them with his own precious blood, the blood of
God. The God-man meter. See, think
of this. His humanity is so intertwined
with his divinity. This is why we believe He was
absolutely sinless, because He's God. He's the God-man. He can never sin. Now, our sins
were laid upon Him, and He bore them. But he's the sinless sacrifice. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. We can't fathom that, can we?
Because our minds are full of, you know, I was talking about
it to him yesterday about how you'll be reading scripture,
I'll be reading scripture. And I'm like, what did I just read?
My mind has just wandered off. I'll have to go back and reread
it. Or you'll be praying, we'll be praying, and all of a sudden
we fall asleep if we're in bed praying. We pass right out. Well,
that's just our flesh, right? The spirit's willing, isn't it?
But the flesh is weak. The flesh is weak, oh my. But he was perfect, absolutely
perfect. Perfect. Not one sin thought. Everything we do, I remember
Spurgeon saying, everything we do is tainted with sin. Even
our best prayers are tainted with sin. But he was perfect. When he prayed, it was a perfect
prayer. John 17, a perfect prayer. Perfect prayer. No sin at all. Perfect. And think of this. I
read one commentator. He said he left heaven as God,
and he re-entered heaven as the God-man. as the God-man. He re-entered heaven as something
that he wasn't when he left. He re-entered as the God-man.
The God-man. And he is forever. Our mediator. Forever. The Son of God. Forever. The Lamb of God. Forever. And
he intercedes for his people right now. And he came to redeem
his people who were under the law, and he did it by the shedding
of his precious blood. He did it. Turn, if you would,
to Hebrews 7, 26 and 27. Hebrews 7, verse 26 and 27. Perfect, spotless, sinless. He
was weary, just like you and I are. He was thirsty, like you
and I get. He was hungry, like you and I
get. He was a man, but yet God. But yet God. The God-man mediator. And this is the Redeemer. This
is the one who we trust in. Hebrews 7, 26 and 27, For such
a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
no sin, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens.
Who needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice,
first for his own sins, right? He didn't have to offer anything.
He was sinless. And then for the peoples, for
this he did once when he offered up himself. He offered up himself
for, if you're a believer, as I'm a believer, he offered up
himself for our sins. And for the sins of all his people.
All of them. He was sinless. Perfect. Lord Jesus Christ, again, was
God in eternity. He was God while He was upon
this earth, and He is God right now, beloved. He's not waiting
to come back and rule and reign. He rules and reigns right now
in heaven above. He rules and reigns right now.
He's a conquering Redeemer. He's a victorious Redeemer. What
He set out to accomplish, He did it. It is finished. That means there's nothing to
be added to it. No works. Nothing. It's finished. It's
absolutely finished. Finished. Turn, if you would,
to Isaiah 6. And I'll read Romans 9, verse
5. A distinct statement of our Lord's
deity. Whose are the fathers and of
whom is concern in the flesh? Christ came who is over all.
God blessed forever. If you want to write that down,
Romans 9.5. whose are the fathers, and of whom is concern in the
flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever." It
distinctly states His deity. The God-man right before our
eyes. Now let's contemplate His humiliation. How He became a
man and died for the sins of His people. Look at Isaiah 6.1. Here we see our Lord high upon
the throne before He even comes to earth. Isaiah 6. that King Uzziah died, I saw
also the Lord sit upon a throne." There's our King. There's our
King, beloved. High and lifted up. And His train
filled the temple. Now, kings had trains behind
them. And the bigger the train represented, the more of a kingdom
they had. His train fills the temple. He
is King of the universe. King of all that's seen. Above
it stood the seraphims. Each one had six wings. With twain, He covered His face. Holy angels covering their face
in the presence of this great King. And with twain, He covered
His feet. And with twain, He did fly. And
one cried unto another and said, Holy, Holy, holy God is the Trinity,
beloved. He's the Lord of hosts. The whole
earth is full of His glory. And the posts of the door moved
at the voice of Him that cried. And the house was filled with
smoke. Now here's Isaiah. Then said
I, woe is me. Oh, he sees a holy and righteous
God, and his answer is, woe is me. He's not looking around.
If you look in further study on your own at how from chapters
1-5, he's talking, woe is them, and woe is them, and woe is them.
He's in the presence of the king, and he says, woe is me. Woe is
me. For I am undone. Because I am
a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean
lips, now he sees also the whole depravity of all humanity. For mine eyes have seen, look
at this, the King. The King. Singular. There is
only one King. The Lord of hosts. Then flew
one of the seraphims unto me, having a live coal in his hand,
which he had taken from taken with the tongs from off the altar."
And this represents the precious blood of Christ. And He laid
it upon my mouth and said, Lo, this has touched thy lips and
thy iniquity is taken away and thy sins purged. So here is Christ. He's God. This is the Lord Jesus
Christ. God upon the throne. And He left
the glories of heaven. He left the glories of heaven
to become a man to redeem His people from their sins. Sinners
who could not redeem themselves. He is born of a woman and subjected
Himself to the law which He perfectly fulfilled. Why did He do that? For me. And if you believe, for
you. That was substitution as well.
live in the perfect life that we could never live. Totally
fulfilling the law of God, weaving the code of righteousness, which
we are clothed in. Which we are clothed in. Which
He perfectly fulfilled. He fulfilled the law in the place
of His people. He was tempted, but yet without
sin. Turn, if you would, to Hebrews
chapter 2. And I'll read Romans 5, 19, which says this. For as
by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous. By his obedience,
not by ours. Now religion will tell you you
gotta do all these things, right? To gain merit and favor with
God. My righteousness is based upon Christ's obedience, not
mine, but now we gotta qualify that, don't we? Doesn't give
us a license to go crazy. Not at all, we're not antinomian,
we don't believe that. Because people will take what
we say that way and say, well, you guys believe. No, we don't.
No, just stop. The love of Christ constrains
us from sin. The love of Christ constrains
us. We're still sinners, but oh, we have a perfect righteousness
which He has woven before the law, which He wrought out for
us. And the believers clothed in Christ. Look at Hebrews 2,
verses 17 and 18. that he might be a merciful and
faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation
for the sins of the people. Again, it's our sins. It's the
sins of the elect. He's perfect. For in that he
himself has suffered being tempted, he is able to secure them that
are tempted. He was tempted just like us. That brings me comfort. He didn't sin at all. I'm a sinner.
I'm tempted all the time. My Lord went through the same
things, but yet without sin. Perfect. Perfect. What a Redeemer. What a Redeemer. What a God.
That He would leave the glories of what we saw in Isaiah. Seraphims, holy angels. Who can
he, they cover themselves in his presence. And he becomes a man, and as
Augustine said, we're but particles of God's creation. He became
one of those himself. What humiliation, what, we, I
don't think we can even understand. He's the sinless one, the perfect
one before God's holy law. Look at Hebrews 4, verse 15.
Just a couple chapters over. He is the Lord our righteousness.
Again, it tells us again. For we have not a high priest
which cannot be touched with the feelings of our infirmities,
but was in all points tempted like we are, yet without sin. Yet without sin, He's perfect.
And like I say, what humiliation, what... Think of this, you who are redeemed. He did this for you. To pay for your sins. To redeem. to purchase you, to ransom you
from the slave block of sin, paying all that was demanded
of you and I. He paid it all. He who was sinless,
spotless, had all the sins of all the elect placed upon him. No wonder he sweat great drops
of blood in the garden. And he hung upon the cross, bearing
the wrath and justice of God. Being found in the fashion as
a man, he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. And cried, it is finished. Wonderful words for the believer.
What peace we find. And then turn, if you would,
over to Hebrews 12, since we're in Hebrews already. Turn over
to Hebrews 12 and look at this. And this is why we preach and
proclaim that salvation is only in Christ alone. That it has
nothing to do with your works. Because we can't pay the price
for one sin. And look at what this Scripture
declares. And think of this too. I was listening to Brother Tom
Harden this morning before I came over, and he said that we don't
look to the cross. Now that we're redeemed, we keep
looking to Christ. He's the object of our faith.
He's the one we keep looking to. Him. He's the object. The object of our faith. Look
at this. Looking unto Jesus. Looking unto
Him, look to Him and live. The author, which is the beginning,
right? And the finisher. So what does that mean? What
does the author and the finisher mean? It means that everything
in between is done by Him. Everything. Alpha and omega. All the things in between are
done by Him. You see how this totally takes man's decision
and man's will out of the, and our will is bound by our nature,
but he's the alpha and the omega. He's the author and the finisher. He's everything in between too.
Which we can look at as fulfilling the law for his people. He does
it all, he does it all. all through and the finish of
our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the
cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand
of the throne of God." He is set down right now in the right
hand. The right hand of power of God. The Son of God, Jesus Christ,
the God-man mediator. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us, for it is written,
Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree. He paid the price
for a multitude of sinners. A number that no man can number. And as I said, he cried, it is
finished. And he gave up the ghost. And then he rose from
the grave. He rose from the grave. The Son
of God. The one who is equal with the
Father. The one who we saw in Isaiah. Turn, if you would, to 1 Corinthians
15 and put your finger on Acts 2. He rose again for our justification. Romans 6, 9 says this, knowing
that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth no more. Death
hath no more dominion over him. Look at 1 Corinthians 15, 3 and
4. For I delivered unto you, first of all, that which I received,
how that Christ died for our sins, for sins not His own, He did
atone, right? They were ours. Our sins. According to the Scriptures.
And He was buried and that He rose again the third day according
to the Scriptures. And then turn, if you would,
Acts 2. He dies for sins not his own,
and then he rises again for our justification to show that God
is satisfied. Satisfied, satisfied, satisfied. God is absolutely satisfied with
the sacrifice of Christ. Satisfied. Acts 2. 23 to 27, Him, being
Christ, being delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge
of God. It wasn't an accident. He was
on a mission. He hath taken and by wicked hands
have crucified and slain. He really died. hath raised up
heaven loose the pains of death, because it was not possible that
he should be holden of it. For David speaketh concerning
him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face. For he is on
my right hand, that I should not be moved. Therefore did my
heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad. Moreover also my flesh
shall rest in hope, because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell,
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to seek corruption."
He did not seek the corruption of death. It was impossible for death to
hold him. He rose again, and by this act,
he declared himself to be the Son of God, the Lord of the living
and the dead. Turn, if you would, to Romans
14.9 and Ephesians 1. Romans 14.9, so I've got you
turning all over today. Romans 14.9 and Ephesians 1. He rose again, and by this act
He declared Himself to be the Son of God, the Lord of the living
and the dead. Romans 14, 9, for to this end
Christ both died and rose and revived that He might be Lord
both of the dead and the living. He did all this for His people.
He emptied Himself of His glory and took upon Himself the form
of a servant, He who rules the waves. He who spoke all that
we see into existence and all that we don't see into existence. He that commands the sun to rise
every day and commands the rains to fall. The stars are born and die as
he commands. He humbled himself and became
a man to redeem his people. Wonder of wonders, beloved. God
became a man and redeemed His people from all their sins. Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, the Almighty God, the Self-existent
One incarnate in the flesh. And our Lord rose from the grave
and He was seen of many. Turn, if you would, to Ephesians
1. And He is seated at the right hand of God. He is a King Supreme. He's not waiting to rule. He
rules and reigns right now. Right now. Ephesians 1, verses
19-23. and what is the exceeding greatness
of His power to us who believe according to the working of His
mighty power. And we looked at that verse right
there in our Ephesians study, and there's three different Greek
words for power used there. He has all power, which He wrought
in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at
His own right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all principality
and power and might and dominion in every name that is named.
So He's so far above everything See, we don't have to worry about
the governments of this world, and people get all worked up
about what's going on. Our Lord rules and reigns supreme,
far above all principalities and powers, far above everything. He's King, beloved. He is King. He's so far above, oh my, everything. Remember this, too. When we hear
things happening, when we, that everything is subject to Him,
to our Redeemer. He has all power. This will give
you great comfort. Great comfort. I remember Brother
Donnie saying, he goes, I'd go crazy if I didn't know God was
in control. Oh my. We know that. He's absolutely in full power. He has all power. Far above all
principality and power and might and dominion. In every name that
is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to
come. And has put all things under His feet. There, He rules
supreme. Christ rules supreme. Supreme. gave Him to be the head over
all things to the church, which is His body, the fullness of
Him that filleth all and all." So He has all authority and all
power, and He's interceding for His people right now in heaven,
in glory. Our great God and King, our Redeemer,
our Savior, appears in the presence of God for us. For Christ is
not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the
figures of the true, but is in heaven. But into heaven itself
now do appear in the presence of God for us. Hebrews 9.24.
He appears in the presence of God for us. Now our dear sister is beholding
Him right now. Oh, my. Beholding the King. Now, men and women will mock
God here on earth, they mock Christ, but one day they will
tremble in His presence. One day they will tremble in
His... And I praise God that He saved me, because I used to
mock. To my shame. But He had mercy
on me. Is it so with you? Did He have
mercy upon you? Praise His name. Give Him all
the glory. Give Him all the honor. Because
He is a great King. And He saves those who shake
their fists at Him. But one day, one day all will
tremble before His presence. And those who are not saved will
cry out for rocks to cover them from His presence. The Almighty
King. And He shall come again. Turn,
if you would, to 1 Thessalonians 4. He shall come again, and it
will be a glorious arrival, beloved. A glorious arrival. He'll come
again at the last day to judge the world in righteousness. Oh,
and it will be glorious. Absolutely glorious. 1 Thessalonians 4, verses 16-18. For the Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout. with the voice of the archangel
and with the trump of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise
first, then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up
together with him in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air and
so shall we ever be. Look at that. If you're redeemed,
if you're redeemed, it's not based upon what we did and what
we do. Hey, look at this. And so shall
we ever be with the Lord. Sister Marge is with the Lord
now and she will be there for eternity. Eternity. Wherefore, look at this. Wherefore
comfort one another with these words. That brings a comfort,
don't it? In this world of woe, oh my. So next week, Lord willing,
next week we'll look at the prophet. And in the following weeks we'll
look at priest and king. Who he is and what his offices
are. This was the introduction to him of who he was, the son
of God. God incarnate in the flesh. May God bless the preaching
of his word for his glory, his honor, and his praise.