So in I Corinthians 1.30 it says,
but of Him, of God, are you in Christ Jesus. Of God, it's by the grace and
power of God to the undeserving that we are in Christ. We had
nothing of and in us to commend us to God, but everything to
condemn us, didn't we? But God was rich in mercy and
He has, by His grace and by His own power, give us a heart and
spoke to that heart concerning His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. It's of Him that we are in Christ. We had nothing in and of and
about us to commend us to God. But God was just rich in mercy
to undeserving creatures. It's of him that we're in Christ.
Who of God, who of God, Christ is of God, made unto us wisdom,
righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. Christ is of
God made unto us wisdom, wisdom. And that always boggles my mind
when I think about the wisdom of God in the person of His Son. How that God can be holy and
be just and justifier of the ungodly. God in His wisdom had a plan,
didn't He? Christ stood as a lamb slain
from the foundation of the world. He stood as a lamb slain. Now,
He stood as though He already had been slain. He was so sure
to be slain. You see that? According to the
will and purpose of God, He was so sure to be slain that God
could look upon Him as though He had already been. Can you
understand that? I can't. Can you? But He could
because there was no doubt. No doubt. He must come into the
world. He could not fail but to come
into the world and take upon Him the form of a servant and
represent a people and suffer the wrath of God against them.
He shall not fail. He can't fail. Him being who
He is cannot fail. He shall not fail nor be discouraged
till He has set judgment in the earth. And that's what He did.
He shall not fail. He is the only wise God. Salvation is of the Lord and
it's in Christ. If you'll notice here, God did
not do anything apart from Christ here. See that? Christ stood as a lamb slain.
In God's time, God has sent Him forth made of woman, made under
the law to redeem them that were under the law, didn't He? In
God's time, He was sent forth And in God's time He called us
by His grace to reveal His Son in us. And we are kept by the power
and grace of God. There is nothing of and in us
that can mend us to God or can keep us in God. But we are kept
by the power of God. Ready to be revealed in God's
own time. And we shall be made just like
His Son. He has worked within us. He's
placed His power and His grace within us. He placed Christ in
us, the hope of glory, the Holy Spirit. We can't explain that.
But we shall be made just like Christ, not only inwardly by
the power of the Holy Spirit and by grace, but by be made
just like Christ. We'll have a body that will never
decay. A body which is holy. Can you
imagine that? A body that will know no sin,
that can't be tainted with sin, that sin can't harm or we can't
think about or can't rely upon or think upon. But we shall be
perfect. And those who are made perfect
in the Lord Jesus Christ and shall be like Him in time, They
will always bow to Him who is their Lord and Savior. It was
because of Him, you see, that we can be made like Him. It's
because of Him. Because God sent Him into the
world. God purposed in Him and sent Him forth that we can be
made like Him, see? Be made like Christ. And this wisdom is so deep that
we can't grasp it, you see. Not now. Can't grasp it. God
in Christ, and by Christ, and through Christ, reconciling the
world unto Himself. And God, who does all of this,
sent His Son forth and said, This is my beloved Son. You hear
Him. He sent him forth, he became
a man, he represented, he died for, he rose to their justification,
and he's seated. God sent him forth, made of a
woman, to redeem those people. And he redeemed everyone that
God purposed to have in him. There's not a one of His sheep,
whoever they are, that shall be lost. Not one of them. They shall hear His voice in
His time. Right? They shall despair of
their own selves and believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ and rest in trust in Him for all things before God. That's
right. and they shall in God's time
be made like Him. So in the matter of salvation,
we know in the matter of when God created all things, in the
matter of creation, Christ is all. But in the matter of salvation,
Christ is all. Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ,
there will not be anybody saved. There will not be a man in glory
apart from Christ. It's all in and through and by
the Lord Jesus Christ that God does all things in His grace
and mercy toward His people. Well, what about those people
that are good people? Well, there's none good to start
with in human nature. There's none good. Well, what
about those people that live good lives and they try to the
best of their ability to serve God and to satisfy God and to
present themselves to God as holy as they can? They cannot. They haven't seen themselves
for who they really are. They are sinners inside out,
from top to bottom, through and through, and nothing they can
do or be before God to commend themselves to Him. Apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ, our substitute, God is a consuming fire. And apart from the Lord Jesus
Christ, God's wrath will come down upon all who are not in
Christ. Apart from Christ, He is a consuming
fire. So in the matter of salvation,
it's God in and through and by Christ. Christ is all in that
regard, ain't He? Nobody can be just before God
apart from Christ. Nobody can be with God in eternity
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a blessed fact of God's
revelation to the hearts of people, right? This is God's revelation. This is not man's revelation.
What man wants to do is dress himself up and be good people
doing the right things before God. But what God does is show
them who they really are and causes them to fall hopeless
and helpless and prostrate before God and cry for mercy. We don't deserve mercy. We're
mercy beggars. You see what I'm saying? We cry
for mercy. We need mercy. God, save me or
I will perish. That's it. Save me. You save
me. in and through and by your son or I'm gone. I have nothing
to commend myself to you. Nothing at all. And if faith is brought to me,
it's because God put it there. I have nothing to boast of, of
and in myself. I'm saved because I believe.
No, you're not. You who are saved believe. You see that? You are saved. And then you believe. You see
that? God saved you. You believe because God saved
you. If God hadn't showed you who you really was in His light
and showed you Christ as your substitute, you would not believe. No man can come unto me except
the Father which hath sent me draw. No man can believe on me
except it be given him from the Father. So it's by God's divine
revelation. So you see what I'm saying? Salvation
is not of me and you. Salvation is of God. God alone. And it's through Christ
and by Christ and in Christ. So it has to be by a divine revelation
to a heart that God gives. God must give it to me or I can't
do it. God must work within me or I
can't believe. Oh, I might have some kind of
natural mind or so on and so forth, but I can't believe it
in my heart until God gives me a heart and places it there. So this cannot be insisted upon
or proclaimed too much. God. God is all. Christ is all in salvation. Apart
from Christ, God is a consuming fire. And I'll never know God
apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. This is a fact that must be known. If this was known to all the
religious people, there'd be no religious people. You see
what I'm saying? They'd be looking to Christ instead
of trying to work out and provide a righteousness before God to
be accepted in. Who of God is made unto us wisdom."
See, that's the wisdom of God in righteousness, in sanctification,
in redemption. Christ is. So you see, this must
be known before you'll ever know yourselves in the light of God
and to know Christ. You must know this. If I don't
know this, something about this by the grace of God, I don't
know Christ. If Christ is not my all, He ain't
nothing, you see. I'm accepted only in the Beloved
or I'm not accepted. Well, I come to church, I do
this. No, you're not accepted because you do that. If you do
that with the right attitude, you do it because you're already
accepted. You love Christ. So it's a fact that must be known. You see that? This must be known.
No man can know God apart from the Lord Jesus Christ by a divine
revelation that He gives and He keeps and He'll eventually
and eternally make them just like Christ. So this is essential
to the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. What is the Gospel? It's good news to the sinner.
If you have something to do for God, it's not good news to you.
You're not a sinner. You're a good man. You're going
to do something and be something. You see what I'm saying? But
the gospel is good news to the undeserving, the hell-deserving
sinner. It's good news. It's essential
to the gospel. It's essential to the souls of
men. It's essential to salvation. It's essential to the divine
revelation of the glory of God. It's essential. Salvation is
of the Lord. Salvation is in Christ. Neither
is there salvation in any other. There is none other name under
heaven whereby given among men we must be saved. None other.
One name. The Lord Jesus Christ. How do
you know that? How do you know that? Because
God said it. God is God above all and over
all. And He said it and it is so.
Well, but I think... No. It doesn't matter what I
think or what you think. It is what God says. God has
revealed it. God reveals it when He's pleased
to reveal it. And that's what Paul said in
1 Corinthians 1.20, when it pleased God, you see. But God hath revealed
unto us by His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. That's deep, ain't it? Talking about the wisdom of God,
ain't we? The wisdom of God, the wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Yes, these are
the deep things of God. And I can't get a handle on them
apart from God Himself in revelation of Himself in the light of Jesus
Christ and through Christ. God has revealed them. It takes
God to reveal this to a God-given heart. See what I'm saying? John 12.38 says, The prophet
might be fooled with which he spoke, Lord, who have believed
our report? To whom have the arm of the Lord
been revealed? To nobody apart from God through
the Lord Jesus Christ. To nobody. But when it pleases
God, you see that? Paul said, who separated me and
called me by His grace. Paul was out persecuting the
believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Why was he doing that? Because
he didn't know God in his heart at that time. Why didn't he know
Him? God had not ever revealed Himself
to him. Paul was a religious man. He
was so religious that when, was it the prophet Gamaliel? Stephen, wasn't it? When he was
persecuted at the feet of Saul, Paul's garments was laid at his
feet. Why? Because he didn't know God. Why didn't he know God? God hadn't
revealed Himself to him as of yet. And Paul said, no wonder
he said, when it pleased God who separated me from my mother's
womb and called me by His grace, to reveal His Son in me." Paul
was a religious man, wasn't he? Real religious. Religious to
the point that he was capturing people and they were being killed
because of true faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, you
say, a fellow like that ain't worthy to be saved. No, he ain't.
And you ain't either. But God is rich in mercy. See
what I'm saying? Because it pleased God. When
it pleased God. When He spoke. God did it. Paul didn't have anything to
do with it. He's just a recipient. It pleased God who separated
me from my mother's womb and called me by His grace to. It
pleased Him to reveal His Son in me. To work grace in me. To put the Spirit in me. To reveal
His Son in me. To put Christ in me as my hope. It pleased God. And He did it.
Because I did? No, no. It pleased God and He
did it. You believe it because God revealed
it to you. See what I'm saying? He gave
you a heart to receive it and He revealed it to that heart.
In Adam all die, but in Christ shall all be made alive. Who
died in Adam? Everybody that's come into this
world are dead in Adam. Is everybody that come into this
world, are they going to be made alive? No. He said it with a
definite answer. All shall be made alive. Why?
Because that's all of the Lord Jesus Christ that he purposed
to have, that God purposed to have in Christ. They shall be
made alive. And Paul was made alive. Did
he have anything to do with it? No, it's all of God. And all those whom God has made
alive, they shall be changed in a moment, in a twinkling of
an eye. And as Roland said, they have guardian angels over them.
Nothing can happen to them apart from God. By God's permissive
will or by His directive will, nothing can happen. But they
shall all be made alive. They shall all be taught of God. They shall teach themselves of
Me." No, that ain't what God says. They shall be made alive. They shall be taught of God.
They shall be taught of Me. It ain't up to them. It's up to
Me. You see that? And we'll not ever come to despair
of ourselves by the grace of God until we see that. It's up
to God. I'm not worthy. I'm not worthy. God would be just if He condemned
me to eternal condemnation. But God was rich in mercy. It
was up to Him. He brought me to see Him, to
know Him, yes. I do know Him. I have a revelation
of Him through His Word. But I didn't have anything to
do with it. I'm just a recipient of that. He gets all the glory. Christ is all. God revealed them unto us by
His Spirit, by His own power, by His own Spirit. For the Spirit
searcheth the deep things of God. All things, yea, the deep
things of God. But it is written, I have not
seen it, you have not heard it, neither has it entered into the
heart of man. The man, the things which God
hath preferred to them, but love him. But God hath revealed them
unto us by His Spirit. See that? Man don't have it in
him. Man can't do anything, but God
has rebuilt them. Do you see that? Unto His people
by His power, by His Spirit. How do we know Christ? How do
we know that the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us, took
our place before God, represented us in His life in death, and
died under the wrath and penalty of God against us and put away
every sin once and for all by the sacrifice of Himself? How
do we know that? in our hearts because God had
revealed it to us. We wouldn't believe that. We
didn't believe that, did we? No. We'd go on to and fro with
both hands and feet trying to work out and provide a righteousness
before God to get accepted in. But God was rich in mercy. And He showed us the Word. The
Word that was with God and was God was made flesh and dwelt
among us and we beheld His glory How did you behold His glory?
By the grace and power of God? Or do you want to behold it in
your heart? No. But we did behold His glory.
The glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. He worked out. He provided. He satisfied the
wrath of God. He rose to our justification.
He sat down at the right hand of God. He is coming back again
in His time. God. How do we know that? who
commanded the light to shine out of darkness have shined in
our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory
of God. Where is the glory of God? In
the face of Jesus Christ. I believe that with all my heart,
don't you? I know that to be a fact. God's Word declares it
and proves it time and time and time over and over and over.
That's what God talks about in His Word. What is wisdom? Wisdom is the wisdom of God in
Christ. The wisdom is the wisdom of God
to the hearts of His people too. Please, God. The fear of the
Lord is the beginning of wisdom. Is that the beginning of man's
wisdom? Man doesn't have any wisdom. No pure wisdom before
God. But when he comes to fear the
Lord, to reverence God for who He really is in Himself, in God's
life, and see Christ. That's the beginning of the wisdom
of God to the hearts of His people. See what I'm saying? The fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom in the hearts of God's
people. Christ is all our wisdom, and
He's our wisdom and righteousness, sanctification and redemption.
Psalms 111.10 It says the fear of the Lord is the beginning
of wisdom. A good understanding have all those that do His commandments. See that? A good understanding.
How do they have that understanding? Well, I had it because I've read
this and I've read that and I know this. No, no. A good understanding
is an understanding that God gives. If God don't give it,
it's not any good. You might have a head knowledge
of something. And through that head knowledge,
you will in some way try to justify yourself before God because of
who you are and what you know. He'll give you a good understanding. You'll see that it's nothing
within you, but it's everything of God. Salvation is of the Lord
and it's in Christ. And God is satisfied with you
in Christ. There's not one penalty against
you if you're in Christ. He's seated at the right hand
of God. You're seated with and in Him. Nothing can harm you
or nothing can separate you. You're not in glory yet as we
see ourselves and know ourselves right now, are we? No, but we
shall be. We are with Christ and in Christ.
I can't explain that, but we are. If we're in Christ, we're
in glory. And we shall be with Him where
He is. It is God's wisdom toward His
people to know Christ, see that? They shall all be taught of Me. And everyone that hath learned
of the Father cometh unto Me. You can't come to God apart from
the Lord Jesus Christ. Those who have learned of the
Father, they come to God through and by Christ, don't they? He's
our wise counselor and our advocate, ain't He? We have one God, don't
we? One Father. One Advocate. One
Advocate before God. That's Jesus Christ the Righteous.
Proverbs 8, 12-31 says, Our wisdom dwelleth with prudence, and find
out knowledge of witty inventions. Who's that talking about? That's
not talking about man. It's talking about God. The fear
of the Lord is to hate evil. Pride and arrogance and the evil
way and the froward mouth do I hate. That's God speaking. Counsel is mine. You see that?
I'm the one that does the counseling. I do the instruction. I do the
calling. I do the working. You see that?
In some wisdom, I am understanding. See, some wisdom is mine in counsel.
I have strength. By me, kings reign. By Him, the
president of the United States is sitting in the presidential
office. Well, he don't know God. Well,
whether he does or not, by God, he's there. By God, that's God's
purpose. And what's going on now complies
with God's purpose, no matter what it is. Either by His permissive
or directive will, everything is going about just as God had
planned it from before the foundation of the world.