Like you and I, they were his
enemies. He chose according to his own
will to do so. In Ephesians 1 and verse 9, it
says, having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according
to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself. It was God's
purpose to love lost and helpless sinners. He chose according to
his own will to do so. God's expression and manifestation
of his love was according to his own sovereign will. You know, in that passage in
Ephesians 1, three times it's mentioned the good pleasure of
his will. And so God manifested his love
towards us according to 1 John 4, 9 and 10. And this was manifested, think
about that, and this was manifested, the love of God towards us, because
God sent his only begotten son into the world. I like what John
says in 1 John 1, just a few chapters before that, if you
just turn the page. that which was from the beginning,
which we have heard, which we have seen, with our eyes, and
which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled of the
word of life. for the life was manifested and
we have seen it and bear witness and show unto you that eternal
life which was with the Father and was manifested to us. That
which we have seen and heard declare we unto you that ye also
may have fellowship with us, and truly our fellowship is with
the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ. These things write
we unto you, that your joy may be full." Think about the importance
and think about the excitement in the heart of John, the writer,
as he writes this, the reality of it. And look at John 3, verse
1, Behold, what manner of love The Father hath bestowed upon
us that we should be called the sons of God. Therefore the world
knoweth us not, because it knew him not. Beloved, now are we
the sons of God. It doth not yet appear what we
shall be, but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be
like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that
hath this hope in himself purifieth himself as he is pure. the reality,
the excitement where he talks about eternal life. And here
it says in 1 John 1 verse 4, I mean 1 John 4 verse 9, it says,
He sent His begotten Son into the world that we might live
through Him. You see, and here in 1 John 3,
he's describing that life and that eternal life and that reunion
that we'll have with the Father. and see him face to face and
what joy. You know, when we talk about
the love of God manifested unto us, when John, the same writer,
says, for God so loved the world. that he gave his only begotten
son. He's so loved. He's trying to say, look at the
magnitude of the love of God towards hopeless, dead sinners. And he says this towards us.
He says this towards us right here in this passage. This was
manifested that marvelous and all surpassing love of God. It
was towards us. Understand our condition. Hopelessly
lost, dead sinners might live. Those who deserve only death
and that eternal death and eternal judgment of God. As Thomas Boston
writes in our bulletins, what a wonderful quote from Thomas
Boston, that they deserve only eternal death until they pay
the utmost farthing. It would take eternity. to pay
the debt that we owe. Hopelessly lost dead sinners
condemned and that they might live. The question is, did Christ
come into the world to make salvation possible then? How can people
think that? How can people even think that?
Did He come into the world just to make salvation possible so
that all people with their human ability might see Him and might
believe? That would be humanly impossible
because the Word of God teaches there is none who see God, not
even one. The Apostle Paul makes it clear,
not even one, he says. The natural man receiveth not
the things of the Spirit of God, neither can he know them, for
they are spiritually discerned. And that passage is preaching
that man is spiritually dead and they are spiritually discerned. So you have a dead creature who
cannot possibly discern the things of the Spirit of God. Man lost
all human ability in the fall when Adam died spiritually and
all mankind with him. When it says that for all has
sinned, that means all sinned when Adam sinned. Not that all
sin later, obviously, that's true, but all sin when he sinned. God imputed the sin of Adam to
all mankind. Wherefore, as by one man sinned
unto the world, the Bible says, and death by sin, so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned. A man cannot believe
when he's dead. What he needs is life. What he
needs is life. And with that life, regeneration
is the word. When that life regenerates, or
that regeneration, comes light, comes repentance, comes faith. All these are gifts from God,
birthday gifts, if you please. At the new birth, Christ told
Nicodemus, you must be born again or you cannot see the kingdom
of God. So to make no sense for God to come to the world only
to make salvation possible for dead people who are completely
unable to see it. Lost man wants to make salvation
to come by works, right? Because if I can add just a little
of my human effort into my salvation, a little of my human ability,
that would make salvation subject to boasting, wouldn't it? And
boasting is excluded, the Bible says. Man could glory in his
own salvation if that were true. No, no, no. Christ paid all of
salvation. He saves sovereignly. He's not waiting on man who can
do nothing to save himself. The Bible says in 1 Corinthians
1.28, things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are not to bring to naught the things that are, that no
flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. And according to it that is written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. He's quoting from
Jeremiah where he says, thus saith the Lord, let not the wise
man glory in his wisdom. Let not the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches. Our scripture here today says
that this is love. This is love manifested that
God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might
live through Him. That life that starts for you
at the point where God saves your soul and never ends. and
was ordained from eternity. Because if your name was written
in the book of life, your name was written there from eternity.
That love was manifested to us. Matthew, the gospel writer, can
answer the question of who it is that he's referring to here.
Who would live? Because the scripture is all
in agreement on this. Who would live? Matthew says,
his people. The angel told Joseph, thou shall
call his name Jesus for he shall save his people from their sins. Those whom the father gave to
the son from all eternity. The angel told Joseph that. And
here in the context of the book of John, we would live through
him. We are those who have seen and
heard in 1.1, right? We are those little children
in 2.1, brethren in 2.7, little children in 2.2, 12 and 18 and
many other places, and children of God in 3.1, and beloved in
4.1, the immediate context. Beloved of God. Beloved. Those that He loves. Those that
He set His love upon. This is all about Christ's church.
Redeemed sinners, the children of God. Elsewhere, John, the
same writer says, for God sent not his son into the world to
condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not
condemned, but he that believeth not is already condemned. You
see, that's why he came not to condemn the world. That would
be a useless task. The world stands condemned already. He came to save those of the
world that he chose. The same thought is here, only
stated another way. The concept of the word world
in John's writing is a people from among all nations. He comments
editorially on this in John 11, when he speaks of Caiaphas, who
actually prophesied, interestingly enough. He spake this, Caiaphas
spake this, not of himself, But being high priest that year,
he prophesied that Jesus should die for that nation and not for
that nation only, but that also he would gather together in one
the children of God scattered abroad. The children of God scattered
abroad. And so John reveals in Revelation
5, 9, same author again, this concept of the world, it says,
and they sung a new song. And this is worship, isn't it?
Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof
for thou was slain and has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of
every kindred and tongue and people and nation. So let's look at the coming of
the Son of God into the world, where he says also in another
place, and the word was made flesh and dwelt among us, in
John 1, 14. But let's look at this coming
of the Son of Man into the world. When the Bible speaks of the
coming of Messiah, that's the central message of the word of
God. In fact, it's a book about Christ.
It's a hymn book, as our pastor says. Let's see what the Word
of God says about His coming in other places, because we can
be sure there's a set purpose clearly defined on the subject,
the focal point of human history. First of all, Christ Jesus came
into the world, our Lord came into the world as a willing servant
of Jehovah. Psalm 40, where He says in verse
six, sacrifice an offering thou didst not desire. Mine ears hast
thou opened, burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required. Then said I, Lo, I come in the
volume of the book that is written unto me. I delight to do thy
will, O God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. He came as a servant of Jehovah.
As he's described in Isaiah 42 also, Behold, my servant, whom I uphold, my elect, in whom
my soul delighted. In the gospel, the actual voice
of God confirmed it. My beloved son, in whom I'm well
pleased. He was a servant for life. He
was a servant for life. and for love of his master, just
like the Old Testament example of a bond servant who decided
to mark his ears who decided that he would become a servant
for life. He said, I will not go out and
just take my family and leave with what I have. I will stay
here and I will serve my master and I will be a servant for life.
That's just a paraphrase of that idea in Exodus. But he said, he called for them to mark his
ears and to take an all and they would and they would open his
ears. And that's why he says in Psalm
40. Thou hast opened my ears. I'm a servant for life. It's
not my hearing that he was talking about. He said, I'm a willing
servant. He says, thy law is within my heart. Thou hast opened
my ears. I'm a servant of Jehovah for
life, for life and for eternity. The Lord Jesus Christ said he
was a willing servant. I'll delight to do thy will,
O my God. Yea, thy law is within my heart.
He lived every step dependent upon the Father. I always do
what pleases my Father, he said. John 5.30 says this, I can of
my own self do nothing, as I hear I judge, and my judgment is just,
because I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father which
has sent me. And John 14.10, he says, Believest
thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words
that I speak unto you I speak not of myself. but the Father
that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." Once in the village
of Sychar in Samaria, he was tired out from much ministry,
and he sat on Jacob's well. In John 4.31, his disciples prayed
him, saying, But he said unto them, I have meat to eat that
ye know not of. Therefore saith the disciples
unto him, hath any man brought him anything or ought to eat? Jesus saith unto him, my food,
my meat is to do the will of him that sent me and to finish
his work. And to finish his work. That's when his servanthood ended. He finished the work that the
father had given me to do. He completed the work. and now
is exalted at the right hand of God. That work is finished,
that work of saving his own. Not my will, but thine be done,
he saith in Gethsemane as he wrestled with the thought of
being separated from his father. Not my will, he said, but thine
be done. He won that battle, didn't he?
When he said it is finished on the cross, he was declaring the
fact that he had completed the work for which his father had
sent him to do into the world. He obeyed completely to the point
of death. As the willing servant, he pleased
the father by obeying and dying for the sins of his people. Let's
think on that for a minute. Referring to Isaiah 42 again,
the Lord is well pleased for his righteousness sake In verse
21, it says, he will magnify the law and make it honorable. He will magnify the law. He came
to establish a perfect and eternal righteousness that he gives to
all the people that he saves. It was a righteousness that he
earned by obeying the law completely in our stead. We who broke all
of God's laws, and broke them all of our lives. The wicked
go estranged from the womb, speaking lies. We're sinners and born
that way. David said, in sin my mother
conceived me. We broke all of God's laws, but
Christ Jesus is my righteousness. He obeyed them completely and
we have an imputed righteousness through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Isaiah 61 verse 10, I like this one, where he says, I will greatly
rejoice in the Lord, and my soul shall be joyful in my God, for
he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered
me in the robe of his righteousness. As a bridegroom decketh himself
with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself in her jewels,
We have on that robe of Christ's righteousness. The Lord doesn't
look at our sins. The Lord looks at his righteousness
that was given unto us. That's marvelous thought. Jeremiah
23, verse 6, in his days, Judah shall be saved and Israel shall
dwell in safety. And this is his name where he
shall be called. This is the name where you and
I are called. The Lord, our righteousness.
in the Lord Jesus Christ. In the incarnation of our Lord,
he came as bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. to be made like
in a sinful flesh, yet without sin, in order to die a perfect
sacrifice and to liberate us from Satan's captivity, according
to Hebrews 2. It says, we see Jesus, who was
made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death,
crowned with glory and honor, that he, by the grace of God,
should taste death for every man. And then in verse 14, it
says, for as much then as the children, That's what he's referring
to, those children. Those children are partakers
of flesh and blood. He also himself likewise took
part of the same, that through death he might destroy him that
had the power of death, that is the devil. He made an open
show of principalities and powers on the cross. They thought they
had the victory. They thought they had him where
they wanted him. And he made an open show of them. triumphing over them in it, in
the cross, Colossians says. So not only was Christ a willing
servant to obey completely the Father's will and establish a
perfect justifying righteousness for needy dead sinners like myself
who were condemned. Also, he was sent into the world
that we might live through him who paid it all. that we might
live through one who paid it all as a surety of the covenant
of grace. Hebrews 7.22 says this, by so
much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament, a better
covenant, covenant. And he's referring, comparing
that to the law of that better covenant through the blood of
the everlasting covenant. You know, you see, it's so much
better than the law because it's for one thing, because it's by
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and it's everlasting. from eternity
past to eternity future. These scriptures tell of Christ
our Lord that through the eternal covenant by His shed blood and
by His eternal unchangeable priesthood, He is our surety. That means
that He is no hope-so Savior. He is no Savior that saves if
you'll let Him save. He's no wannabe Savior. He is
a Savior who saves sovereignly those whom the Father has given
unto Him. He saves from eternity past to eternity future and ever
lives to make intercession for us. He saves to the uttermost,
the Bible says, all those who come to God by Him. seeing that
he ever lives to make intercession for us. He's a surety. A surety,
by definition, is one who drew near and struck hands with the
Father as the God-man mediator and ratifier of that covenant.
The Lord possessed me, the Bible says, in the beginning of his
way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting,
from the beginning, wherever the earth was. In Zechariah 6,
he says, and speaking unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord
of hosts, saying, Behold, the man whose name is the branch.
That's our Lord, the branch, all capitals. And he says he
shall grow up out of his place and he shall build the temple
of the Lord. Even he shall build the temple
of the Lord, his church. and he shall bear the glory and
shall sit and rule upon his throne and he shall be a priest upon
his throne and the council of peace or the covenant of grace
or the eternal covenant of peace shall be between them both. The
Lord established that. He ratified it with his blood.
Our Lord told his disciples, upon this rock will I build my
church and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Peter had confessed. Through divine revelation, thou
art the Christ, the son of the living God. And that was the
rock that he was referring to, that he is the Christ, the son
of the living God. Upon this rock, upon the rock
of himself, shall I build my church. And same thing referring
to there, he shall build the temple of the Lord. That means
that he paid all. that his people owed. Assurity
is not a cosigner. Assurity is not a guarantor that
if you or I could not pay, then he would come in and he would
put his money down. No, no. He's one who pays all
of those in the covenant and what they owe, he paid it all.
Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe. Sin had left a crimson
stain, He washed it white as snow. If our Lord Jesus would
not or could not have redeemed all those that were given unto
Him and set them before the Father in eternity, He would have bore
the blame forever. In Genesis 43, and the story
of Jacob, Benjamin, and Judah. Judah and the other nine brothers
had returned from seeing the prince of Egypt, who unbeknownst
to them was their own brother who they had sold into slavery
years and years earlier. And Judah and Jacob did not want
to let Benjamin go. That prince of Egypt said, don't
come back if you don't bring Benjamin. your youngest with
you." Jacob did not want to let him go, but Judah stepped up
and said, I will be a surety for him. He said, I'll be a surety
for him. Look back in 43rd chapter of
Genesis right quick. I don't want to misquote this.
His saying that he said, 43rd chapter of Genesis. In verse nine, It was because of Jacob's objection
of sending Benjamin with the other 10 brothers to go back. And he said in verse 9, I will
be a surety for him. Of my hand shalt thou require
him. If I bring him not unto thee
and set him before thee, then let me bear the blame forever. That's the strength of a surety. And that's the Lord Jesus Christ,
who's the surety of that covenant of grace. If he could not or
would not have brought all of his elect to God, he would have
bore the blame forever. Thank God for that promise in
Isaiah. He shall not fail. He shall not fail or be discouraged
until they have said judgment on the earth. I, the Lord, have
called thee in righteousness. I will hold thy hand and give
thee for a covenant unto the people. And as I said, he shall
save his people from their sins. He shall save. He shall save. Not want to save. not possibly
save, not make a way, but by his own blood he entered into
once in the holy place, having obtained an eternal redemption
for us. I lay my life down for the sheep,
he said, and he said in another place in Hebrews 10, for by one
offering hath he perfected forever those that are sanctified, those
that are sanctified. Oh, my friends, look at that
suffering surety on the cross in Isaiah 53 and verse 10, Isaiah. Look at Isaiah 53, verse 10 quickly. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin, he shall see his seed and shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities."
You see, the justification was based upon the fact that those
iniquities were borne by the surety. Those iniquities were
already paid for and could never be asked of again, could never
be judged again because they were judged upon the cross. He
shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied. It was soul travail. It wasn't
just body travail. And that leads me to my last
point, and that is in 1 John 4.10. Herein is love, not that
we love God. but that he loved us and sent
his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Propitiation is
a sacrifice that makes peace between enemies. The natural
man is enmity with God. The natural mind is enmity with
God. We cannot be, we're not subject
to the laws of God, neither can we be because of the enemy, I'm
thinking of a Spanish word, of the enmity that we have, the
enmity that we have between us and God. But the word of God
says there is one God and one mediator between God and man,
the man Christ Jesus who gave himself a ransom for all, for
all those he would redeem. It says not that we love God,
not that we love God. and that he reciprocated the affection by sending his
son into a world who wanted a further revelation and manifestation
of God. As many think about the Christmas
season, they look at a baby in a manger as a gift of his love.
No, my friends, he gave his life. He came to a world who hated
him. He came as a man of sorrows and
acquainted with grief. He came to be abused and mistreated
and spit upon to a world that hated him. We will not have this
man to reign over us, they said. And that is with many here today.
We hated God. We worshiped and served the creature
rather than the creator, the Bible says. This world, by and
large, is a world of idolaters. especially when they look in
the mirror and they have the adultery of that person that
they see. But the Bible says he sent his
son to be the propitiation for our sins. Luke describes it this
way. The day spring from on high has
visited us. The day spring from on high has
visited us to give the knowledge of salvation unto his people
by the remission of their sins. Oh, what a marvelous verse is
that the day spring. Came and we celebrate that during
this time, don't we? We were mindful of that. To him
who loved us and who washed us from our sins in his own blood,
the Bible says what was between us and himself, he took out of
the way by by giving up his most precious one, his darling son,
The only one who could offer the perfect atoning sacrifice
for our sins, the only one who could be the perfect propitiation
for our sins that would placate God's wrath
and satisfy His justice, that which we will never satisfied. It only can be satisfied in the
Lord Jesus Christ. That justice he will never compromise. He'll never be like the unjust
judge that would just turn his face and let that criminal enter
in or let that criminal free or let that sinner into glory
and God just look the other way. That would be putting God like
an unjust judge. No. He set all of our sins upon
the sinless one. Upon the propitiation that would
placate His wrath and satisfy His justice. So look in closing
to one passage. Romans chapter 3. Thinking about
how He set all of His sins. All of our sins. Excuse me. Sometimes
I trying to do one thing and I misspeak. Romans chapter 3,
put all of our sins upon the sinless Savior and surety and
propitiation for our sins. Look at Romans 3 verse 23. for all have sinned and come
short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace
through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God has
set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to
declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are
passed in the forbearance of God. To declare, I say, at this
time His righteousness, that He might be just. He will never compromise his
justice and let one sinner into heaven by turning his head and
ignoring the sinner's rebellion. And it says here, and the justifier
of him with which believeth in Jesus. If you've trusted in Christ
Jesus as your Lord and Savior, Then lay down your arms of rebellion
and trust in the only one. Trust in his one and only son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. If you have faith in Christ,
it's faith that God has given you. If God has granted you faith
and repentance, then Christ is your mercy seat. Christ is your
propitiation. Another meaning for propitiation
is that mercy seat, a place where God and the sinner meet at the
feet of his cross. Like the song says, there is
room at the cross for you today. For he's full of mercy to all
who come by him. He that cometh unto me, he says,
I will in no wise cast out. And he goes on to say one of
the greatest invitations in the word of God to a lost sinner.
And he says that to you today. He says that to you today. He
says, come unto me, all ye who labor and are heavy laden. And
he's talking about being heavy laden with your sins. because
he says you'll find soul rest. He's talking about being heavy
laden, not by your work, not by your daily toil. Come to me,
all you who are labored or heavy laden with your sins. And he
says, I will give you rest. And he says, rest unto your soul,
soul rest. For my soul, my faith has found
a resting place. not in device nor creed. I trust
the ever living one. His wounds for me shall bleed.
He is our propitiation who sacrificed himself and satisfied the justice
of God on our behalf. And he set him forth before a lost and dying world. He set him forth to save those
whom he would grant his repentance and faith. Come ye sinners, lost
and hopeless. The song says, Jesus' blood can
make you clean, for he saved the worst among you when he saved
a wretch like me. This I know, oh yes I know, Jesus'
blood can make the vilest sinner clean. Come to Christ today. Thank you.