Well, good morning. Let's take
our Bibles and turn to Revelation 21. Revelation chapter 21. I'd like to deal in this first
service with the 15th verse. Before we do, though, let's go
to the Lord in prayer. approach you this morning in
the only way that we can approach you, in the name, in the authority,
in the goodness of our blessed Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ,
the One who alone has pleased you by Himself. We ask you this
morning to bless us with a hearing of your gospel Bless us with
an understanding. Teach us, Lord, for we long to
be taught by You. We ask You to bless the preaching
and the hearing for Christ's sake. Amen. John was shown the holy city. The Scripture says, last week
having looked at these verses, in verse 11, having the glory
of God. Now this is the church, this
is the bride, as God says she is, having the glory of God. And her light was likened to
a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal,
and had a wall, great and high, had twelve gates, and at the
gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the
names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel, on the
east three gates, on the north three gates, on the south three
gates, on the west three gates. And the wall of the city had
twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles
of the lambs." That's what we dealt with those verses in detail. last week, but we saw where the
Lord Jesus Christ, the light of the city, is the eternal revealer
to and of the bride. He is her foundation, the chief
cornerstone who is revealed by the foundations of his attribute. This city had twelve foundations,
it says. And in those foundations, in
those setting forth of the attributes of God Himself, the Lord Jesus
Christ, in those foundations are written the names of the
twelve apostles, a picture of the elect for whom Christ has
been manifested. He is her wall, the wall of salvation,
her gate of praise who sends his messengers to be the means
of calling out his elect through the preaching of the gospel.
That sets forth the wall, the gates, and the city. Now, this
morning, We want to look at verse 15. And it says, And he that
talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the
gates thereof, and the wall thereof. Now, the Scripture set forth
last week that there was a city, that there was a wall, and that
there was gates. Now, this morning in this first
verse, it's going to tell us the measurement, that there was
a measurement made. In the next service, Lord willing,
we are going to get into verse 16 and 17. We are going to get
into the exact measurements. But this fifteenth verse says
that the measurement or the instrument that was used to measure is called
here a golden reed. Now John beholds the one that
talked with him to have what is set forth here to be a golden
reed. It tells us exactly what that
golden reed was for. It says a golden reed to measure
the city, to measure the gates, to measure the wall. Now this
is the same measuring reed that is spoken of in Ezekiel chapter
40. Turn over to Ezekiel 40. Ezekiel
chapter 40. Ezekiel 40, beginning in the
first verse, Ezekiel says, In the five and twentieth year of
our captivity, in the beginning of the year, in the tenth day
of the month, in the fourteenth year, after that the city was
smitten in the selfsame day, the hand of the Lord was upon
me and brought me thither in the visions of God. brought he
me into the land of Israel, and set me upon a very high mountain,
by which was as the frame of a city on the south. And he brought
me thither, and behold, there was a man whose appearance was
like the appearance of brass, with a line of flax in his hand,
and a measuring reed, And he stood at the gate, and the man
said unto me, Son of man, behold with thine eyes, and hear with
thine ears, and set thine heart upon all that I will show thee.
For to the intent that I might show them unto thee art thou
brought hither. Declare all that thou seest to
the house of Israel, and behold a wall on the outside of the
house round about, and in the man's hand a measuring reed of
six cubits. long by the cubit and in hand
breadth, so he measured the breadth of the building, one reed, and
the height, one reed. Now, turn over to Zechariah. Zechariah is the book just before
Malachi. Find the last book of the Old
Testament and go back one more book to Zechariah chapter 2. Zechariah 2, verse 1. Zechariah 2.1, I lifted up mine
eyes again, and looked, and behold, a man with a measuring line in
his hand. Then said I, Whither goest thou? And he said unto me, To measure
Jerusalem, to see what is the breadth thereof, and what is
the length thereof. And behold, the angel that talked
with me went forth, and another angel went out to meet him, and
said unto him, Run, Speak to this young man, saying, Jerusalem
shall be inhabited as towns without walls, for the multitude of men
and cattle therein. For I, saith the Lord, will be
unto her a wall of fire round about, and will be the glory
in the midst of her." Now, we realize here in Ezekiel and in
Zechariah, we realize that the measuring of this city indicates
this one thing for sure, that this city already exists. It doesn't say that they were
going to lay it out and foundations were going to build it. It's
going to measure the city. It's going to measure that this
city has existed everlastingly. For God has always loved His
people. The city of God, the Bride of
the Lord Jesus Christ, has always been there. She's existed in
her surety, having been chosen in Him before the foundation
of the world. She's been justified eternally
by God, who justifies freely by His grace. There's a big issue
now going on about when did God justify His people. They want
to set forth Some seem to want to indicate that God never justified
His people until the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ was actually
shed. My question then is this. What about those before the cross? That would be my first question.
But the question that really would enter my mind is this.
Are you saying that until the blood was actually shed, that
there was no justification, and that God looked upon His people
before that time unjustified, and then after the cross, He
looked upon them as justified. Are you saying then to me that
God changed in His attitude? Are you saying that? I'll go
back to my statement Brother Scott said, if you ever indicate
that God has ever changed in any way, in any manner, in any
thought, in any way, therein you err. Not God, but you do. You say, well, I can't figure
it out. Well, okay, I'll go along with you on that one then. Maybe
we can't figure it out. But God doesn't change. If God
has justified His people in the person of the Lord Jesus Christ,
He has always justified them. God does not change. So this city is measured. It is measured according to Revelation
11.1 with a reed that is likened to a rod, a measuring reed that
is strong and straight and true. This city is going to be measured.
This measuring reed, this golden reed that measures the city. This golden reed or measuring
rod by which all things are judged is the Word of God. That's the
bottom line. What's the basis of all things
that are true? God's Word. This is what it says,
Matthew 24, 35. Heaven and earth shall pass away,
but my words shall not pass away. God's Word remains sure. God. who alone is good, God who
is holy in His being and just, speaks according to His nature. God says, and it is. That is the way it is. His Word,
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Creator of all that is created, the Sustainer
of all that is sustained, and the only begotten of the Father,
has power over all flesh that He should give eternal life to
as many as the Father has given Him." The measurement by which
all things are measured is God's Word. He speaks. It is. So in the measurement
of this city, John will have revealed to him something of
who or what This city is according to the Word of God, according
to God's Word. The bride is measured according
to what God says she is, not according to this world, not
according to Satan, not even according to what you yourself
see in yourself or I see in myself. But according to what God says
she is. In Song of Solomon 5.1, the Lord
says, I'm coming to my garden. My sister, my spouse, you see,
how is it that she can have that kind of relationship with Him
justly? How is it? God says she does. God says, I chose you. I redeemed
you. I called you. I made you what
you are, created in Christ Jesus. She is what God says she is,
not what she's made herself to be. How would she make herself
to be His sister? I can't make myself be your physical
brother, Brother Scott. I love you, brother, in Christ,
but I can't. She is what she is. Here she
is according to the golden reed of God's Word. Her name is written
in heaven, written in the Lamb's Book of Life. The Scripture says,
He talked with me to measure the city. Here's the measurement. She's the chosen of the Father.
How do you know that she measures up to that? Because Ephesians
1, 4 says she is. God's Word. There's the measuring. There's the golden reed right
there. The redeemed of the Lamb. How do you know she measures
up to that? Because the Lord Jesus Christ says, I lay down
my life for the sheep. That's His Word. That ended it
right there. She's called. by the Spirit of
God, all that my Father giveth me shall come to me. Him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast him out." How do you know that? The golden
reed. The Word of God. She's the branch
grafted into the vine. She's the bride of the bridegroom.
She's the body of Christ. How do you know that? God's Word
said that. How do you know she is? The habitation
of God. Know ye not that ye are the temple
of the living God? How do you know that? The golden
reed. She's the heritage of God. His
treasure. She is the Israel of God. The mercy. The vessels of mercy. She's God's peculiar people. His garden. We just looked at
that. How do you know that she's His garden? God said she's His
garden. He said that. His love. She's ravished Him with one of
her eyes. You say, I just can't imagine
that. God says she has. He says, I look upon you and
I'm heartless. My heart is just... You say,
how can that be? God said it is. That is the measurement. That's the rule. That's the standard. That's the judgment of him who
knows the end from the beginning. John says, I saw a man, he talked
with me, he had a golden reed to measure the city and the gates
thereof. Now, these gates, and we looked
last week, and I won't go, because of the sake of time, I won't
go into this, but the gates, as we looked at last week according
to Isaiah 60, These gates sets forth the praise. That's what
it says, the praise. The gates are the praise. But whose praise? There's the key to it. Someone
says, well, it's the praise. I mean, God's people praise Him.
That's true. That is true. They do praise
Him. But the gates are the praise of Him who is worthy. It sets forth the praise of the
bride's husband, the Lord Jesus Christ, what He has done, what
He has done. It's the praise. We'll look at
just the last part right there. It says, and the wall thereof. Well, the Scripture is written
such that John says, He talked with me, had a golden reed to
measure the city. That's the bride. What that's
saying is what God says she is, according to His Word. Secondly,
this golden reed measured the gates thereof. It measures the
praise that is due unto Him, the City, the Bride. That is
who is measured. What has He done? That is what
he is asking. What has He done? It reveals
what the Lord Jesus Christ... Look at Revelation 5. Now, this
is what the Word of God says. that the measurement of the gates
is. This is what the Word of God
says, the measurement of the gates is, Revelation 5 and 9. They sung a new song saying,
Thou art worthy. Who is worthy? Well, the wall
that we are getting ready to look at, the salvation. Thou
art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof. Now
here's the gates of it. Here's the reason for the praise. For thou wast slain and hast
redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue
and people and nation, and hast made us unto our God kings and
priests, and we shall reign on the earth. You see, the measurement
of the gates, which actually means the praise, the praise
of Him, why is He worthy to be praised by us this morning that
believe? Why? Because Thou was slain and
has redeemed us. You bought us back. You bought
us and paid for us with Your own precious blood. You're worthy
to be worshiped. And then thirdly and lastly,
it says, after He had measured the city, measured the gates
and the wall, and like I said, the following verses will start
getting into the exact measurements. Verse 15 is just telling us that
He was measured. The gates were measured, the
wall was measured, the city was measured. Now we'll get into
the measurements next, but the last part of this verse says,
"...and the wall thereof." This wall, according to Isaiah
60 and verse 18, tells us that the walls of this city is salvation. That's what it says. And thy
walls are salvation. Salvation. Jesus Christ, the
Savior, thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His
people. Now here we see the wall Himself
being measured. The standard. The Word of God. Who is it? Well, the first verse. Turn to Matthew 1. Matthew 1. It says, Matthew 1. The book
of the generation of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the son of
Abraham, Jesus Christ. Who is the wall of his church? It's the Christ. It is the anointed
of Jehovah. Christ means the same as Messiah
in the Old Testament. The name Christ actually means
the union of both natures, divine and human, the person united
with God, God-man. That's what Christ means. He is the Son of God, the Word
Himself made flesh. God joined with flesh, human
nature. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and the Word
was made, was produced flesh, true flesh. When we say Christ,
we mean not just the Son of God, Nor do we mean man only, but
when we say Christ, we mean both natures. When we say the Christ,
Jesus Christ, both natures, constituting one person, the glorious head
of the Church. Now, many passages in the Scriptures
speak of Him, and in those passages we see the Divine vitally joined
with humans. Colossians 1.15, who is the image
of the invisible God? God Himself, the firstborn of
every creature, human. Hebrews 1.3, who being the brightness
of His glory and the express image of His person and upholding
all things by the word of His power, God. When He had by Himself
purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty
of High." A man died. Human. A body, the Scripture
says, hath thou prepared me. There must be a sacrifice for
sin. But that sacrifice must possess
infinite dignity and value. God Himself made flesh. A human body united to the Godhead. Christ. Great is the mystery
of godliness. God. Flesh. That body must be conceived,
not by human means, with the blood of Adam, that is, with
sin, hamartia, the source of sin flowing in it. Man must die. God alone can forgive sin. God must atone. Only a man could
die and only God can put away sin. Both natures, man and God,
unite to have a glorious mediator that can touch both natures,
both natures, human, divine. and glorify God and redeem man. Here is a great, great mystery. The divine and human, and here
is the Christ. Both natures united. John said,
And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the
city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof. The city,
the bride, is set forth. according to God's measurement.
This is who God says she is. The praise of His worthiness
is revealed according to what God says He has done. And the wall Himself, the power
to accomplish what He has done, is because of who He is, the
Christ, God-Man. I want to read you a scripture. 2 Corinthians 5 and we'll stop. 2 Corinthians 5.20. Now you realize that Christ,
when we say Christ, we mean divine and human nature in one person. Divine and human. The Christ. Both of them. 2 Corinthians 5.20
and 21. Now then, we are ambassadors
for Christ. divine human, as though God did
beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be you reconciled
to God." Now who is Paul preaching, setting forth? The Christ. God-man. God-man. God-man. For He hath made Him sin. He made Christ. sin, the very
source. He made Him the hamartia. He
made Him the embodiment of sin. He hath made Him sin for us who
knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God
in Him. You know, you start thinking
about who, as I said a couple of Wednesdays ago, who was on
that cross. You say, it was the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus Christ. We preach
you, we beseech you in Christ's stead. We preach you in Christ's. God did beseech you by Christ,
divine. He made Him to be sin. He made Him the embodiment. I said, who was upon that cross? Sin was upon that cross. The Son of God, yes, the Holy
Lamb, spotless in Himself. He knew no sin. He never rebelled. He never rebelled. He hath made
Him sin. I'm going to read you a Scripture
in this next service right here talking about despising the shame
You're going to be surprised what that word shame really means. Despising the shame. Well, let's
stop for a few minutes.