Brethren, let's turn in our Bibles
to John chapter 7. John chapter 7. It's good to
have everybody back. John chapter 7. In verse 14, it says now, about
the midst of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying,
ìHow knoweth this man letters, having never learned?î The Jews
marveled because they only saw a man. They only saw a man, and
they saw a man who had not been taught in their schools of religion. They saw a man who they thought
was from a rural area of Galilee, And the leaders here are probably
disparaging Christ. You're going to believe this
man, he hadn't been taught in our schools. And maybe some did
marvel at the fact that he knew the scriptures and taught so
boldly, but the Jewish leaders were not doing so. But you think
about this man, who he is. This is holy God. This is infinite
wisdom and power that's standing before them. This is God who
gave the Holy Scriptures. He is wisdom. Speaking of Himself
as wisdom in Proverbs 8.14, He said, counsel is mine. Sound
wisdom. I am understanding. I have strength. By me kings reign and princes
decree justice. By me princes rule and nobles,
even all the judges of the earth. This is that one Paul wrote about
Colossians and said that in him are hid all the treasures of
wisdom and knowledge. That's who was speaking to them
that day, preaching to them in the temple. This is he of whom
James said, if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God. That's who this was. Let him
ask of God that giveth to all, and does it liberally, and upbraideth
not." He didn't make him feel ashamed for coming to him and
asking him. And it shall be given him, he
said. But in the wisdom of God, he chose to veil his glory as
God and come as a man. And so he stands there in that
temple that day as a man. Why did he come that way? Why
did he come that way? Why did he choose to appear before
men as an unappealing man with nothing about him to make men
want to hear him or submit to him or receive his gospel or
follow him? Why did he do that? Why did God
choose to save through this means of preaching that natural man
thinks is foolishness? And these were religious men
and they thought what he was preaching was foolishness too.
Why did God choose that He would be rejected of men and nailed
to a cross and that the message would be that He accomplished
redemption through that means that appears to man as just utter
failure? Why did He choose that? He said
in 1 Corinthians 1.19, let's look over there just a minute,
1 Corinthians 1.19. He says, for it's written, I
will destroy the wisdom of the wise and will bring to nothing
the understanding of the prudent. That's what our Lord was doing
that day in the temple. He was destroying the wisdom
of the proud and wise and prudent Pharisees. He was making them
to be foolishness. Look down at verse 27. He says,
But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise. That's what we hear in our text.
They were confounded. They marveled. God hath chosen
the weak things of the world to confound the things which
are mighty, things which are despised hath God chosen, things
which are not to bring to naught things that are, that no flesh
should glory in his presence. He makes you know everything
is of God, it's all of Him, so that He that glories, let Him
glory only in the Lord. God chose these foolish things
to humble His people. He chose these foolish means,
He works all things in providence to humble us to trust Christ
alone. That's the purpose. That's what,
when He quickens us and He gives us spiritual life, to know that
salvation is all of Him, that's when we know it's not of Him
that willeth or Him that runneth, it's of God that shows mercy. It's when He makes you know Christ
is the power and wisdom of God that we know that He alone saves
us from our sin. And He's going to do it through
this means so we don't glory in ourselves, but we glory only
in the Lord. Look at Isaiah 29. is where Paul
quoted from, and I want you to see this. This is sort of setting
up what I want to show you in this passage. But Isaiah 29,
he said there how that God would destroy the wisdom of the wise
and prudent. He said in verse 18, he said,
and in that day shall the deaf hear the words of the book. You
see that? The deaf will hear the words
of the book. When I've destroyed the wisdom of the wise and prudent,
talking about the day when Christ would come, he says, in that
day the deaf will hear the words of the book. And the eyes of
the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The meek
also shall increase their joy in the Lord. And the poor among
men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel. This is His purpose,
to bring us to glory only in the Lord and rejoice in the Holy
One of Israel. Verse 23 says, When Jacob seeth
his children, the work of my hands, In the midst of him, they
shall sanctify my name, and sanctify the Holy One of Jacob, and shall
fear the God of Israel, and his people will give him the glory.
He says, they also that erred in spirit shall come to understanding,
and they that murmured shall learn doctrine. Those he saves
had the same heart to despise Christ. You and I who he saved,
we had the same heart to despise Christ. But what does he do? When He makes you to know you're
the deaf and He gives you ears to hear, that's when you glory
in Him. When He makes you see you're
the blind and gives you eyes to see, that's when you glory
in Him for giving you sight. When He makes us see all our
works are filthy rags and makes you see that we're the work of
His hands, created in Christ Jesus, righteous and holy by
the doing and dying of Christ, by the Spirit of God giving us
life. That's when you know this thing's
all of God, and that's when we rejoice in glory in the Holy
One, in the Redeemer. He brings us down from this wise
and prudent place of thinking we know things. He brings us
to submit to Him and learn of Him. So in our text here, this
is the Son of God. This is God in human flesh, but
He's serving God the Father as the God-man mediator. So when
they ask Him this question, who does He glory in? Where does
He point them? Where does He turn them? He points
them to His doctrine as being the doctrine of God His Father
who sent Him. And He tells them He didn't seek
His own glory, He sought the glory of His Father who sent
Him. Now let's read it back in John 7 and verse 16. Jesus answered them and said,
My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me. And he could
have said, I'm equal with the Father and His doctrine is my
doctrine and what He's willing to be taught, I'm willing to
be taught, but He's serving God here. And they just see Him as
a man. And He says to them, my doctrine
is not the product of human wisdom. That's what He's saying. He's
saying, I was not taught it by men, nor do I preach it of myself. My doctrine is His that sent
me. And he already declared to them over six months ago at Capernaum
that God the Father is who sent him. The doctrine, he said, the
doctrine. The doctrine is the gospel. There's
just one doctrine. It's Christ is all. That's the
teaching. Everything is summed up in Christ
is all. In everything we preach. The
doctrine is not of man. It's not made effectual by men
and it's not learned by self-teaching and self-study. It's of God who
teaches the doctrine of Christ to each one he saves. Now, here's
the question. How am I going to know if I'm
hearing the truth? That's my subject. How sinners
know. How shall a sinner know if the
doctrines of God or if he's just hearing a man preaching his own
word? How will he know if the messenger is sin of God and is
speaking God's Word, or if he is speaking of himself, just
sin of himself and preaching his own Word? Christ answers
that. Look here in verse 17. John 7, 17. If any man will do his will. He said, I was sent of God the
Father, and he says, if any man will do his will. If any man
will do his will. He shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh
of himself seeketh his own glory. He that is not sin of God, he
is going to give some glory to man, make it appealing to man,
give man some part in salvation so that he can get glory from
man too. He is getting glory for himself.
He is going to take the offense out of the cross so that he can
He can get gain for men, and glory in what He can constrain
men to do, and get monetary gain for men, and what have you. He
says, but he that seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same
is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him. The same is one that
God sent, and He is no imposter. He is not twisting the Word to
give man glory. He gives the glory to the triune
God in Christ Jesus. Because that's who sent him.
He wants God to have all the glory. Now look at what he says
first here. If any man, if any man, that's
wide open. If any man, this is true of any
man, whosoever. So that also means if any man
will not do what he's about to say, it's nobody's fault but
man. Nobody to blame. God's not to
blame if a man's not willing to do as Christ says here. The will of the Father, what
is it? He says, he that's willing to do the will of the Father.
The will of the Father is that those he gave to Christ come
to Christ. As lowly, humble sinners, needy
for Christ to do all the saving. To hear Christ speak and to receive
his word and believe His Word and cast all their care on Christ
and follow Christ. That's the Father's will. Go
back over to John 6.37. This is, I'm certain, what He
preached that day in the temple because our Lord had one message
just like His messengers do. He said in John 6.37, All that
the Father giveth me shall come to me. That's the Father's will.
He said they will, they shall. And him that cometh to me I will
in no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven not to do mine
own will, but the will of him that sent me. He said he that
will do my Father's will, here it is, they're going to come
to Christ and Christ won't cast them out. Now watch, and this
is the Father's will which is sent me. And of all which he
hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it
up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that
sent me, that everyone which seeth the sun, remember he said
the blind are going to see, everyone that seeth the sun and believeth
on him, may have as a free gift of God, he may have everlasting
life. And I'll raise him up at the
last day. If any man will do the Father's will, if any man's
willing to do the Father's will, he's willing to come to Christ.
He's not proud, he doesn't know it all, he's willing to come
as a sinner in need of Christ. He's willing to come to Christ,
to be taught of Christ, to learn of Christ, to be saved by Christ. Our Lord says he shall know the
doctrine. By God's grace, he shall know the doctrine. If he
has a willing heart to be taught of Christ, to be saved by Christ,
to know Christ, he shall know. In Matthew 18, this is what our
Lord is teaching us. In Matthew 18, Jesus called a
little child unto Him and set him in the midst of them. And
He said, Verily I say unto you, except you be converted and become
as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of
heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little
child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And that's
what he's teaching. Our Savior is not saying here
that man, a natural sinner, has a will to do the will of the
Father. That's not what he's saying. He told Nicodemus we
must be born again of God the Holy Spirit. We must be born
again. He said there in John 6.44, No
man can come to Me except the Father which has sent Me draw
him, and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written
in the Prophets, They shall be all taught of God. Every man,
therefore, that hath heard and hath learned of the Father cometh
unto Me. The Father's will shall be accomplished,
and it will be accomplished by God. He said to Christ, Thy people
shall be willing in the day of Thy power. He makes His child
willing to confess we're sinners. Makes us willing to confess we
need Christ and come and He makes us even confess that our willingness
is of God and not of us. But Christ is declaring it's
the Father's will that we come to Him for everything. We come empty handed. Not bringing
anything in our hand, not bringing any knowledge of our own or Doctrines
of men, we come to Him. Empty. Ready to learn of Him. Willing to be taught. Willing
to be saved by the doing and the dying of Christ His Son alone.
That sinner will know the doctrine is of God. That's what Christ
said. He will know. That sinner will
know he's hearing the truth of God through a true messenger
of God. Christ and His messenger preaches God's Word. He's not
coming preaching his own word, he's preaching God's word. He
gives all the glory to God in Christ and he leaves the sinner
no room to boast. And that's how God's people want
it. That's how God's people want it. He declares God's word. This
is what his messenger is going to declare. Christ is all. Christ
is all. He must increase, I must decrease. That's what John the Baptist
said. He's a true messenger. They came to him. He didn't take
any glory. He said, He's the Christ, He's
the Savior, He's the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of
His people scattered throughout the world. I must decrease, He
must increase. Christ's messenger declares Christ
is the only righteousness of His people. He is the only righteousness
of His people. Paul said, I'm the chief of sinners. My righteousness is Christ alone. Do you think the Pharisees had
that message? No. There's no sufficiency in
us, Paul said, to even preach the gospel. Our sufficiency is
of God. That's what his true message
is going to declare. Paul said, "...Unto me who am
less than the least of all saints is this grace given." It's all
of grace. It's given that I should preach
among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. Preach Christ. Christ is declaring the problem
here is the Pharisees were proud, they were self-made, they were
self-taught, self-sent. They were not willing to come
to Christ, they were not willing to cast their care on Christ,
they were not willing to give God all the glory. And that's
the problem with natural sin, not willing to confess our nothingness,
not willing to confess that we need Christ to be our wisdom. And we need Him to fulfill all
righteousness for us. And we need Him to make us holy
and keep us in His grace. We need Him. Natural sinners
are not willing to declare this. Go back over to John 5 and look
at what our Lord said here in John 5.37. He said, The Father
Himself which has sent me hath borne witness of me. He is speaking
to the Pharisees again. Now look at verse 38. He says,
And you have not His word abiding in you, for whom He hath sent,
whom you believe not." That's the Father's will. Whom He sent,
you believe Him. He sent Christ. It's the Father's
will to believe Him. He said, and I know you don't
have His word in you, not been taught of, because here I am
and you don't believe Me. Now watch what He said. Search
the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life.
You come looking to be taught to teach yourself, He's saying.
For in them you think you have eternal life, you think there's
something you can do to give yourself eternal life, and they
are they which testify of me. And you will not come to me that
you might have life. You're not willing. That's why
we have to be made willing by God. You're not willing to come
to me that you might have life freely by another. He says, now
watch, I receive not honor from men, But I know you, that you
have not the love of God in you. I am come in my Father's name,
and you receive me not. If another shall come in his
own name, him you will receive. How can you believe, which receive
honor one of another, and seek not the honor That means power,
the privilege that cometh from God only. You remember what he
said back in John 1, look at verse 12, I showed you this last
time, but it goes, see how he said, how can you believe which
receive honor one of another and seek not the honor that cometh
from God only? Look here in John 1, 12. He said, you'll receive another
man coming in his own name that's been sent of Himself and is preaching
of Himself and is preaching man and giving man glory, you'll
receive Him. And he said, but you won't receive
that honor that comes from God only. What's he talking about?
John 1.12. As many as received Him, to them gave He power, that's
the word, privilege, honor, to become the sons of God. to them that believe on His name. And how were they given this
honor? Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the
flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. Christ said to the
proud Pharisee, you receive the honor one of another and not
the honor that comes from God only. He said a man will come
teaching his own word He'll come teaching that there's something
a man can do by his will to be born again, and He'll tell you
this, preaching for doctrine, the commandments of men, and
you'll receive that honor. You'll receive Him. He'll come
telling you that there's something that you have to do to make yourself
righteous and holy before God by your works, and He said, and
you'll receive that honor from men. You'll receive the honor of another
man saying, now because you've done A, B, and C, now you're
a child of God. Now you're a son of God. But Christ says, they will not
give the glory to God confessing. They're helpless. Confessing
they're unworthy and hell deserving sinners and they have to have
Christ to do everything for them. He said you won't receive. That's
how honor comes from God the Father. You won't receive this
honor that comes from God the Father being the sovereign God
of heaven and earth who chooses whom He will and passes by whom
He will by free grace. So salvation is all of His grace
so that He gets all the glory for saving His people. He said,
you won't receive that honor, that privilege to be called a
son of God by divine electing grace. What an honor! What a
privilege that God chose a people with not anything good in us,
just simply by His grace and His love He chose whom He would
in Christ and thereby predestinated you to the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ Himself. That's how He makes His sons
and daughters. He said, you received the honor
of some man telling you that Christ died for everybody, but
you got to make it effectual by letting Him save you now,
rather than that honor that declares Christ came and laid down His
life for His sheep. He came and laid down His life
for those the Father gave Him from eternity, and accomplished
their redemption, and His righteousness is all of Him, given freely to
us through faith, and even the faith He gives us. He said, you
won't receive that honor. You see the honor, the privilege,
the whole manner of love God has bestowed on us that we should
be called the sons of God. He did it all. That's what John
said. The Spirit alone gives His children
life and faith and preserves us. He gives us the honor of
being the sons of God, the power and the privilege of being the
sons of God, being born of Him and brought to faith in Christ
to cast it all on Christ. Now hear what he says here, and
I'm just going to end here with this. I want us to just get what
he said. And anybody that hasn't believed
on Christ, especially hear what he says. But this is true of
us as believers the rest of our days. He says, it's not God keeping
sinners from Christ. He says, if any man will do the
will of the Father, is any willing? He said, if any man is willing
to do the will of the Father, it comes from him, but he's just
simply stating the fact. If a man's willing and in his
heart he really wants to honor God and please God and do the
will of the Father, he'll know the doctrine. The Lord will make
him know. He'll make him know. If he's willing to come to Christ,
confessing he's a sinner, and he needs Christ to save him,
to be his salvation, he'll know. He'll know when he's heard the
truth. He'll know it. He'll know of the doctrine that
it's of God. He'll know he's hearing the truth
through one of God's earthen vessels. When he hears the word
declared, no flesh or glory in his presence, he'll know that
so, and he'll say, and I don't want the glory in his presence.
God says no flesh or glory in his presence. I do not want the
glory in his presence. He'll know that doctrine so.
When he hears it declared that all the glory goes to God, he'll
know that is true and he'll say, I see. A to Z, salvation is of
the Lord. I want God to have all the glory. How will he know this? Because
Christ is the light. We want to do this backwards.
We want to know the doctrine and put our seal of approval
on it. You've got all the churches, you've got all the different
preachers, you're being told all these different things. And
when folks show up and hear the gospel, they come with all this
other pre-learned stuff. And they want to try to make
God's Word fit that. And then if they get all the
doctrine lined up and they agree with all the doctrine, And they'll
believe on Christ. He says, come to Christ to be
taught of Christ. Come to Him with a blank slate. Willing to learn from Him. Willing
to know what this book says. Willing to know what God says
is true. Let God be true and every man a liar. Because Christ
is the light. He's the wisdom. And all doctrine
is given through Christ. 1 Corinthians 1.30 says, of God
are you in Christ. We didn't put ourselves in Christ.
It's of God you're in Christ. And it's of God that Christ is
made all to us. And what Christ is made unto
us by God is He's made to be our wisdom. That means we're
not going to come boasting in teaching ourselves and what we
think. We're going to come bowing to
Christ our wisdom. And He makes Christ our righteousness. The end of the law for righteousness
to everyone that believes, that's Christ. And He makes you see
Christ as holiness. He is the perfection of sanctification
in whom His people have been perfected forever at God's right
hand. And it's only when He's formed
in you and He's made to be your sanctification that we stop looking
to ourselves and partake of His holiness and walk in Him. And He makes you see He's redemption. If any man is willing to come
to Christ, casting all care on Christ, giving the triune God
in Christ the glory as all his salvation, he shall know the
doctrine, because it's in Christ's light that we know the doctrine
and are given assurance. It's in Christ. Listen, Psalm
36, 9. For with thee is the fountain
of life, in thy light shall we see light. He's the light. Look down at John 7.37. Christ
says basically the same thing again right here in John 7.37.
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and
cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink. He that believeth on me, that's
what he means by let him come to me and drink. Let him come
to me and believe on me. And what will happen? Out of
his belly shall flow rivers of living water. He'll know the
doctrine. Whether I speak of God, because
I'm giving God all the glory, he'll know it. Hosea said, then
shall we know if we follow on to know the Lord. He's going
to give us light. He is going to keep giving us
light. He makes you willing to want to be taught of Him and
to receive His Word and to walk in His Word. And that is the
honest heart He gives in the heart of His people. That is
what we want. And He says, coming to Him, He will keep giving you
light. His going forth is prepared as
the morning. He shall come unto us as the
rain and as the latter and former rain unto the earth. giving you
showers of blessing, giving you light to know more of his light. That's the heart he gives. That's
the heart he gives. That's how you know that you're
hearing true doctrine, sin of God, and that's how you know
that you're hearing from somebody he sent to preach the word to
you. He's given him all the glory
and he's not hedging it to try to give man glory. He's given
him the glory. God gets all the glory. All right,
brethren, let's stand together. Our God and our Father, we thank
you for this word. Thank you, Lord, that you speak
simply to us and speak the doctrine to us. Lord, we ask that you give us
willing hearts to be willing to come to you and be taught
of you, to walk in your word, trusting you, looking only to
you. Lord, make us truly willing and
make us truly delight in your word and your gospel. looking
nowhere but to Christ, nowhere but to that perfect salvation
we have in Him. Lord, be with your preachers
everywhere today. Help them to preach Your Word
and truth according to Your Word. Help them to speak, and Lord,
speak into the hearts of Your people. Be our teacher. Let us sit at your feet like
Mary and learn of you and be instructed by you. And Lord,
make us really and truly know your light and walk in it. Forgive
us, Lord, our sins and forgive us where we fail so often. Thank you for your continual
long-suffering and goodness, for continually teaching us and
instructing us and turning us. Lord, what a gracious, merciful
prophet, priest, and king we have. It's in that perfect Master,
that perfect Lord and Savior, we ask these things. Amen.