I have therefore whereof I may
glory through Jesus Christ in those things which pertain to
God. You know, he wouldn't glory in
himself. He's glorying in the Lord. He
says, verse 18, for I will not dare to speak of any of those
things which Christ has not wrought by me to make the Gentiles obedient
by word and deed. through mighty signs and wonders
by the power of the Spirit of God. He would take credit for
what Christ had worked. Christ had worked in Paul to
make him obedient in word and deed, and through his preaching
he had made the Gentile brethren obedient in word and deed. These
mighty signs and wonders that he worked They were by the power
of the Spirit of God. And you remember in Acts that
those signs were passed to other brethren by the laying on of
the apostles' hands. They had to wait for the apostles
to come down to lay their hands on them, to pass those gifts
on to others. So when the apostles died, the gifts died. Don't need
them because we have the whole scripture now. and that's what
they were for, was to confirm those ministers. Verse 19, so
he says here, now by Christ working in him, he says, from Jerusalem
and round about until Lyricum, I have fully preached the gospel
of Christ. He said, everywhere I've gone,
the spirit of Christ has opened the door, he's moved me, and
I've fully preached Christ by the spirit of the Lord. And he
says in verse 20, yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel,
not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's
foundation. But as it is written, to whom
he was not spoken of, they shall see. And they that have not heard
shall understand. When he says as it's written,
he's saying, he's quoting Isaiah 52. And we'll go there in a moment. Verse 22. He says, for which
cause also I've been much hindered from coming to you, but now having
no more place in these parts and having a great desire these
many years to come unto you, whensoever I take my journey
into Spain, I will come to you. For I trust to see you in my
journey and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if
first I be somewhat filled with your company. My subject is Christ
preaching his preacher, Christ preaching his preacher, and Christ
is the head of the church. And so he sends his messenger,
Christ does, and he makes his minister fully preach the gospel
of Christ. And through that preaching, he
works grace in the hearts of his people. Everything Paul did
here, he attributes to the work of the Lord Jesus, even where
he went and where he didn't go. And that's what I want to show
you now. First of all, Christ fulfills all the scriptures.
He's the one who gets the glory for fulfilling all the scriptures,
all the prophecy, all the law, everything. He fulfilled it.
And it was prophecy that Christ would prosper in not only redeeming
his people, but calling his people out. Go over, well, read verse
20 there again first. Paul said, I, he said, yea, so
have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was
named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation. He
said, he's saying it's by Christ that I didn't go there. I didn't
go to those places. I didn't want to build on another
man's foundation, but as it's written, Now here's the prophecy,
to whom he was not spoken of they shall see, and they that
have not heard shall understand. Now go to Isaiah 52 and we'll
see where he's quoting from. Isaiah 52, 13 says, behold, my
servant shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled
and be very high. God is speaking of Christ here,
behold my servant. The Lord Jesus as the mediator,
as the God man, as the savior of his people, is the servant
of God. As a mediator, he's the servant
of God. He was chosen by God, he was
called by God, he was sent by God. But everything he did as
a servant, he did willingly. It says here, my servant shall
deal prudently. Now those words could be translated
with three different meanings. One, the Lord is himself wisdom,
and he dealt prudently in that regard. And it's through the
preaching of the gospel that of God, Christ is made unto us
wisdom. He will deal prudently. He will
be the wisdom of his people. Two, it could be translated,
he shall cause to understand. He shall make others wise and
prudent. And this he does through making
himself wisdom unto us. He deals prudently in the way
he dealt when he walked this earth, the way he deals with
his ministers where he sends them, and he causes wisdom by
making himself wisdom in the hearts of his people. But three,
this word also could be translated, shall prosper. That's what the
marginal reference says, he shall prosper. You see in Isaiah 53
10, please 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, he shall prolong his days, the pleasure of the
Lord shall prosper in his hand. It could be translated prosper.
He shall prosper in everything he does. Christ prospered in
fulfilling the law for his people. He said it must be fulfilled
and he prospered in that. He prospered in destroying all
the enemies of his people by taking away our sin. He prospered. He prospered in accomplishing
the redemption of his people. He fully obeyed God and purchased
his people by his blood from the curse of the law. By paying
the price, he became a curse for us to purchase us from that
curse. He prospers now in advocating
for his people and making intercession for his people at God's right
hand. And he prospers in sending the gospel wherever he's got
a lost sheep or drawing them to the gospel calling them out
through the gospel. Now God declares here and what
he's showing in Isaiah 52 is that in proportion to how low
Christ came, how low he humbled himself, that's how high he's
going to be exalted. Nobody ever lowered themselves
as low as Christ and God said nobody can be exalted as high
as him either. Look here in verse 14. As many as were astonished
at thee, his visions were so marred more than any man, his
forms more than the sons of men. Now read it again. As many as
were astonished at thee, now look at verse 15, so shall he
sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut their mouths
at him, for that which had not been told them shall they see,
and that which they had not heard shall they consider. Our Lord
came down and became a man and His form on the cross was marred
more than any man. I take that to mean exactly what
it means. He was marred on the cross more
than any man has ever been marred. But it was not just by the hands
of men. It was the wrath of God upon
His soul. being forsaken of God as he bore
the sin of his people, but he bore that wrath in place of his
people. I don't know what the wrath of
God is. We see some hints at it in the world with some things
that God does in the world, but It's a frightening thing to think
about the wrath of God, but you want to see it, look to Calvary's
cross. Our Lord Jesus bore the wrath
of God for us. We don't need to let that just
go in one ear and out the other. He bore the wrath of God for
his people. And now God's both just and justifier. He highly exalted God to the
highest by making himself the very least. When you think about
it, our Lord on the cross is hanging between heaven and hell.
That's a good picture of where he was. Forsaken of God, forsaken
of his brethren. That was, you ever felt alone? Christ had nobody. in those three hours on the cross.
Nobody. He literally tread the wine press
alone. He did. But he did that, that
was the depths of his humility. But by that, it was the depth,
it was the height of obedience to God. So it exalted God to
the highest just the fact he did it. But then what he accomplished
by it, he exalted God to the highest. He declared God just,
and he declared God to be the justifier. He is, he's the just
judge who punished his people, and he is the savior who saved
his people. Right there in Christ on the
cross. Now, Christ didn't die in vain. That's what this prophecy
is saying. He will not die in vain, and
he did not die in vain. He accomplished what he came
to accomplish. He sprinkled his people with
his blood when he laid down his life and said it's finished.
He justified all his people. He purged the sin of his people
and then he sat down. But he's not dead now. He's living
and what he's doing now is he's sending forth the gospel and
he's working this work that Paul's talking about. He's the head
of the church. Hold your place there in Isaiah
52 and go over there to Ephesians 1 and this is what we have to
keep in mind because Christ is not a helpless victim. He
had a purpose in everything he did and he accomplished that
purpose. And right now, the only reason this world's held in store
is because Christ holds it in store. It's held in store by
the word of his power and everything that's taking place in this earth,
Christ is doing it. With one purpose, one purpose. Everything that's taking place
in this world, what you think's good, what you think's evil,
from the most mundane to the greatest thing. from things we
go through in our lives. It's all being worked together
by our Lord Jesus Christ to send His gospel into this world. To be a saver of death unto death
to them that are going to rebel against it. And to be a saver
of life unto life to Him in those that He's going to save. He's
saving His people through it. Look here, Ephesians 1.20. 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, and every name this name, not only in this
world, but also in that which is to come. That means Christ
has all the power. He is the sovereign God in a
human glorified body ruling everything right now. All over this whole
creation, universe and the earth, everywhere. And He's put all
things under His feet and He gave Him to be the head over
all things to you and me, brethren. To the church. He's doing all
that for you and me. And he's doing it for his church.
The church, the kingdom of God comes without observation. And
one thing that means is that this world doesn't recognize
the true church. They recognize big cathedrals.
They recognize pomp and circumstance. They recognize his unholiness
over there with his funny hat on, doing all his hoopla. They
recognize that. But they don't recognize the
true church of God. And yet, the true church of God
is the salt in this earth. The true church of God's the
only reason this world's preserved right now. When he's taken out
his last of his people, it'll be just like Sodom and Gomorrah.
So right now, the preservative in this church is his church.
I mean, in this world is his church. Because He's edifying
you and me, He's teaching you and me, both through this gospel
and through the trials and the providence we face. He's teaching
us that He's everything. He's teaching us He's all. And
at the same time, He's using us earthen vessels who have no
power. He's using us to preach this
gospel. Me and you, all of us together,
sending the word forth into this world, and we may never see who
all he's calling out with it, but he's doing it. He's doing
it. And see here, it says, he's put
everything under his feet, gave him the head over all things
to the church, which is his body. The fullness of Him. This body's
got to be completed. All His people's got to be called
in because we're His body. The fullness of Him. And He's
the one filling all in all. And look at the next word. And
you hath He quickened. He filled you who were dead in
trespasses and sins. See, that division is not in
there, in the original, that's, he's saying there, he raised
him, he's the one that fills all in all. And then he says,
and you hath he filled. He did it, Christ did it. We
owe as much to our regeneration and our faith in Christ as we
do to him redeeming us on the cross. He does it through the
Spirit of God, but God is one God. We talk about Christ, we're
talking about God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
Spirit. It's one God. And He's the one that we owe
all the gratitude to. Now Paul is declaring in our
text, Christ was working in him. It was by Christ's power that
he preached the full gospel of Christ. And it was by Christ
that the Gentile people were made obedient to the gospel.
Back in Isaiah 52, it said, so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Three things on that. The doctrine of the gospel, remember
we saw it falls like dew. He sprinkles us with the gospel,
the water of the word. It's through this word that he
does the work. And then secondly, it speaks the grace of the spirit,
the washing of regeneration. And thirdly, it speaks of Christ's
blood, where He purges us. You hear the gospel preached,
and He purges your conscience. He makes you truly understand
that He accomplished your redemption, and He brings you to believe
on Him, and you trust Him. So Paul's declaring. Now, go
back to Romans 15. I want you to see this, what
he's showing here. I'm working toward a point here,
believe it or not. Romans 15. So he's a chosen vessel to the
Gentiles. He said, I'm Christ's chosen
vessel to the Gentiles. I went forth to preach, to fulfill
that scripture. That's why Paul said he sent
me forth, to fulfill Isaiah 52. And he says, this is referring
to me, verse 20. Yea, so have I strived to preach
the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build
upon another man's foundation. But as it's written, to whom
he was not spoken of, this is what we just read in Isaiah 52,
to whom it was not spoken of, they shall see. And they that
have not heard shall understand. If you read that passage, let
me just ask you this honestly. If you read that passage, if
nobody had influenced you at all, in a million years, would
you get from that text that it's saying you shouldn't support
a missionary, I would never come to that conclusion from that
text. It has nothing to do with the subject Paul's talking about.
He tells us what he's talking about. That's what some people
use that text for, to support this doctrine that we ought not
send missionaries in the world because if you do, you send them
to places where the gospel's already been preached and Paul
said don't build on another man's foundation. I always want to
ask, well why are you preaching where you're preaching? You don't
think the gospel's been preached here in this country? Christ chose Paul as the apostle
to the Gentiles. And he sent him forth to establish
churches in places where the gospel hadn't been preached.
And so Paul said, I wasn't sent to be an evangelist to go to
places where the gospel's established in priests. I was sent as an
apostle where God is using me to establish churches. Christ has established the churches
through me. The foundation that was laid by Paul is what's important. That's the important thing. What
was the foundation he laid? Christ and Him crucified. He
went there and declared to them the full gospel of Christ, he
said. We don't have to look far to
know what he did. We can read the book of Romans and we see
what Paul preached. We can read all his epistles
and we see what Paul meant when he said, I've not shunned to
declare the whole counsel of God. I've preached the full gospel
of Christ. He preached that it's in Christ
that God chose his people. He preached that it's Christ
who came forth and created the world. He preached that it's
Christ who's been working in the world, bringing everything
to pass since the beginning. He declared that Christ came
forth and redeemed his particular people, laid down his life for
his particular people. He preached how that what he's
declaring here, how through the gospel he sends the spirit of
Christ forth and he quickens his people and regenerates them
and brings them to faith in Christ and that work must be done and
he shall do it for all his people. He declared how we're preserved
by God, by the Holy Spirit of God and kept and now Christ won't
lose one of his people. And he declared to believers
in all these things that the world focuses on in our day. The world's focusing on telling
you how to live and make the best of a bad situation. That's
what the world's preaching. And that's not the gospel. The
whole reason that Paul preached things like make your body a
living sacrifice, holy and acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable
service. The reason he preached things like that and wrote for
us on what to do and not to do was not to make a show, was not
to try to attract attention to ourselves. It wasn't just so
that that you just have a good life, it was so that you don't
draw attention to you, so that we can go forth and preach the
gospel of Christ. It's so the church won't be broken
up. Divisions won't be made because
of us. It's so that we won't be distractions
from people preaching the gospel. These are the reasons that we
stress, and I've said this so many times and preached this
so many times and stressed it. Why does Paul preach forgiveness
so much? Because we're sinners and we
offend. As James said, in many things
we offend all. And if you're not forgiving those
that are offending, you're gonna get mad and leave. That's what's
going to happen. You have to forgive because you're
going to be offended. And if you don't, if you don't
forgive the body, if everybody didn't forgive, the body would
be broken up. So all these things Paul teaches us is so that we
can adorn the doctrine of Christ. That's the purpose of it. That's
the purpose of it. I wish I could live everything
I preach the way I want to live everything I preach. But I do
believe everything I preach, and I strive to do what I preach.
I fail at it miserably, but I strive to do it. But if you scrutinize
me and examine me, you'd find sin in me just like I will you.
And if we didn't forgive each other, you know what happened?
church would be over. It would have lasted from the
first century. That's why he preaches these things about adorning
the doctrine of Christ, so that the gospel goes forth and accomplishes
a purpose. But here's the good thing. Christ
is preserving His people and He's holding His people together.
He's fitly framing His people together and nothing and nobody
is going to hinder it. I've said this to you before,
when men leave the gospel, they do not change or injure or hinder
the purpose of God or the church in the least bit. Not in the
least. It hasn't altered God's purpose,
it hasn't injured. If it was gonna injure, God wouldn't
let it happen. He'd keep it together. But whatever falls off, needs
to fall off. And whatever's held together,
he's holding it together. And he's going to keep it going
this way, just like he led the children of Israel through the
wilderness and let them wander for 40 years because of their
rebellion to purposely not take them all into the land of Canaan. But he's doing it right. But
Paul preached everything, not to play religion, but to truly
send the gospel forth. and wait on God to work. Now
look, as the apostle of the Gentiles, he was sent where the gospel
had not been preached. There was not an apostle to the
Gentiles until Paul. He was sent to where the gospel
had not been preached. But he didn't have a problem
with somebody coming behind him and preaching on the foundation
he laid. He wasn't forbidden that in this text. Look at 1
Corinthians 3, what he said. Verse 10. He said, verse nine, we're laborers together
with God, you're God's husbandry, you're God's building. According
to the grace of God which is given unto me, there he is glorifying
God again, according to the grace of God which is given to me as
a wise master builder, I have laid the foundation. And another
buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how
he buildeth thereon. For the other foundation can
no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now, if
any man build upon this foundation, see, he didn't have a problem
with, he wasn't forbidden for us from sending missionaries
forth and preaching right behind Paul, or sending them anywhere
else. He wasn't forbidden that at all.
He said, but now if a man builds on his foundation, let him be
careful how he builds on it, because no other foundation can
no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
We don't start with Christ and leave Christ. We start with Christ
and we continue with Christ, and we learn more of Christ and
more from Christ, but it's all Christ. It's all for his honor
and his glory to exalt him. That's the whole purpose. What
did God say the Spirit of God would do when he comes forth?
He won't talk about himself. He's not gonna talk of himself.
He's gonna glorify me, Christ said. That's his office. That's
what he sent forth to do. God the Father's pleased that
his son have all preeminence. So everything we do, everything
we say, everything is for the glory of Christ. So if any man
build on this foundation, he said, make sure it's more Christ.
Make sure it's gold, silver, precious stones, and not wood,
hay, and stubble. Every man's work shall be made
manifest the day shall declare it because it shall be revealed
by fire And the fire shall try every man's work of what sort
of it is we've been seeing that the trial gets too hot If Christ
didn't plan it Christ didn't build it, and it's not the goal
of His doing it's gonna. It's gonna burn up Like drawers,
but whatever he's done. It's gonna continue. It's gonna
continue So I'll just probably have to end
with this point, because I'm done here just about. But my
point I wanted to make in that was, is do you see how Satan
can cloud a passage? Here Paul's talking about what
Christ did. He's talking about how Christ
sent him. He's talking about how in the
same capacity that Christ was brought down and humbled himself. So in proportion to that, he
shall be exalted. And he's doing it in that he
redeemed his people. He's doing it in that he's sending
his preacher forth with the gospel and calling out his people and
won't lose one of them. And he says, he's the foundation. I fully preached Christ. All
of this is in this passage. And I have heard people preach
from this passage and preach nothing but. how we shouldn't
spend our money on missionaries. Ain't that silly? There's a whole
denomination built on that. Don't support missionaries. I
think it's just covetousness. That's all it is. I wanna show
you this other things, but I just don't think I'm gonna have time.
Look here at verse 22. I'll go a little further, then
we'll stop. But Paul says here, He's showing
us how that it's Christ who sends his messenger and puts him where
he'll have him to be. Verse 22, for which cause also
I've been much hindered from coming to you. He wanted to go
to Rome, but he said, I couldn't come to you. It was Christ that
opened the door for Paul to preach from Jerusalem round about Elycrium. That's about 450 mile wide by
150 mile long. 450 mile north and south by 150 miles
east and west that Paul traveled and preached and he said I wanted
to come to Rome but I was hindered from it. Who hindered him? The
Lord did. The Lord sent him where he would
go. Go to Acts 16 and I'll show you
that. The Lord sends his preacher where
he'll have him preach and he hinders him from going to where
he won't have him preach. Acts 16. And look here in verse
6, Paul says, when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region
of Galatia, and were forbidden, look at that, forbidden of the
Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia. After they had come
to Massia, he says, they assayed to go into Bithynia, but the
Spirit suffered them not. The Holy Spirit wouldn't let
him go preach there. And they passing by, Messiah came down
to Troas, and a vision appeared to Paul in the night. There stood
a man of Macedonia and prayed him, saying, come over to Macedonia
and help us. And after he had seen the vision,
immediately we endeavored to go into Macedonia, assuredly
gathering that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.
See, he had to go where Christ sent him. He couldn't do otherwise.
And he couldn't go where the Spirit of the Lord forbid him
to go. Look at Acts 18. Christ knows right where his
lost sheep are. And that's where he's gonna,
this church here in Princeton, New Jersey was not put here because
of men. Men were used, but Christ established
it. If it's Christ's church, he established
it. That's so of his churches everywhere. He uses men, but
Paul's saying he did it, he did it. Look here in Acts 18.5. He sends the gospel and he draws
his people to it. When Silas and Timotheus will
come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, testified
to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves
and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, said unto them, your
blood be upon your own heads, I'm clean, from henceforth I
go to the Gentile. So he's not gonna go back preach
to the Jews anymore. It says, and he departed thence
and entered into a certain man's house named Justice, one that
worshiped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus,
the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all
his house, and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were baptized. Paul didn't know where they were.
How'd he come to them? We just saw it. The Lord said,
don't go there, go here. Look here. Then spake the Lord
to Paul in the night by vision. Be not afraid, but speak. Hold
not thou peace, for I'm with thee. No man shall set on thee
to hurt thee, for I have much people in this city. And he continued
there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among
them. That was at Corinth. That's why there's two letters
to Corinth, to the Corinthians, because the Lord had a people
there. He sent him there and preached the gospel. We're Gentiles. Aren't you glad he sent preachers
to Gentiles? He stood there and looked out
over Israel, over the Jews, and he said, other sheep I have which
are not of this fold, them I must bring. That's why the world's
still intact right now, because there's some he must bring. He
justified them. He must bring them. He must bring
them. But now look, Paul trusts that
the Lord's sending him to Rome. He says here in verse 23, now
having no more place in these parts, having a great desire
these many years to come unto you, Whensoever I take my journey
into Spain, I'll come to you for I trust to see you in My
journey to be brought on my way that there would buy you at first.
I'll be somewhat filled with your company He trusted Christ
that he was gonna come there and it was his it was Christ's
will for him to go there Paul just didn't know how he was going
He didn't go the way Paul thought he was going to go there, but
he went there. It was Christ's will for him to go there. We
read in Acts 23.11, the night following, the Lord stood by
him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul. Thou hast testified of
me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome. And
he's in shackles when the Lord told him that. And the Lord used
the Roman guard to foot the bill and take him all the way to Rome.
They carried him there. more comfortably than he would
have if he'd have went on his own. And somebody else paid for
it. And the Lord took him to Rome
and when he got him there, on the way, he saved some on the
way that were the Lord. They put him under house arrest.
Look at Acts 28. They put him under house arrest and he got to preach the gospel
to them. for two years, and it says, verse 23, when they appointed
him a day, there came many to him into his lodging, to whom
he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them
concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses and out of the
prophets, from morning till evening, and some believed the things
which were spoken, and some believed not. Christ took him there. Now, I want to show you this. Acts 27. I love this right here,
Acts 27. This is a good illustration to
show that how Christ knows where his sheep are, and he goes send
his preacher where his sheep are. Watch this, Acts 27, 24,
Christ speaking to Paul, he says, Fear not, Paul, thou must be
brought before Caesar, and lo, God hath given thee all them
that sail with you. And so at some point, Paul gets
there. He makes his appeal to Caesar.
And at some point, he preaches the gospel to Caesar. And look
at Philippians 4. He preaches the gospel. It's
to Caesar's house. Imagine that now. That's like
being in the president's home and getting to preach the gospel
to him. So Christ leads him there to preach the gospel. Why was
he led to preach the gospel in Caesar's house? Look at Philippians
4.22. Paul's ending his letter here
and he says, all the saints salute you. He's at Rome right now.
All the saints salute you, God's people. But he's called out chiefly
those that are of Caesar's household. The Lord had some elect in Caesar's
household and he saved them. through Paul's preaching. That's
why he ended up where he ended up. That's what Paul said. If
you're sitting here under the gospel, don't take that as a
light thing. Because the Lord has worked everything
in the world up to this point for you to be sitting right where
you're sitting right here today. And he's moved everything to
bring us here. So if you're here, Pay close
attention because he did it for a reason. I'll tell you it's
a two-fold reason. Who's sufficient for this? It's
either to damn or to save, one of the two. But I would be serious about
that because it's not everybody that hears this word. There was
a lot of places Paul passed as he was traveling and didn't even
stop there because the Lord wouldn't let him. Aren't you thankful
he sent the gospel to you? Let's stand and we'll be dismissed. Father, thank you for this word.
We pray you bless it and remind us constantly, Lord, that where
you've sent your preacher and you've planted the work, that
it's your work. You're adding to it daily such
it should be saved and you will not let the gates of hell prevail
against it. You'll go in and get your people
wherever they are, bring them out, and nothing can stop you. The devil and his whole army
can't stop you. We thank you, Lord, for this.
We thank you that it's by your power, not by us. We pray you
bless the word as it goes forth now. In Christ's name, amen.