The notices for the week. If the Lord will, Dr. Timothy Ramsbottom will preach
here next Lord's Day at 10.30 and 2 o'clock. Mr. John Hart will preach on Thursday
evening at 7 o'clock. And there will be a prayer meeting
on Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock. May the Lord help us to commence
our worship today with hymn number 1023, tune Rochdale Road 397. Jesus, where'er thy people meet,
there they behold thy mercy seat. Where'er they seek thee, thou
art found. and every place is hallowed ground. Hymn 1023, tune Rocksdale Road
397. Awake! Awake! Awake! Awake! Awake!
Awake! Where'er they see thee, I will
come, and there replace this hour ground. O Thou with which the worlds
combine, with perfect rest Thou art, The brave, they will, they come
and go. In time, they too will go. Dear shepherd of my chosen care,
I know my love stays here with me. Filled to the brim with love's
pure flame, Bless thee, bless all thy saving name. In daily work and love of prayer,
With strength and faith and sweet affection, to teach a plaintiff's words
to others and bring glory before others. Let us read together from the
Word of God from the Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians and
Chapter 1. The Epistle of Paul to the Ephesians
and Chapter 1. Ephesians and Chapter 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus and to the
faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from
God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ, according as
he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world,
that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. having predestinated us unto
the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according
to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of
his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved, in
whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of
sins, according to the riches of his grace, wherein he hath
abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known
unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure,
which he hath purposed in himself, that, in the dispensation of
the fullness of times, he might gather together in one all things
in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth,
even in him, in whom also we have obtained an inheritance,
being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh
all things after the counsel of his own will, that we should
be to the praise of His glory, who first trusted in Christ,
in whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation, in whom also, after that ye believed,
ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the
earnest of our inheritance, until the redemption of the purchased
possession, unto the praise of his glory. Wherefore, I also,
after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus, and your love
unto all the saints, cease not to give thanks for you, making
mention of you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit
of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him. The eyes of your understanding
being enlightened, that ye may know what is the hope of his
calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance
in the saints. And what is the exceeding greatness
of his power to usward who believe, according to the working of his
mighty power, which he wrought in Christ, when 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 that is named not only in this world but also
in that which is to come and hath put all things under his
feet and gave him to be the head over all things to the church
which is his body the fullness of him that filleth all in all. May the Lord bless that reading
of his word to our souls and help us now as we draw nigh to
God in prayer. Let us pray. Kind and gracious and eternal
Lord God and our dear heavenly Father, we come to thee, Lord,
as that one who is in control of everything. And Lord, we would
come before thee with humility and love this morning, and we
would gather together to worship thee, to put the crown upon thy
head, for which it is so worthy to receive. Lord, help us as
we gather around thy word this morning. Thou knowest the situation
that we've each come from, various situations in life, sorrows and
joys. And Lord, we come to thee and
ask thee that thou, Lord, may it be that we might be like John
was on the Isle of Patmos, in the spirit, on the Lord's day. O Lord, it is the Spirit's great
work to reveal Christ unto the church. And Lord, we read that
the Spirit does not speak of himself, such a humility, but
he speaks of Christ. And Lord, we pray then that as
we gather around thy word this day, that the Lord and Saviour Jesus
Christ might be lifted up upon the pole of the Gospel, and that
we might worship, worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Lord, we've each come from different
paths of life, different concerns, no doubt, And yet, Lord, we pray
that we might put to one side all of our earthly concerns,
and that we might be taken up this day with those things which
will be the occupation of thy church throughout a never-ending
eternity, to consider him, to consider the greatness of our
God, to love him, to worship him, to feed on Christ, and to
find him to be everything that we stand in need of for time
and for eternity. Lord, we thank thee for the mercies
that bring us safely here. We pray, Lord, for their dear
pastor away from them on holiday in Canada. Do be with him, and as we understand
he is due to preach, thy word this evening. We do pray that
they'll grant him that help, Lord, that ability, and that
he might, Lord, be able to preach Christ in all his glory and suitability,
even this evening. And we pray, Lord, for thy blessing,
Lord, for his labours here amongst his people. And Lord, we thank
thee that in this last year there have been those, Lord, which
have made an open profession of their faith. Lord, we thank
Thee for that. We thank Thee, Lord, when, Lord,
tongues are loosed to be able to tell of what the Lord has
done for their soul. And Lord, we pray that Thou would
then, Lord, draw sinners unto Thee this day. Oh, Lord, as we
have this, we're living in this world, and Lord, all the things
that this world calls good or great, Lord, in the preaching
of the word today and in the gatherings of thy house for worship,
may the best things here below grow strangely dim in the light
of thy glory and grace. Lord, lift our hearts above the
poor things of this life, the fleeting things of this life,
Lord, to be taken up with those things which are eternal, those
things, Lord, which are substantial, those things which are eternal.
Lord, please help us, then we pray. And Lord, if this is to
take place today, it will only be as thou dost send down thy
Holy Spirit. And yet, Lord, thou hast given
that promise If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts
unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father
give the gift of the Holy Spirit to them that ask? Lord, we would
humbly ask for that gift of the Holy Spirit this day, that we
might be able to worship we might be able to see a beauty in that
one which the world sees no beauty in. Lord, may there be some that
perhaps have never seen the beauty of Christ, that they may see
it for the first time. And Lord, many that no doubt
have tasted and handled and felt of the word of life and have
delighted themselves in the Lord Jesus Christ many times, Oh,
but, Lord, thy people need it again and again, as thy people
need a daily manna in the wilderness. So, Lord, we need daily feet
to feed on Christ, the living bread. We are to daily take fresh looks at thee. Oh, Lord, that
well-known verse, looking unto Jesus never wears out. We don't
need to look unto Jesus until a certain age and then that's
enough. But Lord, it is a continual exercise
and it will not stop when we are in the grave. For
thy people, they will then look unto Jesus in a richer, more
meaningful way than they ever did here below. We pray then
that, Lord, as we gather around thy word, that thou would, Lord,
lift us above the poor things of this life, however interesting
they are naturally to our minds. Lord, may we get a glimpse of
the greatness of our God, and then everything else will pale
into insignificance. Lord, do bless us then and help
us to worship thee. We pray for all the gatherings
of thy people up and down this land and throughout the world
this day, where, Lord, there will be those gatherings of thy
people to worship thee. And Lord, we're thankful to realise
that as we have asked and begged thy presence here at Lamberhurst,
They are able to be here, but also able to be in all the gatherings
of thy people. And what a lovely thought that
is. And Lord, if there perhaps are those listening online too,
Lord, we pray that they'll gather with them where they are and
make the place of thy feet glorious. Lord, do then be with us, we
pray. Help us to walk by faith, Lord.
For without faith, it is impossible to please God. O Lord, give us
living faith this day to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, despite
all our weaknesses, despite all our frailties. Lord, like that
dear man that came to thee saying, Lord, I believe, help thou mine
unbelief. Lord, we come to thee with all
our imperfections, And yet, Lord, we come to thee because thou
art able to deal with them. Thou hast made a way, and Lord,
thy dear Father has planned a great work of redemption. And Lord,
thou hast come to this, the Son has come to this earth
to work out that redemption. And the Holy Spirit has applied
that redemption to the hearts of thy people. And so as we gather
around thy word this morning, we would thank thee, Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit, for all that thou hast done. The whole plan of salvation,
from eternity past to eternity future, our times, are in thy
hand. And Lord, thou hast appointed
all things. And Lord, as our time is now
on this earth, we pray that we might, Lord, serve thee in our
day and generation, that we might be thy witnesses, that we might
be able to tell to sinners round what a dear saviour we have found. And Lord, we pray then that we
may be delivered from all the lust, the pomp, the pride of
life, all those things that this world and us by nature glory
in, and that we might see in the Lord Jesus Christ, in his
humiliation, in his exaltation, in the love that there is in
the Godhead, that we may see a beauty that makes the greatest
things here below so insignificant. Lord, do bless us then, and help
us, Lord, we pray. And Lord, may thy gospel go forth
with power. Lord, that there may be many
that will hear the glorious truth of the gospel. And Lord, be turned,
everyone, from his own evil way. Lord, we read, all we like sheep
have gone astray, we have turned everyone unto his own way, and yet thou hast laid upon him
the sin of the whole church. Lord, we pray then that we might,
Lord, be amongst those who have been shown by thy spirit our
emptiness, and be led to see such a fullness in Christ that
we might worship thee indeed. Bless us then as we gather around
thy word. Lord, we pray for thy blessing
upon us each in our lives. Lord, we think of the children
and young people. Be with them and bless them.
Help them, Lord, and go before them and guide them and direct
them in all their pathways. They may know thy guidance and
direction, and they will put in their heart early their fear
of the Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom. And Lord, show them
their great need of salvation, despite the fact that they may,
by God's grace, have lived an outwardly upright life. Oh, show
them, Lord, that they still need a saviour, that all their righteousness
is but filthy rags. in the sight of a thrice holy
God, and that they need a saviour, they need a substitute, they
need one to stand in their place. And Lord, we pray for those of
us that are parents. Lord, help us as we seek to bring
up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Lord,
give us wisdom, we pray, and help and guidance. Help us to
know when to say yes and when to say no. Give us wisdom, we
pray. Help us, Lord, to bring our children
unto Thee. And Lord, that they will touch
their hearts with the fear of the Lord whilst they're young.
And Lord, each one of us, Lord, those that are older, Lord, those
that are grandparents, Lord, we pray for them. Lord, give
them that wisdom, Lord, that they might be true examples to
the young and rising race. Oh, how much we need. Lord, do
help us then. We come far short, but that's
why we need to keep looking unto Jesus, the author and the finisher
of our faith. Lord, do be with us and bless
us then, we pray. Lord, and those in the midst
of life, those with many cares, Lord, provide for them. Lord,
we pray for thy blessing upon each. Lord, do bless the young
people, Lord, With that blessing of Christian marriage, Lord,
we pray if it could please Thee. Lord, in a day when it is so
much despised, and yet, Lord, it is a wonderful institution. And Lord, we thank Thee for Thy
mercies in giving us this great blessing. And Lord, we pray for
others that know it not as yet. Thou, Lord, provide for them
if it could please Thee. Lord, and bless them. And Lord,
those in older age. Lord, do be with them and bless
them, and go before them each, and make thy face to shine upon
us. Lord, we pray for our government, our new government, Lord, our
new Prime Minister, to give him the wisdom, Lord, that he needs
to guide this country in a right way. And Lord, despite, Lord,
many of the things that they have said that they want to bring
to pass, which are not according to thy word. Lord, we pray that
thou will overrule and undertake, thou bring to nothing any laws
and schemes that they think to bring into place which will be
against thy word. And Lord, help them to realize,
open their eyes to see the foolishness of listening to a lie. And Lord,
truly, Satan is a liar. And Satan is the prince of this
world. Lord, have mercy upon us then,
and have mercy on our leaders. Go before them, give them that
wisdom and grace and understanding that they need. Give them humility
to listen, and give them grace. Give them the fear of the Lord.
And Lord, keep them from doing those things that are not according
to thy will. And Lord, have mercy upon us
as a country. Leave us not, Lord, to descend
into greater depths of legalised sin. Lord, thou wilt have mercy
upon the unborn children. Lord, leave them not to be aborted.
Have mercy upon, Lord, those in the frailty of life. Leave them not, Lord, to be given
to euthanasia. Lord, have mercy upon us. Lord,
help us to realise the value of life. We were created in the
image of God. Lord, help us to realise that's
a great image, Lord, and that we may not deface it by snubbing
out life at our whim. Lord, have mercy upon us as a
country then. Be with our King, Lord, grant
him restoring mercies from his cancer. Be with The Princess
of Wales, grant her restoring mercies. And Lord, have mercy
upon us as a country. Favour us with thy presence.
And Lord, do us good. Help us to be those that love
Zion. My soul shall pray for Zion still,
while life and breath remain. They're my best friends, my kindred
dwell. Their God, my Saviour, reigns.
Lord, be with us, we pray. Help us as we turn to thy word.
Oh Lord, give us that clarity in our thoughts and help us to
be able to communicate something of the greatness of our God today. For Christ's sake, amen. Hymn 748 Tune Burnham 311 In darkness born I went astray
And wandered from the gospel way And since the Saviour gave
me sight I cannot see without His light. Hymn 748 tune Burnham 311. In darkness all night winter
sleigh Men wond'red where the girls fell way And since the self could make
me sight, I cannot see without His light. Short, poor, and blind, and vain
I am, I knew this path up in the land. I'm blessed at all when I see
Thy Spirit's symbols for me. I cannot open up this night I could not see without this
light I can never access to God but through the Where is the winter? It makes me feel higher in strength. It makes my soul a countless
strength. O Jesus, master of such a gift,
and fill me with the heavenly peace. So Lord, may you graciously help
me, I turn your prayerful attention to the chapter that we read,
Ephesians in chapter one, and reading together the first three
verses in this rich epistle. Ephesians chapter one, verses
one to three. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God, to the saints which are at Ephesus, and to
the faithful in Christ Jesus. Grace be to you and peace from
God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be
the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. Ephesians chapter 1 verses 1
to 3. We have in what we've read as
a text a strong information really about
the fact that the Lord our God is a Trinity. There's three persons
in the Godhead. This is a doctrine that is in
our Articles of Faith but it's also a doctrine that was some
years in actually establishing after the Lord Jesus died. It was something like the fourth
century before really the doctrine of the Trinity was fully thrashed
out as it were, or organized as we would know it today, 400
years after the coming of the Lord Jesus. But of course the
truth of the Trinity is in the word of God and This here that
we've read in Ephesians is one part, but it's all through the
word of God. The fact that we have one God,
and this is very important to grasp, that we have a God that
is one, and yet a God that is three persons. And as the Lord
helps me, I want to develop that because We worship God, and we
want to worship God aright, and we want to know God. But God
has clearly revealed himself in his word as that Trinity. God the Father, God the Son,
and God the Holy Spirit. In the Old Testament, there was
passing references to this. Clearly, the Trinity is in the
Old Testament. But in the New Testament, it
is much more clearly brought out. those things that were there
in the Old Testament. But you see, I mean, if you look,
first of all, the first verse in the Bible, Genesis 1.1, you
have, in the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. Clearly
a singular God, one God, not a multiple of gods. And I understand
that in the world around them, the gods that they had around
them in the surrounding nations were territorial gods. There
was a god in this region and a different god in that region.
But you see at the beginning of the Word of God, it says in
the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. He created
everything. One God. A great principle that's made
very clear throughout scripture that there is but one God. In
Deuteronomy, if you look, Deuteronomy chapter 4 and verse 35, it says
this, unto thee it was showed that thou mightest know that
the Lord is his God. There is none else beside him. That's Deuteronomy 4, verse 35. One God. And then in Deuteronomy
6, verse 4, it says this. Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God is one Lord. So clearly in many, many places
in the Old Testament and in the New, it clearly says that there
is but one God. And yet that one God clearly
also has these distinct persons in the Godhead. And I really
want to draw something out of that today. I've found it, in
looking into it, very profitable. to my soul, to actually think
of the distinct persons in the Godhead, and how they act towards
one another, and how they work together for that glorious plan
of salvation. You see, if we look at what we've
named as a text, we see it says Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the will of God. Now I believe when he says the
will of God, it's a shorthand for God the Father. He says that
in verse three, you see, blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ. So Paul is saying he was an apostle
of Jesus Christ, not by the will of Jesus Christ, but by the will
of God the Father. You see here, and as we look
then, we can see that there's an order in the Godhead. There's
an order. It's the will of God. And when
it says, And so God organizes all things after the counsel
of his own will. It's particularly really referring then to God
the Father, the one that had this great plan of salvation.
It's wonderful to think, because we can focus, and it's right,
it's scriptural, to focus on the Lord Jesus Christ. But the
Bible also makes it very clear that God the Father was the grand
instigator. It was his design. You see, as
Paul says here, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God. It was God the Father's will
that Paul should be an apostle. To the saints which are Ephesus
and to the faithful in Christ Jesus, grace be to you and peace
from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. So here
in verse two we have Grace be to you and peace from God our
Father. So that's one God, you could say. But then it says,
and from the Lord Jesus Christ. So here there's a connection
between God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. And there's
an equality. There's an equality, you see.
And one of the great pillars of the doctrine of the Trinity
is that there is an equality, a perfect equality, between God
the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There's
a unity and a equality between them. But what's very different,
that's one of the pillars of the doctrine of the Trinity. But another really important
pillar is there's a diversity. There's a distinction between
the persons in the Godhead. We don't believe that God the
Father came, and died on the cross, do we? It was God the
Son that came, a distinct person in the Godhead, not the Father,
not the Holy Spirit, and yet the Father and the Holy Spirit
were involved so much in the work of the Lord Jesus Christ,
and so they are a trinity that are working together in perfect
harmony and love, and yet there's distinction. As we think of the world around
us, do those two concepts cause an opposite to what we
see around us? The idea that there can be equality
and also diversity in the Godhead. That means there's distinctness
between the persons of the Godhead and yet they're equal. And yet,
you see, later on I want to show that the Lord Jesus always did
the will of his father. There was an authority. His father
was the one that was, as it were, gave that work for his son to
do. With that well-known statement,
it says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten
son. It was the work of the father
to give the son. The son willingly came But you
see, there's then this equality between the three persons in
the Godhead. So if we look in the New Testament,
in John's Gospel, John's Gospel chapter 17, often referred to
as that high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus. He says, John
17 verse three, it says, and this is life eternal. that they may know thee the only
true God. So there's a clear confirmation
that there is only one God and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. So there's an equality you see
between God the Father and God the Son who came to obey his
Father and to do that which was so vitally necessary for us to
have access to God. You see, this great plan of salvation,
as we've read in our lovely text in Ephesians, is so much the
theme of the apostles' writings. This great plan of salvation. If we look in 1 Corinthians chapter
8, 1 Corinthians in chapter 8, We have these words in verse
6, 1 Corinthians 8 verse 6, but to
us there is but one God, one God, same in the Old Testament,
the same in the New, and yet that one God has distinct persons
in the Godhead. But to us there is but one God,
the Father of whom are all things, and we in him, and one, Lord
Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him. So the Father is God, the Son
is God, and later on we hope to look at some scriptures where
it talks about the Holy Spirit being God as well. See, if we're
looking at the deity, the scriptural deity for the Lord Jesus Christ,
Hebrews 1 is such a rich passage of scripture Hebrews 1 verse
1 God who at sundry times and in diverse manners spake in time
past unto the fathers by the prophets hath in these last days
spoken unto us by his son the Lord Jesus Christ whom he hath
appointed heir of all things by whom also he made the worlds
who be in the brightness of his glory and the express image of
his person what was one of the ten commandments No other gods
before me. Nothing to be made in the image
of God. But you see, the Lord Jesus was
the express image of his glory. He was God. He was in the image
of God and then later on he's commanded to be worshipped by
God. Who be in the brightness of his glory and the express
image of his person and upholding all things by the word of his
power. When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on
the right hand of the majesty on high and then he later on
says in verse five he commands that all oh that's
verse six sorry and again when he bringeth in his firstborn
into the world he said and let all the angels of god worship
him we're not to worship anybody but god are we but jesus is god
And therefore, God the Father commands the angels to worship
his beloved son. And I want to trace that out,
the interrelationships between the Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit. You see, if we just lump them
all together as God, which they are, we don't see some of the
beauties and the grace and the humility that there is in the
Godhead. You see, if God was but one God
and only one person in the Godhead, how would he show humility? How
could he be humble? But you see, in the Godhead,
there is humility. There is great humility between
the father being submissive unto his father. You think, Gethsemane,
if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. But nevertheless,
not my will, but thine be one. The humility of Christ. Beautiful! You see, we're to be humble,
but you see you can say, well, we're to be humble, but is our
follower humble? Yes, he is. And does he remain
humble? Yes, he does. He will, to all
eternity, you can look at it in the Bible, but to all eternity,
he will be submissive to his father. Although he is the one
to whom we are commanded to worship, he's still submissive to his
father. Humility. unity, equality, all these things
are so opposite to what we're told in our thinking of today. It's critical thinking whereby
all authority and all order is an evil thing and there shouldn't
be any authority and order but in the very Godhead there is
love and order and equality. They all combine in the glorious
Godhead. If you look in terms of giving
proof to the fact that the Holy Spirit is indeed God, in church
history it's been the Holy Spirit was the last one, as it were,
to be added to really say that he was God. They came to the
conclusion that God the Father and God the Son were were God,
but it was later on, a few years later before they added that
God, the Holy Spirit was also God, which indeed he is. But
that's because understanding things doesn't come immediately
always. Acts chapter five, we have that. If we're looking at
Acts chapter five. This was the occasion when Ananias
and Sapphira had lied about how much they'd sold this property
for and how much they'd given to the church. And this is what
Peter says to them. The Hebrews, sorry, Acts 5 verse
3. And, but Peter said, Ananias,
why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? It's
the Holy Spirit. and to keep back part of the
price of the land. Whilst it remains, was it not
thine own? And after it was sold, was it
not in thine own power? Why hast thou conceived this
thing in thine heart? Thou hast not lied unto men,
but unto God." So here we see, there are other places, but here
we see a clear reference that the Holy Spirit is also God. And it also says that the Holy
Spirit which is within you is representative of God, you see.
You're the temple of God, as the Holy Spirit dwells in you.
So it was in the late end of the fourth century, since the
Lord came, that these doctrines were clearly written down, as
it were, as a creed. Yes, of course, they were in
the Bible before that. But there's a difference it being in the
Bible and truly grasping it. And so spiritual fathers years
ago were grappling with these things. But then there was other
texts that also, so you can see the difficulty because there's
one God and yet three persons. And this is a, we can't understand
it in one way, can we? And yet there's something very
beautiful about it. I hope as the Lord helps me to
bring that out, the beauty of the Trinity. I hadn't really
seen it so much. As I've looked into these things,
there's something very precious about these things. Another scripture
that was very clear about the Trinity is at the end of the
Gospel of Matthew. The end of the Gospel of Matthew,
it shows us clearly, Jesus speaking this is, so it's
Matthew 28. And in verse 19 it says, go ye
therefore, so this is Matthew 28 verse 19, go ye therefore
and teach your nations baptizing them. So this is a scripture
where we have a text where we have all three persons brought
together in one verse. In the name of the father and
of the son, and of the Holy Ghost. You'll probably be familiar with
that, particularly when somebody performs a baptising service,
they baptise the candidate in the name of the Father, and of
the Son, and the name of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. The three persons of the Godhead,
all intimately involved with the salvation of God's people
in different ways. There's a diversity, and yet
there's a unity and an equality. And you see that's something
the world can't grasp. It's so in marriage. There's
an equality, but there's a diversity. And our world hates that. It
wants to smash that image. But it's right in the Godhead.
Equality and diversity. There's differences, differences
of role. Oh, our world can't cope with
differences of role. Everybody's the same. Everybody
can do the same according to this world. But no, there's there's
distinct roles that were given to the son and given to the Holy
Spirit by the Father and they were to perform those great works
and they were to do it in love. You see we live in a world that
says well if there's any authority structure it needs to be smashed
down. No, there's authority in the Godhead and there's perfect
love in the Godhead and this is our example. This is why these
things are very practical. It's not just theoretical. This
is very practical. It's the way we live our lives.
Because we need to show humility. We need to show submission to
others. We might say, well, why should
we show submissive when God doesn't? But God does. But if he was one
God and only one person in the Godhead, who would he show submission
to? But you see, there's submission. and humility in the very Godhead
itself. So that was one, we looked at
Matthew 28, where it brings together the three, the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit, which is often quoted, probably always
quoted, when somebody is baptized. And then another very well-quoted
verse that you're very familiar with is in the second of Corinthians
13. The second of Corinthians 13,
that's Paul's closing of the letter, the second letter to
the Corinthians. And what we might say is, in
shorthand we might say, the Lord be with you. But this is how
Paul says it in 2 Corinthians 13 verse 14. He says, the grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God, that's God the
Father, and the communion of the Holy Ghost be with you all,
amen. I'm sure you recognize that as
often we would say as the benediction at the end of the service. And
so these two places which are very well quoted in our church
circles and used regularly are very key texts in bringing together
the fact that God is one God and yet there's three distinct
persons. They're not the same. They have
a different work to do. But they're working together.
They're not working against each other. They're not jealous of
each other. You see, we live in a world where,
because sin has entered it, there's jealousy. Jealousy. There's no jealousy in the Godhead.
And there's tremendous humility shown, actually, as I hope to
trace these things out. The humility shown in the Godhead
between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. There's
a beautiful unity and humility shown. So, the two pillars that we've
tried to speak about is this pillar of equality, so that they're
equal, they're all three persons are God, they're not a third
God, they're holy God, each one of them, And yet there's these
three distinct persons. And this is a doctrine that's
very difficult for our minds to grasp. It's easier to understand
a god that is just one god and one person. The other people
believed in multiple gods. But here we've got the combination
of one god and yet three distinct persons in that godhead working
together for the good and the blessing. according to the purpose
of God as we had set before us in that beautiful what we've
named Paul an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God to
the saints that are Ephesus and to the faithful in Christ Jesus
grace be to you and peace from God the Father so it's you see
the grace and truth comes from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ there's the equality And in verse 3, blessed be the
God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. See, Paul could
have said, blessed be God, who's given us all blessings in heavenly
places in Christ Jesus. And that would have been correct,
but it wouldn't have been as accurate. You see, here he says,
blessed be the God and Father. of our Lord Jesus Christ who
has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places
in Christ. You see, there can be, perhaps
I speak from my own experience, that there can be a focusing
on the Lord Jesus as that one that is so central to salvation,
which is correct, and thinking that the Father is not so keen
on it, is not so positive about it. It's the son that's brought
us back to God and God was, as it were, much more alienated
against us. But actually when we look at
what the Bible says we see that it was for God so loved the world
that he gave his only begotten son. He sent Jesus on this mission,
this was not Jesus' idea. It was not Jesus thinking, well
the father isn't so pleased with these people so I'll go and try
and appease his wrath against them. No, this was the very sending,
the very design of the father that should be the case. And
we see then, as we look at this glorious Godhead, we see the
supremacy of the father. You might say, well I thought
you said they were equal. But there's a supremacy in the father.
Ultimately, he is the one that is ultimately to be worshipped,
ultimately will get the glory. I can trace that out. And you
might say, but how is that equal with equality? He has a different
role. And you see, so therefore, we
see that in our authority structure, as soon as we think somebody
is supreme, they're higher. As soon as we say that in the
marriage bond that the husband is responsible and should take
that authority, immediately there's this counteraction. No, that's
not fair. That's not right. They can't be equal then. But
you see, God says, yes, they are equal. They are equal, but
there's an order. And you see, we live in a world
that tries to smash this. to smash up that image of the
equality and diversity that there is in the very Godhead. There is in the very marriage
bond. These things are right from the
word of God. And we live in a society that's
seeking to eliminate these things. And they're wrong. They're wrong. If we look in Matthew chapter,
we've already looked in Matthew 28, but I want to just quickly
look there again. Just the verse before what I
quoted, so that's Matthew 28 verse 18, and Jesus came and
spake unto them saying, all power is given unto me in heaven and
in earth. All power is given unto me in
heaven and in earth, by whom? by God the Father. So the authority
that the Lord Jesus has is given to him from the Father. Do you see there's an order there?
It's not say well I'm equal with the Father so we share that. No. And Jesus came and spake
unto them saying all power is given unto me in heaven and in
earth. And it's been given by his Father
you see. And this is the great important
thing. If we look in Ephesians 1, where
we've been taking our text from, later on Paul goes through this
great beautiful way of talking. We read in verse 18, so this
is Ephesians 1 verse 18, the eyes of your understanding being
enlightened that you may know, this is Ephesians 1 verse 18,
that you may know what is the hope of his calling and what
the riches of the glory of the inheritance in his saints and
what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us Lord who believe
according to the working of his mighty power which he wrought
in Christ when he raised him from the dead and set him at
his own right hand. So Christ is going to be set
down and seated, finally, at the right hand of the Father.
If you say, I've got a right hand man, that means they're
the person that's right there to support you. But you're the
actual one in authority. So Christ the Lord, Jesus Christ,
is the right hand of the Father. But the Father is ultimately
supreme. and you look in Colossians this
is also true if you look in Colossians Colossians chapter 1 and verse
13 who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness and translated us into the kingdom of his dear
son so here that this text here is saying that it's the work
of the father who has delivered us from the power of darkness
and translated us into the kingdom of his dear son. Do you see?
It's the work of the father. The son has performed that work
of redemption but it's the father that has taken that work and
taken sinners lost and ruined into the fall and brought them
into that kingdom. of his dear son. You see the
supremacy of the Lord Jesus, but the one I actually wanted
to look at was not that text. It was 1 Corinthians 15, sorry. 1 Corinthians 15. Here we have
a very interesting passage, 1 Corinthians 15. And verse 27, it says this. Let's start from verse 25. So
1 Corinthians 15, verse 25. For he must reign till he hath put all enemies
under his feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death. This is talking about the Lord
Jesus. For he hath put all things under his feet, but when he saith
all things are put under him, it is manifested that he is accepted
which did put all things under him. In other words, everything
is put under the feet of Jesus apart from one thing, and that's
his Father. Verse 28 of 1 Corinthians 15,
and when all things shall be subdued unto him, everything's
under the reign of Christ, then shall the Son also himself be
subject unto him that put all things under him. In other words,
the Lord Jesus is going to show that God, the Father, is ultimately
in authority. And it says it then in the end
of verse 28, that God, that's God the Father, may be all in
all. So here we see the supremacy
of God the Father. His great plan of salvation. He planned this great way to
save his people from their sins. We think often of the covenant
of grace. The covenant of grace, but whose
Was it an equal agreement between the three persons? Well, as we
read the word of God, it seems much more it was the father's
plan. And then he agreed it with the others, of course, but it
was then, you see, that it was his. We never read that the Lord
Jesus Christ and the father agreed that Jesus would come to this
earth. We read that the Lord Jesus was
sent by the Father. There was a connection. He came willingly. He delighted
to do his father's will. But he came. There was an authority
there. And there's a supremacy. And
we see then that the Lord Jesus, God the Father, is the architect. He's the designer of the whole
plan of salvation. If you look at this, again going
back to the chapter that we used as our text in Ephesians 1. Ephesians 1 verse 9 says this,
having made known unto us the mystery of his will according
to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself that
in the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together
all things in Christ. So this is clearly speaking of
God the Father, what God the Father is doing, that he's gathering
everything together in his beloved Son, both which are in heaven
and which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have
obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will. So we see there there's the counsel
of the father. It's the father's great plan
of salvation. Yes, the son was then appointed
to perform that great work, to go to this earth, to work out
a righteousness for his people, to die a sin atoning death. But
it was ultimately the father that was the great grand architect
of it. And he was the one, you see,
and he ultimately, as we read in Corinthians, ultimately, when
everything has come to an end, and every knee shall bow, it's
the same actually, it's also given in Philippians, that beautiful
passage in Philippians, just turn to it, the beautiful passage,
Philippians chapter 2. It's talking about his humiliation,
going to the cross, death, even the death of the cross. It's
Philippians chapter 2 and verse 10, that at the name, well, sorry,
verse 9, wherefore God hath also highly exhorted him and given
him a name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus
every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth
and things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord, but it doesn't stop there, to the
glory of God the Father. Ultimately, it's the Father.
And when we pray, we have to pray. Jesus gave us that patterned
prayer. Our Father, which art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name. We're to pray. He ultimately
is the giver of every good and every perfect gift, as James
says. comes down from the Father of lights with whom is no variableness
neither shadow of turning. He is ultimately the giver but
he has appointed his son to make that channel it's all through
the Lord Jesus Christ so we're to come in prayer to God the
Father through the Lord Jesus Christ with the anointing of
the Holy Spirit to do so. Three persons in the Godhead
all working together for our good. But you see here I want
to just close with This thought of the, I said there's a beautiful
harmony in the Godhead. God the Father, I hope I've carried
your judgment on this, is the one who's the grand architect
of salvation. It's God the Father. It's one
God. I'm not trying to separate them,
but there's the distinct persons talked about in the word of God.
He has appointed, you see, that plan of salvation, and yet he
has also appointed that his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, should
receive so much the center place of glory. What do we read in Revelation?
Revelation chapter five, what do we read? Who's the centerpiece
in glory? Revelation five, verse nine. and they sang a new song saying
thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals thereof
for thou was slain. It's not talking about God the
Father, is it? God the Father wasn't slain. 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 and thou hast made
us unto our God kings and priests and shall reign on the earth.
You see, this praise, we think of the lamb is all the glory
in Emmanuel's land and it is. But who designed it like that?
God the Father. Do you see the tremendous humility
and the love that there is in that Godhead? It was God the
Father that planned that God the Son should be center stage.
The Lamb is all the glory. But it was the Father that ultimately
organized it all. And that's why ultimately in
Corinthians we read that ultimately when everything is put under
the feet of Jesus, then the praise will ultimately go to the one
who was the, the one who, as it were, initiated it. But you
see, so I hope perhaps as we've looked at something of this,
It's opened your mind, as it has mine recently, to the different
persons in the Godhead, and their different work, and yet their
beautiful harmony. See, one of the things about
good singing is when you've got different parts, different people
singing different parts, and together they make a beautiful
harmony. They're not all singing the same. They're not all singing
at the same pitch, but they're singing together. And that's
harmony. And so we see in the Godhead,
there is the different notes, there's the bass, there's the
soprano, there's the different aspects, and yet they're in glorious
harmony, working together. And that's something that the
world can't cope with. Diversity and harmony. You've got to say,
if there's anything about authority, we've got to smash it. Smash
all authority. That's the way to solve problems
in life. but in the very nature of God
there is order and equality. May we come and realise the wonder
of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the humility of God
the Father to put his only begotten Son as centre stage so that he
is the Lamb as it had been slain that all the people of God come
to worship. And the Father's not disappointed
with that. He's not jealous. He's organized
it that way. So go through, perhaps, God willing,
this afternoon as well, to shine a light on these various aspects
of the glorious Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that are
all one God and yet diverse in their different roles and relationship
between each other. but with one grand design to
glorify to that great day when everything was going to be under
the feet of Jesus and then Jesus is going to be under God the
Father. May we be amongst that number
that no man can number of every kindred, tribe and tongue that
sings worthy is the Lamb. But also to praise the Father
for all that he has done too. Amen. We'll close this morning with
hymn 804, tune Willingdon 815. Ye lambs of Christ's fold, ye
weaklings in faith, who long to lay hold on life by his death,
who fain would believe him, and in your best room would gladly
receive him, but fear to presume. Hymn 804 TUNE WILLINGDON 815 I feel I'm so prideful Give me
peace and faith to come to Thee, O of thy guidance ever, good things
would be given, and in your best way, What can he receive if not filled
to pristine? Red and gold one thing, ? And may
it seem to you ? ? Much gentler than being ? ? As much foolishly
? ? Depressed in endeavor ? ? Come what may, Savior, come what
may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior,
come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior,
come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what
may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior,
come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what
may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior,
come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may,
Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what may, Savior, come what
may, Savior, come what may, Savior As people, desires, temptations
away, This Jesus, in silence, the pitchers
will sing. This spirit will cherish, though
life be a stain. Universe shall perish, if Jesus
doth save. World, violence and violence,
when lost in rises and falls, self-confident,
strong. Told and set with thunder, they
build their strength there. O come, let us adore Him, of wisdom to help us in life. When life is just a heart, a
nourishment The shepherd humbles them when
pain's in his heart, and feeds them and clothes
them and guards them from harm. Sometimes we see the faces of
Christ that shepherd to me their constant commandments. The shepherd captures us, and
surely he will To brothers and sisters worship his God Let all that can say, Christ
holy, I see. Wake, all ye, awake! He comes on third week. ? The Lord in that sickness ? ?
Will not carry on ? ? And to Him the weakness is given ? Kind and gracious, Lord God,
we thank Thee, Lord, for Thy gentleness and Thy tenderness. Lord, Thou in the very Godhead
knows that meekness and that submission. And Lord, we pray
then that we each, Lord, in our little lives might realize that
we have not an high priest that cannot be touched with the feelings
of our infirmities but was in all points tempted like as we
are, yet without sin. Lord, bless us then with thy
presence. Help us to know thee better, according as thy word
has revealed it, and that we may love thee deeper, and that
we may serve thee more consistently. Bless us then, and may the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father's love, and the fellowship
of the eternal Spirit be with and abide with us both now and
for evermore. For Christ's sake. Amen.