Let us commence our service this
afternoon by singing together hymn number 41 to the tune Bow
Street, 825. My God, my creator, the heavens
did bow to ransom offenders and stoop very low. The body prepared
by the father of sins and on the kind errand most joyfully
comes. Hymn number 41, Tune Bow Street,
825. Like Thou, my Creator, the heavens
did bow, to Thyself, all the earth's hardship bear in awe. The Godly prayer fed by the Father
assures, And of the kind parentless child God becomes. Her wonder of wonders the sun
is thy gaze. To see in the manger the ancient of
days. And angels proclaiming, the stranger
foretold, And tell him the serpent that Jesus did fall. ? For thousands of sinners ? ?
The Lord bowed his head ? ? For thousands of sinners ? ? He broke
and he bared ? My spirit rejoices, the work it is done. My soul is redeemed, salvation
is won. Dear Jesus, my Savior, thy truth
I embrace. Thy name and thy nature, thy
spirit and grace, and trace the perfect step of
Jesus my Lord, and call me in Him who crowns sinners of old. My God is returned then to glory
on high. When death makes a person to
fear Him, I'll fly. ? To join the cross of God ?
? All praise to his blood ? ? To his freedom and power of God
? ? In God's heavenly home ? Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the second and third epistles of John. The second and third epistles
of John. The elder unto the elect lady
and her children. whom I love in the truth, and
not I only, but also all they that have known the truth. For
the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us forever. Grace be with you, mercy and
peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the
Son of the Father, in truth and love. I greatly rejoice I rejoiced
greatly that I found of thy children walking in truth, as we have
received a commandment from the Father. And now I beseech thee,
lady, not as though I wrote a new commandment unto thee, but that
which we had from the beginning, that we love one another. And
this is love, that we walk after his commandments, This is the
commandment that as ye have heard from the beginning, so ye should
walk in it. For many deceivers are entered
into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in
the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Look to yourselves that we lose
not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive
the full reward. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed, For
he that biddeth in God's speed is partaker of his evil deeds.
Having many things to write unto you, I would not write with paper
and ink, but I trust to come unto you and speak face to face,
that our joy may be full. The children of thy elect sister
greet thee. Amen. The elder unto the well-beloved
Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things
that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul
prospers. For I rejoiced greatly when the
brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even
as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to
hear that my children walk in truth. Beloved, thou doest faithfully
whatsoever thou doest to the brethren and to strangers, which
have borne witness of thy charity before the church, whom, if thou
bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt
do well. Because that for his name's sake
they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles, we therefore
ought to receive such that we might be fellow helpers in the
truth. I wrote unto the church, but
diatrethes who loveth to have their preeminence among them
receiveth us not. Wherefore, if I come, I will
remember his deeds which he doeth, prating against us with malicious
words, and not content therewith, neither doth he himself receive
the brethren and forbiddeth them that would, and casteth them
out of the church. Beloved, follow not that which
is evil, but that which is good. He that doeth good is of God,
but he that doeth evil hath not seen God. Demetrius hath good
report of all men, and of the truth itself, Yea, and we also
bear record, and ye know that our record is true. I have many
things to write, but I will not with ink and pen write unto thee. But I trust I shall shortly see
thee, and we shall speak face to face. Peace be to thee. Our friends salute thee. Greet
the friends by name. May the Lord bless that portion
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Almighty, most merciful and eternal
God, the high and lofty one that inhabited eternity, whose name
is Holy, Father, Son and Holy Ghost, we do desire to worship
the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent. We
thank thee for those wonderful words of grace. There is one
God, and one mediator between God and man, the man Christ Jesus,
who gave his life of ransom for all to be testified in due time. Oh, we do thank thee for Jesus
Christ, We thank thee that the Son of God was made flesh as
we've sung together in the hymn, thy name and thy natures. Oh Lord Jesus, we do thank thee
for that glorious and the profound mystery that the Son of God walked
upon this earth as a man. He was made under the law and
he fulfilled the law and magnified it. and brought in everlasting
righteousness for his people. We thank thee for the everlasting
righteousness of Jesus Christ. We thank thee for Calvary, where
the Saviour put away sin. We thank thee for Gethsemane,
where our sin was laid upon him, and they were nailed to his cross.
He suffered, he bled, he died for our sins. Gracious God, we
desire a thankful heart that divine justice has been satisfied,
God and sinners are reconciled, that thou hast cast our sins
behind thy back, that they're into the depths of the sea, never
to be seen again. Oh, we do thank thee, most gracious
Lord, for the wonderful, profound glories of Jesus Christ, He rose
again for our justification. He left our sins in the grave,
and He will come again. He's ascended into heaven. We
have a great high priest at the right hand of the Father, Jesus,
the Son of God. Oh, we do thank Thee for the
glory of His name and the fullness of His grace, the completeness
of His salvation and His love. We thank thee for that meditation
this morning, on the tender love and care of our shepherd. Oh,
that thou wouldst graciously be with us. Guide us, O thou
great Jehovah, pilgrims in this barren land. We are weak, but
thou, almighty, hold us by thy powerful hand. We pray to be
delivered from the temptations of Satan, from the power and
the dominion of sin, We pray, O Lord, that according to thy
promise, when the enemy comes in like a flood, the spirit of
the Lord will lift up a standard against him. O most gracious
Lord, we do pray that thou would lead us forth in that right way,
and deliver us, O Lord, from bypass meadow, from deviating
from thy way. Even as thou hast said in thy
word, turn not to the right or to the left, keep thine eyes
right on. Help us to look to Jesus. Help
us to cast all our cares upon him. Gracious Lord, wherever
those cares may be, may we be enabled to take them to him,
nothing too small. Oh, we do thank thee, O Lord,
there is nothing too small and nothing too great to bring to
thy holy footstool. and thou hast promised to hear
and to answer prayer. Thou wilt hear the prayer of
the destitute and not despise their prayer. Gracious God, hear
us, we pray thee, for thy great name's sake. We pray that thou
wouldst remember us as a church and as a congregation, and work
mightily, powerfully, and effectually among us. May thy work appear,
and thy power be known, and thy grace be manifested. We do humbly
beseech thee. We pray, O Lord, for our brethren,
the deacons, that grace, wisdom, and help may be given them in
all their responsibilities here and among the churches of God.
We pray, most gracious Lord, that thou wouldst hear us in
heaven, thy holy and thy blessed dwelling place. Continue to unite
us together in the spirit and love of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
that we may love each other, serve each other, bear each other's
burdens. We pray for all our brethren
and sisters in church fellowship. Oh, that thou would bless each
one, and graciously remember our dear brother and sister in
Holland, and Tim and Fran and the family. Remember them each,
O Lord, richly bless them where they are, we do humbly pray thee
for thy great namesake. We pray most gracious Lord that
thou would bless the little ones, the children, the young friends,
all that thou would graciously work in them, bring them to saving
faith in Jesus Christ, make them true followers of thee and of
those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. We do humbly
beseech thee O Lord our God, we pray, most gracious Lord,
that the glory and light of the gospel may shine here among us
and in this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets and many,
many precious souls may be gathered in. We think of the wonderful
promises of thy word. I will bring thy sons from far
and thy daughters from the ends of the earth. They shall come
from the north and from the south and from the east and from the
west. Great God, hear us, we humbly beseech thee. Fulfill
thy precious promises upon us here. O Lord, we do pray thee. Give us a spirit of real travail,
for as soon as I am travail, she brought forth her children.
Remember all in the midst of the journey of life. Remember
parents as they're bringing up their children. Help them to
bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. And
graciously give wisdom and understanding. Be with all in the midst of the
journey of life. Have mercy upon them. We do humbly
beseech them. And let us see thy work and thy
power and thy glory as thou usest to be in the sanctuary. Lord, there have been wonderful
days in this house of prayer. in days gone by, when many precious
souls were gathered here. Lord, we do pray that Thou would
return. We think of that wonderful promise,
for I am returned unto Jerusalem with mercy. Grant that it may
be so, that we may see Thy holy arm made bare. Lord, we do pray
that Thou in Thy great mercy would remember those of us in
the evening time of life's journey, and graciously undertake for
us, prepare us for all thy will. And as the outward man perisheth,
may the inward man be renewed day by day. We pray for dear
Mrs. Field, that thou would remember
and bless her, and undertake for her in her great age. We
do humbly beseech of thee. We thank thee, Lord, that she's
been able to come out this afternoon. We pray, most gracious Lord,
that thou would remember all thy servants as they labour in
word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, that thou would graciously fill
them with thy Spirit, grant mighty signs and wonders to follow the
preaching of the word. We would remember Tim Parrish
as he flies to the USA tomorrow. Pray that thou would send a convoy
of thy love before him, and that remember his family. We do humbly
beseech thee. We pray that thou, the great
Lord of the harvest, would send true labourers into the harvest
and build the walls of Jerusalem. For Lord, without thee we can
do nothing. We are nothing and we have nothing.
Our all is bound up in the Lamb. Gracious God, we do pray that
Thou in Thy great mercy would remember those who labour. We
think of those that go forth from among us as a group of churches. We think of Ian Sadler and pray
that Thou would bless him in that great work in Burma and
India, Pakistan and Africa. Supply all his many returning
needs, O Lord, we do beseech Thee. We pray that Thou would remember
the Mombasa mission and Thy servant there. Grant signs to follow
the preaching of the word. Remember the great work being
done in Ghana with the Savannah Education Trust, and grant that
it may be down to the great honour and glory and praise of thy great
and holy name. O Lord, we do pray that thou
in thy great mercy would be with us as we turn to thy holy word,
that thou would open thy word to our heart and to our understanding,
that thou wouldst come and touch one's lips with a live coal from
off the heavenly altar, that the word preached may be in power
in the Holy Ghost, and with much assurance might find an abiding
place in each one of our hearts. We pray for the prodigals that
they may return. And we ask all for Jesus Christ's
sake, Amen. Let us continue by singing together
hymn number 23. The tune is Lock It's 173. A man there is, a real man, with
wounds still gaping wide, from which rich streams of blood once
ran. in hands and feet and side. Hymn number 23, tune Lockett's
173. ? And with us shall be the Lamb
? ? With words deaf and blind ? ? From which receives the blood
of Sam ? ? Fill the earth with joy and peace
and shine ? ? This Lord our God, sing all the praise ? ? Perchance at the holy sea ? ?
That spang'd in heav'n ? ? In man the great ? ? God's pow'r of the Lord ?
? This wondrous birth of pure freedom
? ? Is true, O mighty God. ? ? Behold the stars ? ? From heaven
down ? ? The bright stars are twinkling ? The timber falls, he still retains,
The dirt in the highest place. ? And fields we sheltered never
strange ? ? O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly
streaming? ? Come and repent in sin and love,
and purge with fire your faith. ? And watch the plains as white
as the sun ? ? Raise your hands up high to the sky ? ? This rotten plant, the worthless
song ? ? And watch the little girl play ? ? He will preserve the Son of God
? ? Everlasting and prosperous be ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the second
epistle of John, and we will read verses nine and 10. The second epistle of John, verses
nine and 10. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. If they come any unto you and
bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither
bid him God's be. A very solemn word of admonition. It speaks here of transgressing
and abiding not in the doctrine of Christ. And of course, what
it's speaking of is what we believe and who we believe Christ is. He's the eternal son of the eternal
father Or, as it's put in John's Gospel, the only begotten son
of the Father. The hymn writer puts it this
way, begotten not created. It means he's from everlasting
to everlasting. He's almighty God. I've often
told you of that wonderful deliverance that I had personally when I
was a young man, just after I joined the church at Westerling. I was so tempted concerning the
divinity of Christ. I was young, very young in the
way, I didn't realise it was a temptation. But it was presented
to me very clearly that it was not the Son of God. And you know
friends, it seemed to blind me, that temptation. Everywhere I
looked, I searched the scriptures, I could not find it. Then one night I was Up until
the early hours, about one o'clock in the morning, I was reading
in Proverbs 8. And the Holy Spirit opened that
word to me. And it was just that little clause,
I was set up from everlasting. And you know, the scales fell
off my eyes. I had such a view, such a glorious
view of the eternal sunshine. of Jesus Christ, that He is the
Eternal Son of the Eternal Father. And you know, after that, wherever
I looked in Scripture, I could find Him. But before, it was
as if that temptation blinded my eyes. But it's a wonderful,
precious thing when the Lord, by experience, confirms us in
the truth. I mean, the devil was tempting
me to lead me astray. But the Lord used it to actually
establish me in the truth. something that I know in John's
first epistle he says on several occasions we know now what he
means he don't mean we just we've read the word of God and we know
the written letter of God's word he means it's something that
we've tasted and handled and felt of the good word of life
we know because he's revealed it to us and because it's become
so precious to our souls And so when he says that, we know.
He gives us in the first epistle, in the chapter three, he says
about knowing that we're the children of God. And he gives
the evidence, we know that we are passed from death unto life
because we love the brethren. We love the brethren. We love
the Lord's living family. Whosoever transgresses and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ hath both the Father and the Son. So what is that doctrine of Christ? It's what really led me to the
first hymn that we sung together. I love that little clause in
that hymn, thy name and thy natures we embrace. There's something
so beautiful in that. We embrace the whole Christ.
He's not just a man. He's not just a good man. He's
not just a righteous man. He's the God-man. He's the only
begotten Son of the Father. And as it says in the first chapter
of John's Gospel and the Word, that is a term almost peculiar
to the Apostle John. The Word. It refers to the divine
nature of the Son of God. The Word. And just listen to
how it's... Sometimes just a little word
makes such a difference on what is a fundamental doctrine. And the Word, that's the eternal
Son of God, was made flesh. And we beheld his glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace
and truth. The doctrine of Christ, who he
is, what we believe concerning him. And with this doctrine of Christ
experienced in the heart, the revelation of Christ to the soul.
There's a spirit that is given. We can't see these things unless
they're revealed. Unless the Lord makes the word
precious to our heart. And then we see them so clearly. Of who Jesus Christ is. That
he's really truly the Son of God. He's declared, the Apostle
says in the Romans, He's declared to be the Son of God with power. One hymn writer says, unless
I believed that He was God, I could not trust Him with my all. We
believe. We believe in Jesus Christ. What
is believing? Faith. Faith acting in the person,
upon the person. Christ made precious. He becomes precious to your soul.
You desire to know him. You understand then the language
of the apostle in the Philippians, that I may know him. Again, that
word know, it doesn't just mean reading and intellectually understanding. It actually means to know him
personally. To feel the power of his resurrection
in your own soul, lifting you out of this body of sin and death
and into the realms of the spirit. So that Christ becomes so precious
to your soul. You see him as the altogether
lovely one, as the chiefest among 10,000. Think of that lovely
description of Christ in Solomon's Song, Chapter 5. My beloved is
white and ruddy. White and ruddy. That speaks
of the righteousness and the blood of Christ. White is His
holiness, ruddy is red, His precious blood. My hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. You know, all the dignity and
the worth of that precious blood of Christ is in this, He's the
Son of God. He's the Son of God. And it's of infinite value, that
precious blood of Christ. Again, the righteousness. What is the righteousness of
Christ? It's spoken of in scripture,
the robe of his righteousness. What actually is it? How would
we speak about it? It's actually the perfect obedience
of Christ to the law. When he was, as the apostle puts
it so clearly in Galatians chapter 4, made of a woman, made under
the law. So when the Son of God became
a man, he was made under the law. He that gave the law, this
is the profound mystery that there is in the person of Christ.
He that gave the law, lived under the law, and fulfilled it on
the behalf of his people. That was one of the integral
parts of the mission of Christ in this earth. It was to fulfill
the law for his people. In Isaiah chapter 42, there are
some wonderful prophecies there concerning the person of Christ.
And one of them is, he will magnify the law and make it honorable. That law that you have broken,
that I have broken. Because we're born in sin, we're
shaped in iniquity. We've broken God's holy law.
Sin is any transgression of the law of God. Christ has fulfilled
it. Christ has honoured it. Christ
has magnified it. You know, I know some people
would say in one sense it's right, but that lovely word in Psalm
37, verse 37, it can only really apply to Christ. Mark's the perfect
man he's the only perfect man that ever walked this earth and
he says Mark the perfect man behold the upright for the end
of that man is peace and the end of any man that is in Christ
is peace Mark look take good knowledge of the perfect man
the man that did no sin, the man that fulfilled and honored
and glorified God and fulfilled the law on behalf of his people. We've spoken of all the dignity
and worth of the blood of Christ is in that he is the son of God.
But all the dignity and worth of the righteousness of Christ
is the same. He's the son of God. We were
looking in Psalm 119 this morning and you know, twice in Psalm
119 it says, thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness. That's the righteousness of Christ.
It's everlasting. It's of eternal value. It's the
clothing, that righteousness Christ covers our nakedness we're
left exposed and naked but that glorious everlasting
robe of Christ's righteousness covers clothes it covers our
nakedness this is what we see in the person of Christ or or
it says here in the doctrine of Christ of what there is in
Christ there's an everlasting righteousness in Christ. I think it's in the well-known
chapter in Isaiah, chapter 61 and verse 10. It says there,
I will greatly rejoice in the Lord. My soul shall be joyful
in my God, for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation.
He hath covered me with the robe of righteousness. As a bridegroom
doth give himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself
with jewels. For as the earth bringeth forth
a bud, and as the garden causeth the things that are sown in it
to spring forth, so the Lord God will cause righteousness
and praise to spring forth before all nations. That's all in Christ,
in his glorious person. And as the Lord's servants are
divinely anointed and commissioned to go and preach the gospel,
this is what we're to preach. We preach Christ crucified. Christ crucified. It doesn't
say just Christ, does it? It says Christ crucified. That's
the essence of the gospel ministry. Because it's through a crucified
saviour that sins are forgiven. It's through this precious Redeemer
who, when he was coming to the time of his suffering on Calvary,
he said to the disciples, to this end was I born. And for
this cause came I into the world, Christ, to this end. Now, divine
justice demanded that the sacrifice offered on Calvary had to be
perfect. Had to be perfect. Mark, the
perfect man. As we read in the New Testament,
he did no sin. Neither was guile found in his
mouth. He did no sin. He was pure. He was holy. He was righteous altogether.
Therefore, that sacrifice that he offered was pure and righteous. This is where we see the vital
need and necessity of the virgin birth of Christ because his sacrifice
his life and his sacrifice had to be pure holy perfect and and
that is exactly what we see in our Lord Jesus Christ him that
is holy and pure and righteous all together you know in those
uh wonderful truths that are set
before us in the first chapter of Luke when the angel Gabriel
came to Mary, the Virgin Mary. Now this is a fundamental truth.
He was not born by natural generation and it clearly states that here
in this passage of scripture. And in the sixth month, the angel
Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth
to a virgin, espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the
house of David, and the virgin's name was Mary. And the angel
came in unto her and said, Hail thou that art highly favoured,
the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou among women.
And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast
in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel
said unto her, Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found favour with
God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring
forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great,
and shall be called the Son of the Highest. And the Lord God
shall give unto him the throne of his father David, and it shall
reign over the house of Jacob for ever, and of his kingdom
there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel,
How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? And the angel answered
and said unto her, I've often felt what a wonderful blessing
it is to the church that these things are left on record, that
clearly show us the doctrine of Christ, who he is. And the
angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come
upon thee, and the power of the higher shall overshadow thee,
Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall
be called the Son of God. He is declared to be the Son
of God with power. You see, not only was he born without
sin, but he lived without sin. Sin As we've already quoted from,
comes from the first epistle of John, sin is any transgression
of the law of God. He did no sin. He never transgressed
God's holy law. Not in the positive or the negative. In the law of God, there is our
duty to God. And then there is our duty to
our fellow creatures, our neighbors, as it says in the law. And the
Lord Jesus Christ fulfilled that law. He never broke that holy law. And he fulfilled it. He said himself, I come not to
destroy the law, but to fulfill it. And that's exactly what Christ
has done. He's fulfilled God's holy law. On the behalf of his people.
That law that declares the soul that sinneth it shall die. Christ
has fulfilled it. He's honoured it. He's magnified
it. For his people. You know, it's
often preached and spoken of as being the death of Christ
was, his sufferings and death were vicarious. especially you
children, you'll say, what does vicarious mean? It means in the
room and place of a substitute, in the room and place of his
people. He suffered and bled and died
for them, on their behalf. Now, that's the sufferings and
death of Christ, but the life of Christ was just as vicarious. What he did in all his life was
for his people. For 33 years he lived here upon
this earth. He did no sin. He went about doing good. You
see, it says in the law about thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. That's exactly what Christ did. He went about doing
good, healing many of their diseases. He made the blind to see, the
deaf to hear, the lane to war, and the amount of times you read
in the gospels of Jesus having compassion upon the people. And when you see that in the
person of Christ, how he lived as a man here upon earth, we
see the fulfilling of the law. He loved his neighbor as himself.
He did. And then he offered that pure
and that holy and that righteous, Bunyan in one of his books is
called the acceptable sacrifice. That means acceptable to God.
It was pure, it was holy, it was righteous. His life was pure
and holy and righteous. His sacrifice on Calvary was
pure and holy and righteous. When they came to take him, to
crucify him, did he fight? No. He submitted himself to the
will of his holy father. The cup that my father had given
me, shall I not drink it? He voluntarily went to Calvary. He stood before the rulers of
this world, set at naught, mocked. One of the principal accusations
against Christ by Pilate and the Jews in particular, he made
himself the Son of God. That was the principal accusation
against him. My beloved friends, he never
made himself the Son of God, he is the Son of God, and he
always has been the Son of God, and he always will be the Son
of God. He's Jesus Christ the same, yesterday
and today. and forever. Whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that
abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the
Son. How does a poor sinner abide
in the doctrine of Christ? It's as the Holy Spirit who works
The only way that we can be a believer is if the Holy Spirit enters
our hearts and quickens our soul and raises us up to a hope in
the finished work of Jesus Christ. And as Jesus said, concerning
the Holy Spirit, he will take of the things of Jesus and reveal
them unto you. He will testify of me, Christ
said. That's what he does in the heart of a poor sinner, a
poor lost sinner, a poor ruined sinner, a poor helpless sinner.
He testifies salvation through the precious blood of the Lamb. You see, my beloved friends,
this is what the Holy Ghost reveals to a poor sinner. And it's something that is sealed
into their hearts. So what the apostle is saying
here, if we deny, if we deny that Jesus is the son of God,
we deny something very fundamental, very fundamental to the doctrine
of truth. And a person that denies the
divinity of Christ, it says here, hath not God. Indeed in the first epistle of
John, in chapter 4, John, the spirit of Antichrist was already
entering the church while John was still alive. And this is
why he speaks in the manner that he does because he met people
that professed to be believers but didn't believe in the doctrine
of Christ, didn't believe in either the sacred divinity of
Christ or the sacred humanity of Christ. They either denied
one or the other. When the Holy Spirit reveals
Christ to a poor sinner, they come and they see by faith the
Holy God man. They do. Now in 1 John chapter
4, just listen to what he says, verse 2, well he gives us a warning
in verse 1, Beloved believe not every spirit, but try the spirits
whether they are of God Because many false prophets have gone
out into the world Now he was witnessing this that there were
ministers in the Christian Church that were false They were teaching
wrong things hereby know ye the Spirit of God Every spirit that
confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God
In other words, that it's vital that we believe in the true humanity
of Jesus the Son of God. That he became a real man. Lived
upon this earth as a real man. And every spirit that confesseth
not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God. And this is that spirit of antichrist. whereof ye have heard that it
should come, and even now already is it in the world. But then if you look further
down that fourth chapter, verse 15, see, whosoever shall confess
that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him. and he in
God and we have known and believed the love that God had to us.
God is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God
in him. You see it's not just a question
of an intellectual belief. If you have true faith and true
believing there's love. The apostle says, I think it's
in the Colossians, through faith that worketh by love. That's
the true faith. It works by love. There's an
affection to Christ. There's a desire to Christ. You
love him. We love him because he first
loved us. Indeed, in that chapter four
of the first epistle of John, he says there very clearly, beloved,
let us love one another. For love is of God, and everyone
that loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not
knoweth not God, for God is love. An essential attribute of the
eternal God is love. I remember reading one of the
Godly Old Purities. I think Dr. Gill, he speaks himself
concerning this spirit of love. kindness and compassion that
is in Christ. Love to his people that's what
moved him to come to this earth. Now he said God is love. He said
for love to have an event it must have another. Not just self-love. And he said that's what brings
us to the Doctrine of the Trinity. The Father, the Son and the Holy
Ghost. And as it says the Father Love
is the sun. That love has been from all eternity.
God is love, eternal love. Almighty love. God is love. Infinite love. And that love
is channeled in one course, and that is in Jesus Christ our Lord. You see, this is what he says,
he that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love. this was
manifested the love of God toward us because that God sent his
only begotten son into the world that we might live through him
here in his love not that we loved God but that he loved us
and sent his son to be the propitiation for our sins beloved if God so
loved us we are also to love one another And when people deny
the doctrine of Christ, the true humanity or the true divinity
of Christ, you often find a cold, hard spirit. It's very sad. But not only do you see that
their doctrine is wrong, but their spirit is wrong. It's a
very sad spirit. here in his love, not that we
loved God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the
protege for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us,
we are also to love one another. No man has seen God at any time.
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected
in us. We've already quoted that word
from the third chapter of the first epistle of John. We know
that we are passed from death unto life because we love the
brethren. You see, hereby know we that
we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his
spirit. You notice spirit is in capital
S. It's the divine person of the
Holy Ghost. he hath given us of his Spirit.
And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son
to be the Saviour of the world. This is the confession of the
true believer. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love, and he that dwelleth
in love dwelleth in God. and God in him. You see, my beloved
friends, there's no fear in that. And as it says here, which is
often quoted in verse 19 of 1 John 4, we love him because he first
loved us. We love him because he first
loved us. If any man say, I love God and
hated his brother, he is a liar. doesn't go together. For he that
loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God
whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we
from him, that he who loveth God love his brother also, whosoever
transgresseth and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath
not God. You know, there's other fundamental
doctrines. We've spoken of the righteousness
of Christ, the holy life of Christ. We've spoken of his holy sacrifice. Another fundamental doctrine
that the Apostle Paul was constantly attacked on was the doctrine
of the resurrection, of Christ from the dead. Christ is risen
from the dead. He died for our sins, and rose
again for our justification when Christ rose from the grave he
left all the sins of the church in the grave never to be seen
again when he comes a second time it says in Hebrews 9 when
he comes a second time he comes without sin I've often told you
I remember reading Thomas Goodwin the Puritan on that and he quotes
that He comes without sin, and then he makes this comment, there
is your justification, child of God. You see, when he comes
a second time, he doesn't come still bearing the sin of the
church. That's been dealt with. He comes without sin to receive
his people unto himself, into those everlasting mansions. Let
not your heart troubled, you believe in God, believe also
in me. In my father's house are many
mansions, if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare
a place for you and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will
come again and receive you unto myself. Where I am, there you may be
also. How precious and fundamental
then is the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the Corinthian church, there
was a great dispute there, some saying that Christ would not
come, et cetera. And the apostle, he deals with
it in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. He deals with it very forcefully
as well. And he says in verse 12, Now
if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some
among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be
no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen? And
if Christ be not risen, then is your preaching vain and your
faith is vain? Yea, and we are also found false
witnesses of God, because we have testified that God raised
up Christ, whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise
not. For if the dead rise not, then
is not Christ raised? And if Christ be not raised,
your faith is vain, you are yet in your sins. Then they which
are also, which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in
this life only we have hope in Christ, we have all men most
miserable, but now is Christ risen from the dead and become
the first fruits of them that slept. For since by man came
death, By man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all
die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. You see, a fundamental doctrine
of our most holy faith. The Apostle goes on in that same
chapter. And he says concerning the resurrection,
verse 42, So also is the resurrection of the dead. This is our bodies. It is sown in corruption. It
is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor. It is
raised in glory. It is raised a spiritual body.
See, there is a natural body, there is a spiritual body. The
first man Adam was a living soul. The last Adam, that's Christ,
was a quickening spirit. But how he so beautifully to
the end of this chapter, behold, verse 51, behold, I show you
a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we
shall all be changed in a moment in the twinkling light at the
last trump for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall be raised
incorruptible and we shall be changed. This corruptible must
put on incorruption. This mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall
have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on
immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,
death is swallowed up in victory. The Lord Jesus Christ said, because
I live, ye shall live also. He rose again for his people. and that is the promise that
his people will rise again into eternal life. O death, where
is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory? But all these sacred doctrines
are centered in the person, the glorious person of Jesus, the
Son of God. Whosoever transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth
in the doctrine of Christ, he hath also the Father and the
Son. If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine,
receive him not into your house, neither bid him Godspeed. May the Lord at his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 949. The tune is Ashton 286. There's not a name beneath the
skies, nor is there one in heaven above, but that of Jesus can
suffice the sinner's burden to remove. Hymn 949, tune Ashton
286. ? Even in the skies ? ? Glory to
God in the heavens above ? ? Heavens above, Jesus, bless our lives ? The still night, the calm winter
river. Sweet night, night-white, with
the halter's light. Thou makest all the realms appear,
Passing at last to eternity. and fires are grand, specific
there. Just long before I knew this
truth, Learn not to trust the Saviour's
name. If, when it be I spend my birth, That God hath filled my heart
with shame. But since I've learned that I
can have With which his name is richly
stoned, The world can be my other home. nor can its joyous content have
hope. The things I ponder still in
my heart I cannot count as well as trust. Thine image, Savior, is my birth. Now, may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, Rest and abide with us each, both now
and forevermore. Amen.