Our text is going to be in Ephesians
chapter 3. Ephesians chapter 3. In this letter of Paul to the
Ephesians, when he's speaking of the Gentiles, he's describing
a people. people such as the Greeks, mostly
at this time, but he's describing a people that were never under
the law of Moses for righteousness. They never worshipped God, right? Now, understand, the Gentiles
did not worship God with light. They didn't worship God with
understanding. They were ignorant idolaters. They were in darkness when the
gospel came unto them by the preaching of the apostles. so that when we read of the Gentiles
here, when he's speaking of the Jews, he's talking about those
that were under the law of Moses. And when he's speaking of the
Gentiles here in the letter to the Ephesians, he's speaking
of a people that were never under the law of Moses for righteousness. They didn't look to the Law for
their hope. They didn't look to the Law for their righteousness.
They didn't look to the Law for their worship of God. They were
looking to Christ. They were hearing the Gospel
that the Apostles preached unto them. I've titled this message,
Made Partakers by the Gospel. made partakers by the gospel. Now, I want to begin by reading
Ephesians 3 at verse 1, beginning at verse 1. For this cause I,
Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have
heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given
me to you, How that by revelation God made known unto me the mystery,
as I wrote afore in few words." Now in your margin, what it says
is, a little before. That that word, afore in few
words, means a little before. What I wrote to you, just a little
before. And it refers to what Paul had
written in chapter 2. Chapter 2 regarding this wall
of partition that existed between the Jews and the Gentiles. There
was a separation there between them, but Christ came and he
removed that wall. He took that wall down that separated
them and kept them as Jews and Gentiles in separate folders. Now, let's read that. Let's read
a little before. Let's read in chapter 2. We'll
come back to chapter 3. Let's read in chapter 2, beginning
in verse 11. Ephesians 2, 11. Wherefore, remember that ye being
in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called uncircumcision,
by that which is called the circumcision in the flesh made by hands."
And you notice he's pointing out that men divide by carnal
means. We look at the outward by nature. We look at the differences in
men and judge people by outward things. and circumcision was
a cutting of the flesh. It was a means by which men distinguished
themselves from other men and it's a thing of the flesh. It's
based on carnal fleshly things. Verse 12, that at that time ye
were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,
and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and
without God in the world." And so here we see when Paul came
with the gospel, at that time the Gentiles were worshiping
a god, they were worshipping false idols, they were worshipping
in darkness, they were just feeling about and not understanding,
they didn't know the true and living God, they were by nature
idolaters. But now, he says, verse 13, in
Christ Jesus, ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh, brought
near by the blood of Christ. And that brethren noticed the
beauty and the power of that. What the Lord is showing to us
here is that the way that our God brings us near to Him is
by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. We that are separated
from God by our works. We that are separated from God
by our sin. Your sin has separated you from
God, right? It's our sin that causes God
to hide his face from us. Well, the way that we're brought
near is by the blood of Christ. not by the works of the law,
but by the blood of Christ. That's where the glory of God
is put, puts our eyes on the blood of Christ so that our salvation,
your salvation, rests upon the Lord Jesus Christ and what he
accomplished for us in redemption. And so contained within this
mystery, the mystery that Paul was given revelation of God to
explain, to lay bare with plain language of Christ. This mystery
here What he's showing us here in this chapter, in chapter 2,
is that Christ didn't come just for the Jews who were under the
law, but he also gave his life for the Gentiles who were without
that law. They didn't have that law at
that time. These were lost sheep scattered among the nations of
the Gentiles. They were of another fold whom
Christ said that he must also bring them, that there be one
fold, one sheep, one shepherd, all according to that one sacrifice,
that one work of redemption by our Lord on the cross for his
people. And so God could no carnal or
fleshly difference. He took that difference that
was used by men to separate us from one another, and he removed
that partition. He broke that thing down by the
sacrifice of his own self for his people. And what the Lord
is showing us, between Jew and Gentile, there's not one closer
There's not one, well, I mean they're near in a sense that
they had the prophets, they had the oracles of God, they had
the law, they had those things, and worshipped God according
to the truth. But what it shows us is that
all our sinners, that all need that sacrifice of the blood of
Christ to be shed for them, else they cannot be saved. And so it's humbling. Whether
you're a Jew or you're a Gentile, it's humbling because Christ,
the Son of God, had to come like me. and bear all the indignation,
all the hatred of men against himself, and be taken and hung
on a tree, crucified and slain, taken down and buried, and then
rose again by the grace and power of God. But it took Christ doing
that for me, for my sin. And not just for me, a Gentile,
but for the Jews also. alike and it shows that all of
us have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That it
took this salvation, this sacrifice to save us, to put away our sins
and to justify us before God. Verse 14, for He is our peace
who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of
partition between us, having abolished in his flesh the enmity."
And as I understand it here, this enmity that he's speaking
of is not that enmity between us and God by nature, but that
enmity between the Gentile and the Jew. He broke down, he put
down that middle wall of partition, that enmity in the flesh that
was between us. Even the law of commandments
contained in ordinances. And additionally, not just the
law, but the traditions of the scribes and the Pharisees and
others like them that had arisen out of the flesh of man. As the
Lord says, I think it's in Matthew, I forget the chapter, if it's
13 or 22, but where the Lord says, you have heard, I guess
it's chapter five, you have heard that it hath been said, thou
shalt love your neighbor and hate your enemies. But I say
unto you, that you should love your neighbor as yourselves,
not you should love your enemies, right? And so he lists several
other things that by the traditions of the Pharisees, they were taught.
And he says, you've heard this, but I say unto you this, right? And he taught us a new commandment
in himself, newly revealed unto us by Christ. And so he abolished
that, he put that away, for to make in himself of twain, or
of two, one new man, so making peace. And that he might reconcile
both unto God in one body, by the cross, having slain the enmity
thereby. And so the greatest commentary
of God showing us what vile, wretched sinners we are by nature,
that we cannot save ourselves, the greatest commentary on that
truth is Christ himself, the Son of God, taking upon Him flesh,
made like unto us, yet without sin, to lay down His life as
the substitute and sacrifice, bearing the sins of His people
on that tree. Otherwise, we would not be saved."
That's the greatest commentary on what wretched, vile sinners
we are by nature, is Christ, the Son of God, laying down His
life for His sheep. all of us, Jew and Gentile. So
we can't say, well, the Jews didn't need that because they
were under the law, and so if I just get to the law, then I
don't need the blood of Christ. No, Jew and Gentile need the
blood of Christ to bring us nigh unto God. That's what He's showing
us there. Without that, we cannot be saved.
And so all our righteousness, all our acceptance, all our justification
with God is established, founded, brought forth made by the blood
of Christ, by His redemption work, accomplishing our redemption,
doing for us what we cannot do for ourselves. And so having
reconciled all His people, Jew or Gentile, through the blood
of His cross, verse 17, He came and preached peace to you which
were far off, right, the Gentiles, and to them that were nigh, the
Jews, for through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto
the Father. And He's talking about the preaching
of the Gospel, right? He came and preached to you.
In other words, even me being here, If the Spirit of God has
brought me here and brought you here, then Christ, if I'm speaking
the Gospel, preaching the truth, then Christ is preaching this
Word to you. His voice is ministering to you
this Word of His grace to declare unto you salvation by the blood
of Christ. So that as Paul would say in
another place in Acts, through this man is preached unto you
the forgiveness of sins. And that by him we are justified
from all things which he could not be justified by the law of
Moses. That's Acts 13, 38 and 39. That's
what we declare. So, on this, one of the examples
that we have of this being shown to us in Scripture is in Acts
10. So turn, hold your place in Ephesians,
we'll come back there, but in Acts 10, at the end of the 10th
chapter, verse 42. Peter here has been summoned
by Cornelius, a Roman soldier, and Cornelius has gathered together
his family and friends and perhaps other soldiers that were with
him, all Gentiles, all Gentiles to hear the gospel, to hear what
Peter has to say. Verse 42, Peter's preaching to
these Gentiles, he says, and God commanded us to preach unto
the people and to testify, right? That's him coming and preaching
peace to you. God commanded us now to preach unto the people
and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to
be the judge of quick and dead. to him give all the prophets
witness, bearing witness, testifying of Christ, this was what they
were writing here in this book is testifying of the Lord Jesus
Christ that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission or forgiveness of sins so that it's a work of
God's grace apart from our works and while Peter Yet spake these
words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. And that doesn't mean everyone
that was there, that was hearing it audibly with the natural ear,
but all them that heard this word by faith, that heard what
the Spirit saith unto the churches. He that hath ears to hear, let
him hear. All them that heard by faith,
the Holy Ghost fell on them all. and they of the circumcision,
right, the Jews, which believed were astonished as many as came
with Peter, because that on the Gentiles, those without the law,
uncircumcised, filthy dog Gentiles, also was poured out the gift
of the Holy Ghost, for they heard them speak with tongues and magnify
God. Right, let's see a little more,
Acts 15, turn Acts 15, Verse 7, this is there in Jerusalem,
Paul and Barnabas are there because the Judaizers were coming from
Jerusalem and trying to convert the Gentile churches to the law.
Verse 7, Peter stands up. And when there had been much
disputing, Peter rose up and said unto them, Men and brethren,
He know how that a good while ago God made choice among us,
that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel
and believe. And God which knoweth the hearts,
bear them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost even as he did
unto us. He's talking about when he preached
to Cornelius. and put no difference between
us and them, purifying their hearts by faith." By faith. Brethren, that's how the Lord
purifies our hearts. That's how he turns us from wicked
works. That's how he turns us from the
flesh, is by faith. faith in the Lord Jesus Christ,
that He's my hope, that He's my righteousness, that He's my
sanctification, that we would be turned from dead, wicked works
of religion and the filthy works of the flesh, that the Lord would
teach us, that the Lord would chasten us, that the Lord would
correct us, that He would fill our hearts with His love, His
Spirit, His grace, that we would serve one another in love, that
we would worship God in spirit and in truth, in joy and rejoicing,
and be glad in Him. He works it by faith, by faith
there, brethren. And so the Spirit of Christ and
all the gifts of our God and the blessings that are poured
out upon us in Christ were poured out on both Jews and Gentiles
alike. God clearly putting no difference
between them, but making it known that we are all alike and all
come the same way through the blood of Christ, and He reveals
Christ to us by faith in the preaching of the Word. We'll
see that more and more as we go here. while we as men look
on outward things and judge others by outward things, the Lord knows
the heart and he reveals them that are his by giving them faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ, which follows Christ, right? Not just
a profession and then just living in the world like you never heard,
but he reveals faith in us and keeps us looking to Christ, looking
to Christ, following Christ. I heard a good illustration of
following Christ is is when you follow, when we're following
Christ, it's not looking at our walk or looking at how others
are walking and determining whether or not you're following Christ
or looking for evidences to determine if I'm following Christ. No,
looking to Christ is looking to Him, keeping your eyes upon
the Lord Jesus Christ only. Not looking down at your feet,
not looking back to see where you came from, not looking for
evidences, looking to Christ. Keeping your eyes upon the Lord
Jesus Christ and following Him, trusting Him. And the Lord will
continue to lead you and guide you and keep you and bless you
in the Lord Jesus Christ. All right, so let's go back now
to Ephesians 2 and finish up that chapter. Ephesians 2, 19. Paul says, now therefore, you
that have heard the gospel, you Gentiles, who had not the law
and heard the gospel, therefore you are no more strangers and
foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household
of God. You're stones, living stones,
built in the house by Jesus Christ. and are built upon the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the
chief cornerstone. So that's the mystery that the
Lord revealed to Paul, which he's now preaching to all that
the Lord sends him to, which became the Gentiles specifically. That was the mystery he spoke
of a little before when we came to him in chapter 3. All right,
let's return now to chapter three, and we're gonna pick up in verse
four. Whereby, when ye read, ye may
understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ. And what Paul
is continuing to reveal to the church, what we're seeing is
that there is one savior, brethren. There's one salvation. There's
one spirit. There's one baptism, one faith,
one household of God. That is one church that the Lord
is building and assembling by his grace and power. And it's
all built by the Lord Jesus Christ and not by the works of man.
It's by Christ. In Ephesians 2.10, he says, we
are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works,
which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them,
or his workmanship. And so then, if it's Christ and
it's not founded on Moses, it's not founded on the works of man,
it's not accomplished or built or improved by our works of righteousness
that we do in the flesh, It doesn't come down to what I do or don't
do. The salvation is by the Lord
Jesus Christ and what He works in us, what He's accomplished,
first and foremost, and then He reveals it to us by grace,
by His grace. And so it's resting on Jesus
Christ, the Son of God. Jesus Christ, the one mediator
between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus. And we're told
by the prophets that the government shall rest upon His shoulder,
and His name shall be called Wonderful. His name shall be
called Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father,
the Prince of Peace. All glory is ascribed to Christ. And so what's going on is that
God the Father He commended us. He committed us into the hands
of Jesus Christ, His Son, before the foundation of the world,
that He should be Lord of all. That all authority and power
would be in His hand. He is, He's Almighty, He is Almighty
God, He's our Lord, He's our Savior, He's our All, and in
Him we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins, a perfect righteousness,
a sure and certain salvation that cannot be undone by any
creature. because God has ordained this,
God has worked this, God has accomplished this by in and by
the Lord Jesus Christ doing this work for us. Our Lord said to
the church in Philadelphia in Revelation 3-7 he said these
things saith he that is holy, he that is true, he that hath
the key of David, he that openeth, and no man shutteth, and shutteth,
and no man openeth. Your Lord, Jesus Christ, has
all power and authority given to him. What he opens is open,
and what he shuts is shut. It's all by his power and authority. Alright, now continuing in this
mystery of Christ which Paul is revealing in Ephesians 3 verse
5, which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men,
as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by
the Spirit, that the Gentiles, again those without the law of
Moses, that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs and of the same
body and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel. By the gospel. That's how we're
made partakers. That's how we're made fellow
heirs. That's how we're put into the
body of the Lord Jesus Christ by this gospel. That's how it's
made known to us and revealed to us. We're fellow heirs and
of the same body and partakers of His promise in Christ by the
gospel. That's verse six. That's a wonderful
verse there. So by the redemption of Jesus
Christ, that's how we're accepted of Holy God. That's how we're
justified of Him from all things, which we cannot justify ourselves.
That's how we are accepted of Him and received of Him and blessed
of Him and raised up by Him and instructed and kept and grown
in His grace and knowledge. It's through the Gospel. It says in 1 Corinthians 121
that it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. That's how we're saved. That's
how we feed upon Christ. That's how we're kept of Him.
That's where the Lord manifests His grace and power in His people. That's where He delivers us from
the power of darkness and translates us into the kingdom of His dear
Son through the preaching of the gospel. what Christ accomplished. We preach Christ crucified for
the salvation of God's people, to bring lost sinners out of
darkness into the light, to open the prison door that we're shut
up in by nature, to open it up and to bring us out unto Christ.
That's where his voice is heard because it's his word. It's glorifying
him and that's the word that he uses to call you sinner and
bring you out of that prison, bring you out of darkness into
his glorious light, the glorious light of his countenance. Ephesians
3 verse 7 Whereof, Paul says, I was made a minister according
to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual
working of his power. Here it is, unto me, who am less
than the least of all saints, is this grace given that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. You see how Hall was like a broken
record playing the same song over and over and over again. He preached Christ crucified
for the salvation, for the healing of the nations, for the deliverance
of the people that were hearing him, for those that are sinners
stuck in darkness and sin and vileness. He preached Christ
to them. And you read Acts, that's what
he preached. He went and preached Christ. He declared to them the
unsearchable riches of Christ. And preaching Christ is what
the Spirit of God blesses. As he said, he said, when the
Spirit comes, he's going to testify to you of the things of me. He's
going to take the things of Christ and show them unto you because
that is your blessing. That is your salvation. That is your acceptance with
holy God as Christ. and coming to the Lord in Christ,
trusting. Father, you spoke these words,
and these words are true. You told me, look to your son. Look to him, and I have life
in him. Lord, I believe you. Help thou
mine unbelief, but keep me looking to him who is your salvation
for the sinner, because that's the salvation I need. That's
the grace I need. And that's what he blesses. And
so Paul would make known to all men concerning Christ that Christ
is our light in life, that Christ died to atone for our sins, that
Christ rose again for our justification on the third day. And so all
the blessings of this life, all the blessings of his life, rather,
and his resurrection are revealed to us and revealed in us by this
Word of salvation through the finished work of Christ. And
He makes us partakers of His Spirit and life. Let me just
read Ephesians 3 now. And to make all men see what
is the fellowship of the mystery which from the beginning of the
world hath been hidden God who created all things by Jesus Christ. Now I just want to speak to you
for a moment about this mystery which from the beginning of the
world was hidden God who created all things by Jesus Christ, he
tells us. Again, brethren, right from the
creation of the world We see our Lord and Savior. We see Him
declared in the scriptures in creation. That's how we created
Christ, well then we should see Christ. If Christ created all
things, if all things were created by Him, we should see Christ
in creation. We should see Him testified here. So let's just, I'm just gonna
lightly touch on a few of the days spoken of in Genesis 1. Let's flip to Genesis 1. This
is the last illustration from this chapter, just looking at
a few things in this chapter that we'll see in closing here. So Genesis chapter one, and I'll
take that outline of what Paul was revealing to the people,
of Christ our light and life, of Christ our atonement, of Christ
our resurrection, all right? So Genesis chapter one, Verse
two, it begins, and the earth was without form and void. So in the beginning God created
the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and
void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep, and the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of the waters. Now that is a description
of us by nature. We are without form. We're not in the body of Christ. We're just lost sinners in the
wilderness. We're void of understanding.
We're in darkness to the things of God. We don't understand the
things of God. And then it says, and even the
waters were moved upon by the Spirit of God. and it says God
said let there be light and there was light so that our God brought
forth the uncreated light which is Jesus Christ to shine upon
this darkness, upon these waters that are void and without form
and void and in darkness, right? So without any assistance, without
any provocation from the waters, without the waters crying out
saying, Lord, save us. Without that, God sovereignly
shone his light upon these waters, declaring his gracious purpose
to save a people that he would put here on this earth. that
he would do. He was declaring his grace, his
intention to save a people. And I say to you, Christ is that
light. John 1, 4, 5, I'll just quote
it to you, in him was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness
and the darkness comprehended it not. That's us by nature,
brethren. Second, and that was the first
day. Second. Paul preached that Christ died
to atone for our sins, that his death made satisfaction unto
God for our sins and obtained for us eternal forgiveness. So Christ made a covering with
his blood to cover our sins, to put them away from the face
of God so that he doesn't see them anymore. They're covered,
they're put away, they're paid for. All right, where do we see
that? Well, verse 6, Genesis 1, 6,
and 7. And God said, Let there be a
firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the
waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and
divided the waters which were under the firmament from the
waters which were above the firmament. And it was so. And God called
the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning
were the second day. So that firmament, brethren,
is a picture of the atonement of Christ's sacrifice. In that
firmament, that space, that heaven, what he put there, that's where
all living things dwell. You and I on this side of the
earth, the top side of the earth, This is where we breathe. This
is where we have light. This is where we have food and
water and nourishment and have our life and have our being in
this firmament right now, right here. Without that firmament,
without that covering upon the earth, there is no life. No life. Without the blood atonement of
Jesus Christ, there's no life. There is no covering for our
sins. There is no living. There is no breathing. There
is no fellowship with the true and living God. And that firmament
divided the waters. It divided the people. The waters
under the firmament and those waters outside, not under the
firmament, outside of it. So that that firmament divided,
that firmament separated unto itself waters that are gathered
under that firmament, brethren. That's a picture of Christ's
blood shed for His people. Now I keep referring to us as
waters. Is that scriptural? Are we called waters in scripture? Yes. In Revelation 17 15 it says
the waters to John which thou sawest where the whore sitteth,
the whore of Babylon, are peoples, so the waters are peoples and
multitudes and nations and tongues. And so waters in the scriptures
are sometimes used to speak of people, of a people. And these
people were divided by this firmament. So those under it and those not
under it. Alright, third, I'll show you
one more. Paul preached that Christ rose again from the dead
for our justification. Look at Genesis 1 verse 9. And
God said, let the waters under the heaven be gathered together
unto one place. and let the dry land appear,
and it was so. And God called the dry land earth,
and the gathering together of the waters called he seas, and
God saw that it was good. in this. This picture here is
this body of earth coming up out of the waters. It's a picture
of Christ being raised from the dead. And that waters being gathered
together into one place is exactly what the Lord does. He gathers
His people, one people, to Himself in one place that are His people. His people, right? And then because
of His resurrection and the ascension of Christ, we're told, when He
ascended up on high, He gave gifts unto men, right? And so there's a fruitfulness.
When Christ said, when I go, I'll send you the Holy Spirit,
and He will come upon you. He will reveal these things to
you. He'll bear fruit in you, right? And so we see that here.
Verse 11, God said, let the earth bring forth grass, the herb yielding
seed, and the fruit tree yielding fruit, after his kind, whose
seed is in itself upon the earth, and it was so. And the earth
brought forth grass, and herb-yielding seed after his kind, and the
tree-yielding fruit, whose seed was in itself after his kind,
and God saw that it was good. This is a picture of what our
Lord said when he said that which is of the flesh is flesh, that
which is of the spirit is spirit, its seed after its kind. He must
be born again because we by nature are born of Adam's seed after
his kind and come forth sinners corrupt in trespasses and sins,
dead in trespasses and sins. We are born again by the Spirit
of God, taken of the seed of Christ, whereby we're born anew,
new creatures born again by the seed of Christ that we might
be living creatures, new creatures born of the seed, the incorruptible
seed of Christ. And brethren, what does the Scriptures
always say about Christ's resurrection? It's constantly repeated to us
and he arose on the third day, the third day, the third day.
And what do we read of this day? What that we just read of the
earth coming up and the waters being gathered together and the
evening and the morning where the third day, the third day. It's just declaring to you. You
go on and read this, you see over and over again this picture
of the new birth of the Lord's people being brought forth abundantly
by His power, by His Word. He spoke it into existence and
His Word gives life to us in Christ, made new creatures in
Him. And so, right at the very beginning,
We're told Christ created all things, and it's true. He did
physically create all things ex nihilo, out of nothing. And that very work that He did
testifies even of His glorious redemption for us in showing
us pictures of what He does spiritually by His Word and power to give
us life. And it's all by His Word. God brought all these things
by His Word power of his word into existence, is it any wonder
then? that He speaks His Word and gives
us life, brings us into existence, a new creation in Christ Jesus,
of Christ Jesus, all by His grace and power. And again, it says
in Hebrews 10, verse 7, then said I, lo, in the volume of
the book, and you look that up, and that word volume means in
the beginning of the book, Right here as we just saw in Genesis
1, in the beginning of the book, it's written of me, to do thy
will, O God. And that came, that was quoted
from the Psalms, right? And the Lord shows us that. He
testified of himself in Luke 24 from Moses, from the Psalms,
and from the prophets. He shows unto us the things that
speak of Him, that reveal Him to His people, that glorify Him
to us, sinful creatures saved by His grace. He shows it. In
that Hebrews 10 there, verse 8, above when he said sacrifice
and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin, thou wouldst
not. Neither has pleasure therein
which are offered by the law. Then said he, Lo, I come to do
thy will, O God. he taketh away the first, that
he may establish the second, by the which will we are sanctified
through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. What we cannot do by the law,
Christ did it once by the offering of himself. He's declaring His
word unto us. I pray, bless your hearts that
it bless us. And so this is the glorious salvation. This is the mystery of God, that
it's not by our workings, not by our sacrifices and striving
and spending and laboring under the law. It's by Christ. Christ. The law shows us we can do it,
but Christ did it perfectly, fully, as it was always ordained
to be done, to give Him all the glory, and so men today We don't
divide necessarily by Jew and Gentile, right? We don't look
at those things so much anymore. It's not so obvious to us anymore
as it once was, but we do still professing people that claim
to be following God do pride themselves with the boast of
the law and the keeping of the law for a righteousness, right?
And looking to the law and they look at those trust the grace
of God and believe the word of Christ, there's a tendency by
the natural man, there's more than a tendency, what the natural
man does is he looks at that and condemns that as foolish
and says, that's a base thing, that's folly, that's darkness,
that's foolish, don't do that, right? And it's put down, it's
just looked down upon. And so they despise others that
speak of grace as foolish, we base and despise. But Paul tells
us, but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound
the wise. This is 1 Corinthians 1. And God hath chosen the weak
things of the world to confound the things which are mighty,
and base things of the world, and things which are despised
hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to naught
things that are, that no flesh should glory in his presence. But of him are ye in Christ Jesus,
who is made unto us, Christ has made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, and redemption, that according as it is written,
he that glorieth let him glory in the Lord. that Lord who made
all things by the word of His power, that is testified and
witnessed to in this word, this whole word to us, so that we
are drawn near to God by the blood of Christ, be brought to
Him through faith in Christ, which is made known and manifest
and unfurled before us to see into the mystery what we couldn't
see before by the law to see how that God saves sinners by
the Lord Jesus Christ and blesses us and keeps us and instructs
us and helps us and does everything for us in the Lord Jesus Christ
so that our hope would remain fixed in the root, rooted in
the branch, the Lord Jesus Christ, who said, without me ye can do
nothing. Nothing. You wouldn't even exist. So let your hope be fixed in
the Lord Jesus Christ. Trust him to save you. Hope in
him. Cry out to him, Lord save me. Keep me. I can't do this. I don't even understand how to
do it. Save me, Lord. The Lord does that. He delights
to answer the cry. of the contrite, lowly, smitten,
grueling sinner." He delights to answer that prayer and to
help them. And Paul said, we are, here's
the twist, we are the circumcision, which worship God in the spirit
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, not the law, but in Christ Jesus,
and have no confidence in the flesh. And looking to the law,
that engages this flesh. And Paul says, we don't have
any confidence, zero confidence in the flesh, because this flesh
is so deceitful and corrupt and vile and wretched. It's proud,
it's arrogant, it's boastful. And so we have no confidence
in his flesh. And the Lord keeps declaring his word, turning us
from the things of the flesh to Christ, to behold him, to
rejoice. in Him, and so we preach Christ
unto you, brethren. He is salvation. His blood was
shed for the remission of sins, and all that come to God by Him
are accepted of Him, are in the body of Christ, in the household
of God, are partakers of all His blessings, life and salvation
are fruitful. fruitfulness. Worship God by
Jesus Christ. Believe Him at the salvation
of your soul. Look to Christ and live, brethren,
for by Him all that believe are saved. By Him we are saved from
the punishment and death of our sins. We are saved by His eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior. Amen.