I'll add my welcome to Winston's.
It's good to see y'all out today. Not the first day of spring because
officially it hasn't quite come yet, but it feels like spring
today, doesn't it? Anyway, it's good to be in the house of the
Lord. So as you can see, the title today will be Identifying
the Son. Now, you know, there was a time
in my life when I didn't think it was necessary to identify
the Son. I just figured that everybody
who called on the name of Jesus Christ was okay. I mean, I would
You know, especially after talking to them or seeing their zeal
in religion or whatever, I pretty much just figured, well, they're
saved just like I am. Their hopes, same place mine
is. But when you come to the gospel, when you sit down under
this message, you see a very, very important, crucial, critical
need. that the son be identified. And he is, he's identified in
the scriptures. He's, he's distinguished in the
scriptures. We won't have any problem seeing
him here. So let's look here today in Matthew. These three
verses is all I have set here, but we'll look at other scriptures.
Look at Matthew chapter 11 and verse 25 and 26. It says, at that time Jesus answered
and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed
good in thy sight. Now, let me tell you what he's
talking about here. Just prior to this, Christ was
upbraiding the cities of Corinth. Chorazin and Bethsaida. And he was upbraiding them because
most of his miracles were performed in these cities. And in turn,
most of the people in these cities remained in unbelief. They remained
unrepentant. So that's how he leads into this
scripture right here. He's upbraiding them for their
unbelief. And he says, You have withheld these things, the meaning
of His miracles, what they proved. They proved that He was the Messiah,
Son of God. But He had withheld that from
most of these people, the wise and the prudent, the worldly
wise, the leaders of this nation. But He hadn't withheld them from
all. He said, you've revealed them
unto babes. And so it seemed good in thy sight. Look on it,
Matthew 11, 27. It says, all things are delivered unto me
of my father. And no man knoweth the son, but
the father, neither knoweth any man the father, save the son,
and he to whomsoever the son will reveal him. No man knoweth
the son, but the father. So that's why the son must be
identified, because none of us by nature know the son. Now we
know of a son, we know a lot of facts about the son, but we
don't know the son. Only the father knows the son.
So if any would know the son, the father has to make him known.
He has to be revealed. God has to send us a gospel preacher
that he's taught, God has taught. Now the son has always needed
to be identified. He's never, never been known
to any of us by nature. Adam didn't know him. Abel didn't
know him by nature. And we can take this need all
the way back to immediately after the fall. Adam and Eve saw some
things after the fall. After they rebelled against the
God, they saw that they now had a need they didn't have before.
They saw that they were exposed to and deserving of the wrath
of God, but they did not see how to overcome that need. They
didn't see what needs to be done now. They couldn't see how to
be delivered from their exposure to God's wrath. They sought their
deliverance in fig leaf aprons and hiding from God. In other
words, they sought relief in the work of their hands. That's
what man always does by nature. God had to show them the only
solution to their problem. He had to reveal to them the
woman's seed. Now he had told them about the
woman's seed right after the fall. He said the woman's seed
would bruise the head of the serpent, although the serpent
would bruise his heel. So he had made him known, but
he had to identify the son to Adam and Eve. And he began this
identification when he slew an animal. She had blood. And he took the coats of skins
from that animal and gave them, put them on Adam and Eve to cover
them. The sun was seen in the sacrifice, in the blood, in the
death of that animal. The sacrifice identified the
sun in picture and type. And God taught him all that meant.
He didn't just slay that animal and clothe them with the skins
and just leave it to their imagination what all that meant. He taught
him. Just like Bill said in his message, how do I know he taught
him? Because Abel came to worship God. He came the right way. He came by blood sacrifice and
he was accepted. God had respect unto Abel and
to his offering. Cain rejected that way and he
was rejected. Abel was taught the right way
to approach and to be accepted. He knew everything necessary
for him to fellowship with a holy and just God. And he came and
found that fellowship. Now that's the way the Son was
identified throughout the entire Old Testament. He was identified
in picture and type. The priesthood, the ceremonies,
the sacrifices, which were completed daily, they had two sacrifices
every day, and all those things in the nation Israel pictured
the Son in picture and type. Moses was the lawgiver and mediator
between God and that nation Israel. And he wrote the law, but the
scripture said, Christ said, Moses wrote of me. And all the
prophets taught of Christ, look at Romans 3.22. I'm talking about
the son being identified now in the Old Testament. Look at
Romans 3.22. It says, but now, before this it said, by deeds
of law shall no flesh be justified in his sight, for by law is the
knowledge of sin. But now, the righteousness of
God without the law, without a sinner's obedience to the law,
That righteousness of God is manifested, being witnessed by
the law and the prophets. This righteousness of God, just
like Bill said this morning, Job knew about the righteousness
of God. Job was looking to that Messiah
for all of his salvation. He was resting in the sun, and
so was every other Old Testament saint. The righteousness of God was
witnessed by the law and the prophets. Look, look on at Acts
10 verse 43. It says, to him, to Christ, give
all the prophets witness that through his name, whosoever believeth
in him shall receive remission of sins. The prophets of the
Old Testament preached the gospel. They taught of Christ. They taught
of the Messiah. The word witness means testified
of. You know, it's like a witness
in a courtroom. What does he do? He tells the truth about
what he knows, what he's seen. And that's what the prophets
did. They testified of the righteousness of God. It was necessary for
the son to be identified in the Old Testament. The law testified
of him in picture and type, and the prophets testified of him
in the preaching of the gospel. All right, it was also necessary
that the Son be identified in the New Testament. Some in the
New Testament were given a divine revelation of Christ. One of
those men you remember, Simeon, when Christ was brought into
the temple on the day that he was to be circumcised, Simeon
said, took him in his arms, took that baby in his arms, and he
said, behold the salvation of God. Now mine eyes have seen
the salvation of God. So Simeon had been told that
before he died, he would see the Christ child. And he knew
when that baby came in, he recognized him. So, some were given a divine
revelation of Christ. John the Baptist, the forerunner
of Christ, knew him apparently that same way. He knew him by
divine revelation. I say that because when Christ
came for baptism, Christ came to John the Baptist to be baptized
of him, and when he did, John protested. He said, Lord, I need
to be baptized of you. You're the one that baptizes
with the Holy Ghost and with fire. I need to be baptized of
you. And here you are coming to me for baptism. So John's
protest tells me that he already knew this person to be the Messiah,
sent of God. But yet God had already determined
that Christ would be identified by his baptism. So look at Matthew
3, 13 and 14. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee
to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him, but John forbade him,
saying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comest thou to me?
So that tells you that he already knew who Christ was when Christ
came for his baptism. But the Spirit of God identified
the Son at his baptism. Look at John 1, 29 through 34
here. The next day John seeth Jesus
coming unto him, and said, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh
away the sin of the world. This is he of whom I said, After
me cometh the man which is preferred before me, for he was before
me. He's from everlasting. John knew
that. And John said, And I knew him not, but that he should be
made manifest to Israel. Therefore am I come baptizing
with water. And John bear record saying,
I saw the spirit descending from heaven like a dove and it abode
on him, on Christ. And I knew him not, but he that
sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, upon whom
thou shalt see the spirit descending and remaining on him, the same
as he which baptizes with the Holy Ghost. And I saw and bear
record that this is the Son of God. God had determined that
Christ would be identified to the world at his baptism. John
knew him by revelation. Others knew him by revelation,
but the word of God at his baptism, the father said, this is my beloved
son in whom I'm well pleased. That confirms John's revelation. And that word confirms John's
revelation to us. John's not the only one. Well,
let me say one more thing about baptism first. You know, baptism
is Christ's identification with all that the prophets taught
of him before. We'll see some scriptures that
say he opened their understanding to all that Moses and the Psalms
and the prophets wrote concerning him. Well, Christ's baptism was
his identification with all that was written about him, all that
had been said about him. And baptism today is an identification. It's our identification. It's
a believer, a regenerate sinner's identification with the gospel,
with the people of God, with those to whom Christ has been
identified, and to those who are looking to him for all of
salvation. So John knew Christ by divine revelation, and God
identified him, Christ, at his baptism. The disciples also knew
and believed Christ to be the Son, the Messiah promised in
the scriptures. Look at Matthew 16, verses 13
through 16. When Jesus came into the coast
of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, saying, Whom do
men say that I, the Son of Man, am? And they said, Some say thou
art John the Baptist, some Elijah, others Jeremiah, or one of the
prophets. And he saith unto them, But whom
say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and
said, Thou art the Christ. the son of the living god so
peter as we'll see right here christ told peter his knowledge
here that he was the christ the son of the living god that's
divine revelation peter didn't know him by nature in other words
god had revealed to him and he's speaking he's acting as a spokesperson
for all the disciples here when he says, thou art the Christ,
the son of the living God. But although they believed on
Christ this way, it was still necessary for the son to be identified
to them in his fullness as the one the scriptures are concerned
about, the one that the scriptures are written about. The scriptures
are all about him, but the son had to be confirmed to these
disciples that he was the one they were writing about. Look
at Luke 24 verses 44 and 45. This is Christ speaking to his
disciples now after his resurrection. And he said unto them, These
are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you,
that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law
of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning
me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the
Scriptures." They believed Christ to be the Messiah. They believed
that He was Him, but they didn't see how His coming and His death
on that cross and His resurrection was really fulfilling all that
the prophets had written concerning Him. Although the disciples knew
the Son by divine revelation, it was vitally necessary that
that revelation be confirmed by the scriptures. We take our
identification of Christ from the scriptures. The son has to
be identified to us all because none of us are born knowing the
son. We can't take this identification from tradition. We can't take
it from the world's religion. We can't even take it from our
own understanding by nature because our understanding is flawed by
nature. It's imperative that we take the understanding that
we have of Christ, his identification from the scriptures. Now, Christ,
under a message like this, or under the one we heard earlier,
or most, not most, any that comes from this pulpit, the gospel
preached here identifies Christ. It identifies him generally to
whoever's sitting out in this audience. And it identifies him
not just as him who died, as him who was buried and rose again,
but it identifies him who is the God-man. and the one who
accomplished the salvation of every sinner he was given, every
sinner he died for. This is the one who fulfilled
the prophecies concerning him. This one, Christ, the one identified
in the gospel. First, he fulfilled the prophecies
of his person. I want you to look at one. There
are many scriptures that talk about Christ's person, being
God and man. Look at Isaiah 9 and verse 6.
For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given. A child
is born. That's the humanity of Christ. He came in human flesh. He was
born of a virgin. Born in a manger and all those
other things written of him. But it says unto us a son is
given. Not a son is born. The son is
the second person of the triune Godhead. He's always existed. He's everlasting. He's eternal. He's infinite. So a son was not
born, a son was given. That person is God in man, in
one person. God manifests in the flesh. It's
imperative that we understand the son to be God and man in
one person. It's imperative that we know
that, that we know that fact and believe it. God, Christ is
the savior. And Christ is to be worshiped.
We pray in his name. We worship him, the Savior. But
no mere man is to be worshiped. So to worship one that you don't
know to be God is to worship like Christ told the woman at
the well, you worship you know not what. So it's imperative
that we know the Son to be God. Also, It's imperative that we
know Christ to be God and man in order to attribute the work
to him that he alone could accomplish. Sin against God demands an infinite
payment. It's against an infinite God
and it demands an infinite payment. It demands infinite punishment.
Only one who is God could render infinite punishment. Without
the shedding of blood, though, is no remission. Only one who
is man could shed blood. The prophets declared the Son
to be God and man, and it's imperative that we know him that way, not
that just we may think he's God or that he gave up his deity
when he went to the cross. No. When he hung on the cross,
he was the God-man. He was God and man in one person.
When he was raised from the dead, he's the God-man. He's forever
the God-man. And the scriptures identified
the Son as God and man in one person. The Son is also the one
who fulfilled the prophecies, not only of his person, but the
prophecies of his work. Look at Isaiah 53, verses 4 and
5. Surely Christ had borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
This chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed." Now these verses are just another way of saying
that Christ The death of Christ, the obedience unto death of Christ
alone accomplished the salvation of every sinner he was given.
Every sinner whose sins he bore. If he bore your sins on the cross,
by his stripes you have been healed. That's what that's saying.
Look at Daniel 9.24. We're looking at prophecies now
concerning the work of Christ. Daniel 9.24. Seventy weeks are
determined upon thy people and upon thy holy city to finish
the transgression, and to make an end of sins, and to make reconciliation
for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and
to seal up the vision and prophecy, and to anoint the Most Holy.
To make an end of sins, to put away sin by the sacrifice of
himself. To bear all the punishment that
sin was due unto the people he represented. And then to bring
in everlasting righteousness. That everlasting righteousness
is called in the New Testament the righteousness of God. It's
the righteousness that the gospel always make known to sinners.
There, I'm not ashamed of the gospel. It's the power of God
into salvation for therein is the righteousness of God. And
we could add always revealed. If it doesn't reveal the righteousness
of God is not the gospel. So it's the righteousness of
God is the one always revealed in the gospel. It's the one that
God, that righteousness is the one God imputes to his elect.
He charges them. We are made the righteousness
of God in Christ. And it's the one righteousness
based upon which God declares otherwise ungodly sinners forever
unchangeably righteous in his sight. It's the one righteousness
by which justified sinners are justified before God. So the
scriptures declare that Christ work. They prophesied of his work.
And Christ is the one identified as the one who fulfilled those
prophecies of his work. Look at it. One New Testament
prophecy of Christ's work. You heard Bill quote this this
morning. Look at Matthew 121. This is an angel who's come to
Joseph now before the birth of Christ, explaining things to
him so he will keep Mary, marry her as his wife. And the angel
told him, and she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call
his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins. He shall save his people from
their sins. Not he might, not he will if
sinners cooperate with him and do their part. It was not that
he would make a way for sinners to save themselves. He shall
save his people from their sins. Since Christ has come and gone,
the only question to be answered is, did he do what the angel
said? The angel prophesied that he
would save his people. Did he do it? Did He save them? Or is their salvation still in
question? Is their salvation still dependent
upon their cooperation? Is it still dependent upon the
sinner's contribution? No, not in any way. Christ has
saved His people. Now He has already saved His
people. He's already saved them from
their sins in a legal sense. What does that mean? Well, he
bore their punishment in his body on the tree. Their sins
are put away as far as the east is from the west. They will never
face any punishment from God's justice because of their sins
because Christ has already bore that punishment and there's no
punishment left for the people of God. That's already been done.
That's the finished work. And he's already imputed, God
has already imputed the righteousness Christ worked out to them. And
we stand forever, from forever to forever, justified based on
that righteousness charged to our account. So in one aspect
of salvation, it's a done deal. It's a finished work. So he's
already saved them, but he's still saving. That word salvation
covers all the way from the beginning, way back before time began, all
the way to final glory. So what's he doing now? He's saving his people now under
the preaching of the gospel. He's calling them out of darkness
and ignorance of who Christ is and what he's done for those
he was given. He is delivering them from the bondage of sin
that all of us are under by nature. The going about to establish
a righteousness of our own because we're ignorant of the righteousness
God has provided and the one Christ has worked out. So he's
saving sinners in this age right here. He's saving sinners under
the preaching of the gospel. Bringing them out of darkness
to the light of the gospel. And he will say, there's a salvation
yet future, will be delivered. The people of God who are resting
in Christ will be delivered forever, eternally from even the presence
and the power of sin. When Christ returns and takes
us to be with him, there'll be no sin. We'll be delivered forever. To those that look to him, shall
he come again without sin unto salvation, that final full redemption. when he redeems us and gives
us that new body and takes us to final glory. The gospel is
a declaration of the Son. The doctrine it sets forth identifies
the Son. The gospel distinguishes the
Son from all counterfeits, any who would be Christ. Now Christ
is identified generally, like I told you. Anybody sitting under
the sound of a message like this is hearing Christ identified. But more is needed than just
a general understanding. More is needed than just that.
It said God has withheld these things from the wise and prudent.
Even the Pharisees had heard Christ preach the gospel. They
had seen the miracles of Christ. But these things that I'm telling
you today had been withheld from the wise of his day and the prudent
of his day. But it said he has revealed them
unto babes. Look at John 6 45. It is written in the prophets,
and they shall be all taught of God. Every man, therefore,
that hath heard and have learned of the father cometh unto me. The father who alone knows the
son teaches his elect people of Christ. He identifies Christ
to them individually by the spirit in regeneration under the preaching
of the gospel. That second aspect of salvation,
as I said, has taken place. He makes Him known to us, and
even those who've been saved a while. I mean, He still makes
Christ known as Scriptures are taught and as we come to new
light, we still see the Son being revealed. The Father identifies
Christ not just generally under the gospel to his elect, but
specifically, he identifies Christ as the one who glorified his
Father in the full salvation of those he was given. Look at
2 Corinthians 4, verses 3 through 6. It says, but if our gospel be
hid, it is hid to them that are lost, in whom the God of this
world has blinded the mind of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of
God, should shine unto them, For we preach not ourselves,
but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your servants for Jesus'
sake. For God, who commanded the light
to shine out of darkness, has shined in our hearts to give
the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face
of Jesus Christ. It says if our gospel is hid. Now, it's hid from all of us
by nature. And it's, that's what's hid.
the gospel, which identifies the Son. That's hid from us by
nature. And what is that gospel? The
declaration. It's the identification of Christ. It's the identification of what
He's done that makes it right for God to be just and yet declare
ungodly sinners righteous in His sight. In other words, it's
the identification. That last line, the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. I just told
you what that meant. Christ has done what makes it
right. He satisfied the law and justice of God on behalf of a
people. He's put away their sin. He's brought in everlasting righteousness. God has charged that righteousness
to, to the account of his people. And we see God just to declare
us righteous based on that righteousness imputed alone. Now. It says,
God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness has shined
in our hearts. Now before God shines in our
hearts, this will verify what I've been telling you. Before
God shines this light of the knowledge of his glory in our
hearts, we're just like Lazarus in the tomb. We're dead in trespassing
and sin. We have no spiritual sense in
which to move, to think, to do anything. We're dead, spiritually
dead. We have no light, but when he
shines that light, that's a new light. That's something we never
knew before. That's something we just came
into the knowledge of. I'm talking about the first time
God shines that light in our hearts. If the declaration of Christ
is hid, if a just God and savior is hid, If a perfect righteousness
of infinite value is hid, it's hid to the lost. Who are the
lost? I like what Bill said a few weeks back in one of his messages,
who the lost are. The lost are those that don't
know the way. That's who the lost are. It's not necessarily
that they're condemned. We don't know that. But they
just don't know the way of salvation. They're those to whom the sun
has not been identified yet. They're those on a way that seems
right, it seems right to them, but it ends in death. They're
those on a broad way that's leading to destruction. But God's not
going to leave his people there. Christ is not going to leave
his sheep there. He's going to deliver them off that way. He's
going to sit them down under the gospel, and he's going to
identify Christ to them. The Father identifies Christ
specifically, as I was just talking about there, as the one who glorifies
his Father into full salvation. of sinners by Christ alone. He
identifies Christ specifically as the one who obtained eternal
redemption for us. That is, for every sinner he
was given. Look at Hebrews 9, verses 11 through 12. But Christ,
being come and hath preached... Now, let me stop right there
a minute before I do that. Hebrews... I know most of you
know the book of Hebrews is a book of comparison between different
things, angels and Christ, and the superiority of Christ over
all things. He's talking about his superiority
as a high priest here, so let's start again on this verse. But
Christ being coming high priest of good things to come by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is
to say not of this building because that tabernacle is Christ. It's
his person and his work. Neither by the blood of goats
and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy
place, having obtained eternal redemption. for us. Under the Old Testament, they
sacrificed. They sacrificed daily. But it
says on over in chapter 10 of Hebrews, it was not possible
that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sin. But when
Christ came and he shed his blood and he offered his sacrifice,
He did take away sin. He obtained eternal redemption. And you see that for us. You
can't tell it up there, but it's in italics. It was added. But
it's a good addition the translators made because he did obtain redemption
for somebody. He obtained redemption for every
sinner he died for. So the father identifies Christ
as the one who has obtained eternal redemption. And lastly, the father
identifies Christ specifically as the one whose sacrifice has
put away the sin of every sinner he died for. Look on in Hebrews
nine here to verse 24 through 26. It says, Christ is not entered
into the holy places made with hands, not into that earthly
tabernacle, not into that place, which are the figures of the
truth. Christ is entered into heaven itself now to appear in
the presence of God for us. Nor yet that Christ should suffer
often, should suffer himself often as a high priest entered
into the holy place every year with the blood of others. Or
then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world,
but now once in the end of the world has he appeared to put
away sin by the sacrifice of himself. As I said, they had
to sacrifice often. They had to sacrifice daily because
the blood of goats and calves could not take away sin. But
Christ's one sacrifice did obtain eternal redemption and did put
away forever the sin of every sinner he died for. So Christ
is not just identified. generally to his elect. He's
identified specifically. He's identified as the one person
who is God and man. He's identified in his work of
satisfying the law and justice of God. He's identified in his
work of establishing the righteousness of God, the very righteousness
by which God justifies sinners. He's identified as the one who
accomplished the full salvation of every sinner he has been given. And when the Son is identified,
He reveals the true and living God. He reveals a just God and
a Savior. It takes the identification of
the Son to know a just God and Savior. God has to sit you under
the message that identifies to you the Son. That's when a just
God and Savior is delivered to your thinking. Look back at our
text in Hebrew, Matthew 11, 27. It says, all things are delivered
unto me of my father, and no man knoweth the son but the father.
He has to sit you under the gospel and show you the son. Neither
knoweth any man the father save the son, and he to whomsoever
the son will reveal him. When Christ is identified, he
reveals to God who justifies the ungodly based on the righteousness
he worked out, the one he established by his obedience unto death.
And he does something else. He brings his people, the Spirit
of God brings his people to faith in this one identified in the
gospel, but he also exposes the counterfeit we looked to before
we saw and submitted to him. You see, I had an idea of Christ
in my mind before I came to this gospel. But I see that Christ
now as a counterfeit. I see him not as the one identified
in the scriptures because I didn't know the Christ I now worship
under that message of the world. If you don't look at the Christ
identified in the scriptures and see a different person than
you saw before, You're not being led by the Spirit of God. The
Spirit of God hasn't visited you with life and faith and repentance. Look at Romans 8 verses 12 to
13. Now, Paul has been writing here
about being mindful, being mindful of the flesh, walking after in
mind in the things of the flesh and walking after in mind in
the things of the spirit. And he says here, Therefore,
brethren, we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the
flesh, not to walk after the flesh. For if you walk after
the flesh, you shall die. But if you through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, you shall live for as many as
are led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God. They alone are the sons of God.
Who? Those that are led by the Spirit of God to not live after,
not walk after the flesh. but through the Spirit to mortify
the deeds of the body. What does that mean? It means
put to death everything you ever thought could recommend you to
God, could cause you to fellowship with God or be in the favor of
God other than the imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Put
them to death. See them as dead works in idolatry. That's what I'm talking about.
The Christ who led me to going about to establish a righteousness
of my own while I was ignorant of this Christ and this righteousness,
not the same Christ I worship now. This is a totally different
Savior than I worship today. Identifying the Son of God's
love in turn identifies those who are sons by adoption. We
are identified by our faith in Christ, by our repentance of
dead works, by our coming to this Christ and submitting to
Him to all of salvation. And God's Word is clear. All
that have been given to Christ. He said, all that the Father
giveth me shall come to me. All whose salvation has been
conditioned on Him, and whose salvation has been accomplished
by Him, in time, in this age, they're going to come to Christ.
This Christ, the one I'm identifying to you. Every man, we've already
read this verse, every man that hath heard and hath learned of
the Father comes to me, Christ said, comes to Christ. Sons of
adoption are those who hear the Son identified in the Gospel
and come to Him for all of salvation. They are led by the Spirit. They
alone are led by the Spirit, led to rest all their salvation
in Christ and in Christ alone. And they alone are sons, those
led by the Spirit. Well, I think you can see that
identifying the Son is an important issue. It's a critical issue.
It's crucial. It's vital that we know how the
Son is identified in the scriptures. And that we come to that Son
that the gospel identifies. And we pray under the preaching
of the gospel that God will make this message effectual in the
hearts of His people. And He will in His time, in this
age. in this generation. I pray that
he'll do that today.