Let's begin tonight in John chapter
2, the second chapter of John's gospel. John chapter 2, we'll start at
verse 1. In this passage, the Lord Jesus
performs his first miracle, turning the water into wine at the marriage
in Cana of Galilee. And we're told in verse 11, by
God the Holy Spirit, the specific intent of this miracle, that
Jesus manifested forth his glory and his disciples believed on
him. I take that to mean that it is
by the manifesting forth of Christ's glory that faith in Christ is
created and sustained. Oh, Son of God, will you by your
Spirit this hour manifest forth your glory that we may believe
on you. John chapter 2 verse 1 and the
third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee and the mother
of Jesus was there and both Jesus was called and his disciples
to the marriage and when they wanted wine the mother of Jesus
saith unto him they have no wine Jesus saith unto her, Woman,
what have I to do with thee? Mine hour is not yet come. His
mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you,
do it. And there were set there six
waterpots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the
Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus saith unto
them, fill the water pots with water. And they filled them up
to the brim. And he saith unto them, draw
out now and bear unto the governor of the feast. And they bear it. But when the ruler of the feast
had tasted the water that was made wine, and knew not whence
it was, but the servants which drew the water knew, The governor
of the feast called the bridegroom, and saith unto him, every man
at the beginning doth set forth good wine, and when men have
well drunk, then that which is worse. But thou hast kept the
good wine until now. This beginning of miracles did
Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and manifested forth his glory, and
his disciples believed on him. The water that was made wine,
we're told in verse nine. Pictures of wine were not pasted
on the side of the water pots. The water was made wine. The
water was not made to look like wine, it was made wine. The water wasn't treated as though
it were wine, it was made wine. But I'm not here to talk to you
about water or wine. I'm here to talk to you about
that which is represented here and that which is taught throughout
the Word of God. The title of my message tonight
is Made, Made, and Made. M-A-D-E, not maiden, made, made. There are three words used throughout
the New Testament that are translated made. The words are very distinct
in the Greek text. The Greek words each are distinct. They're not even akin to one
another. They're three distinct words translated made. And while
all three of the words, of course, mean made, they mean made in
a different way. One of them is a word that means
made in a legal sense. When something transpires in
a court of law, the man has been tried and declared guilty or
declared not guilty, he is made to be what the court declares
him to be. He is made guilty by the sentence
of the court, by the jury that has judged him, and so he is
constituted in a certain character. And we find this word made used
with reference both to our being made sinners through the sin
and fall of our father Adam and our being made righteous, the
very righteousness of God in Christ by the obedience of our
Lord Jesus Christ. That legal word made is never
used in any other way in this book, not used anywhere else. except with regard to our being
legally constituted sinners and legally constituted righteous.
The second word we're going to look at is a word that means
made experientially, made in reality, made personally. It is the word that is used when
the Lord Jesus, we're told, The word was made flesh and dwelt
among us. It's the word that's used here
in John chapter 2, verse 9, when it speaks of the water being
made wine. It's the word that is used in
2 Corinthians 5, 21, when the scripture speaks of us being
made the righteousness of God in Jesus Christ. Those two words
are used repeatedly in the scriptures. Made legally. and made in the
experience of grace that is the thing in the use of this word
made means to be actually transformed something is actually changed
and changed permanently but then there's another word that is
used and it means made profoundly wondrously Mysteriously. Made in such a way as baffles
explanation. Made. Guess where that's used? He hath made him sin for us who
knew no sin. That we might be made in the
sweet experience of his grace. the righteousness of God in him. Alright, let's look at these
three words and I'll try to be as brief as I can because I want
you to get these words as they're used and I want you to go home
rejoicing in the message. First, let me show you what was
done in a legal judicial way by Adam and by Christ. By Adam, the first Adam in the
garden, and by Christ Jesus the last Adam of whom the first Adam
was but a type and representative. Romans chapter 5 verse 12. We were made sinners, legally
constituted sinners, declared to be sinners, set and fixed
as sinners in a forensic legal way. by the disobedience of the
first Adam. And we were legally made, legally
constituted, set to be declared as sinners by the obedience of
our Lord Jesus Christ, the last Adam. Romans chapter 5 verse
12. Wherefore, as by one man, sin
entered into the world. Since this is how God purposed
to save sinners, by the doing and dying of one man, So it is
by one man that sin entered into the world. Bless God for the
fact that we were represented in Adam. The angels lost and
were plunged into everlasting destruction and are held in chains
of darkness under the judgment of the last day, each of them
falling individually by his own choice and his own will and his
own decision and lost everlastingly. Oh, but Adam, and the human race
were lost by the disobedience of a representative man. And
since we were lost by what somebody else did, there is hope, even
in that fact, that we might be saved by what somebody else did
by another representative man. And that's what the word wherefore
refers to. Since God purposed to save sinners by the obedience
of a representative man, Christ Jesus the Lord, As by one man
sin entered into the world, and death by sin, and so death passed
upon all men, for that all have sinned. Now notice the beginning
of a parenthesis in verse 13. It goes all the way through verse
17. Now you know what a parenthetical
statement is. My granddaughter was asking me last night, that's
about Diagramming a sentence and some things I said, honey,
I'm sorry It's been a long time since I diagrammed a sentence,
but I still remember what a parenthetical statement is Do if you go to
one of these we passed a sign on a church sound coming in last
night I don't remember which one it was. It doesn't matter
Talk about that rapture or the rupture or whatever. They're
calling, you know, they if you got one in Bibles been messed
with they call the church age a parenthesis Remember reading
that in your dispensational notes? A parenthesis. Do you know what
a parenthesis is? A parenthesis is something that
doesn't really mean anything. It's just an explanation. If
you take it out of the sentence, it doesn't change a thing. And
what we have here in verses 12 through 17 is a parenthetical
statement. Paul, by inspiration, is explaining
to us the purpose of what he's writing here. But the sentence
goes on at verse 18. Now let's read the parenthesis,
and then we'll go back and read the sentence. Verse 13, For until
the law, sin was in the world. But sin is not imputed where
there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from
Adam to Moses, even over them that had not sinned after the
similitude of Adam's transgression. The law had not yet been given
by Moses in the tables of stone. But death still reigned over
all those who sinned, even those who had not sinned after the
submissive of Adam's transgression. Even babies died. Death reigned
until Adam, who is the figure of Him that was to come, who
is a type, a picture of the Lord Jesus. But not as though the
offense, so also is the free gift. For if through the offense
of one many be dead, much more the grace of God and the gift
by grace which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded to
many. That is Adam's representative
life. Adam's representation. Adam's
legal headship resulted in sin and death. Christ's legal headship. Christ's representation of his
people. His obedience is unto life and grace and glory. Read
on. Verse 16, And not as it was by
one that sinned, so also is the gift. For the judgment was by
one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offenses
unto justification. For if by one man's offense death
reign by one, much more, much more, they which have received
the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness shall reign
in life by one, Jesus Christ. And then he picks up the sentence.
Therefore, and let's go back and read it, beginning at verse
12 again. Wherefore, as by one man's sin entered into the world,
and death by sin, and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned, verse 18. Therefore, since that's the way
it was in the beginning, as by the offense of one, judgment
came upon all men to condemnation, even so by the righteousness
of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of
life. For as by one man's disobedience,
many, quite literally, the many, the many who are represented
by that one man, were made sinners. So by the obedience of one shall
many, the many, the many represented by the second man, the last man,
the Lord Jesus, shall the many be made righteous. The words
made sinners and made righteous, I repeat, are legal terms. They
refer to a legal standing, a legal declaration. And so Paul continues
in verse 20. Moreover, the law entered that
the offense might abound, but where sin abounded, grace did
much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness. Reign
through righteousness. Through a just and legal, a truth
matter. A matter of justice, judgment
and truth. Righteousness. Now, grace reigns
through righteousness. unto eternal life by Jesus Christ
our Lord. As all human beings were made
sinners by what Adam did, by his rebellion and his disobedience. So all God's elect, those represented
by Jesus Christ, are made righteous by the obedience of the Lord
Jesus. Back up to Romans chapter 4. Romans chapter 4. The Lord Jesus was delivered
for our offenses, delivered to death because of our offenses
that were made his, and was raised again for our justification,
raised again because he, by the sacrifice of himself, had put
away our sins and justified us. And the proof of that is that
he's risen again. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Now, without question, redemption is a legal matter. I stress this,
and it needs to be stressed. Justification is a legal matter. By mercy and by truth, iniquity
is purged, the wise man said. We could not be redeemed. Our
sins could not be forgiven, except justice be satisfied, except
God Almighty find a way to fully punish sin. to the full satisfaction
of justice, and at the same time forgive sin freely. And that
way is Jesus Christ the Lord. He took part of what we were. He became what we were, flesh
and blood, and took our sins unto Himself, and was made sin
for us. And He, His own self, bear our
sins in His own body on the tree, so that we might live forever
before God and in Him. justly live forever. But there
are many who would rob us of what the Spirit of God calls
the joy of faith by making redemption and justification and righteousness
nothing but legal terms, nothing else. They attempt, it appears,
to interpret the New Testament by the Old, rather than interpret
the Old Testament by the New. And clearly, that's exactly backwards. The Old Testament types and ceremonies
are to be interpreted by the New Testament in the light of
the fulfillment and the explanation given by God the Holy Spirit.
Men tell us such things as this. Our redemption, the putting away
of sin, our justification, is nothing more than that which
was pictured in the ceremonial laying on of hands when the priest
would lay his hands on the scapegoat, or lay his hands on the Lord's
goat and again on the scapegoat, and it was a ceremonial legal
transfer. Now, truly, that which was pictured
there is the redemption of our souls by Christ Jesus the Lord.
But our redemption by Christ is a heapsight more than a ceremony.
It's a heapsight more than a legal transfer. It's a heapsight more
than just something that is representative. Redemption involves experience. So let's look at this second
word, made. And the Spirit of God distinctly uses words that
differ to make it very clear. This second word means made in
an experimental way, made experientially. I kept working with this, trying
to figure a way to best state it, and I'm hesitant to say much
about experiential things. The old writers, some of them
talked too much about experience, and they laid too much emphasis
on experience and too much stress on experience. I'm afraid that
we lay far too little emphasis on it. We won't make feeling
the basis of our faith. They're not. But I wouldn't give
you a nickel for religion that had none. I wouldn't give you
a nickel for religion that has no experience. If it's all head
and it's all theory, it's all worthless. Our God tells us plainly
that we are made righteous in the experience of his grace.
Righteousness is something sinners come to experience. It's something
that we experience in our souls. Not that we somehow, by something
we do, make ourselves righteous. You do know better than that,
don't you? Anybody here got any question about that? No, no. Not that we have some
inherent righteousness in us. Oh, God forbid any such thought.
But look at John chapter 1 verse 14. John
chapter 1 verse 14. We're going to look at two or
three passages in this regard. You remember what I told you
about the water being made wine? The word that I'm looking for
here now is the word that's used there in John 2, 9. The water
was made wine. What happened? It didn't cease
to be water. You can't have wine without water.
Gotta have water to have wine. But now it is transformed permanently. And those water pots are filled
to the brim with water that's now wine. And it can never be
just water again. Look at John 1 and 14. The word
was made flesh. God the Son experienced
something, Larry. He experienced something. He
became something he was not before and he can never be again only
what he was before. Now that's a huge statement.
That's a huge statement. God took into union with himself God the Son became a man, and
he is today a man, and he will forever be a man. A man in glory
is Christ the Lord. The Word was made flesh. The
same word is used a third time. Look at 1 Corinthians chapter
1, verse 30. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, verse
30. Paul's describing our calling,
we who were nothing, nobody, things that God's chosen. He's
chosen us that no flesh should glory in His presence. Now verse
30, but of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto
us. Do you know the last of these
words made I would have expected to be used here? I would have
expected it to be either the word that refers to a legal transaction
or the word that refers to something that just baffles explanation.
It's so wondrous. But the word that's used here
is the word made experientially. Made in the experience of grace. Made in the experience of it. Of God. Are you in Christ who
of God is made to you in the blessed, sweet experience of
his saving grace, wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption? He made that to us in the experience
of grace. When we come to believe on the
Son of God, By God the Holy Spirit, Christ is made unto us wisdom. So that now, in Christ and by
Christ, not only does God communicate with us, we communicate with
God and we know Him. He is the Word by which God is
revealed to us and He is the wisdom by which we know God. We have the mind of Christ. Now
we know God. God mysterious, glorious, infinite,
great. God beyond the comprehension
of a man. Now I know Him. I know God in
His real character. I know God as my Heavenly Father
because Christ is made of God unto us wisdom and He's made
of God unto us righteousness. We were made the righteousness
of God in him judicially when he died in our stead and was
risen again. No question about that. We were justified by his
blood when he obtained eternal redemption for us. No question
about that. But that righteousness and that justification and that
redemption was utterly meaningless as far as you're concerned and
I'm concerned until we experienced it by God's grace. until he gave
us faith in Christ. Forming Christ in us, causing
us to believe on him. And now, here I stand before
God, this man who once knew nothing but guilt. You remember that? You remember knowing nothing
but guilt? Nothing but terror when you thought of God? nothing
but the fear of everlasting hell, nothing but nothing but judgment
because you knew yourself guilty by nature and guilty by deed
and guilty at heart and now here I am before God Almighty not
guilty not just in the court of heaven in this court not guilty
not guilty I've been made the righteousness of God in him I've
been sanctified, made holy in Christ Jesus. And He has made
of God to us redemption, the deliverance of our souls, the
complete deliverance of our souls, so that now grace is experienced
by all who believe. And it's experienced by the sinner
when he believes. Turn to Romans chapter 4. Let's
look at chapter 3. clear understanding of this. When you run across the words
reckon, account, counted, charged, concluded, imputed in the scriptures,
all of those words are from the same exact Greek word. Well, why on earth, brother Don,
would the translators Translate the same word. That's that one,
two, three, four, five, six different ways. Why would you translate
it this way? Because they couldn't get it pinned down. That's exactly
why. Because you can't quite pin down
the word with just one word. This next word, this word we're
looking at here, it means to count. to impute, to charge,
to conclude. It means to reckon. And everywhere the word is used,
it's used in this regard, with regard to our knowing something
by experience. Well, I thought impute was a
legal term. I did, too. You know why? Because I've always
been told it was a legal term. But it's not used that way in
this book. It's not used that way. Let's look and see. Romans
3, verse 24. being justified freely by His grace through the
redemption that's in Christ Jesus, whom God has set forth to be
a propitiation through faith in His blood. Now, clearly, our
believing on Christ does not make Him a propitiation. But
our believing on Christ is that by which we perceive Him to be
a propitiation. To declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past through the forbearance
of God. To declare, I say at this time,
his righteousness that God may be just and the justifier of
him which believeth in Jesus. Look at chapter 4 verse 3. He
gives us some illustrations. David and Abraham. For what saith
the scripture? Abraham believed God and it was
counted to him for righteousness. Verse 4, it was reckoned of grace, not by him that worketh, but
of him that worketh not. Just believe it. Verse 6, David
also described that the blessedness of the man to whom the Lord imputeth
righteousness without work, saying, blessed are they whose iniquities
are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to
whom the Lord will not impute sin. Does this come on the circumcision
only or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was
reckoned to Abraham. Faith was reckoned to Abraham
for righteousness. How was it reckoned? How? When
he was in circumcision or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision,
but in uncircumcision. Now watch this. And he received
the sign of circumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith
which he had yet being uncircumcised, that he might be the father of
all them that believe, though they be not circumcised." That
is the father of God's elect among the Gentiles too. Abraham,
before he was circumcised, received testimony from God of the person
and work of the Lord Jesus. And our Lord said, Abraham rejoiced
to see my day and was glad. And when he received God's testimony
concerning his son, when he believed God, that believing God was imputed
to him for righteousness. You mean by his faith he made
himself righteous? No. But by his faith he received
testimony from God that he was righteous. And we who believe receive testimony
from God that we're righteous because Christ is our righteousness.
Look at Romans 6 verse 11. The very same word is used again. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but
alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now Bill, let
me give you that in shoe leather. Quit beating yourself to death
because of sin. Quit beating yourself to death
because of your failures. Quit beating yourself to death
as though God would charge you with sin. Oh no. Impute to yourself. That's the
word. Impute to yourself righteousness. How can you do that? Because
God does. Because God does. Confess your sin and believe
God. Repent of your sin and believe
God. If we confess our sin, He's faithful
and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
So reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto
God through Jesus Christ the Lord. It is this experience of
grace as the sinner believes on Christ that is Christ is imputed
to us, or by which Christ is imputed to us, and imputed to
us consciously. One of our best hymn writers,
you don't read many of his hymns in any hymn books, because they
were just too good, he talked too much about grace, was Joseph
Hart. Let me read you a hymn. The moment a sinner believes
and trusts in his crucified God, His pardon at once he receives,
redemption in full through his blood. The faith that unites
to the Lamb and brings such salvation as this is more than a notion
or name, the work of God's Spirit it is. A principle active and
young that lives under pressure and load that makes out of our
weakness more strong and draws the soul upward to God. It treads
on the world and on hell. It vanquishes death and despair.
What is still stranger to tell, it overcomes heaven by prayer.
Permits a vile worm of the dust with God to commune as a friend,
to hope his forgiveness is just and look for his love to the
end. It says to the mountains, depart. that stand betwixt God
and the soul, it binds up the broken and hardened, makes the
wounded consciences whole. It bids sins of crimson light
die, be spotless as snow and as white, and make such a sinner
as I as pure as an angel in his sight. Made. experimentally righteous,
made righteous. But that couldn't be. That could
never be. That could never be. We could
not be declared righteous legally, and we could not be made righteous
experientially, except for something else. Turn with me one more time
to that blessed, blessed passage. in 2 Corinthians 5.21. I recently heard a man make this
statement. I was shocked to hear it. With regard to what's stated
here in 2 Corinthians 5.21, he hath made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin. that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. Bob, this is what he said. I
don't see anything mysterious about that. It's a legal fact. I don't see anything mysterious
about that. The fact is the word made here in the first part of
2 Corinthians 5 21 means just that, mysteriously made. so mysteriously and so profoundly
made that it defies explanation. God the Son, who knew no sin,
and did no sin, and could do no sin. He who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, and separate from sinners, was made sin for us. The book does not say our sins
were pasted on him in a legal, ceremonial way. It says he was
made sin. God does not say that he was
treated as though he were sin. God says he was made sin for
us. The book does not declare that
he was accounted a transgressor. The book declares he was made
sin. And when he was made sin, he cried, my iniquities are more
than the hairs of my head. He said, the reproaches of them
that reproach thee are fallen on me. He said, reproach hath
broken mine heart. He cried, my God, my God, why
hast thou forsaken me? because God's too holy to look
on sin. He turned his back on his son.
And when he turned again to his son, he turned to him with the
glittering sword of infinite justice drawn forth. And he cried,
awake, O sword, against one that is my fellow. Smite and slay
the shepherd. And he shoved his sword. into
the heart of his darling son who voluntarily took the sword
into his own soul and buried it completely in himself until
justice was fully satisfied and with his own blood he put away
sin. Why that Circle that word. Every time
you think of it, think of it circled and marked and bold. That, for this reason, there's
no other way but this, that we might be made in the blessed,
everlasting experience of His grace, the righteousness of God
in Him. Oh, thank God for him who was
made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. You remember in the Old Testament,
the worshiper would come and bring a bull or a goat to the
priest, and he would lay his hands on the head of that sacrifice. as if to say symbolically, I
am putting on this innocent victim all my sins, because God has
put on his son all my sins. And Aaron would take the goat
or the lamb, and Aaron, representing God and the man, would lay his
hands on the head of that goat confessing over the head of that
goat or that bullock the sins of the people of Israel. And
as he had his hand on the head of that innocent victim, he'd
take his knife and slit his throat and catch the blood in a basin.
And he'd take the blood into the holy place as the animal
is burning on the altar. and they sprinkled the blood
on the mercy seat. And God did wondrously. I try to think about what happened
on that day of atonement, much like Manoah and his wife looked
on as the angel of the Lord in the sacrifice, in the smoke ascending
into heaven, did wondrously, whose name was wonderful. So our Lord Jesus, was wondrously,
mysteriously, profoundly, unexplainably made sin for us, that we might
be made the righteousness of God in Him. My faith, Isaac Watts
wrote, would lay her hand on that dear head of thine, while
like a penitent I stand and here confess my sin.