Would you turn with me to John
chapter seven? This evening, Bob Coffey will be bringing the
message. I'm going to drive to Cleveland
this afternoon and I'm going to get my throat stretched in
the morning. So that should be fun. But it was either in the morning
or I'd have to wait to the end of May. So I opted for the morning.
I want to begin reading in verse 10. Verse 10, But when his brethren were gone
up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as
it were, in secret. Then the Jews sought him at the
feast and said, Where is he? And there was much murmuring
among the people concerning him. For some said he's a good man,
others said, Nay, But he deceived the people, albeit no man spake
openly of him for fear of the Jews. As was always the case,
there were divided opinions concerning him. Look in verse 43 of the
same chapter. So there was a division among
the people because of him. It was that way then. It is that
way now. Verse 14. Now about the midst
of the feast, Jesus went up into the temple and taught, and the
Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, or learning,
having never learned? That's kind of funny for them
to say about the Lord, isn't it? He never went to seminary. That's what they're saying. He
has had no religious training in our Bible schools. How can
what he is teaching be valid? That's what they're saying. He
never went to seminary. Can we trust a man who has not
had a religious education? Verse 16, Jesus answered them
and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. Now, I've entitled this message,
The Doctrine of Christ. He spoke of my doctrine, the
doctrine of Christ. Now, there is such a thing as
the doctrine of Christ. He said my doctrine is not mine,
but is the chain. Now, the first thing I want to
call to your attention is the absence of the plural. Notice He does not say my doctrines
are not mine, but his that sent me. Do you know that every time
without exception when the Bible speaks of doctrines in the plural,
it is referring to false doctrine every single time without exception. Let me read you the times doctrines
are mentioned in Matthew chapter 15 verse 9 and in Mark chapter
7 verse 7, the Lord warns us of those who teach for doctrines,
plural, the commandments of men. Paul warned us in Colossians
chapter 2 verses 21 and 22 of touch not, taste not, handle
not. And isn't that what most people's religion is made of?
Don't touch this, don't taste this, don't handle this, and
you'll be okay. And he made this statement. regarding
this touch not, taste not, handle not, which all are to perish
with the using. If that's what your religion's
about, you'll perish in the practice of this religion. And then he
says, after the commandments and doctrines, doctrines of men. In First Timothy 4.1, Paul warns
us of seducing spirits and doctrines of devils, speaking lies in hypocrisy. And then we read in Hebrews chapter
13 verse 9 of diverse and strange doctrines. Plural. There is no
such thing as the doctrines of Christ. There is only the doctrine
of Christ. One unified whole. Many truths which make the truth. And if any one of these truths
are omitted, you no longer have the truth. You see, error is
usually defined more by what is not said than what is said. Now let me show you that from
the scripture. Hold your finger there in John 7 and turn to Matthew 23.
Verse 23, the Lord says, Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites, for you pay tithe of mint and Ananias and Cuman,
and have omitted, you've left out the weightier matters of
the law, that which is more important. Not you've positively said something
wrong, but you've left out what needed to be said. Quite often,
error is more defined by what is not said than what is said. Now, back to our text. Our Lord
says in John 7, verse 16, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent
me. You see, it's the doctrine of
God. Now, I'm awful interested in
hearing the doctrine of God, aren't you? I'm not interested
in hearing the doctrines of man. I want to hear the doctrine of
God. Our Lord says my doctrine is
not mine, By saying that, he's saying it's not derived from
any human source. It is divine. My doctrine is
God's doctrine. Very much like Paul said in Galatians
1, verses 11 and 12, he said, I certify you, brethren, that
the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. It's not derived from any human
source. He says, I neither received it
of man, neither was I taught it. but by the revelation of
Jesus Christ. Now, what is the doctrine of
Christ? It's a good question, isn't it? I want to know. What
is the doctrine of Christ? Well, here's the first way I'm
going to answer that. Everything He said. That's the doctrine
of Christ. Everything that He said. He said in John chapter 6, verse
63, the words that I speak unto you, every single one of them,
they are spirit, And they are life. Turn with me for a moment
to Matthew chapter 28. Verse 19, Go ye therefore and
teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, teaching them to observe
all things whatsoever I have commanded you. Now, anything
he said is absolutely critical. There's no such thing as anything
he said that's of secondary importance. Isn't that so? I think it's amazing
when we try to judge, well, this part's important, that part's
not. These are the words of Jesus Christ. Everything he said is
of utmost importance. What is the doctrine of Jesus
Christ? He talked about my doctrine. Well, it's everything he said. But did you know that the doctrine
of Christ can be summarized by one brief statement. Only the word of God can put
infinite truth in brief statements. Men take forever to say something.
They wind around and so on. But God gets it said very briefly
and embellishments are not needed for the truth. Did you know that?
Embellishments are not needed and not required. Would you turn
with me to 2 John. 2 John. Verse 9. Whosoever transgresseth
and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine
of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son. Now, John here is
speaking of the doctrine of Christ. Now, one thing that I noticed
in reading that verse of Scripture, he that transgresseth and abideth
not in the doctrine of Christ. The first thing that tells me
is that to not abide in the doctrine of Christ, whatever that doctrine
of Christ is, is transgression. It is sin. You see, to not abide
in the doctrine of Christ is not an intellectual problem.
It's a sin problem. It's not an intellectual problem.
It's not, well, I'm not smart enough or I don't have enough
information or anything like that. It is a sin problem. It's transgression. Notice he
says in verse seven of the second John, for many deceivers, many
deceivers are entered into the world who Confess not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and an antichrist. Now, that's a failure of all
The doctrine of Christ, that statement, who so confess that
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. That's the confession
of the truth. That's a summary of all of the doctrine of Christ
right there. Who so confess that Jesus Christ
has come in the flesh and to not abide in this doctrine. We're
going to talk more about that in just a moment. But to not
abide in this doctrine is a failure to confess this doctrine. So, before we get into what this
doctrine is, there's two things I want to point out. To not abide
in this doctrine is transgression. It's sin. It's rebellion. That's
the only thing that causes it. It's not an intellectual problem.
It's a sin problem. And secondly, to abide in this
doctrine is to confess this doctrine. There's a confession made. What
you confess is what you really believe. You speak out publicly.
You stand for it. The Word means literally to speak
the same thing. This is what every believer's
confession is. Now, my confession is what I believe, and if you're
a believer, you believe it too. You see, what we confess is what
we all believe. This is something that every
Christian is in perfect harmony and perfect agreement on. There
isn't any debate here. There isn't any room for disagreement.
There isn't any area where you might see it this way and I see
it that way. No, this is whatever believer confesses. The word
actually means to speak the same thing. When you confess something,
you plead guilty. I plead guilty to believing that.
Even if it costs me my life, I plead guilty this is what I
believe. That's what a confession is.
You're willing to die for what you confess. And if you're not
willing to die for it, you don't really believe it. Now let me
repeat that. What you really confess, if you
personally are not willing to die for it, you do not really
believe it. And you see what he says about
this thing of this, the doctrine of Christ, to fail to abide in
the doctrine of Christ, to fail to stay there is transgression. And to fail to confess this,
don't just say I believe it, but you won't confess it publicly.
Let me give you some scriptures that give the importance of this
thing of confession. Paul said this, I confess to
thee that after the way which they call heresy, they say that's
heretical to believe that way. He said, so worship I, the God
of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the
law and in the prophets. In Romans chapter 10, verse 10,
Paul said, With the heart man believeth unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. And that means if I refuse to
confess this, I am not saved. How many other ways are there
to take that? With the mouth confession is
made unto salvation. There's no salvation apart from
this confession. Listen to this scripture in John
chapter 12. Verse 42 and 43, nevertheless, among the chief
rulers, also many believed on him. But because of the Pharisees,
they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the
synagogue, for they love the praise of men more than the praise
of God. Now, the doctrine of Christ always
involves confession. You will only confess what you
truly believe. And here's the confession. Look,
look in verse seven again. of 2 John, for many deceivers
are entered into the world who confess not that Jesus Christ
is come in the flesh. This is a deceiver and anti-Christ. Look over in 1 John chapter 4.
Verse 1, Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try, put to
test the spirits, who you're hearing preach. You're to try
me. You're not just to swallow what
I say, hook, line, and sinker. You are to test what I say with
the Word of God to see if what I'm saying is true. I never say
to anybody, believe me, because I'm saying it. But if I'm preaching
the Word of God, you better believe me. And look what he says. Believe
not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they are of
God, because many false prophets are gone out into the world.
Hereby know ye the Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses
that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God. Now there's
the Christian confession right there. Jesus Christ has come
in the flesh. That summarizes everything that
is contained and represented by the doctrine of Christ. Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh. Verse 3, and every spirit that
confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of
God, and this is the spirit of anti-Christ. Now, anti- means
in the place of, in the stead of. Well, usually when people
think of anti-Christ, they think of something with big horns and fangs and
drool coming out of his mouth. You know, that's not what the
word means. It means a counterfeit Christ,
a substitute Christ in the stead of Christ. Anybody that does
not confess, I mean, publicly confess they stand for this,
they're willing to die for it, that Jesus Christ has come in
the flesh. Anybody that doesn't confess this is anti-Christ. Where have you heard that it
should come and even now already is in the world? Verse 4, ye
are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because
great is he that is in you, and he that is in the world. They
are of the world, therefore speak they of the world, and the world
heareth them. We are of God, he that knoweth God heareth us,
he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit
of truth and the spirit of error. Now this thing of Jesus Christ
coming in the flesh, it has something to do with the spirit of truth,
and anything against it is the spirit of error. Now what is
this? I love the simplicity of it. All of the doctrine of Christ
is summarized by this one statement, Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Now, how is that the doctrine
of Christ? I bet most people are thinking,
you know, that seems kind of simplistic. I mean, I believe that. I believe
Jesus Christ has come in the flesh. Well, what does that mean? Let's consider that very carefully.
It means something because this is this is the most awesome,
Statement in all the word of God, it summarizes everything
a true believer believes. This is what a believer confesses
is whatever believer confesses. And this is what to not confess
it is to transgress. And it's the spirit of Antichrist.
Now, that's how important this statement is. What does it mean? Jesus Christ is come in the flesh. Here's the first thing it means
when we confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh, we confess
that He was before He came. We confess that He was before
He came in the flesh. He is the uncreated Christ. He is the second person of the
Trinity. He is God the Son before He ever
came in the flesh. He always was. We confess that
Jesus Christ is the only true and living God. That's what we
confess. We confess that He is the great
I Am. You remember when Moses said,
What's your name? Who am I going to tell them sent
me? What's your name? What am I going to tell them?
He said, I am that I am. It was Jesus Christ who said
that. I am that I am. He is the eternal God, the one
who never was or will be, but always is. He is the eternal
God. You know, even the thief on the
cross understood this. Now, when we think of somebody
who believed what we call the bare bones minimum, whatever
that's supposed to mean, we generally think the thief on the cross.
They say, well, did the thief believe that? Well, do you remember when
our Lord was hanging on the middle cross? And both of these thieves
were cussing. They were making fun of him.
They were angry. If you're the Christ, come down.
Save yourself and save us. But something happened to that
one thief. One kept cussing the Lord. One kept making fun of
him. One still despised him. And all of a sudden, that other
thief, he looked up at that one who was hanging on the cross,
seemingly so helpless, Everybody who claimed to believe Him had
forsaken Him. He was all alone. He heard what
He said. And He said to that other thief,
Don't you fear God, that One hanging beside you that you're
cursing, that you're making fun of. That's God. Do you believe
that? I don't think there's a more
remarkable instance of faith than all the Word of God. He
looked at that One hanging beside Him on a tree. And he seems so
helpless. What can he do for you? He's
nailed to a tree. How can he ever help you? He
looked at that one who seemed so helpless and he said, Lord,
you're the Lord. You're in control of this. Remember
me when you come in your kingdom. I know you're coming down. I
know you're going to be successful in whatever you do. And when
you come back as a ruling, reigning king, remember me. He believes. that Jesus Christ
is God. He was before He ever came. He never began to be. He is the great I Am that I Am. Unto us a child is born. That
child began at that time. But unto us a son is given. He's always been. He wasn't born
at that time. He's always been the Son of God.
And the government shall be upon His shoulders. And his name shall
be called Wonderful, Counselor. Anybody know the next word? The
Mighty God. What comes next? The Everlasting
Father. The Prince of Peace. Philip,
have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known
me? He that hath seen me Hath seen the Father. That is Jesus
Christ. Now, when I confess Him, I confess
He was before He came. And secondly, I confess that
He came in the flesh. Great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifest in the flesh. Turn with me for a moment to
Hebrews chapter 10. This is a quotation from Psalm 40. Verse 5. Wherefore, when he cometh
into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldst not,
but a body, a body of flesh hast thou prepared me, and burnt offerings
and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I,
Lo, I come in the volume of the book. It's written of me to do
thy will, O God. Now the book he's speaking of
is not the Bible. This book was written a whole
lot longer before the Bible was ever written. I don't know how
else to explain that. It's talking about the book of God's decrees.
That book that is mentioned of in Revelation chapter 5 that's
sealed within and out, sealed with seven seals. It's full front
page and back page. Every page is filled up and it's
sealed. And what it refers to is the
book of God's decrees. Nothing can be added to it or
taken from it. And he says, lo, in the volume
of the book it's written of me. And he says, did you notice that?
A body hast thou prepared for me. Now, Jesus Christ always
has had eternal existence. And I don't even know how to
explain all that. He's God. He's God. He's always
been. He always is. And yet in time,
He came and became flesh. And you know, this is a remarkable
thing, He's always going to be flesh. Right now, there's a man
in glory, Jesus Christ, with blood pumping through His veins.
His heart's thumping. He's breathing. He feels He is
flesh, a body hast thou prepared me. We believe that Jesus Christ,
who was before he came, actually and literally came in the flesh. And we believe, thirdly, first,
we believe he was before he came. Second, we believe he came. And
thirdly, we believe he did whatever it was he came to do. Now, whatever
he came to do in the flesh, that is precisely what he Now I want
you to think about this. Whatever it was he came to do
in the flesh, he did. Not he made it doable, but he
actually did it. It became history. Whatever it was he came to do,
he did it. And when he said it is finished,
it was all done. Whatever it was he came to do.
Now turn over to Matthew chapter 1 so we can see at the first
chapter of the New Testament what it is he came to do. Hold
your finger there in Hebrews 10, we're going to come back
to that, but I want you to look at this verse in Matthew chapter 1. And thou
shalt bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people from their sins. Now that's what
he came to do. He came to save his people. Who are they? The elect. Those
who believe, those who were given to Him from the foundation of
the world, they, that's who they are, His people. Not everybody
is His people. Those who believe, His people. He came to save who?
His people. What did He do? He came to save them from their
sins. Now, look back in Hebrews 10.
Let's go on reading that passage of Scripture where He said, Lo,
I come, abidest thou preparedly. Lo, I come in the volume of the
book, verse 7. It's written of Me to do thy
will, O God, Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt
offering and offering for sin, that was not, neither hath pleasure
therein, which are offered by the law. Most things never took
away sin. 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 witch will, by God's will,
we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ once for all. This is a Completed action. It's
already finished. It can't be repeated. once for
all. Verse 11, And every high priest,
every priest standing daily, ministering, offering oftentimes
the same sacrifices which could never take away sins. But this
man, this God man, this one who said a body has thou prepared
me after he had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, he sat down
on the right hand of God from henceforth expecting till his
enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected
for ever them that are sanctified. Now, he came to save his people
from their sins. That's what his purpose. He was
before he came. He came in the flesh. He came
with this purpose to save his people from their sins. Now,
here's the question. Did he do it? Did it become a
done deal? Did he do it? Well, let me tell you what the
Lord did on the cross. I'm not talking about what he made, something
that will happen in the future, but it's something that he actually
did, that he actually accomplished. First, he saved his people from
the penalty of their sins. There is therefore now, right
now, no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus. I'm
never going to have to pay for my sins. In any respect, they're
never going to be brought up. What sin? He put it away. He
put it away. I'm saved from the penalty of
my sins. That's why he died on the cross. I am saved from the
power of my sin. That's what's called regeneration.
That's what's called the new birth. You see, there was a time
when I couldn't understand. I don't care how, I don't care
how clearly a preacher made the gospel. I couldn't understand
it. I'd hear about faith. I can remember this. I can hear
about faith and thinking, what in the world is faith? I mean, I believe,
but what's that mean? I mean, do I got it? Repentance. What does repentance mean? I
mean, what does it mean to repent? I can remember having no understanding
of these things. They were just beyond me. But I understand now. You see, sin no longer has dominion
over me. There was a time when I couldn't
believe, but I'm believing right now while I'm talking to you.
I do believe. I've been delivered from the power of sin. God gave
me life. Life that was not there before.
There was a time when I had no spiritual life. I do now. God worked a miracle in my heart.
He gave me a new heart. I've been saved from the power
of my sin. Like I said, there was a time when I couldn't believe,
I couldn't repent, I couldn't love, couldn't understand, couldn't
do anything. Spiritually dead. But God gave
me life. I've been saved from the power
of my sin. And here's the kicker. This is the part that is so glorious.
I've been saved. He came to save His people from
their sins. I've been saved from the penalty of sin. I've been
saved from the power of sin. I've been saved from the presence
of sin. Now, how can that be? When I
say that, when I say that to you, I am
conscious of sins that I have committed this week, this morning,
and yet I say I'm saved from the presence of sin. That seems
kind of, that seems like you're talking out of both sides of
your mouth. You say you're safe from the presence of sin. Now,
what is being safe from the presence of sin? That means you're glorified.
You're glorified. Justification, safe from the
penalty of sin. Sanctification or regeneration,
call it what you will, safe from the power of sin. Glorification
is being safe from the very presence of sin. Now, you know what scripture
I'm going to read. Turn to Romans, Chapter 8, verse 30. Moreover, whom he did
predestinate, them he also called. And whom He called, then He also
justified. And whom He justified, then He
also glorified. And that is in the past tense.
It's not talking about something that's going to happen. It's
talking about something that is, that already is. Now, how
can that be true? You don't look very glorified
to me. I mean, do I look glorified to
you? Of course not. Of course not. Am I glorified,
though? What's that say? Now, how can that be true? There's
only one way this can be understood. Union with Jesus Christ. Is He
seated at the right hand of the Father? Perfectly glorified?
So am I. Now, this always has been and
is now the issue. Jesus Christ has come in the
flesh. He was before He came. He came in the flesh and He did. Not He made available, but He
actually did what He came to do. He justified us. He sanctified
us. He glorified everybody He died
for. He did what He came to do. There
can be no argument about this. There can be no debate. This
is what every believer believes. This is the confession of every
believer. Now, here's the question that
comes to my mind after I hear this. How can I know? When I
hear a preacher Preacher, have you ever heard a preacher say,
I'm not preaching the doctrine of Christ, I'm preaching my own doctrine?
You've never heard a preacher say anything like that, have you? I mean, you wouldn't
listen to him if he did. No, every preacher comes saying,
I'm preaching the doctrine of Christ, I'm preaching the truth.
How can I know if he is? Well, look back in our text in
John chapter 7. Verse 16, Jesus answered them and said, My doctrine
is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will,
He shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether
I speak of myself." Now here we have a promise from Him who
cannot lie if, listen to me, if your desire is to know His
will, if your desire is to do His will, if your desire is to
practice His will, you will not be deceived. Now, that's God's
promise. If any man will do his will,
he'll know the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak
of myself. If there's a willingness to do
his will, you will not be deceived. Now, wherever false doctrine
is believed and received, there was previously a heart that did
not have this desire. There wasn't a real desire to
do his will. Where there is obedience, you will not be deceived. You'll
know of the doctrine. Now, you can tell whether I'm
telling the truth if you really are desirous to do His will. You'll know. You'll know. Let's
go on reading. Verse 18. He that speaketh of
himself seeketh his own glory, but he that seeketh his glory
that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in
him. Now, here's the great error detector test. He that speaks
of himself, and that doesn't mean he's talking about himself.
I mean, most folks have enough sense. My subject for this morning
is Todd Nybert. You don't want to listen to that,
do you? It's not talking about speaking
of yourself. It's talking about being self-prompted. He that speaks of himself. God
never sent him. He's speaking of himself. He's
self-prompted. What will he do? He'll seek his
own glory. That's what he'll do. God's glory
never really is an issue with him, even when he says it is.
And you know, all false prophets will say they're seeking God's
glory, but they're still seeking their own glory. And that's going
to come out. It's going to come out. You'll figure it out. If
you'll do his will, you'll figure it out. But this is the motive
behind what they're doing. They're seeking their own glory.
But, he says, he that seeketh his glory that sent him. That
is his only motive. Any other motive is a wrong motive. I don't care how religious it
sounds. I don't care how much lovey-dovey
it sounds. I'm doing this for men. I want
to see men, you know. The only good motive is this
motive, the glory of God. Any other motive is a wrong motive. Now, he says, but he that seeketh
his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness
is in him. He's seeking God's glory. Now,
when we talk about the glory of God, what are we talking about?
When we talk about who gets the credit? Who gets the credit? Who gets the glory? Now, in preaching
the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of grace. You know, people talk
about the doctrines of grace. Don't say that anymore. That's the
wrong way to say it. It's not the doctrines of grace. It's the doctrine of
grace. One unified whole. They all stand
or fall together. In preaching the doctrine of
Christ, the doctrine of grace. Who is it that gives the glory?
When we talk about, here's a real simple way to narrow this down,
when we talk about men being totally depraved, how much glory
does man get in salvation? Any? Not a bit. When we talk about God, when
the Bible talks about God electing a people before time began to
be saved, for an unconditional election. He did so not because
he foresaw you'd believe, but simply because he would, as an
act of his own free and sovereign will, uninfluenced by anything
in you. Who gets the glory there? God
gets all the glory. None! When we talk about the
atonement of Jesus Christ the Lord, how He finished the work
the Father gave Him to do. My salvation was signed, sealed,
and delivered by what He did without respect of me. Who gets
the glory when it says, He by Himself? That means with no help
from you. He by Himself. purged us of our sins. Who gets
the glory? Who gets the glory when we say the grace of God,
the Holy Spirit is invincible and irresistible, and he gives
life to all those the Father gave him and who Christ died
for? Who gets the glory there? God does. The fact that I'm persevering
right now, who gets the glory in that? Me? Let's close with
Psalm 115. David, the man after God's own
heart, says in verse one, not unto us, O Lord, not unto us. Can you say this with David and
mean it? Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name
give glory for thy mercy and for thy truth's sake. Now, you're
not going to be fooled if you're willing to do his will. I'm not
going to be fooled if I'm willing to do his will. He's not going
to let me be deceived. Well, how can I know? How can
I know? Well, he that speaks of himself, self-prompted, he's
seeking his own glory, it's going to come out. But he that seeks
the glory of him that sent him, the same is true. And no unrighteousness
is in him. And you're going to hear this
note every time you hear the gospel preached, to God be the
glory. Great things he hath done. So loved he the world that he
gave us his Son, who yielded his life in atonement for sin
and opened the life gate that all may go in. Let's pray.