The 15th chapter of 1 Corinthians
begins with, moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel. And every verse begins with a
conjunction after this, saying the thought is not over until
verse 25. And here is the last part of
the declaration of the gospel, for he must reign. I cannot preach the gospel if
I do not make this declaration, he must reign. Verse 24, then cometh the end. That's what I've entitled this
message. Then cometh the end. Things shall not be as they are
forever. Then cometh the end. The telos. Eternity. When time is no more,
then cometh the aim. Then cometh the purpose. Then cometh the reason for all
things, the end for which all things were made. Then cometh
the end. Now that's a pleasant thought
to think about. Things are not going to continue
like this. Then cometh the end. How different things will be
seen then than they are now. What men so highly value today
will be of no value then, none. I believe that we'll understand
maybe for the first time in our experience what the Lord meant
when he said to Martha, one thing is needful. I know that now. I'll understand
it then. It's only those who endure to
the end that shall be saved. We are made, the writer to the
Hebrews said, partakers of Christ. I wanna be that, don't you? I
want to be a share in what He did. I want to be a partaker
with Him. We are made partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning
of our confidence. What's the beginning of my confidence? Christ alone. I'm to hold that
steadfast to the end. I'm never to graduate past that. I wanna read a passage of scripture
from Revelation 22 verse 11. You don't have to turn there,
but I'm gonna read it. He that is unjust, let him be unjust
still. And he which is filthy, let him
be filthy still. And this is what is gonna happen
at the end, at the end. And he that is righteous, let
him be righteous still. And he that is holy, let him
be holy still. Now at the end, I'm either gonna
be unjust and filthy, or I'm going to be righteous and holy. I love that scripture reading
from Revelation chapter 19 that we just heard, and I love the
description of God's people with their white linen on. This is
the righteousness of the saints. I've read other versions translated
in English and I've read this several times. This is the good
works of the saints. This is the righteous deeds of
the saints. Fine linen, clean and white.
Do you have any deeds that measure up to being fine, linen, clean,
and white. No, the righteousness of Jesus Christ is the righteousness
of the saints. They cannot be separated. And
he that is unjust at the end, he's going to spend eternity
being unjust. He that is filthy at the end,
he's going to spend eternity being filthy, filled with lusts
and wicked desires with no way to fulfill them. He's gonna be
that way throughout eternity, hating God, hating Jesus Christ,
being punished eternally, consciously. But he that's righteous, he's
going to spend eternity being righteous, beholding the face
of Jesus Christ. He that's holy, Let him be holy
still throughout eternity. Then cometh the end. Now, if Christ is your end, Christ
is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth. If
Christ is your end, you can so anticipate this time. Then cometh the end. This present evil world will
not continue, then cometh the end. And verse 23, this is speaking
of the resurrection, but every man in his own order, Christ,
the first fruits, he's the first to rise from the dead. Afterward,
they that are Christ's at his coming. You know, I love that
description They that are Christ's. I want to be one of these people,
don't you? They that are Christ's. My sheep. I love the way he calls
them, my sheep. Hear my voice. I know them. They
follow me. They that are Christ. That's
the only identification I want. I want no other identification
than this. They that are Christ. It's where
he'll own me before his father. It's the same thing, the thief
on the crosswater. Lord, remember me. When you come
into your kingdom, they that are Christ. What a beautiful declaration of what a believer
is. I belong to him. I belong here. That's my standing. I'm his. I'm his. No, nothing
else. They that are Christ's at his
coming. This is a reference to the second
coming of the Lord Jesus Christ that will take place. And Paul gives us a lot of detail
about this in 1 Corinthians chapter 15, but they that are Christ's
at his coming. Now, the message in eternity
was somebody's coming. Christ was the lamb slain from
the foundation of the world, somebody's coming. The Old Testament
has this simple message. Somebody's coming. You remember
when we're given the first gospel message, the seed of woman shall
bruise, crush the serpent's head, you know what that tells us?
Somebody's coming. When Abraham was promised All the nations
of the earth will be blessed in you." That tells us somebody's
coming. Moses says, a prophet shall the
Lord your God raise up like unto me, him you shall hear. Somebody's
coming. David spake of his coming. When
he said, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He told
us of what was going to take place in his coming. Somebody's
coming. How we would have anticipated
the glory of this. Somebody is coming. Isaiah wrote
of him, he'll be wounded. But he says he was wounded for
our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. Somebody is The
whole Old Testament testifies somebody's coming. The Gospels
tell us he's here. He's here. That one who is coming
is now manifest in the flesh. I love what John says in 1 John
3, whoso confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
of God. Whoso confesseth not that Jesus
Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, but is of that spirit
of Antichrist. Now, in this simple confession,
it seems so simple. Everything we believe is found
in that statement. He was before he came, the eternal
Son of God. He was before he came. He came
in the flesh. He's here. And he did what he
came to do. He said in John chapter 17, verse
four, I've glorified thee in the earth. I finished the work
thou gavest me to do. And my salvation was finished
by him. He did what he came to do. And
he's coming again. When he shall come with trumpet
sound, oh, may I then in him be found. He said, for as the
lightning cometh out of the east and shineth to the west, so shall
the coming of the Son of Man be. You know, every time, I hope
I'm not exaggerating, but every time I see the lightning light
up the sky at night, I think, that's what it's gonna be like
when he returns. Every eye's gonna see him, he comes with
the clouds, and everybody's gonna know who he is. He'll come as
a thief in the night, he comes when no one expects him to, and
we'll know when he comes. We'll know who he is. You know,
I love that passage of scripture when John says in 1 John chapter
three, it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know
that when he shall appear. will be like Him. For we shall see Him as He is. Not as He was as a babe in the
manger, not as He was hanging on a cross. We'll see Him as
He is in His glory And I don't know what all that means, but
I know that the second we see him as he is, we'll be conformed
to his image, made just like him. Every man in his own order,
Christ the firstfruits, afterwards they that are Christ at his coming,
verse 24, then cometh the end. Certainly not The end of existence. This is the beginning of eternity. The end of existence as we know
it, but the consummation of all things begins. This isn't life. I love it when the Lord said,
it's better to enter life having only one foot, one eye, then
to have two hands and two eyes to be cast into hellfire. I think
it's glorious the way he calls heaven entering life. This is
not life. This is a transient existence and we don't really
know what's going on. One of these days we will, then
cometh the end. And what happens at the end?
Then cometh the end when he shall have delivered up the kingdom
to God Even the Father, when he shall have put down all rule
and all authority and all power. God is one God. Here, O Israel, the Lord thy
God is one God. He's one God in three distinct
persons. God the Father, God the Son,
God the Holy Spirit. That's so glorious. It's not
something we understand, but we believe. All we can do is
bow before God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. There's one God, and before the
creation of the world, the one God and three distinct persons
had perfect, glorious fellowship with themselves. He didn't need
to create in order to add to his happiness or to give him
something he needed. He did simply to manifest to
us who he is. And what is so glorious in the
Godhead, and I'm speaking of things I know because the Bible
teaches or I wouldn't understand it, but God, there's a subordination
between the three persons of the Godhead. God the Son submits
to God the Father. Now they're equal, but He joyously
and gloriously submits Himself to God the Father. It makes Him
happy to do it. He's so happy to submit and subordinate
Himself to His Father. God the Holy Spirit, the blessed
Spirit of God, the third person of the Godhead, the creator of
the universe, the author of the new birth, He's God. And do you
know that he submits himself to the Son, and he only speaks
what he hears the Son say? And he says, the Lord Jesus said
with regard to God the Holy Spirit, he shall not speak of himself.
Whenever you hear a preacher speaking a whole lot about God
the Holy Spirit, there's a reason. He doesn't know God the Holy
Spirit. He shall not speak of himself. Now, we're speaking
of him now, as the Bible teaches us, but the emphasis of God,
the Holy Spirit, is that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, but
he's all, that all we're ever gonna see of God is Jesus Christ,
God the Son. But look what it says at this
time, in verse 24, then come at the end, when he shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God. The king of kings will deliver
up the kingdom to God. Now, what do you say other than believe?
That's what's going to take place. He, the King of Kings, the Lord
of Lords, the Prince of Life, the Son of God will deliver up
and hand over the kingdom to God. Look in verse 28. And when all things shall be
subdued unto him, the Lord Jesus Christ, then shall the Son also
himself be subject unto him to put all things under him, that
God may be all in all. Now he subjects himself to the
Father. And notice it says, when he shall
deliver up the kingdom to God, even the Father, when he shall
have put down all rule and all authority and all Now that's
speaking of all opposition to God. Whether it's thrones, dominions,
powers, principalities. You know, Satan is called the
God of this world and the prince of the power of the air. Those
are the names that the Bible gives him. And he's going to
be put down. All rule, all authority, all
power. Remember, the Lord is king of
kings and Lord of lords. He was sent for this purpose
to deliver up the kingdom to the father for the glory of the
father. And all of this, he delivers up to his father at the end when
time is no more and everything is put down and destroyed. It's in opposition to God. For,
verse 25, he, now this is the last statement
with regard to Paul's declaration of the gospel that began in verse
1. And here's the last part of the
gospel and this is why all the gospel works. He must reign. It is absolutely necessary The
word must is a verb that means it's absolutely necessary that
he reign. He must reign. This is where
we get the word sovereign from. To say he must reign is to say
he must be sovereign. He must be absolutely sovereign. I love Nebuchadnezzar's vision
of the Lord Jesus Christ. And he said, he doeth according
to his will. Now I quote this all the time,
act like you've never heard it. And listen to this, pretend like
you've never heard this before. And here Nebuchadnezzar tells
us who he is. He doeth according to his will. in the armies of heaven and among
the inhabitants of the earth. Everything that happens is according
to His will. Everything that happened last
night was according to His will. Everything that happened over
on the other side of the earth, the sparrow falling to the ground
is according to His will. He doeth, not He will do, He's
done. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that will He do? No. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever He hath pleased. Now this is talking
about God's will being done. He must reign. It's absolutely
necessary that he be sovereign in all things. This is who he
is. And I love thinking about this. When he created the universe,
it was his will being done. He willed it and it took place. That's all that was needed. His
will. He willed it and the universe. Somebody says it's expanding.
Somebody says it's contracting. I don't know, but whatever it
is, he willed it. with regard to everything happening
in Providence. And Providence is everything
that happens in time. It's everything that happened
yesterday, everything that's going on right now, and everything
that will happen tomorrow. Everything that happens in time
is His will being done, no matter what it is. And that's the consolation
we have, that whatever it is, we know that all things worketh
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. Everything that happens in Providence,
and that means everything. You can't exclude anything. Somebody
says, well, that's too insignificant for God. to care about, whether
this happens or that happens. No, he controls everything. And
it's not difficult for him. It's not like he has to think
real hard. No, he's in absolute control of everything that happens. He's completely sovereign over
the free and uncoerced actions of men. People say, well, how
can you reconcile God's sovereignty and man's responsibility? You
don't need to reconcile them. They're friends. They're both
true. And one is not in opposition to the other. God is absolutely
sovereign, controlling everybody, everything. I love to say this. He's even controlling what's
going through your mind and my mind right now. He's completely
sovereign over it. Somebody says, well, are you
saying that? Well, I was just having wicked thoughts. He's
saying he's sovereign over that. Yes, he is. Yes, he is. He's
in control of everything. That's who he is. He must reign.
Are you making God the author of evil? I hate it when people
say that. God is the author of everything. Are you charging
him with evil? No, but I'm saying he's in control
of everything, including evil. He said, I, the Lord, I make
peace, I create evil. I, the Lord, do all these things.
Somebody says, well, that's just talking about bad events. Well. It's including the bad
events, but it's talking about everything. There wouldn't be
evil in the universe had he not purposed it for his own glory. And the thing about the Lord
is he brings good out of evil. We can't, but he always brings
good out of evil. He must reign. and most especially
he must reign in salvation. What that means is if I'm saved,
it's because he willed my salvation and saved I must be because he
must reign. The reign of the Lord Jesus Christ. The leper understood this so
clearly. And really, it takes a man in
his condition to understand this clearly. He was full of leprosy. And he was unclean. Matter of
fact, the scripture said he was to put a rag over his mouth.
so as not to infect anybody with his leprosy. And if anybody came
close, unclean, stay away from me. Without the camp shall his
dwelling be. But here he comes to the Lord
Jesus Christ, full of leprosy. And the scripture says he worshiped
him. That came first. And the Lord is to be worshipped
whether he makes you clean or not, whether he makes me clean
or not. You believe that? He's to be
worshipped for who he is. And the leper understood this.
He came hitting the dirt. Lord, if you
will, you can make me clean. You see, he understood he must
reign. He understood he must be Lord.
He understood, Lord, if you will, you can make me clean. Can you pray that prayer right
now? Lord, I hope everybody in here, boys, girls, adults, old
people, young people, here's the prayer. You need to be praying,
but I need to be praying. Lord, he's the Lord. If you will,
I can't will this, I can't make it happen. If you will, you can. You're able to make me clean. That's what I need is to be clean.
I'm filthy, I'm dirty, I'm sinful. I need to be made clean. Everybody who prays that prayer,
he gave you the grace to pray it. And he says to everybody
who prays that prayer, I will be thou clean. He must reign. You know, his first recorded
words as a 12-year-old boy was, know ye not that I must be about
my father's business? Don't you love that? He's only
12. He knew who he was. And he knew
why he was there. I must, it is absolutely necessary
that I be about my father's business. He said to his disciples, after
preaching in one place for them to depart, he said, I must preach
the kingdom of God, for thereto am I sent. I must. preach the
kingdom of God. He said, as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the son of man be lifted
up. It's absolutely necessary that
the son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have eternal life. And then in John chapter
four, it says, he must needs go through Samaria. He must,
needs, go through Samaria. Somebody says, well, is it the
quickest way there? I don't know, but he must need
to do it. Why? Because it's his father's will
for him to do it. The only reason he must need to do anything is
because his father willed it, and he must do it. And one of
his elect is in Samaria, that woman at the well that he makes
himself known to. He must, needs, go through Samaria. He's walking through Jericho,
looks up in a tree. Zacchaeus! Can you imagine how
shocked Zacchaeus was when he heard him say his name? Put yourself
in his place. He wanted to see who, he sought
to see Jesus, who he was. Now that's where salvation begins.
It begins when you want to know who he is. That is the beginning
of salvation. Not before then, really. wanting
to know who he, and he saw he could, and he climbed up in the
tree, waiting for the Lord to pass that way. That's one of
the kids' favorite songs in vacation Bible school. Zacchaeus was a
wee little man, and I loved seeing that, but think about Zacchaeus
being up in that tree, and the Lord stopping, and looking up,
and calling his name, Zacchaeus. Make haste. Come down. For today I must abide at thy
house. Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold, them also I must bring. And they shall hear my
voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Right before his crucifixion,
he said, I say unto you that the things which are written
must yet be accomplished in me. And he was numbered with the
transgressors. It was necessary for that to
take place. You see, he bore the sins of his people. That's
why he was numbered with the transgressors. That must take
place. All things must be fulfilled
which were written in the law of Moses And in the prophet said
in the Psalms concerning me, he must reign. The angels prophesied he shall
reign over the house of Jacob forever and ever. and to His
kingdom there shall be no end. He must reign because He's the
blessed and only potentate, the Lord of lords and the King of
kings. He must reign. And there's two kinds of people
in this world. The Bible always makes that clear. Here's what we are by nature. We will not have this man reign
over us. That's the universal hiss of
humanity with regard to his sovereignty. We will not have this man reign
over us. You got no choice. He does reign
over you, whether you know it or not. He's reigning right now. I love the scripture in Romans
chapter 14, verse nine, where it says he's Lord both of the
dead and the living. That one who's dead in sins,
who says, I'm not gonna have him reign over me, he's reigning
over you right now. He's in absolute control of you. You're in his hands. I hope he
saves you to the praise of the glory of his grace. But if he
doesn't, if he uses you to glorify his justice, praise his name.
He's Lord. He reigns. And do you know what
every believer loves? He must reign. You see, it's only as he reigns
that I can be saved. It's only him giving commandment
to save me as Lord of lords and king of kings that I can be saved. Every believer loves his reign. Aren't you happy Creation was
just simply Him willing all things into existence. I love that. Somebody says, you believe it
took six days? Yeah, I do. Well, that doesn't
make sense. I still believe that. Well, what
if it means six periods of time? Well, if it means that, I believe
that too. Whatever He meant by it, that's what I believe. Sounds
to me like 24-hour periods, six 24-hour periods. And somebody
says, well, isn't the earth older? Well, he could have easily made
the earth 14 billion years old or 4 billion years old with all
the oil reserves and all that. He must reign in creation. He
must reign. He must reign in providence.
Don't you love that? Don't you love the fact that he's in control
of everything and the first cause of everything? He reigns in providence. And oh, how we love his reign. in salvation, how salvation is
according to his sovereign will. He says to every believer, I
will. Be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was
cleansed. Now this is the last note of
this definition of the gospel. Now,
like I said, it took God from Genesis 1-1
to Revelation 22-21 to declare the gospel. Here he gives one of these small passages of scripture that tells
us what the gospel is, and I love the ending. He must reign till
he hath put all enemies under his feet. The Lord said to my
Lord, sit thou at my right hand till I make thy foes thy footstools. He must reign. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the
reign of our dear son, Jesus Christ. And Lord, we ask that
your grace would reign in us. That a sin hath reigned unto
death, even so might grace reign through righteousness and to
eternal life by Jesus Christ, our Lord. Oh, Lord, cause your
grace to reign in us. and cause this to be the heart
cry of thankfulness. We're so thankful that He must
reign. In His blessed name we pray,
amen.