First Timothy, second Timothy
chapter three, verse 16, we read these words. All scripture is
given by inspiration of God. God breathed, God exhaled. You cannot separate God and his
word. And the only way we can know
the truth with regard to God, his character, his salvation,
his son, is by him giving us his word. And every word of scripture
is God-breathed, said exactly as God would have it said in
the original languages. Now, I know we're looking at
translations right now. I believe the King James to be
the best. And if you were listening, when
I read that passage of scripture, there's some things that are
utterly amazing that are said. Verse 30, but of him, are you
in Christ Jesus who of God is made unto us. Now notice the strength of that
language. This is something God did. This
is something only God can do. And God did who of God. is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness,
and sanctification, or holiness, and redemption, that according
as it is written, he that glorieth." This is a
quotation from Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 23. He that glorieth. Let him glory in the Lord. I've entitled this message, Glorying
in the Lord. Boasting is the word. Boasting
in the Lord. the Lord. Now, as we approach
this text, pray for me that I'll be enabled to preach what this
passage says. Wouldn't it be a blessing if
I just preach what this passage says? Not my thoughts, but what
God's word says. And pray for me and for you that
we will both be able to hear what God says in this passage
of scripture. Glory, boasting in the Lord. Nobody likes a braggart. I don't. Someone who boasts in their accomplishments,
trying to convince you of how great they are, nobody likes
a braggart. But there is a good kind of boasting,
boasting in the Lord. glorying in the Lord. I'm going to read where this
quotation came from in Jeremiah chapter 9 verse 23. Thus saith the Lord, let not
the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory
in his might. Let not the rich man glory in
his riches, but let him that gloryeth, glory in this, that
he understandeth and knoweth me. That I am the Lord, which exercise
loving kindness, judgment, and righteousness in the earth. For
in these things I delight, saith the Lord. boasting, glorying in the Lord. The Lord says to his disciples
in Luke chapter 10, verse 20, and this rejoice not that the
devils are subject to you. If I had that power, I would
have a hard time containing my joy at having been given this
great power. Lord said, don't rejoice in this.
but rejoice rather that your names are written in heaven."
Now there's something to rejoice in. We're going to glory in something.
I will, you will. May we glory in the Lord. Now let's start in verse 26 of
1 Corinthians 1. For you see your calling, brethren."
Now this is speaking of the effectual call of God to the elect. Whom he did predestinate, then
he also called. I know this, if God predestinated
me, he'll call me and I will respond to that call. He never
calls in vain. If he calls, you'll answer. You
see your calling brethren, have it not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called. Notice that term after the flesh.
Let's remember this about the flesh. That's the way you and
I were born into this world. All flesh is grass. All flesh is grass. And he's reiterating that in
this passage of scripture. Now, the flesh has its mighty,
has its noble, has its wise, the doctors of theology, the
philosophers. The flesh has its mighty, the
powerful and influential, the movers and the shakers in this
world, the political leaders, the wealthy, the noble, born
in wealth and influence. You know, God just doesn't call
many people like this. He just doesn't. I'm thankful it doesn't say he
doesn't call any. He does call some of these people,
but very few, very few. You know, if it were up to me
to select the people that could make an impact for the gospel, that's
the people I would choose. the people with influence, the
people with education, the people who could influence people and
impress people and couldn't they help the gospel? If the president
was a real believer or if our senators were real believers
or the house or the wealthy people, think of what a of impact they
could make with the gospel. That's who I'd choose. I'd choose
well-known people. That guy plays for University
of Kentucky. I'm gonna listen to him. I've
got a reason to. That guy's Cincinnati Raiders.
Y'all know what a sports idiot I am. That's what I'd do. Not God. Not God. He doesn't need anything
like that. I love when God told Gideon to
deliver Israel from the Midianites. Well, Gideon had 32,000 people
in that army and God said, that's too many. So Gideon whittled
it down to 10,000. God said, that's way too many.
He brought it down to 300 to fight this battle. You see God
plus zero is a majority. God does not need the wise, the
mighty, the noble. Verse 27, but God hath chosen. Salvation begins with God's choice,
not your choice, not my choice. As a matter of fact, the Lord
said to his disciples, you did not choose me, but I chose you. And with every believer, your
heart resonates. That's the truth. That's the
truth. God hath chosen, literally, God
hath elected. I know that he elected a people
before time began to be saved but what's being spoken of here?
The type of people they are and look at this description. But
God hath chosen the foolish things of the world. What the world
calls foolish To confound the wise. And God hath chosen the
weak things of the world. The things that are powerless. To confound the things which
are mighty. And base things of the world. Things that are low born. And
things which are despised. The flesh would never choose
this. Things which are despised hath God chosen, yea, and things
which are, what's that word? Not, nothing. Take an empty box, what's in
there? Put your hand in there, what's in there? Nothing. How
do you even define nothing? You can't touch it, you can't,
nothing. I love that scripture. In Galatians chapter 6 verse
3, if a man thinketh himself to be something when he is nothing,
he deceiveth himself. God hath chosen the nothings,
the zeros. You know, when God created the
world, what did he have to work with? Nothing. He created the world ex nihilo.
He brought something from nothing. If He saves me or you, He's going
to be doing the same thing. He's going to be bringing something
from nothing. You and I have nothing to bring
to the table that God could accept. To bring to nothing the things
that are, verse 29, that no flesh That's talking about everything
we are by nature. It's not just talking about our
skin or our human existence. It's talking about the way we
came into this world. David said, in sin did my mother
conceive me. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity. Every man, woman was born into
this world. Evil. Not neutral. Evil. Bad. You didn't have to be taught
to sin. You didn't have to be taught
to lie. That's so amazing. It comes natural to lie. Did
you do that? No. It's as natural as breathing
to the natural man. that no flesh, sinful, fallen
flesh is to glory in His presence. Oh, His presence, the presence
of His holiness, the excellence of His glory, the one who covers
Himself with light as with a garment, the one who's of two pure eyes
to behold iniquity, glory in His presence? Flesh? No. No flesh. is to glory in his
presence. I think of that scripture in
1 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 7, who made you to differ from
another? And what do you have that you
didn't receive? Now, if you received it, if it's
just something God gave to you, why do you glory as if you didn't
receive it? He's not going to have any flesh
glory in his presence. But verse 30, but I love that. But God, who is rich in mercy,
you were dead in trespasses and sins. You walked according to
the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of
the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,
among whom also we all had our conversation in times past, in
the lusts of the flesh and of the mind, fulfilling the desires
of the flesh, and were by nature the children of wrath, just like
everybody else, but God. There's the difference. But of him, are you in Christ Jesus? Now, who's the you? Everybody
in Christ. That's simple enough, isn't it?
Is everybody in Christ? No. But those who are in Christ,
God put them in Christ. What can I do to get in Christ? Listen, nothing, nothing. The only way you or I can be
of cry in Christ is if God puts us in Christ of him. Are you in Christ? Jesus who of God. is made unto us wisdom
and righteousness and sanctification and redemption. Now, before we
think about how he's made unto us wisdom and righteousness,
sanctification and redemption, this gives us a four fold description
of what our problem is. I'm ignorant. I have no saving wisdom in and
of myself. I can't figure this out. I'm ignorant of God. I'm ignorant
of his character. I'm ignorant of my character.
I'm ignorant of everything spiritual. Ignorant. Ignorant. No knowledge
of the living God. Foolish. Ignorance and righteousness. Not only has he made wisdom because
we're ignorant and we need that righteousness. I don't have,
I do not have any personal righteousness. None. None. We all stand guilty before God. Guilty before the judge of the
earth. He said, I'll by no means clear
the guilty. When Adam sinned, we did. And
we brought this guilt upon ourselves. Romans chapter five, verse 12
says, for by one man, sin entered the world and death by sin. So
death passed upon all men in that all of sin. Somebody said,
I wasn't even born then. You were in Adam when he did
it, you did it. But I wasn't born. Okay, let's forget Adam
for a second. You would have done it. You might
not have been born then, but you would have done it. This
is what God holds every natural man guilty of the murder of his
son. Your problem and my problem goes
a whole lot farther than really we can imagine. I remember somebody
came up to me and they said, sometimes when people know you're
a preacher, they'll say things to you. This person came up to
me and said, I'm not feeling too good about myself. I said,
let me assure you it's worse than you think. And it is. It is. We have no righteousness. We're guilty before God. He's made into us. sanctification
or holiness. We're unholy and polluted by
our sin. Listen to Genesis chapter 6 verse
5. God saw the wickedness of man was great in the earth and
that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only
evil continually. You mean when God looks into
my heart, all he sees is evil nonstop? Yes. That's exactly
what God means. This is God's word. The heart
is deceitful above all things, desperately wicked. Who can know
it? The fact that he's made unto
us redemption. Reminds me that I have nothing to pay. I have
no way to get myself out of this state. I'm ignorant, guilty,
unholy, and bankrupt. Is that you? But, but, of him are you in Christ Jesus. What does it mean to be in Christ
Jesus? The scripture gives so many illustrations
of it. Being in the ark, being in the
house with the blood over the door, being in the cities of
refuge. There are so many Old Testament types. Levi being in the loins of Abraham. When Abraham paid the tithes,
it says Levi paid the tithes. Levi wasn't born yet, but he
was in the loins of his father. So whatever his father did, he
did. But I think the scripture that I love thinking about is
in Matthew chapter three, verse 15, when the Lord looked at John,
he came to John to be baptized. And you can imagine how you would
feel if the Lord Jesus Christ said, I want you to baptize me.
You'd feel unqualified. Wouldn't you? Well, John did
too. He said, I have need to be baptized
of thee coming out of me. He said, suffered to be so mad. And I love the way the Lord said
that. He was saying to Peter, or to John, I know this seems
completely inappropriate, because John knew who he was. He said,
suffer to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all
righteousness in Christ. When he fulfilled righteousness,
I did too. That's what baptism signifies.
When he lived, I lived. When he died, I died. When he
was raised, I was raised in the Lord Jesus Christ. That's where
I want to be. I love what Paul said, Oh, that I may win Christ
and be found in him. Now I've got to admit upon his return, I'd love to
be preaching Reading the Bible, praying, witnessing, giving. Paul said, not me. Only one place I want to be found.
And there's only one place I want to be found in the Lord Jesus
Christ. So that all God sees when he
sees me is his son, not my works. His Son. Of Him are you in Christ Jesus? Now the question of questions
is how can a man be in Christ? Of Him are you in Christ Jesus? Of God the Father are you in
Christ Jesus? God put you there. And this was
done before time began. You know, if you're in Him now,
you've always been in Him. Ephesians 1, 4 says, according as He hath
chosen us in Him, before the foundation of the world in Him. If you're in Christ, if I'm in
Christ, we've been eternally united to him. There's nothing
we do to put ourselves in Christ. That is the work of the father
of him. Are you in Christ? Jesus. And let me tell you this. Anybody
who wants to be in Christ is in Christ. You hear that? Do you want to be in Christ so
that all God sees when He sees you is Jesus Christ, His Son? Is that the desire of your heart?
You're in Him. Now, the language of this passage
of Scripture is so amazingly powerful. Paul gives us four
benefits of being in Christ. Who of God is made unto us. God did this. God can do this. How can he do that? I don't know,
but he did it. And I'm satisfied with that. He's made him these
four things to us. God can do this. I can't do it. I can't say, well, I'm going
to make Christ my wisdom and righteousness and sanctification.
Oh, will you now? That's kind of like, I remember
hearing a preacher that was caught in a scandal and he said, I put
that sin under the blood. Oh, so you can do that. You can
decide to put the sin, it doesn't work that way. Now, this is exclusive, exclusively
the saving act of God, but notice the language. But of Him are
you in Christ Jesus? Who of God? Of Him are you in
Christ Jesus? He put you there. Who of God? This is something He can do.
He's God. With God, nothing should be impossible.
God does things like this. This is who He is. Who of God
is made unto us. God did this. In our ignorance,
he's made into us wisdom. In our guiltiness, he's made
into us righteousness. In our pollution, he's made into
us sanctification. And in our lack of ability to
pay and nothing to bring, he's made into us redemption. That's
what God has made Christ to the believer. He's made into me wisdom.
Now, how can a holy, incomprehensible, glorious, Transcendent God have
fellowship with somebody like me. And have communion with somebody
like me. And embrace and count me as his
friend. And have fellowship with me. God only wise, how can he do
that? Because Christ has made into
me wisdom. And in Christ, I am fit for fellowship with the infinite
God. The wisdom of Christ is my wisdom. You know, Paul said we have the
mind of Christ, every believer. God is utterly righteous. He said, I'll by no means clear
the guilty. Under no circumstance will he ever clear one who is
guilty. How can he embrace me then? How? Because he made Jesus Christ
to be unto me righteousness. so that the very righteousness
of Christ, the perfect obedience of Christ, his life, when he
walked for 33 years here upon earth and kept God's law perfectly,
his righteousness is my personal righteousness. Listen to this
scripture. For he, remember this is things
God does. That's what's so glorious about
it. This is things that he does. For he hath made him sin for
us who knew no sin that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. That's what he's made to every
single believer. Let me tell you why I'm not afraid
of standing before God in judgment. There's only one reason. I've
got the righteousness of God as my personal righteousness,
that I'm gonna stand before God accepted. You see, he took my
sin, it became his sin, he bore it in his own body on the tree,
he put it away, and he gives me his very righteousness. God
did this. He's made unto me sanctification. What's sanctification mean? Holiness. Holiness. He's made unto me holiness. I'm polluted, sinful, defiled. He's made unto me holiness. I was chosen to be holy according
as he had chosen us in him before the foundation of the world that
we should be holy. I was declared to be holy by
His work on the cross. By the witch will we are sanctified. We are declared by God to be
holy through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once
for all. I was given a holy nature in
the new birth. A nature that cannot sin. Can holiness sin? No. Can God sin? No. Can that which
is birth of God sin? No. Listen to this scripture
and remember, we're only saying what God's word says. You say
you have a holy nature? You say you have a nature that
doesn't sin? Can I see it? No. Do I feel it? No. That part didn't sin. Um,
but listen to this scripture for first John chapter three,
as a matter of fact, turn there. I want you to look at it with
your own eyes. So you'll see, I'm not just making this up. Verse nine, first John chapter
three, verse nine, whosoever is born of God doth not commit
sin. For his seed, the seed of God,
remaineth in him, and he cannot sin. He lacks the ability to
sin because he's born of God. That which is born of God cannot
sin. The new man. The new birth. The new nature. Born of the Spirit. Fourth, I had nothing to pay. I had no way to pay for my sins. And he's made unto me redemption. He's made unto me a full, complete
sin payment. I'm redeemed. And when before his throne, I
stand in him complete. Jesus died my soul to save, my
lips shall still repeat. Jesus paid it all, all the dead
I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain,
he washed it white as snow. He did a full, complete, redeeming
work. You see, when he said it is finished,
all of the elect, everybody he died for, their sins were purged
away, made to not be. Now, I want you to think of the
power of this. This is God's Word. Of Him are
you in Christ Jesus. Who of God, this is something
God has done. Who of God, Christ Jesus is made
unto us. God can do this. He's made unto
us wisdom. The very wisdom of Jesus Christ
is my wisdom. Righteousness, the very righteousness
of Jesus Christ is my righteousness. Sanctification, He is my sanctification. Redemption. He is my complete
sin payment. Verse 31, that according as it
is written. This is no Johnny come lately.
This is the way it's always been. This is the way saints were saved
in the Old Testament. According as it's written. He that glorieth. He that boasts. Let him glory. Let him boast in the Lord. Let's pray. Lord, how we thank you for the gospel of your glorious
grace. How we thank you that you've
made your blessed son. To be our wisdom so that you
can have fellowship with us. Our righteousness so that you
can embrace us, our holiness, our redemption, our full sin
payment and Lord. Allow us by your grace to glory
in the Lord. In his name we pray. Amen.