Turn with me back to 1 Corinthians
1. 1 Corinthians 1, we'll look at
these few verses beginning with verse 22 this morning. Verse 22 says, for the Jews require
a sign. In Matthew 16, the Pharisees
and Sadducees, they came tempting the Lord. And that's what they
asked for. They said, show us a sign. They wanted some type of sign.
They wanted to see something. And our Lord responded to them,
and his reply was this. He said, a wicked? and adulterous
generation, that's who seeketh after a sign. And then he said
this, he said, there shall be no sign given to you, but the
sign of the prophet Jonah. And he left them and he departed. I ask you, what was that sign
of Jonah? What was it? He said, for as
Jonah was three days and three nights in the whale's belly,
so shall the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the
heart of the earth. That sign, it points to one. It points to the Lord Jesus Christ. A wicked and adulterous generation
seeks after a sign. But just one is going to be given,
a sign of deliverance, a sign of salvation in, by, and through
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the same message that
Jonah proclaimed. Jonah's ministry could be, it
could be summed up in just these few words. In fact, every true
preacher of the gospel, this should be a summary of the message. Salvation is of the Lord. Turn back to our text here in
1 Corinthians 1. Look at verse 22. The Jews require
a sign. And the Greeks, they seek after
wisdom. Scripture declares the world
by wisdom, worldly wisdom, knew not God. In Acts 17, Paul at
Athens, he found himself surrounded by a group of Stoics Epicureans,
and you know what they were seeking? They were seeking some new thing. They wanted to hear something
new. Turn back there to 1 Corinthians
1. Just turn back a verse or two. Chapter 1, verse 19. Look what it says here. This thing
of, This thing of wisdom, it's written, 1 Corinthians 1, 19,
it's written, I'll destroy the wisdom of the wise. I'll bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish? the wisdom of this world. For
after the wisdom of God, the world by wisdom knew not God,
it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that
believe. Paul told those Thessalonians,
he said, let no man deceive you. If any man seemed to be wise
in this world, Not wise in the things concerning God, not wise
in things concerning the scriptures, wise in the things of this world. Let him become a fool. Let him become a fool that he
may be wise. For the wisdom of this world
and everything in it is foolishness in the sight of God. Seek not the wisdom of this world. And this thing of seeking something
new, I tell you, if we get to the point where we're seeking
something new, we're seeking the wrong thing. Seek Christ and Christ alone. He is true wisdom. He's the wisdom. Christ is the wisdom of God. He is made unto us. Christ is
made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. All that we need is in Christ. Back to our text, 1 Corinthians
1 verse 23. Listen, we don't need signs.
We don't need the wisdom of this world. Listen to the text. He says, we preach Christ crucified. Unto the Jews, the stumbling
block. Unto the Greeks, Foolishness. This is the sum and substance
of the gospel. It is Christ crucified. Christ crucified. Christ crucified,
it declares who he is. He is the Christ. Jesus Christ, listen to this,
is God. He is God. He's not man that
was made into a God. No. He's not God that's been
brought down to the level of a man. And he's not something,
a mix between God and man. He's not half God and half man.
He's very God of very God. He's one with the Father. He
said that. He said, I and my Father are one. He is eternal. He has neither beginning of days
nor end of years. He's omnipresent. He's everywhere. He is everywhere. He's omnipotent. He has all power over all things
in heaven and in earth. He's omniscient. He knows all
things. There's nothing hid from God.
Known unto God are all his works from the beginning, from all
eternity. And listen, everything that God
does in the church, everything that God does in this world,
every bit of it foreknown. Every bit of it foreordained,
all of it predetermined by him. From the beginning of the world,
from all eternity, in his works of creation, in his works of
providence, in his works of grace, the saving of his people, he
is the great creator. We sing that, the great creator.
Became our savior, didn't he? He's the preserver of his people. He's the savior of his people. He's the judge over all the earth. In all things, he is the express
image of his person. Jesus Christ is God. Spurgeon wrote this, he said,
the gospel that does not reveal a divine savior is no gospel
at all. It'd be like a ship without a
rudder. The first contrary wind that
blows will drive that ship to destruction. And woe be the souls
that trust, that would trust. in any Savior that's not a divine
Savior. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily, and ye are what? Complete in Him. Everything God is, everything
that God requires, everything that the sinner needs is found
in one person. It's found in Christ, in Christ
alone. Who he is. He's God. Yet, yet he's a man. You know,
as a man, he can, aren't we thankful that he, as a man, he can sympathize
with his people? How often do we, how often do
we sit and think, boy, nobody, nobody knows, nobody knows my
trouble. And that's, that's probably true
of those around us. But Christ does. He knows the
needs of his people. As a man, he can identify with
his people. As a man, he suffered in the
room instead of his people. He suffered unto death. As a
man, he was tempted. Do you face temptation? Every
day, every minute, as a man. He was tempted in all points,
as are we, but with this one great difference, without sin. Yet listen to his name. His name
shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. This word declares Jesus Christ. It declares who he is. It also declares what he did.
Christ crucified declares what he did. Not what man has did
or done. Not what the creature has done.
Christ crucified. I can tell you quickly what man
has done. Man has sinned. Man has fallen
short of the glory of God. We've all sinned. Is that the
truth of God's word? We've all sinned and come short
of the glory of God. We've turned everyone to our
own way. Christ crucified declares what
he has done. You see that we've turned everyone
to our own way, but the Lord has laid on him,
has laid on the Lord Jesus Christ, the iniquity of us all. He came to do the will of the
father. Turn to Hebrews, hold your place
there. Turn to Hebrews chapter 10. Hebrews 10 verse seven. Then said I, Lo, I come, in the
volume of the book it is written of me, to do thy will, O God. He came to do the will of his
father. He came to redeem his people. Galatians 3.13 says, he hath
redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for
us. He was made a curse for us. This is a familiar passage. Listen
to these words from Isaiah 53, verse four. Surely he hath borne
our griefs. He's carried our sorrows, yet
we did esteem him smitten, stricken of God, and afflicted. But he
was wounded. Why was he wounded? He was wounded
for my transgressions. He was bruised for my iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and by his stripes. Oh, what a glorious thought.
By his stripes, we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to our
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was made sin. He had to be
made sin. He hath made Him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. Christ was sinless. He's God,
He's perfect. He knew no sin, He did no sin. He was perfect before the law
of God. And the sins of His people were
reckoned to Him. All our sins, all the sins of
all of His people were laid on Him. He was identified and numbered
with the transgressors. There on the cross, huh? The sinless Savior, He hangs
there on the tree and all the sins of His people laid on Him. And when that sin was found on
him. Sin's not his own. But when that
sin was found on him, God slew him. Christ was once offered to bear
the sin of many. Scripture says, he that spared
not his own son, but delivered him up for us all. Christ crucified. Bearing our
sins in his body on the tree. It was there, it was there on
the cross. Bearing the penalty of sin. Enduring the punishment
of sin. The wages, the wages of sin. There on the cross, he died. Forsaken of God. and rejected
by men. He's the sinner's substitute.
When I was a kid, I was always excited when I got to school
and found out I had a substitute that day. I tell you, there should be no
word that thrills the believer more than substitute, substitution. Christ stood in my place. He
stood in the place of sinners. Again, he was numbered with the
transgressors. Our transgressions, not his own. For our transgression was he
stricken. For our sin. And he paid it all. The Lord
Jesus Christ Jesus paid it all. Jesus paid it all. All the debt
I owe. Sin had left a crimson stain,
and he, he alone, washed it white as snow. Christ takes, and listen,
it gets even better. Christ takes the place of the
sinner, and the believer takes his place. He was crucified, he died, he
suffered under death. And his sheep are now beloved,
sinless, accepted, made heirs of God. And in due time, glorified,
glorified with Christ forever. Christ crucified. He's the substitute
for sinners. And all that are in him shall be eternally saved. What did he do? He suffered and
died on the cross. Well, why? Why did he do it? Why did Christ die? Listen, here's
another truth, I never grow old, that never grows old. He came
into the world to save sinners. That may not mean anything to
some people, but it does to a sinner. He came into the world to save
sinners. He died according to the will
and purpose of Almighty God. Scripture says this, when did
that happen? In the fullness of the time. When did that happen? When God
determined it to happen. Back in the Old Testament, back
in Genesis 22, God appeared to Abraham. You remember that? Remember
that story? God appeared to Abraham, and
he told him. He said this. Imagine waking
up one morning. God told Abraham. He said, take
now thy son, thine only son, whom thou lovest. and you offer
him up as a burnt offering. You go to the mountain, I'm gonna
show you, I'll tell you of, and you offer him up a burnt offering. And scripture says Abraham rose
up early. He rose up early and he went
a little ways and he left his servants behind him. And he and
Isaac went to worship. And as they walked along, Isaac
asked that question. He said to his father, he said,
here's the fire and the wood. Where's the lamb? Where's the
lamb for a burnt offering? That boy had been taught, hadn't
he? He knew something about the need for a sacrifice. He knew if you're gonna worship
God, there has to be a sacrifice. In Abraham's response, he said,
my son, God will provide himself a lamb. Abraham's not gonna provide that
lamb. Isaac's not going to provide that lamb. His servants are not
going to provide that lamb. God will provide himself a lamb. I ask you, has that truth changed? It hasn't, has it? Wages of sin
is still death. Without the shedding of blood,
there is no remission. It hasn't changed, has it? And what we read next here was
according to the will and purpose of God, in the fullness of time. Think about that. They came to
the place, Abraham and Isaac, they came to the place which
God had told Abraham. And Abraham, he built an altar,
and he laid the wood in order. And he bound Isaac, his son,
and laid him on that altar. I tell you, for an old man to
be able to bind his son and put him on the altar, there's one truth about that
sacrifice. It had to be a willing sacrifice. A willing sacrifice. And as Abraham
raised up that knife to slay his son, the angel of the Lord
called out and stopped him. And I want you to think about
this. Right at that moment, right at that time, in the fullness
of the time, Abraham looks over and caught in the thicket is
a ram. That substitute that's going
to stand in the place of his son. A ram caught in the thicket. And Abraham went and he took
that ram and he offered it up for a burnt offering in the place
of his son. I just have to think Abraham
and Isaac probably told that story over and over and over
again and never, never grew tired of it. How did this happen? According
to the will and purpose of God. When did it happen? In the fullness
of the time. Why? Why did it happen? So that Isaac might go free. He took that ram and he offered
it up as a burnt offering in the room instead of his son. That which Isaac was about to
bear that ram aboard for him. God spared not his own son, but offered him up freely for
us. He did it that his people might
go free. He did it that he might be just
and justifier. Here's another question. Where
is he now? Where is the Lord Jesus Christ
now? In Acts 5, Peter went into the
temple and he spoke to the people. And he said, the God of our fathers
raised up Jesus, whom you slew. and hanged on a tree, him hath God exalted with his
right hand to be a prince and a savior for to give repentance
to Israel and the forgiveness of sin. Where is he? He's seated at the right hand
of the majesty on high. He finished the work. He's seated. He finished. He said, I finished
the work you gave me to do. And as our great high priest,
he sits and he intercedes for his people. There's one mediator,
just one, one mediator between God and man, the man, Christ
Jesus. Lord of all. He sets, listen, He has authority
over all flesh. He gives eternal life to as many
as God has given Him. Scripture says this, this is
eternal life that they might know Thee, the only true God
in Jesus Christ whom Thou hast sent. And we're commanded We're commanded
to believe Him, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, the sovereign Lord who lives
forever. And listen, He's seated, but
don't let that fool you. He also reigns. He reigns at
the right hand of the Father, giving all authority and power
forever. And every knee, willingly or unwillingly, every
knee is going to bow and every tongue is going to confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. And one day, one glorious day,
He's going to return. He is going to return. And when
he does so, a great resurrection is going to take place, a resurrection
of the just, the people that God has called to himself are
going to be raised to immortality, life, eternal glory. But the wicked will be resurrected
too. the ungodly, the unbelieving. And their bodies will become
immortal at that time. And they'll endure an eternal
condemnation, an everlasting damnation in hell. At the second
coming of our Lord, the world will be destroyed, and our God
and Savior will create a new heaven. and a new earth wherein
dwelleth righteousness. God's word declares the Lord
himself shall descend from heaven with a shout and the voice of
the archangel and the trump of God and the dead in Christ shall
rise first in which we are alive or remain shall be caught up
together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.
And so shall we be forever with the Lord. We preach Christ crucified. Who he is, he's God. What he did, he suffered and
died in the room instead of his people. Why he did it? That God
might be just and justifier of them which believe. Where is
he now? Exalted at the right hand of
the majesty on high. And one day, one day, he's gonna
return. Look with me back at 1 Corinthians
1, verse 23. We preach Verse 23, we preach Christ crucified
unto the Jews, a stumbling block unto the Greeks' foolishness. To the Jews, this is a message.
It's scandalous. It's offensive. It's a stumbling
block. To the Greeks, it's nonsense. It's nothing new. They have no
desire to hear it. Verse 24, but unto them which
are called. Whom He called, He justified.
Whom He justified, He glorified. To them who are called, both
Jew and Greek, Christ, the power of God, and Christ, the wisdom
of God. Those who are called, those who've
been given an ear to hear, those who've been given eyes to see,
those who've been given faith to believe, Christ is the power of God. He's the power of God to save. He's the wisdom of God. You know,
in Christ, that law, God's holy law, it's honored. His justice
has been satisfied. And every attribute of God is
glorified in His Son. What men call foolishness, I
tell you what, if it's of God, it's wiser than any man. And what men call weakness, if it's of God, it's stronger
than any man. We preach Christ crucified. Pray the Lord be pleased to bless
his word. Isaac, you come lead us in a closing hymn.