The title of this message is
The Mystery, The Mystery of Christ. And no one knows better than
I the difficulty, yea, impossibility of any man speaking fully on
the mystery of Christ. How complex, how mysterious is
our Lord Jesus Christ. We've been reading Isaiah, and
in the same scripture in which he calls the Lord Jesus a child,
unto us a child is born. In that same scripture he calls
him the counselor. And he calls him a son. He said,
unto us a son is given. And in the same scripture in
which he calls him a son, he calls him the everlasting father. How mysterious. He calls him in his writings
a man of solace. And then the mighty God. Think of it. A man of solace. is the mighty God. In one scripture
he said his garments are rolled in blood. In another, blood is
splattered on his garments, the blood of his enemies. And yet
he's called here the Prince of Peace. It says he's despised and rejected
of men, and yet The government is on his shoulders. There's
no beauty that we should desire him. And yet, one day, every
knee shall bow. And every tongue confess that
he's Lord. Every knee, in heaven, earth,
and under the earth. And every tongue, in heaven,
earth, and under the earth, will confess he's the Lord. Now, that kind of language from
God's prophet ought to remind us of the necessity of carefully,
prayerfully studying the person and work of Jesus Christ. Something that my generation,
your generation, discounts, Bible study. This ought to remind us when
we read of the mystery of Christ, how unsearchable are his ways
and paths finding out. Ought to remind us of the necessity
of carefully studying and rightly understanding the work of Jesus
Christ, the person of Christ, and the work of Christ. We're
faded by a look We're saved by a look, but to
whom we look, he said, I am a just God and a Savior, therefore look
unto me and be ye saved. We don't just look to a Savior,
we look to the Savior. The just God and the Savior,
the only Savior. The Son of God has come and given
us an understanding. That's what's lacking. That's
what's important, an understanding that we may know Him that's true. And that we're in Him that is
true. And this is the true and living
God. When Paul gave us that great
definition of faith over in II Timothy, he said, I know whom
I have believed. I know who He is. I know whence
he came. I know why he came. I know what
he did. I know where he is now. I know
whom I have believed. I look to him and I'm persuaded
through his word and promises that he's able to keep that which I've committed. So
saving faith involves three things, a knowledge of who he is, the
mysterious Christ, and what he did, and his power, and where
he is now. Let's look at this text in Isaiah
9, verse 6. Under us, under us, sinners,
sons of Adam, under us, Gentiles, Gentiles, Gentiles. Under us
a child is born. Under us a son is given. This
is not repetition. This is the mystery of Christ.
This is essential. This is not repetition. This
is essential. Both statements. Jesus Christ
is a child born, a child conceived in the womb by the Holy Spirit
of a virgin. Shapen, formed in holiness. brought forth, born of a woman,
made of a woman, made under the law, bone of our bone, flesh
of our flesh, second Adam from above, son of man, subject to
the law, and yet son of God. Mystery. Under us a child is
born, just like any other child, even more lowly, because he was
born of a Jewish maiden, wrapped in swaddling clothes
and laid in a manger, surrounded by cattle, shepherds, born in
a lowly fashion, and yet a son, son of God is given. Our Lord
asked the Pharisees, the religious leaders, He said, what think
ye of Christ? What do you think of Christ?
Do you know anything about Christ? What do you think of Him? Oh,
they said, He's the son of David. He said, well, then how is it
that David called Him Lord? How can He be David's Lord and
be David's son? Tell me, how can He? You don't
understand the mystery? How can He be David's God? be
David's son. They couldn't answer. That's
the reason they had no rest. That's the reason they had no
salvation. That's the reason they had no faith. They didn't know
who he was. They were looking to the Bible. They were looking
to the doctrines. They were looking to the law. They were looking
to the ceremonies, but they didn't know who this is. In Romans, Paul said this, I'm
a servant of God. I'm called to be an apostle.
I'm separated to the gospel. I'm separated to the good news,
the gospel, it's the power of God to save. And that gospel,
listen, is concerning His Son, who was made of the seed of David,
who was declared to be the Son of God. He wasn't made the Son
of God, He is the Son of God. He was made of the seed of David. By Him we have access to God,
the Son. who was made flesh. In John 1,
John starts his book, which is a book of which the theme is
the Son of God. He starts it this way, In the
beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was
made flesh. The Word was God, dwelt among
us. All things were made by him,
without him was not anything made that was made, and we beheld
his glory." The glory of God. Is this true? Is this true that God became
a man? Is this true that God came to
this earth in the form of a man, bone of our bone, flesh of our
flesh, who God became a man despised, rejected, no beauty that we should
desire in him, a man of sorrows acquainted with greed, subject
to every temptation and trial to which the flesh is subject,
yet without sin. Is this true? The scriptures
declare it is. Behold, God will give you a sign,
a virgin shall be with child. Bring forth a child, and ye shall
call his name Emmanuel, God with us." God with us. Scripture says that. The angels
declare it. The angels said to the shepherds,
the shepherds on that morning in which Christ was born, they
said, glory to God in the highest, on earth peace, good will toward
men. We bring you glad tidings of
great joy. Unto you is born this day in
the city of David, unto you, unto us, a child is born. Unto
you is born this day in the city of David, a Savior, who is none
other than the Lord. The angel said that. The Father
said it so. The father said when he was baptized
of John in the river Jordan, said, this is my beloved son,
this is the son of my love, in whom I'm well pleased. When he
was transfigured on the mount with Peter, James, and John looking
on, his clothes glistened with the glory of God, and the voice
from heaven said, this is my son. Hear ye Him. His mighty works bore witness
to who He is. He made the blind to see and
the dead to live. And even Nicodemus said no man
can do these miracles. No man. Except God be with him. This is truth. Well here's another
question. If it's true, what then? If unto
us unto us, for us is born a child, the Son of God, a Savior. If
that's true, I have a high priest and a mediator
with God. If this is true, I have a high
priest by whom I can come to God and experience forgiveness,
mercy and grace. Secondly, I have a ransom The
debt is paid. Delivering from going down into
the pit, I've found a ransom. I have a ransom. God can be just and justify me. This is true. If this is true,
I have a righteousness. That's the purpose for this man
coming. In one man, we became sinners. In this other man we
became righteous. In one man our souls were lost,
in this man our souls restored. In one man we died, in this man
we live. If this is true, I have a righteousness.
Fourthly, if this is true, I have a hope of resurrection. I have
a hope of resurrection because he said that he's the resurrection
and the life. If this is true, God became a
man, a savior, a redeemer. I have a high priest, I have a righteousness, I have
a ransom, and I have a hope of resurrection. But now if this
is not true, if this story is not true, here's my third question,
if it's not true, what then? Well, if this is not true, If
there's no man in glory, there'll be no men in glory. If there's
no forerunner, there'll be no followers. If there's no Lord
of Hosts who can come to the gates and hear them say, Open
up your gates! Lift up your doors! The Lord
of Hosts is coming in! Who's this Lord of Hosts? These
gates have been closed for all these centuries. It's the Lord
of Glory. He's the Lord of Hosts. Strong
and mighty. Now if he didn't come in, I have
no mediator. I have no representative. I've
got to stand by myself before God. I'm glad that old song is not
true. You've got to stand the judgment trial. You've got to
go there by yourself. That is not what I intend to
do. But if this is not true, I have
no mediator, I have no high priest, I have no ransom. I owe a debt
I can't pay. I'm bankrupt. I have no atonement. I have no
righteousness. I've got to meet God in my filthy
garments. Horrible thought. And I have
no hope of a resurrection. If Christ be not risen, The dead
rise not. So my friends, I'm going to keep,
till God takes my last breath away, I'm going to keep looking
into this mystery. Believing it, trusting it, resting
in it, clinging to it, trying to understand more of it. Unto
us, a child is born. Unto us. A son is given. And look at what it says here,
and the government shall be on his shoulders. What's that saying?
It's saying he reigns. The Lord thy God reigneth. The
Lord Jesus Christ reigns. He prayed, Father, thou hast
given me all power over all flesh so that I can give eternal life
to as many as thou hast given me. The reason he can give is
because He has all power. The reason He can conquer is
because He has all power. The reason He shall not fail
nor be discouraged is He has all authority. All things in
creation and the universe are His. Turn to Colossians chapter
1, let's read it. All things in creation, all things
in the universe are His. Verse 15, Colossians 1 says,
He's the image of the invisible God. He's the visible revelation
of the invisible God. He's the firstborn of every creature.
By Him were all things created that are in heaven, that are
in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions
or principalities or powers or demons or evil spirits or good
spirits or angels or seraphims or cherubims or men. All things
are created by Him and for Him. And by Him, He's before all things
and by Him all things are held together. The government's on
His shoulder. Government of creation, the government
of the universe. And I'll tell you another kingdom
and government that's on His shoulders. Turn to 1 Corinthians
15. And that's God's kingdom. Kingdom
of grace. Kingdom of redemption. Kingdom
of heaven. Kingdom of the church. In 1 Corinthians
chapter 15 verse 25. Verse 24. Watch it now. The government's
on his shoulders. Verse 24 of 1 Corinthians 15.
Then come at the end. When he shall have delivered
up the kingdom to God, to the Father, even the Father, when
he, Christ, shall have put down all rule, all authority, and
all power, he must reign till he hath put all enemies under
his feet. And the last enemy that shall
be destroyed is death. He'll do it. He shall not fail.
or be discouraged till he has set judgment on the earth. For
he, the Father, hath put all things under the Son, his feet. But when he says all things are
put under him, it is manifest that only the Father is accepted,
which did put all things under him. Only one thing that is not
under the Son is the Father. He is sovereign. And then I hear
preachers say, won't you let Jesus have his way? He will. Won't you let Jesus in your heart?
If he wants in, he'll come in. He has all authority. All powers
given, well, all powers given unto me in heaven and earth.
All powers. and the salvation of his people,
the Father quickeneth whom he will, even so the Son quickeneth
whom he will. God declares the end from the
beginning. He knows the foundation of God
standeth sure, the Lord knoweth them that are his. Let every
man that names the name of Christ depart from iniquity. Government's
on his shoulders. He's in charge. The Lord thy
God reigneth. Look at the next word there.
And his name shall be called Wonderful. You remember when
Manoah and his wife, when the angel appeared to Manoah's wife
and said God's going to give you a son and he'll judge Israel. His name will be Samson. He'll
be God's man, God's judge, a powerful man. The angel appeared to her
and told her that. She went, the angel of the Lord,
she told her husband. And he said, well if he appears
to you again, ask him to stay. I want to hear what he has to
say, how we shall take care of this child. So the angel of the
Lord appeared again to Manoah's wife. She sent for her husband. He came, the two of them, and
the angel of the Lord again repeated his promise, how this boy was
to be raised. He's going to be God's judge.
And they offered a sacrifice. They slew a lamb and offered
a sacrifice by the angel of the Lord's instruction. And Manoah
said to the angel of the Lord, what's your name? And the angel
of the Lord said, why do you ask my name? Seeing that it's,
what did he say? Wonderful. Wonderful. And then when the sacrifice began
to burn on the altar and the smoke ascended to heaven, the
angel of the Lord got in the smoke and ascended to heaven. Who was that? That was Christ.
That was Christ. No ordinary angel would tamper
with a sacrifice. No ordinary angel would get in
a sacrifice. But that was Christ, the sacrifice. Wonderful. Oh, He's wonderful. He's wonderful, someone said
in His antiquity. Glorify me with the glory which
I had with thee before the world was. Let me read you a scripture
talking about our Lord. Listen to this. When He prepared the heavens,
I was there. When He set a compass on the
face of the depth, I was there. When He established the clouds
above, when He strengthened the fountains of the deep, I was
there. When He gave to the sea His decree
that the waters should not pass His commandments, when He appointed
the foundations of the earth, I was there. I was by Him as
one brought up with Him, and I was daily His delight. rejoicing
always before Him. That's our Lord. That's this
child born, this son given, this one with the government, this
one who is called wonderful. Wonderful. See that old man sitting
there under the tree? Gray hair and wrinkles. That
old man can tell you stories of Days you've just heard about. He lived. But what is his age
compared to that tree under which he sits? Why, that tree has been
the resting place of horses and men stopping in its shade for
200 years. But what is the life of that
tree compared to the rock on which that old man sits? That
rock. could tell you about the flood, and how the world was disturbed
by the hand of God. But what is the age of that rock
compared to the angels who watched God make it? And what is the age of the angels
compared to our Lord Jesus Christ, who in the beginning was with
God and was God? Marvelous, wonderful in His antiquity,
wonderful in His incarnation. Behold, behold, I show you a
mystery. Without contradiction, God became
a man. Think of it. Wonderful in His
death, that He should die is a mystery, but that He should
die as He died. for whom he died. That's the
mystery of mysteries. Let this mind be in you which
was in Christ Jesus, who thought it not robbery to be equal with
God, yet made himself of no reputation, took on him the form of a servant,
was made in the likeness of flesh, sinful flesh, and became obedient
unto death, even, I say, even, I say, the death of the cross. Is it any wonder God has highly
exalted him? Can't say enough about him. Can't
say enough about him, his glory, the mystery. They bring Barabbas
out of his prison. Barabbas, noted thief, robber,
murderer, convicted felon. They bring him out of his prison
where he's been awaiting crucifixion. His eyes blink in the sun, which
he hasn't seen for a long time. Ugly, ravaged by sin. They take off his chains, unsnap
his shackles, tell him to go free. This old worthless, no
good, vile varmint goes free. Walks down the hillside and looks
back on a hill called Mount Calvary. There in his place, on his cross,
hangs the Son of God. He's free because he died. And
he died to set him free. And that's me. Barabbas. Barabbas. Wonderful. Oh, wonderful in His death. Wonderful
in His resurrection. The women came to the tomb and
the angel said, why are you here? Why are you here? Why are you
seeking the living among the dead? He's not here. He's not here. He's risen. His name is wonderful. Listen,
His name is Counselor. The world is full of people who
think they have the answers. I often say when I see them interviewing
these sports stars and other stars and asking them questions
about how to live and I say let them play ball and keep quiet.
Because they can hit a ball over a fence doesn't mean they have
the answers to how the people live and walk. Just don't interview
him. Everybody thinks he's a counselor,
an advisor. My friends, there's just one
counselor. One. He's the counselor. What's his
name? Counselor. Would you know God? He reveals Him. Would you know
the purpose of God? It's in Him. Purpose of God given
us in Christ before the world began. Would you know the way
to God? He's the way, the truth and the
life. Would you have redemption? It's
in Him, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Come
unto me, He said, all you that labor and are heavy laden, broken,
weary, tired, discouraged, come to me, I'll give you rest. Take
my yoke upon you, learn of me. He didn't say learn just from
me, he said learn of me. And the more you learn of me,
the more rest you'll find for yourself. Come to me, I'll give
you rest. You'll enter a rest. A rest that's
promised. But then you learn of me. You
study my person and work and life and words and commandments.
You learn of me. And you'll find rest. And the
more you learn of me, the more rest you'll find." He's the counselor. When you hear some preacher on
the radio or television, and he's preaching the Word, and
he says, now, if you'll call us, we've got counselors waiting. Don't call them. Don't do it. Don't do it. A man who preaches
the gospel. will not tell you to call Him.
He'll tell you to call on Him. Get along with God. Study Him,
His Word. Be like Mary, sit at His feet.
Teach me Lord. Reveal Thyself to me. Listen,
I'll hurry. He's wonderful. He's counsel.
He's the mighty God. I don't propose to try to understand
the Trinity or explain the Trinity, except to say, our God is one
God, and yet He's Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. And don't try to understand the
mysteries of the Trinity. Just believe what God says. Turn
to one scripture, John 14. There are dozens of them, but
here's one. Our Lord Jesus Christ is speaking.
And I'll tell you, if there's a Father, there has to be a Son. If there's an eternal Son, there
has to be a Father. And here the Lord Jesus said
in John 14, 16, I will pray the Father, and He will give you
another Comforter that He may abide with you forever. Even
the Spirit of Truth. whom the world cannot receive
because he seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but you know him.
He dwells with you and shall be in you." There, the Son says,
I'll pray the Father and He'll give you the Spirit. Our Lord Jesus Christ took that awesome name to Himself,
I Am. When he walked this earth as
a man in the flesh, he took that name that God gave
Moses. Moses said, when I go down to
deliver Israel from Egypt and they ask me who sent me, what's
the name of God, what shall I tell them? And God said from heaven,
I am that I am. Tell them, I am. Jesus Christ
of Nazareth, born of Mary, bone of our bone, flesh of our flesh,
mysterious person, said, I am. And if you believe not that I
am, you'll die in your sins. And one day, he was in the boat
asleep. The disciples were fearful because
the wind had risen and the waves were dashing against the boat.
And they thought the boat was going to sink. And they came
back and awakened our Lord. And they said, Master, don't
you care if we drown? And he got up from sleep and
walked to the front of the boat as the wind blew and the clouds
gathered and the waves dashed against that little boat. And
he said, be still. And the wind stopped and the
waves stopped. Only one who can do that is one
who made the wind and made the waves. And the disciples watched
him go back and lie back down. And the scripture said, they
said, what manner of man is this that even the winds and the seas
obey him? I'll tell you, he's the son of
God and he's the child born, the man Christ Jesus. And I'll
tell you this too, everybody else is going to obey him too.
I am and you are. He's going to have his way. Because he's the mighty God. Mystery. And he's the everlasting
father, the mighty God, the everlasting father. I'm the father one. They
said, show us the father. He said, take a good look. He's
seen you, you've seen the father. And then he says he's the prince
of peace. Our Lord is called the prince
because he's the king's son. This child born is the king's
son. He's a prince because he's the
king's son. He's a prince because he's the
heir. He's a prince because he's exalted
to be a prince and a savior. He's a prince because he's superior
to all others. And he's the prince of peace
because he's the author of peace. He's the prince of peace because
he made peace by his blood. And His peace is a permanent
peace. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God. Peace with God, peace in our
hearts, peace among us, and someday, perfect peace. He purchased it. My peace, I give unto you. King of peace. King of Salem. And it says in verse 7, what's
this now? And of the increase of his government
and peace, there'll be no end. There'll be no end. No end. Turn to Revelation 21. There'll
be no end to this peace. All the peace you and I have
heard about or experienced has been temporary. It's just really
war on hold is all it is. It's still there. But one day,
I can't tell you much about heaven.
I'm going to leave it with the Apostle Paul who came back and
said, I heard things I can't tell you. But there is something
I can tell you. I don't know what's in heaven,
but I know what's not in heaven. Here in Revelation 21-4. There's no tears. God will wipe
away all tears. No more tears. No more death. There'll be no more death. No
more death. There'll be no more sorrow. No
more sorrow. No more disappointment. No more
unhappiness. Can you imagine that? No more
tears. No more death. No more sorrow.
There'll be no more crying. No more crying. Crying, why is
that separate from tears? Because sometimes we cry without
tears. Just hurt. Just hurt in here. Weary. Crying out to God. It won't be necessary. Be no
more crying. Be no more pain. No more pain. Because these former
things, and what caused these former things? Sin caused them. will pass away. They're gone. And he that sat on the throne
said, I'll make everything brand new. And he said to me, you're
right. These words are true. Are they
true? If they're true, I have a mediator.
If they're not, I don't. If they're true, I have a ransom.
If not, I'm lost. If they're true, I have a righteousness
before God. If not, I'm standing here in
my filthy rags. If they're true, our bodies will
be raised. If they're not true, there's
no resurrection. And you know why all this will
come to pass? Go to my text, and I close with one word. It
says in the last line of verse 7, the zeal of the Lord of hosts
will perform this, this peace. What's the zeal? All that's said
about the incarnation of Christ, the kingdom of Christ, the love
of Christ, the faithfulness of Christ, the power of Christ,
God will perform. He will perform this. His zeal,
which is His love for His Son, will accomplish it. His zeal
will perform it. What a promise. What a blessing.