David said, what shall I render
unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me? I will take the cup
of salvation and I'll give thanks unto the Lord. That's what I'll
render to him. Sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving
and a tribute to him, all that I have, all that I am, all that
I know, all that I hope to be. I am what I am by the grace of
God. And David said in Psalm 40, listen,
I'll read it, many, O Lord, are thy wonderful works which thou
hast done, and thy thoughts which are to usward. What is man that
thou art mindful of him? When I consider the heavens,
the sun, the moon, the stars, the things God has made, what
is man? that thou art mindful of him.
And yet thy thoughts, O God, are to us with thee. Thy mercies
cannot be reckoned up in order. If I would declare and speak
of thy mercies to me, they are more than possibly can be So giving thanks to God, never-ending
praise and thanks to the God, the Father of all mercies. He's
plenteous in mercy. But here, listen to the next
line. Cheaply. That which thrills my soul and
blesses my heart more than any other mercy is this. He hath made us meet That word,
meet, is qualified. He has made us qualified. Or another word, He hath made
us fit. Write that in the margin of your
Bible there. He has made us fit, qualified,
to be partakers, actual partakers of the inheritance, undefiled,
incorruptible, that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for
you. He hath made us Qualified, me,
fit to be a partaker of the inheritance of the glory of the saints in
heaven. Think of it. By birth we're not
fit. We're born in Adam. Sinners. Born in sin. Conceived in iniquity. Shapen in iniquity. Brought forth
speaking lies. By nature we're not fit. By practice,
we're not fit. By choice, we're not fit for
the kingdom of heaven. Heaven's a holy place, designed
and prepared for holy people. And we're not, by nature, holy
or fit. In fact, Isaiah said this. Listen. Turn to Isaiah 59. Isaiah
chapter 59. In Adam, all die. The sin of one man, death, passed
upon all men. And Isaiah wrote in chapter 59,
verse 2, your iniquities. He said in verse 1, the Lord's
hand is not shortened, that it can't save, and His ear is not
heavy, that it can't hear. But your iniquities have separated
between you and your God. Your sins have hid His face from
you, and He'll not hear. by nature, by birth, by choice,
by practice, we're not fit for the kingdom of heaven. But it
says here, he hath qualified us, he hath made us fit, made us meet to be a partaker
of the inheritance of the saints and light. Verse 13, not only
that, but he hath delivered us from the power of darkness he
hath delivered us from our captor and from captivity." We're no
longer under the power of darkness, the power of Satan. I read that
a while ago. He said over there in Ephesians,
Paul did, that by nature we walk 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 we all had our behavior, citizenship in times past, in
the lust of our flesh, the desires of the flesh, and we're by nature
children of wrath. But God hath delivered us from
the power of Satan, from the power of darkness, from the power
of sin, from the power of death. We're no longer in bondage. to
Satan, no longer in bondage to the law, no longer in bondage
to justice. Sin hath no more dominion over
us, for the Son has made us free. And if the Son makes you free,
you're free indeed, free indeed. He has delivered us out of the
power of Satan, the power of darkness. Power of sin and death. Death hath no more dominion over
you. And listen, and He's translated us. What does that word translated
us mean? He has delivered us from the
clutches of Satan, from the dominion of Satan, from the power of Satan,
and darkness and sin in which we were born, and has translated
us. That word means to transfer.
Literally to carry away. literally to carry away, to transfer
out of this kingdom of darkness and power of darkness and death
and sin. And God did it. God has done
it. He delivered us out of this power
and transferred us, carried us over literally, literally, actually
into the kingdom of His dear Son, the Son of His love. Over here in John chapter 3,
it talks about the love of the Father, where His love is, upon
whom His love dwells, where His love is found. It says in John
3, 35, the Father unquestionably loves the Son. He loves the Son,
the Son of His love. This is my beloved Son, His dear
Son. He loves Christ, and he hath
given all things into his hand. He that believes on the Son hath
everlasting life. And he that believeth not on
the Son shall not see life. But the wrath of God abides on
him. The love of God is in the Son.
The love of God is in the Son. It's not anywhere else. The wrath
of God is upon unbelief. The wrath of God is upon those
outside the Son. Enemies of the Son. Antichrists. This is the Son of His love.
He has literally... I give thanks to God, Paul said.
I give Him all the glory and all the credit and all the praise.
He's delivered me. from darkness and death and sin
and the power and the clutches of Satan. The god of this world,
the prince of the power of the air, the adversary, the accuser
of the brethren, the father of lies, he's delivered me out of
his clutches, out of his power, and he has literally transferred
us, carried us over into the kingdom of his love. It's the kingdom of His Son.
Christ is the King. Christ is the heir. Christ is
the kingdom. It's His kingdom. It's in Him, for Him, through
Him, reigned over by Him. And being in the kingdom of the
Son of His love, I'm in His love. Boston, Thomas Boston, wrote
a book Many years ago, one of the first books I read when I
learned the gospel, he wrote a book on man's fourfold
state. He said God created man in a
state of innocence. Adam was created, God said, holy,
holy and upright. He walked and talked with God.
God made him holy and upright, and that's the only man God ever
created. He brought the woman out of the
man, and every man and woman since then came out of that man.
He created one man, Adam, and he lived in a state of innocence
until he rebelled against God, until sin was found, until he
rebelled against the law of God. And Adam fell. And Adam fell
into a state of nature. Nature. Sin. By one man, sin entered this
world. And death by sin. So death passed
upon all men. And our nature is evil. From
the sole of our feet to the top of our heads, there is no soundness,
no life. Dead in sin. Wounds and bruises
and putrefied and sore. None good. No, not one. None
righteous. No, not one. None that understandeth.
No, not one. None that seek God. No, not one.
God looked down from heaven upon the sons of men. He found they
were altogether vanity. None that doeth good. Man at
his best state is altogether vanity. Even his righteousness,
Isaiah said, is filthy rags. That's our state, and that's
where we were. And God delivered us, translated
us, transferred us from that state and that nature into a
state of grace. And that's where we dwell now,
by His grace, in Him, in Christ, regenerated, redeemed, sanctified,
justified. made righteous, new heart, new
nature, new spirit, new family. We love the things of God, hate
evil even found in us, most of all. Hate sin, long to be like
God, long to leave this earth and be with our Master, be like
Him, conform to His image. We're in a state of grace, kept
by the power of God, through faith, not without it, through
faith. Someday, We're going to lay aside
this corruption, this old body, this old flesh, this old man,
this old nature. In the believer there's a conflict,
there's a warfare, flesh and spirit, spirit created by God. The flesh is that old nature,
that old man, has to be put under constantly, crucified, mortified. But one day he'll breathe his
last breath, think his last evil thought, speak his last unkind
word, and die. And this corruptible shall put
on incorruption, a state of glory, from a state of innocence to
a state of nature, by God's regenerating power and
spirit in the blood of Christ, a state of grace. And one day
this mortal shall put on immortality. Then shall be brought to pass
the saying, death is swallowed up in victory. Thanks be unto
God, who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Think of it. Giving thanks to God, who hath made us meet, to be
a partaker of that glory, and hath delivered us from the power,
and you don't know what power it is, You can't realize the
principalities and power, rulers, spiritual wickedness in higher
places. Satan hath desired thee, he said
of Peter, to sift you. He tore Job wrong side out, and
Peter too. He's a powerful enemy, but God's
delivered us and translated us into the kingdom of his He's
our Lord. He's our master. Satan can't
touch his people without his permission. We're in a state
of grace. And one day, a state of glory. Well, how did God do this? Look
at verse 14. How did God bring a clean thing
out of an unclean? We're like the lepers of the
Old Testament, unclean, don't come near me, I'm unclean. Don't
let my shadow fall on you, I'm unclean. And yet now, with his
spotless garments on, as holy as his Son, nearer so near to
God, nearer you cannot be in the person of his Son, you're
as near as he. How did he do that? How did he bring a fallen man
out of his pit? and make him just before God.
How can he be holy who all his lifetime was subject to sin and
bondage? How can God save that which is
lost, bring again that which is driven away? Make a man love him that hated
him. put away transgressions and sins
so that they cannot be seen even by God. This is a question that
has divided religion and men from Cain and Abel to this present
day. How can the lost be found? How
can a sinner become a saint? How can the rebel be called a
son? How can the enemy of God be called
as Abraham my friend. How can enemies of God, children
of darkness be called children of light and children of the
Most High God? And this is not a profession,
this is a reality. This is not just a religious
claim. I know I'm saved because I was there when it happened.
That's a mighty poor foundation. This actually took place. God
actually put away all our transgressions and sins and iniquities, and
we're as holy as God in Christ. And that's how He did it. Verse
14, in whom? Not in the church, not in the
law, not in professions. In whom? In a person. We have
redemption. We have redemption. through His
blood. Even, listen to me, even, think
of it, the forgiveness of all our sins. The Lord answers the
question, how can the lost be found? How can the sinner be
saved? How can he be clean that's born
of a woman? How can man be just with God?
There's one way, it's in Christ. It's in Christ. It's through
His blood. It's through His righteousness.
It's through His death. It's by His sacrifice. It's by
substitution. God hath made Him to be sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him. A friend of mine was a missionary
to the Sudan in Africa. I met him in 1948. He was home on furlough from
the Sudan in Africa. They still had leprosy, quite
a bit of it. And he told me a story. He said
they were one Sunday morning, they were going out to the bush
to preach. And he said several of them carrying
equipment Bibles for the people and things like that and they
were walking through the jungles and he said as he walked along
he heard a native in the native tongue
you heard a voice up ahead faintly crying help me would somebody
please help me help me and he said they they hastened and they
hurried and they ran And they kept hearing this voice, it got
louder, help me, somebody, help me, please help me. And he said
they rounded the bushes there and there sat by the side of
the path a leper. And if you've ever seen one,
it's a sad sight. He said his face would just seem
to be one ulcer, just slits for eyes and slits for mouth. You
could almost see his bones, he was so thin, and the fingers
had been eaten away, like one I saw in Mexico, just no fingers
on her hand. You remember her? No fingers.
She wanted to touch us, you remember? And he said he stood there and
looked at that man, and he held those stubs up and said, would
somebody help me? And he said as I looked at him,
I thought, that's what God sees when he sees me. Leprosy. Rottenness. Corruption. And he
said, I thought as I stood there, Parris Reed heads his name, so
big strong man. Big healthy man. Young man. He
said, I thought, oh, if I could just reach and take one of those
stubs in one hand and one in the other and pick him up. and
bring him up against me, wrap my arms about him, put his face
against mine, his body against mine, and let his disease flow
into me and my health into him. Then I would do what God did
for me. Christ, the perfect Son of God, no sin. He knew no sin. He came down
here and took my place. He took my hell and gave me heaven. He took my death and gave me
life. He took my place, substitution. He sat by the road. And I walked
on healthy. That's the gospel. And that's
what he's saying here. In whom we have redemption. The forgiveness of sins. Through
his blood. Paul described it over here in
Ephesians. Turn over there just a moment
to Ephesians 1. In whom? Listen to this, Ephesians
1, verse 3. Ephesians 1, verse 3, "...Blessed
be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed
us with all spiritual blessing in Him, the heavenliest in Christ."
That's where they are. The heavenly blessings are redemption,
sanctification, justification, and wisdom. And they're in Christ. Look at verse 4, "...according
as He chose us in Christ." Before the foundation of the world that
we should be holy and without blame, before Him in love, He
predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ. According to the good pleasure
of His own will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein
He made us accepted in Jesus Christ. In the Beloved. In the
Beloved. Accepted am I. Risen, ascended,
seated on high. Saved and secure by His marvelous
grace, with His redeemed ones according to place. In the Beloved
I went to the tree, and there in His death by faith I can see
infinite wrath rolling over His head, infinite grace. He died in my stead. In the Beloved,
God's marvelous grace, caused me to dwell in that wonderful
place, transferred into the kingdom of His dear Son. God sees my
Savior, and then He sees me into beloved, accepted, free. That's how God saves sinners.
By His grace, through His Son, by His obedience, through his
death. Back to my text. Let's see who
he is. Who is this son of his love? Who is this savior? Just another
prophet? Oh no. That prophet. Just another priest? Oh no. A
priest after the order of Melchizedek. Just another king? Oh no. King
of kings and Lord of lords. Who is he? I tell you, your salvation
is only as sure as your Savior. The promise of your Savior is
only as certain as the power of your Savior. The hope of glory
depends on Him who is able to do all that He promised. He's
my hope of glory. He's able to do all that He promised. Who is He? This is life and death. Who is He? This is glory or despair. Who is He? This is eternal grace
or eternal shame. Well, I'll tell you who he is.
Look at verse 15. He's the image, the exact likeness
of the invisible God. He is the manifestation, the
visible representation of the invisible God. Show us the Father. Christ said, you've seen me,
you've seen the Father. I am the Father of one. He is the exact likeness. Listen,
he's the firstborn of every creature. What does that mean? He wasn't
born and he wasn't created. What does it mean he's the firstborn
of every creature? I'll give you a clue. Revelation
3, verse 14. Turn over there. He's the firstborn
of every creature. Revelation 3, verse 14. These things saith the Amen,
the faithful and true witness, this is Christ, the beginning
of the creation of God. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, and all things
were made by Him. Without Him was not anything
made that was made. That's Christ, the firstborn
of every creature. Then secondly, the word firstborn
is used to indicate the heir. in a household, not particularly
in this country, but in some of the old countries, and especially
in Bible days, the firstborn was the heir. And Jesus Christ
is called here the firstborn because He's the heir of all
things. We're joint heirs with Him. And then the firstborn means
He's first and everything's after Him. Everybody else is after Him.
He's first. And so He's the exact likeness
of the invisible God. He's the beginning of all things. Everything's after Him. Listen.
For by Him, listen to this, He's the Creator. Were all things
created that are in heaven, that are in earth, visible and invisible,
whether they be thrones or dominions, even the powers of demons, Satan, It doesn't matter, visible, invisible,
thrones, dominions, principalities, powers, all the results of His
creation. All things are created by Him.
There's nothing that moves or wiggles or breathes or thinks
or exists that He didn't make and permits to continue. For listen, He's before all things. God. And by him, by his permission,
all things consist. And he's the head. Look at this.
He's the head of the church. What is the church? It's the
whole kingdom of God. It's the whole election of grace.
It's the whole covenant of mercy from Genesis 1 to the last sheep. I think about this. My sheep
will hear my voice. What's going to happen when the
last one hears his voice? That's the end. That's the end. Then shall the kingdom be delivered
up to the Father, that God might be all in all, in all things.
Christ shall present to the Father all that the Father gave Him
to accomplish and redeem, and from Genesis 1 to the last sheep
that shall be called. That's the kingdom. That's the
church. And He's the head thereof. He's the representative head.
In Adam we die, in Christ we're made alive. He's the reigning
head, he's the boss. He's the king. He's the master. He's the head in that without
him we have no life. I can lose my arm and still live.
But not my head. He's the head in that all the
churches in him. You hang pictures on the wall
of your children. What do you hang on the wall?
Picture of their head. You don't paint a hand and say,
that's my child. No. This is my child. Christ. He's the head. He's the providing head. The
head of the house at 2222 Stevens provides meat and bread. And
the head of this house presides meat and bread. He's the providing
head. He's the head. He's the beginning. He's the beginning. Listen, in
all things he might have preeminence. Look back there, he's the firstborn
from the dead. What does that mean, the firstborn
from the dead? Listen, he's the first man to
rise from the dead, to die no more. Think about it. He raised Lazarus, but he died.
He's the first man to rise from the dead to die no more. Others
were raised, but they all died. This one ever lives. Secondly,
he's the first man to be glorified forever. We have some loved ones we've
buried. They've not risen yet. And they're not glorified in
the sense that they have a body made like Christ. He does. He's the first fruits of the
resurrection. And all who sleep in the grave
will one day, because He arose, they shall rise. But not yet,
till He comes. And He has the preeminence. Verse
19, let me give you this. It pleased the Father. Why is
all this? It pleased the Father. They asked
David, where's your God? He said, my God's in the heavens.
What's He like? My God has done whatsoever He
pleased. Whatsoever the Lord pleased,
that did He in heaven, earth, and the seas, and all deep places.
That's my God. The scripture said it pleased
God to make you His people. It pleased God that in Christ
should all fullness dwell. It pleased God to reveal His
Son in me, Paul said. It pleased God by the foolishness
of preaching to save them that believe. It pleased God. That in Him, He's the wellspring
of all blessings. He's the fullness of all wisdom,
and holiness, and grace, and peace, and life, and glory. And
Paul said in Colossians 2 verse 10, and you are complete in Him. In Him. You're complete in Him. Please
God. Look at verse 20. He's the peacemaker. And having made peace through
the blood of His cross, by Him, by His cross, by His
blood, by His sacrifice, to reconcile all things unto Himself. By Him,
I say, whether they be things in heaven, folks that are already
there, Moses, Elijah, Abel, David, when he died, those who were
already in heaven, he died for their sins, and those that are
on earth. He reconciled all of them to
the Father. Nobody in heaven is not reconciled
to God by Christ's blood. And you, Gentiles, They were
one time alienated, enemies in your mind, idol worshippers,
pagans, idolaters, by wicked works. You have to now reconcile
in the body of His flesh through death to present you down to
Him that is able to keep you from falling and to present you Somebody said one time over in
England in a message, they said, you don't introduce people to
the Queen, you present them. Your Majesty, may I present so
and so. May I present the Lord Jesus
Christ, my Father. May I present my church, washed,
sanctified, without spot or blemish or wrinkle or any such thing.
May I present to you my people, redeemed by my blood, made righteous
by my holiness. May I present to you those you
gave to me, fully qualified, fit, meet, for your glory. You reckon the Father will receive
us? You reckon when He presents us,
the Son of His love? Oh my! unblamable, holy, unreprovable
in God's sight. If you continue in the faith, grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel, which you've heard He was preached to every creature
which is under heaven. And Paul said, I've made a minister
of that gospel. And I rejoice, verse 24, there's
been a certain amount of suffering and sacrifice in bringing you
that gospel, but I rejoice in my sufferings for you and fill
up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh,
for his body's sake, which is the church, whereof I made a
minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for
you, to fully preach the gospel of the Son of his love." May
God bless this message to your heart.