Christ Crucified, the Counsel of God

Q: What does the Bible say about Christ being crucified?

The Bible teaches that Christ's crucifixion embodies the whole counsel of God and is central to the message of redemption. The scripture emphasizes that Christ's death is not merely an event in history but is deeply rooted in God's eternal counsel. The Apostle Paul stated that he determined to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, signifying the importance of the crucifixion in conveying the entire message of salvation. In preaching Christ crucified, we essentially preach the comprehensive purpose, plan, and redemptive glory of God as it pertains to humanity's salvation. The cross represents the fulfillment of God's predetermined plan for reconciliation, highlighting both His love and justice as He provides a Savior for sinners.

Q: How do we know the doctrine of the fall of man is true?

The doctrine of the fall of man is supported by biblical narratives demonstrating humanity's inherent sinfulness and need for redemption. The fall of man is a foundational doctrine within Christian theology that explains humanity's inherent sinfulness due to Adam's disobedience. Paul outlines that by one man's disobedience, many were made sinners, which underscores the necessity of Christ's sacrifice. Scripture continually points to the consequences of this fall, highlighting mankind's spiritual deadness and separation from God. The need for a Savior, indicated through biblical prophecy and the person of Christ, confirms the truth of the fall. Without understanding the fall, the significance of Christ's death and resurrection remains obscured, solidifying the necessity of preaching this doctrine alongside the cross.

Q: Why is preaching the holiness of God important for Christians?

Preaching the holiness of God is crucial as it underlines God’s righteousness and sets the standard for how sin is addressed through Christ. The holiness of God is a central theme in Christian doctrine as it reveals God's nature and His moral perfection. Acknowledging God's holiness is essential for understanding the gravity of sin and the profound sacrifice required for atonement. When we preach about God's holiness, we illustrate why Christ had to die; His death satisfied the justice of a holy God who cannot overlook sin. This understanding deepens our appreciation for the gospel, affirms the seriousness of sin, and promotes a reverent worship of God. Ultimately, it shows that salvation is not merely about forgiveness but about glorifying God's holy character through Christ’s sacrifice.

Q: What does justification by faith mean in the context of the cross?

Justification by faith means that through Christ's sacrificial death, believers are deemed righteous before God, independent of their works. Justification by faith is a foundational doctrine that explains how sinners can be declared righteous in God's sight. It is vital to understand that this justification does not come through our righteous works but solely through faith in Jesus Christ, who died for our sins. The cross serves as the means through which Christ fulfilled the requirements of the law and satisfied divine justice. Paul emphasizes that those who believe in Him are cleansed and justified before God, thus highlighting salvation as a divine gift rather than a reward for human effort. This doctrine affirms that believers are complete in Christ, emphasizing the importance of faith as the only means of salvation.

Q: How does preaching the love of God relate to the crucifixion?

Preaching the love of God is intricately tied to the crucifixion, as it is the ultimate demonstration of God's love for humanity. The crucifixion of Christ is the profound testament of God's love for sinners, demonstrating a depth of grace that is unparalleled. Romans 5:8 affirms that God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This action showcases God's willingness to sacrifice His only Son for our redemption, illustrating that the greatest expression of love is found in self-sacrifice. By preaching the cross, believers are reminded of God’s unwavering love, which calls them to respond in faith and gratitude. The gospel message revolves around this theme, urging us to share the love of God as revealed at Calvary with the world around us.

What I'm dealing with today is
this subject, Christ crucified the counsel of God. In other
words, I'm saying that when we preach Jesus Christ and Him crucified
and all that that involves, we preach the whole counsel of God,
all the counsel of God. Now, without a doubt, the Apostle
Paul is the preacher's pattern. I'm sure that that's so. The
apostle Paul was the apostle to the Gentiles. God miraculously
called him. God gifted him. God honored him
with unusual revelations. And God used this man Paul to
write 14 of the 27 books in the New Testament. He is, without
a doubt, the preacher's pattern. And then his message and his
ministry if he is the preacher's pattern, ought to be studied
carefully. We ought to study his ministry,
study his methods, study his message. We ought to study the
Apostle Paul because God blessed him and God used him as he has
used no man since. The Apostle Paul was mightily
used of God. And then I know this. There's
no way that you can briefly sum up the ministry of such a man.
That's an impossibility. You can't sum up the ministry
of the Apostle Paul, his message, his ministry, in just a few words. But he made two statements. He
made two statements, one to the church elders at Ephesus and
one to the church at Corinth, which I believe give us an understanding
of his message. You can take these two statements.
One, he gathered the elders from Ephesus and spoke to them, he
said, for the last time. And he made a statement in that
message. And then in his letter to the
Corinthians, the first epistle, he made another statement. And
putting these together, you have some understanding of this man's
ministry and message. Now, the first statement in Acts
chapter 20, when he was speaking to the elders, he said this,
I take you to record this day that I am pure from the blood
of all men. For I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. I tell you this, No man can hold
me responsible for his damnation," he says. I'm pure from the blood
of all men. Because in my message and in
my ministry, I have not shunned, not out of fear of men. He said,
I don't fear men, I fear God. Not because of covetousness or
the love of money, not desire for approval, not ambition, Nothing
has kept me from preaching the full purpose, counsel, and redemptive
glory of Almighty God. I charge you with that this day,"
he said. I have not shunned to declare
unto you all the counsel of God. Now, he said, this is the last
time you'll see my face. This is the last time I'll preach
to you. But I want you to understand this. I've preached the Word
of God. without fear, without covetousness,
without desire for approval, and I've kept back nothing profitable
unto you. I haven't shunned to declare
unto you all that God's taught me." And then the second statement,
which he made to the church at Corinth. And listen to this carefully. In the opening statements of
chapter 2, I Corinthians 2, Paul said, "'And I, brethren, when
I came to you, preaching the Word of God, all the counsel
of God, the testimony of God. When I came to you preaching
the Word of God, I didn't come preaching in a clever, intellectual,
witty, showy way, declaring unto you the testimony of God, not
with great oratory or intellectualism or trying to be clever or trying
to draw attention to myself. For I determine," now listen
to this, "'I determine not to know anything among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified, that your faith should not stand
in my wisdom or the wisdom of men, but in the power of God.'"
In other words, Paul is saying, I preach. I have not shunned
to preach for any reason. all the counsel of God. I haven't
backed down. I haven't refused. I haven't
hesitated to declare all the counsel of God. And he says that
is summed up in this, I am determined to preach nothing among you save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified. So when we preach Christ and
Him crucified, when we preach Christ, the cross of Christ We
preach all the counsel of God. For all that God Almighty has
purposed, decreed, planned, and given to sinners, to sons of
Adam, is in Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It's all there.
All of it. Now, you may ask me, well, preacher,
how can we preach all the counsel of God by preaching Christ and
Him crucified? How in the world can that be
done? If you preach the cross, if you preach Christ and Him
crucified, you say you preach all the counsel of God. That's
right. Well, how can that be done? Well, I'm going to show
you today. I'm going to show you how that
by preaching the cross, preaching Christ and Him crucified, you
preach all the counsel of God in regard to sinners, all the
counsel of God. All right? Now, if you want to,
get a pencil and paper and jot these things down. You might
want to refer back to them again or back to the Scriptures or
write for the tape. We'll send you the tape. I'll
give you the address at the end of the program. But number one,
if we preach Christ and Him crucified, if we preach the cross of Christ,
now listen, number one, we must preach the eternal purpose and
counsel of God the eternal will of God that gave birth to the
cross and to the death of Christ. If you want to start preaching
the cross of Christ, you don't start at Bethlehem or Jerusalem
or in Pilate's hall. You go clear back to the foundations
of the world. You see, the cross of Christ,
the death of Christ was no afterthought of God. For Christ, the scripture
says, was, listen, the lamb slain from the foundation of the world.
What happened at Calvary, what happened at the cross, was purposed
and planned by Almighty God before the world began. That's what
the Scripture says in Revelation 13, 8, talked about the book
of the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. In other
words, before there was a sinner, there was a Savior. Before man
fell, God made Christ, God chose Christ as our Savior and our
surety. Paul carries this theme into
the book of Hebrews. He says, Christ is the surety
of an everlasting covenant, a covenant that has no beginning or ending.
It's an everlasting covenant. He said, Christ is the shepherd
of the sheep through the blood of the everlasting covenant.
Not the covenant of works, not the covenant given to Moses or
Abraham, but the everlasting covenant. Now watch this. Known
under God are all His works from the beginning. God declares the
end from the beginning. And we were chosen in Christ,
in the crucified Christ, before the foundation of the world.
So if you preach the cross of Christ, the death of Christ,
His crucifixion. You've got to go back where it
started. You see, when the angels fell, the angels fell before
men. The angels fell before the world
was created. And the Scripture says God has
reserved the angels in chains of darkness, everlasting chains
of darkness under the judgment of that great day. When they
fell, they perished. Well, when Adam fell, who represented
all men, in Adam we died. By one man's disobedience we
were all made sinners. Why didn't we all perish then?
Why didn't God put us immediately in everlasting chains of darkness
with no hope? Because we had a surety. Christ
was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Christ
was the Lamb provided, the sacrifice provided in the purpose and counsel
of God before man fell. That's what the Scripture says.
The Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. So when Adam fell,
God preserved him and kept him because out of Adam's race there
were people for whom Christ would suffer and die on the cross.
So when you preach the cross of Christ, you go back to the
everlasting counsels of God. Secondly, if you preach the cross
of Christ, you must preach the fall of men. the fall of men. For if men are not sinners, there's
no need for Christ to come into the world and die such an ignominious,
terrible, horrible death. It says this is a fateful saying
and worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners. And if we're not sinners, there's
no need for Christ to come. There's no need for Christ to
die. But in Adam we die. By Adam's death we died. In Christ,
we're made alive. By Christ's death, we live. By
Adam's death, we die. By Christ's death, we live. He
died just for the unjust that He might bring us to God. Do
you see this? When you preach the cross, in
the cross of Christ, our sinfulness is revealed. Oh, the great sinfulness
of sin. Paul called it the exceeding
sinfulness of sin, which sent God's Son to the cross. The inability
of man is revealed. The certainty of judgment is
revealed. God's wrath against sin is revealed
nowhere like at Calvary. So if you preach the cross of
Christ, you must preach the fall of man, the fall, the inability,
the corruption of man, and the judgment that rests upon us,
the curse of the broken law. Thirdly, if you preach the cross
of Christ, You must preach the holiness and righteousness and
justice of God, which required the death of Christ for sinners.
You see, my friends, why did Christ hang on the cross? You
know, I heard a preacher on television recently, and he was trying to
tell us why Christ didn't come down from the cross. You know,
they stood and they said, come down from the cross and we'll
believe you. And he said something about, well, Christ didn't perform
miracles of that nature to present Himself to people, like He didn't
turn the stones into bread and so forth at Satan's command,
and Christ Jesus didn't come down from the cross because He
was submissive to the will of God, and Christ Jesus did not
come down from the cross because of His love for us. Well, let
me tell you something. Christ hung on that cross as
a representative, as a federal head, as the surety of a people. And he hung there because God
is holy and God must punish sin. God is righteous and his law
and justice must be honored. God is just and the soul that
sinneth must die. And Jesus Christ took our sins
in his body on the tree. He was numbered with the transgressors. He bore our sins. He was made
sin for us. And he had to stay on that cross
because he was guilty. Christ had no sin of his own,
knew no sin, did no sin, but he was a substitute. He took
our sins and he had to die in order that God might be just
and justify the ungodly. You see, God said, I'm a just
God and a Savior. And he sent his son to be a sin
offering that he might be just and justify. The main reasons
Christ stayed on that cross, number one, He is our representative. Number two, He bore our sins.
Number three, the judgment and wrath of God fell on Him in our
place instead. Number four, if He came down
from the cross, He couldn't be our Savior. He wouldn't honor
God's law, nor would He honor God's justice, nor would He satisfy
God's justice. Do you see that? God can't compromise
His character. Christ must die. He must suffer. He said, as Moses lifted up the
serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up. Christ must go to Jerusalem and
suffer and die. He was our Savior. There is no
other way. There's no other way that a holy
God can be just and justify a sinner except for sin to be punished,
and that sinner is substituted. Now that's so. And when you preach
the cross of Christ, you preach the holiness of God. I know a
lot of people, when they talk about the holiness of God and
the wrath of God against sin, they'll take you to the flood,
which is true, and they'll take you to Sodom and Gomorrah, which
is true. They'll take you to hell, talk
about hell, which is true. But nowhere, I mean nowhere,
do you see the justice and righteousness and holiness of our Almighty
like you see it at Calvary. That's His Son on the cross.
That's God in human flesh. That's His only begotten. And
He's hanging on that cross. Why? Because God is just. Because God will punish sin. And He was wounded for our sins,
our iniquity, our transgressions. He bore our sins. He died in
our place. And He must die or He can't save
anybody. So you preach God's holiness.
If we preach the cross of Christ, we preach the deity and glory
of Jesus Christ. You see, that which made his
work effectual and sufficient before the throne of God is his
person, who he is. It's not just the death of Calvary,
but the important thing at Calvary is who died. It's not just the
blood that was shed. I know without the shedding of
blood, there's no remission. But it's whose blood. It's who
died at Calvary and whose blood was shed at Calvary. Somebody
asked the question, how could one man die for so many because
of who he is? That's what Paul is saying in
Romans 8, 34. He asks this question, who is he that condemns? Or rather,
who can lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that
justifies. And then he said, well, who is
he that can condemn? Who can condemn me? It is Christ
that died. It is Christ that died. It's
who died. Yea, rather, it is Christ that's
risen again. It is Christ who is at the right
hand of God. It is Christ who intercedes for
us. Jesus Christ is a man, right,
but he is God. He is the God-man. God was in
Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. In John 1, I want
you to listen to this. In John 1, verse 1, it says,
In the beginning was the Word. Verse 14 says, And the Word was
made flesh. And then it says in John 1, 1,
And the Word was with God. And then it said in verse 14,
And He dwelt among us. And then it says in verse 1,
and He was God. In the beginning was the Word.
He was with God. He was God. And we beheld His
glory. The Word was made flesh and dwelt
among us, and we beheld His glory. And that's who's on that cross.
It's the very Son of God. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince
of Peace. And that is what gave efficacy
to His sacrifice. That's what gave sufficiency
to His offering. It's who died, who died. Can you see that? If you preach
the cross, you preach the eternal counsel of God, you preach the
fall of man, you preach the holiness of God, that's where you If you
want to take anybody to a place where they can see these things,
take them to the Calvary, take them to the cross. They see the
holiness of God. They see the deity of Christ.
How can one man shed his blood and die a short period of time
one day on a cross and redeem people from sins of all generation? Who is he? Who is he? Fifthly, If we preach the cross
of Christ, we preach the fulfillment of every promise, prophecy, and
picture of the Old Testament. We preach the fulfillment of
all 39 books in the Old Testament. Listen to Luke 24. Listen to
our Lord. He says, These are the words which I spake unto
you, that all things must be fulfilled which are written in
Moses, in the prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me. Then
he opened their understanding that they might understand the
Old Testament Scriptures. And he said, thus it is written,
and thus it behooved the Christ to suffer and die and rise again
the third day. That's what the Old Testament's
all about. When you preach the cross, you
preach the fulfillment of all the Old Testament pictures, promises,
patterns, prophecies. See, the Old Testament has no
meaning or message apart from the cross of Christ. That's right,
no meaning or message. How do you explain the woman's
seed bruising the serpent's head without the cross? How do you
explain Abel's sacrifice, different from Cain's, without the cross?
How do you explain the Passover lamb without the cross? How do
you explain Noah's ark without the cross? Deliverance from judgment. How do you explain the tabernacle? What does it mean? the priesthood,
the mercy seat. What is the mercy seat? A covering,
a propitiation, an atonement. What is an atonement? How do
you explain the atonement? How do you explain the smitten
rock, the serpent lifted up? How do you explain any of these
things without the cross of Christ? Christ died for our sins according
to the Scriptures. And anywhere you turn in the
Old Testament to Him, give all the prophets witness. That's
the reason Paul said, when I'm determined to know nothing but
Christ and Him crucified, and when I preach Christ and Him
crucified, I preach the whole counsel of God. From eternity
past, well, let's move on. If we preach the cross of Christ,
we preach the love of God for sinners. Where do you see the
love of God demonstrated as nowhere else? Greater love hath no man
than this, that he lay down his life for his friends. But God
commended His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. Herein is love. Herein is love. You want a sermon on love? God's
love for sinners? Here it is. Herein is love. How
plain can you get? Here is love. Not that we loved
God, but that He loved us and gave His Son to be a propitiation,
a mercy seat, a covering, an atonement for our sins. gave
Him where? On the cross. Nowhere is the
love of God so evident as at Calvary. Nowhere, nothing can
separate me from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus,
my Lord. So if you preach the cross, you
preach the most effective illustration God has ever given of His everlasting,
unchanging love for sinners. Having loved His own, He loved
them to the end, even the cross. All right. Seventh, if we preach
the cross of Christ, we preach full justification by faith and
not by works. Not by works. In other words,
if Jesus Christ, my Lord, represents me and you before the law of
God, before the justice of God, before the throne of God, and
in His life, He fully satisfied that law, and in His death, He
fully satisfied that justice, then I have nothing to pay. The
debt's paid. I have nothing to do but believe.
You see, in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
and I'm complete in Him. Jesus paid it all, all the debt
I owed. I can't add anything to what
He did, especially when He said it's finished. It's finished,
and went to the right hand of God and sat down. And the Scripture
says He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities. The
chastisement of our peace was upon Him. and by stripes, we
are what? Healed. Salvation's a gift of
God, not of works, lest any man should boast. Salvation is by
the grace of God. Salvation is free. Therefore,
being justified with God, we have peace. And there's no condemnation
to them who are in Christ. And Paul said in Romans, I conclude
that a man is justified before God by faith and not by works. And if Christ died and paid the
debt, all of it, then there's nothing for me to pay. There
can't be any works involved. You say, don't believers work?
Sure they do, but faith worketh by love. Believers work and serve
and give and labor because they love Christ, not to obligate
the Lord. And then in the next place, if
we preach Christ crucified, we preach the preservation and the
final perseverance of all for whom He died. He can't fail.
He said, My sheep hear My voice, and they follow Me, and I give
them eternal life, and they shall never perish. All that My Father
giveth Me shall come to Me, and him that cometh out in no wise
cast out. No, Christ can't fail. The blood
of Christ cannot be without effect. He cannot be disappointed. He
shall see the travail of His soul and be satisfied. And by
his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, and the
pleasure of the Lord," Isaiah said, "...shall prosper in his
hand." He can't fail. He can't fail. So we will be
kept, we will be preserved, and we will persevere. Now watch
this. And if we preach the cross of Christ, we preach His resurrection. And consequently, our resurrection. He must die if He's raised. You
can't preach resurrection unless Christ died. And if you preach
He died, you can't leave Him in the grave. He's got to be
raised. And because He said, I live,
you live. Christ has resurrected and has
become the firstfruits of them that sleep. What's firstfruits? That means there's plenty of
fruit to follow. So we shall rise also. We preach our own
resurrection when we preach the cross. Christ paid the debt. put the sin away, was buried
as our scapegoat and rose again." All right, if we preach the cross
of Christ, we preach the Holy Spirit's Word because Christ
said, when He's come, He won't speak of Himself. He'll glorify
me. He'll take the things of mine
and show them to you. What are the things of mine?
My death, my burial, my resurrection, and my exaltation. That's what
He's going to show you. That's what gives you confidence
and hope. If we preach the cross of Christ, we preach the holiness
of believers, the righteous walk of believers. You are not your
own. You're bought with a price. Therefore
glorify God. Why am I not my own? Christ bought
me. He bought me with the price of
His blood. Therefore glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are His. And in the last place,
twelfthly, When we preach the cross of Christ, we preach his
return. The angel stood after Christ
was resurrected and ascended to glory, and they said to his
disciples, this same Jesus, this same Jesus, which is taken up
from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as you've
seen him go. Our Lord said, I've gone to prepare
a place for you. I will come again. If you want
this message on a cassette tape, Christ Crucified, The Council
of God, write, send two dollars and I'll mail it to you. There'll
be another message on the other side. Until next week, may God
bless you.

Christ Crucified, the Counsel of God

What does the Bible say about Christ being crucified?

How do we know the doctrine of the fall of man is true?

Why is preaching the holiness of God important for Christians?

What does justification by faith mean in the context of the cross?

How does preaching the love of God relate to the crucifixion?

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Christ Crucified, the Counsel of God

What does the Bible say about Christ being crucified?

How do we know the doctrine of the fall of man is true?

Why is preaching the holiness of God important for Christians?

What does justification by faith mean in the context of the cross?

How does preaching the love of God relate to the crucifixion?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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