Christ - Our Body of Divinity

My subject tonight, Christ, Our
Body of Divinity. Christ, Our Body of Divinity. The old black preacher summed
up the way we preach today. He said, we tell them what we're
going to tell them, and then we tell them, and then we tell
them what we done told them. And most everybody present doesn't
know what we told them. Just words, that's all. But here
is a single verse of scripture. I want to look at a single verse
of scripture tonight, and I wish you would maybe take some notes,
or if you don't take notes, underline the word and go back a little
later on and see if it says something to you in addition to what I
try to bring out with the aid and inspiration of God's Spirit.
Here is our body of divinity, verse 10. of 1 Thessalonians
1, which Paul wrote, and to wait, and to wait for his Son from
heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, there's a whole
lot right there, even Jesus, we'll see in a minute, even Jesus,
which delivered us from the wrath to come. Now, I have eight points. First of all, I see in this verse
the Deity of our Lord. The Deity of our Lord. It says
here to wait for His Son. His Son. Now, God has but one
Son in the sense that Jesus Christ is His Son. Only one Son in the
sense that Christ is His Son. The Lord Jesus has given us power
or the right or the privilege to become sons of God, but not
in the sense in which he and he alone is the Son of God. For God so loved the world that
he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him
should not perish, but have eternal life. He said when Christ was
on the Mount of Transfiguration, this is my Son, this is my Son,
hear ye Him. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
1. Now, the Trinity is a mystery to me. It is now, always has
been, and I suppose it will be until God is pleased in glory,
if He is pleased to reveal unto us something about the Trinity.
I don't try to explain it. I don't try to explain it. I
hope you don't try to with your natural sense even understand
it, God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. The Son thought it not robbery
to be equal with God. This is my Son. In Hebrews 1
verse 5, Under which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art
my Son? This day have I begotten thee,
and again I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son.
And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world,
and he said, Let all the angels of God worship. Worship. Not admire. Worship. Not respect. Worship. Only God is to be worshipped.
Christ is God. Look at verse 8. But unto the
Son, unto the Son, he saith, thy throne, O God. Thy throne,
O God, is forever and ever. A scepter of righteousness is
the scepter of thy kingdom. I believe that Jesus Christ is
God Almighty. No less than the Father, no more
than the Spirit. He's God Almighty. I believe
it. How it is, how it can be, how
God can be one in three and yet three in one is not mine to explain
but to receive until God gives me the ability and the spiritual
strength to understand it in His good providence and pleasure.
His Son. His Son. Turn to John chapter
10. Now, these Jews knew what Christ
was saying. In the 10th chapter of John,
he is preaching to them, talking about, "...my sheep hear my voice,
and my Father which gave them is greater than all." And he
said in verse 30, "...I and my Father are one." I don't expect
to see in heaven three gods. I expect to see one. I expect
to see one. There is one God. Christ said,
I and my Father are one. Then the Jews took up stones
again to stone him, and Jesus answered them, Many good works
have I shown you from my Father, for which of these works do you
stone me? The Jews answered him, saying,
For good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because
that thou being a man makest thyself God his Son. Now, I know there are whole denominations
built upon divisions over the Trinity. There's the Trinitarians,
and then there's the Jesus-only people, and so forth. We're to
be baptized in the name of Jesus only, and how can God be three
and yet one? But the Scripture tells us that
God, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit are one, and
yet they're three distinct personalities. God the Father sent the Son into
the world, and the Son, when he came and died, said, I will
pray the Father, and he will send you the Holy Spirit, another
Comforter. Jesus Christ is God. He's not
just a messenger, he is God. He's not just a representative,
he's God. He's God, all right? Now, another
word in this text. The word, it says, "...to wait
for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead." That's
the word I want to look at, dead. Now, this is sufficient proof
for some people that Jesus Christ is not God. For God, absolutely
considered, cannot die. God is life. In him there is
no death. God absolutely considered cannot
die. Man dies, but God doesn't die. That's the reason they talk about
God is dead. Well, it's totally ridiculous.
If he's God, he can't die. Man is dead, but God can't die. Man dies, God doesn't die. And
so some people take this and say, well, Jesus of Nazareth
cannot be God because he died. As God he didn't die, he can't
die, but Christ our God became a man. He took upon himself,
the scripture says, the form and likeness of human sinful
flesh. He said, a body, talking to the
Father, he said, a body thou hast prepared me. Turn to Galatians chapter 4.
A body thou hast prepared me, so that he could die. In Galatians
4 verse 4, But when the fulness of time was come, God sent forth
his Son, made of a woman. Now watch this. God didn't send
you and me forth made of a woman. We were born of the flesh. We
got our life from the flesh. When our mother and father came
together and life was conceived, that's when we started. We had
no pre-existence. But this life in the virgin's
womb, for which God prepared a body without a human father,
was the dwelling place of Jesus Christ. God sent his Son from
heaven. Christ came into the world. He
chose that way by which he came. He preexisted. He was God. It
was the Son and the Father who said, let us make man. Let us
go down and destroy man. Let us, and so forth. So God
sent his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem
them that were under the law. He is the Son of God and he is
the Son of man. He is the Son of God sent, he
is the Son of Mary born. And there's no question with
me concerning his deity which fills me with reverence. Thomas
bowed down before this person, Jesus of Nazareth, and said,
My Lord and my God. And there's no question of his
manhood, which fills me with joy. His deity, which fills my
heart with reverence, and his manhood, which fills my heart
with joy. Turn to Philippians chapter 2.
In Philippians 2 verse 5, listen to this. Now let this mind, Be
in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, verse 6, who being in
the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God,
but made himself, he made himself of no reputation. He took upon
him the form of a servant. He was made in the likeness of
men. You see, all this was constructed,
purpose, plan, and constructed by Almighty God. That verse is
so important. He is God and he made himself
of no reputation. He wasn't born without a reputation.
He made himself of no reputation. He took upon himself the form
of a servant. He was made in the likeness of
men and being found in fashion or habit as a man. He humbled
himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the
cross. Wherefore God hath highly exalted him, and given him a
name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every
knee should bow, of things in heaven, things in earth, and
things under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." Humanity
of Christ. to wait for His Son, the Deity,
dead humanity. All right, here's the third thing,
and this is the most important point in the message, and I want
you to stay with me. And to wait for His Son, that's
the Deity of Christ, He is the Son of God, the only begotten
Son of God. In the sense in which He's the
Son of God, there is no other Son of God. But he died. He's the son of
man. He had a human body. He thirsted. He knew what it was to be tempted.
He knew what it was to be weary. He knew what it was to be hungry. He felt pain. His body bled. And as the blood flowed out of
his body, he died. He gave up the ghost. No man
taketh my life from me. Even those men could not take
that life out of that body. He had to yield it. Father, into
thy hands I commit my spirit. All right, here's the third thing.
To wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead,
comma, even Jesus, comma. The apostle speaks of him first
as his son. And then he speaks of him as
the one who died. And then he adds, even Jesus. That is to say, one undivided
person. His son and the one who died
is one undivided person. Although he is God and man, he
is not two, but even Jesus. The Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth. From everlasting to everlasting
thou art God, Jesus of Nazareth. By whom he created the worlds,
who is the brightness of his image, the express image of his
person, Jesus of Nazareth. He that hath seen me, Jesus of
Nazareth, hath seen the Father. He that hath heard me hath heard
the Father, Jesus of Nazareth, God Almighty. And yet he's a
man who doth. Even Jesus, He is God and He
is man. He is perfect God and perfect
man. He is one undivided person. He
didn't play like God one hour and act like a man another hour.
He's God and man in one. Now this is important. And as
such, God and man in one undivided person, even Jesus, as such,
He is the one mediator between God and man, as such as the God-man. Like old Brother L.R. used to
say, you get hold of your pew there, we're going to jump a
creek right now. I'm going to show you the basic
error of present-day preaching. You remember this. Jesus Christ
Jesus of Nazareth is God walking around in human flesh. That's
what it says. His name unto us a child is given, is born, unto
us a son is given. And I preached on that recently. Son given is God, a child born
is Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus the Christ. His name is wonderful. He said, Philip said, well, he
thought he was talking to a man too. He said, show us the Father.
But he said, Philip, you're looking at the Father. You know what
he said? You're looking at the Father. If I've been so long
time with you and you don't know me, I wonder if you've professed
faith in him so long time you don't know him. Philip was with him three and
a half years, and he said, you still don't know who I am, do
you? I'm God. He that has seen me has seen the Father. Now, modern preaching, watch
this, indicates that God is dealing individually with each of you, each son of Adam on a personal
basis in regard to obedience and disobedience. God is dealing
individually with each son of Adam on the personal basis of
obedience or disobedience. If I believe and obey God, then
God accepts me on the basis of my faith and repentance and trust
and obedience. Isn't that what's being preached?
God loves you, and God sends his preacher to you, and God
sends his gospel to you. Now, if you believe it, God will
accept you. And God will love you and bless
you and provide you with prosperity and good health and family, and
you can run and talk to God about your problems. Now if you don't, God will deal
with you, and it's strictly up to you. God's dealings, now listen to
me, I want you to understand what I'm saying. This is what
modern preachers say, God's dealing individually with every son of
Adam on a personal basis. You make Jesus your personal
Savior. The scriptures express a totally
different way of life. I can show you that if you turn
to 1 Corinthians 15. We'd better listen to this very
carefully. 1 Corinthians 15, verses 21 and
22. I'm saying this, that God only
actually deals on a personal basis with two men. Not two billion, two men, both
named Adam. both called Adam, brother, in
the scripture, the first Adam and the second Adam. In 1 Corinthians
15 verse 21, "...since by man came death." Who's that? Adam. That's how death came into this
world. "...by man came death." By man, who's that? Christ came
to the resurrection from the dead. As in Adam, all who are
in Adam, all who are represented by Adam, all who were created
in Adam, all who were the sons of Adam, died. So even so in Christ, in Christ,
shall all who are in Christ be made alive. You know what that's
teaching? Federal headship. Representation. Go with me to Romans 5. I'll
show you what I'm saying in just a moment. Romans 5 verse 18.
Now watch this. We'll look first of all at Romans
5 verse 12. Now stay with me. Because I'm
telling you this. I want to be accepted by the
Father, don't you? Well, if I'm accepted by the
Father, I've got to find out how he accepts sinners. I've got to find out how a sinner
gets to God. Job asked there, how can man
be just with God? How can he be clean that's born
of a woman? What is the way into the presence
of the Holy God? Isaiah said, I saw the Lord high
and lifted up, and the cherubim covered their faces. And here
sinful, wicked creatures like you and me think we can bust
into the presence of God and He'll greet us like some lost
son, some long lost prodigal. And we just walk in there with
all of our evil and corruption and darkness and sin and iniquity
and the presence of God is wide open. Don't you believe it. Don't you believe it. In Romans chapter 5 verse 12,
Wherefore, as by one man sin entered this world, and death
by sin, so death passed upon all men, for that all sinned. When Adam sinned, we sinned.
I see that have in there. All sinned is what it says. When
did I sin? When Adam sinned. And when did
God judge me? When Adam sinned. And when did
death come upon me? When Adam sinned. And when was
I separated from God? When Adam sinned. It wasn't when
I reached an age of accountability. It was when Adam fell, death,
judgment, condemnation. Look at verse 18, Romans 5. Therefore, as by the offense
of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation, even so
by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men
to justification of life. For as by one man's disobedience
many were made sinners, So by the obedience of one shall many
be made righteous." God dealt with all men who were
in Adam, and God deals with the believer in Christ. Brethren,
you need to learn this and learn it well. We are accepted not
on the basis of what we have done, but on the basis of what
Christ has done. Not on the basis of our obedience,
but on the basis of his obedience. Not on the basis of our holiness,
because there's enough sin in your best prayer to turn God
away from you, but on the basis of his holiness. Turn to 1 Corinthians
1. Let me show you a scripture here.
1 Corinthians 1, verse 30. But of him are you in Christ
Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification,
and redemption. I'm saying this, and I want you
to get clear exactly what I'm saying. I'm saying that the way
to God is in Christ. The way of acceptance is in Christ. The way of redemption is in Christ. And I'm saying that God Almighty,
the Heavenly Father, his love and his mercy and his grace toward
us and upon us is not because of any act we've performed or
any deed we have done, any decision we have made, but because of
Jesus Christ and Jesus Christ alone. That's what I'm saying. And that's what the Word teaches.
He that hath the Son of God hath life. He that hath not the Son
of God hath not life. If men are accepted by God on
the basis of their works, then salvation is not by grace, but
it's by works. God loves us in Christ. God chose
us in Christ. God redeemed us in Christ. God
accepts us in Christ. God regards us in Christ. God
delivers us in Christ. God seated us in Christ. And
God Almighty will make us heirs, but joint heirs with Christ. Even Jesus. All right, the fourth
word, quickly. And that is the word wrath. Now
here's something else that's not being preached today. Look
down the line. He delivered us from the wrath. the wrath to
come. God's wrath is against sin. Now I know I pick up my newspaper
and I open it up and here's an advertisement for us to go to
a certain church here in town, here's a great big sign, God
loves you. Well, there's a sense in which
this is true. God does love sinners. Not individually. in Christ. Turn to Romans 8. Now let's get
this clear. In Romans 8, verse 39, the last
line there, nothing is able to separate us from the love of
God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. That's where it is.
That's where God's love is. That's where God's acceptance
is. That's where God's redemption is in Christ. God's
wrath is upon sin. He says, He that believeth not
on the Son, the wrath of God abideth on him. The wrath of
God, John 3, 36, the wrath of God abideth on him. Look at Ephesians
chapter 2 a moment. Here it calls us, even as others,
the children of wrath, divine wrath. The wrath of God, Ephesians
2, verse 3, among whom also we all had our conversation in times
past in the lust of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the
flesh and of the mind, and we were by nature children of wrath,
even as others. When Lucifer fell, and the angels
who followed him fell, Would you say that they're under
a dispensation of love? Would you say that God's deportment
toward them and God's feelings towards them is one of love?
Satan and the angels? No, you'd say it's wrath, wouldn't
you? God is angry. divine wrath, the
wrath of a holy God against rebels. They are reserved in everlasting
chains of darkness, that's what it says, unto the judgment of
that great day, judgment wrath. They were his creatures. God
created them. Actually, I would say that the
angels were created in their original creation. a little higher
than you and me, the way we were born. I'm not talking about Adam's
curse, I'm talking about the way we were born. We're lower than Lucifer was,
and those are the angels that fell. Now, why do we claim, in
our natural state of rebellion, the love of God, when we impose
upon them the wrath of God? They were his creatures. They
were made for his glory. They served his glory and his
purposes. Lucifer and all of those legions
of angels that rebelled against God and fell under his wrath,
under his judgment. Now, man's his creature. And
man fell. He will beâ€”same sin. Lucifer
said, I'll be like God. Adam said the same thing. I'll
be like God. Something Satan didn't do. We
nailed his son to a cross. And yet we run around here in
all of our rebellion and wickedness and profanity, and we say to
the man standing there who says, I'll not have God. I hate God. There is no God. He uses God's
name in vain. He swears by the name of Christ.
And us silly little old sentimental emotional preachers smile at
him and say, God loves you. Yeah, just about as much as he
loves the devil, just about as much as he loves every demon
spirit, just about as much as he loves the angels whom he cast
in his judgment and wrath into the chains of darkness. Now,
I wouldn't disturb you or upset you, but you better not go through
life resting on a false promise of the love of God and not know
where it is. It's in Christ. That's where
I'm convinced of that as surely as I'm standing here. God's love
is in Christ. He that hath not the Son hath
not God. He's without God. He's without
hope. He's without help. That's right. God's love is in
Christ. That's where it is. It's in Christ.
And God sent his affections upon him. I've drawn you, he said,
with an everlasting love. Jacob have I loved, Esau have I hated. Why was Jacob loved? Jacob was
in the covenant. He was in Christ. He was in God's
mercy. That's so. You say, that makes
God a monster. I don't know what that makes
God. But that's what he says. God loves in Christ. Somebody
said, well, your God's a monster. Then you get ready to deal with
a monster because that's what it says right here. Jacob have
I loved, Esau have I hated. I will have mercy on whom I will
have mercy. I will be gracious to whom I
will be gracious. Bind them hand and foot and cast
them into outer darkness. There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth. That's Christ that said that. Fear not them which kill the
body, rather I say unto you, fear him who is able to cast
you body and soul into hell. They shall feel the wrath of
God. Brethren, what I'm saying to you is this, that God's mercy
and God's love is in Christ. Outside of Christ, God is a consuming
fire. Outside of Christ, God is angry,
angry with the wicked. The scripture says every day
he hated the workers of iniquity. That's his nature. It's a righteous
wrath. It's a righteous judgment. It's
the same thing that occurred when those created creatures
of old fell. They fell out of God's favor
and under God's judgment. And that's where men are today
who have not Christ, they're under the judgment of God. And it's not a tenderness, it's
not an affection, it's judgment. It's judgment. All right, here's
the fifth word quickly, and that's the word delivered. He said He
delivered us from the wrath of God. His Son delivered us. His
Son did it. His Son delivered us. The way
His Son delivered us is this way. His Son delivered us, first
of all, by back down in eternity past, becoming our surety, becoming
our representative, becoming our federal head. He said, We
were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.
We were given to Christ. He prayed for those whom the
Father had given him. We were given to Christ. We were
committed to Christ. We were entrusted to Christ as
our surety. He's the surety of an everlasting
covenant. I'm telling you the truth. He
was the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He was
the surety of an eternal covenant. And in that eternal covenant,
the Father purposed to redeem a people and gave them to Christ,
entrusted them to Christ. And through the Old Testament,
he showed different signs. He chose a national people to
represent a spiritual people. He chose a nation out of all
nations. He didn't choose the Amalekites
or the Philistines or the Amorites or the Hittites or any other
kind of ites. He chose Abraham. And he said, I'll bless your
seed, and I'll bless them that bless you and curse them that
curse you. And he called out of all the nations of this earth,
one nation. And he passed by all the rest
of them. And he gave to that one nation, you can't doubt that,
there it is in the word of God. It's right there before you.
He gave them his prophets, he gave them his scripture, he gave
them his law, He gave them the tithes, the
tabernacle. He gave them the ark of God. Israel carried that ark around.
No other nation had that ark. Israel had that ark. When he'd send King Saul down
there, he'd say, destroy every human being in that whole country. Destroy them. When he gave Canaan
to Israel, he sent Israel into Canaan and cleaned out the owners
of Canaan. They didn't own it. God's people
owned it. He's designed everything for
his people. And I don't hear anybody getting
all upset about that. Israel came in. Here was Canaan.
They crossed the Jordan and went into Canaan. It didn't belong
to them by any paper or by any human rights or by any natural
inheritance. They took it away from those
people and killed every one of them. What right do you have to do
that? We have a right God gave us. We're his people. Read your Old Testament. You
say, well, that's a different day. Same God, same Christ. Moses wrote of me. Christ is
our Passover. Christ was that rock. One nation, one people, the Jews. And when Jesus Christ came to
this world, he came to the Jews. He came as a Jew. He came born
of David's daughter. She was the heir to David's throne.
He was by rights the King of the Jews. Mary was in the line
for David's throne. He was born of David's great-great-great-great-great
granddaughter. He was a Jew. He was born under
the Jewish ceremonial law. He was born under the Jewish
dispensation. He was born to a Jewish mother.
He came unto his own, and his own received him not. Israel was a type of spiritual
Israel. God's love was upon Israel, not
upon the Philistine, not upon the Amalekites. It doesn't say
anywhere over here they were God's people. The Jews were God's
people, Israel. And God blessed them and prospered
them because He loved them. He said, I didn't love you because
you were more than any nation. You were the fewest of all people.
Turn to Deuteronomy 7. Let me show you that. In Deuteronomy
chapter 7, Now you listen, and this is a picture of spiritual
Israel. That's right. There was just
a handful of those people really saved, but they were a picture,
they were a type. The Jewish nation was a type
of spiritual Israel. Look at Deuteronomy 7, verse
6. He says, Thou art a holy people
unto the Lord thy God. The Lord thy God hath chosen
thee to be a special people unto himself above all people that
are upon the face of the earth. The Lord didn't set his love
upon you nor choose you because you were more in number than
any people. You were the fewest of all people, just a hand. Seventy
of them went into Egypt. Do you know that? Seventy of
them, that's all. When Joseph took his family into
Egypt, seventy of them. But because the Lord loved you. But God loves everybody. Because the Lord loved you, and
he would keep the oath he swore unto your fathers, hath the Lord
brought you out with a mighty hand, and redeemed you out of
the house of bondmen from the Pharaoh king of Egypt. I'm telling
you, my friends, the truth of this book. I know it's not the way that
seems right unto men, and I know it's not the gospel according
to men, and I know it's not what's being preached in the average
church today, but it's what this book says. God's love was upon
Israel. Israel. And I'll tell you where
God's love is today. It's upon Israel, spiritual Israel. God's nation, God's holy nation,
God's royal nation, God's royal priesthood, God's special people
in Christ. You want in there? There's room
for you. But you've got to come through Christ. You can't stay
outside of Christ because it says here in our text, he delivered
us through his Son. His sacrifice paid the debt. I know that baptism and obedience,
repentance and faith and all these things have their place,
but we are redeemed in Christ. Another word is the word raised.
He raised him from the dead. He was raised for our justification.
The surety of men would yet be in prison if his sacrifice had
not been accepted. God raised him from the dead.
If Jesus had not paid the debt, He never would have been at freedom
set. But when he came out of that
grave, we all came out with him. And then he ascended, it says
here, to wait for his son from heaven. Where is Christ now?
He's in heaven. He's seated at the right hand
of God. That's where he is. And let me tell you something.
This destroys the doctrine of purgatory. There's nobody in
Christ can be anywhere but where Christ is. That's right. If I'm in Christ,
there's no way I can go to purgatory. When my soul leaves this body,
it goes to be with Christ. That's what Paul said, with Christ,
in Christ. I'm seated with Christ. I'm already
victorious. The debt's already paid. I don't
have anything to go to purgatory for. And then last of all, to
wait for his Son from heaven. I want you to note this, and
then I'll close. Every one of these chapters in 1 Thessalonians
closes Every one of them with a word about his second coming.
Verse 10 here, to wait for his son from heaven. Look at chapter
2, verse 19. What is our hope, or joy, or
crown of rejoicing? Are not even ye in the presence
of our Lord Jesus at his coming? For ye are glory and joy. Look
at chapter 3, verse 13. To the end he may establish your
hearts unblameable in holiness before God, even our Father,
at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ with all his saints. Chapter
4, verse 16, "...the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with
a shout." Comfort one another with these words. Chapter 5,
verse 23, "...and the very God of peace sanctify you wholly,
and I pray God your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless
unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ." He is our life. Christ is not a way to God, He's
the way. Christ is not a way to gain favor
with God, he is God's favor. He is the Bible, he is salvation,
he is redemption, he is life, he is God. And to be found in
Christ is to be in God. To be out of Christ is to be
under the wrath of God. You see, when God made that tabernacle,
had Moses make it and put it in the wilderness, that's where
God met man and where man met God. No other place but in that
tabernacle. And when Jesus Christ tabernacled
on this earth, that's where God met man, in mercy and grace and
love. And that's where man meets God.
And those cities of refuge, they're types of Christ. When the man
slayer would flee to the city of refuge, once inside he was
protected. But outside, anything could happen
to him. Anything could happen. He was not protected, though
innocent of any deliberate murder, but inside the city of refuge
he was under divine protection. And that's what I'm saying to
you. I'm saying that in Christ we are under divine protection
and divine grace and divine love and divine security in Christ.
But even believers, their prayers are made holy by the intercession
of Christ. If it weren't for Christ, God
couldn't do anything in the world but judge me. and damn me and
you too." He couldn't do anything. Like Brother Richardson said,
God will not do business with a sinner except in Christ. He
will not speak to nor be spoken to by a sinner except in Christ. I counsel you with all my heart,
if the message is a little strong for you, If you feel like it's
not what I've always heard, what could I recommend to you that
you read God's word? Lay aside your books, lay aside
your quarter lists, lay aside your instruction sheets, and
all these things. Get into this book. This is where
salvation is. And you'll find that what I'm
saying to you tonight, because I've read it to you from the
scripture, is true. Our Father in Heaven, even these
words we have just spoken, our Father in Heaven, would not be received, there's
too much sin in them, the sin of flesh, not enough adoration
and awe and fear and glory were it not for Christ. We claim no
mercy outside of Christ. We claim no grace. We don't deserve
it. On what basis would it be given? On what foundation would it be
merited? On what grounds, O God, could
we expect your love? We're not lovable. Nothing about
us that is lovable. In the flesh dwelleth no good
thing, in the flesh no man can please God. The natural mind is enmity against
thee, we are thine enemies by nature. We lay no claim to thy
mercy in ourselves, but, Lord, you love Christ and all who are
in him by faith. And your mercy and grace is upon
your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and because of him We lay claim
to thy mercy. We lay claim to thy grace. We
lay claim to thy love. Lord, for Christ's sake, accept
us. For Christ's sake, receive us.
Because he obeyed, because he died, because he met the full
requirements of thy holiness, justice, righteousness, and law,
we're nothing, less than nothing. Worms of the dust from the sole
of our feet to the top of our heads, even our righteousnesses
are filthy rags, and we're proud and lifted up to even think that
we can command the love of a holy God when we're his enemies by
nature. Lord, open the eyes of men and
women to see where thy mercy is in Christ. open the eyes of men and women
to behold the glory of Christ, the beauty of Christ, that we
may all sing together someday unto him who loved us and washed
us from our sin in his own precious blood. In his name we pray. Amen.

Christ - Our Body of Divinity

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

Joshua

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Christ - Our Body of Divinity

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

More from Henry Mahan

Related Sermons

Articles by Henry Mahan

Books by Henry Mahan

Joshua

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book