Sermon The Offices of Christ (3)

We are talking about the need for Christians to meditate and I've been suggesting things to meditate on - God, his word, his works, etc. Something very profitable to meditate on would be the threefold office of Christ, the fact he is our great Prophet, Priest and King.

When we say ‘Jesus Christ’ you know Christ is not his surname but a title based on the Greek word which in Hebrew is Moshiach or Messiah. Both words mean anointed one ie one who has oil put on his head. In Acts 10:38 Peter says God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power … In the Old Testament prophets, priests and kings are the ones who were anointed. Thus when we call Jesus Christ we mean he is Messiah, the anointed one – anointed not with oil but with the Spirit, to be our prophet, priest and king. Some ideas of Christianity stress only one or other of these offices. Some ignore them all and speak only of Christ as a man whose good example we must follow which is really heresy. If we are biblical we will give attention to all three offices as seen in Christ. So

1. Meditate on Christ the King

Who is the most powerful man on earth today? Perhaps the President of the USA but his power is limited as America is a democracy. For real power you need to be an absolute monarch - a King or an Emperor. Down the years some kings have gained the title great – Constantine the Great, Alfred the Great, Rhodri Fawr, Frederick the Great, etc. As great as they may have been they all died and few have the power today such kings once had. However, there is one Great King still alive today who, though he died, he rose again and reigns forever. He has a kingdom that can never fall - Jesus, King of the Jews, the King of kings and Lord of Lords.

Remember how when the wise men came to Jerusalem looking for Jesus they asked for The King of the Jews and when he was eventually crucified the title above his head read The King of the Jews. The Jews wanted Pilate to change it to 'He claimed to be ...' but he refused. He was simply being awkward but the fact is that this really was The King of the Jews – the great king promised in the Old Testament. For Pilate and others, it was a joke – Here is the King of the Jews: a helpless, crucified criminal. What can he do? But three days later he rose from the dead. Pilate's conversation with Jesus before the cross went like this (John 18:33ff) - Pilate asked him if he was the king of the Jews. Jesus explained his kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jews. But now my kingdom is from another place. You are a king, then! said Pilate sarcastically. Jesus replied You are right in saying I am a king. In fact, for this reason I was born, and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.

Jesus undoubtedly claimed to be a king then. Early in his ministry (John 1:49) Nathanael calls him the King of Israel and he accepts it. This is why he rode into Jerusalem on a donkey to fulfil Zechariah 9:9 ... See, your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey .... When the people acclaimed him as king he accepted it. However, he was no earthly king. After feeding the 5000 they wanted to make him king by force but he resisted. He didn't come down to be an earthly king. Rather, he came to bring in God's kingdom – Repent for the kingdom of heaven is near. But this kingdom is no earthly kingdom, it is from another place – from heaven. That is why he willingly laid down his life as he did. Earthly kings fight and seek to conquer earthly territory but that never was the way his Kingdom advanced. Earthly kings seek to capture castles and conquer lands but King Jesus came rather to capture men’s hearts and conquer their sins. By nature you are a rebel against him. You say We will not have this man to be king over us but Jesus is at work through his Spirit in this world and goes out conquering and to conquer. He calls on all today to lay down their arms, cease resistance and bow to him. Acknowledge him as Lord and Master, your rightful sovereign.

Three aspects of his kingship to meditate on. Think of him as

1. A merciful King

By might and by right he has authority to rule over you. We all deserve death at his hands but by his amazing mercy there is a way of escape. If you will only bow down before him then rather than destroying you as would be right he'll forgive you and have mercy on you and give you the freedom and the desire to live for him. Today is a day of amnesty, a day of grace. All who acknowledge Jesus as Lord can know mercy. All who stubbornly refuse and hold out against him must realise that a day is coming when they will have no choice in the matter. They will have to bow the knee and acknowledge his Lordship. His offer of mercy is limited. It is not forever.

Psalm 2 is graphic. It describes the rebellion of the kings of this earth against God’s anointed king and describes how in reaction God laughs and scoffs then rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his wrath, saying, he has installed his King on Zion, his holy hill. This is where Christ is declared to be the Son of God: You are my Son; today I have become your Father. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will rule them with an iron sceptre; you will dash them to pieces like pottery. That’s how it will be for rebels at the judgement. The conclusion then is that earthly kings, should be wise ... Serve the LORD with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest he be angry and you be destroyed in your way, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him. In other words Jesus, God’s anointed, will rule over all one day. We will all bow down to him. So before that day, kiss the Lord Jesus with a kiss of peace. We must take refuge in him, before his wrath flares up to destroys us.

2. A glorious King

In another Psalm, Psalm 24:7-10, we read Lift up your heads, O you gates; be lifted up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is this King of glory? The LORD strong and mighty, the LORD mighty in battle. Lift up your heads, O you gates; lift them up, you ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in. Who is he, this King of glory? The LORD Almighty - he is the King of glory. It is clear that it is a description of the glorious return to heaven of the triumphant Lord Jesus Christ following his victory on the cross. Earthly kings like to be called 'your majesty', wear crowns and robes, sit on thrones and surround themselves with gold and silver. Without those things there is often nothing majestic about them at all. But the Lord Jesus is glorious in his own person and works. He is glorious, great, full of splendour and majesty. He is God. Because we think so much of him on the cross where he faced shame and suffering, we can easily forget his real glory. Yet even there his glory is seen. How majestic he is. How different to those who crucified him. Think of some of the things he said on the cross - to the thief who repented – Today you will be with me in Paradise and for the crowds Father forgive them for they do not know what they are doing. Think of his triumphant It is finished!

3. The Supreme King

Way back in Numbers Balaam foresaw it (24:17) I see him, but not now; I behold him, but not near. A star will come out of Jacob; a sceptre will rise out of Israel. He will crush the foreheads of Moab, the skulls of all the sons of Sheth. The psalmist saw it too (89:27). He hears God the Father say of the Christ I will also appoint him my firstborn, the most exalted of the kings of the earth. Psalm 110:1 is similar The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at my right hand until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.

Yes, he was despised and rejected but Isaiah sees that is not the end of the story (49:7) ... to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: Kings will see you and rise up, princes will see and bow down, because of the LORD, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you. He is called (Revelation 1:5, 17:14, 18:16) ... the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. They will make war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will overcome them because he is Lord of lords and King of kings - ... On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS. He is the Lamb in the midst of the throne of God. There is none greater and ultimately we will all bow down to him and give him glory. The nations are his. 1 Corinthians 15:25 For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet

2. Meditate on Jesus the Prophet

1. Think what a prophet is

We are probably less clear on what prophets are. We tend to think of prophets as foretellers of the future. That is understandable but in the Bible the chief meaning of prophet is someone who speaks the Word of God. In Exodus 6 God says to Moses See, I have made you like God to Pharaoh, and your brother Aaron will be your prophet. You are to say everything I command you, and your brother Aaron is to tell Pharaoh to let the Israelites go out of his country. So a prophet is one who speaks on God’s behalf. He speaks what God tells him to say.

2. Know Jesus is a prophet

There are not as many Scriptures about Christ as Prophet as those about Christ as King but there is plenty of evidence that Christ is not only the Great King but also the Great Prophet. Indeed it is not something in any doubt. Muslims, for example, are happy to accept Jesus was a prophet. Of course, we want to assert that he is more than a prophet. There are many others too willing to accept that Jesus is at least a prophet.

People who heard Jesus on earth spoke of him as a prophet. Mark 6:15 As the people debated who Jesus is some said He is Elijah. And still others claimed, He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of long ago. Luke 7:16 They were all filled with awe and praised God. A great prophet has appeared among us, they said. .... It was the conclusion made too by the woman at the well (John 4) and the blind man who was healed (John 9).

Others were more sceptical. We read of a Pharisee who invited Jesus to his house. When he saw him receive attention from an immoral woman (Luke 7:39) he said to himself, If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is - that she is a sinner. Jesus not only knew what sort of a woman she was but what the Pharisee was thinking too! Also Matthew 21:11 ... This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth in Galilee 21:46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet Luke 24:19 ... a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people.

There were times too when the crowds got even closer, as in John 6 and 7, where we read (6:14) After the people saw the miraculous sign that Jesus did, they began to say, Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world. (7:40) On hearing his words, some of the people said, Surely this man is the Prophet. What they meant by that we’ll come to in a moment.

We should also say that Jesus accepted the designation prophet. Luke 13:33 ... I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day - for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! Mark 6:4 Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honour.

In John 3:32 he testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no-one accepts his testimony. 7:16 My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me. 8:26 he who sent me is reliable, and what I have heard from him I tell the world. 12:4-50 Then Jesus cried out, When a man believes in me, he does not believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. When he looks at me, he sees the one who sent me. ... There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; that very word which I spoke will condemn him at the last day. For I did not speak of my own accord, but the Father who sent me commanded me what to say and how to say it. ... whatever I say is just what the Father has told me to say.

3. Know Jesus is the prophet spoken of by Moses

As we said, there were times when people thought may be Jesus was more than just a prophet. In Deuteronomy 18 Moses says The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him. For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire any more, or we will die. The LORD said to me: What they say is good. I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.

This prophecy reached a partial fulfilment in the sending of many different prophets in the Old Testament period culminating with John the Baptist. People were looking, quite rightly, for an ultimate prophet – the Prophet. When John was asked if it was him he said ‘No’. But what about Jesus? In Acts 3 Peter certainly makes that connection with Deuteronomy 18. Perhaps the two clearest places it comes out are Hebrews 1:1-3a and John 1:1-3 In the past God spoke to our forefathers through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God's glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. Every true prophet reveals truth about God but the Lord Jesus is the exact representation of God’s being. He is the unique Prophet. His is the final revelation. In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. John's choice of the word Word is highly significant. Here is the one who is God but who uniquely communicates God. John 1:18 No-one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, who is at the Father’s side, has made him known. This is how to know God – through Jesus Christ. He is the one who perfectly reveals God. If you want to know what God is like, look only to Jesus.

4. Think of the implications

See that the one great Teacher or Prophet you need above all is Christ. It is not easy to admit our ignorance but we have to. We don't know everything that is clear and sometimes what we think we know we need to learn again. Therefore we need to cast ourselves entirely on Christ and learn from him. Matthew 28:20 … teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. How do we do that?

• Read the Old Testament. Luke 24:27 Jesus beginning with Moses and all the Prophets,(ie the Old Testament) he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. Even the Old Testament prophets, as Peter says (1 Peter 1:10,11) searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow.
• Read the New Testament. The New Testament tells us not only about the Great Prophet, the Lord Jesus Christ, but is all inspired by the Holy Spirit who is the Spirit of Christ. These are truly the words of Christ and must be listened to. Matthew 11:27-30 All things have been committed to me by my Father. No-one knows the Son except the Father, and no-one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.

We need to listen to God's Word. Listening is not enough, of course – we must do what it says.

3. Meditate on Jesus the High Priest

Jesus is only called a priest in the Book of Hebrews. Hebrews 3:1 Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess. However, there are references to his priestly work in other parts of the New Testament.

1. Think about what a high priest is

Basically a prophet represents God to man and a priest man to God. We have a definition in Hebrews 5:1 Every high priest is selected from among men and is appointed to represent them in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. So Selected from among men – it has to be a man, a human being. Appointed – ie by God. To represent them in matters related to God – the high priest’s role is to represent man in anything related to God. He is a mediator. To offer gifts and sacrifices for sins – especially his role is to do with sins. He offers gifts to God and makes sacrifices to deal with sins.

In the history of religion, there have been and are all sorts of priests and high-priests. Think of Roman Catholicism, pagan religions, etc. In the Old Testament, each patriarch was a priest over his household (Noah, Job, Abraham, etc) but when God brought Israel out of Egypt for various reasons a priesthood was established with all the priests coming from one tribe - Levi. The greatest work of the high priest was on the annual day of atonement (Yom Kippur) when he would go into holiest place of all with blood to make atonement for Israel. His other work was to represent and pray for God’s people. The purpose of this priesthood and Temple and sacrifices was to point people, imperfectly and symbolically, to what Messiah would do perfectly and actually. What was true of Aaron and the high priests that followed is true too of Christ.

2. Think of the ways Christ is pictured in the Old Testament high priests.

1 Called by God

Hebrews 5:4, 5 No-one takes this honour upon himself; he must be called by God, just as Aaron was. So Christ also did not take upon himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him, You are my Son; today I have become your Father. {Psalm 2:7}

2 Anointed and holy

John 1:32 Then John gave this testimony: I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him. Hebrews 7:26 Such a high priest meets our need - one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Jesus is the holy messiah.

3 Liable to temptation so sympathetic to sinners

Hebrews 2:18 Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted. 4:15, 5:2 ... we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but ... one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are -yet was without sin. …

4 Making complete atonement by himself alone

Hebrews 2:17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people.

5 Interceding for his people

Hebrews 7:25, 9:24 Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. … Christ did not enter a man-made sanctuary that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God's presence. In God’s presence he is present pleading for his own.

3. Think how Jesus is superior to all earthly priests?

Of course, there are many ways in which the high priest was inferior to Christ, as are all human priests. This teaches us that we do not need a human priest but one great high priest, Christ. Eg

1 He does not need to make atonement for his own sins

Hebrews 7:27, 28 Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. ... Every human priest needs atonement for his own sins. What is the point in going to someone who himself needs atonement when you can go to someone like Jesus?

2 He is a Melchizedek priest

Hebrews says Jesus was not a Levitical priest like Aaron. He was from the tribe of Judah not Levi. He became a priest, however, like Melchizedek (the Priest-King Abraham meets in Genesis) not on the basis of a regulation as to his ancestry but on the basis of the power of an indestructible life. If perfection could have been attained through the Levitical priesthood (7:11) it would have happened but there had to be a change rather and Christ became (as announced in Psalm 110:4) a priest for ever, in the order of Melchizedek. A New Covenant replaces the Old and there is a new priest. Hebrews 8:6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises. Trying to find salvation through an earthly priest going back to what is inferior.

3 He goes on forever

Hebrews 7:23 24 Now there have been many of those priests since death prevented them from continuing in office but because Jesus lives for ever he has a permanent priesthood

4 He offered himself

Hebrews 9:25, 26; 10:11,12 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year ... But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. … Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

5 His once for all sacrifice is enough

Hebrews 9:25-28; 10:11-14 Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year ... Then Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But now he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself … Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people ... Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. … by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

In true Christianity there is no priest class. All are priests under the one great high priest Christ.

• Trust in Christ for he alone has dealt once and for all with the sins of his people
• Trust in Christ for he alone has opened up a way into the presence of God for his people
• Trust in Christ for he is the only one who goes on praying for his people night and day

At least since the time of Calvin, it has been common to speak in these terms. When God created man he gave him at least three things:

• knowledge/understanding
• righteousness/holiness
• dominion over creation

However, when man fell these things were lost. We are all now by nature ignorant, lost, defeated. Outside Christ we are spiritually ignorant, spiritually lost, spiritually dead. So think

• I need spiritual discipline, guidance and rule. Left to myself I make a mess of life but when Christ rules, all is brought into order and beauty. I need Christ as my King. Why do I need Christ as a king? Because I am weak and helpless.
• I also lack knowledge. I don’t know God. I don’t understand spiritual truth. My great need is to have someone teach me spiritual truths. Jesus is the one who alone can teach me satisfactorily. Why do I need Christ as a prophet? Because I am ignorant.
• I also need to be saved. I am far from God by nature – morally polluted, corrupted, unrighteous. By his perfect priestly atonement and his faithful priestly intercession Christ is the only one who can remove sin and bring me near to God. Why do I need Christ as a priest? Because I am guilty.

Go to Christ the King for deliverance from Satan's power and to come into the glorious kingdom of God; Christ the Prophet for enlightenment; Christ the Priest for reconciliation and forgiveness.

Piper on meditating on the works of God

This passage on pages 229 and 230 of John Piper's Providence

Our Joy in Creation Is Finally Joy in the Lord

Return with me now to Psalm 104, where I said we could see clearly the purpose of God to make the world a theater for his glory for the enjoyment of his people:

O Lord, how manifold are your works! In wisdom have you made them all. (Ps. 104:24)

May the glory of the Lord endure forever. . . . I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. (Ps. 104:31, 33–34) 

The psalmist calls his psalm a “meditation” (or meditative praise: “May my meditation be pleasing to him”). He has been meditating on the world God creates and sustains and governs. The world of providence. What he has seen moved him to exult in God’s unparalleled wisdom in the countless natural wonders God creates and controls. “In wisdom have you made them all.” The glory of this wisdom, and its execution in power and goodness, causes the psalmist to sing and praise and rejoice in the Lord.

This is crucial to note: he rejoices “in the Lord” (104:34). Yes, he rejoices in the works of the Lord (as God himself does, 104:31). It would be an ungrateful sin not to. They are gifts and blessings. But when all is said and done and the psalmist hopes his meditation will be pleasing to God, the ground of his hope is this: “For I rejoice in the Lord” - not finally or fully in his works, but in himself. That is what creation is for. All of creation - in the skies above and on the earth beneath - is designed to reveal the glory of God. His glory, including his power, his divine nature, his understanding, his goodness - all these and more - is put on display in the theater of God’s glory called the natural world:

The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. (Ps. 19:1)

[God’s] invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. (Rom. 1:20)

The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. (Isa. 40:28)

The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made. (Ps. 145:9)

Sermon The Works of God (9)

At the moment we are in a series looking at things to meditate on. We've been saying that if we profess to be Christians that implies certain obligations on our part.

• Christians pray. Devote yourselves to prayer, Paul says (Colossians 4:2).
• Christians read their Bibles. Psalm 1 says the blessed person delights in the law of the Lord
• Christians also meditate on God and his Word, as Psalm 1 says, day and night.

To help us in this we are suggesting subjects that you can usefully meditate on. So far we've looked at four subjects - God's nature and attributes, the states of Christ (his humiliation and exaltation), human nature ion its fourfold state and the four last things (death, judgement, heaven and hell).

In the list I am working from the Puritan George Swinnock also mentions the offices of Christ (His being prophet, priest and king) the vanity of the creature, the sinfulness of sin, the love and fullness of the Saviour. Then at the end of his list he has the divine Word and the divine works.

A great deal of our time meditating will be spent simply meditating on a verse or several verses of Scripture. You take a verse, say John 3:16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. You think of the fact the sentence begins with God - where we must always begin. It speaks of God's love (God so loved). It is always good to meditate on God's love. When it comes to world you'll have to decide what it means in that context - obviously not the planet, probably not all the people in it, either. Probably the world in the sense of its wickedness and lostness. God so loved the world that he gave - he did something about it. He gave his one and only Son ... and so on.

Besides meditating on God's Word, we should meditate on his works. This can be a little more difficult to get to but there are lots of resources for us. So for example, have you ever sat and thought about water? Perhaps not but it is worth doing.

Let me quote from part of an article I found on water.

... Water might not immediately come to mind when we think of God's good gifts to us. But it is so well designed for our use that a simple glass of water should make us aware of the fingerprint of the Creator and give him glory.

Water is not only essential to life on earth, but also incredibly useful. We drink it, cook with it, bathe in it, clean with it, play in it (or on it in colder times) ... Water regulates earth’s temperature, provides a habitat for the seafood we eat and is essential for growing all of our food. And those are only a few of water’s uses!

Water is colourless and tasteless, making it perfect for cooking. If it had a flavour or even a colour, certain foods would be made much less appetising. Research has even shown our bodies may be able to taste tasteless water, alerting us if we are drinking something that looks like water but is not actually water. Water in its pure state has a neutral pH (not an acid or alkali), again making it perfect for cooking and drinking.

Water is ideal for transporting dissolved substances, such as minerals, nutrients and waste, throughout (or out of) our bodies.

Water is one of few liquids that expand when frozen, allowing it to float on liquid water. If water sank when it froze, aquatic life in colder climates would be impossible.

Water molecules stick to each other, creating surface tension. Surface tension allows insects to walk on water, makes rain fall in droplets, allows particles to float in water and keeps water from immediately evaporating.

... Water was one of God’s first creations. Genesis 1:1, 2 says God created the heavens and earth and initially the earth was covered in water. As 2 Peter emphasises, the earth was formed out of water and through water (2 Pet 3:5). On day two, this water was separated so some remains on earth and some is spread throughout the heavens ....

I'm sure you could do that with other subjects such as air and fire and so on. What I thought we could usefully do this morning is to consider some of the animals God has created. Probably the best way to do that is to go to Scripture and some of the passages that mention animals and direct our meditation in that way. I want us to look at four places

1. Learn from the various animals mentioned in the closing chapters of Job

So first let's go to the closing chapters of Job, chapters 38-40, where a number of creatures are mentioned. The reason they are mentioned, along with things like snow and ice, rain and hail, the stars and the sea, is to underline the simple truth that God is in control and that if we wish to challenge the way he runs this world then we need to get some education first. There is a whole lot going on in this world that we know very little about.

The references to animals begin at the end of Chapter 38 (39-41) where God asks the question

Do you hunt the prey for the lioness and satisfy the hunger of the lions when they crouch in their dens or lie in wait in a thicket? Who provides food for the raven when its young cry out to God and wander about for lack of food? Now we have a tremendous advantage over Job I guess in that we know what is being spoken about here. We have seen documentaries that show lions hunting or ravens feeding their young. When we see such footage we ought to remember that it is God who created all these creatures and who cares for them all in the wild. He is in absolute control.

The passage goes on to speak about mountain goats, wild donkeys, the wild oxen, ostriches, horses and birds of prey like hawks and eagles. Job has to put his hand over his mouth and humble himself. What does he know?

And then it starts up again. God speaks this time about the Behemoth, a land creature, and at length, the Leviathan, a sea creature. The writer has a lot of fun. He says of the Leviathan (41:4) Can you make a pet of it like a bird or put it on a leash for the young women in your house? We are not sure what these creatures are. Are they creatures still around today like a hippo and a whale or are they extinct creatures like dragons and dinosaurs? Whatever they are, the point still stands - God has made these magnificent creatures and he sustains them and every time we see or think about such creatures we ought to acknowledge the greatness and power of God.

2. Learn from some lions and a great fish in the Books of Daniel and Jonah

Understandably, the stories of Daniel in the lions den and Jonah in the belly of the great fish are among the most famous in the Old Testament. In Daniel 6 Daniel as an old man becomes the third highest in the Persian kingdom under Darius. Due to the envy of his enemies he ends up, despite all Darius can do, as you know, being thrown into a den of lions, which were kept for amusement and as an occasional means of punishing offenders.

You are well aware that lions are dangerous creatures. Every few weeks or so you can read about people being attacked and often killed by lions. $ For example the other day 22 year old Alexandra Black was killed by a lion in a Conservation Centre in Indiana when an enclosure was being cleaned. She had a degree in animal behaviour and had started working as an intern at the centre two weeks before. Attempts to tranquilise the animal failed so it was shot dead. It's unclear how it escaped the area that was supposed to be locked.

Now what happens in Daniel's case is that though he is lowered into the very den where these lions are kept he spends a whole night there unharmed. It is wonderful to read what happened the next morning (Daniel 6:19-23) At the first light of dawn, the king got up and hurried to the lions' den. When he came near the den, he called to Daniel in an anguished voice, Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to rescue you from the lions? Daniel answered, May the king live forever! My God sent his angel, and he shut the mouths of the lions. They have not hurt me, because I was found innocent in his sight. Nor have I ever done any wrong before you, Your Majesty. The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, and don't miss this because he had trusted in his God. This is a dangerous fallen world but we will be safe if we trust in the Lord. When Daniel's false accusers and their families are thrown into the same den (24), strikingly before they reached the floor of the den, the lions overpowered them and crushed all their bones.

The story of Jonah is similar in some ways, except in this story Jonah is actually swallowed by a great sea creature but he prays from the very belly of the fish and is miraculously vomited out alive.

Plenty of people say it didn't happen, of course, and it is not something we can be sure has happened since. There are lots of stories but none seem to be authentic. There are sea creatures that could swallow a man whole - a sperm whale or white shark for example - the problem is surviving once in there. It is likely that Jonah was bleached by the stomach juices. If we believe this is God's Word there is no need to doubt the truth of the story. Like the story of Daniel it is a story of the power of faith, the goodness of God and the fact that he is a God who can raise us from the dead.

3. Learn from the various animals mentioned in Proverbs 30

Proverbs 30 is by a man called Agur son of Jakeh. Chapter 30 refers to some 12 different creatures as Agur endeavours to drive home various points. Let's think about these different animals then.

1. Learn from the leech about insatiable things. 15, 16 The leech has two daughters. 'Give! Give!' they cry. There are three things that are never satisfied, four that never say, 'Enough!': the grave, the barren womb, land, which is never satisfied with water, and fire, which never says, 'Enough!'

So we begin with the humble leech. As you know, the outstanding feature of leeches is that they are bloodsuckers. It sounds horrible but we should be thankful for them. The medical profession still use them - for example to improve blood circulation. The leech's insatiable desire for blood is a pointer to four other things - the grave, the barren womb, land in time of drought and fire.

There never comes a point where the grave says ‘Okay, enough people have died’. Death goes on and on and will until Christ returns.

It is a terrible thing for woman to want children and yet not be able to. It is not good saying to such a woman ‘Well you’ve been trying for a few years now. Best give up on it.’ No, while there is a possibility of bearing children she will long for it. Pray for such people.

Think also of how drought, on one hand, can devastate a country and of how fires can do such damage. Again it stirs us to pray.

The leech gives us insights then. Beware of your passions and ambitions. They can be powerful things. Look to Lord and his will, rather.

2. Learn from the vultures and ravens about obeying your parents. Verse 17 seems a strange proverb The eye that mocks a father, that scorns an aged mother, will be pecked out by the ravens of the valley, will be eaten by the vultures.

It is from a desert culture where a child is warned by its parents not to wander off. Once or twice the child disobediently wanders, however, but thankfully is found again unharmed. Again it is reminded to obey its parents. But then it strays again. This time there is no happy ending. It is only some time later that the child is found its eyes pecked out by ravens, its little body eaten by vultures.

3. Learn from eagles and snakes about what happens when difficult things become easy. 18-20 There are three things that are too amazing for me, four that I do not understand: the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a snake on a rock, the way of a ship on the high seas, and the way of a man with a young woman. This is the way of an adulterous woman: She eats and wipes her mouth and says, 'I've done nothing wrong.'

First we are reminded of some amazing, incomprehensible things. The first two concern animals

The way an eagle flies through the sky. They do it with amazing ease. Not like us at all.

The way a snake moves across rough rock. Snakes have no legs but can quickly move along even on rough ground. How different we are - barefoot on a pebble beach for example.

He also mentions a ship far from port - out on the high seas. What a majestic sight - a ship sailing on the sea. The last reference is either the act of wooing or the actual mysterious act of love.

Some see the point of comparison in the fact no trace is left in each case. Rather the point is that these mysterious things seem hard, almost impossible - flying, moving smoothly over rock, riding the waves, a man seducing a maiden - but happen. In verse 5 we see the adulteress who sees the act of adultery as like having a meal. You think that a terrible thing, I trust. How can she live with herself? For her sex is no big deal. Yes, the first time perhaps it was something (like the first time you see an eagle fly, a snake on a rock) but no longer. Her conscience is seared. What about you? Are you so used to certain sins, you think nothing of them? What a danger! Recognise it. Repent!

4. Learn from from four small creatures about using resources wisely. (Skipping over verses 21-23) 24-28 Four things on earth are small, yet they are extremely wise: Ants are creatures of little strength, yet they store up their food in the summer; hyraxes are creatures of little power, yet they make their home in the crags; locusts have no king, yet they advance together in ranks; a lizard can be caught with the hand, yet it is found in kings' palaces.

Four small creatures that are wise in certain respects

Ants - small insects that work hard all summer building up stores of food for winter. (There is a longer section on the ant as an example in Chapter 6)

Hyraxes (or some other small creature like a rabbit). For protection these creatures wisely hide in holes in the rocks, safe from predators.

Locusts - Larger than most ants but still small. Together they cause large scale devastation.

Lizards - If you've lived in hot climates you know how you see them in people's houses.

In each case the stress is on the animal's limited size then on the wise way they overcome that disadvantage. Creatures with little strength or power, with no king and that are easily caught make preparations for winter, hide in the crags, advance in ranks and are found in palaces.

We should praise God for these different creatures he has made and learn not to despise the weak. We too are weak and must learn to make the most of our circumstances. Out limitations must not be an excuse for doing nothing. Rather, prepare for judgement day; hide in the Rock who is Christ; unite with other believers and despite your weakness be bold to believe you may enter the palace of the Great King by grace.

5. Learn from four other creatures about true dignity. 29-31 There are three things that are stately in their stride, four that move with stately bearing: a lion, mighty among beasts, who retreats before nothing; a strutting cockerel, a he-goat, and a king secure against revolt.

Here we have three stately animals - a fearless lion, a strutting cockerel, a he-goat - and a king with his army. Nothing is spelled out but it is likely that Agur is getting us to think about the nature and variety of dignity. We need to recognise where true dignity lies - not in our own bravery, our clothing, our uniqueness or our strength. Rather true human dignity is in being made in the image of God. That image is recreated when we trust in Christ.

4. Learn from the four animals mentioned by Jesus in Matthew 10:16

To finish, let's meditate a short while on Matthew 10:16. There Jesus is about to send out his disciples on mission and he says I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

So in one short sentence Jesus mentions four animals for us to think about, when it comes to evangelism. In each case it is only one characteristic of the animal that is in mind and if you want to understand what Jesus is saying you need to get that right. If you decided that the thing about sheep was that they produce wool, about wolves that they are nocturnal, snakes that they are found on the ground and doves that they are white, you would not learn much. In fact with the latter two Jesus spells out that is the shrewdness of snakes he has in mind and the innocence of doves. As for sheep and wolves, in that context they are marked by ferociousness and vulnerability.

And so we say we must go out and tell people about Jesus but we are vulnerable people going out among wolves who can easily undermine what we say and do us spiritual or even physical harm if we do not take care. I remember talking to a fellow student when I was in college who had come full of enthusiasm to tell people about Jesus. For him that meant getting involved in student life - drinking and dancing and so on. What he was finding, however, was that not only was it not going very well in that he wasn't winning others over but he was getting more and more worldly. He was forgetting that he was a sheep among wolves, who were baying for his blood.

With that is the call to be as shrewd as a snake and as innocent as a dove. We need to carefully think through how we can best win people. When a fisherman goes fishing, he will make sure that he has the right bait for catching the sort of fish he is after. We too have to do similar thinking. At the same time we need to be innocent, not trying to take advantage of people or trick them.

A few years ago I was in a research centre in South Wales. I thought I recognised the man in charge there. He was a friend of a good Christian friend of mine. We got chatting and he remembered coming to our church one Friday night to see a film. The film was called To Russia with love and he had been led to believe it was some sort of spy film. In fact it was a Christian film about the gospel in Russia. Misleading this man, boy as he was then, was certainly shrewd but it lacked innocency and so it utterly failed. It simply left a bitter taste and so the man was no nearer to becoming a Christian by it.

Sermon Man's Fourfold Nature (4)

We are looking at the subject of meditation. If we profess to be Christians then that implies certain obligations on our part. If a person is a Christian they will pray. Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful says Paul (Colossians 4:2). They will read the Bible - it is God breathed and useful for teaching, correcting, rebuking and training us to be righteous. We should also give ourselves to meditation on God. In Psalm 119:15 David says that he meditates on God's precepts and considers his ways. In Philippians 4:8 Paul encourages us ... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Use your mind to go over these things.

To help us in this, we are suggesting subjects that you can usefully meditate on. The week before last we spoke about how we can think about God himself - his nature and attributes. I don't know if you have tried this but it would be good for all of us to take some time and find a quiet spot where we can give ourselves to thinking about God. Rather than thinking of God in a vague and disorganised way you could do worse than to take Question and Answer 4 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism and just go through it slowly and carefully. It asks "What is God?" and the expected answer says "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth." If you could just spend a minute or so on each element there - God being a Spirit, his infinitude and eternity, his immutability or unchanging nature. That would be ten minutes well spent.

Then last week we thought about the states of Christ - his humiliation and exaltation. We suggested that with the humiliation you could begin by thinking about Christ's incarnation, the Word becoming flesh. Then there are the sufferings that he endured on our behalf all his life, culminating in his death, his death on a cross and his burial in the tomb. As for the exaltation, it begins with his resurrection from the dead on the third day, followed by his ascension into heaven so that now he is in heaven where he is at God's right hand, interceding for his own and from where he will one day come to judge this whole world. Again, what could be more profitable than to give yourself some time to think through all those various stages in the states of Christ.

This week I want to commend to you another topic for meditation - the four-fold nature of humanity. We should meditate on God. We should especially meditate on Jesus Christ, the Saviour. We should meditate on God's Word and on his works too. We should also meditate on ourselves. There is a danger in such meditation of becoming introspective and self-centred, of course, but there are ways of thinking about ourselves, self-examination if you like, that are both God honouring and profitable. The way I want to highlight this morning is what is called meditating on the fourfold nature of humanity. Some of you, no doubt, will know what I mean when I say that but others of you will look blank and say that you have no idea what is meant. Of those who look blank many of you probably do know what I mean in fact, although you would not have expressed it like that.

So what do we mean when we speak of the fourfold sate of humanity? When we think of human beings as they have existed and do exist and will exist, we can isolate four distinct states or modes of existence. What do I mean? Well, firstly we can go back to Adam and Eve and how it was for them in the Garden of Eden before the Fall and we can identify the first nature of humanity as one of primitive integrity. Of course, we come secondly to the fall of humankind into sin, the state we are now in by nature - humanity's entire depravation. But then, thirdly, we know that even at the time of the Fall recorded in Genesis 3 God gives hints that he has a plan to deliver sinners from their sinful nature and by means of that plan of salvation sinners have been exchanging their sinful nature by conversion to a nature that we can speak of as begun recovery through new birth, the third nature. Conversion here on earth is not the end of the story, only the beginning and so the fourth and final nature refers to the Christian's consummate happiness in the world to come.

There are various ways of speaking about this. In his book Human nature in its fourfold state the Scottish Puritan Thomas Boston writes of

1 The State of Innocence 2 The State of Nature, where he goes on to delineate the sinfulness of human beings in their natural state, the misery of human beings in their natural state and the inability of human beings in their natural state 3 The State of Grace 4 The State of Glory

To put it simply, there is

Before the fall, After the fall, After regeneration and In glory.

A more more modern writer sets things out in table form

Across the top line you have the headings Pre-Fall Man, Post-Fall Man, Reborn Man and Glorified Man. Under those headings you have two lines that say first that a man is able to sin or to not sin, secondly that they are able to sin and unable not to sin. Thirdly, it is that the person is able to sin but is also able to not sin. The final column is where the person is both able to not sin and unable to sin. You see that? Adam and Eve were able to sin or to not sin. Sadly, they did sin and so we are now born into a world where we are not only able t sin but also unable to not sin. Once we are converted we are in the position where we are certainly able to sin but also able to not sin, which is a wonderful privilege. One day in heaven, we will be in the most glorious position of all where we will be not only be able to not sin but also unable to sin, even if we desired to do so, which we will not.

So let's think how we can meditate on this rich subject. The obvious place to go is Genesis 3, where we see the first two natures and then perhaps Revelation 20, which refers to the last two.

1. Meditate on human beings in the State of Innocence - something to ponder

In Genesis 3 we read about how Adam and Eve and in so falling brought down the whole of humankind. If you think about it there must have been a day when one of their children hurt themselves or had to be reprimanded or some other scene where the children expressed their dissatisfaction with the situation and Adam and Eve had to inform them that the world they were in had not always been like it was. There was an age of innocence before the Fall. As the Westminster Confession puts it "Man, in his state of innocency, had freedom, and power to will and to do that which was good and well pleasing to God; but yet, mutably, so that he might fall from it."

As the children's catechism puts it Adam and Eve were holy and happy. They had never sinned and there was no misery. However, they did not stay holy and happy. They had the option to end their holiness and happiness and they did.

A A Hodge puts it like this

"Adam in his estate of innocency was a free agent, created with holy affections and moral tendencies; yet with a character as yet unconfirmed, capable of obedience, yet liable to be seduced. by external temptation .... Of this state of a holy yet fallible nature we have no experience, and consequently very imperfect comprehension."

Things to ponder. I think there are two things to ponder here. Firstly and obviously what we have lost. We do not know what it is to be holy and innocent. I suppose the closest taste we get of it is as children. Adam and Eve we are told were naked and without shame as were we to a certain age. But it did not last. And that age of innocence did not last though it is good to ponder it and imagine how it must have been, however long or short it lasted.

But then we ought to think in another way. Dr Lloyd-Jones says somewhere

"Adam was perfect, Adam was innocent, Adam was made in the image and likeness of God, but he was never made a partaker of the divine nature (as the New Testament says) ... that privilege does not make us gods; but it does make a real difference to us. It puts us into a new relationship to God that even Adam did not enjoy. ... Though he was perfect Adam was subject to fall and failure; but – and I say it with reverence and to the glory of God – those who are ‘in Christ’ cannot finally fall away; they cannot become lost. ... In Christ not only are the blessings which Adam lost restored to us, but we are given even more; in this new relationship to God which we enjoy in Christ we stand in a higher position than Adam. .... "

2 Meditate on human beings in the State of Nature - something to deeply regret

As to our present state we are still free agents to some extent but because of the fall we are morally corrupted within and spiritually dead. We are spiritually blind in my understanding, my affections are perverted, I am (to quote the Confession again) "utterly indisposed, disabled, and made opposite to all good, and wholly inclined to all evil" and hence we have "wholly lost all ability of will to any spiritual good accompanying salvation;" so that man "is not able, by his own strength, to convert himself," or even "to prepare himself thereunto."

Article 10 of the 39 Articles of the Anglican church is similar:

"The condition of man after the fall of Adam is such, that he cannot turn and prepare himself, by his own natural strength and good works, to faith, and calling upon God: wherefore we have no power to do good works pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God by Christ preventing us, that we may have a good will, and working with us when we have that good will."

We know man is depraved both from experience and from what the Bible says about human depravity, about our state by nature (the blindness and darkness and deadness it speaks of and the fact that by nature we are slaves to sin and children of Satan) and about our need to be born again.

When Thomas Boston writes of this, he writes not only of the sinfulness of human beings and of the misery of human beings but also of the inability of human beings to change themselves.

It would be good for us all to sped time thinking about how sinful we are - sinful nature and sinful in practice. We are without excuse. And think of the misery that sin has brought to this world too - the frustration and alienation and the malice and war and agony and sickness and death. With that there is our utter inability to change our situation. Education won't do it; wealth won't do it; religion won't do it. By nature we are utterly helpless.

How full of compassion we ought to be for men and women still in their sins and pray for them to be converted. Also be thankful that we who are believers have been delivered from such a state and mourn the days wasted in sin.

3 Meditate on human beings in the State of Grace - something to be thankful for

But then that is not all that the Bible speaks of is it? It also speaks of a being born again, a first resurrection that means that God's Holy Spirit implants in certain people, deep in their souls, a new spiritual principle, habit or tendency that as it is nourished and directed by the same indwelling Spirit, frees a person from his natural state of slavery to sin and enables him to be filled with the free desire to do what is spiritually good. Of course, because of remaining sin, the lingering habits of the soul, there continues to be a conflict within for Christians and we do not perfectly do right. Both what is good and what is evil can be found in us. But we are headed in the right direction and it is good to think about the state of grace and all the blessings it brings and give thanks to God as we mediate on all his love and kindness.

Again we say give thanks to God for his mercies. What privileges are ours, if we believe.

4 Meditate on human beings in the State of Glory - something to long for

The state of grace is not the final state. We believe in a fourfold state. There is also the state of glory that is the blessing of all who go to heaven. In heaven every remainder of the old corrupt moral tendencies is gone forever. The gracious dispositions implanted when a person is born again are now perfected. The whole person is now brought to the measure of the stature of perfect humanity in the likeness of Christ's glorified humanity. And that is how we remain forever - perfectly free and without change in perfect holiness.

What a glorious future we have. Praise the Lord!

Hodge sums up the four like this -

• Adam was holy and unstable.
• Unregenerate men are unholy and stable; that is, fixed in unholiness.
• Regenerate men have two opposite moral tendencies contesting for empire in their hearts. They are cast about between them, yet the tendency graciously implanted gradually in the end perfectly prevails.
• Glorified men are holy and stable. All are free, and therefore responsible.

How good to think about such things and give glory to God. Ponder Adam in the Garden, lament the fall into sin and the wickedness that marks us by nature. Give thanks for regeneration and look forward to the glory to come.

Sermon The States of Christ (2)

We began last week by speaking about the importance of meditation for Christians. We need to be finding time not only for prayer and Bible reading but also for meditating on God and his Word.

One writer suggests a method for meditating something like this

1. First practice the presence of God. Focus your attention on his inescapable presence, his intimate nearness. Issues of time, place, etc, are secondary, but not unimportant. The rule is to do whatever is most conducive to concentration.

2. The second step is to peruse ie read, repeat, write out, etc (if it is Scripture). We don't want just to learn things but to get these things to take hold of us.

3. Using your imagination can help. Use your senses. Reflect deeply on the truth; brood over it; absorb it, soak in it, as you turn it over and over in your mind.

4. The final steps can be summarised: pray, personalise, praise, practice. Meditation must always lead to adoration and celebration. Further, commit yourself to acting in line with your meditation.

I mentioned last week a series of subjects for meditation suggested by Puritan writer George Swinnock and we looked at the first of those - God's nature and attributes. We went to Psalm 145 and from there meditated on four Gs - God's greatness, his goodness, his glory and his grace.

Another subject Swinnock suggests is what he calls the states of Christ. We ought to think about Christ, of course, and one way that we can do that is to think about what theologians call his states. The danger is that if we do not discipline our thoughts we will just be vague in our thinking. If I say "Jesus of Nazareth" or "Jesus Christ" what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of some picture you've seen in a children's Bible or some portrayal you've seen in a film. Perhaps you just think of him as a baby in the manger or dying on the cross. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever but we must discipline ourselves to think of Jesus in the ways that he is described to us in Scripture. One way we can do that is by considering the states of Christ.

Sometimes when we think of a person's state we differentiate it from their condition. So someone found guilty in a court is in a state of guilt or condemnation. That is usually followed by a condition of being in prison and all that follows from that. In theology the states of Christ are generally considered as including the resulting conditions, in fact it is the conditions that tend to stand out more prominently than the states, although it is the states that are more fundamental.

Christ's states are his humiliation and exaltation. We could speak of three states - pre-incarnation glory, humiliation, exaltation - but theologians tend to refer to two states - humiliation, exaltation - because we are thinking of him as the God-man, which he is only after the incarnation. The two states can themselves be divided up to some extent.

Humiliation. Christ's humiliation is made up of his actual incarnation so that he is conceived in Mary's womb and born, then there is his life of suffering as a boy, as a man and then there is his death on the cross and his burial. When he lay in the grave borrowed from Joseph of Arimathea he reached the very lowest point in his humiliation.

Exaltation. Christ's exaltation begins with his resurrection from the tomb. Six weeks later he ascended back into heaven from where he poured out the Holy Spirit. He now sits at God's right hand and intercedes for his people. He has the highest place. From there he will one day come to earth again in glory.

In the state of humiliation Christ was under the law, not only as a rule of life but as the condition of the covenant of works. He even came under the condemnation of the law.

In the state of exaltation he is free from the law, having met the condition of the covenant of works and having paid the penalty for sin.

It is helpful to think of it as being something like a staircase or a pair of staircases. On one side steps descend down and down to the grave; on the other side they rise again, step by step, to the point where Christ has the name above every name and every knee bows to him.

The best passage we can turn to to help us with this is Philippians 2:1-11. There Paul urges unity and humility in Philippi and says in the opening verses of Chapter 2 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

And then to drive home his point he says in verse 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus. And so he holds up the Lord Jesus Christ as the supreme example of humility. He then briefly describes his humility in verses 6-8. He may well be quoting a hymn current at that time and that he has raised to the level of Scripture. He cannot leave it with his state of humility, he must complete the story which he does more briefly in verses 9-11, which speak of the exaltation of Christ. Let's think then together of the states of Christ. Let's meditate on them. (I should say here that I have been greatly helped here by Berkhof's Systematic Theology)

1. Meditate on the humiliation of Christ

In Philippians 2:6-8 Paul says of Jesus that being in very nature God, he did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, that refers to his incarnation. Paul goes on to speak of him being made in human likeness and says (8) And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death - even death on a cross!

Let's meditate on the various aspects of his humiliation then - the actual incarnation so that he is conceived in Mary's womb and born, then the life of suffering and finally his death and burial. The New Testament has a lot to say about all these.

1. His incarnation. We've been thinking about this in recent weeks. Matthew 1:18-20 says This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly. But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

1 Who was incarnated? Not the triune God but the second person of the Trinity. He assumed a human nature. It is best to say the Word became flesh rather than God became man. All three persons were involved, however, it is clear. It is also clear that he must have pre-existed - In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God ... I am come down from heaven he says (John 6:38) Though he was rich, yet for our sakes he became poor (2 Corinthians 8:9). The pre-existent Son of God takes flesh and blood. It is a stupendous miracle.

2 Why was he incarnated? Some have argued that it is part of God's nature to come in this way but the best theologians usually accept that he came in order to redeem his people. Without the Fall it would not have been necessary.

3 What happened? It is not that the Word ceased to be what he was before. His essential being remained exactly the same after the incarnation. The Word certainly did not change into flesh. Rather the second person acquired an additional form, without in any way changing his original nature. He took on human nature, consisting of body and soul. The incarnation constituted Christ as one of the human race. His human nature came from Mary. He is from the same stock as we are.

It came about by a supernatural conception and virgin birth. The most important element in connection with Jesus's birth was the supernatural operation of the Holy Spirit. It was only by this means that the virgin birth was possible. The Spirit brought about his conception and sanctified Christ's human nature so that at its very inception, it was kept free from any pollution from sin. There is some mystery here but the virgin birth ensured that Jesus was not born with original sin.

2. His suffering. We ought to say a few things about this. It was

1 Lifelong. When we think of Christ's sufferings we tend to think of the last part of his life but his whole life was a life of suffering. He suffered repeated assaults from Satan, was often hated and rejected by his own people and was persecuted by his enemies. His loneliness must itself have been tremendously stressful and his sense of responsibility, a great burden. His sufferings simply increased as he came nearer and nearer to the cross.

2 Body and soul. The sufferings of Christ we must remember were not simply physical. He suffered also in his soul. It is tempting to emphasise one over the other but both need to be borne in mind. What happened in the Garden of Gethsemane points to the inward anguish he must have known.

3 Various causes. Ultimately the cause of his suffering was the fact that he took the place of sinners. There were proximate causes also such as the fact the Lord of the universe is occupying a menial position. He took the very nature of a servant as it is put here. Similarly, though he is pure and holy, he lived in a sinful, polluted atmosphere, daily associating with sinners, constantly being reminded of the greatness of the guilt with which he would be burdened because of the sins of those around him. Early on he would have begun to understand that being Messiah involved suffering and that would have added to his anguish. He knew what was coming. With this - the privations of life, the temptations of the devil, the hatred and rejection of his people, the mistreatment and persecutions he knew - all contributed to his sufferings.

4 Unique. Even what we think of as common sufferings were extraordinary for him. His capacity for suffering matched his ideal character as a man. No one could feel the poignancy of pain and grief and evil as he could. Along with his common sufferings came the suffering that arose from his being the sin bearer. What happened in the wilderness and Gethsemane and Golgotha was unique.

5 Temptations. Finally, under this heading we should say something about his temptations, which were so central. Hebrews 4:15; 5:7-9 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet he did not sin. .... During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

It was only by entering into the very trials we face that Jesus could become a truly sympathetic High Priest and the perfect and complete Saviour he is. There is again some mystery here. How could a sinless Saviour be truly tempted? We don't know. However, we know he was tempted and that he did not sin.

3. His death and burial.

1 The extent of his death. When we speak of his death we mean firstly the separation of his body and soul but then in the Bible death is more than that. It can also refer to separation from God. It is sin that separates us from God spiritually and that leads to physical death. Sin means death. Death is the legal punishment of sin imposed by God. Jesus stood in the place of sinners and so on the cross suffered the punishment for sin - death and separation from God. Even in the midst of life, he was a man of sorrows but especially on the cross we see his eternal death for sinners. That is why it went dark and he spoke of God having forsaken him. He remained joined to God but he suffered an eternal agony in those short hours in his own person. His human nature inevitably felt forsaken although it is still my God and he is still praying.

2 A judicial death. It was important that Jesus should not die from a natural causes or an accident or by being murdered. He had to die under a judicial sentence. The Romans had a well developed system of justice by this time and the trial they pursued meant that on one hand that Jesus was truly shown to be truly innocent and on the other that his death was a punishment. Crucifixion was important too, a Roman form of punishment not a Jewish one. It was not to be carried out on Roman citizens but only on those the Romans considered the lowest of the low. By dying that death, Jesus met the extreme demands of the law. He died an accursed death, and thus gave evidence of the fact he had become a curse for us.

The very final part of the humiliation is the burial. Part of the punishment of sin is being returned to the dust, symbolised in burial. Jesus' body was kept from corruption but was buried. He went down into the earth. At the same time he took away some of our fear of the grave by going ahead of us.

2. Meditate on the exaltation of Christ

Philippians 2: 9-11 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Christ's divine nature is not capable of humiliation or exaltation. In the exaltation it is the God-man who passes from under the law and its curse. he exchanges a penal relation to it for a righteous one. As Mediator he possesses the blessings of salvation which he has won for sinners. He is crowned with a corresponding honour and glory.

Humiliation and exaltation are closely connected. His exaltation is the judicial result of his humiliation. As Mediator he met the demands of the law and so merited eternal life and so exaltation had to follow. Berkhof says that the exaltation has a threefold significance.

At each stage God declares that Jesus has met the demands of the law and deserves a reward

The first two stages point to what will happen to believers.

All the stages are important in bringing about the glorification of believers.

1. Resurrection. The resurrection is not simply Jesus coming back to life, his body and soul being re-united. No, he is the first-fruits of those who slept (1 Corinthians 15:20) the firstborn from among the dead (Colossians 1:18). With him the final resurrection has begun. He rose with an incorruptible and glorious body. He certainly appears to have new powers.

Christ's resurrection had a threefold significance

By it the Father declared that the last enemy had been vanquished, the penalty paid.

It pointed to what happens to every believer first spiritually and then literally

It is also connected to our justification, regeneration and final resurrection, as comes out in many places in the New testament.

Many attempts are made to explain away the fact of the resurrection but it is a stubborn fact of history that cannot be denied.

Some try to argue that it makes no difference whether Jesus literally rose or not. But if he did not rise literally the New Testament writers are liars and the crowning evidence that Jesus was who he is said to be is wiped out. This truth is one of the great foundation stones of the Church of God.

2. Ascension. The ascension receives less attention in the New Testament compared with the resurrection, probably because the resurrection is the real real turning point in the story of Jesus. In one sense, the ascension merely complements and completes the resurrection. It may be described as the visible ascent of the Mediator from earth to heaven, according to his human nature. it was not only a move from one place to another but included a further change in Christ's human nature. He now came into the fullness of heavenly glory. He was now perfectly adapted to the life of heaven.

The significance of the ascension is that it

Clearly embodies the declaration that Christ's sacrifice is a sacrifice to God acceptable to him.

Points to the coming ascension of all believers, who are already sat with Christ in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 2:6). They will one day be with him forever

Was also instrumental in preparing a place for those who are in Christ. It was necessary for the Son to go to the Father in order to prepare a place for his own.

3. Session at God's right hand. The New Testament speaks often enough of Christ being at God's right hand in heaven. John prefers to say the Lamb is in the midst of the Throne. When it says the Son is sat at the right hand of the Father it is picture language. When a man calls someone his right hand man we know what he means. The session marks the public recognition of who Jesus is. Calvin says it is like saying he has been “installed in the government of heaven and earth, and formally admitted to possession of the administration committed to him, and not only admitted for once, but to continue until he descend to judgment.” Sitting speaks not of ease but the fact his earthly work is now complete. In heaven Christ continues his mediatorial work.

As King he reigns from heaven. He rules and protects his Church by his Spirit. All powers in heaven and earth are under his command and he works to eliminate each last pocket of resistance

As Priest, he prays for his people and asks that his sacrifice be applied so that his people are justified and sanctified.

As Prophet, through the Spirit, he first inspired the New Testament and now illumines us so that we may understand it and meditate on it.

4. Second coming. Sometimes this is omitted from the stages in the exaltation but should be included. It is the final stage in truth. It is then that he comes to judge all. His coming will be physical visible. Its purpose is that the world may be judged and salvation for God's people brought to completion. he wicked will be sentenced eternal punishment and his people will be publicly owned and justified and will enter the perfect joy of the eternal Kingdom. It will signal the completed victory of Jesus Christ.

Evangelical Times Article

 I have an article on meditation in the July 2021 ET. See here.

Sermon Attributes of God (1)

From time to time we come across people who say that they meditate. They usually say that they get great help from it. Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney, Novak Djokovich, Jerry Seinfeld - they all say they find it a tremendous help.

Are they to be followed? Is this something Christians should engage in? When we scratch below the surface we find that usually the sort of meditation being advocated is of the eastern Buddhist or Hindu sort. We should not engage in TM as they call it or anything like it. That sort of meditation advocates emptying the mind, rather than filling it. Rather than mental passivity, Christian meditation calls on us to actively exert our mental energy. We should do that.

It is said of the nineteenth century Princeton professor Archibald Alexander

From our earliest recollections, he had been accustomed to sit and muse in the evening twilight, often prolonging these hours far beyond the time when lights are usually demanded. These moments, though solemn, appeared to be pleasurable. In these he pursued his most fruitful trains of thought. As he grew older, this sort of exercise was more frequent and protracted; and in no instance did it seem to merge into any thing like slumber. It was a period to be gratefully remembered, as one of singular peace.

Meditation of that sort is not always easy but we should seek to do it frequently and in a focussed way. Adequate time must be set aside for it. it is encouraged in Scripture. For example in Psalm 119:15 David says that he meditates on God's precepts and considers his ways. In Philippians 4:8 Paul encourages us ... whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things. Use your mind to go over these things.

Lots of pictures are used by Christian writers wanting to encourage this sort of thing.

Spurgeon says it is not enough just to gather grapes we need to tread them out so that the juice is preserved and can be used to make good wine. He likens it to a wrestler putting embrocation on his body to warm him up for the match. It is like a cow ruminating - passing its food through all four stomachs so we must slowly meditate on God's Word and on similar matters.

It is important that we take time not only to pray and to read God's Word but also to meditate.

The Puritan William Bates says our meditations are like eggs which need to be kept warm in the nest, ‘if the bird leaves her nest for a long space, the eggs chill and are not fit for production’ but ‘holiness and comfort to our souls’ will be the result of regular time with God. At the beginning, meditation is like trying to build a fire from wet wood. He encourages us to persevere ‘till the flame doth so ascend’.

Subjects

Another Puritan, George Swinnock, makes a list of subjects for meditation and I thought it might be useful for the next few Sunday mornings to take some of his suggestions and give you a meditation on each one that hopefully will get you thinking and meditating too on similar lines.

His first subject is the nature and attributes of God. A Christian should not only love and serve God but should think about him, meditate on him. That would in turn, under God, make us love God more and serve him better.

But how do I begin to meditate on God? Well, first, you have to know what God is like. That is something found in Scripture and experienced in life.

One big help in this is what you will find in good catechisms. So, for example, The famous Shorter Catechism has a sits fourth question "What is God?". The answer it expects you to give and learn is in 11 parts. It says "God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth."

The Larger Catechism (Question 7) expands the answer so that it includes 20 terms.

God is a Spirit, in and of himself infinite in being, glory, blessedness, and perfection; all-sufficient, eternal, unchangeable, incomprehensible, everywhere present, almighty, knowing all things, most wise, most holy, most just, most merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth.

I notice that if you look up Attributes of God in Christianity in Wikipedia there are 28 different things listed - Aseity (God is one not made up of parts), Eternity, Goodness, Graciousness, Holiness, Immanence (nearness), Immutability (unchanging nature), Impassibility (he is without passions), Impeccability (he cannot sin), Incomprehensibility, Incorporeality (he doesn't have a body), Infinity, Jealousy, Love, Mission, Mystery, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Omniscience (he is all powerful, in all places and is all knowing), Oneness, Providence, Righteousness, Simplicity, Sovereignty, Transcendence, Trinity, Veracity and Wrath.

If you took something like the Shorter Catechism and learned the answer (God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal and unchangeable in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice, goodness, and truth) you could very profitably spend time thinking about God's nature and attributes for a good long time. God is a Spirit. That deserves some thought. He has no body and yet he is the living God. He is infinite - there is no end to his qualities. He is beyond our measuring. He is eternal - without beginning and without end.

What I want to do rather this morning is to take a psalm - Psalm 145 - and meditate together on four aspects of God's character that come out in this place - namely, God's greatness, goodness, glory and grace. So four things, four Gs

1 Meditate on the fact that God is great

The psalm is A psalm of praise and it is Of David. One of the aims of meditation is to lead to praise. David begins (1, 2) I will exalt you, my God the King; I will praise your name for ever and ever. Every day I will praise you and extol your name for ever and ever. What an example David is here to us - he wants to exalt God and praise his name and extol him always and forever.

The first reason he gives as to why God should be praised, extolled and exalted is that God is great (3, 4) Great is the LORD and most worthy of praise; his greatness no one can fathom. One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts. There is something amazing and great about God. No matter how long you meditate, you will never get to the bottom of his greatness. Down the ages people have spoken of his greatness.

In his Confessions, Augustine says "What art Thou then, my God? Most highest, most good, most potent, most omnipotent; most merciful and most just; most hidden and most present; most beautiful and most strong ..."

Calvin says "Men are never duly touched and impressed with a conviction of their insignificance until they have contrasted themselves with the majesty of God."

The Puritan Stephen Charnock says this "Nourish right conceptions of the majesty of God in your minds. Let us consider that we are drawing to God, the most amiable object, the best of beings, worthy of infinite honour, and highly meriting the highest affections we can give; a God that made the world by a word, that upholds the great frame of heaven and earth; a Majesty above the conceptions of angels; who uses not His power to strike us our deserved punishment ... a God that gave all creatures to serve us, and can, in a trice, make them as much our enemies as he hath now made them our servants. Let us view Him in His greatness ... that our hearts may have a true value of the worship of so great a majesty, and count it the most worthy employment with all diligence to attend upon Him."

One last quote from Spurgeon "There are no measures which can set forth the immeasurable greatness of Jehovah, … Notes of exclamation suit us when words of explanation are of no avail. If we cannot measure we can marvel; and though we may not calculate with accuracy, we can adore with fervency."

Psalm 145:5, 6 They speak of the glorious splendour of your majesty - and I will meditate on your wonderful works. They tell of the power of your awesome works - and I will proclaim your great deeds. Each time David heard others speak of God's greatness - the wonderful splendour of his majesty, the power of his awesome works - he too meditated on God's amazing works so that he could proclaim his great deeds. We must do the same.

2 Meditate on the fact that God is good

Then in verses 7-10 David says They celebrate your abundant goodness and joyfully sing of your righteousness. The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made. All your works praise you, LORD; your faithful people extol you.

So think too of what people say not only about God's greatness but also about his goodness (and his righteousness) - about the fact that he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love, that he is good to all and has compassion on all he has made David also wants to join in the praise for these things. All God's works praise him in one way or another and his faithful people should also extol him.

Think of the goodness of God also then and meditate on it. Creation itself is urging you to praise him for it.

Augustine tells us that "God is always trying to give good things to us, but our hands are too full to receive them." Writing on the incarnation the church father Athanasius says "God is good - or rather, of all goodness He is the Fountainhead.”

Puritan John Flavel writes "He spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall He not with him freely give us all things” (Romans 8:32)? How is it imaginable that God should withhold, after this, spirituals or temporals, from His people? How shall He not call them effectually, justify them freely, sanctify them thoroughly, and glorify them eternally? How shall He not clothe them, feed them, protect and deliver them? Surely if He would not spare this own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, one circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever He should, after this, deny or withhold from His people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them."

John Owen says "Men are afraid to have good thoughts of God. They think it is a boldness to eye God as good, gracious, tender, kind, loving. I speak of saints. They can judge Him hard, austere, severe, almost implacable, and fierce (the very worst affections of the very worst of men, and most hated by God). Is not this soul-deceit from Satan? Was it not his design from the beginning to inject such thoughts of God? Assure yourself, then, there is nothing more acceptable to the Father than for us to keep up our hearts unto Him as the eternal fountain of all that rich grace which flows out to sinners in the blood of Jesus."

A W Tozer in the last century wrote "The goodness of God is infinitely more wonderful than we will ever be able to comprehend."

Give praise to God for he is good.

3 Meditate on the fact that God is glorious

In verse 11 David says further of the different generations that They tell of the glory of your kingdom and speak of your might. They do it, he says (12, 13) so that all people may know of your mighty acts and the glorious splendour of your kingdom. Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations.

We can think of God's greatness then but we can also speak of God's glory, his glorious nature. His attributes all flow one into another and we only distinguish them to help us think about them. Here David is thinking of God's might, his mighty acts and the glorious splendour of his kingdom which is an everlasting kingdom in which he exercises a dominion that endures through all generations.

What doe we mean then by God's glory? John Piper has attempted to define it like this. He begins by saying that the word is more like the word beauty than the word basketball. You can describe a basketball and easily get the idea across but you can’t do that with the word beauty. Some words are like that and glory is one.

So what he does is to contrast it biblically with the word holy. He suggests that God's holiness is God's being in a class by himself in his perfection, greatness and worth. In a class by himself, God has infinite perfections, infinite greatness, infinite worth.

He then quotes Isaiah 6:3 where the angels cry to each other Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts and The whole earth is full of his ... As he says, you might expect holiness, but it says glory.

God is intrinsically holy, and the whole earth is full of his glory. And so Piper suggests that God's glory is best thought of as the manifest beauty of his holiness. " ... the glory of God is the holiness of God made manifest." Leviticus 10:3 confirms it. God says that he will be shown to be holy among those who are near him, and before all the people he will be glorified.

So think not only of God's greatness and goodness but also his glory - his holiness and the splendour of it.

4 Meditate on the fact that God is gracious

The last thing I want us to meditate on this morning is God's graciousness - his grace. Now you could think of this as an aspect of his goodness, of course, but it is worth looking at separately. From the end of verse 13 to verse 21 we read The LORD is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does. The LORD upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time. You open your hand and satisfy the desires of every living thing. The LORD is righteous in all his ways and faithful in all he does. The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. The LORD watches over all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. My mouth will speak in praise of the LORD. Let every creature praise his holy name for ever and ever.

The word grace is not used it is true but that is the subject - the undeserved love of God. He upholds all who fall and lifts up all who are bowed down. That is why everyone looks to him and depends on him. He opens his hand and satisf(ies) the desires of every living thing. He is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfils the desires of those who fear him; he hears their cry and saves them. That is the God of grace we worship the one we should all praise forever.

In the New Testament it is revealed that God's grace comes to all who put their faith in Jesus Christ.

There's a hymn that begins

Wonderful grace of Jesus, Greater than all my sin;

How shall my tongue describe it, Where shall its praise begin?

Taking away my burden, Setting my spirit free;

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Wonderful the matchless grace of Jesus, Deeper than the mighty rolling sea,

Higher than the mountain, sparkling like a fountain,

All sufficient grace for even me, Broader than the scope of my transgressions,

Greater far than all my sin and shame, O magnify the precious name of Jesus, Praise His name!

Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching to all the lost;

By it I have been pardoned, Saved to the uttermost,

Chains have been torn asunder, Giving me liberty;

For the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

Wonderful grace of Jesus, Reaching the most defiled,

By its transforming power, Making him God’s dear child,

Purchasing peace and heaven, For all eternity;

And the wonderful grace of Jesus reaches me.

So here is a meditation - God is great, God is good, God is glorious, God is gracious. Praise his name!