Confessing Christ

But we are a bit bitten by the
travel bug, and by the weather bug, and by the sickness bug. And so I will give you your money’s worth
today. If you would, I’m going to turn
to a very short passage outside of the Gospel of John. if you
would turn to 1 Timothy 3.16. What Paul is doing there, the
epistle to Timothy is referred to as one of the pastoral epistles,
1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. They’re referred to as the pastoral
epistles, but they’re not unimportant to the saints. Essentially, what
Paul is discussing here in First Timothy is the church. And any true Christian has their
heart tied directly to the local church. And Paul opens that epistle
in discussing the calling, specifically Timothy’s calling to the gospel
ministry. But then it opens up immediately
into the discussion of worship and what should take place in
the local church in that regard. In chapter 2, Paul discusses
first men’s responsibility with regards to worship. Then he discusses
women’s responsibility and role within the worship of the church. Then he begins that lengthy discussion
in chapter 3 regarding elders and deacons, leaders of the church. And it isn’t as if he finishes
discussing the church there. He will go on to talk about many
different matters pertaining to the church. But here in this
short little verse, chapter 3, verse 16, Paul wants to just
briefly attend to the doctrine of the church. what he presents
here, having already elevated the whole idea of the church,
the church of Christ, what he wants to do is give to Timothy
and gird up his mind the importance, the solemnity, the richness of
the gospel that has been entrusted to him and this charge that has
been entrusted to him and the the great arena in which that is to take
place in the local church. If you would, we’re just going
to do one verse today. 1 Timothy 3.16, where Paul says,
and by common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He who was revealed in the flesh,
was vindicated in the Spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed
among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.”
Now, it’s a short but it’s a very
dynamic, very fascinating passage. It was absolutely amazing to
me to see How many different men had such a completely different
outline for such a simple passage? Some people saw that there were
two groups of three lines. They wanted to group those first
three statements together to discuss the incarnate Christ. They spoke of the Lord’s humiliation
in those three things, revealed in the flesh, vindicated in the
Spirit, beheld by angels. Others grouped them into three
groups, rather, of two. One contrasted them in this way,
human flesh versus divine spirit, revealed in the flesh, vindicated
by the Spirit. The second group was heavenly
angels and earthly nations, beheld by angels proclaimed in the nations,
in the world. And then finally, the third couplet
would have been temporal world versus eternal glory, believed
on in the world and taken up in glory. And all of those are
plausible. There are many different ways
to outline this passage. To me, there are six clear statements,
six statements that tell us about the Lord Jesus Christ. But Timothy
here uses some language that perhaps we are a bit fuzzy on. He says, by common confession,
great is the mystery of godliness. Let’s begin. Let’s look at this
passage. By common confession, that’s
a word that we might tend to think of as a matter of prayer
and going before God and confessing our sin, agreeing with Him about
the nature of our sin. But when Paul says here by common
confession he’s advancing a thought with which we’re all familiar. It may sound strange to our ears
but it’s a concept that we all know well. A confession is simply
a statement or a series of statements as it is here that articulate
what a person believes. Many times these older documents,
the confessions, advance forth what it is we commonly believe
among us. We might even refer to this set
of beliefs as our doctrinal statement. And there’s much about the Lord
Jesus Christ that we don’t know. We don’t know much about his
pre-incurrent life. We don’t know much about his
boyhood. We don’t know much about his
teen years, his young manhood. And there are things about Christ’s
life that are simply now a matter of rather confusing speculation. Exactly when his father Joseph
died or how he died, perhaps the worst of all of these speculations
is some suggestion that Jesus was actually married. There’s
a great deal about Christ that we don’t know. But that makes
the things that we do know that much more valuable. It increases
their value in our hearts and lives so that what has been revealed
about Christ, those things that we can all see, that we can know,
that we can embrace, in which we can rejoice, those things
become paramount, don’t they? The things that we know about
Christ are the most important things. These are the elements
of what we might refer to in the theological terms as our
Christology, our doctrine of the person and the work of Christ. These are the things on which
we clearly see. These are the things on which
we all agree about the Lord Jesus Christ. To use an older term
for it, it is our confession about Christ. It is those things
about which we know about Him and on which believers agree. In the earliest days of Christianity,
they began to pen and put down confessions, statements, creeds,
we know as the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed. I believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten
of the Father before all worlds, God of God, light of light, very
God of very God, begotten, not made. being of one substance
with the Father by whom all things were made. The creeds were an
important part of the church because they talked about what
they all agreed on about Christ. And they omitted those things
about which they disagreed. Basically, Paul too here in this
very short verse provides us with a confession. but one that
not only proclaims what the Scripture clearly teaches and records what
historically occurred, but one which also became, by the inspiration
of the Holy Spirit, Scripture. 1 Timothy 3.16 is the very Word
of God. And as such, it proclaims truths
that believers can hold to and must hold to. when Paul refers
to this as a common confession or a common profession, it is
quite possible that what Paul does or records here or cites
is a passage from a well-known early first century hymn. This is quite likely the lyric
of some well-known song that communicated the message of Christ,
what it is that was so firmly held to about Him. It is the
commonly held perspective about Jesus Christ. Paul uses another
phrase that perhaps is confusing to us in this opening line. By common confession, great is
the mystery of godliness. When Paul refers to this common
confession as a mystery, he isn’t suggesting for a moment that
these truths were obscured or difficult or impossible to understand. He merely exclaims that these
truths have been in times past obscured, but now they have been
uncovered. They were hidden and now they
are fully revealed. It’s a mystery in a sense. It
was a mystery. At one time it was hidden, considered
a mystery, but now revealed. These were the deep truths of
God, which nothing but the revelation of God would make known. No human intellect, no scientific
investigation would have been fruitful to discover these treasures
that were born in the mind of God. They were mysteries, unknown. But now these truths are revealed. They are revealed now in their
fullness. We see them. It is by common
confession that we hold to these truths. They have been manifest,
revealed to humanity, and they’re available to all to ponder and
meditate and receive by faith in all their glory. And this
revelation, this uncovering of these hidden treasures, it’s
dynamic. In other words, it’s multifaceted. This isn’t just a one-point message. This is the fullness of Christ
revealed to us and for us. This isn’t just a secret that
is revealed. It is the great revelation regarding
the Messiah that is open and laid bare before humanity. It encompasses the Lord Jesus
Christ and His incarnation. It includes the taking on of
His human flesh. It includes His sinless and God-honoring
life. It includes His passion, His
death, His burial and resurrection and all the glorious realities
that flow forth from that. His atonement for our sins, our
redemption, forgiveness, salvation, and ultimately our glorification. It is not only information about
the person and work of Christ that is suggested by this word
mystery. It is none other than the Lord
Jesus Christ Himself that is revealed. Colossians, Paul wrote
of this, same thought in the opening chapter of Colossians.
Listen just carefully. Of this church, I was made a
minister according to the stewardship from God, bestowed on me for
your benefit so that I might fully carry out the preaching
of the Word of God, that is, the mystery which has been hidden
from ages past and generations. but now has been manifested to
his saints, to whom God willed to make known what is the riches
of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is
Christ in you, the hope of glory. You see, he says in times past
no one really understood what that meant. No one really understood
what the suffering servant would bring. Christ in you, the hope
of glory, that was the mystery. And that’s why Paul says here
in very plain terms, great is the mystery of godliness. No
one had figured out how the righteousness of God could be communicated
to sinful men. No one understood that all of
our sin would be placed onto Christ and all of Christ’s righteousness
would be placed onto us. So not only in doctrine, not
only right doctrine, but it’s all of life that comes into focus
in this passage. It is Christianity itself. It
is the life of a Christian. It is our moral life. It is godliness as this word
is so often used throughout the scriptures. And so this mystery
where God ultimately reveals himself to humanity, revealing
Christ as the suffering servant, dying, rising, ultimately reigning
over all humanity. He is the source of godliness
for the sinner. He is the source of hope for
the sinner. He is the source of salvation
for the sinner. We have here in these six sentences
that follow our Christology. It is our confession. It is that
which we agree on as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. These are the great truths of
the redemptive work of Christ in history. I’ve referred to
it as our confession of Christ. This is the good news of salvation. And the good news of salvation
in Jesus Christ is revealed here in six different sentences. It is announced, declared to
us by way of reminder, and certainly for some by way of first hearing. The good news of salvation in
Jesus Christ is announced first of all in His incarnation. Paul says it this way, by common
confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He who was revealed
in the flesh. As God, Jesus Christ, has existed
throughout all eternity. And in retrospect, we can now
look back into the Old Testament and even see Christ at work as
a member of the Godhead, many times revealed as such in the
Old Testament scriptures. And obviously, we clearly see
Christ prophetically announced as the Messiah throughout the
Old Testament. He is, as we just rejoiced in
our Attendance of the Messiah. He is the Desire of Nations. He is the Messenger of the Covenant,
Malachi 3.1. He is Emmanuel, God with us. He is the Light. He is the Wonderful
Counselor, the Mighty God, the Prince of Peace. He is the King. He is the Righteous Savior. He
is the Holy One, the King of Glory, God’s Anointed. He is
the Redeemer, the Messiah, the Suffering Servant. All Old Testament
names of Christ. Referring to Him with all clarity
now in retrospect. That Jesus Christ becomes most
real to us in His incarnation. When Paul here cites that Jesus
was revealed in the flesh, he insists that He was already in
existence long before, but only in time revealed in human form. Colossians 1.15, Paul says of
Him that He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn
of all creation. We know from the full testimony
of Scripture, don’t we? That Jesus was eternally existent. But in time, He took on human
flesh. In Matthew’s Gospel, go ahead
and turn if you would. Keep your finger there in 1 Timothy. Turn to Matthew’s Gospel, Chapter
1. Since it’s Christmas, we’ll turn
to an explicitly Christmas passage. Specifically to verse 18 of chapter
1, just after that lengthy list of names. Matthew chapter 1 verse 18, now
the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows, when his mother Mary
had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she
was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit. Now that indicates
that this was no ordinary conception. This is no ordinary birth. This was by miraculous means,
even if we don’t understand exactly what is intended or meant by
that phrase. Look at verse 19. And Joseph,
her husband, being a righteous man and not wanting to disgrace
her, planned to send her away secretly. She was really and
truly with child. She was pregnant. But it was
by miraculous means and so instead of making a big scene, Joseph
was just going to send her away, break off the engagement and
be done with her. Verse 20, But when he had considered
this, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream,
saying, Son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your
wife, for the child who has been conceived in her is of the Holy
Spirit.” Now it becomes more explicit to the reader to understand
that this was indeed a miraculous birth. We still don’t understand
the full nature of it, but at least Joseph was put at ease
that this entire arrangement is of God. This is God’s doing. Look at verse 21. She will bear
a son, and you will call His name Jesus, for He will save
His people from their sins. Now all this took place that
what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled.
Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and shall bear a son,
and they shall call His name Immanuel which translated means
God with us. And so what was implied in verse
18 and verse 20 by the Holy Spirit of the Holy Spirit is now stated
explicitly that God had come to take on human flesh. And this miraculous blending
of divinity of and humanity was prophesied by Isaiah 700 years
earlier. In Isaiah 7.14 is the passage
which Matthew cites there. Isaiah 7.14, Therefore the Lord
Himself will give you a sign. Behold, a virgin will be with
child and will bear a son and she will call His name Immanuel. And so God revealed Himself. He revealed Himself in the form
of humanity, this little child, the Messiah, the Lord Jesus.
He unveiled deity to humanity, the very essence of God to His
creation. He was in eternity a spirit as
God, but He came down and was manifested in the flesh, a human
body. But this revelation doesn’t speak
merely to the taking on of human flesh, but to the entirety of
Christ’s earthly life. Dear brother James Boyce in glory
said it this way, The essence of the incarnation is that by
it God became man in order to achieve salvation and establish
the rule of God in history and over history. It is the invasion
by God of history through one who is uniquely both God and
man. It is a supernatural, miraculous
event. And it is this character of the
event which the doctrine of the virgin birth defines and preserves. Scripture says it repeatedly. And you know these scriptures.
As you’re turning back to 1st Timothy, just hear a few of them. The Word, John 1, 14, Jesus Christ,
the Word, became flesh and dwelt among us. Philippians 2, have
this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus who
although he existed in the form of God throughout eternity past
did not regard equality as a thing to be grasped but he emptied
himself taking the form of a bondservant being made in the likeness of
men. It is one of the most sure and clear testimonies of Scripture
that God took on human flesh by the name of the Lord Jesus
Christ. The whole purpose of this, the
whole reason that Jesus Christ did this was because God’s justice
could not be satisfied by the death of one man or any or all
men. Only God could pay that penalty.
And so Jesus Christ came in the form of man as God to take on
man’s penalty, to pay it in full. Because of that, because Jesus
Christ is announced in His incarnation, we sing. Silent night, holy night. Son of God loves pure light. Radiant beams from Thy holy face. With the dawn of redeeming grace,
Jesus, Lord at Thy birth. Jesus, Lord at Thy birth. There’s a second announcement. The news of salvation in Jesus
Christ is announced not only at His incarnation, but it’s
announced in His, if you will, vindication. Look at 1 Timothy
once again. 1 Timothy 3.16, by common confession,
great is the mystery of godliness. He who was revealed in the flesh
was vindicated in the Spirit. Now you know well, good students
of Scripture, You know one of the things that we frequently
need to do is look at the little word spirit and determine whether
it should or ought to be a small s spirit referring to the innermost
immaterial part of humanity or large s spirit referring to the
Holy Spirit and such is the case here. And there have been arguments
advanced that it could go either way. Paul could be very much
speaking here that God attended Christ and undergirded Christ,
buffeted, if you will, His Spirit and supplied Christ with the
means. Or whether this refers to the
Holy Spirit, and that’s the direction that I would lean. It is as one
referred to it as the divine attestation of his personal righteousness. God was affirming Christ. The
Holy Spirit was affirming Christ. Christ was justified. Christ was vindicated. Christ
came stating who He was. God in the form of the Holy Spirit
undergirded and affirmed everything that Jesus said. It was the Holy
Spirit that empowered and undergirded
Christ. And in His claims, in His claim
to be God in the flesh, He was absolutely vindicated. Men disbelieved
Him. They doubted Him. They rebuked
Him even for these claims. But in the end, Jesus Christ
was found to be and held to be and affirmed to be exactly who
He claimed. One faithful shepherd put it
this way, the justifying taken here in the sense of judged or
approved as righteous Christ was justified in spirit because
His career on earth from the first to the last fulfilled all
righteousness. Jesus Christ was exactly who
He claimed to be. He was perfect and sinless. And it’s because of that. It’s
because of that. It’s because Jesus was announced
in His vindication. The truth about Christ echoed
through the world. And it’s because of that that
we sing all creation. Join in praising God, the Father,
Spirit, Son, evermore your voices raising to the eternal three
in one. Come and worship. Come and worship. Worship Christ, the newborn King. But there is a third announcement
of Christ, a third testimony that is given here in our common
confession. The good news of salvation in
Jesus Christ is announced in His incarnation, in His vindication. It’s announced in His attention.
Who paid attention to Jesus? Look at the passage. By common
confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He who was revealed
in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, beheld by angels. What a simple and yet profound
point. That Jesus Christ, eternally God, the co-creator of the universe,
He was witnessed throughout the ages by those created spiritual
beings called angels. The biblical root word for angel,
as you know, means messenger. And it generally refers to to
those who were sent. But in this case, they are spirit
beings sent by God Himself. They are created by God, and
they were created holy. Positionally, they are below
Christ, who is God. In relation to us, to mere men,
even though they are servants of God like men, they are presently
more powerful and more privileged than we are. Their number, according
to Scripture, is finite, but it’s unknown. Myriads of angels,
but it is a finite number. These angels are not subject
to death. They do not propagate. And as
noted, they are unique beings possessing these special measures
of wisdom and strength and capability. Angels, as I’ve already hinted,
are of two basic natures. There are elect angels, according
to 1 Timothy 5.21, and fallen angels, fallen from God, devils
and demons. Elect angels, however, have their
abode in heaven with God. They’re in the spiritual realm,
if you will, on the good side. And as such, they praised God
at the creation of the world, Job 38. They protected the garden
after the fall, Genesis 3. They ministered to the patriarchs
throughout the Old Testament. Now, Paul’s whole point here
is that these very angels were created by God for this ultimate
purpose, to attend and to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. And as
such, they attended Jesus in His temptation, remember? The
angels were ministering to Christ. They ministered to Christ by
predicting and announcing His birth, even as we’ve just read. Turn, if you will, to another
Christmas passage, Luke chapter 2. In Luke chapter 2, angels
attended to Christ in announcing Him, declaring Him. Look at verse
9. And an angel of the Lord suddenly
stood before them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them,
and they were terribly frightened. But the angel said to them, Do
not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy which
will be for all the people. For today in the city of David
there has been born for you a Savior who is Christ the Lord. This
will be a sign for you. You will find a baby wrapped
in cloths, lying in a manger, And suddenly there appeared with
the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and
saying, Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace among men
with whom He is pleased. Back, if you would, to 1 Timothy.
The angels worshiped Christ in Matthew 2. They protected Him. They ministered to Him in various
ways and measures. They proclaimed His resurrection. They rolled away the stone of
His tomb. They announced His resurrection
to the disciples. They attended His ascension to
the right hand of God. Just listen. Acts chapter 1 verse
10. They were gazing intently in
the sky while He was going. Behold, two men in white clothing
stood behind them. They also said, Men of Galilee,
why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus who has been
taken up to you from into heaven, He will come in the same way
as you have watched Him go into heaven. Those were angels attending
to Christ. They were integrally part of
Christ’s ministry, not just in creation, not just in the unfolding
plan of redemption, but especially at the ministry of Christ in
its fullness. No wonder we sing at Christmas,
hark, the herald angels sing, glory to the newborn king, peace
on earth and mercy mild, God and sinners reconciled. But the good news of salvation
in Jesus Christ is also announced in a fourth sentence. not only in His incarnation,
His vindication, His attention, but in His proclamation. In the
proclamation of Christ, He is announced to the world. Look
at the passage. And by common confession, great
is the mystery of godliness. He who was revealed in the flesh,
vindicated in the spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed among the
nations. This just gets better and better,
doesn’t it? It wasn’t enough that Jesus Christ should be revealed. It wasn’t enough that He would
be revealed and vindicated. It wasn’t enough that He would
be revealed and witnessed by angels. He must be proclaimed. He must be proclaimed throughout
the whole world. And the word here is a familiar one to us
all. To all who love the Word of God,
it’s the simple word to preach or to herald. Paul went about, he counted it
as nothing, there was no privilege greater to Paul to preach and
to herald the message of Christ. Paul said, I did not shrink from
declaring to you the whole purpose of God, he told the Ephesian
elders. He preached as he told the Corinthians, not in cleverness
of speech, he preached the word. In fact, Paul’s attitude was,
woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. The nation of Israel,
the nation of Israel was always supposed to be a witness to the
other nations. Did you realize that? They were
always supposed to be a witness to the other nations, but rarely
was that done or done well. They typically had no grounds
for testimony because of the nature of their own lives. And
so whatever testimony was provided, was provided by God Himself,
remember? Through these miraculous signs,
these theophanies that God often did as a testimony to Himself. But now, but now with the coming
of Christ, things change. Things must change. must be different. While the signs attended the
early ministry of the apostles, the common and growing strain
was that of the faithful preaching of the gospel. It was word of
mouth by which the gospel of Jesus Christ would be made known.
John the Baptist came preaching. Jesus Christ Himself came preaching. The apostles were tasked at Jesus’
departure with this one great duty, preaching. Matthew 10, 7, as you go, preach. As you go, part of your, the
core of your ministry is going to go and proclaim, preach. The kingdom of heaven is at hand. The close of Matthew’s gospel,
Matthew 24, the gospel of this kingdom shall be preached in
the whole world as a testimony. And the early church embraced
that responsibility. Peter and John and Stephen and
Philip. Lloyd-Jones lays out the particulars
here and tells us why would this have been such a priority in
the early church? Why is it such a priority even
today? Lloyd-Jones says this, the moment
you consider man’s real need and also the nature of salvation
announced and proclaimed in the scriptures, you are driven to
the conclusion that the primary task of the church is to preach
and proclaim this, to show man’s real need, to show the only remedy,
the only cure for it. But the gospel doesn’t occur
in a vacuum. The gospel doesn’t carry itself
forth. It does not spontaneously present
itself. It must be proclaimed. It must
be shared and taught. A witness must be born. The gospel
must be preached. John Calvin It said the gospel
does not fall from clouds like rain. It is brought by the hands
of men wherever it is sent. A message necessarily implies
a messenger. Paul said it this way, How shall
they call upon Him whom they have not believed? How are all
those people going to hear? And how shall they believe in
Him whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? And how shall they preach unless
they are sent? This would take place not only
in more formal occasions, preaching, through sermons and lessons and
verbal defenses, but also through simple dialogue, right? One-on-one
conversations, simple statements, testimonies. It’s the amazing
plan of God, isn’t it? that through such simple and
rudimentary means His kingdom would be built? The declaration
of Christ by plain individuals, not angels, not geniuses, but
simple men announcing salvation by faith in Christ. A message
designed to lift sinners up from hopelessness and shame to forgiveness
and a life of fullness in Christ. Samuel Davies urged it this way,
God has appointed. God has appointed the means of
prayer and preaching for the spread of the gospel. The early
church knew that. They knew that well and practiced
it. He concludes by saying, it is therefore the spirit of God
that makes some means more effective at some seasons than the other,
he says, don’t worry about the results, preach. You do your
part, preach the word, share the gospel, and let God do his
in time. But there’s an additional element
here in this little phrase that must not be overlooked. Christ
should not only be proclaimed, his gospel preached, but he would
be proclaimed among the nations. This is not merely a statement
suggesting worldwide evangelism. It is that. But it is first and
foremost here, it’s a declaration of the opening of the gospel,
the good news of salvation to the Gentiles. And to a man, aren’t
we thankful for that? no longer was God, no longer
was His salvation. Only for the Jews, a Jewish privilege,
the gospel would now be opened and proclaimed to the whole world,
to all nations, to Gentile as well as Jew. This was the great
privilege that was particularly assigned to Paul. Ephesians 3.8,
Paul said, to me, the very least of all saints, this grace was
given to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ. Jesus Christ was clearly announced
in His proclamation, and it’s because of that that we sing.
I’ve said it before that I think this is one of those Christmas
songs that we should sing in July and May September and throughout
the year. Joy to the world. The Lord is
come. Let earth receive her King. Let every heart prepare Him room. There’s a fifth announcement
of Christ. The good news of salvation in
Jesus Christ is announced in His incarnation. His vindication,
His attention, His proclamation, number five, It’s announced in
his reception. Would you go to the verse? By
common confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He who
is revealed in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, beheld by angels,
proclaimed among the nations, believed on in the world. Well,
this is the great hope of the free offer of salvation, isn’t
it? That some would joyfully receive it by faith. We have
just right, in recent weeks, heard in our study of John’s
Gospel that the primary response to God by this world is going
to be anything but welcoming, right? The world hates you. The world hated Christ. One faithful Puritan put it this
way, the world and glory, how far asunder and in a sense antagonistic. The one above, the other beneath,
the one of celestial brightness and purity, the other replete
with numberless forms and appearances of evil, the region of sin and
disease and death. To think that the world, any
in the world, would receive Christ is almost laughable. Typically,
it’s cold, aloof, hostile, and may I say it, hateful, but not
everyone. There are those who hear the
gospel, the gospel that Christ has paid for their sin in full,
and that simply by placing one’s faith in Him, they are forgiven.
They are counted righteous before a holy God. And in fact, great
numbers of humbled sinners have turned to Christ in faith throughout
the history of mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike, from every
tribe and tongue and nation. They have heard the gospel. They
have taken hold of it by faith. And this faith is not some kind
of acknowledgment of a mere set of facts, not some wishful sentiment,
not some kind of self-congratulating confidence. As one described
it, faith is a firm persuasion. a conviction based on hearing,
firm conviction, producing full acknowledgment of God’s revelation
of truth. It’s a personal surrender to
Him that’s complete. When an individual turns to Jesus
Christ in faith, he or she comes to the place of complete trust
in Him. In His totally and completely
finished work, paying for their sins, they rest confidently. They trust His merciful willingness
to forgive those sins and His abundant and enabling grace to
grant them the ability to rise above those sins. It’s not a
tentative, wishful belief. It’s a fixed hope. It’s a settled
and sure confidence that not only in God’s forgiveness of
the past, but in His trustworthiness with the future. It’s faith. And it’s faith which justifies,
but mind you, there is nothing about the nature of our faith
that gains us one ounce of merit. Nothing that gains us an ounce
of merit or a moment of peace. Faith is the God-given means,
the instrument, if you will, of laying hold what God and His
mercy has provided. And even that faith is a gift
of God. Nothing about which to boast. No wonder our recently glorified
friend R.C. Sproul referred to faith justification
by faith as the chief article. This is the main point. This
is the most important thing, R.C. Sproul would say. It is
the very foundation not only of an individual standing before
God, but the entire churches as well. Stand or fall by faith. Jesus Christ is declared to the
world because of the reception that He receives from some. And
because of that, we sing, yea, Lord, we greet Thee. Born this
happy morning, Jesus to Thee be all glory given. Word of the
Father laid in flesh appearing. O come, let us adore Him. And there is a last, there is
a sixth declaration here. The good news of salvation in
Jesus Christ is announced in His incarnation, His vindication,
His attention, His proclamation, His reception, and His ascension. Look at the verse. By common
confession, great is the mystery of godliness. He was revealed
in the flesh, vindicated in the spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed
among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory. Finally here, Paul speaks here
not of the resurrection of Christ when you think of ascension lifted
up. It’s of his ascension into heaven.
That’s the truth that’s being proclaimed here. This is God’s
affirmation of Christ’s faithfulness in all things. This was God’s
complete assurance of his reception of Christ’s atonement for sinners. This was Christ returning to
that place and position which He willingly laid down to serve
His Father and to save His people. In both of Luke’s volumes, Volume
1, Luke’s Gospel, Volume 2, the Book of Acts, this amazing scene
is recorded. Luke chapter 24, He led them
out as far as Bethany. He lifted up His hands and blessed
them. While He was blessing them, He parted from them and was carried
up to heaven. What an amazing moment. What
a clear testimony to the world that Jesus Christ is of God. He was God and was going back
to be at His Father’s right hand. We’ve already referred to the
occurrence in Acts chapter one, but after he said these things,
he was lifted up while they were looking, a cloud received him
out of their sight. It was upon that gracious and
complete reception by his beloved heavenly father that there would
be no other proof needed. There would be no other proof
ever provided. He was just exactly who God declared Him to be. He
was precisely who He proclaimed Himself to be. God in the flesh. He was precisely who the Holy
Spirit affirmed Him to be. What Paul records in Ephesians
1 is exactly the follow-up on this scene. We see it from a
human, from an earthly perspective that Jesus Christ went up, but
the heavenly perspective is recorded in Ephesians 1. In accordance
with the working of the strength of His might which He brought
about in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated
Him at His right hand in the heavenly places. Far above all
rule and power and authority and dominion and every name that
is named not only in this age but also in the one to come.
And He put all things in subjection under His feet and gave Him His
hand over all things to the church which is His body, the fullness
of Him who fills all in all. This Jesus was God in the flesh. Now come to resume His place
at the very throne of God. He was not merely ascended, but
He was glorified. As one described it, the crown
of His exaltation, not only of His ascension, but is sitting
at the right hand of God where He ever lives, making intercession
and has all power both in heaven and earth. What a glorious testimony this
is of Christ. Jesus Christ is announced here
in His ascension and because of that we sing. All glory be
to God on high and to the earth be peace. Goodwill henceforth
from heaven to men. Begin and never cease. Begin
and never cease. Would you humble yourselves before
Him? Our Lord Jesus Christ, we humble
ourselves before you, counting it a great privilege to confess
with the saints of all the Church these truths that are penned
down, not just recorded from some hymn, but which oriented
ultimately from the Holy Spirit, because they are the very Word
of God. the truth about Christ revealed
in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, beheld by angels, proclaimed
among the nations, believed on in the world, ascended into glory. Lord God, we count it a privilege
to be among those who not only heard but received and believed
in our Lord Jesus Christ. Be glorified in us. We rejoice
in our risen Savior. We pray all of these things in
Jesus’ name, Amen.