We studied in our Friday meetings the great importance of meditation. David in Psalm 119:15-16 said, “I will meditate on Your precepts, And contemplate Your ways. I will delight myself in Your statutes; I will not forget Your word.” That is what we are trying to do in our communion meditation. We are recalling and meditating on what we already know about Jesus and contemplating it so we can experience divine delight and strength from that truth. We have looked to Jesus pre-creation, looked to Jesus in the Old Testament. In Adam, He will be a seed. In Abraham, He will come through a nation. In Moses, He will fulfill the Law. In David, He will establish an eternal Kingdom. In the prophets, He will bring a New Covenant. And we looked to Jesus at His birth. Now we come to looking unto Jesus in His three years of earthly life.

If we were to study all the life and works of Jesus, John said the world is not big enough to keep the records. To know the life of Jesus, we have four Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—the life of Jesus presented in monumental, blessed majesty and divine harmony. We should read them over and over and ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes. Paul’s eyes were opened to see such infinite glory in Christ, he accounted all things but dung for the surpassing excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. Others have read and read and grasped so much glory; they have spent their whole lives writing large volumes on the glory of Christ’s life. Men have been writing and preaching for 2000 years about the life of Christ, and they are writing and preaching still, even this very second; so many are writing and preaching. They will continue until the end of the world.

When we began our ministry, for four years we studied Jesus’s life through the Gospel of John, and then for the last seven years, we studied Matthew. We know the historical details of the life and ministry of Jesus. But that is just the beginning of knowing Jesus. All those truths God taught us were not for us to simply study and understand and then put into the archive of our memory and forget. No, God wants us to recall and meditate on those truths until we bring them to some profitable, practical use. When we face life situations, we have to recall suitable situations in Jesus’s life and meditate, “Look unto Jesus.” We may then feel a kind of sensible change; that is how we really know Jesus experientially, as Paul did, and truly grasp the surpassing excellence of His knowledge, realizing that nothing compares to it.

Today, in 40-50 minutes, let us walk with Jesus through His three years of life on earth and His ministry. Just to see one Gospel, we took seven years. Today, it is very broad, an eagle’s aerial eye from 50,000 feet. We will skip a lot of things. There are a few things that we can cover in one sermon and prepare your hearts for communion. Remember this is not a historical study, but a devotional, experiential study.

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We will cover:

1. The Preaching of John
2. The Baptism of Jesus
3. The Temptation of Jesus
4. The Nature of Christ
5. The Ministry of Jesus

First, we see the preaching of John the Baptist. He is the forerunner of Christ, sent to prepare the way. As we sit under his preaching, what do we see and feel? His ministry prepares us to see the glory of Christ, which is why all the Gospels begin with him. Though the man has not performed one miracle, the entire nation went to hear his preaching. Why? We see a strict, uncompromising, holy life, a rare example of self-denial and mortification, a man who rejected the world, despised its honors, fame, and name, and resisted temptations. He was clothed in camel’s hair, and his food was locusts and wild honey. He preached about repentance and coming judgment. By his life and preaching, he was a great means to prepare men to see the glory of Christ.

Can I ask you to imagine you are sitting for a while under this preacher? He stands here preaching righteousness with his posture. See what effect it will have on your heart. You see a man living such an austere, economical, and strict life, but living such a glorious, useful life. The whole nation goes to hear him; God chose him as the forerunner, filled him with the Holy Spirit from birth, and Jesus calls him the greatest born among women. In God’s sight, he is the most useful man, the greatest prophet, and did a great ministry. Doesn’t this man prick our consciences somewhere? With all we have, all our luxury, doesn’t it make us blush about what meaningless, useless lives we live? We are regularly running after worldly pleasures, honors, and names, and so poor in obeying and serving God, or doing anything useful for God’s kingdom. Doesn’t his message of repentance—the axe is on the root, every tree that doesn’t bear fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire—make us feel ashamed of our lives and sins, creating a sorrow and hatred for sins? It makes you see the emptiness of worldly pleasures. What life am I living? What is the use of all our worldly pomp and rush? When I meet God, what account will I give of my life to God on judgment day? How will the world remember me? If I have any sense, I have to change. Do you feel a spirit of mortification of sin? It urges you to deny yourself and die to the world. This is the effect you need to feel if you properly look to the forerunner. Read about him and keep looking at John the Baptist until you have that effect, because that effect is called repentance, which is the great preparation through which the Holy Spirit opens your eyes to see the glory of Christ. Without this, you can never see the glory of Christ in any of His ministry. If you feel your disease of sin, you will see the Savior’s glory as a great physician, you will run to Him in faith, and you will be saved. Repentance—that is where gospel blessing starts.

Then, we see Christ coming to this man and being baptized, the Holy Spirit coming from heaven like a dove and anointing Him. Yesterday we had one baptism. We were all baptized once. We repented, saw Christ’s glory, and were baptized. Sit by that Jordan river and see the sinless Son of God. What need did He have to be baptized? Even John says, “Lord, You should baptize me.” He shows by baptism that He took our place, and He wants to fulfill all righteousness so that He can impute all that fulfilled righteousness on us and justify us before God. He was baptized not for Himself, but for us. Aren’t you interested in that? What a sight! The holy Son of God stands in a sinner’s place. He went down into the waters of baptism so that we who believe in Him might find the effects of it in our lives. Do you know that all our baptism gets virtue because He was baptized in our place? It is because He was baptized and the Holy Spirit came upon Him that the same Holy Spirit comes on you and me and gives us a new birth and unites us to Christ. By that one Spirit, we are baptized into His death, burial, and righteousness; we are identified as one, as if we died with Him, were buried, and rose, and so now we can partake of all the benefits of His life and death. How precious His baptism meditation should be to us!

See, when you have repented by John’s preaching of repentance, believed in Christ, and been baptized, you can expect something: the devil’s temptation. So after baptism, we see Him fasting for 40 days and tempted by the devil in the wilderness. Meditating on His temptation will help us see what kind of enemy we have, how he fights, how he is resisted, and how he is overcome. His first assault was when Satan moved Christ to doubt His Father’s providence by turning stones into bread. When that didn’t work, the second was directly opposite, to presume on His Father’s providential protection by jumping, believing angels will protect Him. And when neither doubt nor presumption could make Christ fall, he tempted Him with all the pleasures, lusts, honors, and allurements of the world.

This is exactly the way you and I are regularly tempted. If he cannot drive us to despair and doubt, he tries to lift us up to presumption. And if neither of these works, then he brings out all the pleasures, lusts, profits, and honors, which are so appealing to us. Many times we fall. Oh, how terrible when we get caught in his temptation. Yes, the Lord says, “Pray you will not enter temptation.” When we pray and watch, we can live victoriously. But when we enter and get caught, what a sad person I become! What struggles with remaining sin! I cannot read or pray. What horrid, dirty thoughts come into our minds, as if the worst gutter is pouring into my mind. Sometimes even terrible dreams. Sometimes it truly makes us think, “We are so bad. We are not a child of God. We are the devil’s children. We will definitely go to hell.” What a warfare! We resist one temptation, and another comes. Sometimes it feels like waves; we feel we will sink. What do you do when you are so discouragingly caught in waves of temptation? How do we come out of it? Some of you today, this morning, may be caught in temptation. Oh, look unto Jesus’s temptation.

But here is your comfort: remember you have such a Savior who was in all things tempted in like manner, yet without sin. He knows what you are going through; He knows the horror of temptation. The devil poured all the world’s gutter into His mind. For us, depraved but saved sinners, it is a horror. How would the sinless, holy Son of God have felt? He knows all. He has seen the height and maximum power of temptation pressure and never fell. We break at some point; He never fell. Satan became tired and left. Now, you are united to Him. You are not tempted alone; Christ is with you in the temptation. See to what extent He went to feel the height of my temptation. If we don’t eat for four days, we have to go to the ICU. Forty days… body juices, eyes all gone, body skin and bones. He could in a second eat a feast, but He fasted to identify with and help me in my temptation.

He says, “My child, I know your temptation. Come to me.” When you are tempted, “I am praying for you that your faith fail not, while the devil is shifting you.” He knows what torture temptation is by experience. His love, mercy, and tenderness are most of all at work when you and I are most tempted. As dear parents are ever tender of their children, but then especially when they are sick and weak, so, though Christ is always tender of His people, He is especially so when their souls are sick and under temptation, struggling. Then His bowels yearn over them indeed. He says, “Tempted Child of God, come to me.” When you know His compassion, how boldly, therefore, can we go to the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace to help in time of need! Christ was tempted in all ways, so that He might comfort, strengthen, assist, and help those who are tempted. That is His job as our high priest. What comfort! Remember when you face temptations, remember Christ’s temptations. Look unto Jesus. Go to Him for help. What strength He gives us! See that desert. He stands victorious. The devil ran away. In your temptation, when the devil tortures you, look at Him. He will give you strength to overcome temptation, and the devil will run away.

See, when you have repented by John’s preaching of repentance, believed in Christ, and been baptized, why does God allow us to be tempted? See, it is such temptation that makes us grow in holiness and become useful for God’s kingdom. Temptations create perseverance, do their work, and create character, so we lack nothing and become useful for God’s kingdom. That pattern is seen in Christ’s life. Once He was baptized and tested, and overcame temptation, He started His ministry. He called His disciples and started His ministry.

Usually in ministry, they say, “First the man, and then his ministry.” So let us see the nature of Christ and His ministry.

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Nature and Ministry of Christ

We already saw He was born with complete divinity and complete humanity. We cannot imagine what an infinitely wonderful person this combination has made Him. Such a glorious, esteemed person as the Son of God, He united human nature to Himself. Oh, the wonderful, glorious, perfect union of the divine and human nature in Christ renders Him an object of admiration and wonder. Now at His baptism, His human nature is anointed with the Holy Spirit without measure. It is overflowing with all the graces of the Spirit. Do you realize what a man Christ must be! If a small measure of grace in the saints makes them sweet and desirable companions like Paul, Epa, and Tim, we say, “What a man!” What must the riches of the Spirit of grace filling Jesus Christ without measure make Him, having in Him all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge?

What beauty He must be who is anointed without measure by the Holy Spirit. Oh, what a glory must it fix upon Him! All the fullness of the Godhead bodily dwelt in Him. Hebrews says He became holy, harmless, undefiled, full of grace, truth. John’s reason that He is so full of this is so that we empty sinners can behold His glory, the glory of the only begotten Son, full of grace and truth, and receive grace upon grace. What an appearance Christ must be! Try to imagine with your eyes to see this glorious person—not only in His person as God, but as man—not just a perfect man without sin, but anointed with the Holy Spirit not just in a drop, or what a man’s capacity could hold, but without measure, overflowing with all good graces of the Holy Spirit. How beautiful must He be! If God could open our eyes, if you could but clearly see His glory, oh, we would faint. Someone said Christ’s inward beauty would ravish love out of all the devils, if they had but grace to see His beauty. This loveliness of Christ ravishes the souls of the glorified. This is the person who walked on this earth 2000 years ago.

What kind of life did He live? The holiness of His life is stunning. As God’s Son with almighty power, the heir of all things, think of His great patience when He lived among sinners. With one breath, the whole universe can go to ashes. But what patience in intense suffering, what love in most terrible enmity, His self-denial, His mercy, His generosity, His meekness, His pity, His humility, His obedience to His Father. “He was made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Living under the whole law, half of the law needs active obedience. How He satisfied it by His holy life without breaking one jot or tittle of the law, even living the most poor life, in the midst of unjust enemies, and even in the horror of the cross, not one murmur or bitter complaint. His life was a miraculous life.

The Bible says He never sinned. Have you heard of a man from birth to death who never did one wrong, not one lie? Not only outside, because God gauges sins as not only what we do outside but also what we do in our hearts. He never had a bad thought in His heart, hate, lust, or wrong desires. Everyone who met Him said He is without sin. The closest who lived with Him—Peter, John, even Judas who betrayed Him, who would have loved to have found some reason to justify the betrayal that he did—couldn’t find it. He said, “I betrayed innocent blood.” The whole religious court, the Sanhedrin, couldn’t find one thing. The civil Roman court governor couldn’t find any, finally to pacify his conscience, “Washes his hand and gives him to be crucified.” Even the centurion who crucified Him, seeing how He behaved through the unjust horror of the cross, cried out that He is truly a righteous man. No one could find one sin. History couldn’t. Nobody could because there wasn’t any. One perfect life. Oh, what a marvel He was.

Not only His active obedience, but then passive obedience: He underwent all the penalty of our sins and satisfied it by suffering a wrongful death, not in any way deserved. For whom is all this? It is only for us, that we might be redeemed and adopted; redeemed from all evil, and adopted into all good. Consider the nature and perfect life of Christ, O my soul, until you feel some virtue to come out of Christ’s life into yourself.

Next, we can see His ministry. We can summarize all of His ministry into His word and works ministry. Word is preaching; works are miracles. What a word ministry! As the final anointed prophet, He spoke like no other man. His words were unsurpassed. The Gospels repeatedly say that those who heard Him were continually amazed and stunned at His teaching. Police came to arrest Him, but got arrested by His words. Just read the New Testament in the Bible. Who has spoken such life-giving words, words that can pierce a man’s mind, heart, conscience, and soul and transform and make him a new man? His words have the power to change any man. His words changed harlots into pure girls; robbers and murderers became saints. The comprehensiveness of His teaching… He taught about God, angels, the devil, demons, men, the earth, heaven, hell, the past, the present, and the future, how the world began, what will happen in history, and how the world will end, and what happens after death. His words were supernatural. He said heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away. 2000 years later, His words are still the most popular, still changing people. The words of the book called the Bible are the most popular book in all of history, translated into more languages in the world, the most printed, sold, and read book in the world.

A question we have to ask is, “Has His teaching changed me?” Is there anything comparable to His Sermon on the Mount? Not only the first time when it was preached, but anyone who reads it now stands stunned and shocked with its high moral standard. It is the greatest standard of moral purity the world has ever known. It splits open the moral hypocrisy of any man’s heart and shows him as a depraved, guilty sinner before this mountain. “If you look at a woman to lust, it is adultery. Anger is murder. Covetousness is robbery.” Realizing his guilt, Nicodemus, the greatest teacher, comes and says, “Lord, how can a man live like that?” He says, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” His teaching forces every man to ask, “Am I born again?” When you see Jesus’s teaching, that is the first question you have to ask. “Am I born again?” Without that, none of His teaching will make sense. Imagine as if Christ Himself is standing by you and opening His mouth and telling you, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Was ever such a thing done upon me? Do you have that experience? Are all old things done away, and all things now become new? Has the old person, the old lusts, the old talk, changed in your life? Are my aims and ends new? Only when you are born again can you begin the kingdom life. Or else we will be blind. If we are born again, His commands are not burdensome. Jesus Christ is the final prophet. He not only teaches through preachers to our ears and minds, but He preaches through His spirit to our hearts. Have you experienced His spiritual, inward prophetic ministry? This illumination I am talking about. His illumination makes us see His commands are not a burden, but ways of blessedness, ways of rest. We will be able to say with David, “Words of God are more to be desired than gold, yea, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb. And in keeping them there is great reward.” If you have not started realizing that, you have not experienced the prophetic ministry of Jesus. Men can only teach your minds, which will make you experience this sweetness. Flesh and blood cannot teach you that. Only when the final prophet teaches you inwardly will you receive His illumination. Oh, Christ may speak to our hearts so we know what ravishing sweetness there is in the words of Christ.

Think of His works ministry. The supernatural works of Christ are absolutely staggering. I mean, there are eyewitnesses, hundreds and thousands of them. He showed that He was God and He had authority and power over disease, nature, demons, and even death, such miracles as never man did before. Have we deeply looked at Jesus’s miracles and meditated on them? They are heavenly arguments that prove who He is: that He is truly the Son of God and all He taught are infallible truths. You have to believe in Christ and His teaching because of the miracles.

Do you realize that His works and words are divine means to make us see the infinite glory of Christ? The Holy Spirit opened many eyes to see His glory by His works and words. Can I ask you, has He done that to you? The Father gave witness that He is the Son of God from heaven; John the Baptist gave witness; demons confessed; disciples confessed; and even to this day they confess as witnesses of seeing the glory of God’s Son. 1 John 1:1-3 says, “That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life—the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us—that which we have seen and heard we declare to you, that you also may have fellowship with us.”

You know about the Bible, Christ, and the Gospel, but the most important question is, “Has all that knowledge manifested the glory of Christ to your heart?” Above all! It is this manifestation within our heart that concerns you most. God has sent forth the Spirit of His Son by using His words and works. Christ should manifest the glory of Christ into your hearts. If Christ is not manifested in your heart by His blessed Spirit, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13:4, “Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves that Christ Jesus is in you?—unless, of course, you fail the test?”

Is Christ manifested in you? The bare history is a manifestation of Christ to all, but there is a mystery in the inward manifestation. The apostle, speaking of the saints, adds, “the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now has been revealed to His saints: ‘To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.'” (Colossians 1:26-27). Oh, the riches of the glory of this mystery! See, this is the glorious revelation God hid in the ages, but now to His saints. The question is, “Has He let you see into the wonders of His glory? Has He given you the light of His glory within?” This only the experimental Christian feels. I am not asking this to discourage you, but to encourage you and make you realize there is so much for us to know and grow in Christ. I am asking this to wake you up from any dangers of perfectionism that make you lazy in Christian life. I’m pushing you like Paul to run the race, reaching forward to what is ahead.

So here is a bird’s-eye view of the life of Christ: The Preaching of John, The Baptism of Jesus, The Temptation of Jesus, The Nature of Christ, and The Ministry of Jesus.

Can I bring three applications? Believe, Bless, and Become.

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Three Applications

Believe Christ

Great good news of the Gospel, this glorious person, all His nature of divinity and humanity, in all the treasures of all His wisdom and knowledge, the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in bodily form, His. He is my wealth that will not be taken away! Not only Christ, but all His life, His baptism, His ministry, His active and passive obedience are mine and are imputed to me. It is because of this infinitely worthy, glorious person being my Savior that when I come today before God, I am not only treated as righteous, but I am an adopted, beloved child of God, just as Christ is treated, with all His freedom and privileges.

Do you believe that? All comfort and joy begin with that faith. This is a free gospel offer. Many don’t experience joy because they stand aloof, not daring to make a personal application of Christ and His life to themselves; they do not progress because of a lack of faith. But here is the property of saving faith: it sees the glory of Christ, apprehends and appropriates to itself, and makes use of whatsoever Christ is, or does, for its personal benefit.

We should come to communion not spiritually numb, but we should stir and exercise our faith. Faith must directly and immediately go to Christ. Yes, we must with the eye of our faith believe Christ was God in human flesh, born under the law. He took on our penalty of sins and atoned for them and fulfilled our duty to the law on our behalf. He both satisfied the curse and fulfilled the commandments! He purchased everlasting righteousness. By exercising faith only, we experience and feel the virtue and efficacy of Christ’s righteousness flowing into our own souls. Communion is a celebration of our union with Christ. We come to it with faith. The confession says the glorious effects of life and death flow out of Christ’s life, into a believer’s soul! It comes through faith. Oh, exercise that faith as you participate: “Christ is mine. All my trust is in Him. I come to partake in the benefits and virtues in Christ.”

Bless and Love Christ

We have seen that we have to believe first. Second, let your faith take you by the hand and lead you from one step to another, making you love Christ at every step, what He did for you. See His baptism, standing as a sinner in your place. When He saw you full of filth, He goes down into the waters of baptism so that He might prepare a way for the cleansing of your polluted soul. When He saw the devil ready to swallow you up by the power of temptation, He Himself enters into a battle. He allows Himself to be tempted. See the God of heaven’s blessedness forever, in whom dwells all fullness, emptying Himself, fasting for 40 days to know the height of the temptations you and I face, and then overcame the devil so we can overcome our temptations through Him.

His outward and inward ministry is to meet all our spiritual needs. He knows that you and I are stubborn like a donkey, how many times we are taught, we don’t learn, whatever we learn we forget, not having understanding. See Him as the final prophet. How He gave teaching upon teaching, adding line unto line, and precept on precept, repeating the same truths in different forms and examples, teaching and preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Then He doesn’t stop with external teaching; by His spirit He inwardly illuminates and teaches your hearts so you may understand the truth and believe, and in believing might have life through His name.

When He saw you as a sinner of the Gentiles, without God in the world, He even appointed apostles and sent them to all the nations. Even though we were like gentile dogs, He sent them, commanding them to make them disciples, and teach them all I taught you. “Go to Murali, Dass, Robert, wherever corner of the world they are… tell such a soul that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, of whom he is one.” When He saw that you will perish in unbelief, He condescends so far to help your unbelief. So many ways He manifested His power on earth to thousands and thousands; “the world could not contain the books that should be written.” All those things were done to make you believe in Him and trust His truths, and you receive spiritual illumination through faith. When He saw you discouraged and refusing to believe the gospel, He knew you would ask, “What! Is it possible that Jesus Christ should send a message to such a dead dog as I am?” He then appeared spiritually, and even then spread His arms wide and effectually called you by a divine voice. “Come unto me, you that are weary and heavy laden with sin, and I will give you rest.”

See His nature: not only God-man, a man born without original sin, but fully equipped by the anointing of the Holy Spirit without measure. All this for you. And His works, all for you. See, O my soul, if there is one word for all this, the sum of all this is: Christ loves you, and Christ is infinitely lovely; His heart is set upon you. This double engine should push our hearts to love Christ. His history is nothing but the greatest love story. It is a history of love for you, not an atom of self-interest from beginning to end. All for love. How hardened must we be not to be all on a flame? Come, read again!

If Christ loved me with such earnest and burning love, how chill and cold is our love for Christ? May all these things make us burn in our love for Christ. “O Christ, I am ashamed that I love you so little. I perceive your love in every step of your life… all those actions in your life are a form of love. Come, Lord, blow upon my heart… kindle the fire of love by the Spirit, that I may love you. Many sins are forgiven me; O that I may love you much!”

Become Like Him

Finally, we saw that every Christian’s goal should be to become like Christ. That should be our pursuit. All this looking should result in that. When we intently look, we are transformed to His image. Scripture says Christ’s life is a pattern, an example for our lives. Christ is the best and most perfect, highest exemplar of holiness in human form. We must look at His life as people at sea look at a compass to go in the right direction. Christ repeatedly commanded us to follow Him. Paul and even the Hebrew writer say that in the race that is set before us, we must have our eye on Jesus, our blessed pattern. This must be our constant query in life situations: “Is this the way Jesus would have taken?” “What would Jesus do?” The “WWJD” movement. We should take that seriously if we want to become like Jesus.

Yes, there are a few areas we don’t have to follow Jesus, in those works of His Godhead, as in working miracles, His unique work as redeemer—in some things He had to do to redeem us, such as His voluntary poverty, not marrying, and voluntarily suffering infinitely as an atoning sacrifice. But we must conform to Christ’s life in every way; He is our example. Even in thoughts, feelings, and actions, we should be like Christ. “Let the same mind be in you which was in Christ,” Philippians 2:5. “Learn of me,” says Christ, “for I am meek and lowly in heart.” In all other graces we should follow Him; for He had them all in fullness: “And of his fullness have we all received, grace for grace.” We should in our lives and conversations express those graces and virtues which were so eminent in Jesus Christ; that you should not only have them, but that you should hold them forth, as if our lives were so many sermons of the life of Christ.

How must we become like Christ? We saw this is the great goal of redemption: that we should become like Christ. We should, like Paul, stir ourselves to pursue this in our life. Remember DDIS.

When we study the life of Christ, oh, how much dissatisfaction increases!

1. If anything, this study has made me so dissatisfied and made me seek more of Christ. What an excellent original example is here before us; and how far, how infinitely, do we come short! When I come to examine my own heart according to this original, I am as opposite to Christ as hell is to heaven. O woe is me! What a vast disproportion there is between Christ’s life and mine! We should regularly make it a practice to compare our life with Christ’s and humble ourselves every day by self-examination, by meditation, and by prayer. This is the first step. God fills empty vessels. We should empty ourselves. He gives grace to the humble; we should ourselves. This dissatisfaction should create a vehement desire to become like Christ.
2. Desire Christ. Do you have a desire for Christ? See His nature: He is a treasure house stored with all fullness, so you can receive grace upon grace. We are all challenged by Paul’s desire to pursue Christ. He sees all things as dung compared to Christ. Christ is pure gold. If we know the value of something like gold, we will desire even the dust of the gold. We see in the Gospel a woman who desired earnestly to wash Christ’s feet, to kiss, and to wipe with her hair; her eyes were opened to see such value in Christ. One woman had the desire, “If I may but touch the hem of his garment, I shall be whole.” John the Baptist thinks it an honor to untie His sandals; Moses considered the reproach of Christ more precious than the treasures of Egypt. If all the saints earnestly desire Him, if the angels yearn and melt before Him, if Christ is adored by the highest heaven, how blind we are if we don’t develop a growing desire for Him.

See his love, his patience. Are you like him? See his peace, his holiness, his heavenliness, his tender pity, his constant efforts, his unwearied pains, and his self-denial. Look at his continual love for God, living every second for the Father’s glory, and his compassion for precious and immortal souls. See how graciously he talks. What a sweet temper and mood he always has, with not the slightest bitterness or irritation. Oh, the sweet countenance, the ravishing demeanor of Jesus Christ!

Now see yourself. Oh, the wide disproportion! I should follow this Christ and become more and more like him. In this pursuit, all my roughness, my sinful moods and behaviors, my uneven attitudes, my sensuality, my brutishness, my deformity should be thrown out. Oh, when I compare myself to the blessed life of Jesus, all my great faults are so clearly seen.

2. We should make intense efforts to quicken our sluggish souls to become like Christ. If this was one of the ends of Christ’s coming—if he lived a life and set an example for me—if this is the goal for which Christ saved me, it is not only to justify me but to sanctify me and make me like him. Thus, let us provoke our souls to become like this. We have to excite our faint, drooping, languishing affections, desires, and endeavors. Let us with intense efforts engage and encourage our backward spirits to move forward in this duty.

Like Paul, remember, I press on to hold what is ahead, toward a higher life, to be more like Christ. I should have the same mind, the same mouth, and the same life that was in Jesus Christ. So we follow his footsteps in our life and continually aspire toward him and grow up to him, even to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.

4. We should do this with a single-minded focus. “One thing I do,” forgetting all past things and moving forward. The one priority in life is to become like Jesus.

Let us regulate ourselves by the life of Christ. Whatever action we go about, let us do it by this rule: Would Christ have done this? We do this in two ways:

1. We must avoid all sinful actions like Christ. When I am tempted to sin, I must seek his help and ask, “Would Christ have sinned if he were on earth? If he were to live again, would he live in this manner? Would this be his language? Would such speech drop from his lips?”
2. He is our pattern not only in avoiding sins but also in all moral duties. Did Christ frequently pray with his disciples and alone? And shall I never pray in my family or in my closet? Did Christ know so much of the Bible, and yet I continue to live in ignorance? Did Christ love his enemies, and shall I hate my brothers? He is the original pattern for all duties. Start measuring your life by the holiness of Christ!

If we had these thoughts every day, in our morning and evening prayers, if we would look unto Jesus and keep Christ continually before our eyes, the Holy Spirit will transform us into becoming more like Christ.

Do not be discouraged; just understand that our conformity must be gradual. “We all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another.” That is, from grace to grace, or step by step.

This is to follow Christ’s steps. This is a gospel command. Let me charge, in God’s name, with this gospel duty and responsibility all those who partake in communion: to become more like Christ. He descended from heaven to earth for your sake. We have to rise from earthly things to follow him, to “seek after the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” Just as he said to Peter, Andrew, James, and John, he says to you and me, “Come, follow me.” Let us follow him.

Let us look fixedly at the life of Jesus Christ. Let us keep our spiritual eyes on the pattern until we feel ourselves becoming more like him. Let us set the copy of Christ’s life in our view and look upon it with the eye of reason and the eye of faith. But how should we keep the eye of our faith on this blessed object until we feel this conformity in us? I answer:

1. Let us set apart some time on purpose. When the day begins to close, if together with our closet prayer we would fall on this duty of looking unto Jesus by lively faith, what a blessed season this might be!
2. Let us remove hindrances. Satan labors to hinder the soul from beholding Christ with the dust of the world. The god of this world blinds the eyes of men. Oh, take heed of fixing our eyes on this world! Our own corruptions are also great hindrances to this view of Christ. Away with all carnal passions and sinful desires; unless the soul is spiritual, it can never behold spiritual things.
3. Let us fix our eyes only on this blessed object. A moving eye sees nothing clearly. When the angels are said to look into these things, the word signifies that they look into them narrowly, as they who, bowing or stooping down, look into a thing. So should we look narrowly into the life of Christ. Our eye of faith should be set upon it in a steady manner, as if we forgot all the things behind and had no other business in the world.
4. Let us look on Christ with a craving eye, with a humble expectation to receive a supply of grace. Lord, you are not only anointed with the oil of gladness above your fellows, but for your fellows. I am earthly-minded, but you are heavenly. I am full of lusts, but the image of God is perfect in you. You are the fountain of all grace, a head of all influence, as well as of eminence. You are not only above me, but you have all grace for me. Oh, give me some portion of your meekness, lowliness, heavenly-mindedness, and of all the other graces of your Spirit. Surely you are a heaven of grace, full of bright shining stars. Oh, that of that fullness you would give me to receive grace for grace.
5. Be assured that our prayer (if it is in faith) is even now heard. Never has anyone who came to Christ with strong expectations to receive grace, or any benefit prayed for, been turned away empty. Besides, Christ has engaged himself by promise to make us like himself. “As he which hath called us is holy, so should” (yes, and so shall) “we be holy in all manner of conversation.” Oh, let us build on his gracious promise. Heaven and earth shall pass away before one tittle of his word shall fail. Only understand that our conformity must be gradual. “We all with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being changed into the same image from one degree of glory to another,” that is, from grace to grace; or from glory that begins in obedience, to glory that is complete in heaven.
6. If, notwithstanding all this, we do not feel this conformity in us, at least in such a degree, let us act over the same particulars again. The gifts of grace are therefore communicated by degrees, so that we might be taken off from living on a received stock of grace and so that we might still be running to the spring. We have continual need of Christ’s letting grace into our hearts, and therefore we must wait at the well-head, Christ. We must look on Christ as appointed on purpose by his Father to be the beginner and finisher of our holiness, and we must believe that he will never leave that work imperfect whereunto he is ordained of the Father. Oh then, do not be weary of this work until he accomplishes the desires of your soul.

I have now finished with this subject; only, before I finish, one word more. I do not deny other helps, but among them all, if I would make a choice to call upon that I may become more and more holy, I would set before me this glass: Christ’s holy life, the great exemplar of holiness. And this image we lost through our sin, and to this image we should endeavor to be restored by imitation. And how should this be done but by looking on Christ as our pattern? In this respect, I charge you, O my soul (for to what purpose should I charge others, if I begin not at home?), that you make a conscience of this evangelical duty. Oh, be much in the exercise of it! Not only in the day, but when night comes and you lie down on your bed, let your pillow be as Christ’s bosom, in which John the beloved disciple was said to lean. There lean you with John. Thus may you lie down in peace, and the Lord only will make you to dwell in safety. And when day returns again, have this in mind, yes, in all your thoughts, words, and deeds—even look unto Jesus as your holy exemplar. Say to yourself, “If Christ my Savior were now on earth, would these be his thoughts, words, and deeds? Would he be thus disposed as I now feel myself? Would he speak these words that I am now uttering? Would he do this that I am now putting my hand to?” Oh, let me not yield myself to any thought, word, or action which Jesus would be ashamed to own. Yes, if it were possible, going and standing, sitting and lying, eating and drinking, speaking and holding your peace, by yourself or in company, cast an eye upon Jesus. By this means you cannot help but love him more, and joy in him more, and trust in him more, and be more and more familiar with him, and draw more and more grace, virtue, and sweetness from him. Oh, let this be your wisdom, to think much of Christ so as to provoke you to imitation. Then you shall learn to despise the world, to do good to all, to injure no man, to suffer wrong patiently, yes, to pray for those that spitefully use and persecute you. Then you shall learn to “bear about in your body the dying of our Lord Jesus Christ, that the life of Jesus may be made manifest in your body.”

This is to follow Christ’s steps. He descended from heaven to earth for your sake. Do you trample on earthly things, “seek after the kingdom of God and his righteousness,” for your own sake. Though the world is sweet, yet Christ is sweeter. Though the world proves bitter, yet Christ sustained the bitterness of it for you. And now he speaks to you, as he did to Peter, Andrew, James, and John, “Come, follow me.” Oh, do not faint in the way, lest you lose your place in your country, that kingdom of glory.

All our minds are constantly thinking about and trying to understand countless things in our surroundings. But what is the effect of all that thought and knowledge on our souls? We become tired and often disappointed, wondering what the use of knowing all this is. The Apostle Paul, who was like us—running after the tradition and religion he was born into, chasing after worldly fame and wealth—made a life-changing decision when God opened his eyes. He was determined to “not know anything but Jesus Christ.” To know Jesus Christ deeply and experientially, in every part of His being. Why, Paul? “Because I have attained a wisdom and realized that everything I know and spend my thoughts on in this world is all vain, garbage, and dung; none of it will bring any true joy and peace to the soul.” The study of Christ is the study of studies; he calls it the “surpassing infinite value of knowing Christ.” Not only is it valuable for a man’s happiness in this life, but it is the only knowledge that can bring eternal happiness. He saw so much value that he was willing to sell everything he had, knowing he could never overbuy it. You and I, sitting here restless and sad this morning, if we were to ask Paul what our greatest need is, he would say we need to grow in the surpassing value of knowing Christ.

In our communion meditation, that is what we are trying to do with our study “Looking to Jesus.” It’s not just about historical knowledge of Christ, but about focusing all our attention, our strong, deep thoughts on Christ. We muse, meditate, and ponder until virtue, divine strength, grace, and light flow from Him to us. The more we do this, the more we will experience it; thus, it is an inward, experimental look. This meditation brings Christ closer to the soul, opens our spiritual eyes to see His value and glory, and makes Him very attractive and desirable to us. We are so weak and superficial in our meditations and don’t know what a deep looking unto Christ is. So we have started this series as a practice.

We have looked at Christ pre-creation, and Christ in the Old Testament. Now today, we come to look deeply at Christ’s birth. This is the mysterious and universal wonder of God becoming a man. Generally, this is taught during Christmas, and I’ve noticed that with all the festive mood, people hardly deeply think about and grasp the depth of His birth at that time. It’s good to see it calmly without any December festival sentimental feelings.

Regarding the birth of Christ, the angels said, “Behold, I bring you glad tidings of great joy, that shall be to all people.” The birth of Christ has a mighty connection to us: “unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given.” When we grasp this, it will bring great joy. So let us try to experience that joy today.

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Looking at Jesus at His Birth

We will look at four headings:

1. The announcement of Christ’s birth.
2. The conception of Christ.
3. The two natures in Christ.
4. The birth of Christ.

There is virtue and grace in every aspect of His life. Let us look at these events to experience it.

1. The Announcement of Christ’s Birth

In Luke 1:26-28, it says, “And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God.” Imagine all the Old Testament expectations of the coming One that we saw last time: from Adam and Eve, a seed; from Abraham, a promise through a nation to bless all families of the earth; from Moses, the law revealing that all mankind stands condemned, but He will come and fulfill the entire law and purchase perfect righteousness; from David, a promise for all mankind dying with a transient life that He will come and establish an eternal kingdom; from the prophets, all burdened with the ceremonial law of the Old Testament that He will come and establish a new covenant. Oh, how they that lived before Christ desired this coming of Christ! Abraham desired to see that day, two thousand years and more before it came. He was the expectation of all the patriarchs: “Oh, when will that day come!” He was the desire of all nations. The nations were repeatedly disappointed. “A king is coming! A politician is coming! A movie actor is coming!”—all selfish men coming to disappoint. But this One is coming for our greatest good with not even a tiny bit of self-interest, leaving all the glory of His deity for our greatest good.

Behold, the announcement of His birth is so amazing that no man is worthy to announce the news of the conception of the God of heaven in a womb of earth. A great angel, Gabriel, from God’s presence, came to make the announcement to a small girl. When that girl was scared, he said powerful words that not only removed her fear but also the fear of every believer. “Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.”

Again, the angel tells us to behold this—look deeply into this. Mary will conceive and bring forth a son, the object that you are to look at. The first title that the angel gives is Jesus, meaning Savior. Oh, come! Let us dwell a little here. This name Jesus is better to us than all the titles of God. Without the name Jesus, God with all His attributes was our greatest enemy. A name is a revelation of God’s attribute. God had revealed Himself in different names, showing His power, majesty, and justice, but if there is one name He chose to reveal the height and depth of His mercy and grace, it is the name of Jesus. This name is exalted above all names. Oh, it is a useful name! What a sweet name this has become for me! In all our depths, distresses, miseries, perplexities, and guilt, when we beseech God by the name of Jesus, we shall find grace, mercy, and a miracle for whatever situation we are in. Just go in the name of Jesus; heaven opens.

The reason for this name was given by the angel to Joseph: “Thou shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins.” But why from their sins?

A blind world might say, “Ah, what big news.” They would say, “Tell us if He will save us from poverty, disease, shame, death, and hell.” This is because the Devil has blinded people. They are all worrying about the symptoms but not the root cause. The root cause of all man’s problems is sin, the very worst of all evils. If there is no sin, there will be no poverty, no disease, no shame, no death, and no hell. If we are delivered from sin, we are delivered from all that. All evil ceases to be evil when sin is taken away by Jesus. In fact, if we are delivered from sin, poverty is not an evil, there is no shame, no sting in death, there would be no hell, and there would be eternal paradise. What an abundance of benefits are here in one word: “He shall save his people from their sins”!

Do you know the wonder of what Jesus does? Once you are saved, you can look at your life and say all that happened was for good. There is no evil incident in life. All past, present, and future suffering, shame, and disease amazingly become blessings. Jesus truly turns our sorrows into joy. If Jesus takes away sin, He blesses us with true, eternal blessings and sanctifies our worldly afflictions. He increases peace out of trouble, shows what true riches are out of temporary poverty, and brings honor out of contempt. He pulls out the sting of death and puts out the fire of hell. As all evils are wrapped up in sin, so He who saves us from sin, saves us from all evils whatsoever. What good news this should be for the world cursed with sin from birth—that He will save us from sins. It is so sweet for us that as long as God remembers that blessed name, He will forget all our sins. It is the highest, the dearest, the sweetest name to us of all the names of God.

So truly, the news is good news. After the fall, when we were in Adam’s loins, we were cursed with the curse, “you shall surely die.” What a sad condition you and I were born into, that after a little life on earth, we should have been thrown into eternal torments, where there would have been nothing but weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth!

O my soul, ponder on these words, as if an angel, seeing you stand on the brink of hell, should speak to your soul, “Hey, hell-deserving sinner. Here is the great good news God sends through an angel. Go tell everyone, ‘Hear ye, Adam’s fallen children. You shall not die. Why? Lo, a virgin shall conceive and bear a Son,’ and He shall be your Jesus. He shall save you from all sins, all the consequences of sins, death, and the horror of hell. He shall save to the utmost. His name is Jesus; believe in Him, and you shall live with Him in glory.” Oh, blessed news!

If healing from a disease is good news, this is healing from the greatest disease. If escaping from danger is good news, this is escape from the greatest danger of hell. If a free or discount offer is good news, this is the greatest free offer of heaven, a blessing of eternal heaven. Is not the birth of such a Savior who will accomplish this for us good news? We are undone without His birth.

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The Conception of Christ

Next, let’s look at the conception of Christ. As soon as the Virgin said, “Be it to me according to thy word,” it was according to that word. Immediately, the Holy Spirit overshadowed her and formed the seed of our Savior in her womb. What a wonder it must be! On one side, there is the wonder of God’s infinite grace. Instead of pushing sinners to the lowest hell, God, who dwells in unapproachable light—an invisible God—should be made visible to our senses. That God should take our nature, dwell in it with all His fullness, the nature which had sinned against Him, and use it as a great way of reconciling us to Himself; through that flesh, He opened all His rich discoveries of love and free grace to the sons of men.

That free grace came down from heaven to earth, saying, “Peace be to you. I will live with you in this world, and you shall live with me in the world to come.” Here was blessed news. This is the Gospel. Jesus is made up, as it were, of all free grace. What eternal thanks do we owe to the eternal God!

Though blind men didn’t recognize that grace of God—they are even blind now—at that time, an infinite number of angels, who received no benefit for their tribe, just seeing God’s grace, couldn’t control themselves. They suddenly appeared with a standing ovation. They praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest, peace upon earth, good will toward men.” How can we say with the angels, “Glory to God for Jesus Christ!” Have you deeply thought about this truth of God becoming man? Paul stood amazed and says, “Without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness: God manifest in the flesh.” (1 Timothy 3:16)

It is not just a mystery, but a great mystery, that the Son of God, whom the heaven of heavens cannot contain, should confine Himself as an invisible seed in a woman’s womb, which He Himself voluntarily humbled. If we knew the height of the deity, even a little bit, with all His attributes, we would stand awestruck at this stooping condescension. Yes, these things are mysterious beyond our minds, but we should allow our minds to think and deeply stand in awful worship of what God has done for us. We shall find the joy and sweetness of this mystery. To what extent God went to save you and me!

How did this happen? The angel explains, “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the highest shall overshadow thee. Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). The process of conception would be that the Holy Ghost would come upon her and overshadow her, and she would conceive. The product of that will be so holy; the verse says “holy thing.” This conception is so clean, so sanctified, with no spot nor stain of original pollution. That is why the agent who formed the seed in the virgin’s womb was the Holy Spirit Himself, the source of holiness. He is the one who overshadowed this universe before creation. This is a mystery. If the course of ordinary generation is a secret, how past all comprehension is this extraordinary operation!

O my soul, looking at this Jesus, He started saving me even in His conception. Like David, we all beat our breasts and say, “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.” This was my case from the very first moment of my being: born in sin, born with original guilt, and a depraved nature. If I had died in that condition, scripture says, “nothing undefiled nor unclean should enter into the kingdom of glory.” So even if I had been aborted, I would have gone to hell.

Look at my Savior! To sanctify my deeply sinful conception, He is born with a holy conception. My sin-stained conception is sanctified by Christ’s holy conception. His holy conception hides my original pollutions from the eye of God. Oh! Look at this Jesus’s conception.

The Holy Spirit who could create the universe from nothing—how many other miraculous ways could He have formed Christ? But even in His birth, He took our place. In one way, He was born like you and me, of a woman, but He was born without sin. What! That the great God of heaven should condescend so far as to take our nature upon Him and to take it in the same way as we do? Again, we should not give this work to our minds. This is a work of the heart. Though we cannot grasp this in our minds, we can be awed in our hearts at the humiliation of His grace. We shall find the joy and sweetness of this mystery. To what extent God went to save you and me!

Not only the announcement and conception, but the one conceived in the womb is the greatest miracle of the universe: a baby with two natures but one person.

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The Two Natures in Christ

3. Look deeply at the two natures of Christ. He was truly God and truly man. How foolish people are today, arguing whether Christ is God. They say, “Then why was He born like that?” Many scriptures support this. Isaiah 9:6 says, “To us a child is born,” which is a human nature, “and he shall be called the mighty God,” which is a divine nature. Galatians 4:4 says, “God sent his Son,” so He is truly God, and that Son was “made of a woman,” therefore He is truly man. Thomas answered and said to Him, “My Lord, and my God!” In Acts 20, Paul said, “Take heed to yourselves, and to all the flock, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.”

The incommunicable properties of the Deity are ascribed to Him. He is eternal as God (Revelation 1:17). He is infinite as God (Matthew 28:20). He is omniscient as God (Matthew 9:4). He is omnipotent as God; “He hath the keys of hell and death.” His divine acts are ascribed to Him, which are only agreeable to the divine nature; for example, to hear the prayers of the people (John 14:14). He accepts worship. To judge the living and the dead (John 5:22). And thus, He creates as God (John 1:3). He forgives as God (Matthew 9:6). He sanctifies as God (John 1:16).

How foolishly people damage their souls if they deny Jesus is not God. If Jesus is not God, you and I do not have salvation. Why should He be born as God?

1. Because the sins you and I have committed have brought eternal and infinite wrath on us. No finite human can bear that burden of God’s infinite wrath and fully atone for their sins. That is why all men suffer for eternity. Christ, therefore, must be God so that He might be able to bear the burden by His divine power. The satisfaction made for sin must be infinitely meritorious, and infinite wrath cannot be appeased but by an infinite merit. Hence, our Savior must needs be God, to the end that His obedience and sufferings might be of infinite worth.

As Christ is God, so He is also true man. He was born as a man, grew, ate as a man, slept as a man, wept as a man, sorrowed as a man, suffered as a man, and died as a man. Christ had all the properties that belong to the soul or body of a man, all the infirmities of our nature, sin only excepted. I say the infirmities of our nature, as cold, and heat, and hunger, and thirst, and weariness, and weakness, and pain. But why should our Savior be man?

1. Because our Savior must take our place as man and suffer and die for our sins, which the Godhead could not do.
2. Because our Savior must perform obedience to the law as man.
3. Because our Savior must satisfy the justice of God in the same nature in which it was offended. So it is essential that He be both man and God.

These two natures were distinct. Godhead cannot be the manhood, nor can the manhood be the Godhead. His divine attributes cannot mix with His human nature. They were distinct. He was conceived as others and so He was man, but He was conceived by the Holy Ghost as never man was, and so He is God. In His manhood, He did some things to save us, and in His deity, He did some things. The very actions in the work of redemption are inseparable, and yet distinguishable. “I lay down my life, and take it up again.” To lay it down was the action of man, not of God; and to take it up was the action of God, not of man. He was crucified, died, and was buried, and so He was man; but He rose again from the dead and ascended into heaven, so He is God. So our confession says these two natures remain in themselves entire, without any conversion, mixture, or confusion.

Though there are two natures, He was one person. It was not the divine nature that assumed a human person, but the divine person that assumed a human nature. Many wonders have existed since the beginning of the world, but all the wonders that ever were must give place to this as the top wonder. Neither the creation of everything from nothing nor the restoration of all things into their perfect being can match this wonder. The union of two natures of Christ in one and the self-same person is that great wonder. It is a great mystery, a secret, a wonder. The greatest mystery next to the Trinity—three persons, one God—is Christ, two natures and one person.

Why should we have a deep grasp of this? Think of the wonderful benefits flowing from this person with two natures.

1. This made Him completely holy, without any sin. Though Christ took the place of a sinner and was numbered among the wicked, yet in truth, personally, He was immaculately holy. Because of this union, He was conceived, born, and lived without sin. He was man, but was born without any stain of even the original sin. The apostle tells us He was holy, harmless, undefiled, and separate from sinners.
2. It made Him equipped for a great work. When He suffered the infinite wrath of God as a man, just as a man, He would have been shattered to pieces, but what supported Him was His divinity.
3. It is because of this union of man with God that His birth, life, suffering, and death have infinite value. Because of the communication of the properties, though He suffered as man, the value of His suffering is valued as the suffering of God and satisfied the infinite wrath of God. He obeyed as man, and His obedience is seen as the obedience of God with infinite merit. It has purchased eternal righteousness and satisfies the justice of God and makes sinners stand before Him as righteous. Thus, we say God suffered and God was crucified; God shed His blood.
4. All divine graces and riches are brought to the humanity of Christ by reason of His union. God revealed something of Himself in all creation; the heavens declare His glory, power, and goodness. In providence, we see His wisdom. In redemption, He makes His people reflect His attributes and graces as the moon reflects the sun. But when talking about Christ alone, scripture says, “In him dwelleth all the fullness of the godhead bodily”; meaning Christ is a full revelation of all the attributes of God. It does not just reflect as the moon reflects the sun’s light, but divine fullness dwells in Christ. Not seemingly, not figuratively, and not in a shadow or reflection, but inherently, essentially, substantially, and personally, “it dwelleth in him bodily.” In Him are stored all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. His humanity is an inherent treasury and storehouse for all graces.
5. The good news is that all this storehouse is communicative. The reason for this unlimited grace bestowed on the nature of man in Christ was so He could bestow all needed grace to His people. He was made the fountain of grace, of which John says, “of His fullness we have received grace for grace.”
6. The marvelous thing is how He communicates this to us. It is this union of human nature with the Son of God that was able to create a spiritual union between a believer and Christ. Oh, the wonder of these two blessed unions! There is a personal union and a spiritual or mystical union. Because Christ took human nature into His divine nature, we as humans can be united to Him now. We have a connection and a flow of all His divine graces. This union is mystical, and yet our very persons, natures, bodies, and souls are in a spiritual way conjoined to the body and soul of Christ, so that we are members of the body of Christ. This conjunction is immediately made with His human nature, so thereby we are also united to the divine connection. Yes, the person of the believer is united to the glorious person of the Son of God. This is not some imaginative, theoretical union. There is a deep, real connection between Christ and the believer, and life and virtues flow from Christ to the believer, just like life flows to the branches from the vine, and from the head to the body members. “I live, yet not I,” says Paul, “but Christ liveth in me.” As if he had said, as the soul is to the body, so is Jesus Christ to my body. This union is the reason why a believer continues to live in Christ despite many struggles. “Because I live, you shall also live.”
7. It is a total union; that is, the whole Christ is united to the whole believer, soul and body. This makes Christ my portion that can never be taken away. If you are united to Christ, you have all of Christ; you are one with Him in His nature and in His name. You have the same image, grace, and spirit in you. This is an unbelievable truth! God shows us the same love He has for Christ because He sees us in Christ. All that Christ has is ours. We have the same identity. This is the reason why we, depraved sinners, can call a holy God “Father,” because He is the Father of Christ. We can go in His name. We are seen in Him and pleased. We become co-heirs, children of God. You have the same love of the Father. All that He did or suffered, you have a share in it; you have His life and death. All is yours. The whole Christ is mine.

Looking unto Jesus, think deeply of His two natures. No sooner was He conceived, He took on your nature and united Himself to you, and identified Himself with you. Admire, O my soul, at this! All this was for us and for our salvation. He became a man and took a body not to enjoy bodily pleasures, but to suffer and feel pain for our sins, that He might die for us. He was God, so that His suffering and death might be sufficient to atone for us and have eternal merit to save us. Had He been man alone, not God, He might have suffered, but He could never have satisfied for sin. Had He been God alone, not man, He had not been related to our offending nature, and so He could not have satisfied the justice of God in the same nature in which it was offended. O my soul, look to save you. Jesus became God-man, so He might be able and fit to finish the work of your salvation. As God, He is able to bear the punishment of sin, and as man, He is fit to suffer for sin. Oh, the wisdom of God in this! Man’s nature can suffer death, but not overcome it. The divine nature can overcome death and all things, but He cannot suffer it. Hence, He came with two natures. O, muse on this; it is worthy of your serious consideration.

Consider the blessed effects of this union in reference to yourself. As our nature in the person of Christ is united to the Godhead, so our persons in and by this union of Christ are brought near to God.

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The Birth of Christ

So we have seen the announcement, the conception, and that the one conceived in the womb had two natures but was one person. Now, lastly, let us look at His birth.

A thing so wonderful, a sign was given 700 years ago, by Isaiah, “Therefore the Lord himself shall give a sign; behold, a virgin shall conceive and bear a son.” But come a little nearer; let us go to Bethlehem, as the shepherds said, and “see this thing which is come to pass!” If we step but one step into His manger, heaven’s wonder is before our eyes. Now look upon Jesus! Look on Him—a baby. Behold the desire of nations. Adam and Eve’s seed, Abraham’s promise to bless all families of the earth, Moses’s revelation of one who will fulfill the entire law and purchase perfect righteousness, David’s son who will establish an eternal kingdom, the prophets’ one who will establish a new covenant. These were all but shadows and veils, but now we shall draw aside the curtains. Come, take a view of the truth itself. What a strange birth this is! And a strange place.

Look at the babe. There is no cradle to rock Him, no relatives around, no palace, no linens to swaddle Him. Look at the mother. There are no midwives to help, no downy pillows, no bed, and scarcely a little straw where she is brought to bed. Look at Joseph, His supposed father, a poor carpenter who made a chamber out of an ox-stall. The angel’s announcement was fulfilled: the Holy Ghost overshadowed her; she would deliver a son, a holy thing who is the Son of God. Oh, many human eyes in the world may not have seen that baby, but we can be sure every eye in the whole heaven looked at the baby with wonder and sang a choir song.

All the gracious attributes of God met in Christ. What an attractive sight that must have been for heaven. It is like a man who was disappointed for many, many years who then sees something so satisfying. God’s attributes were so fed up with seeing man for years.

The righteousness of God, which was frustrated and angry with all mankind, was fed up and had never looked at heaven. It cried to God to destroy unrighteous humans. Now it looks down with wide-open eyes. For what could righteousness desire to see and satisfy herself in that was not to be seen in Jesus Christ? He was all-righteous; there was not the least spot of sin in Him. His birth was clean. Both His soul and body were without all sin. Whatever satisfaction righteousness would have, she might have it in Him.

Looking at Jesus, the historical birth of Jesus is great good news. But how can we draw virtue from it? Do you know the same Holy Spirit comes upon you to form and fashion you in Jesus Christ? (Thus, Paul speaks to the Galatians, “My little children, of whom I labor in birth again until Christ is formed in you.”) Would not this affect you? In faith and love, may we go with the shepherds to Bethlehem and there find our Savior lying in a stable, that we would bring Him from there and make our hearts His cradle!

Come, receive Christ into your soul, or if that work is done, if Christ is formed in you, oh, cherish Him! (I speak of the spiritual birth.) Oh, keep Him in your heart! Let Him there bud, and blossom, and bear fruit; let Him fill your soul with His divine graces. When we are born again, Christ is born in us.

After His birth:

1. See Him when He was but eight days old. He was circumcised and named Jesus. In this early humiliation, He plainly discovered the riches of His grace. Now He sheds His blood in drops, and thereby gives a foretaste of those rivers which He afterwards poured out for the cleansing of our nature and extinguishing the wrath of God. If Christ had never been circumcised, you and I would not have the spiritual heart circumcision of a new birth. Oh, the unspeakable mercies of our Jesus, that He provides a salvation remedy as early as our sin! First, He is conceived; and then He is born holy, to sanctify our sinful conceptions and our births. And after His birth, He is circumcised so we can have heart circumcision.
2. When He was yet under one or two years old, He fled into Egypt because Herod was looking to kill the child. Then, after Herod died, maybe when He was five years old, He came and lived in Nazareth. How difficult it must have been to travel with a child! Could not Christ have avoided this from Herod in a thousand ways? What could an arm of flesh have done against the God of spirits? Why was His infancy so difficult and humble, running away? By this, He taught that we are no sooner born again than we are persecuted. He identifies Himself with us. He taught us to bear the yoke even in our small age; thus, He would suffer, that He might sanctify to us our earthly afflictions.
3. When He was twelve years old, He went up to Jerusalem with His parents, according to the custom of the feast, “sitting in the midst of the temple, both hearing them and asking them questions.” Surely these rabbis had never heard the voice of such a tutor. They could not but see the very wisdom of God in this child; and therefore, the text says, “they all wonder.” “In him were hid,” says the apostle, “all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.” Those treasures appeared very early; His wisdom in His very infancy is admired.
4. After this, from the twelfth to the thirtieth year of His age, we read nothing of the acts of Christ, but that He “went down with His parents unto Nazareth, and was subject to them.” Christ’s subjection to His parents extends to the profession and exercise of His life. Certainly Christ was not idle all that time, from twelve to thirty years. As He was educated by His parents, so of His father He learned to be a carpenter. People said, “Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary?” Oh, the poverty and humility of Jesus! It appears at this time especially, in His laboring and working, hewing of wood, or the like. Here is a sharp reproof to all those who spend their time in idleness and say, “I will not do this work and that.” What! Are they wiser than Christ? Our Jesus would not by any means thus spend His time. There is so deep a silence from twelve to thirty, so I shall therefore pass it by.

We are not just to see the bare history of things and pass on. We need to look deeply until we see how it relates to us and how virtue flows to us. All this should be very interesting to us because everything that Christ did had you in mind. He was incarnate for you; He was conceived and born for you. He was circumcised, went to the temple, worked, and grew as a man for you. He is our identity in God’s sight; He is our righteousness. Is it possible that the great God of heaven and earth should so infinitely condescend to be born and live on earth all for us? We aren’t interested because we are so occupied with our selfish, sinful lives. Oh, ungrateful creatures! Jesus said, “When you come to communion, remember me.”

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Application: How to Approach Communion

Hearing all this, how should we come to communion? In four ways, we should desire Christ, believe in Christ, love Christ, and rejoice in Christ.

Desire Christ

If Christ is all we have studied—born God-man, with all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Him, with all the graces you and I need in Him, a hidden treasure, all wisdom and knowledge in Him—shouldn’t our greatest desire be for Christ? This Christ wants a place in our hearts. Just like that day in Bethlehem, today there is no place in many hearts for Him. How about your heart? Can I ask you how much you desire Christ? Is there a place for Him in your heart? Millions of souls stand at a distance from Christ and know nothing of Christ. Why? They have no desire for Him. But Scripture says to hunger and thirst because Christ is the true bread and living water that satisfies us, as a deer pants for rivers of water. Oh, why are our desires so narrow and almost dry? Isn’t it because our hearts are filled with useless desires, leaving no room for Christ?

Oh, that my soul, and your soul, would desire Christ. Everything in life depends on our desire. Once spiritual desire starts, we taste it, and it makes us desire more and enlarges our heart. Who was closer to Christ than Paul, yet Paul had a great desire: “Oh, I want to know Him more.”

Will not the desires of the patriarchs witness against you? How they cried after Christ’s coming in the flesh! They saw Christ afar off, and their sight was very dim, “but we all with open face, as in a glass, behold the glory of the Lord.”

O my soul, either you are more ignorant of Christ than the patriarchs of old, or your heart is full of vanity that blinds you. Blame your heart. It may be that your sluggish nature has laid your desires asleep. Oh, stir up and awake your desires.

Present before your heart the glorious object, the incarnation of Jesus Christ. It is an object that the very angels desire to look into. All saints in history desire it. Is not the fruit of the incarnation yours, more especially yours? Oh, my soul, let not such a treasury be unlooked into. Put faith to work with a redoubled strength.

View all those excellencies of His conception, of His two natures, and apply it to yourself. See the fruit of all: He was conceived that our conceptions might be sanctified; He was the Son of man that He might suffer for us; and the Son of God that He might satisfy divine justice; He was God and man in one person that we might be one with Him, “members of His body.” He was born in a womb, so that there might be a spiritual birth of Christ in our hearts.

Are not these things desirable? Union with Christ and communion with Christ are the most desirable things, the effects of His personal union. Oh, may God increase our desire for Christ.

People celebrate the birth of Christ, but of greater importance is, “Is Christ born in you?” Are you born again? The new birth is the effect of Christ’s birth and a sure sign that Christ is born in us. The apostles cry, “We saw his glory, as of the only begotten Son of God.” We can see Christ’s glory when He is born in us through a new birth.

Believe in Christ

Don’t stay with the excuse, “How am I unworthy? God should do such a thing for such a sinful, abominable wretch as I am?” Ah! Poor soul, that is all the language of unbelief. Faith marvelously makes us look away from whatever we are, whatever our condition is. The point is not what we are and what we have done, but to look away and look intently to Christ. God made Christ to come in our nature, knowing all your depravity.

Why do you stand afar off? God is not come down in fire, justice, and everlasting burnings. No, He is clothed with your nature so you can boldly come to Him in faith. He desires to converse with you after your own form.

Oh, the wonder of heaven! Oh, the infinite condescension of God in Christ! God takes up our nature and joins it to Himself as one person, and lays that before our faith, so that here is God, and God suited to the particular state of the sinner. Now with what boldness may our souls draw near to God!

It is the cry of some poor souls, “Oh, that I might see God!” Behold, here God is come down in the likeness of man. He walks in our own shape amongst us. Surely God has left all the world without excuse. Why will you now stand off? Tell me, what would you have God do more? Can He manifest Himself in a more suitable way to your condition? Is there anything below flesh wherein the great God can humble Himself for your good?

Faith must directly go to Christ. Christ says, “Come unto me,” not all righteous, but “heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” We should come with faith, not loose, superficial faith, but with an intense, solemn, and serious spirit. We should look on Jesus piercingly until we see Him as God is in Him. We should labor to apprehend the riches of this glorious mystery of Christ’s incarnation. We should dive into the depths of His glorious actions. We should study this mystery above all other studies.

Yes, we usually think of Christ’s death and resurrection for communion. Christ’s incarnation holds forth Christ in His fullness, and so is the complete subject of our faith.

Come, poor soul, your eyes are running to and fro the world, to find comfort and happiness on earth. Oh, cast your eyes back, and see heaven and earth in one object! Look fixedly on Christ incarnate! What, O my soul, is God come down so low to you? And do you now stand questioning whether you should go or come to Him?

Love and Rejoice in Christ

Believers, may this make you love Christ. The very sight of Christ’s incarnate, humble form is enough to ravish you with the apprehension of His infinite goodness. See to what extent the eternal God came down and united you to Himself, soul to soul, in union and participation of His glory! Oh, love Him, not with a divided heart, but with all your heart. But to excite this love, let me point out a few things.

It is sad to see believers shy in their approaches to God, or doubtful of their acceptance with God, when God Himself stoops first and is so in love with our acquaintance that He will be of the same nature that we are. Oh! Let not such a rock of strength be slighted, but every day entertain precious thoughts of Christ being incarnate.

It was a greater love of God to take our nature than simply to save our souls. For a king to dispense with the law and by his own prerogative to save a murderer from the gallows is not such an act of love and mercy as to take the murderer’s clothes and take the punishment of the murderer himself. What strange love! Why, God, in taking our nature, has done this and more than this. He would not save us by His mere prerogative, but He takes our clothes—our flesh—and in that flesh He personifies us, and in that flesh He will suffer and die for us, so that we might not die, but live through Him forevermore.

Think of the union that God’s love did. God takes the flesh of those poor sinners which He had so loved, and joins it to Himself, and calls it Christ, a Savior. Now it was that God descended and lay in the womb of a virgin; now it was that He is born as we are born; now it was that He joined our flesh so near to Himself, as that there is a communication of properties between them both. That is attributed to God which is proper to flesh, such as to be born and to suffer, and that is attributed to flesh which is proper to God, such as to create and to redeem. Who can choose but wonder, that God should be made flesh and dwell amongst us? That flesh should infinitely provoke God, and yet God, in the same flesh, should be infinitely pleased? That God should veil Himself and darken His glory with our flesh, and yet unveil at the same time the deepest and darkest of His designs in a comfortable way to our souls? O my soul! How should you contain yourself within yourself? How should you but leap out of yourself, if I may so speak, as one that is lost in the admiration of this love? Surely God never manifested Himself in such a strain of love as this before.

If anything will beget our love for God, surely Christ incarnate will do it. Come then, O my soul, I cannot but call on you to love your Jesus. And to provoke your love, fix your eye on this lovely object. Draw yet a little nearer; consider what a heart of love is in this design. God is in your own nature to take upon Him all the miseries of your nature. Oh! My heart, are you yet cold in your love for Jesus Christ? Can you love Him but a little, who has loved you so much? How should I then but complain of you to Christ and for your sake beg hard of God: “O you sweet Jesus, that clothest yourself with the clouds as with a garment, and now clothest yourself with the nature of a man; Oh! that nothing but yourself might be dear to me, because it so pleased you to vilify yourself for my sake.”

Rejoice in Christ

Rejoice that you are eternally united to the human nature of Christ. The angel said, “behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” You are one with Christ; all that Christ is, is yours. “Rejoice in the Lord; and again I say, rejoice.” Is there not cause? “O my soul, what ails thee? Why are you cast down and disquieted within me? Is it because you are a sinner? Why, to you is born a Savior; His name is Savior, and therefore Savior, because He will save His people from their sins.”

He has laid aside, as it were, His own glory, while He converses with you. There is not in this regard the least distance between Him and us. Surely this is fuel for joy to feed upon. Oh, why should God come down so suitably and so lowly, as in our nature, if He would have your poor soul be afraid of Him? Oh, gather up your spirit, anoint your heart with the oil of gladness. See, God Himself is come down in flesh to live amongst us! See what a sweet way of familiarity and intercourse is made between God and us. God has taken on Him our nature, that His Godhead may flow out in all manner of sweetness upon our hearts.

“If I have found favor in thy eyes,” said Moses, “show me the way that I may know thee.” But to come down in flesh, not only to be seen, but to dispatch the great business of our soul’s salvation—here is comfort indeed! With what joy should we draw water out of this well of salvation? O my soul, you are daily busy in eyeing this and that, but above all, know that the fullness of God lies in Christ incarnate.

2. We must praise. This was the special duty practiced by all saints and angels at Christ’s birth. “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,” said Zacharias. And, “Glory to God in the highest,” said the heavenly host; only one angel had before brought the news. “My soul doth magnify the Lord,” said Mary, “and my spirit rejoiceth in God my Saviour.” There is cause that every soul and every spirit should rejoice, that has any interest in this birth of Christ.

In the dry, unsatisfying desert of life, we try many things to quench our soul’s thirst. But when God makes us realize the living water we thirst for is in only one place, we find true wisdom. As Jesus said, “Whoever thirsts, let him come to me, I will give him living water.” In the entire universe, the only place living water is available is with Jesus Christ. Realizing that alone is great wisdom. Once we realize that, we will stop running after countless other things and instead focus on Christ Jesus regularly. A true believer is one who has deeply realized that. Rejoicing and boasting in Jesus Christ is a great mark of a true, born-again believer.

Today, as we come to communion, that is what we are attempting to do through our study, “Looking Unto Jesus Till Glory Shines.” It’s not a fleeting, superficial glance, but a deep, intense meditation on Christ—realizing the grace I seek is only in Him, so I will look and look and look until glory shines, until grace and virtue flow to us through faith from Him to my heart to face my situation.

We saw Jesus’s glory in His pre-creation state. First, we saw His glorious state of being. John 1 says He was in the beginning, with God, and was God. Before the world was created, He had the glory of His eternal deity; He had the glory of all the attributes of God. Second, we saw His relationship with God the Father. He was with God with the closest intimacy in the bosom of God. If God is the source of all joy, blessedness, and love, and that God was letting out all His fullness so directly and fully and everlastingly upon this only begotten darling of His soul, judge what a state of transcendent bliss that was. This also tells us of the infinite glory of Christ’s personhood. We don’t know how many past billions of ages there were, if the infinite God’s greatest delight, the only entertainment of the great infinite God the Father, that He always enjoyed without a wink of an eye was this Son of God, Jesus, what a glorious, adorable, desirable, wonderful, valuable, amazing person Jesus must be.

Third, scripture reveals that in that past eternity, there was a covenant made between the Father and the Son. In that, certain individuals were elected, and their names were written in the book of life. The Father agreed to do some things: He plans redemption, the Son covenants to accomplish it, and the Holy Spirit applies it. This is called the Covenant of Redemption. This is a very important topic. It is one concept that runs through and unites the entire Bible. The Bible itself is a covenant book; the Old Testament and the New Testament are nothing but a covenant.

If you understand the covenant, you will not see the Bible as a book of many different stories, but as one whole story of God fulfilling His covenant promise through Jesus Christ. Today, as we come to communion, let us try to grasp the depth of Jesus’s words as He lifts this cup and says, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” Oh, how loaded that phrase is.

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Jesus’s Glory in the Old Testament

After seeing Jesus’s pre-creation glory, today we will start looking at His glory in the Old Testament. Where do we start? Luke starts Jesus’s story from Adam’s genealogy. If we were to start looking at Jesus from Genesis to Malachi in detail, I feel like I would be holding an umbrella over a sea, trying to cover it. This would again take a one-year series, but my aim is to give a brief overview for communion. A very brief one.

We will look at Jesus in the Old Testament in five parts:

1. From Adam until Abraham.
2. From Abraham until Moses.
3. From Moses until David.
4. From David to the time of the Babylonian captivity.
5. From the Babylonian captivity to the birth of Christ, in the promises made through the prophets.

In all these periods, God progressively revealed the Covenant of Grace, made with Jesus Christ, through various covenants.

• In Adam, it was revealed He would be a seed.
• In Abraham, He would come through a nation.
• In Moses, He would fulfill the law.
• In David, He would establish an eternal kingdom.
• Through the prophets, He would bring a new covenant.

If you don’t want this to be a long lecture, let’s fast-climb and get into our time-travel machine of imagination and go to those times to experience this.

From Adam until Abraham

First, let us go back to creation and stand there when nothing was created, neither heaven nor earth. This God, who eternally enjoyed His Son without needing anything, created the world in six days out of nothing by the power of His Word. Let’s stand five minutes before the world was created, in a vast vacuum. Where do we see Christ in creation? John 1:3 says, “All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made.” All you see in Genesis—sky, earth, sea, sun, moon, stars, trees, animals, birds, and man—were all made through Him. Colossians 1:15 says, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” Have you deeply realized that Jesus Christ is the Creator of the universe? Every atom was created by Him. He is not only the creator but also the preserver. He formed every part of your being; He holds you and preserves this universe by the power of His word. We owe all our worship to Him as our Creator and Sustainer. If you don’t realize that now, you will one day, when He comes to end this creation. In a way, He is not only the creator, He is also the preserver and the destroyer. The Bible shows He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. Today, the sinful world is blind to His glory. When the Holy Spirit opens a man’s eyes and makes him a new creature, he realizes all creation was created and sustained by this Jesus Christ.

Then, very soon after man was created, what a tragedy happened. Can you imagine the horror of man after sin? We have to know and feel this because we were all in Adam. What he did, we also did in him, and we bear the guilt and consequences of his sin. So put yourself in Adam’s and Eve’s bodies. You are the first husband and wife. What have you done? This was the saddest act that ever was; it was the undoing of man. Created in the image of God with an eternal soul, in a very short time, he sinned and lost all the glory of God. Now they are standing as guilty sinners against an eternal holy God, to be damned eternally, with infinite justice to be satisfied. What a horrible, helpless state. Imagine the trembling. God comes to the Garden and says, “Where are you?” He calls out to you by name. “Come to judgment; the law is irrevocable.” “In the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely die.” There is nothing to be looked for but temporal death, spiritual death, and eternal death. Oh, what a fearful condition this is, no sooner to come into the world but presently to be turned over into eternal hell! For only a few days in Eden and then for all eternity in hell fire, tormented with the devil and his angels! We may beat our breasts, “Oh rocks and mountains, fall upon me and crush me, hide me from the face of this just, holy wrath of God.” What fear and horror!

At the very instant when all should have been damned, praise God we had the promise of salvation. By whom? Even at that early stage, Christ came to our rescue in the Garden of Eden through the Covenant of Grace. God was pronouncing judgment on all involved in the first sin. In Genesis 3, before He gives temporary curses to Adam and Eve, He gives the first gospel promise: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.” This is the first revelation of the Covenant of Grace. That Seed who will bruise the devil and reverse all the effects of the fall is Jesus Christ. This is the first, sweetest early sound of the Gospel. “The Seed will crush the serpent’s head.” In this promise, my soul, is wrapped up your salvation; your hope, your heaven, and therefore you should view it over and over. What a precious treasure! There is in it a Savior, a Redeemer, a Deliverer from sin, death, Satan, and hell.

So this is an ancient promise, and not much was revealed, but it was the first revelation of Christ in a promise that raised the hearts of the patriarchs to an earnest desire of Christ’s coming in the flesh. The first Adam revealed that Jesus Christ is the promised Seed.

Imagine after the horrible experience, when the promise came to rescue us, how we would have praised Christ and highly esteemed Him, “Oh, the only Savior, it is only because of you, not only did our race continue, but we escaped the eternal wrath of God.” Think if Christ was not there, where would all the world have been at this day? God allowed mankind to continue only because of Christ. Every man and woman, you sitting here breathing God’s air, the world continues for 6,000 years because of Christ. In that way, He is truly the Savior of the whole world.

After that promise, from Adam to Abraham, the Seed was revealed in different types. Next to Adam, Abel was a type of Christ who suffered for righteousness and was killed by Cain. Seth was a type of Christ who took the place of Abel and created in the seed line. Enoch, walking with God in exceptional righteousness and being taken to heaven with his body, was a type of Christ’s life and ascension. Think of the time of Noah when all men corrupted themselves, the whole world should have perished, and we wouldn’t have had a world today. Your family and children would have all perished at that time. The only reason eight were saved is the promise of Christ. Noah was a type of Christ who found favor with God. God did make a covenant again with Noah, again an expression of the Covenant of Grace, and the world is still not destroyed because of this. He was the federal head of a new world. The ark was a type of Christ who alone saves us from the coming wrath of the flood. The Lord preserved mankind after the flood in order to fulfill His promise.

From Abraham until Moses

When the whole world was still horribly rebellious after the flood, expressed by building Babel, instead of destroying them fully, God scattered them with languages to the four corners of the earth. Men went to different places, and tribes, languages, and nations were formed. God had to do it to preserve mankind; otherwise, together they would have sinned more terribly, and a stricter judgment than the flood would have destroyed them. But all lived in darkness. Oh, think of the terrible state. How will the covenant promise be fulfilled when there are so many nations and families on earth? What about you and me in different corners of the world?

God called one man, Abraham, and revealed His covenant to him. In Genesis 17:19 and 28:14, what a wonderful covenant: “I will establish my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in their generation. Your descendants will be like the dust of the earth, like the stars of the sky. All families and peoples on earth will be blessed through you and your seed. I will make you a big nation. They will be in slavery for 400 years, and I will bring them out and give you a promised land.” The seal of that covenant was circumcision. So, step by step, the covenant promise is revealed. Earlier, it was just the seed. Now, the seed will come through a nation from Abraham. Although He will come from one nation, He will bless all the families of the earth.

What a comfort and joy we should have from the Abrahamic covenant! We, as Gentiles sitting here, have come to faith because of that promise, or we would have been lost when scattered by Babel. God kept this promise and sent the Gospel through apostles and missionaries, and we heard the Gospel. We are all now the seed of Abraham. Abraham is called the father of all those who have faith, the children of Abraham. Galatians 3:29 says, “if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”

Put yourself in Abraham’s shoes. God said, “I make a covenant with you, and with all your children.” Just like the Adamic covenant, the blessings of Abraham’s covenant affect all believers. Consider what a mercy this is, that God should enter into a covenant with you and me in the loins of Abraham thousands of years ago, promising that through whichever family, tribe, caste, or nation you are born, through believing the Gospel, you will be blessed by this Seed.

Be amazed at the concept of a covenant! What! That the great and glorious God of heaven and earth should make Himself a debtor to us! What are we, or what is your father’s house? What filth and gutter we were living in, worshiping stones and trees, living in darkness, following blind traditions and superstitions for thousands of years. We should have been shaving our heads and rolling before a stone, thinking it is God. But you and I are called and saved by the Gospel and lifted to such a height, to have a relationship with a living God through Christ, and that promise about our salvation and blessing was made 4,000 years ago. The reason you were born somewhere, raised somewhere, and are in Christ today, sitting in a church, taking part in this covenant meal, is because of this ancient promise. Wow!

Christ in the Abrahamic covenant was revealed in so many types from Abraham’s time to Moses. Melchizedek was a type of Christ in that he was the King and Priest who blessed Abraham. Isaac, the promised son, and Abraham taking him to sacrifice were all types of Christ’s work on the cross. Jacob was a type of Christ in that he gave birth to a nation. Christ gave birth to a new generation, the church. Joseph, the favorite of his father, but hated and sold by his brothers, was a slave, but just like Pharaoh lifted him up as the supreme ruler of Egypt, God raised Jesus Christ as supreme ruler, though He was hated by His own brothers, the Jews. All of these were types of the promised Christ.

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The Mosaic Covenant

From Moses until David As we come to Exodus, God delivers them from slavery. Why? To fulfill the ancient promise again. He renews His covenant with the people of Israel at Sinai by giving them the law. Exodus 20 says, “I am the Lord thy God, who brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”

Adam: Jesus Christ will be the Seed. Abraham: Jesus Christ will come through a nation, who will bless all families of the earth. Now, Moses: He reveals that Jesus will come to fulfill the law. The Mosaic covenant involved three forms of law: the moral law, the ceremonial law, and the civil law.

Just get into the spirit of those Jews who received the 10 Commandments. You are standing there before a burning mountain, hearing lightning, thunder, and a loud trumpet sound, increasing in volume. They heard the voice of God, and it was given with all the threatening of curses and blessings. That 10 Commandments is nothing but a law written in the conscience of every man. How many times, when we sin as guilty, convicted sinners, does our conscience burn like Mount Sinai? We see the holiness of the law and say, “Oh, I want to obey,” but we end up sinning against the law, and the curse of the law is upon our heads.

Think of the ceremonial law. Just reading the hundreds of ceremonial laws makes us so tired. Imagine how for a Jew, the only way revealed to him to have a relationship with God was through ritual access to God. He had to come through many sacrifices, offerings, and many rituals—tabernacle and temple worship—covering everything from what to eat and not eat to what clothes to wear and how to live. And then there were so many civil laws as a nation. Peter said in Acts 15 that all the ceremonial law was a yoke which neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear.

How marvelous to know that all the Mosaic covenant laws were given to show there is one coming to fulfill all this. Today, you and I stand in the fulfillment of the promise. If we have to come to God, we don’t have to bear the yoke of the ceremonial ritual law. Why? All the ceremonies, sacrifices, scapegoat, and festivals, so many rituals—which we will study in Leviticus—were perfectly fulfilled by Christ and done away with. Look unto Jesus. How precious Christ must be for us.

Yes, moral law is forever binding on us as a rule of righteousness, but do we realize we cannot perfectly fulfill it? So we cannot be perfectly justified by law. But for justification, Lord Jesus perfectly fulfilled it for us. One of the goals of God giving the 10 Commandments was to reveal the depth of the depravity of our hearts, to give us a sense of our impossibility to keep it and of our danger of breaking it. When we realize our heart disease through the law, how precious and absolutely essential Christ becomes for us. We should desire earnestly and diligently seek out Jesus Christ. That is why Paul says, “The law is our schoolmaster, to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith.” The entire law shows us our diseases and shows that the healing, power, and help for all our diseases is only in Lord Jesus Christ.

If you have understood the first five books of the Old Testament properly, it will lead to greatly prizing, esteeming, and desiring Christ, having very high thoughts of Christ. Do you see the glory of Christ in the Old Testament?

It was He that all the Old Testament pointed to. What did all those thousands of sacrifices and the Passover lamb point to? The immaculate Lamb of God, “which taketh away the sins of the world.” Moses is also a type of Christ as the mediator of the Old Covenant. All the rituals, the high priest, the priesthood, the tabernacle, the manna, the rock, the bronze serpent, the festivals, the Ark of the Covenant, the cities of refuge, the nation of Israel—all pointed to the coming Messiah’s life, suffering, death, resurrection, and His ministry as priest, prophet, and king, which were all prefigured. How precious Christ is! Moses said, “God will raise up a prophet greater than me; you will hear Him.” Godly spiritual Jews understood this very well and knew that these things did not rest in outward sacrifices or sacraments but that by faith they did really enjoy Christ in them.

He confirmed the covenant with many types. Further, the book of Joshua, the commander of Israel leading them to the promised land and conquering enemies, is a type of Christ, our Captain, who leads us to the true promised land, heaven, by conquering our enemies. All the Judges as deliverers were types of the final Judge. The failure of all the judges shows the need for the great Judge. The kinsman redeemer, Boaz, in Ruth is a type of Christ.

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The Davidic Covenant

From David until the Babylonian captivity God made a covenant with David in 2 Samuel 7. He says three glorious things to David. These are the greatest yearnings of every man. First, “You are nobody, taking care of sheep. I will make a great name for you.” Second, “I will give my wandering people a permanent place.” Third, “I will make an eternal kingdom.” David, hearing this covenant, is unable to control himself. He runs to God’s tabernacle and sits there in a burst of astonished and submerged gratitude. How much more grateful should we be when we know what blessings we have in our covenant. David also realized Christ is not just a man but a God-man in one person; though He is David’s son, He is also David’s Lord. “The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool.”

Put yourself in David’s shoes. God said, “You are nothing, I will make you great.” All of us have a deep desire for our names to last, not just to be one in a million and forgotten. The greatest people today—politicians, actors, sports stars—will be forgotten tomorrow. But God, in this covenant, takes a guilty, hell-deserving person and lifts us, giving us eternal honor to our name. Our names are written in the Book of Life. We are made kings and priests and given a crown and a kingdom in heaven itself. He will announce our name in a great way universally before the Father and before all angels and make our name eternally great, and we will be famous with an eternal inheritance.

He promises a permanent place for Israel. We all have a longing for permanence, expressed in owning our own house. For a people who yearn for a permanent place, God in His Covenant of Grace promises a house for us, a permanent place for us. “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Hebrews 11 says Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, our patriarchs, were living in tents by faith, knowing their inheritance was not in this world. Revelation 21:4 says, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man, and He will dwell with them. They will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.”

David got a promise of a kingdom. It will be an eternal kingdom, which means it is certain, sure, and eternal. Everything will be ready. Christ has built and prepared a kingdom that shall never fade; a spiritual and heavenly kingdom which shall never cease. It is a prepared kingdom in the covenant. We have so many doubts and objections: “Oh, I cannot do that and this, I am a dead, depraved sinner. Alas! I cannot even do anything; I have failed repeatedly.” But this is a prepared and purchased kingdom. Nothing needs to be done. In this covenant, we receive the high honor of kings and priests, not because of anything we do, but because everything is purchased for us by Christ. His forgiveness, justification, adoption, our sanctification, and eternal inheritance are all purchased by the king. The Lord promises to do everything in this kingdom. To be the forefather of the Messiah in the flesh was an inconceivably high honor, yet to be united to the Messiah even as members of His mystical body, and made fellow-heirs with Him of all the glory and happiness of heaven, is an infinitely higher honor.

In David’s time, he himself was a type of Christ. Solomon and the temple were all pointing to Christ.

• In Adam—He will be a seed.
• In Abraham—He will come through a nation who will bless all families of the earth.
• In Moses—He will fulfill the law.
• In David—He will establish an eternal kingdom.

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The New Covenant Prophecies

From the Babylonian captivity to the birth of Christ Because of the terrible captivity of Babylon, when the nation of Israel thought they were almost destroyed, God gave them hope of a new covenant. The prophets revealed that it is a new covenant. Jeremiah 31:31 says, “‘The days are coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah.'” He says this is new and different from the old, “not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke.” It is a new covenant.

When He says new, it is not something altogether changed from the ancient promise. The promise of the Seed, Christ, is the same. But it is a new way of dealing with His people, different from the earlier manner of God’s making a covenant. The substance is the same, but there is a new worship, a new mediator, a new form of the church, new tablets, and new ordinances. This is an eternal covenant. This will never be canceled. It is far more excellent than the old covenant. There is freedom from the yoke of external rituals, and a more spiritual reality, with more freedom and measures of the Holy Spirit. Jeremiah goes on and says, “In this covenant, I will not give law in tablets; ‘I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.'”

Ezekiel 36:26-27 also talks about the New Covenant. “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.” Ezekiel lists several aspects of the New Covenant here: a new heart, a new spirit, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and true holiness. Blessings of justification, sanctification, and glorification are wonderfully displayed. Oh, the sweet and orderly way of this covenant! God will not only promise good things but helps us by His Spirit to perform the conditions.

He works our hearts to believe in God and to believe in Christ. All is of grace, and all tends to the praise of the glory of His grace; therefore, it is called the Covenant of Grace. It is “the sure mercies of David,” meaning it is all certain and established, not because of what David or we do, but because of what Christ will do. The stability of God’s covenant is compared to the firmness and immovability of the mighty mountains. Indeed, “Mountains may depart, and the hills be removed, by a miracle; but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord, that hath mercy on thee.” This is all different from the old, the Mosaic covenant, which could provide none of these things (see Romans 3:20).

Many things are revealed during the prophets’ covenant time about Christ.

1. Time of His coming: “Seventy weeks” in Daniel were decreed to “make reconciliation for iniquity, and to bring in everlasting righteousness, and to seal up the vision and prophecy.”
2. Place of His birth: Micah 5:2 says, “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.”
3. His name: Isaiah 9:6 says, “Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders; and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace.”
4. Sign of His coming: Isaiah 7:14 says, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.”
5. Many things about His ministry and teaching: We can quote all the prophecies Matthew and other gospel writers say were fulfilled.
6. Prophecies about His intense suffering, death, and resurrection: Isaiah 53 says so clearly, “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.” One would think this were a history rather than a prophecy of Christ’s sufferings.
7. Many other prophecies and promises about His ascension, eternal kingdom, and His second coming and judgment were all prophesied.

When we take this journey, we see that in Adam, He would be a seed; in Abraham, He would come through a nation who will bless all families of the earth; in Moses, He would fulfill the Law; in David, He would establish an eternal Kingdom; and through the Prophets, He would establish a New Covenant.

Like the sunrise, the promise in Genesis 3 was the first ray, and slowly through redemptive history, the revelation of Christ grew more and more, becoming clearer at the time of Abraham, Moses, and David. In the time of the prophets, as the coming of the Messiah approached nearer and nearer, it became even clearer. Even to John the Baptist as the last prophet, the sun came out in full, blazing light when Christ came in the New Testament.

People, do we realize when we come to partake in communion, what a glorious fulfillment it is of all these covenants through redemptive history? Oh, the ancient promise of eternity, a mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations, but now is made manifest to the saints. Here lies the firm foundation of a Christian’s comfort.

When the disciples were going to the Road to Emmaus, they were all discouraged. Jesus had been crucified. Luke 24:25 says, “Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” Then later, He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them. Then their eyes were opened, and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight.

Oh, may it be the same way as we come to communion today and hear Jesus speak, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.” May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see the infinite glory of Christ. He is the fulfillment of all those covenant promises. The covenant of promise was that covenant which God made with Adam, Abraham, Moses, and David, and all Israel, in Jesus Christ, who would be incarnate, crucified, and rise from the dead. And it was right that the promise should go before the Gospel and be fulfilled in the Gospel.

Three applications: as a response to this truth, we should practice three signs of a true Christian, as we studied in Philippians 3:3. What are they?

We should worship God in spirit. If your worship is low, let me add some fuel. See if these are enough to worship God in spirit. The very concept of a covenant is a wonder as it relates to God and us. When we can do nothing, the sovereign, independent God binds Himself in an unbreakable agreement. The summary and promise of His covenant is: “I will be your God, and you will be my people.” When people make a covenant with one another, all I have is yours. This is a glorious promise.

This is a mother-promise that carries all other promises in its womb. Here is the greatest promise that was ever made. Someone said, “If we had a promise of a hundred worlds, or of ten heavens, this is more than all.” This is because God is not giving His creation as a gift; here He gives Himself, the main source, as a portion to us in His covenant. This is a promise of infinite worth. In this covenant, all God is and all God has becomes ours. All His attributes are mine. His strength is our strength, His power is our power, His armies are our armies, His attributes are our attributes; we have an interest in all. God said to Abram, “I am your exceeding great reward.” We can look at this great being with infinite attributes and say, “All these are mine. All will work for my good.” The phrase “the Lord thy God” is so sweet. What! That the great and mighty, infinite, all-sufficient God, should be called your God! If God is our wealth and property, what lack do I have? “God is not ashamed to be called their God.” He should be very much ashamed, but in covenant love, He is not. God promises to be our God, to provide everything for our body and soul for all eternity. This is a wealth that not a hundred generations, but eternity, cannot exhaust. As God has given you not only His Son, so He has given you Himself in covenant love. Christians, stand amazed. Oh, what love is this to the children of men! How we should worship God in spirit for this covenant.

This covenant is so comprehensive and promises everything. He has made a covenant with you of temporal mercies. Your bread is by covenant; your sleep is by covenant; your safety from all dangers and health are by the covenant. He has made a covenant with you of spiritual mercies, even a covenant of peace, and grace, and blessing, and life forevermore. He has made a covenant to forgive all your sins, to justify, to sanctify, to give His Spirit to lead you, to sanctify you, to uphold you in all situations of life, and at last, He will bring you to a full enjoyment of Himself in glory. In David’s words, “The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want.” His mercy and goodness will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. When I pray, I can boldly plead the covenant promises. We regularly see in the Bible, “Remember your covenant.” We remind God of His covenant promises and plead, and God always answers. God is called the covenant-keeping God.

Write it in letters of gold that your God is in a covenant with you, to love you, to bless you, and to save you. Yes, you may have some problems in providence, but His covenant promise is that all things work for your good. Yet, in a little while, He who will come will come and receive you to Himself, and then you shall fully know what it is to have a God be your God.

God so loves you that He has entered into a covenant with you. Oh, what a love this is! Tell me, my soul, is there not an infinite distance between God and you? He is God above, and you are a worm below. He is the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, and you are less than the least creature, a sinful creature. Oh, wonder at such a condescension! That such a Potter should come on terms of bargaining with such clay as is guilty before Him! Why, sovereign God, what need do You have? Behold, God so loves you that in the covenant, He gives you all His promises. Rise up, my soul, and set before you all these reasons for God’s love in Christ. Are not these strong attractions to gain your love? Oh, how we should worship God in spirit. Shall not all this love of God in Christ for you constrain your love?

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Rejoice in Christ Jesus

What is one reason for God treating me with such grace and kindness? On what basis did God shower such covenant blessings on me? Not for anything in me or anything that I did. It is all because of Christ Jesus. The center, mediator, and surety of this whole covenant is Christ. His work on the cross and His death made the covenant effective. That is what the bread and cup remind us of. Today’s cup is the New Covenant in His blood. He shed His blood and sealed the promises of the covenant so it can never be broken. If we understand Christ of the covenants, our greatest rejoicing will be in Jesus Christ. Christ, and none but Christ; Christ is all that is needed, and Christ is enough.

O my soul, exercise this joy. All these covenant blessings are because of Him. Because of what He did, is doing, and will do. Oh, what fuel is here to set our desires on fire! Come, my soul, and bend your desires toward Christ. When we had undone ourselves in sin, Christ entered into a covenant with God as a surety and mediator. Every time throughout history, when the justice of God and the destroyer angel would have eternally damned us in our lives, Christ flew with the covenant in His hand and saved us. Oh, then rejoice in the Lord. Is it not a Gospel-duty to rejoice in the Lord, and again to rejoice! “Bless the Lord, O my soul,” said David, “and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

Do you know the word “covenant” is the strongest word in the Bible? Abraham asks the Lord how he will know He will fulfill the covenant. God tells Abraham to cut some animals in two, place them next to each other, and walk in between, so firmly taking an oath that if God breaks it, He will become cut like those animals. It is so sure. Listen, as if heaven opened, and the voice came from God in heaven: “I will be a God to thee, I am the Lord thy God; and I will be thy God.” God, your Lord. What! Doesn’t your heart leap in your bosom at this sound?

Oh, wonder! Some can delight themselves in sin, and is not God better than sin? If there is any rejoicing faculty in you, now awake and stir it up. Hear your duty, as the Lord commands you: “Rejoice in the Lord” (Philippians 3:1). Oh, that name Jesus! That name that bound God into such an unbreakable relationship must be praised.

Behold the love of this Christ. All covenant promises may be free to us, but what a price He had to pay. “This cup is the New Covenant in my blood.” He loved you before the world was made. Do you see His love in eternity when He agreed to the covenant conditions? Do you hear echoes of His love in all those Old Testament stories? He loved you in the Garden of Eden; was not the promise expressed to Adam intended for you? Since you sinned in Adam in his loins, you received this promise in him. When God established His covenant with Abraham, and all families of the earth would be blessed, you, a Gentile, were you not in the heart of Jesus? He cut a covenant with Christ, with Adam, and with Abraham on your behalf, but particularly and personally with yourself.

And oh, what love is this! If a woman lately conceiving loves her future fruit, how much more does she love it when it is born and embraced in her arms? So, if Christ loved you before you had a being, yes, before the world or any creature in it had a being, how much more now? Oh, the height, and depth, and length, and breadth of this immeasurable love! Oh! My thirst is insatiable; my bowels are hot within me; my desire for Jesus is as greedy as the grave.

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Put No Confidence in the Flesh and Examine Your Hearts

We should come with examination. Is my name in the covenant? What basis can I say it is? How do we need to be assured of this? Someone said, “If we had the glory of all the world; if I had ten thousand worlds, and ten thousand lives, I would lay them all down, to have this poor, trembling soul of mine assured of this.”

What are the signs of those with whom the Lord enters into a covenant? The first thing God does as a sign of this covenant is He creates in that person a true and lively faith. This is such a sure way of testing that the apostle himself directs us to it: “Examine yourselves whether you be in the faith.” Is my faith in Christ alone, not in my acts or righteousness? True faith makes you sensible of your sinful depravity, of what a vile person you are. Men are naturally blind, like a leprous person covered with makeup, but the law shows them a true mirror. True faith makes you realize your spiritual sickness, so you, like a cancer or leper patient, realize it and keep running to the doctor. That makes you run to Christ always. “They that be whole, need not a physician,” said Christ, “but they that are sick.” It makes you love, esteem, and value Christ. Do I love Christ?

If you are in a covenant with God, then God has fulfilled in some part the promises of this covenant to your soul. Do you see God writing His laws in your heart and making you grow in holiness, not outwardly, but inwardly? As you look into the mirror of God’s word, do you see more conformity of your heart to the law of God? You obey God’s will and delight in that obedience. You say with David, “I delight to do thy will, O God; yea, thy law is within my heart.”

Be not content with confidence in the flesh and outward things. God gives assurance of faith to all those who are part of the covenant. It is a promise of the covenant. Seek to get that strong assurance. If God has made such a covenant with you, how strongly you should hold to that assurance in the midst of trials, strong temptations, and doubts. But alas! How weak is your faith! Your hold is so weak that you scarcely know or have assurance of this covenant. Desire a continuance of the covenant-state.

“O Lord, you have begun to show grace to your servant, but oh, manifest to me all your goodness. You have given me a drop, and I feel it so sweet that now I thirst, and long to enjoy the fountain. You have given me a taste, but my desire is not thereby diminished, but enlarged, and for good reason, for what are these drops and tastes but only the first-fruits and a foretaste of the Spirit? Oh, then, what are those harvests of joy? What are those treasures of wisdom and free grace hidden in God? I have indeed beheld ‘a feast of fat things, of fat things full of marrow, of wines on the lees, of wines on the lees well refined,’ but oh, what a famine is yet in my spirit! O Lord, I have longed for your salvation. Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!”

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A Word to Those Outside the Covenant

Those who are outside of this covenant, you are wondering why life is so terrible. It is because you are under the curse of the covenant of works. You are born as a serpent seed, and all the desires and lusts of the devil are running your body, which is why your soul is feverish and tossing. He is dragging you to hell daily.

See what God has done to save you from the curse. See how eager God is to save you. He became a man, suffered for sins, and shed His blood to cleanse you from all sins. Here are symbols of His body and blood. All this tells you not only what Jesus did but also how eagerly Jesus wants to pardon all your sins and save you. He is so intensely earnest that I feel ashamed I cannot express it with tears.

How graciously He calls you, welcomes you, and even begs you! Think of those offers of Christ, those entreaties and beseechings to accept Christ. How many times has He called you? He still calls. That is His Gospel. “Come to Christ and be saved.” Listen to your heart. Hark at the door! Who is it that knocks there? Who is it that calls now, even now?

His suffering says to you, “Soul, consider what price I have given to save you. This my body was crucified, my hands and feet nailed, my heart pierced, and through anguish I was forced to cry, ‘My soul is heavy, heavy unto death!’ And now what remains for you but only to believe? See, all things are ready on my part: all forgiveness, justification, adoption, sanctification, and complete salvation. I will be your God, and you shall be of the number of my people. I offer now Myself and the merits and benefits flowing from it, and I entreat you to accept this offer. Oh, take Christ, and life and salvation in Christ. Why will you perish one more day and be a prey to the devil?”

Talk to your soul. “O my soul, will you not believe this Christ and will you believe the devil and the lies of the world?” Surely His love and joy are bigger than all the fleeting pleasures of the flesh, Satan, and all the world, which only bring shame and sorrow. Do not allow the devil to deceive you more. Say “Amen” to His offer: “I believe. Lord, help my unbelief.” Oh, believe in Jesus, and the covenant is established, and all doubts are removed. Oh, may He effectually call you and raise many of you who are dead in your sins and give you life and do the great miracle of regeneration in your souls even now.

“O! Why not I, Lord? Why can I not be saved? Why not my sins be pardoned? Why not my corruptions be subdued? Why not the law be written in my heart and put into my inward parts? Why may I not say, ‘My Lord, my God!’ Or, ‘Why not this covenant be established between God and me?'”

Last month, we started a series called “Looking Unto Jesus Till Glory Shines.” I spoke about this as an important biblical duty for spiritual progress from Hebrews 12. This isn’t a mystical yoga exercise. The Bible clearly talks about a type of spiritual looking, not through our physical eyes. We saw that Hebrews 12 clearly commands us to look to Jesus. In Ephesians 1:18, Paul prays that “the eyes of your heart may be enlightened.”

It is a biblical spiritual exercise: through faith and through the eyes of our mind, we are to have a persevering look unto Jesus. This is not a glance, a quick turn, or a “Jesus save me” once in a while before you sleep. It’s an intense, persevering focus of the mind that continues until it stirs up affections in the heart, and the effects are felt in my soul, reviving our dull spirit. It is “looking unto Jesus till glory shines from Him, till the virtue and grace flows from Him to me to strengthen me to run the race set before me.” I spoke about the wonderful blessings we can receive if we learn this practice.

Now, with that goal in mind, if we are to make this a regular spiritual practice, we have to learn deeply about Jesus. Only when we have a deep understanding of who Jesus is will we be able to turn our thoughts to deeply focus on Him. So, as a continuation of the same theme, we are going to look at Jesus starting from pre-creation, before creation, and then Jesus in the history of the Old Testament. We will then look at Jesus at His birth, life, and ministry; His death, resurrection, ascension, and session; and His present ministry as prophet, priest, and king, including His intercession. Finally, yes, we will look at Jesus at His second coming. From the right to the left spectrum, it will be like watching a film where all we see is Jesus. If I try to preach on all of that today, the next communion in July will come before we finish, because we will need more than a month to cover it all. So we’ll focus our attention part by part, starting with pre-creation, then the Old Testament, and then the New Testament.

The goal of this devotional practice, as we look at Jesus in the mirror of the scriptures, is to have the eyes of our hearts enlightened by the Holy Spirit so that we can see Christ’s glory, admire Him, increase our esteem of His worth and value in our thoughts, and through faith receive grace upon grace as we worship. You can see this is a very apt study for communion meditation. How did our Lord command us to observe it? “In remembrance.” In remembering Him in all His glory, by looking unto Him, communion becomes a wonderful means of grace. So, are you ready for an exciting lifetime journey? We’re starting our travels with Jesus from past eternity to future eternity, with our focus on Him. You should be, because in Paul’s words, compared to the excellency of knowing Christ, everything else is garbage.

Today, in the first part, we will look at Jesus at His pre-creation state—not before He became a man in the Old Testament, but Jesus even before the world was created. I thought it might be very experiential if we sense ourselves being in that place and look at Jesus with our imagination, with our mind’s eyes. We will probably have to get into a time travel machine from June 2024 and go back 2,000 years to see Christ crucified. You keep going back to the silent 400 years, the 70 years of Israel’s captivity, the time of the Old Testament prophets and kings, David, Moses, Abraham, and then Adam and the six days of the creation of the world. Then, go into eternity before any day started. If you go as far as your mind can go, you will find no heaven, no earth, no universe, no man or angels created yet. But there was only one: God, with all His divine fullness. For infinite ages upon ages, He was God. That God was the Trinitarian God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—perfectly happy and independent within themselves.

Our focus will be to look at Jesus in this state. Oh, if the Holy Spirit can open our eyes and just show us a glimpse of the glory of the eternal Son of God in that past glorious state, it will blow us away to know how high, how glorious, how great, and how worthy He is. It will be so ravishing and sanctifying for us. One person said, “Oh, one view of the glorified Savior will make me joyfully die ten thousand deaths on flames of stakes for Him. One sight is worth 10,000 deaths.” We can only see dimly in this sinful body and babble for a while. We may have to die and go to heaven to behold it fully with a pure soul and body.

But I think with the Holy Spirit’s help, we can get a glimpse of that because you know Jesus prayed for this. John 17:24 says, “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me before the creation of the world.” Yes, this is talking about when we go to heaven, but the great Puritan John Owen says this also has an application of seeing His glory by faith now.

When we look at Jesus at pre-creation, let us understand it under three headings: First, His glorious state. Second, His relationship with the Father. Thirdly, the eternal covenant they both made at that time.

First, Jesus’ Glorious State Pre-Creation

What does the Bible reveal to us about Jesus in that pre-creation state? John introduces his Gospel with a majestic tone and a sense of ecstasy, with the air of a man who is conscious of the sublime glory of Jesus. John 1:1 says, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”

“In the beginning was the Word.” The eternity of Christ is here emphatically declared. “The Word was with God.” Not with angels, not with men; but before men and angels were created, Jesus was with God essentially, and then amazingly, he says the “Word was God.” This was His glorious state. John 17:5 says, “And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was.” What is this glory? In Philippians 2, we studied that He was equal with God with all the attributes of God. Think of the essence of Jesus’ state before creation. He was God. What does that mean?

The glory of the supreme being. Before the world was created, He had the glory of His eternal deity, of His majesty and greatness, the glory of infinity, the glory of eternity, the glory of immutability, the glory of sovereignty, the glory of being almighty, the glory of holiness, and the glory of justice. He was filled with the majesty, splendor, worthiness, and greatness of His deity. He was ever blessed, infinite in love and happiness in the fellowship of the Trinity, existing absolutely, self-existent, and forever, never having come into being! He was, and is, and always will be: “I am who I am.” He is the only eternal reality, complete and perfect and without any defect or any need, not dependent on anyone.

“Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.” He is infinite in greatness, beauty, and value. There is no comparison. “I am God. To whom will you compare me?” The lowest comparison we can make is to this universe. He is greater than all the universe in the way a man is greater than a small speck of dust. He is more beautiful than all the beauty of the universe, just as the reality of Niagara Falls is more beautiful than a painting of the falls. He is real beauty. He is more valuable than the universe, which is less than nothing before Him.

It is good to be still and know that Jesus is God and let this sink in. The universe, by comparison with God’s greatness, beauty, and worth, is insignificant. Jesus is equal to God, having all the glory. And in 2 Corinthians 8:9, it says He was rich. His riches were no less than all that God the Father has. John 16:14 says, “All that the Father has is mine.” He was in a glorious state, a state of being equal to God, to have all the glory and symbols of the majesty of God.

Until this pre-creation glory of Jesus sinks in, virtually everything the Bible says about Jesus will be wrongly and inadequately understood. This is where we start to look at who Jesus is. If we fail to grasp this, we won’t be able to grasp biblical doctrines in their proper proportions and relations. We have an imbalanced view of Jesus, with an over-focus on the humiliation state of Jesus. Look at Him in His pre-creation glory; fix this in your mind. Here, He is not a man. He is not called “Jesus”—that was a human name. He was the eternal Son of God, with no weakness or humiliation of manhood, but fully God. He did not empty Himself, but was with complete divine fullness and glory. He is not under law, but He is the lawgiver for all. He was in such glory, dwelling in a light no man can approach. Any creature coming near would turn to ashes. He did not know any sorrow, pain, or shame. He had no temptation from the devil for all eternity. He was never for a split second away from the Father’s communion. He never knew anything about His Father’s anger or wrath because He was perfectly holy. All these things were very new to Christ; He was above them all until, for our sakes, He voluntarily subjected Himself to them.

Second, His Relationship With the Father

John says He was with God. John 1:18 says, “No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.” “Bosom.” What does it mean? It is not talking about Jesus sleeping as a baby. It is a human expression of the greatest dearness and intimacy between two humans that we know and understand, like a baby coming out of its mother’s womb and lying on her bosom. It is such a strong bond. So it talks about the intimate, close union between the Father and the Son. Think of the joyful state of Jesus. Allow this to sink in.

He was with God in such a close relationship. Do we know what it means to be with God? God, you know, is the fountain; He is an infinite, inexhaustible ocean of all delights and joys. Psalm 16:11 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” This great fountain and source of all happiness, blessedness, and love was letting out all its fullness so directly and fully, and everlastingly, upon this only begotten darling of His soul, as it never did communicate itself to any. Judge what a state of transcendent happiness this must be. Great persons have great delights. Oh, what intimate dearness, nearness, and oneness of those great persons with one another! What joy and bliss!

Proverbs 8:30 shows us a glimpse. It is taking about wisdom, which is a personification of Jesus. “I was day by day His delight, rejoicing always before Him.” The original is strong. “I was fullness of delight, the perfection. I was all His delights. I was His delight itself.” Imagine. Now Jesus Christ was not only near and dear to God but one with Him. He was God. Can you imagine what a blissful state of happiness it was to be the only loved object of the eternal God, to be one with that God, and to be God!

Oh, what matchless delights and bliss must necessarily flow from such a blessed union! We can never imagine such fellowship. All fellowship and closeness in this world are tainted with sin and selfishness, but a pure, holy Father embracing a holy, pure Son with a most holy delight and love! Oh, what bliss! A sea of bliss. Think of the duration of this delight. It was from everlasting, from eternity; it never suffered one moment’s interruption. These two great and glorious persons of the Trinity with infinite essence were delighting in one another, letting forth their fullest pleasure and delight each into the heart of the other. Their delight knew not a moment’s interruption or diminution. They were enjoying pleasures of fellowship unspeakable and inconceivable. A dim reflection is what we see when sometimes parents delight to see their children playing before them, or a lover sees her love. So did the Father delight in beholding this darling of His bosom. Oh, what can we understand of the joy of the immortals!

Try to look at Jesus in your mind in this glorious state, in His person equal with God, and in His relationship as the eternal delight of the Father for all eternity. The truth we have to fix in our mind is this doctrine: Jesus was in a state of the highest and most unspeakable delight and pleasure, in the enjoyment of His Father. We always look at Him in a manly, humiliated state. Let your thoughts rise today. The world was created 6,000 years ago. No mind can estimate how many past eternity years there were. All billions upon billions of eons, when God was there. There is no beginning. From a period we cannot imagine, if the infinite God’s greatest delight, supreme affection, adoring love, and entertainment, which He always enjoyed without a single blink, was this Son of God, Jesus, He was the greatest darling and delight of God’s heart. If so, can you imagine how glorious, adorable, desirable, wonderful, valuable, and amazing a person Jesus would be? What a treasure! What a pearl of great price He must be! Does your estimate of Jesus go up? The infinite God needed nothing but His Son for all eternity. His infinite measure, infinite capacity, and infinite abilities were fully satisfied and found a suitable object in the perfection of the divine Being, His begotten Son. He was fully satisfying the great God’s heart from eons. He was the darling, the sweetheart of God, making Him eternally happy. Oh, what a person Christ must be! We don’t know anything about Him. Even when He came to earth, the Father tore the sky and spoke with a loud voice, testifying three times, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.”

Thirdly, The Covenant Between Father and Son

At that time, scripture says there is something the Father, the Son, and the third person in the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, did. This self-existent God, for no other reason than for His pleasure and glory, decided to create heaven and earth. And as they saw in their all-knowing knowledge the fall of man and how that would affect all men, how they would become depraved sinners, God decided to permit that fall for His own glory. Scripture and our confession reveal that there was a covenant that was made between the Father and the Son in eternity. This is called the Covenant of Redemption, an eternal covenant.

This is a very important topic. Spurgeon said all false teaching and wrong understanding of the Bible comes because we fail to understand the concept of a covenant. It is one concept that runs through the entire Bible and unites the entire Bible. The Bible itself is a covenant book; the Old Testament and the New Testament are nothing but a covenant. All the covenants we see in the Bible had their cause in the covenant that was made between the Father and the Son and even the Holy Spirit before the world began. A covenant, in our terms, is an agreement, like a rental agreement we make. God is so big and sovereign that He can do anything He wants and is not bound to anyone, but He humbles Himself and binds and promises to do some things in the form of a covenant.

Theologians differentiate the covenant between God and man as two covenants: the covenant of works and the covenant of grace made with humans. But this covenant that was done between the Father and the Son is called the Covenant of Redemption. All the covenants God makes after the fall of Adam, with Adam, Noah, Moses, David, and then the New Testament covenant, are all the fruit or consequence of the Covenant of Redemption that happened between the Father and the Son. New people may not understand this now, but maybe you will slowly. Make a note that the covenant is very important.

The Bible says this covenant was made in eternity between the Father and the Son and even the Holy Spirit. Where does the Bible say this covenant? We know only about the covenants with Abraham, Moses, and the New Testament. Many verses in the Old Testament allude to this. Let us look at two verses. Second Timothy 1:9 says, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus… before time began.” Titus 1:2 says, “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began.” To whom was this promise made? “but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior.”

Okay, what were the terms and conditions of this covenant? We make a rental agreement where the owner will give this house with so many rooms, and the tenant will pay so much rent. What were the conditions of this covenant?

1. The glorious doctrine of election was part of this covenant. That God, out of all the children of Adam who would be born as fallen, depraved sinners, eternally sets His love on them and chooses to redeem them from their sins, calls them, justifies them, sanctifies them, transforms them to the image of His beloved Son Jesus, and glorifies them eternally to be His children. Their names were listed in the book of life. This is called the great doctrine of election or predestination. The people who are chosen by God as the elect. This was done in eternity before creation. To do this in a way that doesn’t bring any dishonor to God’s justice and righteousness, God decreed a redemptive plan.
2. In this redemptive plan, the Father planned and architected redemption, the Son has the work to accomplish the redemption, and the Holy Spirit will apply that redemption.
3. God lays down certain conditions to redeem the elect sinners. Once the Son fulfills that, the Father gives certain promises. We saw in Isaiah 53:10, “if thou wilt make thy soul a sinner offering,”
4. Since the first man, Adam, sinned and failed, the Son has to become man, as a second Adam, a representative of man, a federal head of this covenant for His people. He has to live a perfect life and purchase righteousness and bear all the sins of all the elect on His body, and atone for their sins on the cross and pour out His soul as a guilt offering. When the Son fulfills this condition by making the full payment for all sins and satisfying God’s justice,
5. Then the Father promises to redeem all those for whom Christ will die and pour out blessings such as justification, sanctification, adoption, glorification, and eternal life, as we saw in Isaiah 53.
6. This is a tremendous work for the Son to do in His humanity and requires the greatest sacrifice. So, as part of the covenant, in passages like Isaiah 42:6, a lot of details are given, like the Father promises that He will “uphold and support your humanity, when it is overweighted with the burden and ready to sink down under it,” and keep Him in this most difficult work.
7. God also promises the full success of this work. Isaiah 53:10 says, “He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” His suffering and work will not go in vain.
8. God promises to restore His Son’s glory with His humanity with additional mediatorial glory as an eternal priest, prophet, and king.

So this transaction happened in eternity. One Puritan beautifully writes this as a conversation between the Father and the Son. The Father says, “My Son, here is a company of poor, miserable souls that have utterly undone themselves, and now lie open to my justice! Justice demands satisfaction for them or will satisfy itself in their eternal ruin. What shall be done for these souls?” And thus Christ returns, “O my Father, such is my love for and pity for them that rather than they shall perish eternally, I will be responsible for them as their surety. Bring in all your bills, that I may see what they owe you; Lord, bring them all in, so that there may be no after-reckonings with them. You shall require it at my hand. I will rather choose to suffer your wrath than they should suffer it. Upon me, my Father, upon me be all their debt.”

The Father says, “But, my Son, if you undertake for them, you must reckon to pay the last mite; expect no abatements. If I spare them, I will not spare you.” The Son responds, “I am content, Father, let it be so; charge it all upon me. I am able to discharge it, and though it prove a kind of undoing for me, though it impoverish all my riches and empty all my treasures (for so indeed it did, as 2 Corinthians 8:9 says, ‘Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor’), yet I am content to undertake it.”

Blush, ungrateful believers! Oh, let shame cover your faces. Ask your consciences, how you shrink in serving such a worthy Lord. Judge in yourselves now what honor and service Christ deserves from you, that you should shrink at a few petty difficulties and complain, “This is hard,” and “That is harsh.” Oh, if you knew the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in this His wonderful condescension for you, you could not do it.

So as we travel back and went to pre-creation and “L2J,” we looked at: first, His glorious state pre-creation; second, His relationship to the Father; and third, the covenant between the Father and the Son.

Now let us come back and see what graces and applications we can receive from this vision for today’s life. As we intently look at this pre-creation glory of Christ,

1. As we come to the communion table, let us think about why we are gathered here. All of you who have believed in Jesus Christ, from different cultures, different religions, why did someone come and tell you about Jesus when many of our friends and relatives did not believe? Why did you believe? When so many come to church and stop, why did you come regularly, hear God’s voice here, and grow joyfully in truth, and become a member, and today take communion? How wonderful to think this is not an accident or chance, or your own decision, but all this is an effect of something that happened in eternity. Why did you alone come? Not others? Not because you are smarter or wiser, but can you imagine that even before you were born, before the world was created, there was an eternal covenant made on your behalf. At that time, you were particularly in the mind of God, and He loved you and chose you.

Can I say we are here as a result of election? We are expecting our national election results this week. Once the results are out, what a celebration! I will tell you that the greatest celebration for those who believe in Christ is that we are elected by God not in time but in eternity, not for five years but for all eternity, not on the basis of what we did or how good we are, but on the basis of God’s sovereign grace. Chosen for what? To be part of this joyful, blissful eternal family, to be made like Jesus and become children of God, and to enjoy eternal bliss with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit for all coming eternity.

Have you thought about what a glorious honor and privilege it is to be the elect of God? One lottery for 100 crore is a huge jump, but the most blessed lottery is to be elected by God. We will jump if we know the joy. The worth, honor, and excellency of a “chosen generation, a peculiar people,” a “peculiar treasure unto me above all people.” Out of billions upon billions of people who lived before us, and who live now, and who will live after us, we are the elect of God in Jesus Christ. Out of all of them, God set His love upon me. And His love is like Himself: causeless, changeless, and endless. “I have loved you with an everlasting love.” The great God, the blessed and only potentate, that He should choose such poor, contemptible, worthless, and vile creatures as we are, surpasses all knowledge.

The blessedness of election appears in the comparative fewness of the elect. “Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.” His design was to show eternal, greater mercy to a few, while all others have only material and temporal things as their portion. The Old Testament types showed that the elect are few. In Noah’s ark, only eight were saved, while the whole world perished!

As we look at Jesus in His pre-incarnate glory, remember that it is only through Christ and what He will do for us, not through anything in us, that we were chosen. The Covenant of Redemption fixed it so that all of the blessings we receive from God come to us “in Christ.”

Do you see what a great salvation this is? This is something beyond you, something beyond the world, time, and history. It has its roots in eternity and a decree between the Father and the Son.

Dear believer, may the truth of election give you all the grace you need today. It gives us grace in every step of the Christian’s progress to Heaven. God not only decreed Christ’s work, but He decreed that Christ will call you, justify you, sanctify you, transform you to the image of His Son, and glorify you. When we are discouraged and backslidden, tossed to and fro by worldly trials and remaining sin, what truth revives us? It is the confidence that my salvation is not based on my works but on God, who chose me in eternity. It fills us with the precious assurance that “He which has begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). There was nothing in us that moved God to choose us, so there is nothing I will do that will reverse that election. “Whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified” (Romans 8:30). Predestination guarantees glorification and therefore guarantees the supply of the elect’s every need between the two.

Election should be a great motivator for holiness. According to the divine decree, God chose us to be holy. God writes His law upon our hearts, and we are made partakers of the divine nature. The Bible calls us to make our election and calling sure by holy living. Child of God, as you look unto Jesus, whatever situation or difficulties you may be facing, realize now that one of the greatest spiritual blessings that God has given to us is that He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world to be holy and blameless before Him.

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The Love of the Father and the Son

Secondly, this vision of the Father and the Son teaches us about their love for us. Here we are in time, in June 2024. According to this eternal covenant, Jesus did come into the world 2,000 years ago, atoned for all our sins, and went to heaven. The Son accomplished redemption. Through the Holy Spirit, God made us hear the Gospel, brought us to church, and now we are gathered here, and the Father is fulfilling His promise before our eyes today. We are here today because of that.

Do you doubt whether the Father loves you? What an astonishing act of love this was for the Father to give the delight, the darling of His soul, out of His very bosom, for poor sinners! All tongues will falter and pause when attempting to express this love. Jesus Himself couldn’t fully express it, saying, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son” (John 3:16).

Which of us would deliver our child, no matter how rebellious, to the greatest inheritance in the world? What tender parent can endure a parting pull with such a child? Jesus was the only child of the Father’s delights. He didn’t give Him up for the greatest wealth, but to a horrible, shameful, and cursed death.

How Hagar couldn’t bear to see her child dying. She sat over against him far off and lifted up her voice and wept. What an outcry did David make, even for a rebellious Absalom, wishing he had died for him. Oh, it was hard to part! What a hole the death of some children has made in the hearts of some parents, which will never be closed up in this world! Yet all the love we have is but a reflection of the Father’s love.

How difficult it was for Him to give up a child like His only one, the Son of His delights, and that to a cursed death for sinners, for the worst of sinners. Oh, the admirable love of God to men! Matchless love! A love past finding out! Let all people, therefore, in the business of their redemption, give equal glory to the Father with the Son (John 5:23). If the Father had not loved you, He would never have parted with such a Son for you.

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Inferences from God’s Love

Corollary 1: If God has given His own Son for the world, then it follows that those for whom God gave His own Son may warrantably expect any other temporal mercies from Him. This is the apostle’s inference in Romans 8:32: “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all; how shall he not, with him, freely give us all things?” And so in 1 Corinthians 3:21-22: “All is yours, for you are Christ’s.” That is, they hold all other things in Christ, who is the principal and most comprehensive mercy.

1. No other mercy you need or desire is, or can be, so dear to God as Jesus Christ is. He never laid any other thing in His bosom as He did His Son. As for the world and the comforts of it, it is the dust of His feet; He values it not. Ten thousand worlds and the glory of them all are but the dust of the balance if weighed with Christ. If God has so freely given the greater, how can you suppose He should deny the lesser mercies?
2. If God has given you this nearer, greater, and all-encompassing mercy when you were His enemies and alienated from Him, it is not imaginable that He should deny you any inferior mercy when you are in a state of reconciliation and have become His child.

Inference 2: On one side, the Father’s love is a wonder. What do we say about the Son? As we look to Jesus, we are forever astonished at the love of Jesus Christ for poor sinners; that He should ever consent to leave such a bosom and the unspeakable and ineffable delights that were there, humbling Himself and taking the form of a slave for such poor worms as we are. What will we return?

Which of us, if we get into a comfortable, best position in the world, would leave that place for anyone? If you ever found by experience what it is to be in the bosom of God by divine communion, you would never be persuaded to leave such a bosom for all the good that is in the world. And yet Jesus Christ, who was embraced in that bosom in a way we can never imagine, freely left it and laid down the glory and riches He enjoyed there for your sakes. And as the Father loved Him, even so, believers, has He loved you (John 17:22). What manner of love is this! Who ever loved as Christ loves? Who ever denied himself for Christ, as Christ denied himself for us? Oh, the heights, depths, lengths, and breadths of unmeasurable love!

Inference 3: If we understand this vision, I hope it gives a vision of how high Christ is. He was the only delight for the Father for all past eternity. This should teach us that believing, loving, obeying, and worshiping Christ is the true way to heaven and the Father. Do you desire God’s blessing, favor in your life, and pleasure? Do you want God’s presence? Do you want God to welcome you into heaven and bless you eternally?

Be careful how you treat Christ. Oh, believe, love, and worship Christ! Think much of Christ. Give Him the highest place in your heart. Look to Jesus. If the Father’s all delight is in Jesus Christ in past eternity, now, and for all future eternity, do you understand why Jesus said, “I am the way to the Father, no one can come to the Father but through me”?

We understand in the world that many things happen through recommendation and networking. People rise in this world as they are befriended; preference goes by favor. Joseph’s brothers, though they were shepherds abhorred by Pharaoh, were raised to a high level because of Joseph. So it is in heaven. People are preferred according to their interest in the beloved (Ephesians 1:9). Christ is the great favorite in heaven. His image upon your souls and His name in your prayers makes both accepted with God.

Do you understand? The only reason God accepts us sinners, forgives, and adopts us is because of Christ. We are accepted in the beloved (Ephesians 1:6). He is beloved, and accepted for Himself. Everything we do is accepted, and God delights in us not for ourselves but because of His delight in Christ.

Inference 4: If Christ be the beloved darling of the Father’s soul, think what a grievous and unbearable thing it is to the heart of God to see His dear Son despised, slighted, and rejected by sinners. Truly, there is no such thing that cuts to the heart of God and angers His heart in the whole world than the act of rejecting and not believing Christ.

Those of you who still do not believe Christ, realize what a horror it is to reject God’s only beloved Son. Heaven itself raises against you; the wrath of heaven is on your head. This is why God will throw you into eternal hell. He who does not believe the only Son is already condemned. It is written on your forehead, like Cain: cursed and condemned. What a horror not to believe Jesus Christ.

Unbelievers, imagine how much more punishment will come upon you. When He is preached in the Gospel, He came from heaven to bear your sins, and what did He do? You hear all that, yet you trample upon God’s darling, you tread underfoot Him who eternally lay in God’s bosom, and you reject Him. Do you realize what this means? Hebrews 10:28-29 says, “Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing?”

When you smite the apple of His eye, how will God bear this? In all the parables, in Matthew 21:37-40, about the vineyard and the marriage supper, the king was patient for all they did. But when they touched his son, he immediately and miserably destroyed such wretched sinners.

If you would want the worst punishment in hell, worse punishment than the homosexuals of Sodom and Gomorrah, worse than all the terrible sins in central jail today, to anger God in the biggest way, the only thing you have to do is reject the Father’s only Son. What a dismal word is that in 1 Corinthians 16:22: “If any man love not our Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha,” which means, “Let the worst great curse of God lie upon that man until the Lord comes.”

Oh, you know it says, let the worst great curse of God lie upon that man until the Lord comes. Imagine what will happen to him when Jesus comes. O sinners! Unbelievers! You shall one day know the big price of this sin; you shall feel what it is to despise and reject Jesus. Oh, that you would slight Him no more! Oh, that this day your hearts might fall in love with Him! There is nobody who loves you like Jesus, who did what He did for you. It is the basest ingratitude to reject Him.

See what He has done for you in the Gospel. Whatever you are, however worst sins you have done, whatever guilt is in your conscience, if you can just believe Him, you shall be as dear to God as the holiest and most eminent believer in the world. But if you still continue to despise and neglect such a Savior, sorer wrath is treasured up for you than for other sinners. Oh, that these discoveries and offers of Christ may speak to your heart and bring you to Christ.

Inference 5: Believers, as we come to communion, remember Christ. If Christ lay eternally in this bosom of love and yet was content to forsake and leave it for your sakes, then (1) be ready to leave the comforts you have on earth for serving Christ if required. We see all great men doing this, achieving big things for Christ. Moses left all the glory of Egypt; Peter and the other apostles left all (Luke 18:28); Paul counted all as garbage. Tim left his family and native land and went on a missionary journey. Eph risked his life for the Gospel work. But what have we to leave for Christ in comparison to what He left for us? Surely Christ is the highest pattern of self-denial in the world.

(2) Let this confirm your faith in prayer. If He, who has such an interest in the heart of God, intercedes with the Father for you, then never doubt of an audience and acceptance with Him. Surely you shall be “accepted in the beloved” (Ephesians 1:6). Christ was never denied anything that He asked (John 11:42). The Father hears Him always. Though you are not worthy, Christ is, and He ever lives to make intercession for you (Hebrews 7:25).

Recently, while teaching “Christ the Mediator” in a confession class, I was deeply impressed by the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. After that, whenever I face temptation, trials, upsets, frustration, or discouragement, there’s an inner voice telling me, “Look unto Jesus, look unto Jesus.” I take that as a clue from the Holy Spirit for us to deeply study this subject called “Looking Unto Jesus.”

What do we know about this? This is a great duty for every Christian and a command from God. It’s the art of the Gospel. I have observed many Puritans using this phrase and have seen it in many old songs. We will sing one today: “Looking to Jesus till glory doth shine. Moment by moment I have life from above, moment by moment I am kept in His love.” This is an intense, determined looking to Jesus until His glory shines from Him into my soul. This is a precious Gospel duty, a high Gospel-ordinance. I was so ashamed and convicted by how little I know and how little I practice this.

When I, as a pastor, go through some experience in providence, it inevitably comes out as a sermon. That’s how God leads pastors for the benefit of the church. So, as part of a communion meditation, with God’s help, I plan to start a series called “Looking Unto Jesus Till Glory Shines.” Pray that as we look more deeply at our Lord’s glory in this study, the Holy Spirit will open our eyes to understand Paul’s words: “I count all things but loss, garbage, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.” Oh, the excellency of the knowledge of Christ! There is an excellency above all other knowledge in the world. No worldly knowledge will transform a man, but this will.

Christ is the sum and center of all divine truths. He is the center of the Old and New Testaments, the hero of the Bible. The more deeply we know and see Him, the more our minds and hearts will be transformed. There is nothing that pleases the Father and nothing that makes the Holy Spirit happy more than revealing the glory of Christ to us. There is nothing more strengthening to our faith, more increasing of our peace and comfort, more renewing of our spirits, and nothing that makes us happier than knowing Christ. Looking unto Jesus is the epitome, the height of a Christian’s happiness, the quintessence, the sum of evangelical duties.

Today, as an introduction to help you realize the importance of this duty, we will look at three things:

1. An indispensable biblical duty for spiritual progress.
2. The sin of neglecting this duty.
3. The blessings of obeying this duty. All this is to make you understand how important this Gospel duty is.

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1. An Indispensable Biblical Duty for Spiritual Progress

Where in the Bible does it say we have to look to Jesus? What does it mean?

Turn to Hebrews 12: “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Hebrews was written to Jewish people who believed in Christ and became Christians. We know that in Acts, the most terrible opponents of Christianity were the Jews. So, these believers faced terrible opposition from their Jewish religion. Many false teachers also attacked them, saying that Jewish culture, worship, customs, and the temple were the highest. They would say, “How old is our religion, our culture? What is this new Christianity? Nothing is visible, there’s no temple, no ritual, just worship in the air. See our ancient customs.”

So these people were slowly backsliding to their old Jewish religious customs. It’s easy for new Christians to fall back when attacked, because Christianity is a religion of faith in the invisible. Faith needs to grow to overcome attacks. New to the faith, they can be easily deceived by the devil and worldly religions with all their external pomp and ritual. We hear of this in our country, where many Christians convert back to Hinduism.

So the general purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to convince them not to fall back to their old Jewish religious practices by showing them the higher glory of Christ, the supremacy of Christ over all the Old Testament practices and worship. Christ was better and higher than all religions, all Old Testament prophets, all priests, all kings. He is the fulfillment of all temple rituals and all priesthood. Jesus’ sacrificial death was superior to all external temple sacrificial rituals. The covenant of Christ is better than all other covenants.

The writer encourages them not to fall for the visible big temple, rituals, and external devotion, because a truly higher religion and devotion is a spiritual religion. He calls them to persevere in faith, to a life of persevering faith. To encourage them, in the previous chapter (11), he lists the marvelous display of great men and women who manifested such persevering faith, starting with the patriarchs Abel, Noah, Abraham, and moving on to men who lived in their own time. After giving that list, in chapter 12, he presents the life of faith as a running race. He encourages us to enter and run the race of persevering faith. In verses 1-3, he says four things.

First, he says, “since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,” our life is like a running race in a stadium. We are encouraged by all these witnesses, men who have lived a life of faith until the end and who bear witness that persevering faith indeed brings a glorious, great reward. They are cheering, “Yes, run! Come, run!”

Second, there is a call to make the necessary preparation to run well. We are to “let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us.”

Third, there is the summons to “let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,” to run with perseverance, determined to finish.

Fourth, the last and greatest encouragement to run this race. Everything leads up to this. The highest motivation to run this race of faith is where we have our command. Look at verse 2: “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith.” If you have to run this race successfully, if you have to live a Christian life of faith without slowing, backsliding, or even falling, this is a great command and duty: looking unto Jesus.

If you want to run this race in a steady way, there needs to be a determined fixation of your eyes throughout the entire race on Jesus. The command is so strong and indispensable. The moment you turn your eyes, you remember Peter walking on water, looking at the Lord Jesus. He was able to walk in the midst of the storm because he fixed his eyes on Jesus, but when he looked away, like Peter, you will sink or fall back.

So we see clearly in this context the great biblical command of looking unto Jesus, an indispensable biblical duty for spiritual progress.

Now, what does this mean? It has two things: an act and an object. The act is looking, and the object we should look at is Jesus. The act of looking in the original language is very strong. English doesn’t fully capture it. There are two things in the original: first, you have to turn your eyes from all other things, take your eyes away from all those things that you are seeing; and second, with determined, fast, fixed, and full attention, focus your eyes on one thing, look only at that thing, and look at it continuously. Don’t play games, deceiving yourself by saying you are living a Christian life of faith and running the race. If you are truly determined to complete the race and seize the prize, you must do two things.

Negatively, we must take our minds off everything that might divert us in our Christian race from looking unto Jesus. It may be good things; our focus can be on family, worldly things, worldly fame, glory, or the pleasures of the world. The main problem for many of us is that all our focus can be on ourselves. We’re always looking unto me: “How do I feel? How good am I? Why am I like this?” Or we focus on even bad things, on the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, the pride of life, or whatever. Take your mind from that. Whatever hinders our sight of Christ.

Why should we look away from those things? Unless we do that, we cannot look fixedly with steady attention on Jesus. Secondly, if you focus too much on all other things, they can blind the eyes of your soul and not allow you to see the infinite value and beauty that is in Christ. In fact, other things can deceitfully blind us and even make Christ seem mean, cheap, and contemptible in our eyes. So the first act is to turn your eyes from those things. The second is to look unto Jesus. This is the command. This is a great duty. It’s the fixation of our spiritual eyes upon Jesus Himself.

Now, what does this mean practically? How do we do this? This is not some physical, sentimental seeing of a picture of Jesus always, or imagining something. Remember, this is a looking of faith to Jesus as the author or finisher/perfector of our faith. We are running a race of Christian faith; we face obstacles, struggles, trials, and temptations. We have to look to Him through the eyes of our soul in faith as the author, meaning He is the one who put us in this race. We would never have come on our own. And not only that, He is the one who has promised to give us all the grace to carry us through and finish the race. He has the fullness of the treasure of grace. He is the author and finisher of the race. All we need to run this race is in Him.

So this looking of faith is an intense, determined, constant mind focus on Christ that is shaped by the scriptures so that it is not a Jesus of our own imagination or our own fantasies. We look at the Jesus of the Bible in our situations. This is not just thinking of a few things about Christ notionally, just a few Bible verses in our head knowledge that we then forget, but this is an intense, determined focus of the mind’s eye on Jesus. It’s an inward, experimental, persevering look unto Jesus until glory shines from Him, until the virtue and grace flow from Him to me to strengthen me to run the race. This is not just a mind exercise that stops there, but an intense focus of the mind that continues until it stirs up affections in the heart and the effects are felt in my soul, reviving my dull spirit and affecting my life. That is why I called this “Looking Unto Jesus Till Glory Shines.” It is an inward, experiential looking to Jesus. The writer of Hebrews says this is the only way you will be able to successfully run the race.

He has grace for every situation in our lives, for patience, suffering, temptations, and trials. Look to Him. Let me give a few real-life examples. I am a very gentle and patient man when I’m in good condition, with good sleep and good food, but when I was traveling hundreds of kilometers, without proper sleep, I couldn’t eat and had a severe headache. All my virtue, my gentleness, disappears. A small irritation is enough to make me angry. I cannot control myself; I get a bubbling haste and don’t even care if it’s right or wrong. Have you noticed Satan usually comes when we are tired and exhausted? At that time, I look to Jesus who was fasting for 40 days. Can you imagine a man’s state after 40 days without food? All gentleness, all faith, gone with the wind. What terrible hunger pangs! All outward fullness gone; the true mettle of the man comes out. Then, at that time, Satan comes to make Him a little impatient with the providence of God, to make this stone bread. At that time, it was not a sin to do that, but even then, He displays full trust in God’s providence, without a small murmur. When I intently look at that Jesus who fasted for 40 days, I receive divine patience in the most terrible situations.

In my faith race, if I’m facing poverty, I look at His poverty: His birth in a manger, living in utter poverty, no place to lay His head. You receive grace to run. Do you suffer the terrible pain of slander? How painful it is, like a scorpion’s sting, when people smirk, insult, and talk behind our backs. It is unbearable sometimes, bitter wormwood. Yes, this is indeed a heavy blow. Look unto Jesus. The Son of God was called the son of the devil. Infinite wisdom dwelt in Him, yet He was called a madman by His own mother and family members. He was most pure and holy, yet called a sinner, a Samaritan, a drunken man. Come! Look unto Jesus, the poor, slandered one; He gives grace to wipe that tear away, gives divine patience!

Or you may be suffering with temptations or the guilt of sin, which is unbearable. Go to the Garden of Gethsemane, see Him rolling in the mud, see great drops of blood falling to the ground. In the midst of that struggle, He comes out victoriously. Look unto Him until grace flows from Him to you. If you think everything is against you, people have done great evil to you, you cannot forgive them, God also seems to have forsaken you, and all is dark clouds, you are filled with doubts about God’s love. Then come to Calvary’s mountain, the summit of that little hill outside Jerusalem, where the worst criminals were put to death. Here stand three crosses; the center one is reserved for one who is the greatest of criminals. See there! They have nailed Him to the cross. It is the Lord of life and King of glory, before whose feet archangels melt in praise. They have nailed Him to the cross: He hangs there in mid-heaven, bleeding, suffering, with the hot sun beating down. He is thirsty. His scourged body, His face full of spit and punched, is swollen. He is in the worst suffering, and He needs all sympathy, but they mock at Him, shake their heads, and say, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” What does He do? His lips are moving. Does He murmur or curse them? He prays for their forgiveness. Look unto Jesus. If you have problems forgiving people who harm you, if you need forgiving grace, look to Jesus. Don’t just glance; keep looking intently at that situation until virtue and grace flow from Him, until glory shines from Him to your soul.

Then, the God of wrath and justice comes to Calvary, as if to do a major operation. He draws a veil; no one can see. The sun is eclipsed, refusing to behold Him! He will go through agony that no eye can see. Maybe just that sight would kill people with a heart attack. Can you imagine when He drank the eternal hell of all hells? Imagine how His face must have been. Was ever a face marred like that face? Isaiah said it was not at all like a human face; it was so ugly. We speak of tension. Was there ever a heart so filled with tension and pressure with agony when the fire of eternal suffering poured on Him? Come and behold Him. The wonder of wonders is so sad on one side, but this is a sight that can give all grace and strength for us. He victoriously cries out, “It is finished,” and gives His spirit to the Father with a smiling face.

What are your doubts this morning? Whatever your soul struggles, challenges, or problems, if you see this sight with the eye of faith, such glory will shine from this, you will find a solution to all that by looking at Christ on the cross. You have come here, perhaps, with a backslidden, cold heart, doubting God’s love. Look to Christ upon the cross, and can you doubt it then? If God were not full of love and mercy, would He have given His Son to bleed and die like this? Do you think that a Father would rend His darling from His heart and nail Him to a tree, that He might suffer an ignominious death for our sakes, and yet be hard, merciless, and without pity? God forbid the impious thought! He who didn’t spare His son but gave Him, how will He not give all things? Doubt your mother’s, wives’, and children’s love, but not God’s love. There must be infinite love in the heart of God for you, or else there had never been a cross on Calvary.

But do you doubt God’s power to save? Are you saying to yourself this morning, “How can He forgive so great a sinner as I am?” Oh, look there, sinner, look there, to the great atonement made, to the utmost ransom paid. Do you think that that blood has not an efficacy to pardon and to justify? How dare you think or question the efficiency and power of Jesus’ blood? It can forgive all sins and all sinners. It has all power to enable God to vindicate His justice and yet have mercy upon sinners.

So do you see this inward, experimental seeing makes us think of Jesus more, know Christ more, believe in Him more, love Him more, and enjoy Him more? A constant practice of this conforms us to the image of Christ. Looking unto Jesus is that great means of grace appointed by God for our most especial good. How many souls have been blessed by using this means! Christ has communicated virtue to them by this means.

The soul’s intense view of Christ, His person, who He is—God and man—with all the fullness of the Godhead dwelling in Him, all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge in Him—He is the only source of infinite grace. For “there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” What has He done? His birth, life, death, resurrection, ascension, and intercession, His second coming. All are given to us so we can look intently and receive grace for our lives. He is “able to save them to the uttermost.” Then, to know He is all mine. I possess Him; He is my wealth. He is mine to enjoy, to draw virtue from Him for all my needs. It will make us most happy and joyful to look upon Him.

In fact, the Old Testament says that if a believer looks at God with such a look, he will be saved. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” “They looked unto Him, and were lightened, and their faces were not ashamed.” Second Corinthians 3:17: “We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” This is how it happens.

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2. The Sin of Neglecting This Command

Is your conscience and mine convinced of the great importance of this command? Unless we are convinced, we will just hear a nice sermon and then leave. If the Holy Spirit says this is a high command to run the race of faith, if this is the great Gospel art of the ages, if this is the grand duty of every Christian, do we realize how each of us has failed and neglected this duty? Instead of looking to this glorious treasure where we can find all we need for life, our minds and hearts are looking to vanity, filled with vanity. The main failure is always looking at ourselves. We can never run the race. The Lord’s regular rebuke to the Old Testament people was, “They have eyes, and see not. My people have forgotten me for days without number, and they don’t look to me.”

We have two or three basic problems in this exercise, all because of unbelief.

1. The first is mental laziness. It requires the mental exercise of looking. Oh, we hear a sermon, then our mind’s focus to look unto Christ, our faith and determination is so weak that, like an arrow shot from a weakly bent bow, it does not reach the mark. We try once or twice to look, but we are too mentally lazy to persevere, so we give up. Oh, may God deliver us from dull, lazy attempts in this important spiritual work! But this is not the case with worldly things. We focus, we look until it affects our hearts and emotions. You see in what generous, large streams your thoughts fly forth to other worldly things, and yet you are only languishing, weak, and feeble in this great spiritual work.
2. Second, we do not persevere in faith. This is a constant, abiding, persevering look until glory shines, until virtue flows. We don’t believe that if we persevere, our needs will be met in Christ. We may give a glance or two at Christ in feeble faith and don’t persevere. We don’t abide in this exercise.
3. It may be that now and then we are awakened by deep distress, and we look to Christ and are comforted, but we don’t make this a daily practice, not a daily exercising of this blessed duty. We have been invited by God to be His children, but we live like guests, going once in a while. How sad when children act as strangers at home.

All this we may call personal weakness, but this is sinful unbelief. How this shows the low, little value we give to Jesus in our thoughts and hearts! Ask yourself, “Why then are your thoughts no more upon Him? Why are not your hearts continually with Him?” Oh, He deserves maybe a serious thought once in a while when I have troubles. He doesn’t deserve such constant attention, the strongest desires, and looking unto Him.

God sees this as a great sin of unbelief. We always blame the Jews for treating Him so cheaply, for being so blind, but do we truly see? How are we treating Christ? Christ rebuked that generation for their unbelief, so He couldn’t do much. You talk of David; one greater than David is here. The queen of Sheba traveled from her nation to hear Solomon’s wisdom and said, “Blessed are those thy servants, that always stand before thee, and hear thy wisdom.” If she was so taken with Solomon, remember that “a greater than Solomon is here.” And shall we deprive ourselves of that blessedness, which we might enjoy by looking unto His wisdom daily by God-ordained means of faith?

Today, as we come to the Lord’s table, how does He tell us to come? He tells us, “Do this in remembrance of Me.” In a way, “Look to Me.” It is so difficult and strange for you to turn your heart because your hearts are magnetized to worldly things. Ah, vile hearts! How delightfully and unweariedly can we think of vanity! How freely and how frequently can we think of our pleasures, friends, worldly worries, and things, and how little value we give to Christ in all our thoughts! We should rebuke our own hearts for their willful strangeness to Christ!

The sin of neglecting this command is a great reason for all spiritual poverty in grace and a lack of spiritual progress. Christ is the soul’s light; without Him, life will be without light, full of darkness. There is no guidance or leading in life. If He is wisdom, there is no wisdom in life, no knowledge. Christ is the source of all grace, so without Him, life is graceless. He is the source of sanctification, so there is no inclination for holiness. He alone can satisfy the soul; without Him, the soul will feel emptiness and vanity. He is the Prince of Peace, so without Him, there is no peace.

If God has ordained graces to flow and progress in grace by looking, what do you think you are doing? You are not only not progressing but going backward. As we come to the table, pray, “Lord, turn our thoughts from all earthly vanities to look unto You, to habituate ourselves to such thinking. Let not those thoughts be rare, seldom, or superficial, but regularly, intently, abiding. Let us abide in these thoughts. Have our eyes continually set on Christ.”

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3. The Blessings of Obeying This Command

If we are lively in this duty, oh, the blessed incomes to such souls!

1. See this, our problem is that we are always looking at ourselves and others. Look at yourself and what do you see? A mass of accumulated massive weakness, emptiness, sin, and corruption. And then you look to others and you will see that which will often disappoint you, anger you, and discourage you. Look out into the world and you’ll despair, but looking unto Jesus, what will you see? There is a fullness of the Godhead to meet all your needs. When you stop looking at everything else and start intently living life looking unto Jesus, you realize that divine virtue and grace are flowing from Him to you to meet so many of your soul’s daily needs. You will find all fullness in Him. Christ gives grace upon grace. “Of his fullness we receive grace upon grace.” Imagine what fullness He has. As I said, you need patience, strength to overcome temptation, peace, and the blessed peace of conscience. It is the testimony of all souls who practice this to say, “Jesus is enough.” Complete satisfaction. Blessed assurance. Perfect submission. Delight. They that rightly look unto Jesus may say, as Jacob did, “I have enough.”
2. This is the secret of all transfiguration to the image of Christ. All we have been studying in Philippians—unity, working out salvation with fear and trembling, living without grumbling—what is Paul’s direction for all this? “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.” How will we get that mind? Look unto Jesus, how, though He was equal to God, He humbled Himself. See how He directs us to look at Christ. That look alone will transform your proud and grumbling heart and mine.
3. It is this looking that fills believers’ hearts with joy and their mouths with song, even in trials. This exercise makes Christ’s presence very real to them. They see Him loving and embracing their humble souls, bearing them in the bosom of His love. He comforts their wounded spirits with the promises of His word, and they rejoice. Filled with the Spirit, instead of always worrying and grumbling, they sing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs and make melody in their hearts unto the Lord, like the apostles even when they were in prison. This exercise enables us to enjoy Christ and taste of His goodness, making them joyful so they break out into psalms and hymns and spiritual songs. This is a joy the world never gave and never can take away.
4. As they grow in this exercise and joy, Christ gives them the sense of His own worth and excellency. They see now that in Christ is wisdom and treasure surpassing anything in the world. In Christ is power above all powers in the universe. In Christ is honor transcending all the kings of the earth, for He is “King of kings and Lord of lords.” In Christ is beauty excelling the greatest beauty; He is altogether beautiful; He is fairer than ten thousand, more precious than all the precious stones of the earth. That is why men like Moses, who experienced this through faith (Hebrews previous chapter 11 says “rather than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, for he looked to the reward. He esteemed the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt”).

Oh, if every man realizes this! Who would not look unto Jesus? Come, let the proud man boast in his honor, and the mighty man in his valor, and the rich man in his wealth, but let the Christian pronounce himself happy, only happy, truly happy, fully happy in looking unto Jesus. He enjoys everything in Jesus.

Those of you who are not saved, Scripture says, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth.” Just one look of faith in Jesus Christ, through the means of faith, and salvation and grace can flow to you. Will you look at Him in faith today?

Today, as we come to communion, these are means given to us. For what? Just to see bread and wine, drink, and go home? These are means given to our faith to look to Christ. That bread signifies and symbolizes the body in which He carried all our sins up to the cross and made them null. The wine in the cups signifies His violent death, His blood poured out as a sacrifice for sin. All to ratify a covenant. This is a symbol that Christ has given Himself, all His fullness, for us. This is a sign of a sure and certain covenant in all of its provisions for all of those for whom that covenant was made. May God help us to look at Him afresh and keep the eyes of our souls fixed upon Him.

Death is so unnatural to us, so confusing, so unsettling. It is not easy to handle. When we face the death of loved ones, we do not even know how to react or what to say. When I heard of the death of Brother Vasudevan, everything stopped for a moment. It is a shocking and strange experience.

Different cultures react differently. Worldly people, who want everything to be a celebration, make loud noises, dance, and drink to manage the shock, to suppress their conscience, and to suppress important questions of life. They fill their minds with rituals at this time. We can give some answers to everything in life, but when we face death, we do not have answers until we open God’s Word.

It is at such times that the light of the Bible shines very brightly. Firstly, the Bible makes us realize our unnatural, confusing, and strange feelings are correct. That is the right way to react to death, because when the Lord made the world, the experience of death was not a natural design of his creation. He made the world very good; death—the unnatural separation of body and soul—is completely against his original creation. That is why we feel such conflict inside us. The small letter we take so lightly, sin, is what brought this death. The wages of sin is death.

Death is a divinely appointed punishment for mankind’s disobedience. The separation of body and soul is unnatural and, therefore, is only a temporary state until the second coming of Christ, when all who are in the grave will hear his voice and come out, and their body and soul will be reunited forever.

I have known Vasudevan for close to eight years; he was a member of our church, a godly man, and a very, very faithful member. I want to praise God for the grace that we saw in this elderly brother. He would sit in the front chair and enjoy the exposition of truth for close to an hour. After the service, he would always come and encourage me, telling me he had never heard such truth in his life, and how it touched his heart and did something to him. He would not just talk to me; he would talk to my shy children. He would tell John, “You should be an Indian cricketer.” He would call my daughter, “Dr. Jerusha.” He would encourage my wife for supporting me in ministry. If I allowed our church members to speak, most would come and say how they were encouraged and inspired by his life. His simply coming to church in his old age, with all his pain, was a great service and ministry he did for our church. He never complained, grumbled, or shared any of his pains with us but greeted and encouraged everyone with his childlike smile.

In his last few months, whenever he was feeling a little okay and could walk, he would want to come to church. When he fell sick and was admitted, he would say, “I want to get well so I can go to church; I want to come to church. I’m missing it.” The last time I met him, his legs were painful with infection; it was very, very difficult for him. I was wondering what words of comfort I could tell him. In fact, I was discouraged when I saw him, but after he spoke to me for a few hours, I was so encouraged. I did not feel like leaving him; I wanted to continue talking. He kept telling me about Bible truths, saying, “You said that in Matthew, Ephesians, Leviticus, and Psalms,” and about Bible stories like Job. One thing he kept repeating was, “I am ready. I am ready. I am waiting for the Lord to come and take me. I am ready.”

It is easy to talk about faith and being faithful until the end when you are young and in good health, but when your body becomes weak and full of all kinds of pains, it is so difficult to hold on to faith. But Vasudevan was faithful until the end, kept his faith, and fought a good fight. Ours is a young church; we want to thank God today that he brought a marvelous, elderly man of faith to us and displayed such grace among us. Even in his old age with so much pain, his faith stood strong. His faith shined even in the midst of terrible physical suffering.

Today, I want to share two crucial Bible lessons we can learn from Vasudevan’s life.

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Lesson One: Death is an Inescapable Certainty

We may generally know this, but according to the Bible, if we want to live a meaningful and wise life (Psalm 90:12), we should live with this consciousness. We saw our brother fall sick and be admitted repeatedly, and sometimes we thought it would be difficult for him to make it, but he repeatedly escaped death and came out miraculously. Even last week, he could not get up, but his daughter said he started walking. But he finally passed away last week. Why? Hebrews 9:27 says, “It is appointed for man once to die.” A divine appointment has been made in God’s calendar.

How did he make this appointment? Not like a dentist appointment we make, where the doctor and we discuss a convenient date and time and fix an appointment. That is a bilateral appointment. But God, unilaterally by himself, has fixed a death appointment for every man and woman in this world.

Firstly, I want to give comfort to the family and church people not to trouble yourselves, saying, “Oh, if we would have taken him there, if we had done this or that.” Beyond all our efforts, death happens by divine appointment.

Secondly, we should all learn to live with the consciousness that death is an inescapable certainty. The wise man, Solomon, says that it is this consciousness that makes us live wisely. James even says your life is just a vapor, like the smoke that comes when you boil water. That is how the Bible wants us to view our lives. To make it personal, you should learn to look in the mirror sometimes and say this unpleasant thing to yourself: “One day you will die. Your heart will stop beating.” So the first lesson is the certainty of death. The appointment is fixed.

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Lesson Two: We Must Be Ready

The second lesson is that since this appointment is certain, and we do not know the appointment date—it can happen when we are old, or when we are young or middle-aged—no one knows the time. If that is the case, the wisest thing you can do is to be ready at any time. In Luke 16, through a parable, our Lord says that he who does not think about death and does not prepare for his death is a fool. Brother Vasudevan repeatedly kept telling us, “I am ready. I am waiting for my Lord to come and take me. I am ready.” How many of you can say you are ready? I have seen many, many old people die; they all died as if they were sheep forcefully dragged to slaughter. But he was ready.

How could he say he was ready? Two things made him ready:

• He believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he repented for his sins and turned to God.
• This faith gave him the assurance of eternal life and knowledge of what would happen after death.

Only these two things can make any man ready for death.

First—faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and repentance towards God. Many years ago, he heard the gospel. The gospel taught him that there is one living God who created and provides for him and who is a holy and just God. Then he realized he was a fallen sinner, that he had broken God’s laws, and that he had so much covetousness, envy, lust, and anger. And he knew that this God would judge him one day. He realized the good news is that this God has sent his only begotten Son as an atoning sacrifice for his sins. Christ took his sins upon him on the cross and died, and he lived a righteous life that he could never live. He died for his sins and lived to make him righteous before God. So he heard the gospel, believed Christ, repented for his sins, and was saved. As the Bible promises: “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be saved.”

Second—this faith gave him the assurance of eternal life and knowledge of what will happen after death. Because John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” So, because he believed, he received eternal life. This gift wonderfully takes away the fear of death by giving a clear, true knowledge of what happens after death.

The Westminster Shorter Catechism Question 37 asks, “What benefits do believers receive from Christ at death?” It lists three blessings:

1. The souls of believers are at their death made perfect in holiness.
2. And they do immediately pass into glory.
3. And their bodies, being still united to Christ, rest in their graves until the resurrection.

The catechism says three things: what happens to our souls, where our souls go, and what happens to our body. We believe that Vasudevan, as soon as he left this world, had his soul made perfect in holiness—a glorious, blessed state. Not only is he without sin, but his spirit has become so perfect, reflecting God’s holy law and reflecting Jesus Christ. Imagine “perfect” means no more growth is needed; he has reached the height of holiness. Holiness is the essence of all happiness. Heaven is happy because they are holy. So he is in a perfectly happy and holy state.

Secondly, you know this perfect holiness is preparation for him to go to a glorious place. Where do our souls go? Our souls immediately pass into glory. Because the purity of the heavenly glory admits no sin or imperfection, he is made perfectly holy so he can immediately pass into glory. Glory, yes, it will be a wonderful place. Revelation 21 says, “And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”

But more than the absence of negative things, there are blessed positive things. In his perfect state, he will be able to stand before God with joy. No one was able to stand here; John and Isaiah fell like dead men. Jude 24 says, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy.” He will see God face to face. Our forefathers called it the beatific vision. The very essence of happiness for us, created in his image, is the enjoyment of God. Psalm 16:7 says, “In Your presence is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.” God is an infinite, inexhaustible fountain of joy, and to have him is to have all.

We shall corporally behold the glorified body of Jesus Christ. I often say, “He did so much, and yet I have not seen his face,” but then we will see it. Then he will be with the glorious family of angels and all the saints. So what happens to his soul? Perfected holiness, and it immediately passes to glory.

Third, what happens to their bodies? “Their bodies, being still united to Christ, rest in their graves until the resurrection.” We see his body here, but Christ not only redeemed our soul but even our body. He united our body to himself; it is a member of his body. His body will rest until the resurrection. The last time I met him, he was saying, “I cannot sleep because of the pain. I cannot rest.” Now, this body will rest painlessly until the resurrection. Although we will bury it, we are actually sowing it as a seed. This same body will rise with a glorious, deathless resurrection body and be united to a sinless soul at the second coming of Christ. Then he will experience the full blessing of eternal life in the new heavens and new earth.

We can have full comfort not just because our dear one’s soul went to heaven to live forever. We do not weep because our loved ones have gone to heaven; it is a joy. But we weep because their body will go into the grave—because those eyes can no longer smile at us, because those hands cannot touch us with love, and because those lips cannot speak, as the body is cold and dead and will be buried in the dust.

But the whole Christian burial service is meant to give us comfort in the promised resurrection for the body. The comfort of the Christian faith is that the very body we bury in the grave will rise again; you shall see that body once more. First Corinthians 15 uses the example of a seed and says this body is sown in the grave as a small seed, but what grows is a big tree from that seed. In the same way, this body will rise with a glorious, deathless body. Paul says in 15:42-43: “The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.”

See that this should give us hope. “He is not dead, but sleepeth.” We are not burying him permanently; we are sowing him, like a “seed sown to ripen at harvest time.” This body is buried for a glorious metamorphosis, to be prepared to live in glory in the presence of God.

The writer to the Hebrews says all the Old Testament saints, including Abraham, believed in the resurrection of the dead. The Bible says that is why he had the faith to sacrifice his son. Joseph believed, and that is why he carefully told his people not to bury his bones in Egypt but to take them and bury them in the promised land. Moses, David, and even old Job endured many things, believing that thereby they would “attain to a better resurrection.” How much more should we have that resurrection hope?

Do you know that angels will guard his body? The Book of Jude says that Michael the Archangel contended with the devil about the body of Moses. Why were two big archangels and the devil contending? Was this war only for the food of worms? The body of Moses was watched over by a great archangel. From this, we learn that an angel watches over every tomb. We may bury it, but God will guard every atom of his body. Whatever metamorphosis it may go through, God will gather it and raise him from the dead with more glory to dwell forever with the Lord. This body is buried for a glorious metamorphosis, to be prepared to live in glory in the presence of God.

So death is an inescapable certainty, and we do not know the time, so we have to be ready. The only way to be ready, as Vasudevan’s life taught us, is to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and to repent of your sins and turn to God. This faith gave him the assurance of eternal life and knowledge of what would happen after death. May those of you who have not believed in the Lord Jesus Christ believe him today and experience the blessing of eternal life.

Therefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.

The entirety of Ephesians chapter 1 can be divided into two sections: Praise and Petition. The first fourteen verses are Paul’s praise for grand salvation blessings. Verse fifteen onward to the end of the chapter is a petition. After seeing the glorious praise of Paul, we enter his earnest, unceasing petition. What is his prayer? Verse 17: for the gift of the Spirit of Wisdom and Revelation. Second, the sphere or extent in which this gift is to be given is “in the knowledge of Him.” Third, the manner in which this gift is operative is described in verse 18: “the eyes of your understanding/heart being enlightened; that you may know.” The second part of verse 19, which translates to “I pray that He would give you enlightened eyes of the heart so that you may know,” further emphasizes this.

God has given us objective revelation in His Word, and it is a perfect, sufficient, and complete revelation. Although we are saved, we still have remaining sin within us, which produces a dullness and dimness of spiritual vision. Remaining sin creates an effect like a cataract across the spiritual eye, so we don’t see things clearly. Therefore, we need the spirit of revelation and wisdom to enlighten and illuminate us. The Holy Spirit takes the objective revelation of God’s Word, makes it real, and gives us a true sense of the superlative excellence of divine things.

I tried to emphasize the great importance of this petition for illumination so that Paul’s prayer becomes our regular prayer. This enlightening work of the Spirit saves us from a subtle, false Christian experience. Secondly, this enlightenment is the primary means for all Christian growth and fruitfulness. Thirdly, we saw a few desirable blessings of this enlightenment—things like the highest education, highest joy, and peace. A taste of divine pleasure weans us from the addictive pleasures of the world, empowers us to mortify our lusts, and transforms our soul.

This enlightening, illuminating work of the Spirit is progressive. It’s not like we pray, and boom 💥, one day the Holy Spirit fully opens our eyes, and we can see everything clearly all at once. No, it is a process; it develops and expands. That is why we see this prayer repeated again and again, as we do in Psalm 119. As we study the Word of God or listen to preaching, we must cultivate an attitude of constant dependence on the Holy Spirit and continually cry out to God that He would enlighten our eyes.

We saw that Paul prays that our eyes should be enlightened to see what? While we will be able to see many divine things, verse 18 onward shows that Paul specifically prays that we know three things by the Spirit’s illumination.

1. The hope of His calling.
2. The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints.
3. The exceeding greatness of His power.

If you want head theology, I can cover all this in one week. But we want to dig into Ephesians until we find gold, until we are illuminated and get a transforming sense of these realities. So we will thoroughly meditate on each of these in the coming weeks.

Today, we will see the first thing that God, through Paul, wants us to know with enlightened eyes: the hope of His calling.

The Calling of God

There are five headings for this topic:

• Nature of the calling
• Author of the calling
• Origin of the calling
• Hope of the calling
• Means of the calling

Nature of the Calling

When Paul prays that the Ephesians might know “what is the hope of His calling,” we must first understand what the calling is. When you look at the biblical meaning of the word “calling,” the Bible speaks about two kinds of calling: the general call and the effectual call of the gospel.

The general gospel call goes forth to all people in the world, offering salvation blessings and commanding them to repent and believe the gospel. It is an open, universal call, extended indiscriminately, without restriction or qualification. We can refer to many verses in the Old Testament prophecies and the gospels: all the verses that say “whosoever believes,” “whosoever comes,” “whoever thirsts,” and “all who believe will receive mercy, forgiveness, salvation, eternal life.” John 3:16 and Romans 10:13, which says, “For, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved,'” are examples. Mark 16:15 says, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” This is the general, universal gospel call.

This call emphasizes invitation. It’s like when someone invites us to a grand feast. They call us with a nice invitation card. In our culture, close relatives will call us with a plateful of fruits, sweets, clothes, and even betel leaf and areca nuts. They say, “Betel leaf and areca nuts are here to invite you!” For what? For a grand marriage feast or a housewarming feast. In the same way, God calls sinners through the gospel to come to Christ and enjoy His salvation feast. That is why in Matthew, this call is compared to a grand marriage feast invitation, and He promises infinite blessings, from forgiveness and cleansing to eternal life.

Now, this general call can be ignored and rejected. Remember how many rejected the marriage feast invitation, giving lame excuses like, “I have bought a cow,” “I have a field,” or “I just got married.” But it goes to everyone, so this call on one side shows the magnitude of the grace of God, which is freely extended to all people, and on the other side, it shows the responsibility of people if they reject this call. John 3:36 declares, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life, but he that believeth not the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides upon him.” If this was the only call God gave to dead sinners, no one would be saved. Praise God.

There is a second kind of call, and it is the effectual call of God. It is a powerful, efficacious call that always accomplishes its purpose. It is so powerful that it cannot be resisted by the person being called; that’s why it is also called irresistible grace. It is an internal, powerful, heavenly call of God that goes out with power to break impossible hindrances and brings men and women into the blessings of the Gospel. It goes beyond an invitation; it has the emphasis of a summons. I may invite someone to a place, and they may either ignore it or respond to it. But when I send a legal summons from the High Court, they must come. They will come. An effectual call is such a call that it will ensure that whoever receives it will come. That is the difference between a mere invitation and a summons.

Which call is Paul talking about here? Interestingly, you will find the general gospel call mostly in the gospels, but not in the epistles. Almost all words used for “call” in the epistles refer to the effectual call. So much so that the verb is changed to a noun, and believers are known as “the called” or “the called ones,” referring to the successful call of God.

The clearest example of this effectual call is Romans 8:30: “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” Many heard the gospel in Ephesus, but many rejected it. However, it was this effectual call that brought a few in Ephesus to faith and repentance, which resulted in their justification. “Whom He called, He justified.” So when Paul says you have to understand the hope of “His” calling, the nature of this call is the powerful, efficacious call of God that brought them out of the darkness of Ephesian pagan idolatry to the light of truth, and from bondage to Satan and sin to freedom in Christ. So we see the nature of the call.

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Author of the Calling

Do you see the small pronoun in verse 18? Whose call is this? It’s “the hope of His calling,” not “your” calling. Oh, what an illuminating door opens when we grasp such small words in the Bible. When you realize who has called you, this call will appear so glorious. Who does “His” refer to? The closest proper noun goes back to the previous verse, verse 17: “the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory.” It is the living God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing. He is the author of this calling.

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If you want to grasp the glory of this calling, whenever we think of a calling, we should never look at outward circumstances or inward causes, but upward to Him. It is a heavenly calling. That’s the pervasive emphasis of the New Testament. 1 Corinthians 1:9 says, “But God is faithful by whom ye were called into the fellowship of His Son.”

This is the hope that Paul prays our eyes may be enlightened to see. Oh, see the nature of the call. Not a general call, but an effectual call. That call has all the power to accomplish its goals. Secondly, see the author of the call. This is the Father of Glory; all His attributes are reflected in the glory of His call. He is an immutable God; His calling never changes. The immutability of His call means He doesn’t call someone and leave them halfway or change His mind. Whatever He called you for, He will ensure He accomplishes it. Romans 11:29 says, “For the gifts and the callings of God are without repentance.” His whole character is staked in His call. All who are called will be justified, and all who are justified will be glorified. So we see the nature of the call and the author of the call.

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Origin of the Calling

What is the origin or source of this call? Again, from Romans 8:30: “Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called.” Oh, the origin of this call didn’t start in time, but goes back to the eons of eternity to the electing love and sovereign purpose of God. God’s plan of predestination is a great plan done outside of time and space. Nothing of space and time can ever alter a single millimeter of that great plan. There, He predestined us to adoption, and this calling is an effect of that plan. Calling is always traced back to eternal election, love, and predestination. You can dread 2 Timothy 1:9 and 2 Thessalonians 2:13.

Look at the golden chain, the unbreakable golden chain. It started with eternal predestination, which resulted in God calling out of millions of people. It doesn’t stop with the calling; the chain continues. Notice the middle of Romans 8:30: “whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified.” This is the unbreakable framework of His calling. The calling never comes in isolation. The effectual call has an eternal past story of electing love, predestination, and redemption, and then a future of glorification. This golden chain goes back from past eternity to future eternity, and in between, God is calling a people and keeping them by His power and grace until He glorifies them.

I hope the Holy Spirit enlightens our heart’s eyes to start seeing the hope of this calling. When I understand the nature of this call, the author of this call, and the origin of this call, I am prepared to understand the hope of this call. The nature of this call is not a general call. Why did the gospel have no effect on so many who heard it, but it had such a life-changing impact on me? Because it was an effectual call. That call has all the power to accomplish all its glorious goals. Secondly, see the author of the call. This is the Father of Glory, and all His attributes are reflected in the glory of His call. He is an immutable God; His calling never changes. The immutability of His call means this is an eternal, sovereign, omnipotent, gracious, and merciful call. See the origin of the call. It began in predestination and will infallibly accomplish its goal of glorification.

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Hope of the Calling

The word hope is a most important truth in the New Testament. Next to faith and love, hope is set forth as being of equal importance as one of the three dominant graces of the Christian life. The trinity of Christian graces is faith, hope, and love. The classic statement is in 1 Corinthians 13: “Now abideth faith, hope, and love.” We will look in-depth at the concept of hope next week, along with the practical results of having true biblical hope. Just to introduce you today, we will get a full grasp of the phrase “hope of his calling.”

Paul says this calling gave us hope. Here is a simple example: when someone calls you to a special, grand feast at, say, the Leela Palace, what does it do? Well, it creates a certain hope inside of you, doesn’t it? As you travel and go to the function hall, there’s going to be a special, lavish feast waiting for you. It creates a hope that you will enjoy the pleasure of good-tasting food. Marriage food is so special in our culture. When we are conscious of our weight, we might even fast from morning so we can have a nice, big portion at dinner and be “stuffed to the gills” or “fit to burst.” That hope of calling makes you do that.

In the same way, God calls a person, and it creates hope in that person. The hope that the effectual call of God produces is the confidence that the God who called, forgave, and justified us with great, infinite power will continue to exercise the same infinite power until He fully glorifies me. It is the hope that I will enjoy the full and complete redemptive feast of God in eternity. It is that burning hope that drives our Christian life.

You see, when someone calls you to a great, grand dinner, you start to get prepared. You cancel other meetings for that day, select your best special dress or even buy a new one, dress up nicely, and start the journey to the function. Even a long journey is fine. What makes you do all that? Primarily, it’s respect for the person who called, but we also have hope that when we get there, a grand dinner is waiting for us.

In the same way, the effectual call of God does marvelous things now. It presently raises us from the dead, gives us new birth, forgives all our sins, justifies us, and gives us peace and joy. But all that is just a foretaste or a starter for the full blessing He has promised. The effectual call invitation promises the fullness of the eternal grand feast and full salvation. We came to Christ with that hope of the calling. That calling promised something. When God called us, He promised, “I’m calling you to heaven. I’m calling you to glory.” And that created a hope in us that we will experience those things. So we started the journey of Christian life with the hope of that calling, and we are in the process of traveling to that eternal feast of the full experience and enjoyment of what that call promised.

Now, we have not yet experienced all our redemption blessings. We are, as it were, on our way to the heavenly feast. We have started moving on the narrow street leading to heaven. You know what keeps us going? Sometimes, when we just go to the street where a big marriage function is being held, we start smelling the biryani flavors and spices. In the same way, on our road to heaven, we have only smelled the feast; we just had a vaporous foretaste. The more we progress, the more we smell the feast. It creates a fervent yearning and expectation of the full feast. “When will I eat the full biryani?” We can strongly smell the odor of the biryani coming from the window of heaven once in a while. If the smell is like that, what will the fullness be?

If you need my definition of hope, it is a fervent yearning and expectation of the full feast of heaven. It is a biblical definition. I will prove it next week. If now, when our assurance is high, so much joy sometimes overwhelms us, and peace like a river is beyond understanding—so much so that we feel God’s smile, presence, and pleasures—we feel like heaven on earth. All this is just the vaporous foretaste odor coming from the window of heaven. If this is so wonderful, oh, what will it be to sit down at the table with Christ and enjoy the full experience of all that that call promised when it was issued? We have not yet experienced that, but we have hope we will. Because He issued the call, we know that there is a table spread for us at the end of the road. That’s the hope of the calling.

I have explained this hope with the marriage feast example. Let me now demonstrate it from the Scriptures.

2 Timothy 1:9–10: “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, that is, He didn’t summon us to Himself because we were good people… but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began, but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.”

What is the hope of the calling? For those who believe in God, the power and sting of death will be abolished, and eternal life and immortality will be our personal experience. That’s what we hope for. We came with that hope. Our dear brother Vasudevan lived with that hope until the end, and we can be sure on the basis of the infallible Word of God that God, who never lies, will ensure he experiences eternal life and immortality.

For him and for us, we know death will be abolished. Our souls will go to heaven at death, and at the Second Coming, we will rise with deathless bodies and sinless souls. All the effects of death will be undone. We will not be judged for any of our sins. In our next communion week, we will study how we will receive immortality, eternal glory, and an eternal inheritance. We will be welcomed with open arms and brought into eternal glory.

Let’s see what else was the hope of our calling: Hebrews 9:15. I just want you to see these verses; we can dig deeper next week. “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” Wow! Jesus Christ, by His death, purchased redemption for our transgressions and became the Mediator of the new covenant for what? So that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. The mighty and able Mediator who is able to save us to the utmost… The primary work of this Mediator is staked on the fact that we should receive our eternal inheritance. The hope of the calling is that we will receive the eternal inheritance.

Let’s turn to 1 Peter 5:10: “But the God of all grace, who has called us… and what has He called us to? He has called us unto His eternal glory by Christ Jesus.” Have we experienced eternal glory yet? No. What did our brother Vasudevan experience when he was with us? Nothing. What are we experiencing? Notice what comes next: “after that you have suffered a while, make you perfect, establish, strengthen, settle you.”

We are called to eternal glory; but on the way to our destination, we are experiencing suffering. Peter says that God will use all that suffering to perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. But we will ultimately experience that eternal glory, and that is the hope of our calling.

The final verse is Revelation 17:14. “And these shall make war with the Lamb.” Well, who is going to make war with the Lamb? The beast, Satan, and all forces of evil. The forces of evil will make war with the Lamb. “And the Lamb shall overcome them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings. And they also shall overcome that are with Him.” How does he describe them? What’s the first word he gives? “Called, chosen, and faithful.”

Here, the hope of our calling is that one day the Lord of lords and King of kings will triumph over evil, and we will be on the Lamb’s side and share his victory. Now we are delivered from the penalty of sin and the dominion of sin, but when he comes, we will be delivered from the presence and all the effects of sin. That is the hope of our calling.

Just a few verses about our hope: We could go on talking about our hope until the cows come home. Very briefly, the hope of our calling is death abolished. We will experience immortality, as it says in 2 Timothy. Hebrews 9 says we will experience an eternal inheritance. 1 Peter says we will experience eternal glory, after a little suffering now. Revelation 17 says we will overcome with the Lamb all powers of evil.

Do you see what a glorious call this is? The nature of the calling, the author of the calling, the origin of the calling, the hope of the calling.

Finally, what is the practical means by which this glorious, effectual call comes? The means of the calling.

Those of you who sleep through sermons and who think we are talking nonsense week after week, children who are forced to come and endure this hour, biting your teeth—you should hear this. What is the means by which this calling comes? 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 says, “But we are bound to give thanks to God always for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God from the beginning chose you for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth, to which He called you by our gospel, for the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

How does this mighty call of God come? It comes through hearing the gospel. Paul calls it “our gospel,” not one of the 101 false gospels in the world. It is the full apostolic gospel revealed in the scriptures. You can get all kinds of false prosperity gospel calls that don’t have any of these effects. This call always and only comes when you are hearing the true gospel revealed and explained to you.

This call doesn’t come when you climb Mount Everest or the Himalayas or go on all the pilgrimages in the world. No. This call comes when weak men like me are trying to explain the Bible, and you sit and listen to it with open hearts. In the midst of the man’s voice, in the midst of the general outward call, this heavenly calling comes not just to your ears, but you can hear in your heart and know the God of heaven has called you today.

Yes, this always comes through the outward call, the general call, but within that general outward call, there is an inward call in which God not only addresses the ears, he also speaks to the heart, and they hear the heavenly voice of God calling them. This is why Jesus says in John 6:44, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.” 2 Timothy calls this a “heavenly calling.”

Here’s a beautiful example: In Acts 16, when Paul went to Philippi, he went to a riverside, where some women were praying. Paul began to preach the gospel. Verse 14 says, “Now a certain woman named Lydia heard us. She was a seller of purple from the city of Thyatira, who worshiped God. The Lord opened her heart to heed the things spoken by Paul. And when she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, ‘If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.’ So she persuaded us.”

You see, we have here the general call. All the women there heard Paul. Lydia also heard. But what was the difference? She not only heard him with the external, general call falling upon her ear, but we also see here that the Lord opened her heart. And as a result of the inward call, that inward working of God, she heeded the things which were spoken by Paul. Maybe none of the other women responded, but this woman did.

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Application

Exhortation to believers, a warning to nominal Christians, and encouragement to unbelievers.

To Believers

If God has given us these resources, the most worthy thoughts and petitions that should dominate our hearts and minds are not these low-level, worldly, sinful, and selfish thoughts. God has given us such a high calling; we need to set our minds on high things. What better thing than to pray with Paul for a spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God to enlighten the eyes of our heart so that we may know the hope of his calling?

How we struggle without this! Sometimes we wonder if we’re ever going to make it to heaven, filled with all kinds of doubts. That is when we lose our assurance, joy, and peace. We lose our motivation to live the Christian life and fall into temptations and a worldly mindset. See the glory of this call.

Realize the nature of this call: it is an effectual call. With that summons comes all of the power, all of the protection, and all of the resources that are necessary to ultimately deliver us into the very presence and wedding feast of Jesus Christ, where we may experience all that that call promised.

Realize the author of the call. The call of the immutable God never changes. By his powerful, effectual call, a person is absolutely ensured that one day he shall sit down at the table in heaven with Christ and enjoy eternal bliss.

Remember the origin of this call: he predestined us outside of time and outside of space. Nothing of time and space can change this call. When you and I think of our calling when we heard the gospel, we should learn to see it as a glorious effect of the eternal cause of election and predestination, and then it has a glorious future chain of glorification. From eternity to eternity, and in between, God is calling a people and keeping them by his grace. What a hope! It cannot be frustrated. Almighty God designed it in eternity, and he shall realize it in the world to come.

May the eyes of our heart be enlightened that we may know what is the hope of his calling, that we might rejoice in that hope and know that ultimately, regardless of the suffering we go through now, regardless of the problems that we face, there will come a day when we will sit at the table with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and we shall be filled to the full with redemptive blessings in his presence. May God inflame our hearts with that hope and use it to help us to face the difficult times in this life.

Between the call and the ultimate experience of all the full blessings of the call, we have hope. Hope that will sustain us through all of the stumblings, through all of the stair steps, through all of the molding, windings, and washings that must take place before we get to the table.

We will see next week what marvelous practical effect this hope can have in our life if that hope is burning in our hearts. This is the foundation for our growth and fruitfulness in the Christian life. Let us pray to God that we may grow in this hope, to be strong, to be inflamed, and to be full and steadfast.

Nominal Believers

See the nature of this call: it is effectual and efficacious. This means that when anyone hears the gospel and claims to be saved, it produces results. You become a new creature, old things pass away, and new desires grow. It showed itself in acts of faith and love for the Ephesians. If your faith doesn’t produce any growing results of holiness in your life, it is not an effectual call. Each of us has a great duty to “make your calling and your election sure.” Make sure… “Am I effectually called by God? What results can I say are a result of that calling?”

2 Thessalonians 2:13 says Paul speaks of belief in the truth and the sanctifying power of the Spirit. You say you believe the truth; there needs to be an experiencing of the sanctifying power of the truth. And if you’re not experiencing the sanctifying power of the gospel, don’t talk about believing the truth. God’s effectual call doesn’t stop with the head knowledge of truth; it effectually brings changes and results in your life.

You have to examine yourself and ask yourself: “Have I been called?” I’m not asking you, “Have you made a decision for Christ, raised your hand, had the pastor lay hands on you and pray for you, and say you are saved?” The effectual call produces continuous effects of salvation. That’s why most of the salvation effects are given in the present continuous tense. “He that believeth, continues to believe; he that cometh.” John 3:16, that great gospel text, does not say, “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever makes an act of faith.” No, no, it’s “whosoever believeth.” It’s in the present tense in your English Bible and in the Greek.

“Whosoever believeth,” continuously relies and trusts in the Lord Jesus Christ, and continues in that state, “he shall not perish.” I’m asking you, has Almighty God called you?

You may say, “I never thought of it that way.” That’s the biblical way of thinking about salvation. Paul describes his salvation as, “God called me by grace,” not “I did this, I, I, I, I, I.” Have you been called through the gospel? This is a gospel that always comes in a context of showing the truth about sin.

Has the truth of your sin really gripped you? Have you seen yourself as the worst sinner in the mirror of God’s 10 commandments? While you may decently cheat people on the outside, have you realized that God sees your heart’s lusting, your heart’s murder, your heart’s robbery of covetousness? That you have offended a holy God? You deserve to be crushed by the wrath and anger of that God. Has that gripped you until you have inwardly trembled at the thought of your sin?

The gospel becomes glorious good news only when you have felt and realized the bad news of your sin. Only when you have felt the pain of sin and the ugliness of sin are your eyes opened to see the beauty of Christ. The gospel shows that Christ and his work on the cross are the only hope for sinners to be brought to God in a way consistent with all of his glorious attributes. Has the gospel become good news?

How about you kids? Every time you punch or hit your brother or sister and lied to mommy and daddy, that’s enough sin to cause God to crush you and send you to hell, even though you may not be ten years old. Has that really gripped you kids? Have you felt guilty, and when praying, you said, “Oh God, forgive my sins.” Do you kids know what that is? Oh, that is how the call of God starts.

So if you realize you have not been called, I plead with you in Christ’s name, “Come to the feast; it’s spread. Come. Come to the Savior. Cry to him for mercy.”

Encouragement to Unbelievers

We have children who tell us, “I have been praying for God to save me. Sometimes I feel, ‘Oh yes, I am a Christian now, I’ve become serious,’ then I drift away in two days. What do I do, Pastor?” The truth of the effectual call must be a big encouragement for you to believe and pray to God to save you.

Pray to God that he may effectually call you and save you, because unless he does that, you will not come. You will be sitting in your sins, indifferent and careless, half asleep. But when this call comes, you will not just hear the preacher’s voice in your ears, but God’s voice in your heart. For some, it happens in a very gradual way. For some, it is very sudden. For some, it happens in a way in which all the inward bells and sirens go off at full pitch. For some, it’s just a whispering.

What happens? The gospel begins to take hold of the mind. They begin to think seriously about God and his law and sin and heaven and hell. And the great facts of the gospel. All of a sudden, your eyes will be opened to see the utter need, beauty, and glory of Christ. Then you repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. You experience the joy of forgiveness, a thrill you have never experienced in all the world, peace like a river flows in your heart, and you become a child of God, a true, saved Christian! How glorious!

All this can happen when you attentively hear the gospel. Because this call comes through the gospel, pray every week, “God, I am going to make my best efforts to hear your truth; please call me today, please call me today. May I hear your voice.”

Today, I am preaching the gospel to you. May God call you today through this gospel preaching. Oh, my friend, lay hold of Christ. Cast yourself upon him. Turn from your sin and from your unbelief.

Let us pray that God will not only help us understand the doctrine of effectual calling, but also show us in our church by his power what effectual calling can do for some unsaved people among us.

Therefore, I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in my prayers: that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power.

A woman wrote to her pastor, saying, “I have a daughter and she is still not saved. I pray for her, but often I can’t. She is sliding down the prodigal son path. I suppose that I’m angry. After hearing the Gospel for many years, she isn’t responding and I feel incapable of helping her. Sometimes, I feel like giving up. At times I feel such sorrow, thinking she might go to hell. What can I pray for on a daily basis so that she will come to Christ?”

That is the cry of many Christian parents, and it must be hard not to get angry when you see your children repeatedly showing no interest in the Gospel and making bad choices. We keep praying, sharing the Gospel, and nothing seems to be happening. It finally becomes overwhelming. What do you do then? Some of us may not have prodigal children, but some have prodigal husbands, wives, parents, or relatives who are rejecting the Gospel. Moreover, we also have prodigal believers—though saved, they are not growing, are backslidden, and are losing their first love. They are busy in the world and have no time for God, church, or the Gospel. If we were to ask them what progress they have made in the last 5 or 10 years, they couldn’t say anything. What do we do? Today, we come to a marvelous prayer of Paul that tells us what their problem is and how to pray, not only for them but even for ourselves.

There has been a gap of three weeks since we looked at Ephesians, which seems like a long gap. After presenting a panoramic view of the amazing salvation blessings from verses 3-14, for which we used the acronym EPRAIS as a memory aid, Paul moves to pray for us. These are infinitely glorious and tremendous blessings—deep things of God that no human mind can fully grasp. So, after listing them, Paul prays that the Holy Spirit may enlighten us to grasp these truths.

In verse 15, we began to see two things about this prayer:

1. What is his prayer? In verse 17, it is for the gift of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation.
2. What is the sphere or extent in which the gift is to be given? It is in the knowledge of Him.
3. What is the manner in which this gift is operative? In verse 18, it is the eyes of your understanding being enlightened, so that you may know.

Today, we will see the operation of this gift in three parts.

1. In verse 18, “the eyes of your understanding/heart being enlightened.”
2. That you may know three things.
3. Why should they, or we, know these three things? Okay, so your eyes should be enlightened. Why? So they should know three things. Why should they know these three things? It’s simple.

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The Eyes of Your Heart Being Enlightened

The gift of the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God will enlighten the eyes of our heart. This enlightening of the eyes is a prerequisite to knowing these three things. So, let’s understand what “enlightening of the eyes of the heart” means. You can read the phrase in two seconds, but it implies several deep truths of the Bible. What does “heart” mean? Does our heart have eyes? Let’s first understand the word “heart.”

When we take a word from the Bible, we should not assume our own 21st-century meaning. For us today, the heart is primarily about emotional life. We use a heart emoji to show we liked a message or were touched by something; it’s mostly related to emotion. The biblical word for heart is far broader.

Amazingly, when you do a word study, you find the Bible uses “heart” for a person’s mental intellect. For example, in Isaiah 6:10, God says to “make the heart of this people fat, lest they see with their eyes, hear with their ears, and understand with their heart.” Here, it refers to mental intellect. The heart is also used for conscience. We see in some places that David’s heart “smote” him or was “pricked” because he did something. It is also used for volitional will. Acts 11:23 says the apostles exhorted the young believers that “with purpose of heart, they should cleave unto the Lord.” Then, as we use it today, it can refer to emotional life.

So, when Paul wrote, “having had the eyes of the heart enlightened,” he wrote the word “heart” not as a 21st-century person but as a Jew, steeped in this rich biblical concept of the heart. The heart stands for the whole soul—all the faculties of a person: their thinking, their conscience, their emotions, and their will. As one person said, the biblical heart is the center of a person’s soul, where their spiritual life pulsates. In this heart, God the Holy Spirit dwells. For unbelievers, this is where the devil himself dwells and controls. It is the central control room of a person. This is why the writer of Proverbs says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” Now, picture the heart: that seat of a person’s emotional, intellectual, and volitional life, including the conscience, imaginations, affections, and will. That is the center of a person’s being. We can call it all the senses of a person’s soul.

And Paul says the heart has eyes. It’s a beautiful figure of speech. The eye is an organ whose value we don’t realize until we slowly lose its power. How does the eye help us? It’s only through these small holes in our face that we are enabled to perceive reality in its true shape, color, and quality. Imagine if you were sitting here with no eyes. You would only hear a voice; you would have no idea of the shape, quality, or color of the creature from which the voice came. So, we perceive the reality of things with our eyes.

We need two things to see clearly: healthy eyes and light. A thin film, called a cataract, can grow over the eye, hindering eyesight. If it becomes thick enough, it will even blot out sight. Secondly, you can have a good eye, but if you are in a room after 7 PM and the lights are off, you can’t see anything.

Notice that Paul isn’t praying for their eyes to be opened; he is praying for their eyes to be enlightened. The word “enlightened” simply means to illuminate. If you’re sitting in a dark room and you don’t know what’s there, suddenly a spotlight is switched on, and you can see clearly. That is illuminating the room. So, Paul’s prayer is that God, by the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, would enlighten our soul’s senses. That is what the words say.

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Four Implied Biblical Truths

Implied in this phrase are four biblical truths.

1. Every person created in the image of God has a heart with eyes, in other words, a soul with eyes. Notice he does not say, “Let God create new heart or eyes.” You already have heart eyes; Paul is praying that God may give you light.
2. All human soul eyes have been blinded not once, but by a triple blindness: first by the Fall, then by Satan, and then by the love of sin. These are three levels of a “cataract”: the Fall, Satan, and sin. In 2 Corinthians 4:4, it says, “whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them.” The mind is blinded. The mind and the heart are used interchangeably in Scripture. Not only the Fall and Satan, but the love of sin also blinds the heart’s eyes. John 3:19 says, “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light, because their deeds are evil. Neither will they come to the light, lest their deeds should be reproved.” Also, notice in this same epistle, Paul talks about this natural blindness in people (Ephesians 4:17-19): “you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” See, the reason people live such a lifestyle without sense is because their soul eyes are darkened. He ties the blindness of the mind with the hardness of the heart. Every person in the world is not once, but triply blinded by the Fall, Satan, and the love of sin. They do not see things as they really are. Let’s say next week you can’t see. If you come to church, and we hang this keyboard up and the pulpit above your head, at any moment to fall on your head, you will have no idea. You will imagine from memory that it’s all in the right place. You cannot see things as they really are. In the same way, a natural person cannot see the glory and beauty of Christ. They can sit in the best church in the world; they can hear the best sermon about Christ; they can see people singing of Christ’s glory with joy in their faces and voices. They will scratch their head and say, “I can’t see why these people are so joyful and excited.” Why? The “god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not.” In the depths of their being, in their heart, out of which all the issues of life flow, what’s the problem? The eye to the heart has a cataract. So they don’t see God as their creator and the glory of what God did through Christ to save them. They don’t see the beauty of God’s law as they ought to, as a way of true happiness and freedom. What will cure that? This triple blindness is cured in steps: first salvation, and then continual illumination.
3. The third truth we see implied here is that such natural people’s eyes are opened when they are born again. Our Lord said, “Unless a person is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” It’s the same word, “see.” That is why the Bible equates conversion with opening the eyes. The Ephesians were converted, and their eyes were opened. But what do they need now? They need continual enlightenment.
4. Fourthly, we learn that we have to continually pray for the growing enlightenment of our heart’s eyes. The story of Jesus healing the blind man in Bethsaida (Mark 8:22-26) illustrates for us the gradual nature of spiritual enlightenment. When Jesus lays his hands on the man a second time, his sight is fully restored. This represents the need for continued spiritual illumination, a journey of progressive revelation. Paul knows these people are saved and their eyes were opened by regeneration, so he prays that God would increasingly enlighten them.

Without our eyes enlightened, we cannot know things as reality. Most of our knowledge is just hearsay, a notional, theoretical, or imaginary conviction. But when our eyes are enlightened, we will know things as never known before. This divine illumination will give us a true sense of the superlative excellence of divine things and the ability to see their reality.

There is a big difference between having an idea that honey is sweet by reading books and knowing how sweet honey is by taste and direct experience. In the same way, you can have the opinion that God is gracious, and having a sense of the loveliness and beauty of that grace by tasting it is different. Similarly, you can have the opinion or rational belief that God is holy and that holiness is a good thing, but it’s different to have a sense of the loveliness of God’s holiness. You will get a sense of how beautiful and lovely the law of God is, and how it alone can lead us to freedom. You get that kind of sense of excellence when the Holy Spirit illuminates the eyes of our hearts. You will not think of God as speculatively good, but you will have a true sense of how amiable, beautiful, and desirable God is.

That is spiritual illumination. You will know as if you saw it with your own eyes, as a certain, undeniable, infallible, 100% reality and 100% assurance without any doubt. It is far from just theoretical knowledge. Such knowing will inevitably have a transformative impact on our soul. When your soul has a sense of the excellence of divine objects, you will always love to think of God, come to God, meditate on his truths, and dwell upon them with delight. The powers of the soul—the mind, heart, and emotions—are more awakened and enlivened, exerting themselves more fully to think, believe, enjoy, worship, and serve God and his kingdom. The beauty and sweetness of the objects we see will draw on the faculties of the soul and draw forth their exercises. So Paul prays for this.

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Three Things You May Know

When your heart’s eyes are enlightened, you may know three things. Again, the word “know” here means to have a certain, infallible, enlarged, accurate, and spiritually perceptive view of three things.

1. First of all, the hope of his calling.
2. Secondly, the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints.
3. And thirdly, the exceeding greatness of his power.

All of this prayer for the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in His knowledge, and the enlightening of the heart’s eyes, is so that you should know these three things. All three are connected. When God effectually calls people to Himself, one of the things He implants within them is the Christian hope. That hope resides in the heart of the believer. The object of that hope is the inheritance, and the means by which a believer will attain that inheritance is by the power of God that has already been operative in the heart and life of the believer.

In other simple words:

• The hope of calling is what it means to be saved now.
• The riches of the glory of his inheritance are the glorious blessings that await me.
• The exceeding greatness of his power is what brought us to this state and will bring us to that final blessing of inheritance.

He wants our eyes to be opened through spiritual illumination to see these three blessings. Paul prays they might obtain an enlarged, accurate, and spiritually perceptive view of these three things. Your heart’s eyes are enlightened to know the excellence, attractiveness, and real sense of the beauty, glory, and taste of these things. We will take these up one by one next week.

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Why Paul Prays for This

Why does Paul pray for this as a top priority? And why so earnestly? He says, “unceasingly I ask for this.” Having prayed it, why does he write it in a letter? Why are you so earnest, Paul, about this? Aren’t there greater needs than this? Why didn’t he pray for sanctification? That is a great need. Is this greater than that?

Yes, for Paul, there is no greater need for us as believers and as a church than this prayer. In a way, all our needs can be met if this prayer is answered. This is the greatest petition for a Christian and the church. If we don’t see this, this will just be another good sermon and we will move on. We have to understand with Paul why this is such a great need for us, so it becomes the greatest unceasing prayer for ourselves and others.

Let me give you three reasons:

One: Danger of Subtle False Religion ⚠️

Without this illumination, you’re in danger of being drawn into subtle false religion. This is the great difference between all false Christianity, perversion of Christianity, and true Biblical Christianity.

False Christianity preaches a message of self-improvement: “Become something so you can obtain something from God.” It encourages you to seek new things in God, new blessings. “If you do this and that, God will be more pleased with you and give you new blessings.”

Notice that Paul did not pray that they might have some new hope, new or increased inheritance, or get new and more power. He’s saying, “I’m praying that you may know what that hope is that you already have, that you may know what the inheritance is you are already given, and that you may know the exceeding greatness of the power that is already operating in you.”

You see, he is not praying that they get something new. He’s praying that the Spirit may enable them to have enlarged, accurate, and spiritually perceptive views of what they already are.

False Christianity says, “Become something so you can obtain something from God,” which is a performance-based relationship with God. It says, “Seek new things in God.” In contrast, true Biblical Christianity says, “Once you have believed in Christ, your greatest need is to understand the glorious riches of the treasures you have in Christ.” It is only that understanding that will help you to live worthy of it.

See the difference? In one, the direction is, you move up to God and get the reward—a completely wrong direction. The other is, God has moved down to you in grace, and when you understand what he has done in grace, you will respond in love and live properly.

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Second: Foundation of All True Christian Growth and Fruitfulness 🍎

The foundation of all true Christian growth and fruitfulness is discovering and knowing what grace has done for us in Christ. Until the Holy Spirit enlightens you and gives you a real sense of its excellency, you can never live a proper Christian life.

Church after church, preachers will get up and tell people what to do: “Be dedicated, be consecrated.” They give all kinds of pep talks or pressurize people with guilt every Sunday, or whimsically pump people up and down emotionally, but they never teach them why they should live like that. And all of this bypasses the real motive for living the Christian life.

Christians all over the place are frustrated trying to live a life without understanding their identity in Christ and what God has done for them. This is basic to Christianity. You must understand who you are in Christ. That, and that alone, is the foundation upon which you operate. The real heart of it, the real base, the real foundation, the real central thing, the one thing needful to live the Christian life, is simply understanding who you are in Christ.

Our old forefathers would call it “Position and Practice.” The order of “Faith and Practice” is so important. First, understand your position, understand all these resources, without that, you can never have proper practice. The whole direction of Scripture is: Positionally you are in Christ; you are perfect, positionally complete, you have everything you need. Understand your position first, only then will your practice move toward your position.

This is the pattern everywhere in the New Testament. That is why Paul first taught what God has done for you in chapters 1-3. Only when you grasp these truths, all the wheels of faith, love, devotion, and worship will start working in your soul. So, the mature Christian is one who understands his privileges, his possessions, his resources, his identity, and lives consistently with who he is. Only then will you be able to live the kind of life he calls us to in family, work, and society in chapters 4-6. That is why Paul spends three chapters describing the calling, and now he says, “Therefore, here is how you live.” This is the same pattern in all the epistles. Our greatest need is the discovery of what grace has freely given us.

Do you see? Here is the answer for your struggles in Christian life, struggles with sin, struggles in growth, and fruitlessness. Here’s the principle: Obtaining more enlarged, accurate, and spiritually perceptive views of the privileges and a real sense of the excellency of the blessings God has conferred in grace is one of the principal means of growth and fruitfulness in the Christian life.

Now, do you see why Paul is praying, “O God, give them the spirit of wisdom and revelation that they may know what is the hope of their calling, inheritance, and power”? The more they see these things, the more they will believe you, the more they will love you, the more they will obey and serve you.

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Third: Blessings of Illumination 🙏

We should earnestly pray for illumination because of the blessings it brings.

1. It is the Most Excellent and Divine Wisdom: This is the most excellent and divine wisdom that any creature is capable of. It is more excellent than any human learning; it is far more excellent than all the knowledge of the greatest philosophers or statesmen. Yes, the least glimpse of the glory of God in the face of Christ does more to exalt and ennoble the soul than all the knowledge of those who have the greatest speculative understanding in divinity without grace. We achieve the highest doctorate in divinity when our eyes are enlightened.
2. It is a Most Sweet and Joyful Experience: This knowledge is, above all others, sweet and joyful. Men have a great deal of pleasure in human knowledge, in the study of natural things, but this is nothing compared to that joy which arises from this divine light shining into the soul. Think of it: if low-level animal pleasures that come from senses give such pleasure—such sweetness—in the world (food, money, drink, sex, drugs), then the excellency of divine things must have much more pleasure and sweetness. This light gives a view of those things that are immensely the most exquisitely beautiful, and capable of delighting our whole being. This spiritual light is the dawning of the light of glory in the heart. There is nothing so powerful as this to support people in affliction and to give the mind peace and brightness in this stormy and dark world.
3. This is Transformative Knowledge: This light is such that it effectually influences the inclination and changes the nature of the soul. It changes the soul into an image of the same glory that is beheld. As 2 Corinthians 3:18 says, “But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image, from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” This knowledge will wean us from the world’s love and raise the inclination to heavenly things. It will turn the heart to God as the fountain of good and lead us to choose him as our only portion. Nothing mortifies the lusts in the heart more than the delights that come from this illumination. This light causes the entire soul to agree with and embrace the truth. It makes the soul trust it completely, love it fully, and willingly give itself entirely to Christ.
4. It Leads to a Life of Holiness: This light, and this only, has its fruit in a universal holiness of life. No merely notional or speculative understanding of the doctrines of religion will ever bring this about. But this light, as it reaches the bottom of the heart and changes the nature, will effectually dispose one to a universal obedience. It shows God’s worthiness to be obeyed and served. It draws forth the heart in a sincere love for God, which is the only principle of a true, gracious, and universal obedience; and it convinces us of the reality of those glorious rewards that God has promised to those who obey him.

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Application

Do you know God with his divine illumination? Remember, this enlightenment comes in the sphere of an experiential knowledge of God.

Only when we really know how glorious, big, majestic, excellent, and infinite God is do we realize the glory of the calling, inheritance, and power of such a God. So this is all rooted in knowing God. Do you know God by spiritual illumination? An accurate, precise, exact, experimental, immediate, and direct knowledge of God? That we have a real acquaintance with God? Paul is concerned that we should meet with God. We should have a personal and intimate encounter with God.

It’s almost impossible to explain this in words, but it does mean something like this: It means that God should be real to us, and that we should be conscious of him and conscious of his presence. Have you ever known that? Is God real to you? When you get on your knees and pray, do you know that God is there? Do you realize his presence? That’s the thing the apostle is speaking about.

He means, you see, that we know and realize something of the glory of God, in his ineffable glory. To know something of that glory, to be conscious of it, to feel it, to be aware of it. That’s what he means by knowledge. Have you ever felt and sensed something of the glory of God?

Do you know anything of what Jacob said when he said, “This is an awful place”? Eternal life itself is knowing God like this. Anyone who knows anything about this has a sense of privilege, a sense of wonder, a sense of praise, and a sense of glory. Do we realize that this is what Christianity really means, coming to such a knowledge of God?

This knowledge makes you yearn to know more of him. Do you cry like Moses? He was not satisfied with this knowledge. Rising with great daring, he turns to God and says, “Show me thy glory.” That’s it. Have you ever felt that? Have you ever felt that desire? That’s the thing the apostle prays for, that these Ephesians may begin to hunger and thirst for that, that they may see and know the glory of God, this Father of glory. “Show me thy glory.”

The Psalmist expresses it so perfectly in that 42nd Psalm: “As the deer pants after the water brooks, so my heart pants after thee, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God,” not the head knowledge, a dead textbook, but for the living God, the direct, immediate, personal God.

He says in John: “If a man love me, he will keep my words, and my father will love him, and we will come unto him and make our abode with him.” “We, the Father and the Son.” That’s Christianity, the life of God in the souls of men. The Father and the Son coming and making their abode within us.

That’s the thing for which the apostle prays for these Ephesians: that they may have this spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. This is a knowledge that is possible to all Christians. He’s not praying for apostles. He’s not praying for elders only. He’s praying for them all, that they all may have this spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.

Oh, may we pray for enlightenment.

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Importance of Daily Prayer for Enlightenment 🤲

Since our Christian growth and fruitfulness depend on the Holy Spirit enlightening us and giving us enlarged views of the blessings of salvation, we must learn with Paul to cry to God that he may open the eyes of our hearts. Most Bible examples—Joseph, Daniel, and other passages—reveal that the spirit of wisdom and revelation is given to praying souls. Without the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, we may know a lot of things from reading and hearing messages, and it will only make us proud Pharisees.

If you come to hear the sermon just believing in the Pastor’s ability to make the message clear to you, without praying for the Holy Spirit’s enlightenment, you may understand the words and letters, but that understanding will not open the eyes of your heart and lead to any spiritual fruitfulness. God is going to send you away empty.

We must carefully learn to cultivate this spirit of dependence upon the Holy Spirit, crying with David in Psalm 119, verse 18: “Open thou mine eyes that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law.”

Oh, let us learn to cultivate this prayerful dependence not only when we read but also when we hear a sermon. Do you know when a pastor is preaching something with excitement that’s very real to him, and you’re missing it? What should you do? Consciously lift your heart up right there in your seat, saying, “God, light, light, light, light, light, light. Enlighten the eyes of my heart. I am so blind.” Do you know what it is to pray while you’re listening? Learn to have direct dealings with God as I preach his word. “Lord, this is your word. Teach me more. Open my eyes so the wheels of my heart rise in love, worship, faith, and obedience.”

That is a worshipping congregation, having direct dealings with God not only while praying but also when hearing the sermon with a prayerful spirit. This is a great area of weakness for many of you. That’s why you fall asleep, you lose your train of thought in the middle of a message, your mind wanders. You allow Satan to take the word, not just after, but even during the sermon.

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Importance of Regular Scripture Meditation and Reading Christian Books 📚

The wheels of my obedience will run fast in direct proportion to my understanding of the truths of God’s word.

Some of you, we have been telling for years, do you understand why you cannot grow and become fruitful unless you learn the discipline of meditating on God’s word and reading other Christian books? Because your personal Christian life, family, and witness will not change by just coming to church on Sunday. It depends on how much you are growing in your understanding of God’s truths. The Holy Spirit doesn’t open our heart’s eyes in the air. Read how David, always meditating on God’s word, pleads for his eyes to be opened. The Holy Spirit always enlightens people who regularly meditate on God’s word. That is why you see Christians who read and meditate keep growing in grace.

“Oh, I cannot read, no time.” We have 20 years of audio messages, weekly Tuesday 8 p.m. 1689, and Friday prayer meetings. Unless you make use of all that, how are you going to grow? Don’t expect any dramatic change, improvement, or growth in life unless you learn the discipline of growing in God’s truth.

This enlightenment, these enlarged, accurate, and spiritually perceptive views, come to the understanding; we must spare no mental pains to attain them. Think of these: the hope of his calling, the riches of his inheritance, the exceeding greatness of the power that works in us. Those are profound concepts. You don’t understand those biblical words just sitting there doing what comes naturally. You’ve got to gird up the loins of your mind and think, and I mean think hard, until there’s mental sweat. The Holy Ghost was never given to put a premium on mental laziness. The Christian life is predicated on what you know.

One unbeliever observed and said, “I’ve seen the difference between the true Christians and the false Christians. The true Christians are those who are really heavy into studying the Bible.” What he was really seeing was that when somebody is heavy into studying the Bible, they gain the revelation of God that is applied in life as it ought to be, you see?

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Serious Application for Those Who Are Not Saved

If a man who is already sealed by the Spirit needs further illumination to understand these things, what hope is there for you? With cataracts, Satan, and sin over your eyes, no wonder you don’t understand anything. “These things go right over my head.”

Scripture says, “The natural man receives not the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” Hope, inheritance, power—these are spiritual truths, and there is no faculty, no capacity in you to understand and receive them.

That is why our Lord said, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” The same word, “see,” to perceive the kingdom of God. That should, firstly, humble you and, secondly, give you hope. God doesn’t ask you to create your own sight, but to stand with that poor blind beggar and say, “Lord Jesus, Son of David, have mercy upon me. That I may receive my sight.” The work of the Messiah in this world is primarily to open blind eyes. Plead with him, he will open your eyes, and you will see marvelous things.

An Inner Ally: Your Most Powerful Tool for Sharing the Gospel

When we share the gospel with someone, we often feel the need to start with deep philosophical questions. But what if the most effective starting point isn’t an intellectual argument, but a simple, undeniable fact that resides in every person’s heart?

This truth is rooted in the biblical principle that mankind is created in the image of God, and that God’s law is written on every person’s conscience. As Romans 2:14-15 states, even those who have never heard the Bible do by nature things required by the law, proving that “the requirements of the law are written on their hearts.” Their consciences bear witness to this truth, sometimes accusing them and at other times defending them.

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Why You Should Start with Conscience, Not Philosophy

When you witness to someone—whether they are from a different faith background or have never heard the gospel—they have an ally for the gospel within their own hearts. That ally is the law of God.

Instead of spending time debating the existence of God or the reality of heaven and hell, you can cut straight to the heart of the matter. You need to appeal to their conscience and their understanding of right and wrong.

Every person, no matter their beliefs, has a set of ethics. While they may try to suppress this moral law, it never truly goes away. Your job is to pierce through their defenses and appeal to what they already know to be true.

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A Simple, Practical Approach

So, how do you do this? Start with a direct question that appeals to their lived experience of guilt:

“Have you ever felt guilty about doing something you knew was wrong?”

If they are honest, they will say yes. At this point, you have an open door to share the gospel. That feeling of guilt is not just a personal emotion; it is God’s conviction of their sin. They have broken His laws, which their own conscience bears witness to.

Because of this, they stand guilty before God and are in need of a remedy—forgiveness for their sins.

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From Guilt to a Need for Jesus Christ

By starting with this approach, you bypass the common intellectual excuses and arguments against Christianity. You are appealing to something they cannot deny, something they know in their own hearts.

Bringing people under the conviction of their own guilt and a conscious awareness that they need a way for that guilt to be cleansed is the core essence of helping them see their need for Jesus Christ. The guilt that arises from violating God’s law makes them see their need for forgiveness.

This powerful principle provides a lever for the gospel in every person’s life. It gets past philosophical distractions and gets to the heart of the issue: we have a moral problem. Our problem is guilt, which arises from violating God’s law, and for that, we need forgiveness. That forgiveness is provided by God in Jesus Christ.

The accusation of conscience is not a dead end; it is the springboard for opening a person to the remedy that is Jesus Christ.