The Record of God’s Revelation to Us

Transcript

GRM 1178
04/08/2018
The Record of God’s Revelation to Us
Selected Verses
Gil Rugh

Turn in your bibles to the book of Hebrews. We’re going to chapter 1, celebrating the birth of Christ. Much attention focused on Him. We were in a store this week and just noticed the songs being played. We commented, wonder how many people have given attention to the words that are being sung? Some of the songs being sung, even in secular places today, the music being played, the words are biblical, they are clear. I wonder how many people enjoy singing the Christmas carols, the songs associated with Christmas, really stop and think how significant the birth of this baby is, what it really means.

I thought it would be really good for us, even as believers, to remind ourselves of the importance of God’s son. His greatness helps us appreciate what it means that He was born at Bethlehem some 2000 years ago.

If you’re familiar with the book of Hebrews, it’s about God’s Son, that’s the focus of the whole book, His existence before He was born at Bethlehem, the focus on His birth and what that meant and events that have to do with eternity…the importance of the Son. In fact, the letter to the Hebrews begins in Chapter 1:1, “God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” He draws the contrast. Anytime God would speak, that would be of great importance. He spoke through old testament times, in a variety of ways, through a variety of individuals. We have much of that record recorded for us. What we call our old testament. But that pails in significance to the impact and the importance of God in verse 2, “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.”

That’s not to say that there was something wrong with the prior revelation. It was fully true. It was a revelation from God and about God, His purposes, His plans. But with the coming of the One who was the Son of God, there was a fulness and a clarity in what is revealed, that had not been experienced before. You have the Son of God, stepping from heaven, being born into the human race. You literally have, God walking this earth in a human body. He is fully human and fully divine. What an awesome event.

So, the book of Hebrews opens up, elaborating on the greatness of the Son of God. Which reminds us of His importance. I just want to walk through these opening verses with you. There are 7 facts stated about the Son of God in verses 2 & 3. They show something of His greatness, the superiority of the person and work of Christ. We’ll walk through these individually and then we will summarize them as we get to the end.

First, note he said, “In these last days, God has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things.” God appointed His Son, heir of all things. The Father and the Son always work in complete harmony and in complete agreement. God the Father appointed the Son to be the heir of all things. That child born at Bethlehem is the one, in the eternal plan of God, who did not begin His existence at Bethlehem, but as the prophet Michael said, in anticipating His birth at Bethlehem. He’s the one who would be born at Bethlehem, who has dwelt in eternity. He is appointed to be heir of all things. This is the one in whom all the purposes and plans of God for His creation will be realized.

Come back to Psalm 2. The book of Psalms that we’re so familiar with. Psalm 2, a very familiar Psalm, prophesying events associated with Jesus Christ and His birth, life, his ultimate reigning, the focus. Chapter 2 opens up, “Why are the nations in an uproar, and the peoples devising a vain thing? The kings of the earth take their stand, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against His anointed.” Isn’t it amazing that mere created human beings should think they could stand against God and the one that he has appointed to be ruler over all? Verse 7, “’I will surely tell of the decree of the Lord:’ He said to Me, ‘Thou art My Son, today I have begotten Thee. Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Thine inheritance, and the very ends of the earth as Thy possession.’” He is the one destined to rule and reign over all; the fact that the nations of the earth join in opposition to Christ. The peoples of the earth may unite in large numbers to oppose Him, is nothing to God. Verse 4, “He Who sits in the heavens laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.”

Remember, this is the God who said in another place in the old testament through His prophet, the nations of the earth aren’t even like a speck of dust on the scale compared to the greatness of our God, His purposes to be realized in His Son. He is the one in whom everything will climax with His ruling and reigning over all. He’s the heir of all things. The nations and all creation belong to Him. He will ultimately take possession. That was announced through the prophets. It was announced when He was born. He’s the one born to be king of the Jews. He’s the one born to rule and reign. Now, further revelation is made clear, first He had to come and suffer and die, which we’ll see in a little bit. But He’s been appointed heir of all things.

That’s where the bible ends, remember? In Revelation chapters 19,20,21 and 22, Christ returns in power and great glory. He will judge and destroy His enemies. He will establish a kingdom over which He will rule for ever. He is the heir of all things. That’s where we are going. That’s how it all ends. He is the heir of all things.

Come back to Hebrews. We won’t delve into this, but you know the bible says that for those who place their faith in Christ, “we are heirs and co-heirs with Jesus Christ.” When He enters into His inheritance and takes possession of all creation, those who belong to Him will join Him in that inheritance. Romans 8:17, “we are heirs and co-heirs with Christ.” Galatians 4:7 tells us the same truth, “we are heirs with Christ, who is the heir of everything.”

Second thing said about the Son of God in Hebrews 1:2. God made the world through Him. God appointed Him heir of all things, and He’s the one, the end of verse 2, “through whom also He,” referring to God the Father, “made the world.” How fitting it is that the one for whom all things were created, will be the one who inherits all the things that He’s created. Through Him you have God the Father and God the Son working in complete harmony along with God the Holy Spirit, who we’re not particularly focused on here. The Son is the focus. He’s the one who through whom God made the world.

Now, you have a note in your bible, you’ll probably note the margin says, literally instead of world, “ages.” It’s a different world, the Greek word for world is cosmos. You’re familiar with that. It refers to the orderly events of this creation. This is the word aion, it’s the word for age. What He literally says, through whom also He made the ages. This is remarkable, the ages are the periods of time and everything in them. So, He’s not just saying cumulatively, God made the world through Christ, which is remarkable. But He made all the periods of time and everything in those ages, through Christ. Think about it, we talk about the different periods of time in history. We talk about the period of time in which we live. We talk about this age. You know what? Christ made it and everything in it. He made the ages through Him. He is the creator of everything, all the periods of time and everything that exists in the periods of time.

Come back to the gospel of John 1. The gospel of John, who records the life of Christ. He starts out again with a remarkable unfolding of truth concerning Christ. Very similar to what we’re considering in the book of Hebrews. He begins, John 1:1, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” This is going to come up in Hebrews shortly. Verse 2, “He was in the beginning with God.” Now, note this, Verse 3, “All things came into being by Him”, the Word of God, referring to Christ, obviously. Verse 3, “and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being.” So, he states it positively and negatively. All things came into being through Him. If you don’t understand what He means by all things, it came into being through Him.

But it negatively, there’s nothing that has come into being, that was not brought in to existence by Him. When you get to the beginning, verse 1 says, “In the beginning was the Word.” You could translate that literally, in the beginning, the Word already was. Where’s the beginning? In our bibles, we go back to Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” In the beginning, the Word already was. All things came into being through Him. He was there at the beginning, because He was the creator, if you will, of the beginning. God has no beginning. The beginning of creation, Christ was there, and He was creating.

We’re probably going to come back to the book of John. You might want to leave something there. Come over to the book of Colossians, chapter 1, and you see, God repeatedly pulls together some of these great truths about His Son. To drive home again and again, the importance of Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:16. This is in the context of referring to Christ. “For by Him,” referring to Christ, “all things were created.” All things, what about the Angels? You say all things were created by Him? Verse 16, “both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things have been created by Him,” through Him, note this, “and for Him.” Remember the first point in Hebrews? “He,” (God) “appointed Him heir of all things. That He made all things through Him. And all things have been made through Him, for Him.”

Clear evident support. How do you get any more awesome and wonderful? A baby born at Bethlehem, and we have songs about His birth and as a little child. It’s all true, He was born as a baby, in a manger, in a stable. He’s going to grow, this one who created all things, who is the heir of all things. How awesome and amazing it is. Something of that mystery, Peter was addressing Jewish leaders in Acts 3:15. He tells them, you did a terrible thing. You crucified the author of life. Amazing! Jesus Christ was the one through whom all things were brought into existence. All created life came into existence through Him. Now, He is the Son who has been born at Bethlehem.

Come back to Hebrews. There are a number of other verses in each of these points that we could look at. We’re just summarizing these. Thirdly, He says about Him at the beginning of verse 2, the Son, through whom, “in these last days has spoken to us in His Son.” He’s going to tell about the greatness of the Son. Not just so we have points of information, but God has spoken in the greatest, fullest, finalist way in His Son. You better pay attention! This is the one through whom He created everything. This is the one who is an heir of all created things. This is the one in verse 3, “He is the radiance of His glory.” It means that the Son of God is the manifestation of God’s glorious presence.

Remember in the Old Testament, we have what we refer to as usually the “Shekinah glory.” Shekinah, the glory of God’s presence. In the tabernacle in the Old Testament, God’s presence would manifest itself. The cloud would come down and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. Now, we have present on eart, the one who is the manifestation of the presence of God’s glory.

Come back to John’s gospel, chapter 1. We opened up talking about the Son of God, called the Word of God. He is the very manifestation and expression of God, the One who makes God known. He is God’s Word. That’s the point. He is the revealer of God, the One who makes God known. He was in the beginning, He created all things. Then you come down to John 1:14, “And the Word became flesh.” Amazing thing, God became a human being. A man, the Word, “the Word that was with God, the Word that was God,” the Word that was in the beginning with God, the Word through whom all things were created. “The Word became flesh and dwelt.” Again, you probably have a marginal note, that word translated dwelt, is the word tabernacled. Tabernacled among us, “and we saw His glory.” That connection now, these Jews who would read this, would understand, the Old Testament tabernacle, when God’s presence came down on that tabernacle. The glory of the Lord was tabernacled there. His very presence was in the midst of His people Israel. Now we have “the Word became flesh and tabernacled among us. We saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

Come down to verse 18, “No man has seen God at any time; the only begotten God,” which is the preferable translation. Some manuscripts have Son, but the stronger manuscripts have, the only begotten God. “Who is in the bosom of the Father, He has explained Him.” We talk about doing exegesis of scripture, where we get down and examine, study and learn. Well, Christ is the One who exegeted the Father, made God known in a way that He had not been known before, this One who has dwelt in the closest relationship with the Father. That’s what it means to be in the bosom of the Father. They were in the most intimate close relationship. Now He’s come to earth and it’s God in the flesh. You see His glory. Colossians 2:9, “For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”

There are things here that our human minds cannot fully grasp, that Jesus Christ was born at Bethlehem. How awesome was it when those shepherds came in? Here’s this little baby and He’s the One that has dwelt in eternity. He’s the God who was there to bring creation into existence at the beginning. Now God, in His fullness, is here in a human body. You want to come to know god? Remember, Phillip said to Jesus during His earthly life, “show us the Father and I’ll be satisfied.” What did Jesus say to Phillip? Phillip, what’s the problem? “If you’ve seen me, you’ve seen the Father.” The glory that is His is mine. This will be further emphasized in a moment, in the next characteristic that is said about Christ. These great truths, “He’s the radiance of His Glory,” He’s revealing, manifesting His presence.

Come back to Hebrews 1. It says, “furthermore” in verse 3, “not only is He the radiance of His glory, he is the exact representation of His nature.” You can see these truths about Christ are intertwined. He’s “the heir of all things” and that’s fitting because He’s “the creator of all things.” He’s “the radiance of the glory of God.” That’s fitting, and you would expect that because He’s the exact representation of God’s nature.

The exact representation of His nature. That exact representation, the word, character. It was the impression made by a stamp, a seal, a die. In other words, you get the exact duplicate of what’s on that seal. He is the exact manifestation, representation of His nature. His nature refers to His substantial being. This word became a significant word in theological early history, in church history. His essential being, His nature, what He is as God. What makes Him God. We talk about human nature, that distinguishes you. I use the example of your dog the first hour, then I realized some people think their dog is human. So that’s not good. He’s not, but I don’t want to get into that conflict. So, let’s say a cricket. You’re not a cricket, you have human nature. That is everyone who is human, everything that is human, partakes of certain essential qualities that make you human.

When it comes to God, there are three distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Remember, Christ was God, but He was “with God” in John 1:1. We are making it a distinction here between God the Father and God the Son. God the Son is the exact representation of the nature of God the Father. They both share the same essential being, qualities that make them God. There are three persons eternal existing, One God. One God eternally existing in three persons. Not three Gods. One God, but three distinct persons. So, Christ is the exact representation, manifestation if you will, of the nature of God. You want to know what God is like? Look at Christ. That’s what He told Phillip. “He that has seen Me has seen the Father.” That doesn’t mean that He’s the Father. In another sense you could say, I want to be careful of illustrations because they all unravel. But, if you’ve seen one human being, you’ve seen them all. There’s an element of truth to that. Now there are distinctions, but basically in our essential nature what makes us human is characteristic of us all. We have different personalities and so on, but at our essential being, what makes us human, is unique. That’s what you have with the three persons of the triune God. He is the exact representation of His nature.

Back up to Colossians 1, we’re having such a good time going to Colossians, we’ll just keep it up. Colossians 1, again we could have gone back to John 1 as well. We have this repetition, so we make no mistakes, there’s no confusion of the importance of Christ and the significance of His person. Come to verse 15 of Colossians 1. “He”, referring to Christ, here, picking up in the flow, “is the image of the invisible God.” Now that word, image is a different word than we have translated, exact representation, but the idea is the same. The word here denotes, reveals the same thing, a picture. It is the image. We have a photographic image of a person that shows you them, here in a fuller way, Christ is the image of the indivisible God. So, when Christ was born at Bethlehem, He took to Himself, humanity. He became visible. The amazing thing is, the humanity He took to Himself will be His forever. He will never cease to be truly human. He has always been Deity. He had no beginning. He created humanity. When He took to Himself humanity, He’s the God Man. He is the one who is fully and clearly the manifestation of the indivisible God. You understand people, when Christ walked the earth, He got hungry, tired, and would be crucified on a cross. That human body contains all the fullness of Deity.

There is a mystery there we do not plumb the depths of. I believe it because the Eternal God says it’s true. How awesome to grasp in any kind of real deep way what that would mean. How awesome is that? “He is the image of the indivisible God, the first born of all creation.” He has the priority because, it goes on to say, “He brought all creation into existence.” Go to 2 Corinthians 4, I was going to leave this verse out, but. 2 Corinthians 4, it’s a little before Colossians in your Bible. 2 Corinthians 4, we have talked about and we are studying the book of Revelation regularly on Sunday morning. The spiritual battle going on between the forces of the Devil and the Devil’s people and God and His forces, the people that belong to Him and Angels. Note what He says, verse 3, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving, that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”

The work of the Devil, he does not want people to understand who Jesus Christ really is. The “spiritual” says, “We didn’t know who you was”. That’s the point of the Devil, have the blind people, have them go through religion, sing the song, really not truly grasping the significance of who He is, which gives importance to what He does.

Come back to Hebrews 1, the middle of verse 3. The 5th fact about Christ emphasized here. He is the who “upholds all things by the word of His power.” He’s upholding all things by the word of His power. He’s the heir of all things, He created all things. You understand, He is truly God, now God in human flesh. He is upholding, present tense. “He upholds all things,” usually in English our participles have “ing” on the end. This is a present tense, you could put it that way. He is “upholding all things by the word of His power.” That word, upholding, means to be carrying along. He is moving it and bringing it to it’s intended goal.

Everything as we have talked about often in our studies is on track. I understand that Jesus Christ is God. I understand something of His power. He is upholding all things, bearing them with the idea of carrying them along, so they come to their ultimate appointed goal. How does He do that? By His powerful word. The word of His power.

Come back to Colossians 1. We had verse 16, “For by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible---all things have been created by Him and for Him.” He is before all things. Now note this, Verse 17, “In Him all things hold together.” It’s a different word than the word we have in Hebrews, upholding all things, but the point is very similar. He’s upholding all things, He’s bearing them, carrying them along to their appointed goal. Here we have a different word, but the same point. In Him all things hold together.

One commentator on this Greek word, says it means, Christ has created and maintains in perfect order, stability and productivity. In other words, there is stability, there is order. He is carrying everything along in His ordained order. Stability, so it accomplishes what He wants through the various ages that He created, so that everything will come to His appointed end when He inherits all things. The One who created all things. Isn’t it great? Words of assurance.

Great brilliant scientists in their spiritual blindness, I reading recently, I know some of you are probably aware, a famous scientist, talking about his fear that the earth only has this much time, we have to do something, it’s going to burn up, it’s going to dry up. Everything’s fine. The turmoil, the uncertainty from the human perspective, it’s all under control. He holds all things together by His powerful word, as He is carrying it along to its appointed end. The world’s not going to burn up until it’s God’s time to renovate the earth by fire. Won’t have anything to do with climate change. I’m not into that battle. I’m just saying, everything’s under control. We have hurricanes and fires and volcanos and floods. We remember what the Prophets said, God asks the questions through the Prophets, has evil come into a city and I have not done it? It looks like catastrophes and unsettling and the world’s coming apart, it is not. It’s a mess because of sin. But the God that we serve is holding it all together. All these things aren’t frustrations, remember He created the ages and everything in them, for His purposes.

We can look at the ages of past history and we see, you know, the black plague. We say, oh wow! All part of Him moving it along because He’s bringing it to this appointed end. He holds it all together by His powerful word. He’s not up there scrambling to keep up. He’s not, as some modern theologians have come up with, that He’s just adjusting to everything going on. That shows how good He is. He really doesn’t know for sure what’s going to happen, but He’s adjusting along the way. NO, NO, NO! He’s carrying it all along. He gives it it’s stability. Remember that when you turn on the news and you see things going on. Think, my God, the savior that is mine, He is moving it along. He is seeing that it produces what He wants, that it does what He wants at it moves toward judgement in connection with His taking possession of what He is the rightful heir of.

Come back to Hebrews 1:3, the sixth thing. “He upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand.” Sixth, He made purification of sins. Note, the tenses here. Remember I said the word “upholds” in verse 3 is a present tense. It denotes something He is doing, He’s doing today. He’s upholding all things by the word of His power. He’s always done that. There are things in that I don’t understand, but He is upholding all things by the word of His power. Now he goes to what we would normally refer to in Greek, as a past tense. “He made purification of sins”.

He is presently upholding all things, but in a past time He made purification of sins. This is crucial foundational to everything. His being born into the human race was at the heart of God’s plan to enable the creation that had fallen into sin to experience redemption, so there could be a redeemed creation to join in the inheritance of the Son of God. He made purification of sins, past tense, it’s done. It’s done! He has done it! This is the major emphasis of the book of Hebrews.

Turn over to Hebrews 9. In the context, he is contrasting what happened in the Old Testament with what happened in the New. You know, people are still going on, you can go to the Roman Catholic Church and do mass. You have people trying to keep the 10 commandments. People doing all kinds of things, thinking that this is what will please God or bring them into a right relationship with God. He’s contrasting with the Old Testament. The Old Testament priest had to keep making sacrifices, over and over and over. “Because the blood of bulls and goats couldn’t take away sin.” Now God, in His grace, forgave the sin of those who believed what He said and responded in faith by offering the sacrifice that He required. So, that provided a cleansing on the human, visible side, verse 13. As what you could get from the blood of bulls and the ashes from a heifer. Verse 14, “how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?”

Come down to verse 22, “And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.” Down in verse 26, after showing the contrast, the High Priest, the head of the priestly system in Israel, had offered sacrifices every day. Once a year there was the major focal sacrifice. That went on, you know what happened when the high priest died? Another high priest replaced him, so the sacrifices went on. With Christ, down in verse 26, if His sacrifice wasn’t sufficient, He would have had to be sacrificed continually. “but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.” It’s done, by one sacrifice. Come to Hebrews 10:10, “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Verse 14, “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”

Why would people continue going back so the priest could offer another sacrifice? It’s a denial of what God says about His Son, Jesus Christ, it is an offense. It is not something pleasing to Him. Nor is it pleasing when people think they’ll try to be more religious, try to keep the 10 commandments, be baptized, take communion, do whatever, by their own works. Christ offered one sacrifice for sins. It is done.

Come back, and again, the intertwining of these things. Hebrews 1:3, He made purification of sins, and when He did, “He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Know what that means? Remember, we studied the tabernacle and the temple. In that temple, the outer portion, the inner portion, there’s various pieces of furniture. Candlesticks, altar of incense, ark of the covenant. You know what there is not in there? Chairs! No place for the priest to sit down as he went about his ministry. You know why? It was never done. Know what is significant here, when it says, He sat down? He made purification of sins and He sat down? There is nothing else to be done. It’s done!

Contrast to the Old Testament priest, there were no chairs there provided for him, because it was a reminder, he’s never done his work. The sacrifices have to go on and on and on and on, until Christ comes. He offers one sacrifice and He sits down. The work is done. Now all that is left for you to benefit from it, is to believe. Oh, I think He wants me to keep the 10 commandments. I think I have to be baptized, I think I have to go to confession, I think I have to partake of the mass. The unbloodied sacrifice of Christ, what a pagan ritual that is. There’s one sacrifice for sins, it’s been done! It cannot be repeated. Christ has sat down at the right hand of the Father.

Furthermore, it says, now at the right hand of the Father in Hebrews 7:25, He is there as our intercessor, there are no go between’s. You don’t have to come to me as though I was a priest so that I can go to God for you. If you trust Christ, you go directly because He’s your high priest. He sat down at the right hand of the Father.

Come back to Hebrews 8:1, “Now the main point,” to get the point of what he’s driving home, “the main point in what has been said is this: we have such a high priest.” That high priest who is able to save forever those who place their faith in Him and the stuff that is preceded here. What has He done? “He has taken His seat at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens.” It’s the highest position, the right hand of the Father. Having finished the work that the Father had Him come to earth to do. Provide redemption!

So that the purposes and plans of the triune God, the triune persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, could be realized, redemption. There has to be a redeemer. The penalty for sin has to be paid. So, Hebrews 7:25 that I referred to, “Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.” What kind of audacity is this? We have earthly organizations appointing saints, now you can go pray to them. That is paganism at its worst. A corruption of the truth. We have a high priest, come directly to Him. He is your intercessor. He is seated at the right hand of the Father.

Come over to Hebrews 10:10, “By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.” Now, under the Old Testament mosaic system, verse 11, “every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies be made a footstool for His feet.”

This is connected to the prophecy of Psalm 110. This is God’s provision, this is where there is redemption. Put these points up, if you would. Let’s just run through them quickly, what we’ve covered. The greatness of the Son, what it means that He’s the Son in His unique way.

1. God the Father appointed Him heir of all things. That’s where everything is going, let’s start there at the end. Like I told you, I like to read the last chapter then come back. We start at the last chapter, He’s the heir of all things. Let’s settle that.
2. God made the world through Him. All creation, things in heaven and on earth, the angels and the world and all that’s in it. All the ages, everything all made through Him.
3. He is the radiance of His Glory. He reflects, He manifests, He reveals the glory of the presence of Almighty God. He’s the exact representation of His nature
4. When you’ve seen Christ, you’ve seen the Father. When you’ve rejected Christ, you’ve rejected God the Father. There is no middle ground. There is no other way. You cannot pick and choose, well I think He was a great man, but I doubt He was God. Then you don’t believe that He is the exact representation of His nature. This is not thrown out as bargaining points. Well, I’ll except four of the seven, maybe even five, I don’t know. The Deity sort of hangs me up, I don’t know if I can go that far. Well then, you’re going to Hell. This is who He is. I don’t think you have to understand everything, I don’t understand everything, but I believe what God says about His Son.
5. He’s upholding all things by His power. That gives me confidence and security. I’m not concerned that an asteroid going to hit the earth and bring it all out of existence. I’m not concerned that climate change is going to….that we’re going to have an ice age and there won’t be anything left of earth but ice. I’m convinced there is a savior, and He is the sovereign. He upholds all things by the word of His power.
6. This is the point that you must not miss. He made purification of sins. The sad thing I hear so many of the songs, that have such good words, and yet people don’t know, He made purification of sins. You know what that means? That means, you and I are hopelessly lost and on our way to Hell. That God had to have His Son come to this earth, take to Himself humanity, so that as the God-Man, He could go to the cross and do for us what we could not do without going to an eternal hell. You could not be saved if you did not hear this message. But you can hear this message and not be saved. Hearing this message won’t save you. Hearing and believing this truth will save you. That’s what the coming of Christ is all about. Christ said, I came to give my life, a ransom for many. And He did. The work was done and He sat down. There’s nothing else go do. You cannot earn your salvation, you cannot work your way to heaven, you cannot buy your way to heaven. There’s nobody who can get you to heaven. All they can do is tell you the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, in order that who so ever believes in Him, might not perish but have everlasting life.” Now we ought to go on. That’s just John 3:16. You ought not just memorize John 3:16, but you ought to go to the end of the chapter. “He that has the Son has life. He who does not have the Son of God, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.” The Son of God came to rescue us from the condemnation of our own sin, from the wrath of a holy God, who will condemn sinners to hell. He came and made purification of sins. So, “the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus.”

The question is, have you trusted Christ Jesus? Oh, I was raised in the church, I was raised in this church. Could have been baptized in this church, that won’t save you. What will save you is recognizing your sin and guilt before God. Recognizing that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, died on the cross to be the savior from sin if you place your faith in Him and Him alone. No wonder we celebrate the birth of Christ. Everything about Christ is worthy of celebration. It’s a privilege to do so.

Let’s pray together. Thank You Lord for the riches of Your word. We are in awe, that Your Son came to this sin cursed earth. Was rejected by His own creation, by His own people, yet He persevered and went to the cross, to fulfill the plan, made in eternity. That Your Son, who created all things, would become the Savior of the creation that rebelled against You. Thank You today, as we celebrate His birth and remember it in a special way. That He is the Savior, and that offer of salvation is graciously still made to sinners like us. We praise You in Christ’s name. Amen