Month: August 2025

Sermon Idea: Acts is about the continual reign of the risen Lord Jesus, who works by the Holy Spirit to spread the Word, build the church, and bear witness to the Kingdom of God. 

Introduction: Acts is the second of two books penned by Luke, the traveling companion of the Apostle Paul. It is a remarkable account of the church’s earliest days, its perseverance through suffering, and how, in the words of Acts 17:6, they, “…turned the world upside down.” 

It is, in one sense, a history; it is the history of the apostles, and so we have inherited the title Acts of the Apostles. In another sense, it is much more than history; it is a theological history of God’s work in fulfilling His plan through the risen Lord Jesus Christ and the sending of the Holy Spirit.

Before Acts is about the apostles, and before it is about the church. It is about God. This is evident in verses 4-5, which focus on the work of God and the Holy Trinity. 

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now. (Ac 1:4–5)

The Son speaks with the apostles about the promise of the Father to send the Holy Spirit. All that Acts will tell us about the apostles, the church, and the church’s mission is founded upon the work of God through the risen Lord Jesus and the sending of the Spirit. 

Luke makes these theological connections for us in the prologues of Book One, The Gospel According to Luke, and Book Two, The Acts of the Apostles. These two prologues indicate that Luke is emphasizing the fulfillment of God’s plan through Jesus Christ. 

Inasmuch as many have undertaken to compile a narrative of the things that have been accomplished among us…(Lk 1:1–4)

The word translated as “accomplished” can also be translated as “fulfilled,” as seen in the NIV and the CSB. The Gospel of Luke is about what has been accomplished or fulfilled, and how it was accomplished. The passive voice there is essential. God has fulfilled His plan, and He has done so through the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. At the end of Luke, the theme of fulfillment is revisited, and this time it is done in a way that seamlessly connects to the book of Acts. 

44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” 45 Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, 46 and said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, 47 and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. 49 And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high (Lk 24:44–49)

The prologue of Acts puts all of this together. Acts is written to reassure the church that God is still at work through the risen Lord Jesus Christ and the power of the Spirit. 

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. (Ac 1:1–2)

The wording here is interesting; in the first book, he dealt with what “Jesus began to do and teach…” Now, in Book Two, Luke will deal with what Jesus continues to do as the risen Lord. This is why we’ve named this series, following many others, The Acts of the Risen Lord Jesus. 

Alan Thompson, in his book by the same name, captures why Acts is relevant for us. 

“God’s people may be assured therefore, that, becasue the Lord Jesus contrinues to reign, they will be enabled by the Holy Spirit to serve him and reflect his character, the word will continue to spread even in the midst of opposition, and local churches will be established and strengthened with the apostolic message about the Lord Jesus.” 

What I want to do this morning is to begin Acts 1:1-5 to note how the major themes of Acts are hinted at there and then survey those themes throughout Acts, so we’ll have a big picture of what the book is about. 

Acts is about the continual reign of the risen Lord Jesus, who works by the Holy Spirit to spread the Word, build the church, and bear witness to the Kingdom of God.

As we begin this study of Acts, I want to emphasize that our objectives are far broader than merely understanding the book’s content. As a local church and as individual believers, we want the meaning of Theophilus’ name to be true of us. It is a common name with a profound meaning, referring to “love of God” or “loved by God.” Study the Acts with us to grow and be formed into greater lovers of God. 

1. I) Acts is about the continual reign of the risen Lord Jesus 

The ascension of Jesus Christ does not receive the same attention as the cross and resurrection. Acts teaches us that Jesus’s ascension into heaven does not mean his absence or inactivity. No, the ascension continues the work of Jesus Christ as the risen and reigning Lord. Jesus’ ascension into heaven signifies that He has supreme authority. This is Peter’s point in his Pentecost sermon. 

36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified (Ac 2:36)

What type of work does Acts attribute to Jesus? 

It is Jesus who pours out the Holy Spirit from Heaven in Acts 2. Peter’s entire explanation for what happens at Pentecost is attributed to the reign of Jesus in heaven, who fulfills God’s promise to pour out his Spirit. 

It is Jesus who adds to the church. Acts 2:47 tells us, And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. 

When the gospel comes to Antioch, Acts attributes their belief to the hand of the Lord Jesus being with them, “And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” (Acts 11:21) 

Numerous times in Acts, Jesus appears, reinforcing that his reign in heaven does not mean his absence. Jesus appears to Stephen before his death (7:55-56), and Jesus appears to Paul and speaks to him directly on the road to Damascus (Acts 9:5-6; 22:10, 17-21; 26:16-18).

We should gather for worship and seek to do ministry with the firm conviction that Jesus Christ continues to act as the risen Lord Jesus Christ. 

Let’s commit to praying as if we truly believe that the Lord Jesus lives, saves, and adds to His church. 

Let’s gather and listen to the Word preached as if we truly believe the risen Christ speaks to his people. 

Let’s continue to witness, evangelize, and invite as if we truly believe the Lord will draw His people by His Spirit.

If we want to see the church built up and disciples made, we will need to depend totally on the risen Lord Jesus Christ.

It will do no good to pursue the growth and health of Waldo Baptist Chuch apart from a genuine dependence on and submission to Christ’s Lordship. As we read Acts, we’ll see that the apostles’ belief in Jesus’ Lordship was not theoretical, but deeply practical. They prayed boldly and preached boldly, all because they believed that the Lord would be at work in response to their prayers. 

Acts is about the continual reign of the risen Lord Jesus, and it is about the power of the Holy Spirit.  

II) Acts is about the power of the Holy Spirit 

The opening verses of Acts prepare us for the Holy Spirit to take center stage in the fulfillment of all of God’s promises. 

“…he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen.” (Ac 1:2)

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” (Ac 1:4–5)

Acts 2 records the sending of the Spirit in fulfillment of God’s promise in Joel 2. The importance of the Holy Spirit for the book of Acts cannot be overstated. Numerous points can be made, but for the sake of time, I want to draw your attention to one. Accompanying the promise of the Spirit is the promise that the apostles will be the Lord’s witnesses.

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” (Ac 1:8)

The question is not if they will be witnesses. They will be witnesses! The Holy Spirit will empower them to bear witness to Jesus Christ starting in Jerusalem and then extend to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth. 

Consider how the Spirit is described as the empowering force of the apostle’s preaching. 

4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance. (Ac 2:4)

 31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness. (Ac 4:30–31)

These are just a couple of examples, but it’s a persistent theme. The Spirit empowers the church for its ministry and it’s the Spirit who makes that ministry fruitful and effectual. 

In fact, the structure of Acts in many ways can be learned just by reading verse 8. 

1. Acts 1-6:7 tells the story of the church in Jerusalem. 
2. Acts 6:8-12:24 tells the story of the gospel advancing to Judea, Samaria, and Gentile areas.
3. Acts 12:25-19:20 tells the story of the gospel advancing to Asian Minor and into Europe. 
4. Acts 19:21-28:31 tells the story of further advancement through the Apostle Paul. 

Acts is about the work of God through the risen Lord Jesus and the power of the Spirit. 

Beloved, there will be no true worship, genuine service, or power in our witness without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. As we read Acts, we will see, time and time again, a people dependent upon God in prayer. That is the litmus test. 

The degree to which we depend on the Holy Spirit will be measured by our commitment to prayer. If we want to see more conversions, disciples made, baptisms, maturing Christians, greater health, churches planted, and missionaries sent, we must be bold enough to persist in asking God to do it in prayer. 

Acts is about the continual reign of the risen Lord Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit, which results in the spread of the Word of God.

III) Acts is about the spread of the Word of God

As the Spirit empowers the apostles to be witnesses, the message of the gospel spreads and advances. The Word in Acts is the gospel message centered on Jesus Christ, whose sacrificial death, resurrection, and ascension fulfill God’s promises, offer forgiveness of sin, and inaugurates the kingdom of God. 

This is the message that brings salvation, and it is the message that spreads. Here are three examples, but more could be listed (Acts 9:31; 16:5; 28:30-31). 

7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith (Ac 6:7)

24 But the word of God increased and multiplied. (Ac 12:24)

20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. (Ac 19:20)

What we learn from Acts is that the work of God in salvation and the building of the church comes through the gospel. When the gospel is not central in ministry, evangelism, and missions, we remove the very things through which God has promised to work. 

Our best ideas are not the power of God unto salvation. The stewardship of our resources is not the power of God unto salvation. Our administrative ability is not the power of God unto salvation. The giftings of our staff are not the power of God unto salvation. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ, and the gospel alone, is the power of God unto salvation! (Rom. 1:16) 

As the Word of God spreads, the Lord brings salvation to both Jews and Gentiles, uniting both in Christ and building the church. 

IV) Acts is about the building of the Church 

There are two ways to consider the building of the church in Acts. The first is the building of the universal church, consisting of both Jews and Gentiles in Christ. A major theme in Acts is the inclusion of the nations into the people of God through faith in Jesus. This is why Acts makes a point to emphasize the Samaritans receiving the Spirit and baptism in Acts 8, as well as the Gentiles receiving the gospel in Acts 10. 

The second, though, is the planting and strengthening of local churches. 

The church’s mission isn’t to go out and save people or make individual followers of Jesus. The local church fulfills the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations and gathering them into local churches.

The Book of Acts provides excellent examples of this. 

In Act 11, the gospel reaches Antioch, and we read in verse 21, “…a great number who believed turned to the Lord.” 

When word reached the church in Jerusalem of what was happening in Antioch, they sent Barnabas to minister to the new believers. Along the way, he grabbed Paul, and we read in verse 26, “For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people.” 

The great number saved is now described as an assembly, a congregation, i.e., a church.

In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas preach the gospel in Derbe, and we read in 14:21 ²¹ that after they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch (Ac 14:21). So they preach, and they make disciples. But now listen to verse 23. 

²³ And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting, they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. (Ac 14:23)

The disciples were gathered together in churches, and part of Paul’s missionary work was to appoint elders (plural), that is, pastors, in every church. It wasn’t enough to gather Christians and call them a church. Paul provided them with structure and biblically faithful leadership to equip them for the work of the ministry. The local church fulfills the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations and gathering them into local churches. And it pursues this goal to plant biblically faithful and healthy churches.

V) Acts is about bearing witness to the Kingdom of God 

Acts begins and ends with references to the Kingdom of God. This is not a coincidence, but a clue on how to read the book. All that takes place between these two verses is about God bringing the Kingdom of God on earth as it is in heaven.

3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. (Ac 1:3)

30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. (Ac 28:30–31)

What Acts teaches us is that the restoration of the kingdom of God wasn’t on hold with the ascension of Jesus. Rather, the spread of the Word of God and the building of the church, with both Jews and Gentiles united in Christ, was the way God’s plan to restore Israel and bring His kingdom would unfold.

Acts is about the continual reign of the risen Lord Jesus, who works by the Holy Spirit to spread the Word, build the church, and bear witness to the Kingdom of God.

Sermon Idea: The consummation of God’s redemptive plan is a new heaven and a new earth where his people will peacefully dwell in his presence forever. 

Introduction: “Further up and further in.” This is the famous refrain C.S. Lewis employs in the conclusion to The Chronicles of Narnia—a Christian allegory of the grand biblical story of creation, fall, redemption, and consummation. Across seven books, various “sons of Adam” and “daughters of Eve” from our world are called into the magical world of Narnia. In their first adventure, they discover a land under an eternal winter, freed only by the death and resurrection of a lion named Aslan, the true King of Narnia. In the final book, Lewis describes their entrance into the “real Narnia,” which is like the old, but clearer, richer, and more beautiful.

Listen to how Lewis ends the series. 

“And as He spoke He no longer looked to them like a lion; but the things that began to happen after that were so great and beautiful that I cannot write them. And for us this is the end of all the stories, and we can most truly say that they all lived happily ever after. But for them it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in the world and all their adventures in Narnia had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever: in which every chapter is better than the one before.” 

You don’t need to have read any of the books or seen any of the films to be moved by that last line. The only world we’ve known is a fallen world, one cursed by sin and marked by death. So much of your personal stories know the curse of sin, either the sin you’ve committed or the sin committed against you. Beyond that is life in a fallen world where death still touches us, many loved ones are long gone, and natural disasters leave grief in their wake. 

Could there be a future in which every chapter is better than the one before? 

The end of the Bible’s story marks the beginning of new life with God, in a new place, where every chapter is truly better than the one that came before. 

We began this sermon series by saying, the story of Scripture progressively reveals God’s plan of redemption through his covenants to have one, unified people in Christ Jesus.

We end this series by saying, the consummation of God’s redemptive plan is a new heaven and a new earth where his people will peacefully dwell in 

His presence forever.

From the very beginning of the Bible, we learn that God intends for creation to be His dwelling place, where He can rule and reign over a people who worship and serve Him. The presence of sin disrupted this, which not only separated humanity from God’s presence but also cursed the very world God created to dwell with his people. 

All that God does in his plan of redemption begins to reverse this problem that sin has brought. Through a series of covenants, God works a plan to dwell with his people again. First, there is the tabernacle, a dwelling place of God among men. Then there is the temple, a dwelling place of God among men. Then there is the true temple, Jesus Christ, the very dwelling place of God among men. Through Jesus, there is the church, the dwelling place of God, not among his people, but in his people through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. 

All of this, from the garden of Eden to the presence of Christ and the indwelling of the Spirit in the church, points forward to and anticipates the glorious consummation of God’s plan described in Revelation 21:1-8. What John sees and describes is not a mere structure where God might dwell among his people, but a New Heaven and New Earth as the very dwelling place of God with his people. 

This is the hope of the church and of every believer who makes up the church. This morning, I would like to highlight five realities about the culmination of God’s plan that give the church hope: the hope of a new creation, the hope of a prepared people, the hope of God’s presence, the hope of eternal peace, and the hope of eternal life. 

I) The hope of a new creation (Rev. 21:1)

We have been right to highlight how God works out His plan through a series of covenants, but I lament how little time I have been able to devote to the promises of a future new creation, which is intimately connected to God’s covenant in Scripture. With the promise of the new covenant comes also a promise of a new creation. We need to hear the promises of Isaiah 65:17-18 to appreciate what Revelation 21 is teaching us fully. 

 17 “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth, and the former things shall not be remembered or come into mind. 18 But be glad and rejoice forever in that which I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem to be a joy, and her people to be a gladness. (Is 65:17–18)

In Scripture, God promises to make all things new. The way God does this is not all at once, but in two stages. First is the coming, living, dying, and rising of the Lord Jesus Christ. When Jesus is risen from the dead, the new creation begins. This is why Paul describes every believer in Jesus Christ as a new creation. 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. (2 Co 5:17)

For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation (Ga 6:15)

What we wait for is the consummation of the new creation; all things will be made new, including the creation itself, at the second coming of Christ. This is the future that John sees! 

The new heavens and new earth are similar to the old in that they are a physical reality—Heavenly, spiritual, but still physical. It is the earth that has been refined and renewed, so that all that sin’s curse has brought upon the earth passes away.

To refine and purify gold, it is set to fire. As the flame melts the gold, all of the impurities can be identified and separated from it. There is no pure gold without the heat of a refining fire. The New Testament often employs the image of fire as a refining and purifying force.

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (1 Pe 1:5–7)

Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, 12 waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! 13 But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells. (2 Pe 3:11–13)

The New Heaven and the New Earth will be one, refined by God, in which the old creation passes away. There will be no impurity left. This helps understand the phrase, “…the sea was no more.” Throughout Revelation, the sea is associated with idolatry, wickedness, and death. 

It is out of the sea that the beast comes in Revelation 13:1.

And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, with ten horns and seven heads, with ten diadems on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads. (Revelation 13:1)

In Revelation, the sea represents the realms of the dead. 

13 And the sea gave up the dead who were in it, Death and Hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done (Revelation 20:13)

To say that “…the sea was no more” is to say that in the New Heavens and New Earth, idolatry is no more, wickedness is no more, there is no place for the dead, because death is no more. 

The hope of the consummation is the hope of a new creation. 

II) The hope of a prepared people (Rev. 21:2)

The point of the new creation is for God to dwell with his redeemed people, so the second reality of the consummation that gives the church hope is the hope of prepared people. Let’s look at verse 2 together. 

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. (Re 21:2)

Now you can immediately recognize a mixture of metaphors. First, there is the description of a holy city, the new Jerusalem. We can quickly identify, though, that this city is a people, the church, prepared as a bride for her husband, Jesus Christ.  

What John sees is the future fulfillment of promises made in Isaiah 52:1 and Isaiah 61:10.

Awake, awake, put on your strength, O Zion; put on your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; (Is 52:1)

10 I will greatly rejoice in the LORD, my soul shall exult in my God, for he has clothed me with the garments of salvation; he has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself like a priest with a beautiful headdress, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels. (Is 61:10)

We all know and have seen the beauty of a bride on her wedding day. On that day, she spends more time on her appearance and dress than she has ever before that and will ever after that. There is a purity and beauty to the bride who adorns herself to meet her husband. 

The image that we are given is that in the new heavens and new earth, there will be a holy, purified people who will be presented to Christ without blemish or spot. What is wonderful about the way this is phrased is that it is clear that God is the one who has prepared these people. Throughout the history of God’s redemptive plan, he is purifying and adorning the church to be his people. 

How does God do this? He does so through the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ on the cross and the powerful, sanctifying washing of the Holy Spirit. 

Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish (Eph 5:25–27)

The true hope of the church is that God is at work in us to present us as holy people, a prepared bride without spot or wrinkle. 

I think John’s vision of the church in Revelation 21 provides at least two points worth reflecting on for our Christian lives today. 

The first is that we are not what we once were. The second is that we are not now what will be. 

Beloved, born again and baptized in the name of God, you are not who you once were. You belong to God. You are sanctified as holy and a member of the bride to whom Christ is betrothed. He is coming for his beloved, and he is working to adorn us for that day. 

God is still preparing us, and so what we are now is not what we will be. I love how 1 John 3:2 makes this point. 

Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. (1 Jn 3:1–2)

I hope that, if not now, soon, the prominent takeaway for members will be that Sunday after Sunday, they experience a greater awe of their salvation and a greater anticipation for the life to come. 

The hope of the new creation and being a prepared people is that we will be in God’s presence.  

III) The hope of God’s presence  (Rev. 21:3)

If you’ve been here and paying attention, I don’t know how you could not be moved by verse 3. 

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God (Re 21:3)

What John sees is again the future fulfillment of promises made throughout the Old Testament. God would do something new, so that his dwelling place would be among the people forever.

11 I will make my dwelling among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. 12 And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people. (Le 26:11–12)

26 I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. And I will set them in their land and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in their midst forevermore. 27 My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.  (Eze 37:26–27)

Verse three is the fulfillment of these promises, but not in a physical tabernacle or temple. Instead, the presence of God with the people of God makes all of creation the temple of his presence. This is why John doesn’t see a temple in his vision of the new creation. Listen to Revelation 21:22. 

22 And I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. (Re 21:22)

This is the vision of heaven that we have to look forward to, and this vision of life should lead us to joyful worship and obedience in our present lives. This is the vision we’re preparing for when we come to church on Sundays.

To gather for worship with the local church is to enter into a microcosm of the new creation amidst this fallen world. Local churches are not just an assembly of any people, but the assembly of God’s temple in whom the Spirit dwells. Corporate worship trains and perfects our appetites to desire more and more of that which truly satisfies: the glory of God’s presence. 

Do you long for the presence of God? As you think about heaven and all its glory, is God at the center of what you’re hoping for?

John Piper addresses this question directly in what I consider to be one of his more underrated and less-discussed books, God Is the Gospel. 

“The critical question for our generation—and for every generation—
is this: If you could have heaven, with no sickness, and with all the
friends you ever had on earth, and all the food you ever liked, and
all the leisure activities you ever enjoyed, and all the natural beauties
you ever saw, all the physical pleasures you ever tasted, and no
human conflict or any natural disasters, could you be satisfied with
heaven, if Christ were not there? ”

Beloved, lean into that question. Allow it to reveal the deepest longings of your heart and be honest about whether you find the hope of God’s presence there. 

The hope of the consummation is the hope of the new creation, the hope of being a prepared people, and the hope of God’s presence. The result of these realities is eternal peace and eternal life.  

IV) The hope of eternal peace (Rev. 21:4-5)

John’s description of the New Heavens and New Earth brings texts from Isaiah together to give us one more beautiful image of the entire Bible. 

4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Re 21:4)

Suffering characterized the old creation, so our life is often lived with tears in our eyes. In God’s new creation, we are freed from all past suffering. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes,and we are restored to God in such a way that we are freed from all future suffering, even death itself. 

and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”

Simon Kistemaker beautifully says, “Like a mother who bends down and tenderly wipes away the tears from the eyes of her weeping child, so the Lord God stoops down to dry the tear-filled eyes of his children.”

Within this room, there are numerous stories of pain and grief. No doubt we have shed tears because of our own sins, the consequences they have brought on our lives and the lives of others. We’ve also shed tears because the sinful world we live in is marked by death, and every funeral reminds us that life isn’t as it should be. 

I remember watching a dear family friend, a beautiful young woman, slowly become a shell of herself because of brain cancer until she died. She babysat when we were little, and then as we got older, so was the cool, pretty college friend who treated us like siblings. I was in the 6th grade when she had her first seizure in Nashville. I can remember driving home to Metropolis from Louisville during my Sophomore year in college to visit Karrie with my sister, grip her frail hand one last time, kiss her forehead, and tell her we loved her because her death was imminent. 

I can remember leaving the Fall festival during seminary on a beautiful night in North Carolina. We had been there just a few months and were happy. I walked out of the bedroom in our small apartment to hear my wife hit the floor, because on the other end of the phone, someone told her Dad became unresponsive on the farm and was pronounced dead by the time the ambulance reached the hospital. 

I remember being pulled from a Hebrew exam, for my professor to tell me a dear friend, the wife of the man who persuaded Kels and me to move to Southeastern, had finally succumbed to cancer and was gone. 

These are painful highlights that led to the shedding of many tears. If we had the time, each of you could tell your own painful stories of life in a fallen world. 

What I want to say to you, what I can’t stress enough, is that the hope of new creation, the redemption of God’s people, and life in God’s presence, which wipes away the tears in our eyes, is as true and as sure as anything you’ve ever experienced. 

God is not like us; he keeps all of his promises, and this will be no exception. Listen to God in verses 5-6. 

5 And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” 6 And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. (Re 21:5–6)

V) The hope of eternal life (Rev. 21:6-8)

To the thirsty I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. 7 The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son. 8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Re 21:6–8)

Use the allusions to John 4 & 7, along with a list of verses 8, to preach the gospel and call for a response to it. 

1. Pastorally note verse 8 refers to unrepentant sinners in willful rebellion against God and rejection of Christ. Having committed these sins does not bar someone from the Kingdom. All the saints in heaven will be forgiven sinners, justified through faith in Christ, and washed by the Spirit of God (1 Cor. 6:11) 

2. Urge all present who don’t know Christ to hear the promise that God satisfies the thirsty with the spring of the water of life. 

Optional Conclusion: 

“At the beginning of history God created the heavens and the earth. At the end of history we see the new heavens and new earth, which will far surpass in splendor all that we have seen before. As the center of history is the Lamb that was slain, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of kings of the earth. Some day we shall cast all our crowns before him, “…lost in wonder, love, and praise.”- Anthony Hoekema 

Sermon Idea: The church is the new covenant people of God as a new temple, a new priesthood, and the fulfillment of Israel. 

Introduction: When I was growing up, my dad would fall back on a few lines and phrases, especially when we were being instructed or corrected. On numerous occasions, he would summarize his view of life in a simple yet powerful sentence. He would say, “It all depends on what you do with Jesus Christ.” 

For Dad, life is determined by what one does with Jesus Christ. In doing so, he reinforced for us what the apostles proclaimed as they preached the gospel. The Apostle Peter, after healing the lame beggar, preached boldly. 

“…let it be known to all of you and to all the people of Israel that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead…This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone. And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” (Ac 4:10–12)

The centrality of Jesus Christ in God’s redemptive plan cannot be overstated. Jesus is the resounding amen to all of God’s redemptive promises, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:20, For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. (2 Co 1:20)

How does the New Testament speak of Jesus’ ministry? It does so with the language and images of Israel’s calling and purpose. 

God refers to Israel as his firstborn son (Exodus 4:22). Jesus is the beloved Son with whom God is well pleased (Matt. 3:17). Unlike Israel, who disobeyed God in the wilderness, Jesus is the perfect, obedient Son who withstands the tempting of Satan in the wilderness (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13). Israel is God’s servant (Isaiah 44:1), and Jesus is the true servant on whom the Spirit of God rests (Isaiah 42:1; Matt. 3:16), who fulfills Israel’s mission to be a light to the nations through his sacrificial death on the cross and his resurrection from the dead. Israel is described as a vine brought out of Egypt and planted by God (Psalm 80; Jer. 2:21; Isa. 5:7), and Jesus is the true vine (John 15:1-5) in whom every believer abides and bears fruit. 

What all of these images teach us is that Jesus fulfills Israel’s calling and purpose. This is why Jesus can rightly be called true Israel. We need to begin here, as it will help us understand how the New Testament discusses the church. 

When the apostles reflect on the nature and identity of the church, they do so in relation to Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of all God’s promises to Israel. The true people of God are not defined by ethnicity, nationality, or territory; instead, they are defined by faith in Jesus Christ, the true Israel of God. To borrow from my Dad, when it comes to determining who the true people of God are, it all depends on what you do with Jesus Christ. 

Our text this morning teaches that the church is the new covenant people of God as a new temple, a new priesthood, and the fulfillment of Israel. 

The context of Peter’s discussion of the church is the work of God’s salvation, which brings Gentiles like us into the people of God. 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you (1 Pe 1:3–4)

18 knowing that you were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot (1 Pe 1:18–19)

The assumption that Peter makes of the church is that its members are born again and ransomed by the precious blood of Christ. Therefore, the church is called to holiness as God is holy, and love, since we have been born again through the Word of God. What does this look like practically in the life of the church? Peter begins to answer that in 2:1-3. 

 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation— 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is good (1 Pe 2:1–3)

We will return to this passage later, but for now, I want you to see that our understanding of who we are informs how we live. To belong to the church by grace is to be called to a life of holiness and love as we will in covenant community together. Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, and slander are sins that fail to embody love, which can fracture the unity of the congregation and harm the church’s witness to an unbelieving world. 

As we consider that the church is the new covenant people of God, as a  new temple, a new priesthood, and the fulfillment of Israel, I hope you’ll reflect on who we are and ask whether it informs how we live as a church, and how you live as a follower of Jesus. 

I.) The Church is a new temple (1 Peter 2:4-5, 6-8)

We are to be holy, love one another, and put away sin because we are living stones of the very temple of God. 

4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house. (1 Pe 2:4–5)

Jesus is the living stone, because he is the living one who has been raised from the dead. The rejection of Jesus by men has in no way disrupted God’s plan, because Jesus is chosen and precious. What the Jewish leaders and Romans meant for evil, God meant for good. It is through Jesus’ death and resurrection that God fulfills all His promises, so that the restored people of God are founded on Christ, who is the cornerstone and the foundation for a new temple. 

Since the church is united to Jesus, who is living, we also are living stones.  Together, the church makes up a “spiritual house.” This is undoubtedly a reference to the temple.

The temple was a way for God to dwell among His people without His holiness consuming them because of their sin. That physical structure pointed forward to the presence of God in Jesus Christ, whose very presence is the dwelling place of God among them. 

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (Jn 1:14)

Jesus replaces the temple, and through union with him, the church becomes the dwelling place of God among men. 

19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, 21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord. 22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit. (Eph 2:19–22)

16 Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Co 3:16–17)

I hope that we will not rush past this too quickly. Pause and think about God residing in us, so that when we come together, we are the very dwelling place of God among men. 

Stephen Wellum is right to stress how incredible this is when he writes, “One cannot stress how incredible this truth is, and it once again points to the newness of the new covenant people. First, nowhere in the Old Testament are the people of Israel described as the temple of God in which God’s spirit dwells.”

Friends, let us live as those who have access to God, who are the very dwelling place of God! This means, among many things, that we don’t have to wonder if God is present by his Spirit when the church gathers for worship. 

There is a dangerous tendency for many to equate the presence of the Spirit with particular feelings or experiences, and if those feelings are not experienced, then the Spirit is assumed not to have moved. We should worship in Spirit and in truth. We should pray, sing, hear the Word, and see the ordinances with thanksgiving and joy. 

Many times, that will be an affection stirring, emotionally moving experience. At other times, we will, with parched mouths, pant in prayer to God for deeper affections as we worship, based on what we know and believe, despite how we feel. But don’t fall into the trap of believing the Spirit is absent because you’re not feeling some tingle that you’ve equated with true worship of God.

The people of God under the new covenant are a new temple, and we can be confident of God’s presence through His Spirit. 

II.) The Church is a new priesthood (1 Peter 2:5)

The church is the new temple, so that the church can be a new holy priesthood that offers its very life as spiritual sacrifices to God. Look with me at verse 5. 

5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. (1 Pe 2:5)

In the Old Testament, the privilege of the priesthood was reserved for the tribe of Levi. In the New Covenant, the entire covenant community belongs to the priesthood as the Holy Spirit indwells them. As a holy priesthood, the church offers spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. The sacrifices are spiritual because they are the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the church. In Christ, we are so changed by the Spirit to worship and serve God that our very lives are spiritual sacrifices before him. As the animals were sacrificed on the altar, we give our very lives, transformed by the Spirit as a sacrifice to God.

It does not seem that we are meant to limit the meaning of spiritual sacrifices to one or two activities, but rather to understand them as encompassing all good worship and service that the Holy Spirit wroughts in the lives of the church and individual believers through Jesus Christ. 

I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. (Ro 12:1)

Through him then let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that acknowledge his name. 16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. (Heb 13:15–16)

These passages, as well as others, are the support for a doctrine the Reformers called “the priesthood of all believers.” In other words, upon baptism, every believer belongs to the priesthood with free access to God through their mediator, Jesus Christ. 

There have been times when this doctrine has been misunderstood and misapplied. For example, some in Baptist life have incorrectly spoken of the priesthood of the believer (singular), divorcing it from the authority and accountability inherent in life in the church. 

The Baptist theologian Timothy George provides a helpful summary of the correct understanding of the priesthood of all believers. 

“…for Luther, the priesthood of all believers did not mean, “I am my own priest.” It meant rather: In the community of saints, God has so tempered the body that we are all priests to each other. We stand before God and intercede for one another, we proclaim God’s Word to one another and we celebrate his presence among us in worship, praise, and fellowship. Moreover, our priestly ministry does not terminate upon ourselves. It propels us into the world in service and witness.”  – Timothy George 

Do you see how this understanding of the church should inform and shape your membership in it? God has incorporated us into a people, so that we can minister and be ministered to.

Life in the local church involves spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Christ, as we pray for one another, serve one another, speak the Word of God to each other, and bear one another’s burdens. We are meant to live our Christian lives in and with the church. We are saved into a people, and we cannot fulfill our priestly duties or make our spiritual sacrifice apart from the church. 

Do you think of your life this way? When you prepare to gather with the church on the Lord’s Day, what is your perspective? Is it that you come to fill up your spiritual tank to have the fuel to live your Christian life for the rest of the week? Is gathering with the church simply an individual charging of the spiritual battery? How far this is from the biblical picture of the church that we are given! 

Gather because God has called us together as a church to be a holy temple and a holy priesthood. Gather to minister to one another and be witnesses together before a world desperate for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Verses 6-8 provide scriptural support for Christ being the cornerstone of the new temple and offer encouragement to the church amid persecution and difficulty. 

Peter wants the church to know that those who believe in Christ will not be put to shame, no matter what they experience in this life. Just as Christ was rejected but vindicated in the resurrection as the cornerstone, so every believer will be vindicated in the resurrection. In Christ, there is no shame, and no amount of ridicule, mocking, challenges, or persecution can change that. 

6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” (1 Pe 2:6)

The opposite, of course, remains true. All that is left for those outside of Christ is shame. What is the difference between a life defined by shame and one that is not? To quote Dad again, “it all depends on what you do with Jesus Christ.”

The rejection of Christ and the rejection of the church are not meant to discourage believers or lead them to think that God’s plan is being hindered. Rather, the rejection of Christ and the rejection of the Word fall under the sovereign providence of God, “They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do.” (1 Pe 2:8)

The church, however, is not among the stumbling and so in verses 9-10, Peter describes the church in more than positive language. He describes the church with the language of Israel. 

III. The Church is the fulfilled Israel (1 Peter 2:9-10)

9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy. (1 Pe 2:9–10)

I hope that you’ll recognize the descriptors of the church in verse 9, as the reapplication of Israel’s calling and purpose. They come from Exodus 19:5-6. 

5 Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; 6 and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. (Ex 19:5–6)

Verse 10 further applies the restoration passages to the church. It is an echo of Hosea 2:23.  

      23 and I will sow her for myself in the land. 

      And I will have mercy on No Mercy, 

      and I will say to Not My People, ‘You are my people’; 

      and he shall say, ‘You are my God.’ ” (Ho 2:23)

Peter teaches us that the fulfillment of these promises is in the new covenant people, the church. In Christ, Israel, who was once called “Not My People,” and the Gentiles, who were not among the covenant people of God, are united into one new race, nation, and people of God.  

Applying the covenant language to the church, down to the calling and purpose of Israel, strongly suggests that Peter understood the church to be the fulfillment of Israel. The church has experienced the second and greater exodus from Satan, sin, and death. Echoing the Exodus, Peter says that the church has been brought out of darkness and into his marvelous light. (1 Pet. 2:9) 

The church’s calling as the fulfilled Israel is to proclaim the excellencies of the God who called us into his marveous light. 

What can we say about the type of community the church is supposed to be? 

1.) The church is first a worshipping community. 

2.) The church is a second missional community.