Tag: christianity

Sermon Idea: Spiritual fruitfulness is marked by a faithful devotion to prayer and the Word of God. 

Introduction: The book of Acts contains a great deal about numerical growth. We have several texts that speak to the work of God in saving sinners, building the church, and increasing in number. 

So those who received his word were baptized, and there were added that day about three thousand souls. (Ac 2:41–42)

And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. (Ac 2:47)

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)

This emphasis on numerical growth makes sense, considering that this is an account of the earliest days of the church’s life. Growth is important, and church growth is important. It would be a superficial reading of Acts, however, to make numerical growth the sole metric to measure the success and fruitfulness of the early church. 

The growth that we see in Acts is both spiritual and numerical. It is the nature of this numeric growth that is truly good. In other words, numeric growth itself is a neutral category. A church having a lot of people is no more a sign of health any more than being small is necessarily a sign of faithfulness. What we see in Acts isn’t good simply becasue there is fast growth. It’s good becasue there is a work of God through the ordinary means of grace. It is the nature of the growth that is significant, not the number or size. 

How can we know if God is at work among us? What metrics can be used to measure the success of our ministry? Is it mere faithfulness? Is it the results? 

Jared Wilson, in his helpful book, The Gospel-Driven Church, notes that there has long been a debate about the nature of church growth. Two camps can generally be identified. On the one hand, some equate success with results. No results, no success. On the other hand, some equate success with faithfulness, no matter the results. 

And although the latter of these two groups is mostly correct, we need to say more. Faithfulness will be accompanied by fruitfulness. 

Wilson is right when he writes, “So how do we define church growth biblically? We must hold the two principles in tension, since they affirm a biblical truth. A ministry’s faithfulness to the mission of God is itself a success, regardless of the results. Yet at the same time, a faithful ministry will be a fruitful ministry.” 

The question now, of course, is how to define fruifulness appropriately? Borrowing from Jonathan Edwards, Wilson offers five metrics of grace, which he argues matter the most when thinking about church growth. 

1. A growing esteem for Jesus Christ 
2. A discernible spirit of repentance 

3. A dogged devotion to the Word of God 
4. An interest in theology and doctrine 
5. An evident love for God and neighbor

These metrics put the work of God’s grace at the center of your evaluation. More than numbers, they measure the spiritual fruitfulness of a congregation that necessarily follows the faithfulness of that congregation. 

In Acts 1:12-26, before the Spirit falls at Pentecost and before a large number of people are converted, we see the disciples exemplifying great spiritual fruitfulness. They are both faithful and spiritually fruitful. God is very much at work in them, and there is growth taking place. It’s just not a growth that can be measured with numbers. 

This morning, I want to pay attention to the faithfulness of the disciples and the spiritual fruit that it bears. Like Wilson’s metrics of grace, can we discern marks of spiritual fruitfulness in the life of our church? There are at least three worth mentioning. 

Spiritual fruitfulness is maked by faithful devotion to prayer, a faithful trust in God’s Word, and faithful actions formed by God’s Word.

I.) Spiritual fruitfulness is marked by faithful devotion to prayer (Acts 1:12-14)

Jesus has ascended into heaven, and the disciples have been reassured that he will come again. As the next scene opens up, the disciples have gathered in an upper room to obey the commands of Jesus to remain in Jerusalem until the sending of the Holy Spirit. 

Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. And when they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers (Ac 1:12–14)

This is a remarkable scene. Think about all these saints have endured in a relatively short period of time. Their master was arrested, tried, and sentenced to execution. He was severely beaten and then crucified on a Roman cross before a watching audience. As the grief finally sets in, they encounter the risen Lord Jesus and are taught about the kingdom of God, only to “lose” him again as he ascends into heaven. Oh, and they are down one disciple, having to face the harsh reality of a friend betraying their Lord and abandoning them. 

All of this draws them close to one another for the purpose of devoting themselves to prayer. The text says, “All these were in one accord…” Contrary to many Dad jokes, this doesn’t mean the disciples have crammed them into a Honda. It means they are in unity as who they are and what they are to do. Their unity is expressed in their devotion to prayer.

Why are they praying? Jesus has told them to wait, and he has told them he will send the Spirit. What are they praying for?

Here is a group of people so captivated by the will of their Master, so hopeful about all that he has said, that they devote themselves to prayer, believing that through it Jesus will accomplish all that he has promised. 

A mark of spiritual fruitfulness is a faithful devotion to prayer. The true nature of our hope and our belief in the promises of God can be measured by our devotion to or neglect of prayer. The disciples are devoting themselves to prayer because they believe that Jesus is going to send the Spirit. That they will be witnesses beginning in Jerusalem to the ends of the earth. It is this belief that drives them to prayer. This word devoted here suggests a continual practice. They persevered in prayer together. They were committed to it. 

Prayer is not a religious activity for special occasions; it is the primary language of the people of God. 

We know from experience what it looks like to be devoted to something. This morning, the NFL kicks off. I have been a Raiders fan since I was a little kid, becasue I enjoy damaging my mental and emotional health 17 weeks out of the year. 

In 2015, they were scheduled to play in Nashville, and I had never been to a game at that point. My dad got tickets, and we planned to take a trip together. He’s here in IL, and I’m in Wake Forest, North Carolina. So on a Saturday in the middle of a semester, I drive over eight hours to meet my Dad in Nashville. It’s November, and the forecast isn’t looking good. There I am on Sunday at the 40-yard line, and in the second half, the sky unloads. I pull my poncho over my head and stay put. It’s pouring down rain in the cold of November for nearly half the game, and it would have taken 2 or 3 grown men to remove me from my seat. Why? Because I love it, and my love produced an act of devotion. 

There are some of us who will sit on hard bleachers for hours for every sport in Massac County multiple days a week. Others of us will wake up early in the morning to sit for hours in frigid temperatures for a deer or a duck. These are not necessarily problems, and it’s not a sin to enjoy them, so what’s the point? It’s simply this: we know what devotion looks like, don’t we? 

Beloved, has Christ not loved us in such a way as to produce in us greater acts of devotion than these? Are our sins not forgiven as far as the east is from the west? Have we not been reconciled to God? Is eternal life not our glorious inheritance? Are we not indwelt by the Spirit? Has he not promised to build his church, so the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it? Will he not build us up into the very temple of his presence? Is the gospel not the power of God unto salvation? 

A mark of spiritual fruitfulness is a faithful devotion to prayer. Prayer should be more primary in our corporate worship gatherings, and our prayer meetings should be more fully attended. Men, lead your family to gather for corporate prayer. Lead the way in attentiveness and affirmation during every prayer of corporate worship. Not becasue it is a religious activity for special occasions, but because it is the act through which God works to fulfill his promises. 

Charles Spurgeon, in his concluding address to the students of the pastors’ college, emphasizes corporate prayer in the church in a way worth hearing and recovering. 

“If a church is to be what it ought to be for the purposes of God, we must train it in the holy art of prayer. Churches without prayer-meeting are grievously common. Even if there were only one such, it would be one to weep over. In many churches the prayer-meeting is only the skeleton of a gathering: the form is kept up, but the people do not come. There is no interest, no power, in connection with the meeting. Oh, my brothers, let it not be so with you! Do train the people to continually meet together for prayer. Rouse them to incessant supplication. There is a holy art in it. Study to show yourselves approved by he prayerfulness of your people. If you pray yourself, you will want them to pray with you, and when they begin to pray with you, and for you, and for the work of the Lord, they will want more prayer themselves, and the appetite will grow. Believe me, if a church does not pray, it is dead. Instead of putting united prayer last, put it first. Everything will hinge upon the power of prayer in the church.”- Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

A mark of spiritual fruitfulness is a faithful devotion to prayer. The second mark we can see is a faithful trust in God’s Word. Look with me at verses 15-20. 

II.) Spiritual fruitfulness is marked by faithful trust in God’s Word (Acts 1:15-20)

The disciples had to suffer the loss of Judas, and we can’t know for certain how they initially handled that loss. Based on a basic understanding of life, we can understand that it may have included anger, pain, grief, and discouragement. It could have induced confusion over God’s plan and the disciples’ role in it. 

Peter steps forward in this moment to tether God’s people to God’s Word, so that they understand why this has happened and what to do now. 

15 In those days Peter stood up among the brothers (the company of persons was in all about 120) and said, 16 “Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit spoke beforehand by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was numbered among us and was allotted his share in this ministry.” (Ac 1:15–17)

Peter appeals to two verses in the Psalms, which he then interprets through Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. Peter reads the Psalms of David and the suffering he endured as being fulfilled by Judas’ betrayal. Without that betrayal, Jesus cannot be arrested, tried, and crucified. 

The point is simple. Judas’ betrayal was not a surprise or a disruption to the plan of God; it was under the sovereign providence of God. What is crucial for us to note is that Peter is not trying to make sense of all this on his own, but he is depending on Holy Scripture and is reading it in a way taught to him by Jesus himself (Luke 24). The Word of God is in Peter’s blood and bones. He is so immersed in it that life is interpreted in light of the truth of Scripture. 

It is not unlikely that there will be people that you know, some of whom you follow, learn from, and love, who will disappoint you in the most tragic of ways. You will know people who sour and bitterly turn away from the Lord. You will know people who once loved sound doctrine who compromise the most precious of truths. 

If you do not have categories that are shaped and formed by the Word of God, it will be deeply unsettling. It will be hard no matter what, but being formed and shaped by the Word will strengthen you to be hurt like a Christian and not be vulnerable to the winds of every painful circumstance.

Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, 2 through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, 3 who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. (1 Ti 4:1–3)

But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. 2 For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, 4 treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people. (2 Ti 3:1–5)

18 Children, it is the last hour, and as you have heard that antichrist is coming, so now many antichrists have come. Therefore we know that it is the last hour. 19 They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went o)t, that it might become plain that they all are not of us. (1 Jn 2:18–19)

Know the Word, immerse yourself in it, and learn to read and interpret it in a sound way, so that your faith is not at the mercy of every unexpected circumstance.  

A mark of spiritual fruitfulness is the faithful trust in God’s Word. That trust not only includes what Scripture prepares us for, but also what it warns us of. 

The description of Judas’ death is a warning of all that awaits those who stand opposed to God. No one will withstand the wrath of God, the deliverance of his justice, and the execution of his righteousness. Your sin will either be judged sufficiently on the cross of Christ or eternally in the darkness of Hell. 

Listen to the warning, trust in Christ, who alone is the Savior of sinners. 

A mark of spiritual fruitfulness is the faithful trust in God’s Word, and those who trust in it act faithfully as they are formed by God’s Word. 

III.) Spiritual fruitfulness is marked by faithful actions formed by God’s Word (Acts 1:21-26)

The disciples have unambiguous instructions from Jesus to wait in Jerusalem until the sending of the Spirit. As we’ve seen, they are devoted to prayer and trusting in God’s Word. Their prayer life and their knowledge of the Word lead them to act. They need someone to serve as a witness to Jesus’ resurrection. Let’s look at verses 21-26. 

21 So one of the men who have accompanied us during all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us, 22 beginning from the baptism of John until the day when he was taken up from us—one of these men must become with us a witness to his resurrection.” 23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. (Ac 1:21–23)

Why do I say that their actions are formed by the Word? Becasue Jesus had taught about the roles of the 12 apostles. Consider Luke 22:28-29. 

28 “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, 29 and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, 30 that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel (Lk 22:28–30)

The disciples understand that the restoration of the twelve apostles is necessary before the Spirit comes, because the apostles are the foundation through which God fulfills all of his promises to Israel through the Church. So their action is formed by the Word of God, and executed with sincere belief that the Lord has already chosen the right replacement. 

23 And they put forward two, Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also called Justus, and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all, show which one of these two you have chosen 25 to take the place in this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they cast lots for them, and the lot fell on Matthias, and he was numbered with the eleven apostles. (Ac 1:23–26)

The way they go about determining who the Lord had chosen may seem odd to us, but we need to remember that this was done with a high view of  God’s sovereign providence. For example, we read in Proverbs:

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD (Pr 16:33)

After the giving of the Holy Spirit, we do not see the casting of lots practiced again. The Spirit leads the church in all its discerning of God’s will and in all its decision-making. 

The key point for us is simple. A mark of spiritual fruitfulness is acting in obedience to God’s Word. 

The true test for what we beleive about Scripture will not be found in our statements about it, but in our obedience to it. How much will it matter if the claim to love the authority of the Bible, its authority, clarity, and sufficiency, if we don’t do what it says?

A mark of spiritual fruitfulness is the will to act on what God has clearly taught in His Word.  

What we have here in Acts 1:12-26 is a small group of faithful, spiritually fruitful believers who are growing in the Lord. 

I don’t know if the Lord will bless us extraordinarily with conversions and explosive church growth while I’m here. What we can do in the meantime is be faithful every day, be devoted to prayer, trust God’s Word, and act in obedience to God’s Word. If we do that, we can be confident that we have the marks of a spiritually fruitful congregation, all to the glory of God. 

Sermon Idea: The ascension of Christ Jesus into heaven assures that the kingdom is coming and commissions us as witnesses until He comes. 

Introduction: What Old Testament passage does the New Testament quote the most? Does it come to your mind? Might it be Exodus 34, about God’s glory and goodness? Might it be the comforting words of Psalm 23?  Or perhaps it is Isaiah 53, and its great promise of the suffering servant who is crushed for our sins. All of these would be good guesses, but there is one text that is quoted, alluded to, and echoed more than all of these. That passage is Psalm 110. 

1The LORD says to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand, until I make your enemies your footstool.” 2 The LORD sends forth from Zion your mighty scepter. Rule in the midst of your enemies! 3 Your people will offer themselves freely on the day of your power, in holy garments; from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours. 4 The LORD has sworn and will not change his mind, “You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek.” 5 The Lord is at your right hand; he will shatter kings on the day of his wrath. 6 He will execute judgment among the nations, filling them with corpses; he will shatter chiefs over the wide earth. 7 He will drink from the brook by the way therefore he will lift up his head. (Ps 110:1–7)

It is one of the most central themes of the New Testament, the truth that fuels the church’s life and mission, the reality that anchors the hope of the entirety of the Christian life: Jesus Christ has ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. 

Luke believes that the Ascension is so vital that he records it twice: first in the conclusion of the Gospel of Luke, and then here in Acts 1. 

The meditation on Psalm 110 and Christ’s fulfillment of it was not some theoretical concept for the early church. It was not irrelevant theology. It was the very reason to live every day in hope. It was the assurance of their access to God. It was the truth that fueled their obedience and zeal for the Great Commission. 

Jesus Christ lives, Jesus Christ reigns, and that makes all the difference for today. 

It is because Jesus has ascended into heaven that we can enter into God’s presence with confidence. The Bible tells us that mercy and grace await us in our time of need. The author of Hebrews tells us that Jesus has passed through the heavens as a great high priest, and so we should draw near to God. 

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (Heb 4:16)

The ascension of Jesus Christ is not some theoretical concept for us either. Jesus Christ lives, Jesus Christ reigns, and that makes all the difference for today. 

What difference does it make for the apostles in Acts 1:6-11? Their longing and desire is for the kingdom of God. Jesus has risen; for forty days, He has taught about the Kingdom of God (Acts 1:3), and He has promised the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4-5). Surely this is the time that God will restore Israel, the kingdom will be unified, their enemies will be defeated, and all of God’s promises will be fulfilled. It’s now, isn’t it? 

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? (Ac 1:6)

What they desire is right, but there is confusion about the time of the kingdom. There is still more for them to learn about the nature of God’s kingdom, the manner in which it comes, and their particular role in it. 

When Jesus responds, he directs them away from the timing to the work of God and the work that God will do through them. The Father appoints the time of the kingdom. The Holy Spirit accomplished the coming of the kingdom. The Son’s ascension and promised return assure the hope of the kingdom. 

Jesus’s answer is not only relevant to the apostles, but to us. When will the kingdom of God come, how will it come, and what are we to do as the church until the kingdom of God is fully realized? 

The ascension of Christ Jesus into heaven assures that the kingdom is coming and commissions us as witnesses until He comes.

I.) The Father appoints the time of the kingdom (Acts 1:6-7)

The kingdom of God is good, and the apostles are right to long for it, but the timing is left to the providence of God. The secret things belong to the Lord and can be left to the Lord, because he is a God who is sovereign. According to Jesus, the times and seasons are determined by God’s authority. 

He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. (Ac 1:7)

There are a lot of things about life that are left to God’s secret will. We are not meant to know when Jesus will return. We are not meant to know when we will die. These are things that are not known to us, but that ignorance should not lead to anxiety. Why? The Christian can rest in the sovereign providence of God. 

The Baptist Catechism provides a helpful definition of God’s providence, as it connects God’s providence to His character. 

Q: What are God’s works of providence?

A: God’s works of providence are his most holy, wise, and powerful preserving and governing all his creatures, and all their actions.

Beloved, we need to believe that the works of God’s providence are holy and wise. We can leave the secret things to God’s will because of who he is and what he is like. In other words, we do not have to doubt that the kingdom will come in full. We can trust that there is a reason that Jesus tarries. 

We are not meant to give our attention to the secret will of God. We are to give our attention to the revealed will of God, and God has revealed his will for us in Holy Scripture. 

This principle can be applied widely. The disciples were right to long for the kingdom; they wanted it now, but Jesus encourages them to trust the time appointed by the Father, who is good and wise. 

We are blessed to have among us so many young adults, college students, or brothers and sisters in those early transitional years. There is a lot about your life that belongs to the secret will of God. Who will you marry and when? How many children will you have? What city will you live in?

These things are not for you to know in advance. What you are to do is not obsess over the secret will of God for your life, but on the revealed will of God in His Word. Spend every day bringing all of your life under the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Seek the Lord, repent of sin, grow in holiness and righteousness, and become as faithful a church member as possible. 

When Jesus appeals to the authority of God, which fixes the days and seasons, there is a loving, pastoral aim. If he is rebuking them, it’s gentle. The correction brings comfort. God is in control, and he is a good God, so don’t worry about the times or seasons. 

Believe that God is holy, wise, and powerful. Seek not the secret things. Trust God to be God, and seek with diligence the revealed things, what God commands of us in His Word. 

Jesus’s answer doesn’t stop with the time appointed by the Father. He does provide an answer to their question. The coming of the kingdom will be accompanied by the sending of the Holy Spirit, who empowers the apostles to become witnesses of the kingdom of God. Look with me at verse 8. 

II.) The Holy Spirit accomplishes through witnesses the coming of the kingdom (Acts 1:8-9)

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 way Jesus answered the disciples’ question was first with a “no.” The kingdom will not be fully realized now, but in verse 8, and this is important: he says that it is coming through the work of the Spirit and the birth of the church. The kingdom of God is now, and not yet. It is present and it is future. 

Jesus’ answer can be divided into three major points: how the kingdom will come, what the church does as the kingdom comes, and where the kingdom will advance.

The how question is answered in the sending and empowering of the Holy Spirit: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.”

Within Jesus’ answers are numerous allusions to Old Testament promises. So, for example, this is an allusion to Isaiah 32:15-18.

15 until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, and the fruitful field is deemed a forest. 16 Then justice will dwell in the wilderness, and righteousness abide in the fruitful field. 17 And the effect of righteousness will be peace, and the result of righteousness, quietness and trust forever.

We read that not to make a connection for the sake of making a connection. What I want us to see is that the sending and giving of the Spirit marks the beginning of God’s restoration of the kingdom of Israel. The promises will be realized through the Spirit and the church. 

What will the Spirit do? Empower the apostles to be witnesses. The church needs to remember that the power of God in building the kingdom comes by the Holy Spirit. In Acts, the Spirit’s power is connected to the preached Word of God and miraculous acts. 

33 And with great power, the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. (Ac 4:33) 

God does not build his kingdom with military might. It is not built with political pressure. The coming of the kingdom doesn’t come with a business plan or dependence on wealth. 

The kingdom comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, empowering witnesses to testify to the gospel of the kingdom. 

The promise that the apostles will be witnesses involved another important Old Testament allusion. 

“You are my witnesses,” declares the LORD, “and my servant whom I have chosen, that you may know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed, nor shall there be any after me. I, I am the LORD, and besides me there is no savior (Is 43:10–11) 

As stated earlier, these connections confirm that the restoration of the kingdom of Israel will occur through the Holy Spirit and the church. 

The key truth that the apostles bear witness to is the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. Today, we live in a different period of redemptive history, and do not serve as witnesses in the same way. We have, however, received the great commission, which gives us the responsibility to bear witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is the purpose we are to pursue together as a church. The kingdom comes through Word and Spirit. 

I am grateful for every Christian civil servant, and for every effort to influence society with what is good, beautiful, and true. I praise the Lord for all of it. Please don’t hear me belittle those efforts at all. 

What most excites me, though, and what I think should be the singular focus of the church, is the proclamation of the gospel, the making of disciples, and the planting of churches. 

You see, the kingdom comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, but its presence on earth is quite humble. Our sinful hearts don’t like what is small and humble. We want the big and powerful. God confounds the wisdom of the world by saving and gathering unimpressive, sinful people who are baptized in water. The devils of Hell tremble not as his people take up arms, but the bread and the cup. 

This is how the Lord often works, as described in His Word. 

27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God (1 Co 1:27–29)

The third and final part of Jesus’ answer concerns the advancement of the kingdom. The kingdom of God will know no boundary. It will reserve no corner of the world that can escape the Lordship of Christ, in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

This again alludes to an important Old Testament passage, Isaiah 49:6.

“It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” (Is 49:6)

God is not only going to begin restoring the kingdom of Israel by the Holy Spirit and through the church, but the church will become a light to the nations as the gospel advances from Jerusalem, in Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

The heart of God is for the nations, and he will give to his Son a people redeemed from every tribe, tongue, and nation. All of this will be accomplished by the work of God by the Holy Spirit and through the church. 

As we progress through Acts, you’ll see how God, by the Spirit, makes the apostles witnesses, starting in Jerusalem and advancing to Rome, ultimately reaching the ends of the earth.

The kingdom of God does not come by military strength. Its reach is not one location and one ethnic group. The kingdom of God comes by the power of the Holy Spirit, empowering witnesses to preach the gospel, starting in Jerusalem and extending to the ends of the earth. 

III.) The ascension of the Son and the promise of his return assure the hope of the kingdom  (Acts 1:10-11) 

After Jesus gives his final marching orders to the apostles, he ascends into heaven. 

9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven. (Ac 1:9–11)\

One of the reasons we began by discussing the ascension was to allow me to focus on how the narrative connects the ascension to the mission of the disciples. As much as I love the allusions to Psalm 2 and Daniel 7, and how the cloud serves as an image for the glory of God, I also want to emphasize the connection between the ascension and the mission of the disciples. 

The two men, possibly angels, give the disciples a gentle rebuke, “Why do you stand looking into heaven?” Christ’s ascension into heaven means that it is now time to work faithfully to do all that Christ had commanded. And they are to do so with the hope of Christ’s promised return. 

We seek to fulfill the mission Christ has given us with the unshaking conviction that his reign in heaven assures the success of our labors. 

It is the ascended Lord Jesus Christ who said before the cross, I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it (Mt 16:18)

We do so with the full assurance of hope that he will return the same way he came into heaven.

We live between these two great events, and they both are meant to fuel us to action, not apathy. Yes, the day is fixed by the Father. Yes, the Son rules and reigns in heaven, and the Holy Spirit is at work, but God does all of this through people who pray, preach, and serve, so that disciples are made and churches are planted. 

The thought that occurred to me in my study was that I’m not broken enough over the lostness in Massac County. The reality of an eternal Hell has not shaken me enough. Mission partnerships and unreached people don’t occupy my thoughts and prayers enough. 

The risen Lord Jesus Christ assures that the gospel will advance, disciples will be made, and the church will be built. Those are promises meant to propel us to act. 

So let’s look to heaven, but not stand and gaze. Let’s, with obedient hearts, be faithful to pray for the salvation of the lost, the making of disciples, the strengthening, and planting of churches. Let’s love our friends and family well, share the gospel with them, and pray for their conversion. Let us commit to the church and seek to bring every aspect of life under the Lordship of Christ. 

Jesus Christ lives, Jesus Christ reigns, and that makes all the difference for today.

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. 

Sermon Idea: The New Covenant of grace is fulfilled by the sacrificial death of Christ, purifying the people of God for the presence of God once and for all. 

Introduction: One of the most beautiful pictures of God’s redemptive plan in the New Testament is the temple curtain being torn in two when Jesus dies on the cross. 

37 And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. 38 And the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. 39 And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!” (Mk 15:37–39)

The crisis of the biblical story, and thus the crisis of human history, is the separation that sin has brought between God and those created in His image. The most significant consequence of Adam’s sin was being exiled from the garden. How is it that sinful people can enter again into the presence of God? 

The Bible is the true story of God restoring a people to dwell, live, and worship in his very presence. It is a story about God’s kingdom, where He rules and reigns over His people through covenant. 

The people of God dwelling in the presence of God was the fundamental purpose of the covenants that God made with Abraham, Israel, and David, through which God could fulfill his promise to deliver the promised seed of the woman (Gen. 3:15) who would crush the head of the serpent, establish a New Covenant, and open a way into God’s presence once again. 

This journey back into God’s presence was sewn into the very fabric of Israel’s worship. When God instructs Israel to build the tabernacle, he commands that cherubim be sewn into the curtain that separates the holy place from the Most Holy Place. When Solomon builds the temple, cherubim are sewn once again into the curtain which hangs before the Most Holy Place. 

This is so fascinating because God set cherubim to guard the garden. The presence of cherubim in Genesis 3 signals that the presence of God is not accessible to the sinner. 

 24 He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Ge 3:23–24, garden)

“And you shall make a veil of blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. It shall be made with cherubim skillfully worked into it. (Ex 26:31, tabernacle)

And he made the veil of blue and purple and crimson fabrics and fine linen, and he worked cherubim on it. (2 Ch 3:14, temple)

Both the tabernacle and the temple curtain represent God’s work in restoring a people to His presence. Every year on the Day of Atonement, the High Priest would enter into the Most Holy Place, atone for the sins of the people by shedding the blood of a spotless sacrificial lamb. 

The curtain represented the work of God in restoring His presence among the people, but it also represented the separation that was still a reality. Only the High Priest could enter through the curtain, and while that cherubim-marked curtain remains, it signifies that the holy presence of God is not accessible to the sinner. The Old Covenant was good and gracious in many respects, but it could not bring the people of God into the presence of God. 

This is why the tearing of the curtain is so significant. Through the sacrificial death of the spotless lamb, Jesus Christ, the way has now been made open. The tearing of the curtain symbolizes the removal of the cherubim from the entrance to the garden. The angels no longer guard the presence of God, because a way is now open through the Son of God, whose death establishes a New Covenant of grace. 

In Hebrews 9, the author demonstrates how the New Covenant, established by the death of Jesus Christ, fulfills all that the Old Covenant anticipated through the types and shadows of the sacrificial system. 

The New Covenant of grace is fulfilled by the sacrificial death of Christ, purifying the people of God for the presence of God once and for all.

As we consider this passage together, I want you to hear how God has brought us into His presence through the death of Jesus Christ. When we gather on the Lord’s Day, we are not a people at whom God looks from a distance. He invites us again to be in his presence through our Lord Jesus Christ, to hear his Word, and to commune with us. We experience that not through Word and Spirit, and one day we’ll experience it in full. 

If you’re here this morning and you’re not a Christian, I invite you to consider that access to God is possible through faith in Jesus Christ. It is the only way by which our sins can be forgiven and the only way we can become like the God in whose image we have been created.

I.) The earthly, preparatory nature of the Old Covenant (Hebrews 9:1-10)

Everything about the Old Covenant—the tabernacle, temple, and the sacrificial system—was given as a grace to life in the promised land. It pointed forward through types and shadows to greater realities, but everything about it concerned earthly things. Notice how the author of Hebrews described the Old Covenant in Hebrews 9:1. 

Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. (Heb 9:1)

The earthly place of holiness refers to the tabernacle. To call it earthly is not derogatory, but to say that the tabernacle was a holy place on the earth. As such, it is pointed forward and prepares us for a greater reality, a better sanctuary: not one of the earth, but of heaven. 

The author of Hebrews summarized the structure and furniture of the tabernacle. The key here is to note the two sections of the tabernacle: the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. 

2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. 3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant. 5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail. (Heb 9:2–5) 

What the author then does in verses 6-10 is show how the priestly service of the Old Covenant cannot bring the people into the presence of God. This is achieved by highlighting the repetitive nature of the priestly work in the tabernacle and noting that only the High Priest could enter the Most Holy Place. 

6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people. (Heb 9:6–7)

Notice the language that emphasizes the priests’ never-ending service. The priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties. The High Priest enters the Most Holy Place once a year to offer the sacrifice of atonement. All of these things—the earthly nature of the tabernacle, the repetitive service of the priests, the division of the two holy places—indicate its inability to bring people into the presence of God truly. 

8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing 9 (which is symbolic for the present age). According to this arrangement, gifts and sacrifices are offered that cannot perfect the conscience of the worshiper, 10 but deal only with food and drink and various washings, regulations for the body imposed until the time of reformation. (Heb 9:8–10)

There is a lot to note, but I want to highlight two primary points. 

The first is the way the author of Hebrews identifies the Holy Spirit as the one who indicates the temporary and preparatory nature of the Old Covenant. God, by His Spirit, intended for the Old Covenant to point forward and foreshadow the new.

The second is that the primary problem with the sacrificial system was that it could not purify the worshipper, and so it could not bring people into God’s presence. They were good sacrifices for the purpose that God instituted them, for life in the land, but they could not purify the worshipper, finally deal with sin, and usher people into the presence of God. 

In all these ways, the Old Covenant points forward to the New. When God fulfills his promises, a sacrifice will be made once; it will purify the worshipper and bring them into the presence of God. 

II.) The heavenly, permanent nature of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:11-22)

The death of Jesus Christ, the Son of God incarnate, and the shedding of his blood established a New Covenant of grace, fulfilling all that the Old Covenant merely pointed to. 

But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption (Heb 9:11–12)

To highlight the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice, his priestly work, and the New Covenant he establishes, the author of Hebrews identifies three things that Jesus does. 

1.) He entered once into the holy places. Unlike the priests who served regularly, and unlike the High Priest who entered the temple only once a year, Jesus entered the temple only once. The New Covenant of grace not only has a heavenly sanctuary, but a permanent sacrifice. 

2.) He entered not by the blood of bulls and goats, but by his blood! He is the atoning sacrifice! The author of Hebrews reflects later on the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice in 10:12-14. 

12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Heb 10:12–14)

3.) His sufficient sacrifice through which he enters into the heavenly sanctuary secures eternal redemption! The result is that Jesus does what the Old Covenant priests and sacrifices could not do: purify the worshipper and bring them into the presence of God! 

 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God. (Heb 9:12–14)

The New Covenant promises made in Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel regarding the forgiveness of sin and the purification of the sinner are fulfilled in the substitutionary death of Jesus Christ. The Old Covenant sacrifices could make one ceremonially clean by purifying the flesh, but the sacrifice of Christ purifies the whole person. 

When I was in High School, I was required, as I am sure many of you were, to read Macbeth by William Shakesphere. There is a scene in this famous play that captures the effect of guilt on the human conscience more effectively than any other I have seen or read. 

In short, Lady Macbeth conspired with her husband to kill King Duncan with the hope that her husband, a general in Scotland, would become king. Spoiler alert: They kill King Duncan. They both suffer from guilt for this, and Lady Macbeth in particular begins to sleepwalk.

She imagines she is trying to wash Duncan’s blood off her hands, saying:

“Out, damned spot! Out, I say!” She believes she still sees Duncan’s blood on her hands and cannot cleanse herself of the guilt. No matter what she does, the guilt remains, and no matter how much she tries, her conscience remains stained. 

The gospel of Jesus Christ, and only the gospel of Jesus Christ, is the remedy for the guilt-ridden conscience. It is the remedy for the power of sin in our lives. It is freedom from the guilt and condemnation that our sin has brought upon us. Through the gospel of Jesus Christ and his shed blood, we are purified, forgiven, and freed to serve the living God. 

Since Christ is the better and greater sacrifice for sin, since he is the great High Priest who has entered into the heavenly sanctuary, he is the mediator of the New Covenant. 

15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. (Heb 9:15)

God fulfills his covenant promises in Jesus Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant of grace. The inheritance promised to Israel in the land pointed forward to an eternal inheritance, life in God’s presence as the people of God in the New Heavens and New Earth (Hebrews 11:10; Rev. 21)

Peter also makes the connection between the New Covenant and the promise of inheritance. 

3 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)

The New Covenant of grace, although first promised in Genesis 3:15 and then preached to Abraham in Genesis 15, was further revealed through types and shadows of the sacrificial system and was not formally established until the death of Jesus Christ. Just as the shedding of blood ratified the Old Covenant, the shedding of blood was needed to ratify the New Covenant.

18 Therefore not even the first covenant was inaugurated without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant that God commanded for you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. (Heb 9:18–22)

The point is straightforward. The death of Jesus and the shedding of his blood establish the New Covenant. His blood is superior to lambs, bulls, and goats, because he is the very Son of God in human flesh. The blood of Christ has been shed, the New Covenant of grace has been established, and the forgiveness of sins is available through faith in Christ. 

This is why many hymns frequently mention blood in their lyrics. It is the blood of the New Covenant, shed in the death of Jesus Christ, that purifies us, forgives our sins, so that we might enter into the presence of God.

III.) The present and future grace of the New Covenant (Hebrews 9:23-28)

These truths about the heavenly and permanent nature of the New Covenant have numerous implications for the Christian life and the church’s worship as we gather each Lord’s Day. As a church and as individual believers, we live with the blessing of present grace and have the promise of future grace. What is the present grace of the New Covenant? If we consider all that the New Testament teaches, it encompasses all the blessings of salvation; however, we can be more specific. 

For the author of Hebrews, the present grace of the New Covenant is taught in reference to Christ as our great High Priest who has entered into heaven on our behalf. 

For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb 9:24)

For Christ to appear in the presence of God on our behalf means that those whom Christ represents are accepted into God’s presence. Through Jesus Christ, we are not only saved from God’s wrath, but we are invited into his presence. This is the truth we sing about when we sing Before the Throne of God Above. 

Before the throne of God above

I have a strong and perfect plea:

A great High Priest whose name is Love,

Who ever lives and pleads for me.

My name is graven on his hands,

My name is written on his heart.

I know that while in Heav’n he stands

No tongue can bid me thence depart,

Christ has entered into the very presence of God on our behalf. We are not only accepted but also invited, through faith in Christ, to draw near to God. This is why the immediate application given by the author of Hebrews is to draw near to God. 

21 and since we have a great priest over the house of God, 22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. (Heb 10:21–22)

It is why the encouragement in the Epistle of James is genuine and not theoretical. In Christ Jesus, believers can draw near to the presence of God. 

 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. (Jas 4:6–8)

Beloved, do you live your life this way? Are you someone who draws near to God by listening to His Word and responding in prayer? Is the gathering on the Lord’s Day a priority, so that you can draw near to God’s presence? It is no surprise that the immediate application of “draw near” in Hebrews 10 is a command to be committed to gathering to the local church. 

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Heb 10:24–25)

That is the present grace of the New Covenant. Jesus Christ is our great High Priest who brings us into the very presence of God. What is the future grace? 

But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. 27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, 28 so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Heb 9:26–28)

The future grace of the New Covenant is that those who are in Jesus Christ only await salvation at the return of Jesus Christ. In Jesus, our sin has already been judged. In Baptism, our sins have been buried in the grave, and we’ve been resurrected with Christ to new life. For the Christian, what we await is not judgment, but salvation—the completion and the consummation of all that God is doing. 

so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. (Heb. 9:28)

The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was so sufficient in dealing with sin and the New Covenant so gracious, that the second coming of Jesus has no reference to sin at all—only the salvation of those who await him and the judgement of those who reject him. 

The New Covenant of grace is fulfilled by the sacrificial death of Christ, purifying the people of God for the presence of God once and for all.

For so many of us, that is our story: we have been brought into the presence of God through our great mediator, Jesus Christ. 

If you’re here this morning and you’re not a Christian, or you’re here and not you’ve been merely pretending to be one, listen to the inescapable reality of verse 27, And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment…

Death is the result of sin, and sin separates people from the very presence of God. Sin can only be forgiven, separation from God can only be restored, and death can only be defeated through faith in Jesus Christ. Please don’t carry your sins with you to the deathbed, don’t carry them into judgement. 

Trust in Jesus Christ through faith, bury your sins in the waters of baptism, and be raised anew with an invitation into God’s presence. Be among those Christ comes to save who are eagerly waiting for him. 

Let’s pray.  

Sermon Idea: The promised new covenant is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan in Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, who mediates a better covenant of grace. 

Introduction: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope. (Je 29:11)

These hopeful words from Jeremiah 29:11 are among the most frequently quoted verses in the entire Bible. You can find numerous high school and college graduation cards with these words engraved on the inside. They’ve been stitched or printed on the blankets of newborns. It is a popular verse featured on coffee cups, magnets, and T-shirts. It is the Old Testament equivalent to John 3:16. 

Christians can read these words, apply them, and be blessed by them. The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God of Israel, is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. All of his words are good for us. 

That said, we will benefit from them the most when we remember the context in which they are given. 

The promise of Jeremiah 29:11 comes not at a time of celebration like that of a graduation or the birth of a newborn baby. They do not come as words of affirmation after the nation’s success and prosperity. 

Far from it. These words come to God’s people in their lowest valley and their darkest hour. 

When we last left off, God had covenanted with David and promised him an eternal kingdom, an eternal throne, and a descendant who would sit on that throne forever. God will fulfill these promises, but they will be fulfilled through a faithful and obedient king, one who is like a son to the Father.

The problem that follows is that unfaithful kings and unfaithful priests too often represented God’s people. There was a prosperous season under the reign of David’s son Solomon, who built the temple in Jerusalem. He, too, would fall, seduced by the false, foreign gods of his wives. Things get worse when Solomon’s son, Rehoboam, fails to listen to the concerns of the people, and the kingdom is divided into two. The northern kingdom maintained the name Israel, while the southern kingdom was known as Judah. 

The kings in Israel did not lead faithfully, nor did the kings in Judah. To emphasize this point to the reader, a recurring theme is found throughout 1 Kings. The language isn’t always identical, but the fact is the same. 

And he walked in all the sins that his father did before him, and his heart was not wholly true to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. (1 Ki 15:3)

He did what was evil in the sight of the LORD and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin which he made Israel to sin. (1 Ki 15:26)

The people need a faithful, righteous king. They need a faithful, righteous priest. 

Both the northern kingdom and the southern kingdom fell into idolatry. They were covenant breakers and would feel the weight of the covenant curses. 

In 722 B.C., the Lord raised up Assyria to conquer the northern kingdom (2 Kings 17:6-23) and take the people into exile. 

In 586 B.C., the Lord raised up Babylon, which conquered the southern kingdom (2 Kings 25) and took the people into exile. Babylon not only took the people into exile, but also set fire to the king’s palace and destroyed the temple.

Where is God? What has happened? The kingdom is divided, Israel and Judah are in exile, and the temple has been destroyed. 

This is the context in which God gives the famous words found in Jeremiah 29:11. Amid exile, grieving the consequences of their sin, God speaks hope into the darkness. God does know the plans He has for His people, and He will keep all of His promises. Israel and Judah will not be left in exile; instead, they will be reunited. 

The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Write in a book all the words that I have spoken to you. For behold, days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will restore the fortunes of my people, Israel and Judah, says the LORD, and I will bring them back to the land that I gave to their fathers, and they shall take possession of it.” (Je 30:1–3)

Although this is good news, it is accompanied by even greater promises in the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Jeremiah. Days are coming when God will not only restore His people, but also establish a new covenant that is different from the old covenant that the people broke. God’s people and the nations to be blessed through them need a covenant that they can’t break, an unconditional covenant, a covenant that can circumcise the heart rather than the flesh. 

The first gospel promise subtly made in Genesis 3:15 is explicitly promised in Jeremiah 31. With the coming of the promised seed of the woman would come a new covenant. 

The promised new covenant is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan in Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, who mediates a better covenant of grace.

Next week, we will explore the fulfillment of the new covenant in Jesus Christ, but this morning, we want to reflect on the promise of the new covenant. To do that, we’ll reflect on the need for the new covenant, its newness, and the nature of the new covenant. 

I.) The need for the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-32) 

The text makes it clear that the new covenant is needed because Israel and Judah have broken the covenant God made with them. 

Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, 32 not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD (Je 31:31–32)

The old covenant was gracious in many ways, but it was not the covenant of grace. The nature of the old covenant can be summed up by the maxim, “Do this and live.” The blessings of the covenant were conditional on Israel’s obedience. 

I am the LORD your God. 5 You shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; if a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the LORD. (Le 18:4–5) 

The perpetual problem throughout the Old Testament was not the Old Covenant itself, but rather the stubborn and rebellious hearts of the people, who struggled to keep the covenant. Since Adam’s fall into sin, the human heart has been dead and in bondage to sin. The Old Covenant does not address that problem because it was not designed to. It could not provide the inward change of a new heart. 

What is needed is a covenant that can affect and change the people from within. They need a new covenant, to be circumcised in their heart rather than the flesh. 

As Israel and Judah are suffering the consequences for their perpetual failure, God promises a covenant that will provide its members with the ability to keep it. 

II.) The newness of the new covenant (Jeremiah 31:33-34) 

Before we discuss how the new covenant is new, I would like to clarify that it is indeed a new covenant. It is not a renewal of a former covenant; it is new in substance. After the author of  Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34 in full in Hebrews 8, we are told that the old covenant is now obsolete. 

In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (Heb 8:13)

The Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants will find their fulfillment in what God will do in the New Covenant. What is it, then, that is new about the new covenant?  

1. A Promised New Nature of God’s People 

In the Old Testament, one became a member of the Old Covenant by being born and/or receiving the covenant sign of circumcision. It was based on natural, biological birth. The result was that the Old Covenant community was a mixed community. It was made up of faithful members who loved the Lord and believed his promises and others who were covenant members by birth and circumcision, but whose hearts were stubborn, rebellious, and far from the Lord. 

The new covenant promises that every member will be a believing, faithful member whose heart has been changed to desire and be able to keep God’s law. God will write his law on the heart of every new covenant member. In other words, God will change the members of the new covenant within by His Spirit.

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. (Je 31:33)

This promise is similar to the one prophesied in Ezekiel 36, in which God promises to give His people a new heart of flesh. 

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Eze 36:26–27)

This is none other than the promise of the new birth, the regenerative work of God by His Spirit to bring people from spiritual death to spiritual life. This is how one becomes a member of the new covenant community: by being born again through faith in Jesus Christ. 

But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (Jn 1:12-13)

2. A Promised New Structure of God’s People 

Unlike the Old Covenant, every member of the New Covenant will know the Lord from the least to the greatest. 

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. (Je 31:34)

This is significant because in the Old Covenant, the Spirit of God was not poured out on all the people. God put His Spirit on prophets, priests, and kings, but not on the entirety of the people in the covenant. So there was a difference in both access to God and knowledge of God under the Old Covenant. 

In the New Covenant, God will pour out his Spirit on every member, so that they are born again and indwelt by the Spirit. Every member will have the same access and knowledge of God, because the Spirit of God will indwell every member.  Knowledge of God will no longer be limited through the mediation of human prophets, priests, or kings, but all will know the Lord from the least to the greatest through the one mediator between God and man, Jesus Christ (1 Timothy 2:5). 

These two points are essential for determining the proper participants of New Covenant signs of baptism and the Lord’s Supper. If the New Covenant is made up of born-again believers, it is not a mixed community. In that case, only professing believers should receive the New Covenant sign of baptism, and only baptized believers should partake of the covenant meal, the Lord’s Supper. 

As Baptists, we believe in believer’s baptism not only because infant baptism is never described in the New Testament, nor is it ever prescribed, or commanded. Those are fine points, but the primary reason for believing in believer’s baptism is that the newness of the New Covenant demands it. In the New Covenant, you enter not by natural birth, but by the new birth, and only those born again should receive the New Covenant sign of baptism. 

3. A Promised New Sacrifice for God’s People

In the New Covenant, the nature of God’s people is transformed. Hence, the structure of God’s people changes, and this is all possible because there is a new sacrifice for God’s people—a better sacrifice that definitively forgives sins. 

And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Je 31:34)

I love the way Samuel Renihan explains the deficiency of the Old Covenant in dealing with sin. 

“The Old Covenant had a sacrificial system that forgave sins in the context of Cannan. But the Old Covenant could not forgive sins in the court of heaven.” 

As the author of Hebrews makes clear, For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. (Heb 10:4)

The better sacrifice is the sinless substitute, Jesus Christ. It is his one-time sacrifice that fulfills the entire sacrificial system that pointed to him in types and shadows. 

 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering, he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified. (Heb 10:10–14)

From this better and perfect sacrifice come all the salvific blessings of the New Covenant—justification, regeneration, adoption, sanctification, and glorification—all of which are found in Jesus Christ, the mediator of the New Covenant. 

And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption (1 Co 1:29–30)

The promised new covenant is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan in Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, who mediates a better covenant of grace.

When we put all this together, we can say that the New Covenant is superior to the Old because…

1. The New Covenant has a better mediator (Heb. 8:6) 
2. The New Covenant has a better sacrifice (Heb. 9:6-10)
3. The New Covenant has better provisions (the Holy Spirit, Ezekiel 36:24-28) 
4. The New Covenant has better promises (a new heart, Ezekiel 36:24-28)

We’re now left to make one final observation: What is the nature of the new covenant? 

III.) The nature of the new covenant 

As we’ve studied the biblical covenants, I have made a point to emphasize both the unconditional and conditional elements of each one. Have you noticed what is missing from Jeremiah 31:31-34? There are no conditions. There is no “if you will.” Only, “I will.” 

The New Covenant of Grace is freely offered to anyone who repents and believes in Jesus Christ. In the New Covenant, all the works needed have been provided by our faithful savior, Jesus Christ. He is the perfect, obedient Son, and because he fulfilled his mission in obedience to the Father, even to death on a cross, what is offered to us is grace, the grace of God in Jesus Christ. 

For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ (Jn 1:16–17)

For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace. (Ro 6:14–15)

Jeremiah 31:31-34 is not the formalization of the New Covenant; rather, it is a promise of the New Covenant. 

When Jesus broke the bread and lifted the cup with the twelve disciples, it was the New Covenant he was referencing that would be fulfilled by his death, burial, and resurrection when he said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. (Lk 22:19–20)

There are only two groups of people here this morning. Some need to remember the great grace of the New Covenant because they’re members of God’s people in Jesus Christ. Remember, reflect, and respond with gratitude. Others need to repent and believe in Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, reconciliation with God, and membership in the people of God under the New Covenant. 

The promised new covenant is the fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan in Jesus Christ, the seed of the woman, who mediates a better covenant of grace.

Sermon Idea: The creation covenant reveals God’s purpose for humanity, who were created to represent God on earth as his image bearers. God makes this covenant with Adam, promising life & rest in God’s presence for obedience and death for disobedience. 

Introduction: The most crucial part of any structure is the foundation. When the foundation is flawed, the structure will be flawed—this is true not only of architecture, but also of our spiritual lives. Jesus makes this connection in Matthew 7. 

²⁴ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. ²⁵ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. ²⁶ And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. ²⁷ And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it. (Mt 7:24-27)

The foundation of our understanding of the Bible and the foundation for understanding ourselves is the doctrine of creation. In Genesis 1-2, we come to know God, ourselves, and the purpose of the world. A thorough understanding of human dignity, human sexuality, work, marriage, and many other topics is found in these two chapters. 

I want to mention this because my purpose is very particular this morning. I want to set the scene of creation only to focus on God’s covenant with Adam and the purpose of the world. That means there are many good things I cannot discuss. 

My purpose this morning is to discuss creation in general and the covenant God makes with Adam in particular. 

The Bible assumes and takes for granted the existence of the one, true, and living God. 

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. (Ge 1:1)

In one verse, the Bible establishes what the Christian tradition has referred to as the creator-creature distinction. God transcends creation, not being part of it nor in any way dependent on it. All that exists is from him and for him. He gives creation its purpose and meaning, including, above all, the creation of human beings. The point of Genesis 1-2 is straightforward: the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob—the God of Israel—is the one who created all things by the power of His Word. 

By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. (Heb 11:3)

As the creation narrative progresses, God declares judgment on what he has made. 

Five times we read, “And God saw that it was good.” (Gen. 1:10, 12, 18, 21, 25) 

When God creates humanity, his creative work reaches its pinnacle. It is only after the creation of humanity on day six that God looks at all that he has made and declares, “…it was very good.” (Gen. 1:31) 

It is God’s creation of and purpose for humanity that results in God making a covenant. As a reminder, we defined covenant in our intro sermon as a chosen relationship in which two parties make binding promises (and obligations) to each other.”

The word “covenant” does not occur in Genesis 1-2, but the concept is undoubtedly present. Not only that, but later biblical texts also reinforce the idea that a covenant was established at creation. 

1.) In Genesis 2:4, the name LORD (YHWH) is used. As later Israelites read Genesis, they would have most certainly understood this as the name of the covenant Lord (Exodus 3:13-15). 

2.) Adam is not only given commands, but promises for obedience, and curses for disobedience. Had Adam obeyed God in the Garden, it would have resulted in eternal life (Gen. 3:22-24; Rev. 2:7), but disobedience would have brought the curse of death (Gen. 2:17; 3:16-19). 

3.) Later Biblical texts refer to Adam transgressing God’s covenant,But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me. (Ho 6:7)

4.) In the New Testament, Paul consistently and repeatedly compares Adam and Jesus as two representatives of humanity. It is difficult to think of Christ as the head of the new covenant without also considering Adam as the head of a covenant in creation.

¹⁸ Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men. ¹⁹ For as by the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man’s obedience the many will be made righteous (Ro 5:18–19)

The creation covenant reveals God’s purpose for humanity, who were created to represent God on earth as his image bearers. God makes this covenant with Adam, promising life & rest in God’s presence for obedience and death for disobedience.

This morning, we will study God’s covenant with Adam in Genesis 1-2 by discussing the goal of creation, the purpose of the Garden, and the promises of the covenant. 

I.) The Goal of Creation (Gen. 1:26-31)

As Genesis 1 progresses, it becomes clear that what happens on the sixth day is the most significant. All of creation leads to the moment when God makes man in his image. God creates the world so that his image bearers will dwell there as faithful representatives of God’s rule and reign. Look at verses 26-27 with me.  

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 

²⁷  So God created man in his own image, 

in the image of God he created him; 

male and female he created them. (Ge 1:26–27)

Human beings are unique in that they are created in God’s very image and likeness. Both men and women, together—equally yet complementary—represent God on earth. This is fundamentally what it means to be created in God’s image and likeness. We are his royal representatives on earth.

This understanding of the image is reflected in the Psalmist’s interpretation of Genesis 1:26-28: “What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of your hands; you have put all things under his feet.” (Psalm 8:4)

Note that crown, glory, and honor are descriptors of royalty.

Old Testament scholars have noted a remarkable historical fact that sheds some light on this. Kings in the ancient Near East would place statues, images of themselves, in regions to represent their authority and rule. 

This is why I don’t go on long vacations. I’m afraid David is going to plant a statue of himself on the front lawn and declare himself the king of Waldo Hill! 

I like how one book describes the image of God. 

“…when God declares human beings to be his image-bearers, he is establishing the fact that they are to be his visible representatives in the created world. As such, they are to function with a derived authority as God would act and rule over the created order as God himself would.”

The goal of creation is for God to establish his kingdom, his rule and reign, through his image-bearers. As God’s image-bearer, Adam is to exercise dominion over the fish of the sea, birds of the heavens, over the livestock, and every creeping thing on earth. 

We learn something significant in verse 28, though. God’s purpose is not to have one man, or even one couple, represent and worship him on earth. He intends for the entire world to be filled with his image-bearers who worship him and describe his rule and reign on earth. God wants the whole earth to be one big temple, where God’s presence dwells with his people.

²⁸ And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Ge 1:28)

Adam has a mission: to extend the presence of God’s rule and reign over the whole earth. To accomplish this, God graciously provides Adam with a helper for him and an institution—marriage— in which they can safely give themselves to one another for the accomplishment of that mission. 

Two brief application points regarding this. 

1. The worthiness of God to be worshipped. 

2. The honor and dignity of human beings. 

This mission has to begin somewhere. That brings us to our second point, the purpose of the garden. 

II.) The Purpose of the Garden (Gen. 2:5-15)

God plants the garden to be a microcosm and prototype for what God intends all of creation to be: a temple where God rules as he dwells with his people. The garden will serve as an initial place where Adam will serve as God’s representative. 

⁸ And the Lord God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed (Ge 2:8)

¹⁵ The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it (Ge 2:15)

Adam isn’t just to exercise dominion like a king, but he is also to worship the Lord and serve as a priest. The language and images used to describe the garden are remarkably similar to those used to describe the tabernacle and the temple. Not only that, but Adam’s job description is language used to describe the work of priests. 

We hear the language “work it and keep it‘ and think that Adam was a farmer. To be sure, Adam cared for the garden, but these words, when paired together, do not connote agriculture but priestly service. An excellent example of this is found in Numbers 3:6-10. 

⁶ “Bring the tribe of Levi near, and set them before Aaron the priest, that they may minister to him. ⁷ They shall keep guard over him and over the whole congregation before the tent of meeting, as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁸ They shall guard all the furnishings of the tent of meeting, and keep guard over the people of Israel as they minister at the tabernacle. ⁹ And you shall give the Levites to Aaron and his sons; they are wholly given to him from among the people of Israel. ¹⁰ And you shall appoint Aaron and his sons, and they shall guard their priesthood. But if any outsider comes near, he shall be put to death.” (Nu 3:6–10)

Adam is to exercise dominion and subdue the earth. By God’s authority, Adam is a king in the garden. He is to work and keep the garden as a priest. It is Adam’s job to make sure nothing unclean enters the garden. Adam does this primarily by obeying God’s command in Genesis 2:16-17.

¹⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Ge 2:16–17)

The timing of this command is worth noting. God gives this command to Adam before the creation of the woman. 

God gives Adam an explicit command. It is Adam’s job to ensure that God’s Word is made known, understood, and kept by his wife and his future children. Adam is also the garden’s prophet.

It is Adam’s job to make God’s Word honored and obeyed, so that proper worship can take place in God’s presence. 

Adam is a prophet, a priest, and a king. 

The garden serves as a testing ground for Adam’s mission. Can he be a faithful prophet, priest, and king? Can he be a faithful representative of God’s rule and reign? God’s command not to eat of the tree puts Adam to the test. 

This brings us to our final point—the promises of the covenant. 

III.) The Promises of the Covenant (Gen. 2:9, 16-17) 

We know that Adam is supposed to exercise dominion, be fruitful and multiply, and also be a faithful prophet and priest of God’s garden. What makes this relationship a covenant, though? The two trees in the garden symbolize the most prominent features of a covenant. One tree symbolizes the reward of eternal life and righteousness if Adam obeys. The other tree symbolized the curse of death if Adam disobeys. 

⁹ And out of the ground the Lord God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. (Ge 2:9)

The tree of life was a reminder of God’s promise to reward Adam with eternal life and righteousness. God’s exiling of Adam and Eve from the garden, the way the tree of life is used in the Revelation, and the curse of death for disobedience strongly suggest that eternal life would have been rewarded to Adam had he obeyed. 

1. Adam is expelled from the garden, and a Cherubim protects the tree. 

²² Then the Lord God said, “Behold, the man has become like one of us in knowing good and evil. Now, lest he reach out his hand and take also of the tree of life and eat, and live forever—” ²³ therefore the Lord God sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken. ²⁴ He drove out the man, and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim and a flaming sword that turned every way to guard the way to the tree of life. (Ge 3:22–24)

2. The presence of the tree of life in Revelation reinforces is being a symbol of eternal life. 

⁷ He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To the one who conquers I will grant to eat of the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God (Re 2:7)

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb ² through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. (Re 22:1–2)

3. Disobedience resulted in death, so obedience would have justly resuled in the reward of life. 

⁶ And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, ¹⁷ but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.” (Ge 2:16–17)

This covenant made with Adam is one of works. The reward is conditional upon Adam’s obedience. As Aaron will teach us next week, Adam fails this test and breaks this covenant.

God banishes Adam and Eve from the garden as a punishment for sin, but also as a means of salvation. They are not to return to the covenant of works. They are to look forward to a covenant of grace. Adam doesn’t need to lift his hands to eat of a tree. He needs to lift his eyes in hope of the one who will die on a tree.    

None of us can achieve eternal life by a covenant of works. We can only receive eternal life by way of a covenant of grace. Jesus brings that covenant of grace by his life, death, and resurrection.

Everywhere Adam failed, Christ succeeded. He is a true and better prophet, priest, and king who faithfully represents God as the image of God. I love the opening verse of Christ the True and Better which teaches us exactly that 

Christ, the true and better Adam

Son of God and Son of man

Who, when tempted in the garden

Never yielded, never sinned

He, who makes the many righteous

Brings us back to life again

Dying, He reversed the curse, then

Rising, crushed the serpent’s head

Give a clear gospel call and response.