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You can turn in your Bibles to 
1 Peter. 1 Peter 1. We'll read from verses 1 to 9. From verse 1 to verse 9. Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, 
to the pilgrims of the dispersion, in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, 
Asia, and Bithynia. Elect, according to the foreknowledge 
of God the Father, in sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience 
and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ. Grace to you and 
peace be multiplied. Blessed be the God and Father 
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, according to his abundant mercy, 
has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection 
of Jesus Christ from the dead. to an inheritance incorruptible 
and undefiled, and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven 
for you, who are kept by the power of God, through faith, 
for salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you 
greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you 
have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness 
of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, 
Though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, 
and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not 
seen you love, though now you do not see him, yet believing 
you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving 
the end of your faith, the salvation of your souls. Amen. Well, let's 
pray again for the preaching. Heavenly Father, we ask again 
that you would now be glorified in this act of worship, the preaching 
of your word. We do pray that this would be 
an exercise unto the praise of your grace. You would be honored 
in this. We pray that you'd help fallible 
preacher and fallible hearer to take in well, to preach well 
and take in well the things of your word, the things of your 
revelation, that Christ may receive the honor and that we may rejoice 
in such a savior. And it's in his name that we 
do pray. Amen. Well, if you were to do a a theological 
study in the Bible, working through the Bible and studying various 
aspects of theology. If you were, for example, to 
begin with the study of the doctrine of God, theology proper, studying 
the Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. If you were to study 
that and then move to the doctrine of redemption or the doctrine 
of salvation, you wouldn't be setting aside a study of the 
Trinity necessarily. Because in redemption, in salvation, 
we have the triune God at work. And that's what we're going to 
look at tonight using 1 Peter 1 verse 2 as a launching pad 
for a study of the Trinity and the death of Christ. And we've 
looked at this or we looked at this a number of years ago, but 
now observing the Lord's Supper, I thought it a good exercise 
in preaching, to look at our triune God and the death of Christ. It is the case that only the 
Son died on the cross. Jesus Christ was put to death 
upon Calvary's tree. The Father wasn't, the Spirit 
wasn't. But nevertheless, it is the case that with respect 
to the death of Christ and the cross of Christ, the triune God 
is active, was active, and will always be active with respect 
to the benefits and the efficacious power of that death and that 
cross. So we're going to have a look 
at the Trinity and the death of Christ simply under three 
very easy headings because it's the triune God, Father, Son, 
and Holy Ghost. And first off, just by way of 
introduction, it's good to refresh our minds with a little bit of 
a recognition of the doctrine of the Trinity. Remember what 
the shorter catechism does with this doctrine. asking various 
questions, and in providing the answers to those questions, after 
affirming that there is only one true and living God, it asks 
the question, how many persons are there in the Godhead? And 
the answer is, there are three persons in the Godhead, the Father, 
the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one God, 
the same in substance, equal in power, and in glory. James 
White gives this definition, which is the same, in different 
wording, within the one being that is God, there exists eternally 
three co-equal and co-eternal persons, namely the Father, the 
Son, and the Holy Spirit. Vitally important, of course, 
because if at any point a member of the Triune Godhead is rejected, 
then we no longer have God. To know God or when we say we 
know God and when we say we love God, if it is not the triune 
God of Holy Scripture that we are knowing and that we are loving, 
then we are knowing and we are loving God of idolatry and madness 
and folly. It is the biblical God, the triune 
God revealed in the scriptures, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost that 
we can only truly know and that we can only truly love, and it 
is to that God, that we go in studying the Trinity and the 
death of Christ. So first off, God the Father. 
Now, if you're still at 1 Peter in your Bibles there, just note 
here what we have in the text. With respect to those saved, 
the elect that Peter is writing to, the pilgrims of the dispersion, 
we have the triune God identified in the address given to those 
pilgrims of the dispersion. Notice verse 2. elect, well, 
just backing up to the end of verse one, to the pilgrims of 
the dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia. 
Elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, in sanctification 
of the Spirit, for obedience and sprinkling of the blood of 
Jesus Christ. So we have there simply in an 
identification of the recipients of a letter, in addressing them 
at the same time, we have the triune God presented as the triune 
God of perfect salvation. Notice what we have here first 
with respect to God the Father. We have in the text, we have 
Peter writing that the elect of the dispersion are elect according 
to the foreknowledge of God the Father. That simply means, as 
we all know, that God had that plan before the foundation of 
the world that Jesus Christ would come and save a fixed number 
of elect sinners Considered as sinners to the praise of his 
glorious grace There are persons elected out of the mass of humanity 
before the foundation of the world not for anything done Not 
for anything good wrought in them But simply by the good pleasure 
and sovereign will of God to be saved in time and in history 
by Jesus Christ we have Saints here being identified as elect 
according to the foreknowledge of God the Father it does not 
mean that That God saw through the tunnels of time who would 
choose for Christ, and then before the foundation of the world, 
elected based on the choice. That runs against the entire 
declaration of Holy Scripture with respect to the sovereignty 
of God in the redemption of sinners. It is that God, according to 
his counsel, and according to his sovereignty, and according 
to the love that he bestowed upon the elect before the foundation 
of the world, predestinated them unto salvation by Jesus Christ. Now with respect to God the Father 
and the death of Christ, we have first that thing that we've talked 
about much, purpose. You see, the crucifixion of Jesus 
Christ isn't something that took place haphazardly. It's not something 
that took place in history as a divine plan B because plan 
A didn't work out. The crucifixion of the Lord Jesus 
Christ is according to the plan of God, before the foundation 
of the world, it is the reason for all of history. Turn with 
me to Luke 22. Luke chapter 22. God the Father 
in the death of Christ has his contribution of purpose before 
the foundation of the world. In eternity past, he determined 
beforehand that Christ would die and foreordained him to do 
so. Notice in Luke chapter 22, Maybe 
backing up to verse 19 and he took bread Gave thanks and broke 
it and gave it to them saying this is my body which is given 
for you Do this in remembrance of me likewise He also took the 
cup after supper saying this cup is the new covenant in my 
blood which is shed for you but behold the hand of my betrayer 
is with me on the table and And truly the son of man goes as 
it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. You see, we're observing the 
Lord's supper tonight. We're observing the institution, 
the observance, this blessed ordinance given to us by Jesus 
Christ that we just read of here in Luke 22. And in observing 
that, We're observing a death that is the stuff of verse 22 
and truly the son of man goes as it has been determined. Or 
we could read that truly the son of man goes as it has been 
eternally preordained. But woe to that man by whom he 
is betrayed. You see, the crucifixion of Jesus 
Christ, that event that he was resolutely committed to in his 
messianic task, it was something that was predetermined by God. 
And Luke, the gospel writer there in the book of Acts, chapter 
2 and verse 23, hopefully a verse that is in your minds, hopefully, 
an address of Holy Scripture that you know, but the same author 
of Luke 22, 22 wrote this in Acts 2, 23, narrating or writing 
a narrative of the events surrounding Peter's preaching on the day 
of Pentecost. We read this, beginning in verse 
22, men of Israel hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, the 
man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, 
which God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves 
also know, him being delivered by the determined purpose and 
for knowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have 
crucified and put to death. There we see, declared by Peter, 
the plan, the purposive will of God in sending forth Christ 
Jesus to be crucified, him being delivered by the determined purpose 
and for knowledge of God. So what does God the Father have 
to do with the death or the cross of Christ? Among many things, 
we see the purpose of God the Father in the cross of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. One brief text before we move 
on, back in 1 Peter. In 1 Peter, we have a glorious 
statement with respect to God's before the foundation of the 
world plan to send forth Christ as a propitiation for the sins 
of his people. In fact, in the chapter that 
we read from, in 1 Peter 1 verse 20, speaking of Jesus, he indeed 
was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest 
in these last times for you. We have God the Father involved 
purposively in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Secondly, 
under God the Father, we have the fact of promise. We have 
the fact of promise. God the Father in the Old Testament 
and in accordance with his purpose gave promise of the Christ who 
would come to give his life. You see the connectivity, for 
lack of a better term, between the purpose and the promise and 
the execution of the promise is glorious as we read our Bibles, 
isn't it? We see a purposive God, a God 
of planning. A God of a perfect and unblemished 
mind who executes a plan to the praise of his glory. And so we 
have God the Father as God the Father of promise with respect 
to the cross. That which he purposed, he promises 
in the Old Testament scriptures. There's one thing that's very 
important to note. I'm just gonna read briefly from 
our confession of faith because In the Confession of Faith, in 
chapter 7, speaking concerning this very thing, but specifically 
under the doctrine of the covenant, of God's covenant, the Baptists 
deviated from the Westminster divines at this point, and they 
did so with theological brilliance. Because their chapter 3 is at 
no point the same as the Westminster or the Savoy. but rather reflects 
proper covenant theology and finding the centrality of covenant 
theology in the cross of Christ. So God orders history by way 
of covenant and he brings it and at the center or at the heart 
of his covenantal dealings is the promise of the seed of the 
woman. Notice in, well not notice because 
you don't have a confession, but listen as I read this concerning 
God the father, and the promise of Christ in the scriptures concerning 
his death. This covenant, the covenant of 
grace, is revealed in the gospel, first of all to Adam in the promise 
of salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther 
steps until the full discovery thereof was completed in the 
New Testament. You see, what we have in covenant 
theology is a purpose, that Christ would come into the world to 
save sinners. And then that covenant of grace 
made with Christ, wherein he would come in due time to save 
sinners. And then all of history following 
creation is building towards that terminus, that end. Christ 
upon the cross, working out the salvation of sinners. So God 
purposes to save by the death, by the cross, by the blood of 
Christ. And he promises it in the Old Testament. And if I was 
to ask you the question, well, where in the Old Testament does 
he promise that Christ would come according to his purpose? 
Well, hopefully Genesis 3.15 would be the first one that you 
think about. We just read that, the promise concerning the seed 
of the woman, to Adam in the garden. That's where we have 
that first influx of gospel truth, in the garden after the fall 
of man. We have the promise of salvation by the seat of the 
woman, by the Lord Jesus Christ. And then afterwards, by farther 
steps, the gospel is revealed through God's revelation and 
in his covenantal dealings with his people. And then, of course, 
Isaiah 53 that we just read. There's so many texts in the 
Old Testament, but Isaiah 53 that we read at the outset. You 
see, as time and history progressed, as this farther steps revelation 
of the seed of the woman, Jesus Christ, were made, we have more 
and more truths mounting on top of each other, divinely designed 
in such a way so that the fullness of the times would come and those 
people, by God's grace, would recognize their Messiah. And 
so we have in Isaiah 53 that clear declaration. It's been 
said before that if we were just newly converted, we didn't know 
the Maybe we didn't know with great detail the structure of 
the Bible and Isaiah 53 being written 700 years prior to Jesus 
Christ. If we didn't know that and we 
read Isaiah 53, we would think that it was an acknowledgment 
after the fact of Christ's saving and substitutionary work. You 
read the language in Isaiah 53. If the Gospels give us narrative 
of Christ's death Isaiah 53 actually gives us more content than the 
Gospels as to the theological interpretation of what Christ's 
death means Written 700 years prior to him coming it is an 
amazing text, but there we see God the Father Promising to do 
what he purposed to do before the foundation of the world and 
thirdly under God the Father we have punishment We have punishment. God, the father in the fullness 
of the times and in accordance with his purpose and promise 
punished Christ at his death. We read that in Isaiah 53, it 
pleased the Lord to bruise him or it pleased the Lord to crush 
him. The truth set forth in the Holy 
scriptures that Jesus Christ is crushed by the father as a 
substitute for guilty sinners. Instead of us brethren, instead 
of, God's elect being crushed upon the cross of Calvary, being 
crushed in any sense with respect to the wrath of God being rightly 
visited upon us, Jesus Christ goes in our room, in our stead, 
and in our place and bears that crushing, bears that bruising, 
bears the taking of God's wrath for us. 2 Corinthians 5.21, Galatians 
3.13 set this forth quite clearly. Speaking of Jesus in Galatians 
3.13, he became a curse for us, that just as it is written, cursed 
is he who hangs upon a tree. Wonderful truth there in Galatians 
3.13, he became a curse for us. And then of course, 2 Corinthians 
5.21, he made him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we 
might become the righteousness of God in him. Never tire of meditating and 
dwelling upon that truth of 2 Corinthians 5.21. Again, some of us, our minds 
might spin with theological terms thrown at us, and that's fine. 
You're not saved by virtue of your knowledge of theological 
terms. The penal obedience of Christ, the imputation of the 
righteousness of Christ, you need to understand the truths 
behind the words. But that's the point. If words 
bug you, then the truths of the Holy Scriptures, as they're presented 
by the authors in their raw form, never tire of their glory and 
their power and the amazing nature of what they're declaring. He 
made him who knew no sin to be sin for us. You think of your, and again, 
it's not an exercise you should do. I don't want to say often 
because it depends, but it's not an exercise that you do in 
some sort of sick fascination with sin, but with your mind, 
reflect back on your transgressions. You don't have to go far, because 
we could probably go to some point within the last number 
of minutes. But reflect upon your transgressions and your 
sins, and think of the immensity and the amazement of the Savior's 
work in your stead. And not just your own transgressions, 
you don't have to think about other people's sins, but of the 
idea that all of the elect's sins are paid for in Christ's 
cross work. Not only just thinking of those 
sins that we might call horrible, those sins, murder, adultery, 
sexual deviancy, all of these things. But think of your prior 
rejection of Jesus Christ. That Jesus Christ went to the 
cross of Calvary. If you're in this room today 
and you're a believer on the Lord Jesus Christ, we were once 
such as would cry out, crucify him, crucify him, give us Barabbas 
and that same Savior. that we would have cried that 
out to went to the cross for that sin. What a blessed Savior. He made him who knew no sin to 
be sin for us. Now, secondly, God the Son. So 
we have God the Father involved at the cross of Christ. Purpose, 
promise, punishment. We have God the Son involved, 
of course, at the cross of Christ. First off, and we need not spend 
a lot of time because we touched on that this morning, but penal 
obedience. Christ bore the penalty due for 
the elect at the cross. God the Son, in his death, bore 
the punishment due us for breaking the law of God. We see Christ's 
obedience generally set forth for us in John 6, 38, 39, for 
example. It's my will to do the will of 
him who sent me. Or I came, the Son of Man came 
into the world to do the will of the one who sent him. We have 
the reality. of his obedience, including his 
death, set forth for us in Philippians 2. Remember what it said there. 
It said that Christ became obedient even to the point of death, even 
the cross death, even the death of the cross. Christ bore the 
penalty due us at the cross. In fact, in 1 Peter, we have 
that glorious theology brought forth. Remember Peter quoting, 
Peter, almost what he could have done is just simply written out 
a portion of Isaiah 53 that he's alluding to here. But in 1 Peter 
2, we read this with respect to Christ. At verse 23, speaking 
of Jesus, who when he was reviled, did not revile in return. When 
he suffered, he did not threaten, but committed himself to him 
who judges righteously. Now notice verse 24, who himself 
bore our sins in his own body on the tree. that we having died 
to sins might live for righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. A beautiful, amazing language. 
We can exhaust words to describe what this is saying. Remember that quote I said this 
morning, I'm trying to remember what Spurgeon was preaching on, 
but he was preaching on Jesus because it almost seemed like 
Spurgeon was always preaching on Jesus. That's what he said 
of himself, if anybody faults me, preaching Jesus Christ, you 
can charge me with that because I sought to set him forth every 
pulpit opportunity. But he said concerning Jesus, 
he said, lay on you men of eloquence. In other words, lay on you sages, 
or bring forth words, gather papers and sketch on them. Lay 
on you men of eloquence. He says, spare no colors. You 
can never depict Jesus Christ too bravely. When we come with 
two passages of scripture like this, the sages could exhaust 
the ink in their pen and the pages made from the trees of 
the earth. Now it's computers, you could 
exhaust terabytes. By setting forth, by speaking 
of, by writing of, by declaring the riches and the excellencies 
of Jesus Christ, we could never exhaust the amount of writing 
implements or whatever we might have in our in our arsenal to 
declare Jesus Christ and the beauty that is the Son of God. So we have penal obedience. He 
bore our sins in his own body on the tree. We have perfection. 
God the Son, the death of Christ, God the Son in his death without 
the need of human admixture actually and fully saved his people. Now that may not have been worded 
very well because God the Son didn't die, God can't die, but 
by virtue of the incarnation, the man Christ Jesus died on 
the cross. But Jesus Christ, in his death, 
without the need of human admixture, actually and fully saved his 
people. You see, the death of Jesus Christ, the atoning work, 
the redeeming work of Jesus Christ, is not a redeeming or atoning 
work of perhaps and maybe. It was not a hypothetical salvation. He did not die upon the cross 
to inaugurate some sort of economy of salvation whereby men can 
be saved if only they will to be saved. But rather, Christ 
upon the cross perfectly worked out the salvation of a multitude 
that no man can number, and they will be saved. All those for 
whom Christ died will, on that great and final day, sing the 
blessings of their Messiah and their Christ. For by one offering, 
He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. Turn to Hebrews 7 for a moment. 
That was Hebrews 10, 14, but turn to Hebrews 7 with me for 
a moment. Because there we have, in fact, 
the entire book of Hebrews is one big book that sets forth 
the supremacy of Christ and the sufficiency of his death. It's 
within the rubric of or within the context of covenant theology. That all of the articles of old 
covenant religion, all of the multitudinous washings and sacrifices 
and ceremonies, were these all to be put away and nothing left 
but a bleeding savior? Yes, all of old covenant theology 
led towards Jesus Christ. And Hebrews is about that, the 
sufficiency, the finality, the supremacy of the saving work 
of Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 7, look at verse 25, 
therefore he is also able to save to the uttermost those who 
come to God through him since he always lives to make intercession 
for them. Christ makes intercession for 
those for whom he died on the cross to save and none others. 
His salvation, his cross work, his blood shedding on the cross 
of Calvary is Perfect. We think about that announcement 
in the gospel narratives in the birth narratives in the Gospels 
Matthew 121 the simple statement that clearly sets forth the the 
Perfection and the precision of Christ's redeeming work you 
will call his name Jesus for he will save his people from 
their sins A simple statement given in the birth narrative, 
but it speaks to the perfection of Christ's atoning work. Not 
he might save, not the possibility is good that he will save, but 
he will save his people from their sins. There's that wonderful 
statement in 1 Timothy 1.15. This is a faithful saying and 
worthy of all acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world, 
sinners to save. It's not the work of an ineffectual 
savior who came into the world to save sinners. That's his primary 
design. But you see now, it's up to the 
will of the creature and the volition of the sinful in order 
to make the power of his saving work effectual. That's horrible. 
Christ came into the world, sinners to save. He does it, he does 
it perfectly, and he does it to the glory. of God the Father. Lastly, under God the Son, we 
have protection. God the Son, by his death and 
afterwards by virtue of it, continues without failure to keep his people. 
You see, when we acknowledge that as we pray, rejoicing and 
thanking God for the fact that Jesus Christ came in the fullness 
of the times, born of a woman, born under the law, he died upon 
Calvary's tree, He was risen again and he was exalted to the 
right hand of the majesty on high where he whatever lives 
to make intercession for his people. This is what John Gill 
says with regards to the intercessory work of Jesus Christ. He writes this, this he does 
now in heaven, intercession, not by vocal prayer and supplication. at least not as in the days of 
his flesh, or as if he was supplicating an angry judge, nor as controverting 
or litigating a point the court of heaven. But by the appearance 
of his person for them, by the presentation of his sacrifice, 
blood, and righteousness, by declaring his will that such 
and such blessings be bestowed on such and such persons, and 
by recommending the prayers of his people and removing the charges 
and accusations of Satan, The things he intercedes for are 
the conversion of his that are in a state of nature, the consolation 
of distressed ones, fresh discoveries of pardoning grace to fallen 
believers, renewed strength to oppose sin, exercise grace, discharge 
duty, and bear up under temptations, and deliverance out of them, 
perseverance in faith and holiness, and eternal glorification. You 
see, when we think of the intercession of Christ, maybe you're like 
me. You hear, okay, how does Christ intercede for us? I can't 
come up with all of that. John Gill did. But that's what 
our Bibles disclose. You see, Christ's intercessory 
work isn't on one particular or peculiar part of intercessory 
work. But it is a comprehensive work 
of intercession, of legal advocacy on our behalf. And what is at 
the foundation of that is his shed blood, the perfect work. 
of his atoning sacrifice. And so Christ is involved, of 
course, at his own death, in penal obedience, in perfection, 
and in protection. If you think of Psalm 23, that 
is a psalm of shepherdly protection by Jesus Christ. Psalm 22, the 
psalm of the cross. Psalm 23, remember the psalm 
of the crook. The shepherd's crook, not a criminal, 
but the shepherd's crook. Psalm 24, the psalm of the crown, 
the exaltation and the glorification of the king. Psalm 23, what does 
it speak of? It speaks of the perfect shepherding 
work of Jesus Christ, who perfectly keeps his people. Moving on then to God the Holy 
Spirit. Lastly, God the Holy Spirit. First off, with respect to the 
Holy Spirit, we have publication. Publication, what does that mean? 
God the Spirit publishes or makes known the truth concerning the 
death of Christ. It is the Holy Spirit who is 
involved in declaring and making known the truth concerning the 
death of Christ. So the Holy Spirit declares, 
the Holy Spirit by the word in the scriptures with our Bibles 
declares the truths concerning Jesus Christ. If we have a look 
at 2 Peter, we see, or actually 1 Peter, sorry, in chapter 1 
and verse 10. If you turn there with me, maybe 
you're already back there in 1 Peter. 1 Peter 1, and beginning 
at verse 10. Of this salvation, speaking of 
the salvation by the triune God, Of this salvation, the prophets 
have inquired and searched carefully who prophesied of the grace that 
would come to you, searching what or what manner of time the 
spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when he testified 
beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would 
follow. So you see here, the spirit is involved in making 
known to the prophets of old the things concerning the suffering 
of Christ and the glories that would follow. When we read the 
Old Testament, hopefully we don't make this mistake that the writers 
of the Old Testament scriptures were simply writing things relevant 
and with respect to their own history, not knowing the typology 
that they were actually pointing forward to Jesus Christ. No, 
the prophets of the Old Testament were writing with what theologians 
call a messianic consciousness. They're writing under the inspiration 
of the Holy Scriptures, but they're writing all the while knowing 
that there is promise to us, the seed of the woman who would 
crush the head of the serpent, who would come in time and history 
to save his people from their sins. And so the Spirit of Christ 
is the one who publishes this. The Spirit of Christ who was 
in them was indicating when Christ, when he testified beforehand, 
the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 
The Spirit is involved in publication, making known the things concerning 
Christ. And we also have in 2 Peter 1, 
in 2 Peter 1 at verse 16, we have this written. For we did 
not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to 
you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses 
of his majesty. For he received from God the 
Father honor and glory when such a voice came to him from the 
excellent glory. This is my beloved son in whom 
I am well pleased. And we heard this voice which 
came from heaven when we were with him on the holy mountain. 
And so we have the prophetic word confirmed which you do well 
to heed as a light that shines in a dark place until the day 
dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. Knowing this 
first that no prophecy of scripture is of any private interpretation. 
For prophecy never came by the will of men, but holy men of 
God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit. The Holy 
Spirit, an agent of revelation, an agent of revealing to the 
men of God, to these holy men of old, the things concerning 
Christ, his sufferings and the glory that would follow. You 
see, he also does this in the hearts of the elect. You see, 
we are regenerated through effectual calling by the power of the spirit, 
wherein God removes our hearts of stone, replaces them with 
hearts of flesh, the stuff of Ezekiel 36, 37, and then puts 
his spirit within us to cause us to walk in his statutes. The 
Holy Spirit is involved in the publication of truth with respect 
to the death of Christ. Persuasion, secondly. under God, 
the Holy Spirit at the cross of Christ. Persuasion. God, the 
spirit makes the published word effectual and affirms the fact 
of our salvation. God, the spirit makes the published 
word effectual. That means powerful. It does 
what it's intended to do and affirms the fact of our salvation. First Corinthians two. If you 
turn there with me, we see The agency of the Holy Spirit involved 
in this aspect. 1 Corinthians 2, beginning at 
verse 10, you're probably familiar with verse 14. We'll read the 
context here. Now, whom you forgive anything, 
I also forgive. For if indeed I have forgiven 
anything, I have forgiven that one for your sakes in the presence 
of Christ. Excuse me, sorry, I'm reading 2 Corinthians 2. It was starting to look unfamiliar. 
First Corinthians chapter 2 at verse 10, but God has revealed 
them to us through his spirit for the spirit searches all things 
Yes, the deep things of God For what man knows the things of 
a man except the spirit of man which is in him? Even so, no 
one knows the things of God except the spirit of God. Now we have 
received not the spirit of the world, but the spirit who is 
from God, that we might know the things that have been freely 
given to us by God. You see, the spirit is involved 
here in causing the redeemed sinner with the redeemed mind 
to apprehend and glory in the truths that God has revealed. 
He goes on, these things we also speak, not in words which man's 
wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing 
spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not 
receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness 
to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually 
discerned. But he who is spiritual judges 
all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For 
who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him 
but we have the mind of Christ. The spiritual man, the Christian, 
the one redeemed by Jesus Christ is given the Holy Spirit who 
teaches wisdom and who testifies to the fact of our salvation. Remember the language of Romans 
8, Paul writing there, his spirit, the Holy Spirit testifies with 
our spirit that we are the children of God. We have that wonderful 
activity of the Holy Spirit, not only in publishing truth, 
but in persuasion unto salvation as well as affirming the fact 
of our salvation. And lastly, under God the Holy 
Spirit and the death cross of Christ, we have the spirit involved 
in purification and preservation. Purification and preservation. 
The spirit is involved in cleansing the elect and in keeping them 
until the day of Christ. We see this language in John 
3. Unless a man is born of water, and the spirit, he cannot see 
the kingdom of God. A lot of people have thought 
that to mean a reference, the water at least, a reference to 
a woman's water breaking in labor. One being born of amniotic fluid, 
one must be born physically but also born by the spirit before 
he can see the kingdom of God. That's not what John's talking 
about, water and the spirit. refers back to Ezekiel 36 and 
37, where God will purify us or wash us by the spirit, refers 
to regeneration. But John writes in John 3, Jesus 
speaking to Nicodemus, unless a man is born of the spirit, 
he cannot see the kingdom of God. But it is also washing, 
and this washing is referenced to in the book of Titus. Titus, 
where it speaks of When he's talking about salvation, he says, 
not by works of righteousness, Paul does, not by works of righteousness, 
which we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us by 
the washing and renewing of the Holy Spirit. So we have the Holy 
Spirit involved in purifying his people and in preserving 
him, Ephesians 1. What's the Holy Spirit called 
there? He's called our seal and our guarantee. It is, as it were, 
God as king and magistrate using the Holy Spirit as if a signet 
ring being pressed into wax upon a legal document and saying, 
these are mine. They cannot be taken, but they 
will finally arrive in Emmanuel's land unto the praise of my glorious 
grace. He is our seal. He is our guarantor, our legal 
reservation. He is the one who there testifies 
as the legal preserver of the reality that we will enter into 
heaven having been saved by the perfect efficacious work of Christ 
upon Calvary's tree. So brethren, as we go into the 
Lord's Supper, we should reflect upon these things. Imperfectly 
presented by a preacher, but perfectly disclosed by the triune 
God that we've just briefly studied. We have God the Father, God the 
Son, God the Holy Spirit involved at the cross of Christ and afterwards 
applying the benefits of the cross of Christ. From purpose 
before the foundation of the world to promise in the holy 
scriptures to the act of punishment by the father visited upon the 
son, to the penal obedience of Jesus Christ, perfection of his 
work, the Holy Spirit coming and doing all of those piece 
of persuasion and publication and purification. We have the 
triune God active for his glory, for the good of the elect and 
to the honor and to the praise of Jesus Christ, the perfect 
Savior. Remember what we have in the scriptures. We have a 
triune God saving. We have not man saving himself 
at any point. We have not man saving himself. 
bringing 25% to the table of the economy of salvation. But 
we have, as it's been said so many times before, in salvation, 
God first, God last, God midst and throughout in the salvation 
of sinners, saving to the praise of his glorious grace. As we 
go to the Lord's Supper, we remember specifically the Lord Christ's 
death until he come again. But we also remember that it 
is the triune God active in the cross of Christ. active in applying 
the benefits of the cross of Christ, active as we observe 
this ordinance in communicating from on high the efficacy of 
his grace to worthy recipients. So let us gather together as 
we engage in that ordinance with great joy, reflecting upon the 
triune God who saves without a helper. Let us pray. Heavenly 
Father, we thank you for the fact of Holy Scripture, what 
it discloses concerning our triune God, wholly active in the salvation 
of sinners to the praise of the glory of God. And we pray that 
you'd help us as we engage in the Lord's Supper to do so with 
great sobriety and seriousness, but also with great joy as we 
remember the Lord's death till he come again. And might it be 
impressed upon us as we take that God the Father, God the 
Son, and God the Holy Spirit, all involved in bringing to bear 
the glory of the cross to the hearts of the saints. We just 
pray that you would be with us now as we continue to worship 
and we pray in Christ's precious name. Amen.