Bear with me a moment while I remove the... Good evening to everyone. It's a joy to be with all of you for the worship of our great God this evening. What a joy it is to have the Surrey Church with us as we worship God this afternoon slash evening.
You can turn in your Bibles with me to 2 Corinthians. 2 Corinthians chapter 4. 2 Corinthians 4, I'm going to read from verse 1 to verse 15, and then the focus of the sermon will be verses 5 to 7. So this is 2 Corinthians 4, beginning at verse 1. Therefore, since we have this ministry, as we have received mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the hidden things of shame, not walking in craftiness nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the God of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus' sake. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Earthen Vessels and Divine Treasure
But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us. We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed. We are perplexed but not in despair, persecuted but not forsaken, struck down but not destroyed, always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus' sake, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.
So then death is working in us, but life in you. And since we have the same spirit of faith according to what is written, I believed and therefore I spoke, we also believe and therefore speak, knowing that he who raised up the Lord Jesus will also raise us up with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes that grace, having spread through the many, may cause thanksgiving to abound to the glory of God. Amen.
Well, let's pray.
Opening Prayer
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for what we read here from the Apostle Paul in the New Testament concerning the glory of Christ and the proclamation that gospel ministers are to give with respect to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We thank you as it speaks to the the power in creation employed in the power of the new creation and bringing forth sinners from deadness to life in Christ. And we pray that we would glory in our triune God.
We pray that we would glory in the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And we do pray again, Lord God, as we continue in worship, that all that is done in worship would be done to the praise of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and to the praise of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in his name we pray, amen.
Introduction
Well, as is often the case, the Apostle Paul is dealing here in 2 Corinthians with oppositions to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. In many of his 14 epistles, he's dealing with those who are the opponents of the proper proclamation. of Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And in the context here, he's dealing with false apostles who were not preaching Christ, but were twisting the Word of God for their own ill-gotten gains, for their own acclaim, ultimately. And so the apostle Paul is defending the authenticity of his apostleship against the false apostles.
He's dealing with, he's defending the authority of his apostleship against those false apostles. And so when we get to verses 5 through 7, Paul highlights the proper posture of the gospel minister. The gospel minister is not to be about himself. He's not to preach his acclaim. but he is to preach the acclaim of Christ.
He's not to preach his hobby horses and the things of his own preferences and proclivities, but he is to preach the Lord Jesus Christ. We see the blessed simplicity of gospel ministry. Gospel ministry is difficult in word and deed and in much suffering. There is struggle and there is hardship, but there is a blessed simplicity for gospel ministry, and that is that the gospel minister is to preach. the Lord Jesus Christ.
And here, we want to focus on verses 5 through 7, and we're going to look at four things in doing that. And I make the preacher's promise as well that we won't be too long, and that we'll get to our wonderful food in due time. But four things that we're going to look at here, and those four things are first, the gospel minister's obscurity. Secondly, the gospel minister's service.
Thirdly, the gospel minister's illumination. And then, fourthly, the gospel minister's humility as bearer of the divine message. And so,
The Gospel Minister's Obscurity
first off, let's look at the gospel minister's obscurity in 2 Corinthians 4 in verse 5a and b. Notice the language here. For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord. We see here first, by virtue of a negative statement, the gospel minister's obscurity.
For we do not preach ourselves. What was going on in Corinth was that there were some who were preaching themselves. In fact, if we read elsewhere in the book, both before and after, and maybe specifically as he's targeting them in chapters 10 through 13, there were some who were not preaching Christ, but rather were preaching their own acclaim, their own so-called signs, miracles, and wonders, and the greatness of their person rather than the greatness of the person of Christ and the greatness of Christ's works. And so Paul, in essence setting forth the Gospel minister's obscurity by highlighting Christ's preeminence, says, or writes, for we do not preach ourselves.
So it is the gospel minister's careful responsibility to ensure that the proclamation that comes from the pulpit is not about him, but it is about his God, and it is about his Christ. Spurgeon wrote this, or preached this, so many years ago on this topic, there is no temptation so insidious as the desire to display oneself. The minister becomes an actor upon the stage, with the pulpit as his platform and the congregation as his admiring audience. Such men may draw great crowds, but what have they truly accomplished?
They have preached themselves. They have not fed the flock, but have dazzled the sheep, leaving them starved and weakened. When a man preaches himself, the people go away saying, what a brilliant preacher he is. But when he preaches Christ, they leave saying, what a glorious savior.
Oh, that all who handle the word would be overshadowed by him who is the word incarnate. And this is both on the part of the preacher and on the part of the hearer a very vital and important responsibility. I think in our own day, and not that it wasn't occurring before our own day, but in our own day there is a cult of personality, a cult of the celebrity pastor. I was listening to an interview.
It's it's I think it's around 10 years old But an interview a panel of people speaking about the the celebrity pastor Vibe that's going on in today's church and one man said that it grieves him in in instructing in a seminary first off that over half of the men that come in to learn theology have their favorite preacher as someone who is not the pastor in their local church. And secondly, that more than half, I think of them, it was close to that, engage in ministerial burnout because they do not arrive at the aspirational position that they thought that they would arrive at, that they would have their own website, CameronPorterMinistries.edu. you know, that they would have an assistant, that they would have maybe multiple assistants who would hold their drinks and wash their cars and all these sorts of things, that there would be a prominence, that they would have a position of prominence in the modern church. I believe we ought to, every gospel minister ought to echo Spurgeon. Oh, that all who handle the word would be overshadowed by him who is the word incarnate.
The man is to disappear. and Christ is to be held forth. And so we see that gospel minister's obscurity in this blessed positive statement, for we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord. That blessed positive statement comes in opposition to what these super apostles, these false apostles, were doing, not preaching Christ. What is the evidence of authentic apostleship?
What is the evidence of authoritative apostleship? It is the preaching, not of self, but of Christ Jesus the Lord. That is an evidence, and so we extend that same argument into our modern era, since there are no apostles in our modern era. What is the test of authentic gospel ministry?
What is the test of authentic and authoritative gospel ministry? from pulpits, it is if the preachers are preaching Christ Jesus and Him crucified. God forbid that we should boast in ourselves. Paul says, God forbid that I should boast save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. The gospel minister's obscurity is to be found negatively in that he is not to preach himself and positively that he is to preach.
Christ Jesus the Lord and that is the the wisdom or we could say as God uses the language the foolishness By which Christianity goes forth you can turn back to 1st Corinthians in chapter 1 just to see what gospel ministry is all about. And we've seen it here in our church under the faithful proclamation of Pastor Butler preaching the foolishness of the cross.
The Foolishness of the Cross
Notice in 1 Corinthians 1 beginning at verse 18, For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. Where is the wise? Where is the scribe?
Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom. but we preach Christ crucified.
To the Jews, a stumbling block, and to the Greeks, foolishness, but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks, the power of God, Christ, the power of God, and the wisdom of God. You know, that encapsulates the gospel minister's mission in this lower world in preaching to congregations, in preaching to the church. The church should not want to hear about the minister. The church should want to hear about the Christ of the minister, our blessed Savior, the King of kings and Lord of lords.
So what does it mean? What does it mean getting back to 2 Corinthians 4? What does it mean to preach Christ?
What It Means to Preach Christ
What does it mean to preach Christ? Well, first, I believe that it means that the gospel minister is to show forth first from the Old Testament that Christ is the one central to Old Testament proclamation. When we look at the Old Testament, we see that narratively, proverbially, Poetically, musically, prophetically, and by promise and type, that Christ is the subject matter of that revelation. We don't get far in the narrative of the book of Genesis until we find the hero born of woman who will crush the serpent with his heel.
So does he disappear at that point and there is just this parenthetical exposition of only the life and times of the nation of Israel? Or is everything following that promise inside, packaged within a curse of Genesis 3.15, is everything that follows the explication of the promise that there is a hero born of a woman who is coming who will crush the head of the serpent? It is that, we have Christ promised in the old, and then the gospel minister's task is to also open up the new and show that the promised one has come. To call the congregation to glory in that Christ, to worship that Savior, to rest alone upon Him.
So the gospel minister's task, the preaching of Christ is seen in the exposition of the word of God and showing forth that Christ is the subject of the Old Testament, and of course the promised one who has come in the New Testament announcements. It is then also to open up his person, his offices, and his work. When we preach Jesus Christ, we don't preach a Christ that cannot be gripped onto with the mind and the hardiness of Christian contemplation. In other words, we don't just preach a vague and unreachable Christ without the blessed substance of who he is, what he has taken on, and what he has done.
The preaching of Christ is, And if we just stop for a moment and think about what these false apostles were doing, I guess it shouldn't surprise us because sin is sin and unbelief is unbelief. But imagine, on the one hand, I'm going to preach myself, sinner, fallen. On the other hand, I have the option to preach the glorious one, Jesus Christ, very God and very man, yet one mediator between God and man. I'm going to preach myself.
What a horrible thing for a Christian minister to engage in any measure with the exaltation of himself, whether in whole or in part, when in view should be the explicit exaltation of Christ from pulpit proclamation. And so preaching Christ means preaching his person, his offices, and his work. We preach a Christ who is very God and very man. That one who came in the fullness of the times and took upon himself our nature.
You know, that's creedal language that's repeated a lot, and it should never cause eyes to roll, because what a glorious thing that we have in God who assumed flesh. Remember that the early church were such, and I've mentioned this before, who engaged in marveling in Christ. that they would often, it seemed like, when they were writing, and this wasn't the early church, this is true of the reformers as well, and the medievals. So good men in church history have reflected this way. It's almost when they're writing theology that they'll pause for a moment and engage in this doxological reflection of the Christ Jesus who is to be preached.
The infinite one took on finitude without casting off his infinity. The immutable one took on mutability without casting off his immutability. The one who is judge of all the earth was judged upon the cross. The one who gave birth to humanity by the word of his power is the one who took upon himself that very humanity in order to redeem it.
They would go on and wax page upon page to reflect upon the fact and to set forth the fact that the theologian, the gospel minister, the man of God, does not preach himself, but he preaches Christ Jesus the Lord. There's an excellent sermon by C. H. Spurgeon where he talks about Christians, rightly, spend a lot of time reflecting upon the death of the Savior, the death of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin. So, rightly speaking, we spend a lot of time on the cross as that message of foolishness, so-called, that confounds the wise and the scribe, as that which is the wisdom and power of God. We spend a lot of time upon his death. the preaching of Christ and the Christian reflection upon our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, as Spurgeon would say, let us not forget his life. As we rehearse the Christ who is preached, we of course launch before creation with him being the Son of God, the second of the blessed triune, and when we land our minds upon the history of the Savior, what a glorious thing we see, a babe wrapped in swaddling cloths, lying in a manger, A child competing with the doctors of the law at the age of 12.
One who is creator of all things, who is a creator of wooden things as a carpenter with his father. One who goes into the waters of baptism, and it's there where Spurgeon, remarking after the creator of water, entering into the Jordan at the hands of John the Baptist, he says, we have reason to suspect that the conscious water trembled at the thought that it contained the deity. We have the incarnate one immersed fully in the Jordan, being baptized not for sins, but for the fact that he is testifying to his mission as the one who is the Lord our righteousness. We have that champion immediately going off into the desert, the lion of the tribe of Judah against the lion of the pit, battling according to truth and according to the perfection. of the Word of God.
There is much to be preached in preaching Christ. There is nothing to be preached in preaching self. There's a good Calvin Maxim that I think not only can all Christians live by, but Christian ministers certainly. Since then, the Son of God descended from so great a height, how unreasonable that we who are nothing should be lifted up with pride.
We do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus, the Lord.
The Gospel Minister's Service
And secondly, we see the gospel minister's service. Notice in verse 5c, continuing though from the beginning of verse 5, for we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus, the Lord, and ourselves, your bondservants, for Jesus' sake. You know, this rubs against a culture Well, the Gentile culture, as Jesus would call it, of lordship, lordship rule over subservience, it is not to be so in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. Ministers of the gospel, we do not lord ourselves over the church, but rather, as Paul puts it, we are your bondservants For Jesus' sake, the ministers of the gospel are to serve the members of the church with a sacrificial and self-denying spirit.
And I think this, perhaps, I don't know if it is rising up in your minds, but you can turn with me to Hebrews 13 for a moment. Because perhaps a question arises, okay, I see Paul saying that, but Paul also writes in Hebrews 13 something else. Notice in Hebrews 13, at verse 17, So, we have on the one hand, Paul saying that ministers of the gospel, in his context, apostles, are bondservants, to the people, and also that those people are to be submissive and to obey. There is not a contradiction, but there is a healthy balance between these two things.
John Owen remarks that on the part of bondservants for Jesus' sake, we have the fact that the bondservice of gospel ministers is not one of subjection to human authority, It's not an abdication of spiritual dignity, but a reflection of the humble service of Christ, the king and head of the church. So the gospel minister is following Christ at this particular point. What does Christ say in Matthew 20 and in Mark chapter 10? That the Son of God did not come into the world to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many.
And so the gospel minister, the exercise of the office of a gospel minister is rooted and grounded in the very ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. As he takes upon himself humanity, he doesn't descend and live in a Jerusalem just on the outskirts or in a mansion just on the outskirts of Jerusalem and call upon Jerusalemites to serve him, but rather he comes and he is the one who serves giving his life a ransom for many. And so the gospel minister follows his master. And with respect to the Hebrews 13, 17 passage, this obedience and subjection is not in respect to the person, the gospel minister, but because they labor in the doctrine of Christ and administer his ordinances.
And so there is this submission not to the person for the person's sake, but to the order of the church for Christ's sake. And these things operate in a blessed harmony. And with regards to the proclamation of this one who is to be preached, Christ Jesus the Lord, we are ourselves your bondservants, and it is for Jesus' sake. We also have this language, Or we would want to say here, why is it, or ask the question, at the point of for Jesus' sake, why is it that gospel ministers actively engage in word and deed, and often through many hardships?
Because being a gospel minister, and I can't speak from experience as Jim can speak from many years of experience, but I would think that it's much easier to be a Skittles salesman than it is to be a pastor in Christ's church. Why? Because for the Skittles salesman, well, hey, they might have some difficulties competing with M&Ms and Smarties or something like that. But with the Skittles salesman, he doesn't have an assailing devil.
He doesn't have an opposing world. And he doesn't have a lusting flesh dealing with his immediate workspace and the people that he comes into contact with. He's just selling candy. not to belittle a skittle salesman. If you are one, talk to me afterwards, and if you've endured hardship for your cause, let me know.
But why is it that gospel ministers actively engage in word and deed, often through many hardships? It's for Christ's sake. It's for the proclamation of Jesus Christ. And if it is for Christ's sake and for the proclamation of Christ, then it is for the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, because that is the apple of Christ's eye.
It is his very bride. Christ loves his church. And the gospel minister goes through word and deed and through many hardships for the cause of Christ and His church.
The Gospel Minister's Illumination
Thirdly, the gospel minister's illumination. Notice the language in verse 6. For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Now, This explains why Paul only preaches Christ.
The word here that begins verse six is the word for. So that's an explanatory. There is something explanatory going on here, an explanation or a justification. Why does or what is the reason Paul preaches Christ?
Because it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So not only is the gospel minister's preaching of himself a rejection of the Christ who is to be preached, but it's a rejection of the power of God, the very power of God in creation, that is the power of God that raises dead sinners from deadness to life in Christ. It's a rejection of Christ, And it's a rejection of the very power of God in regeneration. So there is a salvific application, of course, to this verse.
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, who has shone in our hearts, the hearts of the elect, saved by grace, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So this is salvific. Generally speaking, I think there's a specific application to apostolic ministry here, but before we get there, this is salvific.
Creation Power and New Creation
The very power in creation, and the allusion is to Genesis 1, God speaking, commanding light to come into being. the very power at the creation that God employed by His majesty, by His sovereignty, and by His glory, that light would become by that very power He has called us sinners from deadness to life in Christ. Another reason why we're not to preach ourselves, because what is there in us to preach? We were dead in our trespasses and sins, wholly opposed to God and His Christ, And He, in His mercy and in His grace and in His love, brought us forth from the vileness and the wickedness of ourselves and the madness of iniquity to life and light in Jesus Christ. But
Illumination for Gospel Proclamation
there is also here a specific application to gospel ministry and the illumination that the Spirit of God gives to those who are proclaimers of His message. We won't go to these passages, but we could think of Luke 24. Well, largely and generally speaking, we could think of John 1, 1 to 5, with Christ as the light of the world, but specifically as it applies to gospel ministry, Luke 24. where Christ gives a post-resurrection Bible study, and he opens the understanding of his disciples that they might understand the Scriptures. And so the Gospel ministers' illumination, it explains why Paul only preaches Christ.
God commanded light to shine out of darkness. He has shone in our hearts not to give us some measure of strength whereby we might preach our own acclaimed, but to give us power and strength that we might preach the blessings, the riches, the excellencies, and the glory of Jesus Christ our Savior. If I'm distracting you by keeping taking off my, I keep taking off and putting back on my glasses, I'm still learning using glasses as I descend into old age. And so bear with me.
So it is this power that is looming large and blessedly behind apostolic and gospel proclamation. The very power that God exercised in creation is that self-same power by which he illumines the minds of gospel ministers in showing them the very face of Christ. This is not in some sort of weird or esoteric way. The idea of this face of Jesus Christ has to do with exactly what is indicated before that, the knowledge of him.
How do we know a man or how do we know a woman? Very largely it is by their face. If we could not see a person clearly for cloudiness, fogginess for our eyesight, we might not know that it was the person who it is. But when there is clarity, when there is illumination, when the light of a proper vision comes, we know who that is.
And the gospel minister is to be marked by one who knows his Christ. He is to know the One who is of one substance with Father and Spirit. He is to know the One who is infinite, eternal, and unchangeable, and all of His glorious perfections just like Father and Spirit. He is to know the One who assumed our humanity, who went about the earth doing good, substitutionarily in perfection to the Father's law in the place instead of all who believe.
He's to know the one who shed his blood upon Calvary's cross, not as an atonement of maybe, not as an atonement of perhaps, but so as to perfectly secure the salvation of a multitude which no man can number from every tribe and tongue and people and nation. He's to know the one who rose again, who ascended into heaven, and who now ever lives to intercede for his people. And it is by the very power of God that this comes, not only to the hearts of his people, but in a peculiar way to the minds of those who are his ministers called to set forth Christ in him crucified.
The Gospel Minister's Humility
And lastly, we close with this, the gospel ministers' humility as bearer of the divine message. Notice the language of verse 7. On this note, the gospel ministers humility as bearer of the divine message. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellence of the power may be of God and not of us.
Now, those last words come in clear contrast to these false apostles. They were such who were trying to display that the excellence of the power is of them, arguing their acclaim, setting forth their acclaim and their works and their deeds, their mighty things done, so-called, in the name of God. And Paul comes along, though, and says, no, we're not to set forth ourselves as shiny, polished, golden, bejeweled vessels that happen to contain a treasure, but rather we are clay pots. We have this treasure, gospel treasure, the glory of Christ, the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
We have this treasure in earthen vessels, clay jars, clay pots that are weak, that are not magnificent, that are cheap, that are dirty, and that can be easily cracked and broken. There is this designed contrast in God's universe and specifically in the church of the Lord Jesus Christ That those who are ministers of the gospel are not the shiny sons of men who are to be seen as these elevated, you know elite proclaimers of proclaimers themselves who do have the ability and the occasion whereby they could speak of their own acclaim and glory, but rather gospel ministers are clay pots. They are earthen vessels, weak, easily breakable. I might say not weak, but meek.
There is to be a strength in your Christian minister, but the idea is in contrast to these boasting in self, they boast only in Christ. They are not angelic ministers. It is not the case, if we're to use and extend this analogy, that the gospel minister is this beautiful rectangular, you know, treasure box bejeweled with rubies and emeralds and diamonds. And if you open the lid, oh good, there's also treasure in there, and that's Christ.
No, it's the gospel minister is an earthen vessel, a cracked clay pot, who bears forth that which is the treasure, the riches and the glories and the excellencies of Jesus Christ. The purpose of this economy, the purpose of this analogy or economy of the earthen vessel and the glorious treasure is that the glory of God through Jesus Christ would be magnified. And that's what we want from our ministers, that's what we want from those who are proclaimers of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Application
Just in a minute and 33 seconds, we see three things in conclusion. First, the preaching ministry of and in the Church is the preaching of Christ and Him crucified. Spurgeon writes this, let us remember that we are but earthen vessels, fragile, unattractive, and commonplace, that the excellency of the power may be of God and not of us. What a sad sight when the vessel tries to outshine the treasure it holds.
If we speak of ourselves, we rob Christ. If we preach ourselves, we impoverish the hearers. Secondly, we see here the preaching ministry of and in the church is born of divine power and illumination. Not in some sort of weird or Gnostic or guru-ish way, but simply that the ascended Christ, in giving gifts to men, equips those men by the spirit in order that they might disappear themselves and hold forth only. the Lord Jesus Christ and His glory, the glory of the triune God and salvation by the living and true Christ.
And thirdly, the preaching ministry of and in the church is one of prideless obscurity for the sake of the gospel's glory. Chris Austin wrote this so many years ago obey them to whom the word excuse me a bishop Should be as lowly so elder overseer a bishop should be as lowly as he is high in office His greatness is not in human acclimation But in the service of Christ's flock his goal should to be should be to be forgotten so that only Christ is remembered and Luther It is not we who are to be magnified, but Christ. And we are not called to establish a school for Luther, but for Christ. What is Luther?
After all, the doctrine is not mine. I have been crucified for no one. What Paul or Apollos is, after all, does not matter. The word belongs to Christ.
And so as we go forth as a church, as we go forth as churches, as any church goes forth, we're not to exalt the minister, we are to exalt Christ. We're not to bear with ministers who preach themselves, we are to bear long with much patience and long suffering with those ministers of God who do preach Christ. who hold forth the Lord Jesus Christ in all his glory, who hold forth the Lord Jesus Christ in his splendor and majesty? And might it always be the case that the minister disappears and that all we see is the Lord Jesus Christ? Like that, Mount of Transfiguration, where Moses and Elijah were there, but at the end of the scene, at the end of the narrative, what is seen only is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Might we always see the blessed Savior, and might we as a church own Him as Lord and Savior? If you're here tonight and you're outside of Christ, if you heard anything, hear that Christ is glorious. that God is holy, that we have all sinned and we've fallen short of the glory of God, but there is salvation in Jesus Christ, the blessed Savior, and gospel ministers preach Him, preach the glories of Christ, His saving work. And might we all go into this time afterwards glorying and fellowshipping, not in the things of vanity, but in the things of the splendorous triune God, and in the majesty of Jesus Christ, our Savior.
Closing Prayer
Well, let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We rejoice in your goodness to us. We thank you for Christ Jesus, our Savior, the Redeemer of men.
We thank you that he came into this world, sinners to save, and we rejoice in his glory, his riches, his excellencies. We do pray that you'd help us as a church to be unified around these things. We pray as well for the Surrey Church and even with our association that we would rally around those things that are of gospel and eternal significance. We thank you for your truth.
We pray that we would be such as who are marked by being lovers of the truth, that we rejoice in our triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that we rejoice in our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that every time we gather for worship, you would be exalted upon the praises of your people. We pray that you would go with us now as we go into this time of fellowship. We pray that you would be with us, that you cause us to be grateful and thankful for the provision of food and drink. We thank you for that.
We pray that you would nourish us, that you would strengthen us, and that we would, each and every one of us, give you thanks and praise. And we pray in Christ's name. Amen. Please be seated or wait.
No, please be seated because you are already seated. What are we doing now doxology? Thank you. Okay.
Yeah, here's here's your here's your new elder 572 let's stand and sing together 572 ever shall Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you what is well-pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. Please be seated. We'll have a brief time of prayer.
When the piano's finished, you're dismissed.