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[Music] [Music] [Music] this week and we'll try and have have some new ones out there published for next Sunday or the week after well please turn with me in your Bibles to to begin worship this evening to Psalm 89 psalm 18 I'm not going to read the whole chapter although it is it's difficult to break it up it's a it's a little bit longer text but I think it's relevant for the for the season that we are in I'm going to start in at verse 5 and we'll go to verse 37 and we can think of the wonderful promise of the Incarnation that that we have from the scriptures so Psalm 89 beginning of verse 5 and the heavens will praise your wonders o Lord your faithful is also in the Assembly of the Saints for who in the heavens can be compared to the Lord who among the sons of the mighty can be likened to the Lord God is greatly to be feared in the Assembly of the Saints and to be held in reverence by all those around him o Lord God of hosts who is mighty like you O Lord your faithfulness also surround you you rule the region of the sea when its waves rise you you still them you have broken Rahab in pieces as one who is slain you have scattered your enemies with your mighty arm the heavens are yours and the earth also is yours the world and all its fullness you have founded them the North and the South you have created them tabbar and Herman rejoice in your name you have a mighty arm strong as your hand and high is your right hand righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne mercy and truth go before your face blessed are the people who know the joyful sound they walk o Lord in the light of your countenance in your name they rejoice all day long and in your righteousness they are exalted for you are the glory of their strength and in your favor our horn is exalted for our shield belongs to the Lord and our King to the Holy One of Israel then you spoke in a vision to your Holy One and said I have given help to one who is mighty I have exalted one chosen from the people I have found my servant David with my holy oil I have anointed him with whom my hand shall be established also my arm shall strengthen him the enemy shall not out with him nor the son of wickedness afflict him I will beat down his foes before his face and plague those who hate him but my faithfulness and my mercy shall be with him and in my name his horn shall be exalted also i will set his hand over the sea and his right hand over the rivers he shall cry to me you are my father my god and the rock of my salvation also I will make him my firstborn the highest of the kings of the earth my mercy I will keep for him forever and my covenant shall stand firm with him his seed also i will make to endure forever and his throne as the days of heaven if his sons forsake my law and do not walk in my judgments if they break my statutes and do not keep my commandments then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes nevertheless my loving kindness I will not I will not utterly take from him nor allow my faithfulness to fail my covenant I will not break nor alter the word that has gone out of my lips once I have sworn by my holiness I will not lie to David his seed shall endure forever and his throne as the Sun before me it shall be satisfied forever like the moon even like the faithful witness in the sky se la well let's open our hymnbooks I please to our first him to him number 164 164 I will ask you to stand please you news Oh [Music] Oh [Music] is [Music] Oh be seated well let's go to God in prayer our gracious and our loving Heavenly Father we come into your holy presence now through your son the Lord Jesus Christ how grateful we are father for such as Savior as that as the Lord Jesus Christ who took upon himself manhood who took upon himself flesh that he might live common and be born of a woman coming to this earth to to walk this earth to to live amongst a people that that ultimately would would trust that trust in him as their Lord and Savior how we praise You Father for the fact that the Lord Jesus Christ lived a perfect life here in this earth so that does so that in his dying he was a perfect sacrifice for us we praise You Father for the gift of the Lord Jesus Christ that his dying meant our forgiveness his dying meant our justification and truly we are grateful father for the fact that he did not remain in the grape and rather he arose on the third day and he ever lives with you to make intercession for us how we praise you that as your people here this night here in chilliwack at free grace baptist church that we do have an advocate with the father in the person of your son the Lord Jesus Christ we're grateful father for the fact that you have given us that that one who is able to make prayers and petitions before the very throne room of God Himself on our behalf making prayers and petitions and request that that that that we can only desire in our heart to make before yeah father you make them acceptable and we're the Lord Jesus Christ makes them acceptable in your in your presence and how we praise you that we have that that that gift that wonderful knowledge that that we are heard in the very throne room of God we know Lord that you are well pleased with the praises of your people as well and how we pray that you would be lifted up here this night by the frick by the by the prayers and the hymns that our son by the word that has preached may all these things be done fathered for your honor and for your glory may you be well pleased to add your blessing and come among us and tabernacle here this evening with us would you pray Lord we thank you that we do not meet out of out of some ritualistic habit but we come father desirous to hear your word and up become desirous to worship you to praise you to to hear from you this night and so Lord we pray that you would be pleased to bless the preacher own the preaching we pray that you would give to Pastor brother all that he stands in need of this this night to come into this pulpit and declare your work we pray that it would be a faithful word we pray Lord that you would be pleased to cause it to find its mark in each one of our hearts that would be on to sanctification for those who are believers that we would draw near to Christ that we would be found in Christ enjoying the presence of Christ and and the great mercies that that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ and we do pray Lord that you would be also pleased to come in salvation to any who would hear the word of God this night from this place and bring to them father a knowledge of the Savior that that they would trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of their sins we know Lord that man connect and speak the word but you have to do inner work and so Lord we pray that you would you would do that work of drawing individuals to yourself and causing them to believe to look look upon the Lord Jesus Christ and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ father how we praise you that you are in the business of causing us to grow in the person of Christ grow in the likeness of Christ and so Lord we pray your blessing to be upon our time here this evening we truly would grow in the things of Christ and that we put on the Lord Jesus Christ that that would be evidenced in the way in which we would conduct ourselves in our homes and in our places of work and in our neighborhoods and and whoever we come into contact with we do pray Lord that there would be evidence of belonging to the Lord Jesus Christ and that you would be pleased to to bless that testimony Lord we do pray for those in our midst to who are not here this evening because due to illness we pray Lord that you would strengthen them in body strengthen them in spirit as well we do pray Lord that when we meet together in the next week next Lord's Day lord willing that Lord they would be what that they would be well and able to come and be amongst us and be with your people and praising you here in this place we do pray Lord we ask your blessing to be upon those who are in persecuting countries this night as well remember the Brethren as though we were in Shane with them we pray Lord that you would just cause them to be looking to their Savior the Lord Jesus Christ to find their hope in Christ and we do pray Lord that you would relieve of that of that pain and that's suffering if it be possible we pray Lord that they would that they would remain faithful to the to the Word of God and we fave be faithful to their Savior the Lord Jesus Christ and we do pray Lord that you just cause them to to know that that help and that aid that does come from on high during difficult circumstances we do pray Lord for their persecutors that you would remove them and cause them to to that to cease and desist from from that act of enmity with you and the state they have enmity with your people your children we know Lord that you will hold them accountable for what they have done in the flesh and so lord how we pray that you would show mercy upon them and cause them to to to to to turn away from from this wickedness and that they would that they would turn to the true and living God while they yet have breath we pray Lord for your church and your churches everywhere we think Lord of the fact that it is a church militant it's a church that is growing it is expanding and how we praise you for that the church is mightier today than it was even 2000 years ago we do just pray father that you would continue to cause the Church of Christ to move forward we pray for all those places in in small places in large places father where your word is faithfully preached this this day and in the days in the future we pray Lord that it would continue to not return to you but rather it would would find its mark and do its intended good and change hearts and lives and make them disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ wherever your word is preached the Lord bless your word and bless your churches we do pray everywhere and your ministers of the gospel as well may they know that help and that aid just to be faithful in the pulpit faithful in their study and faithful from week to week and month to month and year to year so large it's our privilege to gather here this evening to to hear your word opened up and to sing praises to you we pray low that you would just remove any remaining sin in us and cause us to do to again have that prick that have the precious blood of your son the Lord Jesus Christ upon upon our lives here this evening that we might worship you with that with cleanness not in our own cells but in that purse of your son the Lord Jesus Christ in his blood that's in his precious name we pray now amen well please turn with me in your hymn books just flipping to the next page a gym number 163 and we're going to sing it to a different tune so I'll ask you to stand please 163 [Music] Oh [Music] ah [Music] ah Oh [Music] Oh [Music] Oh Oh [Music] Oh [Music] and turn between your Bibles to Ezekiel Ezekiel chapter 35 Ezekiel chapter 35 and certainly we if you've remembered in previous chapters as we've been reading through Ezekiel in previous chapters it was certainly promised that when his when hit when the time I would come to to favor as I on the in the in the previous chapters especially the time for sending the Messiah which obviously hold the whole Testament is looking forward to the Masai and the setting up of his kingdom in the world certainly God God was going to come and cause his enemies the enemies of his church the enemies of Zion here to cease and the blessings of the church to come upon the the people of Israel the people of Zion which is in this is in chapter 36 we're going to read chapter 35 which is it's a two-part there's two parts with the the coming of blessings in chapter 36 and the and the the causing the enemies of the church that decease which is in chapter 35 so as we read chapter 35 rejoice rejoice that the enemies of Christ the enemies of Zion will be no more and they've been promised to be no more and in chapter 36 on the heels of 35 are the the promises of blessings and comforts for his church which we will read Lord willing next week so beginning at verse the third verse 1 of chapter 35 and keeping in mind that God is going to cause his enemies the enemies of his church to cease and with that we do rejoice so verse 1 moreover the word of the Lord came to me saying son of man set your face against mount seir and prophesy against it and say to it thus says the Lord God behold o mount seir I am against you I will stretch out my hand against you and make you desolate I shall slay your city's waste and you shall be desolate then you shall know that I am the lord because you have had an under an ancient hatred and have shed the blood of the children of Israel by the power of the sword at the time of their calamity when their iniquity came to an end therefore as I live says the Lord God I will prepare you for prepare you for blood and blood shall pursue you since you have not hated blood therefore blood shall pursue you thus I will mount that I will make Mount Seir most desolate and cut it off from it the one who leaves and the one who returns and I will fill its mountains with the slain on your hills and in your valleys and in your ravines those who are slain by the sword shall fall I will make you perpetually desolate and your cities shall be uninhabited then you shall know that I am the lord because you have said these two nations in these two countries shall be mine and we will possess them although the Lord was there therefore as I live says the Lord God I will do according to your anger and according to the envy which you showed in your hatred against them and I will make myself known among them when I judge you then you shall know that I am the lord I've heard all your blasphemies which you have spoken against the mountains of Israel saying they are desolate they're given to us to consume thus with your mouth you have boasted against me and multiplied your words against me I've heard them thus says the Lord God the whole earth will rejoice when I make you desolate as you rejoiced because because the inheritance of the house of Israel was desolate so I will do to you you shall be desolate Oh Mount Seir as well as all of eatin eat them all of it then they shall know that I am the Lord amen well that's it let's pray our gracious that our loving Heavenly Father we rejoice in the fact lore that the enemies of the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ are continually being put down they will be made your footstool and slowly but surely the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ is marching forward is marching on and how we praise you for that father that you are making all of your enemies your footstool and how we praise you that you will continue to to see the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ rise in ascendancy and rise until until that day that you call the bride home to to that to that great marriage feast that with the bride room Lord we rejoice in that we look forward to it and how we pray that we would be found faithful until the end until that very until that until the Lord calls us home or until that that gathering up together of the church of the elect into heaven so Lord we praise you that these things are clear to us in the scriptures that you've left us with your word and we pray Lord your blessing upon your word here this evening illumine are darkened hearts and our dark and minds with your spirit father and we do pray it the Word of God might be a living word here in this place this night we do pray in Jesus precious name amen well please turn with me for the last him before we go to preaching and it's a hymn number 147 147 we'll ask you to stand [Music] Oh [Music] I [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] well with men your Bibles to second Corinthians chapter 8 2nd Corinthians chapter 8 essentially what we have here is the Apostle Paul appealing to the Corinthian church to give liberally to the famine relief in Judea specifically there was a famine that hit the Empire in the first century and Judea was hit very very hard and you'll see Paul's allusions to these or to this situation in the book of Romans as well in the book of Galatians and of course here in second Corinthians chapter 8 and essentially he exhorts the Corinthians concerning charity toward others they are to give of their resources their temporal goods to try and alleviate the suffering of other brothers and sisters and he makes an appeals first to the churches in Macedonia sets them forth as an example primarily the church in Philippi is the church that he appeals to hear they are a great example of giving to those in need and then he appeals to the example of Christ now Christ in the first place is not an example the Lord Jesus Christ is a sacrifice he as a substitute he lived he died he rose again so that we might have everlasting life but there are instances in several places in the New Testament where Christ is exemplary and it's instructive for us here that Paul appeals specifically to who Christ is in his essential deity and in the humanity that he took on in the Incarnation so I just want to read beginning in chapter 8 at verse 1 moreover brethren we make known to you the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality for I bear witness that according to their ability yes and beyond their ability they were freely willing imploring us with much urgency that we would receive the gift and the Fellowship of the ministering to the Saints and not only as we had hoped but they first gave themselves to the Lord and then to us by the will of God so we urged Titus that as he had begun so he would also complete this grace in you as well but as you abound in everything in faith in speech and knowledge and all diligence and in your love for us see that you abound in this grace also I speak not by Commandments but I am testing the sincerity of your love by the diligence of others for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich and in this I give advice it is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and we're desiring to do a year ago but now you also must complete the doing of it that as there was a readiness to desire it so there also may be a completion out of what you have for if there is first a willing mind it is accepted according to what one has and not according to what he does not have for I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened but by inequality that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack that their abundance also may supply your lack that there may be equality as it is written he who gathered much had nothing left over and he who gathered little had no lack but thanks be to God who puts the same earnest care for you in the heart of Titus we not only accepted the exhortation but being more diligent he went to you of his own accord and we have sent with him the brother whose praise is in the gospel throughout all the churches and not only that but who who is also chosen by the churches to travel with us with this gift which is administered by us to the glory of the lord himself and to show you're ready mine avoiding this that anyone should blame us in this lavish gift which is administered by us providing honorable things not only in the sight of the Lord but also in the sight of men and we have sent with them our brother whom we have often proved diligent and many things but now much more diligent because of the great confidence which we have in you if anyone inquires about Titus he is my partner and fellow worker concerning you or if our brethren are inquired about their messengers of the churches the glory of Christ therefore show to them and before the churches the proof of your love and our end of our boasting on your behalf amen let us pray father in heaven we thank you for the word of God and we thank you for this place that you have given us to come out of the world to gather with the Saints of Christ and the worship father son and spirit we pray that tonight you would be glorified and exalted that we would honor and praise you that we would acknowledge your graciousness in your mercy to us God as the Apostle says you blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ and as the psalmist reminds us it's not only the spiritual blessings but temporally you load us daily with benefits we thank you that we have Liberty to worship you we thank you for food and shelter and clothing and all of the things that you have given out of your abundance to us and we would ask that you would just fill us now with the Holy Spirit we would ask that you would cleanse us in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and that you would help us to appreciate the Apostles argument in this passage as he sets before us the glory and the majesty in the excellency of the Lord Jesus Christ and it's in his name that we pray excuse me amen well as I said he appeals first to the macedonians primarily the church in Philippi and it is intriguing notice in verse 2 he says that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality so the Philippians the macedonians gave out of their poverty they gave when they did not even have it to give that is genuinely sacrificial giving and then as I said he appeals to Christ and verse nine sets before us both the riches of Christ and the poverty of Christ he says for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich a fitting text for a remembrance of our Lord's incarnation well we'll just simply look at those two things first the riches of Christ and secondly the poverty of Christ but notice in the first place there's an assumption made by the apostle ball he says for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ say whatever we may about the church in Corinth and certainly there's a lot to be critical off especially as we read first Corinthians there's a whole lot of sin that the Apostle is dealing with in that space but this specifically is a good sign to good indicator he appeals to something they know he appeals to the reality that Christians know Christian theology that is absolutely crucial we are not saved because we're good we're not saved because we are better than others we are not saved because we obey a code of conduct we are saved by grace through faith and that faith as I mentioned this morning isn't a blind leap but rather that faith lays hold to objective propositional revelation and so the Apostle is able to say to the Corinthians you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that is commendable the Christian Church must know Christian theology the Christian Church can't make heads or tails out of such exhortations as these unless they appreciate what we will discover in this particular passage the incarnation of our Lord Jesus what has been called the hypostatic union that's just a big word to say that the human and the divine nature's of Christ unite in the one person of Jesus Christ but you can't appeal to that knowledge if someone doesn't have it there is an assumption by Paul that I hope would be a fitting thing for all of the churches of christ haj says the fat referred to including the highest mystery of the gospel specifically the incarnation of the Son of God or the manifestation of God in the flesh and the love there in manifest it is assumed to be known and acknowledged by all who call themselves Christians I think in some sense the bar has been radically lower Christianity is no longer seen as a doctrinal situation or doctrinal religion it's just a feeling it's an experience it's a mystical thing what we need to recover is what the Apostolic Church set forth we believe the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ that belief is founded upon grounded in targeted upon certain truths revealed to us in that gospel the importance of private bible study is here and join the importance of prayer whenever you read your Bible whenever you look to the Word of God you ought to be a prayerful sort as well the importance of the public means of grace remember that when Paul wrote second Corinthians they didn't have this they didn't have a beautiful Cambridge Bible they didn't have the sorts of Bibles that we have put together the Corinthians heard Christian doctrine when they came to church on the lord's day Sabbath this is why Paul tells Timothy to give attention to the reading of Scripture yes for Timothy's personal growth yes for Timothy's ministerial progress but in that context in first Timothy for the reading is most likely public reading of Scripture because that's where the people of God came into contact with the Word of God certainly they would memorize the scripture certainly they could meditate upon it during the week certainly they would contemplate that word and roll it around in their minds and in their hearts but they probably didn't have the sorts of Bibles that what they did it have the Bibles and the resources that we have it was absolutely crucial that person's attended church so that they could in fact learn the truth as it is in Jesus as well this assumption indicates that we ought to thank God for the Apostle Paul we ought to thank God for the Apostle John we ought to thank God for all of the apostles that were committed to preaching truth that were committed the teaching doctrine remember that Blessid snapshot that we find in Acts chapter 2 on the day of Pentecost when the people of God are saved they continued steadfastly in what not in religious experience not in mystical ecstatic experience but they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine we also ought to be thankful for the history of the church that is yielded to us wonderful creeds and confessions that at this time of the year or a wonderful thing to revisit those ones that dealt with the Incarnation those ones that dealt with the hypostatic Union those ones that deal with Christian doctrine and truth brethren Christianity is a doctrinal religion and we need to appreciate that as well this assumption indicates that when men and women understand the truth when we appropriated in the mind and then the heart then the practice should follow suit in other words we can't be genuinely practical people unless we are radically doctrinal people orthodoxy leads to orthopraxy right knowledge leads to write practice now note what the Apostle goes on to say for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich this is an indicator of the riches of our Lord Jesus Christ and it is intriguing he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor the participle the type of the verb that is used here points to what he is essentially he was and always will be rich he was rich yet he became poor there is a parallel sort of a thing in John's Gospel and you can turn there just to highlight the essential deity of our Lord Jesus Christ he was rich and yet in time and in history he became poor notice in John one in verse one in the beginning was the word that same idea he was rich he was the word and the Word was with God and the word was god he didn't become the word he was the word he has ever lastingly been the word he is the Eternal Word of the Living God he in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God now drop down to verse 14 it says and the word the self-same word of John 11 the one who was God the word became flesh so he was rich he became poor he was the word he became flesh and dwelt among us and we beheld his glory the glory as of the only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth Paul is doing the exact same thing in second Corinthians chapter eight verse nine he's appealing to Christ in His essential deity he's appealing to Christ in terms of the Incarnation as an example for the Corinthians to give money to the churches in Judea the explanation specifically what is highlighted in the riches of Christ in this particular situation does not point to what is his by virtue of his exaltation after his resurrection remember this morning we talked about the Ascension we said that Christ was incarnate and then Christ ascended on high what happened when he ascended on high he led captivity captive he gave gifts to men we see that God was pleased the father was pleased to raised Christ from the dead and to set him at his right hand the father conveyed an exalted status upon Christ as mediator that's not what's in view here it is the essential deity of our Lord Jesus you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich though he had everything though he possessed all though he still in his incarnation possesses all nevertheless became poor for us so that we through his poverty might become rich this is an evidence of the graciousness of our Lord Jesus so if we follow Paul's argument the macedonians out of their poverty gave liberally Christ out of his riches gave liberally so Paul's argument essentially to the Corinthians on a practical level is you need to give you need to cough up you need to send money to Judea you need to help the Brethren you need to give like what you see in Jesus and what you see in those Macedonians but as we consider Christ he was rich His divine nature is on display in this particular instance as well with reference to his divine nature he's got divine authority Christ is the creator when we say that he was rich yes it is an appeal to his essential deity it is an appeal to the reality that he is divinity and as God he is creator that the creator of heaven and earth would humble himself and become obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross ought to serve as a great example to the Corinthians as to why they ought to give liberally to the churches in Judea Christ is creator Christ is sovereign in Providence everything consists in him Colossians 117 there's nothing that exists that his hand hasn't made there's nothing that exists that he doesn't sustain and support and yet he became poor for us so he was rich Paul says again he doesn't stop being rich he doesn't divest himself of his deity he doesn't lay it aside more like what we sang this morning veiled in flesh the Godhead see hail the Incarnate deity whereas John Gill says not that by becoming Manny cease to be God or lost his divine perfections though these were much hid and covered from the view of man in other words if you were walking around in the first century and you saw the Lord Jesus Christ you you wouldn't see that that that radians and that beauty in that Majesty there were glimpses on the Mount of Transfiguration for instance but for the most part he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief he was Paul tells us he never stopped being rich then Paul continues notice secondly with reference to his poverty you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor yet for your sakes he became poor I mentioned earlier what's called the hypostatic Union again that's something that you should just know not intuitively but because we talked about it a lot here and some might know how there's that word again I've never taken the time to google it or listen to pastor camera pastor Butler or whatever it just refers as i said to the two natures the divine in the human in the one person of our Lord Jesus Christ it's Placid reality it is a blasted truth that whether you saw it or not in that first century context when you looked upon that man of sorrows who was acquainted with grief he was nevertheless very God a very God light from light true God from True God he is two natures in one person that's called the hypostatic Union as I said it's good when we refer to the theology of the Incarnation to rehearse our Creed's in our confessions and London Baptist confession chapter 8 paragraph two I think is a beautiful and a wonderful display of Christology it says the Son of God the second person in the Holy Trinity being very and eternal God see no other religion offers a savior like our Savior our Savior is eternal God it says the brightness of the father's glory of one substance and equal with him who made the world who upholds and governs all things he has made did when the fullness of time was come take upon in man's nature with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof yet without sin that means he was a real man see there were those who said he in a real man he just appeared to be a real man no he was a real man the real man who wept he was a real man who ate he was a real man who suffered he was a real man who bled the true humanity of our Lord Jesus Christ has always endeavour been upheld by the church it goes on to say being conceived by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary the Holy Spirit coming down upon her and the power of the most high overshadowing her and so was made of a woman of the tribe of Judah of the seed of Abraham and David according to the scriptures that encapsulates what would brother Steve read at the outset of worship what Psalm 89 it's the Covenant saw it in many ways is an exposition or at least a reflection upon second Samuel Chapter seven where God promises to David there will be in an air a royal heir of the seed of David one will rise up will occupy David's throne and his kingdom will have no end you see it's not some fable it's not some devised myth but rather it is the objective reality of God incarnate coming into the world fulfilling what the prophets spoke it goes on to say and describe this hypostatic union i'm going to give everyone a quiz tonight when they leave i might stand right at the door and say what's the hypostatic union so pay attention be alert this reflects kalsa Don aren't London Baptist confession here reflects the Council of Chalcedon when it says so that to whole perfect and distinct nature's were in separably joined together in one person under that two natures one person Zhanna 6040 it's not an 8020 it's not a little bit of God little bit of man it's not God in a flash suit two distinct nature's in one glorious person without conversion composition or confusion which person is very God and very man yet one Christ the only mediator between God and man outside of Scripture I don't think you can do much better in terms of a definition or description of the person of our Lord Jesus Christ he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor he became poor in the Incarnation John Murray makes this observation when Jesus became man he did not cease to be rich in his BA in his Divine Being relations and position possessions he didn't stop being rich he didn't put it on a shelf in Marion Joseph's pantry and say I'll come back for the deity when I've done what I'm supposed to do Murray again when he became man he did not cease to be rich in his Divine Being relations and possessions he did not become poor by ceasing to be what he was it's very important that you get this he did not become poor by ceasing to be what he was we don't look at Christ and highlight his poverty by say he laid aside his divinity that's not what the Bible teaches that is not what Scripture confers Murray goes on to say but he became poor by becoming what he was not he became poor by assuming our nature with all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof yet without sin you see Christ became poor taking on the son of the seed of Abraham Murray goes on to say he became poor by addition not by subtraction you get that we usually become poor by subtraction we become poor by you know more money going out than money coming in I think that's a common understanding of how poverty occurs you say I've lost everything I probably it's rational to conclude because you didn't put back into the kidding do you just take it out and you spend it and you replenish then you will be poor but not so with Christ he became poor by addition not by subtraction Murray ends by saying he added manhood to his immutable and eternal God hood he became poor through addition again we need to understand that Christ didn't lay aside his divinity the divinity didn't energize the creature and the creature didn't you know d diminish the divinity Agustin says the divinity has not changed into the creature so as to cease to be divinity nor the creature into divinity so as to cease to be creature two distinct nature's in one glorious person such that he is very God and very man yet one Christ the only mediator between God and man so before we move on with reference to teasing out the state of humiliation we learn from this passage that the Lord Jesus is eternally God he was rich the Lord Jesus in the Incarnation became poor itten give up his deity remember he became poor by addition by taking on humanity and as well the Lord Jesus is one glorious persons into nature's one of those ancient creeds called the Athanasian Creed says this is the Catholic faith and Catholic there doesn't mean Roman Catholic it means universal that's what the word Catholic means it's a good work it's unfortunate that we get to use it as much as we ought because of associations with Roman Catholicism but the Athanasian Creed summarizing the reality which is Christ says this is the Catholic faith which except a man believed faithfully cannot be saved it's an amazing thing those early Creed's were called ecumenical Creed's does everybody understand what ecumenism is today ecumenism is that desire to bring the most people together in unity well the way ecumenism is pursued today is by sacrificing true it's by getting rid of truth it's by shelving truth what's the lowest common denominator available to us so that we can have this religious unity it's very intriguing that in these ecumenical Creed's again designed to bring believers together they always end with anathemas a pronouncement of condemnation from God most high upon anybody who rejects the truth stated in the particular Creek you see for them it wasn't the lowest common denominator it was what does the Bible say what is the truth concerning the triune God what is the truth concerning our Blessed Christ if a person does not confess that truth then let him be anathema it was truth that was designed to bring the people of God together not just in the early church but in the in the scriptures as well they continued steadfastly in the Apostles doctrine this is what bond bound them together this is what gave them their identity this is what what brought them from various walks of life to commune with the same Savior and to glorify his most holy name now as we look at this particular passage we have considered briefly his riches but consider his poverty referral to Christ state of humiliation the Lord Jesus took upon in man's nature with all the essential properties and common infirmities thereof Matthew one and two he was born of the Virgin Mary the Word of God highlights to us again that he was a real man and as well the humanity of Christ did not destroy it did not diminish his deity he never ceased to be God Pastor Porter handled abele that that section in Philippians chapter 2 Christ the form of a bondservant Christ the form of God brethren we need to appreciate what's going on in such passages concerning our blessed Redeemer well that state of humiliation is seen in his life lived on earth what does the prophet Isaiah say concerning him way back when he is despised and rejected by men a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief and we hit as it were our face from him he was despised and we did not esteem him for your sakes he became poor he was rich he never stopped being rich he never divested himself of deity became rich by became poor by addition taking on humanity and he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief he himself says foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests but the Son of man has nowhere to lay his head you see the creator of all couldn't get a place to lay down the creator of all couldn't get treatment that was consistent with even normal human beings the creator of all is despised and forsaken but perhaps we view this poverty of our Lord Jesus most vividly in his sufferings and in his death again this is I think encompassed by the Apostles appeal you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich everlasting God yet for your sakes he became poor Paul doesn't develop this because I think he assumes that the Corinthians knows what he's talking about and we ought to know that as well as sufferings in his death the poverty of Christ was something that Peter could not conceive remember that bit Matthew chapter 16 when the Apollo when the Lord Jesus announces that he's going to go to Jerusalem he's going to suffer he's going to die and he's going to be raised the third day what does Peter do peter tries to stop him peter couldn't get his mind wrapped around a messiah suffering and dying as well the jews after the resurrection continued to see the concept of a suffering Messiah as a stumbling block first Corinthians 123 the Jews seek after a sign the Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ and him crucified to the Jews what a stumbling block a scandal this just wasn't known or thought through with reference to the Messiah that was promised to come again a great miss reading of the script because Isaiah tells us he's going to be a man of sorrows Isaiah tells us he's going to be cut off Isaiah tells us that Yahweh was pleased to crush him I Isaiah tells us all these things so they misread the scriptures you see they couldn't get their minds wrapped around a poor Messiah as well the Apostle traces the trajectory of Christ humiliation in Philippians 28 and being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death even the death of the cross and Phillip Hughes makes this observation he says from highest heaven Christ descended to Calvary and the grave none was richer then he none became poorer than he that's the Apostles argument Christ was rich never stopped being rich yet for your sakes he became poor now note the redemptive benefit here that you through his poverty might become rich for your sakes and that you through his poverty might become rich this morning we sketched briefly why Christ came into the world with reference to the destruction of the devil again that is an appropriate and obvious response to the question why did Christ Jesus come into this world there's other answers why did Christ Jesus come into this world because he made a covenant with his father about the salvation of the elect in other words when he comes into this world the father sends him the one son willingly submit submits himself to the father in the economy of redemption the Sun always does what pleases the father that's a great plan sir somebody says why did Jesus come into this world it is a perfectly appropriate answer to say because the father sent him and if the father sends you you do what you're supposed to do Christ evidences that desire in John's Gospel to do what the father sent but as well why did Christ come into this world for us for guilty helpless vile sinners that's the emphasis of our passage yet for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich one more ancient Creed the nice scene we confess and in one Lord Jesus Christ we believe in one Lord Jesus Christ the only begotten Son of God begotten of the father before all worlds god of God light of light very God a very God begotten not made being of one substance with the Father by whom all things were made and then I love this next clause who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven that's what Paul is saying he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor he is everlasting God but for your sakes he became man who for us men and for our salvation came down from heaven and was incarnate by the Holy Spirit of the Virgin Mary and was made man and was crucified also for us under Pontius Pilate he suffered and was buried and the third day he rose again according to the scriptures and ascended into heaven and sits on the right hand of the Father and he shall come again with glory to judge the quick in the debt whose kingdom shall have no end it's for us men and for our salvation that is the conspicuous emphasis of Paul in second Corinthians chapter eight verse nine you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich and never cease to be rich yet for your sakes he became poor why Paul did he become poor that for you or that through his poverty you might become rich it's a blessing reality those riches include the forgiveness of sin and the imputed righteousness of Christ doesn't it again think of the the psychological appeal of such an appeal are the psychological effect of such an appeal and it's for us too if we are ever stingy and tight fisted and tight wanted and we don't give to the Brethren we don't evidence the compassion that our Lord Jesus Christ demonstrates that our Lord Jesus Christ command that his apostles command ponder Christ think about Jesus think about the riches that you have received from his poverty think about the fact that as it were he took out his whole wallet and he threw down everything he had so that you could become rich and shall we be tight-fisted shall we be misers shall we hear of the suffering churches in judea and not send them checks shall we send the Apostle Paul back to Jerusalem empty-handed as far as Corinth is concerned you see this in acts 20 1 Paul returns to the church in Jerusalem and Paul has brought fruits of his missionary endeavors and the fruit specifically are believers Gentile believers and James hits him up and says Paul we hear that you're teaching people that they don't need to obey the law do you know when Paul steps foot in Jerusalem he not only comes with that fruit in terms of the spiritual ministry but he comes with money he and his compadres bring money and they give it to James and James and the elders the leaders of the church in Jerusalem start to manifest the compassion of Christ through his servants to the people in me brethren if we are a stingy people second Corinthians 8 9 is for us that you through his poverty might become rich the forgiveness of sin the imputed righteousness of Christ the adoption as sons unto God the Father again pastor Porter read this morning in Ephesians 1 what's one of the purposes that God has for us in terms of redemption we are adopted as sons we have received the spirit of adoption in Galatians 4 whereby we cry Abba Father you know what a blessed privilege that is that we get to call god father I know it's commonplace and liberal professing Christianity to distress the universal fatherhood have got now if we parse it out make distinctions we can say that because he's over all he created all things everybody subject to him but when the Bible uses the terminology Abba when the Bible uses the terminology of father when it refers to the people of God calling upon God as father what is assumed is adoption we are adopted sons and daughters of God most high because of the poverty of our Lord Jesus Christ as well we have sanctification by the spirit it's another rich one of the riches that we possess that you through his poverty might become rich we have the Holy Spirit not only can we not blame the devil like I mentioned this morning but we ought to blame ourselves that we don't appeal to those things and resources that God has given us Romans 8 13 if by the spirit you do mortify the deeds of the body you will live if by the spirit you stop looking at porn if by the spirit you stop smoking pot if by the spirit you stop doing the foolish things that you're engaged in if by the spirit if you're not going to the spirit if you're not asking the father to send the spirit if you're not pleading that redemptive benefit that Christ has secured for you not only should you not blame the devil you certainly ought never to call into question God Most High I don't believe he's not helping me oh the help is there for the taking is need to pray you need to read you may need to fast you may need to cut off limbs metaphorically speaking you may need to deal radically that's how the Spirit will guide you and lead you and direct you with reference to that holy endeavor and then we have the glorification in the age to come at children Sunday school song and that children's song it is cheesy as all get up but it's true we are bound for glory this train is Bound for Glory there are better days ahead for the people of God whatever your trial whatever your circumstance whatever your hardship whatever your whoa there are better days coming we are going to be in glory with God Most High this is what we were created for in Adam we died and Adam we resisted and Adam we reject it in Christ we've been made alive now we want this we want to be in the presence of God we want to be able to say when we've been there ten thousand years bright shining as the Sun we've no less days to sing God's praise than when we first be gone begun though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich Gill says that they through his poverty mock might be rich not in temporals that means food and shelter but brethren we ought to thank God if God's given you food and shelter thank him a lot of people in this world that don't have food and shelter that they through his poverty might be rich not in temples he highlights in this text but in spirituals and by his obedience sufferings and death in his low estate he has paid all their debts wrought out a robe of righteousness rich and adorned with jewels with which he clothed them and through his blood and sacrifice has made them kings and priests unto God that is a blessed reality that our text affords for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ that though he was rich yet for your sakes he became poor that you through his poverty might become rich well brethren in conclusion we need to know our christology we need to understand who Jesus is we need to understand the work of Christ with reference to atonement with reference to the cross we try and provide opportunities for persons to learn there are confessions of faith that are excellent compendiums of truth you can take those you can study the passage as you can see why and where these these authors put these doctrinal statements together they're all rooted in the text of Holy Scripture Paul is able to assume that the Corinthians already knew this he wasn't teaching a new doctrine he doesn't expound each point he doesn't say what it means that Christ was rich he doesn't say what it means that Christ was poor he assumes they already got this they already know that what they're dealing with in Christ is a unique individual he is indeed the god man Paul assumes that his audience knows christology and it's on the heels of that assumption that he appeals to the practically and I want you to appreciate that as well practical Christian living flows out of doctrinal appropriation there is such a disconnect in our day well I don't want to give God my head but i'll give in my heart I mean you reformed people you're so cerebral everything's up here with you just let go and love Jesus well if I'm letting go and loving Jesus if I'm not asking which Jesus am i loving it's going to be a ton of false ones in his place doctrinal appropriation understanding the truth is what leads to practical application I just wish we'd get this why all this doctrine why all this theory so that you'll love your wife the way you're supposed to so that you as a woman will submit to your husband the way you're supposed to so that you as children will obey your parents the way you're supposed to so that you fathers and you mothers won't beat your kids but you'll love them and rear that in the training and the admonition of the Lord if we don't understand the doctrine we're not going to have the practice we don't understand who Jesus is we're going to be tight fisted misers that won't part with a cent in helping to alleviate the suffering of others but when we ponder that one who was rich who for your sakes became poor that we through his poverty might become rich there's a great impetus for us to open up our wallets and to give doctrinal Christianity is the foundation and does produce practical application listen to John Murray again this is from a sermon by the way on second Corinthians 8 9 he says the simple logic in verse 9 is that the most transcendent mysteries of our holy faith we might call the hypostatic union one of those transcendent mysteries one of those most transcendent there's a lot of things that are pretty cut-and-dry the sixth commandment not hard to understand is it you shall not murder seventh commandment not hard to understand eighth commandment not hard to understand there's a lot of things in the Bible that when you open it and you read there's no what he means there that's why it always puzzles me when people say oh the bottles so confusing I can't understand anything what do you mean you can't understand you shall not murder praise God you live in consistently praise God that at least in your heart of hearts you've got some appropriation of that truth but with reference to the hypostatic Union looking at Gregory recently he said to explain eternal generation the house now can't do that the reality is taught in Scripture but the house you're dealing with father and son in eternity it's faster porter reminded us this morning there's no eternity past you see this edition of past to eternity really flies in the face of eternity eternity doesn't have you know points on the line there's no segments and eternity there's no pass there's no future it's telling you can't even do that it's eternity right but here's a la Marie the simple logic is that the most transcendent mysteries of our holy faith are the fountain springs of the most common and practical of Christian duties the streams of Christian liberality are fed from the ocean of the mysteries of God I love that brethren it's this high doctrine it's what the church is trafficked in 421 centuries that'll get you out of bed tomorrow morning and make you a better you how does Paul say husbands are supposed to love their wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her substitution ery curse bearing at Calvary ought to move the hearts of God's man to treasure to value to prize and to love their wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her you see these most transcendent mysteries become the springs from which practical Christianity flows and if you are not a believer here this evening may I encourage you to look at 2nd Corinthians 8 verse 9 Christ is eternal God Christ comes into this world christ is born of the Virgin Mary Christ lives a lowly life Christ is a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief Christ is despised by his own he comes to his own in his own do not receive him Christ lives in obedience to his father's law in terms of a covenant made with his father way back when again in eternity Christ goes to the cross Christ dies on the cross not as an example not as a moving picture of things that ought to warm our hearts but as a substitute it is there that the father punishes us in his place Christ takes the punishment of God for sinners I love the the children's version of the shorter catechism it is the SIA what is atonements the satisfaction of divine justice see many years ago was an atonement that was the word that was more often used it was satisfaction God's justice needs to be satisfied and this is what price does at Calvary and then he goes into the grave and on the third day rose rose from the dead he ascended on high he sits enthroned at the right hand of God most high that you through his poverty might become rich all those who by his grace look to him in faith will have everlasting life don't end the day I know we say this every Sunday we say it sunday morning we say it sunday night but at some point in your life whether you're young or old you got to come to grips with this this is the reality he that hath the son hath everlasting life he who does not believe the son shall not see life but what the wrath of God above on him it's an amazing reality if you're outside Christ right now the wrath of God abides on you we had a can of spray paint and it was something tangible we could paint around you and see this cloud that's what's happened that's what's going on you have sinned against a holy God you need Christ you need the one who satisfied divine justice you need the one who accomplished in his own life all obedience to the father's law because when you believe you are forgiven and you are given that perfect righteousness don't end the day I would say don't leave this place this is most important for the wrath of God abides will let us pray our Father in Heaven we thank you for your word we thank you for the riches of Christ we thank you for the poverty of Christ we thank you for this blessed union in one person of the divine and the human and we thank you that he ever lives as Steve reminded us in his prayer that he ever lives to make intercession for us he is enthroned at the right hand of god most high he is there for his people and he is there to save those who come he has said he has promised that all that the father gives me will come to me and the one who comes to me I will certainly not cast out God provoke in the hearts of men women boys and girls this night here in this place and in other churches and chilliwack and and all over the earth God we pray that you'd bring the conviction for sin and point sinners to this one who is able to save to the uttermost we ask that you would go with us now we pray that you would watch over us in this coming week again bless our brothers & our sisters who are going through trials and difficulties and hardships we just commit them to you into the word of your grace and we pray through Christ our Lord amen we'll close with a brief time of meditation and then be dismissed you