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Galatians chapter 1. This morning, we looked at verses 
1 to 3, the brief identification of the author and the addressees 
to the churches of Galatia, and then we looked at verse 3, the 
benediction, grace to you and peace from God the Father and 
our Lord Jesus Christ. Tonight we'll look at verses 
4 and 5. where the author Paul further identifies this Lord 
Jesus Christ, speaks of the will of the Lord God Almighty in the 
Gospel, and then finishes with a call to doxology. I'll read 
from verse 1 to verse 10 again, and then we'll pray and have 
a look at verses 4 and 5. Once again, the Word of God. 
Paul, an apostle, not from man nor through man, but through 
Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead, 
and all the brethren who are with me. To the churches of Galatia, 
grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus 
Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver 
us from this present evil age, according to the will of our 
God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. I marvel 
that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you 
in the grace of Christ to a different gospel, which is not another. 
But there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel 
of Christ. But even if we, or an angel from 
heaven, preach any other gospel to you than what we have preached 
to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now 
I say again, if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than 
what you have received, let him be accursed. For do I now persuade 
men or God, or do I seek to please men? For if I still pleased men, 
I would not be a bondservant of Christ. Amen. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You 
for Your Word. We thank You for what Your Word 
discloses concerning Christ, our Savior, and the salvation 
of men. We do pray that You would bless this time together in Your 
Word. We pray again that You would 
help preacher, that You would be with hearer. We pray that 
You would strengthen me, Lord God, in the pulpit. Help me to 
preach well the things of Your revelation to men. And we do 
pray, Lord God, that Your saints would leave this place rejoicing, 
well-equipped, Lord God, that sinners would be saved by your 
victorious grace, and that this would all yet again be unto the 
praise of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We pray in the name of 
our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Well, you'll remember this 
morning we looked at the author, the audience, and the benediction. 
This is the Apostle Paul, that one who once was an enemy of 
the Church of Christ, but by God's grace was placed into Christian 
apostleship, was saved, and given divine commission to proclaim 
the riches of Christ unto the Gentiles. Unto Jew and Gentiles, 
but primarily unto the Gentiles. We have this Paul writing to 
the churches of Galatia. Remember those churches founded 
in Acts 13.1 through 14.28, Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe, 
those churches that constitute southern Galatia. And he writes 
to these churches and he writes with great urgency. because there 
were those coming in seeking to trouble them, seeking to steal 
away their liberty that they had in Christ Jesus, and they 
were proclaiming a perverse gospel, which is not a different gospel 
only, but not even a gospel at all, as Paul says in verse 6. 
And so Paul, with great urgency, writes to them, and he gives 
them this benediction that we spent some time opening up a 
little bit this morning. Grace to you and peace from God 
our Father, or God the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ. Now 
notice what we find following after that, which will be the 
focus this evening. Very simply, two things, the 
gospel and the doxology. the Gospel and the doxology, 
notice how he identifies, or immediately after the benediction, 
he further identifies who this Lord Jesus Christ is by speaking 
concerning His work. And we read in verses 4 and 5, 
"...who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us 
from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 
to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen." Now, before we get 
into looking at the gospel as it's presented by Paul here, 
we need to know that verse 4 is delivered in order to counter 
the false gospel that was being preached by the errorists in 
Galatia. Errorists, again, simply mean 
those bringing error. There were those bringing error, 
perverting the gospel of Christ in Galatia. And verse 4 is a 
summation, if you will, of the true and saving gospel of God's 
grace over and against the perverse gospel that was being propagated 
by wicked men, who gave Himself for our sins that He might deliver 
us from this present evil age according to the will of our 
God and Father. Notice first, under the Gospel 
from verse 4, this language, who gave Himself. The text says 
in verse 4, concerning our Lord Jesus Christ, it says in verse 
4, who gave Himself. We need to take pause there for 
a moment and appreciate the weight of those three words, who gave 
Himself. First off, we want to observe 
the free act of the Son of God in the redemption of sinners. 
Notice the language. Who gave Himself? The Lord Jesus 
Christ gave Himself. He was under no compulsion. He 
was under no duress from the Father. He was under no obligation, 
no natural necessity to come and to give Himself. a ransom 
for many, but rather, He gave Himself. He freely offered Himself 
up. He freely came. He voluntarily 
submitted to the eternal plan, taking upon himself man's nature 
to live a perfect life, to die a perfect death, to rise again, 
to grant salvation to men. The free act of the Son of God 
in the redemption of sinners. Notice what Owen says with regards 
to this. We may behold the glory of Christ 
in His infinite condescension in taking this office on Him, 
that is, the office of mediator. We may behold the glory of Christ 
in His infinite condescension and taking this office on Him 
and taking our nature to be His own. It did not befall Him by 
lot or chance. It was not imposed on Him against 
His will. It did not belong to Him by any 
necessity of nature or condition. He stood not in need of it. It 
was no addition to Him. But of His own mind and accord, 
He graciously condescended to the assuming and discharge of 
it. He freely came, the Son of God, 
to give His life a ransom for many. That language is blessed 
for the Christian who gave himself. The free act of the Son of God. There's one text, if we were 
to talk about the free act of the Son of God in the redemption 
of sinners, the salvation of men, one text that may come to 
mind, and that is in Philippians 2. The preacher of the Gospel 
in a pulpit in Christ's church. ought often to come to this passage 
in Philippians 2. Why? Because it is a gospel encapsulated. In fact, it is the intention, 
the purpose of the Bible encapsulated. Galatians 2, beginning in verse 
5. Notice at this particular point, but notice the glory of 
everything else there, but at this particular point, the free 
act of the Son of God in v. 5 of Philippians 2, let this 
mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in 
the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, 
but made Himself, of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant 
and coming in the likeness of men." Notice the language of 
the free act of the Son of God continues, 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. You see the 
free act, the voluntary act of the Son of God coming into the 
world, sinners to save. This language that we find, if 
you're reading the New King James or the King James, you have this 
language here, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God. That simply carries the meaning 
that Christ did not consider equality with God something to 
be selfishly grasped or held onto, but rather humbled Himself 
and came taking on the form of men in order to redeem them. 
He didn't grasp onto His divinity, but came in the incarnation in 
order to bring salvation to the sons of men. He made Himself 
of no reputation. He humbled Himself. That is the 
language of Galatians 1.4. Who gave Himself. The free act 
of the Son of Man. There's a very interesting set 
of verses in John chapter 10, where in the span of only eight 
verses, The Lord Christ speaks to this very reality, setting 
forth the sovereignty of His will, the free act of His own 
will in the salvation of sinners. Notice in John 10, five times 
in the span of eight verses, the Lord Jesus Christ speaks 
to this reality, the free act of the Son of God in the salvation 
of sinners. Notice in John 10, beginning 
in verse 7. John 10, beginning in verse 7, 
Then Jesus said to them again, Most assuredly I say to you, 
I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before me are 
thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am 
the door. If anyone enters by me, he will 
be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief 
does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. 
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have 
it more abundantly. Now notice in the span of just 
eight verses, five times Christ speaks to the free act of His 
will in redemption. I am the Good Shepherd, verse 
11, the Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep. But a hireling, 
he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees 
the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees. And the wolf 
catches the sheep and scatters them. The hireling flees because 
he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. I am the 
good shepherd, and I know my sheep, and am known by my own. As the Father knows me, even 
I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And 
other sheep I have which are not of this fold, them also I 
must bring, and they will hear My voice, and there will be one 
flock and one shepherd. Therefore My Father loves Me, 
because I lay down My life, that I may take it again. No one takes 
it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay 
it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I 
have received from My Father." if we were to continue, John 
chapter 10 is a chapter of the greatest peace and repose to 
the soul of a Christian, because it finishes with the Father and 
the Lord Christ having an impenetrable grasp upon Christians, upon those 
who are saved by grace through faith in Christ. This text that 
precedes it speaks to the reality that the Lord Jesus Christ lays 
down His own life He gives Himself for sinners in verse 11, verse 
15, verse 17, and then twice in verse 18, He speaks to that 
very reality. The free act of the Son of God 
in the redemption of sinners. Secondly, we want to note, Well, 
actually, even under this we ought to note, because you might 
be asking, well, we have in the very book of Galatians, the language 
in chapter 4, of the Father sending the Son. Notice in Galatians 
4.4, a very familiar verse that we often pray at the outset of 
worship. But when the fullness of the 
time had come, God sent forth His Son. We have this reality 
in Galatians 4 that the Father sends the Son, so by what propriety 
then can the Son say that He lays down His own life, that 
He may take it up again, that no one takes it from Him. He 
lays it down of Himself. How can we read here of the Son 
who gave Himself for our sins? We must recognize with regards 
to the Triune God, with regards to the Trinity, The outward acts 
of God are the undivided acts of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. 
There is one God, there is one will, there is one essence, there 
is one divine will, and yet we have three persons, Father, Son, 
and Holy Spirit. Their outward acts of creation, 
providence, and redemption are all the undivided acts of Father, 
Son, and Spirit, yet they correspond with, there is a manner of working 
peculiar to Father, Son, and Holy Spirit that follows after 
the manner in which they exist in the Godhead. If you want to 
talk to me about that afterwards, come and talk to me. But because 
the Son has equality with the Father, and because there is 
a unity of purpose in the triune God to effect the salvation of 
men, we can with propriety say and read that the Father sent 
the Son and that the Son lays down His life of His own accord. 
Christ gave Himself. And notice, it is as well seen 
in this who gave himself is also seen in the assumption of our 
nature in order to be the suffering servant. So first, if this who 
gave himself pertains to his free act as the Son of God affecting 
the redemption of men, secondly, we need to recognize that that's 
seen in the assumption of our nature in order to be the suffering 
servant. Christ takes to himself humanity. 
That's what the Philippians 2 text said, didn't it? He humbles himself 
and comes in the form of a bondservant. He takes to himself the likeness 
of man, not some sort of fake appearance as a man, but the 
actual humanity, save for sin, that you and I have. Christ takes 
to himself humanity to effect the salvation of sinners. Blessed 
gospel, who gave himself? The Son of God condescends from 
such a height to our lower world of shame in order to take on 
our nature and affect the salvation of men. Our Christian regenerate 
hearts ought to skip, ought to be immensely warmed by the reality 
that the Son of God came sinners to save, taking upon Himself 
our nature, as our confession says, with all the essential 
properties and common infirmities thereof, yet without sin. What 
does that mean? He has the same temptations, 
the same weaknesses, not with sin, but with regards to the 
fact that we read of our Christ that He was weary, He was hungry, 
He was tired. He needed to lay his head down 
upon that boat, and in many other instances. Our Lord Jesus Christ, 
the Son of God, the One who is eternal and unchangeable, and 
all of those divine perfections, takes to Himself our nature in 
order that He might save us from our sins. Again, scan the world, 
search the earth, Research, well, don't really do that. It would 
be a burden and laborious to research all the religions and 
that sort of thing. But to see, to read about the 
various religions out there, none of them have our Redeemer 
Christ. What a blessed thing it is to 
be found within the number of those called from darkness to 
light who, by God's grace, can own the triune God and the Savior 
of men. No other religion has God taking 
upon himself humanity in order that he might alone save us from 
the wrath of God, from the condemnation, the power and the guilt of sin. 
Blessed Gospel. He assumes our nature in order 
to be the suffering servant. That is also wrapped up in this 
language, who gave himself. What else is? The taking on of 
the whole course of a vicarious obedience. What does that mean, 
vicarious? Kids, maybe you've heard that before. Adults, maybe 
you've heard that before. When we read who gave himself, 
And we say that that includes the taking on of the whole course 
of a vicarious obedience. What does that mean? It simply 
means that Christ vicariously, that is, in our place, was obedient 
to the law of the Father so that we might have a righteousness 
that avails with Him. That's why we can have peace 
with God. Because our righteousness does not come from ourselves, 
from a slavish obedience to the law of God, from even if we could 
even manufacture a reality, the joyful obedience to the law of 
God in order to merit salvation. There is no universe such as 
that. But an obedience to the law of God in order to win our 
own salvation is a peaceless religion because it can never 
happen. We're sinful. We're depraved. We're dead in 
our trespasses and in our sins until the grace of God makes 
us alive in Christ. And then the righteousness that 
avails with the divine magistrate is not our own righteousness, 
heaven forbid. the righteousness of another, 
the Lord Jesus Christ. And so when we read who gave 
Himself, we are to understand, among many other things, this 
reality that He took on the whole course of a vicarious obedience. He was obedient to the law at 
every place, in our place, so that we might be justified before 
God. Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace with 
God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through Him. Not through our 
own righteousness, which is from the law, but through the righteousness 
of Christ imputed to us and received by faith alone. Lastly, under 
who gave Himself, we see that as well in, and of course, the 
giving of Himself sacrificially upon the cross. Don't all things 
converge there at Golgotha? Calvary. The giving of Himself 
is seen in the giving of Himself sacrificially upon the cross. When we read, who gave Himself, 
we are to contemplate many things, but we need to arrive at the 
cross, because that's where He affects the salvation of sinners. That's where He perfectly secures 
the multitude of sinners that no man can number. The cross 
of our Lord Jesus Christ. Beautiful, glorious cross. And these considerations of the 
things wrapped up in who gave Himself for our sins, never depart 
a consideration of these things without recognizing the love 
of Christ. The love of Christ. What do we 
have in Galatians 2? If we flip a page over, do we 
find, resting behind, foundationally under the giving of Himself, 
Notice in Galatians 2, beginning in verse 19, "'For I through 
the law died to the law, that I might live to God. I have been 
crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but 
Christ lives in me. And the life which I now live 
in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved 
me and gave Himself for me.'" The infinite and unchangeable 
love of God rests behind the cross of Christ. The infinite 
and unchangeable love of God rests behind this reality that 
the Lord Jesus Christ gave Himself. The love of Christ in the salvation 
of sinners. Before we move on to for our 
sins, we need to remark, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, 
that The cross of Christ in Christ giving Himself is front and center 
in this epistle. Remember, what's at stake? What 
is at stake? You see, Paul is marveling, verse 
6. He's astonished. He cannot believe 
that they are turning away so soon from Him who called you 
in the grace of Christ to a different gospel. Why is he so astonished? And why does he marvel? because 
of the verse 21 reality again, that if righteousness comes through 
the law, then Christ died in vain. The cross of the Lord Jesus 
Christ, that doctrine of the perfect, substitutionary, sacrificial 
death of the King of kings and the Lord of lords, is front and 
center, and we ought to never leave a consideration of Christ 
giving Himself without glorying in the cross. Secondly, we need 
to note under the Gospel the language here, for our sins, 
because you see the text continues, beginning again though, at our 
Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself for our sins. You see, if the 
language of our Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself wasn't enough, 
the Apostle Paul amplifies it and girds it up with the additional 
language, for our sins. Christ gave himself for our sins. What we ought to notice first 
at this point is the substitutionary nature of the giving of himself. 
That's a long word, substitutionary, but it is a necessary and an 
absolutely glorious word when we talk about the Lord Jesus 
Christ. What does it mean? Christ died 
in our stead. He died for us. Whenever you 
read in the scriptures the language that Christ died for us, we ought 
not to simply have some ambiguous idea of love, that He did that 
as a gift to us, though that is glorious. Christ did it as 
an exercise, an application, an expression of that infinite 
and unchangeable love, and it is a gift, brethren. It is a 
gift. But when we read Christ died 
for us, we ought to recognize that that carries the meaning 
of in our place, in our stead. Instead of us, he took upon himself 
the wrath of God at Calvary's cross. Glorious truth. The substitutionary nature of 
the cross work of Christ. Notice we have that in Galatians 
3. In this book, remember, the cross is front and center. If 
righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain. Galatians 3.13. Notice what we read there. Christ 
has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse 
for us. For it is written, cursed is 
everyone who hangs on a tree. For Christ's elect, for His people, 
He bore that curse upon Calvary's tree. For us. The language of Isaiah 53 is 
appropriated. That is, taken on by. Peter in 
his first epistle. Notice the glorious language 
speaking about the substitutionary nature of the giving of Christ 
in 1 Peter 2. In 1 Peter 2, beginning in verse 
20. For what credit is it if, when, 
you are beaten for your faults, you take it patiently? But when 
you do good and suffer, if you take it patiently, this is commendable 
before God. For to this you were called, 
because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, 
that you should follow his steps, who committed no sin, nor was 
deceit found in his mouth. Who, when he was reviled, did 
not revile in return. When he suffered, he did not 
threaten, but committed himself to him who judges righteously. 
who himself bore our sins in his own body on the tree, that 
we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness, by whose 
stripes you were healed." Isn't that glorious? First, in verse 
21, because Christ also suffered for us, But you see, that language 
of substitution is brought more to clarity and more to the fore 
in verse 24, where we read, "...who himself bore our sins in his 
own body on the tree." Substitutionary sacrifice. Christ bore our sins. He became a curse for us. There 
is much more wrapped up in Christ died for us than I think the 
modern church attributes to those blessed words. Christ died for 
us. He died taking our sins in His 
own body on the tree, that we having died to sins might live 
for righteousness. Oh, blessed gospel. the substitutionary 
nature of the giving of Himself. Not only was His obedience to 
the law of God vicarious, that is, for us, in our place, so 
was His death. In His active and in His passive 
obedience, Christ does these things for us, for His people, 
for all who believe in His name. Glorious, glorious gospel again. Do you see what's at stake in 
following after any other gospel? In preaching any other gospel? 
Any other gospel that does not find at the heart of it the free 
grace of God and the salvation of sinners by the work of Christ 
alone steals from the glory of Christ and the perfection of 
His work. It is to do violence to the finished and perfect work 
of Christ to say that in part or in whole salvation can be 
affected by the doings of the sons of men. That is why it is 
so vital that Paul launches immediately into a condemnation of the false 
gospel, because it steals from the glory of Christ, rendering 
it as vain and empty because of the deeds of men somehow availing 
before God. As well, what do we see in the 
language of for our sins? We see that He saves us from 
the guilt and the condemnation of sin. He saves us from the 
guilt and condemnation of sin, who gave Himself for our sins. It was substitutionary, and in 
so doing that, or in so dying that substitutionary sacrificial 
death, Christ saves us from the condemnation and the guilt of 
sin. Death no longer has a hold on 
us. Hades no longer has victory over 
us. O death, where is your victory? O Hades, where is your sting? 
Christ Jesus has conquered death for us by virtue of His death. The sixth century Byzantine emperor 
Justinian wrote a hymn, and in it he penned these words, O Christ 
our God, trampling down death by death, save us. Isn't that 
glorious? That's how Christ tramples down 
death by the death of Himself. He gives Himself a ransom for 
sinners. He dies that cross death, and 
in so doing has victory for us, all who believe, over death and 
the condemnation of sin. And as well, He cleanses us from 
the guilt of sin. It's that beautiful language 
in Hebrews chapter 1 that speaks of the Lord Christ and His saving 
work, and it uses the language of a thoroughgoing cleansing. 
The language is, "...upholding all things by the 
word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins." 
Isn't that beautiful? He purged our sins. Do you know 
that that word is used by John the Baptist talking about the 
Lord Christ coming to thoroughly cleanse his threshing floor? 
Thoroughly purging. All of the impurities. Christ 
comes, this One who upholds all things by the Word of His power. 
Notice, when He had by Himself, that language again of the free 
act of the Son of God and the redemption of sinners, when He 
had by Himself purged our sins, He cleanses us from the guilt 
of sin. Remember, that guilt isn't only, 
isn't first seen in the psychological weight and stress of having violated 
the law of God and having sinned, though He helps us with that 
too. It is the legal culpability that we have for having transgressed 
God's law. Just like a criminal guilty of 
a crime, so too are all the sons of men guilty of violating the 
law of God. And Christ comes for His elect, 
for His people, for all who believe, and He by Himself purges, that 
is, thoroughly cleanses the threshing floor of the hearts of His people. 
Purging us from our sins. who gave Himself for our sins. Blessed words by the Apostle 
Paul. Notice as well, continuing along 
with the Gospel, thirdly, we have the language in v. 4, who gave Himself for our sins 
that He might deliver us from this present evil age. This language 
of deliverance applied to the Lord Jesus Christ. He effects 
a deliverance for His people. He delivers us. You see, in these 
sorts of passages, never just roll through a reading without 
pausing and considering the weight of each clause, the weight of 
every word, who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver 
us from this present evil age according to the will of our 
God and Father. Now, what does this language 
mean, this present evil age? A few options. this present evil 
age, does it pertain alone to the contemporary time that Paul 
found himself in? This present time where he's 
writing to the Galatians in order to issue a corrective against 
any perversion of the gospel? Is it only speaking this present 
evil age to the troublous times there that they were going through 
when these Judaizers were perverting the gospel of saving grace? Probably 
not though that is something that they're delivered from is 
it perhaps speaking about their bondage to the bondage to the 
Mosaic institutions and that that present evil age that they're 
being delivered from is it only in other words confined to the 
first century and Or does it speak to this present world system 
throughout the ages? And this is Edie on this. The 
phrase, the present evil world, cannot therefore mean merely 
the mosaical constitution or the entire system of things defective 
and unsatisfactory connected with it. An exegesis too technical 
and narrow, and which comes far short of the meaning of the Apostle's 
pregnant words. The meaning of the verse is that 
the purpose of Christ's self-sacrifice was to rescue believers out of 
a condition fraught with infinite peril to them, the kingdom of 
darkness, and bring them into a condition safe and blessed, 
the kingdom of His dear Son. That's what we have wrapped up 
in that passage, is that second option that Edy brings out, that 
he delivers us, Christ does, from this system of the world, 
this system of depravity and sin, this system of peril, the 
kingdom of darkness, bringing us from out of that kingdom of 
darkness by His grace to the kingdom of the Son of His love. He delivers us from this present 
evil age according to the will of our God and Father. Perhaps 
what is in view is the stuff of Ephesians 2, 1-3. Ephesians 
2, 1-3, where we read these words, And you, He made alive, who were 
dead in trespasses and sins, in which you once walked according 
to the course of this world, according to the prince of the 
power of the air, the Spirit who now works in the sons of 
disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves 
in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and 
of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the 
others. This present evil world, Christ, 
by the giving of Himself, delivers us from that present evil world. The blessed change comes in verse 
4, "...but God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love 
with which He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made 
us alive together with Christ, by grace you have been saved." 
You see, we glory in that truth, don't we? That Christ delivered 
us from this present evil age. delivered us from the wooings 
of the devil, falling into temptations by the father of lies and murder 
himself. No longer are we children of 
the devil, but we're children of God. Brought forth from darkness 
to light, from out of the bondage to sin, from out of our own bondage 
to our own depraved wills, Christ delivers us from the madness 
of that state. And he delivers us from the allure 
of the world. The world no longer has sway 
over us. We're no longer attached, affixed, 
falling under her allure, but rather we're free from the power 
of sin in that regard. In fact, the Apostle Paul, in 
the book of Galatians, in verse 14 of chapter 6, speaks to that 
where he writes, But God forbid that I should boast, except in 
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified 
to me, and I to the world." You see, by the saving crosswork 
of the Lord Jesus Christ, we've been circumcised from the world. We've been set apart. We've been 
delivered. We've been crucified to the world, 
and the world has been to us. We have been delivered from this 
present evil age. And notice, lastly, it is according 
to the will of our God and Father. Lastly, under the Gospel, before 
we move on, closing with the doxology, that this is according 
to the will of our God and Father. Let's read the phrase again. Who gave Himself for our sins 
that He might deliver us from this present evil age according 
to the will of our God and Father. and Father. The sovereignty of 
God in the salvation of sinners. The eternal purpose of God displayed 
in the saving work of Christ and in the salvation of His elect. What a glorious Bible that we 
have. Again, this isn't a corpus of 
66 books slapped haphazardly together that is constituted 
by some ancient truths. This is God's revelation to men 
wherein contained is the true account of Christ who came into 
the world, sinners to save. It's the opening up of the eternal 
purpose of God in the saving work of the Son of God, the Lord 
Jesus Christ, effecting the salvation of a multitude that no man can 
number. It is according to the will of 
our God and Father. Speaking, of course, again to 
the free act of the Son of God and the redemption of sinners, 
at this point, Christ Himself was resigned unto the fact that 
He was doing the will of God and that it was an eternal purpose. In the book of Luke, in fact, 
on the night in which He was betrayed, the Lord Jesus Christ 
with great diligence, with great resolute confidence in marching 
to the cross, speaks these words when he's betrayed by Judas. 
In Luke 22. Notice this wonderful language 
here. Beginning in verse 20 of Luke 
22. Likewise, he also took the cup after supper, saying, This 
cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is shed for you. 
But behold, the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table. And 
truly the Son of Man goes as it has been determined. But woe 
to that man by whom he is betrayed. See, the Lord Jesus Christ understood 
the sovereign purpose of God in the salvation of sinners. 
He understood that he must march to the cross. He has that moment 
in the garden, yes, where he cries out, Father, if it is possible, 
let this cup pass from me. Nevertheless, not my will but 
thine be done. You talk to me afterwards, that 
is Christ speaking after His humanity, after the fact that 
He took to Himself man's nature. It's not the Son of God with 
one will, you know, coming up against, if you will, the will 
of the Father. both according to their divine natures, but 
rather it is the man Christ in the travail of the garden, the 
travail of soul, crying out, if it is possible, let this cup 
pass from me. But all that to come back to 
this, Christ was resigned to the fact that this was the eternal 
purpose of God. Truly the Son of Man goes as 
it has been determined, as it has been aforehand written, as 
it has been eternally preordained. You see, Peter was listening 
on this day. Peter was present. And what does 
he say in his first epistle? That we have been redeemed not 
by corruptible things like silver and gold, but by the precious 
blood of Jesus Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before 
the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last 
days for you. Christ Jesus was resigned unto 
this reality that the giving of Himself for our sins that 
He might deliver us from this present evil age was according 
to the will of our God and Father. Lastly then, if we find our way 
back to Galatians, we want to close with a recognition of the 
doxology. Notice back in Galatians 1, beginning 
in verse 3, Grace to you and peace from God the Father and 
our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he 
might deliver us from this present evil age according to the will 
of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. It's a good way to close 
that portion of the introduction to his letter, isn't it? It's 
always a good way to close anything with, to whom be glory forever 
and ever, amen, when we're talking about God and his saving work. 
To whom be glory forever and ever, amen. What does this mean? 
What does this mean, to whom be glory forever and ever, amen? Well, first off, what it doesn't 
mean, it doesn't mean that God stands in need of glory. That 
is, He doesn't stand in want or in lack of anything. Glory, 
we're considering right now. To whom be glory forever and 
ever. Amen. It is a call for the Galatians 
to give unto the Lord glory. So, are we to understand that 
God is or does stand in need of glory to be added to Him? 
Of course not. Our confession speaks this way. 
We'll see where in the Bible it backs this statement up. Our 
Confession says this with regards to God not standing in need of 
glory. God having all life, glory, goodness, 
blessedness, in and of Himself, is alone in and unto Himself 
all-sufficient, not standing in need of any creature which 
He hath made, nor deriving any glory from them. Where would 
the framers of our confession get that from? Well, one place 
would be, well, they get it from the Bible, but the one place 
in the Bible specifically that they would get it from is in 
Job 41. This is a text that Paul picks up in Romans 11, but notice 
in Job 41. Job 41 at verse 10. No one is so fierce that He would 
dare stir Him up. Who then is able to stand against 
Me? Who has preceded Me that I should 
pay Him? Everything under heaven is Mine." 
That language of, Who has preceded Me? We could understand that 
as, Who has given to Me? Who has given unto Me that I 
should pay back to Him? Everything under heaven is Mine. 
See, the argument that God is making here, He doesn't have, 
He doesn't owe anybody anything. He doesn't have some onus unto 
anyone. He isn't obligated to render 
unto anyone anything. but rather everything under heaven 
is His. What can we give unto God? What 
can we render unto Him that He does not already have in the 
eternal blessedness of Himself? Notice in Acts 17, this language 
that speaks to the very thing. And you see, if God stood in 
want of anything, if God stood in lack of something, if men 
could give something to God that He stood in absence of, He would 
then be a pagan deity, a god of the Gentiles. God is perfect 
in his eternal blessedness, and this is one of Paul's arguments, 
arguing against pagan deities in one sense in Acts 17, beginning 
in verse 22. Then Paul stood in the midst 
of the Areopagus and said, Men of Athens, I perceive that in 
all things you are very religious. For as I was passing through 
and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an 
altar with this inscription to the unknown God. Therefore, the 
one whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you. 
God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven 
and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands, nor 
is He worshipped with men's hands as though He needed anything, 
since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. You see, in an 
infinite and in a stark contrast to the pagan deities that surrounded 
God's people throughout the ages, God does not stand in need of 
anything that He has made. But rather, you notice the language 
here, nor is He worshipped with men's hands. Well, wait a minute. 
Don't we serve God? What is Paul saying here? Nor 
is He worshipped with men's hands. Well, the qualification comes 
as though He needed anything. God doesn't need a ministering 
unto. God does not stand in want of 
glory, blessedness, or anything, but rather is the eternally blessed 
God. Amen. He does not stand in need 
of anything since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. The very glory that we ascribe 
unto God is given by the strength that He affords unto us, and 
the breath whereby we proclaim His glories is spoken by the 
very breath He gives us. God does not stand in need of 
any creature He hath made, nor does He derive any glory from 
them. So then, what does it mean then, 
to whom be glory forever and ever? It simply means that we 
are to ascribe unto the Lord the glory due His name. It is 
a call to His creatures to ascribe unto the Lord the glory that 
He only ever and always eternally has as the One who is infinite, 
eternal, and unchangeable in all of His perfections. So this 
Pauline doxology, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen, 
is a call is imploring the Galatians to render unto the Lord glory 
and strength. There's that very interesting 
text in Psalm 29. Very interesting, because one 
of the interpretations of what the psalmist is saying is that 
he is mocking heathen deities, mocking pagan gods, which are 
no gods at all, calling on them to render worship unto the only 
living and true God. Notice Psalm 29, at this very 
point, of ascribing to God the glory that is due His name. Psalm 
29, verse 1, Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones, give unto 
the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory 
due to His name. Worship the Lord in the beauty 
of holiness. So what is Paul doing in Galatians 
then when he says, to whom be glory forever and ever, Amen? 
He is calling upon the Galatians to understand and to know their 
God, and to reflect upon what God has done through Christ, 
according to His will, through the giving of Christ for the 
salvation of sinners, and to worship God. to ascribe unto 
Him glory and strength, to render unto God the glory due to His 
name. Why? Because He, even He is the Lord, 
who blotteth out our transgressions for His own namesake. He is truly 
to be praised, truly to be honored, and truly to be gloried in. Charnock 
writes, He could not be the most blessed being if He were not 
always so, and should not forever remain to be so. He is blessed 
from everlasting to everlasting. It's interesting, if you read 
your Bibles from Genesis through to Malachi in the Old Testament, 
well actually if you read it from Genesis through to Revelation, 
there's only five times where there is a double Amen. That 
is a phrase, Amen and Amen. There's one instance in Numbers 
5 that we won't refer to right now. You can read it later in 
Numbers 5, verse 22. In the English, in the New King 
James, in the King James, I think it is, amen, so let it be, or 
so be it. But the others, all in the Psalms, 
Psalm 41, 13, Psalm 72, 19, Psalm 89, 52, and then actually in 
Nehemiah 8, 6, there is a double amen, amen and amen. In other 
words, Verily, verily, so be it, so be it, an exclamation 
of praise and recognition to the worshippers and unto God 
because of a certain truth that is aforehand mentioned before 
the amens. And what is in view in every 
case is the eternal blessedness of God. when there is a double 
Amen. In other words, our Lord God 
does not stand in need of anything which He hath made, having given 
to all life, breath, and all things, but rather we ascribe 
unto Him glory and blessing. Blessed is He from everlasting 
to everlasting. Amen and Amen. So closing then 
with this. Three things, and we pray. First, 
we should know the triune God, Father, Son, and Spirit. Hopefully, 
just a simple reflection on five verses. Grace to you and peace 
from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. The triune benediction. Grace and peace coming by the 
Spirit from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. Christianity 
is a triune religion. It is not Christianity where 
the Trinity is rejected. Unitarianism is not Christianity. Any so-called religion that flies 
the banner of Christian while rejecting the deity of the Father, 
Son, and Holy Spirit, specifically the Son and the Spirit, any such 
religion is no Christian religion at all, but will incur the curse 
and the anathema of God. Our God is Father, Son, and Holy 
Spirit, and is to be worshipped as that God, one in three persons, 
blessed Trinity. Secondly, we are to guard our 
hearts from false gospels and rejoice in the true gospel. That's 
what the point of Galatians is all about. Instructing, aiding, 
helping, commanding, exhorting the Galatian churches to reject, 
to guard themselves against all false gospels and to rejoice 
in the true gospel. That's why he says, I marvel 
that you are so soon turning away from the gospel of Christ 
unto another gospel. We are to guard our hearts from 
false gospels and rejoice in the true gospel. Do not follow 
after any other so-called different gospel that wants to say, I've 
got a new truth. I've got a new gospel. It's sort 
of like the Christian gospel. It's Christian, but you see, 
for 2,000 years, the church has misunderstood, Paul. The church 
has misunderstood what Christ meant here and there and in the 
other place. No, guard your hearts against 
such false gospels. Spurgeon has said something to 
the effect of, we will have no new gospel and no new God. If 
anyone comes to you and says, aha, look at my new gospel, he 
says that is akin to Mary coming up to you, little Mary, the seven 
year old, and saying, see my pretty new frock? See my pretty 
new, whatever a frock is, what is it, a dress, a hat? You see, 
introducing a new gospel is the same as a child coming up to 
you and saying, look at this pretty little shiny thing. There 
is new gospel. There is no new gospel. There 
is no new God. We have the God who has ever 
and always been blessed forever and ever, and the abiding Gospel 
of the grace of Christ by the perfection of His saving work. 
There is one Gospel. Guard your hearts against false 
Gospels and rejoice in the true Gospel, because what is at stake? 
It is to render the cross of Christ as empty vanity if we 
attach anything to His blessed and perfect work. And lastly, 
ascribe unto God the glory due to His name. That is what we 
are to do as Christians. We train ourselves for eternity 
here in this lower earth, ascribing now as we worship to God the 
glory that is due unto His name. We train ourselves for joining 
the angels in that bliss of Emmanuel's land where we will exclaim forever 
the glory and the blessedness of God. Well, let us close in 
prayer. Heavenly Father, we thank you 
for your revelation to men as we've read it tonight from Galatians 
and in various other places. We rejoice. in you disclosing 
the salvation through Jesus Christ, disclosing your glory, your holiness, 
the perfections of your being in your Holy Word, and the reality 
that man is sinful, that man has transgressed your law, but 
that blessed remedy, that blessed salvation through Jesus Christ 
our Lord that you also disclose in the Bible, that one, that 
only one, given among the sons of men under heaven, that only 
name by which we can be saved, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank 
You that You have made us to know this. We do pray that Your 
saints, having made known this by Your grace and for Your glory, 
would leave this place seeking to live in light of their calling. 
We do pray that we would bring honor and glory to you in this 
lower world. Help us by your grace, Lord. Help us by those 
supplies from the Spirit, those growings and those helps in grace 
to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of Christ that we might 
know you more and more, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. We do pray 
that you would help us to guard our hearts, that you would Protect 
us from false gospels and cause us daily to rejoice in the true. And we do pray, Lord God, that 
you would just give us the grace to endure, day after day, that 
we might give ascriptions of glory unto you, that we might 
praise you, that we might honor you, that we might find, Sunday 
after Sunday, ourselves in this place, ascribing unto you glory 
and strength and the honor that is due to your name. Go with 
us now, and might in all that we do, might we bring glory to 
You, and might we be able to do in this lower world those 
good works in accordance to Your will that might show men the 
glory of our God, the rightness of the Gospel, and that we might 
not bring reproach upon the Word of God. We pray in the name of 
our Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.