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good evening welcome back to the second service of this Lord's Day nice to have us all together once again it certainly Hedges the Sunday Hedges the Lord's Day in uh kind of bookmarks on both ends so it's nice to be back together and we're looking forward to again hearing from cam just in regards to uh um two announcements uh the Lord's supper will be next Sunday night we're a little bit off off schedule with Pastor Butler being away and then uh October 1st which is our usual usually our would be our next Lord supper it will be put off I'm not going to say uh by a week or by how long because October 1st is when naftali Ogawa from from Kenya will be speaking here both morning and evening service so obviously there'll be no Lord's Supper on October the 1st so the Lord's Supper is next next Lord's uh Lord's day Sunday night alert willing when Pastor Butler is back with us and the the one in October will be to we'll see and one other announcement I failed to mention this morning and that is you most of you probably got an email in regards to a family function a church family function a picnic at uh the Neil's house this coming Friday night so if you didn't get that email obviously with Pastor Butler away we're trying to make a new email list uh there may be a few little holes in the email so our apologies if you didn't get that email uh certainly the plan is to be starting at 4 30 4 30 5 o'clock somewhere somewhere around there at the needles if you're not sure where they are you can ask them now there's going to be an email come out on Wednesday morning Pastor Butler will send it out I checked with him this afternoon he'll send it out Wednesday morning it's an issue of uh you know in this in this part of the country manure spreading and things like that they're pretty close to where that kind of stuff happens and it's supposed to happen this week so it wouldn't it wouldn't be a good place to be outside for uh you know some kind of a function outside if that's just happened as most of you know who live in this area so the robinia milk email come out on Wednesday morning from Jim letting us know if if it's on or if it's off if it's off then it will be postponed until Sunday the next Lord's day there will be a luncheon here at the church so for sure we're going to have a fellowship time whether it will be on Friday night at the Niels or Sunday uh between morning and evening service here at the church and as I say that will all be on an email um for you to know okay well that's with that out of the way let's uh open our Bibles to begin worship this evening uh please turn to the in your in your Bibles to Psalm 93 Psalm 93 to begin our worship psalm 93. the Lord Reigns he is clothed with Majesty the Lord is clothed he has girded himself with strength surely the world is established so that it cannot be moved your throne is established from of old you are from Everlasting the floods have lifted up O Lord the floods have lifted up their voice the floods lift up their waves the Lord on high is mightier than the noise of many Waters than the mighty waves of the sea your testimonies are very sure Holiness adorns your house O Lord forever amen well please turn with me in response that to the first hymn 378 378 I'll ask you to please stand thank you This Is Us from the same yes please [Music] save them foreign [Music] all right well let's go to God in prayer and ask his Blessing to be upon our time this evening let's pray our gracious and our loving heavenly father as that Psalm reminded us that Lord you Reign all over this Earth you're clothed with Majesty all of Heaven worships you all of creation worships you and we said we praise you father you called us here this night into this local body of Believers to be worshipers of you this night Lord we pray that you would be pleased to be present yourself here amongst us this evening cause us Lord to to not meet without you we pray your spirit would be evident here in this place May It Be Like the Wind we do not see where it comes from or where it goes but we certainly see the effect of the wind may we see the same effect here in this place this night that the spirit of God would come and dwell here and move in hearts and Minds move in the in in the preachers uh mouth as well that he might uh faithfully and rightly declare all that you have for us in your holy word we thank you Father for our Salvation as we're reminded of this morning from from uh from Corinthians Lord that truly we are a grateful people we we are a a saved people we have been saved from Everlasting and father you have set your love upon us and unlovely people yet father you chose us before the foundations of the world to uh to to be in Christ Jesus and Lord how we praise you for that we praise you that our names are written in the land's book of life and it's that that gives us peace that we can pill our heads tonight with the knowledge that we have peace with you thank you Father you take our sins and you remove them from us you put you you remove them as far as the yeast is from the West you plunge them into the deepest part of the ocean and for these things Lord we are most grateful because we came into this world as a needy people uh father we praise you that you sought us out you set your love upon us and you caused us to to to look and to believe uh on the Lord Jesus Christ thank you for that gift of faith to Believe In Christ and we pray Lord that we might persevere to the very end we pray this night might be a benefit to all for any unsaved Lord that you would be pleased to work in their heart and cause them to believe and for the and for believers here tonight that we might that we might put on the Lord Jesus Christ that we might be made more and more into the image of your son the Lord Jesus father we thank you that you've given to us your holy word you've given to us these 66 books to uh to to build us up to edify us to to teach us of you and so Lord we pray your blessing would be upon cam this night as well that you would instruct his heart instruct his mind and we pray that as he instructs us that Lord we would be we would benefit much from this time in your word and and hearing from you we do pray father how we praise you we for the for the gift of of rest as well we thank you for our pastor that he has been able to enjoy rest for the last for the past month and we do pray Lord that as he comes back and he begins to uh to to to to labor amongst us that father we would be a congregation that would that would cause him to Delight uh in Shepherd in us as a flock thank you for the unity that we do enjoy and we do pray Lord we might maintain that Unity with one another and before you we just give you our grateful thanks father that you are a God who who is enthroned by the by the Praises of his people and we pray Lord that as we worship you this night that you would be pleased to bless us with with unity bless us with one heart one Mind One voice as we bring our Praises before you father we do ask your blessing to be upon again those who are sick amongst us we know there are a number of issues going on with number of different people treatments and whatnot the older age not able to get out as often as they used to to be amongst us for other all these things we just lay before you and pray that you would be pleased to bless each one cause them to grow in the things of Christ we pray that they would that they would enjoy the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ where they are and going through the experiences that they are going through and we pray Lord that that they would give you praise and and glory and honor for the blessings that they have experienced in their lives Lord we do pray we do pray your blessing to be upon those who govern over us as we as we look at the world around us father we are we are downcast as it were as we as we see the as Jeremiah saw what was happening in Jerusalem it did cause him to to be cast down father we're cast down many times as well when we consider the world around us that yet you would Place us uh here in this place in this part uh in during this particular time uh in the generations that do exist and father we pray that we might be uh those kinds of people that would stand for truth and uh stand for the things of Christ in this present and current world we do pray Lord for your blessing be upon our children as they go to school these days cause them to to know truth and to be to be hedged in by your spirit we pray Lord that that they would not wander away from the things of God they would not be led astray by by all the various uh winds and and doctrines that they may hear both in Christian school as well as in public schools father how we pray that your blessing might be upon those children keep them we do pray and cause them not to just take in the truth but it might it might resonate with in in their hardest well they might close with Christ and and be in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ Lord we pray for those who govern over us as Paul commands us to pray for them the Lord you would instruct them cause them to know that one day they will stand before a holy God and give an account for the way in which they have conducted themselves Lord we pray that those who who are intent upon evil the Lord you would change their hearts or remove them from those places for those who are believers in in high places we pray Lord that they would be strengthened by you that they would be steeled as it were in their in their hearts and their Wills to continue on to fight for what is good and what is right and we do pray Lord that you would cause them to to be a blessing uh in the place that you have put them and to be a voice for what is good we do confess Lord that sin of abortion that continues on in our land and and truly father it is a blight Upon Our Land it's a blight Upon Our Nation we pray that you'd be merciful in your judgment of us as a nation we pray as you change hearts and minds and we know that will only be through the through the proclamation of the Gospel as people become converted and see the wickedness for what it is that they might turn and change and turn for their Wicked Ways and and call upon you so Lord do be merciful and and uh change uh change the hearts of men and women in this nation that we would that we would do your will on Earth as it is in heaven where there is no killing there is no murder of of the of the innocent uh unborn as well as those in older age or those with health issues Lord bless us this night cause these things that we that we hear from your word this night to not just be words uh but they would be that they would be instructions written upon our hearts that we would that we would uh that we would align Our Lives according to your holy word we thank you for the Forgiveness of sins and we just once again pray that you would be pleased to cleanse Us in that precious blood of your son the Lord Jesus Christ make us right before you and cause us to to be with one voice worshiping you this night and we pray these things in Jesus precious name amen well please sir with me in your hymn books to hymn number 243 243 and I'll ask you to once again please stand is [Music] this [Music] excuse me Jesus [Music] Christ [Music] [Applause] oh glorious [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] foreign [Music] be seated and please turn with me your turn with me in your Bibles to Deuteronomy chapter 6. Deuteronomy chapter 6. foreign we might call Deuteronomy chapter 6 the ABCs of the Christian Life of how the people in the Old Testament were instructed to live and of course as we know the Old Testament really is not that much different than the New Testament in regards to how they uh how they how they were saved and certainly how they ought to have lived as well so although they are instructions for the Old Testament Christian we could consider them the ABCs of of instruction for the Christian in the New Testament age as well in 2023 right here in Chilliwack British Columbia so let's begin at verse 1 of chapter six of Deuteronomy now this is the commandment and these are the statutes and judgments which the Lord your God has commanded to teach you that you may observe them in the land which you are crossing over to possess that you may fear the lord your God to keep all his statutes and his Commandments which I command you you and your son and your grandson all the days of your life and all and sorry and that your days may be prolonged therefore hear o Israel and be careful to observe it that it may be well with you and that you may multiply greatly as the Lord God of your fathers has promised you a land flowing with milk and honey hear o Israel the Lord Our God the Lord is one you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength and these words which I command you today shall be in your heart you shall teach them diligently to your children and shall talk of them when you sit in your house when you walk by the way when you lie down and when you rise up you shall bind them as a sign on your hand and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your Gates so it shall be when the Lord your God brings you into the land of which he swore to your fathers to Abraham Isaac and Jacob to give you large and beautiful cities which you did not build houses full of all good things which you did not fill human out Wells which you did not dig Vineyards and olive trees which you did not plan event when you have eaten and are full then beware lest you forget the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt from the house of bondage you shall fear the lord your God and serve him and shall take Oaths in his name you shall not go after other gods the gods of the peoples who are all around you for the Lord your God is a jealous God among you lest the anger of the Lord your God be aroused against you and destroy you from the face of the Earth you shall not tempt the Lord your God as you tempted him in NASA you shall diligently keep the Commandments of the Lord your God his testimonies and his statutes which he has commanded you and you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the Lord that it may be well with you and that you may go in and possess the good land of which the Lord swore to your fathers to cast out all your enemies from before you as the Lord has spoken when your son asks you in time to come saying what is the meaning of the testimonies the statutes and the judgments which the Lord Our God has commanded you then you shall say to your son we were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and the Lord showed signs and wonders before our eyes great and severe against Egypt pharaoh and all his household then he brought us out from there that he might bring us in to give us the land of which he swore to our fathers and the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes to fear the lord Our God for our for our good always that he might preserve Us in preserve Us Alive as it is this day then it will be righteousness righteousness for us if we are careful to observe all these Commandments before the Lord Our God as he has commanded us amen let's pray our loving Heavenly Father we thank you that you have instructed us with all that we need that all that is necessary for our salvation and not just that father you've also instructed us how we ought to live in this lower world so Lord how we pray that we would put on the Lord Jesus Christ each day that we would that we would walk with you each day that we would read the scriptures that would be that we would be hedged in by the scriptures and by your gracious holy spirit that is always with your children and we pray Lord that you would be pleased to to own uh own a people uh here coming from this church and all the churches locally here throughout Chilliwack that we lord lord would not just be a religious people but that we rather we would be those who would be instructed by the word of God and would leave here doing the word of God and and acting out the word of God so Lord do again forgive us we we fall far short of the directives here in this chapter yet father you are a gracious God and you've given to us that Spirit of the Living God to be with us and cause us to live according to uh the the new nature that you give unto us Lord bless us in this coming week we pray Lord that we would live accordingly and that we would walk accordingly according to your word bless us now as we sit under the word that Lord as we as we enter into this act of worship where the word of God is preached the Lord you would bless that word as you bless it this morning bless him cause him Lord to be hedged in keep him in truth and keep us as a congregation in truth and we pray Lord that we would have left here this evening acknowledging that you were present Among Us and the Lord you have taught us of yourself convicted us and given to us all that is necessary in Christ Jesus and so Lord bless him we do pray and bless this time of worship and it's in Jesus precious name we pray amen well please turn with me your hymn books to the last hymn before cam does come to preach and that would be a hymn number 138 a 138 a alpha I'll ask you to please stand Jesus foreign all right boys congratulations [Applause] foreign [Applause] [Applause] [Music] we'll see yes yes foreign foreign good evening everyone you can turn in your Bibles again to First Corinthians 15. we looked at a the first portion of that this Lord's Day morning and we'll we'll take up the remainder of the portion that we read this evening with one with one treatment of a particular Clause that's used in verse verse 3B and verse 4 but I'll read again First Corinthians 15 beginning in verse 1 and finishing at verse 22. once again the word of God moreover Brethren I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you which also you received and in which you stand by which also you are saved if you hold fast that word which I preached to you unless you believed in vain for I deliver to you first of all that which I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures and that he was seen by cephas then by the twelve after that he was seen by over 500 Brethren at once of whom the greater part remained to the present but some have fallen asleep after that he was seen by James then by all the apostles then last of all he was seen by me also as by one born out of due time for I am the least of the apostles who am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God but by the grace of God I am what I am in his grace toward me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me therefore whether it was I or they so they preach and so you believed now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the dead but if there is no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen and excuse me and if Christ is not risen then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty yes yes and we are found false Witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ whom he did not raise up if in fact the dead do not rise for if the dead do not rise then Christ is not risen and if Christ has not risen your faith is futile you are still in your sins then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished if in this life only we have hope in Christ we are of all men the most pitiable but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep for Since By Man Came Death by man also came the resurrection of the Dead for as in Adam all die even so in Christ all shall be made alive amen well let's go to God In Prayer Heavenly Father we thank you again for this second time on your Lord's Day the opportunity to gather in the house of the Lord for the worship of Father Son and Holy Spirit we would once again pray that you'd help us in this act of worship the preaching of your word be with both preacher and hearer Lord we pray that this would be a blessed exercise of worship that your spirit would be with us that you would help us to focus upon the word of the Triune God that we might Avail of its riches and rest solely and alone upon Christ Our Savior and it's in his name that we pray amen well we we noted this warning or we started to look at this passage um under something of the heading of the indispensable glory of the gospel and we looked this morning at the importance of the gospel and then secondly the content of the Gospel so the importance of the Gospel you'll remember was seen in wholesome repetition Apostolic confirmation and it was also it was also seen in the that pattern of the transmission of Truth the importance of the Gospel was also seen in the fact that the gospel is the ground of our Salvation And as well in the fact that the gospel holds Primacy of place in Christian Proclamation we noted of course that the content of the Gospel is not uh has nothing to do with us but everything to do with Christ The Gospel simply is that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures that he was buried and that he rose again according to the scriptures and so now we want to move to look at the passage as it continues under three particular headings and those are are these the certainty of the Gospel the great hope of the gospel and then the adamic Theology of the Gospel so first off the certainty of the gospel and let's just remind ourselves that the occasion for the reason for the writing of this portion of First Corinthians is verse 12. now if Christ is preached that he has been raised from the dead how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the Dead there was that error going on that with that error being encouraged amongst the uh the Corinthian Christians probably influenced by Pagan philosophy contemporaneous Pagan philosophy that rejected the Supernatural and uh was focused solely and alone on that which can be seen by the eyes and so there was a denial of the resurrection of the dead and so Paul in this epistle here at this point in his epistle is mounting argument upon argument to dispel those heretical Notions that there is no resurrection of the dead and cause these Christians who are being stolen away by error to rejoice in the most certain hope of the resurrection and so we want to look then first at the certainty of the gospel and it's seen first in the testimony of the word of God so the certainty of the Gospel is seen first in the testimony of the word of God notice the language going back to verse 3 for I delivered to you first of all that which I also received that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures and that he was buried and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures so as Paul is trying to deal with this error in the Corinthian Church the denial of the resurrection of the Dead He's reminding Corinthian Christians that the resurrection of the Dead is Promised in the scriptures that this resurrection of the Dead is founded upon the very resurrection of Jesus Christ which glorious Resurrection was promised by the Old Testament if you haven't noticed I'm losing my voice from from having to talk all the time um not only in my job but also having to preach the last uh four Sundays I was speaking this morning with the brother about the fact that the muscles need to be exercised in order to to handle things well and this one isn't handling it all that well so I got 17 glasses of water back here no it's just one um so the certainty of the Gospel the certainty of the resurrection of the Dead built upon the testimony of the word of God the scriptures promised that this Christ would rise again from the dead and so why would you Corinthian Christians or Corinthians generally speaking in The Gather Church why would you be stolen away or how could you be stolen away to reject So Glorious a doctrine that was promised by the word of God that you had said you put your trust in so the testimony of the word of God this Clause this phrase according to the scriptures is repeated twice in order to emphasize the fact that God in his word had promised that the Lord Jesus Christ would rise from the dead in fact just to just turn back with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts for a moment because in Acts chapter 2 we have there the Apostle Peter speaking to Jews gathered in Jerusalem speaking to Men of Israel gathered in Jerusalem for the celebration of Pentecost he's speaking to them concerning this very topic the life death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ he's testifying to the glory of Jesus Christ and the fact that it is this man God and man who was the promised One of Israel the promised Messiah the champion who would come to redeem his people and in so preaching Peter speaks to the fact that the Old Testament and specifically citing psalm 16 the Old Testament spoke concerning the resurrection of Jesus Christ so notice in Acts chapter 2 beginning in verse 23 him speaking of Christ being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God you have taken by Lawless hands have crucified and put to death whom God raised up having loosed the Pains of death because it was not possible that he should be held by it for David says concerning him I foresaw the lord always before my face for he is at my right hand that I shall not be shaken therefore my heart rejoiced and my tongue was glad moreover My Flesh also will rest in Hope for you will not leave my soul in Hades nor will you allow your Holy One to see corruption you have made known to me the ways of life you will make me full of joy in your presence and notice now after having cited psalm 16 we read this men in Brethren let me speak freely to you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day so just pause for a moment the David wrote Psalm 16 as Peter a test here for David says concerning him Etc and we get to verse 29 and he's calling upon the men of Israel to realize that David wasn't writing about himself he says men and Brethren let me speak freely to you of David that his tomb his that he is both dead and buried and his tomb is with us to this day so it wasn't David that did not see corruption it was whom David was writing about that did not see corruption verse 30 therefore being a prophet and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that of the fruit of his body according to the flesh he would raise up the Christ to sit on his throne he foreseen this spoke concerning the resurrection of the Christ that his soul was not left in Hades nor did his flesh see corruption this Jesus God is raised up so you see that in the Old Testament with one with only one citation there of Psalm 16 there are other places that we could go to see the resurrection of Christ promised in the Old Testament but suffice it to say coming back to First Corinthians 15 the certainty of the Gospel is seen in the testimony of the very word of God and in fact Jesus Christ himself now when we when we read this Clause here according to the scriptures we need to realize that at this point in time the New Testament was not yet inscripturated um as as we have it today of course the the gospel accounts were not universally in um in distribution and read in the churches and so the scriptures being referred to here are those Old Testament scriptures and according to those scriptures Christ died for our sins was buried and rose again so there is certainty in the word of God and remember that the Lord Jesus Christ following his resurrection a doctrine that is clearly in view here but following his resurrection the Lord Jesus Christ remember visited his disciples two of them first on the road to Emmaus and then the rest as they were gathered in the upper room and also subsequent appearances uh as well on the shore Etc but he appeared to his disciples and remember he gives them in Luke 24 for example a Bible study um and he says things like ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into his glory and starting with the law the prophets and the Psalms he opened up the scriptures concern those things concerning himself and so the Lord Jesus Christ in his resurrected Glory emphasizes the certainty of the Gospel as seen in excuse me in the testimony of the word of God the Lord Jesus Christ isn't it an amazing scene there the Lord Jesus Christ resurrected only three days before uh having been crucified upon calvary's cross comes to his disciples and opens up the word of God to them and says that the entirety of the Old Testament scriptures spoke concerning me what an amazing thing we have in our Bibles not a haphazard slapping together of 66 books um but a connected whole a divinely wrought and divinely superintended and divinely authored whole that testifies page after page concerning this blessed Christ we have the certainty of the Gospel in the testimony of the word of God secondly we have the certainty of the Gospel in eyewitness accounts notice beginning at verse 5. and that he was seen by cephas then by the twelve after that he was seen by over 500 Brethren at once of whom the greater part remained to the present but some have fallen asleep after that he was seen by James then by all the apostles then last of all he was seen by me also as by one born out of due time so the Apostle Paul here emphasizes the word of God and now emphasizes eyewitness accounts these these doubters of the Resurrection these who are being stolen away by this error could ask a multitude of witnesses did you see the Risen Christ because remember the implication is if there is no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen these who were denying the resurrection of the Dead were affirming that Christ did rise again and so this question comes well if you believe that Christ is risen why are you not believing that the dead also shall rise and so the implication here is you can go and see you can go and interview eyewitnesses of the glory of the resurrected Christ you can turn with me on this note the the fact of eyewitness accounts uh turn with me back to the Gospel of Luke and it's very beginning the very beginning of the Gospel of Luke beginning in verse 1 in as much as many have taken in hand to set in order a narrative of those things which have been fulfilled Among Us just as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and Ministers of the word delivered them to us it seemed good to me also having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first to write to you an orderly account most excellent Theophilus that you may know the certainty of those things in which you were instructed you see here what what Luke went about doing was interviewing eyewitnesses and Ministers of the word we have eyewitnesses and Ministers of the word we have this language with respect to perfect understanding an orderly account and that this writing might be unto the knowledge of the certainty of the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ in the Gospel of Jesus Christ we have certainty of certainties in the word of God we have the Blessed certainty that Jesus Christ died was buried and rose again for the sins of his people notice in Acts 1 this is Luke's second volume in Acts chapter 1 remember Luke wrote Luke and Luke also wrote acts a two-volume work and in the book of Acts at the beginning we read something similar again the same recipient Theophilus the former account I made o Theophilus that former account being the Gospel of Luke of all that Jesus began both to do and teach until the day in which he was taken up after he through the Holy Spirit had given Commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God you see again this language of eyewitnesses and you see this language of Christ presenting himself by many infallible proofs so finding our way back to First Corinthians 15 we have this first weight of certainty coming by the very word of God and this second wave of the weight of certainty coming by the veracity of eyewitness accounts and they're listed here and many of them in fact the majority of them are still living you see it's not as if Christianity is this secret religion conjured in some some dark cave you know the the founding of our religion is not founded by some Middle Eastern man in a dark cave who alone apparently was the recipient of a revelation of an Angel our religion of Christianity is not founded upon some whippersnapper in the American desert who supposedly found tablets buried in sand our religion of Christianity is built upon the very word of God and is built upon a multitude of eyewitnesses who in this case can testify to the veracity of the Lord Jesus Christ having been uh having been crucified upon calvary's cross having been buried and having been risen again appearing too many and showing himself after many infallible proofs we have this blessed eyewitness reality concerning the resurrected Christ and thirdly and lastly under the certainty of the Gospel the certainty of the Gospel is seen in divine grace empowering its Proclamation notice beginning at verse 9. for I am the least of the apostles who am not worthy to be called an apostle because I persecuted the Church of God uh period because I persecuted the Church of God but by the grace of God I am what I am and his grace toward me was not in vain but I labored more abundantly than they all yet not I but the grace of God which was with me therefore whether it was I or they so we preach and so you believe so the certainty of the Gospel again is seen in divine grace empowering its Proclamation divine grace attended and attends today the proclamation of this one who died was buried and rose again God attends the preaching of the word with Grace empowerment the grace of God was with the Apostle Paul was it whether it was Paul or the other disciples they preached and preached after the manner of empowering Grace and those who received by Amazing Grace believed the word preached so the certainty of the Gospel comes with the weight of God's Own amazing and Victorious Grace attending the activity of the spirit and bringing forth dead Sinners to life the word of God the proclamation of the Gospel is attended by the grace and the power of God and you see this is one of the reasons why we ought to so often be in prayer for the persecuted church for missionaries that go out to to so many nations throughout the world to Proclaim Jesus Christ they need the prayers of the people because they need the grace of God empowering the proclamation of that gospel and so we all and not only ministers not only missionaries or excuse me not only missionaries but those domestically here in our own countries who are mounting pulpits and seeking to preach accurately the word of God they need prayer they need the grace of God attending their preaching because if the grace of God does not attend if the spirit of God does not attend then there will not be those brought forth from Darkness to light and so our prayer ought to always be for the proclamation of the word that it would come with the power of the holy spirit with divine grace empowering its Proclamation we move on now then to the great hope of the Gospel verses 12 to 20 the Great Hope of the Gospel and what the Apostle Paul does here is that he engages in a in a wonderful logical argument in a string of logical argumentation you know one of the one of the things that the god haters often say is that Christian Christianity is antithetical to reason and logic we would argue that there is only logic by virtue of a god who lives in high heaven who does whatever he pleases and there is only reason by virtue of there being a God who himself is perfect in uh his most holy will but also when we come to the scriptures we see in so many occasions on so many occasions that the writers of scripture are engaging in reason and logical argumentation in order to set forth the glory of God and the glory of the Christ whom he has sent and here we have the Apostle Paul engaging in blessed logical argumentation and it comes at the point of of negation or what what would be what are the implications if there is no resurrection of the dead so notice what we have here first the vanity and despair in rejecting the resurrection of the dead so we find ourselves back at the occasion for the writing but as we continue to read we want to note the vanity and despair in rejecting the resurrection of the Dead we'll note here first off that Christ uh that Christ is not risen if there is no resurrection of the dead so the first logical argument is if there is no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen and you see he mounts logical argument upon logical argument these if then statements Christ is not risen then preaching is empty faith is empty and futile sin Reigns our Brethren have perished and we are of all men the most pitiable if there is no resurrection of the dead then these things are all true notice again the text now if Christ has preached that he has been raised from the dead how do some among you say that there is no resurrection of the Dead but if there is no resurrection of the dead then Christ is not risen and if Christ is not risen then our preaching is empty and your faith is also empty yes and we are found false Witnesses of God because we have testified of God that he has raised up Christ whom he did not raise up if in fact the dead do not rise and there's some measure of reiteration but the stakes are are getting higher for if the dead do not rise then Christ is not risen and if Christ has not risen your faith is futile you are still in your sins then also those who have fallen asleep in Christ have perished if in this life only we have hope in Christ we have we are of all men the most pitiable what a what a dire situation what a what a situation of Despair if it is the case that there is no resurrection of the Dead I mean Paul just Paul just mounts implication upon implication here in order to bring these who are being stolen away by error to shape their heads as it were and grasp with great joy that there is resurrection of the dead because Christ himself is risen the blessed one of gospel glory is risen therefore he is the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep he is our champion of the future Resurrection so there is great vanity and despair in rejecting the resurrection of the dead and that is Paul's point but then we have another one of these blessed but now transitions in verse 20. remember if you were here this morning we rehearsed one of those from The Book of Romans we we have the reality that that we we are not saved by Deeds of righteousness we cannot be saved by the law by virtue of the law we all are guilty before glorious Triune God but now the righteousness of God has appeared the text then says by virtue of faith in Jesus Christ the champion of our Redemption here we have another great but now transition so all of these implications are true if the resurrection of the Dead is itself not true vanity and despair but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep so we have this wonderful but now statement that comes Christ is risen from the dead you see these who are engaged in this era are propagating this error or perhaps being stolen away unto it affirmed that Christ has risen from the dead but they did not affirm that he was the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep and so now we have this wonderful verse of hope you see if any Corinthians were wavering on uh on the fence of affirmation that their their Brethren are are dead and it was only in this life that they had hope in Christ wouldn't that imagine imagine the the weight of that upon upon someone where beforehand we had heard preaching that there is a resurrection of the dead because Christ himself had risen and we would have great hope in the fact that our Brethren who had fallen asleep that means that they have died remember this morning we we read that Christ has softened the grave I think that's why we have this language of fallen asleep in the Bible it's not that they died though that's correct language it's that they've fallen asleep because by the victory of Christ he has softened the grave for believers but getting back to this point great hope is found in in four Christians in the fact that those who have died in the Lord have gone on to be with the Lord and that there is a future resurrection of the body where soul and body are united and we're then with the Lord uh for for time uh for for time eternal but this these errorists come along and they're propagating this error and and those who are perhaps marked by a measure of weakness are being stolen away from the Blessed hope that is found in Jesus Christ you mean my my loved ones had had hope only in this life in Christ what is Our Hope in life and death it is the doing and the dying and the rising again of the Son of God Jesus Christ for the Salvation of his people that we might have everlasting life not only that not only life in this life but that which is to come as well and so this verse 20 comes with the Blessed tones and notes of joy and hope but now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the first fruits of those who have fallen asleep and so all of these implications are now turned on their heads what are the Glorious antithetical parallels to the vanity and the despair of these logical argumentations Christ is risen so therefore our preaching is full and Rich with Divine truth our faith is complete and profitable sin no longer Reigns but Christ does in victory over it for us our Brethren have not perished but have everlasting life and we are then of all men the most blessed and jubilant at least we should be shouldn't we on the end of a Sunday sometimes we don't feel like being all the you know the most blessed and jubilant but hopefully as you sit there in the pews it could be only inwardly that you're blessed and jubilant and I trust that you are we are should be of all men the most blessed in jubilant because Christ is risen because because our Brethren have not died in vain and had not hoped in vain in this life but have the hope of everlasting life in that uh in that place where they presently are and looking forward to that eschatological consummation the resurrection of the body the uniting of soul and body and the everlastingness of that of Emmanuel's land we have this blessed hope in the fact that Christ most certainly has risen again so all of these things are turned on their heads Christ is risen our preaching is rich and full with Divine truth we are not found Liars or false witnesses witnesses but rather we that is the preacher the apostles in view here but then of course no doubt those who have accurately preached throughout the ages they are speaking the truth concerning this Christ who died who was buried and who rose again truly the gospel is not simply a tale a cunningly devised Fable but it comes with veracity historicity truth the very authority of the word of God and upon the testimony of eyewitnesses who saw the Lord resurrected there is great hope in the Gospel of Jesus Christ there's a wonderful uh there's a wonderful quote that um that I've used before in in the wake of people having died and that others have used throughout the ages and it's a quote by Samuel Rutherford if you're if you're here today and you've uh you know you've lost someone in the Lord you've lost someone who is a Believer you've lost a family member who's a Christian who's a comfort comforting words based upon the Gospel of Jesus Christ and it was words spoken by Samuel Rutherford to a mother who had lost a child and he wrote to her and said he is not lost to us who is found in Christ he has not gone away but he has gone before like unto a star that passing out of you does not fade away but shines in another hemisphere and that's true when we think of Brethren that have fallen asleep they have not gone away but they've gone before they are not lost to us who are found in Christ it's a blessed truth and this is built upon the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the hope that is found in it one of a very interesting um very interesting interpretive uh tradition in the early church was to find in Psalm 19 and bear with me here a cosmic symbology to the resurrection to the Future resurrection of the Dead And what I mean by that in in Psalm 19 that's where we read the heavens declare the glory of God the firmament shows his handiwork day unto day utter speech and night unto night reveals knowledge well those in the early church would say that God has Set uh has set the the Sun in the sky in order to testify to us of the future resurrection of the Dead what did they mean by that well they say they would say that God with the setting of the son reminds us of death but with the rising of the Sun the next morning reminds us of the hope of the future Resurrection there is christological symbology in the cosmos for those of us here in this lower world who look forward to the resurrection of the dead and God reminds us yes by the setting of The Sun there is death but with the rising of the sun there is new life in the Sun the Lord Jesus Christ we want to close then with the adamic Theology of the gospel and we won't spend too much time here because we're running out of time but the adamic Theology of the Gospel notice here in verse 21 for Since By Man Came Death by man also came the resurrection of the Dead for as in Adam all die even so in Christ all shall be made alive thank you thanks Steve so we have this comparison here between two men in verse 21 it simply says by man and then by man and then of course the clarity of elaboration comes in 22 for as in Adam all die even so in Christ all shall be made alive I think I I think we we perhaps don't appreciate as much as we should the Theology of the two atoms that's woven throughout scripture and the Theology of the two atoms that is woven throughout the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ because remember the Lord Jesus Christ comes as the second or last Adam he comes to to do what Adam failed to do and he comes to Bear the curse incurred by that first Adam and so rightly we have the Apostle Paul here drawing a connection as he often does between Adam and Christ again for as in Adam all die or all those born of Adam die even so in Christ all shall be made alive or all those in Christ or born of Christ shall be made alive so we have this reality as our confession says concerning the first Adam that the guilt of sin was imputed and Corruption corrupted nature conveyed to all of his posterity descending from him by ordinary generation being now conceived in sin and by Nature children of Wrath and Servants of sin the subjects of death and all other miseries spiritual temporal Eternal unless the Lord Jesus sets them free so by virtue of the first Adam that is the case of all Humanity that is the case of all who are in Adam original sin conceived in sin by Nature children of Wrath the Servants of sin and of and subjects of death and of all miseries that we can contemplate so according to man again by Man Came death according to that first clause and that first proposition we are found outside of Christ in Adam you've heard of the language of course speaking of our salvation and our status as Christians were in Christ and that's true but prior to having been in Christ we were all in Adam and all those outside of Christ are in Adam they have in essence sinned with Adam and from that vantage point of original sin precedes all other actual transgressions and we they those in Adam justly bear the curse or are justly liable for the curse of God but Adam the second Adam or last Adam Jesus Christ comes and he is our champion that second or last Adam who comes who takes upon himself our Humanity and unlike the first Adam is obedient to Perfection to the law of God and he Bears a substance substitutionary curse in our Stead the second atoms there's some wonderful language here with regards to the second Adam from the early church this juxtaposition if you will this contrast that is brought in scripture between Adam the first and Christ or Adam II this is Ambrose in Adam I fell in Adam I was cast out of Paradise in Adam I died how shall the Lord call me back except he find me in Adam guilty as I was in him so now justified in Christ so we have this contrast guilty in Adam or condemned in Adam but in Christ now Justified this is Gregory of nazianzin who partake of the same Adam that's speaking of men who were LED astray by The Serpent and slain by him and are saved by the Heavenly Adam and brought back by the tree of shame to the Tree of Life from whence we had fallen this is Cyril of Alexandria just as the sentence of condemnation for transgression went forth Over All Mankind through the first Adam so likewise also the blessing of justification by Christ is extended to all through one man the second Adam and then lastly Hillary just as we born of Adam are in His image and Heirs of the curse so also being born of Christ we may be in his likeness and Heirs of the blessing it's a wonderful thing to to cast Our Eyes Upon scripture and to Come Away With The Blessed grasp that the Theology of the first and second Adam that theology is woven throughout and as we consider the gospel here peculiarly we need to reflect upon the fact that it is woven throughout gospel truth as well for as in Adam all die even so in Christ all shall be made alive we'll close with this recognition from the scriptures or with this this observation from the scriptures you can turn to Philippians 2 for a moment as we close with a discussion of the adamic Theology of the Gospel in Philippians 2 we have something of this and we we ought to note as you're turning there that there are times in the scriptures where this uh adamic contrast Adam Christ contrasts the adamic theology is explicit like in First Corinthians 15 where it simply States it and there are other places where it is implicit where it is no doubt uh in the Divine mind where it is no doubt uh behind the uh behind the the author's uh declarations or writings but Adam isn't specifically mentioned and we have something of that implicit nature in Philippians 2 and you'll remember the text no doubt but let's just read it here for a moment and see see how it Compares with or see how it connects to Adam Philippians 2 beginning at verse 5 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 bond servant and coming in the likeness of men 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 okay so we read that and we don't necessarily come away at first brush that first glance with oh this is clearly talking about Adam and Christ but let's just let's just go on a on a on a short theological Journey For a Moment In in Philippians chapter 2 or it let's just say in the book of uh in the background of Philippians as a whole it's a very interesting thing that remember that Philippi gets its namesake from the father of Alexander the Great uh Philip of Macedon II who was a you know a cunning military leader in general and um it was a very storied leader uh became the the king of Macedon was a very storied leader in Philippian history and there was a a Haroon or a shrine to Philip of Macedon present in Philippi at the time of this writing and what that reflected was something called apotheosis the the men leaders of particular Greco-Roman Nations elevated to the position of deity by virtue of their their conquerings and their exploits in in this lower World well Philip of Macedon of course had a shrine made to himself and called himself a God and so this one who was Man is exalted to deity in the context of Philippi so is the Apostle Paul here does he have perhaps in mind that when he's writing that this one who was God condescended to become man rather than this idolatrous observation of a man who has supposedly became a god well maybe but that's just an interesting note it's more likely that Paul has in mind here Adam you see here what we have in Philippians 2 is one who condescends from a place of absolute dominion and Authority who takes on the role of a servant in assuming our Humanity and that is the the antithetical parallel or a contrast to the first Adam who was at a place of servanthood and sought to become like God who did not have a place of dominion and Authority but had a place of subjection and servanthood who sought to become like God this passage is essentially saying don't be like Adam be like Christ who from a position of Glory sought ignominy that he might redeem those who were lost in Adam John Owen writes this speaking of Christ in the connection to Adam at this point he descended as much beneath himself in his self humiliation as Adam designed to ascend above himself in his pride and self-exaltation Adam being in the form that is the state and condition of a servant did by robbery attempt to take upon him the form of God or to make himself equal unto him the Lord Christ being in the form of God that is his essential form of the same nature with him accounted it no robbery to be in the state and condition of God to be equal to him but being made in the fashion of a man taking on him our nature he also submitted unto the form or state and condition of a servant therein he had Dominion overall owed service and obedience unto none being in the form of God and equal unto him the condition which Adam aspired unto but he that is Christ gone descended unto a state of absolute subjection and service for our recovery this did no more belong unto him on his own account than it belonged unto Adam to be like unto God or equal to him wherefore it is said that he humbled himself unto it as Adam would have exalted himself unto a state of dignity which was not his due all of that to come back to this with with First Corinthians 15 that there is much to be sought after to rejoice in with regards to in Adam all die even so in Christ all shall be made alive because we were guilty in Adam we deserved wrath and Adam yet in Christ the one who bore our guilt and bore our wrath we have the one who has reversed the curse and who brings Everlasting blessing what a thing we have in the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and what can we take away from this as we close but a simple application because time ticks on we are to give praise to Father Son and Holy Spirit for the Glorious hope found in the cost in the Gospel of Jesus Christ as we leave the Lord's day as we leave having gathered in this the Lord's House what ought we to do but praise Father Son and Holy Spirit to Simply praise our God for So Glorious a gospel knowing that that whole of the pit from which we were digged that rock from whence we were hewn no one from that reality from that reality from where we came being found in Adam sin depravity transgression loving sin depravity and transgression justly the recipients of divine wrath in this age in this world and that which is to come yet Christ came into our lower shame and ignominy took upon himself our nature so that he might redeem us what a blessed thing as we go about each and every day as we find time to contemplate anything let's find time to contemplate So Glorious the gospel by this Saints you have a blessed hope and by this Sinners if you believe in if you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ you have that same blessed hope not a future of condemnation and judgment righteously rendered for your transgressions of the law of God but having transgressed you have a savior one who died for Sinners and rose again that is the Blessed place to be being found not in Adam but in Christ well let's pray Heavenly Father we thank you for your truth we rejoice in your word to us we thank you that it is certain and sure we thank you for the glory of Jesus Christ Our Savior and we rejoice in the Blessed truth that he perfected salvation for a multitude which no man can number we do pray that you'd help us to reflect with great joy upon this that we would again breathe this as the very heir of our Christianity and that we would day in and day out rejoice in Father Son and Holy Spirit and in the Blessed gospel by which we have salvation we pray in the name of Jesus Christ Our Savior amen do we have a doxology tonight I don't have the sheet up here no doxology so um please we'll have a time of meditation and prayer now when the piano is finished you're dismissed