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you you you you you you you you you you welcome to everyone we have a few announcements before we begin this morning first the uh service tonight we'll have the lord's supper that's our 5 p.m p.m service we do have wednesday night bible study this week also if you get the newsletter there's a stack of them available please take one you'll notice there's a saturday morning theology class if anybody's interested in that please just email me and i'll add you to the list it meets every other saturday so we met yesterday so in two weeks time we'll gather again gather together again and then finally the annual general meeting is on february 26th that'll be in the fellowship hall at 7 pm so that's a saturday evening saturday evening the last saturday in february well for our call to worship you can turn with me in your bibles to revelation chapter one revelation chapter one i'll read the latter half of the chapter beginning in verse 9. so revelation chapter 1 at verse 9. i john both your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of jesus christ was on the island that is called patmos for the word of god and for the testimony of jesus christ i was in the spirit on the lord's day and i heard behind me a loud voice as of a trumpet saying i am the alpha and the omega the first and the last and what you see write in a book and send it to the seven churches which are in asia to ephesus to smyrna to pergamos to thyatira to sardis to philadelphia and to laodicea then i turned to see the voice that spoke with me and having turned i saw seven golden lampstands and in the midst of the seven lamp stands one like the son of man clothed with a garment down to the feet and girded about the chest with a golden band his head and hair were white like wool as white as snow and his eyes like a flame of fire his feet were like fine brass as if refined in a furnace and his voice as the sound of many waters he had in his right hand seven stars out of his mouth went a sharp two-edged sword and his countenance was like the sun shining in its strength and when i saw him i fell at his feet as dead but he laid his right hand on me saying to me do not be afraid i am the first and the last i am he who lives and was dead and behold i am alive forevermore amen and i have the keys of hades and of death write the things which you have seen and the things which are and the things which will take place after this the mystery of the seven stars which you saw in my right hand and the seven golden lamp stands the seven stars of the angels of the seven churches and the seven lampstands which you saw are the seven churches amen well if you look specifically back now that the lamp scans are identified in verse 20 they are the church the local churches of our lord jesus christ and if you notice in verse 12 that i turned to see the voice that spoke with me and having turned i saw seven golden lamp stands and in the midst of the seven lamp stands so christ on the lord's day is in the midst of the people of god as they gather together to worship him may that draw out from us may it draw from our hearts worship and praise and adoration to our blessed savior well please take your hymn book and turn to number 212 hymn number 212 will stand as we sing together [Music] foreign [Music] so [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] uh [Music] is [Music] well let us pray our blessed and most high god it's a great privilege for us to gather together on this lord's day to worship and to serve you we come to the father through the son and the power of the holy spirit we confess that god is all in all we see your handiwork in the created order today and it does draw us to a consideration of how great and majestic you are we see your power displayed in the in the pro in your providence over all your creatures and all their actions and we marvel at your wisdom and as we come on the lord's day to remember in a particular way the death and resurrection of our blessed lord jesus christ we see that redeeming work of our gracious and our merciful god help us as we pray help us as we sing help us as we turn our attention to the word of god to worship you in spirit and in truth may you frame our hearts a right may we have that proper respect and reverence and fear that is necessary from the creature to the creator but god may be mingled with great joy and thanksgiving gratitude for you having saved us from our sins and in all of this we pray that you would be enthroned upon the praises of your people in this in this place we ask that you would just be pleased to send forth your holy spirit that christ may dwell in the midst of this particular lamp stand as we gather for this glad hour we asked you would help us to take every thought captive to the obedience of jesus christ and may we indeed glorify your great and awesome name as we come before you as we acknowledge your perfections your righteousness and your holiness we see our own waywardness we see that remaining corruption in our own hearts and god we confess that sin even now as we were reminded in the last hour from the psalm of david the the reality that if you lord should mark iniquity oh lord who could stand but that blessed man goes on to rehearse the the mercy of god almighty but there is forgiveness with you that you may be feared so even now lord god we confess our transgression of your holy law we confess our lack of conformity unto it we confess both sins of omission and commission trusting in the forgiveness of god almighty trusting in the power of that precious blood of our lord jesus christ we see the apostle emphasized that blessed truth that in him we have redemption through his blood we know that christ did not come to live and to die and to rise again in vain but he came to save his people from their sins so we confess those even now wash us and purify us lord god almighty and for any and all who've come here this morning that are still dead in their trespasses and sins we don't trust their free will or their ingenuity or their wisdom but we trust in the sovereign grace of almighty god and we pray that you would make sinners willing today in the day of your power that you would open hearts and cause them to see their sin before a thrice holy god and may they see christ as altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand may you grant the graces of faith and repentance so that sinners may close with you as well god we pray that for our gathering here we pray for other churches in chilliwack and and throughout this nation and to the uttermost parts of the earth as we survey the land as we see the various things going on in our modern society we know the one consistent denominator the one common denominator is estrangement from a holy god and we trust in the power of the gospel we know that in that gospel you have revealed your righteousness we know that in that gospel you have shown the way of salvation so lord bless that gospel today as it's preached may it run swiftly and be glorified and may it accomplish the purpose for which you sent it namely your glory and the salvation of sinners and the strengthening of your people we ask that you would look with favor upon this local church in terms of the physical and the temporal needs that we have there are several among us that have ongoing challenges in the physical realm and so god we pray that you would undertake on their behalf and if you do not lift these afflictions or these burdens we pray that you would increase the grace so that they may be able to bear up under these things as well god we pray for your blessing to be upon all of us when it comes to the spiritual needs we all have remaining corruption we all have temptation in this world we all have not only our uh the devil and the the world but we have our own flesh so god help each and every one of us and empower us by your spirit to walk in a manner that is consistent with your holy gospel we ask you to bless our fellow churches we thank you for those in our community that we have found found alliance with we ask god that you bless valley heights we ask that you bless the free reform church here and and in abbotsford we pray for brent smith and the saints and langley we pray for grant reich and hundred mile house and ask god that you would look with favor upon them and for all of the churches of our lord jesus that are gathering together today to proclaim the truth as it is in jesus we pray that you would bless them and that you would prosper them in those churches nearer and dearer to our hearts we give praise to you for what you're doing in surrey we give praise to you for what you're doing in vernon we give praise to you for this recent vote in dryden for their desire to pursue a confessional church god be glorified in the midst of these things and continue to bless your people as they gather continue to bless your word as it is proclaimed and continue to save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto you through jesus christ your son as well god we are so encouraged at the work in honduras we pray for the pastors there that they would be faithful men that they would be diligent men that they would labor in the word and in doctrine as well bless our brother john as he preaches god willing next week may you use him to proclaim the gospel of our blessed savior and bring him back to canada safely as well god we pray for sarah anne we thank you that she was able to travel we just pray for your blessing to be upon her in this new part of her life we pray that you would just give her the grace to continue to grow in her understanding of the lord and may you just continue to bless her richly and be with dawn mars we thank you that she has been able to draw closer to family we asked god that this would have been a good move that she would find great joy and great uh comfort in the in the blessedness of her god and of her family and lord we thank you for what you are doing throughout this nation we pray for these protests that they would remain peaceful we pray as well for our government leaders that you would grant them wisdom the apostle tells us to pray for kings and all who are in authority and he does so so that we may lead peaceable and quiet lives in all godliness and that's always been our desire to simply be left alone to worship the god of heaven and earth according to scripture according to our conscience and we pray that you would secure these things and if not god grant us grace and strength and help to continue to persevere in the midst of these things and may we learn the lesson from the persecuted church that we read of weekly from our brothers and sisters and other parts of the world that have great oppression and great persecution and in a relentless manner for those needs that we prayed for this morning lord god may you cause us to reflect upon these things and may you cause us to be genuinely grateful and thankful for all of the provision you have given to us here and may we as well intervene on behalf of this nation with reference to our civil government so that things could be done in a in a good and honorable way in this land father we ask now that you would be continue to bless this time as we gather together bless all of our children and our young people we pray that by grace they would remember their creator in their youth and that you would give them help and strength and just continue to protect them bless as well the little ones in the womb and father we pray that you would change the prevailing mindset in this country and throughout the earth the children are a curse or children are are expendable may it be the case that we would value what you give in terms of life and may those in high places protect life instead of sanctioning the murder of them and we ask these things through jesus christ our lord amen you can turn with me to psalm 138 a 138 138a as in alpha and we'll stand as we sing together [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] is [Music] oh [Music] is [Music] is [Music] foreign is we could turn with me in your bibles to first timothy chapter 3 for our scripture reading this morning first timothy chapter 3. first timothy 3 beginning in verse 1. this is a faithful saying if a man desires the position of a bishop he desires a good work a bishop then must be blameless the husband of one wife temperate sober-minded of good behavior hospitable able to teach not given to wine not violent not greedy for money but gentle not quarrelsome not covetous one who rules his own house well having his children in submission with all reverence for if a man does not know how to rule his own house how will he take care of the church of god not a novice lest being puffed up with pride he fall into the same condemnation as the devil moreover he must have a good testimony among those who are outside lest he fall into reproach and the snare of the devil likewise deacons must be reverent not double tongued not given to much wine not greedy for money holding the mystery of the faith with a pure conscience but let these also first be tested then let them serve as deacons being found blameless likewise their wives must be reverent not slanderers temperate faithful in all things let deacons be the husbands of one wife ruling their children in their own houses well for those who have served well as deacons obtain for themselves a good standing in great boldness in the faith which is in christ jesus these things i write to you though i hope to come to you shortly but if i am delayed i write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god which is the church of the living god the pillar and ground of the truth and without controversy great is the mystery of godliness god was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit seen by angels preached among the gentiles believed on in the world received up in glory amen well in chapter 2 the apostle paul gives specific instructions to the church as church and how they're supposed to function when they gather together notice in chapter 2 at verse 1 he says the church is to be praying the church is to gather with reference to prayer there's supposed to be a people a body a group of people that come to the father through the sun and the power of the holy spirit to make no notice their supplications prayers intercessions and their giving of thanks be for all men and then dropping down he highlights or underscores that women are prohibited from functioning as elders in the church they're not supposed to be leaders in terms of church life notice what he says unequivocally in verse 12. i do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man but to be in silence he doesn't argue from culture he doesn't argue that that's his chauvinism coming to pass he argues from creation and fall that's specifically what he does in verses 13 and 4 13 to 15. now having dealt with that prohibiting women from functioning as elders he then sets his sights on who may function as elders it's not just male ness that qualifies a person to serve in the church in terms of eldership or the diaconet it's not just any man but it's supposed to be qualified men and so he takes up the qualifications for elders in verses 1 to 7 and then the qualifications for deacons in verses 8 to 13. i recently preached on this i think those are available on sermon audio but notice the emphasis in terms of the eldership the personal holiness of the man of god after stating that it's a good desire that he has he must nevertheless have personal holiness he must by god's grace be a genuine believer seeking to live and live his life consistent with the word of god he then turns his attention to the man's domestic faithfulness you can tell him a lot about a man by the way he runs his household if he doesn't run his household well then why in the world would you give him a greater charge in seeking to manage the church of jesus christ if persons can't function in the lesser capacity don't promote them to the greater capacity that's the emphasis in the domestic faithfulness and then he speaks concerning the man's experience notice in verse six he's not supposed to be a novice he's not supposed to be a neophyte he's not to be one that's newly planted he must have a level a degree of maturity paul doesn't set an age doesn't specify a particular date but he does underscore the reality that a man must have experience in the faith and then finally he concludes in verse 7 with the man's testimony toward those who are on the outside he must have a good faithful testimony to unbelievers those outside the church now obviously we need to qualify that because if everybo every unbeliever on the face of the planet loves a particular pastor i might conclude that particular pastor isn't probably teaching or preaching the truth as he is i think the idea being that insofar as he is a citizen in a body politic he functions accordingly he's a good neighbor he's a good man pays his taxes does what he's supposed to do and then paul emphasizes the place of the diaconate and he basically rehearses the same thing the only difference is is that deacons aren't charged to teach the elders are supposed to be apt to teach not all that personal and domestic and holiness but it's also the case that they must be able to teach so the same thing is repeated with reference to deacons though they're not called upon to teach but that doesn't mean they can be slobs when it comes to doctrine they need to hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience they need to understand christian doctrine such that they are consistent with the confession of the church and then notice finally what paul does in verses 13 and following he says these things i write to you now that these things probably go both ways to what he has said before and what he's going to say in the remainder in other words what is the church supposed to do as church i would suggest that a lot of the things that churches do aren't necessarily commanded by god and there are those things commanded by god that not all churches are doing we need to take our cue from the written word and do what it is that god calls us to so in verse 14 he says these things i write to you though i hope to come to you shortly but if i am delayed i write now notice the next statement so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god when he says that you may know how you ought that's a divine imperative he's not suggesting that whatever seems to be good to you in your innovation and creativity if these things line up then go ahead and do it's not that kind of an ought when paul writes under inspiration of the holy spirit the oughtness carries with it divine authority in other words the church must do what god commands the church must do what our lord jesus tells them to in the great commission make disciples baptize those disciples and teach those disciples this has led the great reformed confessions and creeds and the writers of good theology to underscore there's three things god commands with reference to church life we're supposed to preach the word faithfully we're supposed to administer the sacraments faithfully and we're supposed to exercise discipline faithfully that's it now certainly we can do other things to be sure but in our doing of other things if we compromise those three then we have compromised our calling in this world so the apostle says to timothy i hope to visit you but if i don't i want you i i write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself and then notice the way the sublime way he describes the church how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of god which is the church of the living god the pillar and ground of the truth and as we saw in revelation 1 christ comes to dwell in the midst of the lamb stands when those people gather together and all of this is founded upon this confession this common confession of the church that has as its focus our lord jesus christ god was manifested in the flesh justified in the spirit seen by angels preached among the gentiles believed on in the world received up in glory the pastoral epistles have much to say to the church today first and second timothy and titus are great works for the people of god to ponder to reflect upon and to consider when it comes to how we function as the church of the lord jesus christ in the 21st century well let us pray our father we thank you for your word we thank you for the the entirety of it from genesis to revelation we thank you for the apostles emphasis in this passage on leadership in the churches and how we ought to do we must do what god commands us to do and we give praise to you that you've not left us in darkness you've not left us as orphans you've given us the spirit and you've given us your word and so we praise you for that word and as the psalmist said in the psalm that we sang that you have magnified your word even above your name so give us ears to hear in hearts to receive it and we pray through jesus christ our lord amen we could turn with me again in your hymn books to 4 5 2 hymn number 452 right foreign [Music] is [Music] foreign see [Music] foreign [Music] is foreign [Music] you can turn with me in your bibles to john's gospel where in john chapter 5. john chapter 5. i'll pick up reading at verse 16 in john 5. for this reason the jews persecuted jesus and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the sabbath but jesus answered them my father has been working until now and i have been working therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the sabbath but also said that god was his father making himself equal with god then jesus answered and said to them most assuredly i say to you the son can do nothing of himself but what he sees the father do for whatever he does the son also does in like manner for the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself does and he will show him greater works than these that you may marvel for as the father raises the dead and gives life to them even so the son gives life to whom he will for the father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the son that all that all should honor the son just as they honor the father he who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him most assuredly i say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment but is passed from death into life most assuredly i say to you the hour is coming and now is when the dead will hear the voice of the son of god and those who here will live for as the father has life in himself so he has granted the son to have life in himself and has given him authority to execute judgment also because he is the son of man do not marvel at this for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear his voice and come forth those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of condemnation i can't of myself do nothing as i hear i judge and my judgment is righteous because i do not seek my own my own will but the will of the father who sent me if i bear witness of myself my witness is not true there is another who bears witness of me and i know that the witness which he witnesses of me is true you have sent uh you have sent to john and he has borne witness to the truth yet i do not receive testimony from men but i say these things that you may be saved he was the burning and shining lamp and you were willing for a time to rejoice in his light but i have a greater witness than john's for the works which the father has given me to finish the very works that i do bear witness of me that the father has sent me and the father himself who sent me has testified of me you have neither heard his voice at any time nor seen his form but you do not have his word abiding in you because whom he sent him you do not believe you search the scriptures for in them you think you have eternal life and these are they which testify of me but you are not willing to come to me that you may have life i do not receive honor from men but i know you that you do not have the love of god in you i have come in my father's name and you do not receive me if another comes in his own name him you will receive how can you believe who receive honor from one another and do not seek the honor that comes from the only god do not think that i shall accuse you to the father there is one who accuses you moses in whom you trust for if you believed moses you would believe me for he wrote about me but if you do not believe his writings how will you believe my words amen well let us pray our father we thank you for john 5. we thank you for the entirety of the bible we thank you that the spirit gave it to us and so we pray to you now that the spirit would guide us and lead us and and instruct us as we consider these wonderful statements declarations by our lord jesus christ again forgive us for all of our sin and grant us understanding concerning the trinity and uh understanding concerning christology all those things that we see emphasized repetitively in this book and god be glorified now we pray through jesus christ our lord amen well as i said last week john 5 and 6 are somewhat similar in structure they both begin with a miracle and then they have jewish opposition to our lord jesus christ and then there is extended instruction by jesus where he gives self-revelation so in john 5 he emphasizes that he is in fact the son of god in john 6 he emphasizes that he is the bread of life and here in john 5 the miracle we looked at last week is in chapter verses 1-15 remember that that man who had been paralyzed for 38 years that man who's by the waters in bethesda there's nobody around according to verse 7 to sort of help him in such that he can get that benefit from when the angel comes into the waters and stirs it up and so jesus asks him do you want to be healed of course the answer was yes jesus is simply drawing this man's attention to himself and so jesus with the word heals him now when the jews see this they come to the man and they rebuke the man because he had carried his mat on the sabbath day they didn't say anything about the fact that you had been hurting in a bad way for 38 years and now you're able to carry a mat they had no regard whatsoever for the man and when the man simply answered the question that he didn't know the name of the man who healed him they wanted to find jesus and they wanted to rebuke jesus and they wanted to condemn jesus so that's the emphasis in the passage and when they level this charge against jesus not only sabbath-breaking but that he makes himself equal with god jesus takes this up to task jesus responds to that in verses 19 to 47 jesus says absolutely positively unequivocally i am making myself equal with god we saw that in john 1 in verse 1. in the beginning was the word the word was with god and the word was god there i described jesus as co-eternal with the father distinct from the father and then consubstantial with the father you're going to hear that word a lot today and probably over the next couple of weeks as we work our way through john 5. that's the charge he's made himself equal with god he's made himself consubstantial with god he has made himself of one substance or essence with god and so christ again takes up that challenge or charge rather and basically if not basically again unequivocally affirms that that's the reality so it's not just john in the prologue that demonstrates that jesus is of the same substance or essence with the father but we see it in his earthly ministry right here in john chapter 5. our confession of faith says in this divine and infinite being talking about the true and living god in this divine and infinite being there are three persons of one substance power and eternity each having the whole divine essence yet the essence undivided jesus isn't a little g god jesus is an isn't an inferior god jesus isn't some sort of a third thing jesus has the same essence or substance as the father and as the spirit the father is unbegotten the son perse is begotten by the father and the spirit proceeds from the father and the son and the language of the nicene creed we believe in one lord jesus christ the only begotten son of god begotten of the father before all worlds god of god light of light very god of very god begotten not made being of one substance with the father being of one substance with the father he's consubstantial with the father so let's look first at the opposition of the jews to the lord in verses 16 to 18 and then secondly the relation of the fa of the son to the father in verses 19 to 23. notice in the first place the charge leveled by the jews the statement of their opposition is clear verse 16 for this reason the jews persecuted jesus and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the sabbath again going back up into the narrative you see verse 9 immediately the man was made well took up his bed and walked and that day was the sabbath verse 10 the jews therefore said to him who is cured it is the sabbath it is not lawful for you to carry your bed so he said well the man who healed me told me to do that well then the man who healed you and told you to do that is certainly suspect in terms of sabbath breaking now there's a surface level legitimacy to this particular claim in the prophet jeremiah 17 verses 21 and 22 the children of israel are prohibited from carrying their burdens on the sabbath day but when it comes to this particular passage and when it comes to our lord's earthly ministry and his assertion that he is the lord of the sabbath it is him who declares what is and what is not lawful on the sabbath day whatever carrying your burdens look like in jeremiah 17 that's not what's happening in this particular passage it's amazing to me how many good solid men are ready to concede that jesus broke the sabbath in this passage jesus is the lord of the sabbath if you came to me and you said oh this object that you made this thing that you carefully constructed this thing that you put together i want to tell you how it's supposed to be used and how it's not supposed to be used you might just be inclined to say wait a minute i made it wait a minute i fashioned it wait a minute i put it together and i'm the one who's able to decree what is and what isn't a proper use of it they're coming to the lord of the sabbath and charging him with having broken the sabbath because even if he himself doesn't if he tells another person too then he's responsible we don't concede that christ broke the sabbath the works of mercy and necessity are perfectly consistent with sabbatarianism now in terms of their obvious prejudice it ought to be obvious for this reason the jews persecuted and sought to kill him because he had done these things on the sabbath now the penal sanction for sabbath breaking in the old covenant was in fact the death penalty but to go from this man has been healed after 38 years to we're going to kill the man who healed him without any due process without any examination without any interrogation without any discussion whatsoever they go right to the very end of the game and they want to murder they want to put to death our lord jesus now notice his response to the opposition in verse 17. so we see that it's stated as what they're thinking but they must have verbalized this or jesus according to his divinity knew exactly what they were thinking so verse 17 jesus answered them my father has been working until until now and i have been working so in terms of sabbath breaking what is he doing he is making himself equal with god and the language here is obvious he says my father he's not my father by creation god is in a sense according to acts 17 the father of those who he has created we don't want to press that too far the universal fatherhood of god is a heresy that attaches itself to the church at times but with reference to we being god's offspring there is a sense in that so jesus is not the son by creation jesus is not the son by adoption you and i are sons by adoption in ephesians chapter 1 the apostle highlights that the apostle declares that he chose us in him he predestined us predestinated us unto adoption as sons he says the same thing in galatians chapter four in romans he tells us that we are joint heirs with christ jesus why because adopted sons and daughters have all of the privileges and all the prerogatives of the natural born so jesus is not the son by creation he's not the son by adoption but rather he's the son by nature and we considered that when we were in john chapter one when it refers to jesus as the only begotten of the father when it refers to jesus as begotten by the father or the only begotten son that idea of eternal generation is crucial because it distinguishes the father and the son but it also underscores that everything is true of god the father relative to the divine essence is true of the son the father and eternal generation communicates the divine essence to the son it's a most glorious thing so christ says my father has been working until now so with the creation account genesis chapter 2 after god looks at the handiwork of his hand he rests he finds complacency in that he delights in that but it's not a cessation of activity he's still operative in terms of providence and so what is jesus doing he not only asserts my father by nature he doesn't say by nature but as we move through john 5 that's the obvious implication but not only is he uh not only did he cease from his work and continue in terms of providence if it wasn't sin for the father or it isn't sin for the father to work in providence on the sabbath day then it's not sin for the son to work in healing on the sabbath day either that's the emphasis in verse 17. he refers to my father he refers to my father working until now and he refers to his own work he's equating the two words the father's work and the son's work now let's see how the jews respond to this do they say thank you for clarifying thank you for clearing that all up thank you for giving us that good bit of truth we're now going to confess you as lord and savior and bow down to you no as we well know the truth is not always readily accepted as we know the truth oftentimes increases the rage and the enmity and the opposition of the opposition and that's precisely what we find in verse 18. notice therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him because he had done these things on the sabbath so we see these men having witnessed a glorious miracle of healing instead of bowing to the one who healed them they increase all the more in terms of their enmity against him they really want to get him they really want to destroy him they want to really rid israel of this man's nasty presence and again in terms of the old covenant law the death penalty was the penalty for sabbath breaking but as well for blasphemy and that's what we see at the end of their statement or at the end of statement in verse 18. they've got a problem now with jesus not just in terms of sabbath breaking but they've got a problem with him in terms of blasphemy so verse 18 therefore the jews sought all the more to kill him because he not only broke the sabbath again just because these lying deceiving wretched people thought that he was breaking the sabbath that doesn't mean he was breaking the sabbath i don't know why commentators do that well we see the lord broke this no he didn't he's holy harmless and undefiled if he breaks the sabbath we're dead in our trespasses and sins we saw that when he comes to the feast according to john 5. it's not just that there's a more bigger population for his earthly ministry but he's living in light of deuteronomy he's living in light of exodus deuteronomy 16 16 specifies that at the three great feasts in israel's calendar all males were supposed to go to jerusalem in order to abide by the law if we grant that jesus broke the sabbath or granted permission to break the sabbath then he did not come to fulfill all righteousness this idea that because they say he broke the sabbath well therefore he must have broke the sabbath these men were fools these men rejected christ these men despised christ and on more than one occasion christ turned the cannon against them you condemn and you indict and you upgrade and you rebuke and you chastise people who come on the sabbath day to get a healing remember that woman who was bent over with her infirmity for 18 years yet she's in the the the temple on the sabbath day and jesus heals her and so the ruler of the synagogue lambasts everybody else jesus says which of you if you had an ox if you had a donkey if you had a sheep and it fell into a ditch on the sabbath day what would you do of course you would schlep it out of there of course you would brush it off of course you would put the the the yolk harder on it so that it doesn't happen again in other words you show mercy or demonstrate works of necessity when it comes to the beasts but this woman a daughter of abraham that's been bent over for 18 years you're going to have a problem when she comes to full health in the same manner with reference to this man at bethesda this guy was in a bad state for 38 years they don't even acknowledge that they simply use it as the pretense upon which they can try to rid the world of our blessed lord jesus so notice they wanted to kill him because he not only broke the sabbath but also said that god was his father making himself equal with god there's a similar instance in john 10. you can turn there john chapter 10 you see a a similar response john 10 i'll just i'll just read the part that they really get outraged with notice in verse 30 i and my father are one again he's saying that he's consubstantial with the father he's of the same essence he's of the same substance he is god of god light of light very god of very god begotten not made being of one substance with the father that's what he means i and my father are one then the jews took up stones again to stone him jesus answered them many good works i have shown you from my father for which of those works do you stone me the jews answered him saying for a good work we do not stone you but for blasphemy and because you being a man make yourself god turn back to john 8 you see another instance of this specifically at verse 57. well verse 56 sets it in the context your father abraham rejoiced to see my day and he saw it and was glad then the jews said to him you are not yet 50 years old and have you seen abraham jesus said to him or to them most assuredly i say to you before abraham was i am then they took up stones to throw at him but jesus hid himself and went out of the temple going through the midst of them and so passed by so going back to john chapter 5 this is what really stuck in their craw he made himself equal with god that's blasphemy that's a capital offense we're going to pick up stones and we're going to stone him they do in chapters 8 and 10. you see that rising opposition building here they want to kill him here they want to persecute him they're not at the place yet of actually picking up the stones but it's fomenting in their hearts the jehovah's witnesses have an odd take on this the jehovah's witnesses understand that the jews say that jesus made himself equal with god and in their ignorance they say well that was the jews understanding but of course jesus answers negatively nothing could be further from the truth jesus answers affirmatively again from verses 19 to 47 he answers affirmatively so let's look now at the relation of the son to the father so the charge the overarching concern in the rest of chapter 5 is verse 18. he's making himself equal with god remember that in jesus response that's what he's answering in jesus response that's what he's demonstrating and in verses 19 to 23 he shows the consubstantiality of the son to the father in verses 24 to uh let me just find it verses 24 to 30 he shows his consubstantiality in his divine functions and the works that he carries out they're alluded to in the previous section amplified in that center section and then he summarizes his argument at the end of the chapter what the witness is i'm not just saying this i'm not some lunatic on the side road and in in chilliwack that's you know drooling down his beard claiming to be the messiah there are witnesses for everything that he is saying and the first and the foremost is god the father so that's his response it's not the case that the jews thought he was doing this so jesus corrects him if ever there was a time for jesus to correct a false charge concerning his divinity it would be here but that he does just the opposite jesus wants them to know and jesus wants us to know what john has already told us in the prologue in the beginning was the word and the word was with with god and the word was god no one has seen god at any time but the only begotten son who is what who is in the bosom of the father who could possibly be in the bosom of the father but one who has the same essence but one who has the same substance but one who is consubstantial with the father so let's look at his response in chapter 5. notice in the first place he underscores the works of god that's already come out my father has been working until now and i have been working so in verse 20 verse 19 he appeals to the works verse 19 then jesus answered and said to them most assuredly that's a double use of amen so it's an amen amen not that when we don't have amen on men you're not supposed to pay attention but when he says amen amen or when he says most assuredly or as the old king james has it verily verily it means you really should pay attention you've just made this charge that i'm making myself equal with god let's see if that is in fact the case so he says most assuredly i say to you the son can do nothing of himself you know what the witnesses say oh there it is he can do nothing he's not confessing his impotence in verse 19. he's confessing his omnipotence in verse 19. the son can do nothing of himself why because he has the whole divine essence that divine essence that the father has they have one mind one will one power one nature and as a result he says i'm not a renegade i'm not a maverick i'm not off the reservation i can do nothing of myself i am doing that which is consistent with the father who sent me so again it's not he's admitting impotence i can do nothing of myself look at what he goes on to declare in verse 19. he says but what he sees the father do for whatever he does the son also does in like manner brethren no creature could say that could any creature ever say whatever i see the father do i do in like manner i mean come on a few of you are smiling because you know how ludicrous it is if jesus isn't equal with god then he's either a liar or a lunatic to borrow from c s lewis but if he is equal with god and he's affirming their particular charge what is the proper response it is to believe on him it is to look unto him it is to understand the nature of sin and depravity and wickedness and the reality that you have have offended a thrice holy god but that god has so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life you see that goes on in verse 24 christ says that again the double amen most assuredly i say to you he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgment but his past from death unto life so our lord jesus christ when he makes this statement in verse 19 the son can do nothing of himself probably a hat tip to what theologians call inseparable operations when we look at the created order when we look at the government of the universe the one true and living god is responsible for that the one true and living god does that now at times in scripture we see those works appropriated by persons in the godhead to teach us more about him so in this instance christ says i can do nothing of i could do nothing of myself there's there's there's a consistency there's a unity there is a dare i said consubstantiality with the father but what he sees the father do for whatever he does the son also does in like manner cyril of alexandria made this observation he said by being able to do exactly the same works as god the father and by doing them in the same way as the one who begat him he testifies to the identity of the substance with him for things that have the same nature as each other will act in the same way that's the point he's not confessing his impotence in verse 19. he is confessing his omnipotence consistent with what the father possesses what is true of the divine and infinite being what is true of god in his blessed simplicity christ possesses that and therefore christ is in fact equal with the father john gill says he does everything in connection with him with the same power having the same will being of the same nature and equal to each other that's the way you're supposed to understand verse 19 not that jesus is distancing himself from this jewish claim that he's made himself equal with god that is foolishness that is ignorance that is bad theology bad exegesis bad right across the line now notice in the second place christ underscores the love of god in verse 20 for the father loves the son have you ever heard pastors stand up and preach from john chapter 21 and they make a distinction between and agape agape love the one is really strong and earnest and the other not so much that's just nuts sorry it's just not helpful the father loves fellaio it's not a lesser love when it's father to son than agape that's just weird preacher talk to i don't know do something i don't know what the end game is but the father loves the son the father loves us god so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life we know that god's love for us is is glorious it's it's wonderful the love that he has for the son he says with reference to the mountain the baptism and then the mount of transfiguration this is my beloved son in whom i am well pleased hear him it's not that he doesn't love us but christ is underscoring that love by nature that love with reference to consubstantiality so verse 20 he says for the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself does brethren we read that and we think in terms of the creaturely order when you're a father and your son needs to go to the bathroom you show him the mechanics you show him what to do and how to do it well there's certainly an analogy here but it cannot be pressed this isn't a discursive understanding the father shows the son that particular mission the son says i agree and i'm going to undertake. no that's not how it works in creatorville that's just not the way it is we have a distinction between creator and creature christ is speaking to creatures so he uses language that we can understand he accommodates himself so that we can receive it so back to verse 20 for the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself does in other words with reference to their works they're consistent they're similar they're the same why one power one mind one will same substance that's the reality the emphasis here is on the consubstantiality of the persons and i think john 1 18 is great background john 1 18 says no one has seen god at any time the only begotten son who is in the bosom of the father he has declared him see there's another instance where god uses language accommodated to man the father doesn't have a bosom because according to john 4 god is spirit there's no bosom what's he doing he's using a position of intimacy he's using a position of connection he's using a position of harmony to underscore the consubstantial of the son with the father so back to 5 20 he says the son or the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself does and he will show him greater works than these that you may marvel in other words the ministry of jesus christ is going to be even even more great than the healing of this man at bethesda christ is a man in the language of the apostle peter who went about doing good we'll see him heal we'll see him feed we'll see him raise people from the dead and the idea behind this is so that when christ does this in his earthly ministry you're led to worship and to praise and to adore the living and the true god and it might be functioning here too as a bit of a rebuke as a bit of a of an indictment look at what it says in verse 20 the father loves the son and shows him all things that he himself does and he will show him greater works than these that what that you may marvel how did how do you think that could function as a bit of an upbraiding because they didn't marvel when the man was you know on his paralyzed or his paralytic bed for 38 years took up his mat and walk what's jesus implication is that when you see these works you are led to praise and worship when you were driving to church this morning i you have to tell me the truth when you saw the sun when you saw the blue when you saw the the clarity of the sky doesn't it bring you back to praise god most high doesn't the created order bring us to acknowledge the creator himself doesn't the providential order bring us to stand in awe at the wisdom of the governor of all the universe doesn't the redeeming power of jesus christ put us on our faces before god and cause us to praise and worship and adore and glorify i'm gonna do these things that you may marvel that you may stand in awe the psalmist says the heavens declare the righteousness of god well certainly taking this man at bethesda and conferring upon him healthy legs and a body such that now he can pick up his mat and walk should elicit praise from persons who confess faith in the living and true god he indicts them he upgrades them again not with malice or any sort of a harshness about him but he's basically giving the program i'm going to do a lot of things in jerusalem i'm going to do glorious things in jerusalem john's going to end his book by saying there's so many things that jesus did the world itself couldn't contain the books if they were all written down and nevertheless instead of marveling nevertheless instead of bowing to god nevertheless instead of confessing faith in this messiah they rejected him they resisted him they opposed him and they ultimately crucified him so the works of god demonstrate this consubstantiality the love of god demonstrates the consubstantiality notice in the third place the power of god in verse 21 for as the father raises the dead and gives life to them even so the son gives life to whom he will against strange language if a man is denying his equality with god he is confessing that everything that is true with the father everything that the father does the son does in like manner do you all get that right i i'm not making this up you you see this you see that he's answering in the affirmative you see that he's saying yea and amen you see that he's asserting his equality with the father and he does so here in verse 21 for as the father raises the dead and gives life to them deuteronomy 32 39 god kills god makes alive first samuel chapter 2 verse 6 god kills god makes alive what do we see in the enthroned or rather glorified christ when he comes to john in that vision on the island of patmos he is the one who holds the holds what the keys to death and hades christ has the same power over life and death that the father has again it underscores the the equality between the persons it underscores the consubstantiality of the persons christ has the power to make men alive in the physical realm christ has the power to make men alive in the spiritual realm he's going to deal with that later in the context the father has the power to make men alive in the physical the father has the power to make men alive in the spiritual so that access or rather that expression of power is according to the one power the one mind the one will the same nature christ is driving home his point he has made himself equal with god they have rightly seen that he's made himself equal with god they charge him now with blasphemy so he answers their charge in the affirmative this is precisely what is the case cyril of alexandria again the ability to give life is a property of the divine nature which is in the father and the son alike and then notice fourthly and finally in our context the judgment of god verses 22 and 23 the father judges no one when you read that word judge you probably think of a black robe you think of a bench and you think of a gavel the word judge here is probably broader it probably means rule or government now it's going to be a bit more narrowly applied in the following section in terms of the judgment by the son of man on the day of judgment but here in verse 22 it's probably the rule of god the government of god calvin sees it this way so does the geneva bible the geneva bible says this word judgeth is taken by the figure uh synecdoche synecdoche means apart for the whole for all government so that's what he's saying here listen to what the text says for the father judges no one but has committed all judgment to the son so the rule of god the father in this instance is seen through the agency of the son remember inseparable operations whatever god carries out creation god carries out but in the bible at times certain works like creation are appropriated to certain persons of the godhead so that we learn more about them in genesis chapter 1 for instance we see god the father speak creation into being god the father through the agency of his word his word is the lord jesus christ and then we see the spirit brooding over the waters so you see all three persons of the godhead in genesis chapter 1. the psalmist understands that in psalm 33 at verse 6. when we turn to the pages of the new testament it wants to emphasize that jesus is in fact the one promised in the law and the prophets that he is in fact the one who is consubstantial with the father and therefore it appropriates the works of creation in places to the son so in john 1 3 for instance it tells us that jesus made all things but even in that we need to understand what webster points out nor is the son a mere instrument through whom the father works father and son act by the same principle the simple divine essence that's what jesus highlights in verse 22 for the father judges no one but has committed all judgment all rule all government to the son now notice the purpose behind this the purpose behind this again asserts that what they have charged him with is true look at what it says in verse 23 so the father judges no one verse 22 he has committed all judgment or rule or government to the son that all should honor the son just as they honor the father again brethren if anybody ever claims this kind of thing and he's not jesus then he's nuts it is that simple we are supposed to honor the son just as we honor the father now never forget that jesus was fully god or very god and very man as very man jesus was very up on the old testament scriptures jesus read the bible jesus knew the prophet isaiah in fact turned back to the prophet isaiah in chapter 42 to see something intriguing in light of our text isaiah 42 specifically at verse 8. i'm sorry not isaiah 42 at first yeah isaiah 42 at verse 8. i just happened to be looking at isaiah 41 verse 8 that's why it didn't match isaiah 42 8 i am the lord that is my name and my glory i will not give to another nor my praise to carved images christ according to his humanity had read that he probably no well not probably he knew it he understood it and yet he's saying in terms of his earthly ministry to a bunch of jews who had just accused him of making himself equal with god and declaring that that was a blasphemous admission a blasphemous statement jesus says that you're supposed to honor the son just as you honor the father in light of in isaiah 42 8 or how about in isaiah 48 11. same sort of emphasis god most high shares his glory with no man isaiah 48 verse 11 for my own sake for my own sake i will do it for how should my name be profaned and i will not give my glory to another so back to our particular text we are supposed to honor the son just as they honor the father that can only be true because of consubstantiality our worship is to get be given to the one true and living god that one true and living god who exists eternally is three persons father son and holy spirit and jesus emphasizes that in a rebuttal to the charge that he has made himself equal to god it's not rebutting the charge as if the charge somehow is false he's rebutting it by underscoring that it's true you can see why later in chapters 8 and 10 they picked up stones to stone him if you don't see this by faith if you don't receive who he is according to the spirit if you don't understand the nature of the christian message it will all seem a bit ludicrous to you it will all seem a bit odd to you it will all seem a bit strange to you when you consider that a man claim to be the son of god that a man claimed that whoever looked to him in faith would be forgiven of their sins and would receive a righteousness such that they could go to heaven again brethren for people outside of the camp for people outside of zion for people who think that this is a collection of myths and fairy tales it does seem odd it does seem awkward and with reference to this particular audience that's in rebellion to the true and living god when jesus makes himself equal with god and they pick up stones to throw at him not that we're sub you know justifying it but it makes sense you could see why ungodly unfaithful wretched men who misread their scriptures reject the one their scriptures prophesied concerning and so jesus says that we're to honor the honor of the son just as the father against cyril of alexandria he says if he has everything the father has as far as god-befitting dignity is concerned how would it not be right to crown him with equal honors who lacks nothing pertaining to identity of substance amen absolutely if he is who he says he is you better believe you better repent you better come to him because there are passages that we could look at that indicate that on that day every knee shall bow every tongue will confess that jesus christ is lord to the glory of god the father that's going to happen whether you're willing or not see i think people miss that they read philippians 2 and they say well thankfully jesus has saved me jesus has conquered me jesus has blessed me so that when he comes again in glory i'm going to happily bow down to him and this tongue is going to confess him that he is lord to the glory of god the father it's going to be the un non-christian as well it's going to be the god-hater as well it's going to be the rebel it's going to be the mutinous it's going to be everybody who despised and rejected and forsook him they're going to make the same confession and then be cast off into hell which was prepared for the devil and his angels confess him as lord you will my suggestion my encouragement my pleading with you is that you confess him as lord now don't wait till that day believe on him say with your heart that god raised him from the dead confess jesus as lord and savior receive the benefits that he has secured for needy sinners namely justification sanctification glorification everything that we need is to be had in him and then jesus ends or there is this implication that follows after having stated that all should honor the son just as they honor the father notice at the end in verse 23 he who does not honor the son does not honor the father who sent him what do you think they thought they think they honor the father they think they serve the true and living god they think they're the chosen ones they think that everything is all right they've got abraham's blood flowing through their veins they've got circumcision they've got sabbath they've got torah they've got the prophets of course we've got the true and living god look at what jesus says you don't honor the son you don't have the father you don't believe on christ you have no god you don't come through the mediator there's no reception by the father this upgrades and this indicts and again this probably incensed them and caused them to engage in outrage who does he think he is telling us that we need to honor him just as we honor the father and then he has the gall to say that if we don't honor him then we don't have the father you see brethren we often times hear that jesus wasn't a political figure he wasn't in terms of republicans and democrats he wasn't in terms of liberals and conservatives but remember that many of these jews it wasn't only a religion for them it was politics and when jesus makes statements like these he is as we say today speaking truth to power and they undoubtedly hated it you'll see it in chapter eight you'll see it in chapter 10 and you'll see it in spades in john chapter 19 when he's hung on the cross for the crime of being equal with god the father the implication here is strong the implication is powerful he who does not honor the son what does that mean gil i think explains it well he that honoreth not the son that denies his divine sonship or his proper deity that detracts from the dignity of of his person or office that shows no regard to him and point of salvation or of obedience unfortunately i think gil just described every body church and non-church in the world today we don't honor the sun as we ought but we need to remember that's why the sun came into this world sinners to save but the implication is powerful for these people the rejection of the son is a rejection of the father turn to john 14. john 14. verse 6 or verse 5. thomas said to him lord we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way jesus said to him i am the way the truth and the life no one comes to the father except through me if you had known me you would have known my father also and from now on you know him and have seen him philip said to him lord show us the father and it is sufficient for us jesus and said to him if i'd been with you so long and yet you have not known me philip he was seen me has seen the father now that doesn't mean the father has brown hair i was unfortunately on a jehovah's witness website looking for how they explain these texts i'm sure i had read it in the past but wanted to refresh my mind and of course they have a picture of an ancient near eastern man that they call jesus and of course he's he's beautiful he's gorgeous he's everything the prophet isaiah told us he wouldn't be he has no form he has no comeliness there's nothing about him that would draw our eye to him but jehovah's witness jesus if he was walking down the street the women would be all all over that they would love it they would think that was great but with reference to when you have seen me you have seen the father he's not saying the father has brown hair he's not saying the father is six foot tall he's not saying the father looks like me he's saying that i am consubstantial with the father if you have seen me the one who is in the bosom of the father the one who has come to declare the father if you have seen me then you have seen the father again john's gospel takes great pains to make sure that you understand that in the beginning was the word and the word was with god and the word was god matthew poole says this is a text which reflects dreadfully upon such as honor not christ especially the jews and sicilians who professively do not honor him with the same honor with which they yet pretend to honor the father and are concluded by this text not in truth to honor the father but it's not just jews and sicilians line up the aryans line up the sabellians line up the jehovah's witnesses line up anybody today you meet people today you try to evangelize them what do you hear well i'm not religious i'm spiritual i have a relationship with god what do you think about jesus ah and i'm not i'm not bothered with jesus verse 23 says you better come to grips with who jesus is because if you don't have the son you don't have the father if you don't believe the son you shall not see life if you are not confessing faith in our lord jesus christ then you do not have the father that's a message that greatly needs to be hammered down in this present pluralistic age we're not supposed to go out there and gun other faiths down but we're not supposed to theologically substantiate their claims to having a relationship with god no you don't john 14 6 is very clear i am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the father except through me what could be clearer well i guess a church that puts women in the pulpits and misses first timothy chapter 2 verse 12 is going to miss the exclusivity of christ alone for salvation but the church today needs to bring this to bring this to bear upon this generation jews need to believe the gospel of our lord jesus christ muslims need to believe the gospel of our lord jesus christ jehovah's witnesses need to believe the gospel of our lord jesus christ mormons need to believe the gospel of our lord jesus christ pagans do heathens do atheists do agnostics do and the spiritual people that aren't religious they need to believe on the lord jesus christ because if you don't have christ you don't have the father in conclusion we see the rage of the opposition they are upset it is growing it is rising and it's going to culminate in terms of their desire to actually kill him with stones in their hands it's going to culminate ultimately with them saying away with him away with him crucifying crucify him delivering him up to pontius pilate pilate rendering the sentence of death upon him and him dying you see the rage of the opposition displayed in the in the gospel narratives you see christ didn't come to a world that received him he came to his own according to the prologue in 111 and his own received him not and not only did he just not receive him they despised him they rejected him they they they defected from him and ultimately destroyed him according to their means and capability notice in the second place his defense against the opposition don't and i hope i won't forget you're probably saying you won't forget but next week i hopefully will not forget verse 18. because verse 18 continues or it's the overarching concern for all of verse five we're carving up verse five a bit so we're not here till three but with reference to i'm sorry chapter five all of chapter five is his response to this charge in verse 18. so his defense is an extended confirmation of their charge that he has made himself equal with god and in terms of the consubstantiality of the son we've seen it in the prologue chapter one we see it i don't want to say this verse this verse this for all of chapter one one uh one to 18. you see in john the baptist in john 1 this is truly the son of god when you ask the question of the apostle john what what do you want me to get from your gospel well i want you to get that jesus is who he says he is and i want you to believe that he is who he says he is so that you may have everlasting life in terms of the response to these particular jews he says most certainly i am he refers to my father and the parallel between their works in verse 17. he asserts his omnipotence in verse 19. the son also does in like manner he refers to the love of the son by the father again he's not the son by creation he's not the son by adoption he's the son by nature as well he declares his authority over life itself in verse 21 who could do that if they're not actually equal with god who could make these assertions or declarations who could say the things that jesus is saying here if he isn't who he is as well he has sovereign authority over all things according to verse 22 and he says in verse 23 that all everyone every man woman boy and girl every tribe tongue people and nation should honor the son as just as they honor the father now in terms of some real practical implication for us as i said we have a theology study every other saturday morning we're going through a book called simply trinity by matthew barrett even if you don't come on saturday morning and you want to kind of investigate further some of the things that i've been mentioning here this morning it's a great book to read it's very well laid out it's very historically accurate theologically exegetically it's just a good solid book but in the chapter that we discussed yesterday he made this observation he said only if he is son of the father by nature can we boldly approach the throne of the father by grace in other words if jesus is not who jesus says he is then all of us will die in our sin i think it was one of athanasius's arguments for the deity or divinity of jesus wherein he said that only god himself could save fallen humanity amen hundred percent if christ is not the son of god by nature if christ is not co-eternal distinct from and consubstantial with the father then there's no salvation you see he is what he is and he does what he does and he came down from heaven for us men and for our salvation this isn't theology that's simply supposed to make you go wow that's in that's interesting that that's kind of cool that that's kind of neat examine your own hearts where are you with reference to the true and living god do you honor the son do you have the son because if you do not then you don't have the father and according to jesus in john chapter 3 or or john in john chapter 3 he who has the son has everlasting life but he who does not have the son shall not see life but the wrath of god abides on him it is a most wretched state it is a most horrible thing to fall into the hands of the living god unclothed with the righteousness of jesus so this isn't just gee whiz information to instruct and inform and try to make sense out of john's gospel it is the very foundation upon which everlasting life comes if christ isn't who christ is then we're all dead in our trespasses and sins but that christ is who he is he has blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places he is conferred upon us forgiveness of sin see anybody here that has the son and has the father it's not because they heard a sermon like this and said you know that makes good sense i'm going to exercise my free will i'm going going to engage my intellect and i'm going to receive that gift that has been given to me by god we were all dead in our trespasses and sins miserable horrible wretched people people that were justly liable for our sin to a holy and just god but god in mercy showed us our sin you say that's not merciful oh absolutely positively it is see if we don't know we're sinners if we don't know what the problem is we're never going to ask what the remedy or the solution is so god in his grace shows us we call that conviction of sin but he doesn't stop there he shows us his son he shows us what the bride describes as all together lovely and chief among ten thousand he shows us the son of his love who came into this world guilty vile helpless sinners to save and we learned experientially and again by grace that belief in him and salvation in him is the most glorious and the most wonderful thing that we'll ever know we will one day be in heaven and we'll say with john newton when we've been there ten thousand years bright shining as the sun we've no less days to sing his praise than when we first begun why because guilty vile helpless we spotless lamb of god was he full atonement can it be hallelujah what a savior if you don't know the son you don't have the father what's the answer believe on the son you'll have the father let us pray father thank you for the clarity of holy scripture thank you for the answer of our lord jesus to this charge this accurate charge they actually got it right and then it repulsed them and infuriated them and led them to that place to actually fulfill your will in delivering them up to pontius pilate we give praise to you for our blessed savior we give praise to you for the one who is altogether lovely and chief among ten thousand and god we pray to you that you'd open hearts today all over the earth and cause sinners to see the lord jesus christ as the one in whom there is forgiveness and we pray in his most blessed name amen we'll take your hymn books and we'll close our service by singing 564 564 will stand as we sing together [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] oh [Music] the grace of the lord jesus christ and the love of god and the communion of the holy spirit be with you all amen father thank you for corporate worship thank you for the church of the living god thank you for the gospel of our salvation and we pray now that you would go with us that you would keep us and bless us and cause your face to shine upon us and bring us together tonight to worship you bring us together tonight to remember in a particular way the death of our lord jesus christ at the table and we pray in his name amen well please be seated for a brief time of meditation you you [Music] you