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foreign the reality that before justification uh we are guilty before God and that guilt as as we've noted before when we've come across these topics the guilt here that we're freed from isn't first and foremost the psychological way of having transgressed the law of God though Christ frees us from that the guilt and view is primarily moral culpability or liability before the law of God for having transgressed his law we're guilty as in a civil court where we have broken the law of the land and are brought before the judge guilty for having violated a particular lawful law um we're guilty before the Civil court in the macrocosmic land of our of God and Father we have the reality that a violation of the law of God brings us as guilty before him and so that guilt is yes secondarily we might say that the removal or the the the the freedom from the guilt of sin is the removal of that that sorrow the removal of the weight of that psychological torment of having broken God's law but primarily it is seen an illegal action that Christ has taken away condemnation by the giving of himself that there is therefore now no condemnation there is no legal charge there is no there is no um juridical charge against us and so we have the Blessed reality that we are by virtue of Christ's Perfection free from the guilt of sin the Perfection of his work so there is a glorious and necessary link to justification when we talk about freedom from sin's bondage and then specifically here freedom from the guilt of sin also in Romans 8 before we move on Romans 8 at verse 31. What then shall we say to these things if God is for us who can be against us he who did not spare his own son but delivered him up from for us all how shall we not with him also freely give us all things who shall bring a charge against God's elect it is God who justifies this is a blessed thing when you when you get to the point where you are having that weight that sorrow that uh you know perhaps where the the clouds come uh because of an undue reflection and and upon your own sin without having flown quickly to Christ who is the fount of our forgiveness you can come to verses like this who shall bring to charge against God's elect the Devil May accuse you may accuse yourself the world may accuse you but we have freedom in Christ freedom from the guilt of sin secondly we have freedom from the power of sin the language of the confession here uh users look it says and in there being delivered from this present evil World bondage to Satan and Dominion of sin so we have in Christ in Christian Liberty we have freedom from the power of sin and just a couple of places in the scriptures where we can see this uh Galatians chapter 1. so we have freedom first from the guilt of sin and now freedom from the power of sin in Galatians chapter 1 at verse 3 we read grace to you and peace from God the father and our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins that he might Deliver Us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father to whom the glory forever and ever amen this language of Deliverance is very important on this topic of Christian Liberty and that language of Deliverance comes up very often in our reading of the Holy scriptures in the Old Testament we have that that typological that anticipatory event and the Deliverance of uh of the Jews from out of Egyptian bondage we know that that isn't isn't just uh you know a happy circumstance that oh okay there was this event that took place then and then there's this event that took place with Christ Isn't that cool how they kind of well there was there was a deliberateness a purposivity there is purpose in the Divine Design to picture the freedom that we have from Christ in the freedom that is seen in the pulling of the Jews from out of Egyptian bondage and so the language of Deliverance is taken up very often in the New Testament and applied to the excellent and the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ in delivering us from from the power of sin he has that he might Deliver Us from this present uh evil age also in Ephesians 2 1-3 this is language that you're very familiar with and Pastor Butler not too long ago was preaching from this that before picture before the but God comes we see the power that sin had over us that we were under the sway under the Dominion under bondage to Satan notice in Ephesians 2 1. and you he made alive who were dead in trespasses and sins in which he once walked according to the course of this world according to the prince of the power of the air the spirit who now works and the sons of Disobedience among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh fulfilling the desires of the Flesh and of the mind and whereby nature children of Wrath just as the others you know that same thing that we considered earlier in perusing the Diary of our memories or in looking at this language of what we were prior to Victorious Grace that sort of thrust and that sort of way comes from the knowledge of the word of God where we see that same thing set forth that leap before picture that dark before picture prior to the coming of the grace of God and we know how uh how the letter continues but God who is rich in Mercy because of his great love and so we are free from that power of sin we could also consider Colossians 1 13. notice here that there is as we noted with freedom from the guilt of sin there is a glorious and necessary link to justification with regards to the power of sin or freedom from it there is a glorious and necessary link to Regeneration and there's a link that we see there in chapter 10 uh paragraphs one and two you don't need to turn there but on the doctrine of regeneration or of the effectual call and so all of these glorious freedoms these Christian Liberty we have are directly tied to necessarily tied to ingloriously tied to the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ and the Perfection of his life his obedience his death and his resurrection lastly then under freedom from sin's bondage we have freedom from the punishment of sin now this is this is a little bit different from condemnation but tied to it intimately and necessarily but you have condemnation for the sample legal declaration that we are condemned before God and then the penal the the penal aspect the punishment that is due to that and we can turn to to First Corinthians 15 to see that another passage that you're familiar with But First Corinthians 15 beginning at verse beginning at verse 54. [Music] so when this corruptable has put on incorruption and this Mortal has put on immortality then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written death is swallowed up in Victory O Death where is your sting o Hades where is your Victory The Sting of death is sin and the strength of sin is the law but thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ it is it is through the law that we are condemned that is those outside the Lord Jesus Christ and it is through the law that the penal sanctions come that the punishment comes we have violated the law of God the law of an eternal Creator and therefore when we violate that law we incur an eternal punishment the the victory that we have is over death and that is death as the curse of the law as it's written elsewhere that Christ has saved us from the curse of the law by giving his life upon calories crossed cursed as anyone who hangs upon a tree and so we have freedom from the punishment uh from the the punishment of sin Christ has freed us from guilt freed us from the power of sin and freed us from the punishment of sin as we come into to worship and sing the songs of praise to our trying God we should be singing from many Vantage points and this is certainly one of them top of the list that we have freedom from sins bondage notice that the confession goes on to speak secondarily in chapter one excuse me paragraph one of freedom in worship and obedience so t two things with respect to the nature of Christian Liberty freedom from sins bondage and secondly now freedom in worship and obedience and we have two sort of we could say two subsections under this in Freedom and worship and obedience we have as it pertains to Christianity in general including OT uh Old Testament Believers and then secondly specifically as it regards the New Covenant uh and so we'll look at the language here so notice freedom and worship and obedience first off we have free access to God under generally speaking we have free access to God right at the end of that first sectioning of the paragraph As also in their free access to God and their yielding obedience unto him not out of slavish fear but a childlike love and willing mind so first of all we have free access to God uh Matthew Henry writes this regarding free access free access to God an apprehension of God's Good Will to us notwithstanding our offenses gives us boldness to access to him and opens the lips in prayer which were closed with the sense of guilt and Dread of Wrath we have this freedom in worship and it's not remember that that and we'll get to to that passage Lord willing in a in a number of minutes but remember that when we come to God in worship we don't come sheepishly we don't come timidly we don't come in in an ungodly fear we don't come in this slavish year that this language of the confession is bringing forth but rather we come with the confidence we come with a Christian confidence a boldness not because of ourselves or in and of ourselves but by virtue of Christ and his freeing us from sin's bondage we can come we have free access to God in worship and we can come confidently in worship because Christ has saved us and made us worshipers of the king and so we have free access to God and this is as the confession will uh come to say shortly this isn't only for New Testament Believers or it's not only a reality of New Testament Believers but it is also it also pertains to Old Testament Believers though with the qualification that the confession will give so we have free access to God in worship and secondarily we have this yielding obedience unto him so the language of the confession again in their free access to God and their yielding obedience unto him so this is the general the general statement here yielding obedience unto him and then it's qualified negatively and positively not autoslavish fear but positively a childlike love and a willing mind and this is our Christian obedience again not as as fearful uh fearful peons under the heavy fisted impositions of a tyrannical deity but as those Christians saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus who can come joyfully who can come cheerfully to the throne of grace in that confidence and in yielding obedience unto him this is Christian Liberty is seen in our regenerate ability to obey the law of God and this is this is something that I we see in in Psalm 119 for example the love of the law of God on the part of the psalmist is also emphasized or or bolded by the fact that in the law of God there is great Liberty and so we are redeemed from bondage to sin we're redeemed from the curse of the law and we cheerfully have the Liberty to obey God's law as Christians before a blessed Triumph so we yield obedience to him and it's not out of a slavish fear but it is from a childlike mind a childlike love and a will in mind there is one passage in the in the Psalms uh in Psalm 119 that does speak uh to this Liberty that we have you know it you know it's um it's often the grumblings of um the grumblings of Sinners that coming to Christ means you know some sort of uh some sort of heavy-handed obedience to a set of precepts that really just will steal my my Earthly joy and my and you know my uh my my passing pleasures of sin away but there is great Liberty and obedience to the into there is great Liberty and having been saved by God and there is great Liberty in the love of his precepts and so in Psalm 119 the psalmist rehearsing this writes at verse 45. and I will walk at liberty for I seek your precepts there is great freedom in having been freed from sin's bondage unto a joyful obedience to our Lord in Christ so we yield obedience unto him Matthew Henry writes on this particular point the service of sin is perfect is perfect slavery the service of god is perfect Liberty licentiousness is bondage to the greatest of tyrants conscientiousness is freedom to the meanest of prisoners that blessed language here though that the whole quote is great but the service of slain is perfect slavery the service of god is perfect Liberty and that's what we have in this language in our confession reflecting the biblical witness that as Christians we yield obedience unto God not out of slavish fear but a child like love and a willing mind the confession goes on to to say that these things were common to Believers under the Old Testament notice the rest of the paragraph As it continues here all which were common also to Believers under the law for the substance of them so Old Testament Believers enjoy the things previously stated they too Old Testament Believers have freedom from sins bondage they had access to God in worship and they freely and joyfully yielded obedience unto him but notice their confession goes on to say but under the New Testament the liberty of Christians is further enlarged in their freedom from the Yoke of the ceremonial law to which the Jewish church was subjected and in greater boldness of access to the throne of grace and in Fuller Communications of the spirit of God than Believers under the law did ordinarily partake of so we see here the language that new testament Believers enjoy a greater increase with regards to Liberty worship and and Liberty and those three things here are listed as freedom from the Yoke of the ceremonial law so that's one greater boldness of access to the throne of grace to Fuller Communications of this free spirit of God three so we have those three things that new testament Believers enjoy as compared to Old Testament Believers so let's have a look at these the three things first off freedom from the Yoke of a ceremonial law there is um there is with the the movement the the movement in Revelation from the old Covenant to the New Covenant the removal of obedience to the ceremonial law because Christ has fulfilled that Christ abrogates or fulfills complete satisfies the ceremonial law those things were about typical and Christ has come and has put an end to that Mosaic institution uh you can turn in your Bibles to acts 15 for a moment because the Apostle Peter was with respect to the Jerusalem Council and the context there regarding the Jerusalem Council he speaks with regards to a yoke of bondage this yoke of the ceremonial law notice in Acts 15 at verse 10 now therefore why do you test God by putting a yoke on the neck of the disciples which neither our fathers nor which neither our fathers nor we were able to Bear a yoke upon the neck and so this language of of the Jews and the fathers their Jewish fathers not being able to bear this particular yoke is speaking with regards to the ceremonial law why would you impose those things fulfilled by Christ back upon Gentile Christians when we couldn't bear these things nor could Our Father bear his things and the argument of course comes back to the fact that Christ has fulfilled build the ceremonial law all of those all of those Washings all of those ceremonies all of those sacrifices they all found their Terminus their endpoint their glorious fulfillment in Jesus Christ the lord and so Christians in the New Testament are free from the Yoke of the ceremonial law you could turn to Galatians 5 for a moment Galatians chapter 5 we have that wonderful language right at verse one with regards to Liberty with regards to Freedom Galatians 5 1 Stand Fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoke of bondage the language being spoken of there is yes being spoken of within the context of of these judaizers who were pressing the law of Moses circumcision as obligatory to be justified before God and the argument here talks about the fact that we have been as Believers under God freed from the Yoke of the ceremonial law which in its time was lawful God God gave it to Moses God gave it to the children of Israel gave it to the Jews as a thing to be observed for a time until the time of reformation Paul uses and in Hebrews chapter 9 until that time when Christ comes and gives his life for guilty Sinners fulfilling the law and bringing an end to the ceremonial law Stand Fast therefore in the Liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not be entangled again with a yoga bondage we are as Believers in the New Covenant free from the Yoke of the ceremonial law now I just want to know before we move on to Greater boldness of access you can also make a note on the the Yoke of the ceremonial law if you are taking notes Hebrews 9 10 and the the language of uh certain things put in place like the ceremonial law until the time of reformation not the Reformation as we understand it wasn't a prophecy concerning 16th century things but with regards to the coming of Christ that time of reformation when the promised Christ comes and brings an end to the Yoke of the ceremonial law there is a clause in the Savoy declaration so when we see in our in our confessions here where we read in their freedom from the Yoke of the ceremonial law and then comma to which the Jewish church was subjected right where the comma is after ceremonial law the Savoy declaration adds the following language somewhere here oh there we go the whole legal administration of the covenants of Grace so it reads in their freedom from the Yoke of the ceremonial law comma the whole legal administration of the Covenant of Grace comma to which the Jewish church was subjected but the Baptists here removed that particular clause and it's for a good reason um the reason is as Cox writes he's an old Baptist who was most likely the editor of this confession of Faith Nehemiah Cox the old Covenant and the new do differ in substance and not in the manner of their Administration only in other words the language the whole legal administration of the Covenant of Grace is a faulty statement given true covenant theology the Covenant the old Covenant was not a Covenant of Grace nor was it an administration of it and so the Baptists removed this particular Clause um because it solids a proper uh covenant theology Pascal Donald says on the Baptist side it was considered that the old Covenant was not a Covenant of Grace nor even an administration of it Baptists considered that no other Covenant besides the New Covenant was the Covenant of Grace they still recognized that the Covenant of Grace had been revealed under all the covenants since the fall but distinguished between the actual substance of these covenants and the Covenant of Grace itself so that caused the whole legal administration of the Covenant of Grace was removed because the Old Testament or the legal Administration wasn't an actual administration of the Covenant of Grace so after freedom from the Yoke of a ceremonial Clause we also read greater boldness of access to the throne of grace and this is something that New Covenant that new testament Believers enjoy uh over and above their old Covenant predecessors and you can turn of course to the land to the language of Hebrews the book of Hebrews and Hebrews chapter 10. you'll recall that in Hebrews chapter 10 at verse 19 there is a marked transition from theology to exhortative substances Owen calls it so we have we have theological substance chapters 1 to 10 18 and we have exhortative substance uh 10 19 to the end of the book now theology is intermingled in the exhortative and exhortative is intermingled throughout the theological but those two things come together in the book of Hebrews and in the Bible generally speaking in the New Testament for example we have Epistles where the authors are bringing forth theology gospel and then implications gospel and then encouragements gospel theology truth and then exhortations and so here we have these exhortations and it pertains here to worship the Blessed worship the free access the Blessed access that we have as Christians to our trying God by virtue of the perfect work of our Lord Jesus Christ look at Hebrews 10 19 therefore Brethren having boldness this is the language of our confession to enter this is access the holiest by the blood of Jesus by a New and Living Way which he consecrated for us through the veil that is his flesh and having a high priest over the house of God let us drawn here with a True Heart in full Assurance of faith and so New Testament Believers have this blessed reality now old Covenant Believers again had free access but there is a Redemptive historical movement to the point where Christ comes he lives his life of obedience as promised he dies that perfect death as promise and he rises again as promised he ascends to his father and then he pours out the spirit and Gifts upon men and there is so there is a a marked transition from old Covenant worship to New Covenant worship first with the setting off of the Yoke of the ceremonial law Christ's fulfillment of that and then we have this greater boldness of access by virtue of Christ having come and brought an end to those Mosaic institutions that's that's Owen's term that the old Covenant things that Hebrews speaks about have been put uh put away because Christ has now come all of those washing ceremonies sacrifice all of those those all of those blessed rivers of old Covenant prophecy typology and anticipation find their Confluence their Terminus and their end point in Jesus Christ and so with the new covenants Advent we have greater boldness of access to the throne of grace and then thirdly the language here Fuller Communications of this of the free spirit of God we have this reality that not that not that the spirit of course was absent in the old covenant not that the spirit was not given in the same way so teriologically that is salvifically that is savingly uh in the Old Testament but it it has to do with New Covenant worship and the coming of Christ and his first Advent this is the language of John Owen and all the dispensations of God not those dispensations that he might be thinking of but the word's okay it's it's uh capital D is is not good so in all the dispensations of God towards his people under the Old Testament there was nothing of good communicated unto them nothing of Worth or Excellency brought in them or by them but it is expressly assigned unto the Holy Spirit as the author and cause of it in other words anything good in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit was the author and positive but yet of all the promises given unto them concerning a better and more glorious state of the church to be afterward introduced next unto that of the coming of the Son of God In the Flesh those are the most eminent in which concern and enlargement and more full communication of the spirit beyond what they were or could in their imperfect State be made partakers of so there is a an Eminence an enlargement a more full communication of the spirit in the New Testament that then was enjoyed enjoyed by the Old Testament Saints they were in a in a in a state of um they were it being tutored they were pupils under the law they were in a state of of immaturity until the time that Christ came and perfected uh Covenant Community and so we have Fuller communication of the free spirit of God than Believers under the law did ordinarily partake of moving on then secondly into the second paragraph We have the attended benefits of Christian Liberty or the nature of Liberty of conscience and this is simply seen in Freedom from man's bondage free so and this is properly where Christians where the Christian uh Liberty of conscience is there are two things here remember the topic of the chapter the title of the chapter of Christian Liberty and Liberty of conscience these are two separate things though very often come together with of course with regards to the Christian John Owen writes Liberty of conscience is of natural right this is important with regards to man naturally we have by virtue of God creating us and creating Us in His image we have Liberty of conscience as a natural right Liberty of consciences of natural right Christian Liberty is a gospel privilege though both may be pleaded in unwarrantable impositions on conscience and so that's why with respect to freedom from man's bondage we have both Christian Liberty and Liberty of conscience coming to us and there for us in Freedom from ecclesiastical tyranny and freedom from civil totalitarianism those two two things come together Christ is the savior of his church and Christ is the Lord and head of the church freedom from man's bondage so first off and very quickly we have freedom from ecclesiastical tyranny we could see when you go to passengers like Matthew 15 1. remember where the Jews come and their their indicting Christ in his disciples and disciples specifically for not uh washing their hands before eating and Christ Christ indicts them for for imposing the traditions of men and being disobedient to God and this is part of the problem because in being obedient to uh to man's law there the the the the Sanhedrin in being obedient to man's imposition of law they were disobedient to God and that was the issue that Christ brings to Bear they were so scrupulous they were marked by such a scrupulosity that they were imposing upon men the washing of hands prior to eating that they were disobeying God in the freedom given uh to eat in that particular context on the Sabbath and so we have we have freedom from ecclesiastical Tyrion in the context with regards to the Church of England there was a lot of ecclesiastical tyranny going on impositions being placed upon Christians that were that were more Catholic than they were Protestant they they were more Catholic um in positions with regards to worship with regards to what you need to do with regards to the the book of prayer and the forms and all of these uh impositions of men and not uh proper Express laws of God being encouraged and engendered and so we have freedom from ecclesiastical tyranny the language here is God alone is Lord of the conscience and hath left it free from the doctrines and Commandments of men which are in any in contrary to his word or not contained in it and in that we also have freedom from civil totalitarianism this language God Alone is Lord of the conscience and hath left it free from the doctrines and Commandments of men uh not only in ecclesiastical matters but also in civil matters when when civil law butts heads with and significantly loses against the law of God we are to obey God rather than men we know that passage in Acts 5 27-29 where the disciples are arrested and Peter confesses that good confession that they are to obey God rather than men in the preaching of the name of Christ if the government comes and says you cannot preach in the Name of Christ Christians uh meatly yet firmly uh disobey and say we are to obey God rather than men the the state has no right to oppose the church and the proclamation of Jesus Christ the language of John Gill here he says on this particular Point freedom from civil totalitarianism uh he writes men civil magistrates and ecclesiastical rulers are to be obeyed in things which are not repugnant to the will of God but in things that are God is to be obeyed and not men God had commanded by an Angel that the apostles should go to the temple and there preach the doctrines of the Gospel the Sanhedrin had forbid them to speak and teach in the Name of Christ who weren't who were now to excuse me who were now to be obeyed God and not men from whence it appears that the apostles were to be justified in disregarding the council and neglecting its orders and which is no ways contrary to that obedience and submission that is to be yielded to those that are in authority and things civil and lawful so here we see this language we are justified in disregarding any laws and neglecting any orders that are contrary to the will of God and that is where we have the Christian Liberty coming together with Liberty of conscience in our worship in our gathering together in our proclamation of Christ in him crucified we would also want to know here that the paragraph touches upon thirdly freedom from the moral impositions of fellow men and professors notice the language goes on to say so that to believe such doctrines or obey such commands out of contract it's contains or in the in the free from the doctrines and Commandments of men which are in anything contrary to his word are not contained in it and I notice the confession here goes on to continue in this is related reports so that to believe such doctrines are obey such commands out of conscience is to betray true Liberty of conscience and the requiring of an implicit faith and absolute and blind obedience is to destroy Liberty of conscience and reason also that's a very interesting statement there that it destroys Liberty of conscience and reason also it has to do with um with man according to Nature Liberty of conscience is of natural right and so the thrust here though in the context has to do with the Roman Catholic church and maybe more largely the Church of England because they're what the Church of England at the time in the in the late 40s the late 1640s was becoming a little more Catholic than a lot of the the Puritans light than the the protestant's life and so there was a catholicizing going on with regards to the Catholic church and there was the asking of Believers to have blind obedience or an implicit faith that is trusting without consideration without discourses without examination logic or argument just trusting without any of that in the authority of the church and uh and her and her magistrates we're we're supposed to have a belonging and implicit faith in the church we're not and the bereans I think have a but have a good excuse me principle with regards to this their Readiness of mine Matthew Henry writes to receive the word was not such as they took things upon trust swallowed them upon an implicit Faith No but since Paul reasoned over the scriptures and referred them to the Old Testament for the proof of what he said they had recourse to their Bibles turned to the places to which he referred them read the context considered the scope and drift of them compared them with other places of scripture examine whether Paul's inference is from them were natural and genuine and his arguments upon them gojin and determined accordingly you see we don't just have an implicit or a blind trust or faith in in our leaders and whether ecclesiastical or civil but rather we use our minds uh made you know brought awake and honorable the darkness to the light by Jesus Christ Our Lord and we engage in argument we engage in examination we by the spirit consider those things spoken and those things preach and by word and spirit within the context of the church we judge accordingly so we are not to have this implicit Faith because it destroys Liberty of conscience and reason also the confession closes off early and lastly but the perversion of Christian Liberty the perversion of Christian Liberty Henry writes we must take heed that we turn not this Liberty into licentiousness and abuse God's favorable concessions and condescensions to our own prejudices Romans 6 1 and Galatians 5 13 and other places speak to the fact that because we've been made alive in Christ Jesus uh we are not that because we've been free from sin's bondage we don't then have the Liberty to go about sinning because we can Avail of a savior who perfectly saves much rather joyfully and cheerfully we obey the laws of God as is Made Alive Believers those who were previously dead rejoicing in the freedom from the guilt of sin the power of sin and the punishment of sin we do those things that are pleasing in the sight of God to please father Son and Holy Spirit and to follow after our our Master being conformed unto the image of Christ he in perfect ACT of obedience fulfilled the law of God we imperfectly until that blessed uh blessed and final day we imperfectly cheerfully and joyfully follow the law of God like our Christ um order in order to bedeck the gospel in order to uh um you know decorate the gospel the language of the Apostle um in in the New Testament we we adore in the Gospel of Jesus Christ by doing those things that are pleasing in his sight so heaven forbid God forbid that is that we should engage in anything unto word boasting in our Liberty that we have in Christ Jesus the Lord that is to be ungodly that is as the confession says here that gives to pervert the main design of the Gospel of the grace of the Gospel to our own destruction and to wholly destroy the end of Christian Liberty notice what the end of Christian Liberty is at the end of paragraph three which is that being delivered out of the hands of all our enemies we might serve the Lord without fear in Holiness and righteousness before him all the Days of Our Lives might that be our posture and our story as redeemed Christians saved by amazing and Victorious Grace that we serve the Lord without fear and Holiness and unrighteousness before him all the Days of Our Lives knowing that we have by free and Sovereign Grace has been freed by the guilt the power and the punishment of sin because of a perfect Christ let's pray heavenly father and thank you for this time together in your word we rejoice in your word to us we thank you for truth and we pray that you would impress upon us the glory of the Liberty that we have in Christ Jesus and that you would help us to navigate that the world of church the world of of Christianity and the Civil World operating uh operating according accordingly and knowing that Christ is has all authority in heaven and on Earth and that he alone is the head of the church we pray in the name of our savior Christ Jesus