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Morning, everyone. Just another 
announcement. We will be observing the Lord's 
Supper at this evening's service. So if you're able to attend, 
please join us this evening for our Lord's Supper service. You 
can turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 2. Acts 
chapter 2, we're going to read a portion of that particular 
chapter and expand our focus to many portions in the book 
of Acts. We sang a few hymns ago, when 
I survey the wondrous cross, on a day when we observe the 
Lord's Supper, certainly is a good exercise. Well, not only on the 
day when we observe the Lord's Supper, but any day. It is a 
good exercise to survey the wondrous cross. We're going to do that 
perusing the cross as we find it displayed in the book of Acts. So I'm going to read from Acts 
Chapter 2, beginning at verse 22. Acts 2, verse 22. Men of Israel, hear these words. Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested 
by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through 
him in your midst, as you yourselves also know him being delivered 
by the determined purpose and for knowledge of God, you have 
taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put to death, whom 
God raised up, having loosed the pains of death, because it 
was not possible that he should be held by it. Amen. Well, let's pray. Heavenly Father, 
we thank you for The Word, we thank you for its disclosure 
concerning Jesus Christ, our blessed Redeemer. We thank you 
for the fact that the Bible discloses our precious crucified and raised 
Christ from page to page, from chapter to chapter. We come to 
the book and we find it a book concerning Jesus as he himself 
said on that resurrection day to his disciples that the law, 
the prophets, and the Psalms, all these things speak concerning 
me. We pray that you would, Lord 
God, help us as we survey the cross in the book of Acts. We 
ask that you would help us by your spirit to understand these 
things and to rejoice in them, that we would believe, Lord God, 
according to your power, the wondrous things concerning the 
cross. And Lord God, that we would rejoice 
in the truths of our Jesus, who came 2,000 years ago in the fullness 
of the times, born of a woman, born under the law, that he might 
save guilty sinners. Let's bless our time now, and 
we pray as we always should, Lord God, that this exercise 
of preaching and worship would be unto the praise of your glorious 
grace. And it's in Christ's name that 
we do pray. Amen. Well, the book of Acts, generally 
speaking, is a book wherein we have the narrative of the works 
of the ascended Christ, sending forth his spirit, empowering 
his church, to proclaim His name, to proclaim His gospel, and to 
build His church. As we work through the Book of 
Acts, we ought to notice that when the mouths of the preachers 
are opened up, they proclaim Jesus Christ and Him crucified. The narrative of the Book of 
Acts is a book disclosing the crucified Christ as the one who 
is to be preached and as the one who ascended to the right 
hand of the Majesty on high is currently building his church, 
the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Specifically speaking, 
the narrative content of the Book of Acts comes to us by way 
of the cross. We're going to look at the Book 
of Acts, what it says with regards to the cross, but we have the 
Book of Acts by virtue of that redemptive work. Many theologians 
have noted that the New Testament is the covenant document of the 
New Testament Church. It's called the New Testament. 
But if the Old Covenant or the Old Testament was the covenant 
document, God's revealed covenant document for the Old Covenant 
community, while it is certainly and most certainly still applicable 
to us and we ought to read our Old Testaments, the New Testament 
is the covenant document for the New Covenant community because 
Christ, as the one who ratified the New Covenant in his blood, 
discloses the things by the Spirit pertaining to his precious cross 
work and the truths concerning him and his gospel. So the Book 
of Acts comes to us and it is a narrative with regards to the 
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and its implications for the 
Jewish and for the Gentile world. The preaching content of the 
Book of Acts is centered around the cross. When Peter opens his 
mouth to speak to the men of Israel, he says, hear these words, 
Jesus of Nazareth. And he goes on to say concerning 
him, him being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge 
of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified and put 
to death. The proclamation of the early 
church, the proclamation of true Christians throughout the history 
of the church is centered around the cross of Christ. Before we 
get into the substance of preaching this morning, what is the cross 
of Christ? We've said this many times before. 
What is the cross of Christ? It is not, negatively, simply 
a symbol. We ought not to think cross and 
then simply think a vertical and horizontal beams of wood 
or metal or, you know, be speckled or be jeweled with diamonds and 
rubies, according to the idolatry of man. We are not to think of 
it as symbology or symbols or idols or icons, but we are to 
think of it as Gil thought of it. With regards to the cross 
of Christ, his answer to what is the cross is this, the doctrine 
of salvation by a crucified Christ, or the doctrine of peace and 
reconciliation by the blood of his cross, and of righteousness, 
pardon, atonement, and satisfaction by the offering up of himself 
upon it as a sacrifice for sin is here intended. So maybe a 
shorter definition that you've heard before, when we think cross, 
and even when we think the blood of Christ, when you see that 
in our Bibles, that is theological shorthand for the sacrificial 
substitutionary atoning work. of Jesus Christ our Lord. That 
is what we mean by the cross. So we're going to peruse the 
book of Acts and what it says with regards to the cross under 
six, yes, six points. First is divine purpose, and 
we'll list them as we go, not first off. The first is divine 
purpose. The cross was planned by God 
in eternity before the foundation of the world. Preacher, We've 
heard this before. Yes, you have. You'll hear it 
again, and you'll hear it again, and you'll hear it again. Why? 
Because it is a wholesome exercise to repeat the glorious truths 
of Holy Scripture. The Apostle Peter, in his second 
epistle, writing to a Christian recipient, says, although you 
are already established in the truth, nevertheless, I write 
these things to you again because you need to know them. I'm paraphrasing. Trust me, that's what Peter was 
saying. You see, we are established in the truths of Christianity, 
but we are girded up, we grow, we mature, we bolster our rejoicing 
and we pad our rejoicing by filling our minds with the truths of 
Holy Scripture, the truths of the cross, the truths of the 
gospel. So we often return to things 
so that we might glory in them and hold them close to our hearts. Divine purpose. The cross was 
planned by God in eternity before the foundation of the world. 
That's what Peter speaks here in Acts 2, verse 23. Speaking 
of Jesus, he says, him being delivered by the determined purpose 
and foreknowledge of God. Let's stop for a moment and consider 
that. Remember only a handful of days 
before, let's say 50, and I'm not just throwing that number 
out there, probably around 50, between 40 and 50, well, closer 
to 50 days. Many theologians say 50 days. 
But 50 days ago, 50 days before Peter spoke these words, remember 
what he did. Jesus said, the Son of Man must 
be delivered up by wicked hands, be crucified, and rise again 
the third day. Peter said, Lord, far be it from 
you to undergo these things. You see, Peter was marked by 
a lack of understanding 50 days prior to this. But you see, on 
that resurrection day, Jesus comes. and he discloses himself 
in resurrected glory to his disciples. But he doesn't just say, have 
peace and be well, though he does say, peace be with you. 
He sits with them, he eats broiled fish and honeycomb with them, 
and he gives them instructions concerning the Bible. Wouldn't 
that have been a glorious day? The resurrected Jesus sitting 
down with you and giving you a Bible study. See, that's what 
it says in Luke 24. He sat with them and he opened 
up the scriptures to them, and he opened up their minds to understand 
the things spoken in the law and in the prophets and in the 
Psalms concerning him. So Peter, on the other side of 
that resurrected Christ Bible study, having before said, Lord 
God, far be it from you to be delivered up by wicked hands, 
now says, him being delivered by the determined purpose and 
foreknowledge of God. Peter was well instructed by 
the resurrected Jesus concerning the fact that the cross of our 
Lord Jesus Christ was a plan in eternity past, if we can use 
that language, eternity past, but in eternity past before the 
foundation of the world, God purposed to send the second of 
the triune Godhead to die for sinners and to rise again. Now, by this text, or this text 
isn't by itself with regards to this reality in the book of 
Acts. Certainly elsewhere in our canon, 
we have that truth. But turn to Acts 4 for a minute 
because there we have it also. Acts chapter 4, in the context 
here, the disciples had just been, two apostles had just been 
released from prison. They returned to their fellow 
brethren. They rejoice in their release, they rejoice that they 
were able to proclaim the Lord Jesus Christ even in the midst 
of persecution, and they pray Psalm 2 back to God, and rightly 
interpret Psalm 2 with regards to Christ and their present circumstances. Notice at chapter 4 verse 27, 
For truly against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both 
Herod and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles and the people of 
Israel, were gathered together to do whatever your hand and 
your purpose determined before to be done. You see, the crucifixion 
of Jesus Christ, and this would be a blasphemous thing for anyone 
to assert, was not a haphazard accident in history. God didn't 
set the world in motion and then the thrust of history moved forward 
and it just happened to happen that the second of the blessed 
triune God was put to death as an insurrectionist upon that 
Roman gibbet. That wasn't the case. God, before 
the foundation of the world, determined whatever Herod, whatever 
Pontius Pilate, whatever the Jews and Gentiles did, divine 
hand, the divine hand and the divine purpose determined that 
to be accomplished and to be completed. And kids, what does 
this tell us? This tells us that God is sovereign. Right? Preachers, believe it 
or not, horrible Armenian preachers are on YouTube kicking their 
pulpit and destroying it because they hate the sovereignty of 
God. I'm not making this stuff up. 
You can Google it or YouTube it. Preacher kicks pulpit because 
he hates the sovereignty of God. A horrible thing. A horrible 
thing. Sovereignty is not in the Bible. 
The word sovereignty is not in the Bible. A lot of words aren't 
in the Bible. He sits in the heavens, and he 
does whatever he pleases. Whatever he pleases, he does 
on earth and in all the deep places. You see, we use words, 
and hopefully we use them wholesomely, to describe theological concepts. The word Trinity is not in the 
Bible, but the Trinity is all over the Bible. But you see, 
this doctrine tells us that God has sovereign, unmitigated mastery 
over the entirety of his creation, including his creatures. And 
this blessed truth that before the foundation of the world, 
the triune God deemed it well to send the second of their triune 
Godhead into time and in history, to be enfleshed in a virgin's 
womb, to come forth, to live righteously and perfectly, to 
die perfectly, to rise again victoriously, that is a truth 
that the scriptures speak clearly to. God had a plan before the 
foundation of the world. And after time and history comes 
into being, time and history moves to that central event. 
where a Jewish insurrectionist, falsely charged, would die a 
bloody death upon a Roman cross, but it would be for divine purpose. It would be to accomplish divine 
perfection in redemption to save a multitude of sinners to the 
praise of our glorious God. And remember, not only does this 
tell us God is sovereign, but this tells us that God, here 
comes that word again, is purposive. What does that mean, preacher? 
Purposive means to act according to a purpose. God has a purpose 
in everything that he does. He doesn't set the world a-spinning. 
God is at work in time and in history. All things are beforehand 
decreed by our triune God, and providence is that thing whereby 
God brings about that which he has decreed. He governs the world, 
events, and his creatures to bring about to bring about His 
holy ends. We give too much credit to men, 
and obviously, infinitely, not enough credit to God when we 
speak of how people and how God act. And I'll explain that. You've heard this before, but 
hopefully I word it differently so it seems fresh. People plan. People purpose. People don't 
wake up and you know, bump into walls and then just stumble across 
their toothbrush and stumble across, you know, the shower 
and stumble across the towel. Oh, towel, I should go have a 
shower. People wake up and they have a purposive mind. This is 
what I need to do. I need to get to work. I need 
to take off my covers. I need to brush my teeth. I need 
to get the towel. I need to get into the shower. 
I need to drive my car. I need to, well, eat at some 
point. You can fill in the blanks. That's a skeletal framework for 
you. The point is, man wakes up and he has a purpose. Man 
has a purpose in things that, well, some people don't really 
have a purpose, i.e. teenagers. I'm sorry, teenagers. Sometimes 
you do have a purpose. But even adults sometimes can 
just wake up and lay down on the couch. But you see, we give 
credit to men because they act according to a purpose. But you 
see, we want to have, and we, spiritually speaking and, you 
know, so-called Christianity speaking, we want to have a God 
that just reacts, that he can't have a purpose because that's 
not fair. He can't, before the foundation of the world determined 
that Judas would betray Christ and hang himself and be gutted, 
that's not fair. It's not fair that God before 
the foundation of the world would reprobate Pharaoh and harden 
his heart so that he would not heed the things of the triune 
of Israel. That's not fair. It's not fair 
that God would have vessels of wrath prepared for destruction 
that he might display the glories of his grace on those who were 
beforehand prepared for glory. That's not fair. So God doesn't 
act according to a purpose. He sets the world in motion and 
then he reacts to what... That's just madness. That is 
just madness. He sits in the heavens and does 
whatever He pleases. Whatever He pleases, that is, 
whatever He decrees to be done, He does in earth and in all deep 
places. Our God is sovereign, He is purposive, 
and God's sovereign purposiveness is most importantly and centrally 
displayed at the cross. You see, we don't have the cross 
of our Lord Jesus Christ on a shelf of purposive events of divine 
decree along with this and that, you know, Noah's Ark and Pharaoh 
and all these things, biblical events of history, David and 
Goliath, you know, fill in the blanks. We have Jesus Christ 
before the foundation of the world by divine purpose decreed 
to come and to save a multitude of sinners to the praise of the 
triune God's glory. And then we have all other purposive 
events, creation, time, and history structured by divine perfection 
to serve that redemptive event. That is the central and the most 
important event in history. It is not one of many other important 
events, but rather the central, the most important act of God 
and the reason for time in history. Creation serves the redemptive 
purpose. The Abrahamic, before that, the 
fall of Adam and Eve, God decreed beforehand to serve, to set in 
motion the covenant of grace by which ultimately Christ would 
come to ratify and to perfect. The Noahic covenant, the Abrahamic 
covenant, the Davidic covenant. David slicing off the head of 
Goliath serves Jesus Christ upon the cross working out the salvation 
of men. All things in God's history find 
as the pinnacle and the point and the reason and the center 
put your important wording here, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Spurgeon in his sermon on Galatians 
6.14 says something to the effect that with regards to the cross, 
all of God's history of grace and mercy prior to and all of 
the workings of the church and God afterwards have as its center, 
planted in the middle, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It 
is the center, it is the focus, it is the nucleus and the point 
of time and history. Secondly, divine promise. We 
have divine purpose, which was the cross was planned by God 
in eternity before the foundation of the world. Secondly, we have 
divine promise. The purposed cross was announced 
by God throughout the history that led up to it. It makes sense, 
at least it should, right, to our minds. God purposes something, 
so then God will declare revelation concerning that purposed event. God purposed, so then he's going 
to promise to those who will be the blessed beneficiaries 
of the effects of that purpose. So again, divine promise, the 
purposed cross was announced by God throughout the history 
that led up to it. Turn to Acts 3 with me. Acts 
chapter 3. Again, we're perusing the witness 
of the book of Acts in our Bibles, speaking to the cross of our 
Lord Jesus Christ. Acts 3, beginning at verse 18. This language is great. It is the Bible. It is God's 
infallible revelation, so everything is great. We have here a disclosure 
that the Old Covenant revelation, Genesis to Malachi, is Christocentric. The point of its revelation, 
the point of the Old Covenant, was Jesus. More to the point, 
Jesus upon a cross, working out the salvation of men. Acts 3, 
beginning at verse 18, But those things which God foretold, by 
the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ would suffer, 
he has thus fulfilled. Repent, therefore, and be converted, 
that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing 
may come from the presence of the Lord, and that he may send 
Jesus Christ, who was preached to you before, whom heaven must 
receive until the times of restoration of all things which God has spoken, 
notice again, by the mouth of all his holy prophets since the 
world began. For Moses truly said to the fathers, 
the Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me 
from your brethren, Him you shall hear in all things whatever He 
says to you. And it shall be that every soul 
who will not hear the prophet shall be utterly destroyed from 
among the people. He continues, verse 24, Yes, 
and all the prophets from Samuel and those who follow, as many 
as have spoken, have also foretold these days. You are sons of the 
prophets and of the covenant which God made with our fathers, 
saying to Abraham, and in your seed all the families of the 
earth shall be blessed. To you first, God, having raised 
up his servant Jesus, sent him to bless you in turning away 
every one of you from your iniquities." You see what Peter is saying 
here, and this is striking language in verse 21 at the end. By the 
mouth of all his holy prophets, since the world began, every 
prophet empowered by the Spirit of Christ, since creation, served 
a Christo-centric declaration. They all proclaimed concerning 
the coming Redeemer who, when the fullness of the times would 
come, would truly come to die for his people and to rise again 
in great victory. The text is clear. The Old Covenant 
is not a Christ-absent document. Old Covenant revelation is not 
absent of a Christ. but full of Christ, and Christ 
is the point of it. Those things which God foretold 
by the mouth of all his prophets, that the Christ would suffer, 
he has thus fulfilled. You see, also, God's prophecies 
are not 75% accurate. They're not 85% accurate. They're 
not 95% accurate. You probably get the point. They're 
100% accurate. all of the prophets' declarations 
concerning the coming Christ, Christ has thus fulfilled. The cross of Christ in the Old 
Testament, our confession speaks well with regards to this particular 
reality. It says in the chapter on covenant 
theology, it says, this covenant, that is the covenant of grace, 
is revealed in the gospel, first of all to Adam, in the promise 
of salvation by the seed of the woman, and afterwards by farther 
steps, until the full discovery thereof was completed in the 
New Testament. And it is founded in that eternal 
covenant transaction that was between the father and the son 
about the redemption of the elect." So you see the connectivity between 
divine purpose and divine promise. God purposes. In that covenant 
transaction in eternity past, before the foundation of the 
world, it was determined that Christ would come and serve that 
glorious, redemptive purpose. And then by farther steps, after 
it's revealed to Adam, revelation continues to disclose that precious 
Jesus. If you're tonight at the Lord's 
Supper, I hope you, you see, when Paul said, when Paul, quoting 
Christ, so when Christ said, do this, the Lord's Supper, do 
this in remembrance of me, I hope you call to mind these propositions, 
these truths of Holy Scripture. You see, because yes, we remember, 
and most importantly so, the broken body of Christ and the 
blood shed by him. But you see, remember also, call 
to mind scriptural truths, that this is an amazing divine plan 
before the foundation of the world. This wasn't just something 
that happened in time and in history. All these dispensations 
just didn't work out, so God thought he'd have this dispensation 
of Jesus coming, And because the Jews rejected him as king, 
he's going to die. Now, this was before the foundation 
of the world. Ephesians 3.11, according to 
the eternal purpose which God the Father had in Christ Jesus 
before the world was. Remember not just the divine 
purpose, but the divine promise that our old covenant documents 
that we read in our own personal Bibles or that we hear at church 
or wherever or whatever, they are Christocentric documents 
that have to do with that event celebrated at the Lord's Supper. 
My body broken for you, my blood shed for you. Divine purpose 
and divine promise. Now, just very briefly in a comment 
on our confession here, in the section on the covenant of grace, 
it's different from the Westminster. The Westminster trumps up, if 
you will, the primacy of the Abrahamic covenant in covenant 
theology. And they do that with a paedo-baptistic 
bent, of course, because they want to include the children 
of believers in New Covenant blessing. The London Baptist 
Confession modifies it, and it says this covenant is revealed 
in the Gospel, first of all, to Adam, in the promise of salvation 
by the seed of the woman. And then they go on to talk about 
the prehistoric, in eternity past, Decree of Christ to come 
and to save his people the point I'm trying to make is the governing 
principle in all of Christianity and redemptive history Is that 
eternity past? declaration of the triune God 
to Determine and to purposively save a multitude of sinners perfectly 
by Jesus Christ time in history comes and the governing covenantal 
principle is the promise to Adam not the promise to Abraham This 
covenant is revealed in the gospel first of all to Adam, the time 
in history promise of that prehistorical covenant of the triune God. And 
then all time in history follows this theme and this motif that 
the hero born of woman will crush the skull of the serpent. It's 
a glorious reality. And in fact, that skull motif 
the promise in Genesis 3.15 that the seed of the woman will crush 
the head of the serpent, that skull motif continues throughout 
the scriptures. Remember what J.L. does to Cicero, right? What does J.L. do to Cicero? 
She rams a tent peg with a hammer through his skull and into the 
ground. A wonderful act of bravery and faith. rams the tent peg 
through the head of Sisera, through the skull. The seed of the woman 
that is those who are united to, you know, by implication 
of the seed of the woman crushing the head of the serpent, by implication 
of the Christian people's, God's people's unity to Jesus Christ 
redemptively, we are also the seed of the woman by virtue of 
our union with him. Biblical revelation shows the 
victory of God's people over the seed of the serpent. Jael 
and Sisera is an example. A certain woman and Abimelech 
in Judges 9. Remember what happens there. 
Abimelech is a wicked, wicked man. That's putting it extremely 
lightly. He has 70 of his brothers murdered 
on one single stone. Well, this certain woman comes 
along with a millstone and kills Abimelech with one single stone. 
Crushes his skull. We have David and Goliath. You 
remember what happens there, don't you? This skull motif continues. David comes, doesn't put any 
armor on, and this wretch of a giant is blaspheming the name 
of the God of Israel. And David comes along with no 
armor and, you know, five feet shorter, or however many feet 
shorter, a whole lot shorter than Goliath was. Some say he 
was 10 feet tall, some say he was 16. He was a tall, big man. He comes along with one single 
stone, whips it in his sling, dents it into his skull, and 
drops him. Goliath wasn't just the victim of war and a casualty 
of war. For 40 days, he came before the 
armies of the God of Israel and blasphemed his name. David said, 
who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies 
of the living God? So David goes out. This skull 
motif running through and woven through Old Covenant revelation, 
he crushes the skull of Goliath with the stone and then of course 
takes Goliath's own sword and cuts his head off. The point 
is, victory for the God of Israel and this skull motif continues. 
We get to Jesus Christ, David's greater son and David's Lord, 
and we have the fulfillment of that skull motif, the whole point. 
of the skull motif. Jesus Christ crucified at Golgotha, 
which is what? The place of the skull. The place 
of the skull. Jesus Christ, the intended, the 
purposed, the promised hero born of woman who would crush the 
serpent's skull, comes crucified at Calvary's tree, at the place 
of the skull. But you see, it's not a loss, 
it's not a defeat, it's not a tragedy, because in that dying, He has 
conquest over that serpent, over that devil, who is the serpent 
of old and the father of murder and lies. The point being, the 
purposed cross was announced by God throughout the history 
that led up to it, and God ordered and governed history to bring 
it to the perfection of its completion, the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
Thirdly, divine providence. Thirdly, divine providence. The 
purposed and promised cross was carried out through human means. The purposed and promised cross 
was carried out by human means. Go back to Acts 2 for a moment. 
Acts chapter 2, verse 23. Him, being delivered by the determined 
purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless 
hands, have crucified and put to death. You see, divine fore-destination, 
divine determination and purposiveness is brought about and fulfilled 
by human means. God determined it beforehand, 
God purposed it beforehand. You, guilty and lawless and murderous 
Jews, have taken... Now by that I'm not being anti-Semitic. 
Hopefully you understand I'm talking about the unbelieving 
Jews of the Bible. But you, human instruments of 
divine providence, have taken by lawless hands, have crucified 
and put to death. So the promised, the purposed 
and the promised cross was carried out through human means. The 
Lord God brings about His plan by providential means. Notice 
again in Acts 4, you may have noticed when we were focusing 
on purpose, But going back to Acts 4, notice with regards to 
providence as well. Verse 27 of Acts 4, So you see, 
the determined purpose, the beforehand purpose and plan of God, is carried out by Herod, Pontius 
Pilate, the Gentiles, and the people of Israel. As it always 
is, since time began, enemies, one with each other, will unite 
in their rallying against the cause of God and truth. Enemies 
such as Herod and Pontius Pilate, enemies such as Gentiles and 
Israel, nevertheless will set aside their differences and their 
contentions and unite and mount opposition to the Christ of Holy 
Scripture and to his people. But the point is that the Lord 
God brings about his plan by providential means. You know, 
not only does he bring it out by the means of human ministers, 
but he brings it about by himself coming into time and history 
and providence and bringing it to bear himself. Remember from 
John 10, 18, Jesus says No one takes it from me, but I lay it 
down of myself. Speaking of his life, no one 
takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power 
to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. You see, we 
very often think, well, maybe we don't, but just in thinking 
about this text, you know, we often think, okay, the lawless 
hands crucified the Lord of Glory, brought him to death in accordance 
with divine purpose. But also remember, Jesus, in 
the incarnation comes, participates in this providential redemptive 
plan himself. With the power to call a majesty 
and a host of angels to come and intercede and free him from 
this situation, he nevertheless says, ah, but the scriptures 
must be fulfilled. You see, so Jesus, as well as 
other human means, come into time and in history, or God uses 
human means in time and in history to bring about His holy ends 
and to bring about His redemptive purposes. We must note here God's 
intention and man's intention. You see, the question is very 
often asked of Reformed Calvinistic Christians, what about the problem 
of evil? What about the problem of sin? 
Is God the author of sin? You see, God decrees evil actions. God decrees the wickedness of 
Herod and Pontius Pilate. He decrees the evil of the Gentiles 
in Israel in coming together. But you see, the difference comes 
with intention. The divine intention is holy 
and pure and flows from the will and the counsel of God's immutable 
power. But you see, man's intention 
is wickedness. Isn't that the commentary, the 
theological commentary that the narrative of Genesis gives us 
with regards to Joshua and his brothers? You, brothers who engaged 
in wickedness against me, you intended that for evil. But God intended that for good 
so that he might save many alive. God intended, purposively, the 
wickedness of Joshua's brothers. Joshua's brothers intended that 
wickedly, though, that they might cause problems, to put it lightly, 
for their brother. But you see, God intends things 
according to the purity and the counsel of His own will. Men 
intend them for wickedness. We do not have a problem with 
the problem of evil. God decrees according to pure 
intention. Man engages according to the 
wickedness and deceit of his sinful heart. The purposed and 
promised cross was carried out through human means. Fourthly, 
divine performance. Divine performance. The purposed, 
promised, and providentially accomplished cross was completed 
by God. Turn to Acts 20 for a moment. 
Acts 20. In some of the most amazing words 
in Holy Scripture, And hopefully you'll see why. 
In Acts chapter 20, when you get there, I want you to turn 
to verse 27. Or plant your eyes there once 
you've turned to Acts 20, verse 27. For I have not shunned to 
declare to you the whole counsel of God. Therefore, take heed 
to yourselves and to all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit 
has made you overseers, to shepherd the Church of God, which he purchased 
with his own blood." You see, the purposed cross, the promised 
cross, the providentially carried out and accomplished cross, was 
carried out and completed by God. God didn't purpose a human 
redeemer. I'll qualify that, of course, 
because Christ took on to himself humanity, Philippians 2, 5 to 
11, 1 Timothy 3, 15 and 16. But you see, God didn't determine 
before the foundation of the world that a man, ontologically 
or creatively speaking, a creature, man, would come in time and in 
history to redeem people. God did not promise that a man 
that is a created man of Adamic representation would come and 
redeem people. He did not providentially carry 
out the planned crucifixion by putting a human being on the 
cross insofar as it would be or he would be a created human 
being. God was manifested in the flesh. Let this mind be in you. which 
is also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did 
not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made himself 
of no reputation. He's found in the form of a bondservant. He comes enfleshed in humanity. And he comes and he gives himself 
on that Roman cross for the sins of his people. But this language 
is amazing, isn't it? Acts 20, 28. The church of God, 
which he purchased with his own blood. God cannot bleed. God 
cannot die. God cannot suffer. God cannot 
bear the Prince of Nails in hands and feet and in His side. Ah, 
but you see, by virtue of the Incarnation, the God-Man, Jesus 
Christ, fully God and fully man, bearing all the attributes of 
deity, all the attributes of humanity, save depravity and 
sin because He is pure and unblemished and undefiled, the God-Man can 
come and shed His blood. for guilty sinners. And important on this topic, 
our confession speaks quite well to. You see, because the language 
in the Bible here is saying that God shed his blood. Of course, this needs to be theologically 
qualified because God is immutable. God cannot die. God cannot suffer. God cannot bleed. In our confession on Jesus Christ, 
chapter 8, paragraph 7, the confession reads this way, Christ in the 
work of mediation acteth according to both natures, divine and human, 
by each nature doing which is proper to itself. Yet by reason 
of the unity of the person, that which is proper to one nature 
is sometimes in scripture attributed to the person denominated by 
the other nature. So that's why they can say, and 
they cite Acts 20, 28 here, the Church of God, which He, God, 
purchased with His, God's own blood. But suffice it to say, 
God brought about, by divine performance, the completion and 
the accomplishment of the saving work of the cross. This text, 
Acts 20, 28, does it not speak clearly and without contestation 
to the deity of our Lord Jesus Christ? The Church of God, which 
he purchased with his own blood. Who died on the cross? Jesus 
Christ. Jesus Christ is God. There's a better Aristotelian 
syllogism someone could probably formulate out there, but by virtue 
of this text, Jesus Christ is God. The Bible affirms everywhere, 
well, in many places, an exhaustive list of texts that the one who 
died upon Calvary's tree was very God of very God. This has to be elaborated upon 
and we'll close with of course with our two points here shortly 
I don't want to keep you too long Divine performance who was 
it was on the cross Right when we think tonight about 
the Lord's Supper We're remembering one Who is the second of the 
triune Godhead? Co-equal, co-eternal, co-glorious 
with God the Father. Not 33% or one-third God, fully 
God, Jesus Christ. He departs from the splendor 
of His own heaven. Remember, He departs from the 
praises of angels. Isaiah 6. In Isaiah 6, the train 
of Jesus Christ's robe filled the temple. And all the angels 
flew and said, holy, holy, holy. Depending on your Bible version, 
if you still have one from the 14th or 15th century, they said 
it not just three times, but nine times. Holy, holy, holy 
is the Lord of hosts. The whole world is full of his 
glory. The whole earth is full of his 
glory. Christ's, the train of his robe 
filled the temple. The angels aren't even allowed 
to look at him. Not allowed. It's too majestic. It's too glorious. Isaiah's allowed, 
but not because he's special, but for the purpose of his commissioned 
prophetic office. God allows him to open his eyes 
and look upon him. But he doesn't puff up his chest 
and say, the prophet of Israel gazes upon the majesty of the 
pre-incarnate Jesus. No, he says, woe is me. Woe is 
me, for I am undone. I'm unraveled. I'm taken apart. I'm a man of unclean lips, and 
I dwell among a people of unclean lips. Why was he undone? Why is he pronouncing this self-maledictory 
oath upon himself? Woe is me, because my eyes have 
seen the Lord, the King, the Lord of hosts." Wonderful, isn't 
it? But you see, that's the one who 
died upon Calvary's tree for the sins of his people. If you're 
here and you're a Christian this morning, God divested himself 
of the praise of angels and heavenly glory. Now, the angels still 
praised him as a babe in a feed trough, but what I'm saying is 
he departed from the glory of heaven and from the praise of 
angels when the train of his robe was filling the temple, 
and he comes into our lower horror and ignominy of a world to die 
upon Calvary's tree, the one who set the galaxies in motion, 
the one who fixed the stars in place, as one second century 
bishop said, is fixed in place upon a tree. Do this in remembrance 
of me. Isn't that amazing? The one who 
fixed the stars in place is fixed in place upon a tree. Glorious 
cross. Glorious cross. While he was 
on the cross, while he was suffering, He was still, according to Hebrews 
1, upholding galaxies spinning in their orbit by the word of 
His power. Glorious truth. Divine proclamation 
is the fifth, and we'll work through these two very quickly 
in closing prayer. Divine proclamation. The cross 
of purpose, promise, providence, and performance was heralded 
by God sent messengers. The cross of purpose, promise, 
providence, and performance was heralded by God sent messengers. You know what? I actually do 
want to stop here and maybe we'll take up these two points this 
evening. I did have a sermon on 1 Peter 2, 24. He himself 
bore our sins in his own body on the tree. But I want to touch 
on these because they are surveying the cross and they fit with the 
Lord's Supper. So let's look at that tonight. 
The final two points we'll look at tonight, divine proclamation 
and divine proficiency. with regards to the cross. But 
let's close with this. As you prepare yourself to observe 
the Lord's Supper this evening, what are the things that you 
dwell upon in preparation? Have I been obedient to Jesus 
this week? Have I read my Bible enough? 
Did I miss a day? You know, what will, you know, 
people think if I don't take? You know, have I, have I been 
faithful enough? Have I been loyal enough? Have 
I, you know, Paul does command us to examine ourselves. But 
what's the point of the Lord's Supper? Do this in remembrance 
of me. The command of the Lord's Supper doesn't assume and doesn't 
ask for sinlessness. Again, or no one will be able 
to take. Are you believing and are you 
seeking to repent of sin? Take the Lord's Supper. Take 
the Lord's Supper. You don't take it in an unworthy 
manner. First of all, you don't take it drunk and seeking to 
go in front of others. But also, if you're not dealing 
with sin, sure. If you're not dealing with sin 
and you're unrepentant, well, repent. That doesn't mean leave 
and go through a three-month process of self-atonement. Repent 
of your sins and take the Lord's Supper. Repent. When we sin, we have an advocate 
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. His blood cleanses 
us from all iniquity. We don't take sin lightly, but 
we take the sacrifice for sin so heavily. So heavily. If you have sinned, repent. Find 
forgiveness with Christ and do what he commanded. Take the Lord's 
Supper. Do this in remembrance of me. But the point I was trying 
to get to, when we prepare ourselves to take the Lord's Supper, dwell 
upon these glorious truths of the gospel. His body broken for 
us and his blood shed for us is a reality before the foundation 
of the world. It was a reality promised. It 
was a reality providentially accomplished. It was a reality 
performed by the divine person, the second of the blessed triune 
God. And as we'll see tonight, it is divinely proclaimed and 
it is something of divine proficiency. But remember and dwell upon and 
call to mind the glorious truths of Holy Scripture as they pertain 
to the cross and with rejoicing, mingled with great, sincere seriousness, 
take the Lord's Supper and observe and remember the Lord Jesus who 
broke his body for us and who shed his blood for us. And if 
you're here this morning and you know Christ, if you're a 
believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, these are the things that we 
are so often to call from the repository of our hearts and 
to dwell upon. Isn't it? When we want to find 
peace, and when our minds want to be satisfied, and when we 
want to fill ourselves consciously with information, what should 
we do? We should think about Jesus, 
shouldn't we? Shouldn't we meditate upon the Lord Jesus Christ? We're 
not going to take pennies and nickels and dimes into the eschaton. We're not going to take, you 
know, what are they called? Nintendo DSs into the eschaton. I'm not saying these things are 
sinful. Hopefully you get my point. We're not going to take 
magazines and, you know, televisions and computers and Roberto Luongo 
into the eschaton. We're going to take Jesus Christ 
with us into the eschaton the abiding efficacy of the saving 
work of Jesus is the reason for the eschaton and is the subject 
matter of our praises in the eschaton so probably that's heaven 
by the way the Emmanuel's land the glorious paradise that we 
enter into so while on earth before entering heaven dwell 
upon the riches and the excellencies of Jesus Christ seen at the cross 
and And finally, if you're here this morning and you know not 
Jesus, if you're here this morning and you don't believe in Him, 
you need to know John 3.36. You need to know many other texts 
that speak to this reality, but John 3.36 does. He who believes 
in Christ has life. What does that mean, he who believes 
in Christ? Well, 1 Corinthians 15 tells 
us that he who believes that he died for our sins according 
to the Scriptures, And He rose again the third day according 
to the scriptures. If you believe the gospel message, 
you will be saved. He who believes the Son has life, 
but he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the 
wrath of God abides on him. And I don't think it's stressed 
enough, the seriousness and the gravity of hell. And we don't 
have eight and a half hours to talk about that. But the lot 
for those who do not believe in Jesus Christ is hell. You 
take your memories with you, don't you? You take your mind 
with you in hell. God doesn't remove your mind 
and you just sit there in darkness and coldness, lobotomized. You have your mind in there. 
Kids, adults, you'll take the memories of preachers proclaiming 
the gospel with you into hell. You'll take the memories of mother 
and father with tears, with pleadings, The authority of God calling 
you to repent and believe in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness 
of sins and everlasting life. You'll take that with you. No 
reprieve. No solace. No peace. No second 
chance. Today is the day of salvation. 
Do not tarry. Do not dangle. Do not wait for 
a better day when you've experienced the passing pleasures of sins 
and you've exhausted the You've exhausted the fount of depravity, 
now I'll believe. No. You believe the Lord Jesus 
Christ and you shall be saved. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, 
we thank you for the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank 
you, Lord God, for what it discloses. Your word discloses concerning 
the cross, concerning your divine purpose and the perfection of 
your plan, the fact that your revelation from Genesis to Malachi 
speaks concerning the cross, and then certainly from Matthew 
to Revelation speaks concerning the accomplished cross work of 
Jesus Christ. And we thank you that in time 
and in history you did providentially and perfectly accomplish the 
cross, the perfect salvation that it brings to your people. 
We pray, Lord God, that you would help us to always have hearts 
that seek to dwell and to meditate upon the truths of Holy Scripture, 
upon specifically those things as they pertain to the cross, 
that salvation would be foremost in our minds, that Jesus Christ 
and salvation by him would be foremost in our minds, that we 
would be dwelling upon that and finding all that we need for 
joy and spiritual blessing in that. We just pray that you'd 
go with us as we seek to prepare for the Lord's Supper, that you 
would help us, Lord God, to meditate upon our Lord Jesus Christ, whose 
body broken for us and his blood shed for us. that we might, Lord 
God, rejoice in these things, and that we might take of the 
Lord's supper in obedience, in joyful obedience, to our Lord 
Christ's command. Go with us now. Help us to glory 
in the cross and to live in light of it. And might all that we 
do be done unto your glory and unto the praise of your name. 
And it's in Christ's name that we do pray. Amen.