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Well you can turn with me in 
your confession of faith to chapter 8 as we conclude our study in 
the section of Christ the mediator. So Cam dealt with the person 
of Christ, I'll deal with the work of Christ, so I'll pick 
up reading in chapter 8 at paragraph 4. Chapter 8, paragraph 4, I'll 
read to the end of the chapter and then we'll look at this in 
some detail. So beginning in paragraph 4, this office the 
Lord Jesus did most willingly undertake, which that He might 
discharge He was made under the law, and did perfectly fulfill 
it, and underwent the punishment due to us, which we should have 
borne and suffered. being made sin and a curse for 
us, enduring most grievous sorrows in his soul and most painful 
sufferings in his body, was crucified and died and remained in the 
state of the dead, yet saw no corruption. On the third day 
he arose from the dead with the same body in which he suffered, 
with which he also ascended into heaven. And there sitteth at 
the right hand of his father, making intercession, and shall 
return to judge men and angels at the end of the world. The 
Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, which 
he through the eternal spirit once offered up unto God, hath 
fully satisfied the justice of God, procured reconciliation, 
and purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of 
heaven for all those whom the Father hath given unto him. Although 
the price of redemption was not actually paid by Christ till 
after His incarnation, yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefit 
thereof were communicated to the elect in all ages successively, 
from the beginning of the world, in and by those promises, types, 
and sacrifices wherein He was revealed, and signified to be 
the seed of the woman which should bruise the serpent's head, and 
the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world, being the same 
yesterday, and today, and forever. Christ, in the work of mediation, 
acteth according to both natures, by each nature doing that 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. 
To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, 
He doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, 
making intercession for them, uniting them to Himself by His 
Spirit, revealing unto them, in and by the Word, the mystery 
of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey, governing 
their hearts by His Word and Spirit, and overcoming all their 
enemies by His almighty power and wisdom. in such manner and 
ways as are most consonant to his wonderful and unsearchable 
dispensation, and all of free and absolute grace, without any 
condition foreseen in them to procure it. This office of mediator 
between God and man is proper only to Christ, who is the prophet, 
priest, and king of the church of God, and may not be either 
in whole or any part thereof transferred from him to any other. 
This number and order of offices is necessary. For in respect 
of our ignorance, we stand in need of his prophetical office. 
And in respect of our alienation from God and imperfection of 
the best of our services, we need his priestly office to reconcile 
us and present us acceptable unto God. and in respect of our 
averseness and utter inability to return to God, and for our 
rescue and security from our spiritual adversaries, we need 
His kingly office to convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, 
and preserve us to His heavenly kingdom. Amen." Well, as we consider 
the chapter as a whole, we noted in chapter 8, paragraph 1, pre-temporal 
appointment of the mediator. In other words, it sets out in 
a general overarching statement the plan and purpose of God, 
the Father, through the work of His Son, to be the mediator 
of the elect. And so chapter 8, paragraph 1, 
gives us a covenantal context. And that covenant would be the 
covenant of redemption, that pre-temporal, intra-Trinitarian 
covenant between the persons of the Godhead to save God's 
people from their sins. And then you have, secondly, 
the historical revelation of the Mediator in paragraphs 2 
to 8. So you have the incarnation of 
the Mediator in paragraph 2. It answers the question how this 
One, the Word, the Son of God, became man for us and for our 
salvation. It deals with what we call in 
theology the hypostatic union, the union of the two natures 
in the one person of our Lord Jesus Christ. And then paragraph 
3 takes up the anointing of the mediator. So now that Christ 
has assumed our humanity, the Spirit fits Him for the particular 
work of mediation, and that's what you see there in paragraph 
3. So Christ is the one appropriate 
and suitable to carry out the demands of the covenant of redemption, 
in another covenantal context called the covenant of grace. 
So he is the one appointed by God to save his people from their 
sins. And then in paragraphs 4 to 8, 
you have the work of the mediator. And we'll get into that in some 
detail in a moment. But then in paragraph 9, you 
have the exclusivity of Christ as the mediator. In other words, 
this office is unique to him alone. It's not that it's shared 
by the Pope of Rome, it's not shared by any Protestant Pope 
in his or her—not her, well, shouldn't be a her—but in his 
or her church. Unfortunately, that's the context 
in which we live. And then in paragraph 10, you 
see sort of an elaboration or a further description of what 
we call the threefold office of the mediator. So Christ as 
mediator functions as a prophet, priest, and king. It's introduced 
throughout the entirety of the chapter, but then it's given 
some detailed description there, specifically in paragraph 10, 
on how it is that we need what Christ brings to the table in 
terms of our salvation from sin. So look back to paragraphs 4 
to 8. You see, first, the historical 
description in paragraph 4, the specific operation in paragraph 
5, the retroactive application in paragraph 6. Paragraph 7, 
Cam already dealt with this. This is referred to as the communication 
of idioms or properties. And then in paragraph 8, you 
have the effectual application of Christ's work on behalf of 
his people. So basically what we have is 
the identification of the mediator. He is the word made flesh. We have the appointment of the 
mediator. He is the one set apart by the 
Holy Spirit to do that work of being a prophet, priest, and 
king. And then now this description of what he does specifically 
relative to that threefold office in terms of his work on our behalf. So look at paragraph four, and 
you notice in the first place the voluntary assumption of his 
work. This office the Lord Jesus did 
most willingly undertake. I think we've seen that very 
conspicuously in John's Gospel. Jesus doesn't come kicking and 
screaming and opposed to his Father's will in the manner of 
the redemption of the elect. He does it most willingly. In 
fact, you can turn to John's Gospel, John chapter 10, where 
we see that willingness on the part of the Word of God to lay 
down His life for the sheep. In John chapter 10, specifically 
at verse 17, the Lord Jesus says, Therefore my Father loves me, 
because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one takes 
it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay 
it down, and I have power to take it again. This command I 
have received from my Father." So there's both a God-word and 
a man-word aspect in terms of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. 
On the one hand, relative or related to His Father in terms 
of the covenant of redemption, He wants to carry out and He's 
resolved to carry out the work that the Father gave Him. But 
the man-word application is really encouraging for the saint of 
Christ. He comes willingly to save us from our sin. And I think 
that should help us and encourage us when it comes to sharing the 
gospel, or evangelism, or preaching the gospel. We ought to realize 
that God is not opposed to the salvation of sinners. God is 
in the business of the salvation of sinners. And if we preach 
sort of a hesitancy on the part of God, or we preach sort of 
a sluggishness on the part of God, we're not genuinely reflecting 
the Scripture. The overarching theme, the scope 
of the whole, is God's glory in the salvation of His people 
through the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So when 
we preach Christ lived, Christ died, Christ was raised again, 
believe on Him and you will be saved, we do that understanding 
the larger context from Genesis to Revelation that God has demonstrated 
His heart towards sinners. He wants to save, He has purpose 
to save. And it's not just a handful, 
it's not just the frozen chosen, but it's a great multitude that 
no man can number. So the willingness of our Savior, 
the voluntary assumption of His work, ought to encourage the 
saint of Christ, both in his own life and heart, and as well 
in his desire to evangelize others with reference to the gospel. 
And then notice what the confession does here, it appeals to what 
we call in theology the threefold state of Christ. We've got the 
threefold office of Christ, prophet, priest, and king, but there's 
a threefold state. We consider Christ pre-incarnate, 
the Word before He became flesh. Now when we talk about before 
with reference to an eternal and infinite God, that's to accommodate 
us. There's no before with Jesus, 
there's no during with Jesus in terms of you know, creatureliness, 
and there's no after. But when it comes to our approach 
to theology, we see the pre-incarnate state of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
He was in heaven, and then he comes down, not by sort of a 
local motion, but by the assumption of our humanity. And then we 
have what's called the state of humiliation. And in the state 
of humiliation, we see the assumption of our humanity with all of the 
essential properties thereof and the common infirmities and 
yet without sin. So when he assumes our humanity, 
he is then vulnerable to those things that affect true humanity. 
He hungers, he thirsts, he sorrows, he suffers, he bleeds, he dies. 
So we refer to that as the state of humiliation. And then the 
third state is the state of exaltation. So after the resurrection from 
the dead, or the resurrection from the dead is included in 
that state of exaltation, he then ascends on high. He leads 
captivity. Captivity gives gifts to men. 
And we refer to that state as the state of exaltation, but 
we also refer to it as the session, or the current session, where 
Christ rules and reigns at the right hand of the Father. He 
ever lives to make intercession for us. He functions as our advocate 
with the Father. He is our blessed friend and 
Savior and King and Lord. So, he willingly undertakes this, 
and then the state of humiliation is described. Which that he might 
discharge, he was made under the law. And of course, Galatians 
3 is in the background there. Or Galatians 4, in the fullness 
of the times, God sent forth his son, born of a woman and 
born under the law. Why was he born under the law? 
To redeem those who were under the law. In other words, he had 
to assume our humanity in order to obey for us as a public person. And so this state of humility 
demanded that he be made under the law. And he did perfectly 
fulfill it. Later on, the confession is going 
to celebrate the active and passive obedience of the Lord Jesus. 
And as I've explained many times, we need his death on the cross 
and the blood shed there to cleanse us and to forgive us. But we 
need his life of obedience in order to provide that cloak of 
righteousness wherein we can be accepted by God. In other 
words, we need a perfect and exact and an entire obedience 
to God's law. Well, we don't have the wherewithal 
to do that, because in Adam all die, in Christ all shall be made 
alive. So one of the glorious things 
about the doctrine of justification is that were cleansed in his 
precious blood and clothed in his wonderful righteousness. 
And so that's why he did perfectly fulfill it. In other words, it 
wasn't simply an example. Oh, let's look at Jesus and how 
he lived, and let's go thou and do likewise. Now, I'm not suggesting 
we should go and do contrary, but that's not the primary referent 
or the primary emphasis in the life and obedience of our blessed 
Savior. He's a public person representing 
those whom the Father gave him So he must obey Godwardly and 
manwardly for us to have that righteousness by which we are 
accepted by the Father. So we have this state of humiliation 
he's made under the law. He did perfectly fulfill it. 
No blemish, no spot. No nothing. Remember when we 
went through Leviticus chapters 21 and 22. The emphasis in chapter 
21 is on the fitness of the priest, the impurity of the priest, the 
cleanliness of the priest, or the holiness of the priest. And 
then in Leviticus chapter 22, you see, in addition to that, 
the perfection or the blemishness, a blemish freeness of the animal 
that was to be sacrificed. Well, in Leviticus 21 and 22, 
God, through Moses, is preaching the gospel of Jesus to us by 
types and shadows and prefigurement, to be sure, but we need the Savior 
to perfectly fulfill that righteousness. Notice it continues in terms 
of the state of humiliation, and underwent the punishment 
due to us, which we should have borne and suffered, being made 
sin and a curse for us. So again, the accent falls on 
both aspects of the obedience of Jesus Christ, the active and 
the passive. We need that life of perfect 
fulfillment of God's law, and we need that death on Calvary's 
cross, and that's precisely what's being highlighted here. If you 
turn over to chapter 11, Specifically paragraph 1, if you look at just 
about the middle of the paragraph, the confession again picks up 
this sort of a motif to encourage us relative to the doctrine of 
justification. So it tells us that God justifies. It tells us how He doesn't do 
this. And then it tells us specifically 
how he does do this, but by imputing Christ's active obedience unto 
the whole law and passive obedience in his death for their whole 
and soul righteousness. They receiving and resting on 
him and his righteousness by faith, which faith they have 
not of themselves, it is the gift of God. I think it's good 
to note here the consistency and the systematic nature of 
the confession of faith that holds together. You don't have 
a paragraph 8 without a paragraph 2. You don't have a paragraph 
11 without a paragraph 8. You don't have the application 
of the redemptive benefit of Christ in paragraphs 10 to 18 
without the paragraphs before that. So it's a systematic presentation 
of Christian doctrine that does hold together. So it's kind of 
disingenuous to say, well, yeah, I'm a 1689 Reformed Baptist, 
but there's these large swaths of the confession that I just 
don't accept. Well, it's like a house of cards. 
You pull out one, and all of it topples. This document holds 
together. And that's one of the reasons 
why we use it in our church, not insofar as it is biblical, 
but because it is biblical. It reflects accurately the teaching 
of Scripture, and even the words that are used with reference 
to the composition of the various chapters show us or demonstrate, 
or you can hear in the background, the Scriptural statements that 
it's weaving together to present this doctrinal truth. So He perfectly 
fulfills the law, He is punished for us. And again, notice that 
statement in paragraph 4, being made sin and a curse for us. 
2 Corinthians 5.21, God the Father made Him, God the Son, who knew 
no sin, to be sin for us. We ought never to disregard the 
language there of for us. God is for us, not the heathen 
that's going to be perishing or the reprobate. There is a 
particularity about the redeeming work of Jesus Christ. It's limited 
atonement, not limited in terms of its power and efficacy, but 
limited in terms of its objects. The Lord God Most High has purpose 
to save a great multitude, and it's those that will be saved. 
They are saved effectively, they are saved efficaciously, they 
are saved definitively by the work of the Savior on our behalf. 
Again, if we think back to the book of Leviticus, on that day 
of atonement, when the high priest went into the Holy of Holies 
and poured out blood on the mercy seat, He wasn't doing that for 
the Hivites. He wasn't doing that for the 
Hittites. He wasn't doing that for the 
Egyptians. He was doing that for the Israel of God. When he 
goes to lay his hands upon that scapegoat, he confesses not the 
sins of the Canaanites, but he confesses the sins of Israel. 
And if you look specifically at John 17, you're still there 
in John 10, you see the particularity involved in Christ's priestly 
work. And when he says in chapter 17, 
verse 9, he says, I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, 
but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. So the 
two aspects of priestly service is intercession and sacrifice. Intercession is the act of prayer. 
And so if we can affirm the particularity of Christ or the limitedness 
of Christ's prayer for the elect only, then it makes perfectly 
sense, by good and necessary consequence, that the act of 
sacrifice was particular. It was limited. It was definite. It was applicable, not to the 
world, but with reference to those whom the Father had given 
him out of the world. So back to paragraph four, we 
have that substitutionary emphasis and then a bit of a further description 
of what the Son of Man went through. Enduring most grievous sorrows 
in his soul and most painful sufferings in his body. Remember 
when Cam came to describe or define personhood. Personhood 
is the reality that a person has a body and a reasonable soul. So, all that has gone before 
this builds up and takes us to this particular point. So, we 
ask the question, how could the second person of the Trinity 
do what He does on our behalf? Well, the answer is, paragraph 
2, He takes on our humanity. Paragraph 3, He's anointed for 
the work by the Spirit. And here in paragraph 4, the 
details. He was crucified, he died, he remained in the state 
of the dead, yet saw no corruption. On the third day he arose from 
the dead. So now we moved into the state of exaltation. So we 
move from humiliation to exaltation. On the third day he arose from 
the dead with the same body in which he suffered. Some of the 
beautiful aspects of the hypostatic union, when Christ assumes our 
humanity, when He takes to Himself a human nature, that's how we 
will see Him. That's how we will witness Him. 
That's how we will view Him. He is indeed, now the Word became 
flesh. And so, with the same body in 
which he suffered. I think this is helpful, too, 
relative to us dying. And the latter chapters of the 
Confession deal with what's called eschatology, or the doctrine 
of the last things. And it talks about us being raised 
with the selfsame bodies. There is a continuousness about 
what we were and what we are in the age to come. And one of 
the continuousnesses is that we have the self-same body. We're 
not going to be Brad Pitt after we're in that state of glorification. We're still going to be 5'9". 
We're still going to be, you know, I don't know what our feeble 
and weakness will look like in that state, but it's important 
that we understand. So when Christ is raised from 
the dead, He's not a phantom, He's not an apparition. There 
is continuity between what goes into the grave and what comes 
out of the grave. Now, he's glorified, certainly, 
he's glorified when he comes out of the grave, but he has 
this selfsame body, with the same body in which he suffered, 
and then continuing with the state of exaltation, with which 
he also ascended into heaven. And there sitteth at the right 
hand of his father, making intercession, and shall return to judge men 
and angels at the end of the world. So we have here this description, 
historic description, of the work of Christ in summary fashion 
as to all of the particular details. So the one described in paragraph 
1, the one described in paragraphs 2 and 3, is the one who has come 
to fulfill that covenant with his Father, that one who has 
come to fulfill that covenant with his people in order to save 
them from their sins. And then we see the specific 
operation or central operation. It gets, again, more detail. 
You find that in confession. You get a general statement and 
then further elaboration. A general statement and then 
more description and more concrete application of it. And so here 
in paragraph 5, it speaks specifically concerning his sacrifice. So 
if in the very beginning part of paragraph four, the accent 
falls on his righteousness in terms of active obedience, here 
we see the specific emphasis on his death. So in paragraph 
five, the Lord Jesus, by his perfect obedience and sacrifice 
of himself. So again, this answers the question, 
how could the death of one man result in the salvation of a 
great multitude that no man can number? That's not just a rhetorical 
question I'm offering up. That's been a question throughout 
the ages. When we speak of Christ and we 
speak of the redemptive benefit of Christ, we tell that to a 
heathen or to a pagan, I think it's probably pretty natural 
for them to respond with the question, well, how does that 
work? How could it be that one man could do such that he did 
in order to bring salvation for a great multitude of men? So 
that's what the Confession highlights now. The Lord Jesus, by His perfect 
obedience and sacrifice of Himself, again, active obedience, passive 
obedience, which He, through the eternal Spirit, once offered 
up unto God. That language is reminiscent 
of Hebrews 9.14. Again, when you listen to the confession 
as it's being read or as you're reading itself, the proof texts 
are certainly helpful, but the biblical language that's employed 
that is put together in such a way to present the doctrinal 
sort of position is very helpful, because I think that's a fallacy 
that's that sort of caricatures the Reformed. Oh, you just impose 
all these categories on the text of Scripture. You impose all 
of these things upon the text of Scripture. No, these guys 
weren't imposing anything on the Scripture. They read the 
Scripture. They exegeted the Scripture. They formulated Christian 
doctrine from the Scripture. And then they articulated that 
doctrine in wonderful confessions of faith. So the Lord Jesus, 
by his perfect obedience and sacrifice of himself, which he 
through the eternal spirit once offered up unto God, hath fully 
satisfied the justice of God. We typically prefer the language 
of atonement in our day, but the older boys seem to use the 
language of satisfaction. Both of them are connected, not 
to say that atonement doesn't sort of assume satisfaction. But this is where it's at. the 
satisfaction of divine justice. Turn to Romans chapter 3. Romans 
chapter 3, you'll know the passage, Paul summarizes the universal 
depravity of all men, their liability to the judgment of God most high. 
He starts this sort of argument in chapter 1 verse 18, he concludes 
it in chapter 3 at verse 20 when he says, therefore by the deeds 
of the law no flesh will be justified in his sight, for by the law 
is the knowledge of sin. Well, he's going to go on now 
to justification by faith alone. He's going to give us the specifics 
in terms of how God saves sinners through and by Jesus Christ. So in chapters 3, 4, and 5, sort 
of the emphasis is upon justification by faith. How is it? that God 
does what God does. So we certainly read those chapters 
because we want to see the benefits procured by Christ for us. We want to see the man-word referent 
and how what Jesus accomplishes on our behalf impacts us, how 
it brings salvation, how it brings forgiveness, how it brings a 
righteousness that avails with God. But before Paul deals with 
the man-word effect, he first deals with God. And he does that, 
notice in verse 21, but now the righteousness of God, apart from 
the law, is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets. 
In other words, this isn't a new thing. This is in the law, it's 
in the prophets. Genesis 15, 6, that first declaration 
of justification by faith alone, Abraham believed God and it was 
accounted to him for righteousness. David is another example in chapter 
4. Then notice, even the righteousness 
of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who 
believe. For there is no difference, for 
all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified 
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ 
Jesus. Now notice, he wants us to show that God's justice has 
been satisfied. In other words, when we come 
to the Lord Jesus Christ, it's not because God waved a magic 
wand and said, you know, I'm just not going to concern myself 
with your sins anymore. I'm just not going to care whatsoever 
about your sins anymore. No, the glory of the cross is 
not only that it proclaims the love of God. the grace and the 
mercy of God, but it proclaims the justice and the righteousness 
of God. And so when we read in our confession, 
we'll get back to Romans in just a moment, when it says, he hath 
fully satisfied the justice of God, Paul is keen to express 
that. And incidentally, as you think 
through this with me, think about 1 John 1, 9. If we confess our 
sins, He is loving to forgive us of our sins. That's not what 
it says. He is loving and He does forgive 
us, but He's faithful in what? Just to forgive us of our sins. Well, why can John say that? Because of the cross. It publicizes, 
it demonstrates, it manifests how God can be both just and 
the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. He doesn't 
sacrifice his righteousness, he doesn't sacrifice his justice, 
he doesn't sacrifice his law. but he orchestrates the gospel 
in such a way that Christ satisfies divine justice. He upholds the 
glory of the law. He demonstrates the majesty of 
God most high. So notice in verse 25, whom God 
set forth as a propitiation by his blood through faith. Now 
that word propitiation is a beautiful Bible word. It has to do or it 
assumes or presupposes the wrath of God. God is angry with the 
wicked every day. Romans chapter 5 speaks about 
the enmity between us and God. And in Romans 5, it's not our 
hatred for God, but God's enmity toward us. And so propitiation 
assumes wrath, and propitiation is the vehicle by which that 
wrath or that justice is satisfied. So Christ doesn't just come as 
an example to the cross. Christ comes as a propitiation. Christ is the mercy seat. Christ 
is the one that satisfies divine justice through his own death. 
So going on, notice, whom God set forth as a propitiation by 
his blood through faith to demonstrate, again, not his love. It does, 
but not here. To demonstrate his righteousness 
because in his forbearance, God had passed over the sins that 
were previously committed. I don't believe that means he 
waved a wand over Old Covenant citizens. I believe it refers 
to the fact that Christ was always the plan and purpose of God to 
take away the sin of the world. And in the Old Covenant, they 
were looking forward. In the Old Covenant, they were 
looking to the Messiah who would come. And you'll see that as 
we move through the Confession. So he's not passing over in the 
sense of it no longer exists, but he is not requiting vengeance 
upon each and every individual sinner with the thought or the 
mindset that Christ is going to come and atone for those sins. His forbearance, because in His 
forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously 
committed, notice again, to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, 
that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has 
faith in Jesus. It is a most wonderful and glorious 
thing. And then notice in chapter four 
at verse five, but to him who does not work, but believes on 
him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness. So God justifies the ungodly. God demonstrates his righteousness. God demonstrates his justice 
in the cross. And so back to paragraph five, 
he hath fully satisfied the justice of God. And in so doing, we have 
the benefits that accrue as a result of that. He procured reconciliation. Again, reconciliation assumes 
a disconnect. It assumes that there are two 
factions or two parties that need to come together. You know, 
if you've ever had a marital spat, I don't want to assume 
that, but you might need to reconcile. Well, you do need to reconcile. 
And there is a spat between us and the Most High because of 
our sin. So Christ procured reconciliation 
and purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of 
heaven for all those whom the Father hath given unto Him. Again, 
you don't see any ambiguity, you don't see any hopefully, 
we don't see any possibly. We see efficacy. We see power. We see the demonstration of God's 
purpose and plan in the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ. 
He hasn't provided an atonement that may possibly save if you 
flip the light of faith on. It may possibly save if you clean 
up your act. It may possibly save if you start 
going to church, if you start reading your Bible, if you start 
giving to the poor. It might possibly save you. No, 
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ most assuredly saves those whom 
the Father had given Him. So it's a wonderful statement 
concerning the power of the gospel in terms of the salvation of 
his people. And then paragraph six speaks 
of the retrospective benefit. Because again, the question might 
be asked, well, what about Abel? What about Abraham? What about 
Isaac? What about Jacob? What about 
David? What about Daniel? What about Ezekiel? What about 
Isaiah? How did they enter into heaven? Well, they entered into 
heaven the same way that we do. By grace alone, through faith 
alone, in Christ alone. He procured reconciliation, paragraph 
5, and he purchased an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of 
heaven for all those whom the Father hath given unto him. Well, 
God gave Abel to the Lord Jesus. God gave Abraham to the Son. God gave Isaac to the Son. God 
gave David to the Son. And so paragraph 6 deals with 
that. Notice. Although the price of 
redemption was not actually paid by Christ till after His incarnation, 
yet the virtue, efficacy, and benefit thereof were communicated 
to the elect in all ages, successively from the beginning of the world, 
in and by those promises, types, and sacrifices wherein He was 
revealed, and signified to be the seed of the woman which should 
bruise the serpent's head. and the Lamb slain from the foundation 
of the world being the same yesterday and today and forever." So again, 
the way that the old covenant saints entered into the presence 
of God was the way of the cross. So they looked forward and that 
faith was connected or furthered on or fed by promises, types, 
and sacrifices. So in Genesis chapter 22, when 
Abraham takes Isaac up to Mount Moriah to sacrifice his son, 
his only son, the son whom he loves, that was a prefigurement, 
it was a type. When Abraham says to Isaac, the 
Lord will provide That's not chump change, brethren. Abraham 
is preaching the gospel there. And he understands that to the 
degree that God had revealed it by the Spirit. And then when 
that lamb is caught in the, or that ram is caught in the thicket, 
that preaches Christ. Leviticus 21 and 22. It's not 
just a bunch of antiquated sort of barbaric rituals and rites 
celebrated by an ancient people. The book of Leviticus is all 
about Jesus. The book of Leviticus points 
us forward to the priestly office of Christ, both in intercession 
and sacrifice. It points us forward to the need 
for the shedding of blood, without which there is no remission. 
And so the old covenant saints, they were believing on the Lord 
Jesus Christ through the promises, through the types, through the 
sacrifices wherein Christ was revealed. And notice it attaches 
it to that first gospel promise in Genesis chapter 3 at verse 
15. And signified to be the seed 
of the woman which should bruise the serpent's head. So Genesis 
3.15 is the proto-evangel. It's the first giving of the 
gospel. And then that ball is further down the field by the 
promises, by the types, by the sacrifices, until the fullness 
of the time had come, when God sent forth His Son, born of a 
woman, born under the law. So when John the Baptist in John 
129 says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of 
the world, he is speaking a wonderful mouthful of biblically good theology. There's the one that God had 
promised through the promises, through the types, and through 
the sacrifices. He has come, and he has come 
to save his people from their sin. So there's this retrospective 
application. You turn to Hebrews 9, it gives 
you that in one summary statement, Hebrews chapter 9. I mean, all of the other proof 
texts there for sure do that, but notice in Hebrews chapter 
9, specifically at verse 15, in a book that is highly charged 
with making a distinction between the Old and the New Covenants. 
The Old Covenant is now obsolete, not because it was bad, but because 
Christ fulfilled it. Now the New Covenant has come, 
which affords better promises, a better hope, and brings us 
a better surety. So in Hebrews 9, 15, he says, 
and for this reason, he is the mediator of the new covenant 
by means of death for the redemption of the transgressions under the 
first covenant. Again, the question might come 
up, well, if we render obsolete the old covenant, there might 
not be any hope for us as the Jewish people. No, the hope was 
always connected to the mediator of the new covenant. The hope 
was always connected to the one who would come in the fullness 
of the times. that those who are called may receive the promise 
of the eternal inheritance." Again, language that makes its 
way conspicuously into chapter 8 in terms of the description 
of the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. So the retrospective 
application is indicated there in paragraph 6, communication 
of idioms in paragraph 7, and basically what that means is 
that when you have the hypostatic union, the one person, two natures, 
you can go from nature to person, but you can't go from nature 
to nature. You can, whatever is true of the nature, you can 
predicate of the person. But you can't predicate what 
is true of one nature to the other nature, because then you 
divinize humanity and you humanize divinity, and that is a misstep. So whatever is true of the humanity 
of Jesus, he suffered, he sorrowed, he hungered, he died, we can 
say of the person of Christ. Whatever is true of the divinity, 
He's infinite, He's eternal, He's unchangeable, we can say 
of the person of Christ. And that's what paragraph 7 is 
telling us. But you can't say of His human 
nature that it's infinite. You can't say of His human nature 
that it is omnipresent. And this looms large in discussions 
concerning the Lord's Supper with reference to Roman Catholicism, 
with reference to Lutheranism, and with reference to the Reform. 
Because what Roman Catholics do and Lutherans do, but to a 
lesser degree, is that they divinize the humanity. They say that Christ 
is physically present. His body and blood are physically 
present at the supper. But that's not a property of 
true humanity. That is not something that true 
humanity can do. True humanity is not omnipresent. And so if we divinize his humanity, 
then his humanity is no longer our humanity, and there is no 
salvation for us. Whatever is assumed is healed. If he doesn't assume our humanity 
with all of its weaknesses and intrinsicness or creatureliness 
and limitations, then we have no salvation. So that's what 
paragraph 7 is doing, and as I've said before, we owe a lot 
to Cyril of Alexandria for an emphasis this way. There were 
other fathers that dealt with this prior, but Cyril seemed 
to come along and just hammer it out in a very wonderful way. And then in paragraph 8, you 
see the effectual application of all that has gone before. 
So in other words, paragraphs four to six tell us how great 
what he does is. Paragraph eight tells us that 
it's applied to all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal 
redemption. Again, it's not sort of ambiguous, 
it's not vague, it's not just sort of put out there that, you 
know, hopefully this happens, hopefully you'll, you know, click 
your fingers and exercise your faith and you'll come into saving 
union with the Lord Jesus. I praise God that our salvation 
doesn't hang upon our free will, doesn't hang upon our decisions, 
doesn't hang upon our deliberations. Well, we've surveyed the data, 
and yes, I think I'll give my heart to Jesus. That's not how 
the Bible describes it. God makes men willing in the 
day of His power. God Most High effectually applies 
the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus. And that's underscored 
there in paragraph 8. So the object of His work is 
to all those. To all those for whom Christ 
hath obtained eternal redemption. Notice the essence of his work 
is described, "...he doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate 
the same, making intercession for them, uniting them to himself 
by his Spirit, revealing unto them in and by the Word the mystery 
of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey." governing 
their hearts by His Word and Spirit, and overcoming all their 
enemies by His almighty power and wisdom, in such manner and 
ways as are most consonant to His wonderful and unsearchable 
dispensation, and all of free and absolute grace, without any 
condition foreseen in them to procure it." So in case you missed 
it, the divines are saying it's particular. It's limited. It's 
definite. It's not based on foreseen conditions 
in the sinner. God doesn't look down the tunnel 
of time and say, hey, Joe Smith is going to believe the gospel, 
so I'm going to go ahead and elect him for salvation. That 
gets it absolutely backwards. It does not reflect the teaching 
of the apostle in Romans 8. You can turn there. Romans 8, 
specifically at verse 28. Romans 8 verse 28, and we know 
that all things work together for good to those who love God, 
and then notice the language, to those who are the called according 
to his purpose. For whom he foreknew. Now, it 
may be obscure or it may be a little detail, but notice it's not for 
what he foreknew. For what he foreknew. The what 
would be, oh yeah, this Joe Smith is going to believe, this Joe 
Smith is going to repent. No, no. The foreknowledge here 
isn't looking down the tunnel of time and then basing the eternal 
decree on what may or may not happen. Foreknowledge here speaks 
to love. It speaks to affection. It speaks 
to God's good pleasure resting upon a needy sinner. So, for 
whom he foreknew. He also predestined to be conformed 
to the image of his son, that he might be the firstborn among 
many brethren. Moreover, whom he predestined, 
these he also called. Whom he called, these he also 
justified. And whom he justified, these 
he also glorified." Again, there's no vagueness there. There's no 
sort of universality there. Well, you know, if you find yourself 
having aspirations for Christianity, you find yourselves in a difficult 
situation, and you decide, you dig down deep, and you decide 
you're going to believe on Jesus, well, then all these benefits 
accrue. No, these benefits are there 
purchased by the Lord Jesus for those, for those, for those. Look at Acts chapter 13, Acts 
chapter 13. Again, this idea that he looks 
down the tunnel of time and based on what Joe Smith does is how 
God decrees all things is exactly backwards. Acts chapter 13, specifically 
at verse 48. Now when the Gentiles heard this, 
they were glad and glorified the word of the Lord. And as 
many as had been appointed to eternal life, believed. Notice 
it is not they believed and then were appointed to eternal life. 
We believe because we have been, by grace, appointed to eternal 
life. We don't become appointed to 
eternal life because we exercise our free will and believe. No, 
it's exactly the opposite. All that the Father gives me 
will come to me, John 6, 37. And the one who comes to me I 
will in no wise cast out. So there's a heavy emphasis on 
this work of God in the salvation of needy sinners, which we ought 
to be very thankful for as needy sinners. If God does not, purpose, 
and plan, and determined to save us from our sins, we're not going 
to be saved. So without the efficacy of God's 
grace, there is no salvation. And so the confession continually 
reiterates that. And then notice, paragraph 9, 
I want to run through this somewhat quickly so we can complete it, 
the exclusivity of Christ as the mediator. Paragraph 9, this 
office of mediator between God and man is proper only to Christ. It is proper only to Christ. It's not proper, again, to the 
Pope of Rome and to the popes in Protestantism. I think one 
of the good arguments, just by way of a corollary for a confession 
of faith, is to protect us from Protestant popery. Protestant 
popery is when a man and his Bible determines the life of 
the church. Well, the man becomes a pope. I mean, he doesn't wear the hat 
and have the big stick and, you know, look weird like Francis 
does, but nevertheless, they're their own popes. They're their 
own papas. They're the governors in their 
local bodies. So for Protestants to recoil 
with horror at Romanism because they've got a pope, we need to 
start looking at our own neighborhood. I mean, there's a lot of popes 
in Protestantism that if you defy them, or you go against 
them, or you've got a particular problem with them, you're outside. There's big problems there. So 
this office of mediator between God and man is proper only to 
Christ. who is the prophet, priest, and 
king of the church of God, and just in case you didn't get that, 
and may not be either in whole or any part thereof, transferred 
from him to any other." The proof text there is 1 Timothy 2, verse 
5. There's one mediator. Now, it goes on to describe the 
specific details with reference to prophet, priest, and king 
in paragraph 10. And just to demonstrate with 
two quick texts that this isn't an imposition upon the Bible. 
Oh, you know, that concept of prophet, priest, and king fits 
your covenant theology. It fits your sort of reformed 
distinctives. It fits your confessions and 
faith. So you impose that on the scripture. No, that's not it at all. Matthew 
chapter 12. You see an emphasis on those 
three offices of Christ. Matthew chapter 12, specifically 
in verse 6, the Lord Jesus, invoking sort of a priestly metaphor, 
says, yet I say to you that in this place there is one greater 
than the temple. Christ is the reason for which 
the temple existed. This is why, you know, dispensationalism 
with its return to a millennial kingdom with an earthly temple 
and a sacrificial system is another backward step in redemptive history. The tabernacle and the temple 
were not the ends of themselves. They pointed forward to. They 
were prefigurements. They were typological. Now that 
the substance has come, why would we go backwards? When I'm holding 
my grandson or granddaughter, why do I need to look at the 
picture on the phone? I've got the substance. So this 
is a backward trajectory in dispensationalist thought to rebuild the temple 
so that Jesus can come back and sit on David's throne there. 
No, Christ is the reason for the temple's existence. It pointed 
to him. And he is greater than the temple. I think that's a reference to 
his priestly ministry, priestly office. Notice in verse 41, same 
chapter, The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with 
this generation and condemn it, because they repented at the 
preaching of Jonah, and indeed a greater than Jonah is here." 
It's a greater prophet than Jonah. And then notice in verse 42, 
the Queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with this 
generation and condemn it. For she came from the ends of 
the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon and indeed a greater 
than Solomon is here. And when you move through the 
pages of the New Testament, you see the prophetic ministry. On 
the Mount of Transfiguration, when the Father says, this is 
my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased, He then says, hear Him. 
You ought to hear the echoes of Deuteronomy 18.15, when God 
promises a succession of prophets that will terminate in the person 
of the Son. It says, hear Him. Acts 3.22, 
the Apostle Peter applies the Deuteronomy 18.15 passage to 
the Lord Jesus Christ. The priestly ministry of Jesus. 
It's obvious. I don't pray for the world, but 
I pray for those you've given me out of the world, for they 
are yours. And then he makes sacrifice for us. So intercession 
and sacrifice is for us. So he does the office of priest. 
But as well, king. He has all authority in heaven 
and on earth. He sits enthroned at the right 
hand of the Father. One other passage that puts in 
one summary statement the threefold office is the book of Revelation. 
You can turn to Revelation chapter 1. Revelation chapter 1. He gives 
this benediction or this greeting in the name of the triune God, 
and in verse 4 he says, John, to the seven churches which are 
in Asia, grace to you and peace from Him who is and who was and 
who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before 
His throne. I take that as a reference to 
the Father and to the Spirit. It doesn't mean there are seven 
Holy Spirits. I think the language of seven is completeness. It 
is the Spirit of the living God. And then notice, and from Jesus 
Christ, note the three offices. The faithful witness, that's 
what a prophet does. The firstborn from the dead, 
a reference to his sacrifice as priest, and the ruler over 
the kings of the earth. Again, his kingly office. So 
this isn't something imposed upon scripture. This is something 
exegeted from scripture and applied to us in our need. So in paragraph 
10, this number and order of offices is necessary. For in 
respect of our ignorance, we stand in need of this prophetical 
office. We need Christ to teach us. We 
need Christ to instruct us. We need Christ to command us. We're ignorant. We're dumb. And, you know, if this offends 
you, I'm sorry, but we are. We don't think God's thoughts. 
After Him, we need the prophet Christ to instruct us. And in 
respect of our alienation from God and imperfection of the best 
of our services, we need His priestly office to reconcile 
us and present us acceptable unto God. We need that reconciliation, 
the bringing together of father and sinner, such that we can 
be acceptable unto God. And in respect of our averseness 
and utter inability to return to God, and for our rescue and 
security from our spiritual adversaries, we need His kingly office to 
convince, subdue, draw, uphold, deliver, and preserve us to His 
heavenly kingdom. So we've got this emphasis on 
the threefold office, not only that he satisfies it as our mediator, 
but in the application, generally, paragraph 8, the absolute necessity, 
paragraph 9, and then the detailed explanation and its application 
to us in paragraph 10. So in conclusion, remember, with 
reference to the person of Christ, you've got the Word who became 
flesh for us men and for our salvation. With reference to 
the work of Christ, it wasn't first and foremost to be an example, 
to show us how to dig deep and be more loving to our fellows. 
No, it was first and foremost as the mediator of the new covenant, 
to function as a prophet, priest, and king to save us from our 
sins. Well, let us pray. Our God and 
Father, we thank you for the Lord Jesus. We thank you for 
the gospel of our salvation. We rejoice in what you have done. 
We rejoice in our Bibles, at what it expresses and reveals 
to us concerning the work of redemption. And we stand in awe 
at the Word who became flesh, that He dwelt among us, and that 
He lived for us, and that He died for us, that He was raised 
for us, and now He ever lives to make intercession for us. 
And He serves and functions as our advocate with the Father. 
May these things be preached throughout the world, and may 
that word run swiftly and be glorified. And we pray through 
Christ our Lord. Amen.