Theological term
States of Christ
3 sermons · All terms
The Redeemer of God's Elect
Galatians 4:4–7 presents the person and work of the Redeemer in covenantal context: Christ's pre-existent eternal Sonship, incarnation, and role as mediator under the law provide the basis for redemption, adoption, and the indwelling of the Spirit. The sermon traces the obsolescence of the Mosaic covenant as designed and purposed by God, giving way to the full privileges of sons in the new covenant. The triune God is shown to be the sole initiator and executor of salvation — the Father sending the Son, the Son accomplishing redemption, and the Spirit sealing the adopted heirs. The sermon closes with a call to robust Trinitarian theology as inseparable from knowing and worshipping the God who saves.
The Riches of Christ
What does it mean that the eternal Son of God, though rich beyond comprehension, became poor for sinners? Expounding 2 Corinthians 8:9 in the context of Paul's appeal for generous giving, this meditation traces three movements: the pre-incarnate riches of Christ as Creator, Lord of angels, and second person of the Trinity; the poverty he assumed by addition — taking on humanity, lowly condition, and the curse of the cross — without ever ceasing to be God; and the inexhaustible spiritual riches that flow to believers through that poverty: forgiveness, justification, sanctification, the Spirit, perseverance, sympathetic intercession, and advocacy. Delivered prior to the Lord's Supper, the sermon calls believers to reflect on every spiritual blessing secured by Christ's humiliation and to respond with generous, worshipful hearts.
The Suffering Servant
Isaiah 52:13–53:12, the fourth servant song, presents Christ as the suffering servant whose humiliation, substitutionary death, and triumphant exaltation form the theological foundation of the gospel. The servant's suffering is solitary, substitutionary, and comprehensive — he bore the griefs, iniquities, and wrath due to his people so that peace with God might be secured. His death was not accidental but decreed by the Father according to the eternal purpose of God, grounding definite atonement and the justification of many. This meditation, delivered prior to the Lord's Supper, calls believers to receive these realities with gratitude and to reflect upon them at the Table.